DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA

JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2020, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 12 PAGES SINCE 1932 `5.00/EX-KOLKATA `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES &ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

IN LETTER TO CENTRE, FARMER UNIONS LIST FOUR-POINT AGENDA WORLD Talkstoday,farmerstoGovt:Willonly discussrepeal,MSPlegalguarantee DESIGNER PIERRE CARDIN DIES AT 98 PAGE 10 PM appeals againstdamagetoinfra, Disquiet in Punjab govt over cell tower says keep it away from politics vandalism, police seek to control damage BUSINESSASUSUAL EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE towers of Reliance Jio Infocomm Punjab Chief Minister BY UNNY NEWDELHI,LUCKNOW, ANJUAGNIHOTRICHABA, being vandalised, allegedly by Amarinder Singh told The Indian DECEMBER29 RAAKHIJAGGA protestingfarmergroups,thestate Express,“Ihavedirected police &AASHISHARYAN police have fannedout across the to take action againstthose van- AHEAD OF the resumption of JALANDHAR,LUDHIANA, affecteddistrictstorestore power dalising the mobile towers. Iwill talkswith the Centre NEWDELHI,DECEMBER29 supplytothese towers. notallowanyone to take lawin Wednesday, farmer unions, On Tuesday, aday afterheis- their hands. The situation is un- protesting at the gatesofDelhi AMIDGROWINGconcernoverin- suedastern warning to those der control now.” againstthe newfarm laws,wrote cidentsofaround2,000cellphone vandalising mobile towers, CONTINUEDONPAGE2 to the government saying the discussion can onlybeonafour- 6with UK strain point agenda including modali- Prime MinisterNarendra ties of repealing the laws and Modi inaugurates the Farmers in Madhya Pradesh duped by providing alegal guarantee on dedicated freight corridor minimum supportprice. via video conference. PTI traders, lens on key clauses in farm laws in India; experts In alettertoSanjayAgarwal, Secretary, Department of trict of their 2,581quintals of duo had cancelledthe registra- Days after Agriculture, Cooperation and Capital Region and adjoining ar- IRAMSIDDIQUE lentil and gram produce worth tion within three months of it be- Farmers Welfare, the Samyukt eas, 2020’, and the procedurefor BHOPAL,DECEMBER29 nearly Rs 2crore. ingissuedbythe mandi lastyear. say vaccine will Kisan Morcha, representing 40 withdrawalof thedraft'Electricity The 22 farmers firsttriedto Theywent to the residence of Karnataka farmer unions, listedthe two Amendment Bill 2020'. CITINGTHE newlyenacted farm locatethe trader by knocking at the Khojas in Khategaon tehsil other items on the agenda as Formallyaccepting the gov- laws,Khoja Traders, atrader firm Dewasmandi since the Khoja but could notfind them. Finally, remain effective House ruckus, amendmentstothe‘Commission ernment’s invitation to the talks, in Dewasownedbybrothers brothers had shown them the the farmers filedanFIR with the Ordinance forAir Quality the Morchasaid, “It is necessary PavanKhoja and Suresh Khoja, trading licence registeredbythe Khategaon police and also Dy Chairman Management in the National CONTINUEDONPAGE2 duped22farmers in Harda dis- mandi. But theyrealisedthat the CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Unproven therapies can trigger mutation: found dead Govt;5%positive samples to besequenced

KAUNAINSHERIFFM DARSHANDEVAIAHBP Need to protect Tagore’s NIA: PDP’s Para paid &SREENIVASJANYALA CHIKMAGALUR,DECEMBER29 NEWDELHI,HYDERABAD DECEMBER29 TWOWEEKSafterhewascaught Rs 10 lakh to Hizbul in the middle of aruckusinthe Bengal from BJP: Mamata THE VACCINES developedagainst Nocauseforworry KarnatakaLegislative Council,JDS the novelcoronavirus would re- leader and Deputy Chairman of via Davinder Singh main effective despitethe emer- WHILE IT is possible that a the House, SLDharme Gowda, ATRIMITRA gence of the new, moreconta- mutant of the UK or South wasfound dead on the railway BOLPUR,DECEMBER29 gious strain in the United Africa kind can emerge in tracksinKarnataka’sChikmagalur Para’s lawyer declines comment;bail plea Kingdom, India’s topgovernment India as well, thereisno districtearly Tuesdaymorning.He WEST BENGALChief Minister says being framedtosettle political scores medical experts said on Tuesday. immediatecause forworry is suspected to MamataBanerjee on Tuesdayin- However, theycautioned as long as effective surveil- have diedby vokedRabindranath Tagore in her that injudicious use of unproven lance and genome se- suicide. speechatapublic meeting here DEEPTIMANTIWARY WaheedUr therapies againstCovid-19puts quencing is carriedout to On in Birbhum district, and hit out at NEWDELHI,DECEMBER29 Rehman “immune pressure” on the virus, detect the newstrain early. December 15, theBJP,saying the land of Tagore Para was whichcan lead to mutations. Prof KVijay Raghavan, as the BJP and would neverallowhatepolitics JAMMU &Kashmir Peoples arrested in The government on Tuesday Principal Scientific Advisor Congress to triumph over secularism. Democratic Partyleader Waheed November announcedthatatleast six per- to the Government of clashedover The Trinamool Congress Ur Rehman Para allegedly paid sons who have returnedrecently India, has also said that the who would (TMC) chief attendedafour-kilo- Rs 10 lakh to terror outfit Hizb- from the United Kingdom have vaccines being developed SLDharme control the 75- metreroadshowbeforeaddress- ul-Mujahideen to ensureits sup- connection with itsprobe into been found positive forthe new will work againstthis mu- Gowda member ing the rallyinwhichshe ac- portahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha suspendedDySP Davinder “variant under investigation”, tant strain as well. Upper House, cused the BJP of enabling polls, an investigation by the Singh’s linkswith the Hizbul. whichisbeing calledVUI- Gowda, who communal politics at Visva- National Investigation Agency CONTINUEDONPAGE2 202012/01. wasushered to the chairman’s Bharati, whichwas foundedby (NIA) is said to have found. Three of the positive samples Cellular and Molecular Biology seat by BJP members, was Tagore. The Central agency arrested were detected at the National (CCMB), Hyderabad, and one at pushedoff his chair. The rallyvenue wasdotted Para in November,justahead of OFFICER TO FACE InstituteofMental Health and the National InstituteofVirology According to the railway po- with placards containing lines the District Development MILITARY COURT IN Neurosciences (NIMHANS), (NIV), Pune. The Pune sample is lice, the JDS legislator wasfound from Tagore’s poems. Council (DDC) polls in J&K, in SHOPIAN CASE PAGE 5 Bengaluru, twoatthe Centrefor CONTINUEDONPAGE2 dead on the tracks near his Banerjee’sroadshowandrally hometown GunasagarainKadur were heldoveraweekafterasim- taluk of Chikmagalur district. ilarevent,whichwasattendedby THE EDITORIAL PAGE Local police said theyfound a BJP leader and Union Home Adelaide hurt fuels resolve, suicide note near his body. MinisterAmit Shah here. According to police, on CONTINUEDONPAGE2 SECESSIONOF Mondayevening, Gowda, accom- THESUCCESSFUL India make history at MCG paniedbyhis driver, had lefthis CM MamataBanerjee holds aphoto of Rabindranath Tagore BY SANJAYA BARU farmhouse in Sakkarayapattana MORE REPORTS during her roadshowinSantiniketan on Tuesday. Partha Paul PAGE 6 CONTINUEDONPAGE2 PAGE 3 fast bowler Umesh Yadavinthe SRIRAMVEERA middle of the game. MUMBAI,DECEMBER29 The celebration wasmuted —some laughter and quietbeers IAF chief says Chinese air Behind police raid on Pracha, trail MOHAMMED SIRAJ, the 26-year- —until the Siraj moment came old who losthis father lastmonth, up. “Wewerecelebrating his assets fully deployed, flags wasmoved to tears in the dress- performance on debut, and the- of ariot victim and ariot accused ing room as the Indian players worldknows what he has been toastedhis splendid performance through when he struggledto deepening Sino-Pak ties told him that Malik was“wit- in his debut Test at the Melbourne hold his tears. Rahane and acou- KAUNAINSHERIFFM ness” to the incident and if he at- Cricket Ground, the setting for ple of others hugged him, and sat &SOFIAHSAN tached Malik’s complaint, it “one of the great comebacks in him down. It wasanemotional KRISHNKAUSHIK NEWDELHI,DECEMBER29 would makeAli’s case “stronger”. the history of the game”, in the and lovely moment forthe NEWDELHI,DECEMBER29 Mehmood Ali denies Pracha calledhim, wordsofcoachRaviShastri. whole team, really,”asource in Air Chief SHARIF Malik,whose allegations Pracha and has told TheIndianExpress India, who were blown away the team said. UNDERLININGTHATunder- Marshal RKS form the basis of Delhi Police’s that he went to meethim on his fortheir lowest scoreinTesthis- Siraj’s father,anautorick- standing China is “our mostim- Bhadauria controversial search of advocate own. tory aweek agoinAdelaide, re- shawdriver, wasabig supporter portant national security chal- Mehmood Pracha’s home last connected to the riots filedat Ali’s case itself is fraught, ac- boundedspectacularly with an of his cricket,and sawthe crick- lenge” and cautioning againstits week,was accusedofrioting and Dayalpur police station, with little cording to the sequence of events eight-wicket win over Australia, eting rise of his son as the fam- “possible game plan” and the to supporttroops along the Line attempt to murder in the Delhi opposition from the prosecution. basedonpolice and courtrecords ledbyacharacter-defining hun- ily’s fortunes changed due to his “deepening and evolving Sino- of Actual Control in Ladakh. riots.But amonth ago, police told Police, in areportsubmitted accessedbyThe Indian Express. dred by stand-in captain Ajinkya Indian Premier League (IPL) stint. Pakrelationship”, Air Chief The IAF chief, speaking at an the courtthat Malik’s arrest was- to aDelhi courtinAugust, said Indeed, the courtput on Rahane. It wasatriumph Rahane and Gill celebrate India’s stunning turnaround Marshal RKSBhadauria said event organisedbythe n’t required. that Pracha “called” riotvictim recordthe defence’s questioning achievedinthe absence of Virat afterwinning the Test in had begun even as the team’s Tuesdaythat the Chinese have Vivekananda International On November 24,Malik se- Irshad Ali, whose shop had been of the fairness and impartiality Kohli, MohammedShami, and Melbourne on Tuesday. AP worstignominywas winding “fully deployed” their air assets CONTINUEDONPAGE2 curedpre-arrest bail in three FIRs setonfireduring the riots,and CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Rohit Sharma, and despitelosing CONTINUEDONPAGE2

PAGE 1 ANCHOR Yo ukilled my parents, youwon’t let me burythem: son’s grief shakestate

on Mondayafter aweek of bat- onlytokeep the police away.Ihad but he refused. Subsequently, the Rahul,thecouple’selderson,said. lice intervened. Subsequently, ders should be implemented, SHAJUPHILIP tling serious burn injuries. no plans to end my life. But apo- courtdesignated an advocate’s “Wewereabout to have however, Rajan wasburiedonthe the police should nothavehurt THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Rahul’s mother,who wasalive at lice officer swattedat the burning commission to look intothe is- lunch. Rice had been served. premises as per his wish. aperson’s pride and pushedhim DECEMBER29 the time, diedhours afterward. lighter,whichfell on us and en- sue. Basedonthe commission’s Father pleadedfor half an hour As the police action and the to suicide. Twolives have been Likeher husband, she toohad gulfedus both in flames,” he said. report, the courtagain passedan with the police to allowusto Dalit couple’s death triggered an lostinthe presence of police of- “ALL OF youkilledmyfather,sir… sufferedgrievous burns. In his statement, Rajan said order to evict the family. have our meal,” Rahul said. “But, uproarandprotests,Chief Minister ficials,” he said. All of youkilledmyparents. Now Rahul’sfather,PongilRajan,45, that “he wasshattered by the On December 22, the police the police would notallowusto PinarayiVIjayanonTuesdaysaid DGP Loknath Beheraasked yousay Ican’t even burythem?” andhismentally-challengedwife thought that his familywould be came to the family’s home. By eat. An officer shouted at my fa- the government would step in to Thiruvananthapuram RuralSPB cries the distressedyoung man in Ambili, 36, of Athiyannnor pan- deprivedofaroof over their then,however, thecouplehadob- ther,telling him to getout of our helptheorphanedsons.“Thegov- Ashokan to look intothe inci- the maroon shirt, as he fero- chayat in Thiruvananthapuram head. Deeplyupsetoverthat tainedastayontheevictionorder home with all our belongings. ernmentwilltakeuptheirprotec- dent, including police lapses in ciouslyslams agarden hoe into district, accidentallyset them- thought, Itook my wifeout and from the local munsiffcourt. This Subsequently, father brought tion and meettheir educational handling the eviction. the ground. Apolice officer tries selvesonfireonDecember 22 held her close, and then put hadhappenedonthesameday— mother outside.” expenses. Theywill be provided However, thewomanwhoini- to reason with him, telling him to while resisting attemptsbythe petrol on both of us. Ihad The couple with their sons however, according to the family, AfterRajan succumbed to his with ahouse,” he announced. tiated the legal battle againstthe stop digging. Afew people stand policeto evictthemfromthethree thought the police would retreat theyhad notuntil then got acopy injuries on Monday, the sons in- The stateHuman Rights Dalitcouplesaidshewouldnotre- around watching silently. centsofdisputed land on which from their attempt to evict us.” of the order to showthe police. sistedthat he should beburiedon Commission directed the district lent. Vasantha, who wasmoved The viral video has shaken theyhad built their small home. The couple had erectedan as- she ownedthe land, whichshe “When the police came with the three centsofland forwhich police chief to look intothe out by police fearing the wrath of the conscience of the public and In his dying declaration to alo- bestos-roof shedataDalit colony had purchased16years ago. After the courtauthorities to evict us, he had fought and died. However, lapses on the partofpolice offi- the local people, said she would triggered widespread protests in cal magistrate, Rajan said that he wheretheylived with their two alegal battle at alocal civil court, my fathertoldthemaboutthestay with the ownership of the land in cials. Commission chairman notgiveupthe land. “I bought the Kerala. It shows 23-year-old had dousedhis wifeand himself sons, Rahul and Ranjith. A Vasantha got afavourable verdict. obtainedfromthe courtonthat court, local people did notwant Justice AntonyDominic said the land16 yearsago.Ihavebeenfight- Rahul Rajtrying to dig agrave for with petrol to bluffthe police into woman namedVasantha had ob- Twomonths ago, the court very day. It wasonlyamatter of to dig the burial pit. So Rahul police had failedtoact in the ing alone. Iwon’t leave.Iwant to his father,aDalit man who died backing off. “I had lit the lighter jected to the shed, claiming that orderedRajan to vacatethe land, getting the copyofthe order,” startedtodig himself, but the po- proper manner.“While courtor- provethat it belongs to me.’’ Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 2 THE SECOND PAGE THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,DECEMBER30,2020

