˘ˇˆ˙ ˇ˝ % 5%˜1($ 0(%6 !%##$ #˝˝3%˜ %˜% 01 ˙ ˙˝˘ ˛ˆ ... · important assignment,...

16
L eader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday moved Supreme Court challenging Union Government’s decision to send CBI Director Alok Kumar Verma on forced leave and called it “completely illegal and arbitrary”. This has brought new twist to the already con- troversial case of CBI versus CBI over the past few days. Kharge, who is also a mem- ber of the three-member statu- tory committee that selects the CBI Director, questioned the Government’s decision to send Verma “on leave”. In his inter- vention application, Kharge sought quashing of the October 23 order of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and that of the Centre’s Department of Personnel and Training divesting the CBI Director on the ground that the same were passed in derogation of powers conferred upon the Statutory Committee under the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act. Kharge said neither the Central Vigilance Commission nor the Government can curtail Verma’s tenure. Along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, Kharge is the third member in the selection committee of CBI Director. “The transfer of an incumbent Director, CBI in an extraordi- nary situation, including the need for him to take up a more important assignment, should have the approval of the Selection Committee...,” the petition says. “The applicant being a member of the Statutory Committee was not consulted nor was he a part of any meet- ing or privy to any decision to divest Alok Verma of his pow- ers as Director, CBI”, Kharge’s petition adds. The petition reads, “It is also not in public domain that any such meeting of the statutory committee was convened. In his application, Kharge has said that even though he is a mem- ber of the committee, he was neither “consulted nor was I a part of any meeting or privy to any decision to divest Alok Kumar Verma of his powers as Director, CBI”. “It is also not in public domain that any such meeting of the Statutory Committee was convened,” the petition reads. It further says, “It is therefore clear that the decision to divest Alok Kumar Verma, IPS, of his powers as Director, CBI was taken by the political executive in complete contravention of the provisions of the DSPE (Delhi Special Police Establishment) Act, CVC (Central Vigilance Commission) Act and the direc- tions of this Hon’ble Court in Vineet Narain’s case.” Asserting that the law pro- vides for a two-year term, Kharge’s intervention applica- tion in Verma’s petition has termed the Government’s move as “arbitrary and illegal”. Kharge alleged that Verma’s ouster be “set aside to maintain the insti- tutional sanctity and integrity of the CBI”. D espite the Supreme Court’s decision to adjourn the hearing of the Ram Mandir issue till January 2019, Ram Vilas Vedanti, president of Ram Janamabhoomi Nyas on Saturday said the construction of Ram temple will begin in December without an Ordinance and on the basis of the mutual agreement between Hindus and Muslims. Vedanti also said if legisla- tion supporting the construc- tion of the Ram temple is passed, it would lead to unstop- pable communal violence. “We do not want violence. We want peace,” the senior VHP leader said. Making this assertion here during ‘Dharmadesh’, the two- day meeting of Hindu seers and saints at New Delhi’s Talkatora Stadium, Vedanti also said the temple will be constructed in Ayodhya and a masjid will be constructed in Lucknow before 2019 elections. T he Delhiites are perhaps fac- ing their worse days in terms of breathing freely. As the pol- lution levels go severe, doctors in the national Capital on Saturday said that the effects of pollution in Delhi are equivalent to con- suming 15 to 20 cigarettes a day. “Each winter, Delhi’s air pollution rises to critical levels. We have to act immediately to control this menace otherwise the health consequences will be disastrous. We are already see- ing an increasing number of patients in our hospital contin- uously complain about cough, irritation in throat and nose”, said Dr SP Byotra, Vice- Chairman, Board of Manag- ement, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. According to Dr Arvind Kumar, Founder Trustee, Lung Care Foundation and Chairman of Centre for Chest Surgery, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, the situ- ation in Delhi has gone bad as now even the teenagers are coming with black lungs. “I’ve seen a change in the colour of lungs over the past 30 years that I’ve been operating. Earlier, I used to see black deposits only in smokers and others would have pink lungs. But, nowadays, I only see black lungs. Even teenagers have black spots on their lungs,” he said. Amidst this, to show people how bad air turns lungs black, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital along with Jhatkaa, a Bangalore-based organisation and Lung Care Foundation Delhi unveiled a set of humungous lungs at the hos- pital as a part of their ‘Help Delhi Breathe.’ Saying that the Centre as well as State Governments have failed the people, Dr Reecha Upadhyay, Campaigns Director, Help Delhi Breathe said, “The impact of air pollu- tion on our health is evident. Yet both the Delhi Government and the Central Government have failed the citizens. As cit- izens, we need to hold our rep- resentatives accountable for the environment. This election year citizens should say loud and clear: ‘Saans Nahin Toh Vote Nahin.’” A rmy Chief General Bipin Rawat on Saturday expressed concern over attempts to “revive insurgency” in Punjab and Assam through “external links” and warned if early action is not taken it will be too late. Asserting that insurgency cannot be dealt with military force, he favoured adopting an approach in which all agen- cies, the Government, civil administration, military and police work in an “integrated manner.” Expressing these views here in a conference on ‘Changing Contours of Internal Security in India: Trends and Responses,’ he said attempts are being made through “external links” to “revive insurgency” in Punjab and Assam through “external abetment.” Detailed report on P5 T he Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) that is vetting the allegations of alleged misconduct leveled by CBI Director Alok Verma against his deputy Rakesh Asthana has called for the relevant files from the investigating agency, top CBI sources said on Saturday. Through a “Secret Note” on October 21, 2017 to the CVC, Verma had claimed that Asthana’s role was being probed in at least half a dozen cases. However, despite a lapse of over a year, the CBI did not fur- nish an action taken report to the CVC with regard to the probes against Asthana. The CBI did not submit a report even after the agency registered a case of alleged bribery against Asthana, sources said. “The CVC has called for the relevant files related to the allegations against Asthana and the agency is in the process of sending the files sought by the Commission,” an official said, adding, clarity on the issue will come once the CVC examines the files related to the allega- tions against Asthana. In response to the secret note, the CVC had through a letter to Verma on November 9 last year, sought a report on his note and sent several reminders conveying to the CBI Director that the Commission wants the report ‘immediately” and if the enquiries have not reached finality, an interim report bringing out the investigations carries out against Asthana along with the outcome of the probes be submitted to the Commission by October 3, 2018. The CVC again sent a let- ter on October 15 to Verma reminding him to send a report on the Note by October 22 but it was not submitted till October 23, the day the CVC divested both Verma and Asthana of any supervisory role in the CBI. Despite registration of an alleged bribery case on October 15 against Asthana, Deputy SP Devender Kumar and two alleged middlemen, the CBI did not send any report to the CVC despite the Commission sending repeated reminders on the progress of investiga- tions against Asthana as flagged by Verma in his secret note to the CVC. The note was sent to the CVC just ahead of a CVC meeting last year for consider- ation of elevation of then Additional Director Rakesh Asthana as Special Director in the CBI. The CVC had through a unanimous decision elevated Asthana as the Special Director of the CBI. Subsequently, the Supreme Court had rejected a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging CVC’s decision to elevate Asthana as the number 2 in the CBI. In response to the CVC’s repeated reminders for sub- mitting the files related to alle- gations leveled by Asthana against Verma, the CBI through a letter on September 18 this year told the CVC that the concern on the integrity of the officer turned out to be true. I n the second phase of filing of nomination papers which commenced on October 26, a total of 2,655 papers were filed for 72 assembly constituencies in Chhattisgarh. On the last day of filing nomination papers, a total of 1,357 papers were filed. The scrutiny of nomination papers was done on Saturday. The candidates can with- draw their nomination on November 5 till 3.00 pm. The second phase of polling covers 72 assembly constituencies cov- ering 19 districts and the polling is scheduled on November 20. The counting will be held on December 11. As per reports coming in from Surguja division, six nom- ination papers were rejected after scrutiny . They were at Lundra (2), Ambikapur (3) and Sitapur (1). Similarly, at Bemetara, one nomination paper and at Navagarh Assembly con- stituency three nominations were rejected on different grounds. In Mahasamund district, at total of four nomination papers were rejected in which one is from Mahasamund, one at Khallari and two at Basna Assembly constituency. —Dr Arvind Kumar RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP DN/34/2013-2015

Upload: others

Post on 21-Apr-2020

8 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

������������ ������������������������������� ���������� ��������������������� �������������������������������������� ��������������� ������������������������������������������

��� � !�" #$%

Leader of Opposition in theLok Sabha and senior

Congress leader MallikarjunKharge on Saturday movedSupreme Court challengingUnion Government’s decision tosend CBI Director Alok KumarVerma on forced leave andcalled it “completely illegal andarbitrary”. This has broughtnew twist to the already con-troversial case of CBI versus CBIover the past few days.

Kharge, who is also a mem-ber of the three-member statu-tory committee that selects theCBI Director, questioned theGovernment’s decision to sendVerma “on leave”. In his inter-vention application, Khargesought quashing of the October23 order of the CentralVigilance Commission (CVC)and that of the Centre’sDepartment of Personnel andTraining divesting the CBIDirector on the ground that thesame were passed in derogationof powers conferred upon the

Statutory Committee under theDelhi Special PoliceEstablishment (DSPE) Act.

Kharge said neither theCentral Vigilance Commissionnor the Government can curtailVerma’s tenure. Along withPrime Minister Narendra Modiand Chief justice of IndiaRanjan Gogoi, Kharge is thethird member in the selectioncommittee of CBI Director.“The transfer of an incumbentDirector, CBI in an extraordi-nary situation, including the

need for him to take up a moreimportant assignment, shouldhave the approval of theSelection Committee...,” thepetition says. “The applicantbeing a member of the StatutoryCommittee was not consultednor was he a part of any meet-ing or privy to any decision todivest Alok Verma of his pow-ers as Director, CBI”, Kharge’spetition adds.

The petition reads, “It is alsonot in public domain that anysuch meeting of the statutorycommittee was convened. In hisapplication, Kharge has saidthat even though he is a mem-ber of the committee, he wasneither “consulted nor was I apart of any meeting or privy toany decision to divest AlokKumar Verma of his powers asDirector, CBI”.

“It is also not in public

domain that any such meetingof the Statutory Committee wasconvened,” the petition reads. Itfurther says, “It is thereforeclear that the decision to divestAlok Kumar Verma, IPS, of hispowers as Director, CBI wastaken by the political executivein complete contravention of theprovisions of the DSPE (DelhiSpecial Police Establishment)Act, CVC (Central VigilanceCommission) Act and the direc-tions of this Hon’ble Court inVineet Narain’s case.”

Asserting that the law pro-vides for a two-year term,Kharge’s intervention applica-tion in Verma’s petition hastermed the Government’s moveas “arbitrary and illegal”. Khargealleged that Verma’s ouster be“set aside to maintain the insti-tutional sanctity and integrity ofthe CBI”.

��� � !�" #$%

Despite the Supreme Court’s decision to adjourn

the hearing of the Ram Mandirissue till January 2019, Ram VilasVedanti, president of RamJanamabhoomi Nyas onSaturday said the constructionof Ram temple will begin inDecember without anOrdinance and on the basis ofthe mutual agreement betweenHindus and Muslims.

Vedanti also said if legisla-

tion supporting the construc-tion of the Ram temple ispassed, it would lead to unstop-pable communal violence.“We do not want violence. Wewant peace,” the senior VHPleader said.

Making this assertion hereduring ‘Dharmadesh’, the two-day meeting of Hindu seers andsaints at New Delhi’s TalkatoraStadium, Vedanti also said thetemple will be constructed inAyodhya and a masjid will beconstructed in Lucknow before2019 elections.

������������� � !�" #$%

The Delhiites are perhaps fac-ing their worse days in terms

of breathing freely. As the pol-lution levels go severe, doctors inthe national Capital on Saturdaysaid that the effects of pollutionin Delhi are equivalent to con-suming 15 to 20 cigarettes a day.

“Each winter, Delhi’s airpollution rises to critical levels.We have to act immediately tocontrol this menace otherwisethe health consequences will bedisastrous. We are already see-ing an increasing number ofpatients in our hospital contin-uously complain about cough,irritation in throat and nose”,said Dr SP Byotra, Vice-Chairman, Board of Manag-ement, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

According to Dr ArvindKumar, Founder Trustee, LungCare Foundation and Chairmanof Centre for Chest Surgery, SirGanga Ram Hospital, the situ-ation in Delhi has gone bad asnow even the teenagers arecoming with black lungs.

“I’ve seen a change in thecolour of lungs over the past 30years that I’ve been operating.Earlier, I used to see blackdeposits only in smokers andothers would have pink lungs.But, nowadays, I only see blacklungs. Even teenagers have blackspots on their lungs,” he said.

Amidst this, to show peoplehow bad air turns lungs black,

Sir Ganga Ram Hospital alongwith Jhatkaa, a Bangalore-basedorganisation and Lung CareFoundation Delhi unveiled a setof humungous lungs at the hos-pital as a part of their ‘Help DelhiBreathe.’ Saying that the Centreas well as State Governmentshave failed the people, DrReecha Upadhyay, CampaignsDirector, Help Delhi Breathe

said, “The impact of air pollu-tion on our health is evident.Yet both the Delhi Governmentand the Central Governmenthave failed the citizens. As cit-izens, we need to hold our rep-resentatives accountable for theenvironment. This electionyear citizens should say loudand clear: ‘Saans Nahin TohVote Nahin.’”

��� � !�" #$%

Army Chief General BipinRawat on Saturday

expressed concern overattempts to “revive insurgency”in Punjab and Assam through“external links” and warned ifearly action is not taken it willbe too late.

Asserting that insurgencycannot be dealt with militaryforce, he favoured adoptingan approach in which all agen-cies, the Government, civiladministration, military andpolice work in an “integratedmanner.”

Expressing these viewshere in a conference on‘Changing Contours of InternalSecurity in India: Trends andResponses,’ he said attempts arebeing made through “externallinks” to “revive insurgency” inPunjab and Assam through“external abetment.”

Detailed report on P5

����������� ��������������

�������������� ����� ������ ��� ����������� �

������������������������������������������������������� ��!������

� ������ ��!�"��"!�#�#$��!%&��&����'#�#$��"&�&(&!�)*!##�&&��&��&"���*&"&���������*&!� +(�"&�!,�-&�� !.��,#�,&/"-�*�"�!,

� ��!,���&����#���,�"&������,-���!-��,-����%0("&�*�!%�,-����,0�, !�!� �������"&��&���-#�#$���,&��"���*&�!,*!##�&&��!%�������*&!�

� ����11��*�,&$��,��#�#$��!%&��&�&(&!�)�!##�&&����",!&*!,"(�&�-,!���"���1��&!%�,)#��&�,�!�1��.)&!�,)-�*�"�!,&!-�.�"&��!23��#�!%��"1!���"�"����*&!� ��� "�)"1�&�&�!,

� ���-�*�"�!,&!-�.�"&��!2�(#��3��#�!%��"1!���"��"&�2�,$)&��1!��&�*���4�*(&�.��,*!#1��&�*!,&��.�,&�!,!%&��1�!.�"�!,"!%&������*& �3��*&�,-&��-���*&�!,"!%&��"�!,/$���!(�&�,3�,��&�����,/"*�"� �&�--"

������� ����������������������������������� ���!��� ������ �� �����!�������� �� "����������������� ���������# �����

�������

�������� �� � !�" #$%

The Central VigilanceCommission (CVC) that is

vetting the allegations of allegedmisconduct leveled by CBIDirector Alok Verma againsthis deputy Rakesh Asthanahas called for the relevant filesfrom the investigating agency,top CBI sources said onSaturday.

Through a “Secret Note”on October 21, 2017 to the CVC, Verma had claimedthat Asthana’s role was beingprobed in at least half a dozencases.

However, despite a lapse ofover a year, the CBI did not fur-nish an action taken report tothe CVC with regard to theprobes against Asthana. TheCBI did not submit a reporteven after the agency registereda case of alleged bribery againstAsthana, sources said.

“The CVC has called forthe relevant files related to theallegations against Asthana andthe agency is in the process ofsending the files sought by theCommission,” an official said,adding, clarity on the issue willcome once the CVC examinesthe files related to the allega-tions against Asthana.

In response to the secretnote, the CVC had through aletter to Verma on November9 last year, sought a report onhis note and sent severalreminders conveying to theCBI Director that theCommission wants the report‘immediately” and if theenquiries have not reachedfinality, an interim reportbringing out the investigationscarries out against Asthana

along with the outcome of theprobes be submitted to theCommission by October 3,2018.

The CVC again sent a let-ter on October 15 to Vermareminding him to send a reporton the Note by October 22 butit was not submitted tillOctober 23, the day the CVCdivested both Verma andAsthana of any supervisoryrole in the CBI.

Despite registration of analleged bribery case on October15 against Asthana, Deputy SPDevender Kumar and twoalleged middlemen, the CBIdid not send any report to theCVC despite the Commissionsending repeated reminderson the progress of investiga-tions against Asthana as flaggedby Verma in his secret note tothe CVC.

The note was sent to theCVC just ahead of a CVCmeeting last year for consider-ation of elevation of thenAdditional Director RakeshAsthana as Special Director inthe CBI. The CVC had througha unanimous decision elevatedAsthana as the Special Directorof the CBI. Subsequently, theSupreme Court had rejected aPublic Interest Litigation (PIL)challenging CVC’s decision toelevate Asthana as the number2 in the CBI.

In response to the CVC’srepeated reminders for sub-mitting the files related to alle-gations leveled by Asthanaagainst Verma, the CBIthrough a letter on September18 this year told the CVC thatthe concern on the integrity ofthe officer turned out to betrue.

�������$��� ������������� ������ ��������������"����

��������������!�����"��&'���

�������������� �������������� �������������������������������� �������������� ����������������� �� ��� ������ �������������������

�������������� �������� !� ��������������!���� ������" ��� �� ����������� ������������� �������!�#�������� ��� ������������� ��������$����� ���%�# �� ������ ������������������������%��� & ���'����� ����� ���#���������# �� ���� ������� (����������� ��'������������� �(���������� ��� ��'� ���(����������'������������������� ������� �����%�� �� ��� ����������������� �����)������ ��!������������� ������ ��� ��� �����*� �� ����+�#����!��,���������� �������� ����� � ������������� ������������!�������������� ���������� ��#������� �� ���������������� ����������#������������������� ������� � ��������#������� ���� ��� ���� ������������������������ ���������������� #!������ ��� ����� ��������������������� �� ����#������������ #�� ����� ���� #)� ,������������� ����������#���������� �������-�������� ��������� � �������"���������������� ��������� ��������� ��������*������������������������������������ ��� ��!���� �� �!���� �� ��!�������#���������� ��.��� � ������%�����������!���/���������� ������0!� ��� �����#���������������������������� ������� �!������ �����������) ����!������ ����� ���������������,���������������� ������������)������

����� �����1��������������� ��������#���������� ��� ���������������� �������� �)��� ��#����������� ���������������#������������ �������� ����������� ���������� ������� ���� ������������ �)�������������������2�������!�� ��������� ���'��������������������� ��� � ����#���� ����� ������������*����������������� � ����������� ����������������������# �� ����������� ������*���%�� '��������������� �

������%�#���������������� �,������� ��'�� ���� ����!�� �!%�� �� �� �������������������� ���!�� ���������������� � ������� ������ #���������������3�,�4 �� � �����5 �� �4 �� ���������������� ���������2��&���������� ������� ����� �� ������$ �� �.����� ����� ���&���������������� ������ ����� ���������3�,�4 �� ����� ����������#��6��������5 �� �4 �� ��%������������������� ��������� ������ ��������#���

������� ��� ���������������������������� ����%����������� �!����������� ���� ������� ������������������� ����������*� ��!�������� ������� �� ����� ��������!�� ����� �� ������� � 1��������� �����2����� ��������#����'�� �������������������� ��+ ������2��� � ���4 � �� � ���7�� � ���� �������4 � �� � !��������������� ������������������#������� ���������������������������������!� ������������� ������������������ ��� ����������%�� ����� �� ����������� ��������������� �� ������#��,������

����4 � �� � ������������������� ����������� ��� ����������� ������������89�4� ��6 �����������:������������������������ ����������������2����#�����:�� ������,��� ��������� ������2���������� ����������������5 ���& ����&������������ ������� ������� ��!������� ������������������������ � ��������������� �� �,� ������������������������� ��#�������� ��� ������#������ ����4 � �� � �������:��������������� �� ����� ���#������������)�� ���� ��:�� ��������� ���������� ��������7�� � � ������ �� �����+����� �����������������������������!�� �������� ������� ��������������#������������!�#�������� �������������������� ������)����4 �&������������7�� � ���� ������� ������� ���#�����#�����:�#����������������� ����!�� ����� ���������:��������������������������������������

;�����������1���� �����������4 � �� � ������:��������� �� �������� ���#�#����� ������:������������������������������������� �����������������������1� �����#������������������ ����� ����2���������< ����� ������������ �#���� �������������� �� �� ��!�������!� ������ ������� �������������������������#���������=!�����������#������ ����� �������������������������������������-���+����������� �������������������������� �� ���������� ������� ������������ ������ �������*����������#���� ������������������� ���%�����4 � �� � �� ��#��� ����� ��������1��� ������!�#����������������3������ �� �������������� �� ����� �������# ��������� �������������� �������>������������������������

���������� ����=

����&�!,"��1$�&���,&��0(-�*���)�,-1($��*!1�,�!,�"#!��*!#1��*�&�-5�)�11�)�,��(,�%!�#*!,"&�&(&�!,��*��&���!,!,���������!("*("&!#" 0(-��"#�)��.�.����-&����,-(��)!%��%�&��!(���#�&�*1��"#��&�&�!($��,�*!,"�+(�,*�"5�))�11�*(�&#�),!&$��"�1���&�������!("-�,!#�,�&�!,$(&�&��"&!$���.�,�(&!,!#!(""1�*�

�������������� ��� ���������������������

������ ������������ ��������������� �������� ���� ��!������� "�#

$���������� ����%���� ��� &���'(�������������)������ � ��

������������� (�%�'(

In the second phase of filingof nomination papers which

commenced on October 26, atotal of 2,655 papers were filedfor 72 assembly constituenciesin Chhattisgarh.

On the last day of filingnomination papers, a total of1,357 papers were filed. Thescrutiny of nomination paperswas done on Saturday.

The candidates can with-draw their nomination onNovember 5 till 3.00 pm. Thesecond phase of polling covers72 assembly constituencies cov-ering 19 districts and thepolling is scheduled on

November 20. The countingwill be held on December 11.

As per reports coming infrom Surguja division, six nom-ination papers were rejectedafter scrutiny . They were atLundra (2), Ambikapur (3)and Sitapur (1).

Similarly, at Bemetara, onenomination paper and atNavagarh Assembly con-stituency three nominationswere rejected on differentgrounds.

In Mahasamund district, attotal of four nomination paperswere rejected in which one isfrom Mahasamund, one atKhallari and two at BasnaAssembly constituency.

%�&''���" ��� ����� �������(%�����"#���������

�� ���� � ������ �� ��� ������ ������� ���� ��� ���� �� ����� ����

�� ���� ��������� �������! ���" ����� ����# "������� ���� �� �$�#��� ��" ������ %���" ���� ���# ����� &��! ��%�"���! ���� ��� ����#

����� ���� ��������� ���� ����# ����� �� ����� �����

—Dr Arvind Kumar

��������� ����������������� ����������������� ��������������������������������

)#������* 3!�5 +��""(� ,-.)������������� /���� ��������

�"&�$��"��-6789 RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP DN/34/2013-2015

!"��#$��% !&��

�"#$�%%�"%���0�1��

! ���%�"% ��%���,2

&"#'(�)!%##�$ #����3�%�

1%����%�#��(%�%�4��$%��

*"+,-�.%�5�%�1(��$ �"���0�"(%6 %�"%�7��&(0!�$4�( �0(�

������ ����: ��3�����9 ;<67=�� �7>7�8

9���"�*������� ����������:��*�������/��0�����1 �����������:��*�������:

�������'������( '���)�*����+,�-./0 ���������$��� �'

���������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������� ��������������� �� ���������������������������������������������������������� ������������ ����� ��������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������� �!����������������"���������� ���������������������������� �������������������� ���� ��������������������������������� �����������������������������#��������������������������� ���� ����$����%����&�������������������������� ��������������� �����������������������'����������������������������������� ���������������"��������������������(�����������������������������

, � " 2 / # 3 , + ( ' - ( 3 & � ' 3

?���������������������/

I've never burst a cracker even when I was a kid.My mother, who was an artist, used to ask us

to get your rooms in place, decorate them andkeep your wardrobes clean. There was somethingnew or different that used to happen in

decoration. We used to do a lotof best out of waste by makingpouches out of old sarees,applique work bed covers out ofold jari sarees and much more.But we don’t get that kind oftime anymore now. We just goto the market and buysomething. Meet old and newfriends and playing cards on

Diwali is fun, but of course not with crazy moneybut with plastic poker chips. My idea ofcelebrating Diwali is by decorating and redoingyour house, meeting old friends and gorging onIndian delicacies.

