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<strong>Issue</strong> No : <strong>107</strong><br />
Email: editor@canadianparvasi.com Contact Number : 905-673-0600 August 16, 2019 | Toronto | Pages 12<br />
PM: ‘Population explosion a worry’,<br />
govt schemes needed to control it<br />
I-Day Speech: ‘If Art 370 Was So Crucial, Why Did Ruling Parties Keep It Temporary & Not Make It Permanent In Last 70 Yrs?’<br />
New Delhi: PM Modi<br />
on Thursday placed the<br />
issue of “population explosion”<br />
on the national<br />
front-burner, calling it a<br />
challenge and exhorting<br />
the Centre and states to<br />
devise schemes to tackle<br />
it.<br />
In his Independence<br />
Day speech from the Red<br />
Fort, Modi said the rising<br />
population was a cause<br />
for worry and posed new<br />
challenges. He said citizens<br />
with small families<br />
needed to be held up as<br />
role models as their decision<br />
was an expression<br />
of patriotism and love for<br />
the nation.<br />
Modi’s reference to<br />
“population explosion”<br />
came as a surprise as it is<br />
after a long interval that<br />
a PM has given the issue<br />
any prominence. It also<br />
marked a break from the<br />
pattern over the past 10-<br />
15 years where the bulging<br />
numbers were seen<br />
as an asset, with the term<br />
“demographic dividend”<br />
deployed to underline<br />
the benefits they could<br />
No FIR against Dalit<br />
protesters: CM<br />
Jalandhar: Having already<br />
supported the Dalit<br />
activists who organised<br />
Punjab bandh yesterday,<br />
Chief Minister Capt Amarinder<br />
Singh today said no<br />
FIRs would be registered<br />
against them for blocking<br />
the highways for eight to<br />
10 hours during the bandh.<br />
Giving a leeway to the<br />
protestors, who were agitating<br />
against the demolition<br />
of Guru Ravidas Temple<br />
in Delhi, the CM, who<br />
was with minister Charanjit<br />
Singh Channi, said, “We<br />
have to look from case to<br />
case. <strong>The</strong>re has to be a<br />
basis to register a case.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Dalits were emotionally<br />
disturbed. It was their<br />
500-year-old temple which<br />
was demolished. It could<br />
have been a church or a<br />
mosque too. It was all reactionary.”<br />
Continued on page 08<br />
bring.<br />
<strong>The</strong> other big theme<br />
in his speech was predictably<br />
the decision to<br />
do away with J&K’s special<br />
status and to create<br />
the Union territories of<br />
J&K and Ladakh. <strong>The</strong><br />
dream of “one nation,<br />
one Constitution” has<br />
been realised and those<br />
who oppose it should explain<br />
why they did not<br />
make Article 370 permanent<br />
while in office, he<br />
said.<br />
Talking about population<br />
control, Modi focused<br />
on the disadvantages<br />
of unrestrained<br />
numbers. “If the population<br />
is not educated, not<br />
healthy, then neither<br />
the home nor the country<br />
can be happy. If the<br />
population is educated,<br />
empowered and skilled<br />
and has adequate means<br />
available to achieve the<br />
right ambience to fulfil<br />
their wishes and needs,<br />
then, I think, the country<br />
can fulfil these things,”<br />
Modi said.<br />
Continued on page 10<br />
Mega discounts as nursing seats go begging in Punjab<br />
Faridkot : As 4,000 of the total<br />
5,500 BSc nursing seats in 109 Punjab<br />
institutes are likely to go vacant,<br />
private colleges have been pulling<br />
out all the stops to attract students<br />
for the new session beginning this<br />
month.<br />
From complete waiver of first<br />
semester fee to reduced overcall<br />
charges under scholarship category,<br />
Dwindling numbers<br />
• 22 institutes haven’t got even a<br />
single new admission<br />
• 25 institutes have secured one or<br />
two fresh admissions<br />
• 10 colleges have been able to get<br />
three students each — 109 institutes<br />
in all in state<br />
the colleges have been doling out varied<br />
sops to woo new entrants. Among<br />
the other catchy discounts are 50 per<br />
cent cut in transportation and hostel<br />
fee and two-wheelers at the end of the<br />
course for those paying the entire<br />
fee in one instalment. Some colleges<br />
have even hired commission agents<br />
to contact the students with offers.<br />
Continued on page 08<br />
For advertimesment in<br />
Contact : 905-673-0600
<strong>The</strong> International News Weekly Canada<br />
August 16, 2019 | Toronto 02<br />
Minister Hajdu was delighted to meet with employers and youth that are benefiting from the program and hear about their experience. Visit with Ruby Sahota,<br />
Member of Parliament for Brampton North, at Heart Lake Conservation Area, 10818 Heart Lake Rd, Brampton, Ontario, Visit with Iqra Khalid, Member of Parliament<br />
for Mississauga–Erin Mills at Student Centre, Room 100 University of Toronto Mississauga Campus 3359 Mississauga Rd Mississauga, Ontario and also<br />
visited at Meadowvale Community Centre, 6655 Glen Erin Dr, Mississauga, Ontario with Gagan Sikand, Member of Parliament for Mississauga–Streetsville<br />
Lower Drug Prices To Make<br />
Patended Medicines More<br />
Affordable For Bramptonians<br />
Brampton, ON— <strong>The</strong><br />
deputy mayor of a northern<br />
Manitoba town at<br />
the centre of a massive<br />
manhunt said it will be<br />
a long time before things<br />
in the community return<br />
to normal.<br />
Last week, the Government<br />
of Canada announced<br />
the final amendments<br />
to the Patented<br />
Medicines Regulations.<br />
<strong>The</strong> most significant reforms<br />
to the regulations<br />
since their introduction<br />
in 1987. Millions of<br />
<strong>Canadian</strong>s rely on prescription<br />
drugs to stay<br />
healthy, manage chronic<br />
conditions and cure disease—yet<br />
they pay some<br />
of the highest prices in<br />
the world.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se amendments<br />
will change the "basket"<br />
of countries we compare<br />
ourselves to when setting<br />
drug prices, so that<br />
prices here are judged<br />
against countries that<br />
actually look like Canada<br />
in terms of population,<br />
economy and approach to<br />
health care. <strong>The</strong>se changes<br />
will also provide the<br />
PMPRB with the actual<br />
market price of medicines<br />
in Canada—rather<br />
than inflated list or<br />
"sticker" price—to more<br />
accurately assess whether<br />
a price is reasonable<br />
when setting a price<br />
ceiling.Finally, they will<br />
let the PMPRB consider<br />
whether the price of a<br />
drug actually reflects the<br />
value it has for patients.<br />
This suite of measures,<br />
which the Government<br />
is implementing to<br />
lay the groundwork for<br />
National Pharmacare, is<br />
the foundation of a<br />
system that enables<br />
all <strong>Canadian</strong>s to get<br />
and afford the medicines<br />
they need.<br />
Quotes<br />
“I want to thank<br />
the Minister of<br />
Health for this historic<br />
step in terms<br />
of pharmaceutical<br />
reform in Canada.<br />
Bramptonians, year<br />
after year have<br />
voiced their concerns<br />
about the rising cost<br />
of pharmaceuticals<br />
and I am proud to be<br />
part of a government<br />
that listened to them<br />
and has brought<br />
about changes that<br />
will save <strong>Canadian</strong>s<br />
billions of dollars<br />
over the next<br />
decade.” – Kamal<br />
Khera, Member of<br />
Parliament, Brampton<br />
West.” – Kamal<br />
Khera, Member of<br />
Parliament, Brampton<br />
West<br />
"Today, we take the<br />
biggest step to lower drug<br />
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Building on the progress<br />
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lower drug prices,<br />
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both make prescription<br />
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and accessible for all <strong>Canadian</strong>s—saving<br />
them an<br />
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and lay the foundation<br />
for National Pharmacare."<br />
- <strong>The</strong> Honourable<br />
Ginette Petitpas Taylor,<br />
Minister of Health<br />
Resources: One picture<br />
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Member of Parliament<br />
(Brampton West).<br />
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<strong>The</strong> International News Weekly Canada<br />
August 16, 2019 | Toronto<br />
03<br />
Wow!!! A GREAT turnout this weekend at Bolton Midnight Madness!!<br />
Bolton was packed with joyful residents and the streets were filled with lots of food, music and games for everyone! BIA also<br />
known as Business Improvement Area of downtown Bolton, had their very own booth. <strong>The</strong>y gave back to Bolton residents with many<br />
awesome prizes. Bolton’s very own Regional Councilor, Annette Groves won one of the many prizes!!! Jotvinder Sodhi, Verona Teskey<br />
congratulate Tony Rosa Councilor& Annete Groves Regional Councilor for organizing such a wonderful event!!<br />
Director of BIA Bolton and community advocate;<br />
Jotvinder Sodhi along with Verona Teskey and<br />
Shirley Hoppler giving Regional Councilor, Annette<br />
Groves a prize.<br />
Bolton Resident receiving prize<br />
Streets of Bolton filled with residents enjoying the Midnight<br />
Madness in Downtown Bolton.<br />
Ethics boss Dion’s professional lifetime<br />
spent trying to make government work<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Canadian</strong> Press<br />
OTTAWA : Mario Dion’s<br />
appointment as ethics<br />
commissioner in 2017 was<br />
slammed by opposition<br />
MPs as “just ragingly incompetent<br />
and frustrating<br />
and cynical.”<br />
How can we trust you,<br />
they thundered. We weren’t<br />
consulted before you were<br />
hired. Your history in the<br />
civil service is checkered.<br />
“Are you tough, are you<br />
fair, are you a dog with a<br />
bone?” NDP MP Nathan<br />
Cullen asked Dion at a hastily-convened<br />
committee to<br />
review the appointment.<br />
While opposition parties<br />
