Haryana's new govt to be sworn-in today - SPLessons

AGE CORRESPONDENTNEW DELHI, OCT. 26

Congress Lok Sabha MPManish Tewari has urgedPrime Minister NarendraModi to accord India’shighest civilian award,the Bharat Ratna, to free-dom fighters BhagatSingh, Rajguru andSukhdev.

In a letter to the PrimeMinister, Mr Tewari saidBhagat Singh, Rajguruand Sukhdev inspired anentire generation of patri-ots by their unrelentingresistance to Britishimperialism. The letterstated, “If on 26th ofJanuary, 2020, all three ofthem are honoured withthe ‘Bharat Ratna’... Theyare formally conferredwith the honorific of‘Shaheed-e-Azam’. TheChandigarh airport locat-ed in Mohali is namedShaheed-E-Azam BhagatSingh Airport,Chandigarh (Mohali).This gesture would touchthe hearts and souls of 124crore Indians.”

He further added, “Iwould like to draw yourkind attention towardsthe fact that Shaheed

Bhagat Singh, Rajguruand Sukhdev inspired anentire generation of patri-ots by their unrelentingresistance to Britishimperialism and latertheir supreme sacrificeon the 23rd of March,1931.”

Mr Tewari shared hisletter on Twitter too.

His letter comes in thewake of the Maharashtra■ Turn to Page 4

c m y k c m y k

www.asianage.com

Hawaiian heiress AbigailKawananakoa faces courttest to control $215m trust

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Ram temple constructionwill start by Dec. 6, saysBJP’s Sakshi Maharaj

NATION| Controversy

2

THE ASIAN AGENEW DELHI SUNDAY 27 OCTOBER 2019

Malaika’sa pathaka this Diwali

Max: 32OCMin: 18OCRH: 43%Rainfall: 0%

Forecast: Sunny

WINDOWS

WEATHER

ASTROGUIDE

Srinagar: Six security per-sonnel were injured after

terrorists threw a grenadeat a CRPF team in

Srinagar’s Karannagar areaon Saturday. The attack

occurred while they wereinspecting vehicles at a

checkpost. CRPF personnelfired in the air in retaliation.

Further information wasawaited.

Full report on Page 3

Writer and musician Our LadyJ. attends the 2019 GLSENRespect Awards in BeverlyHills, California, on Friday.

— AP

Vikari: DakshinayanaTithi: Ashwayuja BahulaChaturdasi till 12.24 pmStar: Chitta till 3.16 am

(Monday) Varjyam: 12.58 pm to

2.23 pmDurmuhurtam: 4.11 pm to

4.57 pm Rahukalam: 4.30 pm to

6 pmSUNSET TODAY 5.40 PM

SUNRISE TOMORROW 6.29 AMMOONRISE TOMORROW 6.23 AM

MOONSET TODAY 5.25 PM

Grenade attack onCRPF convoy in

Srinagar, 6 Injured

Chennai: Rescue operationscontinued on Saturday to

pull out a three-year-old boywho fell into an abandoned

borewell, even as authoritiessuffered a setback as childslipped further inside. The

child, who fell into theborewell while playing.

Full report on Page 3

TN kid falls intoborewell, stuck

COUNTERPOINT

RNI No. 57290/94, Regd No: DL-SW-05/4189/15-17 Vol. 26 No. 251 | 48 PAGES | `5.00

19

Deepotsav in Ayodhya

THE TALE OF TWO THRONES

AGE CORRESPONDENTMUMBAI, OCT. 26

Newly-elected Shiv SenaMLAs on Saturdaydemanded written assur-ance from the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) onsharing the chief minis-ter’s post for two-and-a-half years each. The legis-lators of UddhavThackeray-led part alsopushed for AadityaThackeray asMaharashtra next CM.

Digging its heels in, theparty has demanded thatthe BJP gives the writtenassurance over “equalsharing of power” beforeany further talks are heldon the formation of thenext government.

Sena chief UddhavThackeray held a meetingwith newly-elected partyMLAs at his residence,Matoshree, on Saturdaywhere the MLAs reiterat-ed their demand thatAaditya Thackeray bemade the chief minister.

“Uddhav Thackeray hastaken a tough stand oversharing of power. He hasdemanded a written assur-ance from the BJP on thesame,” said party MLAs.

“We want the BJP to giveus in writing on howpower would be shared.As per earlier discussions,it was decided that chiefministership would beshared equally. We wantthe chief minister’s postfor a period of two-and-a-half years. Uddhav, how-ever, will take the finalcall. We have passed a one-line resolution, givinghim full powers to takedecisions,” Mr Sarnaiksaid.

According to MrSarnaik, Uddhav alsomade it clear that he had“other options”, but is notinterested in exploringthem since the BJP andthe Sena are bound togeth-er by the “Hindutva ideol-ogy”.

Mr Sarnaik and otherelected MLAs on Saturdayassembled at Matoshree to■ Turn to Page 4

No govt till we get in writingCM post will be shared: Sena


The Bharatiya JanataParty-Jannayak JanataParty coalition govern-ment will take oath onSunday, a day after BJPpresident Amit Shahannounced his party’salliance in Haryana withthe Jat-dominated party.Interim chief ministerManohar Lal Khattar willbe sworn-in as the nextchief minister of the state,while JJP’s DushyantChautala will be hisdeputy.

After facing severe criti-cism over seeking supportof controversial leaderGopal Kanda, the BJP wasforced to clarify that it willnot take the support of theHaryana Lokhit Party leg-islator. Mr Kanda is facingtwo abetment of suicidecases, including that of aformer female employeeand her mother. A majori-ty section within the BJP’sHaryana unit was not infavour of any sort of asso-ciation with Mr Kanda.Also, former Union minis-ter and party’s nationalvice president Uma Bhartihad cautioned the partyleadership against takingMr Kanda’s support. “Iwant to clarify one thing■ Turn to Page 4

■ Khattar to stay CM, Chautala to be dy CM

Haryana’s new govt to be sworn-in today

THE ASIAN AGEwishes its readersHAPPY DIWALI

As the offices of this newspaper will be closed

today, there will be no edition on Monday


Immediately afterDuhsyant Chautala extend-ed support to BJP, notmerely he bagged the covet-ed post of deputy chief min-ister, Haryana, but hisfather, Ajay Chautala hasbeen granted furlough for aperiod of 14 days. He waslodged in Tihar jail afterconviction in a teacherrecruitment scam alongwith his father and former

chief ministerOm PrakashChautala. Afterbeing expelledfrom INLD in2018, DushyantChautala along

with his father AjayChautala founded JJP.

The development comeson a day the BJP stakedclaim to form the govern-ment in Haryana after theJJP offered support to thesaffron party.

■ More on Page 2

Dushyant’s dad grantedfurlough for two weeks


Congress leader RahulGandhi’s silence after theelection results in Haryanaand Maharashtra wereannounced has become atopic of hot discussionbehind closed doors at theparty headquarters.Exceeding all expectations,the Congress did well inthe recently-concluded

elections. Theelectioneer-ing was han-dled byC o n g r e s sp r e s i d e n tS o n i aG a n d h i ’ steam which

ensured that the partycomes up with respectablenumbers in both the statesafter the drubbing it got inthe Lok Sabha elections

early this year.Interestingly, when Mrs

Gandhi took over as theinterim chief of the party,the state unit chiefs of bothMaharashtra and Haryanawere replaced. The leaderswho were replaced werechosen by Mr Gandhi and,even though there wereseveral complaints againstthem, they were neitherpulled up nor replaced.

■ More on Page 2

Rahul’s silence on Haryana, Maha wins speaks of trouble in Congress

AGE CORRESPONDENTwith agency inputsNEW DELHI, OCT. 26

Days after the US govern-ment sought a roadmapfrom India on politicaland economic normalcyin Kashmir and askedthe Indian governmentto immediately releaseall the politicaldetainees, six USCongressmen have writ-ten to the Indian ambas-sador asking someuncomfortable ques-tions.

In a letter to Indianenvoy Harsh VardhanShringla, the Americanlawmakers have saidthat many of their con-stituents have portrayeda much different picturein Kashmir compared towhat the Indian ambas-sador had told them onOctober 16, when hebriefed members of theHouse Foreign AffairsCommittee.

The six USCongressmen — David NCicilline, Dina Titus,Chrissy Houlahan,

Andy Levin, James PMcGovern and SusanWild — have asked theIndian government if 100per cent landlines havebeen restored in Jammuand Kashmir or there areany remaining outages.They also asked when■ Turn to Page 4

US lawmakersseek answers,assurances on Kashmir

‘Bharat Ratna for Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev’

Baghdad, Oct. 26: Tens ofthousands of people, manyof them young and unem-ployed men, thronged pub-lic squares and blockedmain streets Friday in thecapitals of Iraq andLebanon in unprecedent-ed, spontaneous anti-gov-ernment revolts in twocountries scarred by longconflicts.

Demonstrators in Iraqwere beaten back by policefiring live ammunition andtear gas, and officials said30 people were killed in afresh wave of unrest thathas left 179 civilians dead

this month. In Lebanon,scuffles between rival polit-ical groups broke out at aprotest camp, threateningto undermine an otherwiseunited civil disobediencecampaign now in its ninthday. The protests aredirected at a postwar polit-ical system and a class ofelite leaders that have keptboth countries fromrelapsing into civil warbut achieved little else.The most common rally-ing cry from the protestersin Iraq and Lebanon is“Thieves! Thieves!” — a■ Turn to Page 4

Oct. Uprising rattles Lebanon, Iraq

If on 26th ofJanuary, 2020,all three of

them are hon-oured with the‘Bharat Ratna’...This gesturewould touch thehearts and soulsof 124 croreIndians.

— ManishTewari

Tiwari’s letter to PM follows BJP’s pollpromise of giving award to Savarkar

Bhagat Rajguru Sukhdev

Lahore, Oct. 26:F o r m e rP a k i s t a nprime minis-ter NawazSharif onSaturday suf-fered angina painwhile undergoingtreatment at a Lahorehospital, according toa media report.

Angina is a type ofchest pain caused byreduced blood flow tothe heart. Sharif suf-fered angina pain inthe morning whileundergoing treatmentat the hospital, theDawn News reportedquoting sources. — PTI

■ More on 0

Sharif suffersangina pain in hospital

Incumbent Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattarbeing offered sweets by Union minister Ravi ShankarPrasad after he was elected as the leader of BJPLegislature party in Chandigarh on Saturday. — PTI

SONU SHRIVASTAVAMUMBAI, OCT. 26

Even as the Shiv Sena ismounting pressure on theBharatiya Janata Party(BJP) to share the chiefminister’s post for two-and-a-half years each, thelater has started prepara-tions for chief ministerDevendra Fadnavis’swearing-in ceremony.

A senior party leadersaid on Saturday that MrFadnavis is likely to besworn-in as the chief min-ister for his second termon November 2 or 3 atWankhede Stadium.

The senior BJP leadersaid, “The swearing-inceremony of the new gov-ernment is likely to becompleted by November3. Meanwhile, the discus-sion over sharing of port-folios would be held with

Shiv Sena president,Uddhav Thackeray.”

Interestingly, the BJPleader added that theparty had earlier plannedto hold the swearing cere-mony at MahalakshmiRace Course if it had man-aged to get a majority onits own.

With the BJP short of 40seats to form the govern-ment on its own, it has totake the Shiv Sena onboard. The Amit Shah-ledparty won 105 seats, whileits ally, the Shiv Sena,won 56 seats in the recent-ly-concluded elections.

With the BJP register-ing a below-par perfor-mance, the Sena is report-edly playing hardball andbatting for a 50-50 formula(rotational chief minister-ship and meatier portfo-lios).

“A team of senior state

BJP leaders, includingSudhir Mungatiwar,Chandrakant Patil, willaccompany Amit Shah tomeet with the Sena chiefafter Diwali. However,only Mr Shah will speakwith Mr Thackeray,” theBJP leader said on thecondition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, the BJP hasalso called for a legisla-tive party meeting at theVidhan Bhavan onOctober 30 to elect itsleader in the new legisla-tive Assembly.

Mr Fadnavis would beelected the BJP legislativeparty leader in the meet-ing before party observerssent by the Delhi leader-ship.

The BJP leader addedthat this will be a mereformality since PMNarendra Modi and the■ Turn to Page 4

Fadnavis likely to take oathon Nov. 2 or 3 at Wankhede

Devotees light earthen lamps on the bank of Saryu River during Deepotsav celebra-tions in Ayodhya on Saturday. — PTI

Protesters ride an Iraqi Army armoured vehicle duringa demonstration in Basra late on Friday. — PTI

N. Sharif

RahulGandhi

AjayChautala

� The Shiv Sena has saidthat it has not yet beenfinalised who will be itsCM candidate. However,the party has demandedthat the CM's post mustbe shared for 2.5 yearsbetween BJP and ShivSena.

� On Saturday, aposter appearedoutside Matoshree,party chief UddhavThackeray’s resi-dence, projectsAaditya Thackerayas Maharashtra’snext CM.

Uddhavji wants it in writing from the top BJPleadership, be it Amit Shah or Devendra

Fadnavis, that BJP will stick to the 50:50 formulaand that the CM's seat will be shared equallybetween the two parties

— Shiv Sena MLA Pratap

� The BJP is consideringreturning to the 1995formula when the firstShiv Sena governmentcame to power inMaharashtra.� The Sena had won 73seats and the BJP 65.� BJP sources said thatat that time the BJP wasgiven the deputy CM’spost and important port-folios like home.� But there was no 2/12-year split of the chiefminister’s post.

WRITING ON THE WALL THE 1995 FORMULA

UddhavThackeray

held a meetingwith party MLAs at

his residence, wherethe MLAs reiterated

that AadityaThackeray be

made CM

NationSUNDAY | 27 OCTOBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

PoliticsBJP will not take Gopal Kanda’s supportin Haryana, Union minister RaviShankar Prasad said on Saturday.

PM Modi’s claim onturnout in JK BDC

election ispreposterous.

— Sitaram Yechury,CPI(M) general secretary

SHORT TAKES

Jaipur: A BJP leader and for-mer sarpanch has accused supports of newly elected

Mandawa Congress MLA RitaChaudhary of throwingstones at her house in

Jhunjhunu on Thursday night.She gave a complaint to thelocal police, alleging that sixpersons threw stones at her

house when she was alone. “Iwas alone when supporters

of the Congress MLA peltedmy house with stones. They

were hurling abuses,” formersarpanch Saroj Jhajharia said.The alleged incident occurre-d after the results of the byp-olls to the Mandawa and Khi-

nwsar assembly constituen-cies were announced.

Thiruvananthapuram: Thecondition of veteran

Communist party leader andformer Kerala Chief Minister

V.S. Achuthanandan, who was admitted to a hos-pital here on October 25, is

stable, hospital sources saidon Saturday. Achuthanandan,

who turned 96 on October20, was admitted to the Sree

Chitra Tirunal Institute ofMedical Sciences and

Technology on Friday afterhe complained of uneasiness.

The hospital, in a bulletin,said his brain scans had

revealed a small bleed, forwhich he was being treated.

Cong men abusedme: BJP leader

Achuthanandan’scondition stable


A day after DushyantChautala extended sup-port to the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP), inaddition to bagging thecoveted post of deputychief minister ofHaryana, his father, AjayChautala, has been grant-ed a furlough for a periodof 14 days.

Ajay was lodged in Tiharjail after he was convictedin a teacher recruitmentscam along with his father

and former chief ministerOm Prakash Chautala.After being expelled fromthe Indian National LokDal (INLD) in 2018,Dushyant Chautala alongwith his father AjayChautala foundedJannayak Janata Party(JJP).

The development comesa day after the BJP stakedclaim to form the govern-ment in Haryana afterDushyant’s JJP offeredsupport to the saffronparty, which fell short of amajority in the Assembly

polls.Dushyant, who met his

father shortly before meet-ing his 10 legislators on

Friday, to decide on sup-porting the BJP, will takeoath as the deputy chiefminister of the ManoharLal Khattar-led govern-ment on Sunday.

Ajay is scheduled to leavethe Tihar jail on Sunday.According to a prison offi-cial, Ajay has been granteda two-week furlough and itwill start from the day hesteps out of the jail prem-ises.

In 2013, Ajay, his fatherand 53 others, includingtwo IAS officers, were con-victed for corruption in a

teachers’ recruitmentscam and other charges.

After being expelled fromINLD in 2018, Dushyantalong with his father Ajayfounded JJP. Haryana gov-ernor Satyadeo NarainArya invited the BJP onSaturday to form the gov-ernment after the saffronparty staked a claim withthe support of the JJP.

Chief minister-electManohar Lal Khattar saidDushyant would take oathas his deputy and the oath-taking ceremony will takeplace at 2.15 pm on Sunday.

Ajay Chautala gets 2 weeks’ furlough

Mumbai, Oct. 26: With theShiv Sena playing hard-ball over power sharingwith ally BJP inMaharashtra, stateCongress leader VijayWadettiwar said onSaturday that the UddhavThackeray-led partyshould come forward foran “alternative arrange-ment”.

The Leader ofOpposition in the outgo-ing Assembly also saidthat though the mandatefor the Congress was to sitin opposition, the partyneeded to join hands withothers to stop the BJPfrom coming to power.

“The mandate for theCongress is to perform therole of Opposition. But tostop the BJP, we need tocome together. Shiv Senahas to come forward. TheSena should come forwardfor an alternativearrangement as the popu-lar mandate was againstthe BJP,” he said.

Mr Wadettiwar, however,added that the Congresshad not initiated any dis-

cussion with the Sena.The Congress leader's

statement came on a daywhen the Sena demandeda written assurance fromthe BJP to implement“equal formula for shar-ing of power” before hold-ing talks for forming thenext saffron alliance gov-ernment in the state.

Newly-elected MLAs ofthe Sena, who met UddhavThackeray at his resi-dence in Mumbai,demanded that his sonAaditya Thackeray, 29, bemade chief minister.

In the October 21 elec-tions, the BJP won 105seats and the Sena 56,while the NCP andCongress bagged 54 and 44seats, respectively. The

halfway mark in thehouse is 144.

The verdict was disap-pointing for the BJPwhich had set itself thetarget of securing simplemajority on its own. Withthe BJP's tally well below144, the Sena has moreleverage.

There was talk of theCongress and NCP sup-porting the Sena to keepthe BJP away from power.Senior Congress leadersand former chief minis-ters Ashok Chavan andPrithviraj Chavan hadsaid the party should con-sider all options.

But NCP chief SharadPawar ruled out any suchpossibility. UnionMinister and senior BJPleader Raosaheb Danvesaid on Saturday that hewas not aware of anyequal power sharing dealbetween the Sena and hisparty.

“After Diwali, chief min-ister Devendra Fadnaviswill discuss governmentformation with UddhavThackeray,” he said. —PTI

Sena should come forwardfor arrangement: Congress

Unnao (UP), Oct. 26:Controversial BJP MPSakshi Maharaj onSaturday claimed that theconstruction of Ram tem-ple in Ayodhya will startby December 6 followingthe Supreme Court'sjudgement.

“The construction ofRam temple will com-mence before December

6. I want to thank theSupreme Court as it hasheard non-stop for 40 daysthe matter that was pend-ing for 150 years and afterseriously hearing boththe sides has reserved thejudgement,” he toldnewspersons here.

“The manner in whichthe archaeologicaldepartment has present-ed its facts...The ShiaBoard has given in writ-ing that temple should beconstructed there.Similarly, the SunniBoard also spoke infavour of the temple bythe time hearing came toan end,” the BJP MP said.

To a question, he said, "Ifeel that soon we will getthe verdict by theSupreme Court and it willbe in favour of the Ramtemple and its construc-

tion will start byDecember 6.”

It was on December 6,1992, that the disputedRam Janambhoomi-BabriMasjid structure wasdemolished by karsevaks.

Asked about the courseof action in case the ver-dict was not in favour ofRam temple, the saffron-clad Lok Sabha membersaid, “Main Sakshi hoonagar-magar ka koi sthannahi hai. Kya Nirnayanewala hai mujhejankari hai. Isliye mainkah raha hoon 6December se pehlemandir nirman shuru hojayega. (No ifs and buts, Iknow what will be theverdict, that is why I amsaying temple construc-tion will start byDecember 6).” — PTI

‘Ram Temple workwill begin by Dec. 6’

Senior leader says mandate was against BJP


Congress leader RahulGandhi’s silence after theelection results inHaryana andMaharashtra wereannounced has become atopic of hot discussionbehind closed doors at theparty headquarters.

Exceeding all expecta-tions, the Congress didwell in the recently-con-cluded elections.

The electioneering washandled by Congress pres-ident Sonia Gandhi’steam which ensured thatthe party comes up withrespectable numbers inboth the states after thedrubbing it got in the LokSabha elections early thisyear. Interestingly, whenMrs Gandhi took over asthe interim chief of theparty, the state unit chiefsof both Maharashtra andHaryana were replaced.

The leaders who werereplaced were chosen byMr Gandhi and, eventhough there were severalcomplaints against them,they were neither pulledup nor replaced.

The former Haryanastate unit chief AshokTanwar also held ademonstration outsidethe residence of Congresspresident before quittingthe party. Mr Tanwar isknown to be close to MrGandhi. In fact, he washandpicked by MrGandhi.

After his removal theCongress’ tally inHaryana climbed to 31from 16, thus ensuringthat the party will be ableto get a Rajya Sabha seat.The same is the case inMaharashtra.

But the complete silenceof Mr Gandhi, who hasnot tweeted congratula-tions since the resultswere declared, has irked

several Congress leaders. One of the leaders,

speaking on the conditionof anonymity, told thisnewspaper that “present-ly we in the Congress arefighting for our politicalspace. The adversary isstrong and formidable.Such silence from Rahuljiwill only lower the moraleof the workers and settongues wagging.”

Rahul’s silence on poll result irksCongress leaders

Convict in teacher recruitment scam, Ajay is scheduled to leave the Tihar today

Bengaluru, Oct. 26:Hundreds of Congressworkers and supporters ofsenior party leader D.K.Shivakumar, who wasreleased on bail from aDelhi prison in a moneylaundering case, gave hima grand welcome as helanded at the city airporton Saturday afternoon.

The 57-year-oldVokkaliga strong man,who has his own supportbase in parts of oldMysuru region ofBengaluru Rural,Ramanagara, Mandyaand neighboring areaswas greeted by supporterswith flowers, crackersand a mammoth applegarland upon his arrival.

Shivakumar wasbrought to KPCC officehere from the airport in aprocession, as he wavedand acknowledged sup-porters from an open car.

Shivakumar was arrest-ed by the EnforcementDirectorate on September

3 in the money launder-ing case and walked out ofthe Tihar Jail in NewDelhi on Wednesdayevening, after the DelhiHigh Court granted him abail. — PTI

Shivakumargets hero’swelcome

Vijay Wadettiwar

Sakshi Maharaj

Ajay Chautala


Speaking outKashmir Valley on way to development after Art 370 revocation: Amit Shah

As a Union Territory,Jammu and Kashmir

will get equitablebenefits after Oct. 31

— Jitendra Singh ,Union minister

SHORT TAKES

Bhubaneswar: A doctorposted in cancer departmentof the Balangir district head-quarters hospital (DHH) here

was seen creating publicnuisances in inebriated con-dition in railway station here

late on Friday night.However, police detained thedoctor identified as AvinashMishra. As per reporters, at

around 3 AM, the doctorbarged into a house in the

railway station area in inebri-ated condition and created aruckus. Soon after, the fami-

ly members called up theTown police. A police teamreached the spot, detainedthe doctor and took him to

custody for interrogation.

Thane: The owner of arenowned chain of jewellery

shops was booked onSaturday for allegedlycheating customers in

Maharashtra’s Thane district,police said. Several people

who had kept gold with thejeweller apart from partici-

pating in its fixed depositand investment schemes

found outlets closed duringDiwali when they were

expecting disbursal of someof the promised returns,

Senior Inspector SP Aaherof Dombivali police stationsaid. No arrests have been

made so far and furtherprobe was underway. — PTI

Drunk doc createsruckus at rail stn

Jewellery chainowner booked

J. V. SIVA PRASANNAKUMARTIRUCHY, OCT. 26

Hopes of rescue receded astwo-year-old Sujith Wilsonslipped further to about 100feet depth into the borewellin his father’s corn field atNadukattupatti villagenear Manapparai nearhere even as multipleexpert agencies and teamscontinued efforts toretrieve him for the secondday on Saturday.

“Despite our best effortsand the hard work of vari-ous organisations, the boycould not be retrieved sofar and has in fact slippedfurther to about 100 feet.He has not been respond-ing to our calls and thereis no sign of any move-ment in him since 5.30 thismorning. He did respondwith feeble ‘hmm’ noiseseven at 3.30 am, but has

fallen silent since then.Also, mud has slippedfrom the walls of the nar-row borewell walls andfallen on him”, HealthMinister Dr C. VijayaBaskar said. He has beencamping at the mishapsite since Friday evening,along with ministerial col-league VellamandiNatarajan and senior offi-cials to oversee the rescueoperations.

After the failure of oversix different expert teamscoming from various partsof the state and elsewhere,along with their machinesand innovative gadgets torescue the kid, a groupcomprising the ONGC andNLC experts began worklate Saturday night to diga pit parallel to theborewell pipe and a littledeeper than Sujith’s posi-tion at 100 ft. A volunteer-from the state fire service

has been drafted to donspecial outfit, includingfocus light and tunnelingequipment, to drill a four-inch diameter tunnel toreach the boy.

“We first thought of dig-ging the pit about onemetre from the borewellbut decided to do it threemetres away to preventcaving in of the soft mudor the vibration if we hit arock which could harmthe kid and the borewell.These experts are experi-

enced in doing such deeptunnels, such as theunderground Metro Railworks”, said MinisterVijaya Baskar, adding thathe hoped the boy would bereached by the brave fire-man in about three hours.

But with Sujith alreadytrapped for over 30 hoursand has been slippingdeeper into the borewell,the worst is feared. Also,earth had slipped on himand the head is believed tobe covered with two inchesof mud, officials oversee-ing the operation told thisnewspaper. “We are con-tinuing to pump in oxygenbut it is unlikely he is get-ting it as he is buried sodeep and there is mud cov-ering him,” said an officer.He said it was possible thatthe borewell could bemuch deeper and not cov-ered as being claimed bythe kid’s father.

■ Hopes of rescue fades, agencies continue rescue ops

TN infant slips deeper into borewellAKSHAYA KUMARSAHOOBHUBANESWAR, OCT. 26

Teenage love has provedcostly for a college studentin Odisha’s capital cityBhubaneswar. The victim,a 17-year-old boy studyinga city college, was alleged-ly abducted and bashed upmercilessly by his class-mates.

The incident occurrednear Deba Ray Collegeunder Nayapalli policestation in Bhubaneswar.

According to reports, theaccused and the victim,who were second-year stu-dents of Biju PatnaikCollege, were in love withthe same girl. When itcame to fore, the first stu-dent had threatened hisclassmate to stay away

from the girl. Sources saidthat both had a heatedargument a week ago overthe girl.

As the second studentcontinuously meet the girldespite repeated warn-ings, the first one plottedto teach him a lesson.

As per his plan, he alongwith his associatesstopped his classmatewhen the latter wasreturning to home fromcollege at around 12.00 pmon Friday.

The victim was forced tosit on a scooter. When hedisagreed, his classmateforcefully took him to ashanty near Deba RayCollege at knifepoint. Hewas allegedly beaten upover his affair with hisgirlfriend. He reportedlysustained injuries on his

head and back in theattack. On receiving infor-mation from a source, theNayapalli police reachedthe spot and rescued himfrom clutches of theabductors.

Later, the victim washanded over to his familymembers after registeringa case in this connection.

The accused weredetained at the police sta-tion for interrogation.

“The accused are juve-nile. They have beenserved notices under 41-aof the CrPC which pro-vides for appearing beforethe investigating officeras and when required andcooperate in the probeprocess,” Arun KumarSwain, inspector ofNayapalli police stationsaid.

