April 23, 2016

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Volume-2, Issue-33 I Saturday, April 23, 2016 

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Price 3.00 I Pages 8 I SURAT I RNI NO : GUJENG/2015/63176 

TEACHER STUDENT 

RELATIONSHIP 

Welcome To Surat ‘Booze’ Plaza 

Surat 

Raja Chowdhury 

April 22, 2016 

It seems that the Surat administration 

is yet to implement the no 

liquor policy of the state government 

or perhaps is yet to receive 

the copy in writing. 

Sale of liquor in Surat, reported 

hundred of times, both at the 

national and the state level in various 

newspapers and television 

channels continues unabated in 

various corners in the city. 

According to the latest undercover 

investigation, your favourite 

English newspaper The 

National Dawn, discovered that 

the bootleggers prefer to continue 

their trade from shanties and 

slums as it is easier for them to 

control the situations through the 

narrow bylanes when emergence 

arises. 

The question TND want to raise 

is not the sale of liquor as it has 

already been done repeatedly in 

the past with almost nothing done 

to curb the menace either by the 

government or the administration. 

The real question is that if the 

administration is clear in its intention 

then from where and 

how these bootleggers manage 

these huge quantities of bottles? 

why the porous city borders have 

‘pocket porous’ officials? And 

this business is carried out from 

several points in the city hence 

what about the transportation? 

How such huge quantities manage 

to be transported to different destinations 

of the city? Why such 

dens resurface immediately after 

raids? 

This business, in such huge 

quantity indicates that all are not 

sacred souls in the city administration. 

There are some loopholes 

which the seniors have avoided 

till date. 

Moreover, the bottles they 

sell, are not only from the nearby 

Union territory of Daman. The 

printline on some of these bottles 

even suggest that these bottles 

have been manufactured in Rajasthan, 

Maharashtra and far off 

Haryana. 

It is also been reported that 

Chief Minister Anandiben Patel 

is dead against sale of liquor in 

the state and has given strict orders 

to the senior police officials 

to keep a check on sale of liquor 

and gambling dens in the state but 

it seems that the officials give a 

deaf ear. 

In Surat, alcohol is easily the 

worst kept secret till date. These 

bootleggers, surprisingly, also 

deal in some upmarket brands as 

well. Jose Cuervo Gold, Chivas 

Regal, Cointreau, Bailey’s Irish 

Creme, Campari, Kahlua are 

some of the world famous brands, 

easily available with bootleggers 

in Surat slums. 

Its high time when the women 

folk of the city, like in other parts 

of the country should come out in 

protest against the social menace. 

In 2010, sustained movement 

undertaken by Sakhi mandals, 

women self help groups, in Surat 

and Tapi districts to kill the evil 

of liquor addiction in the villages 

was an instant hit. Most of these 

women were those widowed at a 

young age after their husbands 

died due to liquor addiction. So 

fed up were these women with 

the menace that they took upon 

themselves to destroy the illegal 

breweries in interior tribal villages. 

Armed with sticks and pipes, 

the women used to set out daily, 

Investigation 

Operation Madhushala 

attack the breweries and break the 

containers of hooch and torch the 

material used to make the brew. 

Braving threats and non-cooperation 

of police till 2011, these 

women had managed to raze large 

number of breweries. 

In some villages the liquor 

brewing has come under control 

while in majority of the villages 

the liquor breweries have started 

operating again soon after the 

Sakhi Mandal movement came to 

rest in 2013. 

Commissioner Speaks 

Surat Commissioner of Police 

Ashish Bhatia, while talking 

about steps taken by the police, 

said: “ We conduct raids on a regular 

basis. There are various ways 

in which the bootleggers transport 

their material. Its not only through 

roads but also through trains, the 

bottles are being brough into the 

city areas. Stringent action in 

accordance to the law is taken 

against the bootleggers.” 

Interestingly, Ashish also said 

that drives are also conducted on 

citizens ‘high on spirits’. appropriate 

actions follow. But TND 

asks, in a city or state where alchohol 

is totally banned, why the 

need for such drives arise? we 

have heard of such drives in other 

states where hard drinks are not 

prohibited. 

Hardcore Investigative stories every 

Saturday on The National Dawn 

Soft reporting is over now. Surat Citizens get ready for 

some hardcore investigative stories on every Saturday. Days 

of Corrupt practices and babudom is all set to see the dooms 

day. Now your favourite newspaper, The National Dawn 

will publish atleast one investigative story every week for its 

passionate readers. 

If you have any story idea or have information regarding 

any corrupt practice just mail us on 

thenationaldawn@gmail.com 

Who knows the next story can be yours…if you want your 

identity will be kept a close secret. 

So readers, watch this space. Every weekend and wish you 

a happy reading. 

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2 

Saturday, 

April 23, 2016 

SOUTH GUJARAT 

Guj constable killed by historysheeter 

held from Vadodara 

Vadodara 


A history-sheeter accused 

of killing a constable 

inside city crime 

branch office has been 

arrested within 24 hours 

from Karjan railway station 

in Vadodara district, 

police said today. 

Manish Balai was apprehended 

last night from 

Karjan railway station 

with the help of railway 

authorities and Vadodara 

police, police said. 

Constable Chandrakant 

Makwana (37) was 

allegedly murdered by 

Balai, a history-sheeter, 

inside the squad office of 

high security city crime 

branch office during interrogation 

yesterday 

morning. He had managed 

to flee from the spot 

after committing the murder. 

Balai, a native of Rajasthan, 

went to Mumbai 

via train and had planned 

to reach Jaipur from Bandra-Jaipur 

express, Joint 

Commissioner of Police 

(crime branch) J K Bhatt 

said today. 

“As we had put his 

phone on surveillance, 

we realised that he has 

reached Mumbai from 

here. He then planned to 

reach Jaipur by Bandra-Jaipur 

train in evening. 

Thus, we have decided 

to intercept him while it 

passed through Gujarat,” 

Bhatt said. 

A crime branch team 

comprising over 200 

personnel and officers, 

including some of Vadodara 

police, took their 

positions at Karjan station, 

around 40 kms from 

Vadodara, in night in civil 

attire. They were led by 

Deputy Commissioner 

of Police (crime) Deepan 

Bhadran. 

“In order to not create 

any panic among passengers, 

we requested railway 

authorities to stop 

the train at Karjan station, 

which is not a stoppage 

of that train. One of the 

teams found Manish inside 

a general coach and 

nabbed him. He was then 

brought here by our team 

here,” the officer said. 

Police will produce 

Balai before a local court 

to seek his remand, Bhatt 

said. 

The incident comes 

as an embarrassment to 

the image of the elite 

force, which has a high 

reputation of solving 

crimes, happened despite 

three-layered security 

deployed at the crime 

branch. 

According to the crime 

branch, Balai was brought 

to the office by Makwana 

in connection with a loot 

case for questioning. 

“Balai had hit an iron 

rod on Makwana’s head 

and face and managed to 

flee. We learnt about the 

murder only after 6 AM 

as there was hardly anyone 

present in the office 

during night,” Assistant 

Commissioner of Police 

(Crime) C N Rajput said. 

Cop killed in DCB office, body spotted after 4 hrs 

Ahmedabad 


A37-year-old constable was 

murdered inside the office of 

Detection of Crime Branch 

(DCB) allegedly by a suspect in 

a loot case in the wee hours of 

Thursday. The accused, identified 

as Manish Balani, allegedly 

hit Constable Chandrakant 

Makwana with an iron rod before 

scaling the wall of the DCB 

compound and making good his 

escape. Neither the public relations 

officer (PRO) near the entry/exit 

point nor the State Reserve 

Police jawans noticed the 

accused escaping the premises. 

The CCTV cameras in the building 

were not working at the time 

of the incident and there seems 

to be no footage of the same, 

according to sources. A police 

official said, “Prima facie, it appears, 

the accused ran out from 

the main gate towards the parking 

lot. Thereafter, he scaled the 

wall facing Gaekwad Haveli 

police station and slipped away. 

His clothes were recovered from 

the crime scene, indicating he 

changed into new clothes after 

murdering Makwana.” 

QUESTIONS RAISED ON 

EFFICIENCY OF STAFF 

The incident raises questions 

about the efficiency of DCB 

staff and the effectiveness of 

their security measures - How 

did the accused manage to lay 

Cop clubbed to death at 

Ahmedabad crime branch HQ 

Ahmedabad 


A police constable, Chandrakant 

Makwana (40), was 

murdered within the city 

crime branch headquarters at 

Gaekwad Haveli on Thursday 

morning. The killer was 

nabbed at Karjan railway station 

near Vadodara following a 

day-long manhunt by over 250 

cops from the crime branch, 

anti-terrorist squad (ATS) 

and Vadodara railway police. 

The accused, Manish Balai, 

was trying to flee to Jaipur. 

Earlier in the day, in an unprecedented 

incident, Makwana, 

an amateur boxer, was 

bludgeoned to death with an 

iron pipe in one of the most 

high-security police establishments 

in the state. The cops 

were clueless about the killer, 

but a detained suspect, Manish 

Balai, was found missing 

and the authorities couldn’t 

explain how he managed to 

escape the premises which is 

Vadodara doctor in Ujjain 

on dental health pilgrimage 

Vadodara 


While lakhs will turn up at the 

Simhastha Kumbh at Ujjain beginning 

Friday, a dentist from Vadodara 

is on a different pilgrimage there. 

Dr Rajendrasinh Rathod, who is 

also the city’s former mayor, has set 

up a dental clinic at the site and will 

be examining those attending it for 

their oral hygiene. Rathod and his 

group will even provide treatment 

for minor ailments there for free. 

Rathod had set the ball rolling to put 

up his makeshift clinic at Ujjain about 

a year back. He was given a space of 

5,000 sq foot near the Khak Chowk on 

the Mangalnath Road. While his caravan 

has one dental chair, he has arranged 

for another vehicle with three 

more chairs. “We will be having four 

chairs at the clinic. Local dentists as 

well as four interns from Vadodara 

will be joining the effort,” said Rathod, 

who is also the managing director 

of the M P Dental College at Vadodara. 

Besides examining patients in the 

nation’s countryside, Rathod also performs 

minor dental procedures like 

extractions and fillings. He also provides 

tooth brushes to children and 

guarded by more than 70 armed 

policemen round the clock. 

Chandrakant’s family members 

and friends have alleged 

foul play and demanded a 

CBI inquiry into his death. 

Balai, a native of Dhanakabhash 

village of Rajasthan, 

was allegedly being “illegally” 

detained since Wednesday 

in connection with a 

robbery and drug trafficking 

case. Police now suspect him 

to have killed Makwana who 

was questioning him. “We 

suspect that Balai may have 

educates people about oral hygiene. 

At Ujjain, his focus will be sadhus, 

their disciples and followers. “It is expected 

that six lakh sadhus and sanyasis 

will turn up at the event,” he said. 

The nationwide pilgrimage for Rathod 

began way back in February 

2013 when he embarked upon a tour 

to traverse the length and breadth of 

the country to examine patients and 

collect their detailed information for 

a nationwide survey. Giving up his 

public life in Vadodara, Rathod has so 

far travelled 55,000km in a caravan. 

