F? ^fde V_dfcV _ReZ`_d U`_¶e Via]`Ze 2W+ >`UZ - Daily ...

16
P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday targeted Pakistan and China in his address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) by saying that Afghanistan should not be used by some countries for terrorism and that ocean laws be used and not abused as he sought the world body to increase its relevance and effec- tiveness on issues like terrorism and proxy-war. The Prime Minister addressed the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly at New York as the first speaker among the world leaders gathered there. While attacking Pakistan without naming it, the Prime Minister sought to contrast the neighbouring country’s “regressive thinking” of using “terrorism as a political tool” with India’s scientific and pro- gressive advancement that is not only helping it but also the world at large. He said when Indian stu- dents in the 75th year of coun- try’s independence are ready- ing up to send 75 satellites in space, the other side is going backwards and resorting to terrorism. “Countries with regressive thinking that are using terror- ism as a political tool need to understand that terrorism is an equally big threat for them. It has to be ensured that Afghanistan isn’t used to spread terrorism or launch terror attacks...” said Modi, in a warning to Pakistan. The Prime Minister who virtually took the UN body to task for not being pro-active said, “This needs to be ensured that the land of Afghanistan is not to be used for terrorism and the delicate situation of Afghanistan is not used as a tool by some country”. The Prime Minister in his speech delivered in Hindi inter- spersed with a “Sanskrit slok” of “Chanakya”, the ancient Indian political scientist, and a quote of nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in Bengali to convey to the UN that it needs to take timely and effective steps to counter threats emanating from ter- rorism and regressive ideologies. Focussing on Afghanistan, the Prime Minister referred to “Afghan women, children and minorities” saying “they need help” and “we will have to share responsibility”. Modi said the entire world should use science-based ratio- nale and progressive thinking as a medium of development. Without mentioning Chinese attempt to monopolise the South China Sea and use its muscle to regulate it in its favour, the PM said ocean resources be used and not abused” and that they are life- time and belong to one and all. “Our oceans are also our shared heritage. That is why we have to keep in mind that we use our ocean resources, not abuse them. Our seas are a life- line to international trading. We need to protect them from expansion and exclusion. World communities must unit- edly raise their voice to strengthen rule-based world order,” said Modi. He spoke about “rule- based navigation” and urged the members of the UN body “to speak in one voice” about maritime security. Continued on Page 4 T he Taliban hanged a dead body from a crane in the main square of Herat city in western Afghanistan, a witness said on Saturday, in a gruesome display that signalled a return to some of the Taliban’s meth- ods of the past. Wazir Ahmad Seddiqi, who runs a pharmacy on the side of the square, told The Associated Press that four bod- ies were brought to the square and three bodies were moved to other squares in the city to be displayed. Seddiqi said the Taliban announced in the square that the four were caught taking part in a kidnapping and were killed by police. It was not immediately clear if the four were killed in a firefight with police or after their arrest. There was no immediate comment from the Taliban. Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, one of the founders of the Taliban and the chief enforcer of its harsh interpretation of Islamic law when they last ruled Afghanistan, told The AP this week that the hard-line move- ment will once again carry out executions and amputations of hands, though perhaps not in public. Continued on Page 4 F aced with growing assertive- ness by China in the Indo- Pacific region, India, US, Japan and Australia resolved to resist any “coercion” and work together for ensuring peace and prosperity in the region and the world as a whole. The four nations forming the Quad grouping also agreed to coordinate their policies towards Afghanistan and fur- ther deepen counter-terrorism and humanitarian co-operation in the months ahead in accor- dance with a UN Security Council resolution. “We reaffirm that Afghan territory should not be used to threaten or attack any country or to shelter or train terrorists, or to plan or to finance terror- ist acts, and reiterate the impor- tance of combating terrorism in Afghanistan. “We denounce the use of terrorist proxies and empha- sised the importance of deny- ing any logistical, financial or military support to terrorist groups which could be used to launch or plan terror attacks, including cross-border attacks. We stand together in support of Afghan nationals, and call on the Taliban to provide safe passage to any person wishing to leave Afghanistan, and to ensure that the human rights of all Afghans, including women, children, and minorities are respected,” the joint statement released after the summit said. This was major outcome of first in person summit between the Quad countries comprising India, US, Japan and Australia in Washington on Friday. The heads of state of these coun- tries, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga held talks for more than two hours. The summit was hosted by Biden. Continued on Page 4 U S President Joe Biden has reiterated America’s sup- port for India’s permanent membership on a reformed United Nations Security Council and its entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group dur- ing his first in-person bilater- al meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. President Biden, in his talks with Prime Minister Modi, applauded India’s “strong leadership” during its UN Security Council Presidency in August 2021. “In this context, President Biden also reiterated US sup- port for India’s permanent membership on a reformed UN Security Council and for other countries who are impor- tant champions of multilateral cooperation and aspire to per- manent seats on the UN Security Council,” it said. President Biden’s support provides a big boost to India’s push for the reform of the pow- erful UN organ as India has been at the forefront of efforts at the United Nations to push for an urgent long-pending reform of the Security Council, emphasising that it rightly deserves a place at the UN high table as a permanent member. Continued on Page 4 A fter several rounds of dis- cussion with the high com- mand, a couple of them extend- ing till the wee hours, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Saturday met Governor Banwarilal Purohit here to submit the names of Ministers likely to be inducted into the new Cabinet and take oath on Sunday. Party sources indicated that those likely to be dropped from the previous Captain Amarinder Singh Cabinet include Balbir Singh Sidhu, Gurpreet Singh Kangar, Rana Gurmeet Sodhi, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and Sundar Shyam Arora. The new faces in the Cabinet are likely to be Pargat Singh, Kuljit Singh Nagra, Sangat Singh Gilzian, Raj Kumar Verka, Amarinder Raja Warring and Gurpreet Kotli. Sources indicated that the party has decided to retain Vijay Inder Singla, Manpreet Singh Badal, Brahm Mohindra, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Arunu Chaudhary, Razia Sultana and Bharat Bhushan Ashu from the Capt Amarinder Singh Government. Continued on Page 4 P akistan and India sparred at the United Nations General Assembly in New York with terror, Jammu & Kashmir, and human rights figuring in the centre of an acerbic blame game. While Pakistan called the Modi Government a “fascist” and responsible for unleashing Islamophobia in the region, India said its neighbour is an “arsonist” disguising itself as a “firefighter,” and nurtures ter- rorists in its backyard. Exercising its right of reply to Khan’s statements at the United Nations session, India said Pakistan has an established history and policy of harbour- ing, aiding and actively supporting terrorists. “Pakistan holds the ignoble record of hosting the largest number of terrorists proscribed by the UNSC (United Nations Security Council). Osama Bin Laden got shelter in Pakistan. Even today, Pakistan leadership glorify him as ‘martyr’”, First Secretary Sneha Dubey said on Friday. The entire world has suf- fered because Pakistan nurtures terrorists in its backyard, she said. “Regrettably, this is not the first time the leader of Pakistan has misused plat- forms provided by the UN to propagate false and malicious propaganda against my coun- try, and seeking in vain to divert the world’s attention from the sad state of his coun- try where terrorists enjoy free pass while the lives of ordinary people, especially those belong- ing to the minority communi- ties, are turned upside down,” she added. This strong retort came fol- lowing Prime Minister Imran Khan’s “virtual” address, where he had raised the issue of abro- gation of Article 370 in 2019 giving special status to Jammu & Kashmir as well as the death of separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Labelling the Modi Government as fascist, Khan also said, “It is unfortunate, very unfortunate, that the world’s approach to violations of human rights lacks even- handedness, and even is selec- tive. Geopolitical considera- tions, or corporate interests, commercial interests often compel major powers to over- look the transgressions of their affiliated countries.” Continued on Page 4 H ours after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) denied Mamata Banerjee per- mission to visit Rome to attend a world conference on peace, the Bengal Chief Minister on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he is “jealous” about the recognition she is getting the world over as a “Hindu” woman. Denying the permission to the Chief Minister, the MEA said the “event is not com- mensurate in status for partic- ipation by the Chief Minister of a State.” The Chief Minister had requested the Centre to allow her to take an industry delegation to Italy. Attacking the Prime Minister from a Bhawanipore Assembly by-election rally, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, “I had been invited to attend a world peace conference being held in Rome... the Italian Government had given special permission to me for attending the pro- gramme... which was likely to be attended by the likes of German Chancellor and Pope Francis... but this Government denied me the clearance saying that it was not a right pro- gramme for a Chief Minister to attend.” Continued on Page 4 T he USA has handed 157 artefacts and antiquities to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his ongoing visit to attend the United Nation’s General Assembly. The PM conveyed his deep appreciation for the repatria- tion of antiquities to India by the United States. The list of 157 artefacts includes a diverse set of items, ranging from the one and a half metre bas-relief panel of Revanta in sandstone of the 10th CE to the 8.5 cm tall, exquisite bronze Nataraja from the 12th CE. The items large- ly belong to the period of 11th CE to 14th CE as well as his- toric antiquities such as the copper anthropomorphic object of 2000 BC or the ter- racotta vase from the 2nd CE. Some 45 antiquities belong to Before Common Era. While half of the artifacts (71) are cultural, the other half consists of figurines which relate to Hinduism (60), Buddhism (16) and Jainism (9). Their make spreads across metal, stone and terracotta. The bronze collection primar- ily contains ornate figurines of the well-known postures of Lakshmi Narayana, Buddha, Vishnu, Siva Parvathi and the 24 Jain Tirthankaras and the less common Kankalamurti, Brahmi and Nandikesa besides other unnamed deities and divine figures. Continued on Page 4

Transcript of F? ^fde V_dfcV _ReZ`_d U`_¶e Via]`Ze 2W+ >`UZ - Daily ...

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

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

���������������� !������������������������ .�����������+������ ������ ���2� ������������+���3*4�����,����������������������������������������� �����)�)(��� ���������� �������������� ������������������������� ������������ �����.� �������������������� ���� ������������ �� ������������������ �5 ����������������������*6����������*��

�������

����� 7�8�#�%9!

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Sunday targeted

Pakistan and China in hisaddress to the United NationsGeneral Assembly (UNGA) bysaying that Afghanistan shouldnot be used by some countriesfor terrorism and that oceanlaws be used and not abused ashe sought the world body toincrease its relevance and effec-tiveness on issues like terrorismand proxy-war.

The Prime Ministeraddressed the 76th session ofthe United Nations GeneralAssembly at New York as thefirst speaker among the worldleaders gathered there.

While attacking Pakistanwithout naming it, the PrimeMinister sought to contrastthe neighbouring country’s“regressive thinking” of using“terrorism as a political tool”with India’s scientific and pro-gressive advancement that isnot only helping it but also theworld at large.

He said when Indian stu-dents in the 75th year of coun-try’s independence are ready-ing up to send 75 satellites inspace, the other side is goingbackwards and resorting to terrorism.

“Countries with regressivethinking that are using terror-ism as a political tool need tounderstand that terrorism is anequally big threat for them. Ithas to be ensured thatAfghanistan isn’t used to spreadterrorism or launch terrorattacks...” said Modi, in a warning to Pakistan.

The Prime Minister whovirtually took the UN body totask for not being pro-activesaid, “This needs to be ensuredthat the land of Afghanistan isnot to be used for terrorismand the delicate situation ofAfghanistan is not used as atool by some country”.

The Prime Minister in hisspeech delivered in Hindi inter-spersed with a “Sanskrit slok”of “Chanakya”, the ancientIndian political scientist, and aquote of nobel laureateRabindranath Tagore inBengali to convey to the UNthat it needs to take timely andeffective steps to counterthreats emanating from ter-rorism and regressive ideologies.

Focussing on Afghanistan,the Prime Minister referred to“Afghan women, children andminorities” saying “they needhelp” and “we will have to share responsibility”.

Modi said the entire worldshould use science-based ratio-nale and progressive thinkingas a medium of development.

Without mentioningChinese attempt to monopolisethe South China Sea and use itsmuscle to regulate it in itsfavour, the PM said oceanresources be used and notabused” and that they are life-time and belong to one and all.

“Our oceans are also ourshared heritage. That is why wehave to keep in mind that we

use our ocean resources, notabuse them. Our seas are a life-line to international trading.We need to protect them fromexpansion and exclusion.World communities must unit-edly raise their voice tostrengthen rule-based worldorder,” said Modi.

He spoke about “rule-based navigation” and urgedthe members of the UN body“to speak in one voice” aboutmaritime security.

Continued on Page 4

��� �'�:%

The Taliban hanged a deadbody from a crane in the

main square of Herat city inwestern Afghanistan, a witnesssaid on Saturday, in a gruesomedisplay that signalled a returnto some of the Taliban’s meth-ods of the past.

Wazir Ahmad Seddiqi,who runs a pharmacy on theside of the square, told TheAssociated Press that four bod-ies were brought to the squareand three bodies were movedto other squares in the city tobe displayed.

Seddiqi said the Talibanannounced in the square thatthe four were caught takingpart in a kidnapping and werekilled by police. It was notimmediately clear if the fourwere killed in a firefight withpolice or after their arrest.

There was no immediatecomment from the Taliban.

Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, oneof the founders of the Talibanand the chief enforcer of itsharsh interpretation of Islamic

law when they last ruledAfghanistan, told The AP thisweek that the hard-line move-ment will once again carry out

executions and amputationsof hands, though perhaps notin public.

Continued on Page 4

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

���"��������7�8�#�%9!;8'�9!7&.<7

Faced with growing assertive-ness by China in the Indo-

Pacific region, India, US, Japanand Australia resolved to resistany “coercion” and worktogether for ensuring peaceand prosperity in the regionand the world as a whole.

The four nations formingthe Quad grouping also agreedto coordinate their policiestowards Afghanistan and fur-ther deepen counter-terrorismand humanitarian co-operationin the months ahead in accor-dance with a UN SecurityCouncil resolution.

“We reaffirm that Afghanterritory should not be used tothreaten or attack any countryor to shelter or train terrorists,or to plan or to finance terror-ist acts, and reiterate the impor-tance of combating terrorism inAfghanistan.

“We denounce the use ofterrorist proxies and empha-sised the importance of deny-

ing any logistical, financial ormilitary support to terroristgroups which could be used tolaunch or plan terror attacks,including cross-border attacks.We stand together in supportof Afghan nationals, and call onthe Taliban to provide safepassage to any person wishingto leave Afghanistan, and toensure that the human rights ofall Afghans, including women,children, and minorities arerespected,” the joint statementreleased after the summit said.

This was major outcome offirst in person summit betweenthe Quad countries comprisingIndia, US, Japan and Australiain Washington on Friday. Theheads of state of these coun-tries, including Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, President JoeBiden, Australian PrimeMinister Scott Morrison andJapanese Prime MinisterYoshihide Suga held talks formore than two hours. Thesummit was hosted by Biden.

Continued on Page 4

����� 8'�9!7&.<7

US President Joe Biden hasreiterated America’s sup-

port for India’s permanentmembership on a reformedUnited Nations SecurityCouncil and its entry into theNuclear Suppliers Group dur-ing his first in-person bilater-al meeting with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

President Biden, in histalks with Prime MinisterModi, applauded India’s “strongleadership” during its UNSecurity Council Presidency inAugust 2021.

“In this context, PresidentBiden also reiterated US sup-port for India’s permanentmembership on a reformedUN Security Council and forother countries who are impor-tant champions of multilateralcooperation and aspire to per-manent seats on the UNSecurity Council,” it said.

President Biden’s supportprovides a big boost to India’spush for the reform of the pow-erful UN organ as India hasbeen at the forefront of effortsat the United Nations to pushfor an urgent long-pendingreform of the Security Council,emphasising that it rightlydeserves a place at the UN hightable as a permanent member.

Continued on Page 4

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

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

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

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

����� +9'7#!&'09

After several rounds of dis-cussion with the high com-

mand, a couple of them extend-ing till the wee hours, PunjabChief Minister Charanjit SinghChanni on Saturday metGovernor Banwarilal Purohithere to submit the names ofMinisters likely to be inductedinto the new Cabinet and takeoath on Sunday.

Party sources indicatedthat those likely to be droppedfrom the previous CaptainAmarinder Singh Cabinetinclude Balbir Singh Sidhu,Gurpreet Singh Kangar, RanaGurmeet Sodhi, Sadhu SinghDharamsot and Sundar ShyamArora. The new faces in theCabinet are likely to be PargatSingh, Kuljit Singh Nagra,

Sangat Singh Gilzian, RajKumar Verka, Amarinder RajaWarring and Gurpreet Kotli.

Sources indicated that theparty has decided to retainVijay Inder Singla, ManpreetSingh Badal, Brahm Mohindra,Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria,Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa,Arunu Chaudhary, RaziaSultana and Bharat BhushanAshu from the Capt AmarinderSingh Government.

Continued on Page 4

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

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

���� �������� "������ �'� ��������� ���� ������)�� ��'��������������"� �� ���� ���� � ��

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

����� 7�8�#�%9!

Pakistan and India sparred atthe United Nations General

Assembly in New York withterror, Jammu & Kashmir, andhuman rights figuring in thecentre of an acerbic blame game.

While Pakistan called theModi Government a “fascist”and responsible for unleashingIslamophobia in the region,India said its neighbour is an“arsonist” disguising itself as a“firefighter,” and nurtures ter-rorists in its backyard.

Exercising its right of replyto Khan’s statements at theUnited Nations session, Indiasaid Pakistan has an establishedhistory and policy of harbour-ing, aiding and actively supporting terrorists.

“Pakistan holds the ignoblerecord of hosting the largest

number of terrorists proscribedby the UNSC (United NationsSecurity Council). Osama BinLaden got shelter in Pakistan.Even today, Pakistan leadershipglorify him as ‘martyr’”, FirstSecretary Sneha Dubey said on Friday.

The entire world has suf-fered because Pakistan nurturesterrorists in its backyard, she said.

“Regrettably, this is notthe first time the leader ofPakistan has misused plat-forms provided by the UN topropagate false and maliciouspropaganda against my coun-try, and seeking in vain todivert the world’s attentionfrom the sad state of his coun-try where terrorists enjoy freepass while the lives of ordinarypeople, especially those belong-

ing to the minority communi-ties, are turned upside down,”she added.

This strong retort came fol-lowing Prime Minister ImranKhan’s “virtual” address, wherehe had raised the issue of abro-gation of Article 370 in 2019giving special status to Jammu& Kashmir as well as the deathof separatist leader Syed AliShah Geelani.

Labelling the ModiGovernment as fascist, Khanalso said, “It is unfortunate,very unfortunate, that theworld’s approach to violationsof human rights lacks even-handedness, and even is selec-tive. Geopolitical considera-tions, or corporate interests,commercial interests oftencompel major powers to over-look the transgressions of theiraffiliated countries.”

Continued on Page 4

*� ��+������ +��#��,� '���'��"��������-�� .�'���'���

�������������� �<%�'.'

Hours after the Ministry ofExternal Affairs (MEA)

denied Mamata Banerjee per-mission to visit Rome to attenda world conference on peace,the Bengal Chief Minister onSaturday launched a scathingattack on Prime MinisterNarendra Modi saying he is“jealous” about the recognitionshe is getting the world over asa “Hindu” woman.

Denying the permissionto the Chief Minister, the MEAsaid the “event is not com-mensurate in status for partic-ipation by the Chief Minister ofa State.” The Chief Minister hadrequested the Centre to allowher to take an industry delegation to Italy.

Attacking the PrimeMinister from a BhawaniporeAssembly by-election rally,Chief Minister Mamata

Banerjee said, “I had beeninvited to attend a world peaceconference being held inRome... the Italian Governmenthad given special permission tome for attending the pro-gramme... which was likely tobe attended by the likes ofGerman Chancellor and PopeFrancis... but this Governmentdenied me the clearance sayingthat it was not a right pro-gramme for a Chief Minister to attend.”

Continued on Page 4

�����/� ����������)����������%� ���"��0���� �����1�����'������#� ���+���

����� 7�8�#�%9!

The USA has handed 157artefacts and antiquities to

Prime Minister Narendra Modiduring his ongoing visit toattend the United Nation’sGeneral Assembly.

The PM conveyed his deepappreciation for the repatria-tion of antiquities to India bythe United States.

The list of 157 artefactsincludes a diverse set of items,ranging from the one and a halfmetre bas-relief panel ofRevanta in sandstone of the10th CE to the 8.5 cm tall,exquisite bronze Nataraja fromthe 12th CE. The items large-ly belong to the period of 11thCE to 14th CE as well as his-

toric antiquities such as thecopper anthropomorphicobject of 2000 BC or the ter-racotta vase from the 2nd CE.Some 45 antiquities belong toBefore Common Era.

While half of the artifacts(71) are cultural, the otherhalf consists of figurines whichrelate to Hinduism (60),Buddhism (16) and Jainism (9).

Their make spreads across

metal, stone and terracotta.The bronze collection primar-ily contains ornate figurines ofthe well-known postures ofLakshmi Narayana, Buddha,Vishnu, Siva Parvathi and the24 Jain Tirthankaras and theless common Kankalamurti,Brahmi and Nandikesa besidesother unnamed deities anddivine figures.

Continued on Page 4

'� ����� !�$���()*�� +� � ������������� ��� !����"#����������� $���"���������������%�&�'�����

2������'��� ������ �0����

()�����*����(%���%������*�� ��������������������������*�� �

��������� ����������������� ����������������� ���������������������������������� �������!�"� ����

=%����+��� �#�$ >*��%%&��,6�='� ��� ��� ����?� �����'���������

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

###$%��&'��( $)��

�'�,-�(($:71'���!7&����'.

�:70!��0��9@#�0'�'#�

.�,/0�*A<%+'7!+�'�9�+%<:#

+%<����%'�$'%B'�'!0$<0.

���12�3+�7.0��.<��<<7�'77<:7+��

7�8�+<<$�0'.!A��$<%!+@C��9'9

���������/������������ ���� -/� 0 +1������+ 2.��(

D.��#����$���� �����/���;���������� 4����5������ ������ �����;���������� ;

����������*������ *����+�,����-./�-0-1 ����� � �� ��

����������� ������ ������������������ ���������������������������������� �� ��!�� �����"��#����$���!%����&''((()� �����*(''&+(''(+,,�������������-�����*.&/'�"��������-0%1� ��������$�&)('/('�2��������*(')(&+3453((6+3455((����������7$����8�������%&)'(�)''"�����&�/�����92���:�;<�����=�;�����*�=��2������10>"2>�?1> ;��� )�((;��*������������*���@���*��� �61���� �"����*��$����6�������������*��A��������8��!-�����*+��.�����"��"������$�������.�B �>������8��!&))�('��C���������*(,))&)/+�++/�)/+�+++�)/+�++,�

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

'���2��������&

����������������� ���� ���� ��7��������� ������������E�����#���B�����7��������� 3�������F!��/�������� ���� ��!�������� ��� ��������� ��������� ���!�����������������������!���/�������� ��������'����!�� ���������� ������������������������������ ���� �������� 3����� ���� �!����������� ��������� ���� �8������ ������������������ ������� /������������F����������

����������������������� �������� ������������������ ��� ���� ���� ���F'��� ������������!�������������������������������� ����������� ����������� ���9���������������� ������� ����!������F����������%����,��� ����

E������������� �������������� ����� �����������F����� ���������������������� ����� ������������������.����� ����� ���� ���������������� ���� ��� ��������������������������������� ��������.����� �����/������������������������� ����������������!����� ������������!��������� ��������������� /������������������/�

�����F������&�������<����������������� ���������������� ����F!������������ �

���������������� ������������������������� ����� ������������������������ ������ ���� � ���������.��������������� ��������������������������������� ��������������!�����������������������������������������!�������� ������ ��� ��������������F������������������������ ��3��� ����F!���� /��������������� ���,)���� �������������������0���?����!��������������������!���������� ���� ��������������������9�������� ��� ��������������������������������������������������������������������������� ��������������9������� �������������� ���!��������������#��"�������������� ��������������������������������/��������������������������!���/��������� ����!���������������������������� ���.��������� ���� �����!��������� ����������!��������������������� ����F����������

������������� ����������������������� ��������F!�G��H������������ �������������������������������������������������� ����F���������

������#�� ������� ������#���� �������

����� ����������� �������������� �� ������������� ��# �����������+���� ��������������������������������������������

<�������� �������������� �� ������������� �������������������������������������F!�"������������������������������ ���/������� ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������!"������������������������������������������������������/������������� ������F�����

�������.�� ����������������3

���������������������� ���� ������ �����1���"��������������G���������F8�������������������� �������������� ����� ��������������� �������������G�����3������# ������������+���� I���������� ���������������� ������������&�� �������0�"������� �� �����'������* �F����������

������������F9�������������������������������������������������������������� ������������!����������������� ����������������������������������������������������9������ ����������� ���������������� ����������������������� �������� ��������������������������������������9�������� �������������� �������� ��������������������������� �������������� ����������F�

9������������������������� ������������������������������������ �����������������������/�F���������'����������&�����9������ �FB������� ����������������������!G�������������������������� ������������ ����������������F����������

�����'����������3� �/������������%�����J�'��/��

&�� ����/�������������3� ���� �������"� ������������/���������� � ������������������� ��������� ��������������������������������������� ��������������� ��������������!���������������������������������������������������K&�����"����.�/�/� L���������������� ������������������� ���/�����������/������ �

��� ����� ����������������� ���������������� ���� ������ ��������� �������������������� �����������������������������������������?� �������� ��������9� ����� ���������������������������� ������������ ����������� ��#���������������� �������������� ��������� ����������������� ������ ����������� ������� �� ��.������� �.���������������?����������� ���������� �� ��� ������8��������� ����������� ������������������������������ �������������� ����������������� ������/�� ��������������������������!������������ �������� �� ����� ����������������������������������������/�� ���3�/ ���������������� �������������������������/������� ������ ��� ������������� ��������������

�� �� ��������� ������������� ������

8������������������������������/������ M�8����������� �� ������������ � �����M

&�����"����.�/�/� �������������� �������������������N$��������������������������� ����������/��������%����� ��������������� �����?�� ������� ������������������������� ����� ����������������������� ��������� � ����������������� ������/���������������� �� ��8�������������������������� ������������� ���������������������������������������������� ���������/����������� �������������������� �����/�� �M�I���������������������������O��

� � � � � � � � �

)+,��+�#-,���������������������������������������������+,).�#��+)/+"#)���� �����������������%��������������������������������,�����'������������������How did you come on board for this show?

I auditioned two months before I got selected.I really liked the character when I auditioned butI had no expectations that I would be selected.

�What is the best part about playing Meet? The best thing is that I get to do so much and

I get to do so many new things which I haven’t donebefore as Ashi. I still don’t do those things as Ashibut Meet is quite different in that way. I get to doa lot of new experiments and get to learn a lot.

�Despite negativity around her— from hergrandmother— what keeps her motivated?

Here I relate to Meet a little bit because in myreal life also I try to focus on positive aspects andignore negativity. So, when I am playing Meet, itis like let grandma say whatever she wants to, I willbe happy. I practice that a lot in my real life too.My friends, my whole street loves me so much andthe memories I have with my parents, I spend mytime cherishing them rather than Dadi. Of courseI get hurt by what Dadi does but there are otherthings which Meet can focus on and move on.

�What were the challenges to play Meet and getthe Haryanvi accent correct?

I can give you a list of challenges. There werea lot! First of all, practicing riding a bike and bodylanguage were tough. Each and every scene thatI am doing like climbing on a window or anythingwhich involves some kind of stunt has been verychallenging for me because I am not thatadventurous in my real life nor have I doneanything of that sort before. If I am scared of doingsomething, I cannot express that because mycharacter is not that. I have never played cricketin my life, never ever held a cricket bat because Iused to hate it. And if I talk about getting theHaryanavi accent, I am still not sure about myability to speak it properly. Whenever I listen tomy voice talking in Haryanvi, I never like it. Butfew people from Haryana asked me if I am fromHaryana and that was like a huge compliment,which means I have achieved it. I have worked hardthough.

� I believe the track will lead to you— Meetmarrying Meet. What happens next. Can yougive us a sneak peek?

Yes that was the story. After that, it is like theguy doesn’t love the girl. There are a lot ofresponsibilities on the girl after she gets married.Before she had only one family to take care of butnow she has so much on her plate. You will for sureget to see some family drama but it would be inMeet’s style. It would be different. Meet is not aninnocent girl who would keep quiet if someone sayssomething to her. She speaks back too and she hasher own way to do things. You will see all thatdrama in Meet’s way and it is a great story ahead.

�How did you end up in acting?I don't remember really liking anything else

apart from acting and dancing. The glamourindustry has always attracted me since I was verysmall. I always wanted to be an actress and stars

worked in my favour. I came toMumbai for schooling, later myparents pushed me to do anacting course. But they alsoasked me to stop and I couldnot stop because theytriggered my childhoodwish and it was quite toughto lose all that. So, I juststarted giving auditionsand stars worked in myfavour.

�You have done a fre musicvideos. How has this experiencebeen? How much fun has itbeen?

