in the name of facebook. i respect facebook but not ‘fakebook’,” she said. while banerjee saw...

20
A s West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday continued with her tirade against the Centre accus- ing it of “non-cooperation” in maintaining law and order in the riot-hit areas of the State, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) strongly countered her stating it was her Government that had, in fact, returned the additional 400 paramilitary BSF troops sent for deployment in the trouble-torn North 24 Parganas district. MHA sources also said that the Mamata dispensation was not even deploying its own security forces like the Eastern Frontier Rifles at its disposal and was instead blam- ing the Central Government. Holding a Press conference in Kolkata, Mamata announced setting up a judicial enquiry into the Basirhat-Baduria communal riots and said, “We have all the reports on who provoked the communal tension and will take strong action against those who did it after the judicial commission submits its reports”. The Chief Minister also announced that her Government would take action against two national TV chan- nels for showing “fake” videos and “fomenting trouble”. “Video clips of an incident in Comilla, Bangladesh and a Bhojpuri film were being shown as if these incidents had taken place in Bengal,” she alleged. “There is ‘Fakebook’ happening in the name of Facebook. I respect Facebook but not ‘Fakebook’,” she said. While Banerjee saw “for- eign hands having good rela- tions with the BJP” creating disturbance in border areas, she also alleged that the Centre is not cooperating even in the sit- uation of Darjeeling. However, MHA sources said four BSF companies (com- prising 100 jawans each) were sent to Basirhat and two days back, four additional companies were also dispatched, but these were returned by the West Bengal Government. In vio- lence-hit Darjeeling too, 11 companies of paramilitary per- sonnnel were sent by the Centre, including one company con- sisting of women. The Mamata Government, however, con- veyed to the home ministry that the all-woman company should be withdrawn, they said. In the meantime, one BJP worker was reportedly killed after clashes broke between BJP and TMC workers in North Dinajpur region of West Bengal. Report said that four other people were also injured in the incident. The clash happened during a BJP rally in Chopra. Cops and RAF were reported- ly rushed to the spot. However, no official confirmation was made by the police yet. Mamata’s statement came almost in tandem with the State police blocking the pas- sage of three saffron MPs who came as a part of the BJP del- egation to find facts on ground zero. The three MPs, Satpal Singh, OP Mathur and Meenakshi Lekhi, were arrest- ed at Michael Nagar in North 24 Parganas and released. Miles away in Kolkata another saffron brigade, this time a huge protest rally led by senior party leaders, were stopped from marching to Esplanade by the police. The leaders then led a deputation to State Governor KN Tripathi with an appeal of clamping Article 356 in Bengal. A fuming Lekhi said the State Government was stopping those who were trying to understand the situation for the sake of peace and allowing the riot mongers a free run in the disturbed zone. Meanwhile, the West Bengal BJP submitted a mem- orandum to the Governor demanding imposition of President’s Rule. In a related development, North 24 Parganas SP Bhaskar Mukherjee has been removed and C Sudharkar Rao has been posted in his place. D arjeeling was in fire once again on Saturday as three persons were killed in frontal battles between the police and the supporters of Gorkha Janmkukti Morcha (GJM) and Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF). One person, reportedly a supporter of GNLF was killed in police firing at Sonada town where angry agitators set a police outpost and a heritage toy train Railway Station on fire. As the Sonada news spread like wildfire, the battles ensued in Darjeeling proper where two other persons were killed when police allegedly opened fire at Chowk Bazar. As Darjeeling is burning again, the GJM said there is not question of dialogue with the Bengal Government. Army was promptly called out as intermittent skirmishes were reported till late in the evening, sources said. GJM and GNLF the two Turn to Page 4 T he Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday raided three Delhi farmhouses of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Misa Bharti and her husband Shailesh Kumar, and a firm linked to them in a money laun- dering case. ED sleuths also questioned Shailesh separately. The ED raids on premises of Misa came a day after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided establishments of her father and RJD chief Lalu Prasad and her brother and Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav in case of cor- ruption related to two IRCTC hotels in Ranchi and Puri. The farmhouses raided by ED are in Ghitorni, Bijwasan and Sainik Farms. The ED sleuths swooped on the farmhouses early morn- ing and according to informa- tion provided by the agency, the properties are linked to Misa, Shailesh and M/s Mishail Printers and Packers Private Limited. Two more premises are under the scanner of the agency and can be searched later, an ED official said. Till reports last came in, ED officials confirmed having seized various “incriminating” docu- ments, electronic devices, including mobile phones, dur- ing the raids. While Lalu and his kin have been alleging political witch-hunting by the BJP-led Government at the Centre, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi denied it. “There is no politics involved in the matter. The law will take its own course,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Hyderabad. The ED searches are con- nected to a money laundering probe being conducted by the agency based on a chargesheet filed by the Serious Frauds Investigation Office (SFIO) against two brothers, Surendra Kumar Jain and Virendra Jain among others who are alleged to have laundered several crores of rupees using shell companies. The Jain brothers were arrested by the ED under pro- visions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The duo dealt with M/s Mishail Printers and Packers Private Limited. Misa and her husband are alleged to have been Directors in this firm. Turn to Page 4 A fter a long chase in more than three States including Gujarat, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, the Delhi Police man- aged to arrest the main accused and two others in the aspiring air hostess murder case. On Saturday, the Delhi Police, in a joint operation with the Mumbai Police Crime Branch, claimed to have solved the murder. 21-year-old aspir- ing air hostess was brutally stabbed to death by her 25- year-old male friend near her house in full public view in East Delhi’s Mansarovar Park area on July 5. In the last 48 hours, 15 teams from the Delhi and Mumbai Police were chas- ing the main accused, Adil, alias Munne Khan, who killed Riya Gautam. On July 3, Adil came to Delhi from Aligarh. The next day, he met his two cousins, Junaid and a 17-year-old juvenile. Adil confessed that he was in a serious relationship with Riya Gautam for the past three years. However, for the past six months, Riya was allegedly ignoring Adil. Enraged, Adil, along with his cousins, hatched a plan to kill Riya. “On the day, Riya was stabbed near a photo studio in the Ram Nagar Extension area, Junaid and the juvenile went to Turn to Page 4 T he Union Health Ministry is likely to roll out a dental sealant programme in select Government schools in eight States where 12,500 students in the age group of 4-14 years will receive a protective layer on their teeth to prevent tooth decay. The project will be accomplished by the March- end next year. If it is success- ful, the programme will be extended to other States. The 40-year-old technolo- gy, widely prevalent in devel- oped countries and in the pri- vate dental healthcare sector in India, can cut cavities by 80 per cent for up to two years, and by 50 per cent for up to four years. Dental sealants, applied to first and second molars which are most vulnerable to dental caries during the childhood, are liquid plastic coatings that quickly harden in the depres- sions and grooves to form a shield on the teeth. As several children living in penury cannot afford the treatment that costs around 1,000 each molar sealing, the Ministry is pushing for a safe and painless cost-effective treatment to protect teeth of the students of Government schools. If successful, the pro- ject “Pit and Fissures” may become the part of the public health programme nationwide. “We have selected 12 med- ical colleges across the country. They have been asked to apply dental sealants on 50,000 molars,” said Dr Akriti Mehta, consultant of the National Oral Health Policy of the Ministry. PGIMER in Chandigarh, Faculty of Dentistry in KGMU in Lucknow, SCB Dental College in Cuttak in Odisha, Govt Dental College in Ahmedabad, Government Dental Colleges in Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Department of Dentistry in RIMS in Imphal have been assigned the job. Four medical colleges from Delhi — Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences, Department of Dentistry in Lady Hardinge Medical College, Department of Dentistry in VMMC in Safdarjung Hospital and CDER in AIIMS — have also been roped in for the purpose. Dr Naseem Shah, Prof of Dental Surgery in North Delhi Municipal Corporation Medical and Government Hospital and former chief of Dental Centre, AIIMS, said, “The pit and fissure technolo- gy is almost 40 years old and is regularly practiced in the devel- oped countries like the US. The idea is to apply them as soon as possible after teeth erupt and before decay can set in. Schools are the best way to reach out to children, especially those from low-income families.” Dr AK Chandana, Delhi- based dentist and member of the Dental Council of India, said untreated cavities can cause pain, infection, and prob- lems in eating, speaking, and learning process of children. Turn to Page 4 T he Delhi Government on Saturday inaugurated the free surgery scheme across a range of private hospitals for Delhi residents. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “We want to ensure that people, irrespective of their economic status, get best health and education facilities and this is a step in that direction.” The City Government has identified 48 private hospitals in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad and Noida under the scheme, where any patient, who is referred by any of the 24 Government hos- pitals in Delhi, can avail free treatment. 52 life-saving surgeries, including bypass, kidney, prostate, and thyroid have been spec- ified under the scheme. Detailed report on P4

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Page 1: in the name of Facebook. I respect Facebook but not ‘Fakebook’,” she said. While Banerjee saw “for-eign hands having good rela-tions with the BJP” creating disturbance in

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As West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee

on Saturday continued with hertirade against the Centre accus-ing it of “non-cooperation” inmaintaining law and order inthe riot-hit areas of the State,the Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) strongly countered herstating it was her Governmentthat had, in fact, returned theadditional 400 paramilitaryBSF troops sent for deploymentin the trouble-torn North 24Parganas district.

MHA sources also saidthat the Mamata dispensationwas not even deploying itsown security forces like theEastern Frontier Rifles at itsdisposal and was instead blam-ing the Central Government.

Holding a Press conferencein Kolkata, Mamata announcedsetting up a judicial enquiry intothe Basirhat-Baduria communalriots and said, “We have all thereports on who provoked thecommunal tension and willtake strong action against thosewho did it after the judicialcommission submits its reports”.

The Chief Minister alsoannounced that herGovernment would take actionagainst two national TV chan-nels for showing “fake” videosand “fomenting trouble”.“Video clips of an incident inComilla, Bangladesh and aBhojpuri film were being

shown as if these incidents hadtaken place in Bengal,” shealleged. “There is ‘Fakebook’happening in the name ofFacebook. I respect Facebookbut not ‘Fakebook’,” she said.

While Banerjee saw “for-eign hands having good rela-tions with the BJP” creatingdisturbance in border areas, shealso alleged that the Centre isnot cooperating even in the sit-uation of Darjeeling.

However, MHA sourcessaid four BSF companies (com-prising 100 jawans each) weresent to Basirhat and two daysback, four additional companieswere also dispatched, but thesewere returned by the WestBengal Government. In vio-lence-hit Darjeeling too, 11companies of paramilitary per-sonnnel were sent by the Centre,including one company con-sisting of women. The MamataGovernment, however, con-veyed to the home ministry thatthe all-woman company shouldbe withdrawn, they said.

In the meantime, one BJPworker was reportedly killedafter clashes broke betweenBJP and TMC workers in NorthDinajpur region of West Bengal.Report said that four otherpeople were also injured in theincident. The clash happenedduring a BJP rally in Chopra.

Cops and RAF were reported-ly rushed to the spot. However,no official confirmation wasmade by the police yet.

Mamata’s statement camealmost in tandem with theState police blocking the pas-sage of three saffron MPs whocame as a part of the BJP del-egation to find facts on groundzero. The three MPs, SatpalSingh, OP Mathur andMeenakshi Lekhi, were arrest-ed at Michael Nagar in North24 Parganas and released.

Miles away in Kolkataanother saffron brigade, thistime a huge protest rally led by

senior party leaders, werestopped from marching toEsplanade by the police. Theleaders then led a deputation toState Governor KN Tripathiwith an appeal of clampingArticle 356 in Bengal.

A fuming Lekhi said theState Government was stoppingthose who were trying tounderstand the situation for thesake of peace and allowing the

riot mongers a free run in thedisturbed zone.

Meanwhile, the WestBengal BJP submitted a mem-orandum to the Governordemanding imposition ofPresident’s Rule.

In a related development,North 24 Parganas SP BhaskarMukherjee has been removedand C Sudharkar Rao has beenposted in his place.

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Darjeeling was in fire onceagain on Saturday as three

persons were killed in frontalbattles between the police andthe supporters of GorkhaJanmkukti Morcha (GJM) andGorkha National LiberationFront (GNLF).

One person, reportedly asupporter of GNLF was killedin police firing at Sonada townwhere angry agitators set apolice outpost and a heritagetoy train Railway Station onfire. As the Sonada newsspread like wildfire, the battlesensued in Darjeeling properwhere two other persons werekilled when police allegedlyopened fire at Chowk Bazar.

As Darjeeling is burningagain, the GJM said there isnot question of dialogue withthe Bengal Government.

Army was promptly calledout as intermittent skirmisheswere reported till late in theevening, sources said.

GJM and GNLF the twoTurn to Page 4

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The Enforcement Directorate(ED) on Saturday raided

three Delhi farmhouses ofRashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MPMisa Bharti and her husbandShailesh Kumar, and a firmlinked to them in a money laun-dering case. ED sleuths alsoquestioned Shailesh separately.

The ED raids on premisesof Misa came a day after theCentral Bureau of Investigation(CBI) raided establishmentsof her father and RJD chief LaluPrasad and her brother andBihar’s Deputy Chief MinisterTejashwi Yadav in case of cor-ruption related to two IRCTChotels in Ranchi and Puri. Thefarmhouses raided by ED are inGhitorni, Bijwasan and SainikFarms.

The ED sleuths swoopedon the farmhouses early morn-ing and according to informa-tion provided by the agency, the

properties are linked to Misa,Shailesh and M/s MishailPrinters and Packers PrivateLimited. Two more premisesare under the scanner of theagency and can be searchedlater, an ED official said.

Till reports last came in, EDofficials confirmed having seizedvarious “incriminating” docu-ments, electronic devices,including mobile phones, dur-ing the raids. While Lalu and hiskin have been alleging politicalwitch-hunting by the BJP-ledGovernment at the Centre,Union Minister Mukhtar AbbasNaqvi denied it. “There is nopolitics involved in the matter.The law will take its own course,”he told reporters on the sidelinesof an event in Hyderabad.

The ED searches are con-nected to a money launderingprobe being conducted by theagency based on a chargesheetfiled by the Serious FraudsInvestigation Office (SFIO)against two brothers, SurendraKumar Jain and Virendra Jainamong others who are allegedto have laundered several croresof rupees using shell companies.

The Jain brothers werearrested by the ED under pro-visions of the Prevention ofMoney Laundering Act(PMLA). The duo dealt withM/s Mishail Printers andPackers Private Limited. Misaand her husband are alleged tohave been Directors in thisfirm.

Turn to Page 4

����������$��� .85��8"6(

After a long chase in morethan three States including

Gujarat, Maharashtra and UttarPradesh, the Delhi Police man-aged to arrest the main accusedand two others in the aspiringair hostess murder case.

On Saturday, the DelhiPolice, in a joint operation withthe Mumbai Police CrimeBranch, claimed to have solvedthe murder. 21-year-old aspir-ing air hostess was brutallystabbed to death by her 25-year-old male friend near her

house in full public view inEast Delhi’s Mansarovar Parkarea on July 5. In the last 48hours, 15 teams from the Delhiand Mumbai Police were chas-ing the main accused, Adil,alias Munne Khan, who killedRiya Gautam.

On July 3, Adil came to

Delhi from Aligarh. The nextday, he met his two cousins,Junaid and a 17-year-old juvenile.

Adil confessed that he wasin a serious relationship withRiya Gautam for the past threeyears. However, for the past sixmonths, Riya was allegedlyignoring Adil. Enraged, Adil,along with his cousins, hatcheda plan to kill Riya.

“On the day, Riya wasstabbed near a photo studio inthe Ram Nagar Extension area,Junaid and the juvenile went to

Turn to Page 4

���������#$��� .85��8"6(

The Union Health Ministryis likely to roll out a dental

sealant programme in selectGovernment schools in eightStates where 12,500 students inthe age group of 4-14 years willreceive a protective layer ontheir teeth to prevent toothdecay. The project will beaccomplished by the March-end next year. If it is success-ful, the programme will beextended to other States.

The 40-year-old technolo-gy, widely prevalent in devel-oped countries and in the pri-vate dental healthcare sector inIndia, can cut cavities by 80 percent for up to two years, and by50 per cent for up to four years.

Dental sealants, applied tofirst and second molars whichare most vulnerable to dentalcaries during the childhood, are

liquid plastic coatings thatquickly harden in the depres-sions and grooves to form ashield on the teeth.

As several children livingin penury cannot afford thetreatment that costs around�1,000 each molar sealing, theMinistry is pushing for a safeand painless cost-effectivetreatment to protect teeth of thestudents of Governmentschools. If successful, the pro-ject “Pit and Fissures” maybecome the part of the publichealth programme nationwide.

“We have selected 12 med-

ical colleges across the country.They have been asked to applydental sealants on 50,000molars,” said Dr Akriti Mehta,consultant of the National OralHealth Policy of the Ministry.

PGIMER in Chandigarh,Faculty of Dentistry in KGMUin Lucknow, SCB DentalCollege in Cuttak in Odisha,Govt Dental College inAhmedabad, GovernmentDental Colleges in Chennai,Bangalore, Hyderabad, andDepartment of Dentistry inRIMS in Imphal have beenassigned the job.

Four medical colleges fromDelhi — Maulana AzadInstitute of Dental Sciences,Department of Dentistry inLady Hardinge MedicalCollege, Department ofDentistry in VMMC inSafdarjung Hospital and CDERin AIIMS — have also beenroped in for the purpose.

Dr Naseem Shah, Prof ofDental Surgery in North DelhiMunicipal CorporationMedical and GovernmentHospital and former chief ofDental Centre, AIIMS, said,“The pit and fissure technolo-

gy is almost 40 years old and isregularly practiced in the devel-oped countries like the US. Theidea is to apply them as soon aspossible after teeth erupt andbefore decay can set in. Schoolsare the best way to reach out tochildren, especially those fromlow-income families.”

Dr AK Chandana, Delhi-based dentist and member ofthe Dental Council of India,said untreated cavities cancause pain, infection, and prob-lems in eating, speaking, andlearning process of children.

Turn to Page 4

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The Delhi Government on Saturday inaugurated the freesurgery scheme across a range of private hospitals for Delhi

residents. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal said, “We want to ensure that people, irrespective of theireconomic status, get best health and education facilities and thisis a step in that direction.”

The City Government has identified 48 private hospitals inDelhi, Gurugram, Faridabad and Noida under the scheme, whereany patient, who is referred by any of the 24 Government hos-pitals in Delhi, can avail free treatment. 52 life-saving surgeries,including bypass, kidney, prostate, and thyroid have been spec-ified under the scheme. Detailed report on P4

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Page 2: in the name of Facebook. I respect Facebook but not ‘Fakebook’,” she said. While Banerjee saw “for-eign hands having good rela-tions with the BJP” creating disturbance in

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Just because it is Paresh Rawal andTanvi Azmi trying to be funny inLondon does not mean you do not

get angry with their lame efforts.Rawal has been carrying the weightof comedy on his lone shoulders witha lot of courage and determinationbut in Guest Iin London he crossesthe line.

Well, to be straightforward, thisfilm is one big fart. Come on guys, farthumour, besides being embarrassing,is also the oldest trick in the world totry and make the audience laughwhen there is nothing else to do so.

In Guest Iin London, the loudbanging in your face farts far outdo thedialogues. They are explosive soundsemerging out of Rawal’s backside withdeliberate intent and so openly to pushthe humour that you feel like plugginghis butt as well as his effort!

Really, there is nothing else to writeabout this un-funny film which gets atad interesting when it gets serious andthat’s at the end when all is lost and theaudience are sick of all the gas floatingaround them!

Doesn’t London have a law against such gaseous obscenity inpublic domain? Rawal would bewondering!

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For now, he has refused the seat andthe suit to be part of future Avengermissions and, in that sense, it is the

true homecoming of this radioactive goodboy who has been fighting his callownessand schoolchild impatience to be part ofsomething big, like Iron Man and CaptainAmerica. Not that this makes the filmbereft of action — there’s plenty of thosedizzying shots of tall towers in New Yorkby the night being surmounted by ourbeloved web swinging hero Spidey.

Yes, in this one, he is not Toby Maguire.Neither is he Andrew Garfiled. But, as TomHolland, he is the same old Peter Parker withthe same old becomingness, the same oldaspirational youth quotient and the same old“I am there to clean up the world” mission.

Only, after being dropped home by IronMan after the Civil War mission, with apromise that an Avengers call will come hisway soon for the next mega project, hebecomes much too impatient making hisphone a treatise of reminders, requests andappeals — only to wait endlessly.

In that “endless” interregnum, he has hisplate full and keeps the fans engagednevertheless. From fighting off ATM robberswith demonic weapons and intentions, tohanging in there by the whisker of his webtrying to join a vertically split ship with peopleon board, Spidey is busy saving people.

That’s when he is not in hot pursuit ofVulture, a mega dinosaur-ish black wingedswooper who wants to rule the world of crime,selling alien weapons to high-crimedesperadoes and also harbouring the ultimate

intention to hijack the weaponry on-board theswishest Avenger bird you may have seen inflight.

The chase, the foils and the counterfoilsare full of action that will engage you till theend, but the best thing about this sixthedition of Spiderman who has never reallybeen part of the Avengers team is thatdirector Jon Watts tells you beautifully andconvincingly that Spidey is our solo hero fornow who might return as an Avenger in nearfuture.

His journey to get over that “I want tobe an Avenger” obsession is what this filmis all about. Along the way, it weaves ineverything that makes for awesome cinema,what with emotions sparring with action ina harmonious blend of a heady cocktail.

Michael Keaton, who plays the Vulturewith evil intentions, is no unidimensional.“I will kill you what may” kind of a villain.You hate him but not always with all yourheart. He is someone you feel is ready for areform but just doesn’t know it still. So thereis a vestige of sympathy for him even as heliterally tries to tear our Spidey apart.

As for Holland, whose face you see moreoften than you saw Maguire or Garfield’s, hasthe right mix of vulnerability and steel in himto be an adolescent super being. At school,he is a science genius muttering awayequations at the drop of a mask even whilebeing bullied as “Penis Parker” even thoughhe is the sports teacher’s favourite andsomething of an endearing enigma for thetallest and the most beautiful girl in class.

Yes the laconic Robert Downey Jr comesin with his one-liners and raised eyebrow act,and Gweneth Paltrow makes a legend of ablink-and-go role, but the film has stayingpower despite the bigger legends. And that’swhat the right spirit of any Spiderman showis — and should be.

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�Was it a conscious decision to go bald for TenaliRama?

Yes, it was. For an actor, it is quite a bold decisionto go bald for an infinite serial as we actors loveourselves and are a little narcissisticabout looks. The producers had putthe condition that whoever getsselected would have to go bald. Todo something like this for a serialis different from movies as shootingfor the latter goes on only for threeto four months. But you have noidea how long a serial will goon.

�How much do yourelate to thecharacter?

In real life, I amvery different fromTenali Rama. I am aloner type of a person. I don’t party and haveonly a few friends. Tenali Rama is fun lovingand mischievous. He is philosophical too andthat’s how I connect with him. I love readingphilosophical books and thinking about otherthings.

�How did you get into the shoes of thecharacter?

I didn’t have to do much because thewriting team has made my work easier bywriting the scenes well. If the script is writtenwell, acting automatically comes naturally.It didn’t require me to do research work.Honestly, I was not a great actor before thisbut now things are turning in my favourand I am surprising myself in every scene.

�What was the most difficult thing foryou to do?

To be happy and energetic all the time.When we do comedy, it’s very important tobe in a happy mode. Moreover as Tenali, Iwould be jumping all around and doingsomething mischievous. This requires me tobe on my toes.

�What kind of comedy do we get to seein the show?

All kinds. The characterisation is funny.Tenali Rama’s character has not been playedthe way it has been written for this show.For me, Tenali Rama is like Lord Krishnawho was naughty and mischievous yetphilosophical and would help people outof difficult situations. Tenali is the same. Sothe old Tenali Rama was funny but this oneis way funnier.

�This is the first time you are working ina historical show...

The sets and the costumes are different butthe situations and characterisations are similarto what we get to see in comedy serials. Earlier,while working with Hats Off Production inPia Basanti Re, RK Laxman Ki Duniya, Sukh

By Chance and Jasuben Jayantilal Ki Joint Family, they wouldemphasise on detailed characterisation. This makes it easierfor me to play this character because Tenali is not an out-an-out hero. He is a character who comes out of every situationas a hero.

�How is your relationship with co-stars?It is a fun atmosphere with everyone from Manav Gohil

(plays King Krishnadevrai) to Pankaj Berry (Tathacharya).Pankaj and I improvise a lot. Our relationship is

like Tom and Jerry. Irrespective of shooting13-14 hours a day, miles away from

home, we have a good time with eachother.

� You are making acomeback after four

years. What kept youbusy?

I was not gettingwork. Even after giving

back-to-back auditions andmeeting people, nothing was

falling my way. Finally, I got thisshow and I am really happy. I wasbusy writing a Gujarati film whichI shot and played the main lead in.

�Are TV stars taken for granted because they arescared of running out of work?

That’s true! You don’t need actors in TV, you justneed good looking confident people who can

memorise and deliver lines on-screen. This is a badscenario, especially when it comes to male actors. They

don’t have anything to do on TV.

�How progressive are shows these days?I don’t think shows are getting progressive. They pick up

a regressive subject or issue and say they will break the mouldwith a progressive outlook. But somewhere in the name

of TRPs, the makers twist the story and show so muchsuffering that it doesn’t bode well. It is very

confusing. They are actually not progressive. Peoplewatch TV to see people suffer more than they do.

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It is a difficult venture to knit a racythriller around a rape incident andeven more difficult to not belittle

the victim’s plight in the process ofplaying to the gallery by taking the lawinto your hands.

But this “justice-denied” rape andvengeance drama is both sensitive andracy, flitting deftly between action andemotion without letting down either —and never ever, not even once, strayingfrom the rape survivor’s unenviableplight and fight with life from behinddrawn curtains, silent sobs, skinscratching midnight showers andconstant fear after the incident.

And, Sridevi, back after a long gapsince making waves as a determined yetgentle housewife in English Vinglish, is thereason why this almost similar rapemovie does not plummet down RaveenaTandon’s Maatr way but holds you on tothe edge-of-your-seat till the very end ofa 2.5 hour drama.

Besides Sridevi giving a performanceof her life and one she would love to loveherself for, and looking coolly gorgeousin Manish Malhotra’s ensembles, the filmis full of constantly chilling remindersabout what our society has come to,particularly our Capital Delhi — withoutbeing preachy but still being subtly stark.

First time director Ravi Udyawar,artist, illustrator, painter, ad-film-makerand the man behind India’s firstunderwater video in Mohit Chauhan’sDooba-dooba song, has given a stunningperformance as the helm star of thissensitive film on a sensitive subject.

The crime that curdles your blood isnever shown as in-your-face violence.Instead the ploy of “hints” is used as amore potent weapon that makes youcringe with even more ferocity.

The eerie aerial shots of the blackSUV in which an 18-year-old girl is beinggangraped while the vehicle is traversing

isolated stretches of Delhi (with thepotent prop of AR Rahman’s chillingmusic in the background) is perhaps thebest shot of the film which is otherwisedominated by the close-ups of a make-up shorn Sridevi who makes magic withher explosively implosive histrionics.

At another level, the film throws upthe tension of awkward relationships withas much verve as it does the happinessand solidness of a happy one.

While a silent Sridevi battles her badknots with step-daughter Arya, endlesslywaiting for the day when she would growup to like and accept her, her husband(Adnan Siddiqui) shares a rare father-daughter bond with the same daughter(Sajal Ali). Ali, the girl who is gangraped,does a beautiful tightrope walk betweennever really breaking up and always beingon the verge of it. Her big, silent eyes doall the talking, convey all the traumawithout many words being thrown at you.

