AV 01st October 2022

Britain’s Indian community is finally

Chauth and Dussehra after a dry spell due to the pandemic For the first time in two years, people will be freely able to

vaccination drive and control over Covid cases in the UK.

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

Vikram Doraiswami, the new High Commissioner of India to the U K takes charge

Vistara named ‘Best Airline in India and Southern Asia’ second time in a row

India wins big at prestigious international higher education awards in London

Congress scrambles to find a candidate for party president's poll

From the first ever Thames parade to century old celebration, global Bengalis gear up for Durga puja festivities

The resilient Indian community is determined to keep safe during the ongoing festivities by taking necessary precautions but also urging for strict vigilance from the new Home Secretary.

patrol in Shri Vallabh Nidhi Temple in Wembley

Secretary Suella Braverman’s mother Uma Fernandes

Queen Elizabeth II Woman of the Year Award from Claudine Lawrence from Axiom DWFM (left) and Maheshi Ramasamy from Oxford Vaccine Group (right)

DR M N NA N DA K U M A R A

As well as heading The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, the largest Indian Arts Organisation outside of India, Dr Nandakumara has travelled extensively performing Hindu ceremonies at principal occasions Dr Nandakumara likes to relax by reading, watching cricket, catch ing up on news about India and watching Indian classical music and dance programmes

1) Which place, or city or country do you most feel at home in?

Mattur, India’s Sanskrit Village which I originate from, is where my heart is, but London has been home for 45 years and I have been blessed to have lived in one of the world’s great artistic and cultural cities, which provides a fantastic platform for India’s classical arts

2) What are your proudest achievements?

Being part of a lasting organisation that continues to successfully set the standard for the teaching and performance of Indian classical arts in the UK, and has been recog nised as such not just by the Indian diaspora but with the arts loving public at large

3) What inspires you?

In my time at The Bhavan, I have had the opportunity to see the development of m a n y p e r fo r m e r s f r o m t h e i r v e r y f i r s t lessons in an art from right through to see ing them on stage as outstanding perform ers in their own right and highly respected in their chosen disciplines this is what inspires me

4) What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

It’s probably an often repeated answer but the Covid 19 pandemic put a massive strain on The Bhavan For an organisation that is so dependent on face to face inter actions, having this taken away literally, overnight, posed so many challenges But I’m proud to say that we adapted quickly moving our classes to be delivered remotely and this opened up new avenues for us The resilience shown by our off ice and teaching staff, and the engagement of our students were essential in making this a success

5) Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date?

Sr i M a n

c

Director, and Dr John Marr, The Bhavan’s Hon Gen Secretar y, are the 3 individuals who have shaped my time in the UK their s u p p o r t , g u i d a n c e a n d e x p e r i e n c e h a v e

been foundational to anything we have achieved here

6) What is the best aspect about your current role?

Running an organisation that provides access to the best training in the Indian classical arts, and which makes this accessi ble to all I believe the beauty of Indian arts is something ever yone should experience and to have the opportunity to make that possible is ver y fulf illing

7) And the worst?

There’s no “worst” instead I prefer to use the term “challenging” With so many art forms available for learning and con sumption, we have to strive to make Indian arts continually relevant and appealing so that there is a continued desire to explore them

8) What are your long term goals?

From an education perspective, to stan dardise the grading system for Indian classi cal arts so it aligns with how western classi cal art forms are graded to ensure trans parency across the codes From an institu tional perspective to grow the quality of our teaching and performance capabilities and continue to set the standard

9) If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change?

Providing more avenues for funding for charity and non prof it organisations, and access to the relevant support to make them sustainable

10) If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why

D

T

Bh

M a

n ’

o r

Krishnamurti, The Bhavan’s f irst Executive

A phar mace utical tycoon who se rpent ne arly £2 6 mil l ion t en ye ar s a go on the propert y in Fitzroy Pl ace , is suing for £1 mill ion ove r an “unb eara ble” noise like “ pop p i n g b ub b l e w r a p ” a t hi s Fitzr ovia flat

Mahatma Gandhi because he prac ticed as he preached, and that honesty in thought and action is something I admire deeply

Switching to BST and back

Eve ry year, th e clo c ks go b ack i n a u tu mn and fo r ward again in spring bu t it can still have the cap ac ity to catc h some peo ple o ut And wh i le y o u r sm a rtp h o n e up dates th e time automati cally, when the fateful day c omes aro u nd o nce mo re you’ll s till have to go aro und t h e h o u se ad j u s ti n g an y a na lo g u e ti m ep i e c es y o u h ave Currently, the UK is o p er at in g o n Br i ti s h Summer Time (BST ), wh ich gives us more daylight in th e evening when the c locks g o b ac k , we ’ ll ret u rn to G ree nw ic h M ea n T i m e (GMT )

This year, the clocks are going back in the UK on Sunday 30 October, a day earlier than last year, which gives us an extra hour of

daylight in the darkness of a u t u m n a n d w i n t e r T h e change always happens at 2 00 am on the f inal Sunday of October, and it gives you a n e x t r a h o u r i n b e d which might be welcome if you ’ ve overdone things at a H a l l o w e e n p a r t y o n

Saturday night

Making the change at the weekend, in the middle of the night, ensures that there is a limited disruption for schools and businesses GMT is the standard time zone against which all oth ers in the world are refer enced, and will remain in place until spring when we w i l l r e v e r t t o B S T o n c e again The clocks always go for ward again at 1 00 am on the f inal Sunday of March, which means that in 2023

BST will start on Sunday 26 March, which gives us more daylight in the evening, but will sadly cut your Sunday lie in short

T h e c a m p a i g n fo r

British Summer Time came about at the beginning of the 20th centur y Moving the clocks for ward in the summer months would give u s d a r ke r m o r n i n g s b u t lighter, longer evenings

Although no one seems t o c o m p l a i n a b o u t t h e aforementioned extra hour in bed in the autumn, some have campaigned for British time to be brought in line with other European coun t r i e s t o re d u c e a c c i d e n t s T h i s w o u l d m a ke i t t w o hours ahead of GMT in the s u m m e r a n d o n e h o u r ahead in the winter

Scottish Health Secretary expects an "immediate" improvement in A&E waiting times

New Scotland f ig ures show 63 5% of patients were dealt w ith w ith in fo ur ho urs well below th e gov ernment's 95% target

M r Yo u s a f s a i d h e expected to see the statistics rebound when new f igures a r e p u b l i s h e d n e x t w e e k S c o t t i s h To r y h e a l t h s p o ke s m a n D r S a n d e s h Gulhane said he was "out raged" by the government's response

F i g u r e s fo r t h e w e e k e n d i n g 1 1 S e p t e m b e r s h o w e d j u s t 6 3 5 % o f p a t i e n t s a t t e n d i n g A & E were seen and subsequently a d m i t t e d o r d i s c h a r g e d w i t h i n fo u r h o u r s T h e Scottish government target is 95% One medic warned that such delays could lead to the loss of about 40 lives

Mr Yousaf singled out three sites the Forth Valley Ho s p i t a l i n L a r b e r t , t h e R o y a l I n f i r m a r y i n

Edinburgh and the Queen E l i z a b e t h Un i v e r s i t y Hospital in Glasgow as having performed particu larly poorly, while acknowl edging that the low f igures were "across the board" in all parts of Scotland

He said capacity in hos pitals was the principal rea s o n fo r t h e A & E w a i t i n g times He also cited recruit ment issues and pressures in t h e s o c i a l c a r e s y s t e m , including rising energy bills making it harder for care homes to run their business es

T h e h e a l t h s e c r e t a r y said he hoped to set out an NHS action plan to parlia ment within the next fort night He will set out mea sures to increase the NHS workforce and to invest in social care to tackle delayed discharges He also said that there was a "high possibility" of another Covid 19 wave, as

w e l l a s e x p e c t e d i n j u r i e s from slips, trips and falls in colder conditions

He pointed to his gov ernment's efforts to recruit further staff, with 200 nurs es brought in from overseas last year And in efforts to retain staff, he said he was m e e t i n g s o o n w i t h t r a d e u n i o n s r e p r e s e n t i n g N H S staff to get a pay deal "over the line"

He explained that stud i e s s u g g e s t e d a m o r t a l i t y rate of one patient for ever y 82 who spend more than six to eight hours in an emer g e n c y d e p a r t m e n t " I n Scotland there were about 3 , 4 0 0 p a t i e n t s w h o s p e n t more than eight hours in an ED (emergency department) in the week ending statistics we've just seen which means that we could estimate that 40 additional lives will be lost because of these delays, within the 30 days "

Doctor suspended for stealing from Harrods and Harvey

Na z i r a l i Te j a n i b o u g h t the flat off plan, but soon after moving in complained about a clicking noise

A c c o r d i n g t o w r i t t e n s u b m i s s i o n s t o t h e H i g h Court in London, the tycoon has alleged that the

Te j a n i , w h o h a n d l e s b u s i n e s s i n c a t e r i n g a n d property companies as well a s ph a r m a c e u t ic a l s , t ol d a court that the sound perme ated the entire flat and dis turbed his sleep

The property’s net value i s m u c h l e s s t h a n t h e a m o u n t h e p a i d a n d i t i s impossible to let the flat to tenants

He is now suing the free h o l d e r, F i t z r o y P l a c e Residential, and developer, 2 1 0 Mo r t i m e r St r e e t G P, d e m a n d i n g £ 1 m i l l i o n i n damages They have denied l i a b i l i t y i n a c a s e t h a t i s scheduled for a full trial next month

In 2016 Tejani made the f i r s t c o m p l a i n t a b o u t t h e noise, soon after the comple tion of the residential, off ice a n d c o m m e r c i a l d e v e l o p ment on the site of the old Middlesex Hospital, which closed in 2005, according to court documents

A do ct o r c au t i o ne d fo r s te a li n g a h a n db ag f ro m H a rro ds a nd c lo t h es an d m ake u p fr o m H a r ve y Ni c h o l s i n K n i gh t s br i dg e h as been su spended fo r a year Dr Su niti Sh arma was h a u le d be fo re a tr i bu n a l after a conviction for theft and also revealed th at sh e h ad a 2008 police cau tio n fo r t h e d ep ar tm en t s to r e thefts, wh ich sh e did no t d is c l o s e p ro p e rl y to th e autho rities

The tribunal heard that Dr Sharma had “used a pair o f s c i s s o r s t o a s s i s t w i t h r e m o v i n g t a g s f r o m t h e

items she had stolen” and that staff at Har vey Nichols fo u n d s e c u r i t y t a g s l e f t inside the changing room cubicle She was also cau t i o n e d fo r o n e c o u n t o f t h e f t o f a h a n d b a g f r o m Harrods on the same day

T h e c a u t i o n c a m e t o light in a police check after t h e M a n c h e s t e r R o y a l Inf irmar y worker was con victed in 2019 of stealing a microwave jug, moth stop bags, and travel bags among o t h e r i t e m s w o r t h £ 1 0 4 from a Cheshire Lakeland

In a ruling, the tribunal stated: “The Tribunal deter

mined that Dr Sharma’s fail ure to notify her regulator of a police caution under mined public conf idence in the medical profession and that this was so serious as to amount to misconduct

I n m i t i g a t i o n , D r Sharma told the panel she was “truly sorr y ” , that she w a s “ m o r e a s h a m e d a n d humiliated than anyone can say ” and she had not intend ed to mislead the medical regulator The tribunal con cluded that a one year sus pension therefore “ was the a p p r o p r i a t e a n d p r o p o r tionate sanction”

Bradford woman found dead but uncle denies murder

Th e uncle of a woman wh ose body was found 11 days after sh e went mis sing h as denied h er murder

Somaiya Begum, who was 20, was last seen at her home in Binnie Street, Bradford, on Saturday, 25 June

B

but her body was found in

Bradford, on Wednesday,

July

Mohammed Taroos Khan, 52,

Bradford, appeared via video l

C

September He pleaded not guilty to murder A provi sional trial date was set for 28 Februar

with Keith Vaz

Dr Na nda kumar a is a Pionee r in India n Classical Art s, and a well kn own scholar of the a ncient S anskr it la ngua ge, liter atur e an d philos ophy He hold s a PhD from the Unive rsity of London and has d edicat ed the la st four d ecade s to t eaching, le ct uring an d propa gatin g Ind ia n Ar ts an d Cultur e in the UK Dr Nan dak umara is an a ccomplished pub lic spea ker an d has g iv en talks a t pre stigious e ve nts all aroun d the world, in cluding the Westville Un iver sity in Dur ban , S Africa , House s of Pa rlia ment a nd C amb ridge Un iver sit y He ha s also r eceive d many Awards an d Accola des ove r the y ear s

Executive Director Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, UK

This riot is a rude awakening for Britain’s political leaders

It is not just about Hindus vs Muslims It is about subconti nental divisive dirty politics making inroads in the UK, which is alarming as well as shameful

Navratri festivals have started with so much excitement across the world The 10 days celebration has not only seen boom in businesses serving the community, but the excite ment is also palpable among the youngsters who are thrilled to meet old friends and family, after two years of separation due to Covid 19

Navratri festival is not just a cultural or religious celebra tion, but it is an emotion, a cultural bonding between the members of the community outside India, teaching the future generations about Indian ethos and values

The Hindus and Muslims in this country have lived in absolute harmony for over seven decades if not more While race and class differences have been widespread, this country has never witnessed such communal riots before What is fur ther disturbing is while no one is considering third party foul play like Khalistani incitement in this unrest or irresponsible faith organisations making it a faith related issue, both com munities are living in fear on UK’s soil, like never before!

Vinod Popat of BHV (see p6) has raised some very perti nent points He explained how the communal disturbances in Leicester have shaken up the very core of the city where diverse communities live and celebrate side by side A cricket related issue after India Pakistan Asia Cup match result was a friction that was blown out of proportion by social media rants as well as faith organisations making comments claiming it to be a faith related communal issue Though those statements were later withdrawn, damage was made, hatred spread like wildfire, with fake videos and threats circulating widely

Hindutva card, linking everything with RSS and BJP More measured approach by Hindu leaders, understanding the exact agenda of extremists would have been vital But that did not happen

Eye for an eye is an age old reaction, but as we celebrate Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday on 2 October, there are a few of his lessons worth remembering Any hands raised does not mean retaliation is absolute necessary Calmness in adversity does not equal to cowardice

More than 4% of UK’s population are Muslims as com pared to only 2% of Hindus According to Firstpost, a House of Commons report recently said, 18% of prison inmates in the UK are from the Muslim community, which is the highest after prisoners from the Christian community behind the jails in the country

As per the report, there are 13,724 Muslims residing in pris ons in England and Wales “The proportion of Muslim prison

ers has increased from 8% in 2002 to 18% in 2021, ” the report stated Meanwhile, there are only 329 Hindus residing in pris ons in England and Wales

There is an actual problem in the statistics here Many of the Muslim communities are extremely poor for generations, do not have the right education to do decent jobs, taking recourse to criminal activities to earn living

However, this prison narrative has faced severe criticism when David Lammy’s race report in 2017 pointed out that while religion is not noted in prison population, this unex plained increase can lead to divide in social cohesion He r e p o r t e d l y s a i d , “ T h e l a c k o f t r a n s p a r e n c y u n d e r m i n e s

accountability ”

Dr Zubeda Haque formerly a part of Runnymede Trust, had pointed out in an article published in the Huffington Post, that, there were “myths and stereotypes” around the rise in the number of Muslims in prisons The main ones were that it was due to terror convictions and that prisoners were converting to Islam in large numbers, she had said

UK Governments and politicians have had major role to play in such community clashes With Prime Ministers visiting m o s q u e s a n d t e m p l e s , w h i l e i t s e e m s t h e y h a v e w i d e l y embraced the minority community spirit, have divided them further based on vote driven politics, replicating subcontinen tal trends

Labour party, that people are predicting will make a come back in 2024, was the favourite for immigrants arriving from the Indian subcontinent for the longest time The party, that had an Indian man as one of its key founder members, was close to the very values Indians held as immigrants Fast for ward to 2010, suddenly the votes had shifted to Tories due to the growing anti India sentiments within the Labour party

The Labour Friends of India immediately disintegrated as it could not fight the growing animosity towards an Indian and popular Hindu leader such as Narendra Modi Some UK peers and Azad Kashmir supporters fed in more hatred and the party drifted away While current leader Keir Starmer in 2022 Labour party conference has promised the moon to the public, he has done very little to win back one of Britain’s richest and most hard working communities

Religion is a complex human sentiment and despite repeated cries to control reactions, not much can be done by ordinary methods With growing poverty, such discontent ments will only increase against progressive communities But when UK political parties have divided the diaspora for their own selfish goals, what room does common public have to lis ten to voice of reasons? Weaponizing social media must be a punishable offence it could be the first step to restore sanity in general

Rajasthan development puts Gandhis in a bigger soup

When Congress is preparing for the election of a new party president, the latest political development in Rajasthan has put the party in bigger soup than the Gandhis have imagined for The script prepared by the Gandhis have gone haywire as Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, widely touted as the Gandhis’ proxy candidate for the election, engineered a rebellion to the family’s desire to replace Gehlot with his bete noire Sachin Pilot The Gandhis have faced embarrassment of late, but none this bad It’s not just a loss of face, it’s a stark reminder that strong state leaders can now try and dictate terms to the family and, most of all, that the Gandhis can be seemingly truly out of touch with political realities Gehlot’s reaction to Pilot becom ing Rajasthan CM should surely have been anticipated by the Gandhis True, the family is keeping a promise made to Pilot that his turn for the CMship will come, after he was outma noeuvred by Gehlot in 2018 But Pilot’s impatience, which led to his reckless rebellion in 2020 has extracted a huge and justified reputational cost Many in Congress believe he doesn’t deserve an honourable accommodation so soon after wanting to break a Congress government

Gehlot camp ’ s resignation drama may be no better than Pilot’s 2020 actions as a textbook measure of indiscipline But politics doesn’t work that way Gehlot’s pre eminent position in the Rajasthan Congress and his desire to take up the president’s post on his own terms should have prompted the weakened Gandhi family to yield If Rahul Gandhi wanted his one man one post dictum to be followed in letter and in spirit, he should have been okay with the other post being with a Gehlot man The fact is Gandhis have little electoral clout their utility is in preventing the party from disintegrating faster So, Gehlot has called the bluff More dramas may follow The family’s percep tion of Gehlot as the best of their loyalists to succeed Sonia Gandhi could change now In that case other loyalists may throw their hat into the ring But Gehlot checked several boxes with his tactical acumen, organisational ability, political heft in his home state, and an OBC Hindi heartland identity Will another pliable winning candidate bring those qualities to the table? If the answer ’ s “ no ” , what good will a new chief do?

His red line that antagonist Pilot could not be his replace ment triggered a crisis because Congress did not believe that a mild Gandhian who untiringly swears loyalty to the brass could challenge its authority It was possible because when Gehlot thought of going all out, he had the clout among the legislators to pack a punch unlike former Punjab chief minister Amarinder

Singh He could do little when he was eased out in a midnight coup in September 2021 A seething Singh had to bow to the leadership’s wishes because of a groundswell of opposition among party MLAs who were worried about their prospects in the polls six months later And this is where Gehlot seems to have scored over Singh

Prime Minister Narenda Modi said that corruption and nepotism are the twin evils that Indian has to fight for We need to come together as a society to punish those who have propagated the evil of corruption We are making efforts to seize properties of people who have fled the country after defrauding the banks India needs to be alert against the cor rupt as well as corruption Corruption is damaging the country like termites and need to be weeded out Highlighting his gov ernment’s efforts at rooting out corruption, PM Modi said, in the last eight years, Aadhaar, DBT (Direct Benefit Transfers) were used to prevent government benefits to falling into the wrong hands PM Modi said that another evil that needs to be fought is nepotism We need to give opportunities to those who are talented and will work towards the progress of the nation Talent will be the basis of a New India He said that the ambit of nepotism goes beyond dynastic politics as it pervades other aspects of public life We need to start a revolution against it This is our social responsibility In its resolve to fight against corruption and corrupt politicians, the government has raided the houses and offices of several politicians belong ing to Aam Aadmi Party, Trinamool Congress etc by using the services of central agencies

In a major crackdown on “radical” Muslim outfit, Popular Front of India, coordinated searches were conducted by N a t i o n a l I n v e s t i g a t i o n A g e n c y ( N I A ) , E n f o r c e m e n t

Directorate (ED) and local police at the premises of top leaders of the outfit across 15 states and as many as 110 leaders and activists were arrested for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country The arrested leaders were taken to Delhi and were were produced in the NIA special court in Delhi The raids followed inputs and evidence that they were involved in funding terrorism and terrorist activities, organising training camps for providing armed training and radicalising people to join banned organisations The government has also taken action against businessmen for cheating banks and common man Now the Supreme Court has also become very active against corruption as well as archaic laws that the corrupt exploits to their advantage

Thought for the week Political Sketchbook

The ISI Doctrine vs The Modi Doctrine

T he G overnment o f Paki stan is s el f styled protector of Isl am globally I t has onl y Mal aysi a and Turkey backing it as the o ther Islamic Repu bli cs fight among thems elves between the two major s ects or are too embarrassed to be represented by a State sponsor of terro ri sm and peoples they cons id er their i nf eri or

They issued a statement from their High Commission due to the troubles in Leicester They referenced their new self assigned role and promotion for the Umma

The policy of the ISI who run Pakistani Foreign Affairs on matters relating to India and Balochistan is to use increasing ly its diaspora to disrupt relations and reputations of the Indian diaspora worldwide At a State level, terrorism is not so viable now that their channels are penetrated by Western Intelligence Agencies

The policy is to harass the Indian diaspora to incite them through provocation by the use of jihadis to violence and rep utational damage It is to use MPs to portray ‘Hindu’ as extremist by using words such as Nationalist, Nazi, RSS and Hindutva

Of course this strategy is fooling no one either in the UK Government or in India I worked in the US Congress for Congressman Eliot Engel on lobbying the State Department and White House to have Pakistan declared a terrorist State (long before Trump said the same and before the man behind 9/11 was found in Pakistan)

Through that work I’ve seen the Indian Public Diplomacy initiative grow with pride Just as there are many who wish to portray Jews as terrorists and Zionists, so this is the ISI doc trine It only takes a couple of High Commission officers to speak, encourage and inform intermediaries to the jihadis

Thankfully they’re a lot more effective in far away Afghanistan than in the UK

So let’s turn to the Modi doctrine When a country is 70% Hindu, and the only historic home of the oldest of all faiths, then that country is home, wherever its sons and daughters may live

For too long nations have limited their protection to their own Citizens India, must extend this principle to cover all those whose ancestors have called Hindustan their home

Because unlike those of all other faiths, Hindus have no traditional, ancestral home, except India, it must be the poli cy of your Government that all Hindus wherever they are in the world will be extended the umbrella of protection of your Government

The first determinant of your relations with any Foreign Government must be their treatment of the Hindu popula tion within their borders It has to be the business of this Government how Hindus are treated worldwide If they want better relations with India, first make the best relations with Hindus in their own country

This doctrine is not novel in international relations The people of Israel provide protection for Jews wherever they are in the world, of whichever nationality We shall extend no lesser protection to Hindus

Nor should anyone ask, what of those of other faiths? Muslims, Christians, those of all other faiths who are Indian nationals will continue to have the full unwavering protec tions of the Indian State

As Hindustan becomes and economic superpower, what use this wealth, this status, the hands of friendship of other nations, if they do not respect our people, for Hindus wher ever they are will always be Hindustani first

The Hindu nation is not confined to borders drawn by a colonial power We are the Hindu nation, world over

Extend this Doctrine to all Dharmic faiths who have no home except India including the Sikhs, Jains, Parsees too

I have termed this the Modi Patel doctrine in tribute to India’s first Deputy PM, Sardar Patel, who was responsible with bringing all the States into the Union at Independence and thereby earned the title the ‘Iron Man of India’ Hereafter India will be Iron like in its resolve in the protection of Hindus The riots of 2002 are testament to why Hindus need and must be protected, for it was there hundreds of Hindus were burnt alive, and the carnage and consequences for Muslims thereafter was truly horrific

Therefore expect the full support of the global Muslim population that Hindus should nowhere in the world ever feel a minority We will no longer stand afraid of protecting our own, for fear of offending others We will no longer feel a minority in our own homeland

The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence. R abi nd ranath Tago re

Alpesh Patel

Tributes after body found during search of missing woman

readers

condo

People shared their con dolences after a body was found

It came 12 days after the missing woman, named 36 year old Tara, was reported

taken place, Tara’s family had been informed by the police

The force said it was not treating the death as suspi cious Following the tragic

commented: "Rip beautiful, sending prayers and hugs to the family

Lisa Coope said: "So sad She worked with me and we all miss her everyday, heart

Valerie Dunn wrote: "So sad Rip young lady x Deepest

condolences to her family and friends at this sad time

A West Midlands Police spokesperson said previous l

: " P

found the body of a woman at the junction of Coplow S

Street in Birmingham The 36 year old had been miss ing since September 12

"Although formal identi fication is yet to take place, T a r a ’ s f a

a

Doctor could be struck off over operations at New Spire Parkway Hospital

A doctor wh

Peterso

works

migh

face

tions inclu ding perfo rming op erati ons patients did not need

Mr Salama involving three

proved

O

allegedly underwent eight surgical procedures and

T h e M P T S p

the power to issue a warn ing, impose conditions on M

S a

suspend his name from the medical register, or strike him off

b

n informed We are not treat ing her death as suspicious and our sympathies remain with her family "

y

Birmingham Pride celebrated 25th anniversary in the city centre

In c elebration of the return of Birm ingham Pride, thou s ands of people lined up the s treets of the city centre

As the parade made its way through the city centre from midday, people from a c

together

cheer This was

marked the end of a 'summer

of success' for the city after the Commonwealth Games

Along the parade route

stormtroopers, dogs in prams and firefighters were playful

water

Along with the fanfare, Pride raises money for chari ties that work to support our LGBTQ+ community It has

awarded more than £353,000 to numerous groups, chari ties and events that provide services in the region since 2014

Over the course of the weekend, there were perfor

artists at Smithfield Live with Becky Hill, Mel

and Steps

that performed this year

Councillor who helped mums get their sons out of crowds calls for calm

A co u n ci ll o r

h o h elped mum s in get t i ng ba ck th ei

from th e groups which c

L eicester last weekend s a ys th

rofound effect on the city, par

and yo ung peo ple

The city continued to come to terms with con frontations involving small sections of the Hindu and Muslim communities C

described how she did what she could to restore calm during the disorder of the crowds

C o

s e n t s H u m b e r s t o n e a n d H a m i l t o n w a r d , received several mes sages about what was happening and initial ly she was adamant she should stay home

H o w e v e r , o n e phone call changed her m i n d S h e s a i d :

n A

"Around 8pm a woman on Belgrave Road was c r y i n g d o w n t h e phone, because her 12 year old son was lost in the mid dle of one of the crowds The police were trying to keep the two groups sepa rate, she couldn’t get to her son

S

woman to speak to police officers and other council lors who were present at the t

maternal instinct kicked in and she left her home to help the distressed mother She said: “It’s always the c

these situations and that's the part that people are for getting

“From a human level all the commentators are peo ple who weren’t there on the ground or men But as the only woman that was there on the ground at the time, I saw the human cost

"It’s not just about big, bad, rough and tough men W

comes home battered and with their head bashed in,

mothers

It has been found that Dr Amir Salama, a consul tant orthopaedic surgeon at Spire Parkway Hospital, conducted procedures that were not "clinically indicat ed" and, in one case, he failed to obtain

before resorting

second

surgery

Service found aspects of six of the complaints against

a n d 2 0 1 8 f

n g shoulder symptoms leaving her with a permanent dis ability and cosmetic defor mity

o n g o

According to the MPTS in respect of the rotator c u f f , M r S a l a m a d i d n o t seek a second opinion or refer the patient for further t e s t s o r i n v e s t i g a t i o n s before performing surgery

Next March, a decision a b o u t w h a t s a n c

impose will be heard

Spire Parkway run by p

same hospital where rogue b

worked He was found to have carried out operations patients did not need In 2017, he was jailed for 20

wounding with intent and three counts of unlawful

nine

Racist attack in Ruislip High Street

Warning about Anti social racist youth gangs around McDonald's Ruislip High Street Shefali Saxena

A p erson of A sian orig in in R u i sl ip re ce nt ly f ac ed a raci st attack o n th e Hig h S treet Sh aring their o rd eal w ith A sian Voice, the p erson ( w h o w is h e s t o rem ai n a no n ym o u s ) to l d t h e newsweekly that after a day o ut to Wiltshire visiting rel ativ es, he pulled up in front o f McDonald’ s Ruislip High S treet one evening around 8 15 PM to get a burger for h is 1 1 year old son

“As we were slowing to park, all of a sudden our car was pelted with eggs by a group of young boys and girls (looked to be between 9 and 15) hanging outside the store When the first bang came my wife thought I’d hit something and rolled down t h e w i n d o w t o c h e c k A young boy (must’ve been 9!!) c a m e c l o s e r a n d a i m e d a n o t h e r e g g w h i c h f l e w through the passenger's side w i n d o w a n d h i t m e a n d splattered on the window next to me, ” the source told Asian Voice

H e a d d e d , “ W h e n I stepped out to confront the kids, they ran away but then returned to threaten m e , h u r l i n g r a c i s t a b u s e a b o u t “ b r o w n % # e x p l e tive€$” and old to “F#%¥ off to my country” A girl then threw a drink at me whilst

another kid threw eggs And another one ran to throw full cans of drink at our car (denting it) and more eggs A l l t h e w h i l e t h e r e w e r e o l d e r t e e n a g e r s , w h o appeared to know the kids and may have encouraged them, watching and enjoy ing the apparent entertain ment!! I went back to my car to get my phone and went into Mcdonald's to call the P o l i c e w h e n I w a s p e l t e d w i t h m o r e d r i n k s i n s i d e

When I tried to get a video of the kids they ran away, a n d a n o l d e r t e e n a g e r threatened me for trying to v i d e o h i s b r o t h e r H e slapped my phone out of my hand Thankfully the Police arrived within minutes, as my wife had locked herself in the car and called them in the meantime ”

According to the source, there were many people in McDonald’s, and store own e r s l o o k i n g o n f r o m t h e other side of the street but no one intervened The kids were being egged on by the older teenagers who were enjoying the confrontation

The two older boys were still around when the Police arrived “After hearing my story and speaking with the two lads, they initially tried to tell me that if I insisted on p r e s s i n g c h a r g e s I w o u l d have to go to Court and it

may not stand up But even tually, the Police said that as t h e 2 l a d s w e r e 1 6 t h e y c o u l d n ’ t b e a r r e s t e d , a n d hitting my hand and threats would not be enough for juvenile custody However, they promised that a crime incident would be recorded a n d t h i s w i l l g o o n f i l e against the older kids For t h e y o u n g e r k i d s , t h e y would make a reference to C o m m u n i t y P o l i c i n g t o make further enquiries and increase their presence in the area of Mcdonald's But as they were younger kids the max may be a warning to parents and a reference to C h i l d S e r v i c e s , ” t h e m a n added

He appreciates the quick response of the Police dur ing a very busy period but d o e s n o t e x p e c t m u c h t o come of this “My insistence was only that the errant kids be made to recognise that there is a price to pay for their actions, which would serve as a deterrent This brazenness in openly attack ing us, completely unpro v o k e d , w a s b e c a u s e t h e y were confident they could get away with their actions *because* they were under a g e a n d w o u l d n ’ t b e d e t a i n e d S u c h f e r a l b e h a v i o u r , a n d r a c i s m i n 2022, by kids so young, was t r u l y d i s t r e s s i n g B e s i d e s

being very frightening for my son and wife It’s per h a p s a n e x p e r i e n c e t h a t ’ s repeated in other town cen t r e s m a n y t i m e s a w e e k a c r o s s t h e c o u n t r y

Shockingly, this happened in Ruislip High Street, an apparently upmarket area!” he told us

The source hopes that t h e n e i g h b o u r h o o d a n d community police will act to stop such antisocial violent b e h a v i o u r b y y o u n g k i d s “But, for now, Ruislip High S t r e e t a n d i t s r e s t a u r a n t s will be a no go area for me i n t h e e v e n i n g W i t h t h e realisation that open racism still exists in Ruislip today,” he added

Sir Keir Starmer will seek to project himself as a future prime minister

Accord ing to the find ing s in a p o l l led by S a v an ta C o m Re s fo r L a bo u rL i s t, Labour has a 12 point lead over th e Conservativ es, gen era ti ng a c o m m an d i ng majority if such results were to play out at the next gen eral election in 2024 Voting intention sh ows L abour in th e l ea d w i th 4 5 %, th e C o nse rv ati v es at 3 3 % , th e Lib Dems at 10%, the Greens at 4% and Refo rm at 3 %, the data sug gested Of the 3 57 p arl i am e nta ry co n st i tu en cies currently held by the C onserv ati ve Party, v o ters in 279 o f those said that they tru s te d L ab o u r m o r e to

King Charles III’s official monogram design released

Ahead of the offi cial period o f royal mourning for th e death of his mo th er, Qu ee n El i za bet h I I , t h e King ’ s new mo no g ram h a s b ee n revealed

In the coming m o n t h s a n d y e a r s , C h a r l e s ’ s c y p h e r w i l l a p p e a r o n g o v e r n m e n t buildings, state documents and on some post boxes

T h e c y p h e r f e a t u r e s

t h e K i n g ’ s i n i t i a l “ C ” i n t e r t w i n e d with the letter “R” for Rex Latin for King with “III” d e n o t i n g C h a r l e s III, with the crown above the letters

Soon after the Q u e e n ’ s f u n e r a l l a s t M o n d a y , t h e n e w m o n a r c h t r a v e l l e d t o Scotland, with the period of royal mourning lasting for seven days after the late Queen’s burial

m anag e policies related to the rising cost of living crisis than th e C onserv atives

This included 132 con s t i t u e n c i e s i n w h i c h t h e m o d e l s h o w s L a b o u r n o t gaining from the Tories at t h e n e x t e l e c t i o n I t i s b e l i e v e d t h a t S i r K e i r Starmer will seek to project himself as a future prime minister Commenting on t h e p o l l ' s f i n d i n g s , C h r i s Hopkins, political research director at Savanta ComRes s a i d : “ T h i s M R P m o d e l highlights both the poten tial and precarious nature of Labour’s polling lead at the moment

"Many traditional polls, and this MRP model, show L a b o u r e n j o y i n g d o u b l e d i g i t l e a d s o v e r t h e Conservative Party, but one percentage point either way c o u l d b e t h e d i f f e r e n c e between a sizeable Labour m a j o r i t y , a s m a l l L a b o u r majority, or no majority at all

Of course, no Diwali celebration would be complete without a touch of gold The five day festival begins with Dhanteras, and gold plays a key role in its story According to mythology, King Hima’s son was saved from a fate of death by snakebite thanks to a large distracting pile of gold at the family’s d o o r T h i s l e g e n d h a s i n s p i r e d a tradition of buying gold on Dhanteras to ensure good luck for the year ahead

While gold jewellery has been the favoured gift f o r a l o n g t i m e , g o l d bullion is now leading the w a y w i t h a m o d e r n update on tradition The d e m a n d f o r g o l d v a r i e s throughout the year, but there is often a spike just b e f o r e a h o l i d a y l i k e D i w a l i , w i t h b u y e r s rushing to snap up gold bars and coins in smaller quantities, which can be given as gifts

T h e R o y a l M i n t ’ s intricate Om, Ganesh and Lakshmi gold bar designs were

d e v e l o p e d i n c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h c u l t u r a l a d v i s o r N i l e s h Kabaria, who is a member o f t h e S h r e e Swaminarayan Temple in Cardiff Nilesh provided T h e R o y a l M i n t w i t h d e t a i l e d b r i e f s t h a t c a p t u r e d a l l o f t h e e s s e n t i a l e l e m e n t s r e q u i r e d t o a c c u r a t e l y d e p i c t L a k s h m i a n d G a n e s h , a n d t h e u n d e r l y i n g m e a n i n g s behind each component of the design

Nilesh also designed the Om bar on behalf of The

R o y a l M i n t A s p a r t o f t h e d e s i g n p r o c e s s , h e f e l t “ i t n e c e s s a r y t o understand the meaning and origin of t h e O m s y m b o l , t h e s a c r e d s o u n d generally known as the vibration of the u n i v e r s e ” W i t h t h a t i n m i n d , h e “wanted aspects to flow out from the centre and be both controlled as well as free spirited”

Last year, the Lakshmi 20g gold bar sold out within the first week of going

sale, with a second run of bars

demand Dhanteras saw the highest sales of Lakshmi 20g gold bars in a single day

A

Precious Metals at The Royal Mint, comments: “Following the success of the Lakshmi 20g gold bar launch last year, we spoke to our customers to understand which Hindu god or goddess they would like to see appear next on a gold bar Ganesh proved a clear favourite, and so all effort was made to honour the ‘Lord of Beginnings’ on a new 20g gold minted bullion bar in time for Diwali 2022 We have worked closely with Nilesh to ensure accuracy and cultural authenticity in design, to develop a product that incorporates both beauty and tradition, but with a modern twist

Each gold bullion bar in The Royal Mint’s Diwali range is struck in 999 9 fine gold and available in a variety of sizes from 1g to 20g editions to suit all budgets Each gold bar is also imprinted with a unique serial number, and beautifully presented in a blister pack and a henna patterned sleeve

You can explore The Royal Mint’s range of unique gold minted bullion bars by visting royalmint com/diwali and shopping the range today

The Royal Mint celebrates Diwali with the launch of their new gold minted bullion bar range, which features intricate Lakshmi, Ganesh and Om designs.

