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THE SUNDAY EXPRESSMAGAZINE CHANGE BEGINS AT KOLKATA,LATECITY THE DOOR JANUARY31,2021 As home spaces turn 14PAGES,`5.00 multifunctional, alook at the (EX-KOLKATA`7,`12INNORTHEASTSTATES&ANDAMAN) evolution of the drawing room DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI,JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM PAGES 10, 11, 12 BUDGETPMatTO BEall-pTABLEDarTOMORROWtymeet:Offertopausefarmlaws stillontable,AgriMinisterjustphonecallaway

Catch Red Fort culprits, if innocent framed, stir will grow: Azad An investigation team at the blastsitenear the Israeli This assurance came afteral- lawwill take itsown course.” EmbassyinNew Delhi on Saturday. Praveen Khanna MANOJCG&LIZMATHEW mostthe entireOpposition, Condemning the RedFortin- NEWDELHI,JANUARY30 whichhad boycottedthe cident, Azad said the culprits President’s address yesterday, should be punished but “it DAYAFTER BLAST NEAR EMBASSY WITH THE Budget session of raisedthe farm protests issue. seems that the Government in- Parliament getting under way, Many,including theCongress, stead of catching the real cul- Bomb used military PrimeMinister NarendraModi demandedthe repeal of the laws prits, is trying to implicatethe Saturdaychaired an all-party and adiscussion in Parliament. farmer leaders.” meeting wherehesaid the Leader of Opposition in Rajya “I don’t think that anysensi- BKU leader Rakesh Tikait’s Government’soffer to keep the Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad ble farmer leader wasparty to emotional appeal went viral grade explosive; implementation of the three flaggedFIRs being filedagainst that incident at the RedFort,”he on social media. ANI file farm laws on hold for18months farm union leaders in connec- reportedlysaid. “Therewere is still on the table. And that tion with the Republic Dayvio- some lumpen elementswho Israel envoy says AgricultureMinisterNarendra lence in Delhi.Leaders likeCPM’s had done it and those lumpen el- Tikaitvideo President RamNathKovind, Prime MinisterNarendraModi, Singh Tomar is justaphone call Elamaram Kareem, too, raised ementsshould be caught and Defence MinisterRajnath Singh at Rajghat on Saturday. PTI away fortaking forwardtalks the FIR issue. To whichthe Prime punishedseverely. All of us, who effect: Govt probing with India with protesting farmer unions. Ministerreportedlysaid:“The CONTINUEDONPAGE2 snaps internet 5identified DEEPTIMANTIWARY& P5 at all three SHUBHAJITROY at Red Fort protestsites NEWDELHI,JANUARY30 ADAY afteralow intensity ex- have criminal plosiontook place near the SUKRITABARUAH& Israeli embassyinNew Delhi, THEEXPRESS records in DEEPTIMANTIWARY Israel’s ambassador RonMalka NEWDELHI,JANUARY30 said Indian and Israeli agencies INTERVIEW were working together “tofind Punjab: probe RON MALKA SHORTLYAFTER avideoofa out what happened, who is ISRAEL’S AMBASSADOR weeping Rakesh Tikait went vi- standing behind this”. The ralonsocial media galvanising SundayExpress haslearned that

MAHENDERSINGH morefarmers from Haryana investigators have found clues ED MANRAL and western UP to join the whichpoint to asophisticated NEWDELHI,JANUARY30 protests,the MinistryofHome attempt at launchingacoordi- 29years& Affairs Saturdayextendedthe nated international attackwith PLAIN E ● roadahead INITIALINVESTIGATION by the suspension of the internetin the aim of sending amessage. EX Delhi Police intothe vandalism the capital’s border areas to in- Sources in the security estab- at RedFortbyasection of farm clude all protestsites:Singhu, lishmentsaid preliminaryforen- THE INCIDENT comesata protesters who veered offthe Ghazipur,Tikriand their adjoin- sic examination of the siteand time when India and Israel designated routeonRepublic ing localities. the bomb have revealed thatthe aremarking 29 years of Dayhas indicated that at least The ban, ostensiblyto"main- explosive usedwas PETN. Amil- formal ties,and arelook- five of thoseidentifiedhavecrim- Protesting farmers and their supporters at the Ghazipur border on Saturday. Amit Mehra MOREREPORTS,PAGE5 tain public safetyand avertemer- itarygrade explosive,PETN is not ing to strengthenties fur- inal records in Punjaband were gency," will be until 11 pm on easilyavailable and has been ther.While the2012attack pickedupbystate police earlier, January 31.OnJanuary26, inter- usedinthe pastbygroups such on an Israeli diplomat in sources told TheSundayExpress. netservices herehad been sus- as Al Qaeda formaking bombs. New Delhi hadpointedto Raids areontoarrestthem, EXPRESS NETWORK pendedfrom12noontomidnight. Investigators have also found an Iranian hand, this probe sources said. Roadsblocked but Ghazipur numbers Telecom service providers remains of a“Hi-Watt” 9volt toowill look at everypos- An estimated 1,000 people, FACING INTERNET arebound by their licenceagree- battery“fortransistorradios” sibility.India’s ties with on 30-40 tractors and around 150 swell, many show up with rations,water mentstocomplywithsuchgov- from the blastsite. Suchbatter- Iran arealso strategic given motorcycles andcars, had CURBS,KHAPS ernment orders. ies, sources said, have been used thatChabahar grants it ac- forciblyentered RedFortprem- TURN TO TEMPLE on tractors and trucks loaded when she sawTikait weeping on The January26ban had been earlier in bombs assembledby cesstoAfghanistanand ises,wheretheychased and as- LOUDSPEAKERS IN JIGNASASINHA with rations and waterbottles. TV.Policecan't arrest him,he extendeduntil January27. the Indian Mujahideen and even Central Asia. saulted policemen, looted their HARYANA NEWDELHI,JANUARY30 Subodh Kumar,afarmer didn't do anything wrong. Ihave Following this, the internet CONTINUEDONPAGE2 anti-riotgear, held some hostage from Khanjarpurwho came to some vegetables and rice with speedhad been significantlyre- inside apublic toiletand van- AFTER DECADES, ADAY aftertheyattendedthe theDelhi-UP border with three me… Iwill cook or donate it at ducedintheseareas. But after dalisedthe ticket counter,ac- Muzaffarnagar mahapanchayat friends, bought tarps and wires the langar.Wewill also help the Ghazipur tension and the cording to an FIR basedonacom- TIKAITSOFWESTU.P. to rallybehind BKU leader alongthe wayand setupatent farmers withthe seva by clean- fact that farmers’ rankshaveonly POCSO verdict: SC plaint by SHO (Kotwali) Rituraj. TAKE CENTRESTAGE Rakesh Tikait, hundredsoffarm- near the flyoveratthe border. ing roads,” he said. swelledafter Tikait’s outburst, Sources said that afterscan- IN CAPITAL AGAIN ers from villages in Uttar Pradesh “Weare heretostay. My wife With the numbers swelling the nethas been suspended ning footagefromseveral CCTV PAGE 5 and Haryana showedupatthe and children aretaking careof at the border,BKU and Rashtriya again, sources said. collegium set to CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Ghazipur protestsiteSaturday — the farm now. She also wept CONTINUEDONPAGE2 CONTINUEDONPAGE2 withhold promotion Chirag invited for NDA TURF WAR ESCALATES IN BENGAL of Bombay HC judge SUNDAY Day after quitting TMC,ex-minister STORY meet, skips citing ‘health’ Justice Ganediwala faces extended PAGE 6 after JD(U) protests flies to Delhiwith rebels to join BJP probation forher take on sexual assault weighing itsoptions to either EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE APURVAVISHWANATH& send the judgebacktothe district LIZMATHEW& KOLKATA,NEWDELHI, ANANTHAKRISHNANG judiciaryfromwhereshe wasel- HARIKISHANSHARMA JANUARY30 NEWDELHI,JANUARY30 evated in February2019orex- NEWDELHI,JANUARY30 tend her probationbyacoupleof ‘Unwell, in INTENSIFYINGTHE turf warbe- THE SUPREME CourtCollegium years— and addedthat it is more PUTTINGTHE ruling BJPinaspot, self-isolation’ tween the ruling TMC and the is settowithdraw itsrecommen- likelytotakethe latter option. itsBihar ally Janata Dal (United) BJP ahead of the assemblyelec- dation to appoint additional In the past, the Supreme objectedto itsmovetoinviteLok tions in West Bengal, former judgeofthe BombayHigh Court Court’s unique in-house mech- Janshakti Party(LJP) to Saturday's On January20, Parliamentary state ministerRajib Banerjee, Justice Pushpa VGanediwala as anism of appointing judges has NDAmeetingchaired by Prime Affairs MinisterPralhadJoshi sent who quit the TMC Friday, apermanent judgeofthe court made indirect interventions — MinisterNarendraModi. alettertoPaswan requestinghim reachedDelhi along with some afteraclose scrutinyoftwo of from tacit requests forresigna- A to Z of Sources said that on Friday, to attendthe NDAmeeting to dis- rebelMLAsand leaders on aspe- her recent verdictsfor their con- tions to ensuring alternative what to the BJP hadtorequestLJP presi- cuss “important issues and busi- cial flight Saturday. Theymet Aftermeeting Amit Shah in NewDelhi, Saturday. Amit Mehra troversial interpretation of sex- quasi-judicial appointments— dent Chirag Paswan, son of the ness forthe ensuing Budget ses- Union Home MinisterAmit Shah ual assault underthe Protection while handling concerns on the expect late RamVilas Paswan,not to at- sion of theParliament.” and will be formallyinducted of Children from Sexual Offences conduct of non-permanenthigh tend the meeting afterJD(U) On Saturday, afterheskipped intothe party at aHowrahevent Baishali Dalmiya, former Parthasarathi Chattopadhyay Act, 2012 (POCSO) Act. courtjudges. Monday made it clear it would stay away the meeting, Paswan told Sunday. Howrah MayorRathin and actor Rudranil Ghosh Sources told TheSunday It is learnt that by breaking if Paswan waspresent. CONTINUEDONPAGE2 MLAs Prabir Ghosal and Chakraborty,former TMCMLA CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Express that thecollegium is CONTINUEDONPAGE2 In bamboo clone crash barriers, acost-effective road safety solution Nagpur-based VNITexpertsworkondesign,Gadkari rainfalland everything,” he said. that humansand animals cannot “Our departmentsofCivil Bamboo Crash barriers aretypically stray into highways, and livesare Engineeringand Applied says letfarmers makemoneyfromBeema bamboo Built-Up meanttoprevent vehicles from saved,” Gadkari said, adding that Mechanics areworking on this. Support going offhighways andshould hewillalsoappealto IITsandother We willbetestinghowmuchload (VNIT), Nagpur,are workingon “Iamafarmermyself.Myidea therebeanaccident, the barrier engineeringinstitutesto comeup the structurecan take,and other AVISHEKGDASTIDAR the design using Beema bamboo isthatif we aretoinstallcrashbar- willcushion the impact and min- with suchlow-cost solutions us- variables of the proposeddesign NEWDELHI,JANUARY30 —the local product of mainly riers worthRs25,000 croreper imise the chance of fatality to the ing natural,indigenous materials usingcomputersimulation.Once Karnataka and adjoining areas. year in highway projects, letthat extent possible. that farmers can grow. thatissettled,we willgo foractual WHATCOULD be an inexpensive “Wehaverecentlygiven the moneygotothe country’s farm- Sources said conventional Beema or Bheema bamboo is installation on highways foron- yeteffective alternative to steel task to VNIT to work on it.Iwant ers. So Ihaveasked theexperts to crash barriers made of metaland atype of bamboo engineered to sitetesting,” Padole said. barrierstohelpreduce accident farmers to grow the Beema bam- preparethis,” he said. alloymay costaround Rs 2,000 beastronger, fast-growingandtall Around 1.5lakh people die deaths on highways? Maybe boo, and the road sector will use Alongwithawarenessanden- per metre. The bamboobarrier is clone of the traditional bamboo everyyear in close to 5lakh road bambooand coir. it. Right nowtheycostaround forcement,hesaidroaddesign,in- Bamboo likelytocostafraction of that. foundintheIndiansubcontinent, accidentsinIndia.Overathirdof Crashbarriersmadeof Beema Rs4,000perton.Therewillbefive cluding installation of crash bar- Built-Up Around 5per centofthe costof especially theNorth-East.Thisva- those accidents happenonthe bambooandcoirarebeingdevel- feet fencingofthe bamboo in- riers, areestablishedpractices to Rafter the entirebouquetofworkin- rietygrowswellinsouthernIndia. highways.Currently, India is en- opedasalow-cost solution asthe stalleddeep intoconcreteslabs enhance road safety. volvedinmaking India’s high- In the current iterationofthe gagedinaproject to remove acci- Centrelooksforinnovative,newer and held together by strong coir But will suchstructures be ways go intoroad furniture. designof theBeemacrashbarrier dent-prone “blackspots”and rec- ways to bring down fatalitiesand ropes. That is the basic design,” durable and weather-proof?“Of “Wewilluse jute, coir and being developed, the costisesti- tifyroaddesignsonhighwayswith mishaps on roads. Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for course. Go to theNorth-Eastand CRASH BARRIER MADE OF BEEMA BAMBOOS suchmaterial,notplastic.Thatwill mated to beone-third of conven- loansto thetuneof Rs14,000crore ExpertsfromtheVisvesvaraya Road Transport and Highways, youwill see howstrongbamboo Conceptual sketchbyDeptofApplied Mechanics, VNIT benefitfarmers.We willusethem tional metalbarriers, VNIT direc- fromtheAsianDevelopmentBank National InstituteofTechnology told The SundayExpress. structures withstand extreme in allaccess-control highways, so torPramod Padole said. and WorldBank. Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 2 THE SECOND PAGE THE SUNDAY EXPRESS,JANUARY31,2021

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Tikait video effect government is helping, but we have more additional judgeisneither givenanexten- protesters now,”hesaid. sion nor promotedasapermanent judge, This has been coupledwith heavy de- Agroup of RLD workers, farmers said, PM at all-party meet: offer to pause farm laws she demitsoffice automatically. However, ployment of security forces at Singhu and also sent vegetables from Muzaffarnagar in the case of ajudgeelevatedfromthe Ghazipur borders whichhavealso seen and nearbyvillages. statejudiciary, as is the case with Justice clashes between “locals” and protesters in With Delhi Police and UP Police having still on table, Agri Minister just phone call away Ganediwala, the judgemay have to return the lastcouple of days. sealedalmostfour routes leading to the to the previous office as adistrict judge. Internet, voice, as well as other broad- border,farmers aretravelling via the were watching television, including police, The Prime Minister’s statement is sig- While BJD’s Pinaki Misrademanded band telecom services, can be suspended Amroha-Ghaziabad road or Mohan Nagar security forces and intelligence agencies, nificant as the government had been silent that the long pending Women’s Reservation citing public safetyand security,either by in Ghaziabad to reachthe protestsite— have seen those culpritsonTV. However, in on resumption of talkssince the violence Bill should be takenand passed–hefound Israel envoy the Department of Telecommunications navigating through three layers of barri- the name of violence on January26, if inno- on Republic Dayand the forcible entryat supportfromTRS’s KKeshavRao and the Lashkar-e-Toiba. The IM though mostly (DoT) or by the order of an officer of the cading on the highway and other roads. cent farmer leaders areframed, then this RedFort. In fact, afterthe RedFortincident, YSRCP’s VVijayasai Reddy –CPM’s Kareem usedeasilyavailable ammonium nitrateas rank of Joint Secretaryorabove,authorised By Saturdayafternoon, roads adjacent agitation will grow exponentiallywhichthe senior Government officials had indicated raisedthe anti-conversion laws in UP that, the explosive in itsbombs. by the Centreorthe statehome secretary to the flyoverwerepackedwith protesters Government will notbeable to manage,” “therewas notmuchtodiscuss.” he said, aremeant to deterinter-faith mar- The IED, it is learned, waspackedwith in case of “unavoidable circumstances”. and langar stalls. he said. But the UP government's attempt to riage. ball bearings in acan and droppedina ApartfromDelhi, internethas also been Shouting slogans in supportofTikait, Azad also demandedthat the evict the farmers from the protestsiteatthe Leaders of manysmaller parties includ- flowerpotacross the road from the Israel suspendedinatleast17districtsof farmers said theyhavecalledtheir relatives Government bring aBill in Parliament im- Ghazipur border Thursdaynight has given ing TDP,TRS, YSRCPand Akali Dal argued embassy on Dr APJAbdul Kalam Road. Haryana, including the Delhi-bordering and friends to the border.“We don't want mediatelyfor restoration of statehood of afresh lease of lifetothe agitation with theydon’t getadequatetime to speak dur- The explosion took place shortlyafter districtsofJhajjar,Palwal and Sonipat, all Tikait sahab to weep again. Police will con- Jammu and Kashmir. moreand morefarmers from Western UP - ing debates. In his reply, Modi said that fre- 5pmFriday, damaging afew vehicles within a2-hour driving distance from tinue to harass us; theyhaveblockedal- The Prime Ministertold the leaders the -drawing from the politicallysignificant Jat quent disruptions meant smaller parties parkednearby. Hours later,abomb planted Central Delhi. mostall routes but theycan't stop farmers government has an “open mind” on the community –joining the protests. sufferand largerparties should ensurethere near the Israel embassy in Paris wasalso Internetservices in the NCRwerelast who areready to protestherefor ayear.I farm laws.“He said that the government's The Prime Ministeralso told leaders that arenodisruptions and that smaller parties discovered. This has ledinvestigators to suspendedinDecember 2019,during the told my friends to come and join the stand is the same as it wasonJanuary22, the government is open to adetaileddis- areable to voice their views in Parliament. look at the possibility of this being an at- anti-CAA protests.Acting on aDelhi Police protest. We will makeweeklytrips to take and the proposal givenbythe Agriculture cussion on issues raisedintoday’s meeting. Misrasaid the Parliament should notbe temptatlaunching acoordinated attack order,telecom operators had snappedall careofour farms, or our wivesand children Ministerstill stands,” an official statement He reaffirmedthe importance of the disruptedasthis would effectively give the againstIsraeli establishments. services, including voice and SMS, forfour will stay there. Fornow,weneedmore said. smooth functioning of Parliament and com- ruling party afreepass. While ShivSena’s Asimilar series of eventshad taken hours, between 9amand 1pm, on people heretofight," said Rakesh Gautam, ParliamentaryAffairs MinisterPralhad prehensive debates on the floor of the VinayRawat demandedfreeCovid vacci- place during the attackonanIsraeli diplo- December 19,2019. afarmer from Shamli. Joshi, who waspresent at the meeting, un- House. Therewas aconsensus that nation forall BPL families and UT status for mat’s car in NewDelhi in 2012.Onthe Snapping the internetwill hit the Anil Chaudhary, asugarcane farmer derlinedthis: “In the 11th Centre-farmer Parliament mustbeallowedtofunction BelgauminKarnataka, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva same day, abomb had been found under a protests.For,all coordination between vil- from Meerut who joinedthe protestearly negotiations, we had said that the govern- smoothly. raisedthe attackson Tamil fishermen by the car parkednear Israel’s embassy in Georgia lages and the protestsite, mobilisation of in the morning, said, “Weweretold to get ment is open fordiscussion. The Prime The Opposition demandeddiscussions Sri Lankan Navy. while an attacktook place near the Israel eventsand personnel aredone via videos vegetables from our villagefor the langar. Ministerhas said that the Agriculture on severalissues including: the ongoing YSRCP’s Reddy demandedspecial cate- embassy in Thailand. An Iranian group was on social media or sent via WhatsApp. We came from Mohan Nagarbecause po- Ministersaid he is justaphone call away… tension with China at the borders; fuel price gorystatus forAndhraPradesh and said the then suspected to have carriedout all three The Tikait video setoff mobilisation lice don't letanyone enter from other di- wheneveryou give acall he is ready fordis- rise, ballooning unemployment and the inter-linking of rivers mustbemade ana- attacks,but Iranian officials deniedany role across Haryana prompting severalkhap rections. We have also told our friends to cussion. The PM told the political party lead- economic slowdown. tional project wherein riverflowmustbe in the incidents. panchayats to give acall forfarmers to bring food via that route." ers that the offerstill stands good.” TMC’sSudip Bandyopadhyaysaid that checkedevery 15 days. “Heretoo, the suspicion is on some move to Delhi in large numbers. In Punjab, In abid to break the protracted dead- some 20 Opposition parties had boycotted The Prime Ministercondemnedthe Iranian group. But involvement of the too, severalpanchayats passedresolutions lock, the Government had proposedthat it the President’s address whichisastrong desecration of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in Islamic StateorAlQaeda cannotberuled asking people to send one person from Chirag invited could suspend the laws for18months and messagefor the Government to withdraw the US and said suchanatmosphereofhate out. Access to PETN suggests involvement everyvillage. In all these cases, WhatsApp The SundayExpress:“Icould notattendthe form acommittee to address the issues the the farm laws. is neverwelcome in today’s world. Sources of either atrans-national terror group or a messages, audios and videos have played meeting due to my health. Iwas feeling un- farmers have raised. However, farm union He said the Prime Ministermustcon- said manyleaders congratulatedthe Prime group sponsored by aState.The blastwas akey role. well so Ihavekeptmyself in the self-isola- leaders rejectedthe offerand remainedfirm vene ameeting of all party leaders on the Ministerfor the successful rollout of the deliberatelykeptlow intensity as the aim, Indeed, since the sit-in startedin tion.” on their demand forthe laws’repeal. protests and discuss the issue. Covid vaccination drive. it appears, wastosend amessage,” asecu- November,protesters at the three sites Incidentally, the meeting wasvirtual. rity establishment officer said. have also usedsocial media to fight what Joshi, in his January20letter, had said Incidentally, aletterinanenvelope ad- theycall “misinformation” and “biased” that the link forthe meeting will be shared ‘5 identified at Red Fort have criminal records in Punjab’ dressed“to Israel Embassy ambassador” coverage in sections of the media. Young in “due course.” wasfound at the siteofthe Fridayexplo- men and women recording Facebook lives Speaking to The SundayExpress cameras, police have identifiedsome and arrested 84 persons. plan to break the security agreement sion.The letter contains athreat, and de- is acommon sight at the protestsites, and Saturday, JD(U)'s senior leader KCTyagi men. “Details on the background of five to On Saturday, aforensic team reached reachedbetween the police and farm scribes the explosion as a“trailer”, sources severalTwitter handles from among the said: “The Prime Ministerhimself declared six of them have been verifiedwith RedForttocollect evidence. Sources also leaders forthe tractor rally. said. It also refers to two“Iranian martyrs”, protesters have become popular online in Bihar that the Nitish Kumar-ledNDA has Punjab Police. Some have an attempt to said probeofficers aretrying to getde- The Delhi Police has issuedaLookout Qasem Soleimani and Dr Mohsen sources on the protests with addresses by BJP,JD(U), VIP (Vikassheel Insaan Party) murder case in the past, while others have tails of tractors using their registration Notice againstseveral farmer leaders and Fakhrizadeh. farm leaders being streamedinreal time. and HAM (Hindustani Awam Morcha). BJP been arrested over brawls,” said asource. numbers. “Wewill trace the owners and their passports will be seizedinthe days MajGen Soleimani, assassinated in a “Manymedia houses run state-spon- president JPNadda had categoricallysaid Sources also said some violent protest- summon them forquestioning. We will ahead, asenior officer said. United States drone strikeinJanuary2020, sored propaganda. Thereare senior jour- it wasthe NDA…In Bihar,this alliance just ers have been identifiedasresidentsof also matchtheir details using aface “Wehaverecoveredmorethan 1,700 wasIran’s mostpowerful general, the com- nalists with alarge numbers of followers scrapedthrough. Howcan Chirag, who at- Delhi and police arecollecting evidence recognition system,” said asenior police CCTVclips and footagefromgovernment mander of the Quds Forceofthe elite puttingupmisinformation through their tacked the NDAsofiercely, be partofNDA before making arrests. officer. agencies is also being retrieved. Ateam Islamic RevolutionaryGuardCorps. online handles. In that situation, social me- now?” Additional PRO(Delhi Police) Anil In astatement releasedThursday, po- from Forensic University,Gujarat has been Fakhrizadeh, assassinated lastNovember, dia is our onlyway to communicatewith Paswan’s LJP quit the NDAinBihar just Mittal said theyhavesofar registered38 lice had alleged that the protesters had a calledintoanalysethe videos,” asenior wasIran’s topnuclear scientist. Tehran sus- alarge number of people to counter this,” ahead of the election objecting to the BJP’s cases in connection with the farmers’ rally, “pre-conceivedand well-coordinated” police officer said. pectshewas killedbyIsrael using are- said GaramneetMangat, acommittee decision to fight the election under the mote-controlledweapon. member of the Ghazipur Kisan Andolan leadership of Nitish Kumar.The LJP,which Sources said multiple agencies have Committee. campaignedintenselyagainstKumar,con- emerging newworld order,” said Joshi. when ajudge’s actions arecloselyscruti- The High Court’s recommendation was been pressedintoaction with considerable There's apersonal purpose, too. Many tested almostall the constituencies where “He said this decade is very important, nisedbut also send astrong messageto takenupagain in January2019with the help from Israel’s intelligence establish- have been at the protestsites foralmost JD(U) had itscandidates. But he praised justlikethe decade afterWorld War judges to abide by judicial propriety. collegiumcomprisingformer CJI Ranjan ment. twomonths nowand theysay video calls Modi and sought votes in his name. II…and unlikeinthe past, we arenot go- “The onlyissue that wasflagged before Gogoi, former Justice AK Sikri and (then) “The CCTVcameras trainedonthat with families backhome arethe onlyway Forall the noise, the LJP wononlyone ing to be amutespectator.Wewill rise to the collegium wasthat of the quality of the Justice SABobde. stretchwerenot working. Agencies have to stay connected.That has been inter- seat but itscampaign againstNitish is con- the occasion basedonour traditions and judgmentsand nothing more. Thereisno This time, on January16, 2019,the col- triedtoscan other CCTVcamerafeeds from rupted, theysaid. sidered to have playedarole in pulling ideals of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the PM question about the judge’s probity or in- legium said: “Having regard to all relevant across the road, but the visuals aretoo down the JD(U) from 71 to 43 seats. said.” tegrity,” asource told TheSundayExpress. factors, the Collegiumisofthe considered grainy to come to anyconclusion. DNA Afterthe alliance won, JD(U) said the On January19, Justice Ganediwala ac- viewthat Smt. PVGanediwala, Judicial of- samples have been takenfromthe letter Roads blocked LJP cannotbetaken backinthe NDAatany quitted aman of sexual assault on the ficer,issuitable forbeing appointed as even as telecom towerdumps arebeing Lok Dal (RLD) workers also sent waterand cost. Indeed, BJP leaders came out against TMC ex-minister grounds that pressing the breasts of achild Judgeofthe BombayHigh Court.” analysed,” another officer said. food forfarmers. Deshpal Singh, amem- Chirag Paswan, who, manybelievedwas accompaniedBanerjee to Delhi. over her clothes without direct “skin to The SundayExpress haslearntthatthe Meanwhile, Israel’s ambassador Ron berofBKU,who runs one of the langars on prompted by the BJP to ensurethat “Nitish BJP general secretaryKailash skin” physical contact does notconstitute collegium receivedtwo strong notesofdis- Malka, in an interviewtoThe Sunday NH-24, said, “Earlier,wewerecooking for wascut to size.” Vijayvargiya, who is the party in-charge for “sexual assault” under the Protection of sent from consultee-judges of the Bombay Express,saidthatthere hadbeen “threats” over 1,000 people. Now, Ithink thereare The NDAhas lostits traditional allies West Bengal, confirmedthe meeting of the Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) High CourtJustices AMKhanwilkar and D in the lastfew weeksand the embassy was morethan 3,000farmers. My familymem- ShivSena and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaderswithShahand said they would join Act. YChandrachud. Despitethese, the col- on aheightenedstate of alert, and prepared bers have also joinedthe protest. Everyone as well as the Hanuman Beniwal-ledRLP. the party Sunday. Saying that Section 8ofPOCSO provides legium sent itsrecommendation and she forsuchattacks. is giving us ration, and we have calledtwo Both SADand RLP walked out over the Earlier,beforeleaving forDelhi, forstringent punishment of five years’ of wassubsequentlyappointed as additional “Weare notscared,and no one can de- morecooksfromShamli to help prepare farm laws. Banerjee said: “AfterIresignedasMLA and rigorous imprisonment, she observed that judge. terus, and we aregoing to continue to the langar.” In the meeting, Modi urgedallies to gave up my primarymembership of the “stricter proof and serious allegations are “Even then the issue wasthe merit of thrive and to grow,and even to expand the Singh said his brothers send five trac- counter the Opposition on issues likefarm TMC yesterday, Igot acall from Amit Shah required”. So the man wasconvicted “un- her judgments. It seemedthat the judge relations between Israel and India because tors from Baghpat and Shamli everyday, laws.“The PM said that afterthe pandemic, whoinvited me to Delhi forameeting to- der minor offence u/s 354ofIPC and sen- had moreexperience in teaching rather if this wasthe target…Soagain, they'renot with 5,000 watercans in eachvehicle. anew worldorder is about to take shape day. Partyleader Kailash Vijayvargiyaalso tencedtoundergo RI,” the judgesaid. The than in legal practice,” said asource. going to achieve it, because youknowyes- “There's shortage of waterhere. The Delhi and India has abig role to playinthe reachedout to me. Ifelt Ishould respond to maximum sentence is five years and the Although three mostsenior judges of terday when this evil attackwas con- Amit Shah's appeal. Therefore, Ihavede- minimum one year foranoffence under the SC, headedbythe CJI, form the col- ducted,wejustcelebrated the 29th an- cidedtomeethim today. Aftermeeting this section. On January27, the Supreme legium that decides on appointment of niversaryfor the establishment of foreign him, Iwill join the BJP.Iwill always work Courtstayedthis order. judges to HCs, judges familiar with the diplomatic relations between Israel and Gorakhpur cops register Kafeel forthe development of the state.” Born in 1969 at Paratwada in working of particular High Courts arecon- India… So it might notbeacoincidence. “For the development of Bengal, both Maharashtra’s Amravati district, Justice sulted fortheir views. But it might be.” Khan as ahistory-sheeter the stateand Centremustworktogether. Ganediwala wasdirectlyelevatedasadis- Additional judges to High Courts areap- Malka did notblame anycountryor At present, it is the needofthe hour to join trictjudge in 2007.She wasapanel advo- pointed either from the Bar directlyorstate grouping forthe blast, and indicated that being done on criminals and ahistory sheet the BJP.Iwant nothing but development catefor banksand insurance companies judiciaryunder Article 224(1) of the the Israeli intelligence agency,Mossad, was MANISHSAHU is being openedagainstthose, including me, forthe stateand itspeople. So whatever and also taught in various colleges in Constitution foraperiod notexceeding working with Indian agencies to investi- LUCKNOW, JANUARY30 who areinnocent”. role is assignedtome, Iwill accept,” he Amravati and the Amravati University. twoyears. gate the incident. “Give twosecurity guards to me who will said. Forappointment as additional judgeof The ageofretirement foradditional Underlining that the investigation is in GORAKHPUR POLICE have registeredDr keep surveillance on me round-the-clockso Banerjee and the other leaders aretobe the BombayHigh Court, Justice judges of high courts is also 62 years. itsearly stages, he said: “Weneedtoun- Kafeel Khan -- asuspendedpaediatrician that Icould be savedfromgetting framedin formallyinducted intothe BJP at aparty Ganediwala’s name wasfirstrecom- Additional judgeposts areconstitutionally derstand what happenedthere. Take the seeking his reinstatement at the BRD false cases. Since Ihavebeen freedfrom(jail programme at Dumurjala stadium in mendedbythe High CourtinNovember intendedtodeal with the “increasedbur- pieces, build the puzzle pieces of informa- Medical Collegeand Hospital -- as ahistory- under) the NSA(National Security Act), Iam Howrah Sunday. Union MinisterSmriti 2017 and came up before the SC collegium den of the court” but areincreasingly used tion from different places, evidence from sheeter, saying that the legal action will en- regularly writing to them (government) Irani will be at the event whereShah too in September 2018 along with five other as probationaryperiods forjudges before the scene. So we aregathering all together, surethat he remains under police surveil- everymonth to return my job so that Icould will address party workers via virtual judicial officers from the state. The col- theyare promotedaspermanent judges. joint effort of Israeli security authorities lance. serve children and the countryasadoctor,” mode. legium deferredher candidature. This is because once ajudgeismade a and Indian security authorities. And Ithink Circle officer,Gorakhpur,VirendraPratap he said. The paediatrician wasarrestedalong In December,former stateminister “As regardsSmt. P.V. Ganediwala, permanent judge, constitutional immunity that together,weare going to find out what Singh confirmedthe history sheethas been with other doctors and staffmembers after Suvendu Adhikari quit the TMC and joined Judicial Officer…having regard to the ma- kicks in to protect them forremovalfrom happened, who is standing behind this openedatRajghat police station. As per severalchildren dieddue to lackofoxygen the BJP along with Bardhaman Purba MP terial on recordand all relevant factors, her office -- under the constitution, impeach- and, of course, to bring him to justice.” Rajghat police station record, the history at the BRD Medical Collegeand Hospital in Sunil Kumar Mondal, nine MLAs and sev- case deserves to be deferredfor some time. ment of the judgeisthe onlyprocess to re- He said besides the Foreign Ministers sheetnumber is 50-Awith five cases against 2017.However, he waslater cleared of all eral others at aMidnaporerallyinthe pres- The proposal would be takenupfor con- move ajudgeofaconstitutional courtfrom and Foreign Secretaries, National Security Dr Khan, including three in Gorakhpur and charges. But aftergetting bail in April 2018, ence of Shah. sideration by the Collegium aftersome office. Advisor Ajit DovalspoketoIsrael’s NSA one eachinDelhi and Aligarh. Dr Khan wasarrestedinSeptember that year time,” said thecollegium statement on District judges aresubjected to the dis- Meir Ben-Shabbat and gave assurances Following the move,DrKhan, who has forallegedly creating nuisance at the district September 11,2018. ciplinaryjurisdiction of the high courtbut that India is going to take all measures earlier alleged “state-sponsored victimisa- hospital in Bahraich--his familyclaimedhe POCSO verdict The three-member collegium at that thereisnomechanism to scrutinise per- neededtoprotect Israeli representativesin tion”, said in avideo on Saturdaythat “the had gone thereafter receiving information this convention, the collegium could not time comprisedofthen CJI Dipak Misra, formance of apermanent judge. India and will fulfil a“full investigation that situation in UP is suchthat no surveillance is that children had died. onlyset aprecedent fordirect intervention Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Madan Lokur. If amember of the Bar appointed as an will makeout what happenedhere”.

