AV 12th September 2020

FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE

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Let noble thoughts come to us from every side 12 - 18 SEPTEMBER 2020 - VOL 49 ISSUE 20

HIGH STREET SHOPS BATTLE EMPTY CITY CENTRES

inside: Sikh Regiment remembers the forgotten battle of Saragarhi SEE PAGE - 6

Mayor of London’s Covid-19 health advice for South Asians in ethnic languages SEE PAGE - 9

Why it is ok for women to not cook SEE PAGE - 14 Kinnari's Hairdressers

Priyanka Mehta and Shefali Saxena The UK high streets recorded the highest levels of empty shops in the last six years amidst a coronavirus lockdown. Retail analysis from Springboard highlighted that nearly 11% of shops and businesses remained vacant in July compared with 9.8% in January. Ahead of the Chancellor’s Autumn budget, some high street businesses express their gratitude to the Government for extending a lifeline during the lockdown months and are optimistic that their business would pick-up as employees trickle “back to work” especially at a time when high streets are mostly empty and city centres look like a ghost town Peter Joseph has the expertise of running Michelin Star restaurants in London for over a decade now. Previously heading

prestigious restaurants like the Tamarind of Mayfair, in 2018 Peter decided to share the ‘Kahani’ (story) of his culinary skills by opening his Michelin-star restaurant in Chelsea, Belgravia.

Kahani’s Eat Out to Help Out Kahani “We had to close down our restaurant in March in line with the Government’s coronavirus guidelines until July. Those were difficult months for most restaurants in Central London. We decided to give a spin to our ‘Kahani’ and give our cooking experience to our customers at the comfort of their homes. So, we started expanding our private dining, home cooking and takeaway options.

And some of my customers were keen to learn some culinary skills, so I help teach them marinating and garnishing techniques.

Continued on page 6

NCB arrests Rhea, her brother and Sushant's house manager in drug cases SEE PAGE - 23

Rajnath: India won’t cede an inch of territory SEE PAGE - 26

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AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

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12 - 18 September 2020

with Keith Vaz

Baroness Verma reportedly alleged of breach of ministerial code

Chanda Vyas Chanda Vyas was born in Kenya and moved to England in the early 1970’s as an impressionable teenager. Chanda couldn’t identify with most aspects of lifestyle here and she didn’t know anyone. Over time she grew and settled with the city, adopting a new culture, and adapting to a very different lifestyle. Being raised within a household where performing Hindu religious ceremonies was a norm; her grandfather and father were all practicing within the same field and Chanda was eagerly learning by their side unbeknown to them that it was her life’s ambition to become a priest. When she reached her late 50’s she became the UK’s first Hindu Woman Priest.

She has worked for and supported multiple local government organisations and charities. She has also conducted weddings all over the world.

Which place, or city or country do you me but also our children. I am the woman I most feel at home in? am today because of his strong support and Well to be honest, it’s got to be Leicester. I influence, always delivered with love and have been here for 50 years. Although my togetherness. home before that was Kenya, Leicester is What is the best aspect about your where I have built my life. I met my huscurrent role? band here, my children were born here, my I feel privileged to be delivering a service community is here. Its home. whereby I am instrumental in the connecWhat are your proudest achievements? tion of families through marriage and facilitate the connection of people to God when I have been able to achieve whatever I have conducting religious ceremonies. Being set my mind and heart to. Being a mother, such a facilitator brings me so much energy, becoming a priest and having a family. calm, contentment and happiness.

Every desire has come with its own chalAnd the worst? lenges and fears but I wouldn’t change it.

The last three months alone have highlightThe only negative situation I often face is ed the importance of family and being having to let couples down when I am home. Being able to stay home for 5 months already booked, especially if I’m conducting is a very big win for me and I wouldn’t a wedding abroad as I would be away for a change it for the world. minimum of a few days so on those days of What inspires you? travel means that I have to turn people down which also upsets me as I want to be I am inspired by great spiritual leaders like able to say yes as often as possible that Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa, their What are your long term goals? ability to give to others without any personal desire or need to seek validation shows My main objective is always to continue to great strength in character and humility. I build bridges between traditions, religion, always look up to such figures to gain percommunities and generations. Supporting spective in different situations for clarity, the younger generation to understand strength and wisdom.

Hinduism is key as they are our future so its What has been biggest obstacle in your paramount, they ask questions and we career? answer them to ensure they can teach and Being a Priest isn’t a career, it’s a service empower their children to understand the provided to the community. Even though I true fundamentals of this beautiful Hindu was raised in a family of priests where relireligion in all its celebrated colours. gion and service were second nature to me, If you were Prime Minister, what one being a woman in this role, in the Hindu aspect would you change? community was not accepted, until now.

This is very easy. Education should be free Stepping into the role proved to be chaland accessible for all. lenging due to the traditional societal conIf you were marooned on a desert structs that exist in our world, communiisland, which historical figure would ties, homes and minds so pushing boundyou like to spend your time with and why? aries and ‘disrupting’ ideologies has been a Dadi Janki, a renowned spiritual leader welcomed challenge that I’ve overcome from the Brahma Kumari’s. She was anothwith support, love, courage and underer inspirational leader who provided the standing. word of God and helped the people to Who has been the biggest influence on understand their ability, intellect and spiriyour career to date? tual freedom. There would never be a dull My husband Manoj. He is by far my biggest moment with her as her perspective on life fan and continues to support me in all my and situations could be discussed for an choices and is there by my side on my joureternity due to her knowledge being as deep ney. His calm nature and considerate wisas the ocean that we’d be surrounded by. dom are always encouraging, not only for

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Man reportedly arrested for suspicion of murder and stabbings in Birmingham city centre On 7th September, Monday, a 27-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder after one person died and seven others were injured in stabbings across Birmingham city centre.

The West Midlands Police reported that the suspect was arrested a day after the attack happened over four locations in Birmingham. The suspect is reportedly being held over seven counts of attempted murder. Forensic officers

are conducting searches at an end-of-terrace house in a cul-de-sac in Selly Oak, where neighbours said a police raid took place in the early hours.

Officers were first called out on Sunday at Constitution Hill, where a man sustained a superficial injury. About 20 minutes later they were called to Livery Street, near Snow Hill railway station, where a 19-year-old man was critically injured and a woman

was also hurt. Then the police were sent to Irving Street, where a 23-year-old man suffered fatal injuries and another man was seriously hurt. They later rushed to Hurst Street, in the city's Gay Village, where a 32-year-old woman was critically injured and two men were less badly hurt.

But the police have stated that they are treating the attacks as "random" at this stage.

On Thursday September 3rd it was reported that a Conservative peer had allegedly breached ministerial code with her family firm signing multimillion-pound deals to supply Uganda’s government with solar power equipment.

According to The Guardian, Baroness Sandip Verma’s company, had signed two deals worth over £88m after meetings with Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni.

61-year-old Lady Verma was made a life peer in 2006. She was a junior minister in the Department of Energy and Climate Change from 2012 to 2015, and then for International Development (DfID) from May 2015 to July 2016. Last year, she had stood up to contest for the Mayor of Leicester which has a sizeable population of Ugandan Asians.

Now, it has emerged that Baroness Verma had joined Nexus Green as chair and director without informing the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA), the paper reported.

She was apparently also present when the company signed an £8m deal to provide the Ugandan military with solar power, eight months after leaving her job as a junior development minister. In September 2019, reports indicate that the Ugandan government had also signed an agreement with the firm to build a factory to make solar equipment.

Government rules mandate transparency whereby, ministers are required to declare all roles and jobs they undertake for up to two years after leaving office.

Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, Preet Kaur Gill has urged Boris Johnson to launch an independent inquiry. But Verma has insisted that she did not break the rules on declarations of interest because Nexus

Sandip Verma

Green was an energy firm and not connected to her last role in DfID. In her statement to The Guardian, she said, “If it relates to a ministerial position then you have got to declare it. I did not have to declare this because I had left energy many years earlier.”

Baroness Verma is reported to have met Ugandan government officials on at least one occasion while she was a minister in September 2015 in London, at a convention to discuss investment opportunities in sectors such as energy. The following month her son Rikki, as The Guardian reports, was appointed director of Nexus Green, a company based in a building in Leicester jointly owned by his parents.

The Ugandan parliament’s national economy committee has written that Nexus Green plans to establish a factory in Uganda to make solar-powered irrigation equipment and install the systems. Last September, the committee signed off a proposal to try to borrow up to £90m from UKEF for the development of solar-powered irrigation. It is understood that an application for a loan has been received but has not been approved.

Lockdown restrictions eased in Greater Manchester, Lancashire, and West Yorkshire On 4th September, the government way with local leaders. The rate of infection announced that numerous businesses is still too high in Greater Manchester, including casinos, bowling alleys, exhibiparts of Lancashire and West Yorkshire to tion halls besides other play and leisure allow lifting restrictions on gatherings. centres will be able to re-open across A ban on two households mixing Greater Manchester, Lancashire and West indoors will continue in City of Yorkshire. In the meantime, Newark and Manchester, Salford, Rochdale, Trafford, Sherwood, Slough and Wakefield will be Oldham, Bury, Bolton, and Tameside. In removed from the “areas of concern”.

Oldham, in addition to a household mixing ban indoors, residents will continue to be Lockdown restrictions were imposed in advised to avoid mixing with anyone from north of England following a spike in the another household anywhere. In Bolton, number of Covid-19 infections. Now, pools, casinos, skating rinks, bowling alleys, exhigyms and sports facilities will also be bition halls, conference centres, and indoor allowed to open across the country from play areas (including soft play areas), will Tuesday and applicable to the rest of remain closed. Socially distanced indoor Blackburn with Darwen, Bradford and performances will remain closed, and Leicester. But the government is expected restrictions on certain close contact serto formally review restrictions on other vices will remain. We are working closely businesses in Leicester by 11th September. with local leaders. Urban areas of Bradford, Indoor swimming pools, including water where the ban on indoor household gatherparks, indoor fitness and dance studios, ings is in place. indoor gyms and sports courts and facilities will be able to lawfully reopen from Tuesday 8th September In north of England socially distanced indoor performances will also be FINANCIAL A SERVICES able to resume, and remaining restrictions on certain PROTECTION MORTGAGES close contact services (treatLife Insurance Residential ments on the face, such as Critical Illness Buy to Let eyebrow threading or makeIncome Protection Remortgages up application) will be lifted.

These easements will bring Greater Manchester, apart Please conta act: from Bolton, Lancashire, and Dinesh Shonchhatra S West Yorkshire in line with Mortgage Ad dviser the changes made in the rest of the country on 15 August.

Call: 020 8424 C 4 8686 / 07956 810647 The rates of infection remain too high in Bolton for these easements to be applied and 77 High Street, Wealdston ne, Harrow, HA3 5DQ mortgage@majorestate.co om ~ majorestate.com further work is now under-

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12 - 18 September 2020

Freedom of press is an undeniable privilege Last Friday, 77 activists (said to be a part of Extinction Rebellion) were charged for allegedly being involved in protests during the night at Broxbourne and Knowsley. Accusing the papers of failing to report on climate change, the protesters targeted presses which print the Rupert Murdoch-owned titles. The Hertfordshire Police were criticised for ‘facilitating’ attacks on press freedom when they sent only six officers to face over 100 activists who stalled printing of newspapers for over 12 hours until 10 am the next morning.

This is not the first time that free speech has been under ‘threat’ this year. In the month of February, Downing Street excluded some outlets, including The Independent, from technical briefing, with an official allegedly telling the excluded journalist: “We welcome to brief whoever we want whenever we want.” On the contrary, hours after XR’s protest, Prime Minister Boris Johson said that a free press is vital in holding the government and other powerful institutions to account on issues critical for the future of our country, including the fight against climate change.The importance of ethnic press in the light of the recent incidents has never been more instrumental in voicing the concerns and issues of the minority communities, especially Indians and Hindus. Britain’s labour shortages shaped the postwar migration patterns from the subcontinent between 1960s to 80s. Peasant families from Punjab whose relatives served in the British army during the colonial rule took up manufacturing, textile and service sectors. East African Gujaratis and Punjabis migrated to the UK when they were expelled from Kenya, Uganda , Tanzania and Zanzibar. Pakistani migrants who came to Britain after the war found employment in the textile industries, cars and engineering factories. People fled from Sylhet region of Bangladesh during the civil unrest in their homeland, to seek a better life in Britain. Small numbers of professionals emigrated to the UK from Sri Lanka and found work in the cor-

ner shops, NHS, and other white-collar occupations.

In a country where more than 95 percent of the population is white, ethnic press has been pivotal. Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar have run several campaigns to help the community in securing their rightful place in the UK with months and months of objective reporting. With our 'Save the Temple' campaign to make sure the Hare Krishna Temple in Watford, north London continues to stand tall for its believers. As a newspaper committed to serve the community, we have published stories around physical and mental health, culture, socio-political and economic challenges within the community.From correcting the tonality of reportage with the British press’ benchmark of reporting, to rectifying facts by speaking to as many native residents as possible, ethnic Asian press has developed a close bond with the community without any prejudice.The spread of fake news and the repercussions of virality have not only built pseudo narratives but also diluted the authenticity of the popular press. The race to break news and lack of fact checking processes have blotted the entire media, the yoke of which unfortunately also overshadows ethnic press, which is working on a much smaller scale with community driven, fact checked-investigative stories.

Ethnic press has served as an outlet for the community to voice its grievances over time which would otherwise not make it to the national press. Prime Minister Boris Johnson himself has been a journalist at The Daily Telegraph; his writings did appeal to the middle class people in England. In a country where ethnic minorities have been an integral part of establishing multiculturalism, inherited from slave nations colonised by the British, curtailing the freedom of press would be an extension of the past, jeopardising the future. In this context, the words of Mahatma Gandhi are still relevant more than 100 years later, “Freedom of the press is a precious privilege that no country can forgo.”

Why India’s Covid-19 vaccine can be a game changer There are 172 countries racing against each other and some collaborating together for the development of a Covid-19 vaccine according to the World Health Organisation. As of September 6th, 37 vaccine candidates are in some stage of development. One of the world’s most advanced coronavirus candidates is Oxford University’s Covid-19 vaccine in partnership with Serum Institute of India (SII) and AstraZeneca. Countries like the US and UK have already bought a prior majority stake in vaccines slated to be produced by companies such as Pfizer and Moderna. SII has promised to allocate half of its doses to India with the other half of them expected to be delivered to poorer countries, pricing the vaccine at around £2.25 per vial. Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the largest manufacturing vaccine in the world (SII), has understood the economic inequalities underpinning access to quality healthcare and has thus, taken a humanitarian approach to vaccine production. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself lauded the efforts of healthcare professionals in his Indian Independence Day speech ensuring, “We have prepared the infrastructure to provide the vaccine to every person in the country”.

While India is often recognised as the “generic and pharmaceutical powerhouse” with the capacity of bulk production of affordable vaccines. The licence approvals and drug regulation standard checks have to be met universally for the vaccine to be effectively administered across all countries. If a vaccine is discovered before 2021, then the UK government plans to strengthen powers of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in rolling out an unlicensed vaccine rapidly. This is crucial as the UK is currently under the jurisdiction of the European Medicines Agency and its licensing scheme until the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020.

German history is perhaps the biggest witness to the significance of appropriate drug approvals and the reason for strict monitoring of their distribution. In 1957, Thalidomide was introduced in Germany as an over-the-counter sedative or a tranquiliser. Advertised as “completely safe” for everyone, including mother and child, “even during pregnancy,” the developers “could not find a dose high enough to kill a rat.” By 1960, it was marketed in 46 countries according to the UK Science Museum and introduced in the UK as Distaval. It was prescribed for conditions including pneumonia, cold and flu. But the drug was rejected by America’s Food and Drug Administration. It later emerged that the side effects of the drug can harm the foetus in the womb and its development of internal organs including brain, limbs and eyesight. A UK government warning against the consumption of the drug by pregnant mothers was issued only in 1962. Meanwhile, thousands of children, mothers and families with life changing consequences have suffered and are suffering even today.

While Oxford virologists are 99% optimistic about their Covid-19 vaccine after the positive Stage II results, they have also warned that clinical animal and human trials do not fully ascertain that coronavirus can be cured. Other complexities of ethnography and existing co-morbidities are also to be taken into account. It is a well-known fact that coronavirus has disproportionately impacted the black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community especially considering the lifestyle choices and existing health complications due to high blood glucose levels, Type II diabetes amongst others within the South Asian community.

Hence, the NHS has been urging greater participation of South Asians in the human clinical trial process to address and monitor how they respond to the potential Covid-19 vaccine.

Indian Americans influence on US election results Though Indian-Americans constitute just 1.5 per cent of the population, they play an important role in deciding who would be America's next president. At four million, they are the secondlargest immigrant group after Mexicans. The community, however, started with modest numbers, owing to severe restrictions on immigration prior to the passage of the landmark Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. This legislation led to a dramatic increase of immigration from Asia. A disproportionate segment of those who formed the first wave of migrants were middle class professionals- doctors, educators and managers. In 1957, Dalip Singh Saund became the first Asian-American to be elected to the US House of Representatives, coming from a district in southern California. He was subsequently elected for two more terms before he suffered a stroke in 1962 and was too ill to run again.

In 2005, another Indian-American, Louisiana governor Piyush “Bobby” Jindal, became the second Indian-American to be elected to the House of Representatives. In 2011, Pramila Jayapal, became the first Indian-American woman in the US House of Representatives. Today there are five Indian-Americans in Congress, including Kamala Harris in the Senate. Being a highearning and educated immigrant group makes Indian-Americans a very attractive pool of potential donors for political campaigns.

In the current election season they have emerged as significant donors. Not surprisingly, both Republicans and Democrats make ardent efforts to court them especially in highly contested regions. Since the days of President Ronald Reagan, the Republican Party has tried a “big tent” strategy, an effort to accommodate people of various political leanings. That, however, is no longer the case, especially under President Trump.

The party did attract particular individuals of IndianAmerican origin who rose to positions of considerable prominence, such as Bobby Jindal and Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina and the erstwhile American ambassador to the United Nations whose parents emigrated to the US from Punjab.

However, the party could not genuinely broaden its IndianAmerican base across the country. Both these individuals also distanced themselves from their religious roots by converting to Christianity. When Trump visited India in February 2020, he received a huge reception which was organised in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat.

However, a majority of Indian-Americans either identify with the Democratic Party or lean to Democratic ideology.

According to a 2020 survey, 54 per cent of Indian-Americans are leaning toward the Democratic nominee, Joseph Biden, while 29 per cent are in favour of the Republican incumbent Donald Trump. One of the reasons why Biden has chosen Kamala Harris as his running mate is that she is Indian origin and Black. Her mother is Indian and father is a Jamaican. Her Indian origin and her record on criminal justice issues have not gone down well with some of the Democratic voters. The same survey also shows that there are 1.8 million Indian-Americans, whose vote in crucial swing states ranging from Arizona to Wisconsin could help tip the election one way or another. There may be several likely explanations for the overwhelming level of support among Indian-Americans for the Democratic Party. It may be worth noting that as many as 84 per cent of the Indian-American community had voted for President Obama. Whether the same trend is repeated is yet to be seen.

"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.”

– Dalai Lama XIV

Alpesh Patel

Suffer the little children The great footballer Marcus Rashford is on a mission to help feed children. The Manchester United player successfully campaigned during the summer to extend free school meals. He wants to reduce child food poverty. Like you all, when I look at social media I despair at humanity. These are the types of evil morons who disagree with what Marcus is doing. Whatever good works you all do, and in our community we do so much, don’t let evil get in your way. It is the problem.

Here are the 7 types of morons on the internet who will try to stop you save the world.

1. Screw Everyone Else, Be Selfish This type of moron writes this on Twitter: Bro we need your to focus more on your football this season. We cant afford any distractions.

2. Let’s Do Nothing by Doing A Study “So it must be someone's fault- don’t dance with words Marcus- you have to address the root cause to solve the problem- none one is blaming a child.”

3. No Such Thing as Society Person It’s also not the taxpayers job to pick up the food bill.

4. Leave it to God Bro forcus (sic) on your career and coming back strong.....God brought the children into this world and He'll surely never forsake them....

5. Blame The Parents Type of Person Agree it’s never the child’s fault. But before a parent cannot feed their child, what are they doing themselves? Have they given up smoking? Given up drinking? Given up SkyTV? Parents also have a responsibility.

6. It’s the State’s Fault – So Do Nothing Type of Person No child allowance for 1st child when I was born. My parents had one child because that is all they knew they afford. Why have more and struggle to feed them, because they rely on the state.

7. The Small IQ commentator My son put his toot toot drivers car through my tele. It was his fault.

So there you have it. Seven types of morons you will meet on the internet on all things social. They will want to stop you helping even hungry children.

Evil is all around us. It is not Adolf Hitler size, it’s in the small people with the small minds in their small petty lives.

Do your thing. Help the children. I know this paper in its support and fund raisers for Akshaya Patra raised thousands to help provide mid-day meals to kids.

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KHICHADI Kapil’s

Follow me on Twitter: @kk_OEG

Has the Bloomsbury Knee Censored the Truth?

Kapil Dudakia Bloomsbury India (with blessings from Bloomsbury UK I assume) pulled out at the 11th hour of a contract to publish a booked titled, ‘Delhi Riots 2020 – The Untold Story’.

I understand the book went through several edits and Bloomsbury were fully involved. They approved the book, made it ready for publication, and indeed the first trial marketing batch was printed as well. Suddenly the global white woke literary terrorists panicked realising the truth was about to come out. Authors like William Dalrymple engaged in a Twitter campaign with fellow wokes around the world to pressurise Bloomsbury into submission. The knee of the white man was now firmly on the neck of these brown lady authors from India. How dare they even think they can publish anything without the white man’s approval!

That knee was also on the neck of truth and justice.

These woke charlatans and their morally and ethically bankrupt publishing house probably thought the Raj was still alive and their supremacy over Indians is forever.

Unfortunately for them they did not bank on the power of shakti. Three determined Bharati women stood tall where many others would have fallen. I salute the authors, Monika Arora, Sonali Chitalkar and Prerna Malhotra for standing up to these imperial bullies.

In the madness that followed, the decision by Bloomsbury backfired in their faces. Karma it seems always wins. No sooner had the Maoist, Marxist, Islamic extremists and their western white masters started rejoicing their coup, news broke that Garuda Prakashan Pvt. Ltd., an Indian publishing house would take up the challenge. Within days the book was made ready for publishing. And as I write this column, pre-orders for the book have now crossed 35000 copies and rising by the minute.

On 5th September 2020 I was invited to the UK online pre-launch book event. It was an honour to be able to speak alongside the authors, the publisher Shri Sankrant Sanu, as well as keynote speaker, Shri Sambit Patra the spokesperson for the BJP. My good friend Smt Lakshmi Kaul hosted the event.

This is what Bloomsbury had to say: “Bloomsbury India had planned to release Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story in September, a book purportedly giving a factual report on the riots in Delhi in February 2020, based on investigations and interviews conducted by the authors.

However, in view of very recent events including a virtual pre-publication launch organised without our knowledge by the authors, with participation by parties of whom the Publishers would not have approved, we have decided to withdraw publication of the book. Bloomsbury India strongly supports freedom of speech but also has a deep sense of responsibility towards society.”

As far as I am concerned, I cannot trust Bloomsbury as an independent unbiased publishing house any longer.

Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Speech are not mere slogans for commercial exploitation. Bloomsbury have made a mockery of it.

Increasingly I see a trend developing in India now.

Consider the following events, Kashmir with A370 and A50, introduction of CAA and NRC, women’s equality and Triple Talak, historical justice for Ram Mandir, Bollywood mafia and its terror links and much more. The question arising, what is the common thread of extremism that exhibits its anti-national credentials through riots and violence in all of these?

India has many enemies around the world, and some within. The harvesters of innocent souls have been circling India like vultures for hundreds of years. Indians must understand their enemy, in all their guises.

Bhaktivedanta Manor lauded for Covid-19 protocol during Janmashtami celebrations Local and national health inspectors examined the Covid-19 protocol maintained at Bhaktivedanta Manor during the recent Janmashtami festival and reported that their precautions were exemplary.

The temple had ensured that temperature checks with a simple non-touch reader were conducted.

Anyone exceeding the normal temperature of >37.8C was not permitted access.

Symptoms and history of contacts was also traced. In the darshan queue, devotees had to observe a 2-m social distancing rule and were also prevented from singing in line with the Public Health England’s guidance around coronavirus.

Digital inauguration of “Virtual Vocational Training" programme in collaboration with Life Global UK and Project ‘Life’, India.

Jyotsna Shah On 5th September, Saturday, Project ‘Life’ digitally launched a “Virtual Vocational Training” programme on Zoom with the aim of encouraging women empowerment in rural areas of Gujarat. A first of its kind in the history of women empowerment this vocational training was arranged digitally for 150 women.

Eminent leaders of the Navnat, Oshwal, Jain Network and the local communities, besides members and followers of Life Global joined the

inauguration. The function was organized under the empowerment program of 150 women from Ahmedabad, living below poverty line. It was a very heart touching moment, when some of the benefited participants of the training programme shared their experiences during the event.

CB Patel, Editor/Publisher of Asian Voice has been an active and long-standing supporter of Project Life, Rajkot and its social welfare activities. He chaired this inauguration event and even presented his

views on this milestone occasion.

The event was successfully managed by, Shri Rushikesh Pandya, the Chief Development Officer of Project ‘Life’ along with the support from Ms. Meetal Kotecha Shah, Joint Executive Trustee.

It was virtutally inaugurated by Mrs. Binaben & Mr. Mayurbhai Sanghvi (Chair, Life Global UK), Mrs. Renuben Mehta (President, Navnat Bhagini Samaj), Mrs. Anitaben Kamdar (Ambassadress, Life Global UK), Ms. Chandni Vora (COO, Vascroft Contractors Ltd., UK).

National Congress of Gujarati Organisations UK appoints new officers The National Congress of Gujarati Organisations (NCGO) UK has recently announced the appointment of new officers.

The NCGO UK is an umbrella organisation supGujarati porting Community Organisations in UK and was established in 1985 with the following objectives: To inform, advice involve and represent the Gujarati speaking population of the United Kingdom on all issues which affect them and generally to work for their social, economic, educational, cultural, linguistic and religious advancement and act as a national forum to promote the needs and raise awareness of the communities with statutory and voluntary organisations Mr Vimalji Odedra has taken over the role as the President. At present he is also the President of the International Maher Supreme Council and has been serving the community in various roles for the past 30 years. Mr Pravin G Patel joins as the Secretary General. He has been working in the community and is well known as the former Chairman of Sardar Patel Memorial Society UK. Jitubhai Patel takes over the role of Vice President and has been part of NCGO UK for the past 28yrs and served in various positions.

Deepak Patel has been appointed as the Treasurer and Krishna Pujara takes over the role as the Public Relations Officer. The Executive Committee consists of: Anita Ruparelia, Chandrakant Mehta GP Desai, Gargi Patel, Pravin Amin & Sumantrai Desai.

Mr CB Patel will head the Patron Council. Kanti Nagda (MBE) & Dr Bhimabhai Odedra have been appointed on the Advisory Council.

