05 IE LC 01F

How an exhibition inAlappuzha has broughttogether over 250 artists

in a show of hope

PAGES 16, 17, 18

THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE

eyeCity Lights andStreets of Colour

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SEPTEMBER5,202120PAGES,`5.00

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CISF proudly remembers the supreme sacrifice ofthis brave-heart. On this day, he laid down his life atthe altar of duty while fighting with the terrorists.His courage and bravery would remain an abidingsource of inspiration for the force. The force willremain eternally indebted to him for his noble deed.

: CORRIGENDUM-1 :

Following rectification is made in E-Tender Notice No.16 of 2021-22 of

Executive Engineer Ukai Division No.1 Ukai PIN CODE NO.394680

Phone No. 02624-233221 Dist: Tapi, Tender Id. 478456

Sr Event Old Date New Date

2. Downloading of tender Dt.21/08/2021 To Dt.21/08/2021 to

Document Dt.04/09/2021 Dt.15/09/2021

up to 18.00 Hrs. up to18.00 Hrs.

3 Tender Uploading Date Dt.21/08/2021 to Dt.21/08/2021 to

Dt.04-09-2021 Dt.04-09-2021

up to 18.00 Hrs. up to 18.00 Hrs.

5 Last date & Physical Dt.13-09-2021 Dt.23-09-2021

submission of document up to 18.00 Hrs. up to 18.00 Hrs.

Tender fee, EMD during Executive Engineer, Executive Engineer,

office hours by RPAD/ Ukai Division No.1, Ukai Division No.1,

Speed Post/Courier Only. Ukai, Ph.No.02624 Ukai, Ph.No.02624

23322221-233289 23322221 -233289

6 P.Q. Bid Opening Date & On Dt.14-09-2021 Dt.24-09-2021

Time 12.00 Hrs 12.00 Hrs

Superintending Superintending

Engineer Ukai Engineer Ukai

Circle (Civil) Circle (Civil)

Ukai Dist: Tapi Ukai Dist: Tapi

Ph.No.02624- Ph.No.02624-

233270, 233269 233270, 233269

- All other conditions/Provisions of Tender wil remain unchanged.

- In future if any Other Change and/or correction in Tender Documents

is done, it will be done online on www.nprocure.com

Further details please visit us at above stated office during office hours.

details re also available on web site www.nprocure.com other condi-

tions remains unchanged. No.: INF-Surat/581/2021

SARDAR SAROVER

NARMADA NIGAM LIMITED(A Wholly owned Govt. of

Gujarat Undertaking)

Works under the Chief Engineer (E&M), SSNNL,

NPHP, Indira Avenue, Block-A/2nd Floor, Vadodara-

390 001. (Phone No. 0265- 2413396).

Tender Notice No. 16 of 2021-22

(Tender 10: 480031)

Name of Work: Point wiring on as & when required

basis for the period of 01 year under Electrical &

Mechanical Division, N.P.H.P., Sardar Sarovar

Narmada Nigam Limited at Kevadia Colony.

(i) Estimated Cost : Rs. 13.79 lakh.

(ii) Last Date/Time of online bid submission : Dtd:

14/09/2021, Up to 18.00 hrs

For further details please visit website https :

www.ssnnl.nprocure.com. and www.sardarsarovar-

dam.org (INF-VAD-663-21-22)

Gujarat Water Supply & Sewerage Board

TENDER NOTICE NO.11 OF 2021-22

Tender I.D. No. 480126

Executive Engineer Public Health Works Division, GWSSB

Kothi Record tower Building, Raovpura, Vadodara 390001

NAME OF WORK ::- "Design, Bulid and Operate contract for

Working Survey, Soil Investigation, Design, Constructing of

WTP Structure, Providing, Supplying, Lowering, Laying,

Jointing Testing and Commissioning of PVC/DI Pipeline.

Designing and Constructing RCC U/G Sumps. Pump House,

Satff Quarters, Compound Wall, C.C. Approach Road, Grading

of HW Pumping Machinery and Miscellaneous Project

Supporting Work with Headwork Development including

Supply, Installation, Tesllng and Commissioning (SITC) of

Pumping Machinery with all allied work complete and

Electncification at Various H/W including Three Month trial run

period, with Three Years Difect Libility Post Completion O & M

for Five (5) years /(60 Months) for SAVLI (Augmantation)

Phease-ll REGIONAL WATER SUPPLY SCHEME Ta. Savali

Dist. Vadodara.

1 Tender Amount Rs. Rs 92.84 Cr.

2 E.M.D. Amount Rs. 92,84,270-00

3 Tender Fees Rs. 30000.00

4 Tender Document Start Date Date :- 02/09/2021

5 Online Submission Date :- Date :- 23/09/2021

6 Last Date & Time for Receipt of Date :- 24/09/2021

Bids (Physically) 15.00 Hours

"AA' class Registered Contractors under CPWD / Irrigation / R

& B Gujarat State & other State For details regarding on line

tenders. Corrigendum will available online only. Please Visit

websites https://gwssb.nprocure.com and

www.statetemders.gujarat.gov.in for further information please

contact Last date for on line tenders

Grievances related to services of Gujarat Water supply &

Sewerage Board for Rural drinking water supply can be

lodged on toll free helpline number 1916

(INF-VAD-664-21-22)






NAME OF WORK ::- Working Survey, Soil Investigation,

Design, Constructing, Testing and Commissioning of Intake

well cum pump house with approach bridge Including all

allied works WTP Construction of RCC UG Sumo at

HW/SHW and Village level RCC ESR Staff quarter

approach Road Rising and Gravity main Compound wall

Chlonnatlon room Pumping Machinery and Miscellaneous

project supporting work with Headwork Development

Including Supply, InstallatIon, Testing and Commissioning of

Pumping Machinery with all allied work Including 3 Month

Trial Run and 3 Years Defect Liability Period and post tam-

plet on 0 & M for Five years complete for Desar Regional

Water Supply Scheme for Taluka Desar District Vadodara

Guarat.

1 Tender Amount Rs. Rs 71.61 Lacs

2 E.M.D. Amount Rs. 71,61,023-00

3 Tender Fees Rs. 30000.00





"AA' class Registered Contractors under CPWD / Irrigation /

R & B Gujarat State & other State For details regarding on

line tenders. Corrigendum will available online only. Please

Visit websites https://gwssb.nprocure.com and

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please contact Last date for on line tenders




(INF-VAD-665-21-22)






NAME OF WORK ::- "Design, Bulid and Operate contract for

Working Survey, Soil Investigation, Design, Build and Operate

contract for Designing Constructing of WTP Structure,

Providing, Supplying, Lowering, Laying, Jointing Testing and

Commissioning of PVC/DI Pipeline. Designing and

Constructing RCC U/G Sumps. Pump House, Satff Quarters,

Compound Wall, C.C. Approach Road, Grading of HW

Pumping Machinery and Miscellaneous Project Supporting

Work with Headwork Development including Supply,

Installation, Tesllng and Commissioning (SITC) of Pumping

Machinery with all allied work complete and Electncification at

Various H/W including Three Month trial run period, with Three

Years Difect Libility Post Completion O & M for Five (5) years

/(60 Months) for Vadodara South Zone Regional Water Supply

Scheme

1 Tender Amount Rs. Rs 3602.00 Lacs

2 E.M.D. Amount Rs. 36,02,860.00

3 Tender Fees Rs. 24,000.00





"AA' class Registered Contractors under CPWD / Irrigation / R

& B Gujarat State & other State For details regarding on line

tenders. Corrigendum will available online only. Please Visit

websites https://gwssb.nprocure.com and

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contact Last date for on line tenders




(INF-VAD-660-21-22)

Tender Notice No. 11/2021-22

Panchayat R&B Division

District Panchayat, MehsanaTenders are invited through E-Tendering by the Executive Engineer, Panchayat R& B Division, Mehsana (Phone No.02762-222308) from the contractors regis-tered with Gujarat State, R & B Department. 1 Works of OWR MMGSY, 3 Worksof SCSP MMGSY, 1 Works of Suvishapalh, 1 Work of Panchayatgar, 2 Work ofAnganwadi, 1 Works Of Pashudvakhana. All over tolal Amounting to Rs.549.60lacs. Date of Downloading Last-09.09.2021 Up to, Last Date of On-lineSubmission- 15.09.2021, Date of opening Tender on line-16.09.2021, Receivingdate of EMD, Tender fee and other documents-22.09.2021 Tender documentscan be seen down-load and submission on www.rnb.nprocure.com

No:DDI/MEH/213/2021/22

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TENDER NOTICE

Tenders are invited for Hiring vehicle Close Body Jeep,

Replacement of fail/Amorphous TC, Erection & Maintenance

of HT LT Line & TC Work, Labour Charge for underground

work of 11kv XLPE cable. The details of the tender can be

viewed on www.ugvcl.com.

Superintending Engineer,

CO, Himatnagar

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WEBSITE: www.gsecl.in E&P Dept-GoG: http://guj-epd.gov.in

Tender notice (WTPS/S/WebT/05/2021, WTPS/S/ET/05/2021

& WTPS/W/WebT/05/2021, WTPS/W/ET/05/2021) for supply

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Ahmedabad

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEAHMEDABAD,SEPTEMBER4

DURINGHIS visit to Gujarat onSaturday,UnionMinisterofStatefor Social Justice and Empower-mentRamdasAthawalesaidthatPatidarsor thePatel communityinGujarat cannotbe includedas

OBC (Other Backward Class) forreservationsandalsosaidthathisRepublican Party of India sup-portsone-childpolicy.In response, Deputy Chief

Minister Nitin Patel later saidthatexpandingtheOBClistnowis in the purview of state gov-ernments and any remarksfrom “an outsider” about the

samecanbedisregarded.Interactingwithmediaper-

sons at the Circuit House inAhmedabad, Athawale said,“TheycannotbeincludedamongOBC,butadifferentcategorycanbe made for them and givenreservation”,andaddedthateco-nomicallybackwardMarathasof

CONTINUEDONPAGE4

Patidars of Gujarat cannot be includedas OBC for reservation, says Athawale

SHIVANINAIKMUMBAI, SEPTEMBER4

THERE'SANawazuddinSiddiquisoundtrack playing behind theinscrutable face that PramodBhagat wears to any match —eventheonewheretheSL3classshuttlerhadIndia'sfirsteverpara

badmintonmedal,agold,aroundhisneckaftera21-14,21-17final.His buddy Sukant Kadam,

worldNo.5inSL4,andhisroom-mate, startedchantingBhagat's

CONTINUEDONPAGE4

PramodBhagatcelebrates inTokyoonSaturday. Express

I just tell myself that I’m the best: Onemore India para story with gold lining

How an exhibition inAlappuzha has broughttogether over 250 artists

in a show of hope

PAGES 16, 17, 18

THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE

eyeCity Lights andStreets of Colour

AHMEDABAD,LATECITY

SEPTEMBER5,202120PAGES,`5.00

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMD A I L Y F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , C H A N D I G A R H , D E L H I , J A I P U R , K O L K A T A , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , N A G P U R , P U N E , V A D O D A R A

Engagement limited,needtowatchPakactionswith fine-toothcomb:FS

SHUBHAJITROYNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER4

DAYS AFTER Indiamade publicits first official contactwith theTaliban,ForeignSecretaryHarshVardhan Shringla has said NewDelhi’s engagement has been“limited” and the Taliban haveindicated that theywill be “rea-sonable” in theway they “han-dle” Indianconcerns.Speaking to the media in

WashingtonDCaftermeetingUSofficials, Shringla said:

“Obviously, likeus, theyarealsowatchingcarefully andwehavetowatchPakistan’sactionswitha fine-tooth comb.” Hewas re-ferringtotheUSadoptingawait-and-watch policy on the situa-tionevolving inAfghanistan.UnderliningthatIndiatoohas

asimilarpolicy,hesaid,“Thatdoesnotmeanyoudon’tdoanything.Itsimplymeans that youhave to...the situation is very fluid on theground,youhavetoallowittoseehow it evolves. You have to seewhethertheassurancesthathave

CONTINUEDONPAGE4

TALIBANANDOPPOSITIONBATTLEFORCONTROLOFPANJSHIR VALLEYPAGE15

SHUBHAJITROYNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER4

DEMONSTRATINGITScloutovertheTaliban leadership andanx-ious to find berths in the newKabul regime for people it hadnurturedovertheyears,Pakistansent ISI chief Lt General FaizHameedtoKabulSaturday.The Pakistani spy chief

landed in the city amid hecticnegotiationswithin the Talibanonthegovernancestructure.Theannouncementofthegoverningcouncil, expected Saturday, hasbeen delayed because of back-channelnegotiations.The sense in New Delhi is

that factions and groupswithinthe Taliban are jockeying forpowerful positions in the newgovernment inKabul.AndtheISIchief,accordingto

sources in Delhi, has gone toAfghanistan to smoothen theprocess of government forma-tionamongvariousgroups.Photographs of Lt General

Hameed having tea withCONTINUEDONPAGE4

GROUNDWORKFORLIKELYPMVISITTOU.S. THISMONTH&2+2DIALOGUE INNOVEMBER

Afamily fromAfghanistancrosses intoPakistanat theborder townofChamanonSaturday.Reuters

As Taliban factionsbicker, ISI chiefin Kabul to findberths for HaqqanisGovtannouncementdelayed;BajwasaysPakwill ‘assist’Talibaninformingadmn

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER4

MOVINGTOenddecadesofvio-lenceinKarbiAnglonginAssam,the Centre signed a tripartiteagreementSaturdaywithfivein-surgent groups from the regionandthestategovernment.The agreement grants

greaterdevolutionofautonomyto the Karbi AnglongAutonomousCouncilapartfromprovidingprotectiontothe lan-guage,cultureandidentityoftheregion and reservation to theKarbipeople.Theconsolidatedfundof the

state, the government said,wouldbeaugmentedtosupple-mentthedevelopmentofthere-gion. A special developmentpackage of Rs 1000 crore over

CONTINUEDONPAGE4

LOCATEDINcentralAssam,KarbiAnglongisthestate’slargestdistrictandamelt-ingpotofethnicitiesandtribalgroups—Karbi,Dimasa,Bodo,Kuki,Hmar,Tiwa,Garo,Man(Taispeak-ers),RengmaNaga. Itsdi-versityalsospawneddiffer-entoutfitsandfuelledaninsurgencythatdidnotal-lowtheregiontodevelop.Thisagreementhopestoputthat inthepast.

Meltingpot,onboil for long

Pact with 5 rebelgroups raiseshopes of peacein Karbi Anglong WORLD

Shringla:TalibanindicatedwillbereasonableonIndiaconcerns

Pakistan’sISI chief LtGeneralFaizHameed

Water,or lackof it, connectsDholavira to itsHarappanpast. PAGE12

Living with Indus Valley

SUNDAY STORY

NOIDADM IN LINEFORGOLDPAGE 19

Ahmedabad

THESECONDPAGE4 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM


Patidars ofGujarat cannotbe included asOBC forreservation, saysAthawaleMaharashtra,PatidarsofGujarat,Jats of Haryana and UttarPradesh and Rajputs ofRajasthanwhoearnlessthanRs8lakhayearshouldgetreserva-tion.Reacting to the comment

later in the day, Nitin Patel saidin Gandhinagar, “Recently, asper the law passed in theParliament by the Governmentof India, any state governmentcan include any caste or com-munitywithintheOBClistafterconductingasurvey.SonowanyremarksmadebytheanyUnionministeroranyleaderfromapo-liticalpartyisnotneeded,”Patelsaidonthesidelinesofanevent.“The Gujarat government

need not worry about any re-marks made about a commu-nity fromGujarat by a leader oroutsider,” he said that the rulesand process for conducting thesurvey for inclusionof commu-nities within OBC list is yet tocomefromtheCentre.TheUnionministersaidthat

hewill speak to Chief MinisterVijayRupaniabouttheatrocitieshappening against Dalits in thestate,andalsosaidthathispartysupportsone-childpolicyasthepopulationgrowth in thecoun-tryneedstobecontrolledforen-suringdevelopment.“In comparison to other

states, the development inGujaratisbetter,”Athawalesaidduringhis interactionwithme-diapersonsattheCircuitHouse.Thereisaneedtocontrolthe

populationforthedevelopmentof the country, irrespective ofwhether it is the population ofHindusorMuslims,he saidandadded, “If we adopt one family,one child (policy),wewouldbeable to reduce population. Fornowwe have ‘humdo, hamaredo’... Our party’s stand is that toreducepopulation,thereshouldbealawfor‘humdo,hamaraek,(one family, one child).” Headdedthathewouldtakeuptheissue with Prime MinisterNarendraModi.Whenaskedaboutatrocities

on Dalits in Gujarat, theminis-tersaid,“Theattemptofourgov-ernment is to give justice toeveryone.Eventoday,atrocitiesare committed onDalits acrossthe country and casteism stillexists... If a Dalit wears goodclothes,peopledonot like it. If aDalit rides a horse for hismar-riage, it is not liked by others.Same is the case, if a Dalit buysproperty.Buttheattemptofourgovernmentistochangethissit-uation.”

“I have sought time tomeetthe chief minister. Our party iscommitted to protecting therights of Dalits. I will talk to thechiefministerifanythingspecialneeds to be done regarding theatrocities,”headded.Earlier this year, The Indian

Express had reported aboutcasesofatrocities—aDalitmaninViramgamattackedforsport-ing amoustache inMay, a DalitRTI activist hacked to death inBhavnagar in March, a Dalitfarmer assaulted over land dis-puteinJuly—andstone-peltingat thewedding processing of aDalit Army jawan who rode ahorse inBanaskanthadistrict inFebruary,2020.Askedaboutarecentremark

of Gujarat deputyCMthat peo-plewould be able to talk aboutConstitution and secularismonlysolongasHindusareinma-jority,hesaid therewasnopos-sibility of Hindu populationdwindling.“Hindus remain Hindu and

MuslimsremainMuslim.Hardlyone or twoHindus orMuslimsconvert. The Constitution givespeopletherighttodowhattheylike, but nobody can force anypersontocovert,”Athawalesaid,speaking to reportershere.About the upcoming

Assembly elections in Gujarat,Athawale said his RepublicanPartyof IndiawillalignwiththeBJP for the elections. “The at-temptwill be to getmore seatsthan last time,”hesaid.WithPTI inputs

Best para storyfavouritelinefromthegrittyfilmManjhi: "Jab tak todenge nahin,tab tak chhodenge nahin." Hewouldn'tleaveDanielBethell,tillhebroke theEnglishman.While SL3 refers to players

with standing or lower limb orminor impairments, SL4 hasplayers with more severe im-pairments.Down 4-11 in the second

game at Tokyo, with thematchdrifting away seemingly into adecider, Bhagat would go intowhat Kadam calls his Dhonimode. "Hekeepsunreallycalm,never reacts and enjoys thesesituationswherehehastomakeup leads," he says, of the 2009,’15and ’19worldchamp.Bhagat keeps it simple: "I

just tell myself I'm the best.Chill." It's what he told himselfevery timehe steppedonto thecourt — at Attabira in Odisha,where he took to badminton,thinking the outdoor court awalk in the park, despite thepolio-afflicted left leg dragginghis movements; when he re-alised what acute povertymeant, with a couple adoptinghim and encouraging him toplay every sport; andwhen af-ter threeworld singles titles, hefoundhimself inaParalympicfi-nal,wantingtocapacareerwiththeabsolutegold.

Bhagat would kickstartIndia's journey in badminton'sdebut at the Paralympics, withthecountryexpectingthreemoremedals, including gold fromNoidaDistrictMagistrate SuhasLYandKrishnaNagar,Sunday.Manish Narwal won India's

thirdgoldmedalSaturday inP4Mixed 50m Pistol SH1 event(arm impairment to lesser ex-tent) while Singhraj Adhanabrought up a 1-2 finish in theevent,withasilver.ManojSarkarbagged the bronze behindBhagat inSL3.Shooter Avani Lakhera will

also aim to match JoginderSingh'srecordofthreemedalsin

oneParalympicsSunday.India is alreadywell past its

besteverParalympicsperform-ance,with17medals, including4golds,andis26thonthemedaltable.Kadamrecallsthetimespent

with the newlyminted cham-pion, whomhe foundwithoutairs andwith a dramatic senseof humour, peppering bad-minton analyses with movielines."Hesleepsveryfewhours.Heisconstantlyintobadminton,andlovesthesport,philosophis-ing on it. "Neend raat bhar kyunnahinaati... Pehleaati thi haal-e-

dil pehansi, abkisi baat penahin

aati(Whycan't Isleepallnight...

Earlier Iwasable to laughat thepredicament of my heart, butnowIamunabletolaughatany-thing)" — unable to sleep onenightinTokyo,thisMirzaGhalibcouplet is what Bhagat wouldtexthisAcademymates.On Saturday though, he

would goof about at themedalceremony, after pulling off thesilent heist with an 11-pointrally. "Pointbypoint,"hewouldsaylaterofhismeticulousaccu-mulation of winners, inducingerrors in theopponent.Bhagat has coached in

schools, riffed inspiration fromthelikesofSachinTendulkar,af-ter whose retirement he

stoppedwatching cricket, andtweaked his 10 pieces of pros-theticstogettheexactonetoaidhim after his ankle bent out-ward. "He is likeascientistwithhis left leg prosthetic. He keepsmakingminute changes on it.Number of shoe pairs = 4.Number of prosthetics = 10,"Kadamsays.Not an attacking player, ob-

sessedwithwinning and sum-moningstrokescannilyfromhisvastbouquet,BhagatwouldnetIndia's historic medal wrongfooting Bethell, who stoppedbackalittle thinkingtheshuttlewould travel further, but theIndianloopeditclose."Heisvery

creativeinstrokes.Thereisade-ceptionmanoeuvre he aces --primes to play a toss, but dropshisracquetwithazap,connect-ingwith shuttle at knee level toconfuse his rival," Kadam says."But it's his legendary calm. Heis never panicky. This goldwasaboutyearsofpatienceandsud-denacceleration,"hesaysaboutthe34-year-old.Soonafterthemedal,Bhagat

would tell Kadam inabrief callhowhe imagined the scenesofhis well-wishers celebrating.Hewaschucklinghowitwouldbe in India, though deep downhewoulddedicatethemedaltohisbiologicalandadoptivepar-ents who raised him. "He losthis mother at the start of thepandemic.ThenTokyogotcan-celled and he was depressed,"Kadamsays.Bhagat likes excesses in

moderation. "He will live onfruits for days, and go toMcDonald'sandhavethreelargeFrench fries. He loves sweets,kaju katli. So to compensate forthe cheatmeals once in a bluemoon, he eats very little other-wise,"Kadamsays.Bhagat is also known to tell

juniorsthatstadiumsdon'tmat-ter. "They are just placeswhereyou have to win. Drift, condi-tions are all tamed if you focusonwinning,"herecalls.Hewon'tforgetTokyo inahurry though.

Karbi Anglongfive years will be provided forprojects there.Theagreementwassignedin

the presence of Union HomeMinister Amit Shah and AssamChief Minister Himanta BiswaSarma. Those present includedrepresentatives of the KarbiLongri North Cachar HillsLiberation Front (KLNLF),People’s Democratic Council ofKarbi Longri (PDCK), UnitedPeople’s Liberation Army(UPLA),KarbiPeople’sLiberationTigers (KPLT) and the KukiLiberationFront (KLF).ShippingMinister and for-

mer Assam Chief MinisterSarbananda Sonowal, MoS(Home) Nityanand Rai, andKAAC Executive MemberTuliram Ronghang too werepresent.

Shah described the agree-ment as another milestone inPrimeMinisterModi’s vision of“insurgency-free prosperousNorthEast”.Hesaid:“Thisdayisgoingtobewritteningoldenlet-ters in the history of Assam.Today, fivegroupshavedecidedto abjure violence and join themainstream.We are fully com-mitted to their rehabilitation.”“It is our policy to give re-

spect to those who lay downarms and give themmore thanthey demand to help them jointhemainstream,”Shahsaid.Sarma said: “It is a historic

day for Assam. In Karbi, therewasunrestbasedonsomejusti-fieddemands.Itwasalsoaback-ward area. After taking all thisinto consideration, the KarbiAccordwasdrafted.”“In this, for the first time,

KarbiandScheduledTribespeo-ple will get reservation. In noSixth Schedule region, there isprovision for reservation to aScheduledTribe.Thisaccordwillgrant Scheduled Tribe status toKarbi staying in the plains aswell.Wewill alsowork on tak-ingtheKarbilanguagetothena-tional levelasdemandedbytheKarbipeople,”hesaid.The Karbi have been de-

manding a separate state since1946. Later, their movementtooktheshapeofaninsurgencywhich intensified in the 1990s.TheCentresignedvariouscease-fire agreements with differentgroups but there were alwaysbreakawayfactionsthatcontin-uedarmedstruggle.Sarma said the agitation in

Karbi Anglong had startedalongwiththeAssamagitation.He said the accord was in linewith the government bringingpeace in the Bodoland regionandsigninganagreementwiththeBrus.The Memorandum of

Settlement, theMHA said, willensuregreaterdevolutionofau-tonomy to the Karbi AnglongCouncil, protection of identity,language, culture, etc. of Karbipeople. Assam shall set up aKarbi Welfare Council for fo-cused development of Karbislivingoutside theKAACarea.

FULLREPORTSON

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beenmadepubliclyareactuallymaintainedontheground, andhowthingsworkout.”“Our engagement with

them (the Taliban) has beenlimited. It’s not that we have(had) a robust conversation.Butwhateverconversationwehavehadsofar,theyhavebeensort of... At least, the Talibanseemto indicate that theywillbe reasonable in theway theyhandlethis,”hesaid.Deepak Mittal, India’s

Ambassador to Qatar, had ameeting in Doha with SherMohammadAbbasStanekzai,aseniorTalibanleader,onAugust31.Stanekzaiiswidelytippedtobe the foreignminister in theTalibangovernmentexpectedtobeannouncedsoon.Shringlasaid:“Inourstate-

ment,wehavesaidthatwetoldthemwewantthemtobecog-nisant of the fact that thereshould be no terrorism that

emanates from their territorydirected against us, or othercountries; thatwewant themto bemindful of the status ofwomen,minorities and so onsoforth.And,Ithinktheyhave,also, youknow,made reassur-ing... fromtheirside.”Hewas inWashington DC

foraseriesofmeetingswithhisAmericancounterpartandtopofficials of the Biden adminis-tration in addition to interac-tionswithrepresentativesfromthe industry and think-tanks.This was to prepare thegroundworkforPrimeMinisterNarendra Modi’s likely visitlater thismonth.Notingthat thesituation in

Afghanistan is very fluid andmovingfast,ShringlasaidbothIndia and theUSarekeepingaclosewatchonit.“Look,on15thof August, you had a situationwhere (Afghan) President(Ashraf) Ghani suddenly left.

You had the Taliban come in.Thesituationismovingsofast,it’s so fluid that it is difficult tocomment at this point of timeonanything,”hesaid.At the same time, he said,

the UNSC resolution onAfghanistan, adopted duringIndia’spresidency,makesmen-tionofproscribedentitiesintheUNsanctionslist, includingtheJaish-e-Mohammed and theLashkar-e-Taiba.“We do have concerns

about the free ingress thatthesetwoterroristgroupshavehad in Afghanistan, their role,andwewill watch that care-fully.TheroleofPakistanhastobeseeninthatcontext,”hesaid.Responding to a question,

Shringla said the Americanshave always said the Talibanhave committed to them thattheywillnotallowAfghanter-ritory to be used again in anymanner that is detrimental to

any country outsideAfghanistan.“We are obviously very

muchengagedwith theUSonAfghanistan, on the situationthere,theroleofPakistanthere,and of course looking at howthe situationwould evolve inthatcountry,”hesaid.The fourth annual 2+2dia-

logue between India and theUS,Shringlasaid,wouldbeheldin November this year inWashington. The2+2ministe-rial dialogue takes place be-tween foreign and defenceministersof thetwocountries.External AffairsMinister S

Jaishankar and DefenceMinisterRajnathSinghwill behostedbytheirAmericancoun-terparts Secretary of StateAntony Blinken and SecretaryofDefenceLloydAustinforthefirst 2+2 meeting under theBidenadministration.

--WITHAGENCIES

Shringla: Taliban indicated willbe reasonable on India concerns

Pakistan’s ambassadorMansoor Ahmad Khan at theSerena hotel in Kabul did theroundsof socialmedia.(A PTI report from

IslamabadstatedthatPakistan'sChief of Army Staff GeneralQamarJavedBajwatoldvisitingBritish Foreign SecretaryDominic Raab that Islamabadwill"assist"theTalibantoforman inclusive administration. Itsaid the PakistanObserver re-ported that Gen Bajwa saidPakistanwill “continueto fightfor peace and stability inAfghanistan,aswellasassisttheformation of an inclusive ad-ministration”.)What is almost certain is

that Mullah HaibatullahAkhundzadawill be the coun-

try’s supreme leader andMullah Abdul Ghani Baradarwill be theheadof thegovern-ment.While the ISI is keen to put

theHaqqaniNetwork in influ-entialpositions—fromcouncilmembers to governors inma-jorprovinces--theDohagroupunderBaradar,lookingforinter-nationalacceptability,iskeentohavemoreof itspeople.The ISI chief’s presence in

Kabul displayed Rawalpindi’s“active role” in thenewTalibangovernmentformation,sourcessaid,addingthatifthePakistanishave their way, the HaqqaniNetworkwill begrantedmajorpositionsof influence.In the past, the Haqqani

Networkhas been responsible

for attacks against the IndianEmbassy inKabul, and Indiansinparticular.SourcessaidifKabulisdom-

inatedbyHaqqani’smen,itwilldeter India’s presence in thecountry. Also, if governors ofmajor provinces are peoplefrom theHaqqani Network, itwillbeadifficultroadaheadforIndia.While the global commu-

nity's gaze is on the HaqqaniNetwork and its influence,Qatar and the US have beenlooking especially at theBaradar-ledTalibangroup’srole.Theotherdebateisaboutin-

cluding former PresidentHamidKarzaiandformerpeacenegotiator Abdullah Abdullahinthenewstructure.

Delhi is alsowatching howthe non-Pashtuns are accom-modated, especially ethnicgroups such as the Tajiks,UzbeksandHazaras.Theglobalcommunityisalsogoingtolookfor the presence of women ingovernancestructures.All thesewill be keymark-

ersforan“inclusive”and“repre-sentative”governancestructurebefore theworldengageswiththe Taliban council,whichwillbe styled on the lines of theIraniangovernancesystem.Meanwhile, Russian

President Vladimir Putin hassaid he hopes the Talibanwillbehave in a “civilised”mannerinAfghanistan,sothattheglobalcommunitycanmaintaindiplo-matictieswithKabul.

ISI chief in Kabul to find berths for Haqqanis

RepresentativesofdifferentgroupsatNorthBlock,beforesigningtheKarbiAnglongpeacepact,on Saturday.PTI


A DAY after the CBI arrestedsevenpeopleinconnectionwitha case of alleged rigging of JointEntrance Examination (Mains)examination this year, theCongress on Saturday de-mandedaSupremeCourt-mon-itoredprobeintothe“fraud”andraisedquestions on the reliabil-ity of other examinations con-ducted by the National TestingAgency (NTA).Asking why the Education

Ministry and the NTA shouldnotbeheldliablefor"consistentfrauds" in JEE (Mains) exams in2020 and 2021, the oppositionparty demanded an inquiry ofthe"entire fraud"under thesu-pervision of a sitting SupremeCourt judge.

An official in the NationalTesting Agency denied thechargesthattheagencywasnottaking enough measures toprotest against unfairmeans.Thisofficialpointedoutthat

NTA had, just before theAugust-Septembercycle, intro-duced artificial intelligence-based video analytics to mon-itor “vulnerable test centres”for attempts at examinationmanipulation. This was in ad-dition to measures that TCSiONwas taking to conduct theexamination.TCS iON, the country’s

largest digital assessmentcompany, has been tasked byNTAtoconduct the JEE (Mains)examination online. The com-pany takes care of the logisticsand is also tasked with ensur-ing fair and secure conduct ofexamination.

TheNTA isunlikely todelaythe result of the August-September cycle, The IndianExpress has learnt. “What CBIhasunearthed are cases of un-fair means. As soon as we areinformedof the candidates in-volved,wewill cancel their re-sults,” the senior NTA officialsaid. “This should not be con-fused with paper leak, whichusually merits cancellation oftheexamination. Therewasnoleakage of examination paperhere.”Addressing the media,

CongressspokespersonGauravVallabh said, “How can a stu-dent be ensured that thesetypes of frauds andmanipula-tions have not happened inother examinations conductedbytheNationalTestingAgency?If one of the most prestigiousentranceexaminationsof coun-

tryisnotsparedbythesefrauds,then what is the quality of fu-ture professionals we are gen-erating?”Calling it a “breach”, senior

Congress leader Rahul Gandhitweeted, “JEE (Main) Examhasbeen breached. Students ap-pearing for such competitiveexams prepare very hard, bat-tling difficulties of variouskinds. We, as a nation, owethem a fair exam. GOI is betterat providing cover-ups.”Vallabh said: "From VYA-

PAM to SSC-2017 to CBSE ClassX&XII-2018 to28entranceex-ams in Haryana to JEE Main2020 (Assam Topper Scam) toJEEMain2021—theonly thingcommonisthat theseexamina-tionshavemessedupthefutureof students of our country," theCongress said.The NTA official, however,

pointedoutthat theagencyhadidentified120vulnerablecentresbasedonafewparameters.One,forinstance,waswhetheracen-tre had in the past reported toomany successful candidates —morethanthenationalaverage.Of these 120 centres, 23 wereblacklisted and removed, whilethe remainingwere kept under"specialwatch"with thehelpofspecial observers, the officialsaid.According to the official, in

the examination cycle con-ducted from August 26 toSeptember 2, the NTA hadcaughtninecases inwhichcan-didateswere found to be usingunfairmeansduringtheexami-nationandthesecandidateswillstand debarred from taking theJEE (Mains) for threeyears.

FULLREPORTON

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JEE ‘fraud’: Cong seeks SC-monitored probe

FOR IDOL IMMERSIONArtificiallakeisreadiedbytheVadoadraMunicipalCorporationfortheimmersionof idolsaheadofGaneshChaturthifestival.BhupendraRana

Ahmedabad


THE FIRSTmeeting of the gov-erning body of Vatan PremYojana was held on Saturdaywhereworks to the tune of Rs1,000crorehasbeenproposedtobe completed by December2022.Thegoverningbodyof theVatanPremYojana'ssocietyhadmet inGandhinagar under thechairmanship of ChiefMinisterVijay Rupani, an official releasestatedhere.A presentation of details of

the schemewasmade beforeRupani. Aprojectmanagementunit has been formed for thesmooth implementation of thescheme,while it has also beenmadepossiblefordonorstosendmoneyonline.

Under thescheme launchedlastmonth,NRIs can contribute60percentofthecostofavillage-level project,while the remain-ingwillbebornebythestategov-ernment.TheIndianExpresshadreportedthatVatanPremYojanawas a repackaged version ofMadar-e-Vatan scheme of thestate government which wasrechristeneddueto theassocia-tion of title with Persian lan-guage. The contribution of thestategovernmentandNRIsintheearlierversionoftheschemewas50:50.

The schemewill cover vil-lage-level projects like smartclasses in schools, communityhall, primary health centre,Anganwadi,library,CCTVsurveil-

lance system,water recycling,drainage, sewage treatment,beautification of ponds, bus-stand, solar energy poweredstreetlights,etc.

THNOTICE OF THE 39 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF

THE COMPANY, BOOK CLOSURE AND E-VOTING

For, Munoth Capital Market LimitedSd/-

Siddharth JainDirector

DIN: 00370650

Place: AhmedabadDate:

th4 September, 2021

MUNOTH CAPITAL MARKET LIMITEDCIN: L99999GJ1986PLC083614

Regd. Office: Shanti Nivas, Opp. Shapath-V, Mr. Karnavati Club, S G Road, Ahmedabad-380058.E-mail address: [email protected]; Contact No.: 022-22843144, 22870278, 26937954

Notice is hereby given that :th

1. The 39 Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) of the Members of the Company willth

be held on Wednesday, 29 September, 2021 at 9.00 A.M. through at theregistered office of the Company to transact the ordinary businesses as set outin the notice of AGM.

th2. As per SEBI Circular dated 12 May, 2020, Physical Copy of the Annual Report

thfor the 39 AGM inter-alia is not required to be sent; therefore Annual Report is

thbeing sent only through electronic mode to those Members as on 20 August,2021, whose email addresses are registered with the Company / Depositories.Members whose E-mail id is not registered / updated can register / update theire-mail address.

th3. The Notice of 39 AGM and Annual Report for Financial Year 2020-21 will also

be made available on the Company's website at www.munoth.com, website ofstock exchange i.e. BSE Limited at www.bseindia.com

4. Notice is hereby further given that pursuant to Section 91 of the CompaniesAct, 2013 read with rules made thereunder and as per Regulation 42 of SEBI(LODR) Regulations, 2015, the register of Members and Share Transfer Book

ndof the Company will remain closed from Wednesday, 22 September, 2021 to

th thWednesday, 29 September, 2021 (both days inclusive) for purpose of 39Annual General Meeting.