It has been a good experience. Infact the shooting for music videos is a oneday or two days shoot. I really like to meetpeople, I like to go out.

When I do music videos, I meet a lotof new people. It is not like shooting fordaily soap where you meet the same setof people everyday, which is also ablessing in itself because they become yourfamily. Only drawback is that you don’tget to meet new people. While doingmusic videos, you go out, you exploremore and you get to learn new things.So, it is like a life experience. Moreover,working for a music video you canexperiment on yourself which youcannot always do in terms of yourlooks and character.

�How much do you relate to Meet?There are things where I do not

relate to Meet at all. Meet is verydifferent from me, whatever she doesI never did or do that in real life.But yes, we think alike and I relateto her in that aspect a lot. I haverealised that it is Ashi’s characterwhich I have given to Meet interms of thinking positively.

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

�������4���������������������

���#��������������������� �� ������������������������������ ��������������/��������� ������� ��.����������������������7�� ��$������<+!'%����������������������������������� ���� ����5���������/������������� �����"��������������������8����������� �� �������/����7=��������������� ��� ��������������B>%#�� ������������������8����� ��������������� �������������� �������������������/������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P��('� B��������5���7�� ��$������������#�������6���������� �,6������������� �,���,),*��7���-��������*���

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

E���.A�������� ��������������/���������������������

������������� ������ ����������� ����������������������������� � ������� ������������ ���� ���/��'����K������ �'�������L�$ �����K� ����1��L��0����K$"����� "��L��'������K0������$�����L�.����K%�����1�����L��0���� K� ����������L�����$ ����KB������+����/� L��'����J$ ���������� ������ ������ �������/������� �����/����� ��������������/��������������������������� ����������0��������$ ���������/�������� ������������������� ��������'��������� ������������ /���� ����������/���/�������� ������������� ��������� �����������������������!�������������������� ������������������������������� �������������� ����������������������������� ���������� ����������� ��� ��� ������������������������� � /������ ������������������

$"������ "����/��0����������������������� �� ���������������������������������� �������������������"������� ���������� �������������� ��������� � ����������� �� ������������������������������� ���������������� ������������������������.����� �������� �����������/������

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

'��$"������ "��� �������F. ���������������� ������3����������������������������� ������������ ������ �������������������������������������������� ��������� ��������� ������������������� ��!�/���������������!��������� ��������� ���!�������

��� ��� ������� ������������� ��������������� ������� ������������������������ ��� ����� �������!�/�������������� ������������������� ������ ���������3���������������� �����8������������������� �������������� ������������������� �����������������!���������� �������������9��������"���������������������� ���.���������� ����������������

������������������������ ��� �������� ������ ���������� ��� �� ���9������ �� ���������������������������� ���!�9���������������������!�������������� ���� �������������������� �����������������������������������G��������������� ���������������������!������� �������������������������������� ��������� ��#����������������������� ������ �������� ���������������������������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������!������������������'��!����������������� �� �*(���� ���!���� ������������������������������������ ��������������������������������� ����������!�� ���������������������� ��������������� ��� �!������8�� �������������� G���� �� ������������ ���������� ����� �������� ����������!�����������������/�������������������� �����F

8�����$"������ "������������� ���3�� ���� ���������������� ������������ ��3�� ������ ���� �3�0��������������������������������������������$ ��������0���� ��8���������������������?�M�8������������������� ������ �����������$ ���������0���� M< ����$ ���������0���� G������������ ��� M

����3���������������������������������'�����������9� ������������/���

�������� ��<� ��� ����9� ��/��A�� ������������������������������������������������ ��.���������������"��������������� ���������������������� ���� ������������� /� �����������������������.�������������������������/��������� ������A�� K'������/�7����L��������������� �������/ ���� �����K'"���&���L�����������������������A�� ��!������������� �������� �������� �����������9� ������������������������������������������������������������� �����������������/���������� ������������������� ������������������� �����������������.�������������������������� �� ����A�� ������������ ���� ��������������������������� �� ����� ������������������������ ���������������

'������/�7���������/��������������������������������������������N!�����/�����������������A�� ��������������/���������� ������������� ������������ �������9� ���������� ��������������� /� �������8���

���/ ���� ���������������������� �����A�� ����������� ������� � ��������������������������������9� ���������������������������/�������������������������� ���9�������� ������������ ��������/������������������������������������� �������������������������������������?�������� � ����� �����������9� ���������������������������� �����<��������������� ������������9� ������������������� /� ����������� �������O

��� ���������?�������������������������������� ���� �����������N8����!��� ���������������������������������������������� �������������������!������ � ����������� ��?�������B������������������������!������������� ������� ��������������������������������� ������!

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

��������������� ������������!����� ������9� ����� �� �������� ������ �9� ���������������� /������������������?��������� �����������/��������������?���������H������������������������O��

'������/�7��������/������������� ��� �������������N!������� ��������� ���

������������������������ ����������!��������?�� ���� ���������� �������"���������������� ���� ������������"� �����������!������������� ������� ���� ���������������������������������������������� �������� ������� �O

'��� ������� ���� ������������������������������������� �������������.�������� ����$��������������$��������'�������� �������������������������������������<������������������� �����������������

�� ������ ��������� ����� �����

� �������/����� �� �����������������

�����������������/����������� �������.�� ������������ �������� ����������������������<����������3������ �������������������/�����������������������������������'������������������������������� �������������������� �������������8�������������������� �������� ���� ��������� ���� ��������� �����"����� �������.����������� ���������/���������������������'���������������� ��������������� ����('� .���� ������' �����5���<���������6���������� �,6��,),*��7��� ���

������8���������������������

9�����������/����������������� ��:�3

�� ���!����!���� �

�"�� ���#����� ���� � #���$ % �"��"���� �� &� �#��� �� �������"��'�� �� ��

���!�$ (� �������'�� �� �� �����!��!�� �� &!� %

����)� *!��

‘People asking me if I am from Haryana is a compliment’

����������*������ *����+�,����-./�-0-1 #���� �+

��������������� 7�8�#�%9!

The Delhi Police heightenedits security arrangements

on Saturday in the courts acrossthe national Capital, a dayafter jailed gangster JitenderMann alias Gogi and twoassailants were killed inside thecourtroom in a dramaticshootout. Police said that onlyvehicles with allotted stickerswill be allowed to enter the

court premises and lawyersand litigants will be thorough-ly checked.

“Adequate personnel havebeen deployed inside and out-side the court to ensure nountoward incident takes placein the future. Concerns havealso been raised about func-tioning of metal detectors inthe court premises and thematter has been taken up withthe court administration,” said

as senior police official.Video footage of the inci-

dent, which exposed securitylapses in the system, showedpolicemen and lawyers rushingout in panic as gunshots rangout inside courtroom number207.

Although metal detectorswere at the gates of the court,it was not known whether theywere working or not, and howthe armed men could get past,

raising questions about securi-ty arrangements.

According a police official,when it comes to checkingand frisking, it has beenobserved that lawyers do notwant to be frisked and that wasa major problem faced.

“It is not limited to Rohinicourt alone as this has beenobserved in other lower courtsas well. But we are in touch

with the Bar Association ofRohini court and they are alsocooperating,” he said.

On Saturday, following theincident, Bar Council of DelhiChairman Rakesh Sherawat,along with other officials, hadalso met Delhi PoliceCommissioner Rakesh Asthanaon Friday to discuss the secu-rity situation.

“An elaborate review of

the existing security arrange-ments is being done andaccordingly, a new set of secu-rity measures will be put inplace very soon.

Emphasis will be laid onimproving CCTV surveillance,frisking and deployment ofarmed police personnel oneach floor of the court buildingis also being considered,” saidpolice.

� �� �&������ � ��������&�������$������� �,�$ � �������

���������������7�8�#�%9!

Following the dramaticshootout in Delhi’s Rohini

Court on Friday, lawyersabstained from work in all dis-trict courts in Delhi onSaturday.

According to SanjeevNasiar, the spokesperson ofCoordination Committee ofal l District Courts BarAssociations in Delhi, nowork took place in the dis-trict courts, except urgentmatters such as bail and custody extension, as thelawyers did not appear beforejudges.

On Friday, the strike wascalled by the committee seek-ing modification of securitynorms inside all the seven dis-trict courts premises here.

“The courts, however,passed orders and judgmentsthat were already scheduledfor Saturday,” said Nasiar.

A team of lawyers alsomet the commissioner ofpolice on Saturday and dis-cussed matters related to secu-rity, Nasiar said.

Advocate ManjeetMathur, the secretary ofRohini District Courts BarAssociation, said that thestrike was peaceful and noinformation regarding anyunpleasant incident wasreceived from any of the sevencourts premises.

The advocates also did nottake part in any virtual orphysical hearings in other district courts - Rouse Avenue,Tis Hazari, Dwarka, Saketand Karkardooma.

��������������� 7�8�#�%9!

With an aim to determinethe prevalence of anti-

bodies among the populace, asmany as 28,000 samples will becollected from across thenational Capital for the seventhCovid serosurvey, Delhi HealthMinister Satyendar Jain said onSaturday.

Jain said “A total of 280wards will be surveyed and 100samples will be collected fromeach ward. This serosurveywill take around two weeks tocomplete, wherein the samplecollection will take one weekand the results will take anoth-er week to come.”

The samples will be col-lected in a week. It will takeanother week to prepare thereport, Jain added.

The survey got underwayon September 24. A large seg-ment of the city population hasalready received anti-coron-avirus vaccine doses. The pre-vious survey was conducted afew months ago when Delhiwas reeling under the brutalsecond wave of the pandemic.

Delhi has a population ofover 2 crore spread across 11districts. According to Delhi’svaccination bulletin issued onFriday, over 1.67 crore doseshave been administered to date

and it includes over 1.1 crorefirst doses and over 51 lakh sec-ond doses.

The fifth serosurvey whichwas conducted this year foundthat over 56% of Delhi’s popu-lation was exposed to viralinfection.

According to the experts,high seropositivity is expectedto be found in this serosurvey.Talking about Corona in Delhi,only 24 cases were reported onSeptember 24, with a positivi-ty rate of 0.03 per cent.

Also, no deaths because ofCovid were reported in Delhion Friday.

The first sero-prevalence

survey conducted last yearfrom June 27-July 10 by theDelhi Government in associa-tion with the National Centrefor Disease Control, had used21,387 samples and found thataround 23 per cent of the peo-ple surveyed had exposure tothe novel coronavirus.

The exercise in August2020 showed 29.1 per cent ofpeople had coronavirus anti-bodies. In the surveys ofSeptember and October lastyear the figures stood at 25.1per cent and 25.5 per centrespectively.

The exercises have beenundertaken for a comprehen-sive assessment of the Covid-19 situation in Delhi and to for-mulate strategies based on itsfindings.

���'����'������ �'���� ������������0�1����

�������������� ��������

��������������� 7�8�#�%9!

Under the series of pro-gramme to celebrate 75th

years of Indian Independencein the form of ‘Azaadi KaAmrit Mahotsav’ on theme of‘Swachhata’ activities, NewDelhi Municipal Council(NDMC) organised aSwachhata Rally focused on“Say No To - Single Use Plastic“ in and around area of SarojiniNagar market and residentialcolonies, New Delhi.

NDMC Vice ChairmanSatish Upadhyay appealed tothe traders’ association toensure every shopkeepershould drop the garbage in thenearby dustbin instead of foot-path or roadside to make thecity neat, clean and environ-ment friendly.

He also urged the shop-keepers that they will neitherlitter nor let others litter, so asto set an example for visitors ofmarkets.

The member of NDMCVishakha Sailani urged allshopkeepers and traders to beactive in reducing the single useof plastic and help in achievingNDMC’s first rank in theupcoming Swachh Sarvekshan

���������������7�8�#�%9!

As many as 27 fresh casesof the Covid-19 reported

in the national Capital onSaturday while the positivityrate stands at 0.04 per cent,according to data shared bythe health department of theDelhi government.

According to the bul-letin the total number offatalities stands at 25,085,while the cumulative casetally has reached 14386885.At least 68,498 tests, includ-ing 46,555RTPCR/CBNAAT/TrueNattests, were conducted in thelast 24 hours,” it said.

Three fatalities due tothe coronavirus infectionhave been reported in thenational capital this month -- one each on September 7,September 16 and September17.

As per the bulletin, out of11,804 available beds in hos-pitals, 219 are occupied as onSaturday while the rest arevacant. As many as 1413221

people have either been dis-charged, have recovered ormigrated out, it added.

Forty eight cases werereported in Delhi OnThursday with a positivityrate of 0.07 per cent, while onWednesday, 30 cases werelogged with a positivity rateof 0.04 per cent. On Tuesday,39 cases were recorded witha positivity rate of 0.06 percent.

The daily case count haddropped to 17 on September13, with no death beingrecorded, while the positivi-ty rate stood at 0.04 per cent,according to official figures.

In order to deal with thepossible third Covid-19 wave,the Delhi government hastaken a number of measuresincluding doubling the num-ber of ‘Intensive Care Unit’(ICU) beds since the lastwave. The city governmenthas been ramping up healthinfrastructure to prevent arepeat of the crisis witnessedduring the peak of the secondwave of the pandemic inApril-May.

��������������� 7�8�#�%9!

Delhi Congress presidentAnil Kumar said that only

the Congress worked for theprogress and welfare of theDalit community to enablejoining the mainstream society,while others only tried toexploit them and marginalisethem.

Addressing a DalitPanchayat of intellectuals at theAmbedkar Bhawan, Kumarsaid that that from MahatmaGandhi to Pandit JawaharlalNehru, Indira Gandhi, RajivGandhi and Rahul Gandhi,Congress has a history ofputting Dalits at key positionsin the Government and in theparty, and also enable themdevelop not only in the servicesector, but also in many otherareas of life, including busi-nesses.

Kumar said that for thepast seven years, atrocities onDalits have increased, and theBJP-ruled MunicipalCorporations of Delhi and theArvind Government made thelives of the Dalits miserable, as

the sanitation workers had togo on strike to get their wagesand the Covid Warriors amongthe Dalits who died on the lineof duty were not given anycompensation.

AICC In-charge of DelhiShakti Sinh Gohil said thatunder the present ruling dis-pensations, Dalits are being

exploited and suppressed andthe BJP Government was mak-ing every effort to underminethe constitutional rights of theDalit community.

He said that youths are thefuture of the country, but theyare now staring at an uncertainfuture due to rising unem-ployment, with Delhi topping

the list of the unemployed. On the occasion, Congres

Delhi unit vice presidentJaikishan said that ever sincethe Modi Governmentassumed power at the Centreand the Arvind Government inDelhi, attacks on Dalits, par-ticularly Dalit women and chil-dren have been on the rise and

attempts were being made tosubjugate the community toprevent them from raising theirvoice against atrocities onthem. Jaikishan said that it wasthe Congress Governmentwhich gave equal rights to theDalit community and helpedthem progress through educa-tion after independence.

Gurugram: Following anenquiry into the matter inwhich the construction anddemolition (C&D) waste plantoperator who had completelysublet its work to a third party,is yet to respond to the show-cause notice to the MunicipalCorporation of Gurugram(MCG) even after two weeks.

A notice was issued by thecivic body asking IL&FS com-pany to explain why actionshould not be taken against it.

The company, instead ofreplying, has sought more timeto file its reply again.Corporation CommissionerMukesh Kumar Ahuja has nowgiven the company time to fileits reply by September 27.

Apart from this, no actionhas been taken on behalf of thecorporation till now against thecompany which is illegally lift-ing construction waste andcharging from the people.

The work of disposal ofdebris on behalf of theMunicipal Corporation hasbeen signed with the Companybut the company sublet itswork to some other agencywhich is against the agree-ment.During the probe it foundthat the company gave thecontract to a third party, com-pletely flouting the contractnorms.

������������ ��������� ��������������

3�� ��+�����&���������"�%�� ��������������� ������� ������$ � �� ���������� ��)�!�� �%� �� �� ��������������"��'����%������0�������� ���� �� � #

0���������'��!������'��'�� �+���'��� ������3�����'����%� �� �� ��������������"��'����%�������0�������� ���� �� � #

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

#2���������+������������

������������������������

-40�� ���!� ��!�� ������������!�������-�����'�

����������������%���2����0�)����

����� �,����������*������ *����+�,����-./�-0-1

����� .9!0:A'7'7.9'$:0'B

In a major child-friendly initiative,Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi

Vijayan on Saturday announcedsetting up of "digital de-addictioncentres" in the State to bring childrenaddicted to online games into themainstream society.

He also declared 20 more policestations as 'child-friendly', taking thetotal of such stations to 126 in thesouthern state. Vijayan made the sig-nificant announcements while inau-gurating the newly constructed orrenovated buildings under the policedepartment via online. The policeforce has been able to lay a specialmark in terms of public service

through their exemplary work, hesaid, adding that they could provethrough experience that they wereahead of others in serving

people. "Digital de-addictioncentres will be set up at the behestof police to bring children addictedto online games into the mainstreamof society," the CM said while detail-ing various programmes of thepolice department. His statementassumes significance in the wake ofa handful of incidents of childrenfalling into the trap of online gamesreported in the state in recent times.Impressive achievements could bemade in providing basic infrastruc-ture facilities for police in the last fiveyears, he added. ������!�������!����"� !������"���+���� ���"�������$� ���+�����5����������'����� ���� ��� � #

0 ! �����6��� � ����� $ ������� ������� �!���� �7����

Dehradun: The Uttarakhand's Department ofReligious Affairs on Saturday said the pilgrimsregistered for the Chardham yatra can fill in forthose 'yatris' who fail to turn up on the appoint-ed date despite being registered on theDevasthanam Board portal.

The order followed complaints that fewerthan the prescribed daily limit for pilgrims forthe four temples were visiting them, religious andpilgrimage secretary Hari Chandra Semwalsaid. The daily prescribed limit of yatris forBadrinath is 1,000, 800 for Kedarnath, 600 forGangotri and 400 for Yamunotri. CommissionerGarhwal, Devasthanam Board CEO and theDistrict Magistrates of Chamoli, Rudraprayagand Uttarkashi have been asked to comply withthe order with immediate effect. PTI

Jammu: A former terrorist ofHizbul Mujahideen was arrestedafter a long hunt of 19 years inKishtwar district of Jammu andKashmir, police said on Saturday.

Dulla alias “Jameel”, a resi-dent of Arnas village in Reasi, wasthe third former militant turnedabsconder arrested by police inKishtwar in the past 11 days, theysaid. A police spokesman said aspecial police party, on specificinformation, carried out raids atvarious suspected locations andarrested Dulla who was present-ly putting up at Kundwar villagein Chatroo area.

Dulla was wanted in a mili-tancy-related case registeredagainst him at police stationChatroo in 2002 but was evadingarrest, he said. PTI

&������������������%�������%����������%�������� ��� �

�?39�2����� �� ��������1Q�G��������

From Page 1German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Pope Francis and Italian

Prime Minister Mario Draghi were likely to attend the pro-gramme centred on Mother Teresa who lived and died inKolkata. Attacking the Prime Minister for denying a “Hinduwoman” the chance to attend the programme, Banerjee said thePrime Minister always spoke about Hinduism but when it cameto practice he would not allow a Hindu woman to do her job.

“You (read Modi) always talk about Hindus and Hinduismbut here you did not practice what you speak I am also a Hinduwoman who you stopped from visiting a world programme â�¦this is because you are totally jealous (about me),” Banerjee saidadding, “You (Prime Minister) will not be able to stop me likethis â�¦ I will continue to do my work without fear.”

A visibly angry Chief Minister said she was not going toItaly for tourism but for a specific purpose. “I was not goingthere as a tourist â�¦ My visit to that country only would haveenhanced India’s respect as a nation,” she said adding unlikemany other Chief Ministers she always would make it a pointto seek central clearance for a foreign visit but “today the MEAdenied the permission.”

From Page 1Since the Taliban overran

Kabul on August 15 and seizedcontrol of the country, Afghansand the world have been watch-ing to see whether they will re-create their harsh rule of thelate 1990s. The group’s leadersremain entrenched in a deeplyconservative, hard-line world-view, even if they are embrac-ing technological changes, likevideo and mobile phones.

From Page 1The motifs include reli-

gious sculptures from Hinduism(Three-headed Brahma, ChariotDriving Surya, Vishnu and hisConsorts, Siva asDakshinamurti, DancingGanesha, etc), Buddhism(Standing Buddha, BoddhisattvaMajushri, Tara) and Jainism(Jain Tirthankara, PadmasanaTirthankara, Jaina Choubisi) aswell as secular motifs(Amorphous couple inSamabhanga, Chowri Bearer,Female playing drum, etc).

There are 56 terracottapieces (Vase 2nd CE, Pair ofDeer 12th CE, Bust of Female14th CE) and an 18th CE swordwith sheath with inscriptionmentioning Guru HargovindSingh in Persian.

From Page 1“We have to protect our

oceans are lifeline of interna-tional trade. We have to pro-tect them from race for expan-sionism and exclusion. Theworld will have to raise col-lective voice against suchmoves for a rule-based worldorder,” he said.

China claims nearly all ofthe disputed South China Sea,although Taiwan, thePhilippines, Brunei, Malaysia,and Vietnam all claim parts ofit. It has built artificial islandsand military installations in theSouth China Sea and also hasterritorial disputes with Japanin the East China Sea.

Modi said that it is essen-tial to strengthen the UnitedNations to protect the globalorder, global laws and globalvalues.

In mid-way his address,the Prime Minister quoted“Chanakya” of the book“Arthshastra” fame, saying ifone does not act in time on an

issue, the time itself finishes it’srelevance and asked UN to“increase its effectiveness andreliability” as he said manyquestions are being raisedagainst it.

Modi said UN’s dealingwith issues like “Climatechange, terrorism, proxy-war...” have seen “deepening ofthese questions”.

Prime Minister quotedTagore to direct the world-body to act “fearlessly” whichwould remove all doubts aboutits actions.

Alluding to the regressivethinking around, PrimeMinister said his country ispromoting scientific and pro-gressive thinking among its cit-izens. Modi said that the dan-gers of regressive thinking andextremism are increasing inthe world. “To strengthen sci-ence-based approach, India ispromoting experience-basedlearning. We have openedthousands of Atal TinkeringLabs across schools,” PrimeMinister said.

“In these circumstances,

the whole world has to makescience-based, rational andprogressive thinking, the baseof their development pro-grammes,”

Earlier, the Prime Ministerprefaced his address by sayinghe represents a country“known as “mother of democ-racy” with a 1000 years her-itage of democratic system, val-ues and immense culturaldiversity.

Modi thereafter spokeabout humongous challengethrown by Covid19 and thedeaths and suffering caused byit around the globe. He paid histributes to those who lost theirlives in last one and a half year.

“For the last 1.5 years, theworld has been grappling withthe worst disease in 100 years,”he said and detailed India’scontribution to help-outcivid19 situation around theworld and it’s production ofvaccines.

While stressing thatdemocracy is “the best”, hesaid, “The strength of ourdemocracy is demonstrated

by the fact that a little boy, whowas helping his father at a teastall in India, is addressing theUNGA for the fourth time asPrime Minister of India”.

The Prime Minister at thevenue was accompanied byForeign Minister S Jaishankar,National Security advisor AjitDoval , Indian ambassador tothe USA and a host of top for-eign Ministry officials.Jaishankar described PrimeMinister’s speech “powerfuland impactful”.

“Powerful and impactfuladdress by PM @naren-dramodi to the UN GeneralAssembly today. 12 big policytakeaways: 1. Representing theMother of Democracy andbased on his own experiences,PM affirms that democracycan deliver, democracy hasdelivered”, he tweeted soonafter Modi’s address.

Modi met Indian diaspo-ra outside his hotel at NewYork before leaving for theJohn F Kennedy InternationalAirport from where he depart-ed for India.

From Page 1Besides pledging to ensure

peace and security in the Indo-Pacific, the four nationsannounced a slew of new ini-tiatives to take on commonchallenges, amidst muscle flex-ing by an assertive China in thestrategic region.

In a way, Quad would playthe role as “Force for Globalgood,” Modi said in his shortaddress and exuded confidencethat this cooperation by thefour democracies will ensurepeace and prosperity in theIndo-Pacific region and theworld.

Modi was the first leaderinvited by host President JoeBiden to address the first in-person Quad gathering in theEast Room of the WhiteHouse.

Opening the summit,Biden said the four democra-cies have come together totake on common challengesfrom Covid to climate. “Thisgroup has democratic part-ners who share world viewsand have common vision forthe future,” he said.

“When we met six monthsago, we made a concrete com-mitment to advance our sharedpositive agenda for free andopen up the session. Today, weare proud to say that we’re mak-ing progress,” Biden said.

Australian Prime MinisterScott Morrison and hisJapanese counterpart were thetwo other leaders in the historicEast Room.

The vaccine initiative is ontrack, Biden said, adding thatthe Quad is taking action onclimate change with a newpartnership for zero emissionshipping.

“Today, we’re also launch-ing a new quad fellowship forstudents from each of our fivecountries to pursue advanceddegrees in leading science,technology engineering, andmathematics (STEM) pro-grammes through the UnitedStates,” Biden said. The fourcountries have a long history ofcooperation. “We know how toget things done. And we are upto the challenge,” he added.

Thanking Biden for hisinitiative to organise this his-toric first ever in-person Quad

Summit, Modi said the fourcountries came together for thefirst time in 2004 to extendsupport to the Indo-PacificRegion.

“Today, when the world isgrappling with the Covid-19pandemic, we are meeting onceagain as Quad and working inthe interest of humanity,” hesaid. The Quad vaccine initia-tive is going to provide a greathelp to the nations in the Indo-Pacific region,” he said.

“Based on our commondemocratic values, Quad hasdecided to move forward withpositive thinking,” he said. Beit supply chain or security, beit climate action or Covidresponse, or cooperation inthe field of technology, Modisaid he would be very happy totalk to the leaders at the meet-ing.

Morrison said the Indo-Pacific region should be freefrom coercion and disputesshould be solved in accor-dance with international law, ina veiled reference to China.

“We believe in a free andopen Indo Pacific, because weknow that the limits are strong,stable, and prosperous free-domâ�¦to realise their hopesand dreams to live in a liberalfree society,” he said.

Observing that there is nopart of the world that is moredynamic than the Indo-Pacificat this time, a region that hasextraordinary opportunity,Morrison said there are manychallenges that must be over-come.

Suga also stressed theimportance of the first ever in-person Quad Summit, saying“this event demonstrates strongsolidarity between our fournations and an unwaveringcommitment to a free andopen Indo-Pacific”.

“It gives me great pleasureto discuss with my friendswide ranging topics from sup-ply chains to global security,from climate action to Covidresponse, to cooperation inthe field of technology. A Quad,in a sense, will play the role ofa force for global good. I’m con-fident that our cooperation,under Quad, will ensure pros-perity and peace in the IndoPacific and in the world,” Modisaid.

From Page 1After meeting the

Governor on Saturday after-noon, Channi told reportersthe oath-taking ceremony forthe new Ministers will takeplace at 4:30 pm on Sunday.His meeting with the Governorcame barely hours after hereturned from Delhi havingheld a final round of discussionwith the party high commandon the Cabinet formation.

However, five legislators -- Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi,Sadhu Singh Dharamsot,

Balbir Singh Sidhu, GurpreetSingh Kangar and SunderSham Arora -- who wereMinisters in the AmarinderSingh-led Cabinet are likely tobe dropped, sources said.

A consensus on the namesfor the Channi-led Cabinet wasreached during his meetingwith Congress leader RahulGandhi and other senior partymembers in the nationalCapital. Channi was sum-moned to Delhi by theCongress high command onFriday to discuss the Cabinetformation. The visit came with-in hours of him returning from

the national capital.Sources informed The

Pioneer that the party highcommand was cautious to selectthe names for the Cabinet toavoid any further revolt or dis-satisfaction among the partyleaders, while maintaining bal-ance among all sections, cate-gories, regions, and castes.While deciding on the Cabinetexpansion, the Congress partyis working on three parameters- strengthening its social base,taking on board MLAs fromformer Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh’s camp, andcountering the anti-incumben-

cy factor.“Actually, the party is

working on three factors. It isselecting candidates in a waythat the party’s social base isstrengthened in Punjab to ben-efit it in the ensuing polls.Secondly, efforts are beingmade to reach out to the MLAsclose to Capt Amarinder Singhso that there would be noprotests in Punjab in future,especially when the formerChief Minister has alreadyrevolted openly against theparty,” said a senior partyleader, privy to the develop-ments.

From Page 1As regards Kashmir, the

Pakistani Prime Minister said, “NewDelhi has also embarked on what itominously calls the ‘final solution’ forthe Jammu and Kashmir dispute.” Healso alleged “gross and systematicviolations of human rights” by Indianforces.

He specifically mentioned the“forcible snatching of the mortalremains of the great Kashmiri leader,”Syed Ali Geelani, who died earlierthis month at 91. Khan called uponthe General Assembly to demandGeelani’s proper burial and rites. Healso said Pakistan desires peace, butit is India’s responsibility to mean-ingfully engage.

