16
A Deputy Superintendent of the Jammu & Kashmir Police was lynched by a group of “hooligans” outside the his- toric Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta area of Srinagar shortly after Thursday midnight as they believed he was a Kashmiri Pandit. This is for the first time a serving police officer has been lynched in full public view in the Valley. A 1990-batch police officer, serving in the security wing of State police has been identified as Mohd Ayoub Pandith, a res- ident of Nowpara, Khanyar. He is survived by his wife and two children, a daughter and a son. While mourners gathered in a large number to pay trib- utes to their loved one, close relatives claimed Pandith was targeted by the attackers as they believed he was a Kashmiri Pandit. One of his sisters claimed attackers lynched him since he was carrying an iden- tity card which had his name written as MA Pandit. The “barbaric” act was widely condemned by members of the civil society and main- stream politicians, including Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and Governor NN Vohra. Thousands of worshippers were praying inside the historic mosque on the auspicious occasion of Shab-e-Qadr at the time of the incident. The police officer was attacked by the mob soon after he stepped out of the mosque after checking access control of the mosque in order to ensure peaceful assembly of worship- pers inside the mosque. Terming the lynching an unfortunate incident, J&K Director General of Police SP Vaid said, “The DSP was post- ed at the access control of the mosque to prevent miscreants from vitiating the atmosphere so that people could offer prayers in peace. But a few among those, for the security of whom he had been deployed there, lynched him.” “When he came out after checking, he was surrounded by some miscreants who start- ed manhandling him and ask- ing for his identification. Continued on Page 4 Related reports on P8 Chandigarh: A youth was stabbed to death and his two brothers were injured by a group of people who also allegedly passed slurs against them after a dispute over a train seat near Ballabhgarh in Haryana. “One person has been arrested in this connection,” DSP, Faridabad Government Railway Police (GRP), Mohinder Singh said. He refused to divulge details of the person arrested, saying “the GRP will present him in court tomorrow.” The deceased has been identified as Junaid (17), while his brothers Hasim (21) and and Sakir (23) were injured, Singh said. “Sakir is serious,” said the DSP, adding the GRP has reg- istered a case of murder. Continued on Page 4 T he capitals of Kerala, Telangana, Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pra- desh, Chhattisgarh, Sikkim and Mizoram are among the 30 cities selected for Smart City Mission. Thiruvananthapuram is on the top in the list, followed by Naya Raipur, Rajkot, Amravati in Andhra Pradesh, Patna, Dehradun and Jammu. The latest announcement takes the number of cities selected for part financing by the Centre under the Smart City Mission to 90. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s constituency Raebareli, which was among the 45 shortlisted cities, could not find place in the list. Even New Meerut city failed to find place in the list as there was a tie between Raebareli and Meerut when Uttar Pradesh had first sent the list of cities for getting smart city tag. An investment of Rs 57,393 crore has been pro- posed under smart city plans. This includes Rs 46,879 crore for core infrastructure devel- opment and Rs 10,514 crore for technology-based development. The list new cities was announced by Union Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister M Venkaiah Naidu during his address at the National Workshop on Urban Transformation held in the national Capital on completion of two years of the Smart Cities Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Housing for all (Urban). Naidu said that 45 cities contested for 40 available Smart City slots but only 30 were selected to ensure feasible and workable plans that match the aspirations of the citizens as directed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi while launch- ing the mission. Both the capitals of Jammu & Kashmir, Jammu and Srinagar, made it to the list. Jammu & Kashmir chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had earlier requested the Urban Development Ministry to include both the cities in the Smart City Mission so that old glory could be restored with heavy investment. The selected cities are: Thiruvananthapuram, Pudu- cherry, Gandhinagar, Patna, Muzzaffarpur, Srinagar, Sagar, Karnal, Satna, Bengaluru, Shimla, Dehradun, Tirupur, Pimpri Chinchwad, Bilaspur, Pasighat, Jammu, Dahod, Tirunelveli, Thootukkudi, Tiruchirapalli, Jhansi, Aizawl, Allahabad, Aligarh, and Gangtok. Continued on Page 4 T he United Nations (UN) has withheld reimbursement of Rs 338 crore to India for poor main- tenance and serviceability of equip- ment, including armoured personnel car- riers, trucks, jeeps and weapons used by the Indian Army in peace- keeping missions. More than 7,000 Indian Army men are deployed in four countries, including South Sudan, Congo, Lebanon and Golan Heights. The UN decided to stop the reimbursement following a study conducted by a special advisory group the UN in 2012. The report said the sponsoring countries were not adequately using funds pro- vided by the UN and in future they will be not paid unless the troops are properly equipped. The study also noted the countries involved in the missions were not equipping the troops to the “optimal level”. India annually is reimbursed Rs 1,000 crore for its contribution to peacekeeping missions. The pay- ment has been stopped for two years from 2014 to 2016, sources said here on Friday. While efforts were on to claim the dues through proper channels, the Indian Government has also taken some correc- tive steps. These include fast tracking the pro- curement of specified equipment by the UN and granti- ng “full” financial powers to the Vice Chief of Army, they said. Explaining the procedure of deployment, officials said it is divided into two parts like “wet” and “dry” lease. Continued on Page 4 New Delhi: China has stopped Indian pilgrims from entering its territory through Nathu-La in Sikkim for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. Two batches of yatris, who had valid visas, had to return from the border after they were denied entry. While there is no official word from the Chinese side as yet, the Indian Government has said it has taken up the matter with China. “Yes, there are some difficulties being experienced in movement of Kailash Mansarovar Yatris via Nathu La. Matter is being discussed with Chinese side,” said Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Gopal Baglay. The first batch of yatris was flagged off by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on June 11, 2017. However, the two batches of 47 and 44 pilgrims that reached Nathu-La were turned back from the entry points as the China refused to open the gates at the border. They are stationed in Gangtok while the Indian Government is in talks with China for the reasons for blocking the gates. Indians take three routes to travel to Kailash- Manasarovar — Uttarakhand, Nepal and a new route opened in 2015, Nathu-La in Sikkim. In view of the hard- ships faced by pilgrims through Uttarakhand route, Nathu-La was opened. This route sees Indians crossing through to Tibet and then using Chinese buses for their journey. About 1,400 devotees will undertake the yatra this year. Most of them will use the tougher Uttarakhand route; about 350 will go via Sikkim. PNS T he Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on Friday successfully launched its workhorse rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) carrying “eye in the sky” Cartosat-2 series satellite — a dedicated satellite for the Defence forces — and 30 nano satellites into orbit. The PSLV, in its 40th flight (PSLV-C38), lifted off majesti- cally from the first launch pad, Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 9.29 am and injected the satel- lites into orbit about 27 minutes after lift-off, amid applause from scientists. The 44.4 metre tall PSLV- C38 carried the earth observa- tion satellite — Cartosat-2 series satellite as the primary payload along with 30 co-pas- senger satellites totally weigh- ing 955 kg. Isro said after a flight of 16 minutes the Cartosat-2 series satellite achieved a polar Sun Synchronous Orbit of 505 km inclined at an angle of 97.44 degree to the equator very close to the intended orbit. Later all the other 30 satel- lites successfully separated from the PSLV in a predeter- mined sequence. After separation of the satellite, the two solar arrays of Cartosat-2 series satellite were deployed automatically and Isro’s Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Bengaluru took over the con- trol of the satellite, an Isro release said. “In the coming days, the satellite will be brought to its final operational configuration following which it will begin to provide various remote sensing services”, it said. With the launch of the third spacecraft in the Cartosat- 2 series, India’s ‘eye in the sky’ is set to become sharper and wider. The previous satellite in the series had a resolution of 0.8 metres and the images it took on India’s neighbourhood had helped New Delhi carry out surgical strikes on seven terror launch pads across the Line of Control last year, according to Isro sources. Continued on Page 4 D eath of 17 patients at MY Hospital, the largest Government hospital of Madhya Pradesh has landed the district administration as well as the hospital manage- ment in a dock with none of them giving a categorical reply on the exact reason behind deaths. Kin of patients undergoing treatment at the hospital had alleged lack of oxygen supply in the ICU as the reason behind deaths. Indore divisional com- missioner Sanjay Dube on the other hand had denied that the deaths of patients in the hos- pital was due to lack of oxygen supply and added that those died in the hospital were suf- fering from other serious dis- eases. Number of casualties in hospital which stood at 9 till Thursday evening, shot up to 17 till late Thursday night and this was also corroborated by the dean of MY Hospital. On Friday, large number of senior Congress leaders includ- ing Satynarayan Patel, Tulsi Silawat accompanying kin of the deceased staged a demon- stration at MY Hospital and raised slogans against both the State Government and the hos- pital administration for such a large number of deaths in the hospital. While demanding an impartial probe into the mat- ter and punishment to the guilty, the Congress leaders sought a compensation of 1 crore each to the kin of deceased. On Thursday night also, relatives of patients undergoing treatment in the hospital cre- ated ruckus in absence doctors. Kin of the patients alleged that there was no doctor in the hos- pital to attend their wards, which led to a deterioration in the health condition of patients. One of the kin of a patient said that there was only one doctor on a floor but even he did not attend patients. A farmer committed suicide in Chhatarpur district, allegedly due to over burdened with debt. While the family of Raghuvir Yadav, (27) alleged that he took the extreme step due to his mounting debt, the police said a family dispute led him to end his life. The 27-year-old farmer consumed a poisonous sub- stance on June 21 at Pali village in Chhatarpur district of Bundelkhand region, Sub- Divisional Officer Police (SDOP) SP Dohre said. He died on Thursday evening when he was being taken to Gwalior for treat- ment, he said. "A couple of days back, Raghuvir's father Deshpat Yadav had complained of harassment against his sons, including elder son Munshi Yadav. There was a family dis- pute over the division of prop- erty," Dohre said. However, Munshi Yadav said Raghuvir was under stress due to financial burden on him, and maintained that there was no family dispute. Notably, as many as 21 debt-ridden farm- ers have ended their lives in the state in the last fortnight. Continued on Page 4 RNI Regn. No. MPENG/2004/13703, Regd. No. L-2/BPLON/41/2006-2008 C M Y K C M Y K

C M Y K - The Pioneer Raebareli and Meerut ... Hospital, the largest Government hospital of Madhya Pradesh has landed ... Tulsi Silawat accompanying kin of

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ADeputy Superintendent ofthe Jammu & Kashmir

Police was lynched by a groupof “hooligans” outside the his-toric Jamia Masjid in Nowhattaarea of Srinagar shortly afterThursday midnight as theybelieved he was a KashmiriPandit. This is for the first time a serving police officer hasbeen lynched in full public viewin the Valley.

A 1990-batch police officer,serving in the security wing ofState police has been identifiedas Mohd Ayoub Pandith, a res-ident of Nowpara, Khanyar. Heis survived by his wife and twochildren, a daughter and a son.

While mourners gatheredin a large number to pay trib-utes to their loved one, closerelatives claimed Pandith wastargeted by the attackers as theybelieved he was a KashmiriPandit. One of his sistersclaimed attackers lynched himsince he was carrying an iden-tity card which had his namewritten as MA Pandit.

The “barbaric” act waswidely condemned by membersof the civil society and main-stream politicians, includingChief Minister MehboobaMufti and Governor NN Vohra.

Thousands of worshipperswere praying inside the historicmosque on the auspiciousoccasion of Shab-e-Qadr atthe time of the incident.

The police officer wasattacked by the mob soon afterhe stepped out of the mosqueafter checking access control ofthe mosque in order to ensurepeaceful assembly of worship-pers inside the mosque.

Terming the lynching anunfortunate incident, J&KDirector General of Police SPVaid said, “The DSP was post-ed at the access control of themosque to prevent miscreants

from vitiating the atmosphereso that people could offerprayers in peace. But a fewamong those, for the security ofwhom he had been deployedthere, lynched him.”

“When he came out afterchecking, he was surroundedby some miscreants who start-ed manhandling him and ask-ing for his identification.

Continued on Page 4Related reports on P8

Chandigarh: A youth wasstabbed to death and his twobrothers were injured by agroup of people who alsoallegedly passed slurs againstthem after a dispute over a trainseat near Ballabhgarh inHaryana.

“One person has beenarrested in this connection,”DSP, Faridabad GovernmentRailway Police (GRP),Mohinder Singh said.

He refused to divulgedetails of the person arrested,saying “the GRP will presenthim in court tomorrow.”

The deceased has beenidentified as Junaid (17), whilehis brothers Hasim (21) andand Sakir (23) were injured,Singh said.

“Sakir is serious,” said theDSP, adding the GRP has reg-istered a case of murder.

Continued on Page 4

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The capitals of Kerala,Telangana, Jammu &

Kashmir, Bihar, Karnataka,Uttarakhand, Himachal Pra-desh, Chhattisgarh, Sikkim andMizoram are among the 30cities selected for Smart CityMission. Thiruvananthapuramis on the top in the list, followedby Naya Raipur, Rajkot,Amravati in Andhra Pradesh,Patna, Dehradun and Jammu.The latest announcement takesthe number of cities selected for part financing by the Centre under the Smart CityMission to 90.

Congress chief SoniaGandhi’s constituencyRaebareli, which was among the45 shortlisted cities, could notfind place in the list. Even NewMeerut city failed to find placein the list as there was a tiebetween Raebareli and Meerutwhen Uttar Pradesh had firstsent the list of cities for gettingsmart city tag. An investment ofRs 57,393 crore has been pro-

posed under smart city plans.This includes Rs 46,879 crorefor core infrastructure devel-opment and Rs 10,514 crore fortechnology-based development.

The list new cities wasannounced by Union UrbanDevelopment, Housing andUrban Poverty AlleviationMinister M Venkaiah Naiduduring his address at the

National Workshop on UrbanTransformation held in thenational Capital on completionof two years of the Smart CitiesMission, Atal Mission forRejuvenation and UrbanTransformation (AMRUT) andHousing for all (Urban).

Naidu said that 45 citiescontested for 40 available Smart

City slots but only 30 wereselected to ensure feasible andworkable plans that match theaspirations of the citizens asdirected by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi while launch-ing the mission.

Both the capitals of Jammu& Kashmir, Jammu andSrinagar, made it to the list.Jammu & Kashmir chiefMinister Mehbooba Mufti hadearlier requested the UrbanDevelopment Ministry toinclude both the cities in theSmart City Mission so that oldglory could be restored withheavy investment.

The selected cities are:Thiruvananthapuram, Pudu-cherry, Gandhinagar, Patna,Muzzaffarpur, Srinagar, Sagar,Karnal, Satna, Bengaluru,Shimla, Dehradun, Tirupur,Pimpri Chinchwad, Bilaspur,Pasighat, Jammu, Dahod,Tirunelveli, Thootukkudi,Tiruchirapalli, Jhansi, Aizawl,Allahabad, Aligarh, andGangtok.

Continued on Page 4

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The United Nations (UN) haswithheld reimbursement of Rs

338 crore to India for poor main-tenance and serviceability of equip-ment, includingarmoured personnel car-riers, trucks, jeeps andweapons used by theIndian Army in peace-keeping missions. Morethan 7,000 Indian Armymen are deployed in fourcountries, includingSouth Sudan, Congo, Lebanon andGolan Heights.

The UN decided to stop thereimbursement following a studyconducted by a special advisorygroup the UN in 2012. The reportsaid the sponsoring countries werenot adequately using funds pro-

vided by the UN and in future theywill be not paid unless the troopsare properly equipped. The studyalso noted the countries involved inthe missions were not equippingthe troops to the “optimal level”.

India annually is reimbursed Rs1,000 crore for its contribution topeacekeeping missions. The pay-ment has been stopped for twoyears from 2014 to 2016, sources

said here on Friday.While efforts were on toclaim the dues throughproper channels, theIndian Government hasalso taken some correc-tive steps. These includefast tracking the pro-curement of specified

equipment by the UN and granti-ng “full” financial powers to theVice Chief of Army, they said.

Explaining the procedure ofdeployment, officials said it isdivided into two parts like “wet”and “dry” lease.

Continued on Page 4

New Delhi: China has stopped Indian pilgrims fromentering its territory through Nathu-La in Sikkim for theKailash Mansarovar Yatra. Two batches of yatris, whohad valid visas, had to return from the border after theywere denied entry. While there is no official word fromthe Chinese side as yet, the Indian Government has saidit has taken up the matter with China.

“Yes, there are some difficulties being experiencedin movement of Kailash Mansarovar Yatris via Nathu La.Matter is being discussed with Chinese side,” saidMinistry of External Affairs Spokesperson Gopal Baglay.

The first batch of yatris was flagged off by ExternalAffairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on June 11, 2017.However, the two batches of 47 and 44 pilgrims thatreached Nathu-La were turned back from the entry pointsas the China refused to open the gates at the border. Theyare stationed in Gangtok while the Indian Governmentis in talks with China for the reasons for blocking the gates.

Indians take three routes to travel to Kailash-Manasarovar — Uttarakhand, Nepal and a new routeopened in 2015, Nathu-La in Sikkim. In view of the hard-ships faced by pilgrims through Uttarakhand route,Nathu-La was opened. This route sees Indians crossingthrough to Tibet and then using Chinese buses for theirjourney. About 1,400 devotees will undertake the yatrathis year. Most of them will use the tougher Uttarakhandroute; about 350 will go via Sikkim. PNS

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The Indian Space ResearchOrganisation (Isro) on

Friday successfully launched itsworkhorse rocket Polar SatelliteLaunch Vehicle (PSLV) carrying“eye in the sky” Cartosat-2 seriessatellite — a dedicated satellitefor the Defence forces — and 30nano satellites into orbit.

The PSLV, in its 40th flight(PSLV-C38), lifted off majesti-cally from the first launch pad,Satish Dhawan Space Centre at9.29 am and injected the satel-lites into orbit about 27 minutesafter lift-off, amid applausefrom scientists.

The 44.4 metre tall PSLV-C38 carried the earth observa-

tion satellite — Cartosat-2series satellite as the primarypayload along with 30 co-pas-senger satellites totally weigh-ing 955 kg.

Isro said after a flight of 16minutes the Cartosat-2 seriessatellite achieved a polar SunSynchronous Orbit of 505 kminclined at an angle of 97.44degree to the equator veryclose to the intended orbit.

Later all the other 30 satel-lites successfully separatedfrom the PSLV in a predeter-mined sequence.

After separation of thesatellite, the two solar arrays ofCartosat-2 series satellite weredeployed automatically andIsro’s Telemetry, Tracking and

Command Network (ISTRAC)at Bengaluru took over the con-trol of the satellite, an Isrorelease said.

“In the coming days, thesatellite will be brought to itsfinal operational configurationfollowing which it will begin toprovide various remote sensingservices”, it said.

With the launch of thethird spacecraft in the Cartosat-2 series, India’s ‘eye in the sky’is set to become sharper andwider. The previous satellite inthe series had a resolution of0.8 metres and the images ittook on India’s neighbourhoodhad helped New Delhi carryout surgical strikes on seventerror launch pads across theLine of Control last year,according to Isro sources.

Continued on Page 4

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Death of 17 patients at MYHospital, the largest

Government hospital ofMadhya Pradesh has landedthe district administration aswell as the hospital manage-ment in a dock with none ofthem giving a categorical replyon the exact reason behinddeaths.

Kin of patients undergoingtreatment at the hospital hadalleged lack of oxygen supply inthe ICU as the reason behinddeaths. Indore divisional com-missioner Sanjay Dube on theother hand had denied that thedeaths of patients in the hos-

pital was due to lack of oxygensupply and added that thosedied in the hospital were suf-fering from other serious dis-eases. Number of casualties inhospital which stood at 9 tillThursday evening, shot up to17 till late Thursday night andthis was also corroborated bythe dean of MY Hospital.

On Friday, large number ofsenior Congress leaders includ-ing Satynarayan Patel, TulsiSilawat accompanying kin ofthe deceased staged a demon-stration at MY Hospital andraised slogans against both theState Government and the hos-pital administration for such alarge number of deaths in the

hospital. While demanding animpartial probe into the mat-ter and punishment to theguilty, the Congress leaderssought a compensation of �1crore each to the kin ofdeceased.

On Thursday night also,relatives of patients undergoingtreatment in the hospital cre-ated ruckus in absence doctors.Kin of the patients alleged thatthere was no doctor in the hos-pital to attend their wards,which led to a deterioration inthe health condition of patients.One of the kin of a patient saidthat there was only one doctoron a floor but even he did notattend patients.

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Afarmer committed suicidein Chhatarpur district,

allegedly due to over burdenedwith debt. While the family ofRaghuvir Yadav, (27) allegedthat he took the extreme stepdue to his mounting debt, thepolice said a family dispute ledhim to end his life.

The 27-year-old farmerconsumed a poisonous sub-stance on June 21 at Pali villagein Chhatarpur district ofBundelkhand region, Sub-Divisional Officer Police(SDOP) SP Dohre said.

He died on Thursday

evening when he was beingtaken to Gwalior for treat-ment, he said. "A couple of daysback, Raghuvir's father DeshpatYadav had complained ofharassment against his sons,including elder son MunshiYadav. There was a family dis-pute over the division of prop-erty," Dohre said.

However, Munshi Yadavsaid Raghuvir was under stressdue to financial burden on him,and maintained that there wasno family dispute. Notably, asmany as 21 debt-ridden farm-ers have ended their lives in thestate in the last fortnight.

Continued on Page 4

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Totto Chan was a girl withmany questions in her

mind. All her queries came toan end only when she met herteacher Mr Kobayashi. A play‘Totto Chan’ was staged atBHEL Community Hall, hereon Friday.

The play is based on aJapanese novel ‘Medogiwa noTotto Chan’ written by TetsukoKuroyanagi. Directed bySourabh Anant, the play wasperformed by the artists ofVihaan Drama Works.

The novel was first pub-lished in year 1981 in Japaneselanguage. It is an autobiogra-phy of Tetsuko when she wasa school girl. After it got pub-lished, it became the best sell-er in Japan. In this storyTetsuko has mentioned abouther school Tomoe which isnothing but old train.

The play begins with Totto

Chan’s mother coming toknow of her daughter's expul-sion from public school. Hermother realizes that whatTotto Chan needs is a schoolwhere more freedom ofexpression is permitted. Thus,she takes Totto Chan to meetthe headmaster of the newschool, Mr. Kobayashi. Fromthat moment a friendship isformed between master andpupil.

The play goes on todescribe the times that TottoChan has, the friends shemakes, the lessons she learns,and the vibrant atmospherethat she imbibes. All of theseare presented beautifully on

stage through the eyes of achild.

It described Mr.Kobayashi as a man whounderstands children andstrives to develop their qual-ities of mind; body and hisconcern for the physicallyhandicapped and his empha-sis on the equality of all chil-dren are remarkable.

The play ends on a sadnote when their school Tomoeis destroyed in the bombing ofWorld War II . But, Mr.Kobayashi tells children thathe will built a better school.

The play was beautifullystaged with vibrant lightingdesigns and melodious music.

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Traditional artisans fromhajong tribe of Assam are

renovating the traditional habi-tat of the tribe present inIndira Gandhi RashtriyaManav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS),Bhopal. The house was built byartists from the same village inyear 2010.

The Hajong Tribes are asmall tribal group spreadacross the north east India. Asmall number of Hajong Tribeslive in Assam. Other than thetwo hill districts severalHajong villages are dotted overthe plains in the Brahmaputravalley in Assam. Hajong Tribesalso inhabit in ArunachalPradesh. As per their tradi-tional belief, they originallyoccupied the Hajo area of pre-

sent Kamrup district and the'Haj paragana'

Hajong Tribes are dividedinto five clans, Doskina,Meshparia, Sosongia,Barohazari and Korebari. TheHajongs follow a matrilinealfamily structure but the line ofdescent is traced through thefather. The father is regardedas the head of the family andall the decisions of the familyare taken by him. The Hajongsdo not support marriagesbetween the members of thesame clan. Marriage is also not

allowed outside the commu-nity.

The Hajong villages arelocated on elevated groundsclose to wet paddy lands. Theybuild their houses in clusters inthe courtyard of the villageheadman called 'Adhikari'. Thehouse of the Adhikari is theonly important house in thevillage.The traditional housescomprise separate buildingswith the walls made of splitbamboo and plastered withcow dung. The floors are madeof mud.