South Asian women have released a joint statement expressing their safety concerns

Home Secretary Suella Braverman was sent several letters by the British Hindu com munity, urging her to take the right action for the safety of the community amid the ongo ing unrest in Leicester, Birmingham and protest in Brent ahead of Navratri and Durga Puja After a large scale protest outside the S h r i V a l l a b h N i d h i M a n d i r T e m p l e i n Wembley along with Shree Swaminarayan T e m p l e K i n g s b u r y a m o n g o t h e r s , p o l i c e increased security around Hindu temples in the area

O n 2 2 n d

S e p t e m b e r , M P f o r H a r r o w E a s t , B o b Blackman wrote a letter to the Home Secretary as the Chairman of the APPG of British Hindus raised concerns over the safety of the communi

t y a m i d N a v r a t r i H e said, “Navratri begins next week and lasts for 10 days, Diwali occurs on the 24th of October with Hindu New Year on the 25th of October These are key festivals for Hindus and a seri ous threat to security The safety of those cel ebrating raises serious concerns ”

In his recommendations to Braverman, the Harrow East MP mentioned that expan sions in security were a must to protect British Hindus and temples across the coun try

O n t h e s a m e d a y , Lord Dolar Popat also w r o t e t o t h e H o m e

Secretary, stating that H i n d u i s m i s a p e a c e loving religion and peo p l e s h o u l d n o t b e encouraged to destroy the progress made by t h e c o m m u n i t y H e wrote, "We have sadly seen the rise of ten sions due to a small minority of people intim idating and being violent towards others based on their religion They do not repre sent the majority of Hindus and Muslims in the UK who live out their lives in peace and practise their religion without stopping any one else from doing so "

“As a leading member from the Hindu community, I am asking you to engage with us by meeting with the APPG for British Hindus in order for us to find a solution to de escalate tensions The APPG covers a vari ety of Hindu organisation and is best placed to engage with you to ensure Hindus are rep resented at all levels in this discussion ”

Religious event cancelled VHP (UK), Ilford was asked by the Local Police Constabulary to cancel the Pravachan ( r e l i g i o u s s e r m o n ) o f o n e o f t h e H i n d u world’s most renowned spiritual gurus, Pujya Sadhavi Rithambhra Ji Didima (mother) that was slated to be held on 23rd September at t h e V H P I l f o r d C o m m u n i t y C e n t r e a n d Hindu Temple The reason given by the Police is the perceived law and order situa tion that could have been created by her com ing to Ilford

H a s m u k h V e l j i S h a h , V i c e P r e s i d e n t , Trustee and Press Secretary of World Council of Hindus UK (Vishwa Hindu Parishad (UK)) w r o t e a l e t t e r t o H o m e S e c r e t a r y S u e l l a Braverman stating that Sam Tarry MP wrote a l e t t e r t o B r a v e r m a n ’ s o f f i c e o n 1 4 t h September without any factual evidence to s u p p o r t c l a i m s a n d a c c u s a t i o n s l e v e l l e d against Sadhavi Rithambhara Ji

T r u p t i P a t e l , P r e s i d e n t o f H i n d u Forum of Britain wrote a l e t t e r t o t h e F i r s t M i n i s t e r o f S c o t l a n d , Nicola Sturgeon asking about the latter’s plans to safeguard the com munity

S h e f u r t h e r t o l d A sian Voice, “The HFB is in constant touch

FEAR NOT!

with all Mandirs and Samaj across Britain Regional Vice Presidents have assurances from Police to ensure extra safety at festival times Women are more confident now to go to festivals, however, those who are still frightened of some harm are advised to go out in groups and be vigilant, be strong and carry on practising our Dharma We carried out successful Security training with CST on 23rd September to give a conference to the Hindu community ” Dam ag e control?

I n a s t a t e m e n t i s s u e d b y t h e f o r c e ,

Assistant Chief Constable Adam Streets of Leicestershire Police said that communities can celebrate as they would wish and without fear "All those celebrating Navratri and Diwali are reminded to follow our usual advice to celebrate safely "

Braverman met with local police officers and Hindu and Muslim community leaders in Leicester and assured them that thugs behind recent violent clashes would face the full force of the law Earlier, the Indian High Commission in London had strongly con demned the “violence perpetrated against the Indian community in Leicester and vandali sation of premises and symbols of Hindu reli gion” External affairs minister S Jaishankar also raised similar concerns during a meeting with his UK counterpart, foreign secretary

J a m e s C l e v e r l y , a t t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s

General Assembly in New York Leicester City Mayor Peter Soulsby has indicated plans for an independent review into the circum stances behind the weekend's violence

A sian wom en in Leicester ‘liv ing in fear’

A group of south Asian women of Muslim and Hindu faith in the east Midlands city issued a joint statement, which was read by Rita Patel, a local councillor In a video released on Twitter, Patel said, “We, as Asian women from Leicester, call upon the people of this city to rally together and oppose the senseless violence that has torn apart our community over the last week We condemn those perpetrating hate and violence in our city you will not succeed in dividing us

“As your grandmothers, mothers, sisters, aunts, daughters and friends we have come together in collective solidarity to say no to the senseless violence that has plagued our great city in recent weeks and left many peo ple injured As a result, whole neighbour h o o d s a n d e n t i r e f a m i l i e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y

women, children and elders and now living in fear ”

Neel Joshi, a British Indian in his 20s said, “Given the current ongoing circumstances in Leicestershire, I can imagine some members of the public may feel anxious to attend pub lic Navratri and Dussehra events Despite most of the public being against such vio lence, their fear is understandable due to the nature of the recent events being quite seri ous

“However, people who are simply travel l i n g w i t h t h e s o l e p u r p o s e o f a t t e n d i n g Navratri and Dussehra events may have less to worry about I cannot see why attending religious events and displaying non violent acts would spark further violence ”

P aayal Shukla who will be celebrating Navratri with friends said, “We’ve never had to take logistical precautions or discuss possi ble scenarios that may come up However, this year there have been active conversations that have had to happen to ensure our safety during this festive period ”

Brahm preet K aur Gulati, Leicester Young Labour BAME Officer said, “Leicester takes pride in its diversity and unity We will not let the work of a few individuals ruin the harmo ny we have had As young people, we stand in solidarity with all faith groups in Leicester ”

Priv ate security available fo r comm unity

S o u r abh L ah i ri o f S w i f t S e c u r i t y Solutions is offering private security services to the community during this festive season Speaking to Asian Voice, he mentioned that he feels Hindus are not taking their safety seriously and organisers don’t want extra costs “I am also bringing my private security

officer to accompany me to various pujas as personal protection They are all trained and licensed by the UK government ”

“We hav e far m ore in com mon than that which d ivides us ”

The Chairman of Shree Sanatan Hindu Mandir in Wembley along with two Muslim faith leaders on Sunday stood in unison appealing for peace and harmony, discourag ing protests

M e a n w h i l e , H a t e p r e a c h e r A n j e m

Choudary has returned to stir up unrest in strife torn Leicester by calling for “Muslim Patrols” to fight Hindu gangs (Full story on P8)

In an official statement shared with the newsweekly, London May or Sad iq Khan tried to send out a message of peace and harmony to all communities, stating that his grandpar ents were from India and his parents are from Pakistan He further added, “I remember the solidarity I had growing up in London with my Asian Hindu and Sikh neighbours, who a l o n g w i t h M u s l i m , W h i t e a n d B l a c k L o n d o n e r s a l l s t o o d t o g e t h e r a g a i n s t t h e f a r r i g h t o f t h e 8 0 s and early 90s

“The Asian immi grant story in London a n d t h e s e n s e o f common struggle is shared by people who have links to all parts of the sub continent We cannot let current or past tensions, and the wider politics of the region, be used as a pretext to break that unity or stir up trouble on our streets “ B r i t i s h M u s l i m s and British Hindus should always be allies, not adversaries And any attempts to drive a wedge between our communities by a small minority should be called out and resisted by all Now is the time for us to rekindle and strengthen our bonds of solidarity We need the silent majority to continue raising its voice and deploring this disorder

“Together, let’s take a stand against all forms of hatred, intolerance and extremism wherever it is found ”

British Hin du Voice calls for an in depe nde nt e nquir y by the Home Se cr eta ry V i n o d P o p a t , Chair man of t he British Hin du Voice said: ‘’The communal disturbances in Leicester have shaken up the very core of the city and its claim to be a beacon of the peaceful city where diverse com munities live and celebrate side by side

“Following the Cricket related incident on Melton Road, the BHV immediately wrote to the Police pointing out that the incident should not be seen from a faith perspective as some were trying to make it be and should be treated as a simple law and order issue

“A request was also made that the Police Commissioner and the Chief Constable to meet Hindu leaders urgently Unfortunately, this was overshadowed when certain faith organisations made comments claiming it to b e a f a i t h r e l a t e d c o m m u n a l i s s u e T h e u n s u b s t a n t i a t e d , u n v e r i f i e d , a n d c a l l o u s statement by a certain officer in the Police stating that anti faith slogans were raised during India’s win over Pakistan exacerbated the situation and spread like wildfire We challenged the police on that, which resulted in them acknowledging that they made a mis take and issuing a withdrawal of that previous statement But the damage was already done This has since then led to religious extremist elements making all sorts of claims against Hindus on social media and issuing fake videos and vile threats

“The BHV wrote again to the Police point ing out the dangers of the messages circulat ing on social media and requested urgent a c t i o n b e t a k e n a g a i n s t t h o s e w h o w e r e behind it We pointed it out to the Police that the focus of the extremists has been to create

a narrative against the Hindus, using the H i n d u t v a l a b e l T h e s e d i s t u r b a n c e s h a v e given them the opportunity that they have been waiting for to portray Hindus as extrem ists both nationally and interna tionally

“Amongst many Hindus, the Daman community was hardest hit by these riots While certain leaders of the Hindu community w e r e b u s y i s s u i n g s t a t e m e n t s from their cosy environment, the g r a s s r o o t p e o p l e w e r e b e i n g attacked and their houses and properties being vandalised on the streets

“Instead of wasting time on such statements, which did not have much impact on the youth, the BHV held meetings with the key members of the Daman and Diu communities including their youth and arranged meetings to discuss their concerns directly with the Chief Constable This helped quite a lot in terms of assuring the Youth that the police would listen to their concerns too

“However, after a few days, the situation worsened when false claims were made on social media about three Indian men trying to kidnap a 15 year old schoolgirl and this was followed by other fake claims This raised the tensions and extremists started coming to Leicester making all sorts of threats against Hindus through speeches on Leicester streets and postings on social media The religious f l a g b u r n i n g i n c i d e n t o u t s i d e S h i v a l a y (Mandir) on Belgrave Road in front of police officers made the situation worse and this became an international issue

“The root cause of the problem was the fuelling of tensions by extremists who wanted to create a negative narrative about Hindutva a n d p o i s o n t h e m i n d s o f y o u n g p e o p l e through hateful speeches both on the streets and the social media Throughout the distur bances, the BHV constantly stayed in touch with the Chief Constable who, to his credit, acted quickly on the concerns raised by BHV

“The BHV believes that quicker actions against those hate preachers on social media who circulated fake news against the Hindus would have lessened the impact and duration of the disturbances Also, a more measured approach by the Hindu faith leaders, taking into account the wider agenda of the extrem i s t s , w h e n m a

calm’ would have been more helpful

“The BHV condemns the false narrative being created by extremists linking Leicester Hindus with RSS and BJP By playing the Hindutva card and portraying themselves as victims, the extremists have shown they are not interested in peace in Leicester They want to use the Leicester disturbances for a different reason

“ T

enquiry to be set up by the Home Secretary to look into the causes of the disturbances, the role played by social media and the use of the communal tension to bring the issues of the Indian subcontinent to the UK

long lasting peace on the streets of Leicester

only way to

Brent faith leaders stand united in peace

Police are patrolling religious premises across

Shri Vallabh Nidhi Mandir Temple

Wembley

Bob Blackman MP

Lord Dolar Popat

Truptiben Patel

Vinod Popat

The Rt Hon Shailesh Vara M

has paid tribute to HM Queen

keep the copy on which I had taken the oath ”

Vikram Doraiswami, the new High Commissioner of India to the UK takes charge

The new Hig h C omm issioner of Ind ia in Lo nd on, V Doraiswami has land ed in the co untry S traig ht fro m th e a ir p o rt, H i g h Com missioner V Doraiswam i w ent directly to pay tribu te to Mahatm a Gandhi at P arliam ent Square in Londo n From the Gurd wara to

Commonwealth, and the world

Mr Vara also spoke of the last

Majesty, in July o

Windsor Castle,

Vara Oath of Allegiance to King Charles III

Privy Council before receiving the Seals of Office for Northern Ireland This followed Mr Vara’s appointment to the Cabinet by the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

I n h

said: “I will treasure her won derful smile to me as I shook her hand and as I took the oath o f a l l e g i a n c e h o l d i n g t h e B h a g a v a d G i t a a f t e r t h e c e r e m o n y , I w a s a l l o w e d t o

M r V a r a a d d e d t h a t t h e occasion was all the more spe cial as he was the last person to be personally sworn into the Privy Council by Her Majesty

The Privy Council is a for m a l b o d y o f a d v i s o r s t o t h e Sovereign, dating back to the earliest days of the Monarchy

Members of the Privy Council are entitled to be called Right Honourable and the appoint ment is for life

Mr Vara also recently took the oath of allegiance to King Charles III in Parliament, again on the Bhagavad Gita A picture of this is attached

Visa and C onsular C entre VFS at Ho unslow with th e v isa team , th e HC went on to listen to app licants' issues, esp ecially delays in g etting app ointments for serv ices wh ere he is co mmitted to p utting in all po ssible effo rt to m ake s erv ic es seamless

T h e H C a l s o m e t C h i e f o f D e f e n c e S t a f f T o n y R a d a k i n , recognising the enormous poten t i a l o f t h e I n d i a U K d e f e n c e & security coop and the leadership level mandate for transformative changes in these ties, the two sides

a g r e e d t o w o r k c l o s e l y o n t h a t front He also visited the Gurdwara S r i S i n g h S a b h a t o s t a r t h i s S a t u r d a y H e w a s t h e f o r m e r I n d i a n H i g h C o m m i s s i o n e r t o B a n g l a d e s h H e h a s a M a s t e r ' s d e g r e e i n H i s t o r y f r o m D e l h i University and He joined the Indian Foreign

Service as part of the 1992 batch In the course of his diplomatic career, he has been posted to the perma nent mission to the UN, was the consul general in Johannesburg, and headed the Division for the S o u t h A s i a n A s s o c i a t i o n f o r R e g i o n a l C o o p e r a t i o n a n d t h e North American division at the Ministry of External Affairs He has served as High Commissioner o f I n d i a t o B a n g l a d e s h , a n d a s A m b a s s a d o r o f I n d i a t o S o u t h Korea and Uzbekistan He was also deputed to the Prime Minister's office during the tenure of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and w a s P r i v a t e S e c r e t a r y t o P r i m e Minister Dr Manmohan Singh

MP Vara pays tribute to the Queen and is the last person to be personally sworn into Privy Council by her

Straight from the airport, High Commissioner V Doraimswami went directly to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at the Parliament Square in London

HC V Doraiswami called upon Chief of Defence Staff Tony Radakin Recognising the enormous potential of India UK defence & security coop and the leadership level mandate for transformative changes in these ties, the two sides agreed to work closely on that front

HC at Gurdwara Sri Singh Sabha

VFS visit at Hounslow

Paying respects to Baba Saheb Ambedkar

Labour MP Rupa Huq suspended

L abo u r M P Ru p a Huq was suspend e d by th e La bo ur p a rty a fte r s h e d es cr i bed K w as i K w a rte ng a s “ su perficially” black o n Tuesday

I n a u d i o p u b l i s h e d online, Huq was heard dis cussing the Chancellor’s pri v a t e s c h o o l b a c k g r o u n d , b e f o r e a d d i n g t h a t “ y o u wouldn’t know he is black” when listening to him on the radio

T h e c o m m e n t d i d n o t g o d o w n well at the Labour Party conference in L i v e r p o o l o n Monday

A Labour party spokesman confirmed she had had the whip removed on Tuesday afternoon

T h e s p o k e s m a n s a i d : “We obviously condemn the remarks she made, they are totally inappropriate and we would call on her to apolo gise and withdraw them ”

3,000 free childcare places will be created for two year olds in Wales

T h e m o n e y f o r t h e s e extra places in the Flying S t a r t p r o g r a m m e w i l l b e f u n d e d a s p a r t o f £ 1 0 0 m pledged by the Welsh gov ernment to improve avail ability It is not yet known which areas will benefit, and eligible families will be con tacted in the new year The W e l s h C o n s e r v a t i v e s s a i d m o r e a f f l u e n t f a m i l i e s w o u l d b e n e f i t " w h i l e t h e most deprived lose out"

Of the remaining cash,

£70m will pay to upgrade childcare settings and £3 8m will be spent on boosting Welsh language provision

The investment is part of a phased plan to expand early years provision to all t w o y e a r o l d s i n W a l e s , with a particular emphasis o n s t r e n g t h e n i n g W e l s h medium provision, which is a commitment in the coop eration agreement between the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru

Teacher jailed for abusing girl students

M uha mmad Taimoor who wor ke d a t a n un na med se c on dar y school in t he cit y g roomed t he young gir ls by offerin g t hem the liber ty to t r u a n t l e ss o n s a n d s p e n d t ime wit h him in h is class r oom

T h e 3 0 y e a r o l d a l s o allowed the 16 year olds to use their mobile phones and vapes and gave them choco l a t e s a n d d o u g h n u t s a s t r e a t s T a i m o o r , o f R i c h m o n d R o a d , Y a r d l e y , also joined a Snapchat group which he used to sexually communicate with the stu dents

T a i m o o r w a s c a u g h t when his brave victims told another teacher what hap pened The maths teacher w a s a r r e s t e d a n d l a t e r admitted 11 charges of sexual a s s a u l t i n a h e a r i n g a t Birmingham Crown Court last month He was jailed for three years during a sentenc ing hearing on September 13 He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life

The court heard one vic t i m s a i d T a i m o o r w o u l d c o m p l i m e n t t h e g i r l s o n their appearance and ask for hugs in the classroom, away

from CCTV He would also tell them they were sexy and beautiful and grabbed one on the bottom and asked her if she was ticklish

Another victim said he had hugged her, slapped her bottom and tried to put his hand inside her top He had asked her for a nude picture a n d s h e h a d s e n t h i m a photo of her chest, wearing a bra He had also waited for her outside the girl's toilets and picked up a ruler and ran it up her leg A third vic tim said the defendant had touched her breasts while re fixing a sticker on her chest

I t w a s " a n a p p a l l i n g abuse of trust and power by s o m e o n e i n a p o s i t i o n o f a u t h o r i t y " , a c c o r d i n g t o t r a i n i n g D e t C o n M e g a n Davies, from West Midlands P o l i c e ' s C h i l d A b u s e Investigation team “We do n o t u n d e r e s t i m a t e h o w traumatic his actions have been and our trained officers c o n t i n u e t o s u p p o r t t h e girls, alongside partner agen c i e s ” T a i m o o r p l e d n o t guilty to two counts of sexu al assault of a fourth girl T h e d e n i e d c h a r g e s w e r e accepted by the prosecution and will remain on file

Imam who raped a schoolgirl in a mosque unconditionally discharged

K h a nd a ke r Ra h m an , 67 , from Cwm du, Sw ansea, was f ou nd to h av e co m mi tted t h e c ri m e s b y a j u ry a t S w ans ea C r o w n C o u rt i n Ju ne, after a trial of facts, as h e was too ill to stand trial T he absolute d ischarge sen tence means Rahman com m itted the offence bu t will not face any pu nishm ent or o rder

A t S w a n s e a C r o w n Court, judge Huw Rees said i t w a s t h e o n l y s u i t a b l e option The judge stressed it was not because of the "seri o u s n e s s " o f t h e o f f e n c e s

R a h m a n r a p e d t h e y o u n g girl in 2005 at a mosque in south Wales where he was a n I s l a m i c p r e a c h e r T h e court previously heard he asked her to help him move some books in a quiet part of t h e m o s q u e , p u s h i n g h e r into a washroom on the way before raping her The court heard she returned to the m o s q u e a n d M r R a h m a n indecently assaulted her on t w o s e p a r a t e o c c a s i o n s before she stopped going T h e g i r l k e p t t h e a t t a c k s secret for more than 10 years before confiding in her hus

band in 2018

R a h m a n ' s c a s e w a s heard as a trial of the facts, w h i c h h a p p e n s w h e n t h e court determines that a per son is unfit to stand trial because of medical evidence T h e j u r y w a s t h e r e f o r e asked to determine whether Rahman did the acts alleged, i n s t e a d o f d e t e r m i n i n g whether he was innocent or g u i l t y T h e j u r y f o u n d Rahman did the acts alleged They were one count of rape of a child under 13 and two counts of sexual assault

J u d g e H u w R e e s

Survey shows citizens have to skip mills to pay energy bills

Nearl y 11 million peopl e are n ow b e hin d on t he ir b i l l s while m ore than 5 m il lion h a ve g on e wi th ou t f ood , a c c ord ing t o n ew re s ea r ch t hat reveals Br itons are skip ping m eals “just to keep the l ights on ”

An estimated 20% of UK adults, or 10 9 million people, are behind on one or more household bills up by 3 mil lion since March according to the Money Advice Trust report This figure was much higher, at 45%, for house holds that received a means tested benefit, the debt char ity said The figures, based on an Opinium survey of 2,000 UK adults in August, found that 5 6 million have gone w i t h o u t f o o d i n t h e p a s t three months as a result of the cost of living crisis This

included skipping meals, eat ing once a day or not eating at all on some days

Nearly 8 million people had sold a personal or house hold item to help cover bills, according to the poll

Joanna Elson, the chari ty’s chief executive, said the g o v e r n m e n t ’ s e n e r g y p r i c e guarantee had brought relief from the fear of future bill increases, but for millions, the damage had already been done

The charity found that many households had little or no wriggle room left in their budgets to cope with rising prices It said 41% had already cut all nonessential spending, a figure which was up seven percentage points o n i t s M a r c h p o l l T h e research showed that high

energy price rises had already become unaffordable for mil lions of people, the charity said About 10 7 million had seen their energy bills rise by £100 or more a month since April One in nine said they w e r e a l r e a d y i n e n e r g y arrears while a similar num ber said their energy supplier had increased their monthly p a y m e n t s t o a l e v e l t h e y could not afford

The jump in energy costs m e a n t m o r e p e o p l e w e r e borrowing money to try to make ends meet The charity estimates that more than 15 million people have had to use credit to pay for essen tials an increase of 2 1 mil

l i o n s i n c e M a r c h 2 0 2 2 while one in 10 has had to borrow money from family or friends

described Rahman, who was not present for the sentenc ing, as "elderly, frail with sig n i f i c a n t c o g n i t i v e i m p a i r ment" and dementia The judge said Rahman's "cur rent presentation is not of a nature or degree that would meet the criteria for deten t i o n " , l e a v i n g l i m i t e d o p t i o n s a s a r e s u l t H e e x p l a i n e d t h a t , u n d e r t h e C r i m i n a l P r o c e d u r e (Insanity) Act of 1964, the court had three choices: a hospital order, a supervision order, or an order for abso lute discharge

Hate preacher returns to spout hate in Leicester

Ha te p rea ch e r A n j em Cho udary h as returned to stir up unrest in strife torn L ei c es ter by c al li ng f o r “M us li m P at ro ls ” to fi g h t Hindu g angs C h o u d a r y f r e e a f t e r b e i n g j a i l e d f o r t e r r o r i s t offences in 2016 launched a website after a ban on him speaking in public was lifted last year And the fanatical f i r e b r a n d u s e d h i s o n l i n e platform to stoke up soaring tensions launching a ram bling rant on his website

At least 16 police have been hurt during days of clashes between hundreds o f m a s k e d M u s l i m a n d H i n d u H i n d u v t a g a n g s i n the east Midlands city In o n e r a l l y i n g c a l l o n h i s inflammatory site, the 55 year old bile monger falsely accused Hindus of causing

the chaos

speaking expired last year after he completed his five and a half year sentence for inviting support for Islamic State He was jailed in 2016 and was named a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US government in 2017 Police and the security services are still monitoring Choudary and other freed terror convicts linked to his al Muhajiroun network, and consider them a major con cern

Clashes outside Iranian embassy

Pro testers have clash ed with p o li c e o ff i ce rs d u ri ng demonstrations outside the Iranian embassy in Londo n The Met Police said m em be rs o f th e c ro w d t h rew m i ss i le s at o ff i c ers a nd bre ac h ed p o li c e l in es i n Princes Gate, Knightsbridg e, on S und ay afternoon

It comes as protests in I r a n s p r e a d a c r o s s t h e world, sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in custody a f t e r b e i n g d e t a i n e d b y Iranian morality police At least five officers were seri ously injured, the Met Police s a i d T w e l v e p e o p l e h a v e been arrested on suspicion of violent disorder offences D o z e n s o f p r o t e s t e r s i n London chanted "death to the Islamic Republic" and were seen waving Iran's pre revolutionary national flag

In Iran, officials say 35 p e o p l e h a v e b e e n k i l l e d s i n c e p r o t e s t s b r o k e o u t over the death of Ms Amini Clashes continue in several c i t i e s S h e w a s d e t a i n e d after being accused of vio l a t i n g t h e l a w r e q u i r i n g women to cover their hair with a hijab and their arms and legs with loose clothing

There are reports that o f f i c e r s b e a t M s A m i n i ' s h e a d w i t h a b a t o n a n d banged her head against one of their vehicles

The police have denied that she was mistreated and said she suffered "sudden heart failure" But her family has said the 22 year old was f i t a n d h e a l t h y P r o t e s t s have taken place around the world in countries including Poland, Canada, Chile and Iraq

Cambidge Univerity acknowledges benefitting from slavery

Univers ity of Cam bridge said it had benef it ed from the proceeds of sla ve ry over its his tory, and promised to expand s cholars hips for Bl ack students a nd fund more res earch into the murderous tra de The ac knowl edgement comes as a s tring of leading ins ti tutions from t he Bank of E ngl and to the Church of England have been re eval uating the centra l rol e tha t slaver y had in enric hing Britain and how they benef ited from its injust ic es

Cambridge said an investigation it com missioned had found no evidence that the university itself ever owned slaves or planta tions directly But the findings showed it had received significant benefits from slav ery Those came from university benefactors who had made their money from the slave trade, the university's investments in com panies that participated in it, and fees from plantation owning families, according to the investigation's report

Researchers found that fellows from Cambridge colleges were involved with the

East India Company, while investors in the Royal African Company also had links to Cambridge two companies both active in the slave trade The university also received donations from investors in both compa nies, and also directly invested in another company active in the slave trade, the South Sea Company, according to the paper, which was produced by a group of Cambridge aca demics Several people are also memori alised at the university without reference to t h e i r i n v o l v e m e n t , t h e r e p o r t s a i d Meanwhile the Fitzwilliam Museum was founded with money and artwork inherited from a governor of the South Sea Company

In response to the report, the university said the museum would hold an exhibition o n s l a v e r y a n d p o w e r i n 2 0 2 3 , w h i l e

Cambridge's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology had recommended that its Benin Bronzes, taken in a violent military campaign in the 19th century from a territo ry that later became part of modern day Nigeria, are returned

A b a n p r e v e n t i n g C h o u d a r y f r o m p u b l i c

Vistara named ‘Best Airline in India and Southern Asia’ second time in a row

the second

Vistara was voted for by trav ellers globally, as the World Airline Awards are based on the world’s largest airline passenger satisfaction survey of more than 14

September 2021 and August 2022 The airline has moved 8 places up from last year to reach 20th position worldwide; this marks the entry of the airline in the World’s Top 20 list for the first time ever Vistara also ranked 20th in the list of World's Best Economy Class Airlines and 9th in the list of Best Airlines in Asia 2022

Vistara said “It is incredibly heartening for all of us at Vistara to win the ‘Best Airline in India and Southern Asia’ title for the second consecutive year This award reaffirms the steadfast trust our customers have in us and is a true testament to Vistara setting global benchmarks for excellence in operations and service delivery We are also humbled to have won the ‘Best Airline Staff Service’ and ‘Best Cabin Crew’ honours that cel ebrate the invincible spirit of all our employees on the frontline and behind the scenes to pro vide our customers the finest experience every single day We are also delighted to have been recognised as the “Best Business Class in India a

thoughtfulness are integral to the intrinsic cus tomer first culture at Vistara, and our extraordi nary teams endeavour to deliver it consistently We sincerely thank all our loyal customers for their faith in us and express our heartfelt grati tude to Skytrax for the recognitions ”

Commenting on the Awards for Vistara, Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax said, "Vistara continues to set new standards across the Indian airtravel market, and as the airline has grown its long haul network it is now receiving the due recognition for being the Best Airline in India and Southern Asia With Vistara’s staff receiving the award for the Best Staff Service in India and Southern Asia, these successes are a fabulous achievement Vistara has been a strong and con sistent performer in the awards in recent years and this year moves into the World’s Top 20 Airlines for the first time ever ”

Vistara is India’s highest rated airline on multiple industry forums, and has also been the winner of several ‘Best Airline’ awards In a short span of over seven years since starting opera tions, Vistara has raised the bar for operations and service standards in the Indian aviation industry

The Bhavan, London welcomes a new chairman

durin

the late

duri ng the late ’80s has stepped down from hi

pos ition and mak ing way

future path

Chairman is Sri Subhanu

proposed by Sri Shantoo

mously approved as The Bhavan’s new Chairman

Committee meeting on 21 September Subhanuji

Shantooji and the entire committee and sought their support Sri Subhanu Saxena has been associated with The Bhavan for four decades, starting as a student, then as our Sanskrit and Veda teacher, and then moving on as our Executive Committee member

He and his entire family have con tributed in a very significant way to The Bhavan He is an authority on the Vedas and Upanishads and has a love for Urdu poetry In business, he has been a global executive in senior international roles, and he will bring his leadership experi ence to The Bhavan as Chairman We look forward to The Bhavan flourishing further under his Chairmanship

A h i g h l y a c c o m plished global executive, his experi ence has spanned markets in Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia and industries including pharmaceuticals, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), consulting and banking

Subhanu graduated with an MBA from INSEAD France, Fontainebleau,

teaches Sanskrit and ancient Indian lit erature and is an executive committee

Bhavan, the largest Centre for Indian classical arts in the UK He speaks 6 languages, Russian, French, German, and Sanskrit, in addition to his native English and Hindi

Magnificent Listed Former Chapel, Windsor, SL4 3QR For educational, community or religious uses

Town Centre location, set in gated landscaped gardens.

Comprising two main halls, a function hall and original chapel plus ancillary accommodation having a total gross internal floor area of approx. 9,500 sq.ft. Immediate possession available.

Freehold POA. Subject to Contract. Featuring stained glass windows, superb mosaics, magnificent vaulted ceilings, galleries etc. Private garden included, use of communal car parking facilities and use of communal gardens.

For all enquiries contact the Westcombe Group on

Vinod Kannan, CEO, Vistara (Extreme R) & Rashmi Soni, VP & Head, Corporate Communications, Vistara (Extreme L) with the team receiving the awards

M a n a g i n g P a r t n e r a t New Rhein Healthcare LLC Private Equity and P r e s i d e n t o f t h e N e w Rhein Foundation He is a Governing Council M e m b e r o f I m p e r i a l College and holds vari ous board positions He has been a director at t h e B i l l a n d M e l i n d a G a t

s F o

n d a t i o n , a s well as a Senior Advisor to Bain Capital, and a member of the Health

P o l i c y A d v i s o r y B o a r d for Gilead, and has pre v i o u s l y h e l d v a r i o u s b o a r d a n d a d v i s o r y roles, such as Supervisory B o a r d m e m b e r s o f Kiadis Pharma

L R Joginderji Subhanu Saxena thank ing at the meeting and Shantooji Dalal ji, Mattur ji, and Joginder ji

Chairman Subhanu Saxena Mr Joginder Sanger

Is Britain turning into a tax heaven for super rich?

Like everyone else, I was watching mini budget with inter est Although I am no expert on economy or taxation, it was clear, even to a layman that the budget favoured the rich and the privileged, normal Conservative supporters, at the expense of ordinary people who struggle to put food on the table, especially for their children

With the abolition of the 45% tax bract, it will benefit those who are already enjoying a higher standard of living than the rest of the population While someone earning a million pounds would pocket a cool £55k, while those on the average wage, less than £200! This is akin to Robin H

Nottingham!

The best way to help low paid is to raise the free pay allowance; at least up to £18000 that will help everyone on low pay to go home with more money in their pockets and they are more likely to spend this gain on essentials; every day needs, thus helping to raise GDP rather than filling the pockets of the super rich who may spend it on expensive holidays or go to their over bulging savings accounts

This is casino economics, which received a thumbs down vote on the international financial stage, dragging down the pound to the lowest level in 37 years against the US dollar Perhaps PM is the driving force behind tax cuts rather than Chancellor! At one time we used to portray Labour as a borrow and spend party, now the fortunes have reversed!

Raising the threshold on stamp duty for first time buy ers is indeed the right move to help youngsters climb on the property ladder rather than depending on their parents for accommodation! Our national debt is already one of the highest in the Western world, well over 2:4 trillion and climbing at supersonic speed, only the banana republic type economy of Greece and Italy beats us!

The tax cut bill of £45 billion will have to come out of borrowing which will raise inflation; the interest rate will go up in November This is a gamble that will either save the economy or we will join other banana republics to the delight of our competitors!

