AV 12th November 2022

FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE

COP27: Sunak says, no long-term prosperity without action on climate change

R

SEE PAGE 02

Lorna’s undying passion for cooking won her fame, name and fans!

Navigating the intersections of our macro and micro-histories

Gujarat to witness 3-way fight in assembly poll after 27 years

IMMIGRANTS MAKE

BRITAIN GREAT Chrispictures_Shutterstock -

SEE PAGE 28

VOL 51 - ISSUE 27

SEE PAGE 25

SEE PAGE 23

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

SEE PAGE 15

SEE PAGE 14

12 - 18 NOVEMBER 2022

Alia -Ranbir announce birth of a baby girl

SC upholds 10% quota for economically weaker sections

Buckingham Palace witnesses history

Shefali Saxena

Britain has been home to immigrants and refugees. It has housed people from all over the world in times of crisis. 50 years ago, one such exodus in Uganda ended up making Britain their safe home for thousands of families for life.

Continued on page 16

His Majesty King Charles III with Lord Jitesh Gadhia at Buckingham Palace

His Majesty King Charles III joined 450 guests at Buckingham Palace to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the arrival of British-Asians from Uganda to the United Kingdom at an event at Buckingham Palace.

Continued on page 17

02

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

12 - 18 November 2022

with Keith Vaz

JEMIT PARIKH Public Policy Consultant Having recently completed his MSc in Politics and Communications from the London School of Economics and Political Science, Jemit Parikh is currently working for a UK-based Think Tank. Originally from Vadodara, Gujarat (India), he completed his graduation in Political Science and Conflict Studies from Delhi University and then went on to work as a political consultant and election strategist for over two years in West Bengal.

Jemit is passionate about politics, campaigns and public policy and enjoys meeting and interacting with new people and contexts.

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

As someone who has lived in 4 cities in the last 5 years, I tend to feel at home in most places very easily. The indication of being at home usually for me in any city is the ability to move around with confidence and comfort without Google Maps. Most at home, however, will always be my hometown of Vadodara in India.

2) What are your proudest achievements?

Being a part of projects/campaigns right from the age of 15, that had a direct impact on the lives of real people.

A project I managed with Enactus Ramjas in healthcare actually made people independent entrepreneurs. Leading the Didi Ke Bolo telephonic outreach campaign in West Bengal actually helped people get timely medical assistance. Small

instances within the larger scheme of things in life that change people’s lives actually make me proud.

3) What inspires you?

The desire to make my family, friends and country proud with every little effort I make. This is a constant motivation that inspires me to improve everyday.

4) What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

There is no one thing that I see as an obstacle. It is like an evolving process where you face obstacles and challenges time and again, and overcome them. So while I’m still trying and working everyday, I feel like it isn’t fair to call anything the biggest obstacle 5) Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date?

My parents. Even though they never asked me that I should become this or that, their support and the autonomy they gave me to make every decision in my life, actually helped me with my career.

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

The fluid nature of my work. There are days when one minute I am writing a keynote speech and others when I am help-

ing direct a mass campaign. I’ve always been a believer in the synthesis of diverse things and I feel that this role gives me the most diverse experiences that actually make every day an adventure.

7) And the worst?

The fluid nature means you can’t plan things in advance outside of work. The time you want for yourself might sometimes become difficult to get.

8) What are your long-term goals?

Being able to work in high-impact positions where my work shapes lives of individuals for the better.

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

Not sure if a Prime Minster can change this, but they can definitely lead by example. A problem I would like to solve about modern politics is the hero-worship and pedestrianisation of politicians. Taking people on a demigod status makes them unaccountable, something that is always a problem in the long run.

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

With the Wright Brothers probably, so we can build an aircraft and escape!

COP27: Sunak says, no long-term prosperity without action on climate change Prime Minister Rishi Sunak retracted his decision of not attending the COP27 climate summit in Egypt shortly after Boris Johnson confirmed that he would be going.

Last week his official spokesperson claimed that he would be skipping the event due to “other pressing domestic commitments, not least preparations for the autumn Budget”.

Sunak confirmed his decision of attending the event on Twitter.

“There is no long-term prosperity without action on climate change. There is no energy security without investing in renewables,” he said.

“That is why I will attend [COP27] next week: to deliver on Glasgow's legacy of building a secure and sustainable future.”

The King hosts discussion ahead of COP27 King Charles III hosted a reception to discuss tackling climate change, as global leaders prepare for the UN climate summit COP27.

About 200 politicians and campaigners met at Buckingham Palace, including PM Rishi Sunak, US climate envoy John Kerry and COP President Alok Sharma.

The King is internationally known for his climate work

but it was agreed he would not go to COP27.

The UN conference is being held at Sharm elSheikh, Egypt.

Mr Sunak told the meeting that the UK's global leadership on climate change will continue after its COP presidency ends this week.

The UK hosted COP26 in Glasgow last year. "Every moment that we allow climate change to ravage our planet we will see more human suffering," he said. "If we do not act today we will risk leaving an ever more desperate inheritance for our children tomorrow."

The prime minister paid tribute to King Charles's work on climate, saying he had worked for 50 years to find solutions, long before the first UN COP meeting.

World Leaders Launch Forests and Climate Leaders’ Partnership at COP27 On November 7, at the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Summit at COP27, 26 countries and the EU announced a commitment to join the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership to scale up action to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 while delivering sustainable development

FINANCIAL A SERVICES MORTGAGES Residential Buy to Let Remortgages

PROTECTION Life Insurance Critical Illness Income Protection

Please conta act:

Dinesh S Shonchhatra Mortgage Ad dviser

Call: 020 8424 C 4 8686 / 07956 810647 77 High Street, Wealdston ne, Harrow, HA3 5DQ mortgage@majorestate.co om ~ majorestate.com

and promoting an inclusive rural transformation.

These actions are fundamental to adapting to climate change and have the potential to deliver up to 30% of the emissions reductions needed to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, while securing global biodiversity, economic prosperity and food supplies.

The launch of the Forests and Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP) follows from the package of announcements at COP26 in Glasgow last year, where over 140 world leaders, representing over 90% of the world’s forests, committed to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 while delivering sustainable development and promoting an inclusive rural transformation.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said, “For too long the world’s forests have been undervalued and underestimated. They are one of the great natural wonders of our world, and with the loss of our forests accounting for more than 10% of global emissions, protecting them is one of the best ways of getting us back on track to 1.5 degrees.

“That’s why the UK put nature at the heart of COP26, and countries home to 90 per cent of the world’s forests committed not just to halting but reversing forest loss and land degradation

by 2030.

“Let’s build on what we have achieved and together secure this incredible legacy for our children and the many generations to come.”

The Prime Minister raised the case of Alaa Abd el-Fattah, stressing the UK Government’s deep concern on this issue. The Prime Minister said he hoped to see this resolved as soon as possible and would continue to press for progress.

Sunak meets Macron The Prime Minister met France’s President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of COP27 in Egypt.

The leaders welcomed the opportunity to meet in person at COP27 and agreed on the importance of continuing to drive climate action forward. They noted opportunities for the UK and France to collaborate further on the transition to clean energy, including on civil nuclear power.

The Prime Minister and President Macron spoke about the ongoing challenge of illegal migration, stressing the urgency of cracking down on criminal smuggling gangs. They committed to continue working together with partners to address the issues in the Channel.

The leaders also discussed the ongoing Russian attacks on Ukraine and the continued importance of maintaining military and economic support for the

defence of Ukraine.

They looked forward to working closely together as allies and neighbours to strengthen bilateral ties and address global challenges.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday made a dramatic exit from an ongoing session of the COP27 summit by his aides. leaving people confused as to what had happened. A video of the incident was shared by director of UKbased website Carbon Brief - Leo Hickman. “UK prime minister Rishi Sunak has just been rushed out of the room by his aides during the middle of the launch for forests partnership at COP27,” he tweeted. An aide had come onto the stage, according to Hickman, and whispered in Sunak's ear “for more than a minute”, what seemed like a discussion of whether he should be leaving at the moment. At first, the UK Prime Minister did not leave the stage but when another aide came up to him to persuade again, he got out of the chair and left the room. Harry Cole, political editor at The Sun, later shared the video on his Twitter handle and said the Downing Street sources told him that it was “no biggie”, just a late decision.

“Downing Street sources insist this was no biggie but a late decision to meet with Germans and South Africans.

Despite the imagery...,” Cole said. There was no official statement from Downing Street on the video.

Foreign Secretary at COP27 pledges new support for developing countries to deal with climate change Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: “The Glasgow Climate Pact gave the world the tools to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees and build a secure and sustainable future.

Now is the time for all countries to step up their action on climate change and deliver the tangible change needed.

The UK will continue to play a leading role in this mission. The funding we have announced will support countries which are facing the devastating impact of climate change, to adapt effectively.”

The Foreign Secretary announced that the UK will provide £20.7 million in Disaster Risk Financing to support countries which face climate-related disasters, helping them to afford insurance and to access reliable funding, more quickly, after a disaster.

Sharma warns on fossil fuels as Sunak performs COP27 U-turn Britain’s climate representative Alok Sharma has questioned whether the government’s pledge to boost North Sea fossil fuel production is in line with hitting its 2050 target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions.

The warning from the president of last year’s COP26 international climate summit in Glasgow, came as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed he would be attending COP27 conference in Egypt in a sharp reversal of intention.

In a tweet, Sunak said he believed there was “no longterm prosperity without action on climate change”.

Initially, he said he would not have time to fly to the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh owing to domestic priorities, including the key Autumn Statement in midNovember.

Sharma told the Financial Times that he was delighted that Sunak would be attending the conference. “It will be an opportunity to reinforce the UK’s commitment to international and domestic climate leadership,” he said.

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

03

www.asian-voice.com

12 - 18 November 2022

We must acknowledge that immigrants are the backbone of our British society Last Wednesday Buckingham palace premises saw history in the making. It was full of Asians, mostly Indians, awaiting the commemoration ceremony of 50 years of the arrival of Ugandan Asians (see p1). Wearing sarees, and wrapped in shawls, women of all ages walked up to the reception hall, where under His Majesty the King’s invitation the British Asian Trust celebrated the golden jubilee of the historic arrival.

In the audience were many Asians who made significant contributions to the political and public life such as Lord Jitesh Gadhia, former Home Secretary Priti Patel MP, Shailesh Vara MP, Indian High Commissioner HE Vikram Doraiswami, Bangladeshi High Commissioner HE Saida Muna Tasneem, Navin Shah, Cllr Ameet Jogia, Nehru Centre Director Amish Tripathi, Subhash Thakrar, Vijay Goel, Surinder Arora, Baroness Usha Prashar, Nitin Mehta, Anuj Chande, Lord Rum Verjee, Lord and Lady Dolar Popat, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Baroness Shriti Vadera, were among a few.

Common people in the audience shared their experiences with each other, of lives lived, of lives lost and of friends left behind. A lady pointed at the booklet kept on the chair to refer to, talking about her wedding that was fixed on 5 August 1972, which had to be called off. They talked about the fear of landing up in camps, queueing to get money, and the desperation to leave behind what was once theirs. Some recalled how they opened up their homes to the Asians arriving, how women pawned their jewellery to start lives in Britain, working in factories and shopssomething they had never done while living in East Africa. The stories kept flowing and every story had a lesson.

Suella Braverman’s radical immigration plans and deportation of immigrants to Rwanda should consider what Britain is without its immigrants.

First, we would not have a Prime Minister, who after the colossal failure of his party members, took up the monumental task to run this country and stabilise the economic issues Britain faces.

Second, NHS even during its 73rd birthday celebrations talked about the great contributions of migrants. During the pandemic, the number of immigrants who lost their lives showed their dedication and commitment to their job. Without them, the NHS cannot survive! And with the staff crisis, it’s proof of how much immigration means to the world’s best health system!

As of March 2019, over 1.2 million people were employed by the NHS. Out of that, whose ethnicity was known, 4 out of 5 (79.2%) were White (including White ethnic minorities), and 1 in 5 (20.7%) were from all other ethnic groups. There was a higher percentage of staff in medical roles (working as doctors in hospitals and community health services) from the Asian, Chinese, Mixed and Other ethnic groups than in non-medical roles.

Among the non-medical workforce, staff from the Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups made up a smaller number of those at senior grades (bands 8a to 9) and the ‘very senior manager’ grade than at the support (bands 1 to 4) and middle grades

(bands 5 to 7). A higher percentage of junior doctors were from the Black, Chinese, Mixed and Other groups than senior doctors Third, Britain’s national food includes curry. A good vindaloo or tikka masala came from the Indian community and now Indian restaurants and Bangladeshi curry houses are thriving. According to Patak's, 58% of the UK population eats in Indian restaurants. Indian restaurants have only grown in number across the UK, with more than 12,000 curry houses doing business across the country, compared to 1,200 in 1970. Indian food is now among the most popular cuisines across the UK; you will find that there are more Indian restaurants in England than there are fast food establishments. In fact, chicken tikka masala, a popular British Indian curry has been reportedly added as a national dish of the UK. Fourth, let us look at the pharma industry. According to pharmacyregulation.org, pharmacists from Asian backgrounds now represent over a quarter of pharmacists (27%), with pharmacists from black, Chinese, and other minority ethnic communities representing a further 12%. This represents the percentage of pharmacists for whom information on ethnic groups is available.

The City is now much more diverse and a lot is being done to tackle racism.

Let’s look at politics. The Prime Minister is of Indian origin.

The Home Secretary too. The Mayor of London is of Pakistani heritage. Cop27 is led by an Indian-origin President. While the representation should increase further, in 2021, over a fifth (21%) of the cabinet was of ethnic origin, compared to 11% as an overall proportion of England and Wales, and only 4% in Scotland.

South Asians make up the highest number of ethnic minority councillors at around 5%, while only 1% of local councillors in the UK are of Black background. There are fewer than 1% of councillors of other ethnic backgrounds. Though this representation needs to increase to level up inequalities, the contributions cannot be overlooked.

The uniformed services, though much has to be done to eradicate racism, at the end of March 2020, 92.7% of police officers were White and 7.3% were from Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic backgrounds. 4.3% of senior officers were from the Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups combined, compared with 2.8% in 2007. Between 2007 and 2020, the percentage of police officers from every ethnic minority group went up – the biggest increase was for Asian police officers (from 1.5 to 3.1%) and at the time of the 2011 Census, 86.0% of people in England and Wales were White and 14.0% were from other ethnic groups.

Britain, despite all the tall claims, is nothing minus its immigrants. While the hostility towards immigrants has been a political mandate on the basis of which Tories won elections and Brexit, it is very much evident how much the immigrants contribute to every fabric of this society. The belief that mass immigration is wrong for Britain and that a closed border is just the answer to this is not true as history proves it for Britain.

The growth story of Gujarat Gujarat is one of the leading industrialised states in India. At current prices, Gujarat’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is estimated at $ 288.73 billion) in FY23, an increase of 13.3% YoY. There are 13 major industry groups that together account for around 82.05% of total factories, 95.85% of total fixed capital investment, 90.09% of the value of output and 93.21% of value addition in Gujarat's industrial economy. Total exports from the state stood at $ 63,440 million in FY20, $ 60,587 million in FY21 and $ 101,200 million in FY22 (until January 2022). Gujarat is a leader in industrial sectors such as chemicals, petrochemicals, dairy, drugs and pharmaceuticals, cement and ceramics, gems and jewellery, textiles and engineering. The industrial sector comprises over 800 large industries and 453,339 micro, small and medium enterprises. Gujarat has over 3,300 pharmaceutical manufacturing units, which contributed 30-35% to India’s pharma sector’s turnover and around 28% to India’s pharma export during 2018-19. Export of drug formulations from Gujarat reached $ 3,719.97 million in FY21 and $ 2,824.55 million in FY22 (until January 2022).

In 2019-20, the state produced 4.6 million tonnes of petroleum (crude) and 1,287 million cubic metres of natural gas.

Total consumption of petroleum products stood at 22.53 million metric tonnes (MMT) in 2019-20. Petroleum product exports from Gujarat stood at $ 36.92 billion in FY22 (until January 2022). As of March 2022, Gujarat had a total installed power generation capacity of 42,207.99 MW, comprising 27,881.48 MW under private utilities, 8,452.61 MW under state utilities and 5,873.9 MW under central utilities. As of June 2021, Gujarat had 21 operational SEZs. In addition, as of July 2021, Gujarat had four SEZs with valid in-principle approvals, 26 SEZs with formal approvals and 22 SEZs with notified approvals. What were the factors that helped Gujarat accomplish this extraordinary growth? Was it geography, native entrepreneurship, a historical edge in commerce and trade or simply good governance? The reasons for Gujarat's growth can be debated. Gujarat has served as an integral native trading hub for centuries, one of the most dominant in the Arabian Sea. After all, in India, most coastal states have shown higher growth than the BIMARU (an acronym for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and UP, referring to their poor economic standing) states. A coastal state has the twin advantages of greater global access as well as lower transportation costs. Gujarat has been among the fastest growing states even in the past. Despite poor rainfall, it has made strides in agriculture. Unlike Punjab and Haryana, states which

launched the first Green Revolution with government support, Gujarat's agricultural transformation came via the market route. Cash crops such as cotton, oilseeds and tobacco dominated the farm growth story. A milk revolution and large scale exports of fish accompanied the growth in horticulture and sharp increase in agricultural productivity. The agricultural turnaround-with growth rates as high as 11.1 per cent between 2000 and 2013-was accomplished despite water scarcity.

Gujarat knows the art of turning every calamity and tragedy into an opportunity. Despite the plague in Surat and the earthquake in Kutch, the state's economic growth rate has surged in the last one-and-a-half decades. However, Gujarat has taken a knock when it comes to inclusive growth and social sector development. Gujarat is a 'model state' in economic growth but a 'middle state' in social sector growth.

How well has Gujarat performed in terms of GSDP growth, education, health and in other key categories can be assessed by comparing its performance with that of other states; in particular, states closest to it in terms of socio-economic development.

If 1999-2000 is taken as the 'base' year, it is found that across a wide array of indicators, Gujarat is closest to these six statesHaryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab and Tamil Nadu. Performance is measured in terms of various indicators of improvement (e.g. growth). Gujarat has excelled in per capita GSDP growth. In per capita growth, Gujarat was the third-fastest growing state among C7. Despite being a relatively rich state, Gujarat pushed itself into becoming the secondfastest growing state for the period 2000-2013 (average of 6.5 per cent annually). In 1999-2000, Gujarat had about the same educational level (average educational achievement of 5.3 years) as Haryana, Punjab and Tamil Nadu. If health is measured by improvement in (the lowering of) the infant mortality rate (IMR), Gujarat does better in health than education - a decline in IMR by 3.6 per cent per annum, identical to Haryana's achievement. During the last 27 years Gujarat has been ruled by BJP and during this period achieved phenomenal progress in different sectors. The communal riots have been a thing of the past. Before the BJP came to power communal riots were a regular occurrence. The BJP has become the central pole around which politics in India revolves now. The BJP’s electoral and ideological dominance have, of course, been propelled by the standing and sustained popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP is hopeful of winning the forthcoming assembly poll and taking the state to a new high.

Thought for the week We are the first generation to feel the effect of climate change and the last generation who can do something about it. - Barack Obama, Former US President

Political Sketchbook Alpesh Patel

The Prime Minister Leads Us In Remembrance I write to you as I prepare to depart for India. Having MC’d the Sardar Patel Memorial Society commemorations at India House, it will be a timely visit.

I will be speaking to businesses with a view to explaining how to establish their companies in the UK. As we all prepare for Remembrance Sunday, and I observed the Prime Minister and his wife starting the Poppy Appeal outside Number 10, I recalled someone from the Armed Forces who passed away this year. You may sit on many boards, but it's an exceptional privilege and learning experience when you sit alongside a Field Marshall.

Field Marshall Lord Inge and I were on the Council of the Memorial Gates that commemorated the service of the Commonwealth soldiers in the world wars.

He had immense respect for the Indian Army of the Second World War. He spoke of their bravery of which he had read in military history books - such as at Kohima (if Kohima had fallen, Japan would have won Asia. As it was the Imperial Japanese Army faced its first ever great major defeat in combat).

Such people as the Field Marshall have an x-factor.

Something maybe we call presence. Stature, gravitas. It was not pomposity or arrogance. It was a fine balance between command and control, between security and questioning. Of course, to a general it is natural - to the rest of us it will take observing the subtle cues of leaders.

Most of all it just can't be faked. The belief has to run through your veins.

I was reminded also of this World War 2 poem.

"The life that I have, Is all that I have, And the life that I have, Is yours.

The love that I have, Of the life that I have, Is yours and yours and yours.

A sleep I shall have, A rest I shall have. Yet death will be but a pause.

For the peace of my years, In the long green grass, Will be yours and yours and yours." And it matters that each of us recognizes that because one in six humans on this planet lives under that Constitution of India, it matters to all of us to help that democracy, India. A patriot of the whole world would help, regardless of nationality, hold up the Indian Constitution.

Article 15 states, ‘The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.’ As Co-Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Loomba Trust which helps widows in India – do see our work on the website.

Article 21A; “The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine” Article 23; “Traffic in human beings and begging and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited.”

Uphold in any way you can these articles of that sacred Constitution.

‘And how can man die better; Than facing fearful odds; For the ashes of his fathers; And the temples of his Gods.’ Do, or die trying. We come from the land of the Ramayan – in which even a God faced fearful odds to save his wife from enslavement. We face fearful odds trying to make the Indian Constitution a reality.

Asian Voice is published by

Asian Business Publications Ltd Units 207-208, Harrow Business Centre, 429-433 Pinner Road, North Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 4HN Tel: 020 7749 4080 • Fax: 020 7749 4081 Email: aveditorial@abplgroup.com Website: www.abplgroup.com INDIA OFFICE

Bureau Chief: Nilesh Parmar (BPO) AB Publication (India) Pvt. Ltd. 207 Shalibhadra Complex, Opp. Jain Derasar, Nr. Nehru Nagar Circle, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad-380 015.

Tel: +91 79 2646 5960 Email: gs_ahd@abplgroup.com © Asian Business Publications

04

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

12 - 18 November 2022

Head teacher in Cardiff school Emergency services let in brief MEETS fights for change down bomb victims in 'HOLLYWOOD BOLLYWOOD’ Manchester attack CHARITY

One of Wales' ethnic minority head teachers has told of the racism she has experienced in her career in a bid to bring about change.

Reena Patel said she was called racist names by children when working as a supply teacher in Wales. She said she was previously turned down for a head teacher job and told she "didn't reflect the community". She has begun work to make her school anti-racist, starting with training for its predominantly white teachers.

Nine in 10 of the 480 children at her school, Kitchener Primary in Cardiff, are from an ethnic minority.

However all but one of its teachers are white.

"The term white privilege makes you feel threatened, it makes you feel you are being racist and it's not," said Mrs Patel, who is one of just five head teachers in Wales from an ethnic minority.

She said racism can happen between different ethnic minority groups and everyone needed to work on being actively anti-racist and the school is working with Darpl (diversity and anti-racism professional learning). Children at the school have been working on projects that celebrate identity and difference and plan events to celebrate all the different cultural and religious festivals so everyone is included.

Truss effigy burnt on Bonfire Night Thousands gathered to burn an effigy of Liz Truss on Bonfire Night to mark the failed 1605 plan to blow up Parliament.

Britons carried torches in the rain in Lewes, East Sussex to watch the controversial but popular event which saw an effigy of the former Tory leader go up in flames. Last year, up to 30,000 people attended the event, which had a Covid theme.

Effigies of Dominic Cummings, former Health Secretary Matt Hancock and a masked Guy Fawkes went up in flames. The 11-metre-high effigy clutched a cardboard box containing a leaver's card and a copy of the Guinness Book of Records in reference to her record as the shortestserving prime minister. It also con-

tained a copy of her mini-Budget, a Make Britain Great Again red cap, a T-shirt with the slogan “I am a fighter, not a quitter”, and a cheque for £115,00 in reference to the perpetual funding provided to ex-prime ministers.

Liz Truss’ short premiership was characterised by U-turns, market mayhem and chaos. Her miniBudget alongside chancellor and long-time friend Kwasi Kwarteng resulted in the pound crashing to its lowest level against the dollar in history, while mortgage rates shot up for homeowners across the country.

She ended up sacking Mr Kwarteng before appointing Jeremy Hunt who went on to reverse most of the Budget.

Nurses vote for the biggest ever strike The biggest nursing strike in NHS history is set to take place before Christmas after union officials said that “large swathes of the country” had voted for industrial action.

Patients who are already facing record waiting lists are now likely to see operations and appointments delayed or cancelled. This is set to be the first national strike in the history of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN). One union source said this weekend: “This will see the majority of services taken out, and picket lines across the country.”

The prospect of nurses across the NHS taking strike action over pay will be a huge challenge to prime minister Rishi Sunak and chancellor Jeremy

Hunt, who are confronted with a fiscal hole in the nation’s finances of up to £50bn. Union officials say that since the Conservatives took power in 2010, the pay of some experienced nurses has fallen by 20% in real terms.

They had called for a pay award of 5% plus inflation – a total of about 15%.

But the government said the average basic annual pay for nurses would increase from about £35,600 to around £37,000 from March 2022, a rise of just 4%. NHS England has launched an effort to recruit tens of thousands of nurses to help fill a record number of vacancies. There are more than 46,800 nursing, midwifery, and health visitor vacancies in the NHS in England alone.

University students facing homelessness University is all about new experiences – but for some students, higher education is becoming an introduction to homelessness.

Swelling student numbers, a lack of accommodation and rising rents have seen students across the UK struggle to find a place to live. For some, that has meant spells without anywhere to call home. Recent research has found that homelessness is more prevalent in university towns and cities. From Durham to Glasgow and further afield, students are finding themselves squeezed out of the housing market with nowhere else to go. In some cases, universities encouraged students not to return

after the summer holidays because there was nowhere for them to live.

University of Glasgow student Krishen Chadwick Patel has spent most of the autumn term staying in a hotel or relying on friends to offer a sofa or floor to sleep on after he was left with no accommodation. The 19year-old – in the second year of his studies in business management with politics – told The Big Issue he has joined forces with others to create the Unhoused Students group to force the university to take action to help him find a stable home.

The group had heard from 25 University of Glasgow students who are also sofa-surfing, Patel said.

Despite repeatedly reminding police, fire and ambulance officers of the “golden hour” in emergencies, it was wasted when the Islamist Salman Abedi detonated his suicide bomb at the Manchester Arena on May 22, 2017.

A report by the public inquiry into the atrocity detailed how emergency services did not carry out the basics of attending the scene, communicating with each other and providing equipment such as stretchers.

Police did not declare it as a major incident for 140 minutes. This was one of a

string of serious errors that was highlighted by Sir John Saunders, the inquiry’s chairman.

The former High Court judge found that shortcomings in the response probably took John Atkinson's, 28, life who was not checked by paramedics for 53 minutes and was only taken to hospital when he had a cardiac arrest.

Saunders also mentioned about Saffie-Rose Roussos, eight, who clung on to life for more than an hour, a remote chance of survival but was not given quicker intervention.

Leisure centre opens after refurbishment in Leicester A leisure centre in Spinney Hills, Leicester has reopened after a refurbishment. Spence Street Sports Centre first opened in 1982 and little had changed at the venue since.

But the longstanding centre now has a new gym complete with 50 workout stations, a group exercise and training studio and an area dedicated to weights.

New signs and a lick of paint have also given the centre a fresh new feel.

The improvements were part of a wider project by Leicester City Council to upgrade facilities across the city. Spence Street baths - as it was once known to locals now also has new cardiovascular exercise machines, such as treadmills and a venue for the local community to use.

Aylestone Leisure Centre and Braunstone Leisure

Centre also underwent refurbishments as part of the council investment.

Local dignitaries including councillors and city mayor Sir Peter Soulsby officially reopened the venue on November 2. The ribboncutting was a slightly different affair to the facility's first opening in the 80s.

On that occasion, city councillors including Sir Peter plunged into the large pool clad in Edwardian swimming costumes.

People interested in using the facilities will be able to attend drop-in taster sessions, classes and tours of the newly improved centre throughout the week including Saturday. Customers are also being offered a 50 per cent discount for the first three months of their membership as part of the relaunch.

Victim alleges that the police officer was among abuser The chief constable of South Yorkshire Police has offered to meet a young woman who was groomed and abused by a gang of paedophiles in Sheffield 10 years ago - after she alleged to Sky News that a police officer was one of her abusers.

Leona Whitworth, 28, has waived her anonymity to tell her story. It comes in the week a damning report revealed thousands of corrupt officers may be serving in England and Wales.

Leona, whose mother was disabled with mental health problems, was easy prey for a woman called Amanda Spencer, who was convicted eight years ago of grooming young girls in Sheffield and

selling them for sex. Spencer would take young girls to parties, where she introduced them to the men.

Aged 13, Leona says she was drugged and woke up to find a man raping her. She says she was beaten by Spencer and a number of men until she became compliant.

Leona has shown incredible courage to speak out, but it is a mark of the damage she still carries that she ended the interview asking herself whether she was somehow to blame. There is, of course, no blame on any 13-year-old-girl in that situation, but sometimes it takes years to come to terms with it, and the memories can never be erased.

FUNDRAISER TICKETS ON SALE To raise money for heart research and a city Asian charity, a “Hollywood meets Bollywood” charity fundraiser is all set to return in the New Year. It will take place at Leicester Athena on January 27, after a near three-year absence, with entertainment from DJs AVH and charttopping singer Navin Kundra. It has managed to raise thousands for many years now for local charities including Rainbows and Healing Little Hearts. The 2023 event will take place at Leicester’s Athena and is being organised by Sukhjit Minhas, a veteran fundraiser from Market Harborough and parliamentary researcher Narinder Singh, with support from Neil O’Brien, MP for Harborough, Oadby & Wigston and Barclays Eagle Labs. Money raised will go towards the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Leicester and the Leicester Asian Business Association (LABA) Charitable Foundation. To book tables and discuss sponsorship packages, please contact Narinder Singh by emailing hollybollyleics@gmail.com or calling 07593 013432.

TESCO CHIEF EXECUTIVE PAYS VISIT TO TEMPLES AND LOROS HOSPICE In celebration of Diwali, the CEO of Tesco UK paid Leicester a special visit. On Friday, October 28, Jason Tarry stopped by two local temples after Diwali celebrations last week, both of which have received food donations from Tesco.

The CEO had the opportunity to see how donations have benefited patients at LOROS hospice on Groby Road which have been receiving funds from local branches of the nationwide supermarket chain. Jason was taken on an exclusive tour of the building, where he met several members of staff and some of the outpatients. About his visit, Jason said: "It is very moving and humbling to see the work that LOROS does, and it makes me proud to think that my colleagues here in Leicester help support LOROS through the donations that we make. It is also amazing to see how colleagues and their families benefit from services such as LOROS, and that sums up what Tesco is all about, which is seeing that community focus really shining through."

INDIA COULD RESUME E-VISAS FOR BRITISH TRAVELLERS Rakesh Kumar Verma, additional secretary at the Ministry of Tourism in India, told The Independent: “We are aware of this challenge, and it is under consideration at a very high level, and I am sure this will be addressed very soon.”

India, which has a large presence at the World Travel Market in London, is urging British visitors to book trips ahead of the anticipated change. But anyone doing so risks financial loss if they cannot secure a visa in time. Rajeev Kohli, the joint managing director of Creative Travel, said: “Operating to India has never been easy. “We all recognise that visa systems across the world have collapsed, no matter which country it is. “I do know the Ministry of Tourism has been working around the clock.

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

12 - 18 November 2022

Blood in yo y urr urine, ur even jjust ust once? once?

Contact your GP If yo you’ve seen blood in y you o or had tummy trouble su diarrhoea for three wee it could be a sign of canc UV[OPUN ZLYPV\Z I\[ ÄUKPU mak ke es it morre e trea atable.

Your NHS wants to see y Yo nhs.uk //ca cancersymptom

05

06

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

12 - 18 November 2022

Rishi Sunak spotted selling poppies at Tube station Commuters at Westminster tube station were surprised to see Rishi Sunak selling poppies with the Royal British Legion (RBL).