Other characters, like detective DK,played by an ugly looking NawazuddinSiddiqui are well-fleshed out too but itwould have worked equally well hadNawaz not been given those awfulprosthetics.

As a detective, a father and a sensitivehuman being, he does his job of helpingSridevi well. Same goes for AkshayeKhanna who is in the habit of walking in

and out of Bollywood. In Mom, he playsthe no-nonsense cop who picks up thecriminals but is so much in the know ofhow rape battles pan out that he is notoverly moved when Arya’s tormentorswalk free despite all the evidence beingon the court table.

The rapists are the right profile ofrapists — a cocaine snorting musclejunkie with a lot of money and no ropesto tie him down to goodness, a schoolboywho knows no law, a compulsive history-sheeter as an aide and a security guardwho has no qualms.

On the whole, despite the filmfighting the ultimate pitfall of the leadcharacter taking the law into her hands,holds you through the proceedings witheverything in place —the star actor, theagonising crime, the wanton perpetrators,a failed justice and enforcement system,a normal but yet not normal family, acrime and a punishment.

This one is a movie to go to, and learnfrom, even though it is fixated on the darkside of our society and is far, far awayfrom a box-office smasher mould. Sinceit is about the worst crime of our society— rape — it would be politically incorrectto call it a thriller, but it does compel youto be with it and feel guilty about evenwanting to munch popcorn while Sridevideals with a mom’s worst nightmare.

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Page 3: in the name of Facebook. I respect Facebook but not ‘Fakebook’,” she said. While Banerjee saw “for-eign hands having good rela-tions with the BJP” creating disturbance in

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Page 4: in the name of Facebook. I respect Facebook but not ‘Fakebook’,” she said. While Banerjee saw “for-eign hands having good rela-tions with the BJP” creating disturbance in

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The prime accused in thekilling of Muslim youth

Junaid Khan onboard aMathura-bound train was onSaturday arrested from Dhuledistrict of Maharashtra, policesaid.

The killing on June 22 hadtriggered a nationwide outrage.

A statement released by theGovernment Railway Police(GRP) said that a team was sentto Dhule following on a tip-offthat the accused was hidingthere.

He was arrested and wouldbe produced before a court on

Sunday, it said. The name of theaccused was not given in thestatement.

“We have arrested a personfrom Maharashtra,” SP, GRP,Kamaldeep Goyal said. He wasnabbed from Sakri in Dhule, hesaid.

The GRP claimed in thestatement that during interro-gation, the accused had “con-fessed” to having killed 17-year-old Junaid Khan.

“The identity of theaccused was not disclosedkeeping in mind the legalprocess,” the statement said.

Police had earlier arrestedfive persons, including a DelhiGovernment employee in con-nection with the killing ofJunaid between Ballabgarh andMathura stations.

Junaid was stabbed todeath while his brothers,Hashim and Sakir, were injuredby a mob which also allegedlyhurled communal slurs againstthem.

His brothers said theattackers had taunted andrepeatedly called them “anti-nationals” and “beef eaters”.

A reward of �2 lakh hadalso been announced for infor-mation on identity of thoseinvolved in the killing.

Junaid was stabbed todeath when he, along with hisbrothers, was returning hometo Khandawli village inBallabgarh after shopping forEid in Delhi.

The youth’s body wasdumped close to Asaoti villagein Faridabad district.

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The Delhi Police has tight-ened security in the popu-

lar Hauz Khas Village (HKV)following intelligence inputsabout possible targeting of for-eign visitors by terror outfits.

Restaurateurs, however,alleged that these measureswere aimed at harassing themand harming their business.They have alleged that thoughthey were allowed to run theirrestaurants till 1 am, police

personnel start coming in at 11pm and pester them to shutdown.

They even claimed policewere mulling banning ladies’nights in pubs and bars atHKV, a charge denied bypolice. The South DistrictPolice have stepped up securi-ty at Hauz Khas Village in viewof recent incidents of terrorattacks on foreign tourists invarious European countries,Deputy Commissioner ofPolice Ishwar Singh said.

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Delhi Government officiallyinaugurated the free

surgery scheme across a rangeof private hospitals for the cit-izens of Delhi. Praising theschemes of the Aam AadmiParty (AAP) Government inthe education and health sector,Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwalsaid that the city Governmentis dedicated to do revolutionarywork in the field of healthcareand education in order to facil-itate both the poor and rich. Hewas speaking at the TalkatoraStadium on Saturday.

Kejriwal along with DeputyChief Minister Manish Sisodiaand Health Minister SatyenderJain were present during theinauguration workshop whichwas primarily organised to cre-ate awareness about the par-ticular health scheme amongthe doctors and officials ofDelhi Government hospitals.

Terming the move historic,the Chief Minister said that thecity Government’s decision torevamp education and health inDelhi has started yielding goodresults and the recently declared

CBSE results of Class X and XIIare the outcome of the effortstaken by his Government.

“I inspected about 50 hos-pitals across the city andenquired about the services

being offered to the patient. Ifound that 90 to 95 per centpatients were satisfied withthe services and this is a greatchange. But we found that oneof the three schemes we

launched was not even knownto doctors. They were notinformed that patients can bereferred to private hospitals incase of long waiting list forsurgery so we decided toorganise workshop,” he said.

He said, we (Government)have initiated several steps toimprove health and educationin two years and now it is bear-ing the fruits.

“Some people advised us tofund the Government hospitalto improve the functioninginstead spending huge moneyon treatment of residents butthe fact is that it will take yearsto build infrastructure of thehospitals till then the tempo-rary treatment facility is beingprovided so that no one has towait for surgeries for long,”Kejriwal added.

He further said that theGovernment has also decidedto provide free medicines inhospitals and the stock wouldbe monitored every 15 days.

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Delhi BJP president ManojTiwari on Saturday said

that the alternative health ser-vices announced through bigadvertisements in variousnewspapers by Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind KejriwalGovernment is only an attemptto divert the attention of thepeople from the cases of cor-ruption against the presentGovernment.

“Presenting last three bud-gets Kejriwal Government haddeclared to increase 50 percent in the budget allocationsfor the health services andclaimed for providing all themedicines free of cost besidesmaking all its hospitals, superspecialty hospitals like theAIIMS,” said Tiwari.

“Now the Kejriwal

Government has completedabout half of its term and thisdeception of providing healthservices through the private hos-pitals is complete admission of itsfailure to provide health servicesto the people,” he added.

“After fraud by PWD andHealth Minister Satyender Jain,it seems that this scheme toprovide health services throughthe private hospitals will benew opportunity for corrup-tion,” he said further.

Vijender Gupta, Leader of

Opposition (LOP) in DelhiAssembly said, “The announce-ment made by the AAP clear-ly indicates that thisGovernment has neither nego-tiated nor made any agreementwith the empanelled hospitalsand diagnostic centers.

“The private hospitals havecommercial rates for surgicaltreatments and it is not feasiblefor any Government to pay atsuch rates. In such situation theGovernment must tell howthey will arrange for the treat-

ment of the people,” the LOPsaid while addressing the mediaat Delhi BJP headquarters.

Mentioning about theAAP’s manifesto, the BJP leaderasked, “What happened to itspromises made in the mani-festo for establishing 900 newprimary health centers, addi-tion of 30,000 beds in theGovernment hospitals, includ-ing 4,000 beds for maternitycenters and providing five bedsof international standards per1,000 people?”

“Kejriwal Government haslost creditability in case ofhealth services just like in theother services provided by theGovernment and this decep-tion of private hospital treat-ment is just like the promise ofMohalla Clinics, Swine Flu &Dengue clinics and free med-icines,” he said.

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New Delhi: Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal visited theConstruction and DemolitionWaste (C and D) processingfacility at Shastri Park, EastDelhi on Saturday and urgedpeople to come forward toachieve Swachchh Bharat mis-sion. He directed East DelhiMunicipal Corporation(EDMC) officials to put in theirbest to prevent vector-bornediseases and water logging.

The L-G also said that theEDMC must explore the possi-bility of enhancing the capacityof the Shastri Park C and D plantas well as the Ghazipur waste toenergy plant and assured all sup-port from his side for the same.

Governor also visited manyareas, including Gandhi Nagar,Geeta Colony, IP Extension

and Keshav Kunj to review thesanitation situation. “He wasinformed that EDMC is per-forming a difficult job in oneof the most densely populatedpockets in India with resourceconstraints,” said a statement.

EDMC CommissionerMohanjeet Singh informed theL-G that the Public PrivatePartnership (PPP) project isrun by ‘Infrastructure Leasingand Financial Services’.

“The latest wet processingtechnology used in the plant hasbeen adopted to suit the C&Dwaste generated in India afterlearning the lessons learnt whileoperating a similar facility atBurari in North Delhi. The wetprocess minimises processresidues as well as dust and noisepollution,” he said. ��

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New Delhi: Punjab ChiefMinister Amarinder Singh onSaturday alleged that his pre-decessor Parkash Singh Badalwas behind the “unwarranted”police firing in Faridkot duringanti-sacrilege protests in 2015 inwhich two persons were killed.

He said an inquiry com-mission set up to probe the fir-ing incident will prove his charge.

“How can a superintendentof police order firing? He wasclearly instructed to do so,”Singh said at a function organ-ised by SAD (Delhi).

He said the Akali rule wit-nessed 183 such incidents, ofwhich 121 remained unsolved.13 sacrilege incidents “havebeen reported since theCongress government took over,of which 12 have been solved”.

Two persons were killedallegedly in police firing whenviolent protests had erupted inFaridkot district over the sac-rilege of Guru Granth Sahib inOctober 2015. The Justice ZoraSingh Commission of Inquiryhad held the police firing atBehbal Kalan as “absolutelyunwarranted”.

The Punjab CM allegedthat the Akalis used “religion tofurther their political objec-tives” and their governmentruined the state’s economy andcreated communal problems.

He claimed that the previ-ous SAD-BJP Government reg-istered more than “one lakhfake cases” against innocentpeople. As many as 28 caseshad been registered against aboy in Ajnala.

Singh said the false casesregistered during the Badal rulewere also a matter of concernand a commission set up by hisGovernment to probe thesewould identify the culprits andbring them to book. ���

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Five passengers on-board anIndiGo coach at the airport

here sustained minor injuriesafter a window shattered,allegedly due to a jet blastfrom a SpiceJet plane approach-ing a parking bay.

However, SpiceJet said itwas too early to say if the inci-dent last evening was caused byjet blast from its aircraft or anyother reason.

Police have registered anFIR and would look at who wasat fault, a Delhi Police officersaid.

The incident happenedwhen the IndiGo bus wasparked for boarding of pas-sengers on the f light toMumbai, an IndiGo spokesper-son said.

The front window of thebus broke due to a jet blastfrom a SpiceJet plane that was

making its way to a parking baynearby, the spokespersonadded. Five passengers receivedminor injuries and were rushedto the airport clinic.

A jet blast is high velocityair released by the exhaust of aplane’s engine. The matter isbeing probed by aviationwatchdog Directorate Generalof Civil Aviation (DGCA),sources have confirmed.

“IndiGo Coach number 34was parked at Bay 17 at 16:50hours for boarding of passen-gers on flight 6E-191 enrouteDelhi-Mumbai. At the sametime, an arriving aircraft ofSpiceJet SG-253 took a turn topark at the allocated bay. Thejet blast from the aircraft brokethe right front window glass ofthe coach,” IndiGo said in astatement.

The airline added that twoof the injured passengers decid-ed to continue their journeyafter receiving medical aid.

SpiceJet, however, said itsplane was “following ATCinstructions and taxiing afterlanding at Delhi”.

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From Page 1recce the area. Apart from

that, they were keeping an eyeon the victim’s movements. OnJuly 5 evening, Adil calledRiya to meet him. They had aheated argument when sheasked him to return back themobile phone she had gifted tohim. Refusing to do so, Adilslapped her and started stab-bing her. In a bid to save her-self, Riya went inside the photostudio where Adil followedher and stabbed her eighttimes till the locals startedgathering.

All this while, Junaid andthe juvenile were standingclose to the studio lane. Afterkilling Riya, they all walked tillthe Shahdara railway station.From there, they boarded anauto to the Anand Vihar ISBT.From here they took a bus to

Aligarh. They switched off their

phones 2 kilometres after thebus was en route to Aligarh,they got down and took anoth-er bus to Mathura.

Finally, they boarded atrain and reached Mumbai. Allthis while, our team which waskeeping surveillance on theirtechnical movement combinedwith human intelligence got atip-off that Adil may havegone to hide at one of his rel-atives house in Mumbai,” saida senior police officer privy tothe investigation.

Simultaneously, teamsunder ACP (Seemapuri)Hareshwar Swami and ACP(Shahdara) Vichitr Veer whowere in touch with the familyand relatives of Adil in Aligarhgot to know about his exactwhereabouts.

Late on Friday night, theteams nabbed the three fromBandra East.

Police said that the accusedhave been brought to Delhi.While Junaid has been sent tojudicial custody, Adil has beenkept in police custody and thejuvenile has been sent to cor-rectional home.

Police added that they haverecovered the mobile phone ofthe victim. Nupur Prasad,Deputy Commissioner ofPolice (Shahdara) said,“Throughout the case, all theteams from Shahdara districtwere working on the murdercase.”

While Khan, the mainaccused, is a resident of Delhi’sNew Modern colony inShahdara, the two othersbelong to Aligarh in UttarPradesh.

From Page 1“Studies have shown that

these sealants cut down cavitiesby 80 per cent for up to twoyears, and by 50 per cent for upto four years. Kids withoutthem have almost three timesmore cavities than those whohave sealant,” he said.

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Six men were assaulted byunidentified men in outer

Delhi’s Baba Hari Dass Nagar forcarrying buffalo calves in pick-up trucks. The victims were AliJaan (40), his two sons, Shokeen(26) and Dilashan (22), hisbrother, Salim, and two others,Saif Ali (15) and Kaala (32).They belong to Uttar Pradesh.

According to DeputyCommissioner of Police(Outer) MN Tiwari, Shokeen,who was driving one of thevehicles told police that he hadloaded 17 buffalo calves fromMaham in Haryana and wasgoing to Ghazipur to deliverthem to buffalo market with hisbrother and other relatives.

At about 8 pm when theyreached Gitanjali Enclave inBaba Hari Dass Nagar, three tofour people stopped their vehi-cle and got into an argument.

Some others also arrivedthere and opened the rear doorof Shokeen’s vehicle and fiveothers that were behind them,due to which the buffalo calvesstarted running away, addedthe officer.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Saturday pressed

upon his British counterpartTheresa May to ensure UK’scooperation to bring back eco-nomic offenders, amidst Indiaworking hard for the return offugitive liquor baron VijayMallya and former IPL chiefLalit Modi.

Mallya has been in the UKfor months, escaping arrest war-rants against him, while a courtin London is also hearing a caseregarding his return to India.

Modi on Saturday met Mayduring a bilateral meeting onthe sidelines of the G20Summit here and sought UK’shelp in this regard.

Both leaders also talkedabout the complete range ofIndia-UK ties.

In a tweet after the meet-ing, External Affairs MinistrySpokesperson Gopal Baglaysaid the Prime Minister askedfor UK’s “cooperation forreturn of escaped Indian eco-nomic offenders”.

Asked whether India seek-ing cooperation from the UK

was limited to Mallya or whetherLalit Modi was also mentioned,Baglay told reporters, “I don’twant to get into the specifics butthe phrase used in the tweet isescaped economic offendersand it is plural.”

“These are the brief dis-cussions at such forums whereleaders mostly touch uponthese top priority matters,” hetold reporters here.

Baglay refused to com-ment directly on any questionrelated to Mallya. Mallya, whois wanted in India forKingfisher Airlines’ default on

loans worth nearly �9,000crore, has been in the UKsince March 2016.

In April, he had attended acentral London police stationfor his arrest and was releasedon conditional bail a few hourslater after providing a bailbond worth 650,000 pounds,assuring the court of abiding byall conditions associated withextradition proceedings, suchas the surrender of his passportand a ban on him possessingany travel documents.

Lalit Modi, the formerchief of Indian Premier League

(IPL), is wanted by the Indianauthorities with respect to amoney laundering probe andhe is said to be in the UK.

The former cricket admin-istrator has maintained that hehas not done any wrong in anyof the IPL deals.

The EnforcementDirectorate had registered amoney laundering case againstLalit Modi and others based ona Chennai police complaint in2012 on charges of alleged cheat-ing of BCCI-IPL in grantingoverseas telecast rights of the T-20 cricket tournament in 2009.

India and the UK have anExtradition Treaty, signed in1992, but so far only one extra-dition has taken place underthe arrangement — SamirbhaiVinubhai Patel, who was sentback to India last October toface trial in connection with hisinvolvement in the post-Godhra riots of 2002.

“Prime Ministers @naren-dramodi and @theresa_maymet and held talks on thecomplete range of India-UKties,” India’s PMO said in atweet.

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Page 5: in the name of Facebook. I respect Facebook but not ‘Fakebook’,” she said. While Banerjee saw “for-eign hands having good rela-tions with the BJP” creating disturbance in

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The Defence AcquisitionCouncil (DAC) chaired by

Defence Minister Arun Jaitleyon Saturday cleared two upgra-dation and procurement pro-jects worth over �2,800 crore.These include equippingarmour fighting vehicles(BMP) used by infantry withnight fighting capabilities andOrdnance Factory, Medak willundertake the deal worth over�2,400 crore. The same facto-ry will also manufacture com-mand and control posts fordirecting artillery fire and thedeal is �406 crores.

Giving details of the twoprojects falling under the cat-egory of Buy India category,Defence Ministry officials saidafter the DAC meeting that theMedak factory in Telanganawill provide upgrade whichwill render the armour fightingvehicles (BMP) complete nightfighting capable and achievebetter accuracy. The cost of theproject is �2,400 crore.

These vehicles ferryinfantry troops into the battle-field and protect them fromenemy fire. At present, theArmy has more than 2,750BMPs made in collaborationwith Russia. The armouredcarriers fitted with mediummachine guns can accommo-

date at least 11 soldiers includ-ing three crew members.

The DAC, which is theapex body for clearing allacquisition proposals of thearmed forces, also gave the goahead for carrier commandposts on tracked vehicles fortechnical control of artilleryfire, officials said.

The Medak factory willmanufacture the commandposts equipped with latestcommunication systems andcomputers to enable the com-mander to effectively directfire at targets. The posts willalso have unmanned aerialvehicles (UAV) to assist thecommander to gather preciseinformation about the battle-field scenario in real time,sources said.

These command posts willgive a boost to the Army’sartillery modernisation plan. Itaims to procure 2,800 to 3,000artillery guns including 814

truck mounted guns, 1,580towed guns, 100 tracked self-propelled gun, 180 wheeledself-propelled guns and 145ultra-light howitzers.

In fact, the Army acquiredthe first lot of howitzers in Maythis year after a gap of morethan 31 years when artillerymodernisation plan came to astandstill in the wake of Boforsgun controversy. The first twopieces of M-777 howitzersmanufactured in the US arrivedin India in May and are nowundergoing field trials inRajasthan. The contract forthe howitzers is over 737 mil-lion dollars.

While the Army will buy25 guns off the shelf, theremaining howitzers will beassembled at a Mahindra fac-tory in India. The entire lot of145 guns to be used in fightingwars in mountains especiallyagainst China will be inductedby the end of 2021.

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Unable to acquire any arti-fact in the last two decades

from private collectors, doubt-ing their authenticity, theNational Museum hasembarked on an excavationmission on its own for the firsttime in its history. It has alreadyexcavated artifacts of pre-Harappan era dating back to7,000 BC from Kunal site inFatehabad in Haryana.Normally, excavation is thedomain of the ArcheologicalSurvey of India (ASI).

“Of course, excavation ispurely the mandate of the ASIfrom which we have been loan-ing the excavated artifacts foryears. However, since we hadnot acquired any antiquity orartifact for the more than twodecades because of variousreasons, originality being themajor one, we have decided toundertake excavation andexhibit the excavated items atour museum itself ” said BRMani, DG National Museum.

The museum which wasinaugurated way back in 1949at present holds approximate-ly 2, 06,534 objects of a diversenature including the rarest ofthe rare variety, from across thecountry as well as abroad, andits holdings cover a time span

of more than five thousandyears of Indian cultural her-itage.

Mani, an archeologist, whohad retired as Additional

Director General of the ASIbefore joining the NationalMuseum, said that hearths, pot-teries, beads, copper rings andother remains excavated from

the site reveal presence of pre-Harappan civilization at Kunal.

A bunker type structurehas also been found at the sitewhich shows that Neolithic

settlement had also existed,signaling continuity of the cul-ture, said Mani who as ADG inthe ASI had successfully ledvarious excavation across thecountry and in some othernations as well.

The artifacts and antiqui-ties recovered from the site hasbeen sent to various labs forcarbon dating to estimate theirage. Soon, the NationalMuseum will start secondphase of excavation at the siteitself at the Kunal villagewhich came in limelight in the1980s and 1990s followingexcavations by theArchaeological Survey of India

(ASI) and the Directorate ofArchaeology & Museums,Haryana.

According to an ASI reportof 2014 which is based on C-14 dating done at the BirbalSahni Institute of Palaeobotanyin Lucknow, the largest andoldest sites of the Harappancivilization were both located inHaryana; the oldest being atBhirana village, also inFatehabad district, dated to7,570-6,200 BC, and the largestbeing Rakhigarhi, a villageclose to Bhirana, spread over400 hectares, nearly doublethe size of Mohenjo Daro inPakistan.

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In view of the tense situationat the Sikkim border and

ongoing diplomatic posturing,the Chinese Government hasissued an advisory to its citizenstravelling to India, asking themto take necessary precautionsfor their personal safety.

In its advisory posted onthe Chinese Embassy in NewDelhi website in Mandarin,the Chinese Government hasasked the Chinese travellers topay close attention to the localsecurity situation, improve self-protection awareness, strength-en security, reduce unnecessarytravel, pay attention to personaland property safety as well asto provide advance informationto their family and friends.

“The Chinese travellersshould pay attention to the sit-uation, keep the communica-tion open, carry personal iden-tification, strictly abide by theIndian laws and regulationsand respect local religious cus-

toms,” the advisory said whileproviding phone numbers of theconsular section of the Embassyfor emergency situations.

Interestingly, despite regu-lar stand-offs at its borders withChina, Chinese citizens havenever faced any problem inIndia nor have they been a vic-tim of any anti-China senti-ments. Compared to this twoChinese citizens were killed inPakistan recently, a countrywith which China has goodfriendship.

Meanwhile, the Chinese

embassy has clarified that it hasnot denied visa to the IndiaFoundation scholars and thedelegation visit is as per sched-ule.

“As far as I know, all sevenmembers of India Foundationdelegation to visit China gottheir visas in time. None of thevisa application was denied.The delegation will visit Chinaas scheduled. The Chinese sidealways welcomes and supports

the exchanges of think tanksbetween China and India. It isnot true that the source of IndiaFoundation claims that ‘two ofits junior research memberswere denied visas and the visitto China of the delegation hasbeen canceled’,” spokespersonof Chinese Embassy in India,Counselor Xie Liyan, clarified.

India Foundation mem-bers on Friday said that two ofits junior research members

were denied visa by theChinese embassy. Followingthis BJP General Secretarytweeted: “I was not in the del-egation. It was supposed to bean academic delegation. Afterthe denial of visa to tworesearchers, Foundation calledoff the visit.” Madhav holds aChinese visa till Novemberthis year. The delegation was tovisit Fudan University inShanghai next week.

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With child custody battlestranscending national

boundaries creating immensemental stress on children, ChiefJustice of India JS Khehar onSaturday underlined the needfor India to have a law to dealwith such cases.

With India yetnot a signatory tothe 1980 HagueConvention on CivilAspects ofInternational ChildAbduction, the CJIsaid, “India should decide to bea signatory to the HagueConvention of 1980…becausechild rights are vital and theyare in a flux.”

The Convention, whichhas been signed by 95 coun-tries, protect the rights of chil-dren against being “removed”from one country to another bywarring spouses to illegallywin custody of the child.

Addressing the legal sce-nario in India with regard tothe Hague Convention andChild Custody matters at aseminar here organised by theInternational Law Association,Justice Khehar said, “Whenmatrimonial disputes change tochild-custody battle, the childconcerned is in a serious stress.

When it transcends nationalboundaries, the welfare of thechild suffers. The legal battlegets entangled in sovereignlaws of the nations.”

He felt the question togrant custody in a trans-bordercustody case is a cultural ques-tion involving the ways of lifeand customs to which the child

is accustomed to.” His concern was

shared by his brotherjudge in the SupremeCourt Justice AK Sikri.Highlighting the need tobring a law on this issue,

Justice Sikri said, “It is not easyto decide the custody of achild. It becomes more difficultwhen we have to decide whilegranting custody and one of theparent is abroad. The visitationright granted to that parentabroad will be difficult.”

The CJI also favoured for-eign lawyers practicing inIndian courts and allayed fearsof Indian lawyers over theissue of allowing their foreigncounterparts to set feet here. “”Ifeel that Indian lawyers are noless than any lawyer in theworld. If we have any appre-hension that somebody willcome from abroad and snatchour profession and substituteus, I don’t think it’s going to belike that,” CJI said.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi is likely to address a

meeting of NDA MPs on July16, a daybefore voting in thepresidential election.

NDA’s presidential candi-date Ram Nath Kovind mayattend the meeting, BJP sourcessaid on Saturday.

Kovind has been on a tourof the States meeting MPs andMLAs who are supporting hispresidential bid, and maydecide to interact with theNDA MPs a day before the vot-ing for the top constitutionalpost, they said.

The Monsoon Session ofParliament starts from July 17,the day of the election.Proceedings in both the Houseswill be adjourned for a day dueto death of sitting members.

The BJP ParliamentaryParty executive will also meeton July 16 and it will be fol-lowed by a meeting of NDAleaders.

The sources said an all-party meeting may also beheld on the same day.

Kovind, who was inMadhya Pradesh on Saturday,will travel to Chhattisgarh onSunday and be accompanied byFinance Minister Arun Jaitleyand BJP general secretary ArunSingh during his meetings withsupporting MPs and MLAs.

He will be in Gujarat onJuly 11, when BJP chief AmitShah will also be there He willaccompanied by BJP generalsecretary Bhupender Yadav,the sources said.

He will be in Jharkhand onJuly 12 and in HimachalPradesh and Rajasthan on July13.

BJP sources said they areconfident that Kovind will getover two-thirds votes in hiscontest against the Oppositioncandidate Meira Kumar.

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The Congress on Saturdaysaid it seemed as if only

the BJP and its coalition part-ners were clean and all otherstainted.

Senior Congress leaderKapil Sibal said raids carriedout by investigative agencieslike CBI and ED have only tar-geted Opposition leaders.

But he deflected a questionon the investigating agencyraiding RJD chief Lalu Prasadand his family members, say-ing he did not have the details.“As far as raids and allegationsare concerned, I can’t say till Ihave complete informationabout them. But I want to askone small question for thisGovernment,” the formerUnion Minister said, a dayafter the searches.

“There are manyOpposition leaders andOpposition Governments in

India and there is not a singlesuch State and leader where theCBI has not raided and the EDnot sent its notices. Whereeverthere are the ruling partyGovernments, be it at the Centreor States, the CBI has not raid-ed anywhere. So it seems the BJPpeople and their coalition part-ners only are clean and we all aretainted. We will feel good if theGovernment gives an answer to

this question,” he addedSibal also asked Prime

Minister Narendra Modi tomake a statement on why Indiawas “eyeball to eyeball” withChina after swinging withPresident Xi Jinping inSabarmati.