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Besides females, males tooare excited about their Eid

shopping at the Chowk market,where among all the otherthings in the shopping list ofmen, Itr is one of the mostbought products during Eid.Besides, Bhopal is one of themost looked after cities whereone can buy good quality Itr.

Besides, these Itr bottleshave jaw dropping costs aswell. The cheapest one startsfrom Rs 100 and the highestcost of the Itr goes up to Rs30,000. But, it is a no bar for theBhopalites, they are moreenthusiastic about buying thebest of the brands.

Interestingly, as much asthe Bhopalites are fond of food,they also like the fragrances.The market of Bhopal isadorned with the differentvarieties of fragrances straightfrom Saudi Arabia and Sharjah.These Itr bottles are the rarestof all and are being loved by theBhopalites.

Notably, it is an obligatoryact for a man to put on fewdrops of itr on his dress beforeoffering the morning prayers.So as a part of Eid shopping formen, ‘Itr’ is an important prod-uct. With the changing timeand choices, the customized Itris also available at the shops.

Altamash Jalal, owner ofKhushboo Itr shop says, “Itr hasa history of 4000 years old.When there were no perfumes,Itr was the only fragrance use.It is prepared especially in spe-cial vessels.” Elaborating fur-ther, he said, “It takes a great

time and effort to prepare Itr.”Altamash further informedthat the Itr at his shop direct-ly comes from the factory inKannauj. Besides he sharedthat perfume fragrances fade

away quickly but the fragranceof Itr is long lasting.

On the other hand,Mohammad Nauman who hasa huge shop HaramainCollection located at

Ibrahimpura says, “Jannat-ul-Firdaus is now an old storynow. People nowadays loveelegant perfumes and theyshould be long lasting.” Brandslike Ajmal, Swiss Arabian,

Ansar are much in demand, headded.

Nauman also said thatSwassi from Makkah is alsocapturing the attention of theBhopalites.

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To thank viewers for the per-sistent support and share

their excitement with fans onthe story forward, theKarmphal Data Shani’s prima-ry cast Tarun Khanna(Mahadev) and Gufi Paintal(Vishwakarma) visited Bhopalon Friday.

Colors mythologicaldrama, Karmphal Data Shanihas cemented itself as a leadingentertainment proposition onIndian television. KarmphalData Shani, produced bySwastik Productions, airs everyMonday to Friday at 9:00 PMon COLORS.

Speaking about portray-ing the role of Mahadev, actorTarun Khanna said, “The expe-rience of being a part ofKarmphal Data Shani has beenvery inspiring for me. While Iam in Bhopal today, I am real-ly looking forward to gettingfirst-hand feedback from theviewers about the show and theroles we play. I am also hopingto tuck into a plate full of poha-jalebi whilst here.”

Vishwakarma, played by

veteran actor Gufi Paintal said,“Vishwakarma has so manylayers to his personality. He isthe creator, engineer and archi-tect of the universe with solu-tions for everyone’s problems.While in Bhopal today, I amlooking forward to interactin9g

with the viewers who havebeen ardent followers of theshow, and have appreciatedour performance. I hope thatthey continue to love and sup-port us, making KarmphalData Shani a long-runningsuccess on Indian television.”

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The juniors of Anand ViharCollege for Women gave a

grand farewell party to theirseniors to bid them a good bye.A farewell party was organisedhere on Friday at collegepremises where all the seniorsand juniors had a lot of funtogether.

Interestingly there was atheme colour for the seniors.They were all supposed to wearred and black colour dresses.The seniors received a warmwelcome by the juniors as theyentered wearing elegant attire.

The programme beganwith the juniors performances.The juniors enthusiastically

performed farewell songs forthe seniors; they sang the goodbye songs which again createdan ambiance full with emo-tions.

The programme then wasfollowed with the group danceperformances where thejuniors gave outstanding per-formances on traditional andmodern Hindi movies songs.

The juniors created anambiance of enjoyment andmusic for the seniors to enjoytheir last memories in the col-lege. Games and quiz compe-titions were also organised atthe farewell, adding zest in theprogramme.

The event was made mem-orable with the flashback mem-

ories that were shared by someseniors in the speech that cre-ated an emotional moment.

As the performances werebeing so splendid, the facultymembers while addressing thestudents said that being stu-dents they will always remem-ber their college days and thefaculty members also wishedthe seniors luck and well beingfor their future.

The programme was fol-lowed with the award ceremo-ny and title distribution. Thestudents had a blast at the party.There was also a dance partyorganised where the seniorsand juniors together tappedtheir feet on fast tracks ofBollywood songs.

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Akbar Hassan, the lad ofBhopal has made it big in

the film industry. But it’s notBollywood, it’s the Tollywoodindustry. The pilot-turned-model Akbar Hassan made hisdebut with a Bengali movie‘Chaamp’.

It is a sports drama moviedirected by Raj Chakraborty.The film features Bengali actorDev in the lead role and Akbaras the antagonist. The moviereleased on Friday in Bengal.

Sharing some of the inter-esting tales about the shoot andhow he got the break inChaamp, Akbar had a candidtalk with The Pioneer. While inthe rendezvous Akbar said thatfirst it seemed like a challengeto be a part of the Bengali

movie, but later he hit it like a‘Pro’.

“I remember that RajChakraborty, director of themovie noticed me in Delhiwhen I was doing the Max LifeFashion Show. He wanted tohave a Punjabi kind of look forthis role which I played. So, heapproached me and we had aformal meeting,” shared Akbar.

Interestingly, being aBengali movie, Akbar is seen

speaking Haryanvi all throughthe movie. “At first, I was notsure about a Bengali movie, butgot an ease when notified thatI will be speaking Haryanvi,” headded laughingly.

Talking about his role inthe movie, Akbar shares, “Thecharacter is called PrashantSingh, an unbeatable dynamicboxer. All through the movie,the audience will see his greyshade and there is nowhere a

positivity felt with Prashant. Heis plays the rival of Dev.”

Akbar is a pilot-turned-model who is pursuing hismodeling career in Calcutta forpast five years. Known for hisstunning looks, Akbar is in thelist of many filmmakers anddirectors. But as of now he is inBhopal to celebrate Eid with hisfamily.

“I have other projects tooin the pipeline one is with RajChakraborty again. But as ofnow I am here to be with myfamily and friends,” sharesAkbar.

Akbar has done endorse-ments for many big brands inCalcutta. While signing off, hesaid, “I believe Bhopal has a lotof talent. What is required isjust a brush of their skills andthey will do wonders.”

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The Bhopalites had a lot of funenjoying the Latino week at

Alliance Francaise de Bhopal.Alliance francaise de Bhopalorganised the Latino Weekwhich was concluded with acooking workshop and photog-raphy exhibition here on Friday.

On the concluding day theparticipants enjoyed the weekwhole heartedly. They got tolearn various new things dur-ing the Latino Week. Therewere various fun programmesheld at the Alliance Francaisede Bhopal’s premises.

From Spanish language

class to the open mic and fromlearning dishes straight fromSpain to learn about the Latinoculture through photographswas all a part of the mega event.The Bhopalites enjoyed everybit of the event.

Here on Friday, the eventconcluded with a lot of fervor.On the concluding day the par-

ticipants learnt to cook Spanishcuisine and were madeacquainted about Latino cul-ture.

A special culinary work-shop was held at the AllianceFrancaise for the participants.The participants learned tomake Spanish desserts. Theexpert Chenia Mailis Satler

told the participants about thekind of cuisine eaten in Spain.The participants were amazedto learn new desserts at theworkshop.

To add more zest in theLatino week a photo workshopwas organised. The Latinoweek ended with an exhibitionof photographs from coun-tries such as Spain, Portugal,Mexico featuring the the richdiversity of Latino communi-ties in the world. The exhibi-tion presented a picture of anevolving national culture, ageneral landscape of the Latinocountries, portraiture andscenes of everyday life.

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Panchayat and RuralDevelopment Minister

Gopal Bhargav has expressedgratitude to Union UrbanDevelopment Minister VenkaiahNaidu for inclusion of Sagar cityin the Smart City Project ofGovernment of India.Expressing joy over the achieve-ment of the city, Bhargav con-gratulated the people of Sagar.

Bhargav said that the inclu-sion of Sagar city in the SmartCity Project will help in its allround development. Basic facil-ities like electricity, water, clean-liness, e-governance, IT con-nectivity, easy transport andsolid waste management will beavailable to the citizens.

It may be noted that theUnion Ministry for UrbanDevelopment today released thethird list of cities selected inSmart City Project at New Delhi.The list includes Satna andSagar city of Madhya Pradesh.Out of 100 cities to be madeSmart Cities in the GOI Project,90 cities have been selected sofar. These include seven cities ofMadhya Pradesh includingBhopal, Indore, Jabalpur,Gwalior, Ujjain, Satna and Sagar.

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At least 14 peacocks havebeen found dead under the

Jaura forest range in Morenadistrict of Madhya Pradesh.However, the exact reason ofthese deaths is yet to be ascer-tained.

These peacocks were founddead in the forest area ofHatupura and Matkora areaunder Jaura forest range yes-terday, Divisional Forest Officer(DFO) AA Khan said.

According to Khan, vil-lagers had informed that somecarcasses were lying scattered inHatupura and Matkora areas.When forest team startedsearching, 14 of them werefound there, he said.

Khan said that viscera ofthe dead peacocks have beensent to the laboratory atJabalpur for examination. "Theexact reason behind the deathswould be known after the post-mortem and examination ofviscera," he added.

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The purchase of moong, uradand tuar on support price is

in progress in state. Besides thisstate government is also pur-chasing onions from farmers atRs 8 per kg as announced.

As in today’s situation,302344.03 quintal moong,57051.52 quintal urad and61109 quintal tuar has beenpurchased on support price.Also 39 lakh 2 quintal onionshas been purchased at Rs 8 perkg from farmers.

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The Bhopal Branch of theInstitute of Chartered

Accountants of India orga-nized 'Yoga Day' for the mem-bers on the occasion ofInternational Day of Yoga.

The programme was inau-gurated by CA AnupShrivastava, Chairman of theBhopal Branch and CA AbhayChhajed, CIRC Member ofCentral India Regional Councilof ICAI. The programme hasbeen organised at Yoga Sadhnaand Anusandhan Center.

Yoga is conducted byrenowned Yoga GuruYogacharya Pawan Guru. CAMayank Agarwal, CICASAChairman has honouredYogacharya Pawan Guru andMamta Guruji by presentingShawl and Srifal.

On the occasion, the CAmembers were then informedabout the importance of yogain life. The experts told the stu-dents that yoga is just not anexercise to keep body fit, but itis entire lifestyle. Disciplineenters life when yoga is prac-ticed everyday without fail.

They performed differentasaanas on the Yoga day. Theyperformed anulom, vilom,Kapalbhati, Sheetali andBhramari Pranayam. Theywere told about the advantagesof these asaanas of yoga.

The ICAI recognized yogaas a part of India’s glorious tra-dition and its greatest contri-bution to the world for pro-moting holistic lifestyle whichis of great importance for allprofessionals includingChartered Accountants.

Yogacharya said that inorder to maintain a balancebetween the professional lifeand health, the daily practice ofyoga benefits each and everypractitioner as it facilitatesmind and body coordination,emotional equanimity andintellectual clarity to the prac-titioners which is requiredmore than ever today.

CA Anup Shirvastavainformed that in order to sen-sitize the CA fraternity aboutthe health benefits of Yoga thefunction was organised.

As many as 50 CA mem-bers participated in the pro-gramme.

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Valuables worth Rs 1 lakhwere stolen from Nipania

Jaatkhedi village underEintkhedi police station area onThursday.

According to the policethe victim Sheelchandra Jainwas asleep on the upper floor ofhis house and in the morningon Thursday he found that thevaluables were found missing.

A complaint was lost withthe Eintkhedi police and in hiscomplaint the victim state thathe and his family were asleepwhen the burglary took placeand in the morning onThursday when he woke andwent down stairs he foundthat the valuables were burgled.The locks of the main doorwere broken to enter the houseand escaped with the valuables.

In the burglary gold andsilver jewelry worth Rs 90000and Rs 60000 cash were bur-gled. The total loss in the bur-glary was around Rs 1.4 lakh.Based on the complaint thepolice have registered a caseunder section 457 and 380 ofthe IPC and have started fur-ther investigation.

Meanwhile, valuables

worth Rs 50000 were burgledfrom Durgesh Vihar underAyodhya Nagar police stationarea on Tuesday; a complaintwas lodged on Thursday.

According to the police, thevictim Shubhau Rao along withhis family had gone to Multaion June 17 and when hereturned the valuables werefound burgled. The victim inhis complaint stated that in theburglary a gold chain, one pairsilver bangle and Rs 15000cash were burgled. The totalloss was around Rs 50000.

The police have registereda case under section 457 and380 of the IPC and have start-ed further investigation.

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The beautiful and eye catch-ing colours of creativity

were seen on the dressesdesigned by the students ofNational Institute of FashionTechnology (NIFT), Bhopal. Afashion show ‘Vastra Veda’ wasorganised by the NIFT stu-dents.

The NIFT students show-cased their wondrous creativ-ity on the dress materials asthey presented their creationsin a fashion show held here onFriday. Students presented their64 designed dresses on theramp that received muchapplause by the judges.

Some students designedthe greenery of the nature,some defined the seasons andsome described the beauty ofmystic design adorned withvarious vibrant colours. Thestudents of Fashion Designingand Clothing Department pre-sented their creations.

The atmosphere of thefashion show became morepleasing with soothing colourspresented on the ramp.Everybody cherished themoment and occasion Thefashion show was divided into

various groups and in each seg-ment the audience and thejudges were able to explore anew form of nature. The fash-ion show was divided into fourrounds and each student pre-sented the dress in each round.

The first round was namedas Bunkar Vanita. Under thisround the students presentedthe splendor of veteran dress-es. The costumes were adornedwith zari-zardozi and sequinswork. Under the second roundRangrati, the students alsodefined the fusion at its best.The colourful bottoms weredisplayed with the western andIndian tops.

During the third roundRegal Mystic, the students pre-sented the elegant and classyevening gown. These were thered-carpet gowns that stolethe show.

The fourth round, BaamiBoho concluded the fashionshow. Under the students pre-sented the colourful summer-monsoon casual wears.

The creativity of the stu-dents was much appreciated bythe judges and the facultymembers as the models walkedover the ramp with much graceand confidence.

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Chief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan on Friday met

Union Agriculture MinisterRadhamohan Singh andapprised him with the situationfollowing bumper productionof onions in Madhya Pradesh.Chouhan told that this yearproduction of 32 lakh metricton onions is expected in state.Falling cost of production alongwith bumper production is acause for concern.

Chouhan said that so farthe state government hasalready purchased 3.92 lakhmetric ton onions.Government of India has fixedJune 30 as the last date for pur-chase of onions. Taking intoaccount the increasing influx ofonions Chouhan urged that thelast date for onion purchaseshould be increased to July 15so that the onions being

brought in by the farmers canbe purchased and farmers geta fair price for it. Chouhan saidthat Government of Indiashould extend the fixed targetof 2 lakh metric ton to 8 lakhmetric ton under MIS.

Chouhan held a discussionon purchase related issuesunder support price scheme forsummer crops like Moong,Urad and Arhar. The CM toldthat total 24,115 metric tonMoong and 4, 350 metric tonurad has been purchased so far.Owing to the bumper produc-tion, Chouhan urged thatGovernment of India shouldintervene in the market andthrough Price StabilisationFund purchase Moong andUrad will July 31.

Similarly Madhya Pradeshis the biggest producing state ofArhar (Tuar). So farGovernment of India has pur-chased 1.02 lakh metric tonArhar in state under PriceStabilisation Fund. Due to lackof permission by Governmentof India, state government haspurchased 5960 metric tonArhar since June 10 through itsown sources.

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District police have nabbedfive miscreants involved in

six robberies in the past threedays in different areas of thecity and have recovered onescooter, two motorbikes, Rs7000 and four mobile phonesfrom their possession under‘Operation Bulldoze’.

IG Bhopal YogeshChoudhary, while talking tomedia persons said that afterthe series of robberies policeteams were made to nab themiscreants and intensified thesearch for the miscreants.Acting on a tip off regarding 5-6 men with a scooter withouthaving registration numberand a black pulsar motorbiketeams rushed to the spot andnabbed the miscreants werenabbed from Sanjeev NagarColony. Police were successfulin nabbing five of the menwhile one managed to escape.

The miscreants confessedthe robberies, all the miscreantsare residents of Nishatpuraand Chhola Mandir area resi-dents.

The nabbed miscreantswere identified as Balram aliasPandit(26), Vinay Upadhyay(18), Kalicharan (24), DeepakPatankar(20) and Ajay Nath(18). Balram works as cook andKalicharan works at a hotelwhile the other used to work aslabour.

During the investigationthe miscreants confessed thatthey have committed crime inthe past but where nevernabbed. Police suspects that the

miscreants have committedcrime in the past and morerecovery would be made in thefurther investigation.

Police have recovered onemotorbike, red chilli powderand sharp edged weapon usedin the crime. Within threedays the miscreants committedsix burglaries and robbed threetwo wheelers, four mobilephones and around Rs 60000cash from the victims.

The miscreants confessedcommitting six robberies tworobberies in Nishatpura, two inChhola Mandir area, one inSukhi Sewania and one inPiplani area.

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At a time when the Modi-ledGovernment is leaving no

stone unturned to promotecountry’s alternative traditionalmedicinal system, ayurvedamedical practitioners in thecountry have accused NationalAccreditation Board forHospitals and HealthcareProviders (NABH) of step-moth-erly treatment.

NABH is a constituentboard of Quality Council ofIndia (QCI), set up to establishand operate accreditation pro-gramme for healthcare organi-sations. The NABH accreditedhospitals in allopathic and ayushare listed on the Government’swebsite too ensuring their glob-al reach. Under the umbrella ofthe Private Ayurvedic MedicalPractitioners Association,(PAMPA), the small players inthe sector have alleged that thenorms set by the NABH werenot suitable for ensuring quali-ty standards of ayurvedic health-care sector which was prevent-ing them from getting accredi-tation certificates and hencehampering their growth.Ayurveda Hospital Managem-ent’s Association (AHMA) toohas raised similar points.

New Delhi: The CBI on Fridayconfronted IPS officer SMHMirza with alleged middle-man ‘Tiger’ in connection withits probe into the Narada stingoperation.

The Narada tapes, whichwere released before the 2016Assembly elections in WestBengal, allegedly showed sev-eral Trinamool Congress MLAsand MPs accepting money inexchange for favours frominvestigative journalist MathewSamuels, who posed as a busi-nessman interested in makingsome investments in WestBengal.

Mirza, who was allegedlyseen in one of the tapes, was onThursday also questioned bythe agency for nearly sevenhours, CBI sources said.

The Calcutta High Courthad in March ordered the CBIto conduct a preliminary probeinto the Narada sting operation

A division Bench of thecourt had also directed theState Government to initiatedisciplinary action againstMirza. PTI

New Delhi: The CBI on Fridaysearched Cuttack’s BarabatiStadium and the homes of for-mer office bearers of theOdisha Olympic Association inconnection with a case relatedto encroachments onGovernment land.

The action came after theagency registered an FIR in thematter on directions of theSupreme Court.

The case was registeredunder charges of criminal con-spiracy and cheating againstformer Odisha OlympicAssociation (OOA) secretaryAshirbad Behera, IncomeAssociates of Cuttack andunidentified officials of the

OOA, officials said.On April 3, the Supreme

Court held the OOA guilty ofencroaching on Governmentland to construct near theBarabati Stadium in Cuttackand ordered the district admin-istration to take possession ofthe property.

The judgement had comeon a plea filed by OOA againstan Orissa High Court orderdirecting the State Governmentto take possession ofencroached Government landadjoining Barabati Stadiumwhile asking the state crimebranch of the police to inves-tigate the incident.

OOA, which had got 20

acres of Government land onlease for construction of BarabatiStadium way back in 1949, sub-sequently encroached upon twoacres of vacant Governmentland in the mid-70s.

However, in 1986, theOOA sub-leased theencroached land and developedvarious business establishmentson it and earned revenue.

Challenging the encroach-ment, the State Governmenthad in 2000 filed an evictioncase. OOA contested it in a civilcourt and in 2002 obtained afavourable decree. The stategovernment then moved theHigh Court against the judge-ment of the lower court. PTI

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From Page 1The latest remote sensing

satellite has a resolution of 0.6metres, which means it canspot even smaller objects.

“It can recognise objectswithin that square (0.6 m by 0.6m)”, an Isro official told PTI oncondition of anonymity.“Defence surveillance will geta leg-up. It can be used in iden-tifying terrorist camps andbunkers... Some formations,”the official said.

Once this satellite becomesoperational, it would be “hand-

ed over” to the Defence forces,which have their own “set up”,including ground-stations andtrained manpower to accessdata, the official said.

PSLV-C38 is the 17th flightof PSLV XL configuration (withthe use of solid strap-onmotors).

The co-passenger satellitesincludes a nano satellitedesigned and developed by theNoorul Islam University inKanyakumari district of TamilNadu. The NIUSAT satellitewould provide multi-spectralimagery for agricultural cropmonitoring and disaster man-agement support applications.

The other 29 nano satellitesare from 14 countries —Austria, Belgium, Chile, Czech

Republic, Finland, France,Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia,Lithuania, Slovakia, the UnitedKingdom and the United Statesof America.

As the satellites were inject-ed into orbit one by one, thescientists broke into cheers atthe Mission Control Centre.

Lauding the scientists, Isrochairman AS Kiran Kumarsaid the mission was success-ful. “I congratulate the hard-work of the entire team, espe-cially the Cartosat team. Thisparticular mission has beensuccessful, it has put all thesatellites into the orbit,” hesaid.

President PranabMukherjee and Prime MinisterNarendra Modi hailed Isro for

the successful polar satellitelaunch carrying 31 satellites.

“Congratulations to Isroteam on the successful launchof PSLV-C38 carrying 31 satel-lites,” Mukherjee said in atweet. Modi said in a tweet,“Congratulations to Isro on its40th successful Polar satellitelaunch carrying 31 satellitesfrom 15 countries. Youmake usproud!”

With successful launch,the total number of customersatellites from abroad placed inorbit by India’s workhorsePSLV reached 209, the releaseadded. The Isro had on June 5launched its most powerfuland heaviest geostationaryrocket carrying advanced com-munication satellite GSAT-19,

weighing 3,136 kg, from thespaceport here. Every stage ofthe three-stage GSLV MkIIIwith indigenous cryogenicengine had performed well.

Kumar said the GSAT-19has reached the designatedlocation and all the payloadshave been switched on and ithas started performing.

He said a communicationsatellite would be launched onJune 28 “which will add sig-nificant number of transpon-ders to our capacity.” “GSAT-17is getting launched on June 28(from French Guiana). We willbe working on the replacementsatellite for IRNSS-1A. Ourplan is to have two Mark-II andtwo Mark-III launches apartfrom eight to ten PSLV launch-

es per year,” he said.“Our effort of continuing

to provide increased earthobservation, navigation as wellas communication will con-tinue and we have many moreactivities to be performed inthe coming days,” he said.

The space agency said the29 international customerNano satellites are beinglaunched as part of the com-mercial arrangements betweenAntrix Corporation Limited(Antrix), commercial arm ofIsro and international cus-tomers.

Cartosat-2 is a remotesensing satellite and it is simi-lar in configuration to earliersatellites in the series with theobjective of providing high-res-

olution scene specific spotimagery.

The imagery sent by thesatellite would be useful for car-tographic applications, urbanand rural, coastal land use andregulation, utility managementlike road network monitoring,water distribution, creation ofland use maps, change detec-tion to bring out geographicaland man-made features andvarious other land informationsystem (LIS) as well as geo-graphical information systems(GIS).

Earlier on February 15,Isro scripted history when thePSLV-37 mission launched 104satellites into orbit, including aCartosat-2 series earth obser-vation satellite.