As he held a tray of the green and red Remembrance symbols, the prime minister was seen smiling away at passers-by and talking to some of them.

In a bid to raise £1 million for the RBL’s annual Poppy Appeal, the PM joined several Army personnel and civil servant Stephen le Roux The organisation said it was ‘grateful to the PM for

generously giving up his time to collect with us during the morning rush hour’.

One angry commuter tweeted: ‘Funny how Sunak has time to “sell” a few poppies but not so much for

major international conferences.’

It comes in reference to Sunak’s refusal to attend the crucial COP27 climate summit in Egypt – which he is now going to attend.

Many families and more single parents are fearing that they will have no choice but to face poverty owing to the cost of living crisis.

Mother-of-one Shameen Symes from Bradford has witnessed her rent go up by £100, her energy bill doubled and the weekly food shop

soar, however, her wages and in-work benefits are not keeping pace with inflation.

“It makes me angry, how are we supposed to live? I’m a single parent, I have a daughter to look after. Financially it doesn’t seem like it’s getting any better, there’s no light at end of the tunnel.”

She’s a support worker for adults with learning disabilities and earning minimum wage.

Research by the IFS reveals that child poverty in single-parent households has risen by almost 10%, after a decade of cuts to welfare.

Suella Braverman referred to financial watchdog Deeply concerned over a breach of insider trading laws, Labour has referred Home Secretary Suella Braverman to a financial watchdog.

Shadow city minister Tulip Siddiq has asked the Financial Conduct Authority to investigate the leaking of information that caused Ms Braverman's resignation.

Without any authority, Ms Braverman from a personal email address sent a draft immigration policy to Tory backbencher Sir John Hayes, mistakenly also send-

ing it to a staff member of another Conservative MP. Ms Siddiq said the information had the potential to affect Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts, saying "policy changes can constitute inside information".

"I believe this is a case to answer," the Labour MP wrote.

A spokesman for Ms Braverman, who has apologised for her "errors of judgment", refused to comment.

After she broke the ministerial code by sending a draft document to two people outside the government, Ms Braverman - nicknamed ‘leaky Sue’ - resigned. Yet six days later, Rishi Sunak rehired her as Home Secretary and now is facing immense pressure for the same.

London university first to use virtual More single parents sliding into poverty reality to train doctors

Meghan says Prince Harry was unable to answer questions on British citizenship exam The Duchess of Sussex said Prince Harry was not able to answer questions on the British citizenship exam as they were too hard.

After the couple got engaged in November 2017, the duchess said she began studying for the exam while living in Britain with the intention of applying for

indefinite leave to remain

and then citizenship.

Speaking on her new podcast, Meghan said: “That citizenship exam is so hard. I was studying for it and I remember going: ‘Oh my goodness.’ I would ask my husband: ‘Did you know this? Did you know this?’

And he went: ‘Huh? I had no idea.’”

Defective vetting and failures allowed ‘predatory’ officers to join up Potentially thousands of officers who were predatory towards women to join and stay in the ranks were cleared with defective vetting and failures by police leaders, a damning official report has concluded.

The report published by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) for England and Wales was ordered following the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard in March 2021 by a serving Metropolitan

police officer, Wayne Couzens.

Despite serious sexual assaults and abuses of power by serving officers, the report listed a decade of warnings given to police chiefs with the inspectorate finding that chiefs were “complacent” and failed to appreciate “the danger to the public”.

Eight forces including the Met and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, the two forces where Couzens was an armed officer, as well as Kent, where he served as a

special constable was examined.

The lead inspector, Matt Parr, said: “We concluded that a culture of misogyny, sexism, predatory behaviour towards female police officers and staff and members of the public was prevalent in all the forces we inspected, which is a depressing finding.

“We believe that the poor behaviour towards women we were told about is prevalent in many – if not all – forces.”

the investiture ceremony with Sir Ashok’s proud wife and triplets looking on.

Sir Ashok received the rare title of Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in the

The Rabheru family from left to right, Nikita, Rishi, Lady Harshida, Sir Ashok and Shayan

multiple-choice questions on how to proceed. This leads to “branched scenarios” which follow a different path as per the choices made by the student, helping them to see the consequences of their decisions.

All of the scenarios are then filmed using actors who break the fourth wall to ask medics questions about their next step. Participants are then given 10 seconds to

answer a question.

Professor Amir Sam, head of Imperial College’s School of Medicine, said the process was important as it enabled students to become “active participants” rather than passive observers.

The VR training was developed in-house by Imperial College’s digital media lab, aided by funding from Health Education England.

NHS will be ‘prioritised’, Sunak tells Cabinet Rishi Sunak informed Cabinet members that he would be prioritising the NHS amid “difficult decisions” on spending over the coming weeks For now, the Prime Minister and his Chancellor are considering tax rises for millions of households and a squeeze on spending to address a black hole of up to

£50 billion in the public finances.

According to a Downing Street read-out of Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Mr Sunak said that the Government “would always support the NHS and that they would continue to be prioritised as difficult decisions are taken on spending”.

“He said that in return it

was right to look at further ways to improve the service the public receive and that he was confident this could be achieved,” according to Downing Street.

On November 17, Mr Hunt will set out his plans in the Autumn Statement and will consider splitting the burden equally between tax rises and spending cuts.

Truss ‘had nowhere to sit’ as Boris ‘took the furniture’ Liz Truss had no place to sit when she was told the Queen had died, as Boris Johnson ‘took all the furniture’ a book has claimed.

When the news broke, the former Prime Minister’s aides were left sitting on the floor of Downing Street.

Describing the scenes in

‘Out of the Blue: The inside story of the unexpected rise

and rapid fall of Liz Truss’ the new biography of the exPM, Harry Cole and James Heale have said there wasn’t even enough furniture for anyone to sit down on.

After walking through the doors in July 2019, Boris had given Downing Street a mega makeover.

NHS England to offer life-saving drug for aggressive breast cancer

Sir Ashok Receives his Knighthood at Windsor Castle On Tuesday 18th October 2022, Sir Ashok J Rabheru KCVO DL received his Knighthood at a ceremony at Windsor Castle. Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, carried out

A London University has become the first medical school in the UK that is using virtual reality (VR) to train future doctors.

Students at Imperial College London have been handed over VR headsets to involve themselves in life-ordeath scenarios, such as a cardiac arrest or an asthma attack.

An emergency situation is simulated by the VR headsets and trainee medics are given

Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Birthday Honours List earlier this year in recognition of his work for The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, which he has supported in various capacities for over twenty-five years.

After the investiture Sir Ashok said, “Apart from the birth of my triplets and my wedding day, this is the proudest day of my life”

Women with a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer now have access to a “potentially life-saving” drug after NHS bosses struck a deal with its manufacturer.

NHS England said that up to 1,600 women a year will be able to get pembrolizumab, which has the potential to leave some of those who take it completely free of cancer.

The drug – a form of immunotherapy – will be given to women with triple negative breast cancer, for which few treatments cur-

rently exist.

Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of NHS England, said the rollout of “an innovative, potentially life-saving treatment for one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer” was “fantastic news” and represented “a hugely significant moment for women”.

“It will give hope to those who are diagnosed and prevent the cancer from progressing, allowing people to live normal, healthy lives,” she added.

After successful negotiations over its price

between NHS England and its maker, the pharmaceutical company MSB, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has approved the drug in final draft guidance.

“This new treatment can potentially lead to any detectable cancer disappearing by the time of surgery, meaning patients will then possibly face less invasive, breast-conserving surgery,” said Delyth Morgan, the chief executive of the charity Breast Cancer Now.

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

07 12 - 18 November 2022

London pupils to be trained to call out misogyny As part of a package of measures designed to educate young people about helathy relationships and help pre-

vent violence against women and girls (VAWG), Pupils in London will be given “allyship training”.

Sunak humiliates Starmer with his own words Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has humiliated Sir Keir Starmer by highlighting his endorsement of Jeremy Corbyn. He has used Sir Keir Starmer's own words against him in a blistering session of Prime Minister's Questions.

Sir Keir landed himself in hot water after bringing up the subject of national security. He accused Mr. Sunak of not admitting Suella Braverman ignored

legal advice and suggested he did a "grubby deal" to keep her in power.

Mr Sunak pointed out that Sir Keir had previously told broadcasters he thought far-left politician Jeremy Corbyn "should be Prime Minister". Mr Sunak added: "Let's remember that agenda: scrapping the Armed Forces, withdrawing from NATO, befriending Hamas." His comment was met with jeers from the benches.

Social care unaffordable for 1m+ Brits More than a million older people are cutting or stopping their social care as the cost of living crisis bites.

And 10% of over-60s – equating to 1.6 million people – have already shelved or reduced their help or expect to in the coming months, according to an online Kantar poll for charity Age UK. Some 22% – 3.6million – are cutting or stopping spending on medications or specialist foods, or are braced to impose the mea-

sure, while 15% - 2.5 million – are skipping meals or expect to. It says 14,000 people are having requests for care turned down by councils weekly.

The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services warned “things have never been so bad” for England’s adult social care sector.

A Government spokesman said: “We have provided at least an extra £1,200 in support to eight million of the most vulnerable households.”

Funeral firm’s customer money funnelled to company's owner Investigations have found that millions of pounds of customer money in the collapsed pre-paid funeral company Safe Hands Plans was funnelled to the company’s owner via the Cayman Islands.

The news came to light when nearly 46,000 customers of Safe Hands are facing a shortfall in what they are owed of about £60 million after the company’s failure in March.

FRP Advisory, the administrator, is seeking to sort a web of payments to

related companies, many of which have also collapsed.

After customers’ funeral trust money was invested in “high-risk illiquid” funds in the Cayman Islands, an offshore tax haven, it was discovered that £30.4 million went to SHP Capital Holdings, Safe Hands’ parent company, In July, the FCA took over regulation of the prepaid funeral industry.

Customers of Safe Hands, owed an estimated £71.1 million, are to get back £6.45 million to £10.5 million.

Dr Chris Allen pulls out of East Leicester inquiry Owing to the unrest in the East of Leicester, hate crime expert, Dr Chris Allen, has pulled out of an inquiry.

He took the decision following community and political fallout since he was announced as the lead for the review.

Dr Allen who was asked to lead the inquiry, working alongside a team of researchers and an advisory panel, has now "reluctantly" decided to step down, saying he no longer believes it

would be possible for him to conduct the review in an impartial way "in the current climate".

He was subjected to an onslaught of abuse on social media but said that was not his reason for stepping down.

A police investigation is on and is looking into more than 150 incidents in connection with the disorder.

So far, around 61 arrests and voluntary interviews have been made as well as numerous charges.

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has invested £1m in a new education toolkit, which will be made available to all secondary schools in the capital which will help pupils to recognise and call out sexist and misogynistic behaviour.

“We must put the onus of responsibility on men and boys to change the way they perceive, treat and talk about women if we are going to truly fix the problem of violence against women and girls and build a safer, fairer London for everyone,” said Khan.

The training sessions will be carried out by teachers with the support of workshop leaders from Tender – an arts and education charity

that works to end abuse through healthy relationships education.

Susie McDonald, chief executive of Tender, said: “We know that there has never been a more pressing time for children and young people to learn about healthy relationships and gender equality.

"Schools create the perfect environment in which young people can learn about these issues in a safe, non-judgmental and age appropriate way. But for teachers, it is essential that they feel confident and equipped with the correct knowledge and skills to deliver this type of education.”

Three ideas for UK’s blackout plan Brits could be plunged into darkness this winter with the coldest months yet to come amidst a cost-of-living crisis.

The National Grid had previously issued a warning to UK households that blackouts could become a reality as winter hits its peak and icy weather bites.

John Pettigrew, National Grids CEO, said this was a "worst-case scenario", but the government has nonetheless been creating emergency plans to cope with the energy blackouts. These could last up to seven days in the event of a national power outage as worries grow over the security of supplies.

The government is currently stress-testing Programme Yarrow, a confidential plan put in place for power outages.

This pre-dates the current energy crisis hitting millions of households and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as it was instead created in 2021 in an effort to improve planning in the event of a major fault on the National Grid.

There are three main things that could happen.

1. Food transported to the most vulnerable during blackouts 2. Emergency broadcasts on Radio 2 and Radio 4 3. Three-hour rolling blackouts

08

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

12 - 18 November 2022

Follow British couple’s 10K-mile Indian road adventure on YouTube Dhiren Katwa An intrepid couple from Birmingham is set to embark on their dream mission, an estimated 10,000mile road trip from Goa to Kanyakumari in India.

Retired Damji Premji and Rama Ladwa, pictured, aged 72 and 71, respectively, fly out to India from London Heathrow this week. Their trip will begin in Goa, a state in western India with coastlines stretching along the Arabian Sea and end in Kanyakumari, a coastal town in the state of Tamil Nadu on India’s southern tip. Believed to be the first of its kind, their trip is expected to take around four months to complete.

Travelling in their own car, the couple will drive through some of the world’s most dangerous roads as well as most challenging weather conditions. Their journey of a lifetime will take them through Hikkim, a village in Himachal Pradesh which is home to

Rohit Vadhwana

S

Damji and Rama Ladwa

(Map) Damji and Rama Ladwa’s rare 10k mile road trip from Goa to Kanyakumari will take around 4 months

the world’s highest post office, standing at 14,567 feet above sea level. Asked what prompted this daring trip, Mr Ladwa said: “I have always wanted to do this journey and have done road trips across Europe and North Africa in my younger

days.” Their objective, is “to have new experiences and adventures while we still can.” Damji and Rama were both born in the East African coastal city of Mombasa and came to British shores in 1967 and 1972, respectively. They tied the knot in 1973 in England.

They have a daughter and two grandchildren. Their ancestral roots lie in Porbandar in Gujarat, the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi. Rama worked as a quality inspector for Samuel Heath & Sons, a British designer and manufacturer of exceptionally crafted bathroom fittings & architectural hardware. Damji worked for Jaguar Land

Rover for 45 years. Many years ago, he was also lead agent for the Kenya Sports Federation looking after Kenyan athletes. He also managed international athletes and organised several running events all over the UK. He sat on the Hindu Marathon National Committee as well as on that of the British Road Race Association and was, at the time, the only member of colour on the latter. Readers can follow the Ladwas' progress on their YouTube channel, Damji Ladwa. We at ABPL Group wish Damji and Rama Ladwa all the very best for their extraordinary trip and look forward to hearing all about it on their safe and healthy return.

50th Ugandan Asian expulsion marked by MP Shailesh Vara and Ugandan High Commissioner Nimisha Madhvani The expulsion of Asians from Uganda fifty years ago has been marked by a special gathering in Peterborough.

In 1972, when Idi Amin expelled Asians from Uganda, fifty families settled in Peterborough. Some of those who settled in the city attended a special event to mark the anniversary, along with others from the local community.

The event took place in the constituency of the Rt. Hon. Shailesh Vara MP, which includes a substantial part of the city of Peterborough. Mr Vara was joined at the gathering by Ugandan High Commissioner Nimisha Madhvani, as well as others who recounted their experiences of arriving and settling in Peterborough.

Mr Vara spoke of the

prejudice and difficulties that the families faced on their arrival to the city, and praised the then Leader of the Council, Cllr Charles Swift, for his decision to invite the families to Peterborough despite strong opposition from some local people.

Mr Vara spoke of the valuable contribution that the families have made to Peterborough, and he went on to speak of the benefit to the whole of the United Kingdom which collectively

took in 28,000 people.

HE Nimisha Madhvani spoke of the ordeal that people suffered at the time of their arrival, and mentioned that she too had arrived in England after being expelled by Idi Amin in 1972.

She also spoke of President Museveni’s desire to welcome people back to Uganda, as tourists and investors, and that she looked forward to seeing people from Peterborough visit Uganda.

Amongst the other speakers were Mr Kishor Ladwa, President of Peterborough Bharat Hindu Samaj, who spoke of his personal experiences as a young

TikTok star Mahek Bukhari murder: Jury views police recordings The murder trial of TikTok and Instagram star Mahek Bukhari and seven other people entered the eighth day where the jury is hearing the case for the prosecution and has recently been viewing recordings of the police interviews.

The jury was informed that Mahek's mother, Ansreen, had been in a three-year extra-marital affair with one of the fatal car crash victims, Saqib Hussain.

It is believed that he was trying to blackmail the fam-

Struggle doesn't ensure success

ily into paying him £2,000, threatening that he would post-release indecent photographs of the 45-year-old defendant on the internet.

According to the prosecution, an ambush was arranged to steal Saqib's phone to stop him from threatening. A meeting was arranged but Saqib fled up the A46 in a Skoda Fabia driven by his friend Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin, which then smashed into the central reservation of the dual carriageway and into a tree,

breaking into two and bursting into flames at about 1.30 am on Friday, February 11, this year.

Two cars containing the eight defendants were pursuing the Skoda and it is said that one of the cars rammed the Skoda before the fatal collision and that before the crash, Mahek said in a phone conversation with Saqib: "watch what I do to you", a jury at Leicester Crown Court heard.

The trial is expected to last around eight weeks.

boy arriving in the UK and in particular Peterborough.

The event concluded with some garba, performed by local residents, and was followed by a meal.

Speaking after the event, Mr Vara said: “I was very pleased to be part of this important anniversary, especially being marked in my constituency.

The Asians who arrived in the UK from Uganda have made an enormous contribution to the country in all walks of life, and they continue to do so.

I am especially pleased that those who arrived in Peterborough, a substantial part of which is in my constituency, have helped to enrich the city and surrounding area so much by all that they have achieved and done since their arrival.”

truggle doesn't ensure success. If you have gone through a taxing time, for any reason, it doesn't entitle you to any kind of reward, necessarily. There is a common belief that if one has gone through pain, s/he gets honoured with a glorious achievement. But it doesn't happen automatically. S/he has no right to grand fortune because of the strain faced earlier. There are many people in the world who are grappling with various things in life.

Some are facing a shortage of money, some have a bad relationship. A few have health issues while many have social problems. All these may result in different kinds of hurdles that make life complicated but they are no surety of a good time ahead.

A young man, without any of his faults, ended up being robbed on a road while visiting a beautiful tourist destination. He had to go through a lot of impediments to get back home. These difficulties have no relevance in life except for a lesson learnt that one must be careful.

However, to learn this lesson, one doesn't need to face all these complications. Similarly, if a businessman incurs a huge loss, for any reason, or has to go through a long period of adversity in an attempt to establish his industry, it's no certainty of getting remarkable prosperity in his endeavour.

Accomplishment depends on the learnings and perseverance that one shows in life. If there are challenges that one has to surpass, and during that straining journey, s/he acquires valuable wisdom and uses them in the future, it might become a base for attainment. But the exigencies in themselves are no ticket for entry to the hall of victory. We have seen thousands of people trying their luck the same way for year after year, without any improvement in their condition. Why? Because stressful time is not a stair to reach to a destination of fulfilment.

To ensure that you achieve your desired accomplishment in life, you need to take - sometimes - bold decisions and hard paths - which might be exhausting and rigorous. And, after walking through that road, you may reach the destination of your dream. But this is a decision-based struggle, not a situational challenge that most people face in their lives. If you are decisive and willing to manoeuvre for your road to victory, you will succeed.

Otherwise facing hardship is no guarantee of success.

(Expressed opinions are personal)

UK nurse travels to marry Indian man in Agra Deeply impressed with his religious podcasts during the Covid lockdown, 26-year-old British nurse, Hannah Howit, fell in love with an Agra-based Palendra Singh (28) and they tied the knot after three years of online dating.

She travelled all the way from Manchester to Agra and tied the knot in the presence of local residents in a traditional way.

The marriage ceremony took place at Shiv Shakti temple in Gadhe Ka Nagla

village.

Palendra, who comes from a farming background, works as a marketing manager in a private firm.

Priest Vivekanand Giri who performed the ceremony said, "With mutual con-

sent of the bride and groom, the marriage was conducted as per the Vedic rituals. The bride wore a traditional dress and took keen interest in the entire process."

Influenced by Indian culture, Hannah said, "Our relationship started due to common interest in spirituality. My family supported me in my decision to marry Palendra. I'm trying to learn Hindi now and adapt to the Indian way of life."

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

09 12 - 18 November 2022

King Charles III's special Diwali message to the Hinduja family His Majesty King Charles III sent a special Diwali message to the Hinduja family this year, highlighting their commitment to all faiths and communities. The message was delivered by his Principal Private Secretary Sir Clive Alderton at the Hinduja’s Diwali reception held at 14 Carlton House Terrace on 26 October. Peers, MPs, Business leaders, High Commissioners/Ambassadors of 22 countries along with more than 200 guests attended the event. With the exchange of Diwali greetings, Rishi Sunak's ascent to the prime minister's office was proudly celebrated.

The Hindu Forum of Britain [HFB] hosted 21st Diwali celebrations at the House of Lords on 21st October 2022. It was attended by members of the parliament, community and business leaders.

Met officer sacked over discovery of cocaine at her home A Metropolitan Police officer has been sacked after cocaine was discovered at her home. She used to take part in beauty pageants.

PC Rasvinder Agalliu, 47, who was attached to the unit that covers Westminster and parts of west London was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs after raids on her home and a previous address.

In June 2020, a misconduct panel was told that officers had searched her home and seized cocaine, drugs paraphernalia, a large

quantity of cash and a police radio.

After four months, officers executed a search warrant at her former address and discovered “a large number of cannabis plants” being grown there.

Following a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service, Agalliu was arrested but not charged with an offence.

However, the former PC was found to have breached the standards of professional behaviour.

Following a hearing, she was dismissed and has been placed on the police barred list.

Parents charged with perverting of justice in fatal hit and run case Man who has been charged with killing a pregnant Cambridge scientist and her father in a hit-and-run case, his parents have been charged with perverting the course of justice.

Barjunsing Bissendary, 58, and his wife, Sadhana, 55, of Manston, Kent, are accused of hiding possible evidence.

Their son Nitesh Bissendary, 30, is due to appear in court charged with killing Noga Sella, 37, and her father Yoram Hirshfield, 81, on August 10.

He is accused of hitting them outside a multi-storey car park in Ramsgate, Kent, in

his black Alfa Romeo. Sella was five weeks pregnant when she died.

Her husband Omer and two children aged six and eight were also injured.

Nitesh Bissendary has been charged with causing two deaths by dangerous driving, two instances of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, failing to provide a sample, failing to stop and driving while unfit through drugs.

He is due to appear at Canterbury crown court on November 28.

Teenage boy allegedly raped at overcrowded asylum hotel A teenage refugee was allegedly raped at a hotel that had more than 400 migrants in east London.

This is believed to be the second alleged sexual assault at the property in Walthamstow within a month after a man was charged with sexual touching of a child under 13 in September.

The Metropolitan Police has confirmed that they are investigating both the incidents after drawing criticism over the treatment of asylum seekers placed in overcrowded and

unsafe facilities.

On October 5, the force received a report of an alleged rape of the teenage boy that was followed by an arrest of a man in his thirties at the property. He was taken into custody however was released on bail to return in early January.

A second person was charged on September 11 for sexually touching a child under 13 and was bailed by the court to appear at Stratford magistrates. The Metropolitan Police said both victims were being supported by specialist officers.

UN poverty envoy tells Britain cuts could violate human rights laws Rishi Sunak has been warned by the United Nations’ poverty envoy over a decision of unleashing a new wave of austerity stating the possible violation of the UK’s international human rights obligations and might increase hunger and malnutrition.

Olivier de Schutter, the UN rapporteur on extreme poverty, said he was “extremely troubled” by likely multi billion-pound spending cuts.

On 17 November, the government is due to unveil a crunch budget to fill an estimated £40bn black hole in the public finances using tax rises as well as spending cuts.

The UN-appointed official said: “This is the worst time to impose such cuts. You do not impose austerity measures when the whole population is facing a cost of living crisis. What you do is you raise taxes on the rich, you raise taxes on corporations.”

Welcoming the guests, Gopichand P Hinduja, co-chairman of the Hinduja Group, said, “Wealth is something you give away and get blessings from people.

Today’s scenario reminds me of my own movieAmar, Akbar, Anthony where the King is Christian, the Prime minister is Hindu and the Mayor of London is Muslim.”

GP added, “Goddess Lakshmi means health rather than wealth. My prayer to Goddess Lakshmi is to bring peace and solace to the world.

Unity is the strength of any family. Today whatever our growth is, it is because of my brothers Ashok, Prakash and elder brother SP. For the last six years, we brothers have been working on a book of all religions and

we found that the conclusion of all religion is the same. God is one. Let’s pray to God that whatever problems the world is facing now should calm down and everyone should have a happy life.”

Mayor Sadiq Khan said, “Happy Diwali to all, it’s time to celebrate that the Prime minister of our country is a proud Hindu. He will be a role model to my children and to the children of parents of colour. As GP mentioned, our country is ready to make Amar, Akbar, Anthony 2. There are some people in this country trying to divide us, but don’t allow them to succeed.

London is the greatest city in the world. One of the reasons behind this is the contribution of the Londoners who are of the Hindu faith. More than half of Hindus of the UK live in London.”

Lord Tariq Ahmad said, “I attended the first event organised by the Prime minister today and this event was the Diwali celebration. He lit Diya which shows how light Concours dark and how love conquers hate.”

Conservative Party Chairman Nadhim Zahawi, former Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Liberal democratic party leader Sir Ed Davey also offered warm wishes on Diwali.

10

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

12 - 18 November 2022

Our homeless ignored by government I find it difficult to understand the attitude of our politicians towards our own people, sleeping in tunnels, under bridges, shop entrances or any space where they could keep dry, and escape from our topsy-turvy weather.

Most of these unlucky people are not lazy, drunks or on drugs but victims of our own extremely competitive economic environment were less efficient, in poor health or someone going through a difficult time in their lives, which may be due to a breakdown in their marriage, redundancy, bankruptcy or such unexpected downturn in their lives.

They do not habituate such existence but have no other choice!

While refugees are taken to hotels on their arrival in Dover where they enjoy the all-inclusive stay, at the cost of £150 per person, per night, who are mostly economic migrants, these unlucky, our own people, born and bred in this country, may be provided such comfort during Christmas, festive time but shown the door, thrown out as soon as the festive season is over, no matter whether it is pouring down, raining cats and dogs or snowing, the most unappetising time weather-wise in our calendar! No wonder their life expectancy is in the mid-forties, compared to our national average of over the eighties. Most suicides are committed in the month of January, as depression takes over after the festive time!

Not many people have met such luckless home-grown refugees, as our attitude normally is “I am all right Jack.” I met a few of these people due to our friends who prepare and distribute some 40 to 50 bags of essential goodies every month, filled with food items, soft drinks and such daily need necessities, paid for by friends, so often they are eagerly waiting for our visits, bringing smile on their wrinkled faces that would melt anyone's heart, except our out of touch politicians. They play Robin Hood overseas with some £15 million “Overseas Aid” but behave like Shylock at home!

Our festive season is not too far away. I hope and pray that our politicians will treat these people, our own flesh and blood with the same generosity as we show to Ukrainian and other migrants who take advantage of our generosity, mostly arriving here from safe countries like France and Germany where they are left to their own devices, sleeping rough and depending on French charities for food and shelter! No wonder they are willing to risk their lives to cross the Channel!

Bhupendra M Gandhi

Leaders like Rishi Sunak must wake up to Climate Change First off, it is interesting to note that Rishi Sunak of Indian origin has been appointed the next UK Prime Minister.

Clearly enough, the election of Sunak has put an end to all the unwanted rumours about western racial slurs against the Asian community. Initially, I had thought it to be the racial barriers that had first stopped Rishi Sunak from climbing the ladder of Prime Minister Post. Right now, his determination, passion and brilliance have paved the way for clearing the air in UK politics.

The East or the West, there have been huge chunks of natural resources sprawling across the globe. Well, when there are mutual understanding and cordial relationships between countries, it will be pretty much possible to mutually make good use of natural resources including water, food crops and much more. In fact, the story of Sunak could be a new positive shift in geopolitics. This means that liberal and forward-thinking politicians can take the international community to the next level in terms of prosperity, economic growth and employment.

To cap it all, bigger global issues like climate change deserve the attention of Rishi Sunak who can turn the tables through his leadership and negotiating skills. For instance, floods in Florida, Pakistan and Nigeria have still been fresh in mind. This is a clear reminder of the possible impending threats posed by climate crises.

As we can see, it is green and agricultural activities that will always make the world prosperous, healthy and wealthy. To save continents and countries from the clutches of climate change, it is time to take serious steps in matters of “farming versus climate change.”

To give an example, rigorous agricultural activities have always been front and centre in accelerating global growth across the board. In fact, my native areas such as Korkai, Tiruchendur, Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, Nagercoil, Marthandam and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu have long been home to rivers, big trees and above all, rigorous agricultural activities. To keep such green activities going worldwide, it is important to counteract possible water and agriculture crises that may be caused by climate change.

Being a part of the modern European world, the UK has its “climate change work” cut out. On top of this, leaders from countries like the US and continents including Asia should come forward and make bold decisions on climate change, not to mention the need to ride out and tide over modern-day challenges like concrete jungles and technological threats [something caused by overuse of technology].

P Senthil Sarvana Durai Mumbai, India

50 Years of Ugandan Expulsion: Time to express our gratitude to the British people On the 50th anniversary of the Ugandan expulsions, the media is covering the story by interviewing the people who settled here in Britain. Quite often the conversation turns to the experiences of those refugees as they made Britain their home. The response is almost always the same. That is that there was racism, there was name-calling and bullying in the schools. The media also brings up the advertisements placed in papers asking the refugees not to come to Leicester. I contend that this narrative does gross injustice to the British people who went out of their way to help us settle in this country. I say, 'us' because though I was not from Uganda, tens of thousands of us from Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe and other countries also came here as we faced similar pressure to leave. Thousands also came from Aden.

Let us just look at Leicester. Tens of thousands of people from Uganda and other East African countries made the City their home. Most adults who came had very few qualifications. The City and its industrial hub employed the refugees, the frail and elderly got medical care, and the teachers gave special attention to the children, especially in subjects like English. Volunteers from the English community came to teach English at home, they guided us in dealing with issues of everyday life. A Father-in-Law of a relative of mine was completely disabled and could not speak either.

He spent months in the hospital lovingly cared for by the nurses. When he passed away they came to the funeral and were shedding tears. A friend of mine who passed away a few years ago had been ill with a serious disease and had been in and out of the hospital many times. He said the NHS had probably spent as much as £100,000 on him. People will remember there were a lot of people who had somehow come to the UK but had no right to stay and faced deportation. In many cases, a petition would start with the help of the local MP and in most cases, the individual would be granted a right to stay. A friend of mine's elderly mother was left alone in Kenya with no right to come here. The family asked me to write a letter to the immigration department saying I would be her sponsor and pay for her living costs.

To my great surprise, she was granted permission to come to the UK. This is thanks to the compassionate immigration officer whom we never met. It is very easy to forget those who helped us when we were helpless. We must not do that and we must not be negative about people who have done so much for us.

After a few years, the Indian community ventured into business, mainly corner shops. But how did they buy these businesses in the first place? In most cases, it was a sympathetic Bank manager. He or she gave the loan without any collateral. When I wanted to start my business I needed a £500 overdraft facility. I went to see my English Bank manager. He said he was giving a loan on trust and hoped I would not let him down. Those small corner shops were the linchpin for the enormous wealth that the Indian community has made in this country.

Buying a house is a top priority for our community. In the 1970's it was next to impossible to get a mortgage on the wages that most people earned. However, there were now our people in Insurance, Life policies and Mortgages. Do you remember how they used to come to our houses to sell you an insurance policy? They got us mortgages from the Guardian and other companies only on the guarantee that the repayments will never fail.

On the cultural and religious front, the Churches allowed us the use of their halls and we have practised our faith in this country without any obstacles whatsoever.

Today we have magnificent temples both in Leicester and all over the country. Over the last 20 years, thousands of Gujaratis from Diu, Daman and Goa have settled in Leicester. Leicester is almost a Gujarati City! It now has its own Gaushala Shala-Cow Sanctuary!