He said the situation on theborder with China “was veryserious” and the Governmentmust spell out its policy on how

to defuse the tension. “Theseare very sensitive and veryserious issues. Who is in power- the present BJP is in power.It is for that Government to tellus what they wish to do; weonly know that from the‘jhoola’ at Sabarmati to the pre-sent situation there is a big gap- from swinging to being eye-ball to eyeball,” he said.

“Now it is for the primeminister to make a statementwhich he has not made so faras to why this has happenedand what the country needs todo,” Sibal said.

On GST, he said it was‘goodbye to simple tax’ and nota ‘good and simple tax’ asdescribed by the prime minis-ter. He said it was good for thegovernment and bad for thecommon man. The advent ofthe GST had hit business hard,and small and medium tradersacross the country were facingharassment, he alleged.

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Amassive rally to protestagainst imposition of GST

and alleged police highhand-edness was organised by textiletraders in Surat on Saturday.

The rally was attended bythousands of traders and thosewho are associated with thrivingtextile industry of South Gujarat’scommercial capital Surat. Theyshouted slogans against imposi-tion of GST and baton chargesof police last week in which sometraders got injured. Some of thetraders also took off their shirtsand were seen parading halfnaked in the rally.

Traders showed theirprotest by wearing black scarfaround their neck and blackribbon on their shoulders. Therally was joined in by HiteshSanklecha, a textile trader whohas been on an indefinitehunger strike since Monday toprotest against police lath-

icharge on traders and GST.According to the traders

despite their repeated repre-sentation in Gandhinagar aswell as New Delhi, their prob-

lems were ignored and eventu-ally GST implemented. RulingBJP on its part trying hard topacify the agitation as early aspossible as Union Minister of

State Mansukh Mandavia heldmeeting with the traders onFriday. He, however, couldn’tsucceed in his purpose fully butsome traders seemed to be con-tended following his assuranceto take the demand of tradersfor one year moratorium onstrict implementation of thenew tax regime to GST council.

It is worth mentioning thatSurat is one of the biggest tex-tile hubs in the country. Apartfrom silk and cotton mills, Suratis the biggest centre of man-made fibre in India. There areover 41000 power-loom andnearly 400 dyeing and printingunits in and around the city withthe overall annual turnover ofmore than five billion rupees.

Around 1,000 cloth whole-salers are active in the city whoare doing business across theglobe. The city produces 10mil-lion meters of fabric annuallywhich accounts for 60 per centof the country’s total production.

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The Goa Congress’ officialWhatsapp media group was

caught in a tizzy on Saturday,after a porn-clip posted by a for-mer office-bearer and part-time media photographer, wasposted on the group.

After journalists expressedtheir ire on the group’s adminand Congress chief spokesper-son Sunil Kawthankar, expelledthe member from the group‘Chief Spokesperson GPCC’and apologised to the 80 oddjournalists, who are membersof the official Congress group.

“This is very serious. Thenumber has been removedfrom this group. As an admin,I apologise to all the membersfor this act of one of the mem-bers. Such irresponsible act ishighly objectionable and can-not be tolerated under any cir-cumstances whomsoever hemay be,” Kawthankar said onthe group, after expellingBarnabe Sapeco, a former gen-eral secretary of the party, whohad allegedly uploaded theporn clip.

Kawthankar, however, said,that Sapeco had not beenadded to the WhatsApp mediagroup, in capacity as a partymember, but as a photo-jour-nalist. When contacted, Sapecotold The Pioneer, that the pornclip could have been posed byaccident.

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Page 6: in the name of Facebook. I respect Facebook but not ‘Fakebook’,” she said. While Banerjee saw “for-eign hands having good rela-tions with the BJP” creating disturbance in

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Andhra Pradesh Government decided toappoint a 'Task Force with Experts' to review

present higher education system in the State. ChiefMinister Chandrababu Naidu wishes to revive pre-sent higher education system in toto and he wantsto evolve Modern Higher Education models in thisworld of Disruptive Technologies which in revolv-ing mode every year.

Naidu proposed a stress-free Higher EducationSystem in the State as he wanted to transform “APas a Central Point to ‘Knowledge based Economicactivities’” in the country. Recently, he held a brain-storming session on ‘Global Education:Transforming AP as Knowledge Hub’ with allGovernment and Private Universities' Headsalong with State's Higher Education officers andEducation Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao. Researchshould be placed in the fields by every student apartfrom performing education, Naidu said andinformed that 'Learning-Earning' model of HigherEducation will be started in the State very soon.

Assess advance technologies very in advanceand prepare curriculum and train students accord-ingly, he suggested to vice-chancellors and expertsparticipated in the brainstorming session. 'Fouryear Higher Education for Forty Years of Life isthe theme of the reforms proposed.

Principle Secretary Aditya Nath said, “Our CMwants parents should reform themselves fromMBBS, Engineering mania and students shall havein a state of freedom to select knowledge basedcourses for a better career and employment.”

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Unnerved by the CBI raids atthe official residence of

Rabri Devi and Lalu Prasad andfiling of FIR against his DeputyTejashwi Prasad Yadav, ChiefMinister Nitish Kumar, who isrecuperating in famous touristspot Rajgir, undertook a tour ofthe beautiful lake called GhoraKatora on Saturday where hewent riding a horse driven car-riage and spent over two hoursenjoying the serene beauty ofthe nature and the ducks play-ing in water. The administra-tion cleansed the entire area andthe route evicting everybodyfrom there before the CM’s visit.

There was no official wordthough it is expected thatNitish will return to the Statecapital on Sunday. He is camp-ing in Rajgir, 100 km away inhis home district Nalanda sinceThursday afternoon.

A day after the CBI search

and interrogation of Rabri Deviand Tejashwi, the RJD supremowas closeted with party leadersand legal advisers. The familywas obviously very disturbed onraids by EnforcementDirectorate at the farmhouse ofMisa Bharti and interrogation ofher husband Shailesh in Delhi.

The silence of Nitish overthese developments has causedmurmur and uncertainty in themaha gathbandhan even though

Congress came out in Lalu’ssupport and its Bihar leaders vis-ited him to show their solidar-ity. Bihar Congress president andEducation Minister AshokChoudhary and CLP leaderSadanand Singh called on Laluand accused BJP and PrimeMinister for witch hunting. Butno leader of JD(U) uttered a sin-gle word and party’s spokesmenobserved a stony silence.

Inside the 10, CircularRoad spacious bungalow thereLalu family lives, the leaderspondered over the hauntingquestion of the fate of Tejashwi.Some of them were of theopinion that he should notresign only on the basis of theFIR. The legal advisers claimedthat the case was 11 years oldand Tejashwi was then only aminor so the FIR naming himwas invalid. Lalu told them thatthe development would notaffect the alliance and it wouldremain intact and solid.

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Dr Jeyarani Kamaraj, a lead-ing gynaecologist in Tamil

Nadu has become the first Indianwoman doctor to be elevated asan advisory committee memberof the World Association ofSexual Health (WAS), a consul-tant body to World HealthOrganisation. Dr Jeyarani waselected to the high power bodyin the general council meeting ofthe WAS held recently at Prague,the capital city of CzechRepublic.

The honour comes alongwith the revised moto of WASwhich states that “sexual wellbeing is a human right”. DrJeyarani joins a select group ofmedical doctors from all over the globe working for sex-ual health throughout the worldby developing and supportingsexology and sexual rights for all.

“Though there were namesof eight women doctors in thepanel, Dr Jeyarani’s profes-sional qualifications, herresearch papers and achieve-ments in her area of speciali-sation made the world body topick her up for the prestigiouspost,” said a WAS member.

“WAS has declared HumanRights and Sexual Health as itstheme and we will be working in

this direction,” said Dr Jeyarani.She also announced the launch-ing of E-Alert, a news magazineto help women facing sexualproblems and issues.

Chennai is hosting FERTI-CON-2017, a two-day seminaron fertility and high risk preg-nancy for the benefit of medicaldoctors working in the area.Doctors and scientists workingin the field of IVF would sharetheir experiences and findingswith Indian specialists during theseminar, said Dr Jeyarani.

“We are engaged in spread-ing the concept of IVF, a cost-ly exercise as on today. Ourimmediate mission is to makethis process available andaffordable to all sections of thesociety. Doctors at the PrimaryHealth Centres across the coun-try should be able to performthe IVF like any other kind oftreatment,” said Dr Jeyarani.

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Newly appointed StateCongress president

Shantaram Naik on Saturdaymade it clear that the Congress,under his leadership, was notkeen on toppling the ruling BJP-led coalition alliance and thatChief Minister ManoharParrikar’s dispensation wouldfall on its own.

"As far as formation ofGovernment is concerned, Ihave said that we are not goingto pull down any Government,but if the Government collapsesand I think it will collapse verysoon, then we will not shirkfrom responsibility of formingGovernment," Naik told at aPress conference at the StateCongress headquarters onSaturday.

Naik, who is a sitting RajyaSabha MP, took over from hispredecessor Luizinho Faleiro onFriday, following his formalappointment by Congress pres-ident Sonia Gandhi. His appoint-ment as State Congress chiefcomes in wake of opposition toFaleiro's leadership by a sectionof the party's senior leadership,especially MLAs. Naik, howev-er, said that he would work toaddress any dissent in the party.

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Ajawan of the TerritorialArmy currently on leave

and his wife were both killedwhile three children receivedsplinter injuries in a fresh flareup of hostilities along the lineof control in Poonch earlySaturday morning.

The family of the deceasedsoldier identified as ShowketAli was breaking bread sittingtogether inside their kitchenwhen one of the mortar shellpunctured their kitchen topbefore exploding.

Upping the ante India wentahead and lodged strong protestwith Pakistan over death of twoIndian civilians in ceasefire vio-lations by its troops. PakistanForeign Office had earlierreleased a statement over thesummoning of Indian DeputyHigh Commissioner over allegedceasefire violations across LoC.

Indian Foreign Office alsoclarified that the ceasefire vio-lations were initiated by Paktroops in Poonch andKrishnaghatti sectors today

and the Indian forces onlyresponded appropriately.

A strong protest was alsolodged over the death of twoIndian civilians in Saturday'sceasefire violations by Pakistantroops.

According to groundreports Pakistan Army violat-ed ceasefire agreement by tar-geting forward Indian postsand civilian areas in Gulpur,Poonch around 6.30 am.

As Indian Army startedretaliating strongly and effec-tively Pakistan Army furtherintensified shelling on the civil-ian pockets using 120 mmmortars. Several civilian hous-es and one middle school build-ing in Faqirdarra was hit bymortar shells triggering panic inthe area.The firing continuedfor over five hours in the areaand stopped around 12.00 pm.

The Territorial Armyjawan posted in Palma area ofRajouri was on leave thesedays. His house was locatedclose to the line of controlopposite Pakistan's forwardpost. His wife identified as

Safia Bi succumbed due to herfatal injuries before reachinghospital while three minorchildren, including daughter ofone of their neighbour wasrushed to the district hospitalin Poonch by the local policeamid heavy mortar shelling.

In strong retaliatory fireIndian Army is learnt to haveinflicted heavy damages on

the Pakistan side of the line ofcontrol.

A Jammu based DefenceSpokesperson said, "ThePakistani army initiated unpro-voked and indiscriminate firingfrom small arms, automaticweapons and mortars onIndian Army posts along theLine of Control (LoC) inPoonch sector from 0630

hours. The Indian troops retal-iated effectively, DefenceSpokesman added.

There have been 23 inci-dents of ceasefire violation, anattack by Pakistan special forcesteam and two infiltration bidsin June, in which four peopleincluding three jawans werekilled and 12 were injured.

On June 29, two IndianArmy jawans were injuredwhen the Pakistani troops firedfrom small arms and shelledmortars on forward posts andcivilian areas along the LoC inPoonch district.

Even on Eid-ul Fitr onJune 26, the Pakistani Armyfired small arms and automat-ic weapons and shelled mortarsalong the LoC in the BhimbherGali sector of a Rajouri.

On June 22, a Pakistanispecial forces team sneakedacross the LoC into Poonchunder cover of heavy fire andkilled two jawans — 34-year-old Naik Jadhav Sandip ofAurangabad and 24-year-oldSepoy Mane Savan Balku ofKolhapur.

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In a ghastly road accident 12 pil-grims sustained grievous injuries

when a mini van in which they weretravelling fell into valley leading toTirumala from Alipiri, Sri VariPaadalu. Three persons' condition isvery serious who were joined by cotourists in Tirumala AshwiniHospital.

The accident took place onSaturday evening on the ghat roadwhen the driver lost control over thespeeding vehicle which fell into adeep gorge after hitting the parapetwall.

After knowing about accident,Chief Minister Nara Chandra BabuNaidu immediately spoke to ChittoreCollector Pradyumna and directed him to give full medical support to victims of accident.

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The legal process in the SupremeCourt pertaining to the famous

Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple inThiruvananthapuram, Kerala is set toget further complicated as the erst-while royal family of Travancore,once the custodian of the shrine, isdetermined to oppose any move toopen and examine the second of thesix temple cellars that hold invaluabletreasures.

Members of the former royalfamily are saying that they will notallow the opening of Cellar B, secondof the six vaults at the temple, perhapsthe richest Hindu shrine in the world.According to them such a step isagainst the will of the deity of the cen-turies-old shrine. They also term aswrong the argument that Cellar B hadbeen opened many times in the past.

“We are unhappy about this. Wewon’t allow the opening of the vault.It cannot be opened without the per-mission of the royalty,” Aswathy

Thirunnal Gauri Lakshmi Bayi, one ofthe senior-most members of the erst-while royal family told the media. Shesaid the communities of priests andscholars were also against the move toopen the cellar.

SC had last week said that CellarB of the temple should be opened afterconsultations with the royal family forassessing and documenting the trea-sures. It had observed that this wouldnot hurt anybody’s sentiments thoughthe royalty’s counsel objected to theidea of opening the vault saying thatit would be against belief.

A committee appointed by the

apex court had examined the other fivevaults at the temple in 2011 and CellarA, said to be as important to the shrineas Cellar B, was found to hold gold, sil-ver, precious stones, ancient coins, etcwhose material value alone couldcome to over �125,000 crore.

Cellar B could not be opened andits contents could not be assessed anddocumented at that time due to theobjections raised by the members ofthe former royal family. The family’sobjections to the vault’s opening isnot based on any issues related totemple rituals but they are saying thatsuch a step could make the deityunhappy and lead to undesirabledevelopments.

A Devaprasnam, astrologicalexamination, held at the temple inAugust, 2011 in connection with thishad concluded that death and destruc-tion could visit upon anybody whotried to open Cellar B and his relatives.It also predicted that those whotouched Cellar B could die of poisonconsumption or snake bite.

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At least 30 of the 47 legislators ofthe ruling Naga Peoples’ Front

(NPF) are reportedly camping at aresort near Kaziranga national park inAssam since Saturday morning to helpformer Nagaland Chief Minister TRZeliang to return to power replacingDr Shurhozelie Liezietsu, who becamethe State’s Chief Minister only fourmonths back.

Sources in Nagalandsaid that the develop-ment to the game plan ofLok Sabha memberNeiphiu Rio, who is alsoa former CM. The sourcesaid Rio and his bitter rival TRZeliang had patched up. Rio hasremained cornered in the NPF forlong for his alleged anti-party activi-ties.

“About 30 Ministers and MLAs ofNagaland have checked in at around3 am today (Saturday). There are alsoothers. They have booked around 30rooms,” a staff of the resort “Borgos”told The Pioneer on Saturday.

TR Zeliang had been the ChiefMinister till last week of February this

year. He was, however, forced toresign in the wake of violent protests,staged by tribal organisations, againstquota for women in civic elections.

The development unfolded evenas Liezietsu, the chief of NPF, is gear-ing up to contest the July 29 by-elec-tions from Northern Angami-I seat inState capital Kohima. He is not anelected member of the Assembly andhas to win the polls to be able to con-

tinue in office.Last month, his son Khriehu

had resigned from the Assemblyto make way for the father.Liezietsu returned the favourslater by appointing Khriehu asadvisor to him with pay, perks

and facilities that of a CabinetMinister.

The Liezietsu senior had won the2003 and 2008 elections from the seatbut in 2013, he opted out for Khriehu,who went on to win the election.

With 47 MLAs in the now 59-member House following Khriehu’sresignation, the NPF calls the shots inruling Democratic Alliance ofNagaland (DAN). The four BJP MLAsand eight Independents are giving sup-port to DAN.

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Twenty four years after being named forforwarding logistic support to an accused

of serial blasts which rocked India’s finan-cial capital in 1993, Qadeer Ahmed ofBijnore was arrested by a joint team of Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) of Gujarat and UttarPradesh. The accused was netted fromAhmed’s home in Bijnore on Saturdaymorning.

Interestingly, Ahmed, accused of smug-gling arms and ammunition used in the 1993serial blasts in Mumbai was said to be liv-ing a normal life with his family for over adecade in his native village but soon afterpicking him up, the ATS claimed it to be a‘major breakthrough’.

“TADA accused Qadeer Ahmed (a res-ident of Najibabad in Bijnore) allegedlyplayed an important role in smugglingarms and ammunition supplied by TigerMemon (one of the prime suspects in the1993 Mumbai serial blasts) in Jamnagar,Gujarat, which were later used in theMumbai blasts,” a UP ATS official said inLucknow on Saturday.

IG, ATS, Aseem Arun, said that thearrest was made by UP Police in a joint oper-ation with Gujarat counterparts and Ahmedwas arrested from Bijnore’s Najijabad area.

Ahmed will be produced before a mag-istrate and taken to Gujarat on a transitremand.

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Three soldiers, including ajunior officer, were injured

when terrorists attacked an Armycamp in north Kashmir as entireKashmir Valley observed a com-plete shutdown on the first deathanniversary of Hizbul Mujahideenleader Burhan Wani.

The authorities imposed cur-few in several sensitive localities incapital Srinagar and Burhan’snative town of Tral in southKashmir. The separatists groupsincluding United Jehad Councilhad called for a daylong shutdownto commemorate the anniver-sary. They have also issued a cal-endar of activities until July 13 thatincluded a march towards Tral onSaturday to assemble at Burhan’sgrave. However, the authoritiesfoiled all attempts by the people tomarch towards the area.

Burhan Wani was killed in anencounter with police and secu-rity forces on July 8 last year along-with two associates. The killingtriggered an unprecedented pub-lic uprising that continued formore than five months. Theauthorities used force to quell theuprising resulting to death of

around 90 protesters and by-standers and injuries to thousandsof protesters and security person-nel.

The day almost passed offpeacefully barring half a dozenincidents of stone pelting andclashes between young protestersand security forces in variousareas across Kashmir. At least 15persons were reported injuredduring clashes in Shopian, Langate(north Kashmir), Tral and fewplaces in Srinagar city.

Sources said at least eightwomen were wounded whensecurity forces fired pellet guns inShopian area. The action wascarried out to stop the “pro-Burhan Jehadi anthem” beingplayed in a local mosque. Oneinjured lady has been referred toSrinagar hospital.

Posters and graffiti exaltingBurhan Wani and also SyedSalahuddin and Syed Ali Geelanicame up in some parts of Srinagar,Anantnag and Kulgam areas insouth Kashmir.

The heavy deployment ofpolice and security forces in Tral,other south Kashmir areas withreports of Army flag march insouth Kashmir’s Pulwama townand also in all sensitive areas inSrinagar, foiled the proposedmarch to Tral. No major untowardincident was reported from anypart of the Valley.

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Page 7: in the name of Facebook. I respect Facebook but not ‘Fakebook’,” she said. While Banerjee saw “for-eign hands having good rela-tions with the BJP” creating disturbance in

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G20 leaders including USPresident Donald Trump

have reached a compromise onthe wording of a final summitstatement on trade but remainat odds on climate change,according to an EU source onSaturday.

On trade they will committo fighting protectionism butwill also allow “legitimate”

measures to protect their mar-kets, the source said on the finalday of the talks in Germany.

The outcome represents acompromise with Trump whowants to do more to protectdomestic companies from for-eign competition through his“America First” policy.

However, on climatechange, negotiators remain atloggerheads following Trump’sdecision to withdraw the US

from the 2015 Paris climateaccord, the source said.

The sticking point in thecommunique is about fossilfuels — blamed for globalwarming — with the US sidewanting to be able to continueto export and promote their use.

“The idea now is to find agood balance of language — itwill be discussed this morning,”the source said on condition ofanonymity.

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G20 summit on Saturday, theUnited States was representedby another Trump, when thepresident’s daughter Ivankatook a seat at the table ofworld leaders.

The 35-year-old formerfashion model sat around thetable with Xi Jinping, RecepTayyip Erdogan, Angela Merkeland Theresa May, diplomatsand the White House con-firmed.

The incident fuelled long-standing allegations of nepo-tism against the US leader,who has put family members intop White House positions.

A White House officialtold AFP that Ivanka had beenat the back of the room but“briefly joined the main tablewhen the president had to stepout.”

That occurred when “thepresident of the World Bank

started talking as the topicinvolved areas such as Africandevelopment — areas that willbenefit from the facility justannounced by the WorldBank.”

The official emphasisedthat “when other leadersstepped out, their seats werealso briefly filled by others.”

But Trump’s already vocif-erous detractors were enraged.

Historian AnneApplebaum took to Twitter todenounce what she described“an unelected, unqualified,unprepared New York socialite”being seen as “the best personto represent American nation-al interests.”

Earlier, in the day, Trumpwaxed lyrical about his daugh-ter before a bevy of worldleaders, gathered to boost afund to encourage femaleentrepreneurs.

“I’m very proud of my

daughter, Ivanka — alwayshave been, from day one — Ihad to tell you that, from dayone.”

“She’s always been great,”he said. “A champion. She’s achampion.”

Trump then prompted

some nervous laughter whenhe mused about whether hehad made her life more diffi-cult. AFP

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Hamburg: Donald Trumppressed Russian counterpartVladimir Putin on Saturday onallegations of Russian meddlingin the 2016 US election in theireagerly-awaited first face-to-face talks, according to USSecretary of State Rex Tillerson.

“The president opened themeeting with President Putin byraising the concerns of theAmerican people regardingRussian interference in the 2016election,” Tillerson told reportersafter the meeting on the sidelinesof the G20 in Germany.

“They had a very robustand lengthy exchange on thesubject. The president pressedPresident Putin on more thanone occasion regarding Russianinvolvement. President Putindenied such involvement, as Ithink he has done in the past,”Tillerson told reporters.

Tillerson, who was present

at the marathon two-and-a-quarter-hour meeting inHamburg, said also that the twoleaders “connected very quick-ly” at their talks on the sidelinesof the G20 summit.

“There was a very clearpositive chemistry between thetwo,” Tillerson told reporters.

“There are so many issueson the table... Just about every-thing got touched upon...Neither one of them wanted tostop,” he said.

“I believe they even sent inthe (US) First Lady at one pointto see if she could get us out ofthere, but that didn’t workeither... We did another hour.Clearly she failed!”

Tillerson’s counterpart,Russian Foreign MinisterSergei Lavrov, said separatelythat Trump “accepted” Putin’sdenials of any involvement inthe US election. AFP

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Hamburg: Prime MinisterNarendra Modi met hisJapanese counterpart ShinzoAbe on the sidelines of the G20Summit and reviewed progressin bilateral ties as the twonations geared up for theMalabar naval exercise amidChina’s growing militaryassertiveness in the disputedSouth and East China seas.

The meeting between thetwo leaders comes monthsafter the two nations inked acivil nuclear cooperation agreement.

“The two leaders brieflyreviewed progress in bilateralrelations, including in impor-tant projects, since their lastmeeting in Japan during PrimeMinister’s visit in November2016,” a statement said.

Prime Minister Modi alsoexpressed satisfaction at devel-

opments in bilateral relationssince then.

“The Prime Minister saidthat he looked forward toPrime Minister Abe’s forth-coming visit to India for thenext Annual Summit andhoped that it would furtherstrengthen their cooperation,”the statement added.

The Malabar naval exerciseinvolving Indian, Americanand Japanese navies will kickstart on July 10 in the Bay ofBengal.

A sizeable number of air-craft, naval ships and nuclearsubmarines of the navies of thethree countries will be part ofthe annual exercise, considereda major war game in the region.

The exercise is taking placein the backdrop of a major mil-itary standoff between armiesof India and China in the

Sikkim section and Beijingramping up its naval presencein the South China Sea.

There are disputes betweenChina, Japan, and South Koreaover the extent of their respec-tive exclusive economic zonesin the East China Sea.

The aim of the Malabarexercise is to achieve deepermilitary ties and greater inter-operability among the navies ofIndia, Japan and the US in thestrategically-important Indo-Pacific region.

India and the US have reg-ularly conducted the annualexercise since 1992.

Beijing has been suspi-cious about the purpose ofMalabar exercises as it feels thatthe annual war game is aneffort to contain its influence inthe Indo-Pacific region.

PTI

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Hamburg: US President Donald Trump said on Saturday his con-troversial state visit to Britain will go ahead, adding that he washoping for a “very powerful” trade deal with London “very, veryquickly”.

At a meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May at theG20 summit in Germany, Trump said they would have “tremen-dous talks” and reach “a very powerful deal” on trade “very, veryquickly.”

Any negotiations for such an accord would further drive awedge between Britain and the European Union which haswarned London against striking any separate agreement beforeits divorce from the bloc was complete. AFP

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Iraqi authorities will immi-nently announce a final vic-

tory in the battle to recaptureMosul from the Islamic Stategroup, a US general said onSaturday.

“An announcement isimminent,” Brigadier GeneralRobert Sofge told AFP byphone from Baghdad.

“I don’t want to speculateif it’s today or tomorrow but Ithink it’s going to be verysoon,” he added.

The jihadists that remainin Mosul are fighting to thedeath in a tiny area of just twoblocks of the Old City next tothe Tigris River, Sofge said,and those that remain are“desperate.”

Some are trying to blend inwith fleeing civilians by shav-ing their beards and changingtheir clothes, others are play-ing dead then detonatingexplosive vests as Iraqi securi-ty forces come close. WomenIS fighters have blown them-selves up amid throngs of dis-placed civilians.

“They are doing as muchdamage as they can during

these final moves,” Sofge said.The battle for Mosul first

began on October 16, 2016and the fight has seemed togrow exponentially tougher asUS-backed Iraqi securityforces closed in on the centerof the city.

Slowing the advancetoward the final holdouts, IShave placed countless boobytraps and bombs in practicallyevery structure they occupied.

“The enemy has strungIEDs all over the place, inevery place, in every closet, inone case under a crib,” Sofgesaid. A final victory in Mosulwould mark an epic milestonefor the Iraqi security forces,who had crumbled in the faceof an IS onslaught across Iraqin 2014.

“They deserve every bit ofa celebration and pride andsense of accomplishment thata military force can feel,” Sofgesaid, offering a “congratulationsin advance in a great battle.”

“This fight in Mosul is notlike anything modern mili-taries have done in our lifetime. You have to go back toWorld War II to find anythingthat’s even close.”

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Hamburg, Germany: The UnitedStates and Russia struck an agree-ment on Friday on a cease-fire insouthwest Syria, crowning PresidentDonald Trump’s first meeting withRussian President Vladimir Putin. Itis the first US-Russian effort underTrump’s presidency to stem Syria’ssix-year civil war.

The cease-fire goes into effectSunday at noon Damascus time,according to the US officials and theJordanian Government, which isalso involved in the deal.

US Secretary of State RexTillerson, who accompanied Trumpin his meeting with Putin, said theunderstanding is designed to reduceviolence in an area of Syria near

Jordan’s border that is critical to theUS ally’s security.

It’s a “very complicated part ofthe Syrian battlefield,” Tillerson toldreporters after the US and Russianleaders met for more than two hourson the sidelines of a global summitin Hamburg, Germany.