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Farmers duped the virus],” the Ministrysaid. ceivedcalls from Para during this “The wayall three forces have All samples from UK re- period. activatedand deployed, thereis submittedawritten complaint to turnees that test positive in RT- Talks today, farmers to Govt: Will only discuss repeal In March that year,Paraal- no needtoworry whether have the Sub-Divisional Magistrateof PCR testswill be put through legedly sent aman with Rs 10 enough to do our bit to hold the Khategaon. genome sequencing, Union to conduct our discussion ac- the laws,” he said. NarendraModi, referring to the sumers. lakh in an envelope to Srinagar situation and to ensurewedonot The incident assumes signifi- HealthSecretaryRajeshBhushan cording to this agenda to find a While all 40 leaders invited targeting of infrastructuredur- In an address via avideo airportwhereSingh wasthen lose territoryorsovereignty.So cance since it touches upon two told reporters. Also, as partofex- rational solution to relevant is- by the government will go for ing demonstrations and move- link,Modi said: “Our pastexpe- posted. on that issue, we should nothave critical aspectsofThe Farmers’ tensive surveillance, 5per cent of sues.” the talks, onlyfiveleaders, ments, said this amountsto rience tells us that the develop- “Singh receivedthe money anydoubt.” Produce Trade and Commerce positive samples in the general Surjit Singh Phool of BKU Phool said, would put forward hurting the country, its“poor ment of the country’s infra- and askedone of his assistantsto On Pakistan, the IAF chief said (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, population of the countrywill (Krantikari) said the meeting the views of the farmers. and common people”. While structureshould be kept away put the same in atiffinbox and it is “increasingly becoming a 2020 —registration of traders in also be subjected to genome se- agenda theyhad sent to the Jagmohan Singh, BKU exercising democratic rights, he from politics. The country’s in- keep it in his car.Itwas later deliv- pawn in Chinese policy” and is private marketsand disputeres- quencing, Bhushan said. government wasveryclear.“In (Dakaunda) general secretary, said, “weshould neverforget frastructureisthe path of itsde- eredto NaveedBabu,” the officer under the China-Pakistan olution. Prof KVijayRaghavan, itslettertous, the government said farmers have postponed our obligation to the nation”. velopment, notthat of aparty’s said. Economic Corridor debt. Under Section 6ofthe Act, the Principal Scientific Advisor to the acknowledgedour agenda, but their tractor march,scheduled Inaugurating the New ideology.It’samissiontobene- Investigators have cited con- SDM is authorisedtoresolve any Government of India, said that did notspecificallymention re- forWednesday, to Thursday. Bhaupur-New Khurja section fitmanyfuturegenerations, not fessional statementsofMir and Mamata disputearising between afarmer besides testing and sequencing pealing the laws.Their letter “If the talksare fruitful, and the operation control cen- five years of politics. If political Naveed Babu to supporttheir She also targeted Visva- and atrader.This has run afoul of samples from international lacks clarity,but we believe therewill be no needfor this treofthe Eastern Dedicated parties have to compete,there case along with recordedstate- Bharati University (VBU) Vice- with farmers who fear that with- travellers, the Indian SARS-CoV-2 that their act of asking us for march and we will spend the Freight Corridor,the PM said should be competition in the mentsofindependent witnesses Chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty, out recourse to courts theywould Genomics Consortium (IN- the agenda wasawelcome NewYear with our families. We dedicated freight corridors will quality of infrastructure, com- including those who allegedly calling him a“BJP man”. be leftwith no choice but to ac- SACOG) will also carry out se- step. Now, we expect some- areatthe table to discuss issues. allowfarm produce to reach petition on speedand scale.” sawthe moneybeing delivered Alleging that the BJP had de- ceptthe settlement awardedby quencing of samples from those thing newfromthem, some- That is what the Supreme Court destinations faster and benefit The newfreight corridor,he to Davinder Singh. famedbothSantiniketan, the aConciliation Boardconstituted being admitted to hospitals. thing that is in the direction of also wanted,” he said. everyone, from industryto said, will be aboostfor eastern In his bail application, Para Bolpur neighbourhood where by the SDM. “Weare notonlysequencing finding the best waytorepeal Meanwhile, Prime Minister businesses, farmers to con- India. said that NIA has nothing but Visva-Bharati is located,and Protesting farmers have also the samples by choosing repre- confessional statementsofac- NobellaureateAmartyaSen, demandedthat traders cannotbe sentative samples but we will Disquiet in Punjab govt over vandalism, police fan out to restore power cused–and these cannotbecon- Banerjee said, “Those who do allowedtopurchase produce also test the samples in laborato- sideredas evidence. The applica- notrespect Mahatma Gandhi merelyonthe basis of their PAN ries to see whether infectivity has While the CM said “only4-5 also been vandalised, senior po- and photographs showing lice officials in the statetoseek tion has claimedthat Para was and other icons of the countryare cards in private markets. They increasedand do field studies to cases of vandalisation have lice officers maintainedthat in youngsters climbing up the protection forthe towersites as calledfor questioning in June as talking of building ‘Sonar Bangla have demandedtrader registra- see if the transmission of any come to light in the past24 mostcases therewas little dam- towers. well as other telecom infra- well but waslet offafter NIA “felt [Golden Bengal]’. Rabindranath tion in privatemarketsaswell. variant has increased,” Prof hours”, sources said the govern- agetothe towers, with the van- Bhupinderjit Virk,Senior structure. satisfied” of his innocence. Tagore already created ‘Sonar In awritten and signedcom- VijayRaghavansaid. ment has takenserious note of dals, allegedly local youth sup- Superintendent of Police of With powersupplytoJio's Bangla’ severaldecades ago, all plaint submitted to the SDM on He, however, stressedthat the incidents. “Thereisalot of portedbygrampanchayat Bathinda, wherepowersupply towers disrupted, the immedi- Adelaide we needtodoistoprotect the December 26, the 22 farmers vaccines would work againstthe disquietinthe government over members, onlytargeting power to 60 towers were snapped, said ateimpact is likelytobefelt on down in the firstTest. No soul- place from the communal on- said, “Pavan and Suresh Khoja newstrains as well. “The vaccines this disruption, particularly in supplylines to the towers. no FIR has been registeredas voice calls originating from and stirring speeches were made in slaught of the BJP.” came to us on different days and will work againstthe newvari- light of the continuedstalemate District police chiefshaveset onlyelectricity lines were cut. landing on the telco's network. the dressing room afterthe de- Lastweek,the VBU adminis- purchasedour produce showing antsreportedinthe UK and South between the Centreand the up patrolling parties to guard "Therewas no damagereported Companyexecutivessaid feat. Therewerenoangryrants. tration wrotetothe stategovern- their registeredlicense assuring Africa. Mostvaccines target the protesting farmers. No one in the towers and saytheir imme- (tothe towers). Hence, we have their bigger concern wasthe No postmortemwas under- ment, alleging that AmartyaSen us that moneywill be credited spikeofthe virus, in whichthere the statewantsthe situation to diateconcern is to restorethe notlodged anyFIR. Powersup- damagetoopticfibrecablessince taken. “The coaching group de- wasamong the illegal occupants intoour account. But when that arechanges in the variant. getout of hand,” said asenior functioning of these towers. In plyto29out of 60 towers has in suchcases, the optic fibreca- cidedthat it would be pointless. of land it owns. Sen has denied didn't happened, we approached Therefore, thereisaconcern if the official. mostofthe districts, police been restored,and our teams bles have to bereplacedentirely. All of us knewwhat happened. the allegations, and Banerjee has the Khategaon Mandi and re- vaccine will work…But vaccines Though companysources claimedtohaverestoredthe arecounselling villagers against Meanwhile, farmer leaders, Everyone washurting. Nothing repeatedly defendedthe Nobel alisedtheyare no longer regis- stimulateour immune system to said that apartfromaround functioning of 80 per cent of the indulging in suchacts.’’ while appealing againstdam- neededtobesaid,” the source laureate, saying he is being tar- tered. We would requestyou to produce awide rangeofprotec- 2,000 towers, severalbase affected towers. Sources said that on agetoproperty,said theywon’t said. Instead, Shastri told the play- getedsince he is ideologicallyop- help getusthe moneyofour pro- tive antibodies. So the changes in transceiverstations and fibre Police areyet to registerany Tuesday, senior Jio executives tolerateany case of vandalism ers to go to their rooms, tryto posedtothe BJP. duce.” the variantsare notsufficient to optic cables in the statehave FIR in these cases despitevideos metseniorgovernmentandpo- being registeredagainstthem. clear their heads, stay calm, and “I feel bad when Isee efforts When contacted,Dewas makethe vaccines ineffective, come forameeting the next areontopursue communal pol- District Collector Chandramauli whichisapositive reassurance,” morning. itics at Visva-Bharati. The V-C Shukla told The Indian Express, he said. Shahdab; Shah Alam; Riyasat Ali be investigated either by the cants, either in the form of any Police have nowfiledanother The head coachsaid that it thereisaBJP man, he is trying to “Wehaveformedspecial teams Prof Balram Bhargava,DG, and Rashid Saifiasaccusedinthis Crime BranchorSpecial Cell and CCTVfootage(s) or their CDR lo- FIR againstPrachafor allegedly wasacceptable to lose the series tarnish the heritageofthis insti- with help from the police to track Indian Council of Medical case. asked the Delhi Police cation, whichcould prima facie obstructing the investigation dur- 0-4, but going down without a tution by practising communal the trader and getthe farmers Research,emphasisedthat physi- AUGUST7-8: During the Commissioner to pass appropri- showtheir presence at the scene ing the search operation. fight wasn’t. The Australian politics,” Banerjee alleged. their dues. We hope to trackhim cians should onlyuse therapies hearing of bail pleas of twoof atedirections. of crime on the dateofincident,” Pracha representsatleast bowlers were class operators, and Reiterating that the BJP is a (Khoja) soon.” that showbenefits. “The question these accused, Abid and The Special Cell registeredan the courtnoted on the defence three accusedinthe “largercon- India’s batsmen neededtodo party of “outsiders”, she said, KanhaiyaPatel, one of the arises whyshould these varia- Qayumm —bothrepresentedby FIR on August22alleging false argument. spiracy case” in the Delhi riots something different to counter “The BJP is garbageoflies and be- farmers from Harda district who tions occur? These variations oc- lawyer JavedAli —Additional complaint, false evidence and for- DECEMBER 24: The Special and manyother accusedinriot them. lievesindangerous divisive poli- wasalso cheatedsaid that at least curbecause of immune pressure Sessions JudgeVinod Yadavwas gery. Cell, issuing anotice to Pracha, cases registeredbypolice. He has Bharat Arun, the bowling tics. The outsider ‘goondas’ came 100-150 morefarmers spread on the virus. This immune pres- told about twosubsequent com- AUGUST27: ASJ Yadavsaid said: “One complaint… by Sharif calledthe searches an attackon coach, askedthe bowlers to force to Bengal and theyare trying to across four districtsof sure mayberelated to the envi- plaintsbyIrshad Ali in Mayand that Delhi Police Commissioner Malik… respect to arson and ri- due process, legal profession and the Australian batsmen to score createariftbetween us. Theyare Hoshangabad, Sehore, Harda and ronment, the host, treatment, or July. himselfhad informedthe court oting… wasdrafted under your Constitution of India. on one side of the wicket and to blackmailing us in the name of Dewas, have been duped. other modalities,” he said. In these, Irshad Ali alleged that an FIR had been registered instruction on your computer in WITHJIGNASASINHA makethem work hardfor their agencies. Iwould liketotell them It is onlyafter the cheque is- “Therefore, it is important that police had falselyimplicated and that “progress of investiga- your office and got signatureand runs. today, we will notbow our heads suedtothe farmers by the trader from the scientific community’s the accusedinthe case and that tion shall be submitted”before thumbimpression… in your of- PDP’s Para Regular skipper Kohli had a before those who killedGandhi bouncedthat theyrealisedthe perspective that we don't put too “the persons who lootedhis shop the court“as and when directed”. fice itself… Malik has deniedhav- Para,who wonthe polls from chat, and so did Rahane later,itis ji and insulted Rabindranath fraud. Anand Jat, afarmer from muchimmune pressureonthe arenot Muslims”. NOVEMBER 24: Delhi Police ing sent anyofthe copy… but his constituency in Pulwama, is learnt. When theyhit the nets Tagore.Unfortunately, theyhave Alanpur villageinHarda district, virus. We have to maintain the ju- AUGUST10: Lawyer JavedAli didn't oppose the anticipatory severalsuchcomplaintshave currentlyinjail. next, the batsmen startedtowork appointed asaffron-stamped said PavanKhoja approached dicious use of therapies whichare includedIrshad Ali’s complaints bail pleas filedbySharif Malik in been receivedinpolice station Whencontacted,Para’slawyer with the throwdowns. Angles Vice-Chancellor at Visva-Bharati. him with aproposal to purchase going to benefit;ifthe benefit is in the bail application of Abid and an rioting and attempt to murder bearing name of… Malik.” TNRainadeclinedtocommenton were createdand lengths bowled The BJP is trying to convertVisva- the produce and told him that af- notestablished, we should not Qayyum. The courtasked the case, and twosimilar cases regis- “Investigation conducted so this specific NIA claim. But in his by Australians at Adelaide were Bharati to a‘danga[riots]’ place.” terthe enactment of the farm use them,” Prof Bhargava said. DCP (North-East) to file areport teredbyDayalpur police station. farhas providedreasonable sub- bail application filedbeforethe hit. Responding to Union Home laws,the government had man- The Health Secretarysaid at on these complaintsbyIrshad Ali. The Public Prosecutor sub- stance in the allegations, so an or- NIAspecialcourtinJammuearlier It wasdecidedthat Ravindra MinisterAmit Shah’s remarks datedtraders to directlydeal with the briefing that 52 per cent of AUGUST22: The Delhi Police mitted that “the applicant has der of search and seizurehas thismonth,Para deniedallallega- Jadeja and Rishabh Pant should during his visit to the stateovera the farmers. Covid-19cases in India were in filedits reportincourtthat Irshad joinedthe investigation and for been obtained… forrecoveryand tionsof Hizbullinksandsuggested be in the team. “Shastri likes left- week agothat the BJP would win Khoja offeredRs700 more the 18-44age group; however, Ali had nownamedthree resi- the present, he is notrequired to seizureofincriminating docu- he wasbeing framed“forsettling handers anyway forthe angles over 200seatsinnextyear’s state than the running mandi rate,and mortality analyses showthat 55 dents —Deepak,Navneetalias be arrested in the matter. mentsfromyour office and com- political scores with apolitical theyforcetheirbowlersto change. elections, Banerjee said the saf- gave him acheque. He sold about per cent of deaths were in the 60 Nanu, and Mintu —but when However, it is requestedthat the puters,” the police said. party”. Even in the match, it wasafter fron party’s “Mission200”would 90 quintal of lentils worthnearly years and above agegroup. calledbeforeACP (Gokalpuri), he applicant maybedirectedto con- Asked about Malik being Sources said the moneywas Pant and Jadeja came to bat that fall flat and it would notevenwin Rs 5.5 lakh, but the cheque In Hyderabad, Dr DivyaTej said he knewthem onlybyname tinue to join the investigation,” granted bail exactlyamonth be- allegedly deliveredtoHizbul op- things begantochange. Rahane 30 of the 294Assemblyseats. bounced. Sowpati, head of the genome se- and did notidentify them in the the courtsaid while granting pre- fore the searches, VedPrakash erative Syed Mushtaq Naveed also turnedmorepositive after The Chief Ministerslammed The latestcase in Harda —the quencing team at CCMB, said, video. arrest bail to Sharif on separate Surya,DCP Northeast, said: “We alias Naveed Babu through Pant came in. Jadeja wasn’t fully Shah and said, “One outsider is constituency of Cabinetminister “Wehaveneededtoexpeditethe Police said that Irshad Ali told but similar orders in the three neverarrestedSharif. He filedfor DavinderSingh. fitinthe firstTest, else he would coming to Bengal as if he is Santa of AgricultureKamal Patel—is viral genome sequencing efforts, them that Pracha -- whowas ini- cases. anticipatorybail and wasgranted The former J&K police officer have playedtheretoo. The team Claus or Vallabhbhai Patel. the eight suchreportedin and checkfor the presence of the tiallyrepresenting another ac- DECEMBER 3:The Delhi the same by the court. We don't had allegedly receivedthe money believesinthe five-bowler the- Staying at afive-starhotel and Madhya Pradesh since the farm newvariant in India. We have cusedGulfam in the same case - High Courtgrantedbail to Riyasat think there's anyconnection to atSrinagarairport—wherehewas ory,”the source said. eating five-starfood and talking laws came intoforce. usedboththe traditional Sanger -calledhim to his office and told Ali, who had also been namedas Pracha here.” postedthen —and had carriedthe about reforms of the poor.Heis DewasDistrict Collector sequencing method as well as him that he has an eyewitness, an accusedinthe Irshad store Asenior police officer from same hidden in atiffinbox. Dy Chairman notonlyfooling people but also Shukla said since the farmers modern next-gen sequencing namelySharif Malik.And that if looting case. It said that the pres- NorthEastdistrict said, "Granting DavinderSingh wasarrested villageinhis car.When he didn’t misleading in the name of were spread over manydistricts, tools.” Irshad AliattachesMalik’s com- ence of Riyasat Ali “is notestab- bail is the prerogative of the court. on January11, 2020, travelling in return forlong, his family Hinduism. These outsiders are he would coordinatewith others CCMB Director Dr Rakesh plaint to his own, Ali’s case would lishedthrough CCTVfootages/at Theremight have been com- his Hyundai i10car with Naveed launchedasearch forhim. Police creating chaos in the land of in the probe. Mishrasaid, “The measures to become stronger. the spot”. “... however, without plaintsagainstthe accusedand Babu, Hizbul district commander found his body near the railway Tagore.Theydon’t even know avoid infection still remain the In their reportsubmitted to commenting on the meritsofthe due to insufficient evidence, forShopian and Ganderbal; and tracks the following morning. whereRabindranath Tagore was 6with UK strain same. Using maskswhen in pres- the courtonAugust22, the police prosecution case, Iamofthe view Malik wasgranted bail. The po- Hizbul operative RafiAhmedDar. born. Theydon’t even knowthe from aman from Chennai,offi- ence of others, avoiding crowded made twokey allegations: that the petitioner deserves bail,” lice arenot involvedhere. Also, Sources said that in February cultureofBengal. Theyonly cials in Maharashtrasaid. places, maintaining physical dis- One, the statement by Malik, the courtsaid. Similarly,Shah the district police gave areportto 2019,when NaveedBabu and Mir IAF chief knowhatredand divisive politics. “All these persons have been tance arethe mosteffective and himself wanted in asimilar case Alam, and Mohd Rehan were also the court. Subsequent searches were staying in ahideout al- Foundation, said while the Elections arecoming and there- kept in single-room isolation in feasible ways foravoiding this registeredatDayalpur police sta- granted bail. On December 9, and investigation is done by legedly providedbyDavinder strength of the Chinese army fore these seasonal birds are designated health carefacilities virus, including the newvariant.” tion, that he “witnessedthe Gulfam wasgranted bail by a Special Cell. The bails aren't Singh in Jammu, Mir allegedly presence in the region is well coming to Bengal.” by respective stategovernments. (WITHANURADHA whole incident” of rioting was Delhi court. linked to the Special Cell investi- calledParaoverSignal forfinan- known, itsair force“deployment The Chief Ministersaid the Their close contactshavealso MASCARENHASINPUNE) “false, concoctedand fabricated” DECEMBER 17: Qayyum and gation." cial assistance to help Hizbul. has been very strong” and “we BJP wastrying to createa“new been put under quarantine. by Pracha and sent to various of- Abid were granted bail on Following the searches, police “Mir and Para have known have takenevery action that we Hindu dharma”. She added, “We Comprehensive contact tracing Raid on Pracha fices by him through his email ID. grounds of parity.The Sessions said that while advocateJavedAli eachother foralong time. Mir arerequired to take and cater to all followthe Hindu principles has been initiated forco-trav- of the Delhi Police in this case. Two, Irshad Ali’s July2020 af- CourtofASJ Yadavput on record cooperated,itfacedopposition told Para that Rs 10 lakh wasre- suchsituations”. and ideologies of Swami ellers,familycontacts, and oth- Consider: fidavit -- confirming on oath the three argumentsmade by the de- during the searches at Pracha’s quiredforpurchase of five AK-47 The Chinese, he said, also Vivekananda and RamKrishna ers. Genome sequencing on other MARCH 4, 2020: On complaintsattachedwerehis -- fence on the handling of the case office. rifles forHizbul. Para agreedbut “have alarge presence in the sec- Paramhansa. But the BJP is try- specimens is going on,” the February24, Irshad Ali com- whichwas partofAbid and by the Delhi Police. In his computers, the Special put acondition that Hizbul would ond tier,and large presence of ing to createadangerous Health Ministrysaid. plainedtopolice that his rented Qayyum’s bail petition, was That both had been “falsely Cell claimed, it waslooking for notcreateany trouble ahead of radars and surface-to-air missiles, Hinduism trend in India. This is Around 33,000 passengers mattress shop at MoongaNagar found attestedbyNotaryPublic implicated”bythe police; that in- “incriminating documents, al- the polls and that the outfit and surface-to-surface missiles notonlydangerous forour had landedinvarious Indian air- wasransackedand setablaze by SanjaySaxena, who had died vestigation in the matter “has not legedly draftedbyhim/on his in- would take careofhis workers in in the reconnable area”. democracy but also devastating ports from the UK between amob, resulting in aloss of Rs 17- three years ago. been conducted in an impartial structions maybe” while refer- Pulwama. He also sought Asked about the capabilities forour country. Now, theyare November 25 and December 23, 18 lakh to him and Rs 10 lakh to Saxena’s wifeSangeeta and fair manner”; and that per- ring to Malik's complaint and the Hizbul’s supportfor the polls,” an of Indian forces to meetsucha dreaming of capturing our when flightstoand from that store-owner Rekha Garg. Saxena is said to have told the po- sons “belonging to aparticular Section 160CrPC replygiven to NIA officer said. challenge, Air Chief Marshal Bengal. Everyday,leaders from countrywerestopped. “All these Delhi Police namedseveral lice that she has no knowledge of community have been falsely police in the name of or behalf of Following this, the job of co- Bhadauria said, “Whether we other states arecoming to passengers arebeing trackedand people, including councillor Tahir anydocument attestedbyher ropedinbythe investigating complainant Irshad Ali. ordinating the deal wasgiven to have enough today? We have Bengal to spread misinforma- subjected by states to RT-PCR Hussain, former member of the husband’s stamp. agency”. In this reply, Irshad Ali is said DavinderSingh who calledPara enough. Otherwise, youwould tion.” tests. So far, only114 have been AamAadmi Party; Gulfam; ASJ Yadav, in his order on “Thereisnoelectronic evi- to have spoken in favour of the ac- on his phone on February18, have had adifferent situation in FULLREPORTON found positive [for all variantsof Mohd Abid; Arshad Qayyum; August22, said the matter should dence available againstthe appli- cusedpersons. 2019,NIA sources said. He also re- the north.” www.indianexpress.com

Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,DECEMBER30,2020 3 WEST BENGAL

Engineering HOWRAH Suvendu dares dean of JU resigns Trinamoolyouthleadergunneddown Trinamool to hold weeks after rally in Nandigram Murder triggers mob violence,RAF personneldeployed taking charge the acting president of on arampageinprotest,state EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Held a EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Trinamool Youth Congress in ministerArup Royvisited the KOLKATA,DECEMBER29 roadshow KOLKATA,DECEMBER29 Howrah’s Ward 39, at apoint- hospital. in EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE blank rangewhile he wasreturn- “He wasour co-worker, he IN HIS firstroadshowin Nandigram KOLKATA,DECEMBER29 ATRINAMOOL Congress (TMC) ing from Shalimar on abikein wasshotfrompoint-blank Nandigram afterjoining the BJP, on Tuesday youth leader wasshotdead in the afternoon. The gunman ma- range. He succumbed to his in- former Trinamool Congress JADAVPUR UNIVERSITY’S (JU) broad daylight in Howrah dis- noeuvred close to his bikeand juries. The police have been ministerSuvendu Adhikari on Faculty of Engineering Dean trict’s Shalimar area on Tuesday, shotthe TMC leader near the asked to startanenquirytofind Tuesdaydared Chief Minister He will getabefittingreply. Our AmitavaDattaresignedon following whichlocal people Shalimar GateNumber 3area out who all areinvolved. Anyone MamataBanerjee to hold arally call is to remove tolabaaj(extor- Tuesday, citing health problems, vandalisedseveral shops and and spedaway. Aperson riding found to be involvedwill notbe in Purba Medinipur district and tionist) bhaipo from power," over three weeksafter taking buses, and torchedmotorcycles. pillion with Singh wasinjured in spared and action will be taken said BJP will hold arallyon Adhikari said without taking charge. The Rapid Action Force(RAF) the attack. according to law,”hesaid. January8“whereoverone lakh Abhishek's name. In alettertoVice-Chancellor wasdeployedtobring the situa- Singh wasrushedtoahospi- Apolice official said, “A case people will attend”. He also alleged that some Suranjan Das, Dattarequested tion undercontrol. talwith multiple injuries, but he has been lodged and an investi- On Monday, the Trinamool people who were coming to his him to accepthis resignation let- Sources said unidentifiedas- succumbed soon afterwards. gation is being done. It is too Motorbikes were setonfireonTuesdayevening. Express Congress calledoff the party's roadshowwereattackedonthe terwith immediateeffect while sailantsshotDharmendraSingh, As residentsofthe area went early to divulgemoredetails.” January7rallyinNandigram in waybyruling Trinamool offering his supporttothe uni- the district, citing indisposition Congress workers. “I have gotto versity to the best of his abilities. of local MLAAkhil Giri, who has knowthat some of our party Datta, who had takenoveras People of Bengal tested positive forCovid-19. workers were attackedwhile dean onlyonDecember 7, wrote, “Wedon't backout afteran- coming to this roadshow. Letme “Due to some personal reasons won’t be worthy nouncing our political pro- tell youclearly that we will not and health issues it is becoming gramme. Those who announced toleratesuchattacks.The culprits difficult formetocontinue heirs of Tagore, holding arallyinNandigram have to be booked by the police. working in this position effec- have suddenlydisappeared. We will nottakesuchattacks ly- tively.Iamthereforetendering Netaji if they However, Ikeep my word.Iwill ing down though we believe in my resignation from the postof hold arallyonJanuary8and the philosophyofpeace," he said. Dean, Faculty of Engineering and don’t reject morethan one lakh people will “Some of our men had to be Technology,with immediateef- attend it," Adhikari said after hospitalised, while afew are fect.” communalism: holding the roadshow. missing,” said aBJP leader. Earlier this month, the in- Amartya Sen “They(TMC) aresaying that Police, however, said that a terim dean of the science faculty, the rallywill take place later.If scuffle brokeout between locals Professor Subir Mukhopadhyay, theyorganise their meeting later, and agroup of people but the sit- resignedalleging humiliation by PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA we will hold another rallyinthe uation wassoon brought under the students’ union. KOLKATA,DECEMBER29 same area aftertheirs and show control. The Trinamool Congress Lastweek,asection of engi- them that people arewith us deniedthe charge,saying their neering faculty studentshad POLITICAL PARTIES surehave now,"Adhikari said. party workers were notinvolved gheraoedthe V-C, Pro-Vice- good reasons to pursue individ- He also targeted Trinamool in the incident. Chancellor and other senior of- ual goals, but rejection of com- MP Abhishek Banerjee with a Adhikari took partinanother ficials foraround 12 hours on the munalism ought to be ashared "bhaipo" (nephew) jibe. roadshow—from Titagarh to issue of comprehensive and to- value without which“we shall Abhishek is the nephewofChief Khardah in North24Parganas talpublication of final semester notbeworthyheirs of Tagore and MinisterMamataBanerjee. district. Union ministerBabul resultsafter 11 months. Netaji”, NobellaureateAmartya "The office of the bhaipo is Supriyo, BJP MPs SaumitraKhan, The V-Cwas notavailable for Senhas said. asking some people to tear Arjun Singh and others took part comments. The All Bengal HesaidtheLeftandothersec- posters and attackour men here. in the roadshow. University Teachers’ Association ular parties in West Bengal have expressedconcern about the nolesscommitmentthantherul- “unprecedented anarchic situa- Chief MinisterMamataBanerjee leads the roadshowinBolpur on Tuesday. Partha Paul ingTMCto ensuringthatcommu- tion when one dean afteran- nalism does notrear itsuglyhead Left, Cong hold sit-in other is stepping down and the in the state. “Secular parties can V-Cand Pro-VCshad recentlyex- differintheir detailedpro- pressedwish to quit but were TMC RALLY IN BOLPUR grammes, but the importance of against TMC and BJP prevailedupon”. rejecting communalism must Alleging that asection of stu- surelybeastrongly shared value. dentswas “unethicallyand ille- ‘Both (Mamata, Shah) in my heart... We The Leftparties should have no EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE gallyinterfering in semesterex- less acommitment to that than KOLKATA,DECEMBER29 ams and result publication theTMC(inkeepingthestatesec- process” and resorting to gherao are artists, we don’t understand politics’ ular),” Sen said. AFTER Aformal announcement of senior functionaries, ABUTA Exuding confidence that the of their electoral alliance fornext leader and senior professor people of the statewill reject year’s stateAssembly elections, Goutam Maity demanded Baul singerattends Mamatarally, days afterhosting Shah non-secular forces, the 87-year- the Leftand the Congress on proper administrative action on old Harvardprofessor said, Tuesdayheld ajoint protest the matter. “Bengal had in the pastgreatly meeting at Rani Rashmoni At the sit-in, Tuesday. Express —WITHPTIINPUTS ATRIMITRA suffereddue to communalism.” Avenue againstthe Centre’s poli- BOLPUR,DECEMBER29 “Eachparty mayhaveagood cies, including the recentlyen- reason to pursue itsown goals acted farm laws.Lastweek, Centrehas brought in farm laws DAYS AFTER hosting BJP leader withoutharmingtheoverarching Congress high command had to sell the country’s farmers to TRUCKRAMS Amit Shah at his house forlunch, objective of keepingBengalsecu- approved the alliance. corporates. The stategovern- INTORAILGATE, Baul singer Basudeb Das on lar and non-communal. First Leaders of sixteen Leftpar- ment herehas failedtofill up va- Tuesdaytook partinthe things should surelycome first. ties and the Congress partici- cant posts forteachers. Our fight DISRUPTS Trinamool Congress rallyin OMNIPRESENTAT Otherwise, we shall notbewor- pated in the sit-in hereand de- will continue till anti-worker TRAINSERVICES Bolpur along with other folk ROADSHOW— thyheirs of Tagore and Netaji," he mandedthat the three farm laws labour laws areamended. Today singers and sharedthe stagewith said. With Bengal's icons occu- be repealedimmediately. They we have assembledheretocon- Chief MinisterMamataBanerjee. TAGOREPORTRAITS pying centrestage in political also demandedthe waiver of ex- demn atrocities on Dalits, Kolkata: Train services on AfterShah's luncheon, Das discourse in the run-up to the orbitant electricity bills issuedin women and Adivasis.” the Kalyani-Sealdah sec- had expressedhis unhappiness ■ The entirestretch of Assemblyelections, Sen said one the stateduringcyclone LeftFront chairperson Biman tion of Eastern Railway with the BJP,saying he wasnot the TMC’s roadshow— mustremember that all lumi- Amphan and the amendment of Bose said, “Today’s joint move- were partiallydisrupted allowedtomeetShah during his from Dak Bungalow naries “have wanted and ar- the Essential Commodities Act. ment by the Leftand the during peak office hours brief stopover. MoretoChowmatha gued” forunity. CPI(M) statesecretarySurjya Congress showedthe TMC and on Tuesdaymorning after On Tuesday, Mamata Baul singer Basudeb Das (centre)with other folk singers at More—inBolpur was “Tagore, Bose, Ishwar KantaMishrasaid, “The govern- the BJP areonone side and we apowerline snapped Banerjee welcomedhim to the the TMC roadshowinBolpur,Tuesday. Partha Paul filledwith large cut-outs Vidyasagar and Swami ment has failedtocreatejobs for areonthe other.Thereisa when atruckrammed stageand drapedhim with her of Rabindranath Tagore Vivekananda, all wanted and ar- migrant workers who were match-fixing going on between intoarail gate,anofficial ownuttoriyo(traditional stoles). and Chief Minister guedfor aunited Bengali culture, stuckinother states due to the the TMC and the BJP as leaders of said. She then requestedDas to “bless government has givenusan portany party or politics. But, MamataBanerjee. The and thereisnoroom in their so- Covid 19-inducedlockdown. The both parties areswitching sides.” “Around 9.18 am, the the crowdwith his song”. As ex- identity card, amonthlyal- wheneverbig leaders like rallyvenue wasdotted cial objective fortrying to excite trucksmashedinto pected,Das obliged and sang the lowance of Rs 1,000... So, why MamataDidi or Amit Shah call with placards containing one community againstanother. Kalyani rail gate when it famous Baul song “TomayHridoy don't we stay with Mamata us, we always trytoattend their lines from Tagore’s That is the Bengali culturethat wasbeing loweredtoal- MajhareRakhbo, Jete Ddebo Na (I Banerjee?" he said. functions." poems. People were we have come to admire. Kazi lowatrain to cross. Due will keep youinmyheart, will Another Baul singer Sumanta “The BJP came to me with the spotted wearing masks Nazrul Islam is as big aBengali to the impact, the power notlet yougo)”— the same song Das from Ruppur area of requesttohostAmit Shah for of Tagore.Morethan 10 leader as the others.” he added. connection of the down he had sung in front of Shah. Sriniketan echoedBarui. “Weare lunch. Idid all the shopping. They LCDscreens were erected line snapped, affecting Shyamal Barui, Muktipada Baul singers. We areaseparate (BJP leaders) onlybought the at important train services fortwo Das Bagdi and severalother Baul community.Weare notprofes- sweets that were served that intersections to hours,” said Eastern singers from the region also per- sional singers and sing folk songs day,”hesaid, adding that he was broadcastthe TMC chief’s Railway spokesperson formedatthe TMC rallyon formoney. We usedtobeg and under “no pressurefromthe speech. MoS Indranil Sen KD Das. Tuesday. whatever we got from begging, Trinamool” and had come to at- had reachedBolpur on Normal operations on While Barui openlyadvo- we usedtoliveonit. But, Mamata tend Mamata's rally“voluntarily”. December 27 to oversee the routewererestoredat cated his supportfor Mamata Didi gave us regular earnings and When asked who is in your the preparations forthe 11.03 am, the official Banerjee, Basudeb preferredto we aregrateful to her." heart–MamataBanerjee or Amit roadshow. He also added. stricktopolitical-neutral notes. Basudeb Das, however, said, Shah, Basudeb replied, "Both are attendedarehearsal —PTI "MamataBanerjee gave us “Weare artists.Wedon't under- very learnedpersons and both with artists.—ENS identity.Now,the Trinamool stand politics and we don't sup- will remain in my heart."