Imran said that post 9-11 therehas been a design by some right-wing fascist forces to unleash hatecampaign against Muslim all over theworld. He especially named the RSSand the BJP among such forces.

The Pakistan PM urged the UNSecretary-General to convene aglobal dialogue on countering the“rise of Islamophobia” to save theworld from another kind of terror-ism in the name of the rising phe-nomenon.

Accusing the BJP-led Indian

Government of toeing the “worstand most pervasive” form ofIslamophobia by unleashing a reignof fear and violence against India’s200 million-strong Muslim com-munity, Imran called for a “free andfair” plebiscite in disputed Jammuand Kashmir in accordance with theUN Security Council resolutions toresolve the long-running dispute.

He put the responsibility for theresumption of long-stalled peacetalks between the two neighbours onIndia. “The onus remains on Indiato create a conducive environmentfor meaningful and result-orientedengagement with Pakistanâ�¦. “ hesaid. Brushing aside these accusa-tions, First Secretary Sneha Dubeysaid in her speech at the UNGA,Pakistan holds an ignoble record ofhosting the largest number of ter-rorists proscribed by the UnitedNations.

She also reiterated that the entireUnion Territories of Jammu &Kashmir and Ladakh “were, areand will always be an integral andinalienable part of India”.

“Member States are aware thatPakistan has an established historyand policy of harbouring, aiding andactively supporting terrorists. This is

a country that has been globallyrecognised as one openly supporting,training, financing and arming ter-rorists as a matter of State policy. Itholds the ignoble record of hostingthe largest number of terrorists pro-scribed by the UN Security Council,”the diplomat said.

Underlining the democratic tra-ditions of India, she said unlikePakistan, India is a country with freemedia and an independent judicia-ry that keeps a watch and protectsour Constitution.

“Pluralism is a concept which isvery difficult to understand forPakistan which constitutionally pro-hibits its minorities from aspiring forhigh offices of the State. The leastthey could do is introspect beforeexposing themselves to ridicule onthe world stage,” she added.

India also strongly reiteratedthat the entire Union Territories ofJammu and Kashmir and Ladakh“were, are and will always be an inte-gral and inalienable part of India”.“This includes the areas that areunder the illegal occupation ofPakistan. We call upon Pakistan toimmediately vacate all areas underits illegal occupation,” Dubeysaid.

From Page 1India in June asserted that

the Inter-GovernmentalNegotiations (IGN) on UNSecurity Council reforms can nolonger be used as a smokescreen,as the General Assembly decid-ed to roll over the IGN work tothe next UNGA session andagreed to include an amend-ment proposed by the G4nations of Brazil, Germany,India and Japan. At present, theUNSC comprises five perma-nent members and 10 non-per-manent member countrieswhich are elected for a two-yearterm by the General Assemblyof the United Nations.

The five permanent mem-bers are Russia, the UK, China,

France and the United States andthese countries can veto any sub-stantive resolution. There hasbeen growing demand toincrease the number of perma-nent members to reflect the con-temporary global reality.

During his meeting withPrime Minister Modi, PresidentBiden also reaffirmed US sup-port for India’s entry to theNuclear Suppliers Group (NSG),the joint statement said.

The NSG is a 48-membergrouping which regulates glob-al nuclear commerce. Eversince India applied for the mem-bership of the NSG in May 2016,China has been insisting thatonly those countries which havesigned the Non-ProliferationTreaty (NPT) should be allowedto enter the organisation.

�����������888

������������333

'� ��888" ��� �����888

��� �� $$$

�����/� ����������)�����������666

()�����*����(%���%������*�� ��������������������333

*� ��+������666

���� ����

�����' �-����������*������ *����+�,����-./�-0-1

����� 7�8�#�%9!

Cautioning against terror-ism and citing the prece-

dence of violent radical forcestrying to gain legitimacy,Defence Minister RajnathSingh on Saturday said theneed of the hour for responsi-ble nations is to jointly fight thescourge of terrorism.

In this backdrop, Singhcalled for proactive synergyamong the Armed forces infuture military strategies andresponses to safeguard theinterests of the nation.

The defence minister saidthe bold approach of theGovernment on issues likeborder disputes and cross-border terrorism has madeIndia stronger in the recentpast and it has now assumed agreater global role and respon-sibility.

Making these observationsin his address at the NationalDefence College(NDC) here,Rajnath said the world is wit-ness the destabilising effects ofterror and the especially dan-gerous precedence of violentradical forces attempting togain legitimacy by creatingnew normal.

He said, now there is wide-spread realisation amongstresponsible nations to cometogether against the menace of

terrorism.Sharing his views on the

situation in Afghanistan,Rajnath said the developmentshave highlighted the reality ofour times. “The only certain-ty about evolving geopolitics isits uncertainty. Changes instate boundaries may not be asfrequent today. However, thefast-transforming structure ofstates and the influence thatexternal powers can have on itis clearly evident,” he said.

The minister emphasisedon the need to draw lessonsfrom the situation inAfghanistan, far beyond theimmediate reverberationsbeing felt in the region andbeyond.

“When these events areviewed, it is tempting to believethat terrorism, fear, medievalthoughts and actions, dis-crimination drawn on the basisof gender, practices that areseeped in inequality and dog-matic thought, can sweep asidethe wishes of the people, plur-al ideas and inclusive struc-tures.

Nothing can be farther

from reality. And human his-tory is a great teacher in thisregard. Injustice, howeverpowerful, cannot and will notdefeat the collective power ofthe goodness that is inherent tohuman existence. This senti-ment is evident from anincreasing number of worldcapitals which have lent theirvoice in favour of liberalism,inclusivity and respect forinternational norms of gover-nance and behaviour,” saidRajnath.

He reiterated that India isa peace-loving nation, but willgive a befitting reply to anyonewho threatens its integrity andsovereignty. “Threats to inter-nal and external security willno longer be tolerated. Ouractions in Balakot and Galwanare clear signals to all aggres-sors,” he said.

The NDC is the highestseat of strategic learning of thecountry. The prestigious andmuch sought-after interna-tional course at this collegeprovides a trans-disciplinaryand comprehensive approachto all aspects of national secu-

rity and strategy.Each course comprises of

experienced one star rank andequivalent officers from theArmed Forces, Civil Servicesand also officers from friend-

ly foreign countries. The one-year course enables the officersto qualify for an M Phil degreein Defence and StrategicStudies from the University ofMadras.

,�9��$� ���������� ��� !$���!� �������� ��

����� 7�8�#�%9!

Union Home MinisterAmit Shah will review the

security situation in Naxalaffected areas with ChiefMinisters of 10 States onSunday. Those who have beeninvited for the day-long phys-ical meeting are the chiefministers of Chhattisgarh,Maharashtra, Jharkhand,Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal,Telangana, Andhra Pradesh,Madhya Pradesh and Kerala.

Majority of the ChiefMinisters are attending thereview meeting while someStates are represented by theirHome Ministers, said MHAofficials.

The Union HomeMinister will review with theCMs the security situationand ongoing operationsagainst the Maoists in the 10Naxal-hit States.

Another agenda of themeeting is a review of thedevelopment works like construction of roads, bridges,schools and health centresbeing carried out in the Naxal-affected areas.

The top officials fromUnion Transport andHighways Ministry and

Telecom Ministry will alsoappraise on the developmentworks in these areas.According to the UnionHome Ministry data, Maoistviolence has reduced consid-erably in the country and themenace is prevalent now injust about 45 districts.

However, a total of 90 dis-tricts in the country are con-sidered Maoist-affected andare covered under the SecurityRelated Expenditure Schemeof the ministry. Naxal vio-lence, also called Left WingExtremism (LWE), wasreported in 61 districts in2019 and only about 45 dis-tricts in 2020.

About 380 security per-sonnel, 1,000 civilians and 900 Naxals havebeen killed in differentinstances of violence in LWE-affected areas from 2015 till2020.

A total of about 4,200Naxals have also surrenderedduring the same period,according to the data.

,����������4�����������%� $#�5�������+����

$&��!�������&��� �� � ��������! ������ ���������������������� ����0��� � ���! ��� ������������� �+�� �� �"�'�

����� 7�8�#�%9!

Days after creating theUnion Ministry of

Cooperation, its Minister AmitShah on Saturday said theCentre will soon come outwith a new cooperative policyand work in tandem with Statesto strengthen the cooperativemovement to ensure that theyplay a crucial role in makingIndia a USD 5 trillion econo-my.

Addressing the ‘NationalCooperative Conference’, Shahsaid, “This is the 75th year ofIndia’s independence, there-fore, as a part of the AmrutMahotsava, we will begin draft-ing the new cooperative poli-cy.”

The existing NationalPolicy on Cooperatives wasintroduced by the then NDAGovernment in March 2002.

The National CooperativeConference is the biggest eventsince the formation of theMinistry of Cooperation onJuly 6 2021. It was organised byvarious cooperative organisa-tions, including the IndianFarmers Fertiliser CooperativeLimited (IFFCO), NationalCooperative Federation ofIndia, Amul, Sahakar Bharti,NAFED and KRIBHCO.

Sharing plans of hisMinistry, Shah also announcedthat the Centre will soonamend the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002 tofacilitate the functioning ofthe multi-state cooperativesocieties.

Observing that 63,000

Primary Agricultural CreditSocieties (PACS) are not suffi-cient to cater the needs of sixlakh villages, Shah said, “Wewill set a target to establish aPACS in every second village inthe coming five years. Toincrease the number of PACSfrom 65,000 to 3 lakh, theMinistry of Cooperation willprepare a proper legal frame-work that will be advisory innature. We will send it to theState Governments. States canmake changes in their laws.”

Shah also sought to dispelapprehensions about the cre-ation of the Ministry ofCooperation.

He said, “Many people saythat this is a state subject. I don’twant to get into the Centre-state fight, a legal answer can begiven easily. I only want to saythat the Ministry ofCooperation, formed underthe leadership of Modi ji, is notto fight with anyone but tocooperate with all the states.

“Therefore, there is noneed to think whether it is astate subject or a central sub-ject. We can help everyone; wewill also help the states. we will

take everyone along and willtake the movement forward,”he said. Shah, who is also theUnion Home Minister, alsoannounced that the number ofprimary agriculture coopera-tive societies (PACs) will beincreased to 3 lakh in the nextfive years. Shah said that todaythere is a need to set up aNational CooperativeUniversity.

He also said that coopera-tives make an important con-tribution to the country’s devel-opment and the cooperativemovement has to be taken for-ward by imbibing the spirit ofcooperation in work

The path of developmentof crores of farmers, thedeprived, the Backward, Dalits,the poor, the neglected andwomen can only take placethrough cooperation, said theMinister.

��+��'���������������"����"'��!�� ��+������%� ���� �

� ��� ��! � �������� �����������&�!� �� #������ ��

�� (������� ������������

����� 7�8�#�%9!

The Congress on Saturdayextended support to the

“Bharat Bandh” call given byfarmer unions against theCentre’s three agri laws anddemanded that discussionsbe initiated with the protest-ers.

Congress spokespersonGourav Vallabh said theCongress and all its workerswill support the “peacefulBharat Bandh on September27, called by farmer unionsand farmers”.

“We demand that the dueprocess of discussion withthe farmers should be initiat-ed because they are sitting onthe borders of Delhi for last more than ninemonths. We demand thatthese three black laws, whichwere imposed without anyconsultation, should be takenback,” he said at AICC Pressconference.

The Congress leader alsodemanded that the MSPshould be given as a legalright to every farmer “as theydo not want only ‘jumlas’(rhetoric)” and referred to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s promise todouble the farmers’ income by2022.

-�"��7����!!�������8$� � �$ ��.�' ������ ����.���� ����� 7�8�#�%9!

The Supreme Court hasordered the extension

granted in connection withthe limitation period to filecases in courts, in the backdropof Covid pandemic situation, toend on October 2, 2021.

A bench headed by ChiefJustice N.V. Ramana and com-prising justices L. NageswaraRao and Surya Kant said: “Incomputing the period of limi-tation for any suit, appeal,application or proceeding, theperiod from March 15, 2020 toOctober 2, 2021, shall standexcluded. Consequently, thebalance period of limitationremaining as on March 15,2021, if any, shall become avail-able with effect from October3, 2021”.

The bench added that incases where the limitationwould have expired during theperiod from March 15, 2020 toOctober 2, 2021, notwith-standing the actual balanceperiod of limitation remaining,all persons shall have a limita-tion period of 90 days fromOctober 3, 2021. It further added that in theevent the actual balance period of limitationremaining, with effect fromOctober 3, 2021, is greaterthan 90 days, that longer peri-od shall apply.

�?�������������������� ���������������������<���,C��+

����� 7�8�#�%9!

The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) on

Saturday said it has frozenshares worth �700 crore ofKarvy Stock Broking Limited(KSBL) CMD C Parthasarathyand others as part of a moneylaundering investigationagainst the firm and its pro-moters.

Parthasarathy is current-ly lodged in the Chanchalgudajail of Hyderabad after beingarrested by the TelanganaPolice last month.

On September 22, the EDhad conducted searches at sixlocations in Hyderabad andon various premises of Karvygroup of companies, con-nected entities and the resi-dential premises of CParthasarathy, the agency saidin a statement.

“Several incriminatingevidences in the form of prop-erty documents, personaldiaries, electronic devices,email dumps, etc have beenseized and are being analysed,”it said.

“It is reliably learnt that CParthasarathy is trying to off-load his shares in the groupcompanies through privatedeals and thus, in order to pre-serve the proceeds of crime tillfurther investigation, ED has

issued a freezing order onSeptember 24 and the esti-mated value of these shareshas been arrived at �700 croreas per the valuation for theyear 2019-20,” it said.

These shares of the Karvygroup are being held “direct-ly and indirectly” by CMDComandur Parthasarathy, hissons Rajat Parthasarathy andAdhiraj Parthasarathy, andtheir entities.

The ED case, filed underthe Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA), isbased on a Telangana Police FIR alleging KSBL had“il legally pledged the securities of its clients andtaken a loan of Rs 329 croreand diverted the same.”

“Another FIR has beenregistered by central crimestation of Hyderabad Police for defraud-ing IndusInd Bank to thetune of �137 crore and onemore FIR has been registered

by Cyberabad Police author-ities for defrauding ICICIBank to the tune of �562.5crore,” it said.

The ED has clubbed allthese FIRs as part of its probeand has also recorded thestatement of C Parthasarathyin jail.

KSBL under the leader-ship of C Parthasarathy hadcommitted “gross irregulari-ties” and all the illegally takenloans have become NPA, theagency said.

The total loan proceedstaken from multiple banksusing the same modusoperandi is around �2,873crore, it said, adding that theNSE and SEBI are also inves-tigating the affairs of KSBL.

Prima facie, the ED said,a net amount of �1,096 crorewas transferred by KSBL to itsgroup company—Kar vyRealty (India) Ltd— betweenApril 1, 2016 and October 19,2019, it added.

"2�%���6���7$$���������%�/��'��.��

����� 7�8�#�%9!

After what has been anunusually active period of

activity in the Bay of Bengal—which saw the formation of asmany as six low-pressure sys-tems since the end of August2021 — the IndiaMeteorological Department(IMD) on Saturday warnedthat a low-pressure system inthe Bay of Bengal, which inten-sified as a deep depression, willturn into Cyclone Gulab (named by Pakistan) by Sundayevening.

This will be the thirdcyclone of 2021 after Tauktaeand Yaas that had formed inMay this year. Odisha, WestBengal and coastal AndhraPradesh have been put onhigh alert. The intensificationof this system into a cyclonicstorm is a highly unusualphenomenon, considering thetemperature across the Bay ofBengal remains too lowbetween the monsoonmonths of June to Septemberto support cyclone forma-tion.

Under the influence ofGulab and its remnant sys-tems, In the wake of theapproaching storm, the IMDhas forecast light to moderateintensity (2.4mm to 644mmin 24-hours) over WestBengal, Odisha and coastalAndhra Pradesh on Saturday.On Sunday, the Met Officehas warned of very heavy toextremely heavy rain(115.6mm to over 204.4mmin 24-hours) over southOdisha, north coastal AndhraPradesh.Heavy rain is likelyover Telangana, north interi-or Odisha, and Chhattisgarh.Due to rough sea conditionsand intense winds, fishermenhave been advised againstventuring into the sea tillMonday.

The National Crisis

Management Committee(NCMC) headed by CabinetSecretar y Rajiv Gaubareviewed the preparedness todeal with a cyclonic stormdeveloping in the Bay ofBengal and directed authori-ties to take all necessary mea-sures. It is likely to affect dis-tr icts of Sr ikakulam,Vizianagaram andVishakhapatnam in AndhraPradesh, and Ganjam andGajapati in Odisha.

Gauba stressed that allpreventive and precaution-ary measures should be takenby the concerned authoritiesof the State Governments andconcerned agencies of theCentre, before the cyclonicstorm makes landfall, as theaim should be to keep loss oflives to near zero and mini-mize damage to property andinfrastructure.

The Cabinet Secretaryassured the StateGovernments that all Centralagencies are ready and will beavailable for assistance. Thechief secretaries of Odishaand Andhra Pradesh apprisedthe NCMC of the preparato-ry measures being undertak-en to protect the population inthe expected path of thecyclonic storm as also mea-sures being taken to ensurethat there is minimal damageto infrastructure such as tele-com and power in the after-math of the storm.

The National DisasterResponse Force (NDRF)director general S N Pradhantweeted that the teams — 13in Odisha and five in AndhraPradesh — will be in place bySaturday night. The NDRFteams in Odisha will bedeployed in Balasore, Ganjam,Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput,Nayagarh and Malkangiri dis-tricts. In Andhra Pradesh,the teams will be deployed inVishakhapatnam, Srikakulam,Yanam and Vizianagaram. AnNDRF team usually has astrength of 47 personnel whoare equipped with tree andpole cutters, communicationgadgets, inflatable boats andbasic medical aid to rescueaffected people and to launchrelief operations.

So far, two storms haveformed in the season, first onebeing Cyclone Taute whichhad formed in the ArabianSea, between May 14 and 19,making a landfall at Diu. Theother one was Cyclone Yaasthat formed in the Bay ofBengal, around May 23 and28, which had crossed theOdisha coast.

Like most recent stormsthat have crossed Indiancoasts, this system, too, israpidly intensifying. In lessthan 48 hours, it intensifiedfrom a low pressure (windspeed less than 34kms/hr) toa deep depression (wind speed51 to 61kms/hr).

%(. "��� �� ��"/�����!��������� �� 0� �� 0�� �

����� 7�8�#�%9!

World Health Organisation(WHO) chief scientist

Soumya Swaminathan onSaturday said children havebeen less severely impacted bythe Covid-19 pandemic andtheir chances of recovery arevery good, even as she assert-ed that the Coronavirus isgoing to become the next res-piratory virus.

She, however, said SARS-CoV2 virus may not disappear,but it is not going to cause thekind of impact and panic itcaused over the last two years.

Participating in a virtualsession on ‘Priorities afterPandemic; What Young Indiawants? ’- Indian StudentParliament, Swaminathan saidthe reason why people talkabout children being suscep-tible is because vaccinationprogrammes today in mostcountries are targeting peopleabove the age of 18 and elder-ly as they are the most vul-nerable.

“When you do that, youare left with younger, andyounger people who areunvaccinated. And, therefore,when you have the virus cir-culating in the community,those people are basically thesusceptible population,” shesaid in response to a question.

In many countries, it isseen that by vaccinating olderpeople, the infection patternshifts to younger people. “Iwant to assure you that chil-dren on the whole have beenless severely impacted by thispandemic. Not that they don’tget infected. Yes, they do getinfected as adults but theydon’t get severely ill. Clearly, itis an age-related correlationwith the severity,” she said.

“Even if they get infected,the chances are that theyrecover very well,” the WHOchief scientist said.Swaminathan added thatmany countries have third,fourth and fifth waves andhoped that India will not havea third wave.

����� 7�8�#�%9!

Concerned at the health sta-tus of nine crore Indians

who are suffering from varioushearing disabilities, UnionMinister of State for Health DrBharati Pravin Pawar has bat-ted for mandatory screening ofinfants for various ailmentsand disabilities.

“While we are celebrating‘Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav’, weshould visit our villages and seeif we can help children inscreening them for various ail-ments,” she said, adding thatearly diagnosis and preventionof disability have huge benefitsand prevention is better thancure.

Addressing theInternational Week of DeafPeople 2021 at the CentralHealth Education Bureaurecently, Pawar noted that Indiahas proved to the world that itis a country which can produceits own medicine and canadminister 1-2 crore vaccineson a daily basis.

The Directorate General of

Health Services under theUnion Health Ministry is com-memorating the InternationalWeek of the Deaf People(IWDP) 2021 with the themeof “Celebrating Thriving DeafCommunities” through variousactivities including the involve-ment of stakeholders.

Underlining the need torevive the old fashion of infantcare, Pawar suggested prepar-ing a pocket-book with QRcodes having informationabout early screening and diag-nosis of children as well as var-

ious help lines.“This pocket book can be

shared with ASHAs,Aanganwadi workers, andother hospital staff. She alsoemphasised on the need to cre-ate awareness about variousgovernment schemes likeAyushman Bharat so that peo-ple can get maximum benefits,”she said.

The International Week ofthe Deaf People (IWDP) is cel-ebrated annually by the globalDeaf Community during thelast full week of September.

-�����������+�������! '�������-�+��%���'�+��� �%� ��()9�'������

���� ������� � �����'����"����� ������+ ����� �����

����� �1����������*������ *����+�,����-./�-0-1

Jammu: Jammu & Kashmir BJPpresident Ravinder Raina onSaturday said the Assembly elec-tions in the Union Territory wouldlikely be held early next year afterthe completion of the delimitationexercise.

He said the supporters of ter-rorism are the enemies of the peo-ple of the Union Territory andwould be treated in accordancewith the law of the land which isequal for everyone -- whether agovernment employee, politicianor an ordinary citizen.

Talking to reporters on thesidelines of a function organised bythe BJP at its headquarters to payhomage to Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh (RSS) ideologue and leaderof the Bharatiya Jan Sangh PanditDeendayal Deendayal Upadhyayahere, Raina said the delimitationexercise is in progress and wasexpected to be completed by theyear-end.

"On August 15, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi from the rampartsof the Red Fort announced that the

delimitation exercise will be fol-lowed by the assembly elections inJ&K. The delimitation is likely tobe completed by the year-end andso the elections to the J&KAssembly will be held early nextyear," he said when asked about theupcoming polls in the union ter-ritory.

In March 2020, the BJP-ledGovernment had constituted adelimitation commission to redrawLok Sabha and Assembly con-stituencies in Jammu &Kashmir.The commission is yet to submitits report.

However, the BJP leader saidhis party is fully prepared for theelections and would win the elec-

tions with 50-plus seats to form thenext government in Jammu &Kashmir.

"The BJP-led Government atthe Centre has benefited the peo-ple of Jammu & Kashmir by itsschemes and developmental pro-grammes. The people are satisfiedand will bless the party during theelections. The next chief ministerwill be from our party," Rainaclaimed.

Earlier, he was joined byNational General Secretary, in-charge J&K, Tarun Chugh andother senior leaders to pay tributesto Upadhyay.

Asked about the criticism ofthe National Conference and thePeoples Democratic Party (PDP)on the sacking of Governmentemployees having terror links, hesaid, "The law is equal for every-one. If action is taken against anordinary person found working asan overground worker of terrorists,there is no justification to spare agovernment employee having linkswith terrorists." PTI

������&������� ��:7�� ��&���&����&����"�'�����

New Delhi: Bhavani Devi didwonders that day. She becamethe first Indian fencer to qual-ify for the Tokyo Olympics.And then made history bywinning her first match at theTokyo Olympics. Before her, noIndian female swordsman hadshown this charisma in theOlympics. Although shecrashed out of the medal racein the next match, it wasenough to lift India's mind asfar as she reached.

The full name of BhavaniDevi, who hails from TamilNadu, is Chadalavada AnandaSundararaman Bhavani Devi.She started her sports career in2003 but she had no distantrelation with fencing. In fact

when she came to take part inschool games, the names of sixchildren from all the classeswere being taken for the games.When Bhavani came to writeher name, the children hadalready been selected in all thegames. Only in sword fighting,no child had got his name writ-ten. Bhavani enrolled in thisnew game and started training.Later she focused her attentionon this game.

She was an eight-timenational champion in fencing.Bhavani, who created historyby winning her first match inthe Olympics, was welcomedby Prime Minister NarendraModi on her return to India.

8��'����2�'�0�+���%�������������%��4��#

Pune: The country needs at least 600 medical col-leges, 50 AIIMS-like institutions and 200 super-spe-cialty hospitals, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari saidon Saturday as he called for the need to replicate theinfrastructure development sector's public-privatepartnership model in the health care and educationsectors.

The Road Transport and Highways Minister wasspeaking at the felicitation of Covid-19 warriors inKarad city of Maharashtra's Satara district.

He said the cooperative sector should alsocome forward to set up medical facilities.

"Once during a discussion with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, I told him about the scarcity of ven-tilators. He asked me how many ventilators were therein the country, to which I replied there must bearound 2.5 lakh. But he told me that there were only13,000 ventilators when the coronavirus pandemicbroke out in the country," Gadkari said.

There was lack of oxygen, beds, and other med-ical facilities at that time. But doctors, paramedical,nurses helped a lot in those times, he said, adding,"I appreciate their work." Apart from theGovernment-run hospitals, the contribution ofmedical facilities set up by the cooperative and pri-vate sectors was commendable, the minister said.

"The public-private investment model in the roadand infrastructure development sector can be repli-cated in health care and education sectors. The coun-try needs a minimum of 600 medical colleges, 50AIIMS-like institutions and 200 super-specialtyhospitals. The Government is also thinking of pro-viding help to those social organisations that workin medical and education sectors," Gadkari said.He also stressed the need to have at least one vet-erinary hospital in every tehsil. PTI

Mumbai: In a veiled swipe at Congress, UnionMinister and BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvion Saturday cautioned minorities against the"political merchants" of their votes who he saidare wearing the veil of secularism.

Addressing the State executive meeting andthe training camp of BJP's Minority Morcha forMaharashtra here, Naqvi said during the last 75years post Independence, "the political merchantsof minority votes played 75 tricks on their polit-ical chessboard to deceit minorities".

"Creating the atmosphere of fear, raising abogey of intolerance, spinning a web of religion,and spreading rumours is their expired formulato politically exploit minority communities," theDeputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha said.

Naqvi said minorities must remain cautiousabout such "political merchants who are wearingthe veil of secularism while roaming around witha cart of conspiracies to hijack minority votes".In his speech, the senior BJP leader slammed"pseudo-secularists" for their double standards.

"The height of hypocrisy of pseudo secu-larists is that the Shiv Sena gets a communal stampwhen it remains with the BJP and gets a certifi-cate of secularism when it goes with the Congress.This pseudo-secular syndicate is running a cer-tificate centre which makes someone secular andsomeone communal within minutes," he said. PTI

������������������9���������������������������������������B:B�'!

The Mumbai police onSaturday arrested Bonito

Chhabria, the son of ace cardesigner and founder of DCdesign Dilip Chhabria, forallegedly cheating them andco-median Kapil Sharma to thetune of more than �5 crore in avanity van deal.

Acting on a complaintlodged by Sharma with theEconomic Offences Wing(EOW) of the Mumbai police inSeptember 2020, the police sum-moned him to their officials forquestioning. He was taken intocustody after this was subjectedto intense grilling by the police.

Bonito’s arrest came nearly10 months after his shootingincident, Dilip Chhabria --whoruns a car modification studio--was arrested late night for hisalleged involvement in thedubious car finance and fakeregistration racket involvinghigh-end luxury cars.

In his complaint, Sharmahad told the police that he hadpaid more than �5.20 crore toJunior Chhabria between Marchand May 2017 to design a van-ity van for him. But as there was

no progress made till 2019, Mr.Sharma had approached theNational Company LawTribunal (NCLT).

Subsequently in December2020 Bonito had raised a bill of�1.20 crore to Kapil Sharma asparking charges for the vanityvan, a development thatprompted Kapil Sharma toapproach the police and registerhis complaint.

Having conducted a pre-liminary enquiry (PE) vanityvan case, the crime brancharrested Chhabria in anothercase pertaining to fraud last year.The PE was then convertedinto an FIR.

Bonito’s involvement in theKapil Sharma cheating casecame to light during the EOWinvestigations. On Saturday, hewas called for questioning andhe was arrested immediatelyafter the CBI completed itsinvestigations

It may be recalled thatOctober 29 last year, theMumbai police crime branchsleuths had arrestedBonito,while the CrimeIntelligence Unit (CIU) inter-cepted the vehicle, laid a trapnear the Hotel Taj Mahal at

Colaba, intercepted the vehicleand seized it.

However, during the inves-tigations, the police found thatthere was another car with thesame engine and chassis num-ber registered with HaryanaRTO. The investigations haverevealed Chabaria’s allegedinvolvement in the car financeand fake registration racketinvolving high-end luxurycars.

