16
T he political imbroglio in Tamil Nadu continued unabated on Saturday with the Raj Bhavan cautiously watch- ing the developments. What stood out by late Saturday evening was the groundswell of support for Chief Minister O Panneerselvam as a Minister, two Lok Sabha MPs and an AIADMK spokesperson joined him while VK Sasikala issued a veiled warning that her patience was "wearing thin" on not being sworn in as the Chief Minister. In a letter addressed to Governor C Vidyasagar Rao, Sasikala sought an appoint- ment with him so that she could parade all the MLAs support- ing her in Raj Bhavan. However, by evening, the AIADMK gen- eral secretary showed signs of getting upset as reports of more people joining the Panneerse- lvam camp reached her. "The delay in inviting us to form the Government is an attempt to divide the party and encourage horse trading. We have waited patiently till now. The time has come for us to adopt a different strategy," Sasikala told journalists late on Saturday evening. Earlier, the AIADMK gen- eral secretary had an hour-long meeting with the MLAs owing allegiance to her at a beach resort 90 km away from Chennai. Though the AIADMK leader had submit- ted a list of 130 MLAs to the Governor, there were only 90 MLAs at the resort. Turn to Page 4 A whopping 64.22 per cent of the 2.59-crore electorates in 73 Assembly constituencies of communally-sensitive west- ern UP voted on Saturday in the first of the seven-phase polls in the State, the outcome of which will be crucial for the electoral fortunes of all the key players in the long run. The 64.22 per cent turnout sur- passed the figures of 2012 elec- tions when the same region registered 58.62 per cent polling. Voting was by and large peaceful with some stray incidents reported from Baghpat, Meerut, and Shamli. Yadav family pocket bor- ough Etah recorded the high- est 73 per cent turnout, fol- lowed by Muzaffarnagar 65 per cent, Bulandshahr 64 per cent, Noida 60 per cent and Ghaziabad 57 per cent. In Baghpat, while members of different communities clashed in Baghu colony lead- ing to injuries to 10 people, another incident of violence was reported as the Ajit Singh- led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) workers obstructed Dalit vot- ers from casting their vote in Looyan village under Badaut area, leading to a clash. An FIR was lodged against three RLD workers. In Meerut, the police detained Gagan Som, brother of controversial BJP leader Sangeet Som, for carrying a pis- tol inside a polling booth. In Kithore segment of Shamli constituency, SP and BSP work- ers exchanged brickbats and even fired in the air. In the 15-districts-strong Western UP, the stakes are high for the BJP, the BSP, the RLD and the SP, which is in alliance with the Congress this time around. In the 2012 polls, the SP and the BSP had shared the honours bagging 24 seats each. The BJP could win 11 seats, the RLD nine and the Congress five. But riding on the "Modi wave", the BJP had swept all the 12 Lok Sabha seats of western UP, dominated by Jats and Muslims. Three Union Ministers Mahesh Sharma, General (retd) VK Singh, and Sanjeev Baliyan are from the region. Whether the Jats, which had solidly backed the BJP in 2014 but have been nursing grudges against the ruling party over the issue of reservation to them among others, will con- tinue to support it or side with the RLD will be interesting to watch out for. Similarly, whether the Muslims will overwhelmingly vote for the SP-Congress alliance or go with the BSP leading to community's vote- bank getting divided too remains to be seen. Notable among the candi- dates who were in the first fray are the son of Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Pankaj Singh (from Noida), Congress Legislature Party leader Pradeep Mathur (Mathura) against whom BJP has fielded spokesman Srikant Sharma, BJP MP Hukum Singh's daugh- ter Mriganka Singh (Kairana), and controversial BJP MLAs Sangeet Som, and Suresh Rana from Sardhana and Thanabhawan respectively. Former BJP State president Lakshmikant Bajpai (Meerut), RJD chief Lalu Prasad's son-in- law Rahul Singh (SP) from Sikandrabad, and Sandeep Singh, grandson of Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh from Atrauli too are among other key figures in this phase. In all, 839 candidates, including 77 women, are in the fray. Around 20 per cent of them have criminal cases reg- istered against them and 36 per cent are crorepatis (multi-mil- lionaires). The BJP and the BSP have fielded candidates in all 73 seats, while the SP and the ally Congress are contesting on 51 and 24 seats respectively and the Rashtriya Lok Dal has fielded candidates in 57 seats. The second phase in 67 Assembly seats would be held on February 15. F ifteen death row convicts, including four associates of forest brigand Veerappan, will now not face the gallows and instead undergo life imprison- ment. This, after the Supreme Court, on Thursday, turned down the curative petition of the Centre, the last legal recourse available under law to upturn an apex court decision that made inordinate delay to dispose mercy petitions a ground to commute death sen- tence to life. Finding no ground to unsettle the three-judge Bench’s decision of January 21, 2014, a four-judge Bench presided by Chief Justice JS Khehar said, “In our consid- ered opinion, no case is made out within the parameters indi- cated in the decision of this court in Rupa Ashok Hurra vs. Ashok Hurra case in 2002. The curative petitions are accordingly dismissed.” The order came as a lease of life to the 15 death row pris- oners who directly benefitted from the decision as their mercy petitions remained pending with the Governor/President under Articles 161/72 respectively for years together. These include Veerappan’s four associates — Bilavendran, Simon, Gnanprakasham and Madiah. Their mercy petition has been pending with the State and Central Governments for over nine years. Turn to Page 4 F ake cosmetic goods bearing the name of branded prod- ucts like Lakme, Ponds, Fair & Lovely, Vaseline, etc, may have filled the market if the report of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence is believed. The agency seized imported spuri- ous cosmetics worth over 5 crore from the Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Tughlaqabad on Friday. Sources said the fake prod- ucts were imported from China. The importer identified as 31-year-old Yogesh Gera, who is a resident of North-west Delhi's Shalimar Bagh, has been arrested. "Since the customs department does not have its own lock-up, he was lodged in the lock-up of the local police station," said the official. On a special tip-off, cus- toms officials at ICD Tughlaqabad examined the goods in five containers imported by M/s Sunshine Impex and found the fake cos- metic products bore the name of famous brands, said an offi- cial to The Pioneer. Moreover, the imported goods carried "made in India" tag. "The goods found in the containers were cosmetic items of various brands like Hindustan Lever's Lakme, Ponds, Fair & Lovely, Vaseline, Proctor and Gamble's Olay and products of Garnier, Revlon, L'oreal, Lotus, bearing 'Made in India' mark. The brand holders of all these prod- ucts, who are registered under Intellectual Property Rules, 2007 were, called for examina- tion of the said branded goods and they have certified that all the goods are counterfeit and not manufactured in their Indian plants, thereby violating section 9C of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. The mar- ket value of the seized goods is 5,41,22,016," said the cus- toms official. Samples of seized cosmet- ics have been sent for forensic examination. The accused Yogesh Gera has been arrested under Sections 132 and 135 1(a) and 1(b) of the Customs Act, 1962, which are cognizable and non-bailable. Lucknow: The BJP has won all three graduate MLC seats from Kanpur, Gorakhpur, and Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh. This year’s MLC elections were significant because the legislative council results may boost the Assembly election campaigns of winning party. Lucknow: Seeking to win over 300 of the 403 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday jointly released ten commitments on which their alliance will work on coming to power. New Delhi: BJP on Saturday hit back at Rahul Gandhi for his remarks against the PM, saying the Congress leader “behaves as per his standards” and it does not expect anything better from him. Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the PM was more interested in “peeping into bathrooms of people”. T he much-awaited judg- ment of the Supreme Court in a Disproportionate Assets case in which late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and AIADMK leader VK Sasikala were accused, is not listed for pronouncement on Monday. The judgment may be pronounced any day in the coming week as speculation was rife in the wake of a state- ment made by a Bench head- ed by Justice PC Ghose on February 6 indicating that the verdict would be pronounced within a week. R epresentatives of Haryana Government appointed committee on Saturday met agitating Jat leaders, who are seeking quota in education and Government jobs besides other demands, and had dis- cussions to end the ongoing agitation in several places of the State. The committee members listened to the demands and “grievances” put forth by the Jats. All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) president Yashpal Malik, who is spearheading the pro-reser- vation stir in the State, said the stir would continue till their demands are met. The committee headed by Chief Secretary met a del- egation of Jats in Panipat led by Malik. "The Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, ADGP Law and Order met us. We had discussion on our demands and gave them the list of our demands. We also brought to their notice the grievances which our community mem- bers are facing at various dharna sites across the State,” Malik said. Some Jat activists have alleged that the administration was trying to exert pressure for restricting the participation of volunteers in dharna by send- ing notices. Malik said that February 19 would be observed as Balidan Divas in memory of those who lost their lives dur- ing last years agitation. Saturday’s meeting was the first between the representa- tives of AIJASS and the State Government ever since the protest was launched in the State about two weeks back. Besides seeking quota in edu- cation and Government jobs, the demands of the Jats include the release of those jailed dur- ing last years agitation, with- drawal of cases slapped during the protest and Government jobs for the kin of those killed and injured while taking part in the stir. There is also a demand for action against BJP MP from Kurukshetra Raj Kumar Saini for his alleged anti-Jat rants. Earlier this week, the BJP Government in the state formed a five-member com- mittee, headed by Chief Secretary D S Dhesi, to hold talks with Jats to consider the demands and resolve the prob- lems of those agitating for reservation among other issues in the State. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had recently indicated that the issues could be resolved through dialogue for which the Governments doors are always open. Even as the ongoing pro-quota Jat stir entered the 14th day today, the situation remained peaceful in the state, officials said. The main opposi- tion party in Haryana, the INLD, has openly come out in support of the agitating Jats this time and asked the Government to meet their demands. During the fresh round of the agitation, the protesters have been stag- ing dharnas at various places in the State amid elaborate security arrangements. The call for the fresh stir was given by certain Jat outfits, especially those owing allegiance to the body headed by Malik. W ith representatives of Haryana Government holding talks with the agitating Jats on Saturday, Chief Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar, said that the talks held between the com- mittee constituted by the State Government and representatives of the Jat community were not fruitless and would be continued. Talking to reporters at Rai, district Sonepat, Khattar said that all points raised by the Jat representatives have been heard. The talks would contin- ue in the second round and all points would be discussed.

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The political imbroglio inTamil Nadu continued

unabated on Saturday with theRaj Bhavan cautiously watch-ing the developments. Whatstood out by late Saturdayevening was the groundswell ofsupport for Chief Minister OPanneerselvam as a Minister,two Lok Sabha MPs and anAIADMK spokesperson joinedhim while VK Sasikala issueda veiled warning that herpatience was "wearing thin" onnot being sworn in as theChief Minister.

In a letter addressed toGovernor C Vidyasagar Rao,Sasikala sought an appoint-ment with him so that she couldparade all the MLAs support-ing her in Raj Bhavan. However,by evening, the AIADMK gen-eral secretary showed signs ofgetting upset as reports of morepeople joining the Panneerse-lvam camp reached her.

"The delay in inviting us toform the Government is anattempt to divide the party andencourage horse trading. Wehave waited patiently till now.The time has come for us toadopt a different strategy,"Sasikala told journalists late on

Saturday evening.Earlier, the AIADMK gen-

eral secretary had an hour-longmeeting with the MLAs owingallegiance to her at a beachresort 90 km away fromChennai. Though theAIADMK leader had submit-ted a list of 130 MLAs to theGovernor, there were only 90MLAs at the resort.

Turn to Page 4

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Awhopping 64.22 per cent ofthe 2.59-crore electorates

in 73 Assembly constituenciesof communally-sensitive west-ern UP voted on Saturday inthe first of the seven-phasepolls in the State, the outcomeof which will be crucial for theelectoral fortunes of all the keyplayers in the long run. The64.22 per cent turnout sur-passed the figures of 2012 elec-tions when the same regionregistered 58.62 per centpolling. Voting was by andlarge peaceful with some strayincidents reported fromBaghpat, Meerut, and Shamli.

Yadav family pocket bor-ough Etah recorded the high-est 73 per cent turnout, fol-lowed by Muzaffarnagar 65per cent, Bulandshahr 64 percent, Noida 60 per cent andGhaziabad 57 per cent.

In Baghpat, while membersof different communitiesclashed in Baghu colony lead-ing to injuries to 10 people,another incident of violencewas reported as the Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD)workers obstructed Dalit vot-ers from casting their vote inLooyan village under Badautarea, leading to a clash. An FIRwas lodged against three RLDworkers.

In Meerut, the policedetained Gagan Som, brotherof controversial BJP leaderSangeet Som, for carrying a pis-tol inside a polling booth. InKithore segment of Shamliconstituency, SP and BSP work-ers exchanged brickbats andeven fired in the air.

In the 15-districts-strongWestern UP, the stakes arehigh for the BJP, the BSP, theRLD and the SP, which is inalliance with the Congress thistime around. In the 2012 polls,the SP and the BSP had sharedthe honours bagging 24 seatseach. The BJP could win 11

seats, the RLD nine and theCongress five.

But riding on the "Modiwave", the BJP had swept all the12 Lok Sabha seats of westernUP, dominated by Jats andMuslims. Three UnionMinisters Mahesh Sharma,General (retd) VK Singh, andSanjeev Baliyan are from theregion. Whether the Jats, whichhad solidly backed the BJP in2014 but have been nursinggrudges against the ruling partyover the issue of reservation tothem among others, will con-tinue to support it or side withthe RLD will be interesting towatch out for.

Similarly, whether theMuslims will overwhelminglyvote for the SP-Congress

alliance or go with the BSPleading to community's vote-bank getting divided tooremains to be seen.

Notable among the candi-dates who were in the first frayare the son of Home MinisterRajnath Singh, Pankaj Singh(from Noida), CongressLegislature Party leaderPradeep Mathur (Mathura)against whom BJP has fieldedspokesman Srikant Sharma,BJP MP Hukum Singh's daugh-ter Mriganka Singh (Kairana),and controversial BJP MLAsSangeet Som, and Suresh Ranafrom Sardhana andThanabhawan respectively.

Former BJP State presidentLakshmikant Bajpai (Meerut),RJD chief Lalu Prasad's son-in-

law Rahul Singh (SP) fromSikandrabad, and SandeepSingh, grandson of RajasthanGovernor Kalyan Singh fromAtrauli too are among otherkey figures in this phase.

In all, 839 candidates,including 77 women, are in thefray. Around 20 per cent ofthem have criminal cases reg-istered against them and 36 percent are crorepatis (multi-mil-lionaires). The BJP and the BSPhave fielded candidates in all 73seats, while the SP and the allyCongress are contesting on 51and 24 seats respectively andthe Rashtriya Lok Dal hasfielded candidates in 57 seats.

The second phase in 67Assembly seats would be heldon February 15.

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Fifteen death row convicts,including four associates of

forest brigand Veerappan, willnow not face the gallows andinstead undergo life imprison-ment.

This, after the SupremeCourt, on Thursday, turneddown the curative petition ofthe Centre, the last legalrecourse available under law toupturn an apex court decisionthat made inordinate delay todispose mercy petitions aground to commute death sen-tence to life.

Finding no ground tounsettle the three-judgeBench’s decision of January21, 2014, a four-judge Benchpresided by Chief Justice JSKhehar said, “In our consid-ered opinion, no case is madeout within the parameters indi-cated in the decision of thiscourt in Rupa Ashok Hurra vs.Ashok Hurra case in 2002.The curative petitions areaccordingly dismissed.”

The order came as a leaseof life to the 15 death row pris-oners who directly benefittedfrom the decision as theirmercy petitions remainedpending with theGovernor/President underArticles 161/72 respectively foryears together. These includeVeerappan’s four associates —Bilavendran, Simon,Gnanprakasham and Madiah.Their mercy petition has beenpending with the State andCentral Governments for overnine years. Turn to Page 4

/0'1�&�"��)(�� ������� �

Fake cosmetic goods bearingthe name of branded prod-

ucts like Lakme, Ponds, Fair &Lovely, Vaseline, etc, may havefilled the market if the reportof the Directorate of RevenueIntelligence is believed. Theagency seized imported spuri-ous cosmetics worth over �5crore from the InlandContainer Depot (ICD) inTughlaqabad on Friday.

Sources said the fake prod-ucts were imported fromChina. The importer identifiedas 31-year-old Yogesh Gera,

who is a resident of North-westDelhi's Shalimar Bagh, hasbeen arrested. "Since the customs department does nothave its own lock-up, he waslodged in the lock-up of thelocal police station," said theofficial.

On a special tip-off, cus-toms officials at ICDTughlaqabad examined thegoods in five containersimported by M/s SunshineImpex and found the fake cos-metic products bore the nameof famous brands, said an offi-cial to The Pioneer. Moreover,the imported goods carried

"made in India" tag. "The goods found in the

containers were cosmetic itemsof various brands likeHindustan Lever's Lakme,Ponds, Fair & Lovely, Vaseline,Proctor and Gamble's Olay

and products of Garnier,Revlon, L'oreal, Lotus, bearing'Made in India' mark. Thebrand holders of all these prod-ucts, who are registered underIntellectual Property Rules,2007 were, called for examina-

tion of the said branded goodsand they have certified that allthe goods are counterfeit andnot manufactured in theirIndian plants, thereby violatingsection 9C of the Drugs andCosmetics Act, 1940. The mar-ket value of the seized goods is�5,41,22,016," said the cus-toms official.

Samples of seized cosmet-ics have been sent for forensicexamination. The accusedYogesh Gera has been arrestedunder Sections 132 and 1351(a) and 1(b) of the CustomsAct, 1962, which are cognizableand non-bailable.

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Lucknow: The BJP has wonall three graduate MLC seatsfrom Kanpur, Gorakhpur,and Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh.This year’s MLC electionswere significant because thelegislative council results mayboost the Assembly electioncampaigns of winning party.

Lucknow: Seeking to winover 300 of the 403 Assemblyseats in Uttar Pradesh,Samajwadi Party presidentAkhilesh Yadav and Congressvice-president Rahul Gandhion Saturday jointly releasedten commitments on whichtheir alliance will work oncoming to power.

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New Delhi: BJP on Saturdayhit back at Rahul Gandhi forhis remarks against the PM,saying the Congress leader“behaves as per his standards”and it does not expect anythingbetter from him. Rahul Gandhion Saturday said the PM wasmore interested in “peepinginto bathrooms of people”.

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The much-awaited judg-ment of the Supreme

Court in a DisproportionateAssets case in which lateChief Minister J Jayalalithaaand AIADMK leader VKSasikala were accused, is notlisted for pronouncement onMonday. The judgment maybe pronounced any day in thecoming week as speculationwas rife in the wake of a state-ment made by a Bench head-ed by Justice PC Ghose onFebruary 6 indicating that theverdict would be pronouncedwithin a week.

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Representatives of HaryanaGovernment appointed

committee on Saturday metagitating Jat leaders, who areseeking quota in educationand Government jobs besidesother demands, and had dis-cussions to end the ongoingagitation in several places ofthe State.

The committee memberslistened to the demands and“grievances” put forth by theJats.

All India Jat AarakshanSangharsh Samiti (AIJASS)president Yashpal Malik, whois spearheading the pro-reser-vation stir in the State, said thestir would continue till theirdemands are met.

The committee headedby Chief Secretary met a del-egation of Jats in Panipat ledby Malik.

"The Chief Secretary,Home Secretary, ADGP Lawand Order met us. We haddiscussion on our demandsand gave them the list of ourdemands. We also brought totheir notice the grievanceswhich our community mem-bers are facing at variousdharna sites across the State,”Malik said.

Some Jat activists havealleged that the administrationwas trying to exert pressure forrestricting the participation ofvolunteers in dharna by send-ing notices. Malik said thatFebruary 19 would be observedas Balidan Divas in memory ofthose who lost their lives dur-ing last years agitation.

Saturday’s meeting was thefirst between the representa-tives of AIJASS and the StateGovernment ever since theprotest was launched in theState about two weeks back.

Besides seeking quota in edu-cation and Government jobs,the demands of the Jats includethe release of those jailed dur-ing last years agitation, with-drawal of cases slapped duringthe protest and Governmentjobs for the kin of those killedand injured while taking partin the stir.

There is also a demand foraction against BJP MP fromKurukshetra Raj Kumar Sainifor his alleged anti-Jat rants.

Earlier this week, the BJPGovernment in the stateformed a five-member com-mittee, headed by ChiefSecretary D S Dhesi, to holdtalks with Jats to consider thedemands and resolve the prob-lems of those agitating forreservation among other issuesin the State.

Chief Minister Manohar LalKhattar had recently indicatedthat the issues could be resolved through dialogue for which the

Governments doors arealways open. Even as theongoing pro-quota Jat stirentered the 14th daytoday, the situationremained peaceful in thestate, officials said.

The main opposi-tion party in Haryana,the INLD, has openlycome out in support ofthe agitating Jats thistime and asked theGovernment to meettheir demands.

During the freshround of the agitation, theprotesters have been stag-ing dharnas at variousplaces in the State amidelaborate securityarrangements.

The call for the freshstir was given by certainJat outfits, especiallythose owing allegiance

to the body headed by Malik.

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With representatives of HaryanaGovernment holding talks with

the agitating Jats on Saturday, ChiefMinister, Manohar Lal Khattar, saidthat the talks held between the com-mittee constituted by the StateGovernment and representatives of theJat community were not fruitless andwould be continued.

Talking to reporters at Rai, districtSonepat, Khattar said that all pointsraised by the Jat representatives havebeen heard. The talks would contin-ue in the second round and all pointswould be discussed.

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Jolly LLB 2 is a crackling, near perfect, all-in-place rarity. Call it the star power ofAkshay Kumar or the syrup of an eventful

script, this one is strides ahead in presentationand engagement from Arshad Warsi’s Jolly...

As the Kanpuriya working out of the file-burdened bustling courts of Lucknow, Akshayas Jaggannath Mishra and his janeoo are a sliceof small town life, both outside and in thecourtroom of small-town India.

Akshay shows yet again how powerful heis on the screen even when his muscles are notrippling and his fists are not making too muchof an intrusion in his personality. As thewannabe, unscrupulous lawyer whose maritalhigh lies in plying his middle-class wife withwhisky secretly and cooking a meal for her asshe chomps away as the man of the house,Akshay’s personality has been built with a lotof consideration and is, thus, riveting.

But the beauty of this film lies not in justits lead character but also the atmospheredirector Subhash Kapoor has infused into thefilm, the well-fleshed out side characters, thetumult around the courts, the fun element thatexists even in the odds of life, the pathos of

victimisation, the unrelenting corruption, theabuse of power by the police and theemotionality in every small or big relationshipthat is at play in this courtroom drama.

As asides go, one can’t think of this filmwithout the sterling performance of SaurabhShukla who plays the absolutely harried judge.He makes you laugh, he makes you think andhe gives you those much needed breaks frommonopoly of the lead character. Shukla wasgood in the first one too but it is here that heemerges as one of the main pillars of thestructure.

Then there is Annu Kapoor as the criminallawyer who encapsulates everything that iswrong with our judicial system. As Mathur, heis the epitome of that breed of service providerswho are known to even scrape out the fleshfrom over your bones and yet not feelcannibalistic.

Huma Qureshi as Akshay’s wife is the onlycharacter that is wishy-washy in Jolly LLB 2 butshe still manages to hold her own as a sideshowwhich is actually meant to and does highlightthe innate goodness of Mishraji which alsocomes out through the cut-in-script encountershe has with his aged father played by VMBadola.

On the whole, Jolly LLB 2 is the sole reasonwhy you should head to the cinemas this week.

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The horror flag of this week comes with a lot of evilspreading the fear through a video game. Not exactlya scream this one as the fear element is slow and

stealthy but it does have its moments and can be placedin the middle of the ladder when it comes to siblingassessment of the Ring series.

It all starts with a nose-bleeding hyper flier who tellshis neighbour on a flight to New Jersey about feelingsqueamish after watching a video a girl at the party gavehim before vanishing into the blue. And just then, slushflows into the plane, there is a scary girl emanating outof the insides of the wiring and then the plane crashes.

For starters, it does makes you wonder what’s up nextand it is this gentle suspense that keeps you on tenterhooksdespite the long winded ghost chase that a teen couple isput on.