may not have trusted<br />
the appointment, they certainly<br />
didn’t hesitate this<br />
week to trust the damning<br />
report Dion has now released<br />
on Prime Minister<br />
Justin Trudeau.<br />
In a withering review<br />
released Wednesday, Dion<br />
concluded the prime minister<br />
broke ethics law when<br />
he pressured Jody Wilson-<br />
Raybould, who was attorney<br />
general at the time, to<br />
halt the criminal prosecution<br />
of Montreal firm SNC-<br />
Lavalin. <strong>The</strong> firm is facing<br />
bribery charges related to<br />
its overseas work.<br />
Dion is not granting interviews<br />
at this time, his office<br />
said, noting the report<br />
speaks for itself.<br />
Speak it does. Sixtythree<br />
pages ripping apart<br />
the way Trudeau and his<br />
team went to bat for the engineering<br />
giant in a bid to<br />
Peel Regional Police <strong>Issue</strong> Warning<br />
Over Debit Card Fraud In Taxi Cabs<br />
Region of Peel– Investigators<br />
from the Peel Regional<br />
Police Fraud Bureau<br />
have arrested and charged<br />
three men in relation to debit<br />
card fraud in taxis.<br />
Fraud Bureau Officers<br />
have investigated several<br />
cases of debit card fraud<br />
targeting taxi riders in the<br />
GTA. <strong>The</strong> victims reported<br />
providing their debit card<br />
for payment, which is then<br />
switched with a previously<br />
compromised and maxed<br />
out debit card from the<br />
same bank belonging to another<br />
victim. <strong>The</strong> victims<br />
only realized their card was<br />
switched and belonged to<br />
someone else once they exited<br />
the taxi. All taxis involved<br />
in the incidents were flagged<br />
down and not dispatched.<br />
On Friday, August 9,<br />
2019, Mohsin Chaudhary,<br />
a 24 year-old man, was<br />
charged with six counts of<br />
Fraud Under $5,000.00, seven<br />
counts of Possess Credit<br />
Card Data and seven counts<br />
of Possession of Property<br />
Obtained by Crime.<br />
Muhammad Khan, a 20<br />
year-old man, was charged<br />
with Fraud under $5,000<br />
and Possession of Property<br />
Obtained by Crime. ShaisEjaz,<br />
a 22 year-old man, was<br />
charged with Fraud Under<br />
$5,000. All three men will appear<br />
at the Ontario Court of<br />
Justice in Brampton to answer<br />
to the charges.<br />
Investigators suggest<br />
that users of taxi cabs always<br />
keep their debit card<br />
in their possession and note<br />
down the taxi number and<br />
company.<br />
Anyone with information<br />
is asked to contact the<br />
Fraud Bureau at (905) 453–<br />
2121, ext. 3335.<br />
protect it from prosecution<br />
and in turn potential financial<br />
and political fallout.<br />
Trudeau has said he<br />
disagrees with some of the<br />
findings, but accepts responsibility.<br />
It’s a response<br />
that may or may not resonate<br />
with the 62-year-old<br />
Dion, who described his<br />
view of the relationship between<br />
his office and elected<br />
officials in a speech at York<br />
University last year.<br />
“Public officials and<br />
ethics commissioners are<br />
not adversaries,” he said.<br />
“<strong>The</strong>y must work together<br />
to uphold the highest<br />
standards of integrity<br />
in support of the effective<br />
functioning of democracy<br />
in Canada.”<br />
Dion joined the civil<br />
service in the 1980s in the<br />
Justice department, moving<br />
up to a succession of top<br />
jobs in three arms-length<br />
government agencies: the<br />
Ottawa: Canada's ethics<br />
watchdog slammed Prime<br />
Minister Justin Trudeau<br />
on Wednesday, concluding<br />
in the lead-up October elections<br />
that he broke rules by<br />
arm-twisting his attorney<br />
general to settle a criminal<br />
case against engineering giant<br />
SNC-Lavalin.<br />
<strong>The</strong> scandal, revealed<br />
earlier this year, tarnished<br />
the prime minister's golden<br />
boy image, cost two ministers<br />
and two senior officials<br />
their jobs and plunged his<br />
Liberals into a dead heat<br />
Parole Board, the Commissioner<br />
of Public Integrity<br />
and the Immigration and<br />
Refugee Board.<br />
Those appointments<br />
came from both Liberal and<br />
Conservative governments,<br />
a fact he took pains to point<br />
out when his appointment<br />
to the ethics job was questioned.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Liberals had<br />
promised to consult before<br />
filling the post, but instead<br />
just informed the other parties<br />
that Dion was going to<br />
be the one. That, coupled<br />
with an auditor general’s<br />
report finding “gross mismanagement”<br />
in the handling<br />
of two files under<br />
Dion’s watch as the Commissioner<br />
of Public Integrity,<br />
saw some MPs question<br />
whether he was the right fit<br />
for the ethics post.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re were also concerns<br />
he wouldn’t follow<br />
through with investigations<br />
already underway<br />
with the opposition Conservatives<br />
in the polls.<br />
Independent parliamentary<br />
ethics commissioner<br />
Mario Dion said Trudeau<br />
and his officials had wrongly<br />
sought to "exert influence<br />
over the attorney general in<br />
her decision whether to intervene<br />
in a matter relating<br />
to a criminal prosecution."<br />
Trudeau must pay a<br />
small fine of up to Can$500<br />
(US$375) for contravening<br />
Canada's conflict of interest<br />
act, but with only two<br />
months before national<br />
when he took over. He was<br />
non-committal about them<br />
when asked, saying he<br />
wanted to review the work<br />
himself. He later said he<br />
would continue them all.<br />
That response may<br />
have reflected his earliest<br />
education: he was trained<br />
as a lawyer in Quebec,<br />
where codified laws guide<br />
decision making, not past<br />
decisions as in the common<br />
law system. So, he told the<br />
York University audience<br />
in 2018, he tends to focus<br />
first on what the law says,<br />
not how it was applied in<br />
the past.<br />
“I believe that rigour on<br />
the part of my office is very<br />
important,” he said.<br />
“We expect rigour from<br />
public office holders and<br />
members in meeting their<br />
obligations, and we exercise<br />
rigour in reviewing<br />
how they are meeting their<br />
obligations.”<br />
Canada's Trudeau rebuked<br />
on ethics ahead of election<br />
elections the political costs<br />
could be much steeper.<br />
Trudeau had steadfastly<br />
denied accusations that his<br />
inner circle sought to shield<br />
SNC-Lavalin from a corruption<br />
trial.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Montreal-based<br />
firm was charged in 2015<br />
with allegedly paying<br />
bribes to secure contracts<br />
in Libya.<br />
Attorney general Jody<br />
Wilson-Raybould refused to<br />
ask prosecutors to settle the<br />
case, and the trial is set to<br />
proceed.
<strong>The</strong> International News Weekly India<br />
August 16, 2019 | Toronto 04<br />
SKY IS NOT THE LIMIT FOR ISRO<br />
From the Satellite Telecommunication<br />
Experiments<br />
Project (STEP) that<br />
took the first televisions<br />
to Indian villages much<br />
before India officially had<br />
TVs to real-time satellitebased<br />
advisories being<br />
sent to fishermen nowadays,<br />
Indian Space Research<br />
Organisation (Isro)<br />
has led India’s development<br />
from the adolescence<br />
of Independence to present-day<br />
advancements.<br />
As the space agency<br />
prepares for another<br />
eventful year having successfully<br />
launched its second<br />
mission to Moon, it<br />
has achieved another major<br />
milestone. August 15,<br />
India’s 73rd Independence<br />
Day, also marks the golden<br />
jubilee year for Isro, which<br />
was founded on this day in<br />
1969. <strong>The</strong> year also marks<br />
the centenary year of Vikram<br />
Sarabhai, the father<br />
of the Indian space programme.<br />
When India’s space<br />
programme was first conceived,<br />
it had a clear priority<br />
that space science<br />
must first help its citizens,<br />
which is why the focus<br />
was on earth observation<br />
and communication. Vikram<br />
Sarabhai had once<br />
famously said, “We have<br />
no fantasies of landing<br />
people on Moon or studying<br />
planets.” This was not<br />
lack of ambition as much<br />
as it was a result of a different<br />
vision: Make India<br />
self-reliant using space<br />
technology.<br />
Today, space agency<br />
chairman K Sivan says:<br />
“Sarabhai’s vision that<br />
space science and technology<br />
must be used for<br />
the benefit of the common<br />
man has been the guiding<br />
force for Isro. And, all our<br />
programmes were centred<br />
around this vision, which<br />
led to several applications.”<br />
Another senior scientist,<br />
while claiming that<br />
Isro is still committed to<br />
meeting the growing demands<br />
of the common<br />
man, whether it is in the<br />
form of communication<br />
satellite, remote sensing or<br />
earth observation satellite,<br />
said that huge strides have<br />
been made by the space<br />
agency in the last 50 years.<br />
Isro, which was once<br />
depended heavily on foreign<br />
help to build and<br />
launch its satellites, today<br />
helps other countries<br />
launch their satellites. In<br />
fact, on February 15, 2017,<br />
the Indian agency had<br />
launched 104 satellites,<br />
mostly foreign, in one go,<br />
making a world record<br />
that still stands.<br />
In the past three years,<br />
Isro has launched 239 commercial<br />
satellites helping<br />
Isro’s commercial arm,<br />
Antrix Corporation, garner<br />
Rs 6,289 crore revenue.<br />
Today, it is able to rub<br />
shoulders with the best in<br />
the business. One example<br />
is Nasa-Isro Synthetic Aperture<br />
Radar (Nisar) project,<br />
in which, Isro is an<br />
equal partner with the US<br />
space agency and not an<br />
agency seeking Big Brother’s<br />
help.<br />
It is also planning a<br />
joint mission with Japan<br />
to explore Moon and another<br />
joint project with<br />
Nasa for Mars exploration.