5. As per Section 108 of the Companies Act, 2013 read with rule 20 of theCompanies (Management and Administration) Rules, 2014 as amended andclause 44 of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosures Requirements)Regulations, 2015, the Company is pleased to provide the members thefacility to cast their votes electronically from a place other than the venue of theAGM (remote E-voting) on all resolutions set forth in the Notice, for which theCompany has engaged the services of National Securities Depository Limitedas the E-voting agency. All the members are informed that;A. The Ordinary Businesses as set out in the notice of AGM may be

transacted through voting by electronic means.th

B. The remote e-voting shall commence on 26 September, 2021 at 09:00th

A.M. & shall end on 28 September, 2021 at 05:00 P.M.C. The cut-off date for determining the eligibility to vote by electronic means

ndor at AGM is Wednesday, 22 September, 2021.

D. Any person, who acquires shares of the Company and become member ofthe Company after dispatch of the Notice of AGM and holding shares as of

ndthe cut-off date i.e Wednesday, 22 September, 2021, may obtain the loginID and password by sending a request at [email protected]. However, ifyou are already registered with NSDL for remote e-voting then you can useyour existing user ID and password for casting your vote.

E. Members may note that a) the remote e-voting module shall be disabled byNSDL after the aforesaid date and time for voting and once the vote on aresolution is cast by the member, the member shall not be allowed tochange it subsequently; b) the facility for voting through ballot paper shallbe made available at the AGM; c) the members who have cast their vote byremote e-voting prior to the AGM may also attend the AGM but shall not beentitled to cast their vote again; and d) a person whose name is recorded inthe register of members or in the register of beneficial owners maintainedby the depositories as on the cut-off date shall only be entitled to avail thefacility of remote e-voting as well as voting in the general meeting.

6. The Company has appointed M/s. KDN & Associates LLP as the Scrutinizer toscrutinise the E-voting process in fair and transparent manner.Any Query or grievance connected with the remote e-voting may be addressed

to the Company Secretary of the Company at E-mail [email protected] you may refer the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Members and remotee-voting user manual for Members available at the download section ofwww.evoting.nsdl.com or call on toll free no.: 1800-222-990 for any furtherclarification.

5THESUNDAYEXPRESS,SEPTEMBER5,2021

GUJARAT


KAMAALSAIYEDSURAT,SEPTEMBER4

HEEDING THE requests fromtextile trading bodies, theWestern Railway has startedoperating special trains totransporttextilegoodstootherparts of the country fromSurat.On September 1,Western

Railway divisional railwaymanager (DRM) GVLSathyakumar flagged off thetraintoKolkatafromChalthanRailwaystationinSurat,inthepresence of members of theFederation of Surat Textiletraders Association (FOSTTA)and Surat Textile GoodsTransport Association(STGTA).A trainwith25wag-onsloadedwith202tonnesoftextilegoodsreachedShalimarstationinKolkatathenextday.On Saturday, Union

Minister of State for RailwaysandTextilesDarshanaJardoshflaggedoffaspecialtrainfromUdhna to Danapur in Patna,Bihar, carrying 136 tonnes offabrics. According to railwaysources, the train generated arevenueofRs.5.86 lakh.InameetingwiththeDRM

recently, representatives ofFOSTTA and STGTA said theywere transporting goodsthrough road and it was ex-pensive,time-consumingandfraughtwithrisk.Sathyakumar assured

them to work out on trainswithasingledestination(rail-waystation)where thegoodsaretobetransportedinquan-tity.“The special trainswill be

allotted on demand... it is agoodbusinessopportunityforthe Western Railway fromSurattextile industry,”saidanofficialofWesternRailway.

FOSTTA secretaryChampalal Bothra said, “Thetextile tradersweretoldto in-form us about their need tosend their goods toKolkataatShalimar Railway station andwe got a good response.Wealsotookdetailsof theparcelsbookingfromthetransportas-sociation and jointlyworkedoutonit to fill25bogies.”He further added, “After

the first goods train servicewasa success,webookedan-other train from Surat(Chalthan) to Danapur nearPatna and RamDayaluNagarnearMuzaffarpur in Bihar onSaturday. Another train fromSurat to Shalimar has beenbooked on Sunday.We haverequestedtheRailwayauthor-ities to reduce the number ofbogies. We have also de-manded from DRMSathyakumar that the trainsshould halt at different sta-tionsontheroute.Wewill re-quest railway authorities fortrains tootherdestinationsaswell depending on the re-sponse.”Welcomingthemovie,tex-

tiletraderandmemberofFOS-TTA,JayLal,said,“Wesentourparcels to Kolkata and itreachedsafely.Dueto therisein petrol and diesel prices,transportationbyroadhasbe-come dearer. It takes moretime also as the transportercollects fabrics parcels fromtraders godown and keepsthem in his godown,waitingforthetrucktogetfullyloaded.Our parcels remain in thesegodown and the journey isalso delayed due to trafficproblemsandother issueson

road.Thesafetyofgoodsisalsoa major concern, especiallyduringmonsoon season andthere isalsoa fearof theft.”Saying more such trains

would benefit the traders, Laladded, “It takes threedays forour goods to reachKolkatabyroad from Surat. By train, itreaches in24hours.”President of Surat

Merchantile Association,Narendra Saboo, said, “Wedon’t get uniform demandfromdifferent states for ourgoods. The demand is moreduring festivals andmarriageseasons. At present, there ishigh demand from WestBengal,withDurgapujaroundthecorner.Thefestivedemandthat begins aroundAugust 15willlastfortwomonths.Duringthese months, Surat textiletraders make a business ofaroundRs500crore,whiledur-ingothermonths,thebusinessis betweenRs 100 crore to Rs150crorefromWestBengal.”Adding that there is de-

mand for goods from Bihardue to marriage season, hesaid,“Duringmarriageseason,the monthly sale of textilesfrom Surat to Bihar is esti-mated tobeof Rs1,000crore,while during the rest of the

months it is around Rs 500crore.Wearealsohopingthattrains operate to other desti-nationsaswell sothat tradersneed not depend only on theroadtransport.”Saying that transporting

goods through special trainshasnotaffectedtheirbusiness,STGTApresidentYuvrajDeshlesaid, “We take handlingcharges and transportationchargesfromtraders.Wehaveour transporter in the otherdestinations to ferry goodssent from Surat. To transportgoods from Surat to Kolkata,wechargeRs10perkilogram.Ingoodstrain,thetradershaveto pay Rs 5 per kilogram andRs2forhandling(loadingandunloading and pick up anddrop)charges.”An official fromSurat rail-

way station said on conditionof anonymity, “Weassure thesafety of goods as the bogiesare locked once it is fullyloaded.Around125parcels oftextilefabricgetloadedinasin-gle bogie. At present, we areprovidingsuchservicesonde-mand and once it becomes aregular practice, wemay in-creasethefrequencybyaddingtrains to other destinations ofthecountryaswell.”

Moregoods trains tocarry textileparcels fromSurat toother states

UnionMinisterofStateforRailwaysDarshanaJardoshflagsoff textileparcelspecialgoodstrain fromUdhnastationin SurattoDanapurnearPatna,Saturday.Express

GUJARATCONFIDENTIAL

A DAY'S WORKWITHTHEelevationof formerChief JusticeofGujaratHighCourtVikamNath to the Supreme Court, the next-in-line senior-most judge at theGujaratHC,JusticeVineetKothari,servedasactingChief JusticeofGujaratHC for oneday -- on September 1 --with September 2markinghis re-tirement day. Prior to being acting Chief Justice, now retired JusticeKothari’s benchwas among the two courtrooms of Gujarat HC,whichdid not live-stream its proceedings, after the servicewas inauguratedandmadeavailable forallcourtroomsonJuly17.TheonlytimehewentlivewaswhenhewasonthedivisionbenchasactingChief Justicewhichalso included Justice Umesh Trivedi, and the bench presided live onYouTubeonSeptember1. Meanwhile, followingJusticeKothari'sretire-ment, the high court is now being led by the next senior-most judgeJusticeRMChhayawiththelattertakingchargeasActingChief JusticeofGujaratHCstartingSeptember3.

TOURING KEVADIALEADERS OF the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) had a three-day stay inKevadia fromSeptember1 to3, toparticipate in theannual stateexec-utivemeetingheldonSeptember2.Mostofthem,accompaniedbytheirfamilies,alsohadaleisurevisit totheKevadiatourismcircuitwithsev-eral attractions, including the Statue of Unity. FromTent City 1 and 2,theywere ferriedbyaroundadozenbusesof theVadodaraMunicipalCorporation(VMC),affectingthetransport frequencyinthecity.Anof-ficialoftheStatueofUnitymanagement,whichhasluxurybusestoferrytourists, told this newspaper, “The arrangements of the eventwereplannedbytheparty.TheSoUluxurybuseswereneededtoferrytouristsandareslightlyheavier...VMCbusesareeasiertomaneuveraroundthecanal roadwherethetentcitiesare located.”

NO NEW ROLESINCE HE completed his three-year tenure as the first chairman ofRashtriya KamdhenuAyog (RKA) in February this year, formerUnionMinisterVallabhKathiriahasnotbeenassignedanynewresponsibil-ity--neitherinthepartyorganisationnorinanygovernmentbody--sofar.Thisisforthefirsttimeinalmostadecadethat67-year-oldKathiria,who had burst on the political scene by becoming anMP at age 42,holdsnoposition.Thesedays,heisbusydistributing, 'GauSevaRashtraSeva', a report cardof his tenureasRKAhead.

Works of Rs 1,000 crore under VatanPrem Yojana to be done by Dec 2022

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIAAHMEDABAD,SEPTEMBER4

GUJARAT REPORTED 15 newCovid-19casesinthelast24hourswhich took the infection tally inthe state to 8,33,740, the healthdepartment said on Saturdayevening.Withnonewfatalityrecorded

in the state, thedeath toll due tocoronavirus stood at 10,082, itsaid.Asmanyas16patientsweredischargedfromhospitalswhichincreased the total of recoveredcasesinGujaratto8,15,240.Vadodaradistrictreportedthe

highest five newcases, followedby Surat with four and

Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Kutchwith two cases each. A total of3,54,529peoplewerevaccinatedagainstCovid-19onSaturday,tak-ingthetallyof dosesadministeredsofarto4,86,23,043.There are 148activepatients

in Gujarat, six of thembeing incriticalcondition,officialssaid.TheUnionTerritory of Dadra

andNagarHaveli,DamanandDiudidnotreportanynewCOVID-19case,soitsinfectiontallyremainedunchangedat10,637.Withonepatient recovering,

the total of discharged patientsrose to 10,628. There are five ac-tivecasesintheUTwhichhasre-portedfourdeathssofar,officialssaid.

VijayRupani

15 Covid cases, no new deaths

Newcases:

15

Cumulativedeaths:

10,082

Totalcases:

8,33,740

Cumulativedischarge:

8,15,240

Ahmedabad

Amreli

Anand

Aravalli

Banaskantha

Bharuch

Bhavnagar

Botad

ChhotaUdepur

Dahod

Dang

DevbhoomiDwarka

Gandhinagar

GirSomnath

Jamnagar

Junagadh

Kheda

Kutch

Mahisagar

Mehsana

Morbi

Narmada

Navsari

Panchmahal

Patan

Porbandar

Rajkot

Sabarkantha

Surat

Surendranagar

Tapi

Vadodara

Valsad

Otherstates

2,28,811 3,411 2

10,884 102 0

9,635 49 0

5,468 79 0

13,659 162 0

11,449 118 0

21,711 301 0

2,217 42 0

3,398 38 0

9,590 38 0

864 18 0

12,935 82 0

20,839 205 0

8,543 67 0

36,602 478 0

20,481 271 0

10,391 48 0

12,516 145 2

8,313 72 0

24,284 177 0

6,502 87 0

5,978 15 0

7,167 24 0

11,742 70 0

11,623 129 0

3,850 19 0

58,673 725 2

9,337 157 0

1,43,600 1,958 4

8,120 136 0

4,444 23 0

77,810 788 5

6,238 49 0

148 3

Places Confirmed Deaths Newcases

Firstdosetakerstilldate

3,61,04,996

COVID CASE TRACKER

Fullyvaccinatedtilldate

1,25,18,047

Ahmedabad


EXPRESSNETWORK


GujaratBJPpresidentCRPaatil, accompaniedbyValsadBJPMPKCPatel, flagsoff thenarrowgaugeheritagetrainwithavistadomefromBillimoratoVaghai fromBillimoraRailwaystationonSaturday. InDecember,2020, theWesternRailwayhadorderedtostoptheserviceof the107-year-oldtrainbutrolledbackthedecisionamonth later.Thetrainwillmakeregularservices fromSunday.Express

RITUSHARMA,ADITIRAJA&KAMAALSAIYEDAHMEDABAD,VADODARA,

SURAT,SEPTEMBER4

RASIKJAGURathwa,55,ateacherattachedtotheDonBoscoschoolinKawant in the tribal district ofChhotaUdepurhadneverusedasmartphoneinthe26yearsofhiscareerasateacherofGujaratilan-guage. But when the Covid-19pandemicandtheconsequentiallockdownmeant that teachershadtodevise innovativeways toreach out to children, Rathwatookonthechallengetonotonlyeducatehimselfwithtechnologybutalsotomotivatethe"verydis-tracted" tribal students to focusontheircareers.Rathwaisamongtheteachers

inGujaratwhoareundeterredby the immi-nentshiftfromthe black-board-chalkclassroom tothe digitalscreen due tothe pandemic and found theirway to copewith it over the lastone year. The Sunday Expressspoke to some of them fromacross the state to findout theirexperiences, learnings, chal-lenges and how they overcamethesechallenges.Rathwa says, "Conducting

onlineclasseswasmyfirstexpe-rience with smartphones as Ihad to purchase one during thelockdown. I faced a lot of diffi-culty in the beginning in learn-ing to operate the phone. Mychildrenwouldhelpmeconductthe online lectures at home...Staff members at school wouldhelptoo,Now, Ihavesomewhatlearnedtooperate thephone."But network and electricity

in the hilly tribal areas posed abiggerchallenge.Rathwa says, "We don't get

mobile networks inmanypartsof the district. Many parents ofstudents also could not affordAndroid phones... To help such

families, I gathered used text-booksofpreviousyearsanddis-tribute them among the needychildren."Rathwasays that teachersof

the school decided to form fourteams to visit the remote loca-tionsof thedistrict andconductoffline classes in a periphery of20kilometres..“Being a tribalmyself, I have

grown up in such times whengettingtoschoolwasachallengeandwe know the value of eachday at school. Sowemade fourteamsoftwoteacherseach--wecreated a routemap for the vil-lageswe needed to cover. If wecould connect with them overthephone,wecouldaskthemtogatheratonelocationwiththeirbooks so thatwecould conductsomeclasses."

Rathwaalso madeweekly phonecalls to checktheprogressofthe studentsand to clearany doubtsthey might

have and conducted exams forchildrenregularlyattendingtheofflineclasses.However,theclo-sure of schools for nearly a yearhascausedadent inmorale."A lot of the tribal students

tookabreakfromself-studyandbegan helping the family withwork or grazing animals. Some,despite having connectivity ig-nored the classes... As a result,several of those who have re-turned to school seem like theyhave been pushed five yearsback.Theydonotevenrecallsim-plemath tables," says Rathwa,who also teamed up with hisdaughterBinal,adegreestudentatMSUniversity,tovisittribalvil-lages to encourage the villagerstogetCovid-19vaccination.Mehul Prajapati, 40, a pri-

mary teacher in DolatpuraDabhla,asmallhamletinVijapurtaluka of Mehsana, not onlytaught students how to accessthe online classes throughMSTeams but also took voluntary

sessions for teachers on how touse thedigitalmedium.When the schools closed

down due to the pandemic, hevisited every student of hisschool, created theirMS Teamslog in IDs and gave demos onhowtoattendanonlineclass,ac-cess and use digital devises inlearning.Witheveryadditionof tech-

nologyinteaching-learning,stu-dents were taught in groups ofaround 4-6. These 4-6 studentswould then teach others andthus thechainwenton.Utilisingthelockdownperiod

increatingdigitalliteracyamonghiscolleagues,healsoconductedonlinesessionsonZoom.Inaddition,withoutanydig-

ital proficiency or expertise healsocreatedanandroidapplica-tion for learning Social Sciencesubject. “I learnt through inter-nethowtocreateamobileappli-cation...Theappnotonlymakesit easy for students to learn thesubject but also have questionsfortheiranalysisontheirsubjectunderstanding,”MehultellsTheSundayExpress.“Looking at his efforts, he is

among the24 teachers selectedthis year forNational ICT awardforschoolteacherswhohaveen-hanced student learning by ef-

fectively and innovatively inte-grating technology supportedlearning in the school curricu-lumand teaching,” saysDistrictPrimary Education Officer(DPEO)MehsanaGaurangVyas.SureshParmar,42,oneof the

three teachers at Late SLUSaravajanik High School atBedhiya in Panchmahal, an in-terior village in the tribal belt,wasamongthefirstonestostartthe concept of street educationlaunched in June 2020 due tolack of network connectivity inthearea.“Sincechildren in thevillage

whichisoutsidethemainvillagestayscatteredintheirfarmlands,bothme and the other teacher,aswewereonlytwoatthattime,would visit them and startedteaching them in small clustersnear their farmland itself. Alsowiththesupportofdistrictedu-cation officer B S Panchal,” saysParmarwho has been awardedwith the state level award forteachers in innovation in2020.He created a studymaterial

and turned it into an e-book ofSocialSciencesubject inamuchsimpler and interesting formatfor Class 10 students whenschoolswereshutdown.Likemany students of gov-

ernment schools in interior and

tribalareas,the400studentsen-rolled in government primaryschoolatOzardavillageofValsaddistrict and neighbouring vil-lages had a tough time duringthepandemic.However, Harshaben

Chaudhary(30),whoworksasateacher in a government pri-maryschool inthesamevillage,that has a population of around2000, took an initiative to con-nectwithher students.Withmany interior villages

in theKaprada talukahavingnomobile network towers, villageyouthsareseengoing to the topof hillock, which has a temple,outside village, daily during theafternoon and evening to getmobilenetworkcoverage.“Wehad told district educa-

tion officer of Valsad RajeshriTandel, there isno internet con-nectivity in our village. Later aspertheguidanceofDEO,wevis-itedhousesof studentscrossinghillocks, rivers, and watersprings, to reach their homesandidentifythosestudentswhohave television sets at theirhomes.WeinformedtheparentsaboutDoordarshanGirnarchan-nelthroughwhichtheirchildrencanstudy.The teachers then chose a

monitor from students whowould take care of 10 to 15 stu-dents.“Now to teach subjects, we

mademobile videos explainingthe subject at our homes andlatershareditwiththemonitorswhose parents have androidmobile phones. The monitorsshared videos to other studentsontheirparent'smobilephones.Aftereverytwodays,wevisitthehomes of themonitors and seeif the work is done properly ornot,” sheexplained.Harshaben says that online

teaching involves more workcomparedtotheregularclasses,“At the end of the day whileclimbingandcomingdownfromthe hillocks to get mobile net-workcoverage,weget tired. It ispainful work, but somehowmanage todo it .”

RITUSHARMAAHMEDABAD,SEPTEMBER4

POOJA THOMAS, AssistantProfessoratMICA,whospecialisesin Cultural Studies, has usedAhmedabadcityasalabformanyyearsnow,takingstudentsouttospecific key sites and helpingthemunravelthecultureofplaces.Further,

during Covid-19 pandemic,sheconductedworkshop-style and dis-cussion-ledonlinesessionswhichmay bedifficult in alarge class-roomenviron-ment.Looking at these initiatives,

Prof Pooja Thomashas been an-nouncedastherecipientofAICTEDr PritamSinghAward2021 forextraordinary teaching inman-agement education. The awardwillbeconferredtoherbyUnionMinisterDharmendraPradhanonTeacher'sDayinNewDelhi."Ithinkoftheclassroomasan

opportunity for the students totest assumptions, worldviews,skills-sets, andtoexpandknowl-edge base. Therefore, for mycourseon culture,myclassroombecomesalabwherebothstudentandteachershareequalspacede-coding cultural objects, popularculture and identifying core val-uesandbeliefs,”shesays.She alsousespodcasts to en-

hance the learning experience."Thesepodcastsaremyconversa-tionswithacademicexpertsinaneasy and accessiblemanner onnewmedia, listening cultures,foodanthropology.As is evident,my course is interdisciplinary,drawing fromdifferent and richsources to help unpack culturalcontexts. In the end, these goalsmust translate to specific skills,knowledge, andattitude-relatedobjectives in alignmentwith theinstitutionalobjectivesofMICAasamanagementschool,"shesays.Amid the pandemic, Prof

Thomas tried to findnewteach-ingmethods.“Googleclassroomscanusedeffectivelyasaspaceforstudents to express their com-mentsandunderstandingonthecoursematerial andasaspacetoconstantlyshareinterestingread-ings,”sheadded.These initiatives arewell ap-

preciated by her students too.SreeramKV from the 2020-22batch says, "She always ensuredto get even themost indifferentstudent to contribute somethingtotheclass.Once,whenwemen-tionedthedigitalfatiguewefaceddue to virtual learning, she evenmadeapodcastseriesforourpre-reads andattempted to showustheomnipresentnatureofculture,and,alongwithit,shegaveusthetoolstodecodeit.”AaryakaNidhi, another stu-

dents says, “The one thing thatmakesherstandoutishowshein-cludeseachandeveryonepresentintheroomindiscussions.”

MehulPrajapati,aprimaryteacherinDolatpuraDabhla,visitsastudent;(left)RasikJaguRathwa,ateacher inChhotaUdepur,withhisstudents.Express


POINTING OUT that the statehealthserviceshavetouchedallclasses of society during Covid-19, Nitin Patel, Deputy ChiefMinister said on Saturday thatthe health department ofGujaratgovernmenthavevacci-

nated even thosewho came tohealth centres driving aMercedes.“On vaccine centres, doctors

and nurses fromour health de-partment people have adminis-teredvaccinestoeventhosewhocomesitting inaMercedesvehi-cle,costingRs50lakh,”saidPatelwhileaddressingpublicevent inGandhinagarwhere3,000nurses

were given appointment in thegovernmenthealthnetwork.“Till the time there was no

Covid-19,affluentpeopledidnotneed state government (serv-ices). But Covid created a situa-tionwhereeveryonehadtotaketheservicesofthehealthdepart-ment. Be it Chief Minister VijayRupaniorourGovernor(AcharyaDevvrat), everyone has utilised

the services including theCovidvaccine,”hesaid.NarratinghowbothheandRupani got infectedby Covid, Patel said he wastreated for a few days at UNMehtahospital inAhmedabad.Pointing out that treatment

of2700diseasesarecoveredun-derPMJAY-MA(PradhanMantriJan Arogya Yojana -Mukhyamantri Amrutam), he

said 35 lakh patients have beentreated under the scheme inGujarat which was launchednineyears agoby the then chiefministerNarendraModi.He said the MA Yojana

startedwith35lakhBPLfamilies,and now covers four crore peo-ple. The scheme has providedtreatmentworth Rs 5200 croreduring the lastnineyears.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEVADODARA, SEPTEMBER4

NINEPERSONS, includinga74-year-old man, have been ar-rested forallegedlyattemptingto cheat a retired teacher bypromising “good fortune”through the “mystical blackturmeric” (curcuma caesia).According to police, the

gang was involved in cheatingseveral persons by promotingsuperstitious beliefs around“black turmeric” and de-manded Rs 50,000 from thecomplainant only to be able tosee the turmeric.Sub-InspectorRAMahidaof

Savli police station said, “Thebelief is that turmericopensupa fortune. There is also thismyth that if theblack turmeric

iskeptunder lockandkey itcanautomatically open up thelocks and light up camphor...The complainant had alreadypaid the main conspirator Rs5.7 lakh in Udaipur earlier thisyear for a similar product.However, this time, the com-plainantapproachedthepoliceanddid not pay them.”The police said that the

complainant was looking forways to “increase his fortun”andwasattractedbytheprom-

isesmadebythegang forearn-ing quick money. Among theother items thegangpromisedthe complainant were X-rayscanner goggles thatwould al-low him to see people un-clothed, apeacock featherwithradioactive energy, rice puller,and lebbo coins.Sub-InspectorRAMahidaof

Savli police station said, “Thegang has been active for manyyears but this is the first timethat someone has filed a com-plaint against them. Theyhavesaid theyhavebeen involved inselling black turmeric tomanypeople.Whenwecheckedtheirmobilephones,wefoundmorethan a thousand videos of var-ious such products promisinggood fortune.”Thenineaccusedhavebeen

identified as Mahisagar resi-

dents Sanjay Pandit (27) whosourced the black turmericfrom a man named Shakeel,Pandit’s driver Sunil Prajapati(29), Pandit’s friend GirishPrajapati (33),SalimSaiyed(37)who earlier cheated the com-plainant, Vadodara residentand a local shop owner KalaParmar (51), Pravin Solanki(30), Vitthal Patel (74),Panchmahals residents SoyabAbdul Bidani (43) and IsrarPathan (42).Of these, Solanki is said to

be themain conspirator,whilePatelwas themainmediator inthe deals.The accused have been

booked under Indian PenalCode Sections for criminalbreach of trust (406), cheating(420), and criminal conspiracy[120(B)].

Thearrestedgang.Express

9 held for trying to cheat teacher using ‘black turmeric’

Teachers in Gujarat find their way to copewith shift from blackboard to digital screens

SureshParmarwhowonstateawardforinnovation in2020.(right)Rasik JaguRathwa. Express

ProfPoojaThomas

NitinPatel

Have vaccinated even those coming in Mercedes, says Nitin Patel

MICA prof whoused Ahmedabadcity as classroomto be honoured

TEACHERS’DAY

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER4

MARKING THE first time theSanghhas attempted tobrand aleadingcorporateasalignedwith“anti-national,”forces,RSS-affil-iated Panchajanya, in its latestedition, has alleged thatBengaluru-based I-T majorInfosysmay be deliberately try-ingtodestabilisetheIndianecon-omy andhas accused it of help-ing “Naxals, Leftists and tukdetukdegang”.Until now, such vilification

hastargetedindividuals,activists,somesectionsoncampusesandsomeinthepoliticalopposition.SoftwaremajorInfosysisseenasone of the key blue-chip home-grownpioneers in theeconomyfollowingthefirst-generationre-formsin ITservices.Theweekly hasmade these

allegations in the context ofglitches in the new Income Taxe-filing portal developed byInfosys.ThewebsitewentonlineonJune7buthassincecontinuedto pose problems for taxpayers.Last month, Finance MinisterNirmalaSitharamansummonedInfosysCEOSalilParekhandgavethecompanyuntilSeptember15to fix these glitches. Infosys gotthecontract in2019.“Will Infosys provide this

same kind of shoddy service toforeignclients,”thearticleasked.The article comes when

PrimeMinister NarendraModihaspushednext-generationre-formsthroughambitiousprivati-sationandmonetisationtargets.Responding to questions

from The Indian Express,Panchajanya Editor HiteshShankarsaid:“Thecoverstoryisabout a big corporate (Infosys)whosework’squalityisnotuptoitsreputation.Thisnotonlyham-pers the company’s reputationbutalsocausesinconveniencetocrores of people…This kind of

roleanddeliveriescreatedissat-isfaction in society. If Infosys isnotinvolvedinsociallyquestion-able/propaganda funding, itmust come out and state thefacts…we arewriting about thedissatisfaction thathasarisen inthe society. The companymustclarify whether it is a softwarecompanyoraninstrumenttoen-gineersocialanger.”RSS spokesperson Sunil

Ambekar was not available forcomment.In its cover story “SaakhAur

Aaghaat” (Reputation andHarm),PanchajanyaallegedthiswasnotthefirsttimeInfosyshadbungled a government project.Citing problems inwebsites forGST andMinistry of CorporateAffairs, the article said: “Whenthese thingshappenrepeatedly,it is bound to raise suspicion.There are accusations that theInfosysmanagement is deliber-ately tryingtodestabilise India’seconomy...Could it be that someanti-national power is trying toharmIndia’seconomic intereststhroughInfosys?”At the same time, themaga-

zine said it had no concrete evi-dence to prove this but addedthat thecompany’s “historyandcircumstances,” lendweight tothischarge.“Infosysisaccusedofprovid-

ing assistance toNaxals, LeftistsandTukdeTukdeGang.Theissueof Infosys directly or indirectlysupportingdivisive forces in thecountryhasalreadycomeout intheopen.Itisbelieved(that)mis-information websites…arefundedbyInfosys.Someorgani-sations that spread caste hatredarealsobeneficiariesof Infosys’scharity. Shouldn’t Infosys pro-motersbeaskedwhatistherea-sonforthecompany’sfundingofanti-national and anarchist or-ganisations? Should companiesof such suspect character be al-lowed to participate in govern-ment-tenderingprocess?”

‘Infosyswithanti-nationalforces,allyoftukde tukdegang’

ARTICLE INRSS-LINKEDJOURNAL

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER4

RSS-AFFILIATED journalPanchajanya’s attack on Infosyssuggestingitwasworkingatthebehest of “anti-national forces,”wasmetwith silence from theBJP,theCentralGovernment,andleading industrybodies.One of the few voices that

cameoutinthesoftwaremajor’ssupport was that of T VMohandas Pai, former InfosysChiefFinancialOfficer.Defendingthefirm’sworkontheGSTback-end infrastructure aswell as onthe new Income Tax Portal, Paisaidthewriterseemedunawareof “howlargeprojectsaredone.“Before a project like this is

released,” Pai told The SundayExpress, “there is somethingcalled a user acceptance test —theproductishandedovertotheclient.Onlyaftertheydorigoroustesting, is it released to thepub-lic. It is obvious that the depart-ment(IncomeTax)owesrespon-sibility for not doing adequatetesting.”IndustrybodiesCII,FICCIand

NASSCOM did not respond tomailswhileaseniorofficialwithan Indian conglomerate down-played the attack saying a “one-off” statement “should not betakentooseriously.”Emails sent to Infosys and

Ministry of Electronics andInformationTechnologyseekingcomments did not elicit any re-sponse.Naushad Forbes, co-chair-

man, ForbesMarshall, said thattheRSSisaprivatebodyand“if itwishestoexpressitsopinion(viathepiece), theyhavetheright todosoandarefreetodoso.That'swhat freedom of speech is allabout.”A senior BJP leader said that

the article and its “tone” were“unfortunate.” A company likeInfosys, he said, “would not de-

liberatelymess up such an im-portantproject.”“Infosys is a reputed firm in

Indiaandiswell-respectedglob-ally. The CEO and other officialsaresayingtheyareonthejobandwebelievethem.Buttheyshoulddeliver as time is running out,”said BJP spokesperson GopalKrishnaAgrawalsaid.Hedidnotreact tothePanchajanyaarticle.The Indian Express contacted

twoCabinetministersandthreeMinisters of State, Four of themdeclined to comment. Said oneof them: “Infosys could do amuch better job. It’s a firm thatprovidesexcellentservicestofor-eign firms and I do not under-standwhyitcouldnotdeliverthesame.”TheOppositionwascriticalof

the attack."Suchdisparaging re-marks donot reflectwell on thegovernment," said formerCorporate Affairs Minister MVeerappaMoily.“Whensuchat-tacks come from theRSS, it is asgood as (from) theGovernmentof India…These people talkaboutMakeinIndiaandvocalforlocal, thisgoesagainsttheirownprinciples theypropagate.”Said senior NCP leader and

RajyaSabhaMPMajeedMemon:"Infosys is internationally ac-knowledged, if there are anylapses in any deal vis a vis theGovernment,itshouldnotbeat-tributed aswilful to bringdisre-pute to theNarendraModi gov-ernment as suggested by theRSS.”

A first for India Inc; Govtand trade bodies silent,Opp says ‘disparaging’

Murthy’soppositiontoGovtknown…NilekanicontestedonCongticket:article

Ahmedabad



Agood teacher can inspire hope, ignite

the imagination, and instil a love of

learning" - Brad Henry LoveTeachers

across the world have always been considered

architects of our society, entrusted with build-

ing our strongest pillars and foundations. Eachone of us reflects the learnings that we have

imbibed from parents, family members and

teachers. In fact, teachers have a much more

lasting imprint on our lives as we spend almost

20-25 years of our lives with them through

school, college and university. That's why world

over, a special day has been dedicated to vener-

ate them. While Teacher's Day everywhere is

celebrated on October 5, in India it is held on

September 5 to mark the birth anniversary of

our former President Dr S Radhakrishnan, who

was an academician of repute and greatly loved

and admired by his countrymen, especially stu-

dents. Since 1962, his birthday has been cele-

brated as Teacher's Day to venerate teachers

and their contributions to our society.

Former President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam oncesaid, "Teaching is a very noble profession that

shapes the character, calibre and future of an

individual. If the people remember me as a

good teacher, that will be the biggest honour

for me."

Being a good teacher is no easy job. And in a

post-pandemic world, that role has diversified.

Not only have teachers had to upgrade their

skill sets and adapt to technology, they have

also had to find innovative means of engaging

with those on the other side of the digital

divide.

They are putting their best foot forward to

ensure that learning continues although the

education system has been disrupted. To make

online education a seamless experience for

teachers as well as students, institutions are

looking at new ways to connect them.

Universities are advising teachers on using theGoogle Classroom User Guide and Hangouts

Tutorial and apply them to their specific scenar-

ios. A trainer sets up a video conference and

helps teachers navigate online learning tools

besides hand-holding them on accessing sup-

port files, video tutorials and other resources. It

is for the first time in India that digital training

of teachers is being conducted on such a mas-

sive scale.

Throughout their career, teachers dedicate

their time and energy in

shaping the lives of mil-

lions of students. It is

through their valuable

contribution, guidance

and encouragement

that we are able to excel

in our life and chosen

field of work.

Education is one of the

most important founda-

tions of a successful,

learned and thriving

society. It is responsible

for its economic, social

and political growth and

development. While

COVID shutdowns

limit the in-person

experience at schools

and colleges, teachers

have risen to the occa-

sion selflessly to lend

their personal touch

and create a holistic

knowledge society.

TRUE NATION-

BUILDERSA good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instil a love

of learning" - Brad Henry Love

Happy Teachers' Day

7

Ahmedabad



Ahmedabad

ON AN average, a personattending a formal educa-tion spends more than adecade of his life in thefour big walls of a school.

Bringing back not just knowledge butbank of memories that will stay withhim forever cannot be just a coinci-dence. The identity of a person devel-ops by being associated to a schooland being a student of a definiteteacher. This influence on someone’slife had to be recognized and cele-brated. This could be amongst manymore reasons why Sir Dr. SarvapalliRadhakrishnan devoted a day toall the sacrifice a teacher makes forour lives.

Morning school bell rings and thestudents become alert, and almost as ifin haste they bring their best foot inthe morning assembly, and in literallyno time the utter chaos come to-gether, harmoniously to sing dailyprayers.All social and religious fencesare smudged with the trust shared bythe parents and the teachers in schoolfor strengthening their moral self.Andthen, even the children experience achange within and exhibit the samefor the world to take a note of. This iswhat a school imparts, much morethan knowledge. Here today, after al-most two years of no physical pres-ence in school, our every member ofIIRA International School is surelymissing the soul of the building i.e.,its students and its teachers.

Our teachers and students are cele-brating this day via online seminarsand offline poster competition. Our

students who will step into theirteacher’s shoes and conduct a day ofonline classes will experience thechallenges and responsibility of theirteacher in her daily life. Vivek andVedant of of grade 9 is thrilled to becalled her favourite teacher TruptiMa’m, even if it was for a day. Also,Shrikar grade 9th who impersonatedSeema Ma’m for the day promised tohis other teachers to never be mis-chievous in class as it becomes verydifficult for a teacher to share theknowledge. We are just hopeful thatthis promise and other promises ofmany more students have longer shelflife than usual. They are wet clay andonly constant shaping will mouldthem for life, we accept that.With thechange in times the role of a Guruchanges. A Guru or a teacher who isexpected to absorb negativity and

bring out a positive image, must surebe needing a stronger support nowmore than ever when our world is go-ing through such a turmoil at present.There is a global pandemic cloud onall, a serious financial slowdown af-fecting individuals, a nation-wide warin our continent, climate changeshave caused most deaths in the lastthree years, and in the middle of this isstill a torchbearer for the future gen-eration who is making every inch ofeffort to bring the normalcy in thelives of her students. This is theteacher of today. A teacher who ismaking that effort to impart knowl-edge via online sessions each day, butsecretly praying for able to teach herstudents in a physical setup sooner,where their time together will bemore than just exchange of informa-tion printed in course books. Har-

mony, tolerance, acceptance and re-spect are the major virtues that areimbibed with a great deal of persever-ance which becomes a necessary traitfor a teacher.And today teaching froma screen, it is a huge challenge for ateacher to transfer these virtues to herstudents.

