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JOURNALISM OF COURAGE MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2020, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES SINCE 1932 `4.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

NATIONAL FAMILY HEALTH SURVEY2019-20 FARMERPROTESTS: SHAH MEETS TOMAR Malnutrition in Govtallegeshandof kids worsens in key states2015-19 ‘tukdetukde’gang, Sanitation, access to water, fuel better, keepstalksdooropen but increase in child stunting, wasting

Pradesh, wasdelayeddue to the One-dayhunger UDITMISRA pandemic and itsresultsare ex- &NUSHAIBAIQBAL pected to be made available in strikebyprotesting NEWDELHI,DECEMBER13 May2021. farmers today; Datafromthe firstphase SEVERAL STATES across the shows that severalstateshaveei- MoS says date of countryhavereversedcourse ther witnessedmeagreimprove- and recordedworsening levels mentsorsustainedreversalson THE VACCINE VANS ROLL OUT next talkssoon of child malnutrition despite child (under 5years of age) mal- dramatic improvementsinsan- nutrition parameters suchas Atruck loaded with the Covid-19vaccine leavesthe PfizerGlobal Supply manufacturing itationand better access to fuel child stunting; child wasting; plantinPortage,Michigan, on Sunday. The firstshipmentsofthe vaccine were sent to SANTOSHSINGH and drinkingwater. shareofchildren underweight distribution centres in theUnited States. AP REPORT,PAGE12 &HARIKISHANSHARMA This is one of the startling rev- and child mortality rate. PATNA,NEWDELHI, elations in the first-phasedataof These four arekey metrics DECEMBER13 the National FamilyHealth and their dataare usedinseveral Survey(NFHS)2019-20—re- global indices suchasthe Global EXPRESS INTERVIEW: MANOJ SINHA WITH TALKSdeadlockedand leasedbythe Union Ministry of Hunger Index. farmers announcing ahunger- One-year-old Mehar Kaur with her family at the Singhu Health and FamilyWelfareon Child wasting reflectsacute strikeonMonday, morevoices border on Saturday night. Praveen Khanna December 12 —and marksashift undernutrition and refers to chil- Kashmir, Jammu our two eyes, in the Government came out since the lastNFHS in 2015-16. dren having lowweight fortheir Sundaytoallegethat riding the The latestdatapertains to 17 height. has always had a protests were ideological forces states —including , high levelofchild wasting but in- can’t favour one over other: L-G opposedtothe government and Bihar,and West Bengal —and stead of reducing it, several the “nation’s progress and in- Ugrahan rights rally hurt five Union Territories (including states suchasTelangana, Kerala, ‘Givemeasingle think if the administration’s in- tegrity”. At the same time, the J&K) and, crucially, captures the Bihar,and Assam as well as the tentions areclear,and the gov- negotiation door waskeptopen cause, admit 32 groups, stateofhealth in these states be- CONTINUEDONPAGE2 example of ernment is notfavouring one with Union MinisterofState for fore the Covid pandemic. Phase 2 over the other,then therewillbe AgricultureKailashChoudhary of the survey,whichwillcover outsiderhaving no opposition.” telling PTI that the government underlinerepeal demand other states suchasUttar RELATED REPORT The L-Gspokeonarangeof would soon "decide adate" and Pradesh, Punjab and Madhya PAGE 9 bought land since issues from the annulment of call farmer leaders forthe sixth the Roshni Actand itsunravel- round of talks. RAAKHIJAGGA Aug5,2019’ BUSINESSASUSUAL SHARPREVERSALSINCHILDHEALTH ing to the fear of demographic In an address to farmers in LUDHIANA,DECEMBER13 changeinthe Valleyfollowing Bihar,UnionLaw MinisterRavi BY UNNY Proportionofstuntedchildrenunder5years J&K L-GManoj Sinha the repeal of land laws,the time- Shankar Prasadinvoked the WITH UNION ministers attribut- PVAIDYANATHANIYER line forAssemblyelections and “tukdetukde gang”, warning of ing ideological opposition to the AndhraPradesh 31.2% 31.4% JAMMU,DECEMBER13 GOVT &POLITICS restoration of 4G services, and “stern action". And, in the capital, farm protests andequating some Telangana 33.1%28% the ‘GupkarGang’ jibebythe Union AgricultureMinister of them with "Leftand Naxal el- Assam 35.3% 36.4% KASHMIR AND Jammu arethe Union Home MinisterAmit NarendraSingh Tomar said that ements," as manyas32farmer “twoeyes” of the UnionTerritory J&K DDC POLLS:51% Shah. The full interview will be those opposedtothe farm Bills unions passedaresolution Bihar 42.9% 48.3% TURNOUT IN PHASE-6 39% 38.5% of J&K, and going ahead, forover- publishedTuesday. were the same castof“Leftist” Saturdaymaking it clear that allprogress, both have to work PAGE 9 Sinha, who took oath on characters opposedtothe abro- theironlyissue is the repeal of Karnataka 35.4% 36.2% together without one being August7,and has visitedall 10 dis- gation of Article370,the newcit- farm laws andnothing else. Kerala 23.4% 19.7% favoured over the other,said trictsinKashmir,and six (of 10)in izenship law(CAA) and the Ram Carefullycalibrating their Maharashtra 35.2% 34.4% Manoj Sinha, Lieutenant towardsthe development of Jammu,over the lastfour months, temple. distancing from the Bharatiya WestBengal 33.8% 32.5% Governor of J&K. these tworegions equally, and said therewere“some people” Speaking at Tekbigha village Kisan Union (EktaUgrahan), the Jammu&Kashmir 26.9% 27.4% “Samaan bhavsey dono ke it’s onlywhen both work to- who have “vestedinterests”in in Bakhtiarpur wherethe Bihar joint resolution said: “The func- vikas ke liyehumein kaam karna gether that theycan take the UT differentiating Jammu from CONTINUEDONPAGE2 tion organisedbyBKU (Ekta ■ 2019-20 ■ 2015-16 hai aur dono milke hi is UT ko aage forward),”said Sinha in an inter- Kashmir on the lines of “region, Ugrahan) has no relation with arenot partofthis group of 32. badhasakti hai (Wehavetowork viewtoThe Indian Express.“I CONTINUEDONPAGE2 UDDHAV: CALLING the farmers' struggle. Their ac- The BKU (EktaUgrahan) had FOODPROVIDERS tion has harmedthe farmers’ on December 10 —tomark ANTI-NATIONALSNOT struggle.” BKU (EktaUgrahan) Human RightsDay —waved THE EDITORIAL PAGE and the Kisan Mazdoor posters of activists including Former home minister of Gujarat OUR CULTURE PAGE 10 Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) CONTINUEDONPAGE2 DISSENTAND held in Rs 14.8-crore ‘bonus scam’ THECITY BY FAHAD ZUBERI under the brand name ‘Amul’. PAGE 6 Republic TV EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Gujarat Chaudharywas also former Pragya: Brahmins don’t AHMEDABAD,DECEMBER13 former home chief of Dudhsagar dairywhen in CEO held in minister 2014,hewas sackedfromboth EXPRESSNETWORK take offence when caste FORMER HOME Ministerof Vipul GCMMF and Dudhsagar dairyfol- Gujarat and former chairman of Chaudhary. lowing corruption chargesincon- TRP case Gujarat Cooperative Milk nection with Rs 22-crorecattle called,why do ‘shudras’ Marketing Federation (GCMMF), fodder scam. Under the scam, the VipulChaudhary, wasarrestedby DudhsagarDairy elections on GCMMF wassupposed to send EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE ‘Thereisn’t any the Gujarat Police Crime January5,2021. According to po- cattle fodder to Maharashtra. EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE MUMBAI,DECEMBER13 uniformityin Investigation Department(CID) lice,theformerGCMMFchief had “In 2014,afirstinformation BJP DUMPS ALLY, BHOPAL,DECEMBER13 ‘Bringlaw mandis across Crime and Railways on Sunday allegedly conspired with Mehs- reportwas filedagainstChaud- PICKS NEW ONE TO to control THE 's Crime states, then howcan forhis alleged involvementina ana Dudhsagar union officials to haryatMehsana BDivisionpolice MALEGAONBLAST case accused population BranchonSundayarrested bonus scam of Rs 14.80 crore. siphonoff money from fund me- station relatedto the loss of Rs 22 RULEBODO COUNCIL and BJP's Bhopal Member of foranti- Republic TV's Chief Executive you have one Actfor The arrest of Chaudhary ant forpayingbonus to workers. croreinthe cattle fodder scam. PAGE 9 Parliament (MP) PragyaSingh nationals’ Officer Vikas Khanchandani in the entirecountry?’ comesweeksbeforetheMehsana GCMMF marketsits products CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Thakur told agathering in the Television Rating Pointsma- BHUPESH BAGHEL 's Sehoreon nipulation case, taking the total CHIEF MINISTER, CHHATTISGARH Saturdaythat shudras “feel bad” don’t feel bad; call avaishya a number of arreststo13. PAGE 11 when theyare called shudras vaishya,theydon’t feel bad. But if The Mumbai metropolitan Over 50%vehicles on road uninsured:report due to “ignorance” about the so- youcall ashudraashudra, they magistratecourtlater remanded cial system. feel bad. Whyisthis so? Because Khanchandani in police custody Bureau(IIB), setupbyinsurance accidentsand fatalities. “In this Addressing agathering of of ignorance, theyare unable to fortwo days. GEORGEMATHEW regulator IRDAI, is yettofinalise ED grim scenario, it is adouble the KshatriyaMahasabha, understand.”) Asenior police official said MUMBAI,DECEMBER13 itsMarch 2020 report. Nosafety whammywhen morethan half Thakur said that society has In other contentious re- Khanchandani's statement was The bulk of uninsured vehi- PLAIN E the vehicles in the country are been dividedintofour cate- marks,Thakursaid that a“lawto recordedtwice and his role was ● net MORE THAN half the vehicles on cles aretwo-wheelers, with the EX uninsured,” IIB said. gories in “our dharmashastra control population growth identifiedduring the interroga- EXPERT EXPLAINS the road in India arerunning numbers being as high as 66per According to IIB, of the over (social treatise)”. should be forthose who indulge tion of the channel's distribution Lt Gen GirishKumar without anyinsurance cover—a cent. “Therewere15states NO INSURANCE means no 23.12 crorevehicles on the road “Kshatriyakokshatriyakeh in anti-national activities...it head Ghanshyam Singh, who &NitinJoshi mandatoryprovision underthe whichhad uninsured vehicles to compensation in case of in India as of March 31,2019, do, buranahin lagta. Brahmin ko doesn’tapplyfor thosewho live wasarrestedearlier. FromTheIndianExpresspanel MotorVehicles Act. the extent of morethan 60 per an accident. Despitethe nearly 57 per cent were unin- brahminkeh do, bura nahinlagta. forthe nation”. The investigators alleged that of specialists,exclusiveinsight Nearly 57 per cent of the total cent,” said the report. In most mandatory third-partyve- sured;in2017-18,54per cent of Vaishya ko Vaishyakeh do, bura She also said that “reservation Khanchandani waspartofanin- vehicles on the road were unin- cases, the renewals arenot done hicle insurance policy,the the nearly 21.11crore vehicleson nahin lagta. Shudrakoshudrakeh should be on the basis of eco- ternal WhatsApp group in which sured as of March 2019,upfrom afterthe firstyear. number of uninsured ve- the road were uninsured. do, buralag jatahai. Kaaran kya nomic background to benefit the discussions on Logical Channel HOWTOMEASURE 54percentinMarch 2018,accord- India is oneofthe largestauto hicles remains high.Two- “The uninsured vehicles hai? Kyunki na-samjhi, samajh poor,enabling them to live abet- Number (LCN) would take place. AMOUNTAIN ing to the Insurance Information markets in the worldwith over wheelers mostlyfallout of largely comprise two-wheelers, nahi paate,” she said. terlifenot on castelines”. LCNisanidentification number BureauofIndia'sannualreportre- 20 millionvehicles sold annually. the insurance netatthe and this is quiteobvious as nearly (“If youcall akshatriyaa Addressing womenatthe gath- assigned to aTVchannel, and the EXPLAINED, PAGE 4 leasedonDecember 7. It is also among the countries time of the firstrenewal. 75 per cent of the totalvehicles kshatriya, theydon'tfeel bad; ering, she said: “Today’s kshatriya allegations againstRepublic TV The Insurance Information withthe highestnumber of road CONTINUEDONPAGE2 call abrahmin abrahmin,they CONTINUEDONPAGE2 CONTINUEDONPAGE2

PAGE 1 ANCHOR Te am India’sbig unknown: 13 in Covid bubble forsix months

stand the psychological impact”. while skipper ViratKohli will atristfor AustralianFootball being active around preventative the danger of morestringent VISHALMENON Since the run-up to the IPL, join the side afterthe firstTest. League (AFL) and workswith measures," he says. curbs lurks at the firstsignof &SRIRAMVEERA when teams startedassembling “Without naming the sport, Australian Open tennis. BCCItreasurer Arun Dhumal trouble. With the South Africa- NEWDELHI,MUMBAI, in the UAEinAugust, Ajinkya Ican sayAustralia has already Sports psychologistPaddy says the boardisin“regular England series getting cancelled DECEMBER13 Rahane, Jasprit Bumrah, facedsuchquarantine situations Upton, who wascoachGary touch” with the support staff lastweek afterafewplayers RavindraJadeja, Ravichandran whereathleteshaveissues of Kirsten's assistant when India and “taking feedbackabout the tested positive,noone is taking BY THEtime the India-Australia Ashwin, KLRahul, Umesh Yadav anxietyattacks...The quarantine wonthe 2011 WorldCup, says players' mental state”.“It's a chances. Lastmonth, Pakistan's Test series gets over in the third and Mohammad Shami are can playhavoc with players "players spend time overthink- challenging time as we areplay- tour to NewZealand barelysur- week of January, at least13 among those who have re- with performance-related is- ing about upcoming games in ing back-to-back cricket under vivedafter severalvisitingteam Indianplayers would have spent mainedinthe bubble. The oth- sues or forthosewho have fam- the hotelrooms, leaving them abio-bubble. We have told the players tested positive. close to six months inside a ers include bowlers Mohammed ilymembers with health issues. mentallyexhausted". "The selectors and supportstaff that It'snot justthe Indian play- Covid bio-bubble, confined Siraj andNavdeep Saini, wicket- This is unchartedterritory —and longerthe players areinbubbles, if anyplayerfeels mental fatigue ers. Other in-demand interna- mainlytotheir hotelroomswith keepers Wriddhiman Saha and we don’t have enough experi- the moreaunique setofdynam- or needsabreak,theyshouldlet tional cricketers —England's Jos stringent curbs on movement RishabhPant, and batsmen ence to confidentlysay we have ics will unfold, and newneeds us know.The players'mental Buttler and JofraArcheralong and contact. Prithvi Shawand Shubman Gill. it under control or what poten- will arise. I’m nothearing a health is paramount to us,” says with West Indian Jason Holder This is “unchartedterritory”, These areall Test players who tial problems awaitus,”says whole lotofcricketauthorities Dhumal. —havebeen confinedtothe warn mind gurus working with were also partofthe IPL. Those Cricket Australia’s consultant Indian Test players likeMohammad Shami and Jasprit who areundertaking research to CurrentlybasedinSydney, bubble forlonger. elitecricketers,and authorities who playinthe shorterformats sportspsychiatristDrRanjit Bumrah have been in abio-bubble since August. AP understand what the psycholog- the Indian contingent has been Australian sports,Menon aren't doing enough to “under- have returnedfromAustralia Menon, who is also chief psychi- ical impact will be on players and allowedtomovearound abit but CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Ahmedabad WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 2 THE SECOND PAGE THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER14,2020

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WEB between the Centre Indian Express EXCLUSIVE havesustainablegrowth,UgoAstutoAmbassadoroftheEuropeanUnion(EU)toIndiasaid. ★★★★★■4.6 and West Bengal govt INPHOTOS TECH NEWEPISODEEVERYDAY J&K: SEASON’S FIRST SMARTPHONEUSAGE In today’s episode, we’relooking at aclash SNOWFALL RISES: STUDY between the central government and the Thicksheets of snow The averagetime spent West Bengal government following an SCANTHISQRCODETO coveredSrinagar on on smartphones attackonthe BJP president’s convoy DOWNLOADTHEAPP Saturday continues to rise FROMPAGEONE

Kashmir, publicservant, 408 forcriminal during the Shaheen Bagh eventuallyhappens is the breachoftrustbyclerk,120b protest(in Delhi againstthe stress manifests in physical dis- Jammu our two forcriminal conspiracy,” the of- CAA).” ease. Injury,illnessand unex- ficer said. On Sunday, Thakur wasun- Govt alleges hand of ‘tukde tukde’ gang plainedflaring-up of old in- eyes, can’t available forcomment but her juries aremostcommonly Over 50% office said she wasinvited to BJP launchedastatewide movement fortheir interest Tomar,who has held talks retary (Chandigarhand associated withthe physical favour one over the event to commemoratethe 'Kisan Chaupal Sammelan but we willnot allow them to with the farmers, too, echoed Punjab) Dinesh Kumar. manifestation of mental and vehicles on road foundation dayofKshatriya (farmers'conference)' in sup- succeedintheir goal." Goyaland Prasad. “Thereare Afterthatmeeting, Kumar emotional stress thatare sup- other: L-G Mahasabha.However, the na- port of the newlaws, Prasad These remarks come in some forces in the country told The Indian Express: “We pressed,” he says. religion, caste,colour or area.” uninsured:report tional working president of said, "Theywanted us to the wake of some farmer whichoppose anygoodwork gave ourfeedbackabout the L-GSinha sought to allay in India consistoftwo-wheel- Akhil BharatiyaKshatriya promise MSP in writing, groupsdistancing themselves that can contributetoIndia’s situation in Punjab.Majority Ugrahan rally fears expressedbymainstream ers.Inthis class, over 60 per Mahasabha, SurendraSingh when we agreed,theystarted from one of the keygroups, progress…they always tryto of farmers in the stateare Sudha Bharadwaj,Vernon political leaders thatAssembly cent of the vehicles remain Tomar,said the organisation talking about repealing the BharatiyaKisanUnion (Ekta mislead the country,”Tomar busy with their farming activ- Gonsalvesand Varavara Rao, elections would be put on the uninsured,whereascars are wasnot behind the event. laws... Letmemakeitclear Ugrahan), whose members, on said aftermeeting agroup of ities.” and demandedtheir release back burner,particularly after largely insured,with the unin- “The establishment daywill that the Government of India December 10,waved posters of farm leaders from Kumar,too, alleged that from jail. the ongoing District sured numbers quitelow at be commemorated on and Prime MinisterNarendra jailedactivists arrested in the Uttarakhand who had ex- the farmers were being “mis- This promptedseveral Development Council (DDC) around 10 per cent,” the report December 27 andagathering Modi respect farmers and Bhima Koregaon case and de- pressedtheir supportfor the led” by politicalparties. Union ministers including polls. He said Assemblyelec- said. will be held in Gwalior," Tomar farmerstoo respect the PM. mandedtheir release. farm laws. “The Congress party Piyush Goyal, Ravi Shankar tions areheld in states which About 52 per cent vehicles said, adding that the organisa- Lekin agar kisan andolan ki “Firsttheycalledus “You remember,when the startedthis movement but Prasad and NarendraSingh have DDCs. don't renewtheir insurance af- tion has about 2.5 lakh mem- aad me Bharat ko todne wale Khalistani, then theycalledus Bill to repeal Article 370from nowtheyhavelostcontrol Tomar over the lasttwo days to “Assemblyfunction is dif- terthe firstyear –mostlytwo- bers in Madhya Pradesh out of log, tukde-tukde log peechhe Pakistani, nowweare called Kashmir wasbrought, there over it. The farmers' move- statethat "Leftistand Maoist ferent from that of DDC or wheelers fall outofthe insur- 17.5 lakh across the country. hokar andolan ke kandhe se Naxals…thesame people were suchLeftistelements ment has gone intothe hands elements" have infiltrated the Parliament. So, whereisthe ance netatthe time of the first Speaking on condition of goli chalayengetounkekhi- harp on the importance of di- who were opposingits re- of Naxalites, Left, and protests seeking to derail the contradiction?” he said. renewalofthe insurancepolicy. anonymity,Mahasabha office- laf sakht karyawahi ki jayegi. alogue,” the group’s leader moval. When the Citizenship Khalistanis. Therefore, the is- government’s "reformistfarm Therewas no reason to fear, According to theMotor bearers said the event that Yehbhi baaat saaf hai isme, Joginder SinghUgrahan had Amendment Bill came… they sue has become sensitive.The laws." Sinha said. The Prime Minister Vehicles Act, 2019,itismanda- Thakur attendedwas “organ- koisamjhautanahi karenge told The Indian Express. opposedit. When the agrar- protesting farmers should not ButaSingh Burjgill, has talked about Assembly tory forall vehicles to be in- isedbyher ownpeople”. (But if in the guise of the Prasad's remarks echo ian reform Bills came, these allowanyone to push Punjab President, BKU (Dakaunda), elections from the ramparts of sured with third-party vehicle Thakur has had to apologise farmers' protest,those break- those of Union Minister were also opposed. When the backtoits days of unrest,” who presidedoverthe meeting RedFortonAugust15; the insurancepolicy. Third-party twice in the recent pastfor her ing up the country, the tukde- Piyush Goyalwho alleged issue of Ramtemple came up, Kumar said. of the 32 farmer organisations Home Ministerhas said it on or liability insurance covers the controversial remarks. In the tukde people fire from the that the protests were being it wasalso opposed. Thereare Asked about the possibil- on December 11,said, “Human the floor of Parliament, he legal liability arising due to run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha shoulders of the movement, hijackedbythe hardLeftand some people whojusthaveto ity of another round of talks, rightsisabig issue forusas pointed out. “Is meinkisikoaa- death or disability of third elections, she apologisedfor we will take strict action Maoistelements. oppose and it has become he said, “The governmentis well but herethis joint strug- patti nahi hai (Nobody has an party loss or damagetotheir her remarks on thedeathof againstthem. This is clear... Incidentally,onDecember their intention to weaken the always ready fortalksbut gleisonlyagainstthe laws objection to this). And the property. former MaharashtraATS chief therewill be no compro- 11,inaninterviewtoThe country,”Tomar said. protestingfarmers needto formedbythe Central govern- Prime Ministerhas said on “When an uninsured vehi- Hemant Karkare, who was mise)." Indian Express, Prasad had On December 11,Tomar understand that theyshould ment i..e the three farm laws, August15, thatwhen the cle meets with an accident, the killedinthe 26/11attacks. Referring to human rights struckamoreconciliatory had asked protesting farmers send asmaller group of rep- the Ordinance related to envi- Delimitation Commission injured or relativesofdead Thakur wasthe firsttobear- activists lodgedinjails, Prasad note.“The wayout willbe, to be vigilant againstthe mis- resentativessothat aconsen- ronment and the proposed completesits work,Assembly people don’tget anycompen- rested in the case on said, "Who arethese people democracy is ultimatelydia- use of their platform by what sus can emerge.” Electricity Bill, 2020.” elections will be held,” he said. sation. Thereisnocompensa- October 23, 2008, within a who want to break the coun- logue. Democracy is ulti- he called "anti-social" as well At Delhi's Singhu border, The Indian Express spoke Responding to aquestion on tion fordamaged vehicles,” month of the blastafter the ATS try? Nowdemands arebeing matelypersuasion. as "Leftistand Maoistele- farmerunions reiterated their with leaders of at leasttwo fearsofademographic change said an official. investigation ledbyKarkare. raisedtofreethose so-called Democracy is ultimately ments". demand forarepeal of the dozen farmerorganisations in the Valley, especiallyafter the Industrysources said IIB, In November 2019,she intellectuals who areinjail for reaching out. The Prime Tomar’sremarks came af- three laws.Speaking to re- over the weekend and the con- repeal of certain land laws and headedbyIRDAI Chairman came under fire forher re- indulging in rioting in Delhi Ministerverybeautifullyput terameeting in Delhi on porters, farmer leader Gurnam sensus wasclear:their demand amendmentsinsome others, Subhash Khuntia, should come marks praising Mahatma and Maharashtra. Police have it yesterdayinadifferent con- Sundaywith Union Home Singh Chaduni saidheads of all that the three farm laws be re- the Lt Governor said in J&K, 90 out with updated dataevery Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram filedchargesheets,theyare text—kuchh kahiye, kuchh MinisterAmit Shah and at- protesting farmer unions will pealedand the government per cent of landisagricultural. year.“If IIB releases datawith- Godse, whichforcedthe BJP to notabletoobtain bail from suniye. This kahiyesuniye tendedbyBJP leaders from observeaone-dayhunger start"with aclean slate." When “Nobody from outside J&K can out anytime lag, it will help the remove her from theconsulta- the courtastrials areunder- (discussion) is going for(the) Punjab, including stateunit strikeonMonday.Dharnas asked about the Government's buy agriculturalland.Even government and insurance tive committee on defence. She way. Nowthese people have last20years.” chief Ashwani Kumar Sharma will also be staged at all district proposed amendments, they within J&K, onlyagriculturists firmstotakeappropriate steps had to apologise twice in Lok takenrefugeunder farmers In NewDelhi Sunday, and organisation general sec- headquarters, he said. said that these could be over- can buy such land,” he said. and programmes,” said an offi- Sabha afteranangry turnedlater.Atthe heartof While the amendment to cialofaninsurance company. Opposition rejected her first their protestisthe demandto certain laws hasenabled out- Motorwas thebiggestline apology. Malnutrition in children worsens in manykey states legalise Minimum Support siderstobuy land in the UT, of business in the general in- Price in the farm laws,aprovi- Sinha said therewas no treat- surance industrywithnearly Republic TV sionthat no government has ment for“imagined” fears. 40 percent shareofthe gross arethat it allegedlyuseddual UT of J&K have witnessed SHARPREVERSALSINCHILDHEALTH followedand which, the gov- “Give me asingleexample underwritten premium, at Rs LCN, whichallowedittoshow an increase. ernment said, has severaldis- of anyoutsider having bought 64,522.35crore withagrowth up in the genreof‘kids chan- Others like Wasted Wasted Underweight Underweight IMR IMR tortionaryeffects. land here. Since August5,2019, rate of 9per cent forFY2018- nels’, apartfromthe 'news Maharashtraand West children children children children 2019-20# 2015-16# When contacted,Ruldu tell me asinglename.Ichal- 19.Interestingly,six states -- channels' category, thus show- Bengal have been stag- 2019-20* 2015-16* 2019-20* 2015-16* Singh Mansa, President, Punjab lengeanyone to name one per- Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar ing up at twoplaces. Investiga- nant on this. AndhraPradesh16.1% 17.2% 29.6% 31.9% 30.3 34.9 Kisan Union, who is partofthe son from outside who has Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat tors have claimed that Khan- When it comes to the joint forum said, “I believe the bought land here. This is base- and Delhi -- contributed nearly chandani knewabout these proportion of under- Telangana 21.7% 18%31.8% 28.4% 26.4 27.7 ongoing farm struggle has be- less,” he said. 50 per cent of thetotal policies alleged LCNmanipulations. weight children,again, Assam 21.7% 17% 32.8% 29.8% 31.9 47.6 come amovement, and our fo- Asked about Shah’s tweet andclaims,IIB said. Police informedthe court severalbig states, Bihar 22.9% 20.8% 41% 43.9%46.8 48.1 cus should be only on farm referring to mainstream polit- The total number of third on Sundaythat Khanchandani Gujarat, Maharashtra, Gujarat 25.1% 26.4% 39.7% 39.3% 31.2 34.2 laws,ElectricityBill and the ical parties —whichformedan party claims reportedwas did notsubmit his phone forin- West Bengal,Telangana, Ordinance on environment. If alliance ahead of the DDC elec- around 3.25 lakh forthe cur- vestigations. Assam and Kerala, have Karnataka 19.5% 26.1% 32.9% 35.2% 25.4 26.9 one farmer union has organ- tions —as‘Gupkar Gang,’ Sinha rent financial year. The Special Investigation seen an increase. Kerala 15.8% 15.7% 19.7% 16.1% 4.4 5.6 isedaprogram, it is itsindivid- said: “As aleader of aparty,he Overall, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Team (SIT) of the Mumbai But the mostsurpris- Maharashtra 25.6% 25.6% 36.1% 36% 23.2 23.7 ual and personal decision.” He, has everyright to issue apolit- Karnataka, Maharashtra, Police told courtthat it wished ing reversalshavehap- WestBengal 20.3% 20.3% 32.2% 31.6% 22 27.5 however, said if thegovern- ical statement. If leaders in a Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan to interrogate Khanchandani to penedinchild stunting, ment triedtotargetthe political party can give certain and Uttar Pradesh together understand alleged payments whichreflectschronic J&K 19% 12.2% 21% 16.6%16.3 32.4 Ugrahan group, the Punjab statements, then others also contributed two-thirdofthe made to multi-system opera- undernutrition, and *Data arefor children under 5; #per 1,000 livebirths Kisan Union will supportthem. have the freedom to speak total thirdparty claims in FY tors and cable operators to refers to thepercentage Kanwalpreet Singh Pannu, their mind...Constitutional post 2018-19. In Kerala, nearly 86 boostTRP ratings. of children who have low PresidentofKisanSangharsh hum hold kar rahein hain, per cent of the total thirdparty LateonSunday,the News height fortheir age. increasing because all the 1,000births in NFHS-3, and 50 Menon said that researchers Committee, Punjab said, “All humko is se matlab nahi (I hold claims wasfor injuries, Broadcasters' Federation is- Stunting, morethanany things that affect child growth deaths per 1,000 births in would have to look at more our 32 farmer organisations aConstitutional post, and Iam whereas in Bihar,nearly 80 per suedastatement that said, other factor,islikelytohave tend to improveasstable NFHS-4, adeclineofabout granular datatoarriveatwhy have nothing to do with it. But notconcernedabout it)." cent wasfor deaths. "Vikas’ anticipatory bail peti- long-lasting adverse effects democracies and economies 33%over10years. NFHS-5 and suchreversals have hap- Ibelieve that the ongoing The highestaverage for tion is scheduledtobeheard by on the cognitive andphysical move ahead.” NFHS-4 areabout five years pened. Thereare severalfac- struggleshould be only about Former Gujarat death claims wasinKerala, at the courtand the arrest and re- development of achild. Infant MortalityRate— apart, but we areseeing very tors at play. Forinstance, if in- farm laws.” Rs 12,13,671,and the lowest in mand is highlydisturbing. Telangana, Gujarat, Kerala, thatis, the numberofdeaths little progressinmanystates. come levels decline, it can Stating that the function or- home minister Bihar, at Rs 6,14,306. Generally, NBF herein reiterates and Maharashtra, and West per 1000 live births forchil- In Maharashtra, the under-5 worsen malnutrition. ganisedbyJoginder Singh Later in 2018,aTribunal court the Union Territories and the urgesthe Government of Bengal —all sawincreased dren under the ageof1—and mortality rate is basicallythe According to the Ministry, Ugrahan-ledBKU (Ekta ordered thatChaudhary pay southern states have ahigh av- India to immediatelyset up levels of child stunting. Under 5Mortality Rate data, same in NFHS-4 and 5, and in the contentsofNFHS-5 are Ugrahan) had hurtthe cause of 40% of the Rs 22 crore, which erageascompared to others. an independent and neutral na- According to Purnima too, is mostlystagnant. Bihar,itreducedbyjust3% similar to NFHS-4 to allow farmers, HarmeetSingh, amounted to Rs 9crore at the The averagedeath claim in FY tionalagency to investigateinto Menon, asenior research fel- AashishGupta,are- over five years," he said. comparisons over time. President of BKU (Qadian), earliest,” said an officer of CID 2018-19was Rs 9,01,207, and anyallegations of professional lowatthe International Food searcher affiliated with the Menon said that over 60 The NFHS-5, however, in- said, “Our union has only one Crime on condition of injuryclaim wasRs2,51,094. misconduct by journalists,ex- Policy Research Institute, the University of Pennsylvania, per cent of child mortality is cludes some newtopics, such issue, and thatisfarm laws.Our anonymity. ecutives,and owners of me- reversals in child stunting are said that between NFHS-3 explainedbypoor nutrition. as preschool education, dis- 32 farm unions have clarified “Chaudharythen conspired Brahmins don’t dia companies,inorder to pre- “hugelytroubling”. (2005-05) and 4(2015-16), In other words, child malnu- ability,access to atoiletfacil- that their struggle is onlyabout with Dudhsagar dairypresent vent selective harassment by “One has notseen stunt- therewas progress on mortal- trition is the central problem. ity,death registration, farm laws andnothing else.” chairman Asha Thakor,vice- take offence theState Authority and to en- ing increases in mostofthe ity reduction. The NFHS-5 datacaptures bathing practices during Rajinder Singh, General chairman Moghji Patel, man- surethe FreedomofPress." world,” she said. “Normally, "Under 5mortality was dataduring the firstfiveyears menstruation, and methods Secretary, KrantikariKisan aging director MJ Bakshi when caste The TRP manipulation scam we do notsee stunting levels observed to be 74 deaths per of the Modi government. and reasons forabortion. Union, also supportedthe res- and came up with ascamof called, why do came to light in October after olution passedbythe joint fo- bonus giventothe workers an official of Hansa Research rum. “This agitation is onlyfor of the Dudhsagar union. ‘shudras’:Pragya Group -- the companytasked the bubble in different ways. The norm forcricket in par- system within the team is key, up and during the IPL, hadis- farm laws,the electricity bill The accused siphonedoff Rs withinstalling barometers to “With AFL, we have had abub- ticular, as seen in IPL and other says Menon. suedanappeal days before the and the Ordinance on environ- 14.80 croremeant to be for needs to understand their du- recordviewership -- lodged a ble going on forfivemonths. It bilateral series, is to limitinter- “Theyhavetolook at men- Twenty20tournament ended ment,” he said. yearly bonus for1932workers ties and produce moreand complaint with the Mumbai waswithin ahub in actions of the team to acom- talfatigue levels, behavioural on November 10.Keep cricket Meanwhile, SukhdevSingh of the Dudhsagar union,” he morechildren to inductthem Police, following whichthe Queensland. We took over a mon room or gym and notal- changes -- players canturn dis- tours short, he had said. Kokri Kalan, General Secretary added. intothe ArmedForces so that owner of Fakt Marathi and Box fewresorts, put the players in lowittolingerinindividual tant, irritated.InAFL we had 18 Upton, who has coached of BKU (Ugrahan) said: “We “An FIR wasfiledrecentlyat theycan fight forthe nation Cinema were arrested. specifichubs and got their fam- rooms. But Uptonisconcerned clubs,and apps with wellness Rajasthan Royals and been in- don't want to comment on any Gandhinagar CID crime police and strengthen itssecurity.” Lastweek,the Supreme ilies intothe performance hub about lifewithin the bubble. surveys conducted daily,con- volved with international statement givenbyany of the stationafter acomplainant ap- On the ongoing farmers’ Courtturneddownaplea by (after quarantining separately “TVgames, social media sultant mental-health profes- teams likeIndia and South farm organisations. We organ- proachedus. We held protests,she said: “Those who ARGOutlier Media Private fortwo weeks). Youcan have and some Internetpursuitsare sionals on dailycalls with play- Africa, echoes the suggestion. ise Human RightsDay every ChaudharyonSaturday night have been protesting in the Limited,whichowns Republic provision of intermingling with designedtobeaddictive. The ers and the team's medical “Shorter tours areone option, year and this year it wasnodif- from Gandhinagar and he has name of farmers areanti-na- Media Network, seeking pro- otherplayers, have access to longer players do this, the more staff. Continuousprofessional another option is rotating play- ferent. Our main issue, too, is been arrested today(Sunday). tionals. Theyare notfarmers, tection forthe group and its limited bubble extensions like the chemical stress levels monitoring is neededand ers, especiallythose who have farm laws andwehad con- He has been bookedundersec- but Congressmen and Leftists employees from the cases filed going out formeals and have a within their body and the need symptoms identifiedearly; had extendedperiods in bio- nected the human rightsissue tions of the Prevention of in the garb of farmersand rais- againstthem in Maharashtra. prescribed setofcontactsthey forstimulation. And when that else,thiscan blowupinour bubbles. Forplayers who don’t with farm laws as everyone has Corruption Actand Indian ing their voices againstthe can engagewith. Thereare dif- is notmet,things likedepres- faces,” Menon says. have avenues to release men- ademocratic right to protest Penal Code sections 409 for countryand spreading misin- Team India ferent ways to minimise dam- sion await,” he says. Kohli, who wasinabubble taland emotional stress, which and put across his or her view criminal breachoftrustby formation, the waytheydid says,havesought to manage age,” Menon says. Aproper medical support forclose to 80 days in the run- is probablymostplayers, what point.”