The journey taken him to 26 states 

where he has treated 14,474 patients 

in 170 camps. He is also documenting 

his findings during the sojourn. 

“This is the first time that such a nationwide 

survey will be done. There 

have been attempts in particular regions, 

but never on this scale,” he said. 

attacked him with an iron 

rod,” a police official said. 

Joint CP, crime branch, and 

in-charge police commissioner 

of Ahmedabad, J K Bhatt 

said, “The time of murder 

could be somewhere between 

2 am and 4 am. PSI J N Chavda 

had last seen Chandrakant 

interrogating Balai at 

12 midnight. Chavda had left 

the campus at 3.30 am to get 

newspapers for the office. 

When he returned he saw 

Chandrakant lying in a pool 

of blood and Balai missing.” 

“Head constable Khumansinh 

Dabhi, who was posted 

as PRO at crime branch, has 

been suspended since he was 

found to be dozing between 2 

am and 4 am when the murder 

took place. Balai has been 

booked for murder and also 

under the Atrocity Act as Makwana 

was a Dalit,” he said. 

Bhatt added that he is 

clueless about what could 

have triggered the attack 

but as Balai was only a suspect, 

he was not handcuffed. 

Crime branch sleuths, however, 

could not explain how 

Balai killed a police constable 

and escaped from the Gaekwad 

Haveli campus which 

has been converted into an 

impregnable fortress since 

2003, when former IPS officer 

DG Vanzara was at its 

helm. Vanzara had beefed up 

security amidst allegations of 

many accused being illegally 

detained and tortured within 

the impregnable campus. 

Boy’s headless body 

found in Botad village 

Vadodara 


A 6-year-old boy’s mutilated body was 

found in Shirvania village in Botad district 

on Thursday. While the beheaded body 

was dumped behind the village primary 

school wrapped in a gunny bag, the head 

was found inside the village crematorium, 

about 500 metre away. Cops suspect the 

boy might have been killed for performing 

some black magic. 

The boy was identified as Bhavin Kanejiya, 

a student of class I. He had been 

missing since April 19. His father Jitendra 

Kanejiya (30), had filed a complaint of 

abduction with the Paliyad police station 

on Tuesday evening. Police said, Bhavin’s 

body was found inside a gunny bag behind 

the village primary school, where the boy 

used to study. When police opened the bag 

the head was missing. On searching, they 

found it inside the crematorium. 

Investigating officer Y B Rana said, 

“The body has been sent for DNA testing 

to Bhavnagar civil hospital. We have registered 

a case of kidnapping and murder.” 

He further said, “It is suspected that the 

boy might have been killed for performing 

some kind of black magic ritual. We are 

recording statements of villagers.” 

Bhavin’s father is a farmer and owns 30 

bigha land in Shirvania village. 

his hands on the murder weapon? 

Why was there no witness 

to the incident? Where was the 

other staff? Why did it take so 

long for the cops to discover 

the constable’s body? How did 

the accused manage to escape 

a high-security zone? Though 

C N Rajput, ACP SOG Crime 

Branch, said that action would 

be taken against the negligent 

staff, it is quite shocking that 

such an incident should take 

place inside a high-security 

place. 

‘MURDERED AROUND 

2.30 AM’ 

DCB sources said, “Makwana’s 

body was found lying in 

a pool of blood in DCB’s Anti-Organised 

crime cell around 

7 am on Thursday. He was hit 

on the head. It was campus incharge 

sub inspector J N Chavda 

who saw the body while making 

rounds before calling it a day.” 

“Chavda had seen Makwana interrogating 

accused Manish Balani, 

a resident of Vaishali Nagar 

(Rajasthan) around midnight. 

Looking at Makwana’s body, 

it seems like he would have 

been murdered around 2.30 am 

as the blood had dried up,” the 

police said. Chavda immediately 

alerted the police control 

room and his seniors at DCB 

including Joint Commissioner 

of Police J K Bhatt. ACP Rajput 

toldMirror,”We believe the accused 

whom Makwana had been 

interrogating on Wednesday 

night killed him and escaped the 

premises. We will take serious 

action against the cops responsible 

for such criminal negligence.” 

A team of two PIs and 

five PSIs has been formed to 

nab the accused. 

WHY SO SILENT, JCP? 

JCP Crime Branch J K Bhatt, 

known to be quite pro-active, 

usually does not need even 

his subordinates during media 

briefings as he is quite clued in 

on the developments. However, 

on Thursday, he refused to 

speak to the media. DCP Deepan 

Bhadran also refused to 

comment. Deceased constable’s 

younger brother Manish Makwana 

said, “My brother was a 

state-level boxing champion. 

Nobody could have easily hurt 

him like that. Had PRO or SRP 

guard been awake, they could 

have at least rushed my brother 

to a hospital. There should be a 

CBI-level inquiry into the matter.” 

Makwana’s sister Sneha 

said, “I don’t want just one or 

two suspensions. Serious action 

should be taken against those 

who were negligent.” 

KIN SEEK RS 25 LAKH 

COMPENSATION, CBI 

PROBE 

Meanwhile, residents of 

Shyam Bungalows in Chandkheda 

protested outside Crime 

Vadodara police decides to 

increase number of CCTVs 

Branch on Thursday, seeking 

action against police officials 

and compensation for the victim’s 

family. Makwana’s family 

members also accused the crime 

branch staff of conniving with 

the accused. The protest was 

led by Rajshree, Congress corporator 

from Chandkheda. “If 

CM Anandi Patel could provide 

Rs 10 lakh compensation to the 

family of deceased Ketan Patel, 

they can provide Rs 25 lakh to 

Makwana’s family, too, as he 

died on duty. Besides, his wife 

should be given his job,” Rajshree 

said. 

COP GETS GUARD OF 

HONOUR 

Makwana is survived by his 

wife Damini, 32, son Nihar and 

and daughter Arushi. Around 6 

pm on Thursday, Makwana’s 

body was brought to his Chandkheda 

residence after post-mortem. 

His wife was inconsolable 

and fainted at the spot. A crowd 

of 2,000 had gathered at the 

residence. These included the 

victim’s relatives, neighbours, 

DCP Zone 2 Usha Rada, Crime 

Branch JCP J K Bhatt, ATS SP 

Himanshu Shukla, ACP L Division 

Arpita Patel and inspectors 

of Sabarmati and Chandkheda 

police stations. The deceased 

constable was also accorded a 

guard of honour. Crime Branch 

DCP Deepan Bhadran was not 

present. 

Vadodara 


Soon, jumping signals or driving on 

the wrong side of the road may not be 

easy for commuters in the city. 

Concerned over steady increase in vehicles 

over last few years, the city police 

have decided to not just increase the 

number of CCTVs but also deploy more 

traffic cops on the roads. The police said 

that it will cover all the busy crossroads 

and main roads that witness heavy traffic 

during the peak hours. 

A proposal to start eight dedicated police 

stations for traffic has already been 

send to the state government. 

“The traffic police stations will have 

a dedicated staff that will focus only on 

traffic issues. We are expecting to get a 

clearance soon. It is necessary to have a 

separate force as the number of vehicles 

are increasingly steadily,” said city police 

commissioner, E Radhakrishana. 

The government has also sanctioned 

nearly 700 new policemen for the city 

but the posts are yet to be filled. 

Yashpal Jaganiya, assistant commissioner 

of police (traffic), said that both 

manpower and technology will be employed 

to ensure efficient traffic management. 

“We will make effective use 

of CCTVs both for managing traffic and 

penalizing offenders. The traffic department 

has already begun sending challans 

at the homes of offenders for recovering 

fines. It will act as a deterrent,” Jaganiya 

added. 

The city currently has 18 CCTVS installed 

at nine busy crossroads and another 

10 points will be added in coming 

months. 

The police also initiated a unique project 

wherein it mounted micro cameras in 

the helmets of the traffic cops. The idea is 

to capture images of the traffic offenders 

and also discourage them from arguing 

with the traffic policemen. 

While 10 cops have been provided with 

such helmets as of now, more policemen 

will be covered under the project in the 

coming months. 

Entrepreneurs check into 

women-only industrial park 

Ahmedabad 


Gujarat’s first ever women-only 

industrial park in 

Sanand is fast catching 

the fancy of women entrepreneurs 

from the state. 

Gujarat Industrial Development 

Corporation (GIDC) 

has received 800 applications 

from businesswomen for 200 

plots in the park spread over 

18.3 hectares near Bol village 

in Sanand Industrial Estate-2. 

GIDC had invited applications 

from December 12, 

2015, to January 17, 2016. 

“We have received 800 applications 

for 200 plots. We 

will start screening the applications 

for selecting the 

candidates in next 10 days,” 

said a senior GIDC official. 

Majority of applications are 

from Ahmedabad and some 

have come from south Gujarat 

and Saurashtra. “Awareness 

about Sanand as an 

investment destination has 

also attracted aspiring businesswomen’s 

attention. The 

maximum number of applications 

are for engineering 

and auto ancillary units followed 

by food processing, 

apparel (surgical and industrial 

apparel) and printing 

and stationery,” said Nita 

Shah, president, Vibrant 

Women Industrial Networking 

Association (VWINA). 

The cumulative investment 

could be more than Rs 200 

crore as there will be an average 

Rs 1 crore per unit. “I 

had been thinking about setting 

up an industrial unit for 

a long time. This initiative 

for women business owners 

has come at a right time,” 

said Ahmedabad-based 

Nima Oza, who has applied 

for 1,000 sq mt plot for a 

designer plastic kitchenware 

manufacturing unit.

SURAT 

Urvashi’s phone to be unlocked in FSL 

Surat 


The mobile phone of 

Urvashi Gaikwad, who 

ended life on April 13 in 

her hostel room at Sardar 

PAAS offers 

financial aid 

to Bhavin 

Khunt’s family 

Surat 


Patidar Anamat Andolan 

Samiti (PAAS), 

Surat announced a monetary 

support of Rs3 lakh 

to the family of Bhavin 

Khunt, who ended his life 

here on Sunday, allegedly 

upset over police action 

against Patidar leaders in 

Mehsana, recently. Khunt 

was declared a martyr by 

PAAS which said he had 

given his life for the good 

of the community. PAAS 

announced Rs50,000 

cash for Khunt’s father, 

Rs50,000 cash for his 

wife Paras and Rs1 lakh 

for his son Prince. PAAS 

will also deposit Rs1 lakh 

in a fixed deposit in a 

bank for Prince’s future. 

Vallabhbhai National 

Institute of Technology 

(SVNIT), is believed to 

contain important clues 

that could unravel mystery 

behind her suicide. 

The Surat police will 

be sending the password-protected 

phone to 

forensic science laboratory 

(FSL) to unlock it. 

They tried to unlock the 

phone with help of family 

members but failed. The 

cops are yet to examine 

Urvashi’s call details and 

find out with whom she 

last talked before taking 

the ghastly step. 

“The phone is an important 

evidence and can 

unravel details about her 

possible harassment. If 

police can unlock it and 

find out her communication 

details of messages 

and calls I hope that something 

concrete will come 

out,” said Raju Gaikwad, 

Urvashi’s father. The family 

is puzzled over reason 

behind Urvashi’s suicide 

and wants police to investigate 

it in detail. 