When many of us have achieved agreat deal of success today and manymore of us who are still finding pathof growth and stability occupationally,let us all, on this teacher’s day, take amoment and thank our stars to beable to at least read this today be-cause of someone in our lives didshow that perseverance for us. IIRAFoundation and IIRA InternationalSchool bows to all the teachers of theworld, and wish for their long impres-sionable lives, today and always.

The article is Contributed by Educa-tionist Sheena Mohan and Tushar Patel.

Aclamourof disquiet andclamps of lockdowns –challenging, dark and end-

less seemed to be the days of thepandemic rendered frightful bythe whimper of those who suf-fered or endured sufferings ofothers. In the tempest of thistrauma there shone a beacon -alight, a hope calledTEACHER.

Sans school buildings, sansclassrooms, sans blackboardsand chalks, sans the power of thevoice and the magic of the eyesthe light called TEACHER con-sumeditself (himself/herself) tobrighten the academic pro-founds of the learners.

Without a thought aboutone’s ownself, braving the criesof the daily chores, strugglingconnect with the fami-lies, the teacher movedon dauntlessly in thetask of keeping youngkinds engagedin the pi-ous task of edification.This helped the young-sters remain positively

engaged and creatively involvedgiving them some respite fromthe lurk of distress churned bythe pandemic.

EDUWARRIORS! Salute your-selves! None can give you a cer-

tificate about the deep engage-ments that you have undertakenand the great insight you havedisplayed.

WISHING YOU A VERY HAPPYTEACHERS’ DAY.

An initiative by

* ( READ. ENGAGE. DELIVER.) IS THE MARKETING SOLUTIONS TEAM OF THE INDIAN EXPRESS GROUP

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■ Recipient of numerous awards and third-party recognitions like CSR-GHRDC, Zee, Timesand many more.

CKSVIM has always been the flagship forvarious innovative and challenging activities,whether it be to organize Start-up Challenges,Entrepreneurial Series Talks, International col-laborations with leading Universities/ Institutesworldwide, dissemination of knowledgethrough its publication activities through its in-ternational level peer-reviewed journal‘SANKALPA: Journal of Management & Re-search’ over a decade or through its globallyrecognized award-winning faculties. CKSVIMhas always been at the epitome of success.

CKSVIM MBA College with its futuristic ap-proach and its flagship full-time BBA and B.VocProgram shall open avenues for Barodians andmany more national and international studentsin the future!With a futuristic approach ensur-ing student and faculty development, it envis-ages to commence many more short-term andlong-term courses with other leading globaluniversities and make Vadodara proud! DrKerav Pandya, I/c Director and Professor, alongwith its proud faculty, staff , alumni and stu-dent fraternity believes to expand and bringmany more laurels to CKSVIM!

Three Cheers for TheTeachers of Today

Dr. A. K. Sinha

Principal, Delhi Public School Vadodara

Eduwarriors! Salute yourselves!

MESSAGE

"Teachers affect eternity; no one can say where their influence stops."Teacher is not merely a word; it's a world in itself as it assimilates endless knowl-

edge and countless emotions.The morality, values, ethics and culture of a nation restonly in teachers.A nation develops with the vision, incessant efforts, ceaseless hope,unending resilience, selfless love and unsuppressed dedication of teachers; unaf-fected by circumstances. During Corona pandemic, the teaching fraternity has exem-plified themselves, by adopting the technology and innovative ways so enthusiasti-cally that even the lockdown could not obstruct them to continue the flame ofknowledge burning as usual.

Salute to all Gurus for their incredible and invaluable efforts!!!!!!HappyTeacher's Day

Renu P Sharma, Principal, Baroda Public School, Por

MESSAGE

“Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mindof think.” - Albert Einstein

Wishing all the teachers,Very Happy “TEACHERS DAY”The one person who is responsible for giving direction to the lives of thousands of

students is “TEACHER”.Teaching is the noblest profession in the world.We, atVithalVidyalaya, believe in a joyful experiential learning system wherein, each child is en-couraged to participate wholeheartedly!

A child is turned into responsible citizen by the aid of a teacher’s knowledge.Theyenhance possibilities of having bright and promising future.Teacher’s day is a daysolely dedicated to teachers. It is a day when the teaching profession and teacher’s ef-forts are honored and appreciated.Teachers are like other parents who make a goodimpact on students’ lives and are always there to help to get out of a problem wherethey need.

“Teaching is the one profession that creates all other professions.”Sangeet Soni, Principal, Vithal Vidhyalaya

MESSAGE

“Teachers.. Leading in crisis, reimagining the future”When it comes to a holistic approach to a child’s education and development in the

city. My team of teachers led by examples, adopted new teaching methods and didn’tlet the pandemic stop the growth and learning of students.

I would like to thank all the teachers and I respect the efforts and hard work put byeach one of you.

WishingAll TheTeaching Fraternity colleagues aVery HappyTeachers Day. ..Bindu Pillai, Principal, Sabari Vidyalaya.

MESSAGE

WE CELEBRATE teachers day in honour of a great teacher,Dr.S.Radhakrishnan who was not only agood academic but also believed in the power a teacher has in moulding the next generation.All of ushave had the fortune of having that one teacher who left a mark so deep that till date we are guided bytheir words.

The last year and all these months of this year teachers across India and the world have risen like aPhoenix learning technology dabbling in the art of teaching students online and for some now in a hy-brid format.My sincere gratitude to each one of them .Salutations to these warriors who managed toreach homes virtually and comfort young students who felt arrested, restricted and imprisoned.Theynot only kept the show on but pacified and comforted those young ones who suddenly felt crippled.De-spite the impediments and difficulties they braved it all and heralded a new era of teaching.

Humble Pranaam.Poornima Menon, Principal, Anand Vidya Vihar

Sheena Mohan, Co-Founder

Director, IIRA International School

Tushar Patel,Co-Founder Director,

IIRA International School


THE SUNDAY EXPRESS,SEPTEMBER5,2021 9

Ahmedabad

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA, SEPTEMBER4

THE CRIMINAL InvestigationDepartment (CID) has sum-moned Suvendu Adhikari, BJPMLA from Nandigram andLeader of Opposition in thestate Assembly in connectionwith the death of his bodyguard in 2018.According to CID sources,

Adhikari has been summonedonMonday to record his state-ment in the case.Thecasewasreopenedafter

Suparna Kanjilal Chakraborty,widow of the deceased,SubhabrataChakraborty, filedafreshpolicecomplainton July9this year. In the complaint, sheraiseddoubtson theearlierpo-lice claim that Subhabrata hadshothimselfdeadwithhisserv-icerevolveronOctober13,2018.According to CID sources,

Adhikari has been summonedtoCIDheadquartersatBhawaniBhawantorecordhisstatementand anotice has been served tohim regarding the summons.Adhikari was unavailable forcommenton thematter.Earlier, CID teams visited

Suvendu’s residence in PurbaMedinipur,apart fromcheckingthebarrackswhereSubhabrataused to stay. The barracks is lo-cated just beside the houseof theMLA.The team took pictures

and videographed the areaand the spot whereSubhabrata allegedly shothimself.Asketchof theareawas also drawn up. On July17, Tamluk MP DibyenduAdhikari, brother ofSuvendu,toldmediapersonsoutside the Adhikari resi-dence, “Weare cooperatingwith the investigators.”On July 14, sleuths had

visited the barracks andSuvendu’s house, andrecorded the statements ofsecurityguards.

ANANTHAKRISHNANGNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER4

CHIEF JUSTICE of India N VRamanaonSaturdayflaggedthe“struggle”women lawyers facein the legal profession and theirinadequaterepresentationinthejudiciary and said that even 75years after independence, “thereality remains that the legalprofession still has towelcomewomen into its fold”.Speaking at a felicitation or-

ganised by the Bar Council ofIndiaforhim,theCJIalsopointedoutthatafterhetookover,theSCCollegium had recommended82namestovariousHighCourts.“I hope the governmentwill

ensure that the names arecleared at the earliest, just thewaytheninenameswereclearedfor theapexcourt,”hesaid.

Pointingoutthatthe“judi-cial system is facing difficultchallengeslikethatofdeficientinfrastructure, shortage of ad-ministrativestaffandhugeva-canciesof judges”,CJIRamanasaid that a “comprehensiveproposal for creationofNatio-nalJudicialInfrastructureCorp-orationisunderpreparation”.“Wehavecollectedthesta-

tus report from across thecountry.Aproposal in this re-gard will reach the Hon’bleLawMinister very soon. I ex-pect full cooperation fromthegovernment’,hesaid.Speakingon the “reality” of the profes-sion,theCJIsaid“...(the)major-ityofwomenadvocatesstrug-glewithintheprofession.Veryfewwomen find representa-

tion at the top. Evenwhen theydo,theystillcontinuetofacesig-nificant challenges.”Hesaid,“After75yearsof in-

dependence, onewould expectat least 50 per cent representa-tion forwomenat all levels, butI must admit, with great diffi-culty we have now achieved amere11percentrepresentationof women on the bench of theSupremeCourt.Somestates,be-causeof reservationpolicy,mayrevealhigherrepresentation,buttherealityremainsthatthelegalprofession still has towelcomewomen into its fold.”Addressing theevent,Union

LawMinisterKirenRijijuunder-lined the concerns over pen-dency of cases in the lowercourts leading to denial of jus-tice.Hestressedtheneedtogivepriority to the last-mile personwhiledispensing justice.“People keep on raising one

issue — pendency of cases,which has become such a chal-lenge for all of us,” theministersaid.“Wetalkaboutpendencyin

the Supreme Court and HighCourts, but if we look closely, itis inthelowercourtsthatwere-ally need to lookwith urgency.When a person from a humblebackground,fromaruralareaorurban area expects justice, hegivesupeverything for the sakeof justice, sells off his land, hishouse...lifetime resources aresoldoff justtogetjustice.“Andifthat justice gets delayed, it is abigquestionmarkonall of us.”Rijijusaidthathehadinsome

internalmeetingssaidthatwherea case stretches beyond threeyears, it is denying justice. "Afterthree years, the personmaynotrequirethatjusticebecauseit’snotgivenontime,”hesaid.Therefore,“wehave to ensure that the last-mile person, the commonman,must be givenprioritywhenwespeak about justice deliverymechanisminourcountry.”He complimented the

SupremeCourtandthejudiciary,saying they had set an examplefortherestoftheworldbytakingup “somany cases” and givingimportant decisions duringtheCovid-19season.In his speech, CJI Ramana

also referred to some of theharsh realities of the legalprofession.

ATRIMITRAKOLKATA,SEPTEMBER4

THE ELECTION CommissionSaturdayannouncedbypollsforfour Assembly constituencies,includingtheBhabanipurseatinWest Bengal fromwhere ChiefMinisterMamataBanerjeeissettocontest, onSeptember30.Having lost in the state polls

earlier thisyear, BanerjeeneedstogetelectedtotheWestBengalAssemblybyNovember5.Afewdays ago, the CMhad urged theEC to immediately announcedates for thependingbypolls asthe Covid-19 situationwas un-der control, adding that "thedemocratic rights of peopleshouldnotbecurtailed".Apart from Bhabanipur,

polling for three "deferred ad-journed" elections — inSamserganj and Jangipur inWestBengal andPipli inOdisha—willalsobeheldonSeptember30. Countingwill beonOctober3. Elections in these seats couldnot be held due to various rea-sons, includingthedeathofcan-didates during electioneeringearlierthisyear.TheECsaidsincecandidates and political partiesforthesethreeseatshavealready"availed" the campaign periodfrom April 29 to May 3, cam-paigning will only be allowedfrom September 20 here.Bypolls for 31 other con-

stituencies, including inMaharashtra, Telangana and afew northeastern states, have,however, been deferred in lightoftheCovidsituation,floodsandcoming festivals.BhabanipurisBanerjee'stra-

ditionalconstituency,whichshehad given up to take on rebelleader Suvendu Adhikari fromNandigram. After the polls, theTMC candidate who had wonfrom Bhabanipur, ShovandevChattopadhyay,hadvacatedtheseat, ostensibly for Banerjee,who lost inNandigram.

The Commission's an-nouncement on Saturday fol-lowed a meeting it held onSeptember 1 with chief secre-taries, senior officers of healthand home affairs departments,DGPsandchiefelectoralofficersof16statesandoneUnionterri-tory to discuss the feasibility ofholding pendingparliamentaryandAssemblybypolls.In itspressreleaseSaturday,

theEC said that at themeeting,the chief secretaries of AndhraPradesh,Assam,Bihar,Haryana,Himachal Pradesh, MadhyaPradesh, Telangana,Uttarakhand,Meghalaya,UttarPradesh and Rajasthan hadcited constraints in holdingelectionsdueto floodsituation,festivals and the pandemic."They suggested that it wouldbe advisable to have bye-elec-tions after the end of the festi-val season," the EC said.However,chiefsecretariesof

OdishaandWestBengalhadsaidthattheCovidsituationwasun-der control and that theywereready to hold the elections.Further, the EC said, theWestBengal official had informed"that in view of administrativeexigencies and public interestandtoavoidvacuuminthestate",by-elections for Bhabanipurshouldbeconducted.The EC said the decision to

hold polls to the four Assemblyseatswasbasedontheseinputs.The panel said the polls

wouldbeheldunderCovidpro-tocols, includingrestrictednum-bers for campaigning, and cur-tailed time period forcampaigning. Only double-vac-cinatedofficialswillbedeployedfor polling duty. Anyone foundviolating the norms would bebarred from campaigning. TheEC said it also held the right totighten the protocol in case thesituationdemandsso.While the TMCwelcomed

themove,andstartedputtinguphoardings of Banerjee inBhabanipur area Saturday it-self,stateBJPleadersaskedwhypollswerenotbeingheld inallthesevenBengal seats thatarevacant.The CPM and Congress,

however, welcomed the EC'sdecision. “We also wanted atimelyby-election,"CPMleaderSujan Chakraborty said, whileasking when the state wouldhold the municipal polls.CongressstatepresidentAdhirChowdhurysaid,“It isbettertoholdelectionsontime.”

WITHENS,DELHI

CIN: L24224GJ2010PLC062434Registered Office: 101, Mangalam Corporate House, 19/B Kalyan Society,

Near M.G. International School, Mithakhali, Ahmedabad – 380 006, Gujarat, India.Telephone: +91 79 6161 5000; Website: www.groupmangalam.com

E-mail: [email protected]

TH

NOTICE OF THE 11 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE COMPANY

NOTICE is hereby given that in view of the continuing Covid-19 pandemic

and in accordance with the Circular No. 14/2020 dated April 08, 2020,

Circular No.17/2020 dated April 13, 2020 followed by Circular No. 20/2020

dated May 05, 2020 and Circular No. 02/2021 dated January 13, 2021

(hereinafter collectively referred to as “MCA Circulars”) issued by Ministry of

C o r p o r a t e A f f a i r s ( “ M C A ” ) a n d C i r c u l a r N o .

SEBI/HO/CFD/CMD1/CIR/P/2020/79 dated May 12, 2020 and Circular No.

SEBI/HO/CFD/CMD2/CIR/P/2021/11 dated January 15, 2021 issued by the

Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI Circulars”) and all other

relevant circulars issued from time to time for holding of Annual General

Meeting through VC or OAVM facility provided by the National Securities

Depository Limited (“NSDL”) without the physical presence of Members at ath

common venue, the Eleventh (11 ) Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) of the

Members ofMangalamGlobal Enterprise Limited (“Company”) will be held on

Thursday, September 30, 2021 at 2:00 P.M. IST through Video Conferencing

(“VC”) / Other Audio Visual Means (“OAVM”) to transact the Ordinaryth

Businesses andSpecial Businesses as set out in the notice of 11 AGM.In accordance with aforesaid circulars, the Notice of AGM along with

Annual Report 2020-21will be sent only by electronicmode to thoseMembers

whose e-mail addresses are registered with the Company/ Depositories.

Membermay note that the Notice of AGM and Annual Report 2020-21will also

be available at the Company's website at www.groupmangalam.com, website

of National Stock Exchange of India Limited atwww.nseindia.comandwebsite

of NSDL (agency providing remote e-voting facility)at www.evoting.nsdl.com.

The instructions for joining the AGM are provided in the Notice of the AGM.

Members attending the meeting through VC/OAVM shall be counted for the

purpose of reckoning the quorum as per Section 103 of the Companies Act,

2013.The Company is providing remote e-voting facility ("remote e-voting") to

all its members to cast their votes on all resolutions as set out in the Notice of

AGM. Additionally, the Company is providing the facility of voting through e-

voting system during the AGM ("e-voting"). Detailed procedure for remote e-

voting/e-voting is provided in the Notice of AGM.In case Members have not registered their e-mail addresses with the

Company/Depositories, please follow the below instructions to register e-mail

address for obtaining Annual Report and login details for e-voting:a) For members holding shares in physical mode - please provide necessary

details like Folio No., Name of shareholder, scanned copy of the share

certificate (front and back), PAN (self attested scanned copy of PAN card),

AADHAR (self attested scanned copy of Aadhar Card) by e-mail to

[email protected] [email protected]) Members holding shares in demat mode – please provide details like

DPID-CLID (16 digit DPID+ CLID or 16 digit beneficiary ID), Name, client

master or copy of Consolidated Account statement, PAN (self attested

scanned copy of PAN card), AADHAR (self attested scanned copy of

Aadhar Card) by e-ma i l to cs@groupmanga lam.com or

[email protected] of Bank account details

Shareholders are requested to notify changes in Bank Details with their

Respective Depository Participants.th

The 11 AGM Notice will be sent to the shareholders holding shares as on

Cut Off Date for the dispatch in accordance with the applicable laws on their

registered e-mail addresses in due course of time.In case you have any queries or issues regarding e-voting, you may refer

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and e-voting user manual available at the

download section of www.evoting.nsdl.com or call on toll free no.: 1800 1020

990 and 180022 4430 orwrite e-mail to [email protected]

MANGALAM GLOBAL ENTERPRISE LIMITED

For, Mangalam Global Enterprise LimitedSd/-

Vrunda PatelCompany Secretary & Compliance Officer

Place: AhmedabadDate: September 3, 2021

WATER AND SANITATION MANAGEMENT

ORGANIZATION, AMRELI"For complaints regarding rural drinking water supply,

Please contact toll-free helpline No.1916 of GWSSB."

TENDER NOTICE No. 06/2021 - 22

Unit Manager, District Water & Sanitation Unit - Amreli, "Batuk

Smruti", Dena Bank Society, Station Road, Amreli-365601. Phone

No. (02792)-228120 invites tender for internal village water supply

scheme in 4 villages of Amreli District. An Estimate Cost of

Rs.77.16 Lac. Tender I.D. No. 474780, 474782, 474786, 474790 =

04 by E.Tendering Online tender with Two Bid System from

Registered & Class related contractors for above mention works in

Tender. The detail information are available on website www.state-

tenders.gujarat.gov.in & htlp://nprocure.com from Dt.14/09/2021.

Last Date for Online Submission Dt.28/09/2021 till 18:00 Hours Any

further changes/amendments here after shall be published online

only. INF/AMR/169/21-22

Interested to to Design, Engineering, Supply, Labour job for Installation, Testing &Commissioning of Sweet Manufacturing & Packing Equipment at Sabar Dairy, Himatnagar.For more details of Invitation of Bid please visit our website: www.sabardairy.org. Last datefor sale of bid: 20/09/21 at 14.00 Hrs. (Bid Document Fee Rs. 2000/- (Non Refundable) andEMD Rs. 50,000/-. In Favour of "Sabarkantha District Cooperetive Milk Producers' UnionLimited. Managing Director

Sabarkantha District Co-operative Milk Producers' Union Ltd.''SABAR DAIRY''

Sub Post : Boria, Himatnagar-383 006. (Gujarat)

TENDER NOTICE

ADDITIONAL CHIEF ENGINEER,

RUSHIKULYA BAHUDA BASIN, BERHAMPUR - 760004

e-Procurement Notice No. ACE, RBB - 08/2021-22

e-mail id: [email protected]. Type of Work :- Flood Proteciton works.

2. Total No of Works :- 02 (Two) Nos.

3. Amount put to tender :- Rs 650.38 lakh to Rs. 666.04 Lakh

4. Period of completion :- 17 (Seventeen) calendar months

Procurement officer Bid Identification No. Bid Amount (Rs. in lakh) Availability & Submission of

Bid On-line

Additional Chief Engineer,

Rushikulya Bahuda Basin,

Berhampur, Ganjam.

ACE, RBB (BNID) - 17/2021-22 666.04 From 08.09.2021, 10.00 A.M. to

23.09.2021, 5.00 P.M.ACE, RBB (BNID) - 18/2021-22 650.38

Sd/-

Additional Chief Engineer

Rushikulya Bahuda Basin, Berhampur

OIPR- 32411/11/0005/2122

Date of opening of the Technical Bid:- 24.09.2021 at 11.30 A.M.

Furhter detail can be seen from the Gov.t website www.tenderodisha.gov.in

A-418

552DAYSSINCEPANDEMICBEGAN

TRACKING THE SECOND SURGE

NEWCASES: 41,917ACTIVE CASES:4,10,193

TOTAL VACCINATION:67,72,11,205DAILY DEATHS

308TOTALDEATHS

4,40,533WEEKLY CFR

1.17%OVERALL CFR

1.36%

TESTS TODAY: 18,53,790 | TOTAL TESTS: 53,00,93,828

WEEKLY POSITIVITY: 2.56%| OVERALL POSITIVITY: 6.22%

STATESREPORTINGMOSTCASES

STATE NEW ACTIVE WEEKLY TOTALCASES CASES POSITIVITY VACCINATION

■Kerala 29,682 250,540 18.32% 2,95,43,581

■Maharashtra 4,130 52,025 2.48% 6,15,16,137

■TamilNadu 1,575 16,315 0.98% 3,41,68,983

■AndhraPradesh 1,502 14,883 2.27% 3,11,36,657

■Karnataka 983 17,772 0.71% 4,44,09,822

STATESREPORTINGMOSTDEATHS

STATE TODAY’S TOTAL WEEKLY OVERALLDEATHS DEATHS CFR CFR

■Kerala 142 21,501 0.72% 0.57%

■Maharashtra 65 1,41,241 2.13% 2.20%

■Karnataka 21 37,401 1.49% 1.27%

■TamilNadu 20 35,000 1.16% 1.35%

■Andhra 16 13,903 1.06% 0.69%

Note:DataasonSept4; vaccinationnumbersasofSept3.Deaths include those frompreviousdays.

Ahead of deadline forMamata election, ECsays bypolls on Sept 30

‘BhabanipureyKhelaHobe’ says thewritingonthewall inBhabanipur,Kolkata,onSaturday.ParthaPaul

APURVAVISHWANATHNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER4

SETTINGTHEstageforafreshcon-frontationwiththeGovernment,theSupremeCourtCollegiumhasreiterated its decision recom-mending the appointment of 12candidates, including three judi-cialofficers,tofiveHighCourts.The12nameswerereiterated

despiteobjections fromthegov-ernment as the Supreme CourtCollegium, headed by ChiefJustice of IndiaNVRamana, rec-ommended68candidatesintotalacross 12HighCourts lastweek.The Collegium’s recommenda-tions were published on theSupremeCourtwebsiteFriday.According to the

Memorandum of Procedure,oncereiteratedbytheCollegium,theCentre isboundtomaketheappointmentwhichmakes thereiteration of 12 recommenda-tionssignificant.TheCentrecansit on these names indefinitelydespite thecourthavingunder-lined the importance of timelimits to thisprocess.FortheAllahabadHighCourt,

theCollegiumreiterated its rec-ommendation to appoint threejudicial officers Om PrakashTripathi, Umesh ChandraSharmaandSyedWaizMian.The threewere first recom-

mended on February 4 alongwitheightotherjudicialofficers.TheCentrehadappointedsevenjudges fromthat list inMarch.Tripathi, Sharma andMian

are currently District andSessions Judges in Varanasi,EtawahandAmroharespectively.Among advocates, the col-

legium has reiterated ninenames from four High CourtsevenastheCentrehadraisedob-jections.FortheRajasthanHighCourt,

the collegium reiterated its de-cision to appoint advocateFarzandAli,AdditionalAdvocateGeneral with the Congress led-state government. Ali’s namewas first recommended by theSCcollegiumin July2019.For the Calcutta High Court,

the collegiumhas reiterated itsdecisiontorecommendfourad-vocates Jaytosh Mazumdar,Amitesh Banerjee, Raja BasuChowdhuryandLapitaBanerji.

Thenameswerefirstrecom-mended by the SC collegium inDecember 2018 alongwith an-otheradvocateSakyaSen.Whileall five nameswere not consid-eredbytheCentre,thecollegiumhas reiterated four.Allfivejudgeswerestategov-

ernment advocates, pleadersandstandingcounselappointedbytheWestBengalgovernment.Incidentally, Amitesh

Banerjee is the sonof formerSCjudge UC Banerjee who had in2006 headed a Central probethat, in its report, ruled out anyfoul play in the February 2002Sabarmati Express fire inGodhra.Shakya Sen is the son of for-

mer High Court judge ShyamalSenwho served as acting ChiefJusticeoftheCalcuttaHighCourtand later as Chief Justice of theAllahabadHighCourt.After retirement, hewas ap-

pointed as chairperson of theWest Bengal Human RightsCommissionfrom2004to2008.However,arecommendation

madelater in January2019, thatof Justice Kaushik Chanda,whowas an Additional Solicitor

General in the Calcutta HC ap-pointed by the Central govern-ment, was promptly cleared bytheGovernment.Thisweek,theCentrealsonotifiedtheappoint-mentof JusticeChandaasaper-manent judgeof theHC.Thecollegiumalsoreiterated

the names of two advocates forappointment as judges of theJammuandKashmirHighCourt:Moksha Khajuria Kazmi andRahulBharti.While Kazmi was first rec-

ommended in October 2019,Bharti was recommended inMarch.Khajuria-Kazmi isasen-ior advocatewho has served asAdditional Advocate Generalduring Governor’s rule in 2016and later continued to serve intheMehboobaMufti-led PDP-BJP government in J&K beforeher serviceswere terminated.For the Karnataka High

Court, the collegium reiteratedits decision to recommend ad-vocatesNagendraRamachandraNaikandAdityaSondhi. Sondhihas previously served as theAdditionalAdvocateGeneral forthe Congress-led Karnatakagovernment.

CentreobjectedbutSCCollegiumfirmon12names forhighcourts

UnionLawMinisterKirenRijijuwithChief Justiceof IndiaNVRamanainNewDelhionSaturday. AmitMehra

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEJAIPUR,NEWDELHI,

GURGAON,SEPTEMBER4

THEMINISTRYofRoadTransportandHighwayshastakenaseriousview of the killing of an NHAIproject consultant in Jaipur onAugust26,andisplanningtosenda strongwarning to contractorsabout the serious consequencesif their functionaries came toharminthecourseofwork.Officials said such an attack

could "directly impact the sec-tor" as thewhole Engineering,Procurement and Constructionmodelofroad-makinghasinde-pendent engineers built in as avital tool for qualitymonitoringand accountability, and theyshould be reassured that theywerenotontheirown.“It isourdutytoseeto it that

our officials and the authorityengineersareprotectedinthelineofduty,”GiridharAramane,NHAIChairman and Road TransportandHighwaysSecretary,toldTheSundayExpress.Rajinder Kumar Chawla, 64,

was shot dead by twomen, al-legedlyhiredbyacontractor foran NHAI project to build footover bridges along NationalHighway8connectingGurgaonand Jaipur. Police have arrestedthe managing director of theHaryana-based company, E5InfrastructurePrivate Ltd, alongwith three of his employees forthemurder.OnSaturday,theJaipurpolice

arrested one of the allegedshooters, Dharmendra, fromKurukshetra in Haryana. TheSHO, Vaishali Nagar PoliceStation, Jaipur, Anil KumarJaimani, saidDharmendrahasaprevious criminal record and

was hired along with anothershooterforRs15lakhbytheMDof E5, Karandeep Sheoran (29),andfellowaccusedNaveenBisla,31,Vikas,33andAmitNehra,26.Chawla,aretiredPWDsuper-

intendingengineer,workedwithURS ScottWilson India Pvt Ltd,whichisengagedasaconsultantto E5 on behalf of the NHAI.“Preliminary investigation sug-gestsSheoranwantedChawlatoapprove designs for a construc-tionprojectwhichwentagainstthe terms of the original con-tract. The NHAI appoints con-sultant firms to supervise andmonitortheworkof itscontrac-tors. Sheoranwas obligated togetanapprovalfromChawla,butsince the past one year, Chawlawasn’t giving his approval. Theoriginalcontractwasforthecon-structionofsingle-spanfootoverbridges but Sheoranwanted itchanged to double-span,”DeputyCommissionerofPolice,JaipurWest,RichaTomarsaid.Police believe the murder

happened over this. "They hadargumentsatpastmeetingsandChawla, whowas very compe-tent, couldn’tbebentevenwiththe lureofmoney,"Tomarsaid.The contract worth Rs 35

crore, forconstructionof14footoverbridges,wasawardedtoE5inAugustlastyear.Thefootoverbridges were supposed to becompleted by August 19, 2021,butthefirmmissedthedeadline.Police said the NHAI had leviedapenaltyofRs3.5croreonE5fornotcompletingthefirstandsec-ondstageof theprojectontime.Officials said the August 26

meetingwas scheduled to dis-cuss the extra timeSheorande-mandedtocompletetheproject,and Chawla had come downfromGurugramfor it.

Someof theaccusedwhohavebeenarrested.Express

NHAI project consultantkilling: Ministry takesnote, says officials mustbe ensured of safety

Hope govt clears names ofHC judges at the earliest: CJI

Suvendusummonedin 2018 guarddeath case

BJP leaderaskedtorecordstatementonMonday

CIDsourcessaid

Adhikarihasbeen

summonedtorecord

hisstatement

EXPRESSNETWORK10 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM


Ahmedabad

THESUNDAYEXPRESS,SEPTEMBER5,2021

11 GOVT&POLITICS


HAMZAKHANJAIPUR,SEPTEMBER4

IN GOOD news for the rulingCongress party in Rajasthan, itmanaged to win most zilaparishad and panchayat samitiseats in six districts, the count-ing for which was held onSaturday.Pollingwasheldfor200seats

in six zila parishads and 1,564seats in78panchayat samitis inBharatpur, Dausa, Jaipur,Jodhpur, SawaiMadhopur andSirohidistricts.The results are some respite

for theCongress,whichhadfin-ishedbehindtheBJP inboththezila parishad and panchayatsamitipollsheldin21districtsinNovember-December last year.On the other hand, the resultsmaymake thingsworse for theSatishPoonia-ledRajasthanBJP,whichisalreadybattlingfaction-alism.Out of six zila parishads, the

CongressissettoformBoardsinfour, after crossing the halfwaymark in Dausa, Jaipur, Jodhpur

and Sawai Madhopur. InBharatpur, theBJP fell twoshortof themajoritymark of 19 andwill have to rely onIndependents to form theBoard. In Sirohi though, theCongress received a drubbing,with the BJP winning 17 of the21 zila parishadmember seats.Overall, out of the 200 zila

parishad member seats, theCongresswon99,theBJP90,theIndependents 8 and theBSP3.TheCongresswon themost

panchayatsamitiseatstoo,win-ning670of thetotal1,564,withthe BJP trailing at 551.Independents had the thirdhighest seats, at 290, with theHanuman Beniwal-led

Rashtriya Loktantrik Party alsoputting up a decent showwith40seats --mainly in Jodhpur --followedby11 seats to the BSP.BeniwalhadsplitwiththeNDAlate lastyear. The resultsof twoseatswereyettobedeclaredtillSaturdaynight.In Chief Minister Ashok

Gehlot’s home turf of Jodhpur,

the Congress wonmost of the21 panchayat samitis. In Jaipurtoo, the Congress was ahead,with theBJPclosebehind.Theywere neck-and-neck in a fewothers, such as the Amer pan-chayat samiti, where both thepartieswon 11 seats, one shortof the majority mark of 12. Alone Independent now holdsthe key. BJP chief Poonia is theMLA from Amer. In Jalsu, theother panchayat samiti in hisAssemblyconstituency, theBJPwon 12 seats against 9 for theCongress.Apart fromtheCM,whoisan

MLA from Sardarpura inJodhpur, the polls were crucialfor sixministers in his govern-ment, among other MLAs andIndependents. The Congressmanaged to win the Jhotwarapanchayat samiti (ministerLalchandKatariaisanMLAfromJhotwaraAssemblyinJaipurdis-trict); andmost of the seats inLalsot and Sikrai panchayatsamitis (falling under theirnamesakeAssemblyconstituen-ciesofministersParsadi Lal andMamtaBhupesh).

HARIKISHANSHARMANEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER4

BJP-RULED Uttar Pradesh haskept“‘inabeyance”theconstruc-tionofnewAgriculturalProduceMarket Committee (APMC)mandis after one of the threecontentious farm laws that al-lowstransactionsoutsideAPMCmarketyardswas implementedlastyear,showAssemblyrecords.The Farmers’ Produce Trade

andCommerce (PromotionandFacilitation)Act came into forceonJune5,2020.Farmersprotest-ing against the laws say this ActbypassesexistingAPMCmandisandwill lead to the end of themandi system.Records show that Uttar

Pradesh’s Minister of State(Independent Charge) forAgricultural Marketing andAgricultural Foreign Trades,Sriram Chauhan, informed thestateAssembly that thegovern-mentwas focusing on upgrad-ing existingmandis rather thanbuildingnewones.He also informed the

Assembly that the mandi rev-enue had taken a hit after thefarmlawswere implemented.The other two laws are the

Farmers (Empowerment andProtection) Agreement onPriceAssurance and Farm ServicesAct, 2020; and the EssentialCommodities(Amendment)Act,2020.Chauhansaidinawrittenre-

ply inHindi to theAssembly onAugust 19: “A Mandi is estab-lishedonthebasisofnumberoflicenseesinanareaandrevenuegenerated fromthatarea, but in

the changed circumstances inview of the Ordinance/Actpassed on 05th June 2020 nomandifeeisliabletobepaidout-side the [mandi] premises, as aresult of whichmandi revenueisbeingadverselyaffected.”“As faras theconstructionof

newmandis is concerned, theBoardofDirectors, initsmeetingheldon13.06.2020,hasdecidedthat in changed circumstances,insteadofnewconstruction,em-phasis should be laid on the re-pairandmodernizationoftheal-ready created infrastructurefacilities, so that the system ofagricultural marketing can bestrengthened. Accordingly theconstructionworkofnewman-dishasbeenkept inabeyanceatpresent,”hesaid.In awritten reply to another

question,ChauhaninformedtheAssemblythatthejurisdictionoftheAPMCmandishasalsobeen“restricted” to physical bound-aries of the mandi and sub-mandi sites.Asper informationavailable

on the website of the UttarPradesh State AgricultureProduceMarketBoard, revenuefrommandishascomedowntoRs979.78crorein2020-21fromRs 1,986.68 crore in 2019-20.One of the reasons for the de-cline inmandirevenuecouldbea reduction in transaction fee(popularlyknownasmanditax)which the stategovernment re-duced from 2 per cent to 1 percent lastyear.Farmers are demanding the

repealof threecontentiousfarmlaws.Theyhaverejectedthegov-ernment’s offer of amendingthese laws.