Commenting on the appointment, Mr Vimalji

Odedra said, “My appointment to the role of President of NCGO UK, follows a career dedicated to public service and ensuring fair treatment in people’s everyday lives. I very much see that continuing with the NCGO UK service.

I look forward to working with the Executive Committee of NCGO UK, who I know are committed to providing a modern and first-rate service to all. And it’s vital too that we maintain effective and constructive relationships with all Gujarati Organisations to ensure we all work together in the best interest of all communities.’

NCGO UK requests all representatives of Gujarati Organisations to contact NCGO by email: info@ncgouk.org to join as members of NCGO UK and also to ensure that your community is well represented on NCGO. NCGO UK are looking for volunteer representatives who would like to be part of the organisation to further the aims & mission of the organisation. For further information please email NCGO UK. An online Gujarati Conference has been

organised on Friday 11th September 2020 at 4pm to discuss the needs of Gujarati Communities in UK. The event will be attended by many wellknown dignitaries with The Guest – Mr Chief Parshottam Rupala – Union Minister of India

(Agriculture & Animal Welfare) Please join the conference via Zoom: Meeting ID: 892 3046 4929 Password: NCGO For further information contact the Secretary General – Pravin G Patel 07960 376229

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12 - 18 September 2020

UK

Why ethnicity matters in organ donation There are over 6,000 people waiting for an organ transp plant, whilst they wait their lives are on pause. Black, Asian and minority ethnic patients make up a third of the waiting list due to a higher incidence of conditions that make you more likely to need a transplant, like type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.

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Organ don nation in England has moved to an opt-out system, to allow more p people to save more lives Organ donation remains your choice To find out more visit organdonation on.nhs.uk

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Axiom Stone successfully represents Sikh Regiment remembers the Panorama Magic Contracting, securing forgotten battle of Saragarhi football future of Charlton Athletic A leading Mayfair-based law firm has successfully represented Panorama Magic Contracting LLC in fighting an injunction which would have otherwise prevented the company in continuing negotiations with potential buyers.

Axiom Stone Solicitors represented Panorama, the majority shareholders of East Street Investments Ltd (ESI) this week and underlined its growing reputation as a leading force in the field of sports business and sports litigation. Panorama Magic, with a 65% stake in East Street Investments, defended an application for an injunction brought against them by Lex Dominus Ltd, a company owned and controlled by businessman Paul Elliott.

On Tuesday September 1st, a court in Manchester heard that Mr Elliott was seeking to prevent Panorama Magic from selling its shares and that the company should be compelled to sell those shares to Lex Dominus. Mr Elliott argued that he had an agreement to buy Charlton

Athletic Football Club from ESI and was justified in attempting to prevent its sale to any other party. His potential deal to buy the Club had been held up because he was appealing a decision that he had failed the English Football League’s owners and directors test.

Radcliffe Chambers barrister Lauren Kreamer, for Panorama, told the court that in failing the test, Mr Elliott was ineligible to buy the club. Any injunction imposed on a sale would have serious consequences for the Club and threaten its future.

His Honour Judge Richard Pearce initially found in favour of Panorama and refused to grant the injunction. At a subsequent hearing, he ruled that Panorama was free from 9th September to sell its shares to another purchaser with a takeover of the Club able to go ahead. Lex Dominus was given seven days to appeal and also ordered to pay Panorama Magic’s costs.

Daniel Gleek, Partner and Head of Dispute

Resolution at Axiom Stone Solicitors, said, “This was a hugely important decision for Panorama, Charlton Athletic and Axiom Stone.

In the event that the injunction was ordered, this would have prevented Panorama from selling its shares to a new owner.

“The likely effect was that the Club would be unable by 12th September 2020 – the start date of the new English Football League season – to satisfy the EFL about its future funding and risk extremely serious sanctions being applied, including the possible expulsion from the League.”

The hearing attracted so much attention from the media and Charlton fans that the original online hearing crashed and delayed the start time by an hour.

Axiom Stone’s expansion into business of sport and sports litigation forms part of the full-service provided by one of the capital’s fastest-growing business law firms with offices in Mayfair, Edgware and Birmingham.

The Battle of Saragarhi was fought on 12th September 1897 between two sub-nationalities of the subcontinent – the Sikhs, who were in the service of Britain, and the Pashtuns, who were fighting for their freedom. 21 Sikh soldiers defended Saragarhi, an outpost 40 miles from the then British town of Kohat (now in Pakistan) against 10,000 Afghan tribesmen.

While the battle has been a lost chapter in the history, several efforts have been made in recent times by Sikh soldiers, defence networks and Armed Forces to pay tribute to the courage, vallour and bravery of those 21 Sikh soldiers. Sargeant Sarvjit Singh is a Squadrant Quartermaster Sergeant (STS) at 2 ATR Pirbright.

“It was a proud moment for us as Sikh soldiers because that was the longest stand of those 21 Sikh soldiers in history. We have learnt so much from the chronicles of their experiences, why and how they retained the position. It reflects their passion to serve their country and every year we pay commemorate those unsung heroes by organising a ceremony.

“And for young people movies like Kesari can be a starting point to learn about the history of the battle besides other books and documentaries.”

Over the last decade, there has been a significant number of measures taken to celebrate the diversity within the Armed Forces in the UK. In 2009, Sarvjit became one of the first Sikhs to guard Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II outside the Buckingham Palace in his turban.

“It was a positive change which reflected the diversity of the Armed Forces. Every time

Sergeant Sarvjit Singh

you mount on the guard duty at the Buckingham Palace you have to wear a Bearskin hat but we were allowed to continue to wear our turban instead. It was an extremely proud moment and it was an iconic change with the British Armed Forces becoming a role model for other countries to be inclusive and respectful of all religions.

“We live in a very diverse society today and the Armed Forces have given us the freedom to practise our culture and religion. The value systems and disciplinary routines are quite similar in British Armed Forces and Sikhism. Both our faith in our religion and our passion for the army give us mental, physical and emotional strength to continue to serve at the line of duty across the world.”

In recent times, Sikh Defence Network and regiments have been emphasising on the significance of Kirtan and Sangat and organising various such ceremonies that fosters community cohesion.

HIGH STREET SHOPS BATTLE EMPTY CITY CENTRES Continued from page - 1 “The Chancellor’s Eat Out to Help Out has been a massive support and as we continue to receive more bookings, we are continuing with the scheme right through September without the Government’s help. The scheme changed people’s perception and with the festive season approaching, we are optimistic that greater number of people will be longing to share their lockdown kahanis while at dinner at our restaurant.”

High street souvenir shops, pubs and restaurants in Central London particularly around London’s Soho and Oxford Street areas depend heavily on tourist influx. The tourism industry has slowly started picking up with airlines operating on nearly 50% occupancy levels.

“A few years ago, people were so scared of SARS and we are optimistic that by next year we will have a solution for coronavirus as well. And while, we are missing out on the experience of tourists, we are greatly supported by our local residents. Yes, business has been difficult but we are surviving.”

155 drinks in a month for £20 Round the corner café houses and restaurant chains also bank on the “Lunch hour” rush as most employees start their mornings with their go-to coffees and bagged up meals from their regular deli. Yet, looming fears of a second wave of coronavirus has meant that Central London remains a ghost town. In a bid to revive the collapsing economy, the government is now urging people

to go back to work. Enthused with this initiative, some café chains have introduced unique schemes including coffee chain Pret A Manger. On 4th September, in an effort to boost its sales, Pret announced to offer customers up to five coffees a day if they sign up to a monthly subscription service for £20 only. With their ‘YourPret’ Barista one can enjoy a maximum of 155 drinks including all coffees, teas, frappes and hot chocolates

Kahani Chef Peter Joseph

for £20 in a month with the first month being free.

Beauty industry gears up ahead of Diwali and Christmas Businesses across industries are coming up with similar initiatives to amplify their business.

Lockdown restrictions had meant people were also deprived of grooming their hair and following their routine skin treatment procedures. Considering the close proximity and interface with the customers, the government had ensured a stricter and a longer lockdown phase for beauty clinics and hair salons across the country.

But Kinnari’s, a hairdresser located near Norbury Station in Streatham is optimistic of picking

up business after lockdown restrictions have been lifted. A spokesperson said, “In March when we temporarily closed our salon in line with the government’s coronavirus guidelines, we were very concerned about keeping our business alive. Every year during Eid we are usually fully booked as many Muslim women make prior reservations and visit us for a range of beauty treatments from hair-

Vivian Archer

dressing and styling to facial enhancements. This year we were closed due to coronavirus.

“We are extremely thankful to Chancellor Rishi Sunak for we were able to apply and qualify for the Small Business Grant scheme which has ensured that we remain in business. Old women particularly loved visiting our salon for the personal experience and time that we gave them ensuring that there was community bonding.

But old people are still required to shield and thus, we have seen a drop in the number of customers visiting us. Hence, in the run-up to Diwali and Christmas we have planned for various discounted packages and offers so that people can still get that experience whilst

ensuring that their safety is in place.”

600 books published a 24% book bumper In the meantime, bookshops and pubs have also reported a drop in their business with the “game season” and football lingering to a slow. On the flip side however, lockdown encouraged more people to delve into books and forgotten habits of reading, writing gardening and cooking.

Bhav Patel

According to trade journal The Bookseller, there is a 24% rise on the number of books published since the start of September last year with 600 books being published on Thursday 10th September.

Vivian Archer of Newham Bookshop said, “Footfall is still a little slow, but we are finding that customers are making special efforts to come to the shop now.

They are so pleased that we were supplying books to them during lockdown with our volunteer cyclists. There is a real feeling that independent businesses have to be supported, and not go the easy option i.e. Amazon. We were also able to support local community charities by fundraising. A cus-

tomer gave us £1000 last week to provide books for children in need. I think it is very difficult to say how things will go at present, people coming to the shop are very respectful of the measures we have taken to keep them and our staff safe. It is the events that we held that have been hardest hit.”

With children staying at home throughout the summer, working parents have had to ensure that they keep them occupied one way or another especially when restrictions to social gatherings can impact their mental and emotional well-being. Yet, as parents struggle to manage children’s study-play balance with an eye on their digital consumption, there hasn’t been much activity for toyshops on the high-street either.

Bhav Patel, Managing Director of Toy Galaxy Ltd. said, “Since re-opening from Lockdown, it is fair to say the high street has struggled to draw in the same level of customers we had prior to closing. Those that managed to see through the lockdown period have now a completely different issue to deal with which is of course; staying open. The one positive we have found is that average basket values are higher, so people are spending money, there just aren’t enough customers to help businesses reach for like targets. For us, to ensure we can ride this storm we have a few rules we religiously are sticking by. Managing and reducing our running costs, reducing stock holding, buying little but often and of course focusing on offers and promotions so the end customer is saving money walking into your store.”

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TLIGHT

The Quintessentia: Authentic Luxury Sunetra Senior The Quintessentia create original, handcrafted desserts which have caused a sumptuous stir. Founded by two sisters, Jilna Gosrani and Mishna Shah, the luxury sweets brand has remarkably thrived despite the economy.

“We’ve enjoyed continuing to make someone’s day, especially during the time of lockdown.” Providing a stunning array of detailed mini-desserts for a variety of special occasions, such as wedding receptions, brunches, big birthdays and portable picnics, the dexterous duo creatively addresses the gastronomic gap in the Vegetarian market. The epitome of dietary refinement, their contemporary subcontinental sweets include the Gulab Jamun Cheesecake which has been their biggest hit: “we love working with weird and wonderful, flavoursome combinations. The Gulab Jamun Cheesecake, for example, was baked on a whim and has been our hero since. It’s not traditionally sweet and so attracts the younger taste buds. However, it also contains the spices, Saffron and Cardamom, which is enjoyed by the older generation. We want to preserve our Indian heritage while making the treats beautifully accessible!”

Originally from Kenya in East Africa, Jilna and Mishna specialise in less sugary, egg-free afters that are also exciting and truly delicious: “we first tried to deliver the vision at Mishna’s engagement party, and were very

Jilna & Mishna

customers stand out.”

The Quintessentia have created a delectable dessert buffet at the Meridian Grand which consisted of sixteen tiers and offered 2000 desserts, including different mousses, cheesecakes, chocolates and tarts: “The bride loved sweets and wanted the course to be as memorable as the main meal!” The sisters also make bespoke bonbons which include the hand painted Passion Peacock and Fiery Ruby with raspberry, yuzu and chilli ganachefilled ruby chocolate. “There’s also the key lime coconut ladoo bonbon on which we airbrush a gradient of white and green to make the chocolate visually pop.” The Quintessentia’s consultations with customers allows them to understand both what is exactly wanted, and experiment with new appetising conceptions: “we always do a ‘taste & talk’ session based on flavours and the sort of person a client is. One bride, for example, really loved lychee and a tart flavour goes really well with that.

This resulted in another hit of ours: the Lychee Hibiscus Cheesecake. People have just continued to request it!”

And so, The Quintessentia are as much innovators as they are dedicated bakers: “actually”, the two added, “the business has gained momentum itself.

We’ve had catering services and restaurants approach us to work with them. This is lucky because we’re both creative and utterly devoted to the food, and prefer to concentrate on that.” Jilna is the stylist so to speak,

“We’ve been able to convert people to ingredients through the rich adventure of subtly sweet canapes"

Poet-Diplomat Ambassador Abhay Kumar speaks on Kalidasa A talk on Kalidasa’s works has been organised recently by Sanskruti Centre for Cultural Excellence on the virtual platform for UK audiences.

Ambassador of India to Madagascar Abhay Kumar, who translated Ritusamhara and Meghaduta into English has spoken on the occasion.

After the introductory lines Poet-Diplomat Abhay

by Ragasudha Vinjamuri, PoetDiplomat Abhay took to the session opening his talk with his Earth Anthem. He spoke of his astonishment of Kalidasa’s imagery beautifully woven in the poems. He underscored the importance of eco-poetry and the works of Kalidasa in the wake of the triple threat of climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental pollution. He highlighted Kalidasa’s vivid description of seasons, water bodies, mountains, flora, and fauna. He read a few excerpts that described the plight of different animals in the scorching sun. He then steers how Kalidasa’s poetry shows us the love of nature and also mentioned Maithili poet Vidyapati’s works and Rabindranath Tagore’s works.

Q&A at the end of his talk included interaction with journalists, writers, community leaders, and enthusiasts including Vijay Rana, Alok Agarwal, Madhava Turumella, Piyush Ojha, Manoj Talwar, Vedavyas Kasturi, Radhika Joshi, Sharad Jha, and Mukesh Karelia. Sushil Rapatwar has provided technical support to the event.

Abhay Kumar is SAARC Literary Award recipient and has authored 8-eyed Lord of Kathmandu, among other works. He edited 100 Great Indian Poems and CAPITALS, and his Earth Anthem has been translated into 50 languages

successful. The guests loved it! It was a no-brainer from then.” A people product, The Quintessentia desserts actually began in the hearts of the two sisters who learned to bake with their mother and grandmother who were “excellent cooks”. Indeed, impressively loyal to its name, the company provides a total tantalising experience known for its grand dessert tables that are as much an enchanting display: “our aim is to make desserts that look amazing, but taste even better. We love different textures, aesthetics, and the whole process of culinary enjoyment – people taste with their eyes, and feel the glee with their spirits. We want people to remember the events, and help

focussing on the presentation, and Mishna is particularly sensitive to flavours, enhancing the impeccable taste.

“We’ve been able to convert people to ingredients through the rich adventure of subtly sweet canapes.

Also using fresh fruit in our creations, the menu is superior as well as eye-catching!” Through their adaptable, talented touch, The Quintessentia reinvents a fundamental rule of professionalism: to focus on the quality not only naturally sells, but also grows and packages the content.

I: @TheQuintEssentia W: www.thequintessentia.com/

Winners revealed for “Connected Communities” youth competition On Monday 7th three youngsters were announced as the winners of the “Connected Communities” Competition organised by the Faiths United.

Winners included 11-year-old Miriam Burns (‘Book Hub’), 12-year-old Matilda Brookes-Jones (‘The Quadrangle Academy’) and 16-year-old Malaika Ali (‘Reconnect’).

Supported by 14 partners, the virtual awards event featured Faith Minister, Lord (Stephen) Greenhalgh where youngsters aged between 7-18 years old submitted their responses to the ques-

tion: “How has the Covid-19 crisis brought your community together?”.

The submissions came in various forms, including video, drawing, photograph, poem and prose.

The judging panel was chaired by Dame Helen Hyde who said, “It was a joy to look at the finalists’ work. Each of them told a powerful story of their community coming together over the last few difficult months. The young people inspired us with their creativity and messages of hope. We would like to congratulate all the winners and runners-

up.” Children’s Laureate Cressida Cowell (author of ‘How to Train Your Dragon’) sent a video congratulating the winners, and saying what she liked about each of the winning entries.

Lord Greenhalgh of Fulham, Faith Minister, said, “I would like to congratulate the winners and all the participants for their hard work. It was a pleasure to take part in the awards ceremony. These young people have provided a powerful reminder of the deep community bonds and great unity between different faiths.”

Photo courtesy: Sanam Arora (twitter)

An NRI group in the UK has started a campaign to seek justice for Sushant Singh Rajput’s death

A statement issued by the group has been signed by 102 organisations, representing the wide Indian diaspora living in the UK, including Hindu Council UK. In the statement they said, they felt Bollywood need a reform from its core, ensuring only deserving talent succeeds. Among many other demands they have added that they want equal opportunity for all Indian actors and actresses without any undue advantage to any star friend or family member.

“We do have the intellect, drive and resources to make it happen and will do everything in our power to further along the retribution of all those involved, so that

a price is paid for the barbaric and inhumane acts. We stand united. Those who are quiet in Bollywood must understand that in the pretext of saving millions of jobs, they can't get away this time. Their silence is deafening and also it means they support the perpetrator and are scared.They further said, the UK NRI diaspora wants Bollywood to flourish but not at the cost of India’s national interest.

A van has also been seen making rounds in London with slides of LED photos of SSR titled #JusticeForSSR, #GlobalPrayerForSSRand #WarriorsForSSR, though one could not confirm, if it has been rented by the same group.

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Mayor of London’s Covid-19 Shadow Trade Minister health advice for South highlights UK falling Asians in ethnic languages behind in trade with India On Friday 4th September, the Mayor of London unveiled a series of videos delivering health guidance on Covid-19 in Urdu, Indian Punjabi, Bengali and Hindi.

Created and catered to reach the South Asian communities in London, Sadiq Khan in these clips emphasises the need for more translated health advice across the country projecting the significance of social distancing, face coverings and regular handwashing.

South Asian across the UK have been disproportionately impacted by coronavirus and are highly likely to be employed as key workers in frontline health and service industry roles.

Lockdown restrictions have meant major cultural and religious events including Vaisakhi, Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha as well as India and Pakistan’s respective independence days have not been celebrated as they usually would, through communal gatherings. This has meant festivities have largely taken place within households or have inspired families, faith communities and places of worship to move celebrations online.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said, “From key workers on the frontline to families staying home, London’s South Asian communities have made extraordinary sacrifices to help stop the spread of this virus.

A person’s ethnicity should never mean the difference between life and death and Ministers must do more to ensure reliable guidance in accessible formats is available to all.”

He has previously campaigned for ethnicity data to be added to death certificates, urging the Equality and Human Rights Commission to undertake a full inquiry and backing calls on the Prime Minister for an independent public inquiry into BAME deaths. He has also provided financial sup-

port to Doctors of the World to ensure crucial coronavirus guidance could be made available in more than 60 languages and Sadiq Khan creating a toolkit with resources in a further 11 languages including Bengali and Gujarati. And has helped launch the London Community Response which has provided emergency funding to several organisations in the capital’s South Asian including Hounslow community Multicultural Centre and Hopscotch Asian Women’s Centre. Of the £23million allocated by the fund so far, 44% has gone to BAME led organisations.

Dr Sarah N Ali, South Asian Health Foundation (SAHF) trustee and Consultant in Diabetes and Endocrinology, said, “SAHF has been active for two decades working to improve health inequalities in the British South Asian community based on robust scientific research and evidence-based medicine.”

Benaifer Bandhari, CEO - Hopscotch Asian Women’s Centre, said, “At Hopscotch we have worked on accurate information from the beginning of enforced isolation particularly for our more vulnerable service users facing poverty, domestic abuse and loneliness. With our colleagues at Camden we have made videos in community languages throughout this period but having London-wide videos to share is fantastic and will mean a lot to our service users and staff.”

Wheelchair bound Indian student fundraises for education at Oxford University A 21-year-old girl who has been homeschooled in a small city of Punjab, India is set to become the first wheel-chair bound Indian to study public policy at Oxford University.

Pratishtha Deveshwar, a recent graduate from Delhi was thrilled in July to have received an acceptance letter from the Oxford University. She had tweeted, “Thrilled to share that I’ll be pursuing a Master’s in Public Policy from the University of Oxford. From the ICU where I fought for my life, to being the first wheelchair-user from India to get into Oxford-it has been a rollercoaster ride! I want to thank you all for your support”.

Nearly eight years ago after a brutal car accident, Pratishtha was informed by her doctors that she would never be able to walk again. Her 4 vertebrae of her spinal cord were completely crushed besides other internal damages. Ever since she has

been determined to challenge herself and pursue her career.

Now, she is met with another challenge whereby she is fundraising for her tuition fees.

Her course fees Pratishtha Deveshwar amount to Image courtesy: Twitter £43,255 off which she has successfully raised over £27,255. She needs to fundraise for another £15,000 and is seeking your support. You can do so by visiting here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/pratishtha-deveshwar?utm_term =A2QjbEpNb

Plight of Kenya Pensioners Jasbhai Patel is one of the civil servants of the Government of Kenya residing in the UK and in receipt of the pension through the Crown Agents Bank.

Ever since the last pension increase awarded in July 1991 and paid in April 1997 there has been no further increase in their pension despite the promise of a 3% increase in pension which should take place every two years. Speaking about the subject, Jasbhai Patel said, “I have raised this matter through my MP, the Foreign Office, The High Commission of Kenya in London, The

Treasury of Kenya and the British High Commission in Nairobi but to no success.

“A message from the Foreign Office read: Their understanding is that the increases were delayed due to an audit of payments overseas Pensioners. Once the audit and subsequent parliamentary process were complete increases would be made. The report was due to be presented to Parliament on 30th April 2014. But we have not received any further update.”

Since then, Jasbhai has received no further news.

On 3rd September Shadow Trade Minister took to the floor of the Commons to bring to attention that the UK is falling behind all other G7 nations in securing trade in goods with India.

According to figures from the House of Common’s Library, whilst the UK has increased trade in services with India by 10% over the past 5 years it has only managed a 5% increase in trade in goods over the same period. Gareth Thomas Ranil Jayawardena The disappointing figures, revealed by Gareth Thomas MP at the kets in the world.

House of Commons, show that other develOther G7 countries are prioritising helping oped nations of the G7 have seen their trade their businesses win contracts in India and in goods with India, one of the world’s fastest have seen huge leaps in levels of trade. growing economies, increase between 15% Ministerial inaction is holding Britain back and 42%. and they should prioritise trade with the To increase the UK’s goods trade with Indian subcontinent to help create more of India the Foreign Affairs Committee recomthe jobs our country desperately needs. mended, in its report ‘Reawakening Ties Responding to the Mr. Thomas, the parWith India’, that “the Government should liamentary under-secretary of state for interappoint a high-level and long-term dedicated national trade, Ranil Jayawardena said, “My trade envoy to India, with experience of the Department continues to promote increased country’s business environment.” However, trade with the subcontinent. My right hon. the UK Government is yet to take head of the Friend the Secretary of State and I recently report’s recommendation and the UK does took part in the 14th annual UK-India not currently have a Trade Envoy to India.

JETCO—Joint Economic Trade Committee— The Foreign Affairs Committee report, during which we set a more ambitious trajecwhich was published in June last year, cited tory for an enhanced trade partnership. that the Government should “prioritise trade Through our independent trade preferences talks with India” and work on removing barscheme, we are strengthening our trading riers to trade such as limits on the movement relationships with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh of people which “are a major constraint on too, but our stronger trade ties are already UK-India ties.” delivering advantages for British businesses. I Mr Thomas said, “‘It’s extraordinary that am pleased to announce today that Britain Ministers are so complacent about British can now export polyhalite to India—it is an trade with one of the biggest emerging marorganic fertiliser mined in Yorkshire.”

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Significance of Teacher’s Day To the editor, As per his very informative letter about Significance of Teacher’s Day which is celebrated on September 5 in India many of our second and third generation even first generation in the western world might not be aware why it is celebrated on Sep 5 which is happened to be Birthday of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishan first Vice President and the second President of Independent India. So first of all Thank you Mr.Jubel D’Souza and also taking me in to memory lane from Canada to India.

I had an opportunity to see( Darshan) him in person in early sixties when he was first Vice President of India came to Vallabh Vidyanagar, Anand district , Gujarat to address convocation ceremony of all graduates at rural Sardar Patel University where I was student of Commerce college. Being exemplary student himself that was very fitting honour to him and a rare life learning experience to cherish forever for all graduates and students like us to mold their lives by his very marvellous, to the point , scholarly, advice in simple English which is imprinted in my/ our mind which helped us to build our future life in India and many parts of the world. He was an icon and gem of Mother India. I am dedicating my letter as a tribute to him and all teachers around the world, our late parents who are our first teachers,mentors, Gurus, priests , work places co workers-supervisor and many others who taught us to lead better life and shape our future.

Suresh and Bhavna Patel.

Markham, Canada.

Covid-19: Doomsday Scenario It seems the West and in particular our people are not taking the threat of Covid-19 seriously, even though our scientists, experts warn us time and again that come winter time and if flu epidemic is widespread, this crisis may become Armageddon, loss of life may exceed two hundred thousand. But it seems no one cares, crowding beaches, beauty-spots, Lake District and picnic areas to a saturation point. Even supermarkets have stopped taking temperatures, no two-meter distances and wearing compulsory face masks are ignored.

Many countries have seen the rise in positive testing; France recorded the highest rise, just under nine thousand cases, compared to our 1300 daily average. The trend is upward in every country except those countries who take threat seriously.

Our friends, who just came back after enjoying two weeks holiday in Turkey we refused to join, told us how safe Turkey is. There is thorough check at airport, temperature taken before one may enter hotel or any other trading establishment. All have special air-conditioned rooms where those who failed the test, higher temperature may be due to heat, may spend an hour or so before second testing which normally comes back normal.

Police are everywhere; anyone who ventures out without wearing mask, may be warned or fined on the spot. Tourists were supplied with high quality masks by hotels or police. No crowding anywhere, people taking it seriously and obeying government instructions without question.

In sharp contrast, there are demonstrations here every week-end where thousands gather without a care in the world, as if corona-virus is a joke played on them by the media! It is time government implement the law, with threat of prison if they want to avoid thousands of deaths, especially in care-homes and the elderly, infirm and those suffering from long term illnesses. India may provide the miracle we need, with nine vaccines on mass trial and millions already on the production line!

Bhupendra M. Gandhi By email

India's temples lack transparency It is alleged by reliable sources of social media that some of the renowned temples in India are sitting on the treasure of huge wealth that is not being put in good use. The Indian public has the right to know the liquid capital held by the temple's authority and its aim and object for the morale of the devotees and the potential donors.