<strong>The</strong> International News Weekly August 16, 2019 | Toronto<br />
05<br />
India to test deep-sea mining<br />
machine at 6,000m by yr-end<br />
Weeks after Chandrayaan-2<br />
ands on moon on September<br />
6 to explore, among<br />
other things, minerals on<br />
the lunar surface, an indigenous<br />
craft will plunge into<br />
the depths of the central Indian<br />
Ocean to search for better<br />
known minerals. This<br />
will be the first time India<br />
will be mining the seabed at<br />
a depth of 6,000 metres.<br />
A 12-tonne crawler with<br />
sensors, pumps and a crusher<br />
will be tested on the seabed<br />
filled with metals such<br />
as cobalt, nickel and copper,<br />
located around 6000km<br />
from the Indian shores. If<br />
the trials are successful, India<br />
will be the third country<br />
after China and Korea to develop<br />
technology for mining<br />
polymetallic nodules.<br />
M A Atmanand, director,<br />
National Institute of<br />
Ocean Technology (NIOT),<br />
which is developing the<br />
technology, said the system<br />
will be tested in phases<br />
from this year-end. By 2022,<br />
a prototype will be ready for<br />
trials. “<strong>The</strong> first stage test<br />
with the pumping system<br />
will collect nodules from the<br />
seabed.<br />
We will pump it out<br />
again in the same location,”<br />
he said. <strong>The</strong> test will also<br />
include locomotion trials of<br />
the seabed crawler.<br />
<strong>The</strong> search for potatoshaped<br />
polymetallic nodules<br />
or manganese nodules<br />
— a source of nickel, cobalt,<br />
copper, manganese and iron<br />
— will be in a 75,000sqkm<br />
region in the central Indian<br />
Ocean basin, where India<br />
has been exploring for minerals<br />
through a contract<br />
with the UN’s International<br />
Seabed Authority for 15<br />
years. <strong>The</strong> licence was extended<br />
for five years in 2017.<br />
According to NIOT scientists,<br />
the integrated mining<br />
system has a ship from<br />
which an intermediate<br />
pump station and the mining<br />
machine would be deployed.<br />
<strong>The</strong> systems will be<br />
linked through a cable and<br />
slurry hose.<br />
Prior to the deployment,<br />
an in-situ soil tester<br />
will evaluate the seabed<br />
to ensure it can withstand<br />
the load of the mining machine.<br />
Once the crawler is<br />
deployed, onboard systems<br />
will collect and crush the<br />
nodules into granules. It<br />
will be then pumped to the<br />
mothership where it will be<br />
segregated and transported<br />
to land.<br />
Scientists have to ensure<br />
the crawler lands<br />
on the seabed, traverses<br />
smoothly and collects the<br />
nodules at a crushing pressure<br />
that is nearly 600 times<br />
more than the atmospheric<br />
pressure. In an update, the<br />
ministry of earth sciences<br />
said the pressure is enough<br />
to crush a car in minutes.<br />
<strong>The</strong> underwater mining<br />
system was tested at 512m<br />
depth at Angira Bank off the<br />
Malvan coast in Maharashtra<br />
in 2010.<br />
<strong>The</strong> trials have been<br />
planned at a time when India<br />
is expected to launch the<br />
`10,000cr Deep Ocean Mission,<br />
an inter-ministerial<br />
effort, in October 2019. <strong>The</strong><br />
development of the mining<br />
machine as well as manned<br />
submersibles are some of<br />
the components of the mission.<br />
In July, NIOT signed a<br />
memorandum with Krylov<br />
State Research Centre in<br />
Russia to develop machines<br />
and technologies for deepsea<br />
mining.<br />
But why mine minerals<br />
in the ocean? “Government<br />
is focusing on blue economy<br />
in terms of sustainable use<br />
of ocean resources for economic<br />
growth.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Deep Ocean Mission<br />
will help in leveraging<br />
blue economy for economic<br />
growth,” said M Rajeevan,<br />
secretary, MoES, at a recent<br />
event.<br />
‘No First Use’ of nukes for now; circumstances<br />
to decide future course: Rajnath<br />
Mika Singh chants ‘Bharat Mata Ki<br />
Jai’ as he returns from Pakistan<br />
New Delhi : In a major<br />
development, Defence Minister<br />
Rajnath Singh on Friday<br />
said that India’s commitment<br />
to 'No First Use'<br />
(NFU) policy for nuclear<br />
weapons is for “now” but<br />
“what happens in future depends<br />
on the circumstances”.<br />
Singh was at Pokhran—<br />
the site of two of India’s nuclear<br />
tests—where he paid<br />
homage to former prime<br />
minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee<br />
on the latter’s first<br />
death anniversary.<br />
<strong>The</strong> last nuclear test<br />
conducted by India was in<br />
May 1998, when Vajpayee<br />
was PM.<br />
In a tweet Rajnath<br />
Singh said: “Pokhran is the<br />
area which witnessed Atal<br />
Ji’s firm resolve to make India<br />
a nuclear power and yet<br />
remain firmly committed<br />
to the doctrine of ‘No First<br />
Use’. India has strictly adhered<br />
to this doctrine. What<br />
happens in future depends<br />
on the circumstances.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> statement could be<br />
taken as an indication that<br />
NFU is under review.<br />
In the past, former defence<br />
minister Manohar<br />
Parrikar had suggested<br />
there should be ambiguity<br />
about nuclear policy to<br />
avoid “revealing our cards”.<br />
At the time, the government<br />
had clarified that the<br />
remark was made in a personal<br />
capacity.<br />
After Punjabi singer<br />
Mika Singh was banned<br />
by the Indian film industry<br />
for recently performing in<br />
Karachi, the singer posted<br />
a video thanking everyone<br />
for a warm welcome back in<br />
India.<br />
Donning a mustard t-<br />
shirt, in the video the singer<br />
can be seen waving at<br />
the crowd while chanting,<br />
“Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and<br />
“Vande Mataram”.<br />
<strong>The</strong> 43-year-old singer<br />
shared the video on Twitter,<br />
saying: “Bharat Mata<br />
ki Jai! Thank you everyone<br />
for such a warm welcome.<br />
Happy Independence Day<br />
once again and salute to our<br />
jawans.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y aren’t able to celebrate<br />
any festival, all to<br />
make our lives better. Jai<br />
hind...” Mika had reportedly<br />
performed at the wedding<br />
of the daughter of former<br />
Pakistan President Pervez<br />
Musharraf's cousin.<br />
A letter from AICWA<br />
president Suresh Shyamlal<br />
Gupta stated: "AICWA bans<br />
and boycott singer Mika<br />
Singh from the Indian film<br />
industry for performing at<br />
a high-profile event at Karachi<br />
dated August 8, 2019."<br />
"AICWA takes a tough<br />
stand of immediately boycotting<br />
all his association<br />
with movie production<br />
houses, music companies<br />
and online music content<br />
providers."