The children of those refugees have exceeded in every field of life so much that Rishi Sunak whose parents hail from Kenya is now the Prime Minister of the UK! Again this is thanks to the great British public who have helped us flourish. Since the 1970's the British Government has passed law after law to stamp out any discrimination.

A word of thanks here also to some of our leaders from the 1970s who championed our cause. At a time when people were unable to freely express themselves in English, people like dealing with the British Government with great aplomb. Kantibhai Nagda, CB Patel, Late Dhanjibhai Tanna, Late Rameshbhai Patel and many others were and are the stalwarts of our community.

In conclusion, let me quote the then Prime Minister Ted Heath who said that 'Uganda's loss is our gain'. You could not get a better welcome than that. As we reminisce on the expulsions let us acknowledge the great support the British people gave us when we were in desperate need. Around 2011 I sent a similar article to Peter Soulsby the then Mayor of Leicester. I received a reply saying that it was really nice to hear the positive story. He is still the Mayor of Leicester and I will send him this article again.

Nitin Mehta

KAPIL’S

•

Kapil Dudakia

KHICHADI

KK vindicated by HJS Report A major independent research think-tank called the Henry Jackson Society blew apart the fake narrative of the Islamists and the lefty media, including the BBC and the Guardian, in their report titled, ‘Hindu-Muslim civil unrest in Leicester’, written by Charlotte Littlewood on 3rd November 2022.

The Henry Jackson Society is considered an elite research organisation and is considered as the ‘Centre on Radicalisation and Terrorism’. It conducts research into some of the most controversial areas of public and political life, without fear or favour. A bit like me, but significantly more powerful, very well resourced and with a greater reach.

It was therefore huge that their 39-page report showed the level and extent of the Islamist onslaught against Hindus in Leicester, as well as what seemingly looked like an orchestrated campaign on social media (and through certain national media) to incite hate and violence against Hindus.

The report states, ‘One of the instigators of the antiHindutva Leicester march is a man expressing praise for a wanted terrorist and who claims to speak with the crime syndicate the D company. The social media influencers who peddled narratives of Hindutva extremism include a convicted terrorist offender and a man who has offered prayers to the Taliban’.

It goes on to say, ‘There is a real concern that Majid Freeman is regularly being provided a platform to express his views regarding the presence of Hindutva extremism in the UK and posing as a ‘community leader’, meeting with the City of Leicester’s mayor and discussing the future of the upcoming independent review’.

In Kapil’s Khichadi I covered many of these issues. We exposed the Islamists and their toolkit of anti-Hindu hatred. Let us be clear, this was their expression of antiHinduism and Hinduphobia. They started the madness, they attacked Hindus and the Mandirs, they issued fake narrative on social media to incite hatred and violence, and they gathered in numbers to repeat the same right across the country.

There have now been enough discussions, enough rhetoric from politicians and so-called community leaders, and enough platitudes to whitewash the crimes of the Islamists. Enough is enough.

Let me repeat in crystal clear terms what we should expect and demand: a.

There should be a full investigation into the police and their conduct at the start of the disturbances.

Lest we forget, the police made a statement that implied that Hindus might be to blame. This was later withdrawn, but by that stage the damage has been done. b.

There should be an investigation into the whole affair by an independent entity, not connected to Leicester or any of its public bodies. In my view, it should be led by a Home Office appointee with all the necessary powers. c.

There should be an investigation into the conduct of the Mayor of Leicester, Sir Peter Soulsby. He has exhibited what can only be described as gross misconduct and negligence whilst in office, and in breaking the Nolan principles of public life. d.

Sir Keir Starmer should demand the resignation of Sir Peter Soulsby immediately. His inaction on a Labour mayor who has shown such poor judgement whilst in office will be telling of his own leadership.

Failure to take Leicester seriously today will give a green light to the Islamists. Today they test the waters, the resolve of local communities to defend themselves, the willingness of local authorities to protect the victims of their crimes, and the determination of the police and CPS to investigate, arrest and prosecute Islamists. If we as a nation fail to take our stand today, then tomorrow these very same rogue elements will attack not just Hindus, but they will come for Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jews.

Leicester is now the defining point for the UK. Why is it that many Labour authorities appears to have an issue with extremism? Be it the grooming gangs, the antisemitic hooligans or the anti-Hindu extremists.

Secretary of State, I hope we are all on the same page.

Patel joke?

I nearly laughed my socks off at the letter published here last week from your correspondent R.N. Patel who described Boris Johnson as "one of the finest prime ministers of Britain". Then suddenly I stopped laughing and wondered if RN Patel Patel was being serious? If so, I regret that I cannot agree with his opinion. However, Boris could certainly qualify for the title of "Britain's most entertaining prime minister."

Ash Gupta

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

11 12 - 18 November 2022

Bhadran Bandhu Samaj hosts a BIJA celebrates planting trees meet and greet for Chha Gams in north London as part of the BBS 40th AGM concluded with a message of one community, Queen’s Green Canopy maximum unity and maximum philanthropy Bhadran Bandhu Samaj (BBS UK) held the prestigious 40th annual meet and greet event and hosted all Chha Gams including BBS, Dharmaj Society of London (DHASOL), Karamsad Samaj UK, Nadiad Nagrik Mandal, Sojitra Samaj UK and Vaso Nagrik Mandal UK. The get-together was filled with motivation, entertainment, and cultural

Team BBS: From left to Right: Narendrabhai, Devendrabhai, Kinnaryben, Gargiben, Devikaben, Sejalben, Nitinbhai, Naineshbhai, Nilaben, Kimaya, Sanjaybhai, Jagrutbhai, Kirtibhai, Prashantbhai, Kiranbhai, Jayrajbhai, Nirupaben Patel

Team Chaa Gam: Nitinbhai- Bhadran, Pradipbhai- Vaso, BhadreshbhaiSojitra, Mahendrabhai- Karamsad, Pradipbhai PK- Dharmaj, Jayshreeben- Nadiad, Narendrabhai and Dharmesh Desai

performances and concluded with a message of- one community, maximum unity and maximum philanthropy.

Nirupaben announcing Education awards

The event began with the lighting of Diyas in front of Maa Bhadrakali. In a welcome speech, BBS Vice President Nitinbhai R Patel said, BBS is following the values and original vision of the founders. Active efforts to strengthen the community are a necessity of the time.

Those who are generously donating to this cause are really doing great work.

Sharing the details of management accounts BBS Treasurer Devendrabhai R Patel invited all to donate generously to samaj. He also invites all to contribute to the project of development and facilities in Bhadran Gam panchayat.

generous support for the samaj activities.”

Kimaya Patel the youngest executive committee member and youth team head read the message of BBS President Bimal Bhai Patel, who was unable to attend due to his father’s health issues in India. Bimal

for everyone present. I want to extend a special thank you to my general secretary Nirupaben for all of her hard work organising this event. The entire committee provided their full support, and Kiranbhai handled every aspect of the catering. The time that my vice president Nitinbhai and treasurer Devendrabhai have given has been greatly appreciated. Our team is strong because we cooperate in all endeavours and I want to thank the Chairman of Chha Gam, the Presidents and committee members of Bhadran, Dharmaj, Karamsad, Nadiad, Sojitra and Vaso Gam.” Chha Gam Nagrik Mandal Chairman Dharmeshbhai said these types of events are to strengthen us as a community and as an individual.

Dharmaj Society has started a new initiative of a senior citizen group. The Matrimonial website is

Hasmukhbhai, Avinashbhai Patel, Jagdishbhai and Jayrajbhai Bhadranwala

about to complete but till then, the old system will be continued.

Gargiben, Priyaben and Minaben

Offering special thanks to all donors, sponsors and mentors BBS General Secretory Nirupaben Patel said,”All chha gams are working on the same goalstrengthening the community and serving humanity.

BBS is proud to arrange this event for all chha gams. We support the development projects in Bhadaran village.

I want to pay special thanks to Mr CB Patel. He is the founder member, first president and trustee of Bhadran Bandhu Samaj. He always guides us and gives

Bhai said in a message, “Our future depends on unity. In the spirit of unity, BBS UK feels incredibly privileged to unite all Chha Gams. As you are all aware, most organisations rely on significant donors and sponsors and occasions like the one held today would not be possible without them. On behalf of the BBSUK executive team, I would like to thank all the committee members for their efforts in making today’s AGM as enjoyable and welcoming as possible

Priya Patel, granddaughter of Samaj Veteran Rambhai kaka said, “We want to support the Indian community. We want youngsters to be involved.

Music is really a great therapy for the mind, body and soul. We offer Devotional, Motivational CDs to all in memory of my Dada and Ba. Please come, take and contribute to the making of a happy society.”

Executive committee member Gargi ben Patel said there are many unique ways to support the samaj, everyone can do their level best for the community and humanity. Kimaya Patel shared updates on Chha Gam Matrimonial Introductions website.

The British Indian Jewish Association held the Friends of Canons Park and Ezra Davies an event in Canons Park in north London to who guided us in all aspects of planting the celebrate the planting of trees, as part of the trees. Doing this on the first day of COP-27 Queen’s Green Canopy. was extra resonant. We hope that the trees will grow and flourish, and be an enduring Seven trees were planted at the start of symbol of the friendship between different the year, one for each of the decades of the communities.”

Queen’s 70-year reign. Originally conceived Zaki Cooper and Dr Peter Chadha, Coas part of an official project to celebrate the Chairs of BIJA, said: Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, it turned into a tribute to the late Queen.

The event featured short speeches by the Mayor of Harrow, Cllr Janet Mote as well as from representatives BIJA and Friends of Canons Park. It coincided with the first day of the COP-27 Summit in Egypt, where world leaders have gathered to address climate change.

Cllr Janet Mote, L to R: Dr Peter Chadha; Anil Rajani, Austen Garth; Mayor Janet Mote, Mayor of Harrow, said: ‘We are delighted “Planting trees is a positive and natural that BIJA has planted trees in Harrow in tribthing for us to do. BIJA brings together ute to Her Late Majesty The Queen, in the British Indians and British Jews in a spirit of year of her Platinum Jubilee & Green Canopy friendship, underpinned by the belief that Project, as we sadly remember her passing. our relationship should have a positive It is wonderful to see faith groups working impact on wider society. Social action is a together in Harrow; as well as enhancing our key strand of our work so we decided to environment, this initiative also strengthens plant trees as part of the Queen’s Green the fabric of society.”

Canopy initiative. The trees symbolise how Austen Garth, BIJA committee member the Indian and Jewish communities are rootwho managed the project, said: ed in our identities, and also how we grow “We were particularly pleased to plant upwards and outwards as active and proud the trees in an area with significant Jewish British citizens.” and Indian populations. Special thanks to

12

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

12 - 18 November 2022

SCRUTATOR’S ‘Angry’ elephants go on rampage after calf falls into well A herd of over 50 elephants not only rescued a calf that had fallen into a waterfilled well but also went on a rampage and blocked the Ramgarh-Bokaro stretch of NH-33 in Jharkhand’s Chitarpur for around an hour to “show their anger.” The herd went on destroying crops, attacked those on the road and blocked the highway for quite some time. A 35-year-old villager was tossed over along with his motorbike as he tried to pass through the herd that was crossing the highway along with a few calves. Police personnel, forest department officials and a quick response team (QRT) formed by the forest department stopped the traffic for nearly one hour for the safety of the commuters and to allow the herd to pass.

Ramgarh divisional forest officer Ved Prakash Kamboj said that nearly 50 elephants of three herds, including their calves, from neighbouring West Bengal as well as Bokaro and Ranchi districts had come to forests under the Gola block of Ramgarh a few days ago. The herd moved to Dulmi and Chitarpur blocks later.

During their movement, one of the calves fell into the well which angered the herd. (Agency) People fight for rasgullas at wedding

A 20-year-old man was stabbed to death and several others injured when a fight broke out over rasgullas at a wedding reception in Agra district. A video of the fight has gone viral on social media. SHO of Etmadpur, Sarvesh Kumar, said, “Usman Ahmed’s two daughters were getting married to Wakar Ahmed’s sons. . . An argument erupted between the families over ‘rasgullas’ not being served. Things started turning ugly when people from both the sides started throwing plates and chairs at each other. They also used spoons and sharp-edged objects to attack each other”. The victim, Sanni, was stabbed in the ensuing melee. He was rushed to a local hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. At least a dozen guests, with stab wounds and bruises, were shifted to the hospital. (Agency)

Cabbie mother carries baby along on duty

An Uber cab driver carrying her daughter with her while on duty in the city inspired many people on social media.

Rahul Sasi, co-founder and CEO of CloudSEK, a cybersecurity startup, narrated the story on LinkedIn and it went viral. “Recently, when my friend booked an Uber for me, this lady came to pick me up.

After the ride started, I noticed a kid sleeping in the front seat. I could not resist asking: Ma’am, is that your daughter?” his post read. The driver, who identified herself as Nandini, told Rahul that she is working and babysitting together. “She wanted to be an entrepreneur, and started a food truck a few years ago with all her savings. But then Covid-19 struck and she lost all the money she’d invested. Post that, she started driving for Uber. She wanted to save money and rebuild everything she had lost,” Rahul wrote online. He shared a selfie with Nandini, which drew a huge response, with many offering to invest in her business and some saying she is an inspiration. (Agency)

30-inch tall man finally finds his match The 30-inch tall Azeem Mansuri of Kairana/ Meerut's search for a life partner is finally going to end soon. He is getting married to a Hapur-based girl who is almost his height and age. Azeem is on cloud nine these days. The families are planning to solemnise the marriage in the first week of November. “I am very happy.

She is educated, can cook and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in commerce.

I won’t ask her to quit studies. But my days of loneliness are over,” said an ecstatic Azeem. Both families wanted to keep it a low key affair, but Azeem couldn’t hide his excitement. “There’s too much media attention. We might prepone or postpone the date by a few days after mutual consent between the two families,” said Naushad Mansuri, the groom’s uncle.

(Agency)

12-year-old dies practising Bhagat Singh hanging scene A 12-yearold boy died when he was reportedly rehearsing the hanging of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh for an upcoming school event in his home in Karnataka’s Chitradurga.

Police said Sanjay Gowda, a Class VII student of SLV High School, was alone at home and parents Nagaraj and Bhagyalakshmi were at the eatery they run close to their house. The boy made a noose with a rope and tried to enact the hanging of Bhagat Singh. With his head in a hood, the boy reportedly jumped off the cot and died instantly, police said. Nagaraj said his son was to play the character of Bhagat Singh at a school cultural programme to mark Karnataka Rajyotsava celebrations.

He called the death “accidental” and held no one responsible. His death was discovered when his mother returned around 9 pm and found the house locked from inside. When she and her neighbours didn’t find any response to their calls and knocks on the main door, one of them peeked through a window and saw the boy hanging from a ceiling fan. Bhagyalakshmi called her husband and he opened the door with a master key. They took Sanjay to a government hospital, but it was too late.

(Agency)

Unconscious for 7 months, woman delivers baby

A 23-year-old woman from Bulandshahr, who has been unconscious for the past six months after undergoing multiple surgeries for head injuries sustained in a road accident, delivered a healthy baby girl at AIIMS. According to doctors, the woman was riding pillion on her husband’s two-wheeler when the mishap occurred on March 31. Though she survived, she remains unconscious. “She opens her eyes but doesn’t follow any commands,” said Prof Deepak Gupta from the neurosurgery department. Prof Gupta said that the woman was 40 days pregnant when she was brought to AIIMS. The foetus was found to be healthy and there was no indication of termination of pregnancy. The doctors left the decision on the patient’s family. “Her husband opted to keep the baby,” said the doctor. It was a normal delivery. Since the patient can’t feed her child, she is being bottle-fed.

The woman’s husband, who as a driver, left his job to look after his pregnant wife. “I don’t know what to do and how life will go. Everything has come to a standstill,” he said. (Agency)

132-year-old tunnel found at JJ hospital

A 12-metre-long underground chamber, which is at least 132 years old, has been discovered at JJ Hospital. It has stone walls and brick columns, and was found below the College of Nursing - earlier a women and children’s hospital.

The finding was made by Dr Arun Rathod, a resident medical officer, while he was inspecting a leakage. Stories about underground tunnels and chambers at JJ have been discussed and passed down

through the generations. “But this is the first time we have evidence,” said Dr Rathod, who stumbled upon the chamber through a tiny opening in the right corner of the building (earlier known as Sir Dinshaw Maneckji Petit Hospital), construction of which was completed in 1892, leading to speculation that the underground structure was built at the time. Accompanied by JJ and PWD staff, Dr Rathod removed a wooden door and detached an iron grill guarding the opening. He crawled inside to discover a massive wall. “We trained the flashlight in what looked like a basement and saw a long passage with walls and pillars built in stone and brick,” he said. (The Times of India)

IAS officer's assets 1,228% above known income The CBI has registered a disproportionate assets case against arrested Punjab IAS officer Paramjit Singh, who was found to have acquired assets that were 1,228% above his known sources of income. He had amassed Rs 59,25,000 during the three-month period from November 1, 2021 to January 31, 2022, of which the records were checked. The CBI had arrested Paramjit, then posted as state transport director, while taking a bribe of Rs 200,000 for recommending the promotion of a department officer, Jaswinder Singh Chahal, as general manager. Chahal had approached the CBI with a complaint that Paramjit had demanded Rs 500,000 for recommending his name to the principal secretary and had finally settled for Rs 200,000. The CBI set a trap and caught him red-handed. While carrying out searches at his houses in Chandigarh and Mohali, the CBI team recovered Rs 49,00,000 in cash and incriminating documents. (Agency)

Blinded by Delhi’s beggar mafia, daily wager escapes to UP A 26-year-old daily wage labourer from Bihar, who was living with his elder brother in Kanpur and went to Delhi about six months ago in search of work returned with innumerable injury marks all over his body. The victim, Suresh Manjhi, revealed how he was forced into begging by a gang and was injected with some chemical in his eyes, following which he was permanently blinded. Agitated over the torture, residents gathered at the local Naubasta police station demanding immediate action against the accused, of whom two are from Kanpur. Police later booked three people, including a woman. Suresh said his tormentors branded him with iron rods and injected intoxicants. They threatened that if he did not beg, he wouldn’t be given food. Police said Suresh was asked to stand at all major crossings of the city and beg from dawn to dusk without a break. At the end of the day, his captors used to snatch whatever amount he collected. (Agency)

AsianVoiceNews

13

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

5 - 11 November 2022

World Travel Market 2022 Ministry of Tourism, Government of India participated in World Travel Market (WTM) 2022 from 7th to 9th November in London which is one of the largest international travel exhibitions. The theme of this year`s exhibition was ‘The Future of Travel Starts Now’. With the country's reopening to foreign tourists, after a gap of almost 2 years, this year`s participation in India is particularly significant. After the world’s largest vaccination drive, the country is ready for international tourists. India is participating in WTM 2022 to showcase itself as a preferred destination for tourism.

During 2019, the contribution of travel & tourism to India`s GDP was 5.19% of the total economy. In 2019, the Indian tourism sector accounted for 79.86 million jobs (direct and indirect employment).

The consistent efforts of the Central and State Governments have helped the tourism industry to gradually recover from the Covid-19 pandemic shock to the pre-pandemic levels.

A total of 16 stakeholders, including State Governments, other Central Ministries, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as the industry partner, DMCs, tour operators, hoteliers, travel agents, online travel agents, facilitators of medical value travel are participating as co-exhibitors in the India Pavilion. The objective is to showcase the diverse tourism products and services including Medical Value travel, luxury trains and the gamut of tourism products to the international business community. This year, the Indian delegation is being led by Shri Arvind Singh, Secretary (Tourism), Government of India includes Shri Rakesh Verma, Additional Secretary and other senior officials from the Ministry, besides representatives from the Indian travel and tourism stakeholders.

The Indian Government is cognizant of the country’s potential in the tourism industry and has taken several steps to make India a global tourism hub. During the visit to WTM 2022, the Indian delegation led by Sh. Arvind Singh, Secretary of Tourism, Government of India will showcase the varied tourism offerings of India to the global tourism industry stakeholders such as tour operators, travel agents, media etc.. As India is

poised for massive growth in the tourism sector in the future, this visit shall also offer the opportunity for the Indian Government delegation to showcase the investment opportunities and potential which India offers to global investors.

India is also gearing up for the G20 Presidency which is scheduled to start from 01st December 2022.

Under its Presidency, the country is expected to host over 200 meetings across 55 cities. The G-20 Presidency will give India’s tourism sector an unparalleled opportunity to highlight India’s tourism offerings and share India’s tourism success stories on a global stage.

The Ministry of Tourism is aiming to develop the tourism sector, especially in the aftermath of the Covid Pandemic to new heights and accelerate the transition to achieve sustainable development targets of 2030.

Ministry of Tourism has taken a space of 650 sq. mtr., with over 20 participants around Indian Pavilion to participate in the Exhibition. The formal inauguration of the Indian Pavilion was done by Mr Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India and Mr Vikram Doraiswami, High Commissioner of India to the UK in presence of Hon’ble Tourism Ministers of Kerala, Odisha, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu. The inauguration of the India Pavilion was done with Ribbon Cutting, Lamp Lighting, Ganesh Vandana and Welcome Remarks by the Secretary, of the Ministry of Tourism and Welcome Remarks by the High Commissioner of India to the UK. The highlight of India’s participation in WTM on the first day was India Evening at Copper Chimney, West Field Mall. The invitees to India Evening were members of Travel Trade from India and the UK and the India Diaspora. India Evening on 7th November, 2022 witnessed the participation of several Tourism Ministers and Secretaries of various State Governments participating in WTM 2022. The India Evening provided a platform for interaction and discussion to promote India as a multi-product and around-the-year destination with sustainability.

A beautiful and heartbreaking play, but loses out on a chance to emphasise on UK’s role towards all its refugees Rupanjana Dutta With the current debates about Tory party’s immigration system, including the Rwanda deportation scheme, the Taliban take over in Afghanistan or breakdown of the states in Syria or Libya and displacement of citizens after Ukraine war - the topic of forced migration or refugees has become more obvious for day to day discussions.

The refugees coming from Syria, Afghanistan or Libya still face rejection or discrimination in Britain, while citizens of Ukraine have found homes at kind households of Britain. This triggered the whole west vs the Middle East debate, where the difference in treatments begged questions of latent but widely existing racism.

But refugees, including the Ugandan Asians expelled by Idi Amin, who were granted a home as subjects in Britain have never let the country down in its 50 years of history. From tribute to the nation that protected them to enriching its treasury with wealth, the refugees and immigrants have given it all to build today’s Britain.

In fact the Prime Minister of Britain is a son of an Indian immigrant, who left Kenya and Tanganyika and settled in Britain in search of a better life.

The Boy with Two Hearts, playing in the National Theatre (Dorfman theatre) till 12 November is a tribute by an Afghan family to their long journey fleeing from Afghanistan, against all types of odds to the UK, in search of a safer and secured life and cutting edge treatment by NHS that granted their oldest son a second life, before he finally passed away.

The journey was indeed horrifying. From Afghanistan to Russia to Austria to Germany to Calais and finally to the UK, the family of 5, were cooped up in car boots to compressed chambers in trucks, hid in freezing apartments, the sinister people smugglers taking advantage of the desperation in the refugees trying to escape fate, all were very real and relived on

Sangat Centre’s initiative about the cost of living and Warm Bank Sangat Centre is a registered charity based at Sancroft Road, Harrow primarily serves the Asian community and other minority communities living in Harrow and neighbouring Boroughs. They work closely with statutory services, Housing Associations, Benefits Agencies, and a number of other voluntary organisations.

The centre aims to ensure that via advocacy, the elderly, frail, people with learning disabilities, people with mental health difficulties, and disabled people get access to statutory services.

The centre provides casework and represents clients at the Benefits and Immigration

Appeals. The success rate indicates the benefits the service users receive.

During Covid-19, in order to overcome the detrimental effect of loneliness and isolation we provided access to digital technology and supported 29 people (provided iPads and taught them how to use them) to have more meaningful activities and engage socially as well as have improved outcomes for their health needs.

There is undoubtedly a need to focus on the short term and ensure that no one is having to make the terrible choice between heating or eating this winter. It is older people who spend more time

at home and have no way of increasing their income.

In order to overcome the immediate impact of the costof-living crisis the centre aims to: * Open our doors and provide a safe and warm space to the most vulnerable people in our neighbourhood this winter. * Give energy-wide advice and directly support people who might otherwise miss out on income support measures. * Provide teas and coffees throughout the day and * Hot lunch. * Free use of i-pads. * Accessibility and provision for disabled people.

the stage beautifully enacted and articulated by the cast.

Adaptation from Hamid and Hessam Amiri’s book, the story is largely about their brother Hussein, who despite a heart condition holds up through all sorts of trauma, to arrive in Britain with his two younger brothers and parents for shelter and an operation to save his heart. The family’s happiness, fear and sorrows are wonderfully evoked on the stage by Afghan singer Elaha Soroor.

Directed by Amit Sharma and adapted for the stage by Phil Porter, drawing on extraordinary real-life experiences, it is a powerful story of hope, courage, and humanity – and a heartfelt tribute to the NHS. The cast includes Shamail Ali, Houda Echouafni, Dana Haqjoo, Farshid Rokey, Ahmad Sakhiand Lisa Zahra, performing alongside the award-winning Afghan vocalist and composer,Elaha Soroor.

Set and costume designer is Hayley Grindle, lighting designer is Amy Mae, sound designer and co-composer is Tic Ashfield, movement director is Jess Williams and Hayley Egan is video designer. Casting is by Sarah Hughes CDG and associate director is Sepy Baghaei.

The production with the set design and surtitles have been easy on the eye, to grasp, enticing and thought provoking, but while the play depicts the journey in a refugee’s life, with disappointments and small glimpse of joys, it is largely a tribute to a success-

ful family who endured many hardships but eventually reached their final destination. But this unfortunately is not the case with most refugees from Afghanistan or Syria, who die in the freezing English Channel or waiting in camps near Calais. While the play does refer to all lives lost, it loses out on the ability to make this as a source of activism, a voice of support to those suffering the same, state’s constant failures and a guidance to the current government to do the right thing.

Hamed and Hessam Amiri said: “When this production was first staged at Wales Millennium Centre, it was emotional to see our family's journey come to life on stage and to relive those many precious moments we had along the way. We were amazed by the reaction from audiences and critics as they lived those moments with us, and are so excited to be reaching an even wider audience as the play comes to the NT. We can't wait to share our story again with as many as people as possible. Our hope is to simply give the audience a chance to see our family’s journey through a different lens, and the human experiences behind the word refugee.”

Mumbai born 18 year old girl gives the youth a voice at the UK Parliament On the 4th of November, the UK Youth Parliament was invited into the House of Commons to debate the most pressing issues faced by the youth which were voted on in the Make your Mark Campaign.

Kashmea Wahi, aged 18, was one of the 12 elected representatives from all the regions in the UK who opened the debate on the Cost of Living Crisis. ’To get a chance to represent the youth voice at the despatch box in Westminster was a surreal experience. I hope that our voices will be heard and actions are taken to combat such an important issue’ - Kashmea She is very proud to be one of the only non-frontbencher MPs to get to speak at the Despatch Box at the House of Commons.

Proud to announce that the over 150 MYPS voted in support of the Cost of

Living crisis, making it the national campaign of the UK Youth Parliament. At the moment, there is no more pressing issue than ensuring our people can afford to live.

She has been tirelessly working alongside Go Dharmic to increase their number of food distributions, to help meet the growing demand. She believes that these distributions are absolutely critical for thousands of people across the country, however, there is no denying that more needs to be done by the government, and it needs to be done now.

It was a great way for her to celebrate her first day being 18! She is very passionate about combatting food poverty and was grateful to be chosen for this opportunity out of all of the youth in London.

She hopes that this combination of activism and action will make a positive difference.

14

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

12 - 18 November 2022

Lorna’s undying passion for cooking won Richmond Upon Thames shows its support for her fame, name and fans!

“My passion for food (and eating!) has been with me for as long as I can remember!”

Rupali Shinde Many keep their passion and hobbies aside and pursue normal and routine jobs, regretting each and every minute, questioning themselves, and wishing they had taken an unconventional way. Lorna Nanda Gangotra who had a brilliant corporate career in Mobile Telecoms often used to wonder whilst sitting on the tube most mornings about following her passion and fulfilling her dream of plunging into the food world.

Lorna, an MBA from Birmingham University, and a BA (Hons) in Business Studies from Greenwich University is a complete foodie and got her firsthand experience in cooking from her Biji (grandmother), mother, aunts and uncles who she watched cooking and enjoyed every process of it.

“My passion for food (and eating!) has been with me for as long as I can remember! I love to eat, sleep, breathe, and think about food all the time and I am eager to share my knowledge and experiences with others.”

Her undying love and passion for food made her restless and eventually, she stepped into the food world by opening a bistro/cookery school in Wimbledon, London. Classes were held

on a regular basis along with the bistro was opened over the weekends. While doing so, she was noticed by Monica Galletti who ate there with her family. Lorna later discovered that Monica was actually a judge on MasterChef UK. This boosted her confidence and she knew that she was on the right path.

After becoming a mother, she gave up the bistro and moved to Surrey where discovered Ripley she Farmer’s Market and she decided to once again take the leap with The Little Indian Kitchen, which has since this Summer rebranded to Lorna's Indian kitchen and is still everyone's favourite.

“Food has always been and still is the centre of everything in my family upbringing – as Indians we believe that by sharing food and drink with people – we show how much we love and

adore them. It’s very cultural as food and drink relate to being happy and enjoying quality time with family, friends and loved ones. The kitchen is the heart of most Indian families and in my home, it is where you will find me or my mother.

Hence Lorna’s Indian Kitchen was born.”

Lorna loves cooking using authentic and real ingredients. Also, she sees to it that her food has amazing flavours and aromas, irrespective of any type of cuisine.

“I love most cuisine types and always use the freshest, seasonal local produce which gives the most amazing flavours, aromas and tastes – whether it’s an Indian, Middle Eastern or Italian dish I’m cooking or a full-on Roast… maybe with a slight twist of spice though!

I have won several Great Taste Awards for my Indian curries from The Guild of Fine Foods over the last 4 years and I am now a Great Taste Producer.”

In addition to private dining and farmers markets, she runs a cookery school and hosts supper clubs & pop-up events.

Lorna still cherishes the day when she and her sisters won the title of the Best Family Cooks in Britain following the win from BBC2’s Family Cooking showdown.

“Winning the title was a huge achievement – it gave

many others hope and inspiration that anything you put your heart and mind to, you can do it – it was also a huge nod to my mother and late Biji’s (grandmother’s) legacy of heritage cooking from the heart!”

Accolades and praises have not changed Lorna who still loves sharing her passion and love for food of real, fresh, authentic, locally sourced produce.

“It was great to highlight the authenticity of real homestyle Indian dishes on the show and get such fantastic feedback from the judges and viewers alike.”

“They all want my recipes” says Lorna whose "The Big Family Cooking Showdown" series season 1 is on Netflix.

“I’ve even been invited to Hawaii and Jamaica to share my cookery skills and knowledge!”

She is grateful for her husband whom she refers to as an inspirational influence in helping her to carve a niche for herself with a successful foodie career path.

She can be found on her website ‘Lorna’s Indian Kitchen’, on Instagram with ‘Lorna Nanda Gangotra’ as a handle and on Facebook she goes with name ‘Lorna's Indian Kitchen’ If you would like to try Lorna's cooking for yourself, you can find her at Kew Village Market or Ripley Farmers every month.

Over 50,000 female police officers are now in forces The figure of 50,364 women in the 43 police forces achieved today means there are now more female police officers pursuing criminals and serving the public than since records began – making up 34.9% of the overall workforce. Of the recruits hired since April 2020, 42.5% (13,326) are women.

The government is on track to deliver its manifesto commitment to recruit 20,000 additional officers by March 2023, with 15,343 extra police now hired – making up 77% of the target.

The new recruits are already having a positive impact in forces across England and Wales. For example, Avon and Somerset Police has put more officers into responding to rape and sexual assault through its Operation Soteria following the Police Uplift Programme and Lancashire Constabulary has expanded its Missing From Home Community Safety Officer team to track down missing children and protect those at risk of exploitation.

