16-09-2022 The Asian Independent

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Vol : 06 : #100 16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022

Calls for 'Elizabeth the Faithful' as

'the Great' has been linked with

'despotic rulers' like Genghis Khan

London : A campaign has been

launched to give the late Queen the

title of 'Elizabeth the Faithful' because

'the Great' is rather common and has

been used by despots and conquerors,

local media reported.

Senior UK politicians, including

Boris Johnson, the former prime minister,

have referred to Elizabeth II as

'the Great' since she died last

Thursday at the age of 96, Daily Mail

reported.

But Security Minister Tom

Tugendhat referred to her as 'the

Faithful' last week and today a former

Conservative Party Treasurer insisted

that it was the best moniker to use.

In a letter to the Daily Telegraph,

Lord Farmer said that it reflected 'the

fulfilment of the pledge that she made

on the cusp of adulthood to serve us

her whole life.'

He added: 'Superficially she was

indeed great, but more than 110 monarchs

have been so designated ?

including the Herod who ordered the

slaughter of the innocents, Louis XIV

(whose rule made the French

Revolution all but inevitable) and

Genghis Khan.

The only British monarch to ever

be called 'the Great', Alfred was an

Anglo-Saxon king of Wessex who

fought off a Danish invasion. His

reconquest of territory was continued

by his successors and his grandson

Aethelstan is seen by historians as the

first king of England, Daily Mail

reported. Known as the Great Khan,

Genghis Khan was a Mongol ruler

who rose from humble beginnings to

establish the largest contiguous

empire in history. At its peak, the

empire stretched from the Far East to

eastern Europe. His campaigns and

those of his sons were extremely

bloody and may have resulted in as

many as 60 million deaths.

Catherine the Great, the last and

longest-serving Empress of Russia,

came to power after her husband

Peter was overthrown. She was born

in a region of modern-day Poland

which at the time was in the Kingdom

of Prussia.

During her reign, Russia conquered

the Crimea, part of Poland and

Alaska. She is famous for her string

of lovers, including men 40 years her

junior when she was in her 60s, Daily

Mail reported.

Herod, King of Judea made notorious

by his depiction in the Bible. The

Gospel of St Matthew says he was

responsible for the Massacre of the

Innocents, which saw all male children

aged two or under killed in the

area around Bethlehem in an unsuccessful

bid to get rid of the baby

Jesus. Modern historians do not

believe any such slaughter took place,

Daily Mail reported.

CBI raids in Mumbai, Gujarat in

Rs 428 crore Canara Bank fraud

Mumbai : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided

several locations in Mumbai

and Gujarat's Kutch in connection

with an alleged

fraud of Rs 428.50 crore in

the Canara Bank, an official

said on Thursday.

Following a complaint

lodged by Canara Bank, the

CBI registered a case against

company, PSL Ltd and its

director Ashok Yoginder

Punj, Alok Yoginder Punj,

Rajender Kumar Bahri,

Chitranjan Kumar Jagdishchadra Goel, and other known and

unknown persons including public servants.

As per the Canara Bank's complaint, between 2009-2016, the

accused entered into a conspiracy to cheat the bank through

sanction of various credit facilities and misrepresented books of

accounts. They are charged with alleged misutilisation of the

funds of the bank and diverting the receivable from its debtors,

diverting the loans for projects to other purposes, thus, causing

an alleged loss of Rs 428.50 crore to Canara Bank.

The CBI sleuths raided seven locations in Mumbai and

Gujarat at the premises of the accused resulting in the recovery

of incriminating documents and other articles.

BHUTAN set to REOPEN

Assam gate for tourists

Guwahati : Nearly two and half

years after the Covid pandemic's outbreak,

the India-Bhutan border gate

along the Assam frontier are set to

reopen for tourists next week.

Samdrup Jhongkhar and Gelephu

border gate will be opened on

September 23, officials said.

Director, Law and Order, in Bhutan's

Home and Cultural Ministry Tashi

Penjore led a delegation that held a

meeting with Bodoland Territorial

Council (BTC) officials on Wednesday

and announced that the gates would be

reopened after a two and half year break.

Penjore said that the Bhutan government

announced the reopening of its borders

for trade, commerce, and official transit

on September 23, provided the Covid-

19 situation does not change for the worse.

"In the last two and a half years, many

officials on both sides have changed and

we were not able to meet and establish

friendship and person-to-person contacts

which are essential for people residing

along the border areas of the two countries.

We look forward to more such visits."

Earlier, the Bhutan government only

issued entry permits through

Phuentsholing and Paro but now they have

added three additional entry gates for

tourists.

"We have added additional entry

gates for tourists and our whole nation is

now prepared to give visitors a good

experience, quality services, quality

accommodation, transport, food, etc,"

Penjore added.

Moreover, he said that the Bhutan

Tourism Department has decided to

offer tourists eco-tourism, nature

tourism, bird watching, flora and fauna

tour packages, etc. to experience and

enjoy the tour.

The Bhutan government will also issue

a standard operating procedure (SOP) to

facilitate the seamless movement of

tourists. The visitors who intend to halt the

night and travel beyond the designated

points would be charged Rs 1,200 and the

tourists have to carry their voter ID cards

and other relevant documents while visiting

Bhutan.

2

16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022 NEWS

www.theasianindependent.co.uk

'Will seriously hamper medical education':

Centre on accommodating

Ukraine-returned students

New Delhi : The Centre has told

the Supreme Court that the medical

already undergoing medical

education in medical

students, who returned from

universities of Ukraine

Ukraine, cannot be accommodated

in the Indian universities in the

absence of any provision under the

and are unable-to finish

such education because of

disruption caused by the

National Medical Commission

undergoing war," said the

(NMC) Act, 2019, and if any such

relaxation is given, then it will seriously

hamper the standards of medical

education in the country.

The Ministry of Health and

Family Welfare, in an affidavit, said:

"The prayer seeking transfer of these

returnee students to medical colleges

in India would not only be dehors

the provisions of the Indian Medical

Council Act 1956, and the National

affidavit.

The Centre said the

public notice issued by

NMC on September 6 is a

no-objection for academic

mobility between foreign

universities for students

who could not complete

studies due to the

war.

"In the Public Notice

Medical Commission Act, 2019, as

dated 06.09.22, the

well as the regulations made thereunder,

but would also seriously hamper

the standards of medical education

in the country."

"It is humbly submitted that in so

far as such students are concerned,

phrase 'global mobility'

cannot be interpreted to

mean accommodation of

these students in Indian

colleges/universities, as

the extant regulations in

there are no such provisions either

India do not permit

under the Indian Medical Council

migration of students

Act 1956 or the National Medical

Commission Act, 2019 as well as the

regulations to accommodate or

transfer medical students from any

foreign medical institutes/colleges to

Indian medical colleges. Till now, no

permission has been given by the

NMC to trade or accommodate any

foreign medical students in any Indian

medical institute/university," it said.

The affidavit added that the

aggrieved petitioners had gone to foreign

countries for two reasons -- firstly,

due to poor merit in the NEET

Exam, secondly, affordability of medical

education in such foreign countries.

"It is humbly submitted that in case

these students with (a) poor merit are

allowed admission in premier medical

colleges in India by default, there may

be several litigations from those

desirous candidates who could not get

seats in these colleges and have taken

admission in either lesser-known colleges

or have been deprived of a seat

in medical colleges.

"Further, in case of affordability, if

these candidates are allocated private

medical colleges in India, they once

again may not be able to afford the

fees structure of the concerned institution,"

it said.

The affidavit added that the Centre

in consultation with the NMC, the

apex medical education regulatory

body in the country, has taken proactive

measures to assist returnee students

from Ukraine, while balancing

the need to maintain the requisite standard

of medical education in the country.

The Centre said the allegation of

refusal of Ukrainian universities to

entertain the applications of students

for academic mobility in their first

semester of academic year 2022-23 is

concerned, it is submitted that the

same is completely vague, devoid of

any details of the applicant students or

the universities concerned.

"The relied upon communication in

fact shows that the students who have

taken admission in their first semester

(2022-23) are not being permitted academic

mobility in the first semester by

the Ukrainian Institutions. It is humbly

submitted that the provision of academic

mobility programme was permitted

only for those students who are

from foreign universities

to India. The aforesaid

Public Notice cannot be

used as a back door entry

in Indian colleges/universities offering

UG courses," said the affidavit.

The Centre's response came on a

batch of petitions filed by Indian students

who have been evacuated from

Ukraine and seeking permission to

continue medical study in India. One

of the petitions, filed through advocate

Ashwarya Sinha, said the education of

14,000 students has come to a halt and

they are going through immense mental

hardship.

The case is likely to come up for

hearing on Friday.

Team AI :

Devinder Chander

Editor-in-chief

Columnists

V.B. Rawat

Farzana Suri

Arun Kumar

Rahul Kumar

Head Office

Samaj Media Enterprise Ltd.

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Plane carrying Queen Elizabeth's coffin

becomes most tracked flight ever

London : The plane carrying Queen

Elizabeth II's coffin has broken records

to become the most-tracked flight ever,

according to an aviation tracker website.

The website, Flightradar 24, said that

about five million people followed

along online as the late Queen was

flown from Edinburgh to London on

Tuesday, CNN reported. That number is

derived from two sources -- 4.79 million

people who followed the flight's journey

on Flightradar24's website and mobile

app, plus an additional 296,000 who

tracked the plane on YouTube.

That smashes the previous record,

achieved just last month during US

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's controversial

visit to Taiwan. Her plane's journey

to Taipei was tracked by about 2.9

million people, CNN quoted the website

as saying. The Royal Air Force plane

carrying the Queen spent an hour and 12

minutes in flight. It landed at RAF

Northolt, a military station about six

miles from Heathrow Airport in

London. From Northolt, the Queen's

coffin was taken to Buckingham Palace.

On Wednesday, the coffin was be

escorted to Westminster Hall,

Parliament, where the Queen will lie in

state until her funeral on September 19

in Westminster Abbey, CNN reported.

Before Pelosi's Taiwan visit, the most

popular flight search on Flightradar24

was Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's

flight back to Russia, where he was

going to be put in prison upon arrival in

2021.

* The Asian Independent and people associated with it are not responsible for any claims made by the advertisers and do not endorse in any products or services advertised. Please visit www.theasianindependent.com/tc for more information.


ASIA

16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022

3

DENGUE cases soaring in

Pak amid record flooding

Islamabad : Dengue cases are on

the rise in Pakistan in the wake of the

catastrophic flooding across the country

triggered by record monsoon rain

since mid-June, the media reported on

Thursday.

As relief and rescue operations continue,

officials have warned of a looming

health crisis with a surge in

dengue, malaria and severe gastric

infections, reports the BBC.

About 3,830 cases of dengue fever

have been reported by health officials

in Sindh province, one of the worst-hit

regions, with at least nine deaths.

"The overall situation in Sindh is

very bad, we are organising medical

camps all over the province. Most of

the cases we are seeing now are of

dengue patients followed closely by

malaria," Abdul Ghafoor Shoro, secretary

general of the Pakistan Medical

Association, told the BBC.

"The dengue burden is the same all

over the province and it's increasing

daily. When we checked with the laboratories,

the suspected cases are

around 80 per cent of tests being

done." Shoro, who has been treating

scores of dengue patients at Agha

Khan hospital in Karachi, told the

BBC that the situation is only going to

worsen in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, the overall death toll in

Pakistan from this season's monsoon

rains and floods has increased to

1,486, along with 12,749 injured,

according to the latest update by the

National Disaster Management

Authority (NDMA).

The NDMA further added that

179,281 people have been rescued and

546,288 others are currently living in

camps. Some 33 million people across

the country have been affected so far.

Half of Pakistan may

face famine: Report

Islamabad : A new

report has warned that

half of Pakistan may face

famine if food supplies

from external sources are

not arranged soon in the

midst of the catastrophic

flooding across the country.

The report compiled by

agencies of the Ministry

of National Food Security

& Research said the mega

floods have destroyed at

least 70 per cent of

Pakistan's food basket,

which means food must be imported soon to save the population from famine,

reports Samaa TV.

The severity of the situation can be gauged from the fact that in Sindh and

Balochistan, around 95 per cent of the crops were completely destroyed by the

floods as per the initial assessment carried out by the government.

Meanwhile in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, around a third of crops

were washed away by the floods.

As a result, around 40 million people face food scarcity in Pakistan and the

situation demands for immediate measures to supply a whopping 14 million

tonnes of food to end the shortage and save lives, according to food agencies,

Samaa TV reported. In the wake of the disaster and destruction of produce, the

prices of fruits, vegetables, and other staples have also skyrocketed.

To restore the supply chain, the national exchequer would have to import

essential food items such as wheat, pulses, spices, and sugar.

The report estimated that the import bill will witness a startling increase of

nearly 44 per cent as the government ensures the food supply.

Roughly 7 million tons of wheat import will cost around $3.5 billion to the

national exchequer. Whereas, 600,000 tons of sugar, 100,000 tonnes of spices

and 1 million tons of pulses and palm oil imports will also add to the cost,

Samaa TV reported. The food agencies have asked the government to undertake

quick measures to support the flood-ravaged populace with essential supplies

to avoid a massive humanitarian crisis.

Pakistan name squad for T20 World Cup,

Shaheen returns; Fakhar misses out

Lahore : Pakistan on Thursday

named their 15-member squad for the

ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 in

Australia, with pacer Shaheen Shah

Afridi set to return from his injury.

Afridi had missed the Asia Cup

after being advised a 4-6 weeks rest

by the medical team following an

injury to the right knee ligament. He

had copped an injury while fielding

during the first Test against Sri Lanka

in Galle in July.

"Shaheen, who is undergoing rehabilitation

for a knee injury in London

and expected to resume bowling early

next month," the Pakistan Cricket

Board (PCB) said in a statement.

The squad also featured left-hander

Shan Masood, who is yet to play in a

T20I, while Haider Ali was recalled to

the side after last featuring in the format

in December 2021.

Masood has been called up to play

T20Is for the first time on the back of

a good run of form in the T20 Blast in

England. He has played for Pakistan

in Tests and ODIs, last representing

them in the longest format in 2021.

However, Fakhar Zaman, the blazing

batter, was dropped to the reserves

and despite much buzz, there was also

no recall for veteran Shoaib Malik.

Haider comes in for Fakhar, who

remains in the reserves after a poor

2022 with the bat. The left-hander has

played seven T20Is this year, totalling

just 96 runs and averaging 13.71.

The 21-year old Haider has played

21 T20Is for Pakistan, the last of them

in December 2021. He has made three

fifties and averages 23.88 in the format.

"We have a team that can perform

strongly in the ICC Men's T20

World Cup 2022. That's why we have

shown faith and confidence in almost

the same set of players who have been

part of the T20I squad post the 2021

World Cup in the UAE," chief selector

Mohammad Wasim said.

"These players have performed

well since November 2021 and that's

why we have won nine out of our last

13 T20Is. We have invested in these

cricketers and it is fair to them that

they get the opportunity to show their

mettle in the World Cup, an event for

which they have been preparing and

training hard.

"We needed to ensure continuity

and support to these players, and

that's precisely what we have done.

We are receiving encouraging reports

about Shaheen Shah Afridi, who is

likely to resume bowling early next

month," he added.

The same team will also play the

tri-series in New Zealand, also

involving Bangladesh, ahead of the

T20 World Cup. Fakhar Zaman,

Mohammad Haris and Shahnawaz

Dahani have been named as the three

traveling reserves. The same team,

sans Shaheen Afridi and Fakhar

Zaman, will play in the seven-match

T20I series against England.

In absence of Afridi and Zaman,

the selectors have named Northern's

all-rounder Aamir Jamal and Sindh's

mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed for

matches against England.

T20 World Cup squad: Babar

Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Asif Ali,

Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar

Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad

Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz,

Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad

Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah

Afridi, Shan Masood, Usman Qadir

Reserves: Fakhar Zaman,

Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz

Dahani

4

16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022 ASIA


REMEMBRANCE SERVICE FOR HER

MAJESTY THE QUEEN IN LEICESTER

Leicester (Asian Independent)- A

remembrance service was held for Her

Majesty The Queen on Tuesday 13th

September at the Sacred Heart Parish

Hall on Mere Road, Leicester by the

Leicester Council of Faith from 5.00-

6.30 pm. The event was organised to

bring together faith communities to

remember our late Queen and stand

together in grief and mourning. It was

attended by over 25 faith leaders representatives

most of whom had met

The Queen during her many visits to

the city of Leicester..

The Queen exemplified selfless

service, dedication and devotion to her

work and has played an important role

in bringing people together. Her life

and her contribution was celebrated by

lighting 96 candles and represented

her work and impact over the 96 years

of her life. One minute silence was

held to have time of reflection and

prayer.

Speakers from the various Faiths

paid their respects by sharing their

memories and thoughts. This included

Bharti Acharya of Hindu Faith, Smita

Shah of Jain Faith and life long member

of LCOF, Leon Charikar of Jewish

Faith, Yasmin Surti of Muslim Faith

and Federation of Muslim

Organisations, Minou Cortazzi of

Bahai Faith, Kartar Singh Bring of

Sikh Faith, Father Paskal Clement of

Anglican Christian Faith, Father John

Lally of Roman Catholic Faith and

Bishops representative and Praful

Thakkar of Hindu faith. Most of them

said they will miss her warm hand

shake and eye contact, the Christmas

message, Royal Ascot and her presence

with Royal family at

Buckingham Palace on special occasions

and we should learn as much as

New Delhi : The

Supreme Court on Thursday

said that convicts who have

spent 10 years in jail, and

their appeal has not yet been

heard, should be granted

bail unless there are any

compelling reasons to deny

this, while remission should

be considered for those who

have completed 14 years in

prison. A bench of Justices

Sanjay Kishan Kaul and

A.S. Oka said the court is of

view that those persons who

have completed 10 years of

their sentence, and their

appeal would not be heard

soon, and if there are no

extenuating circumstances,

such prisoners should be enlarged on bail.

Advocate Gaurav Agarwal, appointed as

amicus curiae, informed the top court that

affidavits were filed, as per its earlier

orders to the six high courts to conduct the

exercise of identifying life sentence convicts.

The top court said firstly, the convicts

who have undergone more than 10 years

imprisonment, unless there are reasons to

possible from The Queen.

