˘ˇˆ - The Pioneer...ing the Bharatiya Janata Party in Samajwadi Party and Congress strongholds,...

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E ven as over 19 lakh appli- cants to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam stare at an uncertain future as they failed to make it to the final list issued on Saturday, politics heated up in the State with all major parties rejecting the NRC for their own separate reasons. Given the objections over the exclusion or inclusion in the list, it may be a long haul for the finalisation of the NRC with affected people holding the right to appeal with the for- eigners’ tribunals (FT) within 120 days, and move the High Court or the Supreme Court, thereafter. The BJP, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the All Assam Students Union (AASU) expressed unhappi- ness over the small exclusion size and announced their intent to move the SC for reverifica- tion of citizenship in the bor- der districts and an appeal against the final list, published as per the Supreme Court’s deadline of August 31. The Assam BJP said they do not trust the updated NRC specifically prepared for Assam, and appealed to the Central and the State Governments to prepare a nationwide NRC. The Congress blamed the BJP for being unable to bring a free and fair NRC, while the TMC accused the ruling party of driving out Bengalis. Of the total of 3,30,27,661 people who had applied to be included in the NRC, 3,11,21,004 found their names in the list with 19,06,657 being left out. The Assam Government has ruled out detention of people who do not figure in the list “in any cir- cumstances” till the time the FTs declare them foreigners. And Assam Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary promised that the Government will pro- vide legal support to the Indian citizens not finding place in the NRC list. “One thing is sure that many genuine Indians were left out of the NRC. However, they don’t need to panic and worry. They can appeal in the FTs,” Patowary said. The number of Assamese who could not find their names in the NRC has, however, come down to a little over 19 lakh from the first draft of the NRC which had deleted names of 41 lakh people residing in the State. “We have increased the number of FTs to 300 from 100 earlier. The additional FTs will start functioning from Monday. So people can result approach the FTs,” said Patowary, who is also the spokesperson of the Assam Government. The final list was pub- lished at 10 am and the hard copies of the Supplementary List of Inclusions are available for public viewing at the NRC Seva Kendras (NSK), offices of the deputy commissioner and offices of the Circle Officer dur- ing office hours, a statement by the NRC authority said. Amid prohibitory orders in place, hundreds of people began thronging these offices soon after the list was released, with some returning home happy and some disappointed. Senior BJP leader and Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma led the voices against the NRC list from the ruling camp. “Names of many Indian citizens who migrated from Bangladesh as refugees prior to 1971 have not been included in the NRC because authorities refused to accept refugee certificates . Many names got included because of manipulation of legacy data as alleged by many,” he said. The BJP also alleged that exclusion was less from the T he Delhi Police on Saturday urged a city court to pros- ecute Congress MP Shashi Tharoor for abetment to sui- cide or on murder charge in the case of death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar in 2014. “Please frame sections 498- A (husband or his relative subjecting a woman to cruelty), 306 (abetment of suicide) or in alternative 302 (murder) IPC against the accused (Tharoor),” the probe agency told special judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar. Reading out a statement of the couple’s domestics help, who is one of the witnesses in the case, the prosecutor said that the couple had fight over a girl named ‘Katy’ and some Blackberry messages. The prosecutor told the court that before her death, Pushkar wanted to address a Press conference on the IPL issue and had said “I will not leave him (Tharoor)”. The probe agency told the court that according to the post-mortem report, the cause of Pushkar’s death was poi- soning and 15 injury marks were found on various parts of her body, including in forearm, arms and legs. Turn to Page 6 T he teenage Sikh girl, who was allegedly abducted and converted to Islam “at gun- point” before being married to a Muslim man in Pakistan’s Punjab province, on Saturday refused to go home, fearing threat to her life. The girl, who is the daugh- ter of a Sikh priest, was on Friday sent to a shelter home on a court order. Kaur’s family alleged that she was converted to Islam at gunpoint and forced to marry a Muslim boy. Her family says she is 18 years of age. “On Saturday, Punjab Governor Chaudhary Muhammad Sarwar met with the Sikh girl at Lahore’s Darul Aman and tried his best to per- suade her to return her parents’ home but she declined,” an offi- cial told PTI. An FIR was registered on Thursday against six people in the case. Police have arrested one of the suspects named Arsalan, a friend of her hus- band Hassan, who is also the prime accused in the case and currently on a pre-arrest bail. Turn to Page 6 O n a day when the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) list was pub- lished in Assam, several stories surfaced from the State about the toll that the NRC took on some applicants. Consumed by the grief on a rumour that she lost citi- zenship, a 60-year-old woman ended her life by jumping into a well on Saturday, report- ed AP. Residents rushed to res- cue her but she could not be saved. After a few hours, it was known that she had “passed” the NRC test with her name not being excluded. In another case, a resident of Guwahati found that his younger son was left of the NRC list with his three fami- ly members making it. There are many such stories of chil- dren being left out, but parents in. Some prominent names who are left out the NRC are Kargil war hero retired Army officer Mohammad Sanaullah, AIUDF MLA Ananta Kumar Malo and his son, former AIUDF MLA Ataur Rahman Majharbhuyan, and the daughter of Dalgaon Congress MLA Ilias Ali. border areas where maximum illegal migration allegedly took place over the decades while many genuine citizens in the heart of the state were not fig- uring in the NRC list. Addressing a Press confer- ence, BJP Assam President Ranjeet Kumar Dass said the final NRC contains very small figure of exclusions compared to officially stated figures ear- lier. “We do not trust this NRC... We are very unhap- py...We appeal to the central and the state governments to prepare a national level NRC,” he added. AGP, a member of the rul- ing alliance in Assam, articu- lated its dissatisfaction saying Turn to Page 6 R ajendra Kumar Tewari, a 1985 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, has taken over as officiating Chief Secretary of the state. Presently Agriculture Production Commissioner, Tewari will officiate as chief secretary till a regular selection is made for the top post of the civil servants in the state. The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet at the Centre has already approved Tewari’s empanel- ment for holding secretary- level post at the Union gov- ernment. Tewari has succeed- ed Anup Chandra Pandey, who attained superannuation on Saturday. Pandey was to retire on February 28 but was given a six-month extension. The 1984 batch IAS officer was hand-picked by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to head the state bureaucracy on June 28 last year. There was intense specu- lation on Saturday that Pandey could be given a second exten- sion as Chief Secretary or the government would select an eligible officer for the post. Sources said that the ser- vices of Anup Chandra Pandey are likely to be retained by the Chief Minister as officer on special duty.

Transcript of ˘ˇˆ - The Pioneer...ing the Bharatiya Janata Party in Samajwadi Party and Congress strongholds,...

Page 1: ˘ˇˆ - The Pioneer...ing the Bharatiya Janata Party in Samajwadi Party and Congress strongholds, respec-tively. After the recent reshuffle in the Yogi Adityanath Cabinet, Keshav

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Even as over 19 lakh appli-cants to the National

Register of Citizens (NRC) inAssam stare at an uncertainfuture as they failed to make itto the final list issued onSaturday, politics heated up inthe State with all major partiesrejecting the NRC for their ownseparate reasons.

Given the objections overthe exclusion or inclusion inthe list, it may be a long haulfor the finalisation of the NRCwith affected people holdingthe right to appeal with the for-eigners’ tribunals (FT) within120 days, and move the HighCourt or the Supreme Court,thereafter.

The BJP, the Asom GanaParishad (AGP) and the AllAssam Students Union(AASU) expressed unhappi-ness over the small exclusionsize and announced their intentto move the SC for reverifica-tion of citizenship in the bor-der districts and an appealagainst the final list, publishedas per the Supreme Court’sdeadline of August 31.

The Assam BJP said theydo not trust the updated NRCspecifically prepared for Assam,and appealed to the Centraland the State Governments to

prepare a nationwide NRC.The Congress blamed the

BJP for being unable to bringa free and fair NRC, while theTMC accused the ruling partyof driving out Bengalis.

Of the total of 3,30,27,661people who had applied to beincluded in the NRC,3,11,21,004 found their namesin the list with 19,06,657 beingleft out. The AssamGovernment has ruled outdetention of people who do notfigure in the list “in any cir-cumstances” till the time theFTs declare them foreigners.

And Assam ParliamentaryAffairs Minister Chandra

Mohan Patowary promisedthat the Government will pro-vide legal support to the Indiancitizens not finding place in theNRC list.

“One thing is sure thatmany genuine Indians were leftout of the NRC. However, theydon’t need to panic and worry.They can appeal in the FTs,”Patowary said.

The number of Assamesewho could not find their namesin the NRC has, however, comedown to a little over 19 lakhfrom the first draft of the NRCwhich had deleted names of 41lakh people residing in theState. “We have increased the

number of FTs to 300 from 100earlier. The additional FTs willstart functioning from Monday.So people can result approachthe FTs,” said Patowary, who isalso the spokesperson of theAssam Government.

The final list was pub-lished at 10 am and the hardcopies of the SupplementaryList of Inclusions are availablefor public viewing at the NRCSeva Kendras (NSK), offices ofthe deputy commissioner andoffices of the Circle Officer dur-ing office hours, a statement bythe NRC authority said.

Amid prohibitory orders inplace, hundreds of peoplebegan thronging these officessoon after the list was released,with some returning homehappy and some disappointed.

Senior BJP leader andAssam Finance MinisterHimanta Biswa Sarma led thevoices against the NRC listfrom the ruling camp. “Namesof many Indian citizens whomigrated from Bangladesh asrefugees prior to 1971 have notbeen included in the NRCbecause authorities refused toaccept refugee certificates .Many names got includedbecause of manipulation oflegacy data as alleged by many,”he said.

The BJP also alleged thatexclusion was less from the

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The Delhi Police on Saturdayurged a city court to pros-

ecute Congress MP ShashiTharoor for abetment to sui-cide or on murder charge in thecase of death of his wifeSunanda Pushkar in 2014.

“Please frame sections 498-A (husband or his relativesubjecting a woman to cruelty),306 (abetment of suicide) or inalternative 302 (murder) IPCagainst the accused (Tharoor),”the probe agency told specialjudge Ajay Kumar Kuhar.

Reading out a statement ofthe couple’s domestics help,who is one of the witnesses inthe case, the prosecutor saidthat the couple had fight overa girl named ‘Katy’ and someBlackberry messages.

The prosecutor told thecourt that before her death,Pushkar wanted to address aPress conference on the IPLissue and had said “I will notleave him (Tharoor)”.

The probe agency told thecourt that according to thepost-mortem report, the causeof Pushkar’s death was poi-soning and 15 injury markswere found on various parts ofher body, including in forearm,arms and legs.

Turn to Page 6

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The teenage Sikh girl, whowas allegedly abducted and

converted to Islam “at gun-point” before being married toa Muslim man in Pakistan’sPunjab province, on Saturdayrefused to go home, fearingthreat to her life.

The girl, who is the daugh-ter of a Sikh priest, was onFriday sent to a shelter homeon a court order.

Kaur’s family alleged thatshe was converted to Islam atgunpoint and forced to marrya Muslim boy. Her family says

she is 18 years of age.“On Saturday, Punjab

Governor ChaudharyMuhammad Sarwar met withthe Sikh girl at Lahore’s DarulAman and tried his best to per-suade her to return her parents’home but she declined,” an offi-cial told PTI.

An FIR was registered onThursday against six people inthe case. Police have arrestedone of the suspects namedArsalan, a friend of her hus-band Hassan, who is also theprime accused in the case andcurrently on a pre-arrest bail.

Turn to Page 6

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On a day when the finalNational Register of

Citizens (NRC) list was pub-lished in Assam, several storiessurfaced from the State aboutthe toll that the NRC took onsome applicants.

Consumed by the grief ona rumour that she lost citi-zenship, a 60-year-old womanended her life by jumpinginto a well on Saturday, report-ed AP. Residents rushed to res-cue her but she could not be

saved. After a few hours, it wasknown that she had “passed”the NRC test with her namenot being excluded.

In another case, a residentof Guwahati found that hisyounger son was left of theNRC list with his three fami-ly members making it. Thereare many such stories of chil-dren being left out, but parentsin.

Some prominent nameswho are left out the NRC areKargil war hero retired Armyofficer Mohammad Sanaullah,AIUDF MLA Ananta KumarMalo and his son, formerAIUDF MLA Ataur RahmanMajharbhuyan, and thedaughter of Dalgaon CongressMLA Ilias Ali.

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border areas where maximumillegal migration allegedly tookplace over the decades whilemany genuine citizens in theheart of the state were not fig-uring in the NRC list.

Addressing a Press confer-ence, BJP Assam PresidentRanjeet Kumar Dass said thefinal NRC contains very smallfigure of exclusions compared

to officially stated figures ear-lier. “We do not trust thisNRC... We are very unhap-py...We appeal to the centraland the state governments toprepare a national level NRC,”he added.

AGP, a member of the rul-ing alliance in Assam, articu-lated its dissatisfaction saying

Turn to Page 6

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Rajendra Kumar Tewari, a1985 batch IAS officer of

Uttar Pradesh cadre, has takenover as officiating ChiefSecretary of the state.

Presently AgricultureProduction Commissioner,Tewari will officiate as chiefsecretary till a regular selectionis made for the top post of thecivil servants in the state.

The AppointmentCommittee of the Cabinet atthe Centre has alreadyapproved Tewari’s empanel-ment for holding secretary-level post at the Union gov-ernment. Tewari has succeed-ed Anup Chandra Pandey, whoattained superannuation onSaturday. Pandey was to retireon February 28 but was givena six-month extension. The1984 batch IAS officer washand-picked by Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath to head thestate bureaucracy on June 28last year.

There was intense specu-lation on Saturday that Pandeycould be given a second exten-sion as Chief Secretary or thegovernment would select aneligible officer for the post.

Sources said that the ser-vices of Anup Chandra Pandeyare likely to be retained by theChief Minister as officer onspecial duty.

Page 2: ˘ˇˆ - The Pioneer...ing the Bharatiya Janata Party in Samajwadi Party and Congress strongholds, respec-tively. After the recent reshuffle in the Yogi Adityanath Cabinet, Keshav

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With the objective of mak-ing inroads into the core

areas of the opposition parties,Deputy Chief Ministers KeshavPrasad Maurya and DineshSharma have been given theresponsibility of strengthen-ing the Bharatiya Janata Partyin Samajwadi Party andCongress strongholds, respec-tively.

After the recent reshuffle inthe Yogi Adityanath Cabinet,Keshav Prasad Maurya hasbeen given additional respon-sibility of Mainpuri district, theLok Sabha constituency andstronghold of SP supremoMulayam Singh Yadav.

He will also continue to bethe minister in-charge ofKanpur district.

Yogi Adityanath hasalready inducted Ram NareshAgnihotri as Cabinet ministerin the recent reshuffle.Agnihotri had wrested theBhogaon Assembly seat inMainpuri district from the SPin the 2017 UP assembly elec-tions.

Dinesh Sharma has beengiven the responsibility of RaeBareli, the Lok Sabha con-stituency and bastion ofCongress interim president

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Samajwadi Party on Saturdayannounced Chaudhary

Indrasen as its candidate for thebypoll to the Gangoh Assemblyseat in Saharanpur district.

The Election Commissionis yet to announce the sched-ule for Gangoh Assemblybypoll.

Indrasen is the son ofChaudhary Yashpal Singh, theveteran Congress leader whowas Cabinet minister inVishwanath Pratap Singh gov-ernment in 1980 and laterCongress MP from Saharanpurin 1985.

The Gangoh Assembly seatwas vacated by Bharatiya JanataParty MLA PradeepChaudhary following his elec-tion to Lok Sabha from KairanaLok Sabha constituency inShamli district. GangohAssembly seat is a segment ofKairana Lok Sabha con-stituency.

Lucknow: Mysteryshrouds the deaths of twounidentified young girlswhose bodies were foundlying near the Ken riverbridge besides a railwaytrack in Kotwali police sta-tion area of Banda.

Police sent the bodiesfor post-mortem and werewaiting for the report toconfirm the cause of death.

Efforts are also beingmade to find out the iden-tities of the deceased.

Reports said that theBanda police found the bod-ies of two women, both intheir mid-twenties, lyingnear railway tracks.

The deceased girls werewearing jeans and shirtsand seemed to belong tomiddle class families. ASPLal Bharat Kumar Pal said itappeared that the girls haddied two to three days agoand someone had dumpedthe bodies at the spot afterkilling them somewhereelse.

He, however, did notrule out the possibility thatthe girls could have fallenfrom a moving train. “But asthere were no injury marks,the cause of death would beknown only after the post-mortem report is out,” theASP said, adding that amobile phone was alsofound at the spot.

In a separate incidentreported from Etawah,unidentified miscreantsstruck terror when theybarged into a house andbrutally battered a 45-year-old woman to death andcritically injured her twodaughters. Luckily, somelocal residents rushed tothe girls’ rescue which savedtheir lives. PNS

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With Bahujan Samaj Partychief Mayawati and

Samajwadi Party presidentAkhilesh Yadav announcingsome of their candidates forthe coming bypolls to 13 UPAssembly seats, Congress gen-eral secretar y PriyankaGandhi Vadra has started dis-cussions with senior leaders ofthe state to finalise the party’sstrategy.

The Gandhi scion hasalready made it clear that theCongress wil l not forgealliance with any party andwill contest all the seats withfull strength on its own.

Sources said Priyankasummoned senior leaders ofUP to New Delhi on Fridayand discussed with them the

party’s strategy and probablecandidates for the comingAssembly bypolls.

The UP leaders also dis-cussed some names to replaceRaj Babbar as Uttar PradeshCongress Committee presi-dent.

They told Priyanka thatthe party was suffering a lot inUP due to the confusionwhether Babbar would con-tinue as state chief even afterthe worst-ever performance ofthe party in the state under hisleadership.

The Congress had con-tested the 2019 Lok Sabhaelections alone after the fail-ure of its al l iance withSamajwadi Party in the 2017Assembly polls. Sources aidthat the party’s strategy for thenext Assembly elections will

be decided in the comingbypolls.

A senior party leaderrevealed that the meeting atthe residence of formerCongress president RahulGandhi was attended by for-mer Union ministers RPNSingh and Jitin Prasada,Pramod Tiwari and severalothers and lasted for overone-and-half hours.

The sources said thatmajority of the leaders were ofthe view that the party shouldgo it alone in UP in all futureelections.

They said a final decisionon the candidates for thebypolls and the new UPCCchief would be taken after get-ting approval of Congressinterim president SoniaGandhi.

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In an attempt to revamp theparty organisation, Rashtriya

Lok Dal vice-president JayantChaudhary has dissolved all thefrontal organisations and theexecutives of zonal and com-missionery level committees.

The decision was taken onSaturday after a meeting withsenior RLD office-bearers atparty headquarters here.

Jayant Chaudhary was inthe city to discuss the polldebacle with party leaders ofUP unit. The RLD vice-presi-dent said there would be tenzones in UP unit of the party.

“Our aim is to strengthenthe RLD even at booth level,”he said and asked party leadersand workers to contact peopleand apprise them of RLD ide-ology,” Jayant Chaudhary said.

According to RLD mediaincharge Javed Ahmad, theexecutives of dissolved com-mittees would be constitutedsoon as per the direction ofJayant Chaudhary.

The meeting was attendedby senior RLD leaders includ-ing Anil Dubey, MasoodAhmad, Trilok Tyagi,Rajkumar Sangwan, Shiv KaranSingh and several other seniorleaders.

����� %)4�'�

Chief Minister YogiAdityanath felicitatedoutgoing Chief Secretary

Anup Chandra Pandey, sayingthat he has retired from gov-ernment service and not fromthe service to people.

The Chief Minister saidthat as Chief Secretary, AnupChandra Pandey had the imageof a competent and efficientbureaucrat who discharged hisduties in an efficient manner.

“Anup Chandra Pandeyplayed a stellar role in organ-ising the UP Investors’ Summitin 2018 that was organised bythe UP government for ensur-ing industrial development ofthe state and for providingbetter job opportunities to theyouth of the state,” the ChiefMinister said.

“Anup Chandra Pandeyplayed an important role in thisevent in which the governmentsigned investment proposals

worth �4.68 lakh crore andwithin six months, the firstgroundbreaking ceremony wasorganised for launch of projectsworth �62,000 crore by layingtheir foundation stones,” theChief Minister said.

Yogi Adityanath also laud-ed the outgoing Chief Secretaryfor implementing the schemesand plans of the state govern-ment on priority basis.

He said the contributionof Anup Chandra Pandey wasmost noticeable in imple-mentation of the farm loanwaiver scheme of the UP gov-ernment for small and mar-ginal farmers. He said thespecial feature of this schemewas that it was implementedwithout imposing additionaltax burden on the people ofthe state.

The Chief Minister saidseveral big programmes wereheld in UP this year which ledto the image makeover of thestate.

He said the beginning wasmade with the successfulorganisation of Kumbh Melawhich established new stan-dards in the areas of sanita-tion, security and properarrangements that were laud-ed by all and sundry. He saidthis was possible because ofthe leadership and guidance ofthe outgoing Chief Secretary.

Yogi Adityanath saidPravasi Bhartiya Diwas wasorganised in UP for the firsttime and this programme wasrecognised as a majorachievement of the UP gov-ernment and Anup ChandraPandey put in exceptionallyhard work for its success.

The Chief Minister saidthe recent Lok Sabha electionswere incident-free and sentout a good message about thepolice and administrativearrangements in the state. Hesaid Pandey continuouslystrived for free and fair elec-tions in the state.

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OBITUARY

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Sonia Gandhi. He is also in-charge of

Agra district. Both the top leaders will be

visiting Mainpuri and RaeBareli regularly to speed updevelopment works there andstrengthen the party organisa-tion ahead of the 2022Assembly elections in the state.

In Uttar Pradesh, all theCabinet and ministers of statehave been given the responsi-

bility of districts by ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath. Theywill visit their assigned districtsfrequently and hold meetingswith administrative officialsto ensure developmentschemes reach the people. Theminister in-charge of everydistrict will also conduct organ-isational meeting with partyworkers and chalk out thestrategy to strengthen the partyorganisation.