It all ends up where it shouldn’t and that too gives youthe heebie-jeebies. The premise of the film and the horror-makers in the show are all familiar and in familiar territory.Apparently good men doing horrible things in the pastand the repercussion being borne by the far removedgeneration next, familiar, isn’t it? Familiar yes but it is stillworth one see.

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It’s been quite some Valentine seasons that no goodromance from Hollywood has swayed your heart. Notjust Hollywood, even Bollywood has not planned

anything special for this special month.The Space Between Us is an attempted romance in the

sci-fi spatial genre and works hard at creating thosemoments with an ethereal looking female lead and hercomp-and-romp interlude with a man from Mars,literally from Mars.

The film has its moments but they are as sparselypopulated as life is on Mars from where this blue-watery-eyed 16-year-old comes. Born to an astronaut who boardsthe flight to Mars hiding her pregnancy from the world,and her husband, his vital organs are not equipped tohandle gravity and thus he has to be banished to live onMars for life, summarily sentenced to such spatialisolation by a company which had manned the mission.

After his mother Sarah Elliot dies in child birth, heis left in the company of a friendly robot and an undyingambition to go to earth and find his father. He alsomanages to establish contact and a long-distance contactwith a college girl whom he romances across theuniverse.

But things turn linear when the film starts obsessingabout this teen’s self discovery of life on earth. The chaseto save him by fellow astronauts (he has an enlarge heartwhich is ready to burst due to the earth’s gravity) leadsacross the stunning landscape of America as the boy andthe girl go on a road-trip to find the boy’s father.

The chemistry between the two is good but not goodenough to hold the entire film on its own. A mildlyinteresting one from outer space.

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�How did you bag therole?

I got this show bygiving an audition. Itwas a last moment callfor me. When I gave theaudition, I was sure thatI won’t be selectedbecause I didn’t think Ifit the character. Butthe makers thought differently. I am glad to be part of thisproject since I loved the script.�Did you do something different for your character?

Frankly speaking, I did nothing. My character is a verybechara kind of a person. I think I got selected becauseunhe ek bechara chahiye thha aur mein toh naturallybechara sa lagta hoon. So, there was nothing as suchto do to build my character. The story is simple, soI have kept my role simple. Everything about mescreams simplicity. This is an integral part of theshow.�Do you have any expectations from this show?

I just hope that people like this show. I don’tknow about the future, and I am not so much intoTRPs. But the audience should love it since theserial is very relatable and true to real lifeincidents. The entire family can sit together andwatch it. �Reasons for the audience that why should they watchthis show.

First, it has lots of humour. Second, is the balancebetween the characters. Despite the title — Har MardKa Dard, it puts across viewpoint of the women as well.Third, it has family values — the respect my charactergives to his family. Fourth, is the language used. It isa mix of Hindi and Punjabi. Both languages are sweet.Lastly, it is the direction. Parmeet Sethi has createdmagic. Patiala was our first outstation location and itwas amazing.�How was the experience working with him (ParmeetSethi)?

He is a great director. I just follow what he saysbecause what he sees I can’t see. My experience workingwith him is truly fantastic. All credit goes to him forshowing things the way he has on the small screen.�Do you relate to this character?

To be very honest, I don’t. It is not as if these thingshave happened to me in the manner that has beenshown in the show. You know how it works in suchserials,. There is need for a bit of drama andexaggeration. Despite this, it has relatability.�How challenging comedy is as a genre?

Every genre is challenging. If a scene is nicelywritten then no genre is challenging. If the scene isnot well written, then everything is a challenge. Ihave cried in Kumkum Bhagya and now, this showis totally different as is the character. For me, what

is important is that I prepare well in advancefor the role.�Tell us about your journey thus far.

I was born and brought up in Kashmir.I went to Shimla for my schooling. There wasa system in our school that every child has

to perform on the stage. I was intosports, I would get stage fright. Butwhen I went on the stage, I loved it.Then I came to Delhi for mygraduation, I attended actingworkshops and did theatre. I gotexposed to films and attended film

festivals. Coming to Mumbai was anatural transition. I assisted on a film

as well. Film and TelevisionInstitute of India, Pune,was reopening its actingcourse, I filled up the formand learnt whatever therewas to learn. Then I cameback to Mumbai andpicked everything I wasoffered.�You have done theatre

with Naseeruddin Shah.Tell us about that.Mein jitna boloon utna kum

hai. He is a great performer andgood human being. WhateverI have learnt, it has been underhis guidance; he is my mentor.I had met him at Pune as welland then bumped into him inMumbai.

He asked me what I wasdoing. When I told him that Ihad just completed my course,he wanted to know if I would doa play with him. Of course,there was no way saying no. I hada small role to play in Antagonybut it was a great experience.�You have done theatre andassisted as well. How does thishelp you when you act?

An understanding of themedium helps a lot. The biggestthing is that, whether a directoris in theatre, television or in amovie, when he briefs you,

how good is your understandingis important. Since I have

worked in theatre, it becomeseasy for me when thedirector is briefing you.

Comedy is a genre thateveryone loves to be apart of. To join the

evergreen comedy shows likeTaarak Mehta Ka OoltahChashmah and Bhabiji GharPar Hain, Har Mard Ka Dardis all set to go on air fromFebruary 14, 2017 on Like Ok.The show brings in lots oflaughs and useful tips for thosemen who want to know whata woman wants.

To give a sneak peek intowhat the show is all about, a skitwas performed. The leadprotagonist, Vinod Khannaplayed by Faisal Rashid, atypical Punjabi husband istrying to figure out what giftshould be given to her wifeSonu, who is a Gujarati, playedby Jinal Belani. But failsmiserably. He appeals to theGods to give him an insight towhat a woman wants. To solvehis problem, a boon is granted.Whether he is able to takeadvantage of this or not, is amajor suspense and the makerswant it to keep the mystery tillthe show begins.

The producers are excitedand are hopeful that theaudience will love the conceptsince it is something that is newto TV. “This is fam-comdrama. The whole family can

sit together and enjoy it. It is notyour typical saas-bahu or a lovestory that the viewers are usedto. This show is about incidentsthat are very relatable,” DeeyaSingh, the co-producer of theshow, tells you.

The reason why theshowmakers took this storylinewas because each man wants toknow ki ek woman ko kyachhahiye and yet it remains thegreatest mysteries of all.“Nothing on these lines hasever been shown on Indian TVbefore. Every man faces thisproblem but has no answers. Infact, we got the idea of the showone day while I was talkingwith my wife, Deeya. She askedme if she was fat. I wasstumped and didn’t know howto answer this question. Thisgot us thinking and end resultis in front of you — a show thattries to address this problem.We collected more suchinstances. Shailesh Lodha (part

of the show) guided us a lot; hebrought in a lot of comic effectand helped with the script aswell,” Tony Singh, the co-producer says.

Parmeet Sethi, the directorof the show did the rest — tobring everything alive and toguide the actors towards whathe wants. Jinal tells you that heis the points person and keepseverything and everyone cooland calm even when there is aglitch.

“Parmeet sir is verysupportive. He has great comictiming and that makes all thedifference. Through hisdirection, it all plays outbeautifully during the shoot.Usually you have a director’sactor where the actors actaccording to the director, butParmeet sir is an actor’sdirector. He gives the questionand leaves the rest to us. Wehave the freedom to bring inour interpretation” Jinal says.

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Irecently read a book dealing withBuddhism in Tibet. It gave me new and

stunning information about the goryobstacles Buddhism overcame to get intoTibet.

As elsewhere outside India, in Tibettoo, Buddhism struggled its way into thesnowy solitude of the land. It had its ownreligion deeply entrenched before theadvent of Buddhism. The Buddhistsderided Bon’ism as a morally reprehensibleconglomeration of demon-worship -mumbo jumbo of sorts, involving humanand animal sacrifices. But the followers ofBon’ism claimed that Buddhism had owedits philosophical doctrine to the canons ofthe Bon faith. The Bon-followers resistedlong the advent of Buddhism despite thepatronage provided by a number of regalpersonalities. Buddhism gained ascendencythrough bloody feuds and murders andpersecutions - an irony, keeping in view thereligion’s single-minded stress on non-violent compassion for one and all.

Tibet remained unacquainted withBuddhism till the beginning of the 7thCentury AD. According to Tibetanchronicles, there was a king, mighty andinquisitive, Sron-bstan-sgam-po (629-50AD). Thanks to him, the cultural relationinvolving his country and India wasestablished. He was supposed to have sentone of his ministers, an erudite andsagacious courtier, Thon-mi-sam-bhota tothe northern part of India to get acquaintedwith Buddhism. He not just translated manyof the Buddhist works in the Tibetanlanguages but reshaped the Tibetan script,fashioning it on the lines of the north Indianscripts then prevailing.

The king’s two wives, both princesses,– one from China and the other from Nepal- aroused the quest in their husband’s mindinto the core of Buddhism. China and Nepalwere at that point of time under the swayof Buddhism. Buddhism penetrated deeperinto Tibet with the ascendancy of Sron’sdescendant, Khri-srong-ide-bstan sometimein the 730 AD. His mother, a princess froma principality in China, was supposed tohave inspired him to bring Buddhism inTibet. Himself inquisitive to learn about thenew religion, he invited a celebratedBuddhist theologian from India, ShantaRakshita who was touring Nepal then toTibet. But despite the king’s patronage andthe monk’s endeavour, Buddhism could notfind its way deep into the heart of theTibetan life. The influence of Bon’ismproved too hard to crack. The monk,however, advised the king to send foranother and, perhaps, more illustriousBuddhist monk, Padma Sambhava to Tibetfrom India. Padma Sambhava was supposedto have had undisputed control over theoccult world. He came to Tibet in 747 AD.

Padma Sambhava was far moresuccessful than Shanta Rakshita indeepening the sway of Buddhism in Tibet.But the sect he founded came by way of acompromise involving the intrinsic cannonsof Mahayana Buddhism and the sorcery-culture being nurtured by Bon’ism. The sectcame to be known as Nyaing-ma-pa thefollowers of which were known as Red Hatsfor their custom of putting red headgearsto differentiate their identity from the Bonor the other ones.

However, despite the foundation beinglaid by him, Buddhism strove against grimodds to establish its final sway over Tibet.The Bon religion revived with theascendancy of a staunch follower of theindigenous religion, Lang Darma, sometimein 840 AD. He persecuted the Buddhists andthe nuns. As he seemed bent on clearing theland of the vestiges of Buddhism he wasassassinated by a Buddhist monk, LamaPalgye Dorjee in 842 AD. Anarchy followedthe assassination as the kingdom gotdivided between two sons of the slain ruler.Tibet further disintegrated into smallermutually antagonistic principalities.

However, Buddhism proved tooresilient for the political topsy-turvy. Itrevived again by the end of the 10thCentury AD. Amidst these spells ofuncertainties, Atisha Dipankara arrived inTibet from Bengal in India in 1040. Hespearheaded the true revival of Buddhismby reforming the Lamaist sect. He stressedon purity of the Buddhist core. His sectcame to be known as Kadam-pa. Thetradition of Kadam was short-lived;nevertheless, it influenced other schools thatfollowed - Kargyu-pa, Sakya-pa and Gelug-pa.

The Gelug-pa sect, founded by a LamaTsong-Kha-pa sometime in the 14thCentury AD, remained the most powerfulone in Tibet till the Chinese wrestedpolitical control over it in the 1950s. Theinstitution of the Dalai Lama as thetemporal head of the Tibetan State gotintroduced under the influence of theGelug-pa sect. The followers of this sectcame to be known as Yellow Hats for theircustom to put yellow headgears todifferentiate themselves from the Red Hats.

It sought to absorb all the strands ofBuddhist thought then prevailing in thecountry by way of synthesis. Yet, themovement could not rid itself of the doseof over-zealousness as is natural regardinga reform movement. The over-enthusiasmunleashed animosity between the Red Hatsand themselves. The animosity resulted inpersecution and conversion.

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Dumping the colonial dresscode, the YMCA

University of Science andTechnology, Faridabad, decid-ed to enforce an ethnic dresscode for its convocation func-tion this week

The university will do awaywith the traditional black robesand square hats, which is com-mon in most of the Indian uni-versities.

For the February 15 con-vocation function, the studentshave been asked to follow thenew dress code, a HaryanaGovernment statement saidhere on Saturday. The YMCAuniversity is a State university.

The male students havebeen asked to wear white fullsleeves shirt and white trouserswith black shoes or white‘kurta’ and ‘pyjama’ with blackshoes or sandals.

The women students willwear white sarees with goldenborder or white ‘kameej’ withwhite ‘salwar’, white ‘dupatta’with black shoes or sandals.

The faculty and guests willalso adhere to a similar dresscode, it said, adding a decisionto this effect has been taken by

the university authorities “tosimplifying the dress code”.

Haryana’s Health andSports Minister Anil Vij hasbeen a strong votary of ditch-ing the conventional blackgowns and in March 2015 hadrefused to attend the convoca-tion of a college in AmbalaCantt, the assembly con-stituency he represents, as stu-

dents were donning gowns forthe ceremony.

A few months later, Vij hadexpressed strong reservationover the “colonial legacy” ofwearing black gowns by degreerecipients and had asked theBJP Government in the State toconsider introducing a newdress code for such functions,pointing out that “Indian dress

will be better in place of heavyblack gowns used during con-vocations”.

The minister had then alsowritten a letter to ChiefMinister Manohar Lal Khattarand Education Minister RamBilas Sharma, saying the colo-nial legacy of black gowns forconvocations should be barredin educational institutions in

the State. Over a year back,

Haryana AgricultureUniversity, Hisar, haddecided to replace theconventional blackgowns worn duringconvocation with awhite dress code forstudents who were tobe awarded theirdegrees.

This would be thesecond convocation ofthe university anddegrees would be con-ferred upon the stu-dents who have passedout in the years 2014,2015 and 2016.

Haryana Governor,Kaptan Singh Solanki,who is also theChancellor of theUniversity, and Vice-

Chancellor Dinesh Kumar willpreside over the function andconfer the degrees.

Har yana EducationMinister, Ram Bilas Sharmawould be the Guest ofHonour and Chairman ofUniversity GrantsCommission, Ved Prakashwould also deliver the con-vocation addresses.

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Twenty-nine year old busi-ness man Akansh Sen, a

nephew of Himachal ChiefMinister Virbhadra Singh, whowas allegedly crushed to deathin Chandigarh by his acquain-tances, was cremated in hisnative village Kuthar in Solandistrict on Saturday.

Virbhadra Singh attendedthe last rites Akansh, who suc-cumbed to his injuries at PGI,Chandigarh on Friday. Heprayed to the Almighty to givepeace to the departed soul andalso consoled the grief strick-en family members.

The body of Akansh Senwas brought to Kuthar from PGIfor last rituals by the familymembers including his fatherArun Sen, Pratibha Singh, wifeof the Chief Minister andVikramaditya Singh, son of theCM. Earlier, Virbhadra Singh,who was campaigning for

Congress in poll boundUttarakhand, cancelled all elec-tion meetings in the State andreturned to Himachal Pradeshfollowing the death of hisnephew. Singh was scheduled toaddress a number of meetingsin the poll-bound State andreturn to Paonta Sahib onFebruary 12 but he cut short histour after receiving the news ofdeath of Akansh.

The accused who crushedthe youth to death in their lux-ury car have been identified asBalraj Singh Randhawa, a res-ident of Sohana and HarmehtabSingh Gill, resident of Landranin Mohali. Police say a manhuntis on to nab them. A case hasbeen registered under section302 of the IPC (Murder).

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Power regulator in Punjab---PSERC on Saturday said it

will announce the multi-yearelectricity tariff after consulta-tions with the newGovernment in the State.

The Punjab StateElectricity RegulatoryCommission (PSERC) willannounce the multi-year tarifffor 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 the first time in the State.

It will comprise electricitytariff for one year and indica-tive tariff for the next twoyears, while determining theAnnual Revenue Requirement(ARR) for power utilities --Punjab State power corporation

and Punjab State transmissioncorporation.

As per rule, PSERC has totake call on electricity tariffwithin 120 days of the submis-sion of ARR by the power util-ities and the power regulator hasthe time till March 31 to decideon the new tariff proposal.

“Our process is going on.We have 120 days period fromthe date when ARR was sub-mitted on November 30. Wewill definitely wait for the newGovernment and we will defi-nitely consult the newGovernment (before announc-ing multi -year tariff),” PSERCChairman D S Bains toldmedia here.

He was replying to a ques-

tion that whether PSERC willwait for the formation of newGovernment before announcingtariff. The commission wouldgive “sufficient” time to thenew government in the state todecide its “own policy,” he said.

“There will be decisive ver-dict (poll result). If not then wewill wait and not be in a hurry

to announce the tariff We willgive sufficient time to the newGovernment,” he said.

“Before the end of March,we would like to give it to theGovernment to decide itsown policy what it wants todo and we will faithfullyimplement whatever is thedirective of the Governmenton subsidy,” he said.

The commission is requiredto get written consent from theState Government on bearingfinancial burden on account ofpower subsidy announced forany section of the society.

Notably, major politicalparties including Congress,SAD-BJP (coalition) and AAPhave announced free power for

farmers if voted to power.The result of Punjab elec-

tions will be announced onMarch 11. Punjab witnessedthree-cornered contest betweenSAD-BJP, Congress and AAPon February 4 assembly polls.

Power subsidy burden onthe State exchequer was esti-mated to be �6,364 crore in cur-rent financial year on account offree power to farmers, free powerof 200 units to SC domestic con-sumers and BPL consumers.

Bains asserted that thereshould be a public debate onthe power tariff to fix them onsound commercial principlesso that power utility remainedfinancially sound to generatepower.

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Meeting for the first timeafter the Punjab

Assembly polls, CoreCommittee of the ShiromaniAkali Dal on Saturday thankedthe people of Punjab for peace-ful polling in Punjab and forcoming out in large number tosupport the policies of peace,communal harmony and all-round development followedby the SAD-BJP Governmentin the State.

The party thanked thepeople for preserving he tra-ditional bonds of Punjabi unitydespite dangerous designs bythe enemies of peace andcommunal harmony.

In a meeting chaired by theparty president Sukhbir SinghBadal, the party also thankedall its rank and file, workers,office bearers and leaders at dif-ferent levels for their hardwork and dedication to ensurethe party’s victory in the polls.Chief Minister Parkash SinghBadal, who is also the patron ofSAD, could not attend the

meeting as he is away in theUnited States for treatment.

Giving details of the meet-ing which lasted about threehours, party’s General SecretaryHarcharan Singh Bains saidthat among the issues dis-cussed were the party’s strate-gy and preparations for theforthcoming elections to theDelhi Sikh GurdwaraManagement Committee.

“The party feels that thereis a deep-rooted and dangerousconspiracy by forces inimical tothe Khalsa Panth to create con-fusion and sow seeds of disuni-ty in Panthic ranks. These ele-ments operating with the help ofthe latest weapons of technolo-

gy are using massive misinfor-mation and disinformation astools in their modes of warfareto weaken the Sikh communityas also too strike a the founda-tions of Punjabi unity,” he said.

Without naming anyone,Bains said these elements arebehind many of the acts thathave caused deep hurt in theminds of the Sikh masses.

“Their sustained and high-ly motivated campaign isaimed at depriving the Sikhmasses of a credible singlesocio-political and religiousplatform . This is the reasonbehind the vicious anti-Akalipropaganda carried out by theanti-Sikh forces acting underthe garb of Sikhs before andduring the just concluded elec-tions to the Punjab VidhanSabha,” added Bains, whiletalking to the media.

The Akali Dal leader saidthat the meeting also decidedto seek detailed field reportsfrom the candidates of SADduring the Vidhan Sabha pollon the work done by the rankand file of the party.

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Four employees of a cashsupply company have been

arrested for allegedly siphon-ing off �30 lakh and settingablaze an ATM in Rohtak todestroy records, police said onSaturday.

The incident took placeon February 8 at the ATMlocated in Gandhi Camp areaof Rohtak. The accused hadhatched a conspiracy toescape the needle of suspicionso that the incident wouldlook like an ordinary robbery,they said.

Police said that the fourpersons were arrested Fridaynight and produced before acourt in Rohtak on Saturdaywhich remanded them to fourdays police custody.

Police received a call thata fire broke out in GandhiCamp area and on reachingthere they found a kiosk withan ATM and an adjoiningshop engulfed in flames.

The fire department wasalerted to douse the fire.

The security guard at the

ATM told police that threerobbers had forcefully enteredin the wee hours and tied himup with a rope and snatchedhis mobile phone.

As investigations pro-gressed, police zeroed-in onfour accused — Arun Yadav,Balraj, Sukhwinder and Jaibir,all hailing from Charkhi

Dadri and Rohtak areas. Arun and Balraj used to

upload the cash in the ATMwhile Sukhwinder and Jaibirworked as gunmen in thecompany.

Police said that the menwere given a total of �2.5crore cash to deposit in theATMs, but they decided to

hatch a conspiracy to siphonoff an amount of �30 lakh.

They then decided toupload only �4 lakh cash inthe Gandhi Camp ATM whileshowing in the records thatthey had deposited �34 lakh.

On the fateful night,Balraj, Sukhwinder and Jaibirarrived on a motorcycle and

set the ATM on fire and tiedup the guard.

During interrogation, theaccused who confessed theircrime. Police today said thatan amount of �27.5 lakh hadbeen recovered from theaccused, who were workingfor the company for the last 2-3 years.

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To facilitate the teachers andsimplify the process of fill-

ing up vacant posts, theHaryana School EducationDepartment has decided touse MIS profile records ofTrained Graduate Teachers(TGTs) and Classical andVernacular (C and V) teachersbeing considered for promo-tion to the posts of PostGraduate Teachers (PGTs).

A spokesman said that theDepartment had initiated theprocess of filling up the vacantposts of PGTs through pro-motion of eligible TGTs and Cand V teachers.

However, to spare themfrom the hardship of creatingdocumentation as far as possi-ble, the Department has decid-ed to use their MIS records,which are verified recordsapproved by a school headwho is custodian of the actualservice record of a teacher. TheDepartment would dispensewith the earlier practice of

Application Inviting System,which was cumbersome andcomplicated, he added.

The tentative list of TGTsand C and V teachers consid-ered prima facie eligible forpromotion on basis of qualifi-cations and experienceacquired up to January 1, 2017had been prepared using MISresources.

The Department wouldmake use of MIS instead ofApplication Inviting Systemfor providing other benefitssuch as Assured CareerProgression, medical reim-bursement, permissions andNo Objection Certificates.

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Haryana Police on Fridayarrested three persons for

armed bank robbery inGurugram, and has recoveredstolen gold weighing about 30 kgand firearms and ammunition

from their possession. Anotheraccused has been arrested inAhmedabad, Gujarat.

A spokesman of the PoliceDepartment said that someunidentified persons carryingfirearms had stolen goldweighing about 33 kg and�7.80 lakh in cash fromManappuram Finance Bank,New Railway Road, Gurugramon February 9. They alsoinjured employees and cus-tomers of the bank.

A case was registeredunder Sections 395 and 397 of

the Indian Penal Code andSections 25, 54 and 59 of theArms Act at Civil Lines policestation, Gurugram.

A Special InvestigationTeam arrested three accused -- Hoshiar Singh alias ManojSaini, Vikas Gupta and

Bijender. Aanother accusedDevender alias Deva, a residentof Jind, was arrested fromAhmedabad.

As many as 829 pouches ofgold and some loose pouchesweighing about 30 kg wererecovered from their posses-sion. Police also recovered twopistols and four rounds ofammunition from them.

The accused would be pre-sented in court and police cus-tody would be sought for fur-ther interrogation and investi-gation to nab the other accused.

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Haryana will soon comeout with a Film Policy to

promote Haryanvi films as wellas art and culture of the Statewithin the country and abroad,Chief Minister, Manohar LalKhattar said.

Speaking at a private func-tion, Khattar said that duringthe last about two years,Haryana had progressed byleaps and bounds in all fields,including art, music, culture,entertainment, agriculture,

sports, health, education andindustry. In the Swarna JayantiYear, the Government is recall-ing the glory of the Statethrough different programmesbeing organised every day.