Father John Lally, a founder member

of Leicester Council of Faiths and

parish priest for over 40 years was

recognised for his contribution over

several decades to the local community

and inter faith work. A wise counsel

who has been very welcoming to others

and has given so much to his community

and the wider faith community

of the city. He will be dearly missed..

He was presented with a Certificate of

Appreciation and a gift for his retirement.

Head Chaplain of University

Hospitals of Leicester Kartar Singh

Bring commented that The Queen

was a great believer of Faith and tackled

the problems of this country and

the world and by working together.

He reminded everyone of the televised

address Her Majesty The Queen

gave after the outbreak of COVID-19

on 5th April 2020 “ While we have

faced challenges before, this one is

different. This time we join with all

nations across the globe in a common

endeavour, using the great advances

Release convicts who have undergone

10 years in jail, but appeal not heard yet: SC

refuse bail, be granted bail.

It further emphasised on identification

of cases where convicts have completed 14

years of custody, then their case can be

referred to the government for considering

premature release. The bench said the premature

release issue should be decided

within a fixed time, irrespective of whether

appeals are pending or not.

Agarwal, analysing the HCs data, submitted

that there are 5,740

cases appeals by accused in

custody, which includes division

bench appeals and single

bench appeals. After hearing

the submissions, the bench

said the authorities concerned

should undertake the exercise

on urgent basis and also need

to keep in mind the objective

of decluttering jails where

convicts are in custody, without

hearing of the appeals. The

top court gave four months to

various high courts and state

legal services committees to

identify the cases and scheduled

the matter for further

hearing in January next year.

The top court was hearing a

batch of petitions of life convicts in jail

whose appeals are pending before various

HCs.

The top court was informed that in

Bihar, there are 268 convicts, whose cases

are being considered for a premature

release. And, the Allahabad High Court has

the highest pendency of appeals, with 385

convicts having undergone more than 14

years of custody.

of science and our instinctive compassion

to heal. We will succeed- and

that success will belong to every one

of us. We should take comfort that

while we may have more still to

endure, better days will return: we

will be with our friends again; we will

be with our families again; we will

meet again.”

Chairman of Leicester Council of

Faiths Fayyaz Suleman said “ all faith

communities have immense respect

and fondness for our late Queen. For

many it was a sad and sombre occasion

and many people were mourning

together with the nation. As a strong

faith devotee she always advocated for

other faiths to work together and learn

from each other. The event was held

to remember her collectively and to

stand together in mourning and reflect

upon her remarkable values and selflessness.

The Queen will be dearly

missed and we pray foe her solace and

for the whole of the Royal family and

pray that her legacy lives on with our

new monarch His Majesty King

Charles.

Delhi reports 116 fresh

Covid cases, three deaths

New Delhi : Delhi on Thursday reported a decline in new

Covid cases in the

last 24 hours, at 116

against 142 the previous

day, but there

were three more

deaths, as per the

government health

bulletin.

Meanwhile, the

Covid positivity

rate of the capital

city has been reported

to be 0.97 per

cent. The number of

active cases stands

at 546 out of which

382 patients are

being treated in

home isolation.

With 142 patients recovering in the last 24 hours, the total

number of recoveries has gone to 19,75,102, while Delhi's total

caseload is 20,02,145 and the death toll in the city stands at

26,497.

The number of Covid containment zones stands at 79.

A total of 11,929 new tests -- 7,845 RT-PCR and 4,084 Rapid

Antigen - were conducted in the last 24 hours, taking the total to

4,01,12,558 while 24,713 vaccines were administered - 1,386

first doses, 5,750 second doses, and 17,577 precaution doses.

The total number of cumulative beneficiaries vaccinated so

far stands at 3,69,31,074, according to the health bulletin.


NEWS

16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022

5

CM Soren meets Jharkhand Guv,

urges him to clear air on EC's stance

Ranchi : Amid the political suspense in

Jharkhand prevailing for the last three weeks,

Chief Minister Hemant Soren met Governor

Ramesh Bais on Thursday afternoon and urged

him to clear the confusion over his continuation

as an MLA in an office of profit case.

He told the Governor that there is an atmosphere

of uncertainty in the state. In such a situation,

being the constitutional head of the state, he

should take appropriate steps to protect democracy

and the constitution. The Chief Minister's

meeting with the Governor lasted for about 40

minutes. In a letter submitted to the Governor,

Soren has said that unusual, unexpected and

unfortunate circumstances have been prevailing

in the state for the last three weeks. "An atmosphere

is being created by the Bharatiya Janata

Party that I will be disqualified from the membership

of the assembly for taking a mining

lease," he said. Referring to the earlier judgments

of the Supreme Court, Soren said that taking a

mining lease does not constitute a case of disqualification

under Section 9A of the

Representation of the People Act, 1951, but

despite this, the Election Commission has heard

the complaint against him. "Since last August 25

news is going on in the media quoting the leaders

of the BJP and the alleged sources of Raj

Bhavan that I have been disqualified from the

membership of the Legislative Assembly," he

said. "The confusion prevailing in this regard is

not in the interest of the state and in the public

interest. Using this atmosphere, the BJP is trying

to unethically grab the power by defecting our

MLAs," the Chief Minister claimed.

The Chief Minister has said that this immoral

attempt of the BJP will never succeed as his government

has the support of nearly two-thirds of

the members in the Assembly. On September 5,

Chief Minister Soren-led government proved its

overwhelming majority on the floor of the

assembly. The MLAs have expressed full loyalty

and confidence to his leadership. Chief Minister

Soren has told the Governor that as the constitutional

head of the state, he is expected to play an

important role in protecting the Constitution and

democracy. He has urged that the matter should

be heard expeditiously to clear the atmosphere of

uncertainty which is dangerous for a healthy

democracy. Earlier on September 1, the UPA delegation

had met the Governor and submitted an

application to him, seeking to clear the confusion

in this matter. However, the stance in this matter

is not clear yet.

Anti-conversion Bill clears

K'taka Legislative Council

test amid Cong walkout

Bengaluru : The ruling BJP

in Karnataka had the last laugh

on Thursday as the controversial

anti-conversion Bill got

smooth passage in the

Legislative Council amid a

walkout by principal opposition

Congress party.

The Protection of Right to

Freedom of Religion Bill 2021

was tabled by home minister

Araga Jnanendra and passed by

voice vote after prolonged

debate. The opposition

Congress party which has been

vociferously opposing the Bill,

walked out of the Council

ahead of the voice vote.

Although the controversial

Bill had earlier been cleared

by the Legislative Assembly in

December 2021, the ruling

BJP opted for the Ordinance

route in May this year, as it did

not have the numbers to steer

it through the 75-member

Legislative Council. However,

with the BJP enjoying a majority

in the Upper House after

the Council elections in July

this year, it decided to table

the contentious Bill on

Thursday.

Karnataka's version of the

Bill is seen as more stringent

than in other BJP-ruled states

like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya

Pradesh. Home minister Araga

Jnanendra said conversions are

becoming rampant through

unfair means.

The Bill aims to protect

one's right to freedom of religion

and prohibition of unlawful

conversion from one religion

to another by misrepresentation,

force, undue influence,

coercion, allurement or by any

fraudulent means. The Bill

includes provisions for compensation

of up to Rs 5 lakh to

be paid by the accused to those

who were forced to convert. In

cases of mass conversion, punishment

ranges from 3-10 year

imprisonment and a fine of up

to Rs one lakh.

'Show courtesy', 'listen patiently'

part of DoPT guidelines for dealings

between civil servant and MPs

New Delhi : 'Show courtesy and consideration,

listen patiently, be meticulously correct

and courteous, rise to receive and see off' --

these are some of the common guidelines issued

for civil servants while dealing with Members

of Parliament or state legislature.

Issuing the consolidated guidelines, the

Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT)

said, "An officer should be meticulously correct

and courteous and rise to receive and see off a

Member of Parliament/state legislature visiting

him. Arrangements may be made to receive the

Members of Parliament when, after taking prior

appointment, they visit the officer of the

Government of India, state government or local

government."

It may be noted here that recently, a war of

words had erupted between BJP

Parliamentarian Nishikant Dubey and the

District Magistrate of Deoghar.

"The officers should not ignore telephonic

messages left for them by the Members of

Parliament/state legislatures in their absence

and should try to contact at the earliest the

Member of Parliament/state legislature concerned.

These instructions also include SMS

and e-mails received on official mobile phones,

which also should be replied promptly and on

priority," the guidelines said.

They also said that any deviation from an

appointment made with a Member of

Parliament/state legislature must be promptly

explained to him to avoid any possible inconvenience.

Fresh appointments should be fixed in

consultation with him.

Also, MPs of the area should invariably be

invited to public functions organised by a government

office. Proper and comfortable seating

arrangements at public functions and proper

order of seating on the dais should be made for

the members keeping in view the fact that they

appear above officers of the rank of secretaries,

the DoPT guidelines said.

Issuing the guidelines, the DoPT said that

any violation of these guidelines will be viewed

seriously.

"All ministries and departments should

ensure that the above basic principles and

instructions are followed by all officials concerned,

both in letter and spirit. Violations of the

guidelines laid down on this subject will be

viewed seriously," DoPT said.

6 16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022 ASIA


Customs, DRI on high alert

in TN airports on smuggling

of exotic species to state

Chennai : Department of

Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and the

Customs are on high alert in the

International airports of Tamil Nadu

after several cases of smuggling of

exotic species into the state were

busted.

The Central agencies have busted

at least six cases of smuggling of

exotic species into Chennai airport

in the last one month. Three cases of

busting of wildlife species in

Madurai and Coimbatore also have

put the officials of both Customs

and DRI on high alert.

A senior officer of the DRI while

speaking to IANS said: "Iguanas,

Aldabra tortoises, marmosets, tarsier

monkeys, armadillo, and porcupines

were the exotic wild life that

was seized from passengers who

reached the international airports in

Tamil Nadu with a high level of

smuggling into Chennai compared

to other airports."

Customs officials said that all the

smuggled exotic species were

brought in through check-in baggage

and in Chennai, the entry was

from Bangkok via Thai Airways.

All these exotic wildlife are small

species and are covered under the

Convention on International Trade

on Endangered Species (CITES).

The Wild Life Control Bureau is the

authority for CITES in South India.

The agency has already written a

letter to the authorities in Bangkok

on the smuggling of exotic species

of wildlife into the country.

The seized exotic species are

treated at the airport by the Customs

officials with the support of

Wildlife Control Bureau officials

and if the animals are fit to travel,

they are transported to the country

from where they arrived. The officials

feed the animals and transport

only when they are fit enough to

travel.

In Madurai, Coimbatore, and

Trichy airports, Customs officials

are keeping a tab on whether these

airports are used as hubs for smuggling

following high security at

Chennai and the increase in number

of seizures in Chennai.

Centre effects

major bureaucratic

rejig at top level

New Delhi : In a major

bureaucratic rejig at the top

level, the Centre on Thursday

approved the appointment of

13 IAS officers in different

ministries and departments.

The reshuffle came at a

time when the government is

aiming for efficient implementation

of the Centre's policies and flagship

schemes even as the Opposition parties step up

the heat on the BJP, including the Aam Aadmi

Party and the Congress.

As per the order issued on Thursday evening

by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet,

Arun Singhal, lAS (UP, 1987), has been appointed

Secretary in the Department of Fertilisers.

Earlier, he was with the FSSAI.

Similarly, B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, lAS (CG,

1987) has been posted as Chairman and

Managing Director, India Trade Promotion

Organisation, on a contract basis for a period of

two years in the rank and pay of Secretary to the

Government of India upon his superannuation on

September 30. Anjali Bhawra, lAS (PB, 1988),

currently serving as Secretary in the Department

of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities,

has been appointed as Secretary in the

Department of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Rajesh Aggarwal, lAS (MH, 1989), Secretary

in the Ministry of Skill Development and

Entrepreneurship, has been

appointed as Secretary in the

Department

of

Empowerment of Persons

with Disabilities. Rajesh

Kumar Singh, lAS (KL,

1989), has been appointed

as Secretary in the

Department of Animal

Husbandry and Dairying, said the order.

Sunil Barthwal, lAS (BH, 1989), will take over

as Secretary, Department of Commerce, while

Mukhmeet Singh Bhatia, lAS (JH, 1990), will

take charge as Secretary in the Ministry of

Minority Affairs.

Arti Ahuja, lAS (OR, 1990), will take over as

Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment,

while Vijoy Kumar Singh, lAS (PB, 1990), has

been appointed as Secretary in the Department of

Ex-Servicemen Welfare.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet

also approved in-situ upgradation of two officers

to the level of Special Secretary in the rank and

pay of Secretary to the Government of India as a

measure personal to them by temporarily upgrading

the posts held by them.

They are -- Rajiv Jalota, lAS (MH, 1988), as

Chairperson, Mumbai Port Trust in the rank and

pay of Secretary, and Ashish Upadhyaya, lAS

(MP, 1989), as Special Secretary and Financial

Advisor, Ministry of Power.

HC's judgment on hijab

'majoritarian judgment, hurtful

statements', SC told

New Delhi : Senior advocate

Colin Gonsalves on Thursday told

the Supreme Court that the

Karnataka High Court's judgment

upholding ban on hijab in pre-university

colleges, is basically from

the perception of the majority community,

and some observations

made in the judgment are hurtful

and deeply offensive to those who

follow Islam. Gonsalves, representing

one of the petitioners in the matter,

submitted before a bench of Justices

Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia

that the HC judgment was basically from

the perception of the majority community

where the minority view is seen very

partially. "It is a majoritarian judgment. It

does not have constitutional independence...

There are startling paragraphs,

hurting paragraphs in the judgment," he

said. The bench said it has seen his written

submissions. Citing the HC judgment,

Gonsalves submitted that it said one cannot

have scientific temper if she wears

hijab, and this is a hurtful statement.

Referring to another observation in the

HC judgment, he said that insistence on

wearing hijab is against emancipation of

women, and this is also a hurtful statement.

"Parts of the judgment are deeply

offensive to those who follow Islam...".

He also drew a comparison between

the kirpan and turban with the hijab, noting

that the former had already been protected

by the Constitution. "If a turban is

allowed in school, why not the hijab?

What's the difference? Apart from the

fact that it got constitutional protection

75 years ago," he said.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing

one of the petitioners, submitted

that there can be no quarrel with the

proposition that a citizen is entitled to

give expression of her personality by not

just wearing a dress of her choice but, in

the context of her cultural traditions.

"Wearing such dress which allows others

to identify that she belongs to a particular

community, embraces a particular

culture, and represents the values of that

culture," he said.

"This fundamental right to express

herself and the culture she hails from

must be protected under Article 19(1)(a)

and would be in aid of the Preambular

objective of liberty of thought, expression,

belief, faith and worship."

He argued that there can be no law

which prohibits such expression as long

as it does not disturb the public order, or,

violate the accepted norms of decency

and morality as prescribed by law.


Discrimination in Interview

during Delhi University:

Dr. Abhay Kumar

ASIA

16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022

Muslim-centric parties

to muster support

against madrasa survey

7

Dr. Abhay Kumar

Dear friends,

the interview for the post of political science (Guest) was

scheduled on Saturday afternoon, September 10, 2022. Given

my previous experience, I was not willing to appear for it. But

friends persuaded me to go and fight for our rights.

I reached the college well before the time. When my turn

came and I entered the room. The first question was asked about

my experience. I said that I had taught for four semesters at

NCWEB. I mentioned that I had taught ”Comparative politics”,

“International Relations”, “Comparative Political Thoughts”

and “Indian Government and Politics”. I said that as a teacher I

had taught all the articles listed in the syllabus of the same Delhi

University and the expert could ask anything about any reading

or ideas.

Friends, the first question asked by a female member, perhaps

she is the principal of the college if I am not wrong, to give

the full form of NCWEB! The second question asked by a male

expert, perhaps he is the political science department head, is to

differentiate the money bill and finance bill.

These two questions were clear indications that the board

does not deserve to take my interview. My work is on minority

affairs and social justice, the expert did not have any time to

look into it. Had they studied it carefully, they would not have

asked me finance bill and money bill questions as I have never

worked on that issue. Had they asked about the larger political

economy question, it might have still made some sense.

Even I said that you could ask and discuss any reading from

the above- mentioned four papers but they could not ask anything.

Perhaps, they themselves have not read anything!

Soon, they called a person from the office and asked him to

take me out.

Having experienced such a humiliation, I felt very sad. My

sadness is not because I was thrown out of the interview room

but because of the sorry state of Indian academics, particularly

the political science department which is headed by intellectual

bankruptcy.

Ph.D. (Modern History)

Centre for Historical Studies

Jawaharlal Nehru University

New Delhi- 110067

Mobile (also Whatsapp): +91 9868660402

Lucknow : Muslim-centric parties in

Uttar Pradesh will now launch a campaign

and mobilise people to oppose a survey of

madrasas.

The parties that are a part of this initiative

include the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul

Muslimeen (AIMIM), Peace Party and

Rashtriya Ulama Council.

AIMIM state unit president Shaukat Ali

is already holding meetings in various districts

to mobilise people from the Muslim

community over the issue and gear up the

party cadre.

He said that the AIMIM chief

Asaduddin Owaisi has termed the survey

of madrasas as a "mini- NRC" and alleged

that the UP government was "harassing"

the Muslim community in the name of a

survey.

Peace Party chief Mohammad Ayub said

party leaders and workers have launched

an awareness campaign in the east UP districts

to enlighten the community over the

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government's

order on the madrasa survey.

It is a plan to "polarise" the Hindu and

Muslim communities on the issue, he

observed.

"The Uttar Pradesh government knows

people from the weaker section of the

Muslim community are not in a financial

position to admit their wards to regular

schools. With the help of donations,

madrasa management give free education,

food and lodging facilities to students. Free

education for every child is the

Constitutional responsibility of the government.

Instead of fulfilling its responsibilities,

the government is trying to close

madrasas," he said. The national president

of Rashtriya Ulama Council (RUC),

Maulana Aamir Rashadi Madani, said there

was an uneasiness in the Muslim community

over the survey of madrasas across the

state.

"Muslim bodies and organisations running

madrasa should join hands to oppose

the state government order. It is a conspiracy

against the Muslim community, and we

will have to prepare a work plan to challenge

the government plan to close

madrasas," he said.