<strong>The</strong> International News Weekly Edit<br />
06<br />
August 16, 2019 | Toronto<br />
<strong>The</strong><br />
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Do What It Takes<br />
On 73rd Independence Day<br />
it is India’s economic future<br />
that is in focus<br />
<strong>The</strong> identity of this government is that it<br />
neither avoids problems nor lets them fester. So<br />
said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence<br />
Day address to the nation from the<br />
ramparts of the Red Fort. He was referring to<br />
the momentous decision to nullify Article 370. In<br />
this view, a temporary provision came to endure<br />
for seven decades because earlier governments<br />
lacked the courage for course correction. A like<br />
charge can be laid at the Modi government’s<br />
door, on the economy front.<br />
Signs of a worrying slowdown are all around.<br />
However, the PM says that every citizen should<br />
be dreaming of India becoming a five trillion dollar<br />
economy in the next five years, which means<br />
that instead of the usual incremental progress it<br />
is time to “jump high”. Such exponential progress<br />
requires confronting the problems that are<br />
holding up the economy.<br />
Indeed, the PM called for honouring wealth<br />
creators and touched on the need to expand exports,<br />
which implies a reversal of the current approach<br />
of piling on taxes, tariffs, harassment by<br />
tax agencies, high spectrum charges and the like<br />
– a ‘maximum government’ approach that ends<br />
up hobbling the global competitiveness of the<br />
Indian economy. One concrete outcome of the<br />
speech was Modi’s announcement of his government’s<br />
decision to deliver on the long pending<br />
demand for a chief of defence staff for the Indian<br />
armed forces – essential for its modernisation<br />
and integration and hanging fire since establishing<br />
such a post was recommended after the 1999<br />
Kargil war.<br />
If the PM’s first term was signatured by the<br />
Swachh Bharat campaign, a similar role in the<br />
second term may be performed by the Jal Shakti<br />
Abhiyan. With many areas suffering drought followed<br />
by flooding in recent months it is obvious<br />
that India’s water infrastructure and administration<br />
need a radical makeover. More efficient<br />
use of water is, indeed, a necessary ingredient<br />
for India’s economic revitalisation. For such revitalisation,<br />
and if India is to hit the $5 trillion<br />
target, the government must display decisiveness<br />
similar to that which it is willing to exhibit<br />
on the security front.<br />
It needs to get out of the business of running<br />
businesses, including most public sector banks,<br />
and to courageously reform the factor markets<br />
that have been making India increasingly uncompetitive.<br />
TNN<br />
Regain India’s Textile Glory<br />
How to reverse the slide in apparel exports and<br />
ride a high growth path<br />
Ajay Srivastava<br />
A look at last year’s<br />
apparel export figures<br />
is chastening. China exported<br />
$145 billion, Bangladesh<br />
$36 billion, Vietnam<br />
$33 billion and India<br />
a mere $17 billion. India<br />
is far behind China and<br />
steadily losing to smaller<br />
countries.<br />
<strong>The</strong> biggest reason is<br />
India’s near absence from<br />
the main product category<br />
that accounts for 70% of<br />
world trade in apparels –<br />
synthetic apparels. Today,<br />
most formal, sports and<br />
fashion wear uses synthetic<br />
fabrics. <strong>The</strong>y are durable,<br />
do not fade, can have<br />
any colour. Easy blending<br />
with wool, cotton, or rubber<br />
allows experimentation.<br />
Unsurprisingly, synthetics<br />
have overtaken<br />
cottons and become favourites<br />
of the fashion industry.<br />
With weak synthetics,<br />
India’s apparel industry is<br />
a horse running with one<br />
leg tied. <strong>The</strong> results are<br />
low exports, low wages,<br />
and low investments in<br />
the sector. Here is how.<br />
Globally cotton dominates<br />
spring and summer<br />
sales seasons. Synthetics<br />
and blends dominate<br />
autumn and winter seasons.<br />
Indian units run six<br />
months a year to produce<br />
cotton apparels. In the remaining<br />
six months, most<br />
units are shut or run at a<br />
low capacity as they do not<br />
have orders for synthetics/<br />
winter wear. Most<br />
workers go home.<br />
Also, a factory that<br />
runs only six months a<br />
year still has to pay the full<br />
year’s fixed costs – rent,<br />
salary for minimal staff,<br />
interest on loans, etc. This<br />
makes anything made in<br />
the factory expensive.<br />
Absence from synthetics<br />
also affects workers’<br />
wages. Winter wears are<br />
more expensive than informal<br />
cotton wear. So, at<br />
20% labour cost, a worker<br />
making a suit would earn<br />
more money than the<br />
worker making a blouse.<br />
Since India is mainly an<br />
informal cotton wear exporting<br />
country, wages<br />
remain at minimal levels.<br />
Entry into synthetics<br />
would make factories run<br />
full year, and increase<br />
wages manifold.<br />
Why is India weak in<br />
synthetics? Here are three<br />
major pain points.<br />
One, expensive raw<br />
material. India is almost<br />
a captive market for a few<br />
large firms that produce<br />
90% of the synthetics raw<br />
materials consumed in India.<br />
Domestic prices are<br />
tied to import prices. And<br />
imports are expensive because<br />
of high customs and<br />
anti-dumping duties on<br />
raw materials like PTA,<br />
PSF, PFY, acrylic fibers,<br />
etc. Duty-free imports to<br />
exporters offer some relief,<br />
but the domestic synthetics<br />
ecosystem remains<br />
stunted.<br />
Two, weak weaving<br />
and processing. <strong>The</strong> textile<br />
value chain consists<br />
of yarn making, weaving,<br />
fabric processing and apparel<br />
making. Weaving<br />
and fabric processing are<br />
the weak links that threaten<br />
to fragment this chain,<br />
forcing the export of yarn<br />
and import of fabric.<br />
Most weaving and processing<br />
units are small,<br />
informal units that lack<br />
expertise, scale and technology.<br />
Power outage and<br />
reduced capacity use doubles<br />
the cost of weaving in<br />
India, making it as expensive<br />
as in the EU or US.<br />
Fabric processing<br />
faces similar issues. Chinese<br />
units process 10 lakh<br />
metres of cloth a day, Indian<br />
units less than 20,000<br />
metres. For large orders,<br />
Indian units do batch<br />
processing that often results<br />
in output with varying<br />
shrinkage, feel and<br />
shades. Also, most Indian<br />
processors are struggling<br />
to meet the zero-liquid discharge<br />
(ZLD) norms set by<br />
Madras high court in 2011.<br />
Not surprisingly,<br />
while India is the number<br />
one yarn exporter (India<br />
23% share, China 13%)<br />
when it comes to fabrics,<br />
performance falls (India,<br />
6%, China 52%). Yarn sector<br />
has large units, while<br />
weaving and processing<br />
happen in small informal<br />
units.<br />
Three, low preparedness<br />
of Indian exporters<br />
to meet the demands of<br />
the fast fashion industry<br />
(FFI). Key FFI players are<br />
the low-cost retailers like<br />
Walmart, high fashion<br />
brands like Zara, H&M,<br />
Gap, and online-only retailers<br />
like Amazon, Zalando.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y conjure new<br />
fashion trends and convert<br />
designs into affordable<br />
clothing within a few<br />
weeks. Any delay means<br />
a change in fashion and<br />
the product ending into<br />
surplus. This forces FFI<br />
to place orders only with<br />
firms that deliver fast and<br />
are compliant with labour<br />
and other rules.<br />
Cost is an important<br />
issue. One metric used by<br />
FFI for making payments<br />
to apparel manufacturers<br />
is standard allowed minute<br />
(SAM). It measures<br />
the time taken in making<br />
a garment. FFI firms<br />
compare SAM across<br />
manufacturers and countries<br />
while placing orders.<br />
Skilled labour and the latest<br />
technology are a must<br />
to ensure a good SAM.<br />
80% of Indian exporters<br />
do not meet SAM or other<br />
requirements. A three step<br />
plan will unshackle the<br />
sector and set it on a high<br />
growth path.<br />
One, lower import duties<br />
on synthetics raw materials.<br />
Lower duties will<br />
bring down the prices by<br />
30% to 50%, almost at par<br />
with global prices. This<br />
would free the apparel<br />
industry to scale up and<br />
invest in synthetics. Without<br />
low import duties, the<br />
synthetics industry and<br />
hence exports cannot take<br />
off in a big way.<br />
Two, strengthen the<br />
weaving and processing<br />
segments. Only large units<br />
with the latest technology<br />
can meet the quality<br />
requirements. Setting up<br />
ten big scale weaving and<br />
processing units could be<br />
an annual goal. High investments<br />
in the latest machinery<br />
set Chinese industry<br />
on a high growth path.<br />
Three, take priority<br />
action to make more<br />
factories FFI compliant.<br />
<strong>The</strong> good news is India<br />
has about 1,200 compliant<br />
factories supplying cotton<br />
products to FFI and<br />
other large buyers. Many<br />
of these would invest in<br />
synthetics and export new<br />
products to the same set of<br />
buyers. Indian has a rich<br />
textile heritage with thousands<br />
of firms and skilled<br />
craftsmen. <strong>The</strong> suggested<br />
actions would make us a<br />
significant player in apparel<br />
trade. <strong>The</strong> industry<br />
engages 50 million people.<br />
Change will benefit everyone<br />
associated.<br />
Source Credit: This article<br />
was first published in <strong>The</strong><br />
Times of India. <strong>The</strong> writer is an<br />
Indian Trade Service officer.<br />
Views are personal<br />
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<strong>The</strong> International News Weekly world<br />
August 16, 2019 | Toronto<br />
07<br />
All 24 Indian crew aboard Iranian<br />
oil tanker released in Gibraltar<br />
London : All 24 Indian<br />
crew aboard VLCC Grace<br />
1, an Iranian oil tanker,<br />
have been released by Gibraltar<br />
authorities and<br />
are free to return to India,<br />
Minister of State for External<br />
