July 2019

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July 2019
Inclusion of 17 OBCs in SC list
unconstitutional: Mayawati
Lucknow : Bahujan Samaj Party
President Mayawati on Monday
slammed the Uttar Pradesh government’s
decision to include 17 Other
Backward Castes (OBC) in the
Scheduled Caste (SC) list as "unconstitutional
and politically motivated".
Mayawati said the move will not
bring any benefits for OBC groups
and Yogi Adityanath had deceived
them.
"No government can include or
remove any caste from the Scheduled
Caste list. Article 341 prevents a government
from doing so. Only the
President and Parliament have the
powers to do so," she stated. The BSP
President further explained: "Part 1 of
Article 341 clearly states that the
President can specify any group to the
SC list through a public notification
on the Governor’s advice. Part 2 says
that if a notification is released under
part 1 of Article 341, it can only be
changed by Parliament. Part 2 also
states that Parliament can specify,
include or exclude any group from
the SC list."
She pointed out that the notification
cannot be undone by any other
notification. "These castes will no
longer get the benefits of quota under
the OBC category. They will be treated
as general castes. It is clear that
Yogi government has issued this
order to deceive these castes," she
stated.
Mayawati also alleged that the
order had been issued keeping in
view the upcoming bypolls in the
state and appealed to Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath to immediately withdraw
it.
She urged the Centre to initiate the
constitutional procedure to include
these groups in the SC list and
demanded an increase in the quota
limit for them.
"I appeal to the Centre to include
these castes in the category and
increase SC quota proportionately as
per constitutional procedure," she
said.
In a decision taken on Friday, the
Yogi Adityanath government had
moved 17 OBCs in the SC list, thus
fulfilling a long pending demand of
these castes.
The OBCs added to the SC list are
-- Nishad, Bind, Mallah, Kewat,
Kashyap, Bhar, Dhivar, Batham,
Machua, Prajapati, Rajbhar, Kahar,
Potter, Dhimar, Manjhi, Tuhaha and
Gaur.
The Chief Minister also directed
all district officers to issue caste certificate
to the families of those
belonging to these castes.
No losers, but there’s
a WINNER here
CUP COMES HOME Match tied. Super Over tied. Breathless, frenetic final goes to
the wire, decided on England hitting eight more boundaries than New Zealand
London, An elated
England captain Eoin Morgan
said to get over the line and
win their maiden World Cup
means the world to them,
after the hosts beat New
Zealand in an eliminator here
at Lord s on Sunday. It took
England 44 years but on
Sunday, in their own backyard,
Morgan and Co. lifted
the sport s biggest prize albeit
by the finest of margins as the
Super Over also ended in a tie
and England won due to hitting
more boundaries than
new Zealand. Electing to bat
first New Zealand put up
241/8 in 50 overs. Chasing
the target, England rode player
of the match Ben Stokes
unbeaten 84 off 98 balls with
Jos Buttler also scoring 59.
The pair added 110 runs for
the fifth wicket to tie the
game at 241 all out and take it
to a Eliminator. In the
Eliminator, Stokes and Buttler
helped England post 15 which
New Zealand matched but in
gut-wrenching fashion fell
behind due to less number of
boundaries hit to England.
I d like to commiserate
Kane (Williamson) and his
team. The example that they
lead is hugely commendable
to him and his team, Morgan
said moments before lifting
the World Cup at the gala post
match presentation ceremony.
On a tough wicket where
everyone found it tough to
score. Buttler and Stokes put
together a partnership, and I
thought that would take us
deep, and it did. This has been
a four-year- journey and we
find it hard to play on wickets
like that. To get over the line
today means the world to us,
Morgan said, his eyes welling
up. I was being cooled down
by (Liam) Plunkett, which
isn t a good sign. Some of the
support staff not only the
best in our team, but in the
world, they really helped. Full
credit to the two boys who
went out for the Super Over,
given that they were there
most recently. On Jofra
Archer who bowled the Super
Over, Morgan said the 24-
year old is improving every
game. Archer finished with 20
wickets in 11 games as
England s leading wicket
taker and third in the overall
list behind Australia s
Mitchell Starc and New
Zealand s Lockie Ferguson.
Toll in Nepal floods,
landslides reach 43
Kathmandu, The death toll in the Nepal floods and landslides
caused by torrential
rain has increased to 43,
while 21 were reported
missing and 26 others
injured, authorities confirmed
on Sunday. The toll
was confirmed by the
Home Ministry, adding that
2,000 people had been rescued
by Saturday evening, the Kathmandu Post reported. Since
Thursday evening, the Himalayan nation has witnessed heavy
rainfall in an indication of the changing rainfall pattern, data
from Simara station of the Meteorological Forecasting Division
revealed The country is receiving more rainfall in a short duration
of time, an abnormal phenomenon that is slowly becoming
a new normal, the data added. Simara station received the highest
rainfall in the latest wet spell. In the 24-hour period since
Thursday evening, Simara recorded 311.9 mm rainfall, according
to the Meteorological Forecasting Division. The Simara station
also surpassed its own extreme rainfall in 24 hours for July.
The last incident of extreme precipitation in 24 hours was 266.4
mm in July 16, 1978.
Different districts on Saturday also saw devastation and
destruction by floods and landslides triggered by incessant rainfall,
reports the Kathmandu Post. Parts of the capital Kathmandu
have been left submerged under floodwaters. In Province 2,
around 80 per cent of the land has been inundated, while 15
houses were swept away in Saptari and 2,500 houses inundated.
Until Saturday, 1,500 families had been displaced. In Morang,
waters from the swollen Bakraha, Lohandra, Judi, Singhiya and
Keshliya, among other rivers, gushed into nearby settlements,
displacing around 4,000 people. According to the Traffic Police
and the Department of Roads, Besisahar-Chame, Ghurmi-
Okhaldhunga, Khotang-Bhojpur and Beni-Jomsom roads have
remained closed due to landslides and floods. Vehicular movement
was halted along the Pharping-Hetauda Road on Saturday
due to landslides at Sisne, Daman and Palung.

2 July 2019
ASIA
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
World Council of Churches
Dr. Harshindar Kaur bats for protection of women’s rights by sensitizing society
Team AI :
Devinder Chander
Editor-in-chief
Columnists
V.B. Rawat
Farzana Suri
Arun Kumar
Rahul Kumar
Harminder K. Bhogal
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Geneva (Switzerland) : Dr. Harshindar Kaur from India
was specially invited to deliver lecture on perspectives of
gender justice as she had already represented India in United
Nations twice before this event. Ms. Jennifer Philpot Nissen,
Executive for Human Rights, World Council of Churches
introduced Dr. Harshindar Kaur to the house saying that she
is the only one till date to raise constant voice about female
feticide and infanticide at international level for past 26
years.Dr. Kaur in her address said that looking at ever
increasing crimes against women, it seems that all religions
have failed to protect women rights. All suggestions for
improving sex ratio at world level by Dr.
Harshindar Kaur were accepted in toto by the committee.
Dr. Kaur in her lecture stated that at the time of Sri Guru
Nanak Dev Ji, atrocities on women were at peak but Guru ji
demolished centuries old disparity against women by his revolutionary
ideology which led to decrease in crimes against
women in that era. She batted for the sensitization of society
on one hand starting from school level, giving awareness
about XY chromosomes in the society and registering case of
murder in all cases of female infanticide.Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit
General Secretary of World Council of Churches thanked the
participants and specially invited Dr. Harshindar Kaur to
deliver presentation at UN on 8 March 2020 to take some
concrete steps to stop feticide at international level.
US tourist released after obscene photo at Giza pyramids
Cairo, Egyptian authorities have
released a US tourist who was arrested
after he allegedly tried to photograph
himself mooning in front of the
Giza pyramids. The man was taken
into custody on Saturday while trying
to capture the moment inside the
pyramid complex, which includes the
Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid
of Khafre and the Pyramid of
Menkaure, located on the outskirts of
Cairo, a security official told Efe
news on Sunday.
The foreigner did not have his
passport on him when he was caught
by workers at the complex.
Apparently under the influence of
an intoxicant, the tourist has been
investigated for public indecency, the
security official said. The tourist,
nonetheless, was released less than 24
hours after his arrest. The South Giza
Islamabad : Pakistan
Prime Minister Imran
Khan will seek US
President Donald Trumps
help to resolve the longstanding
Kashmir issue
with India when he meets
the American leader next
week in Washington, officials
said.
Senior officials at the
Foreign Ministry told The
Nation newspaper on
Sunday that the agenda
was being worked out for
the July 22 meeting at the
White House. "The Prime Minister will
definitely take up the Kashmir issue
District Attorney’s Office decided to
release the tourist and another person
travelling with him after the
American and his friend each paid a
5,000 Egyptian pounds ($300) fine,
the office said in a statement. The two
were accompanied by a representative
of the US Embassy, the security official
said, adding that the tourists
could now leave the North African
nation. This is the most recent episode
in a string of controversial incidents
at the pyramids in the past few years.
In 2018, a Danish couple recorded
a video atop the Great Pyramid of
Giza of themselves having sexual
IMRAN KHAN to seek
Trump's help on Kashmir
with the US President and seek his help
for the resolution of the dispute with
intercourse. In 2015, an adult-content
video shot in Giza sparked controversy
in Egypt. That same year, Andrej
Ciesielski, of Germany, was arrested
and handed a lifetime ban on entering
Egypt after he climbed one of the pyramids
and posted a video of his
adventure on social media.
Climbing the pyramids is forbidden
by law. A Belgian model and a
photographer were arrested in 2017 in
the southern Egyptian city of Luxor
after she posed naked inside the
Karnak Temple Complex.
According to reports, the model
was pretending to be Queen Nefertari,
the favourite wife of Pharaoh
Ramesses II of the 19th Dynasty
(1539-1075 BC). An Egyptian judge
released the two after warning them
against repeating “such stupid and
disgraceful” acts.
India," said one official.
Another official said that
Pakistan will brief the US about
Islamabad's efforts for regional
peace. "The ongoing support to the
US talks with the Afghan Taliban
will be discussed. Pakistan is ready
to go further for Afghan peace and
stability," he said, adding that
Islamabad had also been urging
talks with New Delhi and Khan will
provide details of the country's
efforts so far to President Trump.
This will be Khan's maiden visit
to the US since assuming power following
the Pakistan Tehreek-e-
Insaf's victory in the 2018 general elections.
22 killed in
Pakistan cloudburst
Islamabad : At least 22 people
were killed and several others were
reported missing after a cloudburst
caused flash flooding in Pakistan's
Neelum Valley, an official said on
Monday. The cloudburst caused largescale
devastation as over 150 houses
and two mosques were affected in the
overnight flooding in the tourist resort
of Neelum Valley, Xinhua news
agency quoted the disaster management
official as saying.
Several people were still stranded in
their houses and efforts were underway
to evacuate them.
Meanwhile, the authorities have set
up make-shift camps to adjust the displaced
people. Cloudburst is a rare
phenomenon in which a large amount
of water pours down on the ground due
to the burst of clouds. Normally rainfall
over 100 mm per hour is considered
as a cloudburst.
Boeing 737 MAX
unlikely to restart
operations by 2020
Washington : The globally grounded
Boeing 737 MAX planes are
unlikely to restart operations until
2020 as it will take time to fix a flightcontrol
software and complete other
work, government and industry officials
have said. The aircraft is currently
expected to return to the air in
January 2020, 12 months after the
company proposed the initial replacement
of software implicated in two
deadly crashes, Xinhua news agency
quoted US Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) officials and
industry leaders as saying on Sunday.
Boeing executives, FAA engineers
and global aviation regulators have
extended the safety analyses to cover a
growing list of almost all the issues
from emergency recovery process to
potentially suspect electronic components.
The Wall Street Journal on
Sunday quoted officials at the FAA and
pilot-union leaders as saying that no
firm timeline has been established but
one scenario anticipates the plane
could return to the air in January 2020.
American Airlines have already
extended its ban on Boeing 737 MAX
flights through November 2, the company
said on Sunday in a statement,
right after United Airlines announced
its decision to keep Boeing 737 MAX
flights out of schedule until November
3. American Airlines' announcement
on Sunday marked the fifth time that it
has pushed back the expected time that
the MAX would resume flying. The
airline had previously announced on
March 24 that it was extending its cancellations
through April 24. The
Boeing 737 MAX was grounded
worldwide following the deadly crashes
of Lion Air Flight 610 in October
2018 in Indonesia and Ethiopian
Airlines Flight 302 in March this year
that killed a total of 346 people.
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www.theasianindependent.co.uk
ASIA
Will myself decide on my
successor: Dalai Lama
Dharamsala : Tibetan spiritual leader
the Dalai Lama, respected by millions as a
living god, who has been caught in a controversy
over his recent joke that his successor
a female Dalai Lama would have to
be "more attractive", has clarified that his
reincarnation is to be decided by him. The
Buddhist monk had apologized for his
"attractive" female successor remark, saying
he genuinely meant no offence and
offered his sincere apologies if people were
hurt by what he had said.
However, aides in his private office in
this northern Indian town on Monday clarified
there is no question of search for his
successor as the Dalai Lama, 84,
announced in 2011 that he would decide at
90 whether or not he should have a successor.
The issue of reincarnation is his personal
right, an aide in the Dalai Lama's
office told IANS. At the same time, the
globe-trotting monk warned that any candidate
chosen for political ends by anyone,
including China, should not be recognised
or accepted. The aide said still there is no
certainty that whether the institution of the
Dalai Lama should continue or not after the
14th and current Dalai Lama, Tenzin
Gyatso.
"My reincarnation is to be decided by
myself, nobody has the right to decide
about that," he often said in his remarks.
"One day you will hear that the Dalai
Lama has passed away, but I will come
back, even if the institution of Dalai Lama
is no longer recognised. I will be back," a
post on his website quoting the Dalai Lama
said. But who is next after the Dalai Lama?
At the present moment, the Dalai
Lama's institution is useful to the Tibetan
culture and the Tibetan people. "Thus, if I
were to die today, I think the Tibetan people
would choose to have another Dalai
Lama. In the future, if the Dalai Lama's
institution is no longer relevant or useful
and our present situation changes, then the
Dalai Lama's institution will cease to
exist," the monk said in a post.
"Personally, I feel the institution of the
Dalai Lama has served its purpose. More
recently, since 2001 we now have a democratically
elected head of our administration,
the Kalon Tripa.
"The Kalon Tripa runs the daily affairs
of our administration and is in charge of
our political establishment. Half jokingly
and half seriously, I state that I am now in
semi-retirement." In August 2011 when
Lobsang Sangay took over the reins of the
government-in-exile from monk and scholar
Samdhong Rinpoche, who held the post
for 10 years but was overshadowed by the
Dalai Lama, the Dalai Lama announced:
"When I am about 90, I will consult the
high lamas and re-evaluate whether the
institution of the Dalai Lama should continue
or not." On his birthday on July 6 this
year, he said, "I am now 84, but I hope to
be able to celebrate the occasion with all of
you for many more years to come."
Clarifying this month on his remark during
a BBC interview that have caused disquiet,
the Dalai Lama recalled the conversation
on the physical appearance of a
female successor with the then Paris editor
of Vogue magazine, who had invited him in
1992 to guest-edit the next edition.
She asked if a future Dalai Lama could
be a woman. His Holiness replied,
"Certainly, if that would be more helpful,"
adding, as a joke, that she should be attractive,
said a statement by his office.
The Dalai Lama was at least partially
responding to the unfamiliar ambience of
working with a team whose prime focus
was the world of high fashion.
On the Chinese stating that the next
Dalai Lama will be born in Tibet and chosen
by them, he said: "If the present situation
regarding Tibet remains the same, I
will be born outside Tibet away from the
control of the Chinese authorities. This is
logical. The very purpose of a reincarnation
is to continue the unfinished work of
the previous incarnation."
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama,
Tenzin Gyatso, describes himself as a simple
Buddhist monk. In 1989, the Dalai
Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize for his
non-violent struggle for Tibet. He was
awarded the US Congressional Gold Medal
in October 2007, even in the face of
protests by China.
The Dalai Lama now lives in exile along
with some 140,000 Tibetans, over 100,000
of them in different parts of India. Over six
million Tibetans live in Tibet.
May grooves to Abba's 'Dancing
Queen' at black-tie event
London : Outgoing British
Prime Minister Theresa May
was caught on camera dancing
to Swedish pop-group Abba's
iconic single "Dancing Queen"
due a black-tie event, UK
media reports said.
The outgoing leader showed
off her moves at Henley
Festival - a black-tie music
event where tickets cost up to
135 pounds a head, during the
weekend, reports the
Independent newspaper.
Besides dancing to the
"Dancing Queen", the song she
famously walked out to at the
Conservative Party conference
last year, May also sang along
to other Abba hits including
"Mamma Mia", "Take A
Chance" and "Money Money
Money" which were performed
by a tribute band. May's dance
moves became a subject of
media focus after she twice
awkwardly danced in front of
the cameras on a trip to South
Africa and Kenya last summer.
May and her husband Philip
will depart Downing Street on
July 24, after being succeeded
as Prime Minister by either
Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt,
the BBC reported.
She was forced to announce
her exit in May, amid a revolt
by Conservative MPs unhappy
about her failure to take the UK
out of the European Union
(EU) on March 29 and her decision
to open Brexit talks with
the opposition Labour Party.
May assumed office on July
16, 2016, after then Prime
Minister David Cameron
resigned following following
the outcome of the EU membership
referendum in which
52 per cent of voters voted in
favour of leaving the 28-member
bloc.
July 2019
3
Bareilly couple's friend arrested
Bareilly : Police in Bareilly have arrested Gaurav Arman,
who had helped
Ajitesh Kumar
elope and marry
Sakshi Misra, the
daughter of BJP
MLA Rajesh Misra.
According to
reports, Arman, a
close aide of the
BJP MLA also, was
arrested
on
Saturday in a 10-
month-old case of
rioting. A case
against 27 people
was registered in
September 2018
when a group
allegedly stopped a
Muharram procession
in Bareilly.
Arman and the
MLA were among
those named in the FIR but no action has been taken against the
latter. Circle officer Kuldeep Kumar said: "It is an old matter in
which some other accused have already been arrested. Arman
has been taken into custody in connection with the same case.
Our investigation is on." On Sunday, the police escorted Sakshi
and Ajitesh to Allahabad as the couple's petition in the
Allahabad High Court will come up for hearing on Monday.
Meanwhile, an investigation was launched into photos of
Ajitesh on Facebook where in some he is seen holding a gun.
Ajitesh has deleted his Facebook account. The couple has
accused the BJP MLA and his men of threatening them with
dire consequences after their inter-caste marriage. Sakshi is a
Brahmin while Ajitesh is a Dalit. The Uttar Pradesh ST/SC
Commission has sought a report from District Magistrate V.K.
Singh and SSP Muniraj G in the matter.
Muslims, Dalits to apply
for arms licenses
Lucknow : Muslims, Dalits and tribals will now start applying
for arms licenses for self-defence, following increase in
incidents of mob lynching. The pan-India movement will commence
from Lucknow on July 26. Shia cleric and General
Secretary of Majlis-e-Ulama-e-Hind, Maulana Kalbe Jawwad
will be organising the first camp in Lucknow on the suggestion
of Supreme Court lawyer Mehmood Pracha. According to the
cleric, these camps would be organised in at least 12 cities,
including six in Uttar Pradesh, where these communities are
under threat and need legal help.
"SC/ST and minorities have been pushed to the edge by the
government, which is soft on perpetrators of mob violence,"
Maulana Kalbe Jawwad said. "In such a scenario, there is no
option left, but self-defence. Many from these communities face
discrimination and they will avail of our legal expertise to fill
up forms and apply for arms license." The camp will ensure that
applicants with criminal antecedents or those with political or
business interests are kept out. "This campaign is not for the
Shia community, in particular, but for all minorities who feel
threatened. Once the applicants get their licenses, we will
deploy experts for arms training. And we will also act against
those who misuse their license," he said.
"Legal experts will be coming to Lucknow for holding the
camp. Clerics from others sects will also be included in the
movement. The brunt of mob lynching is borne by Sunnis and
Dalits too," Jawwad added. "If the government had taken strong
steps against perpetrators of hate crime, we would not have had
to take up such a measure. There are tough laws in the
Constitution and Indian Penal Code (IPC) which the government
should invoke. The draft bill on lynching is a mere eyewash.
If the government wakes up, we will withdraw the movement,"
the cleric said.