India is going through a drastic transformation in Modi's Raj for the betterment of the country. I hope that the fair minded people in India put pressure on good Modi's government to shed light in this matter.

Niranjan Vasant By email

Pranab Mukherjee: The politician who rose above politics India has had some outstanding presidents; it has also had a few presidents about whom it could be said did not live up to expectations. However, all presidents were decent, honourable people who served the world’s largest democracy most conscientiously. One of the most illustrious Presidents was Prof Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, a world-renowned academic and philosopher. Radhakrishnan, a close friend of Jawaharlal Nehru, was also an educationalist who played a major role in the creation of the new education system that incorporated many of our ancient learning features while at the same time blending harmoniously with modern requirements. Today, India is one of the most scientifically, technologically and culturally advanced nations in the world, overwhelmingly the product of a visionary and foresighted educational system bequeathed to the nation by India’s first independent government. Like Nehru, Radhakrishnan was a socialist, both embracing the doctrine of non-alignment and secularism.

Pranab Mukherjee, who grew up in the Nehru era, was greatly inspired by perhaps the most idealistic Indian government in history. From very early on he championed socialism, non-alignment and India’s bold stand against colonial oppression. Today the fight against imperialism is virtually history, but in Mukherjee’s youth it had been a potent factor. India too, had suffered the depredations of the vile creed of imperialism but thanks to the heroic resolve of the Indian people.

Mukherjee read widely – a habit that persisted until his death – and acquired a good, all-round education before he entered the political arena. Even in his early days as a worker for the Congress Party, he firmly rejected the notion that politics was all about superficial agitation. He insisted that one must have a solid educational background, which - combined with an analytical mind - is indispensable for political success. That accounts for his unstoppable rise from his beginnings in West Bengal legislature to his very high positions successively holding the key portfolios, including those of external affairs and finance in the Government.

Mukherjee, like Mahatma Gandhi, had always seen politics as an instrument to change the lives of his people and he was as passionate about this mission as was his former leader, Indira Gandhi. His incisive political and economic analysis won him many admirers from the media, his own party and even some members of the opposition. He was also highly regarded internationally, particularly by governments in Washington, London, Berlin and Moscow. Dr Manmohan Singh the former Indian Prime Minister, himself a formidable economist thought highly of Mukherjee. Although integrity and incorruptibility were considered to be in short supply in Indian politics, Mukherjee with “his unblemished record in public life” had the cleanest hands in Indian politics. He disliked controversy, preferred negotiations to confrontations and was one of the finest speakers in the Lok Sabha. Some commentators in Britain and India believed that he was offered the presidency to deny him the post of prime minister for which he was also eminently qualified. However, Mukherjee was not to be underestimated – he was not to be just a glamorous ceremonial figurehead. With his sharp mind, vast knowledge, boundless energy and strong commitment to making India fair, equitable and just, he was the most enlightened Head of State: beneficial not just for India but the world as a whole.

Dr Cyriac Maprayil, historian, author and Vice Chairman of The India League (UK) is the Executive Director of the V K Krishna Menon Institute. Cyriac met Pranab in London in the early 1970s and, over the course of a 50-year friendship, shared thoughts on India and its international relations.

Dr Cyriac Maprayil By email

Wait no longer for Eastenders During covid-19 shut-down, people, especially those who are confined to their homes due to old age, poor health and family circumstances, pass their time watching TV, especially their favourite programmes like, Coronation Street, Eastenders, Doctors and sports for men.

Unfortunately, some of these favourite programs also became victims of the shut-down, thus repeats were occupying TV prime-time, not every one’s cup of tea! So, the news that Eastenders will resume its normal services from Monday, is indeed good news for everyone, especially the addicts, some staunch supporters who may have suffered “Withdrawal Symptoms”.

Unfortunately, every one’s favourite character Dot Cotton played by 93-year-old actress June Brown will be absent. She revealed early this year that she will be leaving the Soap; her reason was that she was not happy with her character’s storyline.This came as an unpleasant surprise for the producers, as she was the most popular, well liked character entertaining viewers for some 35 years with meteoric rise in her popularity.

Although she said she has retired for good, Eastenders bosses said they will keep the door open in case she changes her mind. It seems unlikely. At the age of 93, she deserves a happy retirement. Let us hope she reaches the age of 100 and do guest appearances at festive times like Christmas.

Kumudini Valambia By email

Sunak supported us when we needed him. Time for us to support him Sir, Sunak’s anticipated budget (AV dated 5-11 Sept 2020) shows the realistic approach any Chancellor would have taken. As mentioned in the report the furlough scheme has saved 9.6 million jobs, at least temporarily. But now the time has come to accept the reality and understand the bitter facts when the scheme is coming to an end in October. If the businesses do not kick start as expected, there will be many unpredictable challenges the chancellor will have to face to boost the economy and save the jobs.

To the best of my understanding, the job of a Chancellor is never easy. He is not there to be popular but to have practical understanding. As long as people are given freebies, he is popular but the moment he thinks to raise taxes to augment resource, he becomes unpopular or the popularity index will go down. It is not a fair way of judging a person.

Social Media and electronic media can play a crucial role in improving the general understanding of people about financial management of the country and to make it clear that freebies cannot be sustained for long. There should be adequate sources of revenue, which can only be generated by “taxing” who can afford. Unpopular and tough decisions are the only solutions for long term sustainability of the country’s economy. It is time for all the political parties and the general public to support the Chancellor, so he can steer the economy through the present unprecedented crisis.

Pensioners, buy-to-let property owners and people who rely upon only rental income will be the sufferers in time to come, but the Chancellor has limited time and choices to act.

Hitesh Hingu London

Rule Britannia is a cultural debate not a political war The debate around Rule Britannia is a cultural one as opposed to political. We should not allow our politicians to divide our communities based on a national song which can actually be used to educate our future generations about the dark history of the UK. In light of the Black Lives Matter movement, the BBC was also correct in ensuring that the lyrics of the song will not be sung this year and just play a melody instead.

Kaushal Patel

By Email

BAME stands for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic No more BAME game Amanda Parker’s article objecting to the term Bame is valid.

There is a simple solution to this problem that has been lingering for more than 40 years.

There are huge differences between the people from the subcontinent. The Indian community wants to be known as just that – Indian. The solution is that every ethnic group should be called by their ethnic origin. Bame has been foisted upon us by stealth.

We are surprised as to how it has suddenly become widely used. The message is clear, we do not want to be known as Bame.

Nitin Mehta Croydon

We are grateful to all letter writers for more and more versatile letters well within word limit.

Please keep contributing as always.

If you are new, then write to Rupanjana at rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com - AV

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Start here to see if we could help you confirm your legal status and claim compensation.

Did you come to the UK before the end of 1988?

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Yes Have you struggled to prove your legal status in the UK?

Have you suffered losses because you couldn’t confirm your legal status?

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Here to support you and your family We’re here to help you apply for the Windrush schemes.

Call the free helpline: 0800 678 1925 Visit: gov.uk/WindrushHelpTeam

Your information won’t be passed on to Immigration Enforcement.

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12 MEDIA WATCH

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SCRUTATOR’S Covid -19 reinfection in three Ahmedabad doctors The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation officials have found three cases of Covid-19 reinfection. In the first case, a resident doctor working at the AMCrun Covid designated SVP hospital tested positive for Covid-19 for the second time on August 29. She had first got infected on April 16 and recovered. The reinfection has taken place after a gap of four months. The only consolation is that both times, she has been asymptomatic. The other two patients were also resident doctors, one is working in the SVP Hospital and other in Gujarat Cancer Research Institute (GCRI) in Civil Hospital campus. Additional chief secretary Rajiv Kumar Gupta, who is in charge of Covid control in Ahmedabad, said, “We have send details of these three re-infection cases to the World Health Organization (WHO) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). We are also studying these cases very closely as they would give us an insight into the behaviour of the virus,” said Gupta. The old as well as new samples of these reinfection cases are being sent to Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre, Gandhinagar for genome sequencing and further analysis of virus genetics. Gupta said that Covid-19 is a reality was underscored by their recent sero-positivity survey which found that of the 1,816 recovered Covid-19 patients, 40% had either not developed or lost the antibodies. (The Times of India) Gujarati scientist finds ‘unique’ black hole

A team led by Dr Karan Jani, an astrophysicist from Vadodara and now settled in the US, has discovered a huge ‘alien’ black hole. This six billion year old black hole challenges all the knowledge astronomists have about the formation of black holes and how the universe operates. “This discovery will not just change the way we study the universe but also understand its complexities further. In astronomy, it has always been believed that black holes are formed due to gravitational collapse of the stars. But the black hole we discovered wasn’t formed due to any star’s collapse or blast,” Jani, who works as a research professor in Vanderbilt University in the US. “This opens up exciting possibilities of how many black holes would have been formed. Our universe is making black holes in some different way and now we might be able to understand the missing cycles in a star’s life. It will have an impact on astronomy studies,” said Jani, who has worked with the LIGO scientists. Jani said he and his team were surprised by the discovery they made through LIGO and the Virgo gravitational wave detectors in May last year.

They studied the black hole for a year and ascertained its details.

“We always thought black holes are either less than 100 times the size of the sun or thousands of times bigger than it. This is the first black hole of intermediate size and it is 142 times bigger than the mass of the sun. In fact, it is older than the sun,” Jani said.

(The Times of India)

Gujarat has maximum number of Pak prisoners Gujarat has the largest number of Pakistani prisoners lodged in its prisons, including convicts and undertrials. This is mainly because of the land and sea borders that Gujarat shares with Pakistan. According to a report released by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on the prison statistics of 2019 also revealed that no other state or union territories in India has as many Pakistani prisoners as in Gujarat, including Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Rajasthan that share a land border with the neighbouring country. The jails in Gujarat had 36 convicts and 25 undertrials from Pakistan as of December 31 last year. On the other hand, Punjab had 13 convicts and 20 undertrials, Rajasthan had five convicts and six undertrials while Jammu and Kashmir had one convict and 24 undertrials. Interestingly, other states and union territories that do not share border also had prisoners from Pakistan. Uttar Pradesh had 28 prisoners, Delhi 17, Maharashtra 11, West Bengal seven, Telangana and Karnataka two each and one prisoner each in Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. In all, Gujarat had 95 foreign inmates including, both, convicts and undertrials. Of these, 12 are from Nigeria, seven from Bangladesh, two from Nepal and 13 from other foreign countries. (Times of India) Ahmedabad – Delhi bullet train The National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), which is implementing the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project, has invited tenders to

collect data for bullet trains connecting Ahmedabad and Delhi. The NHSRCL officials said that while Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train corridor is 508 km long, the Ahmedabad-Delhi high speed rail (HSR) corridor is 886 km. “For Ahmedabad, this will be the second HSR corridor. We have invited tenders for collection of relevant data for the preparation of a detailed project report (DPR) for the Delhi-JaipurUdaipur-Ahmedabad HSR corridor,” said Sushma Gaur, NHSRCL spokesperson. Tenders have also been invited for preparing general arrangement drawings (GADs) of crossing bridges over rivers/ canals/ railways and roads including expressways, national and state highways and major district roads and GADs of proposed stations and maintenance depots for the Delhi-Ahmedabad corridor. “The bids have also been invited to carry out ridership study (traffic study) for this corridor,” Gaur said, adding that NHRSL will prepare DPR based on the data collected. Going by the bidding document, the task has to be completed within four months.

NHSRCL will carry out etendering process once the process is over. Meanwhile, 80% land acquisition for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project has been completed in Gujarat, NHSRCL officials said.

(The Times of India) Swimming competition in flooded farms Angry with the government apathy to their plight, farmers of Raval, a tiny hamlet in Devbhumi Dwarka, have organised a swimming competition in their

flood-hit farms to register their ire at having suffered total loss of crops. According to state government’s data, Devbhumi Dwarka district received 323 per cent of average rainfall this season leading to heavy damage in the district. According to a rough estimate nearly 800 acre land has been washed away in these floods. Raval village is the endpoint from where waters from three rivers - Sani,Vartu and Sorthi - merge and flow into the sea. The gates of the Sani dam have been opened as the government has started restructuring the dam and the district administration was unable to manage the water. The district administration also had to open the gates of Vartu dam owing to huge inflow of water, thereby causing floods in the village. Chairman of Gujarat Kisan Congress, Pal Ambaliya said, “Raval is not the only village that’s suffering huge loss but there are nearly 12 other villages facing the same problem. We demand the government to complete restructuring Sani dam before the monsoon ends this year.” More than two dozen farmers joined the protest swimming competition and winners were awarded with lollipops. Protesting farmers claim they do not want government financial assistance but will pay the government Rs 50,000 per bigha if it can make their land fertile again.

(The Times of India) FB replies to Cong; says it is ‘nonpartisan’ Facebook has responded to Congress’ allegations of bias and interference in India’s affairs, saying it is a “nonpartisan” platform that takes allegations of bias “seriously” and that they “denounce hate and bigotry in all forms.” In a letter, written on September 1 and addressed to Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, the social media giant’s Public Policy, Trust and Safety Director Neil Potts defended its India team and said it was a “diverse team representing a varied political spectrum” that took decisions, not unilaterally, but by including different views from across teams. Potts also said Facebook’s community standards prohibit attacks against people based on their protected characteristics, including religion, caste, ethnicity and national origin and added that its latest Transparency Report had reported removing 22.5 million pieces of hate speech content. (Agency) EC to club by-polls with Bihar elections The Election Commission in India has decided that it will club by-polls in Valmiki Nagar parliamentary constituency in Bihar and 64 assembly seats

across 14 states with the Bihar assembly polls expected to be held in October-November. The commission said a key reason for clubbing the Bihar polls with the 65 by-polls was the “relative ease” of movement of law and order forces, and related logistical issues. It also pointed to demands from states where by-polls are due to defer the same in view of heavy rains and constraints like the Covid-19 pandemic. Sources said given the limited number of central forces that can be spared by the home ministry in view of their continued engagement in theatres like Jammu and Kashmir, it was thought appropriate to time the Bihar polls and by-polls together. The limited forces may also necessitate multi-phased polls in Bihar. Apart from Valmiki Nagar Lok Sabha seat, there are 27 assembly seats vacant in Madhya Pradesh, eight each in Gujarat and UP, five in Manipur, two each in Assam, Jharkhand, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Nagaland and Odisha, and one each in Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Karnataka and West Bengal. (Agency) Dilip Kumar not informed about demise of brothers Veteran actor Dilip Kumar's brothers Ehsaan Khan and Aslam

Khan succumbed to Covid-19.

Ehsaan passed away on Friday night while Aslam died on August 21. Both were undergoing treatment at a hospital in Mumbai. Dilip Kumar’s wife and veteran actress Saira Banu got both of them admitted to the hospital after they tested positive for Covid. She said that Dilip Kumar was not informed about the incident. "To tell you the truth, Dilip Saab has not been told that Aslam Bhai and Ehsaan Bhai are no more. We keep every kind of disturbing news away from him. We didn't even tell him when Amitabh Bachchan contracted Covid and was admitted in Nanavati Hospital; he's very fond of Amitabh," she was quoted as saying. When asked about the veteran actor, she said, "Well, he is confined.

Quarantine as such is the first priority. But he has had a few changes in blood pressure due to dehydration recently and he's taking treatment". The actress revealed that Eshaan’s condition was stable after he was admitted to the hospital but suddenly his health started deteriorating a day before his demise. (Agency)

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Jalaram Jyot Mandir acquires fund by Unity Trust Bank for additional community services A community centre and temple in West London have acquired over a £1 million refinance package from Unity Trust Bank. Shree Jalaram Jyot Mandir in Sudbury has a congregation of around 12,000 devotees primarily rendering their services to the Hindus and the wider community.

Managed by the Lohana Mahajan (UK) Trust, the temple will channel the funds in improvement works besides providing additional facilities. The premises already provide, daily worship, religious activities and celebration of Hindu & religious festivals.

Freshly-cooked meals are made available for hundreds of members and disabled

people every day. Sports, recreation, social welfare activities and day trips for less mobile members are also organised. Funerals, wedding ceremonies and religion, culture and heritage education are other priorities.

Darshan Roy, Director of Zoom Finance Ltd, based in Watford, facilitated the refinance package between Shree Jalaram Jyot Mandir and Unity Trust Bank. He said, “Shree Jalaram Jyot Mandir previously had very expensive private finance and the trustees were looking to consolidate this and fund improvements, such as a new roof and improved car parking facilities, so they approached me because of

my experience and involvement with charitable institution like theirs.

“My role is to understand the client’s vision as well as the banks. I understood how LMT was structured and that they needed to find the right lender. That lender was Unity Trust Bank.

“Unity Trust Bank was very understanding, responsive and professional and the relationship is a perfect fit for everyone.”

The Trustees of Shree Jalaram Jyot Mandir/Lohana Mahajan (UK) Trust, said, “Our Repton Avenue temple needed finance to action its growth strategy going forward. This required a more affordable rate of finance

Darshan Roy

which has been arranged through Zoom Finance with Unity Trust Bank. We are excited that Unity Trust Bank has come on board and look forward to an excellent working relationship in the future.”

He has a heart wherein the whole world can live – A personal story Paresh Rughani, BA, ACMA, CGMA International motivational speaker

working solely to make others happy – not for praise or recognition. There is no false portrayal or a need to show, boast or package. He is what he is, tempted to quote Oscar Wilde “Be yourself, everyone else is already taken!”

Despite my inner wish to continue volunteering, Bapa requested I go back to UK and complete my final exams. I qualified as an accountant in 1993, and began lecturing as a visiting professor to students mainly from the big 4 accountancy firms.

One heart-warming incident occurred after Bapa’s morning puja in 1995. He suddenly stopped by me, placing his hand on my wrist saying “As its Raksha-Bandhan today and you don’t have a sister we will put the rakhi on you!” Naturally I was deeply touched from the bottom of my HEART,

Born in Mwanza Tanzania, I migrated to Leicester, England in 1976, when I was only 11 years old. It was at this juncture in 1977, when my best school friend, Sunil Patel (now Sadhu Brahmaviharidas –BAPS international spokesperson), invited me to receive blessings from Pramukh Swami Maharaj (referred to as Bapa from hereafter).

As soon as Sunil introduced me, Bapa blessed me by lovingly patting me on the back. I felt overwhelmed and tears literally rolled down my eyes. I still feel that divine touch in my spine today.

My turning point came in 1992 visiting India to volunteer at Akshardham Temple in Gujarat, then joining Bapa during his vicharan. For me this journey was life changing witnessing Bapa’s daily hectic travelling in tribal villages lacking even basic facilities, such as pure water and basic sanitation, I could not fail to notice how Bapa touched the hearts of poor villagers, who came to seek his invaluable guidance and compassion.

Despite such busy schedule, Bapa gave me so much selfless love, blessed and remembered me everywhere, reminding me of the famous words of Maya Angelou “People may forget what you said, what you did, but people will never forget how you Paresh Rughani with Pramukh Swami Maharaj made them feel!” I observed Bapa

Paresh Rughani

Integrity should be ingrained in our work ethic Rohit Vadhwana An organisation's strength is determined by the commitment of its employees.

How attached and responsible employees feel for their work is important for its growth. And when, but during the Work From Home, can we better evaluate this bonding? There have been complains by many employees about merging of boundaries between personal time and official time during the working from home arrangement. Even weekend's privacy has faded away. Sometimes it is the burden of work or inability to adapt to the new normal or lack of trust between employer and employee that is responsible for such situation. Constant monitoring is neither possible nor desirable in work from home situation.

It may happen that during the working hours, employees who are working from home, may not perform well. They may spend time on personal things, rather than on company's work. When asked, they may come out with incomprehensible reasons, or enter into argument with the manager. This may discourage the manager or supervisor to question the employee but s/he would surely make an evaluation of the employee's commitment towards duty. It may also happen that the management may not be able to or wish to take any action against such failing employee. But this kind of situation has established weakness of the organisation, through the lack of performance of its members.

One may think that even after avoiding work, we are still getting salary; No one is going to take any corrective measures; Administration or management is too weak to initiate any disciplinary action for whatsoever reason. But it does not justify the behaviour of the employee. A healthy, symbiotic relationship between an organisation and its members is required for professional satisfaction and advancement. Unless both are committed to their respective roles and accountability, there cannot progress.

Earlier there was a trend when an employee would be loyal to a company and remain with it till retirement. But then began the trend of gaining growth in career by changing companies for salary hike and promotion. This jump in career by ditching one company for another was well accepted in management. It was said that one is committed to own career, not to the company. It is true.

Companies had taken the toil of employees vulnerability for long. If by remaining committed to an organisation, career cannot grow, then the change is justified, for better prospects. But it became a fashion.

Currently, whatever might be the trend, whether companies are sizing down or employees are changing jobs, but what should not remain missing is strong commitment towards one's s duty. Because, it is not a commitment to the company but to personal integrity and ethics. When we lack integrity, we are doomed to fail.

which may be on my LEFT, but is always RIGHT! Fortunately continuing to be a lead volunteer at Neasden Temple for the last 25 years, helping to fulfil the social needs of our community, through the humanitarian welfare arm – BAPS charities!

In fact, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Guru Mahant Swami, issued a call for volunteers to act on their dharma and serve their (Expressed opinions are personal) nation – through a programme mobilising more the spiritual plane – as my imperfections are than 1,100 volunteers, in 61 areas of UK countless. I’d like to leave you with the fol& Europe, to help the elderly, vulneralowing words of Socrates, which captured ble and homeless. the essence of this final point far better than Memories of my Guru keep multiplying I ever could: “I know one thing – that I know but words fail me in singing his glory. I feel nothing” that I still have so much ground to cover on

Diasporas connect at virtual Uganda-UK Trade and Investment Convention This year the Uganda-UK Annual Convention will be hosted virtually in London on 12th September in line with the public health safety guidelines around coronavirus pandemic.

This first virtual networking conference of its kind between diasporas and industry experts is organised with the central theme being ‘Uganda’s Untapped Investment Potential’. The trade convention will focus on oppor-

tunities and market insights in focused sectors including Real Estate, AgriBusiness, Service industry, Banking and Finance (Investment Clubs) among others.

Speakers and panelists at the event will include keynote remarks by Her Royal Highness Sylvia Nagginda (The Queen of Buganda), Ambassador Peter West British High Commissioner to Uganda, H.E Amb. Julius Peter Moto

(Uganda& High Commissioner to UK), Juzer Ali (General Manager Comfort Homes), Subhash Thakrar (former Chair of the London Chamber of Commerce), Abbas Rasheed (General Manager Universal Properties), Mathias Katamba (Managing Director DFCU Bank), Judy Kyanda (Managing Director Knight Frank Uganda), Eric Olanya (Head of Trade, DIT, British High Commission in Kampala), Anthony Kituuka (ED

Equity Bank Uganda LTD) among others.

UCUK Virtual will be streaming over 10+ talks—including keynotes, tutorials, and sessions all in an engaging and interactive premium virtual atmosphere.

Uganda has undergone major economic transformation and is an attractive market for global investors and businesses. It has emerged as the top 10 fastest growing economies for 2019 in the IMF. With a population of

about 38 million people, GDP growth of 5.8%, coupled with pivotal regional trade partnerships: East African Community (5 member states), Great Lakes (4 member states), COMESA (19 member states) - exporters have access to this critical market of 489 million.

The focus on these issues will help provide a wider platform for stakeholder participation and emphasize the critical issues in each area.

14 WOMEN’S VOICE

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Why it is ok for women to not cook Shefali Saxena A famous quote by Elizabeth Gilbert says “a woman's place is in the kitchen, sitting in a comfortable chair, with her feet up, drinking a glass of wine and watching her husband cook dinner.”

But, in 2020, women in Asian communities are still the unannounced ambassadors of the kitchen.

However, some people believe that times have changed. So, is it okay for women to not cook? We find out.

It's perfectly fine if a woman doesn't want to cook Careers adviser for professional women, Soma Ghosh said, “I personally love Soma Ghosh cooking and I don't actually think it's a gender preference. I think that some people just like to cook, and some people don't.

I think one of the reasons behind that is because if you've been in a situation where you've been a student where you had to live out at university. Or you've lived on your own. Or had to cook. Many people when they were in lockdown had to learn to cook.

Accessibility to cooking is quite easy, you've got YouTube you've got cookery

books, you've got cookery programmes. However again it's about if you enjoy it. I'd say it's perfectly fine if a woman doesn't want to cook. It's also about your lifestyle and income. What you want to implement into your lifestyle and how you want to nurture your body and actually your mind.”

Renowned cookbook author Mallika Basu said, “I don’t think it’s acceptable for anyone, male or female, to not cook.

Cooking is a basic life Mallika Basu skill. It’s not about being expected to feed anyone but about survival and healthy living. You don’t have to be a chef or even enjoy it particularly. But you should be able to have the ability to turn ingredients into simple meals that fill,

sustain and comfort.”

But why has that not changed given that women are also breadwinners now?

Suchira Ray said, “Why is it ok for women not to cook?

It’s a gendered role isn’t it?

An expectation that the female will manage the kitchen. A man would go out to work, hunt and gather and the female would stay at home and be a homemaker.

But why has that not changed given that women are also breadwinners now?

For the majority it perhaps hasn’t. However we get conflicting messages. Growing up in an Asian middle class household, I personally was never told to cook or taught to cook. I was told to get out of the way. And this was fine with me as I never had the desire to cook nor the patience. And in today’s world where life is made easier for us with precooked meals and ready made packages, including healthy options, it’s ok. We can get by. In my household today my husband is the one who cooks on a regular basis. He has the passion for it, he’s the one who likes fresh food on the table and he likes to experiment with flavours. So it’s a win win for us. Having said that, cooking is a life skill. And like a lot of other life skills this is something One should learn to do.

Every human should strive to be self sufficient and fend for themselves. household responsibilities should not just be shared, but could be exchanged from time to time. So whilst yes, it’s fine for women not to cook as it is a gendered role which women themselves promulgate, it’s probably a life skill that everyone irrespective of gender should have.”

Creative baker and author of four books, Chetna Makan is on the same page.

She said, “I think if men want to cook, they should be Chetna Makan able to cook or manage the kitchen if they want to completely manage.Of course the pandemic has got everyone into the kitchen. I have a daughter and a son. They both made their lunches. It wasn’t like my daughter was cooking for her brother. I’m bringing them up with the thought that I’m trying to teach both of them to cook and they both do equal number of house chores for me. I don’t think there’s any difference between who is really cooking. Whoever wants to cook should be able to cook, whether it’s the kids, man or woman.”

Placing stories in the hands of children can plant hope seeds for the future How important is it to read a physical copy of a book in the times of Kindle and E-Learning?

What should children read while they grow up? Is there a difference between what girls and boys read? Asian Voice spoke to Sita Brahmachari, the Internationally multi-award winning author of twelve novels, short stories and plays.

The struggles of breastfeeding Bushra, a Muslim British-Pakistani/Kashmir recently shared her testimony on Oxfordshire Breastfeeding Support’s website. As a mother of three girls who decided to not give formula milk to her baby at any cost, she read medical articles about the amazing qualities of breastmilk as a living, ever-responding, live, immuneboosting liquid gold. Her husband was supportive of this decision.

