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          RNI Regn. No. MPENG/2004/13703, Regd. No. L-2/BPLON/41/2006-2008      !"  !"  #$ ! %&  

      Bhopal: Two farmers in Madhya day after the BJP sealed its Pradesh have committed suicide with- he council of ministers in Madhya Aseat-sharing deal with in a week when the new Government TPradesh would take oath of the office Janata Dal(U) and the LJP in announcement farm loan waiver to the on Tuesday at the Raj Bhavan at 3 pm. Bihar, the Congress revived its peasants. However, the names of the legislators to be alliance with the NCP in One of the farmers consumed poi- inducted in the cabinet are yet to be final- on Monday. Away son and died at a private hospital on ized. from the political manoeuver- Monday, while the second one hanged Chief Minister Kamal Nath had left for ing of the BJP and the himself on Saturday. Their families New Delhi on December 20 and since then Congress, TRS supremo and claimed that the benefit did not reach he remained there finalizing the names for Telangana Chief Minister K them and increasing pressure from the his cabinet. He has met Congress chief Chandrasekhar Rao kept up his banks forced them to take the extreme Rahul Gandhi several times deliberating the effort to float a Front excluding steps. Notably, loan waiver for debt-hit names of legislators to be inducted in the both these major players as he farmers was the main highlight of the cabinet. Other senior leaders of the party, engaged with his West Bengal with alliance partners have Congress' election campaign in Madhya AK Antony, Digvijay Singh and Jyotiraditya counterpart and TMC chief come to the final stage, which Pradesh. Soon after the formation of the Scindia are trying to reach consensus of the Mamata Banerjee. needs to be approved by the government, Chief Minister Kamal faces, keeping in mind the upcoming Lok Both the Congress and the party leadership. The other Nath had issued orders regarding loan Sabha elections scheduled in May, this year NCP had contested the last Lok minor issues that are left over NCP has now agreed to with- Monday met Mamata Banerjee waiver. The farm loan waiver in Madhya and the regional balance. Sabha polls together but went sharing of seats will be resolved draw its demand. at Nabanna (Bengal State sec- Pradesh is expected to benefit some 33 Other factor being considered includ- Party (SP) and three Independents would separately in the Assembly by Congress president Rahul Though the Congress is yet retariat) in Kolkata where the lakh farmers, owing Rs. 70,000 crore in ed the number of faces from the camps of be taken in the cabinet or not. However, the polls held a few months later. Gandhi and NCP chief Sharad to decide its candidate from two leaders engaged in a “pro- unpaid dues. The scheme is expected to regional satraps. Since, strong contender for chief minister has categorically stated that “In Maharashtra, the NCP Pawar,” said Congress leader Pune, party insiders said a ductive discussion” over the cost around Rs 38,000 crore. However, the post of chief minister Jyotiraditya there is no chance for the first timers. and the Congress will togeth- Ashok Chavan. senior leader, who is possibilities of stitching togeth- sources said it would take time to reach Scindia has not been made chief minister, Sources claimed that Nath along with er contest the 2019 In the 2014 Lok Sabha likely to defect, is being con- er a viable Federal Front ahead benefits to the farmers. it is expected that more faces from his camp other leaders would reach Bhopal in the elections, along with the elections, the Congress had sidered the party candidate of the 2019 general elections. Ironically, Juan Singh, a farmer would be taken in the cabinet. afternoon and attend the cabinet oath tak- Peasants and Workers Party of fielded 27 candidates in from Jalna Lok Sabha con- Rao, who had just before the from Pandhana in Khandwa district It is also being considered, whether ing ceremony. By Tuesday afternoon, the India (PWI). Till now, we have Maharashtra, while the NCP stituency. State BJP president Assembly elections in his State, allegedly committed suicide after he Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi list would be final, sources added. decided seat-sharing on 40 had contested on 21 seats. is a four-time said his discussions with came to know that he was not eligible seats, still eight are left. If any The Lok Sabha seats that MP from this constituency. Mamata was quite encourag- for the loan waiver announced by the consensus is not reached on are yet to be agreed upon Both the Congress and the ing. Chief Minister. The 45-year-old was remaining eight seats then the includes Ahmednagar, NCP have also agreed to share “After meeting Odisha found hanging from a tree at his farm final decision will be taken by Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, three seats with other allies — Chief Minister Naveen on Saturday morning. His brother the two party chiefs in New Aurangabad, Yavatmal, Nashik, Hatkanangale in Kolhapur for Patnaikji, I have come to meet Gulab Singh said he had taken a loan of Delhi,” tweeted NCP president Nandurbar, and one in the -led Swabhimani Mamata didi. Here we have a Rs 3,22,000 from a nationalised bank . which the Samajwadi Paksha, Amravati in Vidarbha fruitful discussion. We shared and another Rs. 50,000 from coopera- AICC sources in Delhi said Party is desiring to contest in for the Rajendra Gawai-led the matters of mutual interest tive society. Under the loan waiver the performance of the two case the SP-BSP and Congress Republican Party of India (RPI) and national interest,” said scheme, only those who had taken parties in the in the 2014 alliance takes place in Uttar and Akola for the Prakash KCR, adding the topics of dis- loans up to Rs 2 lakh before March 31, Assembly polls has been the Pradesh. Ambedkar-led Bharip Bahujan cussion were “usual,” as they 2018 are eligible for the waiver. Family basis of the seat-sharing A senior Congress leader Mahasangh (BBM). The SP veered around “issues that are members of the deceased told that he he first session of the 15th Vidhan Sabha would be held from January 7. A notifi- arrangment as then the said the NCP was keen to con- has also been demanding one likely to crop up when two had repaid the loan taken in the previ- Tcation in this regard has been issued on Monday. The session would conclude on Congress had won 61 seats, test from Pune and Jalna Lok seat in Mumbai. national leaders meet. We dis- ous financial year and took a fresh loan January 11 and it would have five sittings. while the NCP 41. Sabha seats, which are from the Meanwhile, K cussed certain issues that are this year. But his crop was destroyed, and On the same day, the newly elected members would be administered oath, while “Our talks for seat-sharing Congress quota but said the Chandrashekhar Rao on crucial for the nation.” he incurred losses. the next day, Governor Anandiben Patel would address the House.

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#$%' %  )*+ ' () + cept of staging them. The artists ((()-  are preparing with great emphasis on creative style of dance, folk, drama and music. Here on Monday, the bal- let expert Yogendra Singh Rajput told the participants about Uday Shankar who gave form to Indian ballet. By adopt- ing European dance and the- atrical techniques, he made his style by combining Indian classical folk dance styles, known as Uday Shankar Ballet style. The glimpse of nature in this dance structure is also evident. The special thing about this ballet work is that dance. Ballet dance form is most of the participating par- innovative and enjoyable. Little ticipants are children of 5 to 10 things are explained through years old. The participants movements and expressions. learned contemporary dance The workshop is being organ- moves. ised by Yogi Dance and Notably, a 15-day long bal- Theatre, Bhopal. let workshop is being organized At the workshop, the stu- for the aspirants to learn the dents are able to explore the ballet form properly. The exquisiteness of ballet dance. dance lovers of the city are essence of Ballet dancing in a The workshop is being orga- The students are also exploring enjoying the workshop as they ballet workshop. A 15-day long nized at Utkal Bhavan. the different themes of ballet, are able to explore different he dance lovers of the city workshop is being conducted The students are learning plays and other cultural items style of dance which is mostly Tare experiencing the for the dance lovers of the city. the basics of Indian Ballet and are learning the actual con- used in theaters.

brought a range of colours, designs, sizes and qualities. he craft exhibition cum Showcasing the beautiful and Tsale Aadi Mahotsav is unique collection of outfits, attracting a huge crowd and is jewellery and decorative pieces lauded by art lovers every day. the exhibition is captivating the The exhibition cum sale is attention of Bhopalites. The being organised at Bhopal women loves to adorn her Haat. with wonderful and trendy The Aadi Mahaotsav is clothing, this exhibition cum being organised by the, Tribal sale has it all. Cooperative Marketing The people are shopping Development Federation of with great fervor and usually a India Limited (TRIFED), heavy crowd is noticed in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs Pradesh. evenings. Government of India New It is to be noted that Especially, the ladies of the Delhi. TRIFED works for craft ven- city are more captivated The craft bazaar began dors belonging to different towards the fair as it has got dif- here from Friday is all about tribes and leading a livelihood ferent versions of female stuff. handloom material and people in different regions of the The city of lakes got embell- of Bhopal explores the various country. ished with different traditions vibrant colours of India. TRIFED often take them and cultures of the country Bhopal Haat is furnished on tours in a group so that they under one roof. with the cultures of Gujarat, can earn the profit directly by The response is pretty Assam, Himachal Pradesh, selling their material in any good. There was a cultural Rajasthan, Orissa, Madhya handloom fair in India or over- performance at the haat which Pradesh, Banaras, West Bengal, seas. was much enjoyed by the Ranchi, Kolkata and Uttar All the vendors have Bhopalites on Monday. P (Q)-    - '1 (2)( British guns? Eventually, Gend Singh is caught and was hanged arrating the bravery tales by neck till death. From this of Chhattisgarh’s revolu- incident, the blaze of revolution N tionaries, play ‘Pahtiya’ marked in Chhattisgarh became even the grand opening of Adi more intense. Vidrohi Theatre Festival. The Veeranarayan Singh of play Pahtiya was staged at Sonakhan also ignites this rev- Shaheed Bhavan auditorium olution even more. Later, other here on Monday. heroes invoke themselves in Directed by Yogendra this revolution. Choubey, the play was per- Whenever the revolt of formed by the artists of Gudi 1857 is remembered, the theatre troupe, Raisen. This nationally known revolution- play was about the freedom The play begins with intro- aries, freedom fighters are struggle and participation of ducing a farman declared by recalled. The name of the zonal various freedom fighters. The British against Paralkot's Gend freedom fighters is kept some- play will narrate the bravery of Singh. In the decree declared by where on the margins. These the freedom fighters like Veer the British it was mentioned heroes who have been thrown Narayan Singh and that Parlakot is being given to into the public sparks of free- Gundadhur. the British Government for dom in villages, towns and The play was all in twelve years. small towns have been devel- Chhattisgarhi language to make At the call of the public, oping in the minds of the peo- it look more appropriate. As the Gend Singh starts the guerril- ple. play dealt with the freedom la war against the British sup- “This play was an attempt fighters from Chhattisgarh the pression with arrows and to bring such revolutionaries to play was prepared in this lan- arrows, but how long will the the center” said the director of guage. arrows be held between the the play Yogendra Choubey. revolves around the amazing yet painful journey of a theatre atsamrat is one of the cel- actor ‘Ganpat Belwalker’. Once ebrated plays of theatre a great drama actor experiences N industry. The play will observe what he never expected. His life its silver jubilee on Tuesday. The kept some more drama in store play will be staged for the 25th for him. As he is retired now, he time on Tuesday at Sagar. is at home all the time and so Talking about the play faces troubles in connecting Natsamrat, director Jayant Marathi and is translated in with his children. His daughter- Deshmukh and actor Alok Hindi by Sacchinand Joshi. in-law created ruckus every Chatterjee interacted with the The play narrates the story of now and then. His son supports media persons here on Monday. Ganpat Belwalkar who has seen his wife, daughter is not really Deshmukh said that Natsamrat a golden era of his career sud- happy with his retirement. is one of the best Marathi plays denly faces the darkness of His children turn against ever written. Directed by a failures. The play will be pre- him. But, in all the trials renowned playwright and set sented 25th time by Ekrang Ganpat’s wife Kaveri stand by designer in Bollywood Jayant Thetare troupe. Alok Chatterjee him. His life takes a tragic turn Deshmukh, the play was writ- will play the protagonist of the and all the struggle ends with ten by Vi Va Shirvadkar in play. The story of the play his death.

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C M Y K #344  #   )( -+ ",% +   + ((  - -  ( Bhopal: Kamla Nagar police have booked two youths for molesting and threatening of life a minor girl at Naya Basera agar Public School, Saket  ) on Sunday. Police said that the SNagar witnessed its 18th victim Kamla Mandloi was Annual Sports Day with great molested by two miscreants of zeal and sportsmanship. More Bhopal: A 24-year-old youth under section 174 of the IPC the same locality. The police have registered than 3000 students of the died after his bike skidded and started further investiga- The accused were identi- case of molestation against the school participated to mark the near Manohar Dairy late in the tion. The bike of the deceased fied as Karan and Kaushal who two who are yet to be arrested. sports day in series of events. night on Sunday. Police said was hit by another speeding used to harass the victim fre- Meanwhile Gautam Nagar Lt Col Uday Nayak, that an injured youth was vehicle or not it would be quently and faced opposition police have booked a 24-year- Light Infantry from Indian rushed to a nearby hospital investigated. The locals would from the victim but the accused old man and his mother for Army graced the occasion as where he died late in the night be questioned in the further continued to molest her. harassing his wife demanding the chief guest for the day. while undergoing treatment. investigation. On Sunday when the vic- Rs 1 lakh on Sunday. The guests and other dig- The youth was identified as Meanwhile, a 22-year-old tim was alone at her house the The victim Roohi Khan of nitaries were welcomed with Qamar Khan of Aishbagh area. youth committed suicide by accused came and hold her Arif Nagar lodged complaint sapling by School Principal, He was on his way to home consuming celphos at Khejda hand and when the victim against her husband Pankaj Sharma and KK Dubey, when he met accident. In the village under Berasia police sta- raised alert and screamed for Mohammad Shakeel Khan and Director HR, Sagar Group fol- initial investigation police tion area on Sunday. help. Fearing that they would mother-in-law Anjum Bi. lowed by unfurling of school found that deceased sustained The deceased identified as they escaped but before leaving In his complaint victim flag and declaration of meet A series of track events for various formations by prima- 2018-19 with Arushi Rai and severe injuries which proved Neeraj Meena was found in an Kaushal threatened that if the alleged that the Shakeel and open. Colorful balloons were boys and girls for primary and ry and secondary sections Tanmay Malviya bagging the fatal for him. unconscious state and was victim would marry someone Anjum used to harass her released to the expression of joy secondary classes which showcased colorful view at the Best Athlete award in girls and The deceased died while rushed to hospital where he else she would be killed. physically and mentally and students in their respective included flag race, flat race, ground. boys category respectively. undergoing treatment at died during treatment. The victim reported the demanding Rs 1 lakh but she houses presented an impressive relay race, hurdle race, sack A prize distribution cere- A felicitation ceremony to Hamidia hospital late in the The body was sent for the incident to parents and later failed to fulfil the demand and and synchronized march past race etc. created excitement mony also marked the day by teachers, national players of night. post mortem after the prelim- they lodged a complaint with later lodged complaint. to the tunes played by the amongst the students to score honoring awards and medals to school and support staff was After the preliminary inary investigation. The police the police. Police have started The police have registered school band followed lighting for their houses. winners by the chief guests. also conducted to recognize investigation police sent the have registered a case under to search for the details of the a case under section 498 of the of torch and pledged ceremo- A synchronized display of Yamuna House (Blue House) their efforts and contributions body for investigation. The section 174 of the IPC and accused and their crime IPC and section 3 and 4 of the ny of sportsmanship. Yoga, Aerobics, PT Drill and bagged the trophy of the year by the chief guest. police have registered a case started further investigation. SR records. Dowry Act. SR added that even big stations like people. Jaipur and Ajmer were in a About 200 participants three-day National pitiable condition with dirty gave presentations of their case AConvention by the Gwalior platforms and choked and studies on various topics with chapter of the Quality Circle unusable toilets. He stated that emphasis on problems and Forum India held at the ABVP several steps were taken to their solutions. Students from IIITM College premises. The improve the situation with various colleges and schools of convention was held based on emphasis on better quality in all the city too participated in the the theme, ‘Igniting Mind for areas. He further said that convention. he MP Nagar police have Innovation to Quality today, these stations are among SJ Kalokhe, President Tnabbed two women Concept.’ A wide array of the best maintained stations in QCFI; SG Deshmukh, Director, involved in flesh trade near industry representatives from the country. Special Guest NJ IIITM; Sanjay Bindal, Chinar Park area late in the various parts of the country Pandey, Chairman, Technical Chairman, Gwalior Chapter, night on Sunday. attended the conference to Education Board asked the QCFI and Avinash Mishra, According to the police, gain knowledge about participants to give their ideas Director, Gwalior Chapter also acting on a tip off the MP enhanced methodologies, qual- on ways to improve quality. He spoke on the occasion. Nagar police nabbed two ity tools and better practices. also said that even a small idea Speaking to the media per- women involved in flesh trade. Speaking as the Chief can be very valuable and that sons, Avinash Mishra, Director, Police said that a police team Guest, TP Singh, General total participation is needed for Gwalior Chapter of the QCFI was rushed to Chinar Park area Manager, North West Railways the success of any endeavor. said that the agenda of this where two women were wait- said that poor infrastructure Encouraging the participants to year’s convention had focused ing for someone. and compromise with quality share their ideas, he further on how innovations and The two were nabbed and are the key obstacles to devel- said that this convention is an advancements in Quality can when they were questioned opment. He said that the con- the North West Zone was very ideal platform for in-depth maximize efficiency in all they failed to provide the dition of the railway stations in poor when he took charge. He dialogue among likeminded fields. details regarding their presence in the area. They later con- fessed that they are involved in flesh trade. The two used to contact customers over phone who -++./#,0   were interested in saving sex in return of money. The two were supported by a nexus which would be unearthed in the investigation. The action was taken after   ++  % receiving several complaints from the locals. In the past few he MP Nagar police have complaints were made by the Tnabbed a man involved in residents and locals but after producing forged documents receiving concrete informa- Rajasthan, Haryana, Bihar and West and recovered electronic goods tion, the action was taken. Bengal for urea supply till December 31. used to produce forged docu- The mobile phone recovered he Union Ministry for Fertiliser and This order will further accelerate supply ments; miscreant was nabbed from the accused women TChemicals has given its approval for of urea from the country’s East and West after a person was nabbed for would be investigated. immediate supply of 25,000 metric tonne Coast in Madhya Pradesh. availing 7 lakh loan using After the preliminary urea due to the efforts of Chief Minister In addition, the Union Ministry is forged documents. investigation the police have Kamal Nath. being constantly urged to allot all urea The accused identified as registered a case under sections The State government has urged the from the state’s National Fertilizer Anuj Pandey was nabbed by 3, 4 and 5 of the Prevention of central government to available 10 urea Limited, Vijaipur, Guna plant to the MP Nagar police and recovered Immoral Trafficking Act has rakes on priority to Madhya Pradesh in state itself. ten seals, one laptop, printer He lodged a police com- tioned him personal loan of 7 been registered against the the next 7 days so as to ensure availabil- Earlier the state was getting 6-7 rakes and computer and forged doc- plaint in which he stated that lakh. two and started further inves- ity of urea to farmers of the state as per daily. After Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s uments which were produced accused Pavan Pawar (38), a But later when he skipped tigation. their demand. So far, about 2.15 lakh met- discussion with the Union Railway by the accused. resident of Old Subhash Nagar EMIs, the vigilance team then The details of the nexus ric tonnes of urea has been supplied in the Minister Piyush Goyal and the Union Notably MP Nagar police who is a container driver had checked with HEG company would be investigated in the state. Chemicals Minister Sadanand Gowda have booked a container driver applied for personal loan in July office only to find the fraud. further investigation. During About 50,000 metric tonnes of urea now the state is getting 10 to 12 rakes urea who posed self as an officer and this year by posing self as On Sunday the Vice the investigation police found will reach the state. daily. used forged documents in senior officer of HEG Limited President of Non Banking that the two were involved in During the Rabi season, the central DAP rake of 1226 metric tonne is also order to avail personal loan of Company in Mandideep. Apart Finance Company Fullerton the flesh trade for long. government has agreed to supply a total reaching Mandideep and 4048 MT in 7 lakh from a private finance from other documents includ- came to the state capital and Their details of the two of 4.10 lakh metric tonnes of urea to the Ratlam rake point. company located at ing bank account details, the felicitated MP Nagar police have been searched. state. Necessary instructions have been Mansarowar Complex, the accused has submitted fake staff for solving the case and Accused women used to The Union Ministry of Chemicals and given to the District Collectors related to accused was arrested following pay salary slips of 44,000 per expressed gratitude towards operate from road near Chinar Railway Ministry has released the order the distribution of urea and DAP to the the complaint of branch man- month. SP Bhopal(South) Rahul Park where the customers used today to the East and West Coast to give priority to Madhya Pradesh along with farmers according to their demand. ager of finance company. Finance company sanc- Kumar Lodha. to contact them. 5'  - ))'  ( 67 M9:

(1) along with a copy of the audited annual accounts and a seminar on the topic reconciliation statement, rec- hymala Hills police have A“Annual Return (GSTR – onciling the value of supplies Snabbed a 54-year-old man 9)” was organised here on declared in the return fur- for sexually assaulting an 18- Monday. The seminar was nished for the financial year year-old girl at Pratap Nagar on organised by the Bhopal with the audited annual finan- December 8 at her house. Branch of The Institute of cial statement. Police said that the chartered Accountants of India He further explained about accused identified as Ramesh (ICAI). the GST Annual Reports, all Rao sexually assaulted the The programme was inau- the information from July to victim who is his neighbour. gurated by lighting the lamp by March are to be included in The accused raped the victim the guest. CA Abhishek Gupta Annual Reports according to on December 8. Chairman of the Bhopal the provisions of the Act. This SHO Shymala Hills police obscene gestures towards her the accused and maintained Branch gave the inaugural reports to be submitted by all Anand Tiwari said that the daughter she asked the victim silence over the incident. speech. The program has been the Registered Tax Payers. accused is neighbour of the vic- after which the incident was Accused work as security conducted by CA Hemant Jain, He also explained in details tim and on December 8 he revealed, he added. guard and had also worked as Executive Committee Member, under GST has to submit the the various decision of GST raped the victim when she Based on the complaint labour. Police said that the Bhopal Branch. About 150 CA Annual return by March 31 council meeting held on was alone at her house. The after the preliminary investi- accused do not hold any crime members, participated in the 2019. This Annual returns to be Saturday. CICASA Chairman accused left the house before gation, the police have regis- record and details of his programme. submitting under GSTR 9. CA Anup Shrivastava, CA threatening her of dire conse- tered a case under section 376, involvement in sexual assault In the session CA Navneet He further explained that Mayank Agarwal, Vice quences and told to keep mum 452 and 506 of the IPC and kind of cases would be inves- Garg has explained the various every registered person who is Chairman, CA Sourabh and not to report the incident have started further investiga- tigated. provisions related to the required to get his accounts Shrivastava, Treasurer of to the parents and police. tion. Initially after the mother of Annual Return under GST audited in accordance with the Bhopal branch along with other The victim remained afraid The parents of the victim the victim lodged complaint law. He describes that under provisions of GST law shall fur- committee members of and not reported the incident work as labour while she stays accused escaped the spot and Section 44 of CGST Act, 2017 nish, electronically, the annu- Managing Committee was pre- to the parents but on Monday at home. later he was nabbed by the a person who is a Registered al return under sub-section sent in the program. when the accused was making The victim was afraid of police.  00 0.  ') Singh, who had headed a com- Rodi and Khaira over their Rejecting Justice Zora Singh troversial during his service. “adding zero to zero and getting mission to probe incidents of future, while apparently led to panel’s report as “inconclu- Regarding sacrilege cases, a zero”. am Aadmi Party’s (AAP) sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib his decision to part ways with sive”, Capt Amarinder Singh Justice Zora Singh said: “I had “Discredited Justice Zora Aquivering ship in Punjab, it in Punjab during the SAD-BJP the rebel faction. government had set up the submitted the detailed report to Singh’s induction into AAP seems, is making for the shore. regime, joined the party on At the same time, Justice Justice Ranjit Singh Badal government, but no only shows its political bank- In its first attempt, AAP man- Monday. Besides, ‘rebel’ MLA Zora Singh’s joining AAP Commission of Inquiry in action was taken on that by ruptcy,” he said adding that the present in Gurugram, got aged to win back one of its from Garhshankar Jai Kishan would give the party chance to April 2017, soon after coming Badal government. Even the Badals very conveniently used secret information about drug eight ‘rebel’ legislators, besides Rori too re-joined the party. take on SAD-BJP, and on the to power. Capt Amarinder Singh gov- Zora Singh to shield guilty he special task force (STF) smuggling. taking on board a former judge Rori had reportedly dis- Congress as well as over the Both Justice Zora Singh ernment did not bother to police officers responsible for Tof Haryana Police has On getting information, who had headed a govern- tanced himself from the Khaira issue of sacrilege incidents. and Rodi formally joining AAP take action against Badal in the the killings of two Sikh youth arrested a Nigerian national police team immediately ment’s commission on sacrilege group from the recent past, not “He is the one who looked in the presence of party’s cases of desecration.” at Behbal Kalan and the guilty from DLF, Gurugram and rushed at Sikarnpur metro cases. participating in their rallies into all the cases and know so national convenor and Delhi Welcoming Justice Zora of sacrilege of Guru Granth recovered 3.2 kg heroin from station, DLF-2 area where it AAP’s Punjab unit has and meetings. He was not even much about the issue which Chief Minister Arvind Singh into the party, Kejriwal Sahib through “this dummy his possession. spotted a suspicious person been a divided house after the seen during the rebel group’s would be useful for the party Kejriwal, Sangrur MP said that his joining will further judge who played to their tunes The value of seized drug with scooty at a street in party’s Delhi leadership ‘uncer- ‘Insaaf March’, and other pub- as the Congress is exploiting Bhagwant Mann, Leader of strengthen the party and AAP for petty remunerations as in international market is front of metro station gate. emoniously’ removed Sukhpal lic activities of the group. this issue against the SAD Opposition Harpal Singh will work hard to meet the aspi- head of the Zora Commission”. around Rs 12 crore, said a After seeing police, Khaira from the post of the With Rori joining AAP’s and the Badals ahead elections, Cheema, MLA Amarjeet Singh rations of the people of the Khaira said the spokesman of Police accused suddenly started Leader of Opposition in the official group, it has gained the while Congress itself is also to Sandoa, among others, in New state. Commission’s findings were Department. scooty in a hurry. Police team Vidhan Sabha in July. strength of 13 MLAs, with the be blamed for not acting Delhi. Mann said that had the so irrelevant that neither the He said that arrested immediately nabbed him. Soon after, eight MLAs rebel faction reduced to seven. against the culprits till date,” a Justice Zora Singh said Congress Government imple- Badals nor Capt Amarinder accused was identified as When searched, 3 kg 200 including Khaira, revolted “I have sorted out the dif- senior AAP leader told The that he chose to join AAP mented the recommendations took any cognisance. “He is a Taraour Ahmed, a resident of gram heroin was recovered against the party causing a ferences with the leaders and Pioneer. because of its pro-people poli- of Justice Zora Singh typical example of retired Nigeria. from his possession hide in vertical split in the party, and will now work to strengthen the Notably, AAP MLA and cies and he was impressed Commission, “the then Chief judges willing to sign on dot- Currently residing in scooty, the spokesman said. have only recently joined hands party in the state,” said Rodi. known advocate HS Phoolka with the work done by AAP in Minister Parkash Singh Badal, ted lines of the government’s Delhi, he was arrested fol- A case under relevant sec- with party’s “suspended” MP He said that to aware the had released Justice Zora Singh the field of education and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir merely for few lakhs of salary, lowing a tip-off by a team of tions of NDPS Act was regis- Dr Dharamvira Gandhi, Bains people of Punjab about work Commission report before the health. “I hope that I will be Badal, the then DGP Sumedh car, security etc,” he added. The special task force (STF tered against him at DLF-2 Brothers’ Lok Insaaf Party, BSP, done by AAP’s Delhi govern- SAD-BJP government. able to contribute to make the Singh Saini, and other people Mincing no words, Khaira Hisar from Sikandarpur Police Station, Gurugram. besides others to announce a ment will be his responsibility Justice Zora Singh society a better place to live responsible for desecration said: “Justice Zora Singh is a Metro Station area in The accused would be taken Punjab Democratic Alliance so that the people can know Commission of Inquiry, set while working with AAP,” he would have behind the bars discredited man in Punjab. Gurugram. on police remand by pro- (PDA). about the intentions of the up by the then Akali-BJP gov- said. today”. Therefore, I term this as an act Divulging the details ducing him in the Court so However, the new week party. ernment to probe sacrilege Serving in the field of judi- However, AAP’s “suspend- of political bankruptcy on the about seizure, the spokesman that name of supplier involved bring some good news for It has been learnt that dif- incidents, had submitted its ciary for 35 long years, Justice ed” MLA Sukhpal Khaira part of AAP.” said that the The special task in this racket of drug peddling AAP as Justice (retired) Zora ferences cropped up between report on June 30, 2016. Zora Singh remained uncon- described the development as force (STF) team, which was could be unearthed, he added.  ;5 )) 

Ambala. He said that the present a check on corruption which lakh poor and needy families of <( ; Earlier, he inaugurated and State Government has put a has been utilized for develop- the state are being provided free aryana Chief Minister laid foundation stones of vari- check on corruption at all lev- ment works, he said. of cost treatment facility up to Jagatjit Singh, brought Patiala Maharaja Jagatjit Singh went HManohar Lal on Monday ous projects worth Rs 100 crore. els. As per the survey conduct- Manohar Lal further said Rs five lakh under Ayushmaan and Kapurthala on the world back 12 generations, said the said that State Government has Manohar Lal said that eco- ed by a private organization, that people of the state have Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan unjab Chief Minister Capt map through modernization. Chief Minister, adding that the been rapidly implementing the nomic security has been pro- there was 51 per cent corrup- supported the politics of devel- Arogya Yojana, the Chief PAmarinder Singh on Describing the book as a book went beyond a narration of schemes for doubling the vided to farmers through Fasal tion in the state in 2014 which opment and ensured victory of Minister added. Monday released the book candid tribute by a grandson to historical facts to give a new per- income of farmers and it has Bima Yojana. has reduced to 19 per cent in BJP candidates to the post of On this occasion, he dis- 'Prince, Patron and Patriarch the erstwhile exceptional royal spective to the golden era. prepared a scheme for con- He urged the farmers to 2018, he claimed. Mayor in five Municipal tributed e-Golden Cards to Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of king of Kapurthala, the CM Capt Amarinder comple- structing cemented tracks avail maximum benefit of this The Chief Minister said Corporations in the recent MC five beneficiaries of district Kapurthala', co-authored by the regaled the audience with anec- mented both the authors for the towards farm fields to facilitate scheme because the insurance that the State Government elections. Now, the era of nepo- Ambala under Ayushmaan Maharaja’s grandson, Brigadier dotes showcasing the far-sight- extensive research which they the farmers. companies pay more compen- would also eliminate this 19 per tism, regionalism has come to Bharat Yojana and said that (Retd) Jagjit Singh, and Cynthia edness of the Maharaja, whom had undertaken to explore and “This year, 25 kilometre sation in case of any damage cent remaining corruption with end and people have been sup- such cards have so far been dis- Frederick. he recalled meeting once as a 6- bring out various dimensions of tracks in each assembly con- caused to crops due to natural the assistance of people. porting politics of develop- tributed 12,000 families in the Besides the authors, Punjab year-old, and the valour of his the most epochal events, both stituency would be made with calamities. He said that the present ment, he added. district. Governor VP Singh Badnore grandson, Brigadier Jagjit Singh. within India and abroad, which bricks and in the ensuing finan- The Chief Minister said State Government has acceler- He also said that unprece- During the public meeting, was also present on the occasion, The 1920s and the 1930s Maharaja Jagatjit Singh was wit- cial year, 100 kilometres such that during the tenure of pre- ated the pace of development dent improvement has been the Chief Minister asked the which saw the Chief Minister were Europe’s golden years, and ness to. Speaking on the occa- tracks in each assembly con- vious governments, there was and as compared to 61,000 done in the health services gathering whether they have hail the Maharaja as one of the some of the Indian rulers visit- sion, Cynthia Meera Frederick, stituency would be cemented,” corruption in all government crore budget of 2014, this year’s across the state. availed benefit of Ujjwala scripters of modernization of ed the region to see what they a conservation architect who was said the Chief Minister while works such as granting CLUs, budget was Rs 1,15,000 crores. Better health services are Yojana to which five women Kapurthala. He recalled how could bring back to Punjab for intrigued by the Maharaja's love speaking at a public meeting at transfers and granting licences Apart from this, about Rs 35 to being provided at both rural replied that they have not his own grandfather Bhupinder the state’s betterment, he added. for French architecture, thanked village Chaurmastpur in district to builders. 40 crore was saved by putting and urban areas. About 15.50 received LPG connection. Singh, along with Maharaja His family association with the CM for launching the book. ays after hike in “one time Dparking fee charges” in the national Capital, Delhi Transport Minister Kailash n anti-corruption court in Gahlot on Monday withdrew APakistan on Monday sen- the order of a 18-fold hike in tenced ousted premier Nawaz one-time parking charges for Sharif to seven years in jail in cars and annual fees for com- the Al-Azizia Steel Mills graft mercial vehicles from January case but acquitted him in the 1. The order issued by the Flagship Investments case, con- Transport Minister cited that cluding a series of three court the December 21 order cases against the Sharif family “appears to be irregular for in the high-profile Panama many reasons”. Papers case. Gahlot tweeted, “Transport Three cases — Avenfield department has been directed properties case, Flagship invest- to withdraw the order dated ment case and Al-Azizia steel 21.12.2018 regarding increase mills case — were launched in parking charges in against the Sharif family by the South/East/North Delhi National Accountability Bureau Municipal Corporations. on September 8, 2017, follow- Owners of commercial/non ing a judgment by the Pakistan commercial vehicles need not Supreme Court that disquali- the money used to set up the Sharif in the Flagship case. deposit the enhanced parking fied Sharif in the Panama Al-Azizia steel mills in Saudi Sharif, who was present in fees till the matter has been ought to have notified the was issued on behalf of then from existing 6,000 to Minister demanding with- Papers case in July last year. Arabia by his family in 2001 the court, was immediately examined afresh.” revised charges in the first Transport Commissioner 75,000. drawal of the hike. Accountability Court II and later on the Hill Metal taken into custody. His lawyer He said in the previous instance. Varsha Joshi on her last work- The order further said, “We will continue to strug- Judge Muhammad Arshad Establishment also in Saudi requested the judge that the order the revised charges were For instance Transport ing day at the department. She “The opinion of the Law gle for the demand for com- Malik Monday announced the Arabia. PML-N quaid (supreme) be not notified by the Union Department is only a collection is currently holding the charge department ought to have been plete withdrawal of the annu- short verdict in the two cor- The court sentenced Sharif shifted to Kot Lakhpat Jail in Urban Affairs Ministry that has agent on behalf of the corpo- of the North Delhi Municipal taken before issuing this order. al parking charges,” Delhi Taxi ruption cases against the Sharif to seven years in jail and Lahore instead of Adiala Jail. administrative control over the rations. Secondly there is no Corporation Commissioner. Also, department could not Tourist Transporters family, after reserving the deci- imposed a $2.5 million and 1.5 The request was granted. municipal corporations. Also, reference to the parking lots The order had raised the have issued this order without Association president Sanjay sion on December 19. million pounds fine on him. The verdict was no opinion was sought from under the control the New one-time parking charges of placing the file before the Samrat said, adding a demon- Judge Malik said there was The court also ordered to seize announced almost immedi- the Law Department of the Delhi Municipal Council cars from existing 4,000 to up Minister (Transport).” stration will be held in the concrete evidence against the the Al-Azizia and Hill Metal ately after Sharif arrived in the Delhi Government. (NDMC) and the Delhi to 75,000 based on price of the Earlier in the day, a dele- national Capital on December 68-year-old former premier in properties. courtroom. He has the option “Union Urban Affairs Cantonment Board,” said vehicles. The annual parking gation of State Transport 27 to demand complete lifting the Al-Azizia case, and that he Judge Malik, however, said to challenge the verdict against Ministry, being the adminis- Gahlot in the order. charges of commercial vehicles Authority Operators Ekta of annual parking charges for was unable to give the trail of that there was no case against him. trative department for MCDs, The December 21 order like buses were also raised Manch met the Transport commercial vehicles. 3% % .$ % % 1  *   +  $+1*55 6 2- /$34' )  Such small incidents were ple in the vehicle and were modities which are used at pre- not out of ordinary and it was heading for Delhi’s Najafgarh sent, broadly 183 are not taxed, n a setback to the BJP, the beyond the strength of the t least eight people died in area to condole the death of a inance Minister Arun Jaitley 308 at 5 per cent, 178 at 12 per ISupreme Court on Monday leadership to control such large Aa pile-up due to dense fog relative, the inspector said. nother bid by two women Fon Monday hinted at fur- cent and 517 at 18 per cent. refused its plea for an urgent crowds, Ghosh said apparent- on Rohtak-Rewari national The injured were admitted Ain their forties to trek to the ther rationalisation of GST by “The 28 per cent slab is hearing against a Calcutta High ly not doing any good to his highway in Haryana’s Jhajjar to hospital in Jhajjar town, hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa in merging the 12 and 18 per cent now a dying slab,” he said. Court order not allowing its party’s case seeking judicial district on Monday, police said. from where two of them were Sabarimala was foiled on slabs, while criticising the Currently, 28 items, including Rath Yatra in West Bengal. when police resorted to lath- permission for triple Rath Around 10 vehicles were referred to another hospital in Monday by protesting devotees, Congress for oppressing the luxury and sin goods, auto The BJP had challenged icharge on a saffron crowd Yatras that have been denied by involved in the crash. It was dif- Rohtak, the SHO added. a day after a similar effort by a country with a high indirect tax parts, dishwashers, air condi- last Friday’s order of the staging a civil disobedience the State ficult to pinpoint which vehi- The district deputy com- group of 11 women failed. rate of 31 per cent. tioners (ACs) and cement Division Bench of the High rally at Basirhat in North 24 Government apprehend- cle had hit the other first. missioner has constituted a The attempt by the two With an increase in rev- remain in the highest slab of 28 Court which had set aside the Parganas. The police lath- ing law and order and com- An SUV was sandwiched seven-member committee, women — Bindu (42), a enue, India will eventually have per cent. order of a single judge allowing icharged the crowd after stones munal tension. between two trucks, with sev- headed by the sub-divisional CPI(ML) activist from a standard goods and services “With the GST transfor- the yatra. The party were pelted at them injuring The BJP has been staging eral vehicles following closely magistrate, to find out the Koyilandy in Kozhikode dis- tax (GST) rate between 12-18 mation completed, we are close approached the Supreme Court some men on duty, sources civil disobedience rallies behind. exact reason behind the acci- trict, and Kanakadurga (44), per cent for commonly used to completing the first set of seeking permission to hold the said. “The police beat our throughout the State against the Eight people, including dent. said to be a civil supplies goods. rates of rationalisation i.e. phas- campaign “Save Democracy workers mercilessly and arrest- State Government’s denial of seven women, travelling in the “The committee will sub- employee from Angadipuram This would be in addition ing out the 28 per cent slab Rally”, which would cover 42 ed many of them though stones permission of the Rath Yatra. SUV were killed and 10 others mit a detailed investigation in Malappuram — came after to 0 per cent and 5 per cent for except in luxury and sin goods,” parliamentary constituencies were not pelted by them. The Though the party got a injured, said Seema, SHO of report within two days, along 11 women activists of a essential items and a higher rate he said. GST was rolled out on in the State ahead of the 2019 stones were actually pelted by favourable order in the Single Jhajjar city. with solution/suggestion for Chennai-based outfit were pre- for luxury, sin and demerit July 1, 2017. A future road map general elections. some outsiders that the police Bench of Calcutta High Court The deceased, aged rectification of the accident- vented from reaching the goods. could be to work towards a sin- Meanwhile, in West Bengal administration should find that okayed the yatra, the order between 30-60, belonged to prone spot,” an order issued by shrine and chased away by In a Facebook post titled gle standard rate instead of two BJP workers were arrested and out,” Bengal BJP president Dilip was set aside by the Division Kirodh village of the district. the deputy commissioner devotees chanting Ayyappa “Eighteen Months of GST”, standard rates of 12 per cent many of them were injured Ghosh said. Bench. They were among the 10 peo- added. mantras on Sunday. Jaitley said, of the 1,216 com- and 18 per cent, he said.