Republican Senator introduces legislation

to ban 15-week abortion nationwide

Washington : Republican Senator

Lindsey Graham has introduced a legislation

that would ban abortions after 15

weeks of pregnancy across the country.

The bill would prohibit doctors from

performing abortions after 15 weeks gestation

except in situations involving rape,

incest, or risks to the life and physical

health of the mother, reports Xinhua news

agency. Graham told reporters on Tuesday

that the measure “will put the United States

abortion policy in line with other developed

nations”. White House Press

Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded by

issuing a statement that “this bill is wildly

out of step with what Americans believe.”

In June, the Supreme Court overturned

the 50-year-old landmark Roe v. Wade legislation,

which eliminated the constitutional

protection of abortion rights for women.

Without Roe v. Wade, states are able to

impose their own legislation on the medical

procedure. Abortion has been one of

the most divisive issues in the US.

According to a Pew Research Center

survey last month, a majority of American voters said the issue of abortion would be very important in their midterm vote.

President Murmu to attend Queen Elizabeth's funeral

New Delhi : President Droupadi

Murmu will represent India at the state

funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in

London on September 19.

Murmu will be visiting London

from September 17 to 19 to offer condolences

on behalf of the Government

of India.

Queen Elizabeth, the former head

of state of the UK and Head of the

Commonwealth of Nations, passed

away on September 8.

President Droupadi Murmu, Vice

President Jagdeep Dhankhar and

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

expressed condolences at the demise

of Queen Elizabeth II.

External Affairs Minister S.

Jaishankar visited the British High

Commission in New Delhi on

September 12 to convey India's condolences.

India also observed a day of

national mourning on Sunday

(September 11).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had

tweeted, "Her Majesty Queen

Elizabeth II will be remembered as a

stalwart of our times. She provided

inspiring leadership to her nation and

people. She personified dignity and

decency in public life. Pained by her

demise. My thoughts are with her family

and people of UK in this sad hour."

"In the 70 years of reign of Her

Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, India-UK

ties have evolved, flourished and

strengthened immensely. She played

an important role in the welfare of millions

of people around the world as

Head of the Commonwealth," the

Ministry of External Affairs said in a

statement.

8 16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022 NEWS


SULAKHAN SINGH DARD RECIEVES

BRITISH EMPIRE MEDAL

In an auspicious ceremony held at

the beautiful Beaumanor Hall,

Woodhouse Eves, Leicester His

Majesty The King's representative

Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire

Mike Kapur OBE conferred the

British Empire Medal BEM on

Sulakhan Singh Dard on Monday 5th

September 2022. The Right

Worshipful The Lord Mayor of

Leicester Counsellor George Cole ,

Leicester's first black Lord Mayor,

Lady Mayoress, Deputy Lieutenants

and many other dignitaries were present

at the ceremony on a stunning

beautiful day on which four of the five

recipients attended. All the awarders

excelled in their own fields of work in

the county of Leicestershire.

Deputy Lieutenant Surinder

Sharma read the citation for Mr. Dard

and said that he is a gifted and committed

volunteer who prides himself

on his selflessness and tasks to the

community of Leicestershire and

beyond. He started off by helping his

local Sikh community by encouraging

them to integrate within society, seeking

and gaining employment skills

which would be an asset to them and

local employers. In 1982 he set up and

ran the Sunday supplementary Punjabi

school at a local Gurdwara in

Leicester. He organised and ran workshops

and organised teacher training

to greatly benefit the pupils. In1989 he

established the Guru Nanak

Community Centre for the elderly and

disabled Sikhs. He also applied for

and received National Lottery funding

to establish the school clubs and

employment workshops. The after

school club was recognised as the

most successful in the region by BBC

East Midlands Today.

Mr. Drad suffered a heart attack in

the year 2000 which really made him

take stock of his outlook on life.

Recognising the valuable contribution

of British Heart Foundation{BHF} he

set out to inform and educate the community

as to the benefits of a healthier

heart. This has culminated recently

with a national advertising campaign

where he is the face of the BHF as a

case study. being seen on their website,DVDs.

booklets and You Tube.

His unique approach and language

skills have allowed him cascade core

messages from the BHF directly to

elderly Sikhs who otherwise would

have been unaware of the importance

of the work being undertaken to

reduce poor heart health and the strain

it puts upon the NHS. He has spent

countless hours touring the county,

unpaid to encourage a healthier

lifestyle for the elderly, whatever their

background.

In 2018 he received an Outstanding

Achievement award for his work with

the BHF and was invited to attend as a

guest at their annual reception at the

House of Lords in honour of those

who have gone that extra mile in support.

He has also recognised the

importance of spiritual faith and has

trained as a Chaplin. He now offers

out of hours support with University

Hospitals of Leicester and is warmly

welcomed as somebody who offers

spiritual, cultural and religious guidance

and support and support for

patients in palliative care at the local

Hospice, Leicestershire Organisation

for the Relief of Suffering LOROS.

He is a weekly visitor to HM Prison

Service, where he offers support as a

chaplain to prisoners and staff.

Rehabilitated prisoners have

approached him after their release and

thanked him for his support and stated

how he showed them the approach and

direction necessary to lead a crime

free and normal lifestyle. He also acts

as a chaplain Leicestershire Police and

Fire Rescue services and was recognised

by the Police and Crime

Commissioner as a valuable asset for

officers. He is also an honorary member

of the Leicester Council of Faiths,

a body set up promote understanding,

peace and harmony within the diverse

community of Leicester. All these

roles are unpaid. He is an inspiration

to many people, an outstanding member

of the community and he is well

respected in all aspects of life.

www.theasianindependent.co.uk ASIA 16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022 9

Drugs valued at Rs 200 crore

seized, SIX ARRESTED

Porbandar : Gujarat Anti

Terrorist Squad and Indian Coast

Guard (ICG) have seized 40 kg

heroin valued at Rs 200 crore from a

Pakistani fishing boat and arrested

six persons in this connection near

the International Maritime Border

Line (IMBL).

During the intervening night of

September 13 and 14, on a specific

intelligence input, the ICG strategically

deployed two fast interceptor

class of ships, C-408 and C-454 for

patrolling in areas close to the

IMBL.

During midnight, the Pakistani

boat was observed moving suspiciously

in Indian waters, 5 nm

TN: History-sheeter

gets police protection

for WEDDING

Chennai :

Tamil Nadu police

have courted controversy

over providing

protection

to history-sheeter

Naresh Babu during

his marriage.

Police were present

in every nook

and corner of the

wedding hall when

Naresh Babu walked up the dias for

the rituals. As per police, he was

given protection as a rival gang had

plans to eliminate him during his

wedding. Apparently, Naresh Babu

(35) of Nadvarupettu has several

criminal cases pending against him

at Somangalam police station and

on his wedding day, a rival gang was

planning to kill him. A large number

of police from Kancheepuram station

were seen frisking the guests

who were arriving at the high-profile

wedding.

Naresh Babu was allegedly

involved in the recent beheading in

the Somangalam police station limits

a month ago and there was a

death threat to him from the rival

gang. He married a woman from

Kodambakkam.

All the vehicles that arrived at the

wedding hall were checked to prevent

any goon entering the hall in

plain clothes and attacking the

groom.

Sources in police told IANS that

Naresh Babu was asked to wind up

the celebrations before 10 p.m. and

that bloodshed be avoided.

However, police said that no

unwanted element was present in

the wedding hall as maximum precautions

were taken to prevent any

untoward incident.

inside notional IMBL and 40 nm

from Jakhau.

On being challenged, the

Pakistani boat over boarded a consignment

and started evasive

maneuvering, the ICG said in a

statement.

The consignment was skillfully

recovered by one of the two ICG

Jakarta : Representatives of

G20 countries have agreed to introduce

an assessment instrument to

measure how far each country's

policies have accommodated the

needs of people with disabilities.

The agreement was concluded at

the Sixth G20 Employment

Working Group (EWG) meeting in

Bali, which mainly discussed inclusive

job opportunities.

"We aim to ensure that workers

with disabilities could have the

ships and found to be a drug haul.

"On visual examination, the drug

is believed to be heroin with quantity

approx. 40 kg and market value of

Rs 200 crore. The other ICG ship,

braving very rough seas in pitch

dark night and marginal weather

conditions, maneuvered and stopped

the boat," the ICG added.

same opportunities as other workers.

Thus, we agree to formulate an

instrument that can evaluate

whether the policies in every country

have been friendly with the disabled

people and how far their realisations

of affirmative actions for

the people with disabilities,"

Secretary General of Indonesia's

Manpower Ministry Anwar Sanusi

said on Tuesday in a written statement

released after the G20 EWG

meeting.

The boat is being brought to

Jakhau for further joint investigation

by all agencies.

This is the fifth such joint operation

by the ICG and ATS, Gujarat in

the last one year in which huge

quantity of narcotics is seized and

those involved in the crime are

arrested.

G20 members to introduce

assessment tool to evaluate

affirmative policies for disabled people

The G20 EWG, he added, also

raised other development issues,

including the development of

capacity of human resources and

social protection in the working

environment.

"Inclusive job creation is one of

the issues raised by Indonesia's G20

Presidency at the EWG meeting

that will later be discussed further at

the Labor and Employment

Ministers Meeting held tomorrow

(Wednesday)," Sanusi said.

10 16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022 ASIA


PM has given 1,000 sq

kms of territory to China

without fight: Rahul

New Delhi : After reports of disengagement with

China at Ladakh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on

Wednesday attacked the government for not restoring

the status quo of April 2020 at Line of Actual Control

(LAC) with China.

Rahul said, "China has refused to accept India's

demand of restoring status quo of April 2020. PM has

given 1000 Sq Kms of territory to China without a fight.

Can GOI explain how this territory will be retrieved?"

he said.

Government sources on Tuesday said that there has

been complete disengagement at key flashpoints in the

Ladakh sector between India and China.

The process started on September 8 after months of

talks and 16 rounds of corps commander meetings. As

per sources the two sides have moved back after May

2020 friction. The sources said that both sides have verified

their posts at LAC by the ground commanders.

According to sources both India and China moved

back their frontline troops to the rear from the face-off

site of PP-15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area in eastern

Ladakh and dismantled temporary infrastructure there

as part of a five-day disengagement process.

TN Pollution control

board begins crackdown

on untreated sewage

Chennai : Tamil Nadu

Pollution Control Board

(TNPCB) has directed the district

administrations to ensure

that lorries transporting

untreated sewage be confiscated

and case registered against

those operating them.

In Tiruvallur district, nine

lorries were seized that were

found to be emptying untreated

sewage into water bodies

rather than taking it to the

Common Sewage Treatment

Plants (STP).

Sources in the TNPCB told

IANS that in Madurai, Tiruchi,

Salem,

Dindigul,

Virudhunagar and Chennai,

several lorries that transport

untreated sewage were

detained and sealed.

The TNPCB has also made

it mandatory that even buildings

that are less than 20000

sq ft in construction area must

obtain the consent from thr

PCB to establish and operate a

sewage treatment plant.

The crackdown and new

directive follows several complaints

received from across

the state that Sewage

Treatment Plants are not properly

operated and that untreated

sewage was discharged into

storm water drains, vacant

land and nearby waterbodies

leading to pollution.

The TNPCB has also

directed all the residential

associations to apply for getting

clearance for the Sewage

Treatment Plant and the consent

has to be periodically

renewed.

It may be noted that the

TNPCB has been receiving

complaints from across the

state from individuals and

social organizations regarding

the open dumping of untreated

sewage this polluting water

bodies across the state l.

Kashmir to get its

first electric train

on Gandhi Jayanti

Srinagar : On October 2, electric train will

start moving on the 137 kms long Banihal-

Baramulla corridor of Jammu and Kashmir rail

link.

Indian Railway officials said that work on the

project was going on since August 2019.

The mandatory principal chief electrical engineer

(PCEE) inspection of the electric rail link

will take place on September 26 and on Gandhi

Jayanti, the project will be inaugurated, the railway

officials said.

"Trials on Baramulla-Budgam part of the

137-Kms long electric train link have already

been completed while the trial on the remaining

Budgam-Banihal portion will be carried out on

September 20", sources said, adding that the

project cost of the electric train link from

Banihal to Baramulla is Rs 324 crore.

The electrification of the Banihal-Baramulla

rail link will reduce air pollution and is expected

to bring down the operational cost by 60 per

cent.

Aus state makes multi-million-dollar

effort to attract int'l students

Perth : The government of Western Australia

(WA) on Wednesday announced the launch

launched several schemes worth a combined total

of A$16.8 million ($11.3 million) aimed at reinvigorating

the state's international education sector.

Making the announcement on Wednesday, WA

International Education Minister David

Templeman said A$10 million would go towards

an agent incentive scheme to "promote WA as a

study destination of choice to prospective international

students."

Templeman said it was vital that the WA government

"incentivizes international student agents,

as well as students, to encourage them to consider

and ultimately make the right choice to study in our

state".

The scheme will pay the agents a bonus of

between A$500 to A$1,000, depending on whether

a student enrolls at a vocational training institute or

at a university.

The remaining A$6.8 million will go towards

two separate subsidies: one for accommodation

and the other for education fees for eligible fulltime

international students.

Those one-off subsidies will each be worth

A$1,500.

Templeman said the programs supported the

WA government's commitment to international

education and formed part of the additional A$41.2

million in initiatives for that sector announced in

the 2022-23 state budget.

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Thai court to

decide PM's term

limit on Sep 30

Bangkok : Thailand's Constitutional Court

announced on Wednesday that it is set to rule on

the case of Prayut Chan-o-cha's term limit as

Prime Minister on September 30.

"The court has sufficient evidence to make a

ruling," the Constitutional Court said in a statement,

adding that examination has been ended

and the court is scheduled to issue the decision on

September 30. The statement was issued after the

court held a meeting Wednesday to discuss the

case, reports Xinhua news agency.

Last month, judges of the court agreed by five

votes to four to suspend the premiership of

Prayut, effective on August 24, following a petition

filed by the opposition parties for a ruling on

when his eight-year tenure should conclude,

which the opposition parties believed should have

ended.

The opposition parties also urged Prayut to

step down. During the period, Deputy Prime

Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has been serving as

the Interim Prime Minister.

Prayut was selected as the Interim Prime

Minister after a 2014 coup and was later royally

endorsed as the 29th Prime Minister on August

25, 2014. His supporters argue that the clock on

his tenure should begin when the 2017 constitution

was instituted, or even after the 2019 general

election when Prayut was elected as the Prime

Minister.

ASIA

16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022

11

NASA prepares to launch Artemis I

MOON MISSION on Sep 27

Washington : NASA will attempt to

launch its Artemis I moon mission on

September 27 after two failures, with a

potential backup opportunity of October 2

under review.

NASA said that it adjusted the targeted

dates for a cryogenic demonstration test and

the next launch opportunities for Artemis I.

The agency will conduct the demonstration

test on September 21, before going for

the launch. "The updated dates represent

careful consideration of multiple logistical

topics, including the additional value of

having more time to prepare for the cryogenic

demonstration test, and subsequently

more time to prepare for the launch," the US

space agency said in a statement.

Artemis I teams have completed repair

work to the area of a hydrogen leak in one

of the rocket's engines.

On September 3, NASA attempted to

launch Artemis I but called it off after

detecting a liquid hydrogen leak.

Artemis I is NASA's uncrewed flight test

which will provide a foundation for human

exploration in deep space and demonstrate

NASA's commitment and capability to

extend human existence to the Moon and

beyond.

The US space agency on August 30

scrubbed the mission launch for the first

time owing to technical glitch with one of

the SLS rocket's engines.

During the second launch attempt, engineers

saw a leak in a cavity between the

ground side and rocket side plates surrounding

an 8-inch line used to fill and drain liquid

hydrogen from the SLS rocket.

Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Dindigul get

concrete houses at rehabilitation camp

Chennai : The Sri Lankan

Tamil refugees, who have been

living in rehabilitation camps in

Dindigul for the past 30 years,

can now live in concrete houses.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister

M.K. Stalin on Wednesday inaugurated

the Sri Lankan Tamil's

rehabilitation camp through

video conferencing from

Chennai.

The rehabilitation camp at

Dindigul for Tamil refugees is

spread across seven acres of

land and has 321 houses. These

houses have been constructed at

a cost of Rs 17.84 crore.

According to Dindigul district

administration, each house has a

300 sq ft area with a living

room, a bedroom, a kitchen, and

a toilet. Each house cost Rs 4.95

lakh. The foundation stone for

the project was laid in

December 2021 and completed

in nine months. The rehabilitation

camp for Tamil refugees at

Dindigul also has an overhead

water tank with a capacity of

60,000 litres.

Currently, 70 families who

are living in the Dindigul camp

will be shifted to the new concrete

houses. Inmates of camps

in Gopalpatti, Adiyanthu, and

Thottanuthu will be shifted to

the Dindigul rehabilitation

camp. Notably, it was the then

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.

Karunanidhi who had allocated

thatched houses for Tamil

refugees from Sri Lanka at

Adiyanthu. The Sri Lankan

Tamil refugees have reached the

state in 1990 after they fled

from the island nation during

the civil war in that country.

Tamil Nadu minister for

cooperation, I. Periyasamy,

Minister for Food and Civil

Supplies, R. Sakkarapani and

Minister for Minorities Welfare

and Non -Resident Tamils welfare,

Gingee S. Masthan handed

over the keys of the houses to

the benefeciaries.

On kanshi TV

channel 772.

SATURDAY at

6 :00 pm

SUNDAY at

6 :00 pm

Ambedkarites News and Views

by

BUDDHIST INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Mob : 07411 251 804, 07847 307 059

12 16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022 NEWS


Iraq-Kurdistan

OIL TUSSLE

China is using commerce to

conquer Gilgit-Baltistan

The perilous relationship

between Iraq

and Kurdistan has

soured once again,

due to the latter's oil

exports to Turkey.

There are reports

that international oil

firms operating in

Kurdistan have asked

the US to help defuse

an upsurge in tension between Iraq's central

government and the Kurd Autonomous

Region or Kurdistan regional government

(KRG), according to a letter seen by

Reuters.