Education Minister, RamBilas Sharma, and FinanceMinister, Capt. Abhimanyu,were also present on the occa-sion.The Chief Minister alsohonoured those persons whohad brought laurels to the Statethrough their outstandingachievements and contribu-tion to various fields. These

included noted actors, YashpalSharma and Jaideep Ahlawat,mountaineer, Sunita Gujjar,director and producer, SatishKaushik, Haryanvi actor,Anoop Lather, television per-sonalities, Ashutosh Kaushikand Meghna Malik.

International hockey play-er, Pritam Rani Siwach,Olympic medallist, SakshiMalik, social worker, DeepaAntil, medical specialist, Dr.Shyam Singla and other per-sonalities from different fieldswere also hnoured.

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Going emotional whiledefending the demonetiza-

tion drive at a poll rally inRudrapur in Udham SinghNagar district on Saturday,Prime Minister Narendra Modisaid that he had launched thecrusade against the hoarders ofunaccounted money on behalf ofthe common people.

“The fight against corrup-tion was tough, but I embarkedon it keeping the interests of thecountry and the common peo-ple in view. Playing with dangerinherent in me, I went all out to

stamp out black money thatcrippled the Indian economy andkept the common people inpenury. The money belongs tothe common people. They loot-ed the country for years. Withyour blessing with me, I am vow-ing to keep on fighting till themission is accomplished,” hesaid in an impassioned appeal tothe people while exhorting themto vote for the BJP candidates inthe February 15 hustings.

He also invoked the ‘surgi-cal strike’ into Pakistan-occupiedKashmir launched in Septemberlast year during his passion-sod-den speech, saying that he was

pained with a section of theOpposition parties demanding

proof while casting doubt on thestrike.

Reiterating that his gov-ernment was committed to thewelfare of the poor and themarginalized, he said theywould provide employmentto the youth, water to thefarmers for irrigation, qualityeducation to the children andenough medicines to the elder-ly and the ailing.

Going Uttarakhand-spe-cific, Modi said that the all-weather road the foundationstone of which was unveiled inDecember last in Dehradun inhis presence would result inswell in the footfalls of the pil-grims. “The char dhamsevokes reverence among thepeople from across the coun-try. However, the condition of

the roads there is so dismalthat those who visit themonce are unwilling to comeagain. Now, once the all-weather road comes up theywould keep coming again andagain all the year round,” hesaid.

Continuing on the theme,aware of the matter being anemotive one for the peoplehere, he said that the big- tick-et project would not justemploy the youth but wouldrevamp the local economy. “Ihave emotions for the chardhams. I used to go therewhen I was the election in-charge of the party. I haveemotions for Uttarakhand. Iwould go all out to develop thestate and to give to it all itdeserves,” he said whileappealing for a clear mandatefor his party, BJP.

Without naming the chiefminister Harish Rawat, thoughleaving it obvious who he wastargeting, PM said that therewere people in the state whowere indifferent to its devel-opment while engaged in themanipulative politics to clingto power at any cost.

Reaching out to the ex-servicemen who constitute adecisive chunk of the hillstate’s electorate, he said thatDevbhoomi was being extolledas a land that begets the brave.“One member from each fam-ily serving the country in theuniforms, Uttarakhanddeserves a lot from the grate-ful country,” he said.

He again harped on hispet double engine theme,affirming again that oneengine propelling the stateforward aside from the otherthrusting it ahead from Delhiwas an imperative to pull it outof the abyss of developmen-tal stagnation.

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Dehradun -Taking a swipeat the videos showing ChiefMinister Harish Rawat asBahubali, hauling the weightof Uttarakhand on his back,Narendra Modi said whileaddressing the rally inRudrapur that it was shamefulthat Bahubali, used in the neg-ative sense, was being glorified.“Bahubali evokes negativeemotions among the people,”he said while asking the peopleto punish the leader who is glo-rifying himself taking the garbof detested Bahubali.

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Anail- biting contest is await-ing Tehri Assembly con-

stituency where the tourismminister Dinesh Dhanai - amember of the PDF that sup-ported the Congress-led gov-ernment - contesting as anindependent candidate, islocked in three-cornered bat-tle with the BJP’s Dhan SinghNegi and Congress’s NarendraChandra Ramola in the fray.

The constituency is having79964 voters this time, itproved a sort of cliffhanger inthe previous faceoff with thepresent state Congress presi-dent Kishore Upadyaya bitingthe poll dust being humbled inthe hands of the independentDhanai by less than 400 votes.

It is not for nothing thatUpadyaya fled to Sahaspur seatin Dehradun this time despitea section of the party rank andfile demanding him to try hiselectoral luck again from theseat.

In the first Assembly elec-tion in the State in 2002,Kishore Upadhayay contest-ing as a Congress candidatewon by a margin of around3928 votes when he defeatedBJP’s candidate Ratan SinghGunsola.

Upadhaya remained onthe winning streak in the nextfaceoff in 2007, defeatingKhem Singh Chauhan of BJPby an impressive margin of3198 votes.

The wheels of fortunesturned during 2012 electionwhen Dinesh Dhanai battlingas an independent candidatebeat Upadhyay by 377 votes.

Many believe thatCongress has fielded a relativelyweak candidate for the high-

stake seat to spare Dhanai a realtriangular contest and helphim comfortably sail through.

Mention worthy, the partyfielded its candidate for theconstituency presumably underpressure from Upadhaya asDhanai chose to contest as anindependent.

While Upadhaya insistedthat all the PDF membersmust contest as Congress can-didates Chief Minister HarishRawat, on the other hand,stressed on his party fieldingno candidate in case the PDFmembers chose to fight asindependents. Congress can-didate Ramola, a member ofKshetra Panchayat in Tehri,said, “The big leader was shift-ed from here as it would haveproved difficult for him tocampaign in the hilly terrain,”he said, adding that the partywas, however, serious to wrestthe seat with Dhanai havingfailed the electorate.

BJP’s candidate DhanSingh Negi too seems to be nomatch for the tall statureDhanai enjoys.

In fact, going by BJPsources, the party has neverbeen able to win Tehri seat afterthe formation of the Statemainly because of the factor offactional differences.

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Afew days after an outfitchampioning the cause of

the ex-servicemen extendedits support to the rulingCongress, UttarakhandPersonnel Below Officer Rank(PBOR) of Ex-servicemenAssociation has lent uncondi-tional support to the BJP in theforthcoming election due onFebruary 15.

While declaring the outfit’ssupport to the BJP at the latter’sheadquarters in Dehradun, itscentral president ShamsherSingh Bisht said on Saturdaythat their association compris-ing the below officers rank rep-resented all the three wings ofthe defence forces.

Lakhs of servicemen/ex-servicemen and their familymembers residing inUttarakhand, the develop-ment might help the BJP in thepolls, observers say.

“Around 97 percent of theservicemen/ ex servicemenbelonging to the below theofficers’ rank with just two per-cent belonging to the officers’class, the support lent by usmight prove decisive at the hus-tings,” he said.

Lauding the BJP- led

Centre for clearing one rankone pension (OROP) scheme,he said it had boosted themorale of the soldiers postedat borders who embarked onthe daring surgical strikewhile crossing the line of

control (LoC). He further said that they

would stage road shows anddoor to door campaign infavour of BJP. Hailing Modi,he said that they were grate-ful to him for modernizing

the Army and bettering theliving condition of the jawans.He also expressed the hopethat the loopholes left inOROP would be addressedshortly with the PM havingassured so.

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From Page 1After meeting the MLAs housed in the resort, Sasikala said

it was time to change the strategy in dealing with the Governor."We will fight in a different manner tomorrow," said Sasikala.

The day began with Krishnagiri MP Ashok Kumar,Namakkal MP PR Sundaram,

School Education Minister K Pandiarajan and Ponnaiyana senior leader of the party since the days of AIADMK founderMG Ramachandran joining Panneerselvam's camp.

By evening Tirupur MP V Sathyabama called on the ChiefMinister and declared her support for him, while KP RajendraPrasad, yet another senior leader of the AIADMK, joined thePanneerselvam camp. At the time of going to press, RuralIndustries Minister Benjamin was on his way to the residenceof Panneerselvam to declare his support, which has put furtherpressure on the Sasikala camp.

Meanwhile, Panneerselvam launched a signature campaignto make Veda Nilayam, the residence owned by late JJayalalithaa, a national memorial in honour of the former ChiefMinister.

Speaking to journalists, Sundaram demanded a CBI probeinto the factors leading to the death of Jayalalithaa, while AshokKumar claimed that more and more MPs would join thePanneerselvam camp in the coming days. But the icing on thecake turned out to be K Pandiarajan, who had accusedPanneerselvam of being an opportunist and hypocrite on Fridayand former Minister Ponnaiyan changing their allegiance bySaturday.

Pandiarajan, who had been a vocal supporter of Sasikala tillnow, changed his stance by Saturday after seeing the public sup-port commanded by Panneerselvam over the last one week.

"I am sure more MLAs would join us in the days to come.There is a feeling among some of the MLAs that they would losetheir membership of the House if they supported Panneerselvam.Efforts are on to make them understand the provisions in theanti-defection law," said Pandiarajan.

Ponnaiyan, who led the party's regular briefing aboutAmma's health status during her 75 days of hospitalisation, saidPanneerselvam is giving "good governance..Free of corruptionand winning laurels for his work from the people."

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In a major embarrassment forthe Bihar Government, the

Supreme Court has upheld thePatna High Court order quash-ing the FIR against an IAS offi-cer on charges of corruption. TheSupreme Court was convincedthat a false case was “framed”against the official who wasgunning against the truck mafia-police nexus in the State.

The officer in question,Dr Jitendra Gupta, was the sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM) ofMohaniya in Bhabua district ofBihar. After realising the mag-nitude of nuisance created bythis mafia-police nexus, and asper direction of BiharGovernment, this young officerhad taken stern action againstthe wrong doers.

But to get him out of theway, an “Entry Mafia” lodged avigilance complaint alleging thatthe officer seized four trucks onJuly 3, 2016, at 7am in Mohaniyaand later demanded bribethrough his driver to release thetrucks. The vigilance wing raid-ed the house of Dr Gupta on July12 last year from where nothingwas admittedly recovered andthereafter in the midnight hewas arrested based on the state-ment of co-accused SanjayTiwari who was allegedly caughtred handed by vigilance police.

Consequently, an FIR waslodged against Gupta whospent about a month in jail. Theintegrity of Gupta, who alsoholds a medical degree, wasvouched for by the IAS OfficersAssociation of Bihar. TheAssociation also submittedmemorandum to the Governorand Chief Minister of Bihar.

The Patna High Court onOctober 28, 2016, quashed theFIR against the 2013 batch IASafter it pointed out glitches inthe investigation with the worstbeing that on July 3, 2016, thetruck in question was not

parked at the spot as claimed bythe prosecution. It was provedby Gupta through the docu-mental evidence that truckswere in Jharkhand almost 200Km away from the alleged placeof occurrence on that day.

Interestingly, the prosecu-tion accepted this and thenattempted a cover-up by filinga counter affidavit contrary toaffirmation made by truckers intheir affidavit on oath. Also, allthe three essential componentsof demand, acceptance andrecovery were missing in theprosecution’s case as far Guptawas concerned. The court madean observation that nobodymade even a feeble attempt toconfirm whether the money wasdemanded at Gupta’s behest.

The money was allegedlytaken by the officer’s driverSanjay Tiwari with no evi-dence to show that the saidamount (�80,000) was collect-ed at the officer’s behest andthat a meeting ever happenedbetween the two. The courtheld that the prosecution caseabout Sanjay confessing topolice that the bribe was meant

for Gupta can’t be relied uponas evidence to fasten guilt onco-accused. The HC did notbuy the prosecution theory tohold Gupta guilty merely onthe basis of statement of a co-accused who was in policecustody and quashed the FIR.

The Bihar Governmentcontested the HC order in theSC seeking that FIR could notbe quashed as investigationwas still pending. The Bench ofJustices Adarsh K Goel and UULalit dismissed Bihar’s pleaand stated that the officer wasframed for targeting the over-loaded trucks plying on NHflouting rules. “We do not seeany merit in this special leavepetition which is hereby dis-missed,” said the SC Bench.

Reacting to the order vin-dicating the stand of Gupta,Treasurer of IAS OfficersAssociation (Bihar Branch)Dipak Kumar Singh, said,“Right from day one, there wasno direct evidence againstGupta. It was clear that he wasframed. Justice has finally beendone to Gupta and he has thefull support of the Association.”

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Union Minister YSChowdary on Saturday

asserted that the status ofwomen in India is much betterthan in many developednations but it is the picturisa-tion of violence against womenthat is demoralising them. Hisobservations came even asAndhra Pradesh and TelanganaGovernor ESL Narasimhanunderscored the need forstrengthening the legal processto effectively deal with thecrime against women.

They were speaking at the second day of the three-day National Women’sParliamentary Conclave beingheld here.

Chowdary said, “As a mat-ter of fact, women today areeverywhere. There’s no dearth ofdecision making power. There’sno dearth of giving status in ourcountry which has given respectto women in our mythologiesalso. But unfortunately our coun-try is being picturised as violenceagainst women, for which I per-sonally feel may not be true if onegoes by statistics. If we talkmore and more about it (violenceagainst women) women willlose their confidence.”

Chaudhary also minced nowords as he said that there wasdouble standard in the societyas it is the mothers themselveswho discriminate amongdaughters and daughter-in-laws.He added discrimination andatrocities are much higher in thedeveloped countries as he foundduring a seminar at YaleUniversity which he had attend-ed a few years ago.

“Situation in India is com-paratively much better,” headded. Chowdary added ini-tially he was against reservationfor women in politics as inactual sense men were gov-erning. “But I had change ofheart when my leaderChandrababu Naidu correctedme saying that reservation is afirst step towards womanempowerment,” he said.

The AP Governor called forexemplary punishment to theguilty in crime against women.“Getting away under benefit ofjuvenile laws was wrong. Acrime is a crime and has to bedealt with. Media also broad-casts certain incidents, especially

reports related to crimes againstyoung girls and women repeat-edly. What is the Censor Boardis doing? The crime scenesagainst women shown in filmsor electronic media should becut. I think we should go for leg-islation in this regard.”

Ex-chairman of UPSC AlkaSirohi exhorted the women andgirl students to recognise theirtalent and work towards theiraim while senior journalistSagarika Ghose lamented thatnot much was being done toempower women.

The NWP is being organ-ised by Andhra PradeshLegislative Assembly in associ-ation with MIT School ofGovernment, Pune with thetheme of ‘Empowering Women-Strengthening Democracy’.

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With the objective of pro-viding a shield to major

cities from enemy ballistic mis-siles, India on Saturday suc-cessfully conducted a testwherein an incoming missilewas intercepted by a missile inexo-atmosphere. With thiscapability, India has nowentered the elite league ofnation having this capability.The other four countries areUS, Russia, Israel and France.

The significance of thistest, the second in the last twoyears, is that the interceptormissile can shoot down a bal-listic missile fired from morethan 2,000-km, at least 50-kmabove earth’s atmosphere,thereby nullifying any threat toIndia’s skies and cities. Somemore tests will be conducted inthe coming months before themissiles which are part of

Ballistic Missile DefenceSystem (BMD) are inductedinto service. The programmewas conceived in 1999.

As regards the latest test ofthe missile, an incoming enemymissile was intercepted at 07.45off Balasore in Bay of Bengal inOdisha. The interceptor waslaunched from Abdul KalamIsland (Wheeler Island) ofIntegrated Test Range inBalasore.

With this commendable

scientific achievement, Indiahas crossed an important mile-stone in building its overallcapability towards enhancedsecurity against incoming bal-listic missile threats. It hasentered an exclusive club offour nations with developingcapabilities to secure its skiesand cities against hostilethreats, Defence Ministry offi-cials said. Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and DefenceMinister Manohar Parrikar

lauded the efforts of theDefence Research andDevelopment Organisation(DRDO) for this achievement.

This mission was termed as“PDV mission is for engagingthe targets in the exo-atmos-phere region at an altitudeabove 50 km of earth’s atmos-phere.” The target depicted ahostile ballistic missile firedfrom more than 2,000 km awayand launched from a shipanchored in the Bay of Bengal.

The interceptor missiletracked it in an automatedoperation and the computernetwork with the help of datareceived from radars predictedthe trajectory of the incomingMissile. The interceptor waskept ready and took-off oncethe computer system gave thenecessary command for lift-off.The Interceptor guided by highaccuracy Inertial NavigationSystem (INS) supported by aredundant micro navigationsystem moved towards the esti-mated point of the interception.

Once the missile crossedthe atmosphere, the heat shieldejected and the seeker domeopened to look at the targetlocation as designated by themission computer. With thehelp of inertial guidance andseeker the missile moved forinterception and all eventswere monitored in real-time bythe telemetry stations located atvarious spots, officials said.

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Women must be given theright to choose when to

have a baby and when to abortit as it concerns her body,” saidSupreme Court judge AK Sikrion Saturday. Speaking at asymposium in the Capital, thejudge rued the fact that in ourcountry women’s reproductiverights are governed by thechoice of the husband or eldersin the family.

“When we talk of repro-ductive rights in this country,then there is hardly any choiceso far as the woman is con-cerned... there again the choiceis of the husband in the fami-ly or what the elders say...whenthere should be a child,whether that child should bemale or female etc,” Justice Sikrisaid. He was speaking at a sym-posium on “Reproductive

Rights in Indian Courts:Celebrating Progress,Identifying Challenges andDiscussing the Way Forward”,organized organised by theJindal Global University.

Reproductive rights shouldbe seen with sexual rights ofwomen, the judge argued,while linking both with thebasic human right of thewoman intertwined withhuman dignity. He also laidemphasis in his talk on thecriminal practice of femalefoeticide and the role of menand families in forcing womento undergo this crime.

“A woman’s choice toreproduce, abort or preventpregnancy, deals with her body.It is she, who, by the virtue ofher anatomy, undergoes theprocess eventually. It is herbody and her right to choose,”the judge said.

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Notwithstanding the hintsthrown by him earlier that

his party might withdraw itssupport to the BJP-ledMaharashtra Government afterthe February 21 BrihanmumbaiMunicipal Corporation (BMC)polls, Shiv Sena presidentUddhav Thackeray is no moodto pull plug on the DevendraFadnavis Government in haste.

In an interview to ThePioneer, a non-committalUddhav said on Saturday, “Afterthe polls, we will take a call,after watching as to what will bethe attitude of the DevendraFadnavis Government withregard to the issues of trans-parency (in its governance)raised by us.

At one stage of the inter-view, Uddhav said, “As far asour walking out of the StateGovernment or otherwise isconcerned, it is as much the ShivSena’s option as it is of the BJP.If they are unhappy with us andif they think we are corrupt, theBJP can also walk out of theState Government...It does notmean that either the Shiv Senawill continue to remain in thisGovernment or withdraw itssupport to the StateGovernment”.

Slamming Prime MinisterNarendra Modi for his “intim-idating” remarks made byNarendra Modi at his Friday’selection rally at Haridwar thathad janam patris (horoscopes)of Congressmen and warnedthem against speaking non-sense, Uddhav said no previousPrime Minister had stooped tothe level that Modi did.

Uddhav expressed confi-dence that even if Modi were tocampaign in the BMC polls asextensively he did for the BJP inthe October 2014 Maharashtrapolls, the Shiv Sena would comeup trumps in the civic polls.

Here are the excerpts ofthe interview:

Having snapped its electoralties with the BJP, the ShivSena — after a long gap of 20years — is going it alone inthe Brihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC) polls?How do you look at the polls? Is it a tough battle or aneasy one?

There is tremendous enthu-siasm among Shiv Sainiks.There is also a lot enthusiasmamong Mumbaikars. The peo-ple are happy with our decision

to severe our electoral ties withthe BJP. I will confide with youhonestly that I am getting verypositive feedback from the peo-ple. When I go around the cityin my car, people whom I hap-pen to see through the windowof the car, greet me profuselyand many of them have eventold me that the Sena has donea right thing by severing its elec-toral alliance with the BJP.

As far as the second partyour question is concerned, itis going to be a very easy con-test for us. You yourself saidthat we snapped the alliancewith the BJP after beingtogether in power in the BMCfor more than 20 years. It is thesame people (BJP) who areaccusing us of indulging in cor-ruption, despite having sharedthe power with us for morethan two decades. They havesuddenly noticed our acts ofcorruption and that too onlyon the eve of elections. Thatmeans they are lying throughtheir teeth. As far as Congressand NCP are concerned, theyare exposing their own acts ofcorruption during their previ-ous Government in the stare,by making wild allegationsagainst us.

You have gone on recordchallenging the BJP to fieldPrime Minister NarendraModi as a campaigner in theBMC polls? Now, it does notseem that either Modi andBJP president Amit Shah willcampaign in Mumbai.

Whatever I do, I do itwith confidence and withutmost sincerity. I have notposed any challenge nor it ismy intent to pose any challengeto Modi (to come and cam-paign in the Mumbai polls).But the manner in which thePrime Minister has been cam-paigning in the ongoingAssembly polls in five statessurprises me. In the October2014 polls, the Prime Ministerhad — setting aside his officialwork — addressed as many 26public rallies in Maharashtra.Even now, I do not know as towhat is the official work he isdoing, but he is spending mostof his time addressing publicrallies in the election-boundstates in the country.

The problem today youcannot ask him (Modi) and hisGovernment any question. Somuch so that Bihar ChiefMinister Nitish Kumar whohad supported Modi on thedemonetisation decision, has

come out againstthe NDAGovernment. Modi has noanswers to give us as howmuch of black money that theNDA Government hasunearthed.

That’s why I said if Modiwants to set aside his work tocome and campaign for hisparty in Mumbai, he is welcometo do so and spread his usualfalsehood. He will get to see thatthe Sena enjoys the blessings ofthe people and it would win thepolls hands down.

In Goa where the Shiv Sena iscontesting, Defence MinisterManohar Parrikar is camping for the campaigningpurpose…

From Goa, Parrikar hasbeen making statements like,We will stop infiltration andgive a fitting reply to Pakistanetc. When will he give a fittingreply to Pakistan? All he isdoing is hitting out at hispolitical rivals?

Of late, you have been indi-cating that you may withdrawsupport to the BJP-ledGovernment after the BMCpolls. Will you do so? Or areyou reconsidering your threat to walk out of theGovernment?

Ahead of the October 2014Assembly polls, the BJPsnapped the ties with us. In thepolls, the Congress was thrownout of power in the state Sinceboth the parties had achievedthe objective of dislodging theCongress-led Government, Ireconsidered the situation, putour feud with the BJP in thebackburner and joined thegovernment. But it was ourmistake to have joined theGovernment.

After two years, we haverealised that the BJP wantspower at each and every level— at the Centre, State andnow even at the BMC level.

In Mumbai, I do not needthe support of the BJP. Thepeople in the city are fed up ofthe BJP. They are angry withthe BJP. In the BMC polls,Mumbaikars will go wholehog with the Sena.

You have spoken aboutpulling the plug on the

Devendra FadnavisGovernment..

I have just confirmed thatwe have put the StateGovernment “on notice” andthe notice has a timeline linecode of conduct.

After the polls, we will takea call, after watching as to whatwill be the attitude of theDevendra Fadnavis govern-ment with regard to the issuesof transparency (in its gover-nance) raised by us.

It is I who has placed thetransparency agenda on theState Government’s table. Ihave made it clear to the StateGovernment: At the Cabinetmeetings, I would like theleader of the Opposition,media and Lokayukta toremain present at the Cabinetmeetings. This is needed forbringing about transparency inthe government. You haveraised the issue of transparen-cy with respect to municipal. Iam asking for similar trans-parency in the StateGovernment as well.

I am for all transparency. Iam ready to put on line the not-ings of municipal commission-er and various elected repre-sentatives. I would like similarsystem in the state government,where the notings of the chiefminister and the ministers madeon files should be put on web.We will watch the stateGovernment’s approach towardsthe issue of transparency.

Will the Sena and BJP cometogether once again as pollpartners? Will make it clear ifthe Sena would withdraw its support to the StateGovernment?

