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15 - 21 JUNE 2019 - VOL 48 ISSUE 7

JAVID'S BID: U-TURN ON IMMIGRATION 10 candidates running for office at No. 10

inside: Boosting religious tourism: Sikh bussinesses pledge £500mn donation to Pakistan SEE PAGE 6

Priyanka Mehta The race for the Tory leadership continues with 10 candidates confirmed to be running to become the UK's next Prime Minister, and Home Secretary Sajid Javid has now picked up support, from Caroline Nokes and Victoria Atkins following Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson.

From launching a family-focussed campaign video to calling for a “sensible and flexible approach on immigration”, the minister is currently fighting by the skin of his teeth against the formidable favourites of Boris Johnson and Michael Gove.

Continued on page 6

Queen's Birthday Honours List recognises 30 Indian-origin achievers SEE PAGE 16-17

PM Modi reiterates India's support to Sri Lanka, Maldives SEE PAGE 26

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15 - 21 June 2019

onetoone WITH KEITH VAZ, MP

Abdul Basit Syed Abdul Basit Syed is an internationally recognised Peace Activist and British Entrepreneur. is the Founding Chairman and Board of Director for UK Charity “World Humanitarian Drive” and “Platinum Consultant London” for Trading and Developments. He was born in Tamil Nadu, India. He comes from a family of a national hero from South India. His grandfather PKS Kattuwa Mohaiyadeen was an Indian Freedom Fighter, and a leader in the region claiming alot of respect, and was famous for his social activities and community services. He is also the Vice President of 'Space Kidz India', and working towards promoting Art, Science and Culture for students, to create an International Platform for the same. As SKI being Ambassadors to the 'NASA' Space Camps, Pioneers in organizing International workshops in the Field of Robotics and Engineering Sciences. Extended opportunity to perform at the Royal Hall, South Bank, their team is in a constant Search for young talents in the field of Science and Technology and also provide young students International exposure apart from extending an opportunity to meet up with eminent Space Scientists and rub shoulder's with them. The 'Young Scientist Program' was designed to promote science awareness to high school students, to increase their understanding of science and to attract them into scientific careers to connect and collaborate with others into new discoveries. As an Peace Activist he promotes interfaith dialogues to bring about integration of all communities living in the UK and to express themselves as Universal Citizens regardless of their origin, culture, colour, gender or religion and support the British economy by bringing foreign investments. They intiated the idea 'Trade for Peace', this action was mainly to establish a universal trend of equality of all human beings regardless of race or religion by promoting Indian values of Unity in Diversity through trade.

1

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

Croydon, United Kingdom

2

What are your proudest achievements?

Mahatma Gandhi Award presented by Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP, Employment Minister at the House of Commons and “Peace Award” for Promoting Peace and Education along with Lord Diljit Singh Rana MBE, Presented by the Indian Prime Minister's office Minister Hon. Dr Jitendra Singh.

3

What inspires you?

Her Majesty The Queen, is my inspiration for my mission to promote education for humanity towards peace and harmony regardless of race, religion or nationality, her continuity and dedication to our country makes me very proud to be British.

4

What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

Backward thinking, Intolerant religious minds

5

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

I began actively involving in community activities, when I witnessed the unfortunate incident of a well-loved British soldier Lee Rigby in 2013. I initiated solutions for similar terrorism activities with the sole purpose of bringing peace and harmony among various sectors of the community

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A London Bridge terrorist came to Ilford to begin a "new chapter" after an episode of showing "extremist beliefs", an inquest has heard. Youssef Zaghba’s childhood friend told the Old Bailey, last Friday, June 7 that Zaghba had promised he had not wanted to join ISIS and was only attempting to travel to the country

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Empowering young minds to promote peace, education and harmony

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

As a Prime Minister, I would work more towards integration, education and make it a legal right for every citizen to own a home and support trade more. Although it would be a great honour to serve my country as a Prime Minister, however politics is not my cup of tea.

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

Sir Winston Churchill, and ask him does he regret not going to sea with the fleet and watch the D-day landings from HMS Belfast.

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Proud of being able to work towards finding sustainable solutions for current humanitarian crisis involving Racism, Terrorism, Radicalisation, Human and Women’s Rights and Violence and Mass migration of people as refugees and supporting trade intiatives.

The childhood friend also moved to the UK in May 2016 and boarded with Zaghba for a couple of days - sharing a room with him and another man who was Polish.

Asked what the terrorist thought of Khuram Butt Rachid Redouane London life he as "Syria was a place of pure answered: "I think he was a Islam" and he wanted to bit unsure at the time. The "grow a family".

Old Bailey also heard from The friend stayed in another friend of Zaghba's contact when Zaghba who worked with him at moved to the capital but Franzos, Ilford Lane. noticed he seemed to be a Here he met Khuram little isolated and unsure.

Butt, 27 and Rachid Zaghba initially wanted Redouane, 30 - with whom to carry on his learning and he went on to slaughter applied to go on a study eight and injure 48 in a van course but when his applicaand knife assault in London tion was rejected, he "didn't Bridge on June 3, 2017. know what to do" next.

The inquest continues.

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London Bridge terrorist came to Ilford for a second chance

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15 - 21 June 2019

PM Modi's visit to Lanka, Maldives will bolster ties Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Maldives and Sri Lanka reaffairms India's long-standing ties with these two countries. It signalled Delhi's assertion in the Indian Ocean region, where Chinese power and influence compete with its own. Indian has been helped in this by the political changes in both countries where governments seen as 'proChina' were swept out in democratic elections and replaced with those that seem more India friendly, or at least more balanced in their foregin policies.

During Modi's visit, apart from signing a slew of agreements, India and Maldives agreed to strengthen their maritime security co-operation to maintain peace and stability in the Indian Ocean, and not allow their respective terrorities to be used for activity inimical to the other, oblique reference to Chinese interests in the Maldives. In

both Male and Colombo, Prime Minister Modi made common cause on the issue of fighting terrorism. While Maldives has seen a large number young people leave the country to join ISIS, Sri Lanka is still reeling from the April 21 bombings by a group of highly radicalised Sri Lankan Muslims, later claimed by the ISIS as its own. During Modi's visit to Male, India and the Maldives agreed to set up joint working group to counter terrorism. In Colombo, PM Modi conveyed that India stood in solidarity with Sri Lankans during this difficult period.

While Delhi has managed to regain its footing in both capitals, in order to be lasting and able to withstand political changes, India will need to win influence through the hard work of trust building and co-operation at many levels - political, official and people-to-people.

Trump-May narrative: Fact of fiction?

US President Donald Trump’s state visit to Britain ruffled a good many feathers, something audiences at home and abroad have come to expect as routine worship of a bogus deity.. Even as he held talks with Prime Minister Theresa May, Mr Trump with inimical tact, anointed Boris Johnson as her rightful successor. The Anglo-American ‘special relationship’ is indeed especially disagreeable for much of humankind, notably those perceived as the lesser breeds without the law.

The Anglo-American duo spoke in ringing tones of the democratic values, the rule of law and human rights, embodied by their two nations. Tell that to the savaged people of Yemen as bombs and missiles, manufactured in the US,UK and France rain down upon them from on high.

The Saudi regime, pampered by the West, much is given to ritual beheadings over weekends – 37 at one count – accuses Iran of promoting regional terrorism, a charge echoed loyally by its minders in Washington, London and Paris..

The Greater Middle East, from Iraq to Libya, is now rubble. Many of its peoples are in flight to Europe across the deep. of Considerable numbers drown en route. A recent incident involved Commander Edward Gallagher of a US Navy Seal unit. He has been charged with the wanton killing of a little Iraqi girl, playing with friends, and the shooting to

death, on a whim, an elderly Iraqi man. Commander Gallagher had singled out certain areas for attack, which his superiors said were safe and posed no threat to civilian life or limb. Having monitored his activity, the US military, to its credit, accused him of war crimes.

President Trump has come to Gallagher’s defence, saying that when American soldiers do a difficult job, they are branded by the authorities of wrongdoing.. Republican Congressman David Hunter, a former Navy Seal, boasted that he had performed hundreds of such killings in Iraq in the line of duty; this went the job, he claimed.

But the laws of war warn against the wanton violence leading to the loss of largely innocent lives. A senior American peace activist exclaimed in disgust that the country was now a lawless state. The revelations of US torture chambers in Iraq and such other gross violations human rights, earned whistle-blowers Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning the unyieldinng enmity of successive US administrations. Assange, the founder of Wikileaks is at death’s door in a London prison hospital. He had been subjected to torture, said a UN expert.

Rancid sermons on democracy and human rights from violators with little semblance of the basic decencies are a shameful and disturbing spectacle.

English language has its relevance The achievements of the liberal intelligentsia and their works during the nineteenth century Bengal Renaissance, of which Rammohun Roy was the acknowledged harbinger.

Roy was himself a Sanskrit and Bengali scholar of repute, famed also for his mastery of Persian, Arabic and Hebrew, not to speak of the English language in which he penned his extraordinary tracts on the desired introduction of the jury system into India, and upheld the freedom of the press, appealed for the establishment of an international body for the settlement of disputes between states, rather than seek solutions through war. An enlightened Bengali was no barrier to being an enlightened Indian and citizen of the world.

As a moderniser, Rammohun Roy argued for modern educational institutions to replace the Hindu patshalas and Muslim madrasas, where learning by rote was the norm.

Hence, he and other Bengali notables, including those with a conservative bent worked to establish a modern education institution, which resulted in the foundation of Hindu College in Calcutta in 1835, to be renamed Presidency College in 1856 with Presidency College was twinned with Sanskrit College, founded incidentally, by a Briton H,H, Wilson, whose bust adorns its foyer. The College of Fort William became the foremost fount of Oriental scholarship in the early 19th century.

Rammohun sowed the seeds of the Brahmo Samaj, a reformist body which rejected the iniquities of caste and superstition, promoted modern education and gender equality. Its greatest figure was the poet, writer and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore, who set up the Vishwa Bharati University in Santineketan, where Sanskrit occupied pride of place in the curriculum. Amrtya Sen, the Economics Nobel laureate, who began his education there, has a considerable mastery of classical Sanskrit literature.

This cultural renewal embraced mainstream Hindu society.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was the pre-eminent Sanskrit scholar of his generation and arguably the most penetrative voice for social reform and mass education. The spirit of the age was best captured by an incident involving Swami Vivekenanda. Told by a youth that he wanted to be a good Hindu, the Swami replied that his preparatory course should start with English and mathematics.

Surendranath Dasgupta, seminal Sanskritist and philosopher, whose six-volume History of Indian Philosophy gave him a global niche, taught at Sanskrit College and Ediburgh University, while the Professor Bimal Motilal of a later generation, who held the chair of Indian philosophy at Oxford University, was educated Sanskrit College, Calcutta.

Truth is that the study of Sanskrit has always had a special place in Bengali culture. The district of Nawadip in Bengal was famous for its Sanskrit scholars. For a party rooted in the Hindi heartland of vigilantes to denigrate Rammohun Roy and Bengal is contemptible. As ludicrous was the circular of the Ministry of Human Resource Development to the state governments calling for the introduction Hindi as displacement for English. The explosive rejection of any such move, led to a prompt assurance from the central government that no abolition of English was intended. The Communist –led Let Front regime in West Bengal which relegated English in the school curriculum during its 34 year-rule, was thrown out in the State Legislative Assembly elections in 2011, losing every seat. Today, it has not a single MP from the state in Parliament. English was elitist, alleged then Left Front, and repeated by the HRD Ministry in New Delhi. But mathematics, physics, chemistry, space science and medicine are also elitist subjects, are they not?

Rants against ‘elitism’ are signature tunes of mob rule.

Someone to cheer about Jiya Vaducha, an 11-year old Indian girl, whose Gujarati parents hail from Mumbai, achieved the top possible score of 162 in the global Mensa IQ test at Birkbeck University in London, where, as the youngest entry, she sat alongside scores of adults. The test involves two papers that test different types of IQ. Cattell IIIB includes verbal

reasoning. ‘A score of 162 is the highest a child can achieve on this test – it is 161for adults. ‘Jivya’s puts her in the top one per cent of the population,’ said a Mensa spokesman.

‘It was hard but not too hard. Some questions were difficult were not...was really surprised with my results,’ said Jivya Vaducha, modest and capable to a fault.

Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.

- Charles R. Swindoll

CIIr Ketan Sheth

Councillor for Tokyngton Wembley Brent Council’s Chair of Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee

All pupils to be taught about mental and physical wellbeing The government recently announced that all school children will learn about good physical and mental health, how to stay safe online and offline, and the importance of healthy relationships.

From September 2020, all pupils will undertake compulsory health education, which will have a strong focus on mental wellbeing, as well as introduction of a reformed relationships education curriculum in primary school and relationships and sex education in secondary school.

Teachers will be expected to teach and enable pupils how to spot poor mental health and stay healthy, helping them “grow-up happy and wellrounded”, education secretary Damian Hinds has said.

This comes 20 years after the government last made changes to health, relationships and sex education. This is in the context of a world, which looks significantly different to children from 20 years ago, with fundamental changes for how children develop their relationships, including understanding the online risks for children with the development of social media as a key feature in the majority of children's lives.

These changes have gained widespread public attention, in part, due to some parental protests at schools in parts of England regarding their current curriculum, and not the proposed changes. The most visible example of this was at Parkfield Community School in Birmingham, where protests took place regarding the curriculum.

There are a number of myths being circulated regarding the 2020 changes. The first is that schools will be required to teach concepts and values that are contradictory to some religious beliefs. This is not the case. Schools are required to comply with the relevant requirements of the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty, which means, in making decisions, respecting the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and other conduct that is prohibited by the Equality Act. In this way together we can deliver equality of opportunity for all and foster good relations between people who share lifestyle characteristics and people who do not.

A second myth is that these changes will conflict or compromise parents' ability to educate their children according to their own religious, cultural and/or philosophical beliefs. However, how this curriculum will be taught will be a decision for individual schools, which will consult with parents before the introduction of the new relationships education.

School governing bodies, which will include parent governors, will then work with their teaching staff to deliver the most age appropriate elements of the new curriculum to the pupils. Schools will have the ability to amend their approach, if they justify it is necessary to support pupils and families at the school.

Once an approach has been established, school leaders will retain the ability to amend as circumstances change and at all stages ensure that all pupils are supported to grow-up healthier and happier, and all are prepared for the opportunities and challenges of an “ever more complex” world, both on and offline and without prejudice.

Editor: CB Patel Asian Voice is published by Asian Business Publications Ltd Karma Yoga House, 12 Hoxton Market, (Off Coronet Street) London N1 6HW. Tel: 020 7749 4080 • Fax: 020 7749 4081 Email: aveditorial@abplgroup.com Website: www.abplgroup.com INDIA OFFICE Bureau Chief: Nilesh Parmar (BPO) AB Publication (India) Pvt. Ltd. 207 Shalibhadra Complex, Opp. Jain Derasar, Nr. Nehru Nagar Circle, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad-380 015.

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15 - 21 June 2019

A man who ‘tricked’ hotel staff into giving him a key to a drunk woman’s room is facing jail.

Kieran Sodhi, 30, let himself in after spotting the woman being helped back from a work function at the Chesford Grange Hotel, in Kenilworth, by two pals.

The woman, in her 20s, had no memory of getting in and woke up wearing just her underwear to find Sodhi sitting on the other side of the bed. Prosecutor Alex Warren told Warwick Crown Court Sodhi pretended to be her partner in order to persuade reception staff to give him a key and ‘intended to commit a sexual offence on her or an offence of voyeurism by watching her sleep’.

He added that ‘the only reasonable inference’ was that he had removed her clothing. Sodhi was found guilty last week of trespass

with intent to commit a sexual offence, but jurors were unable to agree verdicts on a charge of sexual assault.

During the trial they were told that Sodhi, of Littleover in Derbyshire, was staying at the hotel for a work event while the woman was attending a separate function there.

She was eventually helped back to her room by two men from her party at around 1am, using her own key card to get in.

But as the pair put her to bed they spotted Sodhi, whose room was on a different floor, loitering outside the door asking whether she was OK. The court heard he had chatted to her outside over a cigarette earlier that evening.

Suspicious of Sodhi’s intentions the men waited with the woman for 20 minutes before leaving her in bed still fully clothed.

Picture: SWNS

Man posed as drunk woman’s partner to get key to her hotel room

Kieran Sodhi, 30, let himself in after spotting the woman being helped back from a work function

CCTV later captured Sodhi approaching the reception desk where, jurors were told, he claimed to be the woman’s partner and asked for a duplicate key card to her room. He was even able to answer a security question about her address after spying information she provided while checking in.