Bhupendra M Gand hi

Look Closer Campaign

Thousands of children and young people are subjected to hor rific exploitation and abuse across the UK every year

Predators groom children in person and online, then exploit them for sex or use terrifying threats and violence to force them into crimes such as money laundering or carrying drugs in ‘county lines’ operations Some are forced to work in premises like car washes and nail bars or to beg

Any child in any community, including boys, girls and trans and non binary children can be targeted for all types of exploitation

In London in 2020/21, child sexual exploitation was iden tified as a risk in 2,650 assessments of children referred to social services, while children going missing, which can also be a sign of young people being coerced into crime, was a factor in 2,600 instances Gang involvement was highlighted in 3,500 assessments, and in 670 instances trafficking was deemed to be a factor both are indicators of exploitation

However, many children are too scared to tell adults what is happening or may not trust the services that are meant to protect them That’s why during the week of Monday 3 October, The Children’s Society is running a ‘Look Closer’ Awareness Week

The Children’s Society’s #Look Closer campaign, which is supported by the National Police Chiefs Council and forces including the British Transport Police, urges not only profes sionals and parents, but also the public and businesses to be vigilant for signs of child exploitation and abuse and report any concerns Everyone, from commuters, and online gamers, to shoppers and people working in public facing roles, such as transport, shop and hotel staff, can play their part

This winter, the cost of living crisis and financial pressures facing families may leave some children particularly vulnera ble to grooming by perpetrators who offer them cash, food and gifts Young victims may also be targeted with offers of drugs, friendship, love, status and even gaming credits

Signs of exploitation could include children having large amounts of cash or unexplained gifts; appearing under the control of others; looking lost; or travelling alone at night Children may seem upset, anxious or scared, but trauma can also make them appear angry or aggressive

Anyone worried about a child should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 If there is an immediate risk to a child dial 999 If you are on a train text British Transport Police on 61016 Further advice is available from the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800500

It’s better to report a concern that proves unfounded than to miss the chance to help a child escape horrific abuse while also giving police the chance to bring those exploiting them to justice

Mark Rus sell Ch ief Executive The C hild ren ’ s S ociety

A dodgy gamble

“Going for Growth” is the UK government’s catchy slogan that rolls easily off the tongue However, implementing it may prove to be difficult if not disastrous It is like betting heavily on an attractive horse only to find it starts running backwards

Well Pharmacy donates medicines to the Victims of Pakistan Floods

Labour: Sharia Complaint? K A P I L’ S K H I C H A D I

In November 2014, I wrote an arti cle titled , ‘I s Labour goin g Sha ria?’ A t that time, I ha d b een monitori ng much of w hat was happen in g in sid e Lab our and li sten in g to some party me mb ers who told me of their fe ars for La bour Of course, s ome mocked me at that ti me , but as they s ay, ti me has a hab it of provin g one right

For the last three weeks there has been a series of c a l c u l a t e d a t t a c k s o n t h e H i n d u c o m m u n i t y i n

The Bestway Group organ ised a fundraiser for the vic tims of the Pakistan Floods o n 2 3 S e p t e m b e r a t t h e Intercontinental Hotel Park Lane, Mayfair The Bestway F o u n d a t i o n r a i s e d m o r e than $2 million through its fundraising efforts

The event was attended by over 650 guests including t h e L o r d C h a n c e l l o r , t h e Deputy Governor State Bank of Pakistan, UK Ministers, Members of Parliament, cap tains of industry, diplomats a n d l e a d i n g c i t y f i g u r e s raising over US$ 1 million on the night The recent floods have affected over 33 million people with 1 in 7 Pakistanis living without food or shel ter and 1/3rd of the country is underwater

E a r l i e r i n t h e m o n t h Lord Choudrey on behalf of Sir Anwar Pervez announced a donation of US$1 0 million towards the Pakistan Flood Relief, with the culmination

of this successful event the total funds raised through Bestway’s efforts stand at an impressive US$2 0 million

In addition to the mone t a r y d o n a t i o n s , B e s t w a y G r o u p C F O , H a i d e r C h o u d r e y , a n n o u n c e d a donation of medicines worth U S $ 4 0 0 , 0 0 0 o n b e h a l f o f Well Pharmacy, a subsidiary of the Bestway Group

During his address, Mr H a i d e r C h o u d r e y d e t a i l e d Bestway Foundation’s plans to build homes or shelters for 5,000 families, provide u s a b l e w a t e r f o r 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 individuals and provide food and medical supplies to over 20,000 people

International Day of Non Violence

H ig h C o m mi s s i o n o f I nd i a i n London and India League will cele br at e Ma h a tm a Ga n dh i ' s B i rt h Anniversary, whi ch is marked as th e I n te rn a ti o n al D a y o f No n Violence

The programme will be held at Tavistock Square Garden, London WC1H 9JE on Sunday, 2nd October 2022 at 10 am On this occasion, a s o l e m n p r o g r a m m e t o p a y f l o r a l tributes to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi will be held The programme will include brief speeches followed by the singing of Bhajans in the presence of dignitaries and MPs This event will possibly mark the first official speech by the newly appointed High Commissioner V Doraiswami

Free prescriptions to be changed from 60+ to 66+

As it stands in England, any one over the age of 60 is cur rently entitled to free pre scriptions on the National Health Service (NHS) but that could soon change

T h e G o v e r n m e n t h a s undertaken a careful con sultation into aligning the f r e e b i e b e n e f i t w i t h t h e s t a t e p e n s i o n a g e , w h i c h c u r r e n t l y s i t s a t 6 6 I f c h a n g e s a r e s u c c e s s f u l l y made, this means that over 60s will have to wait longer to access financial support

for their medicine, unless they qualify in another way

L a s t y e a r , t h e G o v e r n m e n t c o n s u l t a t i o n proposed a number of dif ferent rollout plans for the state pension rule change, w h i c h i n c l u d e r a i s i n g t h e qualifying age for free pre scriptions to 66 for everyone i m med i ate ly T h e a lte rn a tive option would be to have a 'period of reflection' to allow those in their 60s to continue accessing these for free

Leicester, Birmingham, London and many other The police did make a shambles of it in Leicester, but even tually realised the sinister plot of the Islamist was not going to go away with a cup of chai and samosa I believe our Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Suella Braverman KC MP, made it clear to whole policeforce to get their act together and tackle lawlessness without appeasement This was much needed since as Bob Blackman MP said, the great and beautiful Hindu festivals of Navaratri and Diwali are now with us, and the safety of Hindus must be paramount The fact that such action is necessary at all tells us of the vile evil that underpins the Islamist ide ology, and how some in Britain garner forces to estab lish their caliphate, or should I say ‘ no go ’ areas? History will show that in 2022, Hindus in the UK were harassed and attacked to such a degree, that they had to celebrate their religious festivals under the protection of law enforcement If that is not a wakeup call then I don’t know what is

The more I investigated, the more concerned I became to such an extent that I wrote to Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer MP and asked him the following:

a Are you aware (directly or indirectly) of any Labour politician, councillor or member who may be connected in some way to Islamists?

b Are you aware (directly or indirectly) of any Labour politician, councillor or member who may be indulging in activities that promote the agenda of the Islamists?

c Are you aware (directly or indirectly) of any Labour politician, councillor or member who have shown a his torical anti India, and hence an anti Hindu prejudice, that has fuelled their work?

I have been getting many messages from Labour insiders that Islamists now control part of the narrative

Councillors or MPs, in those areas they tend to turn a blind eye (or even protect) to the activities of the Islamists They told me that is why so many grooming

Keighley, Blackburn and Rochdale) thrived in many Labour authorities Is this the same reason why many Hindu Mandirs were attacked since local politicians tended to be Muslims? Is there a pattern emerging of antisemitic and anti Hindu attacks by Islamists in cer tain areas? Is this just a coincidence? Or is there some thing sinister at play?

The lack of action by Labour on antisemitism rightly labelled it as a racist party Will Keir ignore my three questions and risk the party being labelled as an anti Hindu as well?

The nightmare for Keir being, can he ignore this ele phant, or is time for Labour to cleanse itself of Islamists and Marxists that have destroyed its core British tradi tions?

This week Labour at conference will peddle rhetoric on equalities and diversity, submerging everything under one heading called the BAME All too often used by some to hide racism and prejudice against Hindus and Jews They dare not have even one speaker at their conference who could tell the delegates the truth for fear of a riot Such is the power of the Islamist and anti semitic lobby

My message to Keir, don’t ignore the three ques tions You will be shocked with what you find The final question, do you want to save Labour from itself? There is only one right answer, and that demands you become a surgeon willing to cut out the cancer from its very root Save the patient Keir, before it’s too late

We are grateful to all letter writers for more and more versatile letters well within word limit Please keep contributing as always If you are new, then write to Shefali at shefali saxena@abplgroup com

D udakia

o d p l u n d e r i n g t h e p o o r t o p a y t h e S h e r i f f o f

R udy O tte r

Sir Anwar Pervez, OBE H Pk Chairman Bestway Group, The Lord Chancellor Rt Hon Brenden Lewis MP, Lord Zameer Choudrey CBE SI Pk Group CEO Bestway Group

Haider Choudrey, Group CFO Bestway Group

Finding One’s ‘Thing’!

features on either side of the face Either one eye would be lower than the other, or larger or shaped differently! The other problem was getting both ears to look iden tical and at the same level! I realised that if I didn’t do something I may have to stay in class VIII forever Yet, no matter how hard I practised, the end result looked “ very poor ” even to my eye!

That year ’ s final art examination had two items in the course

Ruchi Ghanashyam

Mrs Ruchi Ghanashyam is the former High Commissioner of India to the UK With a career in Indian Foreign Service for over 38 y

countries including South Africa, Ghana, before arriving in the UK She was only the second woman High Commissioner to the UK since India’s independence and during her tenure, she witnessed a number of significant developments in the UK India relations

@RuchiGhanashyam

Apart from a human face that I had completely failed to master, the option was a l a n d s c a p e T h a t s e e m e d a w a y o u t !

Oxford changes the name of the Faculty of Oriental Studies to avoid offence

A n Oxf o rd d e p ar tm en t

Faculty of Oriental Stud ies founded in th e 1 9th century has d ro pped the word orien tal from its name to av oid offence

The former Faculty of Oriental Studies is now the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies

The name was changed after two years of consulta tion with staff and students, many of whom wanted a

Iwas

never good at art! As a young child, I w ould have to score m uch hig her than others in subjects like lang uag es and arithm etic to cover the g ains others m ad e o ver me in art F ortunately, m y torture was ended wh en my school offered need lework as an option to art in class V, and then, eventually, classical Indian m usic in mid dle scho ol! With music, I finally had th e ad van tag e over others Now, there w as no w ay for them to catch u p with me!

T h e n , m y f a t h e r m o v e d t o a n o t h e r town for a new assignment We joined a very nice school not far from home Here, I had to once again struggle with art I have never forgotten the single “ very poor ” given to me in my life! That was when we had to learn to draw a human face and paint it! That the painting was a disaster, is a given! I also found it difficult to draw symmetrical

Clearly, I needed help So I approached one of the girls in my class who was really good at art She taught me some tricks that helped me make a fairly attractive evening sky I left nothing to chance The prospect of failing was not acceptable! That year, during the winter vacation, I bought art paper, cut them into greeting card sizes and painted the same evening sky on every card to wish my friends for Christmas and the new year After having painted it over and over again, I was finally satisfied When the exams came, I was ready with my landscape and emerged with a score card that my par ents could be proud of

The other abject failure that I recall from my school days, is sports I learnt to play basketball and practised hard with my team as I had been made the Captain of one of the three House teams Shotput and javelin throws were an entirely different matter Our school had a very kind and lov ing sports teacher, Sister Renaldo

But try as she might, I just couldn’t get the hang of it, as they say! Once she tried to teach me by standing behind me, holding my hands from behind, and making me turn in the right manner to throw the javelin To her dismay, the javelin landed 6 8 feet away from me! It was the same with short put It always seemed to land near my feet!

Sacked lawyer wins claim against allegedly unruly boss

A lawyer successfully sues h er banker bosses after she w as unfairly sacked for tak ing sick leave and asking to b e all ow ed to w or k fro m h ome

Gulnaz Raja, who was a solicitor at Starling Bank, t o l d a t r i b u n a l t h a t h e r “ d e m a n d i n g ” m a n a g e r looked down upon her for objecting to the company ’ s “long hours” culture

She said her boss “val ued” staff who used to work

late in the office over those who insisted on sticking to their contracted hours

The tribunal heard Raja, 3 6 , s u f f e r e d f r o m a s t h m a and she wanted sick leave so she could work from home H o w e v e r , M a t t N e w m a n , her boss, was alleged to have b e c o m e “ i m p a t i e n t ” w i t h h e r , u l t i m a t e l y f i r i n g h e r from her £76,000 a year job as deputy company secre tary

The reason for her sack

ing was told she was not a S t a r l i n g p e r s o n h o w e v e r , later it emerged in evidence that Newman, the company s e c r e t a r y , h a d p r e v i o u s l y congratulated Raja on her hard work

N a t a s h a J o f f e , t h e t r i b u n a l j u d g e , f o u n d R a j a b e i n g d i s c r i m i n a t e d b u t rejected her claims of unfair dismissal and victimisation A hearing to decide com pensation will take place at a later date

Harry refuses dinner with father and brother over Meghan

I t i s be l ie v e d t h a t th e d a y t h e Q u e e n d ie d , Me g h a n w a s ba n ne d f r o m j o i ni n g the family fol l o w in g wh i c h t h e D u k e o f Su ssex refuse d to have d inner with his father a nd broth er

O n S e p t e m b e r 8 , P r i n c e H a r r y , 3 8 , h a d advocated for Meghan to j o i n t h e f a m i l y a t Balmoral but the King is u n d e r s t o o d t o h a v e phoned to say it was “not appropriate”

A s o u r c e t o l d T h e

Sun newspaper: “Harry was so busy trying to get Meghan to Balmoral and rowing with his family that he missed the flight Charles has an open invi tation for Harry to dine with him whenever he is in the country

“ B u t H a r r y w a s s o

f u r i o u s t h a t he refused to e a t w i t h h i s f a t h e r a n d brother It was a massive s n u b . A n d he got out of B a l m o r a l a t t h e e a r l i e s t o p p o r t u n i t y t o c a t c h t h e f i r s t c o m m e r c i a l f l i g h t back to London ”

The next day around 8am, the prince drove to a British Airways jet that l e f t f o r H e a t h r o w a t 9 4 5 a m , b e f o r e b e i n g reunited with his wife at F r o g m o r e C o t t a g e , Windsor

m o r e c u l t u r a l l y s e n s i t i v e name Professor David Rechter, c h a i r m a n o f t h e f a c u l t y board, said: “The Faculty of Asian and Middle E a s t e r n S t u d i e s w a s selected after an extensive consultation process and I w o u l d l i k e t o t h a n k t h e m a n y s t a f f a n d s t u d e n t s who took part in surveys and gave their views “ I a m c o n f i d e n t t h i s

change is the right decision Many considered the word ‘oriental’ to be inappropriate and, while the change will not affect what the faculty researches and teaches, it d o e s b e t t e r r e f l e c t t h e breadth and diversity of aca demic activity ”

T h e f a c u l t y b o a r d approved the the name and relevant university commit tees, the Cherwell website reported

‘Queen was looking down on us’

A f t e r th e d e a t h of t he Q u e e n , th e P r i n c e a n d Princ ess of Wales desc ribed h ow f i v e ra i n b ow s appeared at Balmoral, who t he y r e f e rr e d to a s “t he Q ueen was looki ng down on us ”

On the day of the state f u n e r a l , P r i n c e W i l l i a m described getting “choked up ” by the Paddington Bear tributes to his late grand m o t h e r a s t h e c o u p l e thanked staff and volun teers in Windsor for their support

U p o n a r r i v i n g i n W i n d s o r G u i l d h a l l , t h e couple were introduced to the many people who were r e s p o n s i b l e f o r e n s u r i n g the Queen’s committal ser vice at St George’s Chapel ran smoothly

T h e y i n c l u d e d v o l u n teers moving flowers, coun c i l w o r k e r s , S t J o h n A m b u l a n c e c r e w , C r o w n Estate staff, logistics teams and others

William and Catherine, b o t h 4 0 , r e c o u n t e d t h e i r personal insights from the

11 days leading up to the funeral

“ Y o u h a r d l y e v e r s e e r a i n b o w s u p t h e r e , b u t there were five,” he said Catherine, smiling, added: “Her Majesty was looking down on us ”

William then reflected on the memories his family had been sharing “We were saying the other day, the Queen said she had never b e e n r a i n e d o n a t t h e Cenotaph in 70 years, ” he said “So we will see what happens this year ”

New PM to review visa schemes

Ne w ly ap p o i n ted Bri t is h Prime M inister Liz T russ is mu lling launching a major rev iew of Britain’s visa sys tem , as th e cou ntry is facing ac u te l abo u r s h or tag es i n ke y i nd u s tri es T h e m o v e has been w elcomed by busi ness lead ers of the Europ ean nation

Aiming to defy some of her anti immigration cabi net colleagues, Truss is set t o m a k e c h a n g e s t o t h e “shortage occupation list", which would allow certain industries to bring in more staff from overseas

T h e m o v e c o u l d h e l p i m m i g r a n t s f r o m m a n y

countries including India as t h e U K g o v e r n m e n t w i l l look at filling vacancies by recruiting overseas workers

Amid her election cam p a i g n , L i z T r u s s h a d promised to tackle the issue o f l a b o u r s h o r t a g e s t h a t B r i t a i n h a s c o n t i n u e d t o

face since Brexit The pan demic worsened the crisis

The review could also endorse a loosening of the r e q u i r e m e n t t o s p e a k English in some sectors to enable more foreign work ers into the country

Truss, who took office earlier this month following t h e d e a t h o f Q u e e n E l i z a b e t h h a s h a d l i t t l e opportunity to flesh out her vision for the country She said during a trip to New York last week that she was prepared to take unpopular decisions as the government seeks to stimulate economic growth

Asylum seeker hotels expensive than Eton

Th e annual taxpayer funded cost of housing asylum seek ers has risen to almost £1 3 billion, a new report find s

According to Migration Watch, a UK think tank, the cost of housing asylum seek ers in hotels has risen to more than £4,000 a person each month more than a place at Eton

The overall cost of the asylum system is more than

£2 billion which was equiva lent to to spending about £ 4 , 3 0 0 t o a c c o m m o d a t e e a c h a s y l u m s e e k e r f o r a month, a rise of £1,825 since last year, as per Migration Watch E

The think tank drew its c

analysis of figures published by the Home Office Asylum seekers who are classed as “destitute” are given hous ing and a weekly allowance

A

£46,296

year, about £3,858 a month

migrants have crossed the Channel

, t h e g r o u p ’ s c h a i r m a n , s a i d :

“The new home secretary must now show the resolve n e e d e d t o d e a l w i t h t h e costly chaos ”

Cambridge streets to be named after black alumni

Cam bridge Uni versity wi ll n a m e n e w s t r e et s a n d buildi ngs after black gradu a t e s T h e d e c i s i o n w a s t a k e n f ol l ow e d b y a n i n q u i r y w hi c h c o n c l u de d that it rec eived “ s ignif icant ben efits” from slavery

The investigation that b e g a n t h r e e y e a r s a g o , found that the university benefited from companies t h a t p a r t i c i p a t e d i n t h e trade as well as from indi

vidual benefactors and fees derived from the families of plantation owners

In 2019, vice chancel l o r , P r o f e s s o r S t e p h e n T o o p e a p p o i n t e d t h e L e g a c i e s o f E n s l a v e m e n t Advisory Group It made a series of recommendations t h a t t h e u n i v e r s i t y h a s committed itself to imple ment

T h e u n i v e r s i t y w i l l install a plaque that will

identify and will put into c o n t e x t t h e s t a t u e o f Tobias Rustat, a 17th cen tury courtier to Charles II with links to slavery

C a m b r i d g e i n f o r m e d that it had received a gener ous philanthropic donation f o r a b l a c k B r i t i s h a r t i s t who will undertake a work of art memorialising black C a m b r i d g e s c h o l a r s o r graduates, to be located on the university estate

SCRUTATOR’S

Chenab arch bridge is world’s highest blast-proof railway bridge

During any terrorist activity or war, railway bridges are the easiest targets The enemies blow it to cut or hamper communication However, this can’t be done in the case of Chenab Arch bridge! For the first time in the world, with the help of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), this bridge has been made blast proof The 359 metre high Chenab Arch is the highest railway bridge in the world. It is 35 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris. For first time in the world, with the help of DRDO, this bridge has been made blast proof Indian Railways completed the arch bridge on April 5, 2021 An excellent example of engineering prowess, this bridge makes every countryman feel proud With the construction of this bridge, the distance of hours can now be covered in minutes (Agency)

Muslim couple donates £100,000 to Tirupati temple

A Chennai based Muslim couple has donated £100,000 to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the trust that manages several Hindu temples, including the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh The donations were made by Subeena Banu and Abdul Ghani and include Rs 87,00,000 in furniture and utensils for the newly built Sri Padmavathi Rest House and a draft for Rs15,00,000 for the Sri Venkateswara Anna Prasadam Trust Under the Sri Venkateswara Anna Prasadam Trust, free food 'Annaprasadam' is served to all devotees in Tirumala and Tiruchanoor; the trust claims nearly 200,000 are fed daily In 2020 he reportedly donated a tractor mounted device to spray disinfectant over temple premises during the pandemic He also donated a Rs 35,00,000 truck to transport vegetables (Agency)

Kerala bride walks on road full of potholes for photoshoot

going to make several changes to its security process Students claim they have received emails about the changes the IIT authorities want to make and have sought their feedback on the proposed changes

The students also claimed that IIT B officials have found potential points of entry into the hostel after conducting an investigation Those specific areas will now be sealed until permanent repairs are carried out The number of male employees at the campus mess and the hostel will also likely be minimised and the night canteen will be closed till only women staff are hired, the students claimed (Agency)

Pregnant woman suffers miscarriage after rape by 3 men

applicant was sitting idle for the last 150 years without raising an issue before any court and also prayed that cost may be imposed for wasting precious judicial time The applicant, on the other hand, argued that when he came to know about the litigation underway in this case he made a thorough enquiry and came to know the pendency of litigation before this court He said he moved the application to protect his legal right to the property in question (Agency)

Baby strapped to her, single mom drives e rickshaw

suffering due to his behaviour,” the official added The Abhayam team counselled him and asked him to control his urges by diverting his attention, doing yoga and joining the senior citizens’ club They also asked his family members to take him for more counselling sessions and also consult a sexologist who can offer a long term solution (The Times of India)

A husband's surprise birthday gift for his wife

A bride from Kerala decided to make her wedding shoot memorable by giving stress on the issue of potholes in the area A video featuring the bride and the wedding photographer is doing rounds on social media In the video, the bride is walking with a lot of grace along a large pothole which is completely filled with muddy water The clip also shows vehicles passing by while struggling to safeguard themselves from falling A photographer is seen capturing the bride s pictures from a distance Along with the video, the caption read, "Bridal photoshoot in the middle of the road " The video has amassed 4 3 million views and 37,0400 likes on Instagram The Kerala High Court directed the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to rectify every road under their control without any further delay The writ petitions were taken up after amicus vurie brought to the notice of the court that a person had died falling into a pothole on the National Highway (Agency)

IIT Bombay canteen to have all women staff

After a canteen worker at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay was arrested for allegedly recording a video of the girls’ hostel bathroom, the institute is

A pregnant woman was allegedly raped by three men in Bareilly, leading to her miscarriage, police said According to her husband’s complaint, the woman was working on the farm in Bisharatganj police station limits when the three men allegedly raped her The woman, who was three months pregnant, suffered a miscarriage as a result, the police said, adding, the woman has been admitted to the district hospital and her condition is critical The police have registered an FIR and arrested one accused The matter is being investigated and further action will be taken as facts emerge, Superintendent of Police (Rural) Rajkumar Agrawal said Rajesh Kumar, Bisharatganj police station in charge said the woman ’ s husband lodged a complaint with the women ’ s police station in Bareilly on September 16 The woman ’ s husband, however, alleged that he lodged a complaint on the day of the incident but the police did not take action As his wife’s health deteriorated, he took her to the district hospital from where he sent a complaint through post, on which the police registered a case (Agency)

It’s hard to miss Chanchal Sharma on the road Most days, she has her one year old son strapped to her in a baby carrier as she picks up passengers in her e rickshaw, starting her day at 6 30 am and making it home by noon to give the kid a bath and lunch For hunger pangs, there’s a feeding bottle at hand

Her route is a 6 5 km stretch between the National Institute of Biologicals in Sector 62 and Labour Chowk in Sector 59 of Noida Chanchal, now 27, faced the same dilemma that many of working mothers in India face who can’t afford a creche or a daycare when she began looking for a job last year, a month and a half after son Ankush was born She took up the e rickshaw as she can carry her son along (Agency)

'Ba’ seeks refuge in 181 from ‘naughty’ husband!

Planning to surprise your wife on her birthday? Well, take a cue from this gentleman who just set a new benchmark for the husbands out there In the video, we see a woman checking her phone when suddenly an RJ on the radio wishes her a very happy birthday He says, "A very special happy birthday to Julie from Nottingham Chris wants to tell you Julie how much he still loves you after 25 years together and he's so very proud of you " The RJ also talked about the place where Chris proposed to Julie and their favourite song and the memories attached to it The video shows Julie shocked at first, but overwhelmed after a few seconds in the video Dressed in a blue dress, Julie shed tears of joy after hearing the announcement by the RJ The video was posted with the caption, "Husband Surprises Wife With 50th Birthday Wish Over The Radio " (Agency)

How to stay calm in traffic?

A Delhi court dismissed the plea of a man who claimed legal ownership of lands in South Delhi and sought to intervene in an application seeking the restoration of 27 Hindu and Jain temples at the Quwwat ul Islam Mosque inside the Qutub Minar complex Additional District Judge Dinesh Kumar dismissed the application filed by Kunwar Mahender Dhawaj Prasad Singh, who claimed to be a descendant of a royal family from the Aligarh district in Uttar Pradesh The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) had previously asked the court to dismiss the application by arguing that the

An 87 year old woman in Vadodara sought the help of 81 Abhayam helpline in fending off her 89 year old hypersexual husband! “The 89 year old frequently demanded sexual gratification from his frail wife who kept falling ill and couldn’t fulfil his demands But he would keep insisting to a point of nagging,” an Abhayam official said “They had a healthy physical relationship for years but the woman fell ill over a year ago and was bed ridden She could hardly move and could walk only with the support of her son and daughter in law,” the official said, adding that the husband fully aware of her condition would not stop pressuring her for physical intimacy When she would refuse, the man, who is a retired engineer, would create a ruckus screaming at his wife and their son and letting the whole neighbourhood know Tired of their father’s antics, the family who are well to do, finally called up Abhayam for help “After receiving the call, the Abhayam team reached their home and met the man We told him that his image was taking a beating and his wife was also

Megacities like Delhi are famous for their traffic jams And the situation turns worse during office hours, or when it rains Bumper to bumper traffic, blaring horns and two wheelers jostling for space create a situation where it becomes almost impossible to not lose your cool Several incidents of road rage are reported every year from different parts of Delhi because commuters spend a long time on roads But the Delhi Police has a solution for this Known for its quirky tweets, it has posted a video that is winning hearts online In the video, a man is seen singing songs while stuck in traffic "How to stay calm at traffic signal," Delhi Police's tweet reads The supers on the video say, "Love music? Sing Don't blow horn when you are waiting at traffic signal " The video has amassed more than 11,000 views and several users posted their comments on it "Please release a song list for the rain," said one user "Nice voice," commented others Last week, the Delhi Police used the Kala Chashma trend to raise awareness against using tinted windows in cars The police informed about a special drive they are launching to penalise car owners who have tinted glass "beyond permissible limits" (Agency)

Court dismisses man's claim over Qutub Minar complex

Man fatally shot by armed officer was a highly active criminal

Yassar Yaqub w as shot wh en the A udi car he was travelling in was s to p p

January 20 17 T he ju ry inquest was told an armed officer leant out of h is wind ow and fired three shots at M r Yaqub T wo of the bullets hit h im in the ch est and caused "catas tro phic bloo d loss", jurors at Leed s C ro wn C ourt heard The inquest h ad p reviously heard a loaded pis t o l w as f o

nd in t

u nd er the front p ass eng er s eat, w here M r Yaqub h ad been wh en h e was shot

A West Yorkshire Police offi cer, referred to only as D4 to pro tect his identity, confirmed he had b e e n a p p o i n t e d t h e " s t r a t e g i c firearms commander" for a police operation relating to Mr Yaqub on 31 October, 2016 two months prior to the M62 incident

O f f i c e r D 4 t o l d t h e c o u r t Operation Fillview was in response to intelligence showing Mr Yaqub and another man had been "mak ing threats" to a man called Yasser Adalat and that Mr Yaqub had i n t e n d e d t o c a u s e h i m " s e r i o u s harm"

T h e j u r y w a s a l s o s h o w n

Y a q u b i s a h i g h l y a c t i v e criminal "The officer confirmed he had granted a "standing authority" for deploying firearms officers in relation to the operation, which aimed to disrupt organised crimi nality, protect the public and "the right to life of Yasser Adalat" The jury was also shown an email to Officer D4 from another officer t h a n k i n g h i m f o r g r a n t i n g a n "armed authority" for the opera tion

Officer D4 had written: "I con firm the authority to deploy armed officers as I have reason to suppose that officers will have to protect themselves from persons who have possession of or immediate access to firearms " He told the court he "would have been failing in my duty not to put a plan in place" based on the intelligence, and said Mr Adalat was wanted by police for a n u n r e l a t e d m a t t e r " W e w e r e actively trying to arrest the poten tial victim, Yasser Adalat, but we couldn't find that individual so we couldn't put that mitigating action in place," the officer told the court

28-year-old charged with dangerous driving after couple dies in Solihull crash

A ma n h a s a p p e ar ed i n co u rt c h a rged wi th ca u si ng dea th by d an ge ro u s dri v in g af te r a h u s b and and wi fe were ki lled in a c r as h i n S o li h u ll P a ss e ng er s Meesha Afzal, 2 2, and K yle Kh an, 2 6, died after a Mercedes A200 t h e y w er e t ra ve ll i ng i n wi th friends smash ed into a wall on Warwick Road

The couple, who both wore seatbelts, were pronounced dead at the scene in the early hours of Sunday, December 13, 2020 West M i d l a n d s P o l

India wins big at prestigious international higher education awards in London

National Indian Students and Alumni Union UK (NISAU), the pan national student and alumni rep res entative body for Indians in the United Kingdom has emerged as the bi ggest winner at the PIEoneer Awards 2 02 2, held every year in London, United Ki ngdom The PI Eoneer Awards are the only global awards that c elebrate innovati on and achievement across the whole international educati on industry

The NISAU was the only organisation to be shortlisted as a finalist in three different categories, winning two of the three and emerging as a runner up in the third With a distinguished judging panel representing geographical and professional diversi ty, The PIEoneer Awards recognise individuals and organisations who are pushing professional stan dards, evolving their engagement or redefining the international student experience

A m b e d k a r , P a n d i t N e h r u ; t h e f o u n d e r s o f m

beloved India; and the hundreds of thousands of Indian students who have studied in the UK over the years Our two countries are tied by much but it is this educational partnership that defines the essence of our connection and it has been the hon our of my life to have been able to develop the NISAU an organisation that enables young people to support each other and become each other’s home away from home We are all volunteers, and I thank the hundreds of volunteers who in the decade of our existence have given back so much to our communities But there are miles to go before we sleep I am extremely excited about our upcom ing initiative with the British Council to mark India at 75, where we will be recognizing and celebrating

In a first, the NISAU has made history by being the only Indian students’ association to have won a c r o s s m u l t i p l e c a t e g o r i e s a t t h e s e p r e s t i g i o u s

awards:

Student Support Award: Winner This year the NISAU was shortlisted alongside institutions such as the University of Portsmouth and corporates such as Duolingo NISAU was recognised in partic ular for its work supporting students in an excep tionally tumultuous year that included a global pan demic where it supported students and others affected in the UK and India, and a global war w h e r e i t s u p p o r t e d I n d i a n s t u d e n t s c a u g h t i n Ukraine

O u ts t an d i ng C on t ri b ut i on t o th e I n du s tr y:

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m e d Eidnun Liaquat, from Sparkhill, had been charged with two counts o f c a u s i n g d e a t h b y d a n g e r o u s driving The 28 year old appeared a t c o u r t i n B i r m i n g h a m a n d entered not guilty pleas to both charges over the summer

A four day trial has been listed, at Birmingham Crown Court, in February 2023 At the opening of a n i n q u e s t i n D e c e m b e r 2 0 2 0 , Birmingham coroner Louise Hunt said the crash happened at around 1 5 0 a m , n e a r t h e j un c t i o n w i t h Gentleshaw Lane "On attendance

by police, the two deceased were found in the vehicle," Ms Hunt said "Both had seatbelts on They were removed from the vehicle by officers and despite efforts from a medical team they were unfortu nately declared deceased at the s c e n e " P o s t m o r t e m e x a m i n a tions found Meesha, a carer, died from head and neck injuries Kyle, a courier driver, died from a head injury Their injuries were consis tent with having been in a road traffic collision, the hearing was told

K y l e s m u m R o s h n i S a j i d a Yousaf, 51, previously said the beautiful couple " who married in July 2017 were the Romeo and Juliet of this century " "Kyle and Meesha were my life It breaks my heart that I’ve lost two children as she (Meesha) was my daughter too," she said "I am so grateful to the emergency services that tried t o s a v e t h e m a n d t h e i r e f f o r t s f a i l e d T h e y w o u l d b e l o o k i n g down at me from heaven smiling to say 'do not mourn us we're happy together in death too '

Met hands out mobiles to officers

It ha s bee n

M etropo lita n Po lice off icer wil l be issue d a work sma rtph one t hat wi ll he lp to cra ck do wn on m isconduct and wi ll i mpr ove t hei r a ccess to t echnology

Before the end of the year the phones will be handed out under an initiative by Sir Mark Rowley, the new commissioner

O f f i c e r s i n B r i t a i n h a v e often had to use their phones to communicate with each other, c o n d u c t b a s i c i n v e s t i g a t i o n s and collect evidence, such as video

However, sources said this initiative had the dual purpose

of allowing senior managers at the force to keep an eye on what the rank and file were up to and that the phones would be monitored for evidence of corrupt behaviour

K e n M a r s h , h e a d o f t h e

Metropolitan Police Federation said the rollout was a “ com pletely positive” move

“The cost [of using devices] s h o u l d n o t b e b o r n e b y t h e employee,” he said “ T h i s i s m o v i n g t h e M e t into the modern age of 2022, [it] will give officers direct access a n d t h e a b i l i t y t o k e e p i n touch ”

Winner NISAU’s Founder and Chairperson Sanam Arora won this award for her work setting up the N I S A U , “ l e a d i n g a d v o c a c y f o r I n d i a n s t u d e n t s worldwide From supporting those caught in the Russian invasion in Ukraine, to those requiring assistance in the UK throughout the pandemic, Sanam has proved to be a committed, compassion ate force for good in international education ”

As soc iati on of the Y ear: Highly Commended Finalist NISAU was shortlisted alongside various longstanding, institutional global sector represen tative organisations, such as the Universities UK International, which represents 140 universities in the UK: Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan), Canada which represents Canadian public colleges and institutions and English Australia, which repre sents 120 Australian colleges NISAU emerged as the first runner up in this category

Accepting both awards on behalf of the NISAU, its founder & chairperson Sanam Arora said, “I ded icate this award to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the second, who embodied public service and duty in all that she did; and to Mahatma Gandhi, Dr

the work of 75 trailblazing Indian alumni from the UK who have demonstrated outstanding contribu tion in their fields and delivered social impact ”

Congratulating the NISAU, Virendra Sharma, Member of UK Parli ament and Chair of the Indo British All Party Parliamentary Group said “I am delighted for NISAU on their victory in these two awards and their runner up status for a third In a field of giants NISAU has been feted, despite being a smaller, less well funded group than their com petitors, because their hard work and commitment to delivering exceptional support, in both tradition al and innovative ways is extraordinary I have served as patron of NISAU now for many years, because of this vital role they play, and it is right that their important work is recognised ”

Research and Thought Leadership, Vignesh Karthi k remarked, “To score in all three categories we were shortlisted in is such an encouragement to continue doing what we do I am grateful to our team that has been relentless and passionate and we have so much more in store to further strengthen the UK India educational relationship ”

Met wants court to back sacking of black officer

A re n ew e d a t t e mp t i s b ei n g made b y t he Met ropol it an Police to sack a highl y dec orat ed senior black female officer t aking t heir cae to t he Court of Appeal

T h e M e t w a s p r o h i b i t e d from dismissing Superintendent Robyn Williams, who was con v i c t e d o f a s e x o f f e n c e a f t e r b e i n g s e n t a n i n d e c e n t

W h a t s A p p v i d e o o f a c h i l d , which she did not watch

A High Court judge agreed

that dismissing Williams, who was praised for her work after the Grenfell Tower fire would u n d e r m i n e c o n f i d e n c e i n t h e force

The Met is now trying to have the case heard in the Court of Appeal, where it will also try to repeal the reinstatement of an Asian female officer who plead e d g u i l t y t o a s s a u l t a n d w a s given her job back after medical issues were taken into account

In 2020, the Met sacked both officers for gross misconduct

The Met said: “We believe there is an overwhelming public e x p e c t a t i o n t h a t t h o s e w h o commit serious offences should no longer serve as police offi cers This is fundamental to our integrity ”

The Met has argued that in both cases the tribunal “failed to properly assess the seriousness of the convictions”

Sanam Arora Outstanding Achievement

a n o t h e r d o c u m e n t w h i c h s a i d :

" R e c e n t i n t e l l i g e n c e s h o w s t h a t

From the first ever Thames parade to century old celebration, global Bengalis gear up for Durga puja festivities

a certified course

A fter two years of lull, Du rga puja organis ers across the world, are all g eared up to cel ebrate the festiv ities in a massiv e scale this year

In a unique effort, Heritage Bengal Global, a non profit organisation in the UK that promotes Bengal’s heritage and culture globally, is organising its first ever ‘Durga Parade on Thames’ on Saturday 8 October in London, 1pm onwards The event that replicates the sen timent behind the carnival hosted at Kolkata’s Red Road, will proudly showcase culture and values of Bengal, while c a r r y i n g D u r g a ‘ p r o t i m a s ’ ( i d o l s ) p r o v i d e d b y s e v e r a l pujas across the UK on a boat, s a i l i n g f r o m W e s t m i n s t e r pier to downstream and back