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From Page 1Of the 30 cities announced,

26 have proposed affordablehousing projects that benefitthe urban poor, 26 cities will betaking up school and hospitalprojects, 29 will be taking upredesign and redevelopment ofroads. All 30 cities will put inplace integrated command andcontrol centres that enablecoordination among variousagencies for better servicedelivery and effective man-agement of scarce resourcessuch as water and power.

For the remaining 10 spots,20 cities — Itanagar,Biharsharif, Diu, Silvassa,Nager Haveli, Kavaratti, NaviMumbai, Amaravati, Imphal,Shillong, Dindigul, Erode,Bidhannagar, Durgapur,Haldia, Meerut, Raebareli,Ghaziabad, Sharanpur andRampur would have to com-pete in the next round.

Officials say that four citieswould be adjusted by four

vacancies created by WestBengal Chief Minister MamtaBanerjee who refused to par-ticipate in the Smart City mis-sion process due to her tusslewith the Centre. Navi Mumbaicity do not want to take fundfrom the Centre. There is onecity, which would be rejected asthere is no municipality. TheGovernment is also findingway to adjust all 20 cities in thenext round.

Naidu asserted that SmartCity development is based onthe shared vision of citizens andrespective city Governmentsand not imposed by the CentralGovernment. The clarified thatthe mission guidelines do notimpose any restrictions on theextent of area in mission citiesto be selected for Area-BasedDevelopment as it is left to thecity Governments and citizens.Elaborating further, Naidu saidin case of Vellore in TamilNadu, the area chosen fordevelopment accounts for 55%

of total city area, 24% in caseof Dharmashala in HimachalPradesh and 20% in case ofKalyan-Dombivili and in sev-eral cities it comes to more than10% of total city area. In termsof population, people residingin area chosen for developmentaccount for 85% of total citypopulation in Dharmashala,38% in Tirupati in AndhraPradesh and 33% in Varanasi inUttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanaththanked the Prime Minister andthe Union Urban DevelopmentMinister for selecting threemore cities — Jhansi, Aligarhand Allahabad — from theState under the Smart Cityproject of the CentralGovernment. The Union gov-ernment had launched theSmart Cities Mission with theaim of developing 100 citiesacross the country. The citiesare selected through a city chal-lenge competition.

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From Page 1Initial investigation

revealed that there was analtercation and the officer firedto get away from the mob. Hewas, however, overpoweredand killed near Bata Chowk inNowhatta area,” Vaid said.

Some reports said that heallegedly pulled out his pistoland fired shots that injuredthree people. Vaid said twopeople have been arrested andmassive manhunt for anotheraccused has been launched bythe police. “All of them(involved in the lynching) willface the law,” the DGP toldreporters on the sidelines of the

wreath-laying ceremony forthe slain officer at districtpolice lines in Srinagar.

Defending the firing bythe officer in which three per-sons were injured, Vaid said,“The DSP was carrying a pis-tol and he had the right to self-defence.” Chief MinisterMehbooba Mufti was joined bysenior Cabinet colleagues,Chief Secretary and top policeand bureaucrats at the wreath-laying ceremony.

Describing the incident as“shameful”, the Chief Ministerwondered how long the policewould show restraint as shewarned that there could be a

backlash if the force losespatience. “What can be moreshameful than this? I want tosay that J&K police is one of thebest police forces in the coun-try. They are brave but areshowing maximum restraintbecause they feel that they aredealing with their own people.But for how long? The day theirpatience wanes, then, I believe,things will be difficult,” shesaid.

“I appeal to the peoplethat there is still time and weshould understand. The policeforce is our own force, they areour children and such a treat-ment is shameful,” she added.

Mehbooba said the officerhad not gone to the mosque forpersonal work but was there toprotect the lives of the peopleand fulfil his duty.

“A SHO along with fivecops was killed some daysback and now this DSP... Iappeal to the people that thisis a shameful incident. Thosewho protect you, showpatience while dealing withyou...but if you behave like thiswith them, then if they losetheir patience, then God for-bid, such a time will comewhen people have to flee afterseeing a (police) gypsy on theroad,” she said.

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From Page 1India equips the troops with weapons, per-

sonal kit, and transport depending on the ter-rain and threat perception in “wet” lease and theUN reimburses the expense. The internationalbody provides everything ranging from weaponsto other equipment in “dry” lease and India onlycontributes troops. At present, “wet” lease mis-sions are in South Sudan and Congo while GolanHeights and Lebanon fall under the purview of“dry” lease.

One of the prominent contributors to peace-keeping efforts since the 1950s, the Indian Armyused to follow an ad hoc system of equipping itstroops till 2006. The procedure was streamlinedlater and a brick of 65 items including weapons,armoured personnel carriers besides personal kitof soldiers was defined, they said.

The equipment deficiency for the troopsdeployed in Congo is about 36 per cent and theshortfall is about 35 per cent for troops in SouthSudan, officials said. The shortage was in weapons,ammunition, armoured personnel carriers,unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other engi-neering items. However, personal kit of soldiers,

including 45 items was not facing any issue, theyadded.

Faced with this situation, the Governmentfinally gave full financial powers to Vice Chiefof Army to procure the items in March this yearto cover up the shortages. Fast tracking the pro-cedure, the Army initiated the process for 58cases worth over Rs 120 crore. At least 11 casesof this lot worth over Rs 22 crore were alreadythrough, officials said.

The deficiency in the Congo mission arosea few months back after one of the infantry bat-talions was converted into a rapid deploymentbattalion (one battalions has 1,000 troops)whose equipment requirement is higher thana standard infantry battalion. Since the rapiddeployment battalion was allotted a major por-tion of the equipment, the other troops have touse the remaining equipment, they said.However, more than 15 per cent deficiency outof 36 per cent was made up in the Congo mis-sion till March this year, officials added.Similarly out of 35 per cent equipment defi-ciencies in South Sudan till March this year,almost 20% was made up, they said.

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The Allahabad High Courton Friday quashed the UP

Government order removingsix nominated members of ShiaWaqf Board. A vacation Benchcomprising Justice Rajan Royand Justice SN Agnihotriquashed the order on thegrounds that they were not pro-vided an opportunity of hear-ing, which was mandatoryunder provisions of Waqf Act1995. The court, however gaveliberty to the State Governmentto proceed afresh in accor-dance with law.

Sacked members of Shiawaqf board led by Aalima Zaidihad moved the court against theremoval. The Governmentremoved board membersincluding former Rajya Sabhamember Akhtar Hassan,Sayyed Wali Haider(Moradabad), Afsha Zaidi(Muzaffarnagar), Sayyed AzimHussain, Nazmul Hassan Rizwiand Alima Zaidi (Bareilly).They were nominated by theprevious SPGovernment.

On June 16, the UPGovernment announced the dis-solution of UP Shia and Sunnicentral waqf boards on charges

of rampant corruption. A daylater, six members of the boardwere removed.

After ordering dissolutionof the two waqf boards, theGovernment also recom-mended a CBI probe intoalleged irregularities worthcrores of rupees committedby officials of the bodies.

The Government decidedto dissolve both boards on therecommendations of CentralWaqf Council. The Councilfiled a report by a fact-findingcommittee a fortnight afterthe SP suffered a humiliatingdefeat in the Assembly polls.

+"�!����������7�������-����;������5!��6��� Johannesburg: A new tea blend

inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’sminimalistic approach to dietintake has been launched hereat Satyagraha House in SouthAfrica. The blend was named‘Satyagraha House Tea’, anorganic caffeine-free blend ofall-natural ingredients.

Satyagraha House, a uniquemuseum and guest houseadapted from a house whereGandhi lived during his tenurein the city at the turn of the 19thcentury, joined luxury Africanbrand Yswara to create its ownbespoke wellness blend.

“Our products are a symbolof the ingenuity and traditionsof the African people and ourbrand and the company ethos

resonates strongly withGandhi’s message of Satyagraha— the force that is generatedthrough adherence to Truth,”said Yswara’s founder and CEOSwaady Martin on Wednesday.

The Satyagraha Housebespoke blend, a chai Malawianverbena tisane, combines thevery best of African teas har-vested from various locationsaround Africa and blendedwithin South Africa.

Cinnamon pieces, blacktea, lemon verbena, cloves,ginger, cardamom, honeybush,rooibos and rosebuds wereused to create the herbal teawhich is rich in antioxidantsand good for releasing blockednasal airways. PTI

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Washington: Indian-Americans here are eager-ly looking forward to welcoming Prime MinisterNarendra Modi in a big way during his visit tothe US capital to meet President Donald Trump.

The Indian community in Washingtonmight not be as big the community as in NewYork/New Jersey area or the Silicon Valley, wherethe Prime Minister addressed two massive ral-lies in recent years, but the enthusiasm among

the diaspora is at the same level.The community is planning to welcome

Modi at every possible location where he couldbe available during his three-day stay here.

“There is a huge enthusiasm among IndianAmericans,” said Adapa Prasad, a top leader ofthe Overseas Friends of BJP USA, who is play-ing a key role in organising events to welcomethe Prime Minister. PTI

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Chandigarh: A student fromPunjab’s Muktsar town hastopped in the NEET entranceexamination for admission tomedical colleges.

Navdeep Singh, son of theprincipal of a governmentschool in a village nearMuktsar, secured first rank inthe National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).

This comes just days afterSarvesh Mehtani, a student fromPanchkula town in Haryana(adjoining Chandigarh), toppedthe country in the entrance testfor the Indian Institutes ofTechnology (IITs).

The results of the NEETexamination, conducted foradmission to Bachelor ofMedicine and Surgery (MBBS)and Bachelor of Dental

Sciences (BDS) courses in med-ical and dental colleges across

the country, were announcedby the Central Board ofSecondary Education (CBSE)on Friday.

“I was expecting good rankbut I had not thought that I willtop the entrance exam,”Navdeep, who wants to getadmission in the MBBS courseat Maulana Azad MedicalCollege, Delhi, said.

Reports said that five stu-dents from Punjab andHaryana are ranked in the top25 positions in the NEETresults.

Nikita Goyal and TanishaBansal, both from Punjab,secured the 8th and 10th rankrespectively. Kanish Tayal andAditi Goyal from neighbouringHaryana secured 7th and 22ndranks, respectively. IANS

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New Delhi: Two seems to bethe lucky number for Indoreboy and would-be neurosur-geon Archit Gupta — whotwice stood second in all-Indiaexaminations for undergradu-ate medical courses.

Gupta bagged the secondrank in the country in NEET,results of which wereannounced on Friday. He stoodsecond in the AIIMS entranceexamination, too. PTI

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In an apparent suicide pact,two children died after con-

suming a cold drink lacedwith poison on Friday at alodge opposite railway stationat Samralkota town, policesaid.

Their parents who ran outof the lodge vomiting are stilluntraceable, said police.

Four members of a family,including a man, his wife andtheir two daughters aged 8 and10 had checked in a lodge lastnight, S Prasana Vinay Gowd,circle inspector of police,Peddapuram told PTI.

Prima facie it appears thatthe family consumed cold-drink laced with poison, saidpolice.

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Finding a smarter way out ofthe Supreme Court order,

Punjab Vidhan Sabha onFriday passed amendments inthe State Excise Act allowingserving of liquor in hotels,restaurants and clubs locatedon highways.

The apex court had onDecember 15, 2016, orderedthat liquor vends located with-in 500 metres on the nationaland State highways should beclosed down. Later, ithad modified theorder reducing the dis-tance to 220 metres inareas having a popula-tion of up to 20,000,while making it clearthat its previous orderbanning vends within500 metres of high-ways would remainoperative for otherareas.

The State Cabinethad on Mondayokayed a proposal to amendSection 26-A of the PunjabExcise Act, 1914, for fixing alocation of liquor vends onnational and State highways,removing hotels, restaurantsand clubs from the restrictionson serving liquor within 500metres of those roads.

Moving the Punjab Excise(Amendment) Bill, 2017,Parliamentary Affairs MinisterBrahm Mohindra said the Bill

is aimed at “maintaining bal-ance” in the loss of employ-ment in tourism industry andimplementing traffic rules.

The Bill stated that the“judicial pronouncement isaimed at checking drunkendriving and the resultant loss-es. However, there are largenumber of hotels, restaurants,clubs and other enclosed noti-fied places where liquor is sold

for in situ con-sumption”.

“These arepart of thehospit a l i tyand tourismi n d u s t r ywhich gener-ates substan-tial employ-ment in theS t a t e .Absence ofliquor inhotels, restau-rants, clubs,etc, has seri-ously affected

their existence and even theirpartial closure may create sub-stantial unemployment in theState,” it added.

The Bill aims to ensurethat hotels, restaurants, clubsand other notified places areallowed to serve alcohol only forconsumption on their premis-es “to secure the livelihood” ofa large segment of the State’spopulation.

“There shall be a restric-

tion on opening of liquorvends on or within 500 metresof the highways,” it added.

The sale of liquor shall bepermitted only throughlicensed vends which shall notbe located within 500 metresfrom the outer range of thenational or State highway or aservice lane of those roads.

Also, liquor vends shallneither be directly visible noraccessible from highways.

The Bill mentions thatnotwithstanding anythingcontained in any judgement,decree or order of any court,tribunal or authority, everyclub, hotel, restaurant or anynotified place having a licenceshall be entitled to serve liquoron the premises located nearnational or State highways.

Government’s move toallow hotels and restaurants onhighways to serve liquor hasbrought it bouquets as well ascriticism. Former AdditionalSolicitor General of IndiaMohan Jain, speaking withThe Pioneer, said, “The inten-tion behind the SC order wasthat people should not drinkand drive on the highwaysresulting in accidents. But,the development makes it clearthat people would consumeliquor in hotel, clubs, andrestaurants on highways beforeundertaking their journey.”

On the other hand, theNational RestaurantAssociation of India’s presidentRiyaaz Amlani welcomed themove and said, “We are hope-ful that taking inspirationfrom these laudable moves, theCentre and other States willaddress issues.”

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From Page 1On Thursday, two suicides

were reported from Chhatarpurand Sagar districts ofBundelkhand region, one wasreported from Budni, theAssembly segment of ChiefMinister Shivraj Singh Chouhan,and another from a village inChhindwara, the parliamentaryseat of senior Congress leaderKamal Nath.

The western MadhyaPradesh recently witnessed amajor farmers' agitation for loanwaiver and remunerative prices,fuelled further by the death offive persons in police firing inMandsaur district on June 6.Since June 8, the suicides byfarmers have been reportedfrom Sehore, Hoshangabad,Raisen, Dhar, Neemuch andVidisha districts. In Sehore, thehome district of the chief min-ister, six suicides have beenreported so far.

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External Affairs MinisterSushma Swaraj on Friday

announced a series of people-friendly measures in passportservices. The Government hasdecided to reduce the passportfee for applicants under eightand over 60 years of age. Rationcards can be submitted whileapplying for passports, includ-ing tatkal, instead of Pan Card.While applying for tatkal pass-ports, the applicants can give acopy of their Aadhaar, Pan orration card, voter identificationcard apart from a self-attestedletter declaring he/she doesnot have any criminal com-plaint against him/her to fastenthe process. And, passportswill now be in both Hindi and

English instead of just English.The Minister said the changesare aimed at easing the processof getting a passport.

Swaraj said that after study-ing the passport rules, sherealised that some norms wereunnecessary, obsolete or imprac-tical. She added that police ver-ification, an important part ofthe passport issuing process,takes time and asked otherStates to emulate the examplesset by the police of AndhraPradesh, Telangana, Delhi,Chandigarh, Gujarat and Goathat completes the verificationprocess in less than six days.

The Minister added thatgiving the option of submittinga ration card would greatly helppeople in rural areas who donot have a Pan card. Swaraj saidshe had received several com-plaints about the personaldetails in passports being print-ed only in English.

“Passports should at least

be bilingual. All Arab countrieshave their passport in Arabic,Germany makes it in Germanand Russia makes it in Russian.Why can’t we make it Hindi?Now, we have given an orderto Nashik Printing Press thatpassports should be (printed)in Hindi as well. So you willreceive passports in Hindi andEnglish…There will be a 10per cent reduction in passportfee for applicants who areunder eight and over 60. Andthis will be applicable from

tomorrow,” Swaraj said at anevent to mark 50 years of thePassport Act, 1967.

The Minister highlightedthe steps taken by her Ministryin easing rules for getting theinternational travel document,especially for orphans, singlemothers and divorced women.“The year that went by will godown in history as the one inwhich this Ministry took path-breaking steps in its endeavourtowards building better pass-port delivery mechanisms. Not

only did we simplify thePassport Rules but also wetook giant strides in takingpassport services closer to ourcitizens,” she said.

The Government hasdecided to set up 235 POPSKin two phases — 86 in Phase-I and 149 in Phase-II. The 52POPSK identified in Phase-Ihave already been opera-tionalised with an aim toreduce the travel distance forthe applicants to get a passport.

Swaraj also tried to assuagefears of passport departmentofficials with regard to theirpromotion and career growthsaying that would not be ham-pered because of Post OfficePassport Seva Kendras(PoPSK). “No work will bedone by the Ministry that isdetrimental to your interests. Itake this responsibility thatyour interests will not be ham-pered,” she told the passportofficials.

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National DemocraticAlliance (NDA)’s presi-

dential candidate Ram NathKovind on Friday filed hisnomination papers in the pres-ence of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and an array ofthe alliance’s Chief Ministersand party leaders even as itsought to reach out to theOpposition saying that thePresident’s office was aboveparty politics and that he didnot belong to any party.

Kovind was accompaniedby Prime Minister NarendraModi, Chief Ministers of NDA-ruled States as well as that ofTelangana and Tamil Nadu,Union Ministers and othersenior leaders of the rulingbloc, as he arrived in theParliament building to file hisnomination papers.

BJP president Amit Shahand party veterans LK Advaniand Murli Manohar Joshi werealso present during the filing ofnominations.

All Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled States and its allies exceptManohar Parrikar of Goa andMehbooba Mufti of Jammu &Kashmir were present. TelanganaChief Minister K ChandrashekarRao, Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister N Chandrababu Naiduand Tamil Nadu Chief MinisterEdappadi K Palaniswami wereamong those in attendance.

“Since I became theGovernor I do not belong toany political party,” the 71-year-old former head of the BJP’s

Dalit Morcha said after filinghis nomination paper here forthe top constitutional post.

“I appeal to all members ofthe electoral college for sup-port,” Kovind said.

“It is my belief that the postof the President is above partypolitics and I will strive to keepit so,” he said in a brief addressto the media on the Parliamentpremises.

He named several formerPresidents to cite the “great tra-ditions” of the office andstressed the Constitution wassupreme in the country. “Thatits supremacy is maintained isvery important,” he added.

Underlining his agenda,he said he would work for thecountry’s “all-round develop-ment, fulfilment of youths’aspirations and encouragementto modern education”.

“I will strive to see to it thatthe dream to build a new Indiawhich is developing continu-ously when we celebrate 75years of Independence in 2022is fulfilled,” he said, reading outfrom a prepared text.

In a reference to the coun-try’s security, he noted that thePresident was the supremecommander of the armedforces. “The security of ourcountry’s borders should be ourtop priority,” he said.

He will start a nation-widetour on June 25, stopping firstin Uttar Pradesh, where hewill talk to members of the elec-toral college that votes for thenew President.

The former Bihar

Governor will be accompa-nied by senior BJP leader andUnion Minister Nitin Gadkariin the UP leg of the tour. BJPsources said Kovind wouldtravel to the bigger States andat some places interact withelectoral college members frommore than one State.

With the NDA and some ofthe regional parties like JD (U),BJD, TRS. AIADMK and YSRCongress throwing their weightbehind Kovind, the country isset to get its second DalitPresident after KR Narayananwho was elected the 10thPresident of India in 1997when barring Shiv Sena and theentire Opposition backed him.NDA constituents itself com-prise over 48.6 per cent of votesin the electoral college that willelect the next President

A low-profile Dalit leaderwho held various organisa-tional positions in the BJP,Kovind was made the BiharGovernor in 2015 after theNDA came to power in May2014. Kovind’s opponent isanother Dalit leader — formerspeaker Meira Kumar who is anominee of the Congress-ledOpposition parties.

The NDA presidentialnominee is guaranteed to getmore than 61 per cent of votes,and the final tally depends onhow some still-undecidedregional parties vote, accordingto BJP sources. The term of theincumbent President PranabMukherjee ends on July 24.

Some of the key Oppositionfigures like JDU’s Nitish Kumarand BJD’s Naveen Patnaik brokethrough the Opposition ranksand backed the NDA candidate.The election is scheduled forJuly 17 and the counting of voteswill take place on July 20.

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The Opposition parties onFriday said that it would

contest the July 17 presidentialelection based on ideologyand appealed to all secularforces to support its nomineeMeira Kumar.

With the JD(U) and theBJD supporting NDA candi-date Ram Nath Kovind despitebeing part of the Oppositiongrouping, the Left parties onFriday urged BJD supremoNaveen Patnaik and JD(U)president Nitish Kumar toreconsider their decision andsupport Opposition candidateMeira Kumar in the presiden-tial election.

Meira Kumar has beenpicked by 17 non-NDA polit-ical parties as their candidateagainst NDA nominee Kovind.While RJD chief Lalu Prasadsaid he would continue tourge his Mahagathbandhanalliance partner JD(U) to rallybehind Meira Kumar, CPIleader D Raja said that the Leftwould reach out to the otherOpposition parties includingthe BJD to join hands and sup-port Kumar’s candidature.

Describing the combinedOpposition nominee MeiraKumar as “Bihar ki Beti”(daughter of Bihar), Lalu

appealed to Nitish Kumar to“mend the historic blunder” ofsupporting NDA candidateRam Nath Kovind.

The RJD president, how-ever, made it clear that thedivergent paths taken by hisparty and the JD(U) wouldhave no impact on the GrandAlliance Government in Biharheaded by Kumar. Bihar JD(U)president Basistha NarayanSingh reiterated party’s stand tosupport Kovind and made itclear that there was no goingback on it.

Senior Congress leaderGhulam Nabi Azad, whotermed Meira Kumar as thebest candidate to representthe secular forces, said, “Thisis a fight of ideologies and thereis no midway. People withsecular ideology should standwith Meira Kumar.”

CPI national secretary DRaja also termed the presi-dential poll as a battle of ide-ologies and that the Oppositionwould fight this contest seri-ously despite less numbers. “Itis true that the numbers are notin favour of the Opposition atthis point of time. But it is acontest and must be foughtseriously. Some people say it isa token fight, but what istokenism in a democracy?This contest is to safeguard theConstitution, democracy. It isa battle of ideologies,” he said.

Terming the presidentialpoll contest as an “ideologicalbattle”, Lalu Yadav said Kovind

is a hardcore RSS man andeven if the Congress had askedus to support him he wouldhave gone against it.

Meira Kumar in a state-ment thanked the Oppositionparties for nominating her astheir joint candidate and saidthis was a fight between differ-ent ideologies. She appealed tothe electorate comprising par-liamentarians and members ofState legislatures to decide ontheir support in the best inter-est of the country based oncherished values of social jus-tice and inclusiveness and onprinciples and ideologies.

“This election is a fight ofideology. I would appeal to thecollegium to take their decisionon the best interest of thecountry, based on the cher-ished values and principlesand ideologies. These are socialjustice, inclusiveness and val-ues of composite Indian her-itage which we hold so sacred,”she stated.

“We appeal to the ChiefMinisters of Odisha and Biharto reconsider their decisionand support a secular candi-date like Meira Kumar. Aboveall, both BJD and JD(U) are notpart of the BJP-led NDA,” CPIgeneral secretary S SudhakarReddy said. Reddy said theyhope both Patnaik and Kumarwill rethink before castingtheir vote in favour of RamNath Kovind, whom theydescribed as a “Sangh Parivarmember”.

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The Financial Action TaskForce (FATF), a global

organisation which sets stan-dards for the banks, hasslammed Pakistan for its con-tinued complicity in financingterrorist entities and has saidthat certain United Nations-designated terror groups inthat country continue to receivemoney due to lack of control bythe authorities.

The FATF had in 2015 putPakistan on its watch list andbut not found its efforts satis-factory. However, it took offAfghanistan for its high polit-ical commitment in actionsagainst money laundering, andfinancing of terror groups.