Giving evidence, Sodhi insisted he had acted only out of concern for her well-

being after a cousin of his had died from choking on his own vomit while drunk.

He denied lying to obtain the key card and undressing the woman, answering ‘No’ when asked by his barrister whether he had any sexual intentions.

Judge Andrew Lockhart QC adjourned sentence for reports, but warned Sodhi an immediate prison sentence was likely.

Children from some of India’s poorest communities turned out to help support a charity providing meals for the homeless at Leicester Market.

Seventeen children from Ahmedabad in Gujarat, spent Saturday night working alongside volunteers from Midlands Langar Seva Society (MLSS) to help the homeless and those in need.

Rajdeep Johal, of MSS, said: “We think it’s fantastic that they have come to help us. For little kids to have the organisation to come to do this is amazing, especially when you realise where they come from.”

People who were there to pick up donations or get a hot meal shook hands, hugged and thanked the

young people for their caring approach.

The MLSS started organising meals for the homeless and those in need four-and-a-half years ago.

They serve food on Saturdays from 7pm to 8pm, Sundays from 5pm to 6pm.

From this week, they will start a Friday service from 7pm to 8pm – meaning that for the first time, there will be food available for the homeless or needy at the market seven days a week.

Students from University of Leicester and De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) Sikh Societies volunteer with MLSS every week.

On Saturday, queues stretched the length of the market for a hot meal, pizza,

Image: Duc Dang

Indian children visiting UK arrange meal to feed Leicester's homeless

Children from India have been providing meals for the homeless at Leicester Market

samosa, fruit, breakfast bar, a hot drink and a cold drink.

The cold drink was served for Chabeel Day in honour of a Sikh guru while the day’s hot meal was donated by a Sikh family.

The Jai Jagat kids also packed up food parcels which were taken out around the city centre to

those who may not be able to make it to the market.

The children all come from communities in Ahmedabad helped by the charity Manav Sadhna, which is supported by students and staff at DMU through the university’s Square Mile India programme.

Shameful dealer Feroze Khan had £5k of drugs hidden in a wardrobe A drug dealer has finally been brought to justice following a dedicated investigation by Met Police officers. Feroze Khan, 26, dealt crack cocaine and heroin across London by using dedicated mobile phone lines between June last year and May 2019.

The probe into Khan's activities is part of an initiative to combat drugs lines, where those controlling the supply do not always come into direct contact with those selling-on the drugs.

However, careful investigation enabled officers to prove Khan was involved in dealing, through the supply of drugs to others. The investigation began on June 11 last year when officers attempted to stop Khan as he was sat in the driver seat of a blue Mercedes in Denmark Hill.

The confrontation, which took place at around 3.40pm, saw Khan manoeuvre around the officers and make off at speed. It was suspected that he was involved in the supply of drugs and search warrants were carried out at various properties controlled or used by Khan.

During the course of one of the searches at a flat in East Dulwich, a specialist search dog gave an indication that something was in a bedroom wardrobe.

A green fleece hanging in the wardrobe was searched and a quantity of suspected Class A drugs discovered.

Later analysis revealed the drugs were 509 wraps of crack cocaine and 84 wraps of heroin; they had a combined value of more than £5000. Police were later able

to link these drugs to Khan and a warrant was executed at Khan’s home in Denmark Hill.

Khan was charged and he pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of a Class A drug at Camberwell Green Magistrates’ Court on May 18. He was sentenced to three years in prison on June 10 at Inner London Crown Court. Khan will be made subject to a 10-year Criminal Behaviour Order when released from prison.

Detective constable Raymond Sekalongo said: “Khan thought he could evade police because he wasn’t directly involved in the handling of drugs but we are now able to target those higher up the chain and prove their involvement.

“Drug dealing is closely

Feroze Khan

linked with violence we see on our streets. We will deal robustly with those who seek to sell drugs, exploit young people and target the most vulnerable within our communities for the sole purpose of financial gain."

"Get in touch with us if you see something or know something about a crime that has either happened or might potentially happen – your information can save lives. We need to break the wall of silence, it can be deadly."

in brief MEN JAILED FOR CRASH-FORCASH INSURANCE SCAM IN COVENTRY Three men have been jailed for carrying out a crash-for-cash insurance scam.

Police said their erratic manoeuvre caused a 50mph crash with a driver on an M6 slip road in Coventry.

Mohammed Azam (pictured), 47, Husnain Ahmed, 22, and Sufyan Lone, 24, all from Birmingham, each pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation and were jailed.

City of London Police said the men were "solely focused on making a financial gain".

At Birmingham Crown Court, Azam, of Bennetts Road, Alum Rock, and Ahmed, also of Bennetts Road, were each jailed for two years and one month. Lone, of Malthouse Lane, Washwood Heath, was jailed for one year and 10 months.

Dash-cam footage from the victim's vehicle revealed that two cars in front were driving erratically and close together at junction three southbound on 1 April 2017.

The force's Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED), which investigates such scams around the country, said the vehicle directly in front then carried out an emergency stop, which caused the collision.

All three men later put in fraudulent personal injury claims for whiplash amounting to £28,161.

BEATLES JIHADI ‘GEORGE’ ADMITS RANSOMING WESTERNERS AS HE BEGS FORGIVENESS

The daughter of aid worker David Haines, who was murdered by Islamic State extremists, has said she plans to face his accused captors in court.

Bethany Haines said she believes ‘justice will be served’ when suspected terrorists Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh go on trial. Kotey and Elsheikh are accused of belonging to a brutal four-man cell of Islamic State executioners in Syria, nicknamed The Beatles because of their British accents.

Elsheikh, known as George, and Kotey, known as Ringo, are accused of being part of the group responsible for killing a number of high-profile Western hostages.

It is thought they may go on trial in the US after they were stripped of their British citizenship and the Crown Prosecution Service decided there was insufficient evidence to prosecute them in the UK. Kotey and Elsheikh, who were raised in the UK, were captured in January last year and are believed to be detained by Kurdish forces in Syria.

Their capture sparked a row over whether they should be returned to the UK for trial or face justice in another jurisdiction.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid faced criticism after sharing intelligence about them with US authorities, without seeking assurances that they would not face execution if they were extradited and tried there.

Last month, Kotey admitted that he was a hostage keeper with the IS terror cell, which also included Mohammed Emwazi – known as Jihadi John – who was killed in a US air strike in 2015.

ESTATE DRUG DEALER SOLD £40K OF HEROIN AND COCAINE IN A FEW MONTHS A leading member of a city drugs gang was involved in heroin and cocaine deals of more than £40,000 in the space of a few months, police said after he was jailed for six years.

Tanzim Suka was identified by Leicestershire Police last year as being a member of a gang which was operating on the city's St Mattews estate.

The force said the 29-year-old was active between November 2018 and March this year and that in that time his phone was used to strike deals of the class A drugs.

Its officers recovered the phone he used to organise deals and have estimated during this time a combined weight of around half a kilo – believed to have a street value in excess of £40,000 - were sold.

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15 - 21 June 2019

Girls in a govt school in Karnataka avoid going to school during menstruation; NGO from Gujarat comes to rescue According to a report by WaterAid, titled “Out Of Order: The State of the World’s Toilets 2017”, 732 million people in India do not have access to toilets. This is more than 56.3% of India’s total population. India tops this ranking and it is something we shouldn’t be proud of.

The team of YUVA Unstoppable found out one such school in the town of Hubli in Karnataka, whose authority wasn’t successful in providing sanitation facilities to its students. Tabibland Girls School is located in one of the areas in Hubli which is predominantly Muslim. The school has almost 400 girls. During our survey, YUVA found out that the washrooms provided to these girls were huge but didn’t have any proper shed. It was completely open. The school is in a residential area and the residents around it could easily see girls using the washroom and what they were doing. Majority of the girls almost 95% of them) come from a conservative Muslim background. They wear burkhas or hijabs which makes it even more difficult for them to use a toilet which is not at all covered. The girls don’t feel safe and secured and are hence very shy to go to school because of this very reason.

Also, the girls in their adolescence found it very difficult to use the washrooms while thet were menstruating.

They have to use the washroom at least twice or thrice during the course of the day. Lack of precautions during the periods can lead to a lot of severe health problems and these girls are aware of it. Problems like these led to a decrease in the attendance of majority of the students and even the teachers have complained that they have almost no one to teach during their classes. The most essential things about sanitation and hygiene are providing proper plumbing and water connection, proper tiling, cleanliness, drainage and most importantly, privacy.

Though the school recognised the importance in providing sanitation facilities in the form of huge washrooms, but it failed in providing basic privacy and hence faced its consequences too.

Boosting religious tourism: Sikh bussinesses pledge £500mn donation to Pakistan Priyanka Mehta In a major victory for Imran Khan's Government in Pakistan, representatives of the Sikh community and leading businessmen in London have pledged to donate about £500mn worth financial funds to facilitate religious tourism in Pakistan following the foundation of the Kartarpur Corridor.

Addressing members of the Sikh community at the Rembrandt Hotel on 10th June, Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chairman of the Pakistan Tourism Board spoke about the significance of fostering religious tolerance between countries especially in light of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Devji.

“We need to use Kartapur corridor as a stepping stone with phase one of the project expected to be complete by the end of this year and phase two to follow suit. But aside from establishing an inter-faith society and a harmonious community, it is about promoting religious tourism which is a very lucrative business.

“We want investors to come in Pakistan and as part of the process we are

Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari with Peter Virdee

also looking to open up and encourage the market for Buddhist and Hindu tourism which is huge in Pakistan,” said Zulfiqar Bukhari to Asian Voice.

The event that was organised by the Central Gurudwara (Khalsa Jatha), Shepherd's Bush, London and supported by Peter Virdee was attended by eminent personalities including Lord Ranbir Singh Suri, Preet Kaur Gill MP, Edgbaston, Birmingham, Dabinderjit Singh, Justice Anup Singh Choudry among others. Discussion at the event addressed fundamental points of concerns for the Sikh community especially with regards to issuance of online and on arrival visas to making com-

mitments around development of a convenient transport system through Yutong Bus Company and accommodation services.

“These systems are new and we are facing 70 years of back log and red-tapism so it will take some time for us to establish smooth administrative services, but the tedious process will get easier. We started off with 500 pilgrims but we aim to have at least 5000 of them travelling per day in the coming years,” he said.

In the bid to cementing stronger bilateral and diplomatic ties between UK and Pakistan, he also hinted around the possibility of establishment of tourism desks and bureaucrats in Pakistani embassies in the

UK to facilitate the visa application process for these pilgrims. This follows the recent development in UK-Pakistan relationship where British Airways resumed flights between Islamabad and London after a decade long suspension following the 2008 terrorist attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.

“It is very important for Pakistan to establish itself connected with the world.

Long gone are the days where it is allowed to be connected. Pakistan is currently in debt and it is important for us to have both religious and businessmen travel in and out of our country with ease,” he added.

However, ensuring that financial difficulties are waded out of this process, Peter Virdee of The Virdee Foundation, took the event to announce about the potential investment of £500mn in Pakistan in the next five years under a new religious trust called 'Guru Nanak Devji'.

Zulfiqar Bukhari is next expected to travel to the United States later this year in July and address the Sikh community there as part of his process of expanding religious tourism in Pakistan.

JAVID'S BID: U-TURN ON IMMIGRATION Continued from page 1

The team of YUVA took it upon themselves to help these girls and provide them a platform to not give up education because of not being able to use washrooms.

We provided them proper closed spaces with a huge shed. We also provided them with proper locking facilities which ensured their privacy. The drainage was improved so that the overall environment is hygienic.

Proper tiles were setup and proper water connection was provided. The girls took these changes as a boon and were very grateful for understanding their problems and taking the right measures to implement them effectively.

Providing sanitation is important, but where and how it is being provided is even more important and that is what we mainly focussed on.

YUVA Unstoppable has transformed 1000 municipal schools & 500,000 kids across 14 States in India since its foundation in the year 2005. History has witnessed that nations with high literacy rate have always been one of the most developed nations and have majorly contributed in making world a happy place for everyone. These students at Tabibland Girls School are the future of India.

We believe that education is every child’s right and there should be no obstacle that takes it away from them.

If every child in our country receives proper education, India would be free from all problems that affect our growth. Problems like poverty, unemployment, casteism, communalism, women security etc would be completely eradicated. We hope to contribute more in providing these kids a bright future.

Sponsored Charity of Asian Achievers Awards 2019

To know more about Yuva Unstoppable please visit www.yuvaunstoppable.org.

While, his approach on immigration appears to be softer than Mrs. May's proposed measures of curbing net migration, it must be noticed that the Home Secretary is yet to make a statement on the data released by the National Audit Office (NAO). The report released by the NAO had stated concerns regarding the Home Office's inappropriate treatment of some of the international students whose visas had been cancelled following the BBC Panorama programme.

However, today the minister of Pakistani origin has promised of a more business-friendly immigration system if he becomes the Prime Minister.

“Immigrants help to create jobs, they don’t take jobs.

It is something that we can take a much more sensible, flexible attitude to,” Javid had said at an event organised by British Future.

Dumping “white paper” and £30,000 minimum salary cap In a marked shift from Theresa May’s hardline stance on achieving a target number of net migration, he has also proposed to dump

her controversial “white paper” policy which states that EU migrants should earn at least £30,000 to be considered for admission in the UK. Earlier in the year, at the Asian Voice Charity Awards, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan had called for similar preferential norms for

got to be easier for Indian students and business people to come here.”

But, the Conservative manifesto pledged to cap migrant arrivals at tens of thousands instead of the hundreds of thousands.

However, recently, Javid added that Britain must take a “sensible attitude” towards

Indian companies and students as those offered to China in order to boost foreign direct investment (FDI) from India into London.

Attacking Mrs. May's Hostile Environment policy, Khan said, "The government's got to make it easier for businesses to come to London. Immigration policies have got to change, it's

foreign students and make it an attractive country for them if they wish to stay on and work here after completing their education.

Javid reiterated this argument in an article for the Financial Times where he emphasised“It makes no sense to send some of the brightest and most enterprising peo-

ple in the world straight home after their time here.”

His announcement has been welcomed by Jo Johnson, the former Universities Minister who is seeking to amend the Immigration Bill to change the six-month limit back to its previous timeline of two years. Immigration has been a key factor in the EU referendum vote of 2016, with those who campaigned for leaving Europe stressing that UK could restrict the number of new arrivals once Brexit was delivered.

Tax cuts, Brexit and assisting young renters But aside from his approach on immigration, his manifesto also includes considering tax cuts “when it is affordable” and to prioritise people on lower incomes.

He, has also offered young renters a cut in costly deposits charged by landlords, from five to four weeks rental for properties with rental value below £50,000.

Javid faces competition from Michael Gove, Matt Hancock, Mark Harper, Jeremy Hunt, Boris Johnson, Andrea Leadsom, Esther Dominic Raab and, Rory Stewart.

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NOMINATIONS OPEN NOW The prestigious Asian Achievers Awards is hosted every year by UK’s leading news weeklies Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar to honour British Asians par excellence.

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Deadline for nomination 31st July, 2019 Please tick the appropriate category Achievement in Community Service In recognition for an individuals service to community.

Woman of the Year The award will recognise and honour a woman who has made a significant mark in any chosen field.

Sports Personality of the Year Awarded for excellence in sports.

Business Person of the Year Awarded to a business person who is a success in every sense of the word and can demonstrate a genuine passion for social issues.

Lifetime Achievement Award To honour those individuals, who during their lifetime, have made immense contributions in any given field. This remarkable individual can be marked as an example for the younger generation.

Uniformed and Civil Services For outstanding achievements in uniformed and civil services or contribution to the community through any of the above services.

Entrepreneur of the Year Awarded to an entrepreneur with a proven track record of operating a successful business enterprise.

Professional of the Year Professionals in the field of medicine, law, education, banking, finance and others, who have scaled the heights of their chosen profession.

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If you are sending it by post the address is Mr. L George, Karma Yoga House, Unit 1, 12 Hoxton Market, London N1 6HW.

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British Asian Trust combatting childtrafficking in India

(L-R) Hitan Mehta, Richard Hawkes, MS Dhoni, Manoj badale and Shane Warne

On 7th June, Friday, the British Asian Trust announced a new partnership with the Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) at the Lords to combat child-trafficking in India. The partnership is backed by the domestic cricket team of Indian Premier League, Rajasthan Royals, and aims at starting a media driven awareness campaign to help 5.8 million children working in forced labour in India. Attended by cricketers across the board, including Shane Warne, MS Dhoni, Steve Smith, Graeme Smith and Morne Morkel to name a few, the event was hosted by actor Nitin Ganatra.

“We have focussed on four key areas in South Asia region and anti-trafficking is one of our priority programmes and especially in India where the scale of the problem is enormous. I was there just recently and saw some of the most appalling situations.