4 July 2019
ASIA
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
Death toll in Himachal building collapse
rises to 14, search op in final leg
The army said the bodies of Lalsun, Surjeet Sharma and Rajan Bahadur were the latest to be found after the building
collapsed on Nahan-Kumarhati Road near Solan, some 55km away from Chandigarh, on Sunday afternoon.
Mayawati supports draft
Bill to curb mob lynching
Lucknow : Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
President Mayawati on Saturday welcomed
the Uttar Pradesh Law Commission's draft
Bill that seeks stringent punishment for those
involved in mob
lynching. "Mob
lynching has
emerged as a dreadful
disease across
the country and the
loss of lives due to
this is a matter of
serious concern. In
this regard, there is a
strong need for a
stringent countrywide law, but the Centre's
approach towards it is lackadaisical." The
BSP supremo welcomed the submission of a
draft Bill by the commission which recommended
up to life imprisonment for the crime.
"This disease is a gift of the intention and
policy of the governments of not allowing
establishment of the rule of law. As a result,
not only the Dalits,
tribals or the reli-
Solan -The bodies of all the 13
Indian Army soldiers trapped under
the debris of the collapsed building in
Himachal Pradesh’s Solan district
were pulled out on Monday, officials
said, taking the death toll to 14.
The four-storey building housing a
small eatery and a guest house collapsed
following heavy rains on
Sunday afternoon when 30 Junior
Commissioned Officers (JCOs) of
Assam Rifles, all from the nearby
Dagshai cantonment, were eating
lunch there. Nearly 15 others, including
the eatery’s staff, were also present
inside the building.
The army said the bodies of Lalsun,
Surjeet Sharma and Rajan Bahadur
were the latest to be found after the
building collapsed on Nahan-
Kumarhati Road near Solan, some
55km away from Chandigarh, on
Sunday afternoon.
Solan’s district commissar KC
Chaman said most of the civilians
were rescued on Sunday but the search
and rescue operation will continue
until the entire accident area has been
scanned. “We completely rule out the
possibility of any other person in
debris,” he said. The other dead soldiers
have been identified as Hem
Khuman, M Naubin, Vishwer Singh,
Kumar Chourahi, Raj Kishore,
Balwinder Singh, Vinod, Ajit Kumar,
Pardeep Chand and Yogesh. The wife
of the building’s owner Archana Devi
was also killed in the accident, officials
said. Twenty-seven people,
including 17 soldiers and 10 civilians,
have been rescued from the debris.
National Disaster Response Force
(NDRF) official Ajay Verma, who is
involved in the rescue operations, said
the bodies retrieved from the debris
gious minorities,
but people from all
sections of the society
and police are
also becoming a
victim of mob
lynching,"
Mayawati said.
"Along with drafting
strong laws, the BJP will have to develop
a strong willpower like the BSP, to strictly
enforce the laws. Only then this disease can be
curbed," she said.
Maithili to be optional subject in Delhi schools: Sisodia
New Delhi : Government schools of Delhi
wil offer Maithili language as an optional subject
for students from Class 8 to 12, Education
Minister Manish Sisodia said on Monday.
He said the Delhi
Government will arrange free
coaching for students taking
Maithili as optional subject in
IAS/civil service examinations.
While speaking to
media, Sisodia said the government
will felicitate talents
for outstanding contribution to
Maithili-Bhojpuri along with organising a
five-day Maithili-Bhojpuri festival in
November. "Maithili will be taught as an
optional language in Delhi schools from class
8 to 12. Students of Delhi would now be able
to learn Maithili as an optional subject like
Urdu and Punjabi." He said his government
has done experiment with
Sanskrit and have got good
results. "The Maithili-
Bhojpuri academy will
arrange free coaching for the
students who appear in competitive
exams like civil services
with Maithili as an
optional subject."
Sisodia said there is no font for Maithili at
present. "The Delhi government has taken a
major step to have a font for Maithili.
were badly crushed. “We are praying
for some life in the debris,” Verma
said. As a team of the army and NDRF
staff continued to search for survivors
beneath the debris, inconsolable cries
of the family members of those stuck
inside could be heard as a body was
pulled out at about 3am on Monday.
It rained in the first few hours of the
rescue operation which began at
4.30pm on Sunday. Since then, there
have been no rains allowing the rescuers
to continue their operation. The
area had been witnessing heavy rains
for the last four days. Chaman said the
reason behind the building collapse
will be clear only after a probe. “This
building was constructed in 2009 and
a floor was added to it recently. An
FIR (first information report) against
the owner has already been lodged,”
he said while speaking to the media at
the rescue site. Chief minister Jairam
Thakur has already ordered a probe
into the incident and is likely to visit
the site later in the day. ‘Worst disaster
in the area’ Locals said it was the
worst disaster in the area where the
building collapsed in a few seconds,
giving no time to those inside it to run
out. “First, the fourth floor collapsed.
After some time, the entire structure
came down,” said Gaurav Prashar, an
eyewitness. The building owner’s
family lived on the top floor, the
eatery was on the third floor and the
second floor had a pantry and ground
floor was being used as a store.

www.theasianindependent.co.uk
I met him in New York. He was in
his late 70s. He had a shiny pate and his
sin bore the remnants of his experience.
His eyes were what struck me the most
- there was a steely resolve and yet tenderness
to it. He was wearing worn
jeans and plaid shirt over a white tee.
He was walking tall and seemed taller
than his height of 6'3". I was lost. I had
taken the wrong turn and for some reason,
I couldn't decipher the map in my
hand. I walked across the street and
said, "Sir? Could you help me? I'm trying
to reach Chinatown?"
He stopped and looked down at me.
All of 4'11", I craned my neck, shielding
my eyes from the warm sun, now
piercing through my jacket. "Sure, hon"
he smiled. "In fact, I could walk you
there, myself.I'm Jon"
I was thrilled. I had company. We
sauntered along together - a picture of
the short and tall across the Brooklyn
Bridge. During the course of our conversation,
Jon mentioned, he had
served in thewar and his family in
WWII. The family, he said were patriots
and had a history of loyalty and duty
towards the country for generations.
He shared a few stories on valour.
One of them related to a brother from the
army, Bren. It was an incident during the
2003 Iraq invasion.Brenencountered a
group of militants while travelling
towards Baghdad. His platoon was
accosted from all sides. He had the
choice of saving his life and his platoon's
or simply firing and backing off. He
chose, differently. He directed his tank
towards the militants and kept firing
away with the mission to cross over the
enemy lines. At one time, he saw one of
the soldiers buckling with the shot he'd
received on his shoulder. He was holding
his shoulder tightly, with the blood gushing
out in spurtswhile his other arm
extended to reach a crumpled, half-torn
photo of a family. Bren got on his knees
and handed it to him. He was one of the
militants. Emotions ran deep, yet he had
a job to do. He turned away hitting out at
every target perceivable.
During the course of the attack, one
of his young soldiers, pointed towards a
hidden trench. Without losing time,
Bren charged into the enemy trench,
himself with complete disregard to his
life. His platoon followed him and kept
firing the shots. Pellets flew all around
till there was no ammunition left. Bren
bent and picked up the grenade
launcherone of the militants had left
behind and continued to fight. The
screams were muffled by the thunderous
and continuous rainfall of the
shells. It was deafening. Bren and his
platoon fought valiantly, crushing one
ASIA
Leadership and
The Art of War
target after another. His platoon, loyally
followed every instruction and signal,
accurately. Their faith in Bren was
uncompromising. He was awarded a
medal of valour for his courage upon
his return to NYC.
Being in the army, Jon said is all
about duty, self-service, dedication,
respect and personal courage. Millions
of those who choose this life, do so and
uphold the mission of loyalty toward
the country - the only goal. I distilled all
I learnt on the walk towards Chinatown
with Jon, into 7 leadership skillsyou
learn, being in the army. For starters,
leaders are not your average souls. They
stand out from the din, have the mettle
to go against the tide, zag when the
world around them is zigging away.
1. Accountability
Leadership is about taking responsibility.
You are responsible for your
team and accountable for their actions.
It's about you, doing your job towards
the goal enlisted. You make a visible
commitment and stick to it. There are
no reasons, no excuses, no voices of
defence. You accept and perform knowing
that the buck stops at your door.
You accomplish what's laid out as a
team.The army with its hierarchy
encourages this mindset.
2. Personal Courage
No matter how much the ground
beneath your feet is slipping, you don't
display your negative emotions - fear,
worry or indecisiveness. You learn to
demonstrate a high degree of confidence
and personal courage that exudes
faith and a can-do-spirit within the
team. Your team is driven by the energy
you exude. Their life depends on the
moves you make. Leading a team, in
times where the only distance between
life and death was the way you led a
team that had given away every ounce
of everything they had within themselves,
and barely had anything left to
put out there. The courage and resolve,
in the face of challenges with the highest
stakes and incredible pressure,
where you made the toughest decisions
on the spur of the moment with equal
calm. Courage speaks volumes.
3. Respect
This is unique to the army. It doesn't
matter which background you come
from, the ethnicity, race, religion or
gender, in these new times we live in -
all are treated with respect - same rank
and file. You are a part of a team whose
objective and mission are defined on
the values of integrity. A rank or title
does not earn you the right to command,
being competent at your work
does. All are married to that mission.
Nothing comes in the way because
respect is earned by giving.
4. Training
"Victory smiles upon those who
anticipate changes in the nature of war."
- Giulio Douhet
War can happen anytime. How prepared
are you? Practice and learn. No
matter at what level you are, training is
July 2019
5
neededfor you to gain higher
endurance, be more swifter and up to
date with new technology and methods,
the need for integrated and collective
training. Survival depends on adaptability
to change.
5. Learn to Follow
Leadership is about knowing when
to follow, too. When you've learnt to
follow, you learn how to lead. It strips
you of any ego whether you're rich or
poor or are better than your mate. It
returns the focus towards the mission.
6. Team comes first
You can't lead if you didn't have a
team. You are the guardian. You mentor
them and watch their backs. Show compassion.
Be accessible. Listen to them.
Make the environment conducive so
that they can do their job well. Success
cannot be got until each member is
operating as one.
7. Communication
The army thrives on effective communication
through the chain of command.
Life or death depends on this
level of clarity in communication. How
clear, concise and effective can you be
in defining the mission so all speak
with one voice and one message? In
fact, Jon spoke of something called a
"briefback" communication in the
army. He said that your communication
to be effective and understood should
have a three-part process. You give
orders, the person receiving it reiterates
those orders back to you, and you clarify
if everything is right or that which
may have been misunderstood.
The conversation with Jon was illuminating.To
most of us, the army commands
respect and admirationin securing
and protecting our country. In my
view, its realistic leadershipinspires you
like no other organisation. Leadership
Authority, teamwork, humility, work
ethics, honour, management, planning,
discipline and communication - above
all, the army teaches you that all are
equals on the same team - no caste,
creed, colour, religion, race. All belong
to one team.
Farzana Suri, Victory Coach
PIL challenges Foreigners Amendment Order in Assam
New Delhi : A petition in the Supreme Court
has challenged the constitutionality of provisions
in the Foreigners (Tribunals) Amendment Order
2019. The petition, filed by All Assam
Minorities' Students Union, contends that the
provisions in the amendment order are in stark
violation of the fundamental liberties guaranteed
under Articles 19 and 21 of those who have not
been included in the draft National Register of
Citizens (NRC) in the process of updating in
Assam. "As a consequence, it will not be in
favour of those who will prefer an appeal after
their non-inclusion in the final NRC and after
rejection of their claims". According to petitioners'
counsel, a bench headed by Chief Justice
Ranjan Gogoi issued notice to the Centre, after
the initial hearing on the matter. Petitioner was
represented through senior advocates Kapil Sibal
and Salman Khurshid. The petitioner claims to
be a prominent representative body and important
stakeholder in the NRC process.
The petitioner contends that the Amendment
Order, 2019 has been passed by the Centre without
any form of consultation with the concerned
stakeholders. The counsel for the petitioner contended
that a person may file an appeal only
upon production of a certified copy of the rejection
order received from the NRC authorities
within 60 days from the date of order of rejection
of claims/objection.
But, in the amendment Order, there is no provision
for condoning the delay, nor is there any
safeguard obligating NRC authorities to issue a
certified copy of the order in a time-bound manner.
The petitioner also claims that the amendment
order is jumbling up two distinct legal
processes - one by the tribunal and the other by
the district magistrate.

6 July 2019
ASIA
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
Karnataka CM to seek trust vote on July 18
Bengaluru : Karnataka Chief
Minister HD Kumaraswamy will seek a
vote of confidence of the state
Assembly on July 18, against the backdrop
of 16 MLAs of the ruling Congress
and JD(S) tendering their resignation.
"I have directed the Chief Minister to
hold the floor test in the Assembly on
Thursday (July 18)," Speaker KR
Ramesh Kumar told reporters after a
meeting of the Business Advisory
Committee of the House here on
Monday. The meeting was attended by
Kumarswamy, Congress Legislature
Party leader Siddaramaiah and opposition
BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa.
The floor test will be held at 11 am
on Thursday. The BJP has been
demanding the floor test in the wake of
resignation by 16 MLAs of the ruling
alliance— 13 of the Congress and 3 of
the JD(S)—and withdrawal of support
to the Kumaraswamy government by
two other legislators. The resignations
have not yet been accepted by the
Speaker, who has said he would need
time to study whether these were in
proper format. Unhappy with the delay
by the Speaker in accepting their resignations,
15 of the rebel MLAs have
moved the Supreme Court, apprehending
that they could be disqualified.
The top court on July 12 ordered a
status quo on the petitions till Tuesday
when the matter would be heard again.
The Congress-JD(S), along with lone
legislators each of BSP and a regional
party and an Independent, had 118
MLAs, including the Speaker, in the
225-member House, when the staked
claim to form government last year. If
all the 18 legislators, including 16 rebels
and 2 Independents do not attend the
session, the effective strength of the
House for voting will be 205, including
105 of the BJP and excluding the
Speaker and the nominated member.
The BJP has issued a notice to
Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar during the
Business Advisory Committee meeting
attended by party leader BS
Yeddyurappa seeking to move the noconfidence
motion, party state general
secretary CT Ravi said.
“Yes, we have given a notice to move
a no-confidence motion,” he said.
"As the new halfway mark will be
103 for a simple majority, the ruling
combine with 100, including one from
the supporting party BSP will fall 3
short off it (halfway mark) to win the
trust vote and certain to be defeated,"
according to BJP spokesman G.
Madhusudana.
The Supreme Court will take up petitions
of 15 rebel MLAs of Congress-
JD(S) coalition seeking a direction to
assembly speaker KR Ramesh Kumar to
accept their resignations on Tuesday.
Ahead of by-polls, Mayawati, Akhilesh under CBI scanner
Pak anti-terror court grants pre-arrest bail to Hafiz Saeed, 3 aides
Lahore : Mumbai terror attack mastermind
and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed and
his three aides were granted pre-arrest
bail on Monday by an anti-terrorism
court in Pakistan in a case pertaining to
the banned outfit’s illegal use of land for
its seminary.
The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in
Lahore granted interim bail to Saeed
and his aides -- Hafiz Masood, Ameer
Hamza, and Malik Zafar -- until August
31 against surety bonds of Rs 50,000
each, Dawn newspaper reported. During
the hearing, Saeed’s counsel insisted
that Jamat-ud Dawah (JuD) was not
using any piece of land illegally and
urged the court to accept bail pleas.
According to officials, JuD’s network
includes 300 seminaries and
schools, hospitals, a publishing house
New Delhi : Ahead of the
crucial assembly by-elections in
Uttar Pradesh, dates for which
are expected to be announced
soon, the two key opposition
leaders of the ruling BJP,
Mayawati of the Bahujan Samaj
Party (BSP) and Akhilesh
Yadav of the Samajwadi Party
(SP), appear to be in big trouble
as the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) is probing
two fresh cases of corruption
against them. The by-elections
will be for 12 assembly seats.
The Rs 1,100 crore sugar mills
scam, which is unraveling the
bureaucrat-political nexus in
selling state assets, involves Mayawati's
former secretary Netram while a multicrore
sand mining scam links Akhilesh
Yadav's aide Gayatri Prajapati with six
bureaucrats in looting public resources.
Sources in the CBI said that after
Wednesday's raids at various premises
of former SP Minister Prajapti and three
IAS officers in UP, the agency can question
Yadav during whose tenure, as UP
chief minister, the mining scam took
place. Sources said that before Prajapati
was appointed cabinet minister, then
chief minister Yadav had held the mining
portfolio from March 2012 to July
2013. During this period, the chief minister's
office had reportedly cleared several
files related to lease of mines.
The CBI would be auditing these
files to ascertain whether the then chief
minister's office had followed laid down
procedure for approving the lease of
mines. In Prajapati's case, CBI discovered
that mandatory e-tendering norms
were grossly violated. As minister,
Prajapati approved the lease of mines
directly for contractors of his choice.
Subsequently, on Prajapati's instruction,
the then mining secretary and district
magistrates concerned signed on the
files to execute the lease.
Sources said that though Prajapati
and ambulance service.
In March, Punjab
police said that government
seized control
of 160 seminaries, 32
schools, two colleges,
four hospitals, 178
ambulances and 153
dispensaries associated
with the JuD and its
charity wing the
Falah-e-Insaniat
Foundation (FIF) in
province.At least 56 seminaries and
facilities being run by the JuD and FIF
in southern Sindh province were also
taken over by authorities in the same
month.
Saeed-led JuD is believed to be the
was sacked by Yadav at a later stage, the
violations were ignored by the chief
minister's office. As of now, the CBI is
gathering more evidence on the scam
and would further interrogate three IAS
officers of UP to establish the role of the
chief minister's office during Yadav's
tenure. While Yadav faces trouble in
the days to come, his erstwhile alliance
partner Mayawati too seems to be in
deep waters. For Mayawati the problem
stems from the fact that her most trusted
bureaucrat, Netram, has been raided
by CBI in the sugar mills scam.
Sources said that Mayawati's fate
now depends on the disclosure statement
of Netram to CBI
relating to approvals for
disinvestment of 21 sugar
mills. According to the
CBI FIR, sugar mills were
sold at throwaway prices in
2010-11. Mayawati was
UP chief minister from
2007 to 2012. Sources said
that Netram, who ruled the
roost in UP during
Mayawati's chief ministership,
has earlier faced
income tax raids over suspected
tax evasion amounting
to Rs 100 crore.
Another close aide of
Mayawati, Vinay Priya
Dubey, a former managing director of
UP State Sugar Corporation, has also
been raided by the CBI in connection
with the sugar mills scam. Sources said
that Mayawati, who steered away from
the Disproportionate Assets Case earlier,
now faces a tough time as CBI interrogates
members of the inner coterie of
the BSP supremo in the scandal which
has of late rocked politics in Lucknow.
The by-elections are crucial for both
Mayawati and Yadav because, after the
poor showing by their parties in the Lok
Sabha polls, they will decide who is the
principal opponent of the Bharatiya
Janata Party in the state.
front organisation
for the Lashkar-e-
Toiba which is
responsible for carrying
out the 2008
Mumbai attacks.
The US
Department of the
Treasury has designated
Saeed as a
S p e c i a l l y
Designated Global
Terrorist, and the
US, since 2012, has
offered a USD 10 million reward for
information that brings Saeed to justice.
Under pressure from the international
community, Pakistani authorities
have launched investigations into matters
of the JuD, LeT and the FIF regarding
their holding and use of trusts to
raise funds for terrorism financing.
Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court
(LHC) issued notices to the federal government,
the Punjab government and
the Counter-Terrorism Department
(CTD) regarding a petition filed by
Saeed and his seven aides, challenging
charges of terror financing and money
laundering against them.
A two-member bench of the LHC
comprising Justice Shehram Sarwar
Chaudhry and Justice Mohammad
Waheed Khan asked the parties to submit
their replies within two weeks.
A lawyer for the federal government
objected to the notices, arguing that the
petition was non-maintainable. The
bench, however, dismissed the objection
and adjourned proceedings until
TDP MP asks
Naidu to control
his 'pet dog'
Amaravati : The war of words
between two leaders
of the TDP in
Andhra Pradesh
touched a new low
with Vijayawada
MP Kesineni Nani
on Monday asking
the party President
N. Chandrababu
Naidu to control
his "pet dog". The MP asked the former
Chief Minister to clarify whether he
wants him to continue in Telugu Desam
Party (TDP) or not. "Chandra Babu
Garu if you don't want people like me
in the party you can let me know. I will
resign as Member of Parliament and
also to the Party membership. If you
want people like me to continue, please
control your pet dog," tweeted Nani.
The tweet has an obvious referrence
to TDP leader and Member of Andhra
Pradesh Legislative Council Buddha
Venkanna with whom Nani had a war
of words on the micro blogging site.
Reacting to the MP's latest tweet,
Venkanna announced that he was putting
an end to the 'twitter war' for the
sake of the party and Chandrababu
Naidu.
July 30, the paper said.
The Counter Terrorism Department
(CTD) of Punjab Police on July 3 registered
23 FIRs against 13 leaders of the
JuD, including Saeed, on the charges of
“terror financing” in different cities of
Punjab province.
On Friday, Saeed, who is reportedly
living at his Jauhar Town residence in
Lahore, challenged these FIRs in the
Lahore High Court.
“Hafiz Saeed and other (petitioners)
are not members of Lashkar-e-Toiba
(LeT) as per the (earlier) judgement of
the LHC. The petitioners have no nexus
with LeT or Al-Qaeda,” the petition
said. It urged the LHC to declare that
the petitioners are not linked with the
LeT and therefore the CTD’s FIRs be
declared illegal.