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Page 3: ˘ˇˆ - The Pioneer...ing the Bharatiya Janata Party in Samajwadi Party and Congress strongholds, respec-tively. After the recent reshuffle in the Yogi Adityanath Cabinet, Keshav

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Governor Anandiben Patelappealed to the students,

staff and faculty members ofSanjay Gandhi Post-GraduateInstitute of Medical Sciences toadopt tuberculosis (TB)patients to improve their con-dition. “I never ask people to doanything until I have done itmyself. Raj Bhawan has recent-ly adopted 12 children suffer-ing from TB,” the Governorsaid while speaking at the 24thconvocation of SGPGI onSaturday.

“If we look around, wewill find even infants sufferingfrom TB. The condition ofpatients is so bad that a 30-year-old looks like 60,” shesaid. The Governor told thegraduating students to work inrural areas and provide health-care services to people in those

areas. “Government invests somuch in you and while some ofyou resort to private practice,others choose to go abroad.Despite the fact that infra-structure for health has beenmade in rural areas, there arevirtually no doctors present atPHCs,” she rued.

The Governor said she hadcarried out an inspection of aprimary health centre (PHC)and found no doctors there;even the gynaecologists werenot present and nurses wereperforming the task of doctors.

She told the students to fanout in different parts of thecountry to make their contri-bution towards the mission ofPrime Minister Narendra Modiwho has started a campaign forcleanliness, making India TB-free by 2025 and water con-servation. “The root cause ofthe disease is unhygienic con-

ditions which can be taken careof through education andawareness. If the country hadfollowed what the PrimeMinister is stressing now interms construction of toiletsand maintaining cleanlinesssince independence, Indiawould not have been battlingsuch widespread diseases,” shesaid. She added that the stu-dents were fortunate to havecompleted their studies from aprestigious institute. She addedthat India was becoming a hubof medical tourism and patientslooked upon doctors as gods.

She said she had directedthe authorities to bring in thestudents of Kendriya Vidyalayaso that they could witness animportant ceremony and getinspired to pursue higher edu-cation. “We have gifted thembooks so that they can read andshare their experiences,” she

added. Minister for MedicalHealth Suresh Khanna saidthat the strength of patients vis-iting the institute had increasedand there was a need for theinstitute to have 500 more beds.He said the government wascommitted to ensuring noreferral patient was turned backfrom the institute and thatthere would be complete sup-port for SGPGI in this regard.

He told the graduating stu-dents that it was important toremain calm while workingunder different pressure. “Thepatients look up to doctorswith high expectations andthey should empathise withthe patients and be sensitivetowards them. Fifty per cent ofthe patients’ problems areresolved when doctors talk tothem politely and properly,”

The chief guest was sup-posed to be Union ministerHarsh Vardhan, but he couldnot make it due to some urgentmeeting in Delhi. In his record-ed address, he extended bestwishes to the institute andgraduating students.

This year, 151 studentswere conferred their super-speciality degrees in Medicaland Allied Health courses.About 109 students receivedtheir degrees in person.

Dr SR Naik Award forOutstanding ResearchInvestigator was given away toProf Sanjay Behari, Dr SSAgarwal Award for Excellencein Research to Dr Suvrat Arya,Dr RK Sharma Award for BestDM Student to Dr Suvrat Arya,and Dr RK Sharma Award forBest MCh Student to Dr GKrishna Kumar. Earlier, thewelcome Address was deliveredby Chief Secretary and presi-dent of SGPGI Anup ChandraPandey. SGPGI director RakeshKapoor gave an overview of theacademic activities of the yeargone by.

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Head of Neurosurgerydepartment (SGPGI)

Dr Sanjay Behari, who wonthe SR Naik award for theBest Research Investigation,said the honour bestowedon him reflected thedepartment’s team efforts.Amongst all the facultymembers, he has publishedthe highest impact factorpapers in which he hasbeen directly involved.

Talking to The Pioneer,he said it was important tocreate an atmosphere forresearch and there was alsoa need to do quality researchand think in terms of com-mercialisation so that theorganisation gets maximumbenefit.

“Very good research isbeing done everywhere andthe government shouldfocus on converting it intoactual saleable products.Researchers have patentsbut to market the finalproduct requires so manyintermediate steps,” hepointed out.

Dedicating the award toteam effort, he said no onecould win the award with-out team support. “It is col-laborative effort where theface of the organisation getsthe awards but it is thestaff, nurses and senior res-idents who help you carryout the research in all ways.It’s impossible for a singleperson to do it. The awardis an acknowledgement ofthe work done,” he said.

However, he said hehad to sacrifice his holidaysand all spare time for theresearch work. “I get up at4 in the morning for thiswork and I am also editinga high-impact neurologyjournal which is looked intoby neurologists from Indiaand abroad. I have beendoing this for the past sixyears,” he said.

Dr Behari said he wasinterested in doing researchin the junctional areabetween the head and spinewhich is known as the cra-nium vertebral junctionarea. “I have more than 60-70 publications on that.Uttar Pradesh has a lot ofpeople with anomalies inthis area because of con-genital problems like tiltedneck. These surgeries are

difficult to perform asmedulla is the area in brainthat affects your respirationand heart rate. The patientcan develop respiratory dis-tress or quadriplegia ifsomething goes wrong.Over the years, I have pub-lished several nuances onthis particular area itself,” hepointed out.

He said the second areaof research was the base ofthe brain where there werea lot of tumours in patients,and his third area of inter-est was vascular. A profes-sor for 10 years and head ofthe department for fiveyears, the doctor said that hehad been working in SGPGIfor the last 27 years and hehad also done his residen-cy from the institute itself.

“We are now workingon movement disorder andthere is not a single doctorfrom Kolkata to Delhi whois working on it. We are alsoworking on epilepsy, electrophysiological monitoring toprevent the deficit thatoccurs in surgeries,” he said.

He further pointed outthat they had collaborationwith IIT-Kanpur. “Last year,we won the golden prize forthe best medical innovationin India. Under the projectof the Central government,IIT-Kanpur has been givenRs 10 crore for working ontechnological projects underwhich they have given us Rsone crore for innovation. Iam also carrying outresearch in the area wherethe institute can get a lot ofproducts which can help thepatients,” he said. In the fieldof neurology, he said onecould come up with neuro-physiological products,products of electricalimpulses in the brain, andplates of spinal stabilisationprocedure. “We have apatent on brain refractivesystem,” he added.

Asked whetherresearch comes naturally, hesaid everything was a train-ing. “People say one is a finesurgeon but you are trainedfor this. Everyone has aspark of creativity but theysuppress it because they donot have the energy to cre-ate it or because they do notget the right opportunity. Ifyou get the right opportu-nity, you excel and do well,”he said.

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Aman was arrested onSaturday for sexually

exploiting his 14-year-olddaughter while holding herhostage for 3-4 months at hishouse in PGI police stationarea. However, the SHO refut-ed reports that the girl was heldhostage.

The mother of the victim,helped by some social workers,

lodged a complaint against herhusband on Saturday. “The vic-tim is my eldest daughter. Myhusband had raped the girl 3-4months back and asked us tokeep our mouths shut. We didnot approach the police out offear. On August 25, he raped heragainst and thrashed all of us. Hethreatened to kill us if we report-ed the matter to the police,” shestated in her complaint.

The SHO said the girl’s

mother gave a complaint onSaturday. “The woman motheraccused her husband of rapingtheir daughter and also said shewas not allowed to step out andforced to keep mum,” the SHOsaid. A case of rape was regis-tered against the accused and hewas also booked under POCSOAct. Sources said the girl got helpfrom some social workers andshe complained to the police.“The cops were initially unwill-

ing to act but had to swing intoaction after the news went viralin social media groups,” thesources said. They said the girl’smother had sought the help ofpolice in the past too, but in vain.

Police spokesman AKDwivedi said he was not pro-vided details related to the inci-dent as yet. “If any laxity on thepart of the police surfaces, actionwill be taken against them too,”he added.

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Page 4: ˘ˇˆ - The Pioneer...ing the Bharatiya Janata Party in Samajwadi Party and Congress strongholds, respec-tively. After the recent reshuffle in the Yogi Adityanath Cabinet, Keshav

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Acase was registered againstaround 200 persons (nine

out of them were identified)on Saturday in connectionwith the firing and attack ona Lucknow MunicipalCorporation team removingillegal dairies by catching thelivestock in Para on Fridayafternoon. A policespokesman said the case wasregistered on the complaint ofDr Arvind Kumar Rao, whowas heading the drive in com-pliance with court’s order inBajrang Vihar Colony inHaiderganj-III area of Para.

“The case was registeredfor rioting while armed withweapons, hindering the gov-ernment work and also formurderous assault,” he said.He added that nine of theattackers were identified asSharif, Salim, Firoz, Shaukat,Sultan, Munshi, Raees Goga,Hamid and Kabir Mulla.

“Efforts are on to nab thenamed persons and identifyother accused,” the spokesmansaid. In his complaint, Rai stat-ed the team members wereattacked when they werecatching the cattle and loadingthem in vehicles. “The mis-creants ganged up and startedfiring at us. Some of them alsoattacked the team memberswith metal rods, leaving twoLMC drivers and some cops ofthe enforcement wing of LMCinjured. Five government-owned vehicles were dam-

aged in the attack. We facedgreat difficulty in transportingthe animals caught during thedrive,” he stated in the com-plaint. There were reports thatsome of the residents alsosustained injuries in the firing.However, the policespokesman refuted thereports.

On Friday afternoon, thedairy owners fought a pitchedbattle with the team after theircattle were being loaded intrucks. The cops of enforce-ment wing were outnumberedby the mob that forced themto beat a retreat. Additionalpolice force was sent to thespot to bring the situationunder control. The brawl con-tinued for several hours andthe mob dispersed after hugepolice force reached the scene.While the LMC officialslamented that they did not getadequate police force to carryout the drive, the police saidLMC got what it demanded.

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Aday after 25 buffaloes diedand nearly a dozen took ill

under mysterious circum-stances in Chinhat, police reg-istered a case against IndianPesticide Limited (IPL) ownerVishal Swarup Agarwal onSaturday. The livestock ownedby some of the shepherds arestill missing and the police areworking on the case.

A police spokesman said acase was registered on thecomplaint of one Ramakant.The police have also invokedsections 270/352/429/277/147/504/506 of IPC,” he said.

He added that the sectionsslapped on the accused dealtwith the death of livestock.

In his complaint,Ramakant stated that a total of42 buffaloes from his village(Tara Ka Purwa) were grazingalongside a drain in Devsthanlocality in Chinhat around 11am on Friday. “The IPL facto-ry owner had released the

effluents from his establish-ment into the drain. The efflu-ents probably contained somepoisonous substance and thatwas why the buffaloes startedfalling unconscious one afteranother as they drank waterfrom the drain. When wereached the scene, we found 25buffaloes lying dead alongsidethe drain while 11 had takenill. We transported the criti-cally ill buffaloes to a veteri-nary hospital. Several buf-faloes have gone missing andwe suspect that they were dis-placed to cover up the act ofthe factory owner,” he alleged.

Ramakant further said heand other villagers were bulliedby the factory owner andthreatened with dire conse-quences for complaining topolice. “Vishal and his staffreached the gate. He shoutedat us and threatened to kill us,”he alleged.

Meanwhile, some resi-dents complained of irrita-tion and nausea following the

incident. “A putrid smell wasemanating from the areaaround the drain and it hadspread even in colonies faraway. The smell was that ofchemicals and buffalo car-casses. The area needed com-plete cleansing,” the residentssaid. Police departmentsources said the Chinhat policedid not take the case serious-ly until the voice of theaggrieved parties reachedsenior officials through socialmedia. “The incident was hor-rifying and the owners of live-stock were in a state of shockafter they found their buffaloesdead,” the sources said.

They said the owners ofbuffaloes first contacted thepolice but their plea was takenup seriously. “The cops toldthem that the issue did notinvolve police action,” thesources claimed. They saidthe case needed an examina-tion by the district adminis-tration and veterinary depart-ment officials as well.

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The Traffic departmentannounced diversions for the

first Moharram procession whichwill be taken out from BadaImambara to Chhota Imambaraon Sunday. No traffic will beallowed from Sitapur side towardsPucca Pul, and will be divertedtowards Daliganj overbridge and

Lucknow (PNS): The pro-visions of Motor VehiclesAmendment Act 2019 will beeffective from Sunday(September 1). The provisionsinclude enhanced penalties forviolation of traffic rules.

SP (Traffic) PurnendraSingh said it was important forpeople to know that theenhanced penalties would beonly for court cases while thePolice department would con-tinue to impose the samepenalties as earlier.

“This means if the depart-ment forwards the case of traf-

fic violation to court, theincreased penalties will beimposed by the court,” heexplained. In case of underagedriving in which parents will bearrested, the SP said they wouldcarry out awareness drives atcoaching centres in this regard.

He said that under theamended rules for not wearinghelmets, seat belt and forunuthorised parking, the fineshad been increased from Rs 100to Rs 1,000; for drunken drivingfrom Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000; andfor overloading from no fine toRs 200 per head.

Lucknow (PNS): A jew-eller on Saturday got an extor-tion letter demanding Rs 4lakh. He got the letter after heignored threat calls made tohim. According to the jeweller,Chatur Bihari Gautam ofSitapur Road Yojana Colony(sector A), he got a call from aperson who introduced himselfas Afzal on August 26 and wasasked to shell out Rs 4 lakh.“Afzal further told me that hehad got the contract from myrival in connection with acourt case in Sitapur. I ignoredthe call thinking it to be aprank. I got the call from thesame person on August 29, butI did not attend it. Later, whenI reached home, I got a letter inwhich I was told to ignore thecall at my own risk and be pre-pared for the worst,” he told thepolice.

The police registered a caseand started investigations dur-ing which it surfaced that twounidentified persons hadduped Chatur of two earringson August 8. The police haveyet to make a breakthrough inthe case.

During investigation, it

surfaced that the number fromwhich Chatur got the extortioncall belongs to a youth whosephone was lost some timeback. Police said further inves-tigations into the case wereunderway.

$���$Cyber thugs duped a clerk

of Agriculture department ofRs 2.60 lakh after convincinghim that he had won an SUVand it would be given to him bya private online company.

Ajay Singh of PhoolbaghColony (Gudamba) said hewas informed through a mes-sage a couple of days back thathe won an SUV. “A little later,I got a call and the caller saidhe was a representative of thecompany. I was asked to paythe tax for getting the car. Thecaller asked me to deposit thecash in different bank accounts.I was made to pay Rs 2.6 lakh.I got another call today and wasasked to pay more which Irefused,” he said. Singh ispresently posted in Lucknow. Acase has been registered and thepolice are carrying out investi-gations.

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Attacks on innocent peopleover rumours of child-lift-

ing continue unabated in UttarPradesh despite the stern warn-ing issued by the state govern-ment to book the culpritsunder the National SecurityAct. In fact, such incidents haveincreased over the past week.

On Saturday, mobsthrashed half-a-dozen people,including a Delhi resident anda woman beggar, over rumoursof child-lifting.

On Thursday, DirectorGeneral of Police OP Singh hadsaid that 82 persons had beenarrested for spreading rumoursof child theft and had warnedthat the authorities wouldinvoke NSA against rumour-mongers. Under the National

Security Act, a person can bedetained for as long as requiredand authorities need not dis-close the grounds of detention.

According to fresh inci-dents, a Delhi resident wasattacked in Muzaffarnagarwhen he was on a personal visitto the district on Saturdaymorning. Police saidAnandpuri area residents sus-pected the Delhi resident to bea child-lifter and thrashed himbut an investigation found himto as innocent.

In Ballia also, a mob phys-ically assaulted a woman beg-gar on Friday, suspecting her ofbeing a child-lifter, in Kotwalipolice station area. The womanwas rescued by police.

In Banda, four labourerswere beaten up in Atarra town-ship. Police said the labourers

were taking rest at Lohia canalbridge when rumours of thembeing child-lifters spread. Amob soon gathered at the spotand beat them up. The labour-ers were handed over to police,which allowed them to leaveafter questioning them of threehours.

Police said action would betaken against people who beatthe labourers after their iden-tities were established.

Four such incidents havebeen reported from Rae Bareli,including one in which anengineer working in a privatetelecom firm was attacked by50 people, and one fromKanpur on Friday. Some vil-lagers were arrested in the RaeBareli incident.

Senior Superintendent ofPolice, Bulandshahr, Santosh

Kumar Singh, told media per-sons that at least 40 people hadbeen arrested in the district incases of violence related tochild-lifting rumours.

On Thursday, a Delhipolice team in plain clothes,visiting Bareilly to probe adowry case, was mistaken forchild-lifters. They escaped mobfury after local police rescuedthem. False cases of child-lift-ing incidents have also beenreported. A 19-year-old manwas arrested on Friday forreporting a false case of childlifting in a Noida village, policesaid. Before that onWednesday, police had arrest-ed a man from Wajidpur villagefor allegedly spreading rumourabout lifting of three childrenby car-borne men in Sector 135of Noida.

The same day, a Healthdepartment team was attackedby a violent mob of around 150people in Fatehpur district asthey suspected the officials tobe child-lifters.

In another incident, 10people, including two police-men, were injured when agroup of locals pelted stones atthem in Khesahan villageunder Ghazipur police stationarea.

On Tuesday in Sambhal, a40-year-old man escorting hisseven-year-old ailing nephewwas lynched by a mob on sus-picion of he being a child lifter.On Monday, four people werearrested for allegedly thrashinga 50-year-old woman in Etahdistrict on suspicion of herbeing a child-lifter, an officialsaid.

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Niralanagar. Vehicles comingfrom Hardoi side will not beallowed to move towardsGhantaghar through Koneshwarcrossing, and will be divertedtowards KGMU crossing andChowk crossing.

Traffic will not be allowedto move from Kamla Nehrucrossing towards Khun KhunjiGirls’ Inter College as well asNimbu Park, and will be divert-ed towards KGMU crossing andChowk. Traffic will not beallowed to move from Shahminatrisection towards Pucca Pul &Bada Imambara, and will bediverted towards KGMU,Daliganj overbridge and ITcrossing. Vehicles will not be

allowed to move from NimbuPark towards Bada Imambara &Teele Wali Masjid, and will bediverted towards new over-bridge. Vehicles moving fromKaiserbagh towards Hardoi roadwill not be allowed throughPucca Pul, and will be divertedleft from Shahmina trisection.Vehicles from Hussainabad willnot be allowed to move towardsGhantaghar from the side ofChhota Imambara, and will bediverted towards Tehseenganjcrossing. Traffic will not beallowed to move from Chowktrisection towards Nimbu Park,and will be diverted towardsKoneshwar crossing and KamlaNehru crossing.

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UP Assembly SpeakerHriday Narain Dikshit inau-gurated the 4-dayInternational Festival ofHistory and Civics,‘Reflections-2019’, organisedby City Montessori School,Mahanagar, on Saturdayevening. The inaugural func-tion was replete with musicand creative abilities of stu-dents which poured outthrough songs and dancespromoting the spirit of unityin diversity and need for apeaceful world. The pro-gramme began with all-reli-gion and world peace prayer,followed by a mock worldparliament in which childrendiscussed global problemsand their peaceful solutions.

The participating teams fromSri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladeshand various states of Indiaintroduced themselves instyle. Nearly 500 students ofvarious countries are partic-ipating in the programme.

�(�������!�Students of primary sec-

tion presented Class III pre-sentation at St Joseph InterCollege on Saturday. Studentsof Classes III-V gave theirperformances with zeal.Managing directors of theschool Rajesh Agrawal &Seema Agrawal appreciatedthe confidence and enthusi-asm of the children and saidtheir talents and abilities,when developed and utilisedproperly, would do wondersin future.

����(%��� ���'(�$Senitta, a sanitary napkin

brand by Unicorn HygieneProducts, was launched inLucknow on Saturday amidstthe presence of mayorSanyukta Bhatia among others.The mayor introduced theproduct to the audience.“Female menstruation issuesare prevalent in our countryand there’s a need to addressthese issues,” she said.

������!��$(� �Chief general manag-

er, BSNL (UP East), RC Raiplanting a sapling at hisoffice during a planationdrive. Others present wereAK Garg, Atul Sharma,AL Srivastava, PramodYadav, Saket Verma,Rakesh Mishra.

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Page 5: ˘ˇˆ - The Pioneer...ing the Bharatiya Janata Party in Samajwadi Party and Congress strongholds, respec-tively. After the recent reshuffle in the Yogi Adityanath Cabinet, Keshav

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New Delhi: Navy chiefAdmiral Karambir Singh willdiscuss the entire gamut bilat-eral maritime ties with hiscounterparts in Australia andNew Zealand during his visit tothe two countries fromSeptember 2 to 6. The visit willconsolidate existing maritimecooperation initiatives as wellas explore new avenues withAustralia and New Zealand.

Building on a long history ofcooperation, India and Australiahave a matured defence rela-tionship underpinned by the2006 Memorandum on DefenceCooperation and the 2009 JointDeclaration on SecurityCooperation. Following theagreement in 2014 of a bilateralFramework for SecurityCooperation, the defence rela-tionship has grown to include arange of forums for strategic dia-logue, as well as regular interac-tions between the navies throughvisits of senior officers, staffTalks and training exchanges,officials said here on Saturday.

Indian Navy (IN) and theRoyal Australian Navy (RAN)have been regularly interactingto enhance maritime coopera-tion. The third edition of bilat-eral naval exercise AUSINDEXconducted in April 2019 inIndia, witnessed the largest everparticipation from both navies.

Indian Navy and RoyalAustralian Navy are partners inthe Indian Ocean NavalSymposium (IONS), which is amaritime cooperation con-struct conceptualised by IndianNavy in 2008. Both the naviesare also co-chairs for the IONSWorking Group onInformation Sharing and Inter-operability, for which the inau-gural meeting was hosted byAustralia in June 2019.

The visit to New Zealand isaimed to bolster defence coop-eration between the two coun-tries. India's defence relationswith New Zealand date back tothe days of World War I. Navalcooperation activities betweenboth the nations include portcalls by warships, conduct ofPassage Exercises and partici-pation in courses conducted atvarious defence institutes. NewZealand has also been a regularparticipant of MILAN activitiesconducted by Indian Navy.PNS

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Madhya Pradesh cadre IPSofficer of 1984 batch, Vivek

Kumar Johri, on Saturday, tookcharge as the Director General(DG) of the country's largestborder guarding force, BSF.