Beat constable who madedemocracy successful: Shah

VARINDERBHATIACHANDIGARH,SEPTEMBER4

INAmove that runs contrary totheAllIndiaServices(Cadre)rules,Haryanagovernment is pushingtoappointanIPSofficeronacadrepostmeantforIASofficers.WhileCMManohar Lal Khattar’s officehas backed themove to appointan IPS officer’s appointment onthecadrepostmeantfor IASoffi-cers, HomeMinister Anil Vij hasrefusedtorelievetheIPSofficertillstategovernmenttakespriorper-missionfromthecentralgovern-ment,which is amandatory re-quirementinsuchcasesundertheAIS(Cadre)Rules.The matter pertains to re-

cently announced appointmentofIPSofficerKalaRamachandranasPrincipalSecretary(Transport),Haryana. The officer figuredamong 10 IPS officers whosetransfer/posting orderswere is-suedonSeptember1. Theofficerwas also givenadditional chargeoftheCrimesAgainstWomende-partment.However,soonafterthetrans-

ferorderswere issued,Vij dug inhis heels and vehemently ob-jectedtotheIPSofficer’sappoint-mentonthecadrepostmeantforIASofficers.TheHomeDepartment has

citied relevantAIS (Cadre) rules,underwhich aprior permissionfrom Centre’s Department ofPersonnelandTraining(DoPT), is

requiredinsuchcases.Sources in the government,

however, told The Indian Expressthat the Chief Minister’s Officewasstill insistentongoingaheadwiththeofficer’stransfer.According to thedocuments

accessed by The Indian Express,Rajeev Arora, Additional ChiefSecretary (Home) issued trans-fer/posting orders of 10 IPS offi-cersonSeptember1.ThefilewassenttoHomeMinisterAnilVijforapproval. The sameday, Anil Vijhalted Kala Ramachandran’stransfer.Onthefile,Vijrecorded--“ExceptSr.No.6whichisagainstthe guidelines/instructions ofDoPT,postingofnon-cadreofficeratIAScadrepost”.Transfer/postingordersofre-

maining nine officerswere ap-proved.Overruling Vij’s comments,

theChiefMinister’sChiefPrincipalSecretary,DSDhesi,wroteonthefile--1.CMhasapprovedthepro-posals at Sr. No. 1-10(transfer/postings of all 10 offi-

cers);2.PermissionofDoPTshallbe taken, as per extant instruc-tions, in respect of Sr.No. 6 (KalaRamachandran)”.Asthefilereachedbackinthe

Home Department, onSeptember 2, Vij again wrote:“Expeditetheprocess forobtain-ingpermissionfromDoPT.Tillthepermission is received,MrsKalaRamachandran shall not be re-lievedforhernewassignment.”Sourcesdisclosedthatdespite

Vij’s stern objections and adviceaskingthegovernmenttofirstob-tain DoPT’s approval and thenpostanIPSofficeronacadrepostmeant for IAS officers, the ChiefMinister’sOffice is firmongoingaheadwiththeappointment.Sourcesaddedthatevenwhile

Vij had ordered that KalaRamachandran shall not be re-lievedforhernewassignment,theHomeDepartmentsentthefiletotheChiefSecretary’sofficeforfur-therorders.

Not the first caseKalaRamachandran’sappoint-

mentagainsttheIAScadrepostisnottheisolatedcase.Haryanagov-ernmentisalreadyfacingflakfromtheUniongovernmentforviolat-ingIAScadrerules. Inseveralear-lierappointmentsofIPSofficersonIAScadreposts, the stategovern-menthadnot taken themanda-tory permission of DoPTbeforemakingsuchappointments.Senior IAS officer Ashok

Khemka has raised the issue of

suchappointmentsinviolationofIAScadrerules,withtheCM’sof-fice,PM’sofficeandevenwiththeDoPT. Khemka, onNovember 3,2020andDecember9,2020,hadraised the issue of Haryana gov-ernmentpostingnon-cadreoffi-cersoncadrepostsinviolationofRule9ofAllIndiaServices(Cadre)Rules. BasedonKhemka’s repre-sentations,DoPThaddirectedtheHaryana government to ensurecomplianceoftheAISCadreRuleswhileposting/transfersofofficersin the state. The DoPT had alsosoughtHaryanagovernment’sex-planation on all such appoint-ments that were made in thestate.Although the stategovern-mentdidfiletheirreply,theDoPTrejectedthesame.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEBENGALURU,SEPTEMBER4

ANANNOUNCEMENTbyUnionHomeMinister Amit Shah thatthe BJP will fight the nextAssemblyelectionsinKarnatakaunder the leadership of ChiefMinister Basavaraj Bommai hasnotgonedowntoowellwithsen-ior leaders in the Karnataka BJP,and a few veterans have sug-gested that polls will be foughtunderacollective leadership.Theminister’s endorsement

ofBommai-arelativelynewen-trant to the BJP - has come at atime when veteran leader B SYediyurappa has expressedkeenness to travel around thestate tobuild theBJP’sprospectsfor the2023polls. However, the

former CM is yet to get a greensignalfromtheBJPleadershiptotravel across the state on behalfof theparty.While Yediyurappa has not

respondedtoShah’sremarks,BJPveterans such as former deputyCMKSEshwarappa and formerCM Jagadish Shettar havemadestatements.

Ruraldevelopmentandpan-chayat raj minister K SEshwarappa,who is often cred-ited for building the BJP inKarnataka along withYediyurappa and the late unionministerHNAnanthKumar,said“we are in favour of collectiveleadership”. “Bommaiwill be apart of that. The state presidentNalin Kumar Kateel is buildingtheparty.Weareallworkingto-gether.”Shettar,whooptedoutof the

Bommaicabinetsayingheis tooseniortoworkunderthecurrentCM,hasstatedthattheelectionsaremanymonths away. “Look,theelectionsarestillfaraway.Wehavetoseewhathappenswhentheelectioncomes,”hesaid.UnionministerPralhad Joshi

has said that all senior leaders

will be consulted by the BJP forall major decisions. “No seniorleaderhasexpresseddiscontentonthepartyplatform,”Joshisaidaboutostensibledisappointmentamong party veterans overShah’sendorsement.There is speculation about

the possible appointment of anew BJP state president by theendoftheyeartoconsolidatethepartybase.Sensing the confusion over

leadership, former CongressministerMBPatil-seenasapos-sible Congress alternative toYediyurappa by the dominantLingayatcommunityinthestate-issuedastatementlastweekonhisroleintheagitationfordecla-ration of Lingayats andVeerashaivas as aminority reli-gion.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICELUCKNOW,SEPTEMBER4

WITHTHEwork on setting thefoundationof theRamTemple inAyodhyaalmostcomplete,the“ac-tual constructionwork” of thetemplewill begin inaweek, offi-cials of Shri Ram JanmabhoomiTeerthKshetraTrustsaidSaturday.To speedup theconstruction

workandmeet the requirementofstonestobeusedinthetemple,eight craftsmen fromJaipurhavealreadyreachedAyodhyatocarvethestones.Accordingtotrustoffi-cials, around4 lakh cubic feet ofstoneswill be used in themaintemple itselfwith the carvingof60,000cubicfeetofstoneshavingalreadybeencompleted.“Thework is speedingup.At

present, those involved in theconstructionof the templehavealmost completed the filling upa large area with roller-com-pacted concrete after removingthe debris,” said TrustmemberAnilMishra.InMarch, theworkwasham-

pered after old debris and poorloose sandwas found from thespotwhere the sanctumsancto-rumofthetemplewillbebuilt.Theexperts involved in theconstruc-tionof the templedecided to fill

the areawith roller-compactedconcrete. Theydecided to spreadaround45layersina400feetlongand300 feetwidearea toensureproperstrengthtotheground.Forthe filling, stone pebbles, stonedust, fly ash, admixture, cementandwaterwereused. Trust offi-cialssaidthataround1.20lakhcu-bicmetresofdebriswasremovedfromthespotbeforefillingitwithlayersofcompressedconcrete.Members of the Trust said

that the entire temple will bemade of stone – around 4 lakhcubic feet of stoneswill beusedjust in the temple itself.

Pune:TheBJP-ledcentralgovern-ment is using the EnforcementDirectorate(ED)to“subdue”op-positionpartiesacrossthecoun-try,NCPpresidentSharadPawarallegedonSaturday.Speaking to reporters in

Pune, Pawar said themisuse oftheinvestigationagencywasbe-ingseennotonlyinMaharashtrabut inother states too.“Of late the (Union) govern-

ment seems to be using thisagencytosubduetheopposition.This is happening not only inMaharashtra,butalsoinPunjab,Rajasthan,MadhyaPradeshandinsomesouthernstatestoo,”hesaid. The Union government isalso ignoring the farmers whohavebeenprotestingagainstthenew farm laws for over a year,the former agricultureministersaid.PTI

After farm lawpassed, UPstalls buildingAPMCmandis

Some good news for Cong, leads BJPin panchayat samiti polls, Gehlot turf

Countingof votes in JaipuronSaturday.Rohit JainParas

Shah’s endorsement of CM Bommai createsflutter among BJP veterans in Karnataka

‘But for somereason, there isacampaigntomalignpolice’


DEMOCRACY IS not just elec-tions, but protection of individ-ual liberty and freedom of ex-pression that police ensure bymaintaining law and order,HomeMinister Amit Shah saidonSaturday.“Democracy is not just elec-

tions. In democracy, the mostimportant thing is protectionofindividual liberty and freedomof expression. It is the idea thatIndia’s 130 crore people shouldbe able to realise their potentialaccording to their ability. Its cu-mulative benefit goes to thecountry. If law and order is notproper, democracy cannot suc-ceed.Lawmustprotectpeople’srightsgivenbytheConstitution.Thatwill lead to the progress ofthe country,” Shah said, addingthat it is the police forcewhichprovides thatprotection.Shahwasspeakingatafunc-

tionorganisedtocommemoratethe 51st Foundation Day of the

Bureau of Police Research andDevelopment (BPR&D). Shahalsosaidthatdemocracydidnotcome to India in 1950 but waspartof thenation’snature.“When I see the debate on

democracy, people mentionParliament,judiciaryandotherin-stitutions. But I feel that it is thebeat constable who has madedemocracy successful. But forsome reason there has been acampaign tomalign the police.Only bad news gets coverage,whilethegoodworkdonebythepolice is ignored,” Shah said,addingthattheBPR&Dmustworktoimprovetheimageofthepolice.During the event, Shah also

felicitatedTokyoOlympicsSilvermedallist weightlifter SaikhomMirabai Chanu, whowas at theevent as additional superinten-dentof police inManipur.UnionHome Secretary Ajay

Bhalla, whowas also present atthe function, said police had tolearn a lot to fulfil expectationsof thepeople.“Whentheforceisbig, thereareall kindsof peoplethere. This is where leadershipmatters.Weneedtoshapepub-licdealingsinawaythatpercep-tion improves,” he said, addingthat CCTNS had been imple-mentedin16,276policestationsacross thecountry.

ShahwithOlympicssilvermedallistSaikhomMirabaiChanuataneventtomarkthe51stfoundationdayoftheBPR&DinDelhi. Twitter/AmitShah

ShahwithBommai inKarnatakaonThursday.PTI file

Foundation fixed,Ram Temple work tobegin in a week: Trust

SEERSOBJECTTOAIMIMREFERRINGTOAYODHYAAS‘FAIZABAD’Ayodhya: Ahead of AIMIMpresidentAsaduddinOwaisi’svisit here, seers have raisedobjections to Ayodhya’s for-mer name, Faizabad, beingusedintheparty’spostersputupinthedistrictandtermeditan “anti-Hindutva” move.They have warned that ifAyodhya is notmentioned inthe posters, then Owaisi’spublicmeeting in thedistrictwillnotbeallowed. PTI

Centre is usingED to subdueOpposition,Pawar alleges

Haryana: CM Khattar wants IPS officer on IAS cadre post, Vij blocks move

HaryanaCMMLKhattarandHomeMinisterAnilVij

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIARAIPUR,SEPTEMBER4

THE CHHATTISGARH govern-menthasorderedaprobeintoir-regularitiesatarecently-heldgov-ernment-run sterilisation campin Surguja districtwhere a sur-geonallegedlyperformedtubec-tomies on 101women in sevenhours,anofficialsaidonSaturday.The sterilisation campwas

held on August 27 atNarmadapurcommunityhealthcentre inMainpatdevelopmentblockof thedistrict, locatedover300 km away from the capitalRaipur, theofficial said.Local newspapers had re-

portedallegedirregularitiesinthecamp, followingwhich the de-partmentswungintoactionandissuedshow-causenoticestothesurgeonandalocalhealthofficial.Followingcomplaintsregard-

ingthesterilisationcamp,aprobehasbeenordered,basedonwhichfurther actionwill be taken, saidDr Alok Shukla, PrincipalSecretaryofthestate'sHealthandFamilyWelfaredepartment.“Atotalof101surgerieswere

performed by a (government)surgeon in the camp. Thewomen who underwent theprocedurewere reported to beinanormalcondition.However,as per the government guide-lines, a surgeon can perform amaximum of 30 surgeries in aday and hence, an enquiry hasbeen ordered to ascertain whythe guidelines had been vio-lated,” Shukla said.Thesurgeonhasclaimedthat

a large number of women hadturnedupandurgedhimtoper-formtheoperations,sayingtheyhad come from remote villagesandcannot travel frequently.

Chhattisgarhsurgeonsterilises 101women in 7hours, govtorders probe

Kerala: Minorboy in hospitalwith suspectedNipah infection

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIATHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,

SEPTEMBER4

A 12-YEAR-OLD boy has beenadmittedtoahospitalinKerala'sKozhikodewithsymptomssim-ilartothoseofNipahvirusinfec-tion,healthdepartmentsourcessaidSaturday.The state governmentheld a

high-levelmeetingofhealthoffi-cialslateSaturdaynightfollowingthe information about the sus-pectedNipah infection, a healthdepartmentsourcetoldPTI.Although the state govern-

ment has not yet officially an-nounced the presence of Nipahvirus, sources said the healthminister might rush toKozhikode Sundaymorning totakestockof thesituation.Further details are awaited.

ThefirstNipahvirusdiseaseout-breakinSouthIndiawasreportedintheKozhikodedistrictofKeralaonMay 19, 2018. The state hadwitnessed17deathsand18con-firmedcasestill June1,2018.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEJAMMU,SEPTEMBER4

THE CROSS-EXAMINATION ofprosecution witnesses in two30-year-old cases— the abduc-tion of then Union HomeMinister Mufti MohammadSayeed's daughter RubaiyaSayeedandthekillingof fourIAFpersonnel in Jammu andKashmir — began at a specialTADAcourthereonSaturday.The questioning, however,

wasputoffasmanyoftheaccusedpersonswerenotpresentincourt—theircounselsattributedthisto“disturbances”inKashmir.Abdul Rehman Sofi, a wit-

ness in both the cases, andSaleem alias Nanaji, an accusedin the killing of IAF personnel,appeared in court. YasinMalik,the chief of the proscribedJammuandKashmir Liberationfront who is accused in bothcases, joined via video confer-

ence fromTihar Jail inDelhi.Malik has been in jail since

2019 followinghis arrestby theNIA in a terror funding case.Sources said he refused to takethe help of any lawyer in thecase and told the court that hewouldhimselfexaminethewit-nesses. The TADA judge fixedOctober 6-7 as thenext date forcross-examination.Militantshadopened fireon

the IAF personnel on the out-skirts of Srinagar in January1990. The CBI had filed achargesheet inAugust1990.ThechargesagainstMalikand

sixotherswereframedonMarch16lastyearformurder,attempttomurder andmultiple provisionsof nowdefunct TADA (TerroristandDisruptive Activities Preve-ntionAct). TheotheraccusedareAli MohammadMir, ManzoorAhmedSofi aliasMustafa, JavedAhmedMiraliasNalka, ShowkatAhmed Bakshi, Javed AhmedZargarandNanaji.

Killing of IAF men,Rubaiya abduction:witness questioningbegins in spl court

Ahmedabad


SUNDAYSTORY


TAKE5COVID&CINEMAHALLS

‘Tookloan,spentlakhs,boughtnewspeakersforthehall.Then,secondwavehit.’Express

‘Where are themovies, thepeople?... Weneed relief onpower, water billsto survive’

As states relax lockdowncurbs, including formoviehalls, allowing them tooperate at 50 per centcapacity, D’Souza, who isalso vice-president of theSouth India FilmFederation, says onlyfurther concessions and100%occupancy can keepthe sector afloat

DARSHANDEVAIAHBP

1Howhasthe lastyearbeenforbusiness?I have been running the the-

atre for nearly five decades now,starting in 1960. Never have Istopped operating the theatre ormadelosseslikenow.Wehavenothadconsistentbusinessforalmosttwo years. It is going to be veryhard to recover from this.Whilemy theatre is shut, I still have topay 20 employees Rs 3-4 lakheverymonthas salary.

2Didyouexpect thingstobethisbad?No. After the first wave, in

2020, Itookaloanandspentlakhsto renovate the theatre. I boughtnewspeakersandchangedthein-teriors.Butunfortunately,thesec-ondwave hit inMarch and therewas another lockdown. Now thegovernmenthasallowedustore-open, but where are themoviesand where are the people? If itcontinues this way, our businesswillcollapse.Thegovernmenthaswaivedpropertytaxforus,whichhas been very helpful, but weneed concessions on water andelectricitybills formovietheatresto survive.

3Whyaren’tyouscreeningfilmsnow?There aremanymovies ready

tobereleasedbutthebigproduc-ers havemade it clear that theydon’twanttoreleasetheminthe-atres unless the government al-lows 100% occupancy. Eventhough Karnataka has allowed50%percentoccupancy,Ihavenotopenedmy theatre. We have towait, but I am confident wewillsurviveandstartourservicesoon.

4HaveOTTplatformsaffectedbusiness?People like to watch their

favourite stars on the big screen.OTTmighthavebeenahitduringCovid times, but after that every-one will come to theatres. As ofnowwe have no plans to screenany movies. We are waiting forgoodKannada and Tamilmovies,sincetheaudienceherereallyen-joyswatching them. The last filmthat we screened was theKannadamovieYuvaratna inAprilthisyear, justbeforethelockdownfollowing thesecondwave.

5Havepeoplereachedouttoyoutoopenthetheatre?For now, the confidence

among theaudiences is low,peo-pleareunsureaboutcomingtothetheatretowatchmovies.Butonce100% occupancy is allowed, wewillopenwithallprecautionsandwe are confident that peoplewill come.

SUKHBIRSIWACH

THEFARMERS’agitationinPunjabwasafewmonthsoldwhen,actingonacalltotaketheprotest toDelhi, GurnamSinghChaduni onNovember 24, 2020, exhorted protesters tomakeittotheCapital“atanycost”,“breakingpolice barricades” if needed. The next day,thousands hit the streets in Haryana, surg-ingthroughmultipleblockades,mannedbythousandsof policemen.It was then that the rest of the country

took note of the 61-year-old leader of BKU(Chaduni) and member of the SamyuktaKisanMorcha(SKM),whichisspearheadingtheagitationagainstthreefarmlawspassedby the Centre. On August 28, it was onChaduni’s call that protesters tried tomaketheirway to a BJP event inKarnal, attendedamongothersbyChiefMinisterManoharLalKhattar. The police crackdown left severalfarmersinjured,theKhattargovernmentonthe backfoot, the transfer of Sub-DivisionalMagistrate Ayush Sinha, and the reinforce-mentof the fact that theChaduni-ledagita-tion inHaryana has kept the state adminis-trationon its toesnowfornearlyayear.Infact,it’snotPunjab,wheretheagitation

first took root, that is the cause of the BJP’sworrynowasmuchasHaryana. Protests byfarmershave formonthskept leadersof theruling BJP and Jannayak Janata Party fromownconstituencies,andforcedthemtocan-cel events. And, like at Karnal, behindmostprotests are short videomessages issuedbyChaduni,callingonfarmerstohitthestreets.It was in July 2020 that Chaduni led the

first big agitation against the farm laws,drawing farmersonalmost10,000 tractors.On January 10, his message ahead of a

Khattar event in Karnal — “Meri binti hai kiiskamarodh nikal do (I request you to teachthe CM a lesson) — drew somany farmersthat,despitethedeploymentofaround1,500policemen,andamildlathicharge,Khattar’shelicopterhad toabort landing.Haryanahasbeenwitness toprotestsby

Chaduni on farmer issues for more than adecadenow,oftendeployingtechniqueslikeclimbingwater tanks, standing in themid-dle of a river for days, or leading aparadeofsemi-clad farmers. His elder brotherGurdeep Singh says, “Gurnamhas sold hisland for themovement. He owns just fiveacresnowwhilehehad14acresearlier.”Fellow SKMmember Yogendra Yadav

calls Chaduni “a pillar of strength”. “Rightfrom the beginning of the current move-ment,hehasplayedacritical role.”

TheBJPandJJP,however,accuseChaduniof “doingpolitics”.“Hewantstobecomean-otherArvindKejriwalthroughtheagitation,”Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij says.AgricultureandFarmers’WelfareMinister J

PDalal says: “Chaduni is functioningon theinstructions of the Congress. He is not afarmer leaderbutanarhtiya.”BeforetheprotestinDelhionRepublicDay,

thatsawwidespreadviolence,afarmerleader,

Shiv Kumar Kakka,was quoted as accusingChaduni of taking Rs 10 crore from theOpposition to topple the Haryana govern-ment.Hehadlaterretractedthestatement.InJulythisyearthough,Chadunihimself

called upon farmer leaders to contest thecomingPunjabelections.TheSKM,charyofanypoliticalassociationthatcoulddiscreditthemovement, suspendedhimforaweek.Therumoursgotafreshwindlastmonth

whenanindustrialists’bodyfromPunjaban-nouncedanewparty,BhartiyaAarthikParty(BAP), with Chaduni as its chief ministerialface.While claiming hewas “neither a CMface nor would contest polls in Punjab”,Chaduni said, “I stand bymy ideology thatfarmers andmazdoors (labourers) shouldcontest polls.” The current systemwas runby looteri companies (thieves), he said. “If agangof thievesgives tickets to contest elec-tions, thenyouhave toobey their rules.”On his call to break police nakas in

November 2020, Chaduni tells The SundayExpress, “There isno lawtoshootprotesters,andwewere ready to face the lathis of po-lice. If theyusedlathis, itwouldbringaware-nessacrossthecountry,ouragitationwouldbecomesuccessful. Take theexampleof thelathichargeon farmers inKarnal recently.”TheHaryanaPolicehasbookedChaduni

underattempttomurderchargesinconnec-tionwith the agitation. “I am sure about 42FIRsagainstme,”Chaduni says.Criticisingthefarmlawsasaimedathelp-

ingcorporates,Chadunisaysit isado-or-diebattle for farmers. “First, agriculturewill beturnedintoabusinessof loss.Then, itwouldbeeasier tograb farmers’ land. Farmersandagriculturelabourerswillbecomebeggars.”Chaduni’s first farmer protest was in

1992, against thehike inelectricity tariff fortubewells. Inthethreedecadessince,hesays,thecurrentprotestisthelongesthehasbeenapartof. “Ihave lost9kg in twoyears.”With theCentre standing firmonnot re-

pealingthefarmlaws,Chadunisaysheisnotsuretheiragitationwouldachievethis,butbe-lieves the farmers nowsee the protest as an“integralpart”oftheirlives.“ThisagitationwillruintheBJP... it is indicativeofachange.”One of seven siblings, Chaduni took to

farming after failing to clear Class 10. Of histwosons,oneisunemployed,whiletheotherrearsdogs fora living.Onthechargethathisgoal ispolitics, the

BKU leader says: “I did not come to the agi-tation for thisor tobenefit fromit,but thereis a need for change in politics. RemembertheCMforadayinthefilmNayak?Thecoun-trywants suchchangeasbroughtbyhim.”

GOPALKATESHIYA

IT’SBEENmorethan4,000yearssincetheendof the Indus Valley Civilization— time thatstandsstillinDholavira.TheKutchvillage’sas-sociationwiththeruinsoftheIndusValleycitynext door that recently got aUNESCOworldheritagetagisasmuchabouthistoryasthewa-ter tank and tap on itsmuseumpremises,whichremains itsonlysourceof cleandrink-ingwater.Throughtheday,Dholavirawomenlineuptofetchwaterinpots.‘Waterholes in a riverwith awhite sand

bed’—that’s the literalmeaningof thenameDholavira.However, noone in thevillage re-membersseeinganythingclosetoit,withtheseasonalstreamsbetweenwhichwasoncelo-cated the IndusValley settlement rarely everflowingwithwater.Theyknowthesettlementas‘KotdoTimbo(fortmound)’.ThelastvillageonthewesterntipofKhadir

island in theGreat Rannof Kutch,Dholavirahas apopulationof around2,500. The localsjoke about the fact that Pakistan, at 40km, isnearer than the talukaheadquarters, Rapar,150 kmaway. District headquarters Bhuj iseven further — at more than 200 km thelongestdistanceforavillageinGujarat.Alongandlonelyroad,almosttakenoverbythicketsofgandobaval(ababool), leadstoDholavira.The morning after UNESCO included

Dholavira as aworldheritage site— the firstIndus Valley settlement in India to be thusidentified — around two dozen men lazearoundat themain square, unmindful of theodourofcowdungintheair.“Thereisnothinghere tohurryup for... nowork,” saysKarmanKoli,37,amason.“Ifitdoesn’trainwellsoon,wemight bewhiling away time like this for thebetterpartof theyear.”“Thenearestpetrolpumpis inBalasarvil-

lage, 50 kmaway. Banks, hospitals andhighschoolsare100kmaway,inRapar,”saysDipak

Sanjot,32,atouristguide.Agricultureandcattle-herdingremainthe

mainoccupations,notunlikethetimeofIndusValley Civilization. As groundwater is salty,much of the agriculture is rainfed. In goodmonsoon years, farmers growpearlmillet,guar, greengrametc. But suchyears are rare,andmanysellgandobavalasfirewoodforaliv-ing.Powersupplyalsoremainserratic,becom-ingworseinthewinters.But it’s drinking water that remains

Dholavira’s biggest problem, saysMorardanGadhvi, who runs a provision store. “Thegroundwater here has TDS (total dissolvedsolids)higherthan1,000,muchabovethesafelevels.Thegovernment laid twopipelines fortheNarmadawater,butwenevergot it.Now,they are laying a thirdpipeline.Wehopewewillbeluckythistime,”hesays.Jilubha Sodha, husband of Dholavira

sarpanch Ranuba Sodha, says their mainsource is a tubewell. “The elevation fromBalasartoDholavirais100feetandtheGujaratWater Supply andSewerageBoard is findingitchallengingtopumptheNarmadawatertoourvillage,”headds.Forabout30yearsnow,analternativehas

beenthemotorpumpinstalledinawellbytheArchaeologicalSurveyof India(ASI)foramu-seumontheHarappancity’spremises.Sodha

admitsthatevenwiththelimitedwaterithas,thewell,whichwasabandonedbythevillagebut re-dug by the ASI as it excavated theHarappanruins, is theonlysource intheareawithTDSlowerthan1,000.Hari OmSharan, the superintending ar-

chaeologist of Rajkot circle,whichcoversKutch,declinesto comment. But sources saywaterwasonewayfortheASIto connectwithpresent-dayDholavira. “The villagers co-operated and even put inlabourforthelongyearsofex-cavation. Letting themdrawwater is onewayof repayingthem,”saysanofficial.Now, the ruins promise

anotherlifeline—thattouristswill flock following theUN-ESCO tag. “Weare confidentwewon’t have to plead repeatedly for goodroads,electricityandwaternow,”Sodhasays,particularly optimistic about theunder-con-structionGhaduli-Santalpurhighway.But,again,timehasawayofcrawlinghere.

Discovered in1968,Dholavirawasexcavatedonlybetween1990and2005.Alocalresident,Shambhudan Gadhvi, and then sarpanchVelubha Sodha kept pressing, villagers say,

eventually leading to the excavation that re-vealedruinsofacitywhichhadacitadel,amid-dletown,alowertown,reservoirsforfreshwa-ter,undergroundseweragelines,beadmakingworkshops,coppersmeltersetc.Ravindra Singh Bisht, the archaeologist

whooversawtheexcavation,says Dholavirawas likely atradeandmanufacturinghubfrom3000BCto1500BCbe-foreclimatechangeforceditsresidentstoabandonit.WhileASI officials refuse

tosharenumbers,sourcessayDholaviraseesamaximumof200touristsaday,duringtheNovember-January seasonwhenDhordohoststheRannUtsav.ThesummermonthsofMarch to Juneseehardlyanytourists, with the numbers

trickling up to 50-odd a day in monsoon.Hoping toencourage tourists, theauthoritiesdon’tchargeanyentryfee.Intherun-uptoDholavira’sinclusioninthe

UNESCOworld heritage list, the Centre re-leasedRs 4 crore forwater and sewage con-nectionstothevillage,andpavedstreetroads.AshokVanra, SuperintendingEngineerof

Kutchzoneofthewatersupplyboard,saysthe

deadline for the new pipeline to get theNarmadawaterisJanuarynextyear.Among those looking on silently are 12

farmerswhose72acreswereacquiredbythestate in early 2000 for the site’s excavation.Theymovedcourtagainst“insufficient”com-pensationofRs3,346peracre,andhaven’tac-ceptedityetdespitelosing.“WeareproudthatDholaviraisnowontheworldmap,butpridedoesn’tfillone’sstomach.Ouronlydemandisfaircompensation,”saysNagjiParmar,29.Afterthefamilylandcameundertheexca-

vatedsite,Nagjihasbeenmakingalivingwork-ingasatouristguide.Sometouristsarealreadyheretrailingthe

UNESCO news. “After we saw photos ofDholaviraonWhatsApp,myfriendandIcould-n’t resist the 100-km bike ride to here. Itamazesmehow such a big city could havegoneunderground,”saysSunilMakwana,22,whohascomefromAnandparvillageinRapartaluka. A school dropout who works as afarmer,SuniladdsthatheremembersreadingaboutDholavira in textbooks, “but I don’t re-memberanythingnow”.Gadhvi,whofirstthoughtthesitehadpo-

tentialandrunsasmallhomestayfortourists,says, “For decades,Kotdo silently kept doingourbidding.Hereweare today,witnessinganewdawnforDholavira.”

Living with Indus ValleyWater,orlackof it,connectsDholaviratoitsHarappanpast.ThevillageonedgeofaGujaratislandnowhopesforrenewalviaUNESCOtag

NUMBERPLATE

38.5millionThenumberofstudentsenrolledinhighereducationinstitutesacrossthecountryin2019-20,asperAllIndiaStatusofHigherEducationreport.Thenumberhasincreasedbymorethan100timessince1951,whentheCensuscountedatotalof3,60,000studentsinIndia.

104Thenumberofcollegestoogrewmorethanahundredtimesbetween1951and2020.In2020,Indiahad42,343colleges,upfrom400in1951.Thenumberofuniversitiesgrewfrom20in1951to1,043in2020.

73%TheliteracyratetodayhasimprovedconsiderablysinceIndependence,whenonly12%ofthepopulationcouldreadorwrite.Thedisparityinthemaleandfemaleliteracyrates,however,stillpersistsaftersevendecades,eventhoughthegaphasnarrowed.Femaleliteracywas8.86%in1951,lessthanathirdofthemaleliteracy(27.15%)atthetime.Asperthe2011Census,themaleliteracyratestoodat81%whilefemaleliteracyrateincreasedto65%.

0.4%IntheBudgetfor2021-22,lessthan1%oftheGDPwasspentoneducation.ThisnumberhasremainedstagnantsinceIndependence,whenitwas0.64%.TheNewEducationPolicyenvisagesincreasingexpenditureoneducationto6%oftheGDP.

NUSHAIBAIQBAL

Thenearest petrolpump is 50kmaway.Banks, hospitals andhigh schools are 100kmaway.Agricultureand cattle-herding aremain occupations,not unlike the time ofIndusValley

ALETTER FROMDHOLAVIRA,KUTCH

GUJARAT

Raising cane

Withitsgroundwaternotsafe fordrinking,a tubewellontheHarappancity’spremises is themainsourceofwater for theresidentsofDholavira.NirmalHarindran

Thousandshit thestreets respondingtoshortvideomessagesbyChaduni.Express

57india

THOMASD'SOUZAOWNEROFROBINTHEATRE

INBENGALURU

Kutch

Dholavira

Gandhinagar

ARABIAN SEA

Fornearlyayearnow, the farmeragitation inHaryanahashadtherulingBJP, JJPcornered.Like therecentKarnalprotest, the facebehind it isGurnamSinghChaduni

THESUNDAYPROFILE

Ahmedabad


THE SUNDAY EXPRESS,SEPTEMBER5,2021OPINION

FifthCOLUMNTAVLEENSINGHTwitter@tavleen_singh

ONAUGUST31,2021,theCentralStatisticsOffice’s (CSO) estimates on NationalIncomewereannounced.TheGDPnum-berwas indeed impressive — 20.1 percent. Therewas an expectation that ‘wethepeople’will beseducedbythenum-bersandthespinof thegovernment.Praise to themedia and the people

(save a few bhakts), they refused to bebefuddled by the numbers and quicklyrealisedthetruth.ThetruthwasthatthegrowthrateofGDP(20.1percent)inthefirstquarterof 2021-22wasastatisticalillusion because the ‘base’ was an un-precedented low of (-)24.4 per cent inQ1 of 2020-21. It was what Dr GitaGopinath, Chief Economist of the IMFhad,months ago, described as “mathe-matical growth”.

WHAT PEOPLE CAN

ACHIEVE

Nevertheless,wemustwelcomethegrowthof20.1percentbecauseitshowswhat a country and its people canachievenotwithstandingan insensitiveanduncaringgovernment.When therewas a secondwave of Covid-19 in theearly weeks of the quarter (April-June2021), the state governmentsmanagedthe crisis without shutting down theeconomy.ThecontributionofMrModi’sgovernment was its colossal failure tomanage the supply and allocation ofoxygen: the acute shortage for several

weekscauseda largenumberof deaths(which number is believed to be forevery death recorded at least 10 thatwentunrecorded).Thegrowthrateof20.1percentwas

led by the people’s ‘private final con-sumption expenditure’. The peoplespenttheirmoneyonconsuminggoodsandservices. ItwasRs17,83,611crore inQ1andmarkedasharpincreaseovertheRs14,94,524crorespentinQ1oflastyearwhen the country was hit by the firstwaveof thevirus.

TRUE BENCHMARKThere is another final consumption

expenditure. It is the government’s.Imaginewhatwould have been the re-sultifgovernmentexpenditurehadkeptpace with ‘private final consumptionexpenditure’.TheformerdeclinedfromRs 4,42,618 crore in Q1 of last year toRs 4,21,471 crore this year. The govern-ment'scontributiontotheQ1resultwas,therefore,negative.Nordid thegovern-ment take effective steps to boost ex-ports,whichisoneofthefourenginesofgrowth. ‘NetExports’ toodeclined fromRs 34,071 crore in Q1 of last year to (-)Rs62,084crorethisyear.Thegrowthrateof 20.1 per cent, albeit mathematical,wasthankstothepeopleandnothanksto thegovernment.The government failed to show the

boldness to spendand, if itwas short ofmoney, the boldness to borrow and

spend. It should also havemade cashtransfersto20or25percentof thefam-ilies at thebottomof thepyramid;withthatmoney, ‘private final consumptionexpenditure’wouldhavegotabigboost.Together,enhancedgovernmentexpen-diture and increased private consump-tionwouldhavevaultedthegrowthratetoover25percentandthusmadeupfortheslideof (-)24.4percent lastyear.Thenumbers forQ1of 2021-22also

reveal some seriousweaknesses in theeconomy. The true benchmark is not2020-21(thepandemicyear)but2019-20(thepre-pandemicyear).Theannualoutputthatyearwasundoubtedlymod-est but nevertheless upwards. Are wethereyet?Theanswer isno. Lookatkeynumbers:

Industry 2018-19 2019-20 2021-22

Agriculture, 4,27,177 4,49,390 4,86,292Forestry&Fishing

Mining&Quarrying 88,634 82,914 81,444

Manufacturing 5,61,875 5,67,516 5,43,821

Construction 2,49,913 2,60,099 2,21,256

Trade,Hotels, 6,09,330 6,64,311 4,63,525Transport,Communication&Services

(inRupeesCrore)

Keysectorsof theeconomyhavenotyetattainedthe levelof outputof 2019-20.What isworse is theoutput in thesesectorsisbelowthelevelofoutputofthepreviousyear,2018-19.Theonlystarper-former is ‘agriculture’.Thenumbersunderlineanothercon-

clusionthathasbeenhighlightedbyob-servers, surveys and the CMIE’s reports

but which the government has stoutlydisputed: job losses. Millions of jobswerelostin2019-20becauseof thecon-tinuousslideintheeconomy(poorman-agement).More jobswere lost in2020-21 (pandemic). Those lost jobshavenotcomeback in2021-22.Rememberalso,thebulkof theemployment is inthe in-formalsectorandintheMSMEs,andtheCSO estimates do not capture, for thepresent, the performance of the infor-mal sectoror theMSMEs.

CLUELESS AND TIMIDTheV-shaped recovery is a tiresome

spinbytheChiefEconomicAdviser.Whenthequarterly growth rate declines from5.1percentto(-)24.4percent,thatwillbedepictedbytheleftinclineoftheletter‘V’andanysmallpositivegrowthwillbede-pictedbytheright inclineof the ‘V’. If thesmallpositivegrowthpersistsquarteraf-ter quarter, the right inclinewill rise, butveryslowly.That isano-brainer.Therealquestion iswhenwillweattain thepre-pandemiclevelofGDPthatwasrecordedin2019-20?Thegovernmentcandoalottoaccel-

erate the recovery but, as I have oftensaid, it iscluelessandtimid. Iwaspleas-antly surprised to find that a fawningnewspaper carried an editorial onSeptember 1 under the title ‘Spend,Government, Borrow and Spend’. I en-dorse that advice. That is the path to aquickeconomic recovery.