COVID CAUTION Bidhan Sarani (eVB) Prevent overcrowding on New Year’s Eve: HC 83/1,BidhanSarani,Kolkata -700004 Email: [email protected] Sources in the police said the EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE department wasinstructed to Active cases below 13,000 ANNEXURE-F Revised KOLKATA,DECEMBER29 control the crowdonNew Year's SALE NOTICE FOR SALE OF IMMOVABLE PROPERTIES ; Eve. The KolkataPolice has de- “APPENDIX- IV-A [See provisotoRule 6(2) &8(6)] THE CALCUTTAHigh Courton cidedtochangeits strategy fol- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE STATECOUNT E-AuctionSale Notice for Sale of ImmovableAssets under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of FinancialAssets and Enforcement of Security InterestAct, 2002 read Tuesdayset guidelines forpre- lowing an unexpectedly large KOLKATA,DECEMBER29 with proviso to Rule 6(2) &8(6) of the Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules, 2002. TOTAL CASES Notice is hereby given to the public in general and in particular to the Borrower (s) and Guarantor(s) that the below describedimmovableproperty mortgaged/chargedtothe Secured venting large congregations for Christmas crowdatthe Park Creditor,possession of which has been taken by theAuthorised Officer of Bank of Baroda, Secured Creditor,will be sold on “As is where is”, “As is what is”, and “Whateverthere is” for NewYear celebrations and di- Street-AliporeZoo stretchon WESTBENGAL’S active Covid-19 549715 recovery of below mentionedaccount/s. The details of Borrower/s/Guarantor/s/Secured Asset/s/Dues/Reserve Price/e-Auction date &Time, EMD and Bid Increase Amount are rected the stategovernment Christmas Eve. Police presence caseload droppedbelow13,000 mentioned below – INCREASE DEATHS and the police to ensurethey is expected to be doubledinar- to 12,788 on Tuesdayasthe re- Name &address of Detailed description of Reserve Price, Sr/ Date &Time Status of Possession Property Borrower/s/Guarantor/ s/ the immovable property with arefollowed. eas suchasParkStreetand covery rate jumpedto95.92 per 1244 9655 Lot Total Dues of EMD amount, (Symbolic /Physical) Inspection ADivision BenchofJustice Esplanade. cent on aday 1,244new cases 527272RECOVERED No. Mortgagor (s) known encumbrances, if any E-auction Bid Increase Amount. date &Time Moushumi Bhattacharya and In October,the High court were reported. 1 Borrower: Kunal Lal, M/s Kunal Factory Land with shed measuring Rs.1,66,95,676.08 14.01.2021 Rs. 49,50,000/- Physical 08.01.2021 Justice Kaushik Chand directed had bannedvisitors’ entryto According to the statehealth 70,31,066 SAMPLES Industries, Prop: Kunal Lal, 15/1, approx., 5Cottas situated at Dag No. and interest thereon 1.00 PM to ------12 noon the chief secretaryand the home Durga Puja pandals (marquees), bulletin, in whichfigures areup- TESTED TILL DEC 29 Jora Bagan Street, Kolkata 700006 425, JLNo. 97, Touzi No. 17, Khatian No. together with 3.00 PM Rs. 4,95,000/- with prior secretarytoensurethereisno and directed organisers to put up dated till 9am, 30 people diedin Guarantor: Tarak Lal, 15/1 Jora 321 situated at Mouza Kushaigachi, P.S. incidental expenses, ------appointment overcrowding on NewYear’s barricades outside pandals. The 24 hours, pushing up the toll to 315cases were reportedfrom Bagan Street, Kolkata- 700006 Dankuni, Dist. Hooghly ADSR Office cost charges etc. Rs. 10,000/- Jonai. Eve. following month, the court 9,655. The government said North24Parganas district. Of the The judges told the police to bannedcrackers during Diwali, 1,587patientsweredischarged, 30 deaths, four were reported For detailed terms and conditions of sale, please refer to the link provided in https://www.bankofbaroda.in/e-auction.htm and https://ibapi.in.Also, prospective bidders may identify the areas wherelarge Kali Puja and Chhath Puja. Last taking the cumulative number fromKolkatawhilenineoccurred contact the authorized officer onTelNo. 033-25553038 Mobile No. 8240380893 crowds might gather,and dis- week,the matter of NewYear of people dischargedto5,25,685. in North24Parganas district. The Name: PREM PRAKASH Date: 30.12.2020 Authorised Officer tributemasks, sanitisers at celebrations wasbrought to the Among the latestcases, 270 government said 37,245 tests Place :- Kolkata Bank of Baroda check-posts. court’s attention. were reportedfromKolkatawhile were conducted in 24 hours. Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 4 EXPRESS NETWORK THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,DECEMBER30,2020 Rajinikanth aborts plan to enter politics, cites health Cashsqueeze,Navylooksatwaystocutcosts

ing requirementsisimportant to nance and human resource. ARUNJANARDHANAN ‘Nobody can KRISHNKAUSHIK deal with the downsizing of the “Instead of having 10 ships, as- Plan for CHENNAI,DECEMBER29 understand NEWDELHI,DECEMBER29 budget.For example, he said,the sets of other countries can partic- my pain in Navy has revisedsome numbers TheIORchallenge ipatetogether [in amission].” Co- maritime ACTORRAJINIKANTH, whose making this WITH INCREASED commitments in keyacquisition projects. E operation with like-minded ● muchawaited announcement of decision’ and budgetaryconstraints, the It hascut down therequire- EXPLAINED countries is essential, he said. “We security apolitical party wastobemade Navy has been looking at various ment of 10 P8i surveillance air- WITH CHINAinvesting heavilytobecome alargerglobal tend to economise, tryand getthe on December 31,issuedastate- options suchasrationalisation of crafttosix. Forminesweeper power, and India placedonthe major economic maritime mostbangfor the buckfrompart- coordinator ment on Tuesdayand clarified in viewofhis vulnerable health requirementsand international vessels, the requirement was highway in the Indian Ocean from whereamajor shareof nerships, sharing information that he will notjoin politics, or status, Rajinikanth had, earlier in cooperation to cope with the slashedfromthe earlier 24 to 12. China’s trade passes through, the Indian Navy’s commitment with other nations,” he said. NewDelhi: Setting up of a form the party,inviewofill- December,announcedthat he challenges, asenior officer of the And now, the number might be in the Indian Ocean Region is expected to increase. With The officer said international National Maritime health and the prevailing pan- would launchthe party in forcetold The Indian Express. Cost further reducedtoeight, al- budget constraintsand threatsonbotheastern and western cooperation helps build mar- SecurityCoordinatorisbe- demic situation. January2021. reduction is crucial, he said, with though aproposal is yettobe fronts, the Navy has rationalisedits requirementsand is fo- itime domain awareness. Giving ing considered at the top Rajinikanth’s statement re- The datefor the launchwas to the Covid-19pandemic hurting submitted.Similarly,Landing cusing on international cooperation to plug information gaps the example of the Navy's echelonsof thesecurityes- leasedonsocial media said that be announcedonDecember 31. the economyacross sectors, in- Platform Docks,whichare am- formaritime domain awareness, keeping up with itscom- Information Fusion Centre- tablishment, senior Navy different people mayreact dif- Twodays ago, after cluding defence. phibious warfareships, the re- bat capabilities. Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR), officials told The Indian ferentlyifhecontinues to say Rajinikanth,71,wasbrieflyhospi- “The Navy has rationalisedits quirement is being rationalised whichcame intoexistence two Express.This will be in ad- that he would enter politics but talisedfor fluctuations in blood requirements, reducedplans,” from the originalfour to two, the years ago, he said thereare Naval dition to Navy’s proposal, at alater stage. “For that reason, pressure, the hospital issuedan the officer told The Indian officer said. thing, and is willing to explore by the time the current fleetof officers from other nations too. whichisbeing considered with aheavy heart, letmemake unusual bulletin whichnot only Express, although he asserted He also citedthe induction of the optionfor everything,” the Mig29k starts fading out, the gap “Due to the IFC-IOR, we have by theCabinetCommittee it clear that Iamunable to form revealedhishealthstatusbutalso that “nobody can come and bully unarmedversion of SeaGuardian officer said. will be metbyindigenouslyde- information available from vari- on Security,toform a apolitical party and enter poli- revealeddetailsof medicaladvice India anymore”. Predator drones from an Another project that has seen signedTwin-Engine DeckBased ous sources, to develop acom- National Maritime tics. Nobody can understand my given.Besidesdescribingindetail Although the Navy's capital American firm in November. reduction in the numbers is for Fighter aircraftbeing developed prehensive picture. The sea is DomainAwarenessCenter pain in making this decision,” he thedoctors'advises,suchascom- outlayincreasedfromRs23,156 While the three services have a deck-basedfighter jets.In2017, by HindustanAeronautics open to all, your friends, your en- —amulti-agencyforumof said in the statement. plete rest forone week,the bul- crorein2019-20 to Rs 26,688 joint demand for30suchHigh the Navy had floated aRequest Limited.The officer said, “The emies, your neutrals. Now, how the Navy,CoastGuard, The actor’s political entryhas letinstatedthattheactorhadbeen crorein2020-21, the situation Altitude Long Endurance drones, forInformation for57fighter jets Navy is fullycommitted to sup- do youknowwho is an enemy, Intelligence agencies and been arumour since 1996, and counselledtoavoid anyactivity arising out of the pandemic may the Navy has takentwo drones from international manufactur- porting the HAL forthe Twin- who is afriend. What we aredo- statemarine police forces Rajinikanth himself made the thatincreasestheriskof contract- forcechanges. forsurveillance on lease to plug ers, but the officer said it is likely Engine DeckBasedAircraft.” ing is creating maritime domain amongothersforstronger announcement in December ing Covid-19, triggering rumours With effectsofthe pandemic thecriticalgaps. to be revisedto34now. He said international coop- awareness,” he said. integration formaritime 2017.Amid speculations in re- inpoliticalcirclesthatitwasaprel- expected to remain forsome “The Navy will do cost-ben- The induction cycle will be eration also reduces costs along FULLREPORTON security. ENS cent months that he might udeto hisplansto withdraw from time, the officer said rationalis- efit analysis forleasing forevery- timedinsuchaway,hesaid, that with improving ownmainte- www.indianexpress.com changethe plan due to Covid-19, the announcement of the party. Bharuch MP resigns from BJP Several injured as protesting health issues. Ihavebeen nurs- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE ing some backand spine issues farmers lathi-charged in Patna VADODARA,DECEMBER29 that arealso triggering mi- graines. Ihavetold the party pre- to submit their memorandum of these farmers areshare- BJP’S LOKSabha MP from viouslythat it is difficult formeto EXPRESSNEWS of demandswhen theywere croppers,headded. Bharuchand tribal leader undertake extensive travelling in SERVICE lathicharged. The farmers, Singh said Bihar farmers are Mansukh Vasava Tuesdayre- the constituency,especiallywith PATNA,DECEMBER29 however, were notallowedto in complete solidarity with signedfromthe party.Inaletter so manyimportant elections reachRaj Bhavan. Leftparties farmers protesting along the to Gujarat BJP president CR coming up at the taluka pan- MORE THAN half-a-dozen arealso backing the farmers. Delhi-Haryana borders. “We Paatil, Vasava stated he will sub- chayatsand district level. The farmers sufferedminor injuries All India Kisan Mahasabha's want roll backofall the three mit his resignation as aMember resignation is purelyfor my per- when police lathichargedthem statesecretaryRamadhar Singh farm laws.Bihar government of Parliament to the Lok Sabha sonal reasons and Idonot intend near Dak Bungalowcrossing in said farmers had come to Patna did away with the mandi sys- Speaker during the upcoming to withdraw it. Ihavealready as- Patna on Tuesday. Over 2,000 from Purnea,Araria, Gopalganj, temin2006but did notprovide Budget Session. sured the party that Iwill be farmers, under the aegis of All EastChamparan and Siwan on anyalternative system. Most The BJP leader,who is slated available as anyother primary India Farmers Struggle their ownand that their protest farmers have to sell their paddy to meetsenior BJP leaders at his member of the party forwhat- Coordination committee, were would onlyintensify in the muchbelowMSP,” Singh al- Rajpipla residence Wednesday, ever work is neededofme. Ihave marching towardsRaj Bhavan coming days.Amajor segment leged. told The Indian Express, “I have no grouse with either the party During the protestmarch in Patna on Tuesday. PTI resigneddue to my age-related or the government.” GHAZIPUR PROTEST SITE SOUTHERN RAILWAY Small farmers from outside (CONSTRUCTION ORGANISATION) E-TENDER NOTICE No. 04/DCE/CN/SA/2020 (OT) DATED 24.12.2020 Punjab say MSP just adream 05/DCE/CN/SA/2020 (OT) DATED 24.12.2020 The Deputy Chief Engineer, ASHNABUTANI Construction, Southern Railway, NEWDELHI,DECEMBER29 Salem -636 005 invites e-tender for the following work as per Notice Invitingtender (NIT) in our portal AMONGTHOSE arriving at the www.ireps.gov.in. The Ghazipur border to join the tenderers/contractors intending to protestagainstthe farm laws is TAMIL NADU geNerATIoN AND DISTrIbUTIoN corporATIoN LTD. apply for the tender needs to get asizable group of small farm- NOTICE INVITING TENDERS (e-TeNDerINg proceSS) enrolled in the portal ers, mostlyfromUttar Pradesh www.ireps.gov.in. and only online Sl. Tender Inviing Speciicaion No. & Due Date &Time and some from Uttarakhand. No Authority Name of Work /Material forsubmission tenders will be accepted. The cost of Speaking to The Indian Express, the tender form and the Earnest Mines-01, Selecion of Mine many said theyare being paid At the protestsiteatGhazipur. Prem Nath Pandey Developer and Operatorfor 24.02.2021 MoneyDeposit (EMD) should be CE/MECH/ 1 Development and Operaion of Up to made through online payment less than the Minimum Mines Chandrabila Coal Block (10 MTPA) 14.00 Hours gateway available in the website by SupportPrice (MSP) fortheir Angul DistrictofOdisha the way of multiple bank’snet banking crops, or,inthe case of sugar- amount. Ihad to take aloan of farmer at the protestsitesaid Thetender Speciicaion canbedownloaded from TANGEDCO website, and credit card. cane farmers, haven’t been paid Rs 1.5lakh lastyear formyson's theyreceivedoverRs1,200. www.tangedco.gov.in, www.tenders.tn.gov.in,atfreeofcost. Sl.No.1: Name of the work :Doubling at all forayears. wedding and forfarming. This Premanand Mahajan, an ex- htps://tntenders.gov.in/nicgep/app of Track between Omalur and Farmers from all back- is the condition when it (farm- MLAfromUdham Singh Nagar DIPR/5016/Tender/2020 cHIeF eNgINeer/MecHANIcAL/Mines Metturdam- Proposed Construction of grounds insistedthat small ing) is under the government. in Uttarakhand, who reached Foot Over BridgesatOmalur & farmers, who owntwo acres or Imagine the situation if corpo- the siteonMonday, said, “I got JHARGRAM MUNICIPALITY Mecheri road and Passenger Platform Sadhu Ramchand Murmu Sarani Shelters at omalur. less, will be hit hardestbythe ratescome in and thereisno Rs 1,200for dhan this year,de- Bachurdoba: Jhargram Approximate Cash value: laws. MSP in place...” spitehaving some influence in Ph:- 03221-255098 ₹1,61,79,634.44/-. Earnest Money RamChand (43), from Farmers arguedthat in such my area. So youcan imagine Email: [email protected] Deposit :₹2,30,900/-. Cost of Tender Pilibhit’s Dhakia Natha village, asituation, theycannotgoto howitisfor smaller farmers. Notice Inviting Tender Form:₹0.00/-. Period of Completion has been forced to sell his yield courtunder the newlawsbut This is whywewant awritten [ABRIDGED] in month(s): SIX. Closing Date @ at aprice muchlowerthan the have to approachthe SDM. notice from the government re- JM/07/20-21 15:00 hrs: 18.01.2021. MSP foraslong as he can re- Non-payment of sugarcane garding MSP,stating that it will Memo No-3078/4PW-15 Dt:-29.12.2020 Sl.No.2: Name of the work : member.Hesaid, “I have 5 dues wasaconcern echoedby be followed.” Tenders are being invited by the undersigned from Bonafide Running / Proposed new BG Line between bighas of land (a little less than farmers from Uttarakhand as Farmers said if MSP as well others contractors/Agency for 21(Twenty) Nos. works below 3.00 Lakh Chinnasalem and Kallakurichi - an acre), in whichIalternatebe- well. Mandeep Narwal (32), as middlemen areremoved, for different types of development works. Last date of submission of Housekeeping and maintenance of tween sowing gehu (wheat), from Bazpur,said he has not theywill be paid muchless Application 14.01.2021 up to 3.00P.M. The details of above tender may ofce, ORH/Camp Ofce under the dhan (paddy)and ganna (sug- been paid forsugarcane fortwo than what theyare getting now. be seen at the office Notice board, Notice Board of D.M. Office, control of Deputy Chief Engineer, arcane).” years: “Since it is the onlycrop Puran Lal (38), from UP’s S.D.O.Office. Construction, Salem for period of One N.B. Paymentswill be made after receiving of funds. year. His foremostconcern, how- that Igrow, Imanagetoget 800 Pilibhit, explainedhow he is left Sd/- Approximate Cash value: ever,was that he has notbeen quintal of sugarcane in ayear. with onlyRs500 by the end of Executive Officer, ₹7,59,230.00/-. Earnest Money paid forhis sugarcane crop for But Ihavenot receivedarupee the year:“Lastseason, Igot 4 Jhargram Municipality Deposit:₹15,200.00/-. Cost of twoyears. He and other farm- from it;Iammanaging the quintal of dhan, which Tender Form :₹0.00/-. Period of ers at the border said theyare household by taking loans from amounted to around Rs 4,000. STATEINDUSTRIES PROMOTIONCORPORATION OF TAMILNADU LIMITED Completion in month(s) :TWELVE. on contract with the Sahkari local institutions.” Of that, Ispent Rs 2,000to grow 19-A, RUKMANI LAKSHMIPATHY ROAD, EGMORE, CHENNAI -600 008. Closing Date &Time @15.00 hrs: Ganna Vikas Samiti, whichpays Asked if he can grow some- abatchofgehu.After paying CIN U74999TN1971SGC005967 18.01.2021. them Rs 325 foraquintal of thing else instead of sugarcane, labourers, Iamleftwith Rs 500 Tender NoiceNIT.No.110/CW/DO/T.No.114/2020-21Dt.:28.12.2020 For Further details refer to website sugarcane. The FRP (fair and re- he said, “What else can we forsix months... if someone falls Forand on behalf of StateIndustriesPromoion Corporaion of Tamil Nadu Limited, portal www.ireps.gov.in or contact sealed tendersare invited under “Two CoverSystem” forthe following work from Class-I State munerative price) forsugar- grow?The situation is no bet- sickinthe family, Ican’t do any- levelCivil ContractorsregisteredinTN-State/Central or Quasi GovernmentOrganisaions Ofce of the Deputy Chief Engineer, cane is 285 per quintal. terfor farmers who grow dhan thing about it. Four of my chil- having experience in similar natureofworks. Tenderswill be received upto 3.00 PM on Construction, Salem -636 005. Chand, who has been at the either.” dren study in agovernment 19.01.2021 and the same willbeopenedonthe same dayat3.30 PM. Deputy Chief Engineer, Approx. value border for10days,said, “I am While the MSP forpaddy is school.Theyget ameal aday, Name of Work EMD Construction, Salem -636 005. of work still waiting forthe pending Rs 1,868per quintal, notasingle but thereisnoteaching there.” A)Construcion of Solid Waste Disposal CentreatSIPCOT Rs.505.50 Rs.2,62,750/-* Follow us on :twitter.com/GMSRailway Industrial Complex, Thoothukudi. Lakhs B) Providing Arrangementsinthe Solid Waste Disposal (including GST Centresuch as Construcion of PCC Compound Wall, @12%) Pipe Culvertand Construcion of SteelTruss including Formaion of Road at SIPCOT Industrial Growth Centre Gangaikondan. *inthe form of DemandDratdrawn in favour of SIPCOT Ltd., payable at Chennai. (In the Tenderer ‘s Name only) Thetender Schedule canbeDownloaded at free of cost from the website: www.tenders.tn.gov.in DIPR/5041/TENDER/2020 SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER,SIPCOT,ChENNaI-8

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,DECEMBER30,2020 5 EXPRESS NETWORK

Clashes break out in Indore village as rally by SHOPIAN ENCOUNTER Hindu outfits chants slogans outside mosque Armysettotakeover