www.theasianindependent.co.uk
ASIA
July 2019
Bambai’s Cinema and its cultural biases
7
Caste, gender and religious biases
are a norm in Bambai cinema. Ofcourse,
there was a time when cinema sophistry
was due to the beauty of Urdu language
as Yusuf Khan, Naushad, Sahir, Kaifi
Azami, Jaan Nisar Akhtar, Gulam
Mohammad, Mehboob, Kamal Amrohi,
and so many others were part of it. Even
the non Muslims used to speak Urdu
and the script was urdu. I am sure, Raj
Kapoor, Devanand, Dharmendra, Manoj
Kumar, Ashok Kumar all had known
Urdu language and were comfortable
with it. So, in that way, it was a
Hindustani Cinema or Urdu language
cinema.
The Hindi Cinema, as it is called
today, has more contribution from the
non Hindi speaking people. Whether it
is Lata Mangeshkar or her sisters,
Mohammad Rafi, Sachin Dev Barman,
Salil Chaudhury, Hemant Kumar,
Kishore Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Yeshu
Das, S P Bala Subramanywam, and others,
Hindi was not their first language
but they enriched this.
The greatest of all was Shailendra
whose poetry touched our heart as it
came from his own experiences of life.
And who was Shailendra and why has
he been so spiritual and why was his
poetry so inspiring. Our left friends suggested
that he was a worker in the railway
and that he remained a ‘communist’.
But none tried to put ‘Pandit’
Shailendra before his name.
Shailendra’s caste remained unknown.
Was it deliberate not to know abouit it
or the cinema wanted to let it remain as
usual. What would have happened if
Shailendra had declared his caste identity
in a cinema where hero always come
from a ‘poor’ brahmin families i.ie ‘economically
poor’ and fight for the have
nots. Yes, this question itself was
answered by Dinesh Shankar Shailendra
about a year back when we discussed
things. Though it does not matter but it
matter a lot too. He said, his father
belong to Chamar community but then
probably was fearful in those days, his
‘acceptance’ would be affected if he
reveal it. This is a dirty fact otherwise
why efforts were not made by our
researchers to know more about him.
There are definitely good films but as
the tradition of this cinema is, the main
patrons of it are the Savarna ‘progressive’
and therefore anything and any
solution has to come according to their
wish. So, a good
Samaritan always
come from the
powerful castes,
preferably
Brahmin who will ‘help’ the ‘poor’ and
redefine what the ‘dharma’ is.
Blacks, physically challenged, people
with obscenities are mostly laughed
at and can never be heroes. Most of the
characters in these characteristics are
vilified. There was a famous song where
Hema Malini plays as a nat or Banjara
woman dancer, which is a lively
nomadic community, ‘duniya ka mela,
mele me ladki, ladki akeli sanno, naam
uska’, 1972 Raja Jani or hum banjaro
kee baat mat poocho di from dharmvir
played by Dharmendra and Jeetendra..
She played that in Sita aur Gita too and
there are many other films. Having seen
and known these communities from
close quarters, I can say they have more
talent in singing and acting
than those who pass through
the ‘acting’ classes yet it
never occurred to our star
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
social and human rights activist
directors and producers to
look for the talent from the
community.
If you visit Rajasthan, there is a community
called Bahurupiyas and watch
their talent when they act live in solo
performances but then their caste
become the biggest hurdle. You watch
their shows and give them ‘alms’. So
caste decide your telent. These
Bahurupiyas are so talented and yet they
are an absolutely landless community in
Rajasthan and isolated. They have to
beg for their survival. The government
might give some hand outs to a few of
them who participate in a ‘cultural’ festivals
but broadly their caste identity
become bigger than their talent. It is
only when a brahmin or a
savarna play Bahurupiya
or Banjara in the film that
ensures the ‘success’ of the
film.
The similar things can
be spoken about many
other films. I can believe in
good intentions but why
the film makers not
attempt to look a character
from the community who can speak on
the issue with conviction. It is like this,
we ask the extras of the dark colour or
obese to mock at themselves and this
practice is from good old days when
Tuntun used to make fun of herself. Can
the cinema ask blacks from South
Africa to play and mock at themselves.
Cinema need Mohammad Ali who
was unambiguous about his identity and
very clear about the oppressor. The
Holllywood is changing as there is
space and they are still clear about the
dangers of the racism but the issue of
caste discrimination has not reached
there. Perhaps, one day, they will
explore the issue. One thing is clear, it is
good to speak about discrimination but
equally important is to find voices from
the communities and encourage them. I
can say firmly, they will play a much
better role and can show the discrimination
in a much powerful way.
I read many reactions about a film
which has released recently and about
its upper caste hero who plays as a messiah.
One friend wrote in his facebook
post that Dalits in India needed a Martin
Luther King and only then they will be
able to play their roles, till then the
Brahmins will always enjoy the hegemony.
Well, I am sorry to say that revolution
brought by Dr Baba Saheb
Ambedkar is far bigger and superior
than what Martin Luther King could do.
The new generations of Assertive
Ambedakarites will not wait for Holly
wood to make a film but they will themselves
do it and expose the various
facets of discrimination.
Any effort done by any one to being
an issue to limelight should be appreciated
but it is equally important to see
how the issue is addressed. Issue of participation
and fair representation
is equally important to address an issue
in all fairness. Whether the star
directors and producers are able to see it
or not, the new generation
Ambedkarites are ready and will surprise
you in the coming days with their
creativity and ideas. After all, 21st century
belong to Ambedkarism and
Ambedkarite assertion.
Power situation precarious, can’t help if
Sidhu doesn’t want to do his job: Capt
New Delhi-Talking about the resignation of his cabinet colleague
Navjot Singh Sidhu, Punjab Chief Minister Capt
Amarinder Singh on Monday said he could not help if the power
minister didn’t want to do his job. Singh said he was told Sidhu
had sent his resignation to Congress president Rahul Gandhi on
Sunday and delivered a copy to the CM residence in Chandigarh
on Monday morning. “I will have a look at the resignation once
I return to Chandigarh in a day or two,” Singh said after paying
a courtesy visit to PM Narendra Modi in Parliament on Monday.
Singh said the power situation of the state is very precarious.
“This is our most critical time--June to October--since it is the
paddy season. Seventy per cent Punjab has received rains while
30 per cent hasn’t received even one shower. The power situation
in the state is very bad and I daily receive reports on the power
situation. This is the job of the power minister but if he doesn’t
want to do it, I cannot help it,” said Amarinder.
Singh had changed Sidhu’s portfolio from local bodies to
power in an early July state cabinet reshuffle. Sidhu came to
Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi complaining that he had
been singled out for punishment over non-performance in the
Lok Sabha polls. After waiting for almost a month, Sidhu
resigned from the Punjab cabinet on Sunday protesting against
the change of his ministry.
Sometimes, I would prefer to be bitterly
frank. These days, I feel that people get what
they deserve. You have a PM whose credentials
in Babari Masjid demolition and
Gujarat violence and many other issues are
well established. You have a Home Minister
whose credentials are also well established.
So, why are they there on top of us? There
are only two answers for this question. The
first one is that those who are aware do not
speak out. It could be because of fear or it
could be because of their selfish reasons. We
have around a couple of dozen crores of
middle class population. They are still waiting
to see what is there for them. Among this
population, a small minority is also living
with pretensions of radical and critical
minds. What have they been doing so far?
Therefore, either we will have to come to a
conclusion that `people do not have
strength’ or that `people would get what they
deserve’. If people had strength then these
guys won’t be sitting on top of us. And if the
critical minds could perform united actions
without fear, then also we would not have
faced this situation.
I remember a similar situation which
affected me deeply 3 or 4 decades back. The
post emergency situation in India saw a
large number of youth and students’ groups
extremely active in criticising emergency.
But during emergency, most of them did not
have the guts to do so. Lifting of emergency
was a liberation for many. For those who
kept quiet in fear as well those who fought.
So, between 1977 to 1980, I would call it as
a period of renaissance in India.
People came out with radical literature,
paintings, films and many creative and political
works. Those who keep mum today are
Bitterly Frank !
waiting for a period of renaissance, so that
they can express themselves without hurting
themselves. The post 1980 period was not
very healthy for many. The groups started
splintering. The political opposition called
Janata Dal comprising of many diverse sections
of different ideologies
also fell apart. Many youngsters
could not take the
transformation from liberation
to nothingness. Some
became mad, some became
religious, some committed
suicide, some went to make
money and some went in
search of comfortable jobs
where they could keep mum
again. While this process
was happening, one of my
-K.P. Sasi
friends who used to draw political poster
with me in JNU also was psychologically
affected. Some people felt that he became
mad. But he did one of the sanest things at
that time. He put up poster in front of the
JNU library which said: `You Middle Class
Buffoons, Come Out Of Your
Cocoons !’.
It was the sanest thing to say at
that time. After four decades, at
this point of time, I am eager to
meet this friend.
I still remember the visual he
drew on the poster. These are the
situations where I feel that the
notions of sanity and insanity
should be placed upside down. We
may survive as free citizens if we
start doing that.

8 July 2019
ASIA
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
Dictators such as Adolf Hitler,
Joseph Stalin, Saddam Hussein,
Benito Mussolini are known for their
greed for power and criminality.
When all of them were alive they
used all types of political & military
power to suppress and eliminate their
political opponents with the help of
the secret police. They instilled
social, economic and cultural distress
among the innocent people to maintain
their dictatorship.
Historical records show that all
dictators emerged out of big lies that
people accepted owing to social and
economic frustration and allowed
them to rule their respective countries.
Historical records also show
that these dictators left their respective
countries in social chaos and economic
gaffes. Chairman Mao Tse
Tung, The chairman of the
Communist Party of China famously
said, “Political power grows out of
the barrel of a gun”. After massive
victory in 2019, now the saffron party
has the gun and the bullets in administrative
bodies such as CBI, ED, and
Election Commission so & so on.
In the Indian context, for the last
five years, many fierce tyrants
emerged owing to their affiliation to a
political party that wanted to see
India a “Hindu Country”. The idea of
“Hinduvta was sown by the RSS
leader Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
Under the Congress government
before 2104, the newly emerged
fierce tyrants were not allowed to
destroy the secular ethos of India as
today is allowed by the higher echelons
of the Bhartiya Janata
Party(BJP). Unprecedented political
power at the center and in most of the
Indian states, the newly born fierce
tyrants gets a strength to vilify and
suppress the members of the marginalized
communities on purpose.
I would like to cite a few examples
of newly born fierce tyrants to
demonstrate the accusations. Giriraj
Singh, who defeated an intellectual
and outspoken for the rights of the
marginalised groups Khanhaiya
Kumar of Jawaharlal Nehru
University, is now a Minister of
Animal Husbandry, Dairy, and
Fisheries in the BJP government said,
“ Those who cannot say Vande
Mataram or cannot respect the
Motherland, the nation will never forgive
them”. Similarly, Giriraj Singh
during his public meeting speech at
Deogarh said, “Those opposing Modi
are looking at Pakistan, and such people
will have place in Pakistan and
not in India”. Prime Minister Modi
did not kick him out of the party
rather awarded him with a new portfolio.
Sakshi Maharaj, a self-proclaimed
saint urged Hindu women to produce
at least 4 children to protect the
Hindu religion. He even took a dig at
the Muslim community saying “The
concept of four wives and forty children
just won’t work in India,”. The
temple was there and will exist forever.
No person will be allowed to keep
even a brick in the name of Babri
mosque”. Such controversial statements
are a regular feature by the BJP
members of Parliament. Very cleverly,
other BJP leaders like Mukhtar
Abbas Naqvi, a Minister of Minority
Affairs, the government of India
asserted that Sakshi Mahraj`s views
are not the views of the party.
BJP`s Union Minister. Jayant
Many Fierce
Tyrants in India
Singh was photographed garlanding
the murder accused(India Today 6
July 2018). BJP leader Kailash
Vijayvargiya’sson – and the party’s
MLA in Madhya Pradesh – attacked a
civic body official with a cricket bat,
after a heated argument over a demolition
drive. Maharashtra Congress
MLA Nitesh Rane, son of former CM
Narayan Rane and his supporters
threw mud on the highway engineer
during an inspection of a stretch of
the Mumbai-Goa highway.
The shameful acts of the BJP MPs
and MLAs intend to instill fear and
intimidation among the people of various
castes other than Hindus that if
you do not succumb yourself to our
dictates, be ready for the worst consequences.
A resurgence of Hindu
nationalism built on crazy vendetta is
going to be a bane for the members of
the marginalized communities and
vulnerable groups. Undisciplined
ultra-nationalist, roughnecks, egoistic
and potentially dangerous MPs,
MLAs, and workers of the BJP and
RSS will unleash more atrocities on
the innocent citizens if not stopped. It
means the more you become submissive
the more you will be beaten. The
saffron party has no respect for the
Indian constitution. Justice cannot be
obtained through outdated toothless
laws. The whole judicial system is
working under the thump of the saffron
party hence the citizens of India
should not expect any justice. In that
case, the innocent citizens have left
no choice than to think of an alternate
at the earliest.
It is unfortunate that the RSS that
claims to be a humanitarian service
organization did not utter even a single
word on the beatings of the officers.
The RSS has never even issued
any statement opposing such rustic
behaviors of the BJP leaders. Modi as
a Prime Minister of India, however,
opposed such rustic behavior but
hardly takes stringent action against
such leaders and workers of the BJP.
Modi`s Sabhka Sath, Sab Ka Vikas(
together with all, development for all)
slogan has no meaning at all if such
rustic behavior keeps on getting
moral and political strength from the
central leadership of the BJP.
Rajiv Partap Rudy, a BJP
spokesperson while
debating the 2019budget
on (Republic TV channel
asked his co-panelist to
shut the mouth on asking
a question on the data.
This is how the BJP leaders
and spokespersons
treat the intellectual
debating class. Arrogance
and brutish attitude prevail
in abundance among
the saffron leaders.
Rudy`s arrogant attitude
is: “I do not give a shit
who you are”!
From assassination of Gandhi ji to
beating, humiliating, stigmatizing
and lynching of the members of the
marginalized groups by the saffron
sympathizers very much indicate that
the DNA of the saffron party carries
dictatorial traits. For the past five
years, a common man can observe
that the emergence of fierce tyrants
under the aegis of the saffron party is
on the rise which is, of course, dangerous
for the Indian society. Under
the Modi government India`s
Happiness ranking drops to 140 way
behind Pakistan, China, and
Bangladesh. A common man is bothered
about food, clothing, and shelter.
He or she is least bothered what Modi
ji you have planned long term goals
for the coming 25-30 years. Social
and political instability prevailing in
the country will never allow your
dream of becoming a 5 trillion economy.
There is an urgent need to fix up
these instabilities. Incremental agenda
will derail the process of development
sooner or later.
Today, Modi`s government is boastful
of 5 trillion economy. Who should
not be proud of such a robust economy?
A common man
simply wants jobs, education,
health and roads
to travel, nothing else.
In 2016, NITI Aayog
– Dr Rahul Kumar
Chairman Amitabh
Kant projected that
India would become a
$10-trillion economy by
2032.Today, the same
Amitabh Kant projects
only 5 trillion economy.
Is our so-called intellectuals
speaking on
financial conjectures
and speculations?
While presenting the Union
Budget, interim finance minister
Piyush Goyal claimed. “We are
poised to become a $5 trillion economy
in the next five years and aspire to
become a $10 trillion economy in the
next eight years thereafter,” said
Goyal. $10 trillion is the equivalent
of 705,00,00,000 lakh crore at current
exchange rates.
PHD chamber of Commerce and
Industry, a think tank in New Delhi
organized a programme on “ Rural
India: A Road to US $5 trillion
Economy by 2025. The panelists
argued that in the first 40 years of
independence, the country hardly
grew at 4% and today a 7-8% growth
is the norm which is very much
achievable. In the graph PHD chamber
has already projected GDP 9.87
in 2030 without considering the cascading
effects of the global economy.
According to Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII) India is now set to
become a US$5 trillion economy in
the next five years.
In my opinion, there are two types
of fierce tyrants in the saffron party;
one who thrash people and force
them to succumb to their unlawful,
brutish commandments and others
who confound the people of India
with their spurious intelligence. Modi
Ji, yes the debating class of India is
truly “Professional Pessimists” as
long as you and your administrators,
economists and leaders keep on fudging
the data.
It is a matter of hilarity when
Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance
Minister of India, government of
India proposed “Study in India”
schemes in India to be launched and
urging the international students to
come to India and study. It is like
“Make in India” that did not pick up
foreign investment. For certain people
are going to be deceived again.
National universities and IITs in India
lack quality infrastructure badly.
Delay in announcing ‘Education
Policy’ further, deplete the trust of the
international stakeholders. It is unfortunate
that Modi 1.0 did not announce
even a single new scholarship scheme
for the SCs/STs.
According to a report by UNICEF,
an estimated 8.1 million children are
out of school, the majority of those
belonging to the disadvantaged
groups. The Finance Minister should
first set her house in order. Populist
schemes such as ‘Study in India’,
‘Make in India’ will achieve hardly
anything tangible but surely bad
image for India in the international
arena. The entry of the private players
in the education sector will further
give impetus to deterioration of the
quality. The majority of the private
institutions aims to profit not to provide
equitable & inclusive education
to the students. The PPP model in the
Indian education sector has miserably
failed due to reticence attitude of the
HRD Ministry
I conclude this brief article by urging
the people of India to rise against
many fierce tyrants in India; do not
mortgage the future of sons and
daughters; do not allow further
destruction of democratic ethos; do
not allow to beat you in the daylight;
do not allow them to spoil generations
after generations. Let me
remind the people of India that
Gandhi ji face and philosophy for the
saffron sympathizers in general and
Modi, in particular, is a HOGWASH.
Recently, Modi unveiled the statue of
Lal Bahadur Shastri in Varanasi, the
second Prime Minister of India. Modi
neither respects Jawans nor Kisans’.
Death of Jawans terror attacks
rose by 106 percent in J & K
between 2014-18. In 2017 Modi 1.0
told the Supreme Court of India, over,
12,000 farmerssuicide per year.
These figures are tarrying and alarming.
Bob Menendez rightly said:
“Tyrants and dictators have incited
ethnic and religious minorities for
centuries in order to consolidate
power for themselves”. There is an
urgent need for the people of India to
understand this.