“As part of the partnership and a longstanding connection with cricket, we were honoured to have had Rajasthan Royals allrounder Ben Stokes visit our projects in Jaipur. We are proud to be strengthening our enduring relationship with the Rajasthan Royals,” said Richard Hawkes, Chief Executive of

the British Asian Trust.

Speaking at the sidelines of the event and at the height of the Cricket World Cup, one of the co-owners of Rajasthan Royals and a key figure at the British Asian Trust, Manoj Badale, reflected on the significance of cricket in “cultural integration” today.

“I think that the Tebbit test is a dated perspective and what matters is that the people who come to live here, respect the values of the country they live in but at the same time they should be proud of where they come from,” said Manoj, following Lord Jitesh Gadhia's recent column in The Sunday Times.

But aside from cultural integration, and a boost in tourism, the boundaries of cricket can be extended to social contributions and philanthropy as symbolised by the British Asian Trust.

“Cricket has a huge role to play as both a catalyst for change and as a force for good. As a brand ambassador of the Rajasthan Royals I have seen firsthand the difference that resources and awareness campaigns can make on the ground in Jaipur.

“I look forward to building on this work between the Rajasthan Royals and the British Asian Trust for years to come,” said Shane Warne, Australian cricket

commentator and former captain of Australia’s National Cricket team.

Founded by the HRH The Prince of Wales, the Trust has been working for causes in South Asia for 11 years now. According to an ILO study, there are 5.8 million children working in forced labour in India and it is estimated that there are more than 150,000 new instances of human trafficking in South Asia every year, leaving women and children particularly exposed to abuse and sexual exploitation.

“The Government of India has demonstrated considerable political will and leadership in tackling Child Trafficking. Over the last few years, we have seen the Government of India ratify Core ILO conventions and introduce strong legislations against trafficking in the country.

“We are delighted about this partnership between the British Asian Trust and CIFF, as it will raise awareness about trafficking and will further support the Government’s relentless fight to end child trafficking,” said Kate Hampton, Chief Executive Office of the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation.

The event also hosted 'A Wicket Night of Comedy, an exclusive night of cricket and comedy.

Lord Adam Patel passes away at 78 Tributes have been paid to Labour peer Lord Adam Patel of Blackburn, who died on Wednesday aged 78.

Lord Patel, famously known as Lord Adam, came to Blackburn in the 1960s to study accountancy at Blackburn College after graduating from the University of Baroda in Gujarat State, India.

Lord Patel served as director of the East Lancashire Training Enterprise Council, president of Lancashire Council of Mosques, vice-president

of the Blackburn Community Relations Council and chairman of The Council of British Hajjis, which looks after the interests of Muslims going on pilgrimage to Mecca.

Nearly 20 years ago, Late

Lord Patel had laid the foundation of the movement for uniting and empowering the community. Vohra Voice UK has now taken the initiatives and is working hard to build on that foundation to achieve its lofty objective of uniting the Bharuchi Vahora Patel community here in the UK and worldwide.

MP Keith Vaz described the Gujarati-born father of eight, who was made a life peer in 2000, as "Labour's northern rock". The peer's funeral has been held in Blackburn.

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15 - 21 June 2019

ICICI Bank UK: Strengthening Indo-Britain Relations Priyanka Mehta ICICI Bank UK was established in 2003 as a wholly owned subsidiary of ICICI Bank Limited, India. It recently celebrated 15 years of its commercial, retail and corporate banking success.

Over the one-and-half decade it has emerged as a preferred bank for Asian community in the UK by combining its branch network, relationship and service approach with advanced digital platform. Mr. Lok Nath Mishra, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank UK, is optimistic about the Bank's pivotal role in facilitating stronger UKIndia ties.

“British Asian owned Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are a significant part of the local economy. Our focus is to enable the SMEs to smoothly carryout their regular banking needs which include handling their trade and foreign exchange transactions. We combine our technology and online services with a 24X7 customer support via a phone banking call centre and the support of a Relationship Manager (RM). We find that having a RM handholding and supporting our clients through their transaction journey is a big positive and much appreciated by our clients. We have recently initiated a programme to finance the business requirements of SMEs ranging from GBP 1 million to 5 million. We will scale it up over a period of time,” says Mr. Mishra.

Apart from facilitating the SMEs and India UK trade and investment corridor, the bank is also trying to facilitate a stronger India-UK

Mr. Lok Nath Mishra

perosn-to-person relationship by focusing on professionals and students from India who come to work and study in the UK. There were approximately 1.8 million Indians which includes about 1.5 million people of Indian origin and 300000 Indian passport holders working and studying in UK. “We have a very successful product for the Indian professionals and students which helps them open their UK bank account before they even travel to the UK. This is combined with a robust product on remittance to help them seamlessly transact through their India and UK bank account.

The Bank also offers competitive rates on deposits” he says.

The Bank has six branches in the UK at Tower Hill, Wembley, East Ham and Southall in London and Manchester and Birmingham in midlands.

ICICI Bank continues to focus and grow its UK franchise and has recently opened six new business centres to provide local relationship coverage. This is a good initiative to support business through local presence without a full branch presence at a time when several high street banks are

closing their branches across UK. The new business centres are in Croydon, Milton Keynes, Reading, Coventry, Leicester and Leeds (opening shortly).

The Bank also has a branch in Germany which is focused on Bank’s European business. Earlier as a Bank in the UK, conducting business across the European Union was allowed as a part of European Union. Now, a separate license is required for doing business in the European market, post Brexit.

“The Bank is well placed by already obtaining a third country branch license in Germany which becomes effective upon Brexit. While, currently it is a passported branch, under EU rules, post-Brexit it would operate as a third country branch.” explains Mr. Mishra.

A firm authorised in an EEA (European Economic Area) state can carry on activities that it has permission for in its home state and any other EEA state by either establishing a branch or agents in an EEA country or providing cross-border services. This is known as ‘passporting’. In addition to its branches and business centres, the Bank also has a very robust digital channel and online services, including internet banking, mobile app and phone banking. The customers are able to transact at will through the Bank’s versatile mobile app.

The Bank also offers a 24/7 customer support through a phone banking call centre to all its customers. The digital channels are duly supported by our branches and relationship managers whenever required to provide a holistic experience to the customers.

Indian officials' try to retrieve bodies of Briton climbers at the Himalaya A team of Indian mountaineers has launched a ground expedition on the Himalayan mountain to retrieve the bodies of five people believed to be part of a missing group of eight international climbers which includes four Britons, two Americans, an Australian and an Indian.

However, officials had reported that the helicopter search “would not be possible” due to bad weather conditions.

According to Martin Moran’s Scotland-based company, the climbers had set out almost a month ago on May 13, and contact with a separate trekking team at base camp was lost May 26 following an avalanche. All eight missing climbers are

feared to be dead. Last week, military helicopters tried several times to drop mountaineers down to where the bodies had been spotted at an altitude of about 5,000 metres (16,400ft), but high winds made it impossible to get close enough.

However, reports emerged earlier this week where the Uttarakhand state magistrate Vijay Jogdande, of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) stated a possibility of launching a ground expedition to Nanda Devi, East to help evacuate the bodies, which have been spotted at an altitude of 5,000 metres (16,404ft). The foundation had earlier complained that

it had been waiting for the permission of state authorities to carry out the retrieval for the past three days. It added that its team of highly experienced mountaineers was standing by to move, while it had a window of 15-20 days to complete the operation before monsoon rains arrive. A ground team is now attempting a treacherous trekking route.

According to Maninder Kohli, a member of the IMF the retrieval operation was fraught with risks.

"The ground team will first make an assessment and see if the bodies can be moved to a flat surface where helicopters can land," he said in a statement.

First Indian-origin at Foreign and Commonwealth Office An Indian-origin bureaucrat, who served as the UK's deputy high commisssioner in Mumbai and in the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit during Gordon Brown’s tenure, has been appointed chief economist of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

Kumar Iyer as a chief economist will lead the FCO’s Economics Unit which provides in-house economic analysis input into foreign policy formulation. The Unit also develops economics capability within the FCO through the Economics and Prosperity Faculty of the Diplomatic Academy.

Born in London and who grew up in India, Iyer has become the first member of the ethnic minority communities to join the FCO management board, an official statement said on Thursday.

“I think living abroad during my early childhood gave me a sense of the world as a bigger place and I developed an interest in international issues that has always stayed with me. The role is a real privilege and marries my love of economics with

Kumar Iyer

my interest in global diplomacy.

"The role is a real privilege and marries my love of economics with my interest in global diplomacy," Iyer said, in reference to his new role,” said Iyer in a statement to PTI. The FCO noted that he grew up speaking Hindi and Tamil, which came to be useful when he was posted to India as deputy high commissioner and director general for Economics, Trade and Commercial Affairs in South Asia in 2013.

Iyer taught international finance and macroeconomics at Harvard

University, where he was a Kennedy Scholar, and went on to conduct his post-graduate studies at Cambridge University and is currently a Visiting Academic at Oxford University.

Iyer has always split his career between the private and public sectors, holding senior positions in both arenas. In his previous role as the British deputy high commissioner based in Mumbai, Iyer had the responsibility for Western India and was also the director general for Economic, Trade and Investment with overall responsibility for the UK-India trade relationship.

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Vini Vidi but no Vinci Trump came, Trump saw, but he failed to conquer.

Unlike Narendra Modi’s visit to the UK not too long ago, when he made a great impact on the masses here, Donald Trump failed to connect with the people. He had bad words for London’s mayor and had non flattering words for the opposition leader who, by the way, could be the next prime minister and Donald Trump would have to deal with him in the future.

This visit reminds me of Narendra Modi’s visit to the UK. Who would have thought that the son of a tea vendor at Vadnagar railway station in Gujarat will one day dine with the British Queen and address a crowd of 60,000 people at Wembley Stadium? Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, did just that.

True to his words and in response to the orchestrated campaign mounted by AV and GS, he had announced the start of direct flights between London and Ahmedabad. I am sure that I heard him rightly, when at that point in his speech, he referred to CB (presumably of AV and GS) as his friend. No mean feat this for the publisher of these two weeklies!

Narendrabhai also promised to eradicate India of corruption, nepotism, violence against women, poverty and many such vices that are at present endemic in India. We know that he is doing his best to fulfill these promises: one can say that he has made these changes.

Dinesh Sheth Newbury Park, Ilford

Money worries Why aren’t the biggest premium bond prizes drawn on television like the weekly lottery draws? The winning two £1 million and five £100,000 bond numbers drawn in public every month would delight punters. By the way, has anybody won hundreds of pounds on a single £1 scratch-card? Or are those big prizes shown simply to tempt us to keep buying scratchcards? If we are ever lucky enough to scratch three identical symbols in a row, we usually win just £1 or £2. Big deal, eh?

Rudy Otter By email

Riding India’s trains A lot of people who attempt stunts on the rooftops of trains or on the footboards travel without tickets and try to show off their daredevil acts to the people in the compartment or on the platforms. These young boys and men who indulge in such acts should be fined and put behind bars; only then will they learn a lesson. Travelling on rooftops of trains is very dangerous and constant announcements are made to refrain people from doing so. But in spite of this, people don't listen and want to show off their masculinity to the people around them. Many people have fallen down on the tracks and lost their lives because of such daredevil acts.

Jubel D'Cruz, Mumbai, India

Letters of the Week Extravagant Tories

(Courtesy: The Times) In your leader “Extravagant Tories” (Jun 10) you suggest that a test of the Tory party’s seriousness would be the degree to which leadership candidates were scrutinised. In the 2015 general election Boris Johnson pledged to the voters of Uxbridge & South Ruislip with characteristic braggadocio that he would “lie under the bulldozers” to stop Heathrow expansion. One wonders whether he would honour this pledge, were he to be elected Tory leader and prime minister, or write it off as one of his jokes.

John Goldsmith London NW3

Delivering the impossible (Courtesy: To The Guardian) I thought Martha Gill summed up the situation around Brexit remarkably accurately: the Tories are landed with the harsh reality of delivering an extremely complex, possibly impossible, task rooted in an ideal that is “purist, anti-institution and scornful of compromise”.

What she and other commentators neglect to examine is the degree to which those calling for another referendum, or the annulment of article 50, are also purist and scornful of compromise. That side assumes, without any real evidence, that another vote would deliver them the “right” answer. All it requires is to campaign sufficiently vigorously for the population to come to its senses. Alas, this is unlikely to happen.

Given all the indicators, the best one could hope for is a small majority for Remain. But the anger released by overturning the referendum result would be frightening indeed, and its consequences for trust in democracy terrifying. I don’t know the answer to this conundrum, but I think that Jeremy Corbyn will eventually be proved right in searching for compromise.

Hazel Davies, Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside

Origin of the words Hindu and India

NHS post Brexit

Presently, the words Hindu and India define and identify the culture of the majority population and their country respectively.

If one searches, the Dharma-Shastras of Bharat like Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, etc. and epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, one will not find those two words in them.

Isn’t it strange? How did the extraneous words gain currency?

Avestan (Old Persian-Iranian language) which is an IndoEuropean language like Sanskrit. In that language (Just like in some Gujarati words) the Sanskrit sound s changes to h and hence Persian called people living near and further east of the river Sindhu as Hindu.

Identification of land as Hind, Hindustan are derived from it during the long rule of outsiders from the West. The word Hindu eventually transferred to their culture.

People from Greece who heard Hindu from Persians but for the peculiarity of the Greek dialect of that time, they lost the aspirate h and called the river Hindu (Sindhu) as Indus and people of the land around and beyond it were called Indoi.

Further French called it Inde and eventually reached England in Middle English as Indie. The name “India” from Indie came in Modern English usage only in the 17th century mainly during the British Raj. In the ancient time the culture was called simply Dharma and later Sanatan Dharma which includes also the offshoots of it like Jainism, Buddhism, etc.

The land was variously called Jambudvipa, Aryavrata and Bharat Varsha. In the modern era Bharat Varsha is simply called Bharat as stated in the Constitution.

Narsibhai Patel New Malden

The state visit by President Donald Trump to UK has raised the issue of NHS post Brexit, in the trade agreement with USA. Donald Trump said in no uncertain terms during his press conference that NHS will be on the table in his offer a ‘phenomenal’ deal which could triple trade between Britain and the US. Even the American Ambassador to UK Woody Johnson said NHS services should be ‘on the table’ for post-Brexit US-UK trade deal. But later on Donald Trump directly contradicted himself, saying instead that “I don’t see it being on the table”. It is clear that he is playing cat and mouse game with UK . He knows eventually he will get his way on the health service.

Any tinkering will be monumental step backward for NHS which is one of the best things Britain has going for it.

The American model not only lacks this system but operates according to the opposite logic: the more bad health there is in the population, the more money there is to be made from it.

The Commonwealth Fund recently released a report comparing the health systems of 11 highly industrialized countries. In the category of efficiency, the UK ranked number 1. The US, by contrast, ranked last. So much for the theory that profit stimulates efficiency. The UK also ranks well above the US in terms of timeliness of care, contrary to Fox News propaganda.

The Commonwealth study confirms that the cost the UK pays for delivering the best healthcare in the world is less than any other industrialized nation: only $3,405 per capita.

The most expensive healthcare system, by contrast, is the US, at $8,508 per capita – more than double the UK, while delivering much worse results.

Yet, tragically, the present government is doing its best to dismantle the NHS, with the ultimate goal, it would seem, of replacing it with the US model. The Health and Social Care Act of 2012 put an end to the mandate for the state to provide comprehensive healthcare to every resident of England free at the point of use, and has allowed for-profit companies to buy up huge chunks of the NHS (£10 billion worth of contracts have already been handed out since the Act was passed).

The Tories know the US system performs worse on every conceivable count, but they are willing to go there anyhow: the healthcare market-in-waiting is just too juicy to leave untapped. It’s sometimes hard to realize how good something is until it’s taken away from you.

Dr Jason Hickel, an American living in London states “ To England, I say, take it from an American: what you have is as good as it gets, and it’s worth defending. Your civilization depends on it.”

Baldev Sharma Rayners Lane, Harrow.

Politicians turning Britain into industrial wasteland I have been living in this beautiful, green, harmonious, multicultural country for over fifty years. But I have never come across such clueless politicians who are incapable of delivering simple Brexit. They are more interested in fighting among themselves, putting their own personal interest, above their party’s as well as that of the nation.

At one time, we had 20% of world trade, today it is one percent and on the decline. After US, we have worse monthly, unsustainable deficit of some £7 billion that has devalued pound, British people unable to go on foreign holidays, as they are mostly priced in Euro and US dollar, holiday companies, airlines going bust.