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER14,2020 ‘VIOLATION’OFCOVID NORMS FIR AGAINST FOLK SINGER,13OTHERS IN MEHSANA Police have registered an FIR against apopular folk singer and 13 othersfor allegedly flouting Covid-19 norms during 3 GUJARAT alive music showatamarriage function in Mehsana district. Eight of the 14 accused have been arrested following the incident on FridayinVisnagar talukawhere alarge number of peopleturned up at the wedding party, police said.

PORTAL TO BE LAUNCHED IN JANUARY Stateadds1,175new Fire compliance in buildings: New Covidcases;11die system to appoint safety officers EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE GANDHINAGAR,DECEMBER13 EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE CASETRACKER AHMEDABAD,DECEMBER13 AFTER ANNOUNCINGtoallow Places ConfirmedDeaths New cases youngengineering andfiresafety GUJARATADDED 1,175new Ahmedabad 52,608 2,173247 graduates to be empanelledas cases of the coronavirusdisease Amreli 3,569 32 29 Fire SafetyOfficers (FSOs) for on Sunday, taking the infection Anand 2,052 17 21 Due to the difficult terrain, it took the forest officials three timelyissuanceand renewalof tallyto2,27,963. At least1,347 Aravalli 1,072255 days to rescuethe flamingochicks. Courtesy:State Forest Department fire NOCtodifferent buildings in patientswerealso discharged the state in October this year, from across the stateonthe day. Banaskantha 4,320 37 20 ChiefMinisterVijay Rupani So far, 2,10,214 patientshave Bharuch 3,608 18 14 BREEDING COLONY IN GREAT RANN OF KUTCH Sundayalsodeclaredthe details recoveredfromthe infection in Bhavnagar 5,602 70 19 of the newmechanism forthe the state. Botad 9838 4 appointmentsofprivate FSOs. On Sunday, 11 patientssuc- 250 flamingo chicks The CM also declaredthat a ChhotaUdepur 8494 2 cumbed to the virus, eight of portal designedbyGujarat whom were from Ahmedabad Dahod 2,659 720 InstituteofDisaster city and three others from Dang 144 stuck in mud rescued, Management (GIDM) willbe Surat. The total toll due to the Devbhoomi Dwarka 9,725 53 launchedonJanuary26, 2021, for virus in the statestands at 4,196. Gandhinagar 7,432 10252 reunited with flock makingthe service availableon- At 247, Ahmedabad also re- line to the people. Gir Somnath 2,180226 portedthe highestnumber of ritorial forest division, said. Addressing apress confer- cases in the stateonthe day. At Jamnagar 9,778 35 45 EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Patelsaid the nesting colony ence here, Rupani said, “In the least239 of these cases were re- Junagadh 4,5833223 RAJKOT,DECEMBER13 wasaround60kmawayfrom past, therewas no mechanism to portedfromurban areas and Kheda 2,5661615 FlamingoCity. “Thenestingcolony checkall this (firesafetycompli- onlyeight from the rural parts. Kutch 3,490 33 28 OVER 250 chicks of greater is on the periphery of Kutch ancebybuildings).For example, FSOswill be required to undergo refresher trainingand Ahmedabad district has re- flamingos separated from their DesertSanctuary. Itappearsthere in Ahmedabad, thereare thou- upgrade their skills everythree years. File Mahisagar 1,829 13 9 ported52,608 cases so far. flockandstuckinmudatabreed- wasalarge-scale breeding by sands of properties. Therewas no Surat, too, recordedahigh Mehsana 6,111 36 51 ing colonyinGreat Rann of Kutch greater flamingos in that area. mechanismfor the(municipal) number of cases at 172—148 Morbi 2,888 20 12 (GRK)wererescuedandreunited Afterhatchingchicks,generallyfe- commissioner to getthese Theywillalso be required to amongthe qualifiedFSOs and from the city and 24 from rural Narmada 1,8111 6 with their flockafter athree-day- males flyawaywhile only afew checked. Fire brigade has limited undergo refresher training and chance of better ratesfor the areas. Atotal of 46,567cases Navsari 1,5218 2 longoperation,forest department males stay backtolead the flock staffand it wasnot possible for upgrade their skills everythree services to the people. have been reportedfromSurat officialssaid on Sunday. of chicks,”theRFOadded.“Weare them to handleall thatalong years. To hold the private FSOs ac- Panchmahal 3,713 23 19 so far. Forest officialsgot an alert assumingthat some birds of prey withtheir routine work.So, The FSOs will beappointedin countable forthe fire NOCsthey Among the four districtsthat Patan 4,002 50 25 three days agofromthe Border mighthave attackedtheflockand adopting apractical approach three categories as per the nature issue, agovernment fire officer reportedcases morethan 100 Porbandar 1,039 42 Security Force(BSF) about sepa- the chicks would have gotsepa- and considering administrative of fire safetyexpertise required will do random inspection to fresh cases were Vadodara(152) Rajkot 18,927193 129 ratedandstrandedyoungonesof ratedfromthegroupduringtheir difficulties, we arecreating anew forthe type of buildings; FSO checkifbeforeissuance of the and Rajkot (129). Sabarkantha 2,5481322 greater flamingosnear the Indo- bid to escape. It is alsopossible system. With this, we will beable General, FSO Advance and FSO NOC, all the parameters of fire The cumulative cases in PakistanBoarder in GRK. thattheycould notmove as wa- to handle (firesafetycompli- Specialist. safetywerecheckedornot. Surat 46,567932 172 Vadodaraand Rajkot stand “Whenwe reachedthecolony, terdriedinthearea,”theRFOsaid. ance).” The FSO General will notre- Andifsome omission is at 22,138 and 18,927, respec- Surendranagar 3,214 13 19 we foundahugeflockofflamingo Wings and legs of some of the Rupanisaid, the services to quireany experience, whereas found then penal action will be tively. Tapi 9946 2 chicks.Further deeptowards the strandedchicks were coveredin getfireNOC everysix months for the FSO Advance and FSO takenagainstthe concerned While Gandhinagar reported Vadodara 22,138239 152 border,wefound stray chicks mud, making it difficult forthem highrises, commercial com- Specialist willrequireexperience FSO and the property 52 newcases,other districtsin Valsad 1,326 8 stuckinmud, apparentlysepa- to tread, patel said, “Our rescue plexes, schools-colleges, hospi- of five years and 10 years respec- owner/possessor. Saurashtraincluding Jamnagar, ratedfromthe flock. Our teams team, including 10 to 12 people, tals, industrial units etc.,will be tively in the field of fire safety. “Gujarat government is cre- Other states 1483 Bhavnagar and Junagadh re- undertookrescueoperationfrom washedthemudoffthechicksbe- speedy and without anyinter- An official release said that atingawhole system forfireand ported45, 19 and 23, respec- Cumulative Total New Cumulative Thursdayandby Saturday, we res- fore releasing them. Due to diffi- ruption. The government has an- with the newmechanism,the apostofDirector of Fire will be tively. discharge: cases: cases: deaths: cuedandreunitedmorethan250 cult terrain, it took us three days nouncedappointment of FSOs property owners/possessors will created andofficers in four re- As manyas55,989tests were 1,175 chicks with the largerflock,” to rescue thesechicks.Our teams under the provisions of Section have the option of choosing an gions will be appointedfor conductedthroughout the state 2,10,214 2,27,963 4,196 ChetanPatel, rangeforestofficer will visit the area again on 12 of theGujarat Fire Prevention FSO of their choice from among that. Thoseofficers will take on Sunday. (RFO)of RaparinKutch(east)ter- Mondayalso,” Pateladded. and LifeSafetyMeasures Act, the large cadreoftrainedand ex- care of different issues of fire sys- 2013. pertprivate FSOs. The ratesof teminfirestationsunder Young engineers from spe- procuring the services of private them like staff, training, instru- State BJP to hold cific faculty and those who have FSOs will be decidedbythe FSO mentsand if theyare working studied in thefield of fire safety and the concerned property properly or notbyholding con- farmers’ meets to willbeempanelledasprivate owner/possessor. tinuous dialogue, seminars, FSOs aftertraining by GIDM and Rupani said that the system meetingsetc.. We arecreating ‘create awareness clearing examination. will also spur competitiveness this nice system,” Rupani added. on new farm laws’

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Two cops injured as group attacks GANDHINAGAR,DECEMBER13

TOCREATEawarenessontheagri- patrol team in Ahmedabad; 3held culture laws enacted by the CentralGovernment,thestateBJP night curfew hours. At least11people identified willholdnineconventionoffarm- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE In the wake of the coron- as Mohammad Zahir Abdul ers in the stateincoming days. AHMEDABAD,DECEMBER13 avirus pandemic, the stategov- Shaikh, Mohammad Ayaz Zahir, It wasdecidedatthe two-day ernment has imposedanight Mohammad Anas Shaikh, Chintan Baithak of Gujarat BJP Twopolicemen were injured curfew between 9pmand 6am MohammadZaid, Nashi Almas, that concludedonSundayinthe when apatrol team wasattacked in Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot and Shamim Banu, Farzana, Afsara presence of senior party leaders, by agroup of people at Vadodaracities, whichdisallows Banu, Farzana Banu, Aabid includingstatepresidentCRPaatil, area in Ahmedabad city,police marriageceremonies duringthis Mansoori,Imran Shaikh, all res- Chief MinisterVijay Rupani, said Sunday. At least three per- time period. identsofSaiyyedwadiatSarkhej, Deputy Chief MinisterNitin Patel sons have been arrested in the Apolice officer at Vejalpur have been booked,police said. and party incharge forthe state, matter,theyadded. police station,wherethe case The case has been registered Bhupender Yadav. Around 9.30 pm on Saturday, has been lodged,said, “The fam- under Indian Penal Code sec- The development has come police said,11to12people who ilyinformedthe patrol team that tions 143for unlawful assembly, even as thousands of farmersare were on theirway to attenda theyare going to attend amar- 147for rioting, 332for causing protesting on the border of Delhi marriageceremony were al- riageceremonyfollowing which hurttoapublic servant, 353for againstthe farm laws. WINTER CROP legedly stoppedbythe patrol an argument brokeout. The assault on apublic servant to de- Anofficialpartyrelease,issued team on Sonal Cinema Road in familyattackedthe police team terthem from duty,186 forob- afterthe conclusion of Chintan Afarmersowswheat seeds on the outskirtsofAhmedabad. Nirmal Harindran Juhapura. The police patrol allegedly with sticks and rods. structing apublic servant from Baithak quoted party spokesper- team,the FIR in the matters Twoconstables have received discharging duty,188 fordisobe- son Bharat Pandyaassaying, stated,stopped twoautorick- injuries in the assault and have dience to order givenbypublic “Under the guidance of national shaws andascooterand ques- been treated.Sofar,wehavear- servant along with relevant sec- leadership,ninefarmers’conven- Certificates of over 2.6 lakh GTU students go online tionedthe passengers, all mem- rested threepersons, while the tions of the Disaster tions and eight press conferences bers of the same family, about other members of the group Management Actand Epidemic will be heldaspartofpublic the worldand also candodigital dentswould be uploaded in the the purpose of travel during the managed to flee.” Diseases Act. awarenessaboutthehistoricfarm EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Studentscan access verification forhigher education current academic session of laws implemented by PM AHMEDABAD,DECEMBER13 these documentsfrom and job applications. 2020-21. NarendraModi forthe upliftof “GTU ranksamong the top The university has uploaded farmers and to doubletheir in- THE GUJARATTechnological across the globeand opt 10 universities in the country in documentssince 2016 and come. ”The release also stated University (GTU)has uploaded fordigital verification uploading students’documents is in the processofuploading that deliberations were held for degree certificates of morethan forhigher education in suchalarge number,”said documentsfromearlier years the planning of upcoming elec- 2.60 lakh studentsonthe university Vice-Chancellor Prof as well. tionsof institutesof localself gov- National Academic Depository and job applications Navin Sheth. “This will ensureasafeplace ernance following whichtwo (NAD), claiming to be the only Atotal of 2,63,778 degree forthese documents... it will party leaders were appointed as university in the statetohave certificates uploadedinclude speciallyhelp studentsseeking election inchargesfor eachofthe achievedthis number of digi- GrantsCommission’s(UGC)ini- 69,200diploma certificates, higher education abroad... 31 districts. In the said delibera- tiseddegree certificates. tiative of National Academic 1,69,296 bachelor degrees, Documentscan be digitally ver- tions,partypresidentCRPaatillaid Certificates of 28 courses Depository (NAD). 24,919 master degrees and 236 ifiedinashortperiod, saving specialemphasisonthe forma- from diploma to PhD have been Studentscan accessthese PhDs. time and moneyofthe stu- tion of pagecommittees. uploadedonthe University documentsfromany corner of Dataofanother 1,06,364stu- dents,” Sheth added. AAP leaderassaulted by unidentified men in Botad

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Umesh Makwana sustained AHMEDABAD,DECEMBER13 multiple fractures on his leg AN AAM Aadmi Party(AAP) leader wasas- in the attack, police said saulted allegedly by five men outside a restaurant in Barvala near Botadon Saturday, policesaid. restaurantto have tea.Five menarrivedina UmeshMakwana(40),thedistrictpres- SwiftDzirecar and startedattacking me ident of AAP’s Surendranagar and Botad with sticks.” units,was attackedbyfivemen outside Makwana sustained multiple fractures Anjar Dal Baati restaurant at Polarpur area on his leg and wasadmitted to Medisearch around 5.30 pm, police added. hospitalinRajkot Saturday, policesaid.“The Inhiscomplaint,Makwanastated,“Ihad victimhasbeenassaultedoutsideaneatery leftfrommyhomeinBotadforAhmedabad and we arescanningCCTVcamerafootage on Saturdayafternoon to attend aparty available.His statement has been recorded meeting. Afterattending the meet, Ileftfor and soon an FIR will be lodged,” apolice of- Botadand stoppedmyXUV car near a ficer at Ranpur policestationinBotad said.

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER14,2020 @ieExplained #ExpressExplained 4 If thereare questions of current or contemporaryrelevancethat youwould like E EXPLAINED explained, please [email protected]

CORONAVIRUS DASHBOARD EXPLAINED SCI-TECH Coronavirus in donated How to measure amountain eye tissue, concerns over In anew measurement, Chinaand Nepal have announcedMount Everestis86cmtallerthan the 8,848 m transmission via transplant acceptedgloballysofar.How wasthe original height calculated by Survey of India?What does the revision COVID-19CAN reachand affect the ment:“There’s no evidence to suggest mean? Twoofthe seniormostofficials of Survey of India explain in an interviewtoAMITABH SINHA eyes, twonew studieshavefound. Covid-19can be transmitted from a One study,inthe US, has reportedthe cornealtransplant, but our dataas- discovery of the novelcoronavirus in sures us that ascreening process to conjunctivalswabs and tears of in- determine who’s positivefor thevirus fected patients, raising concerns that and who isn’t is important to make MEASUREMENT WITH ANGLES the infection could be transmitted surewedoeverything in case thereis during eyetransplantation. In the UK, apotential risk of transmission. When direct researchers have reportedsoreeyes The findings showthat before measurement Angle of as asymptomofCovid-19. The two transplantation, it is important to carry of height is not Elevation studies areindependent of eachother. out postmortem nasopharyngeal EXPERTS EXPLAIN possible,a b swab testing fordetectingCovid-19. HT a Virus in eyetissue Lt Gen Girish Kumar surveyor

The US study,publishedinthe Soreeyesassymptom resorts to HEIG journal TheOcular Surface,analysed The UK study,publishedinthe &Nitin Joshi trigonometry Height the prevalence of the journal BMJ Open of Eye d d Height of Eye virus in human post- Ophthalmology,was con- From TheIndian Express panel mortemocular tissues. It ducted by researchers at ofspecialists, exclusive insight found that the viruscan Anglia Ruskin University. infiltratecorneal tissue It found that soreeyes (the outer layerofthe can be asymptomof First, howisthe height of anymountain eye) that could be used Covid-19. measured? fortransplantation, rais- PAPER The researchers The basic principle thatwas usedearlier is ing concerns that the dis- asked Covid-19patients very simple, and usesonlytrigonometry ease could be transmit- CLIP to complete aquestion- whichmostofusare familiar with, or at least tedtoahealthy recipient. naire abouttheir symp- can recall. Thereare three sides and three an- In fact, the research NEWRESEARCH toms, and howthose gles in anytriangle.Ifweknowany three of looked at 132oculartis- compared to before they these quantities,providedone of them is a sues from 33 donors that were in- tested positive.Soreeyeswas found side,all the others can becalculated. In aright- tendedfor surgery in severalUSstates. to be significantlymorecommon angledtriangle, one of the angles is already Among the donors, 13%werepositive when the participants had Covid-19 known, so if we knowany other angle and forCovid-19, determinedlater. —16% reporteditasaCovid-19symp- one of the sides,the others canbefoundout. Covid-19 patientsholdmuchof tom, while just5%reported having This principle can be appliedfor measuring the virus in the upper respiratorytract. had the condition beforehand. the height of anyobject that does notoffer The researcherssuggestthat thereis Lead author Shahina Pardhan said the convenience of dropping ameasuring astrong possibilitythatthe viruscould in astatement releasedbyAnglia tape from toptobottom, or if youcan’t climb contaminatethe outer layers of the Ruskin University:“This study is im- to the toptouse sophisticated instruments. To measurethe height of atreeorbuilding, asurveyor observes it from aknown distance, measures the angle of elevation eyevia respiratorydroplets after portant becauseithelps us under- Let’s say, we have to measure the height of with simple instruments, and calculates the height using trigonometry.Tomeasureafaraway mountain, the distance to coughing,sneezing or hand-to-eye stand moreabout howCovid-19can apole,orabuilding.Wecanmarkany arbitrary whichisnot known, twoobservationsfromtwo pointsresult in twoimaginary triangles;trigonometrywill once again give contact. infect the conjunctiva andhow this point on the ground some distance from the the height. The Survey of India measured Mount Everestinthe days before GPS. Photograph: Reuters Aboutthe possibility of transmis- then allows thevirus to spread building. This can be ourpoint of observation. sion via transplantation, lead re- through the body.” We nowneedtwo things—thedistanceof the searcher Shahzad Miansaid in astate- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE buildingfromthepointof observation,andthe canbeobservedfromrelativelyclosedistances, high peaks. So we have to fall backonthe height of Mount Everestwas noteasy. angle of elevation that the topofthe building this cangivequiteprecise measurements.But same triangulation technique to measure the makes withthe point of observation on the forMount Everestand otherhigh mountains, heights. But thereisanother problem. The Nepal and China have said theyhave INDIA ACTIVE CASES 356,546 ground. The distanceisnot difficult to get. The thereare some other complications. density of air reduces as we go higher.This measured Mount Everesttobe86cm angle of elevation is the angle that an imagi- These again arise from the fact that we do variation in air density causes the bending of higher than the 8,848 mthat it was narylinewouldmakeifitwasjoiningthepoint notknowwherethe base of the mountain is. lightrays,aphenomenon known as refrac- known to be.What would thatmean? 500,000 of observationonthe ground to the topofthe In other words, whereexactlydoes the tion. Due to thedifference in heightsofthe The 8,848-metre(or 29,028-foot) meas- building. Thereare simple instruments with mountain meetflat ground surface. Or, observation point and the mountain peak, urement wasdone by the Survey of Indiain 416,082 the help of whichthis angle can bemeasured. whether the point of ob- refraction resultsinaner- 1954 andithas been globallyacceptedsince So, if the distance from the point of ob- servation and the base of rorinmeasuring the ver- then. The measurement wascarriedout in 356,546 servation to the building is dand the angle the mountain at the same tical angle. This needs to the days when therewas no GPS or other of elevation is E, then the height of the build- horizontal level. THEEXPERTS be corrected.Estimating modern sophisticated instruments. This 400,000 ing would be d×tan(E). The Earth’s surface is the refraction correction shows howaccuratetheywereevenduring notuniformly even at LT GEN (RETD) GIRISH is achallengeinitself. thattime. Can it be that simple formeasuring a everyplace. Because of KUMAR is the Surveyor In recent years,several attemptshave mountain? this, we measureheights General of India, and Doesn’t technology been made to re-measureEverest,and some LAST 10 DAYS The principle is the same, and ultimately, from mean sea level. This NITIN JOSHI is Deputy offereasier solutions? of them have been producedresultsthat vary Dec 3Dec 12 we use thesame method, but thereare afew is done through a Surveyor General, Survey These days GPS is from the acceptedheight by afew feet.But 300,000 complications. The main problem is that painstaking process of India. widelyusedtodetermine these have been explainedinterms of geo- thoughyou knowthe top, the base of the calledhigh-precisionlev- The responsibility of the coordinates and heights, logical processes that might be altering the Note: The Dec 12 figure in this graph is based on thegovernment updateonDec 13 mountain is notknown. The question is from elling.Starting from the Survey of India is to even of mountains. But, height of Everest. The accuracy of the 1954 whichsurface youare measuring the height. coastline, we calculate prepareauthoritative GPS givesprecise coordi- result has neverbeen questioned. Generally, forpractical purposes the heights step by step the difference maps, and itswork nates of thetop of a Mostscientists nowbelieve that the INDIA TOTAL CASES WORLD TOTAL CASES aremeasuredabove mean sea level(MSL). in height, using special in- involves carrying out mountain relative to an height of Mount Everestisincreasing at avery 9,857,029 69,788,140 Moreover, we needtofind the distance to the struments. This is howwe extensive land surveys ellipsoid whichisan slowrate. This is because of the northward Source:MinistryofHealth&Family Source:JohnsHopkinsUniversity, mountain. It seems easy today, but therewere knowthe height of any and mapping imaginarysurface math- movement of the Indian tectonic platethat is Welfare,updatedat11pmonDec13 updatedat11pmonDec11 no GPS or satelliteimages in the 1950s. So, cityfrommean sea level. topographical features. ematicallymodelledto pushing the surface up. It is this very move- howtofind the distance of amountain where But thereisone addi- Starting in 1952, the represent Earth. This sur- ment that created thegreat Himalayan youcannotphysicallygo? Till that time no- tional problem to be con- Survey of India face differs from mean sea mountains in the firstplace. It is this same body had even climbed the Mount Everest. tendedwith —gravity. undertook an exercise to level. Similarly,overhead process that makes this region prone to earth- We can getaround this problem by meas- Gravity is different at dif- measurethe height of flying planes equipped quakes. Abig earthquake, likethe one that uring the angles of elevation from twodif- ferent places. What that Mount Everest(then withlaser beams (LiDAR) happenedinNepal in 2015,can alter the ferent pointsofobservation in the same line means that even sea level known as Peak XV).That can also beusedtoget the heightsofmountains. Sucheventshavehap- of view. Thedistances between these differ- cannotbeconsideredto exercise measured the coordinates. penedinthe past. In fact, it wasthis earth- ent pointsofobservations can be measured. be uniform at all places. height at 8,848 m(29,028 But these methods, quakethat had promptedthe decision to re- We will nowbedealing with twodifferent In the case of Mount feet), whichremainedthe including GPS, do not measureEverest to see whether therehad triangles, but with acommon arm, and two Everest, forexample,the globallyaccepted take gravity intoconsid- been anyimpact. different angles of elevation. Again, by fol- concentration of sucha standard, until now. eration. So, the informa- A86-cm rise would notbesurprising. It is lowing simple rules of high-school hugemass would mean tion obtainedthrough very possible that the height has increased trigonometry, the height of the mountain can that the sea levelwould GPS or laser beams is in allthese years. But,atthe same time, 86 be calculated,fairly precisely. In fact, this is getpulledupwards due to gravity.So, thelo- then fedintoanother model that account for cm in aheight of 8,848metres is averysmall howweusedtodoitbeforethe advent of cal gravity is also measured to calculatethe gravity to makethe calculationcomplete. length.The detailed resultsofthe Nepali and GPS, satellitesand other modern techniques. local sea level. Nowadays sophisticated Considering that during 1952-1954, Chinese effortsatmeasuring Everestare still portable gravitometers areavailable thatcan when neither GPS and satellitetechniques to be publishedinajournal.The real signifi- Howaccurate is this? be carriedeventomountain peaks. were available nor the sophisticated cance of this measurement would become Forsmall hills and mountains, whose top But the levelling cannotbeextendedto gravimeters, the task of determining the evident onlyafter that. BeforeMamata,whenJayarefusedtosendIPSofficerstoCentre