Over the years, Kurdistan had been supplying

oil to Turkey and in the present circumstances

they say intervention is needed

to ensure oil continues to flow from the

north of Iraq to Turkey to prevent Turkey

having to increase oil shipments from Iran

and Russia. Besides this to a large extent

the economy of the Kurdistan region

depends on oil export, as the monetary support

from Baghdad is not enough to cover

its developmental projects, and shutting the

oil export could pose a gave threat to its

economy and it may even collapse.

Earlier in February, Iraq's Federal Court

deemed that an oil and gas law regulating

the oil industry in Iraqi Kurdistan was

unconstitutional. Following the ruling,

Iraq's federal government, which has long

opposed allowing the KRG to independently

export oil, has increased its efforts to

control export revenues from Kurdistan.

Reuters reports that it has copies of letters

which shows that some oil multinationals

even approached US ambassadors in

Baghdad and Ankara in January 2022,

seeking mediation in a separate case dating

back to 2014 concerning the Iraq-Turkey

Pipeline (ITP). Baghdad claims that Turkey

violated the ITP agreement by oil from

Kurdistan, which it deems illegal, through

the pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.

According to Iraq's oil ministry the final

hearing in the case took place in Paris in

July, and the International Chamber of

Commerce will issue a final decision in the

coming months. Apart from requiring

Turkey to get more crude oil from Iran and

Russia, a cessation of oil flows through the

ITP, would cause the KRG's economy to

collapse, oil companies' letter to US representatives

said. Iraq is already getting benefit

of high oil prices, which leapt to 14-yearhighs

after major oil exporter Russia invaded

Ukraine in February and they remain

close to $100 a barrel. The ITP has the

capacity to pump up to 900,000 barrels per

day (bpd) of crude, roughly one percent of

daily world oil demand, from Iraqi stateowned

oil marketer State Oil Marketing

Organisation (SOMO) as well as the KRG.

For now it is pumping 500,000 bpd from

northern Iraqi fields. The multinational oil

companies have also lobbied US congress

members to write letters to the US Secretary

of State Antony Blinken in August. State

Department spokesperson Ned Price said on

August 16 that disputes between Baghdad

and Erbil were between the two sides, but

the US could encourage dialogue. Al

Arabiya TV channel reporting on the matter

quoted Raad Alkadiri,

managing director for

energy, climate, and

sustainability at

Eurasia Group, as saying

that the US has

become disengaged

from Iraq over the past

decade. And thus, no

pressure from

Washington or other

governments will resolve the issues

between Baghdad and the Kurds. To make

matters further complicated last week,

SOMO threatened legal action against international

buyers of Kurdish crude, only

adding to the risks associated with investing

in the region. This is the latest step by

Baghdad in the escalating dispute with the

KRG over who should control Kurdistan's

oil. Experts say that Kurdistan could see its

oil production and exports halved within

five years, further depleting the already

drained coffers of the Kurdistan Regional

Government (KRG). The investment climate

in Kurdistan is currently not conducive

to major oil industry investments,

despite Kurdistan officials' claims to the

contrary, amid a bitter dispute between the

KRG and the federal government of Iraq

over who has the right to control the oil

resources and revenues in the semiautonomous

region. A Kurdish official has

described the dispute as the worst fallout

between Baghdad and Erbil in nearly 20

years. Oil exports account for over 80 per

cent of the KRG budget, and without revenues

from oil, the region faces even more

hardships, on top of the limited budget allocations

from the federal government in

Iraq, which itself is a caretaker cabinet as

politicians have been unable to form a regular

government for nearly a year after the

October 2021 general election.

Without new investment in oil,

Kurdistan risks losing half of its current oil

production by 2027, according to government

documents seen by Reuters. But

attracting investment to Kurdistan again is

much easier said than done.

Throughout the 20th century, Kurds in

Iraq oscillated between fighting for autonomy

and for independence. Kurds experienced

Arabisation and genocide at the

hands of Ba'athist Iraq. The Iraqi no-fly

zones over most of Iraqi Kurdistan after

March 1991 gave the Kurds a chance to

experiment with self-governance and the

autonomous region was de-facto established.

The Baghdad government only

recognised the autonomy of the Kurdistan

Region after the fall of Saddam Hussein,

with a new Iraqi constitution in 2005. A

non-binding independence referendum was

passed in September 2017, to mixed reactions

internationally. The Kurdistan Region

largely escaped the privations of the last

years of Saddam Hussein's rule and the

chaos that followed his ousting in 2003,

and built a parliamentary democracy with a

growing economy. It seems that now perhaps

the time is ripe for the international

community to step-in to ensure Kurdistan's

independence once and for all, from Iraq

and let the country embark on its route to

democracy and prosperity.

The Great-Game as we

know it today began around

early 1800s when in 1801

Russian Tsar Paul I sent

Napoleon Bonaparte a

secret letter proposing a

joint invasion of British

India. Considering the

expedition too ambitious,

Napoleon turned down the

offer. However, Russian

attempts to conquer India

did not end there.

Due to the strategic location

of both Iran and

Afghanistan as the gateway

to British India, they were

dragged into the Great-

Game.

In 1801, Russia annexed

the Kingdom of Georgia

and the Persians saw it as a

direct invasion of their

regional sphere of influence

in Central Asia.

Three years later, Russia

continued with its imperial

expansion and laid siege to

Yerevan (the capital of

Armenia). This military

maneuver drew Iran into an

alliance with the British.

Fast forward to 1979

when troops of the former

Soviet Union entered Kabul

to protect the communist

government which was

faced with an insurgency

supported by the US,

British and their western

allies as well as China.

For the next 10 years,

Pakistan became the frontline

state among the contending

players of the

Great-Game. Finally, in

1989 the Soviet troops were

forced to withdraw ushering

a period of civil war and

uncertainty that continues

to this day. Flashback to the

1800s when Russia began

to build trading posts all

across Central Asia as a

means of using commerce

to conquer the independent

kingdoms of Central Asia.

Edward Law, 1st Earl of

Ellenborough, served as a

member of the British

Cabinet and was appointed

president of the Board of

Control for India in 1828

and later as governor general

of India between 1842

and 1844. He observed the

Russian expansion toward

India very closely and

reported that Russia was

using commerce as a means

to conquer central Asian

republics by setting up trading

posts.

Today, the China-

Pakistan-Economic-

Corridor (CPEC) which is

part of a greater China's

Belt and Road Initiative

should be seen as a vial economic

expansionist program

initiated to conquer a

key geographical location

on the cusp of Central Asia,

India and China namely

Pakistan occupied Gilgit-

Baltistan (PoGB).

Sold to the people of

PoGB as a landmark project

to uplift the lives and infrastructure

of the poverty

stricken people of PoGB

CPEC has in fact deepened

their colonial subjugation.

Considering China's ambition

to extend CPEC right

down to the deep sea port of

Gwadar in Balochistan, the

project is in actuality an

illegal economic encroachment

on a territory that is

part of Jammu Kashmir and

therefore of India.Thirtyseven

special economic

zones (SEZs) are to be

established along the route

of CPEC in Pakistan. Nine

are to be established on priority

basis in all the

provinces including PoGB.

Moqpondass Special

Economic Zone is one such

SEZ being built in PoGB.

The other is being built in

my city and is called Mirpur

Industrial Zone. These economic

zones are to be

linked together right up to

the port of Gwadar.

Moqpondass SEZ borders

with Afghanistan to the

North, China to the

Northeast and PoJK to the

South. No wonder PoGB is

referred to as "the life line

of CPEC".

Moqpondass is rich in

precious stones and all the

mining contracts in the

region are already being

pouched by China or their

sponsored private contractors.

This has caused displacement

of thousands of

residents and resulted in

wave after wave of protests

in PoGB.

As promised earlier

Gilgit-Baltistan has not

been made a stake holder in

CPEC. The 1.8 million jobs

promised to be generated

by CPEC for PoGB never

materialised and China sent

thousands of its own workers

instead to work on

CPEC projects in the

region.

As the Great-Game

enters a new era with

Chinese imperialist expansion

and India taking her

place as world's fifth largest

economy the old strategy of

using commerce to conquer

has come alive again.

Manoj Gupta, group editor

of security affairs at

CNN-News 18 reported on

June 15, 2022, that China

has asked Pakistan for permission

to setup military

outposts in Balochistan for

CPEC security.

Soon we might witness

Chinese military outposts in

Gilgit-Baltistan in the name

of providing security to

Chinese personal working

on CPEC projects.

How the new players in

the Great-Game will manifest

their manoeuvres only

time can tell but till then

PoGB seems to have

become the first fatality of

Chinese policy of using

commerce to conquer.


NEWS

16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022

13

Chinese BRI: A success or a failure?

The recent economic

upheaval followed by the political

disruption in Sri Lanka, has

once again made China's Belt

and Road Initiative (BRI) the

focus of debate whether it is

beneficial or insensitive to the

participating countries besides

being a success or a failure.

Chinese President Xi Jinping

launched the BRI with much

fanfare and high promises and

grandiose plans for the participating

countries in 2013. It was

considered to be a centrepiece of

the Chinese foreign and trade

policy.

Basically, the BRI earlier also

referred to, as One Belt One

Road or OBOR for short, is a

global infrastructure development

strategy to invest in nearly

150 countries and international

organisations, around the globe.

The BRI formed a central

component of Xi's "Major

Country Diplomacy" strategy,

which calls for China to assume

a greater leadership role for

global affairs in accordance with

its rising power and status. As of

August, 149 countries were listed

as having signed up to the

BRI.

Xi originally announced the

strategy as the "Silk Road

Economic Belt" during an official

visit to Kazakhstan in

September 2013, referring to the

proposed overland routes for

road and rail transportation

through landlocked Central Asia

along the famed historical trade

routes of the Western Regions;

in addition to the "21st Century

Maritime Silk Road", referring

to the Indo-Pacific sea routes

through Southeast Asia to South

Asia, the Middle East and

Africa.

In fact the BRI was also considered

a grandiose plan to challenge

the American hegemony

over the global trade and diplomacy.

However, the recent events in

Sri Lanka, with similar echoes

being heard from Bangladesh,

Nepal and Pakistan has led

some China watchers to conclude

that this is an indicator of

the hit that the Chinese economy

has taken during the Covid

pandemic and the BRI appears

to be under revaluation with

recipient countries wary of the

debt trap and its economic feasibility.

Let's take a closer look at the

original intent of the BRI, its

expansion and its long and

short-term impacts on the aid

recipient countries and whether

it has been a success or a failure

and how the US could have

countered it in a much better

manner.

In his report in 2020, Rafiq

Dossani, Director, RAND

Centre for Asia Pacific Policy,

opined that China's strongest

motive behind the BRI was its

long-term economic security.

The maritime routes of the BRI

would have helped the relatively

underdeveloped, landlocked

areas of China such as Yunnan

and Xinjiang provinces by linking

them with ports in the more

rapidly growing areas of Asia.

At the same time, the emerging

land routes of the BRI were

marked as an alternative to the

South China Sea, through which

most of China's trade currently

passes and which is becoming a

zone of contestation between

the US and China.

Dossani further explaining

the reasons for the initial welcome

of BRI opined that traditionally,

many countries prefer

to work with the World Bank

and other multilateral lenders,

which provide borrowers with

good practices, while making

significant funding available on

a meritocratic rather than political

basis.

But, he says further that from

a developing country's viewpoint,

accessing the world's

spare capital has been difficult

because of the risk entailed in

many such investments. The

Asian Development Bank estimates

that Asian countries face

an infrastructure investment gap

of $459 billion a year.

This logic also explains the

sentiments, which in the initial

stages of the launch of the BRI

seemed to be the main attractive

reason for the BRI projects and

Chinese funding. But nine years

after its launch BRI seems to

have lost its sheen, due to the

economic meltdown in several

countries, which borrowed

heavily from China under the

garb of infrastructure development,

progress and prosperity.

Bangladesh Finance Minster

AHM Mustafa Kamal has publicly

blamed economically

unviable Chinese BRI projects

for exacerbating economic crisis

in Sri Lanka. He says that

developing countries must think

twice about taking more loans

through BRI as global inflation

and slowing growth add to the

strains on indebted emerging

markets.

In fact Bangladesh has made

it clear that it will not accept

any further loans but only

grants from Beijing. Nepal has

also taken the same stand.

Pakistan with some $53 billion

being spent by Beijing under

the aegis of BRI also faces the

same fate.

China has also invested some

$44 billion in Indonesia, $41

billion in Singapore, $39 billion

in Russia, $33 billion in Saudi

Arabia and $30 billion in

Malaysia.

The cry against Chinese BRI

is not limited only to Indian

sub-continent as its reverberations

can be heard in the stalled

$4.7 billion railway project in

Kenya, also. Five years since its

launch, the project ends abruptly

in an empty field, 200 miles

from its destination in Uganda.

As conflicts between the

United States and China appear

to mount, some experts have

questioned the intentions of

China's BRI. It has been viewed

as a debt trap for impoverished

states and a means for China to

expand its territorial control,

but is it a reality? Is the US

missing an opportunity to participate-in

or initiate parallel

activities?

BRI has been repeatedly

labelled a debt trap and a power

grab, and perhaps this seemed

like a possible scenario.

However, this concept has been

debunked by recent research.

Deborah Brautigam, director of

the China Africa Research

Initiative at Johns Hopkins

University, found no evidence

that Chinese banks over-lend or

invest in loss-making projects

to obtain a foothold in those

countries, in one of her studies

on Chinese lending to Africa.

There is further evidence that

China is not engaging in debt

trap diplomacy. Brautigam has

noted that in some countries the

IMF has been labelled as being

vulnerable. Also Chinese loans

were not responsible for pushing

indebted countries above

IMF debt sustainability limits.

Furthermore, it should be

noted that not just impoverished

nations, but East Asian

and Europe countries have also

been smitten by the BRI. Over

18 European Union countries

have joined the BRI.

In fact, rather than decrying

China, the US should engage in

infrastructure lending to poor

countries, and/or make it easier

for multilateral banks to lend for

such projects, reducing bureaucratic

requirements. It should

also initiate similar activities in

under-developed or developing

countries.

To better its image, China

should improve transparency

around BRI deals. The World

Bank and other bodies have also

called for increased transparency.

This would go a long way in

improving US and other countries'

understanding of Chinese

intentions about the BRI.

14 16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022 NEWS


Is Agra to welcome guests in new tourist season?

Agra : A new tourist season is

about to begin with the World

Tourism Day on September 27,

but the city of grand monuments

that draws over eight million visitors

annually is hardly ready to

welcome the guests.

The hospitality industry,

including hotels, travel agents,

guides etc., is waiting anxiously

for the tourists, after nearly three

years of distressful wait due to the

Covid-19 pandemic.

They are expecting a big boom

as international travel is now near

normal. With the number of international

chartered flights and air

connectivity with several cities in

India going up, the number of

tourists is expected to show a

remarkable increase this year, feel

hotel industry captains.

This year, a new beginning is

being made. Mayor Navin Jain

has announced that Sharad

Purnima on October 9 will be celebrated

as the birth anniversary of

Agra. Big plans have been drawn

up for a three-day carnival. The

city will be dressed up for the big

show that would include musical

performances, processions, cultural

events, while the historical

monuments will be lit up.

District authorities are expecting

UP Chief Minister Yogi

Adityanath to attend the annual

Ram Lila Barat and celebrations

Larkana (Pakistan) :

Pakistan's Department of

Archaeology has called for

urgent attention towards

conservation and restoration

work at Mohenjo Daro,

apprehending that the site

may be removed from the

world heritage list if such

work was not carried out,

media reports said.

The archaeological ruins

of Mohenjo Daro had

received record rains, measured

at 779.5 mm, which

continued from August 16 to

26. It resulted in considerable

damage to the site and

partial falling of several

walls, including the protection

wall of the stupa dome,

Dawn reported.

It was learnt that the

Curator of the site in his

August 29 letter to the

Director, Culture,

Antiquities, and

Archaeology said: "We have

put in efforts to protect the

site with our resources."

The role of other departments

? Irrigation, Roads,

Highways, and Forest ? was

at Janakpuri coming up in the

Dayalbagh area.

The roads are being repaired

and given a new coat, encroachments

are being removed. The

municipal corporation is spending

several crores to facelift the area.

But even as a new tourist season is

around the corner, the city administration

is yet to wake up to repair

and clean up the roads in the city

which have not only become a

Mohenjo Daro may be removed

from the world heritage list

quite essential for safeguarding

the world heritage

site, as landlords and farmers

had not only inserted

pipes and given cuts to

canals and roads to release

water into Mohenjo Daro's

channel. However, due to

negligence on the part of

above-mentioned departments,

the rainwater from

nearby agriculture lands had

filled the disposal channel,

sources said.

This caused delay in driving

out water from the site,

the letter said, adding that

water had entered even into

the campus. After rains, the

safety hazard, but also assault aesthetics.

The tourism industry leaders

are alarmed at the lack of concern

and general apathy towards

streamlining civic amenities vitally

necessary for the visiting

tourists. When tourists, particularly

those from the developed

world, arrive in Agra, they are

aghast at the dismal conditions.

This results in short visits, same

day return by most visitors via the

official concerned at the site

had said: "We are facing

another emergency in the

shape of a constant rise in

the Indus level."

Although water level in

Indus is low, due to the construction

of metal road on

the protection dyke near

Mohenjo Daro, paired with

occurrence of fissures, cavities

and dangerous gullies,

the department had

approached local irrigation

officials but in vain, according

to the letter. No one had

turned up to inspect the site

and assess the situation, it

said, Dawn reported.

Yamuna Expressway, say hoteliers.

The rains have exposed the

claims of the city administration

of having patched up or filled all

the pot-holes and completed

repair work on most roads.

The municipal corporation officials

claim that work on filling of

pot-holes is still continuing. Jain

has assured the citizens that

prompt remedial measures would

be taken to ensure safe mobility.

The city administration had

claimed in June that all the drains

in the city have been cleaned and

there would be no water-logging

anywhere. But the claim proved

wrong in the first two big showers

that inundated the low-lying

areas.

"Presently, water-logging is not

an issue, as rains have been scanty

this year. A shortfall of at least 33

per cent is expected," said social

activist Nitish Shukla.

The biggest problems for the

tourists are the monkey and the

stray dog menace, in addition to

cows, say the hoteliers. The city

administration has failed to contain

the simian, canine and bovine

nuisance around monuments, and

there have been numerous

instances of tourists becoming

victims of attacks, says tourist

guide Ved Gautam.