Teenage loves prove costlyfor Odisha college studentAbducted and beaten up mercilessly by classmates ◗ The child, who fell

into the 600 ftborewell while play-ing near his houseat Nadukattupattion Friday evening,was initially stuckat a depth of 35feet but drifted further

VINEETA PANDEYNEW DELHI, OCT.26

Director of Sri Lankanintelligence agency (SIS)sat on inputs that keptcoming to him from April4 onwards — 17 days inadvance — with regard toterror bombings thatshook the Island nation onApril 21, 2019, a report ofSelect Committee ofLankan Parliament (PSC)said. The report alsoblamed the “bitter fight”between PresidentMaithripala Sirisena andhis PM RanilWickremesinghe that ledto a political crisis lastyear contributed to thesecurity failures on Easter.

The PSC said that fissuresbetween President Sirisenaand PM Wickremesinghecontributed to the securitycrisis on April 21 as thePresident left out his PM,state minister for Defenceand others from key meet-

ings and briefings includ-ing the National SecurityCouncil (NSC).

It was also found thatNilantha Jayawardane,director SIS of Lanka, hadreceived information abouta possible terror attack inthe country in whichchurches, Indian high com-mission (IHC) and hotelswith Indian guests were tobe target on April 4 butthere were delays on hispart in sharing the intelli-gence which eventuallysaw about 300 deaths andleftover 400 wounded in ter-ror attack. Eight Indianswere among those killed.

This paper on April 22, aday after the attack, hadreported that a warning byIndian intelligence wassent to the Lankan authori-ties on April 7 that NationalThowheed Jamaat (NTJ)would target churches inColombo as well as the IHCand possibly, an Indianowned hotel. However, the

letter from the Lankanpolice chief, PujuthJayasundara, dated April11, to his police officers, inwhich he sent out a nation-wide alert and clearly stat-ed that suicide bombers

planned to blow up ‘promi-nent churches’ and theIHC, remained unheeded.

PSC also found out thatdespite a series of alertskept reaching the directorof SIS from April 4

onwards, including fromIndia on April 7, he did nottake prompt action. In fact,the first person the directorof SIS informed was thechief of national intelli-gence (CNI) on April 7 and

no one else was informed.However, the CNI told thePSC that he was given theintelligence information onthe morning of April 8 fol-lowing which he informedthe secretary of defence.

“CNI was unable to meetthe defence secretary on8th morning as the Indiandefence secretary was vis-iting Sri Lanka,” the PSCsaid in its findings. OnApril 9, 2019, theIntelligence CoordinatingMeeting (ICM) took placefor the first time after theintelligence informationwas received on April 4.

It was found that on 20thApril, the director of SISagain received a Whatsappmessage from his sourcesaying: “They (ZahranHashim of NTJ) are likelyto carry out their attack inSri Lanka at any time onor before 21.04.2019.”

On 21st April morningaround 8.27 a.m., the direc-tor of SIS received anothermessage saying: “They arelikely to operate between0600 hours and 1000 hourstoday. For your kind infor-mation, Sir…One of theirtargets is a MethodistChurch, Colombo.”

Lankan spy chief sat on Easter bomb attack intel?Director, SIS NilanthaJayawardane receives

first intelligence report of apotential attackwarfare

Jayawardane shares thisinformation with CNI

Sisira Mendis who forwards theletter to IGP

At the coordinationmeeting the secretary ofdefence wanted to take

the latest intelligence report butthe Director, SIS, informed of fol-lowing up with a letter.

There are reports inmedia of the SIS having

briefed the President on the

intelligence informationreceivedwarfare

Explosion of a motorcy-cle at a remote location

in KattankudyReports of possible activ-ity by associates ofZahran, but there were

no specific details, and no warn-ing of an imminent attack

SIS informs DMI of theintelligence information.

This is the first reported instancewhere SIS briefs DMI of the intel-ligence

(7.30pm) Director, SIScalled IGP and said the

following day would be danger-ous and something would hap-pen. IGP conveyed that warningto all relevant Senior DIGs.

(6.45 am) Director, SISreceives alert and he

conveys to IGP and others that“something dangerous” wouldhappen on that day.

(8.00am) Chief, SIS,called the former

defence secretary and asked himhow many Methodist Churchesare in Colombo, saying thatattackers are likely to targetthese churches and not theCatholic ones. Within few minutes bomb explosions starttaking place

SRI LANKA FLASHBACKAPRL. 4

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Ratna rowC’garh CM Bhupesh Baghel againstconferring Bharat Ratna on Savarkar,says he was 'revolutionary' only till 1911

Instead of boycottingcorrupt people,

we are honouringthem

— Santosh Hegde,Congress leader

SHORT TAKES

Mungeli, Chhattisgarh: Fourprisoners, including two fac-ing trials in murder and rapecases, escaped from a jail inChhattisgarh’s Mungeli dis-

trict by breaking the lock oftheir barrack and using a

rope made of bedsheets toscale the high wall, police

said on Saturday. As per pre-liminary investigation, theincident took place on theintervening night of Friday

and Saturday at the sub-jaillocated in Mugeli town, said

Ashish Arora, Mungeli citySP. The prisoners broke the

lock of their barrack andthen used a rope made from

bed sheets and clothes toscale the 20-feet wall of the

prison. — PTI

New Delhi: Indian CoastGuard has so far rescued 19

fishermen and escorted morethan 2100 fishing boats to

safety at various ports in thewest coast in the wake ofCyclone Kyarr. “We have

stepped up efforts for searchand rescue operation on thewestern coast in the wake of

Cyclone Kyarr. Dornier air-craft is undertaking frequent

sorties to look for strandedfishing boats and their posi-

tions are being relayed toCoast Guard Ships operating

at sea,” said Indian CoastGuard in a statement.

Under the impact of Kyarr,isolated places in several dis-

tricts of south interiorKarnataka, few places overcoastal and North interior

Karnataka are likely toreceive heavy rainfall duringthe next 24 hours, IMD said.

Patna: After Bihar chief min-ister Nitish Kumar, his

deputy Sushil Kumar Modion Saturday drove in an

electric car to participate inthe launch of schemes of

the state government’s “Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali” campaignthat seeks to boost green

cover and the water table inthe state. Mr Modi, also theenvironment, forest and cli-

mate change minister, wouldfrom now on use the electric

vehicle to move around thecapital city, his office said in

a release. Chief ministerNitish Kumar on July 25drove down to the state

Assembly in an electric carto attend the monsoon ses-

sion of the House. — PTI

Nagpur: A senior VishwaHindu Parishad leader

claimed here on Saturdaythat the right-wing organisa-

tion “reconverted” 25,000Muslims and Christians to

Hinduism in 2018. VHP sec-retary general Milind

Parande said drives forreconversion, which the

Hindutva outfit calls “ghar-wapsi” or coming back to

the “parent faith”, werebeing held regularly across

the country. “25,000Muslims and Christians were

reconverted in 2018,” hesaid, adding that figures for

2019 were yet to be com-piled. Addressing a press

conference here, Mr Parandesaid conversion was a

“national problem”, “anattack on the country” and a

“conspiracy to divide itspeople”. He said, “The VHPwants a bill which will makeit difficult to convert people

to other religions.” Askedabout the Ram Temple issue,

Parande said the VHP wasexpecting a “positive ver-

dict” from the SupremeCourt as all the “archaeolog-

ical facts” supported thecase for the existence ofRam Temple in Ayodhya.

Parande also said an amend-ment was needed to the

Citizenship Bill to “secureHindus in the country”.

— PTI

‘25K MUSLIMS,CHRISTIANS

RECONVERTED’

4 escape fromChhattisgarh jail

Coast Guard saves19 k’taka fishermen

After Nitish, Sushildrives in e-car

Srinagar, Oct. 26: A headconstable of CRPF sus-tained serious injuriesand at least five personnelof the paramilitary forcewere injured after suspect-ed terrorists lobbed agrenade at the KaranNagar police station inSrinagar on Saturday, offi-cials said.

The attack occurredwhile patrol party of 144Battalion of CRPF wereinspecting vehicles at acheckpost. CRPF person-nel fired in the air in retal-iation

The head constable ofCRPF who was seriouslyinjured suffered groininjuries in the grenadeattack, which took place infront of Emergency ofMaharaja Hari Singh hos-pital here. The rest of theinjured police personnelare stable.

The incident took placeat 6.50 pm on Saturday,according to information,which said that a jointpatrol party of CRPF andpolice came under theattack.

All the injured personnelwere shifted to the Armybase hospital.

Cordon and search oper-ation has been wrapped upfrom the location butsearches are on.

The attack comes twomonths after the Centralgovernment scrappedJammu and Kashmir’sspecial status underArticle 370 and split it intotwo union territories. Thetwo regions — Jammu andKashmir and Ladakh —will come into existenceon October 31, and securi-ty personnel are bracingfor heightened terroractivity during the transi-tionary period.

The two UnionTerritories will come intoexistence on October 31 .

Union minister JitendraSingh on Saturday saidthe two new Union territo-ries — Jammu andKashmir, and Ladakh —will get equitable benefits,cutting across all sectionsof the society and regionswithout any bias.

— Agencies

6 CRPF men hurt in grenade hitNew Delhi, Oct. 26: WorldBank President DavidMalpass on Saturday saidthe multi-lateral fundingagency will continue with$6 billion annual lendingtarget for India to supportinfrastructure develop-ment and alleviate pover-ty.

As many as 97 projectsare being currently exe-cuted with loan assis-tance from the WorldBank.

“World Bank right nowhas 97 projects with $24billion committed. So, weexpect the programme tocontinue and to reflectthe projects and reformsthat were going on inIndia. May be $5-6 billionper year,” he told mediain an interaction.

With regard to the easeof doing business rank-ing, Malpass said Indiahas been among top 10countries in the last threeyears and it has movedfrom 140th place to 63rd.

India jumped 14 placesto the 63rd position on theWorld Bank’s ease ofdoing business rankingriding high on the govern-ment's flagship “Make inIndia” scheme and otherreforms attracting for-eign investment.

However, the reportflagged that India stilllags in areas such as

enforcing contracts(163rd) and registering aproperty (154th).

“Looking forward onearea that could beimproved ensuring thecommercial courts areadequately resourced atdistrict level so that theycan deliver judgmentsfaster.. .Establishmentfast track dispute resolu-tion mechanism. Somecountries have smallclaims courts. This helpspeople enter into con-tracts when they knowthat the contract can beenforced,” he said. — PTI

WB: Will continuewith $6bn lendingtarget for India

A security person stands guard outside the Civil Secretriat during Darbar move orshifting of government offices from Srinagar to Jammu at the Civil Secretriat inSrinagar on Saturday. — PTI

Ayodhya, Oct. 26: A newhistory was created atAyodhya here as arecord 6 lakh earthenlamps lit up the Saryuriver bank on the eve ofDiwali, days ahead ofthe Supreme Court ver-dict on the title suit overthe disputed RamJanambhoomi-BabriMasjid land.

The banks of Saryu inAyodhya were lit upwith the sparkling lightof lakhs of earthenlamps on Saturdayevening as people fromdifferent walks of lifetook part in the grandprogramme and lighted“diyas” to cherish themoment. This year’scount of the earthenlamps lit on the riverbank far surpassed thethree lakh-plus numberof “diyas” lit last year.

Enthusiasm was palpa-ble among the people andthe volunteers at dusk, asthey lit the lamps tomark the occasion.

UP government’s direc-tor information Shishirsaid, “Last year’s recordwas of three lakh onethousand one hundredeighty six ‘diyaas’ at theghat. This time, it was 4lakh 10 thousand‘diyaas’ lit at the ghat.

“This was announcedby Guinness WorldRecords representative,and is a new record.Apart from this, morethan two lakh 'diyaas'were lit elsewhere thanthe ghat. In all, more than6 lakh ‘diyaas’ were lit.”

Four lakh 10 thousandearthen lamps were lit atthe ghat of Ram kiPaidhi. The certificateby Guinness WorldRecords said, “Thelargest display of oillamps was achieved bythe department oftourism, government ofUttar Pradesh and DrRam Manohar LohiyaAwadh University (bothIndia) during Deepotsav2019 in Ayodhya, UttarPradesh, India onOctober 26, 2019.” CMYogi Adityanath person-ally supervised thearrangements. — PTI

In Ayodhya,over 6 lakhdiyas lit upSaryu banks

Srinagar, Oct. 26: Termingthe killing of truckers asan attack on the economyand livelihood of the peo-ple, Jammu and KashmirPolice chief Dilbag Singhon Saturday said theinvestigation into suchcases was underway andthat the police have gotimportant clues.

“Investigation into casesof killing of truckers is onand some important cluesare available with usabout the cases. This is anattack on the local econo-my and livelihood of peo-ple. It is being done to dis-rupt the daily life of thepeople.

“Such actions are not inthe interest of the people.To a large extent peopleare condemning such acts.Our investigation is in anadvance stage.... We haveidentified the peopleinvolved,” Mr Singh toldreporters here.

He said the attacks ontruckers and damage topower transmission tow-ers in Shopian district ofsouth Kashmir by mili-tants were to disrupt hor-ticulture and tourism thatprovide livelihood tomany people in Kashmir.

“Attacking towers is alsoan attempt to cause dam-age to the infrastructure.We have taken some stepsin these areas. I am hope-ful that soon this case willbe cracked and peopleinvolved will be broughtto book,” he said.

Terrorists on Thursdaystruck for the third timein 10 days in southKashmir’s militancy-hitShopian district killingtwo non-Kashmiri truckdrivers, who had gone toferry loads of apples. Theterrorists had alsotorched two of the trucks.

— PTI

DG: Killing ofJ&K truckersan attack on livelihood

New Delhi, Oct. 26:Pakistan-based terroristgroups made 328 bids tosneak into Jammu andKashmir from across theborder in 2018 and weresuccessful in 143 of theseattempts, the highest inthe last five years, accord-ing to the HomeMinistry’s annual report.

The report of the min-istry for 2018-19 madeavailable on Friday said257 terrorists and 91 secu-rity personnel were killedin Jammu and Kashmirlast year, the highest num-ber of casualties in thestate in the last five years.

Thirty-nine civilianswere also killed duringthis period, it said.

As per the report, therewere 328 infiltrationattempts by Pakistan-based terrorist groupsinto Jammu and Kashmirfrom across the border in2018, of which 143 weresuccessful.

In 2017, there were 419cross-border infiltrationattempts, of which 136were successful. In 2016,

there were 371 infiltrationattempts, of which 119were successful, it said.

A total of 121 infiltrationattempts were in 2015, ofwhich 33 were successful.In 2014, there were 222infiltration attempts, ofwhich 65 were successful,the annual report said.

“The ongoing military inJammu and Kashmir isintrinsically linked withinfiltration from acrossthe border both from theInternational Border (IB)and the Line of Control(LoC) in Jammu andKashmir,” it said.

A total of 257 terrorists,91 security personnel and39 civilians were killed in614 terror incidents inJammu and Kashmir in

2018, as per the report.The casualties of both

security personnel and theterrorists and the numberof terror incidents in 2018were highest in the lastfive years in Jammu andKashmir, it said.

In 2017, 213 terrorists, 80security personnel and 40civilians were killed in 342terror incidents in thestate, the report said.

In 2016, a total of 150 ter-rorists, 82 security person-nel and 15 civilians werekilled in 322 terror inci-dents, while in 2015, 108terrorists, 39 security per-sonnel and 17 civilianswere killed in 208 terrorincidents, it said.

A total of 110 terrorists,47 security personnel and28 civilians were killed in222 terror incidents inJammu and Kashmir in2014, the report said.

“Jammu and Kashmirhas been affected by ter-rorist and secessionistviolence, sponsored andsupported from across theborder for more than twoand a half decades. — PTI

‘Terror infiltration into J&Kin 2018 highest in 5 years’

New Delhi, Oct. 26:Congress president SoniaGandhi on Saturdayattacked the BJP-ledCentral government, say-ing farmers were beingforced to observe "blackDeepawali" as the kharifcrops were being sold at anaverage 22.5 per cent belowthe minimum supportprice (MSP) and demandedthat "double exploitation"of farmers should stop.

In a statement on the eveof Diwali, Mrs Gandhiaccused Prime MinisterNarendra Modi led gov-ernment of not fulfillingits promise of giving MSPat 50 per cent over theinput cost and alleged thatit has been giving profit to"a few middlemen" yearafter year and "lootingcrores of rupees of farm-

ers." She said the way thekharif crops are beingsold "below MSP" it willresult in `50,000 crore lossto farmers and theRajdharma of the govern-ment was to prevent theexploitation of farmers.

"The BJP governmenthad laid the foundation ofbetrayal of farmers soonafter coming to power. Thequestion is why during thefestival days, the farmersare forced to observe blackDeepawali," she asked.

Mrs Gandhi said theKharif crops were beingsold 8 to 37 per cent belowthe MSP in different agri-cultural markets. "Kharifcrops are being sold at anaverage of 22.5 per centbelow the MSP. The croresof farmers ... why are theynot getting the price for

their crops? What is theirfault?" she asked.

Mrs Gandhi named sev-eral khairf crops includ-ing pulses, sunflower,sorghum and pearl millet.

She said even the farmerwho had sown paddy isgetting `200 per quintalless than the MSP in the"garb of the presence ofmoisture" in the crop.

She said the foodgrainproduction of `140.57 mil-lion tonnes is expected

during Kkharif 2019-20."The way crops are being

sold at an average 22.5 percent below MSP, it alonewill result in `50,000 croreloss to farmers. Who willpay for it?," she asked.

The Congress leader alsoexpressed concern overthe MSP declared by thegovernment for 2020-21Rabi crops and said it hadbeen raised by "four toseven per cent" as com-pared to the previous year.

"On one hand, the BJP-led government hasimposed 4 per cent GST onmanure, 12 per cent onagriculture equipment and18 per cent on pesticideswhich has put an unneces-sary burden on the farm-ers, on the other the priceof diesel is rising constant-ly," she said. — ANI

■ Farmers being forced to observe black Diwali: Sonia

Sonia slams govt over farm crisis

◗ The report said257 terrorists and91 security person-nel were killed inJ&K last year, thehighest number of casualties in thelast 5 years

Sonia Gandhi

Border Security Force soldiers light candles duringDiwali celebrations near the international border fencein Agartala on Saturday. — PTI

President Ramnath Kovind interacts with rehabilitateddivyang children at Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya NationalInstitute for Persons with Physical Disabilities in NewDelhi on Saturday. — PTI

New Delhi/Jammu, Oct.26: In keeping with hispractice of interactingwith troops serving intough areas on Diwali,Prime Minister NarendraModi is likely to visit aforward area on Sunday,sources said.

In 2018, he had celebrat-ed the festival with theArmy and the ITBP per-sonnel in the icy terrainnear the India-China bor-der in Uttarakhand.

After becoming theprime minister in 2014,Modi had spent hisDiwali at Siachen withthe jawans. — PTI

Modi may spendDiwali with troops

■ Continued from Page 1party president haddeclared Mr Fadnavis asthe BJP’s chief ministe-rial face during thepolls.

Sources said that theBJP has been holdinginternal discussions todeter the Sena frombeing allocated thehome, revenue andfinance portfolios.

However, the Sena,sources said, is draftingits own charter ofdemands keeping inmind the portfolio distri-bution exercise under-taken in 1995.

In the first saffron gov-ernment in Maharas-htra, the BJP, then a jun-ior alliance partner, hadbeen allocated home,water resources, ruraldevelopment, civil sup-plies, public health,transport, public works,finance and planning,but not revenue andurban development.

In the last BJP-led dis-pensation, chief ministerFadnavis had kept sever-al important portfolios,such as the home depart-ment, with himself.However, a junior minis-ter in the home depart-ment represents theSena, Deepak Kesarkar.

Fadnavis’oath Nov. 2?

Uprising rattlesLebanon, Iraq

■ Continued from Page 1mobile networks, includ-ing Internet, will berestored.

The lawmakers alsoasked about the numberof people detained underthe Public Safety Act andother legal provisionssince August 5 and askedMr Shringla for some spe-cific details: “Of those,how many are minors?What is the standard judi-cial procedure for some-one detained under thePublic Safety Act?”

They have also asked,“What is the status of thecurfews that have beenimposed in Jammu andKashmir? What are thegovernment’s plans to

allow residents to returnto uninhibited move-ment? When can weexpect that?”

The lawmakers havealso questioned MrShringla about the allegeduse of rubber bullets byIndian security forces andhow many people havebeen blinded by it. “Whatis the Indian governmentdoing to ensure the rightsof peaceful protesters?”they wrote.

In addition they haveasked the Indian envoy tolay out the reasons whyforeign journalists arestill not allowed insideJammu & Kashmir andwhen will they be allowedto enter the region.

■ Continued from Page 1BJP triggering a row ear-lier this month when itsuggested in its electionmanifesto that VeerSavarkar be conferred theBharat Ratna. The Congress, whichbelieves that MahatmaGandhi's assassinNathuram Godse wasinfluenced by theHindutva ideologue's phi-losophy, reacted sharplyto the development.Earlier, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen

(AIMIM) chief AsaduddinOwaisi had also called forconferring the BharatRatna on Bhagat Singh,Rajguru and Sukhdev.Interestingly such ademand was not raised bythe Congress when it wasin power. From 2004 to2014, the Congress was inpower and Mr Tewari wasa Lok Sabha MP from 2009to 2014. He was also aUnion minister in thegovernment from 2012onwards till the end ofthe UPA's term.

■ Continued from Page 1that the BJP is not goingto take the support ofKanda,” said Union min-ister Ravi ShankarPrasad on Saturday. Hewas in Chandigarh for theBJP’s legislative meetingas a Central observer.

In the just concludedAssembly polls, the BJPbagged 40 seats, six shortof a simple majority.Other than the JJP’s 10MLAs, the BJP also hasthe support of sevenIndependent MLAs.

Earlier during the day,the BJP legislative partymet in Chandigarh andelected Mr Khattar as thelegislative party leader.He then met Haryana gov-ernor Satyadeo Narain

Arya and staked claim toform the government inthe state. Mr Chautalaaccompanied him.

Apart from Mr Prasad,and the BJP’s nationalgeneral secretary ArunSingh also attended thelegislative party meet inChandigarh.

“The Haryana governorhas invited us to form thegovernment on Sunday,”Mr Khattar said aftermeeting with the gover-nor.

Mr Khattar said that MrChautala will also takeoath as the deputy chiefminister, and added that atotal of 57 MLAs stakedclaim before the governorfor forming the govern-ment in Haryana.

US lawmakers seek answer

■ Continued from Page 1attend a party meeting.MLA Abdul Sattar, whodefected to the Sena fromthe Congress ahead ofpolls, also endorsed MrSarnaik’s view. “Uddhavjiwill take the final call onthis, but the Shiv Sena leg-islators demand thatAaditya be the chief min-ister for 2.5 years,” said MrSattar, once considered aclose aide of former chief

minister Ashok Chavan.The Congress and NCP

leaders have also startedmaking overtures to theSena, though both theparties do not want totake an initiative in hold-ing talks with the party.Reacting to Sena’sdemand of sharing CM’spost for 2.5 years with theBJP, Congress leaderVijay Wadettiwar said, “Itis up to Shiv Sena to

decide if they want a 5-year CM or wait for theBJP’s response on 2.5 yrCM demand. If Sena’sproposal comes to us, wewill discuss with the highcommand.”

In the 288-memberAssembly, the BJP won105 seats, while ally Senabagged 56. The NCPbagged 54 seats and theCongress emerged victori-ous in 44 seats.

Bharat Ratna for Bhagat...Haryana govt

Sena’s ultimatum to Centre

■ Continued from Page 1reference to officialsthey accuse of stealingtheir money and amass-ing wealth for decades.

The leaderless upris-ings are unprecedentedin uniting peopleagainst political leadersfrom their own religiouscommunities. But therevolutionary changethey are calling forwould dismantle power-sharing governmentsthat have largely con-tained sectarian ani-mosities and force outleaders who are close toIran and its heavilyarmed local allies.

Their grievances arenot new. — AP

oSUNDAY | 27 OCTOBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

Pursuant to our whistleblower practice we have placed bothcomplaints before the Audit Committee on October 10,

2019 and before the non-executive members of the boardon October 11, 2019. These complaints are being dealt with in an

objective manner. — Nandan Nilekani, INFOSYS CHAIRMAN AN

ALY

SIS FEATURES

OPINIONREVIEWS

INTERVIEWS STORY BEHIND THE NEWS

HARISH BIJOOR

ust about a year ago inNovember 2018(just afterthe fracas of the previ-ous year which involvedVishal Sikka), NandanNilekani, the Chairmanof Infosys seemed tohave heaved a sigh ofrelief. He is famously

attributed to have said, ”Infosys is boringagain, and that’s a good thing”!

That sure was a good thing, but this goodthing did not last. Infosys is back in the newsagain, not quite for all the good things itdoes. Instead, it is about all the things it actu-ally abhors.

Infosys, the poster-boy of good corporategovernance and all that it represents, is inthe news for the wrong reasons. Reasonscalled to attention by a set of employeewhistleblowers who have brought to notemalfeasance of the accounting kind. Theallegations relate to two primary terrains.The first is about aggressive accounting tac-tics and the second is about hiding informa-tion from auditors to boost revenue and prof-it margins in the short term. Both damagingin their own right. No corporate worth itssalt or chip will want allegations of this kindto be true. True or not, time will tell, but inthe meantime, Infosys is in the eye of thestorm again.

This is no small storm of process gonewrong. Instead, the storm attains a biggerdimension, as the company’s market cap lostall of INR 53,000 Crore on day one in Indiaafter the disclosure hit the markets on 21October, 2019. And the storm attains a biggerdimension, as one peeks at US Investor loss-es, which seem to nudge USD 6.52 Billion

since 21st October. And that is the financialtsunami it has set off.

The image-storm is likely to be of a greaterdimension. There is a Class Action Suit inthe US filed by the Rosen Law Firm, whichseems to want to represent the losses suf-fered by ADS holders in the US. Action inIndia from the side of investors is slow asthey nurse their hurt.

In terms of image for sure, the hurt is big.Remember, Infosys has always been seen asthe flag-bearer of transparent and good cor-porate governance. Stalwarts such as N RNarayana Murthy and Nandan Nilekini havebeen at the forefront of this movement. Theyin many ways, with indeed every founderand early employee evangelist of Infosys,represent the movement of clean practice incorporate governance, much before the bestpractices we see enshrined in the laws of theday came into play. Therefore, the image-hurtis big.

Even so. Public memory is proverbially andreally short. Even this shall pass. Let methen look at issues solid, more solid thanimage.

Events such as these, whenever theyhappen in corporate context, arealways a distraction to business.Bigger the company, biggerthe problem. Let me listdown 4 things this eventhas created as new oper-ating environment forInfosys, and indeedevery corporate insimilar space:

1. It shakes up theorganization andstirs up mindsets. Itrocks image. It makesfor market gossip. Ithelps competition re-position itself, even asit seeks to use the situa-tion to advantage.Therefore, the importantthing is to keep an eye on theball of business. And in thisbusiness, it is not the slow ball ofhockey, instead it the fast-paced ball oftable tennis zipping through our senses.

2. It has brought to fore thefact that there are really twoInfosys organizations. One isthe old and the other is the new.And the twain does not meet eas-ily. One is represented by the tra-ditionalists and the other by themodernists. Vishal Sikka andSalil Parekh are the two recentrepresentations of the modernists.Or shall we call them the outsiders?3. In sheer management terms,

this event really represents the power of theInfosys Democracy and power of the employ-ees, as opposed to the power of those whorule at higher rungs in the pecking order ofcorporate hierarchy. As organizationsgrow bigger and bigger, there is indeed less

and less of power from the top, as opposed topower from the bottom. Transparent gover-nance norms and rules for corporate organi-zations will progressively ensure this shift ofpower.

Smaller corporate outfits can afford to beautocracies, whereas larger organizationswill progressively become transparentdemocracies.

This sure is an example of power from thewhistle. Can one then expect an RTI kind ofnorm in corporate organizations soon? Thepower to call out the wrong, or the allegedlywrong, is soon emerging to be the trend.Let’ssit up and smell the coffee.

4. Investor activism will be the new bigtrend ahead. Investors will seek greater clar-ity at every step, much more than now.Investor scrutiny will get deeper than itstands today for sure. Investors will sue aswell. Even in India. The balance of powerbetween the investors and managements isset to change.