As far as our sharing thepower is concerned, I am rul-ing out totally at the BMC level.We have also decided that theSena would go it alone in allthe elections henceforth. As faras our walking out of the stategovernment otherwise is con-cerned, it is as much the ShivSena’s option as it is of the BJP..Another thing is that it is theBJP ministers in the state gov-ernment who are facing alle-gations of corruption and notthe Shiv Sena…If they areunhappy with us and if theystill think we are corrupt, theBJP can also walk out of theState Government.

All the same, let us go stepby step. Let the municipal andlocal body elections get over first,then we will think about all theseissues. It does not mean that

either the Shiv Sena will continueto remain in this Government orwithdraw its support to theState Government.

At an election meeting yes-terday, Modi warned theCongress against speakingnon-sense and said he hadjanam patris (horoscopes) ofeveryone in that party andthat their sins would chase theparty men concerned. Howdo you react to this?

Everyone has janampatrikas (horoscopes) eventhere is a patrika of Modiji also.He if late Thackeray had notstood by (the then ChiefMinister of Gujarat) Modi, afterthe Godhara carnage, one can-not imagine where he wouldhave been today. It does notbehoove well for Prime MinisterModi to be speaking in such anintimidating manner this he didyesterday… That’s why I havebeen praising the previousPrime Ministers, includ-ing Indira Gandhi andManmohan Singh.Because, despite havingso much of power, theynever stooped to thelevel as Modi has done.

Can you list two to threeachievements of the ModiGovernment during the33 months?

(With an expressionlessface): Why not? The ModiGovernment has completed33 months in office and it has27 months to go to complete itstenure.

We see the Shiv Sena makingall out effort to woo Gujaratissettled in Mumbai. What kindof percentage of Gujaratisthat you expect to support theSena in the BMC polls?

We are not doing much.Because, during the last twoyears, Gujarati traders andbusinessmen have facedthe brunt of income raidsand they are not happywith Modi’s demonetisa-tion decision. The Gujaratis inthe city are upset, unhappy andangry with the BJP. Till nowthey were in a dilemma as whatto do if the BJP continued tocontest the polls in alliancewith the Sena. Now that theShiv Sena snapped its ties withthe BJP, the Gujaratis havefound a way out of the situation— i.e supporting the Sena.

Will the Hadik Patel factorcount in the BMC polls ?

(Patidar leader had metUddhav Thackeray a few daysago and announced that hewould stand by the Thackeray’sfamily in all its battles)

I have not looked at HardikPatel from the point of view ofderiving political benefits. He isjust 23-year-old boy. Thesehave slapped him with seditioncharges. He had been sendingmessages to me saying that hewanted to come and payrespects to late Thackeray. I hadsuggested that he come onJanuary 23 (the birth anniver-sary of late Thackeray). But, hehad some preoccupations. Hecame and met me subsequent-ly. He came to pay his respectsto late Thackeray. Exceptingsaying that he had come to meetme, I have never used his namein my campaign speeches.

I asked Hardik if he hadany political ambitions. Hereplied in the negative. My takeon him is simple: If he devel-ops into a bigger leader, I willuse him as the face of the ShivSena in Gujarat.

INTERVIEWpioneer

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Sebi on Saturday announcedreview of norms governing

stock exchanges, commodityderivatives market and reducingthe listing time as part of reformmeasures while the regulatoralso apprised its board of actionstaken in co-location issues relat-ed to NSE and the NSEL scam.

Besides, the market watch-dog asserted that consistent tight-ening of norms have made theparticipatory notes less attractivefor foreign investors amid per-sisting concerns over the instru-ment being used to channel illic-it funds. In efforts to deepen thecommodities derivatives market,Sebi said it is committed toallowing options trading in thesegment and looking at permit-ting institutional participation ina phased manner. Further, a sys-tem of risk-based supervision forcommodity brokers will bedesigned.

After public consultations,the regulations pertaining tostock exchanges and other mar-ket infrastructure institutionswill be amended. In this regard,

Sebi's board, which met heretoday, discussed the review of reg-ulations and relevant circularspertaining to market infrastruc-ture institutions (MIIs) -- stockexchanges, depositories and clear-ing corporations. Earlier, theBimal Jalan Committee had rec-ommended reviewing the work-ing of MIIs after five years.

“The 5-year period is over.Sebi has come out with many cir-culars and we would see howthose changes can be incorpo-rated in the regulations itself,” SebiChairman UK Sinha said after theboard meeting here. On allowingoptions in the commodity deriv-atives segment, Sinha said, ‘we arecommitted to doing it’. In a slewof reforms for the next fiscal, Sebiwill reduce the listing time forshares from six days after the IPOcurrently and allow securityreceipts issued by the asset recon-struction company to get listed.

Among others, the regulator hasannounced setting up a ‘cybersecurity lab’ for the securities mar-ket and a facility for online reg-istration for market intermedi-aries. The plan for action for2017-18 was cleared by the board.While addressing the board aspart of customary post-Budgetmeeting, Finance Minister ArunJaitley said the regulator is evolv-ing in accordance with the needsof the economy and markets. OnSaturday’s board meeting was also

the last to be chaired by Sinha,whose tenure ends on March 1.The meet was also attended byChairman-designate Ajay Tyagi,who is currently additional sec-retary with the finance ministry.The regulator apprised the boardof the actions taken with respectto alleged lapses involving the co-location facility of NSE. Theboard was also briefed aboutactions initiated against brokersin the National Spot ExchangeLtd (NSEL) scam.

�������A���������������NEW DELHI: Finance MinisterArun Jaitley on Saturday said theGovernment will come out witha framework on the electoralbonds scheme after detailed dis-cussions with RBI and otherstakeholders. “I have explainedwhat the Government has inmind with regard to the electoralbonds. Now thewhole scheme itself ...Will be after dis-cussing with the RBIas to which is thedesignated bank,what is the durationof the bond, at whatperiod of time, forhow long it should beopen before everyelection,” he said after addressingthe RBI board meet here.

Now these are all minordetails which will form part of thescheme that will come out after adetailed discussion, he added. InBudget 2017-18, the Governmentproposed amendment to the RBIAct to enable issuance of electoralbonds. The Government will

amend the Representation ofPeople Act to ensure secrecy of theelectoral bond buyers, and soonnotify the banks that will be eli-gible for issuing such bonds,besides coming out with guide-lines for the same by March.

The bonds, which will resem-ble a promissory note and not an

interest-paying debtinstrument, will besold by authorisedbanks and can bedeposited in notifiedaccounts of politicalparties within theduration of theirvalidity.

So, every politi-cal party recognised

by the Election Commission willhave to notify one account inadvance to the ElectionCommission and bonds can beencashed and redeemed in thatone account. Issuance of electoralbonds would ensure that onlylegitimate, tax paid, accountedmoney comes into the politicalsystem, Jaitley had said. PTI

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NEW DELHI: The world’s largest coal miner CIL on Saturdayreported a 22 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at �2,884.4crore for the third quarter ended December 31. Net profit camein at �3,718 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal,Coal India (CIL) said in a regulatory filing. However, the com-pany’s total income rose to �21,531.2 crore in the quarter underreview from �20,928.4 crore in the same period a year ago. PTI

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NEW DELHI: Life InsuranceCorporation of India (LIC) onSaturday said it has acquired anadditional two per cent stake inInfosys in over three years end-ing February 2017, taking itstotal shareholding in theBengaluru-based software majorto 7.02 per cent. The disclosurecomes at a time when the com-pany’s founders and its boardhave clashed over the issues ofcorporate governance, CEOcompensation and severancepay of former CFO.

LIC, in a filing to BSE, saidit has acquired about 4.63 croreshares or 2.016 per cent stake,thus taking its total holding inInfosys to 7.023 per cent. Thetransactions were made throughmarket purchases between theperiod September 26, 2013 toFebruary 07, 2017, it said.

LIC said that the equityshare capital/total voting capitalof Infosys after the deal stoodunchanged at 229.6 crore sharesof face value of �5. Over the lastfew days, Infosys has comeunder fire from its founders like

NR Narayana Murthy, whohave raised concerns on cor-porate governance lapses andquestioned the compensationpaid to CEO Vishal Sikka. PTI

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RBI Governor Urjit Patel onSaturday attributed the

banks grappling with high badloans to legacy issues saying theyare mostly on account of creditfacility provided for long-gesta-tion projects before 2011-12. Hefurther said the problem ofnon-performing assets (NPAs)was earlier also but it is onlyrecently that the issue is beingrecognised. Patel said that sec-tors in which bad loans haveemerged over the years pertainto long-gestation projects, whichwere mostly funded before 2011-12.

“Therefore, By definition,this proportionate amount is alegacy issue, although the recog-nition and reporting of thesehave taken place only recently,”the RBI Governor said. FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley afteraddressing the RBI board said alegal and executive framework todeal with NPAs has been put inplace by the Government as itsresolution is an ongoing process.

Jaitley also said the bad loans fig-ure has increased owing toemergence of some new NPAs orloans that have been continuing.Congress leader Veerappa Moilyhad recently raised the badloans issue in Parliament andsaid the NPAs figure has grownsince 2014.

“I was inParliamentrespondingto a com-ment whichMoily hadmade. Whatwas figure in2014, then 2015, 16, 17 itincreased. So I had said these areall loans which have been con-tinuing and what’s have beenadded is either the discovery ofsome non-performing assets as aresult of some exercise that RBI haddirected to be undertaken and alsothe interest factor has increased,”Jaitley said. After the Asset QualityReview (AQR), there was hugesurge in NPA. In the third quarterof the last fiscal alone, NPAs roseover �1-lakh crore.

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NEW DELHI: Emphasisingthat Indian securities market hasseen significant developments,Finance Minister Arun Jaitley onSaturday said the regulator isevolving in accordance with theneeds of the economy and mar-kets. Discussing the Budget ini-tiatives with the Sebi board here

on Saturday, FM said regulationshave been evolving very fast andthat Sebi as an institution hasestablished lot of credibility foritself. The future agenda for thecapital markets regulatory body,including evolving technologicaland policy changes, was also dis-cussed, he said. PTI

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Telecom operator Idea Cellularon Saturday logged a con-

solidated net loss of �383.87crore for the December 2016quarter compared to a net prof-it of �659.35 crore in the year-agoperiod, hurt by newcomerReliance Jio’s free voice and datapromotions. Total income alsohas decreased to �8,706.36 crorefor the quarter, from �9,032.43crore in the same period in theprevious year, as per a BSE filing.

“The Indian mobile industrywitnessed an unprecedented dis-ruption in the quarter of Octoberto December 2016, primarilydue to free voice and mobile datapromotions by the new entrantin the sector,”

Idea Cellular said in a state-ment. Consequently, revenueKPIs (key performance indica-tors) and financial parameters forall mobile operators have sharplydeclined, and for the first time inits history, the flourishing Indianwireless sector is trendingtowards an annual revenuedecline of 3-5 per cent in 2016-17 (vs 2015-16), it added.

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The I-T department onSaturday extended the date

for replying to the queries oncash deposits during thedemonetisation period toFebruary 15 and asked peopleto declare details of cash dona-tions or gifts of �20,000 ormore to reduce the chances offurther scrutiny. In an FAQ toclear the doubts over replyingto SMS or e-mail queriesreceived with regard to suspi-cious deposits made post noteban, the tax department saidassessees should give ‘explana-tions’ of the source of cash.

If the cash deposited isfrom multiple sources or aris-es from cash in hand as onNovember 8, the assessee whilereplying on the e-filing portalwill have to give segregateddetails - cash withdrawn frombank, cash received from iden-tifiable persons with or with-out PAN, cash received fromunidentifiable persons and

cash out of earlier income orsavings. The assessee can alsoreport how much he hasdeposited or will deposit underthe PMGKY scheme, in whichhe can pay 50 per cent tax andpenalty and come clean.

“The taxpayer is advised toprovide the details of identifi-able person (with PAN) toreduce the chances of the casebeing selected for verification.In case of cash receipts of�20,000 or more from a sin-gle person, it is expected thatthe details are provided...,” theI-T department said.

It said cash received bypeople exempt from taxeslike farm income can beshown under the head 'cashreceipts exempt from tax',only if they are not involvedin business. “Cash out ofreceipts exempt from tax isexpected to be used for taxpay-ers not involved in business whohave received cash out of exemptincome, for example agriculturalincome,” the department said.

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Looking inwards for inno-vation in the high-tech avi-

ation sector, country’s largestmetal 3-D printing providerand metal additive manufac-turing major Intech DMLSannounced the launch ofIndia’s first indigenously devel-oped jet engine series. Thecompany also claims that Indiais the first country in Asia andonly the fourth country afterthe US, Europe and Israel toindigenously develop such anengine in the private space.

“Development of gas turbine-based jet and shaft power enginesis challenging tasks. We havebrought together the expertise ofvarious specialist engineers todevelop something that is uniqueand modern. The team has beenworking feverishly in the recentmonths to ensure that the enginedevelopment is on the right trackand ready for display in time withAero India 2017. We hope to tapboth the domestic and interna-tional markets with this product inthe coming months,” said IntechDMLS MD Sridhar Balaram.

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BENGALURU: Amid founders’outcry over alleged corporate gov-ernance lapses at Infosys, CEOVishal Sikka has talked to seniormanagement team to assuagetheir concerns and advised themnot to get distracted by the ongo-ing tussle. Confirming this, an offi-cial familiar with the developmenttold PTI, “Sikka called the seniormanagement team of the com-pany and spoke to them lastnight.” The official, however,declined to divulge more details.Sikka has reportedly advisedsenior management officialsnot to get distracted by theongoing spat between theboard and the founders, andinstead focus on company’sbusiness and strategy. PTI

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In a change of strategy aftersuffering repeated setbacks in

courts, President DonaldTrump has hinted at the pos-sibility of coming up with a“brand new” executive ordernext week to enforce his tem-porary ban on refugees and cit-izens from seven predomi-nantly Muslim nations.

Trump dwelt on his planson a day when reports emergedthat US immigration authoritieshave, in unrelated action, arrest-ed hundreds of undocumentedimmigrants from several LatinAmerican countries in raids insix States. The Department ofHomeland Security called it“routine immigration enforce-ment action”.

Trump, angry with thecourts for staying his ban order,said on Saturday that he mightissue a new executive order tar-geting people from the sevennations even while assertingthat his earlier order of January27, too, would ultimately pre-vail in court.

“We will win that battle,” hetold reporters, noting: “Theunfortunate part is that it takestime statutorily, but we will winthat battle. We also have a lotof other options, including just

filing a brand-new order.”“We need speed for reasons

of security, so it very wellcould be,” Trump said if hewould press ahead with a neworder. Trump indicated thenew security measures wouldincorporate “very, very strongvetting”, adding: “I call itextreme vetting and we’re goingvery strong on security.”

Simultaneously, Trump,clearly averse to the idea ofadmitting defeat with the ear-lier executive order, could stillbe appealing against the stayissued by a Seattle court andconfirmed by the 9th CircuitCourt of Appeals. “All optionsremain on the table,” com-mented White House PressSecretary Sean Spicer.

Any new order, it is wide-ly expected, will explicitlyexclude permanent legal resi-dents holding green cards. Theinitial confusion on this scorewith the earlier order came infor sharp criticism from courts.

In his weekly radio address,Trump said he would not bedeterred by the criticism of hisorder, stressing: “We will notallow our generous system ofimmigration to be turnedagainst us as a tool for terror-ism and truly bad people.”

Meanwhile, in unrelatedaction, federal agents carried

out raids in at least six States,arresting hundreds of illegalimmigrants from a dozen LatinAmerican countries. TheWashington Post reported thatthe raids were conducted inhomes and workplaces inAtlanta, Chicago, New York,Los Angeles, North Carolinaand South Carolina. A precisenumber of the arrests made hasnot been released yet.

A spokeswoman for theDepartment of HomelandSecurity, which overseesImmigration and CustomsEnforcement, called it routineenforcement action. “We’retalking about people who arethreats to public safety or athreat to the integrity of theimmigration system,” thespokeswoman was quoted assaying.

Democrats raised concernsabout the raids, seen as the firstconcerted effort by ICE underthe Trump administration.California’s Democratic SenatorDianne Feinstein said thereports show “the serious con-sequences of the president'sexecutive order, which allowsall undocumented immigrantsto be categorized as criminalsand requires increased enforce-ment in communities, ratherthan prioritizing dangerouscriminals”.

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Washington: US PresidentDonald Trump has warned of"consequences" to Americancompanies planning to shiftbase abroad, telling them thathe would make it "harder" forthem to just say "bye-bye andfire everybody." In his weeklyaddress to the nation, Trumpalso said that he is working ona major tax reform whichwould massively reduce taxesof American workers and busi-nesses.

"We are in the processright now of working on amajor tax reform that willmassively reduce taxes on ourworkers and businesses,"Trump said yesterday. "Wewant to make it much easier todo business in America, andthat's what we're going to do.We're going to make it alsomuch harder for companies toleave. They're not just going tosay bye-bye and fire everybody.There will be consequences,"he said. Trump said, he met theCEO of Intel (Brian Krzanich)this week, who announcedthat his company will invest $7billion in a new manufacturingfacility in Arizona, creatingthousands of new American

jobs."That's what we want, new

American jobs and good jobs.Intel decided to move forwardwith this project because theyknow we are totally committedto lifting the regulatory and taxburdens that are hurtingAmerican innovation andcompanies," he said. Trumpsaid he want America to be thegreatest jobs magnet of theworld. "But we can't do that ifwe don't stop the wastefulrules and excessive taxes thatmake it impossible for com-panies to compete," he said.Every hour of every day, hisadministration is focused oncreating jobs for people,Trump said.

"I mean good jobs. Morejobs, better jobs, higher payingjobs, that's our mission," hesaid. Referring to his meetingwith sheriffs and police chiefsfrom across the country,Trump said his administrationis committed to national secu-rity, which is why he will con-tinue to fight to take all nec-essary and legal action to keepterrorists, radical and danger-ous extremists from ever enter-ing the country. PTI

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Beijing: A Chinese soldier, who wasstuck in India for over 50 years aftercrossing the border following the 1962war, today returned to China with hisIndian family members to a rousingreception and an emotional reunionwith his kin.

Wang Qi, 77, was received by hisclose Chinese relatives, besides officialsof the China's Ministry of ForeignAffairs and Indian Embassy when hearrived here along with his son, daugh-ter-in-law and grand daughter fromDelhi-Beijing flight.

Wang later travelled to Xian, theprovincial capital of Shaanxi province,where he was given a rousing receptionby his family members and officials.

Chaos and confusion prevailed atthe Xian airport as large contingent ofChinese media gathered there to inter-view him.

An emotional Wang broke down ashe hugged his close Chinese relatives,

whom he met for the first time afterover five decades of separation.

"Today is my happiest day in 54years. Finally I have come back to thisbeautiful lovely country. Words cannotexpress how I feel now," he was quot-ed by the state-run CGTN as saying.

"It is a beautiful experience. I loveto thank everyone. In 54 years, I wroteso many reports to officials in India andnow finally they agreed to let mereturn home," he said.

Away from home for so long, hereturned home on Lantern Day, themost important festival in China, rep-resenting the reunion of families. It iscelebrated on the 15th day of theChinese new year.

Wang was accompanied by his sonVishnu Wang, 35, daughter-in-law Nehaand grand daughter Khanak Wang.His Indian wife Shushila and daughter,however, have stayed back in India dueto ill health, officials said. PTI

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Thessaloniki (Greece): Greek authorities onSaturday began evacuating some 70,000 peoplein the city of Thessaloniki ahead of an opera-tion to defuse a bomb from World War II.

The bomb, containing nearly 250 kilograms(550 pounds) of explosives, was unearthed in thenorthern city during road works last week andis due to be on Sunday.

More than 300 disabled people and bed-bound patients were set to be the first evacuat-ed on Saturday using 20 ambulances, authori-ties from Greece's second city said.

The full evacuation of all residents withina 1.9-kilometre (1.1-mile) radius of the bomb site, affecting three working-class neighbourhoods around west of the city-centre,is due to be completed before 0800 (local time)on Sunday.

Evacuation is "obligatory", regional securi-ty chief Apostolos Tzitzikostas told reporters onFriday. AFP

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Baghdad: Iraqi security forces fired tear gas andrubber-coated bullets on Saturday on protest-ers who attempted to march on Baghdad's for-tified Green Zone to press demands for electoralreform, police said.

Most of the thousands of protesters gatheredin the heart of the capital were supporters of pop-ulist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who is making afresh push for change ahead of provincial elec-tions due in September.

The protest started peacefully and severalspeakers addressed the large crowd in Tahrir

Square before some of the demonstrators brokeaway and attempted to break through a securi-ty cordon guarding the main road to the GreenZone. "The demonstrators tried to crossJumhuriya bridge, the security forces fired teargas to stop them but they insisted," a seniorpolice official said.

Another police official said at least 11 pro-testers were wounded by rubber-coated bulletsor tear gas canisters when the violence erupt-ed, while dozens were also treated for breath-ing difficulties. AFP

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Warsaw: Polish Prime MinisterBeata Szydlo was in "stable con-dition" in hospital after a caraccident, a Governmentspokesman said. The PrimeMinister was riding in a motor-cade on Saturday when a Fiat600 driven by a 21-year-oldman struck her vehicle in thesouthern town of Oswiecim.

Her car was forced off theroad and crashed into a tree,with the front of the car badlydamaged. Two security agentsincluding Szydlo's driver werealso injured, one of them suf-fering serious leg injuries.

Szydlo underwent med-ical tests in a local hospitalbefore being transported inthe evening by helicopter to amilitary hospital in Warsaw.

Government spokesmanRafal Bochenek told reportersthe PM was still in hospital"under observation" and theduration of her stay would"depend on the specialists".

"She is being well lookedafter. She can carry out her role,she can fulfil her obligations ashead of the Government,"Bochenek said. AFP

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Karachi: Pakistan's top diplo-mat Sartaj Aziz on Saturdayalleged that India's evolving"expansionist" maritime secu-rity strategy and un-demarkedborder of Sir Creek pose"threat" to the security of theIndian Ocean.

"The un-demarcated bor-ders in Sir Creek have thepotential to cast a shadow onmaritime security. India'sevolving expansionist maritimesecurity strategy is a cause forconcern for peace in IndianOcean," said Aziz, the PM'sAdvisor on Foreign Affairs.

He made the remarks at aconference on 'Strategic out-look in Indian Ocean Region2030 and Beyond – EvolvingChallenges and Strategies'organised by the Pakistan Navyas part of a multi-nation five-day naval exercise in theArabian Sea. "Nuclearisation ofthe Indian Ocean has also ledto further instability in theregion," he added.

He said that with 95 percent of Pakistan's trade takingplace through sea, Pakistanwas heavily dependent on atension-free Indian Ocean.PTI

<����'�!'��!���"������'���!�!���!�$'��!J Strasbourg: Some 15,000 peo-

ple marched in the easternFrench city of Strasbourg onSaturday demanding thatTurkey release Kurdish sepa-ratist leader Abdullah Ocalan, asEurope's Kurds held theirbiggest annual gathering.

Organisers estimated thatbetween 15,000 and 17,000 peo-ple, many arriving by coach ortrain from Germany, Belgiumand Luxembourg, joined therally. A local police official putthe numbers at 12,000 to 15,000.

Ocalan, leader of the out-lawed Kurdistan Workers' Party(PKK), has been detained on aprison island off Istanbul's coastsince 1999. Mirtaza, a 60-year-old protester who travelled fromNancy in eastern France for thedemonstration, said Strasbourg— the capital of a region oncedisputed by France andGermany but now the head-quarters of several Europeaninstitutions — was a symbolicchoice of venue.

"Strasbourg is the centre ofEurope — the city of theCouncil of Europe, theEuropean parliament, theEuropean Court of HumanRights," she told AFP. AFP

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Indian bowlers faced dogged resis-tance from Bangladesh middle-order led by captain Mushfiqur

Rahim, who hit a defiant 81 to take histeam to 322 for six at stumps on daythree of the one-off Test here onSaturday.