Of the agreement, he said, “Ithink this is our first indication of theUS and Russia being able to worktogether in Syria.”

For years, the former Cold Warfoes have been backing opposingsides in Syria’s war. Moscow hasstaunchly backed Syrian PresidentBashar Assad, supporting Syrianforces militarily since 2015.Washington has backed rebels fight-

ing Assad. Both the US and Russiaoppose Islamic State militants andsay they’re focused on rooting out theextremist group.

The potential pitfalls for thecease-fire are clear — not least thechallenge of enforcing it.

Russia Foreign Minister SergeyLavrov said Russian military policewould monitor the new truce. ButTillerson said that was still beingworked out. A senior US StateDepartment official said the twocountries were close to a deal on thatissue and hoped to finalize it in thecoming days, raising the prospect itcould take effect Sunday with noclear sense of who is policing it.

AP

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Mombasa: Suspected Islamist terroristsbeheaded nine men in an overnight attackon a village in the Kenyan coastal districtof Lamu, police said, days after Somali ter-rorists killed three policemen in anattack on a nearby village. Police said therewere nine bodies. A witness, who askednot to be named, confirmed the death toll.

“They raided Jima and Poromoko

villages and killed nine men. They wereslaughtered like chickens, using knives,”said the witness. Villagers said a groupof heavily armed attackers, many ofwhom appeared to be ethnic Somalis,attacked the villagers at 11:00 pm. Theywent house to house searching for non-Muslim men and gathered their victimstogether before beheading them.Agencies

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Islamabad: Pakistan’s PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif onSaturday paid tributes to ter-rorist commander BurhanWani, saying his death “infuseda new spirit in the struggle forfreedom” in the Valley.

Sharif in a message on thefirst death anniversary ofWani’s killing said that Indiacannot suppress the voice ofthe people of Kashmir throughuse of brute force.

Wani, a commander ofHizbul Mujahideen, was killedin an encounter with Indiansecurity forces on this day lastyear.

“The blood rendered byBurhan Muzaffar Wani hasinfused a new spirit in the free-dom movement. The Kashmiripeople are steadfast to taketheir movement to logical con-clusion,” he said.

PTI

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Cairo: Egypt held funerals onSaturday for at least 21 soldierskilled in an attack by the IslamicState group in the restive SinaiPeninsula, officials said.

The attack on Friday wasone the deadliest against themilitary in a jihadist insurgencythat has killed hundreds ofpolicemen and soldiers in thepast four years.

Police and provincial offi-cials said 21 bodies had arrivedin the mainland for funerals in

11 provinces.The jihadists attacked sev-

eral checkpoints with carbombs and heavy gunfire in acoordinated assault, for whichIS later claimed responsibilityin a statement. The militarysaid it killed 40 of the assailants.

Jihadists launched theirinsurgency after the militaryousted Islamist presidentMohamed Morsi in 2013 andunleashed a deadly crackdownon his supporters. AFP

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Riyadh: An attack on a Saudipolice patrol on Saturdaywounded two officers in theShiite-majority easternprovince of Qatif, authoritiessaid, in the third attack in thearea in one week.

“The patrol was targeted byan explosive projectile whenpassing by a building underconstruction in the Al-Naserahdistrict in Qatif,” the interiorministry said in a statementpublished on the official SPAnews agency. Two policemanwere wounded and transferredto nearby hospitals.

Authorities are treating theattack as a “terrorist crime,” thestatement said. The attackoccurred in the same areawhere a police corporal waskilled in a bombing targeting apatrol on Thursday. AFP

5�� ������ �������� ���0����� 1���� Kuwait City: British Foreign Minister Boris

Johnson on Saturday urged Arab states to endtheir Qatar boycott, downplaying the odds ofa military escalation in the worst crisis to gripthe Gulf in years.

Johnson met with his Kuwaiti counterpartSheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah on Saturday andwas scheduled to visit Qatar later in the day.

“What people need to see is de-escalationand progress towards tackling the funding ofterrorism in the region, and progress toward anend to this blockade,” Johnson said, voicing sup-port for Kuwait as a mediator in the crisis.

Johnson, who also held talks in SaudiArabia on Friday, said it was “highly unlikely”that the current standoff would descend intomilitary conflict. “Everybody I have talked tosaid the opposite. No possibility of a militaryconfrontation,” he said.

“The blockade is unwelcome and we hopethere will be a de-escalation,” he added. SaudiArabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt andBahrain last month announced the severing ofall diplomatic ties with Qatar over allegations theemirate bankrolled Islamist extremists and hadclose ties to Saudi’s arch-rival Iran. AFP

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Dhaka: Banned terrorist out-fit Jama’atul Mujahideen’s topexplosives expert, wanted inIndia in the 2014 Burdwanblast case, has been arrested inBangladesh, a year after thedeadly Dhaka Cafe attack forwhich he allegedly suppliedgrenades.

Sohel Mahfuz, said to beone of the top planners of the2016 Dhaka cafe attack, wasarrested along with three othersuspected members of theneo-JMB by the DhakaMetropolitan Police Counter-Terrorism and TransnationalCrime (CTTC) unit fromChapainawabganj district innorthern Bangladesh onFriday night, police said onSaturday. PTI

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Pakistan on Saturday summoned India’s deputy high com-missioner here over alleged ceasefire violations during which

the senior Indian diplomat lodged a strong protest over the deathof two civilians in firing by Pakistani troops.

The Indian diplomat also told the Pakistani side that therehave been more than 223 ceasefire violations and around 50 infil-tration bids this year alone.

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Egyptian security forces on Saturday killed14 terrorists in an encounter in the coun-

try’s northeast, the interior ministry said, a dayafter 23 Army personnel were killed in a mil-itant attack in the restive North Sinai region.

The ministry said in a statement that thesecurity forces raided a training camp for newrecruits in Ismailia organised by terrorists whohad reached there from across the country.

The new recruits were being given phys-ical training and lessons in use of weapons atthe camp, it said.

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Page 8: in the name of Facebook. I respect Facebook but not ‘Fakebook’,” she said. While Banerjee saw “for-eign hands having good rela-tions with the BJP” creating disturbance in

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Infra lender IDFC whichentered into banking late

2015 and the Piramal Group-backed financial servicesmajor Shriram Group onSaturday agreed to merge andcreate the largest retail-focusedbank in the country.

The boards of two groupsmet here on Saturday and at anevening press announcement,addressed by Ajay Piramal ofPiramal Enterprises, RThyagarajan of Shriram Groupand Rajiv Lall of IDFC Bank,said the managements havebeen given 90-day period tocomplete due diligence andexplore merger, and if all goeswell, within 12 months a formalmerger will take place.

“The boards of ShriramGroup and IDFC have enteredinto an exclusivity arrangementfor 90 days to jointly explore anopportunity for a merger. Notransaction has been approvedby the boards.”

“Now, diligence will take

place, we will discuss on the val-uations and the respectiveboards will then meet and thena proposal will be made. Ifmore time is needed then willextend the exclusivity period byanother 60 or even 90 days,”Piramal said.

The proposal is subject toapprovals from the RBI, Sebi,Irdai, CCI and stock exchanges,Piramal and Lall said. “Ourambition, hope and intent is totogether make the country'slargest mass retail banking fran-chise with a universal bank at itscore,” Lall said.

Piramal said: “It is really achance to create a financial con-glomerate with a universal bankat the centre that we believe will

become the country's largestmass retail universal bank.” Theydid not say what could be thename of the merged entity, butadded that the brand Shriramwill be retained while almost allkey businesses of the ShriramGroup will be merged witheither IDFC Bank or IDFC.

However, later, to a jour-nalist's question, Piramal saidsince IDFC already has a bank-ing licence, they will go with thename IDFC and not Shriram.Currently, Shriram Group has aloan book of over �80,000 crorewhile IDFC and its banking armIDFC Bank together have loanbook of over �60,000 crore. Thetotal assets of the merged enti-ty will cross � 9 trillion.

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No tax officer has been autho-rised to visit premises of

traders and shopkeepers withoutprior permission and any devia-tion should be reported to a com-plaint helpline, the Governmenton Saturday said. The financeministry came out with a clarifi-cation after reports suggestedthat some unscrupulous elementsposing as GST officers have triedto fleece shopkeepers and cus-tomers in the name of GST.

The chief commissioner ofGST (Delhi zone) has clarified thatthe tax department only wants tofacilitate the process for shop-keepers and traders during thetransition to the Goods andServices Tax (GST) regime.

“No officer of the departmentis authorised to visit the premisesof traders and shopkeepers with-out authorisation,” the ministrymade it clear in a statement. It also

asked anyone facing any suchproblem to lodge a complaint ontax department’s phone line, 011-23370115. Separately, FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley launched amobile app ‘GST Rates Finder’.

The app, available on theAndroid platform, helps usersfind out rates of GST for variousgoods and services. It can bedownloaded on any smartphoneand can work in offline mode aswell, once downloaded.

“The user can determine theGST rate for a goods or a serviceby entering the name or the chap-ter heading of the commodity orservice. The search result will listall the goods and services con-taining the name which is typedin the search box,” the ministrystatement added.

The user can scroll down thelist of description and when anyspecific item on the list is clicked,the display window pops up, con-taining details such as GST rate,

description of goods or servicesand the chapter heading of theHarmonised System ofNomenclature (HSN). For exam-ple, any person who has beenbilled by a hotel or a restaurant orfor footwear purchase can cross-verify the correctness of the rate ofGST charged. Also, the GST ratefinder has been provided on theportal of the Central Board ofExcise and Customs (CBEC).

At the portal, a taxpayer cansearch for applicable CGST,SGST, UTGST rate and theCompensation Cess on a par-ticular supply. The search can bemade based on description ofgoods or services or HSN Codeor heading number. “Theseinitiatives are aimed to serve asa ready reckoner on GST rates.This will empower not onlytaxpayers, but every citizen ofthe nation to ascertain the cor-rect GST rate on goods and ser-vices,” the statement read.

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NEW DELHI:Finance MinisterArun Jaitley has launched amobile app ‘GST Rates Finder’to help any person who has pur-chased a footwear or has beenbilled by a hotel to cross verifythe correctness of the rateof GST charged.

“This mobile app helpsusers to find rates of GSTfor various goods and ser-vices. It can be down-loaded on any smart phoneand can work in offlinemode, once downloaded. Theuser can determine the GST ratefor a good or a service by enter-ing the name or chapter headingof the commodity or service,” theFinance Ministry said in a state-ment on Saturday.

The app, which is now avail-able on android platform, will

soon be available on iOS platformtoo. The search result will list allthe goods and services contain-ing the name which was typed inthe search box.

The user can scroll down thelist of description andwhen any specific itemon the list is clicked, thedisplay window willpop-up, containingdetails such as GST rate,description of goods orservices and the chapter

heading of the HarmonisedSystem of Nomenclature (HSN).The Central Board of Excise andCustoms (CBEC) has also pro-vided a GST rate finder on its por-tal cbec-gst.gov.in to help the tax-payers know the applicable GSTrate on their supplies of goodsand services. IANS

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Prime Minister Narendra Modion Saturday invited Norwegian

pension funds to invest in theNational Investment andInfrastructure Fund as he metNorway's Prime Minister ErnaSolberg, who gifted him a symbolicfootball. Continuing his series ofbilateral meetings here on the side-lines of the G20 Summit, Modi alsomet South Korean President MoonJae-in and Italy's Prime MinisterPaolo Gentiloni. He held a bilat-eral meeting with President ofArgentina Mauricio Macri.

Modi congratulated in personMoon on his victory in presiden-tial elections, while the SouthKorean President recalled theprime minister’s congratulatoryphone call and tweet in Koreanlanguage, saying it was warmlyreceived by the people of SouthKorea. Both leaders expressedtheir commitment to furtherdevelop the special strategic part-nership between India and SouthKorea, particularly through par-ticipation in programmes such asMake in India, Digital India andStartup India, the Ministry orExternal Affairs said.

The prime minister invitedPresident Moon to visit India atan early date. The invitation wasaccepted, the MEA said. Modi’sdiscussions with Italy's PrimeMinister Gentiloni focused onpromoting bilateral relations,particularly trade and invest-ment and people-to-people ties.Prime Minister Modi invitedItaly's participation in WorldFood India - the food process-ing exhibition to be held inIndia in November this year.

The two leaders stressed onthe significance of promoting

interaction between mediumenterprises of the two countries forstrengthening bilateral economiccooperation. The prime ministerof Italy appreciated Indian invest-ments in his country, including inthe industrial sector. The two alsodiscussed ways and means towork together for providing sus-tainable solutions to prevent cli-mate change and promote devel-opment in Africa.

Modi and Solberg discussedbilateral matters, especiallystrengthening of economic rela-tions. Prime Minister Modi invit-ed participation of Norwegianpension funds in the NationalInvestment and InfrastructureFund. The prime minister ofNorway invited India to participatein the Oceans' Conference on thesidelines of the UN GeneralAssembly (UNGA).

In a gesture symbolisingcooperation for attainment ofSustainable DevelopmentGoals (SD Gs), Pr imeMinister Solberg presented toPrime Minister Modi, at theend of the meeting, a footballwith SDGs inscribed on it.Modi a lso met withVietnamese counterpartNguyen Xuan Phuc andSenegalese President MackySall. “Discussing relationswith a strategic partner. PM@narendramodi meets PMNguyen Xuan Phuc ofVietnam,” MEA spokespersonGopal Baglay tweeted.

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NEW DELHI: RBI onSaturday withdrew a portionof its earlier statement inwhich it had said that 12 casesidentified by it for insolvencyproceedings would be accord-ed priority by the NationalCompany Law Tribunal(NCLT) ‘stands deleted’.

On June 13, RBI had said ithas identified 12 accounts forinsolvency proceedings witheach of them having over �5,000crore of outstanding loansaccounting for 25 per cent oftotal NPAs of banks. It has alsosaid these cases would be‘accorded priority’ by NCLT,which has jurisdiction overinsolvancy proceedings.

However, withdrawing theportion on Saturday, RBI said:“...Such cases will be accordedpriority by the NationalCompany Law Tribunal(NCLT).” stands deleted. “Thebanking regulator said in astatement on Saturday. It furthersaid: “The remaining contentsof the Press Release remainunchanged.” The Press Releasehad “outlined the process fol-lowed by the Internal AdvisoryCommittee to identify accountsfor reference by banks under theInsolvency and BankruptcyCode, 2016,” RBI added. PTI

NEW DELHI: Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) onSaturday reported retail sales of 51,591 units for June, up 11 per centfrom the same month last year. During the April-June quarter, the com-pany retailed 1,37,463 units, up 3.5 per cent from the same period oflast year. “Jaguar Land Rover saw another positive performance in June,led by strong sales in China, both from imported vehicles and ourChinese joint venture,” JLR Group Sales Operations Director AndyGoss said. The Jaguar brand posted record retail sales of 15,343 unitsin June, up 16.4 per cent, driven by continued strong sales of the F-PACE and growing sales of the long wheel base XFL in China. PTI

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NEW DELHI: Traders withProvisional Identity forRegistration (PID) under theGoods and Services Tax (GST)system should submit therequired documents bySeptember 22 to get certificatesof registration, the FinanceMinistry said on Saturday.

“Persons who have PID maysubmit the required documentson GSTN for getting the certifi-cates of registration. A period ofthree months has been allowed tocomplete this procedure, i.e., theformalities can be completed onor before September 22,” a min-istry statement said here.

In the interim, they can issuethe tax invoice using the allottedPID, it said. The ministry saidpersons with PID and who optedfor the composition scheme

should submit intimation ofoption in the prescribed form onGSTN on or before July 21. TheRules relating to registration andcomposition scheme have beennotified on June 19 and broughtinto effect from June 22.

“The intent of notifying theseRules is to start the process ofissuance of registration certifi-cates, called Goods and ServicesTax Identification Number

(GSTIN), to taxpayers who havealready been issued PID, as wellas to the new taxpayers,” it said.A person seeking fresh registra-tion can apply for registrationwithin 30 days from the date onwhich he becomes liable for reg-istration. “They can also opt forcomposition scheme at the timeof filing of registration form.”

The applicant for grant ofnew registration can issue a bill forgoods or services suppliedbetween the date of liability toobtain registration and the date ofissuance of registration certificate,if he has applied for registrationwithin 30 days from the date hebecomes liable for registration. Ongrant of the certificate of regis-tration, he can issue revised taxinvoices for the supplies madeduring this period. IANS

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When 23-year oldRishank Devadiga, araider for UP Yoddhain the Vivo ProKabaddi tournament,

walked into the Grand Hyatt hotel inMumbai on June 28 to attend a mediaforum, he was in a familiar setting.

The conference hall was packedwith special guests and media, and thelobby where the caterers had laid out anextensive array of food were sights famil-iar to the young man from Mumbai.But, there was one difference this timeround. Devadiga was there as a guestand participant of the event, not as awaiter which was the case earlier.

Speaking at a session focussed onthe transformation that the Pro KabaddiLeague (PKL) has brought to the livesof players, he shared his personal jour-ney. “Earlier, I used to work in a hotellike this where I used to man food stallsyou see outside today, serving tea anddoing other such work. It feels great tohave moved on in life and to be sittinghere now.”

Devadiga’s tale echoes those ofmany other players hailing from bothurban and rural India whose lives havebeen transformed by PKL’s arrival on theIndian sporting scene in 2014.

Devadiga’s co-panellist, 22-year oldDeepak Hooda, who will representPuneri Paltan in the upcoming season,had his own story to tell which differedin detail but was filled with the same up-from-the-bootstraps spirit.

“Having lost my father early, I hadto take over the responsibility of myfamily which included not just mymother but also my sister and her chil-dren. My mother wanted me to con-tinue my studies but I had developed agreat passion for Kabaddi. She felt thatplaying the game is not going to help meearn a decent livelihood so she dis-couraged me from playing the sport.”

Both Devadiga and Hooda are nowhighly-valued players picked up by fran-chisee teams for large sums of money.While Devadiga was bought by the UPYoddha for �45.5 lakh, Hooda com-manded �72.60 lakh.

They are part of a full-scale revo-lution in the sport of Kabaddi. Thetransformation brought to cricket byKerry Packer’s World Series Cricket inthe late 1970s pales in comparison towhat PKL has done to this indigenoussport.

But it was a revolution waiting tohappen after IPL. Soon, sports channels,promoters and governing bodies of var-ious sports were rushing to start theirown version of IPL. Today, we have ISLin football, HIL in Hockey, PBL in bad-

minton and many others.But there is one big difference

between these tournaments and PKL.While the former were launched tomake these sports more popular andviewer-friendly, the latter was an over-due attempt to cash in on the latent pop-ularity of Kabaddi in India.

Just like wrestling, which is presentin every corner of India, especially ruralareas, Kabaddi has always enjoyed abeneath the surface massive fan fol-lowing. Some years ago, the PunjabGovernment organised a KabaddiWorld Cup in their State. The versionof Kabaddi played there is unique toPunjab and is known as ‘Circle Kabaddi.’The massive crowds at the event,including a large number of women,showed how big the sport is. It was onlya matter of time before somebody sawthe potential to bring it to live television.

Star Sports, which has the broad-casting rights of many of these newleagues, and Mashal Sports, a sportsmanagement firm having industrialistAnand Mahindra and well-knownsports commentator Charu Sharma asshareholders, cashed in on the oppor-tunity and the league began in July, 2014.

In a recent interview Star IndiaCEO Uday Shankar revealed the invest-ments made into the league at thebeginning. “We have invested over�700 crore on Kabaddi so far, while rev-enues have been less than �100 crore.By increasing teams and doubling thenumber of matches, our investment perseason and resultant losses will also dou-ble. We are in it for the long term. Wewill keep investing and I see PKL toremain in investment mode for fiveyears before breaking even.”

According to a report released byESP Properties-SportzPower, on-airsponsorships for PKL’s fourth seasonearned Star Sports �45 crore during.This viewership has risen over the firstfour seasons. The very first season waswatched by 435 million people whichin terms of viewership of sports eventswas second only to IPL that year. Theviewership for the second season was56% higher and rose further by 36% inthe first week of the third season. Overallthe growth in viewership was 51% overthe first four seasons. The averageimpressions generated for Season 4 were10 million.

The above figures vindicate theorganisers’ move to tweak the rules ofthe game in order to make it more view-er-friendly. A 30-second time limit wasintroduced for raiders. A new stipula-tion of ‘Super Tackle’ was brought inwhich gave the defending team twopoints instead of one. Along with that,

Kabaddi was staged in a whole new set-ting with eye-catching light-effects andloud music to go with it. It was Kabaddilike no one had seen before.

Asked whether the organisers facedany resistance from the establishmentover the innovations being brought in,Charu Sharma was full of praise for theadministrators. “We wouldn’t havegone ahead with rule changes if therewas even the slightest resistance. But theKabaddi Federation trusted us andunderstood what we were trying to do.It was meant to make the game moreviewer-friendly. Players took some timeto get used to them but eventually did.”

Sanjay Gupta, managing director ofStar India, though had a slightly dif-ferent experience. “I remember when wewere trying to kick start the kabaddileague, the kind of challenges that facedus were bizarre. Although this sport

already had a strong following inPunjab and Haryana, we couldn’t addteams from those states just because theydidn’t have a single indoor stadium tohost any matches! There were almost noprofessional trainers, coaches, technicalcrew, commentators – it seemed like abottomless pit. Look at where the sportis today. It has become the secondbiggest sport of the country. But evenbigger is the fact that kabaddi playersare feted and recognised, and their sto-ries have found their way into every cor-ridor conversation.”

The arrival of this glamorous leagueled to a windfall for players. In the auc-

tion for Season 5, conducted in May thisyear, the costliest buy was Nitin Tomar,who was picked up by UP Yoddha teamfor a whopping sum of �93 lakh. Theoverall expenditure on players in theauction was a staggering �46.99 crore.

But it’s not as if Kabaddi wasfinancially a barren sport before this rev-olutionary tournament. It drew largecrowds across the country. CircleKabaddi was being promoted by richNRI Punjabis based in the UK whoorganised and promoted these hinter-land tournaments.

Hooda mentioned how his entryinto Kabaddi was due to the opportu-nities offered by the game.

“When I was looking for a job withdecent money, I was told by friends thatState-owned enterprises were hiringKabaddi players in their teams. I tookit as a job opportunity. The financialsecurity it offered convinced me to takeup the sport as a profession,” he added.

He pointed out that his home StateHaryana provides more opportunitiesin Kabaddi than other sports likeBoxing and Wrestling.

“Even before PKL, we could getdecent jobs through the sport. I took toKabaddi because of the job opportuni-ties the game provided. Army, Navy, AirForce, Banks, BPCL, ONGC, Air Indiaand many other departments offerjobs to Kabaddi players. I feel that play-ing Kabaddi gets you a job quicker whileit takes longer for Boxers and Wrestlersto do so. If a Kabaddi player works hard,he gets hired sooner,” he said. Apartfrom the money being showered onplayers, the other revolutionary changehas been the popularity of the sportamong those sections of society whichwere not associated with the game.

Rahul Chaudhari, one of the biggeststars of PKL and captain of TeluguTitans, couldn’t help noticing how classbarriers in Kabaddi are being broken bythe popularity of the league.

“Kids have become interested in thisgame. Unlike in the past when childrenstudying in English-medium schoolswere prevented from playing Kabaddias parents feared they would get hurt,they want them now to participate inthis sport. Earlier Kabaddi used to beplayed on mud courts and urban youthwere scared of getting scolded by theirparents for getting their clothes dirty. Invillages however, youngster used to playfearlessly. The mats for playing Kabaddihas this been a big change.”

Pro Kabaddi’s commissionerAnupam Goswami, refers to marketresearch to flaunt the popularity of thegame among even the elite sections ofsociety. “Many elite schools are form-

ing impromptu Kabaddi teams and hav-ing impromptu Kabaddi matches. Theydon’t have a Kabaddi coach, a Kabaddicourt, they don’t have a competition togo to but they are setting up matches,”he pointed out.

All leagues aim at gaining popu-larity in metropolitan cities. “We havetried to be slightly different. We are pre-sent in small towns like Patna andSonepat. We wanted to retain the orig-inal catchment of Kabaddi apart fromcreating new ones like Andhra Pradesh,for instance,” Goswami adds.

Another stunning feature of thesuccess of PKL has been its popular-ity among women in India. “In Season1 itself, PKL had the highest numberof female respondents on digital plat-forms compared to any other sportincluding cricket. In other sports thepercentage of women respondents wasaround 7% but in Kabaddi it wararound 20%. A lot of commentary wascoming from urban middle-classwomen.”

But are women only interested inwatching the sport or also in playing it?Deepika Joseph, a leading star of theIndian women’s Kabaddi team who par-ticipated in the Women’s KabaddiChallenge, a mini-league launched as anappendage to PKL, talked of her dreamput to see a women’s PKL.

“When I see the popularity of PKLin India and the passion with whichwomen also play this sport, I feel thereshould be a similar league for us as well,”she said at the forum.

But Goswami wouldn’t rush into it.“Right now, I am expanding the leaguewhich is a big step. So, that is my pri-ority. We are still understanding thelessons from the Women’s Kabaddi chal-lenge. Women’s Kabaddi challenge,when it happened, it was the mostviewed women’s sporting event in thehistory of Indian sports television. Thefinal of the women’s Kabaddi challengerated higher than the final of the ICCWomen’s World T20. We see great scopein it. But when we do it, we will do it ata breakthrough level which will be atleast comparable, if not higher thanwhat we did for PKL with men’sKabaddi.”

The success of PKL has led to theorganisers introducing four new teamsto the event from the upcoming sea-son and making it a longer tourna-ment that will be played over a peri-od of three months with 138 match-es. It is now the biggest league inIndian sports. The ambitions of theorganisers and the sponsors are soar-ing and it seems that for this millen-nia-old sports, sky is the limit.

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�The fifth season of Vivo ProKabaddi would be much longer.How much more challenging wouldit be, physically and mentally forplayers like you?

It will certainly make a differencein terms of physical demand as play-ing for such a long period is difficult.Mentally also we have to prepare our-selves. So we will have to step ontothe mat ready on both counts.�Can the body take such load asKabaddi is a tough contact sport?

It all depends on our fitness. If weare fit, then it is no big deal. But even a small injury can cause alot of problems.�Is there a serious danger of injuries in a long season?

That’s the nature of our sport. There will be injuries. But that’sthe reason we have such large squads with players on the benchto cover for injuries. We field senior players at the start of the sea-son and if they get injured, others get a chance. If there are noinjuries, it is great but if there are, it gives opportunities to otherplayers to show their skills. Teams with strong bench strength willhave an advantage.�Were you comfortable with the changes brought into Kabaddifor PKL?

We are comfortable. We were briefed about these changes beforethe start of the first season. We had some difficulties in the firstcouple of matches, especially with the rule pertaining to 30 sec-onds time for a raid. My first match of the season was against Jaipurand I was out twice in that game due to the time running out. Butafter these initial difficulties, we have had no issues.�Has the rule changes made Kabaddi a more physical game com-pared to old days?

The game is much the same even earlier. The only differenceis that we will be playing for a longer period. That is the tough part.In the old days, we used to have several national tournaments butnow due to this league, there are fewer of them and with the leaguegetting expanded, their number would decrease further. We willfocus on playing in this league and take rest at the expense of play-ing in these other national tournaments.�Shouldn’t we have more bilateral series in this sport?

This is or the federation to decide. Personally, it would be goodto play bilateral series. We would gain more knowledge about theplayers in other sides and their raiding and defending techniques.�What do you think lies in the future of Kabaddi and leagueslike this?