Home Secretary Suella

Braverman said: As Home Secretary my first priority is to protect the British public from harm and I am absolutely steadfast in my determination to drive down crime.

That’s why I am delighted the government is on track to deliver 20,000 additional police officers by March 2023, with 15,343 already recruited to bring criminals to justice.

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for forces to become more representative of the communities they serve and I am heartened to see there are now over 50,000 women in forces across England and Wales for the first time.

With the extra officers recruited I want to continue to see forces doubling down on tackling murder, serious violence and neighbourhood crimes which tear communities apart.

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Workforce Diversity and Representation, Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Kearton, said: Reaching 50,000 female

police officers is a really positive milestone. The uplift programme has seen many more women apply to join policing across a range of roles and responsibilities.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds – regardless of their age, gender, race, faith or sexual orientation. By increasing diversity we will better represent our communities and those who we police by consent.

We know that more needs to be done to ensure that women see policing as an attractive career and as we continue through the police uplift, we hope this positive increase continues.

A recent Home Office survey showed that job satisfaction was 90% for new recruits who have joined the police as part of the government’s recruitment campaign, 79% of new recruits have had their expectations of joining the police met or exceeded, whilst 81% intend to stay in the police for the

rest of their working lives.

Compared to other roles in the public sector, voluntary resignations in policing are low at 2.5%.

Total police funding has increased by up to £1.1 billion this year, providing up to £16.9 billion for the policing system. In addition, every police officer received a £1,900 uplift to their salary this year which equalled up to an 8.8% increase for those on the lower salary bands.

All recruits must meet the standards set by the College of Policing and the government has worked with chief constables and the college to modernise, standardise and increase resilience in the recruitment process to ensure forces are able to hire the additional officers to keep communities safe.

victims of VAWG

On Thursday 3 November, residents and councillors took part in a White Ribbon Torch Walk from Mortlake to Barnes Ponds to raise awareness around violence against women and girls (VAWG).

This activity is the first of the Torch Walks around White Ribbon Day, also known as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November 2022 to demonstrate the borough's solidarity with victims and our collective determination to eliminate the issue.

It was well attended by the local community and Cllr Cambridge, the Mayor of Richmond Upon Thames; Cllr Gareth Roberts and Sarah Olney MP also joined to give poignant speeches and show solidarity. As a White Ribbon accredited organisation and as outlined in our VAWG Strategy, the walk is another example of how the Council is committed to preventing violence against women through action and empowering residents to help tackle the issue.

New report reveals link between online and offline violence against women journalists A groundbreaking report into online violence against women journalists is calling for urgent action by UK policymakers to protect lives, livelihoods and press freedom.

The report is the result of a three-year study covering 15 countries and is the most geographically, linguistically, and ethnically diverse scoping of online violence against women journalists to date.

The study, commissioned by UNESCO, found that online violence against women journalists in the UK is frequently associated with populist politics, and polarising political debates and that the pandemic has worsened the situation.

Alarmingly, the report also found a strong link between online violence and offline attacks in the UK, especially with regard to stalking.

The study draws on the experiences of nearly 1,100 journalists, two big data case studies examining 2.5 million social media posts directed at journalist and Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa (The Philippines) and multiaward-winning investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr (UK), along with detailed individual country case studies.

The study was led by Dr Julie Posetti, ICFJ’s Global

Director of Research and a senior researcher at the Centre for the Freedom of the Media (CFOM) at the University of Sheffield. It also draws on research by Dr Diana Maynard and Professor Kalina Bontcheva from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Computer Science and CFOM. The book-length study is calling for governments, Big Tech, the news industry, legal and judicial actors and civil society to do more to tackle what is described as a crisis of online violence towards women journalists.

It was edited by Dr Posetti and Nabeelah Shabbir.

The researchers say the report’s findings should serve as a wake up call for UK policymakers as the draft Online Safety Bill - a proposed piece of legislation designed to regulate the tech sector, safeguard people online and protect freedom of expression - is delayed once again with no known date for when it will return to the House of Commons.

AsianVoiceNews

15

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

12 - 18 November 2022

‘Happy Diwali’ mail creates row in NHS Trust Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) has launched an internal review after a row broke out about a message sent to staff during Diwali.

Diwali is one of the most important festivals within Hinduism and signifies the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance". This year, the festival took place on October 24.

An email sent that morning, from ‘EmbRACE Manchester’ to MFT employees, made reference to the 'insidious growth of Hindu right-wing national-

ist ideology'. EmbRACE is described by the trust as a ‘grassroots collaboration’, including several members of staff and healthcare staff from outside the organisation, with the aim of making the NHS a fair and inclusive place to work for all.

Titled ‘Happy Diwali’, the message started: “We would like to wish a very Happy Diwali to all who are celebrating today.” Later in the email, it stated: “It’s particularly important to pause and reflect on recent events and how we bring back peace and harmony to our communities.”

Racial prison officer job ad banned An advertising campaign run by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) featuring a white prison officer and a black prisoner has been banned for perpetuating negative stereotypes linking race with criminal activity.

The Facebook ad promoting jobs at HMP Wormwood Scrubs in London featured a prison officer talking to an inmate wearing an afro comb in his hair, alongside the caption: “We’re key workers, problem solvers, life changers.”

The Advertising Standards

Authority (ASA), which said that the ad displayed an “imbalanced power dynamic” between the men, received a complaint that it perpetuated negative stereotypes relating to black men and criminal activity that was likely to cause serious offence.

The MoJ said the ad featured a real-life prison officer and inmate, and as such argued it was not an “inaccurate or unfair representation of the type of engagement that might have been seen between officers and prisoners”.

Antisemitism complaint leads to suspension of National Union of Students’ President The president of the National Union of Students (NUS) has been sacked following an investigation into claims of antisemitism.

The claims were made against Shaima Dallali who once shared a tweet of an Islamic battle cry historically used when attacking Jews. The 27-year-old , who was elected during the NUS’s National Conference in March, was suspended in September and denied she had engaged in antisemitism,

although apologised for errors of judgement on social media when she was younger.

In 2012 she wrote on Twitter: “Khaybar Khaybar O Jews… Muhammad’s army will return Gaza,” for which she later apologised.

Ms Dallali had also said Jeremy Corbyn should “never have been suspended in the first place” from the Labour Party, after the former leader was removed during an anti semitism scandal.

Data of Royal Mail customers leaked Royal Mail has experienced a data breach where customers have seen the information of other users.

A statement on Royal Mail's Click and Drop status updates website said: "We have been made aware there was an issue affecting Click & Drop that meant some customers could see other customer's orders.

"As a protective measure, we have stopped access to Click & Drop temporari-

ly." The website is temporarily suspended as "a precautionary measure", a Royal Mail spokesperson said, following reports that some customers were able to see information about other customers' orders following "a technical problem".

"We are investigating the incident in order to fix the IT systems issue. We apologise for any inconvenience."

Navigating the intersections of our macro and micro-histories Shefali Saxena Rhiya Pau is a British-born poet of Indian heritage, from a community that has a rich history of migration.

Rhiya was the Platinum Poetry winner of the 2021 Creative Future Writers’ Award, holds a BA from the University of Oxford, and earlier this year was named one of seven winners of the Society of Authors Eric Gregory Award for her forthcoming debut collection, Routes.

She is 29 years old and writes to chronicle the stories of her family and wider community, and to explore her own identity through the lenses of travel, food, ritual and language.

This November we will publish Rhiya's poetry collection, Routes, which commemorates this year being 50 years since the Ugandan Asian expulsion and since Rhiya's family - and so many others - came to Britain.

Through this collection, Pau chronicles the migratory histories of her ancestors and simultaneously lays bare the conflicts of identity that arise from being a member of the East African-Indian diaspora.

Rhiya's poetry wrestles with language, narrative and memory, as she navigates their collective fallibilities to examine and construct her own identity. ell us about how you conceived the idea of Routes.

I had a very close relationship with my grandfather growing up. Bapuji was born in Kenya but moved to India in the 1940s to become a freedom fighter in the Indian Independence movement and was later a wellrespected community leader in the UK. He carried these experiences with pride, leaving me with an endless curiosity around our family and community history.

Routes began as an effort to chronicle the stories of my community and our migratory journey across three continents, documenting the joys and struggles of upheaval, rerooting and

T

reinvention. hat are the learnings of a writer like you who has witnessed migration history and stories firsthand? How does that influence your lens towards culture and mobility?

As someone ‘on the inside’ of a migrant community, it is painfully obvious that migrants are not the homogenous group that the media often portrays them to be. People migrate for a variety of reasons and bring different privileges with them – education, wealth, language skills, family/community connections - and therefore face different challenges when they arrive. As a community of relative privilege that is seeing increasing representation in senior political positions, I think it’s important to recognise that our privileges play a role in our successes and that this representation is not reflective of a flat racial playing field.

There is a lot of work still to be done to increase social mobility and reduce cultural discrimination in the UK and I would love to see our community doing more to support less-privileged migrant groups. hy should the current generation learn about Ugandan Expulsion?

To examine our own history is to change the way we see ourselves, to celebrate our victories and hold ourselves accountable for our failures. Learning about the Ugandan Expulsion is an opportunity to honour the contributions the diaspora has made to British society and a chance for our community to collectively process traumas from the expe-

W

W

Surge in free school meals causes funding crisis for schools Teachers picking pupils up from home who can’t afford the bus fare to school. Food banks operating from classrooms and delivering parcels to vulnerable students. Job clubs for unemployed parents. Schools are increasingly becoming crisis centres for struggling families falling deeper and deeper into poverty - but headteachers are facing their own funding catastrophe.

More than 700 children now qualify for free school meals at Carlton Bolling Academy in Bradford - that’s

more than half of all pupils and an increase of 200% since 2018.

The government added that it’s providing an extra £4 billion pounds of funding to schools and help with discounted energy bills for six months. Unions, headteachers and families are now calling for urgent action; in the worst-case scenario some headteachers are warning schools could be bankrupt within a year and are already having to choose whether to keep staff or children fed.

rience.

In 1972, a decade on from Uganda’s independence from the British, the Asian community owned 90% of Uganda’s businesses.

As a community who identify strongly with Gandhian philosophies of decolonising and redistributing wealth and power to indigenous discourse populations, around the Expulsion also presents an opportunity to acknowledge the structural colonialism we were upholding in East Africa. At a macro level, we were agents of Empire.

Acknowledging this does not diminish or invalidate our trauma as a community.

Navigating the intersections of our macro and micro his-

tories is complex and challenging. As a community we suffered but we also enforced suffering – fifty years on, it’s my hope that we have healed enough from our own pain, to be able to recognise both these statements as truths. ould you share some personal anecdotes of your family history of migration?

In the poem All We Know, I write ‘for over a century, my ancestors have died some place other / than the places they were born.’

Migration has been a part of my lineage as far back as I can trace. On my maternal side, my great-grandfather was a date trader and would travel between India and

C

Oman. It was in Muscat that he learnt about the KenyaUganda railway being built by thousands of indentured labourers who had been brought from India by the British. On arrival in Kenya he was met by a community of Indians settled around the shores of Lake Victoria, including another greatgrandfather of mine, who later moved to Jinja, Uganda. Following a wave of nationalism in the 1970s, which included the Ugandan Expulsion, both sides of my family migrated briefly back to India and then onto the UK. ccording to you, where do migrants really belong? How can people of different cultures embrace migrants?

Migration is a natural phenomenon found throughout the animal kingdom. Throughout human history we have called migrants: explorers, invaders, expats, colonisers, missionaries, refugees etc, with the sentiment around each of these terms determined by the power dynamics between the migrating and native communities.

For this country to embrace migrants, it must first reckon with its own history of colonisation and resource extraction to dismantle these power dynamics, to understand that land cannot truly be owned, that it is borders and not migration that is unnatural, and that belonging is much less about geography than it is about community.

Routes will be published

by Arachne Press on Thursday 24 November, when it should be in all good bookshops. It is available to pre-order from www.arachnepress.com now.

Rhiya Pau will be reading from Routes at a launch event on Thursday 24 November at Keats House, Keats Grove, Hampstead, London NW3 2RR. All are welcome and the event is free, but tickets should be reserved in advance. Find them on Eventbrite or by following Arachne Press on Twitter: @ArachnePress

A

Hundreds protest to release British Sikh in India Hundreds of people, including Nazanin ZaghariRatcliffe and her husband Richard, have marched on Downing Street demanding the government calls for the release of a British Sikh man imprisoned in India.

Blogger Jagtar Singh Johal was detained in Punjab in 2017 and says he faces the death penalty over his activism and campaigning for Sikh human rights.

The 35-year-old from

Dumbarton has claimed he was beaten and electrocuted by the Punjab Police and was forced to sign blank documents. He had been in northern India for his wedding when his family say he was arrested and bundled into an unmarked car.

The protest, on the eve of the fifth anniversary of his detention, comes after claims MI5 and MI6 spies supplied information that led to the torture of Mr Johal.

16

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

5 - 11 November 2022

IMMIGRANTS MAKE BRITAIN GREAT migrants may look substantially different. The UK introduced a new immigration system on 1 January 2021, representing a significant tightening of controls on EU migration compared with free movement.

Migrants from EU countries coming to work in lowerskilled and lower-paid occu-

increase in residents born outside the UK were arrivals from Romania after working

whom were boys. In London, Amanullah worked as a bus driver and Sehrun as a seamstress. In a statement issued to Asian Voice, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said, “I’m immensely proud that London is a city that celebrates our diversity. We have seen the huge benefits that immigration brings to our

try. Of course, we need some immigration but we need to train people in this country."

Sir Starmer’s comments come after politicians and campaign groups criticised Home Secretary Suella Braverman's language about migrants.

NHS and immigrants It is public knowledge

Ameet Jogia MBE

Dr Partha Kar OBE

Sadiq Khan

Lord Dolar Popat

pations will, in principle, no longer be able to gain entry.

This is allegedly one of the prime contributing factors to the labour shortage across the UK. It is an unsaid truth that white Britons do not want to sign up for operational or menial jobs which were the primary source of employment for immigrants in the UK. With Brexit, that labour force is lost.

Looking at the British workforce, it is next to impossible to work without immigrants. The number of migrant workers in the tourism and hospitality workforce in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2011 and 2016, was approximately between 300,000 - 400,000.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman recently said she would aspire to cut the overall migration figure from the current level of 239,000 amid a growing clamour from party activists for the government to take control of immigration levels.

However, cutting down immigration has been one of the main agendas of the Tories for years. Braverman’s statement that caught controversy is perhaps not new.

Meanwhile, UK and France are in the “final stage” of reaching an agreement to tackle the issue of small boats crossing the English channel, Rishi Sunak said on Monday. Almost 40,000 people have crossed the Channel in 2022 so far, a rise from 28,526 last year.

(Read more about PM Sunak’s visit to COP27 on P2) Interestingly, the latest report by ONS reflects the positive influence of immigrants on the UK. Just in time to coincide with the anniversary of the exodus, last week, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published the next phase of Census 2021 outputs for England and Wales where we look at topics including migration, country of birth and household size and structure.

The number of England and Wales residents born outside of the UK has increased by 2.5 million in the decade since the last census. New data from Census 2021 show most of the

restrictions were lifted in 2014, followed by India and Poland.

One in six, or 10 million (16.8%), usual residents of England and Wales were born outside the UK on Census Day, 21 March 2021, an increase from 7.5 million (13.4%) in 2011.

Commenting on the numbers, Census Deputy Director Jon Wroth-Smith said: “While these events may have had an impact on people’s decisions or ability to migrate or travel at a given time, the census tells us about the change over the whole decade – who was living here in March 2021, compared with March 2011. We can see Romanians have been a big driver in this change, while there have also been increases due to migration from India, Pakistan and Poland, as well as southern European countries such as Italy.”

London has remained the region with both the largest proportion of people born outside the UK and the largest proportion of people with non-UK passports.

This also implies that the yoke of finding a solution to the UK’s migrant crisis and immigration woes rests on PM Rishi Sunak.

From the London Mayor to NHS doctors, immigrants are running Britain in leading positions and some of the most imperative ones. In light of the anniversary of the Ugandan Expulsion and current ongoing socio-political debates around immigration in the UK, Asian Voice asked members of the community who are immigrants about what immigration means to them, how they've contributed to the economy as an immigrant and how much immigration is good for a nation.

Will continue to champion the rights of migrants, says London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s grandparents migrated from Lucknow in United Provinces, British India to Pakistan following the partition of India in 1947. His father Amanullah and his mother Sehrun arrived in London from Pakistan in 1968. Khan was the fifth of eight children, seven of

capital over many centuries and have become a truly global city thanks to our open and outward-looking attitude. Immigration has helped to shape all aspects of life in our city and every day we see the positive contribution it makes to our economy and our communities. It is something that is too often under-estimated and under-appreciated, and I will continue to champion the rights of migrants as we build a better and fairer London for everyone.”

Conservative Cllr Ameet Jogia MBE who has roots in East African heritage told Asian Voice, “The anniversary of the 50th anniversary of the expulsion of Ugandan Asians, was a timely and proud moment for all Eastern African Asian communities. It reminded us of how far the community has come and what a success immigrants can make with the tremendous opportunities available in this country.

It also reflects the success of the community, in terms of their ability to integrate and contribution to the UK. Within the wider immigration debate, the example of East African Asians reflects the need to promote a fair immigration system that works for all.”

Immigrants supporting NHS yet Starmer says ‘too many people from overseas’ at the NHS The UK is recruiting too many people from overseas into the NHS, Sir Keir Starmer has said. The Labour leader argued immigration was not the solution to a staffing crisis as he called for more recruitment from within the UK. It came as new data revealed staffing issues were linked to two deaths at a Glasgow hospital in one month. The Labour leader said he has daily conversations with his wife Victoria, who works in the NHS, about the health service's struggles.

Asked what she says is the problem with the NHS, Sir Keir replied: "We haven't got enough people." On whether he believes immigration should be used to address that issue, he said: "I think that we should be training people in this coun-

that without the contribution of immigrant doctors in the NHS, especially during the pandemic, whether it was running emergency services or the vaccine rollout, Britain wouldn’t have left the virus behind.

Recently, Dr Partha Kar OBE, Diabetes co-lead, NHS; Director-Equality, Medics, NHS was listed among the 50 most influential Black, Asian and minority ethnic people in health policy over the next 12 months by the Health and Service Journal, UK. Dr Kar is renowned in the community for his tireless work towards helping people with Type 2 diabetes. He too is an immigrant from Kolkata, who has been serving the NHS for years. Speaking to the newsweekly, Professor Partha Kar FRCP told Asian Voice, “In the field of healthcare in the NHS? Immigrants have been a mainstay of providing care to the wider populationwhether they be nurses and doctors. Their contribution over the years has continued to be immense- and widely recognised by many- especially the sacrifices made leaving loved ones and families behind. A key feature going forward is not only to ensure these individuals are recognised but also have opportunities to progress and flourish in the health system- further using their leadership skills to enhance healthcare for the population.”

Further cementing the contribution of immigrants to the nation, in his exclusive column for Asian Voice on the 50th anniversary of Ugandan Expulsion, Lord Dolar Popat writes, “The generational growth of different occupations among those of Ugandan Asian extraction has been one of the happiest outcomes of the expulsion. I’m not just talking about the lawyers and doctors whom so many of our children and children’s children have become, admirable as that is, but about the manifold routes by which those of Ugandan Asian extraction have integrated successfully into the United Kingdom. As the sense that our commu-

olesea vetrila _Shutterstock

Continued from page 1 In the present scenario, the Tory party’s immigration system, including the Rwanda deportation scheme, the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan or breakdown of the states in Syria or Libya and the displacement of citizens after the Ukraine war - the topic of forced migration or refugees has become more obvious for day to day discussions.

To mark a historic moment, on 3rd November, His Majesty King Charles III joined 450 guests at Buckingham Palace to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the arrival of British Asians from Uganda to the United Kingdom. The event included notable Jonathan attendees Dimbleby, Jon Snow, Alan Critchley, Sanjeev Bhaskar OBE, and The Rt. Hon. the Baroness Vadera, The Rt. Hon. Baroness Virginia Bottomley, and The Rt. Reverend and The Rt. Hon. the Lord Sentamu who shared personal experiences, stories, and paid tribute.

Ugandan Expulsion’s anniversary inevitably reminds of Powell’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech in 1968, which was primarily aimed at the Windrush generation and the immigration that took place from Commonwealth countries.

Many forget, but Ugandan Asians had British Overseas Citizen status.

Powell’s speech, though, was constantly referred to at community levels as a way of stopping Ugandan Asians from getting refuge. Over the years, Ugandan Asians have become some of the most successful and wellintegrated communities in the UK. They were not only hard-working and well-educated when they landed in the UK, but many regenerated areas in key towns like Leicester and in boroughs in London, and over decades they have also been integrated into the social fabric of this country. Immigrants like Sanjiv Bhaskar OBE, Lord Dollar Popat, and Lord Jitesh Gadhia have enriched society and contributed to the welfare of British Asians.

Noticeably, it’s taken the UK a lifetime to be able to say that the Prime Minister of Britain is a son of an Indian immigrant, who left Kenya and Tanganyika and settled in Britain in search of a better life.

Even during Brexit, the main factor that divided the country was Brexit. The controversial claim that the UK sends £350m a week to the EU was a "gross underestimate", the then Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had said.

But how did Brexit impact immigration? The effects on overall migration numbers may be limited, but the skills and sectoral mix of

nity had found a homeland that we loved and by which we were honoured rose, Ugandan Asians themselves rose to the top in all walks of British life. This is true whether it be: politics and banking (Shriti Vadera and Jitesh Gadhia, both now fellow peers with me in the House of Lords); policing (Tarique Ghaffur, formerly Assistant Commissioner– Central Operations, Metropolitan Police); sport (Warwickshire cricketer Asif Din), and the media (journalist Yasmin AlibhaiBrown).” (See P1 and 17 for full column) UK to now also recruit spies who are not born to British parents The UK’s three intelligence agencies are seeking to broaden the pool of talent they can recruit from by accepting anyone who has British citizenship – regardless of where their parents are from. “We perform best in our mission to keep the nation safe and further the UK’s interests when we reflect the diversity of the country we serve,” said a spokesperson speaking on behalf of GCHQ, MI5 and MI6.

Migrant poetry This November Indian origin Rhiya Pau’s poetry collection, Routes, which commemorates this year being 50 years since the Ugandan Asian expulsion and since Rhiya’s family and so many others - came to Britain will be published.

Rhiya Pau told Asian Voice, “To examine our own history is to change the way we see ourselves, to celebrate our victories and hold ourselves accountable for our failures. Learning about the Ugandan Expulsion is an opportunity to honour the contributions the diaspora has made to British society and a chance for our community to collectively process traumas from the experience. In 1972, a decade after Uganda’s independence from the British, the Asian community owned 90% of Uganda’s businesses.

As a community that identifies strongly with Gandhian philosophies of decolonising and redistributing wealth and power to indigenous populations, discourse around the Expulsion also presents an opportunity to acknowledge the structural colonialism we were upholding in East Africa. At a macro level, we were agents of the Empire.

Acknowledging this does not diminish or invalidate our trauma as a community.

Navigating the intersections of our macro and micro-histories is complex and challenging. As a community, we suffered but we also enforced suffering – fifty years on, it’s my hope that we have healed enough from our own pain, to be able to recognise both these statements as truths.”

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

17

www.asian-voice.com

12 - 18 November 2022

The story of Ugandan Asian success in Britain Lord Dolar Popat

who emigrated to Britain between 1948 and 1971 As we consider that fateful from Caribbean moment, fifty years ago, when Idi countries, the Windrush Amin forced thousands of Ugandan generation, we slowly Asians to leave their homeland, began to fit in. It wasn’t many will reflect on the economic just about us changing success that followed that exodus. though: Britain learned On all those amazing businesses our virtues, just as we that grew through sheer effort, not learned Britain’s virtues. just in Britain, but also in Canada Lord Dolar Popat The country of Enoch and the United States. Many of the Powell began to exiles, who were predominantly Gujaratis, transform into the country of Lenny Henry set up pharmacies, for example. Gujaratis and Sanjeev Bhaskar. now probably own more independent With the arrival of the 1980s, it became pharmacies in Britain and the United States easier for many who fled Uganda in the than any other group. Then there were 1970s to make rapid progress in different those, like me, who ran post offices, or built types of business, but that didn’t apply to all. hotels or care homes, as I also did. My pride A lot of expelled Ugandan Asians worked all and joy in the care-home category, Karuna their lives in factories, for example at the Manor in Harrow, is still going strong.

Ford Motor plant in Dagenham, or at On the 2nd of November a National Leyland in Coventry. By and large, I’d say it Commemoration Event, hosted by His was easier for those of us who were selfMajesty, King Charles III took place at employed. We were able to grow serial small Buckingham Palace. The event was businesses. A 1976 Daily Mail article organised by the British Asian Trust charity estimated that Ugandan Asians had taken and led by the chair, my noble friend Lord over 4,000 grocery stores, 1,000 newsagents, Gadhia which gave us all the opportunity to 500 sub-post offices and 300 pharmacies. reflect on the significant achievements of That probably understates by a large margin those who were welcomed here. Not just the the amount of commercial activity. individuals themselves but also their I myself jumped from post offices to subsequent generations.

These accountancy, from accountancy to SME achievements, ranging from small-scale finance, from that to care homes and hotels enterprises (shops, post offices and and so on into larger enterprise. My own pharmacies) to professional services story is quite typical in that way. Whilst (accountancy and law) to large-scale growing my business, I felt called to be part enterprises (principally in banking and of the community and to get involved in manufacturing) have all found success on politics. I saw this was a way of influencing the basis of a single ethos: joining in. A single what was happening both locally and ethos with a specific intent: becoming nationally in a way that we should have done British. all those years ago. I was then offered the A lot of the focus of this anniversary will opportunity to be a Member of the House of be on the bigger businesses built by those Lords, something I gladly accepted as I who fled with nothing, or at least not very understood would allow me to make a much much. The largest numbers arrived in bigger impact than I would have been able to Britain on a series of cold autumn mornings make in business. I saw it as my civic duty to at Stansted airport in 1972. The first plane serve my country and represent my saw 193 scared but hopeful Ugandan Asians community. arrive. Stansted wasn’t the bustling airport it Being self-employed was scary as well as is today, more like a bunch of hangars. flexible. There were times when many of us Shivering as they were processed, many were nearly went under. I was about to write taken to an RAF camp at Stradishall in ‘there was no safety net’, but that’s not quite Suffolk, which was organised by the UK right. How many of us borrowed money Ugandan Resettlement Board. from family members to take the next risk?

Out of these kind (because Britain was Check. How many of us went to some older not obliged to make us welcome; it was a more experienced member of the Ugandan gift) but nonetheless harsh beginnings, a Asian community for advice? Check. How great many business stories began, whether many of relied on the advice of a Ugandan in accountancy, jewellery, SME financing, Asian working in a professional role, such as motor parts distribution and so many other a solicitor or accountant? Check. spheres besides.

The generational growth of different What I’d like to think about now is how occupations among those of Ugandan Asian small the beginnings of this broad success extraction has been one of the happiest was. How many of us older folks had parents outcomes of the expulsion. I’m not just with tiny shops in Kampala or Jinja? talking about the lawyers and doctors whom Thousands, probably. How many of us lived so many of our children and children’s pretty much hand to mouth there, with children have become, admirable as that is, family members all doing extra work of one but about the manifold routes by which type or another to make ends meet? My those of Ugandan Asian extraction have brother Manoj used to take in sewing. I can integrated successfully into the United still remember the whirr and thump of his Kingdom. As the sense that our community old Singer. He later became a successful had found a homeland that we loved and by accountant in Canada. Going back to which we were honoured rose, Ugandan Uganda to visit our old house in Tororo, a Asians themselves rose to the top in all walks few years ago, I was amazed how cramped of British life. This is true whether it be: and gloomy that little place was, even politics and banking (Shriti Vadera and Jitesh though my childhood memories are Gadhia, both now fellow peers with me in predominantly positive. the House of Lords); policing (Tarique When we did get to Britain, or wherever Ghaffur, formerly Assistant Commissioner– we pitched up, times were still hard at first Central Operations, Metropolitan Police); and the pickings modest. I myself worked in sport (Warwickshire cricketer Asif Din), and a Wimpy Bar in London’s Kilburn, clearing the media (journalist Yasmin Alibhaitables: learning to joke with the lary builders Brown). who were some of our main customers was So what is the common thread? It’s hard part of my acculturation in Britain. A key work, above all. Also beliefs in aspiration, fact is that we all began working, in whatever self-reliance, personal enterprise and the role, as soon as we arrived. It was easier in importance of family and community. These those days to get national insurance are things in which the vast majority of documentation, a key hurdle, a matter of people of this country also believe. It’s why hours! we have fitted in, more and more so over the One should not underestimate the level past half-century. And you know what? The of racism there was, but nor should one story of Ugandan Asian success in Britain, over-rate it either. The truth is, like those small and large, is not over: it’s still ongoing.

Buckingham Palace witnesses history Continued from page 1

On 4 August 1972, some 60,000 Ugandan Asians were given 90 days’ notice to leave the country by former Ugandan President General Idi Amin. Almost half arrived and settled in the UK. The first evacuation flight organised by the UK Government landed at Stansted Airport on 18

His Majesty King Charles III with Lord Jitesh Gadhia

In conversation with Sanjeev Bhaskar OBE, Chandrika Joshi and Jane Preece

Readings by Baroness Virginia Bottomley and Baroness Shriti Vadera

September 1972, carrying 193 passengers. Sixteen temporary resettlement and reception camps were set up around the country with over 70 voluntary sector organisations mobilised to provide humanitarian support for the evacuees.

Thousands of private individuals also volunteered, providing warm clothes, activities for children, English language teaching and other support. A specially formed body, the Uganda Resettlement Board, was established by the Home Office to co-ordinate these efforts.

The event included notable attendees Jonathan Dimbleby, Jon Snow, Alan Critchley, Sanjeev Bhaskar OBE,

The Rt. Hon. the Baroness Vadera, The Rt. Hon. the Baroness Virginia Bottomley, and The Rt. Reverend and The Rt. Hon. the Lord Sentamu who shared personal experiences, stories, and paid tribute.

The Lord Gadhia, Chair of the British Asian Trust, who was born in Uganda and arrived in the UK with his family in 1972, said: “We are immensely thankful to, His Majesty The King, (who founded The British Asian Trust in 2007 as The then Prince of Wales) for his deep interest in the Commemoration event and for his continued engagement with the South Asian diaspora in the United Kingdom.

We were proud to have this opportunity to share stories collected through the work of British Ugandan Asians at 50 and

Invited guests at the Buckingham Palace

Lord and Lady Popat with other invited guests

Remembering and reliving by Jon Snow and Jonathan Dimbleby

to highlight the contributions which Ugandan Asians have made to shaping modern Britain.

Above all, we were able to express our eternal gratitude for the warm welcome we received from the British public and the amazing support of voluntary organisations during our hour of need.”

18

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

12 - 18 November 2022

Dear Financial Voice Reader,

Alpesh Patel OBE

Dear Financial Voice Reader - Is the Stock Market Correction Over or Just Beginning?

After a turbulent start to 2022, it's time to evaluate where we are. Is the stock market overvalued or undervalued? Should we buy to dip?

The market spent this year recovering from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Then, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell suggested that the Fed could be more aggressive in lifting interest rates. Shortly after, the Dow Jones, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 dropped up to 25%.Then in the US we had the mini Budget and diving Pound and spiking inflation and the biggest single interest rate rises in over a decade.

The Fed's tightening of monetary policy was thought to have been built into market prices. With more hikes and large ones promised next year, the markets are understandably edgy.

This move indicates it's very serious about tackling inflation, even if that means stifling economic growth.

On the positive side, a lot of the information affecting stock prices is out in the open. The market understands that The Fed intends to end its accommodative monetary policy. Geopolitical risks, high valuations, inflation, and slow global growth are well documented. Additionally, corporations are well stocked with cash and should be able to survive a downturn.