Sr Chhabria -- whose brandDC Design involved in modi-fying cars into luxury loungeslaunched India’s first sports car“the DC Avanti” and also show-cased its second product – theTCA at the Auto Expo ---hasbeen booked under Sections420, 465, 467, 468, 471, 120(B)and 34 of the Indian PenalCode orIPC. The investigations have

also revealed that Chhabria’sfirm Dilip Chhabria DesignsPvt. Ltd. (DCDPL) produced127 DC-Avantis and sold themto customers in India andabroad.

The Crime branch sleuthssuspect that many of these vehi-cles might have been involved inthe car finance and fake regis-

tration racket.The police said that multi-

ple loans, averaging to �42 lakhper vehicle, had been takenwith respect to 90-odd cars byDCDPL, allegedly posing ascustomers for their own manu-factured vehicles.

The modus operandi was totake loans, sometimes even mul-tiple loans from financial insti-tutions on cars and sell thesehypothecated cars to other cus-tomers before or after availingthe finance through the fraud-ulent means. The investigatorsestimated that the loss to thestate exchequer could be aroundRs 40 crore.

The investigators suspectthat the DCDPL, which was setup in 1993 but went bankrupt in2018, might have cheated manyautomobile finance companiesand banks.

Apart from designing thelounge for the MahindraMarazzo, DC Designalsoreleased the lounge conversionof a slew of new car and it hadseveral high-profile clients likeMadhuri Dixit and HrithikRoshan who reportedly hadtheir vehicles customised fromthis brand. Some popular

designs from DC Design includethe lounge design kits of theMahindra XUV500, Duster,Toyota Fortuner and Innova.Chhabria has also modified carsin the international market likeRolls Royce and Land Cruisers.His new brand DC2 has plansfor launching electric cars infuture.

Sr Chhabria -- who cameinto limelight in the ninetiesafter he produced some fancymodified private cars for celebri-ties and vanity vans ofBollywood personalities – wentonto design concept cars, luxu-ry passenger buses, and even air-craft interiors.

DCDPL rolled out its firsti n d i g e n o u s l y - m a d esportscar“the DC Avanti” in2016, a year after securingapprovals from the AutomotiveResearch Association of India

(ARAI). However, DCDPL ran into

rough weather before the firstsports car was launched, ascricketer Dinesh Karthik moveda Chennai-based ConsumerCourts over the car dealer’s fail-ure to refund the bookingamount of �5 lakh for a car cost-ing nearly �35 lakh.

Ahemdabad: In a boost towomen empowerment, theGujarat Government hasallowed the deployment of allwomen-driven electric three-wheelers in Kevadia for easymobility of the tourists visitingthe Statue of Unity. The movein this regard has been takenafter the Prime Minister had onWorld Environment Daydeclared Kevadia as the firsttrue electric vehicle (EV) zonein the country. The PM isscheduled to inaugurate theelectronic rickshaws of ETOMotors on October 31. Around100 local young unemployedwomen have been trained todrive the e-rickshaws. PNS

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

�� ����������� �<+9!

Kerala has thrown open itsbars and hotels which were

in lockdown mode due to theunabated Covid-19 situation inthe State. This was announcedby Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan while briefing themedia late Saturday eveningafter the review meeting con-vened by him to discuss themodalities.

“All hotels and bars arebeing reopened for dining outand consumption of spirits.Those who have taken both thejabs would be allowed in thebars and hotels,” said Vijayan.He said 16,671 persons weretested positive for Covid-19 onSaturday out of the 1.14 lakhsamples tested during the last24 hours.

The State also logged 120deaths on Saturday which tookthe total fatalities in Kerala to24,248. More than 91 per centof the State’s population have

received the first dose of vac-cine and efforts were on to pro-vide the jabs to the entire pop-ulation of Kerala.

Vijayan disclosed that therehas been an 8 per cent reduc-tion in the number of personsafflicted with Covid this weekcompared to that of last week.“The observation that theyouth in the State are more vul-nerable to the pandemic is amatter of concern,” saidVijayan. The Chief Ministeralso disclosed that the admin-istration is making elaboratearrangements for the reopen-ing of educational institutions. “The StationHouse Officer in each policestation in the State would con-vene meetings with headmas-ters and principals of schoolsand colleges to discuss themodalities to be followed whilereopening the institutions. Weare opening the educationalinstitutions after 21 months,”said Vijayan.

Agra: One death due to dengue and 16fatalities caused by viral fever have beenrecorded in Agra district this month sofar, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) saidon Saturday.

The district has recorded 118dengue cases in this season till now, ofwhich 51 are still active, he said.

"In Agra district, one death is due todengue and 16 because of viral fever havebeen registered. The deaths were report-ed across age groups, including childrenand senior citizens," Arun KumarSrivastav, the CMO of Agra district, toldPTI.

The maximum number of deathshave been reported from Pinahat in Agrarural, Tedi Bagia under Itmad-ud-daulahpolice station, Fatehpur Sikri, and otherareas of the district, he added.

A 70-year-old woman from Barhanin Etmadpur Tehsil of Agra rural died dueto dengue, a District Surveillance Officersaid.

Srivastav said all active cases ofdengue are being treated at Governmenthospitals.

Cases of viral fever are increasingevery day in rural areas here, mainly inPinahat, Bah, Fatehabad, and Barhan,along with many places in the city. Thehealth department has been organisinghealth camps and spraying anti-larvae andfogging gases in the affected areas.

The fever has been raging for morethan a month now in several parts ofUttar Pradesh, especially Faizabad district,which has seen 63 deaths so far this sea-son due to dengue. PTI

Chennai: The OppositionAIADMK in Tamil Nadu onSaturday objected to the "high-handed" manner of electionofficials concerned and ques-tioned the rejection of nomi-nation papers of the party can-didates for the civic polls inKallakurichi district, while urg-ing the State ElectionCommission (SEC) to takeimmediate "remedial steps."

Kallakurichi is among thenine districts in the state whererural local body polls are slatedon October 6 and 9. R M babuMurugavel, AIADMKAdvocates Wing Joint Secretary,told the SEC that his party was"shocked in the manner inwhich the Returning Officersand the scrutinising officersare behaving in a high-handedmanner." In Kallakurichi, thenomination papers of four can-didates have been rejected with-out any preliminary enquiry, hetold the SEC in a letter. PTI

������' �����'� ����+������'��+����������������:��� �%� ��� �+�

��������,���+���,��'�� ������������ ���� �����������

'!'#B���"������R����3������������ ������������������

������������

;��� ������������"��%;�������+�� ����+����'���������"� ��������%� ��-�9

��� � �<$$'%�K�G.�'L

Close on the heels of a Dalitfamily being penalised

�25,000 over their two-year-oldson entering a temple inKustagi, a Dalit man was forcedto arrange a feast spending �11,000 for entering a LakshmiDevi temple in a village atKaratagi about 11 days ago, apolice officer said.

"Yes, it is true that theman spent �11,000 to arrangefeast for entering the temple.Our officers are investigatingthe matter," superintendent ofPolice T Sreedhara told PTI on

Saturday.According to him, the

incident came to light only onFriday and since then the tem-ple management led by thepriest raised an alarm andforced the man to organise thefeast.

Sreedhara said a fewmonths ago, a theft had takenplace in the village and it wasdecided that no one shouldenter the temple except thepriest.

However, the Dalit man,whose identity has been with-held, entered as he had taken avow to conduct some rituals.

-���������� ���� ��<<�����' ��'����"�%:<��##��,������������=�� �� ��

#������������������**�)))���������� ���� ������������������/�

Jaipur: A day ahead of the scheduled Rajasthan EligibilityExamination for Teachers-2021 for the recruitment of third-gradeteachers, a heavy crowd of candidates was seen at bus stands inall 33 districts of the state on Saturday.

The candidates were seen catching buses for the district wheretheir exam centres are located.

The state government has announced free travel for REETcandidates in both state roadways and private buses while theNorth Western Railway is also operating 26 special trains cov-ering almost all important stations from September 25 to 26 tohelp candidates reach their exam destinations and back home.

The exam is being held on a large scale on Sunday as around16.51 lakh candidates have enrolled for it.

This is the biggest exam in the state in terms of the numberof candidates. PTI

������������������>>����� ������0�"����������������� ������0��.�����������

���!���!�������8 �! >����� ����������������� '����������� '������������ ���������2 �"����+�������"�8���� �� �� >� �0�+��� ����� � ���� ���� � � #

)3�-����"����������"�������'�� �!� ��'�� �������"������� '��'�� ��!����+�� ��-���! ��������� ����� ���� �� � #

8��������������������/������

��������������������� 1'BB:

Union Minister for Civil Aviation JyotiradityaM Scindia on Saturday said that two new air-

port terminals shall be established in Jammu &Kashmir soon.

In another important announcement the LtGovernor Manoj Sinha said the Union Minister andJ&K Government agreed to start the first interna-tional flight between Srinagar – Sharjah soon, end-ing the long pending demand of the UT to havedirect international connectivity.

“Similarly runway at the Jammu Airport hasbeen enhanced and the 30% load penalty at Jammuairport will be removed from 1st October. It willbring huge relief to the airlines and passengers. Wehave also decided to build a new airport terminaladjacent to the existing airport at Jammu. The landmeasuring 122 acres has already been identified.It will soon be handed over to the AirportsAuthority of India to build a state-of-the-art 25,000Sqm new terminal building,” Lt Governor said.

As a major development, the Minister said thatan airport terminal worth �1,500 crore shall beestablished on 25 thousand square metres inKashmir, while another airport terminal worth Rs.650 crore shall be established in Jammu on 22 thou-sand square metres land size.

He said that since a special focus is being givenon development of both air and road connectivi-ty in Jammu and Kashmir, a major road networkincluding highways, ring road, tunnels and other

projects are being constructed across Jammu,Kashmir and Ladakh.

The Minister said that the development of con-nectivity shall bring more tourists to J&K and pro-mote local craft. He said that the promotion oftourism and crafts shall boost economic activityand prosperity of people of J&K.

Scindia said that under the leadership of PMNarendra Modi, an era of peace, progress anddevelopment has already started in Jammu andKashmir and all the three regions includingLadakh have come on track to become number onein construction and development in the country.

He said that among other major projects, workwas going on in full swing on the ring road worthRs 3000 crore, while as 100 percent households arebeing supplied electricity now, made possible bycurrent dispensation.

The Minister said currently 82 percent of thepopulation is connected and being supplied tapwater, however, the Government is committed tocover all households in near future.

"���� �2����������*������ *����+�,����-./�-0-1

�34��%56�34��%566�40�

,���������� ������8������� ������ #;(*�%�&� '�������������������?�������� ������������ ������ ��/�����������/��������������������� �����������$ ����������$�����������������/�������������������������������������������� �����.�������/�������������������������������� �����������$ ����B������ ������� ���������� �������� � ����������������������B��������

�������������������������������� �����#&%'#6� ���� ���:�������������������.�?����I� �����7�1� �����<�������B������������������� ��������<���� �������9�����9� ������B���������������9������������N��� ������� �����O���'�� ������ ����������H������� �������� ������

���������������������������������<=>(?�=�@�A��(6*B� !������� �� ������������ ������������ ����������������������������������������������� ��������������� ������������� �������/���������� �������� ���������$�������������� ������������� ��������� ��� ���� ��������?������������

����������������������������5&%%��%� .����� �����:�����I ������ ����0�����������������������/� ���������/����������� ��� ���������� ������������������,������� ���� ����"�������&� ������ �� ��� ������������������ ��/������ �������� �����������

��� �'�:%

Amonth after the Talibanseized power in

Afghanistan, the music is goingquiet. The last time the militantgroup ruled the country, in thelate 1990s, it outright bannedmusic.

So far this time, the gov-ernment set up by the Talibanhasn’t taken that step official-ly. But already, musicians areafraid a ban will come, andsome Taliban fighters on theground have started enforcingrules on their own, harassingmusicians and music venues.

Many wedding halls arelimiting music at their gather-ings. Musicians are afraid toperform. At least one reportedthat Taliban fighters at one ofthe many checkpoints aroundthe capital smashed his instru-ment. Drivers silence theirradios whenever they see aTaliban checkpoint.

In the alleys of Kharabat, aneighbourhood in Kabul’s OldCity, families where music is aprofession passed through gen-erations are looking for ways toleave the country.

The profession was alreadyhit hard by Afghanistan’sfoundering economy, alongwith the coronavirus pandem-ic, and some families now toofearful to work are selling offfurniture to get by.

“The current situation isoppressive,” said MuzafarBakhsh, a 21-year-old whoplayed in a wedding band. Hisfamily had just sold off part ofits belongings at Kabul’s new flea market, Chaman-e-Hozari.

“We keep selling them …so we don’t die of starvation,”said Bakhsh, whose late grand-father was Ustad RahimBakhsh, a famous ustad — ormaestro — of Afghan classicalmusic.

Afghanistan has a strongmusical tradition, influenced byIranian and Indian classicalmusic. It also has a thriving pop

music scene, adding electron-ic instruments and dance beatsto more traditional rhythms.

Both have flourished in thepast 20 years.

Asked whether the Talibangovernment will ban musicagain, spokesman Bilal Karimitold The Associated Press,“Right now, it is under reviewand when a final decision ismade, the Islamic Emirate willannounce it.”

But music venues arealready feeling the pressuresince the Taliban swept intoKabul on August 15.

Wedding halls are usuallyscene to large gatherings with

music and dancing, most oftensegregated between men’s andwomen’s sections.

At three halls visited by theAP, staff said the same thing.Taliban fighters often showup, and although so far theyhaven’t objected to music, theirpresence is intimidating.

Musicians refuse to showup. In the male sections of wed-dings, the halls no longer havelive music or DJs. In thewomen’s section — where theTaliban fighters have less access— female DJs sometimes stillplay.

Some karaoke parlors haveclosed. Others still open faceharassment. One parlour visit-ed by the AP stopped karaokebut stayed open, serving water-pipes and playing recordedmusic.

Last week, Taliban fightersshowed up, broke an accordionand tore down signs and stick-ers referring to music orkaraoke. A few days later, theyreturned and told the cus-tomers to leave immediately.

Many musicians are apply-ing for visas abroad.

In the family home ofanother ustad in Kharabat,everyone’s go-bag is packed,ready to leave when they can.In one room, a group of musi-cians was gathered on a recentday, drinking tea and dis-cussing the situation.

����-�� �����$� ; !���!$���� �� �$�������� �

��� �'�:%

ATaliban official says a road-side bomb has hit a Taliban

car in the capital of easternNangarhar province woundingat least one person.

No one immediatelyclaimed responsibility for thebombing Saturday. The IslamicState group affiliate, which isheadquartered in easternAfghanistan, has said it wasbehind similar attacks inJalalabad last week that killed12 people.

Taliban spokespersonMohammad Hanif said theperson wounded in the attackis a municipal worker.

An official at Nangarharprovincial hospital said thebomb killed a Taliban militantand wounded seven others,including four civilians. Hespoke on condition ofanonymity as he was notallowed to speak to media.

The Taliban have battledwith IS since its emergence inAfghanistan in 2014. The bur-geoning IS affiliate has claimedresponsibility for most recentattacks, including the horrificbombing outside the Kabulairport that killed 13 US servicepersonnel and 169 Afghansduring last month’s chaoticevacuations.

&��������4������������������������������ 9���

��� :7!.�#�7'.!<7�

Iran’s new Foreign Ministersaid on Friday the country

will return to nuclear negotia-tions “very soon,” but accusedthe Biden administration ofsending contradictory mes-sages — saying it wants torejoin the 2015 nuclear dealwhile slapping new sanctionson Tehran and not taking “aniota of positive action.”

Hossain Amir Abdollahsaid the Government, whichtook power last month, believesthat President Joe Biden “keepscarrying close to his heart thethick file of the Trump sanc-tions against Iran, even whileseemingly pursuing negotiations.”

Former President DonaldTrump routinely denouncedthe nuclear accord as the “worstdeal ever negotiated” and with-drew from the agreement in2018 after an ill-fated attemptto bring the other parties —Britain, France, Russia, China,Germany and Iran — on boardwith additional restrictions.After withdrawing, Trumpembarked on what he called a“maximum pressure campaign”against Iran, re-imposing all theUS sanctions that had beeneased under the deal andadding penalties.

In a media briefing onIran’s new foreign policy, AmirAbdollah was very skepticalabout the Biden administra-tion’s real intentions, stressingthat actions are more importantthan “empty but beautifulwords,” and so is “the com-portment” and “behavior” ofthe United States toward Iran.

Iran’s top diplomat sharplycriticised additional sanctionsimposed by the Biden admin-istration, as well as its refusal togive a green light for Iran toaccess millions of dollars of itsmoney frozen in South Koreaand Japanese banks to buyCovid-19 vaccines and medi-cine, and suddenly askingBritain to stop payment of 42-year-old debts.

While “standing up newsanctions against Iran,” he said,the United States can’t keepspeaking of returning to thenuclear deal, even holdingbilateral talks with Iran, andcriticizing Trump policies. Thisincludes telling Iran — throughdiplomatic channels — thatBiden wouldn’t have orderedthe US airstrike that Trump didin January 2020 which killedIran’s top general, QassemSoleimani.

Recalling that Iranians havea long, rich history and ancientcivilization behind them, AmirAbdollah said “the United Statesof America must speak with acivilised tone and tongue withthe people of Iran, not the lan-guage of threats, of pressure andsanctions.” The past 42 years,since the Iranian revolution,have “made clear the languageof threats will not work againstthe great people of Iran.”

Biden and his team havemade a US return to the dealone of their top foreign policypriorities. The deal was one ofPresident Barack Obama’s sig-nature achievements, one thataides now serving in the Bidenadministration had helpednegotiate and that Trump triedto dismantle.

��� .'!$�!��.'!8'7

Taiwan’s main OppositionNationalist Party chose for-

mer leader Eric Chu as its newchairperson on Saturday in anelection overshadowed byincreasing pressure fromneighbor China.

Four candidates, includingincumbent chair JohnnyChiang, had competed for theleadership of the party that hasadvocated closer relations withBeijing. That means agreeing toBeijing’s demand that it regardTaiwan as a part of China,something Taiwan’s rulingDemocratic Progressive Partyhas refused to do.

China has threatened touse force to bring Taiwan underits control and has increasing-ly mobilized military, diplo-matic and economic pressurein an attempt to undermine theadministration of PresidentTsai Ing-wen and sway opinionamong the Taiwanese people,who strongly favor the statusquo of de-facto independence.

Mindful of public senti-

ments, the Nationalists haveadvocated a less acrimoniousrelationship with China, ratherthan direct moves toward uni-fication between the sides,which are bound by close eco-nomic, linguistic and cultural ties.

Chu ran and lost in a land-slide against Tsai in 2016, priorto which he had served as partychair and head of the regionjust outside the capital Taipei.

He may emerge as theparty’s candidate in the nextpresidential election in 2024,although that selection processhas yet to begin. Tsai is consti-tutionally barred from runningfor a third term.

Under Chiang Kai-shek,the Nationalists rose to powerin China during the 1920s andled the struggle againstJapanese invaders until theend of World War II. Chiangrelocated the government, stillofficially known as theRepublic of China, to Taiwan in1949 as Mao Zedong’sCommunists swept to poweron mainland China.

��� :7!.�#�7'.!<7�

Amid an outcry over the UStreatment of Haitian asy-

lum-seekers, the beleagueredisland country’s embattledPrime Minister pointedly saidthat inequalities and conflictdrive migration, but he stoppedshort of directly criticisingWashington over the issue.

“We do not wish to chal-lenge the right of a sovereignstate to control the entry bor-ders into its territory, or to sendback to the country of originthose who enter a country ille-gally,” Prime Minister ArielHenry said in a video speech tothe UN General Assembly’sannual meeting of world leaders.

But “human beings, fathersand mothers who have chil-dren, are always going to fleepoverty and conflict,” he added.“Migration will continue aslong as the planet has bothwealthy areas, whilst most ofthe world’s population lives inpoverty, even extreme poverty,without any prospects of abetter life.”

Moreover, “we believe thatmany countries which are pros-perous today have been builtthrough successive waves ofmigrants and refugees,” he added.

Ariel spoke as his countryreels from its president’s assas-sination, an earthquake and themigration crisis — all in the lastthree months. And Ariel’s gov-ernment is facing increasingturmoil with presidential andlegislative elections set forNovember. 7.

Ariel came under scrutinyby Haiti’s now-former chiefprosecutor, who asked a judgethis month to charge the PrimeMinister in President PresidentJovenel Moïse’s July 7 assassi-nation. The prosecutor saidHenry spoke to a key suspecttwice in the hours after the killing.

Henry — who says he isstriving to bring the culprits tojustice, fired the prosecutorand the justice minister lastweek. Another top officialresigned, accusing the PrimeMinister of trying to obstruct justice.

Madrid: The airport on theSpanish island of La Palma shutdown on Saturday because ofan ash cloud spewing out of avolcano that has been eruptingfor a week, and scientists saidanother volcanic vent openedup, exposing islanders to pos-sible new dangers.

The intensity of the erup-tion that began Sept. 19 hasincreased in recent days,prompting the evacuation ofthree additional villages onthe island, part of Spain’sCanary Islands archipelago inthe Atlantic Ocean off north-west Africa. Almost 7,000 peo-ple have been forced to aban-

don their homes. The recentvolcanic eruption is the firstsince 1971 on La Palma, whichhas a population of 85,000. AP

Shenzhen: An executive ofChinese global communica-tions giant Huawei Technologiesreturned from Canada onSaturday night following a legalsettlement that also saw therelease of two Canadians held byChina, potentially bringing clo-sure to a nearly 3-year-long feudembroiling Ottawa, Beijing andWashington.

Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’schief financial officer and thedaughter of the company’sfounder, arrived on Saturdayevening aboard a chartered jetprovided by flag carrier AirChina in the southern tech-nology hub of Shenzhen.

Her return, met with aflag-waving group of airlineemployees, was carried live onstate TV, underscoring thedegree to which Beijing haslinked her case with Chinesenationalism and its rise as aglobal economic and politicalpower. Wearing a red dressmatching the color of China’sflag, Meng thanked the rulingCommunist Party and its leaderXi Jinping for supporting herthrough more than 1,000 daysin house arrest in Vancouver,where she owns two multimil-lion dollar mansions. AP

��� 7�8�@<0�

President Joe Biden is losingsupport among critical

groups in his political base assome of his core campaignpromises falter, raising con-cerns among Democrats thatthe voters who put him inoffice may feel less enthusias-tic about returning to the pollsin next year’s midterm elec-tions.

In just the past week, thepush to change the nation’simmigration laws and create apath to citizenship for young

immigrants brought illegally tothe country as children faced aserious setback on Capitol Hill.Bipartisan negotiations to over-haul policing collapsed andsearing images of Haitianrefugees being mistreated at theU.S.-Mexico border under-mined Biden’s pledge ofhumane treatment for thoseseeking to enter the UnitedStates.

Taken together, the devel-opments threaten to disillusionAfrican Americans, Latinos,young people and indepen-dents, all of whom played a

vital role in building a coalitionthat gave Democrats control ofCongress and the White Houselast year. That’s creating a senseof urgency to broker sometype of agreement between theparty’s progressive and mod-erate wings to move forwardwith a $3.5 trillion package thatwould fundamentally reshapethe nation’s social programs.

Failure to do so, partystrategists warn, could devas-tate Democrats in the 2022 voteand raise questions aboutBiden’s path to reelection if hedecides to seek a second term.

��� $'7'B'�+!.@

Nine bodies of suspectedmigrants have been found

near a remote community inthe Panamanian jungle close tothe border with Colombia, localprosecutors said on Friday.

The bodies, including onechild, were found near theTuqueza and CanaánMembrillo rivers in the EmberáWounaán indigenous region,according to the Darienprovince prosecutor’s office.

Chief prosecutor JulioVergara said he believes theymay be immigrants because aHaitian woman told authoritiesthat on the Tuqueza river heavyrains had produced high watersthat had swept away about ninepeople, who had remainedmissing. The recovered bodiesdid not have identification doc-uments, the office said in a state-ment. It added that so far thisyear, the bodies of 41 migrantshad been found along rivers inthe jungle spanning the dan-gerous Darien Gap that con-nects Colombia and Panama.

"�� �����<���� ��� !��������� �'����

,����*�������0������������*����� �������� ���������

9������?������� ��� ������+���� ��������,�+��������

:�������������� ��������������������������������

������=�#� ���������������'�� �� ���8+������.

#�����!�����!��+������������������� ���%�������� �������� ���������������������� ��� �������� ���+�%���"��%�����������#� .�2����"�������)��������������� �� %�����"������������������������ �������� �������%� ���� �� ������� ��� ���� ��

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

;�������������� ������.�����4���������

����� �7����������*������ *����+�,����-./�-0-1

����� 7�8�#�%9!

Reliance Infrastructure onSaturday said its board has

approved raising up to �750crore by issuing foreign cur-rency convertible bonds(FCCBs) on a private place-ment basis.

Reliance Infrastructure ina BSE filing also said thatSandeep Khosla has beenappointed as Chief FinancialOfficer (CFO) of the company.

“We hereby inform youthat the Board of Directors ofthe Company has authorisedthe issue of up to USD100,000,000 unsecured for-eign currency convertiblebonds maturing in 2031(FCCBs) with a coupon rate of4.5 per cent on private place-ment basis.

“The FCCBs shall be con-vertible into equity shares of�10.00 each of the Companyin accordance with the termsof the FCCBs, at a price of�111 (including a premium of�101) per equity share,” itsaid.

The company will issuebonds within 30 days from theIssue closing date and the deci-sion was taken by the board ina meeting on Saturday.

����� 7�8�#�%9!

The Government has madeAadhaar authentication of

taxpayers mandatory for claim-ing GST refund.

The Central Board ofIndirect Taxes and Customs(CBIC) has amended GST rulesbringing in various anti-eva-sion measures, including dis-bursal of GST refunds only inthe bank account, which islinked with same PAN onwhich Goods and Services Tax(GST) registration has been

obtained.The notification also states

that from January 1, 2022,businesses who have defaultedin filing summary return andpaying monthly GST will notbe able to file GSTR-1 salesreturn of the succeedingmonth.

The notification followsthe decisions taken at the meet-ing of the GST Council inLucknow on September 17.

AMRG & AssociatesSenior Partner Rajat Mohansaid, “To arrest tax evasion, the

government has made Aadhaarauthentication for proprietor,partner, karta, ManagingDirector, whole time Director,and authorised signatory com-pulsory before filing an appli-cation for revocation of can-cellation registration andrefund application.”

EY Tax Partner AbhishekJain said with the objective ofpreventing revenue leakage,the government has madeAadhaar authenticationmandatory for a taxpayer to beable to claim refunds.

“The move will help inreducing cases of fraudulentrefunds as only the verifiedtaxpayers will obtain therefunds now,” Jain added.

With regard to taxpayersnot bring able to file theirGSTR- 1 if they have not filedtheir GSTR-3B of the previousmonth,Jain said this is a wellthought restriction and a nec-essary control check

to eliminate the cases

where taxpayers althoughreport their supply

invoices in GSTR-1 (due toconstant follow ups from recip-ients’ side) but they do not sub-mit their corresponding GSTR-3B return through which tax isactually paid to the govern-ment.

“Compliant taxpayerswould appreciate this move astill now their input tax creditwas also at risk in case vendorsdo not file their GSTR-3B eventhough such invoice is appear-ing in GSTR-2A,” Jain added.

Currently, the law restrictsfiling of return for outwardsupplies or GSTR-1 in case abusiness fails to file GSTR-3Bof preceding two months.

While businesses fileGSTR-1 of a particular monthby the 11th day of the subse-quent month, GSTR-3B,through which businesses paytaxes, is filed in a staggeredmanner between 20th-24thday of the succeeding month.

����� 7�8�#�%9!

Asserting that cooperativeswill also play a crucial role

in making India a USD 5 tril-lion economy, UnionCooperation Minister AmitShah on Saturday said theCentre will soon come outwith a new cooperative policyand work in tandem with statesto strengthen the cooperativemovement.

Shah, who is also theUnion Home Minister, alsoannounced that the number ofprimary agriculture coopera-tive societies (PACs) will beincreased to 3 lakh in the nextfive years.

At present, there are aboutactive 65,000 PACs.

Further, the Government isworking on setting up cooper-ative common service centres,

national database besides anational cooperative universi-ty, he added.

Shah was speaking at thefirst Sehkarita Sammelan orNational CooperativeConference. The Ministry ofCooperation was formed inJuly this year.

Addressing the gatheringcomprising over 2,100 repre-

sentatives of different cooper-atives and nearly 6 crore onlineparticipants, Shah said somepeople wonder why the Centrecreated this new ministry as thecooperative is a state subject.

Shah said there could be alegal response to it, but he doesnot want to “get into this argu-ment” to make it centre versusstates.

����� 7�8�#�%9!