www.theasianindependent.co.uk ASIA July 2019 9
Flood havoc continues in Bihar,
over 18 lakh people affected
Patna : From villages to cities, entire
north Bihar is facing a serious flood situation,
forcing people to abandon their inundated
houses to seek shelter at safer places,
even as water levels of rivers in the area continues
to rise. The worst-affected districts are
Araria, Kishanganj, Supaul, Darbhanga,
Sheohar, Sitamarhi, East Champaran,
Madhubani, and Muzaffarpur. According to
official reports, over 18 lakh people in 352
panchayat areas of 55 blocks have been
affected. Meanwhile, rivers flowing in from
neighbouring Nepal are overflowing.
State Water Resources Department
spokesman Arvind Kumar Singh on Monday
said the Bagmati, Kamala and Mahanandra
rivers are flowing over the danger mark at
various places, while the flow of the Kosi, at
Veerpur Barrage, had increased from 1.94
lakh cusecs at 6 a.m. to 2.01 lakh cusecs at 8
a.m. and that of the Gandak had also risen.
Meanwhile, the Disaster Management
Department said relief and rescue operations
were continuing in the flood-affected areas.
A total of 19 companies of the National
Disaster Response Force and the State
Disaster Response Force have been deployed
in the area. An official said that 152 relief
camps have been set up, and are housing
over 45,000 people. The threat of flood
looms large in two areas of Muzaffarpur,
where water has entered over 2,000 houses.
Houses have also been water-logged in East
Champaran. In Sitamarhi, which has also
been badly hit, a group of affected people
said that they are yet to see any relief and
rescue measures in the area. Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar had carried out an aerial survey
of the region on Sunday, and had
instructed people to speed up the relief and
rehabilitation measures.
Rain fury on in Tripura, Mizoram,
22,000 SHIFTED TO CAMPS
Agartala : Over 22,000 people
have been shifted to relief
camps and other safer places in
Tripura and Mizoram due to
flooding of low-lying areas and
villages by uninterrupted rains
over the past three days, officials
said on Monday.
At least four people were
drowned in swollen rivers in the
two states and their bodies have
been recovered.
Train services between
Tripura, Mizoram and the rest of
the country have been affected
due to rain and landslides, while
water, electricity and telephone
services were badly affected due
to damages in the heavy downpour.
India Meteorological
Department Director Dilip Saha,
however, told IANS that the situation
is expected to improve
from Tuesday.
According to officials in
Tripura Disaster Control Centre,
over 17,000 people have taken
shelter in 64 relief camps on the
outskirts of Agartala and four
other districts - Khowai,
Unokoti, Gomati and South
Tripura.
"We have deployed Tripura
State Rifles troopers and
National Disaster Response
Force (NDRF), police and civil
defence personnel to rescue the
marooned people," West Tripura
District Magistrate Sandeep
Mahatme told the media.
"Water in several rivers,
including Howrah, has crossed
the danger level. We have taken
precautionary measures to deal
with any eventuality," he said.
The body of a youth who had
apparently drowned while collecting
wood from the flooded
Muhuri river in South Tripura
was recovered on Sunday, officials
said. Agartala and its outskirts
have been badly affected
due to the continuous rain since
Saturday and a large part of the
city has been submerged
"Around 311 mm rainfall was
recorded in Agartala since
Saturday against the normal
average daily rainfall of 11 to 12
mm," a Revenue and Relief
Department official said.
Chief Minister Biplab Kumar
Deb has asked Chief Secretary
Usurupati Venkateswarlu and
other officials to remain alert to
deal with the situation. In
Mizoram, over 5,000 people
have taken shelter in safer places
in different districts as major
rivers and their tributaries submerged
over 500 houses and low
lying areas.
Three people, including a 5-
year-old girl, drowned in different
rivers and their bodies were
recovered by the State Disaster
Response Force personnel.
According to the Mizoram
Disaster Control Centre, headquarters
of three of the state's
eight districts - Mamit, Lunglei
and Lawngtlai - were cut-off
from capital Aizawl due to heavy
landslides and damage to roads
including National Highway 54.
Delivered, says minister Navjot
Sidhu on his resignation to
Punjab CM Amarinder Singh
New Delhi : Navjot Sidhu, the Punjab minister who announced
his exit from the Amarinder Singh government
on social media over the weekend,
finally sent his resignation to the
chief minister on Monday. This one, he
confirmed on Twitter, had been delivered
at Capt Amarinder Singh’s official residence.
Sidhu hadn’t taken charge of the
power ministry that he was allocated by
chief minister Amarinder Singh in a
reshuffle last month when he was
stripped of his portfolios of Local
Bodies, Tourism and Culture. Sidhu,
who had never really gotten along with
the chief minister, had last month sent his resignation to Congress
president Rahul Gandhi after the reshuffle. That letter – released by
Navjot Sidhu on Sunday – is widely seen as a signal to the party that
it was becoming difficult for him to continue in the Punjab cabinet.
There were some attempts by senior Congress leaders to negotiate
a compromise but the effort did not get far. Navjot Sidhu too continued
to skip office and was seen in public over the last month in
his home town of Amritsar and at the Vaishno Devi shrine. Sidhu’s
‘I quit’ message on social media over the weekend was also
designed to respond to the Bharatiya Janata Party that had been
hurling darts at him for absenting himself from the power ministry
and cabinet meetings, demanding that he resign if he wasn’t going
to work as a minister.
Navjot Sidhu also has had to face some awkward moments over
his reported remarks in the run-up to the national elections over
Rahul Gandhi-Smriti Irani faceoff in Amethi. Sidhu had responded
to criticism over Rahul Gandhi contesting elections from Kerala’s
Wayanad, pointing that he would quit politics if Rahul Gandhi lost
the Amethi Lok Sabha.
But his exit from the Punjab cabinet is widely linked to the
widening divide with the Punjab chief minister.
The cold war between Amarinder and Sidhu has not abated since
the cricketer-turned-politician went to Pakistan on the invitation of
Prime Minister Imran Khan for his swearing-in ceremony last
August. The visit sparked a controversy because Sidhu was seen
hugging Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Bajwa.
Woman dies in clash over drinking
water in Andhra’s Srikakulam district
Hyderabad-An acute drinking water shortage in Andhra
Pradesh
claimed its
first victim
on Monday
after a
woman died
in a clash
over filling
up water
from a public
tap in
Srikakulam
district,
police said. The deceased was identified as Tatipudi Padma (38), a
resident of Palliveedhi. According to sub-inspector of police K
Venkatesh, Padma was standing in a serpentine queue at a public
tap for a long time to fill her pot when another woman named
Podugu Gunnamma tried to jump the queue. An angry Padma
picked up an argument with Gunnamma. Another woman Teppala
Sundaramma joined the issue. It soon turned into a clash and the
women started attacking one another with their pots.
“In a fit of rage, Sundaramma beat up Padma with her steel pot
and pushed her down on the cement road. Padma suffered serious
injuries on her head and died instantly,” the police officer said.
The locals told the police that there was a severe water scarcity
in the area and authorities were releasing drinking water through
public taps once in two or three days. “There has been mad rush at
the public taps leading to stampedes everyday because the women
are worried the water supply would be cut before their turn comes,”
Venkatesh said. The police have registered a case of culpable homicide
not amounting to murder and detained Sundaramma.
The woman’s death came three days after Andhra Pradesh chief
minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy announced a calamity relief fund
with Rs 2,000 crore to help farmers overcome the impact of a
severe drought. Meanwhile, at Antipeta village of Sitanaragam
block of adjacent Vizianagaram district, hundreds of women staged
a dharna and blocked the state highway on Monday demanding that
the authorities supply drinking water. “There has been no drinking
water supply to eleven villages in the block from Baggam
Doravalasa pilot project for the last one week. We want the authorities
to respond immediately and resolve this severe water shortage,”
one of the agitating women told local reporters.

10 July 2019
ASIA
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
36 more cows dead in UP
Ayodhya/Pratapgarh, In a shocking
into a swamp when it rains continuously
incident, 30 cows died at a shelter home
and the animals get stuck in it. Shelters
in Ayodhya, while six others were dead
that have tin roofs are also poorly maintained
and in some cases the roof has been
after being caught in a swamp created by
rain water in Pratapgarh. The deaths in
blown away.”
Ayodhya and Pratapgarh on Saturday
Fodder is also not regularly available
comes after 35 cows died at a shelter
to cows in the shelter homes and sone of
home in Prayagraj on Friday due to a
the deaths could be due to starvation,
lightning strike.
sources said.
What is even more shocking is the fact
The doctor said that burying the carcasses
in the shelter home would lead to
that the caretakers in these cow shelters
have used JCB machines to bury the carcasses
in the shelters itself without opting
days. Cow protection has been one of the
infections and more deaths in the coming
for post-mortem of the bovines.
priorities of the Yogi Adityanath government
in Uttar Pradesh and the Chief
UP Minister Moti Singh, who belongs
to Pratapgarh, has ordered an inquiry into
Minister has directed that shelter homes
the incident.
for stray cows should be set up in all districts.
However, most of the cow shelters
A veterinary doctor in Ayodhya said on
condition of anonymity: “The cows in
are incomplete with only a boundary.
these shelters are left in the open and have
Many of them do not even have a roof to
to face incessant rains. Since there is no
keep the animals safe from the vagaries of
flooring in these shelters, the mud turns
weather.
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Dhanaulti (Uttarakhand) : When one
reaches Dhanaulti -- a picturesque site in
the Garhwal region of 'Devbhoomi'
(Gods' abode) Uttarakhand -- one can not
but feel the fresh breeze gushing through
deodar trees and emitting an earthy,
woody aroma. This is when you know
you have left behind the hustle and bustle
of the crowded city.
With Mussoorie - the Queen of the
Hills - becoming over-crowded, it is
starting to lose its charm and people
are now wanting to explore other
options. Located just 25 km away is
Dhanaulti which is fast emerging as
the next big tourist hill station. "If one
wants to cherish nature at its best,
experience fresh air, drink the mineral
water coming directly from the
Himalayas, then Dhanaulti is the
place to be. "But, say it a boon or a
bane, it is fast getting commercialised
and we have been seeing a lot more
tourists than before. Though they are
good for our business, people leave
behind a trail of garbage which is very
difficult to clean up. It is ruining the
natural beauty of the Himalayas," Anil
Kumar, owner of Burans Breeze hotel,
told IANS.
Kumar, who himself belongs to
Delhi, said he wanted to escape the noise
and pollution of the national capital and
hence built a lodge here from where one
can see the snow-peaked Himalayan
range.
Decoding the name of his hotel - one
of the oldest in the area - he said that
'Burans' is for the Burans flower (rhododendron)
that grows here which brightens
the entire place with its red colour during
spring time, and 'Breeze' is for the strong
cool breeze that the place witnesses.
"To attract tourists, we have grown
cauliflower, potato, and radish in our gardens
and use them fresh in our restaurant,"
Kumar said.
Another hotelier, Rakesh Garg, owner
of Silver Dew, bought land here in 1997
when Uttarakhand was still a part of Uttar
Pradesh but established a hotel only
recently when Dhanaulti started seeing
tourists. "Back then I didn't know the
potential of Dhanaulti becoming a major
tourist destination. I bought the land for
leisurely purposes but now I see a lot of
tourists - from bachelors to families," he
said. Speaking to IANS, Ajay Pawar, who
is a native and handles several hotels in
the area, said the hotel business here is
going good. "People are liking this place
because of its peaceful and chilly environment
and the privacy that it offers.
"Several people are coming here and
demanding rooms or cottages which are
isolated and close to nature. They don't
come here for luxury, they come here to
get close to nature, to hear the birds chirp
and for the fresh cool breeze."
"People love this place so much that
they want to buy land here but most of it
has already been bought and new hotels
are coming up there. The prices of land
have also shot up in merely last 2-3
years." Gambhir Singh, a farmer who now
runs a confectionery shop, said people are
shifting from agriculture activities to
work in hotels. Even if a person washes
utensils in the hotel, he can make more
than what he makes in agriculture, he
added. Painting a gloomy picture for the
future of farming on the hills, he said the
new generation here does not prefer
farming work because of increasing
costs, risks associated with it, government's
apathy, and hard work involved
which don't pay off. Kishori, manager
of hotel Rock Resort, said that tourists
demand good surroundings more than
comfortable rooms, and hence to
attract them, they had have planted
apple, plum, walnut, and apricot trees.
"People are very fascinated with the
trees, they come and take pictures with
them. We also make fresh chutneys
and jams with the fruits," he said.
Vinita Chouhan, member of a selfhelp
group based out of Mussoorie, has
put up a shop in Buranskhanda as the
place has started witnessing lots of
tourists. They have also set up shops in
Dhanaulti, Mussoori, the Dehradun
trade fair, and the India International
Trade Fair in Delhi. "We sell woollen
clothes and traditional Garhwali food
items like 'Urad dal pakora', 'Jhangore Ki
Kheer', 'Mandve Ki Roti', and 'Kandali Ki
Sabzi'." "About 100 women are engaged
in weaving woollen items like shawls,
sweaters, caps, and socks. Another 10-15
women make papad, chips, pickles, and
other items," she said.
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www.theasianindependent.co.uk
ASIA
July 2019
11
Budget impact : FIIs sell nearly
Rs 3,000 cr in 6 sessions
Mumbai : Foreign
Institutional Investors (FIIs)
have pulled out nearly Rs 3,000
crore after the Budget proposed
a higher surcharge on the superrich
impacting most FPIs.
In just 6 sessions since the
Union Budget was proposed,
FIIs offloaded Rs 2,937.53 crore
worth of shares. Institutional
investors play a dominant role in
day-to-day market movement in
India. The Budget last Friday
raised surcharge on the superrich.
Those with an annual
income of between Rs 2 crore
and Rs 5 crore would be levied a
surcharge of 25 per cent from 15
per cent previously.
For those earning Rs 5 crore
or more annually, the surcharge
has been increased from 15 per
cent to 37 per cent. With this, the
effective tax rate will go up to 39
per cent for those in the Rs 2-5
crore income slab and 42.74 per
cent for for those in Rs 5 crore
and above group.
Most FPIs earn more than Rs
5 crore in a year and hence
would come under the highest
income tax bracket. They generally
route their investments
through trusts and body of individuals
in the country’s capital
markets.
New Delhi : Alarmed over
water crisis in various regions
and pockets of the country, the
Centre has started sending senior
officers in batches to the districts
and pockets facing sharp fall in
water table. Official sources said
the team would comprise joint
secretaries and directors from
across ministries and departments.
It will also have technical
personnel from Central Water
Commission or other such agencies.
The move is part of the Jal
Shakti Abhiyan (JSA).
"The team will assess the
overall situation in the waterstressed
districts. Additional secretaries
and joint secretaries
ED attaches Rs 24.77 cr of
properties of Choksi
New Delhi : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached immovable
properties, valuables, vehicles and bank accounts with a total
value of Rs 24.77 crore of fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi.
The action was taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering
Act, 2002 in connection with the Punjab National Bank fraud case.
The ED has attached three commercial properties in Dubai, valuables,
a Mercedes Benz E280 and Fixed Deposits controlled by
Choksi, who is now said to be based in Antigua.
Central officers to visit waterstressed
pockets in the country
would be the officer in-charge.
Directors would be the nodal
officer. The team will see what
kind of interventions would be
required to improve the situation,"
an officer, assigned to visit
a water-stressed district, told
IANS. They are expected to suggest
as to whether there is a need
to dig a pond or revive old well
so that water level could be
raised over a period of time.
The government had in 2018
dispatched Central officers to
various districts in the state to
assess the effectiveness of various
schemes. The action plan
under Gram Swaraj Abhiyaan
helped the government understand
the actual impact of
various flagship programmes.
In the wake of the
water scarcity in various
parts of the country, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
has initiated plans to conserve
water. Last month,
he wrote to all sarpanchs
exhorting them to adopt
measures to make water
conservation a mass
movement.
The government has
created the new Ministry
of Jal Shakti for dealing
with all matters related to
water in an integrated
manner. A high-level committee
has been set up to take forward
the subject of 'Push on
Water Conservation Related
Activities for Optimum
Utilization of Monsoon Rainfall.'
The Central Ground Water Board
had earlier prepared a conceptual
paper -- Master Plan for Artificial
Recharge on Ground Water in
India. It envisaged construction
of 1.11 crore rainwater harvesting
and artificial recharge structures
in the country at an estimated
cost of Rs 79,178 crore to
harness 85 billion cubic metre
(BCM) of water in an area of
9,41,541 square kilometres by
harnessing surplus monsoon
runoff.
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12 July 2019
BUSINESS
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
Pakistan imported medicines worth
Rs 136 cr from India in 2019
Islamabad : Pakistan
imported medicines and vaccines
worth (Pakistani) Rs
136,99,87,000 from India in
2019, its Health Ministry has
said. Express News reported
that the imported medicines
included life-saving drugs,
tablets, syrups and vaccines.
According to figures
announced by the Pakistan
Health Ministry in Senate on
Friday, the country imported
drugs and vaccines worth
(Pakistani) Rs 15,43,17,000 in
January; Rs 22,32,47,000 in
February; Rs 19,37,37,000 in
March; Rs 11,10,42,000 in
April; Rs 18,96,47,000 in May
and Rs 4,89,12,000 from India.
Demanding that the senate
be informed about which medicines
and vaccines were being
imported from India, Senator
Abdul Rehman Malik said the
government must curb the
shortage of snake venom serum
and rabies vaccines in Pakistan
by making it mandatory for
local manufacturers to produce
these vaccines in addition to
expensive medical products.
"It's a pity that medicines
are being imported from India
and China when Pakistan is
self-sufficient in medical raw
material. Vaccines made here
would be much more affordable,"
he added.
Allahabad Bank defrauded of Rs
17,775 cr by Bhushan Power & Steel
Mumbai : After Punjab
National Bank, Allahabad Bank
on Saturday said that it has
been defrauded by Bhushan
Power & Steel Ltd (BPSL) to
the tune of Rs 1,774.82 crore.
The bank said in a regulatory
filing that "on the basis of
forensic audit investigation
findings and CBI filing FIR, on
suo moto basis, against the
Company and its Directors,
alleging diversion of funds
from banking system by the
has been observed that the
company has misappropriated
bank funds, manipulated books
of accounts to raise funds from
consortium lender banks. At
present, the case is at the NCLT
which is in advance stage and
the Bank expects good recovery
in the account," the bank
added. The Allahabad Bank
fraud has come to light within a
week of another public sector
bank reporting that it has been
cheated by Bhushan Power.
Bank's borrower namely
Last week, Punjab Nation Bank
Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd Bank to the Reserve Bank of sions amounting to Rs 900.20 reported another fraud worth
(BPSL), a fraud of Rs 1,774.82 India". The state-run bank said crore against the exposure of Rs 3,805.15 crore by Bhushan
core has been reported by the that it has already made provi-
Allahabad Bank in BPSL. "It Power & Steel Ltd to the RBI.
Trump decides not to impose
quotas on uranium imports
Washington, US President Donald
Trump announced that he would not
impose quotas on uranium imports despite
Department of Commerce’s findings that
foreign uranium poses a threat to national
security.
“At this time, I do not concur with the
Secretary’s finding that uranium imports
threaten to impair the national security of
the US as defined under section 232 of the
Act,” Trump said in a presidential memorandum
released late Friday, referring to
the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, the
Xinhua news agency reported.
The announcement marked a division
from the previous position of the US
President, who has slapped tariffs on
imported steel and aluminum products and
threatened to levy auto tariffs citing
Section 232 investigation.
“Although I agree that the Secretary’s
findings raise significant concerns regarding
the impact of uranium imports on the
national security with respect to domestic
mining, I find that a fuller analysis of
national security considerations with
respect to the entire nuclear fuel supply
chain is necessary at this time,” Trump
said. The US currently imports approximately
93 per cent of its commercial uranium,
compared to 85.8 per cent in 2009.
According to data from the US Energy
Information Administration, the majority
of imported uranium comes from Canada,
Australia, Russia and Kazakhstan.
In its report submitted to the President
in April, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross
said foreign state-owned companies “distorted
global prices” and made it more difficult
for domestic mines to compete.
Trump demanded that a working group
develop recommendations for reviving and
expanding domestic nuclear fuel production
within 90 days.
The Trump administration has repeatedly
invoked the previously seldom-used
Section 232, drawing strong opposition
from domestic and international business
community. The investigation in foreign
uranium is not initiated by the Trump
administration by itself, but was requested
by two US uranium mining companies, Ur-
Energy Inc. and Energy Fuels Inc.
American nuclear power plants, however,
opposed restricting the imports of uranium,
fearing that they would face a higher
cost if quotas went into effect, especially
when their market share has already been
encroached by shale gas and wind energy
companies. Some viewed the petition for
Section 232 investigation as protectionist,
saying that it is merely aimed at saving an
industry that has been struggling over the
past few years.
IGE says Gangwal limited his
financial risks in IndiGo
New Delhi : InterGlobe Enterprises (IGE), a promoter of
IndiGo, said on Sunday that Rakesh Gangwal has always limited
his financial risk in the airline and also alleged that he pushed
for selling the business at difficult times.
In a bid to counter co-promoter Gangwal's recent allegations
of "collapsing" corporate governance in the company, IGE,
which is owned by Rahul Bhatia, has so far issued three statements
in the past week. "Rahul Bhatia invited Gangwal, an
industry professional, to join as an investor as the two had known
each other for a long time. The understanding with Gangwal was
that the IGE Group and Gangwal would hold just about equal
equity. Gangwal wanted to limit his financial risk to no more
than Rs 15 crore," IGE said in a statement isued on Sunday.
"The IGE Group would have invested more equity, but given
that Gangwal did not have the appetite to invest more, IndiGo's
paid up equity capital was pegged at Rs 30 crore, the minimum
required by regulations. Rakesh Gangwal Group (the RG Group)
-- described as investor in the shareholders agreement -- acquired
from IGE 149,950 equity shares (which represented about 50 per
cent of the equity) at par value in May 2016," the statement said.
It further said that during the intitial phase of IndiGo in 2005
when conversation with Airbus for acquisition of aircraft was
underway and Airbus wanted both IGE and Gangwal to give a
joint undertaking of support to IndiGo, IGE and Gangwal undertook
to invest in IndiGo an amount of "not less than" $50 million
(which then converted to about Rs 200 crore). They further
undertook to maintain that investment until the delivery of the
last aircraft, the statement said. "Gangwal was not going to take
any further financial risk or obligation, IGE singly (though the
undertaking to Airbus was joint) took the obligation to further
invest up to Rs 110 crore in IndiGo, so that, taken together with
the then existing investment of Rs 99 crore, the conditions placed
by Airbus could be met."
It further said: "Even more significantly, during the turbulent
period of a fledgling airline, it was left to the IGE Group, as a
responsible founder, to fend for IndiGo. Gangwal was missing in
action at that time and there were stages where he wanted to derisk
and pushed for the business to be sold."
IGE said that even as the aggregate financial exposure of IGE,
Kapil Bhatia and Rahul Bhatia was well over Rs 1,100 crore
owing to the bank guarantees and personal loans they forwarded
to the airline, Gangwal was in safe harbour with an equity exposure
of less than Rs 15 crore, with no personal loans or guarantees
or any other financial obligations for IndiGo.
"This was a risk ratio of almost 80:1 between the IGE Group
and Gangwal. The personal guarantees of Kapil Bhatia and
Rahul Bhatia continued to be in force until the end of financial
year 2012 as by that time IndiGo had an adequate balance sheet
to support itself," the statement said. In its previous statement,
IGE had said that Gangwal's allegations about lack of corporate
governance were "much ado about nothing".