A GAIN-LOSS ANALYSIS THEN?At the end of it all, this entire episode is a bigwin for the set of “ethical employees” whohave showcased the issue in a whistleblowercomplaint. This is a big loss for thesets ofinvestors who lost money overnight. This is a

big loss in image terms for Infosys. Aloss that will take some time to

recover from in the eyes ofinvestors, clients, employ-

ees and the lay publicby and large.

Incidents such asthese are cankers.These are cankersthat are leftbehind as a scaron the image ofthe firm in ques-tion. Yes thesecankers willremain relatively

benign and will beerased from public

memory later thansooner, but till they

last, the harm has beendone.

—Harish Bijoor is a BrandGuru & Founder, Harish Bijoor

Consults Inc.

IN TERMS OF IMAGEFOR SURE, THE HURT IS BIG.

REMEMBER, INFOSYS HAS ALWAYSBEEN SEEN AS THE FLAG-BEARER OF

TRANSPARENT AND GOOD CORPORATEGOVERNANCE. STALWARTS SUCH AS N R

NARAYANA MURTHY AND NANDAN NILEKINIHAVE BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF THISMOVEMENT. THEY IN MANY WAYS, WITH

INDEED EVERY FOUNDER AND EARLYEMPLOYEE EVANGELIST OF INFOSYS,

REPRESENT THE MOVEMENT OFCLEAN PRACTICE IN CORPO-

RATE GOVERNANCE

J

Infosys, Bengaluru’s IT bellwetherand the second largest softwareexporter, has courted controversyalmost non-stop over the lastdecade. The most recent is a claim of“unethical practices,” by a whistle-blower alleging adoption of practicesthat violate corporate governancestandards and accounting practices.The down-slide began in 2011, withformer employee Jack Palmer’s alle-gations of visa misuse, resulting inInfosys making a $34 million settle-ment, the largest in an alleged civilfraud case over visas in the UnitedStates. Then came the murky acquisi-tion of Panaya and Skava by VishalSikka, the first non-founder CEO, whoeventually stepped down, as well asthe alleged severance package paidto Rajiv Bansal. Whistleblowers thenturned on non-executive chairmanNandan Nilekani in 2018, (whostepped in after the resignations ofSikka and non-executive ChairmanSeshasayee), accusing him of “con-niving to bury wrongdoings of theearlier board.” In the most recentcase, America-based Rosen Law Firmhas now said it is preparing a classaction lawsuit to recover allegedlosses suffered by Infosys investors.The company is forming an internalteam to investigate, led by Nilekaniand assisted by a US law firm, and isexpected to cooperate fully. 2019 hasbeen rife with corporate downfalls,from the Jet Airways crisis, theIndiabulls Housing Finance in June,the suicide of Coffee Day Enterprise’sfounder in July, the arrest ofMalvinder Singh of Ranbaxy, Religareand Fortis - the arrival of one morewhistleblower scam for Infosys couldjust be another textbook case of cor-porate crisis and unethical practices.Will Infosys clean up its act now, orgo the Satyam and Ranbaxy way?

‘DISTURBINGunethical practices’

WHAT’S THE‘SATYAM’, INFOSYS?

2013Infosys agrees to pay $34 mil-lion to end a United Statesinvestigation related to thewidespread practice of Indianfirms of flying workers to clientsites in the US on temporaryvisas. The settlement, accordingto the US Justice Department,was the largest in a case ofalleged civil fraud over visas.The case had been brought tolight by whistle-blower JackPalmer in 2011.The Justice Department hadalleged that Infosys knowinglyand unlawfully sent people towork without proper visas andthat there were alleged wide-

spread failures in the compa-ny’s record-keeping and thatthe company reportedly tried todeceive U.S. consular officialswith false “invitation letters”,which tell the government thepurpose of travel.Infosys agreed in the settlementthat it committed civil violationsof US employment law but thatit was not required to admit anddid not admit to further wrong-doing. “Infosys denies and dis-putes any claims of systemicvisa fraud, misuse of visas forcompetitive advantage or immi-gration abuse. Those claims areuntrue and are assertions thatremain unproven,” said thecompany in a statement.

2017A whistleblower alleged profi-teering from Panaya, a $200 mil-lion acquisition by the company.Described by then CEO VishalSikka, the first non-founder toassume that position, as one of

his greatest strategic achieve-ments, the “current board,”alleged the whistleblower, haddescribed them as dud invest-ments. These claims had beenrubbished by Sikka. The whistle-blower then filed complaintswith SEBI and the Board of thecompany. The whistlebloweralleged that shareholders’approval had not been obtainedfor paying Rajiv Bansal a sever-ance package that was 30 timesmore than required. “That is abig blatant violation of everyprinciple of corporate gover-nance... it is a violation of theSEBI and Companies Act. It is aviolation of US SEC laws,” he /she had said.

2018Salil Parekh takes charge asCEOApril 2018: The whistleblowerfrom 2017, in a letter to the SEBIChairman, had said, “I havewritten several letters on theshady acquisitions done by theearlier board of Infosys andtried to bury the whole issue byundertaking managed investiga-tions and paying some hushmoney to earlier CFO RajivBansal.” This was with regardUltimately, the saga led toboard Chairman Sesasayee andVishal Sikka stepping downfrom their positions and NandanNilekani and Salil Parekh taking

charge as Chairman and CEOrespectively.May 2018: Another whistleblow-er writes to the securities mar-ket regulators in India and theUS, after the company hadannounced its intention to sellPanaya and Skava by March2019. Although former CEOVishal Sikka had stepped downfollowing the controversy, thewhistleblower turned his gunson Chairman Nandan Nilekani,accusing him of “conniving withthe current board to quietlybury all the wrongdoings of theearlier board.” The fact thatSesasayee and Sikka had signed“non-disparagement” obliga-tions, said the whistleblower,

indicated that wrongdoings hadbeen found in the investigationreports, “the release of whichwill be a damning indictment ofthe company and those direc-tors.”

BLOWING THE WHISTLE, ONCE TOO OFTEN...

Nandan Nilekani

The two letters sent by companyemployees to the board

R Seshasayee, former non-exec-utive Chairman

Salil Parekh Vishal Sikka

‘Why no action yet?’

Who doesn’t love food. Or who doesn’t have clueless friends, for thatmatter. A well-meaning buddy of mine, not a particularly brightone, though, recently included me on this Facebook group,‘WineDineMine’, dedicated to all things food, liquor and, I guess,

ore. Only thing, it was meant exclusively for those who live north of theVindhyas. And I live in a quaint little town called Madras, which is 50km or so north of the historic Chinese city of Mahabalipuram, India’s hubfor plogging.

Well, anyway, every day, I got into checking out things like “Can you rec-ommend a good place for baba ganoush in Gurgaon?” to “I need a caterer for50 people asap to serve authentic Indian-Chinese food for Japanese tourists”.It was an active, buzzing site. Made my day a bit lighter. And hungrier.

Recently there was this post: “Hi, Friends... wanted master cook who canprepare Mughlai dishes for my restaurant in Patna. Anyone interested,please respond.”

Two days later, when I checked out of curiosity, there was not a singleresponse. I felt bad for the gentleman, one Mr A. Gupta, and decided torespond. I had been part of this group for a year and hadn't engaged evenonce. I thought maybe it was time for me to step up to the plate. (You saw whatI did there? I said 'plate' and this is a food-related group. LOL!)

“I am interested,” I said.“Please give details,” he said.Me: What details?AG: Your bio, etc.Me: I write non-best-

selling books, like R.D.Burman songs and longwalks on the beach whenthe Velankanni festival isover and done with. I havegood hair but I dye it. Whatabout you?

AG: Thanks for thosedetails. But could youplease tell me about yourcatering/cooking experi-ence?

Me: Sure. I could do that.I don’t want to have anysecrets from you.

AG: Okay... er... I’m wait-ing.

Me: Well, I cater to mid-dlebrow readers. TheBengali and Mallu bigwigsof Delhi publishing won’tgive me time of day. As forcooking, I’m quite good atchopping onions reallyfine. I do it whenever ourcook doesn’t turn up.

AG: You own a restau-rant?

Me: Why would youthink that?

AG: You just said yourcook...

Me: I’m talking ofDevaki, the lady whomakes our grub at home...

AG: Can she cookMughlai?

Me: No. She is from thedeep south. She can make a killer Gobi Manchurian, though.

AG: Which part of Patna are you from?Me: I’m from Besant Nagar, Chennai. I just told you about the Velankanni

festival. ROFL! Why would you think I’m from Patna?AG: Then why are you talking to me at all? I don’t see how any of this has to

do with my requirements...Me: But you said “Anyone interested, please respond”.AG: So you ARE interested?Me: Of course I am. Why would I respond otherwise? I’m not mad or jobless,

you know.AG: Sorry... I am confused. Are you a Mughlai cook? Or is this Devaki per-

son one? And you don't mind moving here?Me: Neither. I just told you I’m a writer. And why would Devaki move to

Patna? Don’t get ideas, okay?AG: Then why the f@#k are you having this conversation, you moron? Me: Hey, listen, Mr Gupta. No need to be rude, okay. I was interested. So I

contacted you.AG: Saalaa ... whathef@%&k are you interested in? Tell me, man!Me: I’m interested that you are in Patna and want a Mughlai cook. I want

the backstory. What happened to your previous cook? Did you have a previ-ous cook at all? Or is this your first brush with Mughlai? When did you startyour business? What are the challenges of making Mughlai food in Patna? Doyou think you are better off setting up a Chinese restaurant? Are you lonely?Are you a dog person or a cat person? Who do you think suited Dev Anandbetter? Kishore Kumar or Rafi? That kind of thing.

AG: Give me your phone number. I’ll call and explain in detail, you #$% ...Me: Bfn. Someone is at the door.I tell you, people can be so rude.

Krishna Shastri Devulapalli is a humour writer, novelist, columnist and screenwriter

No humour please, we’reIndians using Facebook

c m y k c m y k

Diplomacy without armaments is like musicwithout instruments

I am now convinced that theoretical physics is actually philosophy

FREDERICK THE GREATMIND POWER

MAX BORN PAGE

6EditSUNDAY | 27 OCTOBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

India’s flag carrier,Air India, has longbeen vilified as theposter child of whatails India’s public

sector undertakings. Forthe last 20 years, govern-ment after governmenthas mulled over disin-vestment. The UnitedFront Government in 1997and then two NDA gov-ernments from 1998 to2004 attempted to sell AirIndia. However, theUnited Progressive All-iance government for 10long years tried to revivethe airline through finan-cial infusions and a merg-er between Air India andIndian Airlines that failedto get off the ground.

The sell-off effort wasrevived again by theNDA/BJP government in2017 but found no takers.Once again the currentgovernment is in theprocess of formulating anExpression of Interest tofind a possible suitor.However, it is erroneousto view Air India from theprism of an ailing publicsector enterprise in India.In fact, it should be seenas symptomatic of thelarger distress in the avia-tion sector in India thatwarrants institutionalreform. This malaise inthe aviation sector hasaffected public and pri-vate players alike.

The irony is that overthe last four years, India’saviation market hasgrown at a yearly averagerate of 20 per cent, amongthe fastest in the world.Despite this, all major air-line players are in direfinancial straits.

A product of India’s“open sky” policy intro-duced in the early 1990s,Jet Airways, India’slargest private airline atone time, is the mostrecent among 10 private-ly-promoted airlines thathave collapsed in lessthan 30 years. Other carri-ers that have suspendedoperations include theEast-West Airlines, Dam-ania Airways, SaharaAirlines, ModiLuft, AirDeccan and Kingfisher.

The last one still has notpaid its employees.Together, these airlinesleft unrecovered dues tothe tune of `100,000 croresbefore going belly up.There is no empirical evi-dence that suggests thatthe private sector can runan airline better.

One of the key determi-nants of an airline’s suc-cess or failure is the priceof aviation turbine fuel.Its cost accounts forroughly 40 per cent of anairline’s operating costs.High taxes on aviationturbine fuel in India —one of the highest in theworld — make Indian car-riers less competitiveagainst global players.

Airlines pay severalcharges to airport opera-tors, both private airportsand Airport Authority ofIndia-operated airports,for landing, parking,route navigation and roy-alty. Other than thesecharges, airlines have tosend their planes abroaddue to lack of repair,maintenance, and over-haul facilities in India,but get no input credit fortaxes paid abroad.

The regulatory frame-work in the aviation sec-tor is hurting competi-tiveness of Indian carri-ers. Till 2016, the govern-ment had a self-defeatingrule of 5/20, which meantan airline had to operatefor five years in India andhave 20 aircraft to be ableto fly overseas. This con-strained airlines revenuegeneration capacity. Air-lines now need to operateonly 20 aircraft on localroutes to start flyingabroad. Further, the Cen-tre allows 100 per centForeign Direct Invest-ment (FDI) in airlines, buthas strangely has cappedit at 49 per cent if foreigncarriers wants to investin an Indian aviationcompany. Since aviationis a highly capital-inten-sive business, FDI curbsprevent it from acquiringnew technology and bestpractices.

The Indian marketexpanded rapidly in the

first decade of the 21stcentury after the launchof no-frills carriers suchas SpiceJet, GoAir andIndigo. Low cost carriersentering the market dis-rupted business models offull-service players suchas Jet and Air India, eat-ing into their marketshare. With a rapidlychanging business modelin the aviation sector,along with severe regula-tory constraints thathamper the competitive-ness of Indian carriers,it’s not surprising thatnot only Air India, no air-line is doing well in India.

A prudent analysis infact shows that Air Indiais actually doing betterthan most. In fact, it isalready on a fast recoverytrack. A junior civil avia-tion minister informedthe Lok Sabha that AirIndia made an operatingprofit of `105 crore and anet loss after tax of`3,836.77 crore in the 2015-16 fiscal. Air India’s oper-ating profit is expected toswell to `700-800 crores infiscal 2019-20. With properpolicy support from thegovernment, the Maha-rajah is capable of emerg-ing as India’s number onecarrier again within thenext five years.

If Air India is shuttered,the world’s fastest grow-ing aviation market willjust have a single full-ser-vice carrier that is also acollaboration betweenSingapore Airlines Ltdand the Tata Group.Incidentally, it is makinglosses, too. Whether gov-ernment-owned or pri-vate-owned is not theissue, moot is a compre-hensive overhaul of theregulatory framework inthis sector, a restructur-ing of Air India’s opera-tions and a redefining ofits market position.

If the government has towrite off Air India’s debtbefore making it attrac-tive for disinvestment,why not absorb the debt

and restructure the air-line? Air India has primereal estate all over theworld, bilateral rights,prominent parking slotsat most international air-ports, fifth freedom rightsin some cases and prof-itable subsidiary compa-nies. The whole packagehas an enterprise valueover five lakh crores ifproperly valued and notthe 20,000 odd crores oreven much less that thegovernment wants tohawk it off at to somefavoured oligarch. Thatwould be the scam of thecentury and no ministerin charge or Group ofMinisters would ever beable to live it down.

The government has apitiable track record ofcorrectly valuing publicenterprises. It recentlyfound out that IRCTC,which it valued at justover `5,160 crores mightactually be worth twicethat amount after draw-ing an oversubscriptionof 112 times the offer of`645 crores. It’s making asimilar error with AirIndia. Therefore, the gov-ernment must rethink itsdecision to sell theMaharajah. A wiser deci-sion would be to appropri-ately value Air India,restructure the airline,reform policy and thengive the airline a chanceto turn profitable.

If the government wantsto reduce its equity stakein Air India to even 26 percent or less, a better waywould be to divest theequity in the market andmake it a shareholder-owned company drivenby an independent boardand liberated from theclutches of the civil avia-tion ministry completely.This is the new normglobally. The ministerconcerned has spent alifetime in governmentservice as a distinguisheddiplomat, probably flyingAir India around theworld. He must castaround for more innova-tive options than just aheavily discounted gar-age sale. Air Indiadeserves better.

The author is a lawyer,Member of Parliament

and former Union infor-mation and broadcasting

minister. The viewsexpressed are

personal. Twitter handle @manishtewari

A prudent analysis infact shows that AirIndia is actually doingbetter than most. Infact, it is already on afast recovery track...Air India’s operatingprofit is expected toswell to `700-800crores in 2019-20.

LETTERS

PILGRIM TAXThe signing of Kartarpur corridoragreement has paved the way forIndian pilgrims to visit the holy siteof gurdwara Darbar Sahib without avisa. However, the Indian govern-ment has shown concern that the cor-ridor might be used by Pakistan toundermine India’s security. ButSikhs have a desire to access the site.The main issue that has been a pointof discussion is the insistence ofPakistan to levy $20 as service chargeper pilgrim. India has consistentlyurged Pakistan to not levy any fee onthe pilgrims, but Pakistan hasrefused to waive the fee. Still, in theinterest of the pilgrims, India hasagreed to sign the agreement.

Adish Bohra

Via email

SLOW DHANTERASAll the hopes of Dhanteras bringing atwist to the present market condi-tions have been washed out. The eco-nomic slowdown seems to be in nomood to leave India. According to theConfederation of All India Traders(CAIT), this Dhanteras was the mostdisappointing in 10 years. And stillthe government seems to not makethe economy their topmost priority.

Kavya Shah

Ujjain

BEWARE OF SENAEven if the BJP succeeds in gettingthe Shiv Sena to accept its ownterms, the organisation is bound tovent its anger by launching an evenmore caustic non-stop tiradeagainst the BJP, thereby playingthe role of an “effective” Oppositionwhile still enjoying the fruits ofpower. In that event, the Sena willbe seen in a strange situationwhere it will be criticising the samegovernment of which it is part andparcel. It would, therefore, be betterfor the BJP to watch the unfoldingdrama from the sidelines, when theCongress and NCP will pull thestrings with the Sena being the puppet.

Arun Malankar

Mumbai

JUDICIAL INJUSTICESIt is the dream of almost every personwho joins judicial service to become aHigh Court judge one day. A goodremuneration is provided to everyofficer of the subordinate judiciarynowadays. But monetary remunera-tion is not what motivates them tojoin judicial service. Even if an offi-cer gets elevated as a High Courtjudge for only two years it’s a bigrecognition. But the sad reality isthat in the past despite there beingvacancies sincere and hardworkingofficers have retired without know-ing whether their name was recom-mended and if recommended why itwas rejected. There must be a forumwhere such issues can be raised.

Krishna DekaGuwahati

SOUR GRAPESThis refers to the Congress Party’sjibe that the JJP will remain theBJP’s B Team. There is nothingwrong in branding JJP as the B teamof BJP as Dushyant Chautala willafter all not be chief minister. On theother hand, did not the Congressplay second fiddle to JD(U) inKarnataka, offering the CM’s post tothem? Having failed to get the sup-port of JJP to form the governmentin Haryana, the Congress is raging.

N. Mahadevan

Chennai

SubhaniKrishna ShastriDevulapalliOff the beaten track

Every Monday the best letter ofthe week wins `500. Email:

[email protected] Else, sendto Jawaharlal Nehru National YouthCentre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay

Marg, New Delhi 110002

DAYS NUMBEREDThe BJP has emerged thesingle-largest party inboth Maharashtra andHaryana but has fallenshort of the halfway markin both states, which is aclear message that theparty can't always ride onthe emotive issues ofnationalism and reap richdividends forever. Thepoll results show that theBJP may not be able tolast much longer in thecoming days. It seemsthat the eyes of the pub-lic are now open.

Seraj AliBengaluru

EDITOR IN CHIEF: T. VENKATRAM REDDY, PRINTER & PUBLISHER: T. VENKATESWARLU; THE ASIAN AGE offices are located at: New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New Delhi-110002. Phone: (011) 23211124; Mumbai: Sigma House, # 43, Ground Floor, R. A. Kidwai Marg, Near Wadala RlyStation, Wadala (West), Mumbai - 400 031 Phone (022) 24195301 Fax (022) 24195347; Kolkata: 4th Floor, Chowdhury Building, 8/1A Little Russel Street, Kolkata 700 071. Phone: (033) 2289 0676/77 Fax (033) 2289 0686; Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office in the United Kingdom; Air surcharge for Kathmandu and J&K `1;

Published and Printed on behalf of and for; Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited, Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New Delhi 110 002 at BFL Infotech Ltd., C-9, Sector-III, Noida -201301; Mumbai: Dangat Media Pvt Ltd, Plot No 22, Digha MIDC, TTC Industrial Estate Area, Vishnu Nagar, Digha, Navi Mumbai-400708; Kolkata: Satyajug Employees Cooperative Industrial Society Ltd, 13/A, Prafulla Sarkar Street, Kolkata 700 072; London: Quickmarsh Ltd, 8th Floor, Block 2, Elizabeth House, 39 York Road, London, SE1 7NQ; RNI Registration number: 57290/94;

Postal registration numbers: DL(S)-05/4189/15-17

Exit Nadda, enter Baluni?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi islikely to opt for a Cabinet reshuf-

fle soon. The BJP is set to have J.P.Nadda as its full-time party chiefbefore the year-end. In the processsome leaders from the party are set tojoin the government while there is apossibility of few leaving the govern-ment and opting for party work. MrNadda, for instance, is himself aUnion minister. Anil Baluni, a youngRajya Sabha member and BJP func-tionary from Uttarakhand, is likely tojoin the goverment as he is seen as achallenger to Uttarakhand chief min-ister Trivendra Singh Rawat.

INC under I-T scanner

The Congress recently survived amajor scare. It so happened that

income tax department officialsreportedly came knocking askingsome 24 Akbar Road staffers some

searching questions regarding finan-cial transactions. While everyone inthe party is tightlipped about it, somesee the income tax department inves-tigations as “routine” and a part ofthe ongoing investigation against thechief accountant of the party.

Congress regrouping

Buoyed by good performances inHaryana and Maharashtra, the

Congress leadership is toying withthe idea of holding an All IndiaCongress Committee session inUdaipur in Rajasthan. Congress chiefSonia Gandhi has recently constitut-ed a group to sharpen the party’s ide-ological stance on key socio-economicand political issues. Priyanka GandhiVadra is part of the panel and report-edly giving out some substantial and

practical suggestions. Party insiderssay January 2020 may see the

Rajasthan unit of the party hostingthe jamboree.

Kanda is in luck!

Forty seems to be a lucky numberfor Gopal Goyal Kanda, a contro-

versial Independent MLA fromHaryana, accused of rape leading tothe death of an airhostess. In 2009, MrKanda had teamed up with theCongress when the Bhupender SinghHooda-led Congress had hurriedlymerged Haryana Janhit Congress tohave another term in office. Mr Kandawas made minister till controversyhad him arrested and removed fromthe ministerial chamber.

Interestingly, the Congress tally in2009 had come down from 67 seatswhile the INLD had jumped from nineseats to 31 in 2009. The mandate was

clearly against the Congress, but theystill managed to form governmentwith the support of Independents andthe Haryana Janhit Congress.

‘Protectionist’ Pawar

Would Sharad Pawar contemplatea merger of his Nationalist

Congress Party with the CongressParty? Apparently, Rahul Gandhi andMr Pawar are serious about comingtogether and Sushil Kumar Shinde isworking out the details. But there is acatch. Mr Pawar and the NCP are will-ing to consider a political reunion butare unwilling to transfer assets suchas buildings, properties and so on thatare carefully guarded by a variety oftrusts. This hiccup is leading to ayawning trust deficit...

The writer is a keen observer of the goings-on

in backrooms of power

Editor’s Note — On Sundays the Asian Age will no longer carry its twoedits. Instead, we will carry a regular feature by selected contributors.

This will relate to issues of the day, or just slices of life. Hope it enrichesyour Sunday reading experience.

Priyanka to power Udaipur awakening

Maharajah can rule,given a fair chance

Manish Tewari

State of the Union

By WAQYANAWIS

Recently there was this post: ‘Hi,Friends... wanted master cook

who can prepare Mughlai dishesfor my restaurant in Patna.Anyone interested, please

respond.’...‘I am interested,’ I said.

‘Please give details,’ he said.Me: What details?

OpedSUNDAY | 27 OCTOBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

BINGE LISTEN SPINNISHWord SPY

To indulge in an excess of listening tomusic, podcasts or other audio content

The language used by spin doctors and other political operatives

‘The BJP lost the plot as they kept askingfor votes in the name of NRC, Article 370’

The Congress finds itself in aresurgent mode after its per-formance in the Assemblyelections in Maharashtra andHaryana. The HaryanaCongress chief KUMARISELJA speaks with ASHHARKHAN on the party’s perfor-mance in the polls.

The results are out and theCongress has done much bet-ter than expected. Your com-ments?

One thing that is evident isthat people of Haryana havetotally and absolutely reject-ed the BJP government. It isanother matter that in theirlust for power they are tryingto cling on to it. They tried toget Independent candidatesby lifting them forcibly andresorting to every trick. Thisis horse trading.

On the performance of theCongress: Are you satisfiedor do you think the partycould have done much better?

Obviously, when you comeso near you feel that, maybe,we could have done a littlebetter. One thing of course isthat we could have achievedmuch more in terms of seats,but you can see that when thecounting was going on theBJP tried every trick in thebook to ensure that Congresscandidates lost. Regardingrecounting of votes, wherethe margin was very slim,many of our candidates havetold us that the BJP tried tointimidate them, misusingtheir power. The fact is thatthey are in government, butstill they tried to do all that.Obviously, they did not seethe writing on the wall.

Many of your candidateshave lost with wafer-thinmargins. Do you suspect anyfoul play?

I can name several con-stituencies, includingHathin, and even in Rewari

they tried, but Captain AjayYadav and his son and theCongress workers all stoodtheir ground. But in someplaces, yes, there was somefoul play. I also got a call fromsome of our candidates, thenour workers reached there.The BJP has tried this at sev-eral places and at some placeswe have lost with very slimmargins. Of course, now wewill have to see what we cando about that. But the BJP isso unscrupulous that theywill resort to anything.

Was there any talk of yourparty joining with the JJP orIndependents to keep the BJPout of power in the state?

Everybody knows the ver-dict of the people — it is anti-BJP. Otherwise the people ofthe state would have voted forthem conclusively. Just a fewmonths ago, in the Lok Sabhaelections, the BJP was leadingin 79 of the 90 Assembly seg-ments. Today, they arereduced to 40, which is virtu-ally half. It shows that the peo-ple of Haryana did not wantthem to form the government.Else they would have easilyhad a simple majority andformed the government. Butthe people of Haryana thoughtotherwise, and then let’s notforget that the majority ofvotes are anti-BJP. Whetherthey were Independents orsmaller parties, everybody gotvotes that were against theBJP. All these parties wentagainst the ideology of theBJP. So the people have votedagainst the BJP’s ideology andits government. It is becauseof this that the others shouldhave got together and kept theBJP out of power as per thewill of the people.

What were the real issues inthis election? Before the pollsyour party said that the BJPis talking about the abroga-tion of Article 370 instead ofreal issues. What went wrongfor the BJP?

The BJP lost the plot as theykept asking for votes in thename of the NRC, the abroga-tion of Article 370, etc. Theydid not even touch upon theissues that relate to the peo-ple of Haryana, such as hugeunemployment amongst theyouth — which happens to bethe highest in the country.Also, there was rise in crimein the state, the plight ofwomen, farmers’ distress,employees were unhappy.And, the poorer sections ofthe society, for five years theyweren’t given any rationcards or BPL cards and thegovernment kept telling themto go and register so that youget a house. Now for fiveyears you kept asking poorpeople to keep registering —for how long? When will thesedwellings be delivered? Sopeople actually had no faithin the BJP. The BJP realisedthis and tried to use diver-sionary tactics of referring tothe NRC and the abrogationof Article 370. They werethings that people could notrelate to.

The Congress did not do wellin urban centres likeGurugram or Faridabad. Doyou think the Congress couldnot connect in the urban cen-tres?

I wouldn’t say that but thereare a host of other factors thatwere responsible. In someplaces it could be that therewere rebels and the candi-dates could not campaign

well, for example. So thereare always many factors thatcontribute to winning or notwinning. It can’t be one spe-cific issue.

There was infighting withinthe Congress. Some rebel can-didates were put up. Did thisimpact the party?

The former state unit chiefAshok Tanwar was alreadyout of the Congress. He hadalready resigned. We in theCongress put up a unitedfront and everybody wentinto the polls in the right spir-it.

Your former state unit chiefAshok Tanwar accused youall of selling tickets andprotested outside the resi-dence of the Congress presi-dent. Do you think all thatdiminished the party’schances?