The way PKL has progressed, the leagues seem to be the rightoption.�What is more important: Strength or suppleness?

Both are important. It’s necessary to be supple, powerful andalso a heavyweight. A player plays well when he has a combina-tion of all these qualities.

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Skipper Virat Kohli might open the innings whenIndia take on the West Indies in a one-offTwenty20, aiming to finish their Caribbean

sojourn on a high despite the threat posed by ChrisGayle's return to the home team.

After winning the five-match ODI series 3-1,India will certainly have an upperhand despite thepresence of Gayle, who can single-handedly swingfortunes especially in the shortest format.

However, Gayle will be donning the Caribbeanmaroons after a gap 15 months during which he hasbattled injuries as well as poor form during the IPL,which was his last competitive tournament beforethis particular game.

West Indies are reigning world champions withthe likes of Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Sunil Narine andSamuel Badree still a part of the current squad ledby their World T20 hero Carlos Brathwaite.

Also there's Evin Lewis, who had scored a 49-ball-100 in West Indies' one-run win over India ina T20 game in Florida, last year.

But T20 is one format where the home teamstarts on even keel against an Indian team which hadits foot firmly on the pedal save an occasional blipin Jamaica.

The change in format maybring about some strategic shiftin the playing XI with Kohliexpected to open the innings.Kohli has opened a lot forRoyal Challengers Bangalore inthe IPL and also occasionally for India when RohitSharma has not been around.

While Ajinkya Rahane has had a fantastic ODIseries with close to 350 runs including a century andthree half-tons, Kohli opening the innings withShikhar Dhawan looks more imminent consideringthe change in format.

The young Rishabh Pant could finally get hischance on the tour.

Pant was a part of the playing XI that last playeda T20 match against England in Bengaluru, earlierthis year.

The Indian team management is aiming togroom Pant as the future limited-overs glovesmanand that's the reason he may get his chance.

Kuldeep Yadav, who has been a successful T20bowler for Kolkata Knight Riders, may also make hisT20 International debut after an impressive seriesin which he picked up eight wickets.

Since there has been a pattern in the first XIselection of the Indian team, the last T20International saw leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal pickup six England wickets.

With Chahal not being a part of this squad, the

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India's four-match winning streak in theWomen's World Cup was brought to a crashing

halt with a 115-run loss against South Africa, fol-lowing an abject batting surrender here onSaturday.

The star South African performer was captainDane van Niekerk who first made a valuable 57off 66 balls to guide South Africa to 273 for ninebefore taking four wickets with leg-spin to helpher team bundle out the Indians for 158 in 46overs. Besides the South African skipper, openerLizelle Lee too

Made a significant contribution by hammer-ing 92 off 65 balls after India put the opposition

in at Grace Road.India would have sealed their semifinal berth

with a win on Saturday but now have their taskcut out in the remaining round robin matchesagainst the mighty Australia and New Zealand.

The game was pretty much done and dustedwhen India collapsed to 56 for six in the 17th overof the chase.

Deepti Sharma saved India the blushes of get-ting bowled out for under 100 by scoring a solid60 off 111 balls with support from number nineJhulan Goswami, who remained unbeaten on 43.

It was a good batting wicket, something thatLee herself mentioned, but the Indian batsmenwere all at sea and crumbled under the scoreboardpressure. Opener Smriti Mandhana, who took thetournament by storm with a 90 and 106 in the firsttwo games, suffered a third failure in a row.

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England made painstakingly slowprogress in building a 216-run lead in

the first test against South Africa onSaturday, with Alastair Cook's circum-spect 59 not out pushing the team to 119-1 at stumps on Day 3.

Cook, England's record run-scorer,went 38 minutes without scoring at onepoint in his gritty innings in the Lord'ssunshine and had a strike rate of 35.97.

England was going at 2.33 runs perover but was in total control of the open-ing match of the four-test series, withGary Balance, on 22, alongside Cook atthe close.

South Africa, which was dismissed for361 just after lunch to trail by 97 runs afterthe first innings, toiled away but missedthe workload of paceman VernonPhilander, who sustained excessiveswelling to his bowling hand while bat-ting.

Philander didn't bowl but shouldreturn to the attack on Sunday, althoughthe Proteas already will be resigned tosimply saving the test.

Left-handed opener Keaton Jenningswas the only England player to departafter wafting outside off stump and nick-ing Morne Morkel's delivery to wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock for 33.

De Kock and Philander scored con-trasting half-centuries after South Africastarted Day 3 on 214-5, still 244 runsbehind England's first-innings total of 458all out.

The highlight of an otherwise slowday's play was the cameo by De Kock, who

struck a 36-ball fifty — the second-fastestat Lord's — that contained 10 fours. Itraised questions as to why he is battingas low as No. 7.

The wicketkeeper was out for 51,caught by a diving Ben Stokes at squarecover off Jimmy Anderson, the bowlerwho jammed Philander's right hand witha delivery that generated extra bounce.Philander threw his bat on the ground,received treatment, and looked in dis-comfort for the rest of his 86-ball 52.

He had an X-ray after South Africa'sinnings and didn't return to the field,

replaced by Chris Morris. Cricket SouthAfrica confirmed Philander didn't sustaina fracture.

Proteas overnight batsmen KagisoRabada (27) and Temba Bavuma (59, afterresuming on 48 not out) departed in thefirst half hour. After lunch, Liam Dawsontrapped Keshav Maharaj (9) lbw, with anot-out decision overturned on review,before Philander played onto his stumpsagainst Moeen Ali soon after reaching hisfifth test fifty.

Morne Morkel was unbeaten on 2 andAli finished with figures of 4-59.

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Batsman Craig Ervine hit aquickfire 69 to help Zimbabwe

pull off a four-wicket victory overSri Lanka in the rain-shortenedfourth One-day International andlevel the five-match series at 2-2here on Saturday.

Chasing a Duckworth-Lewisrevised target of 219 in 31 overs,Zimbabwe rode on Ervine's 55-ballunbeaten knock to win with 10balls to spare at the MahindaRajapaksa International Stadium.

Earlier, openers NiroshanDickwella (116) and DanushkaGunathilaka (87) put together 209runs in Sri Lanka's 300-6 -- becom-ing the first pair in ODI history toscore back-to-back double centu-ry partnerships.

The left-handed batting duohad put on a 229-run match- win-ning stand in the previous ODI onThursday at the same venue buttheir efforts went in vain the sec-

ond time around.Solomon Mire (43) and

Hamilton Masakadza (28) set upthe Zimbabwe chase beforeteenage leg-spinner WaninduHasaranga, who took three wick-ets, got the openers trudging backto the pavilion.

But Ervine and MalcolmWaller (20) made sure the chaseremained on track with their 43-run sixth-wicket partnership afterrain interrupted play for over one-and-a-half-hours.

"We knew we were ahead (ofthe rate) and we were always in thegame and the way we batted wasexcellent," Zimbabwe skipperGraeme Cremer said in the post-match presentation.

"We have seen we can chasedown a score and set a score andour batting has come right,"Cremer said on the prospect of hisside eyeing a major series win inover eight years.

Ervine, a left-handed batsman

and a right-arm spinner, smashedeight fours and a six to get the manof the match award.

For the hosts, Dickwella hit hissecond successive century with acommanding knock, while

Gunathilaka was bowled 13 shortof what could have been his sec-ond ODI ton.

Wicketkeep er-batsmanDickwella, who scored 102 in thethird ODI, played a patient 118-

ball knock laced with eight bound-aries before being trapped lbw.

Zimbabwe off-spinner Wallergot the two prized wickets in suc-cessive overs to pull things back forthe visitors.

Paceman Chris Mpofu also gottwo wickets to rattle the Sri Lankanmiddle-order as the hosts slippedfrom 216-1 to 263-5.

"The turning point was whenwe pulled it back in the last tenovers. Sri Lanka looked like getting340-350, so the way the bowlerspulled it back was excellent," saidCremer.

Meanwhile Cremer wasdocked 20 per cent of his match feefor his team's slow over rate whilethe rest of the side was slapped witha 10 percent penalty.

Zimbabwe were found to beone over short of their target aftertime allowances were taken intoconsideration by the InternationalCricket Council (ICC) match ref-eree Chris Broad.

Sri Lanka captain AngeloMathews, who lifted his side'stotal with his 40-ball 42, said thateven though he felt "300 wasenough", the batsmen's shot selec-tion was not up to the mark.

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South African pacer Kagiso Rabadahas been suspended for next

week's second Test against Englandat Trent Bridge for breachingICC's 'Code of Conduct' duringthe opening day's play of firstTest.

Rabada has accu-mulated four demeritpoints within a 24-month period follow-ing his latest breach forwhich he received a 15 percent fine and one demeritpoint.

During the opening day'splay in the Lord's Test againstEngland on Thursday, Rabadawas found guilty of breach-ing article 2.1.7 of the ICCCode of Conduct forPlayer and Player SupportPersonnel, which relates to"using language, actions orgestures which disparage orwhich could provoke anaggressive reaction from abatsman upon his/her dis-missal during anInternational Match".

As Rabada hadreceived a 50 per cent fineand three demerit points in thefourth One-Day Internationalagainst Sri Lanka in Cape Town

on 8 February 2017, with the addi-tion of this one demerit point, he

has reached the threshold offour demerit points, which,pursuant to article 7.6 ofthe Code, have now beenconverted into two sus-pension points. Two sus-pension points equate to aban from one Test or twoODIs or two T20Is, whatev-er comes first for the player.

As such, Rabada hasbeen suspended from hisside's second Test againstEngland, which will be playedat Tent Bridge from 14-18July. Following this suspen-sion, the four demerit pointswill remain on Rabada'sdisciplinary record. If hereaches the next threshold

of eight or more demeritpoints within a 24-month peri-

od, then they will be convertedinto four suspension points.

Four suspension points equate toa ban from one Test and two ODIsor two T20Is, two Tests or four ODIsor four T20Is, whatever comes firstfor the player.

Thursday's incident related toRabada using inappropriate lan-

guage after dismissing Englandbatsman Ben Stokes, which were

audible over the stump microphones.

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management may go for a wrist spinner inKuldeep, who has the ability trouble the bats-men with his wrong 'uns.

IPL's highest wicket-taker, BhuvneshwarKumar, after some well-earned rest, will be lead-ing the pace attack alongside Umesh Yadav.

For West Indies, the onus will be on theirspin twins Narine and Badree, who can troublethe Indian batsmen with their variations.

Narine may also open the innings, some-thing which he successfully did for KKR in the IPL.

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Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas beatFerrari's Sebastian Vettel to take

pole position for the Austrian GrandPrix on Saturday.

It was the second pole of theFinnish driver's career, and both havebeen since joining Mercedes this sea-son. The latest pole was on the Spielbergtrack where Bottas secured his firstpodium finish three years ago, comingthird when driving for Williams.

"The laps were getting better andbetter. It should be a good fight tomor-row," said Bottas, who is third in the titlerace but trails championship leaderVettel by 42 points. "I'm sure Lewis(Hamilton) still has a lot of time to come

back and get points for the team."Hamilton, second in the champi-

onship behind Vettel, qualified in thirdplace but will start from eighth becauseof a grid penalty. That means Ferrari'sKimi Raikkonen moves up from fourthto third. Nearing the end of the thirdand final practice session in the morn-ing, Hamilton went off the track withsome smoke pouring out the side of hiscar. The team said it was a brake diskfailure and Hamilton's mechanicsworked frantically to get his car readyfor qualifying.

It was another blow for Hamilton,who took the grid penalty for an unau-thorized gearbox change. He trailsVettel by 14 points after eight races, withboth winning three times.

Asked if he could win Sunday's race,a downbeat Hamilton said "it's not real-ly on my mind at the moment," addingthat the race is more likely to be a caseof "damage limitation."

Three years ago, Hamilton startedfrom ninth and finished second behindNico Rosberg, his former Mercedesteammate. But he is not confident of arepeat performance.

"I'm pretty sure back then there wasa bigger difference in speed between(Mercedes) and other cars," Hamiltonsaid.

But Vettel did not rule outHamilton's chances of challenging onSunday. "We'll see, it's a long race," theGerman said. "We have to look after ourown race."

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Sudha Singh clinched a goldin women's 3000m steeple-

chase event to swell India'smedal tally on the third andpenultimate day at the 22ndAsian Athletics Championshipshere on Saturday.

The Uttar Pradesh athletewon the race in 9 minute 59.47seconds to grab the first gold ofthe day for India in front of apacked crowd at the KalingaStadium. Sudha, who had alsowon a silver each in the 2009,2011 and 2013 editions, was agold medal contender in theabsence of compatriot LalitaBabar, who skipped the eventafter her recent marriage, andBahrain's world and Asianrecord holder Ruth Jebet.

The 31-year-old Sudha ledfrom the very beginning, andafter running together for awhile along with the other fivecompetitors, broke away aroundthe halfway mark and left all herrivals way behind to win thegold. She took a lap of honourafter her win.

It was a creditable sub-10minute win for Sudha who hasbeen away from training forseveral months after she suf-

fered from swine flu on herreturn from the Rio OlympicGames last year. North Korea's18-year-old Hyo Gyong was adistant second in 10:13.94 whileJapan's Nana Sato took thebronze in 10:18.11.

"I am very happy to win thisgold. This is my top level com-petition after Rio Olympics. Iwas down with swine flu afterthe Rio Olympics and I wasdown for five-six months andafter that I started trainingslowly and steadily. So, thiswin is special. It is a slow tim-ing but the conditions are not

that good," she said after herwin. "My coach told me not tohang around for long. He toldme to break away from the restand not wait for the finalmoment. That was what I did,"she added.

Asked about next month'sWorld Championships forwhich she has qualified aftertoday's win, she said, "WorldChampionships is a big chal-lenge for me. I want to do wellthere and I want to breaknational record."

However, in men's 3000msteeplechase, Naveen Kumar, a

bronze medallist in2014 Asian Games, andDurga Das Budha fin-ished a disappointing seventhand eighth in 9:02.95 and9:04.05 respectively.

In men's 110m hurdles,India's Siddharth Thingalaya fin-ished fifth in 13.72 seconds.Kuwait won both the gold andsilver with Abdulazia Al-Mandeel and Yaqoub Al-Youhaclocking 13.50 and 13.59 respec-tively. With Saturday's one gold,India have swelled their medaltally to 7 gold, 3 silver and 6bronze.

Many would have seen him walk thetrack before the athletes at the

Asian Athletics Championships openingceremony on July 5th. While he was wel-comed with claps as he walked past thepeople who had gathered there to see theceremony, few would have even realised

the effort it took for this 26-year-old to carry the weight of the suit— all of 12 kg.

But the man inside the suit— Upendra Jena (one of the four

men who don the suit) — tellsyou that while it was extremely

uncomfortable to wear the suit, the dis-comfort was worth it since he got sucha rousing welcome from all the peoplewho had gathered at the opening cere-mony. In broken Hindi, he tells you thatthe weather in the State during this timeof the year is very sultry. "The humidi-ty in the air is a killer. Though there isvery little sunshine, the heat and themoisture makes it very difficult for thepeople in general. Here I was coveredfrom head to toe. But I feel proud that Iam wearing this suit," Jena says.

Him being Olly was not something

that he had not planned. When it wasannounced that the Meet will be held inOdisha, he like many other young menfrom the State came forward to volun-teer. All he wanted to do was to, in hissmall way, contribute to the big event inhis State. When he went to the officewhere names of volunteers were being

written down he was told that he wouldhave to wear a suit. "I told them I woulddo anything that they wanted me to doas long as they wrote down his name inthe list of volunteers. At that time, he did-n't know anything about the endangeredOlive Ridley turtle. "I had never heard ofthem. It was much later, that I came toknow of the significance of the suit thatI was going to wear. I felt so proud thatI was representing my State and an ani-mal that needs to be saved," the Class XIIpass-out says.

The fact that he doesn't have a full-time well-paying job doesn't botherhim. His elder two brothers take care ofhis financial needs since Jena finds hiscalling in doing social work. "I have amobile and my brothers take care ofother expenses. They have told me topursue my dream. My mother also sup-ports me and tells me that I should dowhat makes me happy than be stuck ina job that pays well but makes me unhap-py," Jena tells you adding that his fami-ly is just as proud that he is Olly.

Jena also toured 22 cities in the Stateto spread the message about the gamesand the need to protect the turtle.Wherever he went he was greeted witha lot of love and hugs. People took self-ies with him; he greeted with a 'Hi, howare you. I am Olly'.

The Meets ends on July 9th and Jenahas just small wish — an opportunitywhere he can do good for his people.

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Novak Djokovic returned to thefourth round at Wimbledon bybeating Ernests Gulbis 6-4, 6-1,

7-6 (2).The second-seeded Djokovic lost

in the third round at the All EnglandClub last year. On Monday, he will bemaking his 10th appearance in the final16 of a tournament he has won threetimes.

Djokovic won nine consecutivegames at one point — the final four ofthe first set and the first five of the next— and though he was unable to breakGulbis in the third set, he claimed thefirst three points of the tiebreaker andwon the match on the Latvian's forcederror.

"I thought I raised the level of ten-nis," Djokovic said in a televisioninterview. "Comparing to the firstcouple of matches and the last coupleof weeks, I think this was the mostfocused I was on the court."

Djokovic, who won in Eastbournelast week, will next face AdrianMannarino. He defeated Mannarino inthe second round at Wimbledon a yearago.

���&������#�������#���"��$#����Last year's runners-up are back in

the second week at Wimbledon.Top-ranked Angelique Kerber and

third-seeded Milos Raonic bothadvanced to the fourth round at theAll England Club, though they haddifferent experiences on court.

Kerber, who lost to SerenaWilliams in last year's final, held onto beat Shelby Rogers of the UnitedStates 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 in the thirdround. Raonic had a more straight-forward time, beating Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain 7-6 (3), 6-4, 7-5 a yearafter losing to Andy Murray in thefinal.

"It was tough to find my rhythmactually. She played very well from thefirst point," Kerber said. "She was hit-ting the balls very hard.

"In the second set, I was startingto (feel) the ball better and better. Ithink the key was at the end that I wasfighting, and I was never giving up atthe end. Doesn't matter how the scorewas."

Besides reaching the Wimbledon

final last year, Kerber won theAustralian Open and U.S. Open. Thatmade her only the fourth player in theOpen era to reach three Grand Slamfinals in the same season.

This year, Kerber lost in the fourthround at the Australian Open and thenbecame the first top-seeded woman atthe French Open to lose in the firstround in the Open era.

After dropping the opening setagainst Rogers on Saturday, Kerbertrailed 3-1 in the second before turn-ing things around.

The top-ranked German will nextface 2015 Wimbledon finalist GarbineMuguruza on Monday. Muguruza, the2016 French Open champion, beatSorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-2.

Raonic finished with more thantwice as many winners, 55, as unforcederrors, 26. He will be playing in thefourth round for the third time in fouryears.

"I did a lot of things well today,"Raonic said. "I was efficient on myserve, created a bunch of opportuni-ties. I started getting better and bet-ter there.

"Maybe at the beginning I wasn'tcontrolling the situation enough. Butas the match went on, I felt like I wasdictating more so from the baseline."

The Canadian will next faceAlexander Zverev, who beat Austrianqualifier Sebastian Ofner 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.

Other women's winners onSaturday include third-seededAgnieszka Radwanska, CarolineWozniacki, CoCo Vandeweghe,Svetlana Kuznetsova, MagdalenaRybarikova and Petra Martic.

For the men, Grigor Dimitrov,Sam Querrey and Tomas Berdych alsoadvanced.

#��? �����#����Querrey and Tsonga's match was

called off at 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 1-6, 6-5, with the French 12th seed not want-ing to serve as the light faded, thoughQuerrey was happy to receive.

They returned to finish the con-test on Saturday but it was all over ina matter of minutes as the US 24thseed broke serve.

"My opponent was good today. Hedid three, four good shots, and yeah,that's it," said Tsonga.

Querrey said: "It's really the mostanti-climactic way to finish a match."

He faces South Africa's KevinAnderson for a quarter- final spot.

Bulgarian 13th seed Dimitrov hadan easy ride into the last 16 whenIsraeli Sela was forced to pull out at 6-1, 6-1 down after struggling with aright thigh injury that required treat-ment during the match.

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Page 12: in the name of Facebook. I respect Facebook but not ‘Fakebook’,” she said. While Banerjee saw “for-eign hands having good rela-tions with the BJP” creating disturbance in

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Whether you are a fan of hard metal music or not, musicalways makes your heart beat faster. Fans of metal willtell you that the beat and the music takes you in a world

which gives you a feeling of belonging to a community — thatof being free. It makes you feel as though you have the powerto change the world like the music of the 60s did.

In this spirit, 1,000 heavy metal aficionados descended uponthe lush green venue to witness what was truly a memorableevening seen at the Royal Orchid Resort, Yelahanka recently. Foran adrenaline pumping rock gig to fans dressed all in black sport-ing band merchandise were pooled together in the sixth re-runof the legendary Bangalore Open Air Festival 2017.

The venue was had a lot to offer besides music. Food trucks,bars, stalls selling handmade jewellery made of tree barks andplastic and customised lighters by Zippo had the fans flying fromall over the country to witness this annual metal festival.

“We chose Bangalore Open Air Festival to associate ourselveswith since you find a lot of rock metal music lovers here andour brand aims to connectwith rock music lovers,” LucasJohnson, global brand manager,Zippo Manufacturing Company,says.

In a country where Hindifilm and pop music enjoys mas-sive popularity, promoting aniche genre like heavy metalrequires a concentrated effort.Bangalore Open Air (BOA)Festival has been doing just thatsince its inception back in 2011.It is the only live event held inIndia that gives a platform forIndian metal fans to witnessinternational bands playing inthe country.

In the last decade, heavymetal has gradually developedan impressive following in India.The historic 2007 Iron Maidenconcert, which saw over 30,000headbangers (fan or performerof heavy metal music) fromIndia and abroad in attendanceand laid the foundation of aheavy metal movement in thecountry. Festivals like the BOAhave only helped in nurturingthe burgeoning metal move-ment.

So it was not surprising thatrock music lovers had started purchasing tickets weeks in advanceand were lined up at the entrance hours in advance. The eveningbegan with performance by up-and-coming bands likeSpeedtrip and Galaxy Crusher.

It was the third act — Kryptos — that had the crowd on theirfeet. The reason was obvious. The band was formed inBangalore by Nolan Lewis (vocals/guitarist) and Ganesh K(bassist). They are considered to be the true spearheads of theIndian metal scene, upholding the old school style from the 80s.Their tracks Starfall and The Coils of Apollyon were a hit at thefestival.

The next on stage was Zurich, Coroner. Their music com-bines elements of thrash, classical music, and avant-garde music,progressive rock, jazz and industrial metal with suitably gruffvocals. Coroner is one of the most influential names in the metalmusic industry and had the audience swayed with their hits likeDie By My Hand and Purple Haze.

The final act of the night — Nile — a band from Greenville,South Carolina, brought the festival to an epic closure with theirunique brand of extreme music which inspired by near easternmysticism, history, religion and ancient art. Their music is con-sidered extremely heavy with thumping bass, horns and ener-gy that is loved by their fans.

“The festival has been amazing. We had an absolute killertime playing here and we can’t wait to come back to India,” KarlSanders, the lead guitarist and founder of the Nile.

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Sound and light shows are a treatto watch not because they havea story to tell but the way they tell

it. Bringing that era alive using a beau-tiful backdrop only enhances theviewing. The same is true for theShanti Stupa show at Dhauli Giri inBhubaneswar.

Those who have had the oppor-tunity to visit this beautiful and lushgreen State would have had seen theshow and how the technicians bringAshoka’s Kalinga War to life. Thosewho have not, need to visit it even ifit is to just see this brilliantly playedout show that uses the stupa to bringthe story alive.

Of course, Odisha TourismDevelopment Corporation has cho-sen a beautiful site to tell the story thatmade Samrat Ashok finally walk thepath of Buddhism and spreadBuddha’s teachings and his transfor-mation from Chandashok toDharmashok. The show which hasbeen made at a cost of approximate-ly �6 crore has been designed byOTDC in association with ITDC andis considered as the costliest projectby the tourism department in Odisha.

The pristine white stupa is perfectcanvas to tell Ashoka’s story whichbegins with how despite being theyounger son of Bindusara — he wasfavoured over Susima, Bindusara’seldest son who was next in line to thethrone.

Since there have been TV serialson the man, there is nothing muchthat we don’t know about the Ashoka,the man behind the king but using acombination of sounds, lasers andpaintings, the story unfolds and mes-mersing you.

The show that was first aired inAugust 2015 has since then attractedmany, including locals. The 35-minute show uses 3-D projectionmapping technology designed byexperts Himanshu Singh Sabharwaland Ross Aston of Projection Studio,UK. The graphics uses the peace

pagoda to tell the story using OmPuri’s voice for narration in Hindi,Kabir Bedi for English and BijayMohanty for Odiya. This narrationhas been given a life by famousRussian artist Maria Rud who wasgiven the brief of the show becauseshe was renowned for designs, ani-mations and paintings.

Using bold colours, Rud has def-initely done a commendable job to tellthis story. With each narration, herstrokes — she uses her fingers — onthe pagoda are beautiful and hold you

spellbound by its sheer creativity.The way one painting gives way

to another, the way sounds and lightsplay out with each other and the wayeach of these elements move togeth-

er and make way for others to followis awesome. But then this is wheretechnology comes in handy andSabharvala and Aston have done agreat job of the blending.

The show plays out from Tuesdayto Sunday with Tuesday to Thursday in Odiya. Friday to Sundayin English from 7:35 pm onwards.The Hindi version is on everydayfrom 7 pm. There is no show on a Monday. The good part is that the tickets are not expensive —�25 for an adult and �10 for a child.

Next time you are inBhubaneshwar, do take time out foran experience where history comes tolife.

�How was it to be Jasoos’ father?It was fun to play Bagchi. It is an

interesting role. The film is entertain-ing too. The story revolves around therelationship between father and son andhow a teenaged detective goes in search

of his missing father. Since it is amusical thriller, it makes the

film different from othersand challenging to

work in.

� People stillremember you asBob Biswas ofKahaani...

Yes they do!Frankly, I waitedfor a role which is

better than BobBiswas. When

Anurag Basuapproached me for

this film, it caught myattention as it is bigger

and better than playingBob Biswas. People will

love Bagchi.

�How was it to work with AnuragBasu?

He is the most interesting directorI have worked with. He kept dictatingthe scenes. He knew what he wanted,everything was clear in his head. Wetrusted his vision and followed his direc-tions. There was literally no script,which was interesting for me. There wasimplicit trust between the actor and thedirector. When Anurag approachedme for this movie, he said: ‘I am takingyou in this movie because I want youin this role. So just act, and you will seethe results on screen’. The entire star-cast knew the story. But just before theshoot Anurag would narrate the shot tous. That’s how we shot the entire film.

�Was sharing screen space withRanbir and Katrina any different?

It was a learning experience. Theamount of work load they take to do jus-tice to their performances is tremendous.We had a great professional relationshipand supported each other. This ensuredthat we gave our best to this film. Everyperson in this film is important, start-

ing from Ranbir, Katrina, Anurag to cin-ematographer Ravi Varman, actiondirector Allan Amin and music directorPritam. The film is a difficult when itcomes to music. Pritam had to come upwith 29 songs which are a part of the nar-rative. He also had to work on six maintracks which are already in top 10 lists.

�Why do we not get to see you moreoften in Bollywood?

After Kahaani, many Bollywooddirectors approached me. But the dateswere clashing with the Bengali filmswhich I had committed to.

�What do you look for before sign-ing a film?

I like the variety of subjects thatBollywood is coming up with — be it alow or big budget film. Technically,Bollywood movies are rich. I believe thatit is the story which is the hero of themovie and this is true across world cin-ema.