www.theasianindependent.co.uk
HEALTH
July 2019
13
Number of older Indians to grow,
younger to slow by 2035
NEW DELHI: India's population
is likely to grow by 26 per
cent in 2036 from the last census
year of 2011 and the percentage
of population above 60
years of age will almost double
while there will be a decline in
the number in the younger age
groups, according to the initial
findings of the government's
technical group on population
projections. Findings of the
technical group, constituted by
the National Commission on
Population, were shared in
Parliament recently in reply to a
question. "This is the initial
draft with initial projections.
When all the figures are gathered,
another draft shall be prepared.
Committees are working
on it," a senior officer from the
committee, which met in May,
told IANS.
The meeting was chaired by
Vivek Joshi, Registrar General
and Census Commissioner of
India, and inaugurated by
Manoj Jhalani, Additional
Secretary and mission director
National Health Mission.
According to the findings,
India's population will grow
from 1,211 million in 2011 to
1,536 million in 2035, a jump of
26.8 per cent. Another set of
findings said the percentage of
population in the age group of
above 60 will grow from 8.6 to
15.4 per cent. The percentage of
population in the age group of
25-29 years will come down
from 19.0 to 15.0 per cent. The
sharpest fall will be in the percentage
of population below 15
years from 30.9 to 17 per cent.
The percentage of population
in productive age group of 15 to
59 years will increase marginally
from 60.5 to 66.7.
The total fertility rate of 2.4
in 2011-15 will come down to
1.65 in 2031-35. The infant
mortality rate is also expected to
come down from 43 in 2011-15
to 30. The crude birth rate is
predicted to come down to 12.0
from 19.8.
The urban population is projected
to grow by 25 per cent.
More breastfeeding
could save the world $1
billion every day
Kuala Lumpur : Not
enough breastfeeding costs
the global economy almost
$1 billion each day due to
lost productivity and healthcare
costs, researchers said
on Friday, as health experts
urged more support for nursing
mothers.
A new website developed
by researchers in Canada and
Asia showed that the world
could have saved $341 billion
each year if mothers
breastfeed their children for
longer, helping prevent early
deaths and various diseases.
Known as the "Cost of
Not Breastfeeding", the
online tool used data from a
six-year study supported by
the U.S.-based maternal and
child nutrition initiative,
Alive & Thrive.
"It is a human right, it
saves lives and improves the
prosperity of economies,"
Canada-based health economics
expert Dylan Walters said
about the importance of
breastfeeding.Walters, who
led the study of more than 100
countries, said the website
was the first of its kind and
aimed to help policymakers to
measure economic losses in
individual countries when
they do not support breastfeeding.The
United Nations'
World Health Organization
(WHO) recommends that
babies be breastfed exclusively
at least their first six
months, then have a diet of
breast milk and other food
until they are two years old.
Breastfeeding can help
prevent diarrhea and pneumonia,
two major causes of
infant death, and protect
mothers against ovarian and
breast cancer, according to
the U.N. agency.
But only 40% of infants
under the age of six months
are exclusively breastfed
globally, while 820,000 child
deaths could be avoided each
year if the recommendation
is followed, it said.
Obstacles to breastfeeding
range from a lack of facilities
and break times at places of
work, aggressive marketing
of baby formula, and harassment
or stigma if women
nurse in public.
Ahead of the World
Breastfeeding Week from
August 1, researchers said
they hoped more nations
would now implement policies
promoting breastfeeding,
push employers to provide
more support, and
clamp down on baby-formula
marketing. "Economic evidence
resonates well with
policymakers. Not investing
in breastfeeding has a cost,"
Alive & Thrive's Southeast
Asia director Roger
Mathisen told the Thomson
Reuters Foundation by
phone from Hanoi. "This tool
is really making the argument
that it is a good investment
to expand policies such
as paid maternity leave," he
said, adding that it would
help keep women in the
workforce and boost the
country's economy.
A U.N.-backed study in
2017 found that no country
does enough to help mothers
breastfeed their babies for
the recommended six
months, despite the potential
economic benefits.
‘Sugary drinks linked to
increased cancer risk’
London : Higher consumption of sugary
drinks may be associated with an increased risk
of cancer, according to a study published in the
British Medical Journal (BMJ).
The findings add to a growing body of evidence
indicating that limiting sugary drink consumption,
together with taxation and marketing
restrictions, might contribute to a reduction in
cancer cases. The consumption of sugary drinks
has increased worldwide during the last few
decades and is convincingly associated with the
risk of obesity, which in turn is recognised as a
strong risk factor for many cancers, said
researchers, including those from the University
of Paris 13 in France. However, research on sugary
drinks and the risk of cancer is still limited.
Researchers set out to assess the associations
between the consumption of sugary drinks (sugar
sweetened beverages and 100 per cent fruit
juices), artificially sweetened (diet) beverages,
and risk of overall cancer, as well as breast,
prostate, and bowel (colorectal) cancers.
The findings are based on 101,257 healthy
French adults (21 per cent men; 79 per cent
women) with an average age of 42 years.
Participants completed at least two 24-hour
online validated dietary questionnaires, designed
to measure usual intake of 3,300 different food
and beverage items and were followed up for a
maximum of nine years. Daily consumption of
sugary drinks and artificially sweetened (diet)
beverages were calculated and first cases of cancer
reported by participants were validated by
medical records and linked with health insurance
national databases. Average daily consumption
of sugary drinks was greater in men than in
women. During follow-up 2,193 first cases of
cancer were diagnosed and validated (693 breast
cancers, 291 prostate cancers, and 166 colorectal
cancers). Average age at cancer diagnosis was 59
years. The results show that a 100 millilitre per
day increase in the consumption of sugary drinks
was associated with an 18 per cent increased risk
of overall cancer and a 22 per cent increased risk
of breast cancer. When the group of sugary drinks
was split into fruit juices and other sugary drinks,
the consumption of both beverage types was
associated with a higher risk of overall cancer.
No association was found for prostate and colorectal
cancers, but numbers of cases were more
limited for these cancer locations, researchers
said. The consumption of artificially sweetened
(diet) beverages was not associated with a risk of
cancer, but the researchers warn that caution is
needed in interpreting this finding owing to a relatively
low consumption level in this sample.
Possible explanations for these results include
the effect of the sugar contained in sugary drinks
on visceral fat (stored around vital organs such as
the liver and pancreas), blood sugar levels, and
inflammatory markers, all of which are linked to
increased cancer risk. Other chemical compounds,
such as additives in some sodas might also play a
role, they said. This is an observational study, so
can't establish cause, and the researchers said they
cannot rule out some misclassification of beverages
or guarantee detection of every new cancer
case. The study sample was large and they were
able to adjust for a wide range of potentially influential
factors. The results were also largely
unchanged after further testing, suggesting that
the findings withstand scrutiny.

14 July 2019
HEALTH
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
Drinking Japanese Matcha tea reduces anxiety: Study
Tokyo : Are you leading a highly
stressful life? Worry not, Japanese
Matcha tea will come to your rescue as
researchers have found it to have various
health benefits, such as reducing
anxiety.
Published in the Journal of
Functional Foods, the study done on
mice found that anxious behaviour in
the rodents reduced after consuming
Matcha powder or Matcha extract.
According to the researchers, the
tea’s calming effects are due to mechanisms
that activate dopamine D1 receptors
and serotonin 5-HT1A receptors,
both of which are closely related to anxious
behaviour.
“Although further epidemiological
research is necessary, the results of our
study show that Matcha, which has been
used as a medicinal agent for many
years, may be quite beneficial to the
human body,” said study lead author
Yuki Kurauchi from Kumamoto
University in Japan.
“We hope that our research into
Matcha can lead to health benefits
worldwide,” Kurauchi added.
For the study, the researchers conducted
an “elevated plus maze” test —
Giving up alcohol may
boost mental well-being
Beijing : Women who quit
alcohol may have an improved
health-related quality of life,
especially their mental wellbeing,
according to a study
unveiled on Monday. "More evidence
suggests caution in recommending
moderate drinking as
part of a healthy diet," said
Michael Ni from the University
of Hong Kong (HKU). The
study, published
in the
Canadian
Medical
Association
Journal,
included
10,386 people
from the
FAMILY
Cohort in
Hong Kong who were nondrinkers
or moderate drinkers
between 2009 and 2013.
Moderate drinkers meant 14
drinks or less per week for men
and seven drinks or less per
week for women. The
researchers compared their findings
with data from a representative
survey of 31,079 people
conducted by the National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism in the US.
The mean age of participants
in the FAMILY Cohort was 49
years and 56 per cent were
women. About 64 per cent of
men were nondrinkers (abstainers
and former drinkers) and
almost 88 per cent of women
were nondrinkers. Men and
women who were lifetime
abstainers had the highest level
of mental well-being at the start
of the study (baseline).
For women who were moderate
drinkers and quit drinking,
quitting was linked to a
favourable
change in
mental wellbeing
in both
Chinese and
American
study populations.
These
results were
apparent
after adjusting
for sociodemographic characteristics,
body mass index,
smoking status, and other factors.
"Global alcohol consumption
is expected to continue to
increase unless effective strategies
are employed," said Ni.
"Our findings suggest caution
in recommendations that moderate
drinking could improve
health-related quality of life.
Instead, quitting drinking may
be associated with a more
favourable change in mental
well-being, approaching the
level of lifetime abstainers," Ni
said.
Madrid : Parents, take note.
Depression, anxiety and obsessive
compulsive disorder (OCD) are the
main reasons why children think
about suicide, warn researchers.
The study, published in the journal
Archives of Suicide Research,
reveals the factors that can trigger
ideas of suicide in pre-adolescent
age group.
"In boys it is previous depressive
symptoms, which determine subsequent
suicidal ideation, while in
girls it is a combination of anxiety
symptoms, OCD and the family's
socioeconomic situation," said
Nuria Voltas from Rovira I Virgili
University in Spain.
The researchers studied a group
of 720 boys and 794 girls who studied
in 13 schools in Reus. They
were monitored during three developmental
periods according to age
groups of 10 years, 11 years and 13
years.
At the beginning of the study, the
students answered a series of psychological
tests that were used to
detect which of them presented
emotional symptoms related to
depression, anxiety and obsessive
compulsive disorder (OCD).
From their responses, two groups
were created: one group at risk of
emotional problems and a control
group. Accpording to the
researchers, the figures were quite
stable. During the first period, 16
per cent of the students stated that
they had thought about suicide, of
an anxiety test for rodents — and
found that anxiety in mice was
reduced after consuming Matcha
powder or Matcha extract.
In addition, when the anxiolytic
activity of different Matcha extracts
were evaluated, a stronger effect
was found with the extract derived
using 80 per cent ethanol in comparison
to the extract derived from
only hot water.
Matcha is the finely ground powder
of new leaves from shade-grown
(90 per cent shade) Camellia sinensis
green tea bushes.
Grandparents play big role in
kids’ screen addiction habits
New Delhi : While parents
usually take the blame for spoiling
their kids by letting them
spend huge amounts of time with
high-tech electronics, grandparents
are to be equally blamed for
screen addiction in children.
Grandparents have long been
associated with letting their
grandchildren do things their
parents would never permit,
such as extended bedtime, too
much television time, and carefree
fun. In the study published
in the Journal of Children and
Media, researchers found that
today’s grandparents are still
true to their traditional fun-loving
image — allowing their
grandchildren, while under their
supervision, to spend about half
of their time on a mobile phone,
tablet, computer or TV.
The study reviewed the experiences
of 356 grandparents of
children aged 2-7 who take care
of their grandchildren at least
once per week and found that
during an average four-hour
visit, the children spent two
hours either watching videos or
playing games on electronic
devices. Most of the experts suggest
that grandparents should
restrict technology use by setting
simple rules for screen time
when babysitting. This is particularly
needed when children
bring a device from home and
expect to watch even more.
The unconditional loveshower
of parents and grandparents
can go to the point of spoiling
children, said Pallavi Joshi,
Clinical Psychologist at Sri
Balaji Action Medical Institute
in Delhi.
“Over the past few years,
grandparents’ responsibilities for
their grandchildren have
increased due to changes and
whom 33 per cent stated the same
one year later. In both the second
and the third period, ideas of suicide
were expressed by 18 per cent of the
students surveyed.
The risk of suicide was determined
in a personal interview and
was present in 12.2 per cent of the
children with an average age of 11
years old. Although there were no
differences between the sexes, the
severity of the suicidal behaviour
was greater in boys.
"Our results will enable us to
have greater control over this particular
aspect and take preventive
measures in pre-adolescents, who
are going through a period of considerable
vulnerability," she concluded.
issues in families and society.
“If we focus particularly at
the extreme amount of screen
time the kids devote to the idiot
box (TV), parents and grandparents
may be blamed for the
same, as they do not oppose this
habit,” Joshi told IANS.
“It’s just another sweet way
for them to spend more time
with children. But this habit
should be kept in check before it
becomes an issue,” she added.
Increased screen time may
critically impact a child’s development
and have several negative
consequences; it can stimulate
the way a child behaves,
even in the long run, as well as
make them less physically
active. Now, not all screen time
is detrimental, but families need
to develop limited, healthy
screen habits.
“Gadgets have started replacing
traditional ways of engaging
with children at home. Even with
grandparents at home, it is getting
increasingly difficult to curtail
the screen time for young
children. A lot of grandparents
are unaware of the effects of
excessive screen time,” Divya
Palaniappan, Child Psychologist,
Flinto R&D Centre in Delhi, told
IANS. We need to educate
grandparents about the impact of
media and technology on children’s
lives and on its proper use
that will benefit the well-being
of their grandchildren.
“However, there are some
grandparents who gift their
grandchildren play toys and
activity boxes like Flintobox to
spend quality time with them.
These activity boxes not only
keep children away from television
but also helps in bonding
with grandparents,” Palaniappan
added.
Anxiety, OCD in kids may lead to suicidal thoughts

www.theasianindependent.co.uk
HEALTH
July 2019 15
Chinese scientists develop tumor-specific anti-cancer therapy
Washington : Chinese scientists developed
a combined tumor-killing therapy that can be
activated specifically at tumor sites in mouse
models of cancer, which is more effective than
previous similar therapies. The study published
on Friday in the journal Science
Immunology described the new cancer
immunotherapy that can prevent the immune
system from becoming tolerant of tumors,
which occurs in 30 per cent of all cancer
patients, the Xinhua news agency reported.
A team led by Wang Dangge from Shanghai
Institute of Materia Medica under the Chinese
Academy of Sciences and Fudan University
developed a common immune checkpoint
Regulatory, industry bodies say
salt brands safe to consume
New Delhi : As allegations
and concerns have cropped up
over the safety of major Indian
salt brands, the Food Safety
and Standards Authority of
India (FSSAI) and the Indian
Medical Association (IMA)
have refuted the concerns that
the major salt brands contain
alarming level of potassium
ferrocyanide.
The FSSAI tweeted:
“Ferrocyanides are used as
anti-caking agents in processing
of salt and are safe for consumption.
Test reports quoted
in media have shown its presence
well within limit of 10
mg/kg, as specified by FSSAI.
This is less than 14 mg/kg specified
by Codex (International
Food Standards).”
IMA tweeted that it stands
with FSSAI’s statement.
Concerns rose after Shiv
Shankar Gupta, Chairman of
Godhum Grains & Farm
Products last week claimed that
potassium ferrocyanide levels
were alarmingly high in reputed
Indian salt brands.
According to Gupta, a test
by American West Analytical
Laboratories (AWAL) has
revealed that potassium ferrocyanide
levels are an alarmingly
high in Sambhar Refined
Salt at 4.71 mg per kg, at 1.85
mg per kg in Tata Salt and 1.90
inhibitor in a nanoparticle formulation, which
is highly tumor-specific.
The checkpoint inhibitor is a kind of
increasingly popular anti-tumor drug. It can
block proteins that keep immune T cells from
killing cancer. But the checkpoint inhibitor
used to target those immune system-suppressing
proteins like PD-1 and PD-L1 often fails to
reach deep-seated or metastatic tumors.
Wang’s team combined the nanoparticles
carrying PD-L1-targeting antibodies with a
light-activated molecule. The molecule called
photosensitiser can produce tumor-killing
reactive oxygen species after encountering a
protein abundant in tumors, according to the
mg per kg in Tata Salt Lite.
However, American West
Analytical Laboratories in a
statement dated July 1 said that
“AWAL does not report opinions
concerning analytical data”
and also “does not analyze or
report potassium ferrocyanide”.
American West Analytical
Laboratories also said that
AWAL does not communicate
any information to third parties
(e.g., news agencies) concerning
work performed at our laboratory
without written permission
from our primary client.
Tata Salt in a statement said that
its product is safe and harmless.
“The recent allegations made
against the purity and health
benefits of Tata Salt are totally
false and misleading and being
made by vested interests. India
is one among many countries
including the USA, European
Union, Australia and New
Zealand that have allowed the
use of PFC in salt,” it said.
“The level allowed by
FSSAI, an independent statutory
authority, under Ministry of
Health & Family Welfare,
Government of India is the
lowest among these jurisdictions
(10 mg per kg).
Codex Alimentarius, the
most authoritative guidelines
on food safety has declared
APFC Asafe for consumption
at levels of 14 mg per kg. The
use of PFC is allowed in salt
and is safe and harmless to the
human body when consumed
as per approved levels. This is
clearly declared in the list of
Tata Salt ingredients in a manner
prescribed by the regulations,”
it added.
AI can diagnose breast cancer more quickly, accurately
New York : Breast ultrasound elastography
is an emerging imaging technique
that provides information about
a potential breast lesion and
researchers have identified the critical
role AI can play in making this technique
more efficient and accurate.
Using more precise information
about the characteristics of a cancerous
versus non-cancerous breast
lesion, this methodology using
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has demonstrated
more accuracy compared to
traditional modes of imaging.
In the study published in the journal
Computer Methods in Applied
Mechanics and Engineering, Indianorigin
researchers Dhruv Patel and
Assad Oberai from the University of
Southern California showed that it is possible to train a machine to interpret real-world images using synthetic data
study. In mouse models, a local near-infrared
radiation that activated the photosensitiser,
along with the administration of antibodiescarrying
nanoparticles, promoted the infiltration
of cancer cell-killing T cells into the tumor
site and made the tumors more sensitive to the
checkpoint blockade.
This combination also helped the
nanoparticles effectively suppress tumor
growth and metastasis to the lung and lymph
nodes, resulting in approximately 80 per cent
mouse survival over 70 days, compared to
complete mouse death in 45 days in the group
treated with only PD-L1 antibodies, according
to the study.
Tata Trusts searches
for innovations to
eliminate malaria
New Delhi : In line with India’s target of eliminating malaria
by 2030, the India Health Fund (IHF), an initiative by Tata
Trusts on Monday announced its “Malaria Quest” — a nationwide
search for innovations towards eliminating the mosquitoborne
disease. One of the primary objectives of the initiative is
to seek innovative technologies to strengthen surveillance to
provide accurate estimates of disease burden and data-based
decision making and risk-prediction.
Other objectives include developing innovative methods of
vector control and personal protection for enhancing or complementing
current strategies, improving logistical modalities and
quality assurance of malaria consumables and consistently
detecting and diagnosing cases of malaria, both in high and low
endemic regions.
Applications from interested candidates will be accepted till
September 2, 2019, IHF said in a statement. Selected applications
stand to receive wide support, including milestone-based
funding support for validation, beta prototyping, feasibility studies
and pilot introduction, as applicable, it added.
and streamline the steps to diagnosis.
In the case of breast ultrasound
elastography, once an image of the
affected area is taken, it is analysed to
determine displacements inside the
tissue. Using this data and the physical
laws of mechanics, the spatial distribution
of mechanical properties,
like its stiffness, is determined.
In the study, researchers sought to
determine if they could skip the most
complicated steps of this workflow.
For this, the researchers used
about 12,000 synthetic images to
train their Machine Learning algorithm.
This process was similar to
how photo identification software
works, i.e learning through repeated
inputs on how to recognize a
particular person in an image, or how
our brain learns to classify a cat versus
a dog.
Through enough examples, the
algorithm was able to glean different
features inherent to a benign tumour
versus a malignant tumour and make
the correct determination.
The researchers achieved nearly
100 per cent classification accuracy
on synthetic images. Once the algorithm
was trained, they tested it on
real-world images to determine how
accurate it could be in providing a
diagnosis, measuring these results
against biopsy-confirmed diagnoses
associated with these images.
"We had about 80 per cent accuracy
rate. We will continue to refine the
algorithm by using more real-world
images as inputs," Oberai said.