Premier all-rounder Shakib AlHasan's attacking 82 also contributedto Bangladesh's fightback. At close ofplay, Rahim was ably supported byMehedi Hasan Miraz, who was battingsolidly on 51.

However, the visitors still trailIndia by 365 runs after the hostsdeclared at 687 for six on Friday.

Umesh Yadav (2/72 in 18 overs)was India's best bowler on display butspin twins Ravichandran Ashwin (1/77in 24 overs) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/60in 29 overs) didn't look incisive despitebeing economical on a track that is stillpretty good for batting. Ashwin infactwas hit for 12 boundaries.

Ishant Sharma (1/54 in 16 overs)looked more effective with the old ballbut he did inflict some pain toMushfiqur with a snorter that had himin some pain. But the gritty Bangladeshskipper whipped the next for a bound-ary.

While India still have the upper-hand with two full days of play,Bangladesh certainly would have gainedconfidence as they showed stomach forsome fight in the last two sessions of theday after a poor morning.

The young Miraz showed maturi-ty beyond his years to help his captainby playing risk free cricket, only hittingthe loose deliveries en route a maidenTest half-century.

Mushfiqur hit 12 boundaries in 206balls while Miraz hit 10 boundaries in103 balls. The final session yielded 76runs in 30 overs.

The seventh wicket partnershipbetween Mushfiqur and Miraz yielded87 runs in 32.5 overs but more impor-tantly showed that there aren't too manydemons in the pitch.

The best part was their applicationin the final session. There was a pointof time when Mushfiqur had scoredonly four runs in an hour in the posttea session. He was ready to put his headdown and defend and with very lessturn on offer, Ashwin never lookedmenacing.

Bangladesh still need 166 runs toavoid follow-on and on a fresh morn-ing, a few quick wickets can mean thatVirat Kohli would like to ensure followon. But with his bowlers already send-ing down 104 overs, he might just wantto give them rest and pile a few runs inthe second innings.

The post lunch session was com-paratively better for Bangladesh with

121 runs coming at the loss of two wick-ets. But India after getting Shakib andShabbir Rahman in quick succession,looked in complete control beforeMushfiqur and Mehedi resisted.

Shakib, who was instrumental instemming the first session rot, went onthe counter smashing his way to 82 offonly 103 balls before his indiscretionlanded the visitors in trouble.

Once Shakib was dismissed, thevisitors quickly lost another wicket withShabbir (16) being trapped leg beforeby Jadeja.

Well set and looking good for acentury, Shakib couldn't properly con-nect a lofted shot after giving Ashwinthe charge with Umesh Yadav gleeful-ly accepting the easiest of catches atmid-on.

His balance was all awry, he didn'treach to the pitch of the delivery andabove all the situation didn't warrantthat shot with 107 runs already beingadded by him and other senior proRahim.

Bangladesh dressing room wouldhave felt good about the session as boththe senior players looked comfortablehitting some good shots but Shakib'sdismissal robbed them of claiming asession which could rightfully have

been theirs.Shakib's shot selection has been a

talking point despite his immenseabilities as an all-rounder. Some of theimperious cover drives offBhuvneshwar Kumar and Yadav werea treat for the eyes. He also attackedJadeja slogging him to the cow corner.

He got an able ally in Mushfiqur,who kept the scorecard busy with hisramp shot off Ishant and the dabs offboth Jadeja and Ashwin with an occa-sional cut shot.

Earlier Yadav (2/61 in 15 overs) rat-tled Bangladesh batsmen with pacewhile Ishant Sharma got some reverseswing going his way as the visitors wereleft losing three wickets in the pre-lunchsession.

The first session of the third daycertainly belonged to Umesh, whoworked up good pace for a consistentperiod of time.

The only batsman who hadlooked comfortable was Tamim Iqbal(25) and he was unfortunately run-out after a horrible mix-up withMominul Haque (12). The miscom-munication while going for the sec-ond run became Tamim's undoing ashe could add only a run to hisovernight score.

������ 8��1�/��

Crediting his rampaging runto captaincy, Indian swash-

buckler Virat Kohli says theadded responsibility has left noroom for complacency in hisbatting and that has helped himachieve the record-breaking featof fouAr double hundreds in asmany Test series.

Kohli, who smashed 204 onthe second day of the ongoingone-off Test against Bangladeshin Hyderabad, said captaincy hashelped him go for longer inningsin Test matches.

"I don't know, I think it isbecause of captaincy that youtend to go on more than whatyou usually would as a normalbatsman. I think the room forcomplacency is no more presentwhen you become captain. So,that has something to do withme playing long innings," the 28-year-old right-handed batsmansaid.

"I have always wanted toplay long innings and my firstseven or eight hundreds werenot even 120 plus scores. Afterthat I made a conscious effort tobat long and control my excite-ment or not be complacent atany stage," he was quoted as say-ing by bcci.tv, when asked abouthis hunger for big scores.

K o h l ibecame thefirst batsmanin the historyof Test cricketto claim fourdouble hundredsin as manyseries. In theprocess, he sur-passed the leg-endary Sir DonBradman andRahul Dravid,both of whomhad three dou-ble hundreds ins u c c e s s i v eseries.

The Indian captain saidthat he's is no longer satisfiedwith Test hundreds and his fit-ness level allows him to play forlonger innings and eye biggerscores.

"I worked on my fitness levelover the years and I feel I can gofor longer periods now. I don'tget tired as much as I used tobefore. Definitely, I don't get sat-isfied when I get a Test hundredwhich used to be before, becauseI used to give too much impor-tance to Test cricket separately.Now I have started to treat it asany game of cricket and I haveto keep going on till the time theteam needs to," said the Delhibatsman.

Asked how he has been ableto maintain consistency acrossthe three formats, he said, "It isnot easy to do especially with theamount of cricket we play nowa-days. It is more of a mental thing.I don't necessarily focus toomuch on practice becausesometimes you might not getto practice so much.

"I think mentally youneed to focus and thinkabout what you are goingto do in the game.

Switching to differentformats is the need

of the hour inthese days' crick-et. I certainlywant to con-

tribute in all threeformats. That has

always been themindset and I have to

prepare in a certain way. It ismore mental than going into thenets." He, however, admittedthat the pitch was not as testingas other wickets on which hehad scored his double cen-

turies earlier. "The wicketwas very good to baton. It was not as

testing wicket asother wicketsthat I scoreddouble centuries

on. I think thefocus was only tofollow my intentbut at the same timebe careful in shot

selection.”

����� 8��1�/��

India's batting coach Sanjay Bangar onSaturday termed Umesh Yadav, who has

been providing the team with break-throughs at crucial juncture, as "the mostimproved bowler" in the last one and halfseasons.

While Umesh only picked two wicketstoday, his two morning spells split into nineovers was termed by Shakib Al Hasan as thefinest ever he has faced in his Test career.

"Ever since the Delhi Test match againstSouth Africa, we have seen him (Umesh)giving the breakthroughs that the teamrequires. So I think the reason for that manyTest victories is not only the contribution ofthe spinners but the small contributions thatthe fast bowlers have made.

"That's why someone like Umesh standsout because I believe that he's the mostimproved bowler in the last season and ahalf," Bangar said.

Bangar said all three pacers got the ballto reverse.

"All our three seamers were able to getthe reverse swing. But Umesh (stood out)with his pace and the lengths that he bowled.Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) can bowl theconventional swing but Umesh can swing

the ball both ways. Again Ishant (Sharma)bowls slightly back of a length but Umesh'slength allows him to swing the ball with thenew ball and also with the old ball. He'sworked a lot on his wrist positions and bal-ance at the crease."

The former all-rounder praised skipperVirat Kohli and coach Anil Kumble's deci-sion to have five bowlers which always keepsa team in the hunt for a decisive result.

"You need to give a lot of credit to howthe captain thinks and how Anil thinksabout it. It's very important that the bowl-ing unit is developed in such a fashion thateven when India tours overseas, spinners willhave to play a particular role and role revers-

es for seamers, when they play in India," saidBangar.

With the likes of Umesh, Ishant andBhuvneshwar getting prominent roles inhome Tests, the situation has changed.

"You need to develop a bowling attackthat gives you results in all conditions. Thatis the thinking that goes behind, showingfaith in quicker bowlers," he said.

�.2�(.��(�/",.��(*&��0�.())0@�/�(.*,�Former India coach Duncan Fletcher

had prescribed a wider stance for theIndian batsmen notably being AjinkyaRahane but a lot of them have gone back toa "narrower stance" in order to play spin bet-ter, revealed batting coach Sanjay Bangar onSaturday.

Bangar indicated that Moeen Ali's per-formance during 2014 series in England wasthe start of the change.

Asked about change from wider stanceduring Fletcher era, Bangar said: "A lot ofbatsmen have gone back to narrower stancepurely because mobility is a crucial aspectin batsmanship. You need to be ready toadjust to the variations of the pitch includ-ing quicker pitches and against the bounc-ers. That is a crucial factor," Bangar said atthe end of the day's play here.

����� 8��1�/��

There is no bigger compliment for a fastbowler if one of opposition's key batsman

terms his spell as "unplayable" and that's exact-ly what Shakib Al Hasan felt about India pacerUmesh Yadav's morning spell on day three ofthe one off Test here.

Umesh bowled a nine over spell on a bar-ren track in the morning where he beatShakib, a number of times, with his pace andswing.

"There was nothing much in the pitch.Because we play in KKR, I know him(Umesh) very well. Probably, this was the bestspell I have faced in my Test career. He wasmoving the ball both ways and some of thedeliveries were unplayable. The best I coulddo was to hit the deliveries that I could andthe ones I couldn't, I tried not to nick it. I waslucky that I survived that spell," said Shakib,who made a counter-attacking 82 inBangladesh's 303 for 6.

The all-rounder termed the wicket as agood one to bat on and save one unplayablespell from Umesh, nothing much was hap-pening.

"No, I think the wicket is still really goodon the third day. We always knew that ballturns and there is help for spinners in Indiabut that is not happening. Apart from that oneunplayable spell, we managed to cope. As ofnow, the wicket is good but tomorrow is a newday. Let's see what happens."

Elaborating how he coped with Umesh'sdeliveries, he said: "I played with soft handsand made sure that I didn't nick it."

����� ��/��

Former India captain SauravGanguly on Saturday said he

wouldn't be surprised if Indiaswept Aussies 4-0 in the upcom-ing Test match series, com-mencing on February 23 atPune.

"Yes, it will be very difficult(for Australia). As I said, I don'tpredict in cricket, but I won't besurprised if India wins 4-0,"Ganguly told reporters after thelaunch of a new range of TetleySuper Green Teas by Tata GlobalBeverages.

Asked what made India,who have not been beaten since2012 so dominant at home, the113-Test veteran said, "Samething that has made India dom-inant at home over the last 25

years - spinners. They just keepcoming one after the other.(Anil) Kumble and Harbhajan(Singh) in my time,(Ravichandran) Ashwin and(Ravindra) Jadeja now.

"You just hand the ball toany spinner, you just give it toAmit Mishra, he wins yougames. You give it toYuzvendra Chahal, he winsyou games. You give it to off-

spinner (Jayant) Yadav, he winsyou games. So that's what it is- spin. In India, you have toplay spin well and bowl spinwell to win, simple," hequipped.

It was under Ganguly'sleadership that India camefrom behind and surprisedAustralia 2-1 in the 2001series, played at home.

"Yes, it was only a matterof time. (Mahendra Singh)Dhoni has been remarkable.What Dhoni has done over theyears is terrific and it's a cycleof life that somebody has totake over. Every good thing inlife will be taken over bysomeone," said the Bengalstalwart when asked whetherit will be easy for the team withKohli leading in all formats.

����� ��/��

Discarded India openerShikhar Dhawan is eye-

ing a comeback into thenational team at the ICCChampions Trophy in Juneby performing well in the fewdomestic tournaments linedup ahead of the event inEngland.

"Absolutely. For that Ihave 2 to 3 months and 3 to4 tournaments. I will do bet-ter. In ODIs my performancehas been top-notch, I feel thatif I do good (in these tour-naments), there will be agreat chance for me to get intothe side," said Dhawan here

on Saturday.The 31-year-old Delhi

left hander was dropped forthe third and final ODIagainst England after making1 and 11 in the first twogames. In this format heaverages close to 43 after 76

games.He has not made it to the

T20 Internationals since fig-uring against Australia atMohali in March, 2016 andwas also ignored for the five-Test series against Englandafter not doing well in thepreceding three-Test rubberagainst New Zealand.

Dhawan is confident hewill perform consistently wellto get back into the Indianteam. “All tournaments areimportant for me. If I have tomake a comeback the thing issimple - the more runs I scorewill be more beneficial for meand my case will be stronger,"he told reporters here.

����� �/��

South Africa returned to the top of theICC ODI Team Rankings after

sweeping aside Sri Lanka 5-0 in theirhome series which ended at Centurion.

South Africa had entered the seriesagainst Sri Lanka, trailing number-oneranked Australia by four points.However, Australia's 0-2 defeat againstNew Zealand and South Africa's own5-0 win over Sri Lanka meant theProteas (119 points) have now movedahead of the world champions.

India, meanwhile, were placedfourth in the ODI team rankings with112 points, behind third-placed NewZealand (113 points).

�(+�)��2��0���-(5,)/A�)(.&�.#/South Africa's duo of Imran Tahir

and Faf du Plessis have achieved per-sonal milestones in the MRF Tyres ICCODI Player Rankings following stellarperformances in the just concludedfive-match ODI series against SriLanka. Wrist-spinner Imran Tahir hassurged to the top of the MRF Tyres ICCPlayer Rankings for ODI Bowlers afterclaiming 10 wickets in the series, whiledu Plessis has broken into the top fivefor the first time in his career. DavidWarner of Australia leads the battingtable, and he is followed by SouthAfrica's AB de Villiers and Virat Kohliof India.

Shakib Al Hasan is the number-oneranked all-rounder in ODIs, followedby Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabiand Angelo Mathews of Sri Lanka.

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Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s life and career have been anopen book and enough has been written aboutthem. And yet, despite the surfeit of material, theformer Prime Minister remains, to take a quoteof Winston Churchill, “a riddle, wrapped in a

mystery, inside an enigma”. Churchill was referring to Russiaand in saying so, he added that the key to unravelling theriddle was “Russian national interest”. In Vajpayee’s case too,the key to understanding him is to realise that everything hedid or said was guided by his resolve to serve the nationalinterest.

In his book, The Untold Vajpayee: Politician andParadox, author and journalist Ullekh NP attempts to deci-pher the former Prime Minister and arguably the tallestleader the Bharatiya Janata Party has had. It’s easy becausethe author’s subject has lived a transparent life, but it’s dif-ficult because understanding the mind of a politician, andthat too one like Vajpayee who seamlessly migrated fromone end of the ideological spectrum to another and yetremains acceptable to all, calls for a high level of interpre-tative skills.

As an active politician, Vajpayee was certainly unique.From being in awe of Jawaharlal Nehru’s liberalism to being aflag-bearer of Hindutva to being an admirer of Indira Gandhito being her trenchant critic to being a moderate to being atrend-setter in managing political coalitions, he often flum-moxed his supporters and won over opponents. You justcouldn’t ignore him, and not only because of his good looksand poetic outbursts and oratorial skills. He was a consum-mate politician who knew the pulse of the people — andmore importantly, the pulse of the moment. And yet, the‘paradox’ that he was, Vajpayee failed to read the signs in2004. And twice earlier, before he settled down to complete afull term as Prime Minister, and despite his charm and good-will, he had to go through the embarrassment of quitting thepost for lack of support from the outside.

Ullekh’s earlier part of the book recounts Vajpayee’s strongsupport to the dismissal of the communist Government ofEMS Namboodiripad in Kerala through the use of Article 356.The author quotes from Vajpayee’s statement in 1959, wherethe latter said, inter alia, “The people of Kerala deserve to becongratulated. I hope in future too they will give a fitting replyto the communist party… with these words I support the reso-lution (moved by the Congress for imposition of President’srule).” The author then adds two paradoxes that he finds inVajpayee’s political career: “Ironically, Vajpayee would soonbecome one of the most vocal opponents of the political mis-use of Article 356.” Also, “It’s an altogether different matter thatin the late 1990s, he chose to recommend President’s rule inBihar, citing breakdown in law and order…”

Ullekh attributes Vajpayee’s 1959 position to “false infor-mation” that he had been fed with, regarding the acts of thecommunist regime in the State. But what Vajpayee had saidthen to support the resolution could not have been too far offthe mark, even factoring for some exaggeration. “In spite ofbeing a critic of the Congress, I have no hesitation in sayingthat what happened in the 13 States ruled by the Congress, inno States were cell courts set up. Fourteen-year-old boys werenot banished from their homes, no parents were told to

marry their daughters to communists, and no one whodisobeyed a cell court was stabbed.” This was 1959, butare things any better today? The RSS and its affiliateshave been the target of Marxist terror; there are villagesthat have been marked as ‘communist’ where no otherparty worker can function; and those who dare to pro-mote any ideology other than the Left can get theirbones broken or lose their lives. This has been happen-ing for years in the State, regardless of whether thecommunists rule or are in the Opposition.

The author says that while Vajpayee was the “mod-erate face of Hindutva”, he “did stray often”. Ullekhoffers one contentious instance of such straying. In1970, Vajpayee had locked horns with Indira Gandhi inthe Lok Sabha while speaking on communalism. Hesaid, “Our Muslim brethren are getting more and morecommunal and as a reaction Hindus are getting moreand more aggressive… Hindus will no more take a beat-ing in this country… You cannot fight communalism byignoring Muslim communalism. If you promoteMuslim communalism, the other feeling will run high.”Where is the lack of moderation here that the authorrefers to? Vajpayee was simply speaking the truth —and it remains relevant to this day. Secularists of thosedays must have felt uncomfortable with the home truth(Indira Gandhi had responded to the speech as “poiso-nous topic”), just as they do now. Today’s secularists usethe word ‘fascism’ at the drop of a hat to condemn theNarendra Modi Government, just as Indira Gandhi hadseen “naked fascism behind those words (of Vajpayee)”.

Vajpayee was one of the leaders who bore thebrunt of Emergency, and yet the experience did notembitter him to a fanatical extent. Ullekh narrates aconversation that took place during the Emergencyperiod between Vajpayee and a senior ABVP leader.Vajpayee said, much to that leader’s shock, that he hadgone to see the Minister of State for Home, Om Mehta.Vajpayee added that he was uncomfortable with theviolence that had been unleashed against theEmergency, and that the ABVP should own up andapologise for the arson and loot the organisation’scadre had indulged in, for Emergency to be lifted. So,what does one make of this conversation?

Here was a leader committed to the values ofdemocracy and free speech, almost justifying theEmergency? After all, it was well known that theIndira Gandhi regime had been giving out exaggeratedversions of criminal activities that the Opposition par-ties had been supposedly indulging in, in its bid to sellEmergency. Or was it the voice of a reasonable personwho, while condemning Emergency, was also equallyforceful in criticising mindless acts of violence?Whatever it was, it was in keeping with Vajpayee’s reputation of seeking a balance and not taking extremepositions for mere ideological sake.

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This performance oftreading the middleground while remaining

on the Right is not everyone’scup of tea. But Vajpayee wasan accomplished artiste. Heshowed traces of this in hisearlier years in the BharatiyaJana Sangh, when he got pittedagainst colleague and firebrandleader Balraj Madhok. The lat-ter was senior to Vajpayee, abrilliant speaker and organiser,and had built the Jana Sanghin Delhi from scratch. But hewas also too sharp for the lik-ing of many, blunt and oftenarrogant in approach, andinflexible. This made himunacceptable to many withinthe group and even the RSSwhich was then in the processof steering the Jana Sangh intoa process of broader accep-tance in society. The partyneeded a ‘liberal’ face, andVajpayee was it. Ullekh dedi-cates some pages in his bookto the Vajpayee-Madhok rival-

ry, but his treatment of theissue is superficial; a few otherbooks published recently onthe former Prime Ministerhave dealt with the subject ingreater detail. But Ullekh doesbring out the fact which otherauthors too highlighted: ThatVajpayee, assisted by seniors inthe RSS, not least by MSGolwalkar, emerged as thechoice of the Jana Sangh as thefuture face, while Madhok wassidelined. Vajpayee had playedhis cards well.

If the story about Vajpayeeis told — as it is in Ullekh’sbook — then the story aboutthe formation and rise of theJana Sangh also gets told. Thestory of the birth of the BJPand its growth gets told. Thestory of the formation of aBJP-led Government gets nar-rated. Also gets told is the artof coalition governance, theyears of Prime MinisterVajpayee and those of formerPrime Minister Vajpayee. In

sum, a good chunk of the his-tory of post-Independencepolitical India is covered. Suchthen, has been the broad brushwhich makes Vajpayee such animportant figure. He was vocalin his dismay over the failureof the Morarji DesaiGovernment, and felt that agood opportunity had beenfrittered away. While agreeingthat Charan Singh had been ahugely destabilising influence,he also believed that the RSScould have done more indefusing the crisis. But in thesame breath, he felt that theRSS should steer away fromactive intervention in politics.Yet another paradox?

During his years as PrimeMinister, he maintained cor-dial relations with the RSS, butalso saw to it that it did not

needlessly interfere in theaffairs of governance.Interestingly, we find s a simi-lar approach today withNarendra Modi as PrimeMinister, with Modi and theRSS maintaining perfect har-mony. Ullekh quotes Vajpayee:“I must also add that the RSS,claiming to be a social and cul-tural organisation, should havetaken greater pains to demon-strate that they did not seek apolitical role. Patronising apress that takes sides in thesordid politics of power,involvement in both bodiesthat interact with political par-ties, participating with tradeunion rivalries… these do nothelp an organisation to estab-lish its apolitical credentials.” Alesser leader would have beenrapped for these remarks, but

Vajpayee could not be brushedaside. The RSS responded withan acknowledgement that ithad to change with the times.This was not defiance butplain speak with good intent,but the author does not see itthat way. Ullekh writes,“Vajpayee alone could defy theRSS and get away with it.”

The escalation of thePunjab crisis and the rise ofJarnail Singh Bhindranwalehad been seen long before ithit the nation, by Vajpayee. Hesaid, “It is not a question ofpolitical parties deriving polit-ical benefit. Sometimes thereis great apprehension aboutIndia’s unity and integrity…The fire of Punjab has reachedthe National Capital.” WhileVajpayee congratulated theIndian Army for its successful

conduct of Operation Bluestar,he also had a word of caution:“We must not lose sight of thefact that the Army is primarilyorganised and equipped tofight foreign enemies. Using itagainst our own countrymenis a very unpleasant step, andwe should avoid it as far aspossible.” He added, with deepemotion, that “even the roti-beti relationship could nothelp the gulf from widening”.The fire of Punjab indeedreached Delhi when IndiraGandhi was assassinated.

Arguably the worst periodfor Vajpayee and for the BJPwas the post-assassination one,when the wave of sympathyfor the Congress brought RajivGandhi to power and obliter-ated the BJP. But Vajpayee,along with his colleague LK

Advani, continued to work forthe party, resurrecting it andkeeping it afloat for the future.The time came when thoseefforts bore fruit. Rajiv Gandhilost power five years down theline and VP Singh’sGovernment came in with BJPsupport. Events thereafter onlyfurther strengthened the partyand eventually led to the for-mation of the first BJP-helmedGovernment. From 1999 on,the Vajpayee regime was toserve its full five-year term.

It’s a measure of hisacross-the-board appeal andenduring popularity that tothis day, even his critics havenice things to say of him. AsPrime Minister, Vajpayeefaced many challenges, bothon the domestic and theinternational fronts. Thenuclear tests were conductedand international sanctionsimposed on India. Parliamentwas attacked by militantswith links to Pakistan. A

plane was hijacked and somedreaded terrorists had to bereleased to secure the safepassage of hundreds of inno-cent passengers on board theflight. In the midst of all this,Prime Minister Vajpayeereached out to Islamabadwith a hand of friendship. Itdid not work — just as it hasnot so far despite PrimeMinister Modi’s similarly sin-cere gestures.