She listed many common struggles of Muslim mothers, especially from a British-Pakistani/Kashmiri background face, despite breastfeeding being strongly recommended in Islam: v Family pressure and expectations. v The difficulty of trying to feed whilst living in an extended family. v Unexpected visitors. v Feeling uncomfortable when not covered. v Feeling awkward feeding your baby in front of male members of the family such as father, brothers. v Traditional family structures. v The lack of structure. v There is a need to know how much milk the baby has. v The baby is too skinny. v The ‘normality’ of buying bottes, sterilising equipment etc. as if it is an essential baby product much like one would buy clothes.

She wrote, “I have supported many mothers. My family, my friends, women I don’t know in group message chats I am part of and even women in person in Oxford who have reached out and been directed to me through friends. I have normalised breastfeeding to those in my generation and the ones below.”

5 books that all children must read before they turn 11

By Sita Brahmachari

Q&A

adult world a few things!

In your experience, what is the impetus and contribution of books in the lives of young girls?

Stories can present opportunities and adventures that may break some of the taboos in societies about the role of girls and women. They present role models and ideas to aspire to that may still not be the norm in many families and societies.

In the age of Kindle, e-books, Stories can be guides and forces Audible, and digital publishing, for strength, support and what is the kind of paradigm empowerment. I think children you've observed when it comes to buying/reading books? today need them more than There are so many ways to ever. There are many absences enjoy stories but I don’t think in the telling of the story of girls hard copies of books will ever and women in history as there disappear. As people spend more are many places still in the time on line, they look for ways world today in which girls and of experiencing stories off women’s rights are not respectscreen. We’ve seen during Covid ed or protected. Placing stories how people have missed visiting in these hands can plant hope bookshops and libraries. In seeds for the future. recent years I’ve seen cafes openIn our world, especially at a ing up in bookshops and Sita's childhood doll, the conch shell and writers notebook on the steps of The Ayahs Home in Hackney, London young age, what girls read libraries because so many people and what boys read (or have love to sit among books and access to) are two different stories altogether. learning, drinking in , not only the coffee, but the feeling Comment on this. of potential and dreaming of all those undiscovered It seems reductive to me to write stories for girls or worlds yet to explore. For me there’s nothing like holding boys. Access to stories is central for all children. So I a book in my hands and turning that first page. am a great champion of libraries. I write for young What goes on in your mind when you write for children? people exploring their place in the world, the realities As I write I think about how children are navigating of what blocks potential as well as offering story arcs the world today. I try to find a narrative that can give readers agency and a feeling of empowerment. The Children in of hope and change. My protagonists both boys and my stories are brave and adventurous looking to solve girls, are in search of truth and facing the challenges some of the problems of the world and find empathy with that exist in the world today like inequality, racism each other. They are in search of honesty, trust and comand environmental threats.These are human struggles munity spirit and in their questing they can teach the that go beyond whether we are born a girl or boy.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings – Maya Angelou

The Little Prince – Antoine St Exupery

Journey to Jo’burg – Beverley Naidoo

The Arrival - Shaun

Tales from India – Jamila Gavin

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16 UK

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P PRODUCED D IN ASSOC CIA ATI TIO

Photo Courtesyy: Amit Lennon

12 - 18 September 2020

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AR RE AS S SAFE A AS TH HEY CA AN BE Wha at parents shou uld know ow be beforre their child returns to school, as th hey reope en in Septemb ber Rupanjana Dutta

and parents preparing to go back to schoo o l, in fact man ny y looking forw ward to returning to normality. y.

Schools are busy adaptin ng their spaces and rules in order e to accommoda ate UK Governm ment guidelines to keep children e and staff safe.

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ON WITH W UK GO OVERNMEN NT

Safe travel S to school

some Un nderstandably paarents are apprehensive ab bout sending their children baack to schools and eager to kn now how their children will bee protected.

Cassie Buchanan, the Headteacher of Charles Dickens Primary School in So outhwark South London outhwark, saaid, “If you are anxious ab bout your child’s return, staart by reading up on what acctions the school has put in pllace to help your child come baack to school saffel ely, so you feeel el reall r y well infformed. ormed.

“Then, if you’re still wo orried, contact your school an nd speak to your children’s teachers or headteacher.

Th hey’ll y be able to talk things g

au utumn was announced baack in July. Attendance wiill be mandatory, unless th hey are advised against it, sayy ffor or examp example by a GP. Of co ourse, such a large-scale retturn to normal might fee eel el overwhelming, over but sch hools like Charles Dickens Prrimary havve been working exxtremely hard to manage th he risk of Covid-19.

Change of rules put in place include staggered drop-off and pick-up tim mes at the school gates, prioritising good hygi hygiene su uch as teaching of frequent haand washing and children resstricted to learn and play in bubbles alongside their claassmates and yyear groups. g p

Masks are currently M m manda tory on public transport for childr d en 11 a d above, but an September will see extra pressure on trravel networks as children return to school. Wherever p ssible, po young p ple peo and th heir parents are e couraged to get en active by travelling to and from school u der their own un steam – preferably by walking or using a bicycle.

The UK Government has a o provided local als authorities with extra funding to get pupils to school a d college – for an example, by hiring coaches to transport th hem. Where it’s not possible to find a an alternati t ve to public transport, m e sure your mak

17

A GOOD D EDUCA ATI T TION CAN CHAN ANGE ANY YONE E, A GOOD T EA ACHER CHER CAN CHAN ANGE EVER RYTHIN YT THING. as they can be, and that if sch hools haave ve put all the guiidelines into place, then theeyy are reallyy low risk plaaces ffor or children to be.

Th hey also need to know thaat schools are the best plaace ffor or their children childr in September, for for their weellbeing and learning.

“The return to school is going to be hugely positive ffor or children’s childr meental health – being witth their friends, testing parrts of their personality, l arning lea i how h to be b with ih peo ople, getting face-tofacce ffeedback eedback from fr their teaachers, and being able to celebrate their work pub blicly.

“They will also benefit fro om being able to run aro ound and do music and d dance, design and tecchnology – those things thaat require space and equ uipment which you uipment, can n’t really do if you are hom me-schooling. It’s so important for for childr children to be with others of their own agee and enjoy all those joyyful things we remember fro om our own childhoods.”

Since nationwide locckdown in March, Co ovid-19 positive casses havve decreased sigggnificantly. y Schools are w working with NHS T Test est and Trrace to avoid v any outbreaks an nd in the last five mon months, people have v learnt a lot more about ab how to create saffer er environments fo or everryone.

Viv Bennett, Chief Nurse u of Pub bli lc Health lh England wan wants families to ffeel eel saffee and reassure parents that everything is being done to k keep children p protected.

She said, “Parrents can that to

maxiimise saffety ety in schools, extreemely stringent system of contro c ls have v been advised sed byy PHE P and is publiished in Department for E Educati guidance.”

Education C Chief Medical Officers acrosss all ffour our nations nati in a joint statement highligh lighted how staying y aw way from school could worssen children’s mental healtth issues, something Cassiie saw first-hand in both h parents and children, despite the best eff fforts orts of everyyone involved. i l d A As a head dteacher, her priority is the t happiness and wellbeing being of her pupils.

“W We have v seen lockd down as a challenge, and tried to rise to it, but it’s been b most challenging for tthose childr children who’ve been n at home all this time,” she said. s “It’s really hard to learn n at home, especially if your parents are trying to do th heir job as well, or you havve got siblings trying to leearn around the same kitch hen table.

“W We completely undeerstand how comp plicated and tiring and stressful it’s been for parents par too, which is why we havve been so keen n to rreopen. And the thingg children havve reallyy misseed, not surprisingly, is th heir friends. We want child dren to be happy.”

In n June 2020, 1500 mem mbers the Royal Colleege of Paediatrics and Child d Health in an open letterr about the return of child dren to schools wrote, “Scho ool is about much moree than learning. It is a vital tal point poin of contact for pub public bl health h l h services, saffeg eguar guarding and other initiatives. atives. This includes incl accesss to mental health supp port, vaccinations, speciial therapies, free school meals, physical activvity and early years services that help children

get thee best start in liffe.” e.”

Casssie has also been thinking ng about the emotio onal wellbeingg of childreen who might be worried d about returning to sch hool, anxious about reconnecting necting with fri friends, or out of touch with their usual routine. ““A At Charles Dicken ns, we teach children how to t talk about and name their emotions, so we have v been encouraging parentss to do some of that work at home,” she said.

“W We ha h ve v recommended mended that they start talking t with their about their childreen worriess now, and discuss how lik kely their worry is to happen n – is it a big worry, worr or quite te a small one we can work on together? together “W We havve also talked to pareents about sleep and routines es – getting back into a sensible bedtime, and talking alking about w what a morning ng looks like when we haave v all got to get out ve of the house – and asked them to read through all thee infformati ormation we havve sent s out about the changees we haave ve made, to familiarise miliarise themselves themsel with it. t. School Schoo will still be school in so many ways.”

Shee further added how teeachers are looking for orward to the return to school just as much as pupils. “T Teachers want wan to teach – they want to be in a room m with their pupils and devel velop those teacherpupil relationships, r don’t they?

“Our ur teachers ar are so excited d – they haave ve been in their ir rooms, r putting up d la disp lays y and ys d sharpening h pencilss. It’s keeping them out of the buildings that’s been the he difficult diffi thing! It’s lovely,”” she said.

This is UK Go Govern vernment advice for En nggland la only. ly.

18 FINANCE - UK

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12 - 18 September 2020

Dear Financial Voice Reader, Alpesh Patel We live in amazing financial times. This is the latest research I want to share with you: UK’s largest 100 public companies as measured by the FTSE 100 are worth the same now as they were in 1997. My advice: your pension stuck in the last millennium?

Probably. Tell your fund manager "you're fired" and learn to take responsibility for your own investing. You do it. No one cares about your money as much as you.

Football teams don't pick players born in the town, so in picking your winning portfolio squad of stocks, make sure they are the best from around the world. Make your hiring process as if your financial life depended on it.

According to Janus, UK savers are losing £38 billion in lost income. Because £1.5 trillion is stored now in cash ISAs and savings and current accounts, equal to the total value of UK residential mortgages, those people are missing out on dividend and investment income and gains potentially.

Bank of America reported these astounding facts: • S1.4bn : central bank asset purchases every hour since Covid-19 March lockdowns • S1.6bn: Nasdaq 100 market cap gain every hour since Covid-19 March lockdowns • 34 days: equity bear market in 2020 shortest ever • S2000: gold best performing asset class in 2020, first year since 2010 • 39%: annualized return from 30-years US Treasury this year • 100 years: corporate bonds hit 100-years highs versus commodities Apr’ 20 • 100 years: US stocks almost at 100-year highs versus US government bonds • 59% US equities as share of MSCI global equity index (ASWI) at all-time high • 42% Chinese equities as share of Emerging Markets at all-time high • 21% gain in global stocks (ACWI ex. US) required to match 2007 high • 25% market cap of FAAMG as % US stocks of US stocks, of US stocks, record concentration • S9.3tn: market cap of US tech sector > entire market cap of Europe’s stock market • 24x: trailing PE ratio of S&P500, surpassed only Dec’21 (25x) & Jan’99 (30x) • 1.7%: dividend yield on S&P500 now same as 5-years break even inflation rate • 2021: global consensus forecasts for 2021…GDP 5.1% EPS 29.0%...up big • 2021: global consensus forecasts for 2021…CPI 1.3% bond yield 0.5%...unchanged • S258tn: size of global debt at record high. 280% of global GDP • S212tn: value of global bonds & equities, an all-time high 2.3x global GDP • S14tn: value of global negatively yielding bonds • 40% Bank of Japan owns 40% of JGB market: Fed owns 14% of Treasury market I love finance and investing – no two days are the same and the unexpected is always to be expected.

House prices in UK show record rise As buyers rushed to take advantage of stamp duty holiday, house prices in UK has reported an all-time high after their biggest monthly rise in 16 years. The average sale price of a home jumped £3,188 to £224,123 in August, according to Nationwide’s figures. Not since February 2004 has the building society registered such a large gain.

Prices have risen 3.7 per cent in the past year as the UK economy has floundered and mortgage borrowing rates have dropped to record lows. Separate figures from the Land Registry, which lag behind Nationwide’s, show that prices rose 2.9 per cent in the 12 months to May. The numbers are the latest indicator that the UK property market is in surprisingly rude health, although some observers have cautioned that a slump is on the way.

A suspension of stamp duty on properties worth up to £500,0000 has cut the

cost of moving house by thousands of pounds, encouraging people to accelerate plans to buy or sell.

Experts warn that the reintroduction of stamp duty in March next year, along with an expected rise in unemployment, the termination of the Help to Buy scheme and an end to the ban on evictions could cause house prices to tumble.

Protections for renters, which were set to end last month, have been extended to 23 September. Tens of thousands of tenants who have been unable to pay some or all of their rent during the pandemic may face

eviction within weeks.

Chris Sykes, at mortgage broker Private Finance, said this could reduce demand for buy-to-let properties, which have until now largely been seen as a safe and profitable investment. “The ending of the government’s eviction ban in September could lead to a surge in landlords trying to remove tenants from properties,” he said.

“This may cause a great deal of negative publicity, possibly suppressing appetite for new buy-to-let purchases. “Landlords may even sell some of their properties to avoid potential dif-

Dominic Raab asks workers to return to offices British foreign secretary Dominic Raab said that working from home is damaging the economy as the economy need to have people back at work. He said that the coronavirus lockdown had led to a "massive shrinking of the economy".

He said that the government is trying to bring the workers back to the offices at the earliest, while trade unions and Bank of England officials suggest that a swift return of employees is unlikely.

Alex Brazier, the Bank's executive director for financial stability, said a "sharp return" to "dense office environments" should not be expected. Raab acknowledged that there was likely to be a "bit more" remote working in future. However,

Dominic Raab

he said: "It is important to send a message that we need to get Britain back up and running." He said that attendance at the offices will substantially improve with the passage of time.

Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds called for a "real strategy about how this can be achieved". He said Labour had supported the "gradual reopening of the economy" but called for the govern-

ment to focus on a test, track and isolate strategy. And he said no one should be threatened with the sack for wanting to continue working from home.

Raab said if there is a good health reason to work from home they need not return to the offices, but others can resume to work from offices for the economy to return to normal. The shift toward working from home has seriously harmed High Street businesses that depend on passing trade from office workers and commuters. The head of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) warned that city centres could become "ghost towns" if the prime minister did not convince office workers to return.

The push to get workers

Brexit talks make little progress Despite rise in production, UK

After seven rounds, the Brexit talks Between Britain and EU have made little progress. Now UK has accused EU of making post-Brexit negotiations “unnecessarily difficult” and warned “time is short for both sides”, as talks threatened to stall. David Frost, Boris Johnson’s chief negotiator, said he believes a trade deal is still possible but warned “there has been little progress” after seven rounds of talks.

His EU counterpart Michel Barnier also lamented the failure to make a breakthrough, and said it too often feels like talks are “going backwards more than forwards”. The latest round of talks took place in Brussels, with officials trying to agree a deal before the transition period ends on December 31.

After a breakfast meeting between the top negotiators, Frost said: “We have had useful discussions this week but there has been little progress.” Frost blamed the EU position on state aid and fishing policy as being a key stumbling block.

“The EU is still insisting not only that we must accept continuity with EU state aid and fisheries policy, but also that this must be agreed before any further substantive work can be done in any other area of the negotiation, including on legal texts,” he said in a statement.

“This makes it unnecessarily difficult to make progress.

There are other significant areas which remain to be resolved and, even where there is a broad understanding between negotiators, there is a lot of detail to work through.

Barnier was equally as pessimistic about progress, saying: “I simply do not understand why we are wasting valuable time. Too often it is felt that we were going backwards more than forwards.”

ficulties moving forward.”

Some types of properties, notably those with more space and access to a garden, have become more in demand since the pandemic began, while smaller flats in cities are taking longer to sell. “The bounceback in prices reflects the unexpectedly rapid recovery in housing market activity since the easing of lockdown restrictions,” said Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner.

“This rebound reflects a number of factors. Pent-up demand is coming through, where decisions taken to move before lockdown are progressing. “Behavioural shifts may also be boosting activity, as people reassess their housing needs and preferences as a result of life in lockdown.”

A poll by Nationwide in May found that 15 per cent of people were reconsidering their housing needs because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

manufacturers continue to cut jobs UK manufacturers continued to cut jobs for the seventh successive month, even as many fired up production lines after lockdown restrictions eased, according to IHS Markit’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) survey.

Manufacturing employment slumped “at one of the steepest rates during the past 11 years”, with small, medium and large-sized firms all implementing cuts, the report said.

The poll asks managers about jobs, order numbers, production volumes and future prospects. It is seen as a useful early indicator of performance.

August’s manufacturing PMI came in at 55.2, up from 53.3 in July, with anything above 50 indicating expansion compared to the month before.

However, while the index is comfortably into positive territory, growth has come from a low base during March, April and early May, when many businesses were shut down to halt the spread of Covid-19.

David Atkinson, a regional director at Lloyds Bank, said pain was being felt more acutely in some parts of the sec-

tor than others. “Food producers supplying grocers are still reporting strong sales, but the boost they enjoyed in lockdown appears to be wearing off as consumers return to more normal shopping habits,” he said.

Rob Dobson, director at IHS Markit, said the survey indicated that business optimism was “encouragingly robust” and close to July’s recent peak.

“The recovery of the UK manufacturing sector gathered pace in August,” he added. “Output expanded at the fastest rate in over six years as new work intakes rose to the greatest extent since November 2017, led by an upturn in domestic demand and signs of recovering exports.”

Manufacturers reported export growth after improved demand from Europe and the Middle East, North America and Australia. Duncan Brock, group director at the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, said: “It seems the sector may be experiencing a V-shaped recovery with the fastest rate of growth in the manufacturing sector since May 2014.

back into the office comes as train companies gear up to increase services. From Monday, the number of trains will return to around 90% of pre-pandemic levels, according to the Rail Delivery Group, although the number of passengers each carriage can carry has been halved because of social distancing.

The latest numbers from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggest there has been an increase in people travelling to work in the last two months, with fewer working exclusively from home. It found 57% of working adults - out of 1,644 surveyed - had travelled to work at some point in the past seven days, while 20% had worked solely from home.

Rolls-Royce says demand for luxury cars is recovering Torsten Muller-Otvos, the chief executive of Rolls-Royce, said demand for his company's luxury cars is rebounding, helped by sales in Asia, and he is optimistic about the outlook for next year after the coronavirus pandemic hit consumer confidence and closed dealerships.

Muller-Otvos said the demand meant Rolls-Royce was the first car company to resume car production in the United Kingdom on May 4. "We see a very fruitful business now coming back from Asia, also Europe is coming back on track, the Americas just delivered an excellent July result and August result," the boss of the BMW-owned Rolls-Royce Motor Cars said.

"I am quite optimistic looking into 2021, particularly on the back of a very strong order bank we have already on our books." Muller-Otvos said his company has no plans to move production out of the United Kingdom because of Brexit.

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Modi govt plans new booster dose to revive economy With the Indian economy in the doldrums, the Modi government is likely to announce yet another booster dose to provide relief to the middle class and to bring the faltering economy back on track. It is reported that this time the government’s new stimulus package will focus on the non-salaried middle class and small businessmen, who have been the worst affected due to the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns and the resultant disruptions in their businesses and jobs.

The new fiscal stimulus package is likely to emphasise on the groups that are not entirely poor, but are also not rich.

However, the quantum of the package has yet to be finalised. As the lockdown is almost over and most states in the country are slowly opening up businesses and services, the Finance ministry feels that a new stimulus package at this time will lead to desired results. The ministry has

been holding multiple meetings, especially after the latest April-June quarter GDP figures showed a contraction of 23.9% making India the worst-hit economy in the world. Experts say that the full-year GDP contraction for India could be about 7-9.5%.

Keenly aware of the challenges that the country faces on the fiscal front, the Finance ministry is doing everything to find a way out of this quagmire and get India back on to the path of economic boom.

The Finance ministry is keeping the Prime Minister’s Office in the loop, even as the Finance ministry, the Niti Aayog, the PM’s Economic Advisory Council and other experts work on the future

roadmap for the country’s economic revival.

When in May 2020, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced five tranches of the Atma Nirbhar economic package, worth £200 billion, the expectation was it would help the poor and also provide much-needed fillip to the flagging economy.

The government hoped that with the massive fiscal stimulus in place, the economy would start to show signs of revival in the second quarter, but the desired results were not achieved and therefore it is of utmost importance that yet another economic package is announced to support the financial system.

Soon after the package was announced and the nationwide lockdown was lifted, the economy began to show signs of a rebound but regional lockdowns and rising coronavirus cases

took their toll and the momentum could not be sustained and the nation’s economic engines began to stall.

Economists say that only the availability of a Covid-19 vaccine or a steady decline in the number of new coronavirus cases will help drive economic growth.

However, since both these possibilities seem quite unlikely to happen anytime soon, a smart new economic stimulus package could help India turn the corner. As India enters an extended season, the festive government hopes to trigger higher consumer demand which can fire up India’s economic engine.

The government is also in discussions with industry and corporate leaders to take inputs on what is for sustained needed economic recovery. Reports also suggested that the government is likely to provide additional help to MSMEs, which form the spine of India’s manufacturing sector.

India among top 50 on global innovation list India has been ranked 48th on the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2020 among 131 economies, breaking into the top 50 countries for the first time. Moving up four positions from last year, three ‘clusters’ - Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai - feature in the top 100 science & technology hotspots, further endorsing India’s presence in the global innovation economy.

High-income countries Switzerland, Sweden, the US, the UK and the Netherlands lead the innovation ranking, with a second Asian economy South Korea - joining the top 10 for the first time.

Singapore is ranked at the

eighth position. The GII by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) ranks global economies according to their innovation capabilities, including roughly 80 indicators, grouped into innovation inputs and outputs.

Together with three other economies - China, Vietnam and the Philippines - India has made the most significant progress in the GII innovation ranking over time, it said.

The Covid-19 pandemic is severely pressuring a longbuilding rise in worldwide innovation, likely hindering some innovative activities while catalysing ingenuity elsewhere, notably in the

health sector, according to the GII 2020. WIPO director-general Francis Gurry said, “Even as we all grapple with the immediate human and economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, governments need to ensure that rescue packages are futureoriented and support individuals, research institutes, companies and others with innovative and collaborative new ideas for the post-Covid era.

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said, “To promote innovation and its culture in India, the government is formulating the new education policy 2020, which we are sure will be in the long term, as we

shift gears and accelerate our efforts towards a mindset of innovation, towards the spirit of inquiry among our youngsters right from a very young age. The National Innovation Council, which promotes innovation in our micro, small and medium enterprises, is also working in a variety of ways, particularly through the India Inclusive Innovation Fund, to support activities around innovation.” The top-performing economies in the GII are still almost exclusively from the highincome group, with China (14th) remaining the only middle-income economy in the GII top 30, and Malaysia at the 33rd position.

Money laundering case: Chanda Kochhar's husband arrested The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Deepak Kochhar, husband of former ICICI Bank CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar, in connection with the ICICI Bank-Videocon money laundering case probe, officials said.

They said Kochhar was arrested under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Officials said Kochhar was placed under arrest as the agency wants to put him under custodial interrogation to obtain more details about some fresh evidence gathered in this case, that was filed under the criminal sections

of the anti-money laundering law in January last year.

The ED had filed its case after studying an FIR registered by the CBI against the couple, Videocon Group promoter Venugopal Dhoot and others. It slapped money laundering charges against the Kochhars and their business entities for 'illegal sanctioning of loans amounting to £187.5 million to the Videocon Group of companies'.

The ED had earlier said an amount of £6.4 million, out of the loan amount of £30 million sanctioned by a committee headed by Chanda Kochhar to

Videocon International Electronics Limited, was transferred to Nupower Renewables Pvt Ltd (NRPL) by Videocon Industries Limited on September 8, 2009, just a day after disbursement of the loan by ICICI Bank.

NRPL was earlier known as NuPower Renewables Limited (NRL) and is a company of Deepak Kochhar.

The agency had alleged that the 'net revenue of £1.06 million was generated

by NRL from these tainted funds'. 'Therefore, proceeds of crime amounting to £7.46 million were transferred to

Different folks, different strokes

Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

Generally, when we come across an investor who wishes to invest, we ask them if they wish for capital growth or income. Normally their answer is both. Their possible rationale is if they say one they will lose out on not getting the other.

This is not a trick question, this question needs to be defined before going out and investing.

If you’re a high rate taxpayer and earning a good income, you perhaps don’t want further income, as a large chunk will be going to the government. Therefore, your gain would be better in as a capital gain in the property.

You would be able to extract this by way of refinance in the future, without any income tax or even capital gains tax.

Therefore, in this situation one would not require income.

If, however, you do require a monthly income, then probably a poor yielding flat in the centre of town is not going to provide you with one.

You will more likely be better off with a house which can be turned into an HMO. This will give you a decent income on a monthly basis.

We currently have a couple of high value properties in Central London. One in which we have a high maintenance tenant who is paying a third less than ‘market rent’. The other is a flat near the Dorchester Hotel, where the tenant has decided to pay nothing; notice has been served and it remains to be seen whether they will leave on the correct date. The service charges and the mortgages still need to be paid.

These properties, if they are to be held on to, will be sucking money for the next year or two. It requires deep pockets to hold on to assets like these in the current climate, and the indication being put out is things are not likely to get better.

Unless one has a flow of money coming in or very deep pockets, serious consideration should be given to the disposing of these properties fast and cutting loses; especially as currently there is perhaps a misplaced buoyancy in the market.

Conversely, there are properties which are also producing and are seen almost as a safe haven in this environment. One is a new HMO which is almost full, and it will be generating circa £4K every month against a mortgage of just £1,100. This property started to fill up at the tail end of lockdown, which shows its resilience to the market; this is bread and butter. This end of the market will be the most resilient in the coming years, because regardless of the current environment, the bottom line is we have a housing shortage, which is like a black hole and cannot be filled.

If one concentrates on this end of the market, there are deals which are floating up to the surface.

OIZOM DEVELOPS SMART FEVER DETECTION SYSTEM Oizom, an Ahmedabad- based company has developed a smart fever detection system, Fevo to fight the rising cases of Covid-19 while India is gradually opening its economy after the nationwide lockdown. Fevo measures body temperature with 99.5% accuracy in no time (0.5 sec). The product works seamlessly on smartphone, tablet and also as a stationary detector. Fevo product range comprises Fevo+ and FevoBot designed for both manual and automated fever screening. Since fever is a common symptom in 98.33% of the Covid-19 cases, Fevo can come in handy to identify the potential carriers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign motivated the company to develop 100% Make in India solution. Fevo was developed within 4 months and it has been receiving a tremendous demand from across the globe, says Ankit Vyas, CEO of Oizom.

SOFTBANK EYES TIKTOK IN INDIA Chanda and Deepak Kochhar

or to say generated in NRPL,' the ED had claimed.

The ED, early this year, also attached assets - including a Mumbai flat where the couple lived, land, and plant and machinery of a wind farm project based in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra valued at £7.8 million 'in possession of' Chanda Kochhar, Deepak Kochhar and the companies owned and controlled by him.