Affairs V. Muraleedharan<br />
said on Thursday.<br />
In a tweet, Muraleedharan<br />
said: "Spoke to our<br />
High Commission in London.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y confirmed all 24<br />
Indian crew aboard VLCC<br />
Grace 1 have been released<br />
by Gibraltar authorities<br />
and are free to return to<br />
India."<br />
“I am grateful and<br />
thankful for my release.<br />
And I am grateful to all<br />
who have facilitated my<br />
release in my legal team,”<br />
the Captain of the Grace 1<br />
tanker said in a statement.<br />
A spokesman for Gibraltar’s<br />
government also<br />
confirmed that police<br />
proceedings against four<br />
members of the crew had<br />
ended.<br />
<strong>The</strong> arrested Indian<br />
crew members – the Master,<br />
Chief Officer and<br />
two Second Mates – were<br />
aboard the Panamaflagged<br />
supertanker that<br />
was detained off Europa<br />
Point in Gibraltar, a British<br />
Overseas Territory<br />
on the Spanish coast, last<br />
month. <strong>The</strong> Gibraltar authorities<br />
had said the vessel<br />
is loaded to capacity<br />
with crude oil enroute to<br />
Syria, in breach of European<br />
Union (EU) sanctions.<br />
But after a hearing in<br />
Gibraltar on Thursday,<br />
the local Supreme Court<br />
of the region ruled that the<br />
tanker should be released<br />
after formal written assurances<br />
from Iran that the<br />
ship would not discharge<br />
its cargo in Syria and<br />
therefore not be in breach<br />
of EU sanctions.<br />
“On 13 August, I received<br />
written assurance<br />
from the Republic of Iran<br />
that, if released, the destination<br />
of Grace 1 would<br />
not be an entity that is<br />
subject to European Union<br />
sanctions. I welcome that<br />
assurance. This is an important<br />
material change<br />
in the destination of the<br />
vessel and the beneficiary<br />
of its cargo,” said Fabian<br />
Picardo, Chief Minister of<br />
Gibraltar, a semi-autonomous<br />
British Overseas<br />
Territory.<br />
“Indeed, this assurance<br />
has the effect of ensuring<br />
that we have deprived the<br />
Assad regime in Syria of<br />
more than USD 140-million<br />
of valuable crude oil… In<br />
light of the assurances we<br />
have received, there are<br />
no longer any reasonable<br />
grounds for the continued<br />
legal detention of the<br />
Grace 1 in order to ensure<br />
compliance with the EU<br />
Sanctions Regulation,” he<br />
said.<br />
A total of 28 crew on<br />
board the vessel include<br />
majority Indians but also<br />
Russians, Latvians and<br />
Filipinos, who had spent<br />
over a month in detention<br />
on board the ship since it<br />
was seized in early July.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y should now be able<br />
to sail on to a destination<br />
agreed with Iran and the<br />
owner of the tanker – the<br />
National Iranian Oil Company.<br />
Picardo, who said he<br />
has been conducting consultations<br />
with the Iranian<br />
authorities for weeks<br />
in an effort to de-escalate<br />
the political tensions surrounding<br />
the seizure of<br />
the vessel, confirmed that<br />
the tanker has since been<br />
re-flagged under the flag of<br />
Iran and re-insured.<br />
He added: “Separately,<br />
the US Department of Justice<br />
has requested that a<br />
new legal procedure for<br />
the detention of the vessel<br />
should be commenced.<br />
That is a matter for our<br />
independent Mutual Legal<br />
Assistance authorities<br />
who will make an objective,<br />
legal determination<br />
of that request for separate<br />
proceedings.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> Grace 1 is therefore<br />
now released from<br />
detention under the Sanctions<br />
Act by operation of<br />
law, as confirmed by the<br />
Chief Justice of the Supreme<br />
Court.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> UK Foreign Office<br />
has declined to comment<br />
on the US request and said<br />
“investigations conducted<br />
around the Grace 1 are a<br />
matter for the government<br />
of Gibraltar”.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Gibraltar port and<br />
law enforcement agencies<br />
had detained the supertanker<br />
and its cargo on<br />
July 4 during an operation<br />
conducted by the Royal Gibraltar<br />
Police (RGP), Customs<br />
and Port Authority<br />
with the support of British<br />
Royal Marines.<br />
<strong>The</strong> detention of the<br />
vessel relates to the suspected<br />
destination of the<br />
cargo, the Banyas refinery<br />
in Syria, which is owned<br />
by the Banyas Oil Refinery<br />
Company. <strong>The</strong> Gibraltar<br />
government said that its<br />
investigations produced<br />
evidence confirming that<br />
at the time of its detention<br />
the Grace 1 was “indeed<br />
carrying its cargo to the<br />
Baniyas refinery in Syria”,<br />
which was in contravention<br />
of Article 14 of the<br />
EU Regulation on Sanctions<br />
on Syria.<br />
However, following the<br />
assurances given by Iran<br />
and the captain of the ship,<br />
the Gibraltar government<br />
has “revoked the Specification<br />
of the Vessel” order.<br />
<strong>The</strong> US demand is reportedly<br />
part of the Trump<br />
administration’s efforts to<br />
intensify the effect of existing<br />
Western economic<br />
sanctions on both Iran and<br />
Syria.<br />
Iran had called for the<br />
UK to release its oil tanker<br />
and warned Britain not to<br />
get involved in “this dangerous<br />
game”, which eventually<br />
led to Iran’s seizure<br />
of a British-flagged tanker<br />
in the Gulf as well.<br />
Tehran blames the US<br />
for arranging to have its<br />
ship seized in the wake of<br />
sanctions imposed against<br />
Iran with the aim of halting<br />
all its oil exports.<br />
European countries do<br />
not have sanctions against<br />
Iran but have had them in<br />
place against Iran’s ally<br />
Syria since 2011.<br />
‘Kashmiris and Pakistanis are one’,<br />
says Pak President on I-Day<br />
Islamabad : Pakistan<br />
President Arif Alvi on<br />
Wednesday said “Kashmiris<br />
and Pakistanis are one”<br />
people and the country will<br />
continue to stand with the<br />
people of Kashmir.<br />
Addressing the main<br />
function here to mark the<br />
73rd Independence Day, he<br />
reiterated Pakistan government's<br />
stand against India's<br />
move to revoke the special<br />
status to Jammu and Kashmir<br />
and said Islamabad will<br />
move the UN Security Council<br />
against New Delhi's decision.<br />
He said by changing the<br />
special status of Kashmir,<br />
India not only violated the<br />
UN resolution, but also the<br />
Simla agreement.<br />
India has categorically<br />
told the international<br />
community that its move<br />
to scrap Article 370 of the<br />
Constitution removing the<br />
special status to Jammu and<br />
Kashmir is an internal matter<br />
and has also advised Pakistan<br />
to accept the reality.<br />
Alvi in his speech reaffirmed<br />
Pakistan’s support to<br />
the people of Kashmir.<br />
“We will not leave them<br />
alone at any stage. Kashmiris<br />
and Pakistanis are<br />
one. Our grief is common as<br />
their tears move our hearts.<br />
We were with them; we are<br />
standing with them and will<br />
continue to do so,” the staterun<br />
Associated Press of Pakistan<br />
reported quoting Alvi<br />
as saying.<br />
He said India has been<br />
violating the ceasefire agreements<br />
by firing and shelling<br />
on civilian populations<br />
along the Line of Control.<br />
“Pakistan is a peaceloving<br />
country and wants to<br />
resolve the Kashmir dispute<br />
through negotiations and<br />
dialogue. India, however,<br />
should not misunderstand<br />
our policy of peace as our<br />
weakness,” he said.<br />
Meanwhile, Pakistanis<br />
across the country celebrated<br />
the Independence Day,<br />
media reports said.<br />
<strong>The</strong> day dawned with<br />
the usual official functions<br />
and ceremonies - a 31-gun<br />
salute in the capital and 21-<br />
gun salutes in the four provincial<br />
capitals as well as a<br />
major event in Islamabad in<br />
which top government functionaries<br />
and armed forces’<br />
officials took part.<br />
Special prayers were<br />
offered at the mosques for<br />
peace, progress and prosperity<br />
of the country.<br />
Pakistan has decided to<br />
observe the Independence<br />
Day as ‘Kashmir Solidarity<br />
Day’ and August 15 (India’s<br />
Independence Day)<br />
as ‘Black Day’ to protest<br />
India’s move to scrap the<br />
special status to Jammu<br />
and Kashmir and bifurcating<br />
the state into two Union<br />
Territories.<br />
Pakistan launches crackdown<br />
on sale of Indian film CDs<br />
Islamabad : <strong>The</strong> Pakistan government has launched<br />
a crackdown on the sale of CDs of Indian movies after<br />
New Delhi revoked the special status to Jammu and<br />
Kashmir, according to a media report on Friday.<br />
<strong>The</strong> crackdown is the latest in series of measures announced<br />
by Pakistan in reaction to revocation of special<br />
status of Kashmir by India.<br />
It also comes after Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory<br />
Authority (Pemra) banned the airing of advertisements<br />
featuring Indian artists and India-made products.<br />
"We have banned Indian advertisements and<br />
launched a crackdown on CD shops to confiscate Indian<br />
movies," Dawn newspaper quoted Firdous Ashiq Awan,<br />
the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information,<br />
as saying.<br />
She said the Interior Ministry had already started a<br />
crackdown on Indian movies in the federal capital and it<br />
would be expanded to other parts of the country soon in<br />
collaboration with the provincial governments.<br />
"Today the interior ministry raided some compact<br />
disc shops in Islamabad and confiscated Indian movies."<br />
Pemra on Wednesday circulated a letter dated Aug 14<br />
on Wednesday announcing the ban.<br />
Pemra said that it already withdrew the permission<br />
for airing Indian channels and content on the directions<br />
of the Pakistan Supreme Court in October last year.<br />
"However, it has been observed that advertisements<br />
of various products of multinationals which are either<br />
produced in India or carrying Indian characters/talent<br />
[are] being aired on electronic media," according to the<br />
Pemra letter.