But all said, it is difficult tonot agree with author Ullekh’swords that round off his book:“Vajpayee was a non-con-formist with a resolute streakof irreverence for the conven-tional, contempt for the super-stitious and unrelenting ambi-tions that overshadowed hisinsecurities. True, Vajpayeemade many mistakes…but hewas as much a democrat as hewas a revolutionary, andIndian politics would havebeen poorer without the swayof his rich contribution.”

The first bird I ever lookedclosely at — the way a bird-watcher does — was a sun-bird. All of us have seenpigeons and crows and

kites. We also have seen sparrows andmynas and parakeets. But a sunbird?Who knows of a sunbird? Forgetabout having seen one, most of ushave never even heard of a sunbird.

It was a birdwatcher friend ofmine who pointed out my first sun-bird to me. This was in a garden inPune, where I live. There was ahibiscus bush in the garden and a tinybird, the size of my palm, was flitingamongst the large red blooms thatspeckled the bush. “That’s a sunbird,”said my friend. He handed me a pairof binoculars. “You’ll need these. Thebird doesn’t look like much. But lookat it through binocs. Then you’ll see.”

I looked, and I stared, and mymouth popped open. The tiny sun-bird was truly beautiful. It pulsed witha riot of colours — purple, yellow,maroon, green, and brown. Andthere was a sparkle and metallic glintto its feathers. Its beak was long andhooked and the bird was hovering.Hovering? That was odd because asfar as I knew only humming birdscould hover. It was a learning expe-rience for me that other birds — likeour Indian sunbirds — could hovertoo. That day I stared at the sunbird.I watched it flit from flower to flower,flashing its gaudy colours. I marvelledas it skillfully hovered and sank itslong, curved beak into hibiscus flow-ers, greedily feeding on the nectarinside. From that day I was hookedon to birdwatching.

A few days later, I bought myselfa pair of binoculars (essential if youwant to watch birds), I bought all thebird books available and I startedprowling the gardens and riverbanksof Pune, looking for birds.

Birdwatching can be a bit tire-some to start with. First you have tolearn to use binoculars. Then youhave to get the hang of how to spotbirds. Birds are exasperating creatures.It takes a while to find them in a tree.Then, by the time you raise yourbinocs and focus where the bird is sit-ting, the bird is gone and you findyourself staring at leaves and emptybranches. But if you swallow yourfrustration and keep at it, you will findbirds, and if you push yourself, youfind them quicker and quicker andthey pose for you and you start enjoy-ing the pastime of birdwatching.

Birdwatching isn’t only for nerdsor the studious sorts. It is for anyonewith a heart and an eye for beauty.The best thing about birdwatching isthat it draws you closer to nature.When you sit quietly, staring at a tree,waiting for a bird to appear, yoursenses tune in on Mother Nature. Youfeel her presence, you sample herheady odours, and you start to under-stand her rhythms. You will notice

when a tree, like a silk cotton tree,breaks into flowers. You will marvelat the birds — hundreds of them —that are drawn to a tree when it flow-ers. You will notice the increase ofbirds in your city when winter sets inand you will experience a pang ofregret when the birds depart as the

heat of summer bakes the land.Birdwatching begins at home.

Although it is great to travel to exot-ic bird destinations, it’s not necessaryto do so. All you have to do is tuneyour senses to nature, which meansthat you must look with eyes thatactually see and listen with ears thatperceive sounds around us. Andwhen you actually look, you will findthat the trees and gardens of your cityare home to many birds. Several birdsthat play a role in my stories — thesunbirds, bulbuls, bee-eaters, drongos,koels, and owls — are all found incities. You only have to look and youwill find these beautiful birds.

If you want to travel to birdinglocations, then one of the best placesfor birdwatching is Keleodeo NationalPark in Bharatpur, Rajasthan. It is alarge park, filled with trees and grass-es and jheels (ponds that water birdsvisit). In winter, hundreds of thou-sands of migrating birds descend onthe park and because no one attacksor bothers them, the birds turn boldand allow you to come close.

In the cold season you can findhundreds of species in the park. Myfavourite birds are the greylag andbar-headed geese. The bar-headedgeese impress me because they arethe strongest fliers in the bird king-dom and have been spotted flyingover the Himalayas at 25,000 feetabove sea level. You also find cranes,storks, all kinds of ducks, kingfish-ers, orioles, spoonbills, harriers,eagles, owls and many, many otherbirds. And the best part is that theguides who work in the park areextremely helpful and knowledgeable.They love birds and take great pridein showing and identifying all thebirds in the park for you.

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When a cheetah sprints, there is nothing onearth that can touch it. The big cat’s hindlegs heave forward, kicking up dust, while

its front paws bounce off the ground. A few years ago,a cheetah at full pelt clocked 64mph, covering 100min just 5.95 seconds. Usain Bolt’s world record for thesame distance is 9.58 seconds. Not for nothing is theworld’s fastest land mammal called a ‘polka-dottedmissile’. Yet for all its untouchable talent, man is nowbeating beast. A report released last week by theZoological Society of London (ZSL) revealed that thecheetah is racing towards extinction. Today there arejust 7,100 in the wild, a figure that has halved since1975. Over the next 15 years, that may be furtherreduced by 53 per cent.

The cheetah’s is a familiar tale. Its wide huntingrange means they come into contact with humans out-side of protected national parks. Their skin and meatis prized by poachers, while cubs are targeted by traf-fickers to sell as status symbols in the Middle East.

Speaking to The Telegraph from the Serengeti,Dr Sarah Durant, lead author of the ZSL research,fears there are countries where whole cheetah pop-ulations will be wiped out in 2017. “Some are hang-ing by a thread,” she says. Today, the cheetah occu-pies just nine per cent of its historic range, confinedpredominantly to southern Africa. The few remain-ing in central Niger and Zimbabwe could go this year.And the once widespread Asiatic cheetah has beenreduced to fewer than 50 individuals in one isolat-ed pocket of Iran. “I am worried the cheetah will goextinct,” Dr Durant says. “This is a wake up call.”

While the cheetah should survive the next 12months, other species will not be so lucky. Amajor study released by the ZSL and WWF(World Wildlife Fund) in October revealed thenumber of wild animals living on Earth is set tofall two-thirds by 2020.

Destruction of wild habitats, hunting and pollu-tion are all to blame. This year, the mass extinctionis feared to march on apace. A ‘red list’ of endangeredspecies compiled by the International Union for theConservation of Nature (IUCN) features 82,954 ani-mals and plants, with almost a third threatened withbeing wiped out completely.

The world’s last three northern white rhinosremain under 24-hour armed guard in Ol PejetaConservancy in Kenya. The beasts, two females anda male, were transferred from a Czech zoo in 2009with another male, Suni, who died in 2014. Asrecently as 1960, there were more than 2,000 north-ern white rhinos. But poaching — most recently tofeed the demand from the Far East for rhino horn— has put paid to that. The only male left, Sudan,43, has already had his horn removed to make himless valuable to poachers, and is weakening by theday. Attempts to encourage the trio to breed haveproved unsuccessful. Also at risk from poachers arethe last remaining 21 giant tusked bull elephants,which feature on the IUCN red list.

Similarly endangered is the pangolin, anancient scaly creature which subsists on ants, andis prized in Asia for its meat. The world’s smallestporpoise, the vaquita, may also vanish this year.Only 60 individuals are left in the Gulf ofCalifornia — a 92 per cent drop since 1997. China’sYangtze river dolphin is already feared gone.

There’s also bad news for great apes. Four out

of six species are now critically endangered: the east-ern gorilla, western gorilla, Bornean orangutan andSumatran orangutan. Numbers of eastern gorillas— the world’s largest primate — have declined by70 per cent in the last 20 years and it was placed onthe red list in September.

But 2016 brought better news for giant pandas,as the animal was downgraded from ‘endangered’ to‘vulnerable’, thanks to a population rebound in China,after decades of work by conservationists. Latest esti-mates suggest the overall population is now 2,060,though that number could fall again, as climate changescientists predict over a third of the animal’s bamboohabitat will be wiped out in 80 years.

Britain is far from immune to the world’swildlife crisis. The annual State of Nature report, com-piled by 53 wildlife organisations in the UK and pub-lished in October, reported 1,199 species on the redlist — compared to 755 three years ago.

Newly added creatures include the Kentishsnake millipede, mole cricket, necklace ground bee-tle and yellow pogonus, a small sand beetle foundin salty marshes. They are names many of us havenever heard, but their disappearance could have acalamitous effect.

The decline of sand eels, for example, has led toa crash in puffin populations, now also at risk ofextinction in Britain. Since 2003, some 8,000 Britishspecies have declined by 53 per cent; among themhedgehogs, natterjack toads, great crested newts, watervoles, turtle doves and nightingales. The hen harri-er is down to a handful of birds, while fewer than 100Scottish wildcats now exist outside captivity.

But there is hope. Jeff Ollerton, a biodiversi-ty professor at the University of Northampton andbee specialist, has monitored a shocking declineover his career. In 1990, when he began his PhD,a rare mining bee became extinct in Britain. Sincethen several species have been reduced to a tinyfew, such as the six-banded nomad bee and thehairy-horned mason bee.

The great yellow bumblebee is now extinct inWales, Northern Ireland, and England. In the pastcouple of years, though, the once extinct short-haired bumblebee has been successfully reintro-duced into Britain from Sweden. Last week, it wasreported that European scientists are edging clos-er to bringing aurochs — a primitive wild cattle thatonce roamed wild forests — back from extinctionvia a process known as ‘back breeding, selectivelymating the beast’s closest living relatives.

Professor Ollerton believes more species couldfollow. Improving biodiversity on agricultural land,which covers 75 per cent of Britain, is key. So too,keeping parks and gardens wild.

“There is increasing public awareness that weneed to conserve Britain’s biodiversity,” he says. “Alsomost of our extinct species still occur on the conti-nent and could be reintroduced if appropriate habi-tats were found.” Creating enclosed spaces fornature, he admits, is not enough. Rather humans needto develop better ways of co-existing with animals.

Back on the plains of Serengeti, Dr Durantagrees. “If we have nature in one place and peoplein another that is a recipe for disaster,” she says.“People do cause problems for wildlife but they canalso be part of the solution.”

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If Rajiv Gandhi’s 1988 China visitdowngraded the border dispute,Prime Minister Narasimha Rao’s1993 visit complicated the borderresolution by adding an additional

military line to the PLA’s advantage. Raowent back to the Nehru approach ofminor territorial (sectoral) adjustmentsinstead of a ‘package deal’ for border reso-lution. China responded by saying that theentire border should be called the Line ofActual Control, without prejudice to theborder positions of the two sides. Chinatold India that with the LAC in place,troops could be withdrawn sector-wiseinstead of waiting for the entire LAC andborder agreements. The agreed sectorscould then have ‘mutual and equal securi-ty’ as agreed by the two sides. The hand ofthe PLA was evident in the Chinese offer,while India-much like during the Nehruyears-did not consult its army while mak-ing its border policy.

Rao and his civil advisors failed tounderstand that the LAC by definitionwould be easier to alter than a disputedborder even if it was not agreed on mapsor on the ground. The resolution of a dis-puted border is expected to follow tradi-tion, history and the international princi-ples of geographical determinants such ascrest-lines and watersheds, which is notthe case with the LAC. Being a military-held line, it can be changed by force.

The Rao Government fell for theChinese ploy and the two sides signed theBorder Peace and Tranquillity Agreementduring the Prime Minister’s China visit inSeptember 1993. With a stroke of the pen,the entire disputed border was renamedthe Line of Actual Control. Hitherto, theLAC had meant a mere 320 kilometresfrom Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) to Demchokin Ladakh (Western Sector) which hadcome up after the 1962 war. In the EasternSector, India continued to refer to the bor-der as the McMahon Line, a colonial termunacceptable to China. Thus, after thesigning of the Border Peace andTranquillity Agreement, the disputed bor-der acquired three lines: The border asperceived by China; the border as under-stood by India; and the Line of ActualControl as agreed by both.

The Border Peace and TranquillityAgreement added to the operational woesof the Indian Army in three areas: renam-ing of the border as the LAC, the sector-by-sector approach and the concept of ‘mutualand equal security’ (Article II of the agree-ment). For example, between 1962 and the1993 agreement, there were two recordedborder skirmishes or show of strength inci-dents: The 1967 series of firings at Nathu

La and Cho La in Sikkim and the 1986-87Sumdorong Chu crisis in ArunachalPradesh. However, after the agreement wassigned, and especially after India’s nucleartests in 1998 when relations between thetwo countries nosedived, the number ofChinese transgressions inside Indian terri-tories increased manifold. India’s figuresshow that Chinese transgressions (whichthey claim is patrolling within their ownterritories) have become brazen over theyears. The PLA’s version of ‘forward policy’had begun and continues apace.

Starting in 1998, Chinese activitiesboth in the Western and Eastern sectorscontinued to be aimed at asserting theirclaims up to their perception of the LACirrespective of the mutually agreed ‘disput-ed pockets’ where both sides should beexercising equal levels of jurisdiction. Forexample, during the eighth meeting of thejoint working group held in August 1995,the two sides had identified eight ‘pocketsof dispute’ where both had differing per-ceptions on the alignment of the 1993LAC and border. These were Trig Heightsand Demchok in the Western Sector,Barahoti in the Middle Sector and NamkaChu, Sumdorong Chu, Chantze, Asaphilaand Longju in the Eastern Sector.However, in 1998, the Chinese adopted anoffensive posture in the Trig Heights areaby constructing a road approximately 5kilometres inside Indian territory. This wasused by Chinese patrols to demonstratetheir presence in the disputed area. This

unprecedented movement was indicativeof the Chinese intention of asserting theirclaim as part of a well-designed nibblingaction. Violations inside Indian territoriesby the Chinese became routine, increasingwith each passing year.

Similarly, though Pangong Tso in theWestern Sector was not an ‘agreed disput-ed area’, since 1998 the Chinese startedpatrolling the lake in powerful boats. In1999, they constructed a motorable graveltrack from their post at Spanggur up tothe southern bank of the lake. TheChinese indicated to local Indian com-manders that their LAC ran about 6 kilo-metres inside Indian territory. TheChinese increased their activities inRechin La, Siri Jap and Demchok in theWestern Sector. Since 1998, they startedslowly upgrading their infrastructure andmoved up to their 1960 claim line at someplaces in the Western Sector. By early2015, ‘there were 12 areas of differences inLAC perception between the Indian andChinese maps, which was far beyond thetwo mutually identified disputed areas —Trig Heights and Demchok — in theWestern sector by the Joint WorkingGroup on boundary in 1995’.

In the Eastern Sector, the Chineserepeatedly attempted to push their gra-ziers intermixed with soldiers into Indianterritory. Such incidents, that began in1999, happened in Chantze and a numberof times in the Asaphila and Dichu areas.Consequently, the PLA holds Indian

ground in Asaphila and Maja in westArunachal Pradesh. All these and numer-ous minor stand-offs have been reportedby local commanders to the Governmentthrough proper channels. China, inessence, has been trying to assert itsclaims or seek bargains on the basis of thede facto possession of pockets that arebeing grabbed through intrusions. It wasno coincidence that China’s heightenedactivities along the Sino-India borderstarted in 1999 when India was at warwith Pakistan in Kargil. Moreover, as wehave seen, during Operation Parakram,the 10 months long military stand-offbetween India and Pakistan, the PLAmaintained pressure, especially in theEastern Sector, to ensure that India foundit difficult to divert maximum forces fromthe eastern front towards Pakistan.

China also beguiled India into accept-ing the sector-by-sector approach. A mutualtroop withdrawal was delinked from theneed to properly define the LAC. Instead, itwas based upon a ‘sector-wise approach’.Such an approach adopted by mandarins inthe Indian foreign office makes little mili-tary sense. How can a military theatre com-mander pull out troops when he does notknow what he is required to defend andwhat has been settled in his area of respon-sibility? A theatre commander should alsoknow about his area of interest, meaningwhat his adjacent number is doing.

In the Indian context, it involves coor-dination amongst four army commanders:

The Western Sector is the responsibility ofthe Northern and Western army com-manders, the Middle Sector is the opera-tional area of the Central army comman-der, and starting from the Nepal-Sikkimborder the Eastern army commandertakes on the disputed sector. The Chinesedo not have this problem because theTibet Autonomous Region (TAR)is a sin-gle theatre command. Simply put, untilthe entire LAC is mutually agreed upon,any troop withdrawal for India is unrealis-tic and is not likely to be accepted by thearmy; what’s more, even the 1993 BorderPeace and Tranquillity Agreement and itsfollow-on deal on ‘Confidence BuildingMeasures in the Military Field’, signed on29 November 1996 during the visit ofChinese President Hu Jintao, cannot beimplemented. Doing so would jeopardiseIndia’s border management. Furthermore,even after the LAC is settled in its entirety,the Indian Army would find it difficult toreduce its presence in any significant wayuntil the LAC is accepted as the border.

This is because the PLA’s formidableairlift, road and rail capabilities have madethe principle of ‘mutual and equal security’for troop withdrawal as suggested in theBorder Peace and Tranquillity Agreementmeaningless. The Chinese have a dualoperational advantage along the LAC: Agrowing capability to bring in troops quick-ly (thirty-four divisions, each with 12,000troops within weeks); and, unlike India,they do not have to spend weeks acclimatis-ing their troops stationed in Tibet for oper-ations on the high-altitude border.

Another issue that mocks ‘mutual andequal security’ is intelligence gathering.The PLA does not need to undertakereconnaissance missions by aircraft andunmanned aerial vehicles as it has high-resolution satellites with low visitationperiods (the time a satellite takes to comeback to the same point on completing itscycle) in both low Earth and polar syn-chronous orbits, as well as fixed reconnais-sance satellites in sun synchronous orbits.India does not have comparable capabili-ties. Moreover, China has better humanintelligence than India because the peoplenear the border are of the same stock, and,unlike India, China is not an open societyand can therefore bring more pressure tobear on its people as also camouflage itsmoves better. It is not surprising thatChina has been able to hide its surface-to-surface missiles in the Tibet AutonomousRegion, something that India would finddifficult to do close to the LAC.

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Dr HK Kaul’s life is interwoven withthe boundaries of literature andlibraries, and in these selective

environment, he has authored and edited60 books that include 15 volumes ofpoetry, such as, On the Waves, In DeepSeas, Firdaus in Flames, In the Islands ofGrace, Poetry of the Raj, New Journey,Poetry India, among others including thepresent volume of 138 poems writtenbetween 2006 to 2016.

Encounters with People and the Angelsof Hope covers new poems written byKaul — a poet, author, and the FounderDirector, DELNET (Developing LibraryNetwork) and Founder Secretary-Generaland now President, The Poetry Society(India). The poems are divided in eightsections: Society and culture; struggles forsurvival; Kashmiri Pandits; crime andviolence; religion and spirituality; envi-ronment; the professionals and craftsmen;and decaying and death.

Kaul’s poems surprises us with theirdiverse themes, and his command overlanguage and expressions, for sensitivityof a man whose multifarious activities arewell known. His contributions to theworld of poetry is well known. He hasworked mainly for English poetry, whenhe established The Poetry Society(India)in 1984, a time known for political uncer-tainly in the country.

Comprehending and reading Kaul’sverses are not an easy job. His lines andwords speak from consciousness, hiswords merge with complicated themes.This is not ordinary poetry, of just love,lust, hate, separation or union. The versesspark from depth of a mind, mind of amultidimensional personality who earlierhad written on Yoga and Shri Aurobindo.This is the mind of a man, that ShriAurobindo may have had perceived andthat reflects in his verses. He speaks andwrites like a mystic specially in the sec-tions of spirituality.

Poems of pain and melancholy, asense of rootlessness, anguish for losthome are included in the section onKashmiri Pandits. The poet turns autobi-ographical as he pens: As I stroll towardsdowntown/Through streets, lanes, streamsof consciousness/To watch the roots ofsome old structures/I find streets haveturned into lanes/Lanes into dark narrowspaces/Within fractured blocks, blockedstreams/In the diminishingspaces/Shadows of fading consciousness...Poems of pain and anguish are reflected

when he writes: Gods in the Valley arealone now. No watchmen around/No wor-shippers either... He also turns autobio-graphical for the poem My Life Changed.

To accept failure is challenging, butthe poet braces his defeat and pens thechallenging lines: This winter, he couldn’tsell a dream/The harsh reality of crashingto defeat/Made him contend with the

abuse/Welcomed to get snapped, lured andthreatened/Into the unusual labour mar-ket… Pain, anguish, a sense of rootless-ness, lost home, resulted in these a mem-orable verses. Words delve deep into ourconsciousness. Evocative lines stir ourpsyche. His sweetest verses are those thattell of saddest thoughts. The poet has cel-ebrated his life as a sublime hymn andthe verses demonstrate this.

This anthology gives a gruesome pic-ture of the present era. Human history isfilled with blood stains and funerals butthe poet sometimes draws some picturesof hope as well. As he writes: Some babieson their mothers’ backs seeing slight pas-sages of hope/Little by little grew andran/With ambition, hitting the ground…

Protests are now frequent in the city.They have become a recipe for destruc-tion. Kaul thus writes an appropriate poettitled Protest in this volume. The poemsdepict the present culture, situation of theworld diverging into different directions.Values are changing and so is the man.The poet reflects that in his poems. Thelives of sculptors, puppet maker, miners,boat men of Kashmir, in the section ‘Theprofessionals and craftsmen’ are pennedin sensitively. Kaul stresses on imagery alot and some lines give the photographicimpressions. In his playful mood, he alsopens the poem, Your Shadow. The dis-tinct use of poetic devices, such asmetaphors, alliterations, imagery, oxy-moron, and images are amazing. The fol-lowing expressions speak volumes abouthis poetic diction — like petty tyrannieswere live wires(metaphors); darkenedvision(Oxymoron); Maker of mountainshadow (alliterations); Speedingrivers(metaphor and imagery); formlessstate (oxymoron, metaphor) etc.

Kaul draws his images from thenooks and corners of the society. Hispoems identify the winds of change andthe undercurrents that are eroding thefoundations or organised societies. Hispoems are infused with passion to uncov-er the unruly. He is concerned about thevoices that are silent and about the terrorphenomenon that turn nights into play-grounds and days into knee jerk traps.Indeed, his verses are complex amalgamof thought and theme, images andimagery, talent and convictions, and aresensitive and humane.

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Page 12: court in Rupa Ashok Hurra vs. ... ucts like Lakme, Ponds, Fair & Lovely, Vaseline, etc, may have ... Revlon, L'oreal, Lotus, bearing

The Reserve Bank of India’schange in monetary stancehas been termed hawkish,

shocking the stock market andpounding the banks stocks heavily.The industry was expecting aninterest cut to come out of the dif-ficult situation of non-payment oftheir large debts. The central banksays it has already reduced 1.75per cent repo rate but the bankshave passed only 0.75 per cent to0.9 per cent.

The RBI says that shift to aneutral stance and a hold on rateswere called for to assess how thetransitory effects of demonetisa-tion played on output gap. Thestatement is extremely modest asthe central bank knows that thesituation is lot worse. The curren-cy note ban is virtually not thedevil and possibly it is also not theblack money.

The culprit is the critical condi-tion of public sector banks owing tohigh stressed funds due to non-repayment by large debtors. Just 50companies account for 71 per centof the debt. It is affecting invest-ments in the private sector.

A survey quoting Credit Suissedata says that the top 10 stressedcorporate groups owe �7.52 lakhcrore in 2016. It was �45,400 crorein 2006. Total non-performingassets are estimated at about �12lakh crore, part of which has beenrestructured — repayment officially delayed.

At least 13 of the public sectorbanks, says the Economic Survey ofIndia 2016-17 (ES), accounting forapproximately 40 per cent of total

loans are severely stressed. The ESsays the situation is worsening asthe stress on corporate and banksare continuing to intensify. This inturn is taking a miserable toll oninvestment and credit. The picture,the survey portrays, is grave. Therecovery process is complicated andtime consuming. The ES notes,“The underlying debt problem hasto be addressed lest it derails India’sgrowth trajectory.”