Johri took charge from hisbatch-mate Rajni Kant Mishraat the BSF headquarters inCGO Complex at Lodhi Road.The new DG, Johri, will retirein September next year and isthe 25th chief of the force thatwas raised in 1965.

Mishra, an Indian PoliceService officer from the UttarPradesh cadre, retired afteroccupying the top post of theBSF for less than a year. Mishratook over as the BSF DG inOctober last year.

The new chief was accord-ed a guard of honour before hetook the baton from Mishra, aBSF spokesperson said.

Johri has been serving asthe Special Secretary in the

external intelligence agencyResearch and Analysis Wing(RAW), under the CabinetSecretariat, till now.

He was appointed as anOfficer on Special Duty (OSD)in the Union home ministry onJuly 29 so that he can take overas the BSF DG.

An engineering graduatefrom Maulana Azad NationalInstitute of Technology(MANIT), Bhopal, Johri hasearlier served in the CBI apartfrom serving in his cadre state.

The BSF, with a presentstrength of over 2.6 lakh per-sonnel, is the country's largestborder guarding force and istasked with securing two ofIndia's most important borderswith Pakistan and Bangladesh,apart from rendering a varietyof duties in the internal secu-rity domain of the country.

The two other borderguarding force under the homeministry are ITBP (China) andSSB (Nepal and Bhutan).

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) on

Saturday questioned seniorKarnataka Congress leader DKShivakumar for the secondconsecutive day in a moneylaundering case.

The investigating officer ofthe case had grilled him forover 4 hours on Friday andrecorded his statement underthe Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA), theofficials said.

Shivakumar is expected tobe put through documents andqueries through the day with alunch break in between.

While making his firstappearance on Friday, after hearrived by air from Bengaluru,the Kanakapura MLA had saidhe will cooperate with the EDprobe.

“It is my duty (to appear)...I have to respect the law. We arelawmakers and law abidingcitizens. They (ED) have sum-moned me... I don't know whythey have called me underPrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA). But,let me see, hear them. I amready to face them (ED),” hehad told reporters outside theED office.

Shivakumar had to appearbefore the agency after theKarnataka High Court onThursday dismissed his peti-tion challenging the summonsissued to him by the ED.

Earlier on Friday inBengaluru, Shivakumar indi-cated that his “instrumentalrole” in ensuring safe stay ofGujarat Congress MLAs in aKarnataka resort during theRajya Sabha polls in 2017,amid allegations that the BJP

was trying to poach them, wasthe reason for the I-T search-es and subsequent ED actionagainst him.

The central agency had inSeptember last year registered amoney laundering case againstShivakumar, Haumanthaiah, anemployee at Karnataka Bhavanin New Delhi, and others.

The ED case has been filedbased on a charge sheet (pros-ecution complaint) filed by theIncome-Tax Departmentagainst him last year before aspecial court in Bengaluru oncharges of alleged tax evasionand hawala transactions worthcrores.

The I-T department hasaccused Shivakumar and hisassociate S K Sharma of trans-porting huge amount of unac-counted cash on a regular basisthrough 'hawala' channels withhelp of three other accused.

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Congress general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi Vadra on

Saturday attacked the Modigovernment over the annualeconomic growth, saying theruling BJP “blows trumpet ofgood days but it has deflatedthe economy”. “It is clear fromthe GDP (Gross DomesticProduct) growth rate that theBJP government, which blowsthe trumpet of good days, has

punctured the economy,”Priyanka tweeted in Hindi.

“There is no GDP growthand the rupee is no longerstronger.... employment rate ison a decline. It should be madeclear now who is to blame fordestroying the economy,”Priyanka added.

India's economy expandedat its slowest pace in over sixyears, government data showedon Friday. Growth in the coun-try's gross domestic product

(GDP) stood at 5 per cent inthe first quarter of currentfinancial year (2019-20), com-pared with 5.8 per cent in theprevious quarter, and 8.0 percent in the quarter ended June30, 2018.

In a bid to tackle the slow-ing economic growth, the gov-ernment has within a span ofone week announced a slew ofsteps - from waving off highertaxes on the foreign investorsto recapitalising state-run

banks.The Congress on Friday

expressed doubts at the centre'sgross domestic product growthfigure of 5 per cent, suggestingthe real number could be lower.

“Given that several doubtshave been raised - even by theformer Chief EconomicAdvisor - on the government'sGDP calculations, is 5% accu-rate? Is the real rate of growtheven lower?” the party tweet-ed on Friday.

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At least 13 workers werekilled and 40 others

injured on Saturday, when amajor explosion rocked achemical factory at Waghadivillage in Shirpur taluka ofDhule district in northMaharashtra.

The toll may go up further,as at least 12 others werereported missing till late in theevening and the condition ofnine of the injured wasdescribed as “critical”.

Nearly workers were pre-sent inside RumitInternational’s RumitChemisynth factory at Wagadivillage located on the outskirtsof the taluka town of Shirpurat around 9.45 am.

So massive was the explo-sion that its sound could beheard people in at least 15 kilo-metre radius of the chemicalunit.

There were conflicting ver-sions as to the cause of theexplosion. While one versionsaid that the explosion tookplace due a short-circuit in theboiler unit, the version said thatthere were multiple cylinderblasts that led that contributedto the massive explosion in thechemical factory.

The local fire brigade andNDRF personnel, who thatreached the shortly afterwards,brought the situation under thecontrol later in the afternoon.

Chief minister DevendraFadnavis expressed grief overloss of lives in explosion atchemical factory near Shirpurin Dhule district. “GuardianMinister, Collector, SP on spot.

SDRF team reached too andnow fire is under control,” atweet put out by the chief min-ister’s office said.

The chief ministerannounced a compensation ofRs 5 lakh to the next of kin ofthose killed in the mishap.

Mourning the deaths in theblast, Union Home MinisterAmit Shah tweeted: “Anguishedto learn about the loss of livesdue to explosion at a chemicalfactory in Dhule, Maharashtra.Have spoken to CM@Dev_Fadnavis, state govt isdoing everything possible toassist the people in need. My

condolences with the bereavedfamilies. May injured recoversoon”.

Expressing deep anguishover the loss of lives in thechemical factory explosionnear Shirpur, MaharashtraGovernor CH Vidyasagar Raosaid: “I was extremely sad-dened to know that someworkers have lost their lives andmany others have been injuredin an explosion a chemicalfactory in Shirpur in Dhule dis-trict, earlier today.

“I send my heartfelt con-dolences to the next of thosewho lost their lives and pray for

the speedy recovery of theinjured,” the Governor said.

Describing the mishap as“unfortunate”, leader of theOpposition in the StateAssembly Vijay Wadettiwardemanded that a high-levelinquiry be ordered and thoseresponsible for the explosion bebooked for negligence leadingto the mishap. He alsodemanded the next of kin ofthose killed in the mishap begiven a compensation of Rs 10lakh each, while Rs 2 lakh eachbe given as compensation tothose seriously injured in themishap.

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The Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) has reg-

istered an FIR to probe thealleged illegal phone-tappingscandal in Karnataka, on therequest of the State govern-ment.

A CBI team has been sentto collect all the relevant doc-uments from the State police.“The case has been registeredagainst unknown public ser-vants and other unidentifiedpersons under section 26 of theIndian Telegraph Act 1885 andsection 72 of the Information

Technology Act 2000 ,” said anofficial. As mentioned in theCBI FIR, the State govern-ment also expressed appre-hension that crucial and per-sonal information of seniorpolitical leaders would havebeen leaked due to the allegedunauthorised phone-tapping.

Yediyurappa had recom-mended a CBI probe amid signsthat the scandal was gainingpolitical steam ever since dis-qualified JD(S) MLA AHVishwanath, who served as JD(S)state president and turned rebel,accused the H D Kumaraswamygovernment of tapping phonesand spying on more than 300people, including him.

Congress leaders, includingSiddaramaiah, M MallikarjunaKharge and home minister inthe alliance government M BPatil, had sought a probe whileanother key party leader andformer minister DKShivakumar has rejected thesnooping charges and appearedto side with Kumaraswamy. “Allpolitical leaders, including CLPleader Siddaramaiah, hassought a high-level probe intothe scandal. So I have ordereda CBI probe into it,”Yediyurappa had said inBengaluru.

According to reports,phones of those close toSiddaramaiah, who was thethen coalition coordinationcommittee chief, too had come

under the watch.Several BJP leaders, includ-

ing former chief ministerJagadish Shettar, have directlyaccused Kumaraswamy ofbeing behind the episode tosave his government whichwas then rocked by dissidencewithin.

The snooping controversysurfaced as Bengaluru policecommissioner Bhaskar Raoearlier this month ordered aninquiry into the phone tappingincident against the backdropof a recently leaked telephoneconversation purportedlybetween him and someone in

Delhi lobbying on his behalfwith some politicians for thepost he is occupying now.

“It has come to the noticeof the government that thereare apprehensions that phonesof several ruling and oppositionpolitical leaders, their rela-tives, and other governmentofficials have been interceptedin an illegal unauthorisedunwarranted manner,” the let-ter entrusting the probe to theCBI said.

Because of this illegal activ-ity in the state it is apprehend-ed that crucial and personalinformation of many seniorpolitical leaders and govern-ment servants might have beenleaked which is likely toinfringe upon their privacy, thegovernment alleged.

The government asked theagency to inquire into all suchinterceptions of “telephones ofpolitical leaders belonging tothe ruling party and oppositionparties as well as their associ-ates, relatives and also of thegovernment servants fromAugust 01, 2018 till August 19,2019”.

It urged the agency toidentify and investigate thoseinvolved in the interception.

The letter was forwarded tothe CBI on August 30 by theCentre which was convertedinto an FIR against unidentifiedpublic servants and privatepersons on the same day.

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CPI-M General SecretarySitaram Yechury, who vis-

ited his party collegueMohammad Yusuf Tarigamiin Jammu and Kashmir onFriday, said the situation on theground is “completely con-trary” to what the Central gov-ernment has been claiming.

Yechury met Tarigami onThursday amid tight security athis residence in Srinagar wherehe is under house arrest.

Addressing reporters afterreturning, Yechury said: “I vis-ited Tarigami and enquiredabout his health. I will file anaffidavit in the court regardinghis health condition and alsoreport on what I saw there.”

He said during the drivefrom the airport to Tarigami'shouse, “I saw that the situationon the ground was completelycontrary to what the BJP-ledgovernment was saying”.

Yechury was allowed to goto Kashmir by the SupremeCourt which heard his petitionchallenging Tarigami's deten-tion ahead of the abrogation ofArticle 370 by the governmenton August 5.

He is the first oppositionleader allowed to visit Kashmirafter the government revoked

Article 370 on August 5.On Thursday, Yechury

drove from the Srinagar airportin a security convoy andreached Tarigami's GupkarRoad residence at noon. Themedia was barred from goingclose to Tarigami's residenceand the stretch of road leadingto it was kept out of bounds.

Yechury met Tarigami onhis third visit to Kashmir sincethe abrogation of Article 370.On the previous two times, hehad been sent back from theSrinagar airport.

On August 24, Yechury,along with a dozen other oppo-sition party leaders includingformer Congress PresidentRahul Gandhi were sent backto Delhi from the airport.

On August 9, he, alongwith CPI General Secretary D.Raja, were also detained at theSrinagar airport and sent backto Delhi.

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New Delhi: Delhi student Manogya SinghSuyansh has been selected by the IndianSpace Research Organisation (ISRO) towatch the landing of Chandrayaan-2 onthe surface of moon with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

A student of class 9, Suyansh aspiresto be an astronaut.

Speaking to IANS, Suyansh who couldnot hide his glee, said: “I am excited to watchChandrayaan-2 landing on the moon's sur-face as well as to meet the Prime Minister.”

“Since childhood, I had the curiosityto know about space and related devel-opments. I want to get admission to an IITand be an astronaut in the future,” saidSuyansh, a student of Kendriya Vidyalaya,who has taken up a four-year preparationcourse for engineering entrance exams.

Suyansh is among the 60 students whohave been selected from across the coun-try to watch India's ambitious moon mis-sion Chandrayaan-2 landing on the sur-face of moon with Modi at ISRO head-

quarters in Bengaluru. “ISRO has great pleasure in informing

that you have been selected to watch the his-torical Chandrayaan-2 moon landing in theearly hours of September 7, 2019 at theISRO Tracking Centre (ISTRAC),Bengaluru in the presence of HonourablePrime Minister of India Shri NarendraModi Ji. You are requested to reachBengaluru by 1400 hrs on Friday September6, 2019 along with one parent/guardian,”said the letter sent by ISRO to Suyansh.

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�!� �(��$��!���Police on Saturday

detained 10 more people,including relatives and friendsof Hassan, in connection withthe case. The Sikh communityin Nankana Sahib held protestsdemanding return of the girlback to her family.

Some reports also said thatthe Sikh community hasannounced a ban on the entryof Muslims in gurudwarasincluding GurudwaraJanamasthan, the birth place ofGuru Nanak Dev, until the girlis reunited with her familyand action is taken against theculprits. However, Pakistan’sGurudwara ParbhandikCommittee Secretary GeneralAmeer Singh told PTI that thesituation in Nankana Sahibhas been under control andclarified that the Sikh com-munity had not bannedMuslims entry to gurudwarasin Nankana Sahib. Before thegovernor’s meeting with thegirl, a Sikh delegation called onhim to discuss the matter.

Under pressure, the PunjabGovernment constituted ahigh-level committee to nego-tiate with Sikhs angry over theabduction and forced conver-sion of the girl.

The committee told the

family of the girl and the com-munity members that she hadembraced Islam of her free willafter marrying Hassan. It alsoprovided them with videoproof of Kaur’s marriage andher conversion to Islam besidescopies of the documents fromthe National Database andRegistration Authority, show-ing Kaur’s age as 19 years.

�!���/!(�&�($�(���The prosecutor further told

the court that Tharoor’s relationwith Pakistani journalist MehrTarar also added to Pushkar’smental agony.

The prosecutor alsoapprised the court aboutPushkar’s friend and journalistNalini Singh’s statement, whichis part of the charge sheet, thatthe relation between the cou-ple was tense and bad.

“She (Pushkar) told shehelped Tharoor a lot in IPLmatter. She had found somemessages between Tarar andTharoor. She refused to go totheir house and instead went toLeela hotel. The relationbetween the couple was verybad,” Singh had said in herstatement. Senior advocateVikas Pahwa, appearing forTharoor, refuted the submis-sions, saying the arguments

made by the prosecutor werecontrary to the bare reading ofthe charge sheet and thecharges pressed by him were“absurd and preposterous”. Thecase is now listed for the nexthearing on October 17. Thecase was earlier sent to the ses-sions court for further pro-ceedings. The maximum pun-ishment for the offence listed inthe charge sheet is 10 years ofimprisonment. However, ifconvicted for 302 (murder), themaximum punishment is deathpenalty while the minimum islife imprisonment.

Pushkar’s death had creat-ed a sensation as it came short-ly after a bitter spat between thecouple on Twitter over hisalleged affair with Tarar.

Pushkar, 51, was founddead in a suite of luxury hotelLeela in Delhi’s Chanakyapurion the night of January 17,2014. The couple was stayingat the hotel as the official bun-galow of Tharoor was beingrenovated at that time.

!��(��! �(���there is scope for its review

in the Supreme Court, whichsupervised the updationprocess. The number of exclu-sions appear to be ridiculous-ly small, AGP president and

state Agriculture Minister AtulBora said.

The NRC, which vali-dates the Indian citizens ofAssam, has been updated onthe basis of Assam Accord’sclause of detecting, deleting anddeporting foreigners but veryfew suspected illegal immi-grants have been left out, hesaid. The AASU, which is a sig-natory to the Assam Accord,also expressed its unhappinesssaying NRC is an “incompletedocument”. For its part, seniorCongress leader and formerAssam Chief Minister TarunGogoi accused the ruling BJPof failing to ensure a free andfair NRC even with the entireadministrative machinery atits disposal. The TrinamoolCongres hit out at the Modi-government for allegedly try-ing to drive out Bengalis fromAssam in the name of NRC andsaid it will have to take theresponsibility of the 19 lakhapplicants who failed to makeit to the final list. West BengalChief Minister MamataBanerjee has expressed concernover 19.07 lakh people beingleft out of the final NRC list andsaid “People have been ren-dered homeless in their owncountry”, senior TMC leaderFirhad Hakim said.

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The Trinamool Congress onSaturday hit out at BJP

Government at the Centre forallegedly trying to drive outBengalis from Assam in thename of NRC and said it willhave to take the responsibilityof the 19 lakh applicants whofailed to make it to the final list.

West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee hasexpressed concern over 19.07lakh people being left out of thefinal NRC list and said “Peoplehave been rendered homelessin their own country”, seniorTMC leader Firhad Hakimsaid.

TMC has been one of themost strident critics of the cit-izens’ register and had accusedBJP governments both at theCentre and in Assam of tryingto drive out Bengalis from thenorth eastern state.

“Our party (TMC) supre-

mo (Banerjee) is very con-cerned about the future of the19 lakh people who have beenleft out of the NRC list. Whatwill happen to them? What istheir future? The central gov-ernment has to take theirresponsibility,” Hakim said.

Last year after the draftNRC list was releasesd,Banerjee had gone all out tooppose it and had even sent aTMC delegation to Assam totalk to the people.

“It is a plot to drive outBengalis from Assam. Howcan the Government be soinsensitive that on one finemorning it is declaring citizens,who have been living in Assamfor last several decades, as foreigners,” the TMC leadersaid.

The updated final NRC,which validates bonafideIndian citizens of Assam, wasout on Saturday, with over 19lakh applicants who failed tomake it to the list staring at anuncertain future.

A total of 3,30,27,661 peo-ple had applied for inclusion inthe NRC. Of them, 3,11,21,004have been included in the finallist and 19,06,657 excluded,according to a statement fromthe Assam NRC coordinator’soffice. Those who have beenexcluded from the NationalRegister of Citizens have 120days to appeal against it at theForeigners Tribunals.

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Former Assam ChiefMinister Tarun Gogoi on

Saturday accused the rulingBJP of failing to ensure a freeand fair NRC even with theentire administrative machin-ery at its disposal.

He further slammed thesaffron party for attempting to“hoodwink” the people fol-lowing National Register ofCitizens publication.

“I am not happy with theway the NRC has been pub-

lished with names of genuineIndian citizens left out and for-eigners included”, the three-time former Chief Ministertold reporters here.

Union Home MinisterAmit Shah as the BJP presidenthad accused the Congress ofn o tcompleting the NRC and hadassured that they will bring outa free and fair citizens list, hesaid.

IAS officer Prateek Hajelawas appointed as the NRCstate coordinator by Gogoi in2013 and the former chiefminister often claims credit forinitiating the updation workduring his tenure.

“The BJP is also not happywith the published NRC andthis shows how miserablythey have failed. It is the StateGovernment which has themachinery to detect and decidewho are foreigners with thehelp of its police, intelligenceand administrative officers”,he said.

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The Congress on Saturdayclaimed that many gen-

uine Indian citizens weredropped from the finalNational Register of Citizenslist irrespective of linguistic andreligious lines.

The principal oppositionparty announced it would pro-vide all necessary support,including legal aid, to theIndians in their appeal in theForeigners Tribunals.

The AICC noted that therewas sufficient circumstantialevidence to indicate that the19,06,659 people, who havebeen excluded from the finalNRC, included many genuineIndian citizens, cutting acrosslinguistic and religious lines,” aparty statement said here.

The names of some mem-bers of a given family wereincluded in the NRC, but oneor two specific members of thatfamily have been omitteddespite submitting the samelegacy data, it added.

The AICC is committed toensuring that no genuineIndian citizen remains exclud-ed from the NRC and that therights of such genuine citizensare protected in accordancewith the laws of the land, theparty asserted. “The AICC isalso committed to extending allpossible help, including legalaid, to the genuine citizens whohave been left out of the finalNRC,” it added.

The final NRC was pub-lished on Saturday by exclud-ing 19,06,657 persons. A totalof 3,11,21,004 names wereincluded out of 3,30,27,661applicants.

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The National Register ofCitizens (NRC) in

Assam is a sensitive issue andit should not be politicised,Rajasthan Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot said on Saturday.

The updated final NRC,which validates bonafideIndian citizens of Assam, wasreleased on Saturday, with theauthority conducting the exer-cise shutting out the citizenshipclaims of over 19 lakh appli-cants who now face an uncer-tain future.

“This is a very sensitivematter. It should not be madea matter of prestige. It shouldnot be politicised,” Gehlot told reporters here.The approach of the Congresshigh command on the NRCissue will be considered by the party across the country, he said.

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Following Supreme Courtdirections, a Delhi Police

team arrived here on Saturdayto take the parents of a law stu-dent who was allegedly sexuallyharassed by a BJP leader tomeet her in the national capi-tal. The woman, a student of acollege here run by BJP leaderSwami Chinmayanand’sashram, had been missing forsix days after uploading a videoon social media, alleging that“a senior leader of the santcommunity” was harassing her.

She did not nameChinmayanand, a formerUnion minister. But in a policecomplaint, her father accused

Chinmayanand of sexuallyharassing his daughter andalleged that he was the reasonbehind her disappearance.

The Supreme Court tookcognisance of the matter onThursday after a group oflawyers wrote to Chief JusticeRanjan Gogoi about it. “TheDelhi Police team whicharrived here gave us a copy ofthe Supreme Court orderbefore taking us with them toDelhi to meet our daughter,”the father of the law studenttold PTI on phone.

Besides the parents, twoyounger siblings of the womanare on their way to Delhi, hesaid. A team of two sub-inspec-tors, including a lady officer,

and four other policemen willbe accompanying the post-graduate student’s family toDelhi. The woman, who wastraced to Rajasthan on Fridayand produced within hoursbefore the Supreme Court, had

told the judges in an in-camerainteraction that she did notwant to go back to her home-town till she meets her parents.

She told the court that shewill decide on her future courseafter meeting her parents. Thewoman told the judges that shehad left Shahjahanpur withher three college mates “inorder to protect herself ”.