resident, who wasallegedly General of Police, Indore, the rallyhas been arrested so far. IRAMSIDDIQUE caught on camerapelting stones “Twenty-fourpeople,mostlyfrom Superintendent of Police BHOPAL,DECEMBER29 during the clashes, Madhya thevillage,have beenroundedup SatyendraKumar Shukla said proceedingsagainst PradeshHomeMinisterNarottam basedonvideo evidence. There three or four people were seen CLASHESERUPTED in aMuslim- MishrasaidonTuesday: “Jahanse willbemorearrests onbothsides pelting stones and theyare in the dominated villageinIndoredis- pathar aaenge, wahin se tohnikale andpeoplewhoclimbedatopthe process of being identified. “The trict when members of right- jaaenge(Thedirectionfromwhere mosque will be identifiedand housethatwasdemolishedbythe wingHindugroups,participating the stones come, that decides the booked under relevant sections.” revenuedepartmentwasofanin- Captfromciviliancourt in arallytocollect donations for eviction).” Tuesday’s clash took Senior officials, including dividual who had resortedto construction of RamTemple, placeinChandankhedivillageun- Collector Manish Singh and SSP stone pelting,” said Shukla. case,andwe have actedwithgreat stoppedinfront of amosque and der Gautampurapolice station Harinarayan Chari Mishra, were Adelegation of five Congress NIRUPAMA speedassoon evidence came up chanted slogans Tuesday. Until whentherallyofaround200peo- Avehicle being overturned at the spottill latenight, trying to MLAs headedbyformer minister SUBRAMANIAN in apreliminaryinquirythat latenight, police were trying to ple stoppedoutside the mosque during the clash. Screengrab defuse the situation. Sajjan Singh Verma metChief MUMBAI,DECEMBER29 something wasamiss about this bring the situation under control. and chanted slogans. Senior po- Meanwhile, in the Ujjain SecretaryIqbal Singh Bains and encounter.OnAugust11, aCourt This comes three days after lice officials said this resulted in stone-peltingincident,policehave DGP VivekJohri and demanded THEARMYisintheprocessof tak- of Inquirywasordered.Normally, similar clashes eruptedin heatedexchangesbetweenmem- of them–holdingsaffronflagsand booked eight morepeople. an impartial probeintothe Ujjain ing over proceedings againsta aCourtofInquirygets90days,but Muslim-dominatedBegumBagh bersof thetwocommunitieslead- chanting “Jai Shri Ram” slogans – Atotal of 15 people have been clash. CongressMLAArif Masood RashtriyaRifles officer in the inthiscase,becauseof theimpor- neighbourhood of Ujjain when a ing to stone pelting. climbed atop the mosque and arrested,ofwhom five have been said: “If the Assemblysession is Shopianfake encountercasefrom tance of this case, everything was rallybeingtakenoutby Bharatiya Some local residentsclaimed triedtodamagethe minaret. bookedof underNationalSecurity cancelledbecause of Covid-19, acivilian courtwherea wrappedupin30days,after Janata Yuva Morchachanted slo- thatthoseparticipatingintherally Videosof theincidentshowedthe Actand 10 others have been howisitthat permission is chargesheethasbeenfiledagainst Police personnel take the whichthe SummaryofEvidence gans, leading to stone pelting. chanted Hanuman Chalisa out- Hinduoutfitmembersalsotrying bookedforattempt to murderand granted to carry out rallies. And if him, The Indian Express has bodies that were exhumed process beganimmediately,”he Responding to questions on a side the mosque while prayers to burn down ahouse and dam- rioting.Allthe15 arrestedareres- thesepeopledidnothavepermis- learnt. in Baramulla. Express file said. demolitiondrive beingcarriedout were beingofferedinside.Thesit- aging severalvehicles. identsofBegum Bagh. No one sion, howisitthat no action has TheArmyhasdecidedthatthe He also said that unrelated to in Ujjain at the home of aMuslim uationturnedviolentwhensome Yogesh Deshmukh, Inspector from among those who took out been takenagainstthem.” officer,anArmyCaptain, will be the trial of the Captain, the Army triedinacourtmartial. AJunior asenior Armyofficial said. wasplanningto investigateifoth- CommissionedOfficer is also to Theprecedentforatransferof ersintheunitwere inanyway re- stand trial in the case in the mili- anycase involving an Armyoffi- sponsiblefortheAmshiporainci- TRACKING INDIA’S COVID CURVE tary court. cerfromaciviliancourttothemil- dent.“Whensomethinggoeswell, Policehave filedachargesheet itarycourtcame with the 2012 everyone up the hierarchytakes CASES: ACTIVECASES:268,581 in the Shopian Chief Magistrate's Supreme Courtjudgment in the credit. When something goes 302 CourtagainstCaptain Pathribal case following the CBI wrong,everyoneupthehierarchy DAYSSINCE 10,224,303 DEATHS:148,153 BhoopendraSingh, who went by indictment of five officers. The gets the stick. That is the Army's PANDEMIC BEGAN TESTS: 169,801,749 | RECOVERIES: 9,807,569 the operational alias Major SupremeCourtruledthatnocog- internal accountability,and that Basheer Khan, and twocivilians, nizance could be takenofany of- will go on and is notlinked to the CASES DEATHS RECOVERIES TESTS Tabish Nazir and Bilal Ahmed fence committed by asoldier in trial,” this officer said. DEC28 16,432 252 24,900983,695 Lone.TheJCOisnot namedinthis thecourseof officialdutywithout Aday aftertheAmshiporaen- chargesheet. prior sanction from the govern- counter,the Commander of 12 While the police arrested the ment. Sector RR, Brigadier AjayKatoch, twocivilians,theycouldnotarrest The Supreme Courtalso gave heldapressconferenceonJuly 19 the officer “for procedures under the Armythe option of choosing to announce that three terrorists AFSPA”. An Armysource said the“venue”of thetrialbetweena had been killedinthe encounter, Captain Singh and the JCOwere civilian or amilitarymilitary. The givingdetailedaccountof the“en- placed under arrest by the Army Armyhad invokedthe Armed counter”. soon afterevidence emergedof ForcesSpecialPowersActtoargue Hesaidtheofficerandtwosol- STATESWITHRISINGACTIVECASES wrong doing, and theyare in the that the men could notstand trial diers accompanying him came ACTIVECASES RISEINLASTWEEK custody of militarypolice. in acivilian court. under heavy fire,theyretaliated, Kerala 64,0983,536 The chargesheetaccuses The twocivilians and police and CRPF were also Sikkim 625 171 Captain Singh and the twocivil- chargesheetedintheShopiancase rushedtothespot.Healsosaidthe Puducherry 35725 ians of staging the July18en- cannotbetriedbythe Army, and “search party” came under fire counter at AmshiporainShopian their trial will go ahead in the dis- from ahouse and “in the ensuing STATESWHEREACTIVECASESAREDECLINING district and setting up the evi- trict court, the source said. action, three terrorists were neu- ACTIVECASES DECLINEINLASTWEEK PAYING TRIBUTE dence, later destroying this evi- The Armyhas pavedthe way tralised”. West Bengal 13,161 3,742 dence,and“purposefullyproject- foracourtmartial againstthe On the bodies of the terrorists Chhattisgarh12,962 3,098 Mumbai Police personnel carry achadar from Mahim police station to Mahim dargahtopay ing false information” as partofa Captain and the JCO. ACourtof recoveredbythe search team, Delhi 6,2972,958 tributetoMakhdum Ali Mahimi on the occasion of his Ursordeath anniversary. Mahim criminalconspiracyto claimRs20 Inquiry, whichrecordedthe evi- Katochsaid arms, ammunition dargahisdedicated to Mahimi and Mumbai Police lays the firstchadar. Amit Chakravarty lakh rewardmoney, whichis dence, and aSummaryof and IED material were found. He STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMCASES givencarrying out successful en- Evidence, aprocess that collects praisedJ&K Police forpreventing ONDEC28 TOTAL counters. evidence admissible in amilitary stone pelting by villagers. Kerala 3,047 743,564 ELGAAR PARISHAD CASE “As per procedure, the court court, have already been com- The storycame apartafter a Maharashtra2,498 1,922,048 Five Jharkhand asksthe Armyinsuchcases pleted. The police chargesheet familyinRajouri filedamissing whether the Armywantstocon- againstthe Captain is likelytobe- person's complaint early in Chhattisgarh1,188 276,337 Navlakha, Babu: Books archers to get ductthetrialoritcanproceedasa come part of the proceedings in Augustabout three of itsfamily STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMDEATHS civilian trial. The Armyhas indi- the militarycourt. members–ImtiyazAhmed,Abrar ONDEC28 TOTAL assistance from cated that theywill be taking The SummaryofEvidence Ahmedand Mohd Ibrar –who Maharashtra5250,440 sent by family returned state govt over,” asource told The Indian findings,whichbroadlyreflectthe had travelledtoKashmir to look West Bengal 27 9,625 Express.The courtwrotetothe findings of the police, arenow forworkandhadnotbeenincon- Armytochoose between acivil- with the JudgeAdvocateGeneral tact since July16. From photo- Chhattisgarh263,319 by jail authorities Ranchi: TheJharkhand govern- ian or militarytrial on December branchofthe Armyfor “valida- graphs on social media of the en- DataasonDecember28,releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealthandFamilyWelfare,IndianCouncilofMedical ment on Tuesdayannouncedfi- 27 when the chargesheetwas tion”. Asecond officer said the counter,theyhad identifiedthe Researchandstategovernments.Oftenthenumbersreleasedeverydaycontaindatafrompreviousdays aswell.Assuch,trendsbasedondailynumbersareonlyindicativeandnotdefinitive and textsand the denial of books nancial assistance of Rs 2.5 lakh filed.“Wehavetogiveourconsent Armywascommittedto ensuring bodies as those of the three miss- SADAFMODAK could notbearbitrary. Referring eachtofour statearchers and Rs in writing, and that is in process,” justice in the case. “It is acritical ing familymembers. MUMBAI,DECEMBER29 to the state’s prison manual, they 2.7 lakh to afifth archer as it have sought permission to ac- launchedanew sports policy to THREE ACCUSED in the Elgaar cess five booksamonth from markits firstyear in office. OBCs constitute 25% of Parishad case said theywerebe- outside with aplea fordirections National levelplayers Chhabria held: Police say multiple ing deniedaccess to booksover to jail authorities to acceptbooks Krishna Pingua (16), Jagarnath the pastfew months in jail. In sent by their familyand lawyers. Gagrai (18), AsmitaBiruli (20) registrations, loans taken on 90 cars police; STs get better separateapplications made be- Kaustubh Kurlekar,Taloja jail and Gunaram Purty (23) have fore the special courtonTuesday, superintendent, said, “Weare been offeredRs2.5 lakh. cle wasregisteredinTamil Nadu, representation: Data Delhi University associatepro- notdenying bookstoprisoners “Wecan nowcompete at the MOHAMEDTHAVER Car designer itschassis and machine numbers fessor HanyBabu and academi- from outside or those in our li- international levelaswecan buy MUMBAI,DECEMBER29 Dilip were also found to be registered cian Gautam Navlakha said for brary... We areinprocess of tak- equipment. One daywewill Chhabria with the Haryana RTOunder a DEEPTIMANTIWARY According to data, 14 the pastfour months, bookssent ing adecision on delivery of bring home medals from the CELEBRITYCAR designer and separatenumber.“Thecarowner, NEWDELHI,DECEMBER29 per cent of all positions to them by familymembers newspapers...” Olympics,” said Pingua, who founder of ‘DC’ design, Dilip who hails from Tamil Nadu, had were notacceptedbyauthorities Byculla jail superintendent wonbronze at the Khelo India Chhabria (68), who wasarrested “Nearly 90 DC Avanti vehicles come to knowabout this... BACKWARD CASTES, Dalitsand in police forces across of Taloja jail and were returned. Sadanand Gaikwad also denied ArcheryChampionship in 2017 on Monday, had allegedly ob- manufactured by Dilip Chhabria Curiously, theregistrationaddress tribals constitutealmost67per the countrywere The twohavealso said they that acourtorder wassought and gold at the 64th National tainedmultiple loans from non- DesignsPrivate Limitedwere used wasofthe Haryana branchof cent of India’s population, but represented by Dalits did notget access to newspa- when Bharadwaj approached School Championship Archery banking financial companies forfraudulentfinancing.Multiple Chhabria’s company,”said their representation in police pers forthe pastsix months him. He addedthat newspa- Championship in 2019. (NBFC) to purchase ‘DC Avanti’ loans averaging Rs 42 lakh each Assistant Inspector Sachin Vaze. forces in the countryisonlyat51 at the end of 2019 stating that it is aviolation of pers were being providedto The government also an- cars manufactured by his own were availedonthese cars. The The police have seizedthe ve- per cent. The latestdataonpolice their right to remain informed. prisoners. nouncedassistance of Rs 2.7 lakh brand before selling them to cus- companywouldposeascustomer hicleandtheTamilNaduresident organisations releasedbythe Lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj,who “In viewofRule 13 of the to 18-year-old Komolika Bari, tomers. forits ownmanufactured cars, has been made acomplainant in BureauofPolice Research and tation has almostdoubledto2.15 is lodged in Byculla women’s MaharashtraPrison Manual, it is who wonagold medal in the Further,the police said that whichwerelatersoldto othercus- thecase.Vazesaidtheyalsofound Development (BPR&D) shows lakh. In fact, over 2018,the jail, also made asimilar plea. within the province of the super- WorldYouth Archery Chabbriahadregisteredsameve- tomers...” that Chhabria had registeredsev- that onlyScheduledTribes have strength of women in police While she is being provided intendent of prison to allowsuch Championship, 2018.She has hicles twice, at times thrice, with He addedthat the incident eral cars in multiple places and better representation in police forces increasedby16per cent in newspapers, she toosaid the activities. Hence, the advocate also been selected forthe next regional transportoffices (RTOs) came to light afterthe police re- availedloans from NBFCs like forcesincomparisonto theirshare 2019.However, at still 10 per cent prison librarydoes nothave forthe applicant is calledupon Olympic games and is currently of variousstates.Hethenusedthe ceivedatip-offthat aDCAvanti BMW Financial Services. inpopulationwhileallotherback- of theactualstrengthof thepolice enough booksand those from to place on recordanaffidavit training in Maharashtra. registration numbers to obtain with afakeregistration number He added: “In some cases, the ward classes fare poorly. inthecountry, womenhave along outside arenot being allowed. stating that she had approached “Till nowshe plays on a moreloans, the police added, had been seen outside the Taj NBFC had authorisedthe loan According to the data, 14 per waytogoinclaiming arepresen- The applications made by the the prison authorities and that rented bow, nowshe will have whileclaimingthatthescamruns Mahal hotelinMumbai. The po- even before avehicle wasregis- centof allpositions(fromconsta- tationproportionatetotheirpop- three statethat as writers and the same had refusedtoaccept our own…I hope the govern- intooverRs30crore. licelaidatrapandfoundthevehi- tered...” Anemailsentto BMWfi- ble to deputy superintendent of ulationshare,whichis48percent. academicians, theyhad spent a the books," the courtsaid on ment also givesher ajob,” her fa- Joint Commissioner of Police cle outside the hotelonthe night nancialservicesdidnotyieldare- police) in police forces across the It is also reflected in women lifetime reading, studying books Tuesday. ther said. ABHISHEKANGAD (Crime) Milind Bharambesaid, of December18. While the vehi- sponse. countrywererepresented by population per woman police ra- Dalitsatthe end of 2019. tio, whichstands at 3,026 nation- According to Census 2011,Dalits ally. At the national level, the ac- makeup16.6 per cent of India’s tual strength of woman police in population. other departmentssuchastraffic NUMBERS DOWN TO JUST 150 Tribals, who form 8.6 per cent policeis5,979.Inspecialbranches of thepopulation,have 12 percent dealing with intelligence collec- Conservation plan on table to save bat species in Kolar caves representationinthepoliceforces, tion,itis3,632,whileinspecialpo- placing them at acomparatively liceunitsdealingwithinsurgency, better position. extremism and terrorism among MohanRaj,says that it wasin ing notified, anydevelopment imageinthe public eye, as carri- that live in the cavesof The Other BackwardClasses others, it is apoor 516. ESHAROY 2014,after astudy conducted by work here, including construc- ers of diseases. But the truth is, Hanumanahalli, of whichthe (OBCs) fare the worstonthe rep- The dataalso shows that po- NEWDELHI,DECEMBER29 Osmania University,that the tion of newinfrastructure, will batsare absolutelyvital forthe Kolar Leaf-NosedBat is justone. resentationfront.Thedatashows lice-population ratio (number of stategovernment firstcame to needthe permission of the ecologyasthey arepollinators, According to recent estimates, againsta41per cent shareinthe police personnel per one lakh of TILL SEVERAL years ago, the knowofthe batsbecoming ex- National Boardfor Wildlife. their main dietbeing nectar.The thereare just150 Kolar Leaf- population, OBCs constituteonly population) declinedin2019. Kolar Leaf-NosedBat wasfound tinct in one of the caves. The gov- “Weknowverylittle about plantsthat bloom at night are NosedBatsleftinthese caves. 25 per cent of the police forces, From 198in2018, it droppedto in onlytwo cavesinthe villageof ernment immediatelynotified this bat –what ecology it thrives entirelydependent on batsand “Therehas been very little causing adeficit of almost40per 195in2019.WhileAndamanand Hanumanahalli in Kolar district the 30 acres around the cavesas in, what itsdietis, itsbehaviour moths forpollination. Batsalso on-ground monitoring happen- cent in representation. Nicobar Islands have the best po- of Karnataka. Forreasons that protected area. and what would happen to it if help in insect control and there- ing so far. We have startedade- Notably, the goal of propor- lice-population ratio at 816, arestill unknown, the bat be- “The Kolar Leaf-NosedBat is the cropping pattern changes in fore,help in the protection of tailedstudy of these bats. Apart tionaterepresentation has re- Jharkhand(45)and Bihar(55) came locallyextinct in one of the exclusive to Karnataka and we the area in whichitresides,’’ he crops,’’ said Rajesh from the cavesthemselvesand mainedunfulfilleddespiteallstate have the worst. Odisha (67), twocaves. And now, the The Kolar Leaf-NosedBat areveryproud of this fact. There added. Puttaswamaiah of the Bat the nearbyareas, we have to governmentsproviding reserva- Assam(68),AndhraPradesh(85), Karnataka Forest Department, has been alot of focus on the “Batsare one of the least Conservation India Trust. identify and conservethe bats’ tion to these categories. Gujarat (87), Uttarakhand (95) along with the Bat Conservation conservation of largeranimals studiedmammals in the coun- Since the Covid-19pan- foraging area. We arerunning Whilewomentoocontinueto and West Bengal (97) arepartof India Trust, is on awar footing to likethe tiger,but in Karnataka, try, though thereare 130species demic, and the unverifiedassoci- an intensive awareness cam- be represented poorly,their situ- the bottom 10 states. save the remaining bats, which has also been awardedagrant to we have consistentlychosen in India. They areveryadaptable ation with bats, therehavebeen paign in the nearbycommuni- ation has improved considerably Among largerstates, Jammu areendemic to the area, from ex- conduct further research on this smaller,lesser-known species creatures and thereforecan incidentsinthe Western Ghats ties and theyhavecome to un- overthepastfiveyears.Since2014, and Kashmir (399) and Punjab tinction. species of bats. and made them flagship species oftenbefound near human and in states suchasRajasthan derstand the threat to the when the actual strength of (236) have the best police-popu- The Bat Conservation Society, Additional Principal Chief forconservation and created habitation or even in urban set- and Odisha, wherebatshave species and have startedguard- women in police forces stood at lationratio.TheUNmandatedpo- whichhas been entrustedwith Conservator of Forestsinthe awareness around them,’’ said tlements, whichmakes them been attackedorkilled. ing this area from encroachers,’’ around 1.11 lakh, their represen- lice-populationrationisover220. drawing up aconservation plan, Karnataka Government, Vijay Raj, adding that with the area be- vulnerable. Theyalso have abad Thereare five species of bats he adds. Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,DECEMBER30,2020 WORDLY WISE Itend to think thatcricketisthe greatest thing thatGod ever created on earth.

6 THE EDITORIAL PAGE —HAROLD PINTER Secession of the successful

§ FOUNDED BY § RAMNATH GOENKA Overseas Indianscheergovernment’s agenda for BECAUSETHE TRUTH INVOLVES US ALL India’s atmanirbharta,withoutinvesting in it

TOWARDS JUSTICE SanjayaBaru Armytakes welcome firststepinfakeencounter case in Shopian. Process mustbecompleted,and the guilty punished EVEN AS THE year ends with renewedcalls As aconsequence of the rising numbers tion of abrain drain tax. Despitethe very from Prime MinisterNarendraModi foran of both the brightand the wealthystudents small numbers of the emigrating talent in HE POLICECHARGESHEETinacivilian courtagainstanarmycaptain of Atmanirbhar Bharat, India's best and bright- going overseasfor higher education,the an- the1970s, the social class theyrepresented 62 RashtriyaRifles and twocivilians in the fake encounter case in Shopian estare busy making plans foremigration. nual total outwardremittancesunderthe managed to nix the Bhagwati proposal. in Julythis year has givenadisturbing account of the killing of three inno- This newspaper reportedthis week the re- ReserveBank of India's liberalisedremit- Today, giventhe muchlargernumbers and cent men allegedly by the officer andhis accomplices and the elaborate sultsofits investigation of the academic tances scheme (LRS) for“studies abroad” the social and economic diversity of the em- T conspiracy hatchedto showthe victimsasterrorists.The threemen,who choices of school-leaving toppers (Indian has increased morethanthreefold, from igratingmillions,nopolitical party is likely Express,December 27-28-29) that showed US$1.54billion in 2016-17toUS$ 4.99 bil- to have the couragetointroduce suchatax. belongedto the same familyinavillage in Rajouri district of Jammu division, the youngest morethan half of the firstrankers in Class 10 lion in 2019-20.Total outwardremittances Both PrimeMinisterManmohan Singh just16years old,had trekked to Kashmir over themountains to lookfor work.Theywere and Class 12 examinations (conducted by under LRS have increasedexponentially and Prime Minister Modi have invested pickedupfromtheir rented room in avillageinKulgam, and takentoAmshipora village the Central BoardofSecondaryEducation over the pastfiveyears, from US$1.3billion hope by suggesting that out-migration does in Shopian, wheretheywereallegedly shotincold blood. The motive appearstohavebeen and the Council forIndian School Certificate in 2014-15toUS$ 18.75 in 2019-20.This notnecessarilyconstitutea“brain drain”, greed—toclaim aRs20lakh rewardgiven by thesecurity forces forinformation leading Examinations) during the twodecades of “flight of financial capital” signalsnot just but could help createa“brain bank” on to the captureorkilling of terrorists.Aspart of the plan, weapons were planted on thevic- 1996-2015 had migrated andwerestudy- a“flightofhuman capital” but in fact a“se- whichIndia can draw forits owndevelop- tims,police and CRPF reinforcements were calledin, whichthrew areal cordonaround the ing or employedoverseas, mostlyinthe US. cession of the successful”, as Iargue in my ment. However, thedatasuggests that an The toppers arethe tip of an icebergofstu- Both Prime Minister forthcoming book on India's powerelite. increasing number of non-resident Indians encounter site. The incident,and its distressingdetails,callfor soberintrospection about dent migration. Manmohan Singh and Prime India's wealthyhavegoneoverseas for (NRIs) have become “not-returning” the reasons forthe sense of impunity of an officer allegedlygone rogue. In aplace like Morerecent data, post-2015,suggest Minister Modi have invested school and collegeeducation foravery long Indians, andare contributingmoretotheir Kashmir,the soldier’s job poses adifficult challengeevery day, but thatimpunitycomes, that the trend of out-migration of Indian hope by suggesting that out- time.After all,evenaleader of the national hostcountriesthan to their home country. in large part,fromthe protection granted under the ArmedForces Special Powers Act, talent and wealth has accelerated.Datacol- movement like MotilalNehrusent hisson Foramajority of them, opportunities for migration does not whichthe armyhas invokedrepeatedly to protect itsown in cases such as this one. lected by thiswriter from acoupleofhigh- Jawaharlal to Harrowschool in Britain and work andthe quality of lifeoverseas, espe- In this case, commendably, the armyhas acted promptly afterprima facie evidence of profile private schools in NewDelhi show necessarily constitute a‘brain manyeminentIndians of theRaj were ed- ciallyinEnglish-speaking nations, have an that while around the turn of the century ucated in the United Kingdom. Even after obviousattraction. However, thereisnow wrongdoing emerged. The armyfollowed up the preliminaryprobe with aformal court drain’, but could help create a about 20 per cent of their high school stu- ‘brain bank’onwhichIndia Independence, overseas education has had an emerging category of Indians migrating of inquiry, followedbysummaryofevidence proceedings, all of whichare understood to dentswent abroad forgraduatestudies,the itsattractions forthosewho could afford it, out andoptingtostayout of India because pave the waytoacourt martial. Themilitary’s findingssofar have been reported to be the number shotuptoclose to 50 per cent by candrawfor its own or thosewho were fortunatetowin schol- they feel their motherland no longerwants same as those containedinthe police chargesheet. In the past, the armyhas been at this 2010 andto70per cent in 2019.Ifthe CBSE development. However,the arships. With time, theUSbecame thesin- them. This sense of alienation, especially point, but mostly, it has been unable to take the tough call required to go further —the 2018 andISC toppers areIndia'sbrightest, many datasuggests that an glemostimportant destination. However, amongminorities, is adisturbing trend. courtmartial in whichthree officers, including amajor and twocolonels, and four soldiers, of theschool-leavers from private schools increasing number of non- allofthisconstituted atrickle compared to An equally worrying trend is the in- likethese belongtoIndia's wealthiest. the risingfloodofout-migration from both creasing number of India'ssuper richwho were sentencedtolifeimprisonment forafakeencounter of Assam student leaders in Apartfromthe CBSE and ISC students, residentIndians (NRIs) have themiddle and the upper classes. have chosen to live abroad and work from February1994, wasarareinstance. The armyhas refusedconsent forprosecution in cases thereisnow agrowing numberof become ‘not-returning’ The Indian Express report shows that an abroad. Indian laws permit an annual out- of fake encounters, custodialkilling and rape —Pathribal 2000,Ganderbal 2007,and International Baccalaureate(IB) students Indians,and are contributing overwhelmingnumber of the CBSE and ISC ward remittance of up to US$2,50,000.The Machil 2010.Whereithas conducted itsown courtmartial, sentencedsoldiers have been who, in fact, study and prepareonlytobe more to their host countries toppers goingoverseas have anon-metropol- lawalso permitsbusiness persons to func- able to getthe verdict overturnedbyciviliancourts. able to pursue higher education overseas. itan background. It is one thing forsuchchil- tion from overseas as non-resident entities. The Amshiporafakeencounter case is the firsttime that the armyhas acknowledged Since the 1980s, as manyas176 “world than to their home country. dren, from modestsocialandeconomic back- The next generation of topIndian business at the preliminarystage that “powers vested under the AFSPA1990 were exceeded” and schools” have come up across India that of- Foramajorityofthem, grounds and with excellent academic families is increasingly opting forthis dual ferIBcertificates that help qualify Indian credentials,toseekeducationalopportunities status of owning and managing business in thatthe “dos and don’tsofthe Chief of the ArmyStaff [COAS] as approvedby the Supreme opportunities forwork and children forgraduateeducation abroad. The overseas; it is quiteanother when wealthy India while living overseas. Court have been contravened”.This is awelcome sign.The armymustnow go further feechargedbyIBworld schoolscan range the qualityoflife overseas, families from big cities send their children to While thousands of overseas Indians and ensurethat justice is done, and seen to be done. from around Rs 75,000 permonth to Rs especially in English-speaking schools that in fact equip them forfurther have cheeredPrimeMinisterModi at his 1,50,000 amonth. nations,haveanobvious studies and lifeoverseas. The former mayrep- rallies in NewYork, Houston, London, Dubai While the largest numbers still go to the attraction. However,there is resent “aspirational India”, but the latter con- and Singapore, fewamong them seem to United States of America, otherpopular stitutes the “secession of the successful”. have bought intohis “atmanirbharta” destinations include Britain, Canada, nowanemerging categoryof Economists areable to quantify the agenda. Theyare quitewilling to cheer Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. Indians migrating out and flight of finance capital, butthereare no re- Modi's plans forIndia's atmanirbharta, but POWERING UP Dubai, closer home, has emergedasama- opting to stay out of India liable estimatesofthe flight of human cap- prefer to invest in their ownatmanirbharta jor educational hub forIndian students. because they feel their ital. In an early recognition of the problem overseas. Government will needtoincentivise shifttoelectricvehicles. Other destinations include China, Russia, of “brain drain” fordeveloping economies, motherland no longer wants Widespread adoption will requiresupporting infrastructure Taiwan, France, Germany, Kazakhstan, trade economistJagdish Bhagwati pro- The writerisformer Media Advisor to Prime Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines and Malaysia. them. posed, waybackinthe 1970s, the imposi- Minister of India HE ELECTRIC VEHICLESmarket in India appears to be gaining traction. Companieshave notonlystartedto manufactureelectric scooters and bikes in states likeUttar Pradesh, but have also begun to research foralternatives Tto lithium-ion batteries, whichare mostlyimportedfromChina. EV major Teslaisexpectedto launchits India operationsearly next year,signallingthe market’s attractiveness.In due course of time,withmoremoneyflowingintoresearch, India LOOKING THE OTHER WAY could emerge asthenumber one manufacturer of electric vehicles likecars, bikes, and trac- tors, said Nitin Gadkari, MinisterofRoad Transportand Highways,atthe Indian Express Idea Exchangeprogramme. These arewelcome developments, and signal the long-term It’s disingenuous to separatethe leader from his followers attractiveness of the EV marketsegment in India. The arguments in favour of ashifttowards electricvehiclesare straightforward,arising Apoorvanand largely as aresponse to the challenges of pollution and energysecurity.India has 21 of the world’s 30 cities with the worstair pollution as per data from IQAirAirVisual’s 2019 World Air Quality Report. And muchofthe pollution load canbetracedtovehicular emissions. As IT WASQUITEdismaying to read the appeal, inter-faith marriageinUttar Pradesh.” Why of itsmembers. The university authorities such,the adoption of electric vehicles willreduce overallemissions and also help meetthe made editorially,byThe Indian Express did the editorial fail to note that the PM was ignored all protestations by itsalumni and targetsunder the Paris agreement.Suchashiftwould also help lowerthe country’s depend- (‘Messagemuchneeded’, IE, December 24) speakingatthe campus at atime when it was present student body,who were opposedto ence on oilimports.ANITI Aayogreport had earlier pegged thesavingsinthe oil importbill to the Prime Minister’s followers to payheed marking the firstanniversaryofviolence the PM’s presence. The studentsand teach- atRs1.2lakhcrore(assumingcrudeat$70perlitre).Consideringsuchashiftwillleadto enor- to his affirmationofthe firstprinciple of the whichleftits studentsbloodiedbythe UP ers would tell youthat the AMU has nowbe- mous socio-economic and environmental benefits, aprudent approachwould be to chan- republic of Indiathat all citizens of the coun- police? An incident in whichthe university come afavourite playground of the local BJP tryare equalinthe eyes of the state, no mat- authorities failedtheir students. The least leaders, who target anydissenting voice -- nelinvestmenttowardsfacilitatingtheshiftofvariousmodesof publictransport,two-wheel- terwhat their identity.Itwould have made one expected wasamention of this atrocity. the authorities merelyobeytheir orders, us- ersandtaxisto electricvehicles.Coveringthesemodesof transportitself wouldincludenearly moresense if thenewspaper had askeditself That of police breaking into the hostels —the ing overtand covert threatstotheir faculty 80percentof vehiclesonIndianroadsaspertheNITIAayogstudy.Thisapproach,asananaly- howmanytimes in the pastsix years has it same hostels the PM spokeabout in his and students. sisbyTERIsuggests,wouldhelpreducepollution,loweroilimports,andcutcarbonemissions been compelledtopleadwiththe followers to speech—and cracking down on students. The students of the AMU have facedar- androadcongestion.Argumentsinfavourofsubsidisingtheshiftforpremiumfour-wheeler listentotheir leader.Why is it that theyhave I, along with many, had visited the cam- rests and arefighting criminal charges. The cars ignore thattheyaccountfor only2per cent of totalvehicle salesinIndia. gottenmoreand morebrazen in theirassault Suchcrueltycould not have pus just afterthe violence and metthe in- threat of violence againstthem is areality. However, thereisthe issue of creating the charging infrastructureatthe scale required on minorities, especiallyMuslims, aftereach been possible without the jured students. We could feel the anger and Their crime: They chosetospeak out against suchappeal? Andwhy is it that the PM keeps frustration amongstthe youngstudents the adiscriminatoryact. The politics of domi- to facilitateits large-scale adoption. Affordable and convenient charging will, afterall, increase following hate-mongers on social media? PM exhorting his people prime ministerwas lauding in his speechfor nance demands that the violated welcome thesegment’sattractiveness forconsumers.Inthe US, forinstance,President-electJoeBiden It could have been an occasion to hold that the protesterscould be their “sheroshayari”, “hansi-mazak” and theone whohas brutalised them.Hefeels has pledged to build 5,00,000 newEVcharging stations. However, while public funding the PM accountable to his words, to ask him ‘identified by their clothes’. their “andaz”. In doing this, he wasevoking bad when remindedofthe violence and maywell be required to incentivise both manufacturers and consumers to shift,govern- whyIndia has becomeone of the mostvio- That’s whythe speechtothe stereotypes about Muslims — sheroshayari, wantstobeseenasinclusive and accom- mentsshould be agnostic between various EV technologies. lent countriesfor itsMuslims. Whyisitthat andaz, tehzeeb. modative.Itisbad manners to refuse him he is enacting laws likethe CAAand theanti- campus wasdisingenuous Thestudentsofthe AMU,however, did salutations forhis kindness. The domestica- triple talaq lawwhichput Muslimsinanun- and insulting.A universityis notfit the bill. Theychosetotalkplain prose: tion of Muslims is the objectiveofthe poli- equal positionascompared to their known forthe independence “Wereject the politics of exclusion and in- ticsofthe man who has been applaudedby co-citizens? of the minds of its members. equalityand refuse to live as second-class the media forhis open-heartedness. To sep- The editorial expressesthankstothe PM citizensinour ownland”. Andtheypaid for aratehim, the leader,fromhis followers is DECEMBER 29 forstriking a“note of inclusiveness and ac- Theuniversityauthorities this simple prose with their blood. Suchcru- nothonest. commodation,atthe end of ayear that be- ignored all protestations by eltycouldnot have been possible without India needs to be aquestioning nation, As thenew year approaches, ganwith unprecedented nationwide its alumni and present the PM exhorting his people that the pro- anation whichrespectsindependent young protests againstacitizenship lawthatwas student body,who were testers could be “identified by their clothes”. minds, notincites hatred or violence against India’s cricketteam turns acorner widelyseenasdiscriminatingagainstthe That’s whythe speech to the campus was them or putsthem in jails. country’slargest minority,and thathas, most opposed to the PM’s disingenuousand insulting.A university is EITHER PAROCHIALISM NOR jingoism is neededtoappreciateIndia’s recently, seen atroubling criminalisation of presence. known forthe independence of the minds The writer teaches Hindi at DelhiUniversity second Test triumph againstAustralia. Theywereblown away fortheir lowest scoreinhistory justaweek ago, ashockednation bearing mute N witness. Theywerehit by numerousjolts to thebattingline-upand suf- feredacrucial blowwhen theylostMohammad Shami. It’s in this con- text that this team with astand-in captain turnedinastand-out performance to achievea DECEMBER 30, 1980, FORTY YEARS AGO wondrous result. Whydoes this team move from one extreme to another? Forty-five minutesofdoing- ASSAM IN TURMOIL BJP CHURN Qiang,67, washauledout of the courtby nothing in Adelaide, 45 minutes of doing-too-muchatManchesterinthe WorldCup. LIFE IN ALMOSTthe entireBrahmaputra THE DELEGATES AT BJP’s national conven- bailiffs.The state-run Xinhua also quoted Thatquestion also reveals whysomuchisexpected from this team. If the batsmen gettheir Valleyand the districtsofKarbi Anglong and tion were sharply dividedoverthe use of the the prosecutor generalascriticising Mao act together,theyhavethe bowlers to makethis team agenuine worldbeater,especially NorthCachar hills wasparalysed by the 34- term, “Gandhian Socialism” .Several of them fornot apprehending Jing at the timeofher hour Assam bandh. The bandhhas been wanted the term “socialism” deletedfrom alleged crimes. The defendants, the Gang once Hardik Pandyacompleteshis bowling rehab to tussle with RavindraJadeja forthe calledbythe AASU and the AAGSP.Workin the party’s credo. Chief amongstthe objec- of Four ledbyJing, areontrial forthe infa- allrounder spot, or even push the thirdseamer,for that matter.The victorywas atriumph almostall government offices wasata tors wasVijayaRajeScindia. The delegates mous purgesof1966. of tactics too. From the five-bowlers strategy to the wayAjinkyaRahane usedRAshwin standstill as employees stayed away,accord- were participating in discussions on the eco- and the pacers. It comes down to theuse of left-handedbatsmen, apet theme with the ing to reports.However, in the state secre- nomic policystatement movedbyRajasthan AFGHAN IMPASSE head coachRaviShastri. Jadeja and Rishabh Pant changed the tempoofthe game in the tariat, 950 of the2000employees were pres- Chief MinisterBhairon SinghShekhawat. PAKISTANFOREIGNMINISTER Agha Shahi firstinnings, encouraging Rahane also to open out more. The debutants, Siraj and Shubman ent, according to Assam ChiefSecretary Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in contrast, wanted an said his government is ready to open talks Ramesh Chandra. The attendance at the in-depth discussion on the matter. on resolving the Afghan problem but that Gill, showedtheyhavethe game to blossom at this level. NortheastFrontier railway headquarters would, in no way, mean arecognition of the At the same time, victoryshould notblurreality.The Indian cricketteam is notinvin- wasaround 75 per cent.InGauhati, afew GANG OF FOUR TRIAL current regime in Kabul. Totalwithdrawal cible,orready forworld conquest. This, in fact, wasIndia’s firstTestwin —out of four at- shops were open. Only six state-owned SHOUTING, “I AM prepared to die,” the of the Soviettroops is apre-condition for tempts —this year.But afterDecember 29, thereisnow abold hope thattheywill turn a buses operated.All vehicular trafficwas off widowofMao TseTung disruptedher trial recognising the Babrak Karmal newleaf in the newyear. the road. again and wasdragged outofcourt. Jing government.

Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,DECEMBER30,2020 WHATTHE OTHERSSAY “Boris Johnson has arange of politicalskills, but international diplomacy is not among them. Hisgreatest asset is acampaigning charisma with limited 7 THE IDEAS PAGE cultural range.” —THE GUARDIAN Facts from the field Ayear of

MSP-APMC system benefitsaminorityoffarmers. To help small andmarginal farmers, fractured memory right approachisthrough Farmer Producer Organisations, notAPMC mandis Pandemic has pushedbackprocess of wealth generation, of shiftingpeople from povertyto some kind of comfortand security

Indian elite. Notsoforthelarge majority onthe other sideof theclassdivide.Forthem—unorgan- isedlabour,domestic help, dailywagers, street hawkers, migrant labours, nomadic FROM PLATETOPLOUGH people, rickshawpullers, urban poor —the by Ashok Gulati pandemicwasnothingshortofalife-chang- ingexperience.Forthoselivingbelowtheso- cialequator,thecrisisdestroyedtheirwhole ONE HOPES THATthe talksbetween theag- universe. Those who were hoping to break itating farmers and the government lead to Salil Misra outof thepovertygridhave hadtheirdreams an amicable solution soon. But if farmer lead- shattered.Theyhadplayedtheirpartinrun- ers sticktodemanding arepeal of the farm HOWARE WE going to collectivelyremem- ning asystemwhichlet them down badly. laws,then Iamafraid the stalemateislikelyto berthe year 2020? It wasayear of unprece- The crisis mayhavebeengenericand uni- continue.Insuchachargedenvironment,ra- dented andunanticipated crisis.Itwas not form, but the concreteexperience of the cri- tionality oftenbecomesvictim to anger and an economiccrisis, even though it didhave siswasnot.Itwasunevenanddifferentiated, hatred,whichdoesnot serveanyone’spur- an economic dimension. It wasacrisisthat particularly along the line of class. pose,including the farmers’. threatenedthe collective medicalhealth of It waspartlyfor the differentiated na- Nevertheless, letmespell out some basic the entirehumanity. tureofthe experiencethatthe crisis ended factsabout Indian agriculture, whichmay When wasthe lasttime the entireworld up reinforcing prejudices. Muslimswere help negotiators on both sides,with acom- wasgrippedbyacrisis of suchmagnitude? particularly at thereceiving end of it and mon objective of benefitting the largerinter- The WorldWar II comes to mind.Itwas a were stigmatisedasthe villains of the pan- estofthe farming community. globalcrisiswhichgrippedallofhumanity.It demic. Thecrisis, instead of creating new Amajorstudy thatweatICRIERconducted wasapoliticalcrisisbroughtaboutby theex- solidarities as sucheventsoften do,only withOECDshowedthat over theperiod2000- pansionistdrivesofthe political leaders of endedupreinforcing the stereotypes and 01 to 2016-17, Indian agriculturewas implic- Europe. Over 50 million people diedonthe social prejudices.The whole society took itly taxedtothe tune of almost14per cent of battlefrontsandinthegenocides.Manydis- another step backwards. itsvalue. This wasprimarilydue to restrictive appearedandcouldneverbetraced.Europe Then therewas theglee of the environ- tradeand marketing policies,ranging from ex- and the rest of theworld experienced un- mentalist—the feel of fresh air without pol- portcontrols andstocking limitstothe restric- precedented violence and brutality. lution, clean rivers, peacocksdancing on the tive mandi system. The waytoimprove farm- But the Waralso turned out to be agreat street,happyjungleandthecontentedenvi- ers’ price realisation,therefore, wastoliberate democratisingexperience forEurope. It es- ronment. Finally, we had found the solution agriculturefromthese various controls. The tablishedresponsible and accountable gov- to thehugeenvironmentalproblem.If allhu- farm laws under discussionare intendedto ernments.Ithelpedtobridgetheclassdivide man activities can be stalled,and allthe hu- do precisely that.Interestingly, this hasbeen a by bringingdifferentclassesclosertoonean- mans lockedin, pollution can be prevented long-standing demand of one of the tallest other.Ittriggeredaphaseof economicafflu- andwe canachieve thepristinepurityof the farmer leaders, the lateSharad Joshi, since the ence. Interestingly, themaximum benefits world.Viewedfromthevantagepointof the 1991 reforms. But somehow, afear has been of the post-Warpe- vast majority in India, created that these farm laws will robfarmers riod went to thevan- ANEXPRESS IDEASERIES thisgleewasinverybad of APMC markets,MSP,and theymay even quishedinthe War— taste.Povertycontinues lose their lands to big corporatehouses Japan and Germany. to be ourgreatestpol- through contract farming.These fears, gen- CRSasikumar TheWarwasfollowed luter. uineorimaginary, have been blown out of by decolonisation in The pandemic proportion forpolitical reasons. CorporationofIndia (FCI),only6per cent of sorghum, pearl millet, etc. Asia and Africa. The clearly hadamedical, a Thereisnodoubt thatAPMC marketsand farmers and broadly, 6per cent of the valueof One major question in this approachis worldasawholeben- socio-economicand an MSP will face competitionfromprivate mar- agri-produce has benefittedfrom this system. howtodealwiththe losseswhenthese gov- efitted as thereal COVID epidemiologicaldimen- kets andout-of-APMC mandi transactions. And remember,the MSP and APMC system ernment-procuredstocksareunloadedinthe threat of aFascist sion. The three ranpar- But will this hurtthe farmersorplayintheir primarilyhelps those who have large sur- Given these basic facts, how market,astheywillinvariablyincur losses. takeover of the world SHADOW, allel to one another favour? Opinionsdiffer. Ibelieve it will help pluses, mainlythe large farmers.So, if one re- do we dispelthe fearsof And if stockskeep piling up, as is the case with wasaverted.Abetter NEWYEAR without anymeeting the farmers at large,especiallysmall and mar- allywantstohelp the small and marginal agitating farmers? First, the wheat and rice today, howdowecorrect this futureburstforth point. Theysuggested ginal ones. The creation of an additional farmers,the right approachisthrough FPOs at government should be ready imbalance in demand and supply? In that from beneaththe LIGHT threedifferentprescrip- 10,000Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) thevillage leveland notinAPMC mandis. case, either limit the size of procurement or go thickcrustofthe War. How tions.The medical prescrip- and the promisedAgri-infrastructureFund And, about86per centofIndian farmers are to give in writing that the forpricedeficiency paymentstothose who doesthe current crisisfareincomparison? tion wassociety-neutraland human-blind: of Rs onelakh crorewillaid this process. But small and marginal (less than 2ha), operating existing system of APMC buy “put options”atMSP forspecified quan- Unfortunately, the picturebeneath the Whatever can be done to flatten the curve, manyamong the agitating farmersfear losing roughly47per centofthe total operatedarea markets and MSPwill titiesatthe timeofsowing.Anexpert com- surface is as gloomyand depressing as it ap- should be done. The epidemiological per- the MSP forwheat and paddy that theyget in in the country. So, thosewho arearguing for mittee will have to be setuptolookintoits pears on the surface.Thereis, however, asil- spective tookacertainamountof humanloss Punjab-Haryana. APMCmandis and MSP arebasically arguing continue and be operationalguidelines. Afurther positive step verlining.Becauseof theglobalnatureofthe forgranted andworkedtowards minimis- What is the reality aboutMSP? The forthose 6per cent of farmersor6per cent of strengthened. Second,the will beto announce adiversificationpackage crisis,allnationstateshave comecloser.After ingtheloss.Itisthesocio-economicperspec- NSSO’s Situation Assessment Survey (70th the value of agri-produce. government canalso give in forthe Punjab-Haryana belt. environmentand terrorism, the pandemic tive that should have playedagreater role in round) revealedthatin2012-13, only 6per Giventhese basicfacts, howdowedispel writing that the contractwill Imustalso saythat repealingthese farm hasbecomethethirdmajorissuewhichcan the formulation of the policy.Thatmight cent of farmers sold theirproduce at MSP.And the fears of agitating farmers? First, the gov- laws would belikerobbing morethan 90 per be tackledonlythrough global cooperation. have gone some waytowards preventing a of course,amajority of them were from the ernment shouldbereadytogiveinwriting be forthe produce,not the cent of farmers —who nevergainedfromthe But having blurredthe national barriers, long-termcatastrophe.Inthe end, the real Punjab-Haryana belt.After that,thereisno that the existing system of APMC marketsand land. Third,farmerscan take MSP system and who arelargely small and thecurrentcrisisappearsto have sharpened crisis of 2020 wasnot so muchwhat hap- suchsurvey available in the country. In recent MSP will continue and be strengthened. disputes to districtcourts, if marginal —oftheir rights.And asking for the class barriers.The experienceofthe cur- pened,butwhatithasledto,andwillleadto. research with my colleague, Ritika Juneja,we Second, the government can also give in writ- they like. Fourth, to add to makingMSP astatutorybindingevenonthe rent crisis, unlikethat of the WorldWar,has The real crisis starts now. workedout the value of agri-produce (paddy, ing that thecontractwill be forthe produce, private sectorwill turn out to be anti-farmer been verydifferent across the class divide in Atransitionsociety,withaprecariousgrip wheat, pulses, oilseeds and cotton) bought notthe land. Third, farmers can take disputes these written assurances, the as muchofthe private trade will shun sucha India. Forthe upper crustofthe 10-15mil- on resources and economic development, by government agencies at MSP forthe year to district courts,iftheylike. Fourth, to addto government canalso commit system, leading to chaos. It will beworse than lion(orso)of thelabour-extracting,decision- cannotaffordtolose time in itsmarch to- 2018-19, and howmuchthat constitutes as a these written assurances, the government to creating afund of Rs repealing these laws. making,institution-heading elitewith se- wardsaffluence.The processofwealth gen- percentageofthe totalvalue of agri-produce. can alsocommittocreatingafund of Rs 25,000 crores under the Price Finally, one mustremember that farmers curesalariesand accessible resources, the eration, povertyreduction, and of people Interestingly,the number againcomes to 25,000 crores under the Price Stabilisation always want ahigher price fortheir produce, experience of the crisiswas nothing more gradually shiftingfrompovertytosomekind about 6per cent. Scheme, whichcan be usedtosupport mar- Stabilisation Scheme,which but higherfoodprices can also bring pains to thananinconvenience, albeit ahugeone, or of comfortand security had been going on So, in all theseyears since the MSP was ket prices of specifiedcommodities that take canbeused to support poor consumers. The artofpolicymaking is at best an ethical dilemma. It wasakind of a forthe lastthree decades. That has been givenbirth to in 1965 through anewly-con- adip of morethan 10 percent belowMSP. market prices of specified to balance the interestofproducers and con- trade-off betweencomfortandsafety. Letting pushedbackbythepandemic.Thatisthereal stitutedAgricultural Prices Commission(now This is akin to NAFED's operations to support commodities that take adip sumers within reasonable financialresources. thedomestichelpcomefromoutsideanddo bad news of 2020. renamedasCommission forAgricultural market prices of pulses and oilseeds, or the allthework broughtaboutcomfortattheex- Thereisgoingto benocollectiveremem- Costs andPrices, which Ihad the privilegeto Cotton CorporationofIndia (CCI) forcotton of more than 10 per cent Gulati is InfosysChair Professor for pense of safety. Keeping them out waspos- beringoftheyearandthepandemic.Itwillbe chair during 2011-14) andthe Food prices, and can be extendedtomaize, belowMSP. AgricultureatICRIER siblysafe,butitbroughtthenuisanceof hav- afractured memorydividedacross the im- ing to do allthe domestic work.Apartfrom penetrable class barrier. this,theavailabilityof provisions,onlinesup- plies, TV,Internetand Wi-fi ensured that The writerisahistorian at theAmbedkar Double standard on conversion therewas no existential crisis forthe University Delhi LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR Outragemissesthepoint:Nocommunityisentitledtobeclose-minded NECESSARY ALLIANCE Jagvir Singh THIS REFERS TO the editorial, 'Squeeze IDEAS in Bengal' (IE, December 29). West ONLINE IDISAGREE WITH TheIndianExpress's edito- as criminal.Doesn't aman who expectsthat shouldbecoincidental.But it is not. Thatis We need laws regulating conversion. One Bengal's ground realities requirethe Left rial on the matteroflawsoninter-faith mar- his wifeshould convert to his religion suf- what causes the inter-community schism. person converting another is apolitical act and the Congress to join hands to take ONLYINTHE EXPRESS riages and conversion(‘Strike one’,IE, ferfromthe same malaise? Duetoaclearban on the marriageof underthe garb of exercising religious free- on the twin threatsofthe BJP and TMC. December 1). The lastcouple of months Second, when aman has even aslight Muslim women to men of other faiths in dom.However, anyperson’sinformedde- As amatter of fact, thereisverylittleto ● LEARNINGINAPOST have seen manyhigh courts frowning upon expectation of conversion, does it notex- theirscriptures, and amajority of the com- cision to embraceanother faithout of their distinguishthe two. Muchlikethe BJP, PANDEMICWORLD: the state’s interference in interfaith mar- hibit his discomfort, forwhatever reasons, to munity adheringtothem and women hav- free will, untainted by extraneous factors, is thereisnolow to whichthe TMC would PUJATRISAL riages, beingmatters of personal choices. live with aperson of another faith? This is ingbeen steepedinthe religion since child- and shouldbewelcomed as afundamental notstoop to to cling to power. The TMC, Alongside, severalBJP-ruledstatesframed bigotry. hood, in interfaith marriagesinvolving right. Conversely, if the conversion is for too, has been engaging in politicalmo- ● BREAKINGTHEIMPASSEIN laws to regulatesuchmarriages and anyas- Third, conversionispredicated upon an Muslims, the girls mostlycome from non- otherreasons,including as aprecondition bilisation along religious lines. Mamata sociated conversions. Arethesepieces of abominable notion of the Muslim communities. fororconsequence of marriage, it should be Banerjee and the BJP have together po- FARMPROTESTS: legislation legallyand logicallyviable? To other faithbeinginferior DEAR EDITOR, Girls from non-Muslim outlawed. To ensurethatthis does nothap- larisedthe electoratealong communal KABEERSRIVASTAVA answer this question, the matter mustbe and thus, comes from a communities areraised pen, amarriagebeforeand aftertwo years of lines, aphenomenon neverbeforewit- viewedthrough twoprisms: One,conver- community-levelsu- IDISAGREE in amoreliberal milieu, conversion should be void,irrespective of nessedinBengal. Bengal politics is in des- www.indianexpress.com sionofabride before or aftermarriage; and premacistattitude. One Acolumn in whichwe faith consciousness not the original religion of the convert. perateneedtoberid of theamoral influ- two, an interfaithmarriage without fails to understand how beingthat important for In today’s era, religion oughttohaveno ences that have infiltrated it in the past conversion. the liberals reconcile invite readerstotell them, especiallyinnon- role in social, political and economic spheres one decade or so. That alone makes the lowprivate capital to come in abig way An interfaith marriagewhere the bride these factsand do not us why, whenthey spiritual matters. Thus, and should relateonlytospiritual aspects.It alliance of the Leftand the Congressa in the field of education. converts has three keyelements: One, agirl deemthe practice differ with the though marriageisfun- should be pronounced irrelevant in marital necessity. HNBhagwat, Chiplun has to convert because she has to align with communal. damentally an act of in- unions. All religious communities should Susobhan Sarkar, Kolkata the religion and “culture”ofthe boy. Does Ifirmlyendorse BR editorial postions or dividual choice, at the raise their children with asense of the irrel- THIS REFERS TO theeditorial, 'Systems thisnot reek of malechauvinism and patri- Ambedkar and believe newscoverage of ‘The macroand communi- evance of religion in dealing and communi- EDUCATION WOES challenge' (IE, December 29). It is an ex- archy, whichfeminists across theglobe have thattodismantlesocie- ties’ levels, marriages cating withfellow citizens,includingwhile cellent precis of the maladies plaguing wagedwar against? Theytry to rationalise taldivides suchascaste, Indian Express’ involving Muslim men choosing lifepartners. But,ifareligious THIS REFERS TO the editorial, 'Systems our educationalsystemand howill- this by using disingenuous sophistry,that religion, race and ethnic- areviewedbyother community deems it impossible to afford challenge' (IE, December 29). US univer- suited it is to prepareour students to womenhaveminds of theirown and thus, ity, moreand moreinter- communities as delib- itswomenfolk the agencytoselect partners sities areflush with endowment funds, meetthe challenges of the future. It sup- can maketheir owndecisions. Yes, theycan. community marriagesmusttakeplace and erateattemptstolureand deceive women of their choice, forreligious compulsions or whichare essentiallyprivate in nature. plementsabrilliant investigative series, Women arenot being subject to criticism arelargely acceptedbysociety. from other communities, while restricting otherwise,for the sakeofcommunal amity, This financial independence givesthem whichistracking the school toppers of here. Norare women in traditional house- Consequently, should an interfaith mar- theirown women from marrying outside it should forbid itsmen from forging an al- the libertytonot only designcourses, thelasttwo decades. Iwish the educa- holds, who eat onlyafter theirhusbands riage, sans conversion, be welcome? As a the community.Anhonestliberal and fem- liance with women of otherfaithsaswell. choose faculty, interactwithotherpri- tors wouldlistentothe voices of these and/or touchtheir feet and/orare generally principle, yes. However, is the religion of the inistintellectualshall see this organic men- Honestinter-community dialogue willwork vate entities forR&D but mostimpor- 86 yesteryear toppers. obsequioustothem, either out of religious briderelevant? Ideally, notatall.The fact of talrestraint on aMuslimgirlasbeingcom- wonders. tantly, it enables them to keep politicians KSahasranaman, Mumbai belief,loveordevotion.Wetreat such hus- agirlbeingfromone community in amar- pletelydevoid of her“agency”. and bureaucratsout. India needs to al- bands and the patriarchysurrounding them riageand the groom being from another Howare we to deal with these issues? The writerisasenior lawyer based in Delhi

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,DECEMBER30,2020 8 GOVT &POLITICS