SoftBank Group is exploring assembling a group of bidders for TikTok’s India assets and has been actively looking for local partners, according to people familiar with the matter. Over the past month, the Japanese conglomerate, which owns a stake in TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance, has held talks with the heads of Reliance Jio Infocomm and Bharti Airtel, the people said.

While discussions have fizzled since, Soft-Bank is still exploring options, according to the people. Representatives for SoftBank, Reliance and Bharti Airtel declined to comment. A spokesperson for ByteDance didn’t respond to requests. TikTok is considering selling its operations in several countries after local governments shut out the app, citing fears that sensitive user data was passing into the hands of the Chinese state. India has taken a particularly tough stance, banning several of China’s largest internet services in July, including TikTok. India was one of TikTok’s largest markets, with more than 200 million users. In the US, President Donald Trump threatened to ban TikTok and then ordered ByteDance to sell its assets in the country because of national security concerns.

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Gulf states moving closer to India while distancing from Pakistan DOHA (QATAR): Amid an increasingly polarised Muslim world, Pakistan's strategy to maintain diplomatic ties with countries in the Middle East is no longer working. In a break from the past where the Gulf countries balanced their relations with Pakistan and India, they are now seen moving towards New Delhi and distancing from Islamabad, according to a report in the Al Jazeera.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi

Pakistan, on the other hand, is seen moving closer to Turkey and Malaysia - two countries that Saudi Arabia sees as challengers to its stronghold within the Muslim world, according to foreign policy analysts Abdul Basit and Dr Zahid Shahab Ahmed writing in the Al Jazeera.

The relationship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, went haywire last month when Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi openly rebuked the kingdom for its lack of support for Islamabad's interests on the Kashmir issue.

During a television talkshow, Qureshi made a statement that irked the Saudi "big brother", where he said that

Pakistan would be "compelled" to "call a meeting of the Islamic countries that are ready to stand with us on the issue of Kashmir."

In Basit and Shahab Ahmed's article, the remark by Pakistani Foreign Minister was not taken well by Riyadh and was seen as a veiled threat to concoct a new side against the Saudi-dominated Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

In retaliation, the kingdom was quick to request the sudden repayment of a billion-dollar loan extended to Pakistan in November 2018, which was renegotiated just six months ago. Besides this, it also refused to renew a deferred oil payments scheme that was part of the

same loan which was given to Islamabad when the country was trying to avoid a possible sovereign default. After Riyadh raised the bar, Pakistan was forced on a back foot.

Thereafter, Qureshi, trying to save face, refuted reports that ties have strained between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in the past few weeks. "The kingdom has neither asked Islamabad to return its loan nor has it suspended oil supply to Pakistan," Qureshi was quoted as saying.

As a result of Qureshi's backtracking, Pakistani journalists slammed the Foreign Minister saying it contradicted the comments he made earlier. Soon after, Pakistan went into damage-control mode and had to send Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa to Riyadh. However, the visit turned out be futile as the Crown Prince Saudi Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) did not meet Bajwa, and they were left to meet with Saudi Deputy Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz.

According to the Al Jazeera report, "the latest diplomatic spat between Saudi Arabia and

Pakistan should be seen in the broader context of recent strategic realignments in the Middle East and the Muslim world. For some time, Pakistan has been struggling to keep to its traditional policy of maintaining neutral relations with rival powers.

While Muslim Islamabad is concerned about the deepening strategic and economic cooperation between its arch-rival India and a group of Arab states led by Saudi Arabia, Riyadh is equally frustrated by Pakistan's overtures towards Muslim-majority states it views as hostile, such as Turkey, Malaysia and Qatar," it said.

The Gulf countries are now visibly seen moving towards India and distancing from Pakistan. The tides are turning in India's favour. One such example is MBS's February 2019 visit of South Asia. During his tour, the Saudi Crown Prince made the unprecedented move of visiting India directly after Pakistan. After signing agreements worth USD 20 billion with Pakistan, MBS said he expects Riyadh's investments in India "to exceed USD 100 billion in the coming two years".

Pak court gives 'last chance' to Nawaz Sharif ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court gave a 'last chance' to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to surrender and appear before it on September 10 for hearing in a corruption case against him, according to media reports.

Sharif, 70, has been in London since November last year after the Lahore High Court granted him permission to go abroad for four weeks for treating a heart disease and an immune system disorder. The three-time premier was sentenced to seven years in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills case.

A two-member special bench of the Islamabad High Court - comprising Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani – last week heard the petitions against the sentences of Sharif, his daughter

Nawaz Sharif

Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain (retd) Safdar in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia Steel Mills cases, Dawn News reported. Avefiled case was about having properties in London which were allegedly purchased by illgotten wealth.

“We are not passing the final verdict as of yet. We are giving you [Nawaz] last chance to sur-

Taliban team returns to Doha for Afghan peace talks DOHA: A Taliban delegation has returned to Qatar, paving the way for the start of peace talks with the Afghan government that are expected to take place in the Gulf state. The delegation's arrival was announced by Taliban officials, who were speaking on condition of anonymity. The negotiations are part of a peace deal the United States signed with the Taliban in February in Doha.

Relentless delays over the exchange of prisoners - 5,000 held by the Afghan government and 1,000 by the Taliban - have hindered efforts to get intra-Afghan talks started. In late August, a delegation led by the Taliban's political office head and the chief negotiator of the February deal with the US, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, visited Pakistan. While little was revealed about the details of his meetings with Pakistani officials, it is believed he was pressed to get started with intra-Afghan talks.

render before the next hearing. Nawaz Sharif should appear before the court in any case,” the bench said.

Sharif's lawyer, Khawaja Harris, said the former premier was not medically fit to return to Pakistan and a related petition was pending in the Lahore High Court.

Further hearing of the case was adjourned till September 10. Appeals of Maryam and Captain Safdar would be heard on September 23, the Express Tribune reported. The Pakistan government has already declared Sharif an “absconder” and approached the UK government for his extradition. Adviser to the Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior Shahzad Akbar last

week said Sharif’s four-week bail on medical grounds had expired in December last year. Akbar said the government would task the National Accountability Bureau to pursue Sharif’s extradition. In a recent interview with ARY News, Prime Minister Imran Khan said his government 'regretted' the decision to lift the ban on Sharif.

In May, a picture of Sharif having tea at a London cafe along with his family went viral on social media, sparking a debate on the seriousness of his health condition. The government came under further criticism when Sharif's photos surfaced online, showing him strolling in a street, prompting calls from within the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf to bring him back.

Give India another chance to appoint lawyer for Jadhav: Pak court to govt ISLAMABAD: A high court in Pakistan last week directed the federal government to give India another chance to appoint a lawyer to represent death-row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav as it adjourned hearing for a month.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) took up the case of appointment of lawyer for Jadhav to hear the review of the death sentence given to him by a Pakistani military court.

Jadhav, the 50-year-old retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of “espionage and terrorism” in April 2017. Attorney General Khalid Javed Khan told the court that to comply with the orders of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Pakistan granted consular access to India, however, it has not replied to Pakistan’s offer to appoint a lawyer for him.

The IHC, after hearing the arguments, ordered the government to send its order on Jadhav to India and adjourned the hearing

until October 3 when the case would be heard again. Pakistan has introduced a special law to allow Jadhav to get his sentence reviewed as asked by Kulbhushan Jadhav the ICJ. India approached the ICJ against Pakistan for denial of consular access to Jadhav and challenging the death sentence. The Haguebased ICJ ruled in July last year that Pakistan must undertake an “effective review and reconsideration” of the conviction and sentence of Jadhav and also to grant consular access to India without further delay.Pakistan claims that its security forces arrested Jadhav from the restive Balochistan province on March 3, 2016 after he reportedly entered from Iran. India maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Navy.

in brief HINDU WIDOWS TO GET SHARE OF HUSBANDS’ ASSETS For the first time, Hindu widows in Bangladesh will have the rights to both agricultural and non-agricultural lands that belonged to their husbands after a top court ruled in their favour, according to a media report. The Bangladesh high court ruled that no separation has been made between the agricultural and non-agricultural lands. So Hindu widows have the rights to the lands of their husbands, Daily Star newspaper reported.

Under the current norm, Hindu widows are only entitled to their spouses’ homesteads and not any other assets like agricultural land.

PAK PM REJECTS AIDE’S RESIGNATION Pakistan PM Imran Khan refused to accept the resignation of his special assistant on information and broadcasting, retired Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa, claiming he was “satisfied” with his aide’s explanation about his family’s assets. Last week, investigative journalist Ahmed Noorani broke the news on the ‘Fact Focus’ website alleging that Bajwa had used his offices, since 2002 in setting up offshore businesses of his wife, sons and brothers.

FB DELETES PAK ACCOUNTS MOSTLY CRITICAL OF GOVT Facebook has removed 453 FB accounts, 103 pages, 78 groups and 107 Instagram accounts that were part of a Pakistani network of “coordinated inauthentic behaviour”, the firm said in a monthly report.

“The vast majority of the accounts, pages and groups engaged in coordinated reporting of content and people that were critical of Pakistan’s government or supportive of India, and some engaged in spam,” it said. Facebook had shared details of the network with the Stanford Internet Observatory Cyber Policy Centre days before removing the pages.

HK SHOCKED BY VIOLENT POLICE ARREST OF 12YEAR-OLD GIRL Hong Kong police have been been criticised over the rough arrest of a 12-year-old girl whose family says was caught in a protest crowd while out buying art supplies. Video widely shared across social media and in Hong Kong media showed the officers seeking to corral a group of people including the young girl, who ducked aside and tried to run away.

An officer tackled her to the ground, while several others helped to pin her down. The arrest came amid the largest street protest seen in Hong Kong since July, the first full day under the national security laws imposed by Beijing on the city, outlawing acts of sedition, secession, foreign collusion and terrorism. The girl’s mother said she intended to sue and lodge a formal complaint. She said her daughter and her 20-year-old son – who were both fined under the city’s pandemic-related laws against gatherings – were out buying art supplies, and that the girl ran away because she was scared. Her daughter was bruised and scratched after the encounter.

CHINA DIPLOMATS IN US HIT WITH NEW TRAVEL CURBS Chinese diplomats in the US face new limits on travel and meetings in the US, secretary of state Mike Pompeo said. Under the new rules, Chinese diplomats must get approval to visit university campuses or meet with local officials, the state department said.

Also, any Chinese-hosted cultural events outside of consular posts will need approval if the audience is larger than 50 people. And the state department will require that diplomatic social media accounts are identified as government controlled. “We’re simply demanding reciprocity,” Pompeo said, indicating that the US curbs would be lifted if China removes its requirements.

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in brief CHINA-BOUND SHIP SINKS OFF JAPAN'S COAST Japanese rescuers were searching for a livestock ship carrying 42 crew members that a survivor said sank during rough weather a day earlier off a southern Japanese island, the coast guard said. The Filipino crew member was rescued after Japanese navy P3C surveillance aircraft spotted him wearing a life vest and waving while bobbing in the water. The man, who is in good health, told rescuers the ship capsized before sinking, coast guard regional spokesman Yuichiro Higashi said. The 11,947-ton Gulf Livestock 1 ship was carrying 5,800 cows west of Amami Oshima in the East China Sea when it sent a distress call. The cause of the distress was not immediately known, but the weather was rough in the area due to Typhoon Maysak.

The ship's other crew members include 38 from the Philippines, two from New Zealand and two from Australia. The ship left the port of Napier in northeastern New Zealand in mid-August and was on its way to Tangshan on China's eastern coast.

HK BEGINS CHINA-LED FREE MASS TESTING Hong Kong began free virus testing for all residents in the Asian financial hub, as the mainland Chinese-led initiative faced scepticism from the city's medical community and public, with some activists urging a boycott. The initiative began with a 60-strong mainland team conducting tests. It is the first direct help from China’s health officials for the semi-autonomous city. The scheme has emerged as a politically charged issue.

CHINESE GIRLS BARRED FROM WEARING REVEALING CLOTHES A Chinese university sparked widespread outrage as female students discovered that they were not supposed to wear anything deemed overly revealing on grounds that it could arouse “temptation”. On August 1, Guangxi University in China published a 50-point safety guide for female students, including a dress code. “Don’t wear overly revealing tops or skirts. Don’t wear low-cut dresses or expose your waist or back, to avoid creating temptation,” the guide said.

BANGKOK SCRAPS CANAL PROJECT WITH BEIJING Amid the border standoff between India and China, the latter has suffered a severe blow from Thailand, which said it will scrap the Kra Canal project that Beijing wanted to build to shorten its access to the Indian Ocean, according to a media report. Not only that, the Thai government has also given in to the public pressure and delayed the purchase of two Chinese submarines worth $724 million. As per a report, China was pinning its hopes on the Kra Canal project, a proposal to construct a 120-km mega canal cutting through the isthmus of Kra in Thailand. The Thai canal could have been a crucial strategic asset for China, allowing its navy to quickly move ships between its newly constructed bases in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean without diverting over 1,100 km south to round the tip of Malaysia.

STEEP RISE IN IRAN URANIUM STOCKPILE The UN’s nuclear watchdog said that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium now stands at more than ten times the limit set down in the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The limit was set at 300 kg of enriched uranium in a particular compound form, which is the equivalent of 202.8 kg of uranium. Measured against the latter figure, Iran’s stockpile now stands at over 2,105 kg, the report said.

Lanka President seeks to restore sweeping powers COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s newly elected government under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has drafted constitutional changes that restore sweeping executive powers to his office.

Gazetted last week, the amendment would restore the president’s powers to dissolve parliament one year after its election, which had been increased to four-and-half-years under a previous change.

The latest changes also include replacing the Constitutional Council with a weakened Parliamentary Council made up of only legislators and no civil society members, while the appointment of members to the Elections Commission, the Human Rights Commission and five other bodies will be made by the executive.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa

Restrictions on dual citizens sitting in Parliament and the number of cabinet and junior ministers will be removed, while the provisions introduced by the 19th amendment that made it mandatory for the President to seek the advice of the Prime Minister before appointing and removing ministers and junior ministers will also be abolished under the proposed changes. A two term limit on the president

remains.

“It also appears to me that the amendment on dual citizenship is to bring another Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa, into the political arena,” said Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, a distinguished fellow of New Delhi-based think-tank Observer Research Foundation.

The youngest Rajapaksa brother also holds a US passport.

‘Injurious to Democracy’ Rajapaksa - who had run a minority government after winning a November presidential poll and appointed his brother and former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa as the prime minister won a landslide victory at the Aug 5 parliamentary election.

The brothers ruling Sri Lanka also have the support of minority parties and others to get the super majority needed to pass

the constitutional amendments in parliament in the coming weeks. Separately, Sri Lanka’s government also this week appointed a committee of senior lawyers to draft a new constitution.“When it comes to both the interim measure and the broader proposal to bring in a new constitution - the common objective is to concentrate real authority in the hands of the presidency at the cost of prime minister and the parliament,” said Rajiv Bhatia, distinguished fellow in foreign policy studies at the Mumbai-based think tank Gateway House and former head of the Sri Lanka division in India’s foreign ministry. “Sri Lanka is headed towards a situation where power will be concentrated in one pair of hands and this is always injurious to democracy.”

Museveni sued over chaos in NRM primaries KAMPALA: Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has been sued in his capacity as the chairperson of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party for allegedly being responsible for the chaotic party primaries last Friday. The petitioner, Jackson Ntwatwa, who filed the suit in the High Court in Kampala, states that the directive by Museveni a few days to the primaries, to allow unregistered party members to vote contravened the NRM constitution.

“A declaration that the directive of the 1st respondent (President Museveni) to allow all persons with a national ID to vote in the party primaries even if not a registered member, was illegal contrary to the constitution of the National Resistance

Movement,” Ntwatwa states in his petition.

“The 2nd and 3rd respondent (NRM and EC of NRM), failed to organise a free and fair elections and did not resist such directives issued by the 1 respondent (Museveni), which directive violated Section 44 1, 2, and b of the constitution of the NRM, which caused violence and rigging of the elections,” he further contends.

In his affidavit, Ntwatwa contends that he is a member of NRM and a good supporter of President Museveni.

However, he says that following the issuance of the party’s electoral road map in July, he was nominated by the party’s electoral commission to stand for the position of MP for Nakifuma constituency and

that the polling date had initially been set for September 10.

Contention Ntwatwa further contends that to his surprise, the party’s electoral commission changed the polling date to September 4 without informing him and other co-candidates, contrary to the final roadmap issued.

This, he says, confused many voters who remained in their homes and never turned up to vote last Friday.

The petitioner also accuses NRM party and its electoral body of having failed to organise free and fair elections that were marred by widespread chaos. “Due to violence, my agents were assaulted, caned and disappeared from the polling stations and the crooks took advantage of disorganis-

MPs tell Ruto to make personal apology to Uhuru NAIROBI: A section of members of the National Assembly Security Committee want Deputy President William Ruto to personally apologise to President Uhuru Kenyatta and his family over attacks on the head of state by his allies. The six members, led by chairman and Kiambaa MP Paul Koinange, said that while Ruto has condemned the attacks by MPs Oscar Sudi and Johana Ng'eno, it is not enough.

The other MPs are: Peter Kaluma (Homa Bay Town), Roza Buyu (Kisumu), Benard Mulu (Kitui Central), Wavinya Washira (Mwea) and Edward Kaunya (Teso North). According to the group, Sudi and Ng'eno are Ruto's mouthpiece and thus the DP should personally apologise to the first family.

"We are glad that our Deputy President William

Ruto has condemned the remarks made by Oscar Sudi. But that is not enough because the two MPs are believed by the general public to have William Ruto been mere mouthpieces," Koinange said. He added, "DP Ruto should apologise to the President, his family and the entire nation in person and not through Twitter."

The MPs condemned the attack on the President, saying that it was not only against African culture but also the worst form of disrespect. They called on the NCIC to be watchful and tame leaders who are beating the drums of war ahead of the 2022 polls.

"Even if Sudi does not respect the president, he should at least respect the President's family, most all his mother. Mama Ngina

and Uhuru Kenyatta

Kenyatta is not only a senior citizen by age but also the founding mother and First Lady of Kenya," Koinange said. "We would like to alert NCIC and all relevant agencies of government that war drums have started beating.

The war drums will only grow louder and may risk the stability of the nation as we approach the General Election if not immediately contained," he said.

The chairman called on the commission to move with speed against Sudi and Ng'eno and all the other leaders engaging in hate speech and endangering cohesion of the nation.

Yoweri Museveni

ing the entire election in absence of my agents save for a polling station (Kalagi) where I voted from,” Ntwatwa stated.

He also wants court to nullify NRM elections held on September 4. The petition waits a response from the respondents in the matter; Museveni, NRM party and its electoral commission. Court had not issued them with summons to file their defence.

Magufuli to face 14 challengers in presidential election DODOMA: Tanzanian President John Magufuli will face 14 challengers in elections scheduled for this October, the elections board announced, with analysts saying a divided opposition is likely to ensure he wins a second term.

His main challengers are likely to be Tundu Lissu, who returned to Tanzania last month after spending nearly three years in Belgium for treatment after he was shot during an assassination attempt, and ex-foreign minister Bernard Membe, who was expelled from the governing Chama Cha Mapinduzi party in February.

The presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 28.

Opposition parties are heading to the polls without a coalition or alliance that helped them gain more votes in the last election.

Richard Mbunda, a political science lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam, said the lack of trust between parties and their need to use elections as public relations events is the reason there is no alliance.

Magufuli's party has governed Tanzania since independence in 1961. He swept to power in 2015 promising to end corruption and expand infrastructure. But his tough governing style has cemented his nickname - the Bulldozer - originally bestowed on him during his time as public works minister.

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Biden extends 'Paryushan and Das Lakshan' wishes to Jain community WASHINGTON: Democratic presidential candidate and former US vice president Joe Biden has greeted the Jain community on the concluding day of Paryushan and Das Lakshan festival. 'May we all find peace and reconciliation in our lives. Michhami Dukkaddam and Kshamavani!” Biden said in a tweet. Paryushana is an annual eight to ten-day period of fasting and meditation for Jain worshippers. Over 150,000 Jains live in the United States, which is the community's largest population outside India.

Jain Acharya and founder of Ahimsa Vishwa Bharti Acharya, Lokesh Muni, welcomed Biden's message. 'Thanks a lot Mr Biden for your kind wishes on this holy occasion. We should be courageous enough to realise mistakes and ask forgiveness, (and be) gracious enough to forgive,' the Jain Acharya tweeted.

It is wonderful to see Biden recognising various communities across the world and uniting people of all faith,

Joe Biden

colour, religion and place of origin, said Ajay Bhutoria, a member of Biden for President campaign and National AAPI leadership council. “Biden is restoring America's leadership.

He is the first American presidential candidate to recognise Anant Chaturdashi one of the holiest days for the Jain community. This morning, Joe Biden sent his wishes to the Jain community on the conclusion of Paryushan and Lakshan, and said Das 'Michhami Dukkaddam and Kshamavani!'' said Bhutoria, who is a Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur.

Nirmal Baid, founding director and co-chair of the Board of Jain Education and Research Foundation, said the Jain community welcomes Biden's heartwarming message.

'It is heartening to see the former vice president actively embracing the Jain message of peace, non-violence and forgiveness.

These fundamentally human tenets are instrumental in addressing the discord we see in our society today,' Baid said.

Mohini Devi, a septuagenarian from St Louis, said, 'I had the pleasure of hosting Dr (Jill) Biden at my home last year and we are very proud of Dr Biden and Joe Biden for bringing the message of nonviolence and peace in America and the world.” Samani Malay Pragya from Texas said it is a historic moment as Biden and his Indian-origin vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris have recognised the principles of Jain faith.

Biden ahead of Trump Donald Trump’s re-election campaign has not received a boost from the Republican National Convention or Republicans' attempts to paint the president as the “law and order” candidate amid civil unrest, according to a new poll. The Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Joe Biden ahead of Trump by seven points nationally - a lead that remained mostly consistent over the last three weeks, despite both parties holding their virtual conventions. While the president and his allies used their convention to claim he was the only person capable of preventing violent riots and protests by the “radical left” from taking over the country, Biden and Democrats countered the president’s messaging the week prior, instead focusing on the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and its apparent inability to resolve racial tensions sparked by the high-profile deaths and police-shootings of numerous black Americans.

Nixon called Indian women ‘most unattractive’ WASHINGTON: “Undoubtedly the most unattractive women in the world are the Indian women,” they are “pathetic”, they “turn me off ”, Indians are “repulsive”. These are just some of the sexist, racist, bigoted tropes essayed by former American President Richard Nixon during the nadir of USIndia ties in 1970-1971, according to new archival material unearthed by Princeton academic Gary Bass.

Bass, whose 2013 book, “The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger and a Forgotten Genocide”, chronicled the disastrous US policy during the 1971 India-Pakistan war and revealed Nixon calling then Indian PM a “bitch” and more broadly referring to Indians as “bastards”, accessed new material after “considerable wrangling” following a legal

request for a mandatory declassification review with the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum.

What he heard in the new tapes was “stunning”, he says in an NYT OpEd - a conversation between Nixon, his then national security advisor Henry Kissinger and White House chief of staff H R Haldeman, in the Oval Office in June 1971. In that conversation, Nixon says, “Undoubtedly the most unattractive women in the world are the Indian women,” repeating “undoubtedly” in a venomous tone. He continues, “The most sexless, nothing, these people. I mean, people say, what about the Black Africans?

Well, you can see something, the vitality there, I mean they have a little animal-like charm, but God, those Indians, ack, pathetic. Uch.” On another occasion on November 4, 1971,

Indian national charged with illegal voting in 2016 US elections NEW YORK: An Indian national is among 12 foreign citizens charged with unlawfully voting in the 2016 presidential elections by federal prosecutors in a US court.

Baijoo Pottakulath Thomas, 58, and 11 other foreign nationals were charged in US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina last month with Misdemeanor charges for unlawfully casting ballots in the 2016 presidential elections.

The individuals face a maximum term of one-year imprisonment and a fine of up to USD 100,000 if convicted, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) said. Non-citizens are not eligible

to register to vote or to vote in federal elections under US law.Another Indian-origin man, Roob Kaur Atar-Singh, 57, hailing from Malaysia, was among seven foreign nationals facing federal charges in North Carolina for illegally voting in the 2016 federal elections. ICE said these charges are the latest indictments to result from an ongoing yearslong federal criminal investigation being conducted by the federal agencies.Atar-Singh was among those charged by a federal grand jury for falsely claiming US citizenship or making false statements on voter registration application, and with misdemeanor charges of unlawfully casting ballots in the 2016 presidential elections.

Richard Nixon

during a private break from a contentious White House summit with Indira Gandhi of India, Nixon makes disparaging remarks about Indians’ sexuality to Kissinger. “To me, they turn me off. How the hell do they turn other people on, Henry?

Tell me.” Kissinger’s response is inaudible as Nixon continues, “They turn me off. They are repulsive and it’s just easy to be tough with them.” A few days later, on November 12, 1971, in the middle of a discussion about

India-Pakistan tensions with Kissinger and secretary of state William Rogers, after Rogers mentions reprimanding Indira Gandhi, Nixon says, “I don’t know how they reproduce!” The full content of these tapes reveal how US policy toward South Asia under Nixon was influenced by his hatred of, and sexual repulsion toward Indians, Bass notes.Bass says while Kissinger has portrayed himself as above the racism of the Nixon White House, the tapes show him joining in the bigotry, though the tapes cannot determine whether he shared the president’s prejudices or was just pandering to him. He blames Indians for causing the refugee flow, apparently by their covert sponsorship of the Bengali insurgency and condemns Indians as a whole, his voice oozing with contempt, “They are a scavenging people”.

Taiwan to change passport, fed up of confusion with China TAIPEI: Fed up with being confused for China amid the coronavirus pandemic and Beijing's stepped-up efforts to assert sovereignty, Taiwan said that it would redesign its passport to give greater prominence to the island's name.

Taiwan has complained during the outbreak that its nationals have encountered problems entering other countries, as Taiwanese passports have the words "Republic of China", its formal name, written in large English font at the top, with "Taiwan" printed at the bottom.

The new passport, to roll out in January, enlarges the word "Taiwan" in English and removes the large English words "Republic of China", though that name in Chinese and in small English font around the national emblem will remain.

Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said new passports were needed to prevent their nationals being mistaken for Chinese citizens, especially with the stepped up entry checks many countries have begun since the pandemic began. "Since the beginning of the Wuhan pneumonia outbreak this year, our people have kept hoping that we can give more prominence to Taiwan's visibility, avoiding people mistakenly thinking they are from China," Wu told reporters.

in brief STRAINED MELANIAIVANKA TIES A new book revealed the supposed icy relationship between Melania Trump and her stepdaughter Ivanka. Author Stephanie Winston Wolkoff says she was once a friend of the president’s wife and acted as her adviser until 2018 when she fell out of favour.

In the book “Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship With the First Lady”, Winston Wolkoff has detailed how she and Melania choreographed every minute detail of Trump’s inauguration - and prevented Ivanka from appearing in key photos of the ceremony. Wolkoff and her team orchestrated seating and studied camera angles to make sure Ivanka’s face would be hidden in pictures. The 50-year-old first lady allegedly nicknamed her 38-year-old stepdaughter “princess”, calling her and her husband Jared Kushner “snakes”. The book comes days after Melania and Ivanka exchanged an icy stare at the Republican Convention. Separately, Wolkoff said Melania used private mail accounts while at the White House.