All this was uncalled for. Aprocess is always in place in

the Congress in every elec-tion. That is the way ticketdistribution is done in ourparty. So that kind of demon-stration outside the residenceof Sonia Gandhi’s house wascompletely uncalled for. Butthen, ultimately, Congressworkers went into the fieldand fought the electionsextremely well.

What’s next for the party inHaryana? It seems that theBJP will form a governmentin the state.

It’s extremely unethical andimmoral the way BJP is goingabout in terms of governmentformation. The way they arelifting MLAs — on one hand,they preach about high moralground and then on the otherhand, even without getting aclear mandate, they say it’s ahistoric win. What is so his-toric about this win? The factis that people did not vote foryou, people did not want youto form the government. Yet

you are going ahead, and thattoo with horse trading toform the government. This isnothing but lust for power.We say that like-minded peo-ple and MLAs should cometogether. Else we will play therole of a constructiveOpposition. While we are con-structive as far as the devel-opment of the state is con-cerned, we will never everfail on any forum, whether itis getting down to the streetsor the Vidhan Sabha. We willnever fail in raising issuesthat matter to the people ofHaryana. The Congress onone hand wants overall devel-opment of the state but if wefind that the government isnot doing its job we will raiseour voice.

The Congress also objected toGopal Kanda, who is anaccused in a criminal caseand intends to give support tothe BJP. What is your take?

The BJP has double stan-dards. Earlier, he wasuntouchable for them butnow that he got elected, theyare wooing him. It is a typicalcharacteristic of the BJP.They preach one thing andpractice something complete-ly opposite to that.

The results in Haryana andMaharashtra have broughtcheer to the Congress afterthe drubbing it got in the LokSabha elections. Your com-ments?

Definitely it has bolsteredthe Congress and theOpposition. It has broughtimmense joy to the cadres,especially the fact that theparty is fighting back andraising issues. That is res-onating with the people.There is now faith returningto the people that theCongress is a solid alterna-tive. We always try and doour best in elections and it’salways satisfying when theresults are good.

The issue of the silence of theMuslims of India on the tra-vails of Kashmiri Muslimshas been simmering ever

since the Instrument of Accessionof October 26, 1947. The NarendraModi government’s assault on thevery existence of Kashmir’s auton-omy on August 5 has brought theissue to the fore. Silence in thecrime is not only inexplicable butcondemnable.

Reputed Kashmiri journalistYusuf Jameel reported: “KashmiriMuslims acknowledge the con-straints on Indian Muslim leadersand that in the current politicalenvirons the latter have to watchtheir statements and actions, par-ticularly on Kashmir. They can’tafford to go against the tide. Theyalso realise that Indian Muslimsare as responsible Indians as anyother and, therefore, should not beexpected to deviate from thenational position on Kashmir.”

He noticed the empathy of IndianMuslims but is concerned about thesilence and worse of some of them.The time has come to trace this atti-

tude to its roots. They go back toJanuary 6, 1948, when India’sdeputy prime minister VallabhbhaiPatel addressed a meeting shortlyafter his colleague Maulana AbulKalam Azad had addressed theIndian Union Muslim Conferenceon December 28, 1947, both inLucknow. Patel said: “I want to askthe Indian Muslims only one ques-tion. In the recent All-India MuslimConference why did you not openyour mouth on the Kashmir issue?Why did you not condemn theaction of Pakistan? These thingscreate doubt in the minds of the peo-ple.”

Nehru did not emulate Patel’sMcCarthyite test of loyalty. But asevents picked up, he becameincreasingly intolerant of dissenton his foreign policies, particular-ly on Kashmir. He had his friendMridula Sarabhai thrown out ofthe Constitution Club because shedisagreed with his Kashmir policy.She supported Sheikh Abdullah tillher last breath.

The Nawab of Chhatari referredto the special stakes of Kashmir’s

Muslim majority to IndianMuslims: “They feel that theprogress and prosperity ofKashmir is a visible symbol of sec-ular democracy....”

This echoed the new line Nehrupropounded — Kashmir’s continu-ance in the Indian Union was nec-essary to protect India’s secular-ism and Indian Muslims. Thishostage theory was propagatedbelatedly. Why then was plebisciteespoused by Nehru from 1947 to1953? The publications division ofthe external affairs ministry pub-lished a brochure on IndianMuslims on Kashmir. It was dis-tributed all over the place like awedding invitation card. This dis-graceful ploy worked. Muslimswithdrew into a shell whenever theword Kashmir was uttered.

Soon this intolerance was extend-ed to espousal of redress for themounting grievances of Muslims;or education, employment, evenbasic physical safety, and policeoutrages. Muslims of riot-tornSambalpur met, not to demand pro-tection, but to send a telegram to

the UN Security Council to claimto its members that “Kashmir’saccession to India is irrevocable”.Muslims who met to voice theirgrievances were communalists; ifthey met to support India’s case onKashmir, they were nationalists.

It saw the rise and financial pros-perity of Uncle Toms amongMuslims. In 2019, this craven poli-cy must end.

First, Muslims of India must pro-vide help and succour to theKashmiris; especially the studentswho face hardships. Next, theymust voice their views freely. In1947, both Jinnah and Nehru saidthat the future of minoritiesdepended on the state of relationsbetween Pakistan and India.Muslims should urge a settlementof the Kashmir problem and thusimprovement in Pakistan-Indiarelations. Finally, they must voicetheir support, in company withhosts of civil libertarians, againsthuman rights violations inKashmir.

By arrangement with Dawn

The UncleToms among

Indian Muslimsover Kashmir

CALL FOR SEPARATEARUNACHAL CADRE

Arunachal Pradesh chiefminister Pema Khanduhas made a strong pitch

for separate IAS, IPS and IFScadres for better developmentof the state. It’s not just the CM,but apparently, the state BJPtoo favours separate cadres forbureaucrats in the state.Compounded by the fact thatmany IAS officers arereluctant to serve in theNortheast, the chief minister’sconcern about the quality ofadministration requiresattention.

Mr Khandu’s main gripe isthat officials sent from Delhi toserve in Arunachal Pradeshcome for a short duration. Bythe time they come to gripswith the system, they aretransferred, causing a drain ofknowledge and slowing downthe working of the stateadministration. A separatestate civil service cadre, theybelieve, at the top, wouldcreate a sense of ownershipand responsibility and makethe administration moreresponsive to the needs of thestate.

It’s not clear whether theCentre will be receptive to thechief minister’s demand. Yet,in the recent months, therehave been attempts by thegovernment to liberaliseservice rules to make theNortheast more attractive toUT cadre officials who getposted to Arunachal Pradeshand other Northeastern states.

WEEDING OUT THE CORRUPT

In June and then in August,the Modi sarkarcompulsorily retired 64 tax

officials, includingcommissioner-rank officials,on various charges, includingcorruption. But the Centre’sdrive against corruption inbabudom is not limited to taxofficials, as reported in thiscolumn earlier. Thegovernment is believed to beexamining and reviewing theannual confidential reports ofall employees, particularlythose facing criminal orcorruption charges.

Sources say that the Centrehas directed all cadre-controlling authorities toestablish a procedure toidentify such officials andcompulsorily retire them. Thestates too have been asked toprepare lists of officials facingserious charges. Similarly, theministry of personnel, whichcontrols the IAS cadre, isbelieved to be preparing a listof “tainted” babus for theirremoval from service, in aphased manner. The centralinvestigative agencies such asthe Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI), NationalInvestigation Agency (NIA)and Enforcement Directorate(ED) are reportedly identifyingcorrupt officials for actionagainst them.

The Centre’s determined waragainst corruption has sentjitters down the babu corridorsbut will win kudos from thepublic if the deadwood isindeed weeded out of thesystem.

As the nation celebratesthe announcement ofthis year’s Nobel Prize

for Economics to AbhijitBanerjee as one of the threerecipients, senior IPS officerNeena Singh is being feted forauthoring two research paperswith the Nobel Laureate.

Neena Singh is a 1989-batchIPS officer of the Rajasthancadre. Her joint work with theNobel Laureates AbhijitBanerjee and Esther Duflo istitled “The EfficientDeployment of PoliceResources: Theory and NewEvidence from a RandomisedDrunk Driving Crackdown inIndia” was published lastmonth. It calls for thedispersed model of policedeployment rather than theintense “hot spot” model. Itadvocates that rotating policecheckpoints reduces nightaccidents by 17 per cent andnight deaths by 25 per cent.Fixed checkpoints have nosignificant effect, the papersays.

A NOBEL CONNECTION

A.G.Noorani

Congress leader Kumari Selja — SONDEEP SHANKAR

DilipCherianDilli KaBabu

Just a few monthsago, in the Lok Sabhaelections, the BJPwas leading in 79 ofthe 90 Assembly segments. Today,they are reduced to40, which is virtuallyhalf. It shows peopledid not want them toform the government.

SUNDAY INTERVIEW

Love them, hate them ignore them at national peril,

is the babu guarantee andDilip’s belief. Share

significant babu escapades [email protected]

Samuel Johnson, who com-piled the English dictionary,once said: “Patriotism is thelast refuge of the scoundrel.”Meaning that any crime and

any misbehaviour was tolerated aslong as it was committed by one whokept shouting that he loved his coun-try. And on the other hand, the indi-vidual who questioned the behaviourof the country or government was atraitor, no matter how noble the per-son was. In our time and in our coun-try this is true also. I will come tothat later, but first let us look at whatis happening in the United States.President Donald Trump is about tobe impeached by the House ofRepresentatives. The US Senate willthen decide whether to acquit or con-vict him.

Presidents are immune fromcrimes committed while they are inoffice but they can be removedthrough the process of impeach-

ment. Bill Clinton was impeachedby a Republican majority House butacquitted by the Senate a couple ofdecades ago, and such things aredetermined more by party politicsthan by actual guilt. Mr Trump hasbeen accused since being elected ofbeing in collusion with VladimirPutin. It is indisputable now thatRussia has maliciously interferedwith, influenced and obstructed thedemocratic process in America.Using the social media and fakenews, it helped ensure that HillaryClinton lost the 2016 election and MrTrump won. Both the CIA and theFBI under Mr Trump have said this.

Following the various revelations,it was decided to set up an indepen-dent investigation under the formerFBI director Robert Mueller to lookat Russian interference. After theMueller report, a number of Trumpassociates were convicted forwrongdoing. The list includedMichael Flynn, Mr Trump’s nation-al security adviser, who was jailedfor lying to the FBI. Rick Gates, MrTrump’s deputy campaign manager,who was guilty of conspiracyagainst the United States and mak-ing false statements to FBI agents.George Papadopoulos, a Trump for-eign policy adviser, was jailed formaking false statements to the FBIabout his contacts with Russians

during the campaign. MichaelCohen, Mr Trump’s lawyer andfixer, pleaded guilty to lying toCongress about the 2016 presidentialcampaign. Paul Manafort, MrTrump’s campaign chairman, whopleaded guilty to conspiracy againstthe US and conspiracy to obstructjustice, is also in jail.

Mr Trump’s son and son-in-lawhave been in meetings with Russianoperatives. Some of the Russians inthe meetings have also been convict-ed of spying, showing this wasendemic. But the illegal activity doesnot end there. Mr Trump has usedcampaign money to pay off womenthat he had slept with, and that isillegal. Now it has become clear thathe was blackmailing Ukraine to tak-ing action against his rival Joe

Biden by withholding a military aidpackage passed by the US Congress.In every way, he has undermined thedemocratic process and actedagainst the interests of his nation.

But through all of this drama, it isMr Trump who is pretending to bethe nationalist and the patriot. It ishis slogan that says “Make AmericaGreat Again”, though he is clearlyacting against his nation’s interests.After whistleblowers in his adminis-tration alerted Congress to theUkraine call, Mr Trump turnedaround and accused them of actingagainst the nation’s interests. Hecalls them the “deep state”, allegingthat they want to take control andundermine democracy. The facts areclear about who is doing the illegalactivity, but the facts do not seem tostop the side backing Mr Trumpfrom saying that it is they who areacting against the anti-nationals.They use the hatred of immigrantsand Muslims as the primary weaponto mobilise their base and any illegalaction that they take is forgivenbecause they take this extreme posi-tion.

Because Mr Trump is still popularwith certain parts of American soci-ety, especially white working classmen and women, his party is doingthe cowardly thing. Most of them areeither running away or enabling

and defending his behaviour. Thereseems to be no defence against thefalse patriot who peddles slogans.

This is a cautionary tale. It is whathappens to countries where the madand rabid narrative of nationalismtakes over, as it has also done inIndia. The facts have become unim-portant and useless. What is impor-tant is the constant shouting of patri-otism, even as one undermines theinterests of the people. And the abus-ing of rivals as being traitors. Justlike in India, the media is also a par-ticipant. Mr Trump has strong back-ing through all of his wrongdoingfrom particular news channels. Thenewspapers which tend to be morefact-based, he has declared waragainst. This week, Mr Trumpordered the banning of the New YorkTimes and the Washington Post fromall federal offices. This is the level ofpettiness one descends to throughthe defence of bogus nationalism.

It has become an acceptable substi-tute for actual patriotism, whichmeans a love of the people and not ahatred of something. And it is verydifficult to remove from the systemonce it is inserted, as America isfinding out.

Aakar Patel is a writer, columnist and executive director of

Amnesty International (India)

Patriotic Trump: To impeach or not?The newspapers whichtend to be more fact-based, Trump has declaredwar against. This week,Trump ordered the banningof the New York Times andthe Washington Post fromall federal offices. This isthe level of pettiness onedescends to through bogus nationalism.

AakarPatel

Science+HealthSUNDAY | 27 OCTOBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

IN BRIEF

Washington, Oct. 26: Thebehaviour of parents mayinfluence their children’sdeveloping system of oxy-tocin — a hormoneinvolved in social interac-tion and bonding in mam-mals — according to astudy that highlights theimportance of parentingin infant health.

The researchers, includ-ing those from the MaxPlanck Institute forHuman Cognitive andBrain Sciences inGermany, observed a freeplay interaction between101 mothers and their five-month-old children.

They collected salivasamples from both themother and the infant,and then a year later,when the child was 18months old to quantify theoxytocin levels.

The study, published inthe journal ScienceAdvances, noted thatgreater involvement bymothers during the playinteraction may have thepotential to upregulatethe oxytocin system intheir kids.

The hormone oxytocinis actively involved inearly social, perceptual,and cognitive processes,and it influences complex

social behaviours, thestudy noted.

The researchers saidthat some cells in the bodyreacted to oxytocinthrough the oxytocinreceptors present on theirsurfaces, and the genesinvolved in producingthese receptors wereessential for the hor-mone’s effects to take

hold.“The oxytocin receptor

is essential for the hor-mone oxytocin to exert itseffects and the gene candetermine how many areproduced,” said study co-author Kathleen Krolfrom the University ofVirginia in the US.

Krol said that the quali-ty of a mother's involve-

ment during the play ses-sion was linked to chemi-cal changes in the produc-tion of the infant’s oxy-tocin receptor gene.

She said that chemicalmodifications called DNAmethylation undergone bythe receptor genes weredetermined by the qualityof the mother’s involve-ment during play ses-

sions.“If mothers were partic-

ularly involved in thegame with their children,there was a greater reduc-tion in DNA methylationof the oxytocin receptorgene one year later.Decreased DNA methyla-tion in this region has pre-viously been associatedwith increased expressionof the oxytocin receptorgene,” Krol said.

The study noted thatgreater maternal involve-ment during play sessionsmay boost the oxytocinsystem in children.

“Importantly, we alsofound that the DNAmethylation levels reflect-ed infant temperament,which was reported to usby the parents. The chil-dren with higher methyla-tion levels at 18-months,and presumably lower lev-els of oxytocin receptor,were also more tempera-mental and less well bal-anced,” Krol said.

According to theresearchers, social inter-action with caregivers caninfluence our biologicaland psychological devel-opment through chemicalchanges to the genesbehind the oxytocin sys-tem. — PTI

Washington: Researchershave found further evidence

supporting the theory thatan extraterrestrial body such

as an asteroid or a cometmay have crashed into theEarth almost 13,000 years

ago, and caused the extinc-tion of many large animals,and a likely decline in early

human population.The study, published in the

journal Scientific Reports,noted that an asteroid or a

comet hit the Earth, or blewup in the atmosphere

12,800 years ago, causing aperiod of extreme cooling

that may have led to theextinction of more than 35

species including giantsloths, sabre-tooth cats, andmammoths in what is called

the Younger Dryas climateevent. The researchers,

including those from theUniversity of South Carolina

(UofSC) in the US, foundfurther evidence of a cosmic

impact based on researchdone at White Pond nearElgin in the US. The new

study adds to the discoveryof platinum spikes — an ele-

ment associated with cos-mic objects like asteroids or

comets — in multiple places across the world,

including North America,Europe, western Asia, and

recently in Chile and SouthAfrica. “First, we thought it

was a North Americanevent, and then there

was evidence in Europe andelsewhere that it was a

Northern Hemisphere event. And now with the

research in Chile and SouthAfrica, it looks like it wasprobably a global event,”

said study co-authorChristopher Moore from

UofSC. Archeologists con-tinue to find evidence of an

asteroid or comet impact pertaining to this

time period, the studynoted. “There have been

numerous papers that havecome out in the past couple

of years with similar datafrom other sites”. — PTI

Asteroid causedextinction during

last ice-age

Washington: Researchershave found a promising way

to develop gene and celltherapies, capable of treat-ing blindness-causing syn-drome. A genetic mutation

that leads to a rare, but dev-astating blindness-causing

syndrome has been discov-ered in monkeys for the first

time. The finding offers apromising way to develop

gene and cell therapies thatcould treat the condition in

people. Three species ofmonkeys (rhesus macaques)

with a mutated gene that'sassociated with Bardet-Biedl

Syndrome have been dis-covered, according to a

study published in the jour-nal Experimental Eye

Research. It is the firstknown naturally occurring

nonhuman primate model ofthe syndrome, which is also

called BBS. BBS leads tovision loss, kidney disfunc-tion, extra fingers or toes,

and other symptoms. Itoccurs in 1 of 140,000 to160,000 North American

births. “There is no cure forBardet-Biedel Syndrome

today, but having a naturallyoccurring animal model forthe condition could help usfind one in the future," saidthe paper's correspondingauthor, Martha Neuringer,

Ph.D., a professor of neuro-science at the Oregon

National Primate ResearchCenter at Oregon Health &

Science University. He isalso a research associate

professor of ophthalmologyin the OHSU School of

Medicine and OHSU CaseyEye Institute. The discoveryis timely, as gene therapy is

already a reality. — ANI

Researchers discover

blindness gene

Parents influence ‘bonding hormone’

Washington, Oct. 26: Anew chemical may helpplants to hold onto waterand prevent crop loss dur-ing drought, says a recentstudy.

“Drought is the No. 1cause, closely tied withflooding, of annual cropfailures worldwide,” saidSean Cutler, a plant cellbiology professor at UCRiverside, who led theresearch. “This chemicalis an exciting new toolthat could help farmersbetter manage crop per-formance when water lev-els are low.”

Details of the team'swork on the newer, moreeffective anti-water-losschemical are described ina paper published inScience.

This chemical,Opabactin, is also knownas “OP”, which is gamer

slang for “overpowered”,referring to the best char-acter or weapon in agame. “The name is also ashoutout to my 10-year-old at home,” Cutler said.

An earlier version ofOP developed by Cutler'steam in 2013, calledQuinabactin, was thefirst of its kind.

It mimics abscisic acid,or ABA, the natural hor-mone produced by plantsin response to droughtstress. ABA slows aplant's growth, so it does-n't consume more waterthan is available anddoesn't wilt.

“Scientists have knownthat spraying plants withABA can improve theirdrought tolerance,”Cutler said. “However, itis too unstable and expen-sive to be useful to mostfarmers.” — ANI

London, Oct. 26: There isgood news for people suf-fering from body pain.Bamboo tapping, anancient Chinese therapyhas in recent timesbecome an extremely pop-ular technique to relievepain.

“Tapping with bamboois an ancient Chinesetherapy called Pai Sha.Forms of tapping such asEFT have becomeextremely popular overthe last few years — andthese have their roots inthis Chinese technique,”said Katie Brindle, aTraditional ChineseMedicine (TCM) practi-tioner and founder of theHayo'u Method--an online

body shop that suggestsChinese medicines for

beauty and health care.Bamboo tapping

involves using a tightlybound bundle of thin rodsof bamboo that resemblesthe end of a narrow old-fashioned broom, to tapareas of the body.

Brindle was quoted assaying that bamboo hashistorically been used forits flexibility and inChinese medicine, it isconsidered cooling andcalming. Tapping canhelp to boost blood circu-lation and “qi” or “chi”(translated as live force orenergy), which canbecome disrupted or stag-nant due to factors likeliving a more sedentarylifestyle. — ANI

PLANTS CAN REMAIN GREENTHROUGHOUT THE YEAR

Bamboo tapping helps in warding off body pain

■Maternal involvement during play sessions may boost oxytocin system in children

London, Oct. 26: Birdsmay undergo a change inphysiology and reproduc-tive health when living inenvironments with con-stant vehicular trafficnoise, compared to whenthey are breeding in aquiet habitat, accordingto a study which throwslight on how disturbancesin urban landscapesaffects birds.

The study, published inthe journal ConservationBiology, noted that thechicks of noise-exposedbirds were smaller thanthe young ones from quietnests.

The researchers, includ-ing those from The MaxPlanck Society for theAdvancement of Sciencein Germany (MPG), stud-ied the effect of trafficnoise on stress hormone

levels, health, and repro-ductive success in breed-ing zebra finches — birdsnative to the arid areas ofCentral Australia.

They observed a total of88 birds split into twogroups bred in both noiseand no-noise conditions.

The noise groups, theresearchers said, wereexposed to traffic noiserecorded at several busyintersections in andaround the city ofMunich in Germany dur-ing the whole breedingperiod.

The study noted that thetraffic noise used by theresearchers variedthroughout the day, withthe sounds of heaviertraffic during the day, andlighter traffic during thenight.

After the first breeding

period, the researcherssaid that the noise condi-tions changed for bothgroups, and the same birdpairs bred again.

The research teamrecorded the level ofstress hormones before,during, and after thebreeding period.

They also took meas-ures of thefunctioning ofthe birds’immune systems,and reproductivesuccess, as well asthe growth rates oftheir chicks.

The findings of thestudy revealed that thebirds in constant trafficnoise had lower levels ofthe stress hormone cor-ticosterone in theirblood compared towhen they were

breeding in a quiet envi-ronment.

The researchers saidthat this was surprisingsince stress often resultedin higher levels of thehormone.

“In the birds breedingin quiet environments,their baseline corticos-terone remained low

throughout the breed-ing season,” said Sue

Anne Zollinger,lead author of

the study fromMPG.

According to theresearchers, the low levelof the hormone found inthe birds may have been anatural defence mecha-nism to ensure thatchronically increasedcorticosterone levels didnot affect their immunesystems.

“This suggests that thebirds didn't habituate to,or get used to the noise,since their hormone lev-els did not track the nor-mal ups and downs thatoccur during the normalbreeding cycle in non-noise exposed birds.Instead the suppressionof corticosterone levelsmay be a way to protectfrom the negative conse-quences of chronicallyelevated stress on theimmune system,” saidZollinger. — PTI

HEALTH I MATTERS

Washington: A newstudy has revealed thatconsuming oil in a well-balanced ketogenic dietis beneficial for one'sskin.

“This study leads to abroader understandingof possible effects ofketogenic diets with avery high-fat content onskin inflammation andunderlines the impor-tance of the composi-tion of fatty acids in thediet,” said co-leadinvestigator, BarbaraKofler, PhD, ResearchProgram for ReceptorBiochemistry and TumorMetabolism,Department ofPediatrics, ParacelsusMedical University,Salzburg, Austria.

“We have found that awell-balanced ketogenicdiet, limited primarily tolong-chain triglycerides(LCTs) like olive oil, soy-bean oil, fish, nuts, avo-cado does not exacer-bate skin inflammation,”explained Kofler. Thestudy has been pub-lished in the journal ofInvestigativeDermatology. — ANI

Washington: A recentdiscovery byresearchers can helpthem develop short-term earthquake fore-cast so that people canbe evacuated from theseismic impact zonequickly.

An international teamof researchers, whichincludes physicistsfrom HSE Universityand the RAS SpaceResearch Institute (IKI),have discovered thatwith an impendingearthquake, the param-eters of internal gravitywaves (IGWs) can

change five daysbefore a seismic event.

This data can helpexperts develop short-term earthquake fore-cast methods. Theresults of the studyhave been published inthe journal — DokladyEarth Sciences.

Today, scientists canpredict seismic disas-ters ranging from tens

of years to months.However, it is stillimpossible to deter-mine the precise tim-ing of the event.

More accurate andreliable short-termforecasts are necessaryso that people can beevacuated from theseismic impact zone.To do this, theresearchers record var-ious anomalies andmanifestations of geo-physical processes inseismically activeregions. The list of pre-cursors is constantlyupdated. — ANI

RESEARCHERS MAY DEVELOP QUAKE FORECAST SYSTEM

Paris: France is bring-ing in new rules for theuse of electric scootersfollowing hundreds ofincidents involving thevehicles, including sev-eral deaths.

Riders will berequired to be at least12 and will not be ableto ride their scooter onthe pavement.

The two-wheeledvehicles’ top speed willalso be capped by nextyear.

E-scooters, which cantravel at more than50km/h (30mph), aregrowing in popularity,in part because of their

low environmentalimpact.

Junior transport min-ister Jean-BaptisteDjebbari said in astatement the newrules would encourage“more responsibleuse... and restore asense of tranquillity forpedestrians, in particu-lar the most vulnera-ble: the elderly, chil-

dren and handicappedpeople”.

Other rules cominginto force include:

Riding on the pave-ment will be prohibitedunless in designatedareas, and then atwalking speed only

Only one rider will beallowed per device,and no mobile phoneuse will be allowed

Users cannot goagainst the traffic flowand must use cyclepaths where available

riders will not beallowed to wear head-phones while on theirscooter. — Agencies

NEW FRENCH RULES TO RESTORE ‘TRAFFIC TRANQUILLITY’

FATS CAN DOWONDERS TOSKIN: STUDY

Traffic noise affects bird physiology, reproductive health

New Delhi, Oct. 26: A newresearch reveals that con-suming potato pureeinstead of commercialcarbohydrate gel gives thesame result to athletes forsustaining blood glucoselevels during long work-out sessions.

Nicholas Burd, professorof kinesiology and com-munity health at theUniversity of Illinois, US,said: “Our study's aim wasto expand and diversifyrace-fuelling options forathletes and offset flavourfatigue.”

“Potatoes are a promis-ing alternative for ath-letes because they repre-sent a cost-effective, nutri-ent-dense and whole-foodsource of carbohydrates,”added Burd, who led the

study.“Furthermore, they

serve as a savoury racefuel option when com-pared with the high sweet-ness of (carbohydrate)gels,” said Burd in the

study published in thejournal of 'AppliedPhysiology.'

The scientists recruited12 participants, who werehealthy and devoted totheir sport, averaging 165miles (267 kilometres) perweek on their bicycles. Allhad been training foryears.

To qualify for the trials,the cyclists had to reach aspecific threshold for aer-obic fitness and completea 120-minute cycling chal-lenge followed by a timetrial. — ANI

Washington, Oct. 26: Anew study has foundthat exercise results inimproved health ofblood vessels in heart,even for those who hadexperienced heart fail-ure.

The research from theUniversity of Missourihas found exercise canimprove the health ofblood vessels in thosewho experienced heartfailure. The finding isbased on a study look-ing at swines, whichhave very similar bloodvessels and heart mus-cles as humans.

Craig Emter, associateprofessor in the Collegeof Veterinary Medicine,studied three differentgroups of swine withheart failure: one groupwas inactive; a secondgroup exercised usingintervals with a higherlevel of intensity forshort periods of time.

— ANI

Exercise helpsheart failurepatients

Potatoes boost athlete’s performance

People with long-termhealth problems such asarthritis are more likelyto feel pain on humiddays, a study has suggest-ed.

Folklore suggests thecold makes pain worse,but there is little researchinto the weather's effects.And this University ofManchester study foundsymptoms were actuallyworse on warmer,damper days. — Agencies

More pain onhumid days

Dementia riskEating lots of trans fats found in friedfood, cakes and biscuits ‘could put you atgreater risk of getting dementia’

Diabetes is an expensive disease not only interms of medication, but the amount ofdamage and disability that it brings along.