FIRST CASE UNDER NEW LAW IN UTTARAKHAND MPCabinetclearsOrdinance 3months after Hindu DELHI CONFIDENTIAL woman converted to tostopforcedconversions marry, couple among police personnel of rank not would be assured maintenance. EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE lowerthan that of aSub- The matter of maintenance will BHOPAL,DECEMBER29 Inspector,and onlyparentsand be dealt as per Section 125ofthe four people booked Shivraj siblings of the affected individ- CrPC. THE MADHYAPradesh Cabinet Singh ual can file acomplaint directly. The Ordinance envisages a cleared the Freedom of Religion Chouhan In case aguardian or acustodian jail term of 2-10years in case a without allegedly completing Ordinance, 2020 at avirtual spe- wantstoregisteranoffence, they person being converted is ami- LALMANIVERMA due process. cial meeting on Tuesday. The mustapproachaSessions Court nor,orbelongs to aScheduled DEHRADUN,DECEMBER29 The same day–on Ordinance, whichstipulates ajail prisonment foradulteration of authorisedtodeal with the mat- Caste or ScheduledTribe, with a September 29 –the qazi solem- term of up to 10 years and a medicinesand food items. Afake ter, foranorder.Those identified penalty of Rs 50,000.Those car- UTTARAKHAND POLICE on nisedtheir nikah in the pres- penalty of Rs 1lakh forforcedre- plasma racket wasunearthedin as frequent offenders can face jail rying out mass conversions will Tuesdaybooked four people for ence of Samir’s uncle, ligious conversion, will come Gwalior recently, and therewere terms of five to 10 years. face ajail term of 3-5 years, with allegedly violating provisions Shaukeen, according to probe. YOUTH CONNECT intoeffect afteritreceivesthe ap- reports of possible adulteration Forthose carrying out forced apenalty of Rs 1lakh. Repeat of- of the Uttarakhand Freedom of Circle Officer Anuj Kumar proval of Governor Anandiben in the Covid-19immunisation conversions, the Ordinance stip- fenders will face ajail term of 5- Religion Act, 2018,after it was said: “It wasfound that Samir, AT 21,AryaRajendran has found admirers from across the bor- Patel. programme. ulates jail terms of one to five 10 years. found that awoman had con- the woman, the qazi and der.Inneighbouring Sri Lanka, Namal Rajapaksa –son of Prime Soon afterthe Cabinetmeet- The Freedom of Religion years, with afine of Rs 25,000. Likeinthe UP Ordinance, or- verted to Islam to marry aman Shaukeen have violated the MinisterMahinda Rajapaksa –congratulated her forbeing ing, Home MinisterNarottam Ordinance seekstosustain the The penalty in case of use of ganisations or priests carrying in September this year without Dharma Swatantrata elected the mayorofThiruvananthapuram Municipal Council. Mishratold reporters: “Tostop freedom of religion as assured in “misrepresentation” or “imper- out conversions have to inform following provisions of the law. Adhiniyam, 2018 (Uttarakhand Namal, who is the Sports and Youth affairs Ministerinthe Sri our daughters from getting the Constitution by ensuring no sonation” forreligious conver- the district administration 60 The woman and her hus- Freedom of Religion Act). On Lankan Cabinet, said, “Nodoubt your success storywill pave fooled, cheated,and lured into individual or an organisation sion will be higher,including a days in advance, failing which band have been booked in the this ground, acase has been wayand inspiremoreyoungsters, particularly women, to fol- getting their religion converted, uses allurement, misrepresenta- jail term of 3-10years and afine the organisation can have itsreg- case along with the latter's un- registeredagainstthem.” lowyour path.” Namal himself waselected an MP in 2010 at alaw has been made and ap- tion, use of threat, forceorundue of Rs 50,000. istration cancelledand the priest cle and aqazi who performed Kumar said the nikah was the ageof24. proved as an Ordinance and sent influence, coercion, marriageor The Ordinance states that or facilitator can face ajail term. the conversion and solemnised performedwithout knowledge to Governor Anandiben Patel. It some fraudulent means to carry forced marriages done forpur- But the MP Ordinance stipulates the 'nikah'. of the woman's parents. At will soon be approved and be- out conversion. poses of religious conversion will ahigher penalty (of Rs 50,000, This is seen as the firstcase present, she is living with her come law.” The Ordinance has put the be declared null and void by the and 3-5 years’ jail term) in such under the Uttarakhand husband, the CO said. ANNIVERSARY PLANS The Ordinance wasbrought burden of proof on the accused. concernedfamilycourtempow- cases. Freedom of Religion Actsince The FIR has been lodged un- afteraspecial three-daysession It does notidentify aperson’s re- ered to annul suchmarriages. With the newOrdinance the lawwas enacted in 2018. der Sections 3, 8and 12 of AS INDIA and Bangladesh plan to jointlycommemoratethe of the Assemblywas calledoff in turn to their father’s religion at But children born out of such coming intoforce, the 52-year- The FIR has been lodged at Uttarakhand Freedom of 50th anniversaryofthe 1971 Liberation War, the Congress too viewofthe pandemic. The the time of their birth as conver- marriagewill notbeillegitimate old The Madhya Pradesh PatelNagar police station of Religion Act. has begun parallel effortstocelebratethe event. Congress Cabinetalso cleared an sion. and will have rightsinfather’s Dharma SwatantraAdhiniyam, Dehradun againstthe woman, Section 3ofthe lawrelates chief Sonia Gandhi has setupapanel headedbyformer Ordinance stipulating lifeim- Cases can be dealt onlyby property,while the woman 1968,will be repealed. her husband Samir Ali, his un- to prohibition of religious con- Defence MinisterAKAntonytoplan the party’s activities to cle Shaukeen, and qazi Mufti version by misrepresentation, markthe anniversary. The Congress does notwant to letgoof Salim Ahmed. force, fraud, undue influence, the occasion since splitting of Pakistanbythe IndiraGandhi According to police officers, coercion, allurement or mar- government had been itscounter to the BJP’s nationalism 104 ex-bureaucrats write to Yogi: UP is the issue come to light earlier riage. plank.The committee includes Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, this year when Samir moved Section 8provides that the MeiraKumar and Prithviraj Chavanamong others. the Nainital High Courtwith a one who desires to convert now epicentre of politics of hate, bigotry plea seeking protection for should give adeclaration at himself. The courtdirected the leastone month in advance to PLAYING MEDIATOR evident that, in recent years, UP, Citing the case of an arrest in abated.The anti-conversion or- Dehradun district magistrate the DM about his/her wish to EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE once known as the cradle of the Moradabad, the letter states that dinance of your Stateisbeing (DM) to conduct an investiga- convert at free will and without EYES ON Christian votes in Kerala, the BJP seems to be work- NEWDELHI,DECEMBER29 Ganga-Jamuna civilisation, has the police remainedmutespec- usedasasticktovictimise es- tion. Circle Officer (Sadar) Anuj anyforce, coercion, undue in- ing hardonevery posssible opportunity.OnTuesday, Mizoram become the epicentreofthe pol- tators as vigilantes “harassedthe pecially those Indian men who Kumar wasassignedthe probe. fluence or allurement. The reli- Governor and former BJP statechief PSSreedharan Pillai AGROUP of 104retired bureau- itics of hate, division and bigotry innocent couple and calleditthe areMuslim and women who As per apolice release, gious priestwho performs the brought the twowarring factions of Jacobiteand Orthodox cratshavewritten to Uttar and that the institutions of gov- effective murder of an unborn daretoexercise their freedom Samir had metthe woman at conversion ceremonyisre- church in Kerala to meetPMNarendraModi. According to rep- Pradesh Chief MinisterYogi ernance arenow steepedin child”. of choice.” tuition classes in Dehradun quired by lawtogiveone resentativesofbothfactions, the PM gave them apatient hear- Adityanath, expressing “deep communal poison...” The bureaucratswrote that Stating that UP has nowbe- around ayear and half ago–at month’s notice to the DM, who ing. While one side complainedthat their right to worship is disapproval” and concern at the Among the signatories are this wasonlyone of aseries of come the epicentreofthe poli- the time he was21and the in turn is required to getapo- being denied, the other side highlighted the 2017 Supreme use of the “anti-love jihad” law retired bureaucratssuchasShiv “heinous atrocities” committed tics of hate, division and bigotry, woman 19.According to police, lice inquirydone on the “real Courtverdict that stated that therecould notbeadivision or and citing specific cases of its Shankar Menon, Wajahat againstyoung Indians “who are the retired bureaucratswrote: theydecidedtomarry this year intention, purpose and cause” separation of churches within the church.The order had given use. Habibullah, TKANair,KSujatha simplyseeking to live their lives “What is worse is that your law with mutual consensus, and of that proposedreligion con- an upper hand to the Orthodoxfaction over the church's tem- Demanding withdrawal of Rao, and ASDulat –theywrote as free citizens of afreecoun- enforcement machinery, with approachedMufti Salim version, the lawsays. poral properties, but the Jacobitefaction wantsthe state’s in- the illegal ordinance, and suit- that theyhave“no political affil- try”. Theywrote:“These atroc- the active backing of your gov- Ahmedwho, as per police Section 12 relates to people tervention to circumvent it. It remains to be seen if the BJP or able compensation forthose iation but shareacommitment ities, regardless of the indigna- ernment, is playing arole remi- probe, performedconversion of deemedinvolvedincommit- PM would be able to resolve the decades-long dispute. booked under it, the letter to the idea of India as definedin tion of all Indians devoted to niscent of the secret police in au- the woman and issuedher a ting the offence by doing the states: “It has become painfully our Constitution”. the rule of law, continue un- thoritarian regimes...” certificateofher newname act, or aiding others.

OVER THE HEDGE by Michael Fry &TLewis CROSSWORD 4315 DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

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CORONAVIRUS DASHBOARD Lessons from apandemic INDIA ACTIVE CASES 268,581

350,000 The Covid-19pandemichas broughtrareattention to science, particularly aspectsrelatedto healthcare,and India’s responsehas underlined itsexistingscientificcapabilities.In2021, the country 305,344 canlook forwardtoimprovementsinvaccine research,among otherscientificachievements

300,000 agement systems, providing crucialdataabout 268,581 the epidemic, were setupand run by young entrepreneurs, studentsand researchers. During the pandemic itself, the govern- LAST 10 DAYS mentannouncedamajorpush forprivate par- Dec 19 Dec 28 ticipation in thespacesector,for example. 250,000 About half adozen newspace-related enter- prises have sprung up in the lasttwo years, Note:The Dec 28 figureinthis graphisbasedonthe government updateonDec 29 some of whichevenhad aspecial audience Amitabh Sinha with the Prime Ministeracouple of weeksago. SCIENCE EDITOR Asimilar push is expectedforstart-ups in the INDIA TOTAL CASES WORLDTOTALCASES health sector as well. 10,224,303 81,508,329 STRENGTHENINGCOLLABORATION: Source:MinistryofHealth&Family Source:JohnsHopkinsUniversity, THANKSTOthe Covid-19epidemic,2020 Collaboration betweengovernment,acade- Welfare,updatedat11pmonDec29 updatedat11pmonDec29 brought rare attention on science, particularly mia and industryisagain aprocess that was on the health sciences. Notonlydid subjects initiated before the pandemic but is likelyto likepublichealth, themechanism of spread gain momentum. Related to this is this gov- of viral diseases, or the stateofcountry’s scien- ernment’s beliefthatthere is needtogivea tific research become partofmainstream dis- ‘direction’ to scientificresearch,atleasttothe Study: Kids can identify cussions, alarge number of peopleevenbe- scientific output, that comes out of our labo- came awareofissues likethe intricacies of ratories and industry. This obviouslyupsets vaccinedevelopment,orthedifficultiesinclin- those who believe that basic research must emotions on masked faces ical trials of drugs and vaccines. notbeconstrainedinany way. But the gov- Science,andthe tools ithasgifted,wasthe ernment has been insisting that severalsci- primaryweapon to be deployedinthe fight entific facilities could be muchmoreproduc- againstthe pandemic, whether it related to tive if theyaligntheirresearch towardsfinding carrying out of diagnostic tests, or clinical technology solutions to the country’s needs. managementof moreseriouspatientstopre- The space forinstitutionalisedcollabora- vent deaths, or the search foreffective drugs tion between the government, industryand and vaccines. the scientific community is already being created in severalnew missions, or technol- Notasbad as feared ogy hubs, that arebeing setup. In mostof India hasn’t faredasbadlyasmanyhad Illustration: Suvajit Dey these missions,orhubs, it is the industryor feared at the startofthe outbreak.This is not the academiathat is playing the lead role, Sadness, anger and fear. AshleyRuba, UW—Madison to belittle the nearly 1.5lakh deaths that have No other country, including some in the Indiawouldalso getearly access to thesevac- while the government tries to facilitatean been attributedto thedisease, or the millions developedworld,could boastsuchwide- cines, withthe government nothaving to enabling environment. whose livelihood has been affected.But, con- spread testing network. Increasingthe num- spend large sums of moneylikethe United WHEN MASKScover asignificant part bility (about 17%)ofguessingone cor- sidering India’s populationand density,the berofpeople being tested contributedina States or some European countries had to do STRONGER HEALTH SYSTEM: The of the face, howwell can people un- rect emotion from the six options. disregardfor public hygiene, and the rickety major waytorestricting the spread of the to pre-book the vaccines. dreadful aspect of the pandemic is that it derstand the facial expressions of the With amask in theway,theycorrectly publichealth infrastructure,muchworse had disease. We arealreadyseeing thisunroll.The first might notbethe lastone. In the lastfew years, peoplewearingthem?Children can identified sadness about 28%ofthe been predicted. Another example wasthe wayinwhich vaccine is likelytobecome available notlater we have seen outbreaksofseveral viral dis- still understand, to an extent, the ex- time, anger 27%ofthe time, and fear Part of it couldbeattributed to sheer luck, the initial problem of lackofadequatetest- than afew weeksfromnow.Early logistical eases. Thankfully, theyneverbecame as wide- pressions on masked faces, according 18%ofthe time. at leastuntil we fullyunderstand the biologi- ing kits, reagentsand chemicals,and med- planning fortransport,storage and distribu- spread as the current one. But that is no guar- to anew study publishedinPLOSOne. “Not surprisingly,itwas tougher calreasonsbehind thesteady decline in the ical equipment likePPE suitsand even sani- tion already having been finalisedwould en- antee that afutureone would notbemore “Wenow have this with parts of the faces number of cases in the lastthreemonths.This tisers, wasovercome. Mostofthese usedto surequick deployment. infectious, or deadly. Thecurrent pandemic situation whereadults covered. But even with a decline has survivedstate Assemblyand local be imported,not becauseIndia could not should prompt astrengthening of the public and kids have to interact mask covering the nose bodyelections, acrowdedfestivalseason, and manufacture them domestically, but proba- Looking ahead healthinfrastructure.Afewstatesare already all the time with people and mouth, the kids were agradual lifting of allrestrictions on move- blyitwas morecost-effective to getitfrom An eventasdisruptive as theCovid-19pan- working on creating, or augmenting, adedi- whosefaces arepartly able to identify these mentandassemblyofpeople, andseemsirre- abroad. But the supplybecame increasingly demic invariablyturns out to be ablessing in cated surveillance workforcethat can detect covered, and alot of emotions at aratebetter versible now. This, when mostother major uncertain due to travel restrictions, and bur- disguiseformakingsystemic improvements, similar outbreaksinfuture, and help contain adultsare wondering if than chance,” Ruba said. countries arestruggling to cope with asecond geoning global de- if those in command are it at an early stage. Greater empowerment of that’s going to be aprob- PAPER Sunglasses made orthirdwave. Relatively speaking,thedisease mand. In amatter of willing to imbibethe primaryhealthcarestaff is also expected. lem forchildren’s emo- anger and fear difficult to has been much less severe in India, and has weeks, Indian compa- THENEW IN lessons that have Also, while the ICMR, essentiallyare- tional development,”re- CLIP identify,suggesting the causedmuchfewer deaths on an average. nies in collaboration emerged. Hereare some search organization,was put in the forefront searcher AshleyRuba eyes and eyebrowsare But the interventions made to reduce the with research institu- NEWYEAR of the things thatweare of the fight againstthe epidemic, the said in astatement on NEWRESEARCH important to those facial impactof thepandemic have workedas well, tions beganproducing likelytosee happening Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme the research releasedby expressions. Fear,often some of these moreeffectively than the oth- these at home. New, in the science and tech- (IDSP), setupin2004for precisely this pur- the University of Wisconsin–Madison. confusedwith surprise,was also the ers. Therewas alot that did notgoright, but moreeconomical, diag- nology,and health, sec- pose, waspushedinthe background. As we Psychologists at UW–Madison trickiestfor children to spotbehind mostofthese related to administrative deci- nostic testsweredevel- tors in the coming ramp up our preparedness to deal with sim- showedmorethan 80 children, ages 7 amask. sions, or thelackofeffective communication. opedand deployed. PPE 2021 months and years. ilar epidemics in future, scientists sayit to 13,photosoffaces that were unob- The faces were revealedtothe chil- Forexample,mostscientists nowbelieve, that kitswas no longer in would be moreeffective to empowerthe structed,coveredby asurgical mask,or dren slowly, with scrambledpixels the lockdown, though essential, could have shortsupply. Similar HEALTH &SCIENCE ATMANIRBHAR IDSP,rather than burden ICMR with ajob that wearing sunglasses. The faces dis- falling intotheir proper place over 14 been implemented in abetterway,and the wasthe case with BHARAT: If anything, is notits coreexpertise. playedsadness, anger or fear.Froma stages. This wastosimulatethe way problem of migrantsstarting to walk backto equipment likeventila- the experience of this listofsixlabels,thechildren were asked real-worldinteractions mayrequire their villages should have been anticipated. tors and oxygen meters. The private indus- pandemic has made the governmentmore VACCINE RESEARCH: Though the exist- to assign an emotion to eachface. piecing things together from odd an- Similarly,the messaging from the Indian try, especiallysmall start-ups, contributedin convincedof the needforself-reliance, at least ing vaccine manufacturing capacity is com- When the faces were uncovered, gles or fleeting glimpses. Council of Medical Research,orthe Health abig waytofilling the demand gap. in thestrategicsectors. Andthatwould include ing in handy,India hasbeen found wanting in the children were correct as oftenas Source: University of Ministryleftalot to be desired. One relatively unappreciatedfact has been the science and technology sector as well.The developmentofits ownvaccine. As of now, 66%. This waswell above theproba- Wisconsin–Madison It is the lessons learnt from this crisis that the utilisation of primaryhealthcare network, fact that India wasnot even producing rela- thereare onlytwo Indian candidates in stage we could see guiding our science and technol- and ASHA and anganwadi workers,incontact tively simplethingslikeventilators had come three clinical trials. Acountrythe size, and sci- ogy policy in the coming years, notjustinthe tracing and awareness efforts. In some cases, as ashocktothe government authorities at entific capability of India, should have been realm of health sector,but science in general. morethan 100contactsofaninfectedperson the startof theoutbreak.Goingforward, there one of the front-runners in vaccine research. were traced, tested and isolated.Itshowed is likelytobegreater encouragement forlab- But that has traditionallybeenoneofthe weak Inherent scientific capacities thatwhile the primaryhealthcarenetwork oratories and industrytosupport domestic points, whichsomeresearch institutionsnow Afterthe initial period of confusion, India might be weak,and notempowered,itwas manufacturing of componentsand instru- want to address. could benefit from the fairly robustscience notentirelybroken. ments.Scientists andindustryexpectrelevant NEW SCIENCE POLICY: Anew Science, andtechnologyinfrastructureand networkit policy changes in the coming year. Technology,and Innovation Policy is in the fi- has built over the years. Nothing exemplified Vaccine development nal stages of preparation, and is likelytobe this better than the ramping up of number of Vaccines areanother area whereIndia's PROMOTINGSTAR-UP CULTURE: This unveiledinthe next three to four months. It is diagnostic teststhat were carriedout to de- existing capacities areabig asset, and can be is relatedto the atmanirbhar push. The present expected to do to thescience sector what the tect coronavirusinfections.It startedwithjust leveragedeffectively. Notwithstandingwho government had been promising supportto NationalEducationPolicy, releasedearlierthis one laboratoryinPune, but very soon more develops the vaccine, India is going to be an start-up ventures long before the outbreak. year,seekstodofor education. Notunexpect- than 1,500laboratories, government as well important playerinthe manufacturingand But the pandemic also showedhow impor- edly,itislikelytobeheavilyinfluencedbythe as private, hadbegun testing samples. At its distribution of these vaccines, because of the tantthis is. It wasthesestart-ups thatfilledthe lessons learnt during the pandemic. peak,India wastesting 14 to 15 lakh samples production capacities that have been built supply gapsinmedicalequipmentand instru- everyday. over the years. That would also mean that ments. The mostreliable information man- TOMORROW:GOVERNMENT&POLITICS WhyDedicatedFreightCorridormatters—forRailways,thecountry

stretchesare Sohnewal to Khurja (365 km), been eliminatedto augment speed, the only sendingtheir producetothe larger markets. AVISHEKGDASTIDAR Bhaupur to Pandit Deen DayalUpadhyay Sahnewal SECTIONOPENEDBYPM NewKhurja majorsection on IndianRailways that is free NEWDELHI,DECEMBER29 (Mughalsarai) (400km), then to Sonnagar NewSirhind NewDaudkhan from anypermanent or temporaryspeedre- What about the rest of the DFC? NewKhurja in West Bengal (137 km), then to Dankuni Dadri NewHathras strictions. This in away sets the bar forrest Moresections will keep getting commis- PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi inaugu- via Gomoh in Jharkhand (538 km). NewTundla of the DFCtoalso makestretches free from sioned in the coming months. rateda351-km section between Khurja and Thereisalsoasection under construc- Western EasternDFC speedrestrictions,or“cautions”astheyare Thereis61% progress in the Bhaupur to DFC NewSonnagar NewMakhanpur Bhaupur in Uttar Pradesh forcommercial tion between Dadri and Khurja to connect NewBhaupur termedinRailways. Deen DayalUpadhyaysection, and 180km operationsofthe DedicatedFreight Corridor the Eastern and Western arms. NewKoderma NewBhadan Freight trains usuallysufferfromunpre- of the 402kmwillbecompleteby (DFC) on Tuesday. He also dedicated to the New Kanpur NewEkdil dictable running times and lowspeeds of December 21,year while 22 km will bedone nation astate-of-the-artOperationControl Whyisitimportant? NewMughalsarai Dankuni NewAchalda around 25 km per hour.But on thisnew sec- by June2022. Thereafter the stretchto CentreinPrayagraj. Around 70%ofthe freight trains cur- NewKhana NewKanchausi tion theycan run at 50-60 kph. Sonnagar willsee 100kmcompletedby Thetotal2,843-kmproject—billedasthe rentlyrunning on the IndianRailway net- NewSasaram This section will also catchthe freight Marchnextyear. JNPT NewGomoh NewBhaupur largest rail infrastructure being built in inde- work areslated to shift to the freight corri- trafficoriginating from keycentres such as The 401-km Khurja to Sanhewal section pendentIndia—hasbeeninthemakingsince dors, leaving the paths open formore Kanpur Dehat, Aurayia, Etawah, Firozabad, has had only 39%progress.Itwill bedoneby 2006 with littlemovement on theground. It passenger trains. Includingthe stations, and that’s whythe line capacity. This section currentlyhas over Hathras,Aligarh and Bulandshahr.The ex- June 2022. is finallyreadytotakeoff,albeit in phases. Built at acostofRs5,750crore through a names of amajority of itsstationsare pre- 50 passenger trains and around 60 goods isting industrial areas of Aligarh, Khuja, A46-km link betweenKhurja (Eastern) loan from WorldBank (whichisfunding a fixedwith ‘New’, suchasNew Bhaupur,New trainsjostlingforpathsdaily. Thenewsection Firozabad, Agra and Bhaupur will become and Dadri (Western) will beready by March What is the DFC? majority of the EDFC;the WDFC is being Khurja etc. meansontheIndianRailway mainline,more majorgrowth centres of thearea, the 2021.ByDecember 2021, Kanpur-Khurja The DFC consists of twoarms. The sec- funded by the JapanInternational Tracks on DFCare designed to carry passengertrainscanbepumpedinandthose Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation area willget connectedto the western ports tion launchedonTuesday is partofthe Cooperation Agency), the newstations in heavier loads than mostofIndian Railways. trainscan,inturn,achieve betterpunctuality. projectsinits business developmentplan. of Kandla, Mundra,and Pipava,via the 127- 1,839-km Eastern DFC that starts at this section areBhaupur,Kanchausi, DFC will gettrack access charge from the Foodgrain and fertilisers from the north- These areas areagriculturehubs produc- km Dadri-Rewarisection in the Western Sohnewal(Ludhiana) in Punjab and ends at Achalda, Ekdil, Bhadan, Makhanpur,Tundla, parent Indian Railways,and also generate ern region aretransportedtothe eastern and ing potato,paddy and maize. “The agricul- arm, itstargetadvancedbyseveral months. Dankuni in West Bengal. The other arm is Hathras, Daudkan and Khurja. This section itsown freight business. Northeastregions. From Eastand Northeast, tural produce will getapan-India market In the Western DFC, the sectionbetween the around 1,500-km Western DFC from passes through Kanpur Dehat, Auraiya, coal, iron ore, juteand petroleum products becauseofcheaper and faster DFC connec- Rewari (Haryana) andMadar(Rajasthan) Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to JNPT in Mumbai, Etawah, Firozabad, Hathras, Aligarhand What trains will use the newsection? aretransportedNorth and West. tivity,” aspokespersonfor the DFCCIL told has been completed. The subsequent sec- touching allmajor portsalong theway. Bulandshahr districtsinUttar Pradesh. Freight trains plying on this section from The Indian Express. tions areuptoPalanpur in Gujarat (tobe The 351-km section stretches between This is likebuilding an entirerailway net- nowonwill help decongestthe existing What else will change? NewMakhanpur (Firozabad) and New done in the next three months), then to Khurja,the 12th stop afterSohnewalinthe work from scratch, independent of Indian Kanpur-Delhimain line of Indian Railways, Thereare certain firsts forthis section. Daudkhan (Aligarh) willbeopenedascom- Makarpura (byMarch 2022) and finallyto North, to New Bhaupur, nearKanpur. Other Railways.All the installations arenew. whichcurrentlyhandles trains at 150% of its Forinstance, 68existing levelcrossings have monuserterminalsaimedatlocalfarmersin JNPT (June 2022).