*��� ��!���������� �

������ ���:����

Every year, I decorate my home withspecial LED lights and rangolis along

with organic flowers and scented candles.I have a pug Simba who feels verytroubled due to the noise of crackers and

air pollution. For Simbawe have to shut all thewindows of the houseand put some music onso he doesn't get scaredof the sound from theoutside. A lot of peopleshould think about thisand try and celebrate

eco-friendly Diwali. This festival is muchmore fun without bursting crackers too.It’s all about celebrating together withfamilies. Eating homemade food andsweets. It is also better on the pocket andpollution will decrease to some extent.

*��� ��!������+�������

6���@������@�����

Every year, I wait for this festivalof lights and this year, it is even

more special for me since it’s myfirst Diwali after my wedding. Ihave planned to cook some Diwali

d e l i c a c i e smyself for ourfamily. I aml o o k i n gforward todecorating ourhouse withb e a u t i f u ltwinkly lights

and making a rangoli. I was nevera fan of crackers, so my idea ofDiwali is just family get-togethersand good food and all in all a merrytime with the close ones.

*�,������ ����&)��� �������-��������!��&�..������-�/������-�

4��������������

$5,�+6$�#���,#��+(�$5,�/"6#�#,�'* 7���1����������������!�*�����8���/�!�,������(����8!*�����0�*��������!�#�������,�4����!�*������9�����!5�����*�����!�*�����/������#����1�.:;<

There would be very few who would not have heard of theNutcracker — a two-act ballet originally choreographed by

Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr IlyichTchaikovsky. Many would have even seen the 1993 movie or someof the animated version made over the years.

Now in 2018, Walt Disney comes out with The Nutcrackerand the Four Realms. Is this a good things? Well, in some waysdefinitely as it is a delightful reimagining of the popular ballet.

The film follows the life of Clara played by Mackenzie Foywants is a key — a one-of-a-kind key that will unlock a box thatholds a priceless gift from her late mother. The golden thread,presented to her at godfather Drosselmeyer', played by MorganFreeman annual holiday party. She then disappears into a strangeand mysterious parallel world.In this world Clara encounters asoldier named Phillip (Jayden Fowora-Knight), a gang of miceand the regents who preside over three Realms: Land ofSnowflakes, Land of Flowers and Land of Sweets. Clara and Phillipmust brave the Fourth Realm, home to the tyrant Mother Ginger(Helen Mirren), to retrieve Clara's key and hopefully return toher world.

What is good here is that this parallel world is full of wonderand the set designs are beautiful and brilliantly done. There thereis the CGI. With the latest technology, Disney has gone all theway when it comes to great effect that will leave the kids in awe.With great visuals, directors Lasse Hallström and Joe Johnstonhave brought this story alive in new, fresh and exciting ways.

5"&�$3*,

�������&���,-�,���0-��,�@���� ��;������<����-5�,2=.3�������3������(>�����������

�������������������3�����(>����?��"�@����������������������� �*���������*������/�������� ��@�������������������������� ;��������������������� ����%���?����������A�����*����������������������*�����������5����������5����B��B���������������������#���5���� ���*������3>��3��5���������3�����������������������$@�����������������������3������(>����?��*��B����������������������

���&�!�-���"&@�����&������*��������&������@�5�&�����������@������;������8�C�D5�,2=.�����=,��������@���

!��������������� � ����;������5�%�;�������������������������@����&����&�������������������������������� ����B����&���������1������������������� ��������������������6���5����>�������5������������������E���������5��������������������@��������������������@��������������*��������������*��������������@���� ��@����*�����*�� ��B�������� �����

@�%%����"&;5< @����� �����F5����������*@�5�����5��@�"���@���� �����;������D5�,2=.

�����"�@�5����������*@����;�����*���������������/�����������;� ��������@ ��;����B�! ��1����,�2��1����,2�����@ �������������;���D2�����;��������� �@ ������;��������� ��������������� ���@����5�����! ��1����,�2�@������*����*��� �����;��@����@ �����;������

������*��%&#���A���1�&"�.@����A@����"���$��G������������;������D���"���$��%��������;������+5�,2=.�����==������=2����

"����������������������� ����;��������@����������"�@���� �����������������F�����"���$��G���������"����'��;���"���$��%���������������������������� �����������"���$����������@���� ��5����� ����;@��� ���;��������������� ���"�@����������������5����� �������5������5�����������������;������������������� ����������������������� ���������B�;�� ����;�� ������5�"���$��G����������"���$��%���@���������� ����� �������5����������������5��������� �������5�����������@������������������

�������"�&�/"������#���@���������;������<5�,2=.3�����������(�;����5������5���@�"�������� =�������.����

3�"������5��"���B������&0������������ ���� ������������������������������������� �����5���������������"�@���/������������@���;���@������*�� ����� �������5������5���������5�������������*������������� ��� ���*��������5����������������������������������3�"�������������@�� ������������B �����*���������;���� ���������������H�������������5������"�@������*����������������� ���������������� ��� ����������/���������

��@���������@��������������

��������������������������� ����*� ��������������;�����?������������ ��������*���������

*������� ����;��������@����"�@���������������@�����G;������@����������>����?�����������������������A����#��������*��������(���;A������� �������������@�����������������������������@�� ������������������������������F����������� �A����#�����@�������;��*����������������������������������B������� ����������� ����;�������@�������� ��������F������ �������5�A����#����?���������������*?�5(���;�A����;���������������*��������5�������?����� ����� ������5���������?����F����������@��������3���56����"�������G;���������>�����������

3����@�������%�����%���=2�����������*�������*5�.�����*�������*� ��������������;�����I

����������������:���� ������ ����;������������������������������;��*

*��5�A����A����@����������������������������������������������*��@���������������!���;�����������������������������������������������������������������*���������������5������"�@����*?������ ��������I

3��@�� �������������������!������� �A���A����������==5�����������������@�����������������������?�� ;�����5�6����&���@����������������*��������A����A����������������������������������������"�@�����>�������������������5�6������������@�������������������������@������;����@��������������������������������� ����;�� ����������������@������������������ �����������������������*�

"�;�������������������������@��������J�������������*��������������������*�6���5����*�@�����������������������������������������>���������

������������������5����;�����������5������������������ ���������������������������5�����������@���;������������@�����������@����*�� �>�������

3��@�����@*�������� ��@�������������5������������������5�A����A������������������������ ������������*����������������*�@�������������������*�@�������**��������@������������ ���������������������� �������5����������������������@����;��������������������������������������� �������������

����������������������*��������������������;����������� ���������5����������������4�A����A������������ ���������������@������;����������������%��;��������������������������������������������@������@������������������@����@�������*�������@*��������%����/��������������������������������������������������������>�*��������������@���%�������� ����;������� � ������������@����;���������;����������;����������������%���������@����������������� ���������

������� ������5�6����&�����/�����5��%��;����*�����������������������������������������������A�������������%�������5��������%�@����������������@������ �������������������K���*������@��������������5��������;�����������@������/�����*������������� ������������������������;��@�����������"�@�������������?����������@��������*�@���������������@�����!������������������������������������K���������������������

�����������A����A����=,��;��*�*���-�����������

��@���@���:��� �������������"�������L����5�����������;���>�������

������?����������*����@��������5�*������@����������� ������@���������@������������������@���$������@�������������������������������*����������������&0�J������� ������������1���������@����������������*�������������������

"������?��;�������������������������� ���� ������������������>�������5���������������� ��������:��� �������*���@����������$���;����@�����������������@���������������������������� ;��������������������@�����������������

���������������@���������������������� ��������������������������5���������*�@�������������"�@���� ������������*����������� �����������������@�����������%?�������� ������������@�����;������ ����*���������������@������������� ���� �����*������������������������%������������@�����@�����;����������������������5��"��������*��

(���)1��� ����-���*��#

?���������@���������/

Diwali to me means goingon a shopping spree,performing Laxmi puja,

preparing sweets and spendingtime with my loved ones. EveryDiwali, I decorate my house withdiyas and rangolis. The season isabout festive celebrations andspending time with family andfriends. This year, I plan to visit anorphanage and spend some timewith the kids there, feed themwith sweets and chocolates.Spread love and happiness thisDiwali and here’s wishing you ahappy Diwali

*�����!�����)��� �������0������-�����

?��@���@����:�B�����������:/

Owing to my busy schedule, I will not be able to visit my family in Delhi, soI am going to celebrate it on the sets of Kundali Bhagya with my extended

family. I have many memories of Diwali as our entire family would get together,my Grandfather would bless us with shagun and while grandmother would makeus delicious halwa. For me, Diwali is all about togetherness, positivity andhappiness. I frequently visit schools in villages and meet kids suffering fromcancer at Tata Memorial hospital to celebrate the festival with them. This year,

I am going to visit an orphanage and spend time with the children there. Lastly, I urge all not toburn crackers and pollute the environment *�0����+ ������ �������,����������-�������$�����

�����������@��������

Diwali being a festivalof new beginnings

and positive energybrings with it warmth oftogetherness andhappiness. It is this verythought that has alwaysbuilt a desire within me tomake another person’sDiwali special for them.

While I do make it a point to spend some extratime with my family and friends, in some smallways, either by visiting an NGO with Diwali giftsor donating food, I ensure that another person alsogets to celebrate their Diwali. I have always believedin celebrating a quiet and peaceful Diwali andhence feel that fire crackers must be kept to bareminimum use. I feel a complete ban on crackersmight deprive the citizens of their celebrations, butit’s time the latter realise the harmful effects of itsusage and accordingly curb their actions

*�1����,�������)������ ��2 ��0�#����

�����������������������@�:

Diwali is one of our biggestfestivals and is celebrated with

lots of sweets and lights. I havemany memories from mychildhood, especially the one wherewe used to do the Diwali cleaningat home. The most important and

special part of this festival is whenour friends and relatives gettogether to celebrate this day. Thefestival brings along the trend ofbursting fire crackers whichproduces a lot of air and soundpollution and I really appreciate thedecision made by the SupremeCourt on the limited time allowed

for fire crackers. In fact, I would likeif the crackers are totally bannedand we celebrate Diwali thetraditional way. This decision willhelp us look towards making theenvironment a bit more habitablefor generations to come.

*�!�����������)��� ���������� ��$���������$�������1����"�������

!�����������6����������������������"�@��@�����������������5� ���������� ��*5���������>�*�����������@�����/������� ��*�������������B �����*�@*���'�"�L��%0� (��������

?����������� ����������/

Last year, I hadcelebrated Diwali

on the sets ofSiddhivinayak. Ibought chocolates andsmall gifts for myentire unit and I willprobably do the samethis year too. Crackersare my only biggestdisappointment of this

festivity. I’ve seen children light crackers onthe tails of street dogs which is so disturbing.Animals, new born babies, and sick peoplesuffer the most due to the increased noise andpollution. We could use balloon crackerswhich is actually a concept where a string ofballoons are put into a machine to burst andthe sound of it is exactly like crackers butwithout any pollution and the level of soundis much lower.

*�3����4�!��)��� �������!���������!�����������&

��� � !�" #$%

Tonight’s KBC Karamveer episode isgoing to be an episode giving out a

strong message about hard work, grit andpatience. This season, SonyEntertainment Television’s Kaun BanegaCrorepati 10 has seen some very strongindividuals who have single handedlytaken up a cause to help the commonman and with a, ‘Never Give Up’ attitude,have crossed the storm and come outvictorious.

The viewers will see Karamveer GaziJalaluddin who runs two schools by onlycharging �5 a month on the show tonightalong with Bollywood’s perfectionistsuperstar Aamir Khan who claimed thathe would move mountains to help peoplelike Gazi.

Gazi, who proudly supports childeducation blessed the set. Being a poorand unprivileged person, he found outvarious ways of getting others educatedby learning and driving a taxi in Kolkata.

Interestingly he has helped others

learn riding a taxi on the condition thatthey spare �5 from their income andshould help at least two people bydonating �5 for his cause. He also comesup with various ways of marketing hiscause and some of them have been veryunique.

Gazi promotes his cause by pastingbanners and posters on his own taxi.Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khanwere highly impressed with his marketingskills.

Khan while talking about Gazi onKaun Banega Crorepati 10 says, “WhenI heard Gazi’s story, it touched my heartand I thought that I should come supporthim. On this Karamveer special episode,I want to also help the good deed he(Gazi) is working on and everyone whoare watching this show should comeahead and help him. He is one rare soulwho helps hundreds of people when hein fact has nothing to spend.”

Watch Kaun Banega Crorepati 10,every Monday to Friday, 9 pm only onSony Entertainment Television!

& "�������� �������?�� ��

+�% ���% �� ��&

Sony SAB keepings its promise of spreading happiness, willsoon be launching a new show Mangalam Dangalam-KabhiPyaar Kabhi Vaar. Produced by Ashvini Yardi of Viniyard

Films, the show is a hilarious take on the quintessential dangalbetween a father-in-law and his son-in-law. The show willpremiere from November 13, Monday to Friday at 7:30 pm.

Due to strong emotional bonds, it’s never easy for a fatherto give his daughter away in marriage. But love charts its courseand the time comes for the girl to leave her father’s comfortablenest to be with the man of her dreams. This show revolves aroundthe bond between a prospective groom — Arjun,and hisprospective father-in-law, Sanjeev Saklecha. While Arjun is willingto stop at nothing to convince Sanjeev that he is the best manfor his daughter. Sanjeev is of the firm opinion that his princessdeserves better than the best.

Neeraj Vyas, Business Head, Sony SAB, PAL, Hindi Moviesand Music said: “The happiness of our viewers is of paramountimportance to us. As part of our brand promise, ‘Haste Raho India’,the upcoming weekday fiction offering ‘Mangalam Dangalam’lends a unique perspective to a relationship between a father andhis prospective son-in-law.This is a show that viewerswill surely relate to since ithas an exceptional castand delivers the rightmedley of humor and lovestraight to the televisionsets.”

Ashvini Yardi,Founder, Viniyard Filmssaid: “Getting theirdaughters married is aworry that all Indianfathers have since theirbirth, the viewers will nowmeet Saklecha, an overtlypossessive father whobelieves that no man isgood for his daughterRumi.”

M%�@��@�����;�����<,?��� � !�" #$%

Sayantani Ghosh, who hasbeen a part of the Indian

television industry for morethan a decade, is at present,working on her latest showStarPlus’ Karn Sangini. She ishappy where she is and hasn’tyet planned a Bollywoodforay. “I belong to the TVindustry. It is my identity. Idid not join TV just tobecome one or two-showheroine. I can see myselfworking for small screen evenat the age of 52, the actresssays.

Ghosh has recentlyworked for a Bengali web-series and is waiting for theright project before she startsher stint in Bollywood. “Rightnow, I have not decided tomake a foray into Bollywood.It happens organically and ifit happens, of course I wouldlove to do Hindi films. Butright now my focus is ontelevision and I want to give my 100 per cent to the currentproject.”

Sayantani has undergone a lot of training for her role as Kunti,which is set on the backdrop of Mahabharat but is a fictional take.Talking about the show, she adds, "It is unlike most othermythological serials. In 'KarnSangini', there is a blend of fictionand true events. So, we went through a lot of training and hadto attend workshops. I had to work on my language as in the show,viewers will get to see us speaking in shuddh Hindi.”

Watch Ghosh essay Kunti in Karn Sangini Mon-Fri at 7 pmonly on StarPlus.

������������ �������������������������� ������������������������������������� ��� !�""���#� ������$��%���#��&''()��*������#��%�'��+,-.//0�� �'����1/00"2...3.4/50/�����������#���*����67'������8���9����� ����8�%�'��+,-.//:�6�����;����������%�������6�����;)����������<� ��&�����;$�(4�������=� ���8�� �����)��>���� �$�8<� ��+""///.������;/""+,/""/,::�������������&�����;?+3"�)�����4�$&@<9�=�������$ �+./"3/"�A(�(�����;/"./+,B0-B//C,B0--//(

��%����� ���������'������( '���)�*����+,�-./0

������������� (�%�'(

The healthcare system ofChhattisgarh after forma-

tion of the State is now inIntensive Care Unit (ICU) dueto acute shortage of specialists,resident doctors and paramed-ical staff including nurses,Bollywood-star-turned politi-cian and Chief of Uttar PradeshCongress Committee (UPCC)Raj Babbar said on Saturday.

The posts of specialists,resident doctors and paramed-ical staff including nurses arelying vacant in six medical col-leges, he said while addressingpress conference at RajivBhawan here.

He said that the total sanc-tioned post for specialist doc-tors is 893 specialist out ofwhich only 53 have been filledwhereas the sanctioned strength

of resident doctors in six med-ical colleges is 1379 wherethere are 517 vacancies.

“Similar is the case withvacancies for nurses where therequirement is of 4362 out ofwhich 1760 posts have onlybeen filled. Similarly, in sixmedical colleges around 631posts are lying vacant”, Babbarsaid.

Citing a report on healthservices, he said that out of 21states, Chhattisgarh is placed in20th position. The Governmentis pushing ahead with agenda ofprivatisation of health services.

Babbar, further pointed outSickle Cell Unit has beenopened but it is only function-al with 25 persons instead ofrequirement of 180 persons asper sanctioned posts.

He said that had all thesevacant seats had been filled, it

would have provided employ-ment to local youth.

Babbar mentioned theSupebeda (Gariaband district)kidney ailment related deaths,blindness after cataract opera-tion, deaths of women aftersterilisation operations andother incidents to make hispoint.

On Naxalism, he said, withgun battle from both sidesnothing can be resolved. Whentheir (tribals )basic rights arebeing denied, then the tribalyouth had been fighting andthey are ready to die. Thekillings from both sides will notresolve the issue.

“So, the questions raised bythem (Maoists) have to beaddressed and they should bebrought back to mainstreamafter resolving the queries raisedby them”, Babbar said.

�����������������������������������3�6�1�=�����

������������� (�%�'(

The Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) has deferred its

release of poll manifesto forChhattisgarh during the visit ofparty’s National President AmitShah to Raipur on Sunday(November 4) to post Diwalicelebrations.

Shah’s other programmesin the city will be held asscheduled, party sourcesinformed.

Party sources informedthat the poll manifesto isexpected to be released byNovember 9 or 10 before thefirst phase of polling that isscheduled on November 12.

According BJP’s StateMedia In-charge NalineshThokne, all the preparationsfor the declarations of the pollmanifesto have been com-pleted and the manifestowould be declared afterDiwali.

As there are many pro-grammes such as arrival of

party President and celebra-tion of ‘Kamal Diwas’ onSunday, most of the top lead-ers would be busy with theprogrammes. So declaring themanifesto will require pres-ence of most of the leadersand it is a one day programmealso.

As per information, theState BJP organisation hasbeen working round-the-clockfor organising ‘Kamal Diwali’under which each party work-ers in the State would be dec-orating their house with thelamp after putting ‘Rangoli’ inthe house.

������������� (�%�'(

It took time to recogniseArvind Kerjiwal though I

had worked shoulder to shoul-der in name of elimination ofcorruption from public lifewith him, said Supreme Courtlawyer and activist PrashantBhushan on Saturday whileinteracting with media personsat Raipur Press Club here onSaturday.

He said though things weremoving after formation of theAam Aadmi Party (AAP), even

criminals were being givenparty ticket and things then didnot move as desired.Corruption also creeped in andthe Lokpal for which the fightwas on was abandoned. So, Islowly left the party, saidBhushan.

On difference betweenBofors and Rafale deal, he said,“ Bofors deal was around �64crore bribery scam but thenational security and concernswas not compromised; but inRafale deal, it is kickback of �20,000 crores and it may bethrough different modes buthere point is security concernshave been compromised.”

The Indian Air Force hadclearly stated that it requires 126Rafale aircraft to upgrade itsdepleting strength to stand attwo fronts. It has been reducedto 36 Rafale aircraft with dou-

ble price. The issue of self-reliance has taken back-seat bybranding HAL as incompatible,he said.

As per the PIL filed on theRafale issue, the Supreme Courthas sought the details of the dealand the price of aircraft,Bhushan said.

Bhushan citing example ofSudha Bharadwaj said she couldhave been a Judge but leavingaside a lucrative career, sheworked for the downtrodden.So those raising voice againstGovernment are being brand-ed as ‘Urban Naxals’, he said.

Now even a circular hasbeen issued by Governmentregarding those speaking onissue of anti-development, envi-ronmental issues, speaking forrights of people includingNGOs can be branded as ‘anti-nationals’, Bhushan said.

������������� (�%�'(

The Vigilance AwarenessWeek at NMDC Ltd con-

cluded on Saturday after con-ducting week-long activities , acompany press releaseinformed on Saturday.

The activities includedholding Elocution and quizcompletion for employees anddebate, poster making, elocu-tion and panel discussion onmoral values, ethics, good gov-ernance, etc. which were orga-nized for various schools andcolleges of Hyderabad.

The Vigilance AwarenessWeek programmes started withadministration of IntegrityPledge by N Baijendra Kumar, IAS, CMD, NMDC Ltd to allemployees on October 29,2018.

During the week, SMSmessages were sent to all theemployees regarding vigilanceawareness and to take IntegrityPledge online. A link was pro-vided on NMDC website fortaking online Integrity Pledge.

The valedictory functionon Saturday was chaired by N.Baijendra Kumar and attendedby Functional Directors, SeniorOfficials of NMDC and school/college representatives and

student participants. TheAward winning posters wereexhibited during the functionto spread awareness.

Kumar in his address urgedfor the need of serious will forzero tolerance for corruption,effective loss and implementa-tion, public responsivenesstowards corruption free societyand ended his message by aquote; “it is better to light a can-dle than curse the darkness”.

On this occasion, P KSatpathy, Director(Production) in his addressstated that VigilanceAwareness Week is observedin the honour of SardarVallabhai Patel and focussed

on importance of preventive,participative vigilance.Further, he brought forwardthe need that student shouldinculcate the habit of ethicalthinking.

Sandeep Tula, Director(Personnel) in his addressemphasised on the need tospread awareness amongemployees to curb corruptionand also focus on the impor-tance of preventive vigilance.

The programme conclud-ed with prize distribution bythe CMD and FunctionalDirectors to the winners of var-ious competitions organisedfor the employees and variousschool and college students.

������������� (�%�'(

The controversy of two ‘B’forms issued by Janata

Congress Chhattisgarh (Jogi)JCC (J) candidates AmarGidwani and Nitin Bhansalihas been resolved withReturning Officer rejecting thenomination papers of NitinBhansali after scrutiny ofpapers while clearing way forAmar Gidwani as official partycandidate.

Earlier, Gidwani wasdeclared as official candidate ofJCC(J) but on last day for fil-ing of nomination papers, andNitin Bhansali was named ascandidate. Both the candidateshad filed the nomination formsalong with letter issued byparty naming each candidate asofficial candidate.

During the scrutiny ofnomination papers, both thecandidates were called whenthe party’s official letter declar-ing as candidate was found.The candidates’ status andreply was sought.

After Gidwani’s nomina-tion papers were accepted,Nitin Bhansali said, “To fill theform, I got less time due towhich there were several mis-takes due to which my formwas rejected. Amar Gidwani ismy elder brother and I have noobjection. Would cooperatewith him and continue to do soand work for him.”

Gidwani thanked JCCsupremo Ajit Jogi and saidthat for two years had workedand would win the election in

Raipur City North.Meanwhile, Raipur

(North) constituency had thistime faced crisis over the selec-tion of candidates. BJP declaredits candidate by retaining thesitting MLA ShrichandSunderani while Congress alsodeclared the candidate in lastmoment by finalising formerMLA Kuldeep Juneja. Similarly,JCC (J) had two candidates inplace and finally the confusionhad been sorted out.

������������� (�%�'(

It is the Congress party whichis lying in Intensive Care Unit

(ICU) that also on Ventilator,Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)National Spokesperson GauravBhatia shot back while reactingto statement by UPCC ChiefRaj Babbar on Saturday.

Addressing a press confer-ence at the BJP's DivisionalOffice ‘Ekatma Parisar’ here,Bhatia remarked:“It has becomeclear once more from statementof Congress leader Raj Babbarthat Congress is also with theMaoists.”

It is shameful that Congressleaders are backing thoseinvolved in bloodshed,indulging in undemocratic actsand are anti-nationals, he said.“Terrorists and those raisinganti-national slogans andNaxalites are all working to dis-rupt the peace, law and orderand are being backed byCongress President and hissenior leaders,” he said. In nameof Right to Freedom of Speech,such anti-socials are being givensupport”, Bhatia said.

The ChhattisgarhGovernment as well as theCentral Government are dedi-cated and will eradicate

Naxalism from the State, he said.“Who gave the right to

Naxalites to kill innocent peo-ple and security personnel.Recently, a media person was

killed and for what”, Bhatiaasked.

He pointed out that toderive benefit during electionperiod such statements are

being given by Congress leader,which is shameful and people ofthe State would be giving befit-ting reply to Congress for it,Bhatia said.