With the help of large-scalevaccination programmes

and new norms rolling out, thetourism sector is inching itsway back to recovery, andrestart of tourism will helpkick-start recovery and growth,the Confederation ofHospitality, Technology andTourism Industry said onSaturday.

It is also essential that thebenefits this will bring areenjoyed widely and fairly, theindustry body said in a state-ment. “The travel sector, espe-cially domestic travel, appearsto be heading for a comeback.Indian travellers are looking forquick getaways through roadtrips, weekend breaks and stay-cations that offer local stayexperiences,” Airbnb India,Southeast Asia, Hong Kongand Taiwan General Manager,Amanpreet Bajaj said.

Travellers are also becom-ing increasingly aware of sus-tainable travel and are makingenvironment-friendly choiceswhen travelling, he added.

“The pandemic has helpedpromote environmental aware-ness amongst travellers andtoday, it’s encouraging to seepeople actively seeking sus-tainable travel choices,”MakeMyTrip Co-Founder &Group CEO Rajesh Magowsaid.

In a similar vein,EaseMyTrip CEO and Co-Founder Nishant Pitti said,“We have noticed that Indiantravellers have started makingmore sustainable travel deci-sions as the pandemic hasmade everyone think about thekind of impact they are creat-ing while travelling.”

They are now more awareof their choices as they reeval-uate their plans keeping sus-tainability in mind, he added.

����� 7�8�#�%9!

The Government will focuson digitisation and mod-

ernisation of about 98,000 pri-mary agriculture cooperatives(PACs) to ensure digital lend-ing, said Devendra KumarSingh, Secretary, Ministry ofCooperation, on Saturday.

He was speaking at thefirst ‘Sehkarita Sammelan’ orNational CooperativeConference here. In the UnionBudget 2021, the governmenthad announced setting up ofMinistry of Cooperation.Union Home Minister AmitShah has been given the addi-tional charge of the ministry.

Kumar said the govern-ment will also take steps topopularise the cooperativemovement and quality prod-ucts manufactured by cooper-atives in the international mar-ket.

The priority will be on“ease of doing business” in

cooperatives, the secretary saidand added the cooperativemanpower will be trained tobring professionalism.

He applauded the contri-bution of cooperative bodieslike IFFCO, KRIBHCO, Amulin strengthening the coopera-tive movement and achievingmilestones.

The conference at theIndira Gandhi Indoor Stadiumis being organised by cooper-ative bodies like, IFFCO,National CooperativeFederation of India, Amul,Sahakar Bharti, NAFED, andKRIBHCO.

����� 7�8�#�%9!

The Centre has relaxedimport duty norm on

empty export cargo containersto improve their availability.

At present, keeping con-tainers beyond a period of sixmonths attracts an import duty.

The policy was designed todiscourage long dwell time ofcontainers and to promotefaster turnaround.

However, an official com-munique, cited that the policyhas been reported to “some-times create perverse incentiveamong shipping lines to exportempty containers to evade dutypayment on containers whichare lying empty”.

As per the communique,the problem was brought out in

stakeholder consultations heldby the Ministry of Commerceand Industry.

“Working on one of theaction tracks identified by thegovernment to ease the prob-lem, the CBIC has issued aguidance to field offices toextend this period by threemonths where the container isbeing taken out of the country

in laden condition provided the6 month period falls before theend of FY22.” “Extension is tobe sought by the concernedimporter.” Accordingly, themove is expected to reduce theexport of empty containersfrom the country on ground ofimposition of import duty,thus, “increasing the availabil-ity of containers for the trade”.

����� 7�8�#�%9!

The National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) hasgiven clearance for the completion of a road

construction project under the Pradhan MantriGrameen Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) from Kirchi toSeoj Dhar in Udhampur district of the UnionTerritory of Jammu & Kashmir. This developmentproject will benefit 661 people living here.

A small cluster amid the hills surrounded byforests, including a wildlife sanctuary, Seoj Dharhas had no all-weather road and was includedin the latest phase of the PMGSY.

The only problem was that some stretches ofthe 31.05-km road, taking off at Kirchi village,were to pass through forest/wildlife areas.

“Forest/wildlife cannot be avoided as thealignment proposed is the only feasible vital con-nectivity to the villages,” said the ‘Justification let-ter for forest/wildlife and diversion’ when the pro-posal was sent for clearance from the NBWL asnearly 7 hectare of Ramnagar Wildlife Sanctuarywas needed for the road.

����� �<+9!

The Central Government islooking forward to devel-

oping a sustainable economythrough highly prospectiveseaweed cultivation, said a topCentral Government official,on Saturday.

Fisheries Union SecretaryJatindra Nath Swain said that ata time when climate change isincreasingly posing a majorthreat to human life across theglobe, cultivating seaweed,which is one of the naturalmethods to mitigate the glob-al crisis, would help boost theeconomy and reduce theimpact of climate crisis.

He said this while speakingat an interactive meeting withscientists of the Central MarineFisheries Research Institute(CMFRI), here.

“The CMFRI should set upa seed bank of seaweeds to pop-ularise the practice among thecoastal region as it would be anadditional livelihood optionas seaweed farming will play amajor role in the socio-eco-nomic upliftment of tradition-al fishermen during this diffi-cult time”, said Swain.

He further pointed out

that the Pradhan MantriMatsya Sampada Yojana(PMMSY) has a special thrustfor promotion of the seaweedfarming.

And on the ambitious planin the marine fisheries sector,he said that India is eyingdoubling the seafood export inthe next five years.

“We are hopeful of achiev-ing this target by exploringinnovative ways to increasethe production that will cer-tainly upscale the country’sper capita income.Technological development iscrucial in this regard especial-ly for areas such as seed pro-duction and other hatcheryinfrastructure for diversifiedmariculture activities,” saidSwain.

����� +9�77'!

The Income Tax (IT)Department has detected

�300 crore of undisclosedincome and seized �9 croreunaccounted cash during itsearch and seizure operation ontwo private syndicate financinggroups here.

The IT officials carriedout their search and seizureoperation at 35 premises on23.9.2021.

According to ITDepartment, the searches, sofar, have resulted in the detec-tion of undisclosed income ofmore than �300 crore.Unaccounted cash of �9 crorehas been seized so far.

The evidence found in thepremises of the financiers andtheir associates revealed thatthese groups have lent to var-ious big corporate houses andbusinesses in Tamil Nadu, asubstantial portion of which isin cash, the IT Department saidon Saturday.

During the search, it wasdetected that they are charginghigh rate of interest, a part ofwhich is not offered to tax.

����� 7�8�#�%9!

Semiconductor supply short-age is expected to further

impact passenger vehicles(PVs) sale volumes inSeptember.

Lately, a global supplychain shortage of semicon-ductors have badly impactedautomobile production.

The electronic componentis used in variety of functionswhich play a critical part in theproduction of internal com-bustion engines.

Besides, they are an inte-gral part of all kinds of sensorsand controls in any vehicle.

At present, these short-ages have forced several OEMsto slow down production, thus,further extending the waitingperiods of popular, feature-rich and high-end models.

According to India Ratingsand Research (Ind-Ra) report,the semiconductor shortagewill further impact PV volumesin September.

Furthermore, it said that‘2W’ volumes may remaintepid in September, althoughsequential recovery is expect-ed to continue in 2HFY22,aided by demand coming fromthe reopening of educationalinstitutes and offices.

���$�������$� �� ���������&����������&�������������

����� 7�8�#�%9!

To address the problem ofshortage of containers for

exports, the tax departmenthas decided to give threemore months for the re-exportof imported vessels lying atdomestic ports, according toan official circular.

Currently, duty-freeimports of containers areallowed with the condition ofre-export in the next sixmonths.

However, keeping con-tainers beyond six months isconsidered as deemed importand thus import duty is levied,

a policy aimed at ensuringfaster turnaround of contain-ers.

To avoid such importduties, shipping lines exportempty containers to evadeduty payment on containerswhich are lying empty.However, such practices areaggravating the problem ofshortage of containers forexports.

The Central Board ofIndirect Taxes and Customs(CBIC) on Saturday asked itsfield officers to give threemonths more time for the re-export of imported containerslying at domestic ports.

+�!+��?������ �3�?� ����������� ���� ���������� �����>������

-�'�����%�� ����������������%�<=�$$$���������������'�%������������������

�������'������ ��"����� �'���� '�����"���� �"�,' ���+ ''� ���%�������=�#����������

������ �� ���� ���!�#� ��"#��������� ����#�8 ���� �

�4������ ������4�����5������4���'�������������'����������

&����� ������� ����'������� ��������()������ &��

3����#�%��� �� �����2-� #����

�?<<'�����'�����'��������'������#, � ���� '�"���' ��

��5������ !�5 ��$��������� ���&���� � � ���� ��� �

8���������� ������ �$B&�@� ���� "�������� �� �� ���

����)������������������ �� ���������8� ��� ��-��!�� ��+��-�����'�.� �#��� �� ����#������� �����������0�������� ���� �� � #

���#�� �9����������*������ *����+�,����-./�-0-1

����� 3�����:: ���� ����!��� ��8 �� 6�����#��� �� ;� � ������ 0��

.��������������+�����A!��������� ��� ��������3�� ��I ��� �� �������������������/���������� ����������� ��������������������/������ ����������.������� ������������

���������������?� ��� ����� ����������������������������������������������/���������� ��� �����5������ ����� �������������������������!���������������������� �������������**3��� 3�����������"����

�����������������+�����3*,����������� �������������������������������������� ����������� ����������������

.������������������ ����A���������� �������������� ���������������������������� �������� �������������������������/������������������������������������������������������������������������ �� �������N!����������������������������������������������/�����������������������������'����� ��!������������������� ��� ��!��� ���� �������.�� ��� ����������� �������O������������

%/��������� ����� ������� ���������� ��������� ����� ������� �������� /����� ������������� ����N.���������� �����������������������������������������������

��� ��������.����/������������ �������'������������ ������ ��������������3�� �������������� �� �����!�������������/������������������ ������������ �����������!��������/�����/�����������������������������������������!���"�������������������������� ����� ���������������O�0���� ����������

9� ������������������� ������������������������������������������������� ��� ��������������?�� ������ ����N������� ������� �� ������������ �������������������� ����� ������������ ������ ���������������������������� ������������� ������������� ������������������ ��������'����� �� ������� ��������������� �� ����� /�����������"� ��������A����������� �����������������������������������

�����������"� ����O�0���� �����������9� ��������������������'��2�������������

�������������� �������� ������� ��� ������ ��?�������� ���� ������������� ������������������������������������ ������������ ����N!� ������������������ ���� ���.�� ��������������� �������������8����!��/���������� ������ ����!���������������� ��������/�������������������������'������������������/���������� � ����7�������������������?�� ������ � ����.������������������������ ��������.������������ � ��������!���������/��A����������� �����������O0���� ��������������

!��� ��������������������� ���������������"��������������������� ���

NB�������� ����������������������������������� ������������� ���!�����������������������������!��������/������O�0���� ����������

.������������������ ��� �������'������������������������������� ���� ��� ��������������9� ������ ����� ������� �����/��������������N!���������O��������������

I ������������������� ��������������������� ������?���<������������������ ��������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������� � �������������� ��� ��7������������������������ ����� ���������N!��������� �������/������������ �������.�� ��� �����������������������������������/������!�����������?�� �����O�0���� ����������

*+�� ������������������� � �����,

%���� <��:: ���� ����!��� ��8����� �� ����

You expect 11-year-olds enjoying withfriends and doingkid stuff. What youdon’t expect is that

they will have a day crampedwith school classes and then Artof Communication course thatteaches with how to perfecttheir English grammar. Notonly this, the classes at Camp K-12 also teach the kids how towrite — write novels.

One such student is IshanviJain, an 11-year-old studying inDelhi Public School, Durgapur.She is in Class VI and lovesreading books, listening tomusic, doodling and travel-ling.

Her novel, The Throne ofthe Sea that is available onAmazon and Kindle is aboutunderwater creatures and thestory is how true love finds itsway and true friends help eachother in every phase of lifethrough thick and thin.

“When I was planning onwhat to write my six-year-oldsister told me that I should writeon her favourite topic, the mer-maids and the underwaterworld. She is so fascinated byboth. So I gave this theme a shotand the novel was born, Jainsays.

It was during one of thedaily booster sessions, her men-

tor talked about English. “Theway she explained things andthe way she taught was very fas-cinating. She explained how towrite as well. All this was veryinspiring. So I decided to takethe class full-time. Once we hadtaken a certain number of class-es, we were invited to write astory. I was one of the luckyones to be chosen. And here Iam today, an author,” Jain tellsyou.

Her friends who have readher book are inspired and wantto join the class and becomewriters. Her favourite subjects

are English and history. “I loveto read and know about facts.History is all about facts, aboutpeople and how they lived backthen. It is fascinating to readthat despite not being veryeducated they were able toachieve so much,” Jain says.

She tells you that she lovesto read novels that have fanta-sy as a theme. She loves SudhaMurthy novels. She was intro-duced to these by her mentor.How I taught my Grandmotherto Read is her favourite.

“I love the way she writes.Also, her life inspires me. She

had lived a very humble life. Iam told that she is a very downto earth person. Of course,there are other authors I read aswell; Ruskin Bond is one ofthem. My tutor also tells mewhat books I should read toincrease my vocabulary. Shetells me that these will help meimprove my language skills.She also tells me that readingmore and more books will giveme an insight about howauthors take a subject andweave their stories. This helpsme to have a perspective aswell,” Jain says.

It has been over a year sinceshe joined these classes andplans to continue to take themsince she loves the classes. Alsothe personal attention that sheand other kids get, keeps hergoing. There are many changesthat she has seen in her writingsince she started.

“To begin with I didn’tknow how to be descriptive.Now, I can. I have learnt how tobe a better writer. I have a bet-ter grasp of the language. Thishelps me to weave the stories,”Jain explains who also loves lis-tening to music.

“I love all kinds of music. Ialso listen to Tamil and Telugusongs as well. I do have a fewfavourite English songs likeYummy by Justin Bieber andJalebi Baby by Tesher,” Jainsays.

She also does a lot of mind-less doodling. Once again shetook a class for this and evenmade a Unicorn using mandalaart. “It was my mother whointroduced me to this art formand I love it,” Jain says.

5��� ��'�:� ���� ����!��� ��8 ������!���� �� 4��� ����

She was born in the US. Whenshe was three years old, her par-ents decided to come back toIndia and settle in Pune. AClass V student of PICT Model

School, Pune, this 10-year-old decidedto join the Art of Communicationcourse with Camp K-12 because sheloves English. Meet Nevaeha Palkar.

She tells you that a few months back,her mother came across an ad in thenewspaper. There was an announcementfor a competition in English. Palkarenrolled and she ranked No 3. It was acompetition that tested us on grammarand vocabulary. It was after I participat-ed in this competitive exam that we cameto know about Camp K-12. It was mymother’s decision to enroll me for theseclasses since she knows that I loveEnglish,” Palkar says.

While she loves reading books andnovels, she doesn’t have a single bookthat is her favourite. However, she tellsyou that she does have a favouriteauthor, Sudha Murthy who has writtenmany kids novels.

“I absolutely love her novels; they aretruly amazing. I love the way she writes.I read her first book when I was muchyounger. I don’t really remember how oldI was. But my mother gave it to me andI instantly fell in love with them. I alsolove to read Enid Blyton and Roald Dahlbooks as well,” Palkar says.

She tells you that her debut novel,Adventures of the Other Side, is aboutthree friends who embark on a journeythat takes them on the other side of theworld and now they have to figure a wayout to get back home.

“I love to read adventure, fantasy andmythological stories. My passion towrite has also encouraged me to writepoems as well. These however have notbeen published but my mother sharesthese on her Facebook page. So when Ihad to submit a story for the Art ofCommunication course, I decided towrite it on this topic. Once I submittedit, the mentors really loved it and that’swhen I developed it into a novel,” Palkarsays.

It was the workshop that helped hershape her novel. “In the workshop we aretaught how to write and how to devel-op a story. I loved the course anddecided to continue to take the classes.For now, I have not written anything else.But I plan to write another novel or writea sequel to my debut novel,” Palkar sayswhose novel is available on Amazon andKIndle.

But this is not all. Palkar is a girl ofmany talents. When she was six, shefound that a kids clothing company waslooking for kid models around her age.I decided to participate. I had so muchfun doing it,” Palkar tells you. She is alsointo singing, and is learning westernvocals.

She is also an animal lover, especial-ly cats. While her parents have notallowed her to keep one as a pet, shehopes that she will be allowed to keepone in the near future. She tells you thatwhile she is an author at heart, she wantsto pursue medicine when she grows up.However, she will not give up her pas-sion for writing and will continue towrite. “I don’t know what I will writeabout in the future. Maybe it will be abook about medicine or it can be onmythology. It is difficult to say what I willdo in the future,” Palkar says. Herfriends have loved her novel which has84 pages.

“My parents have encouraged me allthrough my journey,” Palkar says.

��� �� ���&� � � >���������������������

(� ��&!� ������������!��� �� ��4��� ����� ��&�!� ����������� "���&�' ��

=�!���� �� �'����� �� �� �������� �� �� "������ ��" ����� �� �� !�� "� �!� �� ��&#' ���

-������� '� ����� ���.��� ��� ��������� �/����� '� ����������(����� '� ��������� � ������'���� ��'�� '0����������� ������ ��������� ����&12�+3+ &2#&432� ������������ � ����� � ���������� ��� �����

� 1 1 - � � � 0 � � � �

567389:+-4:&

������ :�����������*������ *����+�,����-./�-0-1

����� @'7�.<7�

India suffered another setback as itsarchers had to settle for silver

medals in Women’s Compound Teamand Compound Mixed Team compe-titions at the World ArcheryChampionships here in South Dakota.

The Indian Women’s CompoundTeam and the Mixed Team hadreached the gold medal match andwere up against Colombia in bothfinals. But both fell short in difficultwindy conditions against opponentsthat were too strong and mastered theconditions better.

India had reached the final sixtimes at the World Championshipsearlier but had failed to win the goldevery time. They were aiming to claimtheir first World Championship titleon Friday but their hopes were dashedby a strong performance by Colombia,who captured the gold medal for thefirst time after 2017.

In the Women’s Compound Team,India comprising Jyoti SurekhaVennam, Muskan Kirar and PriyaGurjar lost to the Colombia team ofSara Lopez Alejandra Usquiano andNora Valdez 229-224 and had to set-tle for the silver medal.

In the Compound Mixed Teamfinal, the Indian team of Jyothi andAbhishek Verma lost to Colombia’sSara Lopez and Daniel Munoz 150-154. The Compound Women’s Teamfinal started as a close affair with bothIndia and Colombia shooting 58 outof a possible 60 in the first end (set),the Indians shooting three 10s, one X,

and two 9s in six arrows while theColombians came up with three 10smtwo Xs and an 8.

A couple of 8s with two 9s andtwo Xs meant India could manageonly 54 in the second end (set) andColombia shot 55 to lead 113-112.

The Indians continued to strug-gle with the conditions and lost thethird end 56-58, the gap widening tothree points now (171-168). Theirhopes of recovering ground in thefourth and final end (set) were thwart-ed by an 8 on the first arrow in thisseries. They shot two Xs, a 10, and two9s in the remaining five arrows for 56but the Colombians did not falter andshot 58 with three 10s, one X, and one9 to win the gold medal, 229-224.

In the Compound Mixed Teamfinal, Jyoti Surekha Vennam andAbhishek Verma got off to a good startas they took a one-point lead (39-38)after the first end, shooting three 10sand a 9 as compared to three 9s anda 10 by the Colombian pair of SaraLopez and Daniel Munoz.

The Indians fell behind in the sec-ond end as they could manage only36 (10, 8, 9, 9) as compared by a near-perfect 39 (10, 10, 10, 9) by theColombians and trailed 75-77.

The Colombians managed a per-fect 40 in the third end while theIndians could score only 36 (10, 9, 8,9), the gap widening to six (111-117).

Jyothi and Abhishek tried theirbest in the fourth and final end andwon it 39-27 but the gap was too wideto be bridged in one end and they hadto settle for silver behind Colombia.

����� A'7.''��

An Indian team which is a nicelittle blend of youth and expe-

rience, will have to punch above itsweight in what’s going to be anarduous challenge in the SudirmanCup mixed team championshipshere on Sunday.

India have been drawn inGroup A alongside defendingchampions China, three-timesemi-finalists Thailand and hostsFinland in the BWF tournament,which comprises two singles andthree doubles matches in a tie.

With many of its star shuttlersmissing, India team will have taskcut out when it starts campaignagainst Thailand in the presti-gious World Mixed TeamChampionship. With double

Olympic medallist and reigningworld champion P V Sindhu excus-ing herself following a hecticOlympic campaign and formerworld no 1 Saina Nehwal also giv-ing it a miss, the onus will be onthe young shoulders of MalvikaBansod and Aditi Bhatt in women’s singles.

In men’s doubles, world no 10Chirag Shetty and SatwiksairajRankireddy too withdrew at thelast moment after the former suf-fered from muscle pull (Abs) andwas advised a week’s rest. In theirabsence, young Dhruv Kapila andMR Arjun will have to deliver thegoods in men’s doubles.

India, however, do have plen-ty of experience in men’s singlesand women’s doubles with B SaiPraneeth, Kidambi Srikanth and

the pair of Ashwini Ponnappa andN Sikki Reddy in the team.

First up for India will be

Thailand, who have reached thesemifinals thrice — 2013, 2017 and 2019.

With 2013 World ChampionRatchanok Intanon withdrawing,the 17-member Thailand squadwill be led by Asian Games(women’s team) bronze medallistand world no 10 PornpaweeChochuwong and world no 13Busanan Ongbamrungphan inwomen’s singles, while world no 18Kantaphon Wangcharoen will bethe top player in men’s singles.

India will also have to get thebetter of World no 8 women’s pairof Jongkolphan Kititharakul andRawinda Prajongjai, world no 3Dechapol Puavaranukroh andSapsiree Taerattana Chai in mixeddoubles among others.

After Thailand, India will

face China on September 27 andFinland on September 29.

China have won the title 11times in the past, and has nameda formidable team, includingOlympic champion Chen Yufei andformer All England champion ShiYu Qi, for the event.

World no 21 men’s doublespair of He Ji Ting and Tan Qianghas also been named in the squad,which also comprises Lu GuangZu, Li Shi Feng, He Bing Jiao, WangZhi Yi, Liu Cheng and Feng YanZhe. The third and final team inthe group stage will be hostsFinland who have never neverqualified for the knockout stage atthe mixed team championships.The top two teams from eachgroup progress to the knockoutround (quarterfinals).

��� �9��<&@'7�

Tiger Woods isn’t at WhistlingStraits, but several US players

say he helped inspire them to a big lead in the first day of theRyder Cup.

Woods sent a group textthrough captain Steve Stricker toAmerican players, saying he wasbehind them in their battle toregain the cup.

“The gist of basically what hesaid was I’m cheering you guys on,I’m right there with you and gofight and make us proud,” TonyFinau said.

“We were able to do that andif TW’s watching, thanks for thattext, brother, I think it helps us alot.” Several players talked aboutthe text from Woods, who isrecovering from serious injuriesin a February car accident. TheUS went 6-2 on the opening dayfor its biggest first day marginsince 1975.

“Tiger’s not with us in per-son but I know he’s watching andtalking to Stricker a lot,” HarrisEnglish said.

“We know he’s got our backs,so that’s really cool and we kindof used that energy today.”

Xander Schauffele said theplayers were excited to hear thatWoods was cheering hard forthem from his home in Florida.

“We knew he was fist pump-ing from the couch,” Schauffelesaid. “Whether he was on crutch-es or not he’s as fired up as anyback at home. So it’s nice to havehis support.” Stricker said he gotthe text on Thursday and sent itout to the team on Friday. He saidWoods wished players good luckand shared a few personal obser-vations.

“He’s a friend of a lot of theseguys and these guys look up to

him and I lean on him a lotthroughout this whole process,”Stricker said.

“So it was great to hear fromhim and provide some words ofencouragement to these guys.”

Woods was an assistant cap-tain in 2016, when the US lastwon the cup. He returned as aplayer in 2018, but did not win apoint in his matches. In eightRyder Cups, Woods earned 14.5points but had an overall losingrecord and only played on onewinning team — the 1999 teamthat won in a huge final day come-back at Brookline.

����� �<%�'.'

Bengaluru FC (BFC) camefrom behind to beat Army

Green 3-2 in the final quarter-final encounter of the 130thDurand Cup at the VivekanandaYuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK)on Saturday and set up a last-four clash with FC Goa onWednesday. WungngayamMuirang, Leon Augustine, andNamgyal Bhutia struck for BFCwhile Lallawmkima and Vibin T.V. struck for the Greens, bothincidentally via penalties.

Army Green created pres-sure early on and were reward-ed for that as Lallawmkimascored from the spot in the 9th

minute to give them the lead.However, the Naushad

Moosa-coached BFC did nottake long to bounce back asMuirang scored the equalizer inthe 20th minute, courtesy of amagical free-kick that curledinto the back of the net, givingGreen’s keeper Sarath no chancewhatsoever. Bengaluru playedan attacking game post that andcreated quite a few chances butfailed to convert any of them inthe first half.

However, they did not takelong to go ahead in the secondsession as Leon Augustinescored the second goal for histeam just minutes after therestart.

����� 7�8�#�%9!

Indian women’s hockey teammid-fielder Neha Goyal says

their inspirational performance atthe Tokyo Olympics has changedthe mentality of the side andinstilled self-belief in players.

The team missed out on itsfirst-ever Olympic medal butproduced its best-ever show inthe history of the quadrennialwith a fourth place finish. “Ourperformance at the TokyoOlympics has changed our men-tality and given us the self-beliefto compete with any team in theworld. Our win over Australia inthe quarterfinal brought about ashift in our mentality,” the 24-year-old player said.

“Coming into that match,Australia had topped their poolby winning all their matches.Defeating them gave us a lot ofconfidence, which we will carry

with us going forward as we pre-pare to play more importanttournaments in the future.”

For Goyal, who made herOlympics debut in Tokyo, com-peting at the Games was a land-mark moment of her career. “Iwas nervous before the occasion,but very excited. It has alwaysbeen my dream to play in the

Olympics since I started playinghockey. This was my first time, soI did not take too much pressureupon myself and tried to enjoythe moment. “I also gained someconfidence in our tours ofArgentina and Germany beforethe Olympics, where I felt that wewere able to compete well withsome really good teams,” she said.

����� �<+9!

Heavy rain at the SochiAutodrom on Saturday has

led to the cancellation of FreePractice 3 for the Russian GrandPrix — with doubts remainingover the possibility of holdingqualifying on later on Saturday.

“Free Practice 3 had been dueto start at 1200 local time. But withheavy rain, along with thunder andlightning, having hit Sochi onSaturday morning, the decisionwas made to cancel the third prac-tice session,” a statement on formu-la1.com said. “In the interest of safe-ty [the decision has been taken] tomodify the Official Programme bycancelling Free Practice Session 3due to Force Majeure,” ran the deci-sion from the race stewards.

“For the purposes of the reg-ulations and associated time lim-

its, Free Practice Session 3 will beconsidered as having taken place,except where otherwise advised bythe Race Director.”

The Russian Grand Prix week-end has already been subject toalterations, with the first Formula3 race moved to Friday evening --where Norway’s Dennis Hauger wascrowned champion -- before badweather led to an indefinite delayof Saturday morning’s F2 race.

F1 qualifying is currently set totake place 1500 local time (5:30 IST)— but FIA Race Director MichaelMasi touted the possibility of mov-ing the session to Sunday morningif the weather persists, telling themedia at the start of Saturday, “Ifqualifying isn’t able to happentoday, as we’ve seen a few timesbefore in the past, then we will re-do a programme and hold qualify-ing on Sunday morning.”

��� ��0%!7

For once, Robert Lewandowskididn’t score. The Poland star’s

club-record scoring streak forBayern Munich ended at 19 consec-utive games on Friday when hefailed to get a goal in his team’s 3-1 win at last-placed Greuther Fürthin the Bundesliga.

Lewandowski, who hit thecrossbar in the 40th minute, alsomissed out on equaling GerdMüller’s record of scoring in 16Bundesliga games in a row.Lewandowski’s 19-game runincludes matches in the league, cupand Champions League going backto a 3-3 draw with Arminia Bielefeldon Feb. 15.

Fürth, which hadn’t won any ofits opening five Bundesliga games

since promotion, made a reasonablestart but was caught cold whenThomas Müller opened the scoringin the 10th minute.

Canadian internationalAlphonso Davies set off on a coun-terattack down the left wing and hiscross took a kind deflection forMüller to dispatch the ball in off theright post from outside the penal-ty area.

Joshua Kimmich’s second goalfor Bayern in the 31st was similar,this time Leroy Sané providing thecross. Fürth’s defenders allowedthe Bayern players too much space— though not enough forLewandowski.

The home team was given alifeline in the 48th when BenjaminPavard was sent off for a bad chal-lenge on American midfielder

Julian Green, who would have beenthrough on goal.