7%     88     % +0+ 0 0 .  9 * 5+   .  %  efforts, they said, the proposal coordinating with various emembering the long years is being worked out in collab- national and international Rthat former Prime Minister he Narcotics Control oration with the Union Home enforcement agencies including Atal Bihari Vaypayee spent on TBureau (NCB) is working Ministry. the Directorate of Revenue Opposition benches, Prime on a proposal to map the entire Sources said the proposal Intelligence for interdiction of Minister Narrendra Modi on country for availability of illic- emerged as an actionable rec- narcotic drugs and psy- Monday took a jibe at the it drugs, identify the main ommendation from the DGPs chotropic substances. Congress saying that power is centres along with the related conference earlier this year. Over the years, the NCB oxygen for certain people and activities so that specific strate- At present, the NCB’s pri- has also stressed on the need to they become restless even out gies to counter menace can be mary counter-narcotics focus have a mechanism for of power for two or five years. put in place. areas include surveillance and increased international co- Releasing a 100 com- A scientific data analysis is enforcement at import points operation, both in operational memorative coin in the mem- also proposed to be used to and land borders besides pre- and long term intelligence as ory of Vajpayee on the eve of plan an effective strategy to ventive and interdiction efforts well as in investigations and his 94th birth anniversary, counter the flow of drugs. The along the known drug routes. mutual legal assistance. Modi said the former PM agency plans to reach out to the Other focus areas include While the DRI seized always committed every second vulnerable segments and influ- control measures at export 26,785 kg of ganja in 2017-18 of his life for welfare of the encers like the youth and in- points, such as air-passenger as compared to 16,197 kg in the people. ciate and BJP veteran LK prising on ideology, he left oratory skills. The mind, Modi charges of educational institu- terminals, cargo terminals and previous year, the NCB also “Today’s political landscape Advani, Lok Sabha Speaker Janata Party and formed the asserted, is not ready to believe tions to get into the root of the foreign post offices. intercepted thousands of kgs of is such that if someone has to Sumitra Mahajan, Finance BJP,” Modi said. that Vajpayee is no longer alive. problem. To achieve these tasks, the the contraband during the year stay out of power even for two Minister Arun Jaitley and BJP The party which “Atal-ji “Though he was away from Campuses of the universi- agency has emphasized even as the agency is compil- or five years, they become rest- president Amit Shah were also built brick by brick” is now public glare for nearly a decade ties and educational institutions improved co-ordination ing the data of seizures from less,” he told the gathering. present at the event. Discussing among the largest political par- due to ill health, the way peo- are considered to be one of the between the various drug law various States. “For some people, power is Vajpayee’s political journey, ties in the world, the prime ple gave him a farewell on his major points for consumption enforcement agencies for iden- Officials suspect a portion oxygen...They can’t live without Modi said he always kept the minister said, adding that demise showed the mark he of the contraband drugs and an tification and eradication of of the contraband ultimately it. A long part of Atalji’s career nation and democracy before Vajpayee had sown the seeds of had created in people’s minds,” effective strategy to check the illicit cultivation and the wild reaches the campuses besides was spent in the opposition himself and the party. the lotus (the BJP symbol) in Modi said. The former prime consumption pattern has to growth of cannabis and the hotels and lodges especially in benches but he spoke about “Atal-ji wanted democracy the country. minister died in August this factor in the educational hubs, opium poppy. the tourist places and an national interest and never to be supreme. He built the Jana “When he spoke, the year at the age of 93 following sources said. It also seeks to strengthen exhaustive mapping of the compromised on the ideology Sangh. But when the time nation spoke... When he spoke, prolonged illness. A mechanism could help the intelligence apparatus to areas besides coordination of the party,” the Prime came to rescue our democracy, the nation listened. Atal-ji’s Modi said he would go to track the drug peddling chan- improve the collection, colla- among the various agencies Minister’s Office (PMO) added he and others went to the voice was not only voice of the Vajpayee’s memorial on nels and profiling the end users tion, analysis and dissemina- could lead to better results in on Twitter while quoting the Janata Party. Likewise, when BJP, it was an expression of the Tuesday to reiterate his com- who could subsequently be tion of operational intelligence. choking the supply lines of the Prime Minister’s speech. the choice was between common man’s aspirations,” mitment to the ideology and subjected to de-addiction The NCB has already been drugs, officials added. Vajpayee’s long-time asso- remaining in power or com- he said., narrating Vajpayee’s path shown by the statesman. . 0  #- *91 be dead leading to exposure of the data, calls, messages of Directorate, the Central Board he Congress on Monday ordinary people to of Direct Taxes (for Income Tax Taccused the Modi Government monitoring or wo public interest litiga- Department), Directorate of Government of opening an the platforms will just need to he BJP on Monday termed Ttions (PIL) were filed on Revenue Intelligence, Central ‘extra constitutional detective be adapted at the whims and TCongress farm loan waiv- Monday in the Supreme Court Bureau of Investigation, agency’ to ‘snoop us’, ‘steal our 2011’provide immunity for fancies of the Modi er in five States a hoax and said against the Government’s noti- National Investigation Agency, data’ and ‘clamp down on free- online platforms, Internet Government. This is the perfect the latter was asking national- fication authorising 10 Central the Research and Analysis dom’. It also alleged that a Service Providers (ISPs) — big, recipe to ensure a ‘Nanny State’! ized banks to bear the burden agencies to intercept, monitor Wing, Directorate of Signal “systematic and systemic large, and small — for the con- Modiji’s ‘Gujarat Model’ of thus incurred. and decrypt any computer Intelligence (in service areas of ground work is being laid by tent which is transmitted and Snooping has now reached Addressing a Press con- system. J-K, North East and Assam) the present regime to convert published by end users. This humongous proportions,’’ he ference here, Union Minister Advocates Manohar Lal and Delhi Police commission- India into a ‘nanny state’”. allows these conduits of infor- said. and senior BJP leader Prakash Sharma and Amit Sahni filed er. The party demanded that mation to facilitate a core func- Terming the alleged move Javadekar alleged that going separate pleas seeking to quash Sharma sought urgent list- the Government withdraw the tion of ‘free expression’ and pre- by the Government as one back on promises was not a the Government’s December 20 ing of his plea but his request December 20 order, that vents them from throttling seeking to undermine legiti- new habit for the Congress. He notification that empowers 10 was declined by the apex court allowed Central agencies mon- content or overbroad censor- mate speech by requiring said there was no loan waivers central probe and snoop agen- registry and he was told the itor computer data and to place ship, thus securing our privacy. online platforms to become of farmers’ debt in five states cies for computer interception petition would come up for these Draft Amendments in “Modi Government seems pro-active arbiters and judges of Karnataka , Punjab, Madhya and analysis. hearing in the normal course. public domain for public con- to be seeking major technical of legality (not their own terms Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Both the petitioners Sahni, in his plea filed sultation “so that India is saved changes in such platforms as of use which is a contract Rajasthan. In Karnataka the claimed the notification was through advocate Preeti Singh, from becoming a Police State”. that use encryption. With the between the user and a plat- total debt is 45,000 crore but “unconstitutional” and the claimed the December 20 noti- AICC spokesperson requirement of traceability of form), Singhvi said ,’’this colos- even 75 crore is not allotted “blanket surveillance” bad in fication was liable to be set Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, end-to-end, the platform will sally violates legal foundations, in the budget. Karnataka law. aside according to the mandate “Modi Government is seeking either need to be substantially principles of natural justice Government, he claimed has The 10 agencies notified of the right to privacy judge- to amend ‘The Intermediary altered or completely done and treats ‘Everyone as asked nationalized banks to under the new order are the ment delivered by a nine-judge Rules, 2011’ governed under the away with,” said Singhvi. Criminal’. It also shifts the bear the burden of farm debt Intelligence Bureau, Narcotics Constitution bench of the top ‘Information Technology Act, “In a nutshell either end to duty of the state to a private which banks have refused say- Control Bureau, Enforcement court. 2000. The Intermediary Rules, end encryption platforms will party.’’ ing it was a public money New Delhi: The BJP is of the view that the Supreme Court which could not be used for should hear the Ram temple land dispute case on a daily basis waving off loans. to deliver an early judgement, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said the forms Javadekar said on Monday. “Our wish is that there should be meant to be filled to get loan a daily hearing on that matter so that we have an early judge- waver have 52 conditions and ment,” he said responding to a question on the issue. PNS even 15 per cent of farmers were not illegible for it. He 90,000 crore but the sanc- ryots in the name of waiving claimed 397 farmers have tioned amount in the budget their loans,” he said. committed suicide in was only 3,000 crore. To aggravate the prob- Karnataka in last six months Congress has “fooled” farmers lems of the farmers, Banks, he tionalisation of the Trilateral A study would also be ini- and passengers across the three under the Congress-JD(S) rule. in the five States, said said are demanding farmers Transit Agreement for inter- tiated for determining mea- nations. Similarly, the BJP leader Javadekar. “The Congress is pay-back their debts and have crucial trilateral meeting of national transit and transport sures to make the route attrac- The port in the Sistan- said Punjab has a debt of anti-farmers. It has duped been served notices by banks. Aofficials from India, through the Chabahar Port. tive, decrease logistic costs and Balochistan province on the Afghanistan and Iran on the They agreed on the routes for pave the way for smooth oper- energy-rich nation’s southern strategically-important the trade and transit corridors ationalisation of the Chabahar coast is easily accessible from Chabahar port was held on between the three countries,” Agreement. India’s western coast and is Monday during which they the MEA said. The next Follow-up increasingly seen as a counter agreed on the routes for trade It was agreed to finalise at Committee meeting, followed to Pakistan’s Gwadar Port, and transit corridors between the earliest, the protocol to har- by the second Coordination which is being developed with the three countries. monise transit, roads, customs, Council Meeting at the level of Chinese investment and is The first meeting of the fol- and consular matters. secretaries or deputy ministers, located at distance of around 80 low-up committee for imple- During the meeting, it was will held in India. km from Chabahar. mentation of the trilateral agreed to allow cargo move- In May 2016, India, Iran The Chabahar Port is con- Chabahar agreement between ment at Chabahar using and Afghanistan inked a pact sidered a gateway to golden India, Afghanistan and Iran at Ports Global Limited company Transports Internationaux which entailed establishment of opportunities for trade by the level of Joint Secretary or opened its office and took over Routiers Convention provi- Transit and Transport Corridor India, Iran and Afghanistan Director General was held in operations at the Shaheed sions, the MEA said. among the three countries with central Asian countries the Iranian port city of Behesti port at Chabahar. It was decided to hold an using Chabahar Port as one of besides ramping up trade Chabahar, the Ministry of “Positive and constructive event to promote and popu- the regional hubs for sea trans- among the three countries after External Affairs (MEA) said. discussions were held between larise the potential of Chabahar portation in Iran, besides Pakistan denied transit access On the occasion, India the three sides on full opera- on February 26, 2019. multi-modal transport of goods to India.

Gandhi have been the iconic granite solid stone blocks, ment led by Atal Bihari struct a Samadhi, a society — rallying points for the capped with a ‘diya’ in the cen- Vajpayee had decided against “Atal Smriti Nyas Society” (reg- n order to enable the people Congress. ter. The number nine holds conversion of official bunga- istered under the Societies Ito pay their respects, The BJP has had no such significance and represents the lows in Lutyens Delhi of Registration Act XXI of 1860) Rashtriya Smriti Sthal, where place to converge in the capi- navarasas, navaratras and nav- national leaders into memori- formed by eminent persons. former Prime Minister Atal tal. In Vajpayee’s final resting agrahas. als. A Cabinet note in the year The founding members of the Bihari Vajpayee was cremated place, the BJP would get the “ The placement of the 2000 had taken a decision to Society include Lok Sabha with full State honours on first samadhi at the Rashtriya nine square Samadhi is in a cir- that effect. speaker Sumitra Mahajan, August 17, has been developed Smriti Sthal for any of its lead- cular lotus shaped pattern. The Modi Cabinet, in senior BJP leaders Lalji as a Samadhi named as “Sadaiv ers. The nine-square platform is October 2014, also decided Tandon, OP Kohli, Vajubhai Atal”. The Samadhi will be The Samadhi has been accessed in four cardinal direc- not to convert the official bun- Rudabhai Vala, Vijay Kumar dedicated to the nation on completed by CPWD at a total tions by pathways made in galows into memorials. Malhotra, Ram Lal and Ram December 25, on the occasion cost of Rs. 10.51 Crores with- white composite tiles so that The decision was taken Bahadur Rai. of his 94th birthday anniver- out felling of a single tree. The the floor does not get heated. weeks after former Union In 2013, the UPA sary. The Samadhi is spread on entire cost of construction of The Samadhi is enclosed Minister Ajit Singh demanded Government had decided to a 1.5-acre of land. the Samadhi has been borne by by nine bas-relief walls which that his 12, Tuglaq Road bun- develop the Rashtriya Smriti With the construction of the Atal Smriti Nyas Society. have inscriptions of the prose/ galow be converted into a Sthal as the common site for Sadaiv Atal, the BJP in a way Officials of Ministry of poetry of Vajpayee which can memorial in the name of his performing last rites of nation- would get its own ‘Rajghat’. The Housing and Urban Affairs be read by the visitor while tak- father and former Prime al leaders such as past and memorials of former prime (HUA) said that the central ing a pradakshina on the outer Minister Choudhary Charan incumbent Presidents, Vice- ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Samadhi platform comprises of circular path,” officials added. Singh. Presidents, Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv nine square black polished Interestingly, the govern- Officials said that to con- and others.     ; 6 --  % ;+          ,1           (89$      :(6         O      (  (         (      ! %  $  < O           #!)   = 1   !  #  1    < 8          !      ( '='    #    ( hen a scientist, who     1     basked for decades in the 1       glory of a technology                     that ‘rescued’ India from starvation, says that the            1 S  Wgreen revolution was a failure and the                  claims made for generation next   267>  ?   =      89$    1  Genetically Modified (GM) crops are utterly bogus, the shock waves are like-    89$              9*?+ ly to resonate for a long time.   @9$  8  #               Unsurprisingly, “modern technologies for                 ) =1!  sustainable food and nutrition security” by geneticist PC Kesavan and agriculture          (1       scientist MS Swaminathan (Current    < 267> -      (       Science, Vol. 115, No. 10, November 25,          1      #$S 2018), has set the cat among the pigeons. Given the sharp rebuttal by angry sci- 1   8 9 S   $ ) $  S entists, the article merits scrutiny. *)$+   A  8 ) $  S *8)$+ <  # ? Kesavan-Swaminathan state that none of $            1   )$    the modern technologies, aimed at boosting food production, including the  <  $   1  < = S      Green Revolution of the 1960s, is sustain-        <            ( able because of “adverse environmental       (     1   <  and social impacts”. The Bt and HT (her- bicide-tolerant) crops are highly unsus- $   # ? $                tainable, cause environmental damage, )          S   =1!          exhibit “genotoxic effects” and have           1       (89$   failed to achieve “the original objective sonous effects of glyphosate; 1,500 people. Hence, Kesavan- 12069 of 2015), correlated brinjal, imposed by Jairam B               8     of reducing the need for chemical pes- India must also fix responsi- Swaminathan insist that “the farmer suicides with failure of Ramesh, then Union Minister ticides”. Swaminathan claims he warned bility. Swaminathan says he assumption of ‘substantial Bt-cotton. Simultaneously, for Environment , Forests            # <(=1!      ( about the ecological consequences of the warned that the Green equivalence’ to give market leading American cotton sci- and Climate Change. Two       "         ( Green Revolution at the Indian Science Revolution was showing approval to genetically modi- entists, Gutierrez and co-work- Parliamentary Standing    S            " Congress, Varanasi, in 1968. This is hard- ‘yield fatigue’ by the late fied (GM) crops is wholly ers, showed that farmers’ Committees (of 2012 and ly known even today and does not 1980s and reached peak unscientific and extremely annual suicide rates in rainfed 2017) concluded that regula-    =1!              ( match his public positions, especially the decline by the mid-1990s. dangerous”. Ironically, all argu- areas are directly related to tors failed to uphold rigorous    89$            (   ) promotion of GM crops, in recent years. Modern biotechnology ments in favour of commercial increases in Bt-cotton adop- and independent test proto-    1   .           )     The gene-based Green Revolution using recombinant DNA (r- cultivation of GM Mustard rest tion (ie costs). Indian data cols for GMOs and conflicts reduced the height of wheat and rice crops DNA) allows genes from on equivalence. establishes the failure of Bt- of interests hampered proper             89$ -    without altering the length of the grain- widely different species to be The duo debunk claims cotton due to rising resis- regulation. P   Q                 bearing panicle, hoping that these dwarf ‘inserted’ into another species. that hybrid Bt-cotton has led tance, hybrid policy and sec- All HT-crops of corn, soy    =1!              and semi-dwarf plants could uptake high This is so undesirable and to an unprecedented increase ondary pests. and cotton are resistant to levels of chemical fertilisers and water, fraught with danger that one in India’s cotton production. Blaming Monsanto is not roundup, whose active ingre-          1          8   and produce greater number of heavy is astonished it never raised According to Keshav Kranthi, enough. Why did State dient is the herbicide     =1!     = ,E       grains. This high-input technology of moral qualms with scientists former Director, Central Governments allow poor glyphosate, which was classi-   8  S         (89$ inorganic chemical fertilisers, chemical worldwide. As Kesavan- Institute for Cotton Research, farmers to incur debt from fied as a group 2A carcinogen pesticides and fungicides needed copious Swaminathan now admit, the Nagpur, from 2008 onwards, private money-lenders (not by the World Health           irrigation with groundwater drawn with problem with genetic engi- Bt-cotton yield stagnated at covered by loan waivers) and Organisation’s International ,                thousands of pumps (electricity was neering is that all molecular around 500 kg/ha and may be grow high-input food and/or Agency for Research on             .        given free). Some of these high-yielding and cellular events triggered lower at present, despite large cash crops in rainfed areas? Cancer, in 2015. Today, varieties were grown continuously over by the process are not yet increases in the area under The failure of these crops trig- Argentina suffers significant  ! %          )      ( large areas, displacing several locally understood. As the cost of GE Bt-cotton cultivation. Pest gered farmer suicides year birth defects and cancers in            F .          ( adapted varieties and landraces, leading seed, like Bt cotton, and resistance to Bollgard II was after year, yet no State agricul- HT-soy regions. After the             "       ( to loss of biodiversity, while being more inputs, are exorbitant com- already evident in 2008 and ture Ministry ever told poor California Supreme Court’s susceptible to pests and diseases with pared to non-GE seeds, small secondary pests are a serious farmers to grow hardy crops verdict on Roundup’s link to    F ?   F potential for widespread failure. and marginal farmers cannot concern. As Kranthi observes: and practice sustainable agri- cancer, Kesavan-Swaminathan Kesavan-Swaminathan claim it “was withstand financial losses if “Bt-cotton was supposed to culture. In irrigated areas, advocate that Deepak Pental’s already known that chemical inputs crops fail for any reason. have conferred two major farmers were not educated HT-mustard hybrid DMH-11, exert deleterious effects on soil and GE organisms have shown benefits to cotton production: about the soil and water pol- tolerant to glufosinate, must be 2   -   water”, which constitute the ecological many ‘unintended’ effects, rais- (a) high yields due to effective lution caused by chemical banned as the genotoxic glu- foundations of sustainable agriculture. ing health safety concerns. protection of bolls from boll- fertilisers and pesticides. fosinate is as hazardous as Given the extent of soil and water degra- Calgene Company’s ‘Flavr worm damage and (b) reduc- The Supreme Court- glyphosate. They add that dation, and the explosion of health epi- Savr’ tomato, the first GE food tion in insecticides recom- appointed Technical Expert India has several mustard vari- demics among the population, we need crop in the US, was withdrawn mended on bollworm control. Committee had recommend- eties and hybrids that out-yield a White Paper on which authorities know in barely two years in the late Official data show that none ed a total ban on HT-crops. DMH-11. This is what activists about the ill-effects of chemical agricul- 1990s after stomach lesions of these promises was kept in Given the failure of Bt-cotton have consistently argued.  %  )   # *%)#+ ture and let it be extended all over the developed in experimental the past ten years in India”. and rising health concerns (The writer is Senior        ( country, barring the hill regions. In the rats. GE failed in L-tryptophan, The Union of India in its with Bt-crops, Kesavan- Fellow, Nehru Memorial # West, private companies are being sued causing the deaths of 37 peo- counter affidavit in the Delhi Swaminathan support the ban Museum and Library; the        ,        #    for suppressing data that exposed the poi- ple and paralysis in about High Court (in WPCC No. on commercialisation of Bt- views expressed are personal)                 (                  -                 %)# (         (   *    +                           ((( .             (                        (      (        %)# (        damental right, dismissing the                            Government’s plea that the Constitution does not offer such                ( Sir — It has been more than four a right.                %)#    months that the President of JS Acharya               India, on August 11, accorded Hyderabad his assent to the Criminal Law    /        %)#       # (Amendment) Act, 2018, as          R S  RS       1   passed by both Houses of             23    #   ( Parliament. It is, thus, now duly an Act of Parliament. Sir — For Christians, Jesus Christ        %  S         This Act, inter alia, amends, is the messenger of god. As we         (  %)#        , rather strengthens the penal celebrate Christmas not only  )                 provisions as regards the offence Christians but even non- of rape of women below 16 and Christians remember, with due                    12 years of age. It also amends  reverence, the son of god, who                   %)# Section 376(1) by increasing suffered the terribly painful death   S           the minimum term of imprison- on the Cross to deliver humani- ment to 10 years as against  ty. The spread of love and peace #          %      ( seven years hitherto ie before among mankind is the supreme                  ( April 21, 2018, when this law got message of Christmas.             -      promulgated as an Ordinance by   Most people know that     23        4566     73  the President of India. Christians celebrate Christmas as But unfortunately, till date, the birthday of Jesus Christ, but           )        .  no law-maker has even taken        information transmitted by or of this order allows any of these this day means much more. It  %              note of a glaring discrepancy stored in any computer. agencies to demand access to data means having fun with your          (          existing in Section 376(1) of the Of course, the Government stored in computers of any kind. family, spending time with them, Indian Penal Code, which lays Sir — This refers to the editori- and the BJP have claimed that this Since the previous rule was seeing beautiful Christmas lights,     ,     ,S       ( down that “Whoever, except in al, “Snooping silently” (December is only a routine gazette notifica- framed in 2009, there has been decorating the Christmas tree,                  the cases provided for in sub- 24). Raising the spectre of an tion of a legal provision that came considerable clarity on the status spending time in prayers and eat-  %                   section (2), commits rape, shall Orwellian state and triggering a into force since 2009, highlight- of privacy in India’s ing rich food and sweets. be punished with rigorous political storm, it is unfortunate ing that the clause was brought in Constitutional scheme of things. Jubel D’Cruz   #         (    %)# 1 imprisonment of either descrip- that the Centre has named nine by the UPA. The Government’s The Supreme Court had Mumbai          1   %)#     tion for a term”. Central agencies and the Delhi defence that it has basically mod- ruled, in a unanimous, nine- Hemanth Kumar   police as those authorised to ified an earlier order to the same bench finding in August 2017, Haryana intercept, monitor and decrypt effect is a weak one. The language that the right to privacy is a fun-