During the FATF ThirdPlenary under the Presidencyof Spain in Valencia, Pakistan’srecord once again came underclose scrutiny. The report bythe core committee of theFATF’s InternationalCooperation Review Group(ICRG) was highly critical ofPakistan’s continued complic-ity in financing terrorist enti-ties. The report highlighted thatthere continue to be certainUNSCR 1267 designated enti-ties in Pakistan that receive anddisperse funds without controlsbeing applied by the competentauthorities.

As a consequence, theICRG has requested the AsiaPacific Group (APG) to pro-vide the revised follow-upreport on the Pakistan to ICRG

following the discussion of thereport at the APG AnnualMeeting in July 2017. Shouldthe APG Plenary decide not toprovide this report, the ICRGhas granted permission to theICRG co-Chairs to request inAugust for Pakistan to com-prehensively report directly tothe ICRG in September onupdates regarding Pakistan’simplementation of UNSCR1267 with respect to designat-ed entities of concern.

Interestingly, Pakistan’scontinued monitoring by theICRG is in sharp contrast toAfghanistan, which has beenrecommended to be removedfrom the ICRG ComplianceDocument after an on-site visitreport found it satisfactoryand noted about Afghanistan’shigh level political commit-ment and institutional capaci-ty to continue implementa-tion of the global anti moneylaundering (AML) andcounter-terrorist financing(CFT) reforms.

“In February 2015, whenPakistan was removed fromICRG monitoring, the FATFencouraged Pakistan to con-

tinue working with the FATEand APG to improve and effec-tive implement its AML/CFTsystems, in particular withrespect to implementingUNSCR 1267. When Pakistanreported back on this matter,some ICRG membersexpressed a concern that theseissues still had not beenresolved. Consequently, theICRG had referred the issue ofPakistan’s implementation ofUNSCR 1267 with respect todesignated entities of concernto the APG for ongoing mon-itoring,” the report said.

It further added that inFebruary 2017, the ICRGrequested the APG to provideits analysis report on Pakistan.“Given the concerns raised inthis report that highlightedthat there continue to be cer-tain UNSCR 1267 designatedentities that receive and dis-perse funds without controlsbeing applied by the competentauthorities, the ICRG recom-mends further reporting tothe ICRG be provided either bythe APG or, failing that, direct-ly from Pakistan,” the reportadded.

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New Delhi: The Supreme Courton Friday constituted a medicalboard of seven doctors of theSSKM Hospital in Kolkata toascertain health of a 24-weekpregnant woman wanting toundergo abortion on thegrounds of foetus abnormality.

A vacation Bench of jus-tices DY Chandrachud and SKKaul directed the medical boardto submit the report by June 29after ascertaining the health ofthe mother and the foetus.

During the hearing, thecounsel for the West BengalGovernment said it has beendecided to constitute a team ofseven doctors to ascertain themedical condition.

The Bench also noted a

report of a doctor in which it wassaid that a child born with suchserious abnormalities may notsurvive even the first surgery.

The woman and her hus-band have approached the apexcourt seeking permission toabort their 24-week foetus on thegrounds that it suffers fromserious abnormalities whichcould be fatal to the health of themother. The apex court had onJune 21 sought responses fromthe Centre and the West BengalGovernment on the plea chal-lenging the constitutional valid-ity of provisions of the MedicalTermination of Pregnancy Actand seeking constitution of amedical board to ascertain healthof the mother and foetus. PTI

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Aday before he leaves for athree-nation tour to

Portugal, USA and theNetherlands, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Friday saidhe is looking to building a for-ward-looking vision for India-US partnership.

“I will be visitingWashington, DC on 24-26 Juneat the invitation of PresidentDonald J. Trump. PresidentTrump and I have spoken ontelephone prior to this. Our con-versations have touched uponour common intent to take for-ward our productive all roundengagement for the mutual ben-efit of our people. I look forward

to this opportunity to have an indepth exchange of views on fur-ther consolidating the robustand wide ranging partnershipbetween India and the UnitedStates,” the PM said on hisFacebook page on Friday.

He said India’s partnershipwith the US is multi-layered anddiverse, supported by not justGovernments but all the stake-holders on both sides. “I look for-ward to building a forward look-ing vision for our partnershipwith the new Administration inthe United States under PresidentTrump. Apart from official meet-ings with President Trump andhis cabinet colleagues, I will bemeeting some prominentAmerican CEOs. As in the past,

I look forward to interacting withthe Indian diaspora in the US aswell,” Modi said.

PM’s first destination will bePortugal on 24 June, 2017. “Ourclose historical and friendly tieshave picked up momentum afterPrime Minister Antonio Costa’svisit to India in January 2017. Iam looking forward to my meet-ing with PM Costa. Building onour recent discussions, we willreview the progress of variousjoint initiatives and decisions. Wewill also discuss ways to furtherenhance the bilateral engage-ment, especially in the areas ofeconomic cooperation, scienceand technology, space collabo-ration and people to people ties.We will deliberate on means to

intensify our cooperation incounter-terrorism and on otherinternational issues of mutualinterest. I also see significantpotential for deepening bilater-al trade and investment ties. I amalso keen to interact with theIndian Community in Portugalduring the visit,” Modi said.

About his visit to TheNetherlands on 27 June, 2017,PM said he would be exchang-ing views with PM Mark Rutteon important global issuesincluding counter-terrorismand climate change. India andThe Netherlands are celebrat-ing 70 years of the establish-ment of Indo-Dutch diplo-matic relations this year.

The Netherlands is the sixth

largest trading partner in theEuropean Union and fifth largestinvestment partner globally.“The Dutch expertise in areassuch as water and waste man-agement, agriculture and foodprocessing, renewable energyand ports and shipping, match-es with our development needs.Indo-Dutch economic engage-ment is a win-win proposition.I will discuss with PM Rutte asto how the two sides should workto further harness the synergies.I will also be meeting withCEOs of major Dutch compa-nies and will encourage them tojoin the Indian growth story,” thePM wrote. He will also engagewith the Indian community inThe Netherlands.

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After attaching around �600-crore worth of properties,

Enforcement Directorate onFriday further attached �55.43crore worth assets and bankaccounts of Nodia online fraudaccused company Ablaze InfoSolutions Pvt Ltd and its ownerAnubhav Mittal. The attach-ment included �40 crore in theYes Bank account operated byMittal and a commercial spacein Greater Noida.

Mittal was firstarrested by Special TaskForce of UP Police fordefrauding thousands of people.Following this ED also registereda case under Prevention ofMoney Laundering Act (PMLA).The probe conducted by ED’sJoint Director Rajeshwar Singhunearthed the vast network ofmoney laundering by Mittal and

his company through onlinefrauds and 14 bank accounts ofthe company were freezed.

“Mittal had collected �3,700crore from the customers of hiscompany by false inducementsand later siphoned off the sameby means of generating falsebills and invoices with the assis-tance of various persons whoare under scrutiny. It is revealedthat out aforesaid money, thecompany has claimed to return�2,600 crore to the investors of

the company in theguise of opportunityand sales commis-sions and to portrait

its business as genuine andlegal. The company had paid�200 crore and �220 crore asTDS & Service Tax respective-ly. This is being verified and fur-ther investigation in this regardis being carried out,” said ED ina statement.

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Increasing public concern over therising incidence and savagery of rapecases is entirely warranted. Clearly,massive public agitation over theNirbhaya case in December 2012,

and consequent actions like the com-mendable changes in rape laws have ledto little. The argument that much of thecommotion has resulted from media cov-erage of a few cases is misleading. Thesedeserved wide media projection giventheir horrific nature.

The recent case in which three menraped for hours a woman whom they hadpulled into a car at Sohna, Haryana, anddumped in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh,has rightly created a stir. The sameapplies to the incident in Manesar, inwhich a woman was raped inside an auto-rickshaw and her nine-month-old daugh-ter, who was smothered and thrown outof the vehicle, killed — because the rapiststhought that the infant’s crying mightattract attention.

These two cases show that rapistsprowl along public roads with impunity.The case in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr,in which, a mother and her teenagedaughter were gang-raped in July last yearafter being pulled out of their car whichhad stopped after being hit by dacoits andthe recent one in which four women wereallegedly raped and one man was killed bydacoits in Jewar-Bulandshahr road in thesame district, indicates ineffectiveness ofthe police in ensuring safety even alonghighways in which crime is frequent.

The above cases, as well as similarones elsewhere, show that the country’scriminal justice system commands littlefear and provides minimal deterrence.This is a matter of concern; so is the con-tinuing steep rise in the incidence of rapecases, 34,651 of which were reported inthe country in 2015. The numbers were16,075 in 2001 and 24,923 in 2012.These numbers are of cases reported tothe police which, as is widely known,account for a fraction of the numbers thatactually occur.

As disturbing, the situation, in which,rape is primarily an urban crime and therural areas, governed by traditional val-ues, are relatively free from it, is chang-ing. Of the 24,923 cases reported in2012, only 3,035 occurred in the majorcities. The trend continues. For example,while rape cases registered inThiruvananthapuram city in 2016 num-bered 66, the figure was 138 in rural areasaround it. Ernakulam city reported 62cases while the adjoining rural areasreported 112. The figures for Thrissur cityand the surrounding rural areas were 46and 103 cases respectively.

Worse, conviction rates are low andfalling. These were 44.3 and 37.7 per cent

in 1973 and 1983 respectively, 26.9 per-cent in 2009; and 24.2 per cent and 27.1per cent in 2012 and 2013, respectively.The causes of the increase in the numberof rapes, of only a fraction of these beingreported, as well as of the low convictionrates, need probing — beginning with thelast because it conduces to the rise in theincidence of rapes by undermining the fearof punishment.

The causes of low conviction ratesinclude incompetent and half-heartedpolice investigation, poor prosecution,inability of the traumatised victims tostand up to ruthless and embarrassingcross examination by sharp criminallawyers, indifference on the part of judges,victims succumbing to pressures for com-ing to a compromise with rapists, delaysby forensic science laboratories in submit-ting medical reports which slow down theprogress of the cases and undermines thedetermination of the victims to pressahead with their complaints and in a fewcases the faulty nature of the reports.

These causes have been mentioned toooften to require exhaustive treatmenthere. Similarly, one needs to mentionbriefly most of the commonly cited rea-sons for a large number of cases goingunreported. One is the stigma attached torape. The victim is considered to havebecome ‘impure’, which in turn makes itdifficult for her to marry or live normal-ly in the family if she is married. This leadsto a tendency to conceal rapes, particu-larly given low conviction rates, thehumiliation of registering complaints

with unsympathetic authorities and sub-jection to prolonged and gruelling court proceedings.

Intimidation by rapists when they arenotorious criminals or powerful peopleand the victims are poor and vulnerableis often a deterrent. The fact, that in anoverwhelmingly majority of cases therapist is known the victim, sometimesputs the latter under pressure not to presscharges, especially when the culprit is arelative. The percentage of such instancesto the total has come down from an ear-lier 94 to 86.

Even then, their magnitude is clear fromthe fact that according to the National CrimeRecords Bureau in 33,098 of the 34,651 rapecases reported in India in 2015 the offend-ers were known to the victims.

Finally, a major deterrent is thepolice’s unwillingness to record caseswhich, applicable to all instances, ismore pronounced in the case of rapebecause of lack of sympathy for victims,influence of the powerful over them and,of course, bribery.

As indicated earlier, failure of thecriminal justice system to deliver, con-tributes significantly to the growing inci-dence of rapes. There are also well-known societal causes — commoditifica-tion of women through their projectionin advertisements, growing presence ofwomen in public spaces which enhancesopportunities for crimes against them andincreasing assertion by women of theirentirely justified right to move and dressas they want to. A basic cause, however,

has escaped adequate attention. Rape is aresult of sadism. As Erich Fromm pointsout in Escape from Freedom, sadism,involves domination, which can be phys-ical in the form of forcible sex and tortureor mental and psychic like control overdecision-making.

He says that a feeling of insecuritygrips one as one grows out of the sense ofsecurity engulfing one as an infant whois a part of his mother’s world andbecomes an adult increasingly facing theinsecurities of the world. Sadistic domi-nation is an attempt to overcome the feel-ing of insecurity through the acquisitionof power over others. Rape gives one atotal and savage sense of power.

Insecurities increase as societies becomemore developed and complex. Growingphysical insecurity in the form of vulner-ability to crimes, accidents, riots and civiccommotions are compounded by eco-nomic insecurities ranging from the dan-ger of unemployment, loss of returns frominvestments during recessions and psycho-logical ones like fear of failure in relation-ships, not succeeding well enough in lifecompared to others, and just the feeling ofinsignificance in megapolises with their tallbuildings and impersonal lives.

These circumstances are a feature ofmodern life and will not disappear. Hence,the importance of enhancing the effective-ness of the criminal justice system. Theincidence of rapes will continue to increaseas long as this is not done.

(The writer is Consultant Editor, ThePioneer, and an author)6

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Sir — The Scheduled Caste card hadlong been brought into play by mostparties now in the Opposition. Tolook at the nomination of Ram NathKovind as a clever move by the BJPat a crucial political point doesappear logical. A similar caste nom-inee from the Congress, MeiraKumar, should then be welcome.

Irrespective of the outcome ofthe election, a larger messagewould then emerge that the deeprooted neglect of the ScheduledCaste is being addressed with seri-ousness. In that event, Congressnominee Meira Kumar wouldserve the cause of this oppressedclass even in defeat.

R NarayananGhaziabad

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Sir— This refers to the editorial,“President RN Kovind?” (June 21).The President of India is expectedto be one of international fame, pos-sessing diplomatic qualities, withconversational skills, enjoying goodrapport with world leaders with alsobeing conversant with the groundrealities of the country. In the begin-ning we had ideal Presidents suchas Rajendra Prasad and SarvepalliRadhakrishnan. However, the caseof incumbent President, PranabMukherjee, is an exception whosehigh calibre is a rarity. Still, it is casteand not merit that has captured theattention of parties on both sides. Asa repartee to the BJP, the Congressled Opposition also has chosen amatching caste candidate to give afight to Ram Nath Kovind.

Judging the matter on merit and

in a broader perspective, it isSubramanian Swamy who deservesto become the Indian President.

LR GuptaLucknow

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Sir — This is with regard to the vio-lent agitation for a separate State ofGorkhaland, by the GorkhaJanmukti Morcha. Security agenciesregard this agitation seriously sinceit can have serious ramifications onnational security. Demonstrationsare going on in support of this agi-tation in different Indian citieswhich have a large Gorkha popu-lation. The point to be noted is thatthe Gorkhas, according to a major-ity of them, don’t belong toDarjeeling but are from Nepal.

When Telangana was created,it had large cities and a well-established information technolo-gy sector. Haryana has a large agri-cultural resources to sustain.Gorkhaland will be totally unsus-tainable as its revenues will be onlyfrom tourism — that too for a fewmonths of a year — and it will sole-ly depend on Central grant for sus-tenance. Though the BJP sup-ports small States, the demand forGorkhaland can’t be met due tonational security reasons also. Thiscould give rise to similar demandsacross the country in other States,which is undesirable.

A good idea would be to granta robust economic package withbetter autonomy to the region.Theprotestors must show reason.

Ramesh G JethwnaiBengaluru

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Some called it an “ideological war” between Communist and non-Communist blocs, some others called it a war of “innocent Koreas”. What

emerged to be the goriest war after World War II commenced on June 25, 1950,with the North allegedly attacking the South, resulting in the death of morethan 2.5 million people in the course of the war. The fallout of the war stillpersists over the Korean peninsula, and war clouds still loom over the region.The Six-Party Talks mechanism, created in 2003, to check North Korea’snuclearisation effort has been an outcome of the divided politics between themajor powers, which have gone nowhere. It is time to recollect the role of unno-ticed powers in the Korean War, on the occasion of the 67th anniversary ofthe war, especially when South Korea’s new President Moon Jae-in wants tocreate peace in Korean Peninsula. India’s forgotten role in the resolution ofthe Korean War, therefore, needs a reckoning.

After Korea’s Independence in 1945, India was chairman of a nine-mem-ber UN Commission that was set up to hold elections in Korea. The successof the election in the South was the seed behind the formal establishment ofthe Republic of Korea (RoK) on August 15, 1948, a day which coincides withIndia’s Independence Day. Playing a role to support peace, India maintaineda balance between the two Koreas, even though India’s diplomatic effort wasmarginal during those years. Voting in favour of the United States resolutionover North Korea’s invasion of South Korea, India supported the declarationto term North Korea as an “aggressor”. But when the US forces crossed the38th parallel without UN approval and sought to have a resolution passed todeclare China as an “aggressor”, India decided to vote against the proposedresolution. India played a mediatory role during the war, and both North andSouth Korea accepted the India-sponsored resolution to end the war. As a result,a ceasefire was declared on July 27, 1953. Sending medical aid and planninga formula for repatriation for the soldiers were other notable aspects of India’scontribution in the Korean Peninsula. India also chaired the Neutral NationsRepatriation Commission.

Sixty-seven years have passed to the historic Korean War; a peaceful res-olution to the Korean crisis is still missing. The Six-Party talks regarding theKorean peninsula are still hampered by major-power politics. China and Russiaseem to offer a shield to North Korea, while the United States and Japan areon the side of South Korea. The talks have virtually been dead since 2009.Perhaps the time has come to expand the number of dialogue partners. India’shistoric role needs a review, especially as a mediator between the two Koreas.India’s relations with South Korea are “special and strategic”; India also main-tains a working relation with North Korea.

Given this, India and South Korea should have a thoroughgoing discus-sion on Northeast Asia. In his inaugural speech on May 10, 2017, Moon Jae-in said that he would not “rest until peace is settled in Korean Peninsula”. Butto be effective, to address the Northeast Asian security crisis, the parties involvedmust break the barrier of Seoul’s traditional prism of only contacting the Six-Party dialogue partners. To improve its strategic weight, South Korea needsnew Asian partners beyond China. India has always advocated for de-nucleari-sation of the Korean Peninsula, and asked for dialogue and peaceful resolu-tion of the crisis. This is similar to what South Korea is asking over the years.

Policy designs such as Sunshine Policy and Northeast Asia Peace Initiative(NAPCI) have been the main policy directives for South Korea over the lasttwo decades. Kim Dae-jung’s Sunshine Policy was primarily North Koreafocused, where the emphasis was on maintaining deterrence, to initiate dia-logue, and bringing peace between the two Koreas. India was not consideredas an influencing factor in the Sunshine Policy. India did emerge prominentlyin Roh Moo-hyun’s Presidency, where his visit to India witnessed a new levelof contacts emerging between India and RoK, resulting in a “long-termCooperative Partnership for Peace and Prosperity”. The Northeast Asian peaceprocess was never a discussion point between New Delhi and Seoul.

President Lee Myung-bak’s New Asia Initiative in 2009 underlined SouthKorea’s resolve to cooperate with Asian countries, but the engagement wasmore sectoral. India never figured prominently even though India and RoKestablished a “strategic partnership” during President Lee’s visit to India inJanuary 2010. Likewise, President Park Geun-hye’s NAPCI lacked a regionalambition of engaging with India even though the relationship was upgradedto a “special strategic partnership”. The NAPCI initiative was limited to theUS, China, Japan, Mongolia, Russia, and DPRK. NAPCI did involve extra-regional multilateral bodies like NATO, OSCE, the EU, and the UN, but didnot see merit in involving India as an actor in the Northeast Asian peace process.A strategic convergence was drawn between India’s Act East policy and SouthKorea’s NAPCI, but it did not really translate into any concrete cooperation,especially on Northeast Asia.

A special partnership needs to be built on special accounts. Both SouthKorea and India need to have a fresh look at the history of the Korean War,especially at a time when North Korea continues to defy international norms.India’s mediating role and contribution to peace-making during the KoreanWar need an objective reckoning currently. Importantly, Seoul’s new admin-istration must introspect why the Northeast Asian peace process has deteri-orated. A closer look at the Korean War history and India’s contribution topeace is a valuable reference point in this context. Involving India in theNortheast Asian peace process will be instrumental in strengthening India-RoK relations.

(The writer is Research Fellow and Head of the East Asia Centre at the Institutefor Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi)

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The Chinese Government has set“stability” as the major theme

for economic planning this year. Itis, in fact, a continuation of the lasttwo years’ economic policy, whenthe growth slowed down below the7 per cent annual target in thefourth quarter of 2016. Althoughthis is considered the slowest GDPgrowth that Chinese economy haswitnessed in 26 years, neverthelessit fell within the Government’s“new normal” range of 6.5 to 7 percent. This indicates that the poli-cy to resolve structural imbalancein Chinese economy has succeed-ed so far. But there remains con-siderable unease about the effectiveworking of the policy and theextent to which it would ensurelong-term stability of the Chineseeconomy.

Although China has escapedmajor financial crises for over twodecades, the problem of overca-

pacity in major industrial andproductive sectors has increased ata rapid rate in the post-crisis years,first as a result of slowing demandfor exports from China; and sec-ond, due to the injection of stim-ulus investment package, furtheradding to overcapacity in manydomestic and global industries. Theprimary origin of excess capacitycan be attributed to China’s lega-cy of planned industrial policiesdesigned to fulfil the targets of cap-ital goods production regardless ofthe demand for goods. In thepost-reform years, despite the tran-sition to a market-oriented econ-omy, the domination of the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) con-tinues in strategic sectors, whichmostly thrive on subsidies andother forms of state support. Alsothe policy to create national cham-pions has contributed to over-production in certainGovernment-targeted industries.

Adding to the excess capacityproblem in many of China’s man-ufacturing industries is the rapidurbanisation which includes mas-sive demand for constructionmachinery and building materials.The impressive urbanisationprocess has been one of the mainforces driving the constructionsector boom. The single-sourcefinancing model that underpinsGovernment-led infrastructuredevelopment is also not sustainable.This is primarily because China’sinfrastructure financing mainlycame from Government lendingand land-transfer revenues.Therefore, initiatives to boostdomestic demand, such as the“new urbanisation” effort by theChinese Government, will havelimited impact on domestic infra-structure-market expansion.

Another major hurdle, theChinese economy is facing, is theproblem of rising localGovernment and corporate debts.As part of the efforts to recover

quickly from the crisis and main-tain its high growth rates, theChinese Government resorted tocredit expansion and lowered inter-est rates to stimulate growth andemployment in industries, partic-ularly steel, shipbuilding, textiles,light manufacturing, nonferrousmetals, equipment manufactur-ing, etc. But the rise in investmenthas not been commensurate withprofits, further adding to the dif-ficulties in servicing interest pay-ments of the current flood of banklending. Also, the lack of socialsecurity, the stringent capital con-trols, and the limited investmentchoices available to householdshave led to a high savings rate. Asa result, capital is continually trans-ferred from households to theproduction sector (through con-trolled investment programs), thusaugmenting the gap between con-sumption and production.

There is little doubt about theimportance President Xi Jinpingattaches to the supply side struc-

tural reform, aimed at stabilisingthe economy. Some key aspects ofthe policy involves a shift frominfrastructure-led growth to a ser-vice and consumer-driven model,reform of the Chinese SOEs, whilephasing out the problems of over-capacity resulting from the previ-ous stimulus. It is also expected toreduce reliance on credit and toclear away debts of state companies.The approach to these policies,however, suggests a traditionaltop-level drive to create a newenterprise management system,which often leads to tensionsbetween the centre and local andalso between the Government andthe enterprises in its attempt to bal-ance growth rates efficiency andstability. Also, the decision to useSOEs as an instrument ofGovernment policy has under-mined the very purpose of SOEsreform. The role of “growth sta-bilisers” entrusted on these enter-prises, today, would, in fact, lead toa situation of higher Government

debt in the longer run.As the Chinese Government

struggles to manage its domesticeconomic situation, cities likeFoshan and Shenzhen have provedto be the role models in carryingout the supply side structuralreform. The private sector inFoshan, along with the municipalGovernment, has adopted mea-sures suitable to the local condi-tions, primarily aimed at improv-ing the supply quality. Thus, themajor lesson to be drawn fromFoshan is that the success of struc-tural reform requires a combina-tion of market forces, as well asGovernment intervention in reduc-ing the institutional costs.