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THESUNDAYEXPRESS,JANUARY31,2021 3 WEST BENGAL BRIEFLY Battlingexodusofministers, Matuas upset with Amit Shah’s cancelled state visit; next date Mamatashiftsfocustoparty within 48 hours, promises BJP Spending moretime on organisation, shaping election campaign: TMC leaders Saffron party misleading community over CAA,claims TMC Indrajit Deb diedofa cardiac arrest meetings with senior leaders. On them citizenship. The BJP got EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Friday, she chaired ameeting EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Matua votes and got an MP KOLKATA,JANUARY30 with MPs, MLAs and leaders at KOLKATA,JANUARY30 elected from that area. But her home in Kalighat in south Matuas have votercards. The Bengaliactor CHIEF MINISTER Mamata Kolkata. Sources in the TMC said THE MATUAcommunity on stategovernment hasgiven Banerjee has been concentrating that suchmeetings would nowbe Saturdayexpresseddismayafter them ration cards. Theyare al- IndrajitDeb moreonthe dailyactivities of held regularly. Union Home MinisterAmit Shah ready citizens. The stategovern- Trinamool Congress (TMC) lead- “She is planning everything. cancelledhis public meetings in ment gave them land deeds. If diesat73 ers and the party’s campaign over She is keeping an eyeonthe pub- Matua strongholds Thakurnagar Amit Shah wastoarrivein theyare notcitizens howcould the pastmonth, TMC leaders in lic statementsmade by leaders. and Bongaon in North24 the stateonSaturday theyget land deeds? The BJP Kolkata: VeteranBengali the knowsaid on Saturday. The CM is implementing aroster Parganas district. misledthem forvotes.” actor Indrajit Deb died Sources said that while earlier forevery leader.She has asked To placatethe community, On Shah's cancelledrallies, hereonSaturdayfollow- the chief ministerconcentrated MPs and Cabinetministers to give BJP national vice-president comprise around 20 per cent of Mukherjee said, “Matuas pinned ing acardiac arrest,family on government work and regular moretime to the campaign. She Mukul Royand other party lead- the statepopulation and hold their hopes on the Union minis- memberssaid. He was73. administrative meetings, agroup has asked all leaders to hit the ers rushedtoThakurnagar and sway in around 35 to 40 terand the BJP.Bothfailedthem. He had losthis wifeayear of senior leaderslooked afterthe streetsfromFebruaryand take on promisedthat the revisedsched- Assemblyseats. Theyare disappointed.They backand the couple did party’s dailyactivities. At present, Chief MinisterMamataBanerjee is also looking into the BJP.She is personallykeeping ule of Shah's trip to the state Royand other BJP leaders thought Amit Shah will solve the nothavechildren. Deb Banerjee is looking intothe small- grievances of some TMC leaders. File atab on all 294Assemblyseatsin would be announcedinthe next held talkswith Matua represen- citizenship issue. But he is citing wasalso suffering from estdetails of the party’s grassroots the state. It is likethe old days,” 48 hours. Shah, who wassched- tatives, including Bongaon BJP the Covid situation.The BJP has chronic obstructive pul- campaign. said aTMC MP who attendedthe uledtohold public meetings on MP Shantanu Thakur,in duped Matuas.” monarydisease (COPD) “So far, her concen- Banerjee. sonallybut also preparing an al- Kalighat meeting. Saturdayand Sunday, deferred Thakurnagar.When the meeting Listing stategovernment's and kidneyailment fora tration wasonproviding The shiftinfocus has ternative to leaders and MLAs It is learnt that Banerjee her- his visit at the eleventh hour wason, agroup protestedthe ab- welfareschemes forMatuas, the long time and diedathis good governance to the come at atime the BJP is who have leftorare suspected self has decidedtoaddress more with the stateBJP citing“un- sence of Shah. SeveralMatuas ministerremindedthem of a Golparkresidence in the people of Bengal. She trying to getseveral would leave soon. She has al- public meetings. The parliamen- avoidable circumstances” and had come to Thakurnagar from close relationship between Chief southern partofthe city, gave moretime as a Cabinetministers and ready put in place an alternative tarian added, “She is personally the “situation in Delhi” as rea- different parts of Bengal. MinisterMamataBanerjee and the familymembers said. chief minister. But in the DECISION MLAs over to itsside. listofleaders, ones better com- looking intothe details of the sons. Meanwhile, the TMC accused lateBinapani Devi, known as Deb had startedhis career pastmonth, things have 2021 While the TMC chair- paredtothose who have leftor campaign —what our leaders Matuas had expected Shah to the BJP of misleading Matuas on 'BoroMaa', the matriarch of the in apopular TV serial, changed.Now,she is WEST person has said that will leave.Some of the MLAs should saytothe public, howthey clear the air on the implementa- the issue of citizenship. community. 'TeroParbon', and played spending moretime on BENGAL those seeking to leave who have leftwould nothavegot will reachout to the people. She tion of the Citizenship In apress conference in Another TMC leader and for- an important role in the party.She is notonly the party should do so ticketsfromthe TMC this time,” has also clarifiedthe points Amendment Act(CAA). Matuas Kolkata, statePanchayat mer MP from Bongaon, Mamata 'KaruanamoyeeRani infusing confidence in immediately, she is also said aTMC leader. through whichwewill target the belong to the ScheduledCaste MinisterSubrataMukherjee Bala Thakur,said, “Amit Shah Rasmoni' and the webse- the rank and file, but is also per- personallylooking intothe gen- Since lastweek,Banerjee has BJP,its divisive politics and that its community and trace their an- said, “They(Matuas) arealready skippedthe rallybecause he has ries 'The Adventures of sonallylooking intograssroots- uine grievances of asection of startedchairing closed-door leadership is notonlyfull of out- cestrytoEastBengal. Manyen- citizens of the country. But the nothing to say. Thereisnodate Gogol'. Actress Sudipta levelpolitics in the districts,” said the leadership. “Not onlythat meetings with party leaders from siders to the statebut has no clue teredWestBengal afterPartition. BJP wooedthem during the Lok fixedfor implementation of the Chakraborty expressed asenior TMC leader close to she is listening to grievances per- eachdistrict. She has also held about our culture.” Matua leaders claim that they Sabha polls saying it would grant CAA.” grief over the demise of Deb, describing him as a childhood mentor. PTI GODSE FANS TRYING TO FOMENT UNREST:CPM Redesign EVMs, count more paper Threearrested trails for fair polls: Civil society group with6pistols, independence between soft- 12magazines EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE The Citizens’ ware and hardware, E2E verifi- KOLKATA,JANUARY30 able systems with provable Kolkata: KolkataPolice ar- Committee on Elections guarantees of correctness must rested three persons, in- AHEAD OF stateelections in said the EVMs “should be introducedand the ECI must cluding one woman, on West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, be redesignedtobe declareits publicly-verifiable Saturdayand seizedarms Tamil Nadu and Puducherry this guarantees againstspurious vote and ammunition from year,acivil society group, the softwareand hardware injections”. their possession, asenior Citizens’ Committee on independent” The committee said re- officer said. While one Elections, on Saturdaycalledon designing of the VVPAT system man and awoman were the Election Commission of India wasessential to “provide aslot arrested from the city's (ECI) to redesign Electronic parency.” forthe voter to physicallyverify Babughat bus stand area, Voting Machines (EVMs) to en- In astatement, the commit- that the VVPAT paper slips reflect the thirdperson was surethat votes polledare teesaid therewere“no guaran- exactlyher/his choice, forwhich pickedupfromBaruipur recordedinthe machine as in- tees that voters’ choice has been the ECI’s current DRE-based in the South 24 Parganas tendedbythe electorate. reflected with total fidelity in all EVMs mayrequireanoverhaul”. districts, he said. Atotal of The group, formedlastyear cases”. It said, “Besides, domain The Citizens’ Committee on six 9mmimprovisedpis- afterquestions were raised experts have clearly stated that Elections is chaired by former tols and 12 magazines about the integrity of EVMs, said the present ‘quality assurance’ Supreme CourtjudgeMadan were seizedfromthe pos- the Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit and testing strategies of the ECI Lokur.Former Chief Information session of the man and Trail (VVPAT)systemshould be certainlydonot rule out the Commissioner Wajahat the woman, the officer usedmoretoaudit the votes cast. scope formischief or manoeu- Habibullah is the vice-chair, said. "The twoweretry- Former IAS officer Jahar Sarkar, vring of results.” while the other members are ing to deliverthe arms who has served as the chief of The civil society group said former Madras HC judgeHari and ammunition to the the statepoll body,said on be- the “electronic voting system Paranthaman, economistArun other one arrested from half of the committee, “The should be redesignedtobesoft- Kumar,activistJohn Dayal, jour- Baruipur.The duo was Election Commission said earlier ware and hardwareindepend- nalistPamela Philipose, IIT-Delhi coming from Bihar's Congress and Leftleaders at aKolkatarallyonSaturdaytomarkthe death anniversaryofMahatma Gandhi. Express that the VVPAT ballots of one ent in order to be verifiable or au- professor Dr Subhashis Banerjee, Bhagalpur," the IPS officer machine in eachconstituency ditable”. It added, “Toensure former IAS officer Sundar Burra. said. Apreliminaryinves- will be counted,whichthe tigation revealedthat the ■ The Congress and the ■ CPI(M) Politburomember ■ LeftFront chairperson ■ The Leftand the Congress Supreme Courtincreasedto man is aresident of CPI(M) organisedajoint rally Mohammad Salim said the Biman Bose said, “The BJP will contestthe upcoming five EVMs. We aresaying that Greater Kolkata Region Basirhat while the in KolkataSaturdayand TMC and the BJP were two always worshippedNathuram Assemblypolls together,and number is also notsufficient 3, Middleton Row,Kolkata-700071 woman is the wifeofthe attackedthe BJP and the TMC sides of the same coin, Godse. Now, theyare areinvolvedinseat-sharing and it should be as manyas PUBLIC NOTICE man nabbed from in the same breath. The rally pointing out that the ruling worshipping Netaji Subhash talks. Theyhavealready possible to maintain trans- As per Gazette Notification issued by Government of India, e-AndhraBank (e- Baruipur,hesaid. Acase startedfromRamlila Maidan party’s leaders were now ChandraBose to provetheir reachedanunderstanding AB)and e-Corporation Bank (e-CB) were merged with Union Bank of India (UBI) with wasstarted at the Maidan and concludedatthe Gandhi lining up to join the patriotism. Theyare trying to on 193ofthe state’s 294 effect from 01.04.2020. Police Station and the Ashram at Beleghatahere. saffron outfit. createunrestinBengal.” Assemblyseats. SITUATION VACANT In view of the above, following branchesare to be rationalized. Full-fledged three persons were The Institute for Academic commencement of co-located operation at retainedBranch will start from booked under the Arms Excellence (Self-financed B.Ed. 01.02.2021. Act, he added. “Further College) At.- Imampatna, P.O.- Branch to be Rationalized Branch to be Retained Address of Retained Branch raids and searches arebe- BARUIPUR BRANCH(3401) Lohabaranchak, Dist.- Paschim Ground Floor,Nibaran Dutta Main Road, ing conducted forthe re- Opp. BSNL Exchange, Shivani Bridge Medinipur,Pin- 721437, requires AMTALA (e-CB) AMTALA (UBI) Amtala,Dist:24 Paraganas (S), PIN- following post of Asst. Prof. (i) covery of morearms and 743503 Baruipur,Kolkata -700 144 Foundation Course -1Post (ii) CF-335, Sector-I, Salt Lake City, ammunition. We are SALTLAKE CITY (UBI) SALTLAKE CITY (e-CB) Appendix IV under the Act -rule-8(1) Possession Notice (For ImmovableProperty) Pedagogy of English -1post of Bidhannagar,Kolkata-700 064 hopeful to arrest more B.Ed Section as per NCTE norms. 1st Floor,Rajarhat Greens, Near people linked to this Whereasthe undersigned being the Authorized Officer of the Canara Bank under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Apply sharp with Bio-data&self- RAJARHAT(UBI) RAJARHAT(e-CB) Rajarhat Thana,Rajarhat Main Road, group,” he said. PTI Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (Act 54 of 2002) (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) and in attested testimonials, 2copies Kolkata-700 135 exercise of power conferred under Section13(12) read with Rule 3ofthe Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules 2002, issued photo within 7th February -2021 We are committed for uninterrupted services during the intermittent period in this Demand Notice/s callingupon the borrowers to repay the amount mentioned in the Notice within 60 days from the date of through e-mail id : relocation and assure you of our best service. Kidnapped [email protected], receipt of the said Notice. For any clarification/assistance, please contact the Branch. Chairman Kolkata,31.01.2021 RegionalHead childrescued The Borrowers, Legal Heirs/ Guarantor of the borrower having failed to repay the amount, Notice is hereby given to the Borrowers, Legal Heirs/ Guarantor of the borrower and the public in general that the undersigned has taken possession of the Head Office: Baroda Office Baroda Bhavan, R. C. Dutt Road, Alkapuri, Baroda, 390007 inJharkhand properties described herein below in exercise of powers conferred on him/ her under Section 13(4) of the said Act read with Zonal Office: Eastern Zonal Office Baroda Towers, 5th &6th Floor, E-AUCTION Rule 8and 9ofthe said rules on the dates mentioned below. Plot- GN-38/2, Saltlake City,Sector -V,Kolkata-700091 Kolkata: KolkataPolice on The Borrowers, Legal Heirs/ Guarantor of the borrower in particular and the public in general are hereby cautioned not to deal Regional Office: Kolkata Metro Region, Baroda Towers, 5th &6th Floor,Plot-GN-38/2, Saltlake City,Sector-V,Kolkata-700091. SALE NOTICE Saturdaysaid it has res- with the properties and any dealings with the properties will be subject to the charge of the Canara Bank for the amount Branch Office: ROSARB KMR, 4, Brabourne Road, Kolkata -700 001 cuedachild, who had mentioned hereunder and interest, costs etc. thereon. PUBLIC NOTICE FOR E-AUCTION FOR SALE OF MOVABLE PROPERTIES been kidnappedfromthe The borrower’s/legal heir's attention is invited to the provisions of Section 13(8) of the Act, in respect of time available, to LAST DATE &TIME OF SUBMISSION OF EMD (Earnest Money) AND DOCUMENTS (HARD COPY /Online) 09.03.2021 UPTO5:00 PM city,inneighbouring redeem the secured assets. Hypothecated car taken possession by Bank will be sold in e-auction on 10.03.2021 between 01.00 PM to 03.00 PM (with unlimited extension of 5Min). Jharkhand'sMarkacho Whereas Bank of Baroda had taken possession of the following property in the following loan accounts with our Branch with aright to sell the same on “AS IS WHERE IS BASIS AND AS IS Brief particulars of the secured properties, borrowers, Notices &dues etc. area and arrested one WHATISBASIS” for realization of Bank’sdues.The sale will be done by the undersigned through e-auction platform provided at the website: https://bob.auctiontiger.net . i. Date &Amount of person. The kidnapping Name of borrowers, Name of Description of the Vehicle (The Reserve Price (Rs.) Sl. Notice u/s 13(2) Description of the Immovable Property Branch and Authorised EMD Submission Date/ Time of happenedinthe early Legal Heirs and Guarantor the Vehicle is under Physical EMD No. ii. Date of possession Officer’s details Account Details E-Auction hours of Monday, when Borrower Possession) Bid Increase Amount 1. Borrower: Sanjeeb Adhikary i. Dated: 12.11.2020 All that part and parcel of Land with single storied the child wassleeping ROSARB KMR: 4, Brabourne Subasish Hypothecation of vehicle (Make: Maruti Rs. 2,75,000/- A/c No.59940015181219 10.03.2021 (Deceased), Prop.: Ram Amount: residential building with land area of 2cottah 8chittaks with his parentsonthe Road, Kolkata -700 001 Email: Deb and Model: Swift Dzire VDI, BS IV ------A/c Name: New Intermediary Account. between 01.00 Narayan Day Cutting Rs.13,72,825.00 9sq.ft. in the name of Dulal ChandraAdhikary at JLNo. footpath in Kolkata's [email protected] Chassis, Engine No. D13A2216352, Rs. 27,500/- Name of the Beneficiary: P.M. to 03.00 P.M. Legal Heir and Guarantor Mr. (Rupees Thirteen Lakh 17, Khatian No. 251, R/S No. 840, Dag No. 58, Mouza- Registration No. WB02AE3167, Bank of Baroda, ROSARB (with unlimited Kareya, police said. Authorised Officer: ------Dulal Chandra Adhikary, S/o Seventy TwoThousand Beralia, under Mallickpur Gram Panchayat, Dist. South Name: Sri Prem Prakash Chassis No. MA3FJEB1S00396079.), Rs. 10000/- IFSC Code: BARB0SARKOL extension of 5 "Going by the complaint Late Girish Chandra Adhikary,and Eight Hundred Twenty 24 Pgs., Butted and Bounded by: on the North: Road, Mob. No. 8874153222 Year of Make: 2013. (Fifth character is Zero) Minutes) of the parentsand check- Legal Heir Mrs. Manu Adhikary, Five only) and interest on the South: Vacant Land, on the East: House of W/o Mr.Dulal ChandraAdhikary and costs thereon. Mukul Naskar and on the West: House of Ganesh TERMS &CONDITIONS: ing the CCTVfootage,we 1. The e-Auction is being held on “AS IS WHERE IS BASISANDAS IS WHATISBASIS”. ii. 29.01.2021 Adhikary. identifiedthe person, 2. DATE &TIME OF E-AUCTION:10.03.2021 between 01.00 P.M. to 03.00 P.M. (with unlimited extension of 5Minutes) whohad come in acar 2. Borrower: Sri Bishwajit Das, i. Dated: 25.09.2020 All that part and parcel of property of Sri Bishwajit Das 3. Vehicle may be inspected after contacting ROSARB KMR branch and pickedupthe child. Prop of M/s Sefali Egg Centre Amount: (Borrower and Mortgagor) measuring 218 Sq.ft. Shop, 4.The Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) of the successful bidder shall be retained towards part sale consideration and the EMD of unsuccessful bidders shall be refunded.The Earnest Money Deposit Aftertracing his location, Rs.22,40,286.17 RSKhatian- 258, Dag No. 25, Touzi No. 156, JL No. 5 shall not bear any interest. The successful bidder shall have to deposit 25% of the sale price, immediately on acceptance of bid price by the Bank and the balance of the sale price on or before 15th day of sale or within such extended period as agreed upon in writing and solely at the discretion of the Bank. Default in deposit of amount by the successful bidder would entail forfeiture of the whole araid wasconducted at (Rupees Twenty Two RS,Mouza- Sarberia,Vill. Beliachandi, P.O. Lakh Forty Thousand Gocharan, P.S. Jaynagar,Dist. South 24 Pgs., Pin- money,already deposited and vehicle shall be put to re-auction and the defaulting bidder shall have no claim/ right in respect of vehicle/ amount. his residence, but by that 5. To the best of knowledge and information of the Bank, there is no encumbrance on the vehicle. However,the intending bidders should make their own independent inquiries regarding the TwoHundred Eighty Six 743391. The said property is bounded by on the North: time he had already left encumbrances, relevant papers of vehicle put on auction and claims/ rights/ dues/ affecting the vehicle, prior to submitting their bid. The e-Auction advertisement does not constitute and will not be and Paisa Seventeen Pond, Vikram Charan Ghosh, on the South: Common forJharkhand," apolice deemed to constitute any commitment or any representation of the Bank. The vehicle is being sold with all the existing and future encumbrances whether known or unknown to the Bank. The Bank/ only) plus interest & passage/ Kulpi Road, on the East: Garage of Haradhan Secured Creditor shall not be responsible in any way for any third party claims/ rights/ dues. [Note- If there is any encumbrance known to the Bank, it should be informed.] officer said. With the other expenses from Mandal and on the West: Vacant Land,Tapasi Hazra. 6.This publication is also a15days’notice to all the borrower/guarantors required under Rule 8(6)/6(2) of Security Interest Enforcement Rules 2002. help of Jharkhand Police, 01.07.2020 The intended bidders who have deposited the EMD and require assistance in creating Login ID &Password, uploading data, submitting bid, training on e-bidding process etc., may contact M/S E- city police rescuedthe ii. 29.01.2021 Procurement Technologies Ltd, Help Line No: Mr.Prakash Chaudhary (8460706833), 079-40005418, Help Line e-mail ID: [email protected] ,[email protected] and for any child and arrested the In case of any difference the English version of notice will prevail over the Bengali version. vehicle related query may contact the ROSARB KMR during the office hours on any working days. man. PTI FOR DETAILED TERMAND CONDITIONS PLEASE REFER TOOUR WEBSITE www.bankofbaroda.co.in and https://bob.auctiontiger.net Date :29.01.2021, Place :Baruipur Authorised Officer,Canara Bank Date: 31.01.2021, Place: Kolkata Authorised Officer

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11 dead as 3vehiclescollide in UP Fathers kidnapped, Lucknow: Elevenpeople were Speaking to mediapersons, killedand 14 injured afterthree Moradabad District Magistrate vehicles collidedonthe (DM) Rakesh Kumar Singh said, unwell son, sleepless Moradabad-Agra Highway in “A private bus wascoming from SOUTHERN POWER DISTRIBUTION COMPANY OF TELANGANA LTD. Moradabad district on Saturday Bilari side, whichcollidedwith a e-Procurement Tender Notice morning. Police said presence of truckand amini truck… The CM daughter await return TSSPDCL intends to float tenders for procurement of (a) 8Mtrs PSCC poles (Medak Circle), (b) Gl wire 4 dense foginthe morning ledto has announcedacompensation Martyrs of CISF on 31stJanuary mm, (c) Gl stay wire 7/3.15mm (d) Gl stay wire 7/2.5 mm, (e) 11KV 20/5A CTPT Sets of 0.2S (f) 11KV 40/5ACTPT Sets of 0.2S (g) 3-Ph 63 KVADTRs with BIS Level-3 (h) 3Ph 100KVADTRs with BIS Level-3 theaccident,whichtookplaceun- of Rs 2lakh forthe families of the (i) 10Cx2.5 sq.mm CC Cable (j) New T/F Oil (Type-ll) on e-procurement platform AND e-Auction for der the Kundarki police station deceasedandRs50,000forthein- ABHISHEKSAHA Survey reported (a) scrapped vehicles, (b) 21 Nos. PTR scrap. limits. jured.” ENS GUWAHATI,JANUARY30 For further details of each item above, please visit www.tssouthernpower.com, www.tender.telangana.aov.in and www.auction.telangana.gov.in. Phone:040-23431319, 1033, 1035, 1026,1448. Sd/-(K.NARASIMHA SWAMY) OVER Amonth aftertheywere R.O. No.:1415-PP/CL-AGENCY/ADVT/1/2020-21 CHIEF GENERAL MANAGER (P&MM) kidnappedbymilitantsofthe ULFA-Iand the NSCN,oil drilling companyemployees Ram PK Gogoi and RamKumar CT/Dvr RAM KISHORE CT/GD RAMSHANKAR RAI Kumar,whose five-year-old son HEP URI-1 HEP URI-1 suffers from blood cancer,and 31-01-1994 31-01-1994 PK Gogoi, whose 13-year-old is from Bihar’s Khagaria district. CISF proudly remembers the supreme sacrifice of these brave- daughter is passing sleepless Ramkumar Diwakar,the fa- hearts. On this day,they laid down their lives at the altar of duty nightsworrying forher father, ther-in-lawofKumar,from while fighting with militants. Their courage and bravery would remain captive. Samastipur in Bihar,told The remain an abiding source of inspiration for the force. The force The insurgentshavenow is- Indian Express the familywas will remain eternally indebted to them for their noblest deed. suedanultimatum amidstres- deeplyworried. “My 5-year-old cue operations by security grandchild AdityaRaj —Ram forces. In the evening hours of Kumar’s son —suffers from blood TENDER NOTICE December 21,Gogoi, adrilling cancer.Heisbeing treated at AI- superintendent at the Quippo IMS Patna forthe lastten months. TENDERSare hereby invited for the following items which we Oil and Gas Infrastructure RamKumar has another daugh- offer for sale during the period from 1st Feb 2021 to 31st March Limited,and Kumar,aradio op- terwho is onlyseven. Howcan 2021 from Saraswati Print Factory Pvt. Ltd. 789, Chowbhaga erator at the company, were kid- the familysurvive if he is killed (West) Near- China Mandir Kolkata-700105 Sealed tenders nappedbyaround adozen by the militants? Please under- should be addressed to: armedmilitantsfromadrilling stand our situation.” Dy.General Manager- Administration sitenear Innao in Changlang dis- Gogoi’s wifeNamitabroke The Indian Express Private Ltd. trict. Quippo is an assetand serv- down over the phone. She told NH-6, Mouza- Ankurhati &Prasastha, ice provider companythat pro- said, “My onlyprayer is that the PS- Domjur; Distt.- Howrah -711 409 vides onshoredrilling services. companyshould talk to the ab- Phone No. (033) 66043800/ 66043826 Gogoi belongs to Sivasagar ductors and ensurethat my hus- 1. Cut Waste (White +Pink) -43/45 GSM district in Assam, while Kumar band is releasedimmediately…” 2. Reel Ends (White +Pink) -43/45 GSM 3. Printed Waste 4. Old File Odisha scheme floated in 5. Old Book-let lockdown for urban poor 6. Empty Core 7, Sweepings to be made permanent 8. T/Wrapper 9. Core Plug (Plastic) Bhubaneswar:TheOdishagovernmentplanstocon- The tenderer will deposit earnest money of Rs. 5000/- for each vert an urban poor employment initiative launched of the item No. 1& 2, Rs. 2500/- for item No. 3, Rs. 1000/- duringthelockdownintoafull-fledgedschemefrom each for item No. 4to6,Rs. 500/- for item No. 7, 8&9 April this year.The Mukhyamantri Karma Tatpara The earnest money should be in Cash /Bank Draftand the Mother Dairy,aunit of KMF Bangalore is inviting E-Tenders Abhiyan, or ‘Mukta’, waslaunchedonApril tenders without earnest money will be considered invalid. for Supply of following items to Mother Dairy,B.lore ''IMPORTANT'' Cheque will not. be accepted. A. IFT.NO.MD/PUR/E-Proc T-179/2020-21 Date:15-01-2021 18 forsixmonthsbefore Whilst care is taken prior to being extendedfor an- Quotations must be under sealed cover and will be received by I. Supply on One Time Basis: 1) 10kg Tins for Packing Whole acceptance of advertising other six. Asum of Rs 04th Feb 2021 upto 4P.M. The tenders will be opened at 5 Milk Powder -80,800 Nos 2) 7Ply Corrugated Boxes copy,itisnot possible to verify 200crore wassanc- P.M. on. 9th Feb 2021. for Packing 10kg WMP Tins with Upper &Lower,Middle its contents. The Indian tionedofwhich, Rs 140 The undersigned reserves the right to accept or reject any or Partitions -40,400 Nos 3) Soldering of 10Kg WMP Tins Express (P) Limited cannot be held responsible for such crorehas been spent so all the tenders in full or in part without assigning any reason (Material+Labour) Job Work- 1Job Pre-bid Meeting for Supply contents, nor for any loss or far, UrbanDevelopment of Tins on 03-02-2021 at 11.00 am at Mother Dairy Board Room. and also reserves the right to distribute the quantities as deem damage incurred as aresult of Department officials fit. B. IFT.NO.MD/PUR/E-Proc T-166 Call-2/2020-21 Date:22-01-2021 transactions with companies, said. “The shceme will associations or individuals ACCEPTANCE OF QUOTATION IS ENTIRELY I.Supply on One Time Basis:1) Personal Computers (on buy be going to the Cabinet back policy)-30 Nos. The manufacturers, dealers or interested advertising in its newspapers AT MANAGEMENT'S DISCRETION. or Publications. We therefore and will come intoef- The last lot must be lifted by 31st March 2021. Otherwise eligible tenderers are requested to participate on-line only. recommend that readers fect from April 1,”G deposit will be forfeited. ALL PAYMENTS BY CASH/DEMAND For further details, Tender documents can be downloaded make necessary inquiries Mathi Vathanan, DRAFT ONLY. from the website https://eproc.karnataka.gov.in from before sending any monies or Principal Secretaryat 28-01-2021 and submitted on or before 11-02-2021 upto entering into any agreements Sd/- the department, said. 17.00 hrs. with advertisers or otherwise Dy.General Manager Sd/- Director, acting on an advertisement in ENS Administration Mother Dairy any manner whatsoever.