Also, the city police have failed

to demolish encroachments

around the monuments.

The city appears in shambles,

with heaps of garbage dumped

along the railway tracks, the

Yamuna river bed turning dry

while polluted areas continue to

irk the visitors. But there is no

sense of urgency among the official

agencies entrusted with the

task of transforming Agra into a

smart city.

With start of 'Pitru Paksha', roads to

salvation lead through Gaya's Pretshila

Gaya (Bihar) : Gaya in

Bihar is considered the top

pilgrimage site for the salvation

of ancestors. As per

beliefs by performing 'Pind

Daan', one's ancestors get

salvation while the one

who performs the ritual

gets rid from 'Pitra Dosh'.

It is said that earlier

there were 365 'Pind Vedis'

in Gaya, but at present it

has came down to 54, out

of them 45 are Pind Vedis

and nine 'Tarpanasthals' -

where people perform Pind

Daan and 'Tarpan' for the

salvation of ancestors during

Pitru Paksha.

Out of them, the

'Pretshila Vedi' is considered

very important. Riding

on a palanquin, the physically

helpless Pindadani

reaches the summit of the

873 feet high Pretshila hill

and prays for the salvation

of the souls of their ancestors.

People come to Gaya

from the 'Pratipada' date of

'Ashwin Paksha' till the end

of Pitru Paksha and offer

Pind Daan. It is believed

that by performing 'Shradh'

at the Pretshila Vedi, the

souls wandering in the

'Pretyoni' due to premature

death or some other reasons

also get salvation.

Panda Shri Ram Dhami

says that there are footprints

of Lord Vishnu near

the Pretshila and there is a

crack in the stones near this

Vedi. It is believed that by

performing Pind Daan here,

it straightly reaches the

ancestors or any member of

the family who died prematurely

and they attain salvation.He

said that at all the

Pind Vedis, the Pind is given

with sesame, jaggery, barley

etc but at this Pretshila jaggery

mixed with sesame are

scattered. He said that the

ancestors who after death

harass their people, attain

salvation after getting Pind

Daan. It is said that the name

of Pretshila used to be

'Premparvat', but after Lord

Rama came here and offered

Pind Daan, this place was

named Pretshila. Before

Pind Daan in Pretshila, it is

considered mandatory to

take a bath and perform

Tarpan in the Brahma

Kund.


Food Ministry canteens to

have millets on menu

NEWS

16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022

15

Australians warned to

be on high alert for

monkeypox symptoms

New Delhi : The Union Food Ministry has directed its

official canteens and meetings to serve millets in order to

promote their consumption, in view of their health benefits.

Millets may be included as one of the snacks/biscuits

made of millets, such as ragi biscuits/cookies/ladoos and

baked millet chips etc. as snacks to be served in the meetings,

it said.

Millet/ragi dosa, millet mix vada, millet mix puri and

idli/ragi ladoo etc to be used in the canteens and as far as

possible, locally available millet-based products should be

used, it said.

The year 2023 will be celebrated as the International

Year of Millets (IYoM). The Department of Food and

Public Distribution has been actively promoting procurement/

consumption of millets in the country and utilisation

of procured millets for distribution in the

TPDS/ICDS/MDM Schemes.

The Ministry said that millets' consumption confers several

benefits and helps in managing life style diseases. Due

to their high density of nutrients including vitamins, minerals,

phyto chemicals and dietary fiber, millets are also

excellent grains to alleviate malnutrition and micronutrient

deficiency.

Sydney : Amid an alarming number

of new monkeypox cases in Australia,

health authorities have warned people

to be on high alert for monkeypox

symptoms.

According to the Daily Mail, after

40 cases were found to be locally

acquired, health authorities raced to

find the source of the spread of monkeypox,

which was first detected in

Australia in May.

Since then, there have been 129

cases recorded across the country, 67 in

Victoria -- 40 of which were locally

spread, 50 in New South Wales, five in

Western Australia, three in

Queensland, two in the Australian

Capital Territory and two in South

Australia, the report said.

Most of Australia's cases have been

"imported" from travellers returning

home from overseas holidays, but data

from Victoria shows a worrying new

trend of the virus moving and spreading

in the local community.

As per the report, eight people are

receiving hospital monkeypox treatment

in Victoria from a total of 17

Covid DRUGS may pose

risk to aquatic organisms

New York : Several drugs used to

treat Covid-19 patients -- including

remdesivir, dexamethasone, and antibiotics

for associated bacterial infections

-- persist through wastewater treatment

and may occur in waterways at levels

high enough to negatively affect aquatic

organisms, finds a new study.

According to researcher Heather

Preisendanz from Penn State, over-thecounter

and prescription-strength pharmaceuticals,

including antibiotics and

pain relievers, are excreted by humans,

and many are known to persist through

wastewater treatment plants and into

nearby waterways, where they can negatively

affect aquatic organisms.

"This knowledge spurred concerns

that increased use of pharmaceuticals

during the pandemic could also lead to

increased concentrations of these drugs

in wastewater treatment plant effluent

and potentially harm aquatic life," said

Preisendanz.

For the study, published in the

Journal of Environmental Quality, the

team collected weekly influent (incoming)

and effluent (outgoing) samples

from two wastewater treatment plants

in central Pennsylvania between May

2020 and May 2021. One of the sites

includes a hospital in its service area.

The researchers analysed the influent

at both wastewater treatment plants

for the virus SARS-CoV-2, as well as

the influent and effluent for a variety of

medications that may have been used

to treat Covid-19.

In their study, the researchers examined

two over-the-counter fever reducer/pain

relievers (acetaminophen and

naproxen), five antibiotics (ampicillin,

doxycycline, ofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole,

and trimethoprim), two Covid-19

therapeutic agents (remdesivir and

dexamethasone, which is used to

reduce severe upper respiratory inflammation

in patients on ventilators), and

hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug

that was ultimately shown in clinical

trials to be ineffective for treating

Covid-19.

The team found that remdesivir concentrations

were correlated with the

number of hospitalised Covid-19

patients, while dexamethasone concentrations

were associated with the number

of hospitalised patients on ventilators.

Specifically, influent to the wastewater

treatment plant servicing the

hospital had concentrations of remdesivir

and dexamethasone of 28 per cent

and 31 per cent, respectively, while the

average removal efficiencies by the

wastewater treatment plant for these

drugs were 39 per cent and 56 per cent,

respectively.

Hydroxychloroquine was not detected

in any of the influent samples collected

at either treatment plant.

According to Preisendanz, although

risk to aquatic organisms from remdesivir

could not be calculated, as no

research has yet been done to determine

the concentrations that could

pose a risk, dexamethasone was detected

in quantities that could pose a low

acute risk to fish.

active cases.T

he World Health Organisation

(WHO) said the current fatality rate of

monkeypox is between three and six

per cent but has historically reached as

high as 11 per cent, so about one in ten

people die from the disease.

Australian authorities are attempting

to slow the rate of spread through the

use of a smallpox vaccine called

Jynneos.

However, global supplies of the jab

have been scarce since smallpox was

eradicated, with Bavarian Nordic in

Denmark being the only manufacturer

of the specific vaccine.

Due to the historic use of smallpox

vaccines, it is believed people aged

over 40 have higher protection against

monkeypox.

Pakistan faces shortage

of fever medicines

amid dengue outbreak

Karachi : Pakistan is continuing to report more and

more dengue virus cases daily, with panic and fear spreading

among the public as a shortage of fever medicines has

also surfaced, media reports said.

In Pakistan's Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and

Balochistan, dengue has started to take a dangerous turn,

Geo News reported. Karachi reported another death from

dengue virus in the last 24 hours, with over 2,000 people

affected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after excessive rains left

breeding sites for mosquitoes, the report stated.

The wards reserved for dengue patients in Karachi's

hospitals have been are full. Punjab reported 125 new

cases of the mosquito-borne disease. Moreover, dengue

claimed four lives in the province, data from the Health

Department showed. Meanwhile, a shortage of medicine

for fever remains persists in most areas of the country,

with pharmacies in Punjab awaiting a resumption in the

supply of the drug in Punjab for the last four weeks, Geo

News reported. In Peshawar, the price of a leaf of fever

pills has increased from Rs 17 to Rs 30.

16 16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022 NEWS


Hold awareness workshops

about fortified rice's benefits,

CENTRE TELLS STATES

South Sudan to vaccinate

37,390 kids against measles

New Delhi : Aiming to promote

benefits of fortified rice

while clarifying concerns about

impact of its consumption

among some sections of people

vulnerable to certain diseases,

A new protein may increase

chances of fertilisation

London : An international team of researchers created

artificial eggs

using thousands of

beads having a different

piece of protein

so that sperm

could bond with

them, increasing

chances of fertilisation.

A new protein,

named MAIA

after the Greek

goddess of motherhood, is said to be responsible for drawing

sperm into the egg for fertilisation.

“Infertility is unexplained in more than half of those who

struggle to conceive naturally. What we know about fertility

in humans has been severely limited by ethical concerns and

the lack of eggs for research,” said Harry Moore from the

University of Sheffield in the UK.

“The ingenious artificial fertilisation technique which

enabled us to identify the MAIA protein will not only allow

scientists to better understand the mechanisms of human fertility,

but will pave the way for novel ways to treat infertility

and revolutionise the design of future contraceptives,” he

added. The findings published in the journal Science

Advances revealed that when sperm was incubated with the

beads scientists found only a small number of beads had

sperm attached to them.

After several rounds of removing beads which didn’t have

sperm bound to them, researchers were eventually left with

beads corresponding to one particular protein, MAIA, and

sperm bound to all of these beads.

The gene corresponding to MAIA was then inserted into

human culture cells, and these became receptive to sperm in

the exact way that it would during the natural fertilisation

process. “This discovery of the MAIA protein is a major step

forward in how we understand the process of human fertilisation,”

said Allan Pacey from the varsity.

the Centre has asked states like

Gujarat, Maharashtra,

Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh,

Jharkhand, Telangana

Rajasthan, and Kerala to hold

workshops in this regard.

The Department of Food and

Public Distribution (DFPD) has

asked the states to organise

workshops and seminars in the

sensitive areas of tribal belts

and districts that have populations

that are vulnerable to thalassemia

and sickle cell

Chennai : With Flu on the rise among

children in various districts of Tamil Nadu,

the admission rates in hospitals have

increased and a large number of students

are absent from schools.

Doctors said that there is a 25 per cent

spike in the number of flu-related fever,

cold, and cough in the past few weeks

across the state and is mostly affecting

school-going children.

Dr. Manonmani. G, Professor of

Pediatrics in a Government Medical

College in Tamil Nadu while speaking to

IANS said, "With the Covid protocols

relaxed people are refraining from wearing

masks and this can be one of the reasons

for a comeback of diseases like flu among

children in Tamil Nadu which was on a lull

during the past two years of Covid -19 pandemic."

She said that new forms of viruses are

present among the samples taken for

research and most of the children are

affected by the Respiratory Syncytial Virus

(RSV) which has replaced pneumonia as

the common causative agent of common

cold and fever among children. Dr.

Manonmani also said that after more relaxations

from pandemic protocols, viruses

are coming back with a vengeance. She

said that certain viruses which mutate often

anaemia.

Officials said

that this initiative

has been carried out

in Gujarat where

workshops where

organised in Vapi

on September 9 and

many ministers and

higher officers,

technical experts,

and others attended

the programme.

Neha Arora, State

Programme

Officer, Nutritional

International,

Gujarat made a

presentation on fortified

staples provided

through

social safety net

programmes, and

Dr. Yazdi Italia,

former Honorary

Director, Sickle

Cell Anemia

C o n t r o l

Programme, a Go-

NGO Partnership Programme

of the state goverment, on

u n d e r s t a n d i n g

Hemoglobinopathis-Sickle Cell

Anemia, and Thalassemia.

At the end of the workshop,

there was general consensus

regarding the positive impact

of rice fortification in government

schemes and its significant

contribution to the country's

nutritional security strategy,

said a government official.

are also present in the test samples during

research and that it was a matter of concern.

Doctors also said that Human parainfluenza

virus- 3 (Respiratory illness associated

with bronchiolitis, bronchi, and pneumonia),

rhinovirus and influenza B virus

are commonly seen during this season from

the samples being tested.

Dr. Bindu Menon, virologist at Madurai

medical college said that there are some

emerging viruses that have never been seen

Juba : Backed by the World Health Organization (WHO),

South Sudan's Ministry of Health announced the launch pf a

reactive measles vaccination campaign targeting 37,390 children

aged between six months and 14 years.

In a joint statement, the Ministry and WHO said that the exercise

is underway in Juba County which has a history of recurring

measles outbreaks with one outbreak confirmed in 2017 and a

more recent one in 2019, reports Xinhua news agency.

The campaign aims to achieve at least 95 per cent coverage

to interrupt the ongoing transmission of the measles virus in the

county. Acting WHO Representative for South Sudan Fabian

Ndenzako said Covid-19 has disrupted immunization programs

around the world, increasing the risk of severe outbreaks.

"Vaccine remains the most cost-effective preventive measure

against measles. Thanks to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the ongoing

reactive campaign focused on building immunity among

over 37,000 children who are vulnerable to measles infections

and its complications," Nadenzako said. The vaccination activities

are being conducted at health centres, schools and outreach

centres to maximize access to all the vulnerable members of the

community. According to the WHO, the current outbreak started

with the initial cases reported in mid-July which led to further

investigation and confirmation of the outbreak.

Since the beginning of the outbreak, the UN health agency

said 79 measles cases with no deaths have been reported from

the five affected payams in Juba county.

A payam is the second-lowest administrative division below

county in South Sudan. Jamal Hassen, director general with the

Ministry of Health Central Equatoria State, said that it provides

routine vaccination services against vaccine-preventable diseases

for the community free of charge to prevent children

against measles. Measles is one of the most contagious diseases

of humans that is caused by the measles virus.

It is preventable and can be eliminated by vaccination.

Flu on the rise among children in TN

before and added that all these viruses are

getting hosts and that the transmission rates

are on the increase.

She said that the flu is only for three to

four days in children, but the children are

into prolonged coughs for three weeks and

are not responding to even cough syrups.

The Children's wards in almost all the

government hospitals in many districts of

Tamil Nadu are full as the admission rates

due to fever and cold are on the rise.


NEWS

16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022

17

Why are some people MOSQUITO

magnets and others unbothered?

A medical entomologist points to metabolism, body odour and mindset

Florida : It's rare to attend an

outdoor party in warm weather

without hearing people complain

about mosquitoes. They swat away,

sit in campfire smoke, cover up

with blankets and eventually just

give up and go indoors. On the

other end of the spectrum, there are

plenty of people who don't seem

bothered by mosquitoes in the

slightest.

Jonathan Day, Professor of

Medical Entomology, University of

Florida, as a medical entomologist

who's worked with mosquitoes for

more than 40 years, often gets

asked why some people seem to be

mosquito magnets while others are

oblivious to these blood-feeding

pests buzzing all around them.

Most mosquito species, along

with a host of other arthropods –

including ticks, fleas, bedbugs,

blackflies, horseflies and biting

midges – require the protein in

blood to develop a batch of eggs.

Only the female mosquito feeds on

blood. Males feed on plant nectar,

which they convert to energy for

flight.

Blood-feeding is an incredibly

important part of the mosquito's

reproductive cycle. Because of this,

a tremendous amount of evolutionary

pressure has been placed on

female mosquitoes to identify

potential sources of blood, quickly

and efficiently get a full blood

meal, and then stealthily depart the

unlucky victim. If you check some,

or all, of the mosquito's search

boxes, then you may find that you

are a mosquito magnet.

Sensing carbon dioxide and

scent signals

Depending on when during the

day they are active, mosquitoes use

sight, sound and olfactory cues to

identify a potential source of blood.

Most night-active species rely on

olfactory or receptor cues. The most

important chemical cue is the carbon

dioxide that all vertebrates,

including humans, release with

each breath and through their skin.

Mosquitoes are very sensitive to

CO2 and can sense a CO2 source

that is many metres away. Receptor

cells on the mosquito's antennae

and legs bind CO2 molecules and

send an electrical signal to the

brain. When more molecules hit

their receptors, the higher the CO2

concentration, the closer they are to

the host.

However, there are many nonliving

carbon dioxide sources such

as cars, boats, planes and trains. To

separate living from non-living

sources of CO2, mosquitoes rely on

the secondary olfactory cues that

living animals produce.

Metabolic processes like breathing

and moving generate these

scent cues, including lactic acid,

ammonia and fatty acids that act as

additional olfactory clues that help

female mosquitoes zero in on their

next blood meal.

So, carbon dioxide production is

the first mark of a mosquito magnet.

Because the production of CO2

and secondary attractants is linked

to metabolic rate, the higher the

metabolic rate, the more attractants

are produced. Metabolic rate can be

genetically determined, but it also

increases as the result of physical

activity.

The human mosquito magnets

you spot at summer parties may

have a genetically high metabolic

rate or may be more physically

active than other attendees. They

may also be undertaking other

activities that increase their metabolic

rate, such as the consumption

of alcohol.

Increased metabolic rate is why

runners attract more mosquitoes

during their cooldown stretching

exercises. Pregnant women, perhaps

due to their increased metabolic

rate, attract a disproportionately

large number of mosquitoes as well.

Natural body odours are also

important cues used by mosquitoes

to select a host. For example, some

species of Anopheles mosquitoes

are attracted to specific components

of foot odour.

These mosquitoes transmit

human malaria and feed indoors in

the middle of the night. By feeding

on a sleeping person's feet, the mosquitoes

avoid the head, where most

of the CO2 is produced, and reduce

the chance of waking the victim.

Visual cues

Mosquitoes active during the day

and at dawn and dusk also use visual

signals to identify a host.

Mosquitoes usually fly close to the

ground. From this vantage point

they view their potential hosts

against the horizon.

Dark colours stand out and light

colours blend in, so the way a person

is dressed will determine the

number of mosquitoes they attract.

Wearing lighter colours may not

just help keep you cool, but will

help you evade a mosquito's notice.

Mosquitoes can visually detect

motion, again by contrasting a silhouette

against the horizon.

Psychological factors

There is also a psychological

component to mosquito activity.