Meanwhile, police are 

trying trace the person 

who sent an email to the 

SVNIT authorities alleging 

that Urvashi was sexually 

harassed and it was 

the reason for her suicide. 

Police visited SVNIT to 

find out if any student 

Surat finds a sister 

in Thai province 

Surat 


Surat Thani, a rural province of Thailand, and Surat 

city would be sister cities. This was decided at a luncheon 

meeting between mayor Asmita Shiroya and Surat Thani 

governor Wongsiri Promchana here on Thursday. 

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) that would be 

signed at ‘an appropriate time’ would aim at enhancing 

cooperation between the two cities in the spheres of education, 

cultural affairs, tourism, civic issues and business. 

Mayor Asmita Shiroya said, “We will begin with a cultural 

MoU and then seek to expand our ties to other areas. 

We have revived a historical relationship and would now 

like to see it progress to different fields while understanding 

our two cities’ systems and cultures.” 

Surat Thani organized an exhibition of its products and 

also held a cultural show in the city. A delegation from 

Surat Thani is in Surat to strengthen ties between the two 

cities in health and beauty products, agriculture, rubber, 

palm oil processing, fisheries, tourism, art and culture. 

Surat Thani g overnor Promchana said, “Surat Thani 

could be a hub of connectivity for all regions of Thailand 

with India. The MoU signed by two chambers of commerce 

last year could also help enhance cooperation between 

the two cities.” 

Robbers with Mumbai 

underworld links nabbed in Surat 

Surat 


The local crime branch 

(LCB) of Surat rural 

police arrested six robbers 

from near Olpad on 

Thursday for an armed 

robbery at Midhi village 

of Olpad taluka in Surat 

on April 15. 

The gang had looted 

cash and jewellery worth 

Rs 5.50 lakh from the 

bungalow of a farmer. Of 

the six robbers arrested, 

one has links with the underworld 

in Mumbai. 

Furkan Yakub Saiyed, 

a resident of Rander 

Road in city and originally 

from Uran village 

in Raigad district of 

Maharashtra; Jitendra 

alias Jitu Ishwar Patel of 

studying in the institute 

had sent it. Police are yet 

to receive any reply from 

SVNIT. 

“Urvashi’s phone is being 

sent to FSL to unlock 

it. Police tried to unlock 

it but we could not get 

through. To recover the 

data safely we are taking 

help of FSL,” said G A 

Sarvaiya, police inspector, 

Umra police station. 

Police so far could not 

find any reason behind 

Urvashi’s death, who had 

hanged self under mysterious 

condition. 

Midhi village in Olpad of 

Surat; Idrish alias Bapu 

Yunus Shaikh of Ramnagar 

in Rander area of 

city; Azhar alias Baba 

Shaikh of Rander; Abdul 

Rehman alias Firoz 

alias Godadada alias Don 

alias John Hussainmiya 

Shaikh of Rander; and 

Kamal Abdul Pathan, a 

resident of Rander Road 

but originally from Uran 

village in Maharashtra, 

were nabbed by police 

on receiving specific information 

about their involvement 

in the loot. 

Police recovered a 

country-made pistol, one 

sword, one knife, one 

dhariyu, gold and silver 

jewellery worth Rs 3.29 

lakh, Rs 6,200 in cash, 

seven mobile phones 

worth Rs14,500 and three 

motorcycles worth Rs 

90,000 from the accused. 

These robbers targeted 

residences on the outskirts 

of villages and took 

keys of the vehicles from 

the victims to ensure they 

were not chased by them. 

Accused Jitendra, who 

is a close friend of victim 

Kanti, had tipped of 

Saiyed to carry out the 

loot. 

Jitendra had come in 

touch with Saiyed at a 

garage where they used 

to go to get their motorcycles 

repaired. Jitendra 

had shrimp farms and 

used to help Kanti in his 

work often. He was aware 

about Kanti’s wealth. 

Saiyed had been arrested 

many times by Maharashtra 

and Gujarat police 

for different crimes. 

He was arrested in 2006 

and 2009 by Mumbai police 

with a country-made 

pistol. 

He was externed from 

Mumbai in 2010 and was 

caught in Navsari with a 

country-made pistol in 

the same year. He was 

caught in Surat too with 

a pistol in 2013. 

“Saiyed has links with 

the gang of Faheem 

Machmach and has been 

arrested on several occasions. 

We are investigating 

his involvement in all 

crimes,” said L D Vagadiya, 

police inspector, 

LCB, Surat. 

Scorching summer heat hits 

animals in Sarthana zoo 

Saturday, April 23, 2016 

3 

Daughter of senior jail officials from MP 

disappear to meet Facebook friend in Surat 

Surat 


A 16-year-old daughter of a senior 

woman jail official from Madhya 

Pradesh kept her family and police on 

toes for almost 24 hours on Thursday 

when she went to meet her Facebook 

friend without informing in Surat. 

The teenager went missing from her 

hotel on Wednesday evening and returned 

on Thursday evening on her 

own. 

The teenager had arrived in the city 

with her mother to purchase saris on 

Wednesday morning and they were 

staying in a hotel on Sumul Dairy 

Road. The teenager had gone to buy 

some medicines for stomach ache 

from a nearby shop and went missing 

in the evening. Her mother was 

resting in the hotel room after doing 

shopping for saris the whole day. 

When the teenager did not return, 

her mother tried to contact her on 

mobile and also attempted to search 

on her own. On failing to locate her, 

she lodged a complaint of suspected 

Surat 


Animals in Sarthana 

zoo are feeling so miserable 

this summer that food 

intake of many, including 

lion and tigers, has gone 

down by 15 per cent. 

Surat Municipal Corporation 

(SMC)-run Sarthana 

zoo is buzzing with 

visitors because summer 

vacation has started in 

many schools. The zoo 

has a lion, five tigers, 

five leopards, a pair of 

hyenas, 15 jackals, four 

bears and 300 birds. Children 

are flocking the zoo 

to have a glimpse of the 

lion, tigers and leopards 

but sadly the animals 

are in an irritable mood 

. They like just to laze 

around under the sheds or 

sit in the water tubs kept 

in their enclosures. 

“The metabolic rate 

of animals comes down 

in summer. Too much 

of heat makes them irritable, 

their movements 

reduce and sweating rate 

increases. We have set 

up vegetation in zoo in 

three different jackets 

to protect the animals 

from heat and they are 

not exposed to direct 

sunlight either. There is 

little chance of animals 

suffering dehydration or 

sunstroke in our zoo,” 

said Dr Praful Mehta, zoo 

superintendent, SMC. Dr 

Harit Bhatt, a veterinary 

doctor, said, “For an animal, 

heat stress is higher 

because it can’t perspire 

as well as a human being. 

This makes it to pant constantly.” 

kidnapping at Mahidharpura police 

station of city on Thursday morning. 

Police started investigating when the 

girl returned on her own on Thursday 

and told her family and police that 

she had gone to meet her Facebook 

friend in the city. 

“The girl has returned safely. She 

told us that she had gone to meet her 

Facebook friend,” said A J Vaghela, 

police sub-inspector, Mahidharpura 

police station. 

The senior jail official had come to 

Gujarat for tourism. She had visited 

Somnath, Gir and other places before 

coming to Surat. 

Two from 

Maharashtra 

caught for loot, 

murder bid 

Surat 


Local crime branch of 

Valsad police caught two 

criminals from Maharashtra, 

who were involved in 

one loot and one robbery 

in Valsad district and an 

attempt to murder case in 

Navsari district in the past 

three months. 

Kailash Deghe of 

Raigadh and Indrajeet 

Ahire of Ulhasnagar, 

Thane were caught from 

the station road of Valsad 

district with a country-made 

revolver and 

two mobile phones on 

Thursday. They were in 

Valsad to carry out yet 

another loot. 

Digital Talavchora to teach 

villagers fashion design online 

Surtis celebrate hanuman jayanti festival at kantheriya hanuman temple at singanpor road, surat 

Surat 


Talavchora in Chikli 

taluka of Navsari, 

which has become third 

digital village in the 

state after Panaj and 

Sultanpur of the same 

district, has charted 

a new course for its 

population of 5,000. A 

fashion designer would 

soon be imparting 

knowledge to tailors 

and women of the village 

on the latest fashion 

trends through an 

e-learning app on village’s 

website designed 

by a 23-year-old entrepreneur, 

Chirag Lad. 

This would be a trendsetting 

development 

because Talavchora so 

far was known for its 

bullock carts and pearl 

farming only. 

Talavchora sarpanch 

Ashvin Patel told TOI, 

“Every house in the village 

has Internet connection 

so we decided to 

provide all information 

and services online to 

people. They can take 

benefit from the e-learning 

app and utilize the 

panchayat office’s website 

for different services. 

People will also 

be able to file e-complaints 

on our website, 

which will be updated 

regularly. Our becoming 

digital will be cheered 

most by 70 families from 

Talavchora who live 

abroad.” 

Meanwhile, Talavchora 

panchayat plans to 

sell agro products and 

gruhudyog products online. 

Chirag Lad said, 

“We are in the process of 

providing basic computer 

skills to rural people 

so that they can carry out 

e-commerce and agro 

trading online. Farmers 

would also be able to 

interact with scientists 

and learn about ways 

to improve crop output. 

We would be launching 

tablet-based farming 

programme within six 

months for NRI farmers.” 

Lad and his partner 

Rahul Mistry will be 

conducting a personality 

development session 

for rural students before 

starting free online education 

for them. 

Chandni Mistry, a 

fashion designer from 

Navsari, would be teaching 

rural women about 

fashion. “I will update 

them about market 

trends to help them face 

international competition 

more confidently.” 

Best Wishes on 1 st 

Anniversary

4 


EDITORIAL 

The problem of making peace 

A misguided ban in Delhi 

The Delhi government’s decision to ban surge pricing by taxi service aggregators, which 

follows a similar ban imposed by Karnataka, is misguided. In Delhi’s case, the surge pricing 

ban has flowed from the imposition of the odd-even licence plate rule, which has increased 

the demand for taxis. The odd-even scheme may be a welcome intervention to 

reduce traffic congestion in the Union Territory, but the decision to clamp down on surge 

pricing by aggregators such as Uber and Ola, which is set to continue even after Phase 

Two of the odd-even scheme ends on April 30, is counterproductive. As expected, after the 

ban, the number of taxis plying on Delhi’s roads has dropped. Arbitrary interventions in 

the demand-supply market are pointless in the absence of alternative solutions. If Uber and 

Ola are charging their customers unscrupulous sums, the only long-term solution for the 

Delhi government is to provide its residents with cheaper and better public transport. The 

rapid growth and popularity of taxis ‘managed’ by aggregators across India is a testimony 

to the fact that public transport and transit facilities remain hopelessly inadequate. Surge 

pricing, essentially an algorithm-based mechanism that determines fares based on supply 

and demand, exists in slightly dissimilar forms in other areas, including that of transport. 

Airlines have the flexibility to raise fares depending on demand, subject to a cap. And the 

Railways sets aside some seats for those willing to pay more, based on the knowledge that 

demand generally outdoes supply when it comes to train tickets. 