Fathima Beevi,asthe Centrewas nothappy PersonnelandTrainingfortheIAScadre,and Rule 6(1) of the SHYAMLALYADAV with her report. Then LawMinisterArun the MinistryofEnvironment, Forest and (Cadre) Rules, 1954 says about deputation: NEWDELHI,DECEMBER13 Jaitleysaidthereportdid“not reflectthetrue ClimateChangefor IFS cadre. “incaseof anydisagreement,themattershall situation in Tamil Nadu today" and that the Muthukaruppan told The Indian Express be decided by the central Government and IN THE MamataBanerjee-ledWestBengal Governorhad“whollyfailedto discharge her on Sunday, “I cannotcomment on what the the stategovernment or stategovernments government’s refusal to send three IPSoffi- constitutional obligations”. centralgovernmentcan do againstthe West concernedshall give effect to the decisionof cersoncentraldeputation,thereisanechoof Three IPS officers were identifiedasin- Bengal officers, but we approachedCAT the CentralGovernment.” asimilar refusal by then Tamil Nadu Chief volvedinthe raid: then Chennai Police (Central Administrative Tribunal) which Under the Home Ministry’s deputation MinisterJJayalalithaain2001. Commissioner KMuthukaruppan,Joint stayed theHome Ministry order. None of us policyfor IPS officers, “if an officer on offeris In the current instance, the Centrehas CommissionerSebastian George,and triedforcentraldeputationsince2001.There selectedforaCentralpostinganddoesnotre- asked forthe three IPS officers to be sent on Deputy Commissioner Christopher Nelson. wasnootheraction by the central govern- porteither on hisown or at theinstance of deputationwiththeGovernmentof Indiafol- Considered close to Jayalalithaa, all of them ment againstus.” theStateGovernment,hewouldbedebarred lowing an attackonBJP president JPNadda’s have since retired.After retirement, Nelson TheCentre cantakenoactionagainstcivil forconsideration forapostunder the motorcadeoutsideKolkata; wasappointedasMember service officials who arepostedunder the Governmentof Indiaforaperiodoffiveyears. these officers were in of the StatePlanning Jayalalithaa and MamataBanerjee in NewDelhi in 2012. Express Archive stategovernment. Rule 7ofthe All India Officers, who have already been debarred, charge of security.Inits re- TOTAL RECALL Commission,and later as Services(DisciplineandAppeal) Rules,1969, should notbeoffered before the debarment fusal, the West Bengalgov- the stateInformation statesthatthe“Authorityto instituteproceed- period is over.” Being debarredfromcentral ernment has cited ashortage of IPSofficers Commissioner. transferof IPSofficers.Thedecisionwastaken Mamatasaid on Saturday,that therewas al- ings and to impose penalty” will be the state deputation,however, hardly bothers an offi- (The Indian Express,December13). InWest Bengal,theofficerstheCentrehas in ameeting of the Union Cabinet, and ready adearth of good officers in the state, government if the officer is “serving in con- cial if theyprefertoworkintheir state. soughtoncentral deputation areRajeev AttorneyGeneralSoli Sorabjee wasasked to whichneededthose officers. nection with the affairs of aState,orisde- Another episode, in Februarylastyear, The Tamil Nadu parallel Mishra(Additional Director General, South cut shortaLondontriptoattend it. putedforserviceunderanycompany, associ- wasapointertothe Centre’s limitations in JayalalithaatookoathasChief Ministeron Bengal), Praveen Tripathi (Deputy Inspector Jayalalithaa then, likeMamataBanerjee What the rules say ation or body of individuals, whether acting againstAll India Service officers. The May13, 2001.Onthe night of June 29-30, General, Presidency Range) and Bholanath now, refusedtosparethoseofficers.Shewrote Forthe premier civil services —IAS, IPS incorporated or not, whichiswhollyorsub- Home Ministryhad written to then Chief Tamil Nadu police’s CB-CIDraidedformer Pandey(SP,Diamond Harbour). to other ChiefMinisters fortheir support to and Indian Forest Service —officers of the stantiallyownedorcontrolledbythe SecretaryMalayKumarDecalling foraction Chief MinisterMKarunanidhi’shomeandar- Asishappeningnow, theHomeMinistry, protect the rightsofthe states. She wrote statecadreare allotted by the Centrefroma Government of aState,orinalocalauthority againstfiveofficers, including DGP Virendra, rested him along with his DMK colleagues thenunderLalKrishnaAdvani,hadaskedthe about the "disturbing trend" in the manage- pool of officers. From time to time, acertain setupbyanAct of the Legislature of that forallegedlytaking part in a dharna organ- Murasoli Maran and TRBaalu, then minis- Tamil Nadu government to relieve the three ment of the statecadres of All India Services number of officers aresent on central depu- State.” Forany action to be takenonanoffi- isedbytheTrinamoolCongress.Thestate gov- ters in the NDAgovernment of ABVajpayee. officersforcentraldeputation.Jaitleyhadsaid and Centre-State relations.While declining tation. The Home Ministryisthe authority in cer of the All India Services(IAS, IPS, IFS),the ernment, however, said no officer had taken It resulted in the removalofGovernor the Centrehad “overridingpowers” in the the Centre’s demand she had said, like control of IPS cadre, the Department of stateand the Centrebothneedtoagree. partinthe dharna.

Ahmedabad WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER14,2020 EXPRESS NETWORK 5

Bengal: BJP worker found dead, party 4LAKH TONNESGROUNDNUT TO BE BOUGHT FROM GUJARAT THIS YEAR Partnershipto blames TMC for 2nd ‘killing’ in 24 hrs boost nutrition Fewerfarmerssellcroptogovt, in anganwadis persons arrested in the killing of SWEETYKUMARI Bhawalhavebeen identified as KOLKATA,DECEMBER13 Somnath Ganguly, Abhijit Das EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE andBabai. Bhawalwas newly NEWDELHI,DECEMBER13 ADAY afteraBJP worker wasat- married and hadbeen actively 1.33lakhMTprocuredsofar tacked withsharpweapons and taking partinadoor-to-door THE BILLand Melinda Gates killedinWestBengal's North24 campaign by the BJP. Foundation has partnered with Parganas,another party worker Police did notdisclosethe po- beenappointedasstate-levelpro- curement under Price Support the Anil AgarwalFoundationto wasfound dead in apond in East liticalaffiliationof theaccused.But GOPALKATESHIYA curement agencybythe National Scheme (PSS) is to stabilise mar- supportthe Union Women and Bardhaman, triggering heated JPNadda’s convoy was the BJP claimedthat thosear- RAJKOT,DECEMBER13 Agricultural Cooperative ketprices.TheMSPhasindeedbe- Child Development Ministryin protests on Sunday. attackedonDec 10. File rested were close aides of TMC Marketing Federation of India come the lowest price in open achieving the United Nations The body of Sukhdev leaders. The TMC, however, THE CENTRAL governmenthas Limited (NAFED) this year,said marketsalso,” saidthe officer. SustainableDevelopmentGoal-2, Pramanik wasfoundin claimed that the murder wasthe procured 1.33 lakhmetrictonnes theyhavesentSMSalertsto 79per Pricesof groundnutinagricul- whichaims to endall forms of Purbasthali on the daypolice in sent forpostmortem. The actual result of apowerstruggle within (MT) of groundnut from the state cent of total 4.69 lakh farmers turalproducemarketcommittees hunger and malnutrition by the North24Parganas said theyhad cause of deathcan onlybeascer- the BJP. so farthis season at minimum who had registeredtosell their (APMCs) in the statehad crossed year 2030. arrested threepersons “with tainedafterpostmortem,”saidan “Four peoplewerenamed in supportprice (MSP) of Rs 5,275 crop to thegovernment. Rs 6,000perquintal in the begin- During avirtual meeting criminalbackgrounds”inconnec- official. The incident triggered the police complaint. Three of per quintal, with fewerthan 20 “The turnout is fewerthan20 ning of the marketing season in on Wednesday, Gates and tion withthe killing on Saturday protests with local residents them were arrested in the morn- per cent farmers who registered Groundnuthas been per cent largely due to prices of November before coming down Agarwalconcurredthat the “fu- of Saikat Bhawal, who headeda blocking aroad for2-3 hours and ing and chargedwith murder,at- forsellingtheir produce to the procured from 72,743 groundnutinopen market being to around Rs 1,000this month. tureofchildrenand womenwill BJP localpolling booth levelcom- burningtyres.Theypreventedpo- tempttomurder, assault and government actuallyturningup farmers of the state. File higher thanthe MSP fixedbythe The government’sprocure- bemademoresecurebyeradicat- mittee in Halishahar. licefromtaking Pramanik's body criminal conspiracy.Theywere at procurement centres. Central government.Secondly, ment of Rs1.33lakhMTisworth ing povertyatthe grassroots TheBJP,whichhasblamedthe from the spot. The situationwas producedbeforecourt and re- The stategovernment has therewereissuesoffarmers crop Rs704crore.However,only62per level”, according to amedia re- TMC forBhawal's murder, resolvedafter police assuredthe mandedtojudicialcustody for14 pegged thetotal groundnutpro- trict,followedbyJunagadh(14,818 notmeeting fair averagequality centofthe due has been cleared lease. ProjectNand Ghar,anAnil claimedthatPramanikwaskilled protesters that a“proper investi- days,” said an official. duction to be 54.64lakh tonnes MT), Sabarkantha (10,984 MT), (FAQ)norms likeoil content, by thegovernmentsofar.Ofthe AgarwalFoundation initiative,in by workers of the ruling party af- gation” willbeconducted. On Sunday, BJP supporters this year while the Solvent Aravalli(10,657MT),GirSomnath moisturecontent etcdue to un- 72,443 farmers who have sold coordination with the Women terhetookpartinprotestsagainst Burdwan police said that no took out aprotest rallyinBizpur, Extractors Association has esti- (10,326 MT) and Amreli (10,072 seasonalrains.Therefore,farmers theirproduceto thegovernment, andChildDevelopmentministry, the attackonBJP president JP written complaint has been re- Barrackporeand Halishahar,de- mated it remain around 35.45 MT). Other districtsfromwhere preferredtosell their produce in only44,735havereceivedpay- is “transforming the anganwadi Nadda'smotorcadeinKolkata. ceivedfromPramanik's familyso manding a“fair probe” intothe lakh tonnes. The stategovern- major procurement has been openmarket ratherthanbringing ment.TheGSCSCLhassaidthede- ecosystem by modernising infra- TheTMChasrejectedthecharges. far. They said that injury marks killing.Theyalsogheraoedthepo- ment announcedthat around 4 made include Jamnagar (9,188 it to our procurement centres,”a laywas duetoatechnicalissue. structureandfocusingonservices The flare-up comes at atime were found under the eyes of the lice station in Bizpur,wherethe lakh tonnes groundnut would be MT) DevbhumiDwarka(8,991 topofficer of the GSCSCLsaid. “This year,weprocured foreradicating child malnutri- whenthe BJP-ledCentreand the deceased,and thatthe body has FIR has been lodged, leading to a procuredfromGujarat this year. MT),Surendranagar (7,767 MT) The turnout or rate of re- groundnutfromfarmersevenby tion”, among others. TMC governmentare lockedina been sent to Burdwan Medical minor clash between policemen Lastyear,groundnut production and Banaskantha (5,679 MT). sponse to SMS alertisthus the packing only25kgofthe oilseed Inpartnership,thetwoorgan- newtussle afterstones were Collegefor autopsy. and protesters. isthestatewasestimatedaround Inall,groundnuthasbeenpro- lowest in the lastfiveyears. Last per bag. But NAFEDand the isations, along with the ministry, pelted by alleged Trinamool men Senior BJP leader Mukul Roy BJP leader Mukul Roy's son 30 lakh tonnes andthe govern- cured from 72,743 farmers, the year,itwas 52 per centand in Centralgovernmentdoesnotper- will “jointlyfundthe transforma- at Nadda’s motorcade. The state calledfor President's Rule and and party leader Subhrangshu menthadprocuredaround5lakh highest from Rajkot (14,004), fol- 2018-19itwasaround60percent. mitpackingof 25kggroundnutin tion of Anganwadis and government has rejected amove tweetedthatPramanik “was Roy, andtheparty'sorganisational tonnes. lowedbyJunagadh (8,011), “Groundnutpricesintheopen abag as theirstandardrequire- strengthen nutrition interven- by theUnionHome Ministryto killedbrutallybyTMC's crimi- chief UmashankarSingh,reached DataaccessedbyThe Indian Sabarkantha(6,682),GirSomnath market have remainedfirm as oil ment is 30 kg per bag. Therefore, tions”inUttar Pradesh. summontoDelhithethreeIPSof- nals”.“Anotherday, anothermur- the spotwherepolicehavebeen Express showsthat Gujarat State (6,314)and Amreli (5,400). millers have been purchasing ag- afterprocuring groundnut from Welcoming the initiative, ficers who were responsible for der.Deathof democracy.Deathof deployed in largenumbers. “It CivilSuppliesCorporationLimited However, 72,743isonly19.53per gressively inayearwhenyieldre- farmers in 25 kg bags,weare WCDMinisterSmriti Irani said: providingsecurityto theBJPchief. conscience forTMC,” Roywrote. wasaplannedmurder.All those (GSCSCL)hasprocuredatotal1.33 cent of thetotal 3.72lakh farmers mainedlow duetounfavourable forced to repackthe oilseed in 30 “The partnership of BMGF and In Purbasthali, police sources TMC leader and Minister who have been arrested areclose lakh MT —one metric tonneis whowere sentSMSalertsbyGSC- weather conditions even though kg bagsand then send bills to AnilAgarwalFoundationtoame- saidthatPramanik,whowasfrom Firhad Hakimresponded that his aides of TMC leaders,” equal to 10 quintals —ofground- SCL to bring theirproduce to pro- groundnutacreagewas much NAFED forpayment.This is lead- lioratemalnutrition will surely Chandpara, had been missing party “doesn't believe in violence Subhrangshu Royalleged. nut from farmers until Sunday. curement centres. higher.Thisisanachievementfor ingto adelay inpayment.Thereis have alasting impact and further since Friday. “Today, abody was and the politics of murder”. FULLREPORTON The highestof26,719 MT has OfficialsofGSCSCL, aGujarat thegovernmentastheveryobjec- no dearth of funds to paytothe strengthen PM NarendraModi’s recoveredfromapond.Ithasbeen InNorth24Parganas,thethree www.indianexpress.com been procured from Rajkot dis- governmentundertakingthathas tive of direct government pro- farmers,”the officer added. visionofSuposhitBharat.”

GoinG solar

olar energy is apowerful source of energy being used The airport in Ahmedabad has also commissioned a worldwide and is lauded as an inexhaustible fuel 700kWp solar plant outlining the push from the state S government towards installing solar power. The Gujarat source. It is increasingly popular for generating elec- tricity or heating and desalinating water. Solar technologies solar power policy 2015 was given anine month exten- are expensive and require alot of land area to collect the sion till December 31. As part of this policy, the Gujarat sun's energy useful to people. One of the main challenges government brought the projectofgrid connected in building solar farms in finding the right place to do it. rooftop solar power units where the residential property Solar energy is the cleanest and most abundant renewable owner will be encouraged to install this new system. energy source available. Solar energy comes from the sun Some other objectives of the policy include promotion of and can be captured with various technologies, primarily green and clean power and R&D and innovation in solar panels. Solar panels only generate power when the sun renewable energy. It is time for all stakeholders to come shines. together and shift focus on solar source of energy and go towards clean and green India has relied traditionallyoncoal fired power plants and growth and reduce bills. is on the cusp of asolar revolution India's solar goals remain among the most ambitious renewable energy tar-

gets in the world. India will play an increasingly important global role in transitioning the planet to agreener, safer more sustainable future. Gujarat is among the top three industrial states in the country with conditions considered ideal for rooftop solar energy. Strategically located on the western coast of India, with the blessing of bright sunshine for major part of the year. Gujarat is set to become the fourth largest state in India when it comes to the installed rooftop solar capacity by 2022. Currently,Gujarat alone accounts for 2.6 GW of com- missioned solar power in India. There have been successful subsidy lead programme awareness drives as well as strong policies that have been formulated to ensure rapid progres- sion of rooftop solar in the state. Changing the solar power landscape of the nation, and making India the solar capital of the world, on a2000 hectare land, Gujarat is home to the Charanka solar park,

encompassing 19 solar projects. The solar park is expected to host at least 790 MW solar power systems. The integrat- ed solar park has state of art infrastructure. Gujarat solar park has been one of the most innovative projects in the solar energy sector having large concentration of solar power generating units at asingle location, thereby reduc- ing cost substantially.

Ahmedabad WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER14,2020

WORDLY WISE 6 THE EDITORIAL PAGE Badlawsare the worstsortoftyranny. —EDMUND BURKE Dissent and the City

§ FOUNDED BY § RAMNATH GOENKA To pitpeople’s protestagainstinfrastructureisto BECAUSETHE TRUTH INVOLVES US ALL diminish urban lifeand democracy COUNTING WORKERS IN Fahad Zuberi Adatabase of migrant and unorganisedsector workers should serveasthe basis of anew social security architecture IN HIS BOOK India AfterGandhi,historian capital of the countryand having their voices roads, powerlines, and buildings in their RamachandraGuha illustrates the landscape heard. Quitemetaphorical of the neglect that physicality.Thereisthe political construct — of Rajpath in the NewDelhiofthe 1970s. He Indian urbanity has exercisedtowards itsru- laws,citizen politics, addresses, and munici- IGRANT LABOURERS, ABANDONED by employers and the state,un- describes the lawns of Rajpath as a“villageof ralregions.The farmers, consequently, sat at pal wards. Thereisthe socio-economic con- dertaking an arduous journeyhome, in manycases walking hun- tents” —tentsbelongingtopeople who the border andnow sleepunder their trucks, struct —workplaces,places of gathering, re- dredsofkilometresonthe highways,became the definingimageof would cometoNew Delhi from variousparts inside tractor trolleys,and on the roads. Notin ligious institutions and markets. Manysuch the national lockdown during the pandemic. The exodus from the of the countrytoprotest about their issues. tentspitchedalong Rajpath, or undershami- layers come togethertocreateacityand to M The lawns were hardlyeverempty.AsGuha anas at the Ramlila Maidan. ignoreall but the infrastructureistodeny cities exposedthe gaping holes in the safety net. The Inter-State notes, the lawns were vacated in the early The Shaheen Bagh movement,interest- righttothe city,and to diminishand destroy MigrantWorkmen Act, 1979, required all establishmentswho hired inter-state migrants Nineties because the government considered ingly, wasasignificantdeviationfromthis the constructsthat makeuscity dwellers. to be registered, as well as all contractors who recruited theseworkers to be licensed. adisplay of protestatthe centrallocationin trend. The protestors sat wheretheylived — Today, we see urbanity of dissent pitched Proper implementation of this lawwould have ensured that informationoninter-state the countryasdefamatoryinfront of the the Muslim ghettos of Okhla. The infrastruc- againstthe infrastructural city. migrantswould have been readilyavailable to aidthe statemachinery in itsrelief efforts. world. Following this displacement, Jantar turerequired to sustain protests wasgener- The fundamentals of urbanityare,infact, However, no such detailedrecordsweremaintained, and information on the numberof Mantar became the gathering spotfor pro- ated in the same ghettos and visibility was the opposite.Cities have been harbingersof migrants, and theirwhereabouts,was unavailable to both centraland stategovernments. testors and Rajpath wassanitisedof the com- availed by sitting at the main spinal road of civilisation. Theurban is the place of libera- To address this glaring failure, in awelcome move,the government has nowdecidedtocre- plaintsofIndia’scitizens. the neighbourhood. The protestors, disillu- tion.Itfeatures institutionsthatare supposed It is important to note the significance sionedbythe government, didnot acknowl- to impart ideas of enlightenment.The poli- ateadatabase of migrant workers. of thisextinct landscape of Delhi. Rajpath, edge the citadel of Indian politicstoprotest, tics of the nation is embeddedinthe city.It As reportedinthispaper,the labour ministrywill build anew database of migrantwork- thecentral spacefor the nation,was also a the politicians were asked to come to promises opportunities preciselybecause it is ers, as well as thosein the informal economy, which it hopes will beup andrunningbyMay- spacefor dissent. The tentsatthe lawns of Shaheen Bagh. The subaltern of contempo- premisedonbreaking the networks that op- June next year.The plan entails tapping intoexisting databases of government schemes Rajpath were representative of thepeople’s rary India, protesting theCAA and NRC, press aperson due to theiridentity of birth — suchasMGNREGA, and the one nation-oneration cardtocreateaunique registration of equalclaim over India’s capital and the gov- claimed itsown segregated pocket of the it promises social mobility.Itpromises visi- migrant workers.Detailsofthose working the gig economy, andother unorganisedworke- ernment’s acceptance of itscritical citizens. metropolis as the siteofdissent and visibil- bility,and mostimportantly, cities areplaces Citizens occupiedthe most visible placein ity.The powerstructuresofpoliticsand me- of free expression. rs notcovered by suchschemes, arelikelytobeaddedseparately. While the issue of dupli- the country—not forshortsit-ins, but elab- dia came to Okhla, the subaltern did notgo It is, therefore, indispensable that the cation is bound to arise, the use of the Aadhaar platform could help address the problem. oratedemonstrations at the venue of our to Lutyen’s Delhi. various layers of the city interact. From the However, severalquestions will needtobeaddressed. So far, the conversations have nationalparades. Severalargumentsare peddledinorder barricades of Frenchrevolution to the Arab centred largely around inter-state migrants,sidestepping the issue of intra-state migrants. Displacedfromthe lawns, we sawseveral to generatepublicconsent forthe displace- Spring at TahrirSquare, central spaces of the But as the lockdowns affected the mobility of both, the scope of the database will need protests at the Ramlila Maidan and Jantar ment of protests away from the city. city have been the sites of protest.Itisnot to be expanded to include both sets of migrants. Migrationitself is averyfluid concept. Mantar. AnnaHazare’s anti-corruption move- Infrastructure—the physical aspect of the city fornothing thatthe expressionfor revolu- ment found itsplace at the Maidan. They —isthe foremost. The violent prelude to Delhi tion is “takingtothe streets” because by al- The extent of migration in the countrydepends on the definition employed. Forinstance, From the barricades of pitchedshamianas and createdahigh plat- Frenchrevolution to the riots of 2020,asreflected in KapilMishra’s lotting adesignatedplace to protest,the the definitions usedbythe NSS and the Census aredifferent. Consideringthat the crisis form forperformances.BabaRamdevoccu- speechinFebruary,demonisedShaheen Bagh statedictates visibility —itcalibrates the de- has affected both long-term and circular migrants, acomprehensive definition willneed piedthe ground in 2011 withelaboratetents. ArabSpring at Tahrir forobstructingtraffic. The “ultimatum” given gree of being noticedand therebyhas the to be worked out. Merging the existing databases at the statelevel maybeproblematic Jantar Mantar wasthe seat forthe One Rank Square,central spaces of the to the policewas to “get theroads cleared” powertovanish the cause from the nation’s as the softwares and structures of datastorage maybedifferent. Thereisalsothe issue of One Pension movement by the retired army cityhavebeen the sites of lestthe pro-CAA crowdtaketothe streets. eyes and consciousness. registration and updation. Will the registration of migrantsbevoluntary? And will the veterans and foractivists raising the issueof protest. It is not fornothing Conveniencetothe publicand transportwas Between the lawns of Rajpath and the bar- database trackmigration flows?Governmentswill also have to examine the issue of Delhi’s air pollution in 2016.InOctober 2017, privileged over peopleexercisingtheircon- ricadedborders of Delhi today, we see the city ironically, the National Green Tribunal or- that the expression for stitutional right to protest.Protestwas per- becoming increasinglyhostile to dissent.The portability of benefitsacrossstates. Merelycreating adatabaseofworkers will notbe dered allproteststobestoppedatJantar revolution is ‘taking to the ceivedasadisruption of public life, notthe statewantstokeepthe protestors out and the enough. This Aadhaar-linked database should be thefirststeptowards creating asocial Mantarasthe charade was“toonoisy” forthe streets’ because by allotting a continuationofthe (critical) publicness,an general public accepts therhetoric of disrup- security architecturefor workers in the unorganisedsector. peaceful green region. designated place to protest, element of chaos, notpeaceful association, tion with ease. Acity mustincorporatedis- The displacement has been pushed fur- an act of destruction, notone of constructive agreement, acknowledge thepolitics of ur- ther away.Asthe protesting farmers started the state dictates visibility— dialogue. We see asimilar pattern with the banlife, and mostimportantly, ademocracy marching towardsthe capital in November, it calibrates the degree of ongoing farmers’ protests.The farmer sitting must lend itsears to criticism.Wemustfos- LAÏCITÉ VS EGALITÉ the government stoppedthem at the borders being noticed and thereby at theborder is “blockingthe highway”. If he terand exercise urbanity of dissent. of Delhi. Watercannons were used, farmers has the powertovanish the enters the city, he will disrupt urban life. And were beaten by the police,shelledwith tear therefore, must be kept out. Zuberi is an academic and writer based in France's proposedlaw to dealwith 'enemywithin' could be gas, andtrenches were dug on the roadsto cause from the nation’s eyes Acity,however, contains layers that de- Ahmedabad. He writes about politics, culture, counterproductive,undermine country's founding principles prevent protesting citizens from entering the and consciousness. fine urbanity.Thereisthe infrastructure— architectureand city studies