������������� (�%�'(

Chhattisgarh PradeshCongress Committee

(CGPCC) President BhupeshBaghel had to abandon a trip toBastar when the helicopter hewas travelling in, developed atechnical snag on Saturday.

The pilot diverted the flightback to Swami VivekanandaAirport in Raipur.

CGPCC Chief along withsome media persons were head-ing towards Bastar. The publicmeeting of Baghel was sched-uled at Bacheli in Dantewadadistrict.

The helicopter after beingairborne for a few minutesdeveloped a technical snag, sothe pilot returned to Raipur .

It was learnt that the heli-copter started to vibrate abnor-mally above Abanpur air space.The pilot then decided to return.

$ � �������������� ��� ������ ����������5�,��������6�$������

������������� (�%�'(

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)Supremo Mayawati

reached Raipur during theevening hours for two-dayvisit to Chhattisgarh onSaturday.

The BSP Supremo wouldhold a meeting with the lead-ers of alliance partner JanataCongress Chhattisgarh (Jogi)(JCC) (J) to be attended by itsChief Ajit Jogi here on Sunday.

It is Mayawati’s secondvisit to Chhattisgarh.

Confirming Mayawati'sarrival in Raipur, State BSPPresident O P Bajpayee saidthat the BSP Supremo wouldbe holding two public meetingsduring her tour of the State.The first one is scheduled atAkaltara in Janjgir-Champadistrict where daughter-in-lawof JCC (J) Chief Ajit Jogi,Richa Jogi is the candidate.

The second one will beheld at Ambikapur -theSurguja district headquarters.The BSP candidate fromAmbikapur is SitaramManikpuri.

���������� ����������" �� ��"��� ��#��� ���%���� ��� �����%�� �� %������"���"

�����1��������� ��������� ���������� ��+778+9

�������! ,�"%���%�� "������" �������������"�"��� ��-��.-/ ��� ������ "�� ��� �������� ��$�������������! ��" +����&������� %����$�" �����"�"��� &������ ���"�"������" ����" �����$����������$� ����� %��������� �����" ������� ��$������� ���"�"����� �����������"�"���

7����������������� �����������%��� ����&��"����������� �����������&����,�������������������� ������ ������������ �������������������� �� �������������� ���������� �������������!�� ���!����:�"� ��

)�����#������� ����������������*��$

7� ������������71"77�7������ ����������

#����7 �����������������������#7;6�$���� 0���������,������ ��������� ���������������������������

$+"���� ��������� � ��<����� � �����

������ �0�������'������( '���)�*����+,�-./0

��� �$��"%&�($���

After weeks of suspense, theAam Aadmi Party (AAP)

on Saturday suspended rebelleaders Sukhpal Singh Khairaand Kanwar Sandhu from theparty for indulging in “anti-party” activities.

The decision was taken bythe core committee of AAPPunjab unit, chaired by MLABudh Ram in Chandigarh.

“Both Sukhpal SinghKhaira and Kanwar Sandhuhave been suspended forindulging in anti-party activi-ties,” AAP legislator and leaderof opposition in PunjabAssembly Harpal SinghCheema said.

He said the core commit-tee has taken the consent of thePolitical Affairs Committee forthe suspension of Bholath and

Kharar legislators Khaira andSandhu respectively.

Later, the party in a state-ment said Khaira and Sandhuhad been indulging in “anti-party” activities and continu-ously attacked the central andstate party leadership.

It said it has decided to sus-pend the two leaders withimmediate effect after exhaust-ing all avenues.

Reacting to his suspen-sion from the AAP, Khairadescribed the decision as “dic-tatorial” and said he will holda meeting with legislators and party activists to decide hisnext action.

“We will go to the people’scourt. Unity talks were torpe-doed under a conspiracy afterannouncing five Lok Sabhacandidates. It seems it is aplanned strategy and conspir-

acy,” Khaira said.The suspension came near-

ly three months after Khairawas removed from the post ofLeader of Opposition and twodays after AAP national con-vener Arvind Kejriwal’s visit toChandigarh on November 3.

During his visit, Kejriwalhad virtually snubbed Khairaby saying, “My politics is notSukhpal Khaira”.

“My politics is towards thepeople of this country. Mypolitics is for a corruption-freeIndia. My politics is for providing good education,setting up hospitals,” Kejriwalhad said.

Khaira is leading a group ofeight dissident legislators whohad revolted against the partyafter he was removed from thepost of the Leader ofOpposition in July. Thereafter,

they set up a parallel adhocpolitical affairs committee.

The rebel group has beenseeking autonomy for the State unit, which they say was

being controlled by the Delhileadership. Talks between therebel group and other AAPleaders of Punjab unit wereheld this month in an attempt

to iron out the differencesahead of 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

But the talks “failed” to endinfighting after rebel groupcharged the party for

unilaterally announcing fivecandidates for Lok Sabha pollsand appointing some districtpresidents.

Khaira had accused the

AAP leadership of not beingserious about the differences.He had given the party an ulti-matum till November 8 towithdraw new appointments orhe and other rebel leadrs wouldstart setting up parallel organ-isational structure of the partyin Punjab.

His group had blamed thedefunct organisational struc-ture for the party’s defeat inGurdaspur Lok Sabha byele-tion, Shahkot assembly byelec-tion and zila parishad polls.

Out of the total 20 MLAs,Khaira group has eight legisla-tors on its side. They are KanwarSandhu (Kharar), Primal Singh(Bhadaur), Jagdev SinghKamalu (Maur), Nazar SinghManshahia (Mansa), MasterBaldev (Jaitu), Jai Krishan SinghRori (Garhshankar) and JagtarSibgh Jagga (Raikot).

�������9����� ���9���������!����0��� ���������9������ ���*�@�������������� �����������*� ������������������B���*�����;�����

�� ���*��������������������������������������������@�������@�������������� ���� �����/��������;�����

�� �������������������������������������*� ���������������5�@��������*��*�@������������������*����"������������

�� 0���� ���������,2��#��5�3�������������������������������������������*����3�@�������N3���O5������������NA����O5�G���;������3���N���O5��F���������������N���O5������A��;�NG���O5�G��3������������(���N&�������O����G����������G���N(����O

��� �$��"%&�($

Taking serious note of thealleged stripping of girls

after the discovery of a sanitarypad in a toilet, Punjab ChiefMinister Capt AmarinderSingh on Saturday ordered thetransfer of two teachers of aFazilka Government schoolpending inquiry.

The Chief Minister hasalso directed SecretaryEducation Krishan Kumar tocomplete the investigation intothe incident by Monday andtake further action as necessary.

The incident was broughtto the notice of CaptAmarinder Singh after a videoshowed girl students ofGovernment Girls School,Village Kundal, Fazilka district,crying and complaining thatthey had been stripped by theteachers in the school premis-es. The teachers were report-edly trying to find out which ofthe girls was wearing a sanitarypad, after one was found in theschool toilet.

Instead of educating thegirls about proper disposal ofthe pads, the teachers decidedto strip them, the ChiefMinister was informed,prompting him to issue promptand stringent orders for imme-diate action.

The District EducationOfficer was asked to visit theschool and, on questioning thestudents and their parents,found prima facie evidence ofthe involvement of the twoteachers. Based on this, theChief Minister asked the

Education Secretary to imme-diately issue orders transferringthe teachers out of the schoolon administrative grounds.

Further disciplinary action,as per conduct rules, will betaken once the formal report isreceived after recording thestatement of the students. saidan official spokesperson,adding that the Chief Ministerhad asked the EducationSecretary to personally moni-tor the investigation and updatehim with the final inquiryreport on Monday.

$#3��3+4�"/�43#' �3+�/�>3'��� �5""'

��� ����*�������9�������,*�-�,&��"$�!(��&&!&��,!&�*�!%��1&�#���,-���,���%&���.�-�!"�!��-����"&(-�,&"!% !.��,#�,& ���"*�!!� 3�������(,-�� ��C��2�-�"&��*& *�)�,��,-*!#1���,�,�&��&&��)��-$��,"&��11�-$)&��&��*���"�,&��"*�!!�1��#�"�"

From Page 1Belief in Lord Ayyappa also

involves a belief in his sacredcelibacy. In the Sabarimala con-troversy, gender justice throughArticle 14 has been contested bywomen themselves.

Secondly, the Hindu way oflife involves a chaotic blend ofthe ‘great’ and ‘little’ traditionsthat are not prone to codifica-tion. There are unique beliefsand customs that may strikemodernists as bizarre but arenevertheless real and, moreimportant, a part of local soci-eties. Some of these haveundergone modifications keep-ing in mind both convenienceand evolving sensibilities butothers have remainedunchanged over the centuries.

By applying a uniform consti-tutional criterion on all reli-gious customs, the judges mayhave viewed the Hindu way oflife through a Semitic prismwith troubling consequences.The Ayyappa cult may not bea separate religious denomi-nation but it has to be givenautonomous space. It is thefight for that space that has pro-pelled a mass upsurge ofHindus in southern India. It isironic is that the modernistsand non-believers were in theforefront of charging theAyodhya movement ofattempting to create a ‘SemiticHinduism’ and ridingroughshod over ‘little’ tradi-tions. Today, the boot is on theother foot.

�������������� ��� �������������...

��� A$'A�� �!�(

In protest against the Centre’sfailure to provide jobs to

Odisha youths, the BJD willhold demonstrations at allCetnral Public SectorUndertaking (CPSUs) officesacross the State on November5, 6 and 8.

BJD general secretarySanjay Dasburma, BYJD pres-ident Ameresh Patri and BCJDpresident Ranapratap Patrainformed this at a Press meetheld here on Saturday.

The ruling party took thisdecision a day after the BJPannounced to lock allEmployment Exchanges in alldistricts on November 5 to

protest unemployment prob-lem in the State.

“As promised before the2014 elections, the NarendraModi Government would havegiven jobs to 10 crore youthsin the country during the lastfive years. Accordingly, 36youths of Odisha would havegot employments. But the BJPGovernment has completelyfailed in fulfilling the promiseand, thus, betrayed the youthcommunity,” allegedDasburma.

He further alleged thatemployment sector has beenseverely hit in the countrydue to demonetisation. Asmany as 1.27 crore jobs have

been lost. The Centre forMonitoring Indian Economy(CMIE) has stated that 35lakh employments are yet to befulfilled. Besides, daily worksof 1.5 crore labourers havebeen lost due to demonetisa-tion, Dasburma said.

The Centre has not creat-ed any industrial corridor inOdisha during the last four anda half years, he alleged.

While CPSUs have takenaway crores of rupees as prof-it from Odisha, they have notprovided employments toyouths. He gave examples ofthe Nalco, HPCL and ParadipIOCL refinery projects whilemaking these allegations.

BYJD and BCJD activistswould stage peaceful demon-stration at all PSUs in theSouthern RDC zone onNovember 5, WesternSouthern Zone on November6 and Central RDC zone onNovember 8.

���������������&�;��M ����?������;����>���

=?(����������������� 6�����+��@

+!"#�������,����� � ������������#���� "�������

��� A$'A�� �!�(

The State Crime Branch onSaturday arrested three per-

sons, including two officials ofthe Meramundali Forest Range,in connection with the tragicdeath of seven elephants due toelectrocution at Kamalanga inDhenkanal district on October27.

The arrestees included CesuJunior Engineer SanjayMohanty, Meramundali SectionForester Prabhakar Rana andForest Guard Girish Dehury,informed Crime BranchAdditional Director GeneralSantosh Upadhyay, adding thatfurther investigation into theincident was still on.

Several lapses on the parts

of the Forest and EnergyDepartments had come to thefore following the death of theseven elephants in Dhenkanal.In the wake of a furore acrossthe State, Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik had ordered a CrimeBranch probe into the incident.

A four-member team led bya DSP had visited the spot onOctober 29 to conduct theinquiry. Earlier, the Forest andEnvironment and the EnergyDepartments had dismissed oneofficial and suspended six oth-ers for dereliction of duties.While three officials from theForest Department and the Cesuwere suspended, the JuniorManager of CESU MeramundaliSection was dismissed followingthe incident.

����������D�������������� � !" #$%PG���'

The Army has issued strictinstructions to its troops

guarding the Line of Control(LoC) in Jammu & Kashmirand vital installations, includ-ing their camps, from usingmobile phones as their faces arelit up during night presentingan easy target to snipers toshoot them. The directioncame after a soldier on sentryduty of 42 Rashtriya Rifles inTral last week was killed report-edly after he used his mobilephone at night. One other sol-dier was wounded in the sniperattack.

Moreover, the PakistanArmy and ISI backed militantshave launched “two-front”attempts to smuggle inweapons in huge quantitiesbesides ultras through the LoCand International border. Thetwo-pronged strategy has seenmilitants trying to smuggle inweapons from North Kashmiracross from across the LoC and

through Jammu and Punjabfrom across the InternationalBorder.

As regards the instructionsabout mobile phones, officialsin security establishment saidhere on Saturday the sentriesare generally posted in a shift oftwo to three hours to keep themfresh and alert. The Army hasearlier too issued instructions aspart of standard operating pro-cedure asking the soldiers torefrain from using their phones.

In the latest incident, the

militants had sneaked within arange of 200 metres or so andwhen the soldier responded tothe mobile phone call therebylighting up his face he was shot,sources said. The militants hadused telescope fitted rifle for theattack, they added.

Alarmed over this criticallapse, the Army reiterated itsinstructions about the use ofmobile phones, said officials,adding the terrorists are des-perate to attack army camps inthe coming days. At least 14

such attacks on Army campshave taken place this year sofar. However, only two suchattacks claimed casualties.These included six soldierskilled when the militantsstormed an Army installationin Sunjwan near Jammu earli-er this year and one soldierkilled in the sniper attack onthe Rashtriya Rifles camp lastweek.

While Army Chief GeneralBipin Rawat earlier this weeksaid the Army is verifyingreports about two snipergroups of three to four trainedmilitants each of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) infiltratinginto the Kashmir Valley inSeptember, security forces arenot taking any chances andhave launched a hunt for thesetwo groups. They reportedlycarried out three attacks onsecurity forces camps, includ-ing the Rashtriya Rifles inci-dent within a spate of five to sixdays last week.

The security establishment,moreover, is concerned overmilitant handlers sitting across

the border in Pakistan waginga “two- front” war against theIndian security agencies inJammu & Kashmir.Elaborating upon this aspect,officials said the Pakistan Armyand ISI are pushing in heavilyarmed militants from acrossthe LOC in North Kashmir andthe International Border fromJammu region.

Coupled with infiltrationbids, the handlers are pushingin weapons especially AK-47sthrough smugglers fromInternational Border throughPunjab and Jammu and specialweapons including MI-4 riflesfor precision shooting akin tosniper firing from LOC, theysaid.

It is also suspected that thecurrent batch of ‘sharp shoot-ers’ or ‘snipers’ active in theKashmir Valley, infiltratedthrough the International bor-der in Jammu and reachedKashmir via road link.

From Jammu these‘snipers’ were ferried toKashmir valley via ‘mobilebunkers.’

,������� ������������ ��� ���������6������ �������

(�� ������ ��� ���������" ��� ��"�������

�����"�� �� 1"����"����� ��� ����

���� ��" � ���� �����!�� ������"

������ �2�������'������( '���)�*����+,�-./0

New Delhi: Army ChiefGeneral Bipin Rawat onSaturday expressed concernover attempts to "revive insur-gency" in Punjab and Assamthrough "external linkages" andwarned if early action is nottaken it will be too late.

Asserting that insurgencycannot be dealt with militaryforce, he favoured adopting anapproach in which all agencies,the Government, civil admin-istration, Military and policework in an "integrated manner."

Airing these views here ina seminar on 'ChangingContours of Internal Securityin India: Trends andResponses,' he said attempts arebeing made through "externallinkages" to "revive insurgency"in Punjab and Assam through"external abetment."

"Punjab has been peacefulbut because of these externallinkages, attempts again arebeing made to revive insur-gency in the State," he said,adding, "we have to be very care-ful." "Let us not think that

Punjab (situation) is over. Wecannot close our eyes to what ishappening in Punjab. And, if wedo not take early action now, itwill be too late," he said. Punjabsaw one of the worst phases ofinsurgencies in the 1980s.

Former Uttar Pradesh policechief Prakash Singh also high-lighted the issue and referred toa pro-Khalistan rally organisedrecently in the UK aiming for a'Referendum 2020.' Hundreds ofpeople had turned out atTrafalgar Square in London onAugust 12 in support of a pro-Khalistan rally as well as tocounter the event with anIndependence Day celebrations.

Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) hadsaid its rally was intended toraise awareness for a non-binding referendum in 2020,calling for Punjab to be grant-

ed independence. The "WeStand With India" and "LoveMy India" events were organ-ised by Indian diaspora groupsas a reaction to the pro-Khalistan "London Declarationfor a Referendum 2020".

Touching upon the issue ofinternal security, the ArmyChief said threat to internalsecurity is one of the biggestproblems in the country, butquestion is "why we have notbeen able to find a solution,because it has external linkages."Asserting that insurgency can-not be dealt with Military force,he pitched for adopting anapproach in which all agencies,the Government, civil admin-istration, military and policework in an "integrated manner."

The resolution of Nagainsurgency can be forerunner tothe Manipur insurgency situa-tion. There are some linkagesbetween the two. But, if that res-olution does not satisfyManipuris then the insurgencyin that State will take a differentturn, Rawat said. PNS

��� � !�" #$%

The Election Commission(EC) ordered immediate

removal of a PrincipalSecretary (Home)Lalnunmawia Chuaungoaccused of meddling in revisionof electoral rolls in poll-boundMizoram. Chuaungo, a 1987-batch Gujarat-cadre IAS officer,has been serving in Mizoramon an inter-cadre deputationfrom Gujarat.

The decision came in thewake of a complaint filed bythe Chief Electoral Officer(CEO) of Mizoram, S BShashank who accusedChuaungo of "direct interfer-ence" by the State Governmentin preparation for theNovember 28 Assembly polls.

"The ElectionCommission is satisfied thatthe continuance ofLalnunmawia Chuaungo asPrincipal Secretary (Home)in State Government ofMizoram will have adverseimpact on conduct of smooth,free and fair election processin Mizoram," the EC orderStates. The order of the EC

signed by Secretary SB Joshialso stated that the poll panelin Delhi also approved thename of Lalrinliana Fazai , a1997 batch AGMUT cadreofficer to be the new Secretary(home). The election com-mission decision sparked offprotests from political andcivil society Mizo groups.

On October 29, Shashankhad written to EC complainingabout interference by Chuaungoin revision of electoral rolls ofBru refugees from Mizoramresiding in Tripura and hadasked for his removal from thepresent post. The CEO has citedinterference of the departmentof home affairs in the electoralrevision process by asking theDistrict Election Officers not toconsider the identification slipsfor any purpose other thanrepatriation of refugees. TheMizoram Government,Shashank is learnt to have said,did not seem keen to have anynew Bru voters enrolled.

The EC also directed that heshould be relieved of his currentresponsibilities with immediateeffect and not be assigned anywork related to the state till the

elections are over. In its Fridayorder, the EC observed that aseries of incidents had happenedin Mizoram causing concernabout completion of summaryrevision of electoral rolls andsuccessful conduct of free andfair polls.

It mentioned of how enrol-ment forms of Bru voters werestolen in August 23 and howthe Mizoram governmentdirected that identity slipsissued to Bru families (whichwere being used to identify eli-gible voters) were declared notto be used for enrolment.

The EC noted howChuaungo gave "evasivereplies" on why the directionregarding identity slips wasissued. It also mentioned howthe IAS officer questioneddeployment of central armedpolice force for the polls.

"Provisions would be madeduring future elections to theLok Sabha and the legislativeassembly of Mizoram for exer-cise of franchise withinMizoram by Bru (Reang) vot-ers living in Tripura enrolled invoter lists in Mizoram," the ECorder had stated.

/7� ������� ���� ��0�4 ���=�"���������!��� ��� �� �

��������������� ��$ ���%�

For the first time in recenthistory, Tamil Nadu will

see the spectacle of strangepolitical permutation andcombination which was onceunthinkable. The DMK, themain opposition party, strug-gling to regain power whichit lost in 2011 is likely to forgestrategic and tacit under-standing with the T T VDhinakaran-led AmmaMakkal Munnetra Kazhakam(AMMK) to fight the upcom-ing by-elections from 20assembly constituencies inthe State.

The by-polls were necessi-tated because of the disqualifi-cation of the 18 legislatorsbelonging to the AIADMKand owing allegiance toDhinakaran and his aunt V KSasikala (the former aide to for-mer Chief Minister late JJyalalithaa serving jail term inBangalore in connection withthe disproportionate asset caseverdict) and the demise of twoserving legislators.

The DMK had a tacitunderstanding withDhinakaran in the by-poll heldfrom RK Nagar in December2017. Though there was no

formal announcement aboutthis alliance, the DMK fieldeda political novice MarudhuGanesh to facilitate the victoryof Dhinakaran who fought asan independent in the hustingsagainst the AIADMK’s officialcandidate. While Dhinakaranromped home, the DMK can-didate forfeited his securitydeposit, something which wasunheard of in the RK Nagarwhere the party’s candidateShimla Muthuchozhan hadgiven a scare to the then chiefminister Jayalalithaa in the2016 assembly election.

While Muthuchozhan hadpolled more than 57,000 votesagainst Jayalalithaa’s 97,218votes, Ganesh could poll hard-ly 24,000 votes in the 2017 by-poll. While the Tamil mediacelebrated the failure of BJP toscore the votes polled byNOTA, the fall in the DMK

votes went unnoticed. It wasknown to all that there was asecret deal between the DMKand Dhinakaran. “Yes, wehave every reason to doubt thatthere was a tacit understand-ing between the DMK andDhinakaran. The DMK is yetto explain why Muthuchozhanwas overlooked during the by-poll,” V Mythreyan, MP,AIADMK, had told ThePioneer.

Though M K Stalin, presi-dent, DMK, issues daily state-ments condemning theAIADMK and Chief MinisterEdappadi Palaniswamy, it isinteresting to note that neither henor any other leaders in theDMK have attacked Dhinakaran,Sasikala or other members of theMannargudi clan.

The AIADMK has to winat least 18 of the 20 seats goingto the by-polls to continue in

office. This is because of theprecarious position of theAIADMK in the assemblywhere it is surviving onlybecause of a fragile majority. Inthe Tamil Nadu House whichhas an effective strength of 234,the ruling dispensation shouldhave at least 118 seats to sus-tain the government. But theAIADMK has hardly 115members as on Saturday andthere are reports that four tofive members may jump fenceto Dhinakaran camp anytimefrom now.

The DMK, which com-mands the support of 97 mem-bers, too have to win all the 20seats to dream of toppling thePalaniswamy Government. Thenext option available to theDravidian major is to enter intoa strategic or tactical alliancewith Dhinakaran’s AMMKand facilitate the defeat of allthe AIADMK candidates bytransferring votes.

This is the most likely sce-nario since both Stalin andDhinkaran want thePalaniswamy Government togo. Since the alliance between theAMMK and the DMK is likelyto cause the ire of the AIADMKvoters, for the time being Stalinand Dhinakaran may keep thedeal a low key affair.

!����)� ����&���������������&�������� ����=����>� ��

��� �(%��&�(

A“mentally disabled” manwas shot dead by the secu-

rity forces on Saturday morn-ing at a village in southKashmir's Shopian district,police said.

According to a police offi-cial, “At around 3 am a men-tally unstable man was tryingto walk into the army camp of34 RR located at Pahnoo vil-lage of south Kashmir’sShopian district.

“Some warning shots werefired by a sentry in air but theman did not stop, he thendirectly fired some shots uponhim, which killed him on thespot, he added.

The slain man was identi-fied as Rayees Ahmad Wani,resident of Begam Kulgam.

Meanwhile, a sit-in protestwas held by the family mem-bers and relatives of slain manalong with his body at BataporaChowk.

They were demanding forjustice of the slain man and thearrest of erring army personnel.According to a family memberRayees Ahmad was missingsince Friday afternoon.

Meanwhile, a lady inKhanyar locality of oldSrinagar made fervent appealto her son to shun militancyand return home, a day afterhis impersonated photographposing as IS terrorist wentviral on social media.

Ehtiham, a B.tech stu-dent went missing on lastSunday from his hostel atSharda University in GreaterNoida, nearly after a month,when he was assaulted duringa group clash at the universi-ty between Indian andAfghani students.

A gun-wielding picture ofEhtesham along with a claim-ing audio message surfacedon social media.

��������@���� �(%��&�(

Normal life came to a grind-ing halt in Kashmir fol-

lowing the season’s first blan-ket snowfall that triggered roadblockades and power outagesforcing people to resort to tra-ditional methods to fight thebone-chilling cold wave.

The early snowfall caughtthe Governor’s administrationunaware and unprepared whilethe orchardists in southKashmir region and saffrongrowers in Pampore in the

outskirts of Srinagar appre-hend huge economic losses.The rare November snowfallhas occurred third time inpast 18 years, a MET officialsaid. The weather is likely toimprove from Monday.