No thanks to the government

The government failed toshow the boldness to spendand, if it was short of money,the boldness to borrow andspend. It should also have

made cash transfers to 20 or25 per cent of the families atthe bottom of the pyramid;with that money, ‘private

final consumptionexpenditure’ would have got abig boost. Together, enhancedgovernment expenditure and

increased privateconsumption would havevaulted the growth rate toover 25 per cent and thusmade up for the slide of(-)24.4 per cent last year

AcrossTHEAISLE

PCHIDAMBARAMWebsite:pchidambaram.inTwitter@Pchidambaram_IN

ICONICFASHIONdesignerSabyasachi’sfirstcollection forH&M, ‘Wanderlust’, soldoutonlinewithinminutesoflaunching.PricedunderRs9,999, SabyasachiwasquotedassayinghisH&Mrangewasforaspirationalbuyerswhootherwise findhimunafford-able.However,theclotheswerelampoonedfor being cheap, digital recreations of an-cientIndiancraftsmanship.Severalartisancooperatives like theDelhi Crafts CouncilandCraftsCouncilof Indiaexpressedtheirdispleasure, pointing to real inequality ofpowerthatletstheworldlySabyasachicol-laboratewith a global brand, while thehumble artisanswhohave kept the craftalivelackoptionstomonetisetheirskills.

Anopen letter toSabyasachi signedby15artisancooperativesraisesanimportantpoint:should ‘inclusion’belimitedtocon-sumersonly?Seenfromthesideofthekari-gars, it seems patently unfair thatSabyasachicantapintoIndia’sglorioustex-tileheritageperfectedbyartisanstoilinginobscurity—whosepainstakingworkman-shipisthenbastardizedbyH&M’sconveyorbelt, mass production technology— forwhichtheyreceivenocreditorcompensa-tion.Meanwhile, Sabyasachi becomes aglobalnameandhasanannualturnoverof11milliondollars,theequivalentofapprox-imately Rs 80 crore. Earlier this year, theAdityaBirlaGroupacquireda51% stakeintheSabyasachibrandforRs398crore.Certainly, thehistoryof theworldsug-

gestsartisticsuccessdoesn’temergefromalevelplayingfield.Europeanmusic,art,fash-

ion and fiction have flourished for thou-sands of years, whilewriters and artistsfromAsia andAfrica still struggle tobreakthrough. Finally, there is a tacit acknowl-edgementthat thedice is loadedinfavourof some, and this needs to change. In thecaseof Sabyasachi, it’s a questionwithnoeasy answers:who, exactly, holdspropri-etory rights tohistorical symbolsandmo-tifs?Nobodyownsaculture.Weinhabitoneandareentitled toour independent inter-pretationsofit.Atthesametimethereisnodenying that it is ironically problematicwhen someonemaking an easy replicaearns significantlymoremoney than thepeoplewhohaveslavedovertheoriginal.Themillennial buzz-term ‘cultural ap-

propriation’isendlesslyconfusingsincenoone knowswhat creative boundariesweareexpectedtolivewithin.Ifadesigneruses

achintzpattern first seen inHyderabad inthe16th century, is the inspirationneces-sarily suspect? Suggesting Sabyasachicashed inon the intellectual propertyof acommunity disregards a fundamentaltruth, that all art is appropriationof somekind. I amwriting in a language that isn’tmyown.MyopinionsareinfluencedbythebooksIread,themoviesIwatchandmyex-perienceswiththepeopleImeet.Besides,itmustbesaid,inthedigitalage,accesstoin-formationhasmadeitimpossibletobetrulyoriginal.Wehavenochoicebuttoabandonnotionsof singular ownershipof any aes-theticorstyle;theroleoftheartististofindsomethingnewtosay,aftersiftingthroughthereamsavailablealready.In the long run, censoring the explo-

rationofmyriadculturesbyoutsiderswon’tpromote social justicebut itwill stifle cre-

ativity.Therearecountlessexamplesofhowsome of the greatest works of art cameaboutasaresultofmessyinteractions.Takethe Beatles trackNorwegianWood. Thesongwriting duo John Lennon and PaulMcCartney acknowledge the influence ofBob Dylan’s introspective lyrics, whileGeorgeHarrison incorporateda sitar part,giving it amystical edge. Thiswas the firstappearance of the Indian instrument in aWesternrockrecording, raising interest infolksy sounds, that eventually led to thegenreknownasworldmusic. Art is nevercreatedinavacuum.Abetterwaytothinkabout it is thatwhendisparatepeoplecol-laborateandcreatesomethingbeautiful,it’snot always stealing. It canbeahearteningreminder, we really are in this together.

Thewriter isdirector,HutkayFilms

Sabyasachi, and defining appropriation

RECENTLY,PRIMEMinisterNarendraModivirtually inaugurated the renovatedJallianwalaBaghcomplex,invitingaccusa-tions of “diluting the essence” of the na-tionalmonument.Sofar,theBaghcomplexwassilent, rememberedonlyduringcon-versations about the tragicmassacre ofApril 13, 1919. The recent noise has alsoshed light on the fact that the 1919mas-sacrewasn’taclimaxbutthebeginningofa series of struggles and changes for themonument, which it continues to facemorethanacenturylater.Originally, JallianwalaBaghwaspartof

the katra or neighbourhood of HimmatSingh ‘Jallewal’, a courtier in the serviceofRaja JaswantSinghofNabha. Itwascalled‘JallewalBagh’afterhisname,tillthelocalsstartedmispronouncing it as ‘JallianwalaBagh’.Later,foryearsitwasjustanignoredopenspace. Infact, itwasn’tevenabaghorgarden,butan irregularquadrangleofun-evenground,walledinsomeparts.Inotherparts, the backs of houses that had en-croachedrightupto itmade itsboundary.Apartofitwasusedasadumpingground!Atthetimeofthemassacrein1919,the

Baghhadanarrowentrance. Inside, therewas the samadhi of themother of SardarSantPrakashSingh,thefirstSikhInspector-General of Police of Punjab.Near theme-morialwere a fewdatepalms. Also, therewasadrywellandafewhutsinhabitedbydhobis. Thenarrowentrance, the samadhiandthewellexisttothisday,buthaveseenchangesundertherenovation.Apartfromtwodemonstrationsheldat

thecomplexagainsttheRowlattActbytheIndianNational Congress and local busi-nessmenonMarch30andApril6,1919,nomajor event had ever taken place at thecomplexbefore.Till theApril13massacre.As a tribute to those killed, the Indian

NationalCongressandMuslimLeagueor-ganised their annual sessions inAmritsarinDecember later that year,whichwerepresidedoverbyMotilalNehruandHakimAjmalKhan respectively. Theeventswereattended by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, AnnieBesant,BipinChandraPal,ChittaranjanDas,MadanMohanMalaviya, V S SrinivasaSastri,MuhammadAli Jinnah,AlibrothersandMahatmaGandhi.Itwasneverconfirmed,butitisbelieved

thattheBritishgovernmentwantedtoturntheBagh into a clothmarket to obliterateanyreminderof themassacre.To foil theirplans, theCongresspasseda resolution toconstructamemorialatthesite.MahatmaGandhiissuedanappealfordonationsand

a trust was set up with MadanMohanMalaviya as president and Sashti CharanMukherjeeassecretary,whosefamilycon-tinuestobetheBagh’scaretaker.Throughthedonations,theypurchased

theBaghfromits34originalowners.Eventhough theBritish government refused toallow the constructionof amemorial, theBaghwasreveredassacredtothefreedomstruggleandnationalleaderswouldvisititregularly and somewouldeven takebackthe‘sacredclay’of thecomplex.It was only after 1947 that the

GovernmentofIndiapassedtheJallianwalaBaghNationalMemorialAct1951,makingitthefirstnationalmonumentofthecoun-try governedbyanAct of Parliament thathad theprimeminister as its chairperson.Since the Jallianwala Bagh MemorialCommitteewassetupbytheCongressbe-foreIndependence,theNehrugovernmentassignedpermanentmembership of thetrusttothepresidentof theCongress.Itwasduringthistime,inthe1950s,that

thefirstmajorrenovationtookplaceatthecomplex.First,theBaghhadtobefilledintoraise the groundbyover 5 feet, to bring itup to levelwith the roadoutside. Then, in1957, construction of the central pylonstarted. Its designwas prepared by T RMahendra and an American namedBenjaminPolk—leadingarchitectsworkinginDelhiatthetime.In1961,theAmarJyotiwasinaugurated

by the thenpresidentDrRajendraPrasad.Onthefoursidesof thesquareplatformofthememorial, thewords, “Inmemory ofmartyrs—13April1919”wereinscribedinHindi, Punjabi,UrduandEnglish. That toohasbeenshiftedfromitsoriginalposition.In the2000s, a photo gallery and light

and sound showwere set up inside thecomplex.Theshowwasnixedsoon,andthegallery,alongwithtwoothers,hasbeenup-datedwithmodernelementsintherecentrenovation. A half-hour light and soundshowisalsoheldnowusingtheBagh’spy-lonasprojectionscreen.In 2016, a flame-shapedwhite stone

statuewiththefacesof thevictimscarvedasmotifswaserectedoutside theBagh, aspart of the Heritage Street Project. Thestatuealsohasnamesofthosekilledinthemassacreinscribedonplatformbeneathit.Twoyearslater,a10-feetmarblestatue

of UdhamSinghwas unveiled at the en-trance. SinghhadkilledMichaelO’Dwyerto avenge themassacre of 1919 andwashangedforit.O’DwyerwasthegovernorofPunjabatthetimeof thekillings.In 2019, theNDAgovernment passed

the Jallianwala BaghNationalMemorial(Amendment) Bill. It includes aprovisiontoremovethepresidentoftheCongressasapermanenttrusteeof theMemorial.

Thewriterisastudentofhistoryat

JamiaMiliaIslamiabasedin Amritsar

historyHEADLINEAASHISHKOCHHAR

Jallianwala, the long taleof a Bagh’s shaping

On [email protected]

THECONSTITUTIONALtoolofpositivedis-criminationisformakingunequalpeopleequal in specific areas, therebymakingreservations,anaffirmativeaction,aright-ful entitlement.The preamble of our Constitution as-

sures justice andpolitical opportunity toeveryone. This key objective can beachieved only by determining a rightfulshareineducation,positionsofpowerandStateemployment.Andtoachievethisob-jective, castecensusdata isvital.Thedecisionnot toenumerateOther

Backward Classes (OBCs) in the 2021Censusisatragicoldtaleknownbymany.UnionMinister of State for HomeAffairsNityanandRaistatedthatthegovernmentwill only include SCs and STs in the up-coming Census. Until 1931, during theBritish era, theCensushaddata on caste,includingofOBCs,unliketheCensusfrom1951to2011,whichhavedataonlyonSCsandSTs.The1980MandalCommissionreport

which relied on the 1931 Census to sug-gest 27% reservation to OBCs estimatesthat OBCs constitute around 52% of thepopulation,making themanundeniablepartofthecountry’ssocialfabric,withlackof access to employment opportunities,social welfare and educational institu-tions.Withreference to this, the thenVPSingh government — of the which theDMKwasapart—hadcreated27%reser-vationforOBCsin1990.Finally,27%reser-vationforOBCsineducationalinstitutionswas permitted after the enactment ofCentral Education Institutions(Reservation in Admission) Act in 2006.It’s sad to note that the 1931 Census isusedforgranting27%reservationtoOBCstill today.To set things right, theUniongovern-

mentconductedacasteenumeration,andconcernedstateswerethereafteraskedtocross-check the data. But this cross-checkeddataonOBCswasneverreleased.In 2018, then home minister Mr

Rajnath Singh announced that the castenumbers of all stateswill be released in2021. However, shockingly, the Census2021hasdecidednot to includedataper-tainingtotheOBCpopulation.

WithnoofficialdataonOBCs,thegov-ernment ishandicapped inproviding in-centivessuchaswelfareschemestodisad-vantaged communities. There can be noaccurateinterventionbythegovernmentin the absence of credible data for statesregardingOBCs.SotheCensusisdivorcedof its primal objective of protecting thevulnerable sectionsof society.Tamil NaduChiefMinisterMKStalin

is one of thosewho is at the forefront ofthe fight for OBCs. His call for release ofthe OBC numbers has been echoed byleadersof severalparties.It is irrefutable that forOBCs tobene-

fit from specific affirmative action poli-cies,reliabledataoftheirpopulationmustexist.Withoutit, thepolicyof reservationis not foundedon empirical data. It is in-terestingtonotethatduetotheshunningof this empirical approachby theCentre,the Supreme Court often strikes downreservation policies of states on thegroundthatit isnotbasedondata.Anex-ample of this is the recent judgment onMarathareservations.TheCentre’sactionofwithholdingempiricaldata relating toOBCsamountstobreachofConstitutionaltrust, besides perpetuating illegality andbeinghighlyarbitrary.Thepoliticsof identityandrepresen-

tationarecornerstonesofnot just the le-gal realmbut ourwonderful democracy.In order to ensure that our reservationpolicies reach the intended targets, it isimperativethatrightfulshareof theOBCsisnot justwhisperedasemptypromises,but that there is an actual compendiumanddataintheformofacastecensusthatcanberelieduponbystatesandcourts.The National Family Health Survey-

2016datarevealsthatthecaste-basedgapineducationalspheresiswiderthanever.Thus,aCensus involvingdataontheOBCcommunity is absolutely necessary totake the reservation policy forward. It isimportanttoincludedatarelatedtoOBCsin the Census to realise the vision of anIndia that provides complete social jus-tice,welfareschemesandothersocial in-centivestotheonesthatneeditthemost.The Census should democratically

measurethecitizensof Indiaandnot justuseoneparticularcommunityasatoolkitforpolitics.

PWilson isa senioradvocateand

DMKRajyaSabhaMP

SurajYengde,authorofCasteMatters,curates the fortnightlyDalitality column

DalitalityPWILSON

SeniorCongressleadersatAmritsarTownHallaftertheparty’sannualsessionin1919.ItwasheldinAmritsarthatyearasatributetothosekilled.GandhiHeritagePortal

IT WAS arguably the most importantcommentonIslamthatanIndianMuslimhasmade in a long time. But, instead ofapplause,NaseeruddinShahfoundhim-self in the crosshairs of Hindu andMuslim fanatics. The actor, speaking oftheTaliban’sreturn,saidIndianMuslimswelcoming the return of ‘these barbar-ians’shouldrememberthat IndianIslamhad always been different to Islam inother countries and, ‘May God neverbring a time when it changes so muchthatwewill notbeable to recognise it.’An attack from bearded mullahs

with prayer bruises on their foreheadswasnosurprise.Whatsurprisedmewasthevirulenceof theattackfromHindutvatrolls. Theymockedhimonsocialmediawiththeirusualspite,remindinghimthatlast year he had spoken against the poi-sonous atmosphere in which Muslimshave been forced to live since NarendraModibecamePrimeMinister. It is possi-bletosayboththingsbecauseboththingsare true.It is not easy to be a Muslim in the

‘new’ India. In Modi’s first term, cattlefarmersandmeat traderswere targetedandkilledonsuspicionofeatingbeefandillegally trafficking cows. In his secondterm,thetargetinghasexpandedbeyondcows.ThreeweeksafterModitookofficefor the second time, 24-year-old TabrezAnsari was tied to a tree and forced tochant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ while being beatenby a mob. By the time the police inter-vened,hewasnearlydead.Hedied laterfrom his injuries. Since then, a patternhas emerged of this kind of random at-tack. In recent weeks, an e-rickshawdriverwasbeatenandforcedtochant ‘JaiShri Ram’while his little daughter clungtohis legbeggingthemobtostop.Aban-gle sellerwasbeaten in Indore for beinginaHinduarea.Hewasarrestedthenextday because the daughter of one of hisattackers charged himwith molestingher.Callshavebeenmadeopenlytoboy-cott Muslim shops and a campaign onsocialmediaasks if there isa ‘conspiracyagainst India’ thatresults inMuslimsbe-ing so prominent in the fruit and veg-etable trade.Now let us talk about Indian Islam.

MrShah is rightwhenhesays it is averydifferent religion to the brutal, barbaricreligion that theTalibanpractise. Peopleofmygenerationwhogrewup innorth-ernIndiaassociateIslamnotwithprayingfive times a day but with poetry, litera-ture,cinema,andmusic. IndianIslamdidnot forbid these things. I have nostalgicmemoriesofpre-HindutvaDelhi. Itwasatimewhenwewouldgotomushairasandconcertseveryotherday,atimewhenwewent to thedargahofNizamuddinAuliaon Thursday evenings to listen toqawwalis and a time when we wouldwake early somemornings to breakfaston‘nihaari’ inKarim’srestaurantthatsitsin the shadowof the JamaMasjid.Mr Shah is right when he says that

Indian Islam evolved into a religion thatdealtwellwithmodernity.So, itshockedmetohearaleadinglightofHindutvade-clareonaprimetimeshowthattherewasonlyonekindof IslamandonlyonekindofMuslim.Hethenspatoutthenumbersof verses in the Koran that recommendviolenceagainst infidelsandunbelievers.The other Semitic faith that takes thisviewof us ‘heathens’ is Christianity, andit is still possible tomeetmissionaries inIndia who think of us lot as ‘devil-wor-shippers’.ThedifferenceisthatChristiansinIndiahavelearnedtodealwithmoder-nitybetter thanMuslims.Among IndianMuslims a regression

began to happen sometime in theNineties and an ugly, fundamentalistIslamspreadacrossIndia,makingitspres-ence felt in the number of womenwhosuddenly wandered about in blackburqas, with only their eyes showing.Having spent many years covering ourKashmir problem, I first noticed this inSrinagar. Then on a trip to Tamil Nadu, InoticedthatmytaxidriverhadapictureofOsama bin Laden on his dashboard andthatTamilwomenwerewearing salwar-kurtas and refused to speak tomewith-outthepermissionof theirMaulana.Thiswas before 9/11. After the September 11attackswhentheglobalwaronterrorismbegan, Indian Muslims, like Muslimseverywhere,begantothinkofthemselvesas victims and the regression to thisme-dieval, Talibanesque Islamaccelerated.Mr Shah is right to warn Indian

MuslimstopreservetheIslamtheywerebroughtupwith in India. It isveryworthpreservingbecauseIndianMuslimshavedealtwith themodernworldbetter, andwith livingamongpeopleof other faithsbetterthanMuslimsanywhereelseintheworld. This is because they learned agreatdealfromIndicreligionsthatdonotgo around forcing people to follow rulesand regulations that nearly always endup with semi-literate priests decidingyour relationshipwithGod.With theTalibanback inAfghanistan

andwiththePakistaniprimeministerde-termined to turn his country into somefantasyofMedina, IndianMuslimsneedtobevery vigilant if they are topreservetheir faith. IslaminIndiahasalwaysbeendifferenttoIslamasit ispractisedinothercountries. It has enriched our culture bygivingus someof the finest poets,musi-cians, singers,writersandactors thatwehave. It deserves tobecherished.

Indian Islamis special

Caste census is necessaryto protect the vulnerable

Ahmedabad


ECONOMY


Crude Watch

OIL SLIPSONWEAKUS JOBSREPORTNew York: Oil prices fell on Friday after a weaker than expectedemployment report in the United States indicated a patchy economicrecovery that could mean slower fuel demand during a resurgentpandemic. REUTERS

POSTRBINODTOJAMMU&KASHMIRTOBUYOVER16.7CRSHARES

BRIEFLYPGCILprojectNewDelhi:State-runPowerGridCorporationofIndiaLtd(PGCIL) said it has startedworktosetupthefirstelec-tricvehiclechargingstationinMeghalaya.

I-TrefundsNewDelhi:The IncomeTaxDepartment said it has is-suedoverRs67,400croreofrefundsin5monthsofFY22.“CBDTissuesrefundsofoverRs67,401croretomorethan23.99 lakh taxpayers be-tween1stApril,2021to30thAugust, 2021,” the I-T de-partmenttweeted. PTI

‘Flipkartcase’NewDelhi:SachinBansal,co-founder of Flipkart, hasmounteda court challengeagainst the EnforcementDirectorate,which has ac-cusedhimandothersofvio-lationofforeigninvestmentlaws,courtrecordsshowed.The judge in the case, RMahadevan,heardthemat-ter onFriday andasked theAgencytofilearesponse,re-portssaid. REUTERS

IOClubricantsNewDelhi:IndianOilCorpo-ration (IOC) launched twonewpremium lubricants,SERVO Greenmile andSERVORaftaar, specificallyforBS-VIvehicles. ENS

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER4

INDIAHAS pitched for an earlyoutcomeoftheTRIPSwaiverpro-posal for Covid-19 vaccines,therapeutics and diagnostics intheWTO, anofficial release saidonSaturday.Addressingameeting,which

was attended by trade and eco-nomicministers of BRICS coun-tries on Friday, Commerce and

IndustryMinister PiyushGoyalalsoemphasisedonfindingaper-manent, adequate andequitablesolutiontothepublicstockhold-ingprogrammesforfoodsecuritypurposes. He also sought adop-tion of emergingnew technolo-gies in a swiftly changingworldwhile finding solutions to thechallengesofdataprotectionandcybersecurity.Goyal“emphasized,amongst

otherthings,ontheneedforaper-manent, adequate andequitable

solution to the Public StockHoldingprogrammesforfoodse-curitypurposes;earlyoutcomeoftheTRIPSWaiverproposalforvac-cines,”thereleasesaid.LastOctober, IndiaandSouth

Africahadsubmittedthefirstpro-posal, suggesting awaiver for allWTO(WorldTradeOrganization)membersontheimplementationof certainprovisionsof theTRIPsAgreementinrelationtothepre-vention, containment or treat-mentofCovid-19.

ANNED’INNOCENZIONEWYORK,SEPTEMBER4

LANDINGAwaitressing job orbartendinggigataLostDogCafeinNorthern Virginia had neverbeen easy. ‘HelpWanted’ signswereararity,andhalf thechain’sstaff stuck around for at least10 years. The onset of Covid-19made jobprospects evenworsewhenLostDoghadto temporar-ilyshutdownindoordining.But as vaccinated patrons

rushedback toeatoutandonce-loyalworkersmoved onto newopportunities,thebusinessbeganstruggling in May to fill theroughly 20per cent in vacanciesonitsservicestaff.

Toaddresstheshortage,itdidsomethingithadn’tdonebefore:look to peoplewithout experi-ence. It also started recruitingworkersunder18.Lost Dog is one of a growing

number of companies that, in adesperation for hired hands, isloosening restrictions on every-thing fromage to levelof experi-ence. Drug store chain CVS an-nouncedearlierinAugustitwouldno longer require a minimumhigh school degree to fill entrylevelspotsatitsstores.This year, it also plans to end

itsGPArequirementof3.0whenitrecruits on college campuses.Meanwhile,Amazonhasstoppedtestingjobseekersformarijuana.The changing standardsmay

have helped boost hiring thissummer, even asmany compa-nies complained they couldn’tfindalltheworkerstheyneed.Employers added a hefty

940,000jobsinbothJuneandJuly,loweringtheunemploymentrateto5.4percent.OnFriday,thegov-ernmentreleasedfiguresforAug-ust, andeconomistshad forecasttheywill showanother 750,000jobswereaddedthatmonth,withunemployment falling to5.2percent. Some analysts worry jobgainswillcomeinlowerbecauseof thedelta variant, but are opti-misticabouthiringinthefall.The trend to relax the rules

started about three years agowhenthelabormarketstartedtotighten. AP

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER4

JET AIRWAYS on Saturday saidoneof itswide-bodyBoeing777aircraft,whichwasunderthecus-todyof theDutchAdministratordue to the insolvency proceed-ings against the company in theNetherlands, has been sold, andthe proceedingswillmainly beutilisedtoclosetheprocess.Jet Airways is facing insol-

vency proceedings in theNetherlands in response to acomplaint,whereitwasdeclaredbankrupt in response to a com-plaintbytwoEuropeancreditors.“This isnowtoinformthatas

per the information receivedfrom the Dutch Administrator,the equipment (the aircraft) un-der the custody of theDutch Administrator has beensold to IAGCAS777, LLC, forUSD9-million under the DutchInsolvency Process,” Jet Airways

Monitoring Committee-autho-rised representative, AshishChhawchharia, said in the com-pany’sregulatoryfiling.Jet Airways said in the filing

that the sale of equipment is asper the terms of the protocol,whereunder it is agreed that theproceeds fromthesaleof equip-mentwill be first utilised for theclosure of Dutch InsolvencyProcess inNetherland, to ensurethatthecompanyisnomorede-claredinsolvent.WITHPTI

Jet: Boeing 777 plane in Dutch custodysold; insolvency process to close now

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,SEPTEMBER4

THE GOVERNMENT has ap-pointedSLTripathy,Director,NewIndia Assurance (NIA), as theChairman andMDof Chennai-basedUnitedIndiaInsurance(UII),thesecondlargestgeneralinsurerinthecountry.Though earlier the Banks

BoardBureau(BBB)—therecom-mending body for the appoint-

mentof CMDs,CEOsandMDsofpublicsectorbanksandinsurancecompanies — had chosenInderjeetSingh,GeneralManager,NewIndiaAssurance,forUII’stopposition,itcouldnotbeapprovedbytheAppointmentsCommitteeof the Cabinet (ACC) for sometechnicalreasons,sourcesaid.The ACC has approved the

proposal of the Department ofFinancial Services for appoint-mentofTripathyasCMDofUIItillFebruary2024.

United India Insurancegets new Chairman-MD

REUTERSWASHINGTON,SEPTEMBER4

AMAZON.COMINCplanstotakeamoreproactiveapproachtode-terminewhattypesofcontentvi-olate its cloud service policies,such as rules against promotingviolence,andenforceitsremoval,according to two sources in theknowofthematter,amovelikelytorenewdebateabouthowmuchpower tech companies shouldhavetorestrict freespeech.Over the coming months,

Amazonwillhireasmallgroupofpeople in its Amazon WebServices (AWS) division to de-

velop expertise andworkwithoutsideresearcherstomonitorforfuturethreats,oneof thesourcesfamiliarwiththemattersaid.It could turn Amazon, the

leading cloud service providerworldwidewith40percentmar-ket share according to researchfirm Gartner, into one of theworld’smostpowerfularbitersofcontent allowedon the internet,experts say. A day after publica-tion of this story, an AWSspokesperson told Reuters thatthe news agency’s reporting “iswrong,”andadded“AWSTrust&Safetyhasnoplans to change itspolicies or processes, and theteamhasalwaysexisted.”

‘Stricter contentremoval: Amazon tohire special group’

New Delhi: Union PowerMinister R K Singh has asked torampup coal supply to thermalpowerprojects in viewof risingdemand of electricity in thecountry, an official release saidonSaturday.A core management team

(CMT) has been constituted tocloselymonitor the coal stocksat power plants and PowerSecretary Alok Kumar has beendoing daily review of the situa-tion as well as action taken by

theteam,thereleasementioned.“Inthelightof theincreasing

power demand, the UnionMinister for Power, New &RenewableEnergyR.K.Singhre-viewed the coal position ofpower plants on 3rd Sept,2021.The Secretaries and Senior offi-cers of the Ministry of Power,Ministry of Coal, Railways, CoalCompanies, Power Utilities andCentral Electricity Authority(CEA)werepresent,”thereleasebythePowerMinistrysaid. ENS

Singh seeks higher coalsupply to power plants

PRANAVMUKULNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER4

TRAVELLERS FROM India flyingto Turkey will not have to un-dergo the mandatory 14-dayquarantine upon arrival as longastheyarefullyvaccinatedeffec-tive Saturday, the TurkishEmbassy inNewDelhi said.

Whatarethenewrequirements?All passengers who have

been inoculated by aWHO-ap-proved vaccinationwill be ex-empt from the 14-day quaran-tine ruleuponarrival inTurkey.“Thevaccinesthathavebeen

approvedbyWHOortheTurkishGovernment are coveredunderthis exemption. In addition toWHO-approved vaccines, thevaccines approved by TurkishGovernment are Pfizer-Biotech,Sputnik V and Sinovac. For thesame, a travellermust be takenthe second dose (if Johnson &Johnson, one dose is sufficient)at least 14daysprior to thedateof travel. For Indian travellerswho are vaccinated withCovishieldwill also be allowedtotraveltoTurkey.Once,CovaxingetanodfromWHO,travellersvaccinatedwith the same willalso be able to visitTurkey,”accordingtoapress release.Such travellers

will also need tocarry a negativeCovid-19RT-PCRcertificateforatest takenup to72hoursbeforedeparture.

What if someoneisnotvaccinated?Non-vaccinated passengers,

whowillalsohavetocarryapre-departure negative RT-PCR cer-tificate, will be subjected to the14-day quarantine at their resi-dence or the address that theydeclare.Onthe10thdayoftheirquar-

antine, they will have to betestedagain,andifnegative,theywill be released from the quar-antine. Inabsenceof a10th-daytest, theywill be released fromquarantine after 14 days.Passengers under the age of 12yearswillbeexemptedfromtheRT-PCR and vaccine certificaterequirements.

What is theupdateonotherinternationaldestinations?While regular

internationalscheduled flightshave been bannedby the Indiangovernment,flights areoperating underthe air bubble

arrangements with a numberof countries.Notably, on account of the

second surge of Covid-19 inthe country in April, severalnations had restricted theirborders for entry of travellersfromhere.The United States in May,

for example, had issued a banfor Indian travellers excepttheir own citizens. However,it later relaxed travel forstudent visa holders.Last month, Germany also

reclassified India to ‘high(Covid) incidence areas’ —down from the higher travelrestriction level of ‘virusvariant areas’.With this, it hadremoved the entry ban fortravellers from India.Other nations to have

allowed travellers from Indiainclude France, Spain and theUnited Arab Emirates. TheUAE recently started issuingtourist visas to Indian citizens.

ForflyerswithWHO-approvedjabandnegativetestreport,noquarantine

At BRICS meet, Goyal stresses on ‘new techadoption, equitable food security solution’

CommerceMinisterPiyushGoyalat theBRICStradeministersmeeting,onFriday. viaTwitter@PiyushGoyal

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI/MUMBAI,SEPT4

THERESERVEBankof India(RBI)has allowed the government ofJammu&Kashmirtoacquireover16.76 crore shares in Jammu&Kashmir Bank on a preferentialbasis.TheJ&Kgovernment’sequ-itystakewillriseto74.24percentin the bank after the allotment.TheissuefollowsarecentdecisionoftheJ&Kgovernmenttotransfer8.23percentstakeinthebanktotheUnionTerritoryofLadakh.“TheRBI vide its letter dated

September2,2021,hasaccordedapproval to government ofJammu & Kashmir to acquire16,76,72,702fullypaid-upequitysharesonpreferentialbasis,i.e.,upto74.24percentof thepostissuepaid-up voting equity capital ofthebanksubjecttocomplianceofregulatory requirements,” J&KBanksaidinafilingwithstockex-changesonFriday.Earlier thisweek, the bank’s

boardapprovedafundraiseofuptoRs2,000crorethroughamixofdebtandequity.Thisincludesrais-ingofequitysharecapitaluptoRs1,000 crore in one or more

tranches and another Rs 1,000crore bywayof non-convertibleTier-2 bonds in the nature ofdebentures on a private place-ment basis. LIC and East BridgeCapitalMasterFundholdaround2percentstakeeachinthebank.InAugust,thelenderhadsaid

that theSecurities andExchangeBoard of India (Sebi) had exe-mptedtheJammu&Kashmirgov-ernmentfromcomplyingwithitsnormsonsubstantial acquisitionofsharesandtakeoversinthepro-posedacquisitionduring2021-22.Thegovernmentof Jammu&

Kashmirisinfusingequitycapitalup toRs500crore. Thebankwillallot16,76,72,702equitysharesatRs29.82 apiece. Post theprefer-ential allotment, the UnionTerritory government’s share-holdingwill increase from68.18per cent to 74.24per cent. Sincethe change in shareholding by6.06per cent is inexcessof 5percentof theequitypaidupcapitalofthebank,itattractedtheprovi-sion of the Takeover Regulation,necessitatingaSebiexemption.J&KBank is the only bank in

Indiawhere theUnionTerritory(earlier state government) gov-ernmentholdsamajoritystake.As per the Jammu and

KashmirReorganisationAct2019,the Central government hasplannedtheapportionmentofas-setsandliabilitiesoftheerstwhilestate of JammuandKashmir be-tween newly-created UnionTerritoriesof J&KandLadakh.Earlier in July, theRBIhadac-

cordeditsapprovaltotheGovern-mentof theUnionTerritory (UT)ofLadakhtoacquire8.23percentof the paid-up equity capital ofJ&K Bank as on the date of en-forcementofJammuandKashmirReorganisationAct,2019(October

31,2019).ThemovefollowedtheGovernment of Jammu andKashmir’s order onOctober 30,2020, regarding the transfer of8.23percentshareholding(about4.58 crore equity shares) in J&KBankasofOctober31,2019,totheUTofLadakh.Earlier this year, the Anti

CorruptionBureau(ACB)arrestedParvezAhmadNengroo, formerChairmanandManagingDirectorof J&KBank,whowas removedfromthepost inconnectionwithallegedillegalallotmentoftendersforhousekeeping that led to lossofcroresof rupeestothebank.DuringFY20,thebankhadis-

suedandallotted15,65,92,546eq-uitysharesonpreferentialbasistothe government of JammuandKashmir, the promoter of thebank,forcashatapriceofRs31.93per equity share— including apremiumofRs30.93pershare—after obtaining the necessarystatutory and regulatory ap-provals. Overall, the bank’s ad-vancesincreasedbyalmost4percent fromRs 64,399 crore to Rs66,842 crore,while thedepositsrose10.50percentfromRs97,788crore toRs 108,061 crore duringtheyearendedMarch2021.

EMPLOYERS ADDED 940,000 JOBS IN BOTH JUNE AND JULY

US cos easing job requirements, but challenges remain

Signagefora jobfair is seenon5thAvenueafter thereleaseof the jobsreport inManhattan,NewYorkCity. Reuters file

AASHISHARYANNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER4

THE DEPARTMENT ofTelecommunications (DoT)has asked telecom compa-nies and other telecom li-cence holders to prepareproof of conceptandensuretheir systems are ready be-fore allowing them tolaunch self ‘knowyour cus-tomer’ (KYC) process.In its communication to

the licensees, the DoT hassaid that for the self KYCprocess to be approved, alltelecom service providersmust, on their respectivemobile applications, pro-videcustomersanoption tolog in with a separate one-time-password being gen-erated for each log in.Apartfromthis, the telecomserv-ice provider have to ensurethat the alternate numberprovidedbythecustomer isan Indian number.The DoT has also said

that only documents thathave been electronically is-sued andverified by the re-spective authority onDigiLocker can be used forthe self KYC process.DocumentsuploadedbythecustomeronDigiLockerwillnot be used for the process.This, industryexecutives

said, couldbecomeahurdlein the process to facilitateonlineandeasyhomedeliv-ery of new mobile phoneconnections.“When it comes to doc-

uments issued by the cen-tral governmentorbyotherstate governments whichusetechnologybetter, itwillbe easy to get the verifica-tionof documents fromthegovernment locker (DigiLocker).Otherstategovern-ment issueddocumentsarenotalwaysavailableonsuchplatforms. That may beproblematic in new cus-tomeracquisition,” a seniorexecutive at a private tele-comcompany said.Currently, customers

havetovisit thepointof saledesignated by telcos withprinted copies of valid doc-

umentsalongwithcopiesoftheir photographs.Thedocumentsare then

verified with the databaseof the issuing authority, acopy of which is scannedandmaintainedbythetelco.Once the proof of con-

ceptsubmittedbythetelcosis approved, the DoT planstomakethenewsystemop-erational inallareas, includ-ing in Jammu and Kashmir,NorthEast India andAssamlicensed service area.Following the nation-

wide lockdown to preventthe spread of the Covid-19pandemic, telecomcompa-nies had started offeringcustomers theoptionof de-livering the SIM cards di-rectly to their homes.The companies had

then, however, said thatthey would follow thenorms laid out by the gov-ernmentanddeliveronly inareaswhichwereoutsideofcontainment zones.