But Bayern still had enoughoffensive power to extend its leadin the 68th, when SebastianGriesbeck scored an own-goalunder pressure from Lewandowski,who looked disappointed not tohave scored himself.

Cedric Itten got a late conso-lation for Fürth in the 87th.

Bayern consolidated top spotafter taking the league lead with a7-0 rout of another promoted team,Bochum, last weekend.

“We’re happy with how it’sgoing but we mustn’t lose touch –it’s about always taking the next step.That’s the most fun, to keep improving,” Müller said afterscoring his second league goal of theseason.

����� <�.0'A'�

Sania Mirza and her Chinesepartner Zhang Shuai stormedinto the women’s doubles final

at the Ostrava Open WTA tennischampionship, beating Japan’s EriHozumi and Makoto Ninomiya instraight sets on Saturday.

Sania-Zhang, seeded secondhere, defeated the Japanese pair 6-2, 7-5 in an hour and 20 minutes and await the winnerof the other semi-final betweenPola’d’s Magda Linette andBernarda Pera of the USA, the topseeds, and the American-Kiwiteam of Kaitlyn Christian andErin Routliffe.

Sania and Zhang had reachedthe semi-finals by beating AnnaDanilina of Kazakhstan and Lidziya Marozava of Belarus6-3, 2-6 10-6.

In the semi-final clash, Saniaand Zhang opened up a 4-0 leadand though they were broken inthe fifth game, the Indo-Chinesepair maintained their serve afterthat as they won the set 6-2. The

Indo-Chinese pair converted allthree break points while saving twoof the three on their serve. Theymanaged to put in 72.7 per cent oftheir serves while their rivals couldonly manage 58.3 per cent.

The Japanese pair put up a bet-ter fight in the second set as theysurged ahead by breaking the ser-vice of the Indo-Chinese pair in thefifth game.

However, Eri Hozumi andMakoto Ninomiya surrenderedtheir lead in the 10th game. SaniaMirza and Zhang Shuai took offfrom there to wrap up the matchin straight sets.

Sania will be playing her sec-ond final of the season. Earlier, shehad lost in the title match atCleveland Championships lastmonth with American ChristinaMchale of the USA.

Sania and Zhang convertedtwo of the six break points theyearned while their rivals could con-vert only one of the two they had.They put in 73.5 percent firstserve and had an ace while theirrivals served two double faults,

OSTRAVA OPEN: SANIA MIRZA IN DOUBLES FINAL

#�� �'� ���������+������ �����'�����(�����-� �!����!

���,�����#�� ��� ���� ������������� �-�!�'� ���"�

?� ���:+����4�� �" �������������������������&������ �

- !��.����������$���� �� ��������

@��������� ���%�����& ����-�� ���%����������������4�'��������

8 ���������'� "���������� ����%������������,������.

���� ������,������ '���������;���� � �������<='����

#� ����+��C�������� �I+��� ����� �����' ��& ���������� ������

,201,�#�'

� �����.�@ �����'� ������� ��0����&�����������!�����"������!��"������������3�����-�!% ��(�����"���� ��%���������"

��� �9��<&@'7�

The Americans haven’t opened withalead this large in the Ryder Cup since

Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino were playing, and before Tiger

Woods was even born.That didn’t seem to be big enough to

satisfy US captain Steve Stricker.Dustin Johnson and Xander

Schauffele each won two matches,Bryson DeChambeau smashed a drivethat had everyone talking and theAmericans were relentless Friday atWhistling Straits in losing only onematch to build a 6-2 lead.

“It’s a great start. We are happy withthe start,” Stricker said.

“But my message to the guys istomorrow is a new day. Pretend todaynever happened, and let’s keep our footdown and continue to play the golf thatwe know we can play.”

Oh, how Europe would like to for-get this day ever happened. Rory McIlroynever made it to the 16th hole in losingboth his matches on the opening day forthe first time. The lone bright spot wasJon Rahm, living up his No. 1 rankingby winning in foursomes with SergioGarcia and keeping Europe in a tightfourballs match long enough for TyrrellHatton to birdie the last hole to at least-salvage a half-point.

Europe has never trailed by fourpoints after the first day since the RyderCup was expanded to include the con-tinent in 1979, the modern era of thesematches that Europe now dominates.

Go back to 1975 to find the last timethe U.S. Had a four-point lead in theRyder Cup. “No doubt, it was a toughday,” European skipper PadraigHarrington said, attributing the differ-ence to a putt here, there and pretty mucheverywhere.

“There’s obviously still 20 points to

play for.” Suddenly, though, there seemsto be a sense of urgency. The Americanswere delivering big moments and the bigsmiles, waving up hands to get the one-sided gallery to cheer evenlouder, cupping hands to their ears tourge them along.

They are looking for a fresh startafter a quarter-century of losing, and itsyoungest team in history took a big stepto creating their own memories.

“They fought hard every single shotout there, from what I saw,”DeChambeau said after he and ScottieScheffler earned a halve in fourballs.

“This is a great start, but the job’s notover. We have two more days. A lot more golf. And we cannot lose ourmindset to win.”

The first point of the 43rd RyderCup, postponed one year by the pandem-ic, went to Europe and its new “SpanishArmada” of Rahm and Garcia.

The final match ended in a halvewhen Justin Thomas delivered a late eagleputt that allowed him and PatrickCantlay to come all the way back froma 3-down deficit.

Through the morning chill, the mid-day warmth, a ferocious wind in theafternoon and even a little rain, the oneconstant was American red scores fillingthe boards across Whistling Straits.

“We can come back from 6-2,” saidMcIlroy, trying to summon calm andconfidence after losing both matches.

Europe will have to do it withouthim. McIlroy is not part of the foursomeslineup Saturday morning, the first timehe has sat in a Ryder Cup.

Both captains stuck to their plans,and it only worked out for one of them.

Even with a 3-1 start in foursomes,Stricker broke up all his Americanteams as planned and still won the after-noon fourballs session with two wins andtwo draws.

����� B'+�'@�

India’s under-fire bowlers will need toput up a much-improved show as they

face the ignominy of a clean sweepagainst an Australian team, which is look-ing for its 27th win on the trot, duringthe third and final women’s ODI here onSunday. A marginal no-ball call off thefinal delivery bowled by Jhulan Goswamifound India won the wrong side of theresult in the second WODI. The matchindeed was a humdinger but not beingable to defend a total as big as 274 afterhaving the home team on the mat for the

better part doesn’t speak highly ofMithali Raj’s outfit.

There is a trend in cricket, the sidesthat snatch defeat from the jaws of vic-tory in close games like India did onFriday, end up losing both momentumand confidence in their next few games.

The manner in which Beth Mooney,who opened in absence of Rachel Haynesalong with Tahlia McGrath and NicolaCarey, snatched the game away wouldhurt for a long time. And they could doit with ease without any contributionfrom one of their best batters AlussaHealy and the iconic captain Meg

Lanning.India’s bowling attack barring

Goswami, who is in a league of her own,hasn’t delivered throughout 2021. A lotof it is due to the fact that the Indiancricket establishment failed to find a wor-thy new ball partner for Goswami once Amita Sharma left the scene adecade back.

Shikha Pandey is very hardworkingcricketer but could never measure up tothe level of being a regular partner forGoswami and neither the likes of MansiJoshi, Puja Vastrakar, Monica Patel couldinstil any confidence.

����� �9'01'9

Royal Challengers Bangaloreskipper Virat Kohli was left

dejected after a second loss inas many matches here and saidthat another 15-20 runs on theboard would have given the sidea winning total.

RCB came up with amuch improved perfor-mance the MahendraSingh Dhoni-ledChennai Super Kings onFriday, notching up 156/6thanks to half centuriesfrom Devdutt Padikkal(70) and Kohli (53), butstill lost by six wicketsafter some incisivebowling by DwayneBravo and ShardulThakur.

RCB, who havenever won an IPLtitle, had earlier lostto Kolkata KnightRiders by ninewickets in theo p e n i n gmatch of thesecond leg of

the tournament here wherethey could only score a dismal92 runs.

“The wicket did slow downa bit. But I feel we left out 15-20 runs out there. 175 would’vebeen a winning total. Didn’tbowl consistently. Didn’t show

that much courage I guesswith the ball. They (CSK)

bowled well in the backend of the innings, exe-cuted the slower ballsand yorkers nicely,”

Kohli said after thematch.

The 32-year-old stated thatthey “have toshow morecourage inc r u n c hmoments” and

also, asserts that they have to getback on that winning formagain.

The two losses have seenRCB’s fortunes dip sharply andthey are currently third on thetable with 10 points from ninegames behind CSK and DelhiCapitals who hold the first andsecond place respectively with

14 points apiece.Rajasthan Royal,who have played a

game less, couldpush RCB further

down if they win thenext game.

“We spoke of areas wedidn’t want them to hit and we

didn’t do that. That little bit ofX factor was missing in the first5-6 overs. Got to get on that win-ning run again. This one is a bitmore disappointing. The firstone we just weren’t in the game.Have to show more courage incrunch moments. This tourna-ment goes by quickly,” headded.Up next, RCB take on thedefending champions MumbaiIndians on September 26 at theDubai International Stadium.

����� �9'01'9

Chennai Super Kings skipper MahendraSingh Dhoni on Friday attributed

his team’s remarkable turnaroundthis IPL season to the players’hard work and understandingtheir roles and responsibilities.

Three-time winners CSKendured their worstouting last sea-son when theyfinished seventhin the eight-teamleague, a far cryfrom the manner in which they aredominating in this edition, includ-ing their latest six-wicket win overRoyal Challengers Bangalore.

“Our players have worked hard,they have understood their roles andresponsibilities. Over here, the threegrounds are different. This is slow-est (so far) of all. Dubai and AbuDhabi are different. So the playershave been adapting,” Dhoni said afterthe comfortable six-wicket win overRCB.

RCB skipper Virat Kohli (53) andyoung Devdutt Padikkal (70) struck

brisk half-centuries in an impressive 111-runstand but CSK pulled the strings to restrict themto 156 for six after electing to bowl.

The in-form Ruturaj Gaikwad, then, camegood again with a quick 38 while Faf du Plessis

made 31 at the top to lay a strongfoundation for CSK to chasethe modest target in 18.1overs.

CSK’s decision to bowlfirst was prompted by the dew

factor. “We were worried about the

dew, so whenever there’s chancesof dew we want to bat second.

“They got off to a good start butafter ninth over wicket slowed down. Youstill had to bowl tight, and Jadeja’s spell wasimportant with Padikkal batting from oneend.

“After that Bravo, Josh (Hazlewood),Shardul (Thakur), Deepak (Chahar)

were brilliant. It’s always on the backof your mind on which bowler can

be effective over here,” the formerIndia skipper said. Even as RCBgot off to a great start, Dhoni

brought into play his yearsof experience to effect aturnaround.

����� #:�'!

Mumbai Indians Director ofCricket Operations, Zaheer

Khan on Saturday exuded confi-dence that star all-rounder HardikPandya would be fit to play in theirnext game against RoyalChallengers Bangalore after miss-ing the title holder’s first twogames in the second leg of theongoing Indian Premier League.

MI did not have the best ofstarts in the second phase of thetournament, losing their first twogames against Chennai SuperKings and Kolkata Knight Riders.But Zaheer is optimistic aboutHardik’s return in the playingeleven in their next game onSunday.

“Well, we have a practice ses-sion today lined up, so after we fin-ish the press conference we aregoing to go there and will take aninformed call on that. He (Hardik)has started practicing, that’s whatI can share with you guys rightnow. So, we are hopeful that he

(Hardik) will be fit and available.That’s what we are hoping,” the for-mer India pacer said at the pre-match conference.

MI head coach MahelaJayawardane had said that theBaroda all-rounder missed thegame against CSK due a little nig-gle. He also the missed the nextgame against KKR.

“As you know, IPL is a veryhighly competitive tournament,so teams are always trying to havea one up on each other and they aregetting smart in their preparationand these days every team isanalysing every other team. So wehave to stay on the top.

“The focus has always been onus, this team has been so success-ful because we have been focusingon our processes, our strengths andour players who are taking the field.And these are the players who havegot us the championship, so wehave that kind of approach and wehave had quite a lot of good con-versations around those things,” hesaid.

����� 7�8�#�%9!

Former Kolkata KnightRiders captain Gautam

Gambhir has said thatChennai Super Kings (CSK)skipper MS Dhoni shouldmove himself to No.4 positionwhen the team qualify for theplayoffs in the Indian PremierLeague (IPL) 2021.

He further added thatDhoni should be playing atthat position regardless of

whether CSK are chasing ordefending a total.

“MS Dhoni should bat atNo.4 once CSK qualifies forthe playoffs, irrespective ofwhether you are chasing orbatting first so that you areable to spend time in the mid-dle. I will want to see that,hopefully it happens. The bestthing about a captain is that itis his own wish, he can batanywhere he wants,” Gambhirsaid on Star Sports.

���������Delhi Capitals spinner Ravichandran Ashwin addedanother feather to his illustrious cap when he dismissedRajasthan Royals batsman David Miller to grab his 250th wick-et in T20 cricket. Ashwin became only the third Indian afterAmit Mishra and Piyush Chawla to do so.

The 34-year-old spinner has 140 wickets to his name inthe IPL while he bagged 52 wickets for India in 46 T20Is. Therest of his wickets came in the domestic circuit. He is the sixth-highest wicket-taker in the IPL. Veteran pacer Lasith Malingaleads the chart in IPL with 170 scalps followed by Amit Mishra(160), Piyush Chawla (156), Dwayne Bravo (154), andHarbhajan Singh (150). Apart from Malinga, all the top fivewicket-takers are currently playing in the IPL. Malingaannounced his retirement ahead of the start of the 14th edi-tion of the tournament while in the last season he made him-self unavailable due to personal reasons.

������ ::����������*������ *����+�,����-./�-0-1

����� '�:�#9'�!

Delhi Capitals bowlers madeup for the team’s under-

whelming display with the bat tohand Rajasthan Royals a 33-rundefeat in their Indian PremierLeague match, here on Saturday.

The Capitals bowling unitrestricted the Royals to 121 forsix after the team put on board154 for six on the back ofShreyas Iyer’s 43 and a lateflourish provided by ShimronHetmyer, who scored 28 runs off16 balls.

Rajasthan skipper SanjuSamson looked in sublimetouch, scoring an unbeaten 70,but with wickets tumbling at reg-ular intervals from the otherend, the Royals innings failed toget the momentum it needed.

South African pacer AnrichNortje (2/18) led the Delhibowlers who performed as acohesive unit. Avesh Khan(1/29), Kagiso Rabada (1/26),Axar Patel (1/27), RavichandranAshwin (1/20) snapped a wick-et each.

With the win the Capitalsreturned to the top of the tablewhile the Royals moved down tothe sixth spot.

Defending a modest total,pacers Khan and Nortje provid-ed the electric start that theCapitals needed, sending backboth openers — LiamLivingstone (1) and YashasviJaiswal (5) in the first two overs.

Skipper Rishabh Pant madea bowling change by bringing inAshwin and the senior Indianspinner got rid of the dangerousDavid Miller (7) to leave theRoyals tottering at 17 for 3.

With the required run rateincreasing, Rajasthan needed107 runs in the last 10 over.

Samson and young MahipalLomror (19) seemed to be reviv-ing the innings but the ever-reliant Rabada nipped the part-nership in the bud.

Riyan Parag (2) and RahulTewatia (9) couldn’t provide avaluable contribution either.

Samson was going strong,hitting boundaries at will but theDelhi bowlers came back strong-ly. Earlier, the Royals pacers —led by Mustafizur Rahman(2/22), Chetan Sakariya (2/33)and Kartik Tyagi (1/40) —shared five wickets while spinall-rounder Rahul Tewatia(1/17) dismissed one batsman.

Tyagi, the star of the match

against Punjab Kings, drew firstblood with his very first deliv-ery in the fourth over, cleaningup Orange Cap holder ShikharDhawan (8).

The Delhi opener looked toplay a good length delivery butthe ball rolled back to hit thetimber. Prithvi Shaw (10) soonfollowed his opening partnerback to the dugout, slicing the

ball off Sakariya to LiamLivingstone at mid-off.

At the end of the powerplay,the Capitals were precariouslyplaced at 36 runs for the loss oftwo wickets.

With spin introduced inthe seventh over Shreyas Iyer (43off 32 balls) and skipper RishabhPant (24 off 24 balls) started torepair the damage caused by theloss of the openers.

The duo, who stitched a 62-run partnership, kept the score-board ticking, while also hittingthe occasional boundaries at thehuge Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

The stylish Iyer then hit thefirst maximum of the matchover long off in the 10th over offleft-arm wrist spinner TabraizShamsi (0/34).

As the two Delhi battersfound their footing, Rahmanwas brought back into the attackand the move immediately paiddividends as Pant, looking tohook the ball away, ended upgetting an under edge.

Samson then showed hisskills with gloves to stump Iyer,who failed to stretch his backfoot inside the crease as wicketcontinued to tumble at regularintervals.

����� �9'01'9

Young leg-spinner RaviBishnoi snared threewickets as Punjab Kings

dished out a clinical bowling dis-play to beat struggling SunrisersHyderabad by five runs in a low-scoring but entertaining IndianPremier League match here onSaturday.

The 21-year-old Bishnoi(3/24) ran through the SRHmiddle order after veteran Indiapacer Mohammed Shamirocked the run chase early on bydismissing both David Warner(2) and captain KaneWilliamson (1) cheaply in thefirst and third overs respective-ly. Chasing 126 for a win on aslow Sharjah Cricket Stadiumtrack, SRH ended at 120 for 7 in20 overs to end their hopes ofmaking it to the play-offs.

Punjab, however, kept theirhopes alive as they grabbed thefifth place with 8 points from 10matches.

West Indian Jason Holderraised hopes of a dramatic winfor SRH with a late onslaught of

47 off just 29 balls with the helpof five sixes but in the end SRHwere short by five runs.

SRH needed 21 from thefinal two overs and ArshdeepSingh conceded just four runsfrom the penultimate over.Needing 17 runs from the finalover bowled by Nathan Ellis,Holder hit a six in the secondball but SRH needed a six to tiethe score and take the match toSuper Over.

But Holder, who had takenthree wickets for 19 runs in thePunjab Kings innings, couldscore just one run from the finalball.

SRH were 20 for 2 afterPower Play and Bishnoi took thecentre stage from then onwardsas he removed the next threebatsmen to stifle the SRH runchase.

First, he had Manish Pandey(13) in the eighth over beforedismissing Kedar Jadhav (12)and Abdul Samad (1).

From 43 for 3 at the halfwaymark, SRH were 60 for 5 in the13th over. The arrival of JasonHolder at the crease gave some

hopes to SRH as the West Indianhit two sixes to take 16 runsfrom the 16th over bowled byNathan Ellis.

SRH needed 35 from thefinal four overs andWriddhiman Shah (31) was setat the other end but he got runout in the 17th over in a horri-ble mix-up.

Earlier, Holder’s impressivespell of three wickets for 19 runshelped SRH restrict PunjabKings to 125 for 7 after beingsent in to bat. Punjab Kings bats-men struggled to get going on aslow wicket and failed to stitchany big partnership, the highestbeing the 30-run stand betweenChris Gayle and AidenMarkram, who top-scored witha 32-ball 27, for the third wick-et.

Captain KL Rahul hadscored 49 in the previous matchbut got dismissed early thistime as he fell to Holder’s firstball for a run-a-ball 21 in thefifth over.

The other opener MayankAgarwal (5), who had scored 67against Rajasthan Royals on

Tuesday, was out four balls lateras he sliced a Holder delivery toKane Williamson at mid off.

Punjab Kings were 29 for 2after Power Play and could havebeen three wickets down thenext over but David Warnerdropped Markram off KhaleelAhmed. The Mohali-based sidewere 55 for 2 at halfway mark.

Chris Gayle shunned play-ing his trademark big-hittingshots but got dimissed for 14 off17 balls off the bowling ofRashid Khan.

Nicholas Pooran (8) fol-lowed his senior West Indiancolleague to the dressing roomthe next over, while Markram’spromising innings ended in the15th over while looking for big shots to accelerate theinnings.

Deepak Hooda (13) hitsome lusty blows before substi-tute fielder J Suchith plucked theball out of thin air in an out-standing fielding effort to dis-miss the batsman. Punjab Kingstook 14 runs from the final overbowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumarto end their innings at 125 for 7.

8�����������2������������*AA�� ������'���&��������

� /��� ������3 / �� �3�� ��!� �� ��������"�� �'���������0�����- !�� � ��3 / �� �3�� �� #�A��������

0�����- !�� ��!� ����"������ '�������� ��������"������ �'�� " ���3 / �� �3�� � #�A��������

%+ ��������1�����,������ �'�� ��:�;� &� ��������>� ���

"�5����!�����������;�� ����5��;��=����$��������

� �����������'�� ������������������������������������0�2����

������ "�B:<��� B<���'���0����������!� �� ����6C��'�-�5��� ���������!� ����= � �����

'����"�"1�-��,>

0��.��������'��'��� "�=�5����

&#'�#' :�

Your idle movie time mightbe a day out with yourfriends or family at a the-atre. But have you imaginedwatching a movie in the

Himalayas? Well, Himalayas are nomore just about trekking or stargaz-ing. The five-day-long HimalayanFilm Festival is taking place in Leh cap-ital city as part of the celebrations of‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ for com-memorating 75 years of India’sIndependence.

It aims to create an interactive andexposure platform to promote aspir-ing local filmmakers and to showcaseLadakh as an attractive film destina-tion with people participating from allthe Himalayan regions of India, Tibetand Nepal.

The festival is being organised byLeh in collaboration with theDirectorate of Film Festivals under theUnion Ministry of Information andBroadcasting and is held at the SindhuSanskriti Kendra at Leh.

Movies in the Himalayas? That tooin an inflatable cinema theatre? Thatsounds quite strange as well as excit-ing. The administration of the UnionTerritory of Ladakh has collaboratedwith Picturetime to screen films in oneof the Picturetime theatres. It is aninflatable cinema theatre company thatjust launched the world's highest alti-tude cinema theatre in Ladakh,installed at a height of 11,562 feet.

In India, where there are less than10,000 screens, with such an innova-tion, screening is no longer an issue.“When I looked at the travelling cin-ema I realised if we can build a cine-ma theatre following the same conceptbut using the building material ordesign which will not compromise thecinematic experience, I designed an

inflatable cinema theatre screen. Wegot the patent for this design and cur-rently, our vision is to set up 3000 cin-ema screens across India,” says SushilChaudhary, founder and CEO ofPicturetime Digiplex.

Speaking about why India hasfewer screens he says, “The two mainreasons why India doesn't have cine-ma screens are because of the high realestate price and regulatory constraint,that is the permission to set up a cin-ema theatre.”

Inflatable theatre seems like afuture for such touring festivals as itwould not just be about grabbing yourseat at a four-walled theatre and stick-ing to it until the movie is over. It takesthe whole experience of watching amovie to the next level. However, for

smooth viewing, it is important to havethe right technical specification and theright film. “Physical infrastructureand ambience can be created but theright format and right standards arevery important. At Picturetime we fol-low all those standards and we ensurethat viewers have a smooth experience,”says Chaudhary.

Well, setting up the inflatable the-atre didn’t come easy. At first, it was dif-ficult to put across the whole idea ofthe inflatable cinema to people. Thelocals who long for cinema found thisconcept quite different and took sometime to accept it. It was difficult for peo-ple to comprehend what an inflatabletheatre would be like or what a mobiledigital movie theatre is. Chaudhary saysthat this challenge is taken care of once

they step inside the theatre. “Another challenge is convincing

the administration that this theatre willgive multiplex par experience,” he tellsyou. Popular films from the Himalayanstates viz Assam, Sikkim, Manipur,Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya,Nagaland, Uttarakhand, ArunachalPradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Ladakhbesides Indian panorama selected filmswill be showcased during the festival.

Film ‘Shershaah’ directed byVishnuvardhan was chosen as an open-ing film as it was shot in that region andpeople resonate well with it. “Film hasa great response and people reallywished to see it on the big screen.Watching a film like Shershaah on thebig screen will be an experience so manyhave been waiting for,” he tells you.

He further adds that the closingfilm is ‘Shepherdess of the Glaciers’, abrilliant Ladakhi film shot in Leh.With this, the idea is to showcase thetalent of Ladakh to the world.

There will also be a competitionsection for short films and docu-mentaries to recognise talented film-makers in the Himalayan region ofIndia, connect to the sparsely locat-ed film-making community of theregion and encourage fresh talent.

While RajKumar Hirani’s ‘3 idiots’,Raja Shabir Khan’s ‘Shepherds ofParadise’, Bedabrata Pain’s‘Chittagong’ and S Nallamuthu’s‘The World’s Most Famous Tiger’ aresome of the Hindi films that shall bescreened at the Picturetime theatre,films from various other regions thatshall be screened are ‘Yathavat’ direct-ed by Tribeni Rai (Nepali), ‘Mane DePhere’ directed by Sanjeev Rattan(Himachali), ‘Yarwng’ directed byJoseph Pulinthanath (Tripura),Crossing Bridges’ directed by SangeDorjee Thongdok (ArunachalPradesh), ‘Ishu’ - Directed by UtpalBorpujari (Assamese), NagaDocumentary - “The Pangti Story”directed by Sesino Yhoshu and‘Iewduh’ Directed by Pradip Kurbah(Khasi, Meghalaya ).

To ensure everyone’s safety dur-ing the festival, Picturetime has decid-ed to abide by all COVID-19 SOPslaid down by the government. Withmaintaining adequate distance, theywill be sanitising the theatre afterscreening every movie. “We will makethat people wear masks throughoutthe fest. We are not giving any relax-ation to people who got vaccinated,the rules are the same for them too,”Chaudhary concludes.

World�����

���������� ���� ������#�)�������)�(������&��� �&�����������������*+��,�����������-�� ����������&�����)���&������ �)�����������./,�������������������&��� �&�������������������� ���������0�������������������������������������������������������������,�����������-�� �����������������/)�����./,������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ��������������������/1���� �������!��2����������1������)����������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������� �,������������������������� "������������������

����

������� ����������������3�������

������������������ ����������������������� �������&�������������������������������������������������������������������������������,�����������#����������������������������&2�����������45�66&��� �./,����������������������,������ ���������������������������������0�����,������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������������������(���������������2������������������,������������ �����������������/#������������������������&0����1���&�&3����3�����&������������������&2�����&�& � �����&�� �./0���������������� ������,����������/

�����

� What’s your role inThalaivii?

Those who have not seen thefilm, I play RM Veerappan, whois a politician and a manager andproducer for MGR. He has hisown ideologies and philoso-phies. He is a straightforwardperson who has a very clean andneat idea for the upliftment ofTamil Nadu. His vision is to helppeople and build his party withthe help of MGR. He loves hiscountry, especially his State. �How did you come onboardfor the project?

The director Vijay is a veryold friend. He saw me in SecretSuperstar and his belief in me hasonly grown since then. It tookme some time to come on boardas there were a lot of actorsalready lined up for the samerole. Casting director MukeshChhabra also pushed my name.�Whats your role in Yudhra?

It is very early to talk aboutYudhra. Any project, which I ama part of, I don’t want to reveal

things about that project in thebeginning. Because then there isno mystery and no excitementfor that role. It is also an injus-tice to the people involved withthe project. � Is there a role you loved?

I am at that stage rightnow where every role I choose,I fall in love with it. There is norole in the last two-three years,which I have not loved, or I havenot died for. Every role I do, Ithink at that particular momentthat this is perhaps the best Ihave got. Then I start living withthat character. After SecretSuperstar, every role I played,gave me a phenomenal amountof satisfaction and by the graceof God I have got different roleseach time. And I sometimessurprise myself too that I couldmanage to do this role, nowwhat? � What was the role thatchanged your career graph?

Secret Superstar, Farukh, isthe role which has changed my

career graph as well as my life,living style. I personally take itas my first film. It has given meeverything I wanted, existence,respect, roles I wanted and lotsof work and balance in life.

�How did acting happen?When I was in school, I

realised interest in acting. I tookpart in plays in school. and onceI was given a role of RajaDashrath in which he was sup-posed to shoot the deer but acci-dently hits Shravan Kumar. Myfriends bursted out laughingand only then I realised thatwhatever I do, I want to do itwith perfection. Later, I joinedthe Bhopal theatre group. Afterworking with Habib Tanvir sir inBhopal, I moved to Mumbai. �What's your checklist ofchoosing a project?

I long for a story whichtouches my heart or give megoosebumps. I see if it is a log-ical story and if it is going on theright path. It is important for amovie to be relatable, realisticand convincing — plot whichcan make people believe in it. �What next?

There is Love Hostel, Yudhra,Telugu web series called Jhansi,and a Hindi web series as well.