That is a pointer to a severe cri-sis the economy is heading for. Thebanks in February 2016 revealedtheir NPAs had soared to suchextent that provisioning had over-whelmed operating earnings. As aresult, net income had plungeddeeply into red. It led to crash oftheir shares to such low levels thatat one point the medium-sized pri-vate sector bank, HDFC, was val-ued as much as 24 public sectorbanks together.

The RBI’s prescription of assetquality review (AQR) — cleaning upbank books - did not work. As 2016proceeded NPAs soared to nine percent of total advances by September— double their level a year ago. Morethan four-fifths of the NPAs were instate-owned banks and it had reached12 per cent.

The ES attributes it to “twinbalance-sheet (TBS) problem”,where both the banking and corpo-rate sectors were under one of thehighest degrees of stress in theworld. “At its current level, India’sNPA is higher than any other majoremerging market, except Russia,higher even than the peak levelsseen in Korea during the East Asian

Crisis in 2000. (Korea had 8.9 percent NPA).”

Credit Suisse reported that 40per cent of Indian corporate debt itmonitored was owed by companies,which had interest rate coverageratio less than one. It means theydid not earn enough to pay theinterest obligations on their loans.

In countries with TBS, corpora-tions over-expand during a boom,leaving them with obligations thatthey cannot repay. This proves dev-astating for growth, says the ES, asneither stressed companies caninvest nor the sound ones as fragilebanks are not in a position to lendthem. The crisis started with India’sattaining high growth between2004-05 to 2008-09 as amount ofnon-food credit doubled both frombanks and large inflows from over-seas. Foreign inflows or externalborrowings reached nine per centof the GDP.

But as companies were takingon more risk, global financial crisisor Lehman Brothers meltdown hap-pened. Costs soared and rupeetumbled forcing them to repay theirdebts at exchange rates closer to�60-70, while firms had borrowedwhen rupee was �40 to a dollar.

Higher costs, lower revenues,greater financing costs squeezedcorporate cash flow, quickly leadingto debt servicing problems.

Unlike in the US and Europe,TBS did not lead to economic stag-nation in India. Strong domesticdemand maintained growth despitevery weak exports and moderate tohigh inflation. Despite supply con-straints and fall in manufacturing,

trade and transport; new powerplants, new roads, airports, andports ‘helped’ India grow. But mostinfrastructure investments did notprove financially viable.

In other countries, creditors insuch situation would have triggeredbankruptcies. Instead, India, the ESnotes, the strategy was to allowmore time to corporate wounds toheal. Companies sought principalpayments to be postponed so thatthey could become viable. Accord-ingly, banks restructured loans by2014-15 and extended fresh fund-ing to stressed firms.

“As a result, total stressed assetsfar exceeded the headline figure onNPAs. To that amount one need toadd the restructured loans andother bad assets.”

Market analysts estimate thatunrecognised debts are four per centof gross loans and perhaps five percent of public sector banks. The ESsays, “Total stressed assets (actualNPA) would amount to about 16.6per cent of bank loans and nearly 20per cent of loans at State banks.” Themodel is similar to that of China.Both India and China spurred growthwith liberal bank loans.

The ES, however, questions itssustainability. Indian large compa-nies saw earning diminishing to�20,000 crore per company perquarter at end of 2015, from�25,000 crore in early 2015; and bySeptember 2016, to �15,000 croreper quarter. It means aggregate cashflow has reduced by 40 per cent inless than two years. It has severelyhit their repayment capability.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

��������������������������Reader response to Swapan Dasgupta’s column,Usual Suspects, published on February 5:

Taking advantage: Maximalistapproaches are a smokescreenand are characterised in con-textualising arguments, as isdone by countering masses oftheir positions, that inabsolute terms, would bewrong outright.

Haven’t we witnessed thisearlier when former PrimeMinister Manmohan Singhlabelled demonetisation as a“monumental mismanage-ment”, when prima facie, itwas rolled out to uncoverblack money, and nobodycould argue with that!

The real is what gave thecontext, ie Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s step ofdemonetisation! It can only

be countered by a similarmove or even with construc-tive criticism that wouldhave achieved the result, orweed out the inefficiencies ofthe system of implementingnotebandi, which was neverdone in the last 69 years ofIndia’s independence.

Obfuscating the issue iswhat smokescreens are meantto do, which is used by hyp-ocrites in the garb of liberalintelligentsia. This truly is thebane of Indian politics.

Ashish Rai

Taxation woes: PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andhis Government are trying toeliminate undue hype that isbeing attached to an annualexercise called the Budget. AsUnion Finance Minister ArunJaitley said, “Ours is a non-taxcompliant country”.

Since this is true, it is nofun to project those figures of

allocations. This Governmentappears to bring in more andmore Indians in the tax net.Imagine a Budget speech giv-ing details of tax collections of�25 lakh crore and allocationsof �24 lakh crore!

Jitendra

Common tax: Now that thereis no black money in the sys-tem post-demonetisation, whynot abolish income tax com-pletely and introduce a com-mon tax on spending? Lethigh spenders pay more tax.

Imagine the man hoursthat the country will save interms of individual efforts offiling, scrutiny by IT dept etc.By trying to enlarge the taxbase in the just presentedBidget, Union FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley hasincreased the useless activitytraps in the system which isnot good for the country.

C Prabhu

�����������������������������������������Reader response to Kanchan Gupta’s column,Coffee Break, published on February 5:

Take the lead: Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has givenfreedom to babus to talk tohim directly. The result is thatyoung officers seem to havehonesty, hard work ethics,high-tech knowledge and theylook beyond politics to seeclearly what needed to bedone for the country. Saarclost relevance due to Pakistanand China. India needs todirectly connect with theremaining Saarc countries toadvance the agenda of growth.From the Western coast ofIndia, trades and shiptourisms can increase mani-fold via short sea routes to theUAE and other Arab nations.

Premolal

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Less than a month into theWhite House, US PresidentDonald Trump seems to be in

excessive hurry in signing manycontentious executive orders in tunewith his campaign’s favoured policy“America First”, thereby threateningto reset the established global order.In the process, he has to choose theright path from the several optionson his plate. The trouble is, none ofthe options are in tune with theglobal norms and if implementedcould shake the world.

Be it North Korea’s nucleardevelopment issue, the nuclear dealwith Iran, building a wall acrossMexico border, China’s trade prac-tices and the ‘One China’ policy,Islamic terrorism, snubbingAustralian Prime Minister byabruptly snapping the telephonecall, speaking to Taiwan PresidentTsai Ing-wen on telephone andthereby annoying China, barringnationals from seven Muslimmajority countries and threateningothers to be put in the same cate-gory or banning on-line betting,killing the much touted Trans-Pacific Partnership, and manymore, Trump’s plate is already full.It seems he is taking more bitesthan he can chew, thereby takingthe future of the world on anuncertain course.

From all the above issues, themost worrying seem to be handlingrelations with China and NorthKorea, both of which have poten-tials to develop into a major inter-national conflict. Past USGovernments and Asian regionalleaders laboured hard but unsuc-cessfully to deter Pyongyang toeschew its chosen nuclear path inreturn of economic help. Kim Jong-un’s commitment to nuclear devel-opment programme and defianceto world counsel against it could bea true test to Trump leadership.

When Kim Jong-unannounced in his annual New Yearaddress that his country had

reached the “final stages” of devel-oping an intercontinental ballisticmissile, Trump responded with adefiant message by saying: “It won’thappen!” But if Pyongyang does, infact, launch a missile, what optionsshall Trump have and what way heis going to respond shall be thetrue test to his leadership.

Any precipitous action byTrump would render his policy onthe issues of immigration, buildinga wall on Mexico border, or with-drawal from the TPP and manymore to be relegated to the secondcategory of importance as theNorth Korean issue would definite-ly overwhelm all other policyresponses with world-wide conse-quences, with the fear of the worldeven drifting towards a nuclear war.

But by his out-of-the-box poli-cy pronouncements, Trump isdetermined to reset the world orderon his own terms. In the process,he is going to create more enemiesand could lose existing friends. Ifhis “America First” policy standsthe test of time during his presiden-cy remains to be seen. By doing so,Trump may have been trying toresurrect the Monroe Doctrine.Many Americans have startedexperiencing its resurgence underPresident Trump. However, a vigor-ous resuscitation of the MonroeDoctrine could contradict Trump’sfavoured “America First” policy.

),1�1�.#�"0.)0,�20*�)�.,HThe Monroe Doctrine was firstarticulated in 1823 as the US policyof opposing European colonialismin the Americas. It was a means ofblocking external interference inthe Western hemisphere. It furtherstated that efforts by Europeannations to take control of any inde-

pendent state in North or SouthAmerica would be viewed as “themanifestation of an unfriendlyindisposition towards the US”.

The Doctrine was issued at atime when nearly all LatinAmerican colonies of Spain andPortugal had achieved or were atthe point of gaining independence.President James Monroe first stat-ed the doctrine during his seventhannual State of the Union Addressto Congress. The term ‘MonroeDoctrine’ itself was coined in 1850and by the end of the 19thCentury, Monroe’s declaration wasseen as a defining moment in theforeign policy of the US and one ofits longest standing tenets. SeveralUS Presidents, including Ulysses SGrant, Theodore Roosevelt, John FKennedy, and Ronald Reagan,invoked the doctrine.

This doctrine remained thecentral pillar of US policy towardsLatin America until BarackObama’s Secretary of State JohnKerry told a group of Latin

American diplomats in 2013 that“the era of the Monroe Doctrine isover”. The statement was part of aneffort to rehabilitate the US imagein a region long accustomed to see-ing the US as seeking to control itthrough persuasion when possible,and force when necessary.

Trump seems to have upturnedsuch US stance. Craig Deare,Trump’s Latin America advisor onthe National Security Council staff,denounced Kerry’s statement bysaying it “was a clear invitation tothose extra-regional actors lookingfor opportunities to increase theirinfluence”. He specifically men-tioned China. But what is frighten-ing in Trump’s foreign policy stanceis that the country is retreatingtowards isolationism. Trump wantsto build a literal wall between LatinAmerica and the US.

E(",)�*(�3�)/�A��0-�*5Trump’s policy approaches maykeep US-Latin America relationson the edge because of his compet-

ing impulses — the intervention-ism of Monroe and the isolation-ism of “America First”. His unilat-eralist style has already affectedMexico on the wall building issue.If Trump does indeed resuscitateMonroe Doctrine’s unilateralism inresponse to perceived threat fromChina throughout the region, onecan foresee a denouement in USties with Latin America.

Over the years, Mexico and theUS have forged closer ties andmore mature relations under theNorth American Free TradeAgreement (NAFTA). NAFTA hashelped Mexico promote economicintegration with the US. Mexicohas also deepened security cooper-ation. Now, by stressing on“America First” agenda, Trumpinsists that Mexico pay for themultibillion-dollar wall project,thereby displaying the ugly arro-gance of the US in Mexican eyes,forcing Mexican President EnriquePena Nieto to abruptly cancel ascheduled visit to the White

House. Trump’s arrogance was infull display when he told theMexican President to either acceptto pay for the wall or not to bothertravelling to Washington. This wasrather undiplomatic -- giving achoice to the head of state ofanother country. This signals thatTrump’s arrival portends an era ofdeteriorating relations between theUS and the hemisphere.

So, the Monroe Doctrine isback in full vigour? Diplomacy bythe threats and force is going to bethe new mantra in Trump presi-dency. Trump’s pursuit of an“America First” policy has alreadystarted putting off a number ofallies and partners. Besides bullyingMexico, its closest partner in thehemisphere and America’s thirdlargest trading partner after Canadaand China, Trump has alreadyupset 11 other countries by unilat-erally cancelling TPP and has start-ed annoying China by questioningthe ‘One China’ policy. These areworrisome and portend bad timesahead. By signing an executiveorder to build a wall across Mexico,Trump has begun to resetAmerica’s role since World War II.

The question that begs ananswer is can Trump secure nation-al security by adopting an isolation-ist policy to make his “AmericaFirst” campaign a success? Will hiswithdrawal from the 12-nationTPP help him achieve his objec-tive? Thus far, the US had created aweb of interdependence around theworld, which has defined post-WarUS policy and a sudden departurefrom such a strategy could exposethe US with unknown uncertain-ties. A sudden dramatic reversal ofthe existing stance could haveunpredictable consequences.

/-(/+��.�'.�3'.2�.#The other area where Trump isresetting the world order by sign-ing executive orders is to drastical-ly reduce funding for the UN andother international organisations,as well as beginning a process toreview and potentially leave somemultilateral treaties. The first exec-utive order titled ‘Auditing andReducing US Funding ofInternational Organisations’ callsfor terminating funding for anyUN agency or other internationalbody that meets any of several cri-teria. The order is aimed at cuttingWashington’s funding for interna-tional organisations by 40 per cent.

The second executive ordertitled ‘Moratorium on NewMultilateral Treaties’ calls for areview of all current and pendingtreaties with more than onecountry and asks for recommen-dations on which negotiations ortreaties Washington should abro-gate. These orders are in tunewith his campaign promise thathe would make the US withdrawfrom international organisationslike the UN. He had alsoexpressed distrust about multi-lateral agreements, such as theParis climate agreement.

What it means in practicalterms is that an executive order byPresident Trump would mean adecrease in funding to internationalorganisations that could severelycurtail the work of UN agencies,which rely on billions of dollarsfrom the US. The order calls forenacting “at least 40 per cent overalldecrease” in US funding towardsinternational organisations. But itremains unclear whether the callfor cutting 40 per cent of contribu-tions is for each internationalagency separately or to the overallfederal funding budget.

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The first phase of the BudgetSession offered some succorfor the Government. Therewas a working environmentin both Houses of Parliament

due to the President’s speech, theGeneral Budget, and the Motion ofThanks on the President’s address. TheOpposition parties were in an offensivemode, but they were taking part in thediscussions. Sonia Gandhi also told theCongress leaders to participate in thedebate, and other Opposition partiesfollowed suit in both Houses. PMNarendra Modi was also present in theHouse, so the Opposition had no rea-son to rake up this issue.

The other reason might be this: TheOpposition MPs are busy in electioncampaign, especially in UP. The BJP haslarge number of MPs, so it is not facingany difficulty despite many MPs beingoccupied with poll preparations. Butthe Congress is stuck as it doesn’t havemany MPs in Parliament. TheSamajwadi Party and Bahujan SamajParty are also not very comfortable; theBSP has only Rajya Sabha MPs and allof them are busy in UP. Mayawati isalso busy in election campaign. TheAIADMK is the third largest part inLok Sabha but its MPs are grapplingwith internal politics of the party.

Of course, MPs of the TMC areexhibiting their hard stand but they arenot attacking due to various reasons. So,there was no bedlam in the first phase.But the Opposition is not going to sitpeacefully in the second phase. Probablyall Opposition leaders have had a talkand this is clear that they will be in anattacking mode in the second phase,which will start in March.

However, a lot hinges on the resultsof the five States. If the BJP’s perfor-mance is not up to the mark, then theOpposition will certainly stall the pro-ceedings of Parliament and there canbe din over demonetisation. But if theBJP fares well, then there will be nohue and cry over this issue and theOpposition will have to allow peacefulproceedings of Parliament.

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The election results from Goa andPunjab are not out yet but leaders

of AAP are on cloud nine. After pollingin both States, party leaders had animportant meeting recently. The meet-ing continued for three hours andmany leaders, including ArvindKejriwal, participated in it. In themeeting of the political affairs commit-tee, probable results of the two Stateswere discussed and a strategy was pre-pared for the Assembly Elections inGujarat and Himachal Pradesh, which

are due at the end of the year. Himachal Pradesh is a Congress-

ruled State, whereas Gujarat is beingruled by the BJP for the past twodecades. The leaders of AAP are of theview that if they win Punjab elections,they can also have a good show inHimachal. A senior AAP leader feelsthat Himachal is just like Punjab andDelhi. There is no third party, and theCongress and BJP have been in powerone after another. That is why the AAPis looking for a chance there. This isalso being said that leaders of both par-ties are facing corruption charges.

Though party sources say thatGujarat is more important thatHimachal Pradesh. As per the ambitionsof Kejriwal, the national convener ofAAP, they are concentrating more onGujarat. Kejriwal has given the respon-sibility of Gujarat to the party’s seniorleader, Kumar Vishwas. The party hasalso prepared a blueprint to start a‘movement’ on all 182 seats of the State;it will lead the freedom movement ofGujarat! Leaders of the AAP say thatthere is strong anti-incumbency due totwo decades of the BJP rule. They alsoclaim that Kejriwal has got huge supportduring his visit to Gujarat.

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The Bihar CM is keeping mum andallowing many rumours to spread.

One such speculation is that he mightgo with the BJP. What gave rise tothese rumours was the fact that hefilled colours in a lotus outside thePatna Art Fair. Earlier, he maintained asoft stand on the issue of demonetisa-tion, praised Narendra Modi, andallowed the buzz that he was inchingtowards the BJP and the PM.

This is also true that he is not talkingabout the alliance with the BJP; he is stillsearching for political space in theOpposition. People are saying that he isin regular contact with the Oppositionparties and opposing many policies ofthe Modi Government. He has talked toCPM general secretary Sitaram Yechuryover several issues, and has also contact-ed the NCP leaders. He is going to par-ticipate in a function of NCP leaderPraful Patel at an engineering college.

This is being said that Nitish isdoing all these things to keep a tab onhis alliance partners, the RJD andCongress. He has already given indica-tions to his party leaders that if the needarises, he will not take even a singleminute to go with the BJP, but before

that, he will certainly take a chance withOpposition politics. He is in regulartouch with all those parties which canbe instrumental in a non-Congress andnon-BJP politics. Probably, earlier hehad left this responsibility on SharadYadav’s shoulders, but now he has takenmatters into his own hands.

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Tamil Nadu’s former CM Jayalalithaawas in the hospital for almost three

months, and there were controversiesover her ailment and the treatment givento her. These controversies continue twomonths after her death, especially sinceSasikala Natarajan became the generalsecretary of the AIADMK, even morewhen she was chosen the leader of theLegislative party. Many sordid questionsare being raised, some pertaining towhether Jayalalithaa’s death was natural.

That is why the State Government haspushed forward the team of doctors whotreated her to clear the air. Dr RichardBeale of London and other doctors ofApollo Hospital addressed a press confer-ence and said there was no negligenceduring the treatment and no reason forany apprehensions. Despite that, rumourspersist on the social media, one being that

Jaya’s sugar level had reached unmanage-able levels and one of her legs had to beamputated due to gangrene. Theserumours did the rounds in October also,but doctors had rejected them.

Some people say there was a longwound mark on Jayalalithaa’s face.Though the doctors denied this, theyexplained that prolonged illness can leavesome marks on the patient’s face. Aftertwo months of Jaya’s death, it is beingclaimed that she had died much beforeDecember 5, but it was announced laterdue to some or the other reason. Thedoctors have also clarified that she wasrecuperating but died suddenly followinga massive heart attack.

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The BJP formed the Government inAssam after winning elections, and in

Arunachal Pradesh, it formed theGovernment due to infighting in theCongress. Now, the party has set its eyeson Manipur, where elections are sched-uled for next month. The party is alsoclosely monitoring Nagaland. Amidstpolitical turmoil in this State, the BJPfeels that the story of Arunachal Pradeshcan be repeated there.

This must be noted that there is a lotof chaos in Nagaland over the issue ofreservation for women in local body elec-tions. The State has been already a victimof separatists and the situation is worsen-ing after the new turmoil. Workers of theNagaland Tribes Action Committee havelocked the State Assembly and secretariatalong with many of the Governmentdepartments. They are opposing the 33per cent reservation for women.

The NPF is the ruling party inNagaland and TR Zeliang is the ChiefMinister of the State. There are 46 MLAsin the State Assembly, which has thestrength of 60 MLAs. Some time ago, alleight MLAs of the Congress had mergedinto this. So, the BJP is the second largestparty with four MLAs. The NCP andJDU have one MLA each, and there areeight Independent MLAs. Amidst theturmoil in the State, it is being said thatCM Zeliang has put all his MLAs in ahotel for security reasons.

This is being said that the BJP wantsMP of the NPF and former CM ofNagaland, Neiphiu Rio. He had been theCM of the State from 2003. In 2013, theNPF had won the elections under hisleadership, but in 2014, Zeliang tookover. Some say probably he can topplethe Zeliang Government. Many BJP lead-ers are hopeful that Rio can be instru-mental in assuming power in the Statewhere more than 87 per cent populationis Christian. Sources say that senior BJPleaders are in touch with Rio and talksare going on in Delhi too.

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For a moment, Richard Ratcliffehad allowed himself to hope.For the first time since his wifeNazanin was sentenced to fiveyears in an Iranian jail on

secret charges, he began to believe hewould soon be reunited with her andtheir two-year-old daughter Gabriella.The British father had been separatedfrom his wife and baby ever since theyflew to Iran last April to visit Nazanin’sparents. His wife, a dual British andIranian citizen, was arrested on her wayback home to London, while theirdaughter’s passport was detained.

The family assumed it was all a ter-rible mistake, but within days, it becameclear that Nazanin was not beingreleased. Instead, she was accused ofbeing a Western spy — something thefamily label “outlandish” — whileGabriella was forced to stay with hermaternal grandparents. Richard was leftpowerless and alone in their northLondon home.

For almost 300 days now, he has beencampaigning for their return, and recent-ly began hoping his efforts would pay off.Nazanin’s appeal was in progress, she hadbeen granted an extra visit fromGabriella, and had been moved cells.From being kept in isolation and thensharing a room with a woman who gaveher the silent treatment, she is now in awing of educated women with whom shecan hold a conversation.

“Things were going well,” he explains.“I had allowed myself to be more positiveand then… well, then there was the badnews.” In an unexpected turn of events,he discovered that Nazanin’s appeal hadfailed; her five-year sentence had beenupheld by the courts. This news was ahuge blow to the family. “Nazanin’s mumhas been crying on the sofa since sheheard this,” says Richard. “Her dad wascompletely shocked that brutality is goingto continue. They are deeply mourning.”

Richard’s response is more measured:“We had a plan, it didn’t work. We need anew plan. I just don’t know what it is yet.”But his face falls when I ask him if

Nazanin could cope in prison for anotherfour years. “I think it’s ‘can I cope’?” hesays quietly. “I think I can only live with itin phases. I need to live with it now untilthe summer. Five years is far too long.”

He refuses to accept there is a chancehe could be apart from his beautiful andintelligent wife for five years. “Of coursethere would be all sorts of damages andconsequences [if it happened],” headmits. “But I’d rather not dwell on thatand instead think of what’s happening inthe next few months.” The 42-year-oldaccountant had never imagined that hisfamily would be caught up in a night-mare like this. Nazanin, 38, worked as aproject manager for charity Thomson-Reuters Foundation, and had regularlyvisited her parents with no trouble at all.

Richard strongly denies any of theclaims against his wife, which have beenreported variously as “espionage, plottingthe overthrow of the Iranian government,and that she worked as a recruiter forBBC Farsi, a World Service television sta-tion, which is banned in Iran”. (In fact,she once briefly worked for the broad-caster’s charitable wing, BBC MediaAction.) Most recently, Richard has alsobeen accused of being a British spy.

“They’re just inventing stories,” hesays flatly. “None of it’s true, and theyknow that. They think because I’ve beenon the news and so on, that I must havepolitical connections, therefore I must bea spy. It’s all utterly opportunistic.” Hebelieves that instead Nazanin is beingused as a political pawn and stresses: “Weneed to go back to what this is: A mumand a baby being held on false politicalcharges. This is a disgrace.”

Richard had originally hoped tobring Nazanin and Gabriella back hometogether by Christmas. He was reluctantto take away the weekly one-hour visitsNazanin had with her daughter — espe-cially late last year when she was in soli-tary confinement, attempting hungerstrikes, and experiencing suicidalthoughts. Yet now the appeal has fallenthrough, he must consider the possibilityof bringing Gabriella back home to

London without her mother. “It’s a seri-ous conversation I need to have withNazanin,” he says. “We’re not in a tempo-rary situation now. But it’s not a conversa-tion to broach in the next few weeks:‘You’ve just been sentenced to five years.Hi, can I take your baby away?’