        ' ( ()   ()

'@ ? "  =              (                  B                        #               (                       ,                 ( S   <       S           ,                ,               ' >                                     he State of Jammu & Kashmir is pass- #         %      ( ing through a very crucial phase.  O          8  While Government agencies are work-       %       ing diligently to restore normalcy in the   (      State, vested interests, which include ,             pro-PakistanT sympathisers and soft separatists, are      ,           determined to ensure that the State remains in tur-        *$<+76 *    moil. The modus operandi adopted by spoilers is  76  +  $<25 *     25 to build a situation that alienates people and gives    25  766        + rise to an anti-Government mindset. In other words, an anti-Government perception is built #         ,S 1   $ 1  among the public to promote their narrative of 8        $<25 $<76  the Government being anti-Kashmiris. In such a                scenario, media has an important role to play. The  S            manner in which an event is presented to the 1 "             ( Kashmiris and the nation at large, helps build per-          ceptions to a large extent. @       #       Let’s have a look at the recent Pulwama inci-        $<76 $<25   dent which once again was an ugly attempt by      #        spoilers to derail the process set in by the         (     O  Governor’s Administration to win over the youth and restore normalcy in trouble-torn south               ( Kashmir. Most media headlines read: ‘Seven civil-                 ( ians, three militants, one jawan killed in Pulwama around encounter sites are now the want the security forces to kill the ter- The seven should have used dis-               gunfight.’ The vernacular Press crossed all limits norm, not the exception. Why are we rorists and eliminate the terror support cretion and stayed away from the       S   and chose to highlight National Conference leader unable to learn how to handle them bet- network? Was no lesson learnt from the encounter site. A thorough scrutiny of .               Omar Abdullah’s tweet, who described the inci- ter?” Indirectly, the leader tried justi- unsuccessful experimentation of giving their call history revealed that they   $<25  $<76         dent as a “massacre.” Local Kashmiri media, too, fying the stone-pelting on our securi- amnesty to stone-pelters who were were summoned to reach the site after               did not lag behind in arousing passions. ty forces and blamed them for not being eventually recycled to strengthen the the encounter began and that they          #    Both, technically and grammatically, there is able to handle stone-pelting mobs who terror network? Why should terrorists came from different places. They               ( nothing much wrong in the quoted headlines. But are blood thirsty. be referred to as militants? There is a were not essentially locals. They were             ( factually, it appears to be incorrect and worded Another former Chief Minister distinct difference between a militant summoned as part of an escape strat- inappropriately. The same headlines should have tweeted, “No country can win a war by and a terrorist. What cause are these ter- egy, which TA soldier-turned-terror-           actually read: ‘Seven stone-pelters, three terror- killing its own people.” Even without rorists fighting for except furthering ist Gowhar Thokar, had mastered and            ists killed and one jawan attained martyrdom in going through the facts, this leader Pakistan’s agenda of “bleeding India successfully escaped from the securi- #            Pulwama encounter.’ The usage of correct termi- blamed the Indian nation for the civil- through thousand cuts?” There is quin- ty forces’ cordon on numerous occa-             nology helps build correct perceptions. The ian causalities that occurred because the tessential evidence to prove that what sions previously. ,           media needs to realise this. The second is a mat- so-called ‘civilians’, who were actually is going on in Kashmir is not militan- How can the jawan, who laid         ,      ter of fact headline and portrays a better image friends and sympathisers of the trapped cy but Pakistan-sponsored proxy war. down his life for the motherland, be            of the security forces who undertake these oper- terrorists, were hurling stone missiles The entire terror infrastructure clubbed with the terrorists, the nation’s   ,          ( ations as duty and service to their nation. at the soldiers. They were preparing to and network has the support of traitors and referred to as ‘killed’? Let                  Terrorists are enemies of the nation and those return to their barracks after a success- Pakistan, including arming, equipping nobody in this country harbour any          #      ( who assist them are their sympathisers. They ful encounter with no collateral dam- and financing. Unfortunately, even the doubt that the martyrdom of jawans in deserve no leniency. The nation needs to recog- age. In the bargain, they lost one of their official handouts issued by the State the line of duty cannot be belittled by              nise the sacrifices made by soldiers and should comrades who made the supreme sac- Government use the word ‘militant’ using wrong terminology. The jawans G             be indebted to the forces who are involved in anti- rifice to ensure that Kashmiri awam is and not ‘terrorist’, for reasons best (term used for all ranks including               terror operations — be it in Kashmir, the North- not troubled by the terrorists. known to the police and bureaucrat- officers) are not killed but they willing-               B ( East or in the Maoist heartland. It is time that the Rather than being indebted to the ic machinery of the State. Hopefully, ly die for a cause, which is neither his                mainstream leadership in Kashmir and the civil martyr and his family, these goons the Governor will take note of this personal agenda nor his ideology. He    (         society start investing in the return of normalcy. dared to not only attack the jawans with anomaly and issue directives for its lays down his life unflinchingly for           /     ( It appears to be difficult because there are stones, but also had the audacity to rectification. namak, naam and nishan and his             numerous vested interests involved whose exis- climb on their vehicles and snatch the It is a fact that civilians are sup- country without caring for his family.                tence, politically or otherwise, depends on bodies of terrorists. How then can our posed to be civilised. Certainly those He is a martyr and deserves to be ,              Kashmir remaining a melting pot. security forces be blamed for the civil- using stone-pelting to kill security per- referred to as such. There is no greater             But the majority, who has only been suffer- ian causalities? Human rights are uni- sonnel deliberately cannot claim to be sacrifice known to man than to lay ing and has gained nothing from the ongoing tur- versal and applicable to everybody, civilised. The truth is that there were down one’s life in defence of the nation.      76 3 moil, is yearning for peace. At least for their sake, including the soldiers. three heavily armed terrorists and A nation that fails to honour its mar- ,           the need to change mindsets and give peace a Another tweet of the same Chief seven lightly armed terrorists. All of tyrs is bound to fail. In the words of            $<76 $<25 # chance is essential. Kashmiris have been exploit- Minister read: “South Kashmir has been them were killed in a mandated mil- Napoleon Bonaparte, “It is the cause,                ed to the hilt by these power brokers who have reeling under fear for the last six itary operation conducted by the not the death, that makes the martyr.” <               given nothing to them except false and broken months.” As if prior to that, when the security forces in an area declared Discretion is better part of valour.                promises. The effect of the turmoil is equally being leader was at the helm, south Kashmir “disturbed” by a competent civilian Insensitivity needs to be replaced       #          felt by other two regions of the State where was a heaven. What does the leader authority. with apathy and care. Proper selection  %             demand for trifurcation is gaining momentum but want to convey? If at all south Kashmir All of them died of their own will and use of correct terminology will    <        it is not in the nation’s interest. is reeling under fear, it is due to the bar- and security forces cannot be held certainly help the nation win the bat-   . "       Rather than pacifying the public and preach- baric jihadi terror unleashed by the ter- responsible or blamed for the same. The tle of perceptions. ing restraint, leaders, who have occupied the high- rorists, duly financed and supported by three heavily armed terrorists could (The author is a Jammu-based             est chair in the State, issue provocative statements. Pakistan. Does the leader want south have surrendered when appealed by the political commentator and strategic               Nothing could have been more ill-timed than this Kashmir to be handed over on a plat- police and lived thereafter. They chose analyst. The views expressed are entire-     tweet of a former Chief Minister: “Protests ter to the jihadis? Or does the leader not to do so out of their own will. ly personal)                 

ratio and apathy for talent. All of these motto of this pioneering institution, must build a system combining tradi- towards self-realisation ie salvation or minds away from misery, ignorance have come at the cost of undermining which suggests: “The end of all knowl- tional wisdom with modern innova- moksha, which is considered as the and darkness to new levels of devel- nation-building efforts and the failure edge is the attainment of immortality.” tive thinking and scientific rationality supreme duty for Hindus. He believed opment and empowerment. to respond and take along the palpa- For Malaviya, the essence of our edu- with spiritualism. He believed that that religion and education were inter- Malaviya very well understood ble amount of youth energy, driven by cation system must be “openness and India’s spiritual traditions, given its lib- dependent and existed in harmony the problem of unemployment and a sense of confidence and aspiration. acceptance” of noble thoughts from all eral and non-conformist beliefs, will with each other. The relation between its relation with quality of education. To put it on factual terms, a former directions, and also sending out its own always attract philosophers, scholars both, he argued, was going through a Hence, his vision outlined the role for '? !< '' Indian Ambassador to the US told this message to the outer world. and educationist. As the urban-based new change. In pursuit of serving the developing the mind even with aver- writer: “Almost close to six billion dol- Knowledge remains the biggest middle class look for inner peace, it has humanity, it shall be build on the foun- age intelligence, based on imparting s we celebrate the birth anniver- lar is the amount spent by Indians only source for balance of power in contem- made deep inroads into the newly afflu- dations of social charity, higher moral- new skills, technological tools and sary of Mahamana Madan on tuition fees at universities in the US”, porary times. In the past, India has ent society. Rabindranath Tagore noted: ity and greater public good. vocational training. For him, the AMohan Malaviya today — a emphasising on the importance of always been recognised as an epitome “Is not the East the mother of spiritu- While addressing the second ses- framework of modern higher educa- freedom fighter and a great son of higher education among the present of ‘civilisational wisdom’, but at a time al humanity and does not the West sion of the Congress in Kolkata in 1886, tion should always address and mother India who was born on this day generation. Faced with new challenges when the system is faced with serious quite often turn their faces to that Malaviya emphasised that to revi- respond, keeping in mind societal in 1861 — we must also remember of ‘fiscal prudence’, the country’s high- challenges, Malaviya’s vision for edu- serene mother, the East?” talise our motherland, we need to trends, nature of economy and demo- about his phenomenal contribution er education sector reflects a sense of cation finds much relevance and con- Being a great votary of protecting impart our young minds with educa- graphic composition. and his vision for higher education of disillusionment. Contrarily, Malaviya templation today for both our leader- vernacular languages and accessible tion founded on Indian ideals, which In the present age, driven by con- this country. Besides being a great edu- dreamt of establishing an ‘ideal scheme’ ship and educationists. The same was public education, Malaviya always must be combined with the richness of sumerism and capitalism, Malaviya’s cationist, Malaviya was a social for the higher education that would act echoed at the 2009 World Conference warned against the modern education science and learning from the West. vision of education, establishing it as reformer, who founded the BHU. as a ‘foundational block’ for the creation on Higher Education which noted that, system becoming subservient to the Malaviya believed that the the most honoured value against While the formation of the BHU of an inclusive, accessible, equitable and “Higher education must pursue the forces of market and privatisation. As demands of modern industry would wealth, must form the guiding force to holds the foremost expression of his diverse knowledge society. For him, all goals of equity, relevance and quality our current system of education is faced make it essential for India to intro- formulate and execute educational vision par excellence, his ideas on edu- of this was above parochial interests. simultaneously.” with financial crunch, Malaviya laid duce an extensive system of techni- policies. Nations that fail to learn cation remain highly relevant in the Malaviya conceived a unique Malaviya emphasised that as the emphasis on higher public spending on cal and industrial education. The cen- from the vision of its great leaders are present scenario. The higher education model of education based on the val- system fails to insulate itself from the education. Interestingly, while China trality of skill-based technical educa- most likely to remain in non-viable fan- system as it exists today is marred by ues of integration, harmony and peace, challenges of marketisation and glob- spends almost four per cent of its GDP tion was at the core of his education tasy for long in the future. By carrying administrative corruption, nepotism deriving from our rich cultural heritage alisation, collective efforts must be put on education, India remains much scheme. His educational policy was forward Malaviya’s vision and mission, and promotion of vested interests, fail- and combining the same with science, to protect our indigenous knowledge, below at 2.7 per cent of its GDP, as per envisioned on multi-disciplinary we can surely pay tribute to him. ing institutional integrity and quality reason and an inquisitive mind, much tradition, culture and values. In search latest financial estimates. research-based academic model. For (The writer holds PhD from East research, managing cost and crumbling like the way he shaped and formed the of the new, we must not fall prey to For Malaviya, good education and him, modern universities were like Asian Studies, JNU and teaches at the infrastructure, poor student-faculty BHU. This is very well expressed in the complete Westernisation. Rather, we critical learning were the noble ways ‘power houses’, taking the young University of Delhi)     BHOPAL | TUESDAY | DECEMBER 25, 2018 nation 08

SABARIMALA ENTRY Cong-JD(S) Govt Tej Pratap ready stable, asserts Two more women hounded out to lead RJD if Deve Gowda Bengaluru: JD(S) supremo and Sabarimala: Another bid by Bindu told demonstrate the secular and former Prime Minister HD two women in their forties to progressive mindset of the Deve Gowda on Monday dis- trek to the hill shrine of Lord reporters that state". given a chance missed any threat to the ruling Ayyappa here was foiled on both were fine BJP State president P S coalition headed by his son HD Monday by protesting devotees, Sreedharan Pillai said the party Patna: In a remark that could Kumaraswamy after the recent a day after a similar effort by a and there were was waging a 'Dharma Yudh' trigger fresh speculation about Cabinet rejig. group of 11 women failed. no health issues (religious war) and until the rift within RJD national presi- The Government was sta- The attempt by the two Government protects the faith dent Lalu Prasad’s family, his ble and the alliance will effi- women — Bindu (42), a and it was only a of Hindus, the protests would elder son Tej Pratap Yadav on ciently fight the 2019 Lok Sabha CPI(ML) activist from continue. CPI(M) veteran V S Monday made it clear that he polls, he told reporters. Koyilandy in Kozhikode dis- ploy by police to Achuthanandan wanted the would not shy away from "Nothing will trict, and Kanakadurga (44), shift them to the Government to arrest those assuming the leadership of the happen...Why do you have said to be a civil supplies who protested in front of the party if given a chance. doubts? It is all your (media) employee from Angadipuram hospital to houses of the two women. Yadav was responding to creation," Gowda said in in Malappuram — came after prevent them Earlier, Bindu told reporters queries from journalists at the response to a question about 11 women activists of a that the government should RJD State headquarters here, to four hours inside the cham- troubles for the coalition Chennai-based outfit were pre- from reaching implement the September 28 after beginning a daily 'Janta ber that had been reserved for Government after the Ministry vented from reaching the shrine Sannidhanam Supreme Court verdict and Durbar' programme. his father, sitting on his chair, expansion and reshuffle on and chased away by devotees they be allowed to go to the He had a week ago declared listening to grievances of party Saturday. chanting Ayyappa mantras on shrine. that he would henceforth take supporters. Pointing out that there are Sunday. "The protestors are behav- The women said they had active interest in the party Responding to queries of senior leaders and high com- A case has been registered ing like Taliban militants," not asked for any police pro- affairs. journalists afterwards, he said mand in the Congress to resolve against 150 people for rioting Jayarajan said. tection. "The Supreme Court Why not, Yadav shot back "The Janta Durbar has been all issues, he said "don't worry, and causing obstruction, police Attacking the State has given a verdict. So it is the when asked if he was ready to started at the party headquar- the coalition Government will said. Though the police at first Government, Opposition leader government's duty to help us take over the reins of the party ters but I will be similarly hold- work efficiently." gave them protection and tried Ramesh Chennithala said it climb the hills," they said. if the need arose. He also has- ing such darbars at various "We (alliance partners) will to take them to the temple was playing a "double game." Some BJP workers raised tened to add The leadership places including at my assem- fight efficiently during parlia- despite protests, they soon "What was witnessed in slogans at Thiruvanathapuram vests with the people and I am bly constituency Mahua. I do ment polls, there are no realised that it was dangerous Bindu and Kanakadurga, the two women from Kerala who reached Marakootam, Sabarimala on Sunday and railway station against three here to serve them. not wish to cause inconve- issues...I'm saying there is no and advised them to abandon just one kilometre away from the Sannidhanam, in their attempt to enter Sabarimala Monday is a drama, which is an women activists of "Manithi" The RJD MLA and former nience to our supporters living trouble for coalition their plans. The two women, temple, being escorted by the police after a protest against them in Pathanamthitta insult to Kerala, police and who were returning to Tamil Bihar Minister had been in a away from Patna. Government," Gowda added. who reached Pamba at around on Monday PTI people of the State," he said. Nadu this afternoon. prolonged state of reclusion There are speculations that Kumaraswamy on Saturday 4 am, faced massive protests Senior Congress leader and The three had come to after filing a petition seeking the mercurial elder son of Lalu- had expanded his six-month- from devotees at Apachimedu children, and to prevent the sit- media personnel and police former Chief Minister Thiruvanathauram reportedly divorce from his wife of six Rabri has been feeling uneasy old Cabinet, inducting eight and Marakootam, about one uation from getting out of when the former tried to talk to Oommen Chandy said the to meet the Chief Minister, a months as he has been miffed with the growing clout of members from the Congress in km from 'Sannidhanam' (tem- hand, the women were advised the two women when they Government's interest was to day after 11-members of the over the refusal of his family to younger but more savvy broth- the much-awaited exercise, ple complex), as they were to return by the police. were being moved to the hos- put up a "women's wall" from outfit unsuccessfully tried to back his decision. er Tejashwi Yadav, who has while dropping two Ministers. being escorted by police. Though both women, who pital. Kasaragode to make it to the Ayyappa shrine He was last week allotted a emerged as the partys de facto The rejig was marked by Ayyappa devotees surged in had trekked about 4.5 km, ini- Bindu told reporters that Thiruvananthapuram, on Sunday. bungalow by the Nitish Kumar leader in the absence of their rumblings of dissidence, as large numbers to the narrow tially insisted they would offer both were fine and there were Flood relief and rehabilita- However, since Vijayan was Government about a kilometre father. many senior Congress MLAs pathway while the women were prayers at the shrine, no health issues and it was only tion, Sabarimala pilgrimage away at Kozhikode, the meet- away from the residence of his Notably after their simul- were upset over their exclusion. being escorted, and there was a Kanakadurga complained of a ploy by police to shift them to season are not matters which ing did not take place, official mother Rabri Devi, where his taneous electoral debut in the The JD(S) was not part of minor scuffle with police for uneasiness shortly thereafter the hospital to prevent them are of any concern of the sources said. Since the top father also used to live prior to 2015 assembly polls Tej Pratap this round of Cabinet expansion. over an hour. Police tried to and fainted and had to be from reaching Sannidhanam. Government, he told reporters. court verdict, no women in the his imprisonment in a fodder was awarded with a cabinet Asked when JD(S) will fill evict the pilgrims who shouted rushed to Pamba hospital, While Industries Minister Chief Minister Pinarayi 10-50 age group, who are tra- scam case, as he was reported- berth but Tejashwi was appoint- vacant slots under its quota, the "go back" and chanted Ayyappa police said. EP Jayarajan insisted that the Vijayan, earlier this month, ditionally barred from entering ly reluctant to live with his fam- ed the Deputy Chief Minister. party patriarch said "JD(S) is a mantras and a tense situation Bindu was also taken to the Government would not take had announced that the the shrine, have been able to ily members. After the party lost power small party and whatever we prevailed with the restive devo- hospital. Both were later shift- any stand which will destroy the 'Women's Wall' would be enter the 'sannidhanam' and After announcing the com- because of Chief Minister Nitish get, it is great for us, we don't tees showing no signs of back- ed to the Kottayam medical col- peace in Sabarimala, formed on January 1 from the offer worship to the presiding mencement of his daily 'Janta Kumars exit from the ruling have any dispute."After the ing off. lege hospital. A cameraman of Opposition Congress hit out at northern district of Kasaragode deity Lord Ayyappa, who is a Durbar' programme at the par- alliance, Tejashwi was desig- recent cabinet expansion, Seeing the growing number a Malayalam TV channel was the Left Government, saying it to the southern most district of "Naishtika Brahmachari" tys Veerchand Patel Marg office nated the leader of Opposition Kumaraswamy Cabinet's of protesters, including young injured in a the scuffle between was playing a "double game". Thiruvananthapuram "to (perennial celibate). PTI on Twitter, Prasad spent close in the State Assembly. PTI strength now stands at 32. PTI 18 first-timers take oath as Ministers in Rajasthan Jaipur: Seeking to balance caste Pilot said the formation of Ministers, Shanti Kumar and regional factors, the the Cabinet reflects a balance Dhariwal, Master Bhanwar Lal Rajasthan Cabinet was on between age and experience, Meghwal, Pramod Jain Bhaya Monday expanded with as many caste and different geographical and Parsadi Lal Meena were as 23 Ministers — 13 Cabinet regions. Ministers in former Congress and 10 Ministers of State — "It is a balanced Cabinet. We Government (2008-13) while being sworn in, a week after have a lot of people who are being BD Kalla was the Minister in Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot given chance for the first time and Congress Government (1998- and Deputy Chief Minister also some who got experience in 2003). Sachin Pilot took oath, earlier Congress Governments. Both these Governments Eighteen legislators including So it is a balance between geo- were led by Ashok Gehlot, who Subhash Garg of RLD are first graphical regions, different com- has now become the chief min- time Ministers, while the other munities, and between experi- ister of the State for a third time. five have held ministerial posts ence and age," Pilot told PTI. Apart from the member of earlier, as efforts were made to "It is a forward looking, the erstwhile royal family of have a mix of young faces and fully charged energetic Cabinet. Bharatpur and influential Jat experienced legislators from both We have added 23 Ministers to leader of eastern Rajasthan Gehlot and Pilot camps. our existing strength and the Vishvendra Singh, Harish The Cabinet includes one Government is fully equipped to Choudhary, Lalchand Kataria woman, Mamta Bhupesh, and a deal with the challenges and and Govind Singh Dotasara are Muslim face, Saleh Mohammad. expectations people have from Jat leaders who have found a Portfolios of the Ministers us,” he said. place in the Council of are yet to be allotted. Of the 23 newly inducted Ministers. PTI MUZAFFARNAGAR RIOTS B’desh polls: BSF to UP Govt yet to give permission to issue high alert prosecute accused along Tripura border