In many ways, this is similar scenario to nineteen seventy decades when Britain was known as “Sick Man of Europe”.

Then workers were blamed for strikes and chaos, now blame lies fairly and squarely at the door of politicians who are letting workers down. While in most well paid jobs, high education, skill and dedication is the requirement, but not in politics!

Lady Thatcher fought tooth and nail to revive motor industry which was once an envy of the world, with such names as Mini, Austin, Hillman, Princess, Jaguar, Cortina, Angelia and few more dominated world market. But strikes and cheap, subsided imports of Japanese cars destroyed our motor industry, unlike that of France and Germany where old names like Mercedes, BMW, Citron, Peugeot and many more still dominate EU market.

Now cheap, subsidized steel imports from China, who produces more steel than rest of the world put together, has decimated our once thriving steel industry. The government refused to save British Steel by providing grants, their reason being it is against EU policy! Britain is the only nation that observes EU rules, all others ignoring them to protect their agriculture and manufacturing, EU turning a blind-eye!

Even Motor industry is leaving these shores, Honda closing down and moving production to Japan and Ford has just announced closure of their engine plant in Bridgend, Wales by 2020. These politicians are destroying rich motor manufacturing legacy left by late Lady Thatcher, unable, unwilling and unprepared to meet challenges of Brexit, as well as changing nature of the industry world-wide.

Could we ever have another generation of politicians like Churchill, Lady Thatcher, Bevan, and Attlee who put Great in Great Britain!

Bhupendra M. Gandhi By email

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Beware of Dementia Dangers!

At one time, it was cancer and heart problems that dominated headlines in the health section of newspapers and magazines. Today it is dementia, although cancer is never far from capturing headlines, as breast cancer for women and prostate cancer for men is on the rise, mainly due to life longevity.

Dementia may not kill any one outright but it is a lingering disease that turns suffers into vegetable state, needing 24 hour trenchant care at advantage stage, putting unabated pressure on one’s partner and other family members. As cash strapped Councils cut down social care to the bone, people are obliged to turn to private sector.

Not only it is expensive, a 24 hour care easily costing £200 a day, yet it only comes to around £8:30 an hour, hardly a living wage unless Carers work long hours and most do, some 50 hours a week is normal. Yet quality of carers is so often below par, Carers mostly drawn from East European workers and ethnic minorities, as work is routine, does not need any skill or qualifications.

As usual, indigenous British people are not interested in such manual work, in line with work in agriculture and tourists industry, being fruit pickers, waiters and chamber maids!

One may wonder why dementia was not even on the horizon few decades back! The answer is simple if one looks at our life-style now and then. Many did suffer from dementia in fifties and sixties. But it was called age related health issues, normally family members looking after elderly without fuss or worry, one advantage of living under one roof.

Medical experts have sighted myriad reasons for the rise of dementia and that include smoking and drinking excessively, high cholesterol, obesity, loneliness, depression, deafness, depressing weather, especially in winter, lack of exercise and few more. There is nothing new in these observations. There will be sharp rise in such illnesses, as we live longer, lonelier but not necessarily healthier life.

Deafness is particularly highlighted, as most of us avoid going to GP and even those who have hearing aids prescribed on NHS, avoid wearing it, as it is associated with old age, unlike wearing lustre glasses, a fashion accessory, as glasses come in all shape, size and colour!

Kumudini Valambia By email

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AsianVoiceNews

EDUCATION

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

11

15 - 21 June 2019

11-year-old beats Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking on Mensa IQ test

High Commissioner Mrs. Ruchi Ghanashyam visits Oxford University

An 11-year-old, Jiya Vaducha, from Pinnerwood School, has scored the highest possible marks in the Mensa IQ Test. Scoring an astonishing 162, Jiya is now in the top 1 % of the population, putting her well above the ‘High IQ benchmark’ of 140.

Mensa was founded in England in 1946 by Roland Berrill, a barrister, and Dr Lance Ware, a scientist and lawyer. The basic principle behind the formation of forming a society for bright people, the only qualification for membership of which was a high IQ. Although, both Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking have never officially had their IQ tested but are widely believed to have the equivalent score of 160two points less than Jiya.

“It was a two and a half hour test, comprising of non-verbal and verbal questions. I am very pleased with my results and look forward to joining the Mensa Society and meeting other members at the organisation’s gather-

Rohit Vadhwana

Jiya Vaducha

ing,” Jiya said.

“We are very proud of Jiya, and this achievement could not have come at a better time. Jiya has been on a roller coaster ride with her secondary school admissions.

“She was accepted at her first choice school and later her offer was withdrawn after a few days due to an administration error at the super selective renowned grammar school. This had affected Jiya’s confidence and hope this achievement will make her believe in herself again,” said her mum Bijal.

Name of Oxford University commands high respect in the field of education as many renowned scholars of the world are connected with it. Located at one and a half hour’s driving distance from London, this university has become a popular city, full of local residents and students coming from all across the world. Various buildings hosting colleges, administrative offices, restaurants & cafes, residences, museums and bookstores seem to form an educational town.

To take stock of educational co-operation with this University, Her Excellency, Mrs. Ruchi Ghanashyam, High Commissioner of India to the UK visited Oxford on 31st May 2019. During the visit, she held a fruitful meeting with the Vice Chancellor of the University to explore possibility of further strengthening engagement in the field of education.

Visit to the Oxford

UK, referred to the fact that Cornelia Sorabji was the first Indian woman to study at Oxford, the first woman of any nationality to read law at Oxford and the first woman to practice law in both India and the UK. Smt. Indira Gandhi, first female Prime Minister of India also studied modern history in this college in1937.

The visit of the H i g h Her Excellency, Mrs. Ruchi Ghanashyam, High Commissioner of India to the UK planting a tree to commemorate 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi Commissioner was important in the exhibits a number of arteCentre for Hindu Studies, backdrop of that fact that facts showcasing ancient meeting with its director the number of Indian stuIndian culture. and academicians, formed dents in the UK has crossed Later half of the day was an important part of her twenty thousand this year. full of activities in the programme. The Centre While Oxford University has Somerville College where studies and offers courses in over 23000 students represhe held meeting with its Hindu culture, religion, lansenting more than 140 counPrincipal and academic staff, guages, literature, philosotries, the number of Indian conversed with Indian stuphy, history, arts, and socistudents in Oxford is only dents, and also planted a tree ety. Its 19 online courses 400. One may hope that to commemorate the 150th have 1200 enrolments from more Indians will come to anniversary of Mahatma many parts of the world. the UK for pursuing acaGandhi. Principal of the Mrs. Ghanashyam also had a demic and professional Somerville and the Indian guided tour of the degrees.

High Commissioner to the Ashmolean Museum which

Record ethnic minority students at Oxford Oxford University's latest admissions figures show the highest ever proportion of places for ethnic minority students - at 18%. There were also rising numbers of state school pupils, up to about 61%. But the figures, for undergraduate entry in autumn 2018, showed more places taken by students from Singapore than from the north-east of England.

Vice-chancellor Louise Richardson said a "sea change" in admissions

would "accelerate the pace of change".

Last month, Oxford University announced a target for a quarter of its UK students to come from disadvantaged backgrounds by 2023.

The university's push for a more diverse intake followed accusations that it was socially exclusive.

This detailed breakdown on admissions also highlights different trends below the headline figures -

such as Asian students being much more likely to get places than other minorities.

The admissions statistics show a widening of access, but also an intensification of competition.

Applications have increased significantly, up by almost a quarter in four years, with 21,000 applications for about 3,300 places.

There is rising competition at home and abroad and the proportion of

places going to UK students has continued to slip downwards - about 78% this year, compared with 82% four years previously.

The BBC showed earlier this year that UK student numbers at Oxford and Cambridge had fallen by more than a thousand compared with a decade ago.

Among students from overseas, China and Singapore have the biggest number of places.

The 320 students from

China and 206 from Singapore compare with the 159 places for students from the north-east of England and 217 from Wales, in three-year figures for 2016 to 2018.

There were more than 3,800 places for students from London and the south-east of England, across these years - which were also the places with the highest concentrations of students with top grades.

A university spokesman

said: "Every student at Oxford is chosen based on academic ability and potential alone" and that higher fees for overseas students were not a factor.

The proportion of state school pupils getting places is at its highest in records going back about 40 years.

Among UK entrants, it has gone up from 56.3% to 60.5% over the past four years - and this translates to about 80 more places for state-educated pupils and

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15 - 21 June 2019

SCRUTATOR’S There were the usual distractions in the aftermath Prime Minister Narendra return to power following the BJP’s staggering victory at the polls. BJP Cabinet Minister and firebrand, Giriraj Singh, taunted Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, for hosting an Iftar. A sharp exchange between the two ended with a stern reprimand to Giriraj Singh from BJP President Amit Shah, who told him to desist using such language in future.

Nitish Kumar’s party, the Janata Dal (United) is a member of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. Offender Giriraj, aware of the authority wielded by Amit Shah, will have to watch his step.

(Business Line June 6).

Getting to grips India’s economy is the Modi government’s first priority, which includes restoring growth after the dip, making the economy for purpose in the 21st century. To this end, there has to be

quarter, ended March 31, 2019 The World Bank report said India’s urban consumption was given a lift by a pickup in credit growth, whereas rural consumption was hindered by soft agricultural prices. ‘Private consumption and investment will benefit from strengthening credit growth amid more accommodative monetary policy, with inflation having fallen below the Reserve Bank India’s target,’ said the World Bank . India’s new Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, will be presenting her

according to the Department for Promotion of Industry and International Trade. The sector, which includes finance, banking, insdurance, outsourcing, Research & Development and analysis, attracted $6.7 billion in 2017-18.

The government has introduced timelines for approvals and streamlining procedures to improve ease of doing business in the country. Raising FDI inflows in the services sector is vital as it contributes over 60 per cent to the GDP - gross domestic product (Hindu June 6).

Business School and the London School of Economics. However, Azim Premji will remain on the company board as a non-executive director.

FPIs surge in India

Global telecom industry body GSMA estimates that India will have 920 unique mobile subscribers by 2025, which will include 88 million 5G connections. The report said there were close to 750 million subscribers at the end of 2018, and expected this number to swell to 930 million (Hindu, June 6).

unable to wins a single of the 25 seats contested, the BJP sweeping the board (Business Line June 6).

Reddy’s broom in Andhra Pradesh

Fresh CEO, MD The Board announced that Abidali Neemuchwala would be designated Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the company (Hindu, June 7).

By 2025, India’s 88 million 5Gs

The current financial year beginning April 1, 2019 has registered the best start to a financial year for a long time. In the opening two months of the current fiscal, Foreign Portfolios Investments (FPIs) have invested around Rs Rs 29,113 crore in Indian equities, the highest in 17 years – clearly a vote of confidence in the government’s assurance that economic reforms would be vigorously pursued – a strong mandate for the government, leading to prospect for further reforms. ‘The re-election of the government to power with an even higher majority indicates an even higher majority peace policy and stability to the global community, said Ariham Chanda, CEO, IIFL Securities (Hindu June 6).

India supplies almost twothirds anti-retroviral drugs across developing countries, according to a senior Indian diplomat at the country’s permanent mission at the United Nations. Paulomi Tripathi, addressing the General Assembly session, told delegates that ‘remarkable progress had been made in the fight against HIV/AIDS epidemic.’

Manufacturing pick-up in May

IIT-Ms permit access to cutting edge technologies

India’s manufacturing picked up in May, according to data released by the Nikkei India Manufacturing and Purchasing Managers’ Index. ‘The revival in new order growth promoted a faster upturn in manufacturing production, as Indian firms sought to replenish inventories utilised in May to strengthen demand,’ said Pollyanna De Lima, Principal Economist at IHS Market and author of the report. The upbeat mood among producers, coupled with a solid increase in new work, underpinned further job creation (Statesman, June 4).

The Advanced Manufacturing Technology Development Centre, an industry-academic collaborative venture set up at IIT Research Park with support from the Department of Heavy Industries, is turning to be a major boon for the manufacturing industry in indigenisation and in the ‘Make in India’ vision projected by the government.

Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, cloud computing etc will become the norm (Business Line, June 7).

Newly elected Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has started using his broom on a number of state projects initiated by his predecessor Chandrababu Naidu, who was swept out of office in the recent state assembly elections. The finances of Andhra Pradesh were in a parlous condition, hence economies had to put in place.

Two-thirds of world’s Anti-AIDS drugs, Indian

Jagan Mohan Reddy

Reddy directed bureaucrats to scrutinise Naidu’s projects for corruption and questionable feasibility and scrap them if required.

Project cancelled

Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari and Nirmala Sitharaman

continuing economic reforms in a business-friendly environment, helped by a transparent and responsive bureaucracy. Getting togrips with these challenges, the Prime Minister has done the following: set up cabinet committee to deal with investment and growth; a second committees to focus on employment and skill development; the invest growth panel will include the Prime Minister, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyus Goyal. Each of these ministers is a heavyweight. So, too, are those who will constitute the Employment and Skill Development, they being the Prime Minister, Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyus Goyal, Narendra Singh Tomar, Dharmendra Pradhan and Hardeep Singh Puri. Former Home Minister and present Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was a late inclusion all in these critical panels (Times of India, Hindu, June 6,7).

World Bank projection The World Bank’s projected growth for India in the current fiscal ending March 31, 2020 is 7.5 per cent. The bank in its Global Economic Prospectus released last week, said that its estimated growth for India ended March 31, 2019 was 7,.2 per cent. This was some relief following data of a five-year slow down in the last

budget to Parliament on July 5, which is expected to include a range of wide-ranging economic reforms. (Statesman June 6).

RBI rate cut The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut the repo rate by 25basic points, and thus the monetary policy stance from ‘neutral’ to ‘accommodative.’ These decisions have been propelled by the need

New Premji for Old Having inherited a modest cooking fat company way back in the 1960s, Azim Premji transformed it into an IT national and global giant worth $25 billion,

Indian pharmaceuticals Indian pharmaceuticals supplied almost two-thirds of the drugs used globally, helping scale up access to treatment. There have been 84 per cent reduction in tuberculosis deaths in 2017 among people living with HIV in India.(Statesman, June 5).

Rajasthan Congress astir on leadership

Shaktikanta Das

to arrest the recent economic decline and stimulate growth.

Stakeholders, including bankers and industrialists have welcomed the RBI rate cut. However, the Sensex fall shows that liquidity anxieties still remain in certain quarters (Hindu, Business Line, Statesman, June 7) Boom in services FDI Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the services sector grew 36.5 per cent to $9.15 billion in 2018-19,

A rift in the ranks of the Rajasthan wing of the Congress party appears to have surfaced in the wake of the BJP’s massive victory in the recent general election. A Congress member of the state Legislative Assembly, Prithviraj Meena, has called for the replacement of Chief Wipro’s Azim Premji with son Rishad Premji Minister and part veteran Ashok Gehlot by rising that is Wipro today, he decided star Sachin Pilot. Prithviraj the time had come to hand over Meena said Gehlot should bear the reins as the Executive responsibility for the party’s Chairman to his 42 year-old son dismal performance in the general Rishad, educated at the Harvard election in which Congress was

Addressing a review meeting on agriculture and allied sectors at his residence, Jagan Mohan Reddy said the benefit under the ‘YSR ‘Rythu Bharosa,’ one of the nine election promises would be directly credited into bank accounts of farmers to help them in their farming activity. He took a serious view of the off the spurious seeds business that affected the farming community, suggesting that seed legislation should be introduced to curb the menace. He emphasised the work of officials in seed and fertilizer distribution, and such other inputs at the village level, as were necessary. The government would bear the cost of the premium to be paid by farmers on the crop insurance scheme, the Chief Minister said. He also gave permission to the CBI – the Centre’s top investigative body, to enter Andhra Pradesh and investigate the corruption of the previous Naidu regime. Uniquely, Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has appointed five Deputy Chief Ministers. (Hindu, June 7, 8).

Congress defections to Telangana TRS Twelve Congress MLAs [Members of the Legislative Assembly] met the Speaker Srinivas Reddy to inform him of their decision to join the ruling TR|S – a further setback to a Congress leadership fast heading for the rocks (Hindu, June 7).

Monsoon relief The Monsoon has arrived in Kerala, cheering news for parched India.

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UK

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15 - 21 June 2019

Renewed protests in London: Baloch organisations oppose Pakistan government Priyanka Mehta On 9th June, Sunday, World Baloch Organization and the Baloch Republican Party jointly launched a human rights awareness campaign in London with the aim of garnering international attention to the abuse of the ethnic Baloch, Sindhi, Pashtun, Mohajir and other religious minorities in Pakistan.