The issue of SOEs reform inChina is more than an economicproblem. First, Chinese SOEs areaggressively diversified in theiroperations and differ in theirdegrees of market-orientation.Second, any major reform of theSOEs along the market lines mightupset the social safety net, leadingto a massive unrest and socialupheaval on a national scale. Also,China’s size and diverse regionsmake any policy implementationdifficult. Thus, in China’s situation,the policy makers need to displaya greater willingness to interactwith enterprises, localGovernments and market agenciesand take into account the region-al specificities. The reality is thatChina’s high growth rates are notsustainable and the ChineseGovernment needs to be lessobsessed with the declining growthrates and focus more on the socialstability, especially tacking theproblem of unemployment in thecountry.

(The writer is a Visting Fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies,Renmin University, Beijing. Shecan be contacted at [email protected])

The current diplomatic flare-upagainst Qatar by its neigh-

bours brings home a fresh thawamong the oil rich nations of WestAsia. Qatar is accused of offeringsupport to Islamists such as theMuslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda,and the ISIS. Moreover, some of theGulf nations are wary of its prox-imity to Iran, the regional Shiahegemon. And, many of thesecountries fume at the sprouting ofthe Arab nation’s first English lan-guage TV channel, namely AlJazeera, at the heart of Qatar.More importantly, the channel hasfast turned out to be an uncensoredbroadcaster, providing an evergreater space for all the dissidents,except the ones from Qatar, includ-ing a huge coverage of the historicArab Spring of 2011. Is that suffi-cient for all its closest neighboursto suddenly cut ties with the coun-try? Is it because of sheer Americanpressure on its allies following thevisit of US President DonaldTrump? Is it because Saudi Arabia,which indeed heads the entirecoalition of opposition againstQatar, is just threatened by theexpanding network of the latter?Let’s see what has unfolded so far,and what could happen to Qatarand the rest of the Gulf States if theimbroglio continues.

It is interesting to note that allhell broke loose on Qatar imme-diately after the much talked aboutvisit of President Trump to WestAsia. Obviously, there is no doubtthat Trump wanted America’s alliesto rein in the oil rich nation forsponsoring most of the jehadistsoperating across the region. Butdespite knowing the fact that near-ly 10,000 American soldiers arethere at al-Udeid in Qatar, why didTrump take such a decision to cor-ner an old ally by siding with theother friendly nations? Is there anyconcrete evidence that Qatar isdirectly financing these globalmonsters? Plainly speaking, thiscan no way stop the massive inten-sification of the globalisation of ter-rorism not only in West Asia, butalso around the world. Many saythat new American administrationmay have plans to shift the Qatarairbase to the United ArabEmirates (UAE). In fact, Trump hasalready expressed his satisfactionthrough his ever-ready tweeternetwork about the actions initiat-ed against Qatar. Under Trump andunpredictable business-like estab-lishment in Washington, it is forsure that West Asia will not be ableto reduce its conflagrations. It issad. The conceited property tycoonshould have been carefully guidedby his policy makers. It seems hedoes not listen to any advice. Hecould have easily staved off theentire drama that has added fuel tothe fire in the already boiling zoneof the world.

On June 5, Saudi Arabia,Bahrain and the UAE severed firstdiplomatic relations and then cutall land, sea and air links withQatar. The strange behaviour ofthese nations has gone beyond apoint when all of them asked theQatari citizens to leave their respec-tive countries within 14 days. In therecent past, when Saudi Arabia hadgone for an all out war in Yemento flex its muscles even then KingSalman allowed more than a mil-lion Yemenis to stay and work inhis country. Though diplomatswere recalled by these countriesbefore, the latest action and inten-sity of the campaign against thesmall sheikhdom looks like wedg-ing a war. However, the main tar-get behind the Qatar fiasco is noother than Iran, which is long atodds with Saudi Arabia and majorpowers of West Asia. That is whyIran immediately blamed the USfor setting the stage for this entiredrama while Trump was in Riyadh,his first ever trip to the region aftertaking over as the US President.

What has made the rift moreperilous is that along with the GulfStates, Egypt and the Governmentof Libya have also extended theirsupport for the ban against Qatar.Many of these countries have longresented Qatar’s open support tothe Muslim Brotherhood, which allof them term as a dangerous polit-ical enemy for their survival.Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is more than happy to jump thebandwagon as he has been facing

an impending crisis at home for thevery emergence of MuslimBrotherhood. Saudi Arabia accus-es Qatar of supporting Iranian-backed Islamists in its restive andheavily Shia Muslim-inhabitedEastern region of Qatif, andBahrain.

For now, Iran has termed thewhole crisis as the result of the“Sword Dance” wherein Trumpand other US officials took partduring his trip to Riyadh. On thesame occasion, Trump called on allthe Muslim countries to standunited against Islamists and singledout Iran as a key source of fund-ing and support for terroristgroups. Qatar reacted with its asusual somber note in a brief by itsForeign Ministry, “The campaignof incitement is based on lies thathad reached the level of completefabrications”. But then Qatar’s longhobnobbing with Islamists shouldhave been stopped by the royals athome much before this has hap-pened. Particularly, the countryshould have taken a lesson from theprevious eight-month diplomaticthaw in relations with the UAE,Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in 2014,when all of them withdrew theirambassadors from Doha. Thenalso they complained Qatari sup-port to terrorist organisations.This amply shows how the rulingAl-Thani family has grown arro-gant and has not realised theimpact of an economic blockadelike the current one. On record,Doha has offered sanctuary to the

Muslim Brotherhood, supposedto be the most vociferous and polit-ically active Islamist movement ofthe Arab world. In the past, Qatarhas given the most sought afterplatform for the diplomats to havetalks with the prominent Islamistslike that of Yousef Qaradawi, theMuslim Brotherhood’s one of themost popular preachers; KhaledMehsal, until recently, the leader ofthe Hamas; and some of the impor-tant jehadist leaders from Algeriaand Afghanistan. Qatar’s bringingin a host of such elements and giv-ing them a global stage through itsstate-funded Al Jazeera networkhave given its neighbours oppor-tunity to strike a chord withTrump, who equally scorns Iran,the behind the scenes mentor forthe Shia Islamists across the region.

An open nitpicking of Qatarfor bankrolling the global jehadistscan in no way help the rest of theStates in West Asia. How Saudijehadists played a critical role in the9/11 terror attacks on the US is awell-known fact to the interna-tional community. But still thesame Saudi rulers will point a fin-ger at others without looking attheir own past records. And moreimportantly, the official Wahabiideology of the kingdom literallyserves as the “cardinal principles”for all the Sunnis jehadists across.Definitely, Al Jazeera’s open jibes atthe Saudi royal family angers theclerics and kings together now andthen. Finally, Qatar’s joint expan-sion plan of South Pars, the world’slargest gas field, with Iran bringshome another irritant to the SaudiKing. This all made to release theSaudi official news agency whattheir statesman feels deeply:“(Qatar) embraces multiple ter-rorist and sectarian groups, includ-ing the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS(Islamic State) and al-Qaeda, aimedat disturbing stability in the region,and disseminates the message andschemes of these groups throughtheir media constantly”. Above all,terror financing is utmost concernfor Saudi Arabia, but the reality isthat tiny Qatar’s rising globalgrandeur can no more be accept-able to its big brother. So the feudfor regional supremacy will con-tinue and with a grand approval ofUncle Sam.

Qatar should come out of itsimage as the “problem child” of theWest Asia. The ruling Al-Thanismust set the stage for resolving thedecades-long traditional feuds withthe Al Sauds, Al Khalifas and AlSabahs, though it used to be a normfor them for centuries. But thenthere were happier times even inthe midst of glaring and deadlyfights among all these ruling fam-ilies. If it continues, apart from therise of oil prices and the eventualloss of huge business across theregion (which will have serious

global impact), the rift among themembers of the Gulf CooperationCouncil (GCC) will furtherincrease. And it may so happen thatas Kuwait and Oman, the other twomembers of the GCC, are declin-ing to support the Saudi-led moveagainst Qatar, they may graduallyinch towards Iran.

Qatar is tiny, but the state mat-ters in the stability of the region.Though guided by the policy pre-scriptions of the Trump adminis-tration and clearly led by the nar-row regional interests of the onceally-turned-hostile neighbours, theQatar issue will hit hard both thelocal and global relations. Franklyspeaking, Trump’s revisionist pol-icy framework is slowly turning outto be murky as it endangers thevery fundamentals that undergirdthe power, position and authorityof America. While tendering adviceto these hereditary and autocraticrulers, the business baron Presidentshould have been better guided bywhat late President Harry Trumandeclared in 1945 at the historicmeeting in San Francisco thatfounded the UN: “We all have torecognise, no matter how great ourstrength, that we must deny our-selves the licence to do always aswe please”. Hope, Trump listens tothese illuminating narratives and isnot always propelled by what hedeclared in his inaugural address:“From this moment on, it’s goingto be America first”. This couldmake him fast lose the bigger pic-ture of the “Pax Americana” whenhis country wielded enormousstrength, influence and power onthe global platform, if at all Qatarkind of missteps come by again.

(The writer is an expert oninternational affairs)

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The TTV Dinakaran fac-tion of the AIADMK too

would support RamnathKovind in the July 17Presidential election. This wasannounced by TTV Dinakaran,deputy general secretary of theAIADMK on Friday. A signedstatement issued by Dinakaransaid VK Sasikala, the AIADMKgeneral secretary, who is serv-ing a jail term in the dispro-portionate asset case, has decid-ed that the party would extendsupport to Kovind, the candi-date fielded by the BJP for thePresidential election.

The other two factions ledby Chief Minister EdappadiPalaniswamy and former ChiefMinister O Panneerselvam hadalready announced their sup-port to Kovind. The Dinakaranfaction claims the support ofnearly 35 MLAs and 25 MPs.With Friday’s announcementby Dinakaran, it is clear that allthe three AIADMK factionsdespite their rivalry and mutu-al hatred would vote unitedlyfor the BJP candidate bright-ening the prospects of Kovindin the election.

Dinakaran has been side-lined by the faction led by ChiefMinister Palaniswamy sincethe former was arrested by theDelhi Police in April last inconnection with the case ofattempting to bribe the officialsof the Election Commission ofIndia in the fight for the ‘TwoLeaves’ symbol of the party.

Palaniswamy has not both-ered to entertain Dinakaranafter he was released on bail.The Chief Minister has not

called on Sasikala, who hasbeen imprisoned since Febru-ary 12. The sidelining of theaunt-nephew duo by the fac-tion headed by Palaniswamyhas hurt Sasikala, which hasled the members of the Mann-argudi clan to undermine theauthority of Palaniswamy.There are reports that theSasikala family is likely to propup Panneerselvam to clip thewings of Palaniswamy.

But a senior member of thePanneerselvam faction toldThe Pioneer that the near futurewould see Palaniswamy factionjoining hands with OPS.“Backroom discussions are tak-ing place and you can expect agood news soon,” said theleader on condition ofanonymity.

The week was not pleasantfor the Sasikala clan as theAdditional Chief MetropolitanMagistrate, Economic Offences-1, framed charges againstSasikala and her nephew VBhaskaran in a 21-year-oldForeign Exchange RegulationAct (FERA) violation case.Sasikala appeared in the courtthrough video conferencingfrom Parappana AgraharaPrison while Bhaskaran waspresent in the court. The caseis related to payments made inUS and Singapore dollars bySasikala and Bhaskaran to a UScompany for hiring transpon-ders and uplinking facilities forJJ TV (since then the name waschanged to Jaya TV) withoutthe permission of the ReserveBank of India.Most membersof the Sasikala family, includ-ing her husband M Natarajan,are listed as accused in variousFERA violation cases.

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Refusing to change his standand reiterating his support

to NDA’s Ramnath Kovind forPresidential election, BiharChief Minister and JD(U) pres-ident Nitish Kumar on Fridayretaliated by asserting that“Bihar ki beti” Meira Kumarhas been fielded by the UPAonly to face defeat.

“The Presidential electionand our stand should not bemade an issue of political con-frontation or link with ourmaha gathbandhan,” said Nitishafter stepping out of 10,Circular Road residence ofLalu Prasad where the RJDsupremo had hosted iftar party.

“I am proud of ‘Bihar kibeti’ Meira Kumar who didexcellent works as Ministerand Lok Sabha Speaker, butwhy she has been selected tocontest an election only to bedefeated?” he asked bitterly.

The CM, whose partyJD(U) did not attend the meet-ing of 17 parties in Delhi onSaturday to discuss the issue,had a swipe at Congress. Heasked why the party ignoredher on earlier two occasionswhen she would have won forRashtrapati Bhavan. He evenasked the UPA partners toreconsider their decision field-ing former Lok Sabha Speaker.“They should chart out strate-gy for victory 2019 and toensure victory of ‘Bihar ki beti’

in 2022. But instead they start-ed strategy to see defeat,” hesaid in a sarcastic manner.

Nitish said he has taken adecision only on the Presid-ential election and all the par-ties have right to have theirviews. “Where is the issue ofcracks in maha gathbandhan atthis point of time. I am forOpposition unity but this elec-tion should not be linked withthis. The result of Presidentialelection is known to all,” hesaid.

When reminded that Lalusaid that Nitish was committinga historical blunder, the CMshot back, “Then let it leave onme. I don’t treat it as a politi-cal confrontation neither Iblame anybody nor I havenothing to say about theirdecision. But my suggestion isthat whatever strategy ischalked out for future, it shouldbe effective and positive .”

He said the grand alliance

in Bihar was very effective butconceded that there was nosuch alliance on national level.In this connection he alsorecalled the statement ofCongress Bihar in-charge CPJoshi who said that Congresshas no alliance with any partyon national level.

The CM said his partytook a decision considering allpros and cons in favour ofKovind. “It is a matter of pridefor all of us that BiharGovernor is going to theRashtrapati Bhavan. Earlier ithappened with Zakir Hussainbut he had been elevated asVice-President,” he added.

Earlier, at the iftar party,Nitish stayed there for abouthalf an hour but hardly turnedaround Lalu sitting next to him.They just exchanged pleas-antries and most of the time theCM was seen speaking to BiharAssembly Speaker VijayChaudhary sitting on his left.

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Should a person who isopposed to reservation for

Muslim and Christian minori-ties occupy the post of thePresident, Telangana Congresschief N Uttam Kumar Reddyon Friday wondered, referringto the NDA’s Presidential can-didate Ramnath Kovind.

Reddy referred to a seven-year-old remark of Kovind inwhich he reportedly said thatIslam and Christianity were“alien” to India and urged theruling Telangana RashtraSamiti (TRS) in the State toreconsider its decision to backKovind for the RashtrapatiBhavan.

Kovind had opposed reser-vation for minority Muslimsand also rejected the Ranga-nath Mishra Commissionreport which proposed reser-vations for Muslims andChristians and other minori-ties, Reddy claimed.

“He (Kovind) also said thatDalit status should not be givento Dalit Christians. Now, a per-son, who holds such views,should he occupy the highestConstitutional post of India?We think not,” he said.

The state unit president ofthe Congress “hoped” thatTelangana Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao wouldreconsider his decision to sup-port Kovind.

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The Prosecution in theKopardi gangrape and

murder case trial found itselfon the defensive on Friday, asa defence lawyer sought thesummoning of MaharashtraChief Minister DevendraFadnavis as witness for alleged-ly trying to “prejudice” thecourt and another lawyer sub-mitted documents and a videoto suggest that the Prosecutionhad tried to “influence” the wit-nesses in the case.

A day after defence lawyerVijayalaxmi Khopade movedthe court seeking the sum-moning of six persons, includ-ing Special Public ProsecutorUjjwal Nikam, as witnesses inthe case, another lawyerPrakash Aher, representing thethird accused Nitin GBhailume, moved an applica-tion before the trial court seek-ing the summoning of theChief Minister for allegedly try-ing to influence through hisstatement that the accused inthe case would be handeddeath penalty.

In a related development,Sessions Judge Suvarna Keoledirected the Prosecution tofile its say on the various doc-uments, CDs and a video sub-mitted by lawyer Vijayalaxmion behalf of her client, accusednumber two Santosh Bhavalwhich suggests that theProsecution had tried to “influ-

ence” the members of the vic-tim’s family, that the probecarried out under the guidanceof Nikam and that the SPP hadbeen asked to fill up the lacu-nae in the investigations.

The victim girl, whobelonged to the Maratha com-munity, was brutally raped onJuly 13, 2016 allegedly by threemen who inflicted injuries allover her body and broke herlimbs before throttling her atKopardi village in Ahmednagardistrict.

The fast-track court hadon November 9 last yearframed charges against threeaccused -— Jitendra aliasPappu Babulal Shinde (26),Santosh Gorkha Bhaval (30)and Nitin Gopinath Bhailume(28) — under various sectionsof the Indian Penal Code andProtection of Children fromSexual Offences (POSCO) Actfor for allegedly perpetratinga sexual assault on a 15-year-old girl and strangulating herin July 2016.

In his arguments made onbehalf of his client Bhailume,Aher contended that the ChiefMinister had tried to “interfere”and “prejudice” the courtagainst the accused, throughhis statement made in theMaharashtra LegislativeCouncil on July 20, 2016 thatthe State Government wouldensure that the accused in thecase were handed out deathsentence.

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Distraught family mem-bers of martyred police

officer Mohd Ayoub PandithFriday raised several questionsover the sequence of eventspreceding lynching by a groupof ‘hooligans’ outside JamiaMasjid in Nowhatta area ofSrinagar.

While mourners gatheredin large numbers to pay trib-utes to their loved one, closerelatives claimed Pandith wastargeted by the attackers asthey believed he was aKashmiri Pandit.

One of his sisters claimedattackers lynched him since hewas carrying identity cardwhich had his name written asMA Pandit.

She claimed it’s the fault ofpolice also as he was left alonein the crowd to defend him-self. The wailing relatives alsoquestioned the hardline sep-aratists Sayeed Ali ShahGeelani. “Where is Geelaninow?” said another relative. “Isthis the azadi (freedom) weare fighting for that we havestarted lynching people? Whatshall we do with such Azadi?”she asked.

“Our children are gettingorphaned. They (the mob) didnot just kill one person, butthree more with him,” she said,referring to Pandith’s wife andtwo kids.

The sisters of the slainpolice officer have even ques-tioned the Islam practised bythe attackers. They said how

could someone be attackedand killed during this holymonth and that too outsidethe mosque.

“Was he (DySP) aninformer? What kind ofprayers they had come tooffer? Had they come to readthis kind of Namaz only?” saidhis wailing sister.

Pandith was very popularamong local people in thearea. His daughter is studyingMBBS in Bangladesh and hadjoined the family recently tocelebrate EID. After joiningpolice services in 1990 on thepost of sub-inspector he rosethrough the ranks to becomeDySP in 2013 and had serveddifferent wings of the Statepolice in his 27-year-old ser-vice career.

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Srinagar: Condemning thelynching of a police officerin Srinagar, National Confe-rence working presidentOmar Abdullah on Fridaysaid the people behind the“travesty” should “burn inhell.” He said the killing ofDeputy Superintendent ofPolice Mohammad AyubPandith outside the JamiaMasjid in the downtownarea of the city was heightof barbarism.

“I am personally anguis-hed and devastated by thistragedy. That this happenedon the most auspicious nightand outside Jamia Masjid isshocking,” he said. PTI

Srinagar: SeparatistHurriyat Conference leaderMirwaiz Umar Farooq onFriday condemned thelynching of a police officerby a mob outside the JamiaMasjid here, saying the“brutal” act was “outside theparameters of our valuesand religion.”

“The incident that hap-pened in Nowhatta, outsidethe Jamia Masjid, whichhas always been a centre ofspiritual and moral uplift-ment, is most unfortunate.”Mirwaiz said. PTI

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Darjeeling: The GJM, spear-heading the agitation for a sep-arate Gorkhaland, adopted aconfrontationist stand onFriday with its chief BimalGurung threatening to inten-sify the stir and demanding aCBI inquiry into the allegedpolice firing in the hills onJune 17.

Gurung, who resigned asthe Gorkhaland TerritorialAdministration (GTA) chiefexecutive along with otherelected members of the bodyduring the day, said, "The agi-tation for Gorkhaland will con-tinue. We have resigned fromthe GTA. Our one pointdemand is Gorkhaland."

The Gorkha JanmuktiMorcha (GJM) leader, who

was not seen in public for thepast several days, appearedbefore the media at Patlebas inDarjeeling, a party stronghold.

"I am not Kishenji (Maoistleader) who can be eliminatedin a police encounter. I have nottaken up arms against thecountry. I am fighting for theidentity of the Gorkhas and ina democracy I have every rightto do that," he said.

"Our fight will continueand I will fight till the end," hesaid.

Alleging that the policehad opened fire in the hills onJune 17 in which three GJMactivists were killed, Gurungsaid, "We (the GJM) have thevideo footage of the incident. Idemand a CBI enquiry." PTI

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The saffron surge continuesin the North-East as the

BJP swept the polls to theKarbi Anglong AutonomousCouncil (KAAC), the SixthSchedule Autonomous council,that runs the administration inthe hill district.

The BJP, which heads thethree party ruling alliance inAssam, devastated the Cong-ress which had been mostly inpower in the council since itsinception in 1951. The saffronparty which went for the polls

on its own could win 24 of thetotal 26 seats in the council.

Interestingly, the Congressdrew a blank followed by theAsom Gana Parishad, whichhad also fielded candidates in16 seats. The remaining twoseats of the council weregrabbed by Karbi AnglongDemocratic Forum, a newfront formed ahead of thecouncil polls by some dis-gruntled BJP leaders. The land-slide victory assumes signifi-cance for the BJP as it is theparty’s maiden poll foray intoKAAC.

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Communal tension pre-vailed in Nasirpur village of

Mau after two motorcycle-borne miscreants fired at a per-son coming out of a mosqueafter offering namaz and alsothrew pieces of meat, suspect-ed to be pork on Friday.

SP, Mau, Abhishek Yadav,who rushed to the scene alongwith police personnel, claimedthat the miscreants managed toescape after the incident. Theinjured was shifted to a hospi-tal where doctors pronouncehim dead upon arrival. Heavypolice force was deployed toavert any unsavoury incident.Teams were also formed toidentify and track down thecriminals.

As per reports, Yunus (17),of Nasirpur area of Mau wascoming out of a mosque afteroffering namaz on Friday whentwo bikers suddenly openedfire causing serious injuries. Tofan communal tension, themiscreants also threw pork

meat outside the mosquebefore speeding off from thescene.

A case was registered andthe criminals are still at large.Local police said that as theincident took place in rural areawhich do not have CCTV cam-eras, they were trying to ascer-tain the identity of theassailants with the help oflocals who were present there.

Earlier, similar tensionwere reported fromSaharanpur, Muzaffarnagar,Sambhal, Aligarh and someother west UP districts wherecaste and communal clashestook place over trivial issues. Itwas on Thursday, communaltension prevailed in Shahja-hehpur after reports of cowslaughter.

Meanwhile, in Chandauli,a woman and her daughterwere hacked to death by herbrother-in-law over a familydispute on Thursday night.

As per reports, Gunja Devi(35), of Latnumber area ofMugalsarai in Chandauli andher daughter Kajal (15), were attheir home when Gunja had atiff with her uncle Akash. Thematter took an ugly turn whenAkash hacked Gunja and killedKajal, when she tried to rescueher mother.

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The rescue operationlaunched by the local

administration to save a littlegirl stuck in a borewell wasobstructed by a dust storm andheavy rains since noon onFriday.

An 18-month-old girlVeena fell into a 60-feet deepborewell while playing in thefield in Chanvali village ofChevella Mandal nearHyderabad on Thursdayevening.

With her cries clearly audi-ble till late into the night, thepolice and civic officials alongwith the local people launchedan operation to save her by dig-ging a parallel well.

While oxygen was sup-plied through pipes to keep thegirl alive, remote cameras werealso used to locate the exactposition of the girl. Authoritiesestimate that the girl was stuckat a depth of 40-feet in theabandoned borewell.

An expert team from theNational Disaster Relief Forcetried to rescue the girl using arobotic arm but the effortcould not succeed. Followingthis, a parallel well was dug tilla depth of 25-feet. However,the storm disrupted the oper-ation.

With each passing secondincreasing the odds, officialswere trying to speed up the digging of the well to rescuethe girl.