Generally people feel that they can control this dis-ease with a pill or two, but they fail to realise thedamage diabetes causes to their kidneys, eyes,heart, arteries, nerves and other organs of thebody. Diabetes does not come overnight, it takestime to develop. Our body gives us signs to recog-nise it, but we tend to ignore them.

Let’s understand how itactually happens. Insulin,a hormone produced by thepancreas, helps the bodyuse glucose for energy. Dueto some genetic andlifestyle risk factors, ourbody develops insulinresistance due to which itcannot use the producedinsulin efficiently. Whenmuscles, fat and liver cellsdo not respond properly toinsulin, the pancreas triesto keep up with the demandby producing more insulin,but eventually it cannot.Excess glucose builds up inthe blood, setting the stagefor pre-diabetes or dia-betes.

The most common way torecognise the insulinresistance risk is to meas-ure your waist circumfer-ence. For Indians, a waist-line of 35.5 inches or morefor men and 31.5 inches or more for women placesus at a risk of developing insulin resistance.Besides, if we have any of the following three, weare at a risk of insulin resistance:

1. High triglyceride (more than 150mg/dl)2. Low HDL cholesterol (less than 50 mg/dl

in women & 40 mg/dl in men)3. High blood pressure (more than 130/85

mg/dl or on medication for hypertension)4. Fasting blood sugar more than 100mg/dl.Let’s understand how to reverse insulin resist-

ance and prevent ourselves from getting diabetesas most of it is rellated to lifestyle.

1. EAT THREE MEALS A DAY: Have three bal-anced meals with a gap of 5 hours between break-fast & lunch and then lunch & dinner.

2. DRINK WATER: Make sure to drink ade-quate water and try to avoid sugary and artificial-ly sweetened drinks.

3. AVOID PROCESSED FOODS: Most packagedfoods contain refined flours and high sugars,which may lead to insulin resistance.

4. LIMIT ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION: High intakeof alcohol can lead to weight gain and mayincrease the blood pressure and triglyceride val-ues, setting the stage for insulin resistance.

5. QUIT SMOKING: Smoking doubles the riskof getting diabetes compared to non-smokers.

6. EXERCISE: Regular physical activity helpsmanage blood sugar levels.

7. Sleep well: Late nights, regular sleep dep-rivation and disturbed sleep increase the risk ofinsulin resistance, diabetes and obesity.

8. BE STRESS FREE: Deep breathing, yoga,gardening, exercise, meditation etc have helpedlower stress levels. .

The writer is Metabolic Balance® coach & head nutritionist,

AktivHealth

Healthy waysto control

diabetes Type 2

Taranjeet Kaur

Risk factors◗ A way to recog-nise insulinresistance is tomeasure waist ◗ A waistline of35.5 inches ormore for menand 31.5 inchesor more forwomen leads toinsulin resistance

Washington, Oct. 26: Children who havefaced childhood trauma known asadverse childhood experiences (ACEs)are more likely to be bullied by othersbut their families can help in reducingthe risk, says a recent study.

The new research was presented at theAmerican Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)2019 National Conference & Exhibition.

“Bullying is a widespread problem,especially among children experiencingother forms of trauma,” said theabstract's presenting author and princi-pal investigator Elizabeth Li, aresearcher in the Department ofPediatrics at Steven & Alexandra CohenChildren's Medical Center of New York.

"It can lead to mental health problemslater on, affecting those who are bullied,those who do the bullying, and those wit-nessing it," added principal investigatorElizabeth Li. — ANI

Washington, Oct. 26: Children shouldbe at least twelve years old before theyare left home alone for four hours orlonger, most social workers believe.

Scientists asked for the opinions of500 workers in the US — and found halfthought it should be illegal for a 12-year-old to be on their own for longperiods.

Researchers called for laws to specifythe age at which a child should be lefthome alone in order to clarify bound-aries.

The University of Iowa team said itwould help social workers spot cases ofneglect and protect children frompotential harm.

Children should be at least 12 yearsold before they are left home alone forfour hours or longer, most social work-ers from the US believe in a survey.

— Agencies

Kin’s key role in savingkids from being bullied

‘Kids must be at least 12before they’re left alone’

◗ The scientists recruited 12 par-ticipants, who were healthyand devoted to theirsport, averaging 165miles (267 kilometres)per week on their bicy-cles. All had been train-ing for years.

Suraj Yengde’s CasteMatters is a remarkablebook providing a mil-lennial perspective andcompelling proof for

the continued prevalence ofcasteism in modern India. It hasby now received raving reviews,and also a few brickbats, the lat-ter, paradoxically, from his ownbrethren. Seven students ofJawaharlal Nehru Universityaccused Yengde to be opposed toAmbedkarism. It is not the con-tent of their accusation, whichmay be easily trashed by anyreasonable reader, that mattersbut the very fact that it comesfrom a collective of the millen-nial dalits, indicating the hope-less disorientation of the dalitsat a time when they face theworst crisis in modern times.

Autobiographical accounts ofdalit lives generally evoke pruri-ent interest among non-dalitreaders. From the earliest auto-biography, Baluta, by DayaPawar, to Juthan by OmprakashWalmiki to the recent one,Interrogating My Chandal Lifeby Manoranjan Byapari, animportant addition to the galaxyof dalit writers from the unlike-ly state of West Bengal, the storyhas been much the same. Thevivid description of abjectpoverty, squalid surroundingsand the uninhibited lives of thesubjects make captivating read-ing for the non-dalits and tomost dalits it reminds of theirown past. Caste Matters is notexactly an autobiography but itmight be mistaken as one as itlaunches itself from the verypersonal memoir of the authorin the introduction. Thescathing exposure of pervasive-ness of caste is what makes thebook stand out. Yengdedescribes it as “an ethnographyof the sociality of caste in the

moment of social justice andprejudice”.

The book is divided into sixchapters. The first chapter“Being Dalit” juxtaposes dalitsagainst the non-dalits, particu-larly the Brahmins, and illumi-nates the difference betweenthem along such dimensions aslove, humour and universalism.Its narrative is replete with pro-found observations such as,“Dalit love is a juxtaposition ofpossibilities and deep pain” (p.49), “the situation that Dalitslive under is akin to an openprison” (p. 52), “the idea of con-temporary India is aBrahminical project designed byBrahmins”(63), and so on. Themain argument of the chapter isthat Dalits are culturally dis-tinct. The self-pride with whichdalits are depicted smacks first-ly of treating them as a homoge-nous people, which they are not,as he himself explains in thethird chapter and secondly, theyare made of some different stuff.The compartmentalised lives ofdifferent castes and communi-ties in India are bound to reflectsome cultural specificities butwithin the overarching casteculture.

The second chapter “Neo-DalitRising” is an exposition of theways caste operates in India.

Yengde characterises the Indianstate-society as an entity ofbrahmin supremacy." (p. 71) andfaults the constitutionality ofthe state for not “explicitly talk-ing about the unequal stakesinherited by the traditionalpower brokers…” The IndianConstitution is fraught withhigh-sounding dictums butlacks in basic accountability ofthe power holders who enjoyunlimited impunity (p. 73).Yengde has narrated how dalitsat every echelon of society arediscriminated against. JusticeC.S. Karnan, a dalit sitting judgeof a high court, who was incar-cerated for six months, is onesuch case. (p. 74). Yengde isinspired by the youth fury overthe institutional murder ofRohith Vemula to see a neo-dalitrising. Sadly, this reaction hadnot even lasted up to the firstanniversary of Rohith’s martyrdom.

The third chapter takes stockof many categories of dalits,acknowledging the changes thatbefell the community. One onehand, it reflects the progress thecommunity made but on theother, a loss of community itself.It also notices the rise of a cer-tain “Ambedkargodism”amongst dalits. Yengde boldlypoints out: “Ambedkar hasbecome a fairytale hero who hassolution to every problem”. (p.146) He laments that the icono-clast Ambedkar being cast intothe godhead and worshipped inHindu style.

The fourth chapter deals withthe phenomenon of the dalitmiddle class and brings up thequestion of reservations. Itnotes that although reservationshave benefited many individu-als, it has not uplifted the com-munity. (p. 164) This upwardlymobile middle class, unable to

overcome social prejudices ofthe upper castes, falls back onthe community to meet its socialneeds. Yengde observes how thedalit middle class upholds theAmbedkarite dictum — “becom-ing the ruling class” revived byKanshiram, but will convenient-ly ignore his vision of socialism.

The next chapter on “DalitCapitalism” presents an inter-esting comparison betweenBooker T. Washington, who for-mally established the NationalNegro Business league in 1990with an intent of creating a cap-italist class among the Blackpopulation in the US and WebDu Bois, who wanted the Blackpopulation to acquire positionsof eminence in arts, literature,academia and other forms ofcultural, moral and intellectualendeavours. Du Bois wanted toelevate Black people from theirenforced subservience. This issimilar to the idea of Ambedkarwho wanted Untouchables toleave hamlets that were the siteof traditional caste-mandatedoccupations (p.210). The folly ofthe fad of Dalit capitalism isthus disposed of.

The last chapter “Brahminsagainst Brahminism” acknowl-edges the contributions of peo-ple of the brahmin caste to anti-Brahminist struggles of theoppressed castes.

The book boldly confrontsmost of the contemporaryissues facing dalits, largely suc-cessfully. However, it has certainlogical angularities. As it class-es people by caste, it necessarilyfeeds into caste identities, whichthe author detests to start with.

The writer is a columnist andcivil rights activist. He taught

in IIT Kharagpur and currentlyheads Big Data Analytics at the

Goa Institute of Management.

French writer Louis-Ferdinand Céline, largely remembered for his‘misanthropic’ Journey to the End of the Night, was decorated forbravery in the First World War. He wrote anti-Semitic pamphlets inthe run-up to WWII and was jailed for collaborationist sympathies.

PAGE

9BooksSUNDAY | 27 OCTOBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

CASTE MATTERSby Suraj Yengde

Penguin, `599

The personal is political” and not surprisingly, the memoirof Jagmeet Singh, elected as the first visible minorityface to lead a major federal political party in Canada, wasreleased during an election year. He led Canada’s New

Democratic Party (NDF) to win 24 seats in the recently concludedgeneral election and was briefly set to play “kingmaker” to JustinTrudeau’s Liberal Party.

The title of the book, Love and Courage, his signature politicalcatchphrase, emerged as a response to a heckler who typecastpeople sporting turbans as Muslim and accused them of beingterrorists. Whenever he was faced with Islamophobia, JagmeetSingh never replied, “I’m not a Muslim”, because “hate is wrong,no matter who it is aimed at”. “We must respond to hate with loveand courage,” was his message.

Can you separate the personal from the political, especiallywhen you belong to a visible minority community with very vis-ible religious symbols as markers of your identity? Singh, like somany other non-Caucasians, faced stares and taunts like “Dirty”,“Paki”, “diaper-head”, what with society, including the media,broadcasting the image of a terrorist as “brown skin-plus-youngmale-plus-beard-plus-turban”. “Carding” and “profiling” weremore widespread among black and indigenous people, oftentermed as “routine procedure”. Bouncers at clubs targetedbrown-skinned people. Violence against cab drivers was commonand the lives of brown people were deemed less valuable.

Jagmeet (which means friend to the world) became an activistin addition to his law practice and participated in anti-povertyand pro-human rights demonstrations. He regularly organised“Know your Rights” workshops and soon went on to form thefirst Western Sikh student association.

This book is, in fact, his journey from being Jimmy to Jagmeet.It was a life-changing moment for our hero when at the end of hissecond grade he made two big decisions — to change his namefrom Jimmy Dhaliwal to Jagmeet Singh and to stop cutting hishair. This memoir is also a window to some basic Sikh theologi-cal beliefs and practices in everyday life. With some core valueslike Ikk-Onkar, God is one, Chardi Kala (to remain in high spiritsagainst all odds), Gurbani as a source of strength, gurdwara as agateway to enlightenment, seva (service), sacrifice, charity andsarbat-da-bhala, it can be said that Jagmeet Singh has trulyembraced the “Sikh way of life”. There are pieces of Sikh histo-ry and culture as well in the book and these include references toMaharaja Ranjit Singh, the Akali movement, the British SikhArmy, the Punjabi language as a bond between Jagmeet and hisparents, Operation Blue Star and the 1984 riots. Jagmeet writesthat Canada is home to him and it is a country that respectshuman rights and dignity of life.

Initially, Jagmeet was so shy that he couldn't even pick up thephone to order a pizza. Incidentally, he had turned into a vegetar-ian just to win an argument. Jagmeet also faced sexual abusefrom his trainer when he was part of a “special programme” thatonly the very best were allowed to participate in. It required a lotof courage to come out on this incident that had kept Jagmeet ina shell for a long time.

Jagmeet Singh is the first Sikh with a turban to sit as a provin-cial legislator in Ontario. Chosen by Toronto Life magazine asone of the five youngest rising stars and featured in the top tenbest-dressed people of 2013, Jagmeet Singh’s image as a style iconis also related to his attempts to meet stares and unfriendly looksthrown at him because of wearing the turban. To dress sharp wasa part of his socialisation process when his father discovered itas a way “to belong”. “As people of colour, we couldn’t afford notto look good,” he believed. His father said one cannot control thecolour of his skin or his country of birth, but one can controlwhat one’s wardrobe says to the world — so Jagmeet made surehis clothing never gave anyone a reason to think he didn’t belong.

The use of simple language in his work immediately builds abond with Jagmeet’s readers. Jagmeet’s story, intersecting manysocial and political issues, inspires one in myriad ways. His firstmeeting with Walid Mansour stays with you and brings a smileto your face. It is difficult not to remember Jugnu, his dog, whoproved to be the only link among and source of solace for all fam-ily members.

But the real hero of the book turns out to be Jagmeet’s father,and not Jagmeet himself. Born in Punjab and armed with a med-ical degree, Jagtaran Singh Dhaliwal had landed in Canada tostart a new life. Working as a security guard at night and study-ing for the Medical Council of Canada examination in the library,it was a struggle but failure was no option. From providing anaffluent lifestyle to his family to giving them exposure to variousactivities and hobbies like horse-riding, skiing, snowboardingand golf, he made sure his children got the best upbringing. Alas,his drinking problem proved to be his nemesis. Despite Jagmeetseeming to see his father as part of every single problem anddefending his mother and siblings’ harsh treatment of him, yourheart bleeds for him and you end up seeing what Jagmeet failedto notice. Though his mother complained to the authoritiesagainst him, Jagtaran never received a single complaint fromany patient. Always sober at work, he used to help out with psy-chiatric services and provided treatment to needy. Though he wasaddicted to alcohol, he was also the family's sole breadwinner andsupported the children’s college educations. He got fancy carsand separate apartments for all his children. It breaks your heartwhen he was not allowed to live in his own apartment.

Ask who you remember the most after reading Love andCourage and it is definitely the father whosestory inspires you, pierces your soul andbecomes a part of your memory. ThoughJagmeet Singh loved and cared for hisfather, albeit in pieces, how I wish hewould have shown more courage to lovehim — right at the start.

The writer teaches sociology atShyama Prasad Mukherji College,

Delhi University

A millennial’s perspective on

annihilating casteYengde notices the riseof a certain‘Ambedkargodism’ amongdalits: ‘Ambedkar hasbecome a fairytale herowho has solution to everyproblem.’ He laments thatthe iconoclast Ambedkarbeing cast into the godhead and worshippedin Hindu style.

AnandTeltumbde

Kulbir Kaur

review review

How Jagmeet Singh,Canadian MP, failedto love his father fully

Pushing forty, divorced,and disillusioned evenfurther after a failed live-in relationship in London,

management consultant LataGhosh goes on a little holiday toKolkata to meet her mother, thelovely but annoying ManjulikaGhosh, who would visit her everyyear in London, urge her tofreeze her eggs, and try to lureher back to Kolkata with tales offriends who were doing astonish-ingly well there. It’s not easy toargue with a woman like this:“Manjulika Ghosh taught historyand geography in middle school.She also only wore the finestDhakai saris on her annual jour-ney to London, where unlike theother passengers who emergedfrom Heathrow looking likecrushed paper towels, she glidedout like Aparna Sen on set.”

Once in Kolkata, Lata’s friendsfrom Presidency college pop up(including Ronny-an ex) and youcan look forward to squeals of joy,cheerful banter, laughs and love-or maybe not. The problem is,

Lata Ghosh is a bit of a moaner.This is her default mode: “Latafell back onto the mattress andcovered her face with the crook ofher elbow. The exhaustion of lastyear, things staggering to a stopafter the final break-up with Ari(after which she went through theexcruciating block-unblock-block-unblock saga for months). Theannoying clients, the terribleTinder dates, the daily commute,the wetness of weekends that fol-lowed the terrible Tinder dates.The long journey from Heathrowto Dum Dum. Everything seemedto rise around her like a river inflood. She was sinking.”

Moan and groan, ad nauseum. IfLata were a character in aWodehouse novel, rest assured noone would holler “Hail to thee,Blythe Spirit” on catching sight ofher. Dear me, no-she is more likeColeridge’s Ancient Mariner,“Alone, alone, all, all alone/Aloneon a wide wide sea!/And never asaint took pity on/My soul inagony.” Which, actually, is perfectfor chick lit. Unfortunately, Lata isfar too beautiful (Helen of Troywas a moniker thrust upon her bythe Head of the Economics depart-ment when she failed to answer aquestion) and intelligent and com-petent to be a chick lit heroine, andnot witty enough besides-her bestfriend Aaduri has all the best lines!

Before you think we’re treadinginto Jane Austen’s Persuasionwhere old flames meet after

years, the answer is a firm no aswell. Both Lata and Ronny havehad other loves in between, andno tortured bouts of yearning foreach other. In fact, more thanLata, it’s her family memberswho look forward to her gettingback with Ronnie, now a famousaward-winning filmmaker, whocurrently is in a relationshipwith the young daughter of a leg-

endary Tollywood star. The most charming romance in

this book is the one that blossomsbetween sarcastic, no-nonsenseAaduri and her seemingly earnestboss with a spoofy, dead-serious-editor sort of name: Hem ShankarTiwari. Only, Hem and Aaduri arenot writing poignant editorials onpoverty alleviation or award-win-ning investigative stories ondefence deals-they work in the dig-ital space where memes, hits, etcare the things that stress them outmost. It's terribly embarrassingwhen young, just-out-of-some-US-university trainees know more onthe subject of digital media thantheir bosses!

Satire is what makes you turnthe pages of this book: Ronnyleads to hilarious takes onTollywood, and his agony over hisnew script is painful. He chopsand changes and rarely meetsdeadlines, which makes hisalmost-Marwari assistant, BobbyBansal, feel like tearing her hairout.

Bobby is only the first of thealmost-Marwaris you meet in thisbook. Her cousin is engaged toLata’s cousin Molly (who organis-es her wedding by ordering almosteverything online, which is sosmooth). As the final tiresomeand troublesome offline weddingpreparations finally kick off atGhosh Mansion, you meet theentire strict vegetarian almost-Marwari family (who are actually

from UP, but no one can tell the dif-ference). This integration betweenBengalis and Marwaris (almost,or not) is a nice, warm touch, con-sidering that Marwaris have beena part of West Bengal for ages.

Kolkata is dutifully and beauti-fully paid respect to. If you hadlived there during the seventies,eighties or nineties, you’d proba-bly sing along with Lata when shebursts into of the most loved non-Bengali songs during thosedecades, Dolly Parton’s yowly“Jolene”. It doesn’t matter ifyou’ve lived in Kolkata or not,though. The characters are alive,the one-liners are fun, and theobservations are witty. If a happyending is what you’re after, youmay be disappointed. Lata finallyhas a valid reason to feeldepressed, but take heart-there’s asilver lining too!

While Lata's mother may notthink Friends from College is aworthy book, she would perhapsagree that it is a pleasant and com-forting read. Feel free to ignoreManjulika Ghosh’s stricture onbooks to read while travelling:“You bought a new book to read ona journey-and mind you, no pot-boiler or whodunit either. A wor-thy book. To accompany your wor-thy self.”

Rupa Gulab is a freelance writerand the author of Girl Alone, Chip

of the Old Blockhead and TheGreat Depression of the 40s

Anxious Kolkata girl loves anew with family blessings

review

RupaGulab

FRIENDS FROM COLLEGE

by Devapriya RoyWestland, `299

LOVE & COURAGE: MY STORY OF FAMILY,

RESILIENCE, ANDOVERCOMING THE

UNEXPECTED

by Jagmeet SinghSimon and

Schuster, `499

WorldSUNDAY | 27 OCTOBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

Filthy politicsBolivian presidential challenger Carlos Mesarejects the re-election of President Evo Morales,describing the vote result as fraudulent

As bishop of thisdiocese, I ask

forgiveness fromthose who have been

offended by this— Pope Francis

on Amazon statue theft

IN BRIEF

DIWALI IN USIS RELIGIOUS

LIBERTY: DONWashington, Oct. 26: SendingDiwali greetings to Hindus,Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists,US President Donald Trumpsaid that the observance of thefestival of lights throughoutAmerica is an importantreminder of the significanceof the country’s core tenets —religious liberty.

A day earlier, Trump cele-brated Diwali in the OvalOffice with a small group ofIndian-Americans.

“The observance of Diwalithroughout America is animportant reminder of the sig-nificance of one of ourNation’s core tenets — reli-gious liberty,” Trump said in astatement ahead of the Diwalicelebrations in India, the USand across the world.

“My administration will con-tinue to defend the rightsenshrined in our Constitutionthat enable people of all faithsto worship according to theirbeliefs and conscience,” hesaid.

“As Diwali commences,Melania and I wish thoseobserving the Festival ofLights a blessed and happy cel-ebration,” said the USPresident. For many Hindus,Jains, Sikhs, and Buddhists inthe US and around the globe,this sacred period is an oppor-tunity to commemorate thevictory of light over darkness,good over evil, and knowledgeover ignorance, he said.

“Throughout this holy time,members of these faithsengage in prayer, light diyasand lanterns, and partake intraditional feasts and otherfestivities with friends andfamily,” he said.

UK lorry: Driver charged over deaths

Fire danger formillions in CA

San Francisco: Millions ofCalifornians were preparingto live in the dark again as

the state’s largest utilitywarned it may cut power for

the third time in as manyweeks because of loomingstrong winds and high fire

danger. Pacific Gas & Electricwill decide whether to black-

out 8,50,000 homes andbusinesses in 36 counties for48 hours or longer through-

out the San Francisco BayArea, wine country and

Sierra foothills. The two pre-vious shutdowns were done

amid concern that gustywinds could foul or knock

down power lines and sparkdevastating wildfires.

Weather forecasts called forrecord strong winds to lash

much of the region over theweekend, with some gusts

hitting 85 mph. PG&E’s warn-ing came as firefighters bat-tled flames in Northern andSouthern California. A blazedestroyed at least six homes

in the Santa Clarita area nearLos Angeles and promptedevacuation orders for up to50,000 residents, although

some were allowed backhome after Santa Ana winds

began to ease.

London: British police inves-tigating the deaths of 39

people in a refrigeratedtruck said on Saturday theycharged a driver arrested at

the scene with manslaughterand people trafficking.

Maurice Robinson, 25, fromNorthern Ireland, faces “39

counts of manslaughter, con-spiracy to traffic people,

conspiracy to assist unlawfulimmigration”, police said.

Robinson was arrested short-ly after the bodies were dis-

covered in the truck atPurfleet on the River Thames

estuary, after arriving on aferry from the Belgian port

of Zeebrugge onWednesday. He will appearin court on Monday, Essex.

Three other people havebeen arrested in Britain in

connection with the investi-gation, on suspicion of con-spiracy to traffic people and

manslaughter. — AFP

Release Muellerdocument: JudgeWashington, Oct. 26: AUS judge validated thelegality of theDemocratic-led impeach-ment inquiry againstPresident Donald Trumpand ordered his adminis-tration to hand over anunredacted copy of for-mer special counselRobert Mueller’s reportdetailing Russian med-dling in the 2016 election.

US district judge BerylHowell, handing a majorvictory to theDemocratic-led House ofRepresentatives, under-cut an argument that Tru-mp’s fellow Republicanshave made in attackingthe impeachment inquiry.The judge said the Houseneed not approve a resolu-tion formally initiatingthe effort.

The US Constitutiongives the House wide lati-tude in handlingimpeachment. Democratsbegan the inquiry with-out putting such a resolu-tion to a vote.

The judge gave theJustice Department untilnext Wednesday to pro-vide the blacked outmaterial from theMueller report that wassubpoenaed by the HouseJudiciary Committee.

“The reality is that DOJand the White House havebeen openly stonewallingthe House’s efforts to getinformation by subpoenaand by agreement, andthe White House has flat-ly stated that theAdministration will notcooperate with congres-sional requests for infor-mation,” the judge wrote,using an acronym for theJustice Department.

“This critical court rul-ing affirms Congress’sauthority to expose thetruth for the Americanpeople,” Pelosi, the topelected Democratic offi-cial, said in a statement,adding, “The Presidentwill be held accountable –because no one is abovethe law.” — AP

US troops goingto Syria oil fieldsBrussels, Oct. 26: TheUnited States will sendarmored vehicles andcombat troops into east-ern Syria to keep oilfields from potentiallyfalling into the hands ofIslamic State militants,US defense secretaryMark Esper said.

It was the latest signthat extracting the mili-tary from Syria is uncer-tain and complicated.Though Trump rep-eated-ly says he is pulling out ofSyria, the reality on theground is different.

Adding armoured rein-forcements in the oil-pro-ducing area of Syriacould mean sending sev-eral hundred US troops --even as a similar numberare being withdrawnfrom a separate missioncloser to the border withTurkey. Esper describedthe added force as “mech-anised,” which means itlikely will includearmoured vehicles such

as Bradley armouredinfantry carriers and pos-sibly tanks. This wouldintroduce a new dimen-sion to the US militarypresence, which largelyhas been comprised ofspecial operations forcesnot equipped with tanksor other armoured vehi-cles. Meanwhile, Russiaacc-used the US of “inter-national banditry” afterWashington announcedits intention to protectSyria’s oil fields whichare controlled by Kurdishforces. — AP

Mark Esper

San Francisco, Oct. 26:The Pentagon awardedMicrosoft a $10 billioncloud computing contract,snubbing early front-run-ner Amazon, whose com-petitive bid drew criticismfrom President DonaldTrump.

Bidding for the hugeproject, known as JointEnterprise Defense Infr-astructure, or Jedi, pittedleading tech titans Micr-osoft, Amazon, Oracle andIBM against one another.

The giant contract hasattracted more attentionthan most, sparked byspeculation early in theprocess that Amazonwould be the sole winnerof the deal. Oracle andIBM pushed back withtheir own bids and alsoformally protested thebidding process last year.Oracle later challengedthe process in federalcourt, but lost .

Trump waded into thefray in July, saying the

administration would“take a very long look” atthe process.

Trump has frequentlyexpressed his ire forAmazon and founder JeffBezos, who also owns theWashington Post. At thetime, he said other compa-nies told him that the con-tract “wasn’t competitive-ly bid.” The JEDI system

will store and process vastamounts of classifieddata, allowing the US mil-itary to use AI to speed upits war planning andfighting capabilities.

A cloud strategy docu-ment unveiled by thedefense department lastyear called for replacingthe military’s “disjointedand stove-piped informa-tion systems” with a com-mercial cloud service“that will empower thewarfighter with data andis critical to maintainingour military’s technologi-cal advantage.”

The Pentagon empha-sized that the process wasfair and followed procure-ment guidelines. It notedthat over the past twoyears, it has awardedmore than $11 billion inten separate cloud-com-puting contracts, and saidthe Jedi award “continuesour strategy of a multi-vendor, multi-cloud envi-ronment.” — AP

As many as a million Chileans protested peacefully in Santiago in the biggest rallies yet since violence broke out a week ago over entrenched inequality in Chile. — AFP

T.S.S. SIDDHARTH HYDERABAD, OCT. 26

When Chileans woke upon October 20, they wereunder their first curfewsince 1987. The cascadingeffect began on October 4,when the governmentannounced a hike in thesubway and bus fares.This echoes happenings inIndia, where people arevociferous about sky-rock-eting prices and the curb-ing of civil rights.