Some people simply do not notice

the mosquitoes around them. A single

mosquito flying around some

people will elicit a strong response

– you've probably seen someone go

nuts trying to track down the droning

sound of one mosquito in order

to finish off the tiny bloodsucker.

Other individuals are not bothered

and do not notice the mosquitoes

that are attracted to them, even

when the insects are feasting on

their blood. Some mosquitoes specialise

on feeding on parts of the

body that are difficult to see and

difficult to swat.

For example, Aedes aegypti is a

mosquito species that prefers to

feed on humans, mostly around the

ankles.

Lancet study: 47% antibiotics in India unapproved

New Delhi : A significant new

Lancet study has revealed that

unapproved antibiotic formulations

constituted 47.1 per cent of all

antibiotics consumed in the private

sector in 2019 signalling the need

for stricter regulations.

The study said that although the

per capita private-sector consumption

rate of antibiotics in India is

relatively low compared with many

countries (including Sri Lanka and

Pakistan), India consumed a large

volume of broad-spectrum antibiotics

that should ideally be used

sparingly. “This, together with a

significant share of fixed dose combinations

(FDCs) from formulations

outside the National List of

Essential Medicines and a large volume

of antibiotics not approved by

the central drug regulators, call for

significant policy and regulatory

reform,” the authors said.

They examined the private sector

antibiotic use, which contributes to

85-90 per cent of the total consumption

in India and measured the

use in daily defined doses (DDDs).

The study found total DDDs consumed

in 2019 in India was 5,071

million (10.4 DDD per 1,000 per

day). Formulations listed in the

NLEM contributed 49.0 per cent

(2,486 million DDDs); FDCs contributed

34 per cent (1,722 million),

and unapproved formulations contributed

47.1 per cent (2,408 million

DDDs). This is the first published

study analysing private sector consumption

of systemic antibiotics in

India using the DDD metrics. Per

capita consumption rate of 10.4

DDDs in India was found lower

compared to 2015 (13.6 DDDs). In

the Asian context, Sri Lanka registered

a higher DDD of 16.3, China

and Pakistan reported 8.4 and 19.6,

respectively.

18 16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022 NEWS


Early life changes in diet,

lifestyle, environment triggering

several cancers: Study

Evidence suggests an aetiological role of risk factor

exposures in early life and young adulthood

New Delhi : The drastic early-life

changes in teens and young adults regarding

diet, lifestyle, obesity, environment and the

microbiome have led to a "genuine increase"

in the incidence of early-onset forms of several

cancers globally, a new Nature research

has warned.

Over the past several decades, the incidence

of early-onset cancers, often defined

as cancers diagnosed in adults less than 50

years of age, in the breast, colorectum,

endometrium, oesophagus, extra-hepatic

bile duct, gallbladder, head and neck, kidney,

liver, bone marrow, pancreas, prostate,

stomach and thyroid has increased in multiple

countries.

Evidence suggests an aetiological role of

risk factor exposures in early life and young

adulthood," said the global study published

in the journal Nature Reviews Clinical

Oncology, led by researchers at Harvard TH

Chan School of Public Health, Boston.

Since the mid-20th century, substantial

multi-generational changes in the exposome

have occurred (including changes in diet,

lifestyle, obesity, environment and the

microbiome, all of which might interact with

genomic and/or genetic susceptibilities).

The incidence of cancers of various organs

diagnosed in adults less than 50 years of age

has been rising in many parts of the world

since the 1990s. "The early-onset cancer epidemic

might be one manifestation of

increasing trends in the development of

many chronic diseases in young and future

generations," the researchers wrote. They

emphasised that raising awareness of the

early-onset cancer epidemic and improving

the early-life environment should be our

immediate goals. "These are likely to reduce

the burden of both early-onset and lateronset

cancers," they added. To study earlylife

exposures and their implications for

multiple cancer types will require prospective

cohort studies with dedicated bio-banking

and data collection technologies, the

research noted.

19-year-old in Brazil

gives birth to twins

from 2 different fathers

The girl from Minerios gave birth to

twins nine months after having sex with

two men on the same day

Chandigarh : A 19-year-old teenager from

Brazil has claimed that she has given birth to

twins with different biological fathers in an

extremely rare case. This ‘one-in-a-million’ case

has stunned doctors worldwide. The girl from

Minerios in Goias gave birth to twins nine

months after having sex with two men on the

same day. After giving birth, she took a paternity

test because she wanted to confirm who the

father was, reported the Daily Mail. After the

DNA test, she found that only one of her kids

showed positive for the DNA test while the other

one did not. “I remembered that I had had sex

with another man and called him to take the test,

which was positive. I was surprised by the

results. I didn’t know this could happen and the

babies are very similar.” She said in a conversation

with her local media. Though the phenomenon

is extremely rare, it is not entirely impossible.

This is called heteroparental superfecundation

scientifically. “It is possible to happen when

two eggs from the same mother are fertilized by

different men. The babies share the mother’s

genetic material, but they grow in different placentas,”

Dr Tulio Jorge Franco, the woman’s

physician, told local news outlet Globo.

The National Library of Medicine explains

that this case occurs when a second ovary

released during the same menstrual cycle is additionally

fertilised by the sperm cells of a different

man in separate intercourse. The babies are

now 16 months old and the young mum said one

of the fathers help take care of them.

High BP may speed up bone ageing, says study

New York : A team of

researchers has discovered that high

blood pressure may lead to bone

loss and osteoporosis-related bone

damage. In lab studies on rats, they

found that when compared to the

young mice without hypertension,

the young mice with induced hypertension

had a significant 24 per cent

reduction in bone volume fraction.

They also suffered from an 18

per cent reduction in the thickness

of the sponge-like trabecular bone

located at the end of long bones,

such as femurs and the spinal column,

and a 34 per cent reduction in

estimated failure force, which is the

ability of bones to withstand different

types of force.

"In contrast, the older mice who

were given the angiotensin-II infusion

did not exhibit similar bone

loss. High blood pressure and

osteoporosis are common diseases

affecting people and some can have

both simultaneously.

"Bone marrow is where both new

bone and new immune cells are produced.

We suspect that more proinflammatory

immune cells in the

bone marrow may be leading to

damage of the bone and making it

weaker," said Elizabeth Maria

Hennen, from Vanderbilt University

in Nashville, Tennessee, the US.

"By understanding how hypertension

contributes to osteoporosis,

we may be able to reduce the risk of

osteoporosis and better protect people

later in life from having fragility

fractures and a lower quality of

life," she added. The researchers

compared young mice (equivalent

human age 20-30) with induced

hypertension to older mice (equivalent

human age 47-56) without

hypertension to understand the relationship

between hypertension and

bone ageing, according to the study

presented in American Heart

Association's Hypertension

Scientific Sessions 2022 conference.

"Twelve young rats and 11

older rats were given angiotensin

II– a hormone that leads to high

blood pressure for six weeks," the

researchers said.

"Two other control groups of 13

young mice and 9 old mice received

a buffer solution that did not

include angiotensin II, and these

mice did not develop high blood

pressure," they added After six

weeks, the bones of rats from all

four groups were analysed using

micro-computed tomography, an

advanced imaging technique.


NEWS

16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022

19

Dr Ambedkar- The Architect

of India’s Labor Reforms

-Saji Narayanan C.K.

After completing his studies

with flying colors from Columbia

University and London School of

Economics, he returned to India

and became Professor and

Principal of the Government Law

College in Bombay. But for ten

years the ‘untouchable’ Barrister

and Professor could not get sufficient

place to reside and had to

live in one of the ‘chawls’ of

Bombay Development

Department at Parel meant for the

lowest level of workers.

Each floor was having a single

lavatory and single tap for bathing,

washing and cleaning cooking

utensils. Most of the tenants were

mill workers. Living under these

conditions, the professor acquired

a first-hand experience about the

hardships in the lives of the workers.

He had occasions to visit some

of the mills and see how the workers

were working there. This has

created a passion in him to work

for the welfare of workers. He thus

gained the confidence of many

workers and rose to their leadership.

This life experience created

the background for him to become

India’s architect of labor law

reforms.

As a Labor and Political

Leader

In August 1936, he founded a

new political party called the

Independent Labor Party. He

drafted an action program to

address the grievances of the landless,

poor tenants, farmers and

workers. In the initial election

itself, fifteen out of seventeen candidates

put up by the party succeeded

including Dr Ambedkar.

He got established as a reputed

labor leader.

In 1938, the Congress

Government presented the

Industrial Disputes Bill with many

anti-worker clauses in the Bombay

Legislative Assembly. Dr

Ambedkar accused the bill as

“bad, bloody and bloodthirsty”

since it restricted the right of the

laborer to strike and made the

strike illegal as well as impossible.

The bill also enabled the

employer not to disclose his budget

and sought to use police force

against the workers. Still, the

Congress Government went forward

with the bill. As a part of the

campaign against the law, a one

day strike was also held.

Great Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was not only the maker of the Indian

Constitution but was also the visionary architect of India’s labor law

reforms. He was the savior of the Indian labor, and not a mere Dalit

leader. Many of the important labor law initiatives in India were made

by Dr Ambedkar himself, being the first Labor Minister of India in the

Viceroy’s Executive Council during the four years from 1942 to 1946.

Those four years can be termed as the golden period of Indian labor.

As Labor Minister

Dr Ambedkar took over the

Labor portfolio as the Labor

Member of the Viceroy’s Executive

Council in 1942. In a reception, he

said in humility that the high office

held no charm for him and that he

would be the first to quit if his

efforts as Labor Member were

unsuccessful in improving the conditions

of workers of the country.

Regarding the Government’s commitment

to labor, Dr Ambedkar

based his views on the recommendations

of the Royal Commission,

1930 and the various Conventions

of the International Labor

Organization (ILO).

Dr Ambedkar was the

Champion of real tripartism in

India. In 1942, he called the 4th

Tripartite Indian Labor

Conference (ILC) in New Delhi.

Before that, only the Government

representatives were there in the

ILC. In his address, Dr Ambedkar

said: “It is for the first time in the

history of these labor conferences

that the representatives of the

employers and employees have

been brought face to face within

the ambit of a joint conference”.

The objects of the ILC 1942

were the formulating of a procedure

for the settlement of industrial

disputes and the discussion of

matters of all-India importance as

between Labor and Capital. Joint

discussions in the ILCs brought

fundamental changes in the outlook

of the Government, employers

and employees on labor issues.

Initiatives on Labor Rights

and Welfare

Dr Ambedkar for the first time

brought in the 8-hour working per

day to India, bringing it down

from 14 hours. He brought it in the

4th session of Indian Labor

Conference held in New Delhi in

1942. He proposed holidays with

pay for factory workers. He followed

the English pattern of working

hours of 48 hours per week in

India.

For fixing minimum wages for

labor, Dr Ambedkar drafted the

‘Minimum Wages Act’ in 1942

though it was enacted into law in

1948. Dr Ambedkar moved the

Payment of Wages (Amendment)

Bill in1944. ‘Dearness Allowance’

(DA), ‘Leave Benefit’, ‘Revision

of Scale of Pay’, extra payment for

Overtime, subsidized food etc. are

the contributions of Dr Ambedkar.

Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar

formed an Advisory Committee to

advise on matters arising out of the

Labor Welfare under B. P.

Agarkar. As a labor Minister, he

invited Mr V.V. Giri, the then president

of the AITUC, to head the

commission on ‘Forced labor’.

Among East Asian countries, India

was the first nation to bring insurance

for the well-being of employees

through the Employees State

Insurance (ESI) Act.

The first document on social

insurance was ‘Report on Health

Insurance’ submitted to the ILC of

1942. Dr Ambedkar has contributed

the ‘Coal and Mica Mines

Provident Fund’ and the ‘Mica

Mines Labor Welfare Fund, 1946’.

He has also contributed to the

making of Employees Provident

Fund Law. He brought an amendment

to the Workmen’s

Compensation Act of 1923. In

1944, Dr Ambedkar initiated the

amendment to the Factories Act of

1934 with several modifications. It

was Ambedkar again,who introduced

canteen and medical facilities

inside the factory etc.

Before coal mines maternity

law was presented, Dr Ambedkar,

as a Labor Member, went to the

coalfields in Dhanbad to study the

working conditions. He inspected

both surface and underground conditions

of work and went 400 feet

underground.

It is because of Dr Babasaheb

Ambedkar that workers can go on

strike for their rights. In 1943, Dr

Ambedkar introduced the ‘Indian

Trade Unions (Amendment) Bill’

for compulsory recognition of

trade unions. The Industrial

Disputes Act, which is the basic

labor law of the country, was

passed in 1947 and ESI Act passed

in 1948; but were introduced in the

Viceroy’s Council by Dr

Ambedkar years back.

Chief Labor Commissioner,

Provincial Labor Commissioners,

Labor inspectors etc. were first

appointed during his tenure. The

Industrial Employment (Standing

Orders) Bill was introduced in the

central assembly by Dr Ambedkar

and came into force on April 23,

1946. ‘Employment Exchanges’

were created by Dr Ambedkar in

the name of ‘National

Employment Agency’.

Ambedkar was instrumental in

the establishment of the Reserve

Bank of India in 1935. His

‘Industrial Statistical Act, 1942’

was enacted for assessing labor

statistics in the matters of labor

disputes, wage rates, income,

inflation, debt, housing, employment,

deposits and other funds.

Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar initiated

many laws for women workers

in India. They include ‘Mines

Maternity Benefit Act’, ‘Women

Labor Welfare Fund’, ‘Women

and Child Labor Protection Act’,

‘Maternity leave Benefit for

Women Labor’, as well as

‘Restoration of Ban on

Employment of Women on

Underground Work in Coal

Mines’’.

Dr Ambedkar took steps to

amend the Maternity Benefit Act.

When the maternity benefit bill

was introduced in the House, he

said: “I believe that it is in the

interest of the nation that the

mother ought to get a certain

amount of rest during the prenatal

period and also subsequently, and

this Bill is based entirely on that

principle.” He advocated for equal

pay for equal work, and he got

success in the field of coal mines.

See on Page 20

20 16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022 NEWS


Inhuman act of violence against

Adivasis girl in Jharkhand is a

crime against HUMANITY

The story of the brutal torture of

#adivasi girl by the Jharkhand chief

of BJP’s #BetiBachaoBetiPadhao

Seema Patra, wife of a retired IAS

officer look unprecedented but definitely

reflective of how we treat the

#domesticworkers at our homes.

The fact is that most of the elite

class officers and India’s elite civil

servants keep them on lowly paid

jobs as domestics who are actually

compelled to do everything in hope

they will one day become ‘permanent’.

#Jharkhand, #Odisha and

#Chhattisgarh contribute to

#domestic sector in our major cities

apart from poor immigrants from

Bengal, actually, most of them for

the fear of any reaction, claim to be

from West Bengal in India.

Anyway, the #adivasi girls become

part of the network who supply

domestic workers to the homes of

the middle classes, who work in big

corporations or live abroad. The

stories of these scoundrels keeping

their domestic workers in their toilets

or with dogs are not new. The

maltreatment of the #adivasis clearly

shows the bully and exploitative

nature of India’s ‘growing’ middle

class which do not want to pay minimum

wages to their domestics and

exploit their vulnerabilities. Most of

these #bhakts will be in the forefront

of all the ‘nationalistic’ campaigns.

That is why, I say, Indians

have become experts in symbolism.

They don’t want their children to

join the army but would like to look

more #Deshbhakts than the fauzis

who are fighting at the border

because on TV the Bhakti comes

with a great premium. Similarly,

#swchchbharat campaign became a

hogwash as most of this corrupted

middle class or purely Sarvarna

castes never bothered about the

‘kooda wallah’ or sanitation workers

who come and clean their streets

or take their dirt daily. The campaign

became an event to get photographs

and send it to Modi ji so that

they look more obedient than others.

It is the same castes who came

forward

with

#BetiBachaoBetiPadhao campaign

and never treat their daughters or

others as equal.

Now after much effort Seema

Patra is arrested but will this case

become an example for others to

treat their domestic workers better.

Was the violence on #adivasi girl

merely a violence on #domestic

workers or was it a violence on

#adivasi girl that needed to be seriously

probed.

As reports are suggesting that

Seema Patra’s son Ayushman actually

contacted a friend against his

mothers misdeeds. Is it because

Ayushman would ask her to be

treated in a better way? How can a

mother be so brutal to forcibly send

her son to the hospital in the name

of psychological disorder ? It is

now reported that the son has now

been withdrawn from the hospital

Vidya Bhushan

Rawat

by his sister Vatsalya who took the

Adivasi girl to Delhi along with her

and when transferred back to

Ranchi , brought her along. It

means that both Seema Patra and

her daughter have been brutally

exploiting the adivasi girl for long.

We have seen the video which is

unbearable. It reflects how our caste

mind works. I have seen no campaign

by the Hindutva managers

against this. They only look for the

stories where a Muslim is involved

otherwise they are least bothered.

Hindutva is an echo system of

ignoring things when issues of caste

violence or attitude of the savarnas

towards Dalits and Adivasis comes

but they wait for the issue of any

involvement of Muslims and you

would find their noise at the rooftop

level. Right now they are silent

which is definitely criminal and

mischievous. . Not a single netas

have spoken but why will they

speak? Smriti Irani’s histrionics on

the issue of #rashtrapati by

Congress leader’s slip of tongue

was so ‘powerful’ that it looked like

drama but she has not spoken a single

sentence about garlanding the

criminals, rapists and murders of

the family of #BilkisBano. Smriti ji

spoke passionately about #adivasis

when spoke about the president of

India but now an Adivasi girl has

been brutalised by a BJP leader, the

Jharkhand chief of their Beti

Bachao Beti Padhao campaign, they

are silent. It also reflects how leaders

are appointed in the party. Why

should a brahmin from Odisha be

appointed leader of

#BetiBachaoBetiPadhao campaign

in Jharkhand. Are there no eligible

#adivasis from Jharkhand for this.

Will our Pradhan mantri ji speak

about the incident ? He has been

speaking about his #ManKiBaat but

in his 8 years so far he has not spoken

a word about any one who suffers

from such brutalities and caste

or communal violence.

#Jharkhand government must

take this issue to a logical conclusion.