The campaign is strategically organised at a time when London potentially has the highest number of tourists from across the world with the on-going Cricket World Cup but in light of the previous protests staged across the UK and Europe, Bhawal Mengal, a representative of the WBO, hopes to draw widespread support from the community.

“The reaction from the Pakistan government is the same regardless of where we protest. But these ads look to bring the attention of Londoners and foreign tourists towards the dire situation, and we hope the International community stands up for our rights and pressures the Pakistani establishment into putting an end to the inhumane practice,” said Bhawal Mengal.

Balochistan was previously a British colony that was granted independence in 1947. It was forcefully annexed by Pakistan in 1948, against the people’s will, and has been militarily occupied ever since. Pakistan has consistently refused a referendum on independence.

WBO activists allege that Pakistan is seeking to impose on the UK the same censorship about

Balochistan that it imposes inside Pakistan. It’s ironfisted rule is so brutal that it will not allow journalists, human rights monitors and aid agencies to enter Balochistan. This campaign is intended to focus on the issue of enforced disappearances in Pakistan, where according to some activists, thousands of civillians have been forcibly abducted by the country's military and its intelligence agencies.

Sharing his personal story, Mengal said“My uncle was abducted from Balochistan, taken to Kashmir in 1974 and he died during the interrogation process. Imran Khan had previously gone on record and stated that he would resign from Government if he wouldn't be able to take action against agencies who are responsible for such forced disappearances and extra-judicial killings. But, so far nothing has happened and we have to understand that it does not matter who is in power in Pakistan because the government virtually has no control of the country,” said Bhawal.

Activists claim that most of these civilians are extrajudicially killed and their bodies dumped on roadsides bearing signs of extreme torture, while oth-

ers stay missing forever.

Amnesty International, has labelled this as the he kill and dump policy. Victims include activists, teachers, students, doctors, intellectuals and journalists who have voiced their opinions against the military’s iron grip over the country. The military’s control over the local media is such that anyone reporting such incidents risks falling victim themselves.

In the first phase of the campaign, advertisement bikes were seen riding all around London’s city centre carrying banners with “Help end enforced disappearances in Pakistan” slogans on them. However, in the following stages, the organisations are wary of revealing too much information pertaining to the protest with regards to possible counteraction from the opposition.

The organizers of the campaign have long been engaged in efforts to highlight the worsening human rights situation in Balochistan at international platforms, organising events around Europe and in the United States and focusing on advocacy activities in the European Parliament, the US parliamentary houses, and the United Nations.

Birmingham LGBT protest continues: Demonstrators barred from school Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson, the headteacher of a school in Birmingham that has been at the centre of protests over LGBT equality classes has said that she was "delighted" after a judge issued a fresh interim injunction against the demonstrations.

Clarkson, the headteacher at Anderton Park Primary School, said the 12 weeks of demonstrations had caused distress to staff, parents as well as students.

“It's an absolutely glorious day for us, for the children, parents and staff of Anderton Park. We are delighted a new order has been granted that keeps the kids and staff safe from the protests," she was quoted as saying.

"It also strengthens the protection for us as it refers to all aspects of teaching, not just equalities. We are pleased we can go back to school and tell our staff we will be free from protests outside the school for the rest of the year.”

Protesters have been gathering outside Anderton Park Primary School over

concerns children were too young to learn about samesex relationships. A trial is set to go ahead in July over whether protests can be held outside the school. On Monday, Justice Warby QC quashed an original injunction keeping protesters from the school gates and imposed a similar one until the trial.

“One-night-only” experience for deafblindness The Hemraj Goyal Foundation has launched a “one-night-only” sensory experience in Central London, in aid of Sense International, a deafblindness charity.

Deafblindness is a combination of sight and hearing impairment that affects how an individual communicates, accesses information and gets around. On 18th June, Tuesday, the foundation will be hosting a one of a kind sensory experience where it will raise awareness and funds for the charity.

Inspired by a recent trip

to India where they interacted with children living with the condition, Senses will give guests an insight into the inner workings of human anatomy and showcase the functioning of the five senses- sight, smell, touch, hearing and taste all work together - and what happens when you single them out.

The event is taking place at Aures London, near London Waterloo Station.

Aures London describes itself as an immersive environment that aims to stimulate the senses. Guests will be taken on a journey

through the senses, first experiencing how a specialised environment can heighten each of the senses through targeted stimulation. Following the demonstration, guests will have the chance to explore each sense as an independent mechanism, taking part in small experiences located throughout the event space.

The Foundation will be hosting two Senses sessions on 18th June 2019, the first commencing at 6pm and the second at 8pm. Find out more and buy your tickets now for just £10, at www.HGF.org.uk

Enfield Asian Welfare Association: Day Care Centre for Asian Elderly Permanent Male Care Support Worker:

Salary: £ 8.23 per hour gross Hours: 5.5 hours Days: Fridays from 9.30am to 3pm.

Details: • Experience of working with Older Asian people, or, in a Care setting, essential • Basic statutory qualifications e.g. Manual Handling, food hygiene, first aid etc essential • NVQ Level 2 qualification in Care or above required Closing date: 1st July 2019 and Interviews immediately thereafter

Sessional Male/Female Care Support Worker(s):

Salary: £ 8.23 per hour gross Hours: As needed Days: As needed. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Fridays from 9.30/10am to 3pm.

Details as above: Ongoing with no closing date.

Permanent Community Bus Driver:

Salary: £ 8.32 per hour Hours: 16 hours a week Days: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays You will transport people to and from their homes using an 11 -16-seater Bus and drive for Outings.

You will be required to assist in Daily and 10 weekly bus Inspections, maintenance check and servicing appointments etc.

Closing date: 1st July 2019 and Interviews immediately thereafter

Sessional Community Bus Driver:

Salary: £8.32 per hour Hours: As needed Days: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays Details as above: Ongoing with no closing date.

Permanent Role as Deputy Manager for Day Care Centre for Elderly Asian People/ Assistant to CEO

Plus 1-year fixed term: Development Manager to Expand work of EAWA Plus Pay: Starting at £13 per hour.

Hours: To work 3/5 days a month to cover for the Day care centre manager/Assistant to CEO on a permanent basis and one day a week, based at EAWA Office, undertaking Community Development work for one year.

Responsible to CEO EAWA Duties: Manage Day Care Operations /Assist CEO Plus To undertake Community Development work • To provide cover for Existing Manager and CEO • Managerial Experience of working with Older Asian people, or, in a Care setting, essential • Degree in Social Work or related health field, NVQ 3 / 4 in Health and Social Care or other Care Qualification preferred.

• Work alongside the CEO to support organisational needs like ISO9001, Policy and procedures and similar • Community Development Experience preferably for Older People. Ability to write fundraising bids and develop EAWA to take on new projects. Project manage new projects created, until staff are recruited to continue the work. Must be Computer Literate.

Ongoing with no closing date.

For all Roles: Knowledge of an Asian Language(s) Essential. Looking for Gujarati, Hindi Speaker(s) etc Car Owner preferred.

For Application pack, please contact: Chetna Shah (CEO), On Tel 020 8443 1197 or email info@eawa.org.uk Address Office No 1, 52 Alexandra Road, Ponders End, Enfield, EN3 7EH You may send your CV’s, but we will issue an electronic pack to you via email.

EAWA is an equal opportunities employer

For Voluntary positions, please contact the EAWA office.

Certificate Number 7957 ISO 9001

14 COMMUNITY

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15 - 21 June 2019

London Mayor celebrates Eid at Trafalgar Square

(L-R) Dr. Myriam François, Asma Khan, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Riz Ahmed and Abdullah Afzal at the Trafalgar Eid celebrations

On 8th June, Saturday, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan joined thousands of Londoners for the annual Eid celebrations at the Trafalgar Square. Held at the Square for the 14th consecutive time the festival marked the end of the

month long fasting period Ramadan as Londoners and guests of all ages, backgrounds, faiths and communities came to celebrate Eidal-Fitr The programme was hosted by journalist and broadcaster Myriam

Francois and actor and comedian Abdullah Afzal and the Mayor was also joined by the award-winning Hollywood actor, rapper and activist Riz Ahmed.

The festival also featured performances from

American singer Alman Nusrat, West African– European contemporary artists Koroleko Band, Syrian classical musicians as well as Indonesian dance group Lila Bhawa.

“I’m delighted to have

Overseas Friends of BJP celebrate NaMo victory About 150 wellwishers and supporters of Overseas Friends of BJP (OFSBJP) East London, Ilford celebrated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s win in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and shared their experiences of Modi’s reign over the last five years alongside their expectations from the BJP government in the next five years.

Discussing NaMo's win, the Chief Guest, and Vice Preident of OSFBJP, Dr Anand Arya said“Sangathan could not beat BJP. This is because BJP got minorities and people from poor communities to support Modiji. Many people living in rural India may be illiterate and poor but they showed maturity and intelligence while casting their vote for the BJP.” Members gathered at the event sang the national anthem of indialed by satish gautam followed by chants of “Jai Shree Ram”- a Hindu slogan. Last month, in the state of West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had been travelling through one of the constituencies when some of the youths had raised these slogans, were booked for “petty offences” and eight of them were arrested but were later released on bail.

“It is sad that people were arrested in West Bengal for saying Jai Sia Ram. Hope things will change. Modiji has achieved immense respect for India on a global platform and among international countries,” said Darshan Grewal, Vice President of the organi-

sation and an ex-Mayor of Hounslow.

The event was attended

by Rami Ranger, MBE, Inder Singh Jamu, ex mayor Barking and Dagenham, Dhirubhai Shah, Sanchalak, Vinubhai Wadher, Surendra Shah, Jayantibhai Patel,

Ashok Kumar Sharma, ex Mayor Redbridge, Suresh Kumar Indira Travel, Jagdish Trehan, Chairman, Satkar Club, Panjabi Centre, Ilford and Mr Ramesh Vasishta.

“The Indians have given Narendra Modi a massive

mandate because of his excellent work to date,” said Mr Basheshar N Bhanot, one of the organizers of the event.

Whereas, C.K. Chibber, another organiser of the event said, “The Opposition in India has made a factory of lies to malign Modiji and the mainstream media fabricated false stories against BJP.” The event also saw Gurdev Lalli, Sudha Malhotra and Krishan Kumar Sharma sing patriotic songs at the event while the organisers thanked Kurukshetra Group led by Saahil Kalra for their hospitality and the V.H.P for their support and assistance in organising the event.

again joined with Londoners of all backgrounds to celebrate the close of Ramadan. Eid is a time for celebration and I’m so proud that Londoners can come together in the iconic surroundings of

Trafalgar Square to embrace the breadth and diversity of Muslim culture. It’s a perfect illustration of the spirt of unity and inclusion of our city, and shows the world that London is open to all,” said Sadiq Khan.

World Environment Day at local care home

Residents and team at Karuna Manor celebrating World Environment Day

On 4th June, Tuesday, residents, relatives and team members at Karuna Manor celebrated the World Environment Day by attending a seminar delivered by Natasha Gupta, a teacher and owner of Blue Feather Design.

“We will now not waste food, will save energy by switching off the lights when not needed and are keen to recycle where possible,” pledged the residents and teams at Karuna Manor.

At the session, Natasha discussed about the increasing carbon footprint and various initiatives that can help reduce this along with the effect of global warming due to reduction of trees.

She also highlighted the several habits one could undertake in their daily domestic

activities both at work and home which can contribute towards reduced carbon emissions in the atmosphere.

From raising awareness around the consumption of renewal energy sources, to recycling plastics and other resources, the seminar aimed at educating the community about climate change.

Contributing towards a greener planet, Karuna Manor has garden several trees, energy saving sensor lights and a heating system that is controlled by environmental temperature.

“My team and I have learnt a lot from this talk and would like to start taking actions towards improving environment,” said Ruth Kigaa, the Home Manager at Karuna Manor.

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15 - 21 June 2019

Ketna Patel Contemporary Expression (Part Two) Sunetra Senior

even the physical, to a mental place of pure acknowledgment.

rom living with naga babas in Kumbhmelas to camping in Kashmir, Ketna has been obsessively travelling and 'reading' India for the last 30 years. Indeed, one of her main mission is to celebrate and make stronger the emotional, economic and cultural bridges between Britain and India by interfacing between Art, Academia and Policy.

F

Last year, India Inc publicly recognized her as a UK-India Youth Leader, she became a member of the thinktank 'bridge India' (www.bridgeindia. org.uk), and was invited to be a work-

*** This means that the fostering of immediate, and “interpersonal” connections has never been more vital. Ketna elaborated: “The theory underpinning my work is that of Global Anthropology: a new sociology emerging as a result of the fall out of globalisation, especially in the information age. Now, we all have access to each other in unprecedented ways and with digital technology, it is a brilliant opportunity to express ourselves more honestly. We Asians have so many stories and colours within us - why live in magno-

Ketna Patel

Alternative Surfaces

ing member of the steering committee lia and beige minimalism when this of the Commonwealth Women in beautiful expression in our DNA is Business network (www.cwbusinessimpatiently waiting to be released from women.org) years of societal conditioning? Why “I followed the elections closely and become a clone to a homogenous, felt that Modi and the BJP won not bland non-expression that is being sysbecause they were pro-Hindu or necestematically imposed upon us when we sarily nationalist, but because they have the capacity to own our narratives focussed primarily on pragmatic as never before? I try to map this reand infrastructural reform. mixed society onto an overlapNecessities are what ping of Art, Design and Utility matters to most peoby reducing the gap "In the ple: it was the first between our Domestic internet driven time I heard the and Public expression. government talk information age that So for example, why can seriously on Art not be on our we all live in, fake introducing basic kitchen cabinets, our sanitation: on the sofas, our cars and narratives are issue of toilets! indeed on our buildcrumbling, and the They also raised ings? regional awareness No surprise then that complex truth is on urgent social Ketna’s current series, surfacing" matters such as ‘Brit-India’, is a salute to female infanticide and hybrid identities and a profemale education. foundly diverse present: “with the Comparatively, as someone who collective anxiety that’s surfaced, we cares for progress, I’ve felt the liberal are also being given permission to elite, well meaning as they are, have express ourselves. If we are truly become removed from these ground engaged and compassionate, we can get realities, and need to stop being so defensive and be open to a reality check. In the internet driven information age that we all live in, fake narratives are crumbling, and the complex truth is surfacing.

This is a splendid opportunity for us all to let go of our defensive positions and really learn from each other” However, as well as encouraging fervour, the equally meditative medium of art has also allowed Ketna to have an objective distance. The artist ultimately through to the other side.” And so, defitalked of a deeper, existential truth: antly inspired, Ketna not only encapsu“Whether or not we’d like to admit it, lates the role of an artist, but their we are living in a global capitalist culunique place in difficult times: being ture: in a hyped-up cult of celebrity able to embrace as much as critique where we’re made to feel we’re nothing human behaviour, they are the sensiunless we prove ourselves,” and in a tive “custodians” of society, naturally spectacular way too. In this sense, it focussed on the individual and their seems, everyone is automatically emotional needs. Art, the most autheneffaced. The desire to belong then trantic representation of the self, is then scends skin colour, class politics, and itself a powerful governance.

Give us an example of your art as displaying the new, evolving consciousness you speak of?

The past, future and present are collapsing into one plane because of our unprecedented ability to access information from all trajectories of time. We have futuristic movies in the cinema and romanticised period dramas on Netflix. IDENTITY in the Information Age is one of the most important subjects today. I’ve created the 'Asia-Pop' and 'Art-vertising' collections as a response to this. For 20 years, I was based in Singapore, a mix of predominantly Chinese with Malaysian, Indian and expatriate communities embedded. There was always an undercurrent of racial negotiation; something the Singapore Government has been very sensitive to due to a history of racial tension. There’s a particular body of work 'Asian Grandfathers'. I have Chairman Mao on the left and Mahatma Gandhi on the right as I see them as respectively left and rightbrained. India to me is the mother of Asia, essentially feminine: neurotic, chaotic & emotional whereas China is more masculine, logical, organized & practical. As the two countries are the main contenders of the emerging world economies, it’s important to see how we can work together, no matter how separate. Afterall, we have many overlapping strands in history where religion, trading routes, cuisine etc flowed in and out of both cultures simultaneously. These lineages cannot suddenly be cut off from each other just because our geo political contemporariness dictate it so. In the end, be it between Pakistan and India, China and India, or the U.K and India, it will be people and our emotional connections; our human relating with each other that will govern our choices and decisions.

Please find Ketna's SPOTLIGHT Story in full in our Online Edition: https://www.asianvoice.com/Lifestyle/Spotlight W: WWW.KETNAPATEL.COM T: @ketna_patel

Sadiq Khan faced by angry resident following fire in Barking apartments Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has been accused of “not facing the residents” sooner by a woman who lives at a block of flats that was engulfed by fire on Sunday 9th June in Barking where twenty flats were destroyed and another ten had been destroyed.