The idea behind different idols on a boat is to exhibit the existence of diverse arts and crafts within one com munity and social nuances

O r g a n i s e r a n d D i r e c t o r H B G , A n i r b a n M u k h o p a d h y a y t o l d A s i a n Voice, “The Durga puja celebration in West B e n g a l h a s r e c e n t l y b e e n a w a r d e d t h e UNESCO Heritage status, for transcending from religious identity to establishing itself as a socio cultural symbol This potentially also create a huge tourism opportunity for the State and the country, which could sig nificantly boost the economy of the region To raise awareness about this celebration globally, we are organising the Parade on T h a m e s o n S a t u r d a y 8 O c t o b e r I a m extremely thankful to the supporters and sponsors for making this event possible ” Ten events to celebrate 10th anniversary

A d d a i n S l o u g h i s c e l e b r a t i n g 7 5 t h anniversary of Indian Independence and organising 10 big events to celebrate the organisation’s 10th year anniversary

Last year at their Durga puja, Adda introduced a ‘Gate of Joy’ where it con structed a special entrance using handi c r a f t s

B

Banglanatak com Continuing the efforts even this year, the gate will be made of Chhou mask, bamboo dolls and Patachitra handicrafts sourced from rural Bengal There will be Baul and folk artists perform ing alongside the usual Puja festivities Pu jas across the globe

Ireland Durgotsab is celebrating puja for the 6th year Instead of Lotus, as ritu a l s d e m a n d , t h e y u s e L i l i e s S a s w a t a Chattopadhyay, from the committee said, “This year we have started training people to become priests in Durga pujas There are many counties in Ireland who want to organise puja but due to lack of trained priests they haven’t been successful To solve this problem, we have started a 10 12 days’ workshop for training priests This is

“This year three trainees who have appeared for the final exam, are conduct ing pujas in counties It is a big achieve ment for us ”

Helsinki Durga Puja is observed in the northernmost capital of the world A few Bengalis met in 1999 and decided to cele brate the Durga Puja festival and named it ‘Helsinki Durga Puja’ In the beginning the organisers did not have a ‘pratima’

Mum-of-two running the TCS London Marathon

M u m o f tw o Na v i nd e r, fro m Surrey is running the TC S L ond on Marathon as part of T eam BHF in 2022 Her place was deferred from 2020 d ue to the Co vid pan d e m i c S h e ’ s ru n ni ng i n memo ry of her belov ed dad Dershan who passed away 10 years ag o from heart fail ure He h ad prev iously had two heart attacks and Type 2 Diabetes

Running the marathon i n 2 0 2 2 w i l l b e e x t r a poignant for Navinder as it will mark the 10th anniver sary of her father’s death https://www justgiving com / f u n d r a i s i n g / n a v i n d e r molyneux

She said, “I’m Malaysian o f I n d i a n h e r i t a g e I w a s born in Malaysia where my father came from I know that South Asian people are p r o n e t o g e t t i n g c e r t a i n t y p e s o f h e a r t d i s e a s e I d o n ’ t k n o w w h y , b u t I ’ m aware of it

“My dad had a couple of heart attacks that I knew of when he was young in his late 30s and early 40s It’s s h o c k i n g r e a l l y t o m e I don’t know whether it was b e c a u s e h e h a d a m o r e sedentary lifestyle, lack of excise or poor nutrition but I was shocked that it

happened to him so young

H e r f a t h e r d e v e l o p e d T y p e 2 D i a b e t e s a s w e l l which runs in the family and she knows it is related to heart disease Her grandpar ents on his side both had Diabetes and her mum now has it

“But I don’t have it for t u n a t e l y a n d I ’ v e b e e n ensuring that I maintain a healthy lifestyle I used to be around 18 stone but now I weigh around 11 stone at my highest My lowest weight can be 9 or 10 stone I’ve m a i n t a i n e d t h a t l o w e r weight now for 13 years and I’m really proud of that I’m not aware that he had high c h o l e s t e r o l o r a n y s y m p toms and my mum doesn’t really talk about it it’s a difficult thing for her to talk about,” she said

She believes her father i g n o r e d t h e s y m p t o m s

(idol) and substituted it by a ‘Pot’ a paint ing by a Finnish woman, a friend of one of their compatriots However, they eventu ally managed to get a Durga Pratima in 2003 with the sincere efforts of one of their Bengali enthusiasts, whose contribu tion to the inception of puja in Helsinki was enormous Now there are three Pujas in the capital city area of Finland

T h e L a g o s B e n g a l i A s s o c i a t i o n i n Nigeria started its first activity with Durga Puja in 1981 With almost 200 Bengali families around, not only they celebrate Durga Puja, Laxmi Puja or Saraswati Puja, they also organise various cultural pro grammes throughout the year for adults and children This year they have finally received the approval to set up a Kali tem ple in the premises of Indian Mandir Foundation at Palm Grove, Ilupeju

S h e d e c i d e d t o r u n a marathon Her dad was a runner and played football a n d w a s f i t a n d h e a l t h y Navinder said, “I knew it would be a real challenge for me but I wanted to rise to it I started by doing a local 10k a n d t r a i n e d f o r t h a t a n d then set my mind to training for a marathon I knew this would be the way I’d want to commemorate my dad’s life

I r e m e m b e r h i m r u n n i n g miles and miles when I was little and I remember sitting in the car waiting for him whilst he’d go running

“Once I’d made up my m i n d t o r u n t h e L o n d o n Marathon I applied to you to run it for the British Heart F o u n d a t i o n a n d I g o t a place When I opened the email to say I had got my place it all suddenly became real like that moment in W h o W a n t s t o b e a Millionaire when the lights go down ”

Indian Philanthropist Sudha Reddy honoured at 10th annual First Ladies Luncheon

Fash io n, p hi lanthro py and first ladies cam e togeth er for the Fashion 4 Dev elopm ent ( F4 D ) 10 th anni v ersar y o f th e A n nu al F i rs t L ad i es Lu ncheon during th e 7 7th S es s i o n o f t h e U ni t ed Nations General A ssem bly (U NGA) Week

A slew of influential fig ures in entertainment, fash ion, activism, politics and business from around the world congregated to sup p o r t b o t h t h e U N S u s t a i n a b l e D e v e l o p m e n t Goals and F4D’s efforts to promote positive strategies f o r s u s t a i n a b l e e c o n o m i c growth

For the first time in the history of F4D, a luminary o f I n d i a n o r i g i n a t t e n d e d the prestigious event as well as was awarded a coveted honour Representing India at the global event was phi l a n t h r o p i s t a n d b u s i n e s s woman, Sudha Reddy from Hyderabad

r e v o l v i n g a r o u n d s u s t a i n able lifestyle practices for a healthier tomorrow It was so insightful to meet like minded thought leaders and a c h i e v e r s f r o m d i f f e r e n t walks of life It is my con stant endeavour to repre sent Hyderabad at impor tant world events and be a catalyst of change

Reddy attended the 2nd A n n u a l S u s t a i n a b l e G o a l s

Seremban, around 1925

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In Malaysia, the arrival of Bengalis at the beginning of the 20th century, saw the i n i t i a t i o n o f D u r g a P u j a f

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The Malaysian Bengalee Association (MBA) has been organising this almost century old festival to uphold the tradi tions and ethos of this overseas Bengali community with real gusto and belief

Sharmistha Pal from MBA Malaysia said, “After initial years in Seremban, the celebrations were shifted to Gita Ashram in Petaling Jaya (Kuala Lumpur) around 1978; and then to the current spacious and well equipped Bangunan Peladang hall (Kuala Lumpur) in 2007 to hold the 5 day

mance and good food

Sudha Reddy who chairs the charity office of MEIL a n d S u d h a R e d d y Foundation states, said, “I h a v e a l w a y s b e l i e v e d t h a t fashion is a vehicle by which c u l t u r e a n d h e r i t a g e i s r e f l e c t e d a n d f o r m e d I t ’ s truly an honour to be invit e d b y F a s h i o n 4 Development for this pre mium gathering consisting o f t h o u g h t l e a d e r s f r o m across the world “It was a remarkable event and I’m t r u l y h a p p y t o h a v e c o n tributed to such a diverse r a n g e o f c o n v e r s a t i o n s

Banquet which recognizes the importance of sustain a b l e f a s h i o n a n d l i f e s t y l e practices She was felicitated w i t h t h e F a s h i o n 4

Development Philanthropy Award at the hands of New Y o r k S t a t e S e n a t o r A l e s s a n d r a B i a g g i a t 1 0 t h A n n u a l F i r s t L a d i e s L u n c h e o n w h i c h g a t h e r s first ladies and royals from around the globe to cele b r a t e t h e u n p r e c e d e n t e d cooperation between diplo macy and fashion

She opted for an ensem ble consisting of looks from

By way of introduction, Sudha Reddy was the only Indian and first Hyderabad origin celebrity to be invited to the prestigious Met Gala i n 2 0 2 1 a n d P a r i s H a u t e Couture Week in 2022 The h u m a n i t a r i a n w h o l e a d s with her heart helms the corporate social responsibil i t y i n i t i a t i v e s o f M e g h a Group Of Industries driving several social impact pro jects across India, while the e p o n y m o u s S u d h a R e d d y Foundation aims to support w o m e n a n d c h i l d r e n b y f o c u s i n g o n a f f o r d a b l e h e a l t h c a r e a n d a c c e s s i b l e e d u c a t i o n H e r e x t e n s i v e charity work includes a col l a b o r a t i o n w i t h E l i z a b e t h Hurley to campaign for the B r e a s t C a n c e r R e s e a r c h Foundation, Paris and work i n g a l o n g s i d e A m e r i c a n actress Eva Longoria to raise a w a r e n e s s a b o u t c h i l d r e n suffering from chronic dis e a s e s a t T h e G l o b a l G i f t Gala 2022 and the Young I n d i a n W o m e n A c h i e v e r s Under 45 Award at Young FICCI Ladies Organisation (YFLO) in 2021

N a v i n d e r d e c i d e d t o d o something as her dad’s lega cy to raise money for the BHF for heart research to h e l p s t o p o t h e r f a m i l i e s from going through what s h e a n d h e r f a m i l y w e n t through

T a r u n T a h l i a n i , T a d a s h i Shoji and Neeta Lulla O v e r t h e y e a r s , g l o b a l c e l e b r i t i e s l i k e C h a r l i z e T h e r o n , D i a n e K r u g e r , Arianna Huffington, Diane V o n F u r s t e n b e r g , N a o m i C a m p b e l l , A m b e r H e a r d , E l l i e G o u l d i n g , V i c t o r i a Beckham, and Donna Karan amongst others have been b e s t o w e d w i t h a w a r d s a t this significant event

Rupanjana Dutta

There emerges spiritual reconcil iation between th e beatific nir vana and the nuance of d ifficult li v e d rea li ty t o cr eat e a ba la nc ed paradigm of society over one of fragile h o p e H u m an s tr if e an d fo l ly a re inevitable w herev er people w ill popu late but this need no t elim inate the p at h t o rel ati o n al p e ac e E q ua ll y, u to p i as ra rel y c o m e w i th o u t a n i nev it ab le ca tc h S ym b o li ca ll y, Moo nhaven is a pristine creation but it m ust be ready to neg otiate th e gritty underside, Earth and its raw m ortality, accepting th is as the primal founda tion “In the show , the pilot is person ally embroiled in the conflict and we see it thro ugh her indiv idual journey: we see earth wh ich has fallen apart and seem s a failure and by co ntrast the Moo n cu lture and its po sitivity which lo oks flawless but is very controv ersial Society’s subtle workings are itself fas cinating ” T he solu tion lies in au then tic ideolog ical consolidation: a mar riage o f th e demand o f everyday prag m atis m in tand em w ith o p tim i sti c intellectual im ag ination In terms of leftist po litics, this indicates an updat ed sincerely em pathetic left; o ne that includes th e many m arginalised voices th at have been oppressed, incorporat i ng t h e n ec es si t y o f fu n d am e nta l socio econom ic equality along side the shiny promise of nomadic far reach ing globalisation T his would be the

cally edified from within “People do tend to appreciate novelty,” Amara commented, “and I suppose societal p r o g r e s s e m e r g e s o r g a n i c a l l y f r o m that People want to broaden their horizons and make things truly inter esting: it’s pleasing to have twists of tradition and consider entirely new ways of being Every corner of innova tion needs to be explored and hopeful ly everything underlying that needs deconstruction will be and remade in the end ” Indeed, in Amara’s timely stage play, Bloody Difficult Women, a c o l l a

rehabilitative paradigm of direction is championed The playwright shows

women who actually attempted to introduce calm, mediation and reason into what was the chaotic sham of reactive empty egos Amara’s Miller is cool, concerned and collected, propos

Queen memorial statue get MPs support

Calls fo r the Queen to be honoured with a statue on T raf al g ar S q u ar e's F o u rth Plinth hav e been m et with widespread sup port in the Ho use of Co mmons

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hear" when former minister Sir John Hayes floated the idea earlier The Tory MP s

September, deserved a "fit ting national memorial" He added: "For me, a statue on the final plinth on Trafalgar S

of State for DCMS [Digital, Culture, Media and Sport]

a n d e n s u r e s h e p r o p e r l y consults members on their wishes as plans are taken f o r w a r d " T h e c e n t r a l London landmark has been home to a rolling commis sion of artworks since 1998

T h e m o s t r e c e n t F o u r t h P l i n t h c o m m i s s i o n w a s Heather Phillipson's sculp t u r e T h e E n d w

s taken down in August after t

fo r w ar d t h i nki n g i ns ti tu ti o n all y sound cosmop olitan mo vement that was as g rounded as it is g umptious, and w hat is stro ng will likely last This is what could result in univer sal robust stability of which stunning technology is a congruous extension rather than a frightening ironic mir ror In lieu of Elon esque externalisa tion of civic development, in the shape of elaborate Martian homes, cutting edge gadgets or trendy commercial flights to the Moon, the mental energy should primarily be funnelled into reforming social systems which are emotionally interlinked and sociologi

the capacity for purifying compassion ate redemption within the refuge of

incendiary realm of selfish masculine politics Walker highlights the toxic debacle that is current parliamentary process through the defunct vehicle that continues to be the masthead of Brexit as well as the strong female leaders who were conveniently scape goated at the time

This is identified as being perpetu ated in the machinating hands of tra ditional bigoted media: specifically, as we may know, certain sensationalist tabloids The play then reconstruc tively lauds the pioneering political

ing her saliant defence of justice with the aim of revoking the illicitly trig gered article 50 while Jessica Turner's May relays an admirable stoicism in the context of the populist buffoonery that was enveloping her in the form of the tumultuous tide of her blue party In this sense, the play is beautifully intersectional and propels a message of communal national healing Primal essentialist divisions are flushed to the fore only to be cathartically resolved in the higher plane of meditative con cept In fact, it is common in trauma therapy, or EMDR, to vividly evoke past pain to reprocess and transmute it as an opportunity to benevolently e

would happen if women really did run the world,” the actress stated Here, N e w Z

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minister, Jacinda Ardern, does spring t

sovereign yet kind and swift handling of the ongoing viral pandemic To be Concluded Next Week

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terms/3372355036423587/

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e a d e r P e n n y Mordaunt thanked her col l e a g u e f o r h i s s u g g e s t i o n and said she would "certain l y " r a i s e i t w i t h C u l t u r e Secretary Michelle Donelan "Clearly these will be mat ters that will concern many members and will involve other bodies outside of this house," she said

" B u t I s h a l l c e r t a i n l y raise this with the Secretary

A c c o r d i n g t o i t s w e b s i t e , commissions for the "estab lished icon for London" are chosen "through public con sultation and decision mak

i n g b y t h e F o u

t h P l i n t h Commissioning Group, an i n d e p e n d e n t p a n e l o f artists, journalists and cura tors" This then goes to the city's mayor who "approves the winning artist based on the recommendations of the Commissioning Group", it says

Prince Andrew tried to stop Charles becoming King

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wned instead Ms Levin's new book o n th e life of Camilla, Queen Co n s o rt , c la i ms An dre w wanted h is neph ew to h ave th e crown befo re h e was 18 so h e could take th e posi tio n as Regent He is also sai d to have tried to turn Queen E li zabeth against hi s br o th er 's p ar tn er an d ap peared "very angry" that he cou ldn't " ru le the cou n try in some way"

Citing a "senior insider" i n C a m i l l a , D u c h e s s o f

Cornwall: From Outcast to Queen Consort, Ms Levin w r i t e s : " A n d r e w l o b b i e d very hard with the hope that Charles would not become king when his mother died, a n d t h a t W i l l i a m w o u l d wear the crown " A senior insider at the palace is also said to have told her when P r i n c e s s D i a n a w a s a l i v e , she plotted with Andrew through her friendship with Sarah Ferguson to try and push Charles aside

"His behaviour was very, very negative and extremely

u n p l e a s a n t t o Q u e e n [Elizabeth], who disagreed I was told it was one of the rare occasions he didn't get h i s w a y " T h e y a d d e d : "Nonetheless, he was appar e n t l y v e r y a n g r y t h a t h e couldn t rule the country in some way "He remained so hostile to Camilla's emer gence and acceptance that it's doubtful it has ever been forgiven "

According to the biogra p h e r ' s s o u r c e s , A n d r e w ' s c l a i m s i n c l u d e d t h a t s h e w a s i n s u f f i c i e n t l y a r i s t o cratic and "not to be trust ed" It comes just months after the late Queen made a n a d d r e s s t o t h e n a t i o n earlier this year, insisting it was her “sincere wish” that Camilla be known as Queen C o n s o r t w h e n s h e d i e s Royal sources said the late monarch made the decision in recognition of Camilla's hard work as well as the h a p p i n e s s s h e b r i n g s h e r son

TV coverage of the Queen’s funeral seen by 26 million

broadcast simultaneously across the networks

Since March 2000 it has been the biggest tele vision audience when 27 1 m

Approximately 95 per cent of the available tele v

into the London element of the service, which was

Johnson announce strict coronavirus restrictions

Just over 85 per cent of t

watched on the BBC at

the peak time The corpo ration said during the day more than 32 million had watched its coverage Michelle Donelan, the

view the Queen lying in state in Westminster Hall She said the queue had

b

praised the organisations a

helped “There’s no dress rehearsal, is there, for this kind of scenario? It has b

and worked with commu nity groups,

she said

Sunetra Senior

AMARA KARAN

"People want to broaden their horizons and make things truly interesting: it’s pleasing to have twists of tradition and consider entirely new ways of being"

He was brought up in Uganda, where his father also built a property portfolio Moving to London aged 20, he joined Sun Alliance as a trainee broker, taking his quali fications at Holborn and City of London colleges He moved to Household & General Insurance in 1966, and in 1 9 6 9 t o G u a r d i a n R o y a l E x c h a n g e , b e f o r e j o i n i n g Camberford Law

Judging the Asian Achievers Awards

By Natasha Asghar, Conservative Member of the Welsh Parliament for South East Wales

Being part of th e Asian A ch i ev er s Awa rd s ju dging panel was a sheer pleasure and an h on our Having attended the ceremo ny o n a few occa si on s i n the p as t, it was great to see wh at actually happ ens beh ind the scenes wh en it comes to the nomi natio ns and, h ow exactly th e winners are selected

Over the years I have b e e n t o c o u n t l e s s e v e n t s and Award ceremonies and m u s t a d m i t t h a t I h a v e never seen such a rigorous a n d t h o r o u g h j u d g i n g m e t h o d a d o p t e d b y a n y c e r e m o n y b e f o r e , w h i c h i n v o l v e d a p h e n o m e n a l number of applications of s o m e r e a l l y t a l e n t e d a n d a c c o m p l i s h e d i n d i v i d u a l s from all across the United K i n g d o m A f t e r a l o t o f r e a d i n g , t h e j u d g e s w e r e involved in a series of meet i n g s w h e r e t h e w i n n e r s were selected based upon a point system set up by the organisers

entertainment was fantas tic

True to form we saw s o m e v e r y t a l e n t e d Brazilian dancers, singers and as the event was hosted b y N i t i n G a n a t r a o f Eastenders fame and Deana U p p a l f r o m B i g B r o t h e r b o t h d i d a m a r v e l l o u s c o m p e r i n g D t h e e v e n i n g a n d k e e p i n g t h e c r o w d entertained

ity auction

It was enchanting to see the founder of the AAA’s CB Patel honoured for his hard work and dedication, as the pioneer within the Awards scene, he was the one who laid the founda tions for Award ceremonies t o b e s u c c e s s f u l a n d buzzing

night was a true testament to supporting South Asian talent

Of his family’s arrival from Uganda in the clothes they stood up in, he recalled: “Idi Amin took everything from us, except what we had in our minds Because we were doing very well in Uganda, we came here and we were prepared to work hard What we did in this country was perhaps what we had learned in Uganda, and that is to use our brains, to use our initiative, and we have done very well ”

As well as driving the success of Camberford Law, Sheikh became the chairman of several property compa nies and a director of other businesses

In 2021, he was added to the Indiaspora Government Leaders List, which recognises 200 public figures of Indian heritage in countries around the world

Sheikh was the author of An Indian in The House: The lives and times of the four trailblazers who first brought India to the British Parliament (2019) and Emperor of the Five Rivers: The life and times of Maharajah Ranjit Singh (2021) At the time of his death, he had nearly completed a historical novel

He chaired the Sheikh Abdullah Foundation and was a patron of Orphans in Need

He was elevated to the House of Lords in 2006 and was an active Peer regularly speaking in the House of Lords on a variety of subjects His work included partici p

(APPGs) including the APPG for Islamic and Ethical Finance in British Parliament

Lord Sheikh was a patron of several Muslim and non M

strengthening relationships between various racial and religious groups His Coat of Arms signified the values of education and gives a message that Islam is a religion of peace

A much loved asset to the Conservative Party, Lord Sheikh was first Muslim Conservative Peer and he will always be remembered for the tremendous role he played in strengthening relations between the Party and the B

Conservative Muslim Forum, Lord Sheikh was a pioneer in helping the Party engage with British Muslims

In recent years, Lord Sheikh’s expertise and guidance was instrumental in supporting the Party to tackle accu sations of Islamophobia He was always an advocate for promoting the Party’s shared values with the Muslim community of family, hard work, compassion, sacrifice and opportunity Thanks to his help, the Party was able to host its first ever Iftar reception at CCHQ this year, reflecting the sheer strides we have made in our engage ment with the community Given the success of the Iftar reception, I hope it will be made an annual event, which will be a fitting tribute to Lord Sheikh’s memory

L

thropist and writer His loss will be felt by those of us in the House of Lords and the many lives he touched through his work in business, academia, philanthropy and through his writing

The night began on the red carpet at the Grosvenor Hotel Ballroom with a wide a r r a y o f g u e s t s f r o m a l l w a l k s o f l i f e P o l i t i c i a n s , business heads, community leaders, media celebrities, i n f l u e n c e r s a n d p h i l a n thropists you can name any professional field and it pretty much was covered in the room

As black tie events go, I know the AAA are one of t h e m o s t s o u g h t a f t e r events of the year and the

It was lovely to see mes s a g e s f r o m o u r P r i m e Minister Liz Truss to com m e m o r a t e t h e e v e n i n g , w h i c h r e a l l y m a d e t h e e v e n i n g s p e c i a l F o r m e r First Minister of Northern Ireland Dame Arlene Foster made her way to the stage and lead a moving tribute to the Queen followed by a m i n u t e ’ s s i l e n c e i n H e r M a j e s t y ’ s h o n o u r b y a l l attendees

C o m e d i a n T e z I l y a s stole the show with a great stand up segment As the night progressed the event, everyone managed to pull o u t t h e i r w a l l e t s i n t h e name of charity and it was great to see that £100,000 was raised during the char

As a judge for the 2022 Asian Achievers Awards, it was a sheer delight to meet the worthy nominees and winners of the Awards who were so well deserving that it really was a tough task for the judges to whittle them down during the selection process

One after the other, we got to see the winners from v a r i o u s c a t e g o r i e s m a k e their way to the stage and it w a s b r i l l i a n t t o s e e t h e audience go wild and bask in their success alongside t h e i r f a m i l y , f r i e n d s a n d well wishers in the audi ence

A s S o u t h A s i a n s I believe it is vital that we stand together and build e a c h o t h e r a n d n o t t e a r each other down and the

P e r s o n a l l y , f o r m e a rather moving moment was when the Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s mother came up on stage to collect her Award The sheer joy and pride she had on her face was wonderful, and I think everyone in the room felt a sense of pride seeing a w o m a n o f c o l o u r w i t h i n the Cabinet achieve such a plum position win such a prestigious Award

T h e r e w e r e o t h e r n o t a b l e f e m a l e w i n n e r s t o o , i n c l u d i n g P r e m a S u b a s k a r a n , w h o w o n a s p e c i a l a w a r d f o r h e r C o n t r i b u t i o n t o Healthcare

Hats off to the organis e r s f o r a r r a n g i n g s u c h a wonderful event and I have n o d o u b t t h e A s i a n Achievers Awards will just keep getting better and bet ter as time goes on

The food by Raagaasan was superb and I for one cannot wait to see and be part of the Asian Achiever Awards in 2023

Building trust, enabling sustainability

World Congress of Accountants will be held in India from 18 21 November. 6000 delegates from 130 countries are expected to join.

Th e P re s i de n t o f t he I n s t i tu t e of C h ar t e r ed Accountants of Indi a (IC AI) CA Dr Deb ashis M itra was the C hi ef G ues t of the ICAI U K C ha p t er ’ s w e lc om i n g event on 24 Septemb er

I n a n i n t e r v i e w w i t h A s i a n V o i c e , D r D e b a h i s Mitra shared that young s t e r s a r e n o w g e t t i n g a t t r a c t e d t o c h a r t e r e d a c c o u n t a n c y c o u r s e s b e c a u s e t h e y g u a r a n t e e employment The courses are following global stan dards in their curriculum

Dr Mitra mentioned that the objective is to empower m o r e g l o b a l c h a r t e r e d a c c o u n t a n t s T h a t ’ s w h y there is a global demand for students passing from the I n s t i t u t e o f C h a r t e r e d Accountants of India

Dr Mitra said that ICAI is delighted to host the 21st W o r l d C o n g r e s s o f A c c o u n t a n t s f r o m November 18 to 21, 2022 at t h e J i o W o r l d C e n t r e , M u m b a i , I n d i a W C O A 2022 is being held in hybrid mode for the first time in

Congress’s history It will a l l o w t h e d e l e g a t e s t o attend virtually as well The timing of various sessions has also been planned to keep in mind the different time zones ICAI is expect i n g 6 0 0 0 d e l e g a t e s f r o m 130 countries of the world T h i s c o n f e r e n c e i s h e l d once in four years, that's why it is popularly known a s t h e O l y m p i c s o f t h e Accountancy Profession It will be the celebration of the accountancy profession all over the world It is to be held for the first time in this part of the world, and it is a proud moment not only

for the Indian accounting fraternity but for the whole fraternity in South Asia, as India is the first country in S o u t h A s i a t o h o s t t h e World Congress

Dr Mitra said that the theme of this conference is Building Trust Enabling Sustainability The accoun t a n c y p r o f e s s i o n p l a y s a role as a protector of public interest and we will discuss at the conference how the p r o f e s s i o n c a n p l a y a n instrumental role to enable sustainable economies for the future

Talking to Asian Voice, C E O o f S B I U K S u d h i r

Sharma said, “This is a very o l d o r g a n i s a t i o n I C A I i s s u p p o r t i n g t h e b u s i n e s s c o m m u n i t y a s w e l l a s f i n a n c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n s w h i c h a r e b a s e d o u t o f India They contribute a lot a n d t h e y b r i n g b u s i n e s s a n d b a n k i n g i n s t i t u t i o n s together

Head, Retail and SME banking UK and Europe of I C I C I P r a t a p S i n g h s a i d , “The members of ICAI are t h e c r i t i c a l l i n k b e t w e e n the business and the bank We have associated with ICAI because ICICI has dig i t a l i z e d t h e p r o c e s s e s T o d a y o p e n i n g a n N R I a c c o u n t i s a p r o c e s s o f f e w e r t h a n 3 0 m i n u t e s

Even opening personal care accounts takes just 7 to 8 minutes when people are migrating from India

At the event, ICAI UK c h a p t e r C h a i r K r i s h n a Prasad Dahal presented a w e l c o m e s p e e c h C A

Meenal Sambre conducted the event A vote of thanks w a s g i v e n b y V i c e c h a i r

ICAI UK Vivek Saraogi

Prema Subaskaran (centre) wins the Special Award for Achievement in Healthcare from Merul Patel (left) and Dame Arlene Foster (right)

ICAI President (in centre) with the UK Chapter team

Lord Dolar Popat

M ohamed Iltaf Sheikh was bo rn in K enya on June 13, 194 1, the son of Moh am ed Abdullah S heikh and K alsum A ra Sh eikh; the family originated from the Punjab, Ind ia His fath er dealt in coffee and cot ton

Lord Sheikh, the Conservative Party’s first Muslim peer and a champion of Muslims in the UK

Lord Mohamed Sheikh June 13, 1941 to September 22, 2022

20th Asian Achievers Awards pays tribute to Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II

The UK’s most prominent and longstanding celebration of British Asian achievement across multiple fields. Asian Achievers Awards, paid tribute to Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II at the annual ceremony, which took place on Friday 23rd September at Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London. Dame Arlene Foster DBE PC, Former First Minister of Northern Ireland, led the tribute with a one minute silence to inaugurate the ceremony

The evening was hosted by actor, Nitin Ganatra OBE, and entrepreneur, philanthropist and documentary filmmaker, Deana Uppal, and welcomed a guest list of celebrities, public figures, VIPs and

Asian Achievers Awards 2022 Winners

Art and Culture :

Namit Malhotra Chairman and CEO of industry leading, visual effects and animation company, DNEG, and Founder and Non Executive Director of DNEG's parent company, Prime Focus Limited Busine ss Pe rson of the Year:

Sha mil a nd Kav i Thakra r Founders of Dishoom, one of the UK’s most successful, Indian restaurant companies The company was ranked fourth in the 100 Best UK Companies

Community Service:

Dr Zareen Roohi Ahmed Founder and CEO of Gift Wellness and Chair of The Halimah Trust, a charity established to fulfil the dreams of her daughter who was tragically murdered in 2007

En trepre neur of the Ye ar:

She rry Vaswa ni Founder and CEO of Xalient, a global provider of IT services to large enterprises, specialising in cloud networking and cybersecurity

Lifetime Achieve me nt Award:

Dr Karta r La lvan i OBE Founder and Chairman of Vitabiotics, the first and now most successfully specialised vitamin supplement firm in the UK, with presence in over 100 countries

Me dia :

Naga Mun chett y Known nationwide as one of the presenters on BBC Breakfast and hosting a prominent radio show on BBC 5 Live

Professional of the Ye ar:

Professor Sir Shankar B ala subra ma nian (University of Cambridge) Shankar created Next Generation DNA Sequencing, a technology that enables fast, accurate, low cost and large scale genome sequencing

Spe cial Awar d for Business Lea dership: Pune et Gupta Co Owner and joint CEO of PG Paper, an award winning company based in Scotland, UK and one of Scotland’s largest and most successful exporters, with a presence in 55 countries

Spe cial Awar d for Inn ova tion a nd

En trepre neurship:

Bank im Chandra Today, he is the Founder and CEO of Dotsquares, with offices in France, Australia, the US and the UK as well as three development centres in India They have over 800 staff members in a business that provides creative digital design and development services

Sport s Personalit y of the Yea r:

Ka renjee t Kaur Ba in s The first female Sikh powerlifter to represent Team GB She became the 2019 Commonwealth Champion, winning three gold medals and two silver medals in Newfoundland, Canada She also became the first British Sikh female to represent Britain in the World and European Championships, placing in the top 10

Uniformed and Civil Service: Captain Har pr eet Chandi Army officer and physiotherapist known as ‘Polar Preet’,

dignitaries including Love Island contestant, Priya Gopaldas; TOWIE stars, Dani Imbert and Junaid Ahmed; comedian, Tez Ilyas (Man Like Mobeen); actors, Raj Ghatak, Nisha Aaliya and Yanick Ghanty; music artists, Bambi Bains, Rumer and H Dhami; Premier League presenter, Manish Bhasin; former Miss England, Hammasa Kohistani; Rajesh Agrawal, Deputy Mayor for Business London; Dr Kartar Lalvani OBE, Founder and Chairman, Vitabiotics; Subaskaran Allirajah, Founder and Chairman, Lyca; Head Teacher, Katherine Birbalsingh; businesswoman, Sheetal Mafatlal; and lead researcher for the COVID vaccine, Maheshi Ramasamy, Oxford Vaccine Group

she has created history by becoming the first woman of colour to complete a solo, unsupported trek to the South Pole She has also completed a 156 mile ultramarathon across the Sahara Desert in 2019 Woman of t he Yea r:

Rt Hon Sue lla B rave rman KC MP UK

Home Secretary and former Attorney General Suella was first elected to Parliament in 2015 for Fareham, Hampshire and re elected in 2017 and 2019 She served on the Education Select Committee for two years and was made Parliamentary Under

Now in their 20th year, Asian Achievers Awards are recognised as the most prestigious and longstanding celebration of the leading figures of the UK’s South Asian community and their achievements, initiated by public nominations Established in 2000, the Awards returned this year following the pandemic, presented by a global advisory firm, EPG, and supported by media partners, Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar, Zee TV, Sunrise Radio and Luxury magazine

Across ten categories including Art & Culture; Business Person of the Year; Entrepreneur of the Year; and Community Service, the Asian Achievers Awards received

more than 500 nominations, from which the judges shortlisted four per category, evenly divided between male and female candidates

This year ’ s judging panel was reflective of the diversity and experience of the nominations received It included Former Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Bas Javid; Former President of the Royal College of General Practitioners, Dr Mayur Lakhani CBE; COO of Monzo Bank, Sujata Bhatia; music producer, Bally Sagoo; Welsh Assembly Member, Natasha Asghar; and Artistic Director of Darbar Festival, Sandeep Virdee OBE

Secretary of State at the Department for Exiting the European Union in 2018 prior to rising in ranks to the position of UK Attorney General and current Home Secretary Outst anding Achievemen t in H ealt hcar e: Prema Sub askaran Entrepreneur and philanthropist, who founded LycaHealth in 2015, overseeing the operational and strategic development of the business Pratik Da ttani, Mana ging D ir ect or , EPG said, “Tonight we celebrated truly the best in the South Asian community in Britain today and I see the next 20 years bringing even more success for our diaspora The AAA will continue to be the platform to identify, recognise and support the innovators, visionaries and community giants that will build Britain and make the world a better place ”

L Ge or ge, Director, EPG Even ts; former CEO, Asian Voice and Guja rat Samacha r said, "The Asian Achievers Awards night is always special because it serves as a platform for the community to come together And, of course, it's a great place to network with a room full of the most successful people from the British Asian community But, more importantly, it's amazing to know and to celebrate how successful the community has been today in every field "

The awards ceremony was interspersed with live performances on the night including Brit Award nominee, Rumer; cellist and pianist, Alison Gabrielle; and star

of TV’s Man Like Mobeen, stand up comedian Tez Ilyas; with Lord Jeffrey Archer conducting the charity auction in support of the chosen Charity Partner, Pardada Pardadi ABPL G roup ’ s Editor In Chief and Pub lishe r CB Pat el said, “I am so happy that after two years AAA is back with the same spirit and with enthusiastic support from the community at large There are some amongst the audience with outstanding

success stories Some have attended this event in the past, and got inspired and motivated And there are many more budding successes, entrepreneurs, professionals, artists, and painters who had laid the purpose of starting the Asian Achievers Award and even played a vital role in the success of this jubilant awards event It is very gratifying for me that Pratik Dattani and Liji George have done a tremendous job with their team in organizing this event for a worthwhile cause and the fund raised for the Pardada Pardadi Educational Society UK is very exemplary There is a message that for any society developed or underdeveloped, education is the key foundation for success

Once again, I congratulate all the award winners and thanks to the dignified guests and supporters present at the eve along with the sponsors and advertisers for the grand re welcome and success of AAA 2022 ”

The event was attended by a range of celebrities, including Priya Gopaldas from Love Island and actors Nisha Aaliya and Yanick Ghanty

Dishoom s Head Chef Arun Kumar and colleague col lect the Business Person of the Year Award on behalf of cofounders of Dishoom from Barry Mamtora of Forum Insurance (left) and Deputy Mayor of Business for London Rajesh Agrawal (right)

Amit Malhotra collects the Award for Achievement in Art & Culture on behalf of Namit Malhotra, founder and CEO of Oscar winning visual effects company DNEG from singer H Dhami (left) and actor Raj Ghatak (right)

Commonwealth Games winner and power lifter Karenjeet Kaur Bains wins the Achievement in Sports Award

Comedian Tez Ilyas was the highlight of the evening doing a stand up set that had the audi ence in raptures

For Miss England Hammasa Kohistani (left) and founder of B&M Stores Simon Arora (right) hands over the Special Award for Business Leadership Puneet Gupta

Publisher and Editor in Chief of Asian Voice CB Patel (left) hands over the Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr Kartar Lalvani OBE, the founder of VItabiotics, with Dr Ajit Lakhani on the right

Actor Nitin Ganatra OBE and Netflix documentary producer Deana Uppal hosted the Awards, with Deana flying in from Dubai especially for the occasion

Dame Arlene Foster, former First Minister for Ireland, led the tribute at the start of the evening to the Queen

Lord Jeffrey Archer hosted the charity auction for Pardada Pardadi, which raised over £100,000 for the organisation

Air Commodore Suraya Marshall from the Royal Air Force and her colleagues joined the Awards night

Who Is Predicting a Stock M ar ket Cr ash and Why?