On the other hand, inflation and slow economic growth will affect profitability. Supply chain problems — already an issue since the pandemic — have been aggravated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

However, historical trends suggest that market pessimism like this is traditionally followed by positive returns on a 6 to 12-month basis.

Which Sectors Still Hold Value?

Depending on which metrics you look at, the Energy sector could still hold a lot of promise. It's up around 32% this year, but its P/E ratio is only around 11. Compared to the Tech (P/E 23.83) and Communications Sector (P/E 18.27), Energy looks undervalued. I don’t hold stocks for more than 12 months at a time anyway.

I am in US energy stocks and a lot of cash on the sidelines. For the UK only one in four FTSE 100 companies is up this year and Pearson is the best performer! The FTSE is near its 2000 levels. In the near term, I am willing to wait before looking at UK stocks over US ones.

Govt announces bank holiday for King’s coronation The government has announced an additional bank holiday to mark the coronation of King Charles III next year.

Downing Street said the UK-wide holiday will fall on Monday 8 May after the coronation at Westminster Abbey two days earlier. Rishi Sunak said the day would be an opportunity for families and communities across the country to come together to celebrate.

The announcement follows calls from Tory MPs for the government to either move the early May bank holiday from 1 May to coincide with the coronation weekend or to declare an extra day off. Sunak said: “The coronation of a new monarch is a unique moment for our country. In recognition of this historic occasion, I am pleased to announce an additional bank holiday for the whole United Kingdom next year.

Charles will be anointed with holy oil, receive the orb, coronation ring and sceptre, then be crowned with the St Edward’s crown and blessed during the ceremony, which will be conducted by the archbishop of Canterbury. The Queen Consort will also be anointed with holy oil and crowned, as was the Queen Mother when she was crowned Queen in 1937.

There have been reports that Charles wants a pared-back ceremony of just one hour. Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation service in 1953 lasted more than three hours.

UK would face 'very challenging' 2-year slump, warns BoE The Bank of England has warned the UK is facing its longest recession since records began, as it raised interest rates by the most in 33 years. It warned the UK would face a "very challenging" two-year slump with unemployment nearly doubling by 2025.

Bank boss Andrew Bailey warned of a "tough road ahead" for UK households, but said it had to act forcefully now or things "will be worse later on". It lifted interest rates to 3% from 2.25%, the biggest jump since 1989. By raising rates, the Bank is trying to bring down soaring prices as the cost of living rises at the fastest rate in 40 years.

Food and energy prices

have jumped, in part because of the Ukraine war, which has left many households facing hardship and started to drag on the economy. A recession is defined as when a country's economy shrinks for two threemonth periods - or quarters - in a row.

Typically, companies make less money, pay falls

and unemployment rises.

This means the government receives less money in tax to use on public services such as health and education.

The Bank had previously expected the UK to fall into recession at the end of this year and said it would last for all next year. But it now believes the economy already entered a "challeng-

ing" downturn this summer, which will continue next year and into the first half of 2024 - a possible general election year.

The unemployment rate is currently at its lowest for 50 years, but it is expected to rise to nearly 6.5%.

The interest rate announcement is the first since former Prime Minister Liz Truss and former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled their controversial mini-Budget in September.

Their plans for £45bn worth of unfunded tax cuts much of which have been reversed - sent the value of the pound tumbling and sparked market turmoil, forcing the Bank of England to step in to restore calm.

Offshore companies own British Indian investment advisor joins UK Treasury panel over 138,000 properties Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has appointed British Indian investment expert Sushil Wadhwani as one of the four financial specialists appointed to a new Economic Advisory Council. The council will give independent advice to the government.

Wadhwani, who heads up PGIM Wadhwani asset management firm has over 30 years of investment experience. He will join Gertjan Vlieghe of Element Capital, Rupert Harrison of BlackRock and Karen Ward of J.P. Morgan Asset Management

in the council.

Announcing the decision in the House of Commons, Hunt said the group will provide "more independent expert advice" to ministers. “In a period of global economic challenge and volatility, prioritising UK economic stability is vital.”

The UK Treasury said all members of the council will be attending in an independent capacity and have been chosen for their “personal knowledge and expertise”, as relevant to advising the government on the UK economy.

More than 138,000 residential and commercial properties in England and Wales are owned by offshore companies, with holdings in London worth a combined £55bn, according to a research.

The findings come as the government begins a crackdown to dismantle the secrecy that surrounds offshore property ownership, which it says has been used by “corrupt elites laundering money through UK property”. The land registry lists about 94,000 property titles as owned by offshore companies. By counting all of the properties owned, researchers have found an additional 44,000.

The research was conducted by the Wealth Chain Project, which works to highlight the impact that property investment via offshore tax havens has on socio-economic inequality.

London boroughs face huge funding cuts London’s borough councils will face a £700 million shortfall next year that would require the “toughest of tough” money-saving decisions - unless the Government increases funding for local services, cross-party group London Councils has warned.

It says the capital’s local authorities face making “colossal” savings that could see cuts to vital frontline services such as social care and bin collections, and would hit Londoners already struggling with the rising cost of living. It added that authorities in the capital

are currently up against their most challenging financial outlook since 2010. The energy crisis, soaring inflation and a rising demand for services have put extra pressure on local authority budgets, opening a wide gap between the funding received and amount spent on local services.

Based on the Government’s current funding plans, London boroughs face a gap of up to £400 million this year and £700 million in 2023-24, London Councils’ analysis shows. In total, London’s local government is fore-

cast to see a funding gap of £2.4 billion over the next four years. The rising financial pressure is leading boroughs to consider options they have previously sought to avoid, such as cutbacks to social care, bin collections and homelessness services. As Rishi Sunak’s new Government prepares to unveil its plans for public finances, London Councils is calling for a funding boost to help prevent such cuts. London Councils chairwoman Georgia Gould said: “The funding outlook for boroughs is beyond bleak. The scale of the savings

required is colossal and will inevitably mean cuts to the vital frontline services that so many Londoners rely on.

A Government spokesman said: “We recognise councils may be concerned about their budgets and are working very closely with them to understand the impact [of] inflation. “This year, we have made an additional £3.7 billion available to councils in England, including an extra £685 million in London.

Through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, we are also providing a discount for councils dealing with rising energy costs this winter.”

Rise in pension age could stop women caring for older relatives Millions to receive latest The increase in women’s state pension age could force mothers and daughters to withdraw the free, informal care they give the UK’s rapidly ageing population, a paper has warned.

The report, titled Should I Care or Should I Work? The Impact of Work on Informal Care, says this family care must be urgently replaced by significant increases in state spending otherwise families will have to exhaust their savings buying care privately.

For families who cannot

find or afford to buy in care, however, older relatives’ lives will be put in danger, the authors say.

Researchers from three European universities used data from the Office for

National Statistics and the UK Household Longitudinal Study to criticise the government’s recent decision to increase the female state pension age (SPA) by up to six years, with further pension reforms being reviewed by the government. The move is, they found, exacerbating what experts had described even before the changes to SPA as a perfect storm of

limited financial resources, significant workforce challenges and increasingly complex population needs.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “The government has launched the second State Pension Age Review. This, as previous reviews have done, will consider whether the rules around State Pension age are appropriate, based on a wide range of evidence, including latest life expectancy data and two independent reports.”

cost-of-living payment Eight million people on low incomes who receive certain benefits will start getting the second instalment of a targeted cost-of-living payment. The £324 payment would be made directly into bank accounts between now and 23 November, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said.

Those who qualify via tax credits will receive it by the end of the month. A first grant of £326 was paid earlier in the year and, together, they are designed to assist with rising bills. The support, totalling £650, is for those across the UK on certain benefits, including Universal Credit and pension credit. It is the largest part of direct financial assistance from the government to tackle costs such as energy bills.

The funds are paid directly into the same accounts used to receive benefits payments, with the reference of the recipients' national insurance number followed by "DWP COL".

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

FINANCE & REAL ESTATE

19

12 - 18 November 2022

India's GST collection reaches £15 bn in October Goods and services tax (GST) collections rose 16.

6% to £15.17 billion in October, the second highest monthly mop-up since the indirect tax regime was launched in mid-2017. It was only the second time that collections crossed £15 bn with the average monthly collections this year pegged at £14.92 billion. The pace of expansion in October was the slowest in the current fiscal year, according to data

issued by the finance ministry, even though tax collections are on track to surpass the yearly objective.

For some time, the administration had set a goal of collecting £15 billion.

It is also investigating the causes of an import-related lag.

Strong demand and better management, according to experts, were the causes of the growth.

Saurabh Agarwal, tax partner at consulting firm EY India stated that “While the recent holiday season helped the GST collection, increased administration by the federal government and

the states has also helped the revenue rise. Healthy collections can be anticipated in the upcoming months as well because both the revenue wings, CBDT and CBIC, are tasked with improving tax collections.

Due to numerous Indian government fiscal measures, the selfsustaining economy appears to be moving with a further fall in tax collections on imports.”

AirAsia leaves India and sells its final JV interest The AirAsia Aviation Group, based in Malaysia, has agreed to quit one of the largest civil aviation markets in the world by selling all of its shares in AirAsia India, in which Air India (AI) already holds a controlling interest.

Eight years ago, the group entered the market with high hopes.

It is selling 16. 3% in AirAsia India, which currently flies to 18 destinations with a market share of about 6%, for $19 million to AI, an affiliate of

51% share in AirAsia India to AI to consolidate its aviation interests under AI. Once the deal is completed, AirAsia India will become a 100% arm Tata Sons. Last year, it had sold 32. 7% in the low cost Indian carrier for $38 million to Tata Sons, reducing itself to an insignificant junior partner.

Tata Sons had subsequently transferred the 32.7% as well as its own

of AI. Due to its involvement in scandals, AirAsia India never received approval to operate internationally, hence it was unable to compete with other lowcost airlines like GoFirst or SpiceJet. The joint venture

has received some tax notices throughout the course of the Malaysian carrier's operations in India, and it will "continue to collaborate with AirAsia India in contesting those," according to the statement.

For a brief time, the Indian company may continue to use the AirAsia name. However, after integrating AirAsia India with its 100% affiliate Air India Express, AI intends to rebrand the whole budget sector as Air India Express.

Adani Enterprises reports Infy on way to become three fold rise in Q2 revenue India's no 2 IT services firm The ports-to-power conglomerate Adani Group, Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL), reported a tripling of its revenue. In the second quarter of FY23, the company's revenues totaled £3.87 billion as against £1.32 billion in the same period the previous year.

The company’s EBITDA increased by 69% to £213.6 million on account of strong performance by IRM and airport business and its attributable profit after tax rose by 117% to £46.1 million in line with EBITDA. AEL’s robust growth in the topline and operational performance can be attributed to the strong earnings from integrated resource management and airport businesses.

During the quarter, Adani Airports handled some 16.3 million passengers at 90% of pre-Covid level, in addition to 126,000 air traffic movements in addition to 200,000 tonne cargo, the

Gautam Adani

company said in its stock exchange filings.

Group chairman Gautam Adani, said, “As we alter sector after sector through digitalisation, innovation in technology, and a stronger emphasis on equitable energy transition, the Adani Group's core approach to value creation is demonstrated by AEL's growing speed of business incubation and its astonishingly constant performance.” During the quarter, AEL’s data centre arm, Adani Connex Private Ltd operationalised its first data center facility of 17 MW at Chennai. The Noida data centre project is also 22% complete, according to the company.

The Indian IT services pecking order may undergo a shakeup with Infosys reclaiming its No. 2 rank in the coming year as it is swiftly catching up with Cognizant.

Infosys in the September quarter had revenue of $4. 6 billion, just $300 million lower than Cognizant’s $4. 9 billion.

And there’s a huge gulf between the two companies’ growth rates. While Infosys grew at 18. 8% year-on-year inconstant currency in the quarter, Cognizant’s growth was a mere 5.

6%. And while Infosys is guiding for a revenue growth of 1516% in constant currency for financial year 2022-23, Cognizant is guiding for a 7% growth in constant currency for the calendar year 2022 (which is also the company’s financial year).

Cognizant saw searing rates of growth under the previous CEO, Francisco D’Souza, during which the company first crossed Wipro in revenue, in 2011, and then Infosys, in 2012. But the growth started slowing in his final years at the helm.

It has revised its revenue projection downward three times this year, most recently citing macroeconomic difficulties as well as personnel difficulties, particularly the high turnover rates in the US. Hansa Iyengar, IT analyst in London-based advisory Omdia, said “Cognizant’s large exposure to verticals that are usually harder hit in recessionary scenarios as well as greater reliance on the US market is a threat that will come into play in the coming year. Infosys, on the other hand, has done a good job of diversifying its portfolio across verticals and markets, which provides some insulation against headwinds.

It would be good to see some excitement in the sector in the next couple of quarters!”

RIL appoints Kamath to lead its NBFC venture Reliance Industries (RIL) has appointed senior banker K V Kamath as chairman of its prospective NBFC venture, Jio Financial Services.

Kamath has also been appointed as an independent director to the board of RIL, the parent company of Jio Financial, for a period of five years.

Before putting its stock on the Indian stock exchanges, the energy-toentertainment conglomerate is currently in the process of

spinning off its NBFC business and merging it with Reliance Strategic Investments (which will be renamed Jio Financial). For each share of RIL they own, shareholders will receive one share of Jio Financial. RIL stated that Kamath will continue as the non-

executive chairman and independent director of Jio Financial upon consummation of the merger scheme and listing of the company on stock exchanges.

Kamath's relationship with Reliance and the Ambani family stretches back to the 1970s, when he assisted RIL in obtaining its first term loan while working as a young officer at Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of

India (which later changed its name to ICICI Bank). A few decades later, the Ambani family used Kamath's mediation services in order to settle the asset division between Mukesh Ambani and Anil. Kamath, best known as the MD of ICICI Bank, had transformed the institution into a diversified, technology-driven financial services group across banking, insurance and asset management in India and globally.

A Seller’s Perspective

Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

I went to see a building in a gentrified area of North London. An often heard story, the sellers are owner occupiers who have been based in the same location for the last 40 years; and now they wish to sell and move to the countryside and enjoy some of their hard earned cash. I haven’t done the numbers but I suspect the money they will get from selling the property will be far in excess of what they have made running their business; or perhaps the business has been running them for all these years.

Luckily for them the property is held not in their personal names but in the vehicle of their company. I say luckily as this gives them the option instead of selling their property they can sell the company shares which own the property. This allows them to benefit from Entrepreneurs Relief; this can amount to a substantial saving.

I got to the appointment an hour early, as my watch still hadn’t adjusted to going back; the agent wasn’t there unsurprisingly! This gave me the opportunity to get the seller to show me around the building and talk about the business. This is very important as it helps to understand the psyche of the seller. She let me know that many buyers could not get their head around why they had to purchase the company and not the property.

By purchasing the company one benefits from the rate of stamp duty which is only 0.5% as opposed to the commercial rate. There is a lot more involvement in regards to warranties and guarantees in regards to the transfer of company shares. There was the added problem here of a failed planning application which on the surface looks worrying but speaking to the owner and understanding the context it all made sense. The architect they had used was from out of town, and not the fastest tool in the box. By the time the application was submitted the planning criteria had changed and therefore the application failed. Speaking to the owners it was clear this wasn’t their game and they had abdicated the whole process; and it appeared he had dropped the ball.

We will be bidding for this property, or company rather. But perhaps not at the asking price, as we are on a downward slope, and today’s prices will not hold up in times to come. Therefore, we aim to go below the asking price. This will be a project focused on the income generated not the capital growth or value add; we will be counting the pennies generated every month.

We aim to secure the planning through permitted development and not through planning. This places the process in the framework of national criteria and not on local ‘opinions’.

It may well be that we are not the front runners, therefore we will not get the contract. However, it’s worth still hovering around the deal, until it’s at least exchanged; as there could be much delay involved, the market may change, offers may get pulled. A deal is not done until it is done.

India's forex holdings record their largest weekly rise According to the RBI's weekly statistical supplement published last week, India's foreign exchange reserves increased by $6. 6 billion to $531.1 billion in the week ending October 28. This was the largest weekly increase since September 2021. Dealers suggested that several factors, including the central bank getting dollars that it had previously purchased on forward markets, could account for the surge. Of late, the RBI’s intervention has been largely to support the rupee and ensure that it does not depreciate sharply.

The country’s reserves were $524. 5 billion at the end of the previous week that ended October 21. Reserves have declined around 16% this year so far due to the RBI’s intervention in the currency markets, as well as valuation changes owing to the dollar’s strength. The rupee increased during the holiday-shortened week that concluded on October 28 to halt a run of six weeks of falls. For the current week, it closed flat at 82. 44 per dollar, gaining 45 paise over last Thursday’s close of 82. 89.

Due to ongoing foreign capital inflows and a weaker dollar outside, the rupee strengthened. The local section of the interbank foreign exchange market opened at 82. 85 and increased to 82 as the day's high during the session. It finally settled at 82. 44 against the dollar.

Special drawing rights (SDRs) increased to $17.6 from $185 million. Additionally, the nation's reserve position with the IMF increased by $48 million to $4. 8 billion in the reporting week, according to figures from the apex bank.

20

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

12 - 18 November 2022

Imran's supporters block roads, burn tyres in anti-govt protest ISLAMABAD: Supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan blocked roads near the capital on Tuesday, disrupting traffic and forcing schools to close, as they protested against a bid to assassinate their leader at a recent anti-government rally.

The former cricket star, who has been pressing for a general election since he was ousted as prime minister after losing a confidence vote in parliament in April, was shot at the rally last Thursday. He is recovering from leg wounds.

"People are finding it very hard to go to work," said police official Yawar Ali. "Families have been stuck in the traffic for hours. We've even got reports that the protesters have not let ambulances pass." Khan's successor as prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has rejected his demand for new polls and the deadlock has stoked instability in the nuclear-armed country of 220 million people.

Khan's supporters began their protests on major roads around Islamabad late on Monday. They have blocked the

highway to Islamabad's international airport and the ones linking the capital to the cities of Lahore and Peshawar.

Television footage showed Khan's supporters burning tires as they set up protest camps across roads. The government ordered all state and private schools to shut for the day, according to an order.

Khan, 70, launched what is known as a long-march protest rally from Lahore to the capital on Oct. 28. He was waving to the crowd from a container mounted on a truck in Wazirabad city in Punjab province last Thursday when a man fired several shots at him.

Khan was among 10 wounded

China offers more aid to Pak, says will do more BEIJING: China, which has offered a $9 billion bailout package to Pakistan, on Monday pledged more support for the cash-strapped nation, saying that it has done its “utmost” to stabilise the financial situation of its all-weather ally and will continue to do so. Pakistan had been engaging with China and Saudi Arabia for financial support, including rolling over maturing loans as part of arrangements for about $35 billion putouts against debt and liabilities during the current fiscal year.

Pakistan’s finance minister Ishaq Dar has said Islamabad

would be getting about $9 billion from China and $4 billion from Saudi as the government tries to steady the nation’s weak economy.

Quoting Xi Jinping, Dar said the Chinese President in his meeting with PM Shehbaz Sharif had assured him, “don’t worry, we will not let you down”. Replying to a query on his reactions to Dar’s assertions, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing, “China has done its utmost to help Pakistan stabilise its financial situation.

We have been doing so, and we will continue to do so. ”

people. One party worker was killed.

Police have arrested the suspected shooter. Khan's party announced late on Monday that the march would resume on Thursday at the place where Khan was attacked, and he would lead it virtually.

The political tension comes as Pakistan is grappling with economic turmoil exacerbated by recent flooding that the government estimates caused economic losses worth $30 billion.

Cities erupt in protest His right leg in a cast after surgery to remove bullets, Imran appeared in a livestreamed address to the nation from a wheelchair, barely 24

Chinese CPEC workers in Pak to move in bullet-proof cars Islamabad: Pakistan and China have agreed to use bullet-proof vehicles for all outdoor movements of the Chinese nationals working on the CPEC projects in Pakistan to protect them from terrorist attacks after Beijing expressed concern over their security, according to a media report. The ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) links Pakistan’s Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea with Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous Region.

The $60 billion CPEC is part of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, a pet project of

Lanka under international pressure to act on ethnic reconciliation COLOMBO: Sri Lanka is gradually coming under the influence of the West, with the non-Western powers clearing the ground for that. China is dragging its feet on helping Lanka to get out of the debt trap. India has already done its utmost in terms of emergency assistance and is waiting to see what the rest of the international community has up its sleeve on the issue of debt restructuring. That leaves Sri Lanka with no option but to bank on the West and its institutions to help it emerge from the economic rut.

But the West’s demands have wide-ranging domestic political implications. Colombo has to meet not just the IMF’s demands for drastic adjustments in the economic structure, but also the expectations of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the human rights stipulations attached to the European Union’s trade concessions under its GSP + scheme.

The latest (September 6) UNHRC resolution on Sri Lanka urged the government to “re-launch a comprehensive and victim-centred strategy on transitional justice and accountability, with a timebound plan to implement outstanding commitments, including taking steps in relation to the establishment of a credible truth-seeking mechanism and an ad hoc special court.” Victims should be given a role in determining the shape of the

hours after surviving an attack that brought PTI supporters to the streets and triggered a faceoff with government forces trying to stave off the gathering storm.

The lengthy address came even as his supporters braved tear gas and dozens of arrests across cities, including Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Karachi, in protest against the firing.

Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, Malakand, Rajanpur, Bahawalnagar, Muzaffargarh and Kohat, among others, also erupted in protest in response to the PTI leadership's call for a nationwide movement following Friday prayers.

Meanwhile, interior minister Sanaullah dismissed Imran’s allegations at a presser, saying the PTI-led Punjab government was to blame for any security lapse. “We see Imran Khan as a political opponent, not an enemy,” he said. In the national assembly, defence minister Khawaja Asif said if PTI believed there was a conspiracy behind the attack on Imran, it should immediately be substantiated.

mechanisms, it added.

The resolution urged States to cooperate in accountability efforts, “including by using available avenues of extraterritorial and universal jurisdiction, to investigate and prosecute crimes under international law committed in Sri Lanka.” Lanka rejected the resolution on the grounds that these stipulations violated the country’s constitution. But it admitted the need to promote human rights and ethnic reconciliation as per international standards and kept the door open for cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR). Sri Lanka could not totally shun the UNHRC as the latter is dominated by the Western powers on whom Sri Lanka is heavily dependent economically. Most of its trade is with the West.

That brings one to the EU’s GSP+ scheme. GSP+ gives Sri Lanka preferential access to the EU, the single biggest market for the island’s US$ 5 billion garment industry. But the concessions are linked to the ratification of 27 international protocols on labour, environment and human rights. And here is where Lanka has been wanting. The EU has been regularly complaining about the indifferent application of these protocols. In June 2021, the EU parliament had adopted a resolution suggesting that the EU consider withdrawing the GSP+ facility citing “deep concern” over rights violations.

President Xi Jinping. The security of Chinese workers has been a hurdle in the implementation of its projects. According to the draft minutes of the 11th Joint Cooperation Committee of the CPEC, both sides have also agreed to strengthen the capabilities of the law-enforcement agencies and investigators, Express Tribune newspaper reported.

“It has been decided that bullet-proof vehicles shall be used for all outdoor movement of the Chinese employed on projects,” said the minutes. Xi had expressed last week “deep concern” over the security of Chinese nationals working in Pakistan on CPEC projects and sought “reliable and safe environment” for them in his meeting with PM Shehbaz Sharif.

The minutes also showed that the Chinese side committed to providing security-related equipment to Pakistani lawenforcement agencies. To speed up the investigations into the crimes involving Chinese nationals, it had been decided a national forensic investigative agency would be built.

The Chinese side has also vowed to establish a training centre for the private security guards and law enforcement personnel to equip them with modern techniques. It was also decided that a Joint Technical Expert Working Group would be established for the security of non-CPEC projects.

in brief INDIAN ORIGIN CANDIDATE IN NY APOLOGISES FOR A TWEET An Indian-American Republican candidate, who is contesting for the upcoming general election to the New York state assembly district 16, has apologised for a tweet targeting the Muslim community, saying his intent was never to hurt anyone. Vibhuti Jha, 70, who has now deleted the tweet, is running against Democrat Gina Sillitti for the New York state assembly district 16 elections. “I deleted a tweet that appeared several months ago forwarded by someone to me! I believe some of the Muslim groups were unhappy about the content & comparison made therein. I confirm the intent was never to hurt anyone,” Jha tweeted. “I want to add I have very good Muslim friends - we share mutual respect for each other and share jokes and laughter in these difficult times. Friendship is all about sharing joy, anger. We have to face our challenges together,”he said.

100-YEAR-OLD TO FIGHT NEPAL POLLS AGAINST FORMER PM A centenarian freedom fighter, Tika Dutta Pokharel, will be the oldest candidate in Nepal’s parliamentary election to be held on November 20, contesting against former PM Pushpakamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and aims to turn the nation into a Hindu state again.

Pokharel turned 100 last week. His health is sound, can walk and talk very well and is active in politics, said Sushil Man Serchan, president of Nepali Congress (BP), a breakaway faction of the governing Nepali Congress. “There is no real leader in the country and those who claim themselves as leaders have come just to earn money,” Serchan quoted Pokharel as saying. “I have filed my candidacy to give rights to the people and to turn our country into a Hindu state again,” said Pokharel, who is contesting the polls for the first time. Nepal abolished its 239year-old Hindu monarchy in 2008.

BORDER DISPUTE: NEPAL PM CALLS FOR ‘DIPLOMACY’ Nepal’s PM Sher Bahadur Deuba at a poll rally in Dadeldhura, bordering Uttarakhand’s Champawat district, said that “the border dispute with India will be solved through dialogue and diplomacy.” This news comes after former PM KP Sharma Oli had raised Kalapani issue at a poll rally in Darchula, saying “Nepal will not give up a single inch of her territory and retake all land that has been occupied by others.” Deuba, however, avoided using the word ‘Kalapani’, an area which is a bone of contention between the two countries, but made a veiled reference to it.

N KOREA FIRES 23 MISSILES, ONE LANDS NEAR SOUTH COAST North Korea fired at least 23 missiles into the sea, including one that landed less than 60 km off South Korea’s coast, which the South’s President Yoon Suk-yeol described as “territorial encroachment”. It was the first time a ballistic missile had landed near the South’s waters since the peninsula was divided in 1945, and the most missiles fired by the North in a single day. South Korean warplanes fired three air-to-ground missiles into the sea north across the NLL in response, the South’s military said. An official said the weapons used included an AGM-84H/K SLAMER, which is a US-made “stand-off” precision attack weapon that can fly for up to 270 km with a 360-kg warhead. The South’s launches came after Yoon’s office vowed a “swift and firm response”.

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

21

www.asian-voice.com

12 - 18 November 2022

in brief KENYA'S LARGEST TUSKED ELEPHANT IS DEAD A female elephant, believed to be Kenya's largest tusked elephant, has died of old age in the east African country, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said. Dida, known for her long tusks, was estimated to be between 60 and 65 years old. The life expectancy of elephants in the wild is estimated at around 60 years. "She died of natural causes due to her old age," the Kenya Wildlife Service announced in a tweet. The elephant lived in the vast Tsavo National Park in south-eastern Kenya, known for its wildlife. Dida "led her herd through many seasons and difficult times," according to the KWS.

CHINA’S ‘OUT OF CONTROL’ ROCKET BOOSTER HEADED BACK TO EARTH A massive Chinese rocket booster is headed for an uncontrolled fall through the atmosphere, sparking concerns that pieces of the giant vehicle could crash to Earth. It’s the fourth time in two years a large Chinese rocket has headed for an uncontrolled impact and that has many space industry experts crying foul. Both the US and Europe adhere to a rule that any space debris that is disposed of over the Earth must not exceed a one-in-10,000 chance that it will cause an injury on the ground. The falling booster is the large core stage of the Long March 5B rocket launched on October 31. The rocket lofted an experimental laboratory module called Mengtian, meant to dock with China’s space station,Tiangong.

FINNISH PM CLEARED OF MISCONDUCT Finnish PM Sanna Marin was cleared of misconduct following an official inquiry after a leaked video showed the 36-year-old partying last August. Dozens of complaints were filed to Finland’s chancellor of justice after the PM was shown dancing and partying with friends and celebrities. But the chancellor, an independent office responsible for overseeing the legality of government activities and to which any citizen can lodge complaints, concluded that Marin had not neglected her duties as PM. There was “no reason to suspect the PM of unlawful conduct in the performance of her duties or of neglect of her official duties,” chancellor of justice Tuomas Poysti concluded.

CLIMATE ACTIVISTS HURL PEA SOUP AT VAN GOGH IN ROME A group of activists threw pea soup at a Vincent Van Gogh masterpiece in a protest they warned will continue until more attention was paid to climate change. “The Sower”, an 1888 painting by the Dutch artist depicting a farmer sowing his land under a dominating sun, was exhibited behind glass and undamaged, according to news reports. Climate activists from Last Generation said the attack carried out by four individuals was “a desperate and scientifically grounded cry that cannot be understood as mere vandalism”.

“Non-violent direct actions will continue until citizens get answers from their government on the demands to stop gas and coal and to invest in at least 20 GW of renewables,” they said.

27-YEAR-OLD TO LEAD FRENCH FAR RIGHT OUTFIT Jordan Bardella, a 27-year-old, saw his status as rising star of the far right confirmed, after party members elected him to succeed veteran leader Marine Le Pen as head of the National Rally.

The Paris-born politician was the odds-on favourite to take over the party after Le Pen decided to step back from the role after 11 years at the helm. Formerly known as the National Front, the party had been run by Le Pen’s father Jean-Marie for 40 years before that. Bardella is now the first party chief outside the family dynasty in a half-century.

Not that the ultra-loyal protege, who was elected to the European parliament in 2019, is planning to try to overshadow her.

Indian students accuse Canada of using them as cheap labour OTTAWA: Some Indian students in Canada are accusing the country of using them as a cheap source of labour and discarding them after they are no longer required. In light of the severe labour shortages in Canada and the high unemployment rate, which dropped to 5.2% in September, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser proposed a new temporary solution.

PM Justin Trudeau's government had introduced the permit extension move to over 5,00,000 international students already in Canada to potentially work more hours and stay for 18 months

after graduation to seek employment.

With 183,000 Indian students pursuing education at various levels in the country, Canada is the second most popular destination for Indians pursuing academic degrees abroad.

About 35% of the study permits in Canada have been availed by Indian students.

"When they needed us, they exploited us. But when we need their help or support, nobody shows up," Anshdeep Bindra, a former consultant at Ernst & Young in Toronto, told the media outlet.

Indian grads who believed the extension visa would provide them more time to get Canadian work experience became bogged down in a backlog of applications that caused the system to be shut down for ten months while the government processed them.

The report said that once the system was activated, the students found themselves competing with pools of immigrants with much higher-than-normal scores, reducing their chances of gaining permanent residency.

International students contribute more than C$21 billion ($15.3 billion) annually to the Canadian economy, according to the government data. According to Statistics Canada, international students who get permanent residence tend to integrate quickly into the Canadian labour market due to their previous experience of living in the country on visas.

Putin calls Indian citizens as ‘talented’, ‘purposeful’ MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin has lauded India’s growth story for the second time within a week, describing Indians as “very talented” and “purposeful” who will help the country to achieve outstanding results in its development.

Speaking at a meeting on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Russian Historical Society on National Unity Day, Putin said: “Let’s take a look at India.

Very talented people, purposeful, with such a drive for internal development, will, of course, achieve outstanding results.

Vladimir Putin

India will achieve outstanding results in its development.”

Putin’s comments came just ahead of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to Moscow on November 7 and 8.

He also spoke about colonialism

and Russia’s civilisation and culture.

Recently, Putin had spoken about Russia’s special ties with India. “We have special ties with India that are built on the foundation of really close allied relations for decades. We never had any outstanding issues with India, we have always supported each other and I’m positive that’s how it will remain in the future as well,” Putin had said.

Putin also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for pursuing an “independent foreign policy”.