The court said the womanwill be Delhi for four days andthe apex court registry willensure her safe stay. It asked theDelhi Police Commissioner toensure that the student’s par-ents travel safely fromShahjahanpur to Delhi. Thecourt will hear the matter againon Monday.

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) on

Saturday questioned seniorKarnataka Congress leader DKShivakumar for the second consecutive day in a moneylaundering case. The investi-gating officer of the case hadgrilled him for over 4 hours onFriday and recorded his state-ment under the Prevention ofMoney Laundering Act(PMLA), the officials said.

Shivakumar is expected tobe put through documents andqueries through the day with alunch break in between.

While making his firstappearance on Friday, after hearrived by air from Bengaluru,the Kanakapura MLA had saidhe will cooperate with the EDprobe. “It is my duty (toappear)... I have to respect thelaw. We are lawmakers and lawabiding citizens. They (ED)have summoned me... I don’tknow why they have called meunder Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA). But,

let me see, hear them. I amready to face them (ED),” hehad told reporters outside theED office. Shivakumar had toappear before the agency afterthe Karnataka High Court onThursday dismissed his peti-tion challenging the summonsissued to him by the ED.

Earlier on Friday inBengaluru, Shivakumar indi-cated that his “instrumentalrole” in ensuring safe stay ofGujarat Congress MLAs in aKarnataka resort during theRajya Sabha polls in 2017,amid allegations that the BJPwas trying to poach them, was

the reason for the I-T search-es and subsequent ED actionagainst him. The centralagency had in September lastyear registered a money laun-dering case againstShivakumar, Haumanthaiah,an employee at KarnatakaBhavan in New Delhi, andothers.

The ED case has beenfiled based on a charge sheet(prosecution complaint) filedby the Income-TaxDepartment against him lastyear before a special court inBengaluru on charges ofalleged tax evasion andhawala transactions worthcrores. The I-T departmenthas accused Shivakumar andhis associate S K Sharma oftransporting huge amount ofunaccounted cash on a regu-lar basis through ‘hawala’channels with help of threeother accused.

New Delhi: Navy chiefAdmiral Karambir Singh willdiscuss the entire gamut bilat-eral maritime ties with hiscounterparts in Australia andNew Zealand during his visitto the two countries fromSeptember 2 to 6. The visitwill consolidate existing mar-itime cooperation initiatives aswell as explore new avenueswith Australia and NewZealand.

Building on a long historyof cooperation, India andAustralia have a matureddefence relationship under-pinned by the 2006Memorandum on DefenceCooperation and the 2009 JointDeclaration on SecurityCooperation. Following theagreement in 2014 of a bilater-al Framework for SecurityCooperation, the defence rela-tionship has grown to includea range of forums for strategicdialogue, as well as regularinteractions between the naviesthrough visits of senior officers,staff Talks and trainingexchanges, officials said here onSaturday.

Indian Navy (IN) and theRoyal Australian Navy (RAN)have been regularly interactingto enhance maritime cooper-ation. The third edition ofbilateral naval exercise AUSIN-DEX conducted in April 2019in India, witnessed the largestever participation from bothnavies. Indian Navy andRoyal Australian Navy arepartners in the Indian OceanNaval Symposium (IONS),which is a maritime cooper-ation construct conceptu-alised by Indian Navy in 2008.Both the navies are also co-chairs for the IONS WorkingGroup on InformationSharing and Inter-operability,for which the inaugural meet-ing was hosted by Australia inJune 2019. The visit to NewZealand is aimed to bolsterdefence cooperation betweenthe two countries. PTI

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The Taliban launched anew large-scale attackon one of Afghanistan’s

main cities, Kunduz, killing atleast three civilians, govern-ment officials said on Saturday,even as the insurgent groupcontinued negotiations withthe United States on endingAmerica’s longest war.

The militants, who havedemanded that all foreignforces leave Afghanistan, nowcontrol or hold sway overroughly half of the country andare at their strongest sincetheir 2001 defeat by a US-ledinvasion. Such attacks are seenas strengthening their negoti-ating position.

Afghan officials confirmedcasualties among securityforces but did not say howmany, and said at least 26Taliban members were killedin an airstrike.

They said security forceswere repelling the attack inKunduz, a strategic crossroadswith easy access to much ofnorthern Afghanistan as wellas the capital, Kabul, about 335kilometers away.

Presidential spokesmanSediq Seddiqi told reportersthe assault was “completelyagainst the peace talks.”

The bodies of at least threecivilians were taken to theKunduz hospital and at least 41wounded civilians of all ageshad been treated, said theprovincial health director,Esanullah Fazeli.

Provincial council mem-ber Ghulam Rabani Rabanitold The Associated Press theinsurgents briefly took controlof the hospital, but Fazeli saidthe fighters left after stafferstold them the patients could behurt in any crossfire.

“In a way we are thankful

that the Taliban accepted whatthey were told,” he said.

The Taliban launched the“massive attack” from severaldifferent points overnight, saidSayed Sarwar Hussaini,spokesman for the provincialpolice chief, who reported“intense gun battles” aroundthe city. Hours later the Afghandefence minister AsadullahKhalid rejected speculationthat Kunduz had collapsed.

Security reinforcementshad arrived in the morningfrom Kabul and “very soon” wewould be able to announce thatthe city and surrounding areaswere cleared of Taliban fight-ers, he told the local TOLOnews channel.

Officials with the NATOmission in Afghanistan did notimmediately respond to aquestion about whether itsforces were responding to theattack. The Taliban have con-tinued bloody assaults on civil-ians and security forces even astheir leaders meet with USpeace envoy Zalmay Khalilzadin Qatar to negotiate an end tonearly 18 years of war.

Talks continued onSaturday, the Talibanspokesman said. Both sides inrecent days have signaled theyare close to a deal. The Afghanpresidential spokesman saidKhalilzad would visit Kabul atsome point to brief the gov-ernment on the details.

One Afghan analyst, for-mer deputy interior ministerMirza Mohammad Yarmand,said the attack on Kunduzshowed the Taliban were notinterested in a cease-fire, whichhas been a key issue in theQatar talks.

The United States in thenegotiations has also soughtTaliban guarantees thatAfghanistan will no longer bea launching pad for terrorattacks such as the September11, 2001, attack on the US byal-Qaida. The Taliban gov-ernment had harbored al-Qaida leader Osama binLaden.

Some 20,000 US andNATO forces remain inAfghanistan after formallyending their combat role in2014. They continue to train

and support Afghan forcesfighting the Taliban and alocal affiliate of the IslamicState group.

Many Afghans worry thatan abrupt departure of foreigntroops will leave Afghan forcesvulnerable and furtherembolden the Taliban, whoalready portray a US with-drawal as their victory.

“We have lost the city inthe past and know the Talibancan attack again from insecureareas,” a lawmaker fromKunduz, Fatima Azizi, toldthe local Ariana televisionchannel on Saturday.

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At least 24 people, including women and chil-dren, were drowned when a bridge col-

lapsed and a bus they were travelling inplunged into a ditch in Pakistan’s northwest,police said.

The incident occurred on Friday when thebus, carrying 35 passengers, was going to Kandiafrom Bagru of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

“All 24 people belonging to the same tribedrowned when a bridge collapsed and the bus theywere travelling in plunged into a stream,” AhsanulHaq, the chief civil defence warden said.

The accident happened because the bridge,which was in a dilapidated condition, could notbear burden of the heavily loaded bus, Haq said.

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Chaos engulfed HongKong’s financial hearton Saturday night as

police fired tear gas and watercannon at protesters who setlarge fires and threw petrolbombs, defying a ban on rally-ing — and mounting threatsfrom China — to take to thestreets for a 13th straight week-end.

Police had banned thedemonstration on securitygrounds and on Friday arrest-ed several key activists and leg-islators in a dragnet on pro-democracy figures.

But on Saturday afternoon,

tens of thousands of protesters— many in their signatureblack T-shirts and under acolourful canopy of umbrellas— defied the order to march onHong Kong island chanting“reclaim Hong Kong, revolu-tion of our times”.

As evening fell, violencericocheted through the city’scommercial centre, with aminority of hardcore protestersunleashing a barrage of petrolbombs and rocks at riot police.

Thick, black smoke swirledfrom a large fire started bymasked demonstrators at abarricade on a major thor-oughfare, moments from HongKong police headquarters. The

fire was extinguished afterburning for around half anhour.

Earlier, police fired a watercannon and rounds of tear gasto disperse protesters massed infront of the city’s parliament,known as the LegislativeCouncil (LegCo), which wasstormed in July during the earlydays of the protest movement.

The crowd briefly brokethrough the barrier outsidethe building, but were repelledby tear gas and jets of blue-coloured liquid fired from thewater cannon.

Local media reported thatthe blue spray aimed to makeit easier to identify suspects.

“Peaceful protest doesn’twork,” 22-year-old demonstra-tor Stone told AFP, giving onename. “I think they (the hard-core protesters) have to venttheir anger to achieve some-thing.”

As protesters streamedaway, graffiti on a pillar insidea nearby metro station read:“We shall never surrender.”

“Radical protesters” threw“corrosives and petrol bombs”at officers, Hong Kong policesaid in a statement, posing a“serious threat” to everyone atthe scene.

Earlier on Saturday, pro-testers marched by the officialresidence of Hong Kong’sembattled Beijing-backedleader Carrie Lam, who is thefocal point of anger after try-ing to pass a bill which wouldhave allowed extradition toChina.

Opposition to the extradi-tion bill — now suspended butnot permanently withdrawn— has brought much of HongKong to the streets, with mil-lions marching peacefully butalso groups of radical protest-ers clashing with police.

The protests have expand-ed into a wider pro-democra-cy push and a rejection ofattempts by Beijing to curtailthe freedoms of the semi-autonomous territory.

Protesters were in defiantmood throughout Saturday,

which marked the fifthanniversary of Beijing’s rejec-tion of a call for universal suf-frage for Hong Kong thatsparked the 79-day “UmbrellaMovement” in 2014.

Many demonstrators aredetermined not to let the newmovement fizzle out like theUmbrella protests did.

“It’s ‘now or never’ forHong Kong,” said a 33-year-oldaccountant who gave her sur-name as Wong.

“I’m a mother-of-two. Theydidn’t come today but theirgrandmother did. We’redefending the right of assem-bly for the next generation inHong Kong.”

At least five high-profileactivists and three lawmakerswere arrested on Friday in asweep aimed at defangingSaturday’s rally.

Rights groups say the tac-tics are cribbed directly fromBeijing’s protest playbook.

Two of the UmbrellaMovement’s leaders, JoshuaWong and Agnes Chow, wereamong those arrested, chargedand bailed for “inciting othersto take part in unauthorisedassembly”.

Police confirmed thearrests of the lawmakers butdenied the sweep was timedspecifically to weaken theweekend’s protests.

More than 900 people havebeen arrested since June in con-nection to protests.

The European Union’sdiplomatic chief FedericaMogherini said the develop-ments were “extremely worry-ing”, while US PresidentDonald Trump said his eco-nomic pressure on China wasforcing Beijing to take a more

moderate line on Hong Kong.The weeks of violence have

damaged Hong Kong’s reputa-tion for stability and prosper-ity, while China has respond-ed with a campaign of intimi-dation.

Chinese State media onFriday reported that freshmilitary anti-riot drills wereheld across the border inShenzhen. In an attempt tosidestep Saturday’s protestban, crowds earlier carriedChristian crosses and sang“Hallelujah” in religious gath-erings — which do not requirethe same stringent permissionfrom authorities.

The demonstrators, whohave earned a reputation fortheir creativity and unpre-dictability, also called for“mass shopping trips” in thecity centre. On Saturdaymorning, LIHKG, the Reddit-like forum used by protestersto communicate, reported viaTwitter that its app had suf-fered the “largest attack it hasever seen”.

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Washington (PTI): Aninfluential group of three law-makers on Friday sought assur-ance from the Trump admin-istration that it will make avail-able to the Congress the fulltext of any agreement signedwith the Taliban.

In a letter to Secretary ofState Mike Pompeo, the threeCongressmen also soughtassurances that any deal signedwould verifiably require theTaliban to break ties with all itsterrorist allies, including inPakistan, and that withdrawalof US troops will be condi-tioned on an agreementbetween the Afghan govern-ment and the Taliban.

In the letter, theCongressmen — TomMalinowski, Mike Gallagherand Brad Sherman — asked forwritten commitment that therewill be no secret understand-ings or annexes with theTaliban that will not be sharedwith the Congress.

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Washington (AP): A mili-tary judge has set a date in early2021 for the start of the long-stalled war crimes trial of fivemen being held at theGuantanamo Bay prison oncharges of planning and aidingthe September 11 terroristattacks. Air Force Col W ShaneCohen on Friday set the start datein an order setting motion andevidentiary deadlines in a casethat has been bogged down inpretrial litigation. The five defen-dants were arraigned in May2012. In setting the January 11,2021, start, Cohen noted that thetrial at the U.S. base atGuantanamo Bay, Cuba, “willface a host of administrativeand logistics challenges.”

The US has charged the fivewith war crimes that include ter-rorism, hijacking and nearly3,000 counts of murder for theiralleged roles planning and pro-viding logistical support to theSeptember 11 plot. They couldget the death penalty if convict-ed at the military commission,which combines elements ofcivilian and military law. The fivedefendants include Khalid

Shaikh Mohammad, a senior al-Qaida figure who has portrayedhimself as the mastermind of theSeptember 11 attacks and otherterrorist plots. Mohammad andhis four co-defendants have beenheld at Guantanamo sinceSeptember 2006 after severalyears in clandestine CIA deten-tion facilities following their cap-ture.

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Seoul (AP): A senior NorthKorean diplomat on Saturdayberated US Secretary of StateMike Pompeo over his com-ments describing North Koreanbehaviour as “rogue” and saidPyongyang’s hopes for talkswith Washington are fading.

In a statement carried bystate media, North Korean FirstVice Foreign Minister ChoeSon Hui said Pompeo’s“thoughtless” commentsincreased North Korean peo-ple’s animosity towardAmericans and made it harderfor working-level nuclear nego-tiations between the countriesto resume. “Our expectations ofdialogue with the U.S. are grad-ually disappearing and we arebeing pushed to reexamine allthe measures we have taken sofar,” Choe said. “We are verycurious about the backgroundof the American top diplo-mat’s thoughtless remarks andwe will watch what calculationshe has. The US had better notput any longer our patience tothe test with such remarks irri-tating us if it doesn’t want tohave bitter regrets afterward.”

Pompeo in speech to USveterans in Indiana on Tuesdaysaid the Trump administra-tion recognized that “NorthKorea’s rogue behavior couldnot be ignored” while touting itsapproach in foreign policy.

“Americanism - it meanstelling the truth about the chal-lenges we face,” Pompeo said.

“Look, this administration did-n’t pretend that the IslamicRepublic of Iran was a respon-sible actor in the Middle East.We called out China’s badbehavior on trade and onnational security. We recog-nized - we recognized thatNorth Korea’s rogue behaviorcould not be ignored.” Nuclearnegotiations have been at astandstill since a February sum-mit between President DonaldTrump and North Koreanleader Kim Jong Un in Vietnamcollapsed after the US siderejected North Koreandemands for broad sanctionsrelief in exchange for a partialsurrender of its nuclear capa-bilities.

The North since the break-down in Hanoi has repeatedlydemanded that Washingtonremove Pompeo from thenuclear negotiations, accusinghim of maintaining a hard-linestance on sanctions and dis-torting Pyongyang’s statements,while avoiding direct criticismof Trump. Trump and Kimmet again at the inter-Koreanborder in June and agreed toresume working-level talks, butthere has been no known meet-ing between the countries sincethen. The North in recentweeks conducted a slew ofshort-range ballistic missiletests in what’s seen as anattempt to increase pressure onWashington and Seoul overthe slow nuclear diplomacy.

$���������������� �� ���(������������ ���������������� Khartoum (AFP): A Sudanese court onSaturday charged ousted president Omar al-Bashir, on trial for corruption, with illegalacquisition and use of foreign funds, offenceswhich could put him behind bars for adecade.

Judge Al-Sadiq Abdelrahman said at thethird session of Bashir’s trial that foreignfunds of multiple currencies were found athis home.

Authorities had “seized 6.9 million euros,USD 351,770 and 5.7 million Sudanesepounds at (Bashir’s) home which he acquiredand used illegally,” the judge said.

Bashir, wearing a traditional white gownand headdress and seated in a metal cage,admitted to receiving the equivalent of USD25 million from Saudi royals.

Page 8: ˘ˇˆ - The Pioneer...ing the Bharatiya Janata Party in Samajwadi Party and Congress strongholds, respec-tively. After the recent reshuffle in the Yogi Adityanath Cabinet, Keshav

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There are a very few movies whichwill work on just star presence orgreat stunts and action. After the

runaway success of Bahubali series,Prabhas has become a household nameand people expect that if he is part of aproject, then they are in for a treat. Thesame applies to his latest venture —Saaho.

Director Sujeeth has definitelycashed in on this aspect. There is no

way that the film will disappoint allthose who love chases, bullets flying,cars of all sizes flying in the air, punchesbeing thrown with the villain lying onthe ground with just one sock to thejaw. It is a page right out of a MissionImpossible series or even Fast andFurious series.

The CGI is great. Creating afictitious city, Waaji, and weaving astory around it, kudos to the creativeteam.

One can’t forget the tall, mean andbeefy looking men who are out forblood at the drop of a button. In fact,they don’t even need an excuse. Theyare just trigger happy men. This iswhere the movie falters.

With the audience wanting moremeaningful and content-driven filmsthat has a story to tell, Saaho hasnothing new to offer beyond the actionand absolutely great stunts that willkeep you glued to what comes next. Atthe end of the day, it is a film about ason avenging his father’s murder.

But not all is lost here. Thebackdrop is stunning. Shraddha Kapoordoes her bit. Though people likeMandira Bedi, Tinnu Anand andMahesh Manjrekar are wasted here. Ofcourse, Prabhas is nattily dressed, a lookdifferent from his Bahubali series.

A movie to see, if you are a Prabhasfan.

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�What is your role in HamariBahu Silk?

I play Naksh Parekh, a 22-year-old photographer. Mygrandmother wants me to giveup photography and take overthe family business of cateringservices.�How easy or difficult was itto get into the shoe of thecharacter?

I had to work hard to getinto the skin of the character. Iam a Pathan and my characteris a Gujrati. I had to learn tospeak Gujrati and bringing inthat accent which was achallenge for me. To get itcorrect, I spent time with myGujrati friends so that I couldlearn the language and get myaccent correct. I didn’t want tosound fake. Also, I had to learnphotography. Also, I weighed 82kg when I was offered the role.I had to look like a 22-year-oldso I shed 15 kg in one month. Itwas dif f icult . A lot ofpreparations went into it. It waslike a learning process for me.�Did you always want to be anactor?

No, I never wanted to getinto acting. I wanted to becomea singer. I was clueless aboutacting. But it happened all of asudden. I was in my third yearof engineering and I was goinghome during the vacations. Onmy way, I saw a film shootinggoing — it was for Satyagraha.Ajay Devgn and AmitabhBachchan were shooting and Iwas excited to see them. Istopped there for some time.Some of my friends were lineproducers on the sets. Suddenly,one of them came to me andasked if I was comfortable instanding behind Ajay for ascene. I told them that I havenever done acting and they saidthat all I had to do was was tostand behind him. It went on for10 minutes and then they

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Teacher’s Day brings back so manymemories and it continues to be the day

that I cherish. At every stage of life we needour Gurus. I feel fortunate that I'm still intouch with all my teachers from school andit is really touching when they call me andstill pamper me the way they did during myschool days. Recalling one of her memoriesAkshita said: “I had gifted my Heere jaise dilwale, Hira sir, a pen once on the occasionof Teacher’s Day as I was his best student andhe knew just the right way to ingrain everylittle detail while teaching me.”

In my life I’ve been blessed with thepresence of several teachers who are reallyspecial to me and I want to thank them allon this day for making me who I am today.They gave me the courage andencouragement whenever I required and allof them along with my parents have playeda major role in shaping my life. ThisTeacher’s Day I request all my fans andviewers to pay respect and give any tokenof appreciation to your Gurus as they all haveplayed a part in making you who you are.

— Akshita Mudgal (Gayatri in SonySAB’s Bhakharwadi)

I have always had a strong connectionand rapport with my teachers in school andin college as well. Wherever I am right nowin life, I owe it to them. I have been in theentertainment industry since my childhood.So, there is a great significance of teachersin my life and I’ve been really fortunate andblessed to find such unconditional andunderstanding teachers who helped meachieve my dreams while ensuring that Ibalance my studies and career at the sametime.

Avneet while recalling a hilariousmemory of her school days said: “I’ve alwaysbeen a shareef kid and shared a great bondwith almost all my teachers but this onetime the entire class planned to bunk theclass of the strictest professor in school,which ultimately resulted in everyonegetting a nasty remark on their dairies andscolding for life. This tense situationbecame hilarious for the entire class whenhe tripped around his table while furiouslyaddressing us for bunking. The entireclass burst into a loud laugh whichguaranteed the remark further and I wenthome with my first remark.”

— Avneet Kaur (Yasmine in SonySAB’s Aladdin: Naam Toh Suna Hoga)

Teacher’s Day for me is for beingthankful and showing gratitude to thepeople who have taught us something notonly in our schools or colleges but in life.For me a teacher is someone who has givenme foresight and directed me to the rightpath in life and that would be my family,close friends and most importantly, mymother. In school, Teacher’s Day used to beall about events and celebration but I’ve hada greater understanding of what teachers areall about, much later in life. My mother hasbeen my guide in life and I’ve learnt a lotfrom her.

Sharing about his real life guru, Aamirsaid: “My mother is my real guru and I feelshe is way ahead in life with her thoughtsand vision. She inspires me to look at lifedifferently and more beautifully and she ismy inspiration in every step of my life. I alsowant to thank everyone who has taught mesomething about life as that has created whoAamir Dalvi is today.”

— Aamir Dalvi (Zafar in Sony SAB’sAladdin: Naam Toh Suna Hoga)

offered me to go with them for10-15 days as they needed thosesame group of boys for otherscenes. I went for it. On mysecond last day on the sets, I metPrakash Jha sir and they askedme if I was comfortable inreading out dialogues. Thepositive thing in me is I amconfident. I don’t get anxious.Then, he offered me a role —Vicky. This is how I got intoacting.�How has your journey beenthus far?