Since the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic, there has been much speculation about a potential stock m

widespread economic uncertainty and instability And as we enter the final months of 2022, more and more people are beginning to voice their concerns about the stock market

Many prominent figures in the financial world are warning of an impending crash While it's impossible to say for certain whether or not they're right, it's important to understand their reasoning In this a

crash, as well as the evidence they're using to support their claims

Let’s del ve righ t in

1 M ichael Bu rry

Michael Burry is an American hedge fund manager who famously predicted the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008 In recent months, he's been warning that another financial crisis is on the horizon

Burry has pointed to a number of factors that he believes could trigger a market crash Firstly, he believes that the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing program is creating an asset bubble Secondly, he believes that corporate debt levels are too high and that interest rates are bound to rise eventually And finally, he thinks that the stock market is overvalued and due for a correction

Burry believes that, within a few years, the S&P 500 could sink to less than 1,900 points That's a 53 percent decline

2 Jer emy G rant ham

Veteran investor Jeremy Grantham, co founder and chief investment strategist at asset management firm GMO, also predicts tough times ahead for the stock market

Grantham believes that the current bull market is coming to an end and that we're in store for a prolonged bear market He points to a number of factors, including high valuations, low interest rates, and excessive optimism

G

nothing more than a passing repricing phase He believes the market will soon enter a period of mean reversion, where prices revert back to their long term averages He expects the S&P 500 to fall by around 50 percent In the past, superbubbles have preceded market declines of at least that amount

3 Rober t Sh iller

Robert Shiller is an American economist and Nobel Prize laureate He's best known for his work on asset bubbles, and he's been warning about a stock market bubble for quite some time

Shiller pointed out that the CAPE ratio, which is a measure of stock market valuations, is currently at its second highest level in history The only time it was higher was just before the stock market crash of 1929

Shiller has also warned that, like the housing bubble of 2008, the current stock market bubble could have devastating consequences He believes that a market crash is inevitable and that we're currently in the late stages of a long bull market

Gu

Invest ment Against a Pot ential Sto ck Market Crash

With prominent figures sounding the alarm that a stock market crash could be on the horizon, it's i

understand the risks While it's impossible to say for certain whether or not a crash will occur, the fact is that the conditions are ripe for one

There are several ways to protect yourself

First, if you want certainty hold cash!

S

c

Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, then just extend your time horizon

I do not advise gambling on bottom fishing in risky c

someone who claims to know someone who knows someone Someone told me about Funding Circle apparently the CEO told him what a great company it was, just before the CEO resigned and the stock crashed And they were friends!

Third there will be good opportunities see my free www campaignforamillion com where I’ve got more queries than ever from people on what to do about the falling markets and the impact on their savings and pension and the opportunities to buy some good stocks

Chancellor Kwasi unveils tax cuts

Chancel lor Kwasi Kwarte ng h a s un v e i l e d t h e b ig g e s t pack age of tax cut s in 5 0 ye ars, as he hail ed a "new er a" for the UK econ omy Income tax and t he stamp duty on home purcha ses will be cut an d pla nned rise s in b u si n e ss t a x e s h a ve b e e n scr appe d

Kwarteng said a major c h a n g e o f d i r e c t i o n w a s n e e d e d t o k i c k s t a r t e c o nomic growth But Labour said it would not solve the cost of living crisis and was a "plan to reward the already wealthy" It comes as the Bank of England warns the UK may already be in reces sion

T h e p o u n d s a n k t o a fresh 37 year low against the

dollar as the chancellor gave his statement In a departure from Boris Johnson's eco nomic policies, Kwarteng has scrapped plans to push up taxes to pay for public s e r v i c e s , w i t h t h e a i m o f boosting economic growth

I n a C o m m o n s s t a t e ment, being dubbed a mini b u d g e t , h e s a i d h i g h t a x rates "damage Britain's com

petitiveness", reduc ing the incentive to w o r k a n d f o r b u s i nesses to invest He announced that the basic rate of income tax would be reduced b y o n e p e r c e n t a g e point to 19% in April one year earlier than planned

He also unveiled a cut to the top rate of income tax from 45% to 40%, meaning the UK will have a single h i g h e r r a t e f r o m A p r i l Kwarteng fulfilled promises t o r e v e r s e t h e r i s e i n N a t i o n a l I n s u r a n c e p a y m e n t s i n t r o d u c e d b y J o h n s o n t o p a y f o r s o c i a l c a r e a n d t a c k l e t h e N H S b a c k l o g H e c o n f i r m e d a

p l a n n e d c o r p o r a t i o n t a x increase from 19% to 25% would also be scrapped

Government borrowing will increase by £72bn as a r e s u l t o f t h e a n n o u n c e m e n t s , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e

T r e a s u r y T h e c h a n g e s t o income tax do not apply in Scotland but cuts to corpo r a t i o n t a x a n d n a t i o n a l insurance are UK wide Paul J o h n s o n , d i r e c t o r o f t h e i n d e p e n d e n t I n s t i t u t e f o r Fiscal Studies, said the state m e n t a m o u n t e d t o t h e biggest tax cuts since the 1972 Budget, with the cuts 50% bigger than had been expected He said that the U K c o u l d b e b o r r o w i n g £120bn in three years' time to afford the measures

House sales could soon plunge as mortgages skyrocket

T h e B ank o f E n g la nd increased the bank rate by 0 5 percentag e p oints to 2 25 p c m ai li ng it th e h i g h es t level since 2008 The aver age m onthly mortg ag e bill has no w risen to £1, 150, a ju m p o f £ 3 4 9 s i nc e t h e beg in ni ng of th e yea r, accord ing to estate ag ency Sav ills After bank rate rise, a typical buyer purch asing a £ 3 0 0 , 0 0 0 h o m e w i th a £280, 000 m ortgage will pay an add itional £65 a m onth, sn o w ba lli n g t o a n e xt ra £780 a year

In turn, rapidly escalat i n g m o r t g a g e r a t e s c o u l d

make homes the most out of r e a c h w i t h e a r n i n g s t h e y have been since the early 90s, according to a research In July, the gap between the mortgage bill on an average h o m e a n d w h a t a t y p i c a l person could afford to pay was already 17pc, according to Neal Hudson This was based on an effective mort gage rate of 2 3pc If mort gage rates climbed to 4 pc, t h e “ o v e r v a l u a t i o n g a p ” w o u l d w i d e n t o 4 0 p c , Hudson warned

T h i s w o u l d b e t h e biggest gap between house prices and what the average

Health secretary promises £500 mn for social care

Hea lt h se cr et a r y Th e re se C of fe y h a s pr om i se d a £ 50 0 m i ll io n “ d o wn paym ent ” for social car e as part of pla ns to “ re balan ce ” N HS a n d c a r e f u n d s Unve iling he r new pla n for t h e N HS , C o ffe e a ls o a d m it t e d N HS ba c k lo g s would rise before t hey fall

S p e a k i n g i n t h e Commons, she promised to have a “laser like” focus on ambulance delays and said pharmacies would be able to prescribe more medications in a bid to free up GP time

As part of her emergency plan for the NHS, the new health secretary has set a n e w e x p e c t a t i o n f o r G P p r a c t i c e s t o s e e p a t i e n t s within two weeks On social c a r e s h e s a i d : “ T h i s £ 5 0 0 m i l l i o n a c t s a s t h e d o w n p a y m e n t i n t h e rebalancing funding across health and social care as we d e v e l o p o u r l o n g e r t e r m plans ”

C o n s e r v a t i v e f o r m e r h e a l t h s e c r e t a r y , a n d C o m m o n s H e a l t h C o m m i t t e e c h a i r , J e r e m y H u n t a s k e d C o f f e y t o “rethink this new two week a c c e s s t a r g e t f o r g e n e r a l p r a c t i c e ” C o f f e y t o l d t h e Commons it is on top of commitments to “boost the health and care workforce”, and it will “sit alongside the design and delivery of our f o r t h c o m i n g w o r k f o r c e plan” Pharmacists will be

a b l e t o p r e s c r i b e c e r t a i n m e d i c a t i o n s r a t h e r t h a n requiring a GP prescription u n d e r t h e n e w p l a n I n answers to questions from L a b o u r o v e r A & E t a r g e t s , C o f f e y s a i d s h e r e c e n t l y e n d u r e d a w a i t o f n e a r l y nine hours in A&E as she i n s i s t e d s h e r e m a i n e d committed to the target for patients to be seen within four hours

p e r s o n c a n a f f o r d t o p a y since September 2008 just as the financial crisis was triggering a near 20 pc fall i n h o u s e p r i c e s I n s o m e w a y s , t h i s a f f o r d a b i l i t y crunch has already hit For a buyer entering the market now, mortgage rates already well exceed 4 pc

T h e a v e r a g e r a t e s f o r two and five year fixed rate d e a l s a t t h e s t a r t o f September were 4 24 pc and 4 33 pc respectively, accord ing to Moneyfacts, an ana lyst If the gap between actu al house prices and what a person can afford to pay is

4 0 p c , t h a t m e a n s h o u s e prices would need to fall by 29 pc before they came back in line with the affordability b e n c h m a r k , H u d s o n s a i d With mortgage rates at 6 pc, the gap between the mort gage bill on an average home and what a typical person could actually afford to pay w o u l d w i d e n t o 7 1 p c , H u d s o n s a i d T h i s m e a n s homes would be the most “overvalued” on record since September 1990 Back then, house prices also fell by a fifth, but the housing down turn was more protracted, lasting for four years

Britain to bring back VAT- free shopping for overseas visitors

Brita in will brin g back sa le s t a x f r e e s h op p i n g fo r ove rsea s v isit or s to boost t he c ou n t r y 's fla g g in g r e t a i l s e ct or , f in a n c e mi n i s t e r Kwasi Kwa rte ng ann ounced re cent ly " B r i t a i n w e l c o m e s m i l l i o n s o f t o u r i s t s e v e r y year, and I want our high s t r e e t s a n d a i r p o r t s , o u r p o r t s a n d o u r s h o p p i n g centres, to feel the economic benefit So we have decided t o i n t r o d u c e V A T f r e e s h o p p i n g f o r o v e r s e a s visitors," he told parliament during the presentation of a mini budget A previous tax free shopping was abolished

at the end of 2020 Kwarteng said the government would replace the previous paper based system with a digital o n e " A n d t h i s w i l l b e i n place as soon as possible "

Linda Ellett, KPMG's UK head of consumer markets, retail and leisure, said the m o v e w o u l d i n c r e a s e t h e UK's competitiveness when i t c o m e s t o a t t r a c t i n g international visitors "This is all the more key as we look t o f i n d w a y s t o c r e a t e e c o n o m i c g r o w t h , r e t u r n i n t e r n a t i o n a l t o u r i s m t o pre pandemic volumes, and withstand rising inflation on the high street," she said

Pound drops to lowest in 37-years

The pound dr opped to a f re s h 37 y ea r low ag ai n st the dollar as the chancellor unvei led tens of billions of p oun d s of ta x c ut s a nd spending Sterli ng dec li ned by 0 89 per cent to 1 115 US dollars as Kwasi Kwarteng outlined hi s “growth plan” for the UK economy It has s i n c e s t a b i li s e d a t a b out 1 11 9 do ll a rs , b u t t hi s remains b elow the previous 37 y ear low s truck ea rlier t hi s we e k a ft e r c on c e rn s over surgi ng in terest rates hit the currency It comes after the Bank o f E n g l a n d l a u n c h e d

a n o t h e r 0 5 p e r c e n t a g e point interest rate hike to 2 25 per cent recently and w a r n e d t h e U K c o u l d already be in a recession The central bank previously p r o j e c t e d t h e e c o n o m y would grow in the current financial quarter but said it n o w b e l i e v e s G r o s s D o m e s t i c P r o d u c t ( G D P ) w i l l f a l l b y 0 1 p e r c e n t , m e a n i n g t h e e c o n o m y w o u l d h a v e s e e n t w o c o n s e c u t i v e q u a r t e r s o f d e c l i n e t h e t e c h n i c a l definition of a recession

The chancellor set out his first “mini Budget” at a

time when the UK faces a c o s t o f l i v i n g c r i s i s , recession, soaring inflation and climbing interest rates

The 45p income tax rate p a i d b y B r i t a i n ’ s h i g h e s t earners will be axed, in the b i g g e s t s u r p r i s e i n K w a r t e n g ’ s p l a n T h e chancellor also accelerated a planned 1p cut in the basic rate from 20p to 19p which will now come into f o r c e n e x t A p r i l

Meanwhile, concerns over h i g h e r i n t e r e s t r a t e s a n d p r e s s u r e o n c o n s u m e r s p e n d i n g c o n t i n u e d t o weigh on the stock market

Kwasi Kwarteng

Therese Coffey

Adani added £160mn to his fortune every day in a year

Ad ani Gro up fou nd er Gau tam Adani h as o v e rta ken Re li an ce I nd u s tr ie s chairman M ukesh A mbani to beco me the richest m an in India for the first tim e with a wealth of £10 9 billion (nearly $14 0 billion) , according to the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2022

The list shows that Adani’s wealth more than doubled, growing 116%, in just one year, while Ambani’s wealth grew 11% to £79 billion (about $99 b

wealth grew by £59 billion In early February this year, Adani had pipped Ambani as the richest Indian first on the Bloomberg Billionaires’ Index

Adding £160 million per day over the last year, and with a wealth of £109 billion, Adani's net worth is now £30 billion more than Ambani's Briskly expanding his commodity trading company into a coal to port

to energy conglomerate, Adani is the only Indian to have built not one, but seven companies with a market cap of £10 billion After holding on to the richest Indian tag for 10 years, Ambani has now fallen to the second position in this year ’ s list with a wealth of £79 4 billion Despite being dethroned from the first position, Ambani’s wealth grew 11% last year as he added £21 million to his wealth every day during the period, making him the second best performer after Adani Together, Adani and Ambani account for 59% of the total wealth of the top ten richest people in India

In 2012, Adani’s wealth was hardly

Ambani to become the richest man in India For some more perspective, last year, Ambani was ahead of Adani’s wealth by £10 billion, and in just one

year, Adani has beaten Ambani by £30 billion “Adani has interests in power, port, renewables and energy Ambani, who is in the second rank is in telecom a n d p e t r o c h e m i c a l s C y r u s Poonawalla, who is at the third spot is the vaccine king of the world Then there are pharma, retail, and financial s e r v i c e s i n t h e t o p 1 0 T h e s e entrepreneurs are the global leaders in their respective sectors,” the Hurun report said

Indian IT industry takes tough stand against moonlighting

T h e In d ia n I T se r v i ce s i n d u s t r y is w a g i n g a w a r a g a i n st m o o n li g h t i n g W ip r o c h a i r m a n R is h a d P r e m ji h a s s a i d t h a t t h e c o m pa n y h a s f ir e d 3 0 0 e mploy ee s in t he pa st few m o n t h s fo r w or k i n g fo r d i r e ct c o mp e t it or s w h il e bein g on the r olls of Wipro

T h e d i s c l o s u r e c o m e s just weeks after he described m o o n l i g h t i n g a s “ c h e a t i n g plain and simple” in a tweet

And it comes on the heels of a stern email from Infosys to i t s e m p l o y e e s s a y i n g d i s c i p l i n a r y a c t i o n , i n c l u d i n g t e r m i n a t i o n , would be taken if anyone w a s f o u n d t o b e

moonlighting

Addressing an event of the All India Management Association (AIMA) in Delhi, Premji said, “Employees can have a transparent dialogue with the organisation about t h e i r s e c o n d o r w e e k e n d work, but we discovered 300 e m p l o y e e s w h o w e r e w o r k i n g f o r d i r e c t c o m p e t i t o r s T h e r e i s n o place for them ” Premji said he has been receiving hate m a i l s i n c e h e m a d e t h e statement on Twitter, but he continues to stand by what he said then

T h e m a s s i v e t a l e n t s h o r t a g e i n t e c h n o l o g y , combined with the greater

privacy provided by work from home, seems to have e n c o u r a g e d a s i g n i f i c a n t section to moonlight in their spare time Moonlighting is the practice of working for a n e x t e r n a l p a i d p r o j e c t , while being full time on the r o l l s o f a c o m p a n y M o s t c o m p a n i e s h a v e s t r i n g e n t r u l e s t h a t p r o h i b i t employees from taking up external work, except with mutual agreement

W h i l e s o m e n e w a g e companies like Swiggy and C r e d h a v e t a k e n a m o r e g e n e r o u s v i e w o f t h e phenomenon, much of the IT services industry has over t h e p a s t f e w d a y s r a l l i e d

a g a i n s t i t T C S C O O N G a n a p a t h y S u b r a m a n i a m has been quoted as saying t h a t m o o n l i g h t i n g i s a n ethical issue and that the IT sector would lose out from such practices in the long term Sandip Patel, MD of I B M I n d i a , n o t e d t h a t everyone who is hired signs a contract that they would b e w o r k i n g f u l l t i m e f o r IBM, and “notwithstanding what they can do with the r e s t o f t h e i r t i m e , i t ( m o o n l i g h t i n g ) i s n o t ethical ” Infosys’s email to e m p l o y e e s n o t e d t h a t m o o n l i g h t i n g i s n o t p e r m i t t e d a s p e r t h e employees’ code of conduct

Tata Sons to consolidate its airline business Nestle CEO announces £500 mn investment in India

Weathering the Storm

R ecen tly , I wa s a sk ed by a clien t wher e he should place £700 K, which he ha s in a ba nk, e ar ning a r at e of 3 9%

What may seem as a return given by the bank may not be so in real terms If inflation is running higher than the interest rate being paid your money is actually being eroded You will notice when you try to spend the funds and everything has gone up Money has no intrinsic value; it is a medium of exchange Therefore, if you can exchange less with it than before, its actual value has decreased This is the consequence of having a fiat currency; it’s actually just an elaborate Ponzi scheme So, whe re should the mon ey be inv ested ?

In August 2021, a company purchased $50 million of real gold, and then paid for the storage of it Note, this was not a position on gold, but the real stuff This company is not a gold trading company, therefore, this action raised a lot of eyebrows in the market The company is called Palantir and it specializes in data g a t h e r i n g a n d a n a l y s i s , m o s t o f w h i c h i t d o e s f o r

government agencies

This seems to be a wise move as the prices have risen about 25% from the time of purchase But I suspect this company, because of the niche sector it’s in, knew more than the masses; and therefore, is preparing for the coming times

G o l d i s a h e d g e a g a i n s t i n f l a t i o n , t h e o t h e r i s property

One observation is gold doesn’t produce an income, you need to sell it in order to derive its value and spend, property on the other hand does

In my opinion, in this scenario, the type of property one should purchase is one which will be attractive to the average person, so about the £300K mark, with about 50% gearing The interesting point regarding debt in this high inflationary environment is that in the same way money shrinks, so will the size of the debt in real terms So even if you ’ re paying say 4 5%, if the rate of inflation is running at 10% your debt is shrinking in actual terms by approx 5 % A v e r y i n t e r e s t i n g a n d c o u n t e r i n t u i t i v e phenomenon Therefore, assuming you invest wisely, not only will you make money on the rental income flow, and the capital growth, you will make money on the debt

When you ’ re anticipating on making money on three fronts, it doesn’t become a big issue if one of them doesn’t quite work out Though there is no reason why this should occur; with careful planning all three can be achieved

The 15 0 y ear old Tat a group i s b r i n gi n g i t s mu l t ip l e a ir lines Air Asia an d Vistara under Air India, a company it launched decades ago an d was l ater national ised La st y ear, Tat a Sons r e a cq uire d A ir In dia fr om th e Ind ian gove rnment

While the merger is still b e i n g p l a n n e d , t h e c o n s o l i d a t i o n p r o c e s s i s l i k e l y t o s t a r t w i t h t h e merger of AirAsia India into A i r I n d i a E x p r e s s , t o b e completed over the next 12 months

The Tata group has 17 p u b l i c l y l i s t e d c o m p a n i e s i n v o l v e d i n b u s i n e s s e s ranging from salt making to r e t a i l t o c a r m a k i n g I t s a i r l i n e p o r t f o l i o i n c l u d e s 83 67% ownership in AirAsia I n d i a a n d a m a j o r i t y 5 1 % holding in Vistara

N o w , t h e T a t a s reportedly plan to buy out M a l a y s i a b a s e d A i r A s i a Berhad’s entire 16 33% stake

i n A i r A s i a I n d i a f o r $ 3 0 million Singapore Airlines owns a 49% share in Vistara

Following consolidation, the Tata group will become India’s largest and one of its strongest airlines But that may not come easy

I s s u e s l i k e c a b i n c r e w dress, branding (likely to be called Air India Express or something similar) are still being discussed at various l e v e l s T h e r e a r e c o m p l e x i t i e s s i n c e b o t h a i r l i n e s a r e d i f f e r e n t i n terms of service, crew attire, etc

A i r I n d i a ’ s n e w C E O C a m p b e l l W i l s o n h a s outlined a five year roadmap to re establish it as a world class airline with a domestic market share of 30%

C o d e n a m e d V i h a a n A I A i r I n d i a ’ s t r a n s f o r m a t i o n would focus on expanding the fleet, adding routes, and r e v a m p i n g t h e c u s t o m e r proposition

G l ob a l f o od & b e ve r a g e c on g l om er a t e N e s t l e S A plan s to i nvest £5 00 mi lli on in Indi a b y 2025 , its CEO M a rk S c h n e i d e r an n o un c e d r e c en t ly T h e m ov e w i l l h e lp t h e company to acc elerate its c or e b u s i n e s s i n t h e coun try an d leverage n ew opportuni tie s for gr ow th N e s t le I n di a pr e s e n t l y op e ra t e s n i n e f a c t o ri e s em pl oyi n g ro ughl y 6 ,00 0 people

The investment would b e o n c a p e x ( c a p i t a l e x p e n d i t u r e ) , s e t t i n g u p n e w p l a n t s , a c q u i s i t i o n s a n d e x p a n s i o n o f t h e p r o d u c t p o r t f o l i o o f t h e company The investment, which would be subject to clearances and approvals, will also help in creating more job opportunities in the domestic market

W h e n y o u l o o k i n t o t h e i n v e s t m e n t i n t h i s c o u n t r y a n d t h e i n v e s t m e n t p l a n t h r o u g h 2025, we are talking about £ 5 0 0 m i l l i o n a n d t h a t compares to £800 million over the last 60 years when we started manufacturing in this country," he said N e s t l e i s p r e s e n t i n India for over 110 years but started its manufacturing

activity in the early 1960s, Schneider added "In 1961, w e s t a r t e d o u r f i r s t manufacturing site and so in that whole time period it has been £800 million and now in the next three years it will be £500 million," he said

This investment is not only for accelerating and r a m p i n g u p c a p e x a l o n e but also goes into a whole lot of development works, b r a n d b u i l d i n g a n d m e a n i n g f u l c o n t r i b u t i o n s on the ground, Schneider said

Nestle India chairman a n d m a n a g i n g d i r e c t o r Suresh Narayanan said that a c c e l e r a t i n g t h e c o r e business of the company would be a focus area "It is d e f i n i t e l y a h i g h l y a c c e l e r a t e d p l a n t h a t w e a r e l o o k i n g a t T h i s h a s t h r e e p i v o t s s u c h a s c o n t i n u i n g t h e s t r o n g momentum of growth that the company has had in the last 22 quarters," he said

Nestle India's revenue in 2021 stood at £147 09 million It had last invested around £70 million to open i t s p l a n t a t S a n a n d i n Gujarat to manufacture a r a n g e o f p o p u l a r i n s t a n t noodles Maggi

The growth of the property will be driven by location, the rental will flow from this The rental can be insured, so if the tenant stops paying the insurance company will t a k e o v e r T h i s i s n o t s o m e t h i n g o n e g e t s w i t h commercial property The mortgage product should be done on a 5 year fixed rate basis There are products on the market which have a fixed rate but at the same time have no ERCs attached to them, so you get best of both worlds

This is what we will be putting in place for our client

DGCA extends restrictions on Spicejet

India’s low cost carrier Sp iceJet will conti nu e to op erate only 50% of its sch eduled dep artures for anoth er mo nth till Octo ber 29, according to a Directorate General of Civil Aviatio n (DGCA) o rder iss ued recently

On July 27, the aviation regulator had ordered SpiceJet to operate at half its capacity for eight weeks after a review of its incidents had showed poor internal safety oversight and inadequate maintenance actions While the latest review “indicated appreciable reduction in number of safety incidents”, the DGCA order said it has decided to extend the order for another month out of “abundant caution”

“Any increase in the number of departures beyond 50% of the total number of departures approved under the summer schedule 2022, during this period shall be subject to the airline demonstrating to the satisfaction of the DGCA t h a t i t h a s

a

c

resource to safely and efficiently undertake such enhanced capacity,” the DGCA order said “During this period, the airline will continue to be under enhanced surveillance by DGCA,” it added SpiceJet did not comment on the latest DGCA order The last reported incident involving SpiceJet occurred on September 1 when pilots of a Boeing 737 700 operating a flight to Nashik reported autopilot failure when the aircraft was climbing after take off from Delhi The aircraft returned to Delhi and landed safely But in July, the airline had three separate incidents a cracked windshield, a suspected fuel leak and smoke in the cabin all in the first week of the month, which led to the regulator carrying out a safety review of the airline

Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

Gautam Adani

Pak PM Shehbaz faces treason charges for consulting Nawaz

Punjab

says

Elizabeth II and also met Nawaz during his stay in the city and discussed the appointment of the next Army chief with him Imran Khan, who is also the Chairman of PTI, said: “We are seeing pictures of Shehbaz con sulting Nawaz to appoint the next Army chief What can be a bigger disgrace for our country that thieves are making such decisions ” He said it was a vio lation of the Official Secrets Act and a breach of the PM’s oath of office

in brief

IMRAN SAYS SORRY FOR JIBE AT JUDGE

Pakistan’s former PM Imran Khana pologised in court over his outburst against a female judge during a rally last month that was seen as a threat to the judiciary and judges in general The apology may allow Khan to stay out of jail and avoid contempt charges Khan has been campaigning for early elections The development came just days after Pakistani police were ordered by a judge to drop terrorism charges against Khan in a separate case over threats to the same judge and also to police The legal cases followed a speech Khan gave in Islamabad, during which he vowed to bring a lawsuit against the Islamabad police chief and a judge for allowing police to question Shahbaz Gill, chief of staff at Khan s Tehreek e Insaf political party

D H AKA : Bangladeshi authori ties were rac ing against time on M onday to fi nd any survivors of t h e b oa t ac c i d e n t i n vol v i n g H i n du dev otee s, ev en a s the death toll in the incident ros e to 49 , mostly children and women

T he de v ot ee s we r e h ea d i n g t ow a rd s th e B od e s hw a ri T e m pl e o n t he oc c a s i on of M ahalaya, the auspic ious start of the Durga Puj a festival, when the overcrowded boat c apsi zed i n the Korotoa River in north western Panc hagarh district

P a n c h a g a r h a d d i t i o n a l deputy commissioner Dipankar Roy, who is also leading the investigation committee, said that 43 bodies were recovered

and 41 people are still missing

D h a k a T r i b u n e n e w s p a p e r reported that the total number of dead people now stands at 49 Among them, 13 are kids, 24 are women and 12 are men, it

Pakistan’s finance minister to quit amid economic woes

“I have verbally resigned as Finance Minister,” Ismail said in a Tweet, adding that he had signalled his plans to the country’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a meeting “I will tender a formal resignation upon reaching Pakistan,” he added

Ismail and Sharif are currently in London and due to return to Pakistan early next week Pakistan’s economy has witnessed persistent turbulence while its current account deficit has widened starkly and ris ing inflation has put pressure on both families and businesses

This month’s devastating floods added to the crisis as they caused damage estimated at $30bn and killed more than 1,500 people The World Bank said on Saturday it will provide about $2bn in aid to Pakistan

The World Bank’s vice president for South Asia, Martin Raiser, announced the pledge in an overnight statement after concluding his first official visit to the country on Saturday “We are deeply saddened by the loss of lives and livelihoods due to the devastating floods and we are working with the federal and provincial governments to provide immediate relief to those who are most affected,” he said

The World Bank agreed last week in a meeting with Sharif on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to provide $850m in flood relief for Pakistan The $2bn figure includes that amount

Over the past two months, Pakistan has sent nearly 10,000 doc tors, nurses and other medical staff to tend to survivors in Sindh province the worst affected by the floods

Ismail, echoed by the prime minister, reassured investors that the South Asian nation was seeking debt relief from bilateral creditors and emphasised the government would not seek any relief from commer cial banks or Eurobond creditors

added Media reports quoting rela tives said 58 passengers were missing while officials have said the boat was believed to be car rying as many as 80 people

E y e w i t n e s s e s , h o w e v e r , c l a i m t h a t t h e r e w e r e m o r e than 150 passengers on the boat

“The preliminary investiga tion shows that the boat was overcrowded,” Roy was quoted as saying by the newspaper

T h o u s a n d s o f H i n d u s i n M u s l i m m a j o r i t y B a n g l a d e s h v i s i t t h e B o d e s h w a r i T e m p l e e v e r y y e a r d u r i n g t h e D u r g a P u j a , w h i c h b e g a n i n B a n g l a d e s h o n S u n d a y President Abdul Hamid and PM S h e i k h H a s i n a i s s u e d s t a t e ments condoling the incident while local officials were asked to take steps for survivors treat ment and compensation for the dead

49 Hindu pilgrims killed in Bangladesh boat tragedy Lanka's annual Inflation rate jumps to 70.2% in Aug

CO LO MB O : Sri Lank a's a nnual infla tion rat e r eache d to more than 70% in August as it st rug gles wit h its wor st e conomic cri sis in over seven de ca des Official data also showed food price s r ose by 84 6 % compar ed to a yea r ago The coun try of 22 mil lion people fel l int o financial and political chaos this y ear as it fa ced a short age of fore ign currencies

The country has been unable to afford key imports, including fuel, fertilizer and medicine Last month, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka said it expected inflation to ease, as the country's econo m y s l o w e d , a f t e r p e a k i n g a t about 70% Before the pandemic, Sri Lanka was heavily dependent on tourism for foreign curren c i e s , i n c l u d i n g t h e U S d o l l a r However, border closures aimed to slow the spread of Covid 19 kept tourists away and took a major toll on the country's econ omy That, along with years of financial mismanagement, led to Sri Lanka defaulting on its debts earlier this year

Sri Lanka has faced political

disturbance in recent months, with thousands of people walk ing to the streets, in protests that o f t e n t u r n e d v i o l e n t , o v e r a sharp increase in food and fuel prices

M a n y S r i L a n k a n s b l a m e d R a j a p a k s a ' s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n f o r mishandling the crisis Earlier this month, Sri Lanka reached a p r e l i m i n a r y d e a l w i t h t h e International Monetary Fund for a $ 2 9 b n l o a n H o w e v e r , t h e agreement hinges on the country also receiving funds from private creditors Also, India said it had started talks with Sri Lanka on restructuring its debt and said it w o u l d a l s o o f f e r l o n g t e r m i n v e s t m e n t s I n d i a p r e v i o u s l y provided almost $4 bn in finan cial aid to its smaller neighbour India also deferred payment on Sri Lankan imports of about $1 2 bn and offered a credit line of $55 mn for fertiliser imports Lankan government officials are due to meet creditors, to discuss the extent of the country's eco nomic problems and a proposal to restructure its debts

Nepal president refuses to ratify Citizenship Bill

was sent to her for authentication after being passed by both the House of Representatives (HoR) and the National Assembly She had sent a seven point message to inform the federal parliament and for deliberation, and another eight point message to draw attention She had mentioned that the bill was silent about the provision of natural i z e d c i t i z e n s h i p t h r o u g h m a r r i a g e a s p e r A r t i c l e 1 1 ( 6 ) o f t h e

6 PAK ARMY MEN KILLED IN COPTER CRASH

A Pakistani military helicopter crashed during a nightly mission in Harnai district of restive Balochistan province in the country s southwest on Sunday, killing all six on board, including two majors flying the aircraft The military’s media wing confirmed the crash and identified the two pilots as Major Khurram Shahzad and Major Muhammad Muneeb Afzal, but didn’t say how the helicopter went down The Inter Services Public Relations was also silent on the purpose of the “flying mission” in the area The crash site was near Khost, about 121km from Balochistan’s capital Quetta This was the second crash of an army helicopter in as many months and it triggered a debate on their safety with former information minister Fawad Chaudhry demanding an evaluation

MAN RESCUED 17 DAYS

AFTER CHINA QUAKE

A Chinese worker who tended to his injured colleagues following a deadly earthquake and then got lost in the mountains has been rescued 17 days later The 6 6 magnitude quake struck southwestern Sichuan province earlier this month killing at least 93 people and forcing thousands to be resettled into temporary camps Gan Yu, an employee at Sichuan s Wandong hydropower plant, was found alive but injured by a local villager, state owned China National Radio (CNR) said, calling the rescue a “miracle of life

MAN SETS HIMSELF ON FIRE TO ‘PROTEST ABE FUNERAL’

A man set himself on fire near the Japanese PM’s office in Tokyo in an apparent protest against the state funeral for former leader Shinzo Abe officials and media reports said The man, believed to be in his 70s, sustained burns on his body but was conscious and told police that he set himself on fire after pouring oil over himself A note found with him said “Personally I am absolutely against” Abe’s funeral Police called it an attempted suicide The planned state funeral for Abe has become increasingly unpopular among Japanese as more details emerge about the governing Liberal Democratic Party s and Abe s links to the Unification Church, which built close ties with lawmakers over their shared interests in conservative causes

ISRAELI PM MEETS TURKISH PRESIDENT

"It is stated in Article 61(4) that the main duty of the president shall be to abide by and protect the Constitution This means protect ing all articles of the Constitution One cannot say by only looking at Article 113 that the president did not fulfil her constitutional respon sibility," Yadav claimed As per the provision, the president is consti tutionally bounded to authenticate any bill that is resubmitted by the House after sending it back to the House for reconsideration once President Bhandari on August 14 returned the Citizenship Bill, which

Constitution "If a foreign woman married to a Nepali citizen so wish es, she may acquire naturalized citizenship of Nepal as provided for in a Federal law, states Article 11(6) of the Constitution President Bhandari had pointed out that the Constitution clearly says federal law but the bill passed by the national parliament did not have that provision But at the time of filing the application, if the mother of such a person has died or is not mentally stable, the law also provides that the applicant must make a self declaration with evidence

Israel s PM has met with Turkiye s president for the first time in 14 years, the latest sign of warming ties between the two regional powers after a long and bitter rift The office of Israeli PM Yair Lapid said he met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York In his meeting with Erdogan, Lapid said he “commended” the recent restoration of full diplomatic ties between the countries and the appointment this week of a new Israeli ambassador to Turkiye

i t i v e N a w a z , a t h r e e t i m e P M o f P a k i s t a n i n L o n d o n a c o u p l e o f d a y s a g o o n t h e a p p o i n t m e n t o f t h e new Army chief, which not only amounts to the PM’s oath prevent ing him from sharing sensitive matters with unrelated persons, but also an insult to the institution of the Army Shehbaz was in London to attend the state funeral of the late Queen

Shehbaz Sharif

IS L AM A B AD : Pakis tan’s Fi nance Mi nis ter Mi ftah Ismail sai d he will for mally resi gn from the role amid an economic crisis exacerbated by the recen t devastating floodi ng, as he becomes the fifth f inance mini ster to resig n i n less than four years