NOTICE BOARD CORPORATE ASSOCIATE DIARY APPOINTMENTS, MOVEMENTS,CELEBRATIONS,HONOURS

72ND REPUBLICDAY CELEBRATION AT BRAITHWAITE &CO. LTD. ‘‘STATEKHADI MELA-2021 Republic Day was celebrated in Braithwaite &Co. Ltd. on 26th January2021 with grandeur.Onthe occasion Shri Yatish Under the guidance &inspiration of Mamata Banerjee Hon’ble Kumar,Chairman &ManagingDirector hoisted the NationalFlag at CorporateOffice /Kolkata (Clive) Works &Victoria C.M. of West Bengal is to informyou that West Bengal Khadi & Works Premises. In the celebration, Sri Kalyan Kumar Coari, Director (Finance), all senior executives, trade-union Village Industries Board is going to organize “State Khadi Mela leaders, all sectionsofemployees gathered in large numbers and made it asuccess. –2021” at E.E.D.F.Hospital Ground, Taltala Maidan, 432, Prince Sri KalyanKumar Coariaddressing the gathering wished the employees on the occasion. He highlighted the importance Anwar Shah Road, Kolkata –700045 on and from 22.01.2021 to of Republic Day and said that the Indian Constitution is the largest in the World defining roles &responsibilities of 08.02.2021 with the view to provide marketing supporttoall citizens which unites all sections of society in India. Khadi institutions &V.I. units under the fold of WBKVIB &KVIC Addressing the gathering, Shri Yatish Kumar,Chairman &ManagingDirector explained the importance of Republic Day. with aview to promotethe marketing and sales of the Khadi &V.I. product. He said, though Shri Bhimrao Ambedkar is credited with writing Indian Constitution, the same was backed by concerted efforts of many people. Similarly,the successofBRAITHWAITE has been possible due to the concerted effort of all employees, operating trade-unions and management of the Company.Hecited that in-spite of the Pandemic of Covid- CS ANUJ SARASWAT ELECTED AS BANGIYAGRAMIN VIKAS BANK 19, employees of Braithwaite stood united and the financial performance of the Company has surpassed the figures of CHAIRMANOFICSIHOOGHLYCHAPTER last year.Hesaid that due to continuousintrospection, we have been able to make progress and pride &gloryof Health insurance have gained popularity and importance of late and in the COVID19 pandemic scenario and the common National Flag is held high. CS Anuj Saraswat has been elected as Chairman of people understood the need of health insurance. ManagingCommittee of HooghlyChapter of EIRCof With the objective to secure the health ofour customers through healthin- ICSI for the year 2021. He has alsoserved as Vice surance Bangiya Gramin Vikash Bank(BGVB), the largest Regional Rural FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE UCO BANK Chairman in the year 2020 and Treasurer in the year Bank of the state signs aMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) with 2017. Being amember of ICSI since 2014 he is actively one of the premier Stand Alone Health Insurance(SHAI) Company,Care Bank has made Net Profit of 35.44 Crore duringthe quarter ended December 2020 as againstNet Loss of 960.17 Crore
involved in membersand students activities and has a Health Insurance Limited on 23rd January2021.This company is aspe- in the quarter ended December 2019. vision of taking the flagofICSItonew heights. He also cialized health insurer offering products in the retail segment for Micro OperatingProfit of the Bank for the quarter December 2020 stood at `1334.40 Crore as against 1210.52 Crore for
holds aBachelor degree in Law,Master of Commerce Health Insurance Products for the Rural people and aComprehensive the quarter ended December 2019 registering agrowth of 10.23%. Operating Profit for the quarter is highest in last 23 and runs his independent practiceinthe name of A Set of Wellness Services at alow premium rate. quarters. Saraswat &Associates. CS Rahul Harshhas been ap- All of the customersof BGVB will now be able to avail of Health Insurancecoverage to themselves and theirfamily members Net Interest Income of the Bank for the quarter ended December 2020 has increased to 1407.15 Crore from
pointed as Vice Chairman and Manish Kumar at aminimal premium. On behalfofthe Bank ,the MoU signed by Sri Sudeep Das ,General Manager while Care Health Insur- 1236.59 Crore for the quarter ended December 2019 registering agrowth of 13.79%. Arisankala as Secretaryfor the same period. ance CompanyLtd. (CHIL) was represented by Sri Atul Sabharwal, Business Head ,Rural and Government Business of Care Other Income of the Bank for the quarter ended December 2020 stands at `864.38 Crore as against 743.47 Crore
Health Insurance Limited. for the quarter ended December 2019.
Total Business of the Bank has increased to 319218.28 Crore as on 31.12.2020 from 302241.63 Crore as on 31.12.2019 registering agrowth of 5.62%. CHETE PUTE -FOOD MELA-LEBUTALAPARK Total Deposits of the Bank has increased to 202421.04 Crore as on 31.12.2020 from 188436.99 Crore as on
Bengalis are always known as the best gourmet in the world. Keep- 31.12.2019 registering agrowth of 7.42%. ing this in mind the Themes Events and Samboi Samity arranged the CASA of the Bank stood at 38.17 %ason31.12.2020.
fifth year food bonanza festival known as 'Chete Pute' in the Santosh Savings Deposits of the Bank has increased to 68234.74 Crore as on 31.12.2020 from 61221.49 Crore as on
mitra square from 28thto31st Januarytiming 12 pm to 10 pm. The 31.12.2019 registering agrowth of 11.46 %. fair was inaugurated by the famous actor Shri Kharaj Mukhopad- Total Advances of the Bank stands at `116797.24 Crore as on 31.12.2020 as against 113804.65 Crore as on
hyay,singer Pandit Maller Ghosh and many more .The Mela ground will als have an special program in the memorable 31.12.2019 registeringagrowth of 2.63%.. of Shri Soumitra Chatterjee. Shri Sajal Ghosh from Samboi Samity and Shri Partha Pratim Saha from the Themes Events Gross NPAofthe Bank has reduced to `11440.47 Crore (9.80%) as on 31.12.2020 from 22139.65 Crore (19.45%)
are the main organisers for this mela. as on 31.12.2019 and from `13365.74 Crore (11.62%) REPUBLIC DAY2021 NIRI 9LAUNCHES WITH ABANG! SOUTH EASTERN RAILWAYCELEBRATES 72ND REPUBLIC DAY Sadhguru, Founder-Isha Foundation, in his Republic On 18th of January2021, first ever original OTTplatformof The 72nd Republic Day was celebrated at South EasternRailway’s Headquarters, Garden Reach yesterday (26.01.2021) Day 2021 Message, wants all the citizens to forge Northeast India was launched with much enthusiasm by with due solemnity.The whole programme was organizedmaintaininghealth protocols and social distancing. ahead with this one question in mind, -"What I'm doing renowned Assamese film personality,Shri AtulPachoni. NIRI 9 Sri Sanjay Kumar Mohanty,General Manager,South EasternRailway unfurled the National Tri-colour and took salute at the right now,isitgood for this nation?" is an Indian subscription video on demand (SVOD)streaming ceremonial parade presented by the contingents of Railway Protection Force and Civil Defence personnel. service which is producing freshoriginal content everyweek. Addressing the staffand officers of SER,Shri Mohantysaid that railway employees have been rendering commendable The launch event was graced by many renowned personalities of service duringthe Covid 19 pandemic.With aview to maintain uninterrupted supply of essential commodities i.e food grains, the region along with the teams of the various shows which will be medicines, medical equipments etc. railway have arranged to runabout 2200 Parcel Express Trains to differentparts of the premiering along with the app. The app was also broadcastedlive on Facebook to share with millions of fans who have been countrysofar. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has extended the deadline for submission of waiting eagerly for it to arrive in the market. NIRI 9isfocusing on promotingmulti-language content gatheredfrom applications for BAFTA Breakthrough India by two across states and countryincluding Assamese, Hindi, Bengali, Bodo, Odiya among many others.The app is currently avail- weeks, from 25 January2021 to 8February2021. The able for Androidand iOS and can be downloaded from Google Play Store and Apple Store, the subscription plans ranging India’s leading Ayurvedic personal care brand Medimix under Cholayil Private Limited has been awarded as initiative,supported by Netflix, generated aconsistently from Rs. 199 for 3months, Rs. 499 for 6months and Rs. 999 for 12 months.With acurrent list of more than 20 titles,in- one of the ‘Femina Power Brands 2020' by Femina India that recognizes brands' efforts of advancing towards a high flow of applications from all acrossIndia, leading to cludingNIRI 9original productions and productions from other neighboring states and countries, the on-demand service gender-neutral world.Medimix has alwaysbeen awomen centric brand, understanding their needs and creating an extension of the application deadlinebytwo weeks. would also have movies, music, shortfilms, animation, documentaries and docu-series. the quality products that are most relevant for them. It’s amatter of great significance that Ayurveda is gaining a The BAFTA Breakthrough India initiative marks BAFTA’s The launch of this app beginsanew day and afresh startfor Assamese entertainmentindustry, providing amuch- much deserved popularity in the recent past. Today’s youth is highly exposed and brands will not be able to hide arrival in India, showcasing and propelling the upcoming needed platformand hope and excitement among the peopleofthe region and the membersofthe industry, given the grim anything. Therefore the safeand natural products are need of the hour acrossthe categories. Medimix has been generation of creative talent in film, games and television year,everyone went through. Artists from across the countryhave come together in solidarity and supportfor the initia- able to strike achord amongstthe women with the cosmopolitanmind-set by offering great quality products globallyalongside talent selected from the UK, USA and tive taken by Smt. Junmoni Devi Khaund who is the Managing Director of the NIRI Media (OPC) Pvt. Ltd. in welcoming the made from natural ingredients and safe on the skin. China. fresh changeofpace in the industry.

EVENTS,ANNOUNCEMENTS,LAUNCHES,CSR INITIATIVES,APPOINTMENTS,MOVEMENTS,CELEBRATIONS

Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THESUNDAY EXPRESS,JANUARY31,2021 5 EXPRESS NETWORK Punjabseesprotestrevivalasmorepeople headfordoorsofDelhi;resolutionspassed

ANJUAGNIHOTRICHABA& Haryana khaps decide RAKHIJAGGA During the TirangaYatrain JALANDHAR,LUDHIANA, Ludhiana. GurmeetSingh JANUARY30 to use temple speakers

AFTER SEEMINGLYgoing on the BJP cancels backfootfollowing the violence to beat internet curbs Rakesh Tikait at the Ghazipur border on Saturday. ANI on Republic Dayduring the trac- torrallyinDelhi, farmers' unions highway in whichalarge number Tiranga Yatra of Punjab arenow witnessing a SUKHBIRSIWACH of women tooparticipated.The renewedvigour,with manyvil- CHANDIGARH,JANUARY30 newstrategy wasformulated af- after face-off lage-levelcommittees sending a terthe authorities triedtoremove After decades, large number of people –and not AS HARYANA government ex- farmers from Ghazipur border of with farm stir justfarmers –tosupportthe tendedthe mobile internetsus- UP-Delhi Thursdaynight. movement againstthe newagri- pension in state’s 17 districtsfor “If anysuchmoveisrepeated Tikaits of west UP supporters cultural laws. another day“to prevent anydis- anywhere,quickannouncements In severalvillages, people turbance of peace and public or- willbemadefromtheloudspeak- said theyweremoved by the der”, the farmers protesting ers of villagetemples asking the DIVYAGOYALGOPAL video of farm leader Rakesh againstthe agri laws hit upon an farmers to gather.Not onlythis, take centre stage LUDHIANA,JANUARY30 Tikait getting emotional over idea to bypass the ban. Theyhave thikri pehras will be undertaken howfarmers were being decidedtouse temple loudspeak- by the farmers in villages to re- TENSION PREVAILED in the Old brandedasterrorists.Theysaid ers to maketheir voice heardand main alertround the clock. We in capital again Cityareaof LudhianaSaturdayaf- severalfarm leaders in Punjab makemessages reachall villagers. mayplan blockageofroads, if the tertradersandshopkeepers,rais- neededtolearn from Tikait’s Farmers, their families at Mansa railway station to boarda During apanchayat, leaders of internetservices arenot restored ing slogans in supportofprotest- dedication. train to Delhi to join the protests. Express 17 khaps of Jind district decided early as the move is affecting on- LokDalticket,butcouldn’tsave his ing farmers, did notallowa Around 150vehicles pro- to form committees in eachofthe line studies of studentsahead of DAKSHPANWAR deposit. In 2007,hecontested TirangaYatrabytheBJPto proceed ceededtowardsDelhionSaturday 306villages in whichtheyhave exams,” said Azad Palwa, leader NEWDELHI,JANUARY30 fromKhatauliintheUPAssembly forcingthesaffronpartyto cancel fromPhagwaraundertheleader- paythe fine, the villagewill boy- ithasbeenstatedthatonevillager influenceto ensurequickreaction of Dhadan khap of Jind district. elections,butfinishedfifth.Infact, theprogramme.ThelocalBJPunit ship Kirpal Singh of Bharti Kisan cott that person. from eachhouse will go to Delhi in case government makes anyef- PalwaisalsoJinddistrictpresident BETWEEN1987 and2001,aseries thereweremurmurs that he was later said that the yatrahas been Union (BKU) Doaba, while alarge Theresolutionalsostatedthat morchaforminimumsevendays fortto forciblyremove protesters of the BKU.The agitators feel that of politicalmisadventures trig- colluding with the government ‘postponed’followingordersfrom number of youths accompanied if anyvillager’s vehicle gets dam- and the ones who cannotgowill from dharna sites. internetservices have been sus- geredasteady decline in the aura when he wasinvited to meet party’s stateleadership. the BKU (Rajewal) leaders. aged during the Delhi morcha give Rs 1,500that can be con- The panchayatwas held at pendedtocheckthe growing ag- of thecountry’smostcharismatic Home MinisterAmit Shah on The BJP had plannedtotake Meanwhile, to shoreupthe then panchayatwill bear ex- tributed to the ongoing struggle. Khatkar toll plaza on Jind-Patiala itation of farmers in Haryana. farm leader MahendraSingh December 8. out a‘Vishal TirangaYatra’ to con- dwindling numbers at protest penses forits repair.With signa- “Thisfundcanbeusedforfuel Tikait, and with it Sisauli, a The murmurs arose, too, be- demn the January26violence in sites,severalpanchayatsinPunjab turesof over1,700voters,theres- expensesorevenforrepairof trac- bustling Muzaffarnagar village cause if the BJP is aforce in west- Delhi during the farmers' parade. have startedpassing resolutions olution carries the signatures of tors going to Delhi,” said Nazam nestledamidstsugarcane fields ernUP,accordingto observers,the The yatrawas to startfromMC asking people to send one person the sarpanch–ManjeetKaur. Singh, one of the villagers. whichwent from being called Tikaitshavedirectlyandindirectly Zone Aoffice and move via from eachvillagehome to the GurpreetSingh, one of those Addressing the media in “Kisano ki Rajdhani” (farmers’ playedsome partinit. And not Meena Bazaar Chowk,Girjaghar dharnas on the borders of Delhi. whosignedthe resolution, said: ChandigarhonSaturday, BKU capital) to “Jaton ki Rajdhani” leastbyvoting forthe BJP,as Chowk,Kesarganj Mandi Chowk Virk Khurdvillagepanchayat “Thoughwe areregularly goingto president Balbir Singh Rajewal (capital of the Jats) to “Baliyano ki Rakesh said on Thursdayhedid. before culminating at Mahatma in district Bathinda passedares- the borders (of Delhi) since said,“It(protest)washitforaday- Rajdhani” -- capital of the Baliyan Gandhi’s statue in Ludhiana. olution on January27mandat- November 26, this fresh an- and-a-half.Nowfarmersareagain khap headedbyTikait. Rise and fall The BJP workers carrying the ing that one villager from each nouncement has been done to rushing to Delhi borders to And then he would getasec- When he wasonthe rise, Tricolour and ledbydistrict pres- household will go to the Delhi beat the rumours that after protest.We arethankfulto Tikait- ond wind. In 2001,Tikait, on Tikait senior wasseen as aleader ident Pushpinder Singal startthe borders and stay therefor at least Republic Dayepisode morchais sahib.We willinvitehimto Punjab whose call lakhs occupiedthe upholding secular values. At the yatrawhile raising slogans such one week.The resolution said about to end and people have and honour him.” Boat Club lawns in the national 1987 Karmu Kheri agitation, he as ‘Bharat MatakiJai’, ‘Tirangeka that those notcomplying with startedcoming back.” He also appealedfarmers to capital in 1988, wasstruggling to broughtJats,MuslimsandGurjars apmaan nahi sahegaHindustan’, the decision will be finedRs In another resolution passed ensurethat the agitation re- At Khatkar toll plaza on Jind-Patiala highway. Manoj Dhaka musternumbers foraprotest at on asingle platform -- aJat and a and ‘Vande Mataram’. 1,500and if aperson refuses to by Nangal Kalan villageofMansa, mainedpeaceful. the Muzaffarnagar town hall. Muslim farmer diedside-by-side Soon, agroup ledbytraders Thinkingthatthemodestgather- intheprotests.Thisimagewasre- and shopkeepers from Akalgarh ing wasbeing anuisance, an inforcedin1989when he ledthe marketstartedprotesting.Thepro- overzealous sub-divisional mag- demonstrations afterthe alleged testers, carrying the national flag, Sedition FIRs against ‘We feel warmth, friendship on istrateordered lathi-charge,and rape and killing of aMuslim Nishan Sahib and one supporting in the ensuing chaos the sexage- woman. This ledtoanational farmers' agitation, raisedslogans narianfarmleaderfellwithanin- newspaper declaring that suchas‘Jai JawanJai Kisan’, Tharoor, journalists mutual trust...feel safe here’ jurytohis forehead. Images of a “Another Mahatma is born”. ‘Vyapari Kisan EktaZindabad’, woundedTikait in the papers the However, his supportwould ‘Hindu Sikh EktaZindabad’. They ADAY afteralow-intensity blast authorities and Indian security nextdayledto anoutpourof sup- graduallyerode. The firsttoleave also blockedthe wayand did not now in five states took place outside Israel’s em- authorities. portthefarmerleaderhadn’tseen him were the Gurjars and what allowBJP yatratoproceed. bassy in Delhi, Israel’s ambassa- in years. triggered the exodus wasTikait’s As the situation turnedtense, dor RONMALKA speakswith Within hours, therewas Twenty years later,on secretarymaking statements Joint Commissioner of Police, EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE SHUBHAJIT ROY.Excerpts: contact between the two Thursdaynight at the Ghazipur againstthe Mandal Commission Ludhiana, Deepak Parikh, ap- NEWDELHI,BHOPAL, sides. Can youplease tell us border,asimilarchordwasstruck, report. Then, following the 1992 pealedtobothsides to remain GURGAON,NOIDA, On Fridayevening, therewas about these conversations? this time by his son Rakesh, who Babridemolition and the subse- calm. Parikh managed to per- BENGALURU,JANUARY30 alow-intensity blastoutside First, Ican saythat it’s these brokedownduringapressconfer- quent mid-term elections neces- suade BJP leaders to cancel the the Israeli embassy in New special times, the strong and enceaspolicepersonnelmovedin sitatedby thefallof KalyanSingh’s march in the interestofpeace FIRS HAVE been filedinfive Delhi. Howdid youcome to warm friendship between us re- to clearthesiteofprotestingfarm- government, Tikait told his sup- and communal harmony, ac- states, the latestbeing in Delhi knowabout it? allyreflectsitself because, as you ers -- inadvertentlygalvanising portersto vote in“thenameof the cording to the police. Saturday, againstCongress Lok Our system is very immedi- mentioned,justafter this blast protesters in western UP and antaratma (conscience) and Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor and six Shashi Tharoor ate, so once it [the blast] hap- the External Affairs Ministerof Haryana. The reinforcements Ram”.Thatdidn’tgo wellwiththe journalists over their allegedly penedIgot the messagethat India, Dr Jaishankar,calledour came in as aray of hope foranag- Muslims, who lefthim. Later a Plea in SC seeks "misleading" tweets on the vio- goes [out] fordiplomats. Once ministerofforeign affairsm, Mr itationthathasfacedintensepres- silent powerstruggle with Ajit lence and death of aprotester The postmortemruledout any that happens, we arealways Gabi Ashkenazi. The Foreign sureaftertheJanuary26violence, Singhduringthe’90srestrictedhis CBI or SIT probe during the farmers' tractor rally bulletinjuries. alert, always prepared.And es- THEEXPRESS Secretarycalledour DG, Foreign and in the process, Rakesh found influence primarilytohis khap, in Delhi on Republic Day. The complainant stated that peciallyinthe lastfew days and Affairs. The NSAinIndia called his moment under the sun. whichhas 84 villages in R-Day violence The cases name Tharoor and the “accused” postedtweetsthat weeks, thereweresome events INTERVIEW our NSA. And of course theyof- Muzaffarnagar and Shamli. journalists Rajdeep Sardesai, dayand spread fake news about and some threatsand we raised feredtheir support, their assis- Political debut “MahendraSingh Tikait... was WITH Mrinal Pande, Zafar Agha, Paresh Singh’s death by calling the levelofalertofall diplomats, tance and the assurances that On the 33-km drive from aproductof thetimeandcircum- RON EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Nath, Anant Nath, and Vinod K it “killing”. and security. India is going to take all meas- Muzaffarnagarto Sisauli,thereisa stances. Therewas avacuum af- MALKA NEWDELHI,JANUARY30 Jose. Mostofthem invoke IPC JasmeetSingh, DCP (central), So the messagespread very ures neededtoprotect Israeli chance one mayencounter terCharan Singh, and he came ISRAEL AMBASSADOR sections of sedition, criminal in- tweeted, “Due to misleading and fast [afterthe blast] and we re- TO INDIA representativeshere. Second, to youngsters running alongside along. He had rustic charm, the APETITIONbeforeSupreme timidation, promoting enmity, false information by The Caravan alisedthat therewas something fulfill afull investigation that will bullock-carts and tractor-trolley- farmer associated with him, but Courthas sought probebythe provocation to break public that afarmer protesterhas died that washappening. We took all makeout what happenedhere. -not aspiring marathoners but hewasamanof contradictionsas CBI, Special Investigation Team peace, criminal conspiracy,out- due to police firing, acase has precautions. arealways prepared. So in these special times, we feel preparingforthenext“DilliPolice well... he would always maintain (SIT) or ajudicial commission into raging religious feelings, been registeredinIPEstate the warmth, the strong friend- ki bharti”. In these parts,theysay hewasapolitical,buthisownsons the January26violence in Delhi. among others. Police station. FIR includes cer- Yousaid therewerethreats The embassy is in averyhigh- ship and commitment that is aDelhi Police sipahi is equal to a went intopolitics while he was In their petition, advocates FIRs were lodged againstthe tain others also who also triedto from the lastfew days.What security area. Does this tell basedonmutual trustand mu- 100-bigha farmer,sortedfor life. alive.And people sawit,” said a Vishal Thakreand AbhaySingh sevenatGurgaon (Haryana) and mislead the public.” kind of threatswerethese –if youabout some kind of tual respect –wefeel safehere. Sisaulialonehassenthundredsof former associateofTikait who Yadav, bothpractisinginDelhi,also Bengaluru on Friday, in Noida In Gurgaon, acase wasregis- youcan elaborate. intelligence lapse from the We knowthat the Indian au- foot-soldiers to Delhi Police. One didn’t want to be named urgedthe topcourttocall for (UP) on Thursday. Four similar teredatCyber Crime police sta- Thereare some eventsall Indian side or anywhereelse? thorities aredoing whatever of them wasRakesh Tikait. Twoyears afterTikait’s death, records of the Union and Delhi cases in different districtsof tion on acomplaint by Pankaj over the world—some of them Idon't think so. At the end of theycan to protect us and to sup- Had he notquit the job at 28 his eldestson Naresh, who heads governmentson“action or steps Madhya Pradesh earlier. Singh, aresident of Jharsa village. arerelated to Israel; assassina- the day, those terrorists,the per- port, and we arereallythankful andjoinedhisfatherwhenhewas the BhartiyaKisan Union, and takenbythem over the violence” The FIR in Delhi waslodged “Wehavelodged an FIR tions and different operations petrators, didn't reach, didn’t get forthat. leadinghisbreakthroughdemon- Rakeshwere accusedofgivingin- andasktheinquirycommissionto on complaint of advocate basedonthe complaint givenby that some terrorists were killed. (to) the target.Theytried, but stration—in1987againstelectric- flammatoryspeeches during the submit itsreportinatime-bound ChiranjivKumar,aCentral gov- alocal resident who is aprivate Israel wasblamedfor that. It theycouldn't do anything and Has Israeli PM Benjamin itybillsnearShamli—whoknows mahapanchayatthat ledtothe manner and take action on it. ernment lawyer at Delhi High citizen and does notappear to [threats] came from Iran, from couldn’t do anyharm. In that Netanyahu and PM Narendra he might have been on the other 2013 riots in Muzaffarnagar and The petitionerssaid,“The per- Court. Kumar refusedtocom- have anypolitical affiliations so Hezbollah in Lebanon, and other case, Idon’t think that we can say Modi been in touch, or have side of the divide today, trying to the subsequent polarisation mission wasgrantedforapeace- ment on the FIR. far…The case has been lodged places that aregoing to retali- or talk about anylapse. But still, theybeen updated about this implement the government or- whichstrengthenedtheBJPinUP. ful protestand atractor rallyon The complainant stated that againstseven namedaccused ate.... So it wastherelast[few] the investigation is in itsearly incident? ders againstprotesters. Withtheemotionalappealon Republic Day, but the liberty the accusedspread fake news and unidentifiedothers. The weeks, therewerethese kinds of stages; we needtounderstand Idon’t knowabout being in But Rakesh, second of Tikait’s Thursdayand by staring the gov- givenbythe Central government about protesterNavreet Singh's matter is being investigated,” threats... in these times, we don’t what happenedthere. touch. Of course, theyare up- four sons, has always been abit of ernment down, Rakesh has put and police wasmisusedbysome death in Delhi on January26by ACP(DLF) Karan Goel said. underestimateour enemies and Take the pieces, build the dated and theyknowexactly arebel.Whilehisfathertriedhard the BJP in aquandary. Theycan’t of the hijackers who were in the blaming Delhi Police to “instigate In his complaint, Singh iden- we take seriouslyevery threat. puzzle (with) pieces of informa- what’s happened.This is not to maintain an apolitical image, be seen resolving it by force. For, garb of farmers... therefore, in the violence”. tifies himself as a“law-abiding So we raisedthe levelofalert tion from different places, evi- something that youjustgoon Rakesh dabbledinpolitics and unlikeHaryana,whereBJPisseen interestofjustice, Police Office be NavreetSingh diedofhead and concernedcitizen…who is (and) we were prepared.Weare dence from the scene. We are with. So of course theyare up- failedmiserably. In 2014,hecon- asthepartyof thenon-Jats,across directed to find the violators... injuries when his tractor toppled deeplyaggrievedbywidespread notsurprised. As Israeli diplo- gathering all (this) together –(it dated. FULLREPORTON tested Lok Sabha elections from theYamuna,itreliesontheJatvote and punish them as per the law”. afterhitting apolice barricade. riots”. matsare all over the world, we is a) joint effort of Israeli security www.indianexpress.com Amroha on Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya to maintainitsholdinwesternUP. Authoritarianism, majoritarianism played role in 2019 polls: Ansari in new book