Muzaffarnagar (UP): The Special Investigation Team probing the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots is yet to get the permission of Uttar Pradesh Government to prosecute the accused, which include several MLAs and MPs, in around 20 riots Agartala: High alert will be the border to avoid any unpleas- cases. sounded along the interna- ant situation in poll-bound According to sources in the tional border in Tripura, hours Bangladesh," said AK Yadav, the Special Investigation Team (SIT), before the Bangladesh general officiating Inspector General the State Government has not election, as the BSF steps up (IG) of BSF, Tripura Frontier. responded to the investigative efforts to avert any "untoward Talking to reporters, Yadav agency's request of initiating legal situation" in the poll-bound claimed that militancy has proceedings against the accused country, a senior official said been largely contained in under IPC Section 153(A) here on Monday. Tripura owing to persistent (offence committed in place of Tripura shares 856-km- efforts by security forces over worship) since the last five years. long border with the neigh- the past few years. The SIT had sought permis- bouring country. "Law enforcement agen- sion from the State Government Bangladesh is set to go to cies of Bangladesh have also to prosecute the accused for polls on December 30. Pitted adopted a zero tolerance atti- allegedly making hate speeches against the Sheikh Hasina-led tude to anti-Indian activities on during the riots in about 20 cases, ruling Awami League (AL) their soil and our joint efforts including the Kutba mass killing, and its various allies is the have paid off well," he said. they said. Bangladesh Nationalist Party The IG, however, cau- The police had registered (BNP) which had boycotted the tioned against militant activi- cases against BJP MLA Umesh last parliamentary elections. ty in the border areas, given the Malik, BJP MP Bhartendu Singh, Security has already been fact that Bangladesh law Hindutva leader Sadhvi Prachi beefed up in the border areas enforcement agencies have among others over their alleged in Tripura to check infiltration demolished their hideouts in role in the riots. bids, the senior Border Security the past few months. It is alleged that the accused Force (BSF) official said. "The militants often participated in a 'mahapanchayat' "Our main objective is to befriend local people or try and at Nagla Mandor and incited vio- check influx of anti-social ele- make inroads into the country lence through their speeches dur- ments. We will ensure that law with the help of their relatives ing the riots. PTI and order is maintained along residing here," he said. PTI BHOPAL | TUESDAY | DECEMBER 25, 2018 nation 09

o CPM leader Srinagar freezes at -6.8 C Sena warns BJP over Nirupam Sen passes away Ram Temple delay Kolkata: Veteran CPI(M) leader Nirupam Sen, whose TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI to drought-affected farmers in tenure as West Bengal’s the State, snooping notifica- Industry Minister saw rapid aking a cue from Congress tion efforts to bring in unde- industrial growth in the State Tpresident Rahul Gandhi clared emergency in the coun- but also the exit of the Tata and indirectly calling Prime try, failure to protect cow, Nano project after violent Minister violence on the issue of cow protests, died here on Monday “Chowkidar Chor hain”, a b e l - protection and the Devendra after a prolonged illness, fami- ligerent Shiv Sena president Fadnavis Government’s failure ly sources said. He was 72. on Monday to implement the `35,000 The former politburo warned the Government on the crore farm loan waiver member of the party is survived Ram Mandir issue, saying that scheme. by wife, a son and a daughter. Hindus would teach the BJP a Uddhav made an indirect Sen passed away at 5.10 am lesson if it did not wake up That being the case, do you passing reference to following a cardiac arrest, hos- from its slumber and keep its expect us to back the “Chowkidar Chor hain”, when pital sources said. promise of building the Ram Government that committed he spoke about the severe West Bengal Chief Minister temple at Ayodhya. sins, merely on the Hindutva drought prevailing in Mamata Banerjee, who had Invoking the “Jai Jawan, issue?,” the Sena president Maharashtra. “I had recently spearheaded the anti-land Jai Kisan” slogan, Uddhav asked. gone to a village in Beed dis- acquisition movement in charged that the Modi Addressing a huge public trict where I saw a tree eaten Singur, and CPI(M) general Government had cheated sol- rally in the temple town of away by insects. I could not secretary Sitaram Yechury con- diers through the Rafale scam Phandarpur in western even recognise it was a lemon doled the death of the Marxist and had taken the farmers for Maharashtra, Uddhav casti- tree, till an old farmer told me leader. a royal ride through the crop gated the Modi Government about it. This was the first time The state government has insurance scam. “When we at the Centre and BJP I was seeing such a sick lemon announced a half-day holiday talk Jai Jawan, we see scam in Government in the State on a tree. The old man told me that in educational institutions and the purchase of Rafake air- host of issues, including Ram there was a time we would offices on Monday as a mark of craft. When we talk about Jai Mandir, Rafale and crop use lemon juice to insects respect to the departed leader. Kisan, we have in front of us insurance scams, the BJP sur- but the same lemon tree has The former state Commerce crop insurance scam. rendering to Nitish Kumar been eaten away by insects. and Industry minister was on life (Journalist-tuned-activist) P and Ram Vilas Paswan, the Such things do happen in support system after his health Sainath has said that the crop Prime Minister’s promise to country where these chowki- condition deteriorated in early insurance scam is of the same double the agricultural dars have turned thieves in December and had been critical A boatman holds ice flakes from the partially frozen Dal Lake in Srinagar on Monday PTI magnitude as the Rafale scam. income, failure to extend relief these strange days”. since then. PTI Muzaffarnagar riots SC must fast-track Mahagathbandhan to take accused found dead Ayodhya title suit final shape in Maha soon Muzaffarnagar: An accused in the 2013 at the local police station and alleged Lucknow: Union Minister Ravi Shankar said. TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI up,” NCP president Sharad Chavan also said that the Muzaffarnagar riots was found dead that his 60-year-old father was mur- Prasad appealed to the Supreme Court Supreme Court Justice M R Shah, Pawar said. talks were also on with Prakash under mysterious circumstances at dered, they said. on Monday to fast-track the hearing of Chief Justice of the Allahabad High aharashtra may emerge as Maharashtra’s Chief Ambedkar-led Bharipa Sikheda village here, police said on Based on the complaint, a case was the Ayodhya title suit, stressing if it can Court Govind Mathur were among Mthe first State in the coun- Minister and senior Congress Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM) Monday. registered against Anup, Rajesh, Sunil happen in the Sabrimala issue why can others present at the event. try where the constituents of leader said "We want that they should be Sodan Singh's body was found on Kumar and Ramgopal, police said. it not be done to resolve this long pend- The minister also said "why should ‘Mahagathbandhan’ will form a that the talks over the formation with us," he said. Sunday evening hanging from the ceil- The communal clashes in ing matter. we worship Babar". grand Opposition alliance to of a grand Opposition alliance What is coming in the way ing of a room, which housed a tube well, Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas in The Union Minister for law and Showing a copy of the Constitution, take on the BJP in the forth- were in final stages. "We are of the BBM agreeing to be a they said. August and September 2013 had Justice was speaking at the inauguration he said, "There is a mention of Ram, coming Lok Sabha polls. working on it (the formation of part of the grand Opposition The body was sent for postmortem claimed more than 60 lives while over of the 15th National Conference of Akhil Krishna as well as Akbar but there is no The leaders of the an alliance). We have had sev- front is its alliance with and the matter is being investigated, 40,000 people were displaced. Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad here. mention of Babar... But if we talk about Opposition Congress and NCP, eral meetings. We would be hav- Asauddin Owaisi led All India police said. Singh was also named as an accused He said, "I appeal to the Supreme such things in the country, a different which are the two main parties, ing a few more meetings in the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen Singh's son has lodged a complaint in a sexual harassment case. Court, in my personal capacity, to hear kind of controversy is raised." said on Monday that they had coming days. We expect to for- (AIMIM). The two parties had the Ram Janmbhoomi issue at a fast- He also talked about bringing an all arrived at a broad consensus on malise the alliance soon," he said. contested the Telangana track court for a prompt disposal of the India judicial services system for the sharing of seats for the Lok Apart from the Congress Assembly elections in alliance case". appointment of judges in future. Sabha polls. and NCP, the other constituents with the K Chandrasekhar Senior VHP leader, who spearheaded "When the Supreme Court can give He appealed to the members of the “We (NCP, Congress and include include Peasants and Rao-led TRS. Rao has been its verdict on the Sabrimala Temple case Adhivakta Parishad to ensure that the other allies) have held Workers’ Party and Hitendra rooting for forming a non- promptly, why is the Ram Janmbhoomi cases related to the poor and needy peo- discussions on seat sharing. Thakur-led Bahujan Vikas Congress, non-BJP front for the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation, in ICU issue pending for the past 70 years," he ple are heard promptly. PTI The alliance is being firmed Aghadi. Lok Sabha polls.

Mathura (UP): Former VHP president a Ram temple at Vishnu Hari Dalmia, one of the three the disputed site. major exponents of the Ram The Supreme Janmabhoomi agitation, has been admit- Court is scheduled Op to rescue trapped miners ted to the ICU in a Delhi hospital. to take up a batch Dalmia has been kept in the ICU in of petitions for Apollo Hospital, Kapil Sharma, secretary hearing in the of the Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Ram temporarily suspended: DC Sansthan, said. Janmabhoomi- The nonagenarian is the trustee of Babri Masjid title Shillong: Authorities in Meghalaya's East the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas and dispute case on Jaintia Hills district on Monday temporarily member of Kendriya Margdarshak January 4. suspended operations to rescue 15 miners Mandal, Sharma said. The bench is likely to constitute a trapped in a 370-foot-deep illegal coal mine in With veteran VHP leaders Ashok three-judge bench for hearing as many as Ksan area of Lumthari village since December Singhal and Giriraj Kishore, Dalmia 14 appeals filed against the 2010 13. played a major role in the agitation. Allahabad High Court judgement, deliv- The exercise will resume once more pow- The Babri mosque was demolished ered in four civil suits, that the 2.77-acre erful pumps are made available to district on December 6, 1992, by 'kar sevaks', land be partitioned equally among three authorities, district Deputy Commissioner, F who had converged as part of the move- parties — the Sunni Waqf Board, Nirmohi M Dopth, told PTI. ment by the BJP and Hindu outfits for Akhara and the Ram Lalla. PTI The miners were trapped in the illegal pit after water from nearby Lytein River gushed into the mine. About 20 miners on December 13 entered the quarry owned by Krip Chullet. After reach- ing the bottom of the pit, they entered hori- zontal manholes, often termed as 'rat-holes', as each just about fits one person. Five persons were able to climb out of the flooded mine, leaving the others behind. "We have temporarily suspended pumping of water out of the mine as the exercise did not yield any positive result. The water level has not subsided," Dopth said. NDRF assistant commandant S K Singh said the current water level in the mine shaft is about 70 feet. PTI Another PDP leader quits party in J&K

Banihal (J&K): The PDP on Monday suffered another setback when its senior leader and for- mer bureaucrat Bashir Ahmad Runyal announced his decision to quit the party. Runyal, a former IAS officer who was Ramban district president and State secretary of the PDP, had joined the party prior to the 2014 Assembly polls after his retirement and had unsuccessfully contested the elections from Banihal constituency. "I have tendered my resignation from the basic membership of the party and I am fight- ing the upcoming assembly elections as an inde- pendent candidate," he told reporters here. Runyal was accompanied by BJP leader Showkat Javaid Daing who also announced his resignation from the basic membership of the saffron party. "We have decided to join hands in the larg- er interest of the development of our area which was ignored by the previous PDP-BJP Government," he said. Daing had also unsuccessfully contested the last Assembly elections on BJP ticket from Banihal constituency which was won by Congress candidate Vikar Rasool Wani. PTI

7  %   0+  $ . 0 %2- % ' 

to a large extent. increasing, we started bringing period of 18 months. Any India comprised down the rates. Most of the abrupt transformation could of multiple mar- commodities have seen tax have been either detrimental to kets. Each State @ reduced. Today, barring tobac- revenue or to trade. was a separate co products, luxury vehicles, The GST Council market because molasses, air-conditioners, aer- The GST Council has had the rate of tax ated water, large TVs, and dish 31 meetings. It is India's first could be differ- washers, all 28 items have been experiment with the federal ent. Interstate transferred from 28% slab to institution. It is a body that has sales became 18% and 12% slab. Only behaved with utmost respon- inherently inef- cement and auto parts are sibility. Several thousand deci- ficient because items of common use which sions, including legislative trucks had to remain in 28% slab. Our next drafting, rules drafting, notifi- wait for hours priority will be to transfer cations, fixing initial rates and and days at the cement into a lower slab. All rationalising rates have all been E State borders. revenue increase. ing the gap will substantially other building materials have taken unanimously with con- The revenue trends increase. Those States which already been transferred from sensus. The political noise out- F The GST impact on 1st A frequently made com- do not achieve the target of 28% to 18% and 12%. The sun side is inconsistent with the July, 2017 ment has been that the revenue 14% are paid out of the com- is setting on the 28% slab. harmony inside the Council. he Goods and Services Tax From the date of its imple- positon has been disappointing. pensation cess. The require- Of the 1216 commodities A personal thought with Twas implemented w.e.f. 1st mentation, the GST changed The comment is based on an ment of compensation cess in which are used, broadly 183 are regard to the future road map July, 2017. It hasn't completed the situation radically. All inadequate understanding of the second year is expected to taxed at zero rate, 308 at 5%, With the GST transforma- eighteen months of imple- seventeen taxes were com- both the targets and the rev- be much lower than the first 178 at 12% and 517 at 18%. tion completed, we are close to mentation as yet. The GST has bined into one. The whole of enue increase. The targets set year. This increase in the tax The 28% slab is now a dying completing the first set of rate of been at the receiving end of a India became one market. The for the State in the GST regime collection has to be factored slab. Restaurants are being rationalisation i.e. phasing out the lot of ill-informed and moti- interstate barriers disappeared. is unprecedently high. Even keeping in mind the significant levied a tax compounded under 28% slab except in luxury and sin vated criticism. What has Entry into the cities became though GST commenced on rate reduction which has taken the composition of turnover at goods. A future road map could been its real performance? open with abolition of the 1st July, 2017, the base year for place in the GST. The reduc- 5%. Assessees with turnover well be to work towards a single The Pre-GST regime entry tax. States were charging revenue increase has been cal- tion in monetary terms upto Rs.20 lakhs are exempted standard rate instead of two India had the worst indi- an entertainment tax ranging culated is 2015-16. For each amounts to about Rs.80000 from tax payment. standard rates of 12% and 18%. rect tax system anywhere in the from 35% to 110%. This came year a 14% increase is guaran- crores per year. Assesseesupto Rs.1 crore It could be a rate at some mid- world. Both the Centre and the down radically. 235 items were teed. Thus, even when 18 Notwithstanding the substan- turnover can get a composition point between the two. State Government were entitled being charged at either 31% tax months have not been fin- tial tax reduction, the GST by paying 1% tax. The com- Obviously, this will take some E to levy a set of taxes. There or even higher. All except 10 ished since the launch of GST, collection in the first six position scheme for small ser- reasonable time when the tax will were seventeen taxes levied. such items were brought down on this day every State has a months of this year has shown vice tax assessees is under con- rise significantly. The country An entrepreneur, therefore, immediately to 28%. The 10 target of improving its revenue a significant improvement as sideration. Cinema tickets tax should eventually have a GST faced seventeen inspectors, such items were brought down with three 14% increases com- compared to the first year. between 35% to 110% has been which will have only slabs of zero, seventeen returns and seven- to even a lower rate i.e.18%. pounded annually over the The average monthly tax col- brought down to 12% and 5% and standard rate with luxu- teen assessments. The rate of Multiple slabs were fixed tran- base year of 2015-16. This is lected in the first year was 18%. The GST has helped in ry and sin goods as an exception. taxation were exorbitantly high. siently in order to ensure the close to a 50% being reached in Rs.89700 crore as compared to controlling inflation. Evasion Epilogue The standard rate of VAT and tax of no commodity goes up the second year itself. It is Rs.97100 crore per month in has also come down. Those who oppressed India excise was 14.5% and 12.5% radically. This contained the almost an unachievable target. the second year. The net effect with a 31% indirect tax and respectively. To this could be inflation impact. Most Yet six States have already The rate rationalisation Lower rate of taxes, consistently belittled the GST added the CST and the cas- aamaadmi items were placed in achieved it, another seven are We were faced with a situ- increased tax base, higher col- must seriously introspect. cading effect of tax on tax. The the zero or 5% tax bracket. within a striking distance of ation with a large number of lections, easy for trade and least Irresponsible politics and irre- standard rate thus became 31% Returns became online; assess- achieving it and only eighteen commodities being taxed heav- interface in assessments with a sponsible economics is only a on a large number of com- ments will be online; multiple are still more than 10% away ily in the pre-GST regime. significant part of the tax ratio- race to the bottom. modities. The assessees had inspectors had disappeared. from achieving it. By the The Congress legacy of indirect nalisation over, the growth (The writer is Union only two options — either to The States were guaranteed third, fourth and fifth year, as tax was a 31% tax. We tran- percentage in the years to come Finance Minister, Government pay a high rate of tax or evade that for the first five years they in the case of VAT, the ability siently put them in the 28% will increase. The transfor- of India. Views expressed in the it. Tax evasion was prevalent will be ensured a 14% annual to increase revenues and clos- slab. As the revenues kept mation has been done over a article are personal.)