In general, aggregators have helped customers — with more taxi options and reduced 

prices. There is evidence to suggest that drivers of taxis and autorickshaws who ply under 

an aggregator’s brand earn more on an average than they would otherwise. There has also 

been substantial competition from domestic players in the aggregator market, allaying fears 

about monopoly operations by multinational players. Some regulations of course are both 

necessary and welcome. For instance, guidelines have been released by the Ministry of 

Road Transport to ensure that taxi commutes are safe and that aggregators cannot be owners 

of fleets unless registered as operators. Aggregators are part of the new economy; they 

use modern technology to disrupt the traditional, and often moribund, market. They have 

succeeded by bringing in efficiencies in both cost and convenience, which have been central 

to their popularity. Obtrusive regulation of these new players would work against the 

interests of both the commuter and the driver. Instead, governments can do more in the medium 

term to enhance options in terms of better modes of public transport, greater frequency 

of bus and metro services during rush hour and perhaps even adoption by mass transport 

of applications using similar algorithms to allow passengers to plan their commute better. 

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has invested significant political capital in the oddeven 

scheme. Tilting at windmills will not help. A more useful intervention would have 

been to enhance public awareness about how these algorithms work in commuters’ favour, 

and at the most cap surge pricing to a predetermined multiple of the regular rate. 

Reasons and excuses for violence 

The provocation for violence is often 

very different from the underlying cause. 

After days of unrest in Jammu and Kashmir’s 

Handwara town, in which five civilians 

died, it now emerges that the trigger 

for all the moral outrage and protests — 

the report of a molestation bid on a young 

woman by a soldier — may not have had 

any basis in fact. She submitted before the 

Chief Judicial Magistrate, Handwara, that 

she was assaulted by a local youth, and not 

by any of the Army personnel stationed in 

Handwara. The facts of what actually happened 

are still contested, but the manner 

in which the rumour of the involvement of 

an Army man in the attack spread through 

the town points to the widespread distrust 

of the armed forces in the area. The dismantling 

of four Army bunkers at the town 

square was thus a necessary, and welcome, 

response to bring the situation under control 

and to restore normalcy in the area. 

The larger reason for the protests was precisely 

that: the high level of resentment in 

the town against the obtrusive presence of 

the Army. Reports, factual or rumoured, 

of the assault on the young woman provided 

a spark to draw attention to what is 

locally perceived as the larger problem: 

the repressive force of the Army against 

civilians. The deaths of young people in 

subsequent protests further aggravated the 

local population’s anxiety about failing to 

keep young men and women out of harm’s 

TheBIGpicture 

way. The dispiriting takeaway is that if 

it had not been the assault on the young 

woman, it would have been some other issue. 

The response from the locals, including 

government servants, holds out a lesson 

for the Centre. It is that such incidents will 

tend to recur as long as a deeper political 

engagement eludes Kashmir. However 

much the Centre may defend the deployment 

of the Army citing strategic reasons, 

it remains an inescapable fact that its obtrusive 

presence adds to the political alienation 

of the people as well as sporadic human 

rights violations and harm to civilians 

caught in the crossfire. In fact, Handwara 

is one of the areas relatively free of militancy, 

one that witnesses good turnouts in 

elections. That the Army demolished four 

bunkers instead of asking for reinforcements 

in Handwara following the violence 

is partly on account of this reading of the 

situation. Street protests, and violence 

against the armed forces on some emotive 

issue or the other, have unfortunately become 

a part of everyday life in Kashmir. 

Given the persisting militant activity in 

the Valley, reducing the Army presence in 

any substantive manner is not an immediate 

possibility. But steps such as reducing 

the Army deployment in densely populated 

areas, and ensuring accountability for the 

actions of the security forces, should help 

keep the fragile peace in the Valley. 

SCRIPSI 

“My theory on housework is, if the item doesn’t multiply, smell, catch fire, or block the 

refrigerator door, let it be. No one else cares. Why should you?” 

~ Erma Bombeck 

In days gone by, the explanations for 

not having peace between India and Pakistan 

were far simpler to analyse, as 

it was to identify institutions on both 

sides of the border which were reluctant 

to engage in any process to overcome 

issues which have persisted for seven 

decades. On the Pakistani side, blame 

usually lay with the Pakistan ‘Establishment’, 

a pseudonym for the military 

and its many institutions, while on 

the Indian side, arguments ranged from 

Pakistan’s interference in Indian affairs 

and the support for militancy in India, 

as understood and articulated by the Indian 

Foreign and Home Ministries. 

Janus-faced army 

Many scholars of Pakistan’s military 

and political process have argued 

very extensively, and correctly, that the 

army justified its omnipresence in the 

country’s politics and military rule over 

many decades by making the claim that 

only it could defend Pakistan’s geographical 

and ideological foundations 

and borders. The ‘threat from India’ 

to undermine Pakistan’s existence has 

been the main excuse which has given, 

in the past, the moral justification (not 

that it ever needed one, really) for the 

Pakistan Army to claim an over-extended 

role in the country’s domestic and 

foreign polity. While this justification 

from the military has been challenged 

by scholars and the political class, it 

has held sway in the public sphere for 

some time now. Moreover, there have 

also been extensive allegations and 

claims, as well as evidence, by academics 

and scholars that Pakistan’s military 

and its many institutions have also, in 

the past, been active in promoting nonstate 

actors to carry out insurgency and 

militancy outside of Pakistan’s geographical 

boundaries. Clearly, however 

one looks at it, for most of the past 

seven decades, with Pakistan’s military 

ruling and governing the country for 

most of this period, the anti-India position, 

and hence the absence of peace, 

from the Pakistani side at least, has revolved 

around apportioning blame on 

the army. 

S. Akbar Zaidi Despite the wide acceptance 

and prevalence of the argument 

of holding Pakistan’s military 

responsible for not wanting peace with 

India, its military leaders have played 

a surprising, and ambiguous, role in 

actually promoting peace with India as 

well. Or so it seems. General Zia-ul- 

They don’t work in cubicles and are 

not constantly on social media sites protesting 

against bad roads, traffic, power 

cuts or water shortage. They don’t 

grandstand on political ideologies and 

discuss India as a global power, for their 

realities are harshly local; it’s about everyday 

survival. 

They are Dalits, Other Backward 

Classes (OBCs), some even from forward 

castes and different religions, but 

united by a common economic plight. 

And they proved they can come out in 

their thousands to protest, suddenly, 

without any concrete effort at mobilisation. 

When they did, they paralysed 

a city, one portrayed to the world as India’s 

silicon valley, its IT powerhouse. 

What happened in Bengaluru this 

week has a lesson for every Indian city. 

There is a giant underbelly of disparity 

and discontent that exists and it can 

erupt, suddenly. It can challenge the 

myths of economic progress and images 

that governments have cautiously projected 

before the world. Images laced 

in terms like ‘investor confidence’ and 

‘ease of doing business’. 

A spontaneous peoples’ protest 

There is still an air of confusion over 

how protests by garment factory workers 

erupted and galvanised, which crippled 

normal life in Bengaluru for two days 

and turning ‘extremely violent’ by the 

city’s standards. It started at one factory, 

where photocopies of a newspaper report 

stating that workers cannot withdraw 

employer’s contribution to their provident 

fund (PF) till 58 years of age were 

circulated. A rage erupted, and workers, 

predominantly women, took to the roads 

in what was described by the police force 

as a “flash strike” on Monday. 

Haq in 1987, at a time of high tension 

between India and Pakistan, visited 

Jaipur to see a Test match between the 

two countries. (How one misses those 

days, certainly not of General Zia’s 

rule, but of a time when India and Pakistan 

could actually play Test matches 

against each other in their own countries.) 

Interestingly, trade between India 

and Pakistan went up hugely (from 

the low levels that existed then) under 

General Zia. Again, Pakistan’s next 

military dictator, who openly claimed 

and took responsibility for the Kargil 

war of 1999, was talking peace with India 

once again by the mid-2000s. Not 

only did trade soar, people-to-people 

contact increased similar to what it was 

prior to 1965, but most importantly, 

Test matches between the two countries 

resumed again. There was even public 

revelation that the Kashmir issue was 

finally near some form of resolution. 

The narrative of an anti-India Pakistani 

military was swept aside by such initiatives 

and measures following the military’s 

changing stance after the 9/11 

attacks and the new war on Pakistan’s 

western borders. 

Long shadow of 26/11 

The volte-face for General 

Musharraf, after having started the 

Kargil war, to making peace with India 

was a result of the changing geopolitics 

in the region which Pakistan was 

drawn into after 2001, a peace process 

which continued even after President 

Musharraf was replaced in September 

2008 by a civilian, democratically 

elected President and government in 

Word spread like wildfire to other garment 

factories in the area: there are about 

8-10 in the cluster. In under an hour, 

workers from all the factories poured 

out, paralysing Hosur Road. Ironically, 

the road is the arterial highway that 

leads to Electronics City, which houses 

campuses of several IT majors and is the 

showcase for a new India or ‘surging 

economy’. 

No high-tech device could have predicted 

the event or how it would galvanise 

the next day. Garment factory 

workers in several other parts of the city, 

again where factories exist in clusters, 

came out to the streets. Corporate offices 

and police stations were attacked, buses 

set on fire and roads blocked for hours. 

Trade union leaders were clueless 

— they were planning a protest, but no 

Pakistan. However, all that changed 

after November 2008 when India held 

Pakistan responsible for instigating and 

carrying out the Mumbai attacks, and 

for protecting many of those who are 

said to have masterminded the attacks. 

All possibilities of any peace process 

came to an end after Mumbai, and if 

anything, there was real threat of retaliation 

by India and an all-out war 

against Pakistan. 

The timing of the Mumbai attacks 

— November 2008 — offers an interesting 

juncture in both the position of 

the military in Pakistan and the peace 

process with India. From around May 

2007, as General Musharraf’s position 

weakened in Pakistan, and as civilian 

and democratic forces gained greater 

confidence and strength, the relative 

position of the military in the political 

arena also weakened considerably. In 

fact, many scholars and analysts have 

argued that the period from around 

2007-08 to the end of 2014 may have 

been one where Pakistan’s military was 

at its weakest in terms of determining 

the country’s domestic and foreign 

policies, with democratically elected 

civilian governments gaining the upper 

hand for the first time since the 1950s. 

Had the Mumbai attacks not happened, 

there was a growing belief that perhaps 

Pakistan might be able to build 

on peace efforts which were already 

underway since the mid-2000s, with 

the military not only relatively weak in 

the political sphere but also actively engaged 

against militants on the western 

borders and within the country. 

The underbelly of India’s silicon valley 

one anticipated a sudden burst of anger, 

of this nature. The police were equally 

clueless, as one officer was reported as 

saying, “When we wanted to talk to their 

leader, they were clueless and so were 

we.” This protest had no one leader or 

negotiator for demands, it was a sudden 

burst of pent-up anger, triggered by the 

new PF ‘reform’. 

These factories exist in clusters and 

hence workers in garment manufacturing 

units could mobilise themselves instantly. 