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Shiv Sena President UddhavThackeray and his arch rival

and senior Congress leaderNarayan Rane on Fridayshared a public platform 12years after the latter wasexpelled from the Sena, asUnion Minister for RoadTransport and Highways NitinGadkari laid the foundationstone for the quadrupling ofthe Mumbai-Goa Highway atKudal in Sindhudurg district ofthe coastal Konkan region.

More than the bhoomipuja for the �3,487.58 croreMumbai-Goa Highway qua-drupling project at Kudal,which saw Gadkari andMaharashtra Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis, it wasUddhav sharing the platformwith Rane that made news.

Rane, who had joined theCongress less than a monthafter he was expelled from heShiv Sena for his anti-partyactivities in July 2005, has beena vociferous critic of Uddhavever since then. He sat two seatsaway from Uddhav on thepodium at the function. Bothdid not exchange a word dur-ing the entire function.

Though he welcomedUddhav and his wife who weresitting on the dais, Rane did nottalk much about Uddhavexcept saying that both the

Sena President and his wife hadcontributed to the develop-ment in Konkan region andthat one should not politicise

development issues.Rane, whose likely entry

to the BJP has been a subject of political debate in the State

for the last couple of months,heaped praise on Gadkariwhom he described as “VikasPurush” (Development Man).He also complimented PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andChief Minister DevendraFadnavis.

Interestingly, the postersput up by Rane in the vicinityof the function venue carriedthe photographs of Gadkariand Fadnavis. There was nomention of the Congress in thephotograph.

On his part, Uddhavreferred to Rane as his erst-while party colleague.

“There is no need for meto recall the kind of affinity and love that late BalasahebThackeray had for Konkanregion. I have never been aminister but some ministershad vowed to make Konkanregion into California. Buttheir promise remained onpaper,” Uddhav said, as hetook a pot shot at Rane.

“Rane is my erstwhile partycolleague. Though we makedifferent kinds of statements, I am satisfied that we havecome together on one platformfor the sake of a developmentproject. My view is that one should not mix politicswith development,” Uddhavsaid, as he echoed the views of Rane.

Uddhav also compliment-ed Gadkari for the latter’s ini-tiatives on the road develop-ments in the country.

“Gadkari is a Minister who works most swiftly thanother ministers,” the Sena pres-ident said.

����� 45+$2

The Kerala High Court onFriday held that licence is

not required for serving liquorin private functions organisedin houses.

The Court delivered theorder while considering a pleaby one Alex V Chacko, appre-hending harassment by policeand excise department author-ities in a baptism function inwhich he is planning to serveliquor for guests.

In his petition, Chackorecalled that he had to obtaina licence from Excise Depart-ment paying �50,000 for serv-ing liquor at the betrothal cer-emony of his daughter. Hecontended that he and his fam-ily members possess only per-missible amount of liquor.

According to provisions inthe Kerala Abkari Act andRules, a person can possessthree litres of Indian MadeForeign Liquor.

The petitioner also saidsince own house being a privateplace, licence from the Excise

Department is not required forserving liquor for guests there.He said liquor is not for saleand it is served along with foodto guests. Own house will notcome within the definition ofpublic space under Section 15(C) of Kerala Abkari Act, heargued.

Appreciating the con-tentions of the petitioner, theDivision Bench of the High

Court comprising JusticeAntony Dominic and JusticeDama Seshadri Naidu held thatlicense is not required for serv-ing liquor in a private functionorganised at own houses.

However, the the Courtsaid the limit prescribed underthe Abkari Act and Rules forpossessing the liquor shall notbe exceeded and sale of liquorin houses is not permitted.

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The religious fervour andgaiety of the holy month of

Ramadan reached its peak inHyderabad on Friday asMuslims observed JummatulVida or the last Friday of theholy month.

All the mosques, speciallythe historic Mecca Masjid,were packed with worshipperssince last night, which wasobserved as "Lailatul Qadr" ornight of power.

A bigger Friday congrega-tion was witnessed at morethan four centuries old grandmosque, the Mecca Masjid, asthe rows of worshippers spilledout of the courtyard. All theroads around the mosque andthe historic monumentCharminar were packed withthousands of Namazis despitethe continuous drizzle.

Both the Lailatul Qadr andthe last Friday mark the highpoint of the month of fastingwhich will end with the sight-ing of new moon on Sunday or

Monday evening and celebra-tion of Eidul Fitr.

Eid shopping frenzy hasalready gripped the city for thelast ten days as all the bazarswere packed with customerspurchasing apparel, footwear,bangles, jewellery and per-fumes for the big day.

As per the tradition of thecity of Nawab’s, the stretchfrom Madina circle toCharminar and beyond has

turned into a sea of humanity.As every inch of available spaceturned into shopping arena, thecolourful lights has turned thenights into days.

As the special prayers con-tinue till late in the night, theHyderabadi families ventureout for Eid shopping aroundmidnight and it continues tillthe wee hours or end with Sherior the pre dawn meal markingthe start of the fast.

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The decision of theKarnataka Assembly reso-

lution to jail two scribes fortheir alleged defamation hasbecome a major issue in theState with the Amnesty Intern-ational India asking theLegislative Assembly to with-draw its resolution to jail thescribes. In a statement issued inBengaluru on Friday, Amnestyhas asked the Assembly towithdraw its resolution to jailtwo journalists to a years’imprisonment for the allegeddefamation on legislators.

On Wednesday, KarnatakaAssembly Speaker KB Koliwadhad imposed a one-year jailterm and a fine of �10,000 eachon Anil Raj and Ravi Belagere,the editors of two local tabloids

that had allegedly publisheddefamatory articles on twoMLAs.

Raj of Yalahanka Voice hadpublished an article on BJPMLA Vishwanath, whileBelagere of Kannada weekly HiBangalore had published anarticle on Shiraguppa CongressMLA Nagaraj.

According to Asmita Basu,programmes director atAmnesty International India,Journalists should have thefreedom to write and politi-cians must tolerate the criti-cism. She said “Journalists musthave the freedom to write crit-ical articles, and politiciansmust be able to tolerate criti-cism. If individuals feel thattheir reputations have beenaffected, they can take recourseto civil defamation remedies incourt.”

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Chennai: Ordering status quo on a bid to relocate a liquorshop near an educational institution, the Madras High Courthas said it’s time the Government should review its liquorpolicy respecting people’s wishes.

Rejecting the Government’s argument that curbing liquortrade would result in flow of spurious liquor, Justice KRavichandrabaabu said, “Such justification can never be con-sidered as valid in the larger interest of the public.”

The bench made the observation while adjudicating aplea by Hindusthan College of Arts and Science in Kanchee-puram district objecting to the relocation of a liquor shopnear to the college premises. PNS

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��?� ������� Amtek Auto’sboard on Friday discussedways to resolve debt repay-ment issues as the compo-nents maker faced the like-l ihood of fa l l ing underInsolvency and BankruptcyCode as per RBI guidelines.

The company also saidi t s Vi c e - C h ai r m an andManaging Director JohnE r n e s t F l i nt ham andInd e p e n d e nt and Non -Executive Director SanjivBhasin have resigned withimmediate e f fec t c it ing“u n avoi d abl e c i rc u m -stances”.

The board of directorsdiscussed the issue of thecompany falling under theI n s o l v e n c y a n dBankruptcy Code, 2016

under instructions by RBIto the banks, Amtek Auto

said in a BSE filing.Under IBC, banks are

required to resolve issues ofbad loans within a stipulat-ed timeframe failing whichthey would be asked to fileins olvenc y pro ce e dingsagainst the defaulters.

Amtek Auto has beenstruggling to make a turn-around ever since it report-ed “temporary cash flowmismatch” in 2015 anddefaulted on payment of anestimated �800-crore bond.

The company had lastweek announced plans toissue more than 2.6 croreshares to a lender as part ofrestructuring debt of �95.26crore.

The company will seekshareholders nod for the

proposal during the upcom-ing annual general meeting(AGM) on July 7.

If approved, Assets Careand R e c onst r u c t i onEnterprise would have astake of 9.75 per cent in theauto component firm. Onthe other hand, promotergroup stake would comedown to 47.29 per cent fromthe current 52.39 per cent.

In another development,A mtek s a i d i t s b o ardapproved with requisitemajority resignations ofFlintham and Bhasin, witheffect from June, 23 2017due to their unavoidablecircumstances.

The comp any s to cktoday closed 0.48 per centdown at �30.80 on BSE. ���

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�������� Bhushan Power &Steel today became the sixthamongst the 12 largest indebt-ed companies named by the RBIto face liquidation proceedings,as the lenders led by PNBdecided to refer it to NCLT.

The proceedings will becarried out against the compa-ny under the Insolvency andBankruptcy Code (IBC). Itsparent company, Bhushan Steel,was referred to the tribunal forliquidation yesterday by thelenders led by SBI.

The Delhi-based BhushanPower & Steel, which owes�37,248 crore to a consortiumof lenders led by PunjabNational Bank, is the sixth outof the 12 large stressed accountsidentified by the Reserve Bankearlier this month for referral tothe National Company LawTribunal (NCLT).

“Banks at a meeting todaydecided to refer the case toNCLT for recovery,” said abanker.

Yesterday, lenders led by SBIhad decided to send BhushanSteel, Essar Steel and ElectrosteelSteels to NCLT to initiate insol-vency proceedings.

While Bhushan Steel is indefault of �44,478 crore tobanks, Essar Steel owes �37,284crore and Electrosteel Steels�10,273.6 crore. Amtek Auto

which owes �14,074 crore tolenders will also be referred toNCLT soon.

On Saturday, LancoInfratech, in default of �44,364.6crore, said the RBI had direct-ed its lead banker IDBI Bank toinitiate insolvency procedure.

The internal advisory com-mittee (IAC) of the RBI after itsmeeting on June 13 had rec-ommended 12 accounts con-stituting about 25 per cent of thegross NPAs of the banking sys-tem for immediate referenceunder IBC.

Other identified accountsinclude Alok Industries(�22,075 crore), Monnet Ispat(�12,115 crore), Era Infra(�10,065.4 crore), JypaeeInfratech (�9,635 crore), ABGShipyard (�6,953 crore) andJyoti Structures (�5,165 crore),according to industry data. ���

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Ford on Friday recalled39,315 units of Fiesta

Classic and the previous-generation Figo models inIndia to rectify faulty powerassisted steering hose.

It said the recall willaffect units of the two mod-els made at the company’sChennai plant between 2004and 2012.

“Ford India is voluntar-ily inspecting 39,315 FordFiesta Classic and previous-generation Ford Figo vehi-cles...For a potential concernrelated to high pressurepower assisted steeringhose,” it said in a statement.

The company,through its dealers, willreplace the high pressurepower assisted steeringhose on all affected vehi-cles, it added. ���

��?� ������� An independentinvestigation has found no sub-stance in whistleblower allega-tions of Infosys CEO VishalSikka being paid excessive com-pensation in relation to thecompany’s acquisition of Israel’sPanaya, the Indian IT major saidon Friday.

The statement comes a daybefore the annual general meet-ing of the country’s secondlargest software services firm.

The probe followed twoanonymous letters in Februarythat alleged wrongdoing insome of Infosys’ acquisitions,improper contracting and CEOcompensation as well as expen-ditures.

“Gibson Dunn and ControlRisks have now completed theirdetailed and extensiveIndependent Investigation, andthey did not find any evidencewhatsoever of wrongdoing,”Infosys said in a stock exchangefiling.

The investigation conduct-ed by Gibson Dunn, an inter-national law firm with expertisein conducting internal investi-gations, found “no evidence” ofany wrongdoing in acquisition

of the Israeli automation tech-nology firm.

The probe, it said, foundthere were no evidence of anykickbacks, inappropriate con-tracting or unreasonableexpenses incurred on Sikka.

Infosys added that it hadalso fully co-operated with allrequests for information frommarkets regulator Sebi regard-ing the anonymous complaints.

In the past few months,Infosys has also received criti-cism from some of the co-founders, who have alleged cor-porate governance lapses at thefirm. They had also questionedthe severance package offered totwo former executives.

Infosys attached a copy ofthe letter Gibson Dunn hadwritten to its audit committeeon findings of the investigation.

It said that the investigationby Indian law firm CyrilAmarchand Mangaldas (CAM)on allegations of departure offormer CFO, Rajiv Bansal “werethorough, and that their find-ings and conclusions were rea-sonable and credible based onthe evidence”.

Further, on the Panaya

deal, Gibson Dunn said it didnot find any evidence of “inap-propriate contracting” or thatthe mergers and acquisitionsteam failed to obtain appro-priate approvals.

“We found no evidencethat the CEO received excessivevariable compensation orincurred unreasonable expens-es for security, travel and thePalo Alto office,” it added.

In February 2015, Infosyshad announced buying theIsraeli automation technologycompany for $200 million or�1,250 crore in cash.

Gibson Dunn said itsinvestigation involved inter-views of over 50 witnesses inIndia, the United States, andelsewhere, the review of com-pany policies, board minutes,public filings and internal doc-uments, the collection, searchand review of many thousandsof internal emails and attach-ments.

The probe also used foren-sic accounting experts toanalyse technical and financialinformation, the review of pub-lic filings and media accountsin multiple countries. ���

'��# ���������� ��� �� ���%���!����!����'���� �0�������� �������� Tata Consultancy

Services (TCS) was rankedamong the top two job creatorsin the US for the IT servicessector over the past five years,according to a study.

The country’s largest soft-ware exporter has recruitedmore than 12,500 US employ-ees from 2012-2016, while itranked first in terms of USemployee growth during thatperiod, at 57 per cent, said thestudy by The CambridgeGroup.

The company has had apresence in the US for morethan four decades, and theranking in The CambridgeGroup report reflects the ITgiant’s ongoing level of invest-ment in the world’s largesteconomy, the study explained.

The Mumbai-headquar-tered exporter has investednearly $3 billion in the US overthe past three years, in terms ofemployment, new innovationlabs, extensive nationwideSTEM education programmes,and academic partnerships andendowments, according to thereport.

“Our industry leading USrecruitment, advanced digitaltraining of employees, and aca-

demic and STEM (science,tech, engineering & math) part-nership programmes act as akey contributor to the US inno-vation economy, while alsopreparing the current andupcoming workforce withfoundation skills needed for21st century careers,” SuryaKant, President of North

America, UK and Europe, TCSsaid.

TCS expects recruitment ofIT services professionals in the USin 2017 to remain on par orexceed prior years’ levels, thereport said.

The company regularly hasapproximately 800-900 openpositions, quarter-to-quarter, in

locations like Texas, Ohio,California, North Carolina,Pennsylvania and New York, itsaid.

Over the past five years, TCShas steadily increased its relation-ships and recruitment from morethan 75 US college campuses, forboth undergraduate and Master’sstudents, the study found. ���

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�+�� ������The projection byNasscom that Indian IT exportswould grow 7-8 per cent in thecurrent fiscal is realistic and rea-sonable and reflects the currentglobal business environment,say senior figures in the sector.

The numbers put out by theindustry body are very realisticbecause the global IT spendingis not going up this year and thereare political uncertainties in theUS and parts of Europe, two keymarkets of Indian firms, said TV Mohandas Pai, the formerChief Financial Officer (CFO) ofInfosys.

“In this background, it’s verygood. All big companies havesaid they will grow betweenseven to nine per cent,” he noted.

In its guidance, Nasscom

yesterday said IT exports areexpected to grow 7-8 per centduring 2017-18, during whichthe sector is projected to add 1.3lakh-1.5 lakh new jobs.

Another ex-CFO of Infosys,V Balakrishnan found the guid-ance reasonable but said theindustry is at an inflection pointand it’s difficult to forecast rev-enue growth.

“I think this year is really animportant year for the IT indus-try because there is an inflectionpoint with new technologiescoming in and traditional busi-ness getting commoditised. Ithink it’s very difficult to predictthe growth,” Balakrishnan toldthe news agency.

He further said,“...Incremental spending from

the customers is happening inthe digital era. They (Indiancompanies) have to build thatcapability and grow.”

He said the biggest challengefor the industry is revenuegrowth itself because growth isnot picking up in the US, India’slargest market, and there isuncertainty in the UK, it’s secondbiggest market, because of Brexit.

Also, one has to wait and seethe “visa issue” is going to panout in the US.Thirdly, for largecompanies to transition intonew technologies while trying tomanage the current legacy sys-tems that are getting commodi-tised, and doing both of it beingin the public market, is going tobe a big challenge. ���

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��?�������� Investment bankCredit Suisse is reaching outto minority shareholders ofSnapdeal to build a consensuson the sale of the e-com-merce platform to larger rival,Flipkart.

According to sources,Credit Suisse, which is advis-ing Snapdeal on the proposeddeal, is reaching out to small-er shareholders to get them onboard for the acquisition.

The beleaguered firm hasa number of investors includ-ing PremjiInvest, OntarioTeachers’ Pension Plan, RatanTata, Foxconn, Temasek andBlackRock among others.

Emails sent to Snapdealand Credit Suisse did notelicit any response.PremjiInvest -- the personalinvestment arm of Wiprochairman Azim Premji and aminority investor in Snapdeal-- had written to the compa-ny seeking greater clarity onthe deal terms. It has alsocalled for equal treatment ofshareholders for payouts fromthe deal. ���

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��?��������In a day of meetings, TelecomMinister Manoj Sinha discussed policyissues with TRAI Chairman R S Sharma,even as the inter-ministerial group beganbrainstorming separately to look for reme-dies at the whopping �4.6 lakh crore debt thatis ailing telcos.

Sinha and Sharma held discussions inthe presence of new Telecom SecretaryAruna Sundararajan and TelecomCommission Member (Finance), andUniversal Services Obligation FundAdministrator.

According to sources, the high-levelmeeting was held to discuss regulatory andpolicy issues in the sector and expedite theBharat Net project.

A separate meeting was also held amongthe members of the inter-ministerial group(IMG) whcih has been constituted to look

into the telecom industry’s financial woes.The IMG, last week, held extensive dia-

logue with all telecom companies as well aslarge banks to discuss the industry’s finan-cial stress and look for measures that can betaken to address the situation.The telecomindustry is reeling under �4.6 lakh crore debtand even large operators are complaining thatcompetition, intensified by agressive new-comer Reliance Jio, has put a severe pressureon their revenues, profitability and other keyfinancial metrics.

Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellularas well as other telcos are making an aggres-sive pitch for reduction in levies and taxes,and are also seeking an extension in thedeferred payment liability for spectrum.

“The IMG members met today anddicussed the demands placed by the indus-try...Their demands were reviewed and

another meeting may be held in the com-ing week,” a person familar with the mat-ter told PTI.

On Thursday, the minister had assuredindustry bigwigs Sunil Mittal and AnilAmbani as well as other telecom playersthat “corrective steps” will be taken toensure orderly growth of the beleagueredsector.

After a two-hour meeting with telecomhonchos yesterday, the Minister had saidthat the IMG will give its report “soon”.

Apart from Bharti Airtel ChairmanMittal and Reliance CommunicationsChairman Anil Ambani, Thursday’s meet-ing was attended by Idea Cellular ManagingDirector Himanshu Kapania, Tata SonsDirector Ishaat Hussain and Reliance JioInfocomm Board Member MahendraNahata. ���

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Moscow: The likelihood thatISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed isclose to 100 per cent, Interfaxnews agency quoted the headof the defence committee inRussia’s upper parliamentaryhouse as saying on Friday.Russia’s defence ministry saida week ago it believed it mayhave killed Baghdadi whenone of its air strikes hit a gath-ering of senior Islamic Statecommanders on the outskirtsof the Syrian city of Raqqa.

But armed groups fightingin the region and US officialssay they have no evidence thatBaghdadi was killed, and manyregional officials have said theyare skeptical about the infor-mation from Moscow.

Committee head ViktorOzerov was quoted as sayingthe defense ministry wouldnot have released informationabout Baghdadi’s death if itbelieved it could be later provedincorrect.

“I think this information is

close to 100 per cent,” Interfaxquoted Ozerov as saying. “Thefact that Islamic State has stillnot shown him anywhere alsoadds to our confidence that al-Baghdadi has been killed.”

Baghdadi has frequentlybeen reported kil led orwounded since he declared acaliphate from a mosque inMosul in 2014, after leadinghis f ighters on a sweepthrough northern Iraq.

His death would be one ofthe biggest blows yet to thejehadi group, which is trying todefend its shrinking territory inSyria and Iraq against forcesbacked by regional and globalpowers. Agencies

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Four Arab states that havesevered ties with Qatar over

its support to terrorism haveissued 13 demands to end therift with Doha, including clos-ing Al-Jazeera television andcutting ties with Iran, a mediareport said.

Kuwait presented Qatar alist of demands from SaudiArabia, Bahrain, the UnitedArab Emirates (UAE) andEgypt, Saudi-run Al-ArabiyaTV reported on Friday.

On the demands list wasthat Qatar sever diplomaticties with Iran, kick members ofIran’s Revolutionary Guard outof Qatar and cut off any jointmilitary cooperation with Iran,Xinhua news agency reported.

The list also demandedthat Qatar sever all ties with

“terrorist organisations”, includ-ing the Muslim Brotherhood,the Islamic State group, AlQaeda and Lebanon’sHezbollah.

Additionally, the fournations also demanded thatQatar shut down Al-Jazeeraand its affiliate stations, whichhas always been accused ofpublicising and fabricatingnews that incite sedition andsupport radical thoughts.

Qatar also has to hand

over all individuals who arewanted by those four countriesfor terrorism and stop fundingany extremist entities that aredesignated as terrorist groups.

For the coming 10 years,Qatar would be monitoredannually for compliance basedon the list of demands, thereport said.

Doha did not immediate-ly respond to the demands.

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Prime Minister Theresa May,known for her hardline

stance on Brexit, has offered asop to UK-based EU citizens bypromising to allow them to stayin Britain after the country’sexit from the economic bloc.

The announcement at a Br-ussels summit on Thursday willcome as a relief to an estimated3 million EU nationals living per-manently in the UK, includingover 20,000 Goans who had usedtheir Portuguese heritage toapply for EU nationality.

Addressing EU leaders at

her first summit since the snapgeneral election that lost her amajority in the UK Parliament,May said she did not want any-one to have to leave or familiesto split up.

“No one will face a cliffedge,” she said, softening herstance after her disastrous elec-tion gamble.

“The UK’s position repre-sents a fair and serious offer,one aimed at giving as muchcertainty as possible to citizenswho have settled in the UK,building careers and lives andcontributing so much to oursociety,” she said.

Beijing: China on Friday saidit will oppose India’s member-ship in the Nuclear SuppliersGroup during the ongoingmeeting in Bern as Beijingreaffirmed that there is “nochange” in its stance on theadmission of non-NPT statesinto the 48-member elite club.

“As for non-NPT countiesbeing admitted to the group, Ican tell you there is no changeto China’s position,” ForeignMinistry spokesman GengShuang told a media briefing.

He was replying to a ques-tion whether there is any changein China’s stand at the plenarymeeting currently taking place inthe Swiss capital, Bern. “I wantto point out that the NSG hasclear rules on admission of newmembers and the Seoul plenarymade clear mandates on how todeal with this issue. With theserules and mandates, we need toact as they dictate,” he said. PTI

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China on Friday asked Indiaand the US not to disturb

peace in the strategic SouthChina Sea and play a “construc-tive role” in the disputes there, asthe issue was likely to be dis-cussed during Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s meeting withPresident Donald Trump.

Modi will meet Trump onJune 26. He will hold talks withTrump on a range of bilateral,regional and international issuesof common concern. Askedabout the cooperation between

India and the US on Indo-Pac-ific region which includes the So-uth China Sea, Chinese ForeignMinistry spokesperson GengShuang said the situation in thedisputed region was “coolingdown”. “With concerted efforts ofChina and ASEAN countries thesituation there is cooling down.We hope other countries espe-cially non-regional countriescan respect the efforts by theregional countries to maintainpeace and stability in the SouthChina Sea and can play a con-structive role in this regard,”Geng said.

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Invited to bat, India were 189 for threeagainst the West Indies when rain stoppedplay in the first cricket One-day interna-

tional at Queen's Park Oval, here on Friday.Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan (87)

missed out on a hundred while AjinkyaRahane scored 62 before being dismissed.