16 July 2019
ENTERTAINMENT
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
IT [KALANK] WAS A BAD
FILM: VARUN DHAWAN
He adds that filmmaking is a team effor so it'd be
wrong to blame director or producer
If films can take an actor to
the pinnacle of success, there
are often disappointments on
the way, too. Varun Dhawan’s
last release Kalank did not do
as well as expected at the box
office and the actor, whose performance
was applauded, says
he was affected by it. “It
(Kalank) was not accepted by
the audience because it was a
bad film and somewhere we all
failed collectively,” shares
Varun, who starred alongside
actors Alia Bhatt, Madhuri
Dixit Nene, Aditya Roy Kapur,
and Sanjay Dutt in the film.
“Making a film is a team
effort. It’s wrong to blame it on
the director and producer. And
being a part of the team, I will
take part of the blame as well.
The film did let down people.
We have collectively gone
through why it didn’t work.
Personally, it (failure) was
important. I wanted the failure
to affect me because if it doesn’t,
then that means I don’t love
my work,” he adds.
But Varun has no time to
linger in the past. He is looking
forward to diverse films lined
up for release in the coming
year, including Street Dancer
3D and the remake of his
father’s hit 1995 comedy,
Coolie No 1. Interestingly, right
from the beginning, the actor
has made sure that his career is
a mixed bag of genres.
So how does he maintain
this kind of variety? “I choose
films which I know I will enjoy
doing the most. If I don’t have
fun, it won’t show on screen. I
am playing a street dancer in
my next because I love dancers
in real life. If I want something
serious, I do something like
October (2018). With comedy, I
want to work with David
Dhawan (filmmaker, also
Varun’s father) because he is
the best in the country. His
experience will help me as an
actor,” says Varun.
Looking at his choices, it
seems that the actor also has a
great understanding of what the
audience wants, something
which even his colleagues
appreciate about him. “I am
first a lover of cinema and then
an actor. I am here to entertain
the audience and everything
else comes secondary to me.
Everyone goes wrong sometimes,
even I have, but you
have to learn [from it],” he
says, adding that he has picked
up things from his father. “He
has a very good take on films
and he understands what the
audience wants. Another thing
I’ve learnt is that a film’s length
should always be in control. If
you don’t contain the length,
the audience will not forgive
that. After all, it is about their
time and money. I want to
make films that take Indian
family entertainment ahead,”
he concludes.
Sunny
Deol’s son
Karan
might have
his rap
song in
debut film
‘Pal Pal Dil
Ke Paas’
Sunny Deol's son Karan
looks all set to have a double
debut in Bollywood—one as an
actor and one as a rapper—
when dad launches him in ‘Pal
Pal Dil Ke Paas’ later this year.
‘Bekhayali’ singer Sachet
Tandon, one half of the singercomposer
duo Sachet-
Parampara, has been working
hard on the soundtrack of the
film, which marks the return of
Sunny Deol as director after his
2016 release, ‘Ghayal Once
Again’. "He (Karan) is a good
actor. He was involved (with
the film's music) at times. He
loves music and raps sometimes,"
Sachet told IANS in a
telephonic interview. "In fact,
there is a portion of a song in
which he has rapped. We are
trying to retain it (in the film's
soundtrack)." Karan showed
his rapping skills on World
Music Day, which was celebrated
on June 21, with a short
video he posted on Instagram.
"Music has always been my goto
form of expression. Be it as a
hobby or just to de-stress.
Rapping to Jay-Z's encore," he
captioned it. ‘Pal Pal Dil Ke
Paas’ is a romantic drama, and
the film's title is a tribute to the
evergreen song of the same title
that Kishore Kumar sang for
Sunny's father in the 1973
movie ‘Blackmail’. The new
film, however, will not have a
remix or recreation of that classic
hit number, although remixes
are a rage in Bollywood right
now. "We are not going to
recreate 'Pal pal...' from
Blackmail (in the new film).
Our title song is an original,
though the lyrics will feature
those words because they form
the title of our film. It is not a
remix or a recreation," he
added.
I don’t want anyone to shy
away from talking about
sex, says Sonakshi Sinha
Neetu Chandra is face of
Patna Pirates kabbadi team
Mumbai, Actress Neetu Chandra has been roped in as brand
ambassador for the Pro Kabbadi team Patna Pirates.
Patna Pirates have won the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) three
times. “Sports has been a way of life for me from a very young age
and Patna is homeground for me,” said Neetu, adding that she was
happy to be associated with the team.
“There couldn’t have been a better way to celebrate talent,
hardwork, and sincerity. Patna Pirates has proved their worth time
and again, and I am excited to be their brand ambassador.”
The seventh season of PKL starts from July 20.
Sex isn’t as openly discussed
yet in Indian society.
Sonakshi Sinhastarrer
Khandaani Shafakhana, highlights
this issue, through a
hilarious, yet socially relevant
slice-of-life film. Chronicling
the story of a small-town
Punjabi girl whose circumstances
lead her to run a sex
clinic, the film opens a window
into the seldomdiscussed subject.
A bold statement is made
by Sonakshi and director,
Shilpi Dasgupta, by bringing
out the taboos and shame
around talking about sex, even
amongst adults.
The makers of this film feel
that much of the problems
related to sex can easily be
resolved if we just talk about
them. Says Shilpi, “Did you
know that until very recently,
sex education was banned in
quite a few states of India? This is an
issue we must all rally around.” Sonakshi,
who plays the lead role, concurs. She says,
“I decided to do this film because it’s a relevant
and important subject
that should be discussed. I
don’t want anyone — woman
or man, to shy away from
talking about this. I hope my
doing this film, will give them
the courage to talk about sexual
issues openly. I am sure
this movie will get people
thinking and talking. Baat toh
karo!” Shilpi adds, “Sonakshi
really took on this challenge,
something most people would
be hesitant to even discuss, let
alone play the role.
We hope that we will be
able to help people to no
longer look at sex as a dirty
word.”
Gulshan Kumar and T-
Series present Khandaani
Shafakhana, a Sundial production.
Produced by
Bhushan Kumar, Mahaveer
Jain, Mrighdeep Singh
Lamba and Divya Khosla Kumar, the film
is all set to release on August 2, 2019.

www.theasianindependent.co.uk
ENTERTAINMENT
‘I THOUGHT ACTING
WAS FAR BEYOND
July 2019
17
ALIA BHATT starts
prepping for Ooty
schedule of 'Sadak 2'
MY REACH’
While growing up, actor Jacqueline
Fernandez thought being on the big screen
was a dream too ambitious for her to achieve.
But that was a long time ago. Today, she has
some very successful Bollywood potboilers
to her credit. Now, she has become one of the
few mainstream Bollywood heroines to be
foraying into web space. The Kick (2014)
actor says she is excited about her web film.
“Not for a moment did I hesitate to work
with an OTT (over the top) platform. I am a
huge consumer of digital content. It was an
immediate ‘yes’ on my part. It’s a great platform,
as good as theatre. We seem to be moving
in the direction of digital, anyway.”
Excerpts:
Are you open to doing web shows as
well?
Everything really depends on content. We
have been harping
on this for many years. But it’s really
dawning on the industry now because of certain
examples. The past two years have been
such a disruption in the industry that we are
now taking it (digital space) very seriously.
So, whether theatrical, digital films or web
series, for me, it’ll have to be about the content,
the character and the team. Digital is a
great space that will help us grow. It’s a great
time for filmmakers and actors.
Will commercial entertainers now take
a back seat?
I don’t think I will ever move away from
commercial entertainers. It has got me to
where I am. I’ve always enjoyed being a part
of commercial cinema and have worked with
amazing people. I’d love to balance it now
and be able to take on much more. There was
a time when I was only focusing on commercial
films; now, it’s more about diversifying.
If I end up doing only one kind of cinema,
I definitely don’t see myself growing.
I’m not putting it aside, instead I plan to do
other things as well.
So, how would you sum up your journey
so far?
I’d say it has been one lucky ride. There
has been a lot of growth, especially, in the
last couple of years. I don’t think I’d
have been able to discover so much
about myself in any other industry or
job. I am glad that I stuck by and said
‘this is what I want to do’. It took
me a long time to come to terms
with it, and also with people
back home.
I thought it (acting) was far
beyond my reach while growing
up. It took time to understand
what I was actually doing
or the path I’d chosen. But, it’s a
great journey of self-discovery
and one that I am hoping to
continue for a long time.
Actress Alia Bhatt will soon head to Ooty to shoot for her
father and filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt's 'Sadak 2', and she has
already started prepping for the schedule.
The actress on Sunday took to Instagram stories to share an
update about the project. She posted a photograph of the front
page of the script of the film. It read: "'Sadak 2'.. Written by
Mahesh Bhatt and Suhrita... Copy for Alia Bhatt... Ooty sides
only." Along with the image, Alia also shared bag, coffee and
pencil emojis, hinting that she is all set to get to work.
The film also stars Pooja Bhatt, Aditya Roy Kapur, Sanjay
Dutt, Jisshu Sengupta, Priyanka Bose and Akshay Anand.
'Sadak 2' is sequel to the hit 1991 film 'Sadak', a romantic
thriller, which featured Pooja and Sanjay. It was one of the highest-grossing
Hindi movie of 1991 with a popular musical score.
Late Sadashiv Amrapurkar's award-winning performance as the
villain, Maharani won hearts and is still one of the all time best
bad guy in Bollywood. The film was inspired by the 1976
American movie 'Taxi Driver'.
The movie is scheduled to release on July 10, 2020.
‘I want to be seen as a
newcomer’: Tamannaah
Mumbai : Actress Tamannaah
Bhatia, a big star in south Indian
films, has been trying to find her feet
in Bollywood for a while now. She
will be seen in the Nawazuddin
Siddiqui-starrer “Bole Chudiyan”
soon. The actress counts the film as
one of her biggest opportunities in
Bollywood and wants the audience
to consider her a newcomer.
Being one of the actresses
who made it big in the south
with superhits such as
“Kandein Kadhalai”,
“Ayan”, “Tadakha”,
“Dharma Durai” and the
“Baahubali” series,
Tamannaah has not done
any memorable role in
Bollywood.
“I know that
‘Baahubali’ was a big
deal for me but in this
film, I am approaching my character very differently.
The world of this film is very different. It is
a Hindi film. I want our audience to look at me as
a newcomer. I want to focus on the emotion of the
character rather than applying my experience from
my early films,” said Tamannaah, who replaced
popular television actress Mouni Roy as the leading
lady opposite Nawazuddin.
She is excited to share screen space with
Nawazuddin: “I am amazed to see how effortlessly
he acts on screen and convincingly portrays
every character. I think by the time
I finish shooting the film, I will get to
know his acting secret!” she quipped.
So, how did she respond to the offer
when she got a call for the film?
“Firstly, when I got a call to act
opposite an actor like
Nawazuddin Siddiqui, I
thought someone was
playing a prank. So, I
cross-checked and then
realised it was a genuine
offer! I have to say that I
am a huge fan of Nawaz
sir,” she replied.
Set in the Uttar
Pradesh, the film is a
love story between a
bangle seller and a village
girl, and is the
directorial debut of
Shamas Siddiqui, brother
of Nawazuddin. “Never have I ever worked on a
script like this and that is why the world of this
story is very interesting to me. I have done films in
the South where stories are set in the rural landscape
but in Bollywood showcasing such a beautiful
side of northern India is rare,” she said.
“I am so excited to be in the same frame with
Nawaz sir. As an actor, it is always exciting to do
something different and that is why it will be interesting,”
added the actress.
Lata’s request to Dhoni :
Please don’t retire
Mumbai, Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar
on Thursday requested cricket star Mahendra
Singh Dhoni to not retire, following rumours that
the former Indian captain was all set to end his
illustrious career. “These days, I have been hearing
that you plan to retire. Please don’t think this
way. The country needs you and it is my request,
too, that you don’t allow even the thought of
retirement to enter your mind,” Mangeshkar
tweeted in Hindi.
The buzz on Dhoni’s retirement gathered force
after India lost its World Cup semifinal match to
New Zealand on Wednesday.
Apart from requesting Dhoni to not retire,
Mangeshkar also left an
encouraging note for
Team India, to help
them tide over their
defeat. She dedicated
her 1994 song, “Akash
ke us paar bhi”, to the
Men in Blue. The song is
penned by Gulzar and
composed by Hridaynath
Mangeshkar. “We did
not win yesterday, but
we didn’t lose. I dedicate
this song by Gulzar
sahab to our team,” she
said in another tweet.

18 July 2019
ENTERTAINMENT
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
Need nerves of steel to be
in Bollywood : Katrina Kaif
After 16 years of surviving
the Bollywood grind grinding
with more hits than misses,
actress Katrina Kaif, says one
needs to have nerves of steel to
be in the glitzy world of Hindi
cinema.
"It's not always easy. You
need to have nerves of steel to
be in the film industry. It's an
unpredictable place and no one
can guarantee success. I believe
in not taking success to your
head, or failure to your heart,"
Katrina told IANS.
She tags her 16-year run in
Hindi films as a beautiful journey.
"It's been wonderful, a lot
of hard work but also a lot of
love from the audience," she
said.
Hong Kong-born British
beauty Katrina, who celebrates
her birthday on July 16, is currently
vacationing in Mexico.
Over the weekend she has been
setting social media afire with
holiday snapshots and videos
on Instagram .On Saturday, a
picture of Katrina in blue
swimsuit went viral in no time.
The break comes after hectic
months of work when Katrina
gave most of her time to her
last few releases —‘Thugs Of
Hindostan’ with Aamir Khan,
‘Zero’ with Shah Rukh Khan,
and ‘Bharat’ with Salman
Khan. Fans loved her performances
in ‘Zero’ and ‘Bharat’,
In Attack mode
One more action thriller
for John Abraham
Actor-producer John Abraham’s
love for the action genre is no secret.
He will now produce and play the
lead in the action thriller Attack, a
race against time story of rescue by
an ‘attack team’ led by a lone ranger,
played by John. The film is a fictional
story inspired by true events, set
against a hostage crisis that brought a
nation to its knees. Written and
directed by debutant Lakshya Raj
Anand, Attack will be produced by
Dheeraj Wadhawan, and Ajay
Kapoor’s Kyta Productions and
John’s JA Entertainment.
particularly.
Considering her next release
is ‘Sooryavanshi’ opposite
Akshay Kumar, it would seem
like she has become the staple
choice primarily of the senior
superstars in the industry.
"I don't really analyse things
that much. I prefer looking
ahead rather than dissecting the
past and believe the best is yet
to come," she said.
The Hong Kong-born beauty
has had an enviable hit count,
of course, over the years.
Despite a dud debut in the
2003 crossover film, ‘Boom’,
she soon made her mark with
her distinct screen presence in
the films to come. Roles in
‘Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya’,
‘Namastey London’, ‘Singh Is
Kinng’, ‘New York’, ‘Mere
Brother Ki Dulhan’, ‘Zindagi
Na Milegi Dobara’, ‘Ek Tha
Tiger’, ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’,
‘Tiger Zinda Hai’, ‘Zero’ and
her latest release ‘Bharat’ made
her a top star.
During her turbulent career,
Katrina has had her share of
bouquets and brickbats. Today,
she has established herself in
Bollywood and is one of India's
highest-paid actresses, but she
still feels she has a long way to
go to prove herself.
"(I have) miles to go. The
point is to try and get better, to
portray different characters,
and to work harder with every
film," she said.
The current phase, when she
has had lots of love coming her
way for her craft in ‘Zero’ and
‘Bharat’, is the "best thing" to
have happened to her, she feels.
"My work is giving a huge
amount of creative satisfaction
and I'm really enjoying discovering
these characters," added
the 35-year-old, about her
recent roles.
Katrina is counted among
Bollywood's top dancers what
with blockbusters such as
‘Chikni
Chameli’
(‘Agneepath’), ‘Sheila ki
jawaani’ (‘Tees Maar Khan’)
and ‘Kamli’ (‘Dhoom 3’) and
she has now added another
feather to her cap. She is now
venturing into film production
and says she is looking forward
to bankrolling some great stories.
"(I will make) the kind of
films I would want to watch as
an audience—great stories that
deserve to be told," she signed
off.
Why Shah Rukh
loves ‘The Lion King’
Superstar Shah Rukh Khan says he fell in by his villainous uncle Scar.
love with “The Lion King” for the way the “The Jungle Book” fame director Jon
movie narrates a story based on a relationship
between a father and a son.
Disney’s classic to bring alive the new live-
Favreau has re-imagined the world of
Bollywood’s King Khan and his son action version. He has stayed true to the
Aryan have lent their voices for King classic story of Simba and used pioneering
Mufasa and his son Simba respectively in filmmaking techniques to bring the iconic
the Hindi version of Disney’s upcoming characters alive on the big screen in a new
live-action film
“The Lion King”.
“‘The Lion King’
has been, for not
just me, but for so
many people
around the world,
one of the
favourite films that
they have enjoyed
with their families
and kids,” Shah
Rukh said.
“There are only three films that one loved
actually while growing up. One is ‘The Lion
King’, followed by ‘The Jungle Book’ and
‘Bambi’,” he added.
“The Lion King” follows the adventures
of Simba, who is to succeed his father
Mufasa, as King of the Pride Lands, and narrates
a tale of how he rises up to the occasion
despite several attempts to bring him down
way.
For Shah
Rukh, “The Lion
King” has
always been special.
“For one, it
didn’t have a
human being in
it, and (secondly)
it was a film that
was based on the
relationship of a
father and a son. That was special.”
“It’s the kind of movie that you can watch
with all your children, whatever age and
stage they are at. Even without being an
actor and just as an audience, the movie is a
wholesome experience. It’s a complete
film,” the actor said.
The film will release in India on July 19
in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.
Akshay Kumar wishes luck
to women scientists leading
Chandrayaan-2 mission
With the Project Director and the Mission Director of India's
upcoming second moon
mission Chandrayaan- 2
being women, actor Akshay
Kumar has sent his best
wishes to the scientists for
the launch. "India's second
space mission to the moon,
Chandrayaan-2 is led by two
women scientists of Indian
Space
Research
Organisation (ISRO), a first
in India's history. Sending
my best to the rocket
women and ISRO team,
more power to you," Akshay
tweeted on Sunday.
Chandrayaan-2 is India's
most ambitious second lunar
mission. It will be launched
from Satish Dhawan Space
Centre at Sriharikota on-board the heavy-lift rocket
Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV Mk
III), nicknamed 'Bahubali', at 2.51 am on July 15. On the work
front, Akshay is gearing up for the release of ‘Mission Mangal’,
which is based on the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), or the
Mangalyaan project to put a space probe into Mars' orbit,
launched by ISRO min November 2013.
Akshay Kumar deserves
‘Forbes’ list rank: Taapsee
Akshay Kumar recently made it to the “Forbes” world’s highest
paid celebrities list, and
his “Baby” co-star Taapsee
Pannu congratulated the
actor saying he deserves it.
“Inspiring, deserving and
truly one of the best we
have around… Akshay
Kumar,” she tweeted on
Friday.
Surpassing
popular
international figures such
as Rihanna, Jackie Chan,
Scarlett Johansson, Chris
Evans and Katy Perry,
Akshay ranked 33 on the
Forbes list with earnings
worth $65 million. In context
to his earnings,
Taapsee joked: “Bas sir ab
sharing and caring ki baari
hai (Enough sir, now it’s your turn to share and care).” Akshay
had a hilarious reply as he posted a meme of himself in which he
is seen making a quirky face. “Beg you pardon,” the photograph
read. Akshay is the only Bollywood star to find a spot in the
Forbes list this year, among 99 others.
Notes from the heart
Angrezi Medium happens to be one of the most-awaited
movies of the year. The fans
are eagerly waiting for the
movie’s because they will be
able to watch actor Irrfan
Khan on the silver screen
after a very long time. The
actor had been away from the
filmy world for almost a
year, as he was receiving
treatment for neuroendocrine
tumour. Now, that he is completely
fine, Irrfan is gearing
up for his upcoming movie
Angrezi Medium. On Friday,
the director of the movie,
Homi Adajania, shared a picture
along with Irrfan Khan
on social media. He also
penned a heartfelt note that read, “I wanted to do this film knowing
it would be against the odds. I wanted to do it for all the
wrong reasons to make a film, but they just seemed so right and
still do. It’s been an emotional roller-coaster more than anything
else and I know how hard it’s been for everyone. Irrfan Khan,
you are incredible ... and you’re a decent actor as well.”