Residents like PabloAbufom of the SolidarityMovement recount toDeccan Chronicle: “Highschool students beganorganizing what theycalled a ‘massive evasion’,

collective fare-dodging insubway stations. FromOctober 14th, more joinedtheir protest, and by the17th the subway servicewas suspended severaltimes during the day. Bythe 18th, almost the entiresubway network — 136 sta-tions, transporting app-roximately 2.6 million peo-ple daily — were suspend-ed.

Masses were sponta-neously protesting in thestreets of the capitalSantiago and several sta-tions set ablaze. The presi-dent declared a state ofemergency in the city,restricting some civil lib-erties like the rights tofreely move and assemble,

and military units weredeployed.

By the 19th, protestsspread to other cities, towhich the governmentresponded with moreEmergency declarations.”

What are the civil soci-

eties reacting to this mat-ter?Several Human Rightsorganizations (NationalHuman Rights Institute,Instituto Nacional deDerechos Humanos,INDH) are offering dailyreports of people injured,killed, and detained.

As of Thursday, theAssociation of Physiciansof Universidad de Chilehave confirmed 24 peoplekilled (13 shot by armedforces), 39 severely wound-ed by gunshots, 23 severelywounded (hit by cars), 62severe eye trauma, and5,845 arrested sinceOctober 18th (the nightEmergency was declared).

Forces comprised 19,461

police and military mem-bers deployed throughoutChile, as per the Ministryof Interior, NationalAssociation of Physicians,and the National AttorneyOffice.

Pablo Abufom, anactivist for a new pensionsystem, says: “The govern-ment’s response has beentwofold: Emergency (in-cluding deployment of mi-litary and curfew, whichresulted killings and ille-gal arrests) and an att-empted “National Agree-ment” with conservativeand centrist political par-ties.”

Despite these efforts,people in several cities,especially Santiago, have

defied curfew and haveimplicitly rejected theagreement by calling fornew demonstrations andcontinuing to march.Today a new march wascalled by the NationalConfederation of TradeUnions.

Today, people weremulling gathering down-town for a new march. Itwas expected to be a mas-sive demonstration today.There has also been a callfor a constituent assembly,and several neighbour-hoods in Chilean capitalSantiago and other citiesare establishing neigh-bourhood assemblies toorganize their safety,protests, and supplies.

NAWAZ SHARIFSUFFERS ANGINA ATTACK

Nawaz Sharif

Lahore, Oct. 26: FormerPakistan prime ministerNawaz Sharif onSaturday suffered angi-na pain while undergo-ing treatment at aLahore hospital, accord-ing to a media report.

Angina is a type ofchest pain caused byreduced blood flow to theheart. Sharif sufferedangina pain in the morn-ing while undergoingtreatment at the hospi-tal, Dawn News reportedquoting Services Ins-titute of MedicalSciences Prin-cipal DrMahmood Ayaz.

Ayaz refuted reports ina section of media thatthe 69-year-old PakistanMuslim League-Nawaz(PML-N) leader has suf-fered a heart attack.

Earlier in the day,Sharif ’s lawyer KhawajaHaris claimed that theformer premier had suf-fered a “minor heartattack” last night andthat his “life is in dan-ger”.

Ayaz said Sharif ’splatelet count is now ris-ing. He is administeredaround 16 injections ofi n t r a v e n o u simmunoglobulin (IVIg)every day.

The Lahore High Courtgranted bail to Sharif,who is undergoing treat-ment, after being diag-nosed with an acuteimmune disorder, whichreduced his bloodplatelet count to danger-ous levels.

The three-time pre-mier was in Kot Lakhpatjail but early this monthwas sent to the custodyof the National Acc-ountability Bureau(NAB), which is probingthe Sharif family in theChaudhry Sugar Millscase. Sharif ’s daughterMaryam Nawaz, 45, isalso under treatment atthe same hospital.

— PTI

Ex-refugee recounts dangers of traffickingLondon, Oct. 26: AhmadAl-Rashid knows what itwas like for the 39 peoplewho were found dead inthe back of a truck insoutheastern Englandthis week. He’s been there.

The 29-year-old Syrianrefugee found himselfgasping for breath insidea refrigerated shippingcontainer with a group ofmigrants and a load offrozen chicken when aplanned trip across theEnglish Channel turnedinto hours of terror in2015. The truck hadn’teven left the French portof Calais when someone

heard the cries of the des-perate migrants andopened the doors.

“They don’t see you as ahuman being. They seeyou as a commodity, asmoney, as an object, andthis is it,” he said. “Never,ever, trust them. I mean, Ihad to put my faith inthem and I regretted it.”

This week’s tragedybrought the terror of hisown experiences floodingback, he said.

Rashid told his story sopeople understand thatmigrants and refugeesgamble their lives insealed trucks and leaky

rafts because safer routeshave been closed to them.They take risks because,he said, they feel like theyhave no other choice.

“No one puts their life in

danger for no reason,”Rashid said. “People dothis out of desperation.”

Police investigating thedeaths of 39 people in atruck near London saidthey had arrested threemore suspects on suspi-cion of human traffickingamid signs that some ofthe dead may beVietnamese.

As forensic expertsbegan the process of iden-tifying the victims, theVietnamese embassy inLondon said families fromthe southeast Asian coun-try had got in touch aboutmissing relatives. — AP

■ Migrants gamble their lives as safer routes are closed

Ahmad Al-Rashid

■ ■ TRUMP has frequently expressedhis ire for Amazonand founder JeffBezos, who also owns the Washington Postnewspaper

Pablo Abufom

TRUMP IMPEACHMENT

Deja vu for Indians

Pentagon snubs Amazon,gives Microsoft $10b deal

Honolulu: A 93-year-oldheiress doesn’t need aguardian to take care ofher, but a hearing will beheld to determine whethershe needs a conservator tooversee her $215 milliontrust, a judge ruled Fridayin an ongoing battle overher wealth.

Abigail Kawananakoa’sfortune has been tied up ina court case since her 2017stroke. Her longtimelawyer, Jim Wright,argued the stroke left herimpaired, and he steppedin to assume the role oftrustee.

Kawananakoa said she’sfine, fired Wright and mar-ried her partner of 20years, Veronica GailWorth.

Kawananakoa inheritedher wealth as the great-granddaughter of JamesCampbell, an Irish busi-nessman who made hisfortune as a sugar planta-tion owner and one ofHawaii’s largest landown-ers.

Native Hawaiians con-sider her a princessbecause she’s a descen-dant of the family thatruled the islands beforethe overthrow of theHawaiian kingdom in1893.

They have been closelywatching the legal wran-gling over her trust

because they are con-cerned about the fate of afoundation she set up tobenefit Hawaiian causes.

Last year, Judge R. MarkBrowning ruledKawananakoa lacks themental capacity to man-age her trust, appointedFirst Hawaiian Bank toserve as trustee and

removed Wright.Wright had appointed

three prominent NativeHawaiian leaders to serveas board members for the$100 million foundationKawananakoa created in2001. The foundation isparticipating in the courtbattle because it is a bene-ficiary of her trust.

Board members of herfoundation and ex-employ-ees say her wife is manip-ulating her. Lawyers forthe couple dispute that.

Petitions for a guardianand a conservator come“from a place of sincererespect and reverence,honoring Ms.Kawananakoa’s lifelongcommitment to the NativeHawaiian people,” saidDavid Kauila Kopper, anattorney for the founda-tion.

She attempted to changeher trust last year toensure her wife receives$40 million and all her per-sonal property, accordingto court records. — AP

Published by T. Venkateswarlu for and on behalf of Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited at Jawaharlal Nehru National Youth Centre, 219 Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New Delhi 110 002. and Printed by him at BFL Infotech Limited, C – 9, Sector – III, Noida – 201301. Editor – T. Venkatram Reddy,RNI Registration number 57290/94, Price in Nepal - Nep. Rs. 20.00 per copy.

PAGE

11NewsmakersSUNDAY | 27 OCTOBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

At lastLina Wertmüller, first femaledirecting nominee, will finallyget her Oscar at 91 years of age

Los Angeles: A featuredocumentary onrenowned chef, food crit-ic and writer AnthonyBourdain is in the worksfrom CNN Films, HBOMax and Focus Features.Oscar-winning filmmak-er Morgan Neville isattached to direct thedocumentary, reportedVariety. Neville, whowon the Academy Awardfor 2013 documentary 20Feet from Stardom, willalso produce the featurevia his TremoloProductions banner.CNN Films and HBOMax will executive pro-duce.

“Anthony Bourdain didmore to help us under-stand each other thanjust about anyone in thehistory of television. Heconnected with peoplenot in spite of his flaws,but because of them.

“To have the opportu-nity to tell his story ishumbling. CNN is in theDNA of Tony’s work,and perfect partners. I’mthrilled to be reteamingwith Focus Featuresafter our journey on‘Won’t You Be MyNeighbour?’. I am alsohappy that HBO Maxwill make sure Tony’saudience only continuesto grow,” Neville said ina statement. — PTI

UK student missing in KohRong island

CNN & HBO toserve up newAnthonyBourdain docu

L o n d o n : ABritish stu-dent who dis-a p p e a r e dafter a partyon aC a m b o d i a nisland is miss-ing, the BBCreported. AmeliaBambridge was last seenin backpacker resort ofKoh Rong on Wednesday.Searches of the sea,beaches and jungle hadbegun in a bid to findher. — Agencies

Hawaiian heiress faces courttest to control $215m trust

IN BRIEF

Los Angeles: Australian actorOlivia DeJonge, best knownfor her work in Netflix series

The Society, has joined the cast of Baz Luhrman’s Elivsbiopic. DeJonge will essaythe role of the king of rock

and roll’s wife PriscillaPresley, reported Deadline.

The film features AustinButler as the iconic musicianand veteran actor Tom Hanks

will portray his manager,Colonel Tom Parker. “Olivia is

capable of manifesting thecomplex depth and presence that made Priscilla Presley an

icon in her own right. She’san extremely talented youngactor and the perfect coun-

terpoint to Austin’s Elvis,”Luhrmann said. — PTI

Nicosia, Cyprus: Cyprus willseek an explanation from theBritish government over howan ancient vase given to thelate Prime Minister MargaretThatcher as a state gift has

ended up on the auctionblock. A Cyprus official saysCyprus’ embassy in London

would raise the issue with UKauthorities. In a tweet, art his-

torian Maria Paphiti foundthat the 2,700-year-old vase

had been sold at Christie’sauction house in May for

nearly $7,700. Vase was givento Thatcher by ex-Cyprus

President George Vassiliou 3decades ago. — AP

Olivia DeJonge toplay Priscilla Presley

I am so proud of her(Selena Gomez). She

is been through somuch.

— Taylor Swift,

American singer

Cyprus to quiz UKover Thatcher vase

Los Angeles: Disney hasroped in Pirates of the

Caribbean veteran Ted Elliotand Chernobyl creator CraigMazin to work on a story for

the reboot of the movie fran-chise. Disney hired the

Deapool writing team of RhettReese and Paul Wernick lastyear to reboot the franchisebut the duo is no longer on

board. According to theHollywood Reporter, Jerry

Bruckheimer is expected toonce again produce the proj-

ect. Five previous Piratesmovies were fronted by

Johnny Depp. — PTI

Disney to rebootPirates of Caribbean

London: J.K. Rowling has toldyoung people not to become

volunteers in overseasorphanages, because of the

risk that they might beunwittingly supporting

places that are cruel to chil-dren, the BBC reported. TheHarry Potter author warnedthat children in orphanagesin poorer coun-tries often still

had parents butthey had been

separated bypoverty rather

than the death oftheir parents. “Do

not volunteer inorphanages.

Instead, look atwhat drives children into

institutions,” she told a con-ference in London. Theauthor set up a charity,

Lumos, in response to casesof neglect in Eastern

European orphanages, whichis campaigning to remove

children from orphanages. Itoperates in countries includ-

ing Moldova, Ukraine, Haiti,Ethiopia and Kenya. End to

‘volun-tourism’. But Rowlingwarned that orphanages

were being given support by“volun-tourism”, where

young people from West vol-unteered to help in orphan-ages as part of their travel-

ling experience. — Agencies

END ORPHANAGETOURISM, SAYS

J.K. ROWLING

J.K. Rowling

London: A 93-year-old for-mer guard at the NaziStutthof concentrationcamp has testified at histrial that he once saw peo-ple being led into the gaschamber, followed byscreaming and bangingsounds behind the lockeddoor, the Guardian report-ed.

Bruno Dey, a former SSprivate, went on trial on 17October at the Hamburgstate court where hestands accused of having

been an accessory to themurder of 5,230 peoplewhile he was deployed atStutthof from 1944 to 1945.

Asked on Friday by thepresiding judge whatexactly he saw from hissentry’s watchtower, Deyreplied, “That people wereled in, into the gas cham-ber, then the door waslocked,” the news agencyDPA reported. He said heheard screams and bang-ing shortly after, butadded, “I didn’t know that

they were being gassed.”Dey said that about 20 or

30 prisoners were led in.He couldn’t say whetherthey were men or women,because their heads wereshaved, or whether theywere Jews or other prison-ers.

He also couldn’t saywhat happened after-wards. “I didn’t see any-one come out.”

On another occasion, hesaid, he saw a group of 10or 15 men being led into

the gas chamber, but theythen came out and weretaken to the crematoriumbuilding by people inwhite overalls. He said heheard that the prisonerswere supposed to workoutside the camp and hadto be checked first.

Dey said he and around400 other soldiers weretaken to Stutthof in Juneor July 1944 and he did notknow at the time whatkind of people were incar-cerated there. — Agencies

Nazi guard: Saw people led to gas chambers

Crunch time for married priestsas special Vatican assembly votesVatican City: Catholicbishops gathered at a spe-cial Vatican assembly willvote Saturday on whetherto recommend PopeFrancis to open the priest-hood to married men orcreate female deacons,issues that are taboo fortraditionalists.

The ballot comes at theclose of a three-week“synod” on the Pan-Amazonian region whichhighlighted the chal-lenges facing the region,from the destruction of

the rainforest to theexploitation of indige-nous peoples and a scarci-ty in priests. The pontiffis expected in the comingmonths to address theissues raised with a docu-ment which could haverepercussions not only for

the vast, isolated territory,but the whole of theRoman Catholic Church.

The synod brought some184 bishops to the Vatican,over 60 percent of whomhail from the nineAmazon countries.Bishops will have theirsay on a final list of pro-posals. Together with rep-resentatives of peoplesand nuns, they discusseda multitude of regionalconcerns, from climatechange to violence againstwomen. — AFP

After 11 days in prison,Huffman finally releasedSan Francisco: ActressFelicity Huffman wasreleased Friday morningfrom a federal prison inCalifornia two days beforethe end of a two-week sen-tence for her role in thecollege admissions scan-dal, authorities said.Desperate Housewivesstar was released from thelow-security prison forwomen because underprison policy, inmatesscheduled for weekendrelease are let out onFriday, the US Bureau ofPrisons said.

Her husband WilliamMacy dropped her off atCorrectional Institution,Dublin in San FranciscoBay Area on Oct. 15, withone day of credit alreadybanked for day she wasoriginally arrested andjailed. — AP

Bats, German unity building’s nightmare London: For over a decadeattempts to build a monu-ment to German unityhave been hampered bytechnical problems, spi-ralling costs and huge dis-agreement over its pur-pose, the Guardian report-ed.

The latest hurdle is acolony of 60 rare bats thattook up residence in thepedestal of the planned 50-metre-long seesaw steelbowl, which will rock fromside to side when peopleclimb on to it.

On the advice of natureconservationists, theDaubenton’s bats —Eurasian species recognis-able by their small ears —

will have to be rehousednear the planned site ofthe monument. Their care-ful removal and the con-struction of a new homefor them are likely to fur-ther delay the monumentand add considerably tothe final costs of a projectthat is already hugely overbudget and behind sched-

ule. The budgetary com-mittee of the Bundestagrecently approved extrafunding for the monu-ment, bringing the costsup to €17m from an origi-nal sum of €10m.

The decision to build themonument to freedom andunity was made by theBundestag in 2007. It was

supposed to be completedin time for the 30thanniversary of the fall ofthe Berlin Wall nextmonth, but there is nowconsiderable doubt as towhether even a later date— 3 October 2020, 3decades after the reunifi-cation of East andWest Germany took place– can be met.

Bowl of the winningdesign, by architects Milla& Partner, is to be inscribedwith the words, “Wir sinddas Volk, wir sind einVolk”, echoing the rallyingcry of demonstrators in for-mer East Germany inmonths leading up to Wall’sfall. — Agencies

London: Russian scien-tists tracking migratingeagles ran out of moneyafter some of the birdsflew to Iran and Pakistanand their SMS transmit-ters drew huge data roam-ing charges.

After learning of theteam’s dilemma, Russianmobile phone operatorMegafon offered to cancelthe debt and put the proj-ect on a special, cheapertariff, the BBC reported.

The team had startedcrowdfunding on socialmedia to pay off the bills.

The birds left fromsouthern Russia andKazakhstan. The journeyof one steppe eagle, calledMin, was particularlyexpensive, as it flew toIran from Kazakhstan.

Min accumulated SMSmessages to send duringthe summer inKazakhstan, but it was

out of range of the mobilenetwork. Unexpectedlythe eagle flew straight toIran, where it sent thehuge backlog of mes-sages. The price per SMSin Kazakhstan was about15 roubles (18p; 30 UScents), but each SMS fromIran cost 49 roubles. Minused up the entire track-ing budget meant for allthe eagles. The Russianresearchers are volun-teers at the Wild AnimalRehabilitation Centre.

— Agencies

Scientists go broke asRussian eagles rackup roaming charges

STINKING PONYFISH COVER THAI BEACH

NEWS INUGGETS

Tokyo: Japanese policeare investigating a 200million yen ($1.84 mil-lion) diamond allegedlystolen from an interna-tional jewellery tradeshow near Tokyo. The 50-carat diamond was lastseen sitting inside aglass showcase at 5 pmThursday.

An hour later, just afterclosing time, the dia-mond was gone and thejewellery case wasunlocked, according topolice.

Police said Saturdaythey suspect the allegedtheft took place some-time in the final hour ofthe crowded exhibit atYokohama, near Tokyo.

The sparkly stone,exhibited by a companyin Saitama, north ofTokyo, was the only itemmissing. Nobody isarrested. Investigatorsare checking securitycamera footage thatshowed a man reachingtoward a showcase dur-ing the suspected time oftheft. — AP

L o n d o n : Au s t r a l i a nwater rats have learnedhow to kill cane toads,eat their hearts andcarve out their organswith “surgical preci-sion”, the Guardianreported. In only 2 years,highly intelligent nativerakali in the Kimberlyregion of WesternAustralia discoveredhow to safely destroy thedeadly toad – by remov-ing its gallbladder andfeasting on the heart.

The rats even targeted

the biggest, most poison-ous toads they couldfind, leaving their bod-ies strewn by the river-side, according toresearch published inAustralian Mammalogy.

Cane toads first cameto Queensland in the1930s and have beenmarching slowly westever since, devastatingnative animals. Thetoads first arrived in asite monitored by theresearchers in WA in2011. — Agencies

OZ WATER RATS KILL TOADS WITHPRECISION TO FEAST ON HEARTS

London: A US judge hasblocked the suspensionof a high schoolgirl who waspunished forposting a note atschool warningof a “rapist” intheir midst.

In SeptemberAela Mansmannwas accused of bullyingby school officials inCape Elizabeth, Maine,after she posted notes inthe girls’ toilets, the BBCreported. But on

Thursday a judge issueda temporary stay on the

suspension citingconcerns over free-speech rights. Alawsuit filed by thegirl’s familyagainst the schoolis still pending.

The case beganon 16 September

after Aela posted notes in2 bathrooms at CapeElizabeth School read-ing, “There’s a rapist inthe school and you knowwho it is.” — Agencies

AMERICAN GIRL WINS COURT BATTLEOVER ‘RAPIST IN SCHOOL’ NOTE

$1.84M DIAMONDSTOLEN FROMJAPAN TRADE SHOW◗ The pontiff is expect-

ed to address theissues raised with adocument, which couldhave repercussions forRoman Catholic Church

Dead ponyfish on a beach on Koh Naka Yai, eastof Phuket, Thailand. Hundreds of stinking pony-fish washed ashore on a beach island off thecoast of Phuket, a fisheries chief said onSaturday, as worries about the environmentgrow due to a spate of marine wildlife dying inThailand’s plastic-infested waters. — AFP

Felicity Huffman

Anthony Bourdain

AmeliaBambridge

Jane Fonda is arrested at the Capitol for blocking thestreet after she called on Congress for action to addressclimate change in Washington on Friday. — AP

CosplayerShaelaHalcrow isdressed asDoFlamingocharacterduring thefirst day ofComic Conevent inLondon onFriday.

— AP

ChelseaKane atRespect

Awards inBeverly Hills, California on

Friday. — AFP

Amodel walks

the ramp on thelast day of the

Fashion PakistanWeek in Karachi on

Friday. — AFP

� A colony of 60 rare batsthat took up residence inthe pedestal of theplanned 50-metre-longseesaw steel bowl, whichwill rock from side to sidewhen people climb on toit, is the latest hurdle

Abigail Kawananakoa’s fortune tied upin court case since her 2017 stroke�� Her longtime lawyer, JimWright, argued the stroke lefther impaired, and he stepped into assume the role of trustee� She fired Wright and marriedher partner of 20 years,Veronica Gail Worth� She inherited her wealthas the great-granddaugh-ter of James Campbell, anIrish businessman whomade his fortune as asugar plantation ownerand one of Hawaii’slargest landowners

SUNDAY | 27 OCTOBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

3 men arrestedafter encounter

New Delhi: Three men werearrested for allegedly bur-

gling houses in South Delhi,police said on Saturday.

According to a complaintlodged at Safdarjung police

station, the accused stolejewellery worth `25 lakh and`5,700 cash from a house in

Green Park on Wednesday.During investigation, police

analysed CCTV camerasinstalled in the area and got

the photographs of theaccused persons and later

arrested them on Thursday,DCP (southwest) Devender

Arya said. Malkiyat Singh(49), a resident of Vishnu

Garden, Mahinder (45) andSantosh Kumar (39), resi-

dents of Tilak Nagar, werearrested, he said, adding that

Pardeep Kumar (29), whoused to buy all the stolenjewellery from them, was

also arrested. During interro-gation, the accused revealedthat earlier they had target-

ed several other houses inSouth Delhi. Mahinder and

Santosh used to break openthe locks in the houses and

steal the valuable items, theDCP said.

New Delhi: A 50-year-oldman allegedly committed

suicide by hanging himselffrom a tree on Babar Road incentral Delhi’s Bengali Market

area on Saturday morning,police said. The deceased

has been identified as BasantLal. He worked as a labourer

at a construction site inPragati Maidan, they said.The police were informed

about the incident at around9.30 am on Saturday. No sui-cide note was found from the

spot, a senior police officialsaid. The family members of

the deceased told police thatLal was under depression for

quite sometime. The policehave ruled out foulplay in the

incident. The body will behanded over to the family

after post-mortem, said thepolice.

Irving stars for Brooklyn in Big Apple NBA battle

SPORT | Basketball

14 15GUIDE TO FORTUNE

SHORT TAKES

■ Malala Yousafzai ■Hockey■Saina Nehwal

THE ANSWERS TO TODAY’S GUIDE TO FORTUNE

1Who is the youngestNobel Laureate in Nobel

Prize history?

■ Lawrence Bragg■ Werner Heisenberg■ Malala Yousafzai

2Murugappa Gold Cup isassociated with which of

the following sports?

■ Badminton■ Hockey■ Cricket

3Who among the follow-ing is not the winner of

Rajiv Gandhi Khel RatnaAward 2016?

■ P.V. Sindhu■ Sakshi Malik■ Saina Nehwal

NEW DELHI SUNDAY 27 OCTOBER 2019

New Delhi: Three men, whowere allegedly planning tokill two businessmen, were

nabbed by the special cell ofthe Delhi police following a

shootout in northwest Delhi’sQutabgarh area, officials said

on Saturday. The accusedhave been identified as

Sachin, Vishal and Pravesh,who were members of the

Gogi gang, they said. Two ofthe three accused sustainedbullet injuries in their hands

and legs in the shootout,police said. The three men

were planning to kill twobusinessmen in Delhi’s

Kanjhawala and Narela area,they said. Further investiga-

tion is underway, police said.

DELHI SPECIAL‘Puerile to keep harping on MSD for retirement’

Athiya,Soorajclash atbox office

DELHI AGEMatinee 24

3 burglars held;car, pistol seized

50-year-old mancommits suicide

Tick the answer and checkthem below.


Amid cheers by amazedspectators, Delhi’s famedConnaught Place onSaturday was witness to amega laser show organ-ised by the ArvindKejriwal government toencourage people shuncrackers to cut down pollu-tion in the national capi-tal.

At the inaugural session,chief minister Kejriwalsaid that every year peoplewould burst firecrackersin large numbers daysahead of Diwali, but thistime, he has noticed achange.

“I have not heard a singlefirecracker being burst inthe capital and it is a goodstart,” he said. LtGovernor Anil Baijal anddeputy chief ministerManish Sisodia were alsopresent as the four-dayevent, named “Dilli kiDiwali”, kickstarted inCentral Park in presenceof hundreds of people.

The show with lasersbeaming in sync withpatriotic songs and audi-ble from Ramayana wasnothing short of a megaparty on the streets forDelhiites who came fromfar and beyond.

“Today, the entire cityhas gathered to celebratecommunity Diwali. It isthe first time something ofthis kind has happened,”said Mr Sisodia, seekingfeedback to improve waysto celebrate the festival.However, traders atConnaught Place said thattheir business was downby 70-80 per cent due to the

closure of a few roads andparking slots for the lasershow.

The circles of ConnaughtPlace and adjoining areaswere decked up with lightsand people from all walksof life thronged the heartof the city to witness theunique show.

“It is the first time that alaser show is being organ-

ised and it’s in the centrallocation of Delhi, so Ialong with my familydecided to begin ourDiwali celebration rightfrom here and contributeour bid,” said ShilpaYadav. Ajay Kumar alongwith his family came allthe way from Sonipat inHaryana to enjoy the lasershow.

New Delhi,Oct. 26: Thef o r m e rc r i c k e t e rand MPfrom EastD e l h i ,G a u t a mG a m b h i r,on Saturday,

accused the Delhi gov-ernment of only puttingup advertisements anddoing nothing worth-while to control pollutionin the past four-and-half-year of its tenure.

“People of Delhi are indistress because of pollu-tion but the Delhi govern-ment only brings outdetailed advertisementson pollution control. Ithas done nothing toaddress pollution in thefour-and-half-years that ithas been in power,” MrGambhir told a newsagency.

“Things will improveonly when work is doneon the ground and not bybringing out advertise-ments,” he added.

Mr Gambhir appealed tothe public to not burnfirecrackers this Diwali tomake a positive change.

“People have becomeaware now and they donot burst crackers asmuch as they did earlier.Awareness programmesrun by the Central gov-ernment have created adifference on theground”, he said.

Air quality remained“very poor” on Saturdayand is expected to turn“severe” post-Diwali dueto firecracker emissionsand spike in stubble burn-ing in neighbouringstates.

According to the Systemof Air Quality andWeather Forecasting andResearch (SAFAR), theNational Capital Region’soverall air quality index(AQI) is expected to enterthe “severe” category fora short period of time onSunday night, but the sit-uation would be not asbad as last year.

Last year, Delhi’s AQIstood at 642, which falls inthe “severe plus emer-gency” category, onNovember 8, the day afterDiwali. — Agencies

AAP govt didnothing to tackle pollution,says Gambhir

Dilli ki Diwali: Mega lasershow at Connaught Place AGE CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI, OCT. 26

Security arrangementshave been beefed up inDelhi in the run-up toDiwali, senior police offi-cers said.

According to sources,Delhi police commission-er Amulya Patnaik hasdirected all senior officersof the force to strengthenanti-terror measures intheir respective districts,sources said.

Prominent markets likeAzadpur and Ghazipurare especially on theradar of the police asmany people from outsideDelhi visit these areasdaily.

DCP (East) JasmeetSingh said that extra forcehas been deployed at theGhazipur market. “Due tohigh footfall at Ghazipurmarket, extra force hasbeen deployed andpatrolling has also beenincreased in the area.Officers in civil dress arealso there,” DCP Singhsaid.