<strong>The</strong> International News Weekly India<br />
August 16, 2019 | Toronto 08<br />
Mega discounts as<br />
nursing seats go<br />
begging in Punjab<br />
Continued from page 01<br />
Why no takers for the<br />
course? College owners<br />
say Punjab has, in recent<br />
years, witnessed unprecedented<br />
migration of<br />
youth to Canada and Australia<br />
after these countries<br />
eased immigration<br />
norms. Nursing is losing<br />
sheen, as did engineering<br />
a few years ago, and the<br />
colleges have been staring<br />
at existential crisis,<br />
they say. During the first<br />
round of counselling for<br />
BSc nursing on August 9,<br />
Baba Farid University<br />
of Health Sciences<br />
(BFUHS), the nodal<br />
agency for admissions to<br />
all colleges in the state,<br />
could only fill 906 of the<br />
5,500 seats.<br />
<strong>The</strong> university received<br />
2,725 applications<br />
Continued from page 01<br />
He added, “No doubt this was a Supreme<br />
Court order and we have to accept<br />
it. But before it came to this stage, it<br />
should have been taken care of. As many<br />
as 30 per cent of Punjabis are from this<br />
community.”<br />
On hooliganism that they indulged<br />
in, he said, “When such things happen,<br />
the youth will do whatever comes to<br />
them. Bache tan bache hi ne, chahe jinna<br />
vi samjhalo. (Kids will remain kids.<br />
However hard you may try to counsel<br />
them).”<br />
<strong>The</strong> CM also announced to lead a delegation<br />
of the Ravidasia community to<br />
meet the Prime Minister for resolution<br />
of the crisis triggered by the demolition<br />
of their historic temple. <strong>The</strong> CM, who<br />
met Sants and leaders of the community<br />
at Punjab Armed Police today, acceded<br />
to their request to lead them for<br />
a personal meeting with the Prime Minister<br />
to seek the latter’s intervention in<br />
and 1,100 of the students<br />
cleared the test. While<br />
78 private colleges could<br />
only secure 499 admissions,<br />
nine institutes, including<br />
six in the government<br />
sector, admitted 407<br />
students.<br />
With admissions lacking,<br />
most of the private<br />
institutes have been<br />
struggling to even pay<br />
outstanding dues to the<br />
university. <strong>The</strong> BFUHS<br />
last week put 96 of these<br />
colleges on notice citing<br />
“deficiencies” on account<br />
of inadequate faculty<br />
or poor infrastructure.<br />
When almost all seats<br />
are vacant, how can new<br />
faculty be recruited or<br />
infrastructure improved,<br />
asks an institute owner,<br />
worried about the loan he<br />
took to open the college,<br />
much of which remains<br />
unpaid.<br />
Desperate to fill more<br />
seats, the BFUHS has invited<br />
students from any<br />
part of the country (they<br />
must have appeared in<br />
10+2 medical exam) to<br />
seek admission in Punjab.<br />
Not only BSc, MSc<br />
seats, too, have been going<br />
abegging. Twentyeight<br />
nursing colleges<br />
in Punjab offer 535 MSc<br />
seats, but only 350 applicants<br />
took the entrance<br />
test and 141 cleared it.<br />
HC Rawat, BFUHS<br />
Dean (Exam) of Nursing,<br />
said they are hopeful of<br />
filling 500 more seats in<br />
the next round of counselling.<br />
Punjab Medical<br />
Education Minister OP<br />
Soni did not respond to<br />
repeated calls.<br />
No FIR against Dalit protesters: CM<br />
the case. During the meeting, the Chief<br />
Minister also promised to look into the<br />
demand of the leaders for withdrawal<br />
of the five cases against members of the<br />
community for the 2009 violence in Jalandharduring<br />
protests against firing at<br />
the head of Dera Sachkhand Ballan and<br />
his close associate in Vienna.<br />
<strong>The</strong> community was represented by<br />
25 Sants, including Shri Guru Ravidas<br />
Sadhu Sampardai Society President<br />
Sant Kulwant Ram, Vice-President Sant<br />
Gurdip Giri, Chairman Sant Mohinder<br />
Pal, General Secretary Sant Nirmal<br />
Singh as well as Dera Sachkhand Ballan<br />
Sant Lekhraj.<br />
‘<strong>The</strong>y were emotionally disturbed’<br />
<strong>The</strong>re has to be a basis to register a<br />
case. <strong>The</strong> Dalits were emotionally disturbed.<br />
It was their 500-year-old temple<br />
which was demolished. It could have<br />
been a church or a mosque too. It was all<br />
reactionary. —Capt Amarinder Singh,<br />
Chief Minister<br />
Ravi Shastri retained as<br />
Team India head coach<br />
Mumbai : <strong>The</strong> Kapil Devlead<br />
Cricket Advisory (CAC)<br />
on Friday retained Ravi<br />
Shastri as the head coach of<br />
the Indian cricket team till<br />
2021. <strong>The</strong> former Indian all<br />
rounder was chosen from a<br />
panel of six short-listed candidates.<br />
Though the committee<br />
members claimed that Shastri<br />
was chosen amidst tough<br />
competition from other<br />
short-listed candidates, the<br />
decision was on expected<br />
lines and had the backing of<br />
captain Virat Kohli.<br />
Shastri has been reappointed<br />
for a two-year period,<br />
ending with the 2021<br />
T20 World Cup in India.<br />
This will be Shastri's fourth<br />
stint with the national team,<br />
having served briefly as the<br />
Cricket Manager (2007 tour<br />
of Bangladesh), Team Director<br />
(2014-2016) and head<br />
coach (2017-2019).<br />
Shastri pipped former<br />
India teammates Robin<br />
Singh and Lalchand Rajput<br />
along with former New Zealand<br />
coach Mike Hesson and<br />
Australian Tom Moody to<br />
the post. Former West Indies<br />
and Afghanistan coach<br />
Phil Simmons pulled out of<br />
the race, citing personal reasons.<br />
"Number three was<br />
Tom Moody, number two<br />
was Mike Hesson. Number<br />
one is Ravi Shastri as all of<br />
you were expecting... (But)<br />
It was a very close race,"<br />
said Kapil at the press conference<br />
to announce the decision<br />
here.<br />
Once Kohli openly<br />
backed Shastri's candidature<br />
at the pre-departure<br />
media conference before the<br />
West Indies tour, it was expected<br />
that the former India<br />
captain would be a favourite<br />
to retain the position. <strong>The</strong><br />
committee members also<br />
stated that Shastri’s `connect’<br />
with the Indian team<br />
members also weighed in<br />
his favour.<br />
“Basically, being a current<br />
coach and knowing the<br />
boys well and their problems<br />
and he are well versed<br />
with the system. <strong>The</strong> others<br />
had to start from a scratch,”<br />
added another committee<br />
member, Anshuman Gaekwad<br />
Among all the candidates,<br />
Shastri's record was<br />
unmatched as the team<br />
reached the No.1 ranking<br />
in Test matches under his<br />
guidance and won a series<br />
in Australia for the first<br />
time in 71 years. On the<br />
flip-side, India twice lost in<br />
the World Cup semi-finals<br />
(2015 and 2019) with him at<br />
the helm but that doesn't<br />
seem to have a bearing on<br />
the decision taken by the<br />
Dev-led committee that also<br />
comprised Shantha Rangaswamy<br />
and Anshuman Gaekwad.<br />
Since he came back<br />
in July, 2017 replacing Anil<br />
Kumble, whose differences<br />
with Kohli came out in the<br />
open, Shastri's coaching record<br />
has been phenomenal.<br />
India have won 13 out<br />
of 21 Tests, 43 out of 60 ODIs<br />
and 25 T20 Internationals<br />
out of 36 on his watch.
<strong>The</strong> International News Weekly india<br />
August 16, 2019 | Toronto<br />
09<br />
Amarinder warns anti-national forces<br />
against attempt to destroy peace<br />
Jalandhar: Chief<br />
Minister Capt Amarinder<br />
Singh on Thursday<br />
warned anti-national forces<br />
against any attempt to<br />
destroy the peace and harmony<br />
of the country, while<br />
calling upon the people to<br />
join hands in fighting such<br />
forces.<br />
Addressing a gathering<br />
at Guru Gobind Singh<br />
Stadium here after unfurling<br />
the Tricolour during a<br />
state-level function on the<br />
73rd Independence Day,<br />
the Chief Minister said<br />
there were anti-national<br />
forces that were envious<br />
of the peaceful atmosphere<br />
and development in the<br />
state.<br />
“Let us rededicate ourselves<br />
to working collectively<br />
to build a strong and<br />
prosperous Punjab, and to<br />
cement the bonds of love,<br />
peace and amity,” he said.<br />
Highlighting the contribution<br />
of Punjabis in the<br />
national freedom struggle,<br />
the Chief Minister said<br />
it was now our collective<br />
duty to preserve the hardearned<br />
freedom.<br />
Recalling his visit to<br />
the Jung-e-Azadi Memorial<br />
to inaugurate its third<br />
phase on Wednesday,<br />
Amarinder said the memorial<br />
would be instrumental<br />
in spreading awareness<br />
among the youth about<br />
various facets of the Indian<br />
freedom struggle.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Chief Minister<br />
said 2019 is a historic year<br />
in view of the 550th Parkash<br />
Purb of Guru Nanak,<br />
150th birth anniversary of<br />
Mahatma Gandhi and the<br />
Jallianwala Bagh centenary<br />
being commemorated<br />
with enthusiasm.<br />
Referring to the crusade<br />
against drug abuse,<br />
Amarinder pointed out<br />
that 27,744 cases had been<br />
registered under the NDPS<br />
Act with the arrest of<br />
33,622 people and recovery<br />
of 767 kg heroin and huge<br />
quantity of other contraband<br />
substances.<br />
On the farmer-friendly<br />
initiatives, the CM said the<br />
state government is contemplating<br />
to disburse Rs<br />
520 crore to 2.85 lakh farm<br />
labourers and landless<br />
farmers who are members<br />
of the primary agriculture<br />
cooperative societies.<br />
He said the the farmers’<br />
income through sale of<br />
foodgrains had increased<br />
by over 32% since his government<br />
took over.<br />
<strong>The</strong> CM said that for<br />
the first time in years, government<br />
schools had outperformed<br />
private schools,<br />
registering an increase of<br />
8.7 per cent in the overall<br />
pass percentage of Class<br />
X and 4.45 per cent in the<br />
Class XII board results.<br />
Amarinder said about<br />
two lakh jobs in private<br />
sector would be offered<br />
to the unemployed youth;<br />
besides 1 lakh applicants<br />
were likely to be assisted<br />
for self-employment.<br />
<strong>The</strong> CM said the youth<br />
would be provided free<br />
smart mobile phones<br />
shortly, under the Digital<br />
Punjab initiative in keeping<br />
with the poll promise.<br />
Amarinder appealed<br />
to people to plant 550 saplings<br />
each in all 12,700 villages<br />
in the state as part<br />
of the 550th Parkash Purb<br />
of Guru Nanak. He said 40<br />
lakh saplings had already<br />
been planted so far in 3,500<br />
villages to make the state<br />
clean, green and pollutionfree.<br />
On the revival of industry,<br />