www.theasianindependent.co.uk
Odisha registers 31%
decline in lightning deaths
Bhubaneswar : The number
of human casualties due to lightning
strikes in Odisha has
declined by over 31 per cent due
to use of early warning communication
system.
Lightning deaths in the state
declined to 320 in 2018-19 from
465 recorded in 2017-18, said
the Special Relief
Commissioner’s (SRC) office in
a statement on Sunday. As many
as 401 lightning deaths were
reported in 2015-16 and 2016-17
each, it said.
The State Relief Organisation
and the Odisha State Disaster
Management Authority
(OSDMA) have taken a number
of steps to check the human
casualties due to
lightning strikes.
The OSDMA has
collaborated with
the Regional
Integrated Multi-
Hazard Early
Warning System for
Africa and Asia
(RIMES), Thailand,
to develop an integrated
decision support
system (DSS)
for providing real
time watch, alert
and warning for natural
hazards, like
heatwave, lightning,
droughts and floods.
An intelligent,
automated system
known as ’Outdoor
Alerting System’
has also been installed in 14
blocks, most vulnerable to lightning.
The siren installed in this
system automatically blows
ahead of lightning, and also in
case of severe weather conditions,
to alert people.
According to data, about 85
per cent of lightning deaths
occur in May to September.
TECH
NASA engineers
install legs, wheels on
Mars 2020 rover
Los Angeles : NASA engineers have recently
installed the legs and wheels, known as the mobility
suspension on the Mars 2020 rover, according to
a latest release of NASA’s Jet Propulsion
Laboratory (JPL). More than a dozen "bunny suit"-
clad engineers integrated the rover’s legs and wheels
on June 13 in the clean room of the Spacecraft
Assembly Facility at JPL, marking another milestone
in the rover’s building, Xinhua news agency
reported on Saturday. Adding to the complexity of
the engineering team’s integration effort was the
"rocker-bogie" suspension system, which keeps the
rover body balanced, enabling it to "rock" up or
down, depending on the various positions of the six
wheels, according to JPL. Measuring 52.5 centimeters
in diameter and machined with traction-providing
cleats, or grousers, the current wheels are engineering
models that will be replaced with flight
models next year, JPL said. Every wheel has its own
motor. The two front and two rear wheels also have
individual steering motors that enable the vehicle to
turn a full 360 degrees in place. Mars 2020 will
launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in
Florida in July 2020. It is scheduled to land at Jezero
Crater on February 18, 2021.
July 2019
19
Google shuts down
blog management
tool ’Blog Compass’
San Francisco : Google has pulled the plug on
its blog management tool ’Blog Compass’, after
barely a year of its launch.
Blog Compass is an app that essentially helped
bloggers to manage their site and find topics to
write about.
It could connect to sites running either
WordPress or Blogger and provided the owner
with insights into trending topics and a centralized
dashboard for analytics or comments.
While Blog Compass is still available to download
from the Play Store, opening it now only displays
a goodbye message, the Android Police
reported on Sunday. According to user reviews, the
app was already having issues as early as October
2018. "Many people were unable to sign in with a
Google account and the last report was as late as
last month. According to the Google Play Store,
Blog Compass achieved somewhere between
10,000-50,000 installs," the report added.

20 July 2019
TECH
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
Chandrayaan-2: Carrying
Indian flag to Moon top
priority for Twitterati
New Delhi : As India’s heavy lift rocket
nicknamed ‘Bahubali’ and its passenger
Chandrayaan-2 gear up for their historic
flight to the Moon on July 15, Twitter users
shared what they would like to take to the
lunar surface, with most of them mentioning
the national flag. However, Twitter
users also shared many interesting ideas.
Gautam Singh, for example, talked about
taking a geographical map of India. “So if
an Intelligent ET will find it They can find
where do we belong, A Flag will be useless
for them,” tweeted Singh.
Some users even suggested that Indian
soil should be transported to the Moon,
while others pointed out to the planetary
protection norms aimed to preserve our
ability to study other worlds as they exist in
their natural states. Planetary protection
refers to the practice of protecting solar system
bodies from contamination by Earth
life. “We can sanitize everything before
taking it there. Just like it is done today and
was done for the flags,” said one user.
“Yep. Very much. Indian soil in the
moon. Such a nice headline,” the user
added. The question “what you would take
to the Moon” was originally posed by the
Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO). ISRO said that it received interesting
answers from people around the country,
while sharing some of the the wish
New Delhi, With far higher
transmission speed than 4G, the
fifth generation cellular network
or 5G promises to bring
about dramatic changes to the
way we lead our lives and how
healthcare services are provided.
There are, however, also
concerns regarding adverse
health effects of exposure to
radiofrequency radiation associated
with the roll out of 5G.
The strength of radiofrequency
(RF) signals fields is
highest at its source and as
deployment of 5G would lead
to more mobile antennas, there
are fears of more radiation
leading to poor health.
Experts are, however, of the
opinion that there are not much
reasons to fear as long as India
follows the standards of safety
set by regulatory authorities
that are followed in Europe and
other developed nations.
The World Health
Organization has also played
down the fears associated with
exposure to RF signals. The
only health effect from RF
fields identified in scientific
reviews has been related to an
increase in body temperature
from exposure at very high
field intensity and this minor
increase in temperature do not
affect human health, according
to the WHO. “The term ‘radiation’
has a tendency to lead to
confusion and cause fear and
misconceptions. However,
radiation is of two types – ionising
and non-ionising. Nonionising
radiations which are
found in mobile devices have
not proved to be harzardous for
human health,” Vaibhav
Mishra, Additional Director,
Department of Cardiac
Surgery, Fortis Hospital Noida,
told IANS.
“It is the ionising radiations
which one needs to be careful
of. For example – the UV
(ultraviolet) rays emitted by the
sun are ionising in nature and
can cause significant damage to
our cell structures,” Mishra
added. “The reason this question
is being asked is because
5G will have a higher speed,
therefore require more radiation.
But there is no long term
data or study which concludes
lists. Chandrayaan-2 will attempt to soft
land the lander, Vikram, and rover,
Pragyan, in a high plain between two
craters, Manzinus C and Simpelius N, at a
latitude of about 70 degree south.
The Indian spacecraft and rover would
land near the lunar south pole by
September 6 or 7. The 3.8 tonne complex
mission will have an orbiter with 8 scientific
experiments, a lander with three
experiments, a rover with two experiments
and one passive experiment from the US
space agency NASA. The ambitious mission
will make India the fourth nation after
the then Soviet Union (Russia), the US and
China to land and ride on the moon to conduct
various experiments on its orbit, surface,
atmosphere and beneath.
Will 5G roll out put your health at risk?
that there will be a negative
impact on human body from
the 5G radiation,” Mishra said.
Tarun Sahni from
Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals
in New Delhi pointed out that
many devices like ECG electrodes,
pacemakers, ultrasounds
emit targeted high frequency
radiowaves.
“Devices using high frequency
radio waves are used for
multiple purposes, besides their
use in smartphones. But the evidence
is not strong enough to
suggest that these radiowaves
are causing any big risk to
human health,” said Sahni,
Senior Consultant, Internal
Medicine. He, however, cautioned
that anything used at an
extreme degree has the potential
to cause some impairment.
“Even if there is a risk, it’s very
minimal,” he added. According
to T.V. Ramachandran,
President, Broadband India
Forum, an association of the
telecom network and broadcasters,
far from affecting our
health adversely, 5G will
improve healthcare services.
“As far as impact of radiation
on health is concerned, we have
done enough work on that area
and I can tell you that similar
concerns were raised when 3G
and 4G were rolled out. People
with inadequate understanding
are raising these issues,”
Ramachandran said.
“There is nothing at all to be
worried about the radiation,” he
said, adding that whatever
research has been done so far
has not shown any problem due
to the higher frequencies.
On the other hand, as 5G has
got some properties like very
low latency and very high
speed and bandwidth, it can
help improve medical care.
“For example, if you want to
do remote robotic surgery, it
may takes some milliseconds
for your commands to reach the
recipient. And if you ask the
robot to cut a particular part of
the body, and if there is a delay
of 10 seconds, it may cut the
wrong place. But with 5G this
delay which is called latency is
reduced to less than 1 millisecond.
So that can bring brilliant
advancement in healthcare,”
Ramachandran added.
How renewable energy shift
can increase 'energy poverty'
New York : The world must think more holistically about
how it addresses renewable energy as efforts to shift away from
fossil fuels and replace oil and coal with renewable energy
sources can help reduce carbon emissions but at the expense of
increased inequality, warn researchers.
The team from Portland State University (PSU) and
Vanderbilt University found in a study of 175 nations from 1990
to 2014 that renewable energy consumption reduces carbon
emissions more effectively when it occurs in a context of
increasing inequality.
Conversely, it reduces emissions to a lesser degree when
occurring in a context of decreasing inequality.
"People who are just making ends meet and can barely afford
their energy bills will make a choice between food and their
energy," said Julius McGee, assistant professor of sociology in
PSU. "We don't think of energy as a human right when it actually
is. The things that consume the most energy in your household
-- heating, cooling, refrigeration -- are the things you
absolutely need," McGee added.
The findings, published in the journal Energy Research &
Social Science, support previous claims by researchers who
argue that renewable energy consumption may be indirectly
driving energy poverty. "Energy poverty" is when a household
has no or inadequate access to energy services such as heating,
cooling, lighting, and use of appliances due to a combination of
factors: low income, increasing utility rates, and inefficient
buildings and appliances. In poorer nations, renewable sources
of electricity have been used to alleviate "energy poverty". In
rural areas in southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, a solar
farm can give an agrarian community access to electricity that
historically never had access to energy. "That's not having any
impact on carbon dioxide emissions because those rural communities
never used fossil fuels in the first place," McGee said.
Policymakers consider implementing policy tools that are
aimed at both reducing inequality and reducing emissions.
"We need to be focusing on addressing concerns around
housing and energy poverty before we actually think about
addressing climate change within the confines of a consumer
sovereignty model," stressed McGee.
AI can spot depression via
sound of your voice
New Delhi : India -- the sixth most depressed country in the
world -- has an
estimated 56
million people
suffering from
depression and
38 million
from anxiety
disorders, according to a recent report by the World Health
Organisation (WHO). To help identify depression early, scientists
have now enhanced a technology that uses Artificial
Intelligence (AI) to sift through sound of your voice to gauge
whether you are depressed or not. Computing science
researchers from University of Alberta in Canada have
improved technology for identifying depression through vocal
cues. The study, conducted by Mashrura Tasnim and Professor
Eleni Stroulia, builds on past research that suggests that the timbre
of our voice contains information about our mood.
Using standard benchmark data sets, Tasnim and Stroulia
developed a methodology that combines several Machine
Learning (ML) algorithms to recognize depression more accurately
using acoustic cues. A realistic scenario is to have people
use an app that will collect voice samples as they speak naturally.
"The app, running on the user's phone, will recognize and
track indicators of mood, such as depression, over time. Much
like you have a step counter on your phone, you could have a
depression indicator based on your voice as you use the phone,"
said Stroulia. Depression is ranked by WHO as the single
largest contributor to global disability. It is also the major contributor
to suicide deaths.
The ultimate goal, said researchers, is to develop meaningful
applications from this technology. Such a tool could prove useful
to support work with care providers or to help individuals
reflect on their own moods over time.

www.theasianindependent.co.uk
NEWS
July 2019
21
RESPECT right to CHOICE and
develop constitutional morality
Social media saw backlash to the
incident when Zaira Wasim, the young
actress who got famed from film
Dangal informed public through her
twitter handle that she was leaving the
tinsel world and returning to her religious
roots. There were several arguments.
The first one, were the ‘progressive’
Sanghis, who attacked her and
wrote as if she has turned ‘radical
Islamist’. The others were ‘secular’
‘liberals’ like Barkha Dutt and others
who felt that Zaira’s action would hurt
the prospectus of the Muslim girls
aspiring to do ‘something’. Then, there
were Muslim friends who felt that she
has done the right thing and the fourth
were again the ‘secular’ ‘liberal’
Muslims who felt that Ziara’s act has
hurt the community which is under
tremendous pressure from the right
wing Hindus.
Now, at one go, for us, it is a very
personal choice and does not matter.
Why should we care too much if an
individual find salvation in his religion
or not in it. What does it affect ? Why
should Ziara’s becoming ‘religious’
hurt the prospectus of other Muslim
girls. It is the same story as if the
prospectus of the Muslim women grew
multifold after the entry of Waheeda
Rehman, Mumtaz or Zeenat Aman, in
the film Industry. The hypocrisy of the
Barkha Dutt kind of people is that none
of them have ever written about why
Islamabad/New Delhi,
Improving cross-border connectivity
and trade, peopleto-people
exchanges and
educational collaboration
were among the subjects discussed
at the two-day civil
society-led Track-II dialogue
between India and Pakistan
in Islamabad, the first such
initiative after the Pulwama
terror attack that soured relations
between the two neighbouring
countries. The dialogue,
titled ‘Beyond
Politics and Polemics New
Beginning on a Difficult
Trail’, has been convened by
the Islamabad-based
Regional Peace Institute
(RPI). According to media reports, six delegates
from India are participating in the
dialogue that concludes on Saturday.
“There is no official-level representation
from India. It is a purely a civil society-led
initiative,” a source told IANS here.
Raoof Hasan, founder of the Regional
Peace Institute, was quoted as saying:
“Track-II diplomacy is the first step to
improve relations between the governments
of both the countries,” and added
that the main objective of the talks was to
bring the youth of the two countries
towards peace. Hasan also tweeted: “Here
we are finally trying to untangle the tricky
the young Hindu girls are now
becoming Sadhvis or for that matter
and then delivering hatefull speeches.
And will the people who go to
listen to these young Sadhvis like
Radhe Ma, aspire to become like her or
just go to out of pure superstitions or
other business interests. How many of
them write when a 12 year old Jain girl
Khushi, who got 97% marks in her
sixth class,decided to become a monk,
in Surat, earlier in May this year. Why
there were no hue and cries over this
absolute violation of child right. And
among Jains, there are many such stories
but we never called Jains one of the
most conservative communities and
such traditions as absolutely uncalled
for in the modern world.
If we go by the narrative in the
media, Khushi Shah was being termed
as a wonder girl who has left all the
‘good things’ of life. Her father felt
proud of her. How many TV channels
ran the show and took on to the leaders
of Jain community for such practice.
Khushi was clearly a child of 12 and
National Child Rights Commission
should have investigated the matter.
Zaira is still a major unlike Khushi
but our media which is purely a Bania
media in todays time, has only one
agenda which is to construct stories
about Muslims. If there is none, then
they want to construct it and then
debate on it to put continuous pressure
knot! It is always the scent of possibilities
that sustains my hope for the future. Let’s
do a toast to a tomorrow of peace and reconciliation.”
Pakistan’s Parliamentary Secretary for
Foreign Affairs Andleeb Abbas, addressing
the talk on Saturday, stressed on greater
people to people contacts between the two
neighbours to normalise the bilateral relationship.
Abbasi said the 770 million youth on
both sides of the border are a “ray of hope”
and by bringing them together a paradigm
shift can be brought in the bilateral relationship
between the two countries. She
on the community and portray it a purely
medieval community without any
sense of modernity.
The problem is not merely the right
wing Sanghi trolls but also the self proclaimed
guardians
of Indian culture.
Recently, a West
Bengal TMC leader
and now a member of parliament, Ms
By Vidya Bhushan Rawat
social and human rights activist
Indo-Pak civil society-led dialogue held
in Islamabad, first after Pulwama
Nusrat Jahan was trolled. Nusrat married
to a Jain business man and was
seen in traditional bridal attire with her
partner. There are
two kinds of reactions
also said that great
trade potential exists
between the two
nations which needs to
be explored. Abbasi
said that Prime
Minister Imran Khan
has consistently been
giving the message of
peace to India, adding
that war is not a solution
to any problem
and conflicts can only
be resolved through
peace and negotiations.
The second round of
the dialogue will be
held in New Delhi in
September this year.
The theme of the first session was ‘With
young leading the charge — discovering
new paths for reconciliation & progress’,
while the second session was on ‘Moving
to overcome challenges — formulating a
vision of the future’. Another session was
themed ‘Commonality of stakes —
Connectivity as the gateway to development.’
Pakistan Foreign Secretary Sohail
Mahmood is slated to address the participants
of the dialogue later on Saturday,
media reports said. The dialogue comes
ahead of a meeting on Sunday between the
officials of both sides at Wagah on the
Kartarpur corridor.
particularly
Kathmandu : The death toll
in the Nepal floods and landslides
caused by torrential rain
has increased to 43, while 21
were reported missing and 26
others injured, authorities confirmed
on Sunday. The toll was
confirmed by the Home
Ministry, adding that 2,000
people had
been rescued
by
Saturday
evening, the
Kathmandu
Post reported.
Since
Thursday
evening, the Himalayan nation
has witnessed heavy rainfall in
an indication of the changing
rainfall pattern, data from
Simara station of the
Meteorological Forecasting
Division revealed The country
is receiving more rainfall in a
short duration of time, an
abnormal phenomenon that is
slowly becoming a new normal,
the data added.
Simara station received the
highest rainfall in the latest wet
spell. In the 24-hour period
since Thursday evening,
Simara recorded 311.9 mm
related to their dress. Some Hindus said
that there was a Fatwa against her for
wearing sindoor and mangalsutra after
the marriage. The ‘seculars’ were
defending her that she was ‘progressive’
as she crossed ‘religious boundary’
and is an example that Muslims too
can ‘respect’ and ‘celebrate’ Hindu culture.
The problem lies not in Zaira’s or
Nusrat’s personal choices but in our
attempt to ‘define’ them according to
our convenience. Nusrat and Zaira have
their choices. Just by going back to
Islam Zaira does not become regressive
in the very similar way just by wearing
Sindoor and mangal sutra does not
make Nusrat a champion of secularism
or Indian culture. Fact of the matter is
Sindoor and Mangalsutra are not at all
symbol of women’s empowerment but
symbol of regressive anti woman brahmanical
culture.
It is time for all of us to get out of
this ‘defining’ others. Let the people
enjoy their choices whether they are
religious or non religious. India, ultimately,
will have to work on constitutional
morality as only that would
ensure rights for all as well as unity and
integrity of our nation.
Vidya Bhushan Rawat is a social
and human rights activist. He blogs
at www.manukhsi.blogspot.com
twitter @freetohumanity
Email: vbrawat@gmail.com
Toll in Nepal floods,
landslides reach 43
rainfall, according to the
Meteorological Forecasting
Division. The Simara station
also surpassed its own extreme
rainfall in 24 hours for July.
The last incident of extreme
precipitation in 24 hours was
266.4 mm in July 16, 1978.
Different districts on
Saturday
also saw
devastation
and destruction
by
floods and
landslides
triggered by
incessant
rainfall,
reports the Kathmandu Post.
Parts of the capital
Kathmandu have been left submerged
under floodwaters. In
Province 2, around 80 per cent
of the land has been inundated,
while 15 houses were swept
away in Saptari and 2,500
houses inundated. Until
Saturday, 1,500 families had
been displaced. In Morang,
waters from the swollen
Bakraha, Lohandra, Judi,
Singhiya and Keshliya, among
other rivers, gushed into nearby
settlements, displacing around
4,000 people.