�A lot of theatres have been shutdown due to GST. Your view.

We should all pay taxes. But sincefilmmaking is a creative field meant toentertain the audience, cinema andentertainment should be supported by theGovernment. Movies make people happy.If we make people happy by entertain-ing them through various means, it willbring down the crime rate. We all needGovernment support to make enter-tainment accessible and affordable.

�Have you started keeping a mobilephone now?

No, never! I still use the landlinenumber to communicate with peoplebecause I can’t talk over the phone forso long and I avoid using mobiles as itis the biggest hindrance to productivi-ty. Cell phones have become like toysthat consume all our time. Nowadays,everyone is busy with his mobile phoneall the time. It is annoying.

�What else is keeping you busy?I’m doing two Bengali movies —

Basu Poribaar directed by SumanGhosh, and Network directed by debu-tant Saptaswa Basu.

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�You are the youngest and one of themost successful music composer/direc-tor in Bollywood. Whom do you oweyour success to?

I really owe a lot to my parents asthey gave me complete freedom to fol-low my dream. I amaware of the fact thatthere are many com-posers out there whoare much more talent-ed than me. Over theyears I have learnt a lotfrom so many people,so I definitely owe a lotto all those people whohave been by my side.�What kind of musicwould you be inter-ested in creating?

To create more ofromantic songs — that’smy genre. Thoughafter the success ofParty toh banti hainproducers have been asking me to com-pose more of item numbers, but my indi-vidual interest lies in composing theromantic songs.�Why composing, and not singing?

I am a better composer, than asinger. Though I have done concerts withPalak di and people really appreciatedmy voice, but feel like an amateur whilesinging. Till now singers have beensinging my composition. But may be

after a few years, I may sing my owncompositions.�Your take on remixes.

I don’t think singers do complete jus-tice while recreating a song, but sayingthat some of the remixes have been real-

ly hit and much of thecredit goes to the singer,rather than the one whooriginally sung the song. Idon’t think I will everrecreate a song, but if I geta chance Lag jaa galewould be at the top of mylist.�You directed a movie(BroJaan) with I-phone7.

It is possible to shootwith iPhone; manyHollywood movies havebeen shot on it. The actorsenjoy it too.�You are a composer,actor and a director now.

Which hat do you like to wear?I am a music composer first, every-

thing else is second. �What next?

Right now I am focusing on my cur-rent projects in hand. We have recent-ly launched a song Musafir which isdoing great and I am busy promoting itand I am also composing a song forZareen Khan’s next Aksar 2. So my handsare full.

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Health and fitness have veryrecently become a fad in India.

With the rising aspirations of thepopulation the healthcare market hasalso witnessed tremendous growthand high market fragmentation.With people looking at supplementsand vitamins in new light, compa-nies largely based in the supplementindustry are trying to make a namefor them. Celebrity actor RandeepHooda, famous for movies likeMurder 3, Highway is himself a fit-ness enthusiast and has faced his ownshare of difficulties finding a com-pany with reliable safe, natural sup-plements for use. “I grew up inRohtak and when I started gym-ming, we heard supplements are areally big help in growing muscles,and we used to get this green pow-der I still remember. It was called‘Protein’ and you had to mix it inmilk and the problem was it didn’tmix. It just settled on top unless youkept stirring,” the actor tells you.

This started about four decadesback when Dr Randhir Hastir,founder of body building in Indiaand who trained Prem Chandra andThe Great Khali, found out that themain problem faced by bodybuilders in India was fake or import-ed substituent’s that gave nothing buthealth problems in the name of quickresults.

Even today the market faces

these risks but the consumers havebecome more intelligent and awe ofwhat they need to take.

Hastir dreamt of a fit and healthyIndia when he started a dot-combusiness selling genuine organicsupplements. He also started aninteractive website so that peoplecould talk to professionals abouttheir problems and get better rec-ommendations in the hope that, overthe years, we may have a healthy andfit India.

“Body building is not just aboutbeing muscular. It is about scienceand nutrition and about taking theright supplements in the amountrequired by your body,” Dr AnkushSabharwal, CEO of Body BuildingIndia (BBI), the largest fitness andsupplements company in India, tellsyou.

The use and need of supple-ments is not limited to men hopingto get six packs by gyming all day.Slowly, woman of all age groups andlifestyles are realising the importance

of keeping fit the healthy way. This is where Ros Nutrition

steps in — a company co-owned byactor Randeep Hooda. The goodnews is that it will also offer awoman-only range of supplementsto cater to female fitness and bodybuilding enthusiasts.

“This new line of supplementsis our own product which will beavailable pan-India through ourBBI retail stores and websites. Thefitness sector in India is growing ata rapid rate of over 18 per cent andis expected to touch �7,000 crore byend-2017,” Sabharwal tells you.

With this aim, BBI launchedGym 99 with the unique concept ofpay and play for the first time inIndia. It will provide customers anoption to pay just �99 to use best-in-class gym facilities across India.The machines and equipment areimported from Europe and the US.The gym aims to attract housewives,college students and businessmenwith flexible schedules. The aim isto expand aggressively and open 50gyms across India by the end of 2017with an investment of �25-35 crore.

“Our first gym will come up inDelhi and we are looking to expandto cities like Mumbai, Bangalore,Kolkata, Pune, Noida andGurgaon,” Hooda said, adding thatat such an economical price, thisfitness idea was meant to revolu-tionise the fitness industry as weknow it in India.

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TalktimeSASWATA CHATTERJEE

He shot to fame as Bob Biswas in Kahaani andthen went back to doing Bengali movies. But46-year-old Chatterjee is back in AnuragBasu’s Jagga Jasoos which is releasing on

July 14. He talks to SANGEETA YADAV about

working on the project

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The seculars (read anti-Israeli ele-ments, for the present context) havebeen yelping ever since it becameknown that Narendra Modi wouldbe visiting Israel. Now that he has

completed the historic trip, the lament hasbecome shriller — to lose intensity no doubtas the days pass and new issues are found forthem to latch on to. A Prime Minister of Indiahas actually visited Israel, for the first time —terrible! He has betrayed the cause of thePalestinians — shame! He has turned India’sforeign policy of decades on West Asia on itshead — disgraceful! He has ignored the sensi-tivities of Indian Muslims in the process —communal! What are we to make of the out-burst? That the wrath of the Muslim worldcombined and that of Indian Muslim commu-nity is to soon engulf the Indian nation? Thatthe Islamic global fraternity, especially theArabs and the Iranians (though at loggerheadswith each other), will sever links with NewDelhi? That the import of oil will dry out?That India-Islamic nations’ growing coopera-tion, especially in the area of anti-terrorism,will collapse? That the Palestinians are goingto turn their back on India?

None of these catastrophes is obviouslygoing to happen. The Cassandras know it.And so, they have nuanced their opposition byciting something that appeals to the intellectu-al mind of a particular kind and binds thecritics to a common thinking: Ideology. Andso, how can India, which has always stood forthe oppressed (Palestinians) and against theoppressors (Israelis), treat Israel with suchrespect that its Prime Minister visits thatnation? Further so, ever since Narendra Modibecame the Prime Minister, he has been on anoverdrive to change the ‘Idea of India’ to suitthe saffron agenda — and his Israel trip fitsinto that scheme of things. And thus, he hasindulged in disgraceful capitulation, no doubtunder the influence of his new friends in theWest, not to mention the Jewish community.

Many developments escape their attention,not because they have been forgotten butbecause their remembrance is inconvenient totheir template. First, the head of the Indianstate, President Pranab Mukherjee, visitedIsrael in October 2015. The skies didn’t fall;heavens didn’t collapse. Second, severalimportant functionaries of the UnionGovernment have gone on official trips there,and there hasn’t been any backlash from theusual suspects. Third, India established diplo-matic relations with the state of Israel wayback in 1992 — this is the silver jubilee year oftheir formal association — and has been nonethe poorer for it. Fourth, New Delhi recog-nised Israel in 1950, barely two years after thatcountry came into being, and it has not in theleast worsened its cooperation or relationswith either the Palestinians or the Islamicworld. And fifth, quite a few Muslim coun-tries, historically opposed to Israel, havestruck a level of understanding with Israel —Egypt, Jordan and Syria are random examples.They had actually waged wars on the Jewishnation. It’s true that several Muslim countriesstill have issues and they do not allow flightsto or from Israel to enter their air space (this

is the reason why Air India One, flyingthe Prime Minister to Israel, had to takea longer route to skirt the air spaces ofsuch nations), but their protests havebecome more symbolic than real in thesense that they have reconciled in termsof realpolitik to the existence of Israel.They may not recognise it but they can-not wish it away.

There is more. The Camp DavidAccords, a result of intense US media-tion with Jimmy Carter as President,had been signed in September 1978between (then) sworn enemies, Israeland Egypt. In 1993, came a set of agree-ments under what came to be called theOslo Accords, inked by the PalestineLiberation Organisation (PLO) andIsrael — again under American media-tion. These deals created the PalestinianAuthority tasked with limited self-gov-ernance in parts of West Bank andGaza, and recognised the PLO as Israel’spartner in negotiations on the issue. TheOslo Accords got the momentum fromthe Camp David agreements.Admittedly, neither of the accords didmuch to end the dispute, which festersto this date, but they signalled the reali-sation that Israel cannot be wished awayby closing one’s eyes and that those whohave a problem with it, will have to dealwith it in a mature fashion.

Wars had been waged before byIsrael’s enemies, at times using stealth —as during the Yom Kippur season inOctober 1973 — but they ended in Israel’sfavour. Even the 1967 Six-Day War, inwhich Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait andAlgeria contributed troops to the anti-

Israel alliance, saw Israel emerge in betterlight. Actually, ‘better light’ would be anunderstatement — at the end of the con-flict, Israel ended up with enemy territo-ry: From West Bank to Golan Heights toSinai to Gaza. After fewer than half adozen such direct wars, the Muslim worldrealised the futility of taking on a deter-mined though small nation through mili-tary might. Proxy fights (using theHamas, the Hezbollah, radical factions ofthe PLO etc) took the conventional con-flict’s place. Areas governed by thePalestinian Authority, and Lebanon,became the launch pads for terrorisminside Israel. But negotiations too hadbegun to resolve the dispute. Today,Egypt and Jordan have peace treaties inplace with Israel.

The Indian response throughoutthe tumult was along expected lines —as would be expected from foggy-eyeddiplomats and their equally disorientedpolitical masters. New Delhi went out ofits way to present an apologetic face, soto say, for having recognised Israel in1950. Because, recognition means notjust acceptance of existence — whichIndia’s Arab and Persian friends hadstoutly denied and rejected on Israel —but also a commitment of sorts to inter-act with that recognised nation. Howcould New Delhi of the Nehru and theIndira Gandhi eras bring itself to doingso? Nehru almost always disliked every-thing that the US liked in internationaldiplomacy (and the US liked Israel witha capital L), and Indira Gandhi was leftcharmed by one-time-terrorist-later-statesman Yasser Arafat of the PLO to

care much for the Israelis. Besides, herhostility to the US of the Nixon period(for good reasons, though) made it nearimpossible for her to engage with Israel.But the proximity to the Islamic worldhere did nothing to win for New Delhiany of its support on issues such as theKashmir dispute. And so, let aloneAyatollah Khomeini’s Iran, even theShah’s Iran did not stand by India dur-ing the 1971 war. Nor did, of course,those nations who are members of theOrganisation of Islamic Conference.

Throughout these decades, therewas not one step — not one — Israeltook which harmed or threatened toharm India’s interests. In fact, there hadbeen media reports that Israel hadsilently extended support to India dur-ing the 1971 war, which led to the cre-ation of Bangladesh and a crushing mil-itary defeat of Pakistan. A recent bookby respected academic and authorSrinath Raghavan, reveals that IndiraGandhi had sought — and received —assistance from Tel Aviv as she preparedto launch the war against Pakistan.Raghavan based his material frompapers he accessed at the NehruMemorial Museum and Library, todemonstrate that Israeli arms wererequested for and received by India.Then Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meirimmediately swung into action anddespite Israel being short of arms at thatpoint, she directed that no effort mustbe spared to meet India’s needs. Thepro-Palestine seculars howling today(and they include those from theCongress) must not forget this episode.

If memory fails some peoplebecause 1971 appears to be far off, suchones would perhaps more readily recallthe 1999 Kargil conflict between Indiaand Pakistan, when Israel helped Indiawith mortar and ammunition and sur-veillance equipment and laser-guidedmissiles. Of course, like in the 1971case, the Israeli help was kept muchunder wraps. It is here that the change isvisible now. A relationship which was inthe closet is now out because of theModi regime’s ‘daring’ to own it. It’s nei-ther amorous nor illegal.

The hypocrisy of the critics is amaz-ing. They have not had any problemswith the deepening trade and other tiesbetween the two nations, and yet theyhave a problem with the Prime Ministerof India paying a visit to a country thathas stood by India in times of need. AnIndian Prime Minister ought to havevisited Israel years ago. Indira Gandhishould have, after the 1971 help;Vajpayee should have after the 1999assistance. Even otherwise, an IndianPrime Minister ought to have gone toTel Aviv. But while Indira Gandhi wasunder the Muslim bloc’s spell as well asunder her domestic constituent’s,Vajpayee was hobbled by a coalitionwhose partners would have frowned atthe gesture. Modi has no such compul-sion and has made full use of the politi-cal mandate he has received from thepeople.

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It cannot be denied thatIndia’s trade ties withIsrael have grown consid-

erably over the last 25 years.Bilateral trade in 1992 wasaround $200 million; it nowstands at over four billiondollars. This is reflected in avariety of areas, rangingfrom defence to irrigation todiamonds to informationtechnology to telecommuni-cations to space explorationto textiles to internal securi-ty, and more.

And did Prime MinisterModi sell the Palestiniansdown the river during hisvisit to Israel? Only a befud-dled and hyper-imaginativemind would say so. In fact,even before his departure,the Government of Indiamade it known that thecountry’s Palestine policystood intact and that itbelieved in the peaceful

coexistence of a Palestinianstate alongside Israel. At thesame time, it made it clearthat the hyphenation ofIsrael and Palestine in thecountry’s foreign policy par-adigm had effectively ended.The approach to one wouldnot necessarily be dictated bythe approach to the other.Every move that New Delhimakes would be in keepingwith national interests andnot pander to hazy ideologi-cal positions.

So, what did Modi do?He pushed hard to promoteMake in India, bring in afarming revolution in Indiawith technology that wouldboost irrigation potential,and discussed joint measuresto counter terrorism, besidesconversing on other subjectsof mutual interest. Irrigationtechnology is, particularly,something that India, which

faces water woes for farmingneeds nearly every year —good monsoon or not —would be interested in.Apparently, the Israeli scien-tists have invented andplaced sensors on crops thatcollect data from these cropsregarding water require-ments etc and then translatethem into ‘irrigation com-mands’. The other area ofspecial interest, of course,has been that of counteringterrorism. Israel has dealtwith this threat for as long asit came into being — andquite successfully. Regardlessof world criticism at times, ithas not compromised on itsstrategy and has always hithard where it hurts. Indiacould learn from such anunapologetic stance. Israelalso does not mince words,and unlike other nationsfriendly to India, it is upfront

in naming Pakistan as asponsor of terror withinIndia. Mark Sofer, a seniorIsraeli official who played akey role in organising PrimeMinister Modi’s visit, said,“Israel has supported Indiaboth in its general battleagainst terrorism, as well asthe groups operating out ofPakistan. Unlike many coun-tries, we have not hesitatedto openly support India onthis. We find no differencebetween the Hamas and theLeT.” Nor should New Delhidifferentiate between the twoextremist outfits.

It’s time to shut outthose who see only evil inIsrael and refuse to acknowl-edge its contributionstowards India. It’s no longeran either/or situation forIndia vis-a-vis Palestine /Israel. It never ought to havebeen. Now that a grand

beginning has been madewith Prime Minister Modi’shistoric visit — recall thetremendous warmth withwhich he was received at theBen Gurion Airport, and theaccompanying pomp as well,by Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu on July4, and multiple hugs at theairport itself and each leadercalling the other “my friend”and “my dear friend”, leavingthe media wonderstruck —let’s hope it will be builtupon through even deepercooperation in both tradi-tional and newer sectorsbetween the two friends. Asfor the Indian PrimeMinister’s visit to Palestine— he will go, he will…Maybe soon, perhaps later,but not with the intention of‘balancing it out’. Those daysof amateurish diplomacy aregone.

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We often love torefer to a place bymentioning itsmost commonand famous icon.

Delhi and Hyderabad are oftensuperimposed with Qutub Minarand Charminar respectively, twoof their most famous historicalmonuments. Places likeDarjeeling and Srinagar arealways presented by images of theHimalayan toy train and ashikara in Dal lake; the mostcommon rides one takes whilevisiting these places.

Though that is not bad but itcasts a cloud of limitation beforethinking anything beyond thatwhen the place is recollected forany reference.

Assam is perhaps the bestexample which is marked with itscommon icons like rhinoceros ortea plantations. To a large part ofpeople in rest of India there issimply nothing beyond in Assam.This is awfully wrong.

There is an Assam beyondrhinoceros and elephants roam-ing in its deep and dark nationalparks. There is an Assam beyondall British tea estates and heritagebungalows. There is an unknownface of Assam that if exploredproperly, will floor all who nevertried to explore this State beyondits known face.

Impossible as it may sound,but the fact remains that on thebank of river Brahmaputra inAssam inside a deep jungle manyyears ago, a group of temples waserected with a plethora of sculp-tures and images that expressmoral lust and desire of men andwomen. Calling them eroticatemples will be improper becausetoday no temple of that groupreally stands tall. Instead, a hugeyard of stone ruins and brokenplinth of temple extraordinarilygives testimony to a pristine pastthat we have overlooked for long.

Like many of our archaeolog-ical gems in India, this was alsorediscovered by an employee ofEast India Company. Way back in1855, a man named Captain ETaite Dalton who was principalassistant of commissioner ofAssam toured the area and foundseveral deserted stone templesincluding a temple popularly

known as Madan Kamdev temple.He found all these in a placenamed Devanagari hills nearly 40km from Guwahati city.

Though he did some excava-tion there, he was not able to addmuch.

Captain Dalton soon con-tributed a rich article in Calcutta’sAsiatic Society journal titled‘Notes of Assam Temple Ruins’.

There he first mentioned anexistence of nearly 15 very oldtemples inside a deep forest nearSisako bridge on the other side ofBrahmaputra. It was perhaps thefirst time when such an impor-tant archeological site of Assamwas recorded. A devastatingearthquake in 1897 groundedalmost all temples of the regionand thus a huge debris was creat-ed with full of ancient stonesculpture and other decorativestone artifacts. From 1901, a localMuslim land official named

Niyamat Ali Mondal was giventhe responsibility to preserve thetemple which was by that timealready grounded. It was in apoor state that remained underopen sky for another 50 years.Finally, a scholar named TaraniKanta Sarma did dome seriouswork on these ruins from 1943 to1949.

The entire past of this extra-ordinary erotica temple is basedon assumptions as till now nowritten reference is found aboutits establishment and founders.Local legend says that a copperinscription describing the foun-dation year and founder’s namewas there but Niyamat Ali out ofsome frustration once threw it ina pond thus hushing up allchances of knowing the exact his-tory of the marvelous temple.However the 10th century Hindutext Kalika Puran and 16th centu-ry tantric text Yogini Tantra very

clearly mention Madan Kamdevtemple and its importance.

Today from its survivingplinth and thousands of brokenpieces of curved stones, it isassumed that the temple was builtany time between 9th to 12thcentury AD when rule of Paladynasty of Bengal expanded itscontrol in Kampur.

Pala Kings like Indra Pala orGo Pala is often assumed as itsfounder. One school of thinkersis of an opinion that its construc-tion might have started by a kingnamed Vanamala Varman Devaof Satastambha dynasty in 9thcentury and it was completed in12th century under Pala kings.However, there is no solid evi-dence on that.

From the remains of the tem-ple ruins one can still imagine itsmassive structure when it wasstanding intact.

The stone plinth which still

exists contains extraordinary fin-ishing of stone polishing withseveral human figures. No photo-graph was taken when it was firstdiscovered in 1855. So now it istough to imagine the actual shapeof the temple.

However from the brokenartifacts and various stone sculp-ture experts have imagined that itwas built in typical Naggar stylefollowed in the Brahmaputra val-ley. The temple had three majorparts. A pillared gateway withvery rich stone curving of floraldesign was the first part whileantarala or the vestibule was itssecond part. Mandapa or thegrand hall where the garbhagrihaused to house the main deity wasafter that. Today, the garbhagrihais a roofless hall where along withmany small and big images Uma-Mahesh statue is worshiped asmain deity of this historical tem-ple.

The image that is worshipednow for last many decades is ablack stone curved Uma-Maheshstatue where we see Mahesh theShiva embracing wife Uma in apassionate gesture very much inline with the theme of the temple.Apart from that a four headedShiva statue placed near the mainplinth is also mind blowing.

For its rich ornamentation oferotica panels, Madan Kamdevpopularly known as Khajuraho ofAssam, does enough justice to itstitle as plethora of human figuresin physical union are still embell-ished on its walls. Here union ofman and woman look passionateas well as divine. Physical unionin various position and postureclearly gives the testimony of acult which is little different fromtraditional Hindu temples. It alsoestablishes about a bold and opensociety and cult allowed amongHindus in Assam of that time.

Mythology has its own sharein making the legend of this tem-ple. As per that, Kama the God ofphysical lust, was once reduced toashes by Lord Shiva as he wastrying to disturb his penance.Lord Shiva destroyed Kama onlyby opening his third eye. It isbelieved that on this place, Kamawas reborn and met his wife,Rati. However a logical mind willaccept the fact that the temple got

its name only for an abundanceof erotic sculptures where Kamaand the lust of physical contentare expressed.

The major reason for whichthis ruined temple is significant isnothing but it’s bold exposition ofnudity in its decorated figures.This is indeed a surprising excep-tion in Assam. No temple evenKamakshya temple, which isfamous for tantra where physicalintimacy between man andwoman is counted as a part of thecult, has no such sculpture on itswall. Another jaw-falling excep-tion is the temple is west sidefaced instead of east.

Today’s Madan Kamdev tem-ple looks more of a ruined citythan a temple.

The hill top on which thetemple was once situated is nowpaved with cemented path whichon both the sides is decoratedwith a huge number of brokendesigned stone and various stat-ues. It gives an extraordinary feelto one while entering the temple.The debris of stone is full of wellcrafted stones that contain danc-ing fairies, floral designs, roaringstone lion, divine figures of menand women, various hindu motifsand some small miniature tem-ples. Broken pillars and lintelsalso with exotic stone curving canalso be seen grounded in thatdebris.

Near the temple complex, theGovt of Assam has opened asmall museum which houses anexcellent collection of brokensculptures all collected from thesite. Though the museum is notwell maintained and very badlyilluminated one should not give ita miss. It was set up with thefund provided by Dr ManmohanSingh who was then a member ofParliament from Assam.

We Indians have a traditionof destroying our rich heritage inutter negligence and this peerlessarchaeological ruin of Assam isthe best testimony of that. Assamis often referred to as. “…. thereis probably no part of Indiaregarding whose past less is gen-erally known”.

Ignorance and poor focus onthis ruin will only justify thatshameful theory.

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On August 24, 1974, Sonalhad a close brush withdeath. She was being dri-ven back from Nurembergto Bayreuth by Georg after

spending a ‘delightful day’ with theirartist friend, Herbert Traue. It was awet, lacquer-dark night on a desertedautobahn near the town of Pegnitzwhere there was no speed limit andone could drive as fast as one liked. Inlove, and heady like a teenager, Sonalwas humming a peppy song, when thecar’s headlight unexpectedly picked ona deer standing in the middle of theroad. Georg slammed the brakes hard,but their Volkswagen Beetle skiddedon the rain-drenched road, did threesomersaults, turned upside down andsettled on its roof. Sonal lost con-sciousness as she was tossed fourmetres away from the car on the hardsurface of the motorway.

Sonal threads together the eventsof that terrible night: “My flightthrough air and the impact of the fallrendered me unconscious. Georgescaped with only a whiplash injury onthe neck. Luckily, a passing car calledthe police from a roadside phone. Asprinkle of water and I came to, mur-muring, ‘I am cold.’ My blue Pashminashawl covered me as I was gently liftedby a male nurse into an ambulancefrom the nearby town of Pegnitz.”

After preliminary investigations atthe Pegnitz General Hospital, she wasreferred to the University Clinic ofErlangen, near Nuremberg, a cityknown for its specialised clinics andhospitals. X-rays revealed that four ofher ribs were badly damaged, her 12thvertebra was smashed to smithereensand both her collarbones were broken.Was it the final act, a denouement thateven her worst nightmares had not pre-pared her for? Trapped within a cara-pace of pain, her limp body lay underthe hot lights of the OT where thetreating orthopaedic surgeons gave hertwo options — to allow them to inserta steel rod in her back to hold up thespine, or to shroud the body with aheavy plaster cast to allow nature toheal her body. Impetuously, she chosethe latter option. During the two weeksat this clinic, support came from unex-pected quarters. An Indian woman,Vrinda Swatek, married to a CzechGerman, visited her every day withfood with Indian flavours. Dressed in alovely silk sari with a big round bindiand salt-and-pepper hair, her presencewas so comforting. She would bringalong a silver thali, katoris, spoon, nap-kin, glass and delicious food!

Georg was by her side from morn-ing till night. It was not the pain, over-whelming as it was, that seared her.She overheard one of the doctors tellGeorg that it would take severalmonths of physiotherapy before shecould walk. Returning to danceseemed improbable. For Sonal, thiswas like having her pause buttons per-manently pushed.

Letters, messages and telegramspoured in from known and unknown

people and places. Indira Gandhi’s wasone of the first, asking her to keep herchin up. ‘India prays for you,’ read themessage in her telegram. Fourteendays after the accident, Sonal wasmoved to Montreal where Georgworked. Her Air Canada flight wasalso shot through with someamount of drama. She wasto board the flight at theFrankfurt airport. Sherecalls, “As myambulance cameto a halt just infront of the noseof the plane, thepilots saw thevehicle. Thedoors openedand the captainstood there,arms firmlycrossed at thechest as I slid downon the stretcher. I stillremember every detail ofthat moment when helooked down atme

strapped to the stretcher and toldLechner, ‘We can’t take her. We are notprepared for this.’ I was looking up athim as a sacrificial goat might at itsrescuer. Even that did not help.Lechner whispered to the two male

nurses to unstrap me and haul meup. I staggered up the 40-odd

steps of the ladderhelped by those two

and greeted the cap-tain with a daz-

zling smile and a‘Good after-noon, Captain,thank you!’ I

still don’tknowhow Idid it.It was

almost like climbing Mount Everestwithout oxygen.” With no readymadeprotocol or blueprint for dealing withher condition, Sonal put all her grittogether to survive the 14-hourtransatlantic flight ordeal, with just asmall halt at the Shannon airport inIreland.