According to joint com-missioner of police(southern range) DeveshSrivastava, all senior

police officers of SouthDelhi, including the DCPand the additional DCP,have began patrolling thedistrict personally.

Police presence in mar-kets and other crowdedareas has alreadyincreased and extraforces are helping inpatrolling. The number ofCCTV cameras at mar-kets and residential areashas also gone up and thefootage is being constant-ly monitored, Mr

Srivastava said.As the East police dis-

trict has Ghazipur mar-ket, the Northwest districtpolice has AzadpurMandi, which is Asia’slargest wholesale marketof fruits and vegetables.

Joint commissioner ofpolice (western range)Shalini Singh said thatpatrolling has been inten-sified in markets andareas witnessing highfootfalls across WestDelhi.

Event organised to encourage people shun crackers to cut down pollution

2 stabbed to death,security guard held


In an attempt to connectwith the youths ahead ofthe forthcoming DelhiAssembly polls, the GlobalYoung Action Network(GYAN) Foundation — agroup of professionalsaffiliated to BJP — is hold-ing a state-level quiz com-petition, “Atulya Atal,”based on the policies,schemes, and projectslaunched by the NarendraModi government in thelast five years.

The finale of the quiz

competition will be heldon December 25, the birthanniversary of formerPrime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee.

The main objective of thequiz competition is to cre-ate awareness about PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’swork, welfare schemes,and also the ‘failures’ ofthe Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) government.

“The quiz papers includequestions related to workundertaken by the Modigovernment, like theAyushman Bharat Yojana(National Health

Protection Scheme fundedby the Centre). There’ll bequestions pertaining towhich states have imple-mented the scheme andwhich haven’t. This way,they will come to knowthat chief minister ArvindKejriwal has not executedthe scheme yet.

“After the quiz, the par-ticipants will be explainedabout the schemes andalso told the correctanswers during a 30-minute session,” said theconvener of the quiz com-petition, VirenderSachdeva.

Quiz to create awarenessabout Centre’s schemes

AGE CORRESPONDENTNOIDA, OCT. 26

Over 250 vehicles, includ-ing two-wheelers, havingcasteist or “aggressive”remarks or tamperednumber plates werepenalised in Noida andGreater Noida on Friday,police said.

The action was takenacross Gautam BuddhNagar as part of the dis-trict police’s ongoing“Operation Clean” toensure hassle-free trafficand check crime, the offi-cials said.

As many as 133 vehicles,100 in urban areas and 33in rural areas, were chal-laned for having casteistremarks or words onthem. Another 91 chal-lans, 78 in urban areasand 13 in rural areas,were issued against thosehaving aggressiveremarks on their vehi-cles. Also, 56 challanswere slapped againstowners of vehicles whichwere found having tam-pered number plates, apolice spokesperson said.

The police also carriedout inspections at majorjewellery shops, fuel sta-tions and markets from 11am till 11 pm as it steppedup security checks andpatrolling in view ofDiwali festivities.

“The practice of writ-ing casteist words oraggressive remarks onnumberplates needs to bediscouraged. Such writ-ings create a feeling ofinsecurity among peopleand becomes a nuisance.Hence, we have takenaction against them,”Gautam Buddh NagarSSP Vaibhav Krishnasaid.

New Delhi, Oct 26: DelhiFire Services has notonly deployed 2,000 offi-cers across the city totackle emergencies onDiwali, but has also sta-tioned 25 officials to manits control room to dealwith any fire-relatedcalls, a day ahead of thefestival of lights, offi-cials said.

It has also cancelledleave applications of itspersonnel, officials said.All the vehicles of thedepartment have been

repaired and checked toensure that they areequipped to handleemergencies, they said.

Compared to last year,the fire department saidit has deployed 500 extrapersonnel at several loca-tions. Twenty-two fireunits have been stationedat several locations,including Bara Tootichowk, Sadar Bazaar,Bhatti Mines, ChandniChowk, Lajpat Nagar,and Gandhi Nagar, theysaid. — PTI

No leave for firemen today

New Delhi, Oct. 26: Thenarrow lanes of thePotters’ Colony in UttamNagar are a tad bit dustierthan usual with trucks andtempos stationed at oddangles, waiting to beloaded with all kinds ofearthenware—idols, vases,but most importantlydiyas.

Ahead of Diwali, genera-tions of potter familiesinhabiting the KumharGram in West Delhi are ontheir toes, hoping to makethe best of the festive sea-son. But business is slow.

Hari Om, a third genera-tion potter in the colony,

blames inflation. The 52-year-old said that with theprices of diyas going up,customers simply opt forthe cheaper “Chineselights.”

“We do get decent busi-ness during Holi andDiwali, but we have seen a40 per cent decrease insales since last year.Customers also prefer buy-ing cheaper options likeChinese lights,” he saidsoon after confirming anorder of 2,000 diyas.

Hari Om’s family isamong the 700 families thatinhabit the Kumhar Gram,most of them originally

hailing from villages inHaryana, Rajasthan, andUttar Pradesh.

Rest of the year, they sellearthen pitchers, pots,fountains, and other deco-rative pieces, but theincome is bare minimum.

Deepak Kumar, anotherpotter in Kumhar Gram, isalso struggling to makeends meet.

“Mouths to feed are toomany, and profit negligible.A single decorative piececosts around Rs 70 to makeand then we sell it for Rs100. Since all eight peopleof the family do this work,there isn’t much left in the

name of profit,” the 18-year-old potter, who is alsoa student at the DelhiUniversity, said.

While these potters dohave individuals purchas-ing earthenware fromthem, their major sales—to

the street vendors who buydiyas in bulk to sell themin residential areas—havealso taken a hit.

Both the potters and thevendors claim that themunicipal corporationshave run anti-encroach-ment drives in the city,making it difficult forhawkers to sell these prod-ucts, leading to a loss ofwork for both the commu-nities.

A hawker in Janakpuri,21-year-old Najim whomanaged to make `4,000 inthe ten days leading up toDiwali last year, has barelymade `300 this time. “It’s

difficult to stand at onespot for too long, someoneor other would come andtell us to go away. If a cus-tomer doesn’t know wherewe put our cart, how willanyone do any business?”he said.

Other potter markets,which get a life of theirown during the festive sea-son, are the Hauz RaniMarket in Malviya Nagarand the Matka Market inSarojini Nagar.

Both markets have beenthe go-to stops for Delhiitesduring festivities for years.However, this year thecrowds are thinner. — PTI

Low business, cheap Chinese lights mar city potters’ Diwali� Ahead of Diwali,generations of potterfamilies inhabiting theKumhar Gram in WestDelhi are on theirtoes, hoping to makethe best of the festiveseason

SPORT | Cricket

BJP MP Vijay Goel celebrates Diwali with residents of an unathurised colony in NewDelhi on Saturday. — PTI


Two men were stabbed todeath allegedly by twosecurity guards followinga scuffle in outer Delhi’sSwaroop Nagar, policesaid on Saturday. Thedeceased have been iden-tified as Sunil (25) andRavi Kumar (29), theysaid.

The incident took placeon Friday at a construc-tion site near a school.According to the police,Ravi’s father Ram Singhwas constructing a houseand security guards JaiKumar (27) andDharmender used to stayat the site.

On Friday, after Raviarrived drunk at the con-struction site, an alterca-tion broke out betweenhim and Dharmender, asenior police official said.

Following the scuffle,

Dharmender called Jaifor help while Ravi calledhis acquaintance Sunil.

A scuffle broke outbetween the four people,the official said. RamSingh along with hisother son Shashi alsoarrived at the spot.

Jai and Dharmenderattacked Ravi and Sunilwith a knife, the officialsaid.

“On reaching the spot,Sunil was found deadwhile injured Ravi wasrushed to Babu JagjivanRam Memorial Hospital,where he was declaredbrought dead,” DCP(Outer North) GauravSharma said.

A case of murder hasbeen registered. WhileJai Kumar was arrestedfrom the spot, teamshave been deployed tonab his accomplice whomanaged to escape, theofficer said.

Vehicles withcasteistremarks onthem fined

Security stepped up acrossDelhi-NCR ahead of Diwali

GautamGambhir


A man has been shot deadin Delhi’s Jahangirpuriarea after he got into fightwith two persons on abike, which brush-passedhim, police said onSaturday.

The incident happenedon Thursday and policesaid they have arrested sixpersons and also detaineda minor in connectionwith the case. Thosearrested are Suraj (35),Prashant (23), ArunBhatia (24), Harish Bhatia(33), Abhishek (24) andGovinda (30), all residents

of Jahangirpuri, theysaid. Jwala Singh, who isalso a local, was rushed tonearby BJRM hospitalafter being shot at but doc-tors declared him“brought dead”, said thepolice.

Singh was shot in hisface after he got into afight with two of thosearrested. However, it wasnot immediately clearwhich of the two werebehind the incident. Policesaid the arrests were madeafter technical surveil-lance. The pistol fromwhich the shot was firedhas been recovered fromSuraj, police said.

Man shot dead in road rage,juvenile among 6 nabbed

Laser Show at Central Park in Connaught Placeto celebrate cracker-less and pollution-freeDilli ki Diwali in New Delhi on Saturday.

— BIPLAB BANERJEE


SHORT TAKES

DDuubbaaii:: Pakistan’s newlyappointed T20I skipper Babar

Azam seeks inspiration fromKane Williamson and Virat Kohli

and wants to emulate them as captain.

“I look at current captains likeKane Williamson and Virat

Kohli, and how well they man-age their own form along with

bringing results to the team. I'll try to emulate them,”

International Cricket Council(ICC) quoted Azam as saying.

“Moreover, I'm not just thinkingI'll be happy to play regardless

of the results. I'm looking toget a performance out of my

team, as well as my individualperformances,” he added.

On October 18 replacingSarfaraz Ahmed, Azar Ali wasappointed as the Test captainwhile Azam was handed over

the reins in the shortest formatof the game.

The 25-year-old Azam hadplayed 33 T20I games in which

he scored 1290 runs with animpressive average of 49.61. Hisfirst assignment as captain will

be upcoming Australia tour,where Pakistan will play three

T20Is followed by two Tests. In the recent home T20I series

against Sri Lanka, he did notscore many runs but served asvice-captain. In the series, Sri

Lanka clean sweep Pakistan 3-0. Azam is currently number

one in the ICC T20I batsmenrankings. The series against

Australia at their home soilwould be a challenging one

for Pakistan. — ANI

HHaammiirrppuurr ((HHiimmaacchhaallPPrraaddeesshh)):: Former BCCI

president Anurag Thakuron Sunday lashed out at the

International Cricket Council,saying it “has no relevance”without the world's richest

board, which used to give theICC seventy-five percent of

grants to run its affairs.Thakur, a union minister of state

for finance and corporateaffairs, was in the town in con-

nection with the SansadMahakumbh prize distribution

function. “The ICC has no rele-vance without the BCCI as it

used to give it seventy-five per-cent of grants to run its affairs,”said Thakur, who is the brotherof newly-appointed BCCI treas-

urer Arun Dhumal. He alsoexpressed hope that the Sourav

Ganguly-led new body ofBCCI would take up the issuewith the ICC and get its due.

Thakur said the appoint-ment of Arun as the

board’s treasurer is amatter of pride for the

state and he washopeful that his

brother would dothe job honestly.

— PTI

I can’t wait to play.Any time you play

for Australia inAustralia it’s a

great honour andI’m excited.

— Steve Smith

Azam will try to emulate Kohli

Thakur lashesout at ICC

ReliefCaptain Aaron Finch was on Saturday cleared to play inAustralia’s opening Twenty20 against Sri Lanka, but the team wasdealt a blow with fast bowler Andrew Tye ruled out of the series

Cricket

AFTER BCCI,CA WORRIED

ABOUT FTP MMeellbboouurrnnee:: Cricket Australiahas echoed BCCI’s concerns

about ICC’s proposed one flag-ship tournament every yearduring next eight-year FTP

cycle (2023-2031), as they arenot ready to compromise on

conducting bilateral Test series.During the ICC meeting in

Dubai earlier this month, it wasannounced that a working

group of member nations hadagreed in principle to the chiefexecutive Manu Sawhney’s idea

of selling eight ICC men’sevents in eight years (2023-

2031) as part of the next broad-cast rights package.

BCCI CEO Rahul Johri hasalready expressed his concern

and ICC has been apprised thatworld’s richest cricket board is

not on same page. CricketAustralia chief executive Kevin

Roberts’ apprehension aboutthe global body’s plans will be

music to BCCI’s ears. “The ICC schedule of tourna-ments is certainly something

that is absolutely up for discus-sion at the moment and will

continue in the months ahead,”Roberts recently told SEN

Radio. — PTI

NNeeww DDeellhhii,, OOcctt.. 2266::Former India captainand coach Anil Kumblehas supported ViratKohli’s view of havingfive centres for Testmatches in order to bringthe spectators back to thestadium.

Kumble, in fact, wantsthe BCCI to go back tothe old tradition of the80s and 90s where Testmatches at specific cen-tres were held during fes-tivities. During the 80sand 90s the BCCI calen-der used to have Tests onNew Year in Kolkata andin Chennai at the time ofPongal.

“I think that has cer-tainly been one of theways of promoting Testcricket. By restricting itto few centres and notjust that it is also impor-tant to choose the time ofthe Test match,” Kumblewas quoted as saying byCricketNext.

“We all remember thatin the festival time, dur-ing the festival ofPongal, the Test matchused to happenin Chennai.And the startof the season

used to be in Delhi,Bangalore would have aTest match, Mumbaiwould have a Test match,Kolkata of course,” headded.

Earlier this week, thefinal Test between Indiaand South Africa wit-nessed a lukewarmresponse from the Indiancrowd in Ranchi,prompting Kohli to sug-gest the idea of five per-manent Test centres forfuture home series, simi-lar to the English andAustralian model whentop teams tour thosecountries.

“I think it is importantfor Test cricket to pro-mote these centres wherepeople would know thatthese are the centreswhere you are going toplay Test match cricketin prior to the start ofthe season so that youcan market Test cricketand you can make surethat the crowd come in,”Kumble said.

“When I was the coach,I think we played in sixdifferent centres, theywere all new centres and

the one centre it waspacked was Indore.

And the atmospherewas brilliant, it is in theheart of the city that wasone of the reasons thatthe crowd could come inirrespective of the timeof the day,” Kumbleadded.

The 49-year-old, whois back to coachingagain, this time asdirector of cricket

operations at Kings XIPunjab, also lent supportto the idea of India play-ing day-night Tests. “Ithink day-night Testcricket will certainlybring in the crowdstowards the latter half ofthat game,” Kumble said.

“You also need tochoose the right time ofthe year because we’veseen in day-night ODIs,the ball gets really wetbecause of due. So, youmay have to choose thevenue and time of theyear,” he added.

Word number one,India, put up a dominanteffort in all departmentsto whitewash visitorsSouth Africa 3-0 in therecently-concluded TestSeries after winningtheir last two overseasseries in the West Indiesand Australia. They alsolead the World Testchampionship with 240points.

“Yes, I believe so andeven three years agowhen I was the coach, Idid mention that thisteam certainly has every-thing in them to domi-nate world cricket andthat is exactly what theyhave done and it is notjust about the playingeleven, it is also thebench strength,” Kumblesaid.

“It is also the quality ofbench strength that weare discussing here. Youhave fantastic quality.Whoever comes in cer-tainly performs,” headded. — PTI

■ Kumble supports Virat’s suggestionto have permanent centres for Tests

Kohli getsJumbo backing

Tamim pulls out of India tourDDhhaakkaa,, OOcctt.. 2266:: Bangladeshopening batsman TamimIqbal has pulled out of nextmonth's Twenty20 and Testtour of India on personalgrounds, the BangladeshCricket Board said onSaturday.

The 30-year-old Tamim —Bangladesh’s top run scor-er in all formats — had indi-cated he would likely misspart of the tour to be withhis wife as they expect theirsecond child, chief selectorMinhajul Abedin said.

Bangladesh are scheduledto play three Twenty20internationals and twoTests in India in November,starting in Delhi onNovember 3.

Tamim missedBangladesh’s recent tri-series Twenty20 tourna-ment after a dip in form.

The left-hander also strug-gled in the World Cup inEngland, where he scoredonly 235 in eight innings, a29.37 average.

The 30-year later madeinterim captain for a three-match one-day internation-al series in Sri Lanka in theabsence of injured regularskipper Mashrafe Mortaza.

But the leadership rolefailed to bring out his best,with Tamim making only 21runs in the entire series,which Bangladesh lost 0-3.

The Bangladesh CricketBoard said it will name areplacement of Tamim forthe India tour in duecourse. — AFP

Newly joined Bangladesh bowling coach Daniel Vettori throws a ball during a training session in Dhaka. — AFP

Bangla crisis: BCB may takelegal action against Shakib DDhhaakkaa,, OOcctt.. 2266::Bangladesh’s domesticcricketers might be reapingbenefits from the players’protest but their nationalcaptain Shakib Al Hasanhas been caught off-guard,with the board mullinglegal action for violation ofcentral contract.

With Bangladesh set toleave for the all-importantIndia series in the next fewdays, the BCB’s strongstance could certainlyaffect the morale of theteam. According to a reportin Cricbuzz, Shakib hassigned a deal with notedtelecom company‘Grameenphone’, whichis in violation of thecentral contract clause.

“BCB presidentNazmul Hasan saidthat they will takestrict action if heis unable to pro-vide a satisfacto-ry reply.Grameenphone,the local tele-com giants,announced onOctober 22that the coun-try’s leading

all-rounder joined them astheir brand ambassador,”Cricbuzz reported.

“He cannot make thisagreement [with a telecomcompany] and why he can-not make this agreement isclearly stated in our con-tract paper,” BCB presidentNazmul Hasan was quotedas saying by the Bengalidaily ‘Kaler Kantho’ onSaturday.

“Robi [Telecom] was ourtitle sponsor andGrameenphone did not bidand instead they grabbed

few cricketers by payingthem TK One or TwoCrores. What happened inthe end? The board lost TK90 Crores in three years,”he said.

“We are going into legalaction. We cannot spareanyone in this regard. Wewill ask for compensation.We will seek compensationfrom the company as wellas from the player,” Hasansaid.

“I heard about it [onOctober 23] and asked tosent legal notice toGrameenphone to claimcompensation. I asked tosend a letter to Shakib forexplanation. We must givehim a chance to show hedidn’t break the rule. To usit seemed that it was some-thing like ‘give a damn tothe board’ and if that is thecase we will take toughaction,’’ he added.

Shakib along with seniorcricketers Mushfiqur

Rahim andMahmudullah led

the playersprotests 11-p o i n tdemand.

— PTI

Mixed signals haveemerged from theIndian cricket

establishment aboutMahendra Singh Dhoni’sfuture over the past fewdays.

After picking the teamfor the limited overs seriesagainst Bangladesh, chiefselector MSK Prasad said“we’ve moved on’’ whenasked whether the formerIndia captain had beenconsidered.

However, new BCCI pres-ident Sourav Ganguly hadearlier said on the issuethat “great players don’tjust fade away’’, and onSaturday, coach RaviShastri came out firing onall cylinders againstDhoni’s critics in an inter-view to a national daily.

While Prasad appeared

categorical about the posi-tion of the selectors, state-ments by Ganguly andShastri would imply thatthe door has not been shuton Dhoni, making for aconfounding situation.

Traditionally, the selec-tion committee has theindependence to pick play-ers it deems worthy. Butthe BCCI president has theauthority to intervene ifhe feels necessary. This hasoften happened in the pastin Indian cricket, some-times even without goodenough reason!

However, such issuesneed not be restricted tothe administration. Forinstance, will the selectorsplay hardball even if theteam management —coach, captain and vice-captain — have a different

point of view from themon Dhoni’s future?

It could become a hugelyvexing situation for Prasad& Co if Shastri, captainVirat Kohli and vice cap-tain Rohit Sharma seemerit in Dhoni’s inclusionfor the T20 WorldChampionship.

I have sympathy for theselectors who foundthemselves in a predica-ment that has only beengrowing since theWorld Cup, and choseto tackle the Dhonimatter head on.

In hindsight,Prasad will believe hecould have been pru-dent and demurreddefer on Dhoni’s futurefor nobody can say withany certainty how it willunravel.

Dhoni’s inclusion in thecurrent situation was ofcourse impossible. He has-n’t played a single matchsince the World Cup. Therewas nothing for the selec-tors to go by. But whetherthis eliminates hisprospects in the remainderof this season and then thenext, leading into the T20

World Championship isof the crux.

This is where Ganguly(likely) and Shastri(most certainly) seem to

be pulling in a differentdirection from the selec-tors. The stridency inShastri’s position is partic-ularly telling.

What comes through islack of conviction inRishabh Pant (or SanjuSamson who is now part ofthe T20 squad) to measureup to the demands of aWorld Championship.Having Dhoni on the radar,it would appear, reducesthe anxiety somewhat in

the team management.Age works against

Dhoni. He will be 39next year, and

going by reports in recentweeks, he is carrying a nig-gle from the World Cup.While he remains amongthe fittest cricketers in thecountry, such niggles takelonger to overcome withadvancing age.

This probably explainswhy Dhoni has stayedaway from domestic tour-naments. But if he regainscomplete fitness, finds hisbest form and has the zestfor competition at thehighest level, the age con-sideration gets mitigated.

There are several playerswho’ve been successful inT20 when in their late 30s.But the onus is thensquarely on them to provetheir credentials. One canpunt on a youngster. Froma veteran, the need is forgreter certainty.

How does the Dhoni issueget resolved?

It is puerile to keep harp-ing on Dhoni to make hisretirement plan known.Everybody knows it can betoo far away. But it remainshis personal decision tomake — and when he

wants. He has not madeany unusual demands forbeing given preference, infact gone out of his way toencourage younger play-ers, so it is reasonable toinfer that he isn’t clingingon to his place in absentia.

But for inclusion in theteam Dhoni needs to beassessed on form and fit-ness when he starts play-ing: like every other player.If he doesn’t do this intime for selection, he obvi-ously should not be consid-ered. Whether heannounces his retirementor not is then superfluous.

As I see it, Dhoni is lis-tening intently to his bodyand mind in assessing hisfuture. He’ll probably playsome domestic matches,the IPL certainly (barringinjury), see how his feetare moving, whether thebat is still productive andmost importantly whetherhe is better than all chal-lengers for a place in theIndian team.

That’s the only thing thatshould interest selectorstoo.

It’s puerile to keep harping on MSD to announce retirementAyaz MemonOver The Top

MMuummbbaaii,, OOcctt 2266:: Indiacaptain Virat Kohli onSaturday said his careerpath became simple dueto decisions taken by hisfather, whom he termedas his “super hero” inreal life.

“My father till the timehe was in this world hehas been always been mysuperhero,” Kohli saidhere when asked whowas his ‘super her’ inreal life.

“Many people caninspire or motivate you,but when someone setsan example in front ofyou, the impact is differ-

ent. The examples he(my father) set in front

of me.. like when Iwas playing cricketwhen I wasyoung...the deci-

sions he tookwith regard to

my career. Hecould have told me

different dimension.Due to his personalityand decisions, my focus

always remained that Iwill go ahead on thebasis of hard work andnot by any other way,”Kohli, one of the most asuccessful batsman ofthe modern era, recol-lected.

He was speaking afterlaunching an animatedseries ‘Super V’ based onKohli himself, which willbe aired on Star SportsNetwork, Star Plus andDisney from November 5.“Because of this, he hasbeen my super hero. Dueto his personality anddecisions, my careerpath became simple thatI had to move ahead onlyby working hard..If I suc-ceed then it was writtenin my destiny, if it wasnot there, then I was notgood enough....after thatIstopped making excus-es, and I think it hap-pened because of him, asthings happened in frontof me and so he is mySuper Hero (sic),” addedthe India captain. — PTI

Dad was superhero for Virat

Delhi’s post-Diwali pollution cause of concern ahead of T20NNeeww DDeellhhii,, OOcctt.. 2266:: Theprevailing air pollution inthe national capital regionhas become a cause of con-cern ahead of the T20International betweenIndia and Bangladesh atthe Feroz Shah Kotla onNovember 3.

Back in December 2017,the Sri Lankan cricketteam was left gasping forbreath during a Test matchat the Kotla, forcing mostof their players to wearprotective masks even assome fell ill. However, therotation policy followed by

the BCCI and the travelroute for the visiting teamforced the BCCI to sched-ule the first match of thetour in Delhi, and they arenow hoping that the city’spoor air quality doesn’tbecome an issue duringthe night encounter.

Just a couple of daysbefore the Diwali, the AirQuality Index (AQI) wasrated as “very poor”. Asper AQI standards, 0-50 isconsidered good’, 51-100 issatisfactory, 101-200 is mod-erate, 201-300 is poor while301-400 is very poor.

Anything above 400 is con-sidered to be severe, whichcan cause serious healthissues.

According to the avail-able information, onThursday, at 8:30 am, theAQI in the vicinity of theDelhi University was 357,which is considered to bevery poor. Both seniorBCCI and DDCA officialsacknowledged that air pol-lution is something that isbeyond their control andthey can only hope thatsince the match is beingheld a week after Diwali,

the situation will be undercontrol.

“Look, we have factoredin the post Diwali air pol-lution in Delhi but sincethe match is a week away,we are hopeful that theplayers won’t face anyhealth hazards,” a seniorBCCI official said.

Due to the nightmarishexperience and bad public-ity following the Sri Lankagame, there are questionsas to why the BCCI didn’tdo away with the rotationpolicy as far as Delhi isconcerned. — PTI

Shakib Al Hasan


SHORT TAKESEngland stun NZ

to reach WC finalYYookkoohhoommaa ((JJaappaann)):: Fly-halfGeorge Ford led the way as

England ended New Zealand’seight-year reign as championswith a superb 19-7 World Cup

semi-final win in Yokohama onSaturday. Ford, restored at 10

by coach Eddie Jones, tookover goal-kicking duties afterEngland captain Owen Farrell

took a knock but he landedfour penalty attempts after

Manu Tuilagi stunned the AllBlacks with an early try.

This was just England’s eighthwin in 42 Tests against New

Zealand and meant the AllBlacks had lost their first WorldCup match since a shock 2007quarter-final defeat by France.England’s first World Cup winover the two-time defending

champions puts them into theirfourth final — just four years

after their embarrassing first-round exit on home soil. “Our

best form of attack is ourdefence. We create opportuni-

ties through our defence toattack,” said England coach

Eddie Jones, who has master-minded the turnaround. — AFP

Strong windsplay spoilsport

PPhhiilllliipp IIssllaanndd ((AAuussttrraalliiaa))::Qualifying for the Australian

MotoGP was cancelled Saturdayas fierce winds caused havoc atthe beachside circuit, with rid-

ers deciding it was too danger-ous after Tech3 Racing’s Miguel

Oliveira was “blown off” thetrack. Phillip Island, known for

its fast corners and longstraights, is a favourite among

the sport’s stars, but is alsorenowned for notoriously

unpredictable weather. Afterwet and then dry sessions onFriday, the riders had to con-tend Saturday with not only

more rain but blustery and coldconditions, making it hard to

push the pace. The winds whip-ping the circuit were such that10 of the 22-strong field didn’t

even set a lap-time in thirdpractice session. Fourth prac-

tice was then red-flagged whenpit board numbers blew onto

the track, just minutes afterOliveira lost control and came

off his bike in a big crash onthe approach to turn one.

MotoGP officials said he was“blown off the track”, with the

Portuguese rider stretcheredaway. “From the morning to theafternoon the wind completely

changed direction and wasgoing sideways on the straight,”Oliveira told the crash.Net web-

site on Saturday. — AFP

Honestly, by thetime I got to the

(WTA Finals), I wasjust so tired.

— Naomi Osaka on last year’sseason ending tournament.

New coachFormer US international star Tab Ramos wasnamed as the new head coach of the Major League Soccer outfit Houston Dynamo

SportTsitsipas sets upclash with RogerBBaasseell ((SSwwiittzzeerrllaanndd)),, OOcctt..2266:: Stefanos Tsitsipas setup his fourth meeting thisseason with RogerFederer after a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4quarter-final comebackwin over Filip Krajinovicat the Swiss Indoors onFriday.