SECTORWATCHTELECOMMUNICATIONS

Use e-documentsonly verified onDigiLocker: DoT totelcos on self KYCNormstoorderSIMcardsonline;DoTaskstelcostopreparesystems

On-arrival curbseased in Turkey:What relaxations doIndian travellers get

AFFORDABLEHOUSING

LOWONPRIORITY:The

secondCovidwavehasbeena

significantchangecatalystfor

homebuyerpreferences.Among

homeseekersinH22021:

■34%focusedonproperties

fromRs90lakhtoRs2.5crore

■35%favouredproperties in

the rangeofRs45-90lakh

■27%votedforaffordable

housing, i.e.belowRs45lakh

Source: CII&Anarock/PTI

‘80% home seekers want to buyready, near completion flats’About80%homeseekers like tobuyhomes that are ready-to-

move-inornear completion, aCII andAnarock survey said

21%Prospective

customerswho

are nowwilling to purchase a

newly launched property

23%Thosewho

won’tmind

buying properties to be ready

within a year

Rise in online sales: Online home sales are gaining traction, withclose to 60%of the property buying process being done online

Most important attributes for buyers while selecting a home:■ Pricing ■Developer credibility ■Project design ■Location

32%Prospective buyerswho favoured ready-to-move-

in (completed) properties

24%Respondents

willing to buy

properties thatwill be ready in

6months

■Usingonlyverifiede-documentsonDigiLocker,industryexecutivessaid,couldbeahurdleintheprocesstofacilitateonlineandeasyhomedeliveryofnewmobilephoneconnections

■ Currently,customershavetovisitthepointofsaledesignatedbytelcoswithprintedcopiesofvaliddocumentsalongwithcopiesoftheirphotographs

‘COULDBECOMEAHURDLE’

FORPASSENGERSNOTVACCINATED

■Non-vaccinatedpassengers,whowillalsohavetocarryapre-departurenegativeRT-PCRreport,willbesubject to14-dayquarantineat theirresidenceor theaddresstheydeclare inTurkey

■ Whileregularinternational scheduledflightshavebeenbannedbythe Indiangovernment, flightsareoperatingundertheairbubblearrangementswithanumberofcountries

■Theissuefollowsarecentdecisionof theJammu&Kashmirgovernmenttotransfer8.23%stakein J&KBanktotheUnionTerritoryof Ladakh.J&KBankis theonlyIndianbankwheretheUTgovernmentholdsamajoritystake

POSTTRANSFEROFSTAKETOLADAKH

UnionTerritorygovtstake inJ&KBanktogoupto74.2%

Ahmedabad

MICHAELDSHEAR,LARAJAKES&EILEENSULLIVANWASHINGTON,SEPTEMBER4

ONTHElastdayofAugust,whenUSPresidentJoeBidencalledtheairlift of refugees fromKabul an“extraordinary success,” seniordiplomats andmilitary officersin Doha, Qatar, emailed out adaily situation report marked“sensitivebutunclassified.”The conditions in Doha, ac-

cordingtotheirdescription,weregetting worse. Almost 15,000Afghanrefugeeswerepackedintoairplane hangars andwedding-style tents at al-Udeid air base,home to the 379th Air

ExpeditionaryWing andnearbyCampAsSayliyah,aUSArmybaseinthePersianGulfnation.Two hundred and twenty-

nine unaccompanied children

werebeingheldnearthebase,in-cludingmany teenagerswhore-peatedlybulliedyoungerchildren.Therewere a “large number ofpregnantwomen,”someofwhom

neededmedicalattention,andin-creasingreportsof “gastrointesti-nalissues”amongtherefugees.Thereportsweredailydistilla-

tionsofthecomplexity,chaosandhumanity behind the largest airevacuationinUShistory,asscoresof diplomats, troops, healthworkers, security officials andothersscatteredacrosstheglobesought to rescue tens of thou-sands of refugees. Whateverplans the Biden administrationhadforanorderlyevacuationun-raveledwhenKabulfellinamat-ter of days, settingoff a frenzied,last-minuteglobalmobilisation.Biden andhis aides have in-

sistedthattheevacuationofKabulaftertheTalibanseizedthecityonAug.15wasdoneasefficientlyas

possible. But State Departmentemails, documents from theHealth and Human Services,HomelandSecurity andDefencedepartments, as well as inter-viewswith officials and refugeeadvocates,suggestotherwise.Thetotalnumberofevacuees,

and where they are currentlywaiting, is still not clear, thoughBiden said Tuesday that morethan 120,000 had been evacu-ated. As of Friday, AlejandroMayorkas, secretary of theDepartment of HomelandSecurity, saidabout40,000peo-ple had arrived in the US at air-ports near Washington, andPhiladelphia. Officials expectabout 17,000more to arrive bynextFriday. NYT


THEWORLD


MEANWHILE

MORESHARKS, RAYSFACEEXTINCTIONTHREAT

The world’s sharks and rays have seen declines in their populations since 2014 and moreand more are now threatened with extinction, according to a new red list releasedSaturday at a global conference aimed at protecting dwindling species.

MALAYSIA

Ex-PMpicked

toleadCovid

recoverycouncilMALAYSIAHASappointedformer prime ministerMuhyiddinYassinaschair-manof a council thatwillfocus on economic recov-ery from the coronaviruspandemic, the govern-ment chief secretary saidon Saturday. The cabinethadonWednesdayagreedto theminister-level ap-pointment forMuhyiddinbased on confidence inhim to lead a recoverystrategy to "achieve thebesteconomicimpactandrestore the lives of peopleaffectedbythepandemic",thechiefsecretarysaidinastatement. Muhyiddinstepped down in Augustafter losingmajority sup-portinparliament.Hispre-miership received criti-cism formishandling thecoronavirus pandemic af-ter infections hit recordhighs. REUTERS

MuhyiddinYassin

TOPOFTHEWORLD

USA

FBsorryafterAI

puts‘primates’

labelonvideoof

BlackmenFACEBOOK USERS whorecentlywatchedavideofromaBritishtabloidfea-turing Blackmen saw anautomated prompt fromthe social network thataskediftheywouldliketo“keep seeing videosabout Primates,” causingthe company to investi-gate anddisable the arti-ficial intelligence-pow-ered feature that pushedthemessage. On Friday,Facebook apologised forwhat it called “an unac-ceptableerror”andsaiditwas looking into the rec-ommendation feature to“prevent this from hap-peningagain.” NYT

WESTASIA

Hamasoperatives

launchincendiary

balloonsintoIsraelGAZA’S RULING Hamasmilitant group onSaturdaylaunchedoveradozen of incendiary bal-loons into Israel, seekingto ratchet up pressure inorder to ease a cripplingblockadeof the territory.Photosandvideospostedonline showed maskedHamas-affiliated opera-tives holding pictures ofGazans killed in recentclasheswithIsraeli forceswhiletheylaunchedbal-loons in the direction ofIsrael. There were noimmediate reports ofany fires in southernIsrael. AP

JOHNELIGON&ZANELEMJIPHOENIX,SEPTEMBER4

THEBLOWS thundereddown—bats, a hammer, a field hockeystick — as Njabulo Dlamini laycurledonthepavement,tryingtosummonthestrengthtomove.Heandfivefriends,allofthem

Black, had been driving in aminibus taxi through the streetsofPhoenix,asuburbofpredomi-nantlyIndian-originresidentscre-atedfromtheforcedracialsegre-gationofapartheidSouthAfrica.A mob surrounded them,

draggedthemfromthetaxi,madethemlieonthepavementandbeat

themfuriously, according towit-nessesandvideofootageobtainedby TheNewYork Times. SomeofDlamini’s friendsmanagedtoes-cape. Others were chased andbeatenagainbythecrowd,whichhadbeenwhippedup in recentdaysbyWhatsAppwarningsandreportsof violencebyBlackpeo-ple streaming into their commu-nity to loot shopping centres.Dlaminibarelymadeitacrossthestreet.Helaterdiedofhis injuriesatthehospital,hisfamilysaid.South Africawas convulsed

thissummerbysomeofitsworstcivil unrest since the end ofapartheid.The imprisonmentofformerPresidentJacobZumaforrefusing to appear before a cor-

ruption inquiry set off violentprotestsbyhissupporters.Soon,riotsandlootingeruptedinparts

of the country, fedbybroaddis-gust at poverty, inequality andthegovernment’s failure topro-

videeventhemostbasicservices,likewaterorelectricity.Officialshavecalledtheviolenceaninsur-rection—anattempttosabotageZuma’s rival and successor,President Cyril Ramaphosa, inpart by stoking some of the na-tion’soldest racial tensions.Nationwide,more than 340

peoplediedinthemayhem,manyin stampedes or circumstancesthat remainunclear. But govern-mentofficialshavebeenalarmedbyadynamic that, theysay,dan-gerously undermines the socialorder:dozensofvigilantekillingsbyordinarycitizens.The vigilantism was espe-

ciallypronounced inPhoenix, aworking-class community of

about 180,000 near the coun-try’s east coast. The country’spoliceministersaidthat36peo-ple there— 33 of themBlack—were killed in what some offi-cials are calling a massacre.Fifty-six peoplehavenowbeenarrested inconnectionwiththeviolence inPhoenix.“Mostofthepeoplewhodied

wereinnocentpeoplewhoweretraveling,”saidSihleZikalala,thepremier of KwaZulu-Natalprovince,wherePhoenix is.MobsofmostlyIndian-origin

residents, worried that theircommunity was under siege,erectedroadblocksonstreetcor-ners. They indiscriminatelystoppedBlackpeople,andsome-

times beat or killed them, thepolice said, inflaming the long-fragile relationship betweenBlackand IndianSouthAfricans— twomarginalised groupsun-derwhiteapartheid rule.“Weneedtoconfrontracism

in our society,” Ramaphosawrote in a letter to the nation,specifically addressing thePhoenixunrest.Interviews with dozens of

Black and Indian-origin resi-dentsinthePhoenixarea,aswellas a review of previously unre-portedvideo footage, showthatatleastsomeoftheviolenceanddeaths could have been pre-ventedif thepolicehadprovidedbasic security. NYT

RIOTING AND LOOTING SWEPT THE COUNTRY THIS SUMMER

Vigilante killings involving Indians, Blacks upend a S African town

Nationwide,morethan340peoplewerekilled inriotingandlooting in July. Shoppingcentres inAmaoti, a townshipneighbouringPhoenix,weredestroyed.NYT

BATTLEFORLASTAFGHANPROVINCENOTUNDERTALIBANRULE

Kabulairportopensforaid,domesticflightsresuming:report

REUTERSSEPTEMBER4

TALIBANANDoppositionforceswere fighting on Saturday forcontrol of the Panjshir valleynorthofKabul, the lastprovincein Afghanistan holding outagainst the Islamist militia, ac-cording to reports.Taliban sources had said on

Fridaythegrouphadseizedcon-trolofthevalley,althoughthere-sistancedenied ithad fallen.TheTalibanhavesofarissued

no public declaration that theyhadtakenthevalley,whichresis-tedtheirrulewhentheywerelastinpowerinKabulin1996-2001.A spokesman for the

National Resistance Front ofAfghanistan, which groups op-position forces loyal to localleader Ahmad Massoud, saidTaliban forces reached theDarband heights on the borderbetween Kapisa province andPanjshirbutwerepushedback.“Thedefenceofthestronghold

of Afghanistan is unbreakable,”FahimDashtysaidinatweet.ATalibansourcesaidfighting

was continuing in Panjshir buttheadvancehadbeenslowedbylandminesplacedontheroadtothe capital Bazarak and theprovincial governor’s com-pound. “Demining and offen-sives are both going on at the

sametime,” thesourcesaid.Itwas not immediately pos-

sible to get independent confir-mation of events in Panjshir,which is walled off by moun-tains except for a narrow en-trance andhadheld out againstSoviet occupationaswell as thepreviousTalibangovernment.

Celebratory gunfirekills 17 in KabulCelebratorygunfireresounded

alloverKabulonFridayasreportsspreadoftheTaliban’stakeoverofPanjshir, andnewsagencies saidat least17peoplewerekilledand41injuredinthefiring.Meanwhile,thereweresome

signsofnormalitycreepingbackin theAfghancapital.Qatar’s ambassador to

Afghanistan said a technicalteamwas able to reopen Kabulairport to receive aid, accordingtoQatar’sAl Jazeeranewschan-nel, which also cited its corre-spondent as saying domesticflightshadrestarted.The airport has been closed

since theUS completed opera-tionsonAug.30toevacuatediplo-mats, foreigners and Afghansdeemedat risk fromtheTaliban.However, tens of thousands ofpeoplecouldnotbeflownout.Talibanspokesman,Zabihullah

Mujahid,alsosaidoneofthemainforeign exchange dealers in thecapital reopened. Afghanistan’seconomy has been thrown intodisarray by the takeover by theTaliban.Many banks are closedandcash is in short supply.

Fighting rages as Taliban seekto take control of Panjshir valley

SCHOOLSREOPENINSEVERALCOUNTRIES:Studentsmaintainingsocialdistance inCiudadJuárez,Mexico. InIndonesia,Mexico, Israel,BritainandFrance, studentsheadedbacktoschool thisweek—withsomereturningtoclassroomsfor thefirst timeinmorethanayear.Reuters

EMMAGOLDBERG&EMILYANTHESSEPTEMBER4

PAEDIATRICHOSPITALISATIONSfor Covid-19 have soared in theUS over the summer as thehighly contagious Delta variantspread across the country, ac-cordingtotwonewstudiesfromthe Centers for Disease ControlandPrevention.FromlateJunetomid-August,

hospitalisationratesintheUSforchildrenandteenagersincreasednearlyfivefold,althoughtheyre-main slightly below January’speak,onenewstudyfound.Thestudy, releasedonFriday,

does not provide clear answersaboutwhetherDeltacausesmoresevere disease in children thanearlier versions of the virus. Theriseinpaediatrichospitalisationscouldalsobedue to thevariant’shighinfectiousness.Indeed, one study concluded

thattheproportionofhospitalisedchildrenwithseverediseasehadnotchangedinlate JuneandJuly,when theDelta variant becamedominantintheUnitedStates.TheratesreportedintheCDC

studies are based on data fromtwo national surveillance sys-tems, including hospitals in 49statesandWashington,DC.InoneCDCstudy,researchers

found that since July, when theDelta variant becamepredomi-nant,therateofnewcoronaviruscases increased for children 17and younger, as did Covid-re-latedemergencyroomvisitsandhospital admissions.“We saw that ERvisits, cases

andhospital admissions are ris-ing,” said Dr David Siegel, lieu-tenant commander in the USPublicHealthServiceandtheleadauthor of the paper. “It could bethatDelta ismore severe or thatDeltaismoretransmissible,andit

could be related to other factorssuchasmasking.”Lastmonth, asDelta surged,

theincidenceofCovidinchildrenrose fromearlier in the summer—reaching16.2casesper100,000children ages 4 andunder; 28.5casesper100,000childrenages5to11;and32.7casesper100,000childrenages12through17.That rate representeda spike

fromaJunelowof1.7per100,000children ages 4 and under; 1.9casesper100,000childrenages5to11;and2.9per100,000childrenbetweenages12and17. NYT

NICKPERRYWELLINGTON,SEPTEMBER4

NEWZEALANDauthorities im-prisoned aman inspired by theIslamicStategroupforthreeyearsaftercatchinghimwithahuntingknifeandextremistvideos—butat a certain point, despite gravefearshewouldattackothers,theysaytheycoulddonothingmoretokeephimbehindbars.Sofor53daysfromJuly,police

trackedtheman’severymove,anoperation that involved some30officersworkingaroundtheclock.TheirfearswereborneoutFriday

when themanwalked into anAuckland supermarket, grabbedakitchenknife fromastore shelfandstabbedfivepeople,criticallyinjuringthree.Twomoreshopperswerein-

jured in themelee.OnSaturday,three of the victims remainedhospitalised incriticalconditionandthreemorewereinstableormoderate conditions. The sev-enth personwas recovering athome.Theyoungestvictimwasa29-year-oldwoman,theoldesta77-year-oldman.Courtdocumentsnamedthe

attackeras32-year-oldAhamedAathilMohamed Samsudeen, a

Tamil Muslim from Sri Lankawho arrived inNewZealand 10yearsagoonastudentvisaseek-ingrefugeestatus,whichhewasgranted in2013.Undercoverofficersmonitor-

ingthemanfromjustoutsidethesupermarket sprang into actionwhentheysawshoppersrunningandheard shouting, police said,andshothimdeadwithinacou-pleofminutes.Theattackhashighlightedde-

ficiencies inNewZealand’s anti-terrorlaws,whichexpertssayaretoo focusedonpunishingactionsandinadequateforstoppingplotsbeforetheyarecarriedout. AP

NICOLEPERLROTHSEPTEMBER4

AFTER A Texas law restrictingabortion went into effect onWednesday, the state’s largestanti-abortiongrouppublicisedawebsite that invited citizens toinformonthe law’sviolators.Thewebsite, prolifewhistle-

blower.com,whichwassetupbythegroupTexasRight toLife,wasdesignedtohelpcarryoutthenewlaw.That’sbecausethelawplacesenforcementnot in thehandsofstateofficialsbutwithprivatecit-izens,who are deputised to sue

anyonewhoperformsor aids anabortioninviolationofthelaw.Tipsabout the law’spotential

offendersfloodedintothewebsite,which featuresanonline formsopeople cananonymously submitreportsof thosewhoare illegallyobtainingorfacilitatingabortions.

Butsomeofthetipswerealit-tleunexpected.Gov.GregAbbottof Texas,whowasa leadingpro-ponentof theabortionlaw,wasaviolator,accordingtosomeof thetips.ThefictionalcharactersfromMarvel’sAvengerswere also ap-parentlyseekingabortions,there-portssaid.Othertipsdidnotpointto individuals but instead con-tainedcopiesoftheentirescripttothe2007animatedfilmBeeMovie.Thereports,whichwereobvi-

ouslybogus,weretheworkofac-tivistsonTikTok,coders,andoth-ers who said they wanted toensnarlthesite’sadministratorsinfabricateddata. NYT

YUBARAJGHIMIREKATHMANDU,SEPTEMBER4

TORN BETWEEN US pressureand growing protests at home,the Nepal government hassought clarifications regardingthe provisionsandimplicationsof the deal signed betweenMillennium ChallengeCorporation (MCC) and theGovernmentofNepalfouryearsago fora$500-milliongrant.AccordingtotheMCC’sweb-

site, it isan“independentUSfor-eignassistanceagency”.The Nepal government on

Fridaysoughtclarificationson11points of theMCC deal, mainlyrevolving around the securityand military implications for“non-aligned”Nepal.Opponents of the deal, de-

tailsofwhichhavenotbeenoffi-ciallymadepublicyet,saythatitis part of the US’ Indo-Pacificstrategy,thattheUSwillhavethesole rights over the intellectualpropertyof theproject, that theUSalonehas audit rights over itand that theUS canunilaterallycall off the project without anyaccountability towards theNepalgovernment.The government letter for

clarifications has been sent onthe eve of the visit of Fatema ZSumar, vice-president of com-pact operations at the MCC.Sumar will be meeting PrimeMinister Sher Bahadur Deubaand FinanceMinister JanardanSharma, aswell as the top lead-ersof otherpoliticalparties.

AnAfghanmoneyexchangedealerwaitsforcustomers,afterbanksandmarketsreopeninKabulSaturday.Reuters

US says pullout was efficient, documents suggest otherwise

Crowdsgathereddailyoutsideof the internationalairport inKabulafter theTalibantookcontrolof thegovernment.NYT

US ups pressureon Nepal to ratifydeal for $500-mngrant; Kathmanduseeks clarifications

TikTok users, coders flood Texasanti-abortion site with fake tips

Ataprotest inAustin.NYT

Extremist who stabbed six wasfreed from NZ jail despite fears

Hospitalisations forchildren rising asDelta surges: US CDC

Atwo-month-oldat theChildren’sHospital inNewOrleans.NYT

EVENASitremainedunclearwhethertheDeltavariantwascausingmoresevereill-nessinchildren,astudyshowedthatvaccinationdidmakeamajordifference.AccordingtotheCDCstudy,thehospitalisationratewas10timeshigherinunvacci-natedchildrenandadoles-centsinthelatestwaveof in-fectionsintheUS.ThestudyalsofoundthatpaediatrichospitaladmissionswerefourtimeshigherinUSstateswiththelowestvaccinationrates,whencomparedwithstatesthathavethehighestrates.

Vaccines

makinga

differenceE●EXPLAIN

ED

Taliban special forcesbring abrupt endto women’s protestKATHYGANNONKABUL,SEPTEMBER4

TALIBANSPECIAL forces in cam-ouflage fired theirweapons intothe air Saturday, bringing anabruptandfrighteningendtothelatestprotestmarchinthecapitalby Afghanwomen demandingequalrightsfromthenewrulers.The women’s march — the

secondinasmanydaysinKabul— began peacefully.Demonstrators laid a wreathoutside Afghanistan’s DefenceMinistry to honour Afghan sol-diers who died fighting theTaliban before marching on tothepresidentialpalace.“We are here to gain human

rights in Afghanistan,” said 20-

year-oldMaryamNaiby. “I lovemycountry.Iwillalwaysbehere.”As the protesters' shouts

grew louder, several Taliban of-ficials waded into the crowd toaskwhat theywanted tosay.Flankedbyfellowdemonstra-

tors, SudabaKabiri, a24-year-olduniversitystudent,toldherTalibaninterlocutor that Islam'sProphetgave women rights and theywantedtheirs.TheTalibanofficialpromisedwomenwouldbegiventheir rightsbut thewomen, all intheirearly20s,weresceptical.As the demonstrators

reachedthepresidentialpalace,adozenTalibanspecialforcesraninto the crowd, firing in the airandsendingdemonstratorsflee-ing.Kabiri,whospoketoAP,saidtheyalso fired teargas. AP

Womengather todemandtheirrightsunderTalibanruleduringaprotest inKabulonSaturday.AP

Ahmedabad

Theywerewalkingtheirwaybacktotheirvil-lages inMadhya Pradesh. In the installationRest in Peace, Dhanurdharan pays tribute tothem through a replica of the rail track thathe visited in February. “Whilemany of uswere following COVID norms, themigrantsstruggledforsustenanceandwerevictimsofviolence.Thiswasalsoourcollectivefailure,”saysDhanurdharan.Incidentally, the exhibitionwas planned

afterthepandemicforcedthepostponementof the 2020-21 edition of theKochi-MuzirisBiennale. At the Trivandrumairport tocatchaflighttoMumbaiinSeptember2020,Krishnamacharimetconserva-tion architect BennyKuriakose,wholeads the Alappuzha HeritageProject. The twodiscussed thethenstatefinanceministerDrThomasIsaac'sdesiretoor-ganiseaKeraliteartists’ex-hibitionandthenumerousmuseumspaces thatwerebeing developed inAlappuzha. Amonth later,Krishnamacharihadalistof140 artistswho could par-ticipate in the exhibitionand a roadmap of artists’studiosheintendedtovisitacross Kerala, fromTrivandrumtoKannur.“Ifoundsomeamazingself-taughtartists, youngandold, oftenwith little home studios or some-timesnoneatall.”Several of themore prominent names

werealsopartof“DoubleEnders”,a2005trav-ellingexhibitionwhereKrishnamacharihadbrought together 69 artists fromKerala. “Asanartist,Bosehasalwayshadastrongdesireto draw links between artists from the stateandtotaketheirworkbacktothestate...Thisis an opportunity for a lot of young artists togettheirearlyexposure,”saysJitishKallat,47.Theongoingexhibitionfeatureshiscritically-

acclaimedwork Epilogue (2011), a photo-graphic installation that retraces each of the22,889moons his father saw inhis lifetime.Eachmoon is representedbyaprogressivelyeatenroti,culminatingwiththelastmoonhesawonDecember1,1998.

■ ■ ■

Some of the exhibition’smost powerfulworks come fromwomen. Out of the 268artists,56arewomen,accountingforroughly22per cent. A lower primary school teacherfromOttapalam, Sreeja Pallam’s canvasesstandoutespecially for the thrustongender.The 40womendepicted in her paintings, indifferentoccupationalroles,areinspiredfromthe faces Pallamhas observed in her neigh-bourhood,duringherjourneys,andfromthebooksshereads.Theartwork,twoyearsinthemakingandstillongoing,seekstocementtheroleofwomeninKerala’sskewedlabourmar-ket.DespitebeingbettereducatedthantheircounterpartsinotherIndianstates,womeninKerala lag behind inwork participation rateandwagelevels.“Thisispartofmyinvestiga-tion into the position of women and the in-valuablework theydo in a traditionalmale-dominatedsociety,”saysPallam.For several artists, the disruption of the

pandemicwas an eye-opener. Smita GS, anartist fromKozhikode, allowedher oil-and-acrylicpaintingstobrimwithcolourfulland-scapes, the kind shedid not get to seemuchof inthepastone-and-a-half years. “BecauseI knew that I couldn’t step out of homedur-ingthatperiod,IcouldimaginespaceswhereIwished togo. Therearememories frommychildhood in those spaces. Somehow, it be-camedeeplypersonal,”shesays.IfSmitafoundhercallingduringCOVIDin

searching for positive spaces, Coimbatore-based JithaKarthikeyangrappledwithacuteloss.Justbeforethepandemichit,shelostherparents in quick succession to non-COVIDcauses.Thencametheeerilysilentmonthsofthe national lockdown. “The streets wereemptyandsowasmyhouse.Lifehadcometoastandstill.AsIwentthroughtheclothesandother items used bymyparents, I began toquestion the physical forms of life. I had toerasethem,”shesays.Foroneofherartworks,KarthikeyanborrowsachapterfromtheGreekepicIliadbyHomerasthesettingofaself-por-trait inwhich she sees herself as the Trojanhorse.“Atthatpointoftime,Iwasstillsearch-ingformyidentity...Mostofmyartredefinespre-setdefinitionstofindsmyown,”shesays.Theshowcasealsohasaplaceforthehis-

tory of the struggle for gender equality.Alappuzha-basedVSBlodsow,45,takesinspi-ration for his Spectrum—DearMr EllsworthKelly&OthersfromAmericanartistEllsworthKelly’s Spectrum series, featuring a prismofcolour juxtapositions. In his frame, Blodsowbrings together33shadesof blousematerialsourced from a local store, referencing thebreasttaxpaidbywomenoflowercasteinor-dertocovertheirbreastsintheerstwhileking-domofTravancoretill1924.Inanotherinstal-lation,hearguesforthestatusofArticle19oftheIndianConstitutionthatguaranteesfree-domofspeechandexpression.ArtistBaraBhaskaran,whoisinterestedin

subaltern histories, highlights the role ofwomen coir workers in the historic 1946Punnapra-Vayalarrevolt,wheretheworkingclasses tookuparmsunder the leadershipof

theCommunistPartyofIndiaagainsttheoppressivepoliciesof the thendewanofTravancore,SirCPRamaswamyIyer.“Themartyredmenwere celebratedbutthewomenwhowerewidowedand thosewhoworked on lowwageshardlygotanyacknowl-edgement,”saysthe52-year-old. His series of paintings,Chambers of Amazing

Museum, gives a face to theforgottenwomen.With theexhibitionex-

tended till November 30,participatingartistshopetointeractwithmorevisitorsinthecomingmonths.Buteven in thisdifficult time,Krishnamachari notesthat sales have been en-

couragingatclosetoRs80-90lakh.“Itisopti-mistic,especiallyforartistswhohaven’tbeenpart of themainstream,” he adds,making amention of 64-year-old Kozhikode artistShanta CM, a poultererwho is attracting at-tention for her intricate abstracts, some ofwhichhavealreadyfoundcollectors.The exhibition strikes a note of hope for

morereasonsthanone,saysKrishnamachari.“There are a lot of possibilities andways inwhich the city can expand on this project,make Alappuzha into a heritage city, an artcity,acreativecity,”hesays.

T H E S U N D A Y E X P R E S S M A G A Z I N E

FORM AND

SUBSTANCE

(Clockwise from left)

Artwork by C

Bhagyanath; artists’

collective Trespassers

working on a mural;

a work by Jitha

Karthikeyan; an

installation by

George Kuruvilla;

artwork by Jitish

Kallat; a warehouse

that has been turned

into an art gallery

Vishnu Varma and Vandana Kalra

ONE OF the oldestplanned towns ofKerala, the pictur-esque port city ofAlappuzha sits be-tween the vast

Arabian Sea and the placidVembanad Lake. Designed by RajaKesavadas, thedewanof Travancoreduring the reign of Dharma RajaKarthika Thirunal Rama Varma,tradersflockeditsshoresforspicesandcoir in the 1800s. Its fortuneswere toshine brighter after Irish-Americanmer-chant JamesDarraghsetupIndia’s firstcoirfactory in 1859 inAlappuzha. The establish-mentofDarraghSmail&Companypropelledfurtherinvestment,makingitthefamedlandof golden fibre, though its significance as atradinghubdwindledovertheyears.Attemptsarenowbeingmadetocelebrate

itsrichhistoryandreviveitspastglorythroughthe AlappuzhaHeritage Project. The Keralagovernment has sanctioned a budget ofRs208.25croretobuilditasaheritagetourismdestination through the refurbishmentof itsold factories, warehouses andmuseums.While the blueprint is being implemented,thelaidbackscenictown,isseeingunusualac-tivity as thehostof oneof the largest exhibi-tionsofMalayali artists fromtheworldover.Titled “LokameTharavadu (TheWorld isOneFamily)”,theshowcaseorganisedbytheKochiBiennale Foundation and supported by thestate government has been curated by artistand Biennale founder-president BoseKrishnamachari.Itfeaturesworksofover268artists andcollectives fromKerala, displayedacrossthequainttown.Krishnamacharibor-rowsthecore ideaof theexhibition fromtheMalayalam poem Ente Gurunathan byVallatholNarayanaMenon. “Itappeals to theuniversal spirit of humanity. Given the cur-rent situation in India, where somany feelthreatenedby religious fundamentalism, anideal cultural and secular space needs to becreated.Insmallerways,communitiesneedtocome together and art canplay a role in fos-teringthat,”saystheMumbai-basedartist.

■ ■ ■

The continued spurt in COVID-19 infec-tionsinKeralahasbeenastumblingblockforartaficionados,butthosewhohavetakenthejourney to visit the exhibition that began inApril this year have beenwelcomedwithstrikingworks of graffiti andmurals on thewallsofitsvenuesthatdrawinspirationfromthe region’s heritage. MuraleeThummarukudy, operationsmanager at thecrisis management branch of the UnitedNations Environment Programme, a recentvisitor to the exhibition, says, “Manypeoplemaymisunderstand:Isthistherighttime(tohold the exhibition)? But I cannot think of abettertimetogivepeoplesomerelief.Peopleare spentandboundtohomes. Togive themanopenspaceandsomesortofavisualexpe-rienceastherapyisveryimpressive.”Bengaluru-basedAnpuVarkey,41, for in-

stance, flaunts the region’s rich coir historyona45mwallofabuildingownedbytextilecompanyWilliamGoodacre & Sons Pvt Ltd.Her graffiti showshumanhandsengaged inatugofwarfromeithersideusingacoirrope.Similarly,amuralpaintedbyagroupofeightartists calling themselves ‘Trespassers’ on awall of the beachfront PortMuseum showspeople, animals and objects travelling in acrowded snake-boat. Vishnupriyan K, 26, amember of Trespassers, says themuralwasinspiredbytheBiblicaltaleofNoah’sArkandportraysaclutchofpeopleseeminglyescap-

ing in theboatwithall theycouldgrab fromtheirhomes.Eachoftheeightartistshadthefreedom to rummage through their fan-tasies:sothere’sthechakyar(atraditionalperformance artist) transfixed in theboat’s centre with a beehive in hisarmpit, twomen locked in an em-brace nearby and aman holding aplantain ripe with fruits, amongother interestingcharacters.Inside the decades-old coir fac-

tories andwarehouses, refurbishedintobrightly-litgalleries,areartworkthat span awhole gamut of themesand subjects. At the Eastern ProduceCompany venue, Chennai-based self-taughtartistGeorgeKuruvillashineslightontheidentitycrisisofthethirdgender.Theseries tries to relocate thetransgender iden-tity, oftenmocked by the term “hijra”, to anAravani, amythical identity borne out of aunionbetweenHindugodsShivaandVishnu.A little further away, Baiju Parthan, 65, aMumbai-basedartistwhoflitsseamlesslybe-tween traditional paintings andnewmediaart, has artworkmade on fabric using “3Dsoftware and presented as stereoscopicprints.”Asvisitorsmovealongtheartworks,theobjectschangetheirappearance,offeringanalteredsenseof reality.A couple of kilometres away, local artist

Kajal Deth’s watercolours, acrylics andpoignant photographs capture the om-nipresent theng or coconut palm and theplightofworkersintherapidlydisintegratingcoir sector. “My father and grandfatherworkedinthecoirsectorandmygreat-grand-fatherwasanexporter. I’mwell-versedwiththe problems of the sector. Submitting thiswork(fortheexhibition)wasnatural, ithasagreatdealtodowithmyexistence,”saysDeth.AtatimewhenCOVID-19hasalteredthe

notion of home, Kochi-based VipinDhanurdharan, 32, explores its numerousconnotationsinhis83-minutedocumentary,WhyWeAlways ReturnHome? “Homehas adifferentmeaningforeachindividual,fromaromanticised view to a place of comfort orevenmereshelter,”saystheartist.Takingofffromthemigrantexodusduring thenation-widelockdowninMarchlastyear,hisprotag-onists include families and friends of the 16migrantworkerswhodiedwhilesleepingontherailwaytrackinAurangabadinMay2020.

City Lights andStreets of ColourHow an exhibition in Alappuzha has brought together

over 250 artists belonging to Kerala in a show of hope

and regeneration in a pandemic-ridden world

eye

SWANOOPJOHN/KOCHIBIENNALEFOUNDATION

PHOTOS:PRAKASHELAMAKKARA

POINTOF VIEW

A Sublime MusicThe repertoire of music played on ceremonial

occasions at the Rashtrapati Bhavan has a

rich history

SPOTLIGHT

Freedom’s Lost ChildrenThe residents of Chauri Chaura, the hamlet

that made Mahatma Gandhi call off his Non-

Cooperation Movement in 1922, now worry

about the future

SEPTEMBER 5, 2021 | WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM | PAGE 16

Ahmedabad

AN EATER’S

MANUAL

The range of Indian

food, its flavours,

styles and tastes,

across the country’s

length and breadth,

is a mystery to those

not knowledgeable

about it

STRIKE A NOTE

(From top) The

Armed Forces Band

at the 2021 Beating

Retreat ceremony;

former president

Dr Rajendra Prasad

with the greatest of

Indian classical

maestros; former

president Dr APJ

Abdul Kalam

playing the

Saraswati veena at

Rashtrapati Bhavan

P O I N T O F V I E W 17EYE , THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 5, 2021

The FastbackFightersMother Nature’s air-to-air hunters

help keep pest numbers down

RanjitLalRanjit Lal isanauthor,

environmentalistand

birdwatcher

DOWNINJUNGLELAND

RAPTORSTAKEdowntheirkillsoneatatime.Butthefastbackfighters,partofMotherNature’sAirForce(MNAF)we’llmeetnow,gowholesaletokeeppestnumbersdown.We’llmeetthreespe-

cialists: theswifts, swallowsandsecretivemottlednight-jars.All threegoinfor insectsonthewing,havenichehuntingblocksanddifferentattackhours.Sensibly,allthreeavoidthestingers:beesandwasps.Theyhavenar-rowswept-backwings,anddeeply-forkedtails,designedforhighspeedsandastonishingmaneuverability.Theyhaveespeciallywidegapesandunliketheraptors, theirkillweaponistheirbill— nottheir feet,which, infact,areweakandflimsy.Theeyesof swallowsareespeciallyde-signedtoseein“slowmotion”, likeaphased-downstrobe.Theyhavetwoareasof sharpfocusineachretina(calledfovea):oneisusedforsightingprey(longdistance)andtheotherforcapture(shortdistance).Nightjarshaveareflectivelayeratthebackof theeyetoassistnightvi-sionandlong,rectalbristles foreyelasheswhichguidetargetstothegapeandprotecttheeyewhenthebirdszoomintoswarmsof insects.Of thethree, theswiftsarethehigh-flyingspeedsters.

Withtheirnarrow,swept-backwingstheyscissortheskiesatanaltitudeof50-100m,butcangoupto1,000m,if that’swheretheswarmsof insectshavebeentakenbyaircurrents.Theycanclock250kmph(oneincrediblere-portnoted400kmph— peregrinespeed!) flyingover800kmaday,perchingbrieflyorroostingforthenightonrockyledges,cliff facesorancientmonuments.Theirheavyandstiffwingbonesgivethemthepowerforen-duranceandspeedandaircurrents(vortices)generatedbytheirnarrowwingtipsthatenablethemtoobtaingreater liftandtakedownthousandsof smaller insects,midges,mosquitoes,andtinyspiderlingsborneupbyair-currents. Insectsarescoopedintothewidegapeandlodgedinapouchatthebackof thethroat, formingabo-lus,comprisingaround1,000insectsbeforebeingswal-lowedorregurgitatedtoprogeny.Eating,sleeping,andmatingarealldoneonthewing.Swiftsareusuallybrownaboveandwhitebelow.Thoselivingintemperateareasaremigratory,headingsouthinwinteras insectsdieout.