Mumbai has been extra kindto me. I still remember when Ifirst came to Mumbai in 2014.Within two weeks I got my firstshow as a lead — Jhalli Anjali.It aired on Channel V. I haveseen both highs and lows. I gota bit distracted in between mycareer and lost my focus onacting. But, I managed somehowand started focusing on mywork again.�What kind of roles attractyou?

I love challenges. Any rolethat would challenge me as anactor, I would love to do that. Ihave played a lot of differentroles . From a s imple andinnocent boy —Dhruv in JhalliAnjali to a negative one —Kunwar Jeewan Singh in EkTha Raja Ek Thi Rani. I loveplaying different characters. Ilove to enhance my craf t(acting) and as long as I amgetting to do it, I would love toplay any role.�Apart from acting, whatkeeps you busy?

I love playing football. Ilove to eat. I read a lot in my freetime. I am a family man, I visitmy family once a month.�What else is there in thepipeline?

I am concentrating onthisshow. I am very clear in mymind that till the show isrunning, I will only focus on it.

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Adhamakedaar Bigg Boss season willsoon make its way to the television

screen. This year, the entertainment andfun will increase manifold as Bigg Boss willbe nothing short of a bumpy ride withmany twists and turns. To add to theexcitement, viewers will soon witness thepromo of the show wherein Salman Khanwill be seen working out with actors KaranWahi and Surbhi Jyoti in a gym.

Karan and Surbhi will be seenportraying a love-hate relationship sharedby a couple while Salman sets the premisefor the new season. When asked, if he willlike to be a part of Bigg Boss, Karan said,“The very thought of staying confined ina house for three months scares me a lot.If I ever do, I want to be locked inside thehouse with my friends Ravi Dubey andRithwik Dhanjani. If they agree to do theshow with me, I will definitely participatein Bigg Boss.”

>�������"��� ���� ��������?Our mothers undoubtedly are

instrumental in shaping our futureand our constant guide to handhold usthrough tough situations. Sarrtaj Gill whowill is seen essaying the role of Muddu inGudiya Humari Sabhi Pe Bhari recentlyrevealed that his mother is his role modeland biggest critic. This young actor is allset to awe the audience with his portrayalof a village simpleton with the characterMuddu in the show. Sarrtaj is known to bea person who gladly accepts hisshortcomings and tries to work uponhimself all the time, courtesy the teachingsgiven to him by his mother from the timehe started off his career in television.

Sarrtaj shared: “My mother puts me inmy place and bluntly points out themistakes I make whenever I essay acharacter on-screen. I show my mother allmy performances for her to critically judgethat and inform me of my fallibility. I feelI need that sort of truth in discernment,and who better than a mother to fit thatbill and I have always taken her feedbackpositively and embraced it with arms wideopen and tried to improve myself. She hasnever been a ‘yes man’ and pointed out thesilliest of flaws in my work that never meetsthe eye generally and I feel blessed to havesomething like that in life.”

Co-written by eminent writers, RaviMahashabde and Samta Sagar, GudiyaHumari Sabhi Pe Bhari is a slice of the lifestory of Gudiya, the youngest daughter ofRadhe (portrayed by Ravi Mahashabde)and Sarla (portrayed by Samta Sagar),having her own unique quips and quirksto life and situations. Most often Gudiya

lands up in unusual situations but then herupbeat attitude and unique approachsnap her out of it.

The show airs on &TV from Mondayto Friday at 9:30 pm.

Page 9: ˘ˇˆ - The Pioneer...ing the Bharatiya Janata Party in Samajwadi Party and Congress strongholds, respec-tively. After the recent reshuffle in the Yogi Adityanath Cabinet, Keshav

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On August 7, 2019 while it wasa normal day for everyone,seven young girls decided toset off on a journey that willbe remembered by all for

years to come. These girls are the talk ofthe town and for all the right reasons. Theyhave scripted history by becoming theyoungest trekkers.

The girls aged between 15 and 18 yearsare fearless, focused and had only one thingin mind — to make their country, parentsand school proud. They embarked on thisexpedition along with two faculty mem-bers — Priya Dhillon and Major PriyaJhingan. The expedition was led by AjeetBajaj, director, Snow Leopard Adventurea Padmashree Awardee who scaled MtEverest along with his daughter, DeeyaBajaj, last year.

The expedition was conducted by TheLawrence School, Sanawar and no surprisethat it is a success. Mt Kilimanjaro isAfrica’s highest peak with the summitlocated at 5,895 meters above sea level. Itis also the world’s highest free standingmountain. The expedition was sponsoredby Hero Cycles, who later felicitated thegirls after their return.

The adventure bug bit these girls early.And scaling Mt Kilimanjaro is just thebeginning. They have miles to go.

Seventeen-year-old Class XII student,Megan Bhagirath, recalls the journey asone of her best things that has happenedin her life.

“It is very unlikely for parents to sendtheir children on such adventures when itis about Class XII Boards. But, I am veryfortunate to have got such supportive par-ents who motivated me to go on this expe-dition. Not even for a moment did theythink that this would affect my studies inany way. My father just walked up to meand asked if I would manage both. I say Iwould and he replied then go. I can say thatthis expedition was one of the best thingsthat happened in my life,” she says.

But not all was smooth and easy.Bhagirath had her moments when shethought of dropping the plan. She was anx-ious if she would live up to the expecta-tions of her parents and teachers. It affect-ed her — what if not everything turn outto be good. That was when, her fatherbecame her strength.

“My father told me that I will have thisfear until I will set off on the journey. But,I should stood strong. I can’t quit. He told

me you will never know what is going tohappen until you are off to the journey. Sojust go. Then there was no stopping,” shetells you and adds she has keen interest insports. The reason being her school.

“Sports is a compulsory subject foreveryone. Each one of us have to enroll ina sport of our choice. That was the reasonI was always interested in sports. My broth-er is a big sport fanatic as well,” the 17-year-old says whose favourite sport is hockey.

One can only imagine how is it like tolook up the mountain with a vision of scal-ing it. When you are on the top and every-thing else seems so tiny, one can’t do any-thing but admire the Mother Nature.

Bhagirath’s experience of the expedi-tion, she says, was full of people.

“There were so many people who hadthe similar thing in mind — to scale it. Weall were strangers but up on the mountainthey all felt so familiar. The Africans arevery hospitable, they are very sweet.When you are up there everybody wantsto connect. There are people all aroundyou. Even the most introverts turn intoextroverts on the mountains because at theend, people is all what you have up there,”she says and adds that imagine you are onthe mountain for seven days with noInternet, no family, just the mountain andthe cold air.

“It is very peaceful. There are no ten-sions. No stress of what is happening inschool or what will happen later on. It islike purification of the soul. It is beauti-ful. One can definitely take a sigh of reliefon the mountains,” she tells you and saysthat their training started in Februaryfrom Rishikesh where the girls had to walkfor eight hours straight with not more thana 10 minutes break after every two hours.

“Rishikesh training taught usendurance. It gave us that belief that youwill get there (to the top) just keep going.Then we trained in Ladakh. It got us thefeeling of training on a high altitude withlimited oxygen and low resources. Ittaught us to manage time and our men-tal abilities,” she tells you.

Though, their initial training startedfrom school. It is compulsory for studentsto go running for an hour-and-a-half in themorning and then in the evening. Theyalso need to go for hiking daily. But, it wasnot easy. Time management was a prob-lem because of academics. They overcamethis in Rishikesh and Ladakh, where theirsole focus was on training.

The ones who are willing to go for suchexpeditions have to keep in mind that thereis a particular diet they have to follow. Nojunk or fried food, lots of carbohydrates,protein and collosal amount of water is amust.

Bhagirath tells you that the momentthey reached the top, all of them felt anadrenaline rush. It was a proud moment.“It felt like all our efforts paid off. After a11-day journey we were there where wewanted to be. It gave us immense pleasureand all the other things seems very smallthen. It was 11 am when we reached theSummit and we couldn’t help but smile allthrough our return,” she recalls with yetanother smile on her face.

There are still many parents who arenot willing to send their daughters or evensons on such adventures. Bhagirath has asay on that. “To everybody out there, thereis so much to the world than just fewboundaries that we live in. There is a lotto explore. It is not like students have toearn a well-paid job to spend a good life.They should do what they love. If we cando this in such a small time, then they candefinitely do much more,” she says.

Unlike Bhagirath, who is a sports lover,a 15-year-old Avanti Aggarwal theyoungest among the seven girls was neverinto sports.

“I am in Class XI student. I was alwaysmore inclined towards academics. I did-n’t do well in sports and it didn’t interestme. One day, when our faculty informedus about the expedition, I was very appre-hensive about it. I had to prepare for myBoards. I decided not to give my name forit. Then, my parents encouraged me to giveit a try. So I did. And it turned out to bethe best experience of my life,” Aggarwaltells you.

But, sometimes only motivation is notwhat helps you in the long run. It is abouttraining too. And Aggarwal had to face alot of difficulties because she missed theRishikesh training and all the others hadan edge over her. “I missed the Rishikeshtraining because I enrolled into the activ-ity very late. I joined the group in Ladakh.So everyone was apprehensive whether Iwould be able to continue or not. One day,we all went for a high-altitude check andI did face a lot of difficulties in it. It mademe lose confidence but then the entireteam supported me and I pushed myselfto do that,” she tells you.

There are always perks of being the

youngest. So was the case with Aggarwal.“In between I fell ill. I had mild symp-

toms of acute mountain sickness. I thoughtit’s time for me to go back home. BecauseI didn’t want anyone to feel like one per-son didn’t anything and all the other didneither I wanted any one to stay back withme. But, all my seniors in the group andmy faculty motivated me and took care ofme. They were very generous with me.Fortunately, I recovered fast and accom-panied them on the expedition. Their sup-port and love helped me get back to nor-mal. Since, I am the youngest they all treatme with special care. It gave me the con-fidence to not surrender,” she says.

Aggarwal recalls that on the summitnight when they started from Kibo to theGilman’s point which is the highest one,it was the toughest part of the expedition.“The slope was very steep with an incli-nation of 75° and the temperature wasabout -20° Celsius. As we were walkingthere were boulders all through our way.Every time we thought that we havemade it to the top, we found out that it wasthe boulders and so much more is still left.Everyone was asking us to take heart, thatGilman’s point is not too far. It became darkand all we could see was the team that wasahead of us because of their flashing headlights. The guide told us that that was theGilman’s point but they were also movingahead and so were we. Every time wethought we have reached, we were disap-pointed. It took us seven hours to reachthere from Kibo,” she tells you.

Though it did disappoint the team abit but no one ever felt like quitting. Theyall knew that they had to reach the top.

“It was very cold. Everyone was help-ing each other. Everyone was motivatedand motivating others too. We all wereenergetic despite the long walk. All we hadon our minds was to reach the top. Thatthought kept us going,” she adds.

Any journey is incomplete without amentor. Everyone needs a guru who canshow the path to success. So was the casehere. The guru or the leader of the expe-dition was — Ajeet Bajaj. He says that itwas a wonderful experience to go on theexpedition with the seven girls whom henow call his daughters — the daughtersthat listen to him. (laughs)

Bajaj says that it was the highlight ofhis career. The thing to look out for is thatthis expedition was the first one for thegirls, who scripted history at one go.

“These girls made the country proud.The great resilience that they showed onthe mountains was appreciable. A thing tolearn from them is their spirit and thenever give in attitude. This is a message forall that given an opportunity there is noth-ing that our girls can’t achieve. They justthe need the push and support to getgoing,” he says.

One thing that Bajaj abides by is thaton the mountains one has to proceed witha lot of respect for Mother Nature. He hasto be very slow and steady. Going with themindset of conquering mountains is a big‘no-no’. Humans can never do that.

Not only Bajaj but both the facultymembers, Dhillon and Major Jhingan wereas supportive as him. They also highlightthe need of sports education in India andopines that sports should be given equalimportance as academics. It is importantfor the overall development of the students.

MK Gulia, Head of Sports andOutdoor Pursuit, The Lawrence Schoolwho selected the team of the girls and fac-ulties says that they didn’t select the girlson the basis of physical strength but theirwill power.

“We can work upon the physicalstrength and fitness. It can be build withtraining. The key is the will power, men-tal strength and a passion to go fortrekking. This is how we selected theseseven girls out of the others 15-20 girls whogave their names for this,” he tells you andadds that he felt disappointed when a num-ber of girls withdrew their names becausetheir family didn’t allow them to go on theexpedition.

He tells you that it’s high time whenwe stop asking the Government to focuson sports. The Government is doing itspart. It is the responsibility of the society,the schools and the parents to identify theimportance of sports and let their child freeto do what he wants.

“These seven girls are an example forothers who believe that sports will not takethem anywhere. The parents shouldunderstand this and should encouragetheir children for participating in sports.When the young generation scale suchhighs, it is not only a proud moment fortheir parents and the school but for thewhole country. Many people took inspi-ration from them,” he says and adds thatthe school will definitely plan more suchexpeditions and will encourage the youthto scale new highs.

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Page 10: ˘ˇˆ - The Pioneer...ing the Bharatiya Janata Party in Samajwadi Party and Congress strongholds, respec-tively. After the recent reshuffle in the Yogi Adityanath Cabinet, Keshav

After staging some greatplays in the last couple ofyears like Wrong Number,

Jab We Separated andMahabharata, Felicity Theatre isset to wow Delhiites with yetanother stage show— Ovee — aHindi horror play all set to bestaged from September 7-8,2019 at Kamani Auditorium.The play is a story of a teenagegirl who losses her parents at anearly age. She is sent to anorphanage by her paternal uncle.During her stay she starts expe-riencing paranormal activities.This play is about her struggleto survive and overcome herfears.

Starring Rohit Roy,Sayantani Ghosh, DeekshaAgnihotiri and Ridhima Bediamong others, Ovee brings for itsaudience a gripping theatricalexperience which is full of sus-pense, will give you goosebumps, send shivers down yourspine and keep you on the edgeall through the performance.

Aniket Patil, the director ofOvee tells you that after stagingover a 100 shows in Marathi andthen Gujarati, it has now beentranslated into Hindi. “RahulBhuchar, producer and MD ofFelicity Theatre approached me.He had heard the success of theplay in Marathi and Gujarati. Hetold me that a horror play withspecial effects is something newfor the audience. Also, the genrehas not been explored. So wedecided to come out with aHindi version. I don’t know if ahorror play has ever been stagedbefore. But yes, I can say withconfidence that Ovee is the firsttheatre— with special effects —light and sound. Things likeobjects flying in the air, drawersopening on their own, a mandisappearing into thin air areonly some of the things that theaudience will get to see here,”Patil says who has also directedand written the Marathi andGujarati versions.

The inspiration to put out ahorror play on the stage came toPatil because he loves to dabblein the genre. “Horror as a genre

fascinates me. I experiment withdifferent genres for the stage. Iwanted to write a horror play.That is how Ovee was born. Iwanted to introduce specialeffects as well. The Marathiplay was the first version.Gujarati came next because aproducer from Gujarat saw itand wanted to put out a Gujarativersion. Then Rahul saw it, sonow it is being staged in Hindi,”Patil explains.

But there are challengeswhen one wants to put out ahorror play with special effectsthat will send chills down theaudience’s spine. But Patil tookup the challenge. He tells youthat he watched several videoson how magic tricks are done onthe internet. “We also have a spe-

cial effects team. I sat withthem and we worked out how tobring these effects into play. Itwas tough. But our team isgood. We were able to overcomethe roadblocks,” Patil tells youand adds that the best part of theplay besides the script is the mes-sage that it gives out.

He also tells you that whileit is expensive to put out thesespecial effects, it was worth itsince it has opened up doors forother directors to experimentwith the content. “This is goodfor theatre,” Patil says.

Rahul Bhuchar tells youthat he was attracted to Oveebecause as a theatre actor, he hasnot come across a horror play.“Felicity Theatre has always tar-geted towards meaningful the-

atre. While it is a horror play,there is a lesson to be learnt. Itis a theatre with a cause. Sincenobody had done somethinglike this before, I decided to goahead with it,” Bhuchar says andtells you that as theatre actors,they are looking for challenges.

“It is easy to get good writ-ers. The tricky part is to put outa horror-thriller. You can makea fool of yourself. There werefilms like Purana Mandir, it wasSholay of horror. Then therewere films where people laughedat the make up given to theghost. So, one has to be verycareful. The direction and per-formances make a lot of differ-ence. Then there is the set itselfwhich has come from the US.You will see a lot of visual

facade. Things falling, a manappearing from the wall or dis-appearing into thin air. Thesewere the challenges — to do iton theatre. It is not like a moviewhere one can do so muchmore,” Bhuchar tells you whosenext project is going to beRamayan and tells you that thestage show will be better thanMahabharat.

Rohit Roy who plays threecharacters in the play, that ofthe protagonist’s chacha from assmall town, a cop and a psy-chiatrist tells you that of theplay starts with the chacha. “Heis one of those irritating andunclassy person who says what-ever comes to his mind, he hasno filter. The psychiatrist comesin the second half of the play totreat the protagonist — Oveewho has suffered vector thechacha. The cop is completelydifferent from the first charac-ter. I enjoy all the three roles butto play chacha, I enjoyed themost since it is a character thatplays to the gallery. The chachais the only character who is sounlike me — a Haryanvi, to getthe dialect was interesting to doas well,” Roy says and tells youthat one should not comparewhat is happening in Oveewith a film.

“One can’t compare a stageshow to a film. In a play, for twohours you have live specialeffects non-stop with the actorsreacting to it. But the actors areso good, leave me aside, I havea pretty straight forward role butthe others are so good. Theyhave been rehearsing for overtwo months. They are spot on.It will be a great experience forthe audience. And on a one to10 scale, I would rate this aneight,” Roy says who has himselfbeen rehearsing for over amonth because he had beenshooting for Sanjeevani andMumbai Saga.

Roy who has been doingfilms, TV and theatre at presenttells you that it is tough to switchfrom TV to theatre but not somuch from films to TV. I amspending maximum time with

Sanjeevani. Also there is a char-acter in the TV show whosename is the same in Ovee as well.So sometimes, I end up gettingthe names wrong. I just hope itdoesn’t happen during the actu-al show, Roy says who has hadgoof ups on the stage for an ear-lier play but not that the audi-ence ever came to know.

According to him, the USPof the play is the script and theway it has been mounted. “I havenot seen anything like thisbefore. The fact that the audi-ence has a greater choice andthat has led to the revival of the-atre. Indian theatre has been dif-ferent from Broadways. Butnow money has come in and itis possible to launch such playsnow,” Roy says.

Riddhima Bedi who playsthe hostel warden where Oveeis brought in tells you that whatattracted her to the play is thatit is a thriller. “It has great spe-cial effects and it has horror ele-ment to it. Earlier, I have donehappy-go-lucky roles. This roleis different,”Bedi says for whomthe role not not tough but com-plex.

“As an actor it is importantto do varied roles otherwisecomplacency sets in. You keepexploring, keep shocking theaudience and keep shockingyourself as well. Art is so wide.What appears to be exciting tome maybe dull for another. Theaudience will be as excited asexcited I am on the stage,” Beditells you.

Working the team for Bediwas comfortable as well. “I feelso at home. The director is sopatient. He gives you the leewayknowing that this particularactor has not done this genre soneeds to be given some space.The good is that the minute thecurtain rises, everyone is on thesame platform irrespective of thebackground,” Bedi says and tellsyou that doing theatre is attrac-tion stems from the fact that itkeeps one grounded.

“One can always give a per-fect shot after 10 rehearsals. Thechallenge is to deliver the perfect

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�What is Chalo Jeete Hain about?In simple words, it’s about nurturing a dream and working hard

to fulfil it. A young Naru has become our PM now, but since thelast 50 years — he is still living his life for us, not for himself butfor others, for our country. That’s what inspired us to make thisfilm.�What are the steps needed to make the entertainment indus-try more proactive in nation-building?

The meeting between Bollywood fraternity and our PrimeMinister that we had initiated was just the beginning of our filmindustry to get more proactive in the process of nation-building.The PM graciously told the delegation how much of a change andprogress they can bring to the nation. We wanted the Prime Ministerto meet the younger generation of Bollywood stars. He wanted theentertainment industry to feel a part of the process of the nation’sgrowth and development. Our entertainment industry has a tremen-dous amount to give to the nation. As the PM pointed out to them,these stars are role models.�How do movies like Chalo Jeete and Drug-Free India leave animpact if few watch it?

The overwhelming response to Chalo Jeete Hain inspired usto come up with yet another inspiring and noble initiative — Drug-Free India — Na Karunga Na Karne Dunga (DFI) campaign, ledby spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. We have tried to ensurethat the movie and campaign reach to people across the countryand later at the global level to create awareness. I would also liketo thank Rai for presenting Chalo Jeete Hain, and the entire teamof it.�How to convince others to make movies that are content-dri-ven?

To be frank, it depends upon the script and the story whichyou are willing to tell. Everything depends upon the story that youwant to tell. �Watching a film is about entertainment. What are the chal-lenges in making people watch films like Dekh India Circus?

A film lover will watch the film depending upon the subject,if a subject interests the audience then they will go watch it, no mat-ter what. �What points do you keep in mind while selecting a project?

It’s very simple — a good script and a vision to tell the storyto the audience. �You have worked with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Aanand L Rai,and Bhushan Kumar. What attracted you to do these stories?

These filmmakers are great storytellers. Besides that, there’salways a novelty factor and thought process associated with the pro-jects they create. The stories that they create appeals to the mass-es and has got a subtle underlying message as well.�What are your upcoming projects?

The Sundial Entertainment is looking forward to several inter-esting projects. We have recently announced a film on the life ofNarayana Murthy and his wife, Sudha Murthy, which we are doingwith Ashwiny and Nitesh Tiwari, both of whom are very dear friendsand extremely talented people whom I admire, and it will be love-ly working with them. Rai has also been very supportive and it iswonderful associating with such a beautiful person. There are fouradditional films in the pipeline. Each one is at different stages ofdevelopment and we will announce them in due course. The objec-tive is to do significant and meaningful films and at Sundial, weare always on the lookout for such scripts.