MinisterNarendraModi, one of Ansari also says that formany nationalism and the closing of ness of language, ethnicity,reli- adopteddolittle credit to the that normal procedures of ob- DIPANKARGHOSE them being when he had justbe- decades afterIndependence, a the mind is also ‘a manifestation gion, territoryand culturewas regime of Rule of Lawand the taining consent will beobserved. NEWDELHI,JANUARY30 come Vice President and was “pluralistviewofnationalism of insecurity about one’s place in administeredsuccessfullytoa principles of democracy pro- He then said that the RajyaSabha calledonbyModi, then Gujarat and Indianness” characterized the world,” he says. little over athirdofthe elec- fessedbythe Republic. They TVwasnot favourable to the gov- FORMER VICE President Hamid Chief Minister. “I referred to the India’s thinking, but recentlyhas Ansari writes in the book: torate...It is evident that asub- amount to what has been called ernment. My response wasthat Ansari has said in his newauto- post-Godhrahappenings in his been supplanted by one that “The success of populism version of corevalues is nowun- ‘a showofbrutemajoritarian- while Ihad arole in the establish- biographythat “authoritarian- statein2002and asked whyhe “threatens to rule out dissent”. (rightlydepicted notasanideol- derway, an exercise that touches ism,” it says. ment of the channel, Ihad no ism, nationalism and majoritar- allowedittohappen. He said “Morerecently, aversion of ogy but rather astrategy to ob- everycitizen and leavesnone Ansari also recountsthat control over the editorial content ianism” playedarole in the 2019 that people look at onlyone as- nationalism that places cultural tain and retain power, and thriv- untouched. Itsimpact is com- around “2014-15” Prime Minister and that acommittee of Rajya election and that a“subversion pect of the matter and paynoat- commitmentsatits coreand ing on conspiracy, poundedbythe abdication or Modi himself walked intohis Sabha members, in whichthe BJP of corevalues is nowunderway”. tention to the good work he has promotesintolerance and arro- criminalization of all opposition, failureofother social and politi- RajyaSabha office unscheduled wasrepresented,providedbroad The book, By Many aHappy initiated,particularly forthe ed- gant patriotism has tendedtoin- playing up external threats) cal forces to comprehend itstrue and sought to knowwhy he was guidance to the channel, adding Accident,isonAnsari'slifeasa ucation of Muslim girls. Isought trude intoand take over the po- The book, By ManyaHappy proved itself in the 2019 general natureand the urgency to notpassing aBill amid the din in that from all accounts, the chan- diplomat, AMU V-Cand then itsdetails and suggestedthat he litical and cultural landscape. Accident,isonAnsari’s lifeas election. It wasassistedbyau- counter it.” the House. “I repliedthat the nel’s programmes and discus- Vice President and RajyaSabha should publicize it;‘that does not One manifestation of it is ‘an in- adiplomat, AMU V-Cand thoritarianism, nationalism and The book also touches on the Leader of the House and his col- sions were appreciated by the Chairman fortwo terms. It also suit me politically’ wasthe re- creasingly fragile national ego’ then Vice President and majoritarianism. This ideologi- Centre's steps in the erstwhile leagues, when in Opposition, had viewers,” the book says. contains severalaccountsof vealingly candid response”, the that threatens to rule out anydis- RajyaSabha Chairman cal potion, premisedsimplisti- stateofJammu and Kashmir. appreciated the ruling that no FULLREPORTON Ansari's interactions with Prime book says. sent howeverinnocent. Hyper- callyonthe desirability of one- “The sleight-of-hand tactics bills will bepassedinthe din and www.indianexpress.com Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THESUNDAY EXPRESS,JANUARY31,2021 6 SUNDAY STORY

SKILLS BUDGET ’21 Datashows that even with- out Covid, formal manufac- turing in India has grown moreand morecapital inten- sive over the years. In other words, firms arereplacing labour with capital (read ma- chinery). This is true even for the so-calledlabour-intensive sectors suchastex- COUNTDOWN tiles, leather and jute. While this maybegreat for consumers, forthe large swathes of unemployed IN&OUTOFCOVIDSHADOW and lowlyskilledIndians, this is aterrifying prospect. The government hopes that the private sector (see W) will createthe millionsofjobs re- At thestart of the joint session of Parliament on Friday, PM NarendraModi quired to soak up India’s labour force. But that may nothappenthankstoacontinued preference for said Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman had already announced3-4 automation to drive down costs. Skillup-gradation and re-skilling is no longer aquestion of policy mini budgetsand that the 2021-22 Budget should be seen as an choice;itisanimperative. extension of thesame effort.Asthe countryrecovers TAX RELIEF from Covid and one of itsworstyears as an Beforeevery Budget there aretwo innocent-sounding economy, UDIT MISRAunscramblesthe demands from the people. One, theywant thegovern- AtoZofwhattoexpect tomorrow ment to spend moreand two, theywant the government to reduce their taxes. Of course, both thingscan’t happen because the government’s moneyisnothing but the taxpayer’s money. From thegovernment’sperspec- tive,the tricklies in choosing who to taxfor raising the additionalrevenues. In 2019,for example, be- fore the Lok Sabha election, the government pro- videdincome taxrelief forindividual taxpayers. Afterthe elections, it sharplycut corporatetax rates. erage. In essence, thelosses of the have-nots were This year,though, it is unlikelythat anymassive tax fardeeper than what the averagedecline shows. relief will happen because the government is Informal, unskilled, young, women —all have found already struggling to meet itsexpenses. themselvessignificantlyworse off. But, giventhe parlous stateofgovernment finances, it is unlikely URBANISATION that inequality will elicit asignificant response. That India livesinits villages is no longer justafactbut the JOBS articulation of aproblem. If Persistentlyhigh unemploy- Indiahas to grow —that is, if ment notonlyreflects poorly India’s per capitaGDP has to on the government but also rise —then Indiancitieshave threatenssocial order.Even to grow and prosper.There before Covid, India waswit- arejusttoo manypeople in ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT EDUCATION nessing veryhigh levels of un- rural India and notenoughscope forincreased pro- employment —the highestin ductivityinour villages. The question is: Do our cities Some areborn atmanirbhar Apartfromthe hit to the severaldecades. Covid just have thatpotential?Can they providebasic ameni- (self-reliant/self-sufficient), physical health of Indians, made that worse.The government can either focus ties forIndiatotransition intoabroad-basedmod- some achieve atmanirbharta, especiallychild malnutri- on financing ever-growing social securities or take a erneconomy? Does our Budget reflect this vision? and some have atmanirb- tion, Covid’s second-biggest leaf out of ThomasSowell’sbook when he says that harta thrustuponthem. This long-term adverse impact is “the real minimum wage is zerounemployment”. Vaccination is likelytobethe dominant the disruption of educatio- Even though India theme fordifferent sectors of nalattainment.Evenwith- KISAN prides itself fortaming the economyinthe coming out Covid, India’seduca- The farm sector suffereddue theCovid curve, there- Budget.Oddlyenough, the push towards atmanirb- tional achievementswerealarminglypoor as to backtobackdroughtsin turn to normal growth harta maynot mean areduction in the govern- showcasedrepeatedly by annual ASER reports.The 2014 and 2015 before de- will depend on how ment’s intervention in the economyand adecided pastyear hasdeepened inequalities thanks to the monetisation in 2016 turned quicklyand effectively move towardsagreater playofmarket forces. Far digitaldivide.Expect the Budget to redouble the out to be an even bigger India vaccinatesitself. The global collaboration from it. It will likelybeamix. Forinstance, if youare government’s effortstobridgethe digitaldivide. strain. Since then, however, around findingthe Covid vaccine also putsinper- afarmer, thestate mayrecedeinfavour of the If this happens, it will be asmall price to paytoput farmers have enjoyedpoliti- spective thecalls of being “vocal forlocal”. private sector but if youare asteel manufacturer or up with aslewofrather inelegant policy names cal heftvia forcing massive dairyproducer,the statemay protect youfrom starting with “e—”. loan waiversand thefirst-of-its-kind directcash WAGES VS WEALTH CREATORS international competition. transfers scheme —the PM-Kisan (Kisan Samman rebound and grow by 11%. Over the years, the relative FDI AND FPI Nidhi)Yojna. Butsince the passageofthree farm Netresult:Atthe end of size of the Central govern- BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE... Foracountrythat suddenly laws lastyear,the distance between the farmers and March 2022, India’s GDP is ment budget has reduced. ...of consumers and busi- decidedtobecome atma- the PM seems to have increased. Raising the outgo likelytobejust2%higher Today, all the states spend1.5 nesses. One of the mostim- nirbhar afterCovid, it is quite under PM-Kisan is one waytoassuagehurtfarmers. than what it wasinMarch timesthe Centre. The Centre portant things to watchout remarkable howIndia rou- 2020.That implies that India cannotbethe prime job crea- forinthe Budget would be tinelycelebrates everyincre- LABOURER would have lost9-10% of GDP torfor the country. The push the policy tools employedby ment of foreign investment Lastyear sawlakhs of mi- over the twoyears. This is the output loss and the towardsdisinvestment and the FM to changethe beha- —direct or portfolio. Of grant labourers firstgetting real measure of howbadlyeconomies were affected privatisation should beseeninthiscontext. PM Modi viour of different economic course, India is acapital strandedawayfromtheir due to Covid. Howdoes India compare? According has repeatedlyexhortedthe importance of “wealth entities in the economy. scarce (read poor) countryand so it makes alot of homes and then, in the ab- to calculations by GitaGopinath, chief economist creators” in amove to present businessmen and Covidnot onlyforciblyreducedconsumption in sense to acknowledge foreigners investinginIndia. sence of timelyand adequate at IMF,the global averagewould be justatadless women in amorepositive light. This is happening the short-term but also crimpedincomes and PM Modi has promisedtobethe bridgebetween supportfromthe govern- than4%. The US and Chinawouldhavelostjust at atime when wages—the fruitsoflabour (as afac- scared peopleintosaving morethanusual.But if the cash-richforeign businesses andIndia. ment, literallywalking back about 1-1.5% of GDP while emerging economies in torofproduction) —havebarelygrown. In fact, consumers continue to spend less, then it will delay thousands of miles. What Asia (including India but excludingChina) would according to International Labour Organisation’s economic recovery.The RBI has already brought GDP GROWTH made matters worse forthem waswhen several have suffered almost8%output loss. Global Wage Report2020-21, in India, formal work- down interestrates to disincentivise savings. Forits The government aims to turn states decidedtosummarilydisband almostall ers’ wageswerecut by 3.6% while informal workers part, the government cancut direct taxes—indi- India intoagas-basedecon- labour laws under the misplacednotion that set- POVERTY have experienced amuchsharper fall in wagesof rect taxesare withinthe ambit of the GSTCouncil — omy(no pun intended). This ting aside even minimum wage and the mostbasic By all measures,the pandemic 22.6%. Contrastthis with over 20% profitsbookedby as it did in the LTCcash voucher scheme lastOctober. involves improving gaspipe- safetyrequirementswouldsomehowleadtoasurge would have raisedthe levelof listedcompanies (entrepreneurs) lastyear. Similarly,Budget mayannounce steps to incentivise line connectivity as well as in corporateinvestments. Forawhile, theywere povertyinthe country. The the purchase of affordable houses, cars etc. turning farmers from ‘Anna providedsuccourthrough the much-malignedru- fact that no less than 80 crore X-FACTOR Similarly,investmentsbybusinesses had been (food)-data (giver)’ into ‘Urja raljobs guarantee scheme. But as the economyre- Indians —that’s roughly60% Indiaiscoming backfromits falling even before Covidhit. Unsureifconsumers (energy)-data’. However, the turns to the normal rate of functioning, thereisa of India’s population —had to worstyear as an economy. On will spend, businesses continue to hold backfresh moreimportant question that the Budget has to needtoensurethat India’slabourers —migrant or be givenfreerations under- paper,the coming year will investments. In 2019,the government cut corpo- answer is: What will drive fast economic growth in otherwise —donot sufferthe same wayagain. scoreshow vulnerable India is likely see double-digit GDP rate incometaxes. Nowitwill have to find other asustainable manner? India’s growth rate decele- in terms of poverty. From apolicyperspective,the growth rates. It is unlikelythat ways to incentivise investments. ratedsharplyfrom8.3% in 2016-17to4.2% in 2019- MEDIUM-TERM trouble starts with India’slastofficial estimates of the FM will notcapturethe 20. In other words, justbeforeCovid hit India at the Eachyear,the government’s poverty being almostadecade old. essence of this confidencein CESSES AND SURCHARGES end of 2019-20, India grew by justabout 4% with Budget documentsinclude a the form of some poetry. So Of the twocertainties of almostall engines of growth —private consump- thin note calledthe “Medium QUALITY OF LIFE whichpoetwill it be this year? Tamilpoetand human life—death and taxes tion, business investments, and exports —faltering. term fiscal policy cum fiscal Over the pastfew years, as philosopher Thiruvalluvar has already been pressed —onlyone can be compoun- Government spending, the lastengine, can boost policy strategy statement”. India lostits growth momen- intoservice fartoo often. President RamNath Kovind ded. When aCentral govern- growth in the short-term but fast growth cannotbe This is rarely read by most tum, therehas been avigo- has already quoted Malayalam poetVallathol. The ment imposes anew taxon sustainedwithout private consumption and because budgetsare,bydefi- rous debate about whether odd-on favourites is Tulsidas with some rousing an existing tax, it is referred business investments. nition, annual exercises. But GDP is the right variable to coupletfrom Ramcharitmanas but, giventhe farmer to as aCess (if it is foraspe- this year,thereismorecuriosity about India’s evaluategrowth.GDP does protests,the darkhorse is Guru Tegh Bahadur. cific purpose, say, Swachh HEALTHCARE “medium-term” prospects—roughlythe period notpoint out howrisingpol- Bharat Cess) or asurcharge (if purpose notspeci- The central takeaway from between 1to5years hence. Why? To easethe lution or inequalities impact YOUTH fied). Fortaxpayers, atax by anyother name would Covid is that India’s private demons of uncertainties and provide apredictable our long-term growth sustainability.Nor does it According to theUNPopulation Fund, India will costjustasmuch. But forCentre, Cesses and sur- healthcareinfrastructure— policy environment forall economicagentstoget captureour happiness, the wholesomeness of our continue to have one of the chargessmell sweeterthan regular taxesbecause as efficient and as affordable backtonormal economic behaviour. relationships or the overall quality of our lives. It is youngestpopulations in the suchrevenues don’t have to be shared withthe state as it mayappear in global no fault of GDP though —itisjustameasure. If we worldtill 2030. It is also true governments.Don’t be surprisedifaCovid Cess comparisons —isneither as NPAS want to assess the quality of our lifemoreaccurately, thatIndia has the mostnum- makes an appearance on Monday. efficient nor as affordable in It can be arguedthat the perhaps we should have adifferent measure. berofmalnourishedchildren timesofacrisis. The upshot biggestmacroeconomic hur- Perhapsthe newmeasurewould be able to capture in the world, one of the most DEBT being: India needs to boost investmentsinpublic dle facingthe Indian econ- the unpaid careworkthat women silentlyprovide malnourishedadolescents Thereistough competition healthcareprovisioning. ForacountryofIndia’s size omybetween 2010 and2020 or the diminution one suffers on the basis of caste, population,the highest num- for this letter this year.You and GDP,Indian governmentshavespent abysmally (until Covid hit) wasthe high creed, gender or income. berofpoor on the planet. On education too, India's arelikelytohear alot about lowonhealthcare.But the massive demandfor levelofnon-performing as- massive technical pool cannothide the millions of Digitalisation—acrossfields. healthcareisalso an opportunity forIndia to grow sets (NPAs)inthe Indian REFORMS unskilled(read unemployable) and unemployed Youmight also learn how and createnew jobs. If aonce-in-a-century banking system. These, in The one unchanging truth youth. As the firstone forthis decade, this Budget pent-up Demand has ledto pandemiccan’t induceaquantum leap in health- turn, hit the bank’s profitability.Inthe pastdecade, about policymaking in India has itsjob clearly defined. India’s ‘V-shaped’ recovery or carebudget,what can? severalpublic sector bankssufferedsuchhigh NPA is: “Everything is areform”. what the Budget will do to levels that even theirviability came under question. When restrictive labour laws ZZZZZ bolsterIndia’s Defence againstChinese aggression. INFRASTRUCTURE Covidisexpected to almostdouble the levelofNPAs were broughtin, it wasa Abraham Lincoln,the greatestAmerican President But the mostimportant word this year could No matter whichway one when India starts recognising the true extent of reform. When labour laws before Donald Trump(ac- well be “debt”.Or, to be precise,Debt-to-GDP ratio. looksatit, the pastyear has damagenextfinancialyear.The FM would thus were repealed—eventothe cording to Trump), once apol- The Budget maysignal ashiftawayfromtargeting seen amassive rise in in- needtobudgetfor moneythat the government extent of notrequiringtopay ogisedthus: "I'm sorry I fiscaldeficit (or totalborrowings) as apercentage equality.The richhavegot would needto“recapitalise” publicsector banks.In minimum wages—thattoo wasareform. When wrotesuchalong letter.Idid of GDP to targeting totaldebt as apercentageofGDP. richer and the poor have got other words, justlikeIndia has pent up demand minimum supportprices were introduced, it wasa nothavethe timetowrite a Totaldebt is nothing but the debt of the pastyears poorer.For instance, in 2020, drivingthe recovery,italsohas pent up bankrupt- reform; when theyare being phasedout, it is are- shortone.” Lastyear,FM plus theborrowings in the current year.The signi- India’sper capitaincome has cies that areless talked about. form. When MGNREGAisimplemented, it is are- Sitharaman deliveredthe ficance: this shiftmay allowthe government to fallen to levels lastseen in form. Whenitisberated,itisareform.When it is longest-everBudget speech spend more(breaching the existing fiscal deficit 2017 and the averageGDP contracted by over 7%. OUTPUT LOSS persistedwith, that again is areform. Basically, noth- —lasting almost 2hours 40 norms) in the next fewyearsand still appeartobe Yet, listedcompanies retrenchedemployees and In the current financial year,India’s growth will con- ing that anyIndian government ever does is any- minutes. Hopefully, she has had the time to writea fiscallyresponsible. cut expendituretonotch up 20%-25% profitsonav- tract by almost 8%. Next year (2021-22), it will thing shortofreform. Be ready formorereforms. significantlyshorterone this year. Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 7 OPINION THE SUNDAY EXPRESS,JANUARY31,2021

Across Fifth THEAISLE COLUMN TAVLEENSINGH Noexpectations,nodisappointment Twitter@tavleen_singh