Themostfamousandpopularof thetrioaretheswal-lows.Thoughshapedlikeswifts, they’reunrelated(con-vergentevolution!).Buttheirplumageisusuallyametal-licdarkblue,withwhiteandred.Theyhuntlarger insects— fliesandmosquitoes— atloweraltitudes.Manypatrolrivers, lakesandotherwaterbodies, flyinglowoverthewater,snappinguptheinsectshoveringover itanddip-pingtheirbeaksinforaquickdrink: I’vewatchedthembeatupanddownthemoatsatDelhi’sNationalZoologicalParkandovertheYamuna(onetipforphotog-raphers:watchhowtheyflydownwindandupwindwhileonbeatpatroloverawaterbody:they’remuchslowerupwindand,hence,easiertotrack!)Liketheswifts, theyarediurnal.Andof the90-oddspecies, thebarnswallow, foundubiquitouslyaroundtheworld, is themostpopular.Theirwingsaremoreflexibleandlighterthanthatof theswift.Swallowsarefamousfor lininguponwiresespeciallywhilegatheringfortheirgreatmigra-toryflightsawayfromtheevilwinter’schill inthenorth-ernhemisphere.ThoseinEuropeflydowntoAfrica’swel-comingwarmth,somemayclock9,000kmontheirtripsbetweenNorth,SouthandCentralAmerica. It’sbelieved,therearearound190millionswallowsworldwide,eating65billioninsectsdaily:economistsandpoliticianscancalculatehowthatmonetises. If swallowsfeelhumansthreatentheirbroods, theywilldive-bombus!Themostsecretiveof thetrioarethenightjars,aka

nighthawks:thesenocturnalandcrepuscularhunters liefurtively lowduringtheday,usuallydressedintheexactcoloursandpatternsof thebranchorgroundtheychoosetoroostupon.Mottledanddappled, theyareinvisibleduringtheday.Comeduskanddawn,andthey’llbeupandhunting— moths,mosquitoesandother insects.Largerthanswallows, theyhavehugeandwideeyesoneithersideof theirheadsforbinocularvision.Fromhighoverthecanopy, they’lldive-bombtheirvictimsonsoftly-featheredsilentwings,orpatrolareaswherepoolsof lightattractclansof frenziedlydancingmothsandbeetles.Theynettheirvictimsbyflyingmouth-open!Unfortunately, theyarefondof roostingonroadsand

getdazzled(andfrequentlykilled)bytraffic.Theytwistandturnintheheadlights’beam,softlyuttering“chuck-chuck”callsastheyhawkthedancingdoomedinsects.Needlesstoadd,theylovefull-moonnightsforgoodhunting!Nextweek,wemeetthe“perch-to-air”and“air-to-water”missilesof theMNAF!

PREPARE FOR TAKEOFF

A young wire-tailed swallow stretches its wings

RANJITLAL

Sunil Trivedi

PRESIDENTBILL Clintonwas in fora pleasant surprise during thebanquetheld inhishonourat theRashtrapati Bhavan during hisMarch 2000 visit. Hemight not

haveexpectedtohearjazzattheceremonialfunction,butthepresident’sNavalJazzBandplayedit,andplayeditsowellthatClinton,anaccomplishedsaxophonisthimself,went tomeet themusicians.He issaidtohaveespe-ciallyappreciated thesaxophoneplayer.Jazz arrived in the Rashtrapati Bhavan

two years earlier when president KRNarayanan decided to form the president’sNaval Jazz Band. He had beenmesmerisedbyarecitalbyanavalbandwhenhehadvis-itedPortBlair.Today,thisnavalbandconsistsof nine versatile instrumentalists. Jazz addstotherichrepertoireofWesternmusic,mar-tialmusicaswellasHindustaniandCarnaticclassicalmusic, thesoundsofwhichwaft intheairof thegrandedifice.Before Independence,of course, the fare

was very limited. It was FieldMarshal KMCariappa who decided to bring about achange.HefoundedtheMilitaryMusicWingin Pachmarhi in 1950 as part of the ArmyEducationCorps (AEC)TrainingCollegeandCentre. This marked the beginning of ele-ments of Indianmusic blendingwithmar-tialmusic thatwasplayed till then.A large number of compositions like

Giriraj, Tiranga Senani, Nidar Yoddha, Jai

Bharati,Manohar and many other tunesshowtheinfusionof Indianelements. Indiancompositions are presented when thePresidenthostsbanquets,at-homesorotherformal get-togethers.When the Presidenthosts a banquet in the honour of a head ofstate, music from the visiting dignitary’scountry isalsoplayed.PatronagetoIndianmaestrosmarkedan-

other change after Independence. Besidesmartial music and ceremonial music, theRashtrapati Bhavanhas alsoplayed amajorrole inpromoting Indianclassicalmusic.With the near terminal decline ofma-

harajas and nawabs, the chief patrons of

IndianclassicalmusicbeforeIndependence,the Indian gharanas had found themselvesindirestraitsattheturnof the20thcentury.The British didn’t want to encourage themandtherajas,nawabsandfeudallordscould-n’t.VishnuDigambarPaluskarmarkedanewtrendwhenhejoinedthenationalistmove-ment. He began to infuse new democraticvaluesintothelargelyfeudalworldofclassicmusic in the early 20th century. He touredalloverIndiaandsangVandeMataram inna-tionalist gatherings.Thus,whenthefirstpresidentof India,Dr

Rajendra Prasad, invitedmasters of IndianclassicalmusicforrecitalsattheRashtrapatiBhavan, itwasacontinuationofatrendthatwaspart of the freedomstruggle. The list ofmusicians invited in the1950s is averitable

galaxy of the greatest: Omkarnath Thakur,Ahmedjan Thirakawa, Bismillah Khan,Kishan Maharaj, Ravi Shankar, Ali AkbarKhan, Vilayat Khan, DV Paluskar andVinayakraoPatwardhanenrichedtheambi-enceof theRashtrapatiBhavan,performingforRajenbabuandselectguests.Promotion of classical music at the

Rashtrapati Bhavan continued in the laterdecades.DrZakirHussain,forexample,alongwithafewguests, listenedtosomerarecom-positions by Siddheshwari Devi, sitting onthemattresses laid downon the floor in aninformalarrangement.Dr APJ Abdul Kalamwas himself a keen

musician andplayed the Saraswati veena inhisprivatemoments.Hegaveanewthrusttothedisseminationofclassicalmusicandarts.His initiative,calledIndradhanush,gaveafil-lip to Indianartandmusic.Artistes like HariprasadChaurasia, Girija Devi,ShivkumarSharma,PanditJasraj, Rajan and SajanMishra and ChhannulalMishra have been amongthe luminaries who havegraced the RashtrapatiBhavanwith their sublimerenditions.More recently,in 2018, sarod maestroAmjadAliKhanenthralledPresidentRamNathKovindandtheselectaudience.Music remains the

quintessential element ofceremonies, special occasions and also dailyroutineattheRashtrapatiBhavan.TheBeatingRetreatceremony,heldaftertheRepublicDaycelebrations,isprimarilyamusicalevent.Thearmed forces’ bands present their composi-tions for about an hour,with soldiers doingslowmarch, quickmarch, entrymarch andothermovementstothemusic.Themusical ensemble presented every

yearincludesQadamqadambadhaayeja,com-posedbyCaptainRamSinghThakuriforAzadHindFauj,andlateradoptedastheArmySong.Abidewithme, based onMahatmaGandhi’sfavourite hymn, also features every year.Typically, theceremonyendswithaninstru-

mentalrenditionofSaarejahanseachcha,withthehorse-ridersofthePresident’sBodyguardretreating up the Raisina Hill towards theRashtrapati Bhavan into the red glowof thesetting sun. Every Indianwatching the cere-mony is filledwith sentiments of patriotismarousedbythepowerofmusic.This year, Swarnim vijay varsh, a special

composition to commemorate 50 years ofvictory in the 1971war, was the first tuneplayed by the Military Band before thePresident of India and other invitees, in theBeating Retreat ceremony on January 29. Ittouchedtheheartstringsofeveryonewatch-ingtheceremony.Whenournationalflagishoistedatopthe

flagstaff on the dome of the RashtrapatiBhavan everymorning and also lowered inthe evening, Reveille and Retreat are played,

whicharemusicalcalls forthebeginningandtheendof thedayforsoldiers.When the President

pays homage tomartyrs,thepoignant tune Last Postisplayedtomarkthesolem-nityoftheoccasion.Itisfol-lowed by the tune Rousewhichsignalspeopletogetbacktotheircallofduty.The President’s arrival

atanyceremonialfunctionis heraldedwith a fanfareby trumpeters of thePresident’sBodyguard,fol-lowed by the tune of our

nationalanthemplayedbytheMilitaryBand.In2020,workingcloselywiththeSangeet

NatakAkademi, aRashtrapati Bhavan teamdeveloped an eclectic pool of music tracks,vocalandinstrumental,fromHindustaniandCarnatictraditions.Theselectionisbasedonthedifferentseasonsof theyear,hoursof theday, festivalsandnationaldays. Music fromthis selection resonates through the StateCorridorof theRashtrapatiBhavan.

SunilTrivedi isofficeronspecialduty(Research);

with inputsfromAnkitJain,officeron

specialduty(Communication),with

theRashtrapatiBhavan

READINGWHATGeneWeingartenwrotesocasually and confidently about Indian foodwasn’t as appalling to me as finding hiswords in a newspaper of TheWashingtonPost’s characterandreputation. Inanarticledated August 19, he wrote, “If you thinkIndiancurriestastelikesomethingthatcouldknockavultureoffameatwagon,youdonotlikealotof Indianfood.Idon’tgetit,asaculi-nary principle.” But I suppose newspapersmust print such things; otherwise, they

wouldn’tbetellinguswhat’sgoingoninthemindsandheartsofpeople.Soassadandun-fortunate as it is thatWeingarten’s screedwas given space in TheWashington Post, it’salmost a blessing. Now the onus is uponthoseof uswhoknowbetter to react.Weingarten’sarticleshowsushoweasily

peoplecanliveinisolatedcocoonsfromwhichtheyfeelsafetoteardownthepractices, joys,lovesandindulgencesofanother.TheWesternworld has had its fair share of dominance of“the thirdworld” as it’s oftencalled, becausetheyhavedriventhenarrativeforsolong.IamaggrievedbutnolongershockedthatthefoodIgrewupeating,theregionalattire,thearchi-tectural sensibilities, the decorative arts —thosethingsfromthepastthatconnectmetomy birthplace — are considered “ethnic”.Italian, German, French fare and commodi-ties,allcelebratedfortheirnorthernEuropeanprovenance, are called “food”, “design”, “art”and“dress”,whilewhatIleftbehindandcamebackcraving tobecomeonewithagain is la-belledwith the disparaging adjective ethnic—“ethnicclothing”,“ethnicfood”,“ethnicart”,“ethnicdress”. Thetermethnicandattitudeslike theoneexpressedbyWeingarten in TheWashington Postperpetuate the stereotypesanddeepenthedivides thatdamageourhu-mancollective.Let’sput India intoperspective.A landof

1.4 billion people and growing, it is a landwhereyoucanfindpeopleofallcolours,peo-plewhohaveamilliongods,andpeoplewhohave no gods in their lives. Peoplewho livein colour, and thosewho live lives bereft ofcolour.Thereare Indianswhoarebelowthepoverty line, and thosewho are richer than

therich,whoselivesaresostaggeringlyposhandopulent that the rest of theworld’s richlookobscenelypoor incomparison.Takeakaleidoscope,shakeitashardandas

long as youwill, andwhen you look into it,what you seewill not be as rich or varied inhue as India. India is a land that ismindbog-glingly diverse, a landof extremities. And itscuisine is aswrit andvaried, asnuancedandstoried,asfullofdiscoveryasthepeopleitrep-resents.Youwill findfoodthat’spackedwithheat and spice and food that’s bereft of any.Youwillfindfoodthat’sfullofflavourandaro-matics,youwill findfoodthathasnoneatall.The Indian palate is one of themost so-

phisticated palates in theworld. Our home

cooking is so refined that our taste buds arethe sorts that dreams aremade of. Over thelength and breadth of India, in its differenthomes,richandpoor,onecomesacrossawiderangeof flavours,stylesandtastes. It issafetosaythatmagichappensinIndiankitchens.Indian food, its life, its breath, its pulsat-

ingflavoursofaromatics, isalldefinedinthatPandora’s box that Indians open severaltimes a day.We take from it flavours, tex-tures, colours, heady aromas and seductivetastes that together create dishes that are amix of hot, sour, salty, sweet, bitter, astrin-gent and aromatic all at once. And in thatalchemy,wereachperfectsyncandharmonythat is acelebrationof the tastebuds.Indiansaregreedyforflavour.Welivefor

flavour, andwe live beautifully with abun-danceeveninabjectpoverty.Fromthisabun-danceweput togetheraculinary landscapethat is simple yet tasty, heady yet sophisti-cated,richbuteasilydigestible. It’sajourneyof great discoveries, of humble beginnings,a journey towards a richer society. And thatiswhat Indian food isall about.It is sad that people likeWeingarten are

robbingthemselvesofopportunitiestogrow.Tooafraidtodevelopnewhabits,tolearnnewtricks,toexperienceanewculture,theywouldrather cast judgements from their isolationaboutsubjectstheyknownothingabout.WhatWeingarten is callingdirty, smelly andnastyandnottohisflavour,someoneelseisromanc-ingandrejoicingaboutandcelebrating.Itissaidthatwhatoccupiesmindstodayin

theWesternworld,MotherIndiahaslongagodigested, disposedof, andstoppedworryingabout.ThelittlethingsthoseintheWestworryoracheaboutandarebrokenby,MotherIndiahasalreadyseen,understood,forgottenaboutandmovedon.So,letusbecomemoreawareofwhereweareinourlives,wherewestand,wherewelookattheworldfrom.Weshouldalltakeituponourselvestobepeoplewhogofromdiscovery to acceptance to embracingandbringingback thebestwesee in the restof theworld.Wecanthenputwhatwehavediscovered intopractice inourownlivesandteachthosewe lovehowwegrowashumanbeings,howweevolve,howwecelebratedi-versity and become better citizens of theworldwelivein.

The FlavourEquation

Why a Western critic’s outdated views on Indian food

captures nothing of its versatility

SuvirSaranSuvir Saran isachef, author, educator

andworld traveller

SLICEOFLIFE

A Sublime MusicThe repertoire of music played on ceremonial occasions

at the Rashtrapati Bhavan has a rich history

Living HistoryAn Indian Express

collaboration with

the Rashtrapati Bhavan

SUVIRSARAN

PHOTOSCOURTESYRASHTRAPATIBHAVANPHOTOARCHIVES

Ahmedabad

LIGHT AND

SHADE

(Clockwise from left)

A still from the film

Rang De Basanti

(2006); Rakeysh

Omprakash Mehra;

his autobiography

THE PAST

STOPS HERE

(From top) Chauri

Chaura railway

station, the

memorial to the

British police

officers; inside the

hall of the upgraded

Shaheed Smarak

S P O T L I G H T18EYE , THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 5, 2021

EYE SPY

EVERYFORTNIGHT,WEPICK,YOUWATCH

Shubhra Gupta

DOYOUbelieve in fairies?Well, youmight say,itdepends.Uponhowoldyouare.Howcred-ulousyouare.Or if youareanadultwho’snever lost sightof thechildyouused tobe.

IrfanaMajumdar’s lovely, emotivedebut featureShankar’s Fairies takesyouback toa timewhen fairies,andothermysteriouscreatures like chudails (witches),werepartof your imaginative inner life, fedbyagrownupwhotoldyouthosestorieswithgreatzest.The film is set inLucknowof theearly ’60s,mostly

confined toa large, statelybungalowringedwithwell-maintained lawns, inwhichnine-year-oldAnjanaandher littlebrother live: their father is thesenior superin-tendentof police, and their elegantmother isaperfecthomemakerandhostess. Thewhole family isdepend-entonShankar, the factotum-batman-butler-cook-all-purpose-handymanwhohasbeenwith themforyears.ForAnjana,he isaperennial sourceof stories, andare-lieverof tedium; forher IPS father, amanveryawareofhisposition,he (Shankar) is anuncomplainingexecutorof orders; forAnjana’smother, Shankar is the fulcrumwhichkeeps thehousehold tickingover smoothly. Forall of them,he ismore function thanperson.The filmremindedme,powerfully, ofmyownchild-

hoodspent roamingaroundasprawlingkothiverymuch like thisone, and the time I spentwithaShankar-like figure, ayoungmancalledParas,whopushedmyswing,high,higher, andhelpedmespeak tobabysquir-rels. Thoseweremyfairies.Inachatearlier thisweek,Majumdarspokeabout

howshewanted the filmtobeaboutacertain “timeandplace” (basedonthememoriesof hermotherNitaKumar,whowrote thescreenplay), and toexaminehow“classevenmore thancastecandetermineyour life”.Shankar isverymuchamanof his time, a faithful “ser-vant”whodevoteshimself to thoseheserves,hisownfamilycomingadistant second. SoareAnjana’sparents,liberal in theirownlimitedway,whoroutinely invisi-bilise their retinue: that’s justhowthingsused tobe.Andstill are.While somuchhaschanged in thepast

60years, therearepocketsof Indiawhere thingsarestill,heartbreakingly, thesame.Youcantranscendyourcaste,saysMajumdar,butovercomingclassbarriers can takemuch longer thanageneration. JaihindKumarasShankar is spot-on:hehasaclear senseof self,whetherhe iseating leftovers (a terrificmomentwhereAnjanarealises thesharp inequityof their lives)or spinningafreshyarn. ShreejaMishra, a schoolgirl fromLucknow, isequally credibleasAnjana.Majumdarherself playsAnjana’smother, andher real-lifehusband, actorandtheatredirectorGauravSaini, plays thespouse in thefilm.The filmhadan internationalpremiereat the re-cently-concludedLocarnoFilmFestival; itwill nowbeshownatBusanandToronto, and,hopefully, open the-atricallybackhomesoon.Memoriesof childhoodcanmake for themostcom-

pellingcinema:Shankar’s Fairieshas joined the filmswhich topmylist.

Shankar’s Fairies shows how class

determines one’s life and choices

TELL TALE

A still from Irfana Majumdar’s debut Hindi feature

It’s Story Time

Tanushree Ghosh

WHENARUN Jaitley, then I&Bminister,metBombayfilmmakerstodiscuss“censorship”,filmmakerRakeyshOmprakashMehrarecallshavingsaid, “takethescissors, throwit intheocean.” “You need certification, not censor-ship.MrJaitleyformedacommittee(BenegalCommittee,2016)withchairmanShyambabu(Benegal),KamalHaasan,GoutamGhose,my-self...wespentayearon it, spoke toall stake-holders, therewas enough experience andrepresentationintheroom.Weframedalawwhichneversawthelightofday.Theministrychangedandhe(thelateJaitley)wasmadethedefenceminister,”saysMehra,58.Suchnuggetsdon’tfindmentioninhisau-

tobiography,TheStranger in theMirror (RupaPublications, Rs 595), co-writtenwith ReetaRamamurthyGupta,thathasbeenfouryearsinthemaking.Onehadtobe“precise,notme-ander,”saysMehra,whostartshisdaybytalk-ingtohimself—astrangereverytimehelooksinto themirror, a leitmotif that runs throughhisfilms,and,now,hismemoir.Mehrawrites intimately of his successes

and failures, hismiddle-class roots andaspi-rationstomakeitbig.Thesecondofthreechil-dren,Mehrawasborninthedecadeofcoun-tercultureandsocial revolution—theSixties—inthesyncreticOldDelhi.Hegrewupintheservantquartersof thevery-BritishClaridges

Hotel,wherehisfatherrosethroughtheranksfromadishwashertofoodandbeverageman-ager.Itwastherethat,asaboy,hegotaglimpseintotheworldof“goras”(foreigners),secretlywatchedhis first cabaret show, and learnt tobefriendwater. Swimming (sports quota)landedhim inDelhi University’s prestigiousShri RamCollege of Commerce, but he fellshortofqualifyingforthefinalnationalteam(waterpolo) inthe1982AsianGames.Films had always been a companion. If

Mughal-e-Azam(1960)wasthesoundtrackofhis childhood, his adolescencewas spentwatchingmoviesgratisatDelhi’ssingle-screentheatres thanks tohis father’s acquaintancesfromhisticketchecker-torchmandaysatthenow-defunctJagatCinema.Ittook36years—fabrics business, selling vacuumcleaners, anadvertising career— for filmmaking to em-bracehim.Forhissophomore,RangDeBasanti(RDB, 2006), hewanted to turn the local so-ciopolitical context intoworld cinema. It be-cameamilestoneinHindicinemawithitsad-vocacyofcitizens’ interventionforchange.MehraquotesSahirLudhianvi’spoem,the

inspirationforhis firstcelluloidhit. “Bahutdi-nonsehaiyehmashgalasiyasatka,kijabjawan

hobachche tohqatlho jaye (Formanydays, it’sbeen the ploy of the establishment/to kill the

youngwhen they find their voice against the

rulers)”. Thereweremany triggers: thenewsabout “flying coffins” (MiG-21s, called sobe-causeoftheirpoorsafetyrecord);theVPSingh

government’s introduction of theMandalCommissionin1990thatbroughttheyouthtothestreetsandsawaDUstudent’sself-immo-lationbid in protest; andMehra and friendswhowerefence-sittersincollegewould“pointfingersateverything”butthemselves.“That’swhereRDBcamefrom. Ihaveahugeadmira-tion foryoungsterswhojoin the ideaof India—Army,Navy,AirForce, the IAS, IPS, IFS,poli-tics,tobringaboutahealthychange,”hesays.Thefilm,whichhadan“unpalatablemili-

taryangle”,wasshowntotheIAFandMinistryofDefence.Thethendefenceminister(PranabMukherjee) and thenAirMarshalfound“nothingderogatory”.Werethosedifferenttimes?Mehrasays,“Idon’tseewhyyoucan’tmakeanRDBorDelhi-6 today. That’s a fal-lacy. To say the film ismore rele-vant today is biased, unfair andagainst the present establish-ment...Therewillneverbeaperfectestablishment. It wasn’t perfectwhen Iwas growingup. Right af-tertheEmergency,Ijoinedcollege.Likewise, thepolarisationtoday isnotgood.Theyoungstershavetostepup.Therecould evenbeaTiananmenSquare (protestsinChina,1989),whynot?Itbroughtthemoststringentpowerintheworldtoitsknees—alotstartedthere.”Initsafterlife,RDBrousedpeo-ple,bringingthemtothestreetstoseekjusticeformodelJessicaLal’smurderin1999.Inthebook,Mehra’sfirst-personnarrative

isinterspersedwithvoicesfromhispublicandprivatespaces,givingglimpsesofhis“explorer”persona. Ithas interestingnuggets, too:whenDanielCraigauditionedforRDBbutJamesBondhappened,ARRahmanreplacedPeterGabrielfor RDB’s music and Aamir Khan ensuredMehrapaysdouble(Rs8crore)ifhe“defaulted”payingontime.Mehraisequallycandidabout

hisrelationshipwithhiseditor-wifePSBharathi,whomhe’dmetatadmanPrahladKakkar’sof-fice.“Marriagesareoutdated.Wegotmarriedtofulfilsocialnorms,elsesocietywon’tletyoucoexist.Wechosefriendship30yearsago,notahusband-wiferelationship,”hesays.Mehradefieschronologytowritefirstabout

thefilmclosesttohisheart,Delhi-6(2009).Notacommercialsuccessdespiteitspopularmu-sicandrelevanttheme,itsfailuremadeMehrasinkintodepressionandturntoalcoholforsol-aceforaverylongtime.Thecriticismhadhurt,headmits,adding,“Itwasnotthebox-officede-

bacle. It had a fair collection(Rs52.18crore),hugeforus.Youwinsome,youlosesome,that’sthena-tureof thebeast.What threwmeoffwaswhenthereasonIwasmak-ingDelhi-6fordidn’tgetaccepted.”MehrasentafreshcuttotheVeniceFilmFestivalthatgotlauded.AfterthehugesuccessofBhaag

Milkha Bhaag (2013), his projectshavehad lukewarmreceptionbuthe’supbeataboutOTTchangingthegame’s rules. Earlier, he couldn’t

havedreamtofhisfilmreachinga“theatre-lessC-town in India” but Toofaan (2021, PrimeVideo)went to “200 countries, 86millionhouseholds at once,” saysMehra,who’s cur-rentlybusywritinghistakeonthemythologi-caldramaKarna,tofeatureactorShahidKapoor.Doeshismojo lie inmaking socially rele-

vant films? “Youwant to feel about thingsstrongly,butnotall thetime. If Iweretomake10filmsinmylifetime,five-sixtimesI’dliketosaywhatI feel. Itcouldbeaphilosophy, likeinAks (2001),my first, a paranormal thriller—goodandevil are twosidesof the samecoin.Filmmakingisthewirethroughwhichelectric-itypasses,it’snottheelectricity,that’stheaudi-ence—you,yourconsciousness,”hesays.

Maulshree Seth

NEARLYA century ago, a little-knownplaceinthefar-offeast-ern corner of the UnitedProvinces,ChauriChaura(nowa tehsil in Uttar Pradesh’s

Gorakhpur district), changed the course ofIndia’sfreedomstruggle.Amassdemonstra-tionhadledthepolicetoopenfire. Inretalia-tion, thepolice stationwas set ablaze, killing23 policemen. Condemning the incident,Mahatma Gandhi withdrew his Non-CooperationMovementtoreinforcetheprin-cipleofnon-violence.Thisyear,asthecountrymovestowardsits75thyearofIndependence,thegovernmentlaunchedtheChauriChauracentenary celebrationswith an upgradedShaheed Smarak. For thelocals,however,especiallythe fourth generation offreedom fighters, thestrugglecontinues—togetjobs, better roads, and aproperdrainagesystem.Most young people

migrate in search of jobs but the pandemichasmadethatdifficult.Thevillagessurround-ing the police station, under Chauri Chauratehsil,whichhasapopulationof4.5 lakhandan average literacy rate of 56.42per cent ac-cordingtothe2011census,haverecentlybeenincluded into the town area. The transition,however, isstill inprocess.AplaqueattheChauriChaurarailwaysta-

tion declares it has “adarsh” (model) stationfacilities, but there are hardly any functionalamenitiestobefound.Whileabout100 trainspassthroughthestation,notallstophere,andhardly seven-eight passengers alight.Rainwaterhascolonisedthepolicestation.Anewlyconstructedwaitingareawitharaisedplatformis theonlyaccess for theaggrieved.

Thetown,whichoncewitnessedahistoricup-rising,appearsbleak.Theelderly,livingonfreedomfighterpen-

sion, seemproudof theirhistorybutequallyworried about the future. Theywish that in-stead of beautifying thememorial, the gov-ernmenthadrathersetupafactory.Fornow,thesmalljobsatthememorialistheonlyhopeof incomeforsome.“Ek bhaari udyog lag jata, sugar ka. Ladke

sab idhar udhar ghumte hain, unko kaammil

jata (If aheavy industry, a sugarmillwasputup,thevagabondboyswouldhavegotsome-thingbettertodo),saysRamNarayanTiwari,75,grandsonofLalBihariTiwari,oneofthe19freedom fighterswhowere hanged in the1922 incident. Familymembers of freedomfighterswere felicitated at the refurbishedShaheed Smarak hall lastmonth as part of

AzadikaAmrutMahotsavcelebration. “Aftermuchstruggle, we got thisme-morial built,” says Tiwari,one of whose grandsons,RaviTiwari,isalibrarianatthememorial.Initially,thevillage had only oneme-

morial, forthe23deadpolicemen—within-dividual compartments toeach, foranybodytolightacandle/diya—nextdoortotheChauriChaurapolicestation. Itwashardlyvisitedbyanyone. In 1982, then primeminister IndiraGandhilaidthefoundationstoneoftheChauriChaura Shaheed Smarak, commemoratingthe19hangedfreedomfightersandthehun-dredspersecuted.Today,ithasbeenupgraded,withahallandlibrary.Tiwaripointstowardsthegreat-grandson

ofDeepYadav,whowassentencedtothegib-bet,too.LalBabu,35,isachowkidarattheme-morial. The fourth generation of freedomfightershavenoothersourceofincomeinthearea, ruesTiwari. “Therewasnothingelse, sowhen I got the opportunity to work as a

chowkidar, I grabbed it. It is a contractual jobforRs300perworkingday,”saysLalBabu.Twokilometresawayfromthememorial,

facingthepolicestation,standstheChauravil-lage,theeyewitnesstothefiresofyore.Amongits 4,000 voters today isMoinuddin Shah. Akaccha road leads to his home,where Shah,57, is seatedwith his two sons and a black-and-whitephotographofhisgrandfatherLalMohammad,anotherslainmartyr.“Ladaitohjaari hai (The fight is on),” says Shah, “itwaswith the Bartania sarkar (Britannia/ British

government) then, it isof adifferentkindto-day.WehadgreathopeswhenYogijibecametheCM(fromtheGorakhpurconstituencyit-self).Hecouldhaveputupafactoryhere.”LikeTiwari,Shah,too,proudlyciteshistor-

ical instances he’s heard from elders, andcountsthefreedomfightersonhisfingertips,butheisworriedtooaboutthefuture.Basicmedical facilities,evenforpregnant

women,werehardtocomebyduringthepan-demic, and the lack of testing facilities leftthemunsure if theviruskilled theirkin, saysShah. The closing of business andwork op-portunitieshitthemthehardest.Shahlosthissmall-cosmetic-shop customerstothe lock-down.Most youngsters go to Saudi Arabia,Mumbai andGujarat for jobs, but thecoron-avirus has stalled that. “It’s been13months,mysonhasbeensittingathome,” saysShah.His elder son lost his job as a driver in SaudiArabia. The remittances have stopped. Hisyoungersonsitsathomewithabachelor’s inpharmacy degree. He hopes at least one ofthemgets a job at thememorial, if nothingelse. But his 17-year-old daughter,Muskan,wasmadetodropoutofschoolafterClassIX.The young girls have dreams, too.

Muskanwants tostudyfurther tobecomeadoctor. “Bahar bhejte darr lagta hai (we’reafraid to send her outside),” he says, askinghissonsif somethingonlinecanbearrangedforher.Going for coachingor to school is anuphill task for thegirls, it requirescrossingahighway and the railway station on foot, inaddition tobeingharassed.At thevillage entrance, 16-year-oldAnnu

Gupta standswaiting,with a school bag, un-derashade,fortheraintosubside.TheClassXstudent,whoaspires tobe apolice inspectortomakeherfarmer-fatherproud.Herbrotherispursuingabachelor’s inArts inGorakhpur.For her,matters of thepresent are of greaterconcernthanstoriesof thepast, aboutwhichallshehastosayis,“I’mproud.”

Behind the MirrorDirector Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra on his memoir, his

best-known work and being the change one wants to see

In the Shadow of FreedomOnce a hamlet that made Mahatma Gandhi call off his Non-Cooperation movement,

Chauri Chaura residents now worry about the future

POSTCARD FROMCHAURI CHAURA

PHOTOS:VISHALSRIVASTAV

Ahmedabad


THE SUNDAY EXPRESS,SEPTEMBER5,2021 SPORT

NITINSHARMACHANDIGARH,SEPTEMBER3

NINETEEN-YEAR-oldManish Narwal over-camethedisappointmentofaseventh-placefinish inthemen’s10mairpistolearlier thisweektowingoldinthe50metreeventattheAsakaShootingRange.Narwal, making his Paralympics debut,

broketheworldrecordtoclinchIndia’sthirdgold in the ongoing Games, while SinghrajAdhana bagged the silver tomake it a one-twofinish.Narwalshotatotalof218.2inthe50mPistol (SH1)event.This was 39-year-old Adhana’s second

medalfollowingthebronzeinthemen's10mAirPistol (SH1)eventonTuesday.Fortheyoungerofthetwoshooters,apep

talkwithhiscoachhelpedhimbouncebackafter finishing outside themedal positionsearlier. Narwal spoke to his coach RakeshSingh fromTokyo. Singh gave him valuableadvice,whichwastofocuslessonthesights(devices used to align eyeswith the target)andtogetbacktobasicsorshootingwiththenatural feel.“WhenManishdidnotwinamedalinthe

10mAirPistolaftertoppingthequalification,hewas a little disappointed.Whenwe dis-cussed,hetoldmethathehadbeenconcen-tratingmore on his sights. I told himnot toover-think.Hisbiggeststrengthhasbeenhisselfconfidenceandthat’swhathedisplayedtoday,” coachSinghsaid.A native of Ballabgarhnear Faridabad in

Haryana,Narwalsufferedimpairmentinhisrightarmsincebirthbecauseofnervedam-age. His father Dilbaug Narwal blames themedical staff. However, despitemany visitsto doctors there was hardly any improve-ment inthemobilityofhis rightarm,whichManishcannot lift.“It was a mistake of the medical staff

which resulted in the nerve damage ofManish’s shoulder. It resulted in nomove-ment inhisarm,”Dilbaugh,whorunsama-chine fabricationunit, says.The family backed Narwal’s choice of

sport and he joined the 10X ShootingAcademy at Ballabgarh, which is run bycoach Singh. The early challenge for thecoachwas to find a pistolwith a grip suitedforaleft-handedshooter.Manishwouldwina silver competing with the right-handedgrippistol inhis firstParaNationals in2015.Threeyearslater,Manishwouldbecome

the10mAirPistolchampionapartfromwin-ning a silver medal in 50m Pistol event inParaAsianGames in Indonesia.Hewentontobecomethe10mAirPistol

world champion. “Since he can only shootwithhislefthand,westruggledinitiallytogeta left-handed grip pistol for him. But he ad-justedwelltotheright-handedgrip.Whenhe

wona silvermedal in ParaNationals, I knewthisboyisaspecial talent,” thecoachrecalls.

SmartmoveInasmartmove,thecoachalsomadehim

competeagainstable-bodiedshootersintheNational Rifle Association of India (NRAI)tournaments to get exposure. That wayManishcouldcompeteinat least10tourna-mentsayear.“He alsomade it to the Indian squad in

2018 and participated with some of thebestshooters in thecountry.Withmoreac-curacy, hewould shoot in the rangeof 580in the10mAirPistol and it alsohelpedhim

gainconfidence in50mPistolevents,” saysSingh.OnSaturday,Narwal shotaqualification

score of 533 to qualify in the seventh spotwithcompatriotAdhanashooting ascoreof536 tobeplaced fourth in50mpistol quali-fication.In the final, Narwalmade a shaky start

with a score of 87.2 in the first competitionstage,withSinghshooting92.1. In theelim-inationstage,Narwal kepthiscoolandshotaParalympic record scoreof 218.2points inthefinaltoedgeAdhanaforthesilvermedal.Adhana’s final scoreof 216.7meant that

the 39-year-old Haryana shooter becameonly the third Indian after athlete JoginderSingh Sodhi and shooter Avani Lekhara tohavewon at least twomedals at the sameParalympics. Adhana’s coach Om Prakashspokeabouthowthe10metreeventandthe50metreonehavedifferent challenges.“50mpistol isalmostcompletelydiffer-

ent froma10mairpistolwithregard to thebullet and the jerkof thepistol. Apart fromthat,onehastoadjusttowind,sunlight, rainor other outdoor conditions. Along with10m practice, we would make Singhrajshoot with a 50m pistol at different timesof the day and even in the rain to practice.The extra hours of practice did have an ef-fect on his body but he was able to cope,”OmPrakash says.

Narwal, 19, leads India’s 1-2 inshooting; Adhana adds silver to kitty

ManishNarwal (R), thegoldmedallwinner inthe50mpistolevent,andSinghrajAdhana, thesilvermedalist, atopthepodiumonSaturday.

SHASHANKNAIRNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER4

AT THE start of this year while mostOlympiansandParalympianswerebattlingthe uncertainty clouding the TokyoGames,SuhasYathiraj,abadmintonplayerintheSL4category,was fightingabattleof hisown.A 2007 batch IAS officer and Noida's

DistrictMagistrate,Yathiraj,sinceearly2020hasbeenattheforefrontof thebattleagainstthe Covid-19 pandemic. Pleas for oxygencylinders,callsbeggingforhospitalbeds,SOSformedicines, askinghelp for arranging fu-nerals -Yathiraj'sphonewasalwaysbusy.Now,inadramaticturnofevents,Yathiraj

is again in the spotlight. He is just amatchaway fromwinningagoldmedal in thecat-egory for athleteswith lower limb impair-ment.WifeRituSuhas,GhaziabadADM,re-calls those taxingdays."Therewere somany deaths because of

Covid.Itwasafull-timejobadmittingpeople,getting themoxygen and attempting to as-sure them that thingswould get better. Hewastryingtobuildafeel-goodfactorbecauseaspartoftheadministration,reassuringpeo-ple was also something that needed to bedone.Hewasdoingwhateverwaspossibletohelp out asmany people as he could," RitutoldThe IndianExpress.Yathiraj, 38, picked up badminton in all

seriousnessin2016,afternationalParalympiccoachGauravKhannasawhimplayatafunc-tionandmadea remark thathe shouldpickthe sport up.At that point, hewaspostedasAzamgarhDM.Hebegan topracticebut thefacilitieswere far fromideal. “Thereareveryfewplaces inUPwhereyoucangetgood in-frastructureforbadminton.MaybeinwesternUP,butnot inAzamgarh,”saidRitu.With limitedcourtoptionsandvery few

training partners or qualified coachesaround, it was an uphill task. However,Yathirajhadforcompanyabandofboyswhowere ever-willing sparring partners.Withhim getting busy with work from earlymorning,thebadmintonsessionwasgener-allyscheduledforlatenight.Despitethisun-usual schedule, the boyswould be eager totakeontheDMonthebadmintoncourt.“Howmany people do you knowwho

wouldgetacallat8or9 inthenight tocomepracticetill12?Theywoulddostretchingex-ercises,warmupsandthenpracticewithhim.I canrecall an incidentwhen itwasDiwali in2016.ThewholeofIndiawaslightingcrackersand at the timemyhusband called the boystopracticewithhimandeventhoughitwasa

holiday, theyallcametopractice,”saidRitu.AfterhistransfertoNoida,Yathirajstarted

to practice out of a stadium in Sector 29 ofNoida.HeeventuallyswitchedtothePullelaGopichand academy that is based out ofGreater Noida. Today, Yathiraj is theWorldNo3 inhiscategory,haswonmultiple tour-naments across the globe and is onematchaway fromamemorablegold.HisParalympicscampaignstartedinGroup

Awherehewontwogamesinlessthan20min-utes and lost his third group game to LucasMazur.Despite the loss, bothhimandMazurprogressed to the knockout stages whereYathirajwent up against Indonesia's FredySetiawan.TheIndonesianwasbeaten21-9,21-15in31minutesandYathirajbookedhimselfaspot inthefinalwiththechancetoavengehisgroupstagelosstoMazur.Mazurhimselfhada tough semi-final match, having facedIndia'sTarunDhillon.Their semi-finalwentintothreesets,withtheFrenchmancomingoutontop21-16,16-21,21-18. Thefinaltakesplace on Sunday at the Yoyogi NationalGymnasiuminTokyo.