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�How did you come on board forChanakya (1991)?

I was studying in National Schoolof Drama (NSD). A couple of months

before passing out, I got selected forDD National’s historical drama

— Chanakya. I was offeredthe role of Nipunak.

When the team came toour institute they werein search of somefresh talent and theyselected a few peo-ple from my batch.This is how I gotmy first role.�And you took 25

takes for a singleshot.

Yes. It was dayone on the sets andmy first shot. It took

me 25 to 28 takes for ascene. The scene wasthat I had to imagine a

finger as my mother andhad to read out the dia-

logues. It took forever to shoot thescene. I was facing the camera first

time. I didn’t know how it worked.Acting for shows or films is very dif-ferent from what we do on stage.Though, I had done all my prepara-tions, I had read the script thorough-ly before going to the sets, but noth-ing worked. The people on the setsstarted questioning my acting skills. Iheard taunts like pata nahi kesey keseylog NSD se actor ban kar nikal kar aateyhain, kuch aata jata hai nahin inhey,kyon aagayein hain. But, it didn’tdemotivate me. Instead, I feel fortunatethat I didn’t receive appreciation for act-ing back then. Because if I would havethen I wouldn’t be here today. I wouldhave become overconfident. Fromthat day I have stopped reading thescripts, I have cut short the expensesrelated to preparing scripts. (laughs)�How did acting happen to you?

I am a born artist. I was confusedof what to choose — music or acting.I was in search of the right path. It wasall of a sudden when I realised that Iam an actor — a lazy one. I thought ifI will go in the music industry then itwill take me at least 15 years to makea place for myself and it was uncertain.

The easy way out for me was to enrolmyself in short plays and then it got meinterested in acting.�Did your family support your deci-sion to become an actor?

Yes. My whole family was very sup-portive all through. They still are. Infact, there was a time when I was notwilling to leave Delhi to shift toMumbai. Then my family thrashed meand sent me to Mumbai. (laughs)�How did things turn out inMumbai?

I came to Mumbai with only onething in mind that I need to explorecinema. It wasn’t like that I had tobecome an actor. It was only my lovefor cinema that took me there. I want-ed to explore the industry. For this, Iwas willing to do anything — frombeing an art director to a camera per-son to an editor, I was open for every-thing. Also, I had to earn a living.�What things do you look out forbefore signing a project?

First and foremost the director. AsI mentioned earlier, I don’t read thescripts. I go by what the director is say-ing. If there is a good director for

instance say Satyajit Ray, then he willmake you visualise the whole film withhis narration. There will be no need toread the script. Second, I see what mycharacter is about. I don’t go for bigbanners like most people do. The com-mercial value of the film doesn’t mat-ter to me, the story does.�You did a lot of commercials tooand Mirinda ad with AmitabhBachchan was your first ad with acelebrity. How did that feel?

I don’t have words to describe thatmoment. I was always a fan of MrBachchan and when I was offered tostand with him in the ad, I was oncloud nine. I remember the productwas Mirinda and I was calling itMeranda. Then, Mr Bachchan stoppedand asked me if I was from Delhi. I saidyes and he replied tabhi aap Mirindako Meranda Meranda keh rahe hain.The other funny moment was when Ireached the sets, the first thing that Idid was to touch his feet and said ekhi ichcha thi ki marney se pehle aap semil loon. To which he replied kiskeymarne se pehle. And we both burst intolaughter. I remember after the shoot,

he said that I was good and I felt likerecording his words but sadly we did-n’t have voice recorders in mobilephones back then.�Your recent film Turtle won aNational Award.

Yes. I am highly obliged that thefilm received a National Award. Thefilm is about the scarcity of water. It wasa small initiative to brought the issueto light. It is everyone’s duty to do theirpart and save nature. Few months back,I also did a film called Kadwi Hawa.It was on pollution. There is a need tomake more films on social causes tocreate awareness. I am glad that mywork has been recognised but there ismuch more that the Governmentshould do to help tackle such issues.�What are your upcoming projects?

I am shooting for 108 Maryadit. Itis the most challenging project for metill now. However, when I take up a newproject mujhe bukhaar chadhney lagtahai, ki yeh kya musibat apney sar le limaine. Then there are Bhot HuaSamman, Color Black, Gwalior, DeathOn A Sunday and #Gadhvi in the pipeline.

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Page 11: ˘ˇˆ - The Pioneer...ing the Bharatiya Janata Party in Samajwadi Party and Congress strongholds, respec-tively. After the recent reshuffle in the Yogi Adityanath Cabinet, Keshav

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Top-ranked defendingchampion NovakDjokovic rolled into the

US Open fourth round onFriday while Serena Williamscruised into the last 16 and KeiNishikori was eliminated.

Djokovic, champion infour of the past five Slams and16 overall, was less bothered byleft shoulder pain that naggedhim in the second round indefeating 111th-rankedAmerican Denis Kudla 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

“That I managed to playalmost pain-free, that’s a bigimprovement from last matchobviously,” Djokovic said. “Ididn’t know how my bodywould react. That was nice.”

Djokovic, who neededtreatment throughout his sec-ond-round triumph, skippedpractice on Thursday in favorof shoulder treatment.

The 32-year-old Serbian, athree-time US Open winner,booked a Sunday showdownwith three-time Slam winnerStan Wawrinka, the Swiss 23rdseed who eliminated Italianlucky loser Paolo Lorenzi 6-4,7-6 (11/9), 7-6 (7/4).

“There’s something withhim that when I get into mybest game, I know that it’s goingto have some big rallies and I’mgoing to play good tennis,”Wawrinka said.

Djokovic, no worse than aUS Open semi-finalist since athird-round exit in 2006, leadsWawrinka 19-5 in their all-timerivalry, but they haven’t metsince Wawrinka beat Djokovicin the 2016 US Open final.

“We’ve had some great bat-tles over the years, but espe-cially here,” Djokovic said. “Letthe better player win.”

$��&���(������������Williams continued her

quest for a 24th career GrandSlam title to equal MargaretCourt’s all-time record bycrushing 44th-ranked CzechKarolina Muchova 6-3, 6-2 in74 minutes.

“I had a lot of intensitytoday, which is really good for

me,” said Williams, whose nextopponent is Croatian 22ndseed Petra Martic.

The 37-year-old American,a six-time US Open champion,last won a Slam at the 2017Australian Open and hasn’twon the US Open since 2014.

Japanese seventh seedNishikori, the 2014 US Openrunner-up, lost to Australia’sAlex de Minaur 6-2, 6-4, 2-6,6-3. The 20-year-old Aussie, onhis deepest Grand Slam run,took his first victory over a top-10 foe in 12 tries.

“This is where I feel like mygame’s at. I want to be pushingsecond weeks of Grand Slamsand putting myself out there,”De Minaur said. “Hopefully Ican just keep it rolling.”

Russian fifth seed DaniilMedvedev made an obscene

gesture during his 7-6 (7/1), 4-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-4 victory overSpain’s Feliciano Lopez.

The ATP Cincinnati win-ner was booed by the crowdrepeatedly after holding anupraised middle finger asidehis head for stadium camerasbut away from chair umpireDamien Dumusois afterreceiving a code violation.

Reigning French Openchampion Ashleigh Barty, theAussie second seed, and Czechthird seed Karolina Pliskova,chasing her first Slam title, also

advanced.Pliskova, the 2016

US Open runner-up,outlasted Tunisia’s OnsJabeur 6-1, 4-6, 6-4while Barty dispatchedGreek 30th seed Maria

Sakkari 7-5, 6-3.Pliskova next plays British

16th seed Johanna Konta whileBarty, a possible Williamsquarter-final foe, meetsChinese 18th seed WangQiang.

“It’s going to be an incred-ibly physical match,” Bartysaid.

Barty and Pliskova are bat-tling top-ranked defendingchampion Naomi Osaka to beworld number one at the endof the Flushing Meadows fort-night.

One more Barty winwould ensure Japan’s Osaka isdethroned but Pliskova couldstill take the top spot by reach-ing the final.

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He didn’t featured in the firstfour games for Haryana

Steelers this season due to injurybut ever since he made hisreturn into the mat after gettingfully recovered, Vikash Kandolais on a roll and his superb raid-ing skills has turned out to be ablessing for the side as they havewon six of the last seven gamesthey played after that.

It is because of his charis-matic style of offensive playthat Haryana’s shattered defensehas also fallen into place and iscontributing well to the teamsuccess but despite that too thestar raider is not yet satisfied andfeels there is a lot more he canimprove in his game to be moreeffective in the coming match-es.

Talking about his perfor-mance in the season so farKandola said, “My preparationsare very good as I am fully fitand ready to roar in the mat. ButI am still looking to improve fur-ther in the upcoming matches tobe more effective.”

On being asked about whatall areas he needs to improve, thestar player said that he hascommitted a lot of errors in theraids which he is well aware ofand his focus now is to makesure that it doesn’t repeat further.

“I want to rectify the mis-take that I have committed in theprevious games and that is myfocus point. Also, I need to workmore on collecting bonus pointsbecause that is one area whereI feel, I’m not doing good. I needto be more consistent.”

Discussing the team’s per-formance, he said that after a dis-appointing start the team hasfinally found the mojo back andis now working towards main-taining consistency.

“The team is performingwell now especially after wob-bles in the first few match-es. The return of PrashantRai along with me hashelped the side andthe result of which isthat now we arewinning matches.We are collectingmore regular points inthe raids and that is helpingbecause until the time raiders

don’t score, defenders can’t alonewin the matches for you.”

Talking about playing underRakesh Kumar, who made hiscoaching debut this season,Vikash was full of praise for theformer Indian skipper and saysthat his experience of the gamehas been a blessing for all theplayers in the dugout.

“It is a wonderful experienceworking with Rakesh sir, he issuch an experienced player andis a very cool minded person.Apart from being a brilliantteacher he never let us take anysort of pressure in the game.”

“Even if we get tackled in anattempt to go for a difficult point,he is always there to motivatesaying ‘Koi Nahi, Agli baarayega’ (It’s okay, it will come nexttime).”

Like every other player par-ticipating in the league,Kandola’s dream also is to winthe Pro Kabaddi League trophybut he is well aware that thecompetition is still wide openand to reach the goal, the sidecan’t afford to lose the grip at anypoint. “Our initial plan is to topthe table and then play the finalto win the trophy.

And we are preparingaccording to it but since thecompetition is wide open so itis too early to predict anything.But we will continue to keepraising our performance and tryto win as many games as possi-

ble.”

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Young Ishan Kishan blasted a blistering24-ball 55 as India ‘A’ beat South Africa

‘A’ by two wickets in the rain-hit secondunofficial ODI to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series here on Saturday.

Chasing 163 to win in a rain-curtailedmatch, the hosts scampered home with anover to spare, thanks to Kishan’s heroics andKrunal Pandya’s crucial 15-ball 23.

Kishan hit five boundaries and four sixesin his innings, while Pandya’s knock com-prised one six and a four.

Sent into bat, South Africa ‘A’ posted 162for 5 in 21 overs with George Linde top-scor-ing with a power-packed 52 not out whichwas studded with one four and five sixes.

Kishan, who plays for Jharkhand indomestic cricket, walked in with India ‘A’ ina spot of bother at 57 for 3.

He went on the attack from the word goand hammered the spinners nonchalantlyand when the pacy Junior Dale bowled short,he swivelled around and smacked him fora big six. His stunning assault made histeam’s task of chasing down what appearedto be a stiff target easy.

Earlier, Anmolpreet Singh (30, 19 balls,2X4, 2X6) set the tone for the chase alongwith Shubman Gill (21) after the quick dis-missal of opener Ruturaj Gaikwad (1).

Batting first, Linde’s pyrotechnics helpedSouth Africa ‘A’ reach 162 for 5 in 20 oversafter India A sent both the openers back bythe end of the fourth over.

Linde reached his half-century in 24balls to power the visiting team's late surge.

Skipper Temba Bavuma (40, 33 balls, 6fours) and Heinrich Klaasen (31, 27 balls,3 sixes) also provided the impetus to the SA‘A’ innings.

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Mitchell Starc pressed hiscase for a Ashes berth

with a four-wicket haul asAustralia completed theirpreparations for next week’sfourth Test at Old Traffordwith a comfortable innings and54-run win over Derbyshire onSaturday.

Starc, yet to feature in theAshes, ended the match 15minutes before lunch on thethird day in Derby with twowickets in two balls. He hadHamidullah Qadri caught inthe slips by Matthew Wadebefore clean bowling DustinMelton.

With Derbyshire pace-man Tony Palladino unable tobat because of an ankle injury,the match ended withDerbyshire 112 all out.

Left-arm fast bowler Starcfinished with figures of 4-39 in10.4 overs.

Derbyshire resumedSaturday on 53-3, 113 runsbehind Australia’s first innings338.

After Steve Smith hadmade 23 on Friday in his firstcompetitive innings sincereturn, attention turned toStarc. He could be recalled forthe fourth Test, with the pitchat Old Trafford expected to be

the quickest of the series.But it was fellow paceman

Michael Neser, uncapped atTest level, who struck first onSaturday when he bowled AlexHughes for 11 to leaveDerbyshire 58-4.

After a brief rain break,fast bowler Peter Siddle —looking to regain his Test place— had Harvey Hosein (eight)

caught behind by diving wick-etkeeper Alex Carey.

Mitchell Marsh, like Starcpushing for his first Test of theseries, then took two wickets inthree balls to reduceDerbyshire to 99-7.

He had left-hander Leusdu Plooy, who made 86 inDerbyshire’s first innings, lbwfor 37 and then bowled AlfieGleadall for a second-ballduck.

In order to accommodateSmith and MarnusLabuschagne in Manchester,Australia may leave out Harrisand promote Usman Khawajato open with Warner.

Both Harris (64) andstand-in skipper Khawaja (72)made fifties in Australia’sinnings before they wereinvolved in a mix-up that sawHarris run out.

Khawaja averages 96.8 inthe seven Test innings in whichhe has opened.

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Depleted Paris Saint-Germain gavedebuts to two teenagers but still won 2-

0 at Metz on Friday in a another Ligue 1game interrupted by fan banners.

Angel Di Maria and Eric MaximChoupo-Moting scored the goals the visi-tors needed to win an undistinguished gameand move to the top of the table.

“We won, and that was important,” saidDi Maria.

Neymar, who reportedly wants to returnto Spain, was again left out of the squad asnegotiations over his potential transferdrag on.

Another player who has become thecentre of speculation, goalkeeper AlphonseAreola, dropped to the bench.

Areola is reportedly set to go to RealMadrid in a swap for veteran Costa RicanKeylor Navas.

PSG also started without the injured pairof Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani.

“It wasn’t easy because this week therewere a lot of possibilities to be distracted,”said PSG manager Thomas Tuchel.

Marcin Bulka started instead of Areola,making his senior professional debut. The19-year-old Pole arrived in the summer afterspending three seasons in the Chelseayouth system.

PSG also gave a debut to midfielder AdilAouchiche. At 17 years and six weeks, hewas their youngest ever Ligue 1 starter.

Di Maria smashed home an 11th-minute penalty to give PSG the lead.

After play resumed, Idrissa Gueye hitthe Metz bar with a close-range header. Thehome team’s marking had not improvedwhen Choupo-Moting barely had to jumpto head the second goal in the 43rd minute.

Metz gave PSG uncomfortable momentsin both halves, but could not force Bulka tomake a difficult save.

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Timo Werner scored ahat-trick as RB Leipzig

won 3-1 at BorussiaMoenchengladbach onFriday to move top of thefledgling Bundesliga table.

The German inter-national striker was at hisclinical best as JulianNagelsmann's fine startto life as Leipzig coachcontinued with a thirdstraight win to kick offthe league season.

Leipzig, who weredrawn in ChampionsLeague Group G along-side Zenit Saint-Petersburg, Benfica andLyon on Thursday, hadbeaten Union Berlin andEintracht Frankfurt intheir first two games.

They continued theirstrong form as Wernerlatched onto EmilForsberg's through ball to

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Zinedine Zidane insists his rela-tionship with Real Madrid presi-

dent Florentino Perez is strong and heis happy with his squad ahead of thetransfer window closing on Monday.

Madrid have spent around 300 mil-lion euros this summer but Zidane hasnot selected a single new signing in hisfirst starting line-ups for the first twogames of the season.

Zidane hoped the club would signPaul Pogba, but Manchester Unitedwould not sell, and sell Gareth Bale, butthe Welshman remains determined tosee out his contract, which expires in2022.

“The decisions that are up to meare on the pitch,” said Zidane in a pressconference on Saturday, ahead oftoday’s league game away at Villarreal.

“My relationship with FlorentinoPerez has always been very good, hewill always be the president thatbrought me here and I will never for-get that.

“Sometimes it is better to clarifythings and I say the relationship isgood, I don’t care what anyone says.The important thing is my day-to-day

work and that I have the chance tocoach this great team.”

Madrid have brought in EdenHazard from Chelsea but the Belgianhas a thigh injury and will not returnuntil after the international break.Hazard began training alone on Friday.

Real have also signed Eder Militao,Luka Jovic, Rodrygo and FerlandMendy, with Zidane refusing to ruleout further additions before the win-dow shuts.

Neymar’s future at Paris Saint-Germain remains uncertain whileTottenham’s Christian Eriksen andAjax’s Donny van de Beek are alsobelieved to be targets.

“Until Monday at midnight, every-thing can happen, one surprise, twosurprises, but the match is tomorrow,”Zidane said.

“I am proud of the players I have,for me they are the best players. Evenwhen you say you want to make somechanges, the important thing is whenthe season starts, you are happy and Iam happy.

“I cannot complain about thesquad that I have. If I complain, I canchange jobs.”

Keylor Navas has fallen behindThibaut Courtois in the race to beMadrid's first-choice goalkeeper and isexpected to join PSG.

“It could happen,” Zidane said.“Keylor will be with us for the gameagainst Villarreal and until the windowcloses, anything can happen.”

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India experienced a mixedday at the US Open as

Rohan Bopanna advanced tothe men’s doubles secondround with DenisShapovalov but LeanderPaes made a first-round exitwith Guillermo Duran here.

Bopanna and hisCanadian partner knockedout formidable fourth-seed-ed French pair of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and NicolasMahut 6-3, 6-1 in just 55minutes on Friday night.

Bopanna andShapovalov lost their servetwice but broke their rivalssix times out of sevenchances.

Paes and Argentina’sGuillermo Duran lost 5-7, 2-6 to Serbia’s MiomirKecmanovic and Norway’sCasper Ruud.

Divij Sharan andMonaco’s Hugo Nys hadalso lost their first round toRobert Carballes Baena andFederico Delbonis onThursday.

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slip a shot between thelegs of Gladbach goal-keeper Yann Sommerand give the visitors a38th-minute lead atBorussia Park.

Leipzig caught theirhosts cold less than twominutes into the secondperiod, as YussufPoulsen sent Wernerracing in on goal again,and the 23-year-oldmade no mistake.

He made it fivegoals in just threeleague appearances inthe final minute ofadded time after BreelEmbolo had brieflygiven the home fanssome hope, slottingcalmly into the bottomcorner after a poorback-header byMatthias Ginter.

A first defeat of theseason leaves Gladbachseventh on four points.

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Page 12: ˘ˇˆ - The Pioneer...ing the Bharatiya Janata Party in Samajwadi Party and Congress strongholds, respec-tively. After the recent reshuffle in the Yogi Adityanath Cabinet, Keshav

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Apatient Hanuma Viharistruck the third half-cen-

tury of his career to guideIndia to 336 for seven againstthe West Indies at lunch on thesecond day of the second crick-et Test here on Saturday.

Coming on to bat at theovernight score of 42, Viharistuck to his task and held oneend together to go into thebreak unbeaten on 84 off 158balls, 16 runs shy of his maid-en century.

Resuming at the overnightscore of 264 for five, India lostRishabh Pant (27) on the open-ing delivery of the day.

Pant was cleaned up byWest Indies skipper JasonHolder (4/62) with aninswinger as the batsmanleaned for a drive. Thereafter,overnight batsman Vihari andnew man in Ravindra Jadejaplayed according to the situa-tion to nullify any threat fromthe West Indies bowlers. Vihari,

who resumed his knock at 42,notched up his fifty in 96 ballswith the help of an inside-edgeboundary off Holder in the97th over of the innings.

Jadeja did all the hardworkbut gave away his wicket whenit mattered. He played a patientknock of 16 off 69 balls but justwhen it was time to carry on,he top-edged a RahkeemCornwall (2/97) delivery toDarren Bravo at mid-on whilegoing for a big slog.

Vihari and Jadeja shared 38runs off exactly 10 overs for theseventh wicket. An over later,Vihari got a big reprieve whenhe was dropped by JohnCampbell off Cornwall at firstslip. To add to West Indies’wounds, Vihari picked up twoboundaries in the remainingballs of Cornwall’s over to takeIndia forward.

Vihari and Ishant lateradded unbeaten 34 runs for theeighth wicket to take Indiahome without any furtherdamage.

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Opener Mayank Agarwalsaid India were in a “great

position” after reaching 264 forfive in challenging conditionson the first day of the secondTest against West Indies here.

Agarwal, who scored 55,reached his third Test half cen-tury with an edge to the bound-ary.

“Conditions were chal-lenging. I thought the first ses-sion - the ball was doing a bit.Kemar Roach and (Jason)Holder bowled great areas. Itwasn’t easy - there was a lot ofmoisture and the ball wasdoing a bit,” Agarwal said at thepress conference.

“We are in a great position.To have just lost five wickets ona track like that was a goodeffort from our side.”

Put into bat on a trickySabina Park pitch, India werereduced to 46 for two in theopening session, but ViratKohli and (76) Agarwal workedhard to rebuild the innings.

“I think Holder is bowlinggreat areas, he is not giving youan inch. He is there pegging inthose areas, pegging on lengthand short of length. And youknow he doesn’t give free deliv-eries for you to score off of,” hesaid.

“So, the pressure is alwaysthere even if you defend himoff - the first spell he bowledsix-seven overs in that he’sgiven three or four maidens, soas a batsman you know you’renot getting much out of him.”