NOTHINGISgoing well forthe govern- 2018-19and continuedfor eight succes- To search forone will be Vain and to pre- economyfor aperiod of six months and ment. The farmers areangry, the protests sive quarters ending March 31,2020. The dict one will be Vanity.The Chief reviewthe situation afterwards. have spread to other parts of thecoun- pandemic pushedthe economyintoan EconomistofIMF,DrGitaGopinath, has 3. Devise arescue plan forMSMEs in Settle with try, andthe farmers of Punjab, Haryana abyss: -23.9 per cent in the firstquarter stated that the Indian economywill order to reachpre-slowdown production and Uttar Pradesh aredeeplyhurtby of 2020-21and -7.5 per cent in thesec- reachpre-COVID levels onlyin2025. If levels andrecoverthe jobsthatwerelost. what theybelievetobethe machinations ond quarter. Ms Sitharaman has the dis- thereisarecovery of sorts,itwill resem- 4. Reduce taxrates,especiallythe GST the farmers, PCHIDAMBARAM of the central government and the BJP. tinction of presiding over the firstreces- ble the letter K—some will see their in- rates, and the crippling taxesonpetrol Website:pchidambaram.in China has dug itsheels and has refusedto sioninforty years. come and wealth grow while the major- and diesel. Twitter@Pchidambaram_IN vacateIndian territorythat itstroops It is nowacknowledgedthatthe year ity willsufferpain and economicloss. 5. Increase government’s capital ex- please have occupied. The Budget is being pre- 2020-21will end with negative growth. That is exactlywhat happenedinthe penditure. In the current year,the capital sented under extremelystrainedcircum- The revenuetargetwillbemissedbya pandemic-affected year (2020-21) as re- expenditureofthe central government stances with lowerrevenuesand higher largemargin, capital investmentwill vealedinastudybyOxfam titled and stategovernmentsare falling woe- THE ONLY time Imet the Pakistani father demands. All but oneallyhaveleftthe take ahit, the revenue deficit will be close ‘Inequality Virus’. fullyshortofthe budgeted amounts. of the Khalistanmovement he said some- NDA; the crypto-allies (YSRCP,TRS,BJD, to 5per cent and the real fiscal deficit will Idon’t wish to anticipatethe Budget. 6. Lendingmustbeincreased. Hence, thing thatIhave rememberedoften in re- BSP) have distancedthemselvesoncon- cross 7per cent. Budget 2020-21 wasa Thereisauniversal demand forincrease recapitalize publicsector banksurgently cent days.General Hamid Gul wasinre- tentious issues;and the alienationbe- disasteratthe startand will be acatas- in investment in health infrastructure and encouragethem to lend without the tirement in Rawalpindi when we met. It tweenthe TreasuryBenches and the trophe at the end of thefiscal year. and increase in defence expenditure, and fear thatevery loan will be probed by the wasjustafter Benazir Bhuttowas killed Idon’t wishtoanticipate the Opposition is complete. The reality is thatthe economyisina Isupportthat demand.The FM maypro- investigating agencies. and we had along chat in his small,cozy Budget. There is auniversal The President’s Address did notcon- recession;current unemployment rates videmorefunds under the twoheads. 7. Protectionism is outdated and living room. When the interview wasover, demand forincrease in tain anynew or imaginativeagenda. The arehigh (rural: 9.2 per cent and urban: Otherwise, Ihavenoexpectations of this wrong. Protectionism has hurtIndianin- he askedif IwereaSikh. Isaid Iwas, and he speech revealedthat thegovernment 8.9 per cent); anti-farmer laws andretro- government.Inthe past, theyhavebeen dustry. Acurrent account surplus in ade- said withanote of regret in hisvoice,“The investment in health waslooking at the country’s future grade import/exportpolicies foragricul- exceptionally obstinateand impervious veloping countryisnot amatter of cele- Sikhs shouldnever have gone to India. infrastructure and increase in through the rear-viewmirror. Thenext tural produce have hinderedagricultural to good advice,and Idonot see any bration. Abandon the bias against They should have stayed here.” My re- defence expenditure,and I opportunity is the Budget for2021-22. growth; the industrysector hasnot at- changeintheir approachorbehaviour. imports,re-engage withthe worldand sponse wastosay nothing,but Pakistan’s support that demand. The tracted hugeinvestment;exportsand Ishall makemywish listsecure in the enter intobilateral trade agreements. firstjihadistGeneral’s wordshavere- imports areinthe doldrums because of knowledge that theywill be ignored by 8. Formulatesector-specific revival mainedimprintedin my memory.Ashave FM mayprovide more funds DISASTER TO the government’s protectionist policies the government! In the unlikelyevent of packages forsectors suchas those years of terrible violencewhen going under the twoheads. CATASTROPHE and because the world’s economyis some suggestions being accepted, it Telecommunication, Power, to Punjab wassodangerous that most Otherwise,Ihaveno limping;and inequalities have grown. would certainlynot be acknowledged! Construction, Mining, Aviation and Delhi journalists neverwent tillafter expectations of this Ihope the Budget does notsharethe India mayhaveearnedthe prize forbe- Travel, Tourism&Hospitality. JarnailSingh Bhindranwale wasdead. fate of the previous Budget (for 2020-21). ing home to the largest number of poor 9. Reviewand rescind amendments Ofteninthe pastfew weeksasIhave government. In the past,they That Budget begantounravel within people, overtaking Nigeria. The forego- MY WISH LIST to taxlawsthat arewidelyviewedastax watchedsenior ministers call Sikh farm- have been exceptionally weeksofits presentation. The Finance ing is the contribution of the Modi gov- Heregoes my list(and Ihavedeliber- terrorism. ers ‘Khalistanis’, and famous TV anchors obstinate and impervious to Ministerherself unmademanyofthe an- ernment at the end of sevenyears! atelylimited it to 10): 10. Reviewthe regulations made by paint the farmers protestasnothingmore good advice,and Idonot see nouncementsshe had made.Evenwith- 1. Impartalarge fiscalstimulustothe various regulatorybodies and correct the than an attempt by the Sikhstorevive out thepandemic, the economywould economy, even if it is belated. effect of over-regulation. Khalistan, the wordsofGeneral Gul have anychange in their approach have continuedonthe downward path K-SHAPED RECOVERY 2. Makedirectcashtransfers to 30 per Since Ihavenoexpectations Iampre- come backtome. They came backtome or behaviour that had begun in the firstquarterof TherewillbenoVshaped recovery. cent of the familiesatthe bottom of the pared to be disappointed on February 1. mostterrifyingly lastweek when Isaw the Khalsa flag raisedonthat sacred flagpole on the ramparts of the RedFort, where onlythe Indian flag has ever been raised since August15, 1947.Therewas much who metTamil Nadu CM EKPalaniswami history vandalismthatday,but this wasmore inside laterthis month inDelhiexpressedannoy- WhyRajini is no MGR, thanvandalism, it wasaprofanity. ancethattheBJPinTamilNaduhadwasted It wasalso areminderthat Pakistan TRACK aprecioussixmonthsbecauseGurumurthy HEADLINE would likenothing morethantosee a COOMIKAPOOR hadledthepartytobelieve thatactorRajini- ARUNJANARDHANAN revivalofthe Khalistan movement. This kanthwouldallywiththem.Healsovetoed and other starry stories wassoessentialapartofPakistan’s end- Gurumurthy’sproposaltoincludeVKSasi- [email protected] less, cowardly,undeclared waragainst kalainthe AIADMK-BJPalliance. Inciden- India that one of the founders of the tally, therewas muchspeculationinthe R&AWrevealed in an interview that when SHRINKINGSPACE Tamil media as to whyNarendra Modiwas WHILE RAJINIKANTH’S on again-offagain Benazir became prime ministerand asked missing in the posters showing EPS and flirtation with politics seems indefinitely Hamid Gul, then head of the ISI (Inter- IT WASapparent at the start of theLok ShahtogetherannouncingtheBJP-AIADMK suspendedfor now, it adds another chap- Services Intelligence), to stop whathewas SabhaonFridaythattheoldorderinParlia- alliance.Theexplanationwassimple:Modi tertothe ties between TamilNadu poli- doing in Punjab, he refused. He reportedly ment hasyielded to acompletely new, un- wassitting at one end of the 12-foot-long tics and itsfilmindustry. And though MGR said, ‘Madam, keeping Punjab destabi- familiar world, at leastfor the media. Part Cabinet table in Delhi andEPS at the oppo- remains itsmostsuccessful link —for rea- lized is equivalent to the Pakistanarmy of thechangeisthelandscape.Forinstance, siteend.Itwas hard forlensmen to capture sons beyond his stardom —this story having an extradivision at no costtothe thelandmarkseatedstatueoftheMahatma them in the sameframe.And because pre- doesn’t begin or end withhim. taxpayers.’ has been shiftedfromthe portico entrance sentingshawlsandgarlandsisbanneddue If SSRajendran, Sivaji Ganesan, AfterwhathappenedonRepublicDay in preparation forconstructing anew par- to thepandemic, therewas no photo-op. Jayalalithaa, Captain Vijayakanth arethe it should be cleartoeventhe stupidestof liament. Muchofthe compound has been moreknown examples, and Kamal advisorsinthe PrimeMinister’s echo dug up to relocatepipes, cables and other Haasanhopestojoin their ranks, there chamber that the farmers protesthas be- infrastructure. Entryfor newspersons is NEW AVATAAR were others who fell along the way. The come somethingbigger and moredan- through the Parliament Annexe.The num- In his earlierstint as Madhya Pradesh CM, common thread is that unlikeother parts gerous. On the farm laws,all that is leftto berofjournalists covering Parliament has Shivraj Singh Chouhanprided himself on of the country, cine stars enteringpolitics sayisthat thereisatotal breakdown of been restricted to abareminimum. The runninganinclusive andconciliatoryad- in Tamil Nadu have failed to clickwithout trust. Farmers believe thenew laws will Railway canteenwhichhandledcatering ministration, which ensured all sections of asolid groundinginpoliticalideology. destroy existing farm markets andthrow fortheParliamentcomplex,probablysince society were on board, in contrasttoUPCM Ascholar of South Asian cinema, them intothe hands of private traders. itsinception, has been replacedbythe far YogiAdityanath’sdivisive image.Forinstan- Gopalan Ravindran, who teaches at the Theybelieve this is happening because moreexpensive IndiaTourismDevelopme- ce,Madhya Pradesh’skanyadaanschemefor Central University of Tamil Nadu, points the government is toobroke to paythat ntCorporation.CentralHall,thefamoushub newly-wedsincludedminorities.Hehosted out that the founder of Dravidian move- Minimum SupportPrice (MSP) that guar- whichservedasameetingplace forsenior IftaarpartiesforEidwherehedonnedaskull ment, Periyar,didn’t viewfilm stars antees them their meagre profit. scribes,MPs and ex-MPs, is outofbounds cap. He allowedexemptions to those not favourably. “But Annadurai (Periyar’s dis- On December 29, Tamil superstarRajinikanthannouncedthat he would not This mayormay notbetrue but what forallexceptsittingmembers.Someof the- singing Vande Mataram or recitingthe bho- ciple who lefttoset up the DMK) wasa enter politics owing to his ill health. File is true is that thereare very fewrichfarm- sechangescanbedueto thepandemicand janmantra.Butinhisnewavataar,Chouhan theatreartiste andwriter,and ropedinhis ers in India. On government friendly ‘pri- the building activity foranew parliament. appears to be modeling himself on Adi- followers likeKarunanidhi and MGR to vate’TVchannels Ihavebeen astonished But thereason fornot renewing Lok Sabha tyanathwithahardlineHindutvaapproach communicatewith people. Annadurai wasclearabout his political ambitions kanth’s heterogenous fans,” he says. to hear commentators vent their rage passesforaccreditedjournalistsintheLong sincehecannolongerriskdispleasingModi usedacombination of mediums... There and worked on this.“He picked roles Apartfromthis, MGR wasapowerful against‘rich, greedy farmers’. If therewere andDistinguishedcategoryseemspartofa and Shah. Chouhan has introducedloveji- were also many factors... cinema wasnot wherehewas cast as an idealistic man, orator with complete command over the richfarmers there wouldbenoneedfor a largerpatternforshrinkingthemediaspace. had laws andimposedharsh penalties. seenasaseparateentityunliketoday,” and cultivatedanimageofbeingbenevo- Tamil language,Bhaskaran says,with minimumsupportprice.This is some- Recently, thestate policearrestedcomedian Ravindran says. lent to the poor.Hemarketed and branded Rajinikanthtrailing on both accounts. thing that the ‘agricultural experts’who MunawarFaruqui foroffending religious The actorstoo belonged to the post- himself forthe masses.” If JJayalalithaa This is why, Bhaskaran feels, that devisedthe newfarm laws appear notto NOHURRY sentiments,evenbeforethe performer had Independence erawherenationalism was washis protege,MKarunanidhi wrotethe despiteall the hype surrounding have noticed. Thereisnoquestion that re- Indiandiplomacygot aboostershotwiththe actuallyuttered an offensive word. at itspeak,and cinema of- scripts formanyofMGR’s anyannouncement by Rajinikanth formsare needed in agricultureand a Covidvaccineexports.Ourdiplomatsinthe tenreflected that, along Thecommon films, with both eventually regarding politics, he willfail if he restson good firststepmight even be opening neighbouringcountriespressedtheMEAfor with themes of socialism. joining politics. Karuna- “merestardom”, without firm politics accesstoprivate marketsbut if farmers gettingthefirstbatchofvaccinesforthehost YEDI’S 9LIVES One of Annadurai’s first thread is that unlike nidhi carved aseparate or ideology. believe that this will leavethem at the countries to earn goodwill. In the running In the lastfew months, it seemedasifthe choices wasKRRama- other parts of the space on the strength of his One of the mostrecent examples of mercy of richand ruthless traders, they were:the Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri scandal-hit Karnataka CM BSYediyurappa swamyorKRR. Amuch-in- country, cine stars writings, both fortheatre this is Captain Vijayakanth, whose DMDK willnever seethe newlawsasanattempt Lanka. Brazil, with the second largest fatali- might finallybeonthe wayout. Apowerful demand actor at the time and film, and his poetry. blazedtothe second-highestnumberof at reform. It is true that theyhavebeen ties afterthe US, wasfirsttomakeadown lobbyled by BJP’s general secretary(organ- (1950-60s), whostarred in entering politicsin Thisiswherethe older seatsafter the winner AIADMK in the obdurateand unrelenting about their payment foraconsignment. In the end, the isation)BLSanthoshisagainsthim.Besides, both theatreand films, TamilNadu have film stars differfrom 2011 Assemblypolls, but is nowreduced demand thatthe three laws be repealed governmentoptedtodispatchthefirstbatch the unenviable task of meeting ministerial Ramaswamywas acom- Rajinikanth’s ambitions, de- to zeroMPs and MLAs. Kamal Haasan’s but should the government notbetrying to Bhutan.Ironically, theBhutanesewillnot aspirationsof MLAswhohaddefectedfrom mitted DMKfunctionary failed to click spitethe latter’s unsur- party Makkal Needhi Maiam failedto to find out why? utilise the vaccines forwell over amonth other parties and theold BJPloyalists was who kept aside his entire re- without asolid passedsuccess and name open an account in the 2019 Lok Sabha It is possible that by thetime youread since an inauspicious period, ‘Dana’, begins proving to be ahugeheadache. Yet, despite muneration forthe party. groundingin recognitionthatextends to polls, with itsvotesharenot crossing even this therewould have been an attempt to shortlyand would end onlyinearly March. some hiccups, the 78-year-old warhorse Soon after, theDMK had NorthIndia. single digits. crushthe protestswith police action. Signs TheBhutangovernmentintendsto launcha seemsto have pulleditoffagain.Apparently, twomoreactors in itsranks, political ideology Tamil film historian Kalaippuli SThanu, aveteran Tamil of this became evident lastweek.What vaccination drive at theend of Dana. PMModiandAmitShahwere againstrepla- SSRajendran a.k.a SRR and TheodoreBhaskaran calls a film producer known forseveral also became evident if youwatched TV cing Yediyurappa, fearing it would risk the Sivaji Ganesan. Morepopular than comparison between MGR and Rajinikanth superhitsincluding Kabali, news is that acrackdown has the fullest fall of the government givenits wafer-thin Rajendran, Sivaji toowas adiehardDMK Rajinikanth “foolish”. “Right from his30s, says thesuccess of film stars in politics supportofthe media. Anchors have made NOPHOTO-OP majority in the Assembly. Yediyurappa ex- functionary. It waswhen he got toobusy MGR wasactive in politics, initiallyinthe is athing of the past, and notjustbecause their loyalty to the government morethan AmitShah cancelledhis trip to Chennai on pressedgratitude,comparingShahtoSard- with his movie career,and branchedonto Congress and then the DMK. When he left theyare notasrootedinpolitics as be- clearbyraving on about howwrong it is to January14wherehewas to be the chief arPatel,bothbeingGujaratihomeministers, mythological movies (seen at variance the DMK to form the AIADMK afterparty fore.Actors hadacertain aura,Thanu allow‘anarchists’tochallengethe might of guestattheanniversarycelebrationsof the whichnodoubt pleasedShah immensely. withthe DMK’sprofessed atheism)that founder CNAnnadurai’s death,the fol- pointsout,with alarger-than-lifeimage, the Indian state. Thuglakmagazinenoweditedby theSangh AsHomeMinisterintheAtalBihariVajpayee the space vacated by him in the DMK was lowers he took along with him were not accessible onlyonthe big screen. My fervent hope is that if thereisa ideologue SGurumurthy. Instead, he flew government,LKAdvani,dubbedasLohPur- filledbyMGRamachandran. merefilm fans but ahighlypolitical, ho- “Also, unlikethe past, fans tooare no crackdown it will notinclude the casual to Ahmedabadforakiteflyingfestival.Shah ush,likewisewascomparedwiththeSardar. Gopalan says that unlikeSivaji, MGR mogenous setofpeople, unlikeRajini- longer political.” brutality that we usuallysee in suchsitu- ations. My fervent hope is that somehow away is found to persuade thefarmers that they have wontheir battle andcan nowgohome in victory. Iamnot givento ferventlyhoping foranything in this col- She umn but this time Idosincerely, forthe SAID Bizarre interpretation,problematic order reason thatthe thought of Punjab sliding backintoanother period of violence and SHRUTHI chaos is tooawful to thinkabout. It could RAMAKRISHNAN Act, read with IPC Sections 354(sexual as- chose to applySection 354ofthe IPC, a Also, sexual assault under thePOCSO aggressively questions the victim’s ageto happen because this is exactlywhat the [email protected] sault and criminal forcewith intention to colonial provisionthat punishes “assaults” Act, 2012,carries aminimum of three remove the application of the Actwhich jihadistmilitarymen next door aretrying outragethemodestyof awoman),363(kid- or useof“criminal forcetoany woman, in- years imprisonment whichmay extend onlyapplies to those belowthe ageof18. to achieve.Theyhaveworkedhardand napping),and342(wrongfulconfinement). tending to outrage... her modesty”, which to five years, in addition to afine. In com- In the recent case, the defence did not longtostir up secession through shady THE JUDGMENT of the Nagpur Benchof Section 7ofthe POCSO Actdefines carries asignificantlylenient punishment. parison, Section 354ofthe IPC carries only raise the issue as it would onlysabotage Sikh organisations in north America who the Bombay High Court, whichheld that sexual assault of achild as “whoever, with The highcourt’s bizarre interpretation one year of minimum imprisonment. If their case, and neither of the courts un- could notwin an election in Punjab if they groping “without skin-to-skincontact” sexual intent touches the vagina, penis, has even moreabsurdimplications forthe the impetus forsuchajudgment wasto dertook the inquiry. tried. What theycan do, though, is desta- does notamount to “sexual assault”un- anus, or breastofsuchperson....” In a other provisions of the POCSO Act. Forin- sparethe perpetrator from the stringent This oversight, coupledwith the case bilise India at atime when thereisalready der the Protection of Children from Sexual markeddeparturefromthe mostobvi- stance, Section 3defines‘penetrative sex- punishment of the POCSO Act, this reluc- being delayedfor nearly four years, and the enough trouble in another (former) state Offences (POCSO) Act, has evoked im- ous interpretation of the clause that has ual assault’ as being committed whenever tance warrantsclose inquiry. tactless interpretation of the HC seriously on our northern borders. mense criticism. While the Supreme been appliedinthe lastnine years, the thereisapenetration of anyobject, penis, Alookatthe trial court’s judgment also impairs the effective implementation of Thereisnoquestion that it is Pakistan Courthas nowstayedthe controversial single judgeHCbenchstated, “as per the or hand to anypartofthe vagina, anus, reveals another gross oversight. The birth the POCSO Act. While the Supreme Court that has encouraged violence in Kashmir order,the interpretation of the offence definition of sexualassault,a‘physical mouth, or urethraofthe child; or if the ac- certificateofthe child acceptedbythe trial has stayedtheorder afteritwas arguedthat andPunjab. But, thereisalso no question and the Actbythe HighCourt is problem- contact with sexual intent without pen- cused“applies his/her mouth to the pri- courtshows she wasborn on May25, the judgment was“likelytoset adanger- that the door has been openedfor this to atic at severallevels. etration’ is an essential ingredient of the vate parts of the child”. This section,like 2005, and at the time of the offence ous precedent”, it remains to be seen how happen by bad policies made in Delhi. The In the case, the perpetratorpressedthe offence”, with “physical contact” requir- Section 7does notexplicitlystate ‘direct (December 14,2016),she was11years old. the apexcourtresponds to this unprece- Prime Ministermustdesistfrommaking 12-year-old victim’s breastand attempted ing “skin-to-skin contact” and notjust contact’. Then, the BombayHC’s ‘logic’ So, in fact, it’snot sexualassault under dented interpretation of the POCSO Act. the repeal of his farm laws aprestigeis- to remove her salwar,atwhichpoint the anycontact. would mean that if aperpetratoruses a Section 7, but aggravated sexual assault Shruthi Ramakrishnan is alegal suebecause since lastweek thereare signs child screamedand wasswiftlyrescuedby The judgedid notinterpret the offence condom while penetrating the child, it under Section 9ofthe POCSOAct which researcher working on child rights. that the problem India faces is muchbig- her mother.The accusedwas convicted by to constitute an attempt to commit sexual would notconstituteanoffence since carries aminimum of five years impris- National Editor Shalini Langer curates gerand infinitelymoredangerous than thetrialcourtunderSection8ofthePOCSO assault underthe POCSOAct,and instead therewas no ‘direct contact’. onment.InmostPOCSOcases, thedefence thefortnightly‘She Said’column angryfarmers.

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THESUNDAY EXPRESS,JANUARY31,2021 MEANWHILE COACHELLA MUSIC FEST CANCELLED AGAIN TheCoachella music festival, one of thelargest music festivals in the world,was cancelled by local health officials in southernCalifornia,where it wasdue to be 8 THE WORLD heldinApril 2021,because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. It wasthe third time the outdoor event had been cancelled or postponed because of the pandemic.

TOPOFTHE WORLD CDCorderssweeping UStransportationmask

Fauci says vaccinemakers will have to be ‘nimble to be mandateasCovidrages able to adjust readily’ to virus mutations Face covermustonplanes, trains, buses, taxis from Monday Fauci: SAfrica The Wockhardt plant in Wrexham. Reuters DAVIDSHEPARDSON virus variant’s WASHINGTON,JANUARY30 resilience a BRITAIN THE US Centers forDisease Manchargedover Control and Prevention (CDC) is- ‘wake-up call suedasweeping order lateFriday packagesentto Amunicipal worker disinfectsEleftheria squareinNicosia, Cyprus,onSaturday. Asteady requiring theuse of face maskson AstraZeneca decrease in newcoronavirusinfections three weeksintoCyprus'nationwide lockdown is nearly allforms of public trans- THENEWYORKTIMES allowing forthe startofthe gradual, targeted lifting of closuresand restrictions, the portation as the countrycontin- JANUARY30 vaccineplant country's health minister said lastweek. Reuters ues to reportthousandsofdaily AMAN has been charged Covid-19deaths. DR ANTHONY Fauci warned afterasuspicious package The order,which takeseffect Fridaythat newclinical trial re- wassent to afactory in on Monday,requires face masks The order says passengers mustwear amask in transit except sultsfromJohnson&Johnson, WHO drops its opposition to to be worn by all travellers on forbrief periods, suchastoeat, drink or take medication. Reuters showing that itsvaccine is less Wales that produces AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 airplanes, ships, trains, sub- effective againstahighlyinfec- vaccine resulting in a ways,buses, taxis, and ride- tious variant of the coronavirus temporarysuspension of vaccinatingpregnant women shares and at transportation Govt backing for airlines’rules circulating in South Africa, manufacturing, British hubs likeairports,bus or ferry were a“wake-up call”. police said on Saturday. terminals, train and subwaysta- He said the virus will con- The Wockhardt plant in theWHO’searlierposition.Theex- believe therewill be specific tions and seaports. MOSTAIRLINES al- The neworder by tinue to mutate,and vaccine Wrexham provides so- APOORVAMANDAVILLI perts notedthat it wasinconsis- risksthat would outweigh the US President Joe Biden on ready requirepassen- the CDC is expected manufacturers will have to be calledfill-and-finish ca- JANUARY30 tentwithguidanceonthesameis- benefitsofvaccination forpreg- January21ordered government gers to wear masks. to makeiteasier “nimble to be able to adjust pacityfor AstraZeneca’s suefromthe US Centers for nant women.” The recommen- agenciesto “immediatelytakeac- But anumber of forairlines to enforce readily” to reformulating the British supplychain, THE WORLD HealthOrganisation Disease Controland Prevention, dation is nowcloselyaligned tion” to requiremasksinairports travellers in the US the requirement to vaccines if needed. whichisthe final manu- on Fridaychanged itsguidance and would confuse pregnant with the CDC’s stance. andoncommercialaircraft,trains have relentlesslyrefusedto wear masks, because are- Fauci’s warning, at the White facturing step of putting forpregnantwomenconsidering women looking forclear advice. Expertspraisedthe shift. and public maritime vessels,in- wear face coverings, leading fusaltocomplywould be a House briefing on the virus, vaccinesintovialsorsy- aCovid-19vaccine,abandoning The vaccines made by Pfizer- “I wasverypleased to see that cludingferries,intercitybusserv- to conflict with flight crew. federal offence. comes amid increasing concern ringes and packaging opposition to immunisation for BioNTechand Moderna, while WHO changed their guidance re- ices and all public transportation. about newand moreinfectious them. Police said mostexpectant mothers unless theyhavenot been tested in gardingofferingtheCovid-19vac- Under Donald Trump, who variantsofthe virus that are AnthonyCollins, 53, was theywereathigh risk. pregnant women, have not cine to pregnant women,” said Dr waspresident until Jan 20, aCDC fidence that we canonce again likelyifneeded. The order will be emerging overseas and turning chargedwith dispatching The changefollowedanout- shown anyharmful effectsinan- Denise Jamieson, an obstetrician push to mandatemasksintran- travel safelyevenduringthis enforcedbythe Transportation up in the US. the packageinthe post. It crytothe WHO’s previous stance, imal studies. And the technology at EmoryUniversity and amem- sit wasblockedand the agency pandemic,” said the 11-pageor- Security Administration and fed- Dr Rochelle Walensky,the was“notaviable device”, whichstatedthat the organisa- usedinthe vaccines is generally beroftheCovidexpertgroupwith instead onlyissuedstrong rec- der signedbyMarty Cetron, di- eral, stateand localagencies. newdirector of the Centersfor police said. REUTERS tion did “notrecommendthe known to be safe, experts said. theAmericanCollegeofObstetrics ommendations formask use. rector forCDC’s Division of Global The order says passengers Disease Control and Prevention, vaccination of pregnant women” The WHO’s newphrasing re- and Gynecology.The association Trumpalso rejected effortsby Migration and Quarantine. mustwear amask in transit ex- whowas alsoatthe briefing, is- with the vaccinesmade by Pfizer- flectsthis information: wasamong themanyhealth or- Congress to mandatemask use. The CDC said people violating ceptfor briefperiods, suchasto sued aplea to Americans to con- BioNTechand Moderna. “Basedonwhat we know ganisations that had urgedPfizer “Requiring masksonour the order could potentiallyface eat, drink or take medication. tinue wearing masksand prac- IRAN Severalexpertshadexpressed about this kind of vaccine, we andModernato speedupvaccine transportationsystems willpro- criminalpenalties but suggested Masksmay be eithermanufac- tice social distancing, and to Tehranrejects disappointmentonThursdaywith don’t have anyspecific reason to tests in pregnant women. NYT tect Americans and provide con- civil penalties would be more tured or homemade. REUTERS avoid travel. newparticipants tonucleardeal Blinken dials Pak foreign minister, Myanmar’smilitary IRAN’S FOREIGN ministry rejectedany newnegotia- tionsorchangesto thepar- urges accountability in Pearl case allays coup fears, says it ticipantsofTehran’s nu- cleardeal with world tance of continuedUS-Pakistan will protect constitution powers, afterFrench LALITKJHA& DanielPearl cooperation on the Afghan peace President Emmanuel SAJJADHUSSAIN waskilled process, support forregionalsta- by itscommander-in-chief, Macron said newtalks WASHINGTON,ISLAMABAD, while he was bility,and the potential to ex- REUTERS Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, should include Saudi JANUARY30 in Pakistan pand our trade and commercial YANGON,JANUARY30 about abolishing the constitu- Arabia.“Thenuclearaccord in 2002 ties, Price said. tion had been misinterpreted. is amultilateral interna- The UAE’s economy has been hit by the coronavirus US SECRETARYofState Antony The PakistanForeign Office MYANMAR’S MILITARYsaid on “The Tatmadawisprotecting tional agreement ratified pandemic and lowoil prices, promptingtens of thousands of Blinken has spoken over the said in astatement that the two Saturdayitwouldprotect and the 2008 constitutionand will by UN Security Council expatriates to leave. Reuters phone with PakistanForeign Spokesperson NedPrice said on leaders discussed“recent devel- abide by theconstitution and act act according to thelaw,” it said. Resolution 2231, whichis Minister Shah Mahmood Fridaythat Blinken reinforced opmentsinthe Daniel Pearl according to law, amovethat “Some organisations and media non-negotiableandparties Qureshi and discussedthe need America’s concernoverPakistan case” and Qureshi “underscored could allayconcerns that the assumedwhat theywantand to it areclear and un- foraccountability in the murder Supreme Court’s ruling acquit- that it wasimportant and in the armedforces might attempt to wroteasTatmadawwill abolish changeable,” Iran Foreign UAE adopts amendments of AmericanjournalistDaniel ting Pearl’s killers. mutual interestthat justice is seize power. the constitution.” Ministrysaid. REUTERS Pearl, according to the US State “Blinken and Qureshi dis- served through legal means”. Thestatementcomesaday af- Aung San Suu Kyi’s ruling to grant citizenship to Department. cussedhow to ensureaccounta- Qureshi congratulated terUNSecretary-General Antonio National League forDemocracy USA Pearl, the 38-year-old South bility forconvicted terrorist SecretaryBlinken on assuming Guterresand Western embassies Party(NLD),whichwon 11soldiers Asiabureauchief forTheWallStreet AhmedOmar SaeedSheikh and his office, underscoring in Myanmar expressedserious November’selectioninalandslide, investors, professionals Journal,was abducted and be- othersresponsibleforthe kidnap- Pakistan's commitment to forg- concerns about the possibility of calledthestatementa“suitableex- hospitalisedafter headedwhile he wasinPakistan ping and murder of American ing acomprehensive partner- armyinterventionin Myanmar,a planation”. NLD spokesmanMyo drinkingantifreeze the publicwelfaresystem. The investigatingastoryin2002onthe journalistDanielPearl,” Pricesaid ship with the United States countryruledbythe militaryfor Nyunt told Reuters the party REUTERS UAEspends billions of dollars linksbetweenthecountry’spow- in areadout of the call. basedonthe convergence of in- 49 years aftera1962coup. wanted themilitarytobeanor- ELEVEN SOLDIERSatFort DUBAI,JANUARY30 eachyear on free education, erful spyagency ISI and al-Qaeda. In addition, Blinken and terestsonawhole rangeofis- The military, known as the ganisation “that accepts the peo- Bliss in Texas remained healthcare, housing loans and StateDepartment Qureshi discussedthe impor- sues, it said. PTI Tatmadaw, said recent remarks ple’sdesire regardingtheelection”. hospitalisedonFriday, one THE UNITED Arab Emirates has grantsfor itsestimated 1.4mil- dayafter theydrank an- adoptedamendmentsthat lion citizens. tifreeze,believingitwasal- would allowthe Gulf stateto Foreigners in the UAEusu- HD MEDIA SAYS GOOGLE ‘THREATENS THEEXTINCTIONOFLOCAL NEWSPAPERS’ IN U.S. 4-yr-old Sikh girl cohol, during afield train- grant citizenship to investors allyhaverenewable visas valid ing exercise, military and other professionalsinclud- foronlyafew years tiedtoem- West Virginia newspaper publisher sues Google, FB becomes one of officialssaid.Initiallabtests ing scientists,doctors and their ployment. The government in showedthe soldiers were families,the governmentsaid recent has made itsvisa policy that Google and Facebook con- Chavern, head of the news youngest in UK experiencingethylenegly- on Saturday. moreflexible, offering longer TALIARBEL spiredto further their dominance trade group News Media col poisoning afteringest- “TheUAE cabinet, local residencies forcertain types JANUARY30 withasecretagreement,referring Alliance. He said the group was to get into Mensa ingtheantifreezeonthefi- Emiri courts andexecutive of investors, studentsand to asuit filedby10Republican at- notinvolvedinthe suit. naldayofa10-daytraining councils will nominatethose el- professionals. AWESTVirginia news publisher torneys general in December. HDMediafiledinfederalcourt exercise,Lt.Col.AlliePayne, igible forthe citizenship under Lastyear,the government ex- has filedanantitrustsuit against The companydoes notspec- in West Virginia and asked fora ADITIKHANNA aspokeswomanfor the clear criteria setfor eachcate- tendedits “golden”visa system - Google and Facebook,who to- ify the impact on itsbusiness of jurytrial. It asked for unspecified LONDON,JANUARY30 FirstArmored Division at gory,” Dubai’s ruler and UAE whichgrants10-year residency gether receive roughlyhalf of all the behavior of Facebook and damages and that the courtstop Fort Bliss, said at anews Vice President Sheikh in the Gulf state-tocertain pro- digital ad dollars in the US and Federal antitrustauthorities Google beyond saying that it has GoogleandFacebookfromtheun- AFOUR-YEAR-OLD BritishSikh conference.ColonelPayne Mohammedbin Rashid Al fessionals, specialiseddegree- arefacingantitrustchargesfrom have suedbothGoogleand hurtits ability to “effectively competitive conduct it is alleging. girlhas become one of the declinedtodiscuss the Maktoum said in atwitter post. holders and others. federal and stateauthorities. Facebook in recent months monetise itscontent” because Federal and stateantitrust youngestinthe UK to be ac- episode in detail, saying “The lawallows receivers of An oil and gasproducer,the The company, HD Media, Google is enabledtotakeanun- authorities have suedboth ceptedintothe eliteMensaclub it remainedunderinvesti- the UAEpassporttokeep their UAE’s economy has been hit by owns severalpapers in the state, competitive shareofthe news Google and Facebook in recent forpeople with ahigh intelli- gation by US Army existing citizenship,” Sheikh the coronavirus pandemic and includingthe Herald-Dispatch in so monopolisedthe online ad publisher’s ad revenues. months. The Justice gence quotient (IQ). CriminalInvestigation Mohammedadded. lowoil prices,promptingtens Huntington and the Charleston marketthat “itthreatens the ex- It’sthe firstantitrustlawsuit Departmentalleges that Google Dayaal Kaur,who liveswith Command. NYT It wasunclear if newpass- of thousands of expatriates Gazette-Mail. tinctionoflocalnewspapersacross againstatechplatform focused abuses itsdominance in online her familyinBirmingham, had portholders would benefit from to leave. HD Media claims Google has the country”. The suit also alleges on news publishing, said David search andadvertising. AP displayedexceptional learning abilities. Sheexpressedanen- thusiasm to appear forthe Mensa test,conducted online from home due to the coron- ‘WE NEED THIS CATALYST,NOW’ avirus lockdown, and achieved an IQ scoreof145,whichputs herinthe topone per cent of As protests grip Russia, Putin critics of many stripes rally around Navalny the UK's population in the “verygiftedorhighlyad- vanced” category. “Entering aphase of intense the protests,ashehas in the past, personallydenying Navalny’s ac- —theyjustwant changeinthe “Weare delighted to wel- ANTONTROIANOVSKI crisis is alesser evil than this using asprawling security appa- cusationthathehadbuilthimself country,”Milovsaid. come Dayaal to Mensa, where MOSCOW,JANUARY30 slowdegradation of the coun- ratus adeptatstifling discontent asecret palace on the BlackSea. Navalnymade aname as an she joins acommunity of about try,”Pasechnik,42, said. “We while avoiding large-scale repres- Putin’s usuallyatomisedcrit- anticorruptionbloggerintheearly 2,000 junior and teen mem- ALEKSANDR PASECHNIK, aso- needthis catalyst, now.” sion that could inflame passions ics have come together around 2000s,butalsoengagedinnation- bers,” said John Stevenage, cialist, sees thejailedopposition Opposition to President further.Evenmanyofthe protest- the figureofNavalny,44, notfor alistpolitics,turningoffmanylib- British Mensa’s chief executive. leader AlekseiNavalnyaspartof Vladimir Putin has come in many ers themselvessaidit wouldtake his political views but because erals.Three-quartersof theview- “Her familycan makeuse of the “liberal intelligentsia”. hues—fromStalinistswhodream farbigger crowds to persuade the he is perceivedasasymbolofthe ersofhis “NavalnyLive” YouTube the supportive parents’ network Mikhail Svetov,Russia’sbest- of resurrecting the plannedecon- Kremlin to changecourse. main source of theanger that channel were men,its director, thathas developedand we hope known libertarian, recoils from omy, to nationalists who want to Still, the latestflash of discon- manyRussians feel toward the LyubovSobol, told The NewYork that as she growsup, Dayaal Navalny’s economic populism. restrictmigrationandannexmore tent is notable because it unites Kremlin: injustice. Times lastMay.Sobol attributed makes manylifelong friends and OlgaNikiforova, amonarchist, of Ukraine,to liberalswholongfor “Enteringaphaseofintense crisis is alesser evil than this right and left, old and young; and Vladimir Milov, aformer that phenomenon to Navalny’s experiences some of the many long refusedtobelieve that democracyandclosertieswiththe slow degradation of thecountry,”said Aleksandr Pasechnik, the protesters,rather than deputy energy ministerand now brusque, radical style. learning and networkopportu- Navalnywas poisoned. West.Rarelyhavethese disparate asocialist. NYT vaguelytargeting government an advisertoNavalny, said the Yetlastweekend,about45per nities that Mensa offers,” he said. Yetdespitetheirmisgivings,all groupscometogetherastheyhave officials, areunabashedlyattack- opposition leader’s team did not cent of thoseatNavalny’srally in Dayaal, whose dream for three risked arrest to join the inthelastweekaroundNavalny— ing Putin himself. viewideology as an important Moscowwerewomen,and42per nowistobecome an astronaut protests that sweptacrossRussia because the moment has arrived, “Navalny has, forthe firsttime, the Moscow SchoolforSocial and ThatmeansPutinfacesanun- factor in mobilising protesters. centsaidtheyhadneverprotested and also to have astable full of lastweekendcallingforNavalny’s moreand moreRussians say, sparkedaRussian protestmove- EconomicSciences.“It is ahistoric usuallyvolatile moment —asev- “The vast majority of people before this year,accordingtoa horses, took the test justbefore release —and were considering when theycan no longer abide ment againstthe President,” said moment forthe country.” idencedbythe extraordinary whocomeoutarenotpartisansof group of sociologists who sur- her fourth birthdayinOctober doing so again on Sunday. passive acceptance of Putin. Konstantin Gaaze, asociologistat Putin is in position to ride out spectaclerecentlyofthePresident anyideologyorhave specificviews veyedthe crowd. NYT lastyear. PTI Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THESUNDAY EXPRESS,JANUARY31,2021 Crude Wa tch US CRUDE SETTLES LOWER NewYork: US oilpricessettled slightly lowerafter trading in atight range,asinvestorsworried about the lingering pandemic and slow 9 ECONOMY vaccine rollouts. Brent crude settled up 36 cents, or 0.6per cent abarrel, at $55.88. US WTI crude futures fell 0.3per cent to $52.20. REUTERS