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TOPOFTHE WORLD USHousevotestooverrideTrump’s vetoofdefenseBill,overtoSenate Senatetoalsowrangle over $2,000 Biden says Trump aides setting stimulus cheque amid Democrat push

Ghislaine Maxwell REUTERS ED ‘roadblocks’for transition team WASHINGTON,DECEMBER29 Whatisthe PLAIN UNITED STATES E NDAA? ● THE US Senatewas settograp- EX REUTERS Protesters take partinarallyagainstthe dissolutionof Traffickingcase: ple on Tuesdaywithwhether to WILMINGTON,WASHINGTON, ParliamentinKathmandu on Tuesday. Reuters increase paymentstoAmericans THE NATIONAL Defense DECEMBER29 Britishsocialite reelingfromthe Covid-19pan- AuthorizationAct demicand overridePresident (NDAA), whichautho- PRESIDENT-ELECT JOE Biden deniedbail Donald Trump’s veto of a$740 rises $740 billion in said on Mondaymanyof Madhav Nepal: Will NewYork: AUSjudgeon billion defense bill. spending and outlines America’s security agencies had Mondaydeniedbail to Democrats, withhelp from Pentagon policy,typically been “hollowedout” under GhislaineMaxwell, citing Trump’sTwitterfeed,arepushing passes with strong bipar- President Donald Trumpand the forgeteverythingif the riskthe Britishsocialite foravote ontheadditionalmoney, tisan supportasitfunds lackofinformationbeingpro- might flee from charges asteptheybelieve could give the US's securityportfo- videdtohis transition team by she assistedinthe latefin- themanadvantageintwo Georgia lio. It has been signedinto the outgoing administration was Oli accepts mistake ancierJeffrey Epstein’s traf- runoffelections next week that lawevery year fornearly an “irresponsibility.” ficking of girls. US District will determine whichparty con- six consecutivedecades. “We’veencountered road- cal crisis on December 20 after JudgeAlison Nathan in trols the Senateunder Joe Biden. blocks from the political leader- SHIRISHBPRADHAN Oli, known forhis pro-Beijing Manhattan said federal The bill faces atoughpath in ship at the Department of Constructionfor the upcoming presidential inauguration KATHMANDU,DECEMBER29 leanings, in asurprise move,rec- prosecutors persuadedher the Republican-ledSenate, with Trump’s veto of the defense pol- Defense and the Office of ceremony outside the US Capitol Building. Reuters ommendeddissolving the 275- that Maxwell “poses a manyRepublicans pointing to icy bill by 322-87. If the Senate Management and Budget,” CHAIRMANOFthe ruling Nepal member House, amidstatussle flight risk” despiteher pro- hundredsofbillions of dollars in seconds the House action, it Biden said afterameeting with CommunistParty's rivalfaction forpowerwith Prachanda. posed$28.5 million bail addedcosts of Covid-19relief. would be the firstvetooverride his foreign policyteam.“Right Trump, aRepublican, has re- the Pentagon had conducted164 MadhavKumarNepal said on Acting on the PM’s recom- package, and should re- Acombined$892 billion bi- of Trump’s presidency,which nowwejustaren’t getting all of fusedtoconcede defeat and his interviews with over 400officials Tuesdaythat the party could still mendation, President Bidya Devi main jailedbecause “no partisan coronavirus relief pack- ends on January20. the information that we need administration onlyauthorized and providedmorethan 5,000 be united if Prime MinisterKP Bhandari dissolvedthe House conditions of release” rea- ageand $1.4 trillion spendingbill ASenatevoteonthe defense from the outgoing administra- cooperation with Biden on pages of documents. Sharma Oli waswillingtoaccept the same dayand announced sonablyassuredshewould that Trumpsignedintolaw on bill veto had been expected on tion in key national security ar- November 23. Biden takesoffice But Biden reiterated his his mistakes, as thousandsof fresh elections on April 30 and appear in court. Maxwell, Sundaycontains $600cheques Wednesdaybut could be de- eas. It’s nothing short, in my on January20. team’s concerns on Monday. protesters marched through the May10, sparking protests from 59, has pleadednot guilty forpeople hit hardfinancially by layeduntil the weekend by po- view, of irresponsibility.” Earlier this month, Biden’s When he takesoffice, he will in- streetsofKathmandu against alarge section of the NCPled by to helping Epstein recruit the pandemic. The Democratic- litical wrangling over the stimu- AfterBiden beat Trumpin team said theyhad metresist- herit awide rangeofforeign pol- the dissolution of Parliament. Prachanda, also aco-chair of the and groom girls as young ledHouse of Representativeson lus money. theNovember3election, the ance to requests forinformation icy and national security chal- MadhavNepal made the ruling party. as14 yearsold forsex in the Mondayapproved theincrease With the New Year’s Dayhol- Democrat’s team onlybegan from some Pentagon officials. lenges, including China, Iran and commentswhile addressing a Nepal's SupremeCourt on mid-1990s, and notguilty in direct paymentsto$2000. idayand anew Congress due to meeting with administration of- The Pentagon pushed back. NorthKorea,aswell as the coro- massive protestrally organisedby Fridayissuedashow-cause no- to perjuryfor denying her Separately, theHouse on be sworn in Sunday,lawmakers ficials in lateNovembertocoor- In astatement, acting Defense navirus pandemic raging across his faction in Kathmandu, which tice to the Oli-ledgovernment, involvement under oath. Mondayvoted to override have onlyashorttime to act. dinatethe handover. SecretaryChristopher Miller said the globe. wasattendedbyformer PMs asking it to submit awritten clar- REUTERS Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ ification over itsdecision to andJhala Nath Khanal. abruptlydissolve Parliament. Russia’s jail “Weare ready to forget China delegation holds everything if Oli accepts his mis- ETHIOPIA service tells takes,”MadhavNepal said. talkswith opp leaders Journalistheld, He also accusedOli of prac- Guo Yezhou, avice-minister Navalny to ticing anti-democratic activities of the CommunistParty of China, noreasongiven by makingdecisions againstthe on Tuesdaymet the main oppo- appearorface Constitution and the general sitionNepali Congress chief Sher bypolice,saykin public. Bahadur Deubaand discussed Nairobi: A Reuters camera- imprisonment “All the politicalparties, intel- the latestpoliticaldevelopments man, KumerraGemechu, lectuals, teachers, studentsand in the countryfollowing the dis- wasarrestedinAddis public areonthe streetsagainst solutionofParliament by Prime Ababa on Thursday and ASSOCIATEDPRESS the unconstitutionalmove of the MinisterKPSharma Oli. willbekeptincustody for MOSCOW,DECEMBER29 Oli-ledgovernment. The lower The meeting also focusedon at leasttwo weeks, his House will soon be revived,” relations between Nepal and family said.Noreason was RUSSIA’S FEDERAL penitentiary Madhav Nepal wasquotedassay- China, The Kathmandu Post providedtothe family for service has giventop Kremlin ing by My Republica newspaper. quoted shadowforeign minister Thursday’s arrest,and po- critic AlexeiNavalnyone dayto Nepal plunged intoapoliti- NarayanKhadka as saying. PTI licedid notrespond to reporttoits office or face impris- Reuters requests forcom- onment if he comes backto ment. Kumerra,38, has Russia afterthe deadline. worked for Reuters as a Navalnyisconvalescing in Nirav Modi’s remand freelance cameraman for Germanyafter hisAugustpoi- adecade. At abrief court soning with anerveagent, which hearing on Friday, where he hasblamedonthe Kremlin. extended till Jan 7 no lawyer waspresent,a Russian authorities have denied judge orderedKumerra’s their involvement. Nirav has detention forafurther 14 The Federal Penitentiary ADITIKHANNA been in aUK days to give police time to Service issuedastatement on LONDON,DECEMBER29 prison since investigate, the family Monday sayingthatanarticle by his arrest said. REUTERS doctorsfromBerlin’s Charitehos- FUGITIVE DIAMOND merchant lastyear Rohingyarefugees disembark aNavyvessel as theyarriveatthe Bhasan Char island. Reuters pital and publishedinmedical Nirav Modi appeared viavide- CROATIA journal TheLancet indicatedthat olinkfor aroutine 28-dayre- Navalnyhas fullyrecuperated. mand hearing on Tuesdaybefore lish aprima facie case of fraud 1killedas6.4 The prison service de- WestminsterMagistrates' Court and moneylaundering against magnitudequake Bangladesh sends more Rohingya to island mandedthat Navalnyreportto in London, wherehewas further the fugitive diamantaireis itsoffice in line with the terms of remandedincustody until broadlyadmissible. strikes walked offthe jetty on the island. ing coercedorpaid to move.The wifeand three children on a31/2-year suspendedsentence January7toconclude hearings He concludedthat he consid- Zagreb: An earthquakeof REUTERS Navy trucks and tractortrailers government denies the charges. Tuesdaysaid his campleader had he receivedfor a2014conviction. in his extradition case. ered himself "bound"bythe pre- magnitude 6.4 struckcen- BHASANCHAR,DECEMBER29 took them to multiple rows of “Mashallah!Wonderful convinced him that theywere If he misses the deadline, he Nirav,49, wanted in connec- vious UK courtrulings in the ex- tralCroatiaTuesday, killing concretehouses with their pink- place,” one man, afather of six, better offrelocating than staying could be imprisoned, the state- tion with the estimated $2-bil- tradition case of VijayMallya. achild,injuringmanypeo- AS ABangladeshi navalship an- ish-red painted tinroofs. exclaimed. “Weare so happy backinthe dilapidated shelters ment said. lion PNB scam case, has been in The CrownProsecution ple, officials said. Rescuers chored offaremote Bayof The Bangladesh navy took with the accommodation. The on the mainland whereone mil- Navalny’s lawyer,Vadim WandsworthPrison in London Service(CPS),arguingonbehalf of triedtopull people from Bengal island, some of the the 1,804Rohingyatothe island children aresoexcited to seethe lionofthem live cheek by jowl. Kobzev, tweetedthat the agency sincehis arrest lastyear follow- the Indian authorities, had the rubble of collapsed RohingyaMuslim refugees in five ships, with the refugees playground,” he said, but added: The government says the re- told the politician to showupat ing India's extradition request. stressedthattheevidence,includ- buildings, TV footage aboardclappedinanticipation sittingonwoodenbenches on “Wejustpray floods don’t kill us.” location is voluntarybut some itsoffice on Tuesdaymorning. The final hearings in the ex- ing witness statementsunder showed, and army were of starting anew lifeonapiece deck, some clutching ducks,pi- “There’s so muchsuffering refugeesfromthe firstgroup Navalny, who previouslysaid tradition case arescheduledover Section 161ofIndia’s CrPC, meets sent in to help.Prime of landthatdid notevenexist geons andchickens in bamboo and conflictinthe camp,” an- have spoken about being co- that he planned to return to twodays,onJanuary7and 8, the required threshold forthe UK MinisterAdrej Plenkovic twodecades ago. basketsand wearing orangelife other man said, referring to his ercedtogo. The human rights Russia once he fullyrecovered, when District JudgeSamuel courttodeterminewhetherModi said: “Wehaveinforma- Carrying poultryand sacks of vestsand masksagainstthe old refugee-camphome. group Amnesty International scoffedatthe demand,saying Goozee is scheduledtohear clos- has acase to answer before the tionthatonegirl waskilled. belongings, theyare partofa coronavirus. The government said earlier also expressedconcern. that the Federal Penitentiary ing argumentsfrombothsides Indian judicial system. We have nootherinforma- second group of about 1,800 Bangladesh says it has spent this monththatthe housing was “The island is completely Service’sreference to thearticle before he handsdownhis judg- That Mallya hasacase to an- tion...” In neighbouring Rohingyathat Bangladesh morethan$350 millionof itsown built on concretefoundation safe,” Foreign MinisterAbdul in The Lancet amounted to the ment afew weekslater. swer in India in his fraudand Slovenia, the STA news movedonTuesdayfrom moneytoready housing and whichcould withstand natural Momen told Reuters in the cap- government accepting he was At the lastfull hearing in the moneylaunderingcasehas agency said the sole nu- crampedrefugee camps on the otherinfrastructuretovoluntarily disasters, noting it withstood cy- ital, Dhaka. poisoned. case in November,JudgeGoozee cleared various levels of the UK clearpowerplant,whichis mainland to the low-lying island move some 100,000Rohingyato clone Amphan in Maywhich “TheRohingya people who “That means that the state heardthe argumentsfor and judicialsystemand is currently 100kmfromtheepicentre, despiteopposition from rights the island in an effortto ease over- killedmorethan100 people in have shiftedthereare very has officiallyrecognizedthe poi- againstthe admissibilityofcer- undergoing a"confidential" legal wasshut down as apre- groups. crowding in camps near the Bangladesh and eastern India. happywith the arrangement. soning,”hetweeted. tain witness statementspro- issue before UK Home Secretary caution. REUTERS “Welcome to Bhasan Char,” Myanmarborder,eventhough Amiddle-agedman who Some evil groups arespreading “Andwhereisthe criminal videdbythe CBI and ED and PritiPatel canconsider signingoff read abanner as the refugees rightsgroups said manywerebe- reachedBhasan Char with his negative propaganda,” he said. case then?” ruledthat the evidence to estab- on his extradition. PTI Pierre Cardin, designer to the famous and merchanttomasses, dies at 98

litical luminaries, tastemakers Andrew Bolton, the headcura- linedand somewhat severe,dis- of arealm that encompassed Notcontent to preside over RUTHLAFERLA and members of the hautebour- toratthe Costume Instituteof pensinginsome cases with tra- clothingaccessories, furniture, an omnipresent globalbrand, NEWYORK,DECEMBER29 geoisie —but he wasalso amer- the Metropolitan Museum of Art ditionalcollarsin favorofthe sim- household productsand fra- Mr.Cardin turnedhis rapacious chant to themasses with an in- in NewYork. ple bandedNehru,anamesake grances sold through some 800 attention to theaters and motels, PIERRE CARDIN, the visionary ternational brand, his name In 1958,Mr. Cardin put mod- adaptation of the styleworn by licensees in morethan140 coun- media and even restaurants, in designer and licensing pioneer affixedtoanoutpouring of prod- elsincrashhelmetsmatchedwith the Indian prime minister. tries on five continents. 1981 buying Maxim’s, once the who invented thebusiness of ucts, none tooexaltedortoo tiny skirts and colored stockings. Those suitswereslowto “I wash with my ownsoap,” world’s mostfamous restaurant, fashion as it is conducted today, humble to escape his avid eye. He dressedmen,and women, in catchoninthe United States — he once boasted. “I wear my own alandmarkofthe belle époque has diedinFrance. He was98. Therewerebubble dresses spacesuits. In 1969, NASA com- until the Beatles appeared in perfume, go to bed with my own on the RueRoyale in Paris. His death wasconfirmedon andbathtowels,aviatorjumpsuits missionedhim to create an inter- knockoff versions on the Ed sheets,havemyown food prod- He neither boastedofhis Tuesdaybythe FrenchAcademy and automobiles,fragrancesand pretation of aspacesuit,asignal Sullivantelevision showin1966. ucts. Iliveonme.” protean ambitions nor apolo- of Fine Arts.Hediedatthe ashtrays,evenpicklejars.Planting inspiration in his laterwork. “The Nehru-mania ensued. Chocolates, pens, cigarettes, gizedfor them. “I don’t play AmericanHospital in Neuilly- his flag on the RueduFaubourg dresses Iprefer,”hesaid at the Mr.Cardin had laid the foun- frying pans, alarm clocksand cas- cards, Idon’t smoke, Idon’t sur-Seine,justoutsideParis,his Saint-HonoréinParis,hepro- time, “arethose Iinvent foralife dations foraglobal empire by settetapes —all bore the Cardin drink,Idon’t likesports,” he told familysaid, according to Agence ceededtoturnthecountry’sfash- that doesnot yetexist.” the late1950s. At atime when logo, as did shoes, lingerie, Ms. Bender.“Ijustwork.It’smar- France-Presse. ionestablishment on itshead, re- Mr.Cardin drew inspiration France wasfashion’s uncon- blouses, neckwear,wallets,belts velous.Itamuses me.” “Fashionisnot enough,” Mr. producing fashions formass, from everywhere, be it the pago- Fashion designer Pierre Cardinatthe inauguration of the tested epicenter,hewas bring- and, morerecently, an Android Unlikemanydesigners today, Cardin once told Eugenia ready-to-wear consumption. das he visited in China, Op Art Pierre Cardin Museum in Paris in 2014.. AP file ing his designs to Moscow, Tokyo tablet. By the mid-1980s, Mr. whose businesses areoperated Sheppard, the American news- In acareer of morethan paintingorautomotivedesign. and Beijing, doing moretoerode Cardin stood at the helm of amar- by global conglomerates, Mr. paper columnistand fashion three-quarters of acentury, Mr. “I’m alwaysinspiredby some- international boundaries than keting organization and network Cardin had no partners. “I’mthe critic. “I don’twant to be justa Cardin remainedafuturist. “He thing outside, notbythe body it- the wayaglass givesshape to the decidedlymorefaithfultothe anydesigner of the day. of licensees paying him royalties financier,the banker and the cre- designer.” had this wonderful embrace of self,” he told The NewYorkTimes waterpoured intoit.” body’s outlines. Built on narrow He conceivedofhimself of 5to12percent. “I wasborn an ator,” he said.“I’vealwaysdone He neverwas just that. He technology and wasinlovewith in 1985. Clothing,hesaid,was Yethis men’s ready-to-wear shoulders, high armholes and a above allasaprolific ideas man, artiste,” he told The Times in 1987, what Iwanted because I’ve clothed the famous —artists,po- the notion of progress,” said meant“to give the body itsshape, designs, introducedin1960,were fitted waist, theywerestream- relishing his role as the overseer “but Iamabusinessman.” neverhad aboss.” NYT

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,DECEMBER30,2020 11 ECONOMY GOLD RUPEE OIL SILVER `49,610 `73.42 $51.06 `68,156

Note:Gold,silverrates at Delhi spotmarket;gold per 10 g, silverper 1kg; Brent crude as of 0000IST SENSEX: 47,613.08 ▲ 259.33 NIFTY: 13,932.60 ▲ 59.40 NIKKEI: 27,568.15 ▲ 714.12 HANGSENG: 26,568.49 ▲ 253.86 FTSE: 6,640.72 ▲ 138.61 DAX: 13,824.19 ▲ 33.90