Two people were treated for smoke inhalation and about 18 families were evacuated from their homes and taken to the Thames View Community Centre, about a mile from the scene. Khan was visiting residents at the community centre when the incident occurred. The woman accused Khan of parading with the press in the area for "publicity."

“You come along here with all your press and all your whatever not. How about you go in there and face the residents that you have failed?”

“Instead of chasing around and banning low emissions, how about you

sort out these properties?

“You’re standing here with your press because it is a publicity stunt.

“But not once you have faced those residents. Not one resident have you gone and faced," she said.

Residents had raised issues about the safety of wooden cladding two years ago, following the tragedy at the Grenfell Tower.

Venilia Amorim, treasurer of the Barking Reach Residents’ Association, said residents were told the wooden cladding was safe.

But the speed at which the fire spread has raised questions about safety of the material.

About 100 firefighters worked for more than two hours to subdue the fire, which was extinguished at 18:00. The cause is being investigated.

However, Bellway Homes, which built the flats, believes the fire may have been caused due to a barbecue on a balcony.

Tej Kohli invests £79m into Artificial Intelligence London based billionaire Tej Kohli has invested another £79million into Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning ventures and has said that he would be investing the sum into Rewired, a venture capital studio. Founded in 2017, Rewired targets AI start-ups and robotic firms. The latest investment in the space declared during London Tech Week.

Bristol-based Open Bionics, Californian firm, Aromyx are among the list of companies backed by

Rewired.

The company was focusing on the firms that would power the new economy, transform businesses, revolutionise global healthcare and even improve and extend human life.

According to the experts, the global market for AI will be worth anywhere between $3.9 trillion by 2022 to as much as $15.7 trillion by 2030. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, AI is expected to provide a 22% boost to the British economy by 2029.

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18 FINANCE - UK

AsianVoiceNews

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15 - 21 June 2019

BoE's Saunders supports hike in interest rates Bank of England's policymaker Michael Saunders supported the views expressed by central bank's chief economist and said that the bank will probably need to raise interest rates sooner than financial markets expect.

Saunders, the first of the current Monetary Policy Committee members to vote for a rate hike in 2018, said the Michael central bank need not Saunders necessarily wait until all Brexit uncertainties were resolved before raising interest rates again.

Financial markets currently think the BoE is more likely to cut rates than to raise them over the coming year, reflecting signs that trade conflict between the United States and China is hurting the world economy, and a dovish shift by the US Federal Reserve. This contrasts with the policy outlook set out by the BoE last month, when Governor Mark Carney highlighted that inflation was likely to overshoot the BoE’s target over the coming years if it did not raise rates faster than was expected.

“We probably would have to return to something like a neutral stance earlier than markets project,” Saunders said in a speech hosted by the Institute of Directors at Southampton’s Solent University. “I want to stress that the MPC does not necessarily have to keep rates on hold until all Brexit uncertainties are resolved,” Saunders added, noting the BoE had raised rates twice since Britain voted to leave the EU, in November 2017 and August 2018.

Andy Haldane, the BoE’s chief economist, said in an opinion piece that the time was nearing “when a small rise in rates would be prudent to nip any inflationary risks in the bud.” The BoE announces its next rate decision on June 20. Saunders said he was not trying to signal how he would vote at a particular meeting, and would pay close attention to incoming economic data.

How fast the economy was growing, relative to its sustainable trend, was one of the key things to watch at a time when there was little or no spare capacity, and another rate rise before Britain left the EU could not be ruled out, he said.

The most recent numbers paint a downbeat picture, with official figures earlier showing the British economy shrank 0.4% in April, the biggest drop since March 2016, driven by a slump in car production. Many carmakers temporarily stopped production in April due to fears of disruption to imports of components around the March 29 date when Britain was due to leave the EU, and were unable to change plans after Prime Minister Theresa May announced a delay until Oct. 31.

Aston Martin opens new factory to build SUV Aston Martin opens a new factory in St Athan, south Wales, to build its new sports car DBX which is expected to be out in the first half of 2020. Unlike other British carmakers, it is trying to double its annual production numbers. The DBX, the brand’s first sports utility vehicle in its 106-year history, is part of a strategy by the chief executive, Andy Palmer, to bring the carmaker into the modern era and broaden its appeal beyond its mainly male sports car clientele.

Speaking at the factory, Palmer said Aston Martin was targeting the tens of thousands of multimillionaire women in countries such as the US and China who are able to spend more than £140,000 on a car. “The DBX is seen as being neither male- nor female-biased – it’s neutral,” he said, referring to the results of testing with wealthy SUV owners.

The facility, still in the process of being completed, is situated on an old RAF base, which the Ministry of Defence handed over for commercial use after political interventions to secure employment in the UK. The Welsh government is paying for a new access road. The factory will eventually employ about 1,000 people – a particular boon for south Wales, which fought off competition from Birmingham, Alabama, as well as from British rivals.

UK economy shrinks after Brexit car factory shutdowns Official figures suggest the British economy shrunk in April during a dramatic decline in car production ahead of the original Brexit deadline. The Office for National Statistics said, gross domestic product (GDP) plunged by 0.4 per cent in April from a month earlier as factories across the country launched a wave of planned shutdowns to avoid any disruption that could have been caused by a nodeal. British manufacturers had planned on leaving the EU on March 29 with Theresa May pushing the country towards a no-deal.

She, however, agreed an extension until April 12 and then delayed the process until the end of October.

With economic growth stabilising, factories soon piled up on materials ahead of the deadline, and recent figures suggest the economy

shows that production slumped after the target date passed. The decline is the worst monthly GDP performance for the UK since March 2016.

Rob Kent-Smith, the head of GDP at the government statistics agency, said the decline was caused by falling car production amid the uncertainty over leaving the EU. He said, "There was also

widespread weakness across manufacturing in April, as the boost from the early completion of orders ahead of the UK's original EU departure date has faded."

While UK car manufacturers have struggled amid faltering demand for exports from China, several firms said they would temporarily halt activity due to Brexit, while some said they would

ultimately close factories altogether, with thousands of job losses. Jaguar Land Rover staged a week-long factory shutdown as part of its plans for Brexit in April.

BMW and Peugeot also brought forward annual maintenance stoppages that usually take place in the summer.

Earlier this month, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said that car production fell by almost half in April, with an "extraordinary" drop from 127,970 cars rolling off production lines in April 2018 to 70,971 this year, a fall of 44.5 per cent. The rate of growth over the three months to April has slowed to 0.3 per cent from 0.5 per cent in the first three months of the year, when stockpiling had helped boost the economy.

UK and South Korea agree to sign postBrexit trade deal The UK has reached a preliminary trade deal with South Korea to avoid disruption in case Britain leaves the EU without an agreement. Both countries have agreed in principle on a free trade agreement that will allow businesses to continue trading freely after Brexit, including in a nodeal scenario. The move comes at a time when ministers attempt to secure post-Brexit deals to retain trading rights on preferential terms with countries the UK already benefits from an agreement with under EU membership.

Liam Fox's international trade department has signed continuity deals with nations accounting for about 63 per cent of trade covered by EU deals, including Switzerland, Chile, and the Faroe Isles, up from 28 per cent three months ago.

Critics, however, warn that the deals may not cover as much trade as existing arrangements and are incomplete.

The Department for

International Trade said the agreement would allow UK firms to continue trading on preferential terms with the Asian nation. In 2018, 99 per cent of British exports to South Korea were eligible to be exported tariff free.

Fox signed the joint statement in Seoul on Monday with South Korean trade minister, Yoo Myunghee. In a statement, Fox said, “The value of trade between the UK and Korea has more than doubled since the EU-Korea agreement was applied in 2011.

Providing continuity in our trading relationship will allow businesses in the UK and Korea to keep trading without any additional barriers, which will help us further increase trade in the years ahead. As we face growing global economic headwinds, our strong trading relationship will be crucial in driving economic growth and supporting jobs throughout the UK and Korea.”

Trade between both countries was worth £14.6bn

South Korea’s Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox at the signing ceremony of an in-principle South Korea-UK free trade agreement

last year and has increased by an average of 12 per cent a year since the EU signed a free trade agreement with South Korea in 2011. UK exports to South Korea have increased by an average of 18 per cent a year since 2011.

British cars are particularly in demand, with exports up by a third to £943m in 2018.

Businesses including the drinks company Diageo and the law firm Clifford Chance welcomed the agreement, as

did the Scotch Whisky Association. The latter said South Korea was an important market for Scotch whisky, worth £70m in shipments last year.

Fox tweeted, “This means that whatever happens with Brexit, there will be total continuity in trade between our two countries and the basis for an ambitious future free trade agreement when we leave the EU.”

UK construction firms report smaller orderbooks An annual survey of subcontractors has revealed that British construction firms report almost a third less work in the pipeline than a year ago, with Brexit and the collapse of larger contractors a big factor.

Survey by trade finance provider Bibby Financial Services showed that subcontractors reported having 19 weeks of work to fall back on, down from 27

weeks a year earlier.

The subdued mood echoes official construction data released on Monday, which showed a sharp slowdown in annual growth to 2.4% in April, while May’s IHS Markit/CIPS construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI) dropped to its lowest since March 2018.

“It’s been a tough year for the subcontracting sector,

with the industry reeling from the collapse of two large high-profile contractors - and further impacted by the recent announcements regarding British Steel," Bibby’s managing director for construction, Helen Wheeler, said.

Brexit was the most commonly cited threat on the horizon, named by a quarter of firms, but two

thirds of the subcontractors said they had not prepared for it. “Brexit, the dominance of large contractors and late payment problems are all acting as brakes on the sector,” Wheeler added.

Many smaller British construction firms have been left out of pocket by the collapse of major contractors Interserve in March and Carillion just over a year earlier.

LIGHTENING DOESN’T STRIKE TWICE?

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Following last week’s article about the boomerang deal, we have had another deal come right back to us.

It had been secured by someone then that person had been gazumped with a lock out agreement.

The second buyer then did a U turn, after having gazumped the previous buyer.

Many would be worried about the fact this deal has been through two hands and not proceeded with.

Suresh Vagjiani

Sow & Reap London Property Investment

It is common for a deal which has been through too many hands or been too long in the market, to lose its shine. Many buyers assume there must be something wrong with it.

This is based purely on assumption and perception. This is actually how the market works. Investors generally think for a deal to be a deal it should get snapped up, and if it doesn’t go very quickly it tends to start to smell, of something not quite right.

The flat we have secured is in W2, it is a probate and it needs complete refurbishment. It’s in a purpose built block, therefore there is less likely to be something wrong with this flat, as this flat is one of many in a fully managed block.

The flat looks, smells and feels like a true probate flat. Given the age of some of the items, I’m sure there’s scope for making some beer money via an Ebay auction.

The lease is short at 52 years. However, my enquiries have confirmed this is actually mortgagable, even within the vehicle of a limited company. As time has gone on lenders have

REAL ESTATE VOICE

19

15 - 21 June 2019

become more comfortable with shorter leases, especially as legislation has changed to favour the leaseholder. Once you hold the flat for two years the freeholder is legally obligated to extend the lease. The premium is worked out using a formula.

It has become a more binary procedure now. Although there are some tricks to be played with the process, the process is very clearly defined. If the freeholder fails to respond in time it could prove to be a very expensive mistake.

This was the situation with a flat our client owned in Durham Terrace. It was a duplex ground and lower ground flat, consisting of around 1,800 sq. ft., on a premier road in Notting Hill. The freeholder was the council. When it came to the lease extension, the lawyer who was acting for us, who is a very astute lawyer with decades of experience, knew he was dealing with the council. Knowing this, he also knew they often drop the ball, and there is a high turnover in terms of staff. Therefore, he cheekily served the notice at an exceptionally low figure of £15,000.

As predicted the council failed to reply in the allocated time period. They then proceeded to try and back track.

I suspect the same thing will happen with this little deal in W2. The flat is around 750 sq. ft. and the purchase price is only £475K. This location has also been earmarked by a report by Knight Frank to grow strongly in the coming years. This is due to the Qatari money being ploughed into this area, combined with the very little supply of units coming on to the market.

Our lawyer was having none of this humbug and enforced our position. This is how we got a lease extension for only £15K. It pays to have lawyers actually on your side, and especially ones who can look at a situation in a commercial light.

WOMEN’S PROPERTY SEMINAR 4TH JULY 2019 Sow & Reap, in association with RecommendAsian, are pleased to announce our first women’s property seminar, to be held in Stanmore, on Thursday 4th July at 7pm.

Joining us will be our special guest speaker Bindar Dosanjh, who has won several property awards and has recently written a book called ‘Power Property Investing for Women’ - Winner of Business Book

Awards 2019. She will be sharing her story and why it is important for women to invest in property.

- Why the current environment provides a great window of opportunity - How to spot deals

This will be a great opportunity for you to see how Sow & Reap can add value and help you to invest in property.

At the seminar you will learn:

Attendance is free, and seats are limited - so early registration is recommended!

Please note that admittance is strictly by reservation only.

- Why it is important to invest in property as an asset class

Further details will be provided on registration.

BUY TO LET OPPORTUNITY

l Beautiful two bedroom flat in the heart of West Hampstead village l Long lease of more than 100 years and low service charge l High ceilings

l Flats in this location are sold for approx. £835 / sq. ft., while have been able to secure this for £720 / sq. ft.

London, NW6 Purchase Price: £540,000

l Surrounded by the restaurants, cafes and shopping facilities of West End Lane

l Close to West Hampstead station Call us now for more information!

Specialists in Central London Property Sourcing

0207 993 0103

info@sowandreap.co.uk www.sowandreap.co.uk 27 Gloucester Place, London, W1U 8HU SowandReapProperties

Sowandreapuk

Turning land into cash Get in touch about our land opportunities

20 FINANCE - INDIA

AsianVoiceNews

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15 - 21 June 2019

India to grow at 7.5% in next three years: WB In a forecast made by the World Bank, India's economy is projected to grow at 7.5 per cent in the next three years owing to robust investment and private consumption. In its Global Economic Prospects released last week said that India is estimated to have grown 7.2 per cent in fiscal year 2018/19, which ended March 31. A slowdown in government consumption was offset by solid investment, which benefited from public infrastructure spending.

The report said, China's growth rate in 2019 is projected to be dropped 6.2 per cent, then 6.1 per cent in 2020 and 6 per cent in 2021, as against a growth rate of 6.6 per cent in 2018. The report came at a time when data from Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed that Indian economic growth slowed to fiveyear low of 5.8 per cent in fourth quarter of 2018-19, pushing the

country behind China.

The decline in the economic activity has been attributed by the CSO to steep decline in growth in agriculture and manufacturing sectors.

According to the World Bank, growth in India is projected at

7.5 per cent in fiscal 2019/20 (April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020), unchanged from the previous forecast, and to stay at this pace through the next two fiscal years.

It said, "Private consumption and investment will benefit

from strengthening credit growth amid accommodative monetary policy, with inflation having fallen below the Reserve Bank of India's target." It also said, support from delays in planned fiscal consolidation at the central level should partially offset the effects of political uncertainty around elections in FY2018/19.

On the production side, robust growth was broad-based, with a slight moderation in services and agricultural activity accompanied by an acceleration in the industrial sector.

Weakening agricultural production reflected subdued harvest in major crops on the back of less rainfalls. The World Bank also said that India's urban consumption was supported by a pickup in credit growth, whereas rural consumption was hindered by soft agricultural prices.

Banks slip into red in Q4 after clocking profit in Q3 The Indian banking sector is back in the red in the fourth quarter with a £2.08 billion loss, thanks to provisioning for bad loans. Banks, in 2017-18, had reported a massive £8.5 billion loss as Reserve Bank of India's circular of February 2018 forced lenders to make provisions for bad loans and clean up their books.

Crisil had forecast in October 2018 that PSU banks would reduce their losses to £5 billion after their clean-up.

Default crisis broke out in the IL&FS group, since then, where banks have a £5.4 billion exposure. They also had to make provisions on loans of close to £800 million to Jet Airways.

Several banks also had to make provisions on Reliance Communications, part of Anil Ambani group, which had come under stress this year.

All these accounts resulted in fresh slippages for banks, increasing from the previous quarter for the first time this year. Finally, some of the big ticket recoveries under the first list of companies referred to insolvency at the behest of the RBI failed to materialise.

Eventually, public sector banks reported a collective loss of £3.09 billion in the fourth

quarter, the highest during the year.

Corporation Bank, IDBI Bank, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank and Allahabad Bank accounted for 75 per cent of all losses. Private banks reported a net profit of £1.01 billion in the fourth quarter, marginally lower than the £1.17 billion clocked in the preceding quarter. While most large private banks

generated a profit, Yes Bank reported a surprise loss of £150 million.