After Covid fight,battle for goldNoidaDMandparashuttlerSuhasYathiraj justonewinawayawayfromreachingthetopofpodium

SuhasYathirajwillplaythe finalof theSL4categoryonSunday.

DeLaHoya’spullout

duetoCovidcould

bringbackHolyfieldLosAngeles:OscarDeLaHoyaishospi-talisedwithaCovid-19infectionandhaswithdrawn fromhis fight nextweek-endinLosAngeles,the48-year-oldsaidinavideoshotfromahospitalbedandposted to socialmedia on Friday. TheSept.11fightagainstformerUFCcham-pionVitorBelfortwouldhavemarkedtheHall of Fameboxer's return to theringforthefirst timesince2008.DeLaHoya said he was fully vaccinatedagainstCovid-19beforecontractingthevirus. Formerheavyweight championEvanderHolyfield, 58, has reportedlyagreed to step in and face Belfort, al-thoughit isunclearwhethertheTrillerFight Clubpay-per-view fightwill beheldinLosAngelesormovetoFlorida.

REUTERS

Sanchotomiss

England’squalifiersLondon: Englandwill not play JadonSancho in its World Cup qualifiersagainst Andorra andPoland after theManchesterUnitedforwardsustainedwhat the national team describedSaturdayasa‘minorknock’intraining.The injuryruledSanchooutof the4-0winoverHungaryonThursdayandhehas returned toUnited. England saidSancho is expected to recover in timefor United's home match againstNewcastl.e. AP

UEFAsettooppose

biennialWorldCupParis:ProposalstoholdtheWorldCupeverytwoyears,beingpushedbygov-erningbodyFifa,aresettobeopposedby Uefa and Europe’s leading clubs,sources have told Reuters. ArseneWenger, Fifa’sChief ofGlobalFootballDevelopment,hasbeenpromotingtheideaaspartoftheorganisation’sreviewof the internationalmatch calendarandthisweekrepeatedhissupportforthe change from the established fouryear cycle. But European footballsources toldReuters that anyattemptby Fifa to introduce such a changewould face resistance fromEuropeangoverning bodyUefa. The plans firstsurfaced inMay whenSaudiArabia'snational federation nominally pro-posed at the congress inMay for FIFAtoexplorebiennialmen'sandwomen'sWorld Cups -- despite not having awomen'steamtocompeteininterna-tionalevents.REUTERS

BRIEFLY

19

Sunday September5Everyrelationshipcomeswithapricetag.It'sanenjoyableratherthanaprofitablemoment.Continuetotakeextremecareinallmonetarymatters,at leastuntilnextweek.

Monday September6Givesomethought to financialmatters.Your instinct is tospend.Stopandthinkwhether thecost isworth it.Consulttheexpertsandsafeguardyour future.

Tuesday September7There’s a fairamountof excitement in theair. It'sas if anythingyoutouchhas thepotential tochangeyour life.Takemorecarewithpracticalmatters, and indulgeyourromanticpassions.

Wednesday September8You'reable toalternatelycharmpeopleorthreatenthem.Youmaywinmore friendsbybeingnice topeople,butbothstrategiesarecentral toyoursuccess.Checkoutprofessionaloffers.

Thursday September9You'reheading foranexcitingandvolatileperiod.Youcangetwhatever isbuggingyouoff yourchest.Keepsmilingandmakesurepartnersarebackingyou.

Friday September10Yourhopesaregettinghigher.There'snoreasonwhyyoushouldn'tdream.Ifyoukeepaneyeonpracticalcircumstances,youwilldoyourselfafavour.

Saturday September11Letgoof thepastand lookto the future,Only thenwillyouconcentrateonnewopportunities.You'llbe free togiveothersthesupport theydeserve.

If it’s your

Birthday

SUDOKU4585

DifficultyLevel4s

Instructions

TosolveaSudokupuzzle,

everydigitfrom1to9

mustappear ineachofthe

nineverticalcolumns, in

eachoftheninehorizontal

rowsandineachofthe

nineboxes.

DifficultyLevel

1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;

3s=Medium;4s=Hard;

5s=VeryHard;6s=

Genius SOLUTIONSUDOKU4584

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto

therespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget

theanswerforthegivenquip.

Thefarmerhastobean___orhewouldn'tstillbeafarmer.-WillRogers(8)

SOLUTION:OASIS,SIXTY,TWISTY,PRIMALAnswer:Thefarmerhastobeanoptimistorhewouldn'tstillbeafarmer.-WillRogers

ASSIO ISWYTT

TXYIS AILRMP

JUMBLEDWORDS

ARIES(Mar21-Apr20)Mars, yourmagneticrulingplanet, ismakinga set ofamazing

alignments, andwill tooeasilytip fantasy intodeception. Thatiswhyyoumust enjoyyourdreamsbutbe sureyoudon'tplay tricks onyourself. Atwork, employerswillappreciate your visionof thefuture, sodon’t holdback.

TAURUS(Apr21-May21)The air-waves arecloggedupwithunrealisticexpectations. If you

are travelling or conductingdelicate discussions, pleasemake sure youknowwhatothers are talking about.Whatmakes perfect sense to youmaybe incomprehensibleto others, so explainyourself clearly.

GEMINI (May22- June21)Rightnowmoney isnotexactlyyourstrongpoint.Thereforepositive

action is required. Inallmattersconcerningyourvaluable funds,resourcesandpossessions, ahealthydoseof scepticismwillserveyouwell: challengepeoplewhoofferbigprofits tojustify themselves.

CANCER(June22- July23)This isaperfectmoment forsurprisesof allshapesandsizes.

Matterswhichtakeaninteresting turncould includeanythingwhich involveswater,theartsoryour favouritefantasies.Takegreatcarewithroutineandpracticalresponsibilities,becauseyoumightslipupandmissavitaldetail.

LEO(July24-Aug23)Takeheedof goodadvice at all times.Otherpeoplewill betellingyou to

listen to reason. That’s all verywell, but they themselvesare likely tobedrivenbyemotions, desires anda rangeof feelingswhichhavelittle, if anything, todowiththe ‘facts’.

VIRGO(Aug24-Sept23)Old friends loomlarge inyourplansthisweek. If you’resocialising, fit in

withpartners’ ideas.Don’tworry if oneengagementis cancelled, butdo fill thevacuumwith somethingequally enjoyable. Long-distance travelwill openintriguingpossibilities.

LIBRA(Sept24-Oct23)Recentpowerfulplanetaryactivityhastendedtomakeyoualittletoosensitive

andinclinedtotakeoffence.Yournaturalpeace-lovinginstinctshavebeenbalancedbyaperfectlyreasonabledesiretorespondtoprovocation.Perhapsnowyoushouldbegintoexpressyourfeelings,butdosoinacalmmanner.

SCORPIO(Oct24-Nov22)TheChinesesagesusedto talkaboutthedesirabilityoftakingwhat they

called ‘themiddleway’.Rightnowthismaybeabetteroptionthanallowingyourself tobepulledbetweenoppositeextremesby followingyourinstincts.Also, takewhatevertimeoff youneed,whateverpartnerssay.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov23-Dec22)Sometimesyourimaginationrunsawaywithyou.Youseemtobeall too

pronetovagueworries, evenwhenthere’snothingtobeconcernedabout.Thesimplesolution is toseekreassurancewheneveryouwant-andnevertobottleupfearswhicharemuchbetter talkedabout.

CAPRICORN(Dec23- Jan20)Socially,andinlove,everythingisnotwhatitseems.Thisdoesn’tmeanthat

youwon’tenjoyyourself,butitdoesindicateverystronglythatsurfaceappearancesmaybeoutofstepwithinnertruths.Plus,yourshrewdbusinessinstinctsshouldenableyoutopickupahandybargainandmakemassivesavings.

AQUARIUS(Jan21-Feb19)Powerful starswillcertainlykeepyouonthemove,andyoumaybefacingan

awkwarddilemmaconcerningcontradictorypressuresathomeandatwork.Thequestionishowshouldyou,orapartner,divideyour timebetweenthetwo?Perhapsyouwon’t findtheansweruntilnextmonth.Takeasmuchtimeasyouneed.

PISCES(Feb20-Mar20)Thereisastrangesenseofanticipationintheair,mainlyinducedbythepower

ofpassionatePluto,aplanetwhichstirsupyouremotionsasnoother.Youareinahighlydelicatestatetosaytheleast,andyouneedpampering:thereisnothingwrongwithputtingyourself first,bytheway.

YOURWEEKAHEADBRIDGE

Southplays in3NTwithasolid28highcardpoints. With luck,hehasone

ortwospades,threehearts,twoorthreeorfourdiamonds,andfourclubs. It

wouldnotbeasurprise ifSouthmakeseleventricks.West leadsthefiveof

spades,oneoftheunbidsuits,andEastplaysthequeenandaceandathird

round.WestdiscardsthetwoofheartsonthelastspademeaningthatEast

has twogood spades if he gets in. You are in the dummywith the king of

spades.Howdoyoucontinue? Canyouaffordto letEast in?

NORTH

♠ J104❤Q754♦ K4♣J653

SOUTH

♠ AK92❤K32♦ A62♣AK8

NORTH

♠ K86❤ KQJ10♦ A763♣J3

SOUTH

♠ J72❤764♦ KJ8♣ AKQ5

WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH1C

Pass 1H Pass 1NTPass 3NT Pass PassAll Pass

SUNDAY CROSSWORD 2337QUICKCLUES

ACROSS

1. FormerWindiesbatsmanAlwin

___ (10)

6. Mimics (4)

9. Amuses, regalesordiverts (10)

10. Court levy(4)

12. Validate;certify (12)

15. Sobriquets (7)

16. Small seedlessgrape(7)

17. Highlanddressaccessory (7)

19. Soaking(7)

20. Intentionally (12)

23. Afternoonfor theAussie (4)

24. Characterassassin (10)

25. Billionthasaprefix (4)

26. Determined(10)

DOWN

1. Ship'sbase(4)

2. Plenty (4)

3. Encircle (12)

4. Red Indiantribesmen?(7)

5. Canvascoveringswhichprotect

fromrainorsun(7)

7. Latin for 'at the firstview' (5,5)

8. Australia'sex-cricketcaptain (5,5)

11. Australiancyclones

(5-7)

13. Determinedlymadeanangry fuss

(6,4)

14. Bvitamin(10)

18. Bringup(7)

19. Hatesorabhors intensely

(7)

21. Fearsomegiant (4)

22. Courage(4)

CRYPTICCLUES

ACROSS

1. Blundersandgivesshort change

(10)

6. There'snotagrainof it towave

aroundonadish(4)

9. Bill's calculations?

(10)

10. Resignfromchoice,decidedly fed-

up(4)

12. Evil characterwithadaggergiving

agirl standing(8,4)

15. Useless,until changed insidethat is

(7)

16. West Indian islandmakingstreet

gear (backstreet) (2,5)

17. Howherrashhasbecomemore

unforgivinglyruthless

(7)

19. Jack, Jill or Jane?(7)

20. Theonethat Jackbuilt?

(5,2,5)

23. Putsonfivehundred insadmuddle

(4)24. Threatentomix itwithaminionoccasion(10)

25. Usesmethodofdryingthat is reallyEdward's (4)

26. bathermaydo it if hecan't standswimming(5,5)

DOWN1. Onefearshimtobeabitof ahogreally (4)

2. Penance:heselectedalternateletters foreveryone(4)

3. Limited inone'soutlook(5-7)

4. Grandpile that isaguide forahunter (7)

5. Gets teaout.Thatcouldbeabloomer(7)

7. Dance, jump,etcwithyours trulyonreturntooffice(10)

8. Onemight threadone'swaythroughwhat'snot fit foracamel(7,3)

11. Distortedopiniontheroosterhasoflife? (4-4,4)

13. Bloodybrightenoughtomakeonehappy(5,5)

14. Finding investmentonall sides (10)

18. Oneclarifying limitsof ruleright tosupportpenalty? (7)

19. Achapwants itwithamushroom(7)

21. WayofwalkinggivesGeorgiaallure(4)

22. DressanEnglish flower(4)

QUICKCLUESAcross: 1Disagreeable,10

Empathy,11Anguish,12Antae,13Full

stop,15Cosmonauts,16Odin,18Test,20

Eventually,22Alarming,24Ormer,26

Colditz,27Regroup,28Transmission.

Down:2Impetus,3Atthetop,4Rays,5

Evaluating,6Bagel,7Evicted,8

Recalcitrance,9Thepennydrops,14

Galvanizes,17Outofgas,19Shallot,21

Limpopo,23Maida,25Arni.

CRYPTICCLUESAcross:1Bridgeplayer,

10Musical,11Watteau,12Retch,13

Trustees,15Stomatopod,16Fred,18

Hack,20Isoseismic,22Schnapps,24

Evita,26Okinawa,27Mimetic,28Saint

Bernard.Down:2Risotto,3Dickhead,4

Ella,5Lowerhouse,6Yetis,7Roedeer,8X

marksthespot,9Outsidechance,14

House-plant,17River-man,19Co-heirs,21

Moister,23Abaci,25Amie.

Solutionsto2336

TheopeningleadbyWestisthequeenofdiamonds.Southcountshistricks

and sees that hehas six sure tricks plus another solid onebypromotion in

hearts. WherecanSouthobtaintwomoretricks?

TheWestHand: S-853H-1096D-QJ1095C-109

TheEastHand: S-Q76H-AJ8 D-873 C-Q742

Fortunately,anopportunityfortwomoretricksexistsinthespadesuitbyfi-

nessingEast for thequeenofspades. Whereshouldtheopeningdiamond

trickbewon,dummyorSouth'shand?

Theopeningdiamondtrickshouldbewonindummy.Ifyouwinthefirsttrick

withtheaceofdiamondsintheSouthhand,youwillhavetousethelastdi-

amondsuitcontrol(kingofdiamonds)togothedummytotakethespadefi-

nesse.SinceyouhavetheAKJT9ofspades(includingdummy'scards),an

optionwould be to play for a possible, thoughunlikely, drop of a singleton

queenofspadesinWest'shandbyplayingtheaceofspadesbeforetaking

thefinesseforthequeen.

In thishandshouldyouplay for thepossibledropof thesingletonqueenof

spadesbeforetakingthefinesse?

No. In thiscase if youmake thestandardplay for thedrop, youwill haveno

safewayofreturningtodummytotakethefinesse. Sometimesit'smoreim-

portanttopreservetransportationthantocoverallyourbases.

Dealer:South Vulnerable:None

WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH2NT

Pass 3C Pass 3DPass 3S Pass 3NTPass Pass Pass

Dealer:South Vulnerable:None

Dealer:South Vulnerable:East/West

AnativeofBallabgarhnear

FaridabadinHaryana,Narwal

sufferedimpairment inhisright

armsincebirthbecauseofnerve

damage.His fatherDilbaug

Narwalblamesthemedical

staff.However,despitemany

visits todoctors therewas

hardlyanyimprovement inthe

mobilityofhisrightarm,which

Manishcannot lift.

Yathiraj,38,pickedup

badmintoninall seriousness in

2016,afternationalParalympic

coachGauravKhannasawhim

playatafunctionandmadea

remarkthatheshouldpickthe

sportup.At thatpoint,hewas

postedasAzamgarhDM.He

begantopracticebutthe

facilitieswerefar fromideal.

Ahmedabad


SPORT

REUTERSNEWYORK,SEPTEMBER4

NAOMIOSAKATwo-time championNaomiOsaka'sU.S.OpentitledefenceendedintearsonFriday,asshesufferedastunningdefeat inthethirdroundtoCanadianLeylahFernandez5-77-6(2)6-4,andtoldreporterssheplannedtotakeabreakfromthesport."I feel like I'mkindof at thispointwhere

I'm trying to figure out what I want to do.HonestlyIdon'tknowwhenI'mgoingtoplaymy next tennismatch," she said, breakingdown in tears at apost-matchpress confer-ence and pulling the brim of her visor overher eyes. "I think I'm going to take a breakfromplaying forawhile."Playing in her first Grand Slam since

pulling out of the French Open earlier thisyear and disclosing her battlewith depres-sion,Osaka'sreturntoFlushingMeadowsdidnotgotoplan,asshewordlesslyleftthecourtafter uncharacteristically losing her cool inthesecondset tiebreak.Thethirdseedwhackedher racquetand

then flung itonto thecourt twice in frustra-tionasFernandezscoredfivestraightpointsin the tiebreak, inaseriesof superbplay.Osakadidnotreceiveawarningoracode

violation and left the court between sets,later telling reporters she struggled to con-tain her emotions. "I'm really sorry aboutthat," she said. "I was telling myself to becalm, but I feel likemaybe therewas a boil-ingpoint. Likenormally I feel like I likechal-lenges.ButrecentlyIfeelveryanxiouswhenthingsdon'tgomyway,andIfeellikeyoucanfeel that. I'mnot really surewhy it happens

theway ithappensnow."Her troubles continued as the 18-year-

oldCanadianbrokeher serve to kick off thethirdset,andOsakahitaball intothestandsin the second game, prompting awarningfrom the chair umpire. In the ninth gameOsaka rushed through her serves, not evenwaiting for the crowd toquiet down, as shewasunabletocreateasinglebreakpointop-portunity in the final set.Earlier inAshe,another18-year-oldnew

tothisterritorysurprisinglyeliminatedaNo.3 seedwhen Carlos Alcaraz of Spain edgedFrenchOpenrunner-upStefanosTsitsipas6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 0-6, 7-6 (5) to become theyoungest man into the fourth round atFlushingMeadowssinceMichaelChangandPeteSampras in1989.

KEY RESULTS: (Third round) Men'ssingles: 2-DMedvedev (Rus) bt P Andujar(Esp)6-0,6-4,6-3;CarlosAlcaraz(Esp)bt3-STsitsipas (Gre) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(2), 0-6, 7-6(5); FTiafoe(USA)bt5-ARublev(Rus)4-6,6-3,7-6(6), 4-6, 6-1; 12-FAAliassime (Can) bt 18-RBautista Agut (Esp) 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3;Women’s singles: L Fernandez (Can) bt 3-NOsaka(Jpn)5-7,7-6(2),6-4;5-ESvitolina(Ukr)bt25-DKasatkina(Rus)6-4,6-2;16-AKerber(Ger)btSStephens(USA)5-7,6-2,6-3

Don’t know when I’ll play next: Osaka

It is alwaysnice tobeat anAussie. I thinkI hadTimPainebehindmychair in everychangeof endnattering away, anAussiebehindme... He obviouslywasn't here.”

DANEVANS, ENGLISHTENNISPLAYER,WHOBEAT

AUSTRALIANALEXEI POPYRINATTHEUSOPEN, COMPAREDA

CHATTYFANCOURTSIDETOAUSSIE TESTCAPTAINTIMPAINE

SHAMIKCHAKRABARTYSEPTEMBER4

IN HIS first overseas Test hundred, RohitSharma showed dignified restraint. Araised bat to acknowledge the applause, ahandshakewith Cheteshwar Pujara and asmile,whichmore than anything else hadthe relief of breaking the jinx.HehasbeenplayingTest cricket since2013.Eightyearsand42Testmatches later, themonkeywasfinally off his back.Carried by his century and Pujara’s ef-

fervescent61, the touristsmounteda fight-back and twowickets in an over notwith-standing, they finished the day on 270/3,when bad light stopped play. With twodays to go, India lead by 171 runs and theball has started to turn off the footmarks.Acriticalanalysiswillplacehis83 inthe

secondTestatLord’shigheronthe list.Thatcame on the first day of a Test, on a freshpitch, with conditions very lopsided infavour of the fast bowlers.The third day pitch at the Ovalwas be-

nign.OldballbarelydidanythingandRohithad the lady luck; JoeBurnsdroppinghimtwiceat theslips.Andyet, scoreboardpres-sure was immense andmost importantlyfrom Rohit’s perspective, it was a break-through innings.Spoilt for option, Rohit’s biggest chal-

lenge was to resist the temptation. Hisrangeallowshimtoplay twotothreeshotsto almost every delivery. The ball wasn’tdoingmuch,Englandbowlersweregettingtired, but India, trailing by 99 runs in thefirst innings,weren’toutof jail. Theopenerhad to eschew his stroke-play. Rohit rev-elled in his discipline and the straightnessof the bat.This is his slowest Test hundred that

came off 204 balls, a staggering 154 dotballs included. This was a result of fivehoursand53minutesof hardgrindbeforeRohit was eventually done in by the in-nocuousnessof anOllieRobinsondeliverywith the secondnewball.

The transformationRohit’s transformation as a Test bats-

man sincehis promotion as anopener hasbeen analysed threadbare in these pages.The team’s batting now revolves aroundhim. When he scores runs, India breatheeasy. When he fails, the batting unit losesthe plot. In Australia, he saw off the newball. In the home series against Englandearlier this year, hewas the batting differ-ence between the two sides. In Englandnow, he is India’s highest scorer with 368runs from fourmatches. Since his promo-tion as a Test opener, he has scored 1,462runs in 16 Tests, including five hundreds.But even in deadpan defence, Rohit’s

batting ismusic,notnumbers.After the teabreak,EnglandchoseCraigOvertonastheirenforcer. Themediumpacerwent aroundthewicket,packedthe leg-side,keptamanin thedeep square andanother oneon thehook, andadopted the short-ball tactic. Toone such delivery, Rohit made room,opened the off-side and elegantly pushedit off the back foot towards the long-offboundary for a three. Some of his straightdriveswereGavaskar-esque,playedonthe42ndanniversaryof thegreatman’s221attheOval.With his fast bowlers running out of

legs, JoeRootturnedtoMoeenAliandRohitwelcomed him with an attempted slog-sweep. It made the off-spinner unsure.India couldn’t afford to drop into a shellagainst theoff-spinner.Rohit’smasteryandPujara’s footwork neutered Moeen. Thecentury, too, came via a six over long-onagainst theoffie,whoconceded63 runs in15 overs.Even during the period when Moeen

and Root were bowling in tandem, con-sumingovers for thesecondnewball tobeavailable, Rohit preferred risk-free cricket.Hebadlywanted toseeoff thesecondnewball aswell.

Two quickwicketsUnderstandably Rohit looked disap-

pointedaftergettingout.Robinsonbowleda loosenerwiththesecondnewball tostartwith, a short of a length delivery thatseemed to have sat on the surface. Thebatsman mistimed his pull and ChrisWoakes took the catch at long leg. A glori-ous153-runpartnershipbetweenhimandPujara was broken and as it usually hap-pens after a big partnership, England gotanotherwicket in thesameover.Pujarade-partedcloseonRohit’s heels and thehostswere back in the game.Spareathought forPujara though.With

a twisted left ankle, he danced down thetrack to Moeen. Through his cuts, squarecuts and back cuts, a falling pull shot andanuppercutoffWoakes,hewas intentper-sonified. Also, it was heartening the wayPujara tried togiveRohit asmuch strike aspossible once the latter got into the 80s.Partnership batting reigned supreme.KL Rahul played his part in an 83-run

opening standbeforeabeauty fromJamesAnderson had forced him to edge behind.And once again, Ravindra Jadeja was theIndian team management’s preferredchoice atNo. 5 ahead of Ajinkya Rahane.

Rohit’s firstoverseasTestcentury,Pujara’s61help Indiawrestbackcontrol, endDay3with171-run lead

SCORECARD

IND1ST INNS 191

ENG1STINNS 290

IND2NDINNS 270/3 (o/n43/0)

RSharmacWoakesbRobinson 127

(256b,14x4,1x6)

KLRahulcBairstowbAnderson 46

(101b,6x4,1x6)

CPujaracAlibRobinson 61(127b,9x4)

VKohlibatting 22(37b,4x4)

RJadejabatting 9(33b,2x4)

■Extras:(lb3,nb2) 5

■FoW:1-83(KLRahul,33.6ov),2-236(Rohit

Sharma,80.1ov),3-237(CheteshwarPujara,

80.6ov)

■ Bowling:JAnderson23-8-49-1,Robinson

21-4-67-2,Woakes19-5-43-0,Overton10-0-

38-0,Ali 15-0-63-0,Root4-1-7-0

■ Indialeadby171runsatstumpsDay3

ENGLAND VS INDIATHEOVAL

Toss: England, chose to field

RohitSharma’sfirstawayTesthundredcomesafterawaitofeightyearsand42Testmatches.Reuters

SANDIPGSEPTEMBER4

THEMOST striking feature of CheteshwarPujara’shalf-centuriesthisserieshasbeenhisback-foot play and his harnessing of thebowler’spacetoopenupthesquareregionontheoff-side.Asmanyasfourofhisninebound-aries in his 61 arrived behind point, onethroughpointandanotherbetweencoverandpoint. In effect, nearly 80 percent of all hisboundarieswere scoredon theback-foot, attheslighthintofwidthoutsidetheoff-stump.Heneededarelease,notjustfromthecrit-

icismsoverhisscoringrate,or lackof runs,orthe related tendency to get stuck, but for thetrench he had found himself. It was like hefoundhimselfsafeandsecurefromtheenemybombing,repellingit,butdidn’tknowhowtoretaliate.Hefoundliberationthroughtheoff-side.So, thosesamedeliverieshewouldhaveotherwise leftaloneintheearlyhalf ofhis in-nings, he adeptly cut, glided anddabbedbe-hind point, or even finer. Phew, a couple oftimes he pulled out the least Pujara like ofstroke,therampovertheslips-men!Itwasnotlikehewasdevisinganalternate

routetoscoreruns.Alotofthesestrokescouldbefoundinhighlightsreelsofmostofhishun-dreds,onlythattheywouldappearmuchlaterinhis innings.Afterhehadsoakedmorethanahundredballs, or inhis trademark second-half of the innings burst. He almost invertedhis scoring pyramid. A trademark Pujara in-ningsbeginswithextremecautionandthenaflurryofboundaries. Inboththeseinnings,hebeganwithafeastofboundariesandthenem-braced caution,withbeingover-cautious. Asmanyassixof hisnineboundarieshadcomebeforehehadfaced50balls (outof 127).Halfof his 15boundaries in Leedswere stuckbe-forehefacedhis60thball(outof189).Perhaps over-conscious of nicking one,

maybe spooked by the latemovement theEnglishbowlers could coerce, hehadmostly

shut theoff-side andwaited for thoseon themiddle stumpor further beyond. But apartfromrareinstances,likeinthesecondinningsinLeeds,Englishbowlerswerethriftywithleg-side generosity. He rarely drives on the rise,whichmeanthisscoringoptionswerelimited,andnaturallythescoringratewoulddrop.Likehe found out in both innings against NewZealand (8 off 54, 15 off 80) aswell as in hispainstaking45off206balls inTrentBridge.

WristworkCricket romantics don’t often rave about

Pujara’swrists,maybetheover-emphaticbot-tom-hand compromisesmuchof its beauty.Buthehaspliantwriststhatcoordinatesdeli-ciouslytobothkeeptheballdowntheground

aswellaslifttheballovertheslipcordon.Onceheslit aminusculegapbetweenawide thirdslipandgullyoffaCraigOvertondeliverythatwasmorebackoflengththanshort.Thewristswereonceagainattheforefrontwhenheup-per-cut ChrisWoakes. He archedhis body afraction,andusedthebatasaspringboardforthe ball to bounce and over the keeper andslips-men. He had essayed a similar strokeagainstOllie Robinson in the second inningsinHeadingley, a grander stroke because hepickeditfromclosertohisbodyandRobinsonwasquickerandbouncier.Allofthesecameorganically,notfrompre-

empting, and stemmed fromamore flexibleandcalmmind.Hebarelymadeanytechnicaltweaks,apartfromopeninguphisbodyabittogetmoreacross. Significantly, he resisted thetemptation to alter his natural methods.Whereasmostofhiscolleaguesstoodoutsidethecrease,hedidn’tleavethecomfortzoneofhiscrease.Thefrontfootwouldbeayardout-side the creasewhile theback-leg remainedhalf a yard inside it. Themethodhelpedhimshifthisweighttotheback-footseamlessly.Itwasnotablindonslaughteither,notthe

desperateendeavourofamanfightingtosavehiscareer.Hewascalculated inhisapproach.WhenfacingJamesAnderson,hewouldbarelyplay any strokewith ahorizontal blade, andtheEnglishtalismanbarelyaffordedhimany-thingtooshort.ButOvertonandRobinsonof-feredhimliberties,chieflyduetotheirnaturallengths(whichisbackoflength),theirprocliv-ity tobowl short butwithout the frighteningpaceof JofraArcherorPatCummins.Itwasnotacoincidence thatbothknocks

came in the second innings, onDayThree tobeexact,whenthebouncewasatitsbestandlateralmovement at itsmost dormant. Hecouldtrustthebounceandcouldexploitapre-conceivednotionagainsthim,thathedoesn’tlook toplay toomany strokesbehind squareearlyonintheinnings.It’sthismentalflexibil-ity to invert his approacharound that illumi-natesthebatsmanshipofPujara.

Pujara, going back to move forward

Pujarascorednearly80percentofhisboundariesontheback-foot.Reuters

Yo-yo Test

This ishisslowestTesthundred

thatcameoff204balls,a

staggering154dotballs

included.Thiswasaresultof

fivehoursand53minutesof

hardgrindbeforeRohitwas

eventuallydoneinbythe

innocuousnessof anOllie

Robinsondeliverywiththe

secondnewball.

Two-timeUSOpenchampNaomiOsakalostinthethirdroundtoCanadianLeylahFernandez5-7,7-6(2),6-4.AP

GAURAVBHATTSEPTEMBER4

THE 7-5, 6-7 (2), 4-6 LOSS to LeylahFernandez was Naomi Osaka's third-straightdefeat to a left-hander. She lost toCzechplayerMarketaVondrousova at theTokyoOlympicsandtoSwissJilTeichmannat theCincinnatiMasters lastmonth.

Is itdifficult forright-handedplayerstoplayagainst left-handers?It isn’t easy. The fundamental reason

behindplayers'struggleagainstsouthpawsistheunfamiliarity.Leftiesmake up 10 per cent ofthe general population. Thepercentage is lower in the up-per echelons of women's ten-nis.Thereareeightleft-handersin theWTA top 100, and 15 inthemen’s top100.While left-handersareplayingright-handersalmostall thetime,right-handers rarely get to face lefties. Atthe junior level, right-handers don’t seemany lefties and they remain unaccus-tomed to the angles and spins that comeoff a left-hander’s racquet.

What isOsaka's recordagainst lefties?Osaka is 18-11 against left-handers.

Sheis8-8since2017;fourof thosedefeatscame against former World No 1AngeliqueKerberofGermany,andthelastthreehave come in thepast fiveweeks.

Doesshestruggleagainst left-handers?The record suggests so. World No. 1

Ashleigh Barty— amore rounded playerwhohasa leftydoublespartner—is27-8against lefties, and21-6 since2017."If Ihappentoplaya left-hander, then

yes, at times wewill try and find a left-hander towarm us up, more forthe serve than anything else,"Barty said at the Madrid Openearlier this year. "Also playingdoubles with Casey (Dellacqua)for many years, I have seenmil-lions of left-handed serves overmytime.Notsomethingthatcon-

cernsmeat all."When Osaka was asked about her

trouble against lefties on Saturday, shesaid, “I can’t even tell you how it feels toreturnitbecauseIdon’t thinkIcouldhavereturned a ball against a righty today ei-ther. Itwasn’t likeshewasservingbombs,

so I’mnot really surewhat to say.”It's true that Fernandezwasn't "serv-

ing bombs." The 18-year-old Canadian’sfirst serves (156kmph on average) were14kmphslower thanOsaka’s.But thedi-rection of the serves complemented thespeed.

HowdidFernandezserve toOsaka?Thebiggesttacticaladvantagefor left-

ies is theout-wideservefromthead-sideof the court, when they swing the ball tothe backhand of the right-hander. Theycan use the slice serve to swing the balloutwide, orput sometopspinon theballtokick it off higher.When Fernandez served to Osaka's

backhand,shefurtherdroppedthespeedto get more angle. The average speed ofserves directed to the backhand was146kmph,theballbouncedhigherandtheaveragecontactheightof returnwas3.9ft.The ploy helped her take advantage ofOsaka'sweaker backhand. Serving to theforehand,Fernandezservedat162kmph.The pace meant the ball skidded andstayed low. The contact height of returnwas3.5ft,makingitdifficult for5'11Osakatodictate thepoint.

How Fernandez extended Osaka’s woes against lefties

TONTOREMEMBER

7RohitSharmahasthemostTestcenturiesathomebyanIndianbeforeanawayton.

MohammadAzharuddinisnextat6.

3RohithasbroughtupaTestcenturywithasixthreetimes.Sachin Tendulkarheadsthelist

for Indians(6).

SRIRAMVEERASEPTEMBER4

IT’S FOR the left-right combination to try toupset thebowler’s rhythm. IndiacoachRaviShastrihasbeenalong-timeadvocateofhav-ing left-handers in themix andwas one ofthe key proponents of having Rishabh Pantand Jadeja in the same XI in Tests formorethan threeyearsnow.

Wouldthishavehappenedifnot forRahane’s form?

No, it would nothave. If he was scoringruns, why would theyexperiment with an al-ternative? Especially onthis track in the secondinnings on a relativelyflat track. They have

pushedupJadejawhohaslookedsecurebuthasn’tscoredbigrunsyet.Thisisnotthecaseof the 2001 series against Australia whereVVSLaxmanwaspromotedtoNo.3 inplaceof RahulDravidafterbeingasked to follow-on. That was a case of sending an in-formbatsman up the order. This isn’t. If Rahanewasamongruns,therewasalesserchanceofthishappening.Thisisnotalsothecaseofsendingabats-

man up the order to get quick runs or forcethepace-liketheydidbysendingPantaheadofHanumaVihariatSydneyinAustralia.Thisistosendaleft-handedbatsmantotrytoup-set the bowlers’ lines and to send someonewholooksmoresecurethanRahaneagainstthemovingball.

What’s the logicof left-handright-handcombination?Thetheory,andsoundatthat, is that the

bowlercan’t settle intoarhythm.Theycan’tjust keepdoingwhat they have beendoingsofar.Theyhavetochangetheirlinesandthetypeofdeliveriesandaltertheirgripsandre-leasepositions. It canupset their rhythm.

Howgoodis Jadejaagainst thenewball?In current form, better thanRahane and

Pant for sure. Ever sincehehit an87againstEnglandonthesamepitchin2018topullIndiafromahole in the first innings of that game,Jadeja’sbattinghassteppeduptoanotherlevel.Heisverycompact,getsadecentforwardstride,trieshisbesttoplayasclosetothebodyaspos-sible.Eventhoughhehasn’tscoredmanyrunsinthisseries,hehaslookedbetterthanRahaneandPant;abitmoresolid,abitmoresecure.

ShouldPanthavebeengivenagoaheadinsteadof Jadeja?Had he been batting better, that could

wellhavehappened.HedoesopenintheIPLand the new ball isn’t alien to him. But hisformhas been patchy and he hasn’t lookedremotely solid against themovingball. AndRahanehasmoreruns thanhimthis series.

Why is Jadejabatting at No. 5

Oncurrent form, Jadeja isbetter thanRahaneandPantagainstnewball.

Ahmedabad

Vol. LIV No. 182 RNI No. 15048/1968. Printed and Published by Hareshkumar K Bhagdev on behalf of The Indian Express Private Limited. Published at : 3rd Floor, Sambhav House, Bodakdev, Ahmedabad 380 015. Phone (Board) : 26872481- 82- 83, Fax No. 26873950. Printed at : Bhaskar Print Planet, Survey No. 148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad. Chairman of the Board : Viveck Goenka, Chief Editor : Raj Kamal Jha, Editor : Unni Rajen Shanker, Editor : (Gujarat) Leena Misra *

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