There are an estimated 5,00,000 

people working in garment factories 

in the city. Predominantly women (estimated 

to be around 85 per cent) and 

for them, usually with salaries of around 

Rs. 6,500 a month, the few hundred rupees 

they save as PF is the only social 

security.

BUSINESS 


China’s ‘zombie’ steel mills fire up furnaces 

SHANGHAI/MANILA 


The rest of the world’s 

steel producers may be 

pressuring Beijing to slash 

output and help reduce a 

global glut that is causing 

losses and costing jobs, but 

the opposite is happening 

in the steel towns of China. 

While the Chinese government 

points to reductions 

in steel making capacity 

it has engineered, 

a rapid rise in local prices 

this year has seen mills 

ramp up output. Even 

“zombie” mills, which 

stopped production but 

were not closed down, 

have been resurrected. 

Despite global overproduction, 

Chinese steel 

prices have risen by 77 

per cent this year from 

last year’s trough on some 

very specific local factors, 

including tighter supplies 

following plant shutdowns 

last year, restocking by 

consumers and a pick-up 

in seasonal demand following 

the Chinese New 

Year break. Mandated cuts 

Some mills also boosted 

output ahead of mandated 

cuts around a major horticultural 

show later this 

month in the Tangshan 

area. Local mills must at 

least halve their emissions 

on certain days during the 

exposition, due to run from 

April 29 to October. 

China, which accounts 

for half the world’s steel 

output and whose excess 

capacity is four times U.S. 

production levels, has 

said it has done more than 

enough to tackle overcapacity, 

and blames the glut 

A worker walks past a pile of steel pipe products at the 

yard of Youfa steel pipe plant in Tangshan in China’s 

Hebei Province, in this November 3, 2015 file photo. 

on weak demand. 

But a survey by Chinese 

consultancy Custeel 

showed 68 blast furnaces 

with an estimated 50 million 

tonnes of capacity 

have resumed production. 

The capacity utilization 

rate among small Chinese 

mills has increased to 58 

per cent from 51 per cent 

in January. At large mills, 

it has risen to 87 per cent 

from 84 per cent, according 

to a separate survey by 

consultancy Mysteel. 

The rise in prices has 

thrown a lifeline to ‘zombie’ 

mills, like Shanxi 

Wenshui Haiwei Steel, 

which produces 3 million 

tonnes a year but which 

halted nearly all production 

in August. It now plans to 

resume production soon, a 

company official said, declining 

to be named as he’s 

not authorised to speak 

publicly. Another similar-sized 

company, Jiangsu 

Shente Steel, stopped production 

in December but 

then resumed in March as 

prices surged, a company 

official said. 

More than 40 million 

tonnes of capacity out of 

the 50-60 million tonnes 

that were shut last year are 

now back on, said Macquarie 

analyst Ian Roper. 

“Capacity cuts are off the 

cards given the price and 

margin rebound,” he said. 

Profit margins have risen 

to 500-600 yuan a tonne 

($77-$93) on average, 

the highest in at least two 

years, said Hu Yanping, 

senior analyst at Custeel. 

com. Bloated sector 

“The government wants 

to bolster the economy and 

boost demand for industrial 

sectors, but it is also resolute 

to push forward the 

supply-side reform, putting 

it in a dilemma,” said Hu. 

To show the world it is serious 

in slicing its bloated 

steel sector, China has said 

it cut 90 million tonnes of 

capacity and plans to cut 

another 100-150 million 

tonnes through 2020. 

Yet China’s crude steel 

output hit a record high 

of 70.65 million tonnes in 

March. 

A surge in steel output 

should be driven by an 

increase in contracted purchases, 

otherwise mills are 

just betting on an improvement 

in demand that may 

not happen, Liu Zhenjiang, 

vice secretary general of 

the China Iron and Steel 

Association (CISA), told 

an industry conference in 

Beijing this month. 

“Cutting steel capacity is 

important, but controlling 

steel output is more important,” 

he said. 

CISA, which groups 

China’s biggest steel firms 

including Baoshan Iron 

and Steel, has consistently 

urged its members to show 

“self-discipline” and not 

increase output at the first 

sign of rising prices, a plea 

that’s usually gone unheeded. 

Asian banks’ bad debt at 

Hong Kong 


Bad debts at Asian 

banks have climbed to 

their highest since the 

global financial crisis 

and the trend will likely 

worsen as regional economies 

battle against China’s 

slowdown and volatile 

oil and commodities 

prices, a Reuters data 

analysis shows. 

The bad loans pile at 

74 major listed Asian 

banks, excluding Indian 

and Japanese banks, 

reached $171 billion at 

the end of 2015, the survey 

of banks showed, 

5 

highest since financial crisis 

the highest since at least 

2008. Non-performing 

loans (NPLs) jumped 

28 per cent from a year 

earlier, nearly twice the 

growth in 2013. 

Indian and Japanese 

banks were not included 

as their fiscal year ends 

in March. 

With economic growth 

in the region slowing, 

analysts expect the asset 

quality of Asian lenders 

will continue to deteriorate 

as banks start 

publishing quarterly 

earnings, forcing them 

to make writedowns that 

will hurt profit and depress 

valuations. 

Sensex trips on prof- 

New Delhi 


Mumbai 


The benchmark Sensex 

fell almost 72 points and the 

NSE Nifty slipped below the 

7,900-mark in early trade 

on Friday as investors took 

profits in recent gainers amid 

weak Asian cues. 

Investors remained cautious 

as they looked forward 

to earnings show of blue-chip 

companies, including Reliance 

Industries, which is set 

to release its numbers after 

trading hours on Friday. 

The 30-share barometer 

declined 72.01 points, or 

0.28 per cent, to 25,808.37, 

with sectoral indices led by 

consumer durables, capital 

goods, healthcare, banking, 

IT and FMCG bringing about 

the fall. 

The index had risen about 

1,207 points in the previous 

six sessions. 

Also, the NSE Nifty 

cracked below the crucial 

7,900-level by falling 24.25 

points, or 0.31 per cent, at 

7,887.80. 

Equity brokers said that 

apart from profit-booking in 

it-booking, global cues 

Slowdown hits services sector 

recent gainers, a weak trend 

in Asia following overnight 

losses in New York and Europe 

is mainly responsible for 

the subdued state of affairs 

here. 

Reliance Industries was 

trading higher by 0.27 per 

cent at Rs 1,043.70 ahead of 

its fourth quarter earnings. 

Shares of Tata Steel also 

showed some strength and 

gained 2.05 per cent at Rs 

361.65 after the UK government 

yesterday announced its 

willingness to acquire 25 per 

cent stake in Tata Steel’s UK 

business to support its sale 

and help salvage jobs. 

In the Asian region, Shanghai 

Composite was quoting 

0.84 per cent lower while 

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 

shed 1.01 per cent in early 

sessions. 

Japan’s Nikkei was down 

0.09 per cent. 

The Dow Jones Industrial 

Average ended 0.63 per cent 

higher in on Thursday’s trade. 

India’s trade surplus in services 

has been contracting, 

mainly due to a sharp drop 

in non-software services exports, 

which, according to 

economists, shows that the 

global economic slowdown 

is finally beginning to affect 

India’s services sector. 

In addition, though the 

overall trade deficit has been 

decreasing due to low commodity 

prices, India’s trade 

deficit with China is worsening 

which is a worrying trend. 

“This trend (of contracting 

trade surplus in services) is 

important to watch since the 

services trade has been quite 

resilient and has cushioned 

against the overall trade deficit,” 

D.K. Joshi, Chief Economist 

at Crisil, told The Hindu. 

“On a 12-month rolling 

sum basis, the services trade 

balance has fallen to 3.4 per 

cent of GDP in February 2016 

from 3.9 per cent in February 

2014,” according to a paper 

by Nomura research analysts 

Sonal Varma and Neha Saraf. 

The main reason for this, 

the Nomura paper says, is 

the sharp decline in services 

exports, from 8.2 per cent of 

GDP in February 2014 to 7.4 

per cent in February 2016. 

“Although a drop in software 

services exports was a 

driver of the decline, receipts 

from transportation (sea and 

air), financial services and 

other business services (consulting 

and technical/trade-related) 

were also much lower, 

and together these non-software 

categories comprised 73 

per cent of the moderation in 

services exports between Q4 

2013 and Q4 2015,” according 

to the paper. 

“The global slowdown is 

finally hitting the services 

exports and that is where we 

had a competitive advantage 

over China,” D.K. Srivastava, 

Chief Policy Advisor at Ernst 

and Young, said. 

A research paper by Crisil 

found that India’s trade deficit 

with China has been worsening 

at an alarming rate. 

“Between fiscals 2006 and 

2016, it compounded at an 

annual 30 per cent, or thrice 

as fast as India’s overall trade 

deficit,” according to the paper. 

“If the trend continues, 

the trade deficit with China 

will equal and even surpass 

what India runs with the rest 

of the world.” 

The reason behind this, according 

to Mr. Joshi, is that 

China’s ongoing economic 

slowdown has meant that it 

requires lower quantities of 

the raw materials that it imports 

from India. 

On the other hand, India’s 

imports from China have not 

been affected to any large degree, 

“In some sense, it is showing 

India’s lower competitiveness 

with regard to China,” 

Mr. Joshi said. “Such a large 

trade deficit with a single 

country is worrying.” 

However, there is a possibility 

that this trend could be 

short-lived, especially if the 

rupee appreciates in the near 

term and medium-term, Mr. 

Joshi said. 

Vodafone invites banks to pitch for India initial public offer mandate 

Rupee sinks against 

Hong Kong 


Vodafone Group has 

set the ball rolling for its 

long-awaited India IPO 

by inviting banks, including 

Citigroup, Goldman 

Sachs and Morgan 

Stanley, to submit pitches 

to manage it, people 

with direct knowledge of 

the deal said. 

The listing of Vodafone’s 

Indian unit is expected 

to raise between 

$2 billion and $2.5 billion, 

the people said, 

making it the biggest 

IPO since state-owned 

Coal India Ltd’s $3.5 

billion listing in 2010. 

Vodafone had raised the 

prospect of a listing in 

India as early as 2011. 

Other banks approached 

by the British 

telecoms heavyweight 

included Bank of America 

Merrill Lynch, UBS 

Group as well as Indian 

banks ICICI Securities 

and Kotak Investment 

Banking, the people 

added, requesting anonymity 

as the process 

is confidential. The selected 

banks have been 

asked to submit pitches 

next week to win underwriting 

mandates for the 

stock, the people familiar 

with the deal said. 

Vodafone is likely to 

pick about half a dozen 

banks to manage the sale 

in the next two weeks, 

these people added. 

Vodafone India is likely 

to be valued at about 

$20 billion, according 

to analysts’ estimates. 

Vodafone, which in November 

said it had started 

preparations to float 

its Indian unit, reiterated 

what it said earlier. 

“We have previously 

said that we have started 

preparations for a potential 

IPO, which includes 

private conversations 

with banks, but this is a 

lengthy process and no 

decision will be made 

until we are at the end 

of it,” Vodafone said in a 

statement issued in London. 