Question is not whether she

will get the compensation or not but

the punishment to the culprit is

extremely important. All these

elites intoxicated of their power

must be made accountable for their

misdeeds. #SeemaPatra is the face

of the terror of a caste mind, who

are too arrogant about their caste

identities and they will resort to

inhuman brutalities if any one, particularly

Dalits or Adivasis try to

look equal to them.

#AnnihilationOfCaste is not possible

with those who believe in

#brahmanical supremacy. Every

day, we are being told about ‘great’

culture, values and civilisation but

all this #adivasi girl faced in

Jharkhand is reflection of those values

that have treated Dalits and

Adivasis in utter disdain and with

great humiliation. Can India’s parliament

take up the issue of Dalits

and Adivasis and offer an apology

for the historical wrongs. Will our

prime minister speak on the issue in

his #mankebat and tell the people

about no tolerance towards those

who humiliate fellow citizens of the

country merely on the basis of their

birth ? Will the PM speak about

untouchability and the caste system

? I hope he speaks and tells fellow

countrymen about the dangers of

such inhuman behaviour as

#AdivasiLivesMatter and as a citizen

of the country it is unexpectable

from any one to treat the fellow citizens

in such a cruel and brutal way.

Shame on Seema Patra. She must

face the law and any effort to protect

her must be exposed.

Ambedkar was a pioneer in

India’s skill development initiatives.

He was instrumental in setting

up the best Technical Training

Scheme for Workers in India. On

August 24, 1944 while in Calcutta

he said: “This is the age of the

Machine and it is only those countries

in which technical and scientific

training has risen to the highest

pitch that will survive in the

struggle…….The Technical

Training Scheme not only maintained

but extended all over the

country and became a permanent

part of the country’s educational

system”. The current draft New

Educational Policy also gives

thrust to vocational education.

Dr Ambedkar has shown his

brilliance by including Philosophy

of social justice and labor rights in

the Constitution. Dr Ambedkar

wanted the subject of labor to be in

the Union list as he stressed the

need for uniformity of labor laws.

But it could not be achieved.

A Strong Critic of

Communism

Dr Ambedkar was amazed by

the sight of equality between different

castes in an RSS camp in

Pune. On the other hand, he was a

staunch critic of Communism. He

said “I am the number one enemy

to both Communism and

Communists who exploited the

laborers for their political ends”.

Continue From Page 19

Dr Ambedkar- The Architect of India’s Labor Reforms

He said class conflict is the cause

of misery. He opposed Marxism

with Buddhist ideas. Dr Ambedkar

said human beings are not living

for bread alone; they have a heart.

He said hatred and struggle could

not be the basis of any change.

Thus, he opposed Marxism. The

Communist Party of India, becoming

angry with his sharp criticism

of Communism, declared that

Ambedkar is an enemy of laborers.

They attacked him as the ‘divider

of the working class’, ‘misleader

of Dalit masses’, ‘opponent of the

nationalist movement’ and a

‘stooge of imperialists’. CPI

founding member S.A. Dange

appealed to voters: “Spoil your

votes but don’t vote Dr

Ambedkar”. Later, as usual,

Communists took a U-turn and

claimed Ambedkar was a proponent

of class struggle. During his

last days, when both Congress and

Communists rejected Ambedkar

and opposed him, his solace was

RSS workers, which is described

in Dattopant Thengdiji’s book on

Dr Ambedkar. Thengdiji explains

the circumstances in which he

himself being an RSS pracharak

became the election agent of

Ambedkar in his last contesting of

the election.

Great Vision about Labor

He cautioned that without social

and economic freedom of all, there

will not be any meaning of political

freedom. Dr Ambedkar

declared: “Labor is not content

with securing merely fair conditions

of work. What labor wants is

fair conditions of life.” He criticized

those who use the word

“cheap labor” and pointed out that

it is a shame to the industry as

well: “It had been said that India’s

monopoly was based on cheap

labor. If this was true, it was not a

matter of complement either to the

industry or to labor.” This was an

answer to all those who at that time

propagated that industrial progress

at a cheap labor cost is the national

goal. It is relevant even today.

Courtesy : News Bharati


1. We the undersigned organisations

and our supporters demand

immediate justice for the child

Master Indra Kumar Meghwal

who died in an Ahmedabad hospital

in August 2022 after he was

severely beaten up by his uppercaste

teacher, allegedly for

drinking water from a pot that

was meant for the teacher.

2. Indra Kumar Meghwal was beaten

up by his teacher Chail Singh

on July 20 2022 allegedly for

touching a drinking water pot.

He succumbed to his injuries at a

hospital in Ahmedabad on

August 14.

3. Chail Singh, the teacher accused,

was arrested the day the child

died, with the FIR accusing him

of beating up Indra and abusing

him with casteist slurs after the

boy drank from the drinking

water pot.

4. It is clear that Indra Kumar

Meghwal died of his injuries

NEWS

after the beating by his teacher

because of his caste. Dalits face

inhuman treatment in this region

of India. Even today, they have

to go several kilometres to find

barbers who can cut their hair.

Furthermore, the family of Indra

have been living in fear for their

safety since they registered the

FIR.

5. This incident case raises many

serious questions about the apathy

of the Indian government,

education system, teachers, and

local authorities when it comes

to caste discrimination within

schools.

6. 75 years after independence and

from 1950 when the Constitution

of India legally abolished the

practice of Untouchability and

provided measures for affirmative

action in both educational

institutions and public services

for Dalits. However, discrimination

based around ritual purity

associated with the caste system

continues to take place across

parts of India. It is clear that the

Indian Government is failing

Indians, especially Dalits, and is

allowing caste discrimination to

fester and grow.

7. A study released by the Steady

Drumbeat of Institutional

Casteism, released in September

2021 by civil society groups,

stated casteism is prevalent in

the Indian higher educational

institutions, particularly in medicine

and engineering. The report

noted that there is a need to treat

caste-based discrimination and

institutionalized caste-based discrimination

as a violation of the

constitutional rights of individual

students, especially from

marginalized castes, tribes and

minority communities and not

simply as ragging.

8, Indra Kumar Meghwal s life cut

short and death cannot be tolerated.

India must change and provide

protection to Dalits and

marginalised groups who suffer

caste discrimination within

schools.

We demand the following:

1. Maximum compensation is paid

immediatly to the family of Indra

Kumar Meghwal. This family has

not only lost a son, but also their

financially security in later life.

2. The teacher Chail Singh be

16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022

DALIT ORGANISATIONS AND SUPPORTERS IN

THE UK DEMAND JUSTICE FOR THE CHILD

KILLING OF INDRA KUMAR MEGHWAL

Open Joint Statement to the High Commissioner of India in London for the

attention of the Prime Minister of India – 01 September 2022

21

charged under the SC/ST

Atrocities Act. Enough is

enough!

3. The Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot

must resign, following the resignation

of his MLA. Gehlot has

no moral right to stay in the

government after this incident.

4. Conduct an open and transparent

investigation under the

Scheduled Castes and the

Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of

Atrocities) Amendment Act,

2015 and prosecute those in

Government and in the education

sector who are found to have

neglected their duties and tried to

cover up

5. Compulsorily train teachers,

administrators, and support staff

in state, private, and religiously

affiliated schools and universities

about caste-based discrimination

/ untouchability, and how

to prevent it and deal with it

when it occurs.

Caste hatred is a crime against humanity

The murder of Jagadish

Chandra, a political activist from

Uttarakhand due to his marriage to

a Savarna caste Rajput girl is simply

outrageous and crime against

humanity. The state of

Uttarakhand might not have much

crime record but the caste discrimination

and untouchability is still

prevalent in the state and Dalits

live a life under deep pressure as

they are truly a minority in the

state of Uttarakhand.

Dalit issues never become

mainstream in the state and even

the political parties desist from

raising the issues. Social movements

in Uttarakhand often keep

the issue aside and would speak in

a sweeping generalization way as

if the mountains dont have a caste

system or untouchability. You dont

need to go to far, just visit about

30-40 kilometers from the state

capital Dehradun to Jaunsar region

which is actually termed as

Scheduled area for tribes and you

will find how caste discrimination

is so powerful that Dalits are not

even allowed to pray at the temples.

There is so much resistance

against Dalits entering into the

temple that it would

shame any one.

Almora district is

one of the most powerful

districts of

Uttarakhand where

various social movements

emerged. The

Dalit movement too

emerged here under

the stewardship of

Munshi Hari Prasad

Tamta who supported

Baba Saheb in the

round table conference

but the brahmanical

mainstream of Uttarakhand rarely

speak about Tamta.

The Brahmin-Thakur binary of

Uttarakhand ignores the rights of

Dalits as an independent and

autonomous community who can

take their own decision and participation

of Dalits-adivasis in the

political, social and cultural life.

Even the issue of reservation is

highly sensitive in Uttarakhand

and we have seen how the movement

for separate states got

momentum after the Mandal

report was accepted to be implemented

in Uttarakhand. However,

Vidya Bhushan Rawat

I would like to say here that this is

not an incident confine to

Uttarakhand and neither is the

state different in terms of caste

discrimination from rest of the

country. The dirty fact is that India

is united from Kerala to Jammu

Kashmir, from Uttar Pradesh to

Manipur, Megahalaya, Jharkhand

to Telangana, Karnataka, Andhra,

Tamilnadu, Panjab, Rajasthan or

Uttarakhand or Himachal

Pradesh.. There is one unanimity

in India that we all suffer from

caste prejudices and common cultural

hatred towards the Dalits and

Adivasis. We have recently seen

how a Jharkhand

Adivasi woman was

tortured by a brahmanical

elite of the state.

Cases of violence

against Dalits are happening

everywhere but

in most of the state

they are open but in

the state like

Uttarakhand they are

shuttle while the intellectual

elite would

suggest as if they are

living in an alien world

where caste discrimination

does not happen and everybody

live in great harmony.

Uttarakhand government must

take strict action against the thugs

and goons for killing Jagadish

Chandra. All those friends who

feel that a community or state

should not be targeted should first

learn to condemn it and campaign

among the so-called powerful

communities to learn to respect

and honor the decision of their

youngsters. Irony is that the girl

who fell in love with Jagdish was

living with her step father and her

step brothers who never treated

her with respect and probably

treated her like a domestic servant.

How powerful is the jaati concept

that the girl who you dont want to

treat better faces the resistance if

she takes an independent decision

about her life.

Almora Police must respond as

to why it did not act when the girl

complained that her life and that of

Jagadish was in danger ? Chief

Minister Dhami would do well to

focus on such crime and order the

police to act decisively. Will the

people come up in the street for

the honor and life for the girl who

lost her husband ? Will the women

of Uttarakhand rise up against this

shameless and barbaric killing of a

man named Jagdish just because

he married the woman he loved ?

This is caste hatred and we must

condemn it and call for its total

annihilations. All talk of a state as

#devbhumi are bogus unless we

clean our heart and embrace

everyone without keeping in the

prejudices based on caste and religion.

Uttarakhand should not

allow such caste violence to happen

if it wish to be called a

civilised state.

22 16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022 NEWS


The so-called Indian Godi

Media an Assessment

It is said that in a democracy,

Media is the Fourth Estate/Pillar of

the State besides; Executive,

Legislature and Judiciary. The

Article 19 of the constitution of

India states that ‘All citizens shall

have the right to freedom of speech

and expression’. Media seeks its

legitimacy and authority to be ‘free

and fair’ from these provisions.

The chief architect of the constitution

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar while

explaining the matter in the

Constituent Assembly said that no

special mention of the freedom of

press was necessary at all as the

press and an individual or a citizen

were the same as far as their right

of expression was concerned. The

UN Declaration of Human Rights

also stipulates that ‘Everyone has

the right to freedom of opinion and

expression; this right includes freedom

to hold opinions without interference

and to seek, receive, and

impart information and ideas

through any media and regardless

of frontiers.’ The purpose of a free

press is to ensure that the people

are free to receive and impart information

that is not manipulated or

serving a particular person, entity

or interest. Freedom of press is critical

to a democracy in which the

government is accountable to the

people. A free media functions as a

watchdog that can investigate and

report on government wrongdoing.

But do the Indian media qualify

itself in terms of the above mentioned

general stipulations for the

media in a democratic country and

a free society? The answer would

be in the negative, unfortunately.

Here comes the new nomenclature

of the Indian Media – The Godi

Media. I have ventured to undertake

this difficult job to say something

on the ‘Godi Modi’, a dangerous

job as a layman and a concerned

citizen, lest I am declared a

traitor- a Gadhar. Let us see what

experts say on the subject,

“Today’s media, under either

threat, luring or manipulations, is

not only crawling but is happily

licking the ‘boots’ of the present

regime and wagging their tails to

appease their ‘masters’ by

overzealous publicizing government’s

narratives.” said Apurva

Trivedi, a journalist in India who

has been working in the field for

over 19 years. “Not only owners

but most of the journalists have

towed the line, either as a survival

instinct or willingly. And that is the

beginning of the end of journalism

which used to be in India and

which ought to be in India,” he

added. It sets the position in perspective.

“

In fact, as far as I understand,

media was never free and fair in

India both under the colonial rule

and even after independence. Bal

Gangadhr Tilak’s mouthpieces,

The Kesri and The Maharatta

stood with the Manuwadi mindset

and opposed Joytirao Phule and

Savitri Phule’s progressive and

reformist agenda of help to the

under privileged. I read that the

Kesri refused to carry a paid advertisement

of the Mooknayak of

Babasaheb Ambedkar

as Tilak did not agree

with Ambedkar on his

views on Hinduism and

dalit rights. The mouthpieces

of Mahatma

Gandhi like; The

Harijan, The Young

India and the Navjivan

always opposed and

maligned the spokesmen

of the oppressed led by

Babasaheb Ambedkar on the same

account. We ushered ourselves

into a democratic system with the

new constitution. Unfortunately,

media remained in the hands of big

industrial houses and sectarian

vested interests of the mainstream

of the society to carry their own

agenda without caring for the civic

or public issues of interest and

concern. Most of the majors in the

media joined hands on the declaration

of national emergency in 1975

by PM Indira Gandhi. This unity,

to my mind, was not to stand for

free and fair media but to oppose

Indira Gandhi and the emergency.

As of today, there is hardly any

newspaper which is dedicated to

the issues of the poor and marginalized

segments of the society. The

captive media does not engage and

encourage dalit journalists and as

such deprived sections of the society

do not have any say in the

media. Of late, some of the dalit

journalists have resorted to the

social media and have become

vocal. It is a good omen and right

step in the right direction. The

main stream of the

media, both print and

electronic, is blissfully

Ramesh Chander

ignorant and silent on

the ‘public centric’

issues. Any sane person

watching the prime time

so called debate shows in the

evening on the TV channels in

India could see and make ones on

assessment. Mine understanding of

the scenario is definitely worrisome.

Someone has rightly commented,

“Press is supposed to be

the voice of the public to the government,

but in modern times, a

contrast to this can be observed,

where some of the major mainstream

media houses are marketing

the political parties while criticizing

the oppositions parties and not

discussing the relevant issues like

public welfare, corruption, analysis

of government schemes, etc.

Though it is also true that forums

like WhatsApp, YouTube, and

Facebook which are totally independent

are have become prone to

fake news leading to mob lynching,

fear-mongering, hate speech,

propaganda spreading and indecency

promoting, which highlights

the need of some reasonable

restrictions of the press.” The selfprofessed

free and fair journalists

and anchors – pretty faces like;

Chitras, Rubikas, Aditis, Anjnas,

Swetas, Himanis among others and

laud-mouths like; Arnabs, Sudhirs,

Amishs, Amans, Deepaks, inter

alia, get busy with their agenda to

corner the ‘Nehru Gandhi’

family and the opposition

to support the Government

and praise the worthies in

power. Most of these TV channels

come up with almost identical topics

and issues as if these have been

dictated by someone sitting in the

big offices outside and the corridors

of power in the South and

North Blocks of the Lutyen’s

Delhi. Their focus always remains

on – Hindu-Muslim divide, projecting

the ruling elite, propaganda

to malign and downgrade Nehru-

Indira-Sonia – Rahul and other

opposition leaders. Even the

names of the programs like; Halla

Bol, Prahar, Taal Thok Ke, Hunkar

and so on, sound like ‘war cries’ in

the battle fields. The usual topics

pertain to – Talak, Jihad, Hizab,

Madrasa, Mandir-Masjid – nationalism

rather than discrimination

against women, untouchability,

caste system to clean and transform

the society. They have no

time to undertake issues of unemployment,

price-rise, bad health

services, education, corruption

(except underlining the dubious

role of CBI, ED, Income Tax

against the opposition leaders and

others not siding with the ruling

outfit) and social issues of discrimination

and neglect pertaining to

the weaker sections of society. The

supposed to be the Fourth Pillar of

the State has failed the country. Let

us not ignore this ground reality

before it gets too late.

The situation is getting precarious

with the each passing day.

Where do we stand in the realm of

free and fair media? In 2017, the

country was ranked 136 out of 180

nations, and later it declined to 138

in 2018 in the world index report.

The 2022 edition of the World Press

Freedom Index, which assesses the

state of journalism in 180 countries

and territories, reveals that India’s

ranking fell from 133 in 2016 to 150

in 2021.

Scandinavian countries, Finland,

Denmark and Sweden top the list of

countries having a free and fair

media. We must, as the largest

democracy of the world, learn

something from these countries.

Our Media Bigwigs should have

self introspection without delay.

The statutory outfits like the Press

Council of India have become only

cosmetic make up to cover the wrinkles

on the face of the Media. They

should wake up and do their job. I

conclude here with a poetic assertion

of Allma Iqbal:

- Nahin Minnatkash-e-Taab-e-

Shaneedan Dastan Meri

- Khamoshi Guftugu Hai, Be-

Zubani Hai Zuban Meri

- My story is not indebted to the

patience of being heard

- My silence is my talk, my

speechlessness is my speech

- Ye Dastoor-e-Zuban Bandi Hai

Kaisa Teri Mehfil Mein

- Yahan To Baat Karne Ko

Tarasti Hai Zuban Meri

- Why does this custom of silencing

exist in your assembly?

- My tongue is tantalized to talk

in this assembly


NEWS

16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022

Uttarakhand killing of Dalit

man is a caste crime and

should be dealt with seriously

23

The murder of Jagadish

Chandra, a political activist

from Uttarakhand due to his

marriage to a Savarna caste

Rajput girl is simply outrageous

and crime against humanity.