E  )3)   - + Crude oil prices remained below the $55 per barrel mark, Y he rupee on Monday recov- strengthening the rupee senti- Tered by 4 paise to close at ment, a forex dealer said. Railways and 70.14 against the US currency, The dollar was weak Metros that aided by weak crude oil prices against major currencies in FCL awarded overseas have to be exe- and the dollar's losses in glob- global markets which support- Hcontracts worth 148 cuted within al markets due to political ed the local currency, the deal- crores by Larsen & Toubro well-defined uncertainty in the US. er said. (L&T) to set up time lines and elcoming the move by Telecommunication Systems meet stringent Wthe GST Council to put for Mauritius Metro Express & operating con- private security services under Dhaka Metro Mass Rapid ditions. It has the Reverse Charge Transit System Projects been the NEOQ Mechanism for charging of Himachal Futuristic endeavour of MNN GST, the Central Association Communications Limited the Company YN of Private Security Industry (HFCL) announced that it has to expand its NEMN (CAPSI) Chairman Kunwar been awarded two contracts business out- NEY Vikram Singh has written to totalling 148 crores by L&T to reach beyond NEY Prime Minister Narendra execute the India and these Modi thanking him for pro- Telecommunication Network, Control & projects will provide a foothold viding much-needed relief to Systemsprojectsfor the Monitoring (C&M) to access similar markets over- lakhs of private security agen- Mauritius Metro Express Systemwhich includes seas. cies. Project and for the Dhaka Operation Management & Mahendra Nahata, "I have the honour to Metro Mass Rapid Transit Control System (OMCS), Voice Managing Director of the express our sincere gratitude System. Communication System Company said "TheCompany's to you and the Ministry of The Mauritius Metro (VCS), Emergency Help experience from the three Finance for taking a decision Express Project is along a 26km Telephony System (EHTS), ongoing similar projects being to bring Private Security route that will connect Master Clock System (MCS), executed by it for Alstom Services under the Reverse Curepipe to Immigration Closed Circuit Television Services India Private Limited, Charge Mechanism for the Square in the capitalPort Louis (CCTV), Passenger L&T Railways Strategic management of the GST. This and will feature 19 stations. The Information Display Signs Business Unit, and China historic decision will have far Dhaka Metro Mass Rapid (PIDS), Public Address System Railway Signal & reaching positive impact on Transit System Project is along (PAS), Passenger Information Communication for turnkey NZ the business growth of more a 20 km route and is an ele- Kiosks (PIK), Electronic Access telecommunication systemson than 22,000 Private Security vated metro rail system with 16 Control System (EACS) and the Eastern and Western N Agencies and 85-lakh work- Stations and a Maintenance Spares. Dedicated Freight Corridorsof force enjoying gainful Depot, connecting Uttara and These overseas projects are Dedicated Freight Corridor employment in these estab- Motijheel. the first of their kind which Corporation of India Limited lishments. Your decision has The scope of work for have been awarded to HFCL, (DFCCIL)will certainly help averted the total collapse of HFCL includes,Design, and are a recognition of its the Company in executing the the Private Security Industry Manufacturing, Supply, capability in designing, inte- Mauritius Metro Express which was getting throttled Installation, Execution, Testing grating, installing and com- Project and the Dhaka Metro due to GST," Singh said in his and Commissioning and missioning complex systems in Project efficiently." letter to the Prime Minister. Training for Communication telecommunications for mitted towards the reduction of Green House Gas (GHG). irports Authority of India The policy includes a A(AAI) being the sole Air framework to reduce emissions Navigation Service (ANS) and develop a Carbon Footprint provider and operator of mapping for the airport's own Airports across the country is emissions which are under its consistently honoring the 2030 control. In line with national as Agenda for Sustainable well as global climate change Development. By implement- initiatives, AAI has initiated ing cost effective carbon miti- GHG management program at gation action to conserve envi- four of these airports with an ronment and reduce its adverse objective of ensuring sustain- impact on the society and the able development of the avia- larger ecosystem, AAI is com- tion industry. C M Y K

#<-   ++  + . . %  their country of origin and sub- “tough choices”. and Immigration, signed the Homeland Security Kirstjen 5.1 per cent increase in patent the brief said. ject to a three year bar from the These institutions argue brief which urges the federal M Nielsen et al. It was filed in grants. In many cases, the infrac- JK s many as 65 top US uni- US. that the new policy’s use of a court to grant them motion for the US District Court for the International students and tion will not be discovered (or Aversities, including Prior to the August policy “backdated unlawful-presence a preliminary injunction. Middle District of North scholars also continue to con- determined, as the F, M, and J Harvard and MIT, have chal- change, individuals only began clock” will render tens of thou- The brief explains that the Carolina. tribute to the US economy regulations are not always clear lenged the Trump administra- to accrue unlawful presence the sands of F, J and M categories new ‘backdating’ rule intro- “International students and beyond their periods of enrol- and may be subject to varying tion in a court against its new day after the government of visa holders subject to three duces considerable uncertain- scholars are vital members of ment. interpretations) until the indi- stringent visa policy for foreign issued an official determination and 10-year re-entry bars with- ty into the calculation of unlaw- our campus communities and For example, in a study of vidual reapplies for another students, warning that the new that the visa holder was “out of out any opportunity to cure. ful presence and needlessly important contributors to our American startup companies immigration benefit, such as an ‘backdating’ rule will have a status”. According to the National exposes international students nation,” said John J DeGioia, valued at USD 1 billion or optional practical training detrimental effect on America’s With the new rules, the Association of Foreign Student to devastating reentry bans. Georgetown University more, it was found that nearly allowance or an H-1B visa, it higher education system. Department of Homeland Advisors (NAFSA), interna- “The new rule will harm President and Presidents’ one quarter of such business- said. The new policy announced Security (DHS) can set retroac- tional students contributed international students and Alliance Steering Committee es had a founder who first came “A ban, in turn, could have by the Trump administration in tive start dates for unlawful USD 39 billion to the US econ- scholars, as well as institutions Member. to the United States as an devastating immediate conse- August places restrictions on presence that begin the day omy during the 2017-2018 aca- which host them,” it said. “The talents, perspectives, international student, it said. quences for a student’s course overstaying a visa. after an individual’s degree demic year. It notes the new backdating insights and passion to serve The backdating rule intro- of study and would outright bar Under longstanding immi- programme is complete or the The same study found the rule by US Citizenship and our world that they bring our duces significant uncertainty the student from reentering the gration policies, when an indi- day after a person’s visa expires. economic activity of foreign Immigration Services will like- campus communities benefits and punishes students for rea- US for any reason — even for vidual is no longer authorised The top institutions, students supported over ly result in fewer international our nation and contributes to sons that are frequently beyond business purposes, or to see a to remain in the US — such as including Harvard, MIT, 455,000 American jobs. students, scholars and instruc- the common good that we all the students’ control. child — for a period of when a visa expires — a peri- Cornell, Yale, and Princeton The 65 institutions and tors contributing to the com- share,” he said. In some cases, students year,” the brief said, adding od of “unlawful presence” signed onto an amicus brief one higher education system munities. The brief argues that a 10 and exchange visitors can fall that the new rule will begins. After six months of filed Monday, arguing that the Board, mostly member insti- The brief supports Guilford per cent rise in the ratio of for- out-of-status due to unwitting diminish US’ ability to compete unlawful presence, an individ- new rule puts visa-holding stu- tutions of the Presidents’ College, et al in its lawsuit eign graduate students to total clerical and technical errors, for international students and ual can be forced to return to dents in a position to make Alliance on Higher Education against US Secretary of graduate students results in a often of someone else’s making, scholars. )-  " (Q) H   ( ) ( “The execute order for tary, diplomatic and other Syria has been signed,” a US officials to avoid a power vac- the shutdown to end, high- hundreds of thousands of federal he order to withdraw military spokesperson told AFP uum which could result lighting Trump’s unpredictable workers across the country and TAmerican troops from when asked about the with- following any abuse of the oth sides in the negotiating style.Schumer’s was expected to last at least Syria has been signed, the US drawal order, without provid- withdrawal and he death toll from a vol- Blong-running fight over office said the parties remained through Thursday, when the military said on Sunday, after ing further details. transition phase in Syria,” the Tcano-triggered tsunami in funding President Donald “very far apart.” House and Senate meet again. President Donald Trump and Turkey was a rare ally that Turkish presidency said in a Indonesia has risen to 281, with Trump’s US-Mexico border wall Sen. Dick his Turkish counterpart agreed lauded Trump’s momentous statement. more than 1,000 people appear to have moved toward Durbin, D-Ill., to prevent a power vacuum in decision on Syria, a country Late Sunday, Trump tweet- injured, the national disaster each other, but a shutdown of argued for the wake of the controversial where it will now have a freer ed that Erdogan had assured agency said on Monday, as the one-fourth of the federal increased use of move. rein to target US-allied Kurdish him that any remaining IS desperate search for survivors Government entered Christmas technology The announcement that fighters who have played a fighters in Syria will be elimi- ramped up. without a clear resolution in along the bor- US troops would leave the major role in the war against IS nated. “The number of victims sight. der instead of civil war-racked country — but are deemed terrorists by “President @RT_Erdogan and damage will continue to In fact, a top White House “some medieval where they have been deployed Ankara. of Turkey has very strongly rise,” said agency spokesman official warned the shutdown wall.” Asked to assist in the multinational Trump and President informed me that he will erad- Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. could stretch into January. whether he’s fight against the Islamic State Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke icate whatever is left of ISIS in Hundreds of buildings Acting White House chief of willing to offer (IS) jihadist group — shocked by telephone on Sunday and Syria,” Trump said in a Tweet were destroyed by the wave, staff Mick Mulvaney, who is also more money as global partners and American “agreed to ensure coordination around midnight Sunday, using which slammed into the coast the budget director, said he was long as it is not politicians alike. between their countries’ mili- another acronym for the of southern Sumatra and the waiting to hear from Senate spent on a wall, jihadist group. western tip of Java about 9:30 Democratic leader Chuck Durbin Repeating a pattern of pm (1430 GMT) on Saturday Schumer of New York about a responded: admiring comments towards after a volcano known as the counteroffer the White House “Ab s o l u t e l y.” global strongmen, Trump “child” of Krakatoa erupted. presented Schumer over the A stale- added that Erdogan “is a man According to Indonesia’s weekend. Mulvaney would only mate over the who can do it.” geological agency, Anak say the offer was between wall led parts The US president Krakatoa had been showing Trump’s $5.7 billion request and of the concluded: “Our troops signs of heightened activity for $1.3 billion Democrats have Government to are coming home!” Hours days, spewing plumes of offered. shut down earlier, Trump had tweeted ash thousands of metres into the “We moved off of the five Saturday after that he and Erdogan “dis- air. The vast archipelago nation and we hope they move up from funding for cussed (IS), our mutual is one of the most disaster- their 1.3,” Mulvaney said less numerous involvement in Syria, & prone nations on Earth due to than a day after a senior admin- departments the slow & highly coordinat- its position straddling the so- istration official insisted that and agencies ed pullout of US troops from called Pacific Ring of Fire, Congress would have expired. The the area.” where tectonic plates collide. to cave into Trump’s demand for closure affects overcrowded camps. More than 450 police will be angladesh will seal off refugee camps deployed in the camps alongside bor- Bhousing about one million Rohingya der guards and community police, a Muslims for three days around the coun- spokesman said. Sri Lanka Government try’s tense general election this week, Thousands of troops were also put Aspokesman says plans for a officials said on Monday. on law and order duties across the new budget will be presented Rohingya living in the southeast- country Monday amid escalating poll next February after the parlia- ern border district of Cox’s Bazar will violence, said a military statement. ment approved a 1.77-trillion- not be allowed out of their settlements Media reports said some 30,000 rupee ($9.39 billion) stopgap from Saturday. soldiers were joining more than 20,000 measure to cover Government The election is Sunday with Prime paramilitary forces already deployed. expenditures over the first four Minister Sheikh Hasina, who earned At least six people have been killed months of 2019, averting a Go- international praise for accepting the in the election violence while the vernment shutdown January 1. refugees who fled a military crackdown opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Sri Lanka had been engulfed in Myanmar, seeking a record fourth Party (BNP) says at least 152 of its can- in a political crisis since late term. didates have been attacked. October after President The Election Commission ordered The BNP meanwhile criticised Maithripala Sirisena sacked the authorities in Cox’s Bazar to prevent Bangladesh star cricketer Mashrafe country’s prime minister, Ranil refugees being exploited during election Mortaza for being a candidate for the Wickremesinghe, and cabinet. campaigning, Bangladesh refugee com- ruling Awami League. The country did not have a missioner Mohammad Abul Kalam One-day international captain functioning government for said. Mashrafe is now campaigning after nearly two months. Sirisena “This is a security measure. The leading Bangladesh to a series win over replaced Wickremesinghe with embargo also applies to NGO workers. West Indies this month. former President Mahinda They cannot go inside the camps The BNP said though Rajapaksa, who lost two confi- unless it is an emergency,” he told AFP. that Mashrafte could not be a dence votes in parliament. Police said extra roadblocks would candidate when he earns public money The country faced the risk be set up around the camps. as a cricketer. of being unable to use state funds Over 720,000 Rohingya “We welcome youngsters like him from Jan. 1 and potentially Muslims fled what the UN called eth- joining politics. But the law cannot be default on a foreign debt repay- nic cleansing in Myanmar’s Rakhine different for a superstar and a layman,” ment of $1 billion due on state after August 2017. There were opposition spokesman Rizvi Ahmed January 10. already nearly 300,000 refugees in the told AFP.

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eft-arm spinner Vikas Mishra yet again tormented Madhya Pradesh  Lbatsmen with a six-wicket haul as Delhi thumped the visitors by nine wick- innings, still trailing by 51 runs. Nath, their bowlers ensured that the bats- ets for their first victory of the ongoing sea- After bundling out Maharashtra for men need not bat again. son, here on Monday. 239 in their first innings, Chhattisgarh Resuming at the overnight score of The 25-year-old Mishra, who had secured the crucial first innings lead by 33/4, Tripura's first innings folded up at taken six wickets in the first innings as well, posting 462 in their first essay. 108 in just 44 overs. finished with career-best match figures of [OQ  At Nagpur, hosts Vidarbha posted a Apart from skipper and wicket-keep- 12 for 71 to help Delhi bundle out Madhya hefty 485 in their first essay and overhauled er Smit Patel (47) no other batsmen Pradesh for just 157 run in 64.3 overs on left-arm pacer Kulwant Khejroliya snared match went till tea on third day. At the start Mumbai ended day three of the four- Gujarat's first innings score of 321. delivered for the visitors. the third day of their Elite Group B fixture. the former, it opened the floodgates. it looked like it could finish in two days," day Elite Group A match by making 175 Veteran Wasim Jaffer slammed 126 For the hosts, leggie Zeeshan Ansari The hosts needed to score just 29 runs The MP batsmen again struggled to MP captain Naman Ojha. for five in their second innings, an and there were crucial contributions by the (3-33), Saurabh Kumar (2-9), Ankit without losing wicket to claim the win with counter the guile of Mishra, who ran "We should have taken the overall lead of 221 going into the middle order batsmen for the hosts. Rajpoot (2-42) shared the wickets. a bonus point but lost opener Kunal through the middle order. lead when Delhi were 36 for 5. final day Tuesday. Gujarat ended the penultimate day At 22 Meanwhile at Guwahati, Goa needed Chandela (6) two runs short of the target Not only Mishra (6/30), but the visit- But save Avesh Khan, others Iyer, who looked out for for 1, still trailing by 142 runs. another 52 runs for an outright win to settle for six points. ing batsmen also struggled to counter off- didn't take wickets. Avesh is runs from the first ball he At Shivamoga, Railways needed 318 against Assam and have four wickets in Hiten Dalal (15) and Dhruv Shorey spinner Shivam Sharma (3/52) as the two now ready to play for India as faced after coming to the crease runs to win against hosts Karnataka, with hand. completed the win in 6.4 overs. Delhi will spinners shared nine wickets between he has pace as well as varia- at 20 for one, also struck 5 fours nine wickets in hand. Their hopes depend on Amit Verma next take on Bengal in an away match from them. tions," added Ojha. and got involved in a rapid-fire and Lakshay Garg, who are unbeaten on December 30. Rajat Patidar (21), captain Naman fourth wicket stand of 74 in 57 62 and 57, respectively. "At the start of the season I was bowl- Ojha (22) and Yash Dubey (15) got starts balls with all rounder Shivam Dube Uttar Pradesh defeated Tripura At Jammu, Odisha would aim to go for ing a bit faster and after talking to coach but the kind of fight MP needed was no Shreyas Iyer blitzed his way to who made a brisk 29-ball 39 with the help by an inninngs and 384 runs in their Elite an outright win as Jammu and Kashmir are Mithun Manhas, I started bowling slow- where to be seen or rather the wily 83 of just 60 balls after Mumbai pressed of three sixes and as many fours. Group C game. 76 runs ahead with just three wickets er. This created confusion in batsman's Mishra made the rival batsmen dance to on for a much-needed outright victory Earlier, resuming at the overnight 213 Uttar Pradesh, who were in command remaining and an entire day's play left. mind whether to come forward or play on his tunes. after taking the first innings lead over table for five chasing Mumbai's first innings total right since the beginning of the four-day At Jaipur, visitors Haryana ended the backfoot," Mishra said on his 12 wicket After dismissing Ojha and Dubey, toppers Saurashtra. of 394, Saurashtra were bowled out for 348, game, posted a convincing win with a day third day at 244/3, but still are trailing haul. Mishra trampled the lower-order along Iyer slammed seven sixes, three of with 12 minutes left for tea. to spare. Rajasthan by 128 runs. The visitors resumed at seven for none with spin colleague Shivam, who claimed them off successive balls from left-arm Meanwhile at Raipur, Chhattisgarh After posting a mammoth 552/7 in Rajasthan secured the first-innings and their inexperienced openers -- the last wicket in Avesh Khan (6). spinner Dharmendra Jadeja before per- were in a good position to score an out- their first innings, courtesy a double hun- lead after posting a massive 490/6 declared Aryaman Birla (32) and Anand Bais (46) "The pitch wasn't great to start with but ishing to the fourth ball while trying for right win over Maharashtra, who ended the dred by Priyam Garg and hundreds by with Robin Bist remaining unbeaten on -- put up a fighting 83-run stand but once local curator did a splendid job that a fourth maximum hit. third day at 172 for 3 in their second Rinku Singh and skipper Aksh Deep 150.  7>! ,++) * .   %   (- )(  B Liverpool:  C)(   iverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said the fact his Lside top the Premier League table heading into the busy holiday period counts for little. The Anfield club are four points clear at the sum- mit going into their Boxing Day clash at home to he Indian football team's Newcastle, with champions Manchester City second and Tfortunes in the upcoming Tottenham Hotspur six points adrift in third place. Asian Cup will depend a lot on Liverpool, however, have not won the English title its opening match against in the Premier League era -- their last domestic Thailand and it should go all out Championship crown came back in 1990. to get a result, feels former play- And with Tottenham having hammered Everton, er Renedy Singh. Liverpool's local rivals, 6-2 on Sunday, Klopp does not "We have to go all-out    expect to have things all his own way during the rest of against Thailand in the first the season. title. match. Do not think about UAE, When India played last time rent skipper became one of the "You (the media) make these stories about who is There may have only been two occasions in the past do not think about Bahrain. Just in the Asian Cup in 2011, the set piece takers in the team. in and who is out," said Klopp. 10 years where the team top on December 25 failed to go after the result in the first team lost all their group match- "It's good to see that Sunil "I saw the game against Everton who played win the Premier League but in both instances it was game," Renedy, who was a key es (against Australia, South Korea has improved as a dead-ball Paris: absolutely more than okay and then they (Spurs) hit pret- Liverpool, in 2008 and 2014, who could not complete member of the Indian team that and Bahrain). Skipper Sunil player. Back in our days, he never ty much everything and it was really impressive how the job. played in the 2011 Asian Cup in Chhetri is the only current play- used to take free-kicks -- it was Tottenham did. Only James Milner among Liverpool's current squad Doha, said. er to feature in that team. either me or Steven Dias," "The same will happen to Arsenal and Chelsea. No knows what it's like to win the Premier League, having "Only after the match we can Renedy, a dead ball special- Renedy recollected. decision is made, why should it be? Nobody should feel been a member of Manchester City's victorious squads decide on the next course of ist of the Indian team then, said "But then one fine day, he safe, no one should feel out of the race. It is not a time in 2012 and 2014. action. If they can get a result that Chhetri has been leading the walked up to me and said, to think about it. But Klopp, who won the Bundesliga title with against China, we should be current side by example. 'Renedy-bhai, you can't take "For me they (Tottenham) were never out so why Borussia Dortmund in 2011 and 2012, insisted: "I know able to do the same against "There are many players both free-kicks and penalties. I should people be surprised they are now in? A lot of that all players who have won the title, at one time it was Thailand," the former midfield- who have been doing well recent- want to chip in too. So we teams are in whatever you call the title race and that is their first time. er told the official website of the ly. But for me, Sunil sets the best decided that Sunil will take how it should be." "You don't know what is more important, is it expe- All India Football Federation. example. He has done so well penalties, and we would contin- The German added: "That is maybe only the dif- rience, potential, attitude, desire or joy, being completely The Asian Cup is being held consistently over the past few ue taking the free-kicks," said ference to last year when pretty much nobody was in any fresh having never had it before? "Experience is always in four venues of the United Arab years. He may not be growing Renedy who also had captained more at this time and that is good for all supporters out good if you are young enough to use it. We have to use Emirates from January 5 to younger, but most significantly, the Indian team on a few occa- there. all experience from the last games, especially from the February 1. India has been he's not just there to support. He sions. "Being unbeaten in the league until December is not last season, and that's much more important. clubbed with Thailand, Bahrain is there to lead by example," the "But he did not stay content something I had too often in my life. We did really well "Character is always very important but with these and hosts UAE in Group A. India 39-year-old Renedy said. with the penalties. Rather, he so far, and we have to do even better from now on. That's boys there is no doubt about that because we achieved play Thailand on January 6, He also feels that Chhetri has improved himself as a free-kick the challenge for us." Liverpool fans know only too well already in the past big things: finals, good positions in UAE on January 10 and Bahrain improved a lot as a dead-ball taker. In fact, he has scored from that being top at Christmas is no guarantee of the league the league." on January 14. player and disclosed how the cur- many free-kicks since then." Pune: Q looking to cement their lead at the top UVQ of the table. rsenal midfielder Henrikh "For me, it is almost clear and if we AMkhitaryan will be out of action for can be better than three teams, it will at least six weeks because of a foot injury, be another miracle. ndia's number one singles player Prajnesh the Premier League side revealed on "It was a miracle last year. People IGunneswaran, who is coming off a suc- their website on Tuesday. were thinking, 'Oh, you finished 10th...', cessful season during which he won two Mkhitaryan fractured the but with a couple fewer wins, we could Challenger titles, said 2018 was his best year metatarsal in his right foot in last have been in the bottom five, so it was and the aim is to "ideally be in the top 50". Wednesday's Carabao Cup defeat by a miracle. "2018 has been my best season. I'm look- Tottenham and was replaced at half- "If we do the same this year with ing to have a better 2019. I have given myself time. He missed the win against Burnley teams spending even more money than a good platform to push and I hope that hap- at the weekend. last year, it will be a miracle." pens," the 29-year old left-hander, ranked Arsenal said the Armenian play- He added: "I know what is coming 107 in the ATP rankings (as of Dec 24), said. MAdrid: maker is "expected to return to full now and I know where we are. You can The Chennai player, who has overcome training in six weeks". see the team — the team is trying a lot injuries to fight his way back into the cir- Mkhitaryan has been a regular     of things, but still it's not enough cuit, said the priority was to stay in the top under Unai Emery and has scored four sometimes to get the points, and it will 100. Premier League goals this season. be like that. "I mean being inside the top 100, pos- ideally be to get around 50," Prajnesh said The 29-year-old will miss key league Rafael Benitez believes it will be "If we are under pressure and we feel sibly if I do well there is a chance to be in on the sidelines of a TNTA event to honour games against Liverpool, Chelsea and "another miracle" if his Newcastle side this pressure, we will not be better, we the top 50 in the world. But I am more inter- past and present players from Tamil Nadu Manchester City as Arsenal continue retain their Premier League status. can make more mistakes," explained ested in making sure I improve enough to on Sunday night. their pursuit of a top-four place. "We have to be realistic and under- Benitez. be able to compete in the Tour level, in the Asked whether he intended to play more Mkhitaryan arrived at the Emirates stand that we will be in the bottom half Newcastle are currently five points Tour events. Tour events in 2019, he said initially he Stadium almost a year ago as part of the during the whole season," said Benitez above the bottom three heading into the "... And as I long I am inside the top 100, would participate in some Challengers and swap deal that took Alexis Sanchez to ahead of the Boxing Day clash away to busy holiday period after last weekend's then I have done a decent job of keeping my some Tour events and later take a call Manchester United. his former side Liverpool who are goalless draw with Fulham. ranking and my level. But the goal would depending on how well he does in them.