Sonal remembers that flight mostalso for the intimate camaraderiebetween her and Georg and the cap-tain’s thoughtfulness in ensuring thatshe was served bread, cheese anddesserts from the first-class menu.Georg’s apartment in Montreal was onthe ninth floor of a building called thePort-Royal on 1455, Sherbrooke, aroad lined with bars, boutiques,antique-stores and art galleries. Sonal,confined to bed and dealing with darkinterior monologues and haunted by

reminiscences, was getting to a pointwhere she wanted to dismantle hermemories, the pointless reveries of

the past. To think that all thiswas happening to her, awoman who exulted in her

body, and morethan that, in herdance. She says,

“And there was poorGeorg trying to

nurse me,sublimat-ing his

restlessintensity, assist-

ed by a German-teaching couple from

the Goethe-Institut,Bernhard andHildegard Beutler, whotook turns to look afterme. Lying on my backin the quiet isolation ofmy room, trying toblock out sounds fromthe legendary RitzCarlton that was justacross the road andwhere ElizabethTaylor and RichardBurton had once gotmarried, I felt as brittleas a glass doll. I couldmove only my fingers

and eyes. I went throughall the hasta mudras a

number of times, did eyeexercises like a Kathakali dancer andrecreated the accident and the ensuingevents with just those gestures and eyemovements. Nothing assuaged my feel-ing of impending doom. Whispersfrom the living room from wherephone calls were made and receivedreconfirmed what the German doctorshad said, ‘She will never dance again!’”

It was in Montreal that a well-known chiropractor, Dr Pierre Gravel,who had seen her give a lec-dem acouple of months ago at the Goethe-Institut, took up the challenge ofbringing her back to her feet. He wasvacationing in the beautiful LaurentianMountains, about three hours’ drivefrom Montreal, when he received newsabout the accident and drove straight

back to see her. He confessed that heusually would not disturb his well-earned summer holiday for anything,but when he was told that it was theIndian dancer he had seen a fewmonths ago and she had broken herback in a terrible accident, he droppedhis yacht on the lake, his girlfriend,Myrto, and cats in the chalet, anddrove down to see me. He told me howhe was himself a music buff and howprofoundly he was moved by Indiandance that evening when he had seenme perform. Pierre turned her roominto an intensive care cubicle, begin-ning his diagnostics with a bunch of x-rays. A couple of days into his investi-gations and after holding consultationswith leading orthopaedics and sur-geons on the exact damage to the ver-tebrae, he stood at the foot of her bedlooking rather grim. ‘I am afraid,’ hesaid with a dramatic pause, and as iffearing the worst, she looked into hiswarm, compassionate, deeply intimate,blue eyes, her own welling with tears,‘I am afraid that you will be able todance again.’ Even though she was cry-ing, nothing could dilute the adrena-line that Pierre’s simple words generat-ed. The days spent in despair paled tomonochrome in an instant, ready to befiled in neatly in her catalogue ofmemories, and pushed away. She adds,“Sensing what I was going through,Pierre caressed my hair and held myhand, which he was to hold all throughthe arduous journey back to a life ofdancing. ‘But it will be hard work,Sonal,’ he said. ‘You will have topromise to follow everything I say.’ Iwas ready to stand on my head if hedelivered on his promise.”

More importantly, Sonal promisedherself that no matter what it wouldtake, she would reclaim her life. Thiswas the beginning of the process ofwhat she loves to call her ‘second birth’.

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How did you come toassociate with SonalMansingh ?

My mother took me to herdebut performance in Delhi in1964. I would have been a littlemore than a toddler butremember the viscerally intenseexperience of that and severalother performances. A chancemeeting on a cold eveningheavy with rain brought ustogether in 2012, and magicallytransformed our connectioninto a deep association. I washooked!

How long did it take to com-plete this biography ?This actually took me threelong years to complete.

How did writing this person-ally affect you ?I was documenting an intense-ly lived life. It was like beingon a psychedelic trip. It mademe feel fully alive. I even triedto find echoes of my own lifein hers.

Sonal Mansingh lends aninsight into her private life.Was it difficult to get her talk-ing about her divorce, the wayshe was mistreated by her par-ents and guruji and her subse-quent relationship? How didyou prepare to interview herregarding this context ?With a cappuccino and somecake! Not given in to display-ing extravagant emotion, shestirred up memories related toher divorce and all that fol-lowed with a matter-of-fact-ness.

You are also familiar withclassical music and dance.Also, both you and Ms.Mansingh have talked aboutEuropean cinema, art and cul-ture in the book. Did thatmake your job as a biographereasy or tough? Because, onone hand, you could under-stand your muse’s perspectiveswhile on the other, you couldhave also had disagreements.Did that ever happen ?

Dr Mansingh possesses anenormous depth of knowledge.I must confess that often I feltlike a bit of a dilettante. I don’trecall any disagreements. Onthe contrary, we spent delight-ful evenings exploring enliven-ing connections betweenmythology, history, philosophy,literature and the arts. She wasfar from being doctrinaire!

You have called Ms Mansinghfar from apolitical. Whatabout you? Do you follow andpolitical ideology ?As a civil servant I am not sup-posed to be aligned to anyoverarching ideology. So to saythat I follow a specific politicalideology would amount totransgression. But I grew up ata time when activism wasmainstream and an entire gen-eration was neurologicallywired to a certain amount ofradicalism. I was also aligned tostruggle for women’s rights, forsocial feminism.

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Page 16: in the name of Facebook. I respect Facebook but not ‘Fakebook’,” she said. While Banerjee saw “for-eign hands having good rela-tions with the BJP” creating disturbance in

Jerusalem: History, it is oftensaid, is written in stone andremains unchanged. That is, till

history is challenged and revised tomake it truth-compliant. Or thecourse of history is changed bydeeds that seek to correct errors ofthe past that forcibly determinedthe path it would follow.

Prime Minister Narendra Modidid precisely that this past week during his historic visit to Israel.Witnessing his arrival and steppingon Israeli soil to a grand welcome byPrime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu was by itself witnessingthe making of history — or undoingthe errors of history, if you will.

From a time when Indian pass-ports were valid for all countriesexcept South Africa and Israel, to asummer day when the Indian PrimeMinister broke with the past to forgea new future by going on an officialvisit to Israel, it has indeed been along journey. Netanyahu in his effusively warm welcome speechsaid Israel had been waiting for thisday. He added, Israel had been wait-ing for 70 years.

But for the legacy of JawaharlalNehru’s rejection of any relationswhatsoever with Israel and his obse-quious pandering to ‘Arab national-ism’, the ideational forerunner ofwhat we now refer to as Islamism,the wait need not have been thislong. The much-celebrated ‘Nehru-vian Consensus’, which in reality wasone man’s bull-headed ideologicalposturing to validate his preachyrunning commentary on moralitythat was touted as foreign policy, hasbeen finally put to rest.

With Modi’s visit to Israel, whatlittle remained of the Nehruvian Con-sensus, moth-eaten and gnawed fromwithin, has been discarded into thedustbin of history. Nehru believednations have no interests but theyhave permanent foes and friends.That touchingly naive belief droveIndia’s foreign policy at the expense ofIndia’s national interest.

For close to half a century,nobody ever dared call Nehru outfor that for fear of being crucified bythe Left-lib intelligentsia whoseleading lights were willing hand-maidens of the Establishment. TheEstablishment, of course, was theCongress. The founder of the FirstFamily of the Congress, of course,could have done no wrong.

It took the advent of PVNarasimha Rao as the Prime Ministerto begin unyoking India from theNehruvian Consensus. Along witheconomic reforms came changes inforeign policy unthinkable till then.To him goes the credit for ending thedecades of estrangement and openingIndia’s doors to Israel.

The establishment of diplomaticrelations a quarter century agomarked the first milestone of a jour-ney that was delayed for far toolong. Modi’s visit 25 years latermarks the end of the journey. Fromthis point, India and Israel will trav-el together not merely as allies inquest of a better tomorrow but asstrategic partners mindful of eachother’s national interest.

Pragmatic realism has replaced

vacuous Lutyens morality; a nation’spopular choice of who deserves love,respect and honour for being India’sfriend in need has been accorded pri-macy over an individual’s insistenceon placing his alliance with Nasserand Soviet cronyism over allies thatIndia needed and still needs. Israelwas not alone to be shamed andshunned by Nehru and the post-Nehru Establishment.

The first challenge that Modifaced was to overcome the barriersthat still stood despite 25 years ofactive bilateral relations. For theEstablishment, intimacy with Israelby way of defence supplies andhomeland security cooperation wasto be kept in purdah. To lift thepurdah and come out in open wasnever easy. It needed three years ofefforts to get around to doing whatModi did.

Now that the purdah has beenremoved, Modi faces a differentchallenge: How to keep enthusiasmlevels high in New Delhi’slabyrinthine bureaucracy and get themany collaborative projects, espe-cially in the realm of space technolo-gy and the twin areas of agricultureand water management, off theground. India’s obdurate babus canbe tiresomely lethargic. In contrast,both the public and private sectorsin Israel move at great speed.

A case in point is the long-over-due renaming of Teen Murti Chowkin Lutyens’s Delhi. Given the poorsense of history that afflicts Indians, itis not surprising that few in India,and perhaps fewer in Delhi, associatethe column at Teen Murti Chowkwith events that unfolded more than4,000 km away in 1918. In popularperception, Teen Murti is aboutGandhi’s three monkeys, erectedacross Teen Murti Bhavan, Nehru’sresidence and now his memorial.

Nothing could be farther from

the truth. The Teen Murti columncommemorates the heroic valour ofIndian cavalry regiments fromHyderabad, Mysore and Hyderabadwhich fought the Ottoman forces toliberate Haifa, off Tel Aviv. Theywere not dragooned into fighting forthe British Army, but did so volun-tarily. The three figures on the TeenMurti column represent the threeIndian regiments.

That victory, like any militarycampaign, did not come without aprice. Forty-four Indian soldiers died,many more were wounded. The deadwere buried in the Haifa cemetery.Independent India forgot to honourthem, not so Israel. In Haifa, schoolchildren are taught of the campaign.Haifa Day is observed every year andthe fallen soldiers are remembered fortheir sacrifice on foreign soil.

Modi undid the folly of Indiaoverlooking this bit of its history byvisiting Haifa and honouring theIndian soldiers. Meanwhile, backhome in New Delhi, the chairman ofthe New Delhi Municipal Corpora-tion has let it be known that themove to rename Teen Murti Chowk,initiated in April, is now being‘reconsidered’. Why should the worldrespect a nation and its people whensuch callousness rules?

This is the centenary year of theBalfour Declaration that wasimpetuously, contemptuously andfuriously rejected by Nehru in 1917,though it had nothing to do withIndia or its struggle for freedom.Underlying that rejection, whichbecame the fountain head of Nehru’ssubsequent pro-Arab, anti-Israelactivism as policy, was his attempt tolink what transpired abroad with thesentiments of Muslims at home,much as MK Gandhi’s promotion ofthe ‘Khilafat movement’ was. Overthe decades this has become com-mon practice of the Congress and

the Left-liberal ecosystem it has nur-tured, along with its political allies.

By visiting the grave of TheodorHerzl, the founder of the idea ofmodern day Israel, Modi has madeamends, once again correctingNehru’s folly. He need not have doneso, nor was it listed on the officialprogramme of his visit. Netanyahusuggested, he agreed. Even if it waschoreographed, the substance of thegesture is noteworthy.

Yet another departure from thepast has been the dehyphenation ofIsrael and Palestine. It does not meanabandoning Palestinians; it means notlinking India’s relations with Israel toRamallah’s twisted politics that aimsto perpetuate conflict, not seek a solu-tion. Yes, India wants a peaceful reso-lution, so does Israel, and this isechoed in the joint statement issuedin Jerusalem.

But beyond that India has norole, more so in determining the out-come of any dialogue between theIsraelis and the Palestinians, nor is itfor India to prod either side intonegotiating a deal. Israel is clear thatany peace process or political dia-logue with the Palestinians is a strictlybilateral affair and mediators are notwelcome. India, as a senior Israeliofficial pointed out, would appreciatethis position. The appreciation showsin the joint statement.

With a common agendaanchored in bilateral cooperationand whose mainstay is cutting edgeIsraeli technology, it is now forIndia and Israel to put behind themthe wasted decades. Technology is agreat disruptor, it can also be a greathealer. Provided wisdom takesprecedence over ideology and thefuture is not held captive to the past.Therein lies the challenge for Modi,and also for Netanyahu.

(The writer is Commissoning Editor & commentator at ABP News)

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Ever since the ModiGovernment came topower, many national

flagship schemes have beenlaunched to spur the cre-ation of productive andhigher skilled micro, smalland medium enterprises.Such initiatives have thepotential to accelerate jobcreation in the country.

For example, the AtalInnovation Mission endeav-ours to promote a culture ofinnovation and entrepre-neurship. It provides a platform for the generationand sharing of innovativeideas alongside an incubatorto mentor and support young innovators.

Then, there’s anotherscheme, ‘IT for Jobs’ whichcomes under the Govern-ment’s Digital India Pro-

gramme, where the target isto train one crore studentsfrom smaller towns and vil-lages for Information Tech-nology (IT) sector jobs overa period of five years.

The scheme focuses onsetting up Information Tech-nology Enabled Services/ITand BPOs in every North-Eastern State to facilitateinformation and communi-cations technology enabledgrowth in these States.

According to TimWorstall in Forbes, India isrecording a remarkable dropin unemployment rate, 50per cent for the country as awhole and very much higherthan that for some States.

At the all-India level,unemployment declinedfrom 9.5 per cent in August2016 to merely 4.8 per cent

in February this year. Thisdecline is partly explained byhousehold demanded/allo-cated work under schemeslike the Mahatma GandhiNational Rural EmploymentGuarantee Act, whichincreased from 83 lakhhouseholds in October 2016to 167 lakh households inFebruary this year.

Make in India initiative:There are already quite a fewinstances of the initiative’ssuccess. In December 2015,Micromax announced that itwould put up three newmanufacturing units inRajasthan, Telangana andAndhra Pradesh.

Japan announced itwould set up a $12 billionfund for Make in India-relat-ed projects, called the‘Japan-India Make-in-India

Special Finance Facility’after Japanese Prime Minis-ter Shinzo Abe’s visit to Indialast year.

Huawei opened a newResearch and Development(R&D) campus in Bengalu-ru. It is also in the process ofsetting up a telecom hardware manufacturingplant in Chennai.

France-based aircraftmanufacturing company, LHAviation, signed a Memo-randum of Understandingwith OIS Advanced Tech-nologies to set up a manu-facturing facility in India forproducing drones.

Foxconn announced itwould invest five billion dol-lar over five years for R&Dand creating a hi-tech semi-conductor manufacturingfacility in Maharashtra.

Samsung said it wouldmanufacture the Tizenphone in its plant in Noidawhile General Motorsdeclared that it would investone billion dollar to beginproducing automobiles inthe capital State. Besides,there are many other pro-posals in the pipeline.

But many more comple-mentary initiatives, includ-ing the skill developmentinitiative, which adds 12 mil-lion youths into the work-force each year, needs to betaken care of so that themomentum is sustained.

As per the Ministry ofFinance’s annual report for2014-2015, growth rate oflabour force will outstripthat of the country’s popula-tion till 2021.

The most important

task, therefore, would be toimprove employability of theyouth. And, for this, theneed of the hour is to skill(including upgrading exist-ing skill-sets) 500 millionindividuals by 2022.

While the National SkillDevelopment Corporation,which has been tasked toskill 150 million youth inpartnership with the privatesector, has so far skilled a little over 5.1 million indi-viduals, it has managed toget just over 1.5 million indi-viduals placed.

Startup India: This year,there have been limited dis-bursements-commitments tothe tune of about �600 croreand there is a budget alloca-tion of �1,100 crore.

This is a small amountcompared to the nearly

�16,000 crore start up fund-ing in 2016 (Source: GrantThornton Dealtracker).

Also, the details of thepromised credit guaranteefund for start-ups are not outyet, except that it is intendedto have a corpus of �2,000crore, to be built over a peri-od of four years.

Minister of State (Inde-pendent Charge) for Labour& Employment, BandaruDattatreya, recently said thatover 3.87 crore candidates,and 14.8 lakh establishmentshave been registered on theNational Career Service por-tal and it has mobilised oversix lakh vacancies.

The Mudra Bank LoanYojana was yet anotherscheme launched by theModi Government to har-ness local self-employment

and to turn micro units intojob creating engines at thegrassroots level.

Under this scheme, in2016-17, 3.97 the number ofloans sanctioned were 3.97crore with the amount stand-ing at �1.80 lakh crore andthe amount disbursed was�1.75 lakh crore.

More than one-third (36per cent) are new entrepre-neurs. Over 7.64 crore peo-ple have benefited from theMudra loan scheme for self-employment.

As on December 23,2016, the total number ofloans sanctioned underStand-up India scheme was15,341 (women: 12,055,Scheduled Caste: 2,568 andScheduled Tribe: 718)

(The writer is a commenta-tor on contemporary issues)

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Page 17: in the name of Facebook. I respect Facebook but not ‘Fakebook’,” she said. While Banerjee saw “for-eign hands having good rela-tions with the BJP” creating disturbance in

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Just two months into office,South Korea’s President MoonJae-in had his first summit

meeting with the mercurial USPresident Donald Trump on 29-30 June in Washington. Given thecircumstance in which domesticpolitics unfurled in South Korea,leading to the impeachment offormer President Park Geun-hyeand thereby necessitating earlyelection catapulting Moon’s entryto the Blue House and endingnearly a decade of conservativerule, Moon’s summit meetingwith Trump assumes significance.While the liberal Moon haspledged to eschew the hard-lineapproach pursued by his twoconservative predecessors andchoose instead an engagementstrategy towards North Korea,Trump has upped the ante topunish North Korea unless thelatter gives up its nuclear andmissiles development programmeand declared that all options areon the table, including militarystrike, to force compliance fromPyongyang. So, it is pertinent toanalyse what really transpired atthe summit between the twoleaders on the North Koreanissue. Of course, there were otherbilateral issues such as economicthat figured in the agenda.Trump too is reaching out toChinese President Xi Jinping andJapan’s Prime Minister AbeShinzo on how to deal withNorth Korea.

Moon’s four-day visit, his firstoverseas trip since taking officein May 2017, is a powerful sym-bolic show of his personal com-mitment to the alliance relation-ship with the US, despite the factthat both he and Trump are noton the same page on severalissues. But the truism is neithercan do without the other. Hiddenunderneath was the urgency ofdeveloping trust and a good rap-port between the two leaders andthis was premised on a commonunderstanding of issues.

As said, Moon carried his ownbaggage to Washington.

Representing the progressive wingof South Korean politics, it wasnecessary for Moon to establish anearly understanding with Trump.Notwithstanding the differences inperceptions in dealing with NorthKorea, there was no real hurdle insharing their views on the Northas Moon too had expressed frus-tration with the continuous missilelaunches by the North disregard-ing the peace overtures made byMoon. At the hindsight, KimJong-un has lost a golden opportu-nity by not responding positivelyto Moon’s offer. Kim should havetaken advantage of Moon’s offerand gained from the economicassistance by at least agreeing to sitacross the table and suspendingthe missile launches as the firststep. It defies any rational explana-tion how a country in possessionwith nuclear weapons but remainsisolated from the world can sur-vive even when its peoples aremalnourished and live in poverty.

The circumstances in whichMoon came to power resulted inhigh public ratings. While Park’srating nosedived to just four percent, Moon’s skyrocketed toaround 80 per cent. Past SouthKorean Presidents had virtuallymortgaged the country’s foreignpolicy to the US, which had pur-sued a hard-line policy towardsNorth Korea. Moon is convincedto change this course. The ques-tion is: Can he succeed? Anyanswer to this would be prema-ture at the moment. Moon needstime to experiment his new idea.

Does this imply that his planto bring back the basic of the oldSunshine Policy and constructiveengagement can have any future?In this, Moon is likely to getoverwhelming support at homeas popular opinion tends toendorse dialogue as the ideal way

to resolve North Korea’s nuclearissue. Moon’s idea to achieve hisaim by fostering economic coop-eration, despite pitfalls, as a wayto raise living conditions ofNorth Korean people would havehigh economic costs to SouthKorea. The logical question,therefore, is: Are the people pre-pared to shoulder the financialburden, if the ultimate goal is toseek unification by economicdiplomacy? According to a studydone by Rand, reunification costcould top a staggering $2 trillion,of which $500 billion for militaryoperations, $500 billion for dam-ages, and $1 trillion to rebuildthe economy of the North. If thisis compared to the cost that WestGermany had to bear when bothWest and East Germany wereunified, around $1.9 trillion, thetask for Moon seems to be oner-ous because the economic situa-tions of East Germany then andNorth Korea today are just notcomparable. Yet, Moon deserves

a chance at least to experiment, ifNorth Korea cooperates.

But South Korea is caught in aweb of strategic matrix whereboth the US and China jostle forstrategic advantage over theKorean peninsula. It is here,Moon could be constrained toexperiment on his ideas as neitherthe US not China would allowMoon to have a free hand. NeitherMoon would find himself in acomfortable position to do whathe wants to do; the situation is toocomplicated to allow Moon thatfreedom. Should that mean Moonhave to go along with other stake-holders whose stands remain toseek harsher ways to punishPyongyang? That seems to be therealistic picture unless Kim warmsup to Moon’s peace overtures.

North Korea’s threatunnerves South Korea. The US isbound by alliance relationship todefend South Korea if it comesunder attack. But the US isangered as Pyongyang is increas-

ing hostility by developing thecapacity to strike the US main-land with a nuclear weapon,which is why Trump keeps alloptions open. China’s stake isequally high as it is worriedabout a North Korean implosion.In a wildcard scenario, unlikelyfor some time, of a regime col-lapse, millions of North Koreansshall enter China as refugees, anunwelcome prospect for China.This single consideration com-pels China to keep Pyongyangafloat and despite some supportto impose sanctions against theNorth Korea, it continues toremain its lifeline. Beijing wouldbe unwilling to yield strategicspace to the US by allowing UStroops closer to its border.

Moon is caught in this com-plex web of strategic ambiguitiesand can neither afford to annoyeither the US or China. WhileSouth Korea needs the US for itssecurity, it cannot displeaseChina either as it is its largest

trading partner. When Chinatook some punitive actionsagainst South Korea over theTHAAD issue, it hurt SouthKorea. Moon is aware that thevalue of his country’s exports toChina is more than double thatwith the US. China has alreadythreatened more economic reper-cussions if Moon does not haltdeployment of the pending fourTHAAD batteries. Steering a pathfrom this complex situation isone of Moon’s biggest dilemmas.

So, how did Moon reactwhen Trump declared duringtheir meeting that the “era ofstrategic patience with the NorthKorean regime has failed” and UShas run out of “patience” withNorth Korea and vowed a “deter-mined response” againstPyongyang’s nuclear and missileprograms? While both Trumpand Moon differ on the quantumof pressure to be put on NorthKorea giving up its weapons pro-grams, both the leaders presenteda united front. Both seemed tohave reached a “broad consensus”on issues ranging from defenceties to the North Korean nuclearissue. Notwithstanding his inten-tion to engage North Korea,Moon announced in Washingtonthat the “North Korean issuemust be resolved without fail”and that, “North Korea should byno means underestimate the firmcommitment of Korea and theU.S. in this regard”. Interestingly,while Trump focused more onapplying additional pressure,Moon wanted both “sanctionsand dialogue”. Moon feels thatsanctions alone cannot solveNorth Korea’s nuclear problem.At the same time, he concedesthat “right conditions” are neededfor dialogue.

What went unnoticed by

security analysts of the regionwas the stark personality differ-ences that the two leadersshowed in the potential areaswhere they have disagreements.Interestingly, at the time of presi-dential campaign, Trump hadcriticised harshly South Koreantrade practices and slammedSeoul for not paying enough fordefence protection from the US.But during the summit, Trumpassured Moon that the US “willalways defend” South Korea as anally, while emphasising on bur-den-sharing aspect.

Given the regional complexi-ties with strategic calculus of eachwavering over the other, can ahawkish Trump and dovish Moonconduct peaceful business? Eachstakeholder has compelling strate-gic compulsions which they finddifficult to dispense with, leavinglittle room for flexibility. In thissituation, having dialogue anddiscussion could face insur-mountable hurdles. And yet,Trump showed immense maturityin engaging Trump without sacri-ficing his own policy of engagingthe North diplomatically. Such astance can now obfuscate Seoul’sconcerns on Trump’s protectionistrhetoric and protect the life of theUS-Korea Free Trade Agreement.

On the security front, whilethe alliance relationship remainsintact, there could be a thaw onthe issue of Terminal HighAltitude Area Defense (THAADdeployment. Moon could illafford to overturn the decisionalready taken and cannot over-look that Trump was “furious”when rumours surfaced thatMoon wanted to suspend the fulldeployment of the launchers.With two leaders in oppositespectrum, the security dynamicsin Northeast Asia is now inuncertain terrain. !��!�������� (�����.�������.�������

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Time is ripe for the Oppositionto decide on the name of itsVice-Presidential candidate.Name of the ruling NDA’s can-didate will obviously be decid-

ed by PM Modi and BJP President AmitShah. But it’s a different case with theOpposition. Its candidate will be decidedby a panchayat of more than a dozenOpposition parties. Anyway, Oppositionseems to have learnt its lesson from thecontroversy around the name of thePresidential candidate so this time allparties are cautious.

It is now being said that all partiesare putting pressure on the Congress toagree on either a non-Congress candidateor an apolitical candidate for the VP’spost. Many leaders are forwarding thename of Sharad Yadav. According tosources, the Congress is ready to com-promise on the issue to keep theOpposition together. Particularly,Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhidoesn’t want to create an impression thatthere is a crack in Opposition unity. So,there is a possibility that the Congresswould not insist on candidature of a per-son of its choice.

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JD(U) has pledged support to NDAcandidate Ramnath Kovind in the

Presidential election. So, there is obvi-ously a question if Nitish Kumar willstand with the Opposition for the elec-tion of the VP or would he support theNDA candidate in this election too?JD(U) veterans have, so far, been silenton the issue. Probably, they are waitingfor the response of the Congress which istrying for Opposition unity on the issue.

Sources in the JD(U) are of the opin-ion that the party wouldn’t support anNDA candidate in the VP election. NitishKumar supported the NDA Presidentialcandidate due to two reasons: One,Kovind was Governor of Bihar, and two,he had good personal relations withNitish Kumar. That is why, the JD(U)officially clarified its position vis-à-vissupport to the NDA candidate and saidthe party supported Ramnath Kovind notthe BJP.

Whether the party would show thesame approach in the VP election, asenior JD(U) leader said it would dependupon the choice of candidate. He said “if

the BJP gives chance to an apolitical per-son or a leader with a good image fromthe alliance parties then JD(U) may thinkof extending support to him/her.”

On the other hand, a senior Congressleaders said, in the VP elections, Nitishwould be kept in the front. The party willput pressure on him to propose a nameof his choice. It is also possible that theCongress leaves it to the JD(U), CPMand NCP to take a decision. If thisprocess is followed, the JD(U) would cer-tainly support the Opposition candidate.

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Arecord cross voting is expected in thepresidential election this time round.

It seems that there are leaders in all par-ties who can go against the official partyline. It is also being said that BJP leadersare trying for a record victory forRamnath Kovind. They are trying toensure more than 75 per cent support forKovind. For this, Opposition leaders arealso being kept in the loop. One BJP

leader said talks with the Opposition inmany States have already been held andthey have assured help, which wouldmean cross-voting for the NDA candi-date. And if necessary, the MLAs who gofor cross-voting might join the BJP.There is an apprehension that the BJPcan do this in a big way in Odisha wherepeople believe some Congress leadersmight vote in favour of Kovind. The rul-ing BJD has already announced supportto the NDA candidate because had it notdone so, there would have been rebellionin the party.

Similarly, there is a crack in the rul-ing alliance in Bihar. Six or seven MLAsof the Congress and RJD might vote infavour of Kovind. But there is anotherpossibility in Bihar; some JD(U) leadersmight vote in favour of Meira Kumar.Congress can get a big jolt in the north-east too. In many States, Congress MLAsare ready to support Kovind. Moreover,the TMC is also facing a problem on thiscount. The six MLAs who have joined

the TMC leaving the Congress will sup-port the BJP candidate. It is almost cer-tain that all six MLAs will later join theBJP. BJP leaders claim the party is in con-tact with independent MLAs and MPsalong with smaller parties to ensure a bigvictory for Kovind.