On a pitch which seemed without any greatterrors for the batsmen, Indian openersShikhar Dhawan, coming into the tournamentafter being the leading run-getter in therecently concluded Champions Trophy, andAjinkya Rahane, regaining his place in the ODIside due to Rohit Sharma being rested, start-ed fluently and took the score to 50 in just 10.3overs.

While captain Jason Holder bowled a goodline and length and maintained a good econ-omy rate but young Alzarri Joseph was expen-sive as both Rahane and Dhawan put away theloose deliveries.

India reached their 100 without losing anywickets in the 21st over. The introduction ofspin brought some control for West Indies asleggie Devendra Bishoo bowled tidily. But offieAshley Nurse was also proving expensive.

West Indies finally earned a breakthroughwhen Rahane miscued an attempted lofted shoton a slower delivery from Joseph.

Bishoo got the second wicket when hetrapped Rahane leg-before on a regulation leg-break while Holder got the key wicket of YuvrajSingh.

India captain Kohli was at the wicket hold-ing fort when the rains brought play to a halt.

Yuvraj Singh (4) also got out cheaply.Captain Virat Kohli (30) and Mahendra

Singh Dhoni (2) were at the crease when skiesopened up with 12 overs to go in the Indianinnings.

Brief ScoresINDIA: 189 for 3 in 38 overs. (S Dhawan 87,A Rahane 62; Jason Holder 1/34, DevendraBishoo 1/39).

BCCI EXTENDS COACH APPLICA-TION DEADLINE EXTENDEDNEW DELHI: The BCCI on Friday extendedthe deadline to apply for the post of HeadCoach till July 9, ensuring that a broader pool

is available to choose from after Anil Kumble'sacrimonious exit.

"The Board of Control forCricket in India (BCCI)

has extended the time-line for submission ofapplications for the postof 'Head Coach' forIndia Men's CricketTeam. The candidates

who have applied earli-er need not re-apply

and will be includedin the final list ofapplicants. The last

date for submissionof applications is

hence extended to the9th of July, 2017," the

release stated.The release states that

applicants should be avail-able for interview in personor via video conferencing by

next week which means thatthe coach will be appointedbefore the Sri Lanka seriesstarting last week of July.The process has been nowextended by 16 days, whicheffectively gives formerTeam Director Ravi Shastria chance to throw his hat inthe ring. As of now, Shastrihas not made his intentionsclear but sources say he willonly apply if he is assured of

appointment. However with former

India captain SouravGanguly being a part of theCricket Advisory

Committee (CAC), it mightnot be a smooth sail forShastri. Ganguly and Shastrihad an infamous fall-outduring last year's interviewprocess when the formerTeam Director accusedthe former skipper of not

being present duringhis interview viavideo conference.

����� 4�P�,

Alexis Sanchez became Chile's all-time leadingscorer as they were held by Germany to 1-1

in the Confederations Cup on Thursday. Bothteams were in a good position to make the semi-finals.

Sanchez netted his 38th goal for Chile aftera smart pass by Arturo Vidal in the sixth minute.The ball hit the near post before crossing the lineto allow him to eclipse Marcelo Salas as the high-est scorer for the national team.

"It makes me very happy to have become theteam's greatest scorer," Sanchez said. "I'm happyfor what the team has done, for our effort. We areconfident that we can win this tournament."

Suffering from an ankle sprain, Sanchez didnot start the first game of the pre-World Cup tour-nament, playing only a few minutes in the win overCameroon.

Germany, with only three players from its2014 World Cup-winning team, played catch-upmost of time against the more experiencedChileans, but earned the draw after Lars Stindlscored from close range in a counterattack justbefore halftime.

The result left both teams with four pointseach in Group B, three more than Australia andCameroon, which played out a 1-1 draw hours ear-lier in St. Petersburg. "I saw a very intense match,marked by very strategical play," Joachim Loew

said after missing out on his 100th victory asGermany coach. "The key was to have a very well-structured defensive line. Given this young andinexperienced team, we played at a very high level."

Chile coach Juan Antonio Pizzi agreed on itbeing a very technical game.

Chile, trying to win its first major internationaltournament after winning consecutive CopaAmericas, was in control for most of the matchin front of 38,222 fans at Kazan Arena, holdingon to possession and creating chances withSanchez and Eduardo Vargas up front.

Germany improved toward the end, grabbingcontrol of the middle of the pitch, but neither teamwas able to create many significant chances tobreak the deadlock.

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Remunerations dominated former India coach AnilKumble's 19-page proposal on restructuring of con-

tracts to the BCCI in which he had demanded that the"chief coach should earn 60 per cent of the captains' esti-mated earnings".

The document also supported national coaches"earning from IPL" to "augment their income" withoutspecifying whether it amounts to 'Conflict of Interest'.

He had also suggested that 20 per cent of the play-ers' central contracts should be variable pay based ontheir "fitness standards".

PTI has access to Kumble's presentation, which hesubmitted on Committee Of Administrators' (COA)behest during the final of the IPL on May 21.

Titled 'Restructuring of Remuneration AndContracts of Personnel Of The Indian Cricket Team',Kumble, on Page 12 of the document, proposed a hikefor the support staff. Under Point No 10 'The SuggestedChange: Enablers', the former skipper had given a four-column tabulation chart. 'Enablers' is a terminologyKumble used for the team's support staff.

While suggesting a hike of �7.5 crore from the 'cur-

rent' �6.5 crore, Kumble in the 'Remarks' column wrote:"At 60 percent of Captains' estimated earnings'. Eligiblefor 30 percent of his salary as variable bonus on teamperformance".

Kumble's proposal is an indicator that wheneverVirat Kohli would have earned more from the BCCI,his own earnings would have gone up proportionate-ly. The chart also suggested that Sanjay Bangar's salarybe hiked from current �1 crore to �2.25 crore while RSridhar should get �1.75 crore instead of the current�1 crore with "retrospective effect" from June 1, 2016.

However, something that has caught the attentionof BCCI mandarins is his suggestion of national coach-es "earning from IPL".

Interestingly, former COA member RamachandraGuha, in his parting shot, had written about national

coaches "moonlighting" for IPL teams which hetermed as a clear case of Conflict of Interest.

Many had perceived it as Guha's veiled dig at RahulDravid, who doubled up as India A and U-19 as wellDelhi Daredevils franchise.

However, Kumble in Page 11, Point No 9 stated:"Guidelines for Enablers" stated: "The Players are keptout of the contracts during two months IPL window.Similarly, the Coaches too need to be kept put of con-tract allowing them to be a part of the IPL — this willenable them to augment their earnings and gain moreexperience particularly for the T20 games."

A BCCI official, who has studied Kumble's proposaldocument, said: "While a lot of issues are pertinent buteven his proposal on IPL is contrary to what Guha hadwritten in his letter. If we go by what Guha had writ-ten, what Anil had demanded is a clear case of 'Conflictof Interest'."

While he had suggested separate 'Red and WhiteBall' retainership contracts, which had earlier beenreported, there was one interesting point about a por-tion of Players' 'retainership Fees' or central contractmoney being linked as a "variable pay" subject to main-taining "fitness and Other Team Standards".

As per Page 6 under Point No 5 'Suggested Changes:Players', Kumble had given another four-column tab-ulation chart. Under the remarks Column for the'Annual Retainership Fees' for both Tests, ODIs andT20s, Kumble wrote: "20 percent of the Retainer moneycan be given subject to a player managing his fitnesslevels and other team fitness standards during the year."

Among other demands where "defined amounts"instead of "ad-hoc payments" for various wins like �2crore per player for 50-over World Cup whileChampions Trophy and World T20 should carry a prizemoney of �1 crore per player, each.

����� 15,05,

Bruised and battered aftertheir shocking ouster from

the title race, an inconsistentIndia would look for solacewhen they take on arch-rivalsPakistan in a 5th-8th classifica-tion match of the Hockey WorldLeague Semi-Final here onSaturday.

India, ranked sixth in theworld, crashed out of the podi-um race after suffering a 2-3 lossto 14th placed Malaysia in aquarterfinal match on Thursday.

The loss to Malaysia, theirsecond in two months, would behard to digest for RoelantOltmans' men who have beentrying hard to regain their placein the elite league of worldhockey.

The loss didn't make anydifference to India's participa-tion in this year's Hockey WorldLeague Final and next WorldCup as being the hosts they arealready assured of a place in thetwo events. Both events are toheld in the Indian city ofBhubaneswar.

The Indians, who wereinconsistent throughout thetournament, should take theloss as a lesson and work on

their mistakes.Even though India hold an

edge over Pakistan havingthrashed them 7-1 in the poolstages here, the tussle betweenthe two nations can be unpre-dictable.

Just like the pool match,emotions will run high onboth sides and come Saturday,Pakistan will be desperate for

a revenge.The defeat against

Malaysia still fresh in theirminds, it remains to be seenhow the Indians regroup soquickly.

A loss would be disas-trous for Indian hockey, whichhas seen an upward trend overthe last few years.

A defeat on Saturday willdefinitely raise question marksover the team's and chief coachOltmans' progress over theyears.

So, Oltmans' and his menwould be desperate to bringcheers back into the faces oftheir fans with yet anothercommanding performance.

India would look to avoidthe mistakes they have beencommitting on and off in the tournament.

The Indians need to get offthe blocks early and take con-trol of the proceedings and it'shigh time the backline, theirperennial problem, pull uptheir socks and take responsi-bility. The strike force, too, havemisfired a lot in the tourna-ment, even though RamandeepSingh and Akashdeep Singhhave scored some scintillatingfield goals.

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If you are one of those people who areexcessively concerned about somesymptom you have or some failing.

You cannot put these weaknesses in per-spective unless you see that most peoplewill accept you in spite of them. Mostof the time they will not think twiceabout something that may have haunt-ed you for years.

Some people will disapprove of you,of course. No matter who you are, somepeople will disapprove. They are in thebusiness of looking down on everyone.They judge everybody unfavourablybecause of their own emotional needs.They will consider some people not well-enough educated, or from the wrongbackground, or too something or other— not classy enough for them. They arenot worth paying attention to. Such a per-son —even if s/he is a family member —is not worth paying attention to.

It is possible to grow accustomed tothis fact: some people will like andapprove of you, and some won’t.

Nothing relieves the heart and makesone happy more than thinking well ofothers. It protects one from the harm ofworrisome thoughts that disturb hispeace of mind and exhaust the body.Thinking well of others leads to a soundheart, strengthens the ties of cordialityand love among the individuals of a com-munity, and frees the hearts from hatredand rancor.

The one who thinks ill of others livesin endless trouble and grief, to say noth-ing of the fact that he loses all those whosocialise with him, even the closest peo-ple to him. It is natural that people make

mistakes, even unintentionally. Accusingothers along with thinking well of one-self is one of the evil consequences ofthinking ill of others.

We don’t need to live life in a constantstate of reaction to things that seem dif-ficult or unfair. We don’t have to be thevictims of bad coming at us. Our livesdon’t have to be the sum of our problems— not if we take responsibility forputting good into the world.

That starts by fostering a greaterappreciation for our interdependence. Weare not alone.

The world is not against us, and wedon’t have to be against each other. Wedon’t have to let our fears, insecurities,and wants boil over inside us until we’reall a bunch of incompatible toxic chem-icals waiting to explode the second wecollide.

You can always find a negative storyto tell — some situation when anotherperson was insensitive, selfish, uncaring,unfair, or just plain wrong. You can alsofind an underlying struggle that doesn’tjustify but might explain their behavior.

Be the kindness that reminds some-one else the world is not against them.Give them an anchor of positivity to findlater if their circumstances seem over-whelming.

Never hurt anybody. We hurt othersby thinking ill of them. We think ill ofothers, we scheme. This is wrong, asthoughts are very potent. When youthink ill of others that reacts to them likea telegraphic wire. You may not betelling anybody anything but if youthink of them, radiation is there. Let all

the world be happy. How can it be happyif you defile everybody! So the foremostthing is, not to think evil, speak evil orhear evil of others. If you come to knowsomething then it is for you to just keepit to your own self and try to privately tellothers concerned for their own wellbeing. We should not become reformersof each other. We should reform our-selves first. If we have sympathy for oth-ers, we should tell them privately whatwe think that they are doing wrong.

As we grow up, we learn values andmorals that help us become nice people,whether it be proper manners, compas-sion, consideration or a combination ofthem all.

However, that’s not to say that you’reonly a nice person if you possess the rightgenes. Researchers also found that genet-ics work in tandem with your upbring-ing and life experiences, and the combi-nation of both can suggest how social youbecome. Either way, whether we’re wiredfor “niceness” or just brought up on it,our good nature is something that’singrained in us from an early age. Theyhad a sense of gratification. Theyexpressed greater resiliency when theyexperienced problems and tough timesin life. So in my view if you could takethose kinds of self-reported benefitsand put them in a pill, market them atthe drugstore, you'd be a billionaireovernight. But the thing is that you don'treally have to do that because if peoplesimply get in touch with that evolvedaspect of their being, they tend to ben-efit from it.

One hallmark of being nice is prac-

ticing charitable actions. When you’rehelping someone, you’re not only better-ing their lives.

Perspective and how you choose toview the world around you are, in fact,a choice. Encourage you to always chooseto focus on the abundant good that is allaround you. To adapt to the notion thatthe glass is half full, that rain is a bless-ing because it brings us beautiful flow-ers, that the grass is greener under yourown two feet not on the other side of thefence. Choose this perspective, becauseit is no one’s’ choice but your own.

Choose to be kind in an unkindworld. There are many things, people,and circumstances that will try to bringyou down. Tear you down. Shake you.Don’t let them. For anyone who is “try-ing to bring you down, is beneath youalready.”. What you stand for, believe inand work hard at, you should hold trueto, be proud of. So don’t ever let some-one take them from you. They are yoursalone. They are your own personal gift.Own them.

Anyone trying to deter you from yourpath, from your journey, don’t allow themto veer you off course.

Remain steadfast, keep your goals atyour forefront. Lead with your owninner strength and kindness. You knowthe path you need to take to reach yourdestination. Even if it’s the one less trav-eled, choose it and take it. You are thecaptain of your own ship, chart the coursefor the rest of your life. Follow yourdreams. More importantly, pursue yourdreams. You are the only one who canmake them come true.

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�How does a personality affect andmould a person’s choice of interiors?

Completely. But only if you want itto. And how aware you are of it whiledoing your interiors. It all depends onhow abstractly or literally one can see thetranslation of personality into space. Ialways advise clients to define the salientfeatures of their personalities, particular-ly couples doing residences, so thattheir designer can distil easily theiressence into designing and picking piecesfor the interiors. This is also an oppor-tunity to educate yourself and have fundoing so, in trying to understand whatyou like and don’t like, (including in yourpersonality) and why you don’t like it.Sometimes the reverse can happen too —an introverted person may like to expresshimself/herself strongly in the interiors,so they develop courage to change; thatis very exciting for a designer.

�What differences do you notice in aroom of a single man/woman and thatof couples too, now and a few yearsback?

I see two main themes — it’s moreabout how the spaces abstractly “block”the urban chaos outside the house andsimultaneously find ways to inspire andsoothe its occupants. The single room hasgone clever/multi-purpose/super-func-tional/creative and is trying to bring itselfto transform to the user’s ever changingneeds, almost immediately and withoutnecessarily being linked to budget or timeperiod. A single room is more “fun” andseeks differentiation — experimentingmore with colour and form. A couple’sroom now tries to engage memory,bonding, love and comfort in elevatedways, moving away from the cliches ofthe past. Both spaces are more intimateand reflect more closely the “who areyou” of the owners, both for their ownbenefit and that of visitors.

�What are the latest trends in interiordesigning?

Just like fashion, interiors and designrely on the new to keep vibrant and fresh.It’s less about trends that are seasonal butan amalgam of what seems to excite fora particular period. Cost, speed andinfluencers do set most of the trends. Forexample, you will see a lot of high impact,low cost interiors in the entertainmentzone that mirror the life cycle periods ofthe F&B industry and you will also seepeople spending a lot more money ontheir home interiors, putting in moreeffort in trying to source and buy itemsthat have memory or are more “special.”

If you look at trends aesthetically,some have had their moments and somecontinue to do so; colonial revival,kitsch, industrial etc. What is more rel-evant now is that some of these trendstry to respond to the brand identity theycome from. The biggest and largesttrends to come will be set by what ismachine-made. Home automation, too,will transform design in ways we can’teven begin to picture right now.

�“Interiors are the leading edge of theexperience economy.” How much doyou believe in this statement?

This is one of the most interestingand tough questions that I’ve had toanswer in a while. Nothing else yetenvelops and defines you like your inte-riors. A car, a plane, a home, all of it are

led through interiors, though manywould argue that the virtual experienceleads all. Life, however, cannot be mea-sured virtually so I think in that senseinteriors lead, but will always be secondto the experience of economy of moth-er nature herself. In the micro experience

of interiors, everything has tactility,sensuality and response. There are emo-tional appeals, signals and metaphors thatprovide feedback to users in everything,from furniture to fabric, using tools suchas colour and texture. So yes, interiors dolead the experience economy.

�How do you define your design phi-losophy?

I don’t have a recurring and rigid phi-losophy as such but more interestingly,and appropriately I think, our projects do.Each project is conceived like a person,in the image of a client itself, and there-fore has and honours a philosophy to thatparticular context. I believe in the truthof the individual project - there is thatstrand of logic, that thread of philosophythat links all our projects. If I had to gen-eralise it and was forced to peg down aphilosophy I would explain it in a fewwords: being an avant-garde, historical-ly sensitive, future contextualist; but allthis is gibberish if our philosophy does-n’t build on client hopes and dreams. IfI had to “shrink” it further, I’d considerus design psychologists of sorts.

�How far, as an architect, would you goto promote health and sustainabilityconcerns through your designs andfunctioning?

As far as it would take me, of course.What most people don’t realise is that asmall bump in the amount you spend for

better paint, or finishes, or wood go along way in quality of your health. Badmaterials have an adverse effect on yourhealth. Also sustainable design makessense; we have finite resources and recy-clables that encourage responsibilitywhich eventually help lower costs.

�With technology, (let’s say, a 56 inchTV in a room) do you think it limits adesigner’s capacity and imagination todesign? If yes, to what extent?

I believe that technology is the newcraft. If you begin to feel limited in work-ing with evolving tech then it will be.Bigger isn’t necessarily better — so everyproduct offered by technology doesn’tnecessarily have to be integrated to adesign brief. If it fits the requirement orthe absolute desire of the project then sobe it. But whether it is technologically-oriented or not, it is the designer’sresponsibility to figure how each prod-uct fits the space. At completion, every-thing bows to the functionality, designand cost of a project. So these criteria willdefine what the limitations are — nottechnology per se.

�There has been a noticeable shift indesigning from boho chic to ethnicchic. What’s your take on that?

Boho chic would be loosely charac-terised by bohemian, bold and wittydesign statements that utilise designpieces from differing time periods,bridging vintage-inspired and eclecticlooks. If I was to understand correctly,the shift to ethnic chic would integratelocal and ethnic products; say the rise ofikat, jute, khaki or the use of certainregional fabrics, textures and materials— then I would say that indeed, somepart of that is true. I won’t say necessar-ily that there has been a dramatic shiftbut I see people are going back and forthbetween the two, making it their own soto speak; however local products are get-ting more and more popular for use inmore than one style of design.

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Registration of adesign takes

about six months.When designers cre-ate a template ofwhich 50 pieces areproduced and regis-ter the design, theyare given exclusivityfor a period of 15years. But mosthigh-end designerscreate less than 50 pieces and for this, even with-out registering, they have a copyright for thedesigner’s lifetime plus 60 years.

Talking about the basic mechanism of pre-venting plagiarism, Puri shares, “If someonehas copied a design, then the designer can filea suit in the Delhi High Court. Thereafter, atemporary injunction will be issued within twoor three days. Moreover, there are civil andcriminal remedies. The police and otherenforcement agencies can act against them butfor this they need to understand the nuances.They are mostly found to be lacking in theprocess,” Puri adds.

Parallel markets have beenblatantly and consciously

copying designs that profes-sional designers take ages todevelop. Many people saythey were ‘inspired’ by some-thing, which is quite possiblesince we do belong to the cre-ative industry, which involvesobserving work done by peo-ple from all around the world.Hence, it is quite possible forpeople to end up thinkingalike,” shares Dev. However,when you copy in total, itbecomes very obvious. “Theimitators just easily lift designs,which have become reallyaccessible to people thanks tosocial media. Doing sorequires talent, which is avail-able in abundance in India,” headds.

Social media platformshave accidentally boosted pla-giarism. It’s easier for peopleto copy designs that areuploaded in the form of pho-tographs by designers andcelebrities. Dev shares, “I’m

from Kolkata and I’m awarethat the businesses flourishingin Park Street survive on pla-giarism. I’m not saying thatthis problem is limited toIndia; it exists all over theworld. Gucci showcases itsidea one day and the nextthing you know, Zara’s frontwindow is designed that way.”High-street brands replicate

designs as well, and sometimesthey do so almost at the sametime that the designer haslaunched a particular line.“They have a very fast manu-facturing process and have anassembly line scale. Thesehigh brand stores are moreaccessible to people as well; thedesigner brand might not beavailable in a particular coun-

try but these high brand storescertainly will,” he adds.

Though there is no way tocompletely stop plagiarismfrom happening, it doesn’tmean that one should stopfurthering thier own brandand coming up with newideas. “You can’t stop workingbecause of the fear that yourwork will be reproduced orcopied unjustly. And if youand your company are finan-cially strong, then you couldconsider copyrighting yourdesign. This would take a lotof time and energy to pursue.It is also a very expensiveprocess. I don’t think mostbrands or designers can actu-ally afford to do this, otherthan a few,” shares Dev.However, he strongly believesthat one needs to changehis/her mindset as there are alot of brands who consider ita compliment to their produc-tion that there are people outthere who are copying theirwork.

Talking about how theindustry reacts to plagiarism,Dev feels that everybodyreacts in a different manner.However, he does feel that thisuproar against plagiarism isonly a matter of a few daysbefore everyone becomescomfortable in their own cozyburrow. “Even with regard towhat Rohit Bal said, instanceslike these crop up but are alsoforgotten soon enough. Someartists upload information ontheir Facebook page or per-haps give an interview relatedto it but that’s about it. Also,the relationship between thedesigner and the clientele isnot affected. Our market asfashion designers only extendsas far as our clientele. The per-son who buys a Rohit Bal willalways buy a Rohit Bal, evenif they do come to know thatan unknown third person hasmade a copy of it. Our clientswill always buy the main,original brand, so our businessis not affected,” Dev adds.

Since designerscreate umpteen

new designs every-day, Shalini is notsure if it is practicalor even possible totake a copyright oneach of them. Shesays, “There is nosurefire way of pre-venting plagiarismin this industry.But with the popu-larity of socialmedia, even thelayman can spotthe differencebetween a copyand an original design. Besides, most design-ers have a signature style.”

Talking about how parallel markets affectthe designer’s market, James shares, “Years ofeffort, research, talent and money have goneinto developing it. It is not easy to copy all ofthat. So at best a copy will look like a cheap imi-tation of the original. The fakes don’t affect ourbusiness much because our customers can dis-cern the difference.”

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Sood strongly feelsthat plagiarism

does not refer toderiving inspirationfrom a piece of work.Rather, it means thatyou are reproducingit exactly as it is. It isvery difficult to havea copyright on theinspiration based onwhich designers cre-ate their work. Soodshares, “I think weshould all get togeth-er and bring forward

the companies orindividuals who aredirectly copyingdesigners and sellingtheir work for amuch lower price.There is definitely aneed for some sortof governmentcouncil that will pro-vide licensing ser-vices to designers sothat our businesswon’t be affected.”

P l a g i a r i s e dproducts have a

huge parallel market.Wedding designs are exploit-ed the most by these marketsas they are aware that con-sumers will luxuriously spendon copied products to havethe wow factor. “Sometimeschain shop owners watchfashion shows live and recre-ate the design within days.Later, these designs becomeavailable to wholesalers inlarge numbers. This impactsthe designer’s market badly ashe or she has invested bothtime and money in creatinga single design,” she adds.