While the West has bombarded sanctions against Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine, India increased the import of discounted crude oil from the country in the last few months. India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and it has been maintaining that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue. But at a bilateral meeting with Putin in the Uzbek city of Samarkand on September 16, Modi told him that “today’s era is not of war”.

Netanyahu launches talks Australia offers reward for on forming next Israeli govt news on Indian murder suspect

Jerusalem: Veteran hawk Benjamin Netanyahu launched negotiations with his ultraOrthodox and far-right allies on forming what could be the most right-wing government in Israel’s history. Netanyahu’s Likud party won 32 seats in Israel’s 120-seat parliament, the Knesset, according to latest election results.

That combined with 18 for two ultra Orthodox Jewish parties and 14 for the rising extreme-right alliance called Religious Zionism gave the rightwing bloc supporting Netanyahu 64 seats.

The centrist bloc of outgoing caretaker PM Yair Lapid won 51 seats, marking a definitive win for Netanyahu and an end to Israel’s unprecedented era of political deadlock, which forced five elections in less than four years. That will likely mean prominent roles for the co-leaders of far-right Religious Zionism, which has doubled its representation. “Where are they headed?” said the headline of the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper with pictures of Netanyahu and Itamar Ben-Gvir, an extremeright figure who looks set to be a major player in the new administration. “Most of the important portfolios will be in the hands of fanatics. . . ,” columnist Sima Kadmon wrote in the Yedioth Ahronoth daily.

Israel army said that its fighter jets targeted a rocket manufacturing site in the Gaza Strip.

Four Palestinians, including an assailant, were killed in east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. US secretary of state Antony Blinken voiced “deep concern” and called for de-esca-

lation.

Netanyahu shares little in common with his new partners other than opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state, and a mutual desire to enable parliament to override the high court, which will help get his corruption charges thrown out.

Elevating the Religious Zionists to the security cabinet will not be straightforward: the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, is unlikely to be comfortable with sharing intelligence with several members of the party that they maintain files on.

Israel’s western partners, including the US, have also reportedly relayed messages to the Likud that they would only have limited contact with ministries led by Ben-Gvir and Smotrich.

QUEENSLAND: Australian police offered a record $1 million reward for information leading to the arrest of an Indian nurse who fled to India after allegedly murdering a 24-year old woman on a beach in Queensland in 2018. According to police statement, Toyah Cordingley was walking her dog on Wangetti Beach, 40 km north of Cairns in Queensland when she was murdered on October 21, 2018.

Rajwinder Singh, 38, is the key person of interest in the case but fled the country two days after Cordingley was killed, leaving behind his job, wife and three children in Australia, the statement added.

In an effort to elicit assis-

tance from the public in the continued hunt for Singh, the police are now offering a reward of one million Australian dollars ($633,000), the greatest amount ever awarded by Queensland police.

Detective acting Superintendent Sonia Smith stated that “the reward is unique”. As per the report, accused is from Buttar Kalan, Punjab. An investigation centre has also been established in Cairns and police officers from across the state who can speak both Hindi and Punjabi have been flown in.

These officers will receive information from anyone in India who might know Singh’s whereabouts via WhatsApp.

Cooperate or perish: UN chief at climate summit SHARM EL-SHEIKH: The UN chief on Monday told dozens of leaders to “cooperate or perish,” on avoiding further climate catastrophe, singling out the two biggest polluting countries, China and US. He was not the only one preaching with tones of fire and brimstone, alternating with pathos and tragedy, trying to shake up the world’s sense of urgency at this year’s annual UN climate conference. “Choose life over death,” former US vicepresident Al Gore urged. “It is not time for moral cowardice.” In calling for a massive overhaul of international development loans and a 10% tax on fossil fuel companies that made “$200 billion in profits in the last three months,” Barbados PM Mia Mottley said, “Our people on this Earth deserve better. ’’ “I don’t need to repeat the horror and the devastation wrecked upon this Earth over the course of the last twelve months since we met in Glasgow,” Mottley said. “Whether the apocalyptic floods in Pakistan or the heat waves from Europe

to China or indeed in the last few days in my own region, the devastation caused in Belize by tropical storm Lisa.”

Ahead of this year’s conference, known as COP27, leaders and experts have been ringing alarm bells that time is fast running out to avert catastrophic rises in temperature.

Over 100 world leaders will speak over the next few days at the gathering in Egypt, most from developing countries demanding greater accountability from the richest, most polluting nations. Much of their focus will be on telling their stories of being devastated by climate disasters, culminating with a speech by PM Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan, where floods caused at least $40 billion in damage and displaced millions of people. “Is it not high time to put an end to all this suffering,” summit host, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, said. “Climate change will never stop without our intervention. . . Our time here is limited and we must use every second that we have.’’

22

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

12 - 18 November 2022

BJP wins by-elections in China puts spy ship on prowl Haryana, Bihar, Odisha and UP in Indian Ocean BJP's winning streak in byelections continued with a 4-out-of-6 scorecard. The bonus results included a reality check for Nitish Kumar's reorganised Grand Alliance in Bihar, the first defeat for Naveen Patnaik's BJD in an Odisha by election in 13 years, a close race against TRS in Munugode, and a blank for Congress in all six states.

Kusum Devi of the BJP holding onto her late husband's Gopalganj seat in Bihar was as much of a shock to the Mahagathbandhan as the saffron party gave Nitish's coalition a run for its money in Mokama following Deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav's all-out campaign.

“We contested Mokama for the first time in three decades but our candidate performed better than all previous runners-up,” Bihar BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal said.

Telangana’s Munugode bypoll, which BJP had treated as a test case ahead

of the bigger battle for the state, delivered a dud for Congress and a neck-andneck contest between the two main contenders that saw TRS’s Kusukuntla Prabhakar Reddy pulling away from BJP’s.

In Odisha, BJP’s Suryabanshi Suraj retained the Dhamnagar seat that was last held by his late father Bishnu Charan Sethi by eroding BJD’s vote share further from 45% in 2019 to 43%. BJD’s first bypoll loss since 2009 is seen as a setback for CM Naveen ahead of next month’s Padampur by election and

the 2024 state elections.

Haryana saw the third generation of ex-CM Bhajan Lal’s clan fly the BJP flag in the Adampur seat of Hisar district for the first time.

Bhavya Bishnoi, the 29-yearold grandson of Bhajan Lal, defeated Congress candidate Jai Prakash by 15,740 votes to win the district for the 16th time in just over 50 years for his extended family. The seat belonged to Congress till Bhavya’s father Kuldeep Bishnoi switched to BJP and resigned from the assembly.

BJP now has 41 MLAs in the 90-member House.

Another Chinese research and space tracking ship is now cruising the Indian Ocean while India is conducting missile tests in the Bay of Bengal. A significant diplomatic dispute between India and Sri Lanka resulted from the landing of a similar Chinese espionage ship at Hambantota in August.

Last week, the almost 22,000-tonne Yuan Wang-6, which has enormous antennae, cutting-edge surveillance technology and sensors that can follow long-range ballistic missile trajectories and monitor satellite launches, was travelling off the Indonesian island of Bali.

According to sources in the defence establishment, the Indian Navy has been "closely monitoring" Yuan Wang-6, which has a crew of 400 and is commanded by the Strategic Support Force of the People's Liberation Army, ever since she reached the IOR through the Sunda Strait of Indonesia a few days ago.

India had earlier issued a NOTAM (notice to airmen) with an expanded ‘no-fly’ zone over the Bay of Bengal for the test of a long-range ballistic missile on November 1011. A new AD-1 interceptor missile for PhaseII of the indigenous two-tier ballistic missile defence (BMD) system was also tested from the Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast

Citizenship for minorities from 3 nations living in two Gujarat districts The central government has decided to grant Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians coming from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan and presently living in two districts of Gujarat under the Citizenship Act, 1955.

The move to grant citizenship under the Citizenship Act, 1955 and not the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA) bears significance.

The CAA also provides for granting Indian

citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians coming from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, but as the rules under the Act have not been framed by the government yet, no one so far could be granted citizenship under it.

As per the Union home ministry notification, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians residing in the districts of Anand and Mehsana in Gujarat will be permitted registration as a citizen of India under section 5 or will

be granted certificate of naturalisation under section 6 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 and in accordance with the provisions of the Citizenship Rules, 2009.

Such residents of Gujarat's two districts are required to submit their applications online, which will then be reviewed by the district collector. The notification claimed that the central government would have access to both the application and reports thereon at the same time online.

Modi’s government

India successfully tests new interceptor missile India conducted the test of a new interceptor missile For Phase-II of its indigenous two-tier ballistic missile defence (BMD) system, which can intercept incoming long-range nuclear missiles as well as slow-moving aircraft.

Development of Phase-I of the two-tier BMD, which is designed to track and destroy nuclear missiles both inside (endo) and outside (exo) the earth’s atmosphere at altitudes from 15-25 km to 80-100 km for “a higher kill probability”, was completed

by DRDO some time ago.

However, sources claim that the government has yet to approve its full-scale operational deployment at any crucial area. This can be the result of prohibitive expenses or even

geopolitical considerations that it might spur Pakistan to build up its nuclear arsenal and take countermeasures to undermine the BMD system.

India, of course, has inducted the Russian S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile systems that can detect, track and destroy incoming strategic bombers, jets, spy planes, drones and even some intermediaterange ballistic missiles.

DRDO, on its part, is going ahead in developing the requisite technologies for a fullfledged BMD system. As per the original plan, Phase-I of the BMD system, with interceptors flying at 4. 5 Mach supersonic speeds to intercept enemy missiles, was meant to tackle hostile missiles with a 2,000-km strike range. The Phase-II, in turn, is supposed to take on 5,000-km range of missiles.

wants to grant Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who had come to India till December 31, 2014. There were massive protests in some parts of the country after the CAA was passed by Parliament in December 2019 and the subsequent presidential nod. Over a hundred people lost their lives during the protests.

However, the CAA has not been implemented so far as rules under it are yet to be framed.

just two days ago. But the user-trial of the ballistic missile of the Agni series by the Strategic Forces Command next week is now likely to be deferred.

“China has been regularly sending such spy ships to the IOR to gather technical intelligence, often around the time India tests its missiles. Such vessels can track the speed, accuracy and range of ballistic missiles,” a source said.

In August, India had conveyed concerns to Sri Lanka about the docking of Yuan Wang-5 at its southern port of Hambantota.

This had initially led Colombo to defer the docking but then in a U-turn had allowed it from August 16 to 22. After opening its first overseas facility at Djibouti on the Horn of Africa in August 2017, China, which already has the largest navy in the world with 355 warships and submarines, has been actively looking for logistical locations in the IOR.

HC admits plea on carbondating of Gyanvapi shivling The Allahabad high court has accepted a petition contesting the Varanasi district judge order that had rejected the demand for carbon-dating and scientific investigation of the purported ‘Shivling’ found during a court-mandated survey of Gyanvapi complex on June 16.

The high court also issued notices to Anjuman Intezamia Masajid - the Gyanvapi mosque management committee - the district authorities and others in the matter. In the petition, a ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey of the area concerned was also demanded. The petitioners had previously filed a motion with the lower court asking for the appointment of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) experts to determine the age and make-up of the "Shivling."

The Varanasi district court rejected the application on October 14 this year, stating that any scientific survey would go against the Supreme Court's directive to secure the region where the "Shivling" had been discovered. Justice JJ Munir, while admitting the revision petition filed by Laxmi Devi and others, also directed to issue notices to opposite parties.

India’s first ‘spy’ satellite returns to Earth after 13.5-year sentinel job India’s first ‘Eye in the Sky’ returns to Earth after completing its sentinel job for over a decade.

India's first dedicated "spy" or reconnaissance satellite, Risat-2, was launched by Isro shortly after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks to protect its borders and seas. The country used its images to launch two "surgical strikes" on Pakistan. On October 30, Risat-2 reentered the Earth's atmosphere and splashed in the Indian Ocean near Jakarta.

It played a key role in several anti-infiltration and anti-terrorist operations for 13.5 years and performed its duty much beyond its expected life span. The surgical strike on terror

launch pads in Pakistanoccupied Kashmir in 2016 and the aerial strike on Balakot in February 2019 were both planned with the aid of satellite images by security and intelligence services.

Due to the delay in the locally built C-band for the Risat-1 satellite, the launch of Risat-2 was hastened after the 26/11 terrorist

attacks in 2008. Risat2 was released in 2009, three years prior to the debut of Risat-1 in 2012.

Additionally, it was employed to monitor hostile ships that were considered a security danger in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. Rescue operations also made use of the satellite. It was used to find the helicopter accident debris that killed the former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, on September 2, 2009. ISRO stated that On October 30, Risat-2 made an uncontrolled re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere at the predicted impact point in the Indian Ocean near Jakarta.

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

23

www.asian-voice.com

12 - 18 November 2022

Gujarat to witness 3-way fight in assembly poll after 27 years The Election Commission announced that a two-phase assembly elections will take place in Gujarat on December 1 and 5, setting the stage for a three-cornered contest in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state. Rajiv Kumar, the chief election commissioner, declared the Gujarat election timetable 19 days after announcing polls in Himachal Pradesh. He added that counting of votes will take place in both the states on December 8.

Over 49 million electors, including 460,000 first-time voters aged 18-19; 10,460 centenarians and 1,417 third gender voters (who have doubled since 2017), are eligible to elect their representatives from Gujarat’s 182 assembly seats, of which 89 will go to polls on December 1 and the remaining 93

on December 5.

Gujarat to see 3-way fight Voters will decide in the first week of December whether to continue their 27-year association with the BJP. They can choose between Congress, which has maintained a respectable 40% of the vote share despite being out of power for 30 years, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

PM Modi is leading from the front, invoking the “double

engine” of BJP governments in the state and at the Centre to promise rapid infrastructure development and improvement in health and education. In 2017, Congress put up its best show since the defeat of 1990. It had a vote share of more than 41%, and 77 seats, although BJP’s aggressive poaching reduced its assembly strength to 62 eventually.

However, the Congress camp has been quiet this time.

AAP chief and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s offer of freebies has started to gain traction. He has targeted BJP over the “poor state of education in Gujarat vis-à-vis the national capital”, and major drug hauls from Gujarat ports.

State is expected to spend £45 mn

India's defence ministry is world's biggest employer: 'Statista' report According to a study in "Statista," the Indian Ministry of Defence employs 2.92 million people worldwide, which includes combined active service personnel, reservists and civilian staff. The Indian defense ministry ranks ahead of the US Department of Defense, which employs 2.91 million people, according to the Statista infographic on employers with the largest workforces worldwide in 2022.

Statista is a Germany-based private organisation that provides data and statistics about various issues worldwide.

In China, the People’s Liberation Army, which doesn’t include civilian positions, employs around 2.5 million people, the Hamburg-based firm specialising in market and consumer data said.

The report added that “The Chinese equivalent of the US Department of Defense, the Central Military Commission may have as many as 6.8 million people in its employment, though that figure was not deemed sufficiently reliable to be included in this list.”

The report claims that Walmart is the corporation with the most employees worldwide. According to the most recent data from the US retail giant it is estimated to employ 2.3 million people. Amazon comes close with 1.6 million employees. This latest

infographic by Statista doesn’t come as surprise after total global military expenditure reached $ 2113 billion in 2021.

According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the five largest spenders in 2021 were the United States, China, India, the United Kingdom and Russia, together accounting for 62 per cent of expenditure.

A sum of £45 million is expected to be spent from the state exchequer to conduct a “free and fair” assembly election in Gujarat.

The expenditure will be monitored by the office of the chief electoral officer (CEO), Gujarat, under the guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

AAP names Isudan Gadhvi as CM candidate The AAP erupted after ex-journalist Isudan Gadhvi was announced as its chief ministerial candidate. Within hours, cracks in the Arvind Kejriwal-led party emerged. Within hours, cracks appeared in the party with its national joint secretary Indranil Rajyaguru the party to return to the Congress fold. A former MLA from the Rajkot East seat, who had taken on BJP ex-CM Vijay Rupani

Insensitive judges abandoned victims of 1984 riots: SIT The Supreme Court-established SIT which was headed by Justice S. N. Dhingra, criticised "indifferent police and insensitive trial judges" for the "complete failure of justice" in the 1984 Sikh riots cases, which involved hundreds of murders. It also accused the Justice Ranganath Misra Commission of Inquiry for the inordinate delay in filing initial complaints for heinous crimes.

PM Modi asks Himachal voters to give another chance to BJP Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the BJP's campaign for a second term in Himachal Pradesh by speaking at election rallies in the cities of Solan and Sundernagar. He urged voters to start a new tradition by returning the BJP to power and to ensure stability and development through the "doubleengine" government, which is in place both at the federal level and in the state.

PM said “If you want to seek accountability and answers from the government, you should give it a chance again. Together, we will take Himachal forward, start new ‘riwaaz’ (custom), and bring BJP back to power.”

Modi also asked people to go for the ‘Kamal Ka Phool’ (lotus) symbol on the ballot and vote for BJP without bothering about the

in 2017, Rajyaguru had quit the Congress in April this year and subsequently joined AAP. Rajyaguru’s exit is a major setback for AAP in the state as he is one of the richest MLAs and had declared assets worth £14 million in the 2017 state polls.

Congress declares list of 43 candidates The Congress announced its first list of 43 candidates. From Ahmedabad, sitting Congress Rajya Sabha MP Amee Yagnik has been named candidate from the Ghatlodia seat, which is currently held by the Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. The first list has 10 Patel or Patidar faces, 11 tribals, 10 OBCs and five Scs. Ruling BJP has not declared its candidates yet, AAP has declared its candidates for 118 seats.

candidate, a remark clearly aimed at deflating the party rebels who are in the fray. “For three decades, there was instability in Delhi, governments came and went, and thousands of crores were wasted in elections that happened repeatedly. People then came to the conclusion that only a stable government could reverse the country's fortunes, and in 2014, they elected a stable government.

He said Congress gave empty promise of ‘One Rank One Pension’ for 40 years, but it was BJP government which delivered it.

Making false promises and giving false guarantees has been the Congress’ old trick, he alleged, adding that BJP implemented promises like abrogation of Article 370 from J&K and building Ram Temple at Ayodhya.

“In the name of investigation, almost nothing was done by police; acquittals were handed down by judges, not alive to the situation of1984 riots, in a routine manner; and Justice Misra commission received hundreds of affidavits from kin of victims of riots, but failed to direct police to register FIRs, which were delayed by years resulting in acquittal” - are some of the findings of the SIT. According to the report's executive summary, which was submitted in April 2019 but only made public last week, "the basic reason for these crimes remaining unpunished and culprits getting away scot free was lack of interest shown by the (Delhi) Police and the authorities in handling these cases according to the law or to proceed with the intention of punishing the culprits." A few parts of the study were previously released by the media, but it is only now that specifics of police apathy and court insensitivity have been made public.

A bench of Justices A S Bopanna and P S Narasimha posted the matter after two weeks after hearing brief arguments made by senior advocates H S Phoolka, who appeared for petitioner S Gurlad Singh Kahlon, and V Mohana, who appeared for the central government. In an affidavit, the Center requested that the Justice Dhingra SIT be disbanded because its job has been accomplished.

Nishita Rajput – the Good Samaritan who educate underprivileged girls Subhasini Naicker Nishita Rajput, a social activist and philanthropist from Vadodara (Gujarat), is working to better the lives of underprivileged girls by giving them access to education through a fundraising initiative.

She has been working on this noble cause for more than a decade. Her goal is to ensure that no girl is deprived from attending school for lack of financial help.

She is a big believer in “beti bacho and beti padho” initative. With the support of her father, Nishita single-handedly raised funds of more than £300,000 to fund the education of 37,500 girls. ho or what inspired you to support the social cause of educating girls?

My father Gulab Singh Rajput is my role model and the person who has most inspired me. My parents have fostered a supportive environment for me to help those in need ever since I was a child.

During summer breaks, we used to call orphanage kids to our home for a stay. My father and I

W

used to go out and bring food, clothing, medicines, and other necessities for people living on the streets.

A rare incident occurred when my domestic maid used to bring her daughter to work and the girl child used to help her mother in her work. The girl has not attended school because of lack of financial support. The girl lacked even the most fundamental life skills.

That incident changed my views on girls' education and I began to take initiative to cover the school expenses of underprivileged girls. ow did the initial phases of aiding or reaching out go?

I initially began paying fees for girls’ education from the pocket money that my father used to give me and then through funding.

Even the media provided me with a lot of encouragement. Together with my father, I developed a donation system that only accepts account payee checks from contributors, each of which includes the name of the school. We also share the bio data and mark sheet of the girl they are helping. In this

H

Nishita Rajput

way, I act as a mediator between a donor and a girl in need. hat challenges or setbacks did you encounter while crowdfunding?

Although this work may sound admirable, it was not easy at all. The biggest obstacle was persuading individuals to donate money for an individual's education that they had never met before. They developed a level of trust and transparency when I later revealed the specifics of the girl they had assisted, and as a result, they are now making

W

greater contributions for this noble cause. hat other social concerns are you focusing on besides the education of girls?

We started cloud funding tiffin services in Vadodara, where we are providing daily free tiffin services to 204 senior citizens who have no source of income and no one to care for them. I have also employed women to deliver the packed food boxes, thereby helping them earn a living. Recently, we organised an excursion for 51 girls who had a wish to ride in the

W

plane. We provided 500 underprivileged girls their choice of clothing during Deepavali and in Gaurivrat we donate dry fruits and school bags. hat are your future plans?

W

I'm currently striving to promote girls' education; each year my goal is to raise £100,000 to educate 10,000 girls. I always wanted to start a free, all-girls school where I could provide them access to every amenity.

Hopefully, I can achieve my dream someday.

24

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

12 - 18 November 2022

SOUTH INDIA

in brief

Didi meets Stalin, calls MAN KICKS KID, FACES Kerala governor bars 2 channels from his press meet for regional party unity CULPABLE HOMICIDE CASE KOCHI (KERALA): Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan has barred two Malayalam channels from his press meet at Kochi on Monday. The Governor asked the reporters from Kairali News and Media One channels to leave the place and said that he will not meet these two channels, accusing them of "masquerading" as political persons.

Asking them to go out, he said "I considered the media as very important.

I have always responded to the media but I am not now able to persuade myself to those that masquerade as media. They are not media, they are masquerading as media but are basically political allies.

"There are actually members of a party here. So, if anybody from these channels is attending the press meeting, please leave. I would walk away if there are correspondents from Kairali and Media One. I had categorically mentioned that I will not talk to Kairali and Media One," he added.

The press meet was held at the guest house in Kochi. While the ruling CPI(M) and the main opposition Congress termed his behaviour "fascist," the Kerala Union of Working Journalists demanded that he rectify his "mistake"

and expressed regret for his "undemocratic" action. Leader of Opposition, VD Satheesan said that by barring a section of the press, Khan was preventing dissemination of information to the people. It is unacceptable, undemocratic and unjustified, the Congress leader said.

"Excluding the media is a style of the fascist regime. It is not only a threat to democracy but also a violation of freedom of the press," he said in a statement. Earlier on October 24, Raj Bhavan barred four Malayalam channels including both these channels from attending a press meet of the Governor.

"The Governor earlier also took a similar stand. Those who criticised him were called cadres. This is unacceptable in a democratic society," CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan said.

Kairali News is the channel of ruling CPI (M). Besides, a Malayalam satellite channel Media One is facing a ban from the central government over security clearance issues. The Supreme Court last week reserved its judgment on the plea of Media One against the ban. In an interim order in March, the court had allowed the channel to continue its broadcast.

CHENNAI: West Bngal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who flew to Chennai last week and met her Tamil Nadu counterpart M.K. Stalin of the DMK, said before leaving Calcutta that regional parties would play a key role in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

“Regional parties are very important for the 2024 elections. I believe and trust all regional parties must work together,” Mamata told mediapersons at Calcutta airport before leaving for Chennai to attend a family event of Bengal governor L.A. Ganesan. “However, I can't comment on it (Opposition unity) without discussing it with all the leaders of regional parties,” she added.

Later in the evening, Mamata told reporters in Chennai after meeting Stalin at his residence: “It was a courtesy meeting just like of a brother and sister. But when two political persons meet they may have some political discussion.”

Sources in Trinamul said that the meeting with Stalin was significant at a time the Trinamul was trying to lead an anti-BJP alliance in the run-up to the 2024 general elections. Trinamul insiders said Stalin had accepted Mamata’s invitation to visit Bengal.

“There will be certainly a strategy by the Opposition parties in the country to dethrone the BJP government at the Centre,” said a source in Trinamul. Sources said Mamata’s stress on the unity of regional parties also sends out a message that her party was not “eager for an alliance with the Congress”.

PUNJAB

A six-year-old boy from a Rajasthani family that sold balloons for a livelihood was kicked by a man for leaning against his parked car at Thalassery in Kerala’s Kannur. As a video of the incident sparked an outrage, police took Mohammed Shihad (20) into custody and booked him for attempt to commit culpable homicide and other offences. The cops had allowed Shihad to go home. He was remanded in 14 days’ judicial custody.

RSS HOLDS MARCHES IN 3 TAMIL NADU DISTRICTS The RSS held marches in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi, Cuddalore and Perambalur districts on Monday, a day after it announced the cancellation of the event, following a hearing in the Madras High Court. The marches and a public meeting commemorating India's 75 years of independence and the 125th birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar concluded peacefully amid tight security. These are the three places where the Tamil Nadu Police had allowed the marches.

On Friday, the Madras High Court allowed the RSS to hold marches at 44 places, but only at closed places like stadiums. The RSS, calling the order "unacceptable", had said it would file an appeal. "Route marches happen in the open in Kashmir, West Bengal, Kerala and other states..." the RSS had said.

Life term for 2 former Punjab police Shiv Sena leader Sudhir Suri SAD EXPELS BIBI JAGIR KAUR FROM PARTY officials in fake encounter case Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Monday The shot dead in Amritsar MOHALI: Two retired police officials convicted in a 1993 fake encounter case were sentenced to life imprisonment by a CBI court in Mohali. The accused, Shamsher Singh and Jagtar Singh, were convicted by the court on October 27.

The court pronounced the sentence in the 30-year-old case in which one Harbans Singh, a resident of Uboke along with one unknown "militant" was shown as killed during police firing. Later, the trial court held that the encounter was fake. The court convicted accused Shamsher Singh and Jagtar Singh for offences punishable under Section 120-B r/w 302, 218 IPC. It is pertinent to mention that on April 15, 1993, it was claimed by the police of Sadar Tarn Taran that three militants attacked the police party when they were taking one Harbans Singh, a resident of Uboke village, who was in their custody for recovery of arms and ammunition as per his disclosure statement from the area of Chambal drain and during cross firing Harbans Singh and one unidentified militant were killed.

A case under various sections was registered against unknown militants at PS Sadar, Tarn Taran on April 15, 1993. In this case, on orders of the Supreme Court, a preliminary inquiry was conducted by the CBI on complaint of Harbans’ brother Paramjit Singh and it found the story of encounter suspicious. On the basis of inquiry, on January 25, 1999, a case was registered against the police officials.

On January 8, 2002, chargesheet was presented against accused Puran Singh the then SI/SHO PS Sadar Tarn Taran, SI Shamsher Singh, ASI Jagir Singh and ASI Jagtar Singh, all posted at PS Sadar Tarn Taran and on December 13, 2002, charges were framed against them by the CBI court but trial remained stayed from 2006 to 2022 on orders of higher courts during which accused Puran Singh and Jagir Singh died. In this case, 17 witness recorded their statements before the trial court.

AMRITSAR: Sudhir Suri, a Shiv Sena leader, was shot dead in Punjab's Amritsar last week. The incident reportedly took place outside a temple in the city. Shiv Sena leaders were protesting outside a temple against its authorities after some broken idols were found in the trash outside the temple premises. This is when someone from Sudhir Suri the crowd came and shot Suri.

“Suri was shot outside Gopal Mandir, Amritsar during some agitation. He sustained bullet injuries and was rushed to hospital where he died,” the Amritsar police said.

Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said a shopkeeper, Sandeep Singh alias Sunny, has been arrested and an FIR has been registered.

According to Yadav, the attacker had fired five shots from his .32 bore licenced weapon, of which some hit Suri.

Hindu outfit leaders voiced apprehension that the killing was the result of efforts to “rejuvenate the Khalistan movement”. Suri had openly stated that the government should not allow anyone to either speak in favour or in opposition of Khalistan.

Suri was known for hate-mongering and was arrested in April 2020 by the Amritsar Rural police for posting objectionable remarks online against the Tablighi Jamaat. He was apprehended in July 2020 by the Amritsar police from Indore after a video clip of him denigrating women went viral. In July 2021, he was again arrested by Amritsar police after he allegedly uploaded a video using objectionable words against the Sikh gurus and others.

WEST BENGAL

'Keep trishuls at home': Bengal BJP leader's self-defence tip KOLKATA: A BJP leader in West Bengal has asked people to keep trishuls at home to protect themselves against Trinamool Congress during the panchayat polls. The BJP leader, Raju Bandopadhyay, at a Jagadhatri Puja event on the outskirts of Kolkata said the Trinamool will turn violent during the panchayat elections and women must keep trishuls at home to protect BJP workers.

Trinamool MLA Tapas Roy has condemned the remarks. Bengal BJP MP Dilip Ghosh, who was at the event where Bandopadhyay made the comment, was seen clapping to it. The Trinamool's Roy and Ghosh were inaugurating Jagadhatri Puja on opposite sides of a road at the same area.

"In the panchayat elections, the Trinamool Congress will use bombs and bullets. What will we have for self-defence?

To protect ourselves, we will have what Maa (Durga) has given us, the trishul (trident). All mothers and sisters should keep trishuls at home to protect themselves because this is the situation in West Bengal.

You can see their manners. There is a puja going on and they have switched on microphones here," Bandopadhyay said.

Roy said the BJP leader's comment is not right and the administration should look into it. "They want people to keep trishuls at home and some people will tell them to keep other things at home. The healthy politics of Bengal, peace and order will be affected. They talk about peace in Bengal, but they keep on making these instigating statements," Roy said. "...They don't want peace in Bengal, they don't think about Bengal, but we think about Bengal, its culture and traditions and that is why we can't say such things," the

Trinamool leader said.

The panchayat elections are scheduled early next year. Bengal saw widespread violence in the last election. The state BJP leadership has demanded deployment of central forces. "There is no guarantee that central forces will be deployed. Last time we had asked for it. We knew what situation was going to be created. What will happen, but the elections will take place and we will have to fight, and the BJP is preparing for that," the BJP's Dilip Ghosh said.

"Those elections brought the BJP into the forefront of elections in Bengal. We all were tested. Whatever the situation we will fight with our full might and take on the Trinamool. It is true that elections are not peaceful in West Bengal and in these local body elections the Trinamool will use all its might, including the police," he said.

expelled Bibi Jagir Kaur from the party after she failed to appear before its disciplinary committee to explain her decision of contesting the November 9 SGPC presidential poll. The move was announced by the party's disciplinary committee head Sikandar Singh Maluka. The action came after Kaur was adamant about contesting the poll for the post of president of SGPC slated for November 9. The party had given chances to Kaur to reply to a showcause notice issued to her for "anti-party" activities and appear in person at party headquarters by Monday noon. Addressing the media, Maluka said the party had given her chances to explain her position but she failed to respond. Last week, Kaur was suspended from the party after she dug her heels in for contesting the election, against the party's wishes. The SAD had earlier issued a two-day ultimatum to Kaur to stop "anti-party" activities, failing which, it said, strict disciplinary action would be taken against her.

But Kaur did not reply to the show cause notice despite the party giving her two opportunities.

BENGAL EX-MINISTER'S JUDICIAL CUSTODY EXTENDED A Special CBI Court on Monday extended judicial custody of West Bengal former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee along with ex-officials for 14 days in connection with the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) Scam. The former state education minister was produced in the CBI court, Alipore in connection with the case. The court rejected the application for a virtual appearance of Partha Chatterjee and ordered his physical presence. On Monday, the CBI filed a charge sheet against 12 people including the former chairman of West Bengal Central School Service Commission (WBCSSC) Subiresh Bhattachary in connection with the alleged illegal appointment of assistant teachers. According to CBI officials, the agency, in its charge sheet also named a former assistant secretary of the WBCSSC, an ex-advisor, two former programme officers of the commission, and six others in the charge-sheet submitted before Alipore special judge. The accused in the charge sheet were identified as Santi Prasad Sinha, Ashok Kr Saha, Kalyanmoy Ganguly, Parna Bose, Samarjit Acharya, Prasanna Kumar Roy, Pradip Singh, Jnui Das, Md Azad Ali Mirza, Imam Momin, and Rohit Kumar Jha.