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Nitish Kumar and his party leadersgave given long sermons on

Opposition unity for two consecutivedays recently. First, after the party’s exec-utive meeting, four spokespersonsaddressed the media and gave answers touncertainty over relationship with theCongress and speculations on the future.But their clarifications failed to cover upthe unease in the relationship betweenthe Congress the and JD(U) followingNitish Kumar’s decision to supportKovind’s candidature.

A section of political observers pointout that Nitish is deliberately targetingthe Congress. They say he wants that the

Congress must recognise him as leader ofthe Opposition alliance. He is aware thatonly in two scenarios can he regainpower in Bihar — either he is consideredthe leader of Opposition at the nationallevel or he goes with the BJP again.

In either scenarios, pressure has to becreated on the Congress. That is why it isbeing speculated said that there will bemany ups and downs till the meeting ofJuly 17. It is said that Meira Kumar willmeet Nitish Kumar during her Bihar visitand appeal for his support. After that, thesecond phase of the controversy willstart. When the JD(U) will refuse hersupport, the Congress will attack Nitishand the JD(U) would naturally launch acounter attack. Nitish wants to put theCongress in an awkward situation and ifit happens, Congress will withdraw fromthe grand alliance. But, the Congress toois aware of Nitish’s game.

In fact, Nitish is in a hurry and wantsto arrive at a decision soon. If he goeswith the BJP, he needs some time to sta-bilise. That is why it is being said thatJuly is a crucial month for Bihar politics.

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Priyanka Gandhi might take a plungeinto active politics in the next general

elections. Congress leaders are saying shewill be politically active from next yearitself so as to prepare herself well for the2019 Lok Sabha election. There is specu-lation that Sonia Gandhi will not contestthe next Lok Sabha election and Priyankawould be there from her mother’s seat.Congressmen say Sonia, Rahul andPriyanka have already made up theirmind on the matter.

Priyanka has already become moreactive politically. Apart from the trustsaffiliated to the party and the Gandhifamily, she is also being seen in politicalfunctions as well. She recently partici-pated in a National Herald functionwhere she spoke to the media. She putforth her views on recent incidents oflynching and expressed disgust oversuch ghastly murders. Her statement isbeing viewed from many angles.Sources in the Congress say that afterthe defeat in the Lok Sabha and UPAssembly elections, the party has decid-ed to use Priyanka as its Brahmastraand it is of no use to keep the planunder wraps.

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Rapper Kanye West’s bitter feudwith rapper Jay Z reportedlystemmed from his “frustration”

that his wife Kim Kardashian is notclose friends with Jay Z’s wife BeyonceKnowles.

According to a source, West was“forcing” his wife to be friends withJay Z and Beyonce so they could havea better relationship, but Beyonce hadlittle in common with her, reportspagesix.com.

This comes amid claims thatWest’s furious rant onstage ninemonths ago caused the fall-out withJay Z.

“(Kanye’s) rant was really aboutKim and Beyonce not being bestfriends. Kanye is frustrated that hiswife does not have a better relation-ship with Beyonce,” the source said.

The source added that West want-ed to put “pressure” on Jay Z to gettheir wives to be friends.

“Beyonce is a Southern, God-fear-ing woman, despite what you may see

when she’s entertaining. She may nothave much in common with Kim,” thesource added.

Singer Kerry Katona has cut herhair so that she and her three-year-old daughter Dylan-Jorge

have the same short style followingthe toddler’s decision to cut her hair.

Katona was amused when she dis-covered Dylan-Jorge had chopped herlong blonde hair into a short crop,reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Katona took to Instagram thisweek to share a photograph of herselfdonning the new look. She was joinedby her daughters — Dylan-Jorge and14-year-old Lilly-Sue.

“Okay so, I decided to cut my ownhair so DJ (Dylan-Jorge) and I wouldbe matching,” she wrote alongside theimage.

This comes after Katona earliershared a photograph on Instagramshowing Dylan-Jorge’s unusual hair-cut, which had prompted numerousmessages of criticism and concern forthe fact the youngster was in posses-sion of a pair of sharp scissors whichcould have caused her a serious injury.

But Katona hit back insisting that“nobody was hurt” and called for peo-ple to stop “slagging her off ”. (IANS)

Singer Lady Gaga surprised aclassroom of youngsters whenshe introduced herself as a substi-

tute teacher for a new ad campaign.In a video, the 31-year-old can be

seen showing up for school in a brightblue suit, reports dailymail.co.uk.

“I am Lady Gaga and I will beyour substitute teacher,” Gaga tellsstudents. “Wait — are you the real

Lady Gaga?” asks one student. Gaga has teamed up with Staples

for Students for the commercial, to pro-mote successful learning in classrooms.

“I want kids to love themselvesfearlessly. Not having materials atschool is a real problem, that puts achild at a deficit. Before we fix thatproblem, we need to acknowledge thatproblem,” she said. (IANS)

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British police have launched a publicappeal to find the owner of a human

finger, seven years after it was found inLondon.

Police said this week that theDNA of the severed finger,which came from a male, didnot match any missing personor crime reports of the timeand they have no otherclues.

It was found by a dogin the rear courtyardof a London shopin 2010.

“We havenow exhaustedall lines ofinquiry andhave beenunable to findout who thefinger belongsto and how the fingerbecame detached inthe first place. Itis quite the mys-tery,” said

Detective Constable Tom Boon.“We are now appealing for the pub-

lic to help us solve the case.” (Reuters)

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It was twice the decision for anIndiana man who not only proposedto his girlfriend, but also to her littlesister. Hannah Schaus, 15, hasDown syndrome, and her older sis-ter, Ashley Schaus, 23, has always

been prepared to become herlegal guardian when their parents

are unable to take care of her.So when Ashley and her

boyfriend of seven years,Will Seaton, 25, starteddiscussing the prospect ofmarriage, Ashley joked,

“You never thought you’dhave to marry two womenat the same time.” But, Willwas happy to.

Using a simple ringAshley and Hannah’s grand-mother had given him, Will

dropped down to oneknee to propose toHannah first, asking if

she would be his “bestfriend forever.” Whenthe teen agreed, Willturned to Ashley andasked if she wouldmarry him. “He definitely goes out ofthe way for her so this was more than Icould ask for,” Ashley told a news por-tal. “When she was born, my parentstold me she was going to be extra spe-cial because she had Down syndrome,”Ashley explained.

Although she’s now starting a familyof her own, Ashley is making sureHannah feels included, especially whenit comes to the wedding.

Hannah will even dance with thegroom in a special song, “Best Friend”by Harry Nilsson, and wear a whitedress for the big day.

“The happiness level is infinite, it’snot like she’s stealing anyone’s thunder,”Ashley said. (MSN Offbeat)

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When it’s sweltering in Shanghai, doas the locals do and settle down

for a nap at Ikea — if you can find anopen bed. Chinese have a peculiar pen-

chant for makingthemselves at home inthe Swedish retailer’sair-conditioned show-rooms, snoozing on

beds, dozing on couches, and eating atdinner tables — and the phenomenon ison full display as the sweltering summersets in.

With the mercury pushing 37degrees Celsius (98.6 degreesFahrenheit), people from all walks oflife — children with parents, couples,and the elderly — can be seen loungingand even, somehow, catching a few Zsamid the crush of shoppers. But an Ikeastore in Shanghai last year imposed a“no food, no seating” rule in its popularcafeteria, which had reportedly becomethe chosen venue for many widowed ordivorced elderly seeking a romanticmatch. (AFP)

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The theft of a famed cocktail ingre-dient, a mummified human toe,

has spurred the northern Canadianterritory of Yukon to launch a tongue-in-cheek campaign for an “insurance”

toe, in case the digit getsstolen again. In Yukon’sDawson City, drinking acocktail with a pickled toeis a time-honored tradi-tion that more than100,000 visitors haveundertaken, according tothe municipality. Thetoe was stolen from alocal hotel recentlysparking nationalheadlines. It came backby mail four days lateralong with an apologyletter, according to theRoyal Canadian MountedPolice. The Travel Yukongovernment tourismorganisation asked onTwitter for pictures of toesin the “Toenation Contest,”which will grant the winnera free trip to the remote,sparsely populated territory,a neighbour of Alaska. “Ourtoe was returned, but we canalways use backups!” TravelYukon tweeted. “Donateyours for a Yukon trip. Will

your toe make the cut?”(Reuters)

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Saudi Arabia’s KingSalman bin Abdulaziz

has ordered an over-enthusiastic columnistto be suspended fromhis job after he equatedhim with God, Saudimedia reported this

week. Ramadan al-Anzi’scolumn in al-Jazirah

newspaper describingKing Salman as “Haleem”,

or forbearing, and “Shadeedal-Eqab”, strict in punish-

ment — both terms associ-ated in Islam with God —appeared to have gonetoo far. Attributingdivine qualities or giv-ing individuals any ofthe 99 names of God isfrowned upon in thekingdom, which fol-lows the strict Sunni

Muslim Wahhabi school ofIslam. (Reuters)

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Times had been tempestuous.If it wasn’t worries aboutBrexodus, it was the dish-washer. Clank. Flood. Broke.The pound sterling had dis-

appeared down a hole I hadn’t noticed.The neighbour’s dog, my favourite, haddied. The tax bill was in. I needed torelax. It was a challenge — even inbucolic France. I’m so damned idle thata whiff of relaxation stops me at once,and indefinitely. I try to keep going.

So repose needs forcing. I needed aholiday away from roads and placeswith Wi-Fi. Past experience suggestedthat the best way forward was a canalcruise. Not one of those where yousteer yourself, crash into locks andbecome the laughing stock of inlandnavigation. I’d done that and it was asrelaxing as a civil war.

What I needed was the luxuryembrace of a barge hotel, where thedriving, and every other single thing, isdone for you. This, as I recalled, wasrelaxation with no escape, ideal for thewannabe sybarite with activity issues.Cruising across the Fresquel aqueduct;a private tasting of sparkling wine inLimoux — what’s not to like?

In less time than it takes to tell, wewere by France’s Canal du Midi in thelittle port of Le Somail, near Narbonne.It’s hailing distance from theMediterranean. The stone village hadbars, a tanned ambience, an unexpect-ed antiquarian bookshop and a sense ofcontinuity back to the days whenbarges were towed by horses, orwomen. “The great days of feminism,” Isaid to my wife, to mixed acclaim.

Awaiting us was the Clair de Lune,a converted cocoa barge 100ft long,16ft 6in wide.... Also awaiting us werethe four crew members, all beaming asif our arrival made their happinesscomplete. At these prices, of course,you expect a decent beam. But thesepeople: captain Julian, guide Nicole,chef Tina and hostess Audrey — had itmastered.

That was four crew for, um, four

passengers. Of the three cabins, onewas unbooked. The other was occupiedby a couple from New Zealand, anenormous stroke of luck. Had they notbeen genial, we’d have been doomed toa six-day house party through grittedteeth. Instead, we had a ball. “It usuallyworks that way,” said captain Julian, ashe would.

Granted, cabins were snugger thanon other barges on other canals (bath-rooms, too) — a matter of tailoringeverything to 17th-century lock size —but big windows helped, and how longare you going to spend in your cabinwhen whatever’s happening (to be fair,not much) is happening elsewhere?Notably on deck, with its table,loungers and hot tub. Here, the crewnow hosted a champagne welcome andJulian delivered a safety lecture which,had he been less polite, could havebeen condensed to: “Don’t be bloodystupid.” Coming to grief on a canalbarge requires determination.

And so we cast off and slipped outof the clogged-up 21st century into aparallel universe of serenity, sunlight,and diminishing alarm so that we’dwound down for the day by 10 am. Asignificant problem was thinking upwhims to be catered to. Another wasgenerating sufficient appetite for mealswhich, had I been a Michelin man, I’dhave been sprinkling with stars. We’dreeled back to a medieval pace, over-taken by cyclists and joggers. Grapesripened from sharp to sugary beforewe’d drifted beyond their vineyard. Hadwe floated any more slowly past canal-side villages, we could have stood in thelocal elections.

Unless chartering the entire boatwith family or friends, fellow passen-gers are vital and entirely pot luck.They’ll likely be American, or other-wise English-speaking. My wife wasonly the second French person Julianhad welcomed on board in more than12 years as captain. As she, my wife,has said: “French people with that kindof money go to Mauritius.”

Give me Kiwi companions everytime. I haven’t had such a consistentlymerry week since I left primary school.When guilt at sloth kicked in, wewalked or cycled the towpath, then leftthe barge daily for attainable bits ofsurrounding Languedoc. Nicole drovethe minibus and knew everything, asDutch women do. Rocky foothills gaveforth an ancient winery, a goat farmand an olive oil co-operative where ayoung woman tried to persuade us thatsingle variety olive oils were worththree times the price of big-namebrands.

Narbonne had a market raucouswith the abundance of southern France,the region’s finest Gothic cathedral, andan original stretch of the Via Domitiaout front. Higher up, perched abovegorges, Minerve sacrificed a good num-ber of Cathars in 1210. The place muststill give mothers conniptions, so sheeris the drop from many village homes.

Then we returned to the boat. “It’slike coming home,” said my wife. “Sincewhen did our house have wood-pan-elling, four staff and a diesel engine?” Iwondered. But she was already sortingout the boules. Each evening, we took atable and drinks off the boat to thecanal bank. Each evening, we had aNew Zealand versus Europe pétanquematch. Each evening, we strained to thevery limit. And, over a series of five, asany fool would have predicted, NZ ranout winners. They were awarded an eggcup marked “Carcassonne”, now doubt-less displayed prominently on a mantel-piece in Auckland.

The Canal du Midi is France’s best-known, and probably finest, canal.Here the luxury is luxury, but also thewinding down to pre-steam pace, thebetter to appreciate languid Languedocsurrounds: vineyards, rocky foothills,sunlight on the water, attended by first-rate food and drink, and a crew forwhom the word “service” doesn’t quitefit. It’s more like floating with friendswho want to please.

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Page 19: in the name of Facebook. I respect Facebook but not ‘Fakebook’,” she said. While Banerjee saw “for-eign hands having good rela-tions with the BJP” creating disturbance in

There is a pyramidalstructure to cre-ation; your posi-tion in the pyramidis determined by

your desire. Every being isborn with a specific desireand matching to that desirefinds a Guru. As one holdsthe hand of the Guru, he/shemoves to that level of thepyramid and the desire mani-fests. The problem beginsafter, as then, usually the per-son gets caught in the desireand is unable to move further.So he/she slips, and beginsthe downwards journey.

The problem of modernera is that our desires areembedded into the physical,physical is what the majorityunderstands, so even whenone sets on a search for Guru,he/she measures him onphysical yardsticks — how bigis his ashram, how many fac-tories does he own, etc.Beyond that, one is unable tocomprehend, missing out onthe essence of what the Guruis. In present times one wouldgive more respect to a Mathsteacher than a Guru, for thethought pattern is — “At leasthe will teach me somethingwhich I can use”. What theGuru has to offer, hardly any-one can comprehend or hasthe desire to receive.

It is okay to be embeddedin the physical because formajority that is the startingpoint, but if you have found aguru and are walking his pathand over a period of timeyour desires are still as they

were, then you need to think,whether you are wrong oryou are in the wrong place.

Long back, a saint hadcome to meet me fromGyanganj (it’s a villageenroute Kailash Mansarovar,where many yogis dwell, andwho are apparently takencare of by the ChineseGovernment). He was inDelhi for treatment of cancerwhich was yet to manifest inhis body, but which had beenintimated to him by hisGuru. He told me, that in theforests of Madhya Pradesh,there is a lake of crocodileswhere a female saint does hermeditation. She is among thefew, who in the present agehas some state in yoga. Shelives with the crocodiles thatdo her no harm, such is hermeditation. I told him, “Ok,then I will go to meet her.”He replied, “What you willachieve by meeting her? Hermeditation is her state ofmind, the level you are at,you will not be able to under-stand it. It’s her meditation, ifyou want to achieve it thenjust go and sit there.Anything short of that wouldamount to disturbing her andyou will achieve nothing.”

Yoga is not about achiev-ing more in the physical, it isthe journey of leaving thephysical and achieving attain-ments to go beyond. Youneed not leave immediately,but the desire to leave shouldbe there in you, then as youwalk the path automaticallythings will leave you and you

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Who lives if India dies and who dies if India lives— these words of Jawaharlal Nehru spokendecades ago echo even today as communities

are being targeted for selective lynching.If the recent incidents of mob violence are any symp-

toms, all is not well with the country’s health. FromDelhi to Jharkhand, from Kashmir to Kerala we are wit-nessing violent outbursts of mobs against select individu-als and groups on flimsy and sometimes false pretexts.The day the young teenager Junaid was brutally mur-dered in the train between Delhi and Mathura, anotherincident happened in Giridih of Jharkhand. These do notseem to be stray incidents of spontaneous mob violence.They may well be part of large devious designs aimed todestroy the social fabric of this great country where dif-ferent communities, castes, classes and religions hadlearned to co-exist after bitter experiences. The incidentsare pointers that indicate a trend and need to be viewedin a larger perspective. Dismissing them as hate crimeslocalised to certain regions may be a naïve conclusion.The point that can be ignored at our own peril is thatsome sinister forces are working to pit one communityagainst another. It was mob lynching in Jharkhand some-time back and the trigger was that the victims werealleged child lifters. It was mob lynching in UttarPradesh and the victims were accused of carrying beef.The list is endless. Pitting community against communi-ty, class against class, caste against caste appears to be adiabolic design. It has to be understood that the inci-dents are not just spontaneous reactions to some provo-cation. Rather they seem to be a dangerous game planwith oblique motives and executed by those forces whoplant agent provocateurs among masses. Inciting peopleto violence and murder appear to be well orchestratedactions. Why are we not looking at this angle is rathersurprising given the fact that ‘foreign hand’ has a knownhistory in India. Of course, sometimes these acts are alsocarried out to settle personal scores. It has happened inthe past too. The attack on the police and army person-nel in Jammu and Kashmir can also be acts of plannedand calculated behaviour camouflaged as mob violence.We can be reminded of what happened some threedecades ago in Kolkata when DCP Vinod Mehta wasbrutally lynched at Garden Reach. A similar incidenttook place in Bihar in which a mob incited by a schem-ing Parliamentarian lynched the Gopalganj DMGKrishnaiyyah some two decades ago. Whether it is forpersonal score or the part of a larger anti-India cam-paign, the fact remains that these lynchings are not sim-ple acts of mob violence. They are carefully planned actsof murder. It is time to go deep into such incidents andlook at them with the critical lens. Sleeper cells can beplanted for these acts too. It is time our intelligence agen-cies examine these seemingly improbable theoriesbecause anything that happens occasionally is an acci-dent, but if frequency is beyond reasonable degree it maybe a part of a larger conspiracy. These ominous portendsare not to be winked over.

We may be reminded of a famous couplet fromIqbal paraphrased below:

Think of the nation o' ignorant, the trouble is lurk-ing; indications of impending disaster are there is theskies. If you do not take guard you may well perish andyour tale may get erased from the books of history.

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will realise the ultimate.Rahim in a couplet

explains that bishop, a power-ful piece in the game of chess,can never become the queen,he walks diagonally. Eventhough he kills a lot of power-ful pieces, achieves a lot ofphysical feats, he cannotachieve the ultimate (which isthe queen in game of chess).An ordinary pawn on the otherhand, only walks straight andhas the capacity to achieve littlein the physical, but if its focusis fixed on the last square, itbecomes the queen. Similarlyin life, if you have focus anddesire for the last square, youtoo will achieve that. It is Guruand focus on desire for theUltimate that will take you upthe pyramid of evolution elseyou will keep going in circles,achieving physical.

When you meet a Gurugradually desires change fromlower to higher. As you move upthe pyramid of spirituality, theaccommodating power at everysubsequent level reduces. Sothere is lesser and lesser numberof people around. Like you findvery few people in the upperreaches of Himalayas, only a fewbodies can survive in that envi-ronment. A move up the pyra-mid is a move away from thebase which symbolises physicaldesire and physical creation. Soif you are looking for network-ing, building contacts, collectingassets, expansion of business,showing off your position in anorganisation etc, you are actuallyworking on the reverse principleand moving towards the base of

the pyramid.The present understanding

of the term guru is rooted inthe physical with innovativeterms like “love guru”, “busi-ness guru”, “managementguru” etc., becoming popular.Earlier there was just Guru.This is indicative of the wrongthought process and desirepattern of people. Even pil-grimages have turned into pic-nic spots in present times,where people go in the hope offulfilling material aspirations.If your desires are rested in thephysical, then you need not goto a Guru. Simple charity andservice and following the lawsof creation is enough toachieve physical desires. Guruis needed when you want tounderstand what lies beyond,and desire for attainment ofyoga to go out of the ambit oflife and death.

The higher you are in thepyramid of spirituality, thegreater is the impact of the falland the more you hurt yourself.The fall takes you to lowerdimensions and births, and youfall only if you lose focus andguru’s hand slips away from you.

Gurus don’t ask you forwealth, so it is a risky proposi-tion. When you go to them,you go for your evolution, notto fill their coffers. There hasto be a reason to find a Guru,desire should be firm toachieve the ultimate andattainment of yoga, not forphysical gratification and plea-sures, but for going beyond.

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Everyone without exceptiongets physical pain/sufferingin this material world. We

always have a choice to try toreduce it, but that can only go sofar as to reduce the degree ofpain/suffering but it must still betolerated. However, not everyonesees it this way. They try to avoidit by using their variousresources, especially drugs. In thebargain, they fall prey to mentalsuffering because they are boundto be worried, scared, anxiousabout return of physical pain/suf-fering.

Let me start with a story. Thestory is of a family in Patna. A cou-ple with their three college goingsons and a daughter was livingpeacefully. However, fate hadsomething else in store for them.The local dada took a fancy for theyoung girl and began to harass herin many ways. He would follow her

when she went to her college orsometimes try to speak to her. Atfirst the girl tried to ignore him anddid not mention this to her family,but when this became excessive, shecomplained. The family memberswere shocked and at the same timevery scared. Still, her father mus-tered courage and approached thisruffian. The reaction was verymuch on expected lines; this thugthreatened her father with physicalviolence if he ever came near him.

Feeling dejected and hopeless,the family members consulted oneanother and decided to seek helpfrom police. The eldest son wentto the police station and spoke tothe station head. He refused toregister a complaint; he happenedto be a close relative of this goon.

Now what could the familyhave done? They fervently hopedthat this man will soon lose inter-est in the girl and leave her alone.

But this did not happen. If any-thing, he became more obnoxiousafter learning from his police rela-tive about the complaint againsthim. His conduct had becometotally unbearable. The family

thought of selling their house andmoving away, but due to the fearof this thug no one was preparedto buy it.

Unable to bear the mental suf-fering any longer, the youngest

brother picked up an iron rod andwent out looking for the thug. Hedid not inform his family membersbecause he was sure they wouldprevent him from doing this almostsuicidal act. He approached thedada and attacked him with theiron rod. The thug was initially sur-prised, because he was not used tophysical confrontation. They foughtand both got grievously hurt. Afterthat, this man never bothered thegirl again.

This was an extreme case but aconsiderable percentage of thepopulation chooses to embracemental suffering in order to avoidphysical discomforts or obtainmaterial objects illegally in orderto enjoy them. How will youexplain stealing or taking bribes?The one indulging in this knowsfor sure that his or her mentalpeace will be gone because of thefear of being caught. Such a person

does not realise that his or herthoughts and actions are doinggreater damage to him than whatany physical suffering or discom-fort would have done.

Let us analyse these two suffer-ings. Physical pain or discomfort isalways temporary; it comes andgoes. But, the mental suffering likethat of a criminal always stays withhim or her24 hours a day, causingmore pain than any degree ofphysical pain may give. There arecountless cases of extreme physicalbravery. However, mental sufferingis so debilitating that many con-template committing suicide and afew do so too.

Let us, therefore, accept theunavoidable physical pain/suffer-ing and avoid mental suffering.We would do ourselves a greatfavour.

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The other day, I was introduced toa senior journalist. Having learntthat I happen to be an astrologer,

his instant response was: “I don’t believein astrology at all. So, I keep off itsperimeters.” “Well, if this discipline wasreally a belief mechanism, even I wouldhave taken the same stand”, I responded.He countered, “What do you mean?Astrology doesn’t have a scientific valid-ity. So, no rational person wouldencourage it.”

My friend, you have declared astrol-ogy a belief, based either on your ownindividualistic belief or hearsay. Let meremind you that sense of rationality andscientific temper calls for an in-depthenquiry with an open mind, free fromany preconditioning whatsoever, beforearriving at judgment. And you don’tseem to have explored the premise onwhich this discipline works. Let meinform you that astrology as a disciplinedoesn’t need any scientific validation.For, it is this very discipline that hashelped modern science to have takenoff.

A run into history becomes impera-tive to make things clear. In ancienttime, agriculture alone was the life lineof people. So, wise men of the yore were

keen to acquire knowledge about allthat would anyway influence the cropcycle. In the process, they first gatheredthat crop cycle moved in correspon-dence with weather cycle, which goesby annular motion of the Sun. Theylater realised that by and large theweather cycle follows a yearly pattern,but it remains subject to variation everyyear. In a bid to explore the reasonsunderlying such variation, the wise menexplored the role played by other plane-tary bodies. Once, they had developed afair understanding of the subject mat-ter, they felt the need to formulatethem. In the process they felt the needof symbols, and the first to evolve werethe numbers identified with differentplanets. Had the system of numbers notcome into place, and the world knowsthat it developed in India, sciencewould not have had the ground tomove.

Well, let me make it clear, the plane-tary bodies are not to be seen just asphysical objects moving in the cosmos.They actually serve as markers to differ-ent energy streams flowing throughnature, with one or the other planet incentre. And the fact that we are all apart of a unified organism, set into an

interdependent frame work, how can weafford to be spared of their influence?But having said that, let me add herethat the planets are not the doers. Wehold the key to all actions on our part,according as our individualistic mentaldispensation. And an energy mappingof the heaven (read planetary alignmentat the time of one’s birth), reflects uponthe karmic carry over from the past,which defines one’s inherent mind-traits, and with a fair amount of preci-sion. Let me add here that it is the ener-gy connect between the planetary radia-tions and the making of a being in ener-gy frame, is what sets the premise ofastrological study. So, this discipline canon no count be termed as belief.

The reason why many raise theirfingers on the rationality of astrology isthat they mistakenly take it as a destinydefining discipline, which it is not. Itdoes, however, speak out of the makingof an individual mind, which in factdefines one’s destiny trends. So, if weuse this discipline to figure out one’spersonality trends, it can serve as a veryeffective diagnostic tools towardshuman resource development. For, itmay offer clues to necessary reform inone’s thought process, needed to ensuremeaningful actions on our part.

A case in point is that of an ambi-tious young man, as would mind indica-tor Moon beautifully aligned to Uranusmay mean. He took off in life early, andregistered quick growth. But after tast-ing success, he lost his sense of alert.His business then suffered severe set-back because of his own indiscretemoves, as a fallout of his personalityinconsistencies. The astrological point-ers are the Sun opposite Saturn;Mercury conjunct Mars, and bothadverse to Rahu and Neptune; andVenus ill-disposed off to Neptune andKetu.

The obvious implication is that ashe became complacent, he lost his senseof direction. Following which, hisunmindful impulsive acts, based oninsensible reasoning and judgment, ledto severe business setbacks. In theprocess, he lost heavily, and has notbeen able to recover so far. He couldbounce back again, provided headdresses his fault lines.

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