For the whole financial year 2019, public sector banks reported a net loss of £7.29 billion with IDBI Bank leading the list at £1.51 billion. On the positive side, banks have started growing their loan books, reducing their bad loans through provisioning and have improved their capital position following a fund infusion by the government.

Meanwhile, some public sector banks exited the RBI's prompt corrective action (PCA) framework.

These were Allahabad Bank, Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Dhanlaxmi Bank. Dena Bank, another lender under PCA, ceased to exist as it merged with Bank of Baroda.

Wipro chief Azim Premji to step down, son Rishad to take over reins Chairman of software major Wipro, Azim Premji, has decided to step down after 50 years and hand over charge to his elder son, Rishad. The Bengaluru-headquartered company made the announcement last week. The 75- year- old Premji will however, continue to be on its board as non-executive director for five years starting from July 31, 2019. He was conferred the title founder chairman of the company.

In a statement, Wipro said, "Rishad Premji, chief strategy officer and member of the board, will take over as the executive chairman of the company.

The company announced conferring the additional role of managing director of Wipro to Chief

Azim Premji and his son Rishad

Executive Officer (CEO) and Executive Director Abidali Z Neemuchwala. Premji is also managing director of Wipro, along with being executive chairman.

In a statement, he said, "It has been a long and satisfying journey for me. As I look into the future, I plan to devote more time to our philanthropic activities. I have

great confidence and trust in Rishad's leadership to steer Wipro in its next phase of growth as we move forward."

Premji will however, stay chairman of Wipro Enterprises, the unlisted company that focuses on the non-IT businesses, and also Wipro-GE Healthcare, the company's joint venture with GE. Wipro has been working on succession for quite some time, grooming Rishad to step into Premji's shoes. As chief strategy officer, Rishad drives the company's mergers and acquisition strategy, apart from leading Wipro's $100 million venture capital fund, which invests in start-ups that develop new-age technologies.

He is aware of the dynamics of

the trade, and proved his mettle by raising issues faced by the industry.

He earned brownie points from Wipro when he spearheaded the integration of Citi Technology Services, following Wipro's acquisition of the Citibank captive in the application and infrastructure space. Citi is one of Wipro's top customer in the BFSI space. "Rishad brings to this role new ways of thinking, experience, and competence that will lead Wipro to greater heights. He has been an integral part of the leadership team since 2007, most recently as chief strategy officer, and has an intimate understanding of our company, from operations to strategy," Premji said.

Indiabulls Housing Finance refutes charges of siphoning of funds Indiabulls Housing Finance has denied charges of misappropriation of around £9.8 billion by its chairman Sameer Gehlaut and other directors and said that the allegation is "bizzare" and is meant to malign the reputation of the company. The statement comes after a plea was filed in the Supreme Court seeking legal action against Indiabulls Housing Finance, Gehlaut and the directors for the alleged misappropriation of public money. The petition alleged that money worth millions were siphoned off by Gehlaut and the directors of the firm for their personal use.

"The total loans on the books of Indiabulls Housing are approx £9 billion.

The allegation of siphoning-off £9.8 billion is bizarre," the company said in a regulatory filing. The company said that a racket of blackmailers has been trying to extort money from Indiabulls over the last two months threatening to file complaints to various government departments alleging siphoning off of £5.5 billion if £1 milllion was not paid to them, following which the company filed an FIR on June 4.

It further said that one of the people involved in the blackmail was arrested on June 7. Following the arrest, the group of people involved floated another complaint enhancing the amount to £9.8 billion, it said. The company said the writ petition is a "desperate attempt" to malign its reputation.

Indiabulls Housing Finance also mentioned that the petitioner had bought four shares in the company a month back.

RBI cuts interest rates for 3rd time this year In a move that should make mortgages, auto loans and other borrowings cheaper, Reserve Bank of India cut interest rates by 25 basis points for the third time this year and hinted at more cuts by changing its policy stance from “neutral” to “accommodative”.

Emboldened by benign inflation and availability of buffer foodgrain stock, the central bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) voted unanimously to bring down the repo rate from 6% to 5.75% - the lowest since September 2010. Repo rate is the price commercial banks pay to the RBI for short term funds. Announcing the MPC decision, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said, “Growth impulses had weakened significantly. A sharp slowdown in investment activity, along with a continuing moderation in private consumption growth, is a matter of concern.” He added that the fact that the bank’s stance was changed to accommodative meant that rate hikes were off the table for now.

RBI fines Kotak Bank £200,000 The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a £200,000 penalty on Uday-Kotak-led Kotak Mahindra Bank for non-compliance with the directions issued to dilute promoter holding by December 2018. The RBI said that Kotak Bank was directed to furnish information about details of the shareholding held by its promoters and to submit details of the proposed course of action of the bank for complying with the permitted timeline for dilution of promoter shareholding. “Subsequently, the bank was directed to convey its commitment to achieve the dilution as per the timelines stipulated. However, the bank failed to comply with the said directions and a showcause notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed for non-compliance with the said directions,” the RBI said.

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15 - 21 June 2019

in brief 12 INDIANS KILLED IN DUBAI BUS ACCIDENT Twelve Indians were among the 17 people killed in bus accident in Dubai last week.

The mishap occurred when a bus from Oman crashed into a road sign in the United Arab Emirates. Earlier in the day, the Indian Consulate in Dubai tweeted names of eight out of the 12 Indians who lost their lives. The deceased have been identified as Rajagopalan, Feroz Khan Pathan, Reshma Feroz Khan Pathan, Deepak Kumar, Jamaludeen Arakkaveettil, Kiran Johnny, Vasudev, Tilakram Jawahar Thakur. The bus which was carrying 31 passengers, crashed into a height barrier that slashed the rear window, cut into the left side of the bus and killed 17 passengers sitting on that side. According to reports, the driver wrongly entered a road not designated for buses towards Al Rashidiya metro station.

INDIAN AMERICAN WOMAN PRESIDES OVER US HOUSE Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington, became the first South Asian American woman to preside over the US House of Representatives. Jayapal took to Twitter to share a clip the session where she can be seen presiding over the House as a temporary speaker. In the text that accompanied the clip, Jayapal wrote that she was "beyond proud" to preside over the House and serve in "the most diverse Congress in American history." Although Nancy Pelosi has been serving as the Speaker of the House of Representatives since January 2019, members of the majority party in the House periodically take turns to temporarily preside over the chamber. 53-year old Jayapal represents Washington DC's seventh congressional district. As a member of the Democratic Party, she represented the 37th legislative district in the Washington State Senate from 2015 to 2017.

PIO ACTIVIST WHO YELLED AT BEZOS ARRESTED IN US Indian-American activist Priya Sawhney, who interrupted Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’s on-stage talk, has been arrested on trespassing and burglary charges, according to media reports. Sawhney, 30, rushed on stage during Amazon’s “re:MARS” event and asked Bezos to do something about “chicken farms”. Sawhney evaded even security, as well as Bezos’s personal detail. Sawhney is due again in court on July 15 on false identification and burglary charges. Sawhney is co-founder of Direct Action Everywhere (DXE), an international grassroots network of animal rights activists founded in 2013 in San Francisco. DXE said it was protesting against what it claims is poor treatment of chickens at a poultry farm in California that supplies chicken and turkey to Amazon and others.

INDIAN AMERICAN ARRESTED A 38-year-old Indian-American was arrested in Washington for threatening a person with an air gun and causing a stampede during a gay pride parade, leaving several people injured as thousands of participants fled in panic fearing a mass shooter. Aftabjit Singh pulled out the gun after another person allegedly threatened his “significant other”, police said. The police arrested him and seized his BB gun - a type of air gun designed to shoot metallic ball projectiles from his brown bag. He has been charged with the illegal possession of a BB gun, carrying a dangerous weapon and disorderly conduct.

Declare assets or face legal action, Imran tells citizens ISLAMABAD: Pakistan PM Imran Khan warned of legal action against those who do not declare their undisclosed assets

by June 30, as the cash-strapped government ramps up efforts to fix the country’s economy.

Addressing the nation ahead of the federal budget for fiscal year 2019-20, Khan said: “We will need to change ourselves if we want to become a great country.

I am appealing to all of you to take part in the asset declaration scheme that we have brought, because if we don’t pay taxes, we will not be able to raise our country up,” Khan said.

The PM said that people have until June 30 to declare their benami assets, benami bank accounts and money that was kept abroad. Benami is a term used for a transaction,

Imran Khan

contract, or property that is made or held under a name that is fictitious or is that of a third party who holds as ostensible owner for the principal or beneficial owner.

“After June 30, you will not get this opportunity. Our agencies have information about

who has benami accounts and benami properties,” the premier said. “My Pakistanis, in the past ten years Pakistan’s debt went from Rs 6,000 billion to Rs 30,000 billion. This country cannot cover its expenses on the money that is left behind,” he said.

Pak military decides to cut defence budget ISLAMABAD: In an unprecedented voluntary move, Pakistan's military has decided to cut the defence budget for the next fiscal year amid an austerity drive launched by the government to solve the cash-strapped nation's economic woes.

Major General Asif Ghafoor, Director General (DG) Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) in his Twitter message said that voluntary cuts in the defence budget for next fiscal year would not be at the cost of defence and security.

We shall maintain effective response potential to all threats. Three services will manage impact of the cut through appropriate internal measures. It was important to participate in development of tribal areas & Balochistan," Ghafoor said.

However, Ghafoor did not mention how much budget cut would be undertaken.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said that he was very appreciative of the Pakistan military's "unprecedented voluntary initiative of stringent cuts in their defence expenditures" especially in light of the country's financial situation. Khan said he was grateful for the move that came "despite multiple security challenges" that Pakistan faces.Khan said that the funds saved will be used for the development of the newlymerged tribal areas as well as in Balochistan.

Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry said this was "not a small step at all. Only a strong civilian-military coordination can rescue Pakistan from the deep problems of Governance and economy," Chaudhry said.

Khan after assuming office last year, launched several austerity measures. He moved into a modest three-bed room house of his military secretary along with two servants. On May 28, the Prime Minister's Special Assistant on Information, Firdous Ashiq Awan, had announced that the federal budget will be presented on June 11.

Last month, the government announced that all civil and military institutions would contribute to the austerity-oriented federal budget for 2019-20. "There will be austerity in the coming budget. We will try to keep government expenditures to the minimum possible level," Prime Minister's Adviser on Finance and Economic Affairs Hafeez Shaikh had said.

Pakistan in 2018 was the 20th biggest military spender in the world with an expenditure of USD 11.4 billion, a report published by the Stockholm International

Peace Research Institute (Sipri) said in April.

The military spending of 2018 made up for four per cent of Pakistan's gross domestic product (GDP) which is the highest level since 2004, according to the report by the Sweden-based institute.

The top military spender in the world is

Pakistan recently reached a preliminary agreement with the IMF for a $6 billion bailout. In May, the Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf government had announced its first tax amnesty scheme - Asset Declaration Scheme - for whitening of undisclosed expenditures, sales and assets, including foreign assets, at nominal tax rates. The scheme came into effect through a presidential ordinance, which will offer a period of 45 days to people for declaration of their undeclared assets, expenditures, and sales along with payment of taxes until June 30 this year.

The government plans to present an austerity-oriented budget with no increase in the salaries of army officials of higher ranks.

Asif Ghafoor

the United States, which spent USD 649 billion on its forces last year. The US military spending, however, has decreased by 17 per cent over the past decade, the report said.

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Lanka President warned against bid to scuttle blasts probe COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s parliament warned President Maithripala Sirisena not to scuttle a controversial investigation into security lapses before the Easter suicide bombings, the speaker’s office said. The warning came after Sirisena said he would not cooperate with the parliamentary probe and would not allow defence or police officials to testify before the select committee.

The president called an emergency cabinet meeting last week to oppose the legislature’s investigation into the April 21 attacks that killed 258 people, including 45 foreigners, and wounded nearly 500. “Any public servant summoned by the PSC is obliged to give evidence,” speaker Karu Jayasuriya said in a hard-hitting two-page response to Sirisena. “Officials are fully aware of the serious

consequences if they fail to respond.”

Officials at the speaker’s office said Jayasuriya made it clear to Sirisena that he will not call off the PSC and it will continue its public hearings.

Evidence before the

parliamentary select committee, which began its publicly televised sittings since late last month, has placed the president in a poor light, suggesting that he failed to act on advance warning of the attacks Sirisena’s office said he

sacked his national intelligence chief Sisira Mendis who testified that the devastating attacks could have been avoided.

Mendis also said the president had failed to hold regular security meetings to assess the threat from Islamic radicals who carried out the bombings.

Sirisena’s office did not give a reason for abruptly sacking Mendis.

Sirisena told his police top brass that he would not allow any police, military or intelligence personnel to testify.

However, a defence ministry source said that in view of the speaker’s warning, they will have to cooperate. New Delhi had shared detailed information about the targets and the method of attack as early as April 4, two and a half weeks before the bombings, following information from a militant in Indian custody.

Tension in Lanka over claims that Muslim doctor sterilised Buddhist women COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan newspaper Divaina, known for its nationalist stance, published a front page article alleging a Muslim doctor had secretly sterilised 4,000 Sinhala Buddhist women after Cesarean deliveries. The doctor, who was not identified in the article, was also described as a member of the National Thowheed Jamath, one of two local Islamist groups blamed for bombings that killed more than 250 people in hotels and churches on Easter Sunday.

The article was produced roughly a week after Buddhist mobs in the North Western Province of Sri Lanka had destroyed Muslim homes, stores and mosques in rioting triggered by the coordinated bombings in the capital Colombo and two other towns.

Divaina’s editor-in-chief, Anura Solomons, said that the paper’s story was based on police and hospital sources, whom he said he could not identify.

Allegations on a Muslim doctor might be forcibly sterilizing

Buddhists are particularly incendiary on an island where hardliners within the Buddhist majority have accused Muslims of seeking to use a higher birth rate to spread their influence.

Two days later, a doctor, Segu Shihabdeen Mohamed Shafi, was arrested. Police said he was accused of acquiring properties with money of a suspicious origin. Police are also probing the sterilisation claims and have called on any

potentially affected women to come forward.

Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said Shafi was charged under a money laundering act, but declined to provide further information on the financial charges he faced or the sterilisation claims.

Allegations false Shafi’s family said he was being framed. “He is being targeted because of political problems and jealousy. I cannot exactly

tell who it is, but there is a group,” said his wife Fathima Imara, 43, a kidney doctor at the same hospital. In an interview, Imara described her husband as a devout Muslim and caring physician. He has not been a member of a militant group, she said. Shafi was also a smart investor, she said, using earnings from his hospital work and a family-owned medical testing centre to amass stakes in some 10 properties.

It would be impossible to surreptitiously block women’s fallopian tubes during caesarean sections, when a half-dozen staff members were on hand, she added. The hospital’s director, Dr A.M.S. Weerabandara declined request to interview Shafi’s direct colleagues, saying they were busy.

Meanwhile, Imara has stopped working and pulled their three children from school.

She said her husband, whom she visited at the Colombo Criminal Investigation Department, was being treated well.

Onus for Indo-Pak peace lies with Pakistan: US WASHINGTON: Amidst new peace overtures from the Imran Khan government after the reelection of PM Narendra Modi, the White House has made it clear to Pakistan that the onus for sustained peace in South Asia was on it by putting the terror groups out of business.

Khan has written a second letter to PM Modi after his reelection, saying that Pakistan wants talks with India to resolve all differences, including on the Kashmir issue. The Pak premier said talks between the two nations were the only solution

to help people of both countries overcome poverty and that it was important to work together for regional development.

However, India has rejected Pakistan’s offer of talks, maintaining that terror and talks cannot go together and said that no bilateral meeting has been planned between the

two PMs on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Summit (SCO) in Bishkek on June 13-14.

“What the United States is really looking for in Pakistan are arrests and prosecutions and not allowing these groups to operate and move around freely, acquire weapons, cross into India, carry out attacks,” a senior White House official said.

The US is looking for sustained and irreversible steps that shut down their operations, asserted the official. “Until these groups are put out of business,

it’s going to be very difficult for India and Pakistan to achieve sustained peace. So the onus is on Pakistan to ensure that they crack down on these groups,” said the White House official responding to a question on the US assessment of the Indo-Pak tension. A senior State Department official said that in the wake of the Pulwama attack, the US has seen Pakistan taking some initial actions against designated terrorist organisations and more steps to enhance counter terrorism financing measures.

in brief INDIAN WINS $3M IN MONTHLY RAFFLE DRAW IN UAE An Indian expat won a staggering $2.7 million in a monthly raffle in the UAE, a media report said. Sanjai Nath R, who had purchased the ticket at Big Ticket Abu Dhabi, was announced the winner of the bumper prize, 10 million dirham ($2.7 million), the Khaleej Times said. While Nath won the first prize, five other Indian expats were in the top 10 winning list of the raffle, the report said. The second price of 100,000 dirhams was won by Indian expat Binu Gopinathan, it said.