K A T H M A N D U : N e pa l P r e si d e n t Bid h y a De v i Bh a n d a r i d e n i e d a uthe nticat ing the cit ize nship Bill de spit e the con stitution ally boun d e d prov ision to ra tify it with in 15 day s a ft er it has be en re a pprove d by both house s Pre sid ent s p olitical ad visor La lbabu Yada v confirme d t hat Bha nda ri ha s re fused to a uthen ticat e t he bill "in orde r t o safe g uard t he constitut ion "

in brief Pak diplomat holds secret meeting with Sikh radicals in Canada

THAILAND BARS MODEL WHO BLASTED MYANMAR JUNTA

A beauty queen who spoke out against Myanmar s military rulers was stranded at Thailand s international airport for a third day, hoping to be granted entry, as activists and her employer urged authorities not to send her back to her homeland Han Lay, who gained global attention last year with her pageant speech on the army’s deadly suppression of anti junta protests in her native Myanmar, has been denied entry by Thai authorities despite having taken refuge in Thailand for the past year The 23 year old model was stopped at Bangkok’s Suvarnhabhumi airport, when returning from a brief visit to Vietnam

WASHINGTON

MONUMENT DEFACED

A man has been taken into custody after the Washington Monument was vandalized, police said, adding that the area around the base of the monument has been temporarily closed “NPS (National Park Service) conservators will work on restoration process ” the US Park Police (USPP) said on Twitter Images posted on Twitter by local media showed red paint smeared on the west side of the monument’s base The 550 feet tall monument is a popular tourist attraction in Washington DC

GUNMAN KILLS 13 AT RUSSIA SCHOOL

A gunman with a swastika on his t shirt killed 13 people including seven children and wounded over 20 at a school in Russia before shooting himself dead investigators said Russia’s Investigative Committee which handles major crimes, said it was looking into the attacker s suspected neo Nazi links It named him as Artem Kazantsev, a man in his early thirties, and said he was a graduate of the school Currently investigators are conducting a search of his residence and studying the personality of the attacker, his views and surrounding milieu ” the agency said “Checks are being made into his adherence to neo fascist views and Nazi ideology ” No details about his motives have been released The governor of Udmurtia, Alexander Brechalov, said the gunman, who he said was registered as a patient at a psychiatric facility, killed himself after the attack

BLINKEN TO HOST ‘BLUE PACIFIC’ NATIONS EVENT

US secretary of state Antony Blinken will host the Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP) countries with the aim of better coordinating assistance to the region in the face of competition from China, a White House official said The group was formed in June and includes US, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United Kingdom India has an observer status with PBP White House Indo Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell said in remarks at an event in New York A few other countries would join too he said Campbell said circumstances for the Pacific islands countries were much more dire than in the past

BUS CRASH SPARKS FURY OVER CHINA'S ‘ZERO COVID’ PLAN

A night time bus crash that killed 27 people in southwest China has set off a storm of anger online over the harshness of the country’s strict Covid policies The initial police report did not say who the passengers were and where they were going, but it later emerged they were headed to a quarantine location outside their city of Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province The bus with 47 people on board crashed at night City officials announced many hours later that the passengers were under “medical observation ” confirming reports they were being taken to quarantine Following public anger Guiyang fired three officials in charge of Yunyan district

O N TA R IO : On the day t he so called Sikh re fe ren dum was held in Bra mpton , O nt ario, the Pak ist an i Consul Ge ner al Jan ba z Khan v is it e d t wo pr o K ha l ist a n G u r ud w a r a in Surr ey in Van couv er osten sibly to than k the of fic e be a r e r s fo r se n d in g d on a t io n s fo r flood re lie f in Pak istan

Khan, who did two stints in India in Pakistani High Commission, visited pro Khalistan Sri Dashmesh Darbar and Guru N a n a k S i k h G u r u d w a r a i n S u r r e y o n September 18 along with two officers of his consulate and held secret meetings with the separatist office bearers

T h e P r e s i d e n t o f G u r u N a n a k S i k h Gurudwara is Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who carries a Rs 10,00,000 bounty on his head as he is wanted in four NIA cases pertaining to Sikh radicalism including the conspiracy to kill a Hindu priest, Kamaldeep Sharma, at Phillaur in Punjab The Dashmesh Darbar temple is also run by pro separatists’ ele ments and friends of Nijjar

Last week, the NIA filed supplementary chargesheet in the case related to the killing of the Hindu priest The anti terror task

force charged Arshdeep Singh, aka Arsh, and Nijjar, both based in Canada, of hatching a conspiracy to disturb peace and disrupt the communal harmony Gagandeep Singh, aka Gaggu, had allegedly supplied weapons to the members of the terror gang on the direc tions of Arsh

While the Justin Trudeau government has officially communicated to India on September 16 that it does not recognise the so called referendum and respects the terri torial integrity and sovereignty of India, the fact is that due to votebank compulsions, the Canadian government has done little to curb anti India tendencies among the radicalized Sikh community The Indian angst has been

communicated verbally and in writing to Toronto at the highest political as well as institutionalized security levels

As Nijjar, chief of Khalistan Tiger Force, was the representative of proscribed Sikhs for Justice platform run by US based sepa ratist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, the visit of Pakistan CG on the Brampton referendum day confirms that Pakistani is fishing in t r o u b l e d w a t e r s I t i s n o w k n o w n f o r decades that Pakistani ISI is the main player behind this Sikh separatist movement with several India’s most wanted Sikh terrorists taking shelter in Lahore Over the past decades, India has handed over dossier of Sikh terrorists and gangsters taking shelter in Pakistan to Islamabad for deporting them back to their country of origin but to no avail

N i j j a r a l o n g w i t h a n o t h e r a s s o c i a t e Moninder Singh Boyle, former president of Dashmesh Darbar, were the instrumental in launching a campaign against Ripudaman Singh Malik, who was acquitted in 2005 Air India Kanishka bombing case Malik was murdered in Surrey on July 24, 2022

50 killed as anti-hijab protests intensify in Iran

tough restrictions on the use of the inter net in a bid to hamper protesters gathering and stop the flow of images of the backlash from reaching the outside world

pro hijab demonstrators in central Tehran, m a n y o f t h e m m e n b u t a l s o w o m e n dressed in black chadors

Deadly cla shes

The street violence, which IHR says has spread to 80 towns and cities, was trig gered by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22 year old Kurd who had spent three days in a coma after being detained by the morality police in Tehran Verified footage spread on social media showed large crowds of protesters gathering in several neighbour hoods of the capital Tehran after dark, just hours after the government backed rallies dispersed

Some were confronted by armed anti riot police or militia Iran has imposed

The United States announced it was e a s i n g e x p o r t r e s t r i c t i o n s o n I r a n t o expand internet services, days after SpaceX owner Elon Musk said he would seek an e x e m p t i o n f r o m s a n c t i o n s t o o f f e r h i s company's Starlink satellite service in the Islamic republic The new measures will "help counter the Iranian government's efforts to surveil and censor its citizens," said Secretary of State Antony Blinken

"It is clear that the Iranian government is afraid of its own people," he added Last week, thousands took to the streets in sup port of the hijab at government backed counter rallies in Tehran and other cities "The great demonstration of the Iranian people condemning the conspirators and the sacrileges against religion took place," Iran's Mehr news agency said State television broadcast footage of

Xi Jinping status reaffirmed as China's ruling party prepares for meet

BE I JI N G: C hina’s Co mmunist P arty reaf firmed P resident Xi Jinping as its co re, as it pu blis hed the l is t of del egates invited to at t e nd n e xt m o nt h ’ s l a nd ma r k t w ic e a dec ade leadersh ip summ it The rul ing p arty has selec ted 2,296 delegates f rom aro und the nation to attend th e 20th P arty Congress, the o fficial Xinhu a News Agency repo rted Th e a nno u nc ement o f the lis t br ings Xi ano ther step c los er to c linch ing a p recedent def ying third term in po wer at the p ivotal event, which begins Oc t 16 in Beijing

In an editorial, the People’s Daily news p a p e r u r g e d d e l e g a t e s t o c l o s e l y a l i g n behind “comrade Xi Jinping as the core ” of the party “It is firmly believed that under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core and through the concerted efforts of all t h e d e l e g a t e s , t h e 2 0 t h C P C N a t i o n a l Congress will be a congress of unity, victory and endeavor,” the newspaper wrote

The Chinese leader hasn’t been seen in public since making his first foreign trip in more than two years earlier this month, breaking his self imposed Covid isolation to r e j o i n t h e w o r l d s t a g e a t a s u m m i t i n Central Asia His subsequent absence is con sistent with China’s Covid Zero require ments for international arrivals to undergo seven days of hotel quarantine, followed by three days of home isolation

The absence fueled speculation over the

weekend about whether Xi’s leadership had been challenged, which analysts at Eurasia Group Ltd said “ appear to have originated from social media actors who are common purveyors of misinformation and disinfor m a t i o n ” A n a n n o u n c e m e n t a b o u t t h e c o n g r e s s d e l e g a t e s w o u l d b e e x t r e m e l y unlikely in such a scenario, they said “We expect more rumors about Xi’s position ahead of the congress, but they are likely to be unfounded, unless they lead quickly to visible changes in personnel, pro paganda, or policy making that challenge X i ’ s l e a d e r s h i p o r a g e n d a , ” a n a l y s t N e i l Thomas and colleagues wrote in a note

The delegates must now be approved by a committee for congress, Xinhua said The list, which includes Xi and all existing mem bers of the top decision making Politburo, a l s o f e a t u r e s s c i e n t i s t s , l a w y e r s , h e a l t h workers, sports stars and cultural figures, Xinhua said About 620 of the 2,296 people were women, while some 260 came from the nation’s ethnic minorities

Xi is heading into China’s most impor tant political event facing mounting chal lenges at home and abroad Domestically, e c o n o m i c g r o w t h f o r e c a s t s a r e b e i n g slashed as his Covid Zero policy weighs on growth Woes in the property market have led to a 12 month decline in property prices and protests among aggrieved home owners

Amini died on September 16, three days after she was hospitalised following her arrest by the morality police, the unit r e s p o n s i b l e f o r e n f o r c i n g t h e I s l a m i c republic's strict dress code for women Activists said she suffered a blow to the head in custody but this has been disputed b y t h e I r a n i a n a u t h o r i t i e s , w h o h a v e opened an investigation

After she was pronounced dead, angry protests flared and spread to major cities, including Isfahan, Mashhad, Shiraz and Tabriz as well as her native Kurdistan province

In the latest violence, demonstrators clashed with security forces in the city of Bokan in West Azerbaijan province, said Hengaw, a second Oslo based rights group The report by this Kurdish organisation could not be independently verified

Uganda registers six new Ebola cases in latest outbreak

K A M PA L A : U gand a said it had d etected six new cases of Ebola, raising th e total number of con firmed cases to sev en A lo cal daily reported that the death toll had risen to 12, citing authorities

Last week the east African country con firmed the outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever in the central district of Mubende, about 150 km west of the capital Kampala

" T h e e p i d e m i c a p p e a r s t o h a v e s t a r t e d around the beginning of September when peo ple started dying in the small village in the Sub C o u n t y c a l l e d M a d u d u , " s a i d K y o b e H e n r y B b o s a , t h e I n c i d e n t M a n a g e r a t U g a n d a ' s Ministry of Health

Later, health officials said the country would draw on its previous experience to counter the latest outbreak They said Covid treatment facil ities would be transformed into Ebola manage ment centres

"This current outbreak happens just at the end of the Covid pandemic which we think we successfully managed And much of the infras tructure that we used for Covid we are quickly repurposing it for Ebola So we think that using what we've done before we should be able to mount an appropriate response to this current outbreak, said Kyobe

Uganda has experienced previous outbreaks of the highly fatal disease The last reported cases were in 2019 with at least five fatalities

T EH RA N: Protests flared in I ran ov er the death of a y oun g woman arre sted b y the mora lity poli ce, veri fie d social med ia pos ts show ed, hours af ter coun ter demon stra tio ns we re mob ili se d b y a uthori ti es At leas t 50 pe ople have bee n k illed b y s ecuri ty for ces i n t he a n ti g ove rn men t pr ote st s, Iran Human Rights , an Oslo b as ed org ani sati on, s aid more tha n three times the offi cia l death coun t of 17, whi ch in clude s fiv e se curi ty pers onne l

110 held in NIA raids on radical Muslim outfit

i o n a l S e c r e t a r y V P N a z a r u d h e e n E l a m a r a m , K e r a l a s t a t e c h i e f C P M o h a m m a d B a s h e e r , N a t i o n a l C o u n c i l member Prof P Koya and SDPI founder president E Abubacker All

these arrested leaders of which Abubacker, Abdur Rahiman and Koya were senior office bearers of S t u d e n t s ’ I s l a m i c M o v e m e n t o f India (SIMI) before it was banned were produced in the NIA special court in Delhi, after being brought there on transit remand NIA alone organised searches

a t 9 3 l o c a t i o n s a n d arresting 45 PFI leaders and activists The raids f o l l o w e d i n p u t s a n d e v i d e n c e t h a t t h e y w e r e i n v o l v e d i n f u n d i n g o f t e r r o r i s m and terrorist activities, o r g a n i s i n g t r a i n i n g c a m p s f o r p r o v i d i n g a r m e d t r a i n i n g a n d radicalising people to join banned organisations

The countrywide swoop on PFI leaders and cadres, the largest ever by NIA involving around 300 officers, who literally stayed up the night to start the raids as early as 3 30 am, followed a series of s t r a t e g y m e e t i n g s c h a i r e d b y H o m e M i n i s t e r A m i t S h a h t o

Apple begins iPhone 14 production in India

A pple beg an producing its iPho ne 1 4 mo del in south ern India less t h an a m o nth af ter i t w a s launched, as the com pany works to expand its sup ply chains out of C hina and expand pro ductio n in I n d i a T h e c o m p an y s ai d t h at “ W e ’ re exc i te d to be m anufacturing iPh one 14 in Ind ia”

A p p le ’ s T ai w an es e c o nt rac t m a nu fa ctu re rs alre ad y ass em b le s om e of th e co mp any ’ s existing m odels in Ind ia

Apple, which makes most of its iPhones in China, is shifting some o f i t s p r o d u c t i o n o u t s i d e t h e c o u n t r y a s g e o p o l i t i c a l t e n s i o n r i s e s b e t w e e n W a s h i n g t o n a n d Beijing

The increased production in India is a win win situation for prime minister Narendra Modi’s g o v e r n m e n t , w h i c h h a s b e e n w o r k i n g t o b o o s t d o m e s t i c

346,000 cases pending for over a decade in India

m a n u f a c t u r i n g a n d e x p o r t s t h r o u g h i t s “ M a k e i n I n d i a ” campaign Apple’s plans said that t h e n e w p h o n e w o u l d b e assembled by Foxconn Technology Group and Pegatron, which have plants in Tamil Nadu, as well as Wistron, which has a factory in neighbouring Karnataka Foxconn had begun shipping the iPhone 14 l a s t F r i d a y , a n d t h a t t h e l a r g e r iPhone 14 Plus would be shipped

by Pegatron and Wistron by the e n d o f O c t o b e r F o x c o n n a n d Wistron did not reply to a request f o r c o m m e n t , a n d P e g a t r o n declined to comment

Modi’s government has been t r y i n g t o b u i l d u p h i g h t e c h manufacturing in a bid to bolster l o c a l i n d u s t r y , c r e a t e j o b s a n d attract foreign companies Apple unveiled its two new iPhone 14 models this month, part of a push to extend its foothold in the top end smartphone market The US tech company would be producing one in four of its devices, including iPads and watches, outside China by 2025 India has the second largest number of smartphone users in the world after China, but Chinese brands such as Xiaomi and South K o r e a ’ s S a m s u n g d o m i n a t e t h e local market

CBI arrests ABG founder Rishi

Agarwal in bank fraud case

The Central Bureau of I n v e s ti g at i on ( CB I ) arrested Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal, the founder of ABG Shipyard Li mited, i n con nec ti on with an a ll eg ed b a nk fr aud o f more than £2 28 billi on, officials s aid

Wh

pend

Ind

are

28,70

for 1 0 20 years T hat takes the total number of cases p ending for ov er a d ecade to 3 4 ,60 ,0 0 0, an analysis of data compiled from the Natio nal Jud icial Data Grid T

S i k k

a n 9 9 6 % o

pending cases are less than five years old and among larger states, more than 90% of pending cases in P u n j a b , H a r y a n a , C h h a t t i s g a r h , Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh are less than five years old This proportion is between 80% and 90% for Delhi, T e l a n g a n a , A s s a m , M P , K e r a l a , Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, J&K and Gujarat The share of less than five year old cases is between 60% and 70% in UP, Odisha and Bihar and slightly below 60% for West Bengal

The CBI had booked A g a r w a l , S a n t h a n a m Muthaswamy the then executive director, and Ashwini Kumar, Sushil Kumar Agarwal and Ravi Vimal Nevetia, directors on February 7

A g a r w a l w a s c a l l e d f o r q u e s t i o n i n g a t t h e C B I headquarters during which the i n v e s t i g a t i n g o f f i c e r s u s p e c t e d that he was not co operating in t h e p r o b e a n d w a s e v a s i v e i n responses following which he was arrested, the officials said The C B I r e g i s t e r e d t h e c a s e o n a complaint from the State Bank of India for the alleged offences of c r i m i n a l c o n s p i r a c y , c h e a t i n g , criminal breach of trust and abuse o f o f f i c i a l p o s i t i o n u n d e r t h e Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the P r e v e n t i o n o f C o r r u p t i o n A c t T h e A B G s h i p y a r d i s a m a j o r p l a y e r i n I n d i a n s h i p b u i l d i n g i n d u s t r y o p e r a t e d f r o m i t s shipyards located at Dahej and Surat in Gujarat with capacity to build vessels up to 18,000 dead weight tonnage (DWT) at Surat s h i p y a r d a n d 1 , 2 0 , 0 0 0 d e a d

weight tonnage (DWT) at Dahej shipyard

The company was in financial trouble following global slump in t h e s h i p p i n g i n d u s t r y b r i n g i n g i r r e g u l a r i t i e s i n r e p a y m e n t s c h e d u l e " T h e c a n c e l l a t i o n o f contracts for few ships and vessels resulted in piling up of inventory This has resulted in paucity of w o r k i n g c a p i t a l a n d c a u s e d s i g n i f i c a n t i n c r e a s e i n t h e o p e r a t i n g c y c l e , t h e r e b y aggravating the liquidity problem a n d f i n a n c i a l p r o b l e m , " t h e complaint from the SBI, now part of the FIR, has said

In its complaint, the SBI said t h e r e w a s n o d e m a n d o f c o m m e r c i a l v e s s e l s b e c a u s e o f downturn in the industry even in 2 0 1 5 , w h i c h w a s f u r t h e r aggravated due to lack of defence orders making it difficult for the company to maintain repayment schedule

r e v i e w t h e c a s e s a n d e v i d e n c e against the outfits and its brass P F I c o n d e m n e d t h e r a i d s a n d “unjust” arrests and accused NIA and ED of engaging in a witch h u n t a g a i n s t i t s m e m b e r s a n d supporters PFI said that “Popular Front will never be intimidated by such scare tactics by a totalitarian r e g i m e t h a t u s e s t h e c e n t r a l agencies as its puppets ”

Hartal in Kerala turns violent Kerala police took 551 people into custody after a protest called by PFI led widespread violence and damage to public property, prompting Kerala high court to call the “flash hartal” illegal and ask the government to confront lawbreakers with an iron fist As many as 13 shops, 70 state run

b u s e s a n d t w o T a m i l N a d u

government buses were damaged b y r a m p a g i n g m o b s i n 2 1 7 reported attacks on properties, vehicles and citizens during the dawn to dusk statewide protest, police said They said 10 KSRTC e m p l o y e e s , i n c l u d i n g e i g h t d r i v e r s , a n d s i x c o p s w e r e wounded

Of those arrested in 311 cases registered so far, most were in Kollam city (164), where cops

r e p o r t e d p r o t e s t e r s r a m m i n g two policemen on duty with a bike, besides other crimes Also, some 400 people were taken into preventive detention, with Malappuram (126) recording the h i g h e s t , f o l l o w e d b y K a n n u r city (86)

Army to do away with British colonial-era legacy

T he A rm y is no w revi ew ing i ts c o lo n ia l an d p re c o lo n ia l er a customs, traditions, battle honours and nam es th at can be discarded in acco rd ance with the g overnment’s d irective to “Indianise” the armed forces The Arm y ’ s rev iew process f o ll o w s a fte r th e new N av a l E ns i g n , w h i c h in c lu d ed t h e rem o v al o f th e red c o lo ure d S t George's Cross from the flag, was re v ea le d b y P r im e M i n is te r N are nd r a M o d i d u ri n g t h e com missioning of th e ind igenous a ir cr af t ca rri er IN S V i k ran t o n Septem ber 2

An official said that “The Army review process is in the internal discussion stage as of now No final decision has been taken” An agenda note circulated in advance of a meeting to be chaired by the Army’s adjutant general said the review was needed to “do away with the British colonial legacy” and that it was “essential to move away from archaic and ineffective p r a c t i c e s ” a n d a l i g n w i t h t h e national sentiment The agenda n o t e t r i g g e r e d w i d e s p r e a d c r i t i c i s m f r o m t h e v e t e r a n s o n social media They asserted the

f o c u s o f t h e 1 2 , 0 0 , 0 0 0 s t r o n g A r m y , w h i c h h a s “ g r e a t l y I n d i a n i s e d ” o v e r t h e d e c a d e s , should be on pressing concerns l i k e m o d e r n i s a t i o n o f w e a p o n s y s t e m s , c r e a t i o n o f t h e a t r e commands and integrated battle groups, operational strategies and tactics, instead of such needless things

T h e a g e n d a n o t e s a i d t h e review should include customs and t r a d i t i o n s o f c o l o n i a l a n d p r e c o l o n i a l e r a , u n i f o r m s a n d a c c o u t r e m e n t s , r e g u l a t i o n s a n d r u l e s , n a m e s o f b u i l d i n g s , establishments, roads and parks after top British commanders like Claude Auchinleck and Herbert Kitchener Citing an example, it said the Queen Mary’s Technical I n s t i t u t e f o r D i f f e r e n t l y A b l e d S o l d i e r s a t P u n e s h o u l d b e renamed English names of some u n i t s a n d i n s t i t u t e s , “ p r e I n d e p e n d e n c e t h e a t r e / b a t t l e honours awarded by the British to q u e l l t h e I n d i a n s t a t e s a n d freedom” and the affiliation with t h e C o m m o n w e a l t h G r a v e s C o m m i s s i o n s h o u l d a l s o b e reviewed, the note said

Chargesheet filed against Teesta, two others

the events They made witnesses s i g n a f f i d a v i t s t h a t h a d f a l s e details and made witnesses give f a l s e e v i d e n c e i n c o u r t T h e accused tried to shift the riot cases out of Gujarat and defamed the state in the process Setalvad did so to gain political benefit

S r e e k u m a r a n d B h a t t a r

bars, while Setalvad has been granted interim bail by the Supreme Court in this case The SIT had charged the three with c r i m i n a l c o n s p i r a c y , f o r g e r y , f a b r i c a t i n g f a l s e e v i d e n c e w i t h intent to procure conviction for c a p i t a l p u n i s h m e n t , f a l s e l y instituting criminal proceedings against people despite knowledge that there was no just ground for the same and framing of incorrect records by a public servant

The accused persons created evidence of incidents that had not occurred and tried to implicate people who were not connected to

S r e e k u m a r i s a c c u s e d o f m i s u s i n g h i s p o s i t i o n a s a g o v e r n m e n t o f f i c i a l , o f m a k i n g back dated entries in a register and filing affidavits with incorrect f a c t s b e f o r e t h e G o d h r a r i o t s i n q u i r y c o m m i s s i o n b y f a l s e l y a c c u s i n g o t h e r g o v e r n m e n t officials of being inactive during t h e r i o t s H e a l s o a l l e g e d l y t h r e a t e n e d a w i t n e s s , w h o h a d f a l l e n o u t w i t h S e t a l v a d “ Y o u compromise with Teesta or else t h e M u s l i m s w i l l b e c o m e y o u r enemy and you will be a target of the terrorists Let’s work together a n d i f w e k e e p o n f i g h t i n g internally, enemies will get the advantage of it It will directly benefit Modi,” a witness has been q u o t e d a s s a y i n g i n t h e chargesheet

Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal

India asks citizens in Canada to exercise caution due to hate crimes

I nd ia re so r ted to th e unusual step of issuing an adv isory asking its natio n als in Canada to “ exercise d ue c au ti o n a nd r em a in v igilant” against the back d rop of what it said was a “ s h ar p i nc re as e ” i n h at e crim es, sectari an v io lenc e and anti India activities

The advisory from the e x t e r n a l a f f a i r s m i n i s t r y c a m e a m i d a d i p l o m a t i c r o w b e t w e e n I n d i a a n d C a n a d a o v e r t h e r e c e n t holding of a so called refer endum by “ pro Khalistan” e l e m e n t s o n c r e a t i n g a n independent homeland for Sikhs The activities of pro K h a l i s t a n e l e m e n t s i n Canada have been an irri t a n t i n b i l a t e r a l t i e s i n

recent years

“There has been a sharp i n c r e a s e i n i n c i d e n t s o f hate crimes, sectarian vio lence and anti India activi ties in Canada,” the adviso ry for Indian nationals and students in Canada stated “In view of the increasing i n c i d e n c e s o f c r i m e s a s d e s c r i b e d a b o v e , I n d i a n n a t i o n a l s a n d s t u d e n t s from India in Canada and t h o s e p r o c e e d i n g t o C a n a d a f o r t r a v e l / e d u c a tion are advised to exercise d u e c a u t i o n a n d r e m a i n vigilant,” it said

T h e e x t e r n a l a f f a i r s ministry and India’s high commission and consulates in Canada have taken up t h e s e i n c i d e n t s w i t h

Canadian authorities and asked them to investigate the “crimes and take appro priate action” The advisory added: “The perpetrators of these crimes have not been brought to justice so far in Canada ”

T h e a d v i s o r y s a i d Indian nationals and stu dents in Canada may regis ter with the high commis s i o n i n O t t a w a o r c o n s u l a t e s i n T o r o n t o a n d V a n c o u v e r t h r o u g h t h e i r w e b s i t e s o r t h e M A D A D p o r t a l a t m a d a d g o v i n Such registration will allow the Indian missions to “bet ter connect with Indian cit i z e n s i n C a n a d a i n t h e event of any requirement or emergency ”

SC tells govt to take strict action against hate speech

Ob se rving that hate speech is da ma gin g the social ha r mony of India and pol it ical p a r ti e s ar e ma k in g ca pi ta l out of it, the Supr eme Court s ai d st r ict act io n m ust be t aken a gainst t he guilt y

A bench of Justices K M Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy said that the Centre should not be a “mute witness” and instead take a lead in han dling the problem The gov e r n m e n t s h o u l d a l s o n o t treat it as a “trivial matter”, hinting it would fill up the l e g a l v a c u u m b y p a s s i n g orders and framing guide lines on the lines of what the a p e x c o u r t d i d e a r l i e r i n Vishaka case for dealing with sexual exploitation at work place

The bench was particu

larly miffed with TV chan nels and their anchors for u s i n g t h e p l a t f o r m a n d allowing others to indulge in spreading hate in their pro g r a m m e s , a n d s a i d t h o s e indulging in such acts should b e d e a l t w i t h s t e r n l y a n d taken off air to send a mes sage to others not to use hate for TRP It said people must understand that no religion preaches hatred, everybody belonged to the country and there was no place of hatred

Under the existing law, h a t e s p e e c h h a s n o t b e e n

RSS chief visits Delhi Mosque, madrassa in Muslim outreach

R SS chie

However,

deliberate

Earlier, Bhagwat had met former LG of Delhi Najeeb Jung, former chief election commissioner SY Qureshi, for mer VC of AMU Lt General (Retd) Zameeruddin Shah, busi nessman Saeed Sherwani, and former MP and editor of Urdu daily ‘Nai Duniya’, Shahid Siddiqui, as part of an exercise aimed at strengthening communal amity The meeting saw B

described as ‘kafir’ or unbeliever and the refrain of jihad, the Islamic concept of holy war, saying these have led to ten sions They also raised the issue of Muslims being referred to as ‘Pakistanis’ and being asked to leave the country “We dis cussed several issues for strengthening the country,” Ilyasi said, adding that Bhagwat had visited the mosque as well as the madrassa on his invitation

defined, nor is there any spe c i f i c p r o v i s i o n t o c u r b i t , with police taking recourse to Sections 153(A) and 295, which deal with incitement and spread of disaffection a m o n g c o m m u n i t i e s , t o tackle it

T h e L a w C o m m i s s i o n had recommended inserting Section 153 C in the Indian Penal Code, which would say that whoever on grounds of religion, race, caste or com munity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, place of b i r t h , r e s i d e n c e , l a n g u a g e , disability or tribe uses grave ly threatening words either spoken or written or advo cates hatred shall be punish able with imprisonment of up to two years and fine of up to Rs 5,000

Gautam Adani meets Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai

B u si ne s s tyc o o n G au t am A d ani m et f o rm e r M aharashtra ch ief minister

U d d h av T h ac ke ray i n

M a to s h ree , M u m bai T h e meeting lasted for an hour, creating a buzz around the corner Thackeray lost chief m ini stersh ip to party c ol league Eknath S hind e ’ s rebel camp that formed the g ov ernment in the state w ith the BJP’s sup port, changing th e p o l i ti ca l sc e nar io i n M aharashtra

T h e m e e t i n g b e t w e e n Adani and Thackeray, who share friendly relations, was only to exchange greetings, s a i d s o u r c e s I n c i d e n t a l l y , this meeting comes on a day when the Maharashtra cabi net cleared the proposal to again seek tenders for the Dharavi redevelopment pro ject with additional benefits

I n t h e p a s t , M a h a V i k a s

Aghadi (MVA) government led by Thackeray had three meetings to put the much d e l a y e d p r o j e c t o n t r a c k , s i n c e t h e n A d a n i g r o u p ’ s name was in the estimate for this project An official s a i d , “ t h e m e e t i n g t o o k place”, but declined to elab orate on what occurred or w a s d i s c u s s e d b e t w e e n Adani and Thackeray Hours a f t e r t h i s m e e t i n g , R a h u l

Gandhi, Congress MP, who i s c u r r e n t l y p a r t o f h i s party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, a d d r e s s e d a g a t h e r i n g i n Kochi, said that “The second r i c h e s t m a n o n p l a n e t i s from India He can monop olize any business he wants in the country Who gives him money to build these businesses? It comes from public sector banks It’s your money ”

India flays Pak PM Sharif for Kashmir remark at UNGA

India h it out at Pakistan PM Sh ehbaz Sh arif for raking up the Kashmir issue at the U N G ene ral A s se m bl y s ay in g that Sharif’s false alleg ations against Ind ia were meant to obfuscate Islamabad ’ s ow n m i s d ee d s I n a s tr on g response to Pakistan, Ind ia sai d in th e U NGA th at a country that claim s to seek p eac e wi th i ts neig h bou rs wo uld never sponsor cro ss bord er terrorism nor would i t sh elter pl anners of th e h o rr i fi c M u m b ai ter ro ri s t attack, d isclosing their exis tence only u nd er p ressure fro m th e global comm unity I n d i a e x e r c i s e d t h e

‘ R i g h t o f R e p l y ’ i n t h e UNGA to respond sharply to the Pakistan PM, who had raked up the issue of J&K during his address to the h i g h l e v e l g e n e r a l d e b a t e earlier in the day

Mijito Vinito, first secre tary in the permanent mis sion of India to the UN said in the Right of Reply, “It is regrettable that the Prime M i n i s t e r o f P a k i s t a n h a s chosen the platform of this a u g u s t a s s e m b l y t o m a k e f a l s e a c c u s a t i o n s a g a i n s t India”

I n h i s a d d r e s s , S h a r i f r e i t e r a t e d t h a t P a k i s t a n wants to have peace with

India but added that long lasting, enduring peace can only be “insured and guar anteed” through a just and fair solution to the issue of K a s h m i r u n d e r t h e U N C h a r t e r a n d S e c u r i t y Council resolutions

The Indian official said that “That will surely hap pen when cross border ter rorism ceases, when govern ments come clean with the i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o m m u n i t y and with their own people

W h e n m i n o r i t i e s a r e n o t p e r s e c u t e d a n d n o t l e a s t , w h e n w e r e c o g n i s e t h e s e realities before this assem bly”

Gautam Adani & Uddhav Thackeray

Mohan Bhagwat

President inaugurates Dussehra festivities in Mysuru

SC reserves judgment on Karnakata's hijab ban

brief

AFTER EC RAP, YSRC REVERSES DECISION

v a l ) , t h e D u s s e h r a o r 'Sharan Navaratri' festivities are expected to b e a g r a n d a f f a i r t h i s y e a r d e p i c t i n g K a r n a t a k a ' s r i c h c u l t u r e a n d t r a d i t i o n s , coupled with reminiscence of royal pomp and glory, after being devoid of fanfare for the last two years in view of the Covid 19 pandemic

The President opened the festivities during the auspicious "Vrushchika Lagna" by showering flower petals on the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari, the presiding deity of Mysuru royals, amid chanting of v a d i c h y m n s , a t t h e p r e m i s e s o f C h a m u n d e s h w a r i t e m p l e a t o p t h e Chamundi Hills here

Murmu is the first President to take part in Mysuru Dussehra in the recent past She was accompanied by Karnataka Governor T h a a w a r c h a n d G e h l o t , C h i e f M i n i s t e r B a s a v a r a j B o m m a i , U n i o n M i n i s t e r s Pralhad Joshi and Shobha Karandlaje and several Ministers in the state cabinet among others at the inaugural

T h e P r e s i d e n t a l s o v i s i t e d t h e Chamundeshwari temple and offered prayers to the goddess, who is referred to as the "Naada Devate" (state deity), ahead of the inaugural This is also her first visit to any state as the President of India

The 10 day event, like every year, is set to showcase Karnataka's cultural heritage r e s p l e n d e n t w i t h f o l k a r t f o r m s , a n d attracts large crowds and tourists, after it was scaled down for the last two years due to Covid 19

P r e s i d e n t M u r m u , w h o s t a r t e d h e r speech in Kannada by offering her devotion to the goddess and extending greetings to the citizens of the state, said such festivals b i n d t h e I n d i a n s o c i e t y t o g e t h e r a n d exemplify unity in diversity

" M y s u r u D a s a r a i s a f e s t i v a l t h a t highlights the pride of India's rich culture," she said Karnataka, the President said, is a l s o t h e l a n d t h a t r e f l e c t s I n d i a ' s r i c h spiritual traditions, while pointing at the state's connection with Buddhist and Jain t r a d i t i o n s , S h a n k a r a c h a r y a , S u f i s m , a n d s o c i a l r e f o r m m o v e m e n t s t a r t e d b y Basavanna and others in 12 century through their "Vachanas" by setting up "Anubhava Mantapa"

Punjab governor approves convening Assembly session

C H A N D IG A R H : P un ja b

Governor Banwarilal Purohit has a pprove d the sta te governm ent’s r e q ue s t t o hol d a s p ec ia l As sem bly ses sion on Septe mber 2 7, S pe a k er K ul t a r S in g h Sandhwan s aid Chief minister B h ag wa nt Si ng h M a nn ha d s ou ght t he s ess ion days af ter acc us ing the Opposition B hara tiya Ja nat a Pa rt y of att em pting to p oa c h i t s l e g is l a to r s a n d t op pl e t he governme nt Pur ohit had sa id there wa s no provis ion to summ on a s pec ial Ass em bly s ess ion to c ons ider a trus t vote

After the governor withdrew the order, the state government decided to reconvene the session on September 27 with a revised agenda and proposed to take up matters s u c h a s s t u b b l e b u r n i n g a n d e l e c t r i c i t y supply

Earlier, Purohit had sought details of the legislative business to be taken up in the Assembly session called by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party government on September 27 D e s c r i b i n g h i s d e m a n d a s “ t o o m u c h ” ,

Mann had said that seeking governor or president’s consent before any Assembly session is a mere formality However, Purohit said that a s p e r A r t i c l e 1 6 7 o f t h e Constitution, it is the duty of the chief minister to inform the governor of the decisions of the council of ministers related to the administration of the state and legislation proposals He said that the Aam Aadmi Party leader was not being guided properly by his legal advisors