He said Srinagar registereda minimum temperature ofminus 1 degree Celsius, downfrom the previous night.

Qazigund, the gateway town tothe Valley, recorded 11 degreeCelsius, compared to 16 degreeCelsius on Friday.

The strategic 434-kmSrinagar-Leh highway remainedclosed due to the heavy snow-fall for the third consecutive dayas 3 feet thick layer of snow hasaccumulated across Zoji Lapass. The Srinagar-Jammu

National Highway was alsoclosed for vehicular traffic evenas the authorities tried hard tokeep it through for the passageof Durbar Move employees.The government offices are re-opening in winter capitalJammu on Monday, 10 daysafter they were closed inSrinagar on October 26.

The freaky weather hascaused anguish among thou-sands of students writing theirexaminations for tenth andtwelfth classes.

Orchardists from southernand northern parts of Kashmirsaid that the sudden change inweather pattern has potential toharm them economically. “Thefull apple crop has not been har-vested. Some fruit is still on treesand the plucked harvest is in theprocess of grading and packag-ing,” Murtaza Ahmad, anorchardist said.

The summer capitalSrinagar witnessed a cold wavefor last three days as the upperreaches witnessed early snowfall.

���E��� �$��"������

No positive result seems tohave emerged after an

adamant son met his ailingfather in prison hospital inRanchi on Saturday.

Tej Pratap Yadav, whohas filed petition for divorcefrom his wife of less than sixmonths Aishwarya Rai inthe court, heard his fatherLalu Prasad patiently butinsisted that he was not readyany more to spend a “suffo-cating life with her.” Thehearing of the case is slatedon November 29 and he saidhe would reveal everythingonly in the court. “I don’twant to be tied to any band-han (bonding),” he report-edly told his father.

Prior to reaching Ranchiand meeting RJD supremo,Tej told media people in Gayathat his decision was final andthere was no question of with-drawing his petition. He said hewas reluctant to marry her butwas forced by parents whomade him a “pawn.”

“Ghut ghut kar jeene kakoi fayda nahi. Main Krishnahoon par Aishwarya meriRadha nahi hai,” (no use ofliving in suffocation. I am likeKrishna but she is not myRadha), said Tej and addedthat there was no coordinationbetween them as she belonged

to high society.Som reliable sources dis-

closed that Tej was undergreat influence of a Baba inVrindavan (Mathura) and it issuspected that the Baba toldhim that he was like Krishnabut Aishwarya was not hisRadha so better they shouldseparate. Tej last met thatBaba only three days back inVrindavan. Baba’s influenceon Tej is more than his parentshave on him. That could be areason that he was accusinghis parents, Lalu and RabriDevi, for coercing him tomarry Aishwarya, daughter ofRJD leader and MLAChandrika Rai.

The attitude of Tej hasshocked the families of Lalu-Rabri and Chandrika Raibeyond words. Rai withdaughter Aishwarya rushed

to the house of Rabri Devi onFriday late evening but allattempts to reach Tej failed ashe had left by car for Ranchiand refused to take any call.However, he made a night haltat Gaya and resumed his jour-ney Saturday morning.

Tejashwi Prasad Yadav,who was not keeping well andhad postponed his yatra twodays back attended a partymeeting on Saturday in a bidto show that party was notperturbed over the family feud.

When newsmen askedabout the incident, a tenselooking Tejashwi shot back,“No need to take interest infamily matter. This is ourproblem and leave it on us.You people better look at theproblems of Bihar and Indiaand the youths and theirunemployment.” Prodded fur-ther the former Deputy CMsaid tersely, “If you start dis-cussing family problems inpublic no family will escapewhether it is of the PM(Narendra Modi) or the CM(Nitish Kumar).”

In related development twoof the friends of Tej were calledat Rabri Devi’s house and werebeaten by Chandrika and alsoby Rabri who hit one of them,a lawyer, with a remote. Theywere let go with warning not tosay anything outside.

-������#�������������"����� �������������.�/�0�����

0������������������� ����������� �������!� ����

(�� ����� $�� %���"�������" �� 3�����

��$�" *���! ����"����� &���$ 4����$ 5���%����! � ���6��������� %�� ���" ����� ��$��� $�$������" ��������� �� �����

$�� ����� %��� ��� ��"� ��

&������� ���%#

����������������������������0����� ������*����@ ����������&�;�����?����������������@��������������� 0������������������3���������������� �������@����������������������������������������

������������������������������ �=��������� ���������!�������� ��!������� "�#

��!��&���������� �������� ����� ��� ���2�&������������� �=��������� �����)����!�������� ��!������� "�#

7,��� ���� #�� 8���� #�#�� ���"� ���� 5���

4������ ���� �������%���� $��� 3�"��

���� ���! .�� ��� �������� �� ����������� �$ ��#� 4������ ���

��� �� ��� $� 3�"��/!���" (�8 ��" �""�"���� ����� %�� ��

����"������� ���%������$ �� ��� �������"

�� ���� �������

��� � !�" #$%

ADelhi court on Saturdaydismissed the bail plea of

alleged middleman ManojPrasad arrested in connectionwith the alleged bribery caseagainst CBI Special DirectorRakesh Asthana.

Special CBI judge SantoshSnehi Mann denied bail toPrasad contending it was not afit stage to grant him relief.

The CBI had opposed theapplication saying that theaccused was an influential per-son and if released on bail, hemay tamper with the ongoingprobe and flee from justice.

In his bail application,Manoj Prasad had averred thathe was not required for the cus-todial interrogation and nopurpose will be served by keep-ing him in further custody.

Manoj Prasad who wasarrested on October 17 is at pre-sent undergoing judicial custody.

The court had on October31 granted bail to co-accusedand CBI DSP Devender Kumarafter the agency did not oppose

his bail plea. .The CBI had registered an

FIR against Asthana, Kumarand two private persons on awritten complaint of Hyderabad-based businessman Sathish Sanaon October 15.

Besides Asthana, ManojPrasad and Devender Kumar,another alleged middlemanSomesh Prasad has also beennamed as an accused in the case

The FIR had alleged thatDevender Kumar, being theInvestigating Officer (IO) in thecase against meat exporter MoinQureshi, was repeatedly callingthe complainant to the CBIoffice to harass him and compelhim to pay a bribe of �5 crore forgetting a clean chit in the case.

The complaint had alsoalleged that a part of the bribewas paid by Sana. Earlier,through a complaint to theCabinet Secretary on August 24,Asthana had alleged that Sanawho is an accused in the MoinQureshi case had allegedly paida bribe of �2 crore to get relief inthe case.

��� � !�" #$%�

In yet another case of CBI vsCBI, an agency DSP NP

Mishra has levelled seriousallegations against three IPSofficers Sharad Agggarwal,Abhishek Dular and RamgopalGarg for corruption andmanipulation of evidence injournalist Umesh Rajput mur-der case of Chhattisgarh.

"The officers of the CBInamely Sharad Aggarwal, thethen DIG, now JD, AbhishekDular, the then SP, KS Negi ,DSP/IO of the case and AK

Singh, Sr. PP have changed thestatement so as to save high pro-file criminal Manoj Aggarwalandothers, who is the main culpritin Umesh Rajput murder caseand Sushil Pathak murder case,"Mishra alleged in his complaint.

Umesh Rajput was mur-dered only because he wasblackmailing Manoj Aggarwalas this blackmailing by UmeshRajput not only endangeredthe life and status of ManojAggarwal but also that of allthe doctors of of ChhattisgarhMedical College, Bilaspur andDr BR Ambedkar Medical

College and "henchmen"police officers of ManojAggarwal, who were helping

Manoj Aggarwal by issu-ing/accepting false and fabri-cated certificates in the nameof Manoj Aggarwal," Mishraalleged in his complaint toCBI Director Alok Verma.

"The aforesaid officers ofthe CBI in order to save the realaccused/culprit concocted /cre-atedfalse evidence in the caseand filed a false chargesheet inthe court. He also alleged thatthe statements recorded byhim have not been filed withthe chargesheet of the case," hefurther alleged.

"Copies of actual state-

ments are with me in my com-puter and I can handover thesame if required," Mishraclaimed.

The letter sent "throughproper channel" also soughtfrom CBI Director AlokVerma.

When contacted CBISpokesperson Abhishek Dayalsaid, "He (Mishra) keeps fil-ing complaints against otherofficers and enquiries areconducted. I do not knowhow the CBI carries on withthe investigations with such officers."

0��������"������������������������

��+-�& 9 ����5

����������������������������������������������

!"�0�������������� ��������� ����������?�#"!� ������

��(:�+� &3&�3) ����

�+1(:�3 �& ;� �& ����

7(�� ��������" �������� ����� �& �� ��"�� �� ������� ���� ������"<���������������" <������"��������"���� �� ��� ���� ��"����" � ����� �����������

�� ��� ����� :� ����������" ���� ���

�����$���� �����"�" ����$ ���� ��� ���� ����"%��� ��� ����������� ��

��� ����! �� ������"

2������������������ �������� ���������0������ ��!������� �"

$����%��� �=�������'������( '���)�*����+,�-./0

London: India's informationtechnology and infrastructuresectors will be central to itsjourney of becoming a $10-tril-lion economy by 2030, accord-ing to a new report released inLondon.

The Indo-EuropeanBusiness Forum (IBEF), whichworks as a facilitator of businessties between India and Europe,highlighted that the sustainedreforms by the IndianGovernment have opened upthe prospect of growth in theseparticular sectors as well asrenewable energy, defence andlogistics.

According to its analysis,information technology (IT)services exports are projectedto add $10 billion during thisfiscal year, to touch $126 bil-lion.

In the field of infrastruc-ture, India will become the

third-largest construction mar-ket globally by 2022 and thereal estate sector is estimated togrow to $650 billion by 2025and surpass $850 billion by2028, to touch $1 trillion by2030.

"Today India represents aland of infinite opportunities. Itsyoung demographic profilecombined with its strong indus-trial base, rapid digitisation,growing infrastructure, resilientstart-up ecosystem and cleargrowth vision from the gov-ernment, offers India a signifi-cant competitive advantage vis-a-vis other developingeconomies," said Sunil KumarGupta, India Leader of IEBF, atthe 'Global Investment Conclaveon Investment Opportunities inNew India' in the House ofLords complex on Friday.

The annual IEBF investors'summit which began on Friday

ran for two days, with PrimeMinister of Malta JosephMuscat among the specialguests alongside some of theprominent IEBF AdvisoryCommittee members such asBaroness Sandip Verma,Member of the House of Lordsand Chair of the EuropeanExternal Affairs Committee,and leading Indian-origin busi-nessman GP Hinduja.

A delegation of Indiancompanies with investmentexperience and future expan-sion plans for Europe were alsoamong the participants.

"IEBF was started 11 yearsago to promote business tiesbetween India and Europe andtoday, notwithstanding theBrexit uncertainties, it is play-ing an active role to facilitatetrade and investment flowsboth ways," said Vijay Goel,founder-chair of IEBF. PTI

3$!��������������������3����A����0��1�#�9�� Kolkata: Around 212 firms

were sent for liquidation underthe Insolvency and BankruptcyCode (IBC) till September-end, a top official said onSaturday.

Insolvency and BankruptcyBoard of India (IBBI) whole-time member Navrang Sainisaid 1,198 corporates wereadmitted into the resolutionprocess, of which 52 had beensuccessfully resolved.

"Most of cases were inher-ited from the erstwhile BIFR(Board for Industrial andFinancial Reconstruction). Thisis why the number of compa-nies going for liquidation ishigh," Saini said during aninteraction at the MerchantsChamber of Commerce &Industry here. PTI

B;B������0��������C�������������3=�1�"�������

New Delhi: State-owned Oil andNatural Gas Corp (ONGC) onSaturday reported a 61 per centjump in its September quarternet profit as higher prices offseta dip in oil production.

Its net profit was �8,265crore in July-September as com-pared to �5,131 crore in thesame period last year, the com-pany said in a statement.

The company got $73.07 forevery barrel of crude oil it pro-

duced and sold in the secondquarter, up 48 per cent from$49.43 per barrel realisation ayear ago.

Because of the depreciationin rupee, ONGC's realisationsoared 61 per cent to �5,117 perbarrel. ONGC bills its customersin US dollars.

It got $3.05 per millionBritish thermal unit for naturalgas as opposed to $2.48 permmBtu last year. The PSU oil

major's turnover was up 47.6 percent to �27,989 crore.

Oil production fell 7 percent to 4.9 million tonnes but gasoutput was up 3 per cent at 6.1billion cubic metres.

ONGC reasoned the declineto contractor not delivering aproduction unit for western off-shore WO-16 Cluster. Non-delivery of the facility, which wasscheduled to come at the begin-ning of the fiscal year, "led to aloss of oil production of about0.35 million tonnes", ONGCsaid. PTI

1)���������&23�� ��� ��������� ������4�%&'���� ��5����6��

& � � � � � � � � � � � � �

���������:������������:�������@�

��%����"��������&������������@����������������5������������������������������*:K��F:���������������������������������%�B�����������;������������N0��O����M����� ������������� ����� ��������*������������������� �������������������?���(�����*� ���"�@�������������������������5�&�������;������������������������*������������������������������������@������������������������������

%���" �>�������'������( '���)�*����+,�-./0

���� A %G%�&

China on Saturday assuredPakistan of its full support

to “tide over” the financial cri-sis, clearly signalling Beijing’sreadiness to give fresh loans toits all-weather ally which is indeep economic distress.

During the on-going Chinavisit by Pakistan’s PrimeMinister Imran Khan, Beijingalso told Islamabad to “pushforward” the China-PakistanEconomic Corridor (CPEC),the heart of the Chinese Beltand Road project the feasibil-ity of which Pakistan has begunto doubt over debt concerns.

India is opposed to the $60billion CPEC whose plannedroute is through the disputedKashmir held by Pakistan.

“The Chinese governmentwill provide necessary support

and assistance to Pakistan intiding over the current eco-nomic difficulties,” China’s ViceForeign Minister KongXuanyou said.

The minister gave no spe-cific information about China’sfinancial assistance, saying thedetails were being discussed.

He was talking to reportersafter Khan and his Chinesecounterpart Li Keqiang heldtalks at the Great Hall andsupervised the signing of 16bilateral deals.

Khan, who met ChinesePresident Xi Jinping on Friday,is understood to have soughtfinancial help for Pakistanwhich is in dire straits due tothe ballooning foreign debt.

“The relationship betweenthe two countries has deepenedsince then because the CPEC in2013 was just an idea. Now it

is on the ground. And it hascaught the imagination of thepeople of Pakistan,” Khan saidwhile meeting Li.

“We feel that this is a greatopportunity for our country toprogress, to attract investment,it gives us an opportunity toraise our standard of living,growth rate. You will see thedifference because a lot hashappened since 2013. One ofthe things, of course, is myparty has come to power.”

Pakistan which has alreadysecured a $6 billion loan fromSaudi Arabia thinks theamount is not enough to clearthe financial mess and has alsosought a bailout package fromthe International MonetaryFund (IMF).

The IMF wants Pakistan todisclose all the financial detailsof the Chinese-funded CPEC

for providing the bailout pack-age.

The Chinese are wary ofIslamabad going to the IMF,dominated by its rival the USwhich opposes the Belt andRoad project.

Experts say that theChinese have pushed Pakistaninto heavy debt through theCPEC, a charge denied byBeijing.

Some ministers in Khan’snew government haveexpressed concerns over theChinese investments inPakistan, with one slashingthe budget of a rail project by$2 billion.

However, Khan haspledged to work to implementthe CPEC and has assuredPakistan’s full support for it.

“The vision of Xi Jinpingfor jointly building the Belt and

Road initiative is being turnedinto a reality. Against such abackdrop, the CPEC also hasnew opportunities and need tobe further pushed forward,”said the Chinese Vice ForeignMinister.

“The two sides will firmlymove forward the CPEC whileensuring the smooth operationof completing projects andadvancing the ongoing pro-jects.” “The two sides will grad-ually bring the dimension ofindustrial cooperation to theCPEC and extend it to otherparts of Pakistan,” he said.

Kong said the project willalso focus on the social sector.

“The two sides have agreedto establish a foreign-ministe-rial dialogue mechanism tomake overall planning andcoordinate in various fields,” headded.

��������������� ����������������������� %�#���A�"

The lawyer of Asia Bibi, aChristian woman who was

acquitted of blasphemy chargesafter eight years on death row,left the country on Saturday,saying his life was under threat.

Following the SupremeCourt’s decision last week, reli-gious parties staged protests inmajor cities across the countryand incited violence againstlawyer Saif-ul-Mulook as wellas the judges.

Mulook claimed he wasfacing threats from sections oflawyers and it was difficult forhim to practise in the prevail-ing situation, the ExpressTribune reported.

The apex court on October31 ordered Bibi’s immediaterelease stating that blasphemycharges could not be provenagainst her. She was accused bytwo women of insultingProphet Muhammad in 2009and a court sentenced her todeath in 2010.

The protests were called offafter radical Islamist groupTehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan(TLP) and the Governmentreached an agreement, with theGovernment promising toimmediately initiate a legalprocess to place Bibi’s name onthe Exit Control List.

As party of its deal with theTLP, the Government said itwould not oppose petitions

filed against the top court’s ver-dict. According to the agree-ment, all protesters arrestedsince Bibi’s acquittal will bereleased and any violencetowards them will be investi-gated.

Campaigners blasted thedeal as akin to signing her“death warrant”.

Talking to the ExpressTribune, Malook said that hewould return to Pakistan torepresent Asia at hearing of thereview petition if the Armyprovided him security.

“My family is also facingimmense security threat andthe federal Government shouldprovide security to them,” hesaid.

�� ��� # ���������������0�$�� � ������������� ��

���� !��$%�&�0�

An Indian-origin man hasbeen charged in the US

with H-1B visa and mail fraud,officials said.

Kishore Kumar Kavuru,46, was arrested on Friday andwas presented before USMagistrate Judge Susan vanKeulen, the US Department ofJustice said in a press release.

He was charged with 10counts of visa fraud and 10counts of mail fraud in con-nection with a scheme to main-tain a pool of foreign workersfor the clients of Kavuru’s con-sulting companies.

If convicted, Kavuru facesthe sentence of 10 years inprison and a maximum fine of$250,000 for each count ofvisa fraud. The defendant alsofaces up to 20 years in jail and$250,000 for each count ofmail fraud, federal prosecutorssaid.

According to the indict-ment, Kavuru, a resident ofSunnyvale, California, heldhimself out as a staffing spe-cialist for technology firmsbased in Santa Clara Countyand elsewhere seeking to filltemporary positions with for-eign workers.

Since at least as early as

2007, Kavuru was the ownerand Chief Executive Officer offour consulting companies —Scopus Consulting Group, Inc.;ITECH Analyst Corp; InfinityMethods Corp; and OrianEngineers Incorporated.

The indictment describedhow Kavuru used the consult-ing companies to process andsubmit fraudulent applicationsfor foreign workers to obtainpermission to work in the USunder the H-1B visa pro-gramme.

He was accused of submit-ting fraudulent documents toboth the Department of Labourand the Department ofHomeland Security, containingdetails of bogus work projectsawaiting the foreign workers.

������������� ���������� ���� ����� ��� �����

(31((+,(31((+,,�1&�

�����F���G3���� ���������@���������������2(2H���+I� G���������;������������;�������� �������������@�������%�K?�������;������5����� �������������*5����������������� ����������������;����������

��������@����@�������������@�"��,�&!,� '�����������"��������������������������@�������������@�����������;�����@����%��5�*���������������������������B�;�����������������������B ���������*����������� ��������*�@�������������

Kabul: One US soldier waskilled and another wounded inan “apparent insider attack” inKabul on Saturday, NATO said,in the latest such assault oninternational forces inAfghanistan. There was noimmediate claim of responsi-bility for the third so-called“green-on-blue” attack in lessthan three weeks that have rat-tled foreign troops tasked withtraining and assisting the war-torn country’s military. AFP

'����������������M������������������?���3��4����0

Islamabad: Pakistan onSaturday summoned India’sDeputy High Commissioner J PSingh and condemned the“unprovoked firing” on the Lineof Control by Indian troops thatkilled a woman. Foreign Officespokesman Mohammad Faisalsummoned Singh and “con-demned the unprovoked cease-fire violations” by the Indianforces, the Foreign Office said.

Faisal said that the firingkilled a 22-year old woman,

Munazza Bibi, in BhimbarSector on Friday.

“The deliberate targeting ofcivilian populated areas is indeeddeplorable and contrary tohuman dignity, internationalhuman rights and humanitari-an laws,” Faisal said.

He claimed that the Indianforces along the Line of Controland the Working boundary arecontinuously targeting civilianpopulated areas with heavyweapons and carried out more

than 2,312 ceasefire violations sofar in 2018, resulting in the deathof 35 civilians.

Faisal said this unprece-dented escalation in ceasefireviolations by India is continuingfrom the year 2017 when theIndian forces committed 1970ceasefire violations.

“The ceasefire violations byIndia are a threat to regionalpeace and security and may leadto a strategic miscalculation,”Faisal said. PTI

"�&����� ���#���������� �� �� ���������� � &���������

����� �?

���� 30#3���

The 'end of Dhoni era' notion hasbeen dismissed unequivocally butthen India, for the first time, will

still be without the figure with a mon-umental body of work when they faceWest Indies in theopening T20International onSunday.

Less than a weekafter two-time World Cup-winningskipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was leftout of India's T20I squad, captain ViratKohli has said he remains an integralpart of India's plans.

Chief selector MSK Prasad also saidthat it was not the end of the road forDhoni in T20Is.

With Kohli rested for the threematches, Rohit Sharma will lead the sideagainst the reigning T20 champions.

Under Jason Holder, West Indieswere mauled 0-2 in the Test series in sixdays' of action. In the following five-match ODI series, they posed somechallenge before being thrashed 1-3 witha nine-wicket loss inThiruvananthapuram in the final one-dayer.

But it will not be an easy task forIndia against the Carlos Brathwaite-ledteam as the two-month long series beginits final leg, giving the visitors a chanceto regain some pride.

Brathwaite will be back at the samevenue where he hit four consecutivesixes off Ben Stokes to break the heartsof English fans by winning their secondWorld Twenty20 title in 2016.

The Windies, who missed the bignames in the Test and ODI series, willbe bolstered by the arrival of star play-ers Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard andAndre Russell, who will be back at hisIPL home venue.

The stats also favour the World T20holders who have a five-two record fromeight exchanges from 2009-17.

India failed to overcomeBrathwaite's men in their last fourencounters and the Windies ended thehome team's campaign in the 2016 T20IWorld Cup, defeating them in thesemi-finals in Mumbai.

India's last win against West Indiescame way back on March 23, 2014 in theWorld T20 in Bangladesh, and Sharmawill have his task cut out in his quest tostart well at his happy hunting ground.

The 31-year-old has a world recordscore of 264 in ODIs at the EdenGardens in 2014, besides winning twoIPL titles, in 2013 and 2015. He wouldlook to carry his fine form from the ODIseries, in which he finished behindKohli, with 389 runs, at a staggeringaverage of 129.66.

Captaincy seems to bring out thebest in Sharma who notched up 317runs (average 105.66) in five innings intheir title-winning campaign at theAsia Cup.

The Windies, on the other hand,will look forward to their youngsterShimron Hetmeyer, who scored 259runs in the ODI series, including a cen-tury in Guwahati.

Kohli's absence would mean KLRahul will come into the picture whileDinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant areexpected to add firepower in the mid-dle order alongside Krunal Pandya.

Pant is expected to fulfil the wick-et-keeping responsibilities while Karthikcould take on one of the positions in theoutfield.

The Indian seam attack will be ledby Bhuvneshwar Kumar and JaspritBumrah, which now includes additionalvariation in the form of left-arm quickKhaleel Ahmed.

In the spin department, YuzvendraChahal and Kuldeep Yadav will look tobuild on their chemistry. India have alsonamed uncapped Krunal Pandya in thefinal 12.

The Eden centre strip promises tobe full of runs, and batsmen from bothsides will look to make merry.

G���India (XII): Rohit Sharma (Capt),

Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, DineshKarthik, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant(wk), Krunal Pandya, YuzvendraChahal, Kuldeep Yadav, BhuvneshwarKumar, Jasprit Bumrah, K KhaleelAhmed.

West Indies: Carlos Brathwaite(Capt), Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo,Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul, KieronPollard, Denesh Ramdin (wk), AndreRussell, Sherfane Rutherford, OshaneThomas, Khary Pierre, Obed McCoy,Rovman Powell, Nicholas Pooran.

���� 30#3���

India captain Rohit Sharma is confident that youngRishabh Pant will use the upcoming T20 series against

West Indies as an "opportunity to express himself " inthe absence of the talismanic Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Dhoni, whose batting form has been on the wane,is not a part of the shortest format presenting Pant witha golden chance to consolidate his place in limited overscricket. Not to forget that senior pro Dinesh Karthik alsoget a fresh lease of life despite a career plagued by incon-sistent form.