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ven if you can't carry a tune or play independent treatment for reducing depres- procedures. In controlled clinical trials of an instrument, you can probably sion, anxiety and chronic pain. people having colonoscopies, cardiac Ereel off a list of songs that evoke There are several mechanisms by angiography, or knee surgery, those who lis- happy memories and raise your spirits. which music can have this effect. First of tened to music before their procedure had Surgeons have long played their favorite all, music has positive physical effects. It can less anxiety and less need for sedatives. music to relieve stress in the operating produce direct biological changes, such as People who listened to music in the oper- room, and extending music to patients has reducing heart rate, blood pressure, and cor- ating room reported less discomfort dur- been linked to improved surgical out- tisol levels. ing their procedure. And those who heard comes. In the past few decades, music Also, studies suggest that exposure to music in the recovery room used less opi- therapy has played an increasing role in prosocial lyrics increases positive thought, oid medication for pain. all facets of healing. empathy, and helping behavior. The mes- Restoring lost speech. Music therapy Alternative and complementary treat- sage in a lyric such as “We shall overcome” can help people who are recovering from ments such as creative art, meditation, and may be able to reach more people than all a stroke or traumatic brain injury that has yoga have been proposed to bridge this gap. of the psychotherapists in the world com- damaged the left-brain region responsible But music, because of its ubiquity in our bined. for speech. Because singing ability originates society as well as its ease of transmission, Just as certain music can help induce in the right side of the brain, people can has perhaps the greatest potential among relaxation and peaceful states, other music work around the injury to the left side of alternative therapies to reach people who may cause agitation. There is evidence that their brain by first singing their thoughts do not otherwise have access to care. music that reflects the listener's personal and then gradually dropping the melody. For most people, music is an important preference is more likely to have desired Reducing side effects of cancer thera- part of daily life. Some rely on music to get effects. It is possible that music through py. Listening to music reduces anxiety asso- them through the morning commute, headphones during medical procedures ciated with chemotherapy and radiother- while others turn up a favorite playlist to could interfere with the patient's coopera- apy. It can also quell nausea and vomiting stay pumped during a workout. Many folks tion with the procedures. Also, listening to for patients receiving chemotherapy. even have the stereo on when they’re cook- music at high volumes may damage the ears Helping with physical therapy and ing a meal, taking a shower, or folding the and lead to hearing loss. rehabilitation. If you exercise to a playlist, laundry. Music should not be used as the sole you've probably noticed that music helps Music is often linked to mood. A cer- treatment for potentially dangerous med- you stick to your routine. In fact, a 2011 tain song can make us feel happy, sad, ener- ical or psychiatric conditions. Use is not rec- analysis of several studies suggests that getic, or relaxed. Because music can have ommended in those who do not like music therapy enhances people's physical, such an impact on a person’s mindset and music therapy as this may result in agita- psychological, cognitive, and emotional well-being, it should come as no surprise tion or stress. Music therapy is a burgeon- functioning during physical rehabilitation that music therapy has been studied for use ing field. People who become certified programs. in managing numerous medical conditions. music therapists are usually accomplished Aiding pain relief. Music therapy has All forms of music may have therapeu- musicians who have deep knowledge of how been tested in a variety of patients, rang- tic effects, although music from one's own music can evoke emotional responses to ing from those with intense short-term pain culture may be most effective. In Chinese relax or stimulate people or help them heal. to those with chronic pain from arthritis. medical theory, the five internal organ and They combine this knowledge with their Over all, music therapy decreases pain per- meridian systems are believed to have cor- familiarity with a wide variety of musical ception, reduces the amount of pain med- responding musical tones, which are used imagery to produce altered states of con- accepted ways and to examine personal styles to find the specific kind that can get ication needed, helps relieve depression in to encourage healing. sciousness that help uncover hidden emo- issues. you through a challenging physical rehab pain patients, and gives them a sense of bet- Types of music differ in the types of tional responses and stimulate creative We now know through controlled session or guide you into meditation. And ter control over their pain. neurological stimulation they evoke. For insights. Music may also be used in the treatment outcome studies that listening to they can find that music in your favorite Improving quality of life for people with example, classical music has been found to classroom to aid children in the develop- and playing music is a potent treatment for genre, be it electropop or grand opera. dementia. Because the ability to engage with cause comfort and relaxation while rock ment of reading and language skills. mental health issues. Research demonstrates A growing body of research attests that music remains intact late into the disease music may lead to discomfort. Music may Receptive methods involve listening to and that adding music therapy to treatment music therapy is more than a nice perk. It process, music therapy can help to evoke achieve its therapeutic effects in part by ele- responding to live or recorded music. improves symptoms and social functioning can improve medical outcomes and qual- memories, reduce agitation, assist commu- vating the pain threshold. Discussion of their responses is believed to among schizophrenics. Further, music ity of life in a variety of ways. nication, and improve physical coordina- Music may be used with guided help people express themselves in socially therapy has demonstrated efficacy as an Easing anxiety and discomfort during tion.

C M Y K F! >"5<F '( )'J ?'>!! ''''<" ' ( ?'1"> '( 5''<  '>  ())++()  - -)(-) (9$) group of people are standing ing. I was just playing roles without the one where meetings were involved. I and chatting around a corner understanding them. To play such a per- thought that I have never done a role like shop in Lucknow. Out of son who came from Gorakhpur was real- this. I was instantly attracted to it. Plus, nowhere a gangsters strolls in, ly important for my personal growth. I knew the dialect and the style of com- takes out a gun and shoots a Here I didn’t have to just stand there, talk, munication in that city. It was quicker to person.A Can you imagine the scene? Now keep my hair in place and look like a pick up the style.” place yourself in the centre of the situa- handsome hero. I had to move ahead and The only challenge, as she describes, tion. What would be your reaction? simply act no matter how I looked,’ he was that she never cued any scene with This is exactly what happened with adds. Saqib, it was all done separately. some people in the city of Nawabs Saqib narrates how he attained an While talking about how the relation- recently. understanding of the character he played, ships have evolved today, both the lead Director Bhav Dhulia’s new web since it is inspired from real life. He says, actors believe that things have become series, Rangbaaz, starring Aahana Kumra “If Bhav had let me play the kind of gang- way easier today. and Saqib Saleem in lead roles, placed ster I understood, I would have only been Aahana says, “There’s only one reason ordinary people at the centre of the action abusing and shooting people. But there why relationships are losing their during one of the scenes. “We set it up were a thousand other things which had endurance — things getting easier and without telling Saqib that there were peo- to be done with subtlety.” those that can be manipulated.” ple from the real public standing around. He tells us that Bhav would keep Saqib recalls the time when he was a He just had to come to shoot a person. I insisting on “‘Less is more. Even if you are teenager to say that since there were no wanted to catch the real reaction of the angry you don’t have to show it.’ I mobile phones at that time, they used land- people but,” he laughs, “he spoilt even laughed when I heard him say this. I actu- lines to call their partners. “And even then, that. There were many re-takes and by ally came here after doing Race 3,” h e they had to look for an appropriate time then the people obviously understood laughs to add, “It was a film where you when their parents were not around. They that it was a fictional scene.” have to look like a hero in every frame had to first give two to three missed calls Rangbaaz is a term, often used in or even walk in slow motion every time. to the other person to give an indication. parts of Uttar Pradesh, especially Kanpur Here, I had to understand what my direc- Today, in the whatsapp age, you don’t get and Lucknow, used for cunning or sly tor wanted and then fit in that. So one reply and the relationship is called off. people. When Bhav describes his idea of everything was a challenge for me, espe- How easy, right?” he says. a rangbaaz, he says that it is the journey cially since I come from a school of Aahana, who has worked for five sep- and a love story of a man in his 20s who thought that if I remove my shirt as an arate media — TV, cinema, digital, live is responsible for more than 20 murders. actor, my six-pack abs should be visible. sports anchoring and theatre — says that “It is the real-life story of Shiv Prakash And when there was a scene where I actu- the most challenging one was to anchor Shukla (Saqib’s character’s name) who was ally had to remove my shirt, I asked him live. The Lipstick Under my Burkha actress, O the talk of the town in the 90s. He was if I could wear a vest, since I don’t have who undertook this during Pro Kabbadi, one of the first gangsters to be involved them. (Laughs). But I didn’t have to play says that there were many complex steps with the state politics and power games a stereotype here.” that were involved including spontaneity in the state where he was in touch with For Aahana, who is from Lucknow, and pre-researching. “Before being actu- D several politicians and police officers. This fitting into the character was not a great ally present on the field, I had to be pre- was unprecedented as nobody had ear- challenge since the set up was familiar. pared with all the information about the lier done something like that. A task force She laughs to say that when she first heard players and their previous records. I was was made for the first time to catch a that the web show would be set in strictly instructed to not even once ques- gangster like him. It is also a story about Lucknow, she instantly agreed. Adding, tion them about ‘how did the match go?’ his transition as the 90s saw the liberal- “It was a great story. There were some I had to study all of it myself to actually isation and globalisation in the country. things that I have actually seen before. I ask them relevant questions.” It is a very fascinating period that way. had taken stories and character references There was yet another factor. “The Indians saw cable TV for the first time from my family itself.” coordinator who was from Yorkshire had then. Things started becoming easily She says that she has known the belt, a hard-to-get accent. I had to constantly accessible to some extent. So it is about especially in the 90s, since that was the keep listening to what he was saying how he was influenced by and in turn time when she spent her childhood through micro phones and then ask ques- influenced the political and liberal land- there. It was her family background that tions accordingly and he would often scape,” says he. that it was all about changing his conven- influenced by what others are doing too. gave her a better understanding of a change the questions at the last minute. Saqib, known for his roles in films like tional understanding of a hero. I observed that everybody is playing char- woman in that time and what conse- There were 20,000 people in the stadium Mujhse Fraandship Karoge, Hawa He says, “I have never done a role acters today, especially ‘flawed’ ones. I quences she had to go through when peo- and you can’t make a mistake because it’s Hawaai, Mere Dad ki Maruti, and more, similar to this one. Even when I did Race realised, why such roles would always be ple caught her or got to know about her all live,” she adds.  the most recent one being Dil Junglee and 3, it was on a very different track, I was larger-than-life characters. The fact that relationship with someone, given the For her, it’s always important to seek   P Race 3, plays a gangster in the series which the bad guy there. When this role came I wanted to step out of my comfort zone prevalent gender restrictions. out something and respect people for being is set in the backdrop of politics and crime to me, I saw it as a great opportunity espe- was the most important thing here for She tells us what she found was the what they are since as an actor, “one always LG in Lucknow in the 1990s. cially because of the web space doing so me.” most intriguing thing about her role and has to step into someone else’s shoes in If you ask Saqib how he transitioned well in the industry today. So I decided He believes that the role had given the story, “Most of my scenes were shot order to know them and portray them bet- to such an intense role after playing what to walk out of my comfort zone. I felt ki him a chance to grow on a personal level. separately from Saqib as it was more of ter.” is referred to as a “chocolate hero”, he says ab Hero-Hero bohot khel liya. You get “Earlier, I wasn’t even thinking before act- a telephonic relationship than physical or (The web show airs on ZEE 5.)      ((() IQ       is directorial career includes National Award   Hwinning film Paan Singh Tomar and Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster and his acting prowess was captured brilliantly in projects like Manjhi - The Mountain Welcome trends for 2019 Man and Gangs of Wasseypur. As the ‘Living Coral’ has Actor-writer-director Tigmanshu Dhulia, who been declared as the year for is now playing the role of Shah Rukh Khan’s father 2019 by the Pantone Colour in Zero, feels that even big budget films need a good Institute, we are bound to wit- script now. ness a series of interior innova- He also emphasised that after 1960s the respect tion that will be a reflection of for a content writer went down significantly and that this color trend. The shade must change now. exudes positivity and vibrance “Big budget films have started to face this chal- with a subtle undertone of fem- lenge of just being big budget and loaded with stars. ininity, and as a result, we will see But even big budget films need a good script now. many interesting combinations Look at Thugs of Hindostan. The stars delivered what such as coral paired with grey, they promised because the first day collections were beige, white and other neutral phenomenal. So people went to see Amitabh shades to highlight happy under- Bachchan and Aamir Khan, but from the second day G tones. the collections sank,” he said. In 2019, we will also see the “So, whether it’s a big budget film or not, con- H rise of eco-friendly and sus- tent is the king. The audience is smart and the type tainable trends for interiors, of things that are coming up online has given a good thus pro-environment fabrics exposure to the audience to quality content,” and innovations will be a huge Timangshu added. trend. Right from cotton and Say goodbye to trends of 2018 “I think after 1960s the respect for a content organic fibres such as jute, silk, While trends in interiors writer went down significantly and that must change and hemp — the idea of sustain- keep changing every season, a now,” Dhulia said, when asked that how one ability will impact lifestyle choic- big shift in interiors will be should take care of both commercial imperatives and es. Eco-friendly furniture for a toward discarding of ‘fast furni- creative ambition in today’s time of filmmaking? home like cane, hand-loom ture’. Just like fast fashion, we He was present at a grand scale theatrical play made organic cotton upholstery tend to buy interior goods that of Mahabharata from the point of view of Gandhari, from small towns are considered,” said Dhulia. and bedspreads, jute rugs and look good for a while but fade Kunti and Draupadi, by students of Mount Litera Directed by Anand L. Rai, Zero was released on silk curtains will come in handy out too quickly. Finally, it is time School International. Following its inquiry-based Friday and got a mixed reaction at the box-office with to style your home. The idea to to say goodbye to them forever learning methodology, the play aimed to imbue some critics calling the narrative weak, while some reduce our carbon footprints will as the next big change points at Indian values in the students and showcase human tagging the film as best coming from King Khan. The also see an upsurge in recycled sustainable options. Harsh and frailties, character flaws and highlight follies of the film also stars Anushka Sharma, Katrina Kaif, products that will not only make bold lighting like big, ugly great and good of society. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub, Abhay Deol, Sheeba your house more beautiful but chandeliers that consume a lot Having grown up in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, Chaddha and Bijendra Kala. will also make have an impact on of electricity will be officially the filmmaker says he tries to incorporate his small- So what made Dhulia say yes to the film and how the well-being of the planet. out. Emphasis will be on LED town experience in his cinematic presentation. His was it working with Shah Rukh? The focus will be on well-lit lights, minimalistic bulb films including Haasil, Charas and Shagird, though “Shah Rukh and I worked together during Dil Se rooms with natural light and designs, quirky antique style did an average business at the box- office, but is still for which I had written the dialogues. Our friend- bright colour combinations for lamps and of course, natural alive in the minds of movie-goers inspite of having ship goes way back. In terms of Zero, there were two living rooms. light that will brighten up your no big stars in it. or three reasons for me to take it up. One — The role One can include additional decor. When asked if Indian cinema was moving away was really different and unique and not like what I props like indoor plants, classic Complex patterns such as from the fascination of Khan era with new faces tak- played in ‘Gangs of Wasseypur, he said. wood furniture and artworks to dense damask are totally going ing the lead, he said cinema is now addressing a larg- “Second, Anand L. Rai is a dear friend who was empty spaces to add a personal to be out of style, especially for er audience. making this technically heavy film with special effects. touch. Speaking of wood finish- wallpapers, furniture and cur- “Earlier, multiplexes were present only in big I was curious to see how he was making the film and es for interiors, some of the big tains because if everything is cities, but we see them now in smaller towns as well. learn more on the sets. And third, one is always exit- trends in this segment for the simple then why bother adding Hence cinema is also addressing characters from ed to work with Shah Rukh,” he said. coming seasons are the her- complicated designs that match small towns. Look at Ayushmann Khurrana and Dhulia, who feeds his creative hunger through ringbone, chevron, and geomet- a modern touch, go for geomet- nothing. Similarly, it’s time to Rajkummar Rao — their characters are from small newspaper, books, travel and meeting new people, ric patterns. The criss-cross ric decor items that create a sub- say goodbye to prehistoric ideas towns,” he said. can see the future of entertainment moving to web. chevron pattern on floors with tle contrast with your interior. such as window valances that “The Khans of the industry typically played glam- “Most content would move to the web and the the herringbone adds a sophis- One can also use patterned rugs match curtains and furniture orous roles and not these roles. Also, these smaller cinema theatres would only see big movies like ticated look and gives a luxe and arty highlights to balance the because the idea is to open up towns are contributing significantly to the revenues Baahubali playing,” he said. appeal to your home. If you like symmetry of the room. and not get restricted in space. hence that is also another reason these characters L  '()()( "!