INCE 2015,260 peoplehavebeen killedinterroristattacks perpetratedby Islamistextremists in France;this October alone, the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty and an attackinNice shook the country. But the legislation un- veiledbythe Frenchgovernment lastweek —tocombat what Prime Minister SJean Castexhas called“the enemywithin” and PresidentEmmanuel Macron OWAISI PROMISE &ITS LIMITS terms as “Islamistseparatism” —could be counterproductive.First, by targeting them specifically, it maywell reinforce the alienation and sense of persecution that many MuslimsinFrance feel, whichinturn can onlyexacerbatethe problem of radicalisation. What AIMIM leader’s rise means forcaste-based and Muslim politics Second, it is alegal blunt instrumenttodeal with the deeper challengeofthe conflict be- tween laïcité(the Frenchnotion of secularism),égalité (equality) and liberté (freedom), in post-colonial and multi-cultural France. Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd Dealing with radicalisation in the eraofmass mediaand the internetisacomplex challenge. Alaw to “reinforce republican principles”, though, risksbeing seen as identi- THE ALL INDIA Majlis-E-Ittehadul Some of the regional parties likethe eaters, but manydonot consume beef. The fying Muslims, notextremism, as the problem. It proposes to curb home schooling, oblige Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Samajwadi Partyand the RJD also stand to RSS/BJP networks want to usethesediffer- Owaisi is poisedtobecome anational leader lose. So Owaisi’s rise as avisiblyMuslim ences and organise Shudra/OBC masses religious and community associations to sign declarations of allegiance to the“values of of the Muslim community. Apart from leader is as muchBJP’s needasthe AIMIM’s. againstMuslims. Owaisi’s entryintocaste the republic” and impose strict controls on their funding, allowing the police greater im- Hyderabad, his electoral base has now However, this mayhaveanother impli- languageisrecentand his more militant punitywhen dealing with aparticularcommunityand curbing “hatespeech”ofthe kind spread to Maharashtraand Bihar,wherethe cation forMuslim lifeinIndia. Since alarge brother treatsall OBCs as Hindus. that preceded Paty's murder.Intrying to protect the right to free speech, and the rightto AIMIM has wonbothassemblyand munic- chunk of the Muslim populace is concen- In fact, no Muslim leaderand intellectual life, of the majority,the Frenchgovernmentrisksdiluting basic, founding principles of ipal seats. In the2019Lok Sabha elections, trated in urban areas, their political organi- has studiedthe fault line of caste adequately. the republic —equality before law, and the notion that the individual citizen is the rights- AIMIM wonaseat in Maharashtra, apart sationalmobilities will increase and areli- Their focus has alwaysbeen the Hindu- bearer,not the community to which she/he belongs. from Hyderabad. The rise of AIMIM is in the gious-ideological leadership will emerge.By Muslim divide. Their understanding of caste backdrop of the RSS and the BJP’s politics, and large,Muslim masses arealsounhappy contradictions is limited to Alberuni’s Al- Laïcité, as it has evolvedinlaw and practice since the early 20th century,isthe com- whichhas been steadilyisolating the with secularism, whichtraps them in ama- Hind. But India has hadtoo long ahistory of plete expulsion of religion and religious symbols from public life. The hijab and the Sikh Muslim community in India. According to Theold slogan of jority-minority discourseinwhichtheir casteoppression from the days of theVedic turban arejusttwo symbols that have conflicted with the idea in practice. Now, this no- the 2011 census,Muslims constitute14.2 per Muslim identity is lost. civilisation,whichpredated the beginning tion of secularism is being enshrinedinanextreme legal form. Acynical reason being cent of the Indian population. In certain ur- SC/ST/OBCminorityunity The old slogan of SC/ST/OBC minority of Muslim rule in the 11th century. givenfor this is that apolitically-besieged Macron —his popularity has yettorecover ban pockets,AIMIM could win seatsonits is also likely to go foratoss. unity is also likelytogofor atoss now. The Hindutvanationalism forged by RSS- from the YellowVestprotestsand the defections from his party —ismoving to theright, own, if the Muslims voteasabloc. Though he talksabout Dalit- Though he talksabout Dalit-Muslim unity, BJP has challenged theidea of secularism, Asaduddin’s father,Salahuddin Owaisi Owaisi has no languagetoaddress the under whichMuslim leaders had aplace. trying to uniteacountrygrieving over victims of terror behind him. ForFrance and its (1931-2008), wasalsoanMP, representing Muslim unity, Owaisi has no Shudras or OBCs. The RSS-BJP combine Under Owaisi, the AIMIM, too, speaksa government, theremay be alesson in the experiences of other countries with stringent Hyderabad constituency,but he wasnot a language to addressthe wantstoexpand their baseinastatelike Muslim nationalistlanguage. Since Owaisi’s laws to target terrorism—these have oftenbeen usedinaheavy-handedmanner against modern Muslim leader with anational image. Shudras or OBCs. TheRSS- Telangana by militantlyopposing Owaisi. ancestors refusedtoleave Hyderabad for minorities and dissidents. The wayforward wasarticulated by Macron himself in the af- But Asaduddin Owaisi is educatedin England, BJP combine wants to Theymade inroads in the Hyderabad city by Pakistan, the AIMIM leaders use their Indian- and trainedasabarrister, with adeep convic- mainly mobilisingOBCs againstMuslims,as Muslimnationalism as aweapon againstthe termath of Paty's killing. By failing to address the marginalisation of some Frenchciti- expand their base in astate zens, he said, the statesuffered“from itsown form of separatism”. Addressing that gap tion that democracy is anecessarypolitical is clearinthe recentmunicipal elections —a BJP-RSS’s attempt to brand Muslims as for- system forMuslim well-being in India. He likeTelangana by militantly politicsthat theywill nowtaketorural eign or Pakistani. Thatisalso whyMuslims is avital partofdealing with the problem of radicalisation. brokeawayfromthe UPAin2012,whichgave opposing Owaisi. They made Telangana. Since AIMIM has ahistory of ask- across India maygravitatetowards him. But aboosttohis national ambitions. It also turned inroads into Hyderabad city ing foranindependent Nizam state(what the RSS mode of targeting Muslimsasthe him intoaMuslim face that the BJP/RSS has theycalled South Pakistanduring Kasim permanent enemy, and Owaisi’s attemptsto constantlyattackedand targetted. by mainly mobilising OBCs Razvi’s Razakarmovement in the1940s), organise Muslimselectorally, mayleadtoa Freeze Frame EPUnny AIMIM’s spread has serious implications against Muslims, as is clear Hindutvaforces conveniently labelledthe national disorientation and gradual disaster. forthe BJP and Congress. His success in carv- in the recent municipal old city as Pakistanand Owaisi itsJinnah. ingout aMuslimconstituency will benefit elections —apolitics that In manycities with asignificant Muslim The author is apolitical theorist, withan the BJP and bleedthe Congress. If Muslims population, as in Hyderabad, the upcoming newbook TheShudras —Vision move away from the Congress, the BJP’s win- they will nowtaketorural Shudra/OBC population have no intimate foraNew Path co-edited withKarthik Raja ning possibilities in everystate will increase. Telangana. relationswith Muslims. The OBCs aremeat- Karuppusamy(Penguin)

DECEMBER 14,1980, FORTY YEARS AGO

MIGS FROM SOVIETS MISSILES AND ROCKETS chief Devraj Ursshould step down in favour THE SOVIET UNION has reported to have INDIA HAS DEVELOPED enough capacity to of ayounger leader.The demand wasmade agreedtosupplyIndia MIG-25 reconnais- develop ballistic missiles if the needbe. That by KGopalwho said that Urshad failedasa sance aircraft. The number of aircrafts to space scientists have begun to gear them- leader.Urs responded that he waswillingto be purchasedbythe airforce has been kept selvesupfor this eventuality is indicated by step down anymoment. Some other mem- asecret.MIG-25 is considered averyso- thefact that research and development work bers said that theyhad nothing personal phisticated aircraft with acapacity to flyat related to re-entrytechnology has already againstUrs but the party secretariat wasnot very high altitudes. The Airforce willbere- been initiated.Ithas also establishedafair functioning properly. ceiving twoversions of the aircraft— degree of competence in the design fabrica- trainer and reconnaissance. The MIG-25 is tion and operation of small liquid propellant AWARD FOR WARD capable of flying at 2,900kilometres per rockets. This information wasgiven by the BARBARA WARD, BRITISH economistand hour.Ithas achievedamaximumheight of ISROhead Satish Dhawanatapress confer- one of thestrongestadvocates of the Third 35,000 metres in 4minutes, 11 seconds. ence in Bangalore. World, is the Jawaharlal Nehru awardlaure- According to the defence ministry, the de- atefor 1980. Ward,who is ailing with cancer, livery schedule of the planes is being PRESSURE ON URS said that she wasdelighted at the announce- workedout and the aircraftisexpected THEREWAS Ademand at the meeting of the ment. The awardcarries acash prize of Rs 1 shortly. Congress Working Committee that the party lakh and acitation.

Ahmedabad WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER14,2020 WHATTHE OTHERSSAY “Astonishingly,even the increasing number of hospitalisations,distressing social media debate and the overallgloom engenderedbyCOVID-19havefailed 7 THE IDEAS PAGE to register as anational crisis forour leaders.” —DAWN Dance like Astad Who’s afraid

AstadDeboo could break free of the stage, anddoatandavonthe Great Wall of China. He could shock of women? tradition, and yetremain open to collaborations. He wasacitizen of the world, and he brought it home Political campaigns againstinter-community relationships areaway to redirect anxietiesover large-scale structuraldisruptions

the decline in standards of living, especially post-lockdown, has found expression in old fearsandexistential threats. If thedominant order in Indiansociety,represented by the RamuRamanathan male upper-caste Hindu, todayfinds itself threatened, women and marginalisedcom- munities mustsomehowbethe culprits. WE WERE TO meet in Navsari in 2019.Iwas The verysuccessofthe Modi government potteringaboutinDandi-Bardoli. Astad RamaSrinivasan lies in overturning the seemingly obvious as- Deboo hadtoattend awedding: “Mysec- sumption manyheld that he would notbe ond cousin’s daughter whoisalso getting able to keep people hooked to the pasteven marriedtomysecond cousin. One from my PATRIARCHYREPRESENTSAnaturalorderfor as his policies wreak havocinthe present. father’s side and the other one from my asociety definedbyit. Asocialsystemthat His governance machinery, that todayin- mother’s side.” Astadhadn’t been to Navsari, places men, womenand other gendersin hi- cludes the erstwhile autonomous institu- his birthplace, in ages. It is my “home”, the erarchies learnstoperceive the plurality of tions, as wellasthemedia,havesuccessfully modern Marco Polo usedtosay with a gendersasunnaturalandviews womenwith redirectedanger to oldcivilisationalfears,es- chuckle. His father worked withthe Tatas. suspicion. Since people have onlybeen so- peciallythose surrounding the potential an- And so, he wasinitiated intodance educa- cialisedtosee this hierarchyasnatural, they archyfuelledbywomen and their sexuality. tion at the ageofsix in the steel town of remain attunedtothe possibility of it crum- In the early 1950s, when the Special Jamshedpur.The teacher taught Kathak,so blinganymomentandfearanypotentialsign MarriageBill wasbeing debatedinthe Indian that’s what Astadlearnt. of anarchy. Lackofcontroloverwomen’ssex- Parliament, similar civilisational fears had In the Sixties, he shiftedtoMumbai. He ualityisanexampleof suchanarchythatcon- surfacedamongstour early lawmakers. The attendedaMurray Louis performance, which cerns notonlythe women’s so-called fearswere predominatelyrepresentedinthe wastouring India. Louis’s technique and at- guardiansbut thesociety atlarge.Recentpo- discussions on ageofconsent and divorce tentiontophysicality impressedhim.Itques- litical campaigns geared towardsrestricting with commentsranging from the mildly ap- tionedthe basics of dance. Afterthe perform- intimaterelationshipsacross communities, prehensive —Kishen Chand’s claim that ance, Astadreturnedhome and stood before evenasafictionalplotforjewelleryadvertise- women between18and 22 areemotional his favouritemirror, and stretchedhis body CRSasikumar ments, reveal howdeep the fear of women’s and “high-strung” (Rajya Sabha Debates likethe Americandancers. choices runs. The dominant sections, in par- 1954,September 22, pg 3046) and Tajamul Aftergraduating from the Universityof replied, “In my work of dance, Itry to take ber. It wasAstad.What do youknowabout ticular,believe that societies —astheyknow Husain’s contention that older parents Bombay, Astadtravelledacross Europe to partsofour existingvocabularyofIndian clas- Hamlet’s father? Absolutelynothing,I it —will collapse if women don’t stay in their would be better capable of reproducing nurture“the seedofdance that had been sicaldanceand combine it withotherforms. replied.Calldisconnected. Later Ilearnt, pre-designated place and if thepluralityof strong and braveIndians “who candefend planted”. He dabbledinhis shareofmis- But suchathing is viewedwith scepticism.” Astadwas working with the Korean theatre gender and sexual expressions somehow the countryintimes of need” (Councilof chief.Heate aposhmeal in arestaurant and But when Astadbegan hisdance perform- directorHyoung-Taek Limb. He had to play finds representation in popular culture. States Debates,1954, May5,pg5209) —to ranawaywithout paying his cheque, per- ances, he chosestory-likenarratives. He cre- Hamlet’s father,the ghost, as well as the Patriarchal societiesseemtoperpetually those of outright contempt —SMahanty’s formeda30-minuteshowonTehran TVfor ated an audience forhis work in India. Much head of the clowns. Other than Shakespeare, find themselvesinaprecarious position, allegation that the women in Parliament abit of finance. At the drop of the hat, he later,heintroducedthe “abstract” element Astadworkedwith textsbyBullehShah, wherethe line between order and disorder “have loweredmarriagetothe morass of sex” would dance in people’s homes,pubsand and experimentedwith music, with puppets, Tagore and Manto. is dangerouslyblurred. Dominant sections under the pretextofequalityofrights and streets. He continued to do that even later. with various themes. He would point to an Here, Imustmention his collaboration believe theyare almostalways under threat status (Council of States Debates 1954,April I’veseen him dance at the St Xavier’s col- aha moment in avideoand say, “Our biggest (and friendship) with the Gundecha broth- these days,especially aftertheyhavestressed 29, pg 4,616). legecourtyard, CSTrailway station and in tragedyiswehavenot realisedthe full poten- ers.Untilthen, Hindustani classical wasnot their supremacy on agiven issue. The re- Even those who passionatelyadvocated the NGMA in Mumbai. tial of the humanbody.” an integral partofAstad’s conceptualisation. movalofJammu andKashmir’sautonomy, forwomen’s equality were notable to shed These were notgimmicks.Hesaid,“I’m In 2001,Irequestedhim to choreograph a As he said, “I had neither contextnor refer- the amendment to the citizenship lawand their unease about sexual freedoms. The wearyofprosceniums. Of the traditional playIdirected: Angst Angst Coonth Coonth ence point. Furthermore, Iwas notkeen to the inauguration of the Ramtemple have then lawminister, CC Biswas, argued: stagewhichreduces all formations to frontal Boom Bam Dhandal Dhamal Kaput.The play use it, merelybecausethe sitar or the tabla been followedbybitterlamentsonhow vul- “Supposetwo youngpersonshavemade up viewing.” Andso, he performedat wastriggeredbyaline from aJose Saramago wasthe in-thing. Ifound thealaaps toolong; nerable theyactuallyare. their minds to marryand youplace all these Champaner (on 40-feet-highfortwalls) and novel. Thereisatrafficjam whichmutates After graduating from the and the traditionalists were mortifiedwhen- This is primarilyaconsequence of struc- obstacles in their way. Certain veryundesir- Chandigarh(in apoolofwater). And,of intoapermanent jam —and thebottleneck ever Ichoppedbits.” tural changes the BJP government has intro- able consequences mayfollow(Councilof course, the “Astadtandava mudra” on topof transformsitself intoamunicipality of four- UniversityofBombay,Astad Astadheard arecital by the Gundecha ducedinthe recent past. Demonetisation, States Debates, 1954,April 29, pg 4565).” the Great Wall of China. In today’s times, it wheelers. We usedtorehearse at the Mumbai travelled acrossEurope to brothers in Bhopal. The Dhrupad gayaki was GSTand the farm laws all bring with them Women’s sexuality,according to theearly would be an Instamoment. He said it wasa University Kalina campus. One morning, nurture ‘the seed of dance stirring. He introducedhimself, and moreuncertainties and reinforce our inabil- parliamentarians, carried both the respon- simple show. “A friend andmehad aportable Astadarrived.Isaid, “Wewill do arun through that had been planted’. At broachedthe possibility of working to- ity to makesense of the worldand our place sibility to reproduce the race and the power music system, afew props and my costume. so youknowwhat we aretrying to do.”Okay, gether.Soon enough,hewas invited to per- in it. The status quo, including the so-called to bring civilisations downif their reproduc- We would walk.Identify aperformance-site. he said. We began. Halfwaythrough the re- the drop of the hat, he would form at the Khajuraho Dance Festival. On natural order,has been disruptedbyagov- tive abilities areleftungoverned. As Ready ourselvesand perform. This went fora hearsal,Astad had dozed off. The actors dance in people’shomes, SatyadevDubey’s advice, he performed ernment whichhas notshared itsvision for American familytherapist, Terence Hill, fewhours. Theaudiences were receptive and startedchuckling.Tobefair to Astad, he had pubs and streets. He Muktibodh’s LakdiKaRavana. Stanzas from the future, if one exists at all. wrote: “Psychologicalpatriarchyisadance the feedback wassuper.” culminated a17-citytour and landedin continued to do that even the poem were read out. The Gundecha SociologistShivVisvanathan predicted, of contempt,aperverse form of connection In all this, the question that poppedup Mumbai at 3am. brothers sang. And Astaddanced. backin2014,thatthislackofvisionorcoher- that replaces true intimacy with complex, in my head was: Will the real AstadDeboo Momentarypause. Astadstarted work- later.I’veseen him dance at Irecallthis showvividly. The backstage ent policy willeventuallybecome amatter covertlayers of dominanceand submission, please standup? Theatredirector Sunil ing with the actors. Basic improvsand rudi- the St Xavier’s college team had been convertedintoBlackCatswith of hugeconcern. In anewspaper article in collusion and manipulation.” Shanbag, who has collaborated with Astad, mentary hiphop andcha-cha-cha. The team courtyard,CST railway AK-47s. Astadmadeadramatic entry, getting 2014 he asserted: “The electoralHinduism Those pushing forwardordinances that said, “In Indian mythology we have realisedtwo things, dance is exhausting, very offalal-batti-toppedofficial car,and strutted of the BJP might placateamajority but does aim to overturn the rights guaranteedbythe Trishanku, acharacter who is foreversus- exhausting. And justlikethe brain has intel- station and in the NGMAin in with the customaryfanfare one associates notsolve the question of democratic polity. SpecialMarriageAct carrythe patriarchal pendedbetween twoworlds, notfullyac- ligence, the physical body has an intelligence Mumbai. These were not withaminister.Onstage,heoozedself-im- Ithidesthedullnessof thoughtinamachismo baggagebornebythe lawmakers. But their ceptedineither.India, on onehand, and the whichweare cavalier about. gimmicks.Hesaid,‘I’m portance and vanity,but then starteddisrob- of fronts.”Heexpressedthebelief thatPrime movesalso reflect alackofcourage to work West,onthe other.Itwas acause of some Afterthe rehearsal, we walked to the wearyofprosceniums. Of ing an assortment of garments, whichsym- MinisterNarendra Modi would notbeable againstone’sown patriarchal impulsesfor anxiety.” station. And that’sthe otherthing Iremem- bolisedthe tiersinour society.And in the end: to clingto“yesterday’snews” as he andhis thesakeofabetter future—acourage IusedtomeetAstad at hishome to watch ber: Astadwas the ultimateflaneur.He the traditional stage which Stillness.That’s all Iremember.The exhaus- supporters step into the future.And yet, this shown by the lawmakers in the 1950s. dance videos from across the world. It was lovedtosay,“Walking is something money reduces all formations to tion, the pain, the helplessness. Maybethis ispreciselywhathashappened—amajoritar- Instead, society looksbacktoits pastorat my PhD dissertation in dance. Delicious in- can’tbuy”. As we were waiting forthe train frontal viewing.’ Andso, he worldisanotherplanet’s hell. ianpolityconstantlyfindsrefuge in“outdated who women choose to marryor kissfor the sightsabout howthe masters rehearsedfor a on the platform, he gave me one of those performed at Champaner He hadnoplace he could call his home/He history”, as Visvanathan put it, and hides its source of itsproblems when, in reality,these show. Be it Pina BauschorWilliam Forsythe. lifelessons.“Yousee all this chaos. All the wasacitizen of theworld/He had no address/He presumable lackofvision with an over-the- areengendered by large-scalestructural Equally precious, thestories about cutting- hustle-bustle. The trainscoming and going.” (on 40-feet-high fort walls) wasavisitor on this planet/He wasmerely pass- topmachismo. transformations introducedbythe current edge work in EastEurope and Brazil and Inodded. “Rememberone thing, structure and Chandigarh (in apool of ing through/ In thehope that he would befriend ForModi’s supporters in the majority government. Indonesia. He usedtosay,“Dance choreogra- is freedom.” water). And, of course,the someone, anyone/On this trip/And community,the disorder introducedbythe phyislikecomposingmusic. Anyartistthat He collaborated and joinedhands, with ‘Astad tandava mudra’ on dance!/Cause that’s theonly thing he knewtodo government musthavebeen moredifficult Srinivasan is aMarie Curie postdoctoral exactlyknows what is going to happen on the theatredirectors, musicians and painters. to process than it is formarginalisedcom- FellowatCa’ Foscari University of Venice and stageisnot creating much.” Therewas acertain degree of openness. top of the Great Wa ll of The writer is aplaywright,who lives in munities. Thechaos of thelastfew years, the author of Courting Desire: Litigating for Once Iasked himabouthis approach. He Once,Igot acall from astrangeforeign num- China. Kharvel villageinsouth Gujarat constantchurn,if notoutrightprecarity,and Love in NorthIndia We, the naysayers LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR OPPOSITION NEEDED THISREFERS TO the article, 'Democracy's IDEAS Onfarmandbankingreform,itispeople,notgovernment,whoarerisk-averse distant spring' (IE, December 11). It draws attention to the fact that both the CAA ONLINE and farmers' protests have takenplace Dhiraj Nayyar without the participation of opposition ONLYINTHE EXPRESS parties. While this maybebecause the INDIA HAS GRAND ambition. But does it have Whatdothelaws proposeto do?First,they Even at moderategrowth rates, India is going to itsown businessatthe expenseofbetter, rudderlessopposition lackstheappetite ● CLIPPINGWINGSOFNGOS: the appetitefor risk necessarytoconvert am- end the monopolyofAPMC mandis where to become increasingly prosperous or,atleast, moreefficientfund allocation. What is the re- forpolitical theatre, the protesters have PRIYANKAPATHAKAND bition intoachievement?Usually, it is the gov- farmershad to compulsorilysell their produce. less poor and the growth in demand fornon- alityof Indianbanking?Itisrackedby NPAsbe- also strivedtokeep them at arm's length. ASHISHBHARADWAJ ernment in general, and the bureaucracy in Second, theyend limitsonstock-keeping (of- cereal foods, likevegetables, fruitsand proteins cause bankswhichare notowned, controlled This suitsthe current ruling class who particular,that arecriticisedfor risk aversion. tenmistakenfor hoarding) and allow contract will outstrip demand forcereals. The govern- or managed by industry houses gave out large don't liketobeseen as yielding even an ● BILATERALISM VERSUS However, we mustalso ask ourselveswhether farming by theprivate sector.Whatisthe fear? ment will have to balance the interestsoffarm- loans to corporates/industry which,inseveral inchtotheiropponents. Democracycan MULTILATERALISM: we are, in fact, status quoists,who would rather That farmerswillnolonger getaremunera- ers and consumers: Aremunerative price for cases, usedthem inefficientlyorwith malfea- thrive onlyifthe rulers arewilling to lis- SSHAJI take small, incrementalstepsto reachourdes- tive price fortheir produce as aresult of these farmers cannotbeatthe expense of rampant sance.The current banking system is hardly tentotheopposing views in Parliament. tination than sprint offthe beaten track? Are changes.Whatisthe reality of Indianfarming? food inflation forthe consumer.With thepres- worthpreserving as is. KSahasranaman, Mumbai www.indianexpress.com we able to visualise the future10years on or Farmersdon’t getaremunerative price for ent system, thesecontradictionsanddemand- The future, whether we envisagea$5tril- areweinastate of chronic myopia? Will we theirproducts,withthe exception of aminor- supplyimbalances, already evident, will only lion economyor$10 trillion economy, cannot TWO-WAYPROCESS ever give ourdemocratic governance system ity whose produce, mostlywheat and rice, is grow untiltheybecomeunsustainable.Policy bebuilton thecontoursof the current banking the licence to operate at the highestcommon coveredbythe MinimumSupportPrice pol- mustthink at leasttwo decadesahead of time. system. Even when fullyrepaired, andrid of THISREFERSTOtheeditorial,'Don’tclose be adisconnect: PM'(IE, December 11). denominator ratherthanthelowest common icy.Mostfarmers toil on tiny, suboptimal The farm reforms arealready 10 years late. No current NPAs, it is simplytoo small to finance the door' (IE, December 11). Afterits pro- NarendraModi’s wordsuttered on the multiple, our bane forsolong? acreageandhave no bargainingpowervis-vis changeiswithout risk but thereare onlytwo an economyofthat size. The banking system longedintransigence,thecentralgovern- eveofthe foundation-stone ceremony Popular reactiontotwo recent govern- the APMC middlemen. Choice in buyers gives choices: Journeyonwith an unfit system (sta- needs to be five to 10 times larger. Industry menthas relaxed itsstand on the farm foranewParliamentbuildingare very mentpolicy proposals is revealing.Thefirstre- themsomeleewaytobargainforabetterprice. tus quo) or be ambitious (reform). Foronce, a housesarethe mostobvious source of domes- laws,meeting all thematerial demands palatablebut theystart tasting bitter lates to the threefarmbills legislated by the Indeed, even those whoget MSP aresuf- government has chosen the latter,but avocif- tic capital to build suchbanks. And, perhaps, of the farmers. Negotiation is atwo way- when theyare notfollowedinletterand government recently, whichare in the early fering —fromafastdepletion of the water erous section wantsthe former. when theyown banksdirectly, it will bemuch process conducted in aspirit of give and spirit by his owngovernment. This is stages of implementation. The second, still in table (because water-intensive rice is being On the second policy issue of largeindus- easier forregulatorstotrack anylending to take.Ifthefarmerssticktotheoriginalde- whatishappening at Delhi’s borders the realm of ideas, is aproposal by RBI to let cultivatedinwater-scarce regions), exces- trial houses/corporates gettingbanking li- connected entities than it is forthem to track mand forthe repeal of the laws and wherefarmers have been protesting corporates/industryown banks. sive useofpesticides/fertilisers (analysethe cences,aninternalcommitteeofRBIhasfloated theunofficialconnectedness,whichhas ledto threaten to blocktrains, it will amount to peacefullyfor manydays.Instead of The newfarmlawshavebroughtthefarm- high prevalence of cancer in rural partsof what seems likeatrial balloon. Whatisbeing the NPAproblem. The point is that toomany blackmail and aloss of public sympathy finding asolution to theirmisgivings ers of Punjab (and perhapsascattering from Punjab) and ahigher costofotherfoods like proposed?To permitprivatesectorbusinesses people have rushedtosay no without giving fortheir case. about them, his government is resort- some other parts of north India) to thestreets vegetables and fruits(whichare in shortsup- in the real economytoapply forbanking li- the idea achance. YGChouksey, Pune ing to awar of attrition,increasingtheir of Delhi and alarge section of the commen- plysince everyone who can is planting MSP cencesand run bankssubject to amorerobust As acollective,wemay yetpreferthe cau- disconnect with it by the day. As an ex- tariat —all important and representative stake- crops). Indeed, everyyear,alot of wheatand regulatoryregime and some limitsonthe tious, slowtrudgetoprosperity, butthen let SET EXAMPLE ample is better than aprecept,the gov- holders —totheirdefence.Whateverthe final rice rots in theFoodCorporation of India’s quantumof ownership.Themajorityreaction, us begin to sharethe blame with the govern- ernment mustfollowwhat itsown PM outcome, the volume of protesttells us some- limited warehouses. Surely, this is notasce- of economists andformer centralbankers — mentmachineryforan explicit preference for THIS REFERS TO thereport, 'Thereis propounds. thing: That some of us areafraid of changeand nario whichisworth preserving, even forthe no doubtkey stakeholders —has been indig- being risk-averse. space fordifferences but thereshouldn’t TarsemSingh, Mahilpur unable to see what maybegoodfor all of us a farmers of Punjab. nant.Theyarguethatif anindustryhouseowns decade from now. In anycase, the futurewill beverydifferent. banks,itwill channel lendingfromthat bank The author is chief economist, VedantaLtd

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OVER THE HEDGE by Michael Fry &TLewis CROSSWORD 4301 DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

ARIES(Mar 21 -Apr 20) LIBRA (Sept24-Oct 23) Somekind of past Although it is in financial your naturetogive misunderstanding others a could be preying on considerable your mind.You areprobablyin amount of leeway-too much something of abind, forthe Sun some would say, youmay soon urgesyou to take agamble, be abouttodrawthe line. while simultaneouslystacking Professional colleagues and the odds againstyou. Playitsafe employers should realise that until youhaveworkedout all theycannotget offscot-free, the risks. but that theyhavetofulfil their commitments. TAURUS (Apr21-May 21) Youmay be SCORPIO (Oct24-Nov22) enthusiastic about There’s alittle imminent domestic celestial tension, changes, but although nottoo CALVIN &HOBBES by Bill Watterson partners might be completely much. Thereare bemusedastoyour real bound to be alot of bruised intentions. 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Your youshould acceptsome 11 Prepares to publish newdiets 6Pestpossiblyslain in the perspective will be challenged restraints. It’s all amatter of (5) garden (5) by partnerswhose behaviour is wheretodrawthe line. The 12 Youth in stable employment? 7Prizedinventor of dynamite defying all expectations.Mind question is whether youcan (3) (5) you, perhaps it's about time abandon an arrangement 16 At lastIhavesomething fora 12 Showedthe wayout of alittle that your preconceptions without letting salad (6) difficulty (3) MARVIN by Tom Armstrong were challenged. someone down. 17 Have alofty aim? (6) 13 Mother checks the water(3) CANCER (June 22 -July23) CAPRICORN (Dec 23 -Jan 20) 18 Tencentsispointlesslystupid 14 It proves wildlyfrolicsome Youdon't needto If youhaven’t (3) (8) interpret others’ managedtoforce 23 Pop’s executors? (5) 15 Prepares forspring (8) unreliability as asign others to honour 24 Thissortofclue is includedin 19 New rentsIintroduce (6) that you’rebeing let theirfinancial the Frenchgame (8) 20 Groovy musical pipe down. Afterall,theymight not obligations, it maybetoo late. 25 Sounds of relief of audible (5) even be thinking about you! However, within afew days,a dimensions(5) 21 The team’s pointsamount to Youshould trytosee thelarger welcome windowof 26 Rows about stray dogs(8) 20 (5) pattern and you’ll realise that opportunity mayappear via a 27 Lead arequest forsilence on 22 Tinnedbeef likethis is poison changes in your plans will social connection. It might, in the meadow(5) (5) open up welcome, fact,bearivalwho comes up fresh opportunities. with the best advice. SolutionsCrossword4300:Across:1Anticlimax,6Acre,10Naked,11Metronome,12 Flatiron,13Misty,15Elapsed,17Monarch,19Peerage,21Stopsin,22Radii,24Aversion, LEO (July24-Aug23) AQUARIUS (Jan 21 -Feb 19) 27Novelette,28Alibi,29Earn,30Icingsugar.Down:1Awns,2Takeleave,3Cadet,4 TheMoon’s presence Sometimes wishes Immured,5Antonym,7Crops,8Everything,9Commando,14Temperance,16Spaniels, in your chartinduces reallycan come 18Restoring,20Elastic,21Shebeen,23Dover,25Stays,26Pier. acompassionate true. If youcontinue note,and others may to believe thatthis be struckbythe depths of your is aperiod of trulyunique emotions. All that is required of opportunities for youisthe determination and advancementinbothpersonal JUMBLEDWORDS DifficultyLevel5s confidence to showyour and professional affairs, you Instructions feelings in public. That will, in some strangeway, Givenbelowarefourjumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto TosolveaSudokupuzzle, shouldn’t be toomuchof attract certain very therespectivesquaresbelow.Selectthelettersintheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget everydigitfrom1to9 4321 aproblem. benevolent offers. theanswerforthegivenquip. mustappearineachofthe Setallthingsintheirownpeculiarplace,andknowthat___isthegreatest___-JohnDryden VIRGO (Aug 24 -Sept23) PISCES (Feb 20 -Mar 20) nineverticalcolumns,in You’repassing Mars and Jupiter are (5,..,5) 322 eachoftheninehorizontal through one of your combining to stiffen CSAEE EHMRCO rowsandineachofthe perfectionistphases. your resolve.You U4 nineboxes. Youmay setyourself have been too SUDOKU new, higher standards and goals tolerant, kindand and, in typical fashion, attempt accommodating, and youmay EORRR OSTYDG DifficultyLevel to beat your ownpersonal best. nowplayarougher,tougher If youwish, youmay turn your game. At work,you mayeven