"Dhoni has been such a massive player for us, overthe years. His experience in the middle will be missedbut again Rishabh (Pant) and Dinesh (Karthik) have greatopportunity to come and perform and show what they

are capable of as well. Itgives them an opportuni-ty to express themselves,"Rohit told mediapersonson the eve of the game.

Even though Indiawill be playing the T20 for-mat, Rohit termed thethree-match series as anextension of the ongoingWorld Cup preparation.

"We cannot go intothe World Cup with lim-ited resources. We need tohave options. This givesyou a great platform to try

and test all these guys," Rohit said, laying emphasis onthe bench strength.

"It's very important because the amount of cricketwe play, at the same time we got to see what our benchstrength is. The players we are talking of are possiblereplacements to come and fill in. We have to see the guyswho are knocking the door and what they bring to thetable."

"Not just the 15 players we got to see what is out-side the 15 players we have. There are a lot of new facesin the team," he said. India have named uncapped left-arm spin duo of Krunal Pandya and Shahbaz Nadeem,who returned with a world record List A figures of 8/10for Jharkhand in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare.

3+(3��/��,�$B<�$, $!�&3� ,,��#,(,*�$3"+� ����@�������0"%�������5�%���� ���@������������!������������������� �����

#�������������������������������������� �����- �&�������� ��������'(������� ��������������58��9�#�������'(��&������ ��@�����������, ���!���������������� ��������������� # ������������� ���

�������� ������(�����@�������!������7�,2%��������������%�������������>��*�(����5�@���@�������*������ �����=<B����K����������������������%���5@��*������>���������K�����������;��� ���� ����������!�������������A���@���B���������������������� ����&�������������*�N��;������8O5�(�����@��7�@������������������������������������������!���������������������������@���������������� ���������5��������*A��@����*��������(�����@��Q��>����������������Q(������������������� ���������

#��������������� ���������������#������������0��������-5���*��� ���!��������������������������B�;����K��� �������%����������!�������@��������������,2%��K��5����@��� ����� ��������0"%�����@������������!����%����������������>��*������������� �������/��������!�������������*�@���������;��� ����B�����*��������������&*�5� ;���#�@��5�������������������A�����������;��������������(�����*5�����*������@��������������� ������,2%����������� ������������>��*� ���

��"( �('�� ##�0'��01��,2%�� (% ��

��������������;<����������������#H��,2�,�"I � @ � � �J� (**�""K%����N,O =2D R< 8R = , R8�-D!����%������N.O =2= D+ D+ 8 D <2�22%����;��!����%����� D = , B = 8+�<2

�����'@������';<���������&� 3�,(� ��"(�&2-B2<B,2=2 A�������@� !����%������@����*�=D�����,8B28B,2=D "�� %����@����*�+�@������,+B2.B,2=R #������ !����%������@����*�=����,.B2.B,2=R #������ ��������

�������� ��

%�� ��� ;���%����3��������@?>>���%4� $�#� �"#$ �;�D�;5(

� ��=���������� �� ������� ��"���

�����������;<�������� �(," � �.� � 6<<JL< 9J8

�,2% D +8 8. ,D�88 =2<�. 2:2 <:,%�# 8. =,D. =,. 8<�RR =R,�+= =:. ==<:R+

�������'������( '���)�*����+,�-./0

���� �� � "��

=�9�����/�������������,-����)�,���&��*�" ������,*��!!&"$�*2&!�2$��/"*!(�& ��������,�����11�-��!(�$!, %����,�%�!#��"#!&�����,- %!(,-��%(�� �

4����!�?���� 9���0E�%&��1��)�,���1&��,��*21���!��,%�.���������������������� %��#"!.��6L)���" �*&!��!�,,)��11����,!&�11����,�,)%(�&���%��#" � �&�",!&,�*�""��)&��&�!)��&)�"�

.��(�#�)$��&!--"��&��!)��&)�"�.��&(�5�����/"�"($&��-�%%���,*�&��&,��-"&!$�(,-��"&!!-

$��������=!�->�8

�'�����������������

@ 3 1 5 ( : � + � A �

1��2��3��%���4�"�5�%6��#��7�" ,8��"3��"5����"$$#9��� ����� "%3�3���9���"3 �����"5����"$$#"3�:.,�;.,�"%�<.9=��� 3%#���>

Indira Gandhi was preparing for herupcoming election campaign whenshe received this note from PN Haksarfive days into the New Year, onJanuary 5, 1971: “The PM may kindly

see the report placed below prepared by theResearch & Analysis Wing (R&AW). I havelong been feeling a sense of uneasinessabout the intentions of Pakistan in future.The recent political developments inPakistan have added to my anxieties. Withthe overwhelming victory of East Pakistanwing [Sheikh Mujibur Rahman], the solu-tion of internal problems of Pakistan havebecome infinitely more difficult.Consequently, the temptation to seek solu-tion to these problems by external adven-tures has become very great. I think that thetime has come when our Armed Forcesneed to make a very realistic assessmentboth of Pakistan’s capability and ourresponse. I have a feeling that there aremany weak spots in our defence capabilities.These need to be remedied without loss oftime. I know how busy the PM is. And yet, Iventure to suggest that the PM should callin all the three Chiefs of Staff, DefenceSecretary, and the Defence Minister andshare with them her anxieties and ask themto urgently prepare their own assessmentand make recommendations of what therequirements of each of the Services are sothat we can feel a sense of security. I suggestthat such a meeting should be held quietlyand without any publicity...”

Just as Haksar was worrying aboutPakistan based on his meetings with Kao,Ritwick Ghatak cropped up again. Theeccentric Bengali filmmaker had made afilm on Lenin but it had run into controver-sy. On January 6, 1971, a day after sharinghis worries about Pakistan with the PrimeMinister, he told her: “In matters of thissort, one is apt to be carried away by some-what exaggerated notions that our society,such as it is, would be seriously deflectedfrom its course of evolution by a film onthe life of Lenin as produced by RitwickGhatak. Generations of people all over theworld have seen far more inflammatoryfilms by Eisenstein, Pudovkin, Rosselliniand others. These films, at any rate, wereshown on a mass scale.

“And nothing very much really hap-pened. Even if the film is certified as it is,hardly any cinema would show it on a com-mercial basis. I myself saw the film and Icannot say with any sense of realism thatRitwick Ghatak’s film on Lenin will bringthe revolution even fraction of a second ear-lier. However, I am rather more oppressedby the poverty of Ghatak, who has staked upa little money with the help of some haplessfinancier and they are both desperately try-ing to sell this film to the Soviet Union. Itwould be great fun exporting Indian Leninto the Soviet Union! I hope the Soviet soci-

ety survives the depredations. It is reallyquite comic that so many hours of officialtime should have been wasted in consider-ing the solemn question whether the filmshould or should not be released. I feelthat we can well afford to let the film gogiving it ‘A’ certificate.”

After dictating the note, Haksar realisedthat he may have been carried away by hisliberalism and suggested to the PrimeMinister that she may agree to having thefilm certified ‘for adults only’ subject todeletion ‘only of that portion of the com-mentary on land grab sequence’. The PrimeMinister agreed! Thereafter, the PrimeMinister plunged into her campaign in rightearnest. Haksar was fully involved in thecampaign at every step — writing substan-tial parts of the manifesto, suggesting possi-ble candidates and getting feedback from hisband of political and non-political friendsin different States. People approached himwith suggestions which he duly passed on toIndira Gandhi, and some even met him tooffer themselves as candidates. One suchperson was a distinguished Army man, whohad done India proud in the 1965 war withPakistan. Haksar informed Indira Gandhion January 16, 1971: “General HarbakshSingh called on me today at 12.30 pm. Hesaid that he had been approached by theAkali Party to stand from the Sangrur par-liamentary constituency. He said that hebelongs to this area. He further said thatthere are hundreds of thousands of people,especially amongst ex-servicemen, who arejust fed up with the low level of Akali poli-tics. He will have nothing to do with them.In fact, Punjab needs to be rescued from theJathedars. They have no morals, no scruplesand no ideology of any sort. He would,therefore, be glad to place his services at thedisposal of the Prime Minister and wouldlike to give a fight… Generally speaking, Itake a dim view of soldiers, sailors and air-men entering politics. I must say that I wasagreeably impressed by the earnestness andsincerity of General Harbaksh Singh. Maybe, he is an exception.”

The next day, Indira Gandhi askedHaksar to speak to the president of theCongress Party in Punjab, Giani Zail Singh,about the General but it is obvious that hiscandidature went nowhere. On January 30,1971, Haksar reported to the PrimeMinister: “General Harbaksh Singh tele-phoned me this morning to say howdepressed he felt the way the Congress partywas dealing with him. He said that the PMcan make enquiry from any independentsources to discover what wide support heenjoys in Sangrur parliamentary constituen-cy. He said he is anxious to give a fight tothe Akalis. He added that he had heard thathe was accused of flirting with the Akalis.This, according to him, was a strange allega-tion when one knows that Giani Zail Singh

and Sardar Swaran Singh were themselvescarrying on with the Akalis... and nowSardar Swaran Singh tells him that he can-not get Sangrur because the need for adjust-ments with the CPI has arisen. The Generalsaid that he had nothing against the CPI,but there is no chance for that party to winfrom Sangrur... I cannot say that GeneralHarbaksh Singh is being unreasonable. Infact, the method of handling some of thesepeople could certainly be greatly improved.”

As it turned out, the General did notcontest. Surjit Singh Barnala of the AkaliDal won this seat and many years laterwould become the Chief Minister of Punjaband later the Governor of Tamil Nadu.

That Haksar was intimately associatedwith the distribution of the Congress ticketsfor the 1971 elections is evidenced by anote that he would send on February 4,1971, to the Prime Minister when it hadalmost been decided to leave the New Delhiseat to the CPI in preference to MukulBanerjee, an active Congresswoman:

As per the PM’s directions, I dutifullysaw Mukul [Banerjee] and Bavani[her husband] and when I finished

hearing what they had to say, I did not havethe heart to suggest to Mukul that she mightaccept an assignment. Such an offer wouldhave been, rightly, construed as addinginsult to injury. They remain and willremain, loyal, devoted workers, but obvious-ly the PM has to find a solution to theirproblem. To put it simply, their problem isthat they have neither a position in theparty organisation nor a position in publiclife. They have no money and live underconditions of destitution.

“A political party or leader which fails tolook after such people will have to do a lot ofaccounting. In many matters, I exercise self-restraint but the way things are happening, itis becoming increasingly difficult for me tobottle myself up. It is a particularly bad dayfor me. I have had the misfortune to hearanother story from Goa... If the PM has gotthe impression that a crook and criminal likeBandodkar should be encouraged andSequeira and Kakodkar sacrificed, I feel thatthere is hardly any point in carrying on.

“Even ordinary courtesies and decenciesare not being shown. Kakodkar was calledto Delhi and he is being made to cool hisheels here. One does not do such thingseven to one’s enemies, let alone to one’sfriends. And I feel that having allowed certi-fied enemies to enter the gate, the time hascome to cry a halt.” Mukul Banerjee finallydid get the Congress ticket for New Delhiand won handsomely. But from this note, itis clear that Haksar was getting increasinglyfrustrated and was even thinking of quittingas we shall see very soon.

On January 18, 1971, Haksar sentIndira Gandhi a note whose significance

would be revealed much later. He wrote: “Ihave received a programme drawn up forthe PM to tour her own constituency onFebruary 1, 1971. I find that helicopter isbeing used twice. The PM has to considerthis carefully. Also whether this was donein 1967. Use of helicopter, which WestBengal is advising in the interest of securi-ty, is one thing. Its use in going to inacces-sible places is also understandable.Whether similar justification exists for itsuse by the PM in her own constituency,requires, I submit, careful consideration.”

Some months later, after the electionresults were declared and she had wonhandsomely in a landslide, her opponent RajNarain would petition the Allahabad HighCourt that Indira Gandhi was guilty of aseries of electoral malpractices, includingthe use of Government helicopters for hercampaign. I will be discussing that case alittle later. Suffice it to say for the momentthat she was held ‘not guilty’ by the judge ofthe charge of misusing helicopters becauseshe had confined it to specific areas onsecurity considerations as advised byHaksar. As it is, she would be held guilty ontwo counts. There may well have been athird court had she not heeded Haksar’sadvice on the use of helicopters in her ownconstituency of Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh.

The election campaign was in full swingand Indira Gandhi had returned to NewDelhi to take part in the Republic Day cele-brations on January 26, 1971. Just the previ-ous day, Haksar delivered a bombshell ofsorts to her: “I was born on September 4,1913. I, therefore, reach the age of superan-nuation on September 4, 1971. UnderFundamental Rule 86, it is provided thatleave at the credit of a Government servantin his leave account shall lapse on the dateof compulsory retirement provided that ifin sufficient time before that date he hasformally applied for leave due as preparato-ry to retirement and been refused it, orascertain in writing from the sanctioningauthority that such leave, if applied for,would not be granted — in either case, theground for refusal being the requirementsof public service, then the Government ser-vant may be granted, after the date ofretirement, the amount of leave so refusedsubject to a maximum of six months.

“My leave account standing as onDecember 31, 1970, shows that I have the following amount of leave due to me:(i)Earned leave — 180 days(ii)Half pay leave — 440 days

“In accordance with the provisions ofFundamental Rule 86, I, therefore, apply for leave preparatory to retirement for the entire amount of leave due to me with effect from February 1, 1971.”

#������1����������&������4�4������8��9�������&���)���� ���)�������ABC?)������������� ������������#���������"�&����� 8"��6�!�� ��D�!������#����9

G����(����?������������������������������������������J������������*�� �$���5������ �������������@����;�����;������%����?�������B�������J�� ���������������������������� �����������������������������*�������;���������������/�����4

0��G��'�(L�<5�=-+=5$�3��(�!(0� ��0

%�"%(�4���$ ������L3%�"#L�� ��$ �( �0(�

�( ��( "�AL�(C�!��%�$�6 �#0�&�A �1 #%�&���� �� �

01�'� ��%� ����A0'��$ �%�� ��%0���01

��3%���������$ �( � ����0#%�%��#" 6 #0�� ����%�

��3%�����$�6 ��"" "�0��L���S% �% ������$ � �����%0���0�� 3�0#'�%0���0��$ �

�(0A# ���AL� S� (��#�"6 ��'( ��$��

A �0� �6 (L�&( ��

FF�9B

������������

������������ � !"�#

@ 3 1 5 � � , � B

���$�3��(?��"�'&$� (����"%����L���$0'&$��$ �1��%#L�$�"��

�� �%�#��#�� �10(�� $('�%���$ %($0� 5�$ (�1��$ (��##0! "�$ (��0T' ��%0���$ �1%(�����?���0#%�% �

Information and communicationtechnology has changed rapidly inthe past two decades. With theemergence of social media, theworld is changing at an unbelievable

speed. However, there’s a flip side to this,too. Constant violation of regulationsrelated to social networking has resultedin civil and criminal cases that need urgentattention. With repeated cases of fake newsand trolling, the laws governing socialmedia need to be understood.

Social media in India is regulated bythe Information Technology Act, enactedin 2000. This was put in place in order toregulate the problems that stemmed out ofusage of Information Technology. Article19 (1) (a) of the Constitution of India, 1950guarantees “Right to freedom of speechand expression”. This is a fundamentalright guaranteed to all citizens of India.However, it must be kept in mind that free-dom of expression does not give ‘complete’freedom to anybody. This does not ensurethat they can write or say anything theywish to. The context or the intent behindany news or information being circulatedthrough social media/networking channelsmust be regulated and evaluated. Theauthenticity must be verified as it can havea vast impact on the population whichreceives such information. While the lawin this particular field is still at nascent

stage, it is evolving with time.Recently, the Supreme Court struck

down Section 66A of the InformationTechnology Act, 2000 which led to arrests

of many people for posting allegedlyobjectionable content on the Internet. TheCourt also rejected the Centre’s plea thatit was committed to free speech and would

ensure the provision was administered ina reasonable manner. While the need ofthe hour might be to have effective androbust mechanism to govern the content

over social media and networking sites,the Government must not forget that theycannot curb the constitutional and fun-damental rights and prevent people fromexpressing their views over the issues con-cerning the country, including expressingtheir appreciation or displeasure on thefunctioning of the Government. Thecontent writer and forwarder must act asa responsible citizen and ensure that suchtransmission of content does not lead toloss of life, reputation or dignity of any cit-izen. The Government must not forgetthat acts like Information Technology Act,2000, were enacted to safeguard the citi-zens. That in no way should act as a deter-rent or a tool in the hands of theGovernment to keep the citizens fromexercising their constitutional rights.

Advocate Sumit Batra says, “Though nolaw can ever completely insulate the usersof social media and networking from theissues or problems cropping out of techno-logical advances, some basic guiding prin-ciples can take care of a lot many issues.While it is permissible to create, transmitand circulate news or information in socialmedia, the big question that often arises hasto do with a personal sense of discretion —something might be offensive for me butnot offensive for others.”

Trolling has become a part of internetculture and has started affecting many peo-

ple’s personal lives. The virtual and the realhave been coloured as one. One has to beconstantly careful to prevent such untowardsituations from taking a toll on their per-sonal life. For instance: If you are travellingalone, avoid posting the details on socialmedia portals. Considering the nature andrate of criminal actions these days, one alsoneeds to be cautious while posting the pic-tures of children on such portals.

Naresh Arora, Social Media expert andDirector at DesignBoxed, says, “As a soci-ety, we often fail to value privacy. It isstarkly reflected in the absence of priva-cy policies. The discourse on privacy poli-cies has been brought forward in the pub-lic domain only when privacy has beenbreached. It made us realise that we hadprivacy on social media to begin with! Thisalso brings forth the glaringly obvious ideathat we do not really know how to utilisesocial media and its channels. On socialmedia platforms, regulations to protect thepersonal information of users should beabsolute. In a country like India, a majorthrust on the awareness regarding the pri-vacy policy becomes the onus of theGovernment, which should ensurethrough an effective law structure that theconsumers of social media platformsunderstand their rights and duties.”

$������������� ��5��� ��������� ����������<����������� ���� ����$ <�

$%&��' ()*�� '�+, -�%+��./�) 0�.�/$ %1 20�3�&4�������������������������;�*���������������� ���������������������� �����������;�*���������;����������*5�����?���������������� ���@����������������@����;�����������;���������5�@������'�%��A��(�������( �$��(0(�

Haksar was clearlytelling the PrimeMinister that he

wanted to leave. She sat onHaksar’s note and a fewdays later, on February 2,1971, sent him an extraor-dinary note of her own:

“You know that I amneither morbid nor super-stitious but I do think thatone should be prepared.The thought of somethinghappening to me hashaunted me — not so muchnow, as during the last tour— and I am genuinely wor-ried about the children. Ihave nothing to leave themexcept very few shares,which I am told are hardlyworth anything. There issome little jewellery, whichI had divided into twoparts for the two prospec-tive daughters-in-law. Thenthere are some householdgoods, carpets, pictures,etc. It is for the boys todecide. I personally wouldlike everything to be asevenly divided as possible,except that Rajiv has a jobbut Sanjay doesn’t and isalso involved in an expen-sive venture. He is so muchlike I was at his age —rough edges and all — thatmy heart aches for the suf-fering he may have to bear.The problem is where theywill live and how... I canonly hope and trust for thebest. But I should like theboys and some to feel thatthey are not quite alone,that they do have someoneto lean on.”

This was a most unusu-al Indira Gandhi — emo-tional and baring her soulout to her aide. Was shetelling him that she stillneeded him and that he should not press his resignation?

/<���������������� ���� ��+������,������

���������� ������������������������������� ���������

���!�� ��D�!�����)��CBB

.�������7��� ����������

��&������ ������#������1�����)�A?�����������������������������������������������)���� ���)�+����ABCE

� ���$������������&���������������)����F����)�ABGH

��&������������������������� ������ ��������� �������)�0�����ABG( #������1����������� ������������&��� ��&������������������ ����������������#������������� ����� �������)��������)��� ���ABGC

��&��������,����,�������8�����9�����$������� ����,������7��)��� ����)�ABGC #����������$�� ���������������!����������)�+����ABC'.���&�������������#����� ���������#������1�����)���"������ ��������������������)��� ���������&���)����2�� �)�ABG'

��&����8��������9��������������������������� ���������7 ������ ��#�������������� ������������7 ������ �������@����/�� ������� ���������)�!��4�����)�ABE?.���&�������������� ����� ������

������������

����� �$ �!0'#"�" 1 �"�$ (� #15���L%�&��$���#06 5��0����� (�

!$��� #� �%���%&$��A 5�!��������'(�#���# ��

J�&�A(% #�&�(�U���V(T' W ����� � !"�#

������*�5��@�B���@������������������������������������������A������ �������������������������� ���������%�������������� ���@�������������*�;�5����������� ������*�� ���������� �����;��@�������������� �����������������*�5���������������;�5�����������������������*���������������������������������������������?������;������;������������@��������� ������ ;����*5�������������������������������A��5�������*������� ���������

+�*�33;���

���*����5���� ������/�������������������������

N�������������� �<<O�@���@���������%���?�����������������;���������/����������� �������� ���������������*����� �����;������������%�����������5�����@���������������������������������B� B���������������������������1��������������������������5��������� ��������������� ������������J�@����(���&����5���������L�;5��>��@��L�;5�����A��>������5���3��������?���������������������

(:� �1+(�+A�3�C*:1 *�� ���A+A� (151331*D� �#"��"�6"������%�"%��&���3 ,��?@@

�+A *� *��4�A�*�)

��� "3��"� "����3��%�� ��,��-..

$�@�����$��������82����������;����������� �������������K�����X�$�@�������� �/���������������� ��;���=,<������@���@���X�$�@�����1��������K��������������@�������������X������@�����������4�&��@����������&��@�������������������������� ������5���������������������������%�������7����������� ���;��������J>�����@�������� ������;��*5���������*�����������*��%�������@����������������� ����������� ������@��������*�����B������������������������%����������������@�����

5��(�3 ,31*(::��4+,

�$� A"���"�" �"�%6��%��� 37����,��:@@

Selected poems ofAmerican poet WaltWhitman have been trans-

lated into Maithili for the firsttime and published in a booktitled Ei Thik Jeevan (This isLife) by a practicing poet, HareKrishna Jha. The selection ofpoems as well as their transla-tion is worthy of attention andappreciation. Both in terms ofconsistently maintaining a cer-tain kind of faithfulness to thesource text and showcasingflawless fluency in the targettext, Jha has done a wonderfuljob at translating the poemsrepresenting an apparentlyalien culture.

While groping in the dark,struggling to find clues to thefuture after abandoning his stud-ies of Engineering and Physics,Hare Krishna Jha came across abook — The Conquest ofHappiness by Bertrand Russell.In the very beginning, Russelltalks about what Whitman has tosay in his “Song of Myself”: “Ithink I could turn and live withanimals/They are so placid andself-contained... No one isdemented with the mania ofowning things”. These linestouched Jha and made himrealise that poetic expressionscan be so simple, yet so pro-found, so direct, yet so moving ifideas and emotions are told theways Whitman does.

Whitman has been consis-tently understood as a pathbreaking poet who very effec-tively gave a materially complexand spiritually nuanced voice tothe persona of his poems and inturn to the millions of anony-mous, even voiceless othersacross the world who read hispoems. They could relate withhis ideas even though he inAmerica which was perceived tobe place of infinite opportunitiesfor enterprising human beings.Scientific and technologicaladvancements had opened up

possibilities of diverse kinds.People were preoccupied withthe explorations of all thoseavailable opportunities whichconstituted what is popularlytermed as the American dream.

In countries like America,England, India and other partsof the globe, Whitman evidentlymade tremendous impact ongenerations of people. Theseincluded prominent literary fig-ures like Emerson, D HLawrence, George Bernard Shawand Pablo Neruda. They were sooverwhelmed with the creativeversatility of Whitman that theychose to bestow enormouspraise on the influential poet inways more than one. Emersonfound his poetry so stunningthat he wrote him a letter ofappreciation immediately afterhe finished reading his poetry.

Lawrence understood him as avisionary poet of cosmic con-sciousness. And Pablo Nerudafound in him not just a poet parexcellence but also an excellentmentor who kept influencingand inspiring him for the entirespan of his literary life.

Indian sage Aurobindoconsidered him the mostremarkable poet after Valmikiand Homer. Whitman hadanother admirer in SwamiVivekananda who found hiscollection of poems “Leaves ofGrass” spiritually satisfying andtermed Whitman a spiritualgenius capable of uplifting theconsciousness of his readers tothe transcendental level ofblissful experiences. Nobel lau-reate Rabindranath Tagorewent on to say that Whitmanhad been a champion of mystic

consciousness. Tagore alsoexpressed his indebtedness toWhitman’s way of writing poetryin free verse in which the latteralso wrote poems later.