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Sethi says that alldesigners document

their creations, sketch-es and concepts in avery systematic man-ner. Sethi says,“Personally, I feel thatethics and moral codesare essential. Once theyexist, there will be veryfew cases of plagiarism.”While some peoplewho plagiarise use inspiration as an excuse,Sethi asserts the need to respect the designsof the creators. “Inspiration is fine but thedesign has to be original. Arbitration is essen-tial whenever cases like these arise. Perhapsthe people who are working with theseartists and are suspected of leaking thedesigns should be terminated. However, Iunderstand that everything does not run onethics. Every designer can’t monitor every stu-dent who works with him or her. The design-ers can’t go to wholesale markets to ensure thatthe designs are not being copied,” Sethiadds.

He also does not agree with TV produc-er Ravina Raj Kohli’s argument about howthere should be a mechanism of licensing toreproduce the designs just because the orig-inal designer items are expensive. “They havecreated something original and you can't takeit away from them. And if people find itexpensive, designers like Rohit Bal have tiedup with mass retailers like Biba to create pretdesigns. The designers must be paid for whatthey are doing. It’s not a charity,” Sethishares.

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She shares an incident that happenedwith her 20 years ago. “A Bollywood

designer picked up my design from a storeand used it to dress up an actress for thecover of Cineplex. And he took credit formy work. However, I talked to a lot of myfriends within the industry and I did planto go to the media too. But I was told thatthis so-called designer is very close to allthe editors, so I let it be. This is not some-thing new that we in the fashion indus-try are encountering. I am glad that RohitBal is raising the issue on a larger scale.”

She also credits the media awarenessduring fashion shows which prohibits pla-giarism from taking place to a certain

extent. “Earlier nobody took a stand butnow the media is recording all our work,season after season. And that’s proof inthe public domain. We spend hoursworking on our designs. I have beenworking on a particular design thread forthe past three years, travelling all overSamakand, Bukhara and many moreplaces. I travel across India for workingon my samplings and I find copies ofdesigns that I worked so hard for.Designers who are pioneers in settingtrends should get together and patent alltheir designs.”

Jain is introducing a new textile andis patenting it.

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The best TV shows don’t spoon-feedthe plot to you but deliver solidthrills and moral ambiguities. Fan

theories exploit these ambiguities tocome up with an unorthodox take on thestory. They’re like fries, you can’t help butreach for another one.

While most fan theories tend to takea turn for the bizarre, some of themexhibit close attention to detail andforesight. Game of Thrones, a series soconvoluted and twisted, choc-a-blocwith deaths and unexpected turns, has itsown share of fan theories blowing up theinternet. Some didn’t make the cut butmany others did not just change the waywe watched Game of Thrones but alsowent on to come true.

Let’s take a look at eight fan theorieswhich seemed outrageous at the time, butwere proven right in the course of theshow.

������?����8������Fans had their doubts about Jon

Snow’s death, ranging from him being“warged” into his direwolf to turning intoa whitewalker to being resurrected by theRed Queen Melisandre. With Melisandre

at the Castle Black and Ghost’s refusal toleave Jon’s side, speculations were rife.Well, we all know who burst back to life,with only his direwolf present to witnessthe miracle of his rebirth.

������������ ������ One of the most insane fan theories,

this was predicted by one crazy fan onReddit eight years prior to the episode’s

airing and soon itwent viral. The fansuggested that“Hodor” is actual-ly short for “Holdthe Door”, the lastword that Walderhears before braindamage andbefore it becomesthe only word heremembers. It feltlike a long shot

but it was so compelling, it felt true. Littledid we know, it was only a matter of time!

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This may have been wishful thinkingbut it did turn out to be true. Season afterseason, the mind-numbingly evil RamseyBolton has troubled and killed people left,right and centre. From flaying peoplealive to feeding them to his ruthless dogs,raping Sansa Stark, brutalising women ingeneral, murdering children to again

feeding people to his dogs, Ramsey hadrightfully earned the hatred of millionsof people from around the globe. Thathatred turned into a vengeful thought byfans who wished that Ramsey would diethe same horrific death he subjected peo-ple to. Even better, they wished he diedbeing fed to his own dogs, the same bru-tality he had unleashed on so many peo-ple.

After the Battle of Bastards, when Jondefeated Ramsey, fans waited with batedbreaths to see how Ramsey would final-ly die. As Sansa, in all her glory came for-ward and spoke of her desire of feeding

Ramsey to his dogs, it was a moment ofcelebrations for fans.

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Headstrong and warrior-like, Aryawas a character every fan rooted for rightsince the beginning of the series. Unlikemost other girls of that time, Arya waseverything a girl wasn’t expected to be inthat time. When Brienne wasn’t intro-duced into the series, Sansa was into knit-ting, sewing and busy dreaming abouther marriage to Jeoffrey, helpless and atthe mercy of her brother Viserys, abenevolent Arya stood out as a fighter.That moment when Jon gives her her firstsword that she names “Needle” was astandout moment.

But Arya Stark’s character took anunimaginable turn from the moment sheescaped King’s Landing after her fatherwas killed and her siblings separated. Shewas helpless, looking for direction anddidn’t know where to begin on herfamously plotted revenge list — a list ofall the people who were the reason for her

family’s downfall. Her plot went into acrazy spiral and fans were left wonder-ing.

But a large chunk of these fans pre-dicted that Arya will leave everythingeventually to pursue her revenge andcome back on track; that her time inBravos was serving a purpose to makeher an excellent swordswoman, a mightyfighter.

Well, the next thing we saw was AryaStark slitting Walder Frey’s throat afterfeeding him a mince meat pie — the meatwas of Frey’s sons.

��� ����?�����������������*�Melisandre sure likes her king’s

blood. It comes in handy for a lot ofthings, whether she wants to make ashadow baby or throw leeches into thefire. But king’s blood has been in short

supply in the North which is why thismoment was much anticipated by fans yetshocked them still in their seats.

Some assumed she was there tointroduce grayscale on the show, somesaid she was the Baratheon heir whilemany others rightfully pointed out thatshe was a sacrificial lamb for Melisandre.Viewers are still debating whetherShireen Baratheon’s was the most gut-churning moment in the show.

$� ���8�������+� �%����With the deaths of Joffrey, Myrcella

and Tywin, Cersei loses all semblance ofsanity. After Cersei was robbed of achance at trial by combat, she blew up the

Sept of Baelor in an explosive Game ofThrones finale. But Reddit users sawCersei’s devastating wildfire plan cominga mile away. Cersei’s obsession with burn-ing things to the ground offered the lit-tle hints as season upon season, she con-tinued shouting out lines like, “I will burnour house to the ground before I let thathappen” and “I will burn their cities tothe ground if they touch her” referringto Myrcella.

Well, it seems like Olenna Tyrell cer-tainly underestimated Cersei’s thirst forrevenge.

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More than a prediction, fans musthave actually wished she was more thana mere puppet. First at the hands ofJeoffrey then an easy target forLittlefinger and going on to finallybecoming a plaything for Ramsey Boltonor his wife...same thing. Looking at hersad, pathetic life, fans of the show pre-dicted that the Stark daughter had to havemore to her than that and that justmaybe, she would be the one whosehands Ramsey would die in. And thatturned out to be true. Not only did sheemerge to be one of the strongest Starksiblings in Season 6, she got Ramseykilled by convincing everyone, includingher half-brother Jon, to go into battleagainst Ramsey. In his last moments,Sansa ordered without a single glint ofremorse that Ramsey be fed to his dogs.Now, fans have predicted that she will

turn out to become somewhat evil,going Cersei on all those who did wrongto her family. Well, she needs to get in lineas Arya has already started that deed!

1�CFinally, here is the moment that

everyone has waited six seasons for!Readers of the book, TV show enthusi-asts and everyone had predicted thatNed’s sister, Lyanna Stark, and Daenerys’brother, Rhaegar Targaryen, gave birth toa baby boy, Jon. Hence Lyann +Rhaeger=Jon i.e. the popular theory -R+L=J.

This was established when everyone

doubted how such an honourable, fam-ily man such as Ned Stark would evenallow himself to forgo his honour, evenfor a short while, even for an hour. Thistheory became more and more popularas readers found that Ned’s flashbacks inhis dreams always had a dying Lyanna ina pool of blood say to him, “Promise meNed, promise me.” The Season 6 finaleepisode confirmed this in Bran’s vision.

Did Hodor turn into a whitewalker?Is Tyrion Lannister a bastard Targaryen?Will Jamie be the Kingslayer twice over?Is Sansa Stark pregnant with Ramsay’sson? Will Euron Greyjoycontrol a drag-on? Will greyscale be used as a biologi-cal weapon of warfare? Is Varys a mer-man? What will Samwell Tarly discoverat the Citadel library?

The lawless and compelling world ofGame of Thrones holds a myriad num-ber of possibilities where the unlikeliestof hypotheses could be proven.

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It’s been five-and-a-half years sinceyoung actress Shivani Tomar has been

working in the television industry but hashad to battle severe odds just to getnoticed. That’s a gritty challenge, consid-ering TV careers have a very short shelflife, particularly for women. And if youhaven’t arrived as a lead star with alongish trail of a successful run, then youstand little chance. But Shivani is hope-ful of breaking through in the “better latethan never” spirit as lead of Iss Pyaar KoKya Naam Doon 3 opposite establishedheartthrob Barun Sobti.

Beginning with episodic shows, herfirst successful show was the SushantSingh Rajput and Ankita Lokhande star-rer Pavitra Rishta on Zee TV. SaysShivani, “It has been really difficultsince and I’ve had to face numerous upsand downs, especially since I’ve beenreplaced in a lot of TV shows. Quite a fewof them were cancelled despite all thehard work I had put in. What’s more, allthis was prominently featured in themedia. I didn’t even have the luxury ofkeeping my failures a secret; it’s been outthere for everyone to see, judge and com-ment upon. When Satya Ki Kiran didn’tair on Zee TV, I was very disheartened.I didn’t want all my hard work to go towaste. I would have felt better if even afew episodes had aired so that the audi-ence could have taken a look at what wehad in store for them. But I’ve taken itall in good humour. When one door clos-es, another one opens and for me that isIss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon 3.”

Having held on so long, Shivani isunfazed by the lemons thrown her way.“In this industry, it’s all about luck. Ifyou’re not lucky enough to become suc-cessful in the first shot, then you need toremain patient, calm and positive,” shefeels. In her attempt to remain positive,

she is ignoring the viewers’ par-tiality towards Sanaya Irani,who along with Sobti, hadcrackled in the first edition ofthe hit series. Fans wonderwhy she is not featuring in afranchise of the same show,which has familiar motifs ifnot the storyline.

Shivani has more chal-lenges to be worried aboutthough. Like wearing a saree.“I’m finding this show to be themost difficult because of thecostume and the get-up that Ihave to carry with ease. Thisis the first time that I’ve hadto wear sarees all day long forthe shoots. It takes me anhour to get ready, which istwice as long as it takes foreveryone else.”

Before Iss Pyaar KoKya Naam Doon 3 ,Shivani has been a part ofSAB TV’s comedy showHum Aapke Ghar MeinRehte Hain. Speaking onthe transition fromcomedy to romanticthri l ler, she says,“Comedy was difficultbut very enjoyable. Ihad to act like a tom-boy for that show andhere I am wearingsarees day in and dayout.”

Chandni, the char-acter she plays in herlatest show, is gentle,humble and well-edu-cated, belonging to aPurohit family. “Mycharacter speaks Hindi, English

and Sanskrit. She teachesSanskrit to foreign students

too. She’s very interested inreading the Bhagwad Gita;she’s aware of all the shlokasand it is because of her thatI’m also getting in touchwith our heritage,” saysShivani. It has been diffi-

cult practising these shlokasbut “it’s definitely worth itbecause their meaning isso beautiful. I’m not asreligious as Chandni is,but I do believe in God

and pray each morning.Chandni is a greatdevotee of Lord Shivaand so am I.” Shivanifeels once the show

rolls, the audiencewill feel sympathet-ic towards Chandniwho will be thevictim of Sobti’smachinations.

Having grownup in Vasant Kunj,Shivani was a regu-lar participant inschool and collegeplays. These initialp e r f o r m a n c e smarked the begin-ning of the realisa-tion that her heartl ies in acting.Fortunately, herparents were sup-portive of her pas-sion and did notprevent her frommaking efforts tobuild a career ormove toMumbai. If notan actor, shewould have beena graphicdesigner.

Iss Pyaar KoKya Naam Doon 3

will air from July 3every Monday toFriday at 8 pm onStar Plus.

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Astrong tune-up notwithstanding,India will have their task cut outwhen they lock horns with title con-

tenders England in the tournament- open-er of the ICC Women's World Cup here onSaturday.

India have had an impressive build-upto the 50-over showpiece, beating SouthAfrica by eights wickets in the Final of theQuadrangular series recently.

The 2005 runners-up might havedirectly qualified for the World Cup 2017had they played their three games againstPakistan in the ICC Women'sChampionship and not forfeited the sixpoints.

Having finished fifth on the table with19 points, India had to go through the qual-ifiers in Sri Lanka where they went unde-feated and won a thrilling final againstSouth Africa by one wicket.

India will be playing the tournamentunder the experienced Mithali Raj, whorecently became the third player to lead herteam in 100 ODIs.

Raj, whose first target is to make thesemi-finals, is coming off a record-break-ing six successive half centuries, and shewould look to continue in same vein.

The Quadrangular tournament alsosaw a record opening stand of 320 byDeepti Sharma and Poonam Raut againstIreland, the first partnership of more than300 runs in women's cricket.

While the Indian batting revolvesaround Raj, Deepti has also provided somegood starts lately.

Smriti Mandhana has returned frominjury to add to the side's strengths, whileRaut and Mona Meshram have beendoing well on their comebacks.Harmanpreet Kaur will also be a strongpresence.

Considering the conditions in theUK, Raj is aware that her team would needto be on its toes.

"The conditions there (South Africa)are completely different to what we are fac-

ing here in England.We can take a lot ofconfidence, but weneed to start freshagain in the WorldCup.

"The girls, coming from Indian andSouth African tracks, are adapting toEnglish conditions – it will take a while, butthe girls are getting used to it," the skipperhad said.

Jhulan Goswami, the highest wicket-taker in ODI history, will lead the Indianbowling attack.

The team would hopethat Goswami finds enoughsupport from ShikhaPandey with the new ball,while Ekta Bisht will leadthe spin department.

As far as their recent form is con-cerned, India comprehensively won theirlast four ODI series, first whitewashing SriLanka and the West Indies at home andthen beating South Africa in the finals ofqualifier as well as the quadrangular series.

During this period, they won 16 outof the 17 games played.

Two-time champions England will beone of the most difficult challenges forIndia. That England have won the title bothtimes they have hosted the World Cup,should work in their favour.

While the seasoned Sarah Taylor hasreturned after an extended break from thegame, England have quite a few other play-ers such as in-form captain HeatherKnight, Katherine Brunt — one of the mostdangerous pacers at the moment — andNat Sciver who can make a difference.

In the other match of the day, NewZealand face Sri Lanka in Bristol.

�����������Mithali Raj (capt), HarmanpreetKaur, Smriti Mandhana, VedaKrishnamurthy, Mona Meshram, PoonamRaut, Deepti Sharma, Jhulan Goswami,Shikha Pandey, Ekta Bisht, Sushma Verma,Mansi Joshi, Rajeshwari Gayakwad,Poonam Yadav, Nuzhat Parween.���������Heather Knight (capt), GeorgiaElwiss, Jenny Gunn, Alex Hartley, SarahTaylor, Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt,Danielle Hazell, Beth Langston, LauraMarsh, Anya Shrubsole, Natalie Sciver, FranWilson, Danielle Wyatt, Lauren Winfield.

����� 15,05,

Indian women's cricket team skipperMithali Raj feels they should not be

compared to their male counterpartsand laments the lack of recognitiondespite representing a country where thesport reigns supreme.

The veteran player came up with asnappy response when asked who herfavourite men's cricketer was betweenIndia and Pakistan.

"Do you ask the same question to amale cricketer? Do you ask them who theirfavourite female cricketer is?" askedMithali to the scribe. "I have always beenasked who's your favourite cricketer but

you should ask them who their favouritefemale cricketer is."

Raj was attending the opening dinnerand media roundtable event on the eve ofthe Women's World Cup.

Raj pointed out that the Indianwomen do not receive the same amountof publicity as the men.

"There's a lot of difference because weare not a regular on television. Now theBCCI has made an effort that the last twohome series have been televised and socialmedia has improved a lot of it but thereis a still a lot of catch-up to do in termsof recognition," said the skipper.

Raj said the team has benefittedunder the guidance of coach Tushar

Arothe."Men's cricket sets the bar. We are

always trying to reach where they set thestandard. All of us follow men's cricketbecause we want at some point thatwomen's cricket would be up there," shesaid.

"All of us at some point have beencoached by a male cricketer. I stronglybelieve that they get a lot of intensity intothe training sessions. They are very hardtaskmasters.

" I believe that if you are representingyour country, your country should get thebest of the best. It's nothing to do withwomen coaches (who) don't have the abil-ity," said the skipper.

����� �5+$2

Portugal are set to rest Cristiano Ronaldo for tomor-row's clash against New Zealand as the Euro 2016

winners look to confirm their passage into next week'sConfederations Cup semi-finals.

Ronaldo brushed off allegations of tax evasion inSpain with man-of-the-match performances in the 2-2 draw with Mexico and 1-0 win over Russia, when hescored the winner.

Fernando Santos is expected to rest some stars,including captain Ronaldo, against the Kiwis.

AC Milan's new signing Andre Silva should leadPortugal's attack in the David versus Goliath clash inSt Petersburg.

Things remain tight in Group A before Saturday'sfinal round.

Mexico, top of Group A equal with Portugal on fourpoints by virtue of having scored one more goal, faceRussia, who are just a point behind in third.

Only fourth-placed NZ have no chance after los-ing their two games so far.

The Kiwis will breath a slight sigh of relief if Ronaldois rested with the Real Madrid star having netted 15times in his last nine games for club and country.

"Even if you take Ronaldo out of the team, you stillhave world-class players like (Ricardo) Quaresma andNani, we have a game plan and we won't be over-awed,"said Kiwi coach Anthony Hudson.

"The Portuguese probably don't want to be playingNew Zealand right now."

���������*��*�?���������� �%��Like he did before the Mexico game, Hudson called

on the Kiwis to be 'brave' against the European cham-pions.

This will be the first senior meeting between eighth-ranked Portugal, and New Zealand, who are 95th —sandwiched between Guatemala and Madagascar.

The Kiwis are without a win in all of their 11Confederations Cup matches and bow out againstPortugal after already losing to hosts Russia and Mexico.

The plucky All Whites gave the Mexicans a scarein Wednesday's 2-1 defeat in Sochi with Leeds strikerChris Wood giving the Kiwis a shock first-half lead.

It was their first goal in 555 minutes ofConfederations Cup football before Raul Jimenez andOribe Peralta scored second-half goals for Mexico asthe Kiwis faded.

"We took a great side all the way against Mexico andwe can do that against Portugal," said Wood.

"If we play like we did the other night, I have all theconfidence in the world."

It promises to be a battle royal in Kazan whereMexico need just a point to make the semis, while Russianeed to win or their prospects hinge on Portugal los-ing.

After the draw with Portugal, Mexico's coach JuanCarlos Osorio made eight changes against NewZealand, which back- fired and his side only reactedwhen they fell behind.

"Russia are going to be a different proposition, theylike to keep the ball and bring it out of defence," saidMexico's midfielder Juergen Damm.

"We'll try to counter their strengths and exploit theirweaknesses, but we need to be focused."

Having spent the New Zealand game on thebench, star striker Javier Hernandez is expected to startwhile Osorio must make changes after injuries todefenders Carlos Salcedo and Hector Moreno.

Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov has said he willdecide his starting line-up after training with an elec-tric atmosphere expected for the national team's firstgame at the Kazan Arena.

����� 4�9.1

Cricket-mad Afghanistan waseuphoric after being awarded

Test match status, a rare glimmerof good news amid rising insecu-rity, though many lamented the lackof sports infrastructure in the con-flict-torn country.

Both Ireland and Afghanistanbecame cricket's 11th and 12th Testnations on Thursday following aunanimous vote by theInternational Cricket Council dur-ing its annual meeting in London.

"This achievement was a dreamfor Afghanistan and we have beenyearning for this status," saidAfghanistan Cricket Board chair-man Atif Mashal, hailing it as a "his-toric achievement".

"We have been granted the fullmembership and the Test status,and I congratulate this news to thecricket board, and to the entireAfghan nation."

Afghan cricket has made rapidstrides since the fall of the Talibanin late 2001, with the country's pre-mier leg- spinner Rashid Khanmaking waves in T20 leaguesincluding Indian Premier Leaguethis year.

The successes have broughtmuch-needed cheer in a countrybeset by a wrenching conflict thathas resulted in a record number ofcivilian casualties.

"For a nation like Afghanistanit is a huge and remarkable achieve-ment, the entire nation will be cel-ebrating," said Afghanistan CricketBoard chief executive ShafiqStanikzai.

"Afghanistan... Dared to dreamthat this would happen and todayit has become a reality."

But many fans rued the lack ofinfrastructure – and security – tohost international matches.

"Afghanistan does not havemany cricket grounds that meet

international standards and mostimportantly security to host games,"said 24-year-old Kabul residentMohammad Daud.

"It's a shame that we have gotTest status but don't have the infra-structure to match."

Last year, Afghanistan's nation-al team shifted its base fromSharjah in United Arab Emirates toNoida, Delhi, while India's formerbatsman Lalchand Rajput replacedPakistan's Inzamam-ul-Haq asteam coach.

There are also questions abouthow well Afghanistan will do in thegame's longest format.

Unlike the sport's other majorplayers, Afghanistan was never acolony of the British Empire.Instead many Afghans' first contactwith the sport took place duringthe 1980s and 1990s, as refugeeswho had fled to Pakistan to escapethe Soviet invasion.

Cricket struggled under thehardline Islamist Taliban, whoviewed sports as a distraction fromreligious duties — and famouslyshaved the heads of a visitingPakistani football team as punish-ment for wearing shorts. But it hasbecome hugely popular in thecountry since the regime was top-pled in a US-led invasion in 2001.

�����$���� ��� �����������$����������� Lalchand Rajput, headcoach of Afghanistan which hasbeen granted Test status by theInternational Cricket Council,heaped praise on the country'simpressive leggie Rashid Khanand compared the bowler's raw tal-ent to that of cricket icon SachinTendulkar.

"He (Rashid) is the new kid onthe block. He has natural abilities.There are certain people who havegot natural abilities, like Sachin

(Tendulkar) who was born to rulecricket. This boy definitely will rulethe bowling. He is one of the pil-lars of Afghanistan cricket," saidRajput. "He bowls with pace andbatsmen find it difficult to pickhim," the former India Test open-er said.

The 18-year-old leggie was thecynosure of eyes during the lastIndian Premier League editionwhere he played for the SunrisersHyderabad and grabbed 17 wick-ets in 14 matches to become thesecond-highest wicket taker in histeam behind India pacerBhuvneshwar Kumar.

Rashid had made his debut forAfghanistan against Zimbabwe inOctober 2015.

Rajput, however, advised theAfghanistan youngster to keepworking hard and not becomecomplacent. "Because such type ofbowlers come and fade away also.A classic example is of Sri LankanAjantha Mendis. When he came onthe scene nobody was able to pickhim, but after a few years batsmenstarted reading him and he isnowhere now," said Rajput, who isone of those who has applied for theIndian team's head coach's job.

He said it was a good thing thatat an early age Rashid got a chanceto play in the IPL and must have gotan inkling about the nuances ofplaying against better players.

Rashid has grabbed 63 wicketsin 29 ODIs, with 7 for 18 haulagainst the West Indies in therecently concluded series in theCaribbean islands that ended 1-1 ashis best.

Rajput also expressed his gleeover Afghanistan getting full Teststatus. "It is a great moment for allof us and that country. It is a greatthing for the people of that coun-try," said Rajput, who has been asso-ciated with the Afghanistan teamfor the past one year.

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