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Gujarat Water Supply &Sewerage Board RFP.No. GCSC/IMAX/2020-21/145 RFP.No. GCSC/MF/2020-21/144 Gandhinagar Gujarat Council of Science City Gujarat Council of Science City Tender Notice No. 22 Year 2020-21 Science City Road, Ahmedabad -380060 Science City Road, Ahmedabad -380060 Phone: 91-79 29703122 Mail: [email protected] Phone: 91-79 29703122 Mail: [email protected] (3rd Attempt) Web: www.scity.gujarat.gov.in Web: www.scity.gujarat.gov.in ExecutiveEngineer,Public Health WorksDivision, Bhuj GCSC invites Request for Proposal (RFP) for Renovation and GCSC invites Request for Proposal (RFP) for Renovation and Up- Kutch through e-tendering system (Tender I.D No.438058) Up-gradation of IMAX Theatre at Science City,Ahmedabad. gradation of Existing Musical Fountain at Science City,Ahmedabad. in Work forReplacing of Lowering, Laying, Jointing 110 Details of the above mentioned RFP can be downloaded from Details of the above mentioned RFP can be downloaded from mm dia PVC 8kg/cm2 pipeline &RCC U.GSump Cap www.dst.gujarat.gov.in/, www.scity.gujarat.gov.in, www.dst.gujarat.gov.in/, www.scity.gujarat.gov.in, 2.50 Lac Litre under Rejuvination Programme 2020-21 www.gujcost.gujarat.gov.in/. and www.nprocure.com.Interested www.gujcost.gujarat.gov.in/. and www.nprocure.com.Interested under ZuraCamp.Estimated Cost Rs.22.l0 Lacs Tender Parties may read and download RFP documents. Last date for the Parties may read and download RFP documents. Last date for the can be downloaded after Dt.07/12/2020. Last Date of submission of the RFP is 02/01/2021 up to 3.00 pm. submission of the RFP is 02/01/2021 up to 3.00 pm. online Submission is till Dt.22/12/2020 at 18:00 Hours. Executive Director 14/12/2020 Executive Director 14/12/2020 Further details are available on the Webside No.INF/ABD/1064/2020 No.INF/ABD/1063/2020 http://www.gwssb.nprocure.com Regarding the problem of drinking water in ruralareas,Itis requested to,contact the helpline no.1916 /18002001400 indianexpress.com of Gujarat Water Supply &Sewerage Board, Gandhinagar. Classifieds (DDI-KUTCH-948-2020)

PERSONAL NARMADA WATER RESOURCE, WATER SUPPLY&KALPSAR DEPARTMENT TENDER NOTICE NO. B-2/01/2020-21 Change of Name In the name of Governor of Gujarat State the Executive IhaveChanged Engineer,Water Resources Investigation Division, 312, M.S. My Name from Building, Bhuj (Ph: 02832-223502) is inviting online tenders SHIDAARATI KANA from Govt. Registered Contractorsin''D-Class &Above'' for (Old Name) to Construction of 2Nos. Big River Checkdam at Village: (NewName) Shivlakha, Ta:Bhachau, Dist.: Kachchh. Estimated Cost AMAR Rs. 92.52 Lakh. Agency must have to submit All Documents by scanning ARATIBEN VIJAY online &Physically too. Address Sr No Details Schedule 1Last Date &Time foronline Dt.04/01/2021 up to Dangarvad, Dist:- Devbhumi Dwarka, submission of Tender 18.00 Hours Gujarat-361325 2Last Date &Time forDt.12/01/2021 up to submissionofTender fee, EMD 18.00 Hours I, TanmayS/O Shri &other supporting Documents Sudhendu Mukesh, 3Date forOpening of Tender Dt.13/01/[email protected] Residing At 18, Earth Online (if Possible) Hours (if Possible) Bunglows,Akshar Chowk, Old Padra Bid documents &other details forthe work will be availeble on Road, Vadodara our website http://nwr.nprocure.com Forany queryplease 390020 Have contacts our above mentioned office. Changed My Name (DDI-KUTCH-958-2020) Iget the inside To TanmaySinha Vide Affidavit Dated information and get 12/12/2020. 0050173019-1 “IMPORTANT” inside the information. IMPORTANT Whilstcare is taken prior to acceptance of Whilst care is taken prior to advertising copy,itisnot possible to verify its acceptance of advertising copy,itis Inform your opinionwith not possible to verify its contents. contants. The Indian Express (P) Limited cannot The Indian Express (P)Limited investigative journalism. cannot be held responsible for such be held responsible for such contents, nor for any contents, nor for any loss or damage incurred as aresult of loss or damageincurred as aresult of transactions with companies, associations or individuals transactionswith companies, associations or advertising in its newspapers or individuals adversing in itsnewspapers or Publications. We therefore recommend that readers make Publications. We therefore recommendthat necessary inquiries before sending any monies or entering into any readers make necessary inquiriesbefore sending agreements with advertisers or otherwise acting on an any monies or entering into any agreementswith advertisement in any manner The Indian Express. whatsoever. advertisers or otherwise acting on an advertisement in any manner whatsoever. Forthe Indian Intelligent.

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER14,2020 9 EXPRESS NETWORK

India’s global Maharashtra: BJP Assam:BJPdumpsitsally,picks seeks Ordinance rise will invite stating OBC newonetogovernBodolandcouncil reservation will attempts to limit remain intact had postedonsocial media after ABHISHEKSAHA Shiftsand the results. EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE it: Jaishankar GUWAHATI,DECEMBER13 gainsahead As the newalliance in the MUMBAI,DECEMBER13 E ofstatepolls BTCwas announcedonSunday, ● THE BJP has alliedwith the EXPLAINED topBJP leaders, including Prime THE BJP on Sundaydemanded United People’s PartyLiberal MinisterNarendraModi and an Ordinance declaring that EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE (UPPL) and the Gana Suraksha Sunday’s BTCpolls results Home MinisterAmit Shah, con- reservation sanctionedtothe NEWDELHI,DECEMBER13 Party(GSP) to form the ruling al- arethe harbinger of politi- gratulated the UPPL and called Other BackwardClass (OBC) cat- S liance in the Bodoland Territorial calshiftsahead of the state the party an ally. egorywill remain intact and not INDIA'S RISE in the global order Jaishankar Council (BTC), the resultsof polls next year.The BJP “NDAiscommitted to serv- touchedtoaccommodatequota will invitereactions that mayin- whose polls were declared on went afterthe BPF during ing the people of the Northeast. forthe Maratha community. clude attemptstodilutethe coun- Sunday. the campaign and decided Icongratulateour allyUPPL and Speaking at the party's OBC try's influence and limit itsinter- jor states that still have unsettled Promod Boro, aformer pres- to dumpitafter the results, @BJP4Assam forsecuring ama- conclave on ests,External Affairs MinisterS borders to the extent that we do. ident of All Bodo Students’ Union although the latter didwin jority in theAssam BTCelection, Sunday, Jaishankar said on Sunday. Of equal relevance is the veryvery who leads the UPPL now, will be- 17 seats. It remains to be and wish them the very best in Leader of Delivering the second unique challengethat we face of come the next Chief Executive seen if this marks the be- fulfilling people’s aspirations. I Opposition Manohar Parrikar Memorial years of intense terrorism in- Member (CEM) of the BTC. “I ginning of the end of BPF thank the people forplacing in the state Lecture, Jaishankar said as India flicted on us by aneighbour.We hope that under the newCEM chief Hagrama Mohilary. their faith in the NDA,”PMModi Assembly, expands itsglobal interests and also cannotdisregardattemptsto Promod Boro’s leadership, the UPPL supporters celebrateatKathalbari in Assam’s Baksa Howthe UPPL -BJP alliance tweeted. Devendra reach, thereisanevenmore undermine our national integrity BTCwill work forthe develop- district on Sunday. DasarathDeka faresinthe statepolls is to This year’s BTCelection Fadnavis, compelling case to focus on its and unity," he said. ment of all communities be seen. The resultsalso comes afterthe Centresigneda Devendra urgedparty hardpower. "And over and above these through cooperation,” Assam signal BJP’s arrivalinBTR— landmarkpeace and develop- Fadnavis workers to The External Affairs Minister exceptional factors, thereare the Chief MinisterSarbananda BTCwereheld on December 7 In aCabinetmeeting held on from one seat lasttime to ment accordwith Bodo groups be ready for said national security challenges dailysecurity challenges of long Sonowalsaid. and 10. Sunday, none of the three were nine now. The party seems in January, whichwas followed afight. fora"rising" India will be differ- borders and large sea spaces. The BTCisanautonomous, self- The UPPL won12seats, the present. to have benefittedfrom the by the laying down of arms by Saying OBCs constituted a ent from the ones it facedearlier thinking and planning of apolity governing body under Sixth BJP nine, the GSP one, and the “With the love and support Bodo accordtousher in over 1,600cadres of the militant sizeable supportbase forthe BJP, and emphasisedongreater con- that operates in suchanuncer- Schedule of the Constitution. Congress one. The BPF—whichis of thepeopleofBTC,our party peace and development in outfit National Democratic Front Fadnavis said, “Anyattempt by vergence between foreign and tain environment naturally Therehavebeen twoBodo ac- the BJP’s allyinthe stategovern- has got the single largest major- the strife-torn region. of Bodoland. The accordand the the ShivSena, NCPand Congress militarypolicies. should give primacy to hardse- cords earlier -- the second ledto ment—won17seats. The BJP did ity with 17 seatsout of 40. Since promise of itsquickimplemen- government to dilutethe exist- In areference to Pakistan, curity," he said. BTC’s formation in 2003. In the notallywith the BPF,against we areinalliance with the BJP in tation givesthe BJP an advantage ing OBC quotawill be countered Jaishankar said alongstanding Jaishankar said the eraof 2015 BTCelections, the BPF won whichithad campaignedvocif- central as well as the state, our tedtoworkfor the growth and in the elections. As the leader of by street agitation.” political rivalryistodayexpressed "unconstrainedmilitarycon- 20 seatsand came to power, and erously, but went with the UPPL. party is hopeful that the BJP will prosperity of our region,” the All Bodo Students’ Union “Thereare apprehensions as sustainedcross-border terror- flicts" maybelong gone, but the the BJP wononlyone seat. Thereare three ministers from supportusinforming the gov- Hagrama Mohilary, the BPF then, Promod Borowas asigna- that asection is demanding ac- ism by "a neighbour" even as he reality of limited wars and coer- Elections to the 40-member the BPF in Sonowal's Cabinet. ernment. Our party is commit- supremo and former BTCCEM, tory to the accord. commodation of Maratha reser- enumerated security challenges cive diplomacy wasstill very vation within the OBC quota... emanating from long borders and muchafact of life. The stategovernment should large maritime spaces. Speaking on India's growing Assam cabinet nod to repeal provisions for madrasas, Sanskrit tolls bring an ordinance stating OBC "The worldisacompetitive globalstature,Jaishankarsaidthe quotawill remain intact. It will place and India's rise will evoke country's relationship with the madrasas in Assam. According to Sarma, in the ing the Bible or Bhagavad Gita neither betamperednor touched itsown reactions and responses. worldcannotbethe same as EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE “So, we have decidedto ‘high madrasas’ in Assam astu- will notbeeasy because Assam to accommodateany other com- Therewill be attemptstodilute whenitsrankingwasmuchlower. GUWAHATI,DECEMBER13 Himanta convert these institutes into dent has the chance to score200 has acompositecultureand munity,” he added. our influence and limit our inter- "Our stakes in the worldhave Biswa seatsfor general education. marks studying asubject based thereare manysmall religions. “When the BJP-ledgovern- ests.Some of these contestations certainlybecome higher and THE ASSAM government on Sarma Now, 600madrasas will be on Islam and Quran. So the best waytoestablish par- ment wasinpower, we sanc- can be directlyinthe security do- correspondingly so have the ex- Sundayapproved aproposal to closed(down). In these “An opportunity wasgiven ity is to remove the subject on tionedMarathareservationunder main, others could be reflected pectations of us. Simplyput India repeal provisions formadrasas madrasas, we aregoing to im- onlytoaclass of citizens to study the Quran.” aspecial clause. Theyweregiven in economics, connectivity even matters moreand our world and Sanskrit tolls (schools), a tails of the move would be partmodern education. This (is their holyscriptureand then Sarma had earlier told re- reservation under Sociallyand in societalcontext," he said. viewmustprocess that in all its Cabinetnotesaid. Legislation to clearly known afterthe details of notto) save anyfinance. We scoremarks.So, my opposition porters in Guwahati that the Educational BackwardClass The minister, delving intothe aspects," he said. “On the big this effect will be introducedin the legislation areout. will keep spending Rs 300crore is because youhavetoestablish reins of the Sanskrit tolls will be (SEBC). Although Supreme Court broad spectrum of security chal- global issues of our times, the coming session of the Assam’s Education Minister because we arenot going to parity.Either youallowthe handedovertoKumar has stayed the reservation, it has lenges facing India, said the whether we speak of climate Assembly. HimantaBiswaSarma told The take anybody out of service… Bhagavad GitaorBible so that Bhaskarvarma Sanskrit notstruckdownthespecialclause countrycannotdisregardat- changeortrade flows or health “Repeal of provisions of Indian Express in an Idea The madrasa education is op- other studentsalso score200 University and theywould be and the category. Therefore, the tempts to undermine national concerns or datasecurity,India's madrasa and Sanskrit tolls. Act Exchangesession lastmonth posedbythe studentsthem- marks,orremove the Quran,” turnedintocentres of academic government should pursue the integrity and unity. positioning has moreinfluence will be introducedinthe coming that the government intendedto selves,” the Education Minister Sarma said. learning and research on Indian Maratha reservation case under "Thereare reallyveryfew ma- on the eventual outcome.” session,” the note said. The de- shut down around 600 had said. He added, “I think introduc- culture. SEBC,” said Fadnavis. Two LeT militants killed BJP chief Nadda TRACKING INDIA’S COVID CURVE after gunfight in Poonch tests positive for Covid; goes into 286 CASES: ACTIVECASES:3,56,546 DAYSSINCE 98,57,029 DEATHS:143,019 home isolation PANDEMIC EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE BEGAN TESTS: 15,37,11,833 | RECOVERIES: 9,357,464 JAMMU,DECEMBER13 CASES DEATHS RECOVERIES TESTS THE POLICE and security forces PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA 30,254 39133,13610,14,434 killedtwo Lashkar-e-Taiba mili- NEWDELHI,DECEMBER13 tantsand captured another after agunbattle in Jammu and BJP PRESIDENT JPNadda has Kashmir's Poonchdistrict on testedpositive forthe novelcoro- Sunday. Security personnel during navirus and has gone intohome Allthreehadallegedly crossed the operation in Poonch isolation on the advice of doctors. over intoPoonch, in Jammu divi- district on Sunday. PTI In atweet,hesaid he had under- sion, from Pakistan-occupied gone atestafter Kashmir three days ago, said offi- showing symp- STATESWITHRISINGACTIVECASES Voters queue up to casttheir votes in Ganderbal district. Shuaib Masoodi cialsources,addingthattheywere “On Sundayafternoon, an- toms of Covid- ACTIVECASES RISEINLASTWEEK on their waytoSouth Kashmir's other move wasmade whichre- 19,and was Uttarakhand 7,1661,162 Shopian district. The militants sulted in the contact,” asource found to be N/A -- were trappedinajoint cordon- said.Theoperationcameamidthe positive. N/A --51.5% voting in 6th phase and-search operation in Duran sixth phase of polling forDDC “My condi- Poshana area along the Mughal elections in Jammu and Kashmir. JPNadda tion is alright STATESWHEREACTIVECASESAREDECLINING ACTIVECASES DECLINEINLASTWEEK Road, whichconnectsPoonch ‘Another attempt by Pak and Iamfol- with Shopian. lowing all in- Maharashtra 73,542 9,307 of DDC elections in J&K Inspector-Generalof Policefor to disturb ongoing polls’ structions aftergoing forhome Delhi 17,373 9,305 Jammu zone, Mukesh Singh, said Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir isolation on the advice of doc- Karnataka 18,2546,705 Anantnag, whereAchabal and theslainLeTmenhave beeniden- Police chief Dilbag Singh on tors. Irequesteveryone who got BASHAARATMASOOD Breng constituencies went to BALLOTPAPERPHOTO tifiedasSajid and Bilal. Both are Sundaysaid Pakistanmade an- in touchwith me in the lastfew STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMCASES SRINAGAR,DECEMBER13 polls, alittle less than 25 per cent SURFACESONSOCIAL Pakistani citizens, he added. otherattempt to pushLeTandJeM days to isolatethemselvesand ONDEC12 TOTAL voters turnedout to vote. The captured militant is alo- terrorists intoKashmir to disturb undergo test,” he said. The BJP Kerala 5,949 6,64,632 THE SIXTH phase of the District Kulgam district –onlyone DDC MEDIA;3SUSPENDED cal resident, said asource. His the ongoing DDC polls. The DGP chief had been maintaining an Maharashtra4,259 18,76,699 Development Council (DDC) seat went to polls there– Jammu: Twogovernment identityisnotyet known.TwoAK- complimented the joint team of active schedule and had visited elections —for 14 seatsin recordedavoter turnout of 37.7 school teachers and anon- West Bengal 2,710 5,19,215 47 rifles, an under-barrelgrenade police and armythat gunned severalstates. Kashmir and 17 in Jammu — per cent. teaching employeewho were launcher and asatellitephone down the twoinfiltrating West Bengal CM Mamata STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMDEATHS recorded51.5per cent polling on In Baramulla district, where all partofpolling staffwere were seizedafter the gunbattle. Pakistani terrorists and captured Banerjee wishedNadda a ONDEC12 TOTAL Sunday. The voting pattern was twoseats, Baramulla and suspendedfromduty Sunday The police had been on the another. speedy recovery.“Heardabout Maharashtra8349,235 almostthe same as the previous Rohama, went to polls, 34.5 per afteraballotpaper forthe on- militants' trail since Fridayafter “Another attempt (was BJP National President Shri JP Delhi 47 9,981 five phases, with moderate cent votewas recorded. going District Development receiving information of their made) by Pakistantosend in Nadda testing positive for turnout in other parts of Kashmir “Generally, we stand forboycott Council elections wasfound West Bengal 44 9,010 ingress.Alongwithsecurityforces, LeT-JeM terrorists to Kashmir to COVID-19. Wishing him aspeedy making up forlow turnout in herebut this time Ihavecome postedonsocial media nearly theyattempted to launchanop- disturb the ongoing democratic recovery and good health. My DataasonDecember12,releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealthandFamilyWelfare,IndianCouncilofMedical south Kashmir districts, and high out to vote to keep the BJP away 12 hours ahead of polling in Researchandstategovernments.Often,thenumbersreleasedeverydaycontaindatafrompreviousdays eration the same daybut were process of grassroots levelelec- prayers arewith him and his aswell.Assuch,trendsbasedondailynumbersareonlyindicativeandnotdefinitive turnout in Jammu division push- and to showthat the people of Balakot area. thwartedbysnowfall. tions,” Singh told PTI. family...” she tweeted. ing up the overall polling per- the valleyoppose the decisions According to the order,is- centage. the BJP government took last suedbyPoonchDistrict Despiteanear total boycott year,” said Abdul Rashid, avoter PanchayatElection Officer in the south Kashmir districtsof from Rohama village. “This time RahulYadav, thosesuspended NFHS data shows urban-rural, gender gaps in Internet use Shopian and Pulwama, moder- Ihavevoted forthe (People’s) include Gulzar Ahmed, a atepolling in other parts of the Alliance. Ihavevoted because I teacheratgovernmenthigher country. First, onlyanaverage of (50.8%), Meghalaya (57.8%), ralIndia, were:WestBengal valleypushedupthe voter want to give them one last secondaryschoolatGunhalin KAUNAINSHERIFFM 42.6 per cent of women ever Mizoram (83.8%), Nagaland (14%), AndhraPradesh (15.4%), turnout to 32.5 per cent in chance to represent the true as- Surankote;Asif Iqbal,ateacher NEWDELHI,DECEMBER13 usedthe Internetasagainstan (66.5%), Sikkim (90%), J&K (55%), Telangana (15.8%), Tripura Kashmir.Asvoters turnedout in pirations of the people of at the government middle averageof62.16 per cent among Ladakh (66.5%), and (17.7%) and Bihar (17%). large numbers in Jammu, 68.5 Kashmir.” school in Harni and THERE IS an urban-rural gapas the men; second, in urban India, Lakshwadeep (61.80%). In urban India, Tripura(47%) per cent polling wasrecording in The voter turnout in Mohammad Yousuf, ajunior well as gender divide with re- an average56.81per cent The five states reporting the is the onlystate that reportedless the region, said the UT's Election Bandiporeand Kupwaradistricts assistant at High School Kalai. spect to the use of Internetin22 women ever usedthe Internet lowest percentageofwomen, than 50 per cent of men who had Commissioner KKSharma. He of north Kashmir stood higher at According to sources, on states and union territories, ac- compared to an average73.76 who ever usedthe Internetinur- ever usedthe internet. The said 76.7 per cent polling took 47.6 and alittle over 51 per cent Saturday, pollingmaterialwas cording to datacollected by the per cent among the men; and ban India were AndhraPradesh worst-performing states in ur- place in Poonchdistrict’s respectively.Budgam district of distributed among staffat fifthNational FamilyHealth third, adismal 33.94per cent (33.9%), Bihar (38.4%), Tripura ban India formen were Bihar Balakotearea, whichsaw intense central Kashmir also sawmod- Balakot constituency where Survey (NFHS). women in rural India ever used (36.6%), Telangana (43.9%) and (58.4%), Meghalaya (59.2%), West mortarshelling by Pakistani erateturnout –30per cent. The polling washeld Sunday. On an average, less than 3out the Internetasagainst55.6 per Gujarat (48.9%). Bengal (64.6%), AndhraPradesh troops Saturdaynight. other central Kashmir district of However, onSaturdayevening of 10 women in rural India and 4 On an average, less than 3 cent among men. The percentageofwomen, (65.1%) and Assam (67.4%). In Shopian district, where Ganderbal recordedthe highest aphotograph of the ballotpa- out of 10 women in urban India out of 10 women in rural The datafromthe 22 states who ever usedthe Internet, sig- In rural India, onlyeight states twoseatswent to polls, people voter turnout in the valleyat perwasfoundonsocialmedia. ever usedthe Internet, according India and 4out of 10 women and union territories wascol- nificantlydroppedinrural India. reportedmorethan 50 per cent stayed away from the polling 58.54per cent. Following this, Yadav to the survey. in urban India ever usedthe lected from 3.07lakh house- Only three states and one union men, who had ever usedthe booths again on Sunday. By the In Jammu division, border sought areportinthe matter In 2019,for the firsttime, the Internet, according to the holds. territoryreportedmorethan 50 Internet: Goa (76.6%), Himachal end of the day, 4.6 per cent vot- Rajouri district recordedalittle from Balakote’s Returning NFHS-5, whichcollectsdataon survey. File In urban India, 10 states and per cent women, who had used Pradesh (65.1%), Karnataka ers exercisedtheir right in the over 74 per cent polling, followed Officer.Following the RO’s re- keyindicators on population three union territories reported the Internet–Goa (68.3%), Kerala (55.6%), Kerala (74.2%), Manipur district. In the neighbouring by Reasi (74.02%), Udhampur port, Yadavsuspendedall health, familyplanning and nu- morethan 50 per cent women (57.5%), Sikkim (68.1%), and (68.2%), Mizoram (63.9%), Pulwama district, the turnout (72.04%), Ramban (71.3%), three polling staffand or- trition, sought details on two An analysis of the databyThe who had ever usedthe Internet: Ladakh (54%). Nagaland (55.2%) and Sikkim wasslightlybetterat8.1 per cent. Samba (70.01%), Jammu (66.3%), dered the District Education specific indicators: Percentageof Indian Express reveals atelling Goa (78.1%), Himachal Pradesh The five states reporting the (69.5%). The other twosouth Kashmir Doda (62.9%)and Kathua 60.9%). Planning Officer to inquire women and men who have ever pattern on the keyindicator on (78.9%), Kerala (64.9%), lowest percentageofwomen, FULLREPORTON districts–Kulgam and Anantnag WITHINPUTSFROM intothe matter. ENS usedthe Internet. the use of the Internetinthe Maharashtra(54.3%), Manipur who ever usedthe Internetinru- www.indianexpress.com –recordedmoderateturnout. In ENS,JAMMU Ahmedabad WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER14,2020 10 GOVT &POLITICS

CHURCH LEADERSLIKELY TO MEET PM BJP looks to DELHI CONFIDENTIAL grow Kerala base with Christian outreach drive