Despite all kinds of accoladesthrown the way of the Americanpoet, Hindi and Maithili literaryworld remained rather indiffer-ent to Whitman for a long spellof time. Whereas TS Eliot, anEnglish poet of American origin,proved to be a kind of pervasivepresence in Indian academia andPablo Neruda an enduring influ-ence on some of the major writ-ers, Whitman was for some rea-son ignored in spite of the factthat Neruda unequivocallyacknowledged the tremendousinfluence of Whitman inenabling him to grow as a poet.The kind of reception an inspira-tional poet like Whitmandeserves in the literary culturesof Hindi heartland was conspicu-ous by its absence.

As far as Maithili literaryuniverse is concerned, not onlythe majority of common readersbut also some of the writers hadnot much information aboutwhat the poetry of Whitman hasto offer till Jha discovered him.Once discovered, he could notpart ways with the visionarypoet who cast a spell over him.Indeed Whitman shook andmoved his inner core to theextent that he kept reading,rereading and passionately recit-ing the poetry of Whitmanwhenever and wherever he gotany opportunity to do so. Hispersistent efforts to imbibe andinternalise Whitman continuedfor years before he began totranslate some of his poems intoHindi during the period of1977-80. He showed his transla-tions to his literary friends,acquaintances and his favoriteteachers. Despite all theirencouraging words about histranslations, he did not feel con-fident about the quality of his

own translations. Utterly disap-pointed, he soon abandoned theacts of translation altogether.

But his political activism andlove for Maithili motivated himto write poetry. And his preoccu-pation with poetry writingencouraged him to read poemsof other poets. So, he cameacross Pablo Neruda whose“Memoirs” had already dominat-ed the domain of world literaturehaving attained the status of aclassic. Soon, he started translat-ing Neruda into Maithili insteadof Hindi. This time, his transla-tions worked well and it turnedout to be an extremely satisfyingexperience. Such satisfactionprompted him to translateNeruda in Hindi too. Both Hindiand Maithili translations madehim almost entirely engaged withthe poet whose unequivocalacknowledgment of indebtednessto Whitman kept reminding himof his own translations of theAmerican poet.

Soon, Jha restarted translat-ing Whitman in Maithili. And itproved to be a very fruitful exer-cise. His abilities to integratehimself with the poetic con-sciousness of the poet helpedhim throughout to translate theselected poems of Whitman in ahighly meaningful way.

It is his passionate desire toabsorb and assimilate theessence of Whitman’s culturalthought to the best of his recep-tive capabilities that governedhis translation works. And hefairly succeeded in his efforts toobtain Whitman, as he attempt-ed, in his mother tongue,Maithili. It is noteworthy thathis translation has indisputablyraised the bar for the activitiesof literary translations inMaithili. In fact, this poet-trans-lator has set a precedent whichholds the promise to becomethe benchmark for future trans-lations of Whitman’s poetry intoMaithili in particular.

���������������������������

��� " ��� ������� ����!��!��

In one of his lesser known short sto-ries titled ‘Dara Shikoh’s Durbar’,Premchand gives a prominent roleto a French traveller named DrFrançois Bernier, as one of Prince

Dara Shikoh’s valued courtiers. He attrib-utes the presence of several Europeancourtiers in the court to the assumptionthat they would be free of the bitter com-munal prejudices which divided theHindus and Muslims. In the story, Bernieris seen rooting for peace and logic in theface of several failed expeditions of DaraShikoh to Kandahar. In The Bourbons andBegums of Bhopal: The Forgotten History,Indira Iyengar carries out a labour ofimmense love and commitment as shesets about to excavate her French rootsgoing back to the famed court of MughalEmperor Akbar, where Jean Philippe deBourbon fleeing incognito from his moth-erland, found refuge. He not only marriedinto Akbar’s extended family, but was alsogiven the title of the Bourbon Raja ofShergarh. Iyengar’s research reveals thatJean Philippe is understood to have mar-ried the sister of one of Akbar’s Armenianwives, and that she worked as a doctor forthe Royal Harem of Akbar. Several suchfascinating nuggets of information arepeppered throughout the volume, whichis more a product of love than practicalityas the book is printed on glossy, fully-coloured, thick paper, adding more weightperhaps to a certain venerability of tradi-tion meticulously excavated and laid out.

In 10 long chapters complimented bytwo ample appendices and severalcoloured plates from the author’s privatecollection, the reader is plunged into asaga of deracination, settlement, heroismand consolidation of an empire spreadover centuries. Iyengar confesses how asthe eldest of the family of Bourbons inIndia, she felt it was her duty to writeabout the “gallant past” of her familywhich “the Mughals appreciated and theNawab Begums of Bhopal trusted”. Thebook is a tribute to her mother MagdaleneBourbon — “a historical account with apersonal flavour”.

Having accessed the confidentialrecords of the Agra Archdiocese to exam-ine the history of the Agra Church,Iyengar puts forth convincing argumentsbased on significant documents connect-ed with the Bourbons and their associa-tion with the development of the State ofBhopal. The exhaustive foreword byBhopal historian Rizwan Uddin Ansariattests to the “painstaking effort” of theauthor. Iyengar’s writing style is that of anemotionally charged historian, whoresearches and narrates with passionatevigour. She ventures to put on record acompelling legendary tale, pauses to vali-date it with sources, and resumes herheroic narration. However, some of thecited sources might fail the test of authen-

ticity as they come from individual, previ-ously undocumented memories. Her pri-mary source is her mother’s memories —the “backbone of this book”.

The first chapter, titled “Arrival of JeanPhilippe de Bourbon in Akbar’s Court”talks about how Jean Philippe and his wifeJuliana helped to build the first CatholicChurch in Agra which was completed on1588. Jean Philippe’s French origins arediscussed in detail: He being a natural sonof Duke Charles III de Bourbon (1490-1527) famously known as Connètable deBourbon. The fascinating anecdote of JeanPhilippe having to escape France at the ageof sixteen because he had killed a FrenchLord in a duel is also related. The chapterdocuments observations about severalgraves of Agra Cemetery where manyBourbons are believed to have beenburied. The second, third and fourth chap-ters titled “The Bourbons of Shergarh andNarwar”, “The Bourbons of Bhopal” and“Balthazar Bourbon, alias ShahzadMasih”respectively delve in detail into theArmenian as well as Christian connectionof the Narwar fort which was thought to

be second only to Gwalior Fort in yester-years. It also housed a chapel with severalresident priests. These three chapters pro-vide details of the massacre of theBourbons at the Narwar Fort. They showhow Salvador Bourbon fled to the GwaliorFort with a handful of remaining familymembers, to become a General in BhopalState Army under the rule of ManjiMamola Bai. The book reveals thatMamola Bai also bestowed a Muslimname “InayatMasih” upon Salvador topacify the orthodox Pathans of the State.Most of the third chapter is written inanecdotal style, with details of variousfights and sieges in the ensuing strugglefor power that the Bourbons fought jointlywith Wazir Mohammad Khan and his sonNazar Mohammad Khan. Talking aboutthe former, Iyengar’s emotional pen poursforth: “He was a real hero in the history ofBhopal; he repeatedly saved Bhopal in dif-ficult times. He was, in fact, the realNawab, though he never acquired the title”.

The fourth chapter combines with thethird to firmly establish the connectionbetween the Bourbons and Bhopal: How

Salvador and his son Balthazar consoli-dated the Bhopal rulers by saving themfrom Maratha invasion and assisting inthe crucial Treaty of Raisen with theHonorable East India Company in 1818ratified by the Governor, Lord Hastings.The life and times of Balthazar Bourbon,his impeccable service as advisor toBhopal’s fabled Qudsia Begum and hisbeautiful Farsi and Urdu poetry “Dewansof Fitrat” is documented in the fourthchapter. Iyengar says that these verseshave never before been quoted or traced,while she has managed to retrieve andtranslate a few of them: “PaayanahoBuland kyon uske Kalaamka, Wasif JohoMaseey Alay Hus Salam ka” meaning“Why shouldn’t the status of his poetry behigh, Of the person who is a follower ofJesus (the prophet) peace be upon him”.

The rest of the book deals withMadam Dulhan and her heroic actsincluding that in the uprising of 1857, theFrench Architectural influences in Bhopalespecially the Shaukat Mahal, the declineof the Bourbons in Bhopal, the life andtimes of the writer’s mother and finally

the first ever complete reconstruction ofthe family tree of the Bourbons in India.

Iyengar fastidiously relates the transi-tion of French Bourbons into the mouldof local Bhopali lifestyle, with Muslimnames fusing with their Europeannomenclature and identity, as well as theiradoption of local dressing, customs(observing purdah) and food: After offer-ing prayers in the holy month of Lent, thewhole family consumed roti and baingankabhurtha! Historian Rizwan UddinAnsari notes that the meticulously com-piled family tree is “a major contributionof this book” which also “fills a huge gapin the literature regarding the contribu-tion of the Bourbons in Bhopal’s history”.

Most of the rare photographs datingback to the 18th century from theauthor’s private collection passed onover generations are also treasure trovesbrought out in the public domain for thefirst time. Several handwritten lettersand documents recording land deedsand bequests reproduced in the appen-dices are simply invaluable.

�� ���������������������������?��������5�����������@�������������������������������������������;��������A���?��;��*��@��1������ ��5�@������3�#L�� �(�G��

����������� ���!��"�# ��$�����%

��&����'��(���')(�*��+,-

����������������������������������������������@������ �!��!�������������������������������������������;���������������������*�� �������5��*� ���$%"�����"�G$��

����%. �$����������������

������������

������������� � !"�#

��3����(;�

It was the treacherously tumultuousperiod between October 20 and

November 21, 1962, when the “Han”invaded India with the first incursion beingat NEFA fealty — India’s North EasternFrontier Agency — which witnessed themassacre of the Rajput battalion who werecaught surreptitiously unaware in thedreary heights in 1962. The war which wasmore than a border skirmish was initiat-ed with India defending with about10,000-20,000 soldiers which were pittedagainst the 80,000 odd soldiers of thePeople’s Republic of China. The warended when the Chinese declared a cease-fire on November 21, 1962. SomeCinematic portrayals, such as the flickHaqeeqat, beautifully portrayed theunmatched valour and singularly aestheticspirit of sacrifice which the Indian forcesdisplayed in the freezing heights of NEFAdespite limitations imposed by a want ofwar fighting equipment and a lack of anappropriate infrastructure.

New Delhi was caught napping as inthe few roundtables between PrimeMinister Jawaharlal Nehru and CommissarMao, the rant of Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhaibefooled the Indian Government and thenation was not prepared for a warring vic-tory over the multitudes which were letloose on India in deluges after deluges. Theshadow of the war still lurks behindIndia’s foreign policy and the Chinesehegemonising and containment strategieswhich are the final outpouring of allChinese ministrations. It is theseantecedents which prevent the normali-sation of relations between New Delhi andthe Han, and a veil of ubiquitous uncer-tainty and an anachronous trust deficit isin place as the mortal issues of territorialclaims by the Chinese still mar the dia-logues and Tibet remains a sticking pointbetween New Delhi and Beijing. The factsand the depictions by Western chroniclerssuch as Edgar Snow pinpoint towards thepower centric and sturdy ministrations ofthe Han nation, both in dealing with itsinternal turbulence and in its transactionswith India. The rowdy and the fighting

spirit is depicted in, Red Star Over China,which forms a substantial premise uponwhich the entire edifice of China ispremised upon. The Chinese stratagem hasalways been the formulaic inaction of lyinglow and hibernating only to emerge as thepowerful aggressor after gaining girth.

It’s no tale that the Indian reaction tothe Chinese invasion was knee jerk and therecord was straightened out with the par-tial victory over Pakistan and the Nathulaskirmish in 1967 as poignantly portrayedin the recent Cinematic creation, titled asPaltan. Provocations by the Chinese to

arouse and inflame the Indian contingentat Nathula in 1967 remains a practice in theexpanse of uninhabited frontiers. As IndiaToday reports, “Around 3,250 Indian sol-diers were killed. India lost about 43,000square kilometres of land, captured byChina in Aksai Chin. It is of the size ofSwitzerland. The 55th anniversary of theIndia-China war has a shadow of Doklamstand-off hovering over it. The anniversaryis also significant in the view of the CPCCongress, where President Xi Jinping hasemerged as the most powerful leader of thecountry in its history.” Thus, the singular-

ly trenchant trend in China happens to bethat of centralisation of power and thebeginning of a new personality cult akin towhat Mao Tse Tung developed around him-self. The Long March and the other revo-lutionary systemic changes of the sixties andseventies in China are a matter of retrospectand till now the Chinese economic unisonwith the rest of the international system ispartially well managed and orchestrated suf-ficiently, if not to perfection.

There is a Prisoner’s Dilemma andChicken hunt game revolving around theIndia-China border dispute. Both the

sides are fundamentally distrustful ofeach other. The Chinese jingoistic veneerwas at a full-mast-display at the time of theDoklam stand-off. Global Times wrote,“We firmly believe that the face-off in theDonglang area will end up with theIndian troops in retreat. The Indian mil-itary can choose to return to its territorywith dignity or be kicked out of the areaby Chinese soldiers.” Even in the JPDutta’s war movie classic, Paltan, the heat-ed verbal exchange between Indian com-mander Arjun Rampal and the ChineseCommissar makes for an interestingwatch and analysis. When the ChineseCommandant at Nathula declares andthreatens that the Indian contingent willsuffer. Arjun Rampal stoutly counters bycontending, “Do whatever you can, we areready to suffer anything.” These instancesmight flare up the relationship’s chasmsfurther, but for the nation, themes of moraluprightness and fealty to the nation alongwith the grandiloquent spirit of sacrificeare there to be given unmatched impor-tance in the Indian military myth and lore.It is here that the sinews of the nationattains its synergy to defend its borders andsustain self pride which might seenanachronistic to a certain section living inthe world of a conjoined geo-economicswith the United States its President Trumpstraining at their leashes to isolate andcounter the Chinese trade juggernaut allacross the global polity ranging fromAfrica, Latin America to the neighbour-ing Indo-Pacific. Unfortunately, it wasIndia which played a prominent rolewith others to mainstream the Chinese insearch of durable and credible peace at theborder. In the light of the 1962 borderclash, Arun Jaitley contended that India in2017 is different than what it was in 1962referring to its improved and enhancedmilitary strength in the contemporary con-text.

China’s two territorial claims are therattling elements for New Delhi. One beingthe claim over Aksai Chin in the north-eastern section of the Ladakh region inJammu & Kashmir. The other claim is

premised upon the demand of the terri-tory of Arunachal Pradesh. The Chineseclaim that in the Tri-party talks at the Simlaconvention in 1913-1914, the Tibetan sidewas taken to a separate room and theChinese delegation was not adequatelyshown the documents, as also refereed inthe Neville Maxwell’s, India’s China War.Sir Henry MacMohan detailed theMacmohan line between British India andTibet which is based upon the highestwatershed principle which the Han denyand do not accept as the correct demar-cation of the boundary. These rationalesexist as the “historic reasons” why theChinese Maps portray a different scale ofdemarcation vis-a-vis the border. The orig-inal Chinese claim crosses these arid andmountainous regions, the way to theplains of Assam. Chou En-Lai had pro-posed that both the nations withdraw theirforces for about twenty kilometres beyondthe Macmohan line, which was a policycourse rejected by India. The area of thisdisputed region is three times the terrainof Taiwan, six times the size of Beijing andten times the size of Malvinas.

A lot of water has flown down thebridge since the mayhem of 1962. TheWuhan Summit in 2018 was an amplesymbol of intent by both China andIndia. Xi Jingpin’s outreach to the Japaneseleader and PM Modi can be perceived asa striving to cement a Sino-centric worldorder to replace the US-led global order,sans the American grand strategy. TheWuhan dialogue need not be belittled asan attempt in optics and verbiage but itneeds to be comprehended by observersas an informal summit with an eye to cre-ate the correct pitch for the both thenations to bat on to some concrete themessuch as border solutions. In the age of NewDiplomacy, Modi has made a searingattempt to pave the way for a steadying andnormalisation of relations with Beijingdespite the past.

(The writer teaches InternationalRelations at Indian Institute of PublicAdministration, Delhi)

��� � ����������� ����������������������7������������ �.����@�����!��������'(AI���������������� �� ���������� ��7���������#����.�#������ ��������� ����)�"����0��������������0 ������������������������ ������������ ��� �������� �� ������ �������$����������������

0����� @#F/ #

%)�(���&)/�) ���&�0�����/��) �,123

���������������� ��� �������� ������� ��� ����� �)��������������������� � �������������������7���������2����� ��������)�������+����$ �� ��� � ���������� ����� ����������.�� ���)���� �%��� ����������$ �� ��� ����������������������������� ��� ���������

8.�!"��"�"��� � �����9 �,���������� ������� ��

Jair Bolsonaro’s election to the office ofthe President of Brazil signals the com-

ing of the “Trump moment” to the LatinAmerican nation. Bolsonaro, the right-wing conservative presidential candidate,won 55.2 per cent of the vote against theLeft-wing Workers’ Party candidateFernando Haddad, who got only 44.8 percent, despite the backing of formerPresident Lula.

Bolsonaro displays an unusual trendin Brazilian politics. His rise is comparedwith the coming to power of RodrigoDuterte in the Philippines, Viktor Orbanin Hungary, and Donald Trump in the US.All these leaders have promised to fight theestablishment and settle for a new orderof sort in their respective countries. Bornto parents of Italian descent, Bolsonaroserved in the Brazilian Army from 1971to 1988 and was first elected as a CityCouncillor for Rio de Janerio to representthe Christian Democratic Party. In 1990,for the first time, he was elected to the fed-eral assembly from the same party. By theend of July this year, the far-right SocialLiberal Party declared him as the presi-dential candidate. From then, his veryshort journey to “The Planalto” (ThePalacio do Planalto in Spanish language)has just begun. He is finally taking over asthe President of Brazil in January 2019.

Bolsonaro has been making headlinesby espousing populist and nationalistrhetoric from the very beginning of hiscampaign. He is a vocal opponent of same-sex marriage, abortion and migration. Hehas courted major controversies by releas-ing one of the ugliest statements particu-larly against women, gays, black commu-nity, foreigners and indigenous peoples.His derogatory remarks have no end. Forexample, once he suggested that all socialschemes for escaped slaves are merewastage as “they do nothing. I don’t thinkthey even serve for reproduction”.

What has led to Bolsonaro’s rise? Thisformer Army captain’s journey to the cen-tre of Brasilia did not start in a day or two.He has spent nearly three decades in theBrazilian Parliament, but couldn’t be con-sidered as one of prominent statesmen ofthe country. This makes his journey to thetop post of the country interesting. Toexplain the mysterious rise, we need to goback to the ignominious reign of two for-mer presidents, Rousseff and Temer (theincumbent). Today, Brazil is gripped by a

spate of corruption scandals involving toppolitical leaders, including the outgoingPresident Michel Temer. The roots of thesescandals started in 2014. The most con-troversial of these scandals is the OperacaoLava Jato (Operation Car Wash) whichcame up during the reign of formerPresident Dilma Rousseff. The investiga-tion revealed that the top executives at thestate oil company, known as “Petrobras”,had accepted bribes from a number of con-struction firms to award them contracts atinflated prices. What was surprising wasthat as the tentacles of the Operation CarWash fanned out, other scandals involvingpoliticians, business executives and gov-ernment officials started coming to light.

The largest South American nation hasbeen witnessing a spate of political crisesafter the very end of the glorious Lularegime in 2010. Though Lula had carefullyinstalled his protégé Dilma Rousseff as thefirst woman President of the country in2011, her rule was marred by the muchtalked about Lava Jato scandal. And thishas landed her, along with her mentorLula, in jail. When Temer took over afterRousseff ’s suspension from office in 2016,he miserably failed to restore the faith ofthe populace in the fragile democratic sys-tem of Brazil. The worst came to Lula’sWorkers’ Party when it was alleged thatmoney from the Lava Jato scandal was fun-neled to pay off politicians and buy votesand help in election campaigns to bringback Rousseff to power. The data revealedby the Public Prosecutor’s office in Octobershows that Lava Jato had resulted intomore than 200 convictions for crimes,including corruption, misuse of the glob-al financial infrastructure, drug traffick-ing and money laundering. Along withgiant corporate houses, a number of for-eign political dignitaries were implicated,including two former Presidents — JuanManuel Santos of Colombia and PedroPablo Kuezynski of Peru, and the currentVenezuelan President Nicholas Maduro.

Another scam came to light in March2017 through an investigation called‘Operacao Carne Fraca (Operation WeakFlesh). It was the result of the OperationLava Jato only. This Operation WeakFlesh pursued mounting allegations thatsome employees of the JBS and BRF, theworld’s largest beef and poultry exporters,continuously bribed food inspectors toapprove the sale of spoiled products. Once

the scam was public, the European Union,China, the US, Egypt, Japan and Mexicosuspended their meat imports from Brazilwith immediate effect. What has herald-ed more chaos to the political atmosphereof Brazil was subsequent scandals thatrocked the country such as: OperacaoPanatenaico, which exposed alleged bribespaid by construction companies in returnfor contracts to build stadiums for WorldCup Brasilia in 2014; Oeracao GreenField, an investigation into the alleged fraudat the pension funds of state-run compa-nies and finally, Operacao Zelotes, that isinvestigating kickbacks allegedly paid bycorporate, including JBS and Ford’sBrazilian subsidiary to tax officials toreduce their liabilities. Thus as the eco-nomic crisis deepened, political leadershipgradually failed to restore the confidenceof the public on the public institutions.

These scandals have led to extreme

level of complications to revive the ailingeconomy amid its biggest downturn inmore than a century. Meanwhile, thelargest of the corporate houses of the coun-try have faced major setbacks and peoplehave started losing their trust in them. Andthe fallout of all these scandals reverber-ated through the just concluded presi-dential election in Brazil.

Bolsonar’s sudden rise within a yearwas supported by these complicated ele-ments both in the political and econom-ic scenes. People came out to streets acrossBrazil and demanded strict action on thehigh-profile public personalities. In anutshell, what commoners longed forwas radical political transformation and aleadership that can prevent mega corrup-tion scandals and crime in Brazil.

And, this has made Bolsonaro’s longand arduous road to presidency rather tooshort. He and his party fully exploited the

raging public anger against the establish-ment. While drawing attention from pop-ulace, he unleashed a purely populist cam-paign unlike all his opponents. He evenshowered praise on his country’s militarydictatorship that existed between 1964 and1985, advocated death penalty, etc. Besides,he has praised the long ruled late Chileandictator Augusto Pinochet, expressed sup-port for tortures and wanted politicalopponents to be shot in his country. Whenit comes to foreign policy, he is planningto improve relations with America. On theeconomic front, he is continuously argu-ing for a market friendly and fully priva-tised economic system. At best, his entirepolitical style can rightly be called as trulyprovocative and extremely polarising.Despite his aggressive and ultra-national-ist style, many in Brazil wanted an iron fistto fix the system.

On record, the country has registered

a record number of 64,000 murders lastyear. People are hopeless about the law andorder. That is why it was possible forBolsonaro to crush presidential candidateswith temperate views and impressivetrack records. Looking at the final runoffelection result, it can be easily concludedwhat common Brazilians rebelled against— corruption, crime and financial crisisof the nation — than what they voted forin this presidential election.

What has surprised the world is thatthe business leaders of Brazil have finallydecided to back Bolsonaro. They havedone so for the very simple reason thattheir free market capitalism can no longersuffer under an extremely confused andcorrupted regime of Temer. And, finallythe corporates have decided to back a fas-cist like Bolsonaro than risking Haddad’smoderate Left-wing.

However, Bolsonaro’s coming to poweris sending missed signals to the interna-tional community, and the Brazilians. Hiswill be another illiberal regime at the back-yard of America. His policies if not craft-ed properly will not be able to revive thefalling economy of the biggest country ofSouth America. Now, Brazilians see a civil-military coalition government at the cen-tre under Bolsonaro. He has already indi-cated that he will appoint personnel fromthe Army as ministers of his Government.When he formally takes over, he wouldface very little resistance from fellowCongressman on the issues such as flexi-bility on gun control and lowering the ageof criminal responsibility. But he may soonface popular protests both from within andoutside the Congress on matters likereducing pension spending and privatis-ing the state owned enterprises. Thoughhe is trying hard to paint himself as the“Tropical Trump”, for all his outrageousand hateful speeches, he has alreadyearned the label of the “most misogynis-tic, hateful elected official in the democ-ratic world”. It is better if he can bring backBrazil to normalcy by cracking down oncorruption and crime. Else, the countrywill further slip into a permanent mess.And, the same voters who elected him tothe hot seat may turn violent and demandhis ouster sooner or later. Thus, he shouldtread cautiously.

(The writer is an expert on interna-tional affairs)

0�-����!!�#-#�

������������

�������������� � !"�#

Donald Trump has revealedhe wants to remove theright for children of illegal

immigrants born in America toautomatically get US citizenship,triggering a heated debate aboutthe legality of such a move. TheUS President said he would signan executive order ending so-called birthright citizenship,which was enshrined in anamendment to the USConstitution 150 years ago.