the CM said the new<br />
industrial policy had given<br />
a big boost with over Rs<br />
50,000 crore in investments<br />
being firmed up.<br />
Will win all 70 seats in<br />
Delhi Assembly polls:<br />
Kejriwal to AAP workers<br />
on his birthday<br />
New Delhi : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal<br />
on Friday said the AAP will win all the 70 seats in the<br />
Assembly election next year<br />
as he lauded the contribution<br />
of his party workers on his<br />
birthday.<br />
<strong>The</strong> AAP national convenor<br />
addressed his party workers<br />
who came to greet him on<br />
his 51st birthday.<br />
"I want to thank the AAP<br />
workers for their contribution<br />
towards the party. In last assembly<br />
elections, we won 67<br />
seats but this time we will win all 70 seats," he said<br />
in a video posted on the AAP's official Twitter handle.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) registered a landslide<br />
victory in the last Assembly election and won 67<br />
out of the 70 seats in Delhi.<br />
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also wished the<br />
chief minister on his birthday.<br />
"Birthday greetings to Delhi CM Shri @Arvind-<br />
Kejriwal. Praying for his good health and long life,"<br />
Modi tweeted.<br />
Leader of Opposition in Delhi Vijender Gupta, his<br />
West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee, former<br />
Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren and BJP MP<br />
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, among others who greeted<br />
Kejriwal on his birthday.<br />
"Wishing you a very happy birthday, Arvind ji,"<br />
Banerjee tweeted.<br />
"Thank u so much Didi," replied Kejriwal.<br />
Gupta also wished Kejriwal on his birthday.<br />
"I wish Arvind Kejriwal ji on his birthday. I wish<br />
you a long and healthy life," he said. Several Bollywood<br />
celebrities, including directors Vivek Ranjan<br />
Agnihotri and Shirish Kunder also wished Kejriwal.<br />
"#HappyBirthdayAK you literally changed Indian<br />
politics," Agnihotri tweeted
<strong>The</strong> International News Weekly INDIA<br />
August 16, 2019 | Toronto 10<br />
PM: ‘Population explosion a worry’,<br />
govt schemes needed to control it<br />
Continued from page 01<br />
<strong>The</strong> PM dwelt at length<br />
on the decision to revoke<br />
J&K’s special status and<br />
bifurcate it, and underlined<br />
that two-thirds support<br />
in both Houses of<br />
Parliament reflected that<br />
the move enjoyed wide<br />
support and was a task<br />
waiting to be done as old<br />
approaches to resolving<br />
issues had failed.<br />
“Today, I can say with<br />
pride that every Indian<br />
can say we are one nation,<br />
one Constitution.<br />
And this one dream of<br />
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel<br />
has been realised,” the<br />
PM said.<br />
Taking a swipe at Congress,<br />
he said, “<strong>The</strong> country<br />
asks them: if Article<br />
370 or 35A were so necessary,<br />
then despite<br />
such a majority, why<br />
didn’t you make it permanent?<br />
Why did you<br />
leave it as temporary?<br />
This means that even you<br />
know what happened was<br />
not right, but you did not<br />
have the courage to rectify<br />
it or the political will,”<br />
Modi said.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> new system in<br />
place is for direct benefit<br />
of the people on the<br />
ground. Now everyone<br />
living in J&K can directly<br />
question the Centre.”<br />
He said the discriminatory<br />
provisions of Article<br />
35A, which flow from<br />
Article 370, restricted the<br />
rights of women and deprived<br />
Dalits and tribals<br />
of political reservation.<br />
Modi referred to reading<br />
down of Article 370<br />
and passage of the legislation<br />
to ban triple talaq<br />
as reflecting the government’s<br />
resolve neither to<br />
keep problems pending<br />
nor to nurture them.<br />
“India does not want<br />
to wait too long for incremental<br />
progress. A<br />
high jump is needed, our<br />
thought process has to be<br />
expanded,” he said while<br />
speaking of the government’s<br />
plan to invest Rs<br />
100 lakh crore in infrastructure-building.<br />
“People’s<br />
trust in us has given<br />
us new strength. <strong>The</strong> 2019<br />
mandate shows hopelessness<br />
has given way to<br />
hope,” he said.<br />
PM Links Family Planning To Nation-Building<br />
New Delhi: <strong>The</strong> mention,<br />
perhaps the first ever,<br />
of “population explosion”<br />
in a prime minister’s Independence<br />
Day speech marks<br />
the return of focus on an issue<br />
which was seen as a big<br />
national priority in the early<br />
1970s before the excesses<br />
committed during the Emergency<br />
discredited what was<br />
known as the “family planning”<br />
programme.<br />
Subsequent governments<br />
diluted the exercise,<br />
and it was rechristened<br />
“family welfare” before it<br />
came to be seen as redundant<br />
because of the “demographic<br />
dividend” narrative that<br />
took hold in the wake of the<br />
reforms of 1990s. <strong>The</strong> wheel<br />
seemed to have turned full<br />
circle when Prime Minister<br />
Narendra Modi put it on his<br />
agenda on Thursday.<br />
Modi said the issue was<br />
not tackled all these years<br />
because of political considerations.<br />
“Dear countrymen,<br />
our nation has reached<br />
a phase when we should be<br />
transparent about everything.<br />
Time has now come<br />
that we should take challenges<br />
heads on. Sometimes,<br />
decisions are taken keeping<br />
in mind political advantage<br />
but they come at the cost of<br />
growth of our future generation,”<br />
he said.<br />
He suggested that the<br />
problem had been dodged so<br />
far with an eye on political<br />
advantage. “<strong>The</strong> time has<br />
now come that we should<br />
take (such) challenges head<br />
on,” he said-.Modi was all<br />
praise for citizens who have<br />
chosen to restrict the size of<br />
their families. “In our society,<br />
there is a section which<br />
is very well aware of the consequences<br />
of uncontrolled<br />
population growth. <strong>The</strong>y<br />
deserve our accolades and<br />
respect. This is an expression<br />
of their love for the nation.<br />
Before having a baby,<br />
they take a well-considered<br />
decision whether they will<br />
be able to take care of their<br />
child’s needs,” the PM said.<br />
Further emphasising his<br />
point, he said, “Not only do<br />
they (small households) contribute<br />
to the welfare of their<br />
family but also to the good of<br />
the nation. People who have<br />
played this huge role need<br />
to be honoured, and by setting<br />
them as examples we<br />
need to inspire the segment<br />
of society still not thinking<br />
on these lines. We need to<br />
worry about population explosion.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> concern over growing<br />
numbers has also been<br />
the trigger for unease over<br />
the “influx” of foreigners<br />
and the demand to document<br />
citizens by drawing an<br />
all-India national register of<br />
citizens.<br />
In 2017, the UN’s World<br />
Population Prospect predicted<br />
that India’s population<br />
was set to surpass China’s<br />
in 2024. <strong>The</strong> country’s population<br />
is projected to touch<br />
1.5 billion in 2030. India accounts<br />
for 18% of the world’s<br />
total population.<br />
As per census data, the<br />
decadal growth rate has declined<br />
from 21.15% in census<br />
2001 to 17.64% in census<br />
2011, while crude birth rate<br />
has fallen from 23.1 to 19.<br />
<strong>The</strong> total fertility rate has<br />
reduced from 2.6 to 2.2. <strong>The</strong><br />
TFR is higher in some northern<br />
states like Bihar and Uttar<br />
Pradesh. Fertility rate<br />
among Muslims is coming<br />
down, as with other communities,<br />
but remains higher.<br />
Treat wealth creators with respect,<br />
says Modi in outreach to industry<br />
Asks People To<br />
Buy Products<br />
Made In India<br />
New Delhi: While asking<br />
citizens to opt for<br />
Made-in-India products,<br />
Prime Minister Narendra<br />
Modi on Thursday<br />
reached out to businesses<br />
and called for treating<br />
wealth creators with respect<br />
in what was seen as<br />
an attempt to bridge the<br />
trust deficit between the<br />
government and industry,<br />
which has grown in<br />
recent months.<br />
“Those who create<br />
wealth for the nation,<br />
those who contribute to<br />
the nation’s wealth creation<br />
are serving the nation.<br />
We should not suspect<br />
them and we should<br />
not treat them with disdain.<br />
It is important that<br />
those who create wealth<br />
in the country should be<br />
given respect and encouraged.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y should be given<br />
pride of place. If wealth<br />
is not created, it will not<br />
be distributed. If wealth<br />
is not distributed, then<br />
the poor cannot benefit.<br />
<strong>The</strong>refore, wealth creation<br />
is critical for a<br />
country like us and we<br />
want to encourage that.<br />
To me, those who<br />
are engaged in creating<br />
wealth are the country’s<br />
wealth,” the PM said in<br />
his Independence Day<br />
speech.<br />
His statement comes<br />
barely six weeks after finance<br />
minister Nirmala<br />
Sitharaman’s words of<br />
encouragement in her<br />
maiden Union Budget<br />
speech.<br />
Modi also used the<br />
speech to reiterate his<br />
backing to ‘Made-in-<br />
India’ goods as he asked<br />
citizens to prioritise locally-made<br />
products.<br />
While underlining the<br />
need to boost exports, including<br />
an emphasis on<br />
district-level focus, the<br />
PM said, “We have to proceed<br />
with the Make-in-India<br />
mission that we took<br />
up. Why should Made-in-<br />
India product not be our<br />
priority?<br />
We should decide that<br />
we will give priority to<br />
what is produced in my<br />
country. We have to focus<br />
on local products for<br />
a lucky tomorrow.”<br />
In fact, exports, which<br />
have been one of the big<br />
laggards in recent years<br />
and are seen to be dragging<br />
the overall manufacturing<br />
sector, was a key<br />
theme.<br />
“Our country has to<br />
increase exports. India<br />
can’t just be a market for<br />
the world. We also have<br />
to attempt to reach global<br />
markets,” Modi said.<br />
<strong>The</strong> PM also said the<br />
$5 trillion GDP target<br />
may appear tough but it<br />
could be achieved over<br />
the next five years and<br />
will help in fulfilling the<br />
aspirations of all Indians.<br />
He said the economy<br />
should use the stable and<br />
predictable regime to its<br />
advantage, especially<br />
when the government<br />
had managed to strike a<br />
balance between moderate<br />
inflation and growth.