LIZMATHEW ED Behind NEWDELHI,DECEMBER13 BJP’spush forChristian PLAIN

EX E AFTER SUCCESSFULLYlaunching ● votes the firstleg of itscampaign in VACCINE RIGHT Telangana and beginning the THE BJP faces apeculiar AS THE worldprepares to administerthe Covid-19vaccine in ground work in Tamil Nadu, the situation in Kerala where the coming months, Supreme CourtjudgeIndiraBanerjee has BJP nowwantstoembarkonits over 40 per centofthe said that access to thevaccine is abasichuman right. Speaking ambitious electoral project in population consists of reli- in awebinar on humanrights, Justice Banerjee said that the Kerala –wooing the Christian gious minorities. With government mustensureequitable distribution of the vac- community.While itsattempts Hindu votes divided be- cine and thatthe benefitsofthe vaccine cannotbeconfined in the pasthad notyieldedmuch tween the CPI(M)-ledLDF, onlytodevelopednations. results, the party nowwantsto Cong-led UDF,and the BJP, capitalise the increasing disen- the saffron party can’trely chantment among the Christian solely on Hindu consoli- leaders over the growing influ- dation and needs to woo WORD OF CAUTION IN REMEMBRANCE,19YEARS ON ence of Muslims in the Congress- eitherone of thetwo ledUDF in Kerala. largest minoritygroups— SOCIAL MEDIA hasbeen aplatform formanyleaders to ex- PrimeMinisterNarendraModi pays homagetothose who diedinthe 2001 Parliamentattack, at Parliament House on Sources said Church leaders Muslim and Christians— press their difference of opinion. But it gets interesting when Sunday. PTI areexpected to meetPrime to win elections. The latter it is between leaders of the same ideology.Recently, one of the MinisterNarendraModisoon seems to be an easier BJP national spokespersons wastickedoff by aSangh leader withtheir grievances,including choice forthe BJP after on democracy.BJP’s national spokesperson on economic af- concerns about Muslim students failing to attract Muslim fairs Gopal Krishna Agarwaltweeted one of his articles, say- UDDHAV SLAMS CENTRE’S HANDLING OF FARM PROTESTS SC may hear plea availing over 80 per centofthe votes, and asection of ing, “lackofreforms hurting India, mobocracy in the garb of minority scholarships and the Christian leadershipnow democracy making reforms difficult”. Ashwani Mahajan, na- to remove farmers “increasing number of Christian voicing concerns suchas tional co-convener of SwadeshiJagaran Manch, the economic ‘Notourculturetoterm girls lured by Muslim boys”in ‘love jihad’ and possibililty wing of theRSS, then gave him apiece of advise.“Ithink BJP from Delhi’s the Kerala version of “love jihad”. of demographicchange. should avoid using these words. Despitehaving all good inten- The Church leaders’ keen- tions,itmay create confusion about BJP’sbelief in democracy. borders on Dec 16 ness in exploring the BJP’s sup- Govt needs to develop capacity to take stakeholders views be- portinthese issues wasevident 40 percentofthe scholarship, fore bringinginnew legislations &public debateonreforms is foodprovidersterrorists’ in the presence of Cardinal but it gets onlyhalf of it. Theyfeel also aprerequisite,” he said, quote-tweeting Agarwal. Manyin EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE George Alencherry, Major justice is denied,” said aBJP the BJP privately agreedwithMahajan as it came in the back- yougoing to put them in jail only NEWDELHI,DECEMBER13 Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar leader from Kerala. drop of BJP leaders publiclyreaffirming their trustand com- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE because theydonot agree to Catholic Church,atafunction on The leadershavealso citeda mitment to democracy afterNiti Ayog CEO Amitabh Kant’s MUMBAI,DECEMBER13 your pointofview? That is how THE SUPREME COURTislikelyto FridayinRaj Bhavanin study to conveytheir concerns “too-much-democracy” remark. Maharashtra the Centreseems to be behaving. hear on December 16 alaw stu- Thiruvananthapuram, where over apossible decline in the ACCUSINGITofgoverningthe CM Uddhav If somebody speaksfor the right- dent’s plea seeking direction to Governor Arif Mohammad Khan community populations. countryin“Tughlaqi style”, Thackeray ful demands of the farmersand immediatelyremove the farm- handedhim acopyof‘Justicefor Accordingtothe studybyprofes- REFERENCE POINT MaharashtraChief Minister labourers, thentheyare labelled ers who areprotesting on Delhi’s All, PrejudicetoNone’ -- abook sorKCZachariahofthe Centrefor AT Atimethereare severalquestionsoverproceduresandprece- UddhavThackeray on Sunday anti-nationals.” borders and shiftthem to ades- writtenbyMizoramGovernor Development Studies,by2050, dences on the functioning of Parliamentand standing commit- took on the Centreoverits han- He wasspeaking to media- “The BJP has said that ignated placeinviewofthe and former BJP Kerala unit pres- Muslims will form 35 percent of tees,anew bookwrittenwithapractitioner’sperspective iscom- dling of the farmers' protest persons in Mumbai on the eve Maharashtraisunder Covid-19pandemicand hard- ident SSreedharan Pillai on var- the state's populationwhile the ing out.The book,written by Ravindra Garimella,Consultant, while stating that it is notin“our of the two-dayWinterSession Emergency because some peo- ships to commuters. ious communities in Mizoram Christians will be reducedtohalf Lok SabhaSecretariat,also tells fascinating stories on the rituals culturetocallthe food providers of the MaharashtraLegislative ple were putinjail. However, According to thecause list, and Kerala. of the Muslim population. andconventionsinthelowerhouse.SpeakerOmBirlahaswrit- of our countryanti-nationals Assemblythat starts on what the Centreisdoing is asin whichshows the court's listof In November,Pillai wasin- The Church and asection of tenthe forewordfor it. Garimella’s 30 years of experience as a and terrorists”. Monday. that is worse than Emergency... business, the pleabyRishabh vited by the Church leaders fora community leaders in Kerala, so parliamentary officer appears to have helped himtodeal with Maintaining that the country Taking exceptiontothe pro- whereitiscalling farmers, who Sharmawill be considered by a dinner meeting to discuss the farlenient towardsthe thetopicswithin-depthanalysisandinstitutionalmemory. Inthe could notberun through unrea- testers beingcalledanti-nation- areprotestingfor their rightful benchofChief Justice of India SA “complaints”fromthe commu- Congress-led UDF in their polit- absenceof manybooksonthepracticesandprecedencesinpar- sonable diktats, Uddhavtold re- als, he said: “It is notinour cul- demands, anti-nationals,” Bobde and Justices ASBopanna nity over aseries of issues, and ical choices, have been uneasy liamentary functioning, thisbook couldbecome areference porters: “The BJP claims thereis turetocall the food providersof Thackeray added. and VRamasubramaian. sources said he had then agreed over the increasing influence of source, said officialsatthe Lok Sabha Secretariat. an undeclared Emergency in our countryanti-nationals and On the implementation of In his plea, Sharma said that to conveythe grievances to the the Indian Union Muslim League Maharashtra. If that is so, then terrorists.The Centre has been the newfarm laws in “because of the ongoingprotest Prime Minister. According to in the Congress-ledUDF.Even this country is at present under a importing onionsand sugarfrom Maharashtra, Thackeray said the at the Delhi borders, the roads sources, the Church leaders are the CPI-M-ledLDF's recent move declaredEmergency.The farm- Pakistan. Iwant to askwhether it stategovernment would not have been blockedbythe pro- expected to submitamemoran- to implement 10 percent reser- Congpulls ahead ersare protesting fortheir right- nowwants to importfarmers take anydecisionthat will go testers and closed borderpoints, dum to thePrime Ministerseek- vation in government jobs for fuldemands. But rather than from Pakistan or startdolingout againstfarmers’ interests. whichhaveaffected vehicular inghis intervention in the “injus- the economicallyweaker section holding dialogues and under- certificates on who arePakistanis On Opposition’s allegations trafficand people who aretrav- tice”meted out to the Christian (EWS) among forwardcommu- of BJP in Rajasthan standing their plight, theyhave and who arenot.Governing this of the government notdoing any eling to and from Delhi to get community in the state. nities wasseen as an attempt to to protestinthe cold waveand countryinthis Tughlaqi stylewill work and people beingunhappy, medicaltreatment in reputed “The church leaders have al- woothe Christians away from watercannons arebeing usedon notbetoleratedby the citizens of Thackeray said,“The Opposition government/privatehospitals ready conveyedtothe BJP lead- the Congress -- church leaders urban body polls them. What is happening re- this country.” wasbusy trying to find an auspi- situated in Delhi arealso af- ershipits resentmentoverthe had publicly laudedthe move, flectsthe inconsideration of the “If farmers feel that these cious time formygovernment to fected”. distribution of the scholarships advantageous to the community. government.” laws arenot in their interest, are collapse.” The plea saidthe protesters forthe minority students. Going FULLREPORTON statepresident Govind Singh are“blocking the roads forall the by the population, it should get www.indianexpress.com HAMZAKHAN Dotasrasaid the resultsindicate emergency/medical services” JAIPUR,DECEMBER13 that the BJP is growing “away” required in the national capital from the urban electorate,falling Punjab’s Prisons DIGresigns in forthose affected by the virus. FOLLOWINGTHE setbackin waybehindIndependent votes. Gujarat ex-minister Panchayati Rajpolls, the He said thatofthe total 50 US: Khalistan Congress in Rajasthan on Sunday ULBs —43Nagar Palika and 7 support of protestingfarmers managed agoodperformance in NagarParishad—“Congress has held in Rs 14-cr scam the UrbanLocal Bodies (ULBs) wonamajority in 17 and as far supporters deface electionswith wins in 619 as Independentsare concerned, ties. Therefore, Idon'tthink that Gandhistatue wards. mostofthem areCongress- RAAKHIJAGGA Lakhminder therewill be anyhassle in ac- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Ex-home In the resultsdeclared backed” and claimedthat LUDHIANA,DECEMBER13 Singh cepting my resignation.” Washington: Agroup of AHMEDABAD,DECEMBER13 minister Sundayfor 1,775wards of 50 Congress will be successful in Jakhar In his resignation letter Khalistani separatistsdefaced Vipul ULBs in 12 districts, Congress forming aBoardinover30ofthe DEPUTYINSPECTOR General whichwas submitted on Mahatma Gandhi’s statue out- FORMER HOME Ministerof Chaudhary. won619 wards, compared to the 50 ULBs whichwenttopolls. (Prisons) Lakhminder Singh December 12,the DIG wrote, “I... side the Indian embassy herein Gujarat and former chairman of BJP’s 548. Asked about thehigh num- Jakhar has resignedfromhis post Jail Minister Sukjinder Singh would liketoinform youofmy the US during ademonstration Gujarat Cooperative Milk BJP also fell behind berofIndependents winning the expressing solidarity with the Randhawa said: “Wewilltakele- considered andintrospective de- by Sikh-American youths in sup- Marketing Federation (GCMMF), under the brand name ‘Amul’. Independents, who won596 polls, Dotasrasaid that “with protesting farmers. galopinion from our legal re- cision to stand with my farmer portoffarmers protesting VipulChaudhary, wasarrestedby Chaudharywas also former wards. Other parties in the fray Congress being the ruling party, The 56-year-old officer was membrancer whether to accept brothers who arepeacefully againstthe newfarm laws. the Gujarat Police CID on Sunday chief of Dudhsagar dairywhenin includedthe Bahujan Samaj everysecond candidatewas suspendedinMay this year his resignationasinquiryisstill protesting againstthe Farm HundredsofSikhs from dif- forhis alleged involvement in a 2014,hewas sacked from both Party(7), CommunistParty of hopeful of aparty ticketand in while serving as Amritsar DIG going on againsthim." Ordinances, 2020 whichare ferent states on Saturdaytook bonus scam of Rs 14.80 crore. GCMMF and Dudhsagar dairyfol- India (2), CPI [Marxist] (2) and itsabsence, theycontestedasan (Prisons) on corruption charges. Sources said although he was detrimental to interestoffarm- out acar rallytothe Indian em- The arrest of Chaudhary lowing corruption chargesincon- RashtriyaLoktantrik Party(RLP) Independent.” He wasreinstatedtwo reinstated,theinquiryintobribery ers and their futuregenerations bassy in downtownWashington comes weeksbeforethe nection with Rs 22-crorecattle (1). He said that as partof months backand postedin chargeshas still notbeen closed He told TheIndian Express:“I DC. However, their peaceful Mehsana Dudhsagar Dairyelec- fodder scam. In the recent Panchayati Raj Congress’ strategy,itfielded Chandigarh. by thedepartment. Thereisan- am afarmer firstand later apo- protestwas hijackedbysepa- tions on January5,2021. “An FIRwas filedrecentlyat polls, BJP had managed to elect Independentsinseveral places ADGP (Jails) Parveen Kumar otherinquirypendingagainsthim liceofficer.Whateverposition I ratists carryingKhalistani flags According to police, theformer Gandhinagar CID crime police Zila Pramukhs in 12 Zila Parishad —ratherthan distributingsym- Sinha told The IndianExpress,"He regarding submission of an affi- have gottoday,itisbecause my with anti-India posters and ban- GCMMF chief had allegedly con- station. We held Chaudharyon while Congress managed just bols —suchasinBharatpur,“and has submitted his resignation to davit in the HighCourt. father worked as afarmer in the ners. Brandishing kirpans,they spired with Mehsana Dudhsagar Saturdaynight from five Zila Pramukhs. this strategy succeeded”. DKTiwari, Principal Secretary Jakhar said: “I had submitted fieldsand he mademestudy. jumpedonthe statue of union officials to siphon off Gandhinagar and he has been Addressing apress confer- BJP leaders did notcomment Home, departmentof jails.Acopy my resignation on Saturday. I Hence, Iowe everything Ihave Mahatma Gandhi and pasteda moneyfrombonus fund. arrested today(Sunday),” said an ence Sundayevening, Congress on the losses. has also been markedtome.” have completedall the formali- to farming." PTIINPUTS posteroverit. PTI GCMMF marketsits products officer. Amid newfarmlaws, pandemic, Madhya Pradesh mandis takeahit

generated arevenue of about Rs Director of the stateMandi Boarddata. Yadavattributed this The farm Acts have only hurtthe worrying traders who have set IRAMSIDDIQUE 80 lakh in 2019 and paid nearly Board, said mandis have to high procurement of wheat by interestoffarmers in Shahdol.” up warehouses and process BHOPAL,DECEMBER13 Rs 39 lakh to the stategovern- recordedadropinbusinessof the Food Corporation of India. At themandi, salaries of 12 plantswithin mandi premises. ment as tax. about 20 to 25 per cent as a The revenues of mandis are employees arebeing paid from Gopaldas Agarwal, general THE KRISHI Upaj mandi at Governedunder MP Krishi chunk of business has started expected to take ahit also due to the surplus revenue generated secretaryofMahasangh, aboard Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh lies Upaj Mandi Adhiniyam, 1972, taking place outside mandis.He areductioninmandi taxfor earlier.Anofficial said, “Wewill of about 48,000 tradersinthe deserted, exceptfor themove- the 259 mandis of the stategen- said the exact drop in revenue traders from 1.5per cent to about only be able to payemployees state, said, “Mandi hai tohkisan ment of trucks comingintobuy erated about Rs 1,246crore of would be difficult to ascertain as 0.5 per cent that came intoeffect fortwo moremonths.” surakshit hai, aurkisan surakshit fertilisers. revenue in 2019 and paid Rs 413 of now. “The farm laws areone from November. BBFaujdar,coordinator of hai tohvyapari bhi. If farmers are This mandi is one of the 47 in croreastax. of the reasons. But thereare According to Bhanu Pratap SanyuktaSangharsh MorchaMP notprotected,how will traders the statethat have seen no busi- In September,the average other contributing factors, such Singh, zilla presidentofBhartiya BoardBhopal,anassociation of do business? If the government ness sinceSeptember,while an- drop in business at mandis as Covid-19and lowproduction Kisan Sangh, the government mandi boardemployees, has does notpay heedtothe farm- other 143haveseen their rev- across the state, as compared to of soyabean that usuallycomes did notprocuremaize, MSP for written to the stategovernment, ers’ demands, we will be com- enues drop by 40 to 50 percent 2019,was about 14.74per cent; intothe mandis during this sea- whichwas fixedatRs1,850 per demanding that the nearly 9,000 pelledtojoin their agitation.” in October and an overall drop in in October,itslippedto20.4per son,” he said. quintal, forcing farmers to sell employees be absorbed by the StateAgricultureMinister business by 20 per centafter the cent. All six divisions, barring Despitethe drop in business, outside. “Maize wascultivated stategovernment. KamalPatelsaid,“Thelawsmight Centre’s three farm laws came Ujjain, witnessedadropinfarm- therevenue generated between on around 5,000 hectares in Faujdarsaid, “If the govern- notbeperfectandwe arereadyto intoeffect. ers coming in -- varying from 4 April and October shows asur- Shahdol. When the government ment does notpay heedtofarm- sortout the issues.The farmers One of the 100‘D’ grade man- per cent in Indoreto71per cent TheShahdol Mandi in Madhya Pradesh.Barring movement plus of 0.17 per cent as compared did notprocure, farmers had to ers’ demands, we will join their have to convinceus.Thelaws have dis with ayearly revenue of less in Rewa. of afew trucks,the mandi is mostlydeserted. Express to the corresponding periodin sell it to traderswho did notpay agitation.” beenimplementedastheyare for than acrore,the Shahdol mandi SandeepYadav, Managing 2019,according to the Mandi morethan Rs 800per quintal. The drop in business is also the betterment of farmers.” Ahmedabad

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11 THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER14,2020 IDEA EXCHANGE Newsmakersinthe Newsroom BHUPESH BAGHEL,CHIEF MINISTER, CHHATTISGARH ‘ There isn’t anyuniformity in mandis across states, ‘then how can you have one Act for the entire country? The ChhattisgarhCMsaysthe farmers’ protestisdifferent from the 2011 anti-corruption movement, asserts the state’s measures will constrain Naxalism soon, and criticises the 23 party leaders who went public with their concerns regarding the Congress. The session wasmoderated by Deputy AssociateEditor Manoj CG

MANOJ CG:Does the Opposition see mostnumber of paramilitaryforces. senior leaders? the farmers’protest as the NDA When Ibecame CM,Imade it clear that The 23 leaders (who wrotethe letter) government’s Anna Hazaremoment? we mustfirstwin the trustofthe local have been giving us lessons in discipline The anti-corruption movement was people in the areas we arefightingthe so far, thatall controversialmatters must the beginning of achangeinpublic Naxals. be raisedininternal forums, thatwe perception aboutthe UPA Secondly, we needmoredevelop- should talk to seniorleadersabout them government. ment in the area. We needtomake through proper channels. What has hap- That wasadifferent kind of move- arrangementsfor penedtothem now? ment whichwas aimedatending corrup- healthcare, educa- To those asking tion and bringing in the Lokpal Bill. It has tion, employment. If apartyisnot in power, ‘ questions, Iwantto been over sevenyears since themove- WHY The thirdaspect is ask acounter-ques- ment, but neither corruption hasended ensuring security. these things happen... In tion: Who stopped nor do we have aLokpal. It wasorganised BHUPESH BAGHEL Through these three youfromgoing to by theRSS; people were notasconnected measures, we have Chhattisgarh, BJP is out of Bihar during the to it as it wasprojected. wo yearsago,Baghel managed to reduce powerfor twoyears. Its elections?But once The present movement is by farmers, gave the Congressits Naxalactivity in the the resultscame out, and it is againstthe blacklawsimple- T region... Despitethe situation is same (as youpromptlyap- mented by the government. Theyare be- most decisive victory pandemic, we en- ‘ peared to give reac- Congressatnational level) ing referred to as farm laws,but theyare in astate election, winning 68 sured that mahua tions. Aren’t you justcapitalist laws.The farmer will get flowers, tendu leaves ashamed? The party no benefit from them. The farmers areon out of Chhattisgarh’s 90 seats. arebought from the made youaMember the streetsbecause their livelihoods, their locals. This has of Parliament, min- families,their future, everything is at He is among the CMstopass helpedincrease trust. About 105schools ister, gave youanidentity,and when the stake. As apolitical party,wehavesup- an Actinthe Assembly to were shut in Sukma district forover13 time came to standbythe party,you are portedtheir fight. years, we startedthose.People areget- busy giving advice. It is unfortunate. counter the Centre’sfarm laws ting treatment through the The lessons that these leaders taught MANOJ CG:But in its2019manifesto in October this year. Mukhyamantri Haat Bazaar Clinic us arealso applicable to them. They the Congress party had also spoken Yojana... So with these steps, in the com- should have raisedthe issues in internal aboutAPMC reforms, creating new ing days,the Naxals will be very con- party forums. The Congress is the most marketsetc. strained. democraticparty.Therehavebeen sev- Ihavebeenhearingwhatthe BJP lead- eral CWCmeetings, and all theseissues ers and ministers aresaying. Of the 22 DEEPTIMAN TIWARY: Youhave have been discussed. GhulamNabi Azad, points(raisedbyfarmers), theyare only questionedthe NIAinvestigationinto Mukul Wasnik,theywereall there. Iwas talking about two... If youlookatthe NDA the 2013 DarbhaGhatiattackon theretoo. They all got an opportunity to government’stenure... Theyimple- Congress leaders... speak.Soonce theyhavespoken there, mented demonetisation,125 people lost The fight againstNaxalsand disagree- what wasthe needtospeak outside? their lives. Then the Goods and Services ment on issuesare twodifferent matters. Taxwas imposed, and so manypeople In the Minpa attack(in March 2020) PVAIDYANATHAN IYER: But theyare went bankruptand some took their own where17securitypersonnel were killed... all senior leaders and ministers. lives. This year,during the lockdown, Theywereall part of the statepolice. At Should their concerns be ignored? crores of people came out on the streets. the time, at adistance of 500m the CRPF We areall tiedbyacertain discipline. So this is the difference between policies were sitting, but theydid notgivesup- Thereare limitstoit. The wayyou behave of the NDAand the UPAgovernments. We with your familyand children, can you formulateand implementpolicies based behave the same wayonthe streets? on experience and afterexamining things Everyone mustfunction within limits, in detail. thereisacertain beauty about it. By As farasthe manifestoisconcerned, speaking outside, youare revealing the we took it to thepublicand we were re- party’s weaknesses. jected.Wedid notwin the mandate. So If theyhad spoken internally, it would whose manifesto should we talk about? have strengthenedthe party.There The BJP is in power, we shouldask would have been reforms. These arepeo- them about their manifesto... ple who have been ministers fordecades. This government is doing Whohas brought them up to this level? everything to promote privatisa- So all Iamsaying is that theymusttalk tion. You(changed)the internally. And the party has internal Essential CommoditiesAct. democracy. That is why, even afterevery- What happened? Onionsthat thing, theirviews arebeingheard... This were being sold forRs10-20 shows themagnanimity of the leader- (per kg), their prices went up ship too. to Rs 70-80,and even Rs 150 in Tamil Nadu. Today, the MANOJ CG:After everyelection farmers areprotesting, to- defeat, the Congress seems to morrowwhen thereisno followafamiliarscript—some control over prices of leaders call forintrospection, commodities, allcon- others contestit, and so on. sumers will protest... However, afterone-twoweeks In the coming days, things return to normal. the situation forfarmers Howlong will this go on Illustration: Suvajit Dey is going to be very diffi- for? cult because of the new When aparty is not mandi laws.Theywill HARIKISHAN SHARMA: The in your godowns. Youhavesupplies for the Opposition, and will notallow portbecause they did notget orders. So in power, suchthings notget the rightprice for government has suggestedaslewof the next three years and thereisnospace Opposition leaders to speak from we registeredour complaint with the happen. When the UPAgovernment was their produce. modifications to thenew laws.Which to storemore. So thefarmershavepro- their stage. Therewas asimilar Home Ministry. in power, similarthingswould happen in of these arefarmers andthe ducedthe crops and done their job. Now, situationatthe timeofthe anti- As farasthe NIA is concerned, in July the BJP too. In Chhattisgarh, the BJP wasin MANOJ CG:What amendments Oppositionwilling to accept? should theybepunishedfor it? That Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2014 the chargesheet(in the Darbha powerfor 15 years, and nowithas been would youbring to the laws?Also, the What Iknowisthatthe farmerswant would be wrong. protests too. Isn’t this in some waya Valleyincident) wassubmitted. By that out of powerfor twoyears. What is the protests seem to be limited to Punjab an answer in ‘yes’ or ‘no’. The government failureofthe Opposition that the time, the NDAgovernment had come to party’s situation in the state? Same (as and Haryana. Even in Chhattisgarh, mustdothat. When the farmers have AVISHEKDASTIDAR: The Central commonman doesn’t want the power... We asked the NIA,that if this at- the Congress at the national level). So we haven’t seen farmers come out to made it clearthattheywillnot accept government has aRoad Requirement Opposition to speak forit? tack waspartofapoliticalconspiracy, suchthings happen when parties areout protest. modifications, then whymakethem? Plan (RRP) to ensureconnectivity in These aretwo different issues. On the whywas that investigation notdone? of powerand journalists have afield day.

Firstly, ourpeoplecould notjointhe Agricultureisastate subject,but youdid- Maoist-affected areas. The issue of farmers, both the farmers’ unions Then, the FIR in the police station here(in Thereisalways scope forimprove- protests physically(at the Delhi border) n’t take the opinion of states and brought programme is nowcomplete in 90 and political parties have spoken out. If Chhattisgarh)had namesofbig Naxal ment within the party.The Congress has because of the distance. Secondly, the in these laws.Ifthey(the Centre) had per cent of the country.Atotal of 400 yousay that political parties haven’t done leaders. Whywerethe names of big lead- always acceptedchangeand suggestions purchase of paddy beganinthe stateon reachedout to the states, the current sit- km of roads remain to be built, of their bit... Punjab, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh ers removed? If an incident occursin forimprovement. The Congress has

December 1. In (Punjab, Haryana) paddy uation could have been avoided. which350 km areinChhattisgarh. governmentshaveopposedthe laws in HotelTaj (the 26/11attacks in Mumbai), playedacrucial role in taking the country is harvestedinSeptember andOctober. As farasthe mandi Actisconcerned, The Centrehas cited lackof the Vidhan Sabha. The Congress party has people from Pakistanare namedinthe forwardand the party will have the same Wheat has already it is notthe same in cooperation from thestate forthe always opposed FIR. Then whywere role in the futuretoo. been sown. the entirecountry. It delay. When willthe project be them (the farm names of Naxal lead- In Chhattisgarh, is different in Punjab completedinthe state? laws), and Rahul ers removed? Why MANOJ CG:When youbecame CM ‘ the farmers have just We took our manifesto and Haryana, differ- Ihavemet (Minister forRoad Gandhi has also spo- Farmersdon’t want political ‘ won’t we be suspi- twoyears ago, thereweretalks of completedtheir (talking about APMC ent in Rajasthan, dif- Transport &Highways)Nitin Gadkari and kenabout this often. parties as they don’t want to cious?... It has been splitting the tenurebetween youand paddy harvest, and ferent in Home MinisterAmit Shah regarding the Now, if the farmers sevenyears sincethe another colleague.Was theresucha nowtheyare selling reforms) to the public and Chhattisgarh,Bihar issue. Ihaveproposedthat the pro- aresayingthat they tilt towards any. But we attack, and thecul- proposal? it. About 11 lakh doesn’t have it...Itis gramme under whichroads arebeing don’t want political pritsare yettobe Chhattisgarhdoes nothaveacoalition tonnes of paddy has were rejected... TheBJP is basedonthe situa- built in LWE(LeftWing Extremism) ar- parties to getin- back them.Iamhappy even punished. The between twoparties. We have amajor- been purchasedso in power, askthemabout tion in eachstate. eas needs some improvementsbecause volved,then that’s non-political organisations Centreistaking the ity in the state. If the party high command far. About 94 per ‘ Nowifyou want to the (contractors) in these partstakethe fine because they ‘ incident lightly, it is tells me to resign, Iwill resign right away. cent of the farmers their manifesto... implement one Act tenders but fail to work on theground. don’t want to tilt to- are fighting the same fight obvious forusto But therewas no such(proposal to divide in Chhattisgarh are across the country, That is notsomething that has happened wardsany one polit- question it. the Chief Minister’s tenurebetween two selling their produce whydon’t youim- now, things have been getting delayed ical party.But we leaders). at MSP in the state. plement the Punjab for15years. have supported MANOJ CG:From That is whyIsaythat the Chhattisgarh model, Haryana model,Chhattisgarh Ihaveproposedthat instead of build- them. Iamhappythat even non-political panchayatelections in Rajasthan to KAUSHIK DASGUPTA: The Congress model should be implemented acrossthe model?... But the fact is that thereisn’t ing long stretches of roads, we must fo- organisations arefighting the same fight municipal elections in Hyderabad, seems to be lackinggrassroots country. anyuniformity in mandis across states, cus on building small stretches. In J&K as us. the Congress seems to be struggling connect, whether it wasthe anti-CAA then howcan youhaveone Actfor the en- youhavegiven permission forprecast, to revive itself. What is the way protestorthis farmers’ protest. Why GARGIVERMA: Youmentionedthe tirecountry? steel bridges, but youare notgiving per- DEEPTIMANTIWARY: TheCentral forwardfor the party? is that? Chhattisgarhmodel. Can youtell us mission foritinLWE-affected areas. So security forces have often Political ups and downs will always What we need to understand is that howitisdifferent from provisions LIZ MATHEW:Apartfromthe mandi manyofour jawans have losttheir lives complainedaboutnot getting come and go.When peoplewant, they thereare severalorganisations that raise suggestedbythe Central issue, experts have also pointed out trying to protect roads and bridges. If we enough supportfromstate police in bring youtopower,and when theywant, issues connected to the common man. As government? thatreformsare neededtoensure getpermission forsteel bridges, then a Maoist-affected areas, including in theydropyou.This is amatter of time. farasfarmers’issues areconcerned, the Under the (Centralgovernment’s diversification of our crops to ensure bridgethat would take six months to be Chhattisgarh. Whydoyou think we When the time comes, the Congress will Congress has raisedthe issues. The farm- laws), aprivate mandi can be opened better trade etc. Isn’t thatimportant built will onlytakeaweek.Wewill have have notbeen successful in handling come to powertoo. Iamoptimisticthat ers’protestisbeingled by 32 organisa- outside the main mandi. We have pro- as well? to give less security and thingswill move the Naxalismissue in the state? the Congress partywilldobetterinthe tions and we aresupporting themfrom poseda‘deemedmandi’, whichwill en- Different statesgrowdifferent crops. faster. Recently, when the CRPF DG visited coming days. the outside. If theyask us fordirect sup- compass the entiremandi, and which The government can work to promote Amit Shahji said send me aproposal the state,hesaid that we have good syn- port, we will provide that.Ifyou go with- willalso bring the private players under that by settingupfood processing plants and Iwill discuss it with other depart- ergy with the statepolice... Now, if the MANOJ CG:Your ownparty leaders out invitation, then we sawwhathap- itsambit.Weintroducedthe Bill so that etc. Forexample, Chhattisgarhhas avari- ments. The meeting waspositive.It statepolice alone could solve the issue, wrotealetterseeking internal penedwith (Delhi Chief Minister) Arvind our farmers arenot cheated.But the etyofcrops that have high demand inter- would be wrong to claim that the state then what wasthe needtobring in reforms and sweeping changes Kejriwal. He wasforcedtosay that Ihave Governorisyet to sign the Bill. nationallyaswell.Weneedacargo plane government is notproviding support. Central forces? About15-20 years ago, within the Congress. The letter was come hereasa‘sevadar (for your service)’. (Chhattisgarhpassed theKrishi Upaj at the airport,but theCentreisnot pro- the paramilitaryforces were brought in writteninAugust and thereisstillno We don’t want that. We don’t want to go Mandi Acttocounter the Centre’s farm viding that. VANDITAMISHRA: The farmer unions because the statepolicecouldnot handle response. Whyisthe party notpaying there(at the farmers’ protestsite) to get laws in October). Secondly, youhavesurplus foodgrains have said that theyhavenolinkswith it on itsown. AfterJ&K, Bastarhas the heedtosuggestions by itsown mocked.