TRUMP’S NEW AIDE HAS QUESTIONED MASKS Dr Scott Atlas has argued that the science of mask wearing is uncertain, that children cannot pass on the coronavirus and that the role of the government is not to stamp out the virus but to protect its most vulnerable citizens.

Ideas like these have propelled Atlas, a radiologist and senior fellow at Stanford University’s conservative Hoover Institution, into Trump’s White House. President Trump has embraced Atlas even as he upsets the balance of power within the coronavirus task force with ideas that government doctors and scientists find misguided - even dangerous according to sources. Atlas is neither an epidemiologist nor an infectious disease expert, but his frequent appearances on Fox News and his ideological bend caught the president’s eye.

WOMAN WALKS ON AIRCRAFT WING AFTER FEELING ‘TOO HOT’ Flight experiences are different for different people. Take-offs and landing can often cause a lot of breathing troubles or even anxiety and nausea and people often try out several ways to prevent this including chewing on a something to balance the air pressure inside ears during the take-off. However, a woman passenger flying with Ukraine International Airlines took a completely different route to breathe some fresh air after feeling too hot inside the flight. Accompanied by her two children, the woman took a flight from Turkey, where she went on holiday, and came to Kyiv, Ukraine. As she was feeling ‘too hot’ after her plane landed, she decided to walk all the way from the fin of the plane to the emergency exit gate of the Boeing 737-86N to get on the wing of the flight and ‘get some air’. Her walk was so casual and relaxed that she looked least bothered to be out there on the wing. The entire incident was caught in the camera and uploaded on YouTube.

SAUDI ARABIA OPENS AIRSPACE FOR UAEISRAEL FLIGHTS Saudi Arabia agreed to permit UAE flights to "all countries" to overfly the kingdom, as Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu signalled more direct flights linking the UAE with the Jewish state. The announcement comes after the first direct commercial flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi last week, which passed through Saudi airspace, to mark the normalisation of Israel-UAE ties. Riyadh's decision marks another concrete sign of Saudi Arabia's cooperation with Israel even after it refused publicly to follow the UAE in establishing diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.

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India’s Covid tally crosses 42,00,000 mark On Tuesday when India reported the biggest one-day fatalities due to the coronavirus, the government said the numbers are yet to stabilise and blamed those citizens who have let their guard down against Covid. India on Tuesday reported 1,133 deaths in the biggest spike in fatalities in a day. The total cases have crossed 42,50,000, more than Brazil.

"Don't be negligent about precautions.

Wear mask at all times and maintain a 6 feet distance. Don't host or attend events that can act as super-spreaders of infection. This is a common complaint from state governments that people are becoming reckless and don't maintain precautions anymore.

Precautions are still the key to controlling the pandemic," said Dr VK Paul, member of the government's Covid -19 task force and the centre's think tank NITI Aayog.

The Health Ministry has sent its teams to worst-affected districts, and they have been holding meetings to identify and plug lapses.

"There are several states where when symptomatic people test negative in the antigen test when an RT-PCR test is supposed to be done on them. But we found that RT-PCR was not being done," Health

Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said.

"In containment zones, contact-tracing is supposed to be done. Our central teams found that contact-tracing was not being done efficiently. So those infectious people get missed. They have to be quarantined within 72 hours," Bhushan said.

Meetings were recently held with district collectors and chief medical officers of 17 worst-affected districts across Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Sources said the centre found lapses by frontline staff, including ASHA workers, who also lack training about surveillance and contact-tracing.

The centre has issued two new manuals for surveillance teams on the ground. These address points about how to categorise highand low-risk contacts and that on an average there should be 30 contacts per case. Eighty per cent of the contacts should be traced and put under quarantine within 72 hours.

Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are currently contributing 49 per cent to India's total active cases and 52 per cent of total deaths. In Maharashtra, the worst-hit districts are Pune, Nagpur, Kolhapur, Sangli, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Raigad, Jalgaon, Solapur, Satara and Palghar.

In Andhra Pradesh, they are Prakasam and Chittoor. In Karnataka, they are Koppal, Mysuru, Davangere and Ballari.

Until India has a vaccine, everything relies on effective measures by the government and self-discipline from people, officials have said. Meanwhile, the phase 3 human trials for Oxford University's vaccine Astra Zeneca will begin next week across 17 sites in India with 1,600 volunteers.

Currently, among India's two indigenous vaccines, the Bharat Biotech one is about to begin phase 2 trial while Zydus Cadilla's vaccine is already in phase 2.

Covid - hit India may try Russia's Sputnik V vaccine As Covid-19 cases continue to mount in India, Russian ambassador Nikolay Kudashev has said Moscow is talking to the Indian government “on different levels” about cooperation that could include “supplies, co-development and co-production” of Sputnik V vaccine.

The Russians have billed Sputnik V as the first anti-Covid vaccine in the world, and according to a Lancet study, it has been found to cause no serious side effects in initial trials. Official sources said that Russia had shared formally modalities of cooperation with India on the vaccine and that the Indian government was examining the details.

“As far as we know, after some necessary technical steps, the vaccine would be ready to be widely used, including abroad,” said Kudashev. The issue is also likely to come up for discussion during foreign minister S Jaishankar’s visit to Moscow this week.

Kudashev said Russia hoped to work with India for a “just and multipolar” world order

at a time some countries were playing “geopolitical games” despite the pandemic and creating “close-door exclusive blocs”.

This is significant as India, in the face of increasing Chinese military adventurism, looks to give teeth to its Indo-Pacific and Quad policies. In fact, the government only last week announced it will be holding the second Quad ministerial meeting this year in India. Despite its grand military exercise with India in the Andamans, and also its recent discussions with India and Japan for a trilateral mechanism, Moscow continues to abhor even the term Indo-Pacific, calling it a US-led initiative meant to contain Beijing.

India though has sought to address some of these doubts by emphasising in bilateral meetings that the Indo-Pacific is a free, open, transparent and inclusive concept with ASEAN at its centre and that it doesn’t exclude any country.

“Unfortunately we have to admit that in spite of the pandemic some countries keep playing geopolitical games and unilateral extraterritorial sanctions (sic), trying to cre-

ate close-door exclusive blocs, politicise international institutions including the UN, OPCW, WHO and others. Such policy is obviously increasing mistrust, instability and uncertainty taking us away from the vital solutions,” said Kudashev, addressing a conference.

Kudashev said there was a lack of good-

will and constructive approach and that this had led to chances of enhanced confrontation, arms race and global disorder. “We hope to further expand our cooperation with India and other friendly countries to prevent such scenarios (and) move towards just and equal multipolar world order, democratisation of global governance, collective solutions to global and regional problems and close coordination for this purpose at various multilateral institutions,” said Kudashev, adding that the two recent visits by defence minister Rajnath Singh to Moscow this year, and the upcoming one by Jaishankar, were of huge significance for the same reason.

NCB arrests Rhea, her brother and Sushant's house manager in drug cases

PM Modi's donations to public causes exceed £10.3 mn

Actor Rhea Chakraborty was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau in a drugs case related to Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. Her brother, Showik, and Sushant’s house manager, Samuel Miranda, had been arrested days earlier by the NCB.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has donated more than £10.3 million to public causes, ranging from girl child education to the cleaning of Ganga from his savings and the proceeds of auctions of the gifts he received. The latest among his donations was the initial corpus of Rs 2,25,000 lakh to the PM CARES Fund, which was set up in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak to support relief of any kind relating to a public health emergency or any other kind of emergency, calamity or distress.

The Fund, set up in March, received £307.66 million in just five days of its formation, as per an account statement made public.

Highlighting Modi's donations to public causes, sources noted that he gave Rs 21,00,000 in 2019 from his personal savings to the corpus fund set up for the welfare of sanitation workers of Kumbh Mela.

After receiving the Seoul Peace Prize in South Korea in 2019, the prime minister had announced that the entire prize money of £1,30,000 would be given to the Namami Gange project, aimed at cleaning Ganga river, they added.

PM Modi has contributed to many public causes. These donations have now exceeded £10.3 million, the sources said.

The development came after 3 consecutive days of questioning of Rhea by NCB investigators. A day before her arrest, Rhea had filed a complaint with Mumbai police against Sushant’s sister Priyanka Singh. The former had accused the latter of procuring a fake medical prescription for the late actor.

Rhea alleged that within five days of Priyanka getting the prescription for anxiety medicines for Sushant, he died. The actor was found dead at his Mumbai residence on June 14. His father accused Rhea of abetting his suicide and siphoning off his assets.

Showik and Miranda has been booked under sections that pertain to production, manufacture, possession, sale, purchase and transport of narcotic or psychotropic substance and abetment and conspiracy under NDPS Act. The offence carries a maximum punishment of one-year imprisonment and a fine.

The arrested duo had procured marijuana from drug peddlers for Rajput, officials

claimed. The duo, however, did not use marijuana, sources said. NCB officials, who claimed that they want to uproot the drug cartel in Mumbai, especially Bollywood, said the drug - Bud, a curated form of marijuana - is in demand in Bollywood and sold for around 5,000 per gram. Rhea in an interview had said Rajput “used to smoke marijuana and drink regularly”.

The Enforcement Directorate probing the money laundering angle had found chat messages pertaining to drugs on Rhea’s mobile that triggered this investigation. The ED had passed on the details to the NCB. The ED had cloned her mobile and found her involvement in purchase, consumption, transportation and usage of contraband, NCB had claimed. Officials said her Whatsapp chats with other entities point to conspiracy and abetment. Earlier in the day, NCB carried out searches at Rhea’s Bandra residence where she stayed with her brother Showik, and Miranda’s flat in Sahar village.

Both were brought to the NCB office where they were questioned before placing them under arrest.

NCB had earlier arrested another ‘drug supplier’, Basit Parihar, who has been remanded in custody till September 9. “Basit Parihar has not only admitted to having pur-

Rhea Chakraborty and her brother

chased and sold marijuana, but he has said he used to procure drugs from Vilatra and Kaizan (two other suspects) as per Showik’s instructions and was directing them to deliver it to Samuel,” Parihar’s remand application states.

Zaid Vilatra was arrested on Wednesday, while Kaizan Ibrahim was being questioned by officials. Basit’s lawyer Tarak Sayyed said, “These are youngsters from affluent families. How is the NCB branding them drug peddlers? They have been remanded in custody though nothing has been recovered from them and the sections under which they are arrested are bailable.”

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SOUTH INDIA

in brief

Won't implement 3-language formula: Tamil Nadu tells Centre CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has told the Centre that it would not introduce the three-language policy and continue with the two-language formula in the state.

“Tamil Nadu has always followed the two-language formula, which has been a success. The state government has already taken a decision to continue with the two-language policy in future also,” the state’s higher education minister K P Anbalagan said in a letter to Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, while reiterating the AIADMK government’s opposition to the controversial feature of the New Education Policy (NEP).

The minister also opposed the proposal to conduct entrance exams for undergraduate courses by the National Testing Agency saying

K Palaniswami

the move would discourage rural students. “The Tamil Nadu government is not for such a proposal," he said in the letter dated September 4.

“The NEP was discussed with the chief minister of Tamil Nadu and all the senior ministers in the state. After detailed deliberations and as per the instructions of the CM, the Tamil Nadu government

formed a seven-member committee headed by the higher education secretary to go through the policy and offer comments and recommendations that could be adopted by the state. Therefore, the state of Tamil Nadu would be in a position to submit detailed remarks in due course of time,” Anbalagan said in the letter.

Pointing out that NEP’s target of 50% Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) by 2035 will be achieved by the state in 2019-20 academic year itself, the minister said Tamil Nadu can achieve the ambitious target of 65% GER in 2035 due to various measures, including opening of new colleges, introducing new courses and increasing the capacity of the existing colleges.

On restructuring of higher educational institutions and making them autonomous degree awarding colleges, he said non-autonomous colleges are required to be nurtured suitably by affiliated universities and then improve their quality standards. “Hence, the present model of Tamil Nadu may be allowed to continue,” the letter said.

The TN minister welcomed the move to convert BEd into a four-year integrated degree programme.

PUNJAB

Sikh organisations condemn SGPC chief’s U-turn on missing ‘saroops’ JALANDHAR: Thirty-five Sikh organisations under the banner of Alliance of Sikh Organisations issued a statement condemning the backtracking by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Gobind Singh Longowal on the issue of 328 missing Sikh ‘saroops.’ They said his U-turn makes it clear that he wants to save the culprits.

The statement comes after the SGPC chief retracted the executive committee’s earlier decision to file criminal cases against six of its employees indicted for their role in misappropriation of records of 328 ‘saroops.’ The spokesman for the Sikh organisations, Sukhdev Singh Phagwara and Parampal Singh, in their

statement, sought from the SGPC chief the details of where the ‘saroops’ went. They also appealed to Akal Takht to seek the resignation of the SGPC chief as well as SGPC spokesperson Rajinder Mehta on the issue.

They said: “According to the SGPC chief’s new statement as per recommendations by the investigating committee, no case shall be filed against those responsible for the missing ‘saroops’ of the Guru Granth Sahib. It is evident that Longowal wants to hide the real culprits responsible for the issue due to fears that the subsequent action shall expose the embezzlement committed in the committee under him.

Longowal wants to save himself and the interim committee.

Isn’t his backtracking from his own declarations made some days ago, a violation of the rules of the Akal Takht Sahib?”

They said: “The SGPC shall be met with fierce opposition if it backtracks from its previous declarations on the 328 missing ‘saroops’. The entire list of details should be made public.”

They said if the SGPC chief fails to share these details, then it’s clear that the ‘saroops’ have gone missing somewhere, where they shall not be preserved as per maryada (respect accorded to sacred scriptures).”

They appealed to Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh that Longowal and Rajinder Mehta and all culprits in the case be summoned at the Akal Takht and their resignations be sought,

following which restrictions be placed on them, so that they do not hold a major office or contest elections in any Sikh organisation for the rest of their life. Meanwhile, Sarbjit Singh Verka, member of Punjab Human Rights Organisation (PHRO), said the SGPC’s silence over the missing ‘saroops’ must be questioned and it must find out at whose behest, the officials were engaged in the illegal acts. “We were happy with the SGPC, in its executive meeting on September 27, announcing registration of an FIR for tampering with, fabrication, fraud and embezzlement of ‘saroops’, but the U-turn made later has annoyed us. The case involved criminal offences, so we will move the court,” he said.

WEST BENGAL

BJP asks people to oust Bengal govt from power KOLKATA: The West Bengal unit of the BJP last week organised demonstrations across the state to protest against “political violence and murder of democracy”, and exhorted people to defeat the “jungle raj” of the TMC in the next assembly elections.

Senior BJP leaders, including state president Dilip Ghosh, national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, and Mukul Roy, took part in a sit-in on Mayo Road, as part of the party’s ‘Ganatantra Bachao, Bangla Bachao' (Save democracy, Save Bengal) campaign. “No one is safe in Bengal, be it the activists of an opposition party or the common man. The people of

the state are fed up with the misrule of the TMC and are yearning for a change. The corrupt and the undemocratic TMC government would be ousted from power in the next elections,” Ghosh said while addressing the demonstration.

Asserting that it was time to free Bengal of TMC’s “jungle raj”, Ghosh said law and order have completely collapsed in the state and the police officers have “turned into activists of the ruling party”.

“Over the last five years, political violence in Bengal has crossed all limits. Goons of the TMC have even attacked MLAs, leaders and activists of opposition political parties.

Democracy cannot be stifled in this manner. “The TMC is well

aware that it will be defeated in the next elections. The party has been crying foul over the use of EVMs, since Lok sabha polls. Let me make this clear, be it EVMs or ballots, we will defeat the party in assembly polls as well as civic polls,” Ghosh said.

Vijayvargiya, the saffron party’s Bengal minder, lashed out at state government over the killings and attacks on BJP workers across the state.

“Hundreds of BJP workers have been killed, and around 2,000 party workers falsely implicated and put behind bars. Time has come to take Bengal on the path of growth and development,” he said. Similar protests were organised by the party in every block of the state.

In Cooch Behar and

SASIKALA MAY BE RELEASED EARLY FROM JAIL Sasikala, personal aide of former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, may be released from jail by September end, provided the Parappana Agrahara prison officials grant an ordinary remission on grounds of her good behaviour during her term, her lawyer Raja Senthoor Pandian said. The prospect of Sasikala's return to the political battleground is a contentious one. Just ahead of her imprisonment in the turbulent times around February 2017, she had installed Edappadi Palaniswami, who was then one among the many Amma loyalists, as chief minister of Tamil Nadu. Palaniswami had, subsequently, cut off ties with Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran, and joined hands with the BJP for elections. Her return, just ahead of the 2021 state elections, would be a muchwatched political event.

7 KILLED IN TAMIL NADU FIREWORKS FACTORY BLAST Seven people were killed and two others suffered grievous injuries after an explosion inside a firecracker factory in Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore district. All the deceased are women, including the factory owner Gandhimathi, the police said. Chief Minister K Palaniswami expressed condolences to the bereaved families and announced a solatium of Rs 200,000 each to the kin of the deceased.

The factory is located in Kattumannarkoil town of the district, 190 km from the state capital Chennai. The intensity of the blast was such that it completely damaged and brought down the structure. Police and firefighters were rushed to the accident site and a probe has been launched to find out what caused the explosion. While five women died at the spot, four others were rescued from the debris by locals and rushed to the hospital. Of them, two succumbed to the injuries at the hospital, and two others are undergoing treatment.

PROBE ORDERED INTO ATTACK ON SURESH RAINA'S RELATIVES Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh condoled the death of cricketer Suresh Raina's relatives in an attack by robbers in Pathankot and assured that the guilty will be brought to book. The CM in a tweet said that he has ordered an SIT probe into the incident. The CM's assurance came after Raina requested the police to look into the incident in a tweet and tagged it to the chief minister. The attack by robbers took place in Pathankot's Tharyal village on the intervening night of August 19 and 20. While the cricketer's uncle died on the spot after sustaining head injuries, a 32-yearold cousin passed away at a private hospital later. According to police, members of the notorious 'Kale Kachhewala' gang attacked them while they were sleeping on the terrace of their house. Raina described the attack on his relatives as 'beyond horrible'. Raina's aunt is critical while his another cousin, Apin is out of danger.

BENGAL EXTENDS LOCKDOWN TILL SEPT 30

Mamata Banerjee

Birbhum districts, however, sporadic clashes were reported between the activists of the TMC and the BJP during the campaign. Several activists of both the parties reportedly sustained injuries in the clashes.

Police have rushed to the troubled areas to take control of the situation.

Assembly elections are due in West Bengal in April-May next year.

Since there is no let up in the number of Covid-19 cases in the state, The West Bengal government has extended lockdown in containment zones till September 30. In an order, state Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha said that complete lockdown will be imposed across West Bengal on September 8, 11 and 12.

In addition to the relaxations permitted outside the containment zones, operations of metro rail in a graded manner was allowed from September 8. Schools, colleges, cinema halls, swimming pools and parks will remain closed till the end of September, the order said. All government and private offices, commercial establishments, public and private, including passenger train and passenger flight movements will remain completely closed on complete lockdown days.

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12 - 18 September 2020

The writer is a Socio-political Historian - E-mail: haridesai@gmail.com

LGBTQ community still battling The Cost of Integration prejudice from society Dr. Hari Desai

and Privy Purses • The Nizam drew Rs.43 lakh, the ruler of Katodia (Saurashtra) Rs. 192 • Despite repeated demand, PM Nehru refused to abolish Privy Purses ndia has entered a phase where so-called injustice is being set right: after hue and cry about Sardar Vallbhbhai Patel not being made the Prime Minister of India now is the turn to call his Secretary V. P. Menon “an unsung hero” of the Integration of the Princely States! The controversy about Nehru’s (Krishna) Menon versus Patel’s (V. P.) Menon is being raised. No doubt, the strongest Indian leader Sardar Patel and the Secretary of the States Ministry worked as a team for the Integration of the Indian States but to create the impression “the Sardar as the engine and Menon the fuel of unified India” is surely insulting the Iron Man of India by Menon’s great granddaughter Narayani Basu who wrote “VP Menon: The Unsung Architect of Modern India”.

Menon rose from a railway stoker and clerk to the Constitutional Advisor to the British Viceroy of India but barrister Sardar Patel was not just an engine without fuel!

I

In February 1947, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the Vice President of the Interim Government, had assured the Negotiating Committee of the Chamber of Princes that neither the monarchical form of government, nor the integrity of the States, would be touched. Lord Mountbatten, the last British Viceroy in India, through his declaration of 3 June 1947 made it clear to the Princely States: “Even if the Sardar Patel and V. P. Menon with Maharaja of Kochin rulers acceded on three subjects of revenue of Rs. 15 lakh would get an annual foreign affairs and defence, privy purse of Rs. 1,30,00. Under the Deccan communications, their internal autonomy in States formula, he would have got other matters remained unaffected. The Rs.1,62,500 or nearly 25 per cent more. Under Sardar, the Home Member, had repeated this the Political Department’s formula, the guarantee in his statement of 5 July and on figure would have been Rs.3,00,000. It may 25 July 1947, Mountbatten in his speech to be mentioned here that out of 554 States, the Chamber of Princes reiterated the over 450 had an annual revenue of less than assurance. The States Ministry headed by Rs.15 lakh. Saurashtra was the only instance Sardar Patel followed the policy of in which we departed from the Eastern integration on the basis of the above States formula and gave a higher rate of privy assurances. purse.”

On 12 October 1949, Sardar Patel In the eleven cases the States Ministry persuaded the Constituent Assembly to departed from the ceiling of Rs. 10 lakh. They include Articles 291 and 362 in the are: Gwalior (Rs.25 lakh), Indore (Rs.15 lakh), Constitution to guarantee the payment of Patiala (Rs. 17 lakh), Baroda (Rs. 26.5 lakh), Privy Purses and also preserve the personal Jaipur (Rs. 18 lakh), Jodhpur (Rs. 17.5 lakh), rights, privileges and dignities of the rulers.

Bikaner (Rs. 17 lakh),Travancore (Rs. 18 lakh), His brilliant speech bears clear testimony to Bhopal (Rs. 11 lakh), Mysore (Rs. 26 lakh) and his statesmanship and deserves to be Hyderabad (Rs. 50 lakh in Hyderabad carefully read: “The privy purse settlements currency which works out to Rs. 43 lakh in are, therefore, in the nature of consideration Indian currency). Excluding these eleven, for the surrender by the rulers of all their there were 91 rulers who drew a privy purse ruling powers and also for the dissolution of of Rs.1 lakh and above. Of these, 47 drew the States as separate units … Need we cavil above Rs.1 lakh but below Rs. 2 lakh, 31 drew then at the small – I purposely use the word above Rs. 2 lakh but below Rs. 5 lakh, and 13 small – price we have paid for the bloodless drew between Rs.1 lakh and Rs.50,000 per revolution which has affected the destinies annum. The remaining 396 rulers drew of millions of our people? … “The capacity for below Rs.50,000 per annum. For instance, mischief and trouble on the part of the rulers there was the ruler of Katodia in Saurashtra, if the settlement with them would not have who drew Rs.192 per annum while the rulers been reached on a negotiated basis was far of the twenty-two non-salute States of greater than could be imagined at this stage.”

Vindhya Pradesh drew an average monthly Patel stated further: “Let us do justice to privy purse of Rs.700.The total of the Privy them; let us place ourselves in their position purses, according to the White Paper laid and then assess the value of their sacrifice. before the Parliament, amounts to Rs. 580 The rulers have now discharged their part of lakh ! V. P. Menon estimates a rough the obligations by transferring all ruling calculation of the total amount thus spent powers by agreeing to the integration of their would be in the region of Rs. 20 crore a year.

States. The main part of our obligation under He gives an interesting description of the these agreements is to ensure that the Nizam of Hyderabad: “..he had surrendered guarantee given by us in respect of privy in 1949, at the instance of the States purses are fully implemented. Our failure to Ministry, his personal estates yielding an do so would be a breach of faith and seriously annual net revenue of Rs.124 lakh, in return prejudice the stabilization of the new order.” for a compensation of Rs. 25 “The grant of privy lakh per annum during his lifeNext Column purses to the rulers was a time. He had agreed to give an Breach of Faith: Abolition sort of quid pro quo for annual loan of Rs. 50 lakh for a the surrender by them of of Privy Purses limited period towards the all their ruling powers and Tumgabhadra project. Besides this, he for the dissolution of their States,” records V. invested over Rs. 40 crore from his private P. Menon, the Secretary of the States resources in government securities and Ministry in “Integration of the Indian States” shares. He has also formed a trust of his and adds: “Apart from the privy purses, we jewellery. The proceeds of any jewellery permitted them to retain certain private which may be sold will also be invested properties and guaranteed them the personal mainly in Government securities. Recently rights, privileges and dignities which they the Nizam has created a trust of over Rs. 5 had hitherto been enjoying. We believed that crore known as the ‘Nizam’s Charitable these concessions would, in due course, Trust’. Charities are not confined to enable the rulers and their successors to Hyderabad but extend without distinction of adjust themselves to the new social and caste or creed to whole of India.” After Patel’s economic pattern.” death, there were repeated demands to “We evolved what came to be known as abolish the Privy Purses, but the Prime the ‘Eastern States formula’, under which the Minister Pandit Nehru refused to do so. ruler of a State with an average annual

Two years after the Supreme Court had struck down the draconian Article 377 that criminalised gay sex, the LGBTQ community in India still faces the prejudice. “It was the first step but I do think the time for the next step has come now. The inequality still blatantly exists in society’s mindset towards us whether it is in terms of inheritance laws or surrogacy laws - there is still a long, long road ahead of us,” Rishabh Singh, the techie from Mumbai, said.

But Sunaina (name changed), an interior designer, says her life has not changed much since the verdict. “The reason I can’t publicly identify myself is itself a proof that acceptance from society is difficult. I belong to a middle class family where even discussion over the subject of homosexuality is forbidden.

Let alone coming out to my parents about being one. The verdict did good to us though. We are at least not considered criminals anymore but the mindset of the society is still the same,” she said.

The Supreme Court had on September 6, 2018, unanimously struck down part of the Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which criminalised gay sex, saying that it violated the constitutional right to equality and dignity.

Section 377 declared “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” punishable by imprisonment for life.

The judgment was widely

welcomed by most sections of society, especially the youth who called it a victory of love.

Both Singh and Sunaina say they remember celebrating that whole night two years ago even though they constantly were thinking about “what’s next?” Shubhankar Chakravorty, a Bengalurubased writer, says the next move should be to extend the same civil rights to the LGBT population that the general population enjoys.

“LGBT people are too taxpaying, law-abiding citizens, they have every to the same right privileges,” he said. “Things have surely changed. LGBT people are now more confident to express themselves, grow personally, and own their relationships without the fear of discrimination and harassment. However, this change has primarily been for the urban, privileged few. Also, the lives of transgender people have not really improved much,” Chakravorty said.

Bittu Kondaiah, a transman, agrees with Chakravorty that the SC verdict did not do much for the transgender

community. “But it did ensure that there was one lesser section (of gay community) to get targeted by society. The midset that the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community can be easily exploited as they have no one who cares about them, that mindset has changed,” he said.