The Greek world num-ber seven has beaten nine-time Basel championFederer at the AustralianOpen while benefittingfrom a walkover on theclay in Rome.

In between, Federer, 38,swept past the 21-year-oldGreek in Dubai.

Top seed Federer onThursday had alreadymade sure of his spot inthe semi-finals afterSwiss compatriot StanWawrinka withdrew fromtheir last-eight tie with alower back injury just anhour after seeing offFrances Tiafoe in a gru-elling second round clash.

On Friday, Tsitsipas hadto stage a fightback for asecond straight matchafter recovering againstqualifier RicardasBerankis 24 hours earlier.

“Persistence was the keytoday,” said third seedTsitsipas. “I put a lot ofemphasis on my serve.

“It was also crucial tostay concentrated, even ifI was broken three times,unfortunately. But therewere plenty of gameswhere I played very confi-dently.”

Tsitsipas said hisAustralian Open fourthround defeat of Federerremains in his memory.

“It was one of the great-est moments of my career.Of course, the crowds loveRoger -- but what can youdo?

“Roger understands the

game very well, his serveis one of his biggestweapons and his move-ment and coverage helphim,” added the playerwho has also scored winsover Novak Djokovic andRafael Nadal in 2019.

Opelka fires 31 aces

Reilly Opelka fired 31aces to reach the fifthsemi-final of his career ashe beat Roberto BautistaAgut 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

The 37th-rankedAmerican’s victory in 93minutes also slowed theprogress of his Spanishopponent in the chase forone of the two remainingplaces at the ATP Finalsin London next month.

Opelka has reached fourof his five semi-finals thisseason — most recently atthe start of the month inTokyo — as the 22-year-oldworks to broaden hisgame beyond just a hugeserve. — AFP

LLooss AAnnggeelleess,, OOcctt.. 2266:: TheNets, out to makeBrooklyn the center ofNew York City’s NBA uni-verse, edged the Knicks113-109 Friday, but notbefore a fourth-quarterdogfight.

Brooklyn’s new starKyrie Irving didn’t matchthe 50 points he droppedin a heartbreaking season-opening loss toMinnesota, but his 26points included a step-back three-pointer with22.4 seconds to play thatgave the Nets a 111-109lead that they wouldn’tgive up.

“Ah man, I just had to getto my spot, make sure myelbow was pointed and,you know, gratefully itwent in,” Irving said ofthe shot that drew com-parisons to his game-win-ner in game seven of the2016 NBA Finals forCleveland.

Allonzo Trier’s 22 pointshelped the Knicks erase a19-point deficit and take athree-point lead with 3:41to play.

Irving said his only mes-sage to his teammates asthe Knicks poured on thepressure was “stay poised,stay calm.”

Irving ramped up theBig Apple rivalry onThursday when he said ata promotional event thatthe Nets were “going totake over the whole city.

“It’s about us,” saidIrving, who was booed byKnicks fans who crossedthe Brooklyn Bridge forthe game at the BarclaysCenter.

Nets fans had their sayas well, with tauntingreminders that it was

Brooklyn that won the off-season free agent contestwith the acquisition ofIrving and former leagueMost Valuable PlayerKevin Durant — who isstill recovering from anAchilles tendon injury.

Lakers bounce back

LeBron James and theLos Angeles Lakers, wholost their season-openeron Tuesday to theirupstart cross-town rivalsthe Clippers, bounced

back with a 95-86 victoryover the Utah Jazz.

James scored 32 pointswith 10 assists and sevenrebounds and AnthonyDavis scored 21 pointswith seven rebounds.

Davis also blocked fiveshots as the revampedLakers delivered animpressive defensive per-formance.

“The more we candefend like this, the easierit’ll be for us,” said Davisafter the Lakers harriedthe Jazz into 23 turnovers

that yielded 22 LosAngeles points.

“That’s who we are,”James said of the defen-sive effort. James scored12 points in the third quar-ter and the Lakers led by19 heading into the finalframe — when theystretched the advantage toas many as 22.

T-Wolves win again

There was no let-downfor the MinnesotaTimberwolves after their

one-point overtime victo-ry over the Nets onWednesday in the face ofIrving’s 50-point explo-sion.

Karl-Anthony Townsscored 37 points, pulleddown 15 rebounds andhanded out eight assistsas the Timberwolves wontheir second straight —121-99 over the CharlotteHornets.

Towns connected on 13of 18 shots from the field, making four three-pointers. — AFP

NNeeww DDeellhhii:: British heavyweightboxing star Tyson Fury believes

International OlympicCommittee's decision to ban

world body (AIBA) will have amassive impact on amateur and

professional boxing, saying itcan potentially take away

champions of the futurefrom the sport. “It will have amassive impact because it is

potentially stopping stars of thefuture from getting a break,”

Fury said during an internation-al conference call ahead of his

WWE in-ring debut againstBraun Strowman at Crown

Jewel in Riyadh next week.“It is very important that ama-

teur boxing continues so wecan have professional champi-

ons of the future. “If there is noamateur boxing, there is noprofessionals. I don’t know

many people who have turnedprofessionals without being

amateurs. It could have a bigimpact on the professional

sport for sure. It could be tak-ing away champions of the

future.” Fury will join the likesof Evander Holyfield, Floyd

Mayweather, Mike Tyson andMuhammad Ali when he takes

on Braun Strowman at theWWE Crown Jewel on October

31 in Saudi Arabia. Fury wasalso impressed with Indian box-

ing and hoped star boxerVijender Singh goes on to winthe world title for India. — PTI

‘BAN CANTAKE AWAY

CHAMPIONS’

New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson (right) defends against Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving who goes upfor two points during the first half of an NBA game on Friday. — AP

IInnzzaaii ((JJaappaann)),, OOcctt.. 2266:: TigerWoods surprised himselfwith a second straight 64Saturday for a two-strokelead over Gary Woodland atthe halfway stage of therain-delayed ZozoChampionship in Japan.

“I’m surprised that I wasable to score as well as Ihave,” admitted Woods,who is playing his firsttournament for two monthsafter having arthroscopicknee surgery.

“It usually that takes a lit-tle bit of time. I’ve beenable to strike my irons pret-ty well this week so far andthat’s been nice.”

The 15-time major winnerlit up the back nine in five-under 31 to take control onan empty NarashinoCountry Club course,closed to spectators for safe-ty after soaking up morethan six inches (150mm) ofrain during Friday’swashout.

“I had made a couple puttstoday and I went to put myhand up and I’m like, don’tput your hand up, there’s noone clapping,” said Woods.

Chasing a record-equalling 82nd PGA Tourvictory, Woods had bouncedback from bogeying his

opening three holes toshoot a mesmerising 64with nine birdies inThursday’s first round.

He started more steadilyon Saturday and was one-under at the turn beforeswitching on the afterburn-ers.

“Hit the ball a little bitbetter than I did(Thursday),” Woods said.“Let’s hope that trend con-tinues.”

Three birdies in fourholes from the 10th took

him alongside clubhouseleader Woodland at 10-under.

Woods kept his foot down.The US Masters championsmoked a massive drivedown the long par-four 17thand his pinpoint approachfrom 154 yards left him asimple two-footer to takethe solo lead.

He saw a 20-foot eagle puttslip by at the par-five 18thbut tapped in for his sev-enth birdie of the roundand a 36-hole 12-under par

total of 128.US Open champion and

overnight co-leaderWoodland said he had to digdeep for his 66 to keep intouch with Woods.

“It was a grind all day,”said the 35 year-old.

Friday’s postponed roundfinally began at 10amSaturday on a weather-rav-aged course with brightsunshine helping to dry theturf. A pond to the left ofthe 10th fairway hadexpanded into a lake, forc-ing officials to move the teeforward, and in a trice a376-yard par four became a140-yard par four.

Local favourite HidekiMatsuyama immediatelytook advantage of the tiny10th with an eagle two buttrod water thereafter to fin-ish four shots behindWoods.

World number two RoryMcIlroy had a ragged two-over 72 on Thursday but hetoo opened with an eagle atthe 10th to get back to levelpar. A birdie four at thelong 14th kept up themomentum and two moregains at 16 and 18 saw himturn in 31 and his way to a65 to be three-under total,nine behind Woods. — AFP

Tiger stuns himself with 2nd 64

■ Irving stars for Brooklyn in Big Apple NBA battleNets edge Knicks

Steeled for WTAfinals, says OsakaSShheennzzhheenn ((CChhiinnaa)),, OOcctt.. 2266::In-form world numberthree Naomi Osakabelieves she is betterequipped to deal with theWTA Finals’ demandinground-robin format, afterher maiden appearance atthe season-ending show-piece ended in tears.

There was much atten-tion on the Japanese sensa-tion entering last year’sWTA Finals on the back ofa controversial US Openvictory over SerenaWilliams.

But Osaka failed to liveup to the hype in a winlesscampaign that ended intears when she was forcedto retire against KikiBertens due to a hamstringinjury.

Having learned the les-sons from that bitter expe-rience, Osaka said sheknew what to expect in the$14 million tournamentpitting the eight bestranked players of 2019.

The lucrative WTA Finalshas moved to the southernChinese city of Shenzhenfor the next 10 years after afive-year run in Singapore.

“I definitely think lastyear helped me in the waythat I kind of know the for-mat more,” Osaka toldreporters on Saturday.

“Before last year, I hadn’tplayed round-robin since Iwas, like, eight or ten.

“I think the end of lastyear was just so hectic forme. Honestly, by the time Igot to the (WTA Finals), Iwas just so tired,” Osakaadded.

She will be one of thefavourites in Shenzhenhaving claimed successivetitles in Osaka and Beijing.

It has been a return toform for the 22-year-oldafter a stunning first roundexit at Wimbledon followedby a lacklustre US Opentitle defence ended with around of 16 defeat toBelinda Bencic. — AFP

SWISS|| INDOORS

MEXICAN GRAND PRIX

ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP

MMeexxiiccoo CCiittyy,, OOcctt.. 2266:: LewisHamilton’s hopes of wrap-ping up his sixth driversworld title this weekenddimmed on Friday when helanguished in fifth placebehind Sebastian Vetteland Ferrari after secondfree practice at theMexican Grand Prix.

After topping the times inthe opening session, thedefending five-time cham-pion was unable to resistthe pace of his main rivalsas four-time championVettel delivered a best lapin one minute and 16.607seconds.

“It wasn’t good enough,”said Mercedes boss TotoWolff, whose team clinchedan unprecedented sixthchampionship double lasttime out in Japan.

“This is a difficult trackfor us, but we are lackingperformance. It is one ofour worst tracks.”

On an overcast but warmday at the AutodromoHermanos Rodriguez, theoutright pace of theFerraris ruled on the mainstraight with MaxVerstappen, winner of thelast two Mexican races forRed Bull, also showingcompetitive pace.

The Dutchman was sec-ond, just one-tenth down onVettel, but four-tenthsahead of Charles Leclercwith Hamilton’s Mercedes

team-mate — and only titlerival —Valtteri Bottasfourth ahead of the cham-pion-elect.

“The Ferraris are too fastfor us,” said Verstappen.“They will be too quick inqualifying. They are aheadof us all here.”

Daniil Kvyat was sixthahead of his Toro Rossoteam-mate Pierre Gasly,Carlos Sainz of McLaren,Nico Hulkenberg ofRenault and Lando Norrisin the second McLaren.

Wolff admitted that it wasunhelpful for Hamiltonthat he is without his usualrace engineer Peter ‘Bono’Bonnington in Mexico andAustin next weekend, as hehas stayed in Britain torecovery from surgery.

“It’s not great, but it iswhat it is,” he said. “Notideal. It’s tough. Rain might be a help here thisweekend.” — AFP

Lewis HHamilton

Tiger Woods of the United States watches his tee shot onthe fifth hole in Tokyo on Saturday. — AP

Stefanos Tsitsipas ofGreece reacts during amatch in Basel. — AP

Wissam’s goalsinks NantesNNaanntteess ((FFrraannccee)),, OOcctt..2266:: Prolific strikerWissam Ben Yeddergrabbed his ninth goalof the season asMonaco handed Nantestheir first home Ligue 1defeat of the campaignon Friday.

Ben Yedder struck inthe first half and hadtwo more efforts ruledout for offside asLeonardo Jardim’srejuvenated Monacoclinched a fourth winin their last five leagueoutings.

They move intoeighth place in thetable while Nantes staysecond, five pointsbehind leaders ParisSaint Germain whotake on bitter rivalsMarseille on Sunday.

Nantes’ defeat endedtheir perfect record athome this seasonwhich had seen foursuccessive 1-0 wins

over Montpellier,Reims, Rennes andNice.

“It’s important to winaway from home for thefirst time this season,”said Jardim after BenYedder became the firstMonaco player in 50years to score ninegoals in his first ninegames in a season.

“Ben Yedder wasalways very effective atToulouse and Sevilla.He is also in a betterphysical conditionthan at the beginningof the season.”

Ben Yedder grabbedthe only goal after 22minutes when hepicked up a pass fromAlexsandr Golovin tounleash a fierce rightfoot drive into the roofof the net.

He found net againbut he had strayed off-side and the goal wasruled out. — AFP

Olympic, Tour de Francedreams drive FroomeSSaaiittaammaa ((JJaappaann)),, OOcctt.. 2266::Still limping heavily,Chris Froome is fightingback from less than zero,he told AFP on Saturday,in what he describes asan unprecedented bid towin another Tour deFrance in 2020.

Froome, the winner offour Tour de Francetitles, fractured a thigh,elbow and vertebrae in ahigh speed crash in June.On Sunday he plans tomake a statement ofintent.

On Sunday Froome willrace in an exhibition-style team time-trial forIneos at Saitama, Japan.While on Friday, he alsorode part of July’s TokyoGames road race route.

“The accident has cer-tainly changed me, givenme a new start,” said adetermined lookingFroome.

“It’s like starting fromzero again, below zero ifyou like, that’s what itfeels like,” he said, hisvoice wavering slightly.

“But it’s completelychanged my motivation,given me a challenge I’venever had before. This

could be perceived as anincredibly difficult andnegative situation, butI’ve tried to turn thataround to try andachieve somethingunprecedented.”

Froome will be 35 yearsold when the Tourembarks from Nice nextJune. With three otherGrand Tour winners onthe Ineos roster, heknows the size of thechallenge ahead, notleast building up thestrength in his injuredleg.

“I’ve got to get the legsback to 50-50 (instead of65-35 strength balance),”says the Africa-bornBriton, clearly dragginghis right leg as he walks.

“I’ve still got more sur-

gery (in December) toremove a big metal plateand about six screws. It’squite tender, the muscleand soft tissue that’sbeing impacted by thismetal plate on my hip,”he says.

“Get back to whereI left off”

Before the accident,Froome made no secretof his ambition to equalthe five Tours de Francewon by Eddy Merckx,Jacques Anquetil,Bernard Hinault andMiguel Indurain, but isnow focussed just onstarting another one.

“The Tour de France isthe driving force, the bigprize for me is to try andget back to the Tour deFrance, it’s still too earlyto say if it’s doable. I’mgoing to do everything Ican to get back to where Ileft off,” he says.

Froome says the unusu-al 2020 Tour de Franceroute is double motiva-tion.

“It’s a Tour de Francewe haven’t seen fordecades.” — AFP

●● Froome fractureda thigh, elbow andvertebrae in acrash in June

●● On Sunday hewill race in anexhibition-styleteam time-trial

Hamilton’s title hopes fadeafter Mexico practice flop

GamesSUNDAY | 27 OCTOBER 2019 | NEW DELHITHE ASIAN AGE

WorriedPep Guardiola insists Manchester City will not buy a player inthe January transfer window despite admitting he is concernedabout his team’s growing list of injuries in defence

SHORT TAKES

We said at half time,keep your speed in

the game and wehave to punish

them— Brendan Rodgers, Leicester

City manager after thrashingSouthampton 9-0 in the EPL

DDeellhhii:: India’s top 9 ultra run-ners, Bengaluru’s Ullas

Narayana and Delhi’s ApoorvaChaudhary, will lead the coun-try’s challenge in the IAU 24-hour World Championship in

Albi, France, over this weekend.Narayana, a veteran runner from

Bengaluru who works inVancouver (Canada) now, quali-

fied for the WorldChampionship by covering amind-boggling 250.371 kmsduring the 24-hour Stadium

Run a couple of months back.Among women, Delhi’s Apoorva

covered 176.8kms to becomeIndia’s top candidate and bothwill fancy their chances in the

gruelling competition.The 9 runners, including 5 men

and 4 women, have beenselected by the Athletics

Federation of India, and arebeing sponsored by IDBI

Federal Life Insurance. A five-member support crew, includ-

ing 3 ultra marathon runnersand a leading sports medicine

specialist, are part of the travel-ling contingent. — PTI

MMuussccaatt:: Indian cadet girls onSaturday defeated ChineseTaipei 3-1 to grab the gold

medal in the ITTF Junior CircuitPremium Oman Open here.

The Indian paddlers ended theday with a total of four medals

in the cadet events while thejuniors bagged three.

The B team in the girls cadetevent lost their matches to

India A and Chinese Taipei butregistered wins over Greece,

England and Sri Lanka to endup with the bronze medal.

The Indian cadet boys teamsalso added two bronze medals

when they failed to go past thesemi-final hurdle, as the A andB teams lost to Chinese Taipei

and Russia, respectively.In the junior girls event, both

the Indian teams finished num-ber two and three in group

standings to win the silver andbronze medals. While, in juniorboys category, one of the two

Indian teams won bronze whenit went down 1-3 to Iran in the

semi-finals. — PTI

MMiillaann:: Paulo Dybala scored butJuventus were held 1-1 at lowly

Lecce on Saturday with thedefending champions in danger

of being overtaken by InterMilan at the top of the Serie A

table. Both goals came frompenalties with Dybala’s strike

from the spot after 50 minutescancelled out by Lecce’s Marco

Mancosu’s effort six minuteslater. The Italian champions

have 23 points from nine games,but could be overtaken by

Antonio Conte’s Inter who aretwo points behind before host-

ing Parma later on Saturday.Juventus rested Portuguese star

Cristiano Ronaldo afterTuesday’s 2-1 Champions

League win over LokomotivMoscow, and ahead of two Serie

A matches in four days nextweek. But Dybala, who scored

both goals against the Russians,started up front alongside

Gonzalo Higuain, with FedericoBernardeschi just behind the

Argentine strike duo.Maurizio Sarri gave starts to

Emre Can and Danilo with BlaiseMatuidi and Juan Cuadrado

starting on the bench.Promoted Lecce, a side from

the heel of Italy, are strugglingabove the relegation zone, butmanaged to pull through for a

precious point despite beingdominated by the visitors.

Slovenian midfielder Zan Majerforced a save from Juventus

goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesnyafter just two minutes.

Dybala was targeted early bythe Lecce defenders with LucaRossettini and Marco Calderoni

picking up yellow cards earlyfor fouling the Argentine for-

ward.Higuain looked as he had the

opener after a quarter of anhour finishing off Alex Sandro’s

cross, but his effort was ruledfor offside. — AFP

SSoouutthhaammppttoonn,, OOcctt.. 2266::Leicester boss BrendanRodgers hailed his team as“ruthless” for their record-equalling 9-0 rout ofSouthampton in thePremier League on Fridayas besieged Saints coachRalph Hasenhuttl insisted:‘Blame me’.

Ayoze Perez and JamieVardy both hit hat-tricks asRodgers’ side moved sec-ond in the table.

The rout equalledManchester United’s 9-0demolition of Ipswich atOld Trafford in March 1995for the biggest win inPremier League history.

“We were ruthless. I’mvery proud to stand and bethe manager of that team,”said Rodgers after a gameplayed out in driving rainat St Mary’s Stadium.

“A mark of the good sidesis you don’t let up. Wewanted to show we’re agood side and we certainlydid that in the second half.

“We were ruthlessly sim-ple in our game. Whenyou’re so many goals upyou can easily slow but wekept focused. We want to bea top team and to be a topteam you must be clinical.”

Hasenhuttl saw his teamslip into the bottom threeand he pulled no punchesafter a performance whichalso saw RyanBertrand red-carded after 10minutes.

“The per-

formance was a disasterand I have to apologise andtake 100 percent responsi-bility — I’ve never seen ateam act like this, therewas no fight for anything,”admitted the Saints’ coach.

Southampton midfielderNathan Redmond added:“It was an embarrassingperformance, the stuff ofnightmares.”

Leicester are just fivepoints behind league lead-ers Liverpool, who hostTottenham on Sunday.

Ben Chilwell began thedestruction in the 10thminute when he tapped inon the rebound, and RyanBertrand’s red card —awarded via VAR for a latetackle on Perez in thebuild-up to the opener —helped the away side openthe floodgates. — AFP

‘Ruthless’Leicester

rout Saints

LLoonnddoonn,, OOcctt..2266:: PepGuardiola wasr e l i e v e dManchesterCity foundt h e i rrhythm intime to close thegap on PremierLeague leadersLiverpool to threepoints as RaheemSterling inspired a 3-0 win overAston Villa on Saturday.

Guardiola’s side survived a tameopening period as second half goalsfrom Sterling, David Silva and IlkayGundogan put Villa to the sword.

Guardiola’s side closed the gap onPremier League leaders Liverpool tothree points thanks to goals from RaheemSterling, David Silva and Ilkay Gundoganat the Etihad Stadium.

But City boss Guardiola was frustratedwith the way his players struggled toestablish any momentum in the first half,just days after they fell behind againstAtalanta in the Champions League beforeeventually winning 5-1.

He fears City will be caught out in futureif they continue to play so lethargically inthe first half. “Of course, respect andcredit for Aston Villa. The first half weplayed football but we don’t play in theway we should play,” Guardiolasaid.

“We were better in the secondhalf. I don’t know if it wasbecause of the early goal.

“In the second we play in theway we normally are but wehave to try and play 90 minutes.We played just 45.”

City’s second successiveleague win means Liverpool areunder pressure to beatTottenham at Anfield inSunday’s clash between last sea-son’s Champions League final-ists.

At the Amex Stadium, Evertonblew a 2-1 lead in the final 10minutes to leave Silva fightingto save his job. Silva’s side werein trouble after 15 minutes whenPascal Gross smashed a free-kick past Jordan Pickford forhis first goal since April.

Everton drew level five min-utes later when Richarlison metLucas Digne’s corner with aheader that deflected offBrighton defender AdamWebster into his own net.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin cameoff the bench to put Evertonahead from Mason Holgate’spass in the 74th minute.

SSIILLVVAA WWOOEESSHowever, Brighton’s Neal Maupay scoredan 80th minute penalty after MichaelKeane was controversially ruled by VARto have fouled Aaron Connolly.

And Everton defender Digne added toSilva’s woes when his stoppage-time owngoal from Leandro Trossard’s cross leftEverton two points above the relegationzone after their fifth defeat in their lastsix league games.

Watford remain bottom of the table aftera 0-0 draw against Bournemouth.

The Hornets are still without a leaguewin this season and haven’t won in ninehome league games dating back to April.

Lys Mousset finished a memorable weekon a high note with the equaliser inSheffield United’s 1-1 draw at West Ham.

The hosts took the lead in the 44thminute through Robert Snodgrass’s coolfinish from Andriy Yarmolenko’s pass.

— AFP

Sterling show rocks Villa

PPaarriiss,, OOcctt.. 2266:: AceIndian shuttler P.V.Sindhu failed to stopher recent-run of earlyexits after the reigningworld championcrashed out in thequarterfinals of theFrench Open after athree-game defeat totop seed Tai Tzu Ying ofChinese Taipei here.

The fifth seededIndian went down 16-21, 26-24, 17-21 to theworld number oneshuttler in a hard-fought match that last-ed one hour 15 minuteson Friday night.

This the 10th timeSindhu had lost to TzuYing, who now enjoys adominant 10-5 recordover the Indian.

Sindhu had lastdefeated the AsianGames gold medalliston the way to her maid-en WorldChampionship title inAugust. The 24-year-oldIndian had also got thebetter of Tzu Ying dur-ing 2016 Olympicsbefore knocking out thenumber one women’ssingles player in theWorld Tour Finals lastyear.

This was also worldnumber six, Sindhu’sfourth successive earlyexit from a tournamentsince claiming theWorld Championshipat Basel, Switzerland inAugust. The Indian hasstruggled to find formsince then. — PTI

NNeeww DDeellhhii,, OOcctt.. 2266:: TheAsian FootballConfederation onSaturday recognised theIndian Super League asthe country’s premiercompetition while recom-mending the AIFF to“open a pathway” for twoI-League clubs’ entry intoISL by the end of 2020-21season.

The AFC’s executivecommittee approved AllIndia FootballFederation’s proposedroadmap for the country’ssport during a meeting inVietnam.

In a release on Indianfootball’s roadmap, theAFC stated, “In season2019-20, the ISL will attainthe status of premierleague competition inIndian football.”

Another key recommen-dation by the AFC is toopen a “pathway for two I-League clubs’ entry intothe ISL by the end of the2020-21 season, subject tothe criteria being ful-filled”.

The top continentalbody will allow the win-ning ISL club to representIndia in the AFCChampions League play-offs, and the I-League win-ner will get to play in theAFC Cup play-off.

The endorsement comesdays after the AFC held asummit in Kuala Lumpuron October 14. — PTI

Sindhu bows outof French Open

Cadet TT girls grabgold in Oman Open

AFC RECOGNISESISL AS INDIA’STOP LEAGUE

Live on TVPPRREEMMIIEERR LLEEAAGGUUEE

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DYBALA SCORESBUT JUVE HELD

BY LOWLY LECCE

CChheennnnaaii,, OOcctt.. 2266:: IndianSuper League actionreturns to the southernmetropolis for the firsttime this season asChennaiyin FC take onMumbai City FC in theiropening home game of theseason here on Sunday.

The fans of Hero ISL sea-son 4 champions wouldhope for a better perform-ance from their team aftera terrible campaign lasttime which saw them fin-ish rock-bottom.

“First game in front of

the fans and obviously ourplayers want to make animpression. I don’t carehow we win, we need to getthree points. I’d be delight-ed if we can take maxi-mum points from the nexttwo games,” saidChennaiyin head coachJohn Gregory.

Chennaiyin have not hadthe best of starts, however.They started with a 0-3away defeat to FC Goawhere their defence lookedall at sea against a brilliantattack.

Centre-backs LucianGoian and Eli Sabia didn’thave the best of outingsand could not keep FerranCorominas and co. At bay.But the Romanian centre-back should be pumped toface his former side withwhom he spent two sea-sons.

The Islanders are brim-ming with confidence aftera tough away win at Kochiin their season openeragainst Kerala BlastersFC. However, they do havea few concerns. — PTI

CHENNAIYIN SEEK HOME COMFORT

Asamoah Gyan (centre) of NorthEast United FC celebrates after scoring the winning goalagainst Odisha FC in the ISL on Saturday.

GGuuwwaahhaattii,, OOcctt.. 2266:: Starstriker Asamoah Gyanhanded NorthEast UnitedFC their first victory ofthe Indian Super Leagueafter netting the winnerin a 2-1 result againstOdisha FC here onSaturday.

The home team drewfirst blood when RedeemTlang scored the quickestgoal of the season (2’).Odisha equalised throughXisco Hernandez (71’)before defender CarlosDelgado was sent off.

The Highlanders madetheir advantage countthrough Gyan whopopped up with a headersix minutes from time.

The win takesNorthEast to the top ofthe table while Odishaslumped to their secondloss in as many matches.

The hosts enjoyed thebest possible start to thegame when they roaredinto the lead with just twominutes on the clock.

Martin Chaves startedthe move with a run downthe left flank before find-ing Panagiotis Triadisdown the middle. TheGreek midfielder foundTlang in space down theright and the youngstertucked a finish pastArshdeep Singh to sendthe home crowd into rap-tures.

NorthEast lookedassured in possession fol-lowing the opener andcaused a few problems forthe Odisha defence.

— PTI

Gyan heads winner for Highlanders

Leicester CCity pplayers ccele-brates ttheir 99-00 wwin ooverSouthampton. — AAFP

Manchester City’sRaheem Sterling cele-brates after scoringagainst Aston Villa intheir English PremierLeague match at theEtihad Stadium inManchester onSaturday. — AP

Ultra runners aimfor glory in France

Haryana's new govt to be sworn-in today - SPLessons

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