&)1 )&1:#�����������������#����������;�������������+,).�#� +)/+"#) ��� ����������������������������� ���4�����������

+� ����%�

NatureTalk

B���������� ����H���/�������� �������

���P����/��� ��������/���������������������������� ����/�������������3���������������� ��B����������7�@ /�����������������������B����������I���B�B����S$ ������%�H���I���������'������ !�������'���0����+������ �3�����/�����

��/�������������������� ������� /��� ����P�'���������������������������B����������+��������"�������+������B���� ��� �,?���������PP�$� ������� �������������B���������������������%�H���B��������G���������G������������� �������������������� �����3.���G����P�@�G ��� � ���������� ����������/���B�����P�

,,�--�������11����&&�22�� ��D%�� ������������������.��� ���!�117!���

7���������������������������������������������� ��������� ����������� ����� ���� ��.�/������#��������������.����������� ��� �

������������������ ��� ������������!������������ ����������������.�� �� �������/���� ���� ����������� ������

8��� ����������� ����� ����!������������3� ������������������������ 5�/������������������������ ��� ��+���/�������������/���� �������� ����� ����� �����.� ������������������������� ����������������� ����������� �� ����� ����.������������ ����� ���������� ������� ����������� ����������

�What’s your role in Nakaab?It is an investigative thriller. An actor has

died and there is an enquiry how she died —whether it is a sucide or a murder; what is hap-pening around this death. I play Zohra Mehra,an entertainment producer. She is a very ruthlessand ambitious kind of a person who doesn’t carefor anything. All she wants to do is make herempire. If you see, in real life also, the kind ofthings that are happening, — so many actorsdying — Nakaab is extremely relevant today. �What was the attraction of playing this

character?It was because of the relevance that this

film has — the relevance of all these unnatur-al deaths that have taken place. The script isvery strong; it talks about the pressures thatone feels when you are in the entertainmentindustry. This industry is so different fromthe person who has a 9 am to 5 pm job; hewould not be able to relate to the lifestylethat the entertainment has nor the pressure— pressure to look good, pressure to beperfect, to look perfect; pressure to be acertain way. But how do you deal with it.Some people take to drugs, some becomealcoholics, some commit suicide. What I

read, the effect and role of social media andhow the media sensationalises everything. I

knew that we had to do this film.� You were away for a couple of years. What

was keeping you busy?I was travelling the world. It was the best

time to travel. The airports were empty, airplanes were empty. Roads were almost empty.There were no long queues at immigration. Iwent to all the countries which were allowingentry. �How tough was it?

It was not so tough. Sanitising is good for us— it keeps us protected, doing COVID tests isfor our safety. It is about conditioning yourselfand becoming used to the protocols that one hasto follow. It is good in fact. Everything is somuch cleaner now.

�How tough was it to shoot?The challenge was that we had to take the

COVID test every two days. We also followedvery strict protocols. While shooting you becomeinvolved in the scene that you forget the proto-cols, it is challenging to keep them in mind andfollow them. The staff is wearing PPE kits anddoing their work. This is tough.�How was the experience of working on aninvestigative thriller?

I loved the role I was given in Nakaabbecause there is nothing fake here. The director,Soumik Sen, wanted to keep thngs real. My char-acter is a chain smoker. I have never smoked inmy life. I had to practice a lot on how to hold acigarette. Such roles are tough to write. � Is it possible for commercial and realisticcinema to meet at a point?

It is impossible to have a meeting pointfor the two. Commercial Bollywood films have aset formula. Realistic films take big risks.Zohra in Nakkab is sans make-up; she doesn’tneed it. �What kind of camaraderie did you sharewith Esha Gupta and Gautam Rode given thepresent pandemic and social distancing?

There was a lot of camaraderie. We didn’t gocrazy; we maintained social distance. Since wetook tests every other day, we knew we were safe.�How has the journey been?

It has been amazing. Imagine, I came fromHaryana. Bollywood gave me everything —name, fame and even failures. It has given mesuper hits and flops as well. It is part of a greatjourney.�How has the OTT worked for you?

It has been wonderful. For an actor, it isimportant to reinvent. The kind of roles that arebeing written on the OTT platform, the writersare also coming up with challenges roles forthem. �What next?

I am working on a project with Rajat Kapoor,RKRKAY. I play the lead — an actor of the 1950s.

������������ ������������������� ������#����� ������������+������+����� ������������������������� �������������� ����������������������������������������������� � �'7!.!�!7&�!��&<<#�

I<0�:���!.����$��:�$0<.�+.�#��#<!7&�

+<A!#�.��.��!��I<0�<:0�'I�.@��!.�!��'�<:.

+<7#!.!<7!7&�@<:0��%I'7#���+<B!7&�:��#�.<

.9��$0<.<+<%��.9'.<7��9'��.<�I<%%<8��!.

!��&<<#�!7�I'+.��A�[email protected]!7&�!���<�B:+9

+%�'7�0�7<8

talktime

�������������������������������������� ���������������� ��!��� ��������� �"���� ��!��������

;6��5966?)+;4&?�� ��?�� ��@2���2����A� �'���@?��� � :�����2����#���A1�' :����8���@8���:� � ���A��&����@!�� 3�������A(�����@8���:� � ���A

438�+&1)+38�+&1�������@!���;���A&� '���5��7�@!���� ?����AB���6��6�B���@2�����%� ����A��������@# �����3���� �A;��;��3���@��� ;���'��A

8#���"����� �������� ����'�������� ��.

4 ��

Masterstroke

-��� '�����������.���.9II�������� ���������������������������� �������������%���/�������������������� ���������������������������� ���!��������� ���������� ������������������ ����������/� ����:$0!@'�0'B��9����������� �

‘IT’SIMPORTANTFOR AN ACTORTO REINVENT’

MALLIKA SHERAWAT

�����������*������ *����+�,����-./�-0-1

������������

��������������

����������������������������

The pandemic has delivered a triple-whammy to parents. First and fore-most, the pandemic itself is anunprecedented, once-in-a-lifetimeevent. Even the best of scientists

cannot predict where it is headed; who are safe,who are vulnerable; or what precautions —including vaccines — afford what level of pro-tection. Secondly, children have been uprootedfrom their routines, confined inside the house,kept away from socialising and have even beenforced by circumstances to become screenaddicts. Parenting, which is a discoveryprocess, even in normal circumstances, hasbecome far tougher due to these added stress-es. Thirdly, parents themselves have beenuprooted from their routines and forced toreduce social interactions. Many have lost theirjobs and many have work hours that haveeaten up into personal time in an unprecedent-ed blending of work and personal life.

And now, their world is going to be shakenup yet again, with schools reopening. Routinesbeing practiced over the last 18 months willneed to be unlearned and new routines re-established, with the sword of Damocles of apossible new wave always hanging on theirheads. This is when the principles of ActiveParenting can come to the rescue of parents.

��������������� ��������While every child is unique and every fam-

ily and circumstances unique, the underlyingprinciples, framework and strategies of ActiveParenting can substantially help in every situa-tion, for every child and every parent. ActiveParenting can help parents significantly inreducing stress — both for their children andfor themselves. In fact, it can even help in con-verting these uncertainties into learningopportunities for children and bonding oppor-tunities for the family. The three key principlesof Active Parenting are as below. ��Inculcate the right attributes and qualitiessystematically and proactively instead of fire-fighting when issues pop up��Be mindful that every opportunity can beutilised to build these attributes and qualitiesand proactively use every opportunity to dothat��Provide high support, while empoweringchildren to take ownership and responsibilityfor their own lives

Based on the above principles, there areseveral strategies and age-appropriate tech-niques that a practitioner of Active Parentingcan use to tackle each of the challenges thatschool reopening presents.

������������������� �����������������

First let us list out the challenges to betackled. ��Both parents and children may have fear of

Covid. Even though most schools are takingutmost care in putting in place strict guidelinesfor ensuring there is no Covid outbreak, in aschool with many children, implementation isunlikely to be perfect. This could lead to anxi-ety and stress for both parents and children.��For both children and parents, reopeningmeans changing routines drastically. For chil-dren, it means having to get up earlier bysometimes as much as 60 to 90 minutes, get-ting ready, giving up on snacking any time theywant, coming back from school feeling tiredetc. For parents, it again means having to getup earlier to get children ready, ensuringbreakfast/snack is ready on time, sometimeshaving to drop and pick up children from theschool or bus stop etc. These can induce stressand also create conflict between parents andchildren. ��For children, school reopening will createacademic stress. After perhaps 18 months, theyare going back into a formal classroom. Whilemost schools had organised for online classes,in is a less-than-perfect mode of learning andit is likely that the topics covered in the lasteighteen months haven’t been absorbed wellenough. Even worse, surveys have shown thatthere is even some slippage of concepts learnedbefore the pandemic. Many children will feeloverwhelmed by the workload in the first fewmonths as schools try to cover lost ground. ��Social stress is another problem that somechildren will need to deal with, especially themore introverted children. Children who havebeen subjected to bullying in the past and whohave had a safe cocoon at home in these eigh-teen months will be suddenly confronted withthe prospect of facing their tormentors again.There could also be children who are appre-hensive of certain teachers who would dreadthe prospect of facing them face to face again.

In children, these signs of stress couldmanifest in many ways. Reluctance to go toschool, tantrums, unusual levels of obstinacy,subdued look, emotional meltdowns,headache, upset stomach etc. are few of thesigns that parents can watch out for. On theother hand, stress can cause irritation, short-temper, frustration, and even anger in parents.

���������������� �������� �������With so much stress on themselves and on

the children on various counts, the principlesof Active Parenting can come to the rescue.First and foremost, parents need to extendunconditional support to their children bydemonstrating deep love, compassion andtrust. While it is understandable that parents,who are themselves under stress, might feelirritated, impatient and short-tempered whenchildren show reluctance to go to school orotherwise act difficult, parents need to beunderstanding and empathetic.

In fact, they need to be proactive in bring-

ing up the possibility of the above stress pointsand assure the children that they understandthat there may be stress on them and that theparents are there to help them. What the childneeds in a parent in a situation like this is afriend who they can share their apprehensionsor worries with and not a pushy and aggressivemaster. To quote the famous model of the clin-ical psychologist, Diana Baumrind, parentsneed to be high on warmth and responsivenessduring this turmoil.

��� �������But the question remains — how can par-

ents ensure that children share their apprehen-sions openly? This would depend a lot on thenature of the child. But one of the key strate-gies of Active Parenting — befriending — canhelp in unlocking some of the reluctance ofchildren to share deeply personal stuff. Theunderlying principle is that children, likeadults, feel more comfortable in sharing innerfeelings when there is empathy and trustinstead of judgment. For this, parents need tospend quality time with children. It will help ifparents can share instances from their ownchildhood, when they faced stressful situations.This may give the confidence for children toopen up their own fears.

Another technique would be to have afamily team discussion: with each membersharing their own challenges and fears relatingto the current situation. Then each membercan share an action plan on what they intent todo to overcome the challenges. Finally, eachmember can request specific support fromother members of the team. It can start witheach of the parents sharing how the new rou-tines could affect them and asking specific sup-port from each other to help them cope withthis. Then they could also ask for specific sup-port from the children, such as ‘taking respon-sibility for manging their own routine’ or‘being patient when they come back homehungry, if their favourite food isn’t available’.This could prompt the children to also sharetheir challenges and expected support.

One of the aspects that can get addressedthrough the above ‘team approach’ is Covidappropriate behaviour. As someone who hasbeen deeply involved with the pandemicresponse of a large philanthropic organisation,I would like to reassure the parents that thereis very little chance of children catching asevere attack of Covid.

However, it is important to take all precau-tion and ensuring both children and parentsfollow Covid appropriate behaviour is critical.Parents need to impress upon children theimportance of following the protocols such asmasking, regular handwashing, and physicaldistancing. They need to spell these out andensure children understand the reason behindthese guidelines.

The children should know that their devia-tion from the protocols could affect the parentsand other elders at home — if any — far worsethan it would affect themselves. This is a greatway to build a sense of responsibility. Let thechildren know that you trust them to adhere tothe guidelines. Parents also need to role modelCovid-appropriate behaviour when they them-selves venture out.

�������� ���������������During this challenging transition period,

the two traits that parents need to role-modelare patience and empathy. With each other, aswell as with kids. If the parents are biting eachother’s heads off at the drop of a hat, it wouldbe unreasonable and impractical for them toexpect a patient behaviour from their children.When children observe their parents facingstressful situations in a candid and humorousfashion, they are also likely to adopt the samebehaviour. This includes unabashed apologyfrom parents to each other and to the childrenwhen they lose their cool and making fun oftheir own such ‘ridiculous’ behaviour.

��� ���������Another key Active Parenting strategy that

can come in handy in such situations is story-telling. There is no better way to inculcate thedesired qualities (values and traits) in childrenthan by telling them stories — of real lifeheroes and fictitious heroes who manifestedthe same qualities and succeeded because ofthem. Similarly, parents telling the children oftimes when they themselves demonstratedthese qualities to their own advantage will alsohelp in driving home the benefit of these quali-ties. Of course, it is important that these story-telling sessions do not appear to be sessions forthe sake of building these qualities.

The primary purpose of stories should beentertainment as far as the child is concerned.The secondary and invisible purpose is incul-cating the traits and values. The child shouldsubconsciously absorb these deeper messages.In a stressful situation like this, the most desir-able qualities to instil are self-discipline, senseof responsibility, ownership, sense of humour,respect, gratitude etc. remember that storiesplant seeds in the mind and at the appropriatetime, these seeds sprout.

Every crisis is an opportunity. If the abovesuggestions are embraced by parents whole-heartedly, they might find that this stressful sit-uation was the best learning period for them-selves and their children and that it offered atruly life-altering situation with family bondsbecoming stronger than ever.

The writer is an IITian, a tech company co-founder, a motivational speaker & the author of

Active Parenting: How to raise children withboundless potential, published by HarperCollins

India

��6&6A�('�#6��%�(�A5�'�A(��C(5'�#D�'��>#&56�<�'#�(5*%��6��;�'�67�6'$������(<�'#�##=�('��'��%���('�7(=�%��'�*�DD�5�6'�D#5�(��

��2��(3�4 &��&�%��2�� �5�2�2��%

' �4%2���67�� %��(�5�2�&

> 3 4 ( � ? � % 5 � % . �

�D�<#&�'5<�'#�5�%#�?��<#&���(=6�%%�%/�'���6*�����6;�C#'�6'�(�������C�(<�#&'&6��6*�5�*�(6*����C�<#&���?����'�#&'�%'5�%%

A TRIPLE-WHAMMYFOR PARENTS

PANDEMIC:

!7�+9!%#0�7��.9�����!&7�<I��.0����+<:%#

B'7!I��.�!7�B'7@�8'@��0�%:+.'7+��.<�&<�.<�+9<<%��.'7.0:B��:7:�:'%�%�A�%��<I<��.!7'+@���:�#:�#

%<<����B<.!<7'%B�%.#<87���9�'#'+9��:$��.��.<B'+9��.+��'0�I�8�<I�.9���!&7��.9'.

$'0�7.��+'7�8'.+9�<:.I<0��<7�.9��<.9�0�9'7#�

�.0����+'7�+':��!00!.'.!<7���9<0.3

.�B$�0��I0:�.0'.!<7�'7#��A�7�'7&�0�!7

$'0�7.�

'������$� ����������������� ��������������������

���������� ��������� ����� ������ ������� ������������� ����0'B&�A'%%'.9����

�������������� �������Q ���3��� � ����

������H���������/����������������������

������������

� � �� ������� �����

������������

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

8<00@�7�A�0�0<��.<B<00<8�<I�!.�

�<00<8��!.�<7%@��'$�.<#'@�<I�!.��1<@5�%�<��:�+'&%!'<

?%..�5�����$0'B<#�$'.9'�

Writing about Gandhi is a passion for some. It is afashion for some. But there is another class that hasemerged on the scene, the Gandhi baiters. Though

still insignificant in numbers, the group is aggressive, vocaland kind of social media activist who believe that a stormcan be created in a tea cup. For such activists attempts todemean Gandhi is a pastime they enjoy. Whether it is a per-ception or a propaganda, misinformation or disinformation,the campaign is more impulsive than objective. But there isneed to let the right knowledge reach the vast young pop-ulation who get carried away by social media. Maybe, therecent research publication by an authentic source like theSage throw some light on the nature of social media misin-formation and serve as an eye opener. The study has right-ly found that India is one of the most misinformation affect-ed country and also produces the largest amount of misin-formation. Obviously, because social media is a full time pas-time for a large number of people. Against this backdrop,and even at risk of coming in the firing range of the trollbrigade let’s talk about Gandhi on his yet another birthday.More so, because we are celebrating 75 years of Indian inde-pendence in a big way. Though it must be acknowledged thatthere were many who fought for and contributed towardsIndia’s freedom, yet it was Gandhi who played the stellar role.Many before his advent on the scene tried to make the BritishGovernment listen, but it was Gandhi who succeeded. It wasGandhi who proved that the British were not invincible. Itwas Gandhi who converted the Congress into an organ ofmass movement from a motley group of passionate peopledominated by lawyers. And it was Gandhi who influencedthe world’s opinion against the British that ultimately pavedway for their retreat. From Champaran to Dandi it wasGandhi who involved the common Indian in the fight againstthe British. The greatest misstatement on Gandhi is abouthis Hindu credentials. The fact is that he was a more devoutHindu than the many who are championing the cause today.Gandhi not only understood Hinduism in its real sense, buthe also practiced it religiously. He followed the principles ofGeeta and believed in the philosophy of the religion so lucid-ly advocated by Swami Vivekananda. His understanding ofRam was much better than many of the claimants of Ram’slegacy today. A perfect blend of tradition and modernity,Gandhi was an example of ethical leadership, so popular inManagement classrooms today. In fact, no course on ethicscan be complete without a mention of Gandhi. He not onlypreached ethical conduct, but he epitomised it. Ethics for himwas not about right behaviour when you are in temple, butalso when you are alone and no one is watching. He believedin truth and nonviolence, he believed in upliftment of thepoorest, he believed in cleanliness as Godliness. For him sim-ple living and high thinking was the credo and he practicedwhat he preached. For him means and ends were interchange-able. His economic ideas were endorsed by the World Banktime and again. Little wonder, he still is one of our most pop-ular global brands. Rightly was he adjudged man of the mil-lennium in the year 2000. For those who still not understandhim: forgive them O’lord, for they know not what they do.

� �� ���� �!����������� "����%�������%� �� � ''� �����!����'�!� ���6�)��' ������ '���� ��!! �� �6��E"� ��6'��

God is always on a lookout forways to help us, reward us. Thatis why He is always watching us,

listening to us and He even knows whatwe are thinking. The purpose is torespond to us as necessary. Such is thecosmic design. He pleased when some-one is dutiful, i.e. one performs one’sduties. Of course, God is much morepleased if someone acts according to‘dharma’ for which reason He incar-nates. He appreciates those engaged inwelfare activities to an extent that Hehas assured no ‘durgati’ (bad end) forsuch persons. Lord Krishna has specif-ically commended Janakaji for hisselfless working with public welfare.(3.20)

God has commended even thosewho approach Him due to distress;Lord Krishna has called such personsnoble. (7.18) Same view He holds aboutseekers of wealth. There is nothingwrong in seeking wealth; God’s onlyrequirement is that it should be accord-ing to ‘dharma’. If seeking wealth wasnot desirable, the entire world will bedisqualified. Can you expect God tohave such a mindset? Then, where isour problem in pleasing God? What wewant must be bona fide and God willbe pleased if we approach Him. Andspiritual acts, even a little, are highlypleasing to God; He promises protec-tion from great fear. (3.40) It is impos-sible to imagine if anyone of us ispleased so easily and readily.

But we have plenty of excuses bothnot to approach God and also not totry to please Him by our acts. The mostcommon excuse is that others are notdoing it. Yes, they are not, because theywon’t as Lord Krishna has pointed outwhen he stated, “Due to the illusion

caused by hate and duality of wish, allliving entities get illusioned.” (7.27) Ifwe wish to be one of the masses and gothrough the cycle of birth and deathand spend an ordinary life and returnfor another ordinary life, that is ourdecision. But if we wish to lead a qual-ity life in this one and the next, we mustbe prepared to listen to God’s instruc-tions and try to please Him. Is he notthe one who holds all the cards?

Another excuse is that we will dowhat God says in old age. Noble idea,but it does not work. By that time ourhabits become rigid and bodies weak.The reality is that any effort requiredto approach God and please Himbecomes increasingly difficult withage. The third excuse is that mind doesnot agree. Of course it won’t because wehave embraced a child’s mindset, whorefuses to eat a fruit because he does notlike it. Has he tasted the fruit? No, he

hasn’t. This explains the fourth excuse,which is: who has seen God? Surely, youhaven’t because you didn’t make therequisite effort. But how can you be surethat others have also not seen God?Have you checked with everyone beforemaking such a statement? The list ofexcuses is endless. So where does it getus? The Lord has answered: in illusion.I am sure some of us are smart enoughto admit that the present life is not thatgreat and something should be doneabout it. God is very merciful. As thesaying goes, you take one step, He takes99 towards you. This one baby step willalso please God and He will rewardadequately much more that our expec-tations. It is no wonder that devoteesof God write such praise for God,because they are overwhelmed bywhat God does for them. $������� �!����� ��������� ��' ������ '���

��!����� �E /�������6'��

Vairagya, in Sanskrit, roughlytranslates as dispassion,detachment, or renunciation.The big question on renunci-ation is ‘what is it that we are

renouncing’?Is tyaag (sacrifice) of all our

worldly possessions the same as renun-ciation? To understand this, I wouldlike to draw from Yog Vashistha.There is a wonderful story of a kingand queen who eventually realised thetruth. While the queen realised it veryearly, the king decided that the way toenlightenment was austerity andpenance. He left his kingdom in thecare of his wife, gave up all his world-ly possessions and moved to the for-est where he performed severepenance for many years — so was thisthe right path to enlightenment? Notreally, it just resulted in him beingextremely frustrated and unhappy.This is a common confusion with ini-tiates on the path to spiritual growth.

True renunciation does not lie inbecoming a swami, going to themountains, living in a ‘dharamshala’and sleeping on the floor. Further, itcan be attained by anyone — whethera multi-millionaire, yogi, student,farmer, doctor, prisoner or anyone else.It’s not what you have or don’t have;it’s your state of consciousness. This,of course, sounds very profound butlet’s discuss what it really means. The

renunciate is someone who rests in thejoy of the spirit rather than that pro-vided by the senses. A true renunci-ate enjoys what comes to themunsought, and does not chase desiresin this illusionary world. In fact seek-ing enlightenment and forciblyrenouncing worldly pleasures as theking also translates into intense desireas does the setting of milestones tomeasure spiritual progress.

If I were to put it in a single state-ment — someone who has overcomethe attraction of the senses and isdetached in terms of possessions,relationships and desires is a truerenunciate.

Renunciation is a critical part ofthe journey towards enlightenment,however the way to look at it is not thatyou don’t ‘own anything’ rather it is tonot let anything ‘own you’. Not yoursenses, not your mind, not your pos-sessions, not your relationships andmost of all not your ‘identity’. Remainestablished in the ‘self ’. So how doesone renounce all these ‘thinks’ and‘things’?

A simple way to look at it is equa-nimity. When we remain unaffected byjoy and sorrow, pain and pleasure, likesand dislikes, we achieve equanimity.How then do we reach this stage. Inthis article we will examine one of theways to get there, and that is the wayof ‘acceptance’. When we see things just

‘as they are’ and not as they ‘should orshould not be’ we develop acceptance.Apart from situations and scenariosthat may occur externally, this also per-tains to accepting ourselves. Thisdoes not mean inaction or making noeffort towards correction and change.But once acceptance has permeatedwithin, it lacks the emotion and youlearn to accept yourself on an ‘as-is-where-is’ basis. I am not recommend-ing a sense of futility or fatalism, whichare both negative in connotation.Rather, saints often talk about ‘content-ment’, the root of which lies in ‘accep-tance’ which stems from a positivemindset.

Rabia of Basra, was a well-knownSufi mystic. Her approach to spiritu-al life won respect from many contem-poraries. When people asked her,“When are servants of god content?”She replied, “They are content whenthey are as grateful for pain, as they arefor pleasure.”

It’s a long journey, a journeywhich we have traversed across manylifetimes, and as we continue thepath. Let me share a great tool to buildacceptance of oneself and others. It isknown as pratipaksh bhavana. This isone of the yogic mind practices thatteaches you to cultivate a positivethought every time a negative oneenters the mind. In other words, it isa device to create an opposite attitude

towards thoughts or feelings thatcause a disturbance in your mind.

In simpler words, it reflects anopposite viewpoint. When you receivethoughts about something your intel-lect does not like, you select an oppo-site thought to superimpose the dis-liked original one. For example, ifsomeone is rude to you, instead of nat-urally developing animosity towardsthem, pratipaksh bhavana teaches youto look at them in the opposite man-ner. You can convince yourself thatmaybe the person was going throughstress and did not realise how theywere speaking, or that perhaps it wasyour destiny to face a crude reactionfrom someone, or you can ask your-self if something you said initiated thisreaction. These are just a few illustra-tions of how you can stop the otherperson’s behaviour from hurting you.

As a golden rule instead of look-ing at the rate of success, look at therate of decreasing failure.

Maharishi Patanjali remarked,“Expose the mind to constant thoughtsof anger and resentment, and you willfind these anger-waves build up anger-samskars, which will predispose youto find occasions for anger permeat-ing your daily life. A man with well-developed anger-samskars is said tohave a bad temper.”

Once a guru was questioned ,“What should I do if I get sensualthoughts while treating women?” Hesmiled as if he had been asked thatquestion a hundred times before. Hesaid, “While treating women visualiseher as an infant and then an old lady.”This was a unique example of a kindof pratipaksh bhavana, where yousuperimpose not an opposite emotionbut a variation of visualisations toavoid a negative one.

I urge you to think about a gameof cricket. Technically, it is almostimpossible to see a ball at 100 miles anhour and then decide how to play it.Few batsmen can do that. So how dothey hit a ball that moves faster thanone can think? It is called practice. Italso leads to muscle memory.

You have to go to the nets andkeep practicing till you know what todo. You need to understand that youwill improve, but only a little at a time.And so it is with spiritual practices.

Even when struggling to acceptyourself, you can look at the flip sideand say, “These days, I dislike myselfless” and then say, “I hardly dislikemyself ”, which will eventually lead toa feeling wherein you will not dislikeyourself at all. From here on, I pray thatyou can start accepting yourselfunquestioningly.

���������������� ���������)�"�������� ��������!����� ������

-���������������4

-�����������������

.9��0�7:7+!'.��!��<B�<7��89<

0��.��!7�.9��1<@<I�.9���$!0!.

0'.9�0�.9'7�.9'.$0<A!#�#��@�.9���7�����'�.0:�

0�7:7+!'.���71<@�89'.�+<B���.<.9�B�:7�<:&9.

Anyone can be an artist,regardless of their talent.Using art, creativity, and

imagination in your daily lifemay lead to bravery, break-throughs, and uniqueness, all ofwhich can pave the path forgenuine success. Understandinghow art makes you more cre-ative and capable of thinkingoutside the box will push youout of your comfort zone andmake you willing to face anychallenges that come your way.Here are ways that incorporat-ing art and imagination intoyour regular work will result inproductivity and accomplish-

ment in the long run. It’s simpleto assume that looking at artmakes us happy. Whether oneprefers modern subjects, classicstyles, sculptures, still life, orceramics, the love for art is uni-versal, even among people whodo not consider themselvesartists. This reciprocal emotion,though, isn’t just for show.Exposure to art influences ourhealth, success, and our life.Let’s take a deeper look at someof the ways art may improveyour life.

� ����������� �����Did you realise that gazing

at art has a direct impact on thebrain? The University ofLondon reported in 2011 thatwhen individuals saw attractiveartwork, blood flow to the brainincreased by up to 10%. Perhapsthe word ‘art’ is hidden withinthe term ‘smart’ for a reason!Art can heal both the mind andthe physical. This fact has gar-nered attention, as physicianshave discovered that looking atand producing art has manyhealth advantages. It relievesstress, enhances mental health,and strengthens the immunesystem. Art reduces patientrecovery time and increases

hospital staff productivity. Thereis so much proof that artimproves health that we nowhave trained art therapists.

� �������������������������

When words fail to expresssomething, the visual arts are amethod to communicate it. It’s amethod for us to express our-selves and think about thehuman predicament. We makean image with a message basedon what we think or feel andshare it with others to see howthey perceive it. In this sense,art might be the ticket thatallows us to build a more peace-ful environment in which tolive.

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

Art not only improves ourphysical and mental wellbeing,but it also gives us a feeling ofdirection. The creativity thatcomes with creating and view-ing art may transform our per-spective on life and assure usthat there are brighter daysahead. Do you get a sense ofimpending doom? Take a lookat some art, or pick up a brushor pen and try your hand at it.Art provides a respite from thedaily grind and an opportunityto tackle difficulties in a healthyway. Do you want to see moreart in your life? Take advantageof those little perks by stoppingby an art gallery on your wayhome or while doing errands.

The writer is visual artist

+ ����������������� ���������� ���������� ���������������������������������� ���������������������������������''00.!�E'A�0!