Anjali Gopalan, a member of Naz Foundation, an NGO that has been at the forefront of the battle against Section 377, said the community has become a lot stronger since the verdict but there are more rights that it needs to be given.

“The LGBT community does not have any rights per say which society takes for granted like the right to marriage, inheritance so these are rights that should be there for everyone in society. Unfortunately, the LGBT community has been left out of it and that is something that needs to happen,” she said.

Tripti Tandon, lawyer and deputy director of Lawyers Collective, said that the judgment gave LGBT community the confidence to live their lives on their own terms.

Kangana gets Y-plus security cover from CRPF The Centre has sanctioned ‘Y-plus’ security cover, to be provided by the CRPF, to actor Kangana Ranaut. The decision to grant her central protection was based on a review of her threat perception, home ministry sources said. The ‘Y-plus’ protection for Ranaut – at par with that extended to Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan Sachin Pilot – comes against the backdrop of threatening statements made by some politicians belonging to the ruling camp in Maharashtra, where she resides and works, in response to her questioning Mumbai police’s handling of the probe into Sushant Singh Rajput’s death.

Ranaut will now have two CRPF commandos, armed with automatic weapons, protecting her at all times, while one CRPF commando shall be deployed on static duty at

her residence. Considering that these personnel will be deployed in shifts, the actor will have a total of 11 CRPF personnel in her security detail.

The ‘Y-plus’ protection for her will extend across India.

The actor, who is currently in her native place in Himachal Pradesh but plans to travel to Mumbai on September 9, was quick to thank home minister Amit Shah for extending her central protection. “This is proof that no fascist will be able to crush a patriotic voice, I am thankful to Amit Shah who, given the

circumstances, could have advised me to visit Mumbai after a few days. However, he kept honour of the words of a daughter of India and protected my self-respect and pride,” she tweeted.

The central protection is expected to bring Mumbai police under an obligation to provide the necessary logistical support and assistance to CRPF in managing Ranaut’s security detail. Sources indicated that a joint security review by officials of CRPF, intelligence agencies and local police will tie up logistical coordination.

26 INDIA

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

12 - 18 September 2020

Rajnath: India won’t cede an inch of territory India and China agreed to refrain from taking any further military actions that may escalate tensions in eastern Ladakh, but there was no tangible breakthrough in resolving the over-four-month military confrontation during a meeting between India's defence minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart, Gen Wei Fenghe, in Moscow on Friday.

In the first such high-level face-to-face political meeting since the face-off erupted in the highaltitude region in early May, Singh categorically told Wei that India will not cede even an inch of its territory and would protect its sovereignty at all costs. Wei, in turn, said the responsibility for the current tensions lies “entirely” with the Indian side.

But amidst all the muscular signalling, the two sides did agree to continue working through diplomatic and military channels to disengage and deescalate along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in consonance with the “consensus” between PM Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping for maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border region.

The defence ministers’ dialogue took place soon after Indian troops thwarted fresh provocative action by China near the south bank of Pangong Tso in the Chushul sector and occupied the tactical heights in the area to outmanoeuvre the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on August 29-30.

At the 140-minute meeting, Singh categorically said the PLA’s “aggressive actions and behaviour” in trying to “unilaterally alter the status quo” violated all bilateral

agreements.

According to a Xinhua report, Wei said, “China’s territory cannot be lost, and the Chinese military is fully determined, capable, and confident to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

With winter fast approaching in eastern Ladakh, where thousands of rival troops, tanks, artillery guns and other weapon systems are ranged against each other, both India and China would want a way out of the stalemate though the stakes in terms of perceptions about “stepping back” have risen after the PLA halted the disengagement process.

Gen Wei, a PLA veteran, came to the hotel Singh was staying at and is understood to have mentioned how he has sought discussion on no less than three occasions earlier. In more aggressive commentary, Chinese mouthpiece Global Times on Saturday said: “We must remind the Indian side that China’s national strength, including its military strength, is much stronger than India’s.”

Army, IAF chiefs visit forward areas China has moved additional forces opposite the Chushul sector in eastern Ladakh after a large

Indian team led by Rajnath Singh meeting Chinese delegation in Moscow

number of well-armed Indian troops occupied virtually all the dominating heights from Thakung to Reqin La over the weekend to pre-empt any misadventure by Chinese soldiers. “The situation all along the LAC is tense, with heavy deployments by both sides. But it’s like a tinderbox in eastern Ladakh,” a senior officer said.

With thousands of rival troops, tanks, armoured vehicles and howitzers ranged against each other, Army chief General M M Naravane visited the Chushul sector in eastern Ladakh on Thursday last. Gen Naravane took stock of the situation with Northern Command chief LtGeneral Y K Joshi and 14 Corps commander Lt-General Harinder Singh, among others. He also visited some other forward areas to the north in the region on Friday morning before returning to New Delhi. In a parallel development underlining the heightened tensions along the Actual Control (LAC) from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria visited

frontline airbases in the eastern sector, including Hashimara, to review military preparedness.

PLA moves additional forces Wary of any inadvertent incident making things spiral out of control, both India and China are keeping the military lines of open.

The communication meeting between rival brigadiers at the Chushul-Moldo border personnel meeting point was held last week. China is seething at the way India conducted the military manoeuvre to occupy multiple heights near the southern bank of Pangong Tso, Spanggur Gap, Rezang La and Reqin La (Renchin mountain pass) at altitudes over 15,000 feet on August 29-30.

“The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was taken by complete surprise. It has moved additional forces opposite the Chushul sector in a show of force. But we are wellentrenched and well-prepared there, as elsewhere in eastern Ladakh,” an army officer said.

India, China accuse each other of firing shots China and India have accused

each other of firing shots on their flashpoint Himalayan border in a further escalation of military tension between the nucleararmed Asian rivals.

The relationship between the two countries has deteriorated since a hand-to-hand combat clash in the Ladakh region on June 15 in which 20 Indian troops were killed.

Experts fear the latest incident will intensify a months-long standoff between the Asian giants that erupted in late April. Beijing's defence ministry accused India of "severe military provocation", saying soldiers crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the western border region and "opened fire to threaten the Chinese border defence patrol officers".

According to the Chinese side, Chinese troops approached the India side for negotiations, and then they say some Indian troops fired at the Chinese side. As a result, China's military said it was forced to take countermeasures although we don't know what those countermeasures were, or if there were any casualties.

India denies transgression New Delhi was swift to give its own account, accusing Chinese border forces of "blatantly violating agreements" and firing "a few rounds in the air" to intimidate their Indian rivals. "It is the PLA that has been blatantly violating agreements and carrying out aggressive manoeuvres," the Indian army said in a statement. "Despite the grave provocation, (our) own troops exercised great restraint and behaved in a mature and responsible manner," the statement said.

India bans another 118 China- India tests scramjet tech for hypersonic missiles controlled apps As border tensions between India and China escalated yet again, the government mounted a fresh strike on China and Chinesecontrolled apps, banning as many as 118 new apps for engaging in activities “prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”.

The biggest casualty in the fresh round of bans - a total of 106 apps had already been blocked in two separate decisions over the last couple of months - is PUBG, the world’s most lucrative mobile game whose largest subscriber base is in India. Indeed, last year, when a mother had complained to PM Narendra Modi about her son’s online gaming addiction during his ‘Pariksha pe charcha’ event, the PM had quipped, “Yeh PUBG wala hain kya (does he play PUBG)?”

The total number of Chinese apps that have been banned in India now stands at 224 and there are indications that more may follow. The latest decision, which was widely expected in view of the tough stance of the government against Chinesecontrolled entities, squeezes the dominance of China in the Indian internet and apps space and deals their global valuations another blow. They include such popular apps as TikTok, UC Browser,

Helo, Likee, Shareit, Mi Community, WeChat, Baidu, CamScanner and now PUBG. Ban to ensure safety, security of Indian cyberspace Saying the move to ban 118 apps would safeguard interests of millions of Indian mobile and internet users, the government termed the decision “a targeted move to ensure safety, security and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace.” The ministry of electronics and information technology said that it has received many complaints from various sources, including several reports about misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorised manner to servers which have locations outside India.

“The compilation of these

data, its mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security and defence of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern which requires emergency measures,” the government said in the order which widens the ambit against the Chinese internet establishments.

Apart from gaming, many of the apps that have been banned are from random categories such as utility; business; camera and photo-editing; entertainment and dating; productivity; and news.

These include AliPay; Ludo World; Rise of Kingdoms; WeChat Work; Baidu Express Edition; Amour Video Chat; Beauty Camera Plus; MV Master.

Also, VPNs for TikTok have also been banned.

India successfully tested an indigenously developed hypersonic technology demonstrator vehicle (HSTDV) powered by a scramjet engine, which will serve as a critical building block for the next-generation hypersonic cruise missiles capable of flying at speeds above Mach 5. The HSTDV test, conducted from the Dr Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast at 11.03 am to demonstrate the autonomous flight of a scramjet integrated vehicle, propelled India right into an extremely exclusive hypersonic club consisting of the US, Russia and China.

Besides the velocity of over five times the speed of sound (Mach 5), the manoeuvring capability of hypersonic missiles makes them very effective offensive weapons capable of defeating enemy missile defence and tracking systems. The US, Russia and China are leagues ahead in the race to develop aerodynamically manoeuverable hypersonic weapons.

China, in fact, flaunted its DF-17 missile with a hypersonic glide vehicle at its national military parade last year. In the Indian test on Monday, the hypersonic ‘cruise vehicle sustained its scramjet-powered flight path at a velocity of six times the speed of sound (Mach 6, or nearly 2 km per second) for 22-24 seconds. It auto-ignited to fly on its own after separating from the ‘launch vehicle’, which took it to an altitude of 30 km.

The launch vehicle, in turn, was powered by the proven solid-

propellant rocket motor of an Agni ballistic missile. “It’s a major technological breakthrough. The airbreathing scramjet engine was successfully flight tested at hypersonic speed within the atmosphere, meeting all technical parameters. The test paves the way for development of many more critical technologies, materials and hypersonic vehicles,” DRDO chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy said. Congratulating DRDO, PM Narendra Modi tweeted, “The scramjet engine developed by our scientists helped achieve a speed of 6 times the speed of sound. Very few countries have such capability today.”

Defence minister Rajnath Singh said it was a “landmark achievement” towards ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. It was now time to progress to the next phase with all “critical technologies” being established by the successful HSTDV flight test, using the indigenously developed scramjet propulsion system, he added.

The next phase will be to develop long-range hypersonic cruise missiles, which DRDO scientists said would be possible in five to six years. The complex technology behind the HSTDV, the maiden launch of which had failed in June last year, also has civilian applications like low-cost launch of small satellites. India still has to achieve sustained scramjetpowered hypersonic flight for a few minutes, which has been repeatedly demonstrated by the US, Russia and China.

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HEALTH VOICE

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

27

12 - 18 September 2020

Russian Covid vaccine induces antibodies, says Lancet report A team of Russian scientists last week published the first report on their controversial Covid-19 vaccine. Writing in the Lancet, they reported that volunteers produced a relatively modest amount of antibodies to the coronavirus. In August, President Putin announced with great fanfare that the vaccine called Sputnik V - “works effectively enough” to be approved. But vaccine developers criticised the announcement, observing that no data had been published on the vaccine. In addition, the Russian scientists had yet to run a largescale phase 3 trial.

The new paper offers the first chance to take a closer look at Sputnik V. The Russian team published the

results of what’s known as a Phase 1/2 trial (where Phase 1 and 2 are combined). The trial was relatively small.

Only 40 volunteers received the full vaccine with both kinds of adenoviruses, and no one received a placebo for comparison. Researchers at the Gamaleya Research Institute designed the vaccine using a different virus as a vehicle to deliver coronavirus genes into cells. The

vehicle viruses, called adenoviruses, were disabled so that they would only be able to enter cells, but not replicate. Similar vaccines are also being tested by several other teams, including AstraZeneca, CanSino-Bio, and Johnson & Johnson.

The Russian vaccine produced mild symptoms in a number of subjects, the most common of which were fevers and headaches. Other

adenovirus-based vaccines have produced similar sideeffects. The researchers found that volunteers who got the full vaccine produced antibodies to the coronavirus. They produced immune cells that could respond strongly the coronavirus, too. In their paper, the researchers noted that the vaccine did not produce as many antibodies as AstraZeneca’s vaccine, or the gene-based vaccine made by Moderna. Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University, judged that the vaccine produced “good antibody levels in all volunteers.”

But she added that no one yet knows what level of antibodies or immune cells are required to protect people.

“It is hard to tell whether the vaccine will be efficacious.”

Antibody-based arthritis drug could treat severe Covid-19 A team of researchers at the Osaka University and Osaka Habikino Medical Center in Japan finds that an antibody-based arthritis drug could help treat severe Covid-19.

They have now published their findings in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers are looking for ways to effectively treat Covid, testing both existing drugs and new, experimental therapies. Because scientists do not fully understand the mechanisms behind severe Covid-19, many doctors are treating it by following the sepsis treatment guidelines.

Could cytokines be the solution?

In this recent study, the scientists focused on cytokines. These are a group of small proteins that modulate the immune response to trauma, infection, and conditions such as cancer.

Among other things, cytokines activate inflammation, which is part of the healing process.

Sometimes, the body releases an excess of cytokines.

This causes excess inflammation, which can damage tissues. This response is called a cytokine storm.Cytokine storms, or CRS, occur in a number of conditions, including multiple sclerosis, pancreatitis, and Covid-19. Without treatment, CRS can cause multiple organ failure and, sometimes, death. The body releases various cytokines during CRS, including interleukin (IL)-2, IL-6, IL8, IL-10, interferon-gamma, monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha.

However, there are no specific immunotherapies for its treatment.

High levels of several specific cytokines “Despite knowing which cytokines are involved, there is still no specific immunotherapy for CRS, and treatment is limited to supportive care,” says study lead author Sujin Kang. “To better understand the molecular mechanisms of CRS pathogenesis,” she adds, “we first studied the cytokine profiles of 91 patients diagnosed with CRS associated with bacterial sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or burns.”

The researchers found that all three groups of people had similar cytokine profiles.

Specifically, the researchers measured high levels of IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and MCP-1, as well as a protein called plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). This protein can cause small blood clots in vessels in the lungs and other organs.

PAI-1 levels significantly higher Previous studies have shown that increased PAI-1 levels are linked to more

severe cases of pneumonia, which is a leading cause of death among people with Covid-19.

“Examination of cytokine profiles in severe Covid patients revealed an increase in IL-6 early in the disease process, causing release of PAI-1 from blood vessels,” says senior study author Tadamitsu Kishimoto, a professor at the Osaka University Immunology Frontier Research Center.

“Interestingly, PAI-1 levels were significantly higher in Covid -19 patients with severe respiratory impediment.”

Higher levels of IL-6 were associated with higher levels of the other cytokines and PAI-1.

Therefore, the researchers believe that IL-6 signaling might be an important driver of CRS. Arthritis drug decreases PAI-1 To investigate the role of IL-6 in CRS, the researchers gave the participants injections of a human monoclonal

antibody-based drug called tocilizumab (Actemra), which blocks IL-6 signaling. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have approved tocilizumab as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. The results showed that when people with severe Covid -19 received tocilizumab, the levels of PAI-1 decreased in the blood. Also, the drug alleviated symptoms and improved critical illness in those with severe Covid19. Overall, the researchers conclude that IL-6 signaling blockade with the antiinflammatory medication tocilizumab may reveal new therapeutic opportunities for the treatment of both CRS and the severe respiratory complications of Covid-19.

US CDC tells states to prepare for Covid vaccine by early Nov The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has notified public health officials in all 50 states and five large cities to prepare to distribute a coronavirus vaccine to health workers and other high-risk groups by October end or early November.

The documents were sent out on the same day President Trump said in his speech at the Republican Convention on August 27 that a vaccine might arrive before the end of the year.

Experts agree that agencies at all levels of government should urgently prepare for the vast and complex effort to vaccinate hundreds of millions of Americans. But the possibility of a rollout in late October or early November has heightened concerns that the Trump administration is seeking to rush the distribution before Election Day on November 3. Saskia Popescu, an infec-

tion prevention epidemiologist, said: “It’s hard not to see this as a push for pre-election vaccine.” The CDC plans lay out technical specifications for two candidates described as Vaccine A and Vaccine B, including requirements for shipping, mixing, storage and administration. The details seem to match the products developed by Pfizer and Moderna, which are the furthest along in late stage clinical trials. On August 20, Pfizer said it was “on track” for seeking government review “as early as October 2020.” Three documents sent to public health officials outlined detailed scenarios for distributing two vaccine candidates, each requiring two doses a few weeks apart.

Besides health professionals, people aged 65 or older as well as “racial and ethnic minority populations” - known to be at greater risk - were prioritised.

Suffering from mental health issues? Step one – don’t panic Shefali Saxena

Dr Gupreet Kaur

The Covid-19 pandemic not only brought life to a standstill but also demanded people to stay locked at home for their own safety. With the confinement of people within their own homes and for many within just four walls with or without family, mental health consistently took a hit across the globe. The mental lockdown was more difficult than the physical one. From WHO (World Health Organisation) to support groups and media, countless reports and self help guides have surfaced online to support mental health and psychological considerations in the past six months. Asian Voice spoke to Chartered clinical psychologist, Dr Gurpreet Kaur on mental health issues and how the Asian community can learn to talk about it. Here are a few excerpts from the interview: 1. Are mental health problems different in different genders?

If so, how do they differ and why.

Women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression than men, but we know men are less likely to seek help for depression. Yet rates for death by suicide are higher for men, suggesting men suffer equally to women. Mental health difficulties are widespread and increasing but gender differences predominantly exist in help seeking behaviours.

Stigma, lack of family or peer support and not understanding mental health pathways will undoubtedly play a role in this, alongside systemic barriers to accessing help within a mainly white middle class led health system where there exists a lack of true cultural understanding and where knowledge of people of colour is bundled into one category -BAME (Black and Asian Minority Ethnic).

2. The stigma of not accepting or talking about mental health issues in the Asian community still persists. Especially men find it embarrassing and shameful to accept that they have mental health issues. What is your advice for the community in that context?

We all have mental health just as we have physical health.

To deny this is to deny being human. Men, women, old, young – we all experience highs and lows and it is a part of the human condition to struggle with our mental health at times. Be the change for the generations to come by talking about sadness, depression, anxiety and stress in your homes in order to normalise communication about internal stress.

Start with the person who listens. It could help to change unhelpful coping strategies of alcohol consumption, gambling, porn use or gaming which are much more normalised.

Be curious about what distress looks like to each other and learn what form of support works for whom in your family or friendship groups. Don’t make assumptions. Learn to listen.

Patience is important.

3. What should we not say to anyone whom we know or suspect might be suffering from mental health issues?

Please do Not say: Snap out of it, Just think positively, Stop thinking about it, Pull yourself together, Be a man / man up, You’ll be fine don’t worry, You’re just ungrateful, You’re mental, There’s something wrong with you and You’re schizo. The list is endless. Invalidating comments make a person feel alone and as though there is something wrong with them which can be very frightening. The best thing to do is sit with them and ask them how you can help or simply hold that space with them. Being present with someone when they are distressed without trying to change it for them can actually be a very healing experience.

4. What's the immediate step that one should take in order to manage anxiety or mental health ailments?

Step one – don’t panic. Reach out to someone you trust or you call a helpline. You can talk to your GP or get in touch with your local primary care mental health service (google it) and make a self-referral. Your local place of worship may have mental health awareness events and there are also a number of south Asian therapists and organisations who can help signpost. You could also try using self-help books, podcasts, therapy social media accounts to connect to others who understand what you are experiencing. Spend time thinking about how you are feeling and then take the necessary steps to talk to a professional who you feel understands you.

5. Should people who suffer from mental health issues be vocal about their condition at work and in public spaces?

How can they tell the world that they need a little more sensitivity from others without being embarrassed or confused about their state of mind?

Do what you are comfortable with. You are not obligated to talk about your own mental health difficulties, but work can put systems in place to support you if needed. People may continue to be insensitive unfortunately so do things which increase your own resilience and mental wellbeing.

You can find Dr Kaur on Twitter and Instagram as @drkaurtherapy.

To Our Readers

We are publishing these items in good faith, kindly consult your Doctor before you try to implement any advice. We do not hold any responsibility for its efficacy...

28 ART & CULTURE

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

12 - 18 September 2020

I doubt that both love and anguish can be better expressed in any other language : Tanuja Chandra Shefali Saxena When writer-filmmaker Tanuja Chandra was making her first film, she approached veteran lyricist Anand Bakshi to narrate the script in order to pen a few songs. She was so anxious to meet a stalwart of his stature that she ended up cancelling the first two meetings with him and lied that she was ill. When she finally met him, he brought a huge tray of medicines in front of her and asked what was keeping her sick all this while, and that he’d give her the medicine she needed. Later, when she asked him to write a song for her, he not only wrote 15 variations of stanzas for her, but also gave her due respect of being a filmmaker despite being a debutante in the business.

Amidst the countless mesmerising anecdotes, in the two day virtual celebration at Jashn-E-Rekhta UK, Tanuja discussed the contribution of Urdu to the world of cinema and television. In an interview with Asian Voice, she further tried to talk about the impetus of one of the most beautiful and sophisticated languages of the world.

Tanuja said that she thinks in English, yet she has a flair for Hindi and Urdu. When asked how she developed taste in these languages and what attracted her to Urdu, she said, “My parents both converse in exquisite Hindi and they along with my extended family from U.P., have always had a vibrant, colourful, humorous and affectionate way of speaking. They've loved stories as well (which is what made me want to record these down in my book of short stories, 'Bijnis Woman') because of which I have a huge love for both Urdu and Hindi. I have to add that sadly though, my Urdu is not as good as it should be, and the attempt is to keep developing it. Undoubtedly, it's a beautiful, beautiful language; our film song lyrics have always had a mix of Hindi and Urdu, even in our daily, spoken language, so often unknown to us, our loveliest

expressions are in Urdu. Not only is Urdu expression heartachingly lovely, its sounds and cadences are gorgeous as well. So often, one may not understand a line of Urdu poetry, but it will sound beautiful to the ears.”

In a time when Hinglish is the new language of the youth and older urban generations, we asked Tanuja about where and how one can then find some inspiration to learn Urdu. She said, “I think it's more important than ever before to bring the allure of Urdu back into our lives. We must listen to it more, we must speak in it increasingly, we must read more books on its influence on our culture, we must, wherever the subject demands it, have films and web series infused with it. This can only add to our expression, it'll never take away from it. Words too often fall woefully short when trying to explain what we feel and with the increased usage of Urdu, we'll only come closer to describing the almost indescribable feelings that emanate from us, the longings that explode within the human heart. Is this not reason enough for more Urdu in the world!”

Yet, why is Urdu still an underused or underrated language?

Sharing her perspective, Tanuja said, “Sadly, it's not as big a part of popular culture as it should be.

The more it proliferates and spreads, the more it'll be loved and conversed in. It's not an easy language to master, yet what a joy it must be when one does master it. I doubt that both love and anguish can be better expressed in any other language. My hope is that young people will become more and more attracted toward it, because then it'll percolate into daily conversation, which will truly make it grow.”

During her session at Jashn-E-Rekhta, she spoke about “Storytelling as a tool to protest”. We asked her about the kind of topics or issues she thinks can be

Tanuja Chandra Photo courtesy: Tejinder Singh at Mumbai Film Festival

successfully addressed via films and what would be the challenges, keeping in mind that there’s less censorship on OTT platforms than the silver screen. Tanuja thinks that the biggest, primary challenge is the one to negotiate within our own minds, to cross our own limitations. “Everything is political in a story, even the absence of politics. When we as filmmakers, decide that 'neutrality' is legitimate, that's when the downfall begins. There is so much to be fought for, to be spoken up for - the minute we narrate a simple plot, we've already begun speaking about some wrong that needs to be corrected, some ill that needs to be denounced. We must not shy away from this. I am pained when violence against women is glorified in movies, when the patriarchy is not made accountable. I think our cinema can examine our history, recent as well as ancient, and point out where we've gone wrong. Our films can create empathy even as they entertain. This to me, is cinematic realism. When we depict fearlessly, the truth of our lives, our prejudices, our moral degradation, to my mind, we only show the depth of our love for the ideals we should aim for. After all, isn't a just society something each of us should hold in the highest regard?” she signed off.

When India produced the largest volunteer army in world history The UK Punjab Heritage Association (UKPHA) has been consistently leading heritage charity, and has been interested in Punjab's arts, literature, history and traditions. To discover the lesser known tales from the Second World War, Amandeep Madra moderated a virtual event with Dr Yasmin Khan to highlight that the war was not fought by Britain alone.

According to her, India produced the largest volunteer army in world history: over 2 million men. Yasmin Khan presented the overlooked history of India at war, and shows how mobilisation for the war unleashed seismic processes of economic, cultural and social change – decisively shaping the international war effort, the unravelling of the empire and India’s own political trajectory. Factories were preparing rifles, blankets, paint, and chemicals.

Some big industrialists also made some very handsome profits. She spoke about the Oberoi Group of hotels, whose founder started the business by setting up hotel accommodation for soldiers in Kolkata. Yasmin also highlighted the contribution of women labourers in the development of infrastructure such as aerodromes that were built around North East and Bengal to

send over supplies to China.

Talking about Bhajan Singh, better known as an errant Sepoy, she explained how hearing of his delinquencies his father disowned him. Back then, Andaman Islands were penal settlements, captured by Japanese in the Second World War. She also talked about British soldier, Clive Branson who was killed fighting the Japanese in Burma in 1944. He was a committed leftist who had intentions to solve details of poverty and hunger and he also tried to learn Hindustani.

Lastly, Yasmin talked about Aruna Asaf Ali, the revolutionary political activist of her times, who was an integral part of the Quit India Movement. Aruna’s

hair style became a rage during those times and her valiance shook the very foundation of how women were perceived in those war times.

1939: 1941:

India enters the war The fall of Burma & Singapore, India threatened;Congress jailed, Quit India movement 1943: Bengal famine kills 1.5Million + 1944: Battles of Kohima and Imphal 1945: End of the war, Congress released 1947: Partition & Independence

What's On KAMAL KHAN’S ROLE IN NETFLIX’S THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR SHROUDED IN SECRECY The Haunting of Bly Manor is a follow-up to the American anthology supernatural horror drama web television series The Haunting of Hill House, created and directed by Mike Flanagan for Netflix, and will be loosely based on the 1898 horror novella The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Kamal Khan fell in love with the arts when he landed the lead of “Tony” in West Side Story he went on to train and perform at the prestigious National Youth Theatre in London and played Romeo, in Romeo and Juliet in London’s West End. Khan was known for commercials and modeling and as a singer, he produced his own Bollywood music album Jazbaa. The Haunting of Bly Manor will be released on Netflix October 9th.

UNIVERSITY OF WOLVERHAMPTON IS CELEBRATING ARTS, DIVERSITY AND BUSINESS LEADERS The University is marking its celebration of 25 years of deaf support and deaf studies by honouring key filmmakers, producers, screenwriters and presenters who have championed diversity in the arts including Charlie Swinbourne, Maggie Woolley and Louis Neethling. The University awards honorary degrees and fellowships to people who have made a significant contribution to their field of expertise. This year, 19 people have been recognised and will graduate in July 2021. Birmingham born Cold War Steve, whose real name is Christopher Spencer, is an artist who specialises in surreal, satirical collages.