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER14,2020 12 THE WORLD

TOPOFTHE PROTESTS AGAINST U.S. ELECTION RESULTS WORLD HistoricUSvaccinecampaignagainst Covid-19beginswithfirstshipments

Doses shippedacross US on trucks and planes in packagescooledusing dryice Bahrain clears Chinese vaccine LISABAERTLEIN Agraphicsimulation DECEMBER13 Dubai: Bahrain said Sundayitap- Supporters of Trump, including members of the far-right shows thecapsule on proved the use of aChinese coro- group Proud Boys,atarallyinWashington on Saturday. AP itsway backtoEarth THE FIRSTshipmentsofCovid- navirus vaccine, following its 19 vaccine leftontrucks and earlier approval of avaccine planesearly on Sunday, kicking made by Pfizer and itsGerman CHINA offahistoric effort to stop asurg- partner BioNTech. Separately, 4stabbed, 1shot at as Capsulewith ing pandemic that is claiming Kuwait has granted emergency morethan 2,400lives aday in use forthe Pfizer vaccine. Moonrocksstarts the United States. Bahrain’s state-run news agency Trump supporters Mask-wearing workers at a said the Sinopharm vaccine returntoEarth Pfizer factoryinMichiganbegan would be available in the island ACHINESEspace capsule packingthe firstshipmentsof kingdom offthe coastofSaudi and opponents clash bringing backthe first the vaccine developedwith Arabia in the Persian Gulf. It of- Moon rocksinmorethan German partner BioNTechSEin feredfew details thoughonstudy four decades startedits dryice shortlyafter 6.30 am (lo- resultsofthe vaccine, in line with three-dayreturn to Earth cal time) on Sunday. the United Arab Emirates, which HAILEYFUCHS,PRANSHU on Sunday. The Chang’e 5 Trucks carrying pallets of lastweek announcedthe vaccine VERMA&NICHOLAS lunar probe, whichhad boxed, refrigeratedvaccine began was86% effective.The Emirati BOGEL-BURROUGHS been orbiting the Moon for rolling away from the Kalamazoo statement providedfew details WASHINGTON,DECEMBER13 about aweek,fired up four facility at 8.29 am, escortedby but markedthe firstpublic re- Continuedfraud engines forabout 22 min- body armour-clad security offi- lease of information on the effi- INCENSED BY aSupreme Court utes to move out of the cers in apickuptruckand aSUV. Boxescontainingthe Pfizer-BioNTechCovid-19vaccine areprepared to be shippedatthe cacy of the shot. AP rulingthat further dashedUS claimscauseworry moon’s orbit,the China The shots then were loadedonto Pfizer Global Supplymanufacturing plant in Portage, Michigan, on Sunday. Reuters PresidentDonaldTrump’shopes NationalSpace FedEx and United Parcel Service of invalidating his November MORE THAN amonth after Administration said in aso- planes that will whisk the pre- PAKINCREASESFUNDS electoral defeat, thousands of his Joe Biden wasdeclaredthe cialmedia post. The craft’s cious cargo across the country. NewsSunday. “It is, however, critical that toll wasapproaching 300,000 FORVACCINETO$250MN supporters marched in winner of the Nov3election, lander toucheddownon US hospitals arepreparing for Thatwouldstillleave thecoun- mostofthe American people de- and infections andhospitalisa- Washington and severalstate Trumphas doubleddownon the Moon earlier this the firstshots to go intoarms on tryfarshortofherdimmunitythat cide and accepttotakethe vac- tions setdailyrecords. Some Islamabad: Pakistanhas in- capitalsSaturdaytoprotest what claims that voting was month.Itcollected about 2 Monday,but it will take months would halt virus transmission, so cine,” Slaoui said. “Weare very models project that deaths could creasedthe funds allocated for theycontended, againstall evi- marredbywidespread fraud. kg of samples. The return before most Americans can get masksand social distancing will concernedbythe hesitancy that reach500,000 before vaccines purchasing Covid-19vaccine to dence, wasastolen election. These claims were dismissed capsule is expected to land aCovid-19vaccine.Healthcare be neededfor months to control we see.” become widelyavailable in the $250 million from the earlier ap- In some places, angrycon- by election authorities from in northern China in the workers and elderly residentsof the rampaging outbreak. The massive logistical effort spring and summer. proved amount of $150 million. frontations between protesters both parties and dozens of Inner Mongolia region after long-term carehomes arefirstin Health officials will also have is further complicated by the Slaoui said the US hopes to It has also signednon-disclosure and counterprotesters escalated judges. In the biggestblows to separatingfromthe rest of line to receive the inoculations to overcome widespread hesi- needtotransportand storethe have about40milliondosesof vac- agreementswith various multi- intoviolence. Therewereseveral Trump, the conservative-ma- thespacecraftand floating of atwo-dose regimen given tancy about the newvaccines, Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at mi- cine distributed by the end of national companies under scuffles in thenational capital, jority Supreme Court twice down on parachutes. AP about three weeksapart. with manyAmericans con- nus 70 Celsius, requiring enor- December, whichhesaid would whichthe recipient countrywill whereatleastfour people were rejected his claims, and his Morethan100millionpeople, cernedthe recordspeedat mous quantities of dryice or includevaccinesby bothPfizerand notmakedetails of the vaccine stabbed,and the police declareda ownA-G has said thereisno orabout30%of theUSpopulation, whichtheyweredevelopedmay specialised ultra-cold freezers. Moderna.AnoutsideFDAadvisory public, the Dawn reported. riotinOlympia, Washington, proof of fraud. Despitethis, couldbeimmunisedbytheendof have compromisedsafety. Only Workers clappedand whis- panelisscheduledtoconsiderthe Authorities said theyhopedthe whereone person wasshot. the President and allies have AUSTRALIA March,USOperationWarpSpeed 61%ofUSrespondentssaid they tledasthe firstboxes headedto Moderna vaccine on Thursday, delivery of thevaccine would In videos of aclashinOlympia continuedtopushthe claims, Afterfires, chief adviserDrMoncef Slaoui areopen to getting inoculated,a the trucks.The long-awaited with emergency use expected to startbythe end of the firstquar- that were postedonsocial media, raising concerns that this said in an interviewwith Fox Reuters/Ipsospoll showed. moment comes as the US death begrantedshortlyafter.REUTERS terofnextyear. PTI asingle gunshotcan be heardas could lead to increasedfrus- countrygets black-clad counterprotesters tration among Trumpsup- move toward members of the porters, leading to incidents readyforfloods UK, EU scrap pro-Trumpgroup. Afterthe gun- of violence and alackofconfi- JUSTDAYSafter bushfires Parents pray for hundreds of students shot,one of the counterprotest- dence in democratic institu- threatenedanAustralian deadline, say ers is seen falling to the ground, tions that could result in WorldHeritagesite, thou- and others call forhelp. widespread unrest. sands were bracing for talkstocontinue kidnapped in Nigeria’s Katsina state Chris Loftis, aspokesman for floods on the subtropical the Washington StatePatrol, said eastcoastonSunday, with on post-Brexit twopeople were in custody in foreclosing one of the lastlegal beaches closedand the au- were orderedtoclose because connection with the episode but avenues Trumphad to poten- thorities urging people to trade agreement REUTERS officials did notknowthe attack- that specific details about the tiallyblockBiden from succeed- sandbag their homes. With KANKARA, DECEMBER13 ers’ motives, the education com- shooting were notyet clear,in- inghim on Inauguration Day, it as muchas475 millimetres missioner said. cludingthe condition of the per- leftmanyofhis partisans casting of rain in the previous 24 RAFCASERT PARENTS CONVERGED on asec- AbubakarLawal came from son who wasshot. angrilyabout foranswers. hours, the Bureauof &JILLLAWLESS ondaryschool in Nigeria’s Zaria, acity120 kilometres Stateand federal courts have One of Trump’s former na- Meteorology issueda“se- BRUSSELS,DECEMBER13 northwestern Katsina stateon south of Kanara.Two of his rejected dozensoflawsuitsby tional security advisers, Michael vere weather warning” for Sunday, begging authorities to three sons at the school were Trump’s alliesseeking to chal- Flynn, whomTrumppardoned the border area between THROWINGOVERBOARD aself- save hundredsofboys abducted among themissing. lengethe election results, but the in November,told Trumpsup- New South Wales and imposeddeadline, the European by gunmen. “Fromyesterday Iwas here, pointed refusal by the Supreme porters notto“getbent out of Queensland states, aheav- Unionand Britain said Sunday Morethan 300students praying that the almighty Allah CourtonFridaytohear acase shape” by the latestsetback, as- ilypopulated area that in- theywill “gothe extramile” to from the all-boys Government shouldrescueour people,”hesaid filedbythe attorneygeneral of suring them that therewerestill cludesthe Queenslandstate clinchapost-Brexit trade agree- Science school in Kankarataken In aclassroomataschool in Kankaradistrict,Katsina state, outsidethe dusty school grounds. Texas loomedthe largest yet. By ways to fight back. NYT capital Brisbane. REUTERS ment that would avertNew Fridaynight remainedmissing Nigeria, afteritwas attackedbyarmedbandits. Reuters Attacksbyarmedgangs, Year’s chaos andcostfor cross- on Sunday. widelyknown as bandits, are MALAYSIA border commerce. “Wewill notrestuntil we see common throughout north- Charley Pride, the first Black British Prime Minister Boris the end of this,” statespokesman telligence chiefswerein ing, he said somecould have western Nigeria. The groups at- Recordhaulof Johnson and European AbdulLabaran told Reuters. Kankaratolead the rescue. gone home to other states. tack civilians, stealingorkidnap- crystalmethworth Commission President Ursula Labaran said military and in- While 321studentsweremiss- All stateschools in Katsina ping them forransom. REUTERS country music superstar, dies vonder Leyenhad setSundayas $26.2mnseized the decisive moment forabreak- MALAYSIA’S MARITIME through or breakdownindead- MARKKENNEDY agency said on Sundayit lockednegotiations. But they Pak Opp alliance holds final rally, announces NEWYORK,DECEMBER13 had seizedmorethan two stepped backfromthe brink, tonnes of crystalmetham- saying therewas toomuchat CHARLEY PRIDE, one of country phetamine worth105.9 stakenot to makeafinal push. long marchtoforce Imran Khan to resign music’s firstBlack superstars million ringgit ($26.2 mil- “Despitethe exhaustion after whose richbaritone on suchhits lion) from aboat offthe almostayear of negotiations and MinisterImran Khan to resign. His daughter and PML-N Vice as Kiss an Angel Good Morning country’s west coast, its despitethe fact that deadlines MZULQERNAIN Addressing the rallyheld at President MaryamNawaz helpedsell millions of records CharleyPride was86 largest-everhaulofthe have been missed over andover, LAHORE,DECEMBER13 Lahore’s Minar-e-Pakistanvia launchedafrontal attack on ISI and made himthe firstBlack drug. The discovery came we both think it is responsibleat videolink,PakistanMuslim and judiciaryfor ousting her fa- member of the CountryMusic when authorities encoun- this point in time to go the extra PAKISTAN’S OPPOSITION alliance League-Nawaz supremo Nawaz ther and imposing“ineptand in- Hall of Fame, has died. He was86. 1960s. Hitsbesides Kiss an teredarecreational boat mile,” vonder Leyensaid. on Sundayheld itsfinalanti-gov- Sharif onceagainlashedoutatthe competent” PM on the country. Pride diedSaturdayinDallas Angel Good Morning in 1971 in- movingsuspiciouslyoff “Wherethere’s life, there’s ernment rallyinLahoredespitea armedforces, accusingthem of Maryamurged supporters to of complications from Covid-19, cluded Is Anybody Goin’ to San Penang island, theysaid. A hope. We’regoing to keep talk- ban on the gathering of more beinginvolvedinpoliticalmatters. answer the call foramarch to accordingtoJeremyWestbyofthe Antone, Burgers and Fries, chase ensued when the ing to see what we can do,” than 300people owing to an in- Opposition leaders Maryam “Stoppolitical engineering Islamabad. Maulana Fazlur publicrelations firm 2911 Media. Mountain of Love,and Someone boat’sloneoccupant re- Johnson said. crease in Covid-19cases across NawazSharif,Maulana Fazal- factories in agencies,” said the Rehman, the head of the Pride releaseddozens of LovesYou Honey. fusedorders to stop. He was In less than three weeks, the the country, with topcoalition ur-Rehman and Bilawal three-time former PM. Opposition alliance, said the albums and sold morethan He had three Grammy later arrested. REUTERS UK will leave theEU’s single mar- leaders announcing along march Bhuttoatthe Lahorerally. AP Pakistan's powerful Army march willtake placelateJanuary 25 million records during aca- Awards, morethan 30 No.1hits ket andcustoms union. AP to Islamabad to forcePrime has deniedmeddling in politics. or early February. PTI reer that beganinthe mid- between 1969 and 1984. AP

ARMED WITH AHANDGUN AND DISGUISES,MIRIAM RODRÍGUEZ WAS AONE-WOMAN DETECTIVE SQUAD Amother stalked herdaughter’s killers across Mexico, one by one

prison, notbecause authorities roses to make ends meet. front of her home and killed. grew quietfor atime, as if spent aspokespersonforthe staggering AZAMAHMED had crackedthe case, but because Without showering, she Formanyinthe northerncity by itsown tragic history. number of missing people in SANFERNANDO,DECEMBER13 she had pursuedthem on her threw atrenchcoat over her pa- of San Fernando, her storyrepre- Thatis, until July of this year, Mexico —morethan 70,000 na- own, with ameticulous abandon. jamas, abaseball cap over her sentssomuchofwhatiswrongin when a14-year-old boy, Luciano tionwide —and the unrelenting MIRIAM RODRÍGUEZ clutched a She cut her hair,dyeditand fire engine-red hair and agun in Mexico —and so remarkable Leal Garza,was snatched offthe tide of loss in acountrywhere pistolinher purse as she ranpast disguised herself as apollster, a her purse, heading forthe bor- about itspeople, their persever- streets—themostpublickidnap- homicideshavenearly doubled the morningcrowds on the health worker and an election der to find the florist. On the anceinthefaceof governmentin- for-ransomcasesinceRodríguez’s in the lastfiveyears alone. bridgetoTexas.She stopped official to gettheir namesand bridge, she scoured the vendors difference.The countryissotorn crusade to find her daughter. Butthefightwasverydifferent everyfew minutes to catchher addresses. She invented excuses forflowercarts,but thatday he apartbyviolence and impunity Rodríguez’sson, Luis, 36, thistime.Rodríguez,whosedeter- breath and study the photo of to meet their families, unsus- wasselling sunglasses instead. thatagrievingmother had to could nothelp but see the paral- mination to find her daughter of- her next target:the florist. pectinggrandmothers and When she finallyfound him, she solve the disappearance of her lels, and wept when he heardthe feredaguiding light forthe cam- She had been hunting him cousins who gave her details, got tooexcited,and tooclose. He daughter largely on her own, and news.Luciano waskidnapped in paign to save Luciano years later, forayear,stalking him online, in- howeversmall. She wroteevery- recognisedher and ran. MiriamRodríguez’s son Luis at thesitewhere his sister’s diedviolentlybecause of it. oneofthe family’s owntrucks, wasalso awarning of what terrogating the criminals he thing down and stuffeditinto He sprintedalong the narrow remains were found in San Fernando, Mexico. NYT Her stunning campaign justlikeRodríguez’sdaughter awaited anyone who pushedtoo worked with, even befriending her blackcomputer bag, build- pedestrian pass, hoping to get changedSanFernando,forawhile had been. Luciano’s familypaid hard.UnlikeRodríguez’srelentless unwitting relativesfor tips on his ing her investigation and track- away.Rodríguez, 56 at the time, at least. People took heartather tworansoms fortheir son,just pursuit of her daughter’s killers, whereabouts. Nowshe finally ing them down, one by one. grabbed him by the shirt and to makethe arrest. In all, she wasinstrumental in fight,andfoundindignationinher as Rodríguez’s familyhad in its Luciano’s parentsdid notseek to had one —awidowcalledtotell She knewtheir habits, wrestledhim to therails.She In three years, Rodríguez cap- taking down 10 people, amad death. The city placedabronze fruitless attempt to free Karen. punishthepowerfulcartel.“Look, her that he waspeddlingflow- friends, hometowns, childhoods. jammedher gun intohis back. turednearly everylivingmember campaignforjusticethatmadeher plaque honouring her in the cen- It wasall happening again. we allwant to do what Miriam ers on the border. She knewthe floristhad sold “If youmove, I’ll shootyou,” of thecrew thathadabductedher famous, but vulnerable.Noone tral plaza. Her son, Luis, took over Townspeople marched,de- did,”saidtheteenager’sfather,also Ever since 2014,she had been flowers on the street before join- she told him, according to fam- daughter forransom, arogues’ challengedorganizedcrime,never thegroupshehadstarted,acollec- manding justice forLuciano. namedLuciano, on the three- tracking the people responsible ingthe Zeta cartel and getting in- ilymembers involved in her galleryofcriminalswho triedto mind put itsmembers in prison. tive of the manylocal families Brigadessearchedmileaftermile monthanniversaryofhisson’sdis- forthe kidnapping and murderof volvedinher daughter’s kidnap- scramble to capturethe florist start newlives —asaborn-again On Mother’s Day, 2017,weeks whose lovedones had disap- of barrenscrubland forsigns of appearance. “But look at how her 20-year-old daughter,Karen. ping. Nowhewas on the run and thatday.She heldhim therefor Christian, ataxi driver, acar sales- aftershe had chaseddownone of peared.Authorities pledged to him. His mother,Anabel Garza, things endedfor her. Dead.” Half of them were already in backtowhat he knew, selling nearly an hour, awaiting police man, ababysitter. her lasttargets,she wasshotin captureher killers. San Fernando charismaticandfearless,became “That’sour fear,” he said. NYT

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER14,2020 MarketWatch FPISSTOCK UP ON EQUITIES NewDelhi: Excessliquidity, attractive valuations and weaknessin the US dollar propelled foreign portfolio investors(FPIs)toflock to the Indian stockmarket in abig way with the highest-ever net 13 ECONOMY PTI inflowofRs1.4 lakh core in 2020.

AMIDSLOWRECOVERYINSTOCKPRICESOFGOVERNMENT-OWNEDCOMPANIES INTERVIEW: VICE-PRESIDENT OF ENGINEERING &MD, McAFEE INDIA State-ownedcosplangreaterinvestor ‘Once back to normal, there’ll be lowering of digital guard ... outreachtoboostmarketvaluation the behaviour has to change’

medthe Sensexand mid- and float being one reason behind AS THE worldcontinuestowork Iraniannuclear reactors were at- SUNNYVERMA& FPIHOLDINGINPSUSTOCKSONTHEWANE small-capindices.WhileinNove- state-ownedfirmsnot beingable from home amid the Covid-19 tacked by acyber stateasearly SANDEEPSINGH mber the BSE PSU indexrose 16 to attract enoughinstitutional pandemic,cloud and datasecu- as 2010,whichhackedtheir con- NEWDELHI,DECEMBER13 ■Concerns over PSU stocks ■Shareholdingdata percentagainsttheSensexriseof flows.Weare workingontheseis- rity will continue to remain im- trol system. The nuclear pro- over the lastyear have ledto available at BSE shows that in 11 percent, the index hasrisen 10 sues and anumberofoffersfor portant forbothcompanies and gram wasimpacted.Wehave THEGOVERNMENThasrenewed foreign portfolio investors case of ONGC, while the FPI per cent in Decemberasagainst sale (OFS) arebeing linedupto individuals. The digitisation that been seeing state-drivencyber itsfocusonimprovingthemarket (FPIs) lowertheir holdings, as holding fell from 8.65% in the Sensexgain of 4.4 per cent. raisereceiptsaswellasto enhance would normallytakeuptofive attacks foralong time.The at- capitalisation of state-owned theypumpedinanet of `1.56 December 2019 to 7.69% in Asenior fund managerwith a publicfloat,”thegovernmentoffi- years has takenplace at an un- tack on pharmacompanies is companiesandbanksinlinewith lakh croreintoequities in September 2020, Indian Oil leading mutual fund saidthatin- cial added. precedented speedduring the one example of that. the profitability and other finan- April-November,but did not Corporation sawthe FPI vestors have movedtowards PSU Therehavebeensome con- pandemic-inducedlockdown. Some countries have armies cialparameters. paymuchattention to state- holding fall from 7.64%to stocks over the lastfew weeksas cerns over the performance of However, thereare chances that of peoplespecificallydevotedto Sources said state-owned ownedcompanies 6.07% in the same period theyofferedalot of valuebecause PSU stocks over the lastone year once things arebacktonormal, determining where youhave companiesareincreasingtheirin- of attractive valuation. andthatledtoFPIsreducingtheir the focus on cyber and cloud se- these gaps and vulnerabilities teractions with institutional in- “Institutional investors arelook- holdings in severalcompanies. curity maydip alittle compared that couldbeexploited. The at- vestorsto lookatways to studythe portfolio investors continuing to rameters,” asenior government ing forvalue pickatthis time EvenasFPIspumpedinanet of Rs to now, VENKATKRISHNAPUR, tack on pharma companies is to reasons forlag in their perform- prefer private companies. Low official said. whenthe overallmarkethas re- 1.56 lakh croreintoequities be- vice-president of engineering Venkat Krishnapur gain moreknowledge from anceandhowitcanbeimproved. valuationisaconcernforthegov- Whiletheoverallmarketswit- coveredsignificantly. Agoodqual- tween April1and November, and managing director of other countries and companies Even as consumption-focused ernment as it has aheavy disin- nessedasharp rise, the state- itycompany availableatrelatively state-ownedcompanies did not McAfee India, said in an interac- in the current situation. government-ownedcompanies vestment pipeline. ownedcompanies lagged in per- lowervaluation is attracting in- getmuchattention. tion with AASHISH ARYAN. The kind of digitisation that suchasIRCTC,IGL,MGLhave done “Thisissuehasbeendiscussed formance at the stockmarkets. vestors as of now,”hesaid. Shareholdingdataavailableat Edited Excerpts: has happenedduring the pan- Would it be fair to saythat wellonstockexchanges,mostare anumber of times. We arevery Theyhave, however, caught up With economic activity re- BSE shows that in case of ONGC, demic would have takenalmost companies were under-or lagging their private sector coun- clearthatcompanieshave to work between November and turningto normalcyandavaccine while the FPI holding declined One of the collateral benefits five years in our view. That’s the unprepared to face these terparts across sectors. on whether in termsofinvestor December.While the Sensex againstcoronaviruslooking from 8.65 per cent in December of the current work from scale that has happenedbecause kinds of cyber-attacks? Giventhatequity benchmark outreachorother issues to im- jumpedby34per cent between withinreach, equities areex- 2019 to 7.69percentinSeptember home scenario is that there of the one-of-a-kind unique If companies did nothavethe indices have made lifetime highs provetheirmarket capitalisation. April and October,and the mid- pectedto remainapreferredclass 2020, Indian Oil Corporationsaw has been an exponential event. When youlook at the data right cybersecurity or risk miti- aftercrashing in March due to In terms of business volumes, and small-cap indices at the BSE of investmentamidalowerinter- the FPI holding fall from 7.64 per increase in the use of digital today, thereisasignificant gation measures in place, sudden shockofCovid-19pan- manyofthe government compa- rose 41 per cent and 55 per cent, estrateenvironment and surplus cent to 6.07per cent in the same services. Is therea amount of surge in digital secu- chances aretherecould have demicontheeconomy, therecov- niesareleadersintheirrespective respectively,the BSEPSU index liquidityindomesticandinterna- period.Even,incaseof SBI,FPIsre- corresponding increase in rity services and their needs. been alot of dataloss. To alarge eryinstock pricesof government- sectors, but do notcommand the wasupbyjust2.2 per cent. tional markets. ducedtheir holding from 10.98 awareness of digital security? Chances arethat once we get degree, all these big companies ownedcompanies has been less kind of valuation we wouldlike However, betweenNovember “Some investment bankers percentinDecember2019 to 7.75 The needs have significantly backtonormal, there is going to arepreparedfor these kindsof than impressive, withforeign them to have basedonkey pa- and December,theyoutperfor- have raisedissues of lowpublic per cent in September 2020. increasedinterms of the digiti- be that lowering of theguard, so attacks.Becauseitisalsorelated sation and the virtualisation that to speak,potentiallythat is pos- to their intellectual property (IP). one would have normallyseen sible. The reality is this is not So IP is so critical in this situation. DRAFT RULES FOR CODE ON WAGES afterthe pandemic. We have a something that we expect, even Ithink therecould have been How Indian cos lotofdatatosupportthat. Some with the vaccination, that it will an element of unpreparedness Govt seeks stakeholder views on of the spam-basedCovid-related go away in amonth or two. It is as we rushedtocreatecyberse- URLs (uniform resource locator), possible to live intothis kind of curity,but mostofthese big adhere to diversity whichwereinsingle digit in situation right through 2021and companies areaware of the kind February, that goes up to more beyond 2021 into2022 as well. of consequencesthat can actu- defining ‘basic pay’, ‘allowances’ than40,000-50,000by nowover We aretalking of at least two allyresult from getting exposed, these months. The whole threat years wherepeople will con- even in normal conditions. It will requirements ernmenthascomeoutwithanew 15,000.So, the newdefinitionof landscape justchanged in favour tinue to remain working where getbetterasweunderstand the AANCHALMAGAZINE definition of wages, putting acap wageswillbeanissueonlyforthe of the bad actors in cybersecu- this kind of digitisation has hap- natureofthese attacks.Itisacat- than some public sector enter- NEWDELHI,DECEMBER13 onallowancesat50percentof to- gratuity component,” said agov- rity due to thewhole work, pened. Thereisthat awakening and-mouse game. KARUNJITSINGH prises (PSEs) whichhavelagged talcompensation, implying basic ernment official. school and everything from in terms of howmuchdigitisa- NEWDELHI,DECEMBER13 on the appointment of inde- THEGOVERNMENTmayconsider paywillhavetobe50per centor At present,employerandem- home scenario. tion can helppeople. Ithink the Where does Indiastand pendent directors, all major tweaking the definition of basic more. Usually, companies struc- ployeecan makevoluntary PF Corporates, small and med- immediatethreat is notgoing globallyasfar as THE NASDAQ stockexchange in companies were in compliance payand allowances in the draft turesalarieswithahigherpropor- contributions on actual wagesin ium-sizedenterpriseswerenot away.Weare in foralong haul. cybersecurity preparedness the US maysoon requireall with the diversity requirements. rulesfor Code on Wages, taking tion of allowances than basic pay. casethemonthlysalaryoftheem- prepared forthis kind of remote The behaviour has to change is concerned? companies listedonthe bourse Anumber of PSEs have also intoaccount the concernsraised Thenewdefinitionof wagesis ployeeisoverRs15,000andtheir working,whichwas neverheard because digitisation has brought The cybersecurity services to include at leastone female sought exemptionfromthe re- by industryand employers that expected to result in higher gra- PF contributioncan be capped at of before.The needs of the peo- something new, peoplehave industryspend in India is around boardmember as well as one quirement that anycompany the newdefinitionislikelytore- tuityand providentfund (PF) de- 12 per cent of Rs 15,000,which is ple and everything associated it tasted somethingnew,ofthe $4.3 billion, and we expectitto member from aracial minority without anon-executive chair- sult in lowertake-home salaries ductions as theyare linked to the mandated by the government. withbecame digital. Thereisthe possibility of infinite things to grow to $7.6 billion by 2022. We group or from the LGBTQ com- man include at least50per cent foremployees. levelofbasicpay, which inturn,is Theofficialsaidthatwhatever whole explosion of misinforma- happen. Therefore, the security arealmostdoubling. When you munity on their boardofdirec- independent directors on their TheLabourMinistryhasasked expected to result in lowertake- changehappens,willbeprospec- tion on the internettoday,which needs will continue to be there. look at cybersecurity market in tors. Therealso areinplace di- boardofdirectors as the power somecompaniesto formallycom- home salaries. tive.“It won’t affect previous makes it muchmoreimportant India, it is growing twice as fast versity requirementsfrom of appointment of directors for municatethe issue in response to However, officials said that salaries.Once we do it fornext to have the right kind of cyber- During the pandemic and as the global market. From acon- Indian companies and their PSEs lies with the nodal ministry thedraftruleswhich were putout since PF contribution is manda- year,employerswillautomatically security solutions. Youneedto once the race forvaccine got sumer business point of view, compliance with these rules. in the central government. earlierforpublicfeedback.“Some toryonlytillRs15,000salarylevel, adjusttheir salarystructure ac- makesurethe endpointsare underway, therewerealotof over thelastfew months, the “ExceptPSUs, therehas been companies have approachedthe the PF contribution above that cordingly.Then the companies protected,the data, device and state-orchestrated or number of newcustomers, India What arethe diversity ageneral increase in compliance ministryonthismatter.Wehave thresholdwillnotbeimpactedby will adjusttheircompensation personneedtobesecured. individualcyberattacks on is the second-largest countryin requirementsthatIndian with regulationsmandating asked them to formallyrespond the newdefinition of wages. structureaccordingly taking into companies, especiallyinthe terms of downloading our prod- companies needtomeet? gender diversity on the boardof to thedraft rules. So during the “Above Rs15,000isvoluntary, accounthighergratuity.But,we’ll Will this pandemic trigger a pharmaand the logistics uctsand services. All public com- directors,” said Ankit rulemaking itself, we’ll take the we have mandated till Rs 15,000 be taking note of theirconcerns,” behaviour changeasfar as sectors. Howdoyou see this The number of attacks on panies whichare Singhi, partner at concerns intoconsideration be- only. Itisupto thecompaniesand the official added. The govern- cybersecurityisconcerned? trend panning out? cloud-basedservices has in- listedonstock ex- lawfirm Corporate cause the rules areyet to be fi- employeesto changethepercent- ment had floated draftrules for Or will it be one of those This is notnew.Whatwe creasedby630 per cent since changes and compa- Professionals, nalised,”aseniorLabourMinistry ageofprovident fund contribu- Code on WagesinJuly. The four periods when people will have seen todayisacertain in- March.Companies would be nies with either a adding that Sebi had official told The Indian Express. tion.Notagainstthelawiftheem- newlabour codes arelikelyto implement short-term stance of what has been happen- naive nottoinvestincybersecu- paid-up capital of Rs become morestrict IntheCodeonWages,thegov- ployerdoesn’tdeposit beyond Rs come intoeffect from April1. solutions? ing formany, many years. The rity in this kind of environment. 100crore or annual with regulations re- turnoveroverRs300 lated to diversity in croreare required to appointment of di- have at leastone woman board rectors. AMID COVID-19 GSTR-3B return form member under the Companies An expertwho did notwish Act. The Securities and Exchange to be quoted said that asignifi- BoardofIndia (Sebi) further re- cant number of companies had ‘Air travel demand in Novsees IMPROVEMENT IN CAPACITY DEPLOYMENT BY to be auto-populated quires,since April 1, 2020, that appointed relativesofpromot- DOMESTIC AIRLINES IN LAST THREE MONTHS: the top1000listedcompanies by ers as directors to fulfil the re- recovery over amonth ago’ draftedstatement GSTR-2B. marketcapitalisation have a quirement of awoman director 59% 52%: 46%: ENSECONOMICBUREAU “If the total liabilityofapar- woman boardmember who is and that suchdirectors were un- Recovery in domestic air travel demand continued in Nov Oct Sep NEWDELHI,DECEMBER13 ticularperiod is negativeonac- also an independent director. likelytoshowthe levelofinde- November,withpassengers rising 19%month-on-month count of debit/creditnotes, the pendence expected from adirec- to around 62 lakh in November,rating agency ICRA said BUSINESSES WILL nowget com- same will be auto-populated as What is the levelof tor. The person, however, added plete auto-populated monthly zeroliability,”GSTNsaid. compliance on diversity that large multinational compa- Fallindomesticair 2,065:Flightsdepartingason sales return form GSTR-3B, GST While businesses file GSTR-1 requirementsbyIndian nies were leading the wayinfol- 52%passengervolumein December7,against416on Networksaid on Sunday. “For of aparticularmonth by the11th companies? lowing the diversity regulations Novemberoverthe May25whenflightsresumed ease of taxpayers, nowthe sys- dayofthe subsequent month, According to datacompiled in letter and spiritbyappointing correspondingmonthlastyear temwill auto populate GSTR-3B GSTR-3B is filedinastaggered by Institutional Investor qualifiedindependentwomen 1,806:Averagedaily (monthly) on thebasis of details manner between20th-24th day AdvisoryServices (IiAS), 17 per directors to their boards. Fallininternational departureslastmonth, filedinGSTR-1and auto-drafted of the succeeding month. cent of directors in the Nifty 500 An expertwho did notwish 83%passengertrafficthis significantlybelow3,080in ITCstatement GSTR-2Bfrom Furthermore, the facility of companies were women, as of to be namedpointed outthatdi- Novemberoveryear-agomonth November2019 November 2020 taxperiod on- communication between tax- the end of the lastfiscal,with 44 versity requirement mandating wards,” Goodsand ServicesTax payers has been enabledonthe per cent of Nifty 500companies amember of the LGBTQ com- Network(GSTN)said. GSTportal. having twoormorewomen di- munity on the boardofdirectors Why is it important: Even as domestic flights witness a Low fuelprices expected: Prolonged shutdown Basedonthe supplies return EY TaxPartner Abhishek Jain rectors. The reportbyIiAS noted wasnot necessary, noting that sustained recovery, currently, only flights under special of manufacturing activities and the pandemic Source: GSTR-1 filedbybusinesses, GSTN said GSTN has enabledthe facil- that only3per cent of Nifty 500 “sexual orientation should not arrangements, such as air bubble pacts and the Vande impact on global economic activity will keep Icra/PTI will auto-populatethe liabilities, ity forsuppliers and recipientsto companies had no women di- be an issueinappointments to Bharat Mission, are being operatedonoverseas routes crude oil prices, and thus ATFprices, low while input taxcredit(ITC) would communicatewith one another rectors. Experts notedthat other the boardofdirectors.” be populated from system- over the online portal itself. BRIEFLY Public capexmay rise to `7.5lakh cr in DHFL: Fraudulent IFSCA:Bullion 24X7RTGS exchange begins second half of FY21,80% higher than H1 transactions worth norms notified NewDelhi: The Real Time GrossSettlement System 47 percentseeninQ1;of coursea tera26percentfallinSeptember; `1,058 crore flagged ENSECONOMICBUREAU (RTGS)forhigh-valuetrans- PRASANTASAHU Overall spending, favourable base (-3.9 per cent) also,budgetarycapexwasup130 NEWDELHI,DECEMBER13 actions became available NEWDELHI,DECEMBER13 includingrevenue aidedthe pick-up. per cent on-year in the month, at tigationintothe affairs of the round-the-clockfrom00:30 Chief Economic Adviser Rs 31,519 crore. PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA mortgagelender. THE INTERNATIONAL Financial hours Mondayonwards, THE CENTRE, statesand central expenditure by Centre Krishnamurthy Subramanianhad However, states’capital ex- NEWDELHI,DECEMBER13 Theadministratorofthecom- ServicesCentresAuthority(IFSCA) making India one of the few public sector enterprises(CPSEs) and states will, however, said the sharp narrowing of the penditure, or capex—estimated panyreceivedadditional report onSundaysaidithasnotifiedbul- countriesintheworldtoop- among them will likelyspendRs contractioningross fixedcapital to have fallensharplybyabout 40 CRISIS-RIDDEN NON-BANKING from professional agency (Grant lionexchangeregulations,paving eratethe system 24X7. 7.5lakh croreoncapital invest- rise onlyabout 15% formationinQ2fromarecordde- per cent on-year to Rs 1.2lakh finance companyDHFL on Thornton), indicating that there the wayfor setting up the entire mentsinthesecondhalf of thisfis- on-year to over `33lakh cline in Q1 wasan“encouraging croreinH1FY21—mayremain Sundaysaid fraudulent transac- arecertaintransactionswhichare ecosystem forbullion trading, in- cal,up80per cent over such croreinH2FY21 sign”,andnotedtheimprovement subdued in H2FY21 as well, tionsof Rs1,058.32crorebyway of undervalued,fraudulentandpref- cluding bullion exchange, depos- ‘GDPcould expenditureinthe firsthalf, ac- wasdespiteaslideingovernment mainly due to their revenue con- undervaluation,fraudandprefer- erentialinnature,DewanHousing itory, clearing house and vaults. shrinkby10%’ cordingto ananalysisbasedonof- spendinginthe second quarter. straints. Forthe current fiscalasa entialtreatmentto certainentities Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) IFSCAhasbeenentrustedwith ficialprojectionsandinformation that arecovery in fixedinvest- As is known, the economy whole,states’capexperformance have beendetectedby transaction said in aregulatory filing. the responsibility of operational- NewDelhi:Thecurrentmac- gathered from different sources. ment rate that wasvisible in Q2 hasn’t receivedmuchgovern- mayturn out to be one of the auditor Grant Thornton (GT). The Basisthisreport,DHFLsaidthe izationof thisexchange,anofficial roeconomic situationis Overall spending, including willgainfurther steamin thesec- ment spending supportinQ2— worstinrecent years, with likely companyisundergoing resolu- administrator has filedthree ap- statement said. “In this regard, “veryuncertain” and the revenue expenditurebythe ond half of FY21, giving astrong governmentconsumptionexpen- achievement of about Rs 3lakh tionprocessundertheInsolvency plications before theMumbai International FinancialServices GDPcouldcontractcloserto Centreand states will, however, supporttogrosscapitalformation. diturefell 22 per cent on year. crore,or46percent,of thebudget and BankruptcyCode (IBC). benchofthe NationalCompany Centres Authority (Bullion 10 percentinthecurrentfis- riseonly15per cent or there- Fixedinvestments, forlongin However, therehavesince been target of Rs6.5lakhcrore.Itcapex The company, whichisnow LawTribunal (NCLT), adding this Exchange)Regulations2020were cal, former chief statistician aboutson-year to over Rs 33 lakh thedoldrums,improvedto report signs of improvement with the wasabout Rs 5lakh crore, or 42 beingrununderanadministrator, is the company’s fourth filing approved by theAuthority in its PronabSensaidSunday. PTI croreinH2.Theexpectedsurge in just 7.3percentdeclineon-yearin Centre’s Budget spending rising per cent of public capex, (Centre, hadengagedGrantThorntonear- basedonthereportsubmittedby meeting heldonOctober publiccapexinH2would mean Q2,comparedwitharecordfallof 9.5percenton-yearinOctober,af- states and CPSEs)inFY20. FE lierthis year to conduct an inves- the auditor. 27,2020,”the statementadded.