International market data till 1930 IST TATAS’HOLDINGINJVTORISETO83.67%,AIRASIAGROUP’STOGODOWNTO16.33% RBI says write-offs helped TataSonstobuy32.67%stake banks lower bad loans Warns of sharp sources said very little is known about the identityofthe borrow- deterioration in ers and the amount written offin inAirAsiaIndiafor$37.66million the case of individual borrowers. assetquality Whilebanksclaimthattherecov- erymeasures continue even after dition to this, Tata Sons also owns have cancelledflightsand ment on the development. loans arewritten off, sources said ENSECONOMICBUREAU 51 percentstakeinfull-serviceair- AIRASIAAPPROACHED groundedplanesandAirAsiaIndia ThedealvaluesAirAsiaIndiaat GEORGEMATHEW notmorethan15-20percentisre- NEWDELHI,DECEMBER29 line Vistara, the rest of whichitis TATAGROUPINJUNE isnoexception.Dueto this,thedi- $115.27million. Forthe month of MUMBAI,DECEMBER29 coveredand the write-off figures ownedbySingaporeAirlines.Tata rectors expect further capital re- November,the airline had 6.6 per TheReserve Bank of India. File everyyear arerising, muchfaster IN Amovethat is being pegged as Sons also placedanexpressionof ■ In June,AirAsiahad quirementsfor AirAsia India. As cent market shareinIndia’sdo- THE RESERVE BankofIndia (RBI) thanrecoveries and recapitalisa- the firststepinconsolidationof interestinthe ongoing disinvest- approachedthe Tata India is anon-coremarketfor mestic air traffic, while the coun- on Tuesdaysaid commercial tion. What’sdisturbingbanking Tata Group’saviation portfolio, ment process of Air India. In June, group to sellits stake, AirAsia(beinganon-ASEANcoun- try’slargestairlineIndiGohad53.9 banksmanagedto lowertheirbad assetqualitystandstillprovidedas observersisthatbanksmadeaddi- Tata Sons willpurchase 32.67per AirAsia had approachedthe Tata as mandated by the try),thecompanywillcontinueto percentshare. AirAsiaIndia’srev- loans, or non-performing assets aCovid-19relief measure.TheRBI tions of Rs 378,228 croretoNPAs cent stakeinAirAsia India from Groupto sellitsstake,asmandated terms of the joint- regularly re-assess itsbusiness enues fell 69 per cent in the (NPAs), largely drivenbyloan had allowedsix months morato- in March On theother hand,re- MalaysianAirAsiaGroupBhd,tak- by thetermsofthe joint-venture, venture,according to strategiesanddisposeof non-core September-quarter. While its write-offsandwarnedthattheas- rium on loan repaymentsdue to duction in NPAs wasmuchlower ingitsholdinginthejoint-venture according to whichTataSons has whichTataSons has investments”. lossesfortheJune-quarterweren’t setqualityofthe banking system the Covid impact. “Giventhe un- atRs155,905croreduringtheyear. airlineupto 83.67percent.Inafil- the firstrighttobuy outthe stake. thefirstrighttobuy “Thistransaction will reduce disclosed, in the January-March maydeterioratesharply in the certaintyinducedbyCovidandits The central bank’s reporthas ing to the Malaysian stockex- The Malaysian company, ledby out the stake. cash burn of the companyinthe period for2020,its losses deep- comingmonthsdueto theuncer- real economicimpact, the asset warnedthat an increase in the re- changes,the AirAsia Group said Tony Fernandes,had stopped shortterm andallowAirAsia to enedtoRs332 crore, from Rs 15 taintyinducedbyCovidpandemic. qualityof thebankingsystemmay structured advances ratio to 0.43 that thedeal, whichisworth fundingtheIndianventurefollow- concentrateonrecovery of itskey crorea year ago. Commercial banksinIndia deterioratesharply, going for- per cent at end-September 2020 $37.66million, will see itssharein ing the Covid19-ledslumpinavi- in AirAsia India to Tata Sons, the ASEAN markets in Malaysia, PointingoutthattheIndiaven- managed to bring down their ward,” the RBI report said. from 0.36 in March2020 maybe theIndianbudgetairlinego down ation businesses. In November, Malaysianfirmsaidinthestockex- Thailand,Indonesia and the turehas been aloss-making one, NPAsto 7.5percentof advancesas In absoluteterms, grossNPAs “indicative of incipient stress”. to 16.33per cent. AirAsia said it wasreviewing its changefiling:“Sincethestartof the Philippines in the longrun,” it AirAsia said: “The shareoflosses of September 2020 from 8.2per declinedtoRs899,803 crorein The RBI said the rapid credit Asof date,AirAsiahelda49per India and Japan businesses. pandemic, the aviation industry added.Theairlinegroupexitedits overtheyearshave resultedinthe cent in March 2020 and 9.1per March2020fromRs936,474 crore growth during2005-12, coupled cent stakeinAirAsiaIndia,while Elaboratingontherationaleof hasbeenoneof thehardesthitin- Japan business earlier this year. carrying value of the investment cent in March lastyear.Banks in March 2019.“NPAs olderthan with absenceofstrong credit ap- Tata Sons held 51 percent. In ad- sellingasignificantpartofitsstake dustries.Airlinesaroundtheworld Tata Sons did notoffer acom- atthedateoftransactionto benil.” wroteoffarecordRs237,876 crore four years require100 per cent praisalandmonitoringstandards in fiscal 2019-20,enabling the provisioningand,therefore,banks and wilful defaultsare responsi- bankstoshowlowerNPAs,theRBI mayprefertowritethemoff.Inad- bleforsizeableassetimpairments PROVIDENT FUND saidinits ‘Reportontrend and dition,banksvoluntarilywrite-off in subsequentyears. “Large bor- ‘States’ borrowing43.5% more duringthefirstthreequartersof progressofbankinginIndia2019- NPAsinorderto cleanuptheirbal- rowalaccounts(exposureofRs5 FINANCIAL YEAR 2019-20 FY21toRs4,60,400crorefrom 20’. The central bankhas warned ance sheets,avail taxbenefitsand croreandabove)constituted79.8 Rs2,80,600croreinFY20 thatthe modestNPA ratio of 7.5 optimisetheuseof capital,”theRBI percentof NPAsand53.7percent in first9monthsofthisfiscal’ per cent at end-September 2020 said.“Atthesametime,borrowers of total loans at end September At Rs 5,55,900crore,stateshavesnapped up 43.5 per cent Over65% oftheseRs5.55 “veils the strong undercurrent of of written-offloans remain liable 2020,” it said, adding: “Theshare lakhcroreborrowinghavebeen slippage”.Theaccretionto NPAsas forrepayment,” it said. PSU banks of special mentionaccounts moredebt in thefirstnine months of thefiscal, as per Icra Finance Ministry lappedupbyjustfivetop per the ReserveBank’s Income wroteoff loansworth Rs 178,305 (SMA-0) sawasharp rise in borrowingstateswith Recognition and AssetClassi- crorein2019-20 while private September 2020”. `3,87,400cr borrowedin Maharashtraborrowing fication(IRAC)normswouldhave bankshad written offRs53,949 Fullreport on gives nod for 8.5% thefirstninemonthsofFY20 Rs39,500croremore,Karnataka been higher in the absence of the crore, the RBI reportsaid. Banking www.indianexpress.com Rs25,900croremore,TamilNadu `95,400cr Fallin Rs16,600croremore,Andhraan EPF interest rate redemptionsduringthefirstthree additionalRs15,300croreand quartersfrom`1,06,800crof Telanganadrawingdown Jio towers vandalisedinPunjab: FY20 Rs13,400croremoreduring ENSECONOMICBUREAU TOBECREDITED thesemonths NEWDELHI,DECEMBER29 INONEGO 64.1% riseinnetissuance Source: Icra/PTI Calls likely to face congestion THE EMPLOYEES’ Provident offorbeen disconnected by siteand amobile phone is kept Fund Organisation (EPFO) is ■ The EPFOislooking AASHISHARYAN protesting groups as of Tuesday. limitedbetween25-35km.Jiohas learnt to have gotclearance at crediting the NEWDELHI,DECEMBER29 around 14 million subscribers in from the Finance Ministryfor interestrateinone go AviationMinasks airlines, airports to Howdoes this impact Jio the state. With about1,800of interestraterecommendation of 8.5% instead of a THEDISRUPTIONintelecomserv- services in the state? thesetowersbeingvandalised,the of 8.5 per cent forFY20 andis split of 8.15%and ices offeredbyReliance Jio Infoc- With powersupplytoJio’s loadof therestof subscribersof the expectedtocredititto subscri- 0.35% proposed prepare for vaccine transportation omm continuedin towers being discon- company islikelytoshiftontothe bers in next fewdays.The re- earlier,asenior Punjab as protesting nected,the immediate othertowersinthevicinityofthat tirement fund body is looking official said groups cut powercon- impactislikely to befelt tower. This,inturn, mayimpact atcreditingtheinterestratein ■ The crediting of the ENSECONOMICBUREAU Deadline for nection to additional on calls and internet thequalityof callsandtheinternet one go of 8.5 per cent instead amount to the NEWDELHI,DECEMBER29 towers ownedbythe dataspeedintheregion. dataspeedinthe region. The im- of asplit of 8.15 per cent and subscribersis AI physical operatorandcontinued Onanaverage,amobile pactisalsolikelytobefeltonserv- 0.35percentproposedearlier, expected to be done AS THE rollout of Covid-19 vac- to blockthe repair of cell phone towercan ices of other providers since calls asenior officialsaid. in thenextfew days cine nears, the Civil Aviation bids closes vandalisedtowers. provide connectivity to landing on and originating from “Officials of both labour Ministryhas soundedout air- usersupto 75kmaway.However, Jio’snetworksmayfacecongestion and financeministries held lines, airports andground han- What has been vandalised? forthe mobile signal to be strong due to lesser number of cell sites. meetingsthisweekregarding The EPFOhad then said it dlers to startpreparing forthe ENSECONOMICBUREAU Of the9,000towersitesthatJio enough, multiple towersites are Apartfromvoice calls, the low theinterestrateproposal. The will credit 8.15 percent to its transportation with aspecial fo- NEWDELHI,DECEMBER29 has in the state, powersupplyto installedinaregion so that the number of cell sites is likelytohit Finance Ministryhas raised oversix croresubscribers for cus on temperatureregulation, roughly1,800had been either cut maximumdistancebetweenacell internetspeeds. some concernsregarding the theyearimmediatelyandgive CivilAviation SecretaryPradeep Civil Aviation MinisterHardeep THE FINAL deadline forsubmis- riskyinvestments,forwhich it the remaining 0.35per cent, Singh Kharolasaid Tuesday, Singh Puri. via@HardeepSPuri sion of physical bids forAir India has sought moredetails, but whichislinkedto itsequityin- adding that the exact guidelines disinvestment closedTuesday has givenits nod forthe inter- vestments,“beforeDecember to be followedbythese stake- withUS-basedInterups with- CBI chargesheets Parekh Aluminex estrateproposal,” the official 31”. This, it had said, wassub- holders will be issued closer to to the dateoftransportation and drawingfromtheraceby notsub- said, adding that it should be ject to redemptionofits units thedateoftransportation. details SOPs will be laiddown,” mittingaphysicalbid,sourcessaid. probeagenciessuchasthe hasalleged,obtainedloansagainst creditedinafew days.Queries invested in exchange-traded “All themainstakeholders— Kharola said. ApartfromInterups,TataSonsand KHUSHBOONARAYAN EconomicOffences Wing (EOW) “false and fabricated balance sentbyThe Indian Express to funds or ETFs. airports,airlines and ground han- At the same event, Civil aconsortium of Air India’s em- MUMBAI,DECEMBER29 of Mumbai police,the sheets with inflated sales”. As per the Finance Ministrywent The Finance Ministryhad dlers —havebeen alertedand Aviation MinisterHardeep Singh ployeeshadsubmittedanexpres- Enforcement Directorate(ED) for the chargesheet, the directors of unanswered. questionedthe 2018-2019 in- askedto draw their plans. Theex- Puri said thatIndia expectstobe- sion of interest. THE CENTRAL Bureauof defaultingonloans of about Parekh Aluminex allegedly The CentralBoardof terest rate of 8.65per cent as act SOPswill beformulatedwith gin administering the Covid19 Next,theDepartmentof Inves- Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday Rs 2,500crore to aconsortium of “floated”shellcompaniestocircu- Trustees of the EPFOhad in well,besidestheEPFO’sexpo- the MinistryofHealthand vaccine in Januaryand by July,it tment and Public AssetManage- filedachargesheetagainst 22 banksincludingState Bank of late the loan proceeds “under the September recommended suretoIL&FSandsimilarrisky Department of Pharmaceuticals expectsadministering the vac- ment and the transactionadvisor Mumbai-basedlistedfirmParekh India(Rs 255 crore), IDBI Bank guise of LC transactions without splittingpaymentoftheinter- entities. It has been nudging when we knowthe exact re- cine to 30 crorebeneficiaries. forthe disinvestment process will AluminexLtd and 23 others in- (Rs 40 crore), Dena Bank(Rs 183 doing anyactual business”. “The estrateof8.5 per centrecom- the EPFOtoreduce the rate to quirementsofthe vaccine — Meanwhile, Puri addedheex- informthequalifiedinterestedbid- cludingitsdirectorsandchartered crore),and Corporation Bank (Rs companyalso submitted theal- mendedfor financial year sub-8 per cent levelinline what precautions have to be pects that the temporarysuspen- ders on January5,after whichthe accountantforallegedly causinga 60crore).TheCBIchargesheethas leged false bills and receivedthe 2019-20 intotwo parts, citing with the overall interestrate taken, howithas to be trans- sion on the UK-Indiaflights, process to placefinancialbids will loss of over Rs 297crore to Indian allegedthatthefirmhassiphoned LCproceedsanddivertedthepro- “exceptional circumstances scenario. Small savings rates portedand what other measures whichhas been in place since begin. The government this year OverseasBank. moneyby“submitting fake & ceeds to real estate business. The arising out of Covid-19”. rangefrom4.0-7.6 per cent. arerequired.That has to be fac- 11.59pmDecember 22,could be kickedoffprocesstodivest100per Parekh Aluminexhas come forgedpurchaseinvoices/lettersof hugeamountswereallegedly di- toredinand it will be donenear “slightly extended”. cent stakeinAir India. underthe scannerofmultiple credit(LCs).Thecompany, theCBI vertedto variousrealtors,”saidCBI. JSHL to merge BRIEFLY Former DEA Secretary VISVESVARAYA JALA NIGAM LIMITED 15thtrancheof with Jindal (A Government of Karnataka Enterprises) Chakraborty likely to be Stainless to form Office of the Executive Engineer,VJNL, electoralbonds UBP DivisionNo. 3, Ajjampura-577 547 NewDelhi: Thegovernment ‘India’s largest Ph No-08261-245686E-mail [email protected] on Tuesdayapprovedthe HDFCBank chairman CIN No: U41000KA2016SG097260 15th tranche of electoral stainlesssteel co’ NO:EE/VJNL/UBP/D-03/Ajjampura/PB-1/Tendernotificatn/ bonds whichwill be open 2020-21/791dated: 29-12-2020 forsale between January1 ENSECONOMICBUREAU andJanuary10.StateBankof NEWDELHI,DECEMBER29 ENSECONOMICBUREAU SHORT TERM TENDER NOTIFICATION (TWO-COVER India is the onlyauthorised NEWDELHI,DECEMBER29 SYSTEM) (THROUGH “e-Procurement”ONLY) bank to issue the bonds. PTI ATANU CHAKRABORTY,former Sl. No.1.Name of work : Providing11KV power supply to EconomicAffairs Secretary,is JINDAL STAINLESS (Hisar) Ltd 11 no zonal pumping stations coming under Package 2of Mobilitycard likelytobethe next chairman of (JSHL) on Tuesdaysaid itsboard Tarikere LiftIrrigation Scheme. (I No: VJNL/2020-21/EL/ HDFCBank.According to sources has approved thecompany’s 2020-21/WORK_INDENT1552) App. amountput to tender forAirportline close to thedevelopment, the mergerintothe country’s largest (Rs. In Lakhs) : 1686.10 EMD (Rs.InLakh) : 16.87 bank has written to theReserve stainless steelmaker Jindal Category of the Agency : KPTCL super grade license Mumbai: Delhi MetroAirp- Bank of India (RBI)recommend- Former Economic Affairs Stainless Ltd (JSL). contractors andKPWD Class Icontractor TimeLimit. : 06 ortExpress Line will accept ing thenameofChakraborty. SecretaryAtanu Chakraborty Having atotal meltingcapac- Months(Including monsoon) commonmobilitycard.ENS Onceapproved by RBI, ity of 0.8million tonne per an- Chakraborty —a1985batchIAS num (MTPA), Hisar-basedJSHL is Further details and informationabout electronictendering can officerof theGujaratCadre—may retired officialisrequiredtoseek the largest specialty stainless be hadfrom https://eproc.karnataka.gov.in/e-procurement 737MAXback take over as the part-time chair- the government’s approval if he steel producer in Indiawith adi- Calendar of Events inUSskies manof HDFCBankinJanuary. The takesacommercial employment versifiedvalue-addedproduct Sl.No. 1. Thecontractorcan access to the e-tender document, tenureofits current part-time within one year of retirement. portfolio. In aBSE filing, the com- i.e. thetenderschedules, bid documents and other documents, Miami: AmericanAirlines chairperson Shyamala Gopinath When asked about the same panysaid its“boardhas consid- in the web site http://eproc. karnataka.gov.in on payment of broughtbacktheBoeing737 will endonJanuary 1. he said, “I haven’t thought about ered and approved...amalgama- transactionfee (nonrefundable) from:04.01.2021, after 11.30 MAXto skiesonTuesday. AP WhileHDFCBankdeclinedto anyjob as of nowbut thereare tion of JSHL (the amalgamating hours Sl.No. 2. Last date &time for tender queries/ comment, Chakraborty,told The certainstandardrulesforcivilser- company intoand with Jindal clarifications:15.01.2021 upto 17.00 hours Sl.No. 3. Pre bid Indian Express said, “I do notwish vantsand Iwould followthem.” Stainless Ltd”. meetingwill be held at o/o the Chief Engineer,VJNL, UBP Sebifines to commentonthis matter as it is Earlier,onMonday, the bank In ajoint statement, thecom- Zone, Chitradurga.:18.01.2021 at 11.30 hours Sl.No. 4. The acommunication betweentwo informedthestockexchangesthat panies claimedthe merger will NDTV`5cr last date for submission of completed tender documents different entities, the bankand “the BoardofDirectors of HDFC createamegastainless steel en- (Cover-1 &cover-2)through e-portal.:25.01.2021 upto 16.00 NewDelhi: Sebislappeda RBI. Iwouldliketosay that Ihave Bank Ltd (“theBank”) at itsmeet- tity that willbeamong the top- Rs 5crore penalty on NDTV notthoughtaboutitandasof now ingheldtoday, hasrecommended 10 stainless steelcompanies in hours Sl.No. 5. Date &time of opening of Technical Bid for failuretodiscloseprice- thereisnojob on my mind.” theappointmentofthePart-Time the worldand the largest stain- (Cover -1) by Executive Engineer,V.J.N.L, UBP,Division No.3, sensitiveinformationabout WhileChakraborty retired as Chairperson of theBankand has less steel companyinIndia. As Ajjampura. :27.01.2020 at 11.00 hours VCPL loan agreements. The the Economic AffairsSecretaryin submitteditsrecommendationto per the proposedstructure,the Sd/- Executive Engineer,VJNL, UBP DivisionNo.3, companysaid it will appeal April, the office memorandum of the ReserveBankofIndiafor ap- mobility business of JSLLifestyle againstthe ruling. PTI Department of Personnel and proval under Section 35Bofthe Ltd, asubsidiaryofJSHL, would Ajjampura. Training states that anyGroup A Banking RegulationAct,1949.” be merged intoJSL. WITHPTI Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,DECEMBER30,2020 AUSTRALIA DOCKED 4WTC POINTS FOR SLOW OVER-RATE Australia were fined 40 per cent of its matchfee and penalised four ICC World Test Championship points 12 SPORT formaintaining aslowover-rate against India in the second Test,whichconcluded at MCG. PTI BOXING DAY TEST Why India’s victory in Melbourne is the most All square at the G significant ‘away win’ yet India keep shadows of doubt at baytoget the job done in second Test;level series 1-1 SHAMIKCHAKRABARTY SCORECARD KOLKATA,DECEMBER29 SANDIPG GIVEN THE backdrop and the odds that the DECEMBER29 AUSTRALIA VS INDIA Indian team facedcoming intothe second 2ND TEST, MCG Test in Melbourne, this has to be India’s finest PULLINGNATHAN Lyon forasingle, offafum- Toss: Australia, chose to bat Test victoryever. The humiliation of 36/9 at ble, AjinkyaRahane completedone of India’s Adelaide, ViratKolhi on paternity leave,in- mostmemorable momentsinTestcricket.The AUS1ST INNINGS 195 jurytoMohammad Shami before the game celebrations were bizarrely understated, there INDIA 1STINNINGS 326 and Umesh Yadavduring the Test —there were no hugs or high-fives, no leaping or AUSTRALIA 2ND INNINGS 200 wasway toomuchgoing againstIndia. punching in the air.India made the Melbourne MWadelbwJadeja 40(137b,3x4) Nevereverhas an Indian tour party been victorylook utterly humdrum. JBurnscPantbYadav 4(10b) pushedinacorner likethis or written off. But The scorecardwould agree—what wasthe MLabuschagnecRahanebAshwin 28(49b,1x4) in adramatic turnaround, India didn’t just fourth-dayfuss all about. The visitors bagged SSmithbBumrah 8(30b) bounce backtowin the Test and levelthe se- the four remaining Australian wicketsfor 67 THeadcAgarwalbSiraj 17(46b) ries, theygavethe fans alot to look forward runs and then eclipsedthe target of 70 in 15.5 CGreencJadejabSiraj 45(146b,5x4) to in the final week of the year.Rahane’s cap- overs, trading justtwo wicketsinthe process. TPainecPantbJadeja 1(9b) taincy,stunning debutsbypacer R. Ashwin ledIndia’s charge at MCG, Easy as aSundayevening stroll, youwould PCumminscAgarwalbBumrah22(103b,1x4) Mohammad Siraj and opener Shubhnam Gill scalping five wickets. AP think,but thereweretimes in the game when MStarcnotout 14(56b) being the positivesofthis historic Test.Read it seemedmoreastagger and stutter than a NLyoncPantbSiraj 3(15b) highlightsofthe Test stroll. Maybe, the anxiety wasmerelyanillu- JHazlewoodbAshwin 10(21b) an improbable win. sion of the mind, subconsciouslyspun after ■ Extras (nb3,lb5) 8 What wasthe backdrop? The victoryinthe thirdTestagainst what had transpiredin Adelaide nine days ago. ■ FoW:1-4(JoeBurns,3.1ov),2-42(Marnus The backdrop posedserious challenges. Australia at the MCG in February1981, where This is notthe Australia of the old. But still, Labuschagne,17.5ov),3-71(StevenSmith,32.2 Themajorityofthe players in the team left India bundledout abatting line-up boasting theywould channel the spirit of the Old ov),4-98(MatthewWade,43.6ov),5-98 home in Augusttoenter intothe bio-bubble of Greg Chappell, Doug Walters, Kim Hughes Australia. Afterall, 70 is almost36doubled. (TravisHead,46.1ov),6-99(TimPaine,47.4ov), of their respective Indian Premier League and Allan Border for83inthe fourth innings Afterall, the Indian batting line-up has cracks 7-156(PatCummins,82.5ov),8-177(Cameron (IPL) franchises. This has been an abnormal to squarethe series. VVSLaxman and Rahul and crevices. And Australia’s bowlers arecapa- Green,90.6ov),9-185(NathanLyon,96.4ov), year that sawCovid-19ravagelives and liveli- Dravid’s 376-run partnership at Eden ble of producing magic. And the strip could 10-200(JoshHazlewood,103.1ov) hoods. From the IPL bio-bubble the Indian Gardens that setupIndia’s 171-run win, fol- crackupand consumethe visitors. That’s what ■ Bowling:JBumrah27-6-54-2,UYadav3.3- cricketers movedtothe Indian team bio- lowing on, againstSteve Waugh’s all-con- Australia could conjure, that’s what Australia 0-5-1,MSiraj21.3-4-37-3,RAshwin37.1-6- bubble, served their quarantine in Australia quering Australia in March 2001.The wins in has conjured in the past. PatCummins and 71-2,RJadeja14-5-28-2 without asingle breachand then took to the the firstand the thirdTestagainstPakistan Mitchell Starcbounding intothe ground with field to playahigh-intensity series. at Multan and Rawalpindi re- the quietmenace of professional assassins, INDIA 2ND INNINGS 70/2 Foroverfour months now, the spectively in March-April 2004 TimPaine screaming wordsofencourage- MAgarwalcPainebStarc 5(15b) players have been on the road, un- that secured India’s first-ever ment, so ferociouslythat he seemedtobe SGillnotout 35(36b,7x4) der Covid-safetyrestrictions. Alot Test series win in Pakistan. readying foranACCADACCA audition. CPujaracGreenbCummins 3(4b) of them have young families back Bouncing backfromadefeat at The doubt-ridden mind can makeevery- ARahanenotout 27(40b,3x4) home. AjinkyaRahane and Co Perthtowin the thirdTestat thing look tenser and harder than it actually ■ FoW:1-16(MayankAgarwal,4.2ov),2-19 have successfullyencountered the Melbourne in December 2018, is. So Mayank Agarwalseemedtosweat even AjinkyaRahane’s (left) inspirational leadership providedIndia the templatefor (CheteshwarPujara,5.1ov). on and offthe field challenges. whichwould eventuallytake before he had facedaball, Shubman Gill the resounding 8-wicket win over Australia. AP ■ Bowling:MStarc4-0-20-1,PCummins5-0- India to their first-everTestse- looked lostand nervous. To aggravatethe 22-1,JHazlewood3-1-14-0,NLyon2.5-0-5-0, What were the odds? ries win Down Under. worstfears, India lostAgarwal and MLabuschagne1-0-9-0 Coming intothe second Test,the odds Cheteshwar Pujarainthe space of sevenballs. and steered India pastthe finish line with ju- ■ Indiawinby8wickets. were heavilystacked againstthe Indian team. Whyisthis‘away win’ unique? Agarwalstrovetodrive with his hands away dicious but assertive batting. Theywerecarrying the ghostofthe 36 all out All the previous wins —the badges of ho- from his body to aStarc delivery that slanted SCGTOHOSTTHIRDTEST In the end, the fears looked utterly mis- Reallyproudofalltheplayers. in Adelaide –India’s lowest-everTesttotal. nour in Indian cricket —had been achieved across him. It wasastandardleft-arm seamer’s Cricket Australia has decidedto placed. Justasitwas in the firsthour of the day, The team’s regular captain, also the best bats- with full-strength sides. Here, to startwith, delivery.But the stroke wasall nerves and un- retain Sydneyasthe venue forthe when Cameron Green and Cummins raised Playedreallywell.Wanttogive man, ViratKohli, decidedtoreturn home on India were severely depleted. Then, theyhad certainty.Sowas Pujara, pushing with hard thirdTestagainstIndia, ending faint comebackhopes with unprecedented credittothedebutantsSiraj paternity leave. to burythe ghostofthe ‘(Southern) Summer hands at aCummins length-ball on the fourth- speculation that the game could resistance. Again, fears seemedhollow. Green andGill,thecharacterthey The team’s gun bowler Mohammed of 36’. It wasn’t easy. stumptrajectoryand thick-edging to gully. At move to Melbourne because of is playing his second Test,Cummins is at best showedaftertheAdelaideloss Shami wasruledout of the series due to Sunil Gavaskar in his book SunnyDays 2/16, the contestceasedtobeone-sided. stringent COVID-19border ahandy than an influential batsman. Both wasgreattosee.Characterwas an arm fracture. India were already miss- documented howIndia’s tour of England in Australian fielders turnedontheir volume; restrictions that would have seemedtopile than peel away the runs. importantforus,especially ing Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma. On 1974 had descendedintochaos afterthe vis- their bowlers turnedontheir aggroand the affected the players' movement for Yet, India areuncannilyaccustomedtosee- the thirdday of the second Test,Umesh itors were bowled out for42atLord’s. crowdjoinedinthe chorus, making all sorts the fourth matchinBrisbane. The ing lower-order batsmen snatchthe game afterlosingUmeshinthe Yadavleftthe field aftersustaining acalf Rahane’s team could have wilted under pres- of blasé references to the 36ers. thirdTestistobeheld from away from them. Thereweresome sweaty secondinnings.” injury, reducing the side to four fit sure. Theyembracedredemption instead. Cummins flung ashortball at Rahane. The January7. PTI signs too—likeedges evading fielders and AJINKYA RAHANE, bowlers. India also had the baggageofbe- Indian skipper pulleditemphaticallyfor a stumps, marginal decisions going the bats- ingclean sweptinthe two-Test series in Howsignificant has been boundary, suggesting he wasblow-trading men’s way. It could be (mis)construedthat AFTER THE WIN NewZealand earlier this year.Atthe Rahane’s contribution? mood. An angered Cummins banged in an- ruthlesslypunishedevenremotely loose balls. taking Jasprit Bumrah offthe attackafter three Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), they other shortball that struckhis lowerabdomen. Asmidgeon of room sufficedfor Gill to back wasasign of restlessness. So wasareview stared at the possibility of finishing 2020 As acaptain, from bowling changes to The messagefromCummins wasclear:they cut Starcfor an airborne boundary. In the same Ashwin persuadedRahane to take.And the Calm wasrestored, but wastheretension without asingle Test win. field placements, the stand-in skipper was would fight till the lastdropofthe blood. The over,heslappedhim foranother four.IfIndia’s deeper the partnership progressedthe in the firstplace? Or wasitatrickthe mind always ahead of the game. As abatsman, response from Rahane wasclearer:hewould firstinnings wasbuilt brickbybrick, this one sounder the batting seemed. played? Head coachRaviShastri emphasised Does this win have competitors? Rahane’s centuryinthe firstinnings was out-fight them. wasdropping slabs, composedboundaryby Then in the fifthball of the 16th over that theywerenot frazzledatany point. “Our Quiteafew…The win in the second Test the difference between the twosides. Unlikeduring his epic firstinnings knock, boundary. India bowled in the morning, theyfinally approachwas likethis: ‘think as if youwant againstthe West Indies at Port of Spain in “I believe that this hundred is going to he wasdisinclinedtochurn an innings out. Cummins, though, kept persisting. He tried dislodged Cummins, afiendish Bumrah to take 10 wickets, notfour’. We told ourselves March1971that secured India’s first-ever be one of the mostimportant hundredsin Rather,hewould justplayall his strokes, even to setRahane up by pushing him backwith short-ball doing the trick. India heavedasigh to be prepared to be patient even if theybat- Test series triumph in the Caribbean. The vic- the history of Indian cricket,” Gavaskar told it those entail risks. This wasasupreme un- shortballs before slipping in off-cutters to trap of relief. But Green wasstill batting there, tedasession. Be preparedto chase down even tory at the Oval in the thirdTestagainst the SevenNetwork,adding: “Important be- derstanding of the situation. The target nota on the crease. It almostworkedbut fora swelling in morale and looking everybit the 150ifneeded. What yousaw todaywas an ex- England in August1971, whichgaveIndia cause it’s showing character,sending a daunting one, afew boundaries could all but chunky inside edge.But it did notdeter monsterall-rounder he wastouted to be. hibition of discipline, accuracy and patience,” their first-everTestseries success in England. messagetothe opposition that afterbeing win the game forhis team. So he and Gill Rahane from leaning intoadrive forthree runs Another brief passageofresistance followed he elaborated. The glorious run chase in the thirdTest dismissedfor 36 in the previous game, to launchedawatchful assault, without embrac- in the same over.Starc and Cummins made before MohammedSiraj took out Green But it wasnot until that single offthe mis- againstthe West Indies at Port of Spain in come backinthis manner,this Indian team ing outright risk.Theyattemptednothing silly wayfor Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, but with ashortball, soon afterhewas sump- fieldedpull stroke that the nerves stoppedto April 1976 that sawIndia scoreathen world is notgoing to justlie down and be walked or outrageous, maintainedtheir poise, but Rahane and Gill did notalter their approach tuouslyon-driven. jangle. Or wasitjustanillusion? record406/4 in the fourth innings to pull off all over. THELOST 2020 YEAR Away from the bio-bubbles put in placebythose with deep pockets, sport had its lockdowntales of angst,uncertaintyand apprehension. THE INDIAN EXPRESStalkstothose who missed out on their break-out year or had to delaytheir retirement. ‘Olympics postponement ajolt, but Saurabh will bounce back’ In rampaging form when 2020 started, Olympic postponement posed aspeed bumptoshooters Apurvi Chandela and Saurabh Chaudhary aiming for Tokyoglory.But nothing insurmountable forthe monkish duo, believe coaches favourablytowardstheIndianarchers,shoot- Championship between 1994 and 2010,in- Chaudhary, who dominated 2019 along MIHIRVASAVDA ers and the sole weightlifterincontention, cludingthreegoldmedals(onein1994,two in with teammateAbhishek Verma, is abetter NEWDELHI,DECEMBER29 Mirabai Chanu. 1998). She held severalworld records, won shooternow compared to the startof2020, The focus, though, wasfirmlyon six WorldCup gold medals and ruledthe his coachattests.“He wasliving likeapris- ON MARCH 24,momentsafter the news ChaudharyandrifleshooterApurviChandela. European Championships. oner inside his shooting rangeathome for brokethat the TokyoOlympics had been Bothof themhadbeeninscarcely-believable “But she has been to five Olympics and the majority of this year.Evenhis family postponed, Saurabh Chaudharydisappeared form through 2018 and 2019,and were could notwin one medal,” Jung says. members maintainedadistance from him to intothe makeshiftshooting rangeinside his primedtoachieve bigger things in 2020. “DebevecwonamedalattheOlympicsathis makesurehedid notget sick. So the only home and did notstepout forhours. Chandela wonseven WorldCup medals, fourthattempt.Butthen,therehavebeenpeo- thing he has done is practise,” Sheoran says. Chaudharybarelyspeaks(“he utters 24 includingtwoindividualandonemixedteam ple likeVijay as well. He wasnowhereonthe “His averagescores have improvedby acou- wordsin24hours,” his coachAmit Sheoran gold, in 2018 and 2019.She seta10m air rifle worldscene, goes to his firstOlympics (in ple of points. He nowshoots 588 routinely, jokes) and neverdisplays anykind of emo- worldrecord,climbedto thetopoftheworld 2012)and gets asilvermedal.” the kind of scorethat automaticallymakes tions. But in that minute, something inside rankings in her petevent and wasshooting Chandelaunderstandsthispeculiaritytoo him amedal contender.” him snapped. “Bada jhatka laga (It wasabig scores in qualifying that would comfortably well, having finished34th overall at the Rio The question, though, is if the status quo blow),” Sheoran says. take her intoanOlympic final. Apurvi Chandela and Saurabh Chaudharyhavebeen in sensational form and were Games.The‘failure’,shehasadmitted,helped will remain the same when the shooters re- Inanormal,non-Covidworld,the18-year- Chaudhary, on the other hand, has hardly poisedtoachieve bigger things in 2020. File hermatureandpushedbyworld-classshoot- turnto competitive modeattheselectiontri- old would have had his sight setonthe putafootwrongsincehearrivedontheworld ers at home likecurrent worldnumber 1 als, whichbegin in NewDelhi on January5. Olympic podium exactlyfour months after shooting scene in 2018,when he became the Elavenil Valarivanand fellowTokyomedal “Nobody could predict that the Olympics the Games were rescheduled. July24, 2020, youngestIndian shootertowin an Asian “Fromthat perspective,” national pistol pens at therangedefies logic. Youmay dom- hopefulAnjumMoudgil,Chandelaisnowthe would getpostponed. Nobody can predict had all the makings of potentiallybeing a Games gold medal in 10mair pistol. Like coachSamaresh Jung says,“we can saythis inateanentireOlympic cycle and nail every leader of aworld-beating Indian rifle team. whatwillhappeninthenextsixmonths,”says landmarkday in India’s Olympic history. Chandela, he, too, dominated the 2019 sea- year wasanopportunity lostbecause of the trainingsessionbutstill,thatwouldnottrans- Chandela’s coachRakesh Manpat says Manpat.Chaudhary’scoachSheoran,though, Afteranembarrassingtwo-medalhaulat son by winning twoWorld Cup golds, seta kindof formtheywerein.Butyoucanalsosay latetoamedal,” he says. theyhaveusedthis period to fine-tune her is notshy of making aprediction. “Saurabh’s the Rio Games, an unprecedented seven worldrecordand toppedthe ranking chart. theygot moretime to prepareand geteven To drive home his point, Jung cites the ex- technique. During the lockdown, Manpat mindsetislikeayogi, he is quicktoovercome Indianswouldhave beeninmedalcontention Both, Chandela and Chaudhary, have also better.Earlier,time wasjustflying. Nowthey amples of Germany rifle shooterSonja monitored Chandela’s practice from disappointmentanddoesn’tfocusonmaterial infoureventsontheopeningdayinTokyo.All impressedinthe mixed team events, which have gotabreak and some rest.” Pfeilschifter, SerbiangreatRajmondDebevec Bengaluru by placing asimulator on the bar- goals. And because of this, Iamconfident he usual indicators to determine success –form will debut in Tokyo, with partners Deepak Jung also underlines the anomalies of andIndia’s VijayKumar. relofher rifle, whichtransmitted all the data willbouncebackin2021andremainamedal guide, fitness and preparation –pointed Kumar and Manu Bhaker respectively. shooting. “Sometimes, everything that hap- Pfeilschifter, 49,medalledatevery World from the training sessions. hope likehewas this year.”

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