22 July 2019
WORLD
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
Pakistani mafia uses
bribes, blackmail to
pressure judiciary: PM
Islamabad, Pakistan Prime Minister
Imran Khan on Saturday likened his country’s
money laundering suspects to the
Sicilian mafia, saying they also use bribes,
threats and blackmail to pressurize state
institutions and the judiciary to protect
their money illegally stashed abroad. His
remark came in a tweet accompanied by a
four-year-old news article about a testimony
given by former Italian President
Giorgio Napolitano during a trial regarding
bombings carried out by mobsters in the
1990s, the Dawn reported.
Napolitano was reported to have told
prosecutors that the attacks were a form of
“extortion or outright pressure aimed at
destabilising the entire system”. The
bombings had allegedly led to high-ranking
Italian ministers negotiating with the
Sicilian mafia to end the violence in
exchange for softer jail sentences and better
conditions in prison for convicted mobsters.
“In a similar vein to the ‘Sicilian
mafia’, the Pakistani mafia uses tactics of
bribe, threat, blackmail and begging to
pressurize state institutions and judiciary in
order to protect their billions of money
laundering stashed abroad,” Khan wrote on
Twitter. Although the Prime Minister did
not name any individual or political party,
his observation comes a day after
Accountability Judge Arshad Malik
London, US President
Donald Trump abandoned the
Iran nuclear deal to spite his
predecessor Barack Obama,
claimed a new leaked memo
written by Kim Darroch, the
UK’s former ambassador to
the US. According to the Mail
newspaper on Sunday, the
memo was written after
the then Foreign
Secretary Boris Johnson
appealed to the US in
2018 to stick with the
nuclear deal, the BBC
reported. Citing the
leaked memo, the newspaper
said that after
Johnson returned to the
UK from the US, Darroch
wrote that President
Trump appeared to be
abandoning the nuclear deal
for “personality reasons”
because the pact had been
agreed by Obama.
The former British
Ambassador is said to have
highlighted splits amongst US
presidential advisors and that
the White House did not have
a “day-to-day” strategy of
what to do following withdrawal
from the deal.
The Mail newspaper
reported that Darroch wrote a
claimed in an affidavit that he was offered
Rs 500 million cash bribe by former Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif’s son, Hussain
Nawaz, who demanded that the judge
resign on the grounds that he “could no
longer deal with the guilt of having convicted”
his father under duress in the Al-
Azizia/Hill Metal Establishment reference
in December 2018.
On July 6, Pakistan Muslim League-
Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President and
Nawaz Sharif’s daughter, Maryam Nawaz,
had opened a Pandora’s box with a startling
Trump scrapped Iran deal to
spite Obama: New leak claims
memo to Johnson, saying:
“The outcome illustrated the
paradox of this White House:
you got exceptional access,
seeing everyone short of the
President; but on the substance,
the administration is
set upon an act of diplomatic
vandalism, seemingly for ideological
and personality reasons
– it was Obama’s deal.
“Moreover, they can’t
articulate any ‘day-after’
strategy; and contacts with
State Department this morning
suggest no sort of plan for
reaching out to partners and
allies, whether in Europe or
the region.” The latest disclosure
comes despite a warning
from Scotland Yard to the
media about publishing
leaked diplomatic memos, the
BBC reported. They warned
that journalists who released
further details of the former
Ambassador’s communications
could be in breach of the
Official Secrets Act. The first
memos, which emerged
exactly a week ago on July 7,
saw the then UK Ambassador
refer to the Trump
administration as “clumsy
and inept”, which
prompted a furious
response from the US
President, who described
Darroch as “a very stupid
guy” with whom he
would no longer deal.
The UK government
launched an internal
Whitehall inquiry into
the publication following
the reports. But Darroch
stepped down as US ambassador
on Wednesday, saying it
was “impossible” for him to
continue.
Following his resignation
police launched a criminal
investigation into the origins
of the leak with Scotland
Yard’s
Assistant
Commissioner Neil Basu saying
there was a “clear public
interest” in bringing those
responsible to justice.
claim that Malik had “confessed” that he
had been “pressurized and blackmailed” to
convict her father in the Al-Azizia reference.
A video containing the judge’s
alleged confession during his conversation
with a ‘sympathiser’ of the PML-N, Nasir
Butt, was screened at a presser. The next
day, the judge denied the allegation and
being under any pressure, but admitted that
Butt was an acquaintance.
On Saturday, Maryam was quick to hit
back at the Prime Minister’s insinuation
that members of the country’s opposition
acted as a “mafia”. “You’re a part of the
mafia that pressurizes judges into targeting
and punishing your political opponents. It
is you who used the institutions to settle
scores with your opponents and defaced
and maligned them in the process. Shame
on you,” she replied to Khan’s tweet. In a
second tweet in Urdu, she alleged that the
Prime Minister was “part of the heinous
conspiracy that was staged to punish
Nawaz Sharif and keep him out of the
field”.
To continue the war of words, Khan
tweeted: “The poverty of the people is the
actual cause of the devastation and ruination
of a country; and the main cause of the
poverty of the people is the desire of its
ruler and officers to amass wealth and possessions
whether by fair or foul means.”
Trump decides not to impose
quotas on uranium imports
Washington, US President
Donald Trump announced that
he would not impose quotas on
uranium imports despite
Department of Commerce’s
findings that foreign uranium
poses a threat to national security.
“At this time, I do not concur
with the Secretary’s finding
that uranium imports
threaten to impair
the national security
of the US as defined
under section 232 of
the Act,” Trump said
in a presidential
memorandum
released late Friday,
referring to the
Trade Expansion Act
of 1962, the Xinhua
news agency reported. The
announcement marked a division
from the previous position
of the US President, who has
slapped tariffs on imported
steel and aluminum products
and threatened to levy auto tariffs
citing Section 232 investigation.
“Although I agree that the
Secretary’s findings raise significant
concerns regarding the
impact of uranium imports on
the national security with
respect to domestic mining, I
find that a fuller analysis of
national security considerations
with respect to the entire
nuclear fuel supply chain is
necessary at this time,” Trump
said. The US currently imports
approximately 93 per cent of its
commercial uranium, compared
to 85.8 per cent in 2009.
According to data from the US
Energy Information
Administration, the majority of
imported uranium comes from
Canada, Australia, Russia and
Kazakhstan. In its report submitted
to the President in April,
Commerce Secretary Wilbur
Ross said foreign state-owned
companies “distorted
global prices” and
made it more difficult
for domestic
mines to compete.
Trump demanded
that a working group
develop recommendations
for reviving
and expanding
domestic nuclear fuel
production within 90
days. The Trump administration
has repeatedly invoked the
previously seldom-used
Section 232, drawing strong
opposition from domestic and
international business community.
The investigation in foreign
uranium is not initiated by the
Trump administration by itself,
but was requested by two US
uranium mining companies,
Ur-Energy Inc. and Energy
Fuels Inc.
American nuclear power
plants, however, opposed
restricting the imports of uranium,
fearing that they would
face a higher cost if quotas
went into effect, especially
when their market share has
already been encroached by
shale gas and wind energy
companies.

www.theasianindependent.co.uk
WORLD
July 2019
23
Proposing overhaul of MSP
operation: Niti Aayog Member
New Delhi : With the focus of
the government squarely on reviving
agriculture and increasing farm
incomes as highlighted in the
Interim Budget presented in
February, there is widespread
expectation of more sops for the
distressed sector. On the eve of the
full Union Budget 2019-20, IANS
publishes an interview with Niti
Aayog Member Ramesh Chand on
reforms needed in the agriculture
sector. He has been responsible for
most of the inputs from the NITI
Aayog towards government policies
relating to agriculture. He is
also the driving force behind the
government's target of doubling of
farmers' income.
The Price Deficiency Scheme:
Q: Looking at low farmer
incomes and given the agricultural
distress in the country, you had
recommended a revised Bhavantar
scheme to the government in 2018.
Has this been accepted by the
states and what is the status of this
scheme? How is it different from
that of the past?
A: Yes, we are proposing an
overhaul of how Minimum
Support Price (MSP) operates
today. What I am suggesting is a
framework where immediately
after sowing, farmers who wish to
avail of MSP will register via a
portal. Here they can store details
of the crops they have decided to
sow, and the amount of acreage of
each crop. This will give a detailed
picture of the farmers' chosen
crop-mix. Now, the government
already monitors the price activity
of 3-4 key markets in each district.
Data is collected on the ruling
price of each crop in that specific
district. Then, we can calculate the
average price over a 7-8 week period.
If we find that the ruling average
price is lower than the MSP,
the government can pay the difference
to the farmer based on the
productivity of that specific district
and the farmer's own output. This
is advantageous because it will
involve minimal cost to make it
work.
In the current scenario, we find
that ruling prices are often far
lower than the MSPs assigned, and
the cost burden is also significant
for the exchequer. A narrowing of
the gap between ruling prices and
MSP would go a long way towards
controlling this. To limit this we
could earmark a certain amount to
the MSP depending upon historical
prices through which we can meet
70-80 per cent of deficiency.
Q: Given that the MSP is
applicable to 23 crops across several
states, you are proposing not
to increase the budget allocated
to address price differentials but
to utilize the available resources
more effectively. Is that right?
A: Yes, absolutely. We are calling
it the Price Deficiency Scheme.
In fact, it would prove far less costly,
compared to procurement
where you are paying out MSPs
for the entire volume. When you
are procuring, you also have other
costs associated with the process.
There is movement and storage of
crop followed by the final disposal
of the produce. This is an inefficient
process, and at best you can
break even but often you will be
paid less than that. If you look at
procurement models in India
through the FCI (Food Corporation
of India) or other kinds of procurement,
the cost can be as high as 20-
30 per cent of the produce at which
you are procuring. You will find
that the price deficiency in most
crops is not more than that, and
that is why it would prove to be a
more cost effective policy. Several
other countries have also adopted
it. China has done particularly well
with this structure.
Q: I believe the US has the
same scheme. But how effectively
do you think we can adopt
this?
Q: Yes you are right about the
US. They have had similar
schemes for a long time but we
must recall that they have much
better data on acreage and sales.
It is indeed a much more efficient
model, which we should follow
in totality. But first, we need
to ensure that the agricultural
markets are functioning competitively
to minimize the quantum
of support that is required. If
markets are not functioning
smoothly, the cost borne by
agencies will be inordinately
high and frankly, unaffordable.
It is crucial that we work
towards making markets more
competitive, so that any such
deficiency is minimized.
Distribution of agricultural
credit:
Q: One of the things at the
heart of farmer issues is the lack
of liberal credit and quick payments.
If we look at a crop like
sugarcane, these difficulties are
particularly acute where we find
a gap of even 6-9 months
between the sale of crops and settling
of dues. How can we
improve this?
A: The issue is that agricultural
credit is distributed very unevenly
across states. In some states, we
are supplying much more credit
than what is required for inputs
and labour costs. On the other
hand, some states are starved of
credit, particularly in the eastern
and central regions. Looking at the
data, we know that in some states
the farmer is getting multiple
loans. This is not in their interest in
the long run, since easy credit is
rarely spent on productive purposes.
Of vital importance is the saturation
of areas where low credit
levels prevail. We are addressing
this through new ways of institutional
credit.
Natural advantage and district-wise
planning?
Q: There has always been this
thinking that agricultural planning
and MSP pricing should
actually be done at the district or
even at a sub-district level. As an
organization, Niti Aayog has
focused on agriculture but not
on data collection at higher resolutions.
How would you respond
to this?
A: This demand has been made
many times before, and it has been
debated at length. I have personally
seen eminent economists like
Dandekar ji (V.M. Dandekar) and
Alagh saab ( Y.K Alagh) participate
in these discussions. One of
the purposes of MSP is to promote
efficiency in production. If we
were to start giving MSP based on
cost of production at a block level
or farmer level, then everyone
would be incentivized to produce
anything. If Kerala for example,
doesn't have an advantage in producing
wheat, it should not be
doing so. However, if you were to
link the MSP to underlying costs,
then Kerala would also produce
wheat. That may be Rs 5,000 per
quintal, or even be Rs 10,000. If
you were to start considering the
cost of production at the disaggregate
level, this would completely
distort the cropping pattern of this
country. Everyone would choose
the crop that guarantees the highest
MSP instead of responding to
demand signals. Instead of that,
when you zoom out and are considering
an all India price, you will
be sending a uniform signal to the
country that commodities should
only be grown in areas which are
best suited to them.
Q: But one of the counterarguments
could be that wheat and
rice is grown in the North to the
extent that it has led to a decline
in the water table and reduced
crop diversity. This is particularly
the case in Punjab, Haryana
and West Uttar Pradesh.
Q: Precisely. At one time,
when the country was hungry,
that was needed. Suitable placement
or not, we wanted to have
more food especially staples.
Now we are facing the consequences.
Sustainability is being
damaged since we have deviated
from the natural endowments of
a particular region. Crops which
have a competitive advantage
from a natural resource point of
view such as rainfall, soil type
and temperature must be grown.
Why is there so much more area
under paddy in Punjab than
what the region can afford? This
is because electricity is free.
Irrigation is the main input for
rice. Even though Bihar is more
suitable for rice cultivation. A
farmer in Punjab whether he
gets rainfall or not will grow it as
he doesn't have to pay for water.
In fact, he has a much more
assured water supply than a
farmer in Bihar.
Through this subsidy, the environment
to produce paddy has
been artificially created so that
there is an unfair advantage in a
place compared to the natural
choice. If we ensure the right kind
of pricing for water supply and
other appropriate subsidies, along
with expansion of MSP to alternative
crops it will lead to a correction
in the cropping pattern.
Keeping in mind the suitability criteria
of a crop is very important, or
we shall continue to pay a very
heavy price for it.
Q: But the expansion of MSP
and procurement of other crops
has not happened even though
the government has tried to do
this.
A: If you look at the total
responsibility taken by the Centre,
rice and wheat alone have a greater
share of the MSP burden than all
other crops combined. They do not
even come close. While the Centre
is committed to taking responsibility
for these critical crops, coarse
grains, pulses and oilseeds, it is
important that states should also
shoulder some responsibility.
Farmer interests are a concern to
both state as well as the Centre,
and the Centre is playing its part
through procurement and also
making MSP payouts. I think the
states' involvement is very important
coupled with competitive markets.
Only then will we have a
solution for low prices and
exploitative market practices.

24 July 2019
WORLD
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
Storm Barry weakens over Louisiana, flood alert remains
Washington : Tropical
Storm Barry has weakened to a
tropical depression as it crossed
the US state of Louisiana,
heading northwestwards,
although authorities are still
keeping residents on alert due
to the risk of flooding.
The storm, which developed
in the Gulf of Mexico and made
landfall on Saturday in
Louisiana after briefly attaining
hurricane status, is moving
slowly across the interior of the
state at between 8-17 km per
hour, Efe news quoted the
Weather Channel as saying on
Sunday.
Since Saturday, there has
been flooding along parts of the
Louisiana coastline with the
water level rising between two
and three feet above normal in
the coastal parishes of
Vermilion, Iberia and Saint
Mary. Despite the weakening
of the storm on Sunday, the
flooding alert remains in effect
in parts of Louisiana, as well as
in the states of Mississippi,
Alabama, Arkansas and
Tennessee. Lake Pontchartrain
New Delhi : The Delhi High Court on
Monday said that it will hear on July 22 a
plea against the Centre's delay in clearing
the name of Justice
Akil A. Kureshi as
Madhya Pradesh
High Court Chief
Justice.
A bench headed
by Chief Justice
Ranjan Gogoi
asked the petitioner
Gujarat High Court
Advocates Association to supply a copy of
the petition to Solicitor General Tushar
Mehta for assisting in the matter.
The advocates association said that the
government has not cleared the file for the
appointment of Justice Kureshi as
Madhya Pradesh High Court Chief
Justice. On May 10, the Supreme Court
was one of the areas most at
risk for flooding, although so
far the situation has not gotten
too bad and the lake has not
overflowed.
Mandeville city's Mayor
Donald J. Villere, told Efe news
that as of 5 a.m. on Sunday his
lakeside town only had one
street near the shore flooded.
He also said that the storm's
strong winds did not cause any
damage either, and - although
here and there a house's cellar
was flooded - there was little
else in the way of damage,
adding that nobody had to be
evacuated from their home and
SC to hear plea on Justice
Kureshi elevation on July 22
collegium headed by Chief Justice of
India Ranjan Gogoi had recommended
Justice Kureshi, currently the senior-most
judge at the Gujarat
High Court, as the
most suitable candidate
to be appointed
as the Chief Justice
of the Madhya
Pradesh High
Court. Disregarding
the recommendations
of the
Supreme Court collegium, the Centre
notified the appointment of Ravi Shanker
Jha as the acting Chief Justice of the
Madhya Pradesh High Court last month
after Justice Sanjay Kumar Seth retired on
June 9. The association has requested the
court to direct the Centre to implement the
collegium's resolution of May 10.
Delhi to provide free safety kits
to sanitation workers: Kejriwal
New Delhi : Delhi Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said his government
will provide free safety kits to
sanitation workers, hoping there will be
no sewer deaths in the city in future.
Speaking at a workshop organised
by the Delhi Jal Board
(DJB) on sewer safety and
awareness of the field level
sewer workers, Kejriwal said the
safety kit will be given to every
worker who works for the cleaning
of the sewers. "We will
ensure that free kit is given to
everyone so that even if the contractor
doesn't provide you with the gear, you use
your own gear to stay safe," said Kejriwal,
who is also the Chairman of DJB.
The Chief Minister also administered
oath of safety and security to the workers.
The oath said that no worker will enter
any sewer without proper safety gear and
will take proper care of safety.
"The death of a worker while cleaning
sewers is very saddening. We have to end
this; we have to do this together. This can't
be achieved by Delhi government or Delhi
Jal Board alone, this can be done
only when we all work towards
it," said the Chief Minister.
Kejriwal said the workshop and
training is being done to ensure
that no one dies after getting into
sewers to clean them. "Be it any
worker of DJB or of contractor,
any worker who gets in a sewer
for cleaning must have a proper safety
gear. It is not only the government's job,
but you also have to make sure that you
don't get down in the sewer without the
safety gear. Don't think that it's a twominute
job and take the risk; please be
safe and wear the safety gear before you
enter any sewer," he said.
the electricity did not go off.
Although there had been little
damage in Mandeville,
Villere was being cautious and
advising local residents to
remain in their homes.
Louisiana Governor John
Bel Edwards on Twitter repeated
his recent call to the public
to exercise caution, noting that
state residents still have several
hours of rain ahead, with the
possibility of tornadoes and
other severe weather conditions.
Currently, there are some
126,560 local residents without
electric power in Louisiana,
according to the latest figures
provided by the
Poweroutage.us Web page.
One of the power companies
operating in the state, Entergy
Louisiana, reported on its
Twitter account that 65,000 of
its customers were without
electricity and that total had
risen to nearly 85,000 at Barry's
worst moments. The National
Hurricane Centre said that the
main threat of the storm at this
point is intense rain and possible
flooding in Louisiana and
up into the Mississippi River
valley.
Authorities so far have not
reported any deaths or injuries
from the storm, although the
material damage has been put
at billions of dollars.
AccuWeather estimates that
damage and economic losses
from Barry ultimately will total
between $8 billion and $10 billion.
Before making landfall
near Intercoastal City,
Louisiana, Barry briefly
became a Category 1 hurricane,
the first of the Atlantic hurricane
season, only to weaken to
a tropical storm.
The storm is presently packing
maximum sustained winds
of 56 kph, is moving north at 9
mph and is expected to reach
Arkansas on Monday.
The Atlantic hurricane season
officially began on June 1,
but on May 20 a subtropical
storm dubbed Andrea developed
south-southeast of
Bermuda, quickly weakening
and causing no damage.
The current forecast by
Colorado State University,
released last week, is that this
Atlantic hurricane season will
see an "average" number - 14 -
tropical storms, six of which
will become hurricanes. In
2005, Louisiana was walloped
by Hurricane Katrina, which
killed more than 1,800 people,
mostly in New Orleans.