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,DECEMBER14,2020 KIWIS INCH CLOSER TO WIN AGAINST WINDIES

NewZealand wasintouching distance of an innings win and series sweep over the We st 14 IndiesonSundaywhenbad light stoppedplayonthe third dayofthe secondcricket test. SPORT TheWestIndieswere 244-6 in their second inningsatstumps ,drawnearly because of the light,still trailing NewZealand by 85 runs after being forced to followon329 behind. AP

Farmers’ SHORTSTORIES protest impacts []Tracing the rise of talented game changerswho areprimed fortheirtimeinthe sun during this Australian summer BCCI domestic schedule Wherethere’sWill,there’saway DEVENDRAPANDEY MUMBAI,DECEMBER13 Having battled mentaldemons, 22-year-old Australian batting whiz Pucovski looks ready to shineonthe big stage

INDIAN CRICKET’S domestic season during thepandemic will finallybegin with theSyed SANDIPG Mushtaq AliT20 tournament from January10 NEWDELHI,DECEMBER13 with the final to be playedonJanuary31. The End of the day, Starcat IndianExpress understands that the ongoing SOMETHINGWASwrong.WillPucovskicould farmers’ agitation and the cold weather atthis sense it. The feeling had been stalkinghim. time of the year aretwo of the reasons fornot Butthistime,heknewhow to confrontthe twilight is unplayable holding the tournament in NorthIndia. impending storm.Heenrolledinanonline "Thereare always fogissues in January workshoponbreathingby reputedmindguru Ausbuoyedaspacer with 42 pink ball wktsin7Tests settorejoin forseries opener and travelling could be hampered.Many Max Strong for150 Australian dollars. Later, games were affected due to badlight in the he'dsaythiswasthebest 150dollarshe'dever Australia maybestruggling to put two Hazlewood said about his partner in past. Since we have lesstime, we don’t spentinhislife.“It’sjustsoothing,andyoufeel fitand in-form openers on thepark for crime, who had missed acouple of want to take risks, especiallyduring these unbelievablypeaceful,” he tellsformer crick- theAdelaide Test,but thesame Twenty20 Internationals pandemic times. We also don’t knowwhat eterandfootieplayerGuyWalkerinapodcast can’t be said about their bowling againstIndia due to afamily will be the situation with regardstothe calledAthlete’sDiaries,wheresportsmenopen attack. With Mitchell Starcset to illness. If Starcstarts in im- farmers’ agitation. If things continue like up on their mental struggles. rejoin thesquad ahead of the pressivefashion in Adelaide, this, players’ mobility could be an issue,” a Pucovski’sstruggleswithwhathecalls‘the BCCI official said. voices in his head’ have been well-storied. It firstTest, thehome team will be that could setthe stagefor a The Indian cricketboardhas informed forcedthe22-year-oldintotakingintermittent buoyedbythe prospect of the good series forhim. Notfor the member associations that all teams breaksfromthegame,eventhoughheseemed left-arm speedster adding to his nothing did former Aussie should reporttotheir respective hubs by utterly comfortableinthemiddleof theground impressivehaul withthe pink captain SteveWaugh name January2.The BCCI will have six bio-secure strokingacricket ball.Itprolongedhiswaitfor Will Pucovski struggles withwhat he calls ‘the voices in his head’ and that has ball.“He’s obviously ahugepart Starcasthe “x-factor” who hubs, with the 38 teams dividedintogroups, the Baggy Green. He’s learnedtolivewith the forced him to take intermittent breaksfromthe game. Reuters of our team and attack. Everyone knows could be decisiveinthe destination of and theBCCIwill announce thevenuesin voices, without them pushing him intodark his numbers withthe pink ball,” Josh theBorder-Gavaskar Trophy. the coming days.Itisunderstood that the alleys.“It’s about building up your self-aware- Cricket in the blood boardwon’thaveany EliteorPlategroups ness,gettingagaugeforyourtriggers.It’sabout Booster shot forthe T20 tourney; instead the teams will accepting howyou are,” he explains of equip- “I’vestoppedworrying; Ihave The youngesteverfirstXIcricketerofthe be dividedintogroups. ping himself with tools to deal with triggers. startedtoenjoymycricket even Brighton Grammar School in Melbourne, he Starcstruggled forrhythminthe white-ball wicketsinjustseven day-night Testsatanav- The BCCI will askthe stateunitstoget the Beforeacceptancewasdefiance,hopinghe more. I'll have afew days or even wasalso the brightest. “When Iwas told by a games againstIndia. The “compassionate eragelessthan 20. In 13 bowling innings Covid-19tests done before the teams reach might relax with ageand maturity and when colleaguethat Will couldplayinour Firstteam leave”may have come at an opportune time with the pink ball, Starchas returnedwith the hubs. The teams arelikelytogointoa he thoughtitwas notaman-thing to confess aweek or two, whereI'm still while still onlyaYear 7student Ithought “we’ll forhim in that regard.Returningfor the pink- less than 3wicketsonjustfour occasions. He seven-dayquarantineand theBCCI is in talks hispsychologicalbreakdowns.But the longer struggling, but Iknowhow to see”. Asmall tousledhairedboycame to train- ball game would also bring backhappy has one 6-wicket haul &two otherinstances withits medical team andafew experts to heneglectedit,thedeeperitdugintohismind. ing but handledall of the senior bowlers with memories forthe pacer, who hasscalped42 when he has claimed 5victims in an innings. help them setupasecure bio-bubble. deal with this. Iknow, I'm ease, he had so muchtime and his shotselec- In the mail to stateunits, BCCI secretary The breaking point allowedtofeel low. AndIknowI tion wasalwaysappropriate. Quietlyspoken JayShah wrote,“Ihad sought your responses Thenhegot to apointwhereinhejustbroke can getthrough it,” Will and polite, he immediatelywon therespect Conditionsright up his alley through the tough startand is setonareason- on the possibilitiesoforganising domestic down. Strangely, it coincidedwith his record- of the older players,” he says. able score.But the pink ball keeps the bowlers cricket thisseason.The members of BCCI are breaking 243, the youngest Australianfirst- Pucovski says.It’s the lastline It helpedhewas born in acricket-mad In contrasttohis pace partners Hazlewood & interestedfor muchlonger,and batsmen integral to it and the BCCI would notbeasuc- classdoublecenturionsinceRickyPonting,ear- that’s turning out to be the most family. His father Jan wasafast-bowling all- PatCummins, both of whom areconsistency can’t take muchfor granted. Even if the bat- cess withoutthe effortsthatthe members markinghim as afutureBaggyGreener. important line of his career.A rounder forlocal club Caulfield CricketClub, personified,Starc is relatively streaky.Hecan ting team seems in control, the fielding side put in at the grass-rootlevel. Afterhaving He calls it thefalse innings, because he'd and Jan brought him acricketing gear when be unimpressive through mostofamatch – can oftenlook forwardtothe evening to gone through your responses and in accor- neverfeltsomuchinthezone,butatthesame line that wasdifficult to reach. he wasjustfour.The edgesofthe over-sized straying on both sides of the wicket,strug- bounce back. Starcisoften ahandful in this dance withthe feedbackreceived, Iam time thisdetachedto aninnings.“Ifeltsopure pads had to be choppedwith afootballshin glingwith his length, and going at ahigh period. He has been on recordsaying that the pleasedtoinformyou thatthe BCCI is plan- from amental point of view, when Iwas bat- guard fitted underneath forextraprotection. economyrate-beforesomething clicks and pink ball behavesmorelikethe whiteone ning to startthe domestic season 2020-21 ting, to be real. Icould deal objectively when betweenAustraliaAandIndians,Pucovskisuf- wicketscome in abunch. This can be particu- than itsred counterpart. Hence, it’s little sur- withthe scheduling of the T20 tournament facing everyball. Like, nowthe ball is there, I feredanotherboutof concussion.Theninthof Bossing dad’s colleagues larly true in thetwilightzone, when the pink prise that the highestwicket-taker of the past forthe Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.” shouldplaythatshot.Ifeltroboticinthatsense. hislifeand the second inflicted by abowler. It Tagging along with his father to nets,he ball is known to do alot moreunder the influ- two50-overWorld Cups is the mostdanger- Shah added that the boardwillseek fur- Itwasalmostemotionlesswhereyouprobably wasnot aballwithblindingpacebutitclimbed washitting his father and his colleagues all ence of the floodlights. This could be due to ous bowler with it. ther feedbackonorganising the other domes- didn'tthink about what if Iplayedabad shot,” up at an awkwardheight. over the parkby10. “Asaten-year-oldWill the naturallight fading away andthe artificial tic tournamentsand that adecision will be he admits. But when he reachedthe hotel, he He had enough time to pull or pullout too. and Jan would head offearly morningto light yettotakefull effect. It could makethe Easier on the body takenafter the group stageofthe Syed brokedownandbegancrying.Hehadn'tcried Instead, he wasstuckinadilemma, and in spend the dayplaying cricket. Will wasper- pink ball abit difficult to pick from the With suchhelp forthe bowlers, it’shardlya Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The BCCI will ask in almosteight years before lying flat on the that fleeting second of indecision, the ball forming well in the juniors and looked agood bowler’s hand. The extrahelp on offerinthe surprise that mostpink-ball Testsdon’t go the whetherthe stateunits wish to hostthe Vijay bedinturgidcoldness. pinged hishelmet. It wasnot different from prospect, but he wasslaying them in the se- conditions, combinedwith Starc’s left- distance. With wicketsfalling frequently, Hazare Trophyorthe Ranji Trophy. Itwasthenthathedecidedtoopenuplook- the firsttime he got bangedon thehelmet, by nior’s team. At justten years of age, he armer’s angle –whether from over the wick- seamersare notoften required to bowl long Meanwhile, BCCI has also extendedthe dead- ing foranswers. Wasitperformance anxiety? Sean Abbott in aShield game. Abbott is not boastedahealthyaverage of 50.4. Jan also etsorround them –can be an awkward spells.With abody that has had itsshareof line forinter-state transfers and registration Or pressure to be perfect? Or due to repeated an express quick, andPucovski had enough producedafew entertaining cameosthat proposition formostbatsmen. creaks&strains in recent times, that’s another of guestplayers to December20. episodes of concussions? time to duckorpull. Still, the micro-second season but he wasclearly outshone by Will’s reason forStarc to thrive in day-night Tests. It surelywasn’t failure-triggered anxiety, hesitation wasenough forhim to miss the performances,” says BryanHarper,his child- Pitchand ball Pondicherry eager to host forhewas plundering runs. Aclassiccase of ball. Both times, he eventuallyduckedbut hood coachand father of NewSouth Wales The trackfor aday-night game has more Pink ball thoroughbred international matches notfailureorsetback alone going ontounset- wasafraction late. The firsttimehegot con- cricketerSam. Ironically, Sam toohas ahis- grass than one finds forday matches, and the The Adelaide Test againstIndia will be Starc’s tleasportsman’s mind.Success,too, could. cussedwas during afootie game, when the tory of concussions, and theywerecalledthe pink ball is also givenanextracoat of lacquer eighth with thepink ball. India, overall, has Cricket Association of Pondicherry (CAP) His mind wasinawhirl. knees of an opponentsunkintohis head. His concussion brothers. forittolastthe usual period. This makes con- playedjustone. Bumrah, Shami and Navdeep has written to BCCI president Sourav He sought the services of sports psycholo- cricket coachand physicsteacherofthe Strolling up the cricketing pyramid,he ditions all the moreseamer-friendly. The red Saini showedinthe warm-up game in Gangulyrequesting that Puducherry be con- gistEmma Murray,who told him that“alot of Brighton GrammarSchool GaryMcPhee made transitions look easy and on the back ball, and the whiteone as well, usuallystops Sydneythat theycan nevertheless be ahand- sidered to hostinternational games in the fu- stuffthe mind tellsusisnot actuallytrue.” He clearly remembers thatincident. of three hundredsinfiveinnings in the do- deviating muchafter 15 or 20 overs. Allied ful when conditions align in their favour.But ture. The CAPwas includedintothe BCCIfold then read the best-selling self-help bookFour “He spent weekslying on the couchina mestic U-19series, he waspickedfor Victoria. with the consistent pace and bounce in experience has to countfor something and twoyearsago afterthe adoption of theLodha Agreements: APractical Guide to Personal darkenedroom withsevereheadaches and He fitted in seamlessly, stroking ahundred Australian pitches, this oftenmakes these there’s nobodywithmoreofthat in this for- Committee recommendations thatled to Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz. It would help othersymptoms and foratalented and social in his fourth first-class match, adouble hun- tracks thebestones to bat on if someone get mat thanStarc. TUSHARBHADURI manynew teamstaking part in the various himto shutoutthenegative voicesinhishead. boywho likednothing better than gettingout dred in his seventh, asecond-innings half- BCCI tournaments. Refreshedand realigned, he returnedto and playing with his mates, this wasahuge centuryinthe final againstNSW to setupa “CAP has built abeautiful stadium and cricket,reacquainted with thebusiness of blow. It also affectedhis lastyear of secondary title triumph. His conversion rate of onehun- BENANDJACKMAKEINDIANSSWEAT in all, we have sixstadiums with flood- stacking up big hundreds, and is nowonthe school,” McPhee tells this newspaper. dred in everysix innings, of whichthree lights. We arehosting domestic games for brinkof makinghisTest debutsometimedur- Buthemadeaquickrecovery,andbounced endedindoublehundreds, arestupendous SYDNEY: THE INDIAN cricket team will reducedto25for 3, ending on 305 for4 the lastfew years. We have requestedBCCI ingthe Indiaseries. “I’vestoppedworrying; I backstrongly. “One of the firstthings Inoticed feats. And enough proof forselectors to rush head intothe firstday-night Test against riding on Ben McDermottand Jack to consider us to hostinternational games have startedtoenjoymycricket evenmore.I'll washis composure, his mental toughness. It him intointernational cricket.Yet,it’shis Australia withalot of optimism and Wildermuth's centuries. or anyWorld Cup games in future. It will have afew days or even aweek or two, where washis composure,determination, and ma- mind that flinched. happy selection dilemmas, having man- BRIEF SCORES: Australia A108 (Saini3- help smaller venues likeustogrowfur- I'mstillstruggling,butIknowhow to dealwith turity that allowedhim to debut at only 12 But McPhee has seen enoughofhim to aged to tickmostofthe boxesbefore 19,Shami 3-29) &307 for4(Wildermuth ther," aCAP spokesperson said.Inthe mail this.Iknow, I'mallowedtofeellow. AndIknow years of age. Obviously, he had the technique aver that his ward will ride the recent storm. drawing the three-daypink-ball dress re- 111*, McDermott 107*, Carey 57)drew to Ganguly, PDamodaran,who will repre- Ican getthrough it,” he says.It’s the lastline andvarietyof shots to match hismentalattrib- “He has been through alot and he has bat- hearsalagainstAustralia A.Australia A withIndians 194(Bumrah 55, Wildermuth sent CAPatthe BCCI Annual General Body that’sturningoutto bethemostimportantline utes. He wasalways confident,without being tledmanfullythrough it. He willcome back gave abetteraccount of themselvesonan 3-14) &386 for4(Vihari 104*, Pant 103*, meeting on December 24,expressedthe of his career.Aline that wasdifficult to reach. overconfident or big-headed. He wasaquick stronger,” he emphasises. So hopes an en- easedout thirdday track, despitebeing Gill, 65,Agarwal 61) PTI same sentiment. On the secondday of the warm-up game learnertoo,”hesays. tirenation.

LIFE COURSE At the US Women’s Open, love brews between agolfer and caddie

the time.” And Bowman complimented Theyalready were dating, but within doubtherself.That’swhere Bowman is at her KARENKROUSE Sharp’s grit, determination and resiliency. We said that if the working months theybecame partners profession- best.Noone is better at reading Sharp’s mind HOUSTON,DECEMBER13 Foraunion sealedinthe middle of apan- arrangement ever affects our ally, too, but onlyafter they made apact. “We and recasting the negative thoughts. demic, thereare worse qualities to bring to relationship, Iwill find said that if the working arrangement ever af- “Wecan saythings to eachother that I THE HONEYMOON began, as so manydofor the table than positivity andresiliency. another caddie.” fectsour relationship, I’ll find another cad- would neversay to another caddie,” Sharp golf-obsessednewlyweds, with 18 holes.The Bowman said: “People always talk about die,” Sharp said. said. “I can tell her,‘Ijustdon’t trustmyself skies were blue, the sun waswarm andthe meeting someone that makes youwant to ALENA SHARP right now.’Or‘I’m notconfident.’ Ifeel likeI Spanish moss hung from the oak trees like be better in everyway,and Ialwaysthought LPGA GOLFER Globe-trotting lovebirds can be totallyvulnerable out there.” nature’s tinsel, draping the scene in tranquil- that wassostupid, but then Imet Alena. And Theyhavehad no regrets. Theyhavetrav- Afterseven years of dating, the couple de- ity.What better waytoofficially launcha Ican’t believe I’m saying it, but it’sreal. She —orsoshe thought —for adoctorateinpsy- eledthe worldtogether and been Olympians cidedtoget marriedand plannedtheir wed- shared lifetime of come-what-mays than as honestlymakes me feel that way.” chology.Aware that Sharp wasaprofessional together.Theyrepresented Canada at the ding in threeshortweeks, their sense of ur- competitors at the 75th U.S. Women’sOpen? From Sharp came abarelyaudible, athlete,Bowman initiallymisread her shy- 2016 GamesinRio de Janeiroand arelooking gency spurredbythe seating on the Supreme ForAlena Sharp, 39, asoft-spoken “Thank you.”Sharp and Bowman metinthe ness as arrogance. “I thought she wasfull of forwardtocompeting in the delayedTokyo CourtinlateOctober of Justice AmyConey Canadian,and her U.S.-born caddieand wife, faceoffcircle at aChandler, Arizona, ice rink herself,” said Bowman, who realizedhow Games next summer. Barrett, aconservative who alarmedLGBTQ Sarah Bowman, lifeinthe cumulus cloud that in 2013.Theywereopposing centers in a badlyshe had misread Sharp when theymet Bowman’sgreennessasacaddie when advocates at her confirmation hearing when is 2020 has come withapowerful ray of light. women’srecreational hockey league game. foramountain bikeride. she startedout forced Sharp to take owner- shedeclinedtosay whether thecourt’s land- Sharp’s first-round four-over75at “She’d always win them,” said Sharp, who “Wespent the entiretime laughing,” shipofher game and trusther instincts. markruling in 2015 allowing same-sexmar- Champions Club’s Cypress Creekcourse was exacted her revengewith some well-exe- Bowman said.Their friendship deepenedin Bowman wasaquickstudy,progressing lick- riagewas correctlydecided. the couple’sfirstcompetitive appearance cuted forechecks.“She laid me out afew 2014 afterSharpfound herself in between ety-split from notbeingable to watchwhen “Her nomination wasreally the driving since theyweremarriedinthe backyardof times,” Bowman said. caddies. On awhim, she asked Bowman if Sharp putted because she wassoinvestedin force,” Sharp said. their Arizona home November 23. Sharp playedhockeyasachild and turned she’d fill in at alocal event on theSymetra the outcome to reading the greens forher. Barrett’s use of the term “sexual prefer- The ceremonywas officiated by their to it as an adulttoescape her overactive golf tour,the LPGA’s minor league circuit. The 99th-ranked Sharp,who joinedthe ence” during her confirmationhearings par- therapist. As part of their vows,exchanged mind and itsconstant churn of negative Bowman recoveredfromaninauspicious LPGAin2005, has 14 career top-10finishes. ticularly prickedthe ears of Bowman, who in front of nine witnesses and morethan 100 thoughts. Bowman, 44,aone-time compet- start, leaving acrumb-liketrail of clubs that She is still searching forher breakthrough has neverconsidered her sexual orientation virtual guests from around the world, Sharp itiveskierfromPittsburgh, waslooking for spilled outofthe bagasshe proceeded down victory, though notfor anylackofphysical amatter of choice. As ayoungadult she said Sarah Bowman, (L), and LPGAgolfer commendedBowman’spositivity and her an escape from her work at aneuro-oncol- the firstfairway, to help Sharp to atwo-stroke skills. Her talent has neverbeen calledinto she contemplated killing herself, so great was Alena Sharp on theirwedding day. NYT personality,whichshe said “shines bright all ogy lab whereshe waslayingthe foundation victory. question, exceptbySharp,who is quickto her struggle to accepther identity. NYT

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