I n r e s p o n s e , t h e s t a t e g o v e r n m e n t w r o t e a p r o t e s t l e t t e r t o t h e g o v e r n o r , stating that the demand for the agenda of the session was “beyond the Constitution” and contrary to precedents

“ N e v e r t h e l e s s , t h e g o v e r n m e n t proposes to take up legislative/government business which inter alia includes burning i s s u e s o f G S T , s t u b b l e b u r n i n g , p o w e r scenario etc for consideration of the state legislature,” the state government said in the letter

N E W D E L H I : Th e S up r e m e C ou r t o n Se pte mbe r 22 r eser ve d its judgme nt in a ba tch of petitions chal lenging the prohibition on Muslim st ude nts from we aring hijab in classrooms in Karna taka

A Bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia wrapped up the case for v e r d i c t a f t e r h e a r i n g t h e a r g u m e n t s presented by lawyers for petitioner students and the State for 10 days

The students had come in appeal against a Karnataka High Court judgment which had h e l d t h a t t h e p r o s c r i p t i o n o n h i j a b i n classrooms was a reasonable restriction The HC had concluded that hijab was not an essential religious practice in Islam The state argued in the apex court that it had the authority to issue an order to educational i n s t i t u t i o n s t o f o l l o w t h e d i s c i p l i n e o f wearing the prescribed school uniforms The o r d e r w a s r e l i g i o n n e u t r a l a n d d i d n o t distinguish one student from the other

S o l i c i t o r G e n e r a l T u s h a r M e h t a e v e n went to the extent of claiming that the hijab controversy was triggered by the Popular Front of India through social media Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, for the students, argued that fundamental rights, freedom to choose to what to wear and freedom of faith would not diminish inside a classroom

The petitioners, represented by senior advocates Rajeev Dhavan, Devadatt Kamat and other lawyers, argued that the State had not presented a valid reason for restricting the religious freedom of Muslim students

Punjab police bust ISI backed, Canada based terror module

C HA NDI GA RH : P unjab Police last week busted an ISI backed terro r m odule j ointly hand led by C a nad a bas ed g an g ster L akh bi r S in g h , ali as L anda, and Pakistan based g angster Harv ind er S i n g h Ri nd a w i t h t h e arr es t tw o o f i ts o peratives

Lakhbir Singh is believed to be an aide of R i n d a , w h o h a d j o i n e d h a n d s w i t h B a b b a r Khalsa International (BKI), and has close ties with Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Landa had played a key role in planning the rocket propelled grenade (RPG) attack on the P u n j a b P o l i c e I n t e l l i g e n c e H e a d q u a r t e r s i n Mohali and had also planted an IED under sub inspector Dilbag Singh’s car in Amritsar

Those arrested have been identified as Baljit Singh Malhi, 25, of Jogewal village in Ferozepur and Gurbaksh Singh, alias Gora Sandhu, of Buh Gujran village in Ferozepur Punjab director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav tweeted said that in an intelligence led operation by AIG, counter intelligence, Jalandhar, Navjot Singh Mahal, police teams arrested both the accused The police recovered an AK 56 assault rifle along with two magazines, 90 cartridges and two bullet shells from a location pinpointed by Gurbaksh Singh at his village, he said

tag credit

Kolkata: A war of words erupted between the TMC and BJP over t h e c r e d i t f o r U N E S C O ’ s i n t a n g i b l e c u l t u r a l h e r i t a g e ( I C H ) t a g t o D u r g a P u j a , Bengal’s biggest festival Union Minister of State for Education S u b h a s S a r k a r s l a m m e d t h e

TMC led government for trying t o “ h i j a c k t h e c r e d i t o f t h e Centre’s hard work in ensuring t h a t D u r g a P u j a g e t s t h e

UNESCO recognition

“The state government had no role in getting the ICH, but it is now very active in hijacking

t h e c r e d i t T h e U n i o n government and its ministries played a key role in ensuring that we get this recognition The

TMC dispensation cannot show even one letter it had written to the Centre on getting the tag, Sarkar said

Reacting to the comments, s e n i o r T r i n a m o o l C o n g r e s s leader and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim said the BJP has a bad habit of “hankering for credit for Bengal’s excellent initiatives

S a r k a r , a l o n g w i t h U n i o n Minister of State for External

Affairs and Culture Meenakshi Lekhi, was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme a t t h e I n d i a n M u s e u m t o c e l e b r a t e t h e i n s c r i p t i o n o f Durga Puja in the UNESCO list of ICH Lekhi, without naming anyone, said nobody should try to politicise the festival

“It is a matter of pride for the entire country Apart from West Bengal, Durga Puja is celebrated in various parts of India In 2012, too, a dossier was sent to the UNESCO, but it was rejected In 2019, another one was sent, she s a i d I t c a m e b a c k f o r a f e w clarifications, and many central government officers worked on this Later, it was accepted by

UNESCO in 2021, Lekhi said H a k i m , h o w e v e r , s a i d t h e B J P h a d e a r l i e r c l a i m e d t h a t TMC doesn’t allow Durga Puja in West Bengal If that was the case, how come UNESCO has recognised it? The BJP’s lies are now out in the open," he said TMC state general secretary K u n a l G h o s h a d d e d : “ T h e

UNESCO recognition is an apt r e p l y t o t h e c o m m u n a l campaign by the saffron camp T h e B J P , a h e a d o f t h e assembly polls in Bengal, had c l a i m e d t h a t t h e T M C g o v e r n m e n t d o e s n o t a l l o w Hindus to celebrate Durga Puja a n d o b s e r v e i t s r i t u a l s i n a proper manner

A day after the Election Commission of India wrote a letter to the YSR Congress, seeking clarification on the party’s presidential elections, the YSRC leadership clarified that the party will have election for the post of president and there will be no concept of president for life The party had at its plenary in July elected chief minister and YSRC president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy as its president for life In its letter the ECI said electing a party president for life is anti democracy The YSRC leadership claimed that Jagan had rejected the party resolution and thus it had died a natural death The party leadership will reply to the ECI stating that Jagan was not elected president for life

SC HALTS PROCEEDINGS

AGAINST BSY

The Supreme Court last week stayed proceedings against former Karnataka Chief Minister and senior BJP leader BS Yediyurappa in an alleged corruption case A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli issued notice to the private complainant on a plea challenging the Karnataka High Court order restoring the complaint against Yediyurappa and others "There shall be a stay of proceedings so far as the petitioner is concerned " the bench said The Karnataka High Court on September 7 had restored a private complaint against Yediyurappa and his family members The complainant had accused him of taking bribe for awarding government contracts A Sessions court had earlier dismissed a plea seeking a probe into the allegations of corruption against Yediyurappa as the then Governor had refused to sanction it

SIDHU ON ‘MAUN VRAT’INSIDE JAIL

Former Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu will observe a ‘maun vrat’ during the nine day Navratri festival, which began on Monday and has refused to meet anyone without ‘prior appointment’ Member of Parliament from Ludhiana Ravneet Singh Bittu reached the central jail premises to meet his party colleague and former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu who is facing corruption charges Bittu however did not meet Sidhu His wife said My husband will observe silence during the Navaratri and will meet visitors after October 5 The cricketer turned politician has been sentenced to one year rigorous imprisonment by the Supreme Court in a 1988 road rage death case

BENGAL MINISTER KNOCKS ON DELHI DOOR FOR FUNDS

West Bengal panchayat and rural development minister Pradip Majumdar has sought an appointment with Union rural development minister Giriraj Singh to request the release of funds under rural development schemes put on hold by the Centre over the past few months If an appointment is granted, it will be the first time that a minister from Bengal will meet his or her counterpart in Delhi to place demands for the department concerned “So far, demands of the state were placed by the chief minister before the Prime Minister But it is significant that the panchayat minister will meet the union rural development minister to place demands for funds ” said a senior government official A source said that the move suggests how badly the state needs funds to run the rural development schemes before panchayat polls next year The Centre has stopped the release of funds under the 100 days jobs scheme, citing misappropriation of funds The Centre also did not release funds under the PMGSY (rural roads) and the PMAY (housing for rural poor) on the pretext that the names of the schemes were changed in Bengal

Banwarilal Purohit

Cong scrambles to find a candidate for party president's poll

The

leaders

the

chief

a gross indiscipline according to the Congress standard

As a result, Gehlot’s chances of becoming t

y p r e s i d e n t , u n l e s s t h e R a j a s t h a n l e a d e r s h i p i s s u e i s r e s o l v e d a m i c a b l y , i s virtually nil And that poses a problem “For the last few weeks, Gehlot was our only choice We didn’t have a plan B because no one anticipated such a situation may arise Gehlot was a staunch loyalist of the Gandhi family,” said a leader involved in the Rajasthan crisis Shashi Thar oor to file nomina tion

Amid suspense over who could take on Shashi Tharoor in the president polls, party's c e n t r a l e l e c t i o n a u t h o r i t y c h a i r m a n M a d h u s u d a n M i s t r y s a i d A I C C t r e a s u r e r Pawan Kumar Bansal has got nomination forms collected, adding that it may be for s o m e o n e e l s e M i s t r y a l s o s a i d a representative of Tharoor has informed his office that he will file nomination for the post of president on September 30 at 11am

Speaking with reporters, Mistry said he met party chief Sonia Gandhi and handed over her voter's ID card He also briefed Gandhi about the process so far as to how

many people have collected the nomination forms and a b o u t t h e d e l e g a t e s

According to a notification i s s u e d b y t h e p a r t y , t h e p r o c e s s f o r f i l i n g n o m i n a t i o n s f o r t h e election will be held from September 24 to 30 The d a t e f o r s c r u t i n y o f t h e n o m i n a t i o n p a p e r s i s October 1, while the last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 8 The final list of candidates will be published on October 8 The polling, if needed, will be held on October 17 The counting of votes will be taken up on October 19 and the results will be declared the same day

Con g look s for wa y out of R ajast han crisis

With the situation turning serious, Sonia G a n d h i h a s s u m m o n e d M a d h y a P r a d e s h leader Kamal Nath for a discussion she is learned to have asked him about his plans Nath, however, seems to have suggested that he wants to continue his focus on Bhopal The d i s i n c l i n a t i o n o f K a m a l N a t h , c r e a t e s complications for the leadership The trouble shooters seem to appreciate the pitfall in switching horses when Nath had ruled himself out The names of Mallikarjun Kharge, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Digvijaya Singh and Mukul W a s n i k a r e n o w b a c k i n s p e c u l a t i o n a s alternatives to Gehlot Sonia Gandhi held a meeting with Kharge and Ajay Maken, who went for the ill fated legislature party meeting to pick the successor to Gehlot as CM The t w o m a n a g e r s a p p r i s e d S o n i a o f t h e developments in Jaipur, and Maken said the Congress chief had asked them for a written report All eyes are on a possible resolution G e h l o t i s s a i d t o h a v e t o l d t h e C o n g r e s s managers that he had no role in the boycott by the MLAs and was “apologetic” about it

PM Modi, world leaders attend Shinzo Abe's funeral in Tokyo

Ahead of the ceremony, PM Modi held a bilateral meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida He noted the contributions of former PM Abe in strengthening the India Japan partnership as well as in conceptualizing the vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo Pacific region

"He took the Japan India

Representatives from over 100 countries, including more than 20 heads of state and governments, attended his funeral

Shinzo Abe was assassinated on July 8 at a campaign rally in the southern Japanese city of Nara Early on Tuesday morn ing, a few hundred citizens lined the streets outside the venue waiting to offer flowers at designated stands The state funeral for Abe, who received a private funeral days after his assassina tion, is the first since one in 1967 for former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida

Amid tight security, about 4,300 attendees gathered in Tokyo to pay their respects US Vice President Kamala Harris, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Narendra Modi and South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck soo are among about 700 foreign dignitaries from 218 countries, regions and international organizations who are attending the ceremony

There has been opposition to honouring Abe with a state funeral, fed by an $11 5 million price tag to be borne by the state at a time of economic pain for ordinary citizens

Ghulam Nabi Azad launches Democratic Azad Party

Gh ulam N abi A zad wh o r ece n t ly p ar t ed way s wit h the Cong ress, launche d his ne w p a r t y t h e De m o c r a t i c A za d P a r t y , i n Jammu Azad sa id his par ty will be calle d a s De m o cr a t i c A z a d P a r t y ( D A P) He a ls o rev ea led it s flag which has thr ee colour s nam ely , m ust ard , white a nd blue Aza d said the DAP will focus on "str eng then ing" peace and n orma lcy in Jam mu a nd Kashmir He sa id par ty would focus on the rest orat ion of full sta tehood, r ight to land , and e mploy men t to na tive d omiciles, add in g, his part y's nam e symbolises dem ocr acy an d free dom of spe ech an d thought

Azad said that around 1,500 names were s u g g e s t e d t o h i m i n U r d u , H i n d i a n d Sanskrit He chose this one which has a Hindustani word He said the ideology of the party will be based on the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi The DAP will have "no competition" with any other political party

He was taunted that his new party would ultimately benefit the BJP The new party comes exactly a month after Azad resigned from the Congress party Azad was the for mer chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and a Union Cabinet minister, ending his m o r e t h a n f i v e d e c a d e l o n g a s s o c i a t i o n with the Congress

Many prominent Congress leaders in J&K, including former deputy chief minister T a r a C h a n d , h a d r e s i g n e d f r o m t h e

Congress in support of Azad He wanted to start a national party, but the J&K unit was formed as the first priority because elections are likely to be held there in the near future Azad is set to fight upcoming Assembly elec tions in the union territory on his own Until now, he has been maintaining distance from both the BJP and the regional main stream parties of J&K

Comedian Raju Srivastava passes away at 58

Co median Raju Srivastava passed away in Delhi He was 58 He was admitted to AIIMS , Delh i on August 10, after h e s uf fered a h eart attack Raju S rivastava was on ventilator su pp ort for 15 da ys , a f te r w h i c h h e re ga in e d c o n s c io u s ne s s However, on September 1 , after he ran a fever as high as 1 00 degrees, h e was out on ventilator su pp ort again

Raju Srivastava's chief a d v i s o r A j i t S a x e n a s a i d that despite best efforts by the doctors, the comedian could not be saved Raju Srivastava was in the enter

tainment industry since the 1 9 8 0 s H e s h o t t o f a m e after participating in the first season of the reality s t a n d u p c o m e d y s h o w "The Great Indian Laughter

Challenge" in 2005 He was also the chairman of the Film D e v e l o p m e n t C o u n c i l U t t a r P r a d e s h " R a j u b h a i finally took a break f r o m t h e w o r l d l y journey to fight the gloom of God's world H u n d r e d s o f m e m o i r s o f h i s j o u r n e y f r o m t h e d a y s o f struggle to the pinnacle of f a m e a r e f l o a t i n g b e f o r e the eyes Last salute to the Sikandar who made people s m i l e , s a i d p o e t K u m a r Vishvas in a tweet

Ashok Gehlot

Raju Srivastava

The Empire Question

The Old Vic announces one voice: Whose planet are you on?

A head of C OP 27, The Old Vic’ s Baylis Director Tinuke Craig (Jitney) will bring together four m onolog ues exploring the i m pa

actio ns and th e force of collectiv

respo nsibility

n the future of our planet T he m onolog ues w ill be directed by Annabel Bolton (T he Div ide)

The monologues for Whose Planet Are You On? have been written by four artists each examining the global issue of the growing climate emergency The

(writer/performer), Sonali Bhattacharyya

(writer/performer) Further casting is to be announced

All four monologues will be performed live on The Old Vic stage on Sunday 16 O

w i l l b e c o m m i s s i o n e d i n response to the live event

The three new commissions will come via The Old Vic’s education and community groups including Schools Club (14 18 year olds), Matinee Idols (50+), and Emerging Theatre Practitioner schemes such as OV T h e a t r e M a k e r s , O V B a c k s t a g e a n d O V Facilitators, and will be supported by three p r o f e s s i o n a l w r i t e r s t o c r e a t e t h e i r monologue

The project will culminate in a digital premiere of all seven monologues, available free of charge to audiences via The Old Vic’s website in the summer of 2023

Whose Planet Are You On? is part of One V o i c e , a s e r i e s o f m o n o l o g u e s s p e c i a l l y

commissioned by The Old Vic and funded by the TS Eliot Estate, that continues the theme of creating fresh new work which response to the issues of today The One Voice series was conceived by The Old Vic’s Artistic Director, Matthew Warchus

C O P 2 7 t a k e s p l a c e b e t w e e n 6 November 18 November 2022

City of Culture 2029

Lincolnshire cou ncils on Wednesday, East Lindsey District Cou nc il's execu tive voted i n favour o f a new "cultural framework" in p artnershi p with other local cou ncils T he framework aims to bring togeth er all the " cultural offerings" across th e regio n and p rep are th e way fo r "a co nfident 2029 City o f Cu lture bid "

The title, currently held by Coventry, has been awarded to Bradford for 2025

According to the document, "This is a key milestone and step change in preparing our collective capacity, ecology and co operation frameworks for a confident 2029 City of Culture bid to see step change in our sector to flourish grow and innovate," it said

A s p o k e s m a n f o r t h e S o u t h E a s t Lincolnshire Councils Partnership said they had "a shared ambition"

" T h e A r t s C o u n c i l p e r m i t s C i t y o f Culture bids to be from a collaborative partnership who share a commitment to working together with a wide range of p a r t n e r s a n d d i f f e r e n t s e c t o r s o f t h e community "

The bid could also be used to launch a

n e w p r o j e c t c a l l e d B o s t o n 2 0 3 0 , a c u l m i n a t i o n o f e v e n t s c e l e b r a t i n g t h e Boston Massachusetts 400th anniversary, they added

O r g a n i s e r s b e l i e v e L i n c o l n ' s A s y l u m Steampunk festival is worth more than £2m to the local economy

I n a s t a t e m e n t , t h e C i t y o f L i n c o l n Council, said: "We are in early discussions with partners from across the county about plans to drive forward an ambitious vision for culture in Lincolnshire

"One component of this is a collective ambition for city of culture, as multiple destinations are able to apply "

The UK City of Culture is designed to help regenerate parts of the UK with a year long diary of culture and arts

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e L o c a l D e m o c r a c y Reporting Service, Coventry was reported to have received more than £15 5m to support its year of programmes and attracted £100m of capital investment

Bradford Council has also said winning the battle to be named UK City of Culture 2025 could bring an extra £700m into the city and attract thousands of visitors

Leeds Art Gallery’s landmark exhibition puts city’s artists in the frame

Artists in

For the first time in more than a decade, Leeds Art Gallery is calling on the city’s painters, sculptors, photographers, moving image artists, and artists working in all media, to put their creations forward to be considered for the Leeds Artists’ Show

O p

Empress of Great Britain or England in any way While traditional historians have often laid the origins of the empire to the much earlier period of British colonial exploits, the author of this article firmly believes that the empire was born with the creation of the title of Emperor in the first place which did not materialize till 1876 and the title referred to India

L

Pandhal, who are all connected to Leeds

T h e y w i l l b e t a s k e d w i t h w h i t t l i n g down the entries alongside performance artist and sculptor Isabelle Marklew who is a member of Leeds Art Gallery’s Youth Collective based in Leeds, as well as the gallery’s principal keeper Jane Bhoyroo and exhibitions curator Holly Grange

Around the end of the First World War, the British Emp ire reached its p eak size and bec am e the wo rld 's largest emp ire, thoug h not as a continuous geograph ic entity (as that honour lay with the M o ng ol E m p i re o f G eng h i s K h an ) Be it f ro m B ri ti s h Guiana in S outh Am erica to A ustralia in Oceania or from B as u to la nd i n p r es en t d ay Lesoth o to the Em irates in the M iddle East, "T he sun never sets on the British Em pire," a statement w hich rig htly d escribed the geog raphical diversity of this entity aro und this period became a com mon d escrip tion of the em pire with its presence acro ss the different co ntinents o f the wo rld But o ne question rem ained u nanswered Why do we call it th e British E mpire w hen the hig hest title of the monarch was the Empero r of India?

Around the end of the Indian Rebellion in 1858, which is rightly called India's First War of Independence, the administration of t h e I n d i a n P r e s i d e n c i e s a n d T e r r i t o r i e s passed directly to the British Crown But it was not until May 1876 that Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli led the process of Queen Victoria officially becoming the Empress of India, an honour which she longed for long as she craved a higher title than that of a queen Though Queen Victoria was more willing towards a title which included Great Britain and Ireland, the cautious Prime M i n i s t e r c o n v i n c e d h e r o t h e r w i s e T h e decided title was Kaisar i Hind, inspired by the Roman imperial title of Caesar and translated to Emperor or Empress of India The point which should be noted is that the t i t l e d i d n o t t r a n s l a t e t o E m p e r o r o r

T h e B r i t i s h E m p i r e h a s b e c o m e synonymous with diversity and grandness of extent, but the question remains that why it should be called just British and not British Indian Empire, if not Indian Empire It could have been a result of colonial ego that the word 'India' or 'Indian' never got included in the day to day literature when referring to the Empire as a whole It should be noted that the Indian Empire and its P r e s i d e n c i e s d u r i n g d i f f e r e n t p h a s e s o f history played a very important role in the direct administration of various overseas territories of the Empire To give an example the country o f S i n g a p o r e a n d t h e t e r r i t o r i e s o f P e n a n g a n d Malacca in Malaysia were u n d e r t h e d i r e c t a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f t h e Bengal Presidency between 1858 to 1867

T h e I n d i a n C i v i l S e r v i c e f r a m e w o r k alongside its administrative, and military workforce and the infrastructure which was d e v e l o p e d o v e r t i m e a l s o p l a y e d a n i m p o r t a n t r o l e i n t h e m a i n t e n a n c e o f British supremacy in parts of central and South Asia This along with the workforce sourced from India being sent to far corners of the globe to territories otherwise not visited or frequented by Indians led to the Indian people, language and culture being spread across the Commonwealth This further strengthened the Indian roots of the Empire

The British Monarch even to this day is the sovereign of different chivalric orders Among this pool of orders there exist two chivalric orders which are now dormant One is the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India, a very senior order preceded by the Order of the Bath and the other is the Most E m i n e n t O r d e r o f t h e I n d i a n E m p i r e

Talking about the Empire, there also exists a separate chivalric order called the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The point is, even in the order of precedence of Chivalric Orders of the United Kingdom, the Order of the Indian Empire always preceded the Order of the British Empire

£1.5m pledge to boost Berwick's status

E D S 2

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Y

Culture, the ambitious showcase will bring together work by artists from across the city, celebrating the talent and diversity of t h e l o c a l a r t s s c e n e a n d p r o v i d i n g a platform to explore some of the key themes and concerns of artists working in Leeds today

Submissions for the exhibition are now open and will be assessed by a prestigious p a n e l o f e x p e r t s i n c l u d i n g c u r a t o r a n d writer Derek Horton, writer and art critic Kadish Morris and visual artist Hardeep

Artworks selected by the panel will then be curated and displayed in next year ’ s high profile show at the gallery, which is a l s o h o m e t o a r t w o r k b y s o m e o f t h e r e g i o n ’ s m o s t c e l e b r a t e d m o d e r n a n d historic artists

Jane Bhoyroo, principal keeper of Leeds Art Gallery said: “The gallery has a strong h i s t o r y o f e x h i b i t i n g a r t w o r k b y l i v i n g artists, and since the early 1900s that is how m u c h o f t h e c i t y ’ s a r t c o l l e c t i o n h a s developed

“We look forward to continuing our support of artists from across Leeds in next year ’ s Leeds Artists' Show and are excited to

s e e the breadth of artistic talent that this great city has to offer ”

T h e L e e d s A r t i s t s ’ S h o w w i l l s e e successful entrants follow in the footsteps of other outstanding Leeds based artists, i n c l u d i n g J i l l M c K n i g h t a n d J a m e s Thompson, whose work has recently been exhibited at the gallery

Recent acquisitions into the gallery’s c o l l e c t i o n h a v e a l s o r e f l e c t e d i t s commitment to celebrating and presenting the work of local artists, including famous L e e d s b a s e d p a i n t e r J o h n A t k i n s o n Grimshaw’s ‘Reflections on the Aire’ from 1879 and Leeds based artist Rosie Vohra’s ‘ D e m o n s ’ f r o m 2 0 2 0 , w i t h b o t h w o r k s currently on display

leader Glen Sanderson said, “We already have a very successful literary festival there that is incredibly well supported, but we also have the Barracks and the new Maltings theatre project which will be underway fairly soon This is a really important piece of work because it gives confidence to Berwick For some years it has felt like it was somewhat out on a limb, neither in Scotland nor in England, but they are a growing force and culture in particular will play a big part in that feeling of confidence as they go forward ”

An NTCA report states: “The project will create a continuous flow of people and creative activity within Berwick’s town walls, whilst benefiting the people, businesses and communities of the whole Berwick area and beyond The zone will e

supportive and attractive environment in which cultural and creative businesses and people can develop and thrive ”

Abhiroop Sengupta

Abhiroop Sengupta is a Kolkata based entrepreneur, fencer, amateur historian and writer Also a devoted Freemason and Rotarian, he spends most of his free time researching about varied subjects, espe cially those which he feels did not get their deserved due in the course of history

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Healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes in women

women who have a

isto

Screen exposure may help brain development in children

p regnancy can still reduce their risk o f develo ping it by living a health y lifestyle that

nclu

eati

well,

, exercisi ng frequently, and avo idi ng weight gain

The results show that women who adhered to five key lifestyle factors, healthy weight, high quality diet, r e g u l a r p h y s i c a l a c t i v i t y , m o d e r a t e a l c o h o l c o n s u m p t i o n , a n d n o t smoking, had a 90 per cent lower risk of the disorder c o m p a r e d w i t h w o m e n who did not adhere to any, e v e n a m o n g t h o s e w h o were overweight or obese, or were at greater genetic risk of type 2 diabetes The results are based on data f o r 4 , 2 7 5 w o m e n w i t h a

h i s t o r y o f g e s t a t i o n a l diabetes mellitus from the N u r s e s ’ H e a l t h S t u d y I I w i t h r e p e a t e d m e a s u r e m e n t s o f w e i g h t and lifestyle factors over 28 years of follow up

T h e r e s e a r c h e r s a l s o a s s e s s e d w h e t h e r t h e s e a s s o c i a t i o n s c h a n g e d according to obesity status o r u n d e r l y i n g g e n e t i c s u s c e p t i b i l i t y f o r t y p e 2 diabetes Over an average

of 28 years of follow up, 924 women developed type 2 diabetes After taking into a c c o u n t o t h e r m a j o r d i a b e t e s r i s k f a c t o r s , t h e r e s e a r c h e r s f o u n d t h a t p a r t i c i p a n t s w h o h a d o p t i m a l l e v e l s o f a l l f i v e modifiable factors after the i n d e x p r e g n a n c y h a d a more than 90% lower risk f o r d e v e l o p i n g t y p e 2 d i a b e t e s c o m p a r e d w i t h t h o s e w h o d i d n o t h a v e

any Each additional optimal m o d i f i a b l e f a c t o r w a s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a n incrementally lower risk of t y p e 2 d i a b e t e s F o r example, women with one, two, three, four, and five optimal levels of modifiable f a c t o r s c o m p a r e d w i t h none had a 6%, 39%, 68%, 85%, and 92% lower risk, r e s p e c t i v e l y A n d t h e s e beneficial associations were c o n s i s t e n t l y s e e n , e v e n among women who were overweight or obese or who h a d a h i g h e r g e n e t i c s u s c e p t i b i l i t y t o t y p e 2 diabetes

W h i l e t h i s i s a n o b s e r v a t i o n a l s t u d y a n d can’t establish cause, the r e s e a r c h e r s a c k n o w l e d g e t h a t t h e d a t a r e l i e d o n p e r s o n a l r e p o r t s , w h i c h may have affected accuracy

Here’s why senior citizens should check their blood pressure at home

A new research has studied the impac t of pass ive screen us e on the c ogniti ve devel opm ent of a y oun g child, and the results revealed that s creen ex p os ur e , w he th er f ro m a TV or a mobi le device, might be benefic ial depending on the context in which it’s viewed The study was publis hed in Frontiers in Psychology

Researchers from the University of Portsmouth and Paris Nanterre University, France, analysed 478 studies published in the past two decades Their findings found exposure to television early on may be detrimental to play, language development and executive functioning, particu larly for young infants

Dr Eszter Somogyi from the Department of Psychology at the University of Portsmouth said, "We're used to hear ing that screen exposure is bad for a child and can do seri ous damage to their development if it's not limited to say less than an hour a day While it can be harmful, our study suggests the focus should be on the quality or context of what a child is watching, not the quantity Weak narrative, fast pace editing, and complex stimuli can make it difficult for a child to extract or generalise information But when screen content is appropriate for a child's age, it's likely to have a positive effect, particularly when it's designed to encourage interaction ”

ct ed by hy pert en s i on r e g u la r l y ch e ck t he i r blood pr essure a t home or o t h e r p la c e s M e a n w h i le , a r o un d 62 pe r ce n t sa y a h ealthcar e pr ovider en cour a ged the m t o per for m such che ck s The second group of p eople were thre e an d a half t imes more lik ely to d o so t han those who did n’t r ecall g ett ing such a recomme nda t ion

Past research has shown that regular home monitor ing can help with blood pres sure control and that better control can mean a reduced risk of death, cardiovascular

events including strokes and heart attacks, and cognitive impairment and dementia The findings are published in JAMA Network Open by a t e a m f r o m M i c h i g a n Medicine, the University of Michigan’s academic medi cal centre

The poll, based at the U M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation and s u p p o r t e d b y M i c h i g a n Medicine and AARP, asked adults aged 50 to 80 about their chronic health condi tions, blood pressure moni toring outside of clinic set tings, and interactions with health providers about blood p r e s s u r e S t u d y a u t h o r s Mellanie V Springer, M D , M S , o f t h e M i c h i g a n M e d i c i n e D e p a r t m e n t o f

N e u r o l o g y , a n d D e b o r a h Levine, M D , M P H , of the D e p a r t m e n t o f I n t e r n a l Medicine, worked with the NPHA team to develop the poll questions and analyse the findings

T h e d a t a i n t h e n e w paper come from the 1,247 respondents who said they were either taking medica tion to control their blood pressure or had a chronic h e a l t h c o n d i t i o n t h a t requires blood pressure con trol specifically, a history of stroke, coronary heart dis ease, congestive heart fail ure, diabetes, chronic kidney disease or hypertension

Of them, 55 per cent said they own a blood pressure monitor, though some said they don't ever use it Among

those who do use it, there was wide variation in how o f t e n t h e y c h e c k e d t h e i r pressure and only about h a l f s a i d t h e y s h a r e t h e i r r e a d i n g s w i t h a h e a l t h provider But those who own a monitor were more than 10 times more likely to check their blood pressure outside of health care settings than those who don't own one

The authors note that blood pressure monitoring is associated with lower blood pressure and is cost effec tive They say that the results s u g g e s t t h a t p r o t o c o l s should be developed to edu c a t e p a t i e n t s a b o u t t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f s e l f b l o o d p r e s s u r e m o n i t o r i n g a n d sharing readings with clini cians

Home remedies to get rid of menstrual blood clots naturally

Menstrual clots are a common occurren ce for women M ost suffer blood clots d uri ng their period s, an d it i s not kn own as a caus e for al arm When a woman is men struati ng , the uterus releases gel like lump s of co ag ul ated blo od , b lo od , an d ti ssue Larg e blood clots can result from certain medi cal problems, which frequen t ly also cause excessiv e men strual bleedi ng or peri od pain

Wh i l e n o t h az ard o u s , yo u should see a doctor i f you have excessiv e bleedi ng th at lasts longer than seven days

I n a r e c e n t I n s t a g r a m p o s t , h e a l t h C o u n s e l o r a n d s u r g e o n , D r K e l l y C h a r l i e suggested home remedies to g e t r i d o f m e n s t r u a l b l o o d clots naturally R ed raspberry leaf tea You will need 1 tsp of

red raspberry tea, 1 cup of w a t e r a n d 1 t b s p h o n e y What you will have to do is add a teaspoon of red rasp berry tea to a cup of water B r i n g i t t o a b o i l i n a saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes Strain and allow the tea to cool a bit and add some honey to it and con s u m e F o r b e t t e r r e s u l t s , you must drink this 2 to 3 times daily

2 Ma ssa ge

Various massaging tech niques help improve repro ductive system health and e n h a n c e b l o o d c i r c u l a t i o n around the uterus They can also ease away the menstrual blood clots as they improve blood flow

3 Cold compress For this, you will need an ice pack Apply a cold pack to your lower abdomen Leave

it on for 1 2 minutes and r e m o v e R e p e a t t h r i c e , p r e f e r a b l y a f t e r e v e r y f i v e minutes You must do this whenever you observe blood clotting during your periods or right before it is due 4 Vitamins

Vitamins A, B, D, and C help relieve heavy menstrual b l e e d i n g o r c l o t t i n g Vitamin A ensures proper r e p l i c a t i o n o f r e d b l o o d c e l l s , a n d i t s a n t i o x i d a n t properties protect cells from d a m a g e V i t a m i n B , e s p e cially vitamin B6 is neces s a r y f o r p r o d u c i n g p r o s t a g l a n d i n s t h a t h e l p reduce blood clots Vitamin D b a l a n c e s h o r m o n e s t o a l l e v i a t e e x c e s s b l e e d i n g And lastly, vitamin C can help strengthen your fragile cells and blood vessels

They explained, “Families differ a lot in their attitudes toward and the use of media These differences in the view ing context play an important role in determining the strength and nature of TV’s impact on children’s cognitive development Watching television with your child and elab orating and commenting on what is viewed can help enhance their understanding of the context, reinforcing their learning during educational programs ”

“Coviewing can also contribute to the development of their conversation skills and provides children with a role model for appropriate television viewing behaviour ”

Dr Bahia Guellai, from the Department of Psychology at Paris Nanterre University, added, "The important 'take home message' here is that caregivers should keep in mind new technologies Television or smartphones should be used as potential tools to compliment some social interac tions with young children but not to replace them

"I think the most important challenge of our societies for future generations is to make adults and young people aware of the risk of an unconsidered or inappropriate use of screen use This will help in preventing situations in which screens are used as the new type of child minding, as it has been during the pandemic lockdowns in different coun tries I am optimistic with the concept of finding an equilib rium between the rapid spread of new technological tools and the preservation of the beautiful nature of human rela tionships ”

What you should and not eat for a healthy heart

A healthy di et is one of the prerequisites for a healthy heart Poor food c hoices can have an advers e effect on the heart, putti ng you at

sk of several health concerns such as heart attack, heart failure, s troke, hypertension, etc A health expert s ai d that you could reduce your risk of heart diseases

“by making heart smart c hoices at home, at the grocery, and at your favourite restaurant”

DO: Focus on fruits and vegetables Eat a recommended minimum of 5 servings per day, but vegetables and fruits of all kinds and colours should take centre stage in a heart healthy diet This is because “they are rich in fibre, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that promote a healthy heart and body Additionally, they are filling and low in calories, promoting weight management

DON’T: Do not over indulging in juice and processed fruit snacks The fruit filling in a breakfast pastry is mostly sugar and not a real serving of fruit And while small amounts of 100 per cent fruit juice can fit into a healthy diet, they’re also concentrated sources of sugar (naturally occurring), and calories are moderately high when com pared to whole fruits, which also boast heart healthy fibre while juice does not

Ajay Devgn wishes MIL 'Tanujaji' on birthday

Actor Ajay Devgn wished his mother in law and veteran actor Tanuja on her 79th birthday with a special post Taking to Twitter, Ajay posted a photo of Tanuja smiling while posing for a photo. In the picture, she draped a grey and cream saree along with a yellow blouse.