Trump revealed he was plan-ning the move during an inter-view with the political website,Axios, though the exact wordingof such an order and when itwould be implemented remainsunclear. “It was always told to methat you needed a ConstitutionalAmendment,” said Trump, whoproposed the move in August2015 during his presidential cam-paign. “Guess what? You don’t.”

Pushed on whether that wascorrect, Trump added: “You candefinitely do it with an Act ofCongress. But now they’re sayingI can do it just with an executiveorder.” He added: “We’re the onlycountry in the world where aperson comes in, has a baby, andthe baby is essentially a citizen ofthe United States with all of thosebenefits. It’s ridiculous. It’s ridicu-lous. And it has to end.”

Actually, around 30 countriesgrant automatic citizenship. Theplan has emerged just a weekbefore the US midterm electionsand adds to a growing list ofclaims and policy moves Trumphas made over illegal immigration.

He has already sent 5,200 sol-diers to the southern border tocounter a migrant caravan

approaching through Mexico. Asecond caravan of more than1,000 migrants is now in Mexicoafter forcing its way across theriver from Guatemala.

The attempt to push theissue up the agenda comes withthe US President needing hissupporters to turn out onNovember 6 to protectRepublican majorities in theHouse of Representatives andSenate. Trump’s claim that sucha fundamental change inAmerica’s citizenship laws could be solved by an executiveorder — a decision made unilaterally by the President —provoked a fierce debate.

Paul Ryan, the most seniorRepublican in the House ofRepresentatives, directly con-tradicted Trump, saying: “Youcannot end birthright citizen-ship with an executive order.”The debate focused around howthe exact wording of the 14thAmendment, which outlinedthe rule and was adopted in1868, should be understood inthe context of 21st Centurymass migration.

The 14th Amendment reads:“All persons born or naturalisedin the United States, and subject

to the jurisdiction thereof, arecitizens of the United States andof the State wherein they reside.”

Those on Trump’s side of theargument believe that the words

“subject to the jurisdiction there-of ” refer to people who have fullpolitical allegiance to America,which would exclude illegalmigrants. However, many consti-

tutional lawyers reject such aninterpretation. Were Trump toimplement the policy, it wouldlikely be challenged and ultimate-ly decided in the Supreme Court.

The number of US births toillegal migrant parents wasbelow 1,00,000 a year before1990, but rose to a peak of3,70,000 in 2007, according tothe Pew Research Center. It thenbegan to fall after the globalfinancial recession, reaching2,75,000 in 2014. That year, suchbirths made up around sevenper cent of the four million totalbirths in America.

Removing birthright citizen-ship has been an issue pushed byparts of the Republican Party fordecades. Legislation proposing

such a change has been tabled in every Congress since 1991. A Bill currently in the House of Representatives backing thechange has 50 co-sponsors.

Lindsay Graham, aRepublican Senator, said hewould propose a Bill making thechange in the Senate. Graham, anally of Trump, tweeted a series ofcomments detailing his plans onthe issue. His first tweet said,“The Supreme Court has neverruled on the issue of whetherbirthright citizenship applies tochildren born of illegal immi-grants in the United States.”

In another tweet that fol-lowed, he said, “This is a case of‘first impression’ and I supportPresident @realDonaldTrump’sefforts to have the court reviewthis matter.”

With his third tweet on thetopic, he managed to get 11,000‘likes’ and 34,000 retweets. Itsaid, “I will be introducing legis-lation to deal with the issue ofbirthright citizenship for chil-dren of illegal immigrants — in aprospective manner — as I havealways contended it has becomea magnet for illegal immigrationin modern times.”

��� ������������

����������������������������5������������������������������������� ����������/�����;�������������*�������������F�������������������������������������5��*��A ��(%# LB��%�$

��45���4����� )����&��(�6��7���(�7���7�8�������

'�" (��$ ��( �%" ���$%��01(�$'#�&��"$%5��$ ��0�&( ��$���A ��( "'� "��0�$'(#%�&

�A'� ����"��$ �!0(���10(��01��%6%#�"%��0'(� J�(�6%��$��3�(��(���"

7*��� ��� ����������� �� ���%���" %���� ������� ��$�� ��!��� � ����! ��" ������� �� ������������ ����E�� �� ��������" ������ %��� ��� �� ������������� ����"������� ��" �� ��� �� ��"F A����" (��$�

:���5 $$ "�#���"��������������� �

The merger of Sikkimwith India in May 1975was a historic event inmore than one way.Firstly, it undid the

wrong done by India to the peopleof Sikkim by denying them theright to accede to, and finallymerge with, the Union of Indiathrough the signing of theInstrument of Accession, as wasthe case with the rest of the 565Indian princely States, which likeSikkim, were also members of theChamber of Princes and theConstituent Assembly of India,before the country attainedIndependence on August 15, 1947.

Secondly, to protect its strate-gic interests in this vulnerableand heavily defended sectoralong the Sino-Indian border,India no longer had to dependupon the whims and fancies, andthe growing unpredictability, ofthe Chogyal who had long cher-ished the ambition to secure anindependent status for Sikkimlike that of neighbouring Bhutan.Imagine the implications of a dis-satisfied, sulking or even a revolt-ing Chogyal in the background ofa Doklam-like face-off betweenChina’s People’s Liberation Army(PLA) and the Indian Army, withthe Communist Party of China’sPeople’s Daily publication, GlobalTimes, threatening to incite revoltin Sikkim against India.

Thirdly, through it, India’sinternational borders achieved afinality, which will continue toremain the same unless minoradjustments, if any, are madebased on mutual agreements withsome of our neighbouring coun-tries with whom we have fester-ing territorial disputes. Thoughseven more States have beenadded to the list of memberStates comprising the Republic ofIndia since 1975 (taking the totalfrom 22 to 29), these were carvedout through internal realign-ments of existing boundaries.

R&AW’s operation relating tothe merger of Sikkim continuedto remain shrouded in mysterysince it was first conceived bylegendary spy and R&AW’sfounder head RameshwarnathKao sometime towards the end ofDecember 1972. It was approvedby then Prime Minister IndiraGandhi and launched in earlyFebruary 1973. It was a uniqueoperation, unlike any other ofthis magnitude and significance.Within the department, knowl-edge of its existence was confinedto three people: Kao in NewDelhi; PN Banerjee, joint directorand regional head of R&AW’soffice in Calcutta; and the OSD

(P) Gangtok, who was head ofthe R&AW’s set-up in Sikkim.

In Sikkim, initially, only Kazi,president of the Sikkim NationalCongress (SNC); and SK Rai, gen-eral secretary of the KC Pradhan-led Janata Congress, were takeninto confidence about the scope ofthis operation. They were clearlytold that the GoI had finally decid-ed to lift its protective hand fromthe head of the Chogyal. Unlike inthe past, when Tashi Tshering’s(president of the Sikkim StateCongress) ‘no tax’, ‘no rent’ cam-paign launched in 1949 was sabo-taged by India, it would no longerstand in the way of the pro-demo-cratic and pro-reform demands ofthe parties that had been fightingfor political, administrative andother reforms since India’sIndependence. However, Kazi wasthe only one who was told thatIndia would accept the demand

for the merger of Sikkim in casehe was able to build overwhelmingsupport in its favour, bothamongst the general public and inthe yet-to-be-elected Assembly.Kazi, to his credit, did not sharethis information with anyone elsetill the last moment.

When I started writing thisbook, some of my friendsadvised me against mentioningthe role of the R&AW in themerger of Sikkim. I did notknow how such a book could bewritten or what useful purpose itwould serve. Appreciating theirsuggestion made in good faith, Itold them that it was Kao himselfwho had asked me to write thisbook in 1988. Had there beenany chance of me disclosing anyinformation that could go againstthe interests of national security,an extremely security-consciousperson like Kao would not have

asked me to write about theR&AW’s role in Sikkim’s mergerin the first instance. Actually,there are situations where with-holding such information fromthe public domain any longer

becomes counterproductive andallows certain parties or individ-uals to push forward their prede-termined conclusions in thehope that such facts as couldcounter their hypothesis wouldcontinue to remain buried underthe thick cover of secrecy.

It was over 43 years ago thatSikkim merged with India. It ishigh time that the truth behindthe merger be brought out. Thatwould help remove the cobwebsof doubt, or even confusion, cre-ated in the minds of the peopleby some others to make thembelieve that there was no populardemand for Sikkim’s merger andthat the State was ‘annexed’against the popular will of themajority of Sikkimese people,which was not the case.

The truth must be revealed, ifnothing else, at least to redeemKazi, who devoted his lifetime to

free Sikkim from the Chogyal’syoke, but was unfortunatelyaccused of selling his ‘country’ toIndia. The worst part of all thiswas that while Kazi was beingaccused in the immediate after-math of the merger, of selling hiscountry to India, no Indianagency or person in authoritycould — or they chose not to —do anything to neutralise suchfalse and motivated propaganda.Instead, they continued to remainmute witnesses to Kazi’s agony.

Ijoined the R&AW in February1972. After completing mytraining, I was posted as JAD

(Joint Assistant Director, a postequivalent to that of an under-secretary) in charge of two ofthe personnel branches. I finallylanded in Gangtok to takecharge as the OSD (P) Gangtokon August 27, 1973.

Insofar as operational workwas concerned, before the merg-er-related spl ops were launched,the R&AW’s main role in Sikkimwas to collect Tibet and China-related intelligence. This had tobe shared by the OSD (P) withthe Chogyal, Palden ThondupNamgyal, through personalmeetings at regular intervals.However, given the new require-ments of planning and imple-menting the spl ops, my prede-cessor, AS Sayali had, in earlyFebruary 1973, constituted athree-member team comprisinghimself, Senior Field Officer(SFO-equivalent in rank to adeputy superintendent of police)Padam Bahadur Pradhan (aNepalese) and Deputy FieldOfficer (DFO-equivalent to asub-inspector) Myngma Tshering(a Bhutia) for the job.

By the time I took over asOSD (P), the developments thatfollowed the anti-Chogyal andpro-democracy demonstrationsin April 1973 — in Sikkim ingeneral and in Gangtok in partic-ular — had already forced theChogyal to sign the May 8, 1973,tripartite agreement with thethen Foreign Secretary KewalSingh and the leaders of themajor political parties. Thisagreement had significantly cur-tailed the powers of the Chogyaland laid the grounds for holdingfresh elections in April 1974under the aegis of the ElectionCommission of India (ECI).

The April 1974 electionsresulted in a landslide victory forKazi’s Sikkim Congress (31 seatsout of 32). Based on this, the nextphase of the spl ops had to beplanned and executed. While weawaited directions from NewDelhi, we had to ensure that theSikkim Congress LegislatureParty remained a single solidblock behind Kazi, and that hewas able to withstand or blockany Chogyal-inspired move tocreate dissension within its ranks.

In that context, while themagnitude of the SikkimCongress’s victory reduced theprobability of any serious dissi-dence within the party, we had tobe careful about the moves ofsome of the senior leaders of thisparty, such as the mercurial KCPradhan and the shifty BBGurung. Also, the SikkimCongress’s newly developed prox-imity (encouraged by the R&AW)with the Lepcha group led byRinzing Lepcha had to be nur-tured and strengthened.

/<���������������� ���� ��1$!�!�����������������������������������������"������F�&���)��EBB

&A����������;������������7��;��@�� ����������� ��;��������������������������� ��������@����%�������=-+<5���������������������*�� ���������������;�;��5��������%�����&����5�����*5�3F�5��������������������������

?��������@��/����������������������������

Just in time for Halloween, a rare ‘corpseflower’ that gets its nickname from its

putrid smell is expected to bloom nextweek at Dartmouth College’s greenhouse.Named Morphy, the titan arum isnative to Sumatra’s equatorialrainforests and has a long, pointy stalkwith a skirt-like covering and tinyyellow flowers at its base. Itblooms just for severaldays. When it does,it has an odordescribed asrotting flesh, adecaying animal or evensoiled baby diapers.

The plant is decoratedwith bats, spiders and an armreaching out of the soil,holding a sign that says, “Helpme!” It’s been growing severalinches a day. By Fridaymorning, it reached 1.82 m.Visitors can go to the greenhouseor see the plant onDartmouth’s webcam. The15-year-old lime greenand burgundy plant last

bloomed in 2016, and before that, in 2011.Last time, it reached a height of 1.98 m.

“The older a corpse plant gets, themore likely it’s going to flower moreoften,” greenhouse manager Kim DeLongsaid. Morphy’s getting bigger, too. DeLongsaid after the last bloom, the plant grew alarge leaf that reached 3 m, nearlytouching the greenhouse ceiling. The leaf

stayed open for 13 months and wasbusy photosynthesizing and

storing up energy.Once the leaf died in

June, greenhouse staffrepotted Morphy’s swollen

underground tuber, whichweighed 36 to 41 kg. In 2016,

it was only about 14.6 kg.� �!

���������������@����:�����������������

Authorities say they’ve captured aman suspected of dumping his

grandson’s soiled diapers along severalNew Jersey roadways over the past year.

Franklin Township police say an officeracting on a hunch spotted 68-year-

old William Friedmanleaving a load of diapers in

the area of Routes 47 and40 around 3.15 amSunday. He was taken intocustody after a traffic stop.

Friedman allegedly toldpolice the diapers came from hisgrandson, adding that leaving themaround town without getting caught“almost became a game.” Authorities say amotorcyclist crashed in June afterrunning over a diaper Friedman hadallegedly dropped. The former sufferedinjuries and his bike was totaled.Friedman has been charged withinterference with transportation. Hefaces up to $1,000 in fines.

�"��!

��������3��������������������������������

Asarcastic sign in the window of aConnecticut restaurant asking people

not to let their dogs pee on the eatery’soutside flower pot has earned the owner a$250 fine. Duc Nguyen, owner of Duc’sPlace in New Haven, said that he was dis-gusted with people allowing their dogs tourinate on his pot. He thought a humor-ous sign was a good way of discouragingdog walkers from letting pets relieve

themselves there. It read:“Attn: dog owners. This is a

pay-per-pee flower pot. (Payinside or leave your address

and we’ll kindly return thefavor.)” Honda Smith, the city’s

public space enforcement officer, saidNguyen broke two city ordinances forbeing a public nuisance and issued thefine. Nguyen says he plans to appeal.

� �!

���@����������� �@������������������������

Police in New Zealand said a man wasable to escape from a fire thanks to his

cat jumping on him and waking him up.Fire and Emergency NZ said a crew fromthe Gisborne Station was dispatched alongwith Tolaga Bay volunteer firefightersTuesday night when a fire was reportedon a Whangara farm.

“When we arrived the building wasfully involved in fire,” Gisborne StationOfficer Chris Grimson told the GisborneHerald. “Our main priority was to stopthe fire spreading to the nearby hillsideand the trees and other vegetation on it.”

Firefighter said no one was injured inthe fire as the structure’s only human

occupant was saved by his cat.“There was a couple living there and

the man was asleep when the fire brokeout. His partner was away in town,”Grimson said. “He was wakened by theircat when the animal jumped on him.”“He got up to find smoke in the din-ing and kitchen area, and got out ofthe building through a bedroom win-dow,” he said.

The cause of the fire remainsunder investigation. Pennsylvania’sMcKeesport Fire Department said acouple were able to escape a fire intheir home in March of thisyear when their cat ran intotheir bedroom in a panic andalerted them to smoke andflames inside the house.

�"��!

@��������@�����������������������

British police are huntinga shoplifter who bears a

striking resemblance to RossGeller, the character playedby David Schwimmer on theTV show Friends.

Facebook users noticed the

similarity when police posted surveil-lance-camera footage of a man carryinga carton of cans from a restaurant inBlackpool, northwest England.

The actor responded with a Twittervideo that showed him scuttlingfurtively through a conveniencestore clutching a carton of beer.Schwimmer wrote: “Officers, Iswear it wasn’t me. As you cansee, I was in New York.” Hewished police well with the

investigation.Lancashire Police

later confirmed that“David Schwimmerwas in America onthis date.”

Britain’sDaily Star news-paper ran astory aboutSchwimmer’slookalike underthe headline “I’ll

Beer There forYou,” a play on

lyrics from theFriends theme.

� �!

������������

������������������� � !"�#

���(�3� ����

Johnny Depp will not appear in anyfurther Pirates of the Caribbeanfilms, according to reports. Original

screenwriter Stuart Beattie noddedwhen it was suggested that Depp’s timeas the star of the series was over. “Ithink he’s had a great run,” he said.“Obviously, he’s made that characterhis own, and it’s become the thing thathe’s most famous for now. And kids allover the world love him as that charac-ter, so I think it’s been great for him.It’s been great for us, so I’m just very,very happy about it.”

Depp, 55, has played the loucheCaptain Jack Sparrow in five films over15 years in the Disney franchise, mostrecently in 2017’s Dead Men Tell NoTales. Recently, it was reported thatDisney was considering rebooting theseries by drafting in Deadpool writersRhett Reese and Paul Wernick. Theprevious films — inspired by a fair-ground ride — have in total mademore than $3bn, but there have, broad-ly speaking, been diminishing returnswith each episode.

Depp will next be seen in HarryPotter prequel Fantastic Beasts: TheCrimes of Grindelwald. The actor has

experienced a backlash amid claims ofdomestic violence from ex-wife AmberHeard, as well as counterclaims offinancial blackmail.

The actor’s finances have also comeunder scrutiny after a lawsuit filed inMay by former bodyguards attackedDepp’s record on wages and workingconditions. In July, he was sued by acrew member allegedly punched by theactor on the set of a film about the mur-der of Notorious BIG. A month later,the film’s planned release was shelved.

Sara Cox will take over BBC Radio2’s Drivetime show from SimonMayo and Jo Whiley after the

pair’s departure was announced lastweek. Mayo has presented Drivetimefor eight years but said he would beleaving to focus on writing after only afew months co-presenting with Whileyin what proved to be a divisive changeof format. Whiley will remain with thestation but move to a 7 pm-9 pm slotfrom January. Cox became favourite totake over as presenter and has nowbeen confirmed in the role. Cox, whosaid she was “proud” to take on the5pm-7pm slot, had previously beenheavily tipped to take over presentingduties on Chris Evans’s Breakfast Show,but lost out to Zoë Ball.

Cox said of being handed the timeslot: “I’ve been proud to be part of theRadio 2 family for a few years nowand the opportunity to present such abig show as Drivetime — playing fan-tastic music and hopefully makingpeople smile as they cook tea or headhome after a day’s graft — is the icingon what is already a very brilliantcake. “I’m beyond chuffed to be given

this role and to directly quote mymum on hearing the good news, it isindeed ‘fandabbyruddydozy’.” TheBBC has not yet announced whenCox will begin presenting Drivetime.

Cox has experience on the station,most recently as a stand-in presenter onthe Breakfast Show. She joined the BBCin 1999 and worked on Radio 1’sBreakfast Show. There was consternationfrom some audience members when theDrivetime show was reformatted.

Celebrated Japanese artist YayoiKusama is considering legalaction against the organisers of

several exhibitions in China made upentirely of fake works credited to her.Counterfeit works by Kusama and herfellow contemporary Japanese artistTakashi Murakami have been shown inat least six Chinese cities since thespring, according the artists’ lawyers.Most of the exhibitions were free ofcharge but a joint Kusama-Murakamievent in Changsha, Hunan province,charged a US$10 admission fee,Japanese media said. Earlier this month,

organisers shut down an exhibition inShanghai after receiving a written warn-ing from Kusama’s legal team, but theshow in Changsha is still open to thepublic. Kusama’s lawyers are trying toidentify the organisers of the otherfraudulent exhibitions and could pursueboth civil and criminal action for copy-right infringement and violations ofChinese laws, Japan’s public broadcasterNHK said. Murakami’s lawyer, HiroshiKamiyama, told the Nikkei AsianReview he was considering taking simi-lar action, describing the fake exhibi-tions as “extremely malicious”.

�)9�7)�7���):��������&�)�3���)/

1 A A � ) � � � � � �

�$ ( ?���0� �$%�&��0( �0! (1'#��$���A0�A�5��"��$��?��L0'(�60� �� 0�# ��'���60� J�(0A (��" ��%(0

;')���4�5�)��<�������� ���.

!������:�������������� ��������

Short of a toad that turns into aprince, the life of Queen Sonjaof Norway has the hallmarks ofa fairy tale. Born in 1937,Sonja Haraldsen grew up in

the Oslo suburb of Vinderen, in effectan only child. Her two much older sib-lings left for Sweden in 1940 at thestart of the German occupation, andanother brother had died. So her par-ents kept her close and, hoping shewould work in and eventually take overher father’s dress-making andladieswear shop in central Oslo, senther at 16 to learn tailoring at OsloVocational School and thence toLausanne for two years — “I choseSwitzerland so I could go skiing, butthen I got hooked on learning French,”she tells me — to study accounting andfashion design at the EcoleProfessionnelle des Jeunes Filles.

Back in Oslo, she was 21 when shemet Crown Prince Harald at a partythrown by a mutual friend, a classmateof the heir apparent. The Prince waspoised to leave the Norwegian MilitaryAcademy and invited her to his gradu-ation ball. It would be glib to say therest was history. The Royal House ofNorway was having none of it. NoEuropean heir or crowned head hadmarried a commoner: The Prince’smother had been born Princess Märthaof Sweden, his grandmother was theBritish King Edward VII’s youngestdaughter, Princess Maud of Wales. Itwas only after nine long years that the

palace relented and their engagementwas announced. Within six months, inAugust 1968, they were married. Theirson, Crown Prince Haakon, was bornfive years later, and two years after,they had a daughter, Princess MärthaLouise. But since the accession of KingHarald V to the throne in January1991, the nation has taken QueenSonja to its heart. Each year on May17, Norway’s National Day, the PalacePark, one of Oslo’s main public spaces,is thronged with flag-waving citizenscome to watch the royal family wavefrom the palace balcony.

Last summer, Queen Sonja’s child-hood home, a white clapboard housewith a red-tile roof, built in 1935 in theFunk (for functionalist) style, became amuseum, after its exterior was carefullydismantled and moved from its originalsite to Maihaugen, near Lillehammer,where it was restored. It is, neverthe-less, a far cry from where she residestoday. Elegantly dressed in trousers anda long cardigan, she greets me with awarm smile and a handshake in whatmy instructions refer to as HerMajesty’s Audience Chamber, butwhich the liveried footman who hasshown me upstairs to the piano nobileof the palace, calls the Queen’s study.

It is a splendid room: Crimsondamask on the walls, furniture heavywith ormolu. The reason for my audi-ence is her print award, the world’slargest international prize for print-making. Established by the HM Queen

Sonja Art Foundation in 2011, thisyear’s winner will be announced at anaward ceremony at London’s RoyalAcademy of Arts on November 8. Art isa subject close to her heart, not just as apatron and collector, but as an artistand printmaker. As a child it neveroccurred to her to want to be an artist,but, “I was 10 or 12 when I got my firstcamera”, she tells me, and she has beentaking pictures ever since. It wasn’t till2006, however, while visitingSpitsbergen in Arctic Norway, that sheunderstood photography’s true poten-tial as a medium. She had descended,on foot, deep into a meltwater tunnel.

“It was completely dark,” she recalls.Her torch wasn’t working, so she had torely on the light from her camera. “Andsuddenly through the screen I saw theselines and colours, beautiful things wesimply couldn’t see with our eyes.”These extraordinary images inspiredher to start making abstract art shortlybefore she turned 70, specifically prints,which she learnt to make on a visit toAteljé Larsen, an eminent studio inHelsingborg, Sweden, with two celebrat-ed Norwegian artists, the late KjellNupen and the great landscape painterØrnulf Opdahl. Here she experimentedwith monotypes (a single print takenfrom a painted design), learning tomanipulate colours — her work is allabout colour — with multiple layers ofink and sometimes subsequent applica-

tions of watercolour.��� ������������

��������������

�����������������������

���������

M%�!���=2�0(�=,�!$ �%�&0���L�1%(��

��� (�5?��$ ���L�5�""%�&��$����$ �$���A ����3%�&

�%��'( �� 6 (��%�� �%��!���?���%##�,22R5$0! 6 (5�!$%#

6%�%�%�&���%��A (& �%���(��%���0(!�L5

�$����$ �'�" (��00"�$0�0&(��$L?���(' ��0� ��%�#������� "%'�

T��������>����������������������5�@����������� ������*�!������#�%( �!(��$�##@�������0��� �������������@�����K�����@���@����������������� ������������������

Can we? Yes. But it is notvery easy. Let meexplain what I mean by

leaving it to God. We allknow our limitations. Forexample: There is a nice cou-ple who have two children.This family is highly spiritual.They pay a lot of attention tothe upbringing of their chil-dren. Still, thoughts do comeabout their future. Because oftheir spiritual background,they leave the matter to God.Isn’t God the most capable ofbeing omnipotent?

This sounds very excitingto folks who worry endlesslyand suffer greatly. Logically, itmakes a lot of sense becausewe are limited to doing ourduties only. What more canwe do except worry about theresults or leave it to God.Leaving it to God makes a lotof sense for us small souls.However, there are three diffi-cult steps to get there.