Book Recommendation

Raavan-Enemy of Aryavarta

by Amish Tripathi

Amish has taken India’s traditional epics, added his own unique twists on them, and turned them into a unique blend of fast-paced stories mixed with deep philosophies and liberal ideology. In the third instalment of the five-book Ram Chandra series (Amish’s interpretation of the Ramayana), Raavan-Enemy of Aryavarta, Amish explores the character of Raavan, the most infamous anti-hero of Indian mythology, and tells the gripping tale of the greatest villain of all time. The first three books of the series follow a multilinear narrative wherein the stories of the 3 main protagonists are told in each book, which then coalesces into one central meeting point, in this case, Sita’s kidnapping. The fourth book (as yet unreleased) onwards is supposed to be a common narrative from the time when Raavan kidnaps Sita, the wife of the hero Lord Ram. The book is available on Amazon.

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BOLLYWOOD

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29

12 - 18 September 2020

Sara receives compliments for wearing blue lipstick Actress Sara Ali Khan knows how to enjoy life to the fullest.

From swimming to cycling, Sara does it all with utmost enthusiasm. Now, her latest Instagram entry talks about her current mood. The actress shared a couple of pictures from her recent beach outings on her Instagram. She can be seen enjoying the cool breeze by the beachside. Now, the eye-catching part of her pictures is her blue lipstick. Sharing the picture she wrote, "Back to blue".

Since being posted, the picture has garnered a lot of attention on the social media platform.

Aamir Khan's daughter Ira and actress Zareen Khan couldn’t

Kangana sees Sena leader's request as an ‘open threat’

After Kangana Ranaut's constant disrespectful comments against the Mumbai police, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut retorted by requesting her to not come back to Mumbai to make a living in a city which is protected by the authorities she derides. Kangana's latest social media stunt was to request protection from the Prime Minister's office saying that she will not accept Mumbai Police's protection as she doesn't trust them. Her reason for requesting protection: She has

is nothing but insult to Mumbai police.

The Home Ministry should take action over it," wrote Raut.

Responding to Raut, Kangana tweeted, "Sanjay Raut Shiv Sena leader has given me an open threat and asked me not to Sanjay Raut come back to Mumbai, after Aazadi staked her career and life and graffitis in Mumbai streets made many statements for and now open threats, why which she expects to be Mumbai is feeling like attacked by the elusive 'movie Pakistan occupied Kashmir?" mafia'. Kangana has neither In a similar way, Kangana backed her statements nor had distorted Karan Johar's registered official complaints statement when he had said with authorities. that he is tired of her playing In response to this, Shiv Sena the victim card and if she leader Sanjay Raut said that feels so wronged by the film Kangana's statements are industry, she should leave it. treacherous and shameful Kangana had played this too because she criticizes the as an open threat and an Mumbai Police despite living intimidation, and had even in a city which is protected by asked the Government to them. "We kindly request her take away Karan Johar's not to come to Mumbai. This Padma Shri for this.

stop themselves from complimenting the actress' lip shade.

Zareen khan wrote, "Love the lip shade” while Ira commented, "Love the lipstick”. Last week, Sara had shared a picture of herself that spoke volumes about her love for the colour.

Meanwhile, the actress has resumed her shoot as she shared a glimpse from the set in her Instagram story. The caption reads ‘ finally back to my first love of life’. She will be next seen in 'Coolie No. 1' opposite Varun Dhawan. The film is the remake of 1995 hit film of the same name starring Govinda and Karishma Kapoor. The project is directed by David

Vaani Kapoor flying off to Scotland for 'Bell Bottom' shoot Actress Vaani Kapoor is off to Scotland to shoot for her upcoming film 'Bell Bottom', starring Akshay Kumar. She is thrilled and says she has been waiting to be back on the sets. "It feels surreal that I'm starting to shoot for a film! Being back on the set is a moment I have been dearly waiting for, and I can't wait to finally start shooting. I will be stepping out of Mumbai too after five months, and boarding a flight to work. It seems I did all this in another lifetime," Vaani said.

The actress is happy that the industry is looking to restart after taking a hard hit due to the pandemic. "It's been a testing year for all of us, but I'm glad that things are slowly starting because we have to adapt to this new normal," she said. Vaani is looking forward to shooting with Akshay, because she feels she will learn a lot from the superstar.

Hina Khan, Sidharth Shukla win most desirable woman and man on TV Hina Khan and Sidharth Shukla have won The Times 20 most desirable women and men on Television in 2019. Based on their popularity and votes of an internal jury, these women and men have wooed the audience on Hindi TV shows, have grabbed a spot on this list. Hina Khan tops the list for the second consecutive year. The actress, who played Akshara in 'Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai' for many years has upped her fashion game and has made a splash every time she has stepped on the red carpet. She was appreciated for her style quotient on Bigg Boss 11 and as Komolika in 'Kasautii Zindagii Kay 2.'

Also, in the top 5 are Jennifer Winget at number 2, Nia Sharma at

Dhawan. She also has the Aanand L Rai’s 'Atrangi Re' with Akshay Kumar and Dhanush.

The film will be shot in Delhi, Mumbai and Madurai. Shooting for the film is likely to resume in October.

number 3, Erica Fernandes at number 4, and Karishma Tanna at number 5. Divya Agarwal, Shivangi Joshi, Surbhi Jyoti, Miesha Iyer, and Nimrit Kaur Ahluwalia take the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth place, respectively.

Sidharth Shukla, who has topped the men's list, is known for his performance in 'Balika Vadhu' and 'Dil Se Dil Tak'. Last year, he impressed viewers with his stint on Bigg Boss 13. Eventually, he not only took home the trophy, but also won millions of fans with his wit, attitude, and swag. Joining him in the Top 10 are Parth Samthaan at number 2, Shaheer Sheikh at number 3, Mohsin Khan at number 4, and Asim Riaz at number 5. Pearl V Puri, Shivin Narang, Harshad Chopda, Vivian Dsena, and Shrey Mittal take the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth place, respectively.

"This is the first time that I'm working with Akshay sir and I know it will be a really special one. I know I will learn a lot from him.

His level of dedication and passion towards his craft is just exemplary and he is an inspiration to us all.

Hopefully, people will love our pairing," she said. The film also features Huma Qureshi and Lara Dutta.

Apart from 'Bell Bottom', Vaani currently has two other films in her kitty. The first is 'Shamshera', costarring Ranbir Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt, a dacoit drama set in the 1800s. The film casts Vaani as a dancer. The other film is Abhishek Kapoor's untitled next opposite Ayushmann Khurrana. The film is a love story.

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Vidya Balan recalls her struggling days Vidya Balan's journey in Bollywood has been a roller-coaster ride. Today, she is one of the most successful actresses in Btown but once she was told that she doesn’t look like a heroine. In an interview, Vidya recalled her struggling days and revealed that once a Tamil film producer had said 'just look at her, does she look like a heroine’. She revealed that she had faced a lot of rejections and it took a lot to overcome them.

"I felt ugly...I don't think I looked at myself in the mirror... I didn't like what I saw because I thought I was ugly...For the longest time, I did not forgive that man, but today, thanks to that I realized that I have to love and accept myself the way I am," she said.

She went to say that once she was sued for leaving a Tamil film as it was a sex comedy and that was not something she had signed up for.

Talking about her journey in Bollywood, Vidya said, "There was

that phase when I was not getting the kind of work I wanted to be doing. I thought may be my career has been a fluke. I was not good in these films, Heyy Babyy and Kismat Konnection”.

Vidya was last seen in mathematician Shakuntala Devi’s biopic. The film is based on the life of the late Shakuntala Devi, who is widely revered as the human-computer for her innate ability to make complex calculations within seconds.

She played the titular role in the film. Sanya Malhotra portrays the character of Shakuntala's daughter Anupama. The film also features Amit Sadh and Jisshu Sengupta in important roles. Due to Covid -19 pandemic, the makers of the film opted for an OTT release and the movie premiered on Amazon Prime Video on July 31.

Vidya will be next seen in 'Sherni.'

The project will be directed by Amit Masurkar. The movie also stars Ila Arun, Sharat Saxena and Vijay Raaz in crucial roles.

Saif Ali Khan to play baddie in 'Adipurush' After speculations of over few weeks, makers of 'Adipurush' have confirmed that Saif Ali Khan will play baddie in the Prabhas' starrer. It seems that Saif's negative avatar in 'Tanhaji' impressed the director and made him decide to collaborate with the actor again. Sharing the news on Instagram, Prabhas wrote, 7000 years ago existed the world's most intelligent demon! Well watching the faceoff between Prabhas and Saif will be a visual treat for fans.

Prabhas praised Saif Ali Khan and expressed his happiness to share screen space with him as he said, "I am super excited to work with Saif Ali Khan and I am eager to share screen space with a great actor." On the other hand, Saif said in excitement, "I’m thrilled to be working with Omi dada again! He has a grand

vision and the technical knowledge to really pull it off. He has taken me beyond the cutting edge of our cinema in the way he shot Tanhaji and this time he is taking us all further! It’s a phenomenal project and I’m super thrilled to be a part of it! I look forward to clashing swords with the mighty Prabhas and to play a role that is electrifying and demonic!"

Director Om Raut also heaped praises on Saif and quoted, "To play the strongest villain from our Epic we needed a brilliant actor. Who better than Saif Ali Khan, one of the greatest actor of our lifetime, to essay this powerful role.

Personally, I enjoy every day at work with him. I am looking forward to this exciting journey with him all over again."

Genre: Indian Thriller Duration: 133 minutes

A girl in search of some answers after her mother's murder Aarya vows to avenge her mother’s death and bring the culprits to justice and in doing so honour her mother’s last wish. She embarks on a journey to Kailash where the story unfolds.

'Sadak' was a film about a young suicidal taxi driver Ravi Kishore Verma, who rescues a girl called Pooja, from a brothel and falls in love with her. 'Sadak 2' follows on from this story where Ravi is still very much alive but still suicidal and Pooja is actually dead. He has given up driving his taxi and just reminisces about the past.

Aarya played by Alia Bhatt, believes her stepmother Nadini and fake Guruji have murdered her mother and so she becomes an activist for a group called ‘India against fake guns’. But her family have said she is mentally unstable and hospitalises her. She manages to escape and ends up at Ravi’s house. Aarya and her boyfriend persuade Ravi into going with them to a trip to Kailash. They are on a mission to find out what happened to Aarya’s mother.

'Sadak 2' received a lot of criticism before its release.

Following the tragic death of Sushant Singh Rajput a lot of fans were against the release of 'Sadak 2' as they felt it was just another film promoting a star kid and were totally against nepotism in Bollywood. The trailer of the film that was released on Youtube received the most amount of dislikes, more than any other Bollywood film, 13 million to be exact.

After watching the trailer, I myself was a little disappointed as I expected so much more from a Mahesh Bhatt film and I have always been an Alia Bhatt fan.

We have a herd mentality, says Divya Dutta Actor Divya Dutta who received rave reviews for her role in her latest film 'Ram Singh Charlie,' described the film industry in the past few months as a big bad world. When asked to elaborate, Divya says, “I think we have a herd mentality. 'Jo ek baat kehta hai sab wahi kehte hain.' We grab on to that and that phase goes on. People will just harp on that for a while until something more interesting and catchy comes by to latch on to.”

The 42-year-old, who has been a part of the industry for over two decades

now, feels that every workplace has its share of pros and cons. “There is favoritism, groupism… I mean I don’t even get the whole insiders and outsiders thing because everyone who is good will make it, be it an outsider or insider. It is just the matter of that first opportunity. I agree that hamare liye initial time mushkil hota hai,” she explains.

Further shedding light on how her journey started, Divya says, “When I came to the industry, I didn’t know how to meet people, how to tell them

that I’m good enough and how to get my first break. It was trial and error for us.” However, apart from that, Divya says everyone has to prove themselves and survive the audiences’ test.

“It can be a longer process for people like us but I’ve survived beautifully without being a part of any group, and so have a lot of other people. I think people respect you for who you are rather than which group you are a part of. You don’t have to be part and parcel of who they are to be accepted,” she points.

After watching the film, I do agree that the film itself does not have much substance and feels like it has just been thrown together. However, I do think that Alia is a great actress and makes the film watchable. Much like Pooja Bhatt almost three decades ago, Alia plays the lead protagonist in this film and it is great to see two star kids come together on screen and work so well together but not in a relationship form, not in a father daughter form or in a brother sister form but instead as two strangers.

One a retired taxi driver and the other a girl in search for some answers.

You can get in touch with Vallisa: djvallisa@gmail.com

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I haven't danced like this for any movie: Nivetha Thomas Actress Nivetha Thomas was last seen playing a crucial role in Superstar Rajinikanth’s ‘Darbar’. Her performance was loved by all her fans and received a positive response from the audience. She is back with her next movie ‘V’, where she will be playing a crucial role alongside the leads Nani and Sudheer Babu.

Speaking about her experience on working with the team of 'V,' Nivetha said, “It was an amazing experience. When I got to know about the character they

offered me, I really liked it. It was very subtle and I could totally relate to it. So, I took the part.”

When asked about the song “Baby Touch me Now” from the movie, Nivetha said “It was so much fun when we shot for the song. It was almost near the end of filming when we filmed ‘Baby Touch me Now’ and the choreographers had done a great job. I have never danced like that in any of my movies so far. I really like to dance and loved the song and the atmosphere.”

Dulquer Salmaan on release of his film on Netflix Kollywood actor Dulquer Salmaan talks about the release of his first Malayalam film 'Maniyarayile Ashokan' on Netflix during the ongoing lockdown as an actor and producer. The star also talks about his vision for his production house Wayfarer Films, his upcoming big film 'Kurup' and his father Mammootty's gym pictures which went viral recently.

Dulquer’s production house, Wayfarer Films, has produced two films so far - 'Varane Avashyamund' and 'Maniyarayile Ashokan'. His next big release 'Kurup' is based on India’s longest wanted fugitive Sukumar Kurup. In the video chat, the actor also states that the Malayalam film industry is waiting to get back to work soon despite the pandemic.

Five directors join hands for another anthology

Dr. Ishari K Ganesh

Nalan Kumarasamy

Looks like anthology is the new trend these days with the directors as several talented filmmakers have joined together to produce brand-new concepts which would sure to enthrall us.

The recent anthology that has become the talk of the town is 'Kutty Love Story.'

Produced by Ishari K Ganesh, four top directors of Kollywood - Gautham Menon, Venkat Prabhu, Vijay and Nalan Kumarasamy had joined together for this anthology.

The promo was released recently too and the casting

Gautham Menon

Venkat Prabhu

While Venkat Prabhu’s segment will feature Prasanna, Amala Paul and Krish in prominent roles, the cast details of other segments are yet to be known. It also has been learnt exclusively that the shoot for the same are completed. This anthology will be produced by Venkat Prabhu's Black Ticket which is planning for a digital OTT release.

TV Listing

Vijay Sethupathi

SP Balasubrahmanyam is conscious and responsive Playback singer SP Balasubrahmanyam is conscious, responsive and has shown clinical progress, the hospital said in a statement indicating a turnaround in the singer's health since his hospitalisation in early August.

Balasubramanyam, who had been admitted due to Covid-19 at the MGM Healthcare hospital in Chennai, continues to be on ECMO and ventilator support.

Earlier, Balasubrahmanyam's son and singer SP Charan had indicated that progress was visible in his father's response to the treatment. Charan had said his father, about a fortnight back, had resorted to sign-language to indicate he was conscious.

Balasubrahmanyan was admitted to hospital on August 5. He had put out a video message to fans saying it was measure of abundant caution. But, soon after, his condition worsened and he had to be shifted to the ICU. The world of Tamil cinema and all famous musicians sent their prayers, wishing their beloved 'Balu' a speedy recovery. On August 5, in a Facebook post, the 74-year-old SPB said that he was suffering from a very mild attack of the Coronavirus and had got himself hospitalised to take rest.

details of this project were reported earlier.

Now, another interesting anthology is coming up in which five hit directors Gautham Menon, Venkat Prabhu, Pa Ranjith, Chimbu Devan and M Rajesh have joined hands. It is being produced by Black Ticket Production.

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 14 SEP FRI 18 SEP 2020 14:30 KASAM 16:00 THE GREAT INDIAN GLOBAL KITCHEN 19:00 ISHQ MEIN MARJAWAN 2 19:30 CHOTI SARDAARNI 20:00 SHAKTI 20:30 SHUBHARAMBH

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 14 SEP FRI 18 SEP 2020 8:00 TERE NAAL ISHQ 8:30 BHARADWAJ BAHUEIN 15:30 JAI SHRI KRISHNA 16:00 DHARAM THI GUJARATI 16:30 RASOI SHOW 17:30 CHHUTA CHHEDA 18:00 TUM KAUN PIYA 18:30 DIL KA RISHTA 19:00 MERE HUMRAHI 19:30 OM NAMAH SHIVAY

21:00 NAATI PINKY KI LAMBI LOVE STORY 21:30 PAVITRA BHAGYAA 22:00 PINJARA KHUBSOORTI KA SATURDAY 12 SEP 18:30 NAMASTE BREAKFAST 19:00 ISHQ MEIN MARJAWAN 2 19:30 CHOTI SARDAARNI 20:00 NAAGIN (SEASON 5) 21:00 DESI BEAT RESET SUNDAY 13 SEP 14:30 DOSTANA 18:30 DESI BEAT RESET 19:00 CHOTI SARDAARNI 20:00 NAAGIN (SEASON 5) 21:00 DESI BEAT RESET

20:30 BARRISTER BABU 21:00 BALIKA VADHU - LAMHE PYAAR KE SATURDAY 12 SEP 11:00 DESI BEAT SEASON 2 17:00 DHARAM THI GUJARATI 18:00 FEET UP WITH THE STARS (SEASON 1) 18:30 KHATRA KHATRA KHATRA 19:30 OM NAMAH SHIVAY 20:30 DESI BEAT SEASON 2 21:00 BALIKA VADHU SUNDAY 13 SEP 11:00 DESI BEAT SEASON 2 17:00 DHARAM THI GUJARATI 18:00 DESI BEAT SEASON 3 18:30 KHATRA KHATRA KHATRA 19:30 OM NAMAH SHIVAY 20:30 DESI BEAT SEASON 2 21:00 BALIKA VADHU

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Ex-Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq recounts years of bitter racial abuse Former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq said the racial abuse at the club left him close to taking his own life.

The ex-England U-19s and Yorkshire captain walked away from cricket after his time with the county side, but has now spoken out after what he claims was "years of racist abuse".

The 29-year-old said that he reported incidents of abuse to senior officials at Yorkshire before his departure from the club.

Yorkshire County Cricket Club (CCC) say they have launched a formal investigation and have tried to contact Rafiq to discuss his experiences. The former cricketer said: "I know how close I was to committing suicide during my time at Yorkshire. At my worst, I was right on the edge, stood on my balcony. I would regularly come home from training or nights out with the team and cry. It was a very difficult time for me. In one of my first few games, we were

Azeem Rafiq

going onto the field and there was me, Adil Rashid, Ajmal Shahzad and Rana Naved and one of the senior players said, 'There's too many of you lot, it's something we need to have a word about."

Rafiq, who was an allrounder at Yorkshire, said at the time it was taken as "banter" but he didn't find it funny and was offended. He added: "We would be on nights out, I would be speaking to someone and I'd have teammates coming over and saying, 'Don't speak to him he's a p***'."

"Racism in cricket is

deep-rooted. There were constant social events where I'd leave crying. Sometimes these things get disguised as banter but it's always stuck with me." He added: "On a pre-season trip to Dubai, one of the players said, 'Don't speak to him, he isn't a sheikh, he hasn't got any oil.'"

Yorkshire CCC chairman Roger Hutton said in a statement: "Any allegation of this nature is hugely concerning to everyone from the board to the playing staff here, and we take the reports very seriously." Rafiq said he wanted to speak out so that

other players wouldn't feel the pain he went through, but believes racism in cricket isn't just at the professional level.

He said: "This is happening at the grassroots level too. I've had so many messages from parents of kids and people who play club cricket talking about their experiences of racism and lack of opportunity to develop through the ranks.

"This needs to change straight away." Yorkshire CCC said in a statement: "On Monday this week the club took the decision to launch a formal investigation into the specific allegations made by Azeem Rafiq, and a wider review of YCCC's policies and culture. We are in the process of finalising the structure of this investigation and we will be impartial approaching external parties to be part of the review to ensure complete transparency.

Further announcements will be made to detail this process in the coming days."

Mumbai Indians to meet Chennai in IPL opening More than a month after the BCCI announced that the Indian Premier League’s13th edition would be moving to the UAE, the tournament schedule was brought out on Sunday.

Defending champions and four-time winners, Mumbai Indians will take on three-time winners Chennai Super Kings on September 19 in Abu Dhabi.

The games will be held in the three most popular venues in the UAE - Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.

The opening match of the league, scheduled for a Saturday, will be followed by the game between Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab in Dubai on Sunday.

The schedule includes a total of 10 double-headers.

The evening match will begin at 7.30 pm IST (6 pm UAE) while, on the day a doubleheader is scheduled, the afternoon game will begin at 3.30 pm IST (2 pm UAE).

The first double-header of this year’s IPL will only be played after the first two weeks of the tournament.

The BCCI ensured this taking the present weather conditions in UAE into consideration.

The temperatures are expected to get cooler once October sets in.

All seven teams are scheduled to play a game in the first four days of the IPL barring Kolkata Knight Riders, thus making way for CSK to play two matches in the first four days. In that,

KKR have benefited immensely because their ‘marquee player’ Pat Cummins will be available for the first game on Sept 23.

English and Australian players, scheduled to arrive in Abu Dhabi on Sept 16 post the white-ball series in England - will go into a sixday quarantine after which they can join their respective teams.

Rajasthan Royals will be hit the most as they will be missing out on the services of Steve Smith, Jofra Archer and Tom Curran. All three will miss the first four days of the tournament.

Similarly, Sunrisers Hyderabad will miss out on the services of David Warner, Mitch Marsh and Jonny Bairstow in the first four days.

CSK breathe easy There was a sense of relief in Chennai Super Kings camp when test results of some players and support staff arrived. To everyone’s relief, when the test results arrived, all these members, who are exempted from institutional quarantine, tested negative. However, those who have tested positive and are in institutional quarantine, including players Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaikwad, will only be termed ‘negative’ if their reports after Day 13 and 14 show no signs of the virus.

“Those who are in the team hotel have tested negative and they will undergo another Covid test later. If that report too is

negative, they will be allowed to take part in the practice sessions. Meanwhile, South African players Lungi Ngidi and Faf du Plessis arrived in Dubai and were tested on arrival. Their reports are expected.

Covid-positive Chahar, Ruturaj to miss first week’s matches Paceman Chahar and righthander Ruturaj, who is being seen as Suresh Raina’s replacement for the No. 3 slot, will miss the first couple of CSK matches, even if their tests are negative on Sept 12 and 14.

The team management feels it will be too risky to throw them into the deep end within one week of recovering from the virus. Indications are the two players will be allowed a couple of weeks’ time after testing negative to recuperate before taking part in any cricketing action.

Harbhajan postpones trip Harbhajan Singh, who was expected to reach Dubai on Sept 1, has postponed his visit amid speculation that he may choose to stay away. The

CSK management, though, is not giving up on him. “He is an important player and his guile and experience will help us if he chooses to play,” the source added.

BCCI unlikely to host domestic cricket this season Unlike the Indian Premier League (IPL) – also an India domestic tournament, albeit running on different economic principles – the cricket board is on the verge of coming to the realisation that none of the older, premier domestic tournaments such as the Ranji & Duleep Trophy, the U-23 CK Nayudu Trophy, Vijay Hazare & Deodhar Trophy as well as the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament can be conducted this year.

While a formal decision hasn’t been arrived at yet, discussions are on to that effect. The board’s inability to host these tournaments is beginning to stem from the simple fact, and a very primary concern, that Covid-19 has shown no signs whatsoever of subsiding.

“In certain states, it’s bad. In other states, it’s worse.

The numbers are unrelenting. In such a scenario, how does one plan anything over a period of three or four months, when you’re not sure what’s in store tomorrow,” sources in the know of developments said.

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had stated on August 22, through a letter to all state associations, that a curtailed domestic season and a shortened Ranji Trophy would be held this year. He had proposed a roadmap for the resumption of domestic cricket, categorically stating that domestic cricket must start as and when conditions improve. “The intent was always there but circumstances haven’t really changed.

Ganguly’s letter was a little too early in the day,” add those in the know, and state associations are in agreement with the plans being put in place.

The biggest obstacle for the BCCI has been in terms of getting a go-ahead from all the state and city authorities. “First, the state government permissions would be required. Then the city-specific municipalities will need to give a go-ahead. And even if that happens, preparing a bio-secure bubble for 37 Ranji teams, five Duleep Trophy teams, and the several other domestic teams would be next to impossible.

Travel and accommodation will be another concern.

It’s not feasible,” say those tracking developments.

More than a thousand cricketers, across agegroups, can’t be put at risk without the required efficiency to carry out a mechanism this risky. “The sorry bit is that those responsible for domestic cricket in India should have seen it coming long ago. What were they waiting for all this while?” state associations say.

That the BCCI can make the IPL happen but find it impossible to host other domestic tournaments in India is a development that may attract criticism from certain quarters.

However, the IPL is a model based on different economic principles, one of the world’s best business models in franchise sport that sells supremely well on television. Not hosting an IPL has a separate pool of repercussions that aren’t just limited to the game of cricket.

Sindhu pulls out of Uber Cup P V Sindhu will not participate in next month’s Uber Cup Finals. Her absence from the competition arena might extend to the Denmark Open. Sindhu, who had expressed her willingness to play in the Uber Cup (women’s) meet – scheduled from October 3 to 11 in Aarhus, Denmark – pulled out of the tournament citing ‘personal reasons’, her father P V Ramana said.

According to Ramana, Sindhu’s presence is required in Hyderabad in the early part of October due to family reasons, thus the Rio Olympics silver medallist has expressed her inability to play in the Uber Cup. It’s been learned that Sindhu would remain occupied with her family’s personal engagement for at least two weeks, starting October 1, which has put her participation at the ‘Super 750 Denmark Open’ also in doubt.

The tournament will be played between October 13-18 in Odense. Sindhu might return to the court for her first competitive outing post Covid-19 at the ‘Super 750 Denmark Masters’, also to be played in

Odense from Oct 20-25.

“Sindhu has pulled out of Uber Cup Finals due to personal reasons,” confirmed Ramana.

“Her presence is required at home during that time as we have some personal work. She was very much looking forward to playing in the tournament. She was excited about it. For the Denmark Open, her entry will be sent, but can’t say with surety. If she remains available, then she might go. Otherwise, it may be the next tournament,” he said.

Sindhu had returned to training last month with the start of the national camp for eight Olympic-bound athletes at the Gopichand badminton academy in Hyderabad. Recently, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) has announced its revised international calendar and included four tournaments in Denmark and Asia.