STRENGTHRISESTO713ASOFNOV,COMPAREDTO669ASOFMAR:ECOSURVEY INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT &MD, MG MOTOR INDIA ‘GSTrationalisation, GrowingairlinefleetinIndia scrappage policy amust bucksCoviddistresstrend for spectaculargrowth’ THOUGH THE passenger vehicle the situation.But, as of now, our craftbyAirbus were deliveredto intothe newyear and addedtwo segmenthaswitnessedagoodre- cars aredoingwell and we arere- PRANAVMUKUL airlines suchasVistara and GoAir. morewide-bodiedfreighters — covery over lastthree months, ceiving good response from con- NEWDELHI,JANUARY30 Globally, Airbusdelivered566 Boeing 767and Airbus A330 —to thereisasensethatforthegrowth sumersandwe areabletoselland aircraftin2020,downfrom863in itsfleetinJanuary.Aftertheinduc- to continue, the economyhas to areexpanding.Idon’tknowabout INDUCTIONOF44newaircraftby 2019.Vistara also took deliveries tionsofthesetwoplanes,thecom- grow.RAJEEV CHABA, president thefuture,howitwillshapeupbut India’slargest airlineIndiGo—the of twoBoeing 787wide-bodied pany’s total cargofleetsize in- and MD, MG MotorIndia, told we areexpandingour capacity to highestdeliveredto anysingleair- planes from the American plane- creasedto19, including five SANDEEPSINGHthatbesidesroad up to 1lakh cars. line by Frenchmanufacturer makerduringtheyear—thefirstof wide-body aircraft. infrastructurethatisspeedingata Airbus in 2020 across the globe— whichwas deliveredinFebruary. Apart from SpiceJet,logistics good pace, the industryneeds re- Over lastfiveyears, we have and athree-fold increase in num- In addition to passenger aircraft, firmBlueDartoperatesafleetofsix forms suchasrationalisation of seen adecline in pace of berofdedicatedairfreightersto20 airlines suchasSpiceJetalso con- Boeing 757wide-bodiedaircraft GSTand scrappagepolicy fora industrygrowth. What arethe ensured that India’s fleetstrength Afleetofairplanes at the IGI airport in New Delhi. Express file tinuedtoexpandtheircargo fleets in the country. Meanwhile,the strong growth going forward. biggestfactors impacting it? number buckedthe trend of avia- giventhe disproportionate fall in Economic Survey predicted that Having already launchedanEVin Even pre-Covid, 2-3 factors tion industry’s poor performance capacitywhencomparedwiththe air passengertraveland aircraft Indian market, he said the com- limited thegrowth auto sector. in ayear markedbythe Covid-19 whichbuttressed the fact that Airbus commercial aircraftdeliv- fall in demand forair cargo trans- movementswould reachpre- panyisworkingtobring another Automotive salesgrowthislinked pandemic.Asperinformationpro- 2020 wasthe worstyear forthe eries forthe year ... This shows the port. In August2020, SpiceJetin- Covid levelinearly 2021“as are- EV at pricepointofless than RajeevChaba clearly to the country’s economy. videdinthe Economic Survey for aviation sector in history. intrinsicstrengthandresilienceof ductedtheAirbusA340aircraftits sultof swiftanddecisiveinterven- Rs 20 lakh. Edited excerpts: Our GDP growth has been pretty 2021-22,tabledbeforeParliament Airframe maker Airbus said theIndian commercialaviation firstwide-bodiedcargo aircraft. tions and effective measuresput averageandanaemicandthathas onFriday, thetotalfleetstrengthof thatitdelivered57aircraftin2020 sector.Italso demonstrated our Withthisinduction,SpiceJet’sded- in placebythe government”. While the industryhas seen also talkingofbatteryassembly beenonereason.Secondisthatthe Indiancarriersincreasedto713 as to Indian carriers,ofwhich44 abilitytoadaptquickly ... we re- icated freighter fleethad nine air- Currently, these numbers areop- growth in the lastquarter, do and havingserious engagement costofbuying kept going up be- of November 2020, compared to were to IndiGo. In addition to this, main cautiouslyoptimistic as we craftcomprising five Boeing737s, erating at around 70 percent of yousee it sustaining? with certain players to do that in causeofvarious regulations, fea- 669asofMarch 2020. IndiGo also inducted ATRturbo- begin 2021, although challenges threeBombardierQ-400sandone pre-Covid level. Thegovernment Afterthe pandemic and lock- India.Weare alsocollaboratingon tures and also because of costof Thiswasinvariationwithmost prop planes.“Weare honouredto and uncertainties remain high,” Airbus A340. Between then and hasimposedarestrictionallowing down the situationwas grim.Un- chargers, end of lifecycle-battery operationsasgasolinepricesrose. major indicators suchaspassen- have delivered57aircrafttoour Remi Maillard, president &MD, December,the airline inducted airlinesto operateonly80percent lockdownstartedinJune-Julyand, disposal system, batterymining Thethird factor,Iwouldsayisthat gertraffic,cargo tonnage,deployed customersinIndiain2020,which Airbus India &SouthAsia told The eightmorefreighterplanes.Itcon- of their scheduledflight capacity by September,theindustrystarted system(canwe have secondlifeof the big cities likeMumbai,Delhi capacity and airline revenues, wasalittle over 10 percent of all SundayExpress.Theremainingair- tinuedtotakeinmoreplaneswell on the domesticsectors. doing fine. By December,enough the battery), among others. were notgrowing at same pace people startedcoming to show- because of shared mobility and rooms.Whiledemandroseonac- Thereisaborder situation with consumption peaked andstarted count of preference forpersonal China and it does playon to decline. These were some rea- TELECOM WATCH Growthincredit mobility and pent-up demand, people’s mind. Howhas it been sonsthatlimitedthegrowthof au- NEW SERVICES RBI: Non-food bank credit 9.4% toagriculture these factors can onlysustain de- achallengefor you? tomotive.Idon’texpectspectacu- andalliedactivitiesinthereporting mand forthis quarter(Januaryto In general, politics is some- lar growth unless thereare big growsat5.9% in December monthfrom5.3percentin March).Afterthat,ithasto bemore thingelse.Governmentcomesout reforms suchasrationalisationof December2019,thedataon than feel good and individual fac- withright policies forthe country GSTand scrappagepolicy,which 5G roll-out: How cut Non-food credit growth of banksstood at 5.9 per cent in sectoraldeploymentofbankcredit torsandhasto alignwiththeecon- and forsectors wheretheywant is amust. The thirdisthe road in- December 2020, compared to 7per cent in thesame month forDecember2020,releasedby omy. So, in medium to long run it investment or don’t want invest- frastructure, whichisspeeding at of theprevious year,ReserveBank of India datashowed RBI showed will depend on economy. We all ment.So,thatwe willleave itto the agoodpace.Theseallcouldleadto hope that the Budget would be government andcomplywith all spectacular growth. in notice period will contractionin good and the real factors would government guidelines. As faras 1.2% loanstoindustry, come intoplayfor theeconomy. consumers areconcerned,Ithink Youoperateinasegment that comparedto1.6percentgrowth, thatnormallyconsumersdon’tgo has been doing well —SUVs. smoothenprocess mainlyduetocontractionincredit What is your plan on EVs? by origin of thecountryconsider- What arethe localisation levels tolargeindustriesby2.4percent Electric vehicle is astrategic ation. Forthem the whole value youhaveachieved? alsobuysomespectrumfores- ascomparedwith1.8percent playforusandgovernmentisalso proposition has to be good. Our We have three SUVs and they AASHISHARYAN tablishing secured communi- ` growthayearago pushingit. EV wasour second brandpillarswhichholdusingood have all been doing well. Now, we NEWDELHI,JANUARY30 cation between their various product in India. We arenot only shapeare—technology,customer plan to launchour fourth product locations. The DoTthus man- Decelerated working on the product side but experienceandcommunitydiver- whichwillalso be an SUV.For EV THE DEPARTMENT of dates that all such newtech- 9.5% growthin on the overall ecosystem. We are sity.Therewould always be some and theGloster,the volumes are Telecommunications(DoT)on nologies being launchedfor personalloansinthereporting working with students, startup customers who would notbuy small, but forHector,whichisa Thursdayreducedthe notice commercialpurposes give a monthascomparedwith15.9per worldand institutions that arepi- product of acertain countrybe- volumeplayer, we areat70-80per period fortelcos to 6months notice period. centgrowthinDecember2019 oneeringinnovation. We are cause of their beliefsorbiases,or cent depending on model range. forrolling out newservice by working with enablers to getthe experiences be it China, Japan, We intend to raise localisation by usingnewtechnology.Thisno- Howwillthe reduced Vehicle loans continuedto game going on technology side. Germany or America.What we another 8-10per centoverthe ticeperiodwasearlieroneyear period helpinfaster5G Growthin Growthincreditto performwellregisteringan Youwillhearmorenews infu- needtoensureisthatourproduct next 18 months andweare look- fortelcos. roll out? 15.3% creditto 1.2% microandsmall acceleratedgrowthof7.8percent tureonbatterytechnology in remains relevant to consumers. ingatinvestingmoremoneyinlo- Inthenoticeinvitingappli- mediumindustries,comparedto industriesinthereportingmonth inDecember2020ascomparedto terms of mileage, consistency of calisation efforts. Whydotelcos needtogive cations forthe spectrum auc- 2.5percentayearago ascomparedto0.1%ayearago 7.2percentayearago mileage, rangeof500 km and we Does this border situation We have already committed notice before launching tions to be held in March,the arehopeful that we willlaunch cross your sponsors mind in Rs 3,000 croreand, this year,we newservices? DoTamendedthe clause by that in 18 months. We arealso ex- holding backplans forIndia? should be doinganother Rs 1,500 Under pressure: Credit growth to rubber plastic and their products, cementand cement Source: As partofthe National cuttingdownthenoticeperiod ploringif we candoacarthatisun- Overall,obviously, if there isno crorefor newproduct, enhancing products, all engineering, beverages and tobacco, infrastructure, basic metaland metal RBI/PTI FrequencyAllocation Plan to 6months from oneyear.A products and construction decelerated/contracted der Rs 20 lakh. We arethinking of change ...We don’tknowaboutthe capacity in the plantand on ven- (NFAP), whenevera total of 2,251.25 asecondEVintwoyearstimeand futurebecauseitalldependsupon dor localisation. newcompanywants MHz of spectrum to enter intothe across 7frequency telecommunications bands at areserve Survey purpose Biyani: Amazon marketoranexisting priceofRs3.92 Q3: ICICIBank Delhi shifts stance, telecom company lakhcrorehasbeen not clear, says playing dog in wantstolauncha put up forsale. newtechnology, a While in this Chidambaram netrises19%, asset the manger tweaks quarantine notice period of one year had auction the government has to be giventothe DoTsothat put up, on auction, frequency NewDelhi: Congress leader NewDelhi: FutureGroup pro- the authorities could make bands only for4Gservices PChidambaramhas said the pur- moterKishoreBiyani has alleged arrangementsfor the spec- could mean that the telecom poseof theEconomicSurvey isnot quality improves that Amazon is “playing the dog rules for UK flyers trum required.The firstNFAP companies could start limited clearasitaidstheself-congratula- in the manger” and trying to cre- releasedin1986,hassincethen commercialtestingof 5Gserv- toryconclusionthattheModidis- ateaconfusion about the group’s been revised multiple time to ices on frequency bands that pensation implemented “far ENSECONOMICBUREAU Loans worth`8,280 cr Rs 24,713-croredeal with PRANAVMUKUL suit thegrowing number of arebeing auctionedinMarch. sighted policyresponse foreco- MUMBAI,JANUARY30 were notclassifiedas Reliance Industries. NEWDELHI,JANUARY30 usersinthe countryaswell as Forexample, on Thursday, nomic recovery”. “... Amazon is playing the dog the demands of the telecom Bharti Airtelannouncedthe The former Union Finance PRIVATESECTORlenderICICIBank NPA, owing to the inthemanger, goingalloutto cre- THE DELHI governmenthas lifted companies.TheUniongovern- successfuldemonstrationof its Ministertookto Twitterto saythat hasreporteda19percentyear-on- Supreme Courtorder, atearuckus...Forreasonswe never therequirementof mandatory7- ment owns all thepublicly live 5Gserviceoveracommer- the “bestdecision” takenbythe year rise in netprofitatRs4,940 according to the bank believedearlier but quiteevident dayinstitutional quarantine for available assets within the ge- cialnetworkinHyderabad,the government is the decision notto croreinthe quarter ended today, this battle is about owner- passengers arriving from the UK ographical boundaries of the firstinIndia, showcasing the print the Economic Survey. December, compared to Rs 4,146 shipof theIndiancustomeratany and testing negative forCovid19 country, which also include readinessof itsnetwork forthe “Now,the Survey hasappar- croreinthe year-agoperiod. indicators areseeing an improve- cost,” he said in his letter written at the airport. This assumes sig- airwaves. With the expansion nextlevelofmobiletelephony. entlyadifferent purpose, al- The bank’s assetquality im- ment.Accordingtothebank,loans onFriday. Meanwhile,Amazondid nificance as the Delhi govern- in the number of cellphone, The networkhas been though the purpose is notclear,” proved,with gross non-perform- worthRs8,280 crorewerenot notrespondtoemailedquery on ment had earlier this month wireline telephone and inter- rolledout on ause case basis he said in atweet. ingassetsdecliningto4.38percent classifiedasNPA,owing to the thematter. brought in the nowrevoked rule Sample forCovid test being netusers, the needtoprovide on anon-standable basis on “All this in aidofthe self-con- in the latestquarterfrom5.95per SupremeCourtorder.This in- BiyanisaidAmazon’spolicyof without sufficientnotice —some- collected at Indira Gandhi morespace forthe signals the 1,800MHz frequency gratulatoryconclusion that gov- centlastyear.Thebankheldaggre- cludedretail loans worth Rs 7,521 “vexatious litigationand harass- thing whichcaught hundredsof International Airport. File arises from time to time. band. The roll out on anon- ernment implemented ‘far gate Covid-19-relatedprovisionof croreandRs759-croreworthcor- ment”was akin to Greekcon- passengers by surprise. Thespectrumwaves,how- standalonebasismeans that sighted policyresponse foreco- Rs 9,984crore,including contin- porateand small business loans. quererAlexander’sruthlessambi- ever,are also usedbyagencies networkcan fall backon4Gif nomic recovery’,” he said. gency provision forproforma The bank said totaldeposits tion to scorch theearth. Rule forpassengers arriving Lastmonth,theIndiangovern- suchasthe Indian Space thereare some glitches in the The government did not NPAsamountingto Rs3,509crore grew by 22 per cent year-on-year Biyani said theFutureGroup from the UK intoDelhi ment had decidedtosuspend all ResearchOrganisationandde- 5G network. print the Economic Survey,pre- forloansnotclassifiedasnon-per- to Rs 874,348 crore, with 19 per wasthetargetof anew formof at- Earlier this month, with the flights from the UK —and these fencesystemsforsecurecom- Full reporton sented in Parliament on Friday, forminginthe wake of the cent growth in averagecurrent tack andthata“corporatebattle”is Centre resuming flights from the were partiallyresumedJanuary8 munication.Somecompanies www.indianexpress.com and onlyadigital version was Supreme Court’s interimorder. and savings account (CASA) de- being fought forsupremacy over UK that were bannedonaccount onwards. This wasdone in lightof made available. PTI Thebanksaidtheassetquality positsinQ3of2021. Indian customers. PTI of themutatedCovid19strain,the the spread of the mutated coron- Delhi governmenthad deviated avirus strain, whichoriginatedin from the Union HealthMinistry’s theUK,andspreadtoovertwotwo BRIEFLY Need to makeefforts to guidelines and mandated each dozen countriesatthe time, in- GameStop ‘tulip’ may be a andeverypassengerarrivingfrom cludinginIndia.Afterassessingthe NewSBICard the UK to undergo institutional situationpertaining to this mu- get rating upgrade in line quarantineforsevendays uponar- tatedstrain, the central govern- MD&CEO rival. This wasasurprise formore ment decidedearlier this week to case for investor caution than 200passengers onboardan further extend the restrictions on NewDelhi: SBICards and with fundamentals:CEA AirIndiaflightfromLondonto the number of flightsfromthe UK till PaymentServices(SBICard) Streetwaitstoseehowlongitwill UK, giventhat the newrule had February14. on Saturday said Rama REUTERS take forhistory to repeat itself. agencies)...Thesechangeshappen been notifiedafter the flight took Mohan RaoAmarahas NEWYORK,JANUARY30 Shares of video game retailer PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA over time. Theydon’t happenin- offfromLondon. Air India, how- Passenger guidelines takencharge asthenew MD GameStopCorphave soared1,625 NEWDELHI,JANUARY30 stantaneously,but youhaveto ever,has contestedthis and said The travel guidelines forpas- &CEO of thecompany. IT SOUNDS likethe startof apara- percentsince thestartofJanuary. continue making efforts,”hetold that passengers were informed sengersremainthesameintheex- ble: Investors stuckinside during Drivingtherallyare individualin- INDIA WILL have to persistently PTI in an interview. about the changeinrule at the tendedrestrictions.Inlinewiththe apandemic begin to bid up an as- vestors who have been stuckat makeefforts forimprovement in The Survey said sovereign London airport. guidelines forother international TVSgroup setuntilitspricebecomesunteth- home forthe last10months. itssovereign rating by different credit ratings methodology must arrivals, allinbound passengers firmstomerge eredto reality. Thevaluesoarsun- These amateurinvestors are globalagenciesinlinewithitseco- beamendedto reflecteconomies’ Norm relaxed from the UK will have to submit til one daythe marketruns out of buoyedbysavingsbuiltupoverthe nomic fundamentals, Chief abilityandwillingnessto paytheir In afresh order,the Delhigov- self-declarationformontheonline NewDelhi: TVSMotor buyersandfreezes,causingprices pandemic,tworoundsof stimulus Economic Adviser KVdebt obligations, and suggested ernment has said that the situa- portal(www.newdelhiairport.in) CompanyonSaturday said to plummetand some unlucky and near zerointerestrates. “The Subramanian said on Saturday. that developing economies must tion has been reviewedand con- atleast72hoursbefore thesched- the boards of TVSHolding fewtolosefortunesmorethanten GameStop Corphas soared reality is that GameStopdoesn’t The Economic Survey pre- cometogetherto addressthisbias sidering thelow positivity rate of uledtravel. All the passengers ar- Companies and TVS times their annual incomes in the 1,625% since January. Reuters file hurtWall Street.Itmight hurta sentedinParliamentonFridayex- andsubjectivityinherentinsover- the UK returnees, it has been de- rivingfromthe UK alsoneedto Investmentsand Holdings span of afew hours. coupleof hedgefundmanagersout pressedconcern over lowersov- eign credit ratings methodology. cidedthattheadditionalmeasure carrynegative RT-PCR test report, have approved acomposite Thedate:February3,1636.On there, but no one is going to cryfor ereignratingassignedbyagencies He addedthe countrywould of compulsory institutionalquar- forwhichtestshould have been scheme of amalgamation thatday,theinfamousDutch tulip asquicklyastheysoar,leavingonly them. The people who will be los- likeFitch, S&Pand Moody’s to witness revivalof‘animal spirits’ antine of travellers testingnega- conductedwithin72hours prior andarrangement,whichisto bubble burstduring an outbreak pain behind. ing lifesavings aresmall retail in- India despiteits strong economic of privateenterprises with the tive maynot be required. to undertaking the journey. be filedwith NCLT soon. PTI of the bubonic plague, illustrating Now, almostexactly385years vestors,”saidBenInker,headof as- fundamentals.“Wehavemadethe economystaging a‘V-shaped’ 11 Fullreport on thatassetpricescanplummetjust and another pandemic later,Wall setallocation,GMO. case veryveryforcefully(to rating per cent growth in the next fiscal. Status with UK flights www.indianexpress.com Kolkata JANUARY31, 2021 | WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM | PAGE 10 THE SUNDAY EXPRESSMAGAZINE

SPOTLIGHT BOOKS In the Dead ● Interview with historian Audrey Truschkeonher of Night new book, The Languageof Theroadhas been long History: Sanskrit Narratives and hard forAssam’santi- of Muslim Pasts witch-hunt crusader ● Review of SL Bhyrappa’s BirubalaRabha,recently UttaraKaanda honoured with the ● Review of SaiParanjpye’s Padma Shri APatchworkQuilt: A eye CollageofMyCreativeLife

C HANGE BEGINS AT THE DOOR As the pandemic turns home spaces multifunctional, alook at the evolution of the drawing room

Shiny Va rghese collectibles areondisplay, while theliving neighbours above or below. In Bombay, real- “the integration of the drawing-cum-dining roomis aplace whereyou sit easy.Itgivesyou estate mechanisations areleading to vanish- space,ithas blurredtheformality of thedraw- afeeling of balance, while the drawing room ing balconies. Carpenters bring down win- ing room. It is nowevolving intoamoreflex- IL HE DRAWINGroom is dead. is the crutchthat establishes your place in so- LUS dows on the parapetand breakdownwalls ible and fluid space,” she says.Itgoes without Long live thedrawing room!” ciety,the imageyou wish to portray to the TR between the living room and the balcony, to saying that the shifthas also made adiffer- AT It’s aphrasethat hasneverbeen world.Theprimarydifference isbetweenthe IO makethe room bigger.Ithas further discon- ence to hierarchies. If earlier women weren’t N: morerelevant.As spaces in our ‘tohave’ and‘to be’state of mind. The drawing SH nectedus from the outside. This pandemic has allowedtocome to the front of the house be- YA homes become multifunc- room became ademonstration of power,”says MK madeonefeel theabsenceof balconiesmuch fore outsiders,thosewallshadnowcollapsed. Ttionalin anincreasinglyvirtual Delhi-basedarchitect VerendraWakhloo. UM more,” says Dalvi. “The traditional Indian floor-basedseat- AR worldand we arereducedtothumbnail win- Often, ahierarchywas notuncommon — PR The other move from British bungalows to ingwasreplacedby multiple clusters of raised AS dows on meeting platforms, has the drawing the drawing room would have adesignated AD modernist architecturewas the democratisa- furniture, central to which were carved and room come full circle? From formal spaces chair forthe man of the house while the seat- tion of spaces within the house. The 2BHK upholsteredsofasetsand central tables. New wherewereceivedguests,the drawing room ing forguests would be less comfortable, to eliminated the needfor adrawing room carpentryskills acquiredby local woodwork- has become our work-from-home station, send themessage thatonecannotoverstay. and gave everyone the ubiquitous hall. ers also enabledawider application of styles, whereaspirational virtual backgrounds Mumbai-based architect This transition meant amove motifsand elements. However, till the 1930s, (beachesor bookshelves)have takenover. Yet, Chandrashekhar Kanetkarhas worked towardsahomogenisationof homes. we see singular styles and themes of period muchbeforethe drawing room wasthe otla, on numerous high-end residences “With the modernistera,the idea furniture—beittraditional, colonial, ArtDeco thinna, baranda, balcão —the public space to wherethis powerplaytakes centre of thecommunity disintegrated. or modern —dominatingdrawing-room aes- courtyardhouses,whereneighbours dropped stage. Drawing rooms have been In the modern age, our lives thetics. AfterIndependence, the drawing by forachat or strangers stoppedto askfor di- designedasmultiple sections, have become generic,” says room has been the quickest to absorb and in- rections—“it formedthe public threshold,the some leading intocourt- Mumbai-basedurbande- tegratetrends and styles to become an eclec- interface with the street,wheresocialinter- yards, some offering signer and academic ticspace with furniturepieces from various actions with strangers and neighbours wasat glimpses of libraries, to Rohan Shivkumar.The eras —modernistmasters chairs nowsit street level. Therewas no conceptofaformal cater to different types of modern plan of a alongsidesankheda(low-seating) sofa-chairs drawing room. Indian domestic spaces, typi- visitors. His designs also house had become andPortuguese loveseats,” says Bose. callyfor largejoint-families, focusedonmul- incorporatebar uniform with mass Décor magazines, by the late1990s, and tifunctionality and flexibility of spaces. There lounges and drawing housing.Theunique platforms suchasPinterest,in late2000s, have wasalso no conceptofformal furniture. It was rooms with show individual designs made it possible to dreamofnew ways to largely floor-basedorlow-height,suchas kitchens. “There of adrawing room dress up homes, and advertisements, inter- khatiyas, gaddis, jhoolas,orchatai,which are should be an ele- were leftbehind national trade fairs and e-commerce sites gave lightand easyto move around. Theadditionof ment of curiosity to accommodate peopleaccessto wider markets, makingitpos- adrawing room as aformal and enclosed when youplan a requirementsofa sible to buy that designer chair or those drip- space to meet visitors firstarose in well-off drawing room. It’s a BHK format. ping chandeliers. Mood lighting and state- Indian homes, with the arrivalofthe game of hide and Spaces could be ment décor racedtheir wayintohomes. Portuguese and the British,” says Kamalika seek,” says Kanetkar, modifiedtosuit However, while the marketconnected Bose,conservationarchitectandco-authorof adding, if youreveal anyfunction —just people, modular living made it impossible to AHistory of Interior Design in India (SID all at one go,there the nomenclature tell astory.Livingspaces lookedlikecatalogues Research Cell, CEPT University,Ahmedabad). is little lefttoengage had shifted. and algorithmsdictated the newaesthetic. Over time, the drawing room grew to be- the guest. Architect Whilethe look had changed,the sentiment come amarkerofclass and status. The draw- The coming of GautamBhatia recalls wasstill the same —adisplayofsocial status. ing room wasthe nucleus of the house and it drawing rooms made his childhood years However, Wakhloo points to adifferent wasbestreferenced in Hindi films, wherea the connection with the wherethe drawing imagination as he references homes of grand staircaserosefromthe living room and outside worldshrink. room wasacollageof Pritzker winnerBVDoshi and Delhi-basedar- apianosymbolised opulence. In the 1949 Traditional houses with manytravels. “Our parents chitect Ashok BLall. “In Doshi’sAhmedabad Mehboob Khan film Andaz,the staircaseis semi-publicplaces made it neverthought of what a house, the living room is likealarge foyer, where all the action unfolds, while in Sooraj possible forowners to connect drawing room couldbe. Itwas whichconnectstothe basement, wherehis Barjatya’s HumAapkeHain Koun..! (1994),a with the neighbourhood and the aplace forall kinds of col- meditationroom is, and, to the upper floor, fatalfall from the living-room stairs steers the street.One movedfromthe outside lectibles, from the Air India to the open area in thegarden andthe story. Even today, Hindi serials carryforththe to the inside, transcending thresholds Maharajaashtrays to souvenirs and kitchen.You enter the livingroom, andyou legacy of grandstaircases, forevil in-laws to of privacy and engagement. As ground- even chippedcups. It wasabout filling getthe feel of being in acovered courtyard. makeunsuspectingvictims tumble down hugging homes made wayfor high-storeyed up the space,” he says. Ashok Lall’s living room with itsmagnificent those heights. apartments, balconies took the spaceofthe Bose testifies to howinmodesthomes, skylightallowsyou to viewthe skyfromin- Mumbai-basedarchitect-academicSmita otla or theverandah. “Thebalconybecame the drawing room also doubles up as asleep- side. It connectsthe ground to the sky and Dalvi, whose doctoral thesis wasonhomes that in-between space whichconnected the ing space, with the occasional sofa-cum-bed one is humbledbyit. Youare no longerthe and Hindi cinema, says,“The house wasal- house to thesky and the ground, and to your making an appearance. In recent times, with protagonistofthe space, youbecomeaware ways larger than life.Hindi filmsevengov- of thelargeruniverse. Thereisnoexaggera- ernedthe fashion quotient in our homes. For tion of the self, likeinaformal drawing room. example, in Ayan Mukerji’s Wake Up Sid AROOM OF THEIR OWN Ahome shouldfinallyreflect your family, a (2009), Konkona Sen sets up a‘my corner’with vision of yourself and the cosmology you fairylights, booksand posters,presentingher- THE DRAWINGROOM IN LITERATURE carry within you,” he says. self as asingle girlonalowbudget witha Drawing rooms maywell be dead in the charming personality.Muchbefore, Farhan VICTORIAN SOCIETY believed in “drawing-room naturalism” in her stories. pandemic, however, experiences of aspace Akhtar’s Dil ChahtaHai (2001)presented the specific activities forevery room and the In ashortstory that the American novelist neednot be.Chennai-basedarchitect Pramod modern living roomas an aspirational space.” “withdrawing room” waswhereladies wroteatage 11,she opens with aguest’s Balakrishnan givesthe example of one of his Somewhereinthe mid ’80s, the drawing retired afterdinner.Thisprivate room entryintoMrs Tomkins’s house and the residential complexesinPerumbakkam, room, wherethe formality of lifetook place, soon came to be known as the “drawing hostsays, “IfonlyIhad known youwere Chennai. “Wegaveresidentsmultiple ways to wassupersededbythe living room. The for- chamber” or thedrawingroom going to call, Ishould have tidiedupthe reachtheir ownhomes. It wasn’t justaliftand mer wasthe formal space to receive visitors, drawing room.” Wharton’s mother is said astaircase. We even hadachessboardsquare oftenseparatedfromthe rest of the house, the JANE AUSTEN, the 18th centuryEnglish to have remarked: “Drawing rooms are in common areas, wherepeople could come, latter waswherethe familyhung out, where novelist, best describeinterior spaces in always tidy” playand interact. The formality of the draw- the wifechoppedvegetables on thetable, the herwork. Objectsofahouse reveal a ingroomhas diminishedaspeople meettheir children kept their feet up on thesofaasthey character’s emotions and situation, be it a THE COMEDYOFMANNERS or friends outdoors, playagame of chess and en- watchedloud TV andthe pressurecooker in fadedfootstool or ashabby sofa. In drawing-roomplays have been part of gage with others who probablyare watching the kitchen whistledinthe background. Northanger Abbey (1817), forinstance, the theatresince Victorian times, when the them play. It changes the waywecommuni- The “see-but-don’t-touch” drawingroom, 19th centuryfurniture andEnglish china action waslocated in the drawing cate, exchangeideas and build relationships. ontheotherhand,camewithspotlessuphol- setspeak of opulentmodernity COURTESYSHABNAMGUPTAHOMES room. Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of It’s an attempt at taking it backtowhereitall stery, art andcrystal collections. “Itbecame a WHERE THE ACTION WAS Being Earnest (1895) is one of its began, andincreasingtheinteractionwiththe room of illusions. Aplace whereyour prized EDITH WHARTON is known for Comedy of Manners or drawing-room plays have been part of theatre since the Victorian times finestexamples street and neighbours,” he says. Kolkata EYE,THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE

11 SPOTLIGHT JANUARY 31, 2021 DOWN IN Reclaiming JUNGLELAND Our Bodies RanjitLal Aletter to young women on

Ranjit Lal is an author, body diversity, body positivity environmentalistand birdwatcher and social justice Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Bat? IMAGINE Afair hearing to the creature at by Shelja Sen the receiving end of pointed fingers every time there’s avirus scare DEAR YOU, decades,wewere force-fedthe idea of Body ATSHAVEbeen squarelyblamedfor starting the Walking in aparkinthe winter sun, among Mass Index(BMI)asacrite- COVID-19catastrophe, so, Down in Jungleland families sprawledonthe lawns forSunday pic- rion of fitness and obesity only went deep intoabat cave in aremote forest to nics,Iwasparticularly drawntoalittle girl, to discoverthat all it did wasfatten the Bfind out what the batshavetosay forthemselves. maybearound sevenyearsofage,dancing to weight-loss industry. Ahostofassortedcreatures joinedthe conversation: aBollywood song. Carefree and completely In my work with young girls, I’vefound DIJ: Good evening, god, it smells here... Well, sir,what’s oblivioustothe people around, their stares or that this “gaze” or judgement hounds us your take on thefact that humans were blaming your smiles,as if transportedtoanother world, she through these tactics: species forspreading this scourge around the world? swung her hips and swayed her hands, with Comparing: Pushingyoung girlstoevalu- Scientists have admitted that they were bitten by some of eyes closedand asmile on her lips. atetheir bodies and worththrough self-sur- youwho were already infected. Iwalkedon, but that sight stayedwith me. veillance. A13-year-old told me, “Everytime Bat: What the hell were your precious scientists doing My initial delight and warmth graduallygave Imeetsomeone or see apicture fingering us in the firstplace? Of course, we’ll biteifyou waytoasense of unease.When would this on social media, the take such liberties. Youwereresearching us forsome little girllose this disinhibition and startbe- firstthing Icheckis nasty viruses, weren’t you—whichyou could then raise comingaware of the constant “gaze”that fol- if she’s thinner or and develop and use as bio-weapons on your ownkind? lows women? Whenwould theindulgent fatter than me.It’s become GETTYIMAGES Well, we gave youone forfree, so, whyare youcomplain- smiles turnintolooks of judgement? When an automatic reaction.” ing? Youhumans makeussick—you have evil intentions would she startfinding her thighs toofat, Convincing:Another 15-year-oldshared, —Doyou think it is unjustthat the prob- thenarrowidea of beauty.Social media is a towardsyour ownkind and, when things boomerang, you voice tooloud,spirit toowild?Whenwould “I live 24x7 with the shame of being so ugly”. lem has been located in women’s bodies double-edgedswordwhere, on theone hand, blame us. Thousands of us have been slaughtered by pan- she startchecking whatshe says,how she The voice of judgement is so compelling that rather than the problematic cultural notions it indoctrinates constant preoccupation with icky people. All we want is to be leftalone so that we can says it,measuring her worththrough her it’s difficult to fight it alone. What happens if of beauty? perfection, while on the other hand, it’s wit- continue pollinating your bananas, durians, and ahostof body measurements? all the women in our livesare also going In my collaborative work with young nessingamovement wherewomenare re- other food plants. If we stopped, youwould starve. When would self-consciousness creep in, through similar battles, andbodyshaming be- women, we’vefound three effective steps to sisting this oppressive ideaofbeautybypost- DIJ: But alot of this research is aimedatdeveloping making her suckher cheeksin, tuckinher comes ataken-for-granted wayofrelating flip the gaze on the judgement and reclaim ing pictures with unbridled, unfiltered swag. medicines so we can make sickpeople well. Thereare so tummyorpull and push at different bitsof with ourselvesand eachother? our agency,our bodies: Solidarity: Self-judgement can isolateus manymedicines that arebasedonanimal parts and prod- flesh in despair? Taking selfies, adding aflat- Concluding: The trickiestbit is thatjudge- Microactsofresistance: Sanna (name intolocating the probleminourselves, but ucts. People have been using these traditional medicines tering filter before puttingituponInstagram, ment keeps us alwaysdissat- changed), 21,shared with what if we refusedtolet it pit us againsteach ●●● forthousands of years. anxiouslywaiting forthe worldtoacknowl- isfiedwith our bodies, as we me that she had experienced other? What if we stoppedbody-shaming Bat: None of whichhavebeen scientificallyprovento edge her worth. Maybescrolling down and nevermatchuptothe toxic intense body-shaming as a ourselvesand eachother and committed to actuallywork. Youpeople aregoodatrunning such checking other accountswith Insta-perfect perfect-body advertisingin- We need to raise our voice, write child and nowwas commit- finding beauty in all shapes, sizes and colours? money-making rackets. It’s amazing howacountry bodies and glowing skins with asinking “I’m cessantlyfed to us and con- tedtotakingtinystepsby not Sanna said she will do whateverittakestoen- whichwantstorulethe worldstill believesthat “eye of suchafailure” feeling, and slowlyshutting her- clude we are“weak”, “lazy”, about it, makeonline videos to letting other people’s com- surethat her 12-year-old cousin doesn’t have newt andtoe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog” will self offorstarving herself. “notgood enough”. mentsdefine her.“I’vefound to go through what she had to because “If Ido makeyou well. Manyadultsreading this might dismiss it I’m notheretoadvise question the narrow idea of beauty my ownstyle of dressing notlook out forher who will?” (There’s astirassome other animals —amongthem, a as “girls these days!” As if they arethe prob- you, we knowthat does not ●●● that expresses my identity,” Standing up forbody diversity is notaper- ragged-looking Siberian tiger,dog,pangolin,dehorned rhino, lem. I’veoften heardwords like“obsessed work.Instead, let’s sit back she said, adding that it was sonal battle but an issue of social justice. We and buffalo —joinin.) with their looks”, notrealising that the prob- and reflect on the workings of this judgement “a dailybattle but Ilook at myself in the mir- owe it to that little dancing girland millions Tiger: Do youknowwhat Iam? Afarmedtiger.Have lem actuallylies in our society’s constant and ask afew questions of ourselves: rorevery morning and say, ‘I’m hot, I’m gor- likeher.Are youready? youeverheardofanything moreshameful? Thereare judgement of women’s bodies. Women have —Doyou see howitisolates eachofus geous, and I’m notletting anybody steal that thousands of us in so-calledtiger farms —whereyou hu- notbeen allowedtoown their bodies —there intolittle cocoons and makes us believe we away from me.’” She has informedher family In solidarity, mans intend to kill us and use our bones, blood and pri- arestrict norms on how“good girls” carry arethe problem? Doesn’t the problem lie in and friends of these “respectful boundaries”, Shelja their bodies — coverup, kowtow,havemeek the waywomen’s bodies have been judged and theyare her biggestallies now. voices and trytobe“thin, fair and lovely”. and controlledovercenturies? Documenting theseresistances: What DrSheljaSenisanarrativetherapist,co-founder, Social media and thediet, beauty and fitness —Doyou think it is fair that judgement would it look likeifwestarted acounter-cul- ChildrenFirst,writer,and,inthiscolumn,she industryhaveexploited it with minimalre- (comparing, convincing and jumping to turethat objectifies the “gaze” rather than let curatestheknow-howofthechildrenandyoung gard to the damaging impact on young conclusions) robs us of joy, confidence, self- it objectify us? We needtoraise our voice, peoplesheworkswith.Writetoher women or completedisregardfor ethics. For worthand peace of mind? write aboutit,makeonline videosto question [email protected] In the Dead of Night

RANJITLAL HIGH ANDDRY The road has been long and hard for Assam’s anti-witch-hunt crusader,Birubala Rabha, recently honoured with the Padma Shri If bats stopped pollinating food plants, humans would starve To ra Agarwala this law. “Webegan to lookatunderlying causes of whythese incidentshappen,” says vate parts formaking foul concoctions which, youthink, Dr Natyabir Das, aGoalpara-basedphysician, will turn youintoCasanovas. Thereare moreofusincap- SOMETIME IN 2010,Birubala Rabha thought who has long been associated with Rabha’s tivity on farms than thereare in the wild. she wasgoing to die.Afloat the Brahmaputra, work.“Biru baideo (sister), being avillager, DIJ: Take it as acompliment, we humans thinkyou are with afilmcrew who wasinterviewing her, maybealittle superstitious herself, but over so virile and macho that we need your body parts. the woodenboat suddenly capsized,throwing the years, she has understood that the root SiberianTiger (growling):Shame on you! overboardthe camera, acrew member and cause of all this can be tracedbacktothe lack Pangolin (piping up):You makesoup and wine with Rabha, 61 at thetime. Gasping forbreath, she of educationandhealthcarefacilities, and the our fetuses thinking it’s good foryou. Youreallyare sick. somehowmanaged to swim to safety. “The general lackofdevelopment,” he adds. Dog: Onlyyour species will think of eating what you waterwas very deep and Itold myself, ‘Okay, Today, in villages across Assam, Mission call your best friend. As forusing our private parts,Iwould todayisthe dayIamgoing to die’,” Rabha Birubala —whichisanetworkofsocial ac- rather notget intothat —it’s toorevolting forwords. Why chuckles at the memorymorethan adecade tivists,witch-hunt survivors, lawyers —holds on earth do we still wagour tails when youget backhome later. “But then again, Ihaveneverbeen afraid awareness meetings, whereRabha, dressed from work! of death. Andthatisprobably whyImanaged in a patani (the traditional attireofthe Rabha Bear (shambling in, grunting): And youkeep us captive to live,” she adds. tribe, found acrossAssam’s Goalparaand and suckour bile out with syringes —tomakeyour pre- It is this fortitudethat has guidedRabha, Kamrup districts, and parts of Meghalaya, cioussocalled-medicines. Assam’s plucky crusader againstwitch-hunt- West Bengaland Bangladesh), hair tiedback Rhino (snorting): Look at me, sir,justlook at me! My ing, through aremarkable life. Alifethat was in atight bun, delivers long rousing speeches pride and joyhas been hackedoff!Toyou, our horns are honoured with one of India’s highestcivilian about her life, to the roaring applause of the moreprecious than gold because youstupidlybelieve awards, the Padma Shri,lastweek.“Ithink this crowds. “She maybesmall andunassuming, that it, too, will turn youintoCasanova studs. Our horns one is morespecial than theothers,” Rabha but when shespeaks, everyone justlistens,” arejustcompressedhair,eat your nails if youwant ker- says,ather home in Goalparadistrict, lined says Usha Rabha,aclose aide. In 2005, Usha atin. Areyou reallythe planet’s so-calledintelligent crea- with mementos of different shapes and sizes. saw aphoto of Rabhadelivering aspeechin tures or plain imbeciles? “I’mgetting double the phone calls Iusually the local paper.“Everything about the picture Tiger: Your species, especiallyyour gender,has ama- do. But Iamtelling them, awards arewell and wassoinspiringthat Iwent seekingher,” says jor confidence problem. Howdoyou impress your ladies good, butthepointisfor humans to helpother Usha, 55, “Now Iamher shadow.” with suchanattitude? humans, forustobebrave and unafraid.” Together,Usha says,theyhavewalked— DIJ: But youhavetoadmit that notall of us disrespect JustlikeRabha hasbeen through her 72 and sometimes run —long hours to meet you: in India, cows areconsidered sacredbymillions and years of life. She wasn’t afraid whenshe trav- TORAAGARWALA women in remote villages through scorching cowdung and urine aretreated likeelixirs. elledtoavillageinMeghalaya, in the dead of usedthe time to work towardseradicating the ANY WITCH Sanabala,Lakshmi...,”shereadsoutthenames sunshine andraging thunderstorms, climb- Buffalo: So, whyare theremorestarving cows roam- night,respondingto acallof awomanaccused practice,” she says.Since Rabha wasalready WAY of those she and her team have rehabilitated ing hills, navigating through cemeteries, ing the streetseating plastic bags than anywhereelse in of being a“daini”orwitchbyher neighbours, an active member of her village’s local Mahila over the years, alistofaround ahundred. swimmingacross rivulets. “Thething about Birubala Rabha the world? That’s some veneration! shewasn’tafraidwhenamobsurroundedher Samiti (women’s self-help group) fightingso- In Assam, where witch-hunting is ram- her is thatshe nevergetstired,” says Usha, “On DIJ: Well, what messageshould Itakebacktomy with daos (a flat-blade sword) and sticks, cial evils likealcoholism and domestic vio- pant, mostcauses of witch-hunt murders are severaloccasions,wehavemet people who species when Ireturn to civilisation? threateningtobeat her up at the entranceof lence, her newavatarasavoiceagainstwitch- prima facie basedonsuperstitious beliefsthat have threatenedtokill us, brandishing sticks Animals (in chorus): Justleave us alone to continue thevillage,andshewasn’tafraidwhenin2000, hunting came to her all toonaturally. the “witch” —oftenasingle woman, awidow, and knives. But Biru baideo says,“Katilekaat, our work in keeping the planetinrunning order! Why in apublic villagemeeting held to decide the “Atone point, even Ibelievedthat there or,sometimes, aman,too—hasmagicalpow- maarile maar,moi norokhu (killme if youhave mustyoung men jumponthe backs of young heifers, take fate of five womenwhowere brandedwitches wasatruth to allthis, that witches do exist,” ers to bring aboutdeath and disease in the to,Iwon’t stop).” them by the horns, so theygoberserk? What have they near LakhipurinAssam, she stood up before says Rabha, who has studieduptill Class V. community.But adeeperdive intomostofthe Over the years, Rabha has maintainedadi- done to you? We knowyou use us formeat —manyofus hundredsand boldlyannounced: “Thereare “But then my son, Dharmeshwar,who has a cases shows they areusuallyameans to settle arywhereshe recordsthe incidentsofher life also hunt —but that is to live.You harass us foryour enter- no witches, witchcraftdoes notexist.” mental problem,fell ill in 1985, and alocal personal scores —jealousy,property conflicts in case her memoryfails her aheadofanin- tainment, use us fordiabolical, dubious purposes. Be The very next day, hundredsofvillagers quacksaid that he waspossessedbyafairy, or familial strife—inthe name of superstition. terview. On Thursday, when we visited her, warned, youdon’t knowquite what you’remeddling surroundedher house, to compel Rabha to and would die in three days.” He did not. For While stateslikeJharkhand,Chhattisgarh, twointerviews had already happened, and with: this COVID-19calamity could be just the tip of the sign adisclaimer that she waswrong to say Rabha, the incident wasnothing shortofan Bihar, Odisha andRajasthan have already thereisanother in the queue. Aftertheyleave, iceberg. Haven’t youlostenough of your people to it? what she did, and that, in fact, dainis do exist. awakening. “I realisedthat innocent villagers criminalisedthe practice,the Assam Witch Rabha says shewill feed her chickens,fetch Haven’t yousufferedenough? But Rabha remainedresolute, refusing to sign were being duped,” she says. Hunting (Prohibition,Protection and water, and if thereistime, finishweaving a Bat: Don’t mess with us anymore. the document, and thus beganalifedevoted In the yearsthat followed, with theSamiti’s Prevention) Act, 2015 came intoeffect only in half-done pajar,atraditional Rabha scarf, she Animals (in chorus): Justleave us in peace! to fighting the malaise of witch-hunting in the support, Rabha went from villagetovillage 2018.Rabha’sworkand theorganisation is working on. And if, in the midstofit, she gets state. “Afterthat incident, theyostracisedme whenevershe heardtherewas acaseof witch- formedin2011under her name, Mission acall from awoman in distress, she will leave and brandedmeawitchtoo, but instead, I hunting. “Raneshwari, Padumi, Anjali, Birubala, playedakey role in bringingabout it all, and run.

Kolkata EYE,THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE

JANUARY 31, 2021 BOOKS 12

Brave OldWorld The Storyteller Historian Audrey Truschkeonwhy religious identitywas never of primary importance in Writes pre-modern India and countering ideological readings of the past with facts Sai Paranjpye’s memoir is long on

Paromita Chakrabarti mythology is notjustacolonial hangover.Itis details about her creative life and acritical part of India’spresent, andIndian groups areresponsible forthis nexus of intol- short on personal insights NHER firstbook, CultureofEncounters erance and bigotry.Asahistorian, my response (2016), historian Audrey Truschkehad is to meet this prejudice with knowledge. exploredthe crucial role playedbycul- Alongside manycolleagues, Iresearch real as- tural exchanges between the elites of pectsofIndian history and communicate Ithe Mughal court and the Sanskrit- them to anyone willing to listen. speaking populace in establishing the Mughals within the social, political and cul- Whilenoting traces of the idea of tural framework of the region. Truschkehad Kashmiriyat —the notion of an arguedthat the Mughal empire’s dynamism indigenous, syncretic Kashmirisociety — reliedonits ability to embrace awide range in along tradition of Sanskrit writing of culturalinfluences, especiallySanskrit. The from the region, youalsocautionagainst associateprofessor of South Asian History at examining itspresent politics through RutgersUniversity, USA,returnsto thistheme the lens of the region’s pre-modern past. in her thirdbook, TheLanguageofHistory: Couldyou elaborate? SCENESFROM ASUNNYPLACE Sanskrit Narratives of Muslim Pasts,inwhich Kashmiriyat is alovelyidea, but itshistoric- Astill from Chashme Buddoor she analyses Sanskrit textswritten between ity is another matter,asIindicateinthe book. the 12th and 18th centuries to note an absence Scholarship on Kashmir has been hampered of anymarkedreligious animositybetween in recent years by theongoing conflict in the Rita Kothari Hindus and Muslims in the subcontinent. region.Ilookforwardtoall involvedactorsre- Truschke’s views areoften metwithviru- specting international agreements, halting lent criticism by right-wing idealogues,that human-rightsviolations, and allowing FYOU’RE amovie fanand meetsomeone who un- reachedits peak with the publication of her Kashmiris to use their inherent right of self- derstands your references to Miss Chamko, or who, second book,abiography of Mughal emperor determination. while passing around acigarette,says,“zaramunh Aurangzeb. In this interview, Truschke, 38, Ikadvakarvale”, youknowyou canbuild something speaksofexploringtheresilienceof pre-mod- At the time of writing Aurangzeb: The with that person. At the very least, an adda.Films like ernIndiainhernewbookandherrefusalto be Man and theMyth (2017,Allen Lane), you ChashmeBuddoor (1981) and Katha (1983) occupyaspe- stymiedbythehatedirectedatherforcounter- WIKIMEDIACOMMONS writethat you’d been legallycounselled cial place forsome of us who were watching films in the ingpropagandist readingsof historyorforcall- worksorareflection of the land’s to notventureintowriting about Shivaji. 1980s. The ineptNaseeruddinShahfrom Katha andthe ingoutIslamophobia,sexismorhuman-rights cosmopolitan nature? Youhavetaken it up in thisbook, bright-eyedDeepti Navaland Farooq Shaikh from violationsaround the world. Excerpts: TreatmentofPersianlooksdifferentamong exploring what ledtoShivaji’s ChashmeBuddoor jostledwith superstars and modified Sanskritintellectualsthanamongothergroups investment in projecting aKshatriya our memoryofcinema of that period. Sai Paranjpye,in Youwriteinthe epilogue of your new in pre-modern India.That’s because Sanskrit identity forhimself. Whywas this critical particular,with her (RK) Narayanesque humour,captured book that your attempt to broadenthe thinkers had to contendwithafairly robust, forhis political career? As ahistorian, the middle class and itsfoibles andgracesinafable-like scope of history might be misconstrued time-honouredset of philosophical positions howurgent is it foryou to address form. This quality stems from the very sunnyand comic as a‘de-emphasisonfactsand accuracy’ thatlimitedthe number of literarylanguages. revisionisttendencies? vision of lifeshe brought to the worldofarts. This sunni- Howdid youdecide on the textsthat Thishardlyprovedinsurmountable,butittook Shivaji wasaman of his times, andhe ness warms but doesn’t scorch.Her memoir APatchwork youdiscuss? awhile forSanskrit intellectuals to warm up caredalot aboutcaste andclass. Iknowthisis Quilt beckonedwith the promise of this warmth and nos- Being written in Sanskrit wasaniron-clad to Persian. In the 12th century, forexample, asensitive subject forsome today, but that is talgia. Iwon’t call her “pioneer- rule forinclusion but communi- Jayanaka(Kashmiripoet-historian, amodern,notahistorical, problem.Itryto re- ing” and “woman director”, in or- cating accurate politicalhistory composer of the Prthvirajavijaya) coverhistory as accurately as possible, and I der to respect Paranjpye’s wasnot.Asaresult, Idiscuss texts likenedPersianto thecriesof wild willpublishasmuchofitaspermittedwithin vexation with suchlabels. She thatplayfastand loose with the birds. By the 18th century, the legal and practicalrestraintsofIndia’santi- writes, “Wherever IgoIam never facts(forexample, transposing Lakshmipati (whosepatron was free speechlawsand authoritarian turn. Ihave allowedtoforgetthat Iama chronologies),suchassomeof the JagacchandraofKumaon,whoop- neverand Iwill neverchangemyhistorical woman filmmaker.This can get 14th-centuryJain prabandhas.I erated under the aegis of the opinion in the face of public pressure. quiteexasperating….Tothe eter- also analyseworks that offeras- Mughals)playedwithPersian,us- nal question that Iamplagued tonishing details of political in- ingPersianwordsandevenbitsof Howdoyou copewith the abuse online? with —what is the main disad- trigues —and even the Mughal Persian grammar in Sanskrit. This MATTEROF who were thinking aboutIndo-Persian rulers. Withsomedifficulties,asanyonemightex- vantageofbeing awoman direc- king Farrukh Siyar’s medical his- journeyisremarkable. RECORD perience,butoverwhelminglywithconviction tor—myanswer is: being tory —suchasLakshmipati’s Youtrace howMuslim patronagefor thatIamdoingmy jobethicallyandto thebest endlesslyharanguedwith this (Top) The APATCHWORK twinnedearly 18th-centuryhis- Youwritethat Sanskrit Hindu temples wasnot uncommon,beit of my abilities. Ihavenever givenintobullies QUILT:ACOLLAGE very question.” tories (Nrpatinitigarbhitavrtta and THELANGUAGE intellectuals didnot use the desecration of the during thereignofthe Khiljisorthe or ignorance, and Iamnot abouttostart. The book has interesting tid- OFHISTORY: Somnath Te mple by OFMYCREATIVE Abdullacarita). SANSKRIT religiousterm ‘Musalmana’ Mughals or even earlier,justas LIFE bitsabout her work and the peo- The book does notclaim to be foravery long time, because Mahmud of Ghazni desecrationoftemples wasnot a An old interviewofyours, in whichyou ple she worked,arguedand lived NARRATIVESOF BY SAIPARANJPYE comprehensive,and Isignal in the theysaw Islamic incomers as in 1025 was hardly uniquelyIslamic trait either.Isitthe speak of the harshness of the colonial with. It begins with an invocation MUSLIMPASTS HarperCollins notesanumberoftexts that I justanother addition to their mentioned in burden of colonial scholarshipthatthe reimagining of Aurangzeb as areligious to herintrepid mother hopeother scholars might work BY AUDREY socio-political set-up.How idea of the desecrationoftemples relates bigot, keeps reappearing online, drawing 452 pages Shakuntala, who acted in V Sanskrit writings of on going forward. TRUSCHKE important wasreligious to Islamic rulersinpopular imagination? flak. Do youthink youcan ever leave `599 Shantaram’s Kunku (1937) ata Allen Lane identityatthe time? the time, writes Howdoes one counter this ideological Aurangzeb completely in your past? time when women were In pre-modern India, Sanskrit 412pages Thereisacirca 700CEuse of Truschke; the author reading of the past? Sooner or later,anew historianwill writea nowherenear the screen. Paranjpye inherited cultural wasthe languageofpower, `799 ‘Musalamana’inSanskrit, which Thereisacolonialhistory of misunder- biographyofAurangzeb to supplantmine. capital and talent from her familyand, in some sense, the but incoming language allows us to meaningfully ask: standingtempledesecrationthathasbeen en- Manyofuslookforwardtothatday, perhaps,for lifeofamultifacetedartistwas scriptedfor her early. groups were also acknowledged, Whydid hundredsofyears pass before this hancedbycertain trendsinindependentIndia. different reasons. In the meantime, the most APatchwork Quilt is theEnglishtranslation of her especiallyPersian,with wordsfromit morereligious term wasagain usedin In recent decades, aband of Hindu nationalist recent, best work on Aurangzeb is by Richard Marathi memoir Say: Maza Kalapravas (Rajhans being incorporatedintoSanskrit. Was Sanskrit? The answer,simplyput, is that reli- groups, who followthe ideology of Hindutva, MEatoninhisIndiainthePersianateAge:1000- Prakashan, 2020), whichgrew outofher popular column this symbiosis amatterofpragmatism giousidentitywas notthe one that mostin- have fuelledhatred of Muslims, including by 1765 (2019,Allen Lane), whichisamust-read ‘Saya’inLoksatta.Init, she described herjourney through forwider dissemination of literary terested or concernedSanskrit intellectuals maligningtheir imaginedpastdeeds. This forall those interestedinIndian history. the“magical labyrinth of radio, theatre, television and film, likeacarefree gypsy.” The book’s subtitle indicates that it is notanautobiography: Paranjpye writesthe auto- biographyisa“genreofself-revelation” and one that SHELF LIFE makes her sceptical. “An honestlifestory should leave nothing out. Everydetail of alifewell-lived should be ilyrecipes, have been handeddownfrom chickencurry.This, honestly, is the kind shared with the reader,” she writes. Finding herself not Secret Sauce generation to generation —suchasthe of insight that can transform cooking ready to undertake this journey, Paranjpye instead idea that the number of whistles in a from achoretoajoy. chooses to document her creative journey. DID YOUknowthat youcan caramelise ingand view it through the lensoffood pressurecooker reliably indicatehow This book is so packedwithinforma- Although the account of her growth in different cre- onions moreefficientlybysimplyadding science and engineering.” Which, if well-cooked the food insideisorthat an tion that it’s best read as needed,oryou ative fields is detailed, it is alittle disappointing. The per- apinchofbaking soda? Or,that when you’vewondered whyyou should dry over-salted dish can be salvagedbydrop- riskbeing overwhelmed. Forexample,if sonal details figureinaprecious andcurated manner; cooking arecipe that calls fortomato roastwholespices before grinding them ping in aball of dough. you’replanningtomakechanamasalafor hiding behind the disclaimer that the account is notauto- purée, asachetoftomatoketchup, in ad- or why kasuri methi shouldonlybeadded The best section is ‘Burn the Recipe’, lunchtomorrow, go to the section where biographical. Bereftofaninsight intothe self, the details dition to thepurée, will ensurethat the fi- when the dish is almost ready,isawel- wherethe author putstogether all the he explains howtoget soft, perfectly- seem banal. Howabout asking some pertinent questions nal dish packsaflavour-jammedwallop? come exercise.The book,whichshould knowledge dispensedsofar to create an cookedchickpeaswith alittle bitofbak- about the times one has livedin? Does Paranjpye,given Krish Ashok’s Masala Lab: TheScience be in everyserious amateur’s library, algorithmic approachtoalmostany dish ing soda and whyadding atea bagtothe her long innings, believe that artisinbetterhealth now? of Indian Cooking is fullofsuchadvice breaksdownthe how-to and why-to of that the reader might want to make chickpeasisagoodidea. If you’replan- Or,isitless meaningful? Does it deliveronthe promises it MASALALAB:THE which, if followed, promises to notjust almostevery step of the cooking process SCIENCEOF and/orimprovise —fromsimple chut- ning idlisfor breakfastone day, go to the makes; does Paranjpye’s focus on optimism obfuscate improvethe tasteofthe food youcook, in an Indiankitchen—frommakingper- INDIANCOOKING neys andraitas to more complexrice section whereheoutlines the process for these questions even forher,let alone the reader? The but also makethe whole process of cook- fectlyfluffy rice to making chapati dough dishes and gravies. The Kerala chicken making idli batter from scratch. Of course, comic vision amidstchaos and unexpected turns of ing moreefficient and rewarding. In his with 100per cent hydration to explain- BY KRISH ASHOK curry youmakeusingAshok’s Indian if you’resimplycuriousabout the science eventsmakes this book quintessentiallyParanjpye,but its introduction, Ashok,aChennai-based ing howdifferent kinds of saltsshould be Penguin GravyAlgorithm maynot be authentic, of cooking,read thebook, covertocover, lackofinteriority is bewildering. softwareengineer,describes his book as used. Along the way, the author also ex- 280 pages butitwill help youunderstand whyit’s in one go.Itwill stillbeveryrewarding. an attemptto“de-exoticise Indian cook- plodes certain myths that, likemostfam- `399 different from aChettinadu or Punjabi POOJA PILLAI RitaKothariisprofessorofEnglishatAshokaUniversity