Alia Bhatt doesn’t read her films’ reviews

Actor Alia Bhatt does not read reviews of her movies, but takes feedback for her every film on what worked and what “could have done better” Speaking in an interview, Alia said she gets feedback from “enough people” when she meets them

In talks with trade analyst Komal Nahta, Alia said, “I don’t read reviews Even when the reviews are good I don’t read them When they are bad I don’t read them I read headlines that people send me sometimes I don’t know from the first film I feel ki general sense mil jata hai ki kya chali kya nhi chali, film chalne k baad (you get a general sense of what worked and what didn't after the film's release) I ask enough people when I meet them in person for feedback It's not like that ki mujhe padhna nahi hai (I don't want to read) (turns away and shields her face) I don't like this sort of dissection on day one or day 10 also of a film ”

She continued, "Karan (Johar) loves reading reviews and he feels sometimes some interesting things come up because again it's an opinion or feedback So as long as you keep your ear close to the ground, you will get that feedback I try and get feedback for every film on what I could have done better and if the film has worked then what has worked If it didn't work, then why not? That I understand ”

On the work front, Alia has several projects in the pipeline including her Hollywood debut ‘Heart of Stone’ The Netflix film also features Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan Alia will also be seen in Karan Johar's next directorial film ‘Rocky aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani’ The film also stars Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan, Shabana Azmi and Ranveer Singh It is slated to hit the theatres in February next year She also has Farhan Akhtar's 'Jee Le Zaraa’ with Priyanka Chopra and Katrina Kaif

He captioned the post, "Birthday (party popper emoji) wishes & Respects to Tanujaji (balloon emoji) Here’s wishing you happiness always (red heart emoji) " Reacting to the post, many fans wished Tanuja on her special occasion A fan commented, "Happy birthday legend " A person also pointed out that Ajay called his mother in law by her name The Twitter user said, Naam se bula rahe hai (He s calling her by her name) Sharing the same photo on his Instagram Stories, Ajay wrote, "Happy Birthday Regards, Ajay Devgn ”

Ajay's wife and actor Kajol also wished her mother with a video and a message on Instagram The clip featured Tanuja over the years, as a child actor till her recent appearance on a reality show The song ‘Raat Akeli Hai Bujh Gaye Diye’ by Asha Bhosle featured as the background music The original song featured Tanuja and Dev Anand in ‘Jewel Thief' (1967) The video ended with the words 'Happy Birthday Ma ' written on it

Sharing the post, Kajol wrote, "She’s completed 70 odd years in the movies and 48 as my mother through this entire journey never once did I feel anything but safe and loved so many trials and yet she discussed everything that makes a life worth living with us From death to compassion to charity to anger bitterness love and forgiveness "

Kajol also added, "Like she says 'if I keep telling u these things then one day they will take root when u need them most “ and I thank u everyday for making me a thinking responsible feeling adult u taught us to soar not by throwing us off the cliff but by flying off it yourself and letting us watch u soar unafraid I will always be ur first lieutenant and commander of ur armies and you will always be my captain and my queen love u to the moon and back mom #tanuja ”

Ayan Mukerji compares Shah Rukh’s ‘Brahmastra’ cameo to Iron Man

In his recent media interaction, filmmaker Ayan Mukerji addressed all fan theories surrounding Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt starrer ‘Brahmastra’ He also opened up about Shah Rukh Khan’s cameo in the movie, which has become one of the highlights of the fantasy drama Shah plays the role of Mohan Bhargav, a scientist who wields the ‘vanarastra’

Comparing Shah Rukh to Iron Man, Ayan said, “if the audience looks closely at the scene featuring the actor in his high tech lab, it will realise that the tone of that scene is different from that of the rest of the film, and a little bit Iron Man like We always thought vanarastra will always exist in the world of science, which is why we have shown him to be a scientist ”

Ayan added, “The tonality of that scene, because it’s a bit of an item sequence at the beginning of part one, is d

‘Brahmastra’ has a romance between Shiva and Isha, it has some sincerity in its tonality But Shah Rukh is kind of a hero, cracking jokes So, I knew that that tonality is different, even when we were shooting it, we were like this

is very exciting We were also having fun while shooting that part as it was very playful ”

Addressing fan calls for a spin off for Shah Rukh’s character, Ayan teased that the spin off might tell the origin story of the scientist He said, “Before the fans were saying it, we were also saying that ourselves When we were shooting the sequence in 2019, we were also saying on sets As we discovered the personality of the scientist, we said, ‘Yaar, we have do stuff We have to do the origin story of the scientist!'”

‘Brahmastra: Part 1 Shiva’ also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna, and Mouni Roy Ayan has plans to make two more films in the franchise There is also a much loved cameo by Deepika Padukone in the film

Actress Neha Dhupia’s recent most project ‘Good Morning’ for Amazon Mini TV, features her in the role of a working mother The Jyoti Kapur Das directorial revolves around a single day in the life of Anagha who deals with challenges at work and home, involving her kids It sparks discussion about the thin line between parents guiding their children and controlling their lives Neha, who has always been vocal about juggling her acting profession while also being a mother to her children Mehr and Guriq, feels the line needs to be defined In a recent interview, she said, “Expectations should be narrowed down to the fact that you cannot have children because you want them to live your dream They are supposed to have their own dreams and be able to live them ”

She adds, “When you are raising your children, giving them a great value system is extremely important and that’s something we are trying to do with Mehr With, of course, one or two tantrums in a week for chocolate but that’s fine Then we have our son Guriq, I hope he learns the same way I may have to, because he is a boy, give a different set of values and a far more larger than life lesson than applying your mind and being all heart ”

Talking about giving second chances in love, Neha said it all comes down to the level of ‘toxic ness ’ she has to deal with “Boohooing, DM ing someone else, redefining infidelity goals like look at me, why would I give you a second chance? She also quickly admitted about such past experiences and added, “Yeah, it happened when I was younger The great thing about being young is you foolishly fall in love sometimes with people very fast or the same person again and again I have been in both situations, and I think I did okay At 38, I met Angad (Bedi) At 38, I got married and had my child ”

fallen in love with the same person again and

I’m not financially independent: Shweta

Bachchan

The eldest child of actors Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, Shweta Bachchan has worked as a model, columnist, author, and businesswoman in her professional career. In a recent podcast, she said she is not financially independent, however, she would like her children Navya Naveli Nanda and Agastya Nanda to choose a different path and ensure financial security.

Anushka shares 'ok ok type' photos, Arjun calls them 'kharaab'

Shweta tied the knot with businessman Nikhil Nanda in 1997, and welcomed daughter Navya the same year, and son Agastya in 2000 While Navya is a budding entrepreneur, Agastya is all set to make his acting debut next year with Netflix film ‘The Archies’ In a discussion in Navya’s debut podcast ‘What The Hell’, Shweta was asked if she made a special effort to explain the importance of financial independence to her daughter while she was growing up

She replied, “Unfortunately, I am not financially independent and I’m not particularly an ambitious person and I make no bones about it But that is not what I would want for my child. When I send my child to school, I am setting her up on a path where I hope that she will do something to support herself, and that’s my only requirement for both my children, Navya and Agastya My requirement for both of them is not even think of starting a family or getting married if you don’t have enough money in the bank to pay rent or have your own place I would like my daughter especially, to have financial security and I think it will give her tremendous confidence if it’s something she’s done on her own rather than using her father’s money ”

In her podcast, Navya talks to her mother Shweta and grandmother Jaya Bachchan about “various things from finance and fame to friendship and family.” A new episode is out every Saturday starting September 24, on IVM Podcasts and other audio streaming platforms

Actor

Anushka Sharma shared her honest opinion on a bunch of new pictures she uploaded on the micro blogging website Instagram. Currently in the UK for her upcoming film ‘Chakda XPress’, she shared her “ok ok” pictures which she otherwise wouldn’t have shared In the pictures, Anushka posed during the golden hour, outside a

sweatshirt with black pants and a pair of boots She also sported

Anushka explained in a long caption why she still wants to put them online for the world to see She wrote, “Ek bhi photo acchi nahin lagi mujhe! Toh Maine socha hamesha acchi photo daalna hai yeh kissne kaha? (I didn’t like even a single picture But, then I thought, who has said that one needs to post good pictures on social media?

“Toh yeh hain Meri ok ok type photos jo main naa daalti lekin apni keemti saans inko kheechne main use kari hai toh post karna toh banta hai Chalo ok bye (So, here are my okayish pictures, which I usually don’t post But I realised I have invested my previous effort to get them clicked, it’s worth a post)” the actor further added Soon after she shared the pictures, several fans and celebrities rushed to the comment section to shower love on her Amongst them was actor Arjun Kapoor who teased her, “Hoodie achi hai (fire emoji) photos toh kharaab hai I agree (Your hoodie is nice, but not your pictures) ”

Anushka was last seen in ‘Zero’, alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif She will be making her comeback after four long years with ‘Chakda Xpress’ Directed by Prosit Roy, it is a biopic on former cricketer Jhulan Goswami It is scheduled to release next year

Vivek Agnihotri on ‘The Kashmir Files’ Oscar snub

Fans and critics alike were vouching for filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri’s ‘The Kashmir Files’ to be India’s pick for the Oscars next year In fact, prior to the Film Federation of India’s (FFI) unanimous choice being announced, reports even suggested a close call between his film and SS Rajamouli’s blockbuster ‘RRR’ Last week, FFI announced the Gujarati film ‘Chhello Show’ as the country’s entry to the Academy Awards 2023 Best International Feature category

Ranbir Kapoor requests fans to watch ‘ V I K R A M V E D H A ’

Vivek Agnihotri sent his good wishes to the whole team of the Pan Nalin directorial He was quoted as saying, “I wish them all the luck for the future run I have nothing to say ” When asked if he plans to take 'The Kashmir Files’ to the Oscars independently, the director shares, “Mujhe inn sab cheezun se farak nahi padta When it comes to the film going to the Oscars independently, it is s o m e t h i n g w h i c h t h e m a k e r s h a v e t o decide” He adds, “Right now, I am doing another film, and I have moved on ”

The director also took to Twitter to e x p r e s s h i s v i e w s , a n d s h a r e a s p e c i a l message for the fans who were rooting for ‘The Kashmir Files’ “A big congratulations t o t h e e n t i r e t e a m o f # L a s t F i l m S h o w (Chhello Show) for being selected as India’s official entry Wishing them the best film award at the #Oscars2023 I thank all the well wishers and especially media which was rooting for #TheKashmirFiles (folded hands emojis),” he wrote

‘The Kashmir Files’ depicts the story of the exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits from the K a s h m i r V a l l e y I t s t a r s A n u p a m K h e r , Mithun Chakraborty, and Darshan Kumar

Ranbir

Kapoor interacted with his fans at a screening of ‘Brahmastra’ on National Cinema Day last week He visited a theatre in Mumbai with director Ayan Mukerji, interacted with fans and spoke to them about his film. He also requested fans to support cinema and endorsed Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan’s upcoming film ‘Vikram Vedha’, which releases soon

Ranbir said to the fans at the screening, "We will make Part 2 and Part 3 of the film (Brahmastra) for you very soon Until then please keep supporting cinema Next week too a very good film is coming Vikram Vedha, support that as well Thank you so much "

R a n b i r a l s o a s k e d t h e a u d i e n c e f o r feedback about the fantasy drama during his speech He asked, "Picture kaisi lagi, thik thaak lagi (How did you like the picture? W a s i t o k a y ) ? a m i d c h e e r s f r o m t h e audience He added, "Many many thanks It's a very historical day for Hindi cinema It's National Cinema Day, and we thank you for supporting the film, for showing it so much love " Mukerji also spoke to the audience,

and the two were elated to know that many of the fans were there to see the film second or third time

The action thriller ‘Vikram Vedha’ is s c h e d

a s

n September 30, and stars Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan apart from Radhika Apte and Rohit Saraf among others The Pushkar Gayathri directorial is the remake of their own 2017 Tamil film of the same name

MON 3 OCT FRI 7 OCT 2022

6:00 Gujarati Wedding in Goa

9:00 SHUBH PRABHAT

9:30 SUR PRABHAT

10:00 DESHI BEATS

16:30 Geeta

17:00 Geeta

17:30 RASOI SHOW (O)

18:00 RASOI SHOW (O)

18:30 SURI (O)

19:00 MARI LADKI RE (O)

19:30 SORATHNI MRS SINGHAM (CURTAIN RAISER RUMZUM NORTA)

20:00 RUMZHUM NORTA 2022

20:30 RUMZHUM NORTA 2022

21:00 RUMZHUM NORTA 2022

21:30 RUMZHUM NORTA 2022

22:00 RUMZHUM NORTA 2022

SATURDAY 8 OCT 2022

6:00 DHOLO MARA MALAK NO

9:00 SHUBH PRABHAT

9:30 SUR PRABHAT

MON 3 OCT FRI

ggarwal resumes work mal Haasan’s ‘Indian 2’

South film actress Kajal

Aggarwal has resumed work on Kamal Haasan’s ‘Indian 2’ She made the announcement on Instagram, by sharing a reel which shows her practising horse riding with a trainer She wore a black t shirt and pink pants with a blue helmet to cover her head

She captioned her post, "Eager and excited, I jumped back into work 4 months post partum! Little did I realise that it would feel like s t a r t i n g f r o m s c r a t c h M y b o d y wasn’t the same as how it used to be Pre baby, I could endure very l o n g w o r k d a y s w i t h t a x i n g amounts of physical activity AND then hit the gym ”

She further added, “Post baby it’s been hard to get back my energy levels Mounting a horse, let alon riding it seemed like a huge task! My body protested with the martial arts training that came so easily to me earlier Our

TV Listing

10:00 DESHI BEATS

16:30 -

17:00 Bhakt Gora Kumbhar

17:30 RASOI SHOW (O)

18:00 RASOI SHOW (O)

18:30 SURI (O)

19:00 JODE REJO RAAJ (O)

19:30 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU (O)

20:00 RASHI RIKSHAWALI (O) 20:30 MOTI BAA NI NANI VAHU (O)

21:00 SORATHNI MRS SINGHAM (O)

21:30 GEETA (O)

22:00 MARI LADKI RE (O)

SUNDAY 9 OCT 2022

7:00 GEETA ®

9:00 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU ® 10:30 SORATHNI MRS SINGHAM ® 12:00 MAHISAGAR NA MOTI 16:30 MARI LADKI RE ®

17:00 RASOI SHOW ®

17:30 RASOI SHOW ®

18:00 RASOI SHOW ®

18:30 RASOI SHOW ®

19:00 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU ®

19:30 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU ®

20:00 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU ®

20:30 RASHI RIKSHAWALI ®

21:00 RASHI RIKSHAWALI ®

21:30 RASHI RIKSHAWALI ®

22:00 MOTI BAA NI NANI VAHU ®

22:00 NAAGIN SEASON 1

SATURDAY 8 OCT 2022

16:30 RASOI SHOW DESI FLAVOURS

17:30 DANCE DEEWANE JUNIORS

19:00 DESI BEAT RESET

19:30 BHAGYA KA LIKHA

OCT 2022

16:30 RASOI SHOW DESI FLAVOURS

17:30 CHHUTA CHHEDA

18:00 SASURAL SIMAR KA

18:30 SHAKTI

19:00 DESI BEATS

19:30 BHAGYA KA LIKHA

20:00 SWARAN GHAR

20:30 KAWACH MAMTA KA

21:00 AJNABI BANE HUMSAFAR

21:30 SASURAL SIMAR KA 2

d i e s c a n c h a n g e / m a y c h a n g e / w i l l ange but our indomitable spirit and rning passion, need not We’ve got to t keep showing up for ourselves and nsistently making each day count It’s all out what we choose to prioritise to cus on and not feel guilty about our oices ”

While announcing her upcoming film ajal wrote, “#Indian2 I’m so glad I’ve m p e d b a c k i n t o t h e d r i l l w i t h y o u oked to learn new skills on the job and u r s u e t h e m a s h o b b i e s a f t e r S o rtunate to be a part of this industry I all home! Grateful for the opportunities o c o n s t a n t l y l e a r n a n d b e c o m e a n pgraded version of myself ” Kajal tied knot with Gautam Kitchlu n a n i n t

n O

b

r 020 The couple welcomed baby boy Neil in April this year She took break rom her work because of pregnancy She has worked in films in multiple languages She was last seen in the Telugu film Acharya alongside Chiranjeevi, Ram Charan, and Pooja Hegde

Learn from mistakes, says Vijay Deverakonda

Actor Vijay Deverakonda shared an Instagram post recently, saying that a person should “learn from mistakes”. Taking to the social media website, he posted a video in which he is performing stunts including jumping over, backflips, side flips, and even falls He also wrote that he misses his stunt training sessions

Sharing the video, Vijay c tioned the post, "Miss stunt training w i t h @ a n d y l o n g n g u y e n a n d h i s b o y s @ a n d y l o n g s t u n t t e a m W o r k h a r d , P u s h yourself, learn new skills, Learn from mis takes, enjoy success, live the life you want

In the comments section, several fans wrote that Vijay deserves more success for the hard work he puts in A comment read, “You are so hardworking You deserve more success ”

fails

Vijay was last seen playing the ole of an MMA fighter in Puri Jagannadh’s ‘Liger’ The film also features Ananya Panday, Ramya Krishnan and Ronit Roy Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar came on board to present the film in Hindi Vijay’s Bollywood debut, it bombed at the box office It as promoted aggressively as a Indian film, especially after Karan came on board to release the Hindi version

However, the film opened to a largely middling response from the audiences with most calling the film ‘formulaic’ and ‘wasted opportunity’ for Vijay who spent three years on the project Despite registering an open ing of £2 5 million on its first day worldwide, Liger crashed at the box office and went without a trace

Rajamouli signs with Hollywood agency CAA

20:00 COMEDY NIGHTS WITH KAPIL

21:30 SASURAL SIMAR KA 2

22:00 VISH YA AMRIT SITAARA

SUNDAY 9 OCT 2022

16:30 RASOI SHOW DESI FLAVOURS

17:30 DANCE DEEWANE JUNIORS

19:00 THE ANUPAM KHER SHOW

20:00 COMEDY NIGHTS WITH KAPIL

22:00 VISH YA AMRIT SITAARA

Filmmaker

SS Rajamouli has been signed by Hollywood’s much touted talent agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) just days after his magnum opus ‘RRR’ was snubbed as India’s Oscar entry ‘RRR’, which grossed over £100 million worldwide during its theatrical run, was massively celebrated for its breathtaking action set pieces and visual effects It also found much praises from the West as well after it was released on Netflix. The film was considered the frontrunner for India’s official entry to the Oscars, however, the Gujarati film ‘Chhello Show’ was sent in the category

E a r l i e r t h

s w

k , w

t

n

s announced that ‘RRR’ is not India’s official pick for Oscars, it upset the film's team as well as its fans, who took to social media to express their disappointment After the Film Federation of India (FFI) selected Chhello Show to represent India, ‘RRR's US distribu tor Variance Films requested the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to consid er the film 'in all categories’

‘Don’t Look Up’ director Adam McKay

also reacted to RRR not making the cut for India’s official Oscar entry In a tweet, the filmmaker pledged support to RRR to get it nominated in the Best Pictures category at the Academy Awards He wrote, "This is a travesty But let’s make sure it gets a best pic ture nom Can we do a screening at the Rose Bowl? (How amazing would that be?)

#RRR ”

The movie is a fictional story set in the 1920s pre independence era and is based on the lives of two real life heroes and well known revolutionaries Alluri Sitarama

R

Charan played Ram, Jr NTR aka Tarak was seen as Bheem

‘Heart of Stone’ first look released; Alia performs deadly stunts

Fawad Khan hospitalised when tried to bulk up like Aamir Khan

Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, who is all set to play a fierce prizefighter in his upcoming film

‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’, had a strict fitness regime as the movie required him to put on several kilos and bulk up Weighing around 73 75 kg, Khan went up to 100 kg for the character Khan said he took inspiration from Bollywood’s Aamir Khan and Christian Bale to transform himself into a fighter, however, regrets the way he did it as it landed him in a hospital

The first look at Netflix’s upcoming action thriller

‘Heart of Stone’ was unveiled by the streaming platform over the weekend, and to say our heart is racing would be an understatement The movie stars Hollywood’s finest Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan and marks Bollywood star Alia Bhatt’s western debut The short clip features the first footage from the film as well as several behind the scenes glimpses of the high octane action sequences.

The video was revealed at Tudum: A Netflix Global Fan Event on the streaming giant’s YouTube channel T

releases of over 120 titles on the platform from around the world Amid montages of bleak neighbourhoods, the video gives a first look at Gal Gadot as Rachel Stone, as well as a glimpse of Jamie Dornan and our girl Alia followed by several shots of breakneck action sequences

Alia appears in some BTS footage in the video, where she says, “It has these characters that you connect with and feel for ” The video also reveals that her character in the film is called Keya Dhawan, but does not reveal more details about her

Alia shot several action sequences for the film while heavily pregnant Some pictures of the actor shooting scenes with her baby bump visible surfaced on the internet earlier this year In an interview with Variety, Alia said, “It was my first Hollywood big English picture experience and I had quite a task at hand because I was shooting for the first time an action movie But I’m also pregnant so there were so many layers for me to deal with But they made it so seamless and so easy and so comfortable for me It’s something that I will never forget because of how beautifully and how well I was treated ”

D i r e c t e d b y T o m H a r p e r , ‘ H e a r t o f S t o n e ’ i s planned to be the beginning of a franchise similar to Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible Apart from Gal, Jamie, and Alia, the film also stars Sophie Okonedo, Matthias Schweighöfer, Jing Lusi, and Paul Ready The film will release on Netflix next year

Nothing can be worse: Gauri Khan on son Aryan’s arrest

Interior designer and Shah Rukh Khan’s wife Gauri Khan made a comeback to the Koffee couch after 17 years. One of the three guests on the 12th episode of the seventh season of hit chat show ‘Coffee With Karan’, hosted by Karan Johar, she was joined by her friends Maheep Kapoor and Bhavana Pandey

D u r i n g t h e e p i s o d e , Karan asked Gauri about life as an entrepreneur, as Shah’s w i f e , a n d a l s o t h e r e c e n t arrest and subsequent bail of their son Aryan Khan in last year ’ s drugs on cruise case Aryan Khan was arrested by the Mumbai Police under suspicion of carrying d r u g s a b o a r d a c r u i s e s h i p i n Mumbai He spent a few weeks in jail and was finally released on bail amid a lack of evidence against him

Karan asked Gauri about the time and how Shah Rukh and the family dealt with it He asked especially since it’s been such a t o u g h t i m e f o r h i m n o t j u s t professionally but recently with e v e r y t h i n g t h e f a m i l y w e n t through personally You all have emerged so strongly As a family I know it hasn't been easy I know you as a mother and him as a f a t h e r , a n d a l l o f u s l i k e w e ' r e members of the same family I feel

like I'm your children's godparent as well It hasn't been easy but Gauri I've seen you come out even stronger What do you have to say about your own way of handling t o u g h t i m e s , w h e n f a m i l i e s g o through something like that?”

Gauri replied, “Yes, as a family, w e ' v e b e e n t h r o u g h I t h i n k nothing can be worse than what we've just been through, obviously, as a mother, as a parent But today where we stand as a family, I can say that we are in a great space where we feel loved by everyone And all our friends, and so many people who we did not know So many messages and so much of love and I just feel blessed And I would say I'm grateful to all the p e o p l e w h o h a v e h e l p e d u s through this ”

Aryan is the eldest of Shah Rukh and Gauri's kids They also have a daughter Suhana and a son named AbRam

A a m i r K h a n h a d gone through a major physical transformation f o r h i s 2 0 0 8 f i l m

'Ghajini’ which featured h i m w i t h e i g h t p a c k a b s T h e a c t o r h a d taken 13 months to bulk his body up for the film He also transformed his b o d y f o r ‘ D a n g a l ’ , i n w h i c h h e h a d t o p l a y w i t h a middle aged with a growing belly in some parts but as a fit wrestler i n o t h e r s C h r i s t i a n B a l e i s p a r t i c u l a r l y k n o w n f o r h i s physical transformations for his roles, and has undergone extreme transformations multiple times

F a w a d , w h o d i d n o t h a v e enough time to prepare himself for the role, pushed himself too much to get the body he wanted but ended up being hospitalised In a recent interview, the actor said, “It is not the best thing I did to myself I would never do that a g a i n I j u s t m a d e s o m e q u e s t i o n a b l e c h o i c e s , w h i c h negatively affected me There is a dark underbelly to all of these p h y s i c a l t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s a n d people should know that when you make these decisions, it is taking a huge toll on your health And it happened Ten days into it, I was hospitalised My kidneys

F a w a d r e v e a l e d t h a t t h e p r o c e s s affected his physical health quite badly as he is also diabetic, a n d i t t o o k h i m t h r e e m o n t h s t o recover He said, "I w a s p u t t i n g i n i n s a n e h o u r s I t ’ s not the right way to d o t h e s e t h i n g s because the thing is I had limited time I had 1 1 5 m o n t h s D u e t o w h a t e v e r circumstances, it happened the way it happened I am a bit insane in that way I am not Christian Bale but I tried to do what he does, even Aamir Khan for that matter If I had 6 months, maybe Maula Jatt would have looked very d i f f e r e n t I t i s n o t a t r a n s f o r m a t i o n t h a t I w o u l d encourage for anyone Absolutely never ”

Fawad reunites with Mahira Khan in ‘The Legend of Maula J a t t ’ T h e t w o h a v e p r e v i o u s l y worked in films like ‘Parey Hut Love’ and ‘Ho Mann Jahaan’ and the TV series ‘Humsafar’ ‘The L e g e n d o f M a u l a J a t t ’ , i s a P u n j a b i l a n g u a g e f i l m , a n d h a s b e e n d e s c r i b e d a s t h e m o s t expensive Pakistani film to date It releases in theatres on October 22

Objections against FFI’s official Oscars entry ‘Chhello Show’

The Film Federation of India (FFI) has reacted to numerous objections about its decision to send Pan Nalin’s Gujarati film ‘Chhello Show’ as India’s official entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 95th Academy Awards The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) has gone ahead to claim that ‘Chhello Show’ is not even an Indian film, suggesting that it could be a copy of the Oscar winning 1998 Italian film ‘Cinema Paradiso’.

F W I C E h a s c l a i m e d t h a t t h e regional movie, released in English as ‘ L a s t F i l m S h o w ’ i s p r i m a r i l y produced by foreign studios and its major producer Orange Studios is also a foreign studio

I n r e s p o n s e , F i l m F e d e r a t i o n o f I n d i a ( F F I ) president TP Aggarwal expressed confidence in its jury's decision to select ‘Chhello Show’ as India's o f f i c i a l e n t r y t o t h e O s c a r s i n s t e a d o f p o p u l a r c o n t e n d e r s l i k e ‘ R R R ’ a n d ‘ T h e K a s h m i r F i l e s ’

Reacting to claims about it being a copy of ‘Cinema Paradiso’, the FFI president said, "No, I had asked the jury members, they’ve seen the picture so many times and they said no (it is not a copy) Not a single scene is similar in the film It can be inspired by that, but it is not a copy ”

A l s o , w h e n a s k e d w h y t h e f i l m i s b e i n g considered Indian when it has been produced by international studios, TP Aggarwal said, "I cannot say anything about that, I am not sure about it ”

FWICE has also said that the film was released in 2021 and cannot qualify for the 2022 Oscars, but the F F I p r e s i d e n t c l a r i f i e d t h e y h a d a l r e a d y t a k e n permission from the Academy for the same ‘Chhello Show’ follows a nine year old boy in Gujarat as he falls in love with cinema for life The story is based in S a u r a s h t r a i n G u j a r a t a n d i s s a i d t o b e s e m i autobiographical, as Pan Nalin was also born and brought up in Saurashtra

shut down ”

in briefIndian women beat England, give perfect farewell to Jhulan

INDIA GO 7 POINTS CLEAR OF ENGLAND AT TOP

Women bea

Engl and by 16

in the third and final ODI to

ecord the

his country

chieved

first

the

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of Cricket

Sent into bat, India were all out for a paltry 169, and at that point it looked like the tourists may have fallen many runs short

legendary seamer, who is calling

backing up Dean, who nearly pulled off a stunning win for the hosts after they were reeling at 65 for seven and then 103 for eight, was out of her ground and Deepti Sharma simply held the ball to r e m o v e t h e b a i l s , l e a v i n g t h e

The changes would come into effect from October 1 On expected lines, the day r e v o l v e d a r o u n d t h e 3 9 y e a r o l d w a r h o r s e J h u l a n Goswami, who is leaving the scene as women's cricket's h i g h e s t w i c k e t t a k e r , having started her journey way back in 2002

seen the game evolve during her long journey that was marked w i t h s o m e u n f o r g e t t a b l e m o m e n t s a n d f e w u n p l e a s a n t days While she was not expected to be at her peak in her final series, Jhulan did enough on her own to go out on a high, having bowled tidily in her last three international matches

out

incredible service to the game However, the Indians managed to eke out a win as Charlotte Dean (47) was adjudged

English flabbergasted R e c e n t l y , I C C w h i l e modifying the playing conditions had moved this kind of dismissal from ‘unfair play' to 'run out’

Harmanpreet Kaur, who let Jhulan call the toss in a touching gesture, was unable to hold back her tears, even as the Cricket A s s o c i a t i o n o f B e n g a l ( C A B ) planned to name a stand at the E d e n g a r d e n s a f t e r t h e ‘Chakdaha Express’ She finished with excellent figures of 2/30 in h e r f u l l q u o t a o f 1 0 o v e r s , including three maiden overs

The competitive Indian has

India beat Australia, clinch series 2-1

India beat Australia by six wickets in th e thi rd and final T20I to clinch the three m at c h s e ri es 2 1 at H yd er ab ad l as t week

The Indians didn’t get the start they wanted as KL Rahul (1) and skipper Rohit Sharma (12) fell with just 30 on

challenge as they slowly clawed their way back Kohli did the bulk of the s

joined the party

The Australians, who till that time looked on top, began to wilt under pressure After 10 overs, the Indians were 91 for two f

Suryakumar warmed up, Kohli played the second fiddle The Indians opened up after the seventh over as runs came in a steady flow Suryakumar raced to his half century off 29 balls with four fours and three sixes When he departed in the 14th over, he had got himself 69 off 36 balls with five fours and an equal number over the fence Kohli went on to complete his half century off 37 balls with three fours and three sixes

Earlier, the Australians were off to a blazing start with Cameron Green hitting a swashbuckling 21 ball 52 with seven fours and three sixes as the visitors got 66 in the p

Australians lost their way as the Indians clawed back From a strong 62 for two, the

T

She was lucky to have got her first wicket of the day with a short one, her second scalp came w h e n t h e p a c e r b o w l e d K a t e C r o s s w i t h h e r b a l l n u m b e r 10,001 in ODIs, again something w h i c h n o o t h e r p l a y e r h a s achieved

Brief score: India 169 (Deepti Sharma 68 not out; Kate Cross 4 26) vs England 153 (Charlie Dean 47; Renuka Singh 4 29)

Mandana in carer-best 2nd position in T20Is

India went seven points clear of England at the top of the ICC T20 rankings following their series win over Australia The six wicket win on Sunday improved their ranking by one point to 268, a seven point lead over closest placed England The upcoming three match series against South Africa will give India a chance to consolidate their lead at the top ahead of the World Cup The Proteas occupy third place with 258 points Incidentally it was Pakistan s narrow three run win over England in the game in Karachi on Sunday that helped India increase their lead That series remains tied at two games apiece, with plenty of rankings points still to play for during the final three matches Pakistan are currently tied with South Africa for third place on the team rankings with 258 points, but could rise as high as second by winning the remaining three matches against England

PAKISTAN BEAT ENGLAND

IN A THRILLER

Pakistan defeated England by three runs in the fourth ODI in Karachi on Sunday Chasing 167, England were all out for 163 in 19 2 overs

Earlier, in form opener Mohammad Rizwan struck 88 to help Pakistan to 166 4 Rizwan's 67 ball knock had nine fours and a six after Pakistan were sent in to bat by England Asif Ali smashed two sixes in the final over to give the total some respectability for Pakistan

SUNIL CHHETRI TO LEAD

INDIA’S 23 MEMBER SQUAD

visitors collapsed to 84 for four in the 10th over At the half way mark, they were 86 adding just 24 in the last six overs

Glenn Maxwell (6) didn’t last long as he was run out by Axar Patel when trying to steal a second Steve Smith (8) too failed to contribute much as he was stumped by Dinesh Karthik off Yuzvendra Chahal

Josh Inglis (24) and Tim David repaired the damage with a 31 run stand for the fifth wicket before Patel struck twice in his last over to put the Indians on top again It was left to David and Daniel Sams to take the visitors to a respectable total David raced to a 27 ball 54 with two fours and four sixes, while Sams remained unbeaten on 28 off 20 balls India’s death overs woes continued as Bhuvneshwar Kumar conceded 21 in the 18th over, Jasprit Bumrah 18 If not for Harshal Patel’s stingy last over in which he gave only seven runs, the Australians would have got more on the board

BCCI plans women's

team

its first clean sweep in the ODI series

England since 1999

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they outplayed the

The BCCI

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an email “ T h e B C C I

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women ’ s IPL We are expecting to start the first season early next year More details will follow in due course, ” Ganguly wrote in his email

Star India opener Smri ti Mandhana achi eved a career best wo rld No 2 rank in T 20Is and cli mbed to the seventh spot i n ODIs i n the latest I CC Women’s Player R ankings, rid ing on her stupend ous sho w agai ns t England The left h anded batter had aggregated 111 runs in the three match T20I series agai ns t England The perf ormance helped her jump two places Mandhana, a former top ranked batter in ODIs, also moved up three slots after a match winning 91 in the first ODI against England Among other Indians, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has zoomed four spots to ninth place in ODIs, all rounder Deepti Sharma gained one place to reach 32nd position and wicketkeeper Yastika Bhatia jumped eight places to 37th Deepti also climbed six places to 12th in bowlers’ list In the T20I rankings, Kaur (up one place to 14th among batters) and bowler Renuka Singh (up three places to 10th among bowlers) made notable gains

from next year

home international season starts and we have exciting cricketing action coming our way The Indian men ’ s senior team will be playing against Australia,South Africa, Sri L a n k a a n d N e w Z e a l a n d i n t h e h o m e international series The Indian women ’ s s e n i o r t e a m w i l l b e p l a y i n g a g a i n s t Australia,” Ganguly wrote

Sunil Chhetri will lead India’s 23 man squad for the Hung Thinh Friendly Football Tournament against Vietnam and Singapore This will be the men’s team’s first international tournament since Fifa lifted their brief suspension on the All India Football Federation The matches were earlier put in doubt While Rahul Bheke Suresh Singh Glan Martins and Rahim Ali have not been selected after reportedly picking up injuries, coach Igor Stimac has left out defenders Pritam Kotal, Subhasish Bose and forward Manvir Singh for the friendlies A list of 24 probables were named earlier In an interview to AIFF he said the door is not closed for any one from the list of 40 players he has to choose from “Nobody has been excluded My actual list contains of 40 players and it is just because to the situation of the tournament that I can only choose 23 of them My technical staff and I felt that this set of players were the best suited and most compatible for the two upcoming matches,” the 55 year old said “This is how we learn more about the players Of course I had meetings with all my players before this I had communicated to them as to why we are going with this current list Everyone who is not on the list knows why [they] aren t on it But everyone is preparing for March

MARTIN GUPTILL SET TO PLAY 7TH T20 WORLD CUP

B e s i d e s l a u n c

n g t h e

n a u g u r a l women ’ s IPL, the BCCI will also start an under 15 tournament for girls “We are glad to introduce a girls’ u 15 tournament from t h i s s e a s o n W o m e n ’ s c r i c k e t h a s s e e n phenomenal growth across the world and our national team has been performing well This new tournament will create a pathway for our girls to play at the international level,” Ganguly wrote With Covid 19 having

subsided, IPL 2023 will revert to the home and away format, the former India captain informed “The next season of men ’ s IPL will also go back to the home and away format with all the 10 teams playing their home m a t c h e s a t t h e i r d e s i g n a t e d v e n u e s , ”

Ganguly mentioned Ind ia to host NZ, SL in busy h ome season

Post the T20 World Cup, the Indian men ’ s team will play New Zealand and Sri Lanka at home, while the Indian women ’ s team will take on Australia on home turf, Ganguly informed state units “The BCCI’s

Giving out a “snapshot” of the upcoming domestic season, Ganguly wrote: “All multi d a y t o u r n a m e n t s a r e g o i n g b a c k t o t h e traditional home away format All the white ball tournaments will, in the group stage, be followed by the knockouts The upcoming domestic season will feature two editions of the Irani Cup Saurashtra, who were the Ranji Trophy champions for the 2019 20 season will take on the Rest of India team at R a j

P

Batting stalwart Martin Guptill is set to play a record seventh T20 World Cup as New Zealand named a 15 member squad, led by Kane Williamson, for the ICC showpiece beginning in Australia on October 16 The 35 year old batter found a place in the team, even as the Black Caps made three changes to the squad that featured in the final of the T20 World Cup last year Finn Allen and Michael Bracewell will e representing in their first senior World Cup and the duo along with Lockie Ferguson will replace Kyle Jamieson, Todd Astle and Tim Seifert respectively who were part of the last T20 World Cup squad Two players who recently declined a central contract Trent Boult and Jimmy Neesham also featured in the squad

a n

Trophy championship in the 2021

season, b

participate in their first ever Irani Cup, to be played from 1 5 March, 2023 at Indore

Smriti Mandhana