<strong>The</strong> International News Weekly August 16, 2019 | Toronto<br />
11<br />
With dancing & drum beats,<br />
Ladakh celebrates ‘1st I-Day’<br />
Leh: Winter is almost<br />
knocking on the door but<br />
on Thursday morning<br />
standing in Leh’s main<br />
market, you could only feel<br />
spring in the air. Men and<br />
women dressed in traditional<br />
goucha and kuntop<br />
hurried towards the city’s<br />
Polo Grounds with children<br />
and tricolours in tow.<br />
A bright yellow banner<br />
announcing “Union Territory<br />
of Ladakh celebrates<br />
its first Independence Day”<br />
summed up the mood.<br />
Overnight, banners had<br />
sprung up thanking PM<br />
Modi, and commemorating<br />
the four youngsters who<br />
laid down their lives agitating<br />
for UT status.<br />
Rinching Dolma<br />
brought along her 82-yearold<br />
mother, sister and<br />
eight-year-old son from<br />
their village in Stok, 10<br />
km from Leh city, to watch<br />
the function. “Today is a<br />
special day and we really<br />
wanted to be part of this,”<br />
she said. <strong>The</strong> family had<br />
woken up at 5 am to finish<br />
their household chores before<br />
heading for the Polo<br />
grounds. Her son Tanzing<br />
Somchuk was dressed<br />
in army fatigues and was<br />
planning to get his face<br />
painted with the colours of<br />
the flag.<br />
Rinchin Norbu, 71<br />
years, had travelled 160 km<br />
from Nubra Valley with<br />
10 family members. “In 70<br />
years, we never got anything<br />
until now,” he said.<br />
His neighbour and an<br />
army veteran Nawang Losang<br />
hoped that UT status<br />
would mean better jobs.<br />
“My daughter has finished<br />
MA and is at home without<br />
a job. I hope this decision<br />
will help our children get<br />
better jobs,” he said.<br />
<strong>The</strong> crowds grew stronger<br />
by the hour, with people<br />
standing on rooftops,<br />
on vehicles, clicking selfies<br />
and singing along as<br />
local school children participated<br />
in the march past<br />
and performed to patriotic<br />
Restrictions in<br />
J-K to be eased<br />
gradually:<br />
Chief Secretary<br />
J&K : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary BVR<br />
Subrahmanyam on Friday announced that restrictions<br />
in J&K will be eased in a gradual manner in the<br />
next few days.<br />
He said government<br />
offices were<br />
fully functional on<br />
Friday and schools<br />
will reopen next<br />
week on an areawise<br />
basis.<br />
He also said that<br />
telecom connectivity<br />
will be gradually<br />
eased in J&K, “in a<br />
phased manner”,<br />
keeping in mind the<br />
“constant threat of<br />
terrorist organisations”.Terror<br />
groups carry out attacks in J&K to create<br />
fear and block development, he added.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Chief Secretary said that preventive detentions<br />
will be continuously reviewed.<br />
<strong>The</strong> chief secretary also said 12 districts in<br />
Jammu and Kashmir were functioning normally<br />
while there was limited restrictions only in five districts.<br />
He also reiterated that no loss of life, major injury<br />
has been reported during the last 12 days in Jammu<br />
and Kashmir.<br />
Islamabad : Pakistan<br />
Prime Minister Imran<br />
Khan on Wednesday vowed<br />
to become the voice of<br />
Kashmir and raise the issue<br />
at every global forum,<br />
including the United Nations,<br />
as he questioned the<br />
silence of the international<br />
community on the situation<br />
in the region.<br />
Addressing a special<br />
session of Pakistan-occupied<br />
Kashmir’s (PoK) Legislative<br />
Assembly in Muzaffarabad,<br />
Khan said that<br />
if a war breaks out between<br />
Pakistan and India, the<br />
world community will be<br />
responsible.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> world’s eye<br />
is on Kashmir and on<br />
Pakistan...I will be the ambassador<br />
who raises Kashmir’s<br />
voice at every international<br />
forum,” he said.<br />
Khan, who was in Muzaffarabad<br />
to observe Pakistan’s<br />
Independence Day in<br />
solidarity with the Kashmiris<br />
after India revoked<br />
the special status of Jammu<br />
and Kashmir, termed the<br />
Indian move as a “strategic<br />
blunder.”<br />
Prime Minister Narendra<br />
Modi on August 8<br />
defended the scrapping of<br />
Jammu and Kashmir’s special<br />
status as a historic step<br />
to usher in a “new era”. He<br />
said Article 370 has yielded<br />
nothing but separatism,<br />
corruption, family rule and<br />
was used by Pakistan as a<br />
tool to spread terror in the<br />
border state.<br />
Prime Minister Modi<br />
promised all-round development,<br />
early and transparent<br />
elections and an end<br />
to terrorism in Jammu and<br />
Kashmir.<br />
India on Friday said<br />
time has come for Pakistan<br />
songs like Challe Re from<br />
the film Uri. Slogans of<br />
Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Jai<br />
Hind rent the air.<br />
BJP leader Ram Madhav,<br />
who attended the flag<br />
hoisting ceremony, told<br />
TOI that the decision to<br />
make Ladakh an independent<br />
UT was a gift for the<br />
region.<br />
“Focus of the centre<br />
will be on faster development<br />
and we will address<br />
the concerns of the region,<br />
whether it is Kargil or<br />
Leh,” said Madhav, who<br />
is planning to meet eminent<br />
citizens to understand<br />
their concerns.<br />
Ladakh MP Jamyang<br />
Tsering Namgyal and Ladakh<br />
Autonomous Hill<br />
Development Council (LA-<br />
HDC) chairperson Gyal<br />
P Wyangal ended the ceremony<br />
by breaking into a<br />
traditional Ladakhi dance<br />
which drew loud cheers<br />
from crowds. Namgyal also<br />
posted a video of himself<br />
waving the Indian flag and<br />
dancing on the street with<br />
members of the public.<br />
He tweeted, “<strong>The</strong> residents<br />
believe firmly in the<br />
principal of environmental<br />
conservation.<br />
Following this norm,<br />
to accept the new reality<br />
and stop interfering in its<br />
internal affairs.<br />
In his speech, Khan<br />
said Prime Minister Modi<br />
has “committed a strategic<br />
blunder, he has played his<br />
last card. It will cost a lot to<br />
Modi and the BJP, because<br />
they have internationalised<br />
the Kashmir issue.”<br />
“Whatever was done<br />
during the curfew by India,<br />
we will tell the international<br />
community that you<br />
are responsible. Whichever<br />
forum we get, I will be the<br />
ambassador and bring up<br />
Kashmir at every forum,”<br />
Khan said.<br />
Prime Minister Khan<br />
also said that Pakistan will<br />
they have taken a pledge<br />
of no crackers even for the<br />
celebrations.”<br />
Wyangal, who was<br />
the chief guest, said that<br />
a 70-year-old demand had<br />
been fulfilled by the Centre.<br />
“Our development has been<br />
neglected at the expense<br />
of J&K. We know that will<br />
change now,” he said.<br />
<strong>The</strong> event also saw<br />
large number of visitors<br />
from Pune and Mumbai.<br />
Microbiologist Suniti Dikshit<br />
from Mumbai was carrying<br />
with her 500 rakhis<br />
for the jawans.<br />
“We are visiting Ladakh<br />
as part of a group of 160<br />
people. We have been sightseeing<br />
in the past few days.<br />
Today we wanted to be part<br />
of the Independence Day<br />
festivities,” she said. She<br />
and her friends were wearing<br />
colours of the flag. Tax<br />
consultant Manjushree<br />
Patwardhan said they were<br />
all excited to be part of the<br />
first I-Day celebrations of<br />
Ladakh as UT.<br />
‘India planning military action<br />
in PoK’: Pak PM Imran Khan<br />
respond with full force if<br />
India launches any aggression<br />
against his country.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> Pakistan Army<br />
has full knowledge...India<br />
has made a plan to take action”<br />
in PoK, he said.<br />
“You take action and<br />
this is my message: every<br />
brick will be countered<br />
with a stone,” Khan said.<br />
“We will respond to whatever<br />
you do; we will go till<br />
the end.”<br />
“Our message to international<br />
organisations<br />
that were formed to prevent<br />
wars is that if this war<br />
takes place, you will be responsible,”<br />
Khan said.<br />
He claimed that the<br />
whole world, including the<br />
entire Muslim population<br />
in the world, was looking<br />
towards the United Nations.<br />
“You will see the<br />
numbers in which the public<br />
will come out during the<br />
United Nations General<br />
Assembly in September,”<br />
he said, referring to the upcoming<br />
annual session of<br />
the world body.
<strong>The</strong> International News Weekly August 16, 2019 | Toronto 12<br />
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