the reader this is notbitterness but ahigher form of vishada yoga,deep contemplation on When Sita Speaks the unresolvable ambivalence of life. Dressed as abride,the now-widowedSitagoesto eter- nal sleep in afurrowofthe land she had been Anew translation of the powerful Kannada novel Uttara Kaanda tilling, saying, “In my endismybeginning.” The strength of the novelisthe wayin retains the force and rhythm of the original whichBhyrappa rewrites the epic as an earthlytale whichcould be happening next Rajendra Chenni been her “Appa” Janaka, who educates her in door.Hehad done it with the Mahabharatain dharma and thephilosophicalsystems. But Parva,and, in UttaraKaanda, he movesclose her destinyhad other plans. Fewwomen to thespirit of the Ramayana whichis, first SL BHYRAPPA,author of 24 novels andseveral UTTARAKAANDA could have survived, unscathed, what she ex- and foremost, a kaavya (poem) and nota non-fictional works, withprobablythe largest BY SL BHYRAPPA perienced: marriagetoRama —whichtook dharmictext,asanothergreatKannada writer, readership of all living Kannada writers, is a placeowingto his resolutedefence of dharma Masti VenkateshaIyengar,had forcefullyar- TRANSLATED BY controversial figure. Mainstream Kannada in the face of Dasharatha’s opposition on the gued. Fleshing out the novelare original and criticism has been disapproving of theautho- RASHMI TERDAL grounds thatSitaisafoundlingof an unknown distinctive recreations of Urmila, Lakshmana rial manipulations,reinforcedculturalstereo- Eka caste —a14-year-longexile, abduction by and Valmiki, aswell as ahostofcharacters like types and the conservative brahminical ide- 356 pages Ravana, war, andpublic humiliation when Sukeshi, Ahalya and Shabari. ology in his fiction. In the last twodecades, `599 Rama castdoubt on her chastity twice. Sita The excellent translation by Terdal suc- Bhyrappa has publishednovels whichare meditates on the ambivalence in human re- ceeds in staying close to therhythms of the badly-written ideological tractswith themes lationships and wonders what happenedto everydayspeechemployedbyBhyrappa to in consonance with the right-wingagenda. UttaraKaanda (2017), recentlytranslated theRama who would comb her hair withten- demythologise the Ramayana. She hasalso Kavalu (2010) is amisogynisticattackonfem- intoEnglish by Rashmi Terdal,isone of the der,almost maternal, love,protectherthrough retainedthe narrative powerofthe original. inism and Aavarana (2007)isacommunalised mostsignificant novels in Kannada. Apower- the hardships of exile and teachher dharma It is afine addition to the hostofIndian liter- narrative of Indian history. Saartha (1998) al- ful narrative whichdemythologises the by example? Didhedoall that onlybecause of aryworks whichexplorethe ‘Uttarakanda’ legesthat Buddhism enervatedHinduvalour Ramayana, it deconstructsthe epic from the his adherence to dharma,whichshe nowsees partofthe Ramayana which, scholars say, and, thus,madeIndiavulnerable to foreign in- perspectiveofSita. In this long soliloquy,punc- as rigid and abstract. In the lastsections, un- wasnot by Valmiki but alater interpolation. vaders. However, he is also an enigmaticfig- tuated by othervoices, areflective Sita nar- equalledin intensity and transparency of lan- WIKIMEDIACOMMONS In Indian literature, interpolations seem to urebecause, in his five-decade-old literaryca- ratesher lifewith Rama. Afoundling, discov- guage, Sitaconcludes that the present Rama, TRIAL BY FIRE Ayodhya forthe 10th-dayrituals. She has re- provoke moreoriginal recreations than the reer,hehas also producedsome of the finest ered by the king Janaka in afurrowwhile king of Ayodhya,isnot the Rama she loved. Fewwomen could alisedthat, born of mother earth, she can only original texts. writing in Kannada fiction. Gruhabhanga levelling the ground forasacrifice, she is In this boldretelling, Sitarefuses to sit with be happy tilling land and leading afarmer’s have survived what (1970),Vamshavriksha (1965) andParva (1979) markedbyadeep sense of separateness and Ramaas his wifetoconclude theashvamedha life. She ask whether this is because of her RajendraChenniis awriterandactivistandformer aretestimonytoBhyrappa’s great talent. solitude. The greatestinfluence on her has sacrifice and, when he dies, refuses to go to Sita did abandonment by Rama. The novelconvinces professorofEnglish

Kolkata THESUNDAY EXPRESS,JANUARY31,2021 S HAH IS ACCPREZ BCCI secretaryJay Shah wasunanimously elected as the President of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) on Saturday.The32-year-old replaces Bangladesh CricketBoard (BCB) 13 SPORT chief Najmul HasanPapon. PTI

Micro-managing bowlers Notthe firsttime When asked wherethe messagewas In the firing line SMH also reports that some senior play- Aprevious confrontation between Langer coming from by Langer,Khawaja replied: ers arefrustrated by the micro-manage- and his players over his coaching style—after “Um, Ithink the boys areintimidated by you, ment, with Langer bombarding bowlers Australia failedtoregain the Border-Gavaskar Alf. Ithink there’s abit of the walking-on- Australian coachJustin Langer’s headmaster-like with statistics and instructions during lunch trophytwo years ago—was aprominent eggshells sortofthing. Ifeel likeIthink the breaks. Langer deniedthe accusation: “It’s theme of the Amazon-produceddocumen- boys areafraid to sayit.” approachisnot working, says areport actuallythe oppositeofwhat happens. I taryThe Test:ANew Erafor Australia’s Team'. nevertalk about statistics to the bowlers, The coachwas givenastern messagedur- An old NewYear’s Resolution The reality sandwich ever.Idon’t go to anyofthe bowlers’ meet- ingateam meeting afterthe 2018 Boxing Day Afterthe 2-1 defeat in 2018-19, Langer re- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE According to the report, during the final ings. That’s what the bowlers’ coachis Test drubbing. solvedtobemoremellowfor the ODI series JANUARY30 Test in Brisbane, Langer ordered aplayerto meant to be doing. And the learnings of the Captain TimPaine wanted Langer to be in India. The team came backfroma0-2 stop habituallystuffing atoastedsandwichin lastfew months areIshould startlooking at morepositive and batsman Usman Khawaja deficit to win afive-matchseries. AFTER THE Test series loss againstIndia, his pocket before walking ontothe field. that more.” asked him to notmakethings “too compli- Afterthe 1-wicket defeat in Leeds dur- Justin Langer’s coaching stylehas come un- “You’rewalking on againstIndia, we’re cated”for the team. ing the Ashes, Langer waited aday before derscrutiny. Sources close to the team told trying to win aTestmatchand one of our Langer’s response “Wecan’t always control the result. You conducting apost-mortemtoavoid an The SydneyMorning Herald that the Australia players walksonwith atoastedsandwichin On Friday, Langer said anysuggestion of getbetterasindividuals, players, staff, every- emotionally-chargedfeedbacksession. head coach’s “headmaster-like” styleofman- his hand,” Langer —whose contract as a deteriorating relationships with players one, be in better control of that emotion, be Australia struckbacktowin at Old Trafford agement “worethin” with players. According three-format coachand selector lasts an- “couldn’t be further from the truth” but morelevel-headed, without trying to make and, while theylostatThe Oval, managed to the report, Langer’s intensity and mood other 18 months —was quoted as saying. “I added, “leadership isn’t apopularity contest”. it toocomplicated,” Khawaja wasseen say- to retain the Ashes. swings have drainedexperiencedplayers, spoketo(the player) about it at length yester- CoachJustin Langer’s contract lasts “If players justwant someone to tickle ing. “I think that’s what the boys aretrying All seemedwell lastyear. who have spent months on end in either day. Isaid, ‘Howdoyou reckon it looks, another 18 months. their stomachs all the time then I’m notdo- to say. Does that makesense? If it doesn’t Then India came visiting again. quarantine or bio-bubbles. mate?’ Is that notsomething Ishould say?” ing my job.” then...” ENS Sonamsnares bigfishonmat

18-yr-old uses superior upper body strength to get the better of Olympic medalist Sakshi Malik

MIHIRVASAVDA AGRA,JANUARY30

IT WASonlyfiveyears agothat Sonam Malik startedregularly competing againstgirls. And before she could even getahang of it, she al- mostwas forced to stop wrestling. Today, the 18-year-old girlwho grew up wrestling with the boys in her villagein Haryana and overcame acareer-threatening arm injuryisregardedasthe next big thing in Indian wrestling. Ironically, on the strength of her arm locks.OnSaturday, Sonam pro- videdevidence of it as she out-manoeuvred SATURDAY’SRESULTS THE WOMEN’s national wrestling championship got WRESTLINGISthe firstmajor Olympic discipline to HOWEVER, AS wasthe case during the men’s Rio Olympics bronze medalistSakshi Malik (OLYMPICCATEGORIES): underwayataschool in the outskirts of Agra on conduct the national championships since the championship, social distancing guidelines were to be crownedasthe newnational champion Saturday. The two-dayevent has attracted about 240 outbreak of the Covid-19pandemic. All wrestlers had flouted as spectators mingledwith the wrestlers and in the 62kgweight categoryinAgra. 50KG: GOLD: Minakshi (Haryana); wrestlers in 10 weight categories. to submit Covid negative results. amajority did notwear amask. Mihir Vasavda The result is significant forseveral rea- SILVER: HennyKumari (Haryana); sons. This is the thirdstraight time Sonam BRONZE: Swati Shinde (Maharashtra) has defeated Sakshi –her twoearlier wins and Kirti (Delhi) came during selection trials forinternational 57KG: GOLD: Anshu (Haryana); Ranji Trophy tournaments–thus making the hierarchyin SILVER: Lalita(Railways); You want your strongest team, the 62kgclass amplyclear.Crucially, the re- BRONZE: Raman Yadav(MP) and sult also solidifies her chances to makethe Mansi (Haryana) shelved cut forthe qualifiers of the TokyoOlympics at 62KG: GOLD: Sonam (Haryana); the expense of Sakshi. So, when the referee SILVER: Sakshi Malik (Railways); but rotation is important: Buttler Mumbai:The Ranji Trophywon’t be held dur- raisedSonam’s right arm and declared her BRONZE: Pushpa (MP) and Manisha ing the truncated 2020-21season, instead as the winner of the final, the symbolism of (Haryana) the BoardofControl forCricket in India (BCCI) the moment couldn't be missed. Ironically, fresh at the back-end of the India sojourn. so to playagainstabrilliant side likeIndia has decidedtoconduct the 50-overVijay the same arm wasthe reason whyher career VISHALMENON While this mayseem likeapragmatic ap- givesusthe perfect preparation forthe HazareTrophyand the senior women’s One- nearly crashedbeforeitactuallytook off. “In competedonlyagainstboys from our vil- NEWDELHI,JANUARY30 proach, thereare manywho reckon that WorldT20,” he said. daytournament. This is the firsttime in 87 2018,she damaged anervesobadlythat her lage,” Rajsays. Buttler,aseasonedIPL regular,would get Buttler defendedEngland’s rotation pol- years that the prestigious tournament has arm went limp,” Sonam’s father Rajsays. Soon, she startedwinning at the district IN ‘NORMAL’ times, Jos Buttler,England’s hardenedand battle-ready forthe ICC event icy,whichhesays wasnecessitated by the been droppedfor aseason. The incident took place during the 2017 and statelevels, whichearnedher aplace on first-choice wicketkeeper-batsman in long- by facing some of the finestIndian and inter- coronavirus pandemic and apackedinter- In alettertostate associations on Friday, cadetworld championships. Shortlyafter she the national team. form cricket,would have featured in all four national recruitsinthe T20 league. “I think national schedule. BCCI secretaryJay Shah while highlighting wonthegoldmedal,Sonamfeltabitof uneasi- In her firstglobal meet, the 2017 world TestsinIndia. But as things stand, he will be the IPL does give youfamiliarity with the “You want your strongestteam out every the time lostbecause of the pandemic, wrote, ness in her arm. cadetchampionship, she wonthe gold be- rested forthe final three, onlytoreturn for wickets. If youhaven’t facedsomeone like time, but unfortunately, that doesn’t seem “It is extremelyimportant forustoensure At first, her coaches believeditwas arou- fore injuring her arm. the subsequent five-matchT20I series. With Jasprit Bumrah, who has abit of unique ac- possible at the moment… Youdofind it chal- that women’s cricket takesplace and Iam tine injuryand triedall the desi nuskhe.But the “Four months afterher arm stoppedre- aspotinthe WorldTestChampionship final tion, it can be abit of aproblem. It takessome lenging having to stay away from your fam- extremelyhappytoinform youthat we are painremainedandbravingthat,shecontinued sponding, it regainedmovementsand it took theoreticallystill up forgrabs (England need (time) getting usedtoit,” Buttler said during ilies, being in quarantine and lockedupin going to conduct the Senior Women’s One to takepartindomestictournaments.Thatyear, her afew moremonths to rebuild the lost to blank India 3-0 to stand achance), and avirtual pressconference from Chennai. hotels. ECB has been forward-thinking in ro- daytournament simultaneouslywith the duringastate championship,herarmstopped strength,” Rajsays. giventhe squad’s inexperience of playing in Even as he spelt out the benefitsofplay- tating players forthis series,” he explained. VijayHazareTrophyand followitupwith moving. “If we liftedthe arm over her head, it When she eventuallyreturnedonthe India, wouldn’t the visitors be better served ing in the IPL, the five-matchT20 series Buttler is in the midstofarichvein of bat- Vinoo Mankad TrophyUnder 19.This has would fall right back,”Raj says. mat, it looked likeshe wasnever away.In having Buttler forthe entireduration of the againstIndia, Buttler argued, is equallyim- ting form in red-ball cricket.Heconjured up been decidedafter having receivedyour It wasn’t amomentarything. Sonam lost 2018,Sonam wonabronze medal at the Test series? Acombination of factors seems portant, since it givesarelatively young team acareer-resurrecting 152againstPakistanin feedbackonthe domestic season 2020-21.” her gripand the arm would notdowhat her cadetworlds followedbyagold in 2019,thus to have prompted the selectorial call. ample time to geltogether and getfamil- Southamptoninthe final Test of the English However, the BCCI has decidedtocom- mind would say. “The doctors felt even if she becoming the onlyIndian wrestler aftertwo- The England and Wales Cricket Board iarisedwith their respective roles. summer,followedbysignificant knocks of pensatedomestic players forthe matchfees regainedfull strength, wrestling wasnot an time Olympic medalistSushil Kumar to win (ECB) believesthe upcoming T20I series gives 55 and 46 notout in the second Test against theywould have earnedduring the Ranji option forher anymore,” Rajsays. twocadetworld championship gold medals. them the perfect opportunity to prepare, fine- Settledteam is important Sri Lanka at Galle. Trophy, approximatelyRs40000 aday. ForSonam, who startedwrestling when On Saturday, Sonam endured acutepain tune their skills, and chartablueprint forthe “Wehad averysettledteam during the Getting rotated out of the Test squad It is learnt that VijayHazarewill be played she turned11, quitting wrestling was in the stomach–and even took medication T20 WorldCup, scheduledinIndia later this ODI WorldCup, as guyshad playedfor a could surelyhamper his momentum, but along the lines of the on-going Syed Mushtaq unimaginable. She joinedanakharastarted forspasms afterher second-round match– year.This is whytheyhaveyieldedtotheir long period of time, and Ithink that wasa Buttler isn’t perturbed.Ifanything, he looks Ali Trophy—insix designated bio bubbles. in her village, Madina in Sonepat district, by to outlastSakshi in athrilling final, in which limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan’s request hugeplus forusgoing intothat tournament. at the positives. “The pandemic has had peo- The venues will be finalisednextweek and aretired ArmySubedar.“Therewerenot she made acomebackafter being 0-4 down to have their strongestsquad forthis leg of As farasthis T20 side is concerned, we ple whose worldhas been turnedupside the teams will enter the bio-bubble in the manygirls in our neighbourhood who wres- to win 7-5 by using her superior upper body the tour.Buttler being vital to England’s T20 haven’t had time to playtogether as agroup down and we areveryfortunatetoplay firstweek of February. tled. So Sonam, forthe firstfiveyears or so, strength to her advantage. WorldCup hopes, it’s no secret theywant him and getfamiliarisedinthe respective roles, cricket and do our job that we love.” DEVENDRAPANDEY Egg-flip and astrong brew of discipline: How coach Nambiar groomed Usha

CoachNambiar wasataskmasterbut also place close to Nambiar sir's house. So I neededNambiar by her side. The conceptof the gold at Kuwait City,whichmade Nambiar NIHALKOSHIE incentivisedtraining. "Whoeverdid the droppedin. He insistedthat Ihaveacup of apersonal coachwas unheardofinIndia, confident of being on the right track. NEWDELHI,JANUARY30 warm-up drills the best would getatoffee. I tea," Usha says."WheneverImeethim alot Usha says.Once an athlete waspartofthe "Nambiar sir told me Ihaveagood stride pat- am the one who got the mosttoffees," Usha of memories come flooding back." Indian team, coaches at the national camp tern and he said Ihavethe potential to become ONE OF PT Usha's earliestdreads wasthe says of the early days of the successful coach- In the 80s, the supportsystemwasn't took over.Usha wasadamant to changethe atop 400metre hurdles runner," Usha says. thought of reaching latefor coachOM athlete partnership whichbegan in the late great so Nambiar had to wear manyhats, one system. She firsttriedtoconvince athletics Howthe tilt at Olympic gloryendedina Nambiar's training session at 6am. An old- 1970s. Afourth-place finish at the Los of them being anutritionist. When training federation officials, but when that failedshe heart-breaking fourth place finish at Los school coachand astickler fordiscipline, Angeles Games and multiple medals wonby at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New went to the sports ministry. Finally, she Angeles has been retold over the years. In Usha came under Nambiar's wings when she Usha at the Asian Games and Asian Delhi, Nambiar hit it offwith the wrestling knockedonthe door of prime ministerIndira Usha's latestretelling her coachwas incon- joinedthe hostelofthe Sports Division in Championships earnedher the moniker of squad. "Wrestlers were big intobadam milk. Gandhi. "The prime ministerwas notinher solable. "Atfirstwhen theyannouncedthe Kannur as aClass 8student. "If anyone Golden Girl. Nambiar,her coach, mentor and He would always getaglass forme. Aftera office but Imet PC Alexander (principal sec- top-three finishers my name wasthird. Then reachedat6:05 am, theywould be punished. constant shadowbecame ahousehold name point the wrestlers would keep badam milk retary)and told him whyitwas crucial for theystarted going through the slow-motion Youhad to run with your pair of spikes held in the 1980s. forme," Usha says. Nambiar sir to travel with me. Mr Alexander camerafor half an hour.Iwas in the dope over your head around the ground. Ihad to Earlier this week Nambiar wasnamedas It wasNambiar who asked Usha, a said, 'don't worry, it will be done'." room when it wasofficiallyannouncedthat run likethat once or twice justafter Ijoined aPadma Shri winner.At89, he is suffering for pescatarian to startconsuming eggs and the Romanian came third. Nambiar sir broke the hostel, but notafter that," Usha recalls. Parkinsons, rarely gets offthe bed and needs adoptanon-vegetarian diet. At first, Usha Decision to target hurdles down. He wouldn't stop crying. Iwas hurt- To reachontime, it wascrucial to wake up assistance to walk."When he heardabout be- found it hardbecause she didn't likethe This wasaround the time Nambiar had ing inside,but Ididn't want my coachtosee by 4:45 am at least. The hostelhad justtwo ing awardedthe Padma Shri he wasvery smell of eggs. But as 'sir' wasinsisting, she proposedthe idea of Usha focussing on the it. So Iheld myself together and consoled toilets and three bathrooms for80trainees. happy. He felt he should have receiveditear- knewitwould onlybenefit her on trackand 400metreshurdles forthe 1984 Los Angeles him. 'Don't worrywewill win amedal at the Along bathroom queue wasnot an excuse lier,but better latethan never,"Suresh his son during training. Olympics whichwas ayear away.Itwas a next Olympics' Itold him." the retired air forcesergeant-turned-coach says.Nambiar won't be able to travel forthe "I wasavegetarian who would eat fish. smartmovebythe coachasthe event was Usha and Nambiar minted medals in would accept. "I would getupreallyearly and awardceremony, Suresh confirms. "Haven't In the sports hostel, Iwould noteat the boiled PT Usha during atraining session with relatively newand wastobepartofthe Asia, but the Olympic medal remainedan stand in the queue. At times Iwould tell some- thought about it yet. Maybeafamilymember egg and would storeitawayinmybag. But coachOMNambiar. Usha’s album Olympics forthe firsttime. Usha wasstill unfulfilleddream. 'A great regret'iswhat one to hold my place in the queue and have a will have to represent him. The onlytime he eventually, Nambiar sir found out and gave smarting from bagging onlythe silverinthe both have calledit. quickshut eyebeforemyturn," Usha says. leavesthe house is foramedical check-up." me ayelling. Thereweresomanyeggs in my 100m and 200m at the Asiad in Delhi and the She is full of gratitude though as her The police ground, in the middle of the On Monday, hours before the listofaward bag and theystarted smelling," Usha says. makefor her everyother day. "I would close coachwas keen to challengehis ward. coachisbeing bestowedaprestigious award. city,did nothaveany structures blocking the winners wasofficiallyannounced, Usha had Over the years, Usha got usedtothe egg-flip my nostrils with my fingers and drink it. As The AsianTrack and Field meetinKuwait “Without Nambiar sir's guidance Iwould not view. "If youwerepunishedthe whole town visited her coach. "Wehad gone forthe en- -raw egg mixed in aglass of hotmilk and Nambiar sir wasgiving it to me Idrank it." is whereNambiar tested Usha's potential by have been able to achieve what Idid forthe literallyknewabout it," Usha says. gagement of my husband's niece. It took stirredtill it froths -whichNambiar would By the early 1980s, Usha knewshe making her run in the 400metres. She won country."

R.N.I. No.WBENG/2005/20789 VOL. XVI No.42 Printed by V.Srinivasan and PublishedbyV.Srinivasan on behalf of The Indian Express (P) Limited and Printed at Saraswati Print FactoryPvt.Ltd,789, Chowbhaga(West), Kolkata-700105and PublishedatThe Indian Express (P) Ltd JL No.29 &30, N.H.-6, Mouza -Prasastha &Ankurhati, P.O. -Salap, P.S.-Domjur,Howrah-711 409. Ph: (033)66043800Fax: (033) 66043825 &66043847.Chairman of the Board:ViveckGoenka, Chief Editor :Raj Kamal Jha, Editor :Unni Rajen Shanker,Editor (Kolkata): Rakesh Sinha* (*Responsible forselection of news under the PRB Act)Copyright :The Indian Express (P) Limited.All rightsreserved.Reproduction in anymanner,electronic or otherwise,in whole or in part,without prior written permission is prohibited.The Indian Express(R)

luck Kolkata WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 14 THE SUNDAY EXPRESS,JANUARY31,2021

Easing the pain Treat the root cause of pain of Arthritis without surgery and medication arthritis is very commonly seen in our society. therapy,Dry Needle therapy,Manual Our main concern is to treat any kind of or- therapy,Electro therapy,Detox therapy for The new developmentsinthe treatment of thopaedicand neurological pain which is weight loss and many more.Our main theme is caused by unhealthy life style and bad pos- to provide best service in pain relief field with- various types of Arthritis focus on alleviating ture,that leads to painfull movement or various out any side affects.Till now we served more type of muscle and joint restrictions.Our treat- than five thousands of patient successfully.All joint inflammation and resulting pain ment is completely non-invasive and conserv- you need is loving caregiver who can provide ative method where we are not using any kind you advanced orthopaedic and neurological Research. of medicines and pain killers .it is completely treatment in Kolkata. Enter the Thera world, As per areport published in No- non-operative.Thera-world consist of various your one- step destination for back pain, knee vember last year,“People with kind of bioelectrical modalities which is com- pain, sciatica,lumbar spondylosis treatment RheumatoidArthritis (RA) could soon pletely scientific and safe to the human body.It with advanced physiotherapy and Manual benefit from anew drug treatment has no side affects at all.We provide Cupping Therapy. that not only suppresses inflamma- tion but also significantly reduces pa- tient reported pain scores.Otilimab is amonoclonal antibody,biologic drug, which targets and suppresses the inflammatory cytokine GM-CSF.” As per amulticentre,dose-ranging trial conducted to study the efficacy of Dr Manaswita Roy (Das) RTHRITIS means inflamma- autoimmune disorder that often af- Otilimab,itwas found that“Otilimab tion of joints,but this term is fects the hands and feet. treatment led to arapid reduction in hera-world clinic is highly equipped A tender and swollen joints but pa- with facilities,instruments and innova- generally used to describe In the recent past,there have been advancements regarding treatments tients also reported very significant Ttive methodologies fulfilling the needs around 200 conditions that affect joints,the tissues that surround the for this disorder,such as the discov- improvements in pain scores.” of every person searching for the best physi- joint, and other connective tissue.It eryofanew type of Tcell in the im- Currently,researchers are looking cal therapy in kolkata. Dr Manaswita Roy is arheumatic condition. Symptoms mune system that has the potential for new ways to treat knee os- (PT) is aneuro physiotherapist as well as of Arthritis include joint pain and to be activated to block inflamma- teoarthritis.Some of the methods sport nutritionist. She is also certified Manual stiffness,among others such as red- tion. "The arrival of electrical signals they’re trying include the following Therapy and Dry Needle therapy.She is adis- ness,warmth, swelling, and de- from nerves activates these special- —Hyaluronic Acid or Hyaluronate tinguished member of the IndianAssociation creased range of motion of the af- ized Tcells to produce the acetyl- Injections to restore synovial fluid of Physiotherapist. Her team is highly dedi- fected joints. choline necessary to block inflamma- that helps lubricate joints; Platelet- cated and experienced their own field. She Themost common form of arthritis tion,and protect against damage.Itis Rich Plasma (PRP) Injections that is the founder of “TheraWorld “clinic, an ad- is osteoarthritis (degenerative joint possible to transfer these cells to could promote healing in joints; in- vanced physiotherapy clinic in Kolkata. She is disease,OA). Other common cross-protect mice from inflamma- jecting Mesenchymal Stem Cells heading the team of orthopaedic and neauro- rheumatic conditions related to tion, and to control these Tcells by (MSCs) into the knee joint to give rise logic physiotherapist. Her team also consist of electrically stimulating the nerves di- to new cartilage and reduce inflam- C arthritis include gout, fibromyalgia, occupational therapist, dietition, speech and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). OA rectly," said Kevin J.Tracey,MD, Pres- mation; Bone Marrow Aspirate Con- therapist and psychotherapist. She is prac- usually occurs with age and affects ident and Chief Executive Officer of centrate procedure to stimulate the ticing in Kolkata for over 12 years and served the fingers,knees and hips.RAisan TheFeinstein Institute for Medical healing process inside knee,etc. thousands of people .Now adays pain and Muscle balance can prevent your Osteoarthritis

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