Goldman Sachs, UBS 

and Bank of America 

Merrill Lynch declined 

to comment. Citigroup, 

Morgan Stanley and the 

Indian banks did not respond 

to requests for 

comment. 

Vodafone is expected 

to use the IPO proceeds 

to buy additional mobile 

radio waves and expand 

its operations in India’s 

crowded and cut-throat 

mobile phone market. 

Vodafone entered India 

in 2007, when it acquired 

a majority stake 

in Hutchinson Essar. It 

now fully controls the 

unit. Its market share has 

increased from 15.6 per 

cent in 2007 to 18.4 per 

cent in the latest reported 

July-Sept 2015 quarter, 

according to Indian telecoms 

regulator TRAI. 

The company has 

about 188.3 million mobile 

subscribers and is 

the second-largest mobile 

operator behind 

Bharti Airtel . 

dollar, equities hurt 

Mumbai 


The rupee depreciated 

by 15 paise to quote at 

66.55 against the dollar 

at the Inter-bank Foreign 

Exchange (forex) market 

in early trade on Friday 

on increased demand for 

the American currency 

from importers and 

banks. 

Dealers said a firm 

dollar against some 

global currencies overseas 

and a lower opening 

of the domestic equity 

market weighed. 

The rupee had dropped 

by 18 paise to end at 

66.40 in yesterday’s 

trade on fresh demand 

for the US dollar from 

banks and importers despite 

weakness in the 

greenback overseas. 

Meanwhile, the 

benchmark BSE Sensex 

fell 72.01 points, or 0.28 

per cent, to 25,808.37 in 

early trade.

6 


NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL 

‘Not surprised’ by Uttarakhand HC verdict, says BJP; Govt to knock on SC door today 

Ahmedabad 


Hours after the Uttarakhand 

High Court quashed imposition of 

President’s rule in the state, Attorney 

General Mukul Rohatgi said 

the Centre will challenge the order 

in the Supreme Court, citing its 

“legal untenability”. 

“We will mention the matter before 

the Chief Justice of India on 

Friday morning and ask for an urgent 

hearing. We will also press for 

an imminent stay on the order of 

the High Court,” Rohatgi told The 

Indian Express. 

Ousted Chief Minister Harish 

Rawat also filed a caveat petition 

in the Supreme Court Thursday 

South Kashmir hears echo from Dadri killing to Bharat Mata ki Jai 

to ensure he is heard before any 

order is passed on the Centre’s 

appeal. Asked about the prime 

ground of appeal, Rohatgi said the 

High Court was “wrong in setting 

aside” the Presidential proclamation 

“without fully appreciating the 

facts” of the case. 

“The state government lost its 

majority when the money Bill 

2016-17 was defeated on the floor 

of the House. The Speaker, however, 

kept afloat the minority government 

by certifying to the contrary 

and it is definitely against constitutional 

principles,” he said. 

Also Read: President’s rule 

quashed: From a Congress rebellion 

to a High Court rap in Uttarakhand 

Minister of State for Home 

Kiren Rijiju said blaming the Centre 

for a “situation created by the 

Congress is unfortunate”. 

“We all respect the court verdict. 

I have nothing to comment 

on it. But to blame just the central 

government for a particular situation 

that has been created by the 

Congress party is unfortunate. It is 

the Congress party’s creation, not 

ours,” he said. 

Read: Armed with court order, 

Congress draws Parliament battlelinesThe 

BJP, meanwhile, put up 

a brave face saying the order was 

“not unexpected” and the Centre 

would move the Supreme Court. 

Kailash Vijayvargiya, BJP general 

secretary and party in-charge 

of Uttarakhand, said: “Our legal 

experts are examining the decision. 

Given the observations that have 

been coming for the last three days 

from the court, there is nothing surprising 

about this verdict. We cannot 

understand how can the Chief 

Minister, whose sting video the entire 

country saw, not be pulled up. 

We have maintained that the Harish 

Rawat government in Uttarakhand 

is a minority government and we 

will prove that on April 29.” 

Read: ‘Falsehood’ and ‘irrelevant’: 

How Centre’s case collapsed 

in HC 

Before the rebellion by nine 

Congress MLAs, the Congress had 

36 MLAs in the House of 70 members 

— the 71st member is nominated 

— and enjoyed the support 

of six MLAs of the Progressive 

Democratic Front. The BJP had 28 

MLAs. 

Kashmir 


Young people across 

south Kashmir say they 

lost their fear of security 

forces in 2010 when 

a stone-pelting agitation 

raged in the Valley, the 

protests gathering steam 

with every teenaged boy 

who died in what they 

refer to as the “second 

intifada” — the first was 

during the 2008 Amarnath 

land row. But their 

anger against the Indian 

State, they say, has 

grown manifold over 

the last year. It does not 

take much coaxing to get 

them to talk about the 

reasons. Ironically, at a 

time when the Jammu 

and Kashmir state government, 

seen here as an 

alliance of the “soft separatist” 

People’s Democratic 

Party’s and the 

“nationalist” Bharatiya 

Janata Party, is held up 

as a bold political experiment 

to bridge the deep 

divide between J and K. 

That experiment is 

being tested by political 

controversies outside 

Kashmir. Time was 

when Kashmiri Muslims 

thought of themselves as 

separate from the Indian 

Muslim, above the fray 

of debates that roiled the 

rest of the nation — be it 

Mandal or Mandir. That 

distance has shrunk. Today’s 

bruising debates 

over identity, religion, 

and diet, they say, play 

out on every mobile 

phone in Kashmir as 

they do in the rest of the 

country, the fault lines 

these engender cut too 

close to the Kashmiri’s 

own political struggle of 

identity and nationalism. 

With the PDP-BJP alliance, 

these issues have 

come home, touched 

Kashmiri lives dramatically: 

whether it is the 

Tricolour at the NIT, the 

Bharat Mata ki Jai campaign 

across the nation, 

or the killing in Dadri 

of a father (wrongly) 

suspected to have eaten 

beef. Or the hanging 

of Afzal Guru and the 

crackdown in JNU on 

those who questioned it. 

Many young people cite 

incidents in which Kashmiri 

students are beaten 

up across campuses in 

the country to argue that 

the Centre pays no attention 

to those but gives a 

quick hearing to NIT 

Srinagar’s “non-local” 

students that they feel 

“insecure” in the Valley. 

“The reality is we are 

getting beaten up everyday 

outside the Valley, 

and we are getting beaten 

up here also,” says 

one student in Pulwama. 

The new generation 

in the Valley, like their 

companions everywhere 

else, get their get their 

news from messages on 

Whatsapp and other social 

media. “We are very 

connected, and we get to 

know everything that’s 

happening in India,” 

said a student in a college 

in Anant Nag, “and 

when we see what’s happening 

here, our passion 

for azadi increases”. 

The most representative 

question among the 

young men and women 

The Indian Express met 

is: if I fly the Tricolour 

over my house, will 

India accept me as an 

equal citizen? And they 

have the answer to that 

too: “No, because for Indians, 

most of us Kashmiris 

are terrorists”. 

“When a truckdriver 

from Kashmir was burnt 

alive in Udhampur in 

the name of beef, no one 

asked why he needed to 

be killed,” said a teacher 

in the Anant Nag college. 

Emphasising how 

connected young people 

are now, the teacher said 

“each and every Kashmiri 

wants to be treated 

with dignity and at par 

with the rest of India.” 

But, he said, that is not 

what they are getting. 

“Had there been a single 

Kashmiri in that video 

from JNU,” he said, referring 

to the Kanhaiya 

Kumar episode at Jawaharlal 

Nehru University, 

“that person would 

have been tortured by 

now in ways you can’t 

imagine”. Super connected 

on social media, 

Kashmiri youth have 

multiple and unexpected 

reference points to 

assess their own situation. 

“Entire India protested 

against the Nirbhaya 

rape, we also held 

demonstrations here, but 

when it happens to Asiya-Nilofer 

in Shopian 

(in 2009) people in India 

don’t care,” said another 

student in a private 

coaching class in Pulwama. 

Through social media, 

too, are transmitted 

photographs or videos of 

slain militants, their funerals. 

The J&K police 

and Army believe this is 

fuelling the unrest and 

are desperately looking 

for some way to prevent 

it. “At checkpoints, they 

are now looking through 

the memory card on my 

phone. Why shouldn’t 

I carry photos of my 

shaheed brother in my 

phone? What kind of 

freedom is this?” asks 

a 22-year-old student of 

sociology in Pulwama. 

“When the Army does 

an encounter, they come 

in hundreds for one militant 

hiding in a house. 

Then they destroy that 

house. They use heavy 

shells and mortars. They 

destroy our property 

without pausing to think 

how we are going to rebuild 

that house, where 

will we live,” said a girl 

student in Anant Nag. 

The Kupwara incident, 

in which five people 

were killed last week after 

the rumoured molestation 

of a girl, is the new 

resentment. “Outside 

Kashmir, they use water 

cannons to disperse protestors. 

Why don’t they 

use them here? Only in 

J&K, they use bullets 

to stop protests. Why 

the difference towards 

Kashmiri youth? In 

short, we are not safe in 

our own land. India says 

we are part of India, but 

does not treat us a part 

of India. India wants our 

land, not the people”, 

said one Pulwama student, 

describing himself 

as a minor, when asked 

for his age. Chief Minister 

and PDP leader Mehbooba 

Mufti was quick 

to react to the Kupwara 

killings. She visited 

Kupwara, met with the 

families of those who 

had been killed, promised 

them compensation 

and justice, even though 

she did not go to their 

homes but saw them at 

the dak bungalow. Her 

response has won some 

appreciation in the Valley 

and has been compared 

favourably against 

the manner in which former 

chief Minister Omar 

Abdullah made the first 

reach out to the families 

of the children who had 

died in the 2010 agitation 

three months after 

the first deaths. But in 

PDP’s own south Kashmir 

stronghold, the party 

is under strident attack. 

The reason: its coalition 

with the BJP. Underlying 

the rage in south Kashmir 

is what young voices 

across its four districts 

describe as a “betrayal” 

by the PDP. Of the 16 

Assembly constituencies 

in south Kashmir, the 

PDP won 11 in the 2014 

election. Young people 

turned out in high numbers 

to vote for the party. 

“The PDP told us, vote 

for us, we are the only 

party that can keep the 

BJP out of the Valley,” 

said a Tral advocate. 

He said the “U-turn” by 

the PDP after the elections 

had shocked those 

who had voted for PDP. 

“We worked for the 

PDP, we canvassed for 

them. Then look what 

happened. They tied up 

with the enemy just for 

the sake of power,” said 

a teacher in Tral. “Ok, 

now they are in power 

at least they could have 

repaired the roads. They 

said they will bring 

money for development 

by making this alliance 

with the BJP. But BJP at 

the Centre did not give 

money even for flood relief. 

So what’s the point 

voting?” asked a student 

at the Pulwama skills 

development institute. 

A first year student Arts 

student in Anant Nag 

says there is so much 

corruption in government 

that there is little 

hope of qualified people 

who do not wish to give 

bribes ever getting jobs. 