“The thing Nazanin resents most isshe’s being denied watching her daughtergrow up. The thing she feels the most isher daughter adapting to that. In the firstfew visits, Gabriella had to be draggedaway and was just stroking Mummy. Nowas time has gone on, she’s adapted toGranny being her primary carer. Hebelieves, however, that Nazanin may agreeto him bringing Gabriella home in thenext few months. Her moods haveimproved, and now that she is in the mainprison wing, she has been able to pick upher old hobbies of sewing and knitting.

Richard has not yet spoken toNazanin about the appeal rejection, butsays her family has been able to visit hersince and reported back. “They said shewas calm. She was devastated when shewas first sentenced, but this time, she’salready had the shock. She hasn’t cried —but she’s not resigned to it either. She toldher family she’d write a series of letters tothe British and Iranian authorities plead-ing her case. Within the boundaries ofwhat she can do, she’ll do what she can.She’s getting stronger again.”

He has been forced to communicatewith his wife these past 10 months onlyvia phone calls listened in on by guards,and his relationship with Gabriella is con-fined to Skype. His plans to go and visitthem both were scuppered by failedattempts to secure a visa — something hebelieves will be exacerbated by the recentaccusations of him being a spy.

Richard says the trauma of being awayfrom his wife and baby hits him as soon ashe stops campaigning or leaves the office.“I miss them if I’m in a familiar place andthey’re not there. It’ll catch me oddly at acoffee shop when you see a family walk in.It’s seeing the rhythms of family life, therhythms I don’t have anymore.”

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Matthew McConaughey hasentered tricky political watersby appearing to endorse

Donald Trump’s presidency, and sug-gesting that Hollywood needs to“embrace” it. In an interview with theBBC’s Andrew Marr, McConaughey wasasked by Marr if it was time “the culturalelite of America should give [Trump] abreak”. McConaughey, in the UK to pro-mote his new film Gold, replied: “Well,they don’t have a choice now. He’s ourPresident. And it’s very dynamic and asdivisive of an inauguration and timewe’ve ever had. At the same time, it’stime for us to embrace and shake handswith this fact and be constructive withhim over the next four years.”

McConaughey added: “Even thosewho most strongly disagree with hisprinciples, or what he’s said and done.Which is another thing: We’ll see whathe does compared to what he had said.No matter how much you disagreedalong the way, it’s time to think abouthow constructive you can be, becausehe’s our President for the next fouryears — at least.”

McConaughey has tried to remainstudiously apolitical as a public figure,

preferring to instead channel his ener-gies into the Just Keep LivinFoundation, which is “dedicated toempowering high-school students …to lead active lives and make healthychoices for a better future”. However,both sides of the American politicaldivide have seized on his comments,after Breitbart drew attention to themby calling them a “sobering message”.McConaughey’s representatives havebeen contacted for a response, buthave not replied as yet.

ADavid Bailey portrait of theQueen has been reissued tocommemorate the 65th anniver-

sary of the monarch’s accession to thethrone. The photograph shows thehead of state wearing a suite of sap-phire jewellery given to her by KingGeorge VI as a wedding gift in 1947.

Sapphire is the 65th anniversarygemstone and the King’s gift to hiseldest daughter, then PrincessElizabeth, featured a glittering neck-lace, dating from 1850 and made of 16large oblong sapphires surrounded bydiamonds, with a pair of matchingsapphire and diamond drop earrings.

The Queen has added a sapphireand diamond tiara — made from anecklace that originally belonged toPrincess Louise of Belgium — and abracelet 1963 to the collection to com-plement the original pieces. She hadthe necklace shortened and the largeststone made into a pendant. The photo-graph was taken and first issued in2014 after being commissioned for theGovernment’s “Great” campaign,which aims to promote the UK abroad.

Bailey took a number of portraits

of the monarch, and when the Dukeof Cambridge saw them during a visitto a “Great” event in Shanghai the fol-lowing year, he said: “I love them.”

The photographer, whose famoussitters include the Kray twins, Diana,Princess of Wales and the Beatles, said atthe time of the commission: “I’ve alwaysbeen a huge fan of the Queen. She hasvery kind eyes with a mischievous glint.I’ve always liked strong women, and sheis a very strong woman.”

Mel Gibson will star alongsideVince Vaughn in a filmabout two police officers

who are suspended when footage of their “strong-arm” tactics is leakedto the media.

Dragged Across Concrete will bedirected by Bone Tomahawk’s S CraigZahler, and will see Gibson andVaughn team up again after Gibsondirected Vaughn in his Oscar-nomi-

nated Hacksaw Ridge.According to the Hollywood

Reporter, Gibson will play a veterancop and Vaughn his younger partner;after the tape is leaked they turn tothe criminal underworld to raise cash.

Gibson’s Hollywood rehabilitationwould now seem to be complete, fol-lowing Hacksaw Ridge’s six Oscarnominations, including best pictureand best director for Gibson.

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French presidential candidateJean-Luc Melenchon can’t

be in two places at once.But the 65-year-old hard-left hopeful is trying hishardest, thanks toadvances in technology.

As Melenchon held arally in Lyon last Sunday, a holo-gram of him was projected bysatellite to crowds in Paris.Critics called it a headline-grabbing gimmick thatobscures his firebrand poli-tics. Meanwhile, supporters ofconservative candidate FrancoisFillon hit the streets to try tostem damage to his campaign.They distributed tracts entitled“Stop the Manhunt.”

Prosecutors are investigatingthe jobs that Fillon’s wife andtwo of their five children hadworking as his parliamentaryaides. Preliminary probe involvessuspicions of embezzlement andmisappropriation of public funds.

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Passengers aboard a Swiss Air flightbound for Los Angeles were close to

trading in their sunscreen for snow-shoes after the plane was forced tomake an emergency landing in

Arctic Canada.Swiss Air Flight 40, a

Boeing 777, left Zurich withmore than 200 passengers and17 crew this week. The flightpath on the direct flight toLos Angeles took the planeover Greenland and thenorthern part of Canadabefore turning towardSouthern California.

When the pilots lost theuse of one of the plane’sengines, they were forced to

make an emergency landing — andthe closest airport was in Iqaluit,the capital of Canadian territory ofNunavat, north of Quebec. Theplane landed without incident.

Initially, airport officialsplanned to let the passengers getoff the plane and spend the nightin Iqaluit, allowing for some

tourist time, provided anyonewas willing to brave the -20 degrees tempera-ture. Ultimately, passen-gers were kept on board the plane andSwiss Air sent a replacement aircraftfrom New York, which arrived around5.30 am the following day and took thepassengers to Los Angeles, as planned.

Local officials in Iqaluit expressedregret their overnight visitors weren’table to see any of the area, save whatwas visible from the airplane windows.

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An Australian lungfish that entrancedvisitors to Chicago’s Shedd

Aquarium for more than 80 years hasbeen euthanised due to old age, thepopular tourist attraction announced.Granddad, who was four-foot-long andweighed 25 pounds, had stopped eatingand started showing signs of organ fail-ure. He was euthanised last Sunday. Anecropsy — or animal autopsy — foundconditions consistent with old age,aquarium officials said.

“For a fish who spent much of his

time imitating a fallen log, hesparked curiosity, excitementand wonder among guests ofall ages who would hear his

story,” said Bridget C Coughlin,Shedd Aquarium’s president and chiefexecutive officer.

Shedd estimates Granddad wasmore than 90 years old. The aquariumacquired him from the SydneyAquarium in Australia during a 1933collecting expedition, and Granddadwas one of two lungfish that attractedvisitors during that year’s A Century ofProgress International Exposition inChicago. Aquarium officials estimatemore than 104 million people sawGranddad over eight decades.

Rob Vernon, a spokesman for theAssociation of Zoos and Aquariums,said the nonprofit group is unaware ofany older fish kept by a zoo or aquari-um that it accredits in the US or eightother countries. “Granddad lived a pret-ty relaxed life, enjoyed interactions withus, including gentle pats along his back,and loved to eat his leafy greens,” saidMichelle Sattler, who was Granddad’scaretaker for more than 30 years.

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Vandals have struck a banana yellow carblamed for ruining visitors’ photos

of a famous English village.“Move,” someonescratched into the hood ofPeter Maddox’s car in theCotswolds village ofBibury as part of a Januaryrampage that causedaround $8,000 in damages.

For the past threeyears, the 84-year-oldwidower has parkedhis Vauxhall Corsaoutside his retire-ment cottage onArlington Row inBibury. The grey-stone 14th centuryhomes are among theoldest inhabited dwellings inBritain and feature in the art-work of British passports.With locals’ public backing,the retired dentist says hewon’t have his style dictated bytourists. Told by mechanics thathis car was probably an insur-

ance write-off, Maddox says he plans tobuy a replacement — in lime green.

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NASA astronauts are claimingto have set a new record for

the longest football pass in histo-ry, but chances are it won’t

make the cut for GuinnessWorld Records. It seems

the lack of gravityplayed a huge role.

Astronaut TimKopra, aboard theInternational

Space Station, tossed the pigskinfor 564,664 yards. Considering thestation is moving at 17,500 mph,the ball travelled at 8,800 secondsper yard. Since the big game ishappening in Houston, home ofthe Johnson Space Center, NASAhas been adding its name to pre-

and post-game festivities, whichincludes a virtual reality rollercoaster called Future Flight that

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Health and well-being are of major concern thesedays as fear psychosis grips our society. The

tremendous shift driven by technological advances andover-dependence on diagnostic tools have caused sig-nificant changes in the practice of medicine. Whatused to be a mission driven by the Hippocratic Oathseems to be giving way to commercialisation. Healthand well-being have become a big business and corpo-rate hospitals have mushroomed all around. The fancynames and styles, however, seem to be doing preciouslittle as hypochondriasis and neurasthenia seem to bespreading like an epidemic.

The cost of healthcare is rising. Fear of health andwell-being is creating anxiety neuroses. There is wide-spread agony mongering all over driving people to cor-porate hospitals. But the much-needed succour is miss-ing conspicuously. Interestingly, the major catastrophefacing humanity on the health front is bracketed underone phraseology — lifestyle diseases. Leisure and tech-nology have hardly come to mankind’s rescue. Ormaybe they are the reasons for many problems.

In the age of information and social media, the onemajor casualty has been the gregarious man with theinteractive societies that used to be the hallmark ofearlier life becoming extinct. Man seems to haveacquired power and wealth but at the same timeappears to be losing vigour and health. Vulnerabilitiesare more due to weakening of physical and mentalresilience rather than strength and increased resistivityof the microorganisms.

It is against this backdrop that we need to take alook at an interesting chance discovery of the nature oflife in the past societies. It is the story of RosetoValfortore reported by Malcolm Gladwell in his popu-lar book Outliers. The word ‘outlier’ denotes a statisti-cal observation that is markedly different in value fromothers of the sample. In other words, the odd man out.Roseto Valfortore lies in the Italian province of Foggia.What Gladwell calls The Roseto Mystery is his storyabout the Rosetans who migrated to America in searchof livelihood. As their numbers increased, they createda Roseto in America. Perfectly normal. However, theintriguing aspect reported by the author is the observa-tion of a medical doctor named Wolf, who to his dis-may found that during the 1950s, there was hardlyanybody from Roseto under the age of 65 dying ofheart attack. Those days, cholesterol-lowering drugsand interventionist measures to prevent heart attackswere not even heard of.

Moreover, heart attacks were an epidemic in theUnited States. Wolf wanted to find out why Rosetans ofAmerica were free from the menace. He took helpfrom his sociologist friend John Bruhn. The surprisingfinding was that there was no suicide, no alcoholism,no drug addiction and very little crime. The peoplewere neither on welfare nor had they any other com-mon diseases like peptic ulcers. The people were onlydying of old age. Why this was true was intriguing.

On deeper analysis, the findings were startling.The secret of Roseto was not diet or exercise or genesor location. It was simply the Roseto way to life. TheRosetans visited one another, chatted when they metone another on the streets, and even cooked for oneanother in their backyards. It was the sociology thatmade the difference — the powerful, protective socialculture that insulated Rosetans from the pressures ofthe modern world. A culture that fostered love andcamaraderie rather than envy and apprehensions.

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There is mention ofthe churning ofthe celestial oceanby the Gods anddemons in the

vedic texts. The ocean waschurned to obtain the divinenectar or amrit, and requiredthe combined force of Godsand demons. It was agreedthat the fruit of churning willbe shared by the two sides.Mount Meru became thechurning rod and NaagVasuki offered itself tobecome the churning ropewhich was pulled alternatelyby the Gods and demons.Lord Vishnu in his Kurmaavatar provided support tothe Meru. As a result of thechurning, various gems andaccomplishments came outof the ocean, also came outthe venom before obtainingthe amrit. The venom wouldhave spelled doom for theentire creation. Terrified, theGods and demons invokedthe energy of Adi Guru Shiv.Lord Shiv then drank thevenom and held it in histhroat, distributing theaccomplishments to all.

The above mentionedincident also describes theawakening of the primalenergy in the human body;through the practice of yogand sanatan kriya under theguidance of a Guru, who isthe reflection of Adi GuruShiv, in a physical form. Thesushumna becomes thechurning rod, the twin flowof ida (right) and pingala(left) represent the opposingforces of cold and hot, moonand sun that perform thechurning. Primal energy thatlies coiled at the base ofsushumna assumes the role ofNaag Vasuki. As the churn-ing happens, immense heat isreleased, which opens thevarious blockages in the body

and melts the primal energy,arising the various chakrasthrough the sushumna,granting the being accom-plishments associated witheach centre. While the heatunclogs the body and acti-vates the shakti of the kun-dalini, if generated in anuncontrolled manner in theabsence of a Guru, its inten-sity leads to the destructionof the body which is unableto bear the heat. A Guruassumes the role ofneelkanth, taking in thedestructive aspects of theheat of yog, granting thoseseeking accomplishments upthe ladder of evolution.

There are techniques inyoga that can regulate yourbreathing flow. They cankeep you charged up and dis-ease free all the time. SanatanKriya details the practice ofNadi Shodhnam, whereprana from breath becomethe fuel powering the ida andpingala flow, which togetherperform the churning to gen-erate immense heat in thebody. As this heat spreads tovarious parts of the body, itopens up the blockages in thepath of experiencing higherenergies and awakeninghigher centres, using thepower of primal energy.

Nadi refers to the ethericchannels in our body wherethe prana flows, while shod-han means purifying. Anycongestion in the channelhinders the movement ofprana. The stagnation ofprana leads to a plethora ofdiseases. In Nadi Shodhanam,the ida and pingla work aschurning rods, creating heatthrough friction at the base ofthe spine. This heat then risesthrough the sushumna andfrom there is spread acrossthe body to cleanse the vari-ous channels, remove heavi-

ness, congestion, and alsoignorance —making the bodyfar more receptive to subtlerenergies and life force.

There are many practi-tioners at Dhyan Ashram whohave rid themselves of chronicrespiratory ailments with thepractice of Sanatan Kriya. Infact, one of the students, asevere asthmatic patient, onlyrealised that her asthma hadbeen cured when the localchemist asked how was it thatshe had not purchased aninhaler in the past six months!However, asana and pranaya-ma, as detailed in yogsutras,are not to cure diseases; theyare a process of awakening.Today, there is no dearth ofmasters and teachers sellingpranayama as an exercise toincrease oxygen supply to thephysical body and boostadrenaline. The fact ispranayama does not pertain tothe physical body. It is a saluta-tion to prana, which runs inthe pranamaya kosha, whichdirectly affects the annamaya.

When you perform apranayama, the oxygen levelsreduce. In the lungs, thereare tiny sacks called alveoliwhere exchange of gases hap-pens. For the absorption ofgases by alveoli, a differencein pressure is required for aspecific time period.Pranayams like nadi shod-hanam equalise this pressureand as a result, diffusion ofgases does not happen. Evenin a hyper-pranayama likebhastrika and kapalbhati, themovement is so fast thatthere is no time for absorp-tion of gases. So, oxygen sup-ply reduces, and carbon diox-ide levels increase. A processis initiated as a result ofwhich you get into certainstates where the lower func-tions of brain reduce due tolack of oxygen and certain

higher centres, which themodern science does notunderstand, get activated.

The process of pranaya-ma is triangle. The primalenergy is in the form of anupward pointing triangle atthe mool chakra. If you noticein a pranayama, the move-ment of breath is in a trian-gular manner. There is anerectile tissue in our nose,which inflates when there ismore blood flow. In apranayama, you make a tri-angle and press the erectiletissue at the nose constantlyon both sides. This trianglepushes the primal energyupwards, when optimumareas of brain are awakened.The optimum activation hap-pens when the three flow —ida, pingala and sushumna —are balanced. Then the pri-mal energy rises and spiritualexperiences follow.

For Nadi ShodhnamPranayama, close your eyesand sit in vajrasan. Gentlyplace the thumb of your righthand on the right nostril, thering finger touches the left nos-tril, and the middle finger restsat the centre of the forehead.The left hand may be placedon the left knee. Shut the leftnostril with the ring finger andinhale from the right nostril.Exhale from the left nostril bypressing the thumb against theright nostril and simultaneous-ly releasing the ring fingerfrom the left nostril. Nextinhale from the left nostril andexhale from the right using thethumb and index finger. Inhaleto the count of four and exhaleto the count of eight. Thiscompletes one cycle. Repeatthis cycle seven times. Do thispranayama to awaken the pri-mal energy and have supernat-ural experiences.

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In the Bhagavad Gita, LordKrishna laid emphasis on per-forming one’s duties. If this is

the case, then shouldn’t we try tomake them enjoyable?Theoretically, this may make a lotof sense but how do we do it prac-tically? We know that duties aredetermined by time, place and cir-cumstances, which means that thechoice of duties is not always ours,which means that at least someduties will not appeal to us andmay also give some pain. Forexample, an employee is handedover a dossier and is asked to givehis recommendation next morn-ing. The dossier contains severaldocuments and this report is cru-cial for making an important deci-sion by the company. Time isshort and the work time-consum-ing. He may have to take thedossier home and study it. Howon earth can he enjoy this duty?

The following examples willillustrate how a duty, whichappears tough and is so mostly too,can be made pleasurable. How doesa mother take care of a newborn,who remains awake during thenight and sleeps during the day,just the opposite of what his moth-er wishes him to do? She does this

duty willingly because she loves herchild dearly. She is not thinking ofher pain, she is focusing on thewell-being of her child.

Another example is of a stu-dent, who knows studying is a longhaul spanning over a decade, maybe two, and he must do it. If thestudent is wise, he will focus on allthe benefits he will derive bystudying well. The third example isof a professional cricketer, whotirelessly practises perfecting histechnique. What keeps him going?He knows that a better techniquewill bring him many rewards. Thelast example is that of a personstarting a business. He realises inhis heart that this will be a longand hard journey but he needs themoney. Therefore, what does hefocus on? That once he succeeds,his financial woes will be over. Inall these examples, duties were

embraced with benefits in mind.What do we normally do? We

consider duties as pain. Somewomen do not bear children forthe fear of inconvenience to themand miss the pleasures of moth-erhood. Some, nay most, studentstreat studying as highly boring

and fail to take advantage of thetime spent. They are only seeingthe negative side of duties whichpale in comparison to the bene-fits of studying well.

Also, it is not unusual for oneto think that these duties are forthe benefit of someone else. In

case of women not agreeing tobear children, they refuse to bebothered about some soul, whoshe has to bring up with lots ofpain. People don’t realise thatduties have been assigned to usfor our own benefit. They con-tribute towards our spiritualprogress besides giving us manyother benefits. A good studentgenerally excels in life; all thepain taken bears fruit.

The next question is about theselection of duties. Some dutiesare apparent like a student’s needfor learning but some are not soclear. It is no wonder that LordKrishna has stated in the Gita thatthe intricacy of action is difficultto understand. (4.17) This iswhere wisdom and guidance help.We can correctly ascertain ourduties but we are more concernedabout duties of others; we think

more in that regard rather thanabout our own.

The Lord has advised use ofintelligence in ascertaining ourduties where there are options. Wemust weigh all our actions, includ-ing our duties against three yard-sticks. One, what should be doneand what shouldn’t. Two, whatshould be feared and what shouldn’t.Three, what will contribute to ourwelfare and what has the potential ofputting us in trouble. The nextimportant thing to do is to ensurethat all our actions are appropriate,neither excessive not insufficient.This exercise must go on lifelong.For those who follow these guide-lines, duties become enjoyablebecause they are on the right course,which brings success and satisfac-tion besides spiritual progress.

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Ahighly ambitious guy in his teens,worried about his poor perfor-mance came asking the other day:

“Am I not intelligent enough to scorewell? Though I have been working veryhard, I am not able to score well. Why?”

Well, fact remains that you are bril-liant. You have a fertile mind withvision, foresight, and imagination. Infact, you have an independent, innova-tive and inventive mind, capable of visu-alising things far ahead of others. Youmay perceive things in quick flashes.You also enjoy an excellent communica-tive skill whereby you can present thingswith exactitude. All put together quali-fies you for extraordinarily performance.

Yet, if you are not able to performwell, it would imply that there are somelimiting factors in mind that do not letyour potential-self play out to its best.Mind it; one needs to put in qualityefforts to score well. Mere physicalendeavor would not suffice.

What does quality effort mean? Itsimply implies one-pointedly puttingin your whole, free from any distract-ing influence from within. Remember,what you study needs to be understoodand absorbed well, for the subject mat-ter to effortlessly become available to

one’s asking. Then only, one would beable to do justice to the questionsasked. This, in the first place, calls forone pointed attention on the subjectmatter while studying. Second, suffi-cient mind-space should be available toaccommodate fresh inputs.

The irony, however, is that youngimaginary minds, usually live in theirown dream world. Unabated, they keepbreeding fanciful ideas. Also, they keepbrooding and contemplating uponimprints of scores of indwelling desirescarried over from the past. They arealso susceptible to be drawn towardstempting influences of the glare andglitters of the outer world.Consequently, like a monkey unmind-fully and randomly jumping from onebranch of a tree to the other, unwittinglymind keeps flirting around from onedream destination to the other. Mind,thus, remains subject to enough of dis-traction from within, which does notallow one-pointed attention on the sub-ject matter while studying.

Remember, there are five levels ofmind — ignorant, scattered, gatheringup, one-pointed, and concentrated. Bybirth, invariably one begins with anignorant and a scattered mind, thus

coming up with attention deficiency.One would, therefore, need to con-sciously gather the mind and try toimprove one’s focus for quick learningand desired performance. Leave asidebecoming fully concentrated, whichcould be accomplished through contin-ued practice over a period of time. Evenif one gets into the gathering up process,one may be able to remain focused for afair amount of time at one go. That willbe good enough to score well.

Let us now look at the astrologicalmarkers of the boy to figure out whatholds him back from performing well,despite being armed with immensepotential. Born with Aries lagna, a fieryand active sign, he is impulsive, aggres-sive, headstrong, and impatient. He willcarry a tendency to jump into actionwithout proper forethought. Lagna lordMars is conjunct mind-signifyingMoon, in an airy sign. Both are placedadverse to Uranus, Venus, and Rahu.This, in the first place, accounts for hismercurial temperament, and irrationalbehavior at times. Second, he is vulnera-ble to unpredictable mood-swings.Third, he is too much touchy and sensi-tive, who may get over exercised evenon trivial issues. Following which, hekeeps unnecessarily mulling over the

issue for long. He becomes jittery andirritable. Fourth, he has a restive mindcarrying worrying tendency. Fifth, hewould be unconventional and unstable.

Mars is also ill-disposed off to itsdire enemy Saturn, as well as mischie-vous Neptune. He thereby has a suspi-cious mind, and at times would doubthis own worthiness. He would be intol-erant and critical of others, and wouldnot take any contrarian view kindly. Hewould be self-deluding and inhibitive.He may develop inferiority complex.Mercury placed adverse to Saturnaccounts for his fixated one track mind,normally not open to listening or coun-sel till pushed to the wall. And theresult is there to see.

Towards the positive side, the Sunis conjunct wisdom oriented Jupiter,and intelligence signifying Mercuryplaced trine to Moon and Mars. Readtogether, makes out a genius. Let himfollow the process as suggested toaddress his infirmities, and he may beable to present his best soon.

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