West Indies’ debutantRahkeem Cornwall bowled 27out of the 90 overs during theday, giving away just 69 runswhile piling the pressure on theIndian batsmen and taking thewicket of Cheteshwar Pujara.

Agarwal praised Cornwall.“Rakheem is very, very

(consistent), he forms goodclusters and he keeps bowlingthose areas, keeps bowlingthose areas. I thought it wasn’tvery easy to score off him.

“We took our time and itwas very important for Virat

and me to actually get a part-nership going and it wasimportant that one of us wenton to score big,” Agarwal said.

“He definitely gets a lotmore bounce compared tomany other spinners. He justkeeps hitting those lengths.”

Agarwal added his captainbatted well to “negate the timebefore lunch and then to comeout after lunch with that kindof positivity was amazing - hegets a lot of intensity when hecomes to bat.”

The conditions got betterfor batsmen as the day pro-gressed.

“I can say it got a little bet-ter to bat on after the first ses-sion - the wicket got a lot hard-er as the sun beat down - thewicket lost some of its moisture.

“It just kept getting a littlebetter to bat on, but I thinkcredit must be given to theWest Indian bowlers, especial-ly Roach and Holder - theykept coming and kept comingand kept bowling tight lines,”he said.

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��.�'����� �(������!��Ansh Arora of Uttar Pradesh bagged the

silver medal in the 50 metre breaststroke inthe 73rd Senior National AquaticChampionship, underway at Bhopal. Thisis UP’s first medal for in 17 years at seniornationals.

$���'�� �����%DPS blanked Unity College 2-0 in a league match of the 5th

Martin Cup at La Martiniere ground on Saturday. Chandani andSamarth scored a goal each. In another match, APS beat St Francis’2-1.

�"�#�(�/#�( ����$Pawan Batham, Arif Ali and Ravi Shankar were jointly lead-

ing with 4.5 points each in the Ram Sharan Agholiya Memorial ChessTournament on Saturday. Mayank Pandey was placed at 4th placewith four points.

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Manchester City cruised tothe top of the Premier

League with a 4-0 win overBrighton on Saturday asManchester United and Chelsealost further ground in disap-pointing draws withSouthampton and SheffieldUnited.

Leicester moved up to thirdas the Foxes unbeaten start to theseason continued in a 3-1 winover Bournemouth thanks totwo goals from Jamie Vardy,while victories for Crystal Palaceand West Ham take them into ashare of fourth.

���%�"����!&�������!��Liverpool can move back

above City should they contin-ue the only 100 percent start leftin the Premier League later atBurnley, but City were never indanger of dropping points at theEtihad as Kevin de Bruynetapped home David Silva’s cut-back after just two minutes.

Victory came at a cost forPep Guardiola’s men as AymericLaporte was stretchered off witha knee injury that looks certainto rule him out of winning a firstcap for France in upcomingEuro 2020 qualifiers.

City may come to regret notbuying a replacement for depart-ed captain Vincent Kompany atcentre-back as holding mid-fielder Fernandinho had todeputise at the heart of thedefence for the final 52 minutes.

However, Aguero soonmade the game safe by blastinghigh into the net just before thebreak and produced anothersublime finish to curl into the topcorner for his second 10 minutesinto the second-half.

Substitute Bernardo Silvathen rounded off the scoring forthe champions.

�����$����&���!�������How United must wish they

had some of their local rivalsfirepower as Southampton clungon for a 1-1 draw at St. Mary’sdespite playing the last 17 min-utes plus stoppage time a mandown after Kevin Danso’s red

card.Daniel James had given the

visitors the perfect start with histhird goal in four appearancesfor United, but JannikVestergaard headed home anequaliser just before the hourmark. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’smen have now failed to win intheir last three games and wonjust one of their last 10 datingback to last season.

“We’ve been dominating,creating chances and just haven’tbeen clinical in front of goal towin the games,” said Solskjaer.

“It’s not a dip in form, (but)it’s a dip in results definitely.”

'�$���'������.����After scoring his first

Chelsea goals away to Norwichlast weekend, Tammy Abrahamthought he had given the Bluesall three points at home tonewly-promoted SheffieldUnited by scoring twice morebefore the break.

However, the Blades hit backat the start of the second-halfthrough Callum Robinson andKurt Zouma’s own goal a minutefrom time earned the visitors anunlikely point in a 2-2 draw.

As United and Chelseastumble, Leicester are the clos-est challengers to the top two sofar as Jamie Vardy scored twiceand teed up Youri Tielemans forhis side’s other goal, but BrendanRodgers’s men were also luckyTielemans did not see red inanother controversial VAR call.

Vardy opened the scoring instunning fashion by lobbingAaron Ramsdale from outsidethe box, but Bournemouth lev-elled thanks to a neat finish fromCallum Wilson.

Tielemans tapped homeVardy’s low cross to restoreLeicester’s lead, but the Belgianshould have been sent-off for ahigh challenge on Wilson.

However, after a VARreview, the original decision tolet Tielemans escape unpun-ished stood, and Vardy sealed thepoints 17 minutes from time.

Crystal Palace backed uptheir shock victory at OldTrafford last weekend with a 1-0 win over 10-man Aston Villathanks to Jordan Ayew’s goal 17minutes from time.

But Villa, who had Egyptianinternational Trezeguet sent-offearly in the second-half, feltaggrieved as Henri Lansbury’slate goal was harshly ruled outfor a dive before the ball reachedthe midfielder by Jack Grealish.

West Ham also have sevenpoints from four games as goalseither side of half-time fromSebastien Haller and AndriyYarmolenko secured a comfort-able 2-0 over Norwich.

Watford got their first pointof the season, but remain bottomafter a 1-1 draw at Newcastle.

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Page 13: ˘ˇˆ - The Pioneer...ing the Bharatiya Janata Party in Samajwadi Party and Congress strongholds, respec-tively. After the recent reshuffle in the Yogi Adityanath Cabinet, Keshav

The day of 12 July 1975started like any other dayfor Rajnath Singh andafter his morning exerciseand bath, as he was about

to step out, he was arrested by theMirzapur police under MISA. By thetime of his arrest, Singh had becomeknown as a formidable force whohad galvanized the JP movementprogrammes, and the authoritieswere instructed to not take himlightly. No one arrested under MISAwas allowed any access to peopleoutside, and Singh being one of theprominent detainees in the area, allcontact was ruled out.

After he had spent a few days inMirzapur jail, Singh was transferredto the Naini Central Jail nearAllahabad. Hearing about the trans-fer, Savitri and Gujarati Devi decidedto meet Singh at Mirzapur railwaystation where the train carrying himwas scheduled to make a brief stop.Savitri had not seen her husbandsince the day he was arrested, but ithad been a few months sinceGujarati Devi had seen her son. Onthe day Singh was being ferried bytrain, both reached the station hoursbefore the train was due. Everymoment that passed filled them withanxiety. No one knew how long hewould be under detention and thenews of thousands more beinghauled up across the country addedto their fears.

The train arrived slightly laterthan it was due and soon the plat-form was full of police personnel. Ina matter of seconds, Gujarati Deviand Savitri were separated from thetrain by a sea of humanity dressed inkhaki. Handcuffed and held bypolicemen at the elbows, Singhemerged from the train hoping tomeet his wife and mother. He spot-ted them at some distance but thesheer number of policemen betweenhim and his family made it impossi-ble for him to meet them. At twentyfour, Singh, who had been a physicslecturer at a local college a few yearsago, was just a young man taking hisfirst steps in politics but the securitypersonnel treated him like a hard-ened criminal. Some of the peoplewhom Singh had worked with dur-ing the JP movement had also madeit to the railway station and theybegan sloganeering. It was impossi-ble for Singh to hear his mother orSavitri in the middle of all thecacophony and sloganeering, askinghim to carry on with his struggle. Asthe policemen whisked Singh away,he finally heard Gujarati Devi. Evenin the face of uncertainty about whatlay ahead for her son, the only thingGujarati Devi told him was not tobow down. ‘Babua, maafi maange kinaheen! Chahe umar bhar kaalkothri

mein kyon na katt jaye ... kabhi sarmat jhukana.’ (Never beg for forgive-ness, my son, even if you have tospend your entire life within theconfines of a prison ... never bowdown). Hearing his mother urginghim to never give in filled Singh withpride as he fought back the tears thathad welled up. Many policemen toowere moved by Gujarati’s comment.That was the last time Singh eversaw his mother.

During the first few weeks inNaini Central Jail, Rajnath Singh wasput in solitary confinement. Despitethe bleak scenario and the uncertain-ty, Singh never lost faith. Thisenforced isolation gave him the timeto reflect on the ideals and the prin-ciples instilled in him by his fatherand the values for which his motherwas willing to let go of the chance tosee her youngest son ever again.

A while later, when the solitaryconfinement ended, Singh saw someof his friends move applications forrelease on parole but he refused to doso. For Rajnath Singh, the time in jailmade him reassess the ideals forwhich he was willing to put his lifeon the line. There were times whenhe caught himself thinking abouthow things had come to such a passin the political history of the country.Irrespective of the differences in ide-ology or political affiliation, mostpoliticians and people in public life,he believed, had one goal: serve thepeople and the country. Despite thecynicism about politicians that wasbeginning to set in among the public,the idea of making India a strongnation, one that would attract theenvy of the world, was perhaps stillthe singular thought amongst peopleoperating in the political sphere. Inthis context, the total disregard forpropriety and decorum, and thehigh-handedness that the govern-ment displayed towards those in theOpposition and anyone who ques-tioned it, in the process pushing thecountry into an era of darknesswhere basic civil liberties weresnatched away, did not make muchsense for young people such asSingh. For them, politics, at least upuntil the Emergency was declared,was about a debate between two ormore theories and ultimately it wasthe voter who decided on which setof ideas suited them.

The Emergency was a tool toelicit a political price from those whochallenged Indira Gandhi, but, formany, it extracted much more.Gujarati Devi had kept abreast of theunfolding situation and counted thedays to her son’s return. She oftenasked the same question every timeshe met any of her nephews: ‘Babuakabhin aayen?’ (When will my ladreturn?) One of Rajnath Singh’s

cousins told Gujarati Devi that MISAwould be retracted in a year’s time andso, if everything went off well, Singhwould probably be released on 25 June1976. Through the course of the firstyear of the Emergency, scores of moth-ers like Gujarati Devi kept track of thedays and waited with bated breath forsomeone to repeal the law or the gov-ernment to release those detainedunder it.

A year later, on the said date, 25June 1976, Gujarati Devi asked thesame nephew about Singh’s release,and unable to give her any goodnews, he told her that the govern-ment had extended MISA and noone had any idea how long itwould take. It could well beanother year. Gujarati Deviwas unable to take it anymore and suffered a stroke. Shewas rushed to the hospitaland the doctors concurredshe had had a brain haem-orrhage. Her conditionworsened over the nextfew days and, preparingfor the worst, the doctorasked Savitri to informher husband.

Upon hearing thenews, Singh refused tomove an application fora furlough to visit hismother in the hospital,preferring to absorb theblow silently. Everymorning at sunrise, hehoped against hope thatany news about his moth-er would be delayed byyet another day. The jailand the treatment metedout to him had not suc-ceeded in breaking hisspirit. The jail authori-ties were followingorders from a dispensa-tion powerful enoughto brush away basicrights of one of theworld’s most populous countries bya mere stroke of the pen. They haddented the self-esteem of many ofthe inmates and ensured that theperson eventually walking out was notthe same as the one who had gone in.

Singh remained determined to not lettinganything undermine him mentally and moreso when the news about his mother’s condi-tion became public knowledge. He remindedhimself of what his mother would have expect-ed from him and carried on. It was in jail thatSingh got to learn about his mother’s passing awayand performed all the post-death rites includingshaving his head within the confines of NainiCentral Jail. To this day, Singh finds it difficult tostop tears welling up in his eyes every time heremembers his mother.

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Poverty is an issue that fails to be addressed. As onephilosophy puts it, there are only two castes in thesociety — the rich and the poor. Biblical cannon

“blessed are the meek...” offers no solace when half-filledstomachs continue to struggle for the next meal. Statisticaldata suggests that we have come a long way as far as pover-ty alleviation is concerned, but the fact remains that themarch ahead is longer. Is there a faster way to poverty erad-ication? Or is this an unending journey. Well, it is not easyto figure. Given the fact that poverty as an issue has alwaysbeen at the top of the agenda of governments since inde-pendence,we can only keep our fingers crossed. The prob-lem persists despite the force of the rhetoric and the grow-ing decibel volume. Not that there are reasons to doubtthe intentions. But the methodology and systemic inter-ventions have not proved their authenticity. True, inter-ventions from outside have their limitations and there areleakages in the system, these will have to be addressed notby external forces but by internal forces that work to changehearts. Institutional remedies depend on human commit-ments for their effectiveness. Moreover, societal transfor-mation is also needed. People with compassion and munif-icence who care for the poor and work for the upliftmentof the deprived. Governments are just one part of the larg-er society. Societal action thus would be more crucial.Wealth accumulation has become the benchmark of excel-lence in the society and people are running madly afterit. Naturally, when this becomes the norm, selfish motivesdrive the society and personal prosperity and amassingriches is the only end. In such a society, we can only breedinequality and push the vulnerable to misery. Wealth, asthe vedic wisdom says, “has to be earned by two hands anddistributed by thousand hands”. We need to realise the sig-nificance of those golden words of wisdom: ‘when wealthis lost nothing is lost, when health is lost something is lost,when character is lost everything is lost’. We need to buildsocietal character. Corruption poses one of the gravestthreats to economic growth, democracy, and political sta-bility. Political corruption has taken on a new prominencein public discourse due to its devastating impact on pub-lic confidence in political and economic institutions andprocesses. But institutions may not be enough. There is aneed for a socio-cultural overhaul and change in individ-ual mind set. Vulgar consumerism coupled with egoisticextravaganza has blurred the line between need and greed.Insecurity of the rich and callousness of the society needsto be addressed. Perhaps, the Gandhi Talisman can throwsome hints. The same is quoted here: “I will give you a tal-isman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the selfbecomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recallthe face of the poorest and the weakest person whom youmay have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contem-plate is going to be of any use to that person”. It may berecalled that Gandhi popularised the term ‘Daridranarayan’.

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Afamous film star suffered deepdepression; her latest film hadflopped. And this was the film

which she had hoped would make herstand out in the film industry. She hadco-produced this film after many suc-cesses as an actress. She had workedvery hard and in her mind she had notleft anything to chance. Therefore,once the film bombed at the box office,her heart was broken. She went intoheavy depression. But she was no fool;she was determined to get to the rootof her problem. She began calling herfriends when the numbness caused bythe setback somewhat lessened. Nonecould really help with their words ofsympathy; she wanted to know the realcause of the failure.

Out of desperation, she called a col-lege friend, with whom she was not intouch. This friend had spiritual leanings.That was the reason that she was notexactly her favourite. Desperate timescalled for desperate measures; so shesought her out. That friend was sur-prised to hear from her now famousfriend. They met and this friendrequested the actress to accompany herto the ashram of her guru. After initialhesitation, she agreed to do so becauseher friend was insistent that if anyonecould help her, it was this person.

Upon reaching the ashram, theysought an audience with the guru. Oneof the residents recognised the actressand rushed to the guru in great excite-ment. They were asked to wait. Once thecall came, they went to meet the exalt-ed personality. He asked them to beseated and, then, asked about the pur-pose of their visit. The friend shared theactress’ predicament. The guru lookedunperturbed and asked, “What is new?”The actress was surprised. She thoughtthe guru was joking. She said emphat-ically, “I am very unhappy.” The guru

replied, “I have heard that but what isunusual about it? We all have moodchanges. Who can stay in one fixedmood? Once in a material body in thismaterial world, we all are prone to moodswings.” The actress said, “I have neverfelt so bad earlier.” The guru replied,“You were lucky. By the way, what hascaused this?”

The actress explained about the fail-ure of her latest film. The guru stated,“Success and failure are the results ofone’s fate, especially the big ones. Onecannot ensure success by mere presentefforts.” He then stated, “Do you realisehow many businessmen are tryinghard but never reach the big league. Youwere destined to be successful early onin your career. Now a bad period hascome.” The actress nodded her head andasked, “What can I do now to get overthis extreme disappointment? The gurureplied, “God can help. You pray to Himfor solace and He will respond.”

The actress, not a believer, seemeddisappointed. The guru read her mindand said, “It is not as difficult as you areimagining. God does not normallyinterfere in the working of thekarmaphala principle according to

which we are rewarded or punished forour acts, but He can and does intervenefor His devotees once something badhappens. How do you think that I tryto maintain equanimity? God helps. We,human beings, are intrinsically smalland are given to react in extreme man-ners. No one is exempt from bad hap-penings, because our very presence inthis painful material world indicates thatnot everything was right in our pastlives; that is we carry the baggage fromour past; all of us do. A sound connec-tion with God ensures a degree of sta-bility. The actress listened to the guruin rapt attention. This was somethingshe had never heard before.

She asked for guidance to be ableto do what the guru was telling; she wasdesperate. The guru explained manyprocesses and asked the actress tochoose what suited her. After giving itmuch thought, the actress smiled andsaid, “I feel that I can do what you aresuggesting. I needed a ray of hope andyou have shown me the light. I thankyou sincerely.” And, they left.

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It is quite common for us toencounter life coaches, motiva-tional speakers and gurus speak-ing about managing one’s health,mind and body and to help one-

self before reaching out to others. Itis a trend these days to gift oneself thewell-deserved ‘Me time’ and engagingin therapies to relax and detox.Focusing on oneself is not uncommonto our ethos and culture, where forcenturies together, significant timewas dedicated for prayers, meditationand other productive, self-motivatedactivities. As a result the society ben-efited, ensuring human evolution.This practice holds relevance even intoday’s fast paced life.

First thing first. It is critical tounderstand that often the image of theself we carry is actually a componentof many entities — physical, astral andcausal. The physical body consists ofa physical self, mind and intellect. Thespirit within, the suksham sharir (thebody that exists before, during andafter a birth in this life) and the causalbody or the kaarna sharir which isalways attached to the spirit andcontains the hard disk of our samskars.

Hence, if the focus is loving thephysical body, you may get caught ina web of complexities that physical

existence weaves around you. On theother hand, when you love yourinner self, you set yourself free fromall complexes, attached to the physi-cal existence.

�������������������� ����The point of discussion is not aboutloving yourself frivolously or in van-ity, but learning to accept, respect andrevere yourself. This is certainly notan easy task. The art of loving your‘self ’ has been understood and advo-cated across spiritual forums andreligious doctrines.

Adi Shankaracharya has beenone such proponent of the self and hesays: “As the mind becomes gradual-ly established in the self, it proportion-ately gives up the desire for externalobjects. When all such desires havebeen eliminated, there is the unob-structed realisation of the self.”

If we have to extrapolate this toour current environment, and themany selves one has, it makes theprocess more complex and research -worthy.

In order to understand the con-cept of self-love we must deconstructan old Sanskrit phrase, Tat Twam Asi— That You Are. In this, ‘Tat’ standsfor the consciousness supreme, of

which all human beings belong.‘Twam’ refers to the body, the spirit,the mind and the jivaatma or individ-ual soul. ‘Asi’ means you are a part ofthe consciousness supreme, even ifyou do not know it, even if you do notfeel it, even if you do not want tobelieve it.

Right now the ‘you’ that is read-ing this article is just the physical one.But realising the essence of the arti-cle is done by the spirit self.

Most people believe they love theconcept of consciousness supreme butforget to love themselves as a part ofthe Tat factor. A poignant quote bySaint and poet Kabir explains the con-cept beautifully:

“Boond samani hai samundermein, janat hai sab koi;

Samunder samana boond mein,bujhe birla koi.”

(When a drop merges into theocean, everyone understands it

But when the ocean merges intothe drop, seldom does one understandit.)

This explains how one is not justa part of the consciousness supremebut in fact is the consciousnesssupreme itself.

Perception has an influential roleto play in this study, who we think we

are, is not the reality but is the delu-sion of the mind also known as: Maya.

Your self-assessment is oftenbased on expectations and achieve-ments. Getting the best job, dreamhouse, good looking partner, highestgrades and constant appreciation,work as triggers to boost the level ofself-love. And if you fail to match upto your expected results, the image ofthe self comes crashing down.However, it is futile to succumb tosuch self-created environments anddeprive yourself of the true love itdeserves.

The other factors outside thephysical realm that affect self-imageand love are fate, guilt and thoughtsand are beyond your control.

��������� ��� ����������� �����One of the critical steps to lovingyourself is learning to accept yourself.

We need to accept ourselves on an‘as is where is’ basis. This is not onlyfor self-preservation, but also for ourcollective intent that aids the machin-ery of the consciousness supreme.

There are various impedimentsthat obstruct self acceptance. Forinstance, thoughts. It is not easy todeal with thousands of unnervingthoughts, as they take us to a level ofjudging ourselves poorly and keep usin a state of degradation.

It is easy to worship water in theocean, but not in a glass of fresh limesoda — the core of both being thesame; the lime and fizz are only adul-terations and limitations. These lim-itations are self-created and do notallow us the luxury of self-worship.

A major deterrent in shedding theperceptions we hold of ourselves is ourlack of knowledge of destiny. Until weunderstand this concept better, wecontinue to blame ourselves for all ouractions and often even our thoughts.There are many stories in historywherein the predictions about thefuture have been accurate. If that istrue, then the trends of our life are pre-determined and the future has alreadyhappened in a cross-section of timeand space that lies ahead.Understanding the factor of destinywill make self-acceptance and removalof guilt much easier.

Self-love has to go beyond atten-tion seeking. If you look around, yourdog is asking for it, your kids are ask-ing for it, and many of your friendsare asking for it as well. So do not jointhe attention-seeking club. Once yousee the spark of divinity within you,you will not want attention from any-one else. You will look for vairagyaand that solitude will give you a high.

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On 18 January 1977, Indira Gandhicalled for fresh Lok Sabha electionsthat would be held in the month of

March and although she also ordered therelease of those her government haddetained, the Emergency officially endedon 21 March 1977.