He went on to describe 

how his brother, a Ph.D, 

was given the run around 

by an elected official 

who finally asked him if 

he could stump up Rs 1 

lakh. But, says a teacher 

in Tral, “don’t blur the 

lines between our grievances 

and our aspiration. 

Aspiration is azadi. 

Grievances are like Centre 

does not hand over 

power projects in Kashmir 

to the State government. 

Our development 

needs and separatism 

are two different things. 

We vote for development, 

but azadi will not 

come without talking 

with Pakistan”. A Srinagar 

police official said 

there was “a feeling of 

betrayal, confusion and 

not knowing where to go 

now” among the youth 

in Kashmir, especially 

in the PDP’s stronghold. 

PDP political workers 

and politicians were not 

active on the ground, 

afraid to face voters, 

the police official said. 

“There is a political vacuum 

in south Kashmir. 

It has left a space that is 

wide open that is available 

for anyone to fill. 

PDP workers are too 

weak, and other parties 

are not interested because 

they have never 

had a base here.” The 

police claim they are 

showing restraint despite 

grave provocation, 

including the time when 

a police vehicle was set 

on fire. But an official 

asks: “How long can 

we keep dispersing such 

massive crowds (at the 

encounter sites and protests) 

peacefully? This 

is ultimately a political 

problem, and it has to be 

resolved only by politicians.” 

SUDOKU 

ACROSS 

The classic sudoku game Involve a grid of 81 squares the grid is divided 

into nine blocks, each containing nine squares. The rules of the 

game are simple : each of nine blocks has contain all the numbers 1-9 

within its sqaure each number can only appear in a row, column or box. 

A crossword is a word puzzle that normally takes the form of a square or 

a rectangular grid of white and black shaded squares. The goal is to fill the 

white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues which 

lead to the answers. In languages that are written left-to-right, the answer 

words and phrases are placed in the grid from left to right and from top to 

bottom. The shaded squares are used to separate the words or phrases. 

Across 

1 Soft short coat for a man — Jack’s 

gnome kit (anag) (7,6) 

8 Remove the wrapping (4) 

9 Small telescope (8) 

10 Early bicycle with pedals on the front 

wheel (10) 

12 Lumberjack’s warning call (6) 

14 Old and unreliable car (6) 

15 Place of scientific research (10) 

19 Type of highly decorated earthenware (8) 

20 Rip off — bird (4) 

21 Knew insane fag (anag) — novel by 5 

(9,4) 

Down 

2 Christmas pastry (5,3) 

3 Former capital of Japan (5) 

4 Less nice (7) 

5 Author of Ulysses (5) 

6 Irish girl (7) 

7 Comfortable (4) 

11 Annual publication (8) 

13 Swell (7) 

14 Snip (7) 

16 Sound made by a spring (5) 

17 Confuse — cast (5) 

18 Desert gully, usually dry (4)


TND 

Campus 

7 

The Perfect School Campus 

Umang Chavda 

While going through 

some old boxes stored 

in our basement recently 

I came across one that 

included numerous yellowed 

high school report cards. Having 

graduated from high school 

over 30 years ago (yes, before 

the IBM PC), it was fun to reminisce. 

I took a very traditional 

line-up of classes in a very traditional 

sequence: Algebra, Geometry, 

Trigonometry; Biology, 

Chemistry, Physics; World history, 

U.S. History; American Literature, 

World Literature etc., 

earning “credits” toward graduation. 

I sat in desks aligned in 

neat rows and moved from class 

to class by the timed clang of a 

bell. 

Lessons were most often mono-directional 

- from teacher to 

pupil. Except for the occasional 

science lab experiment, I rarely 

(if ever) was required to collaborate 

with my peers on a project. 

Content from class period one 

never spilled over into or referenced 

class period two, three or 

seven for that matter. The school 

year, still aligning with an antiquated 

agrarian calendar, started 

in September and ended 180 

school days later in time for the 

summer break. Sound familiar? 

Why do our school buildings 

matter? Consider the facts: 20 

percent of Americans spend 

eight hours a day or more in 

educational facilities; today 90 

percent of our time is typically 

spent indoors; and perhaps most 

importantly, consider the reality 

that all learning is physical. All 

external information that finds 

its way into your brain, where it 

is processed, synthesized, stored, 

recalled, etc., gets there through 

your senses. The spaces we find 

7 benefits of taking vacation time 

Vacation is today’s big 

bad wolf for Americans. 

That’s right. Americans 

are frightened of taking time 

off work for vacation. A survey by 

the U.S. Travel Association found 

that four out of 10 Americans aren’t 

going to take all of their vacation 

days. Why? Because they’re 

not exactly enthusiastic about the 

work they’ll find on their desk 

when they return, the survey 

found. 

“They dread the pile of work 

awaiting them when they return, 

and no one else can do what they 

do at the office,” according to 

the survey. “These people suffer 

from what the researchers called 

a ‘martyr’ complex, believing that 

they’re the only ones who can do 

their jobs.” 

It’s not just fear, though. Americans 

are taking less vacations 

overall, according to the Bureau of 

Labor Statistics. The data showed 

that more than 9 million people 

took a vacation in July 1976, but 

now that number is closer to 7 

million for 2014. In fact, a 2012 

survey by Harris Interactive Inc. 

found Americans leave 9.2 days 

of vacation unused. 

Still, companies are encouraging 

their workers to take time off. 

Some have said that this is a bad 

idea and that there needs to be 

more balance between work and 

life instead of just vacation time. 

But vacation days are something 

many Americans have and, 

ourselves in, especially for the 

important tasks of learning and 

developing, have a huge impact 

on our senses — from the colors 

on the walls, to the quality and 

quantity of light, to the quality 

and temperature of the air, etc. 

These effects are especially apparent, 

in both the health and 

mental development, of young 

people. 

I was asked to write this article 

about the “perfect” school campus, 

from the perspective of an 

educational architect with broad 

experience across the US and 

abroad. This is a daunting task; 

for what might that look like? 

One definition (dictionary.com): 

“Per-fect, adjective: Exactly 

fitting the need in a certain situation 

or for a certain purpose” 

is perhaps a reasonable place to 

start as it provides several important 

clues. For instance, the 

design needs to be “fitting” and 

it needs to fulfill a “certain situation.” 

Ideally, all schools should 

be “fitted” to the particular needs 

of the programs and community 

it is intended to serve while also 

providing flexibility for future, 

yet unknown, programs (more 

on that later). A school design 

that is perfect for one community 

might be a complete failure in 

another that has different values, 

aspirations, and programs. If 

Nike can personalize your running 

shoes and Apple your IPod, 

we should be able to make sure 

that our schools are suited to 

their purpose and locale. 

Just as educators must differentiate 

and personalize learning to 

suit the needs of the individual 

learner, the ‘perfect’ school will 

have the flexibility to accommodate 

various teaching modes, 

learning styles, and the group 

Vacations Special 

in some cases, are willing to use. 

Here are seven ways vacation 

can be beneficial for you: 

Better physical health 

The New York Times reported 

that a vacation can help your 

physical health — the stress of 

working can take a serious toll 

on your heart. For both men and 

women, taking a vacation every 

two years compared to every six 

will lessen the risk of coronary 

heart disease or heart attacks, The 

Times reported. 

“It shows how the body reacts to 

a lifestyle of stress,” said Elaine 

Eaker, author of a study by the 

Framingham Heart Study, to The 

Times. “This is real evidence that 

sizes that go with. Unfortunately, 

most schools being designed 

today are still of factory-model 

vintage with one particular student 

group size in mind: 25, or 

the size of a traditional classroom. 

What happens when a 

teacher needs to separate a group 

of six learners for focused work 

on a project? Or, when a particularly 

ambitious student wants to 

work with an industry scientist 

on a long-term independent project? 

Or, when a group of teachers 

want to create an interdisciplinary 

learning environment for 

100 students? Can the school facility 

respond to those demands? 

Yes, this is about flexibility but 

it’s also about truly embracing 

and smartly designing for difference. 

The school as a whole, should 

be designed so that a multitude 

of curricular or organizational 

models (e.g., small learning 

communities, grade level or thematic 

teams, departmental, etc.) 

could be implemented without 

changing the building. This requires 

spending the time to ask 

the right questions before the actual 

design process starts. 

Importantly, the ‘work’ being 

done by the students in these 

communities of learners will be 

relevant to their interests and futures, 

regardless of their age. If 

these future workers will be expected 

to collaborate with peers 

near and far on interdisciplinary 

projects (yes, expect it), is the 

school arranged to facilitate that 

interaction and collaboration? 

The learning environment and 

programs it accommodates need 

to be forward thinking and consciously 

develop those relevant 

21st century skills our students 

will need to be successful. 

vacations are important to your 

physical health.” 

More productivity 

Count on being more productive 

if you’re taking vacations. Upon 

returning from vacation, workers 

are likely to put more emphasis 

on the work they have to make 

up, according to The New York 

Times. Research says that a lot 

of that has to do with the way humans 

are made. 

“The importance of restoration 

is rooted in our physiology. Human 

beings aren’t designed to expend 

energy continuously,” The 

Times reported. “Rather, we’re 

meant to pulse between spending 

and recovering energy.” 

Teacher Student Relationship 

Divyesh Chavda 

The teacher student relationship 

is very important 

for children. Children 

spend approximately 5 to 7 hours 

a day with a teacher for almost 10 

months. We ask ourselves what is 

considered a good teacher? All of 

us have gone through schooling, 

and if fortunate had a favorite 

teacher. A positive relationship 

between the student and the teacher 

is difficult to establish, but can 

be found for both individuals at 

either end. The qualities for a positive 

relationship can vary to set a 

learning experience approachable 

and inviting the students to learn. 

A teacher and student who have 

the qualities of good communications, 

respect in a classroom, and 

show interest in teaching from the 

point of view of the teacher and 

learning from a student will establish 

a positive relationship in the 

classroom. I will be focusing on 

the relationship between the student 

and teacher, involving a setting 

in the primary grades, which 

I have found second grade to be 

extremely important for the student 

to gain a positive attitude for 

their future education. 

Children have different strategies 

for learning and achieving 

their goals. A few students in a 

classroom will grasp and learn 

quickly, but at the same time there 

will be those who have to be repeatedly 

taught using different 

techniques for the student to be 

able to understand the lesson. On 

the other hand, there are those 

students who fool around and use 

school as entertainment. Teaching 

then becomes difficult, especially 

if there is no proper communication. 

Yet, teachers, creating 

a positive relationship with their 

students, will not necessarily control 

of all the disruptive students. 

The book, Responsible Classroom 

Discipline written by Vernon F. 

Jones and Louise Jones discuss 

how to create a learning environment 

approachable for children in 

the elementary schools. According 

to the Jones, “ Student disruptions 

will occur frequently in 

classes that are poorly organized 

and managed where students are 

not provided with appropriate and 

interesting instructional tasks” 

(101). 

The key is, teachers need to 

continuously monitor the student 

in order for him or her to be aware 

of any difficulties the student is 

having. Understanding the child’s 

problem, fear, or confusion will 

give the teacher a better understanding 

the child’s learning difficulties. 

Once the teacher becomes 

aware of the problems, he or she 

will have more patience with the 

student, thus making the child 

feel secure or less confused when 

learning is taking place in the 

classroom. 