�����������������������!�����������������H������������������������ ��� �������������&������� �����������9���� �����'1!.��:B'0��!�97<!

0����������������� ��������� ��������"� ������ �����������������.���������/����������������/����������� ����� �����9!7&<0!

�++������+������

�� �����'�C� �

���������3��?�� ��&��������D� ���<

��3�����%;�

4���44@

����A&55�6'�*�)('��#6�'���A(%'��A�6%&%�;�?�%(6�#CC#5'&6�'<�'#�'����6*�(6�%'('��'#�)�5�7�6*�*�()#&'�'���A#5��?(�&��#D�%#A�(�>&%'�A���6%�5�6�*��6�'����6*�(6�#6%'�'&'�#6(6*��'%�D5(7��#5=��6�#5*�5�'#�(%%�%%�'��*�7(6*%�#D�A(%'��A�6%&%�(6*��'%�C#��A��%

The census is not merely a head count. Thisgives an identity to one and all in the mod-

ern nation state. Not only this, the census broad-ly gives an opportunity to all communities aswell as castes to assess the extent to which theyhave received their participation and share inthe constitutional government institutions at theCentral and State levels and in the developmentschemes and programmes in the present andpast. This group identity also creates a measurefor assessing the participation and share of thecommunity vis-a-vis other groups, communi-ties and castes through their enumeration in thecensus. This description of the salient featuresof the census in the Government documents andtextbooks is rather value neutral.

At a deeper level, if we evaluate the censuscritically in history, this had been one of the fac-tors for the identity politics, especially the caste-based representational politics since the incep-tion of the enumeration of population of Indiain which political parties, social groups and thegovernment remained the key players. The firstall-India decennial census in the year of 1871was based on the varna consisting of jati as themajor indicator for classification of the enu-merated data by the colonial administrators likeRisley, Nesfield, Baines, etc. Subsequently, jatiinstead of varna remained one of the key indi-cators in the census of the years of 1881, 1891,1901 till 1931 even while the nature and formof the classification of the enumerated dataunderwent change in multiple ways.

On the basis of the data and the impact ofthe enumeration, the colonial administratorsdeeply realised that reference to jati in the Indiansociety is central, and it is the root of the iden-tity among different social groups. It is notablethat Nicholas B Dirks, a Dutch scholar and theauthor of “Castes of Mind: Colonialism and theMaking of Modern India”, beautifully articulat-ed the impact and implications of the caste cen-sus during late 19th century. He showed that theemphasis of caste in the decennial census hadgiven rise to increasing agitation over castedenomination and the assignment of social sta-tus among the caste groups. The colonial cen-sus might have reinscribed a Brahminical ideaof caste but, ironically, in doing so it gave riseto competitive politics that began to make castethe basis of political mobilisation on a new scale.

The caste census eventually turned out tobe the foundation for the architecture of gov-ernance and administration of the colonial stateduring late 19th and the beginning of the 20thcentury as well. The colonial state presented itselfin a neutral role among the people but it manip-ulated the competitive politics of castes clever-ly for consolidating its hold on the adminis-tration and governance.

Against this background, Dr BR Ambedkar,a great icon of social reform in the 20th centu-ry, presented the caste census in a new per-spective in colonial India. He made it a base forsocial mobilisation and politics. But soon, heidentified the limitations of the representation-al politics and framed the issues and questionsin the broader framework of social justice.Subsequently, the social justice became the core

value of the Indian Constitution which was man-ifested in the enactment of the provision of reser-vation for SCs and STs in proportion to theirshare in population as per the caste census.

Enactment of the provision of reservationfor SCs and STs gave rise to the new kind of pol-itics of social justice for the other backwardcastes led by Ram Manohar Lohia in post-inde-pendence India. In the 60s and 70s, the sloganof SANSOPA firmly exhorting that theBackwards must attain Sixty out of Hundred(sansopa ne baandhi ganth pichda pawe sau meinsaath) became the major slogan of the mobili-sation of OBC politics. Though this sloganemerged from the commonsensical statistics, itsgrounding was provided directly or indirectlyby the census data. Not only this, this remaineda central factor in the confrontation and nego-tiation between the governments and the polit-ical parties, especially the socialist parties. Asa result, provision of reservation for the OBCsin the Central Government jobs became a mile-stone as an outcome of the politics of social jus-tice.

The contradictory role and purpose of thecaste census in colonial and post-colonialIndia that comes to fore gives an insight that theheadcount of jati in itself does not have a spe-cial meaning. Indeed, on one hand, the under-lying objectives and politics of the caste censushad been crucial in shaping the caste-basedidentity politics in a narrow sense. In contrast,on the other hand, this shaped the idea of socialjustice and the constitutional provisions of mod-ern India as well.

In this context, it is worth reiterating thatcaste is a hierarchical social institution whichis based on heredity and its ideology and val-ues get reproduced from generation to gener-ation in the society. Not only this, mere invo-cation of caste identity has remained a barrierin development and governance of post-inde-pendence India. As a fallout of this, most whofirst and foremost became victims are those whoare situated at the margins of the horizontal baseof all caste groups.

The current debate on the caste census givesan opportunity to the Indian state to bereminded about the core value of social justiceenshrined in the Indian constitution and itsframework, in order to assess the demands ofcaste census and its policies.

Simultaneously, all political parties have anopportunity to take forward the legacy of socialjustice in their voices and opinions for the castecensus if they are truly committed to the causeof empowering all situated at the margins.Otherwise, its implication would be for raisingof voices and opinions which would generate con-frontation and competition within and across thecastes. In this sense, the future of the politics ofthe caste census is likely to be entrapped in thepast legacy which was constructed by the colo-nial state in the late 19th century.

(The writer is founder of Deshkal Societ,Delhi, and co-editor of book “InterrogatingDevelopment: Insights from the Margins”, OUP,New Delhi)

The Government had on August 5scrapped the retrospective tax law

by amending Finance Act 2012 and theIT Act 1961 which got presidentialassent on August 13, 2021. It wasamendment in Finance Act 2012brought by the then Finance Ministerwhich allowed the taxman to levy taxesclaimed retrospectively on deals thatwere executed after 1962 that involvedthe transfer of shares in a foreign enti-ty that has its assets in India. This archa-ic practice had pushed back India’s tax-ation regime for corporates by 50 yearsand allowed authorities to slap capitalgains levies wherever a company, withbusiness assets in India, changed handsoverseas.

Certainly, the new amendment bythe Government of India will bridge thegap in international trade by providinga framework for resolving interna-tional arbitration cases that theGovernment has lost, namely Vodafonegroup plc and Cairn energy and 15 oth-ers. Needless to say that this amend-ment was a need of hour as focus pointof India at the present time is to por-tray itself as an investment destinationto investors across the world, which willeventually help India being depicted ascountry committed to abide by inter-national treaties and laws.

The two big advantages of abol-ishing the retrospective tax are: boost-ing India’s image among global investors(translating into increased FDI) and giv-ing foreign firms a level-playing fieldvis-à-vis Indian corporate giants. Inrecent times, India’s image took a big hitwhen energy explorer giant Cairn wentahead with seizing the Government ofIndia’s assets abroad and telecom giantVodafone-Idea giving strong signals ofwinding up its India operation.

The Indian Government hadslapped a tax demand of crores ofrupees on Cairn and Vodafone. Butboth refused to pay taxes and chal-

lenged the decision of tax departmentand ultimately won the battle in thePermanent Court of Arbitration inHague, Netherlands. The claim ofCairns was that the Government is vio-lating the India-UK bilateral investmenttreaty. Considering all the facts, theinternational court ruled in favour ofCairns and awarded $1.4 billion as dam-ages, the Cairn then moved a Frenchcourt which gave the order to freezeIndian assets in Paris to recover �8,897crores. Definitely this stain on Indiantaxing could be hazardous for devel-opment of long-term Indian economy.This sour episode tainted India’s imagelike never before as it placed the coun-try in the league of some disturbedeconomies whose assets are taken awayfor non-payment of arbitration award.

The Government’s decision to dis-card the retrospective taxation law notonly gave breather for Vodafone andCairns, but also transformed India’simage in global world. Along withrepealing this tax and Supreme Court’srecent verdict on honouring Singaporearbitrator decision that upheld US-based e-commerce company Amazon’splea against the �24,731-crore mergerof Future Retail Ltd (FRL) with RelianceRetail might change things favourablyfor global companies.

Many in the corporate world havebeen silently claiming the Governmentis favouring handful homegrown con-

glomerates by tweaking laws that gavethem undue benefits. India would verymuch want to shed this image, espe-cially at a time when big businesses arelooking beyond China to have a per-manent base.

Overall, phasing out retrospectivetax means restoring India’s reputationas a fair and easy to predict regimewhich believe in putting an end tounnecessary and expensive litigationwithout spending crores in these never-ending legal tussles. The step will alsopromote cross-border merger andacquisition. Last but not least, thescrapping of such draconic law will behelpful in enhancing India’s nationalranking in World Bank Ease of DoingBusiness (EoDB) index under 50 (it ispresently 63).

In total, 17 entities would be ben-efited from this change to whom taxdemand of �1.10 lakh crores was made.The Government has proposed torefund the amount paid in litigation bycompanies without any interest there-on. The total amount involved for allcases is about �8,100 crore, of whichabout �7,900 crore is related to theCairn dispute. The effectiveness ofaxing this tax law now depends onwhether the entities who have obtainedan award that comprises interest com-ponent will take up the offer.

The Government stand, primafacie, appears to cost huge loss to theState exchequer, but in the long run itwill benefit in terms of attracting for-eign investment and achieving the tar-get of USD 5 trillion economy by 2025.Definitely it has enhanced credibility ofIndia in international domain anddepicted India’s commitment to followinternational law and conventions gov-erning international behaviour. TheGovernment move also conforms toand promotes international harmonyprovided in Directive Principle of StatePolicy of the Constitution of India.

(Brajesh Kumar Tiwari is AssociateProfessor, Atal Bihari Vajpayee School ofManagement & Entrepreneurship,Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi.Suman Tiwari is a Judge, Uttar PradeshJudiciary)

The digital currency has sofar managed to emerge as

one of the strongest flavourswithin the current financialmarket. What makes digitalcurrencies different from alltheir predecessors are thetremendous new functionalitiesthey promise to offer. It’s thefinancial equivalent of the leapfrom postal service to email.

Money basically performsthree functions. As a mediumof exchange, it enables trans-actions that otherwise wouldrequire difficult bartering (as intrading chickens for a car).

As a unit of account, itallows one to know whether onehas saved or not over the pastyear. And as a store of value,money enables current incometo finance future purchases.

According to the IMF, theopportunity for Central BankDigital Currencies (CBDC)depends solely on its ability toimprove upon these three corefunctions of money.

Interestingly, the idea ofCBDC is gaining support fromthe financial establishmentssuch as the Bank forInternational Settlements,known as the central bank ofcentral banks. These financialgatekeepers are embracingCBDC because they can seethat if they do not someone elsewill.

A recent survey by theBank for InternationalSettlements indicates that 86per cent of the central banksare actively researching digitalcurrencies. And almost 60 per cent of banks are in thetesting phase.

According to some esti-mates, a fifth of the global pop-ulation will be exposed to acentral-bank digital currencywithin three years. By 2027,some $24 trillion of assetsaround the world is expected tobe in digital form.

Dollar & ChangingFinancial LandscapeThough the US dollar

remains the world’s dominantreserve currency, the downwardtrend in the global reserves ofthe US dollar to a 25-yearrecord low of 59 per cent hasmanaged to stump many.

Some cite a combination of

nations shifting away from theUSD and the rising status ofcompeting currencies like theeuro, the Japanese yen, and theChinese yuan as factors in theUSD’s slump. But others are ofthe opinion that the hegemo-ny of the US dollar doesn’tseem to be under any threat inthe near future.

Russia and China have bothstepped away from an uncertainand politically entangled USdollar in recent years, with theCentral Bank of Russia (CBR)ditching over US$101 billion indollar-denominated reserves inearly 2019. China on its part hasloosened its grip on US gov-ernment securities, with areported 20 per cent decreasein these holdings over rough-ly seven years, according to USTreasury Department data.

Digital currency based onblockchain looks promising

Controversy about thebenefits and drawbacks ofCBDCs notwithstanding, gov-ernments around the world areincreasingly exploring,researching, or testing theimplementation of digital, pro-grammable fiat. All eight cen-tral banks of the top currenciesfrom the IMF report are eitherconsidering, researching, oractively developing a CBDC.

CBDCs based on trans-parency-enhancing blockchainare a promising way to achievethree objectives: liberating thepayments’ system from ren-tiers, guaranteeing unprece-

dented transparency regardinghow much money is pluckedfrom the money tree, anddemocratising access to thetree’s fruit.

At the retail level, a CBDCwould offer some obviousadvantages. It would help thepoor and others who are cur-rently underserved by thebanking system. It would alsomake it much easier for gov-ernments to administer socialtransfers like the householdcash disbursements made dur-ing the pandemic. And a well-functioning international sys-tem of digital currencies wouldsharply reduce cross-bordertransaction costs.

However, in addition tovarious privacy concerns,CBDCs have complications oftheir own. One crucial questionis where CBDC accountswould be held. If it is in thecentral bank, how will privacyfor transactions be preserved?Equally unclear is what rolewould be left for private banks,which are currently the pre-dominant source of credit inmost market economies. Ifbanks no longer receivedeposits, how will they issue loans?

For such an arrangementto function well, the CBDCwould need to strike a difficultbalance between anonymity(privacy) and control of thesystem. Otherwise, all the con-cerns regarding the govern-ment’s unrestricted access toaccount holders’ information

will start looking legitimate.The viable alternative for

the central bank is to allocatedeposits to member banks,which would then continue tofunction as sources of credit. Inthis case, there would need tobe strong fractional reserverequirements.

Regarding concerns aboutprivacy, it is possible toanonymize central-bankaccounts with digital tags thatonly an independent regulato-ry institution can trace to phys-ical persons. After all, lest weforget, our current paymentssystem (with the strict “KYC”rules) is managing well withillusionary privacy.

There are also complica-tions at the international level.Would central banks be willingto accept payments in othercentral banks’ CBDCs? Couldcountries retain control of theirmoney supply once it has takena digital form?

At present, it is very diffi-cult to imagine a future sce-nario where the major centralbanks would be willing tounderwrite the internationalfinancial system without a highdegree of cooperation, coordi-nation, and control.

The Road AheadThese international ques-

tions are of particular impor-tance for the United Statesbecause the dollar has served asan international reserve cur-rency, a unit of account, and ameans of payment for the past

75 years. For better or worse,the dollar’s key role in the sys-tem has enabled the US toimpose reasonably effectivefinancial sanctions on coun-tries such as Russia and Iran,and the US is in no mood tosurrender this tool willingly.

No monetary system hasever functioned perfectly. Butit is generally agreed that thecurrent one has performedwell over the past so manyyears, especially when com-pared to earlier systems such asthe gold standard.

Although a CBDC couldimprove financial inclusion,most experts caution that itshould not be inaugurated untilthere are assurances that cred-it allocation, payments systems,financial-stability safeguards,and other aspects of the newsystem would function at leastas smoothly as they do underthe current one. There is nodoubt that the central bank dig-ital currency will happen soon-er rather than later. The ques-tion, then, is whether all theissues (both the identified andemerging ones) will be resolvedbefore the transition is made.

(The writer is an economist,former IRS officer, and authorof the upcoming book “TheCurrent Perspective on IndianEconomy”)

���������%��������� 0>��4���������������

���&���55���3

'��� � !����������#����"���0 ! ����#��� �

��%�)(%�*�#6'5(6%C(5�6A<8�6�(6A�6;)�#A=A�(�6�(5��(C5#7�%�6;��(<�'#(A���?��'�5��#)>�A'�?�%����)�5('�6;'���C(<7�6'�%<%'�7D5#7�5�6'��5%/;&(5(6'���6;&6C5�A�*�6'�*'5(6%C(5�6A<�5�;(5*�6;�#��7&A��7#6�<��%C�&A=�*�D5#7�'���7#6�<'5��/�(6*�*�7#A5('�%�6;(AA�%%�'#�'���'5��3%�D5&�'

�#���)�55���A

�������"������!�'��+��� 7�� �����������'����

$3�&1�)�55���3� #(�3#�

������ #(�3#

�����#?�567�6'�%'(6*/C5�7(�D(A��/�(CC�(5%�'#A#%'��&;���#%%�'#�'���'('���EA��F&�5/�)&'��6'����#6;�5&6��'%�)�6�D�'��6'�57%�#D�(''5(A'�6;D#5��;6��6?�%'7�6'�(6*(A���?�6;�'���'(5;�'�#D����G�'5����#6��A#6#7<)<� 0 G�A(66#'�)��*�6��*

@��� ������ �� ���������������������� �������������"����� ������������ �������.����������������� ������������������������������������ ����������� ���.����������� ��������������������������� ������� ��������� ������� ��� ����������+� �� 3����������� �������������������� �� ����������������������� ����������������#��������������������"�������/�����@���������������������� �"���!�������������������/�������������������$� ����������������������@������ ��������������� ����� ��������� ��!�������� �������������� ��� ��� �������/����?�� ������� ��������� �������� �������� ���I����������������� � ��������������� ��������� ���������������� �������

�&A=<�6&7)�5 **�&A=<�A#�#&5 $�����������&A=<�*(< .�� ����

����� ,% )��-18�' ���19

@� ��������Q�� ����������������!��������� ������ ������������@�������������� ��/�� ������������ ���������������������� ��������� ��������������/�.����������� ���������������� �����������2����������/�������� ����������������� �� �����'�������� ���� ����������� �������������������������� ��������B��������������������!������������������������������ �����������������@����� �������������������������������/���������������������������� ��� ��@������/��������������������������3������������������������������������������������/�<�������� ������ ������ ��������������������� ����������������������������������� ������������������������������������������� �����������������

�&A=<�6&7)�5 *�&A=<�A#�#&5 !�����&A=<�*(< I ����

�������' ���-08,%&�-0

0�3�������������� ������������ /�� ���������@��������������������������� ������������ ��?�� ��������������������� �������@������������� �������������������������� ��������������<������� �� �� ���������� ����� ������������������ ������������������������������������������������ ��� ��'������ ������ ���������� /�������������?��������������������������������"� ����������� ��������������9��� �������������� ����� ��������������������������� �������������<���� ������������ �������� ������3��� ������������ ��������������������� ������ ����������!����� ��� ����������� ������� ��������������������������� ���������� ���������� ��

�&A=<�6&7)�5 *6�&A=<�A#�#&5�8�����&A=<�*(<�������

������,%&�-18"�(�-0

.������/����������"�������������@��������� ��������������� �����������@����������� ������ ������� ����������������/� ��������������������������������� ����������/������ ���������� �������<�������� �� �� ��������������� ������������������� ����� ����������8 ������������������������������������������������������� ���� ���������?� �������.������/������� ���������� ����������� �������������������@��� �������������� ����������������<�������� ������ ������������������������ ��������� �������������� ����������.������������������������������������������������������������&��������������������������� ��������������������/���������

�&A=<�6&7)�5 *4�&A=<�A#�#&5�&�����&A=<�*(<�������

������"�(�-18"��&�--

.������/���������� ������������������������� ���@��� ��������������������8 ����������� ������������������ ����� ���� ���������@����������������� ���?������@�������� ������������������ ��� ��������������9��� ������������������������������������������� �����������������������<����� /�� ���� /��������������������������������������� ������ �������������������������� �����@���������������/������������������� ��� �������� ������#������� �������� ������ ����� ������B���������������������3�������Q���� ��������3�������@� �� ����������������� ������������������ ���������������� ���� ������������ ���������/��@��� ����������������������������

�&A=<�6&7)�5�*,�&A=<�A#�#&5�@����&A=<�*(<�8��������

�������5�-:8�'�--

.������/��� ����������������������������������@�������������� ����$����������������������/��������/����������������������#���������������������������������� �����������"��������������$ ���������������� ������� ���.������/��� ��� �� ������������$ ����� ����������������/������������ ���������� ����I ������������������������������� �������������� /�������������������������� ���������������<�������� ����� ������ �� ������������ ��� ������ �� ��������������� ��������������������.�����/������ ������?������������ �������������@��� ������������������� �������������������� �����������!������������ ������������������������������ ���������������� ��������������������� �������

�&A=<�6&7)�5 ��&A=<�A#�#&5 � ��&A=<�*(<�.�� ����

������'�-:8�)2�--

.������/�����������/������������� ����� �������������������� ���������������������������� ���������/���������� ������0����� ����� �������/��������� �������������������� �������������������� ������� ����@�������������������� ������<������� �� �� �������� ����/������������������������������ /����� ����/��������������������������������������������� �������!��������������������������������������� ������������������������ ������� /������ ���� ��������������������?������������������� ����������'���������� ��������������������� �����������������������&������������������ ��� ��� ������������������������/���� ����������� ��������� ���� ���� ���������������� �����������

�&A=<�6&7)�5�-�&A=<�A#�#&5�+������ ��&A=<�*(< I ����

��������)2�-:8��4�-1

.�/���� ������������/������� 3� ����������������� ���������B�� ����������������� ������������ � �H�� �������������������������������������������������������� ���� ������� ����/������� �����'�����?������������������������������$ ������������������������������������������� /����������������$������ �����������������B�?��� ���� �����������/����������� ���������� �����!�������������� /�������� �����2����� ��������������������������@������� /������ ����������������������<�������� ������ ����������������������� ���� �����������0������������ ������������������������������������������������������ ��#�����?��� ��� ���������������� �� ���������������'���������������� ���������� � ������������

�&A=<�6&7)�5 *>�&A=<�A#�#&5�0���&���&A=<�*(<�.������

�������� "%(�-08���1;

���������198,% )��-0

.������/����������������������������������������@�������������������� ������������������������������������� �������������� ��� �������@� ��� ���������� �����������@���������������������� �������� ������?�� ������������������!�������������������������������������� ������� ������������<�������� �� �� �������������������� ���������/��/���� ���� ��� �� ������������������ ��� ��������������������������������������� ��� ��������@������������/�������������������������������� ������������������ ������������� ��� �� ���� ����� ����� ���0���� ��� ������� /����������� ���@������������������������������������� ���� ������� ������0��������������������� ������������������� ���� ��� ��� ����������������

�&A=<�6&7)�5�*��&A=<�A#�#&5������ �&A=<�*(<����� ���

����������)�--8"%(�19

.������������� ������ ������������ ����� ����� �����������������������?� �������B������� �� ������ �������������9��� ��������������������������������������� ����#����� ������������� /�������������/���1��/������������!������ ������� ��������������������������������������������/��������������������/����$ ������������������� ��� ������������������.������ ���������������������/������ ���� ���������@�������������������������� ������������������������ ������������������ � ���!������������ �"������� �� ������������ ���������������/������������@������ ��������������.��������� ��������������������� ���� �������������������������������������� �

�&A=<�6&7)�5�,)�&A=<�A#�#&5 <��38�����&A=<�*(<�������

��� "��&�-:8��5�--�

.�� ��������������� ���������������� ����������?� ����� �������@��� ���������"�������� ���� ��� �������������.�/�������������������� ������������?� ��������� ����������������������� ���� ��<������� �� �� ���� /������� ������ ���� �������� ��� ����@��� ����/����������������������������������������������������� ��� ����������@��� �����?������������������� �������������� ������ ������������� ���� ���������@��� ����/���������� ��������������� ���� �������� "�������������������� ��������3�?� �������/��� ����������� ����������� ���.��������������� � � ����������������?����������<������ ������������ ������������� /������� ��������� �������� �������������� /��������������

�&A=<�6&7)�5�4�&A=<�A#�#&5�0���&A=<�*(<�.������

�������������4�--8�)�-1

�4�3A��@

�?��.B'#9:��<.!@'

������������

��� ����<B��<I�:��.9!7��9<%#!7&<7�B'����:���.0<7&T��:.�<B�.!B���!.�!��%�..!7&�&<

5�9�0B'77�9���� ����������������������������

We, invariably try to live in ademanding mode. We expectfrom others to behave. Very

few would be living exclusively in a giv-ing mode. Some of course, though wishto live in a demanding mode but turnout to be accommodative to other’s con-cerns and sensibilities also. Majority, sel-dom cares to figure out if there is some-thing wrong in their own approach. Thistendency is in evidence at all levels ofsocietal existence and so chaos prevailsall across. No wonder, marital, familial,societal discord has been growingbeyond proportion. Many develop a‘sense of victimhood’ particularly theweaklings, who habitually blame othersfor all that would be going wrong withthem.

I came across one such case, theother day, while counselling a girl,whose family atmosphere is, if not tur-bulent, at least discomforting. I was try-ing to make her aware that to unfold thebest in oneself, one needs to firstexplore, identify, and then acknowledgeone’s habitual weaknesses. If you try toresolve them, the indwelling potentialwill play out unhindered, and evidentlyto your advantage. If, however, you

remain in a denial mode, the problemwill persist, and you will suffer. She thenasked me to list out her weaknesses.

Your anger level seems to be quitehigh. You seem to be erratic and tem-peramental. Your ego level is very high.That limits your vision, which makesyou bound by your self-defined beliefsand perceptions. With such a restrictedvision, you don’t seem to be open to lis-tening or counsel of elders. You willrather habitually distrust their intent,and more often for no valid reasons. Youmay not be keen to look beyond for areality check or better options if anyavailable either. If something happensbeyond your expected lines, it would bedifficult for you to digest, when you maylose your sense of control and go wild toforce your point of view. While admit-ting her fault lines, she also tried to jus-tify her actions in recent past. She thenasked me to explain how I could figureout so aptly?

Before I could explain, her motherquipped: “Her daughter doesn’t behavewell with parents.” That was enough totrigger the girl’s long drawn pent up feel-ings. She started uncontrollably sobbing.Began shouting on her mother: “How

can you undress and insult me before astranger? Why would you share domes-tic issues with an outsider? You havebeen torturing me for long. I havepenned down all that you have done tome so far.” It took time for her to calmdown. I was just taken aback at her con-duct, but I was happy that she exhausted,otherwise her stress level would havecontinued to swell further.

Once, she was calm, I intervenedand said, I don’t want to sit on judgment,as to who amongst you is to be blamedmore. I will suggest all of you to behavesensibly. You have a long way to go. Verysoon, you will be married and leave yourparent’s house. But your habit tendencieswill keep chasing you in the next courseof life, and even on your career front. So,better address your attitudes before it istoo late, following the method I suggest.

Let us now look at the astrologicalpointers to her habits and attitudes.Lagna lord Sun is debilitated, whichimplies that her health profile as well asconfidence level is low. Given a difficultsituation, instead of combating it instride, she may begin self-pitying, andtry to blame external factors for whatwould be happening. The Sun is placed

adverse to Uranus and Neptune. This inthe first place, makes her stuck to herfanciful dream perception, often dis-tanced from ground realities. She maynot acknowledge truth on its firstappearance, and would rather passion-ately pursue her beliefs till pushed to thewall.

Second, she would be temperamen-tal and erratic, who would be habituallytempted to defy elders. Saturn conjunctKetu and Moon makes her an escapist,who may never be satisfied with whatshe has in hand, and start looking for achange. Also, she would be suspicious bynature, carrying grudging and grum-bling tendency. Mercury placed ill-dis-posed off to Neptune accounts for herinsensible reasoning and judgment. Ifthat would not be enough, Mars placedadverse to Jupiter gives her an inflatedego. The result is there to see.

The positives in her are no less.That, however, will play out unhindered,only when she addresses her inherentweaknesses.

�������������� � �����"��%�++ ���''���� �� ��!����� ��''�������6�--��'������������� �

��=�FF;,;;;,FFG;G<?�B�?HFG�;<?�B�B1� ��=���� � ����� ! �� ���E"� ��6'��

���34�����9'0'.��9:�9'7�$'#B'#�<

� ����5���� ��� �� ����' ����� ���%�!����� ���� ���%� ��2�����%�����D ���#���������� ���� ��0�+� ���6�-�� '����� ��=�� ���E��� � ���6'��%����6��� � ���6'��%��=�FG�?BG???;

.�'���������4�������4���

�� ����� �����U�7'A7��. B�7#!0'..'��+<7�:%.!7&��#!.<0�V ★ ��������������� U �'.!�9�+9'7#0'�1'�9B<%'����7!<0��#!.<0�K+0�'.!A�L

��������� ��������������������� ������������!����" ��

@��� ������������������������ ����������/��:����� � ������������������������������������������� ��� �� �����������������/������� ��������@� ������������������.�/������� ���������� �������������������������������������������� �������������������H������������<�������� �� �� ������� /������������������ ��������������������������������������� ����� ���� � ���%��/��������� ���������������� ������������ ���������$������� ����������������������������������@� ��������������������� ����������������������������������������/������ /�� ��� ���������������� ��0����������3��������� ������/���Q��� ������ � �����?� �������&�������������� ��� ��� �������������/������������������� ������������������� �����������

�&A=<�6&7)�5 >�&A=<�A#�#&5�$�����&A=<�*(<����� ���