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

25

www.asian-voice.com

12 - 18 November 2022

Morbi bridge collapse: HC seeks SC upholds 10% quota for economically weaker sections report from govt, rights commission The Supreme Court upheld the validity of the 103rd constitutional amendment, which was implemented to give legal support to the Modi government's decision to carve out 10% of the unreserved classes for the economically weaker sections for admission to educational institutions and government jobs by a vote of 3:2. The court also held that the 50% quota cap is not inviolable and that affirmative action on the basis of economic status may go a long way toward ending caste-based reservation.

A five-judge panel led

by Chief Justice U U Lalit and including Justices Dinesh Maheshwari, S. Ravindra Bhat, Bela M. Trivedi and J. B. Pardiwala unanimously (3:2) approved the change, bringing the overall rate of reservation in central institutions to 59.50%. All judges, however, concurred that, in light of

the constitutional amendment, reservations based on economic status were justified. They also approved the amount of the quota, which exceeded the 50% cap that the SC had established in the Indra Sawhney case.

The ruling opens the door for more attempts by governments to provide above 50% quotas in government jobs and educational institutions on grounds of social and educational backwardness as well as economic deprivation. The decision expands the grounds for affirmative action beyond social and educational backwardness to include economic backwardness.

While Justices Maheshwari, Trivedi and

Relief to Jharkhand CM Soren as SC quashes case against him in HC

Hemant Soren

Hemant Soren, chief minister of Jharkhand, was relieved when the Supreme Court halted the Jharkhand High Court's investigation into a PIL that accused him of allegedly laundering money through shell firms despite the fact that there was no evidence to support the claim.

A bench of Chief Justice U U Lalit and Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia said that there is nothing wrong in allowing probe against people who occupy high offices but taking cognisance of the matter on generalised submissions which do not even make prima facie satisfaction of the court, “is nothing but an abuse of the process of the court.”

The bench stated that the PIL was not supported by any facts or proof, but the HC still accepted the plea and declared it to be maintainable. The petitioner's place of origin is therefore extremely crucial, according to the court, as this significant type of litigation should not be misused by motivated individuals looking to subvert the legal system for their political agendas or for any other reason.

Justice Pardiwala, who penned the verdict for the bench stated that “Furthermore, the allegations which were made by the petitioner are vague, very much generalised and not at all substantiated by anything worthy to be called an evidence. Allegations of corruption and siphoning of money from shell companies are nothing but bald allegation, without substantiating the allegations in any manner whatsoever and is therefore only asking the court to direct CBI or the Directorate of Enforcement to investigate the matter. This is nothing but an abuse of the process of the court.”

Pardiwala did not find any fault in the amendment saying that it was a right step towards an egalitarian society, Chief Justice Lalit and Justice Bhat said that not allowing the poor from SCs/STs/OBCs to get benefit of EWS quota and permitting only the poor from forward classes is discriminatory and “strikes a death knell to the equality and fraternal principle which permeates the equality code and non-discrimination principle”.

While the minority verdict was written by Justice Bhat on behalf of himself and the CJI, the three judges who supported the amendment filed separate but concurrent opinions.

According to the majority, excluding SCs, STs, and OBCs from the EWS quota does not in any way violate the equality code or undermine the Constitution's fundamental principles.

The Gujarat high court on Monday took suo motu cognizance of the Morbi suspension bridge collapse in which 135 people were killed on October 30. The court issued notices to the state authorities, the Morbi district administration, the municipality and the State Human Rights Commission and sought reports on the accident by November 14.

As the high court commenced regular functioning after the Diwali vacation, a twominute silence was observed for the victims of the bridge tragedy. After that, the bench of Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh Shastri told advocate general Kamal Trivedi, who was present in the courtroom, that the court has taken suo motu cognizance of the tragedy. “But for the vacation, we would have sat on the very same day. It is very disheartening that we are starting the New Year with this, but we want some action on your end,” the CJ said. To this, the advocate general submitted that the government has taken a couple of steps and he would highlight them in his submissions.

The court impleaded six parties as respondents in this case - the state government through the chief secretary, the state home department, commissioners of municipalities, the chief officer of Morbi municipality, Morbi district collector and the human rights commission. The judges sought a status report from the chief secretary and the home secretary. It has also sought a report

from the human rights commission and ordered the notice be sent through a special messenger to the commissioner and ordered it to file a report on the accident.

Only cosmetic repair work On October 24, Oreva Group chairman Jaysukh Patel had announced that the suspension bridge would be reopened to the public on Gujarati New Year on October 26 after ‘full and final’ renovation spanning six months. But police investigation into the bridge collapse, which exposed the shoddy renovation work, revealed that the group had spent only Rs 12,00,000, or 6% of the total £200,000 committed towards revamping the 145-year-old bridge. The company had signed a15-year maintenance and operation contract which included providing security at the bridge. The revelation is in tune with FSL findings that no major strengthening work was undertaken at the bridge which collapsed on October 30, killing 135. The renovation work was subcontracted to Dhrangadhrabased firm DevPrakash Solutions which has now been found to lack any expertise for such work. The meagre spending details have been obtained from the documents seized from DevPrakash Solutions.

Sources close to the investigation said that only some painting, greasing and other superficial works were carried out instead of actually strengthening the structure, changing the rusted cables and others.

Middle class in India set to double in 25 years According to the latest survey by PRICE (People Research on India’s Consumer Economy), the Indian middle class is expected to grow from 14% in 2004-05 to as much as 46% in 2030 and 63% in 2047. This growth has been fuelled by economic growth and reforms.

MD and CEO of PRICE and author of the report titled: “The Rise of India's Middle Class”, Rajesh Shukla stated that “By 2047, if political and economic reforms have their desired effect, the India income pyramid will have a smallish layer at the bottom comprising the destitute and aspirer groups, a huge bulge of the middle class and a big creamy ‘rich’ layer on top.” In 2021, the middle class accounted for 31%, which is

expected to expand sharply in the years ahead.

The report has broadly clubbed these groups into seven categories, ranging from the “destitutes” (those with an annual family income of under Rs 1,25,000 to the “super rich” (annual family income of over £200,000 in 2020-21) with the middle class (annual household income of between Rs 500,000 and Rs 30,00,000 in between. “The reason for clubbing households like this is that distinct patterns of consumption can be observed for these categories,” says Shukla.

In each of the eight income categories, the report gives a broad summary of the country's income demographics by states,

urban and rural areas, and geographic clusters. It also discusses the expansion of India's urban centres and the country's wealthier strata, explaining why more and more affluent Indians are moving to these areas. It discusses the growth of 63 cities with populations of over one million people each, how the concentration of the wealthy has increased in the cities from 2015 to 2016, and the shift in demography income levels.The report showed that Maharashtra is the richest state with 640,000 super-rich households earning over £200,000 per annum in 2021. Delhi was second with 181,000 households and Gujarat third with 141,000 households. Surat and Nagpur have the highest growth in the high-income segment.

SEWA founder and social activist Ela Bhatt cremated Numerous women came at the crematorium to pay their final respects to Ela Bhatt, the founder of the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA).

They chanted, "Darek Ben, Elaben!" (Every woman is Elaben), demonstrating the influence the 89-year-old had on the group of women who benefited from her work over many years and gained respect and a means of subsistence.

The funeral for Ela Bhatt, who passed away last week after a brief illness, was held after luminaries from a variety of professions, including art, architecture, politics, and Gandhianism, joined the family in grief.

Amrut Modi, secretary of the

Ela Bhatt

Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust (SAPMT), said that Ela Bhatt was trustee of the trust since 2014, and was made chairperson in 2016. “She always upheld Gandhian thoughts in her work and insisted on taking everyone along in any decision. The Sabarmati Ashram family would always

remember her,” he said. She continued to be the chairperson of Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted in Gujarati “Sad to know about the death of Elaben Bhatt. She will be remembered long for her work for the promotion of women empowerment, social service and education among the youth. Condolences to her family members and admirers.”

After completing her law degree, she joined Mahatma Gandhi inspired Textile Labour Association (TLA), India’s oldest labour union, in 1955. At the time, TLA was led by a freedom fighter Anasuya Sarabhai. After

fighting for workers in the organized sector, Ela Bhatt founded SEWA in 1972 to advocate for ‘unprotected labourers’ in the informal sector, who constituted 89% of the workforce back then.

A majority of such workers were poor women. In 1974, Ela Bhatt set up a cooperative bank to provide micro loans to women. She went on to co-found Women’s World Banking (WWB), a global network of microfinance organizations, of which she was the chairperson from 1984 to 1988.

In her final years, Ela Bhatt became the second woman chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapith, an institution founded by Mahatma Gandhi. Her resignation was accepted last month.

Will implement UCC in HP if voted back, says Shah Home minister Amit Shah declared in Himachal Pradesh that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will be implemented in the state if BJP is voted back to power. Addressing an election rally in poll-bound Himachal Pradesh, he said, “If you elect the Jai Ram Thakur government, I promise you that the common civil code will be implemented in Himachal Pradesh. No one can stop that. ” In addition, BJP President J P Nadda recently unveiled the party's "Sankalp Patra (manifesto)," which includes a pledge to adopt UCC in Himachal Pradesh if the party

returns to power. He said that a committee would be created for the UCC. Assembly elections will take place in Gujarat in two stages on December 1 and 5, and the BJP just indicated that UCC will be implemented there as well. On November 12, there will be a single phase of voting in Himachal. On December 8, the results of both elections will be made public.

In contrast to UCC, the BJP has pledged new educational institutions, a wide range of perks for different voter categories, and 33% reservation for women in government posts

in its election programme for the hill state.

Taking a swipe at Congress, the BJP leader said the party has no credibility and its promises are like cheques drawn on an empty bank account. “When I was coming here, I saw a rally of one of the Congress candidates where ‘10 guarantees’ were written.

Who will believe in your guarantees? There was the Sonia-Manmohan government at the Centre . . . they did corruption of £12o billion. And today they are giving guarantees to the innocent people of Himachal,” Shah said.

26

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

12 - 18 November 2022

The House Next to the Factory by Flooded futures: WaterAid’s weathered Sonal Kohli longlisted for the Tata dolls houses show how climate change devastates children’s futures Literature Live First Book Award Recently longlisted for the Tata Literature Live! First Book Award at the Mumbai LitFest one of India’s most prominent literary awards - The House Next to the Factory is now published for the first time in the UK. Already a critical and commercial success in India, The House Next to the Factory shows a changing India over three decades through the lens of one family and the house that they live in, over nine interlinked stories set largely in Delhi between 1980 and 2010.

Author Sonal Kohli says, ‘‘It's a great honour for me to be in such accomplished company, as the Tata Literature Live! First Book Award is one of the most prestigious Indian literary awards and has a reputation of recognizing the very best books of the year.’

‘I wrote this, my first book, over the last

decade in three continents, five countries and numerous cities. Since I didn’t have a background in literature or writing, I thought it would be easier to write short stories as opposed to a novel, just in terms of length, but the more I wrote them and the more I read them, the more I fell in love with the short story.’

‘All the stories in the book are fictional, but they are inspired from things I’ve seen, observed or come across. I hope, with this recognition, that my book might now reach new territories and find new readers.’

The winner will be announced at the Festival in Mumbai in the next week. The House Next to the Factory is published as a hardback by Swift Press £12.99 www.swiftpress.com

£1.7m of funding granted for cultural projects in Mansfield Mansfield District Council has been awarded over £1.7m from Arts Council England to deliver creative and cultural activity in the community.

The National Portfolio grant will be delivered over three years in payments of £579,304 and used to provide various projects at Mansfield Museum and Palace Theatre. The offer is conditional subject to formal acceptance by the authority.

These funds will include new creative partnerships, collaborations with community groups and welcoming new artists to take residency in the town.

To be eligible for the funds, the council had to demonstrate it could contribute strongly to the Arts Council England Let’s Create project. The 10-year vision allows everyone to experience highquality cultural experiences in England.

Councillor Stuart Richardson, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Growth said he was thrilled to see such a massive amount of investment in the arts coming into Mansfield.

Leeds prepares to host His Majesty The King The historic Leeds Central Library will welcome His Majesty The King this month as part of the monarch’s first visit to Leeds since ascending to the throne.

The visit on Tuesday, November 8 will see The King unveil a special plaque at the library to mark the 10th anniversary of the Child Friendly Leeds initiative, which for the past decade has worked tirelessly to make Leeds the best city to grow up in.

As well as having the opportunity to explore the library and its vast collection, The King will also visit Rebellion to Romance, an exhibition at the library by The Jamaica Society Leeds which explores the lives of second-generation West Indians in Leeds coming of age in the 1970s and 80s.

His Majesty will also have the opportunity so see a series of stunning sculptures created as part of The World Reimagined, which will be brought together inside Leeds Art Gallery.

The thought-provoking arts project has seen Leeds join cities around the UK in hosting a trail of large scale, colourful globes created by renowned international artists which explore the history and impact of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

School pupils from Leeds, who will also attend the visit, recently submitted poems

inspired by The World Reimagined which will be included in a national anthology.

The King will be welcomed to the library by The Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Robert W Gettings MBE JP, Councillor James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council and Tom Riordan, the council’s chief executive along with members of the library and Child Friendly Leeds teams.

Also attending will be newly elected Leeds Children’s Mayor Mason Hicks.

Mason, aged nine, was elected last month after campaigning on a manifesto children’s mental and physical health, promoting kindness and community spirit, and the creation of an event to bring children together from different backgrounds.

WaterAid has unveiled an installation of three dolls houses – each at different stages of flooding - on the docks of London’s Canary Wharf, to highlight the effects of the climate crisis on children globally and demand urgent action from governments ahead of COP27 this November.

The international charity worked with Bristol-based artist and set-designer, Max Dorey, to create the dolls’ houses - Meenakshi, 3, sits in front of flood-damaged dolls houses created populated with everyday by WaterAid to highlight how climate change will expose children childhood items such as toys and globally to nearly three times as many floods as their grandparents. letter-blocks – and showing the Ahead of COP27 in November, the international charity is calling on devastation caused by rising flood governments to ensure vulnerable communities can access a reliable source of water to help protect themselves from the devastatwaters. ing impacts of climate change. London, UK, October 2022.

The final dolls house is almost Credit: WaterAid/ Joel Chant completely submerged, ruined by claiming the lives of thousands of people. dirty floodwater – a stark reminder that the Unprecedented monsoon rain has left a impacts of climate change are being felt by third of Pakistan submerged and millions children and their families across the world still in urgent need of aid. Europe baked right now. It’s estimated that children born under unusually high temperatures while today will live through nearly three times as the Horn of Africa continues to suffer the many floods as their grandparents.1 worst drought in 40 years, with millions According to the World Bank, climate facing famine.” change is already causing an unprecedented “These dolls houses are a stark reminder rise in flood levels across the world with that climate change is happening right now, nearly 1 in 4 people – 1.81 billion – facing this ravaging the lives of children and their threat globally, a 23 per cent increase on families globally. Yet global leaders previous estimates, affecting 340 million seemingly sleep-walk from one natural more people2.This includes people in the UK disaster to the next. COP27 offers a real – according to NASA, areas of London are at opportunity for action.” risk of regular flooding by 2030, including “That is why WaterAid is urging the UK Canary Wharf3. government to lead rich nations in ensuring This is making an already difficult vulnerable communities can access a reliable situation worse for the 771 million people – source of water so they can protect one in 10 - currently living without access to themselves from the devastating effects of clean water close to home and 1.7 billion climate change. This cannot be another people – more than one in five – living missed opportunity for lasting change. The without access to a decent toilet. world will be watching.”

Extreme weather events, like WaterAid’s poignant installation is part catastrophic floods, can wipe out fragile the charity’s Our Climate Fight campaign, water and sanitation infrastructures, highlighting how the climate crisis is a water polluting existing water supplies and crisis. Ahead of COP27, WaterAid is urging spreading deadly diseases such as cholera. the UK government to stay the course on Prolonged droughts force women and girls global climate leadership by investing oneto walk ever greater distances to collect third of the UK’s committed international water. climate funding on locally-led adaptation Tim Wainwright, Chief Executive of projects. This will help vulnerable WaterAid, said: communities get a reliable source of clean “Over recent months the world has water to better adapt to climate change. borne witness to devastating weather events,

A new festival celebrating South Asian music GOING SOUTH, the largest and loudest festival of South Asian music in Britain, comes to London this November for the first time.

GOING SOUTH will give a platform to British South Asian talent in the electronic, rap, alternative and grime genres, and help combat the invisibility these artists face in the British music and festival scene. The festival will bring the best of British brown excellence in music together, from the pioneers of the genre to the newest talent performing in one venue across 3 stages, and more. Emerging South Asian breakthrough star Priya Ragu, hot from her critically acclaimed UK performances at The Great Escape and Electric Brixton will be showcasing her irresistible energy at the festival with her vibrant electro beats and distinctive silky R&B vocals.

Headlining also will be UK producer, rapper and pop icon Panjabi MC to bring his Bhangra block party vibe, renowned DJ Bobby Friction will play an adrenalinefuelled set of warped Sufi Rhythms & Bass heavy Bollywood-influenced Bangers and

Nabihah Iqbal will perform her genrehopping kaleidoscopic DJ set. Incredibly talented Gracie T will be there, and DJ Kizzi will perform her special mix of hip hop and afrobeat. DJ Manara, the ‘queen of blends’ renowned on underground club circuits for her legendary mixes will also perform, as well as south Asian gay rights activist, storyteller, and performer Reeta Loi.

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

CALCIUM + Magnesium + Vit. D3

SKIN, HAIR, NAILS

Beauty Tablets

UK’S AWARD WINNING NO.1

Available from Superdrug, Holland & Barrett, Lloydspharmacy, GNC, supermarkets, health stores independent pharmacies, www.vitabiotics.com

Most trusted for pregnancy

company was “thrilled” by the results and would seek regulators' approval.

Last month, pharmaceutical company GSK reported the results of a trial in elderly patients that showed their RSV vaccine had 80 per cent efficacy. Combined with the latest study, this raises hope that the burden of the virus could be significantly reduced. The results were released to the markets as a regulatory requirement.

Menopause Tablets

TABLETS For all women over 40 years Gentle IRON+Vitamin syrup

Dr. Chrissie Jones, from University of the Southampton, said, “It is an absolute game changer and of high global importance. What is remarkable about this data is that high efficacy is still up to six months of age. If this vaccine is approved by regulatory agencies, this vaccine would have a substantial impact on admissions to hospitals for RSV disease. It is highly important for the UK, but crucial for low and mid-

dle-income countries.”

She added, “The data has not yet been peer-reviewed or published, so we need to assess the data in more detail, but this is extremely exciting, and we wait with bated breath to see if this vaccine receives a licence from regulatory agencies. We have been awaiting an effective solution to combat RSV for many years.”

Beate Professor Kampmann, director of the Vaccine Centre at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, agreed and added that the mode of delivery, through the mother, made the vaccine especially useful. “RSV is a major reason babies end up in the hospital, and it can be a lethal virus anywhere in the world. To have an effective vaccine that can be given to the expecting mothers before the babies are born is a great way of preventing this complication,” she said.

'Magic mushrooms' help treat depression A peer-reviewed, mid-stage trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests one dose of psilocybin, the active ingredient in the psychedelic drug “magic mushrooms”, has a sustained and significant effect in treating cases of depression that are unresponsive to other drugs. The study found one 25mg dose of the drug, alongside psychotherapeutic support, “significant(ly)” reduced symptoms of depression in patients who did not respond to other medicines.

Researchers said the study, led by UK-based pharmaceutical group Compass Pathways, was the largest to date on the use of psilocybin as a treatment for depression and that its findings paved the way for regulatory approval. The use of psychedelics to treat mental health conditions has been widely debated. Currently, a very limited number are approved by global regulators for medical use. However, more companies have in recent years begun to explore different ways of treating mental health conditions with psychedelics.

Ketamine is sometimes prescribed “off-label” in treatment-resistant depression, while esketamine, a related compound, is approved in the UK and US as a nasal spray. Senior lecturer at King’s College London and an author of the NEJM study, James Rucker, said the lack of effective treatments available to people with treatment-resistant depression could “seriously impact on patients and the people around them.”

He said, “Treatment options are often limited, with troublesome side effects and/or stigma. Therefore, new treatment paradigms are needed, and clinical research of new treatments is important.” The study was conducted across 22 international sites, including KCL and the South London and

Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, which specialises in mental health. Some 233 participants with depression resistant to treatment took part in the study, receiving 1mg, 10mg, or 25mg of psilocybin. Those in the first group acted as a control group, and neither researchers nor patients knew what strength of dose the latter took.

Patients were tracked for 12 weeks, with their symptoms rated the day before administration and at intervals thereafter. Co-author Nadav Liam Modlin said the research had found that the drug enabled “powerful emotional breakthroughs” for patients and helped them develop “a sense of connection to themselves”. Some side effects of psilocybin, including headaches, nausea, dizziness, fatigue and suicidal ideation, were reported across all dose groups.

Researchers said only one patient had a “bad trip”, which was managed with sedatives. The psychedelic part of the experience lasted hours and occurred under supervision, after which patients were free to continue their business

Intermittent fasting mistakes that could be affecting your health Intermittent fasting has gained popularity across the globe for its many amazing benefits, including weight loss, improved metabolic health, protection against disease and increased longevity, to name a few. This diet plan requires people to eat during a fixed time window every day or alternate days to detoxify the system, burn fat and reap many other benefits.

A recent study published in the journal Obesity finds that intermittent fasting can affect women’s reproductive hormones negatively. The study was conducted for eight weeks on a group of pre and post-menopausal obese women. These women were following the warrior diet, which allows those on the diet to eat anything without counting calories in a mixed window of four hours post which they go on a water fast till the following day.

12 - 18 November 2022

MOST TRUSTED VITAMINS

Vaccines for mothers could save thousands of babies Pfizer has created a “gamechanging” vaccine that has been found to offer babies strong protection against RSV, a common cause of respiratory illness, in their first months. It is given to mothers who pass the immunity on to their unborn children so they are protected from the moment of birth. The trial results showed that in the first three months of life, babies whose mothers had had the vaccine were 80 per cent less likely to suffer severe illness from the respiratory syncytial virus.

In Britain, RSV is responsible for 30,000 infant hospitalisations and 80 deaths of children every year. Globally, it kills 100,000 children a year. After six months, the trial, involving 7,000 mothers, found that protection in offspring was still about 70 per cent. Chief scientific officer for vaccine research and development at Pfizer, Annaliesa Anderson, said the

27

sponsored by:

In a recent report, nutritionist Anupama Menon said, “Intermittent fasting is the time period of “no eating” from the time you finish the last meal until the time you have the next meal, which could range from 10-18 to even 22 hours. The fasting period is generally from after dinner to the start of breakfast or lunch the next day, which is the most predictable time frame for this fast.”

While it is a researched and muchappreciated concept with a rainbow of benefits from weight loss to health, Anupama said that it is often not done the right way. She adds that the theory of the actual fast gets applied with actual requirements on how the food needs to be put together in the eating window not being done right.

She added the mistakes women make with intermittent fasting.

Not doing what works for you: A 16hour fast or more is not the blanket rule for IF. The theory says that the body actively starts to burn fat after 12 hours of fasting; hence, a 16-hour plus window may be beneficial for fat loss. But most people follow this rule blindly, even assuming that if they stretch the 16-hour window to an 18-hour-22-hour window, they would benefit even more and accelerate their loss. Too long a fasting window: This is risky, especially for women. A fasting window of more than 14 hours could affect a woman’s period cycle. The reproductive cycle and its hormones rely on a good balance of complex carbs, fats and proteins to work efficiently, along with a required amount of calories. Fasting for long periods could affect the balance of estrogen and progesterone, the key female sex hormones.

HEALTH & VITALITY Tablets

Under-40s with type 2 diabetes rising at 'shocking' pace in UK According to “incredibly troubling” data that experts say exposes the impact of soaring obesity levels, the number of people under 40 in the UK diagnosed with type 2 diabetes is rising faster than the over-40s.

The UK ranks among the worst in Europe with the most overweight and obese adults, according to the World Health Organization. It is the third after Turkey and Malta in obesity rates alone.

The growing numbers of overweight and obese children and young adults across the UK are now translating into an “alarming acceleration” in type 2 diabetes cases among those aged 18 to 39, suggests Diabetes UK. There is a close association between obesity and type 2 diabetes. There is a seven times greater risk of type 2 diabetes in obese people compared with healthy weight, and a threefold increase in risk for those just overweight.

“This analysis confirms an incredibly troubling growing trend, underlining how serious health conditions related to obesity are becoming more and more prevalent in a younger demographic,” Chris Askew, the chief executive of Diabetes UK, said.

He added, “While it’s important to remember that type 2 diabetes is a complex condition with multiple other risk factors, such as genetics, family history and ethnicity, these statistics should serve as a serious warning to policymakers and our NHS. They mark a shift from what we’ve seen historically with type 2 diabetes and underline why we’ve been calling on the government to press ahead with evidence-based policies aimed at improving the health of our nation and addressing the stark health inequalities that exist in parts of the UK.” While under-40s with the condition represent a small proportion of the total affected, it can have more severe and acute consequences in younger people and, without the right treatment and support, can lead to serious complications, Diabetes UK said.

“If you’re under 40, you’re not immune to type 2 diabetes,” said Askew. “It is vital that you check your risk now and that individuals, no matter their age or background, are allowed to access support to reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes.” Diabetes UK is encouraging those under 40 to check their disease risk using the free online tool on its website.

Ayurvedic home remedies to manage cough and cold The cold is coming, with it, a surge in several viral and respiratory infections. Worsening pollution levels and new Omicron sub-variants could also lead to symptoms like fever, sore throat, cough and cold. While it’s best to see your trusted doctor when you develop these above-mentioned symptoms, one can also, in addition, try a few Ayurvedic home remedies that could manage flu-like symptoms effectively.

Ayurveda expert Dr. Dixa Bhavsar shared four remedies to relieve cough, cold, and sore throat.

She wrote: 1. Drink Shunthi Siddha Jala (water boiled with dry ginger powder) throughout the day. It helps improve metabolism, digestion and soothes your throat. It also helps in relieving accumulated cough.

Here’s the recipe: Take 1 liter water, add half tsp dry ginger powder (shunthi) or a small stalk of fresh ginger, and boil it for 10 mins on a medium flame. Then strain and let it come to room temperature and store it in a steel bottle.

2. Have this DIY herbal mixture - Take half tsp of turmeric, - Half tsp dry ginger powder, one black pepper (freshly crushed) or 1/4th tsp black pepper powder, one tsp pure honey. Mix it well and have it 2-3 times per day, one hour before or after meals.

3. Do steam inhalation with this Ayurvedic concoction twice a day Recipe: - Take 2 glasses of water, Add a handful of tulsi leaves, 5-7 pudina (mint leaves), one tsp ajwain (carom seeds), half tsp methi (fenugreek seeds), half tsp haldi (turmeric). Boil it for 7-10 mins on a medium flame. And the magical concoction is ready.

4. Gargle with turmeric water Take a glass of water, add one tsp of turmeric and boil it for 3-5 mins. Gargle with this water 2-3 times per day. This works for everyone (the dosage for kids is half that mentioned above).

28

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

AsianVoiceNews

12 - 18 November 2022

Janhvi breaks silence about rumoured boyfriend Orhan Awatramani A

A Alia -Ranbir announce birth of a baby girl

ctor Janhvi Kapoor has finally broken her silence amid rumours that she is dating Orhan Awatramani. In an interview, Jahnvi spoke about him, and said that it "feels like home when he is around." Calling "Orry" a friend, she said he had her back for a long time. Both of them are regularly seen together on different outings. Recently, Janhvi attended a Halloween party hosted by him. Before that, they attended several Diwali parties together. They have also travelled together across several countries.

Janhvi said, "I have known Orry for years now and he is someone who I not only have so much fun with, but he's had my back for a long time, and I have had his back. It feels like home when he is around, and I trust him a lot. I think it's rare to find friends, who will stand up for you the way he stands up for his friends. He is a great guy."

Janhvi was recently seen in 'Mili', a survival drama following Mili Naudiyal, a nursing graduate who races against time to stay alive after she is stuck in the freezer.

Helmed by Mathukutty Xavier, the movie is the Hindi remake of the 2019 Malayalam hit 'Helen.'

Talking about the movie, Janhvi said, "I remember it (film) taking a genuine toll in my mental health because I would come back home after wrapping up shoot and I would go to sleep and dream that I was still in the freezer. I fell ill and I was on severe painkillers for two-three days and even the director was unwell. If you spend 15 hours of your day in a freezer in a closed environment crying for the majority of the day, sometimes with a rat that keeps nibbling your fingers, it is not glamorous for sure." The movie also features Manoj Pahwa and Sunny Kaushal.

On the work front, Janhvi is all set to feature in 'Mr and Mrs Mahi' with Rajkummar Rao. The film is set against the backdrop of cricket. The actress also has 'Bawaal' with Varun Dhawan.

Abhishek recalls Amitabh's advice at the start of his career

A

ctor Abhishek Bachchan recently recalled his father Amitabh Bachchan's advise to him at the beginning of his career. In an interview, Abhishek said Amitabh Bachchan told him that the audience "doesn't care" and there aren't any subtitles that would state why the actor couldn't perform well.

Abhishek debuted with 'Refugee' in 2000. He was recently seen in 'Bob Biswas' in 2021 and 'Dasvi' in 2022. In an interaction, Abhishek said, "When I started my career, my father once famously told me and I had a similar question about what one should be doing. He told me, 'There are no subtitles saying, please excuse us, bad performers because he was having a bad day.'

The audience doesn't care. At the end of the day, you have to disconvince them of the emotion that you are trying to convince them of at that point in time."

He also spoke about his show 'Breathe: Into the Shadows' and if his father watched it. Abhishek said, "He's biased. Currently, I'm in his good books with my performances. He saw the last season later than it dropped.

Eventually, he binge-watched the series.

His words, encouragement and criticisms matter the most... We've been busy promoting, and he gets excited about everything we put out for the new season. He's invested and excited."

Directed by Mayank Sharma, the show also stars Amit Sadh, Naveen Kasturia, and Saiyami Kher. It will premiere on Prime Video on November 9. Mayank has also co-written the new season with Arshad Syed, Vikram Tuli, Priya Saggi and Abhijeet Deshpande.

ctors Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor are now parents to a baby girl. They confirmed the news on social media minutes after it was broken by Ranbir's sister Riddhima Kapoor over the weekend. In an Instagram post and on Stories shared on Alia's account and signed by both the parents, they called it the "best news of our lives."

Alia shared a picture of a lion and lioness with a little cub, cuddling together. She also wrote, "And in the best news of our lives: Our baby is here and what a magical girl she is. We are officially bursting with love - blessed and obsessed PARENTS!!!!!" The note was signed with 'love love love' by both parents.

Alia was admitted to the Reliance Hospital in Mumbai.

Ranbir was by her side as they arrived at the hospital in their cars. Their family, led by Alia's mother, Soni Razdan and Ranbir's mother, Neetu Kapoor, reached the hospital soon after. While several news reports confirmed it was a baby girl before the family announced it, Riddhima was the one to confirm it.

Alia and Ranbir tied the knot in April after dating for almost five years.

They began dating while working together on the film 'Brahmastra', released in September. Alia caught everyone by surprise when she announced her pregnancy earlier in June.

Kajol shares family pics with Tanuja and Tanishaa Mukerji K

ajol decked up in a beige ethnic outfit and wore a red tika on her forehead in her latest pictures. The actor posed alongside mother Tanuja and sister Tanishaa Mukerji in the photos she posted on Instagram. The trio was joined by extended family as they got together for a celebration at home.