The Opposition soon galvanized peo-ple and left no stone unturned to make itamply clear that this was their last chanceto pick between democracy and dictator-ship. After his release, Singh found greatsupport within his community that wasaware of the hardships he had undergoneduring the Emergency. An entire genera-tion of India’s political class that had beenput through the strongest of fires wasabout to graduate and Singh was amongstthem. Unlike the decision to not give tick-ets to some rising stars such as the ABVPstudents as the Jana Sangh felt they hadbeen overly politicized during theEmergency, which could lead them tolook at things in a different light, therewas no predicament when it came toSingh. He became an automatic choice forthe Lok Sabha ticket from Mirzapur. The

principal Opposition parties-the JanaSangh, the Bharatiya Lok Dal, the SocialistParty and the Congress (Organization)-had come together as the Janata allianceto fight the elections against IndiraGandhi. Singh began campaigning in fullswing for the elections that were to beheld between 16 and 19 Match 1977. Butbefore voting day, an internal understand-ing between the Jana Sangh and the LokDal relegated him to the sidelines. Aneleventh-hour seat-sharing arrangementbetween the parties that constituted theJanata alliance saw the Jana Sangh givingup Mirzapur in favour of Fakir Ali Ansari.As a result, the Jana Sangh could not pitchits candidate and the Lok Dal decided tofield a locally recognized carpet manufac-turer as the contender from Mirzapur.

The news of the change sent shock-waves across the city. Not just the JanaSangh party workers but also the RSS andABVP cadre offered their support toSingh. Much like the earlier elections, theRSS cadre was bound to play a significantrole in mobilizing the electorate in favourof the Janata alliance as it had done for

the Jana Sangh in the past. The word onthe ground suggested that the joint cadrewas willing to go against the executive ifRajnath Singh was not picked and somehad even begun suggesting that he shouldfight the elections as an independent.

Singh made his way to the district col-lector’s office to withdraw his candida-ture, accompanied by a swarm of support-ers. The sight was perhaps too intimidat-ing for Ansari, the Lok Dal candidate, asoft-spoken Muslim gentleman who wasknown to Singh as well. As he entered theoffice, Singh offered him his best wishes.The district collector informed Singh thatthe time to withdraw candidature wasover and his name would remain on theballot paper. As Singh pondered over howto avoid a situation that would be detri-mental for both the Jana Sangh and theJanata alliance, the clamour urging him tofight as an independent candidate grewlouder amongst the cadre. Singh took amoment to think and decided to stand bythe party. He told everyone that if theparty was right in thinking of him as wor-thy enough to contest, how could it bewrong if it changed its mind due to someunavoidable circumstance? In a practicaldisplay of walking the talk, doing theright thing irrespective of the situation,which was also fast becoming a muchtalked about trait of Rajnath Singh, heoffered all his support to the Janataalliance candidate. As he stepped out ofthe DC’s office, Singh addressed thecrowd, underlining that it was his badluck that the rules did not permit hisname to be struck off the ballot paper. Hetold everyone present that if he got evenone vote it would be tantamount to dis-honouring his name. When the votes werecast and the ballots counted, RajnathSingh did not get a single vote. To thisdate, he considers it to be a victory unlikeany other in his entire life.

Excerpted with permission fromGautam Chintamani’s Rajneeti: A

Biography of Rajnath Singh; Pengiun, �599

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The extraordinary blazeengulfing the Amazon for-

est, popularly known as the“Lungs of the Planet”, is at thecentre of global attraction withmany trying to reason out theroot cause of the forest fire thatmilitates against the war on cli-mate change.

Of several reasons doingthe rounds, two popular onesare that the forest fire in theAmazon may be caused by thedry season which runs fromJuly to October. These fires mayoccur naturally because ofevents such as lightning strikes.But others believe that they arethe results of farmers and log-gers clearing lands for crops orgrazing. Herein the activists addthat anti-environment rhetoricof Brazilian President JairBolsonaro has strongly encour-aged forest clearing operations.On the other hand, Bolsonarohas accused NGOs of startingthe fires themselves to tarnishhis Government’s image.

The Brazilian space agency,the National Institute for SpaceResearch (INPE), says its satel-lite data shows 85 per centincrease in fires on the sameperiod in 2018. In fact, the offi-cial figures show more than75,000 forest fires were record-ed in Brazil in the first eightmonths of the year, the highestnumber since 2013. Accordingto the Copernicus AtmosphereMonitoring Service (CAMS), apart of the EU’s earth obser-vation programme, the smokehas been travelling as far as theAtlantic coast. The fire hasbrought black smokes to SaoPaulo, more than 3,200 kmfrom the Amazon. What isworrying for the internationalcommunity is that these firesare releasing a huge amount ofcarbon dioxide, equivalent of228 megatonnes so far this year,highest since 2010. They arealso emitting carbon monoxidebeyond the coastlines of SouthAmerica. Further, the Amazonbasin, home to about three mil-lion species of plants and ani-mals and one million indige-nous people, is critical forfighting global warming as itcan absorb millions of tonnesof carbon emissions each year.

But with the burning ofthese precious forests, the car-bon they store will be soon

released into the atmosphereand hence, the rainforest’scapacity to absorb carbonemission will be fast reduced.

Primarily, tensions havearisen between France andBrazil in the latest round of G7talks after French PresidentEmmanuel Macron tweetedthat fires in the Amazon basinamounted to an internationalcrisis and should be discussedas a top priority at the G7Summit. Bolsonaro immedi-ately responded by sayingMacron’s statement is a mani-festation of his “colonialistmentality”. Later, the G7 groupof industrialised nationsannounced a $20 million assis-tance package aiming to pro-vide it to the Amazoniannations such as Brazil andBolivia, primarily to pay formore firefighting planes. Butunfortunately in thewhataboutery, the chief of thestaff of Bolsonaro appreciatedthe offer and asked the sameresources to be used for refor-esting Europe. This has stirredup a hornets’ nest betweenFrance and Brazil.

Interestingly, theConstitution of Brazil describesthe Amazon as “national trea-sure”. So it should be treatedaccordingly and every inch ofit must be saved and pre-served. Besides, amid globalconcerns for saving theAmazon, one must note what“principle of non-regression”,one of the basic tenets of theinternational environmentallaw, enunciates. This principlelays down that some basiclegal rules should be non-revocable in the common inter-est of mankind. Thus, once alegal regime is set and protec-tion is granted, essentially,there should not be a questionof tempering with such rules.And ironically, this global envi-ronmental dictum is clearlyreflected in the “Right toHealthy Environment”, guar-anteed by the Article 225 of theBrazilian Constitution.

The Article says, “All havethe right to an ecologically bal-anced environment… and boththe Government and the com-munity shall have the duty todefend and preserve it forfuture for present and futuregenerations.” So why does

Brazil need to be told that theAmazon is an integral part ofits heritage and this forestmust be saved? All Braziliansare well aware and it has ademocratically elected regimethat must take enough to safe-guard the “lungs” of earth.

What might drive theBrazilian Government to openthe rich Amazon is to createwealth for the country? Andthis is driven by years of reces-sion and high unemployment.Indeed, Brazil has witnessedthe worst ever political andeconomic upheaval during thetime of both the predecessorsof Bolsonaro, namely DilmaRousseff and Michel Temer. Ofcourse, when the ordinaryBrazilians have chosen a right-wing President like Bolsonaro,the expectations are high as tosee a change in the current eco-nomic downturn.

Succinctly, mining andother economic activities in the

Amazon are not the answers toarrest Brazil out of the eco-nomic gloom. Simply to say,mining operations offer a littleeconomic benefits to the locals.Instead, such operations, attractlarge number of outsiders thatleads to deforestation, violentconflicts on land rights andfinally, adding mercury pollu-tion to nearby rivers.

This blaze might torpedo ahuge trade agreement betweenthe South American nations,including Brazil, and theEuropean Union (EU), whichtook nearly two decades tocome to the current stage.Over the last four decades, thisverdant rainforest has wit-nessed one of the record highdeforestation. This hugeAmazonian blaze is fast block-ing sunlight and enveloping theentire north-western region ofBrazil with thick smoke. Thestates of Northern Brazil suchas Roraima, Acre, Rondonia

and Amazonas are badly affect-ed by the inferno. Meanwhile,the Amazonas, the largestprovince of Brazil, has declareda state of emergency.

And in such a situation,Bolsonaro’s mere hard-hittingstatements would not work.Rather his administration mustdisplay strong public actions inthe form of sending more fire-fighters and soldiers to tacklethe situation. Blaming eitherthe international media or theopposition forces will notdouse the fire. It’s time to actand save the planet.

Precisely, Bolsonaro is notsolely responsible for the cur-rent mess in the Amazon. Butthen he has made the situationworse by weakening the envi-ronment agency, opening of theAmazon to mining, farmingand logging, and finally,pounding on the NGOs andcivil society organisations(CSOs) working in the field of

conservation. Also what hasadded fuel to the fire is that theextreme pressure from theagricultural lobby in Brazil.This lobby is very strong andas a result, it is absolutely easyfor it to break the once power-ful environmental protectionsystem existed in the country,between 2005 and 2014.

Going by the records, onecan rightly state that massivemoves towards deforestationcame up in the last five yearswhen Dilma Rosseff andMichel Temer were in power.

During the time of Temer,he removed the protection sta-tus of the National Reserve ofCopper and Associates, anational reserve much largerthan the size of Denmark.

This reserve forest, called“Renca”, covers 46,000 squarekilometres. It is widely believedthat it contained rich reservesof copper, gold, iron ore andother important minerals. With

this policy, nearly 30 per centof the Renca was made openfor mining operations by theGovernment. Besides, envi-ronmental hazards, the Rencaalso provided home to a num-ber of indigenous ethnic com-munities who were not muchexposed to the outside worldtill then.

But, the rate of deforesta-tion has accelerated in the firstfew months of Bolsonaro’spresidency. Simply to blameright-wing Bolsonaro may notput an end to the blaze in theAmazon as fires are also ram-pant currently under a Left-wing populist regime in Boliviaas well.

Beyond the political gim-micks and blame game playedby the G7 leaders in its last con-clave, the international com-munity needs to see that theBrazil Government takesimmediate measures to curbthe raging fires in the Amazon.

At the moment, the UNand many other internationalorganisations are expressingconcerns and urging responsi-ble players to act swiftly. Butthat is not enough. The top pri-ority should be placed onbuilding a buffer against all thetipping points across theAmazon and bringing an endto massive emissions emergingfrom the fires.

So it is not just protectionof the Amazon, but also con-crete policies to be laid downfor reforesting the entire zoneon war-footing. And for this,Brazil must ensure that morefinance comes on its way ofboth resettling the locals andreforesting the region.

Hence just saying no to thefinancial aid offered by the G7may not support the rebuildingefforts of the BolsonaroGovernment. Much beyondall these, the Government andinternational environmentalagencies must listen and aligntheir policies to the indigenousgroups and reverine commu-nities living in around theAmazon. Also Brazil mustunderstand the global impor-tance of these evergreen forests.It is not simply Brazil that isaffected, but the entire planet.

(The writer is an expert oninternational affairs)

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����������������������0����������The past two decades wit-

nessed unprecedentedgrowth of some technologygiants. The large economiesthat exist in digital industrieshave often led to oligopolisticstructures in which a fewemerging players dominatelarge shares of the market.The prominent four players —Amazon, Google, Facebook,and Apple — together have amarket capitalisation of $2.8trillion (GDP of India), a stag-gering 24 per cent share of theS&P 500 top 50, and close tothe value of every stock trad-ed on the Nasdaq in 2001. Theyhave not only succeeded in cre-ating enormous wealth that hashelped millions of familiesacross the planet to earn eco-nomic security, but also trans-formed how we shop, search,and socialise on the six-inchpocket-friendly device.

We have this general per-ception that these tech giantsmust be creating a lot of jobs,whereas, in reality, they have asmall number of very high pay-ing jobs. For instance, Procter& Gamble, with a market cap-italisation of $202 billion,employs 95,000 people. Intel, anew-economy firm that couldbe more efficient with its cap-ital, enjoys a market cap of $209billion and employs 1,02,000people. Whereas, Facebook,boasting a $ 527 billion marketcap, employs only 25,000.

Uber set a new low with$68 billion spread across only12,000 employees. Uber man-ages it by creating a two-class

workforce, where its “driverpartners” act as contractors. Bykeeping them off the payroll,Uber’s investors and 12,000white-collar employees do notshare any of the company’s $68billion in equity. Besides, thefirm is not burdened with pay-ing health or unemploymentinsurance or paid time off forany of its two-million-strongdriver workforces.

In fact, when Uber filed forits initial public offering (IPO),its S-1 filing stated, “Our busi-ness would be adversely affect-ed if drivers were classified asemployees instead of indepen-dent contractors.” The scram-ble for IPO is partly driven byinvestors and founders lookingto cash out at the highest pos-sible valuation before labourlaws catch up with them andpotentially break the modelthat has given them their multi-billion-dollar valuations.

While billions of peoplederive significant value fromtheir galaxy of feature-richproducts, disturbingly a fewreap the economic benefits.This business model is excel-lent for consumers like you andme, who get cheaper, faster, andmore technologically advancedservices, but what about work-ers who generate revenue bydriving and biking day andnight? Are the workers anafterthought in this economy?One could argue that the draw-backs of workers employed onthese platforms far outweighthe benefits. There is no jobsecurity. There is the stress of

unpredictable income. There isa reliance on algorithms to getwork and rating system thatkeeps every one of them ontheir toes.

While it is not yet clearwhether the market powerthese large players enjoy is atemporary or inherent featureof internet markets, this doesraise distributional questions;we are witnessing a scenario,where substantial gains in pro-ductivity are no longer gettingtranslated in higher incomes —a clear breach of “social con-tract” espoused by advocates ofliberal economics.

Moreover, the generationof economic value from low-cost unpaid labour each time auser turns on their device andaccesses computer-mediatednetworks raises additionalquestions about who ultimate-ly benefits from this new formof digital capital.

Big tech companies havedumped an enormous amountof wealth into the laps of asmall cohort of investors andincredibly talented workers —leaving much of the workforcebehind, perhaps believing thata majority of them will be con-tent streaming video contenton an extraordinarily powerfulmobile device.

There is no denying atrend, where a disproportion-ately high amount of wealthgenerated by higher produc-tivity primarily through tech-nological advancement is goingdirectly to the owners of thesetechnologies.

The significant conse-quence of this can be seenwhere wages, in general, are nolonger playing the pivotal redis-tributive role that it has his-torically played so far. This hasresulted in the rise of a newsocio-economic class usuallyemployed in platform-basedcompanies like Amazon, Uber,Flipkart, or Snapdeal.

A majority of peoplebelonging to this class are inse-curely employed as a part-time employee with zero hourcontract. Due to their precar-ious employment status, theynever feel financially secure toget themselves categorised asgainfully employed with full-time job security. As a result,paradoxically, despite growth inemployment opportunities, theactual figure of people cate-gorised under fully engagedwith the security of a perma-nent job has seen a disturbinglysouthward trend. Due to theemergence of this phenome-non, probably for the first timein the history, we are witness-ing an army of the workforcewho are overqualified to fulfillthe demands of low skill jobsavailable in these platformsbased companies.

Let us attempt to see thisentrenched paradox throughthe lens of one of these techgiants — Amazon. Amazon hassuccessfully delivered enor-mous wealth to a handful of itstop executives and sharehold-ers. From its reliance on tem-porary workers to its invest-ment in automation, Amazon’s

vision of labour is one thatseeks to shift its profits to anever smaller group.

A century ago, workersand unions waged hard-foughtbattles to end piecemeal workand grab reliable wages andsalaries. Today, Amazon iseroding this basic agreement,and moving backward to adopta 19th-century labour modelthat drives returns to the top atthe expense of the rest.

Economists Jason Furmanand Peter Orszag in their 2015study suggest that growingmonopoly power is allowing afew dominant firms to extractmore income than they wouldearn in a genuinely competitivemarket, and allowing them todistribute those returns to theirshareholders and top-levelemployees.

Every year in his letter toshareholders, Bezos includes acopy of the shareholder letterhe wrote in 1997, Amazon’sfirst year as a publicly tradedcompany. It’s often held up asan example of the clarity ofBezos’ vision even early on.“We believe that a fundamen-tal measure of our success willbe the shareholder value wecreate over the long term. Thisvalue will be a direct result ofour ability to extend and solid-ify our current market leader-ship position. The strongerour market leadership position,the more powerful our eco-nomic model,” it read.

Amazon has posted anannual profit for only 13 of thepast 21 years. Historically, it has

plowed profits right back intoR&D for robotics and imagerecognition. Besides, Amazonis integrated vertically acrossbusiness lines. In addition toselling stuff online, Amazonnow publishes books, extendscredit, sells online ads, designsclothes, and produces moviesand TV shows. It is also one ofthe world’s largest providers ofcloud storage and computingpower, renting server space toNetflix, Adobe, Airbnb, andNASA.

There’s no question that,nearly 20 years later, Bezos andhis company have established acompelling economic model,attained a market leadershipposition, and succeeded in cre-ating shareholder value. Whena company comes to monopo-lise a market — when it growsso big that it can threaten otherindustries just by entering them— it ceases to be merely a com-pany. It becomes an institutionso powerful that it can rule overpeople like a government. Thequestion now, however, is atwhat cost, and whether they’recreating value for anyone else,other than shareholders and toplevel employees.

An internet-based plat-form like Amazon presents auniquely troubling form ofprivate power. Unlike a tradi-tional monopoly whose powerstems from its control over theproduction and pricing of asingle good, a platform drawsits strength from its position asa kind of middleman, a brokerthat controls the relationship

with producers and consumersalike. Once a platform reachesa critical mass of consumers,producers, or both, thesegroups become vulnerable tothe platform’s control overstandards and policies.

Since the turn of the mil-lennium, firms and investorshave fallen in love with com-panies whose ability to replacehumans with technology hasenabled rapid growth and out-size profit margins. Those hugeprofits attract cheap capitaland render the rest of the sec-tor flaccid. Old-economy firmsand fledgling start-ups don’teven stand an outside chance oftasting success.

The result is a winner-takes-all economy, both forcompanies and for people.Society is bifurcating into thosewho are part of the innovationeconomy (lords) and thosewho aren’t (serfs). One greatidea backed by a group ofinvestors is capable of makinga twenty-something the darlingof venture capital, while thosewho are average or even justunlucky (most of us), have towork much harder to save forretirement.

Therefore, it’s high timepolicy experts got involved inmaking a list of prescriptions toaddress this paradox becausethe distortions created by techgiants are getting way too vis-ible and disturbing.

(The writer is an IRS officer. Views expressed are personal.)

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Agirl having entered her forties andyet not married, would naturallybe a concern for parents. One

such helpless father came asking theother day: “Sir, why has my daughter notbeen able to get married by now? Is hermarriage denied? If not, suggest someremedial measures that would facilitateher marriage. I am approaching 80 anddon’t know how long I will survive. Iwish to get her married before I leavethis world.”

Be assured your daughter’s marriageis not denied. Going by her astrologicalpointers, had she not wilfully evadedmarriage, she would have been marriedat least 10 years back. Bear in mind; anydelay in taking initiatives or grabbingopportunities in hand, you run out oftime. Consequently, you will be leftbehind in the run of life, which applies inyour daughter’s case.

“In God’s plan, if she was to get mar-ried ten years back, why did it not hap-pen? Can God’s will ever get compro-mised?” The old man countered.

Well, there is nothing like a God’splan. It’s always your self-made plan assettled by Karmic carryover from thepast, that you are not conscious about. If

we look at the way the existential order ismade out, unlike other species and exis-tences that are bound by a predefinednature, human beings enjoy the privilegeof having the freedom to make choices.But, if there is a choice, the probability ofits use and misuse remains equal. Andthere is nothing like a free lunch in life.One has to bear with the consequencesof good or bad choices made. This bindshuman beings to a cause-effect chain,which operates in a self-automatedmode. In this scheme of things, thereremains a cause behind every effect,which in turn, sets the premise on whichfuture events take off. Evidently, thecause-effect chain runs in succession,which could stretch on to the next life.This is what sets the premise of the ‘Lawsof Karma’. So, you become a beneficiaryor victim of your own Karma. There isno scope for any extra-terrestrial bodythat would be adjudicating our Karma,and selectively granting boons inresponse to your prayers.

The Karmic imprints carried overfrom the past set the ground on whichour new life takes off. These imprintsavailable in our memory as thought-seeds, carry the potential to bloom out

during the ongoing life, as and whencongenial ground becomes available.Here again, we have to exercise ourchoice and take the call — whether to letit happen, defer it for later times, or evendeny it. In this respect our habit tenden-cies play a major role, often playing atrickster. Let’s now look into astrologicalpointers to her habit tendencies.

She is born in Scorpio lagna, with itslord Mars posited in the 12th house.That makes out a stubborn person, whois vulnerable to becoming a victim of herown making. Mars conjunct Rahu makesher erratic, who may often fritter awayher energies towards unproductive ends.Mars also conjunct Uranus makes herself-willed. Mars again, ill-disposed off tomischievous Neptune points to the possi-bility of suffering from inferiority com-plex, who remains susceptible tounmindfully get into self-undoing acts.Mind signifying Moon occupies the fierysign Aries, again owned by Mars, whichmakes her impulsive, aggressive, intoler-ant, impatient, and domineering. Moonopposed to Mars and Uranus brings inmercurial temperamental, and makes hermoody, rash, argumentative, and eccen-tric. She may jump into action oninstinctive judgment without applyingproper forethought, more often detri-

mental to her interest. It is only when shelands into crisis that she applies hermind. Moon also placed adverse toSaturn brings in a negative mind-set,which makes her inhibitive by nature.Also, she would be habitually suspiciousand overcritical of others. That doesn’t lether take timely decisions, and so her ini-tiatives often get delayed. She also fails tograb the opportunities coming her waywithin time.

What further compounds her prob-lems is her swaggering ego, coming as itmay with the Sun placed adverse toJupiter. That narrows down her vision toself-defined beliefs and perceptions,often out of touch with ground realities.She would not be even open to exploreadvisories and counsel offered by elders.What further acts as a multiplier effect toher already inflated ego is her fixatedone-track mind, as would Saturn placedadverse to Mercury imply. It is still notlate if she begins appreciating living reali-ties.

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