The state of Uttarakhand might

not have much crime record but

the caste discrimination and

untouchability is still prevalent

in the state and Dalits live a life

under deep pressure as they are

truly a minority in the state of

Uttarakhand.

Dalit issues never become

mainstream in the state and

even the political parties desist

from raising the issues. Social

movements in Uttarakhand

often keep the issue aside and

would speak in a sweeping generalization

way as if the mountains

dont have a caste system

or untouchability. You dont

need to go to far, just visit about

30-40 kilometers from the state

capital Dehradun to Jaunsar

region which is actually

termed as Scheduled area for

tribes and you will find how

caste discrimination is so powerful

that Dalits are not even

allowed to pray at the temples.

There is so much resistance

against Dalits entering into the

temple that it would shame any

one.

Almora district is one of the

most powerful districts of

Uttarakhand where various

social movements emerged. The

Dalit movement too emerged

here under the stewardship of

Munshi Hari Prasad Tamta who

supported Baba Saheb in the

round table conference but the

brahmanical mainstream of

Uttarakhand rarely speak about

Tamta.

The Brahmin-Thakur binary

of Uttarakhand ignores the

rights of Dalits as an independent

and autonomous community

who can take their own decision

and participation of Dalits-adivasis

in the political, social and

cultural life. Even the issue of

reservation is highly sensitive in

Uttarakhand and we have seen

how the movement for separate

states got momentum after the

Mandal report was accepted to

be implemented in Uttarakhand.

However, I would like to say

here that this is not an incident

confine to Uttarakhand and neither

is the state different in

terms of caste discrimination

from rest of the country. The

dirty fact is that India is united

from Kerala to Jammu Kashmir,

from Uttar Pradesh to Manipur,

Megahalaya, Jharkhand to

Telangana, Karnataka, Andhra,

Tamilnadu, Panjab, Rajasthan

or Uttarakhand or Himachal

Pradesh.. There is one unanimity

in India that we all suffer

from caste prejudices and common

cultural hatred towards the

Dalits and Adivasis. We have

recently seen how a Jharkhand

Adivasi woman was tortured by

a brahmanical elite of the state.

Cases of violence against Dalits

are happening everywhere but

in most of the state they are

open but in the state like

Uttarakhand they are shuttle

while the intellectual elite

would suggest as if they are living

in an alien world where

caste discrimination does not

happen and everybody live in

great harmony. Uttarakhand

government must take strict

action against the thugs and

goons for killing Jagadish

Chandra. All those friends who

feel that a community or state

should not be targeted should

first learn to condemn it and

campaign among the so-called

powerful communities to learn

to respect and honor the decision

of their youngsters.

Irony is that the girl who fell

in love with Jagdish was living

Vidya Bhushan Rawat

with her step father and her step

brothers who never treated her

with respect and probably treated

her like a domestic servant.

How powerful is the jaati concept

that the girl who you dont

want to treat better faces the

resistance if she takes an independent

decision about her life.

Almora Police must respond

as to why it did not act when the

girl complained that her life and

that of Jagadish was in danger ?

Chief Minister Dhami would do

well to focus on such crime and

order the police to act decisively.

Will the people come up in

the street for the honor and life

for the girl who lost her husband

? Will the women of

Uttarakhand rise up against this

shameless and barbaric killing

of a man named Jagdish just

because he married the woman

he loved ? This is caste hatred

and we must condemn it and

call for its total annihilations.

All talk of a state as #devbhumi

are bogus unless we clean our

heart and embrace everyone

without keeping in the prejudices

based on caste and religion.

Uttarakhand should not

allow such caste violence to

happen if it wish to be called a

civilised state.

24 16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022 NEWS


Suki’s three challenges in memory

of ‘THREE GEMS’ lost to cancer

London : A

Buckinghamshire man has

completed the first of three

gruelling challenges inspired

by ‘three gems’ who died

within 20 months of each

other.

Suki Sandhu, from Milton

Keynes, took part in the

London Duathlon on Sunday

(4 September) in aid of the

charity Brain Tumour

Research, running 10km,

cycling 44km and running a

further 10km to finish in

three hours and 27 minutes.

The father-of-three said:

“The London Duathlon is the

biggest duathlon in the

world, which I hadn’t

realised, and Richmond Park

itself is beautiful; we were

cycling and running past

deer, which was just gorgeous.

“If there was an award for

spectators, my team would

have nailed it because they

all had pink Brain Tumour

Research t-shirts on so I

could see them from miles

away. I had almost 20 family

and friends there and it was

so energising because as

soon as I saw that pink pop

up, I knew it was them.

“They spread out, too so I

had constant support and, for

my last 5km, my sons and

nephew ran part of it with

me. They were all there at the

end and there were a lot of

tears but it was really memorable.

It’s not an easy task

and to see so many great athletes,

some of them much

older, was really inspiring.”

Suki, who is a product

director for online gaming

company Inspired

Entertainment and a youth

football coach, is planning to

complete two further

endurance events for the

charity, all in memory of

three loved ones who died

recently.

Affectionately referred to

as the ‘three gems’, these

include his cousin Sarinder

‘Shindi’ Sangha and brotherin-law

Aman Sumal, both of

whom died of glioblastoma

(GBM) brain tumours, and

the wife of another of his

cousins, Tarsem ‘Rani’

Sangha, who died of ovarian

cancer.

Father-of-two Shindi, who

was also a PhD graduate, a

librarian and a former lecturer

at South and City College

Birmingham’s Bournville

Campus, died aged 59 in

March 2020 while young

father Aman, an engineer and

an identical twin from

Ruislip, West London, died

aged 36 in November 2021.

Mother-of-two Rani, who

practiced family law and was

partner at a Coventry-based

solicitor’s firm, died aged 54

in August 2021, six years

after being told she had just

six months to live.

Suki, who turns 50 later

this month, said: “We’ve lost

three beautiful loved ones but

knowing what I now do

about Brain Tumour

Research and what it’s doing

in terms of research and trying

to find a cure, makes me

want to help. I’ve known

people who have been diagnosed

with other types of

cancers, ones that are much

better funded and more widely

researched, who are fine

now and I want the same to

be true of brain tumour

patients in the future.

He added: “I don’t like to

think of families going

through so much pain when

their loved ones have been

diagnosed with this severe

disease and, instead of

spending time with them and

cherishing those memories,

they’re busy trying to find

cures. I know that Aman’s

and Shindi’s families left no

stone unturned in their effort

to save or extend their lives

and I hope that one day the

contribution we make to the

charity will go towards helping

somebody else’s family.”

Suki’s upcoming challenges

include a 160km

three-day cycling challenge

from the Golden Temple in

Punjab, India, which is one

of the holiest sites in

Sikhism, across the border

into Pakistan. There he will

visit Nankhana Sahib, the

birthplace of the founding

guru of Sikhism, Guru Nanak

Dev Ji. He is aiming to do it

in November in time for

Gurpurab, which is Guru

Nanak Dev Ji’s birthday.

It will also be a historical

trip for British-born Sikh

Suki, whose grandfather was

part of the Lahore Regiment

and the British Army’s prepartition

of India and

Pakistan. Arrangements are

being made through Zaigham

Imtiaz, who runs the Lahore

Cycling Club in Pakistan,

and anyone wishing to join

Suki can message him on

Facebook. He is also planning

to run the London

Marathon in April next year.

He said: “My family

members, and especially my

mother-in-law, have been so

entrenched in grieving for

their loved ones that they’ve

not really thought about how

they can help other people,

but seva, the act of selfless

service, is such an important

part of Sikhism that I hope

this will remind us to try and

help others and soften the

grieving process for us all.”

Charlie Allsebrook, community

development manager

for Brain Tumour

Research, said: “Suki and his

family have been through

unimaginable heartbreak.

We’re so sorry for their loss

but know that, sadly, their

story is not unique. Brain

tumours kill more children

and adults under the age of

40 than any other cancer yet,

historically, just 1% of the

national spend on cancer

research has been allocated

to this devastating disease.

We’re working to change this

but it’s only by working

together that we will be able

to improve treatment options

for patients and, ultimately,

find a cure. We appreciate

Suki’s support and wish him

the best of luck with his

remaining challenges.”

Brain Tumour Research

funds sustainable research at

dedicated centres in the UK.

It also campaigns for the

Government and the larger

cancer charities to invest

more in research into brain

tumours in order to speed up

new treatments for patients

and, ultimately, to find a

cure.

The charity is the driving

force behind the call for a

national annual spend of £35

million in order to improve

survival rates and patient outcomes

in line with other cancers

such as breast cancer

and leukaemia and is also

campaigning for greater

repurposing of drugs.


Russia-India trade more than

doubles this year, says Kremlin

ahead of SCO summit

Moscow : Ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

(SCO) Summit this

week where Russian

President Vladimir Putin

will meet Indian Prime

Minister Narendra Modi

on the sidelines, the

Kremlin said that trade

turnover between New

Delhi and Moscow has

soared nearly 120 per

cent so far this year.

"Our relations are

actively developing, the

trade has also increased significantly with supplies of Russian

oil, coal and fertilizers increasing," RT news quoted Kremlin

foreign policy spokesman Yury Ushakov as saying to reporters

in Moscow.

The Summit will take place on Thursday and Friday in the

Uzbek city of Samarkand.

According to Ushakov, the two countries are currently working

on bilateral measures to expand the use of national currencies,

the ruble and the rupee, in mutual settlements.

Last month, New Delhi's Ambassador to Moscow Pavan

Kapoor also noted that Russia-India trade turnover had been

growing in both volume and scope in recent months, RT reported.

He added that businesses in both countries had been working

to overcome the obstacles to closer cooperation posed by sanctions.

Moscow and New Delhi were reportedly discussing mutual

acceptance of Russia's Mir and India's RuPay payment cards,

as well as options to implement each other's interbank transfer

services: India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and SPFS,

the Russian alternative to SWIFT.

India has been boosting purchases of Russian crude over the

past six months, while the US has repeatedly urged New Delhi

to support a price cap on Russian oil.

However, India has been reluctant to join the Western sanctions

on Moscow, placing domestic energy security above

geopolitical conflicts.

Red Cross urges more

cooperation to identify

dead migrants

NEWS

16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022

Commonwealth nations could

quit bloc after Queen's death

London : Commonwealth nations

could "rush for the door" of the bloc after

the death of Queen Elizabeth II, an expert

has warned, media reports said.

In addition to the UK, Charles III now

rules in 14 Commonwealth countries that

were former dominions of the British

Empire, Daily Mail reported.

With republican movements gaining

ground from Australia to the Bahamas, the

new king also faces a challenge keeping

the Commonwealth realms in the royal

fold, the report said.

Several are already set to vote on

becoming republics and replace him as

head of state now that nostalgic ties to the

late monarch are broken by her death.

Barbados became a republic last year

and Jamaica has indicated its desire to follow

suit. Antigua and Barbuda's prime

minister Gaston Browne said it would

vote on whether to remove the royal family

as head of state.

Professor Philip Murphy, director of

the Institute of Commonwealth Studies,

said that the movement had already started

before the Queen died last week, Daily

Mail reported. "A movement had already

25

started before she died," he told the Times.

He said it was being driven by "a combination

of things like the Black Lives

Matter movement, the Windrush scandal

and the growing momentum behind the

move for reparations for slavery and colonialism".

"If you want to write a history of the

world of international relations, certainly

since the 1990s, you would be hard

pressed to find a reason to mention the

Commonwealth," he added, Daily Mail

reported.

"The Commonwealth is so insubstantial

it doesn't have any impact at all, and

no one would notice if it disappeared

tomorrow, in terms of its practical

effects."

As well as the UK, Charles is now head

of state in Antigua and Barbuda, Australia,

The Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada,

Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New

Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint

Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,

Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu.

Gaston Browne made the announcement

minutes after signing a document

that confirmed King Charles III as the new

head of state but emphasised that the

move was "not an act of hostility".

Mexico City : The International Committee of the Red Cross

(ICRC) called on regional countries to strengthen cooperation to

identify undocumented migrants who died on their journey to

the north.

"Every year thousands of people lose their lives on migratory

routes as a result of accidents, violence or hostile terrain," the

ICRC delegation for Mexico and Central America tweeted.

The organization said collaboration among origin, transit and

destination countries is essential to recovering the remains of

migrants, restore their identity and return them to families.

"This includes the exchange, management and analysis of

information for identification," it added.

There are efforts to uncover the magnitude of the tragedy, and

the already-known figures represent only a minimum number,

the ICRC said. Mexico and the US are transit and destination

countries for a large number of migrants, many of whom disappear

each year and die without being identified. In June, 53

migrants were found dead inside an abandoned 18-wheeler in

San Antonio, a major city in Texas, becoming one of the deadliest

migrant-smuggling operations in recent US history.

26 16-09-2022 to 30-09-2022 WORLD


Nepal, India discuss issues of bilateral, mutual interests

Kathmandu : Nepal and India discussed

matters pertaining to bilateral

and mutual interests during the

Foreign Secretary-level talks in New

Delhi.

At the invitation of his Indian counterpart

Vinay Mohan Kwatra, Nepal's

Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Poudyal

arrived in New Delhi and held the

bilateral talks at Hyderabad House on

Tuesday where two sides discussed a

wide range of issues and issues related

to mutual interest and concerns,

according to statements issued by

New Delhi and Kathmandu.

The Foreign Secretaries discussed

multiple areas of cooperation between

Nepal and India covering trade, transit,

connectivity, infrastructure, power

sector, irrigation and inundation, agriculture,

investment, development

cooperation, health sector cooperation,

culture, and people to people

relations, among others, a statement

issued by the Nepali Embassy in New

Delhi said.

"They reviewed the progress on the

discussions held during the high-level

visits of the Prime Minister of Nepal

Sher Bahadur Deuba to India on April

1-3 and of Prime Minister of India

Narendra Modi to Lumbini, Nepal on

May 16. The two Foreign Secretaries

discussed the ways and means to build

on momentum generated by those visits.

They also discussed

cooperation

on multilateral

forums," the statement

added.

Kwatra and

Poudyal also

expressed satisfaction

at the progress

made in different

areas including

power sector, construction

of transmission

line, railway

connectivity,

construction of

ICPs, mototable

bridge and other

important infrastructures.

They also discussed

early conclusion

of the Transit

Treaty including its

Protocol and the

Memorandum to the

Protocol and expediting

the review of the Treaty of

Trade, said the statement issued by the

Nepali side. Matters related to fertilizers

supply, waiver of export restrictions

in wheat, sugar, paddy, and rice

were on the agenda as well.

Nepal is expecting to receive fertilizer

from India on an annual basis and

No plans for Modi-Shehbaz meeting

on sidelines of SCO summit

is seeking the waiver of some essential

items that India has put a ban for

exporting following the war between

Russia and Ukraine. Recalling the outcome

of high-level visits, both sides

discussed seamless power trade under

mutually beneficial arrangement, the

statement issued by the Nepali side

said, the two Foreign Secretaries also

discussed the boundary

matters.

In this regard, they

exchanged views on

completing the boundary

works on remaining segments

through established

bilateral mechanisms,

the Nepali statement

added.

Similarly, according to

the Indian statement, two

Foreign Secretaries

reviewed the entire spectrum

of bilateral cooperation

between India and

Nepal, including economic

and commercial

cooperation, enhancing

connectivity, development

cooperation, trade,

culture and people-people

relations.

"Recent progress in

bilateral cooperation in

the power sector including

through export of

power from Nepal to India was appreciated.

It was also agreed that both

sides will work to further strengthen

such cooperation in keeping with the

Joint Vision Statement on Power

Sector Cooperation adopted during the

visit of the Prime Minister of Nepal to

India in April 2022. Both sides welcomed

the recent signing of the MoUs

between NHPC, India and IBN, Nepal

on the development of West Seti and

SR-6 projects," said the statement.

During the meeting, in terms of

connectivity projects, the progress

made in operationalisation of Kurta-

Bijalpura segment of Jayanagar-

Bardibas rail link and Bathnaha-Nepal

Custom Yard segment of Jogbani-

Biratnagar rail link, which are significant

steps in further strengthening the

people-people links, was noted with

satisfaction.

"The Nepali side appreciated the

Covid-19 assistance provided by India

during the pandemic and also thanked

the Indian side for keeping the supply

lines of trade open, even during the

peak of the lock down," said a statement

issued by India's Ministry of

External Affairs.

To further strengthen people-people

links, both sides agreed to expeditiously

progress on project proposals

for the Ramayana Circuit, said the

ministry. Both sides also agreed to

expeditiously implement extension of

petroleum pipeline from Amlekhgunj

to Chitwan and construction of an

LPG pipeline from Motihari to

Chitwan, the Indian statement added.

Poudyal is scheduled to call on

External Affairs Minister S.

Jaishankar on Wednesday.

Islamabad : Pakistan Prime Mini?ster Muhammad Shehbaz

Sharif has no plans to meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi

on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)

being held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, this week.

"No meeting is envisaged with the Indian Prime Mini?ster,"

Foreign Office spokesman Asim Iftikhar told Dawn news.

An official said though a brief courtesy meeting between the

two was possible, they would not be holding talks saying none of

the two sides have sought a meeting.

The Foreign Office in a statement, however, confirmed that

Prime Minister Sharif would attend the 22nd annual Meeting of

the Council of Heads of State (CHS) of SCO.

"Besides attending the summit, the Prime Minister will hold

bilateral meetings with other participating leaders on the sidelines

of the CHS," it said.

The Pakistani leader will be participating in the CHS meeting

on the invitation of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziy?oyev, who

would chair it.

The leaders of SCO members and observer states as well as the

heads of SCO organisations and other special guests would attend

the meeting. The CHS is the highest forum of the SCO, which considers

and defines strategy, prospects and priorities of the organisation.

At the forthcoming CHS, the SCO leaders will deliberate

on important global and regional issues, including climate change,

food security energy security, and sustainable supply chains.

They would also approve agreements and documents that

would chart the future direction of cooperation among SCO member

states. The SCO is a major trans-regional organisation spanning

South and Central Asia.

Founded in 2001, the SCO upholds the values and principles

enshrined in the "Shanghai Spirit" that include mutual trust, mutual

benefit and pursuit of common development, Dawn reported.

16-09-2022 The Asian Independent

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