evika Daulat Singh of Photoink stands apart amongst gallery persona in Delhi. She has a quiet sophis- tication far-removed from Dother profit-pursuing self-proclaimed curators. At Photoink the finale for 2018 is a historic legacy which belongs to Vivan Sundaram, the nephew of Amrita Shergil. “These are letters and archival material found in an old trunk,” says Devika as she supervises the show’s display. Wakefulness and the Dream State: A Self-Study by Umrao Singh Sher-Gil consists of pho- tographs, drawings and scholia (grammat- ical, critical, or explanatory comments, either original or extracted from pre-exist- ing commentaries, which are inserted on the margin of the manuscript of an ancient author) from the Sher-Gil Archives is a delight to behold. Album of archival images There are small black and white images, typed rumination and letters and reflections from the enigmatic Umrao Singh Sher-Gil’s photographic archive. He was a man with the physique that is both enviable and perfect and his notes tell us about his practice of abstinence, his per- despondent grace that tells us that her are a valuable document in the archives of but nevertheless undeniably beautiful. be feted in history, to be seen as a pioneer- sonal fears and his love for his family mem- father’s photographic universe began and modernity — in the large sense of that Clad in a zari sari, she is the epitome of ing figure of Indian photography, an bers. Indeed once you look closely at his ended with members of his immediate term. grace. auteur. He had followed Amrita’s self-trans- notes as well as the images of Shergil, that family. In his essay Deepak Ananth wrote, formations, probably as beguiled as she are riveting, you know this archive is an The images tell us also that Umrao was Amrita’s allure “Was it (melancholy) due to a growing was, by the face she presented to the world. album that echoes a parallel legacy. a princely individual who was both a Two images of Amrita call for scruti- sense of isolation that had crept upon her And yet many of the photographs taken When you study the private nature of its recluse as well as a fastidious eccentric. He ny — the artist at her easel, Simla, India, in the years prior to her sudden death in in the late 1930s disclose a lingering dis- contents you realise that unconsciously was happy clicking self portraits in an age 1937 and Amrita wearing a zari sari Simla, 1941? (The artist alludes to her intellec- quiet in her expression. By figuring so cen- Umrao Shergil was every bit a mini-his- when the world hadn’t heard of such an 1936. tual solitude in some of her letters.) And trally in her father’s photographic art, torian in the manner in which he con- exercise. Obviously he loved dressing up, The image which shows Amrita yet the pictures she painted at the time Amrita Sher-Gil helped forge a record of structed an archive that speaks of a mod- kept an impeccable home and seemed to momentarily turning away from her easel, hardly indicate a failure of artistic nerve. a hybrid culture, one that was nourished ern proto-postcolonial subject in which the be very much in love with his own image paintbrushes in hand suggests a hint of On the contrary, they suggest that she was by both East and West yet managed to personal and the private both become ele- as well as his mirror. restlessness that shades into something poised to become a truly major artist. But transcend both. giac emblems. The book on Umrao Shergil published more melancholy than in the more formal- that promise was to remain unfulfilled.” And one wistfully remembers Amrita’s by Photoink tells us that the hundreds of ly posed portraits. words. “How can one feel the beauty of a Shergil’s photographic universe photographs that he took of his family Amrita is always impeccably and Umrao a pioneer form, the intensity or the subtlety of a The Amrita images have about them form an extraordinary record of the life exquisitely draped, but appears sometimes After reading and studying the prints colour, the quality of a line, unless she is a haunting gravitas as well as a forlorn, and world of an Indo-European family, and wistful, sometimes elusively withdrawn, you know that Umrao Shergil deserves to a sensualist of the eyes?”

the artist I am today.” So was India always in your mind to make a big impression? “India has always been impor- tant to me. If my own people don’t 1 0 know me, then how can I represent our culture worldwide? Touring he bittersweet, nostalgic story of three friends India has been the greatest gift. I whose love life revolved around handwritten let- have learned so much about myself Tters, bicycles, and meetings — agreed to after and you can really hear that on my much prodding by peers — with equally shy girls next upcoming album BloodLine,” she door, formed the storyline of the play Prem Kabootar. said. It was staged recently as a part of an ongoing theatre Her first big placement was Iggy festival and successfully transported the viewers to a Azalea’s Change Your Life and she bygone era. also wrote six songs for Gwen Performed at the Shri Ram Centre for Performing Stefani album, This Is What the Arts (SRCPA) as a part of the eight-day Panna Bharat Truth Feels Like, which debuted Ram Theatre Festival, Prem Kabootar is a light-heart- number one on the Billboard Top ed play written by thespian-filmmaker Manav Kaul. 200 chart. Kaul was nominated at the 63rd Filmfare awards Talking about the initial days, for best supporting actor for 2017 film Tumhari Sulu. she said, “Sometimes it looks like an The two-hour comedy, peppered with moments overnight success, but countless of uproarious laughter by the spectators, might be sim- hours were spent learning and ple and without too many plot twists, but that is exact- practicing my craft. It’s been so ly what made it relatable. incredible to have commercial suc- The characters, sporting high-waisted bell-bot- cess with artists that I admire and toms, shiny shirts and haircuts inspired by what love.” Bollywood figures got photographed in that month, And she feels much more ener- take us a few decades back. gised now. When Saleem, the tailor receives his first letter “I feel energised and ready to from his sweetheart Meenakshi; or when Suneel, an give my new music to the world. ardent follower of Hindi films, agrees to write a love Shook was a personal triumph for letter on behalf of his tea-seller friend Raju, only to me. Releasing that record started a find the writer inside him, it brought forth many mem- new journey for me and I'm excit- ories that most of the audience found buried within ed to share that with all of you,” said themselves. Kumari. The dreamy love affair, in an age with no dating This year the Riders Music apps, takes one to the “era of school days, teenage love Festival (RMF) showcased a perfect affairs, romance in the air and enthusiastically follow- rammy-nominated Indian- in America so have things changed Azalea, Fifth Harmony and Fall Out line-up of contemporary musicians ing the heroes, heroines and even the story-lines of American songwriter-rap- now especially with so many cross Boy. She was also nominated for a with different genres of music at Hindi Cinema.” Gper Raja Kumari, who lent cultural musical collaborations hap- Grammy award in February 2015 Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, here. “There was no social media, but there were feel- her voice to the title track of Salman pening? and featuring on BBC Asian From Nucleya’s high octane gig, ings. If you had to say something to someone, you had Khan-starrer Race 3 and Husn “Things are evolving in the US. Network programme Bobby Lucky Ali’s husky Bollywood charm to go to their house, pursue for weeks or say it through Parcham in Shah Rukh Khan’s Zero, I like to call it the “brown renais- Friction on July 5, 2016. to Mame Khan’s folk music, the friends. The human feelings of love and desire are still feels that things are evolving for sance” Indians are more relevant in Talking about her growth plan event saw over 20 thousand biking the same today,” the play’s director Sameep Singh, an Indians in US when it comes to so many fields, especially entertain- and how she balanced being both and music enthusiasts. Adding jazz NSD graduate and currently the repertory chief in ond day, after Prem Kabootar and another powerful cross-cultural collaborations and ment. It’s exciting to be a part of that Indian and American with her to the line-up, was Shirley Setia’s SRCPA said. play Tughlaq written by Girish Karnad and directed terms it a “brown renaissance.” wave and really influence the cul- performances, she said, “My parents filmy vocals with Divine’s new-age Asked how he adapted Kaul’s story for the prosce- by K. Madavane. In one of her previous inter- ture,” she said on the sidelines of always valued the arts so I always rapping and some soulful music nium, Singh said, “Kaul did write it as a story, but even Also lined up are plays Arsenic and Old Lace, Dadu, views, Kumari mentioned that RED FM’s Riders Music Festival immersed in classical dance and with Bhuvam Bham. while dramatising, I’ve tried to retain its flavour. There Kala Suraj Safed Sayee, Poem of an Ending (based on Indian classical training helped her where she performed recently. music. American music was my Kumari released her new single are additions to scenes, for instance Kaul wrote just a Shesher Kobita by Rabindranath Tagore). The week- understand hip-hop mathemati- Kumari is best known for her rebellion, my escape. I think learn- Shook at the festival. “The single line in the dream sequence saying ‘I saw her in my long theatrical retreat will end on Friday with Agni aur cally. However she also said that it collaboration with notable artists ing to navigate both worlds with really inspired me to level up,” she dreams’, but I’ve developed it fully as a scene.” Barkha. didn't really have a huge platform including Gwen Stefani, Iggy authenticity has helped me become said. L The theatre festival gained traction on just its sec- L

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ustralia coach Justin Langer AMonday expressed surprise that the ICC had rated the Perth pitch 'average', saying Test cricket becomes "boring" in the absence of balance between bat and ball. "I was really surprised (about Perth rating). A couple of deliveries stayed low, but I thought it was entertaining Test. unbelievable Test innings. He's That was the fastest pitch I've a great player and great bowlers ever seen in Perth and I've been get out the great batsmen. there a long time," he said. Australia will have a deci- About the Melbourne sion to make as all-rounder Cricket Ground, venue for the Mitchell Marsh looks poised to third Test, he offered caution get in the side in place of Peter knowing how the pitch plays out Handscomb who has looked out over the course of five days. of sorts. "It's great to see some grass. "In a perfectly balanced side I've said forever the most impor- you have someone who can tant thing in Test cricket are the bowl some overs so Mitch [OQ  pitches. If you have great pitch- becomes an attractive com- es you'll have contest between modity on a wicket, unlike play like that it will be better for the responsibility," he added. first innings at Perth — and said his bat and ball, then Test cricket Adelaide and Perth were we team. Personal milestones can be Coach Ravi Shastri on Sunday visualisation has really helped him will be alive and well. knew it would be an even con- ndian vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane achieved later as well. stressed on the opportunity to secure counterattack the opponents. "If we play on flat wickets test. was on Monday confidence per- "I am really happy (to return here the four-Test series after being placed "Batting at 4 or 5, sometimes you then it becomes a boring game "Our pacers had been lucky, Isonified, saying his rhythm and for Boxing Day Test). We all know J 1-1 with two matches still to play. have to think 1-2 steps ahead of the and that's from someone who they have bowled less overs counter-attacking mindset could help how big it is and to come here at 1-1 Rahane said that it is important to game and think of the counter attack. loves Test cricket. Hopefully it's than the Indians at the moment, him rack up not just a ton but a dou- is really good. We had our chances in learn from the past, but more impor- So visualization helps me in that," he a contest between bat and ball particularly Jasprit Bumrah, and ble at the Boxing Day Test. Perth but it is important to stay in the tant to take the next two Tests session said. because it's important, not just the more we can look after Rahane has hit two fifties in his present right now and give our best by session. "It comes naturally because I am for this series but also for world those guys the better. It will 164 runs from the first two Tests but starting from December 26." "I do believe in momentum espe- an attacking batsman ... Reading the cricket." come down to that decision," a three-figure score has eluded him Rahane said the batting unit cially while playing cricket. We had situation is really important because Langer was full of praise for Langer added. since scoring a century against Sri needs to step up and support the some great chances to dominate the we all know the Australian attack can Nathan Lyon who has taken 16 He said that the duo has Lanka in Colombo last year. bowlers if they are to win consistent- Perth Test and result would have been come really hard at us. The best option wickets in two Tests, and has their own strengths, but the final "I am sure it will come in this ly overseas. and support our bowling unit results different. to go in the middle and putting them been a pivotal member of the call will be made keeping the match. The way I am batting, from India lost 1-2 to South Africa will be different," Rahane told "In Test cricket you have to grab on the backfoot. attack. balance of the side in mind. Adelaide to Perth, the mindset I was before suffering a 1-4 defeat against reporters on Monday. small little opportunities. From now "Counter-attacking in Perth was He talked up his duel with "We weight up all those in to counter attack and the rhythm England this year, mainly due to the "Yes we played some good crick- on it's two match series for us. We got completely my own decision. The way Kohli, whom Lyon has dis- things. Pete's a very good play- I was batting in, maybe 100 or even batting line-up's failure to produce et but right now it is important to start nice break after second Test, which I was visualizing I was thinking about missed seven times in Test crick- er of spin bowling and Mitch is 200 can come," said the 30-year-old. consistent performances. well and giving your best in each and was so necessary. We are starting what are the important shots on that et. a good player of spin too. They "I think it is more important for "As a batting unit we must support every session, because the game can afresh," he said. particular wicket. You have to take that "I hope it's 11 by the end of are the hard decisions. You gen- me not to think about it. I have to con- the bowlers. Since South Africa tour change in a session. We need some Rahane has scored two half-cen- risk and you have to be brave to take the series because we know erally talk about one position tinue batting the way I am. I can read Indian bowlers consistently got oppo- good batting in these two Tests and I turies in the series — 70 in the sec- that call because it can go either way," Virat is another level. That hun- and they are the ones that give the situation a bit better and if I can sition out twice. If we batters play well am sure the batsmen will take this ond innings at Adelaide and 50 in the he said. dred in the first innings is an you the most headaches." I ,*  . + -  prepared to wear his heart on his emerged as a key bowler for the IPL sleeve and like all professional team. He parted ways with Bangalore ustralia skipper Tim Paine athletes, hates to lose," he said. ustralian pace spearhead Mitchell in February last year before being Asaid on Monday he is "rel- "I like the way Virat plays. I AStarc has described Virat Kohli as picked by Kolkata Knight Riders early ishing going head-to-head" with don't know him personally but a "fantastic captain", having shared the this year. his Indian counterpart Virat I've always admired -- not only dressing room with the India captain Starc, though, was ruled out of the Kohli in a Test series and looked his obvious skill as a player -- but while representing Royal Challengers 2018 IPL season due to injury and was forward to "intense, hard" crick- the passion and aggression he Bangalore in the Indian Premier released from KKR last month. et in the Boxing Day game at plays with. People like to see that League. On Sunday, Indian coach Ravi Melbourne. and he gets fans through the Kohli's on-field heated exchanges Shastri called "an absolute gentleman", The pair had heated gates." with Australia skipper Tim Paine in the while former Australian opener exchanges in the second Test at Meanwhile, Australian second Test turned out to be a subject Matthew Hayden suggested Kohli was Perth, prompting the umpire to coach Justin Langer said all- of discussion with many former play- more Australian than Indian in many intervene. Australia won the rounder Mitch Marsh is "an ers, including Mitchell Johnson, criti- ways. game to level the four-match attractive commodity" and cising the batting maestro's behaviour. Kohli also received the backing of series at 1-1. remains in contention for a However, Starc backed Kohli. Australia coach and Paine himself, Paine said he understands return to the Boxing Day Test "I've played a couple of IPLs with who said he relished his war of that Kohli never liked to lose. because of the MCG pitch. Virat and he's been fantastic to play words with the combative Indian. "A lot was made of my bat- "In a perfectly balanced side under, as a captain," Starc told India and Australia are tle with Virat in the second Test,  you'll have someone who can reporters. currently tied 1-1 in the and for the past few years when bowl some overs so Mitch "Obviously, he's a fantastic player. four-match series after topsy- I haven't been playing interna- "Now to be out in the mid- Paine said he was not becomes an attractive com- The way India play this series and go turvy contests in Adelaide and tional cricket, he was one guy I dle going head-to-head with annoyed "in the slightest" by modity on a wicket probably about their cricket, it's up to them." Perth. The two teams will face off in the loved watching," he said in a col- him in a Test series is something Kohli. unlike Adelaide and Perth," he Starc, who was bought by Royal third Test on December 26 at the icon- umn for 'Herald Sun'. I'm really relishing." "Virat is someone who is said. Challengers Bangalore in 2014, had  ic Melbourne Cricket Ground. E) ))  ]N The squad is also an indicator that till the World Cup, all doors are closed ew Zealand and Sri Lanka ahendra Singh Dhoni was on for Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane Nboth have unfinished busi- MMonday brought back to India's and premier spinner R Ashwin. ness when they head into the T20 squad to ensure he gets "enough The other senior bowler Ravindra series-deciding second Test in game-time" before the ODI World Cup Jadeja, however after a good show in the Christchurch on Wednesday. but the young Rishabh Pant was axed Asia Cup, is in the mix with first choice The home side have put the from the 50-over side for the upcom- wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav and frustration of the drawn first ing series against Australia and New Yuzvendra Chahal. Test aside as they push to win a Zealand. Left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed fourth consecutive series for the While Dhoni's inclusion in the has impressed the team management first time. shortest format came as a surprise after enough and if all goes well, will surely Sri Lanka are equally deter- he was dropped for the Australia leg just board the UK-bound flight. mined to show the epic part- last month, Pant's omission is an indi- India are currently engaged in a Test nership by Angelo Mathews cation that he is currently not in the series against Australia and will play and Kusal Mendis to save the team management's 2019 World Cup three ODIs against them starting in match in Wellington last week radar as a first XI player. Sydney. was no fluke. The convenor of selection com- This will be followed by a limited- "We got so much confi-  mittee, Amitabh Chaudhary, refused to overs engagement with New Zealand, dence from that game for this comment on the matter but a source beginning with five ODIs from January game," wicketkeeper Niroshan target of winning a fourth con- The Hagley Oval wicket tra- privy to the development justified the 23. Dickwella said during nets prac- secutive Test series. ditionally offers pace and 37-year-old Dhoni's selection. tice on Monday, ahead of the In their 88-year Test histo- bounce and both New Zealand "Since there are only eight ODIs ODI against Australia and New Boxing Day Test on what ry they have won three consec- and Sri Lanka voiced the impor- (three against Australia and five against     promises to be a green wicket. utive series on only four occa- tance of winning the toss and New Zealand), selectors want to give MS Zealand: Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit "If we get some movement sions. bowling first. as much game time as possible (before sion to bring back Dhoni is set to raise he added. Sharma (VC), KL Rahul, Shikhar here our bowlers will do the job But having put down the Neither side has finalised the World Cup). Three T20Is means 11 a few eyebrows as the logic given Interestingly, skipper Virat Kohli, Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh and they know what areas they West Indies, England and their playing XI, and while international matches through the next before the Australia T20s was that he when asked about Dhoni's T20 omis- Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni must bowl at. Unlike in the sub- Pakistan over the past year, changes are unlikely, the empha- one month," a BCCI official said. was not going to be in the scheme of sion in November, had stated that the (WK), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, continent we have to bowl fuller and posting 578 in their sole sis for the fast bowlers could be Pant, on the other hand, will come things for the T20 World Cup in veteran had offered to give up the for- Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, here." New Zealand went into innings in the first Test against less on the short-pitched deliv- back to play five ODIs against England Australia in 2020. The former captain mat so that Pant could be groomed for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, the two-Test series with a Sri Lanka, they sense a historic eries New Zealand used to Lions in India from January 23. is already retired from the Test format. the job. Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Shami. chance to move to number two fourth is within reach. pound Sri Lanka with in The 16-member squad for the twin "That's the reason Rishabh is a part "...He (Dhoni) just feels that in the T20I series against New Zealand: in the world rankings if they "We're very proud of our Wellington. ODI series against Australia (starting of T20 squad. Also now with Kedar T20 format, someone like Rishabh can Virat Kohli(Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), won both Tests. home record and I guess that's The last time New Zealand January 12) and New Zealand (starting (Jadhav) and Hardik (Pandya) are fit get more chances," Kohli had said last KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh That opportunity dissolved one of the challenges now," and Sri Lanka played at Hagley January 23) is pretty much the core team and Kedar being an off break bowler, it month. Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, in Wellington with the heroics batting coach Craig McMillan Oval, in the 2014 Boxing Day for the World Cup in England that starts will be difficult for the team manage- From the last T20 squad, Shreyas MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, of Mathews and Mendis, as well said. "This is a one-off Test Test, the tourists won the toss May 30. The three T20 Internationals ment to fit in Rishabh in playing XI in Iyer and Manish Pandey have been Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, as the rain which washed out match and with the series on the and bowled first only for New against the Kiwis are lined up from the World Cup unless someone gets dropped as Hardik expectedly made a Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar most of the final day, leaving line there's a lot for the side to Zealand to win by eight wick- February 6. injured. Already Dinesh Karthik and KL comeback and Kedar was also includ- Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel New Zealand with their next play for. ets. The selection committee's deci- Rahul are there in case MS gets injured," ed to give him more game time. Ahmed.

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