Sharing a photo of herself with Kajol and Tanuja from the family gathering, Tanishaa wrote in her Instagram caption, “Happy family makes a happy home!” She added the hashtags ‘blessed’ and ‘my devis (Goddesses)’ to her caption. She also shared a group photo with their extended family in another Instagram post, and wrote, “Mine.” Kajol

Sharing group photos from inside the family’s Mumbai home, Kajol wrote in her caption, “When the clan is gathered, the house is blessed.” She added the hashtags ‘with the originals’, ‘let there be light’ and ‘love all around’ to her caption. Kajol, Tanuja and Tanishaa smiled and posed together in one of the pictures. While Kajol wore a beige kurta and dupatta set with minimal makeup, Tanuja and Tanishaa wore bright ethnic outfits. Tanuja wore a pink saree, and Tanishaa chose a red kurta set. They all had tika on their forehead.

reacted to her post by dropping a series of heart emojis in the comments section.

Last month, Kajol and Tanishaa shared pictures with mom Tanuja, and cousins Samrat, Sharbani and Sujoy Mukerji as they celebrated Bhai Dooj. All of them wore traditional Indian outfits. In one of the pictures, Kajol had her arms around Tanishaa, while others were group photos with all the cousins smiling for the camera.

Sharing a picture on Instagram Stories, Kajol had written, “Bhai Dooj after so long… madness and originals.”

29

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

AsianVoiceNews

12 - 18 November 2022

Sussanne Khan's Priyanka shares update on note to son Hridhaan: Farhan Akhtar's 'Jee Le Zaraa' 'don't be eye candy' S P riyanka Chopra may have become a Hollywood regular, but her heart stays here in Mumbai. The actress, who is on a visit in the city had her last Bollywood film release in 2019. She is set to return to Bollywood in a female-led road movie 'Jee Le Zaraa', directed by Farhan Akhtar. The movie will unite her with two female actors including Katrina Kaif and Alia Bhatt.

Speaking in a recent interview, Priyanka called them her friends, and also shared a tiny update on when the film goes on floors. Refusing to talk about when the film is going on floors, she simply responded with "Hopefully, we are shooting soon."

However, she did express her excitement at reuniting with Farhan Akhtar, who directed in 'Don', and co-starring along the two female leads. She said, "I am so excited about it. I am shooting a movie with my friends. When you make a movie with your friends, it's not work, it's just creative fun. Hopefully we'll shoot that next year."

On the work front, Priyanka will be seen next year in her much-delayed Hollywood rom-com 'Love Again'. It was initially titled 'It's All Coming Back to Me', after which it was changed to 'Text for You'. Priyanka said, "It's finally releasing. It was a pandemic film and you know how it is. We worked really hard to be able to make a film during the pandemic but I'm so excited it's coming out in May next year. It has Celine Dion and I am a big fan. She hasn't released any new music for a very long time and our movie will have original music from her. It's her acting debut in my movie so I am very excited."

Priyanka's next on-screen appearance is likely to be the Prime Video sci-fi series 'Citadel', which is helmed by the Russo Brothers and also stars Richard Madden of 'Game of Thrones' and 'Eternals' fame.

ussanne Khan has shared a note for her son Hridhaan Roshan on Instagram. The interior designer has also dropped a picture featuring herself and Hridhaan. Here, the mother-son duo are sharing a hug as they pose for the lens. Sussanne's note read, “Note to my son… Don't be eye Candy…Be...Soul Food…People will stare, Make it worth their while. #2023comingrightup #Ridzaat7 #igotalumpinmythroatcauseyourmine.”

Sussanne's boyfriend Arslan Goni was among the first to drop a bunch of red hearts under the post. Sussanne's sister Farah Khan Ali wrote, “My Ridu' and added red hearts to her comment. Producer Ekta Kapoor said, “Cutiesssss”.

Twitter should verify accounts through Aadhar: Kangana

A

ctor Kangana Ranaut voiced her support for "ideologically motivated" Twitter, which she called the "best social media platform." Taking to Instagram Stories on Sunday, Kangana also criticised the verification process of Twitter and said that paying a certain amount to maintain a Twitter account "will only help it build its integrity."

Kangana wrote, "Twitter is the best social media platform that is there right now, it is intellectually/ ideologically motivated not about looks or lifestyle, I could never understand the idea of verification that some selected few get, as if others don't have an authentic existence, for example, I will get verified but if my father wants a blue tick then 34 clowns will dismiss his very identity as if he is living some illegal life... Everyone who has an Aadhar card must get varied simple as that ( cont)."

"Also paying a certain amount to maintain a Twitter account will only help it build its integrity, there are no free lunches in this world, have you ever thought all these platforms that you access freely how do they sustain themselves? They don't just sell data, they make you a part of them, influence you and then sell you (your voice/consciousness) every single

Varun Dhawan says Hindi films are 'getting their a** kicked'

minute of the day, and that's why there is no free will is such platforms, so it's not a bad idea to try to build a self-sustaining SM (social media) platform... It is easy to arm-twist a bankrupt company even if it intends to hold a high value system sooner or later it will have a price tag..." she added.

Kangana's Twitter account was "permanently suspended" in May 2021 for repeated violation of Twitter rules.

Over a year after that, businessman Elon Musk became Twitter's new owner. Last month, Kangana claimed that she predicted the doom of ex-Twitter heads long ago, which came true. On Instagram, she shared a post that she captioned, "Trending since morning I had predicted the doom of ex Twitter heads long ago...another prediction came true."

On the work front, Kangana is currently filming her upcoming film 'Emergency' in Assam. She will be seen portraying the role of the late prime minister Indira Gandhi. The film also stars Anupam Kher, Mahima Chaudhry, Vishak Nair and Shreyas Talpade in prominent roles. She also has 'Tiku Weds Sheru' in the pipeline and the biopic of legendary theatre artist Noti Binodini.

A

ctor Varun Dhawan shared a lot of praise for southern films, including 'Kantara', 'KGF Chapter 2', and 'Vikram', which are "doing really well." In an interview, he said it's "the best thing for Indian films to grow." But, he also added, "it sounds really easy because the Hindi films are getting their a**** kicked right now." Varun also said he has always been a "big fan" of Kamal Haasan and "obviously" Rajinikanth.

The actor also added that if Lokesh Kanagaraj offered him a role, he would "100 per cent" love to do a Tamil film with him. He also said that he will do a film if SS Rajamouli or S Shankar offers him. Speaking in an interview, Varun said, "Indian films are doing really well…If 'Kantara' is doing really well or 'KGF 2' or 'Vikram', we should seek inspiration from these films and try and work with each other. It's the best thing for Indian films to grow right now."

Varun added, "I know it sounds really easy right now because the Hindi films are getting their a**** kicked right now. So maybe it's a great time and easy answer for

On her birthday, Sussanne Khan shared a picture with her sons Hrehaan and Hridhaan and thanked them for choosing her as their mother. She wrote, “So scared of getting older. I am only good at being young….So I play the numbers game. To find a way to say..life has just begun…So will not stop this train and won't change for a minute the place I am in… Thank you Life, Thank you for making me who I am. With all the flaws and the scars I proudly wear my armour…

Sussanne, on Hridhaan's 14th birthday, this year, shared a happy picture featuring herself, Hridhaan, Hrehaan and Hrithik Roshan on social media. Her side note read, “To our Sky full of Ridz… with a heart like yours and a soul so strong yet immensely gentle, we are lucky to celebrate you every day...Happy 14th birthday beautiful boy…

We love you the mostttt.” Sussanne Khan and Hrithik Roshan are parents to Hrehaan and Hridhaan. The couple decided to coparent their children after parting ways in 2014.

me to say that. I have always wanted to do films in Telugu, Tamil and 'Bhediya' is going to release in Telugu and Tamil as well."

He added, "I don't know why people forget that 'KGF 2' also had Raveena Tandon and Sanjay Dutt in it.

Why do you forget that as well? They are also loved over there and we also love all the actors from there. I just seek inspiration... I think Allu Arjun is amazing and Yash has done great with 'KGF'. Even now, if you see, Kantara, the way the film has been written, directed and acted by the same person, Rishab Shetty. People can divide us, but we are one country and it is a good time to be collaborative because cinema, in general, we are going through a big transition all over."

Fans will see Varun next in the horror comedy film 'Bhediya', helmed by Amar Kaushik. The film also stars Kriti Sanon and Abhishek Banerjee. It is all set to hit the theatres on November 25. He also has director Nitesh Tiwari's Bawaal alongside Janhvi Kapoor. The film is slated to hit the theatres on April 7, 2023.

30

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

12 - 18 November 2022

Kajal Aggarwal pens a heartfelt note for her 'constant' Gautam Kitchlu K

ajal Agarwal and her husband, Gautam Kitchlu, celebrated Gautam wore a blue T-shirt with a white hat.

Kajal's sister Nisha Aggarwal's husband Karan Valecha their second wedding anniversary last week. Both of them commented, "So much Neil has grown up. Happy 2nd penned heartwarming messages for each other with pictures birthday to baby kitch. #putbettercaptions." To which featuring them along with their son Neil on Instagram. Kajal Gautam replied, "lol our anniversary." called her husband "my constant."

Kajal and Gautam got married in 2020. The couple welTaking to her Instagram handle, Kajal shared an comed their first baby boy Neil on April 19, 2022. Recently, adorable picture of her and Gautam holding hands and Kajal penned a lengthy note as her son Neil turned six wrote, "Happy 2 years around the sun (sun emoji) together months old and wrote, "I can't believe how fast the past 6 husband, looking forward to so much more with you! I love months have gone by or the profound change that has you, my constant! (red heart emoji). @kitchlug." The picture taken place in my life. I've gone from a scared young featured Neil's hands too. Reacting to the photo, designer woman holding a wriggling mass on her chest and wonderNeerajaa Kona wrote, "Happy happy anniversary you guys." ing how she was going to care for it to now fulfilling One of Kajal's fans wrote, "This year with Neil." Another mommy duties and learning as I go along. Of course, balfan commented, "sweetest photo for the sweetest couple. ancing full time work and ensuring I never compromise on Happiest anniversary and can't wait for so many more. Love my time, attention, love, nurturing care for you- is you both." Another fan wrote, "Such a great thing, I am extremely challenging." happy to see this."

Kajal has been working on her comeback film, 'Indian 2' Meanwhile, Gautam shared a cute family picture on alongside Kamal.

Instagram and captioned it, "2 years (bicep and heart emojis)." In the photo, Gautam held Neil in his arms and smiled. Kajal sat with him and planted a kiss on his cheeks. She wore a black Tshirt with jeans with a hat.

Neil wore a green outfit, and ansika Motwani finally gave her fans glimpses of her gorgeous wedding proposal. Taking to Instagram, the actress shared pictures of her boyfriend, Sohail Kathuria, proposing to her in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. In the first photo, 17:00 BHAKT GORA KUMBHAR (O) Sohail got down on his knees as he held 17:30 RASOI SHOW (O) Hansika's hands with the tower in the 18:00 RASOI SHOW (O) background. The duo stood inside a heart 18:30 SURI (O) sign with red petals and white candles. The words' marry me' was seen next to the 19:00 JODE REJO RAAJ (O) decoration. The couple looked at the tower 19:30 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU (O) as fireworks burst near them.

20:00 RASHI RIKSHAWALI (O) In one of the pictures, Hansika had her hands covering her mouth. She laughed as 20:30 MOTI BAA NI NANI VAHU (O) Sohail held her in another photo. Then, 21:00 SORATHNI MRS SINGHAM (O) their friends joined the newly engaged cou21:30 GEETA (O) ple at the spot. For the occasion, Hansika wore a white dress and heels. Sohail opted 22:00 MARI LADKI RE (O) for a white shirt under a black jacket and SUNDAY 20 NOV 2022 "Oh wow!! Congratulations my dear.. wishpants and wore white shoes. ing you the best."'

Sharing the post, Hansika wrote, "Now 6:00 RASOI SHOW ® Hansika has kept her love life under and Forever (black heart emoji)." Sohail 7:00 GEETA ® wraps till now. She will reportedly marry commented, "I love you my life (red heart 8:30 MARI LADKI RE ® Sohail on December 4. The wedding is set emoji) #NowAndForever." In the comto take place in Rajasthan. An official ments section, her colleagues Anushka 10:00 BHAKT GORA KUMBHAR ® announcement regarding their marriage is Shetty, Sriya Reddy and Khushbu Sundar 12:00 HALP MANVYU MELE still awaited. wished the couple and conveyed their Hansika was last seen in the Tamil film wishes.

15:00 MARI LADKI RE ® 'Maha,' which had a grand launch as it was Anushka Shetty wrote, 17:00 RASOI SHOW ® her 50th film. But, unfortunately, the film "Congratulations." Varun Dhawan said, 18:00 RASOI SHOW ® turned out to be a dud at the box office.

“Congratulation Hansika.” Sriya Reddy 'Maha,' released after a long delay in cinecommented, "So so so happy for both of 19:00 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU ® mas, featured Silambarasan in a cameo role you! Love and happiness now and always.

19:30 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU ® of a pilot.

Jumping with joy." Khushbu Sundar wrote, 20:00 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU ®

Hansika Motwani gets engaged to Sohail Kathuria

TV Listing

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 14 NOV - FRI 18 NOV 2022 6:00 GHAR EK PAKHKHINO MALO 9:00 SHUBH PRABHAT 9:30 SUR PRABHAT 10:00 DESHI BEATS 17:00 BHAKT GORA KUMBHAR (O) 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) SATURDAY 19 NOV 2022 6:00 VARE AAYO MAA VAIBHAV LAXMI 9:00 SHUBH PRABHAT 9:30 SUR PRABHAT 10:00 DESHI BEATS

20:30 RASHI RIKSHAWALI ® 21:00 RASHI RIKSHAWALI ® 21:30 RASHI RIKSHAWALI ®

22:00 MOTI BAA NI NANI VAHU ® SATURDAY 19 NOV 2022 16:30 RASOI SHOW - DESI FLAVOURS

17:30 BALIKA VADHU * Schedule is subject to change

MON 14 NOV - FRI 18 NOV 2022 16:30 RASOI SHOW DESI FLAVOURS 17:30 SWARAN GHAR 18:00 BALIKA VADHU SEASON 1 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 22:00 NAAGIN SEASON 1

19:00 DESI BEAT

19:30 BHAGYA KA LIKHA

20:00 COMEDY NIGHTS WITH KAPIL

21:30 SASURAL SIMAR KA 2

22:00 VISH YA AMRIT SITAARA

SUNDAY 20 NOV 2022

16:30 RASOI SHOW - DESI FLAVOURS

17:30 BALIKA VADHU

19:00 THE KHATRA KHATRA SHOW

22:00 COMEDY NIGHT WITH KAPIL

22:00 VISH YA AMRIT SITAARA

H

Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam to reunite after 35 years

A

ctor Kamal Haasan and filmmaker Mani Ratnam surprised fans and the film fraternity by announcing that they are set to reunite after 35 years for a new yetuntitled Tamil project.

The announcement was made on the eve of Kamal's 68th birthday.

Haasan took to Twitter to share the news; fans called it the most unexpected announcement. The movie will be jointly produced by Haasan and Ratnam, with music composed by AR Rahman.

Kamal shared the announcement video on Twitter, writing, "Here we go again!" The yet-untitled film has been tentatively dubbed 'KH 234', signifying it is Kamal's 234th film. Fans have called the news an "unexpected announcement." Some even

said it was the reunion of two legends. One comment read, "Unexpected, Two legends are back together after 35 years." Another comment read, "Oh my. My head is spinning. Can't believe this." One comment read, "The goats coming together."

Haasan and Ratnam had last worked together in the critically-acclaimed 'Nayakan,' released in 1987.

A story about the rise of a Tamil gangster in Mumbai. The film has been widely celebrated as one of the greatest Indian films ever made.

On the work front, Haasan is currently shooting for Shankar's 'Indian 2'. Bankrolled

by Lyca Productions, the movie also stars Siddharth, Kajal Aggarwal, Rakul Preet Singh, Bobby Simhaa, and Priya Bhavani Shankar in key roles.

AsianVoiceNews

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

CROSS-PLATFORM

31

12 - 18 November 2022

‘The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives’ not scripted, says Neelam Kothari A ctor Neelam Kothari said her reality web show, ‘The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives’ is not scripted.

The show features her alongside her friends Maheep Kapoor, Seema Sajdeh and Bhavana Pandey. She said they decide to discuss an issue, and it’s all genuine. The show was renewed for Season 2 on Netflix in September.

Actor and wife of actor Samir Soni, Neelam said recently, “It’s not scripted. They tell us we’ll be shooting at such and such venue but we discuss is up to us. We decide to fight and cry, it depends on us.”

She, however, added that they have agreed upon not

touching a few of their personal topics on the show. She added, “I've known the three for almost 25 years. When we are together, we have a blast. Before the show started, we decided there are certain topics which are off-limits.

Everything is genuine. Whenever we are having fun or a blast, it is all real. People are also enjoying this kind of content because there has been nothing like this before in India.”

Neelam was actively working as an actor in the 1980s and 90s. She has featured in several films like ‘Ilzaam’ (1986), ‘Khudgarz’ (1987), ‘Hatya' (1988), 'Farz Ki Jung’ (1989), ‘Taaqatwar' (1989) and ‘Do Qaidi’ (1989).

Always want to do good and experimental Gujarati films: Pratik Gandhi

P

Bridgerton actor Charithra Chandran tours Tamil Nadu C

harithra Chandran of ‘Bridgerton’ fame took to her Instagram handle recently to treat her fans to beautiful pictures from her trip to India. In the pictures, she is seen enjoying several Tamil Nadu delicacies and also visiting some temples. The actor also included images of her family in the post.

ratik Gandhi may have moved to Mumbai to pursue his dream in mainstream cinema, but he stresses he never left the Gujarati film industry in the first place.

The actor said since he found success with the web series ‘Scam 1992’, he has been busy with mainstream work, but he was always on the lookout for good Gujarati movies.

Speaking in an interview, Pratik said. “I never left it. It is just that this Gujarati film is coming after almost four years. Now I am getting to work in the mainstream a lot, like web series and Hindi films. So I get very little (time) but I always want to do good and experimental Gujarati films now.”

The 42-year-old has been featured in several critically-acclaimed Gujarati movies such as ‘Bey Yaar’, ‘Love Ni Bhavai’, ‘Wrong Side Raju’, and ‘Ventilator’.

On the work front, Pratiki saw the release of ‘Vaahlam Jaao ne’. Directed by Hardik Gajjar and Pratik Gandhi, it is a family entertainer. Pratik said the movie allowed him to try his hands at a situational comedy.

“I want to do different stories, stories that are from Gujarati literature. Also, I had never done situational comedy before. In this film, there is immense scope for the character to do this new kind of comedy. It is my ninth or tenth Gujarati film and I always wanted to attempt situational comedy,” he said.

The Surat-born actor said Gujarati cinema makes him feel comfortable.

“When you are comfortable with the language and set up, you tend to play even better. It is not only acting; it is about creating something between the lines, something which is beyond the written or imagination of directors. So, that can come with the comfort of Gujarati (language).”

‘Vaahlam Jaao Ne’ also stars Tiku Talsania, Sanjay Garodia, Jayesh More, Ojas Rawal, Kavin Dave, Kinjal Pandya, Binda Rawal and Pratap Sachdev. It is produced by Backbencher Pictures, Hardik Gajjar Films and Jio Studios.

Gal Gadot congratulates Alia Bhatt on her baby girl A

The 25-year-old actor was introduced in the second season of the show as the ‘diamond’ of the season and she played the role of Edwina Sharma. In its first weekend on Netflix, the show shattered records globally. Talking about colorism and South Asian representation, Charithra Chandan told Teen Vogue, “No one let me forget that I was dark-skinned growing up. My grandma was very lightskinned. Whenever we’d go around in India, they’d always say, ‘Oh, you’d be pretty if you had your grandmother’s coloring.’ ‘Shame about the color of her skin.’ ‘She’s pretty for being dark-skinned.’ All of these comments, all the time.”

She added, “For me, colorism in some ways is more painful because it feels like a betrayal of your own. If someone’s racist to you, you have your community to lean back on. But if someone’s attacking you from inside your own family, or trying to oppress you, or create a hierarchy within your own family, that is in some ways, so much harder to deal with.”

Besides ‘Bridgerton’, Charithra was also seen in the spythriller ‘Alex Rider’.

ctress Alia Bhatt is all set to make her Hollywood debut with the action thriller ‘Heart of Stone’. Her co-star in the film, Gal Gadot congratulated her on the birth of her baby girl on Sunday. She dropped a comment on Alia’s post announcing the arrival of her child. Alia had written, “And in the best news of our lives: Our baby is here.. and what a magical girl she is. We are officially bursting with love - blessed and obsessed PARENTS!!!!! love, love, love. Alia and Ranbir.”

Gal Gadot commented on the post late Sunday night. She wrote “Congratulations” along with a heart emoticon and party confetti icons.

Alia had flown to the UK in May this year, just days after marrying Ranbir Kapoor at their home in April. They announced her pregnancy in June.

In an earlier interview with Variety, she had opened up about filming for an action film with a baby bump.

She 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.”

Directed by Tom Harper, ‘Heart of Stone’ also stars Jamie Dornan, Sophie Okonedo, Matthias Schweighöfer, Jing Lusi, and Paul Ready. It will release on Netflix.

32

www.asian-voice.com

12 - 18 November 2022

AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly

New Zealand to take on Pak; India to meet England in semis With the culmination of the Super 12 phase on a frantic Sunday that witnessed a dramatic upset, the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 has its two semi-final fixtures on the calendar. The triple-header on Sunday began with a shock loss for South Africa, who exited the tournament to open the gates for Pakistan or Bangladesh to qualify.

At the same venue, Pakistan beat Bangladesh to seal their semi-final spot.

With New Zealand and England having already sealed their qualification after Saturday's round of matches, Group 2 witnessed some drama with the Proteas going down to Netherlands in a stunning loss for the Temba Bavuma-led side, who were once on top of the table before backto-back losses against Pakistan and Netherlands.

Pakistan's win over Bangladesh ensured that they would be the fourth semi-finalists in the tournament with India joining England and New Zealand earlier in the day following South Africa's exit. India beat Zimbabwe by 71 runs in the final Super 12 clash and as Group 2 toppers set up a semifinal meeting with England. Meanwhile, Pakistan will face Group 1 toppers New Zealand in the first semi-final.

Semi-final fixtures • 1st semi-final: New Zealand v Pakistan November 9 - SCG, Sydney • 2nd semi-final: India v England November 10 - Adelaide Oval, Adelaide New Zealand in semis New Zealand became the first team to reach the semifinals with a victory over Ireland. A Kane Williamson half-century and a spin-bowling assault fired the Black Caps to a 35-run victory at the Adelaide Oval which sealed one of the top two spots

in Group 1 and a place in the last four.

Glenn Maxwell scored an unbeaten half century and spinner Adam Zampa took a crucial 2-22 as defending champions Australia later joined New Zealand on seven points after a win by just four runs over the Afghans at the same venue.

It was not, however, enough to raise their net run rate above that of England, who now need only to beat Sri Lanka in their final Super 12 match in Sydney on Saturday to take the other semifinal berth from the group.

England too in semis England avoided Sri Lanka scare to enter the semi-finals on Saturday. The side chased down a target of 142 against the Lankans with 4 wickets in hand and two balls to spare. England choked towards the end despite Alex Hales' 47 off 30 at the start, but Ben Stokes' unbeaten 42 off 36 took them through. Earlier, Pathum Nissanka hit a gutsy half-century (67 off 45) but Mark Wood's 3 for 26 helped England restrict Sri Lanka to 141 for 8. Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka had won the toss and elected to bat.

India beat Zimbabwe to top group Suryakumar Yadav (61 not out) was the highlight of India’s 71-run decimation of Zimbabwe at the ‘G’ on Sunday night. KL Rahul too chipped in with a second consecutive half-century before the bowlers made quick work of the opposition lineup to hammer home the point that there would be no change in the status quo when India took the field. The day had started, after all, with the Netherlands upsetting South Africa to upend all predictions in Group 2, but a brutally dominating performance ensured that

Ahmedabad couple, daughter win medals in US powerlifting meet In a show of raw power, a couple and their daughter from Ahmedabad set the stage on fire at Wyndham Orlando Resort International in Orlando, Florida, winning three medals at the World Powerlifting Congress (WPC) World Championships 2022.

While 10-year-old Kanak Gurjar and her mother Dharini Gurjar won gold medals in their respective categories, Indersingh Gurjar bagged a silver.

Powerlifting, a nonOlympic event, is a strength sport comprising squat, bench press and deadlift.

Competing in the 44kg category, Kanak, who weighs 37 kg, won a gold medal by lifting a deadlift of 60kg. She failed to participate in the entire powerlifting as the mandatory entry for bench press was set at 25kg.

“As the entry for bench press was set at 25 kg and Kanak could do a bench press of only 20kg, she could not participate in the entire powerlifting competition.

However, she made up for it by winning a gold medal with a deadlift of 60 kg and breaking the world record in squat by lifting 50 kg,” her mother Dharini said.

Kanak said that she had practised lifting 55kg only but managed to lift 60 kg easily.

“When I tried to lift 70 kg, it was tough and I failed in my effort. I also broke the world record by lifting 50 kg in the squat.” Asked how she managed to lift weights so easily, she replied nonchalantly, “I think I’ve this in blood and so I’m able to lift weights easily. When I could not do the bench press because the entry was set at 25 kg, I cried a lot. I’m targeting a medal in March in the Egypt event, where I’ve got an entry based on this performance.”

Competing in the women’s 82.5kg category, Dharini lifted 370 kg to win a gold medal. She did a squat of 170 kg, a bench press of 70 kg and 130 kg deadlift to clinch the yellow metal, a performance, which she said, she wasn’t happy with.

“I’m not happy with my performance as my total lifting has reduced a lot since the 2018 competition. I could not practice consistently because of the festival and the closing of the gym just before the competition. I’ll focus more on Kanak and my husband’s participation in future events.”Indersingh too competed in the men’s 82.5 kg category. He lifted 620 kg for the silver medal, missing the gold by a whisker of 2.5 kg.

Indersingh completed a squat of 230kg, bench press of 140kg and a deadlift of 250 kg.

in brief LANKA STAR BANNED FROM ALL FORMS OF CRICKET India ended as group toppers. They will now play England in the second semifinal at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday. Surya’s repertoire of audacious strokeplay, all powerful wrists and maddening angles even as he chases perfection at the point of contact, was on view as India, batting first, exploded to 186/5 in 20 overs after another sedate start.

Shaheen stars as Pak seal SF berth Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi returned career-best figures of 4-22 to lead Pakistan into the T20 World Cup semifinals with a five-wicket win over Bangladesh in a do-or-die clash on Sunday.

Chasing a modest 128 for victory, Pakistan achieved their target with 11 balls to spare and join India in the final four from Group 2. The clash turned into a virtual quarterfinal after the Netherlands stunned South Africa, a result which put India into the semis.

Pakistan bounced back from opening defeat against India and a shock loss to Zimbabwe to outplay South Africa last week. They had a spring in their step after the shock South Africa loss earlier Sunday and Shaheen struck early as the left-arm quick sent back Liton Das for 10 following Bangladesh’s decision to bat first at the Adelaide Oval. Najmul Hossain Shanto capitalised on a reprieve when the usually safe Shadab Khan dropped the left-handed batsman on 11 at short extra. The opener went on to top-score with 54 for Bangladesh.

Sharath recommended for Khel Ratna award Indian table tennis’ warhorse Achanta Sharath Kamal was recommended for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award by the selection committee, headed by retired Supreme Court judge, Justice A M Khanwilkar.

Sharath, 40, was rewarded for his superlative performance at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games (CWG), where he won four medals – three gold and one silver. The Asian Games medallist was the only athlete among the 42 Khel Ratna aspirants, who had applied for the country’s highest sporting honour this year.

Some sportspersons who missed out on the Khel Ratna included men’s hockey players Harmanpreet Singh, Akashdeep Singh and Rupinder Pal Singh, women’s hockey team captain and goalkeeper Savita Punia and forward Vandana Katariya, men’s singles badminton player Kidambi Srikanth, fencer Bhavani Devi, men’s freestyle wrestler Deepak Punia and 50m rifle 3P specialist Anjum Moudgil.

The 12-member committee has also rewarded the Indian badminton’s latest sensation, Lakshya Sen, with the Arjuna award.

He finished runner-up at the All England Open before losing to Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen and led the men’s badminton team to its first-ever gold medal finish at the Thomas Cup. He capped off his sensational season with a gold in the men’s singles and a silver in the mixed team event on his debut at the CWG. The committee recommended 25 sportspersons for the Arjuna award this year.

Besides Lakshya, some of the other names include GMs R Praggnanandhaa and Bhakti Kulkarni.

Sri Lanka’s cricket board has suspended cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka from all forms of cricket with immediate effect after the national player was arrested and charged with sexual assault over the weekend. In a statement on Monday, Sri Lanka’s cricket board said he will not be considered for any form of selections. “The Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket decided to suspend national player Danushka Gunathilaka from all forms of cricket with immediate effect. Gunathilaka was earlier arrested and charged with sexual assault of a woman in Australia. “Furthermore, Sri Lanka Cricket will take the necessary steps to promptly carry out an inquiry into the alleged offense, and, upon conclusion of the aforementioned court case in Australia, steps will be taken to penalise the said player if found guilty. “Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to emphasize that it adopts a ‘zero tolerance’ policy for any such conduct by a player and will provide all the required support to the Australian law enforcement authorities to carry out an impartial inquiry into the incident.”

The 31-year-old Sri Lankan batter was arrested from the team hotel in Sydney - where the T20 World Cup is going on - in the early hours of Sunday morning. He was later denied bail by a Sydney court on Monday and will continue to remain in custody. The player allegedly assaulted a 29-year-old woman at a residence in Rose Bay in Sydney earlier in the week. He has featured in eight Tests, 47 ODIs and 46 T20s. While he was in Australia with the national team for the T20 world cup, he had been ruled out of the tournament. The Sri Lankan team exited the World Cup at the Super 12s stage, losing their final match against England over the weekend.

MEN’S SQUASH TEAM CLAIMS MAIDEN GOLD The Indian men's team, led by the seasoned Saurav Ghosal, clinched its first-ever gold at the Asian Squash Team Championships with a 2-0 win over Kuwait in the final at Cheongju (South Korea). Star player Ghosal sealed the victory after Ramit Tandon had given India the lead with a fluent straight games win over Ali Aramezi (11-5, 11-7, 11-4). Ghosal then made short work of Ammar Altamimi 11-9, 112, 11-3 to give the team an unassailable lead.

The third match between Abhay Singh and Falah Mohammad was not played as the tie had been decided following wins for Tandon and Ghosal. Having finished with the silver medal on two previous occasions, the Indian men, seeded one, justified its billing and emerged victorious with a dominant performance. They topped Pool A with an allwin record, recording victories over Qatar, Pakistan, Kuwait, South Korea, and Chinese Taipei 3-0 before edging out Malaysia 2-1 in the semifinal.

IOC approves IOA’s amended constitution Clearing the path for the smooth conduct of the much-delayed Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) elections on December 10, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved the final draft of the IOA’s amended constitution as prepared by the Supreme Court-appointed oneman committee of retired judge, Justice L Nageswara Rao. In an email to the members of the Indian delegation which

visited the IOC headquarters in Lausanne on September 27, James MacLeod, IOC Director of Olympic Solidarity and NOC Relations, wrote: “. . . this is to confirm that we, together with the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), have been working very closely with Justice Rao and his team over the past few weeks on the proposed amendments to the IOA constitution and that the final draft which has been

circulated on November 3 to all IOA members has been endorsed by the IOC and the OCA is fully aligned with the Olympic Charter and the basic principles of good governance within the Olympic Movement.”

“Consequently, we are hoping that the Special General Meeting (SGM) of the IOA will formally adopt this amended constitution on 10 November 2022, as planned. the mail added.