The communication between 

the student and the teacher 

serves as a connection between 

the two, which provides a better 

atmosphere for a classroom environment. 

Of course a teacher 

is not going to understand every 

problem for every child in his or 

her classroom, but will acquire 

enough information for those students 

who are struggling with specific 

tasks. A significant body of 

research indicates that “academic 

achievement and student behavior 

are influenced by the quality 

of the teacher and student relationship” 

(Jones 95). The more 

the teacher connects or communicates 

with his or her students, 

the more likely they will be able 

to help students learn at a high 

level and accomplish quickly. The 

teacher needs to understand that 

in many schools, especially in 

big cities like Los Angeles, children 

come from different cultures 

and backgrounds. A teacher then 

needs to understand the value of 

the students’ senses of belonging, 

which can be of greater value and 

build self worth for minority students. 

If the teacher demonstrates 

an understanding of the student’s 

culture, it will provide a better 

understanding between the teacher 

and the student. Though there 

are students who have a difficult 

time in school and according to 

David Thomas essay, “The Mind 

of Man” states, “children who are 

yelled at feel rejected and frightened 

because a teacher shouts at 

them” (Thomas 122). The example 

above demonstrates the feelings 

the child has towards the 

teacher leading to inhibiting the 

child from learning. The reasons 

for children to be yelled at vary 

from teacher to teacher, but shouting 

should not be the solution for 

children who find education a difficult 

process or simply lack of 

learning experiences, but sometimes 

teachers find yelling at the 

child as the only quick solution. 

Therefore, those teachers who 

demonstrate respect towards their 

students, automatically win favor 

by having active learners in 

their classroom. The arrogant or 

offensive teacher will lack these 

positive qualities due to his or 

her lack of control over the children. 

Teachers should assert that 

they should also be treated with 

respect and their responsibilities 

to ensure that students treat each 

other with kindness. According to 

the Jones, “teachers are encouraged 

to blend their warmth and 

firmness towards the students in 

their classroom, but with realistic 

limits” (111). 

Another point, I have often 

found critical, are the number of 

times the teacher does not correct 

the students who find calling 

names to their classmates amusing. 

Children who are teased or 

bullied by other children find 

themselves being victimized by 

their peers. Children who have 

become victims of this nature 

find learning difficult. They will 

be stressed out not only by trying 

to achieve academically, but also 

because the names they have been 

appointed by their classmates are 

destructive, demeaning, and destroy 

self esteem. Therefore, it 

is important for teachers to have 

children respect each other. Usually, 

a type of lesson involving 

with self-esteem can be an excellent 

activity for children who are 

involved in this destructive nature. 

Teachers who are in a classroom 

everyday have experienced 

one time or another the student(s) 

who are disruptive and/or find 

learning boring. Teachers understand 

that if this behavior continues 

in the classroom and if they 

do nothing to prevent this from 

happening, the outcome proves 

to be disastrous for both types of 

participants. 

The student will conclude that 

his or her behavior is permissible, 

and will draw away from learning, 

therefore it is essentially important 

for the teacher to explain to 

the child the importance to learn. 

Though we understand that learning 

cannot be forced. Learning 

becomes a process for an individual 

where he or she feels comfortable 

with learning whether it’s 

in a classroom or at home. Mike 

Rose explains in “Lives on the 

Boundary” that “It is what we are 

excited about that educates us” 

(106). Rose’s quote can be applied 

to children at an early age, just as 

well as it can be applied to adults. 

Definitely children learn when 

they enjoy learning, but also 

they need some control over the 

teacher (s) decisions. “Authoritarian 

control is often destructive 

to students who are in the 

primary grades, and eventually 

upper grades teachers have difficulty 

dealing with children who 

were taught with an authoritarian 

teacher” (Jones 215). Children in 

primary grades feel the urge to 

talk about their problems, fears, 

or even show their knowledge, but 

at the same time they want to be 

listened too. The student will feel 

valued and respected. Students 

feel flattered when the teacher 

eventually gives them the option 

of contributing, or in other words 

the teacher asks for an opinion, 

which is usually not offered to the 

students. The teacher(s) does not 

have to give up all their control, 

rather teachers share control with 

students and encourage interactions 

that are determined by mutual 

agreement. 

For teachers conducting a classroom 

and shaping the minds of 

the young students, teachers who 

communicate effectively with 

their students should give appropriate 

and helpful feedback 

to their students. Interaction between 

the student and teacher 

becomes extremely important for 

a successful relationship through 

the entire time of a school year. 

A close, but limited relationship 

between the student and teacher 

can be helpful for those students 

who are shy, and find speaking 

in front of the classroom difficult 

or children who have low self-esteem. 

The tension these students 

hold in a classroom will have the 

confidence they had always wanted, 

but never achieved due to not 

having a good relationship with 

the teacher. 

Another important point is 

raised when teachers think of 

themselves as “traditional” are 

following the canonical approach. 

The traditional teachers follow the 

famous list of books to be read by 

his or her students. Many children 

will not enjoy reading because 

they do not have the background 

to understand the material. They 

do not have any interest in the 

book, which makes reading confusing 

and difficult to understand. 

“Students have felt what mattered 

most was the relationship teachers 

established with their students 

providing guidance to students 

who have felt inadequate or 

threatened” (Rose 115). Teachers 

who follow the traditional curriculum 

do not necessarily need to 

focus on their traditional ideas, 

but rather interact with their students 

and find interesting topics 

to discuss with their students. 

Therefore, how does a teacher 

hold a relationship that leads 

to effectively teach the children? 

The answer becomes clear when 

teachers interact with, and learn 

more about their students. Our 

first educational experience, 

which takes place in the primary 

years of our life, sets the principles 

for our future education. 

Every school year an elementary 

teacher deals with new faces and 

new attitudes. Some children find 

themselves lacking an interest in 

learning and others feel playing 

and fooling around at school with 

friends is the happiest moment of 

their life. The solution to inappropriate 

behavior will not automatically 

get rid of the poor attitude of 

these children, but is to establish 

a positive relationship. Teachers 

can establish a positive relationship 

with their students by communicating 

with them and properly 

providing feedback to them. 

Respect between teacher and student 

with both feeling enthusiastic 

when learning and teaching. 

Having established a positive 

relationship with students will 

encourage students to seek education 

and be enthusiastic and to be 

in school. Remembering our favorite 

teacher will be recognized 

because they had at least in one 

way or another the qualities I discussed 

in this essay, although we 

are not aware of it during the time 

we are in school, but teachers are 

well recognized at a later time of 

our lives.

8 


TND 

Campus 

A two day national conference on ‘Emerging Trends in Information Technology’ concluded recently 

organized by the Computer Science Department of the Veer Narmad South Gujarat University 

Information Technology has become an integral 

part of our daily life. Information Technology has 

served as a big change agent in business and different 

aspects of society. Information Technology 

is the single, most rapidly changing and growing 

industry in the world. In this fast-paced world, 

technologies invented today may become obsolete 

tomorrow. 

Individuals within these organizations continue to 

face the challenge of developing and implementing 

the latest technology. The conference aims to bring 

together innovative academicians, researchers, scientists, 

industrial experts in multidisciplinary field 

and provide a platform to acquaint & share new 

ideas on the emerging trends in Information Technology. 

The aim is to provide a platform for sharing 

innovation, knowledge & in-depth understanding 

of emerging trends and challenges covering all areas 

of information technology. 

Papers on subjects which were presented included 

Cloud computing Networking & Distributed 

Systems, Cryptography and Foundation of Computer, 

Security Natural Language Processing, 

Speech Synthesis and Recognition, Optical Character 

Recognition, Data Mining and Data Warehousing, 

Web Mining, Database Systems, Digital 

Image Processing, Artificial Intelligence & Pattern/Image 

Recognition, Robotics, Data Visualization 

and Virtual Reality, Software Engineering, 

Computer Graphics and Visualization and Human 

Computer Interaction, 

Prominent those who participated in the conference 

included Padmashree Dr Bimal Roy from Kolkata, 

Dr Mehul Raval from Ahmedabad University, 

Dr JR Mehta, Dr Apurva Desai, Dr Dilip Ahalpara 

from Nadiad, Dr G Hemanthakumar from Manasagangothri 

University, Mysore among others. 

The organizing committee members included 

Prof (Dr.) R.D. Morena Dr. R.M. Gulati, J.R. Patel, 

Dr. N.A. Modi, Dr. V.K. Chaudhari, U.N. Kapadia, 

P.C. Rana, M.P. Shah, H.J. Meswania, R.N.Patel, 

Rosemol Thomas and S.V.Modi. 

On Earth Day GIIS Ahmedabad 

give hope of a greener planet 

Pratiksha 

Sholk 

Achivement 

Approx 150 students Played at various state level Matches i.e of DSO, ASICSE and KhelMhakumbh. 

This is the maximum achievement at Surat level.Congratulations to all students and 

coaches!!!! 

Every year on 22 April, the whole world comes together to celebrate Earth Day. It is that day of the year 

where over 193 countries put their economic agendas on the back-burner and instead give some serious 

thought to chalk out ways to save our planet. People all over the world celebrate Earth Day by taking out 

rallies, street plays, tree plantation as well as encouraging recycling and reducing pollution. The first Earth 

Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970, in the US after a massive oil spill in California, post which millions 

of Americans pledged to stop abuse of Mother Nature around the world. 

Since then, the environmental movement has only got bigger and today as the world celebrates the 46th 

Earth Day, we tout the participation from even the remotest of places in the world. And, to contribute in our 

own little way, our GIIS Ahmedabad pre-primary toddlers put up an environmental awareness program, reminding 

us that how small efforts can go a long way. Joining the world-wide celebration, the students came 

to school dressed in green clothes, filling the atmosphere with positivity and peace. One of students was 

dressed as the Earth with its half side covered in greenery and the other half soaked in pollution, depicting 

the current state of our planet. Nevertheless, giving us hope that we can make our planet a better place to 

live in by making small changes in our routine like switching off lights when not in use, not wasting water, 

planting trees, proper disposal of garbage and saving fuel. 

However, the damage is done and the picture is grim. But, there is hope at the end of the tunnel if each one 

of us pledges to save our planet so that our future generations have a greener and cleaner Earth to live in. 

Gallery vakund gram panchayat, dr baba saheb ambedkar , volleyball tournament 

Mst. Aditya Vaidya of Std X has got the Championship title at State level Chess tournament held by Gujarat 

State at Gadhinagar , Gujarat. Earlier he was winner at DSO level. 

Also he was the winner at the City level ‘ Sandesh Chess tournament’ held in our school. He won at district 

level Khel Mahakumbh and Won Rs. 5000/- 

THE NATIONAL DAWN Printed, Published and Owned Vikramrao Sanas and Printed at Taptilok Publication. 152-153, Shree Ram Industrial Estate, Pandesara, Surat (Gujarat) and Published at - S : 30, Kanaknidhi 

Complex, Opp. Gandhi Smruti Bhavan, Nanpura, Surat - 395 001 (Gujarat) Editor - Vikramrao Sanas is responsible for the news published in PRB. ACT.

April 23, 2016

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