The first step is to developfaith in God. This is very dif-ferent from casually mention-ing God in our conversations.It is extremely difficult but notimpossible. Personally, I had

great difficulty in gaining faithin God even though I wasexposed to God since child-hood due to the spiritual/reli-gious leaning of my family. Iknew in my heart about thevarious benefits God canbestow. Therefore, I begandoing what a logical personwould do. I began collectingall the evidence which couldconvince me about the exis-tence of God. Many factsemerged but strong faith wasnot so forthcoming. But itbecame better over the years.So far, I have managed thirty-one factors which stronglypoint towards the existence ofGod. I must admit that Godhelped me in this endeavourbecause good faithful beingsare assets to His creation. Ifsomeone tries to get close to

God; He does likewise. Andunlike us, He is not limited.

The next step, which ofcourse must run concurrently,is to become deserving ofGod’s intervention in ouraffairs. Knowing God is finebut He must have compellingreasons to help. I began bylooking at my behaviour. HowI spoke to others; how Ilooked at them; did I care tolisten to them; etc? Was Iinclined to cooperate withthem? God will not do some-thing special for one who goesagainst what pleases Him themost. Was I prepared to makesacrifices for others –- anessential quality for gainingfavours from God?

How was I doing on thelust front? Is the world meantfor my enjoyment or do oth-

ers deserve my respect fortheir contribution to the soci-ety? Was I being greedy, ietrying to grab what did notrightfully belong to me? Wasanger a part of my personalityor was it just to be used whenabsolutely essential? Was Ijealous just because someoneelse was better than me insome respect? Was I beingdutiful? And lastly, was I fol-lowing dharma, which is mostdear to God? Slowly, the feel-ing of being good came overme. I was ready to gain specialfavours from God.

The third step was themost crucial because it wentagainst how I instinctivelyfeel. What is basic to us? Thatwe are the best persons tosafeguard our interests.Whom will we trust the

most? Ourselves only. Then,where is the question of leav-ing it to God? Does such anact not go against our ego?That someone can help usbetter than ourselves eventhough that person is God?Faith helped and I began toplace more trust in God thanin myself. Slowly, many bene-fits began to materialise.

I realised that I was help-less in any case having donemy duties. This kind ofmindset began to reduce mypropensity to worry. I beganto feel more relaxed, some-what peaceful. I was begin-ning to see prospects of bet-ter results because God wasgetting involved. God wasnot a silent spectator either;He was encouraging me inmany subtle ways. Heappeared to be quite active inmy life, no longer a silentspectator. This made memore God conscious. Ibecame more serious aboutconnecting with God. Irealised that it was in syncwith the cosmic design.$���� ����������������������������������������������J�������� �.� �

������������

����� � !"�#

1����������������������@���@���B������������X��

������ ����� ������������*����@�������������������� ����������;�����������������������������@���������;���������5������B������������*����������* ���������������@�������B���������������*����������������������������K���������������@������B���;���������5�������@�����*���������������J������������������������������������� ������@�������@���@��������*������@��������;�������������������@�������������*������������������������������������������������������������ ��������*��������@�B�����������������5������������������� �!��������@�������*�� ���������������;���� ����B������������������������� ��� ������ ���*������B��������5���������������������������;������������*B��������� �����������������������;��������� B@��������������*5������#�����6����5� /�����;��"�������5������� ���!�������������;��������� ���������

!���� ��������������5��������������������B

*�@������5�������������*��� ��������������������� ������������������������������������������������'��;�����*�� ��� ���������*�/��������� ���� ������B�������;���������B>��������,8����������������� ���� ����������������������������������������;���B������������������������ �����5�@�����;������������������*������=2�������������=2������������ND����O�������������������0�����������������;�����B�������������� �������������*����� ��J����������5����5�����������������J�����������*��� ���������������������������A�������*5����� ������� �����B�*5���������������*�����B������%������������������;��*�����������������������������������������������������������*������������������5����������

���@�����*������;��������������������5�@����

������������/���������*�� �������������������;���������������;��������� �������������������5�����������*���� ������@���������������������5��������������������������*���,���B���������������*�@�����B������������ !"����# ������������������������������*5�'��;�����*�� &���������5��@����5����@������������������������� ������@������������B�Y;��*���,�������������������������� ���������������� ����������������������5@�����������*�����;��� �������������"�������������*���5����������������������������������@�������������;���������������������$�@�;��5���*�� �@���������;����;���������@������������������������������������*� ����������������5�������5������������ ��������� ����F������������5�����B������������������������7����*����������������������(�����������������������@�@*�� ����������������@�����*���,���������

�������������������������������

�����������������������

������������������������������

:AA�+������(��0"����$�3

Loyalty has been considered as a noble value sinceages. But defining loyalty is not easy and under-standing its true nature is even more difficult.

Dictionaries leave much to be desired when consultedfor a meaning of the concept. Loyalty is suggested asanything ranging from devotion to faithfulness to evenblind trust towards persons, regions, religions, etc.Some philosophers believe that it is strictly interper-sonal and only human beings can be the object of loy-alty. Law and political science consider it as fidelity ofan individual to a nation, king or kingdom. But thesedefinitions hardly do anything to clear the haze thatsurrounds the concept of loyalty. And there is anotherquestion — can there be dual loyalty? Difficult toresolve as this dilemma is usually a classical case of anapproach-approach conflict. But more than finding outthe basic nature of loyalty what we need to discuss isthe critical issue of loyalty as a value vs loyalty as avirtue. Often, people consider these as synonymous.But we need to go deep into the concepts of a valueand a virtue. While value is a cause one strives for,something close to one’s heart, virtues are innate moralqualities within people that support individual moralexcellence. Thus values can be the goal but virtues arethe means to attain the goal. Thus, though not always,there can be a conflict between a value and a virtue. Avalue is an individually, culturally or organisationallyaccepted norm. But it is not necessary that it mayalways be a virtue. Examples ranging from Ku KluxKlan to the modern day Islamic State are ample indica-tions to suggest that a value cannot always be a virtue.Ramayana throws a beautiful illustration about thisthrough the dialogue between Ravana’s brothersKumbhakaran and Vibhishan. While the essence ofKumbhakaran’s argument to dissuade Vibhishan fromjoining Rama is based on loyalty as a value, Vibhishan’sstand contradicts this establishing primacy of virtuebased on righteousness that can override loyalty. So,loyalty can be a value if it is blended with the rightcause but it cannot always be a virtue. In theMahabharata war this has been emphasised time andagain. While value has more of emotional content,virtue is largely ethical in nature. Though Vibhishan islooked down upon and his unfaithfulness to his broth-er has brought a kind of eternal stigma to the name asused in Hindi idioms and phrases, the fact is that hewas more an embodiment of virtue rather than treach-ery and deceit. Judgment and context then are theessence of this debate between loyalty as a value versusloyalty as a virtue. Human beings are supposed to bethinking beings whose judgments need to be based onrighteous decisions and judicious observation of a situ-ation. It is not necessary that loyalty as a value maybe at odds with loyalty as a virtue, but there is a sub-tle difference that needs to be understood. If loyaltyis backed with right cause it is a virtue to be cher-ished, but if it is loyalty for the sake of loyalty with-out any consideration for the right and the wrong itbecomes a vice. Both means and ends are importantand rationality lies in exercising the right choicebetween where to be loyal and when to defy. Themoral judgment of course is based on a very highlydeveloped sense of maturity.

"���&�������� ��� �� ���������)�����)���������������������������&�.����������������������&.���J�����.� ���

��#"�3#�"��"�A� 3�

%���3 ��L��(0A# ���#%&$�#L�J��( ����$ ��#%3 �$ #%'��A�##00���

��"�# ���$ ��&0J��!%�3# �3$����

�������������

The soul is immortal; itknows no death. Yet manypeople fear death becausethey are not aware of theirimmortal nature. By

connecting with our soul, we willhave answers to what awaits usbeyond death. All religions in theworld recognise the immortality ofthe soul. The description in thescriptures of the soul’s journey afterlife differ from religion to religion,but one common thread runsthroughout them: The soul survivesthe death of the physical body. Butcan modern science confirm this?

����'������B��������A medical doctor, Dr. RaymondMoody, Jr, discovered that thosepatients who had clinically died butwere brought back to life through thewonders of modern medicine hadsimilar experiences. Many of themreported finding themselves lookingdown at their body form a vantagepoint in the room such as the ceiling.They were able to watch the medicalpractitioners trying to bring themback to life, and they could hearconversations in the room. Somefound themselves floating throughthe walls to the waiting room wherethey could see and hear theirrelatives, and later, after the patientwas revived, relatives and friendsconfirmed the accuracy of theoverheard conversations. The subjectsthen found themselves being suckedthrough a dark tunnel, at the end ofwhich was a bright light. Althoughthe light was extremely bright,brighter than any they had ever seenon earth, it was not scorching; rather,it was a warm light, which theydescribed as being filled with love.Many of them were met by a being ofLight who enveloped them with alove greater than they ever felt onEarth. Following this, many wentthrough a life review in whicheverything they had done in their lifeflashed before them. They could seenot only the event, but could alsoexperience what they and the otherpeople involved thought and felt.Thus, if they did something hurtful,they could feel the pain they causedthe other person. If they did

something loving, they could feel thehappiness of the other person. As aresult of this life review, most peopleunderwent a transformation. Theyrealised that when they crossed theborders to the afterlife, it did notmatter how much money theyearned, how much property they hadowned, what position of power theyhad held, or whether they werefamous or not. What mattered washow loving they were to others.

In many cases, they began todevote themselves to being a moreloving. They also spoke of beinggiven a choice of whether theywanted to remain in the life beyondor return. Many of them experiencedso much bliss in the beyond that theydid not want to return. Butultimately, they were told that theirlife on earth was not over and theywould have to return. At that point,they found themselves being suckedback into their body. At that moment,any medical efforts to revive thembore fruit, and their heartbeat andbreathing suddenly resumed.

Over eight million peoplereported having a near-deathexperience, according to a 1982Gallup poll. The startling number hascaused many doctors and scientists totake notice. Do near-deathexperiences prove the existence of thesoul? They are proof to the peoplewho have had them.

������M����������:There is striking similarity among theaccounts of the journey of the soul asrelated by enlightened ones fromdifferent world religions. The

common thread among them is thebelief that the soul lives after thedemise of the physical body,undergoes a judgment in which itsgood and bad deeds are eitherrewarded or punished, is placed inheaven or hell according to its deeds,and ultimately reaches a stage ofunion with the Lord or the Source.There is also a similarity betweenthese and the accounts of people whohave had a near-death experiences.Their descriptions correspond withthe scriptures that describe the initialmoments when one’s soul departsfrom the body. The near-deathexperiences take us as far as thethreshold of the inner realms. Butsince the narrators did not die, theirjourney ended there.

Although the accounts of saintsand those alive today who have hadnear-death experiences may give ushope and inspiration, they alonecannot provide proof to our selves.They merely present second-handknowledge. Real proof comes whenwe experience our soul’simmortality for ourselves.

We need not experience thetrauma of a near-death experience inorder to find out what lies beyond;we can experience the soul’simmortal nature when we go within.We can learn how to do this byexamining how the saints and mysticsfrom all different religions conductedtheir inner journey. We can learn thetechnique of meditation they usedand begin to practice it ourselves.Through meditation, a whole newworld opens up for us.

��������������������������

1���������������5��;����������������������� ��������������������������������

�����������/��������������������������������������������������

�������@������ ����������5�����5���

�;�5�@����������(�G%�" (��%�&$

! �� "��0� S� (% �� ��$

�(�'���01���� �(B" ��$� S� (% �� �%��0(" (��0�1%�"0'��!$���#% �A L0�"��! ���� S� (% �� ��$ �0'#?��%��0(��#

���'( �!$ ��! �&0!%�$%����$(0'&$� "%���%0�5��

!$0# �� !�!0(#"0� ���'��10(�'�

7;��;��.�.1��1����������������� � �����������������������������������������������*�������������������������� ��������������������*���������������@������� �&����������������5�@�������G%��3'��(�A%�$�0%

1��

������������� �

�����@����*���@���/���������������;�������*���@�� ����� �����������������L��������������������������*���������������������;�����������;��*����������� ���*���������*�����5��*��������;����;������������� �>�*�������������*���������;�������E����@���������*����� ���0����������� ����5�*������������@�������*������������L���� ���������������@����������;������� � ����*�����������������*������*����@*��L��@��������*��L���@����� �������������;�;���������������@�������������*�������������������*����������������;���������������*�����������������������������������@����*����*����������*�����;���% �*��������������5�������/������*����� �������:������(*2),(#$�� ,8�(*2)*!�!(� %������(*2)-�) 1���*

�#3, *" &��-/B�$ ���/@

L���@���;����������������������������@� ����������� �����@�����L���@������������������������ ���������������������������@���������@�����������*����A�������� ����������@������������ �������*������������*��� ����������@����������������������5�*���@���/���������������;������*�������������� �������L������������������������@����������� �*���@�����������������@���������������������������@�����@����� ��*������������������������������������������������������@���������*���������#����������*���� ;�������*��@����>�*������������� �*��������@�����%��*�����;�� �5��������������*�������������������������������"���������������������5�*������@*��;��������������������������� ��������(*2),(#$�� =R�(*2)*!�!(� 0�����(*2)-�) ������*

$�6#6 ��$ ���-.B*"#�-.

�����@�����������������������������������L���*� �����*������������������������5�������������5��������������� ��������5��������������������*�����������������@�� ����*������������������@���%������;����� ���*���������������������/������� ��������*�����@����� ����F�����%���� �������� �5��������������*�������*����@*�����������������;��������������/������������������������������������������ ������;������>��:�������������������*������������������������@�������*� �������(����������������������� ����@�������� �� ���*�������@�����(����������@���5������@����������� ����*�L�����������������*�������������������������������@�����������������������@���*���������@���*���@����*����������(*2),(#$�� =8�(*2)*!�!(� ������������(*2)-�) �����*

4,*3+3�*"#�-/BC�%�-.

L���������*���������� ����������*����� �?������������L���� �������������������������@�� ��������K���*� �� ���L����*����������������������������������� *�����������;������0����;��*�������� ��*������% �*��������������������*�����������������*5������@�������������� �*�����*����������������;�*��0����������� ����5�*���@�� ���������������������������������*���@����������� ������������������������������@������@������������� �*�����������������#�������������������������������@����!����������������;�5�*���@����@���������������@����*����� ��@����� ���������������;�������������������������@�����������5�������@�� ����B��������� �����������L���������*���������*����>�*@����������������*���@�������������(*2),(#$�� =.�(*2)*!�!(� �����(*2)-�) ����*

��+�,#�C�%�-/BC��#�--

L���@���;������������������@��������@������*��������*���� ������������������������� �*���������L���@��������������� ������� �*���������� ������% *������ ������*������������5���������������������������������*�������;��@*��������@��������L���@� ���*������*�� ��@������������;��@������@���5�������@�������������L���@�������������� �������@�� �������������������������������������������������������������>����L����*��@�����������*����*��������������������@������������������ ���� �������������� ����;��������������������J�*���@��/������������������%�����������/��� ��;�5���?���������������;��*����������������������L�������������������������������������@����@����*����� ����������*����������(*2),(#$��-�(*2)*!�!(� A��@��(*2)-�) ����*

�3#4"���6�-?B�$�--

L����� ����������*�����*�@���*�� �������@����*��@����� ��� ������*5������;��*����;�������*��L��������*������B������*���������������� ���L���@������*����� ����*�������;����������L��5����*�����������������/�������������*� ��������>�;������������ ������������������*���@� ����������0����������� ����5�*������������������������������������ �����������������% ���K�����5�������;���� ������������ ����������������������������?������������@������*��������*��������������������������;���*����������%������������������������������������@�����;����������� �����%������������� ��;�5���������������������L����*� �����>��������������������������@������������� �����������;���������������������������������������� ���������������������(*2),(#$�� ,,�(*2)*!�!(� (���(*2)-�) �����*

'3=#���$�-?B�&3�--

�����@����*��������������������� �*��������@�������������������;�� ��@����$���������������������* ����*����������L���������������@������*����� ��� �*� �����������@�����*������ �� ���������������������������������������*������������������*�����������������@�*������ ������������������@�������5�*���@���/���������� ��B����� ��������@�����������������*���� ����L���������*��� ����������������� �������������������5����������������������*���������*�������������� ��������������L������� ������������@������������������ ��������������������������� ������������%�������� ��;�5�*���@�� �������������L���������*���������������������� ���������������;���������@*����������?�������������(*2),(#$��=-�(*2)*!�!(� A���(*2)-�)�����*

�"#�3"��&3�-?B��A�-/

����@����������@������;�������������;���������*��@��������*�@�����������5���;�5�>�����*�����������������������������@���/�����*��������;��������� ���*����� �����������������������������������*����*������*����� ����*�� ����������� ��*�����������;�����*����������������������*����������@���@����������������������*������������������*�� ��������@�������������������������������������L���@����*�*�����;��������������;��@���*��@������� ���������@���@������>�������������������@����������������������������������� ;����(����������@���5�*������������������;��*�������5����������������@�������������������������?� ;������������� �������*������ �������*��������������5@����������������������������(*2),(#$��8=�(*2)*!�!(� &�����(*2)-�) 1���*

�G6�#36 C"%�-.B���/0

�����@���5����������������������L���@�������*������������ ������@������� ������;��*�@��������*����@���������������5�������*���;�����;�������������������������������/������5�����������5������������������������������@@������������������% ���K�����5����?���������������*���@�������0������������ ����5����� ��������������������������������������@�����*�������������������5*���@����� ����@����������������������L��������*�������;��*������������@������@�;������� ���������������� �*�������/������������;��;������������� ������������������@�����������������*�����������*��"������*�������*��������5�*����/���������������������� ������*������*���������������������������������������������������(*2),(#$�� -�(*2)*!�!(�&��*�(*2)-�) ������*

�3 �, ����/@B*" &��-.

%������;��������;��������������������������@�����#���������*����������;�������������������*�����������;����� ����������*��������������� ��*�$����������������@����;��*������� �@�����������������������������L������������������������������@������������ �� �*�����������������@����������@�������5�*���@�� �����������������������������*���� ;����&���������������������������������������@���������������������@����*��������������������� ����� �����5������������5���5�������*������@�������� ����������������>���������*�������������������@���������������������������������������������������*�����@�������>������������������� �����!��������������;��� �5�*����������;���������������� �*���� �������������*������(*2),(#$�� ,2�(*2)*!�!(�������������(*2)-�) !������*

���#3�"#+��&�--BC"%�/@

L���@���;�������*����@�������*5��������������% *����;���*���������������������������?��������������5������*����*����� �������*��*�������;�������*�����������������������5������*������������5������ ������������������������*���������*����� ��@���@�������/����������������@������*�������;�����@�������� ���0��*���������� ����5�*����*�������������������������*��������������� ���5������������ ������������������@���������*�����*������*�������������@���5�������;�;������������@������*���@����� �������������;��*�������;��@*��L���@��������*���������������������������������*�������*���@��������������;���*����������L���������*�����������������������*�����������@����*����������;���������L���@�� �������@�������� �������� �����������(*2),(#$�� ==�(*2)*!�!(� �����(*2)-�) 1���*

'," C��#�-?B��6�--������@����*���@�� ��������;�����������������L���@�����;�������;��*������@����������*���� ;�����L���@�������������������*����������L����;����������������*���� @������>����@������������%����;���*���������������������@���*���@����������0;��5���������@�����������%����� �������� �5�*�������������;��*�����������������������*����@�����L���������������������*����@������������@���������������������A����������@����*����@�����������������������������@������@������������������������������ �*���������������@����������������;������� �����@�����������������@�������%���������� �������5�*��������������� �������������������������@��������?�� ����������@*� ���*����!�����;���������5�*������?���;����������������������@������(*2),(#$��+�(*2)*!�!(�L��@�(*2)-�) ����*

�43$$�#36 ���A�--B�&�-/

)1�3*��4

�:��A��"$'�30�%L�

���� �� � "��

�������!$���%��&0%�&��0�

$��� ��!%##�$��� ���L!�L���0�!$L�A( �3�

�L�$ �"�06 (�%�XJ�3��(%���3�%1 $��������=!�->�8

Iwish the valued readers a very happyDiwali due next Wednesday. On thisfestive day, the devout have a meeting

with Mother Goddess Lakshmi, the deityidentified with sampada (wealth) inmajor part of the country. May yourprayers bear desired fruits, I wish. Butremember, nothing comes just to one’sasking. One would need to be wellgeared by oneself. It is in this spirit thatthe devout try to rekindle their work-spirit afresh. Also, pursue aspirationalurges literally in a prayer mode as weworship the Mother for the best result.Bear in mind; the word: Sampada is notlimited to just material wealth. It alsoincludes physical prowess and wisdom,but for which fruition of creative urgeswould not be possible.

The preparation for this festivitybegins much in advance. We thoroughlyclean up our houses, work stations, andthe adjoining areas. We clear off all thejunk piled up during the previous year.We refurbish and give a fresh look to ourhouses and work places. It is driven bythe belief that Mother Goddess Lakshmishuns filth and would make presenceonly in a clean environment, and henceso much of importance to cleanliness.The paradox, however, is that once the

festival gets over, the sense of cleanlinessjust takes a back seat. That is what forcedthe Government to relentlessly carry onthe clean India campaign.

The occasion also calls for givingequal emphasis to ensure a healthy livingenvironment. Truth, however, remainsthat blindly chasing our materialisticurges we have unmindfully polluted theair and water resources so much that it isnow threatening healthy existence. Eversince the environmental pollution levelhas acquired dangerous proportion,every year we have been witnessing adebate over the need to avoid playingfirecrackers to contain pollution. Theblind believers are bent upon carrying onthe tradition unhindered. The environ-mentalist, on the other hand want thepractice banned and have been seekingcourt intervention. Shall we ever wake upto the call of securing healthy existenceall by ourselves? Can court interventionsclean up our hardened attitude?

Let me add here that our age oldHindu tradition has never been rigid, wehave rather evolved with time andadapted ourselves with the callings oftime. A look into the history will revealthat in Vedic times, we worshipedabstract deities like Indradeva,

Varundeva, Agnideva, and the like. Theynow find mention in our old books only.As of now, the deities like Durga,Lakshmi, Saraswati, and Ganapati are incirculation. For, the educative import ofthese symbolic imageries directly relateto human attributes of practical rele-vance. It is high time we give up ourhardened attitudes in our own interest.

Even more important is the cleans-ing of mind on a daily basis. Remember,all that we encounter in life, good orbad, finds space within our memory,major part of which gets into our sub-conscious. Over a period of time, mindgets too cluttered with baggage load ofinconsequential and even negativethoughts, thus restricting the mind-space available. We, are, thus, not leftwith the space necessary to process ourthoughts objectively. Consequently, wefail to see things in the right perspectiveand with obvious consequences. Thesethoughts also keep rattling us fromwithin, not allowing scope to pay dueattention to our priority preferences.That makes it incumbent upon us toself-reflect on a daily basis and to atleast clear off the clutter within.

On this occasion, it is important tomake note of hypocrite mind-set ofIndian populace. When it comes to reli-

gious practice, we identify all aspects ofcreativity with Motherly-forms — Durga,Lakshmi and Saraswati. The concept,evidently acknowledges that female is atthe root of creativity. Accordingly, we putin all our emotions to clay/stone mouldsof the above deities seeking power. Butwhen it comes to our domestic, social,and work atmosphere, we do not hesitateharassing our women folk. Many of theanimalistic minds would not spare evenkids. Otherwise, the need for spearhead-ing the ‘Me too’ campaign against themighty by such a huge number ofharassed women would not have arisen.

Now that time is ripe for offeringour prayers to Mother GoddessLakshmi, let us be reminded that theliving mother of Sampada in our fami-lies too are accorded a dignified status.In Eastern India, especially in WestBengal and adjoining areas, MotherGoddess Kali is worshiped on the occa-sion of Diwali. The underlying conceptwill be followed up in the coming issue.

��������������������� � ��)��������� ����������������������� ����� �.�@@��� ��������

1>AA(')�$$�����������)�����33������77 � ��)���� ����KK�AAA(�(('E

��6�BBA>AAA>HHBIHIHCELBIAI(?C'C?�/����6���� ��%����J�������� .� �

@���6�����.�������� .� �

��(31���A$�(���A$'�$�����"��" 0

0�����- ����������� ����������)��������������)�����3 ����)�0!�4����#����� ����� �D� ������ �.�7 ���������6������J������� .� �)����.������� .� �)�06�BIC?'I???A

� ��� �������������������" �����

����� ���� ������Z��$0A0(%�&��&'#%�★ ���Z��'#%3���&�%$0�(%�0G$�5�� �%0(� "%�0(�[ '���&��&&�(!�#5����%������ "%�0(�NA003�O�★ ��:���A��� � Z ���%�$��$��"(��G�3$�0#�5�� �%0(� "%�0(�N�( ��%6 O

$�#�������� ���#����������� ���� ������A�� �����