FORMER PAK PRESIDENT ZARDARI ARRESTED

Asif Ali Zardari

Former Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari was arrested from his Islamabad residence in connection with a fake bank accounts case.

The arrest came soon after the Islamabad High Court rejected his plea seeking protection from arrest. Zardari’s sister Faryal Talpur is a co-accused in the case. According to reports, warrant for Zaradari’s arrest was issued on Sunday and no warrant has been issued for Talpur as yet. The arrest was made by National Accountability Bureau, the country’s anti-corruption watchdog. The case pertains to a serious of suspicious transactions worth Rs 4.4 billion allegedly carried out through multiple fictitious bank accounts. Zardari is accused of receiving payments to the tune of Rs 30 million from the purported fake accounts. His son and PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has appealed to party supporters to remain peaceful.

10 KILLED IN PAKISTAN DURING EID CLASHES Two rival groups opened fire at each other after Eid prayers in Pakistan's Punjab province, killing at least 10 people and injuring 17 others. The incident took place in Jalalpur Pirwala Tehsil of Multan district. The two groups resorted to indiscriminate firing after a dispute, reports said. According to sources, the members of one group were returning to their homes after offering Eid prayers when assailants from another group attacked them. Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar sought a detailed report from the regional police officer (RPO) of Multan on the incident. He directed the RPO to arrest the culprits without delay.

NZ PLANS TO WITHDRAW TROOPS FROM IRAQ New Zealand said that it will withdraw all of its troops from Iraq by next June. New Zealand has a small contingent of 95 socalled non-combat personnel deployed at the Taji Military Complex northwest of Baghdad, where they are tasked with training Iraqi security forces. The training mission is a joint operation with Australia, which has about 300 troops stationed at Taji. New Zealand's Defense Minister Ron Mark said Australia also planned to downsize its presence in Iraq, although he didn't offer any details. Australia had not made any formal announcements about its plans. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it would reduce the number of troops to 75 by July and then to 45 by January before they were all withdrawn.

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in brief MASSIVE EXTRADITION BILL PROTEST FILLS HONG KONG STREETS Hundreds of thousands of protesters marched through Hong Kong on Sunday to voice their opposition to legislation that would allow people to be extradited to mainland China where they could face politically charged trials. The demonstration took place three days before the semi-autonomous Chinese territory's government plans to bring the highly contentious bill to the full legislature in a bid to win approval by the end of the month. Police estimated the crowd at 240,000, but organizers said more than 1 million took part. The protest was one of the largest in recent Hong Kong history, underscoring fears over China's broadening footprint in the former British colony.

TEEN FACES EXECUTION IN SAUDI Saudi Arabia is seeking to execute a teenager who has been imprisoned ever since his arrest as a 13-year-old, human rights experts said. Murtaja Qureiris, 18, is facing the death penalty over charges, including anti-government protests, joining a “terrorist organisation”, firing at security forces and making Molotov cocktails which were later thrown at a police station. The 18-year-old denies the charges, claiming confessions which the prosecution has relied on were obtained under duress.

Amnesty International said it had confirmed the country’s public prosecutor was seeking the death penalty for offences which date back to when Qureiris was just 10 years old. The organisation said he was allegedly beaten and intimidated during his interrogation. Qureiris is a member of Saudi Arabia’s minority Shia community.

MUSLIMS IN ATHENS FINALLY GET A MOSQUE Greek authorities said that Athens would open its first official mosque probably by September when the 850,000 euro ($967,000) construction project is completed. Although there are mosques in other parts of Greece, the capital has not had a formal mosque since it drove out occupying Ottomans in 1833, and the few that are left have been repurposed. Plans to build a mosque began in 1890 with an act of parliament, but all fell through, including one timed for the 2004 Olympics.

"Soon the first prayers will be made by the imam.. We hope that can take place by September," Education Minister Kostas Gavroglou told journalists. Stymied by red tape, a financial crisis, a predominantly Christian Orthodox population and opposition from the rise of the far right of the country, getting approval for the mosque took years, forcing Muslims to pray at makeshift sites.

SERIAL-KILLER NURSE GETS LIFE FOR 85 MURDERS A former nurse who confessed to killing more than four dozen patients was found guilty in Germany of murdering 85 people and was sentenced to life in prison, with the judge calling his crimes “incomprehensible.” It was the third conviction for the nurse, Niels Hogel, who is believed to be the most prolific serial killer in peacetime Germany, and perhaps the world. But for the families of the 100 people he was accused of killing, the trial had aimed to serve as a form of belated justice. “Your guilt is incomprehensible,” judge Sebastian Buerhmann said. “I felt like an accountant of death”. Hoegel worked at a hospital in Oldenburg between 1999 and 2002 and another hospital in Delmenhorst from 2003 to 2005. The killings took place between 2000 and 2005.

Sikh airman allowed to keep turban, beard by US air force WASHINGTON: A Sikh airman has been allowed by the United States Air Force to serve with a beard, turban and unshorn hair, making him the first active-duty airman to be granted such a religious accommodation.

Airman Harpreetinder Singh, who joined the Air Force in 2017, was unable to follow the practice due to the military branch's grooming and dress codes.

The Air Force granted him an accommodation after Bajwa gained representation from the Sikh American Veterans Alliance, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Bajwa, a crew chief at McChord Air Force Base, Washington, is now

Airman Harpreetinder Singh

the first active airman who has been authorised to adhere to Sikh religious grooming and dress principles while serving in the Air Force.

"I'm overjoyed that the Air Force has granted my religious accommodation, said Bajwa.

"Today, I feel that my country has embraced my Sikh heritage, and I will be forever grateful for this opportunity," he said. Bajwa says be initially asked if he could request a waiver during tech training a year ago in Charleston, South Carolina, and said he was never told "no" by leadership.

A first-generation American, Bajwa was born to an immigrant family.

In 2016, Captain Simratpal Singh, a decorated SikhAmerican officer and combat veteran, received a long-term religious accommodation from

the US Army to serve with long hair, a beard, and turban. The Army updated its regulations the following year directing commanders to allow accommodations for observant Sikhs.

Heather L Weaver, a senior staff attorney for the ACLU, praised the Air Force's decision.

"No one should have to choose between following their faith or serving their country," Weaver said.

"We're pleased that the Air Force granted our client's request, and we hope that all branches of the military come to recognize the importance of religious inclusion and diversity."

Everest clean-up throws up 11 tonnes of trash, four bodies KATHMANDU: Nepali climbers have retrieved four bodies and collected some 11 tonnes of decades-old garbage from Mount Everest and its approach below the base camp as part of the first drive to clean up the world’s highest mountain since it was first scaled by climbers 66 years ago, the government said. Climbers returning from the 8,850-metre mountain say its slopes are littered with human excrement, used oxygen bottles, torn tents, ropes, broken ladders, cans and plastic wrappers left behind by climbers, a embarrassment for a country that earns valuable revenue from Everest expeditions.

The garbage, along with the bodies of some of the 300 people who have died over the years on Everest’s slopes, have been buried under the snow for many years. Melting glaciers, a grim result of global warming, have been revealing rubbish which has gathered over decades of mountaineering by climbers who pay little attention to the ugly footprint they leave behind.

A clean-up team of 20 sherpa climbers collected five tonnes of litter in April and May from different camps sites above the base camp and another six tonnes from the areas below, said Dandu Raj Ghimire, director general of the Department of Tourism.

“Unfortunately, some garbage collected in bags at the South Col could not be brought down due to bad weather,” Ghimire said.

Everest was first conquered

by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953 and about 5,000 people have since reached the summit. South Col, on the Southeast Ridge route pioneered

by Hillary and Tenzing, is located at some 8,016 metres (26,300 feet), and it is the site of the final camp from where climbers begin their summit attempts.

Cleaning campaign coordinator Nim Dorjee Sherpa, head of the village where Mount Everest is located, said two bodies were collected from the treacherous Khumbu Icefall and

two from camp three site at the Western Cwm. “They were exposed from the snow when the sherpas picked up and brought them down,” he said.

None of the four bodies have been identified and it was not known when they died.

Nine mountaineers died on the Nepali side of Everest in May while two perished on the Tibetan side, making it the deadliest climbing season since 2015. Climbers returning from Everest have talked of crowding and delays on the Nepali side just below the summit in the

“death zone”, so-called because at that altitude the lack of oxygen can be fatal.

Ghimire, of the department of tourism, said the deaths were not because of congestion but due to bad weather and short summit windows. However, Nepal is considering tightening access to Mt Everest. “We are looking into having a minimum requirement for climbers, fixing more ropes or taking more oxygen and sherpas,” said Mohan Krishna Sapkota, secretary at Nepal’s tourism ministry.

Birthday party turns tragic, Andhra techie drowns US lake NEW JERSEY: In a tragic incident, 32-year-old Avinash Kuna, a native of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, who was residing in the US, drowned in a lake while celebrating his birthday. Avinash was working as a software engineer in the United States and was a resident of Parsippany, New Jersey.

Avinash had turned 32 on May 28. According to reports, Avinash, hired a rental boat and took eight of his friends, most of whom were from his workplace, to Lake Hopatcong on a boat ride to celebrate his birthday. He reportedly loved boat riding and has a license too. Avinash

reportedly dived into the water which was 5-8 feet deep, but couldn't come up as his leg got entangled in the weed. The efforts of his friends to rescue him remained futile. The weeds were 3 feet high, according to reports.

One of his friends, Jay Mayeti, who tried to rescue Avinash said that he put on a life jacket and dived in to help save his friend.

“But my life jacket came off, and then I was about to drown when my friends pulled me out.

In the five seconds that took, we lost him.” His friends had then called Bridge Marina and 911 for help.

Avinash Kuna

Avinash had graduated with a Masters degree from New Mexico State University in 2016.

He also has a Masters degree in Computer Science from Andhra University. Learning about the

death of her son, Avinash’s mother became ill and had to be hospitalised. To raise funds for Avinash’s family, his friends have started a GoFundMe account.

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PM Modi promises 'all cooperation' to Jagan Reddy's Andhra TIRUPATI (ANDHRA): Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised "all cooperation from the Centre for Andhra Pradesh's development" during a visit to the temple town of Tirupati, where he was seen to reach out to new Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy. PM Modi was received at Tirupati by Jagan Reddy, who accompanied him to the temple.

The Prime Minister, who earlier also visited the famous Guruvayur temple in Kerala, wished the state success under the leadership of Jagan Reddy, and said he planned to "increase our efforts" to prove to the people of the state that the BJP's objective was to "serve the people." "Andhra Pradesh has infinite possibilities for growth.

We will fully extend all cooperation from the Centre for the development of the state," the Prime Minister said at a public meeting organised by the BJP. The Prime Minister's comment was linked by many to special status for Andhra, a longstanding demand that was

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Jagan Mohan Reddy

promised by the Congress-led UPA government back in 2014, but has yet to be delivered by the current government. Special status will mean a large infusion of central funds to help with the state government's plans to develop its new capital Amravati.

Soon after his victory, Jagan Reddy had called on PM Modi to raise the issue of special status for Andhra as well as invite him to his swearing-in ceremony on May

30. "Our demands for special status will always continue. I will personally take an appointment with PM Modi and meet him about this. We will continue to pursue the demands," the YSR Congress chief said ahead of the meeting.

Kerala is dear to me: Modi Prime Minister Modi, while addressing his first public meeting after returning to power at the Centre, said that the reason

to start with Kerala was to underline the need for unity, and that he and his government would serve all Indians equally, irrespective of who voted for him or not. “Kerala is as dear to me as Varanasi. An elected leader is common to all… it is my responsibility to take care of the 1.3 billion people of this country.

Those who made us win or those who did not, both are our (people),” he said, addressing an ‘abhinandan sabha’ organised by BJP’s Kerala unit in Guruvayur.

Prior to the meeting, the PM spent around 20 minutes inside the Guruvayur Sree Krishna temple and participated in the ‘thulabharam’ ritual - in an offering to the deity, he was weighed against 91kg of lotus flowers on a wooden scale. The PM said he felt an emotional connect with Guruvayur. “It is similar to two other famous Lord Krishna temples in Udupi and Dwaraka. I have got a chance to come to Guruvayur once again. It is a source of inspiration,” the PM said.

PUNJAB

Amid rift with Punjab CM, Sidhu loses local bodies ministry CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh rejigged the portfolios of most of his ministers following the Lok Sabha elections. Barring four ministers, there are some changes in the portfolios of all the state ministers. Navjot Singh Sidhu was stripped of his local bodies ministry and given the charge of power and new & renewable energy sources.

Following the change of Sidhu's portfolio, rift between Amarinder and Sidhu further widened and Sidhu skipped the cabinet meeting. Later, he addressed the media to say that he did not attend the meeting as he has been singled out in the Punjab government for the election loss. He asserted he could not be "taken for granted".

Navjot Singh Sidhu

Earlier, Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal also took potshots at Sidhu. Badal said that Sidhu should be stripped of all ministries.

According to sources, a group of cabinet ministers demanded Sidhu's removal after the first cabinet meeting. Amarinder had recently said he intended to change the cricketer-turned-

politician's portfolio of local government department over the party's dismal performance in the Lok Sabha polls.

Sidhu meets Rahul Meanwhile, Sidhu met party president Rahul Gandhi in Delhi and apprised him of the "situation", after he was divested of the crucial local bodies department. The developments came after Sidhu, who moved from the BJP to the Congress just before 2017 Assembly polls, had skipped a cabinet meeting and instead chose to address the media at his official residence.

Tensions between Amarinder and Sidhu had come out in the open last month when the chief minister had blamed Sidhu for his inept handling of the local government department for the

WEST BENGAL

Six killed in fresh West Bengal clashes KOLKATA: At least six people were killed, four in clashes between the cadres of Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party in Nazat area of North 24 Parganas and the bodies of a BJP leader and an RSS veteran were found hanging from trees in West Bengal. The workers of both the parties reportedly locked horns over the removal of BJP flags from Nazat area. Among the deceased, three have been identified as BJP workers and one from the TMC. Apart from them, three others were left with critical injuries. Although police declined to comment on the deaths, they said a huge contingent has been rushed to the spot to control the situation and Section 144 has been imposed in the area.

Sources in the TMC and the BJP claimed that the clashes broke out over removing

flags of the saffron party in the area. State BJP general secretary Sayantan Basu said three of his party workers - Sukanta Mondal, Pradip Mondal and Shankar Mondal - were shot dead when they stopped TMC supporters from "throwing away" their party flags. "We have received bodies of three of

poor performance of the Congress in the urban areas in the Lok Sabha polls.

The chief minister had also said that the urban vote-bank had been the backbone of the Congress in Punjab but Sidhu's failure to do any development work had impacted the party.

After the ministry snub, Sidhu was left out of eight consultative groups formed by the CM to expedite implementation of the state government's schemes.

Barring four ministers, all the others have now got new portfolios. The Chief Minister believed that the reallocations would help to further streamline the government systems and processes, and bring more transparency and efficiency in the various departments.

our workers. We have heard that two more have also died but are yet to receive the bodies. They tried to throw away our party flags and posters and when we protested, our workers were shot from point blank range," Basu said. The TMC also claimed that one of its supporters was killed. The party's North 24 Parganas district president and senior state minister Jyotipriyo Mullick said party supporter Kayum Mollah was "hacked and shot dead by BJP workers.

BJP, RSS men found hanging On Monday, BJP worker Samatul Dolui’s body was found hanging from a tree by residents of Sarpota village in Howrah’s Amta. Dolui’s family and BJP netas in Howrah were quick to blame Trinamool.

“Dolui was active in BJP and gave the party a lead from his booth in the Lok Sabha polls.

He had received death threats soon after he took out ‘Jai Sri Ram’ rallies in the locality.

Trinamool-backed anti-socials ransacked his house immediately after the polls,” said BJP’s

in brief 12 TELANGANA CONG MLAS JOIN TRS Hyderabad: In a big jolt to Congress, which thought it was on the comeback trail in Telangana after winning three of the 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state, 12 of its MLAs were recognised as members of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) by speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy after they met him and submitted a letter seeking merger of their group with the ruling party. This leaves Congress with just six MLAs in the 119member house. Congress is set to lose the status of the second largest party in the house as that honour will now go to the seven-member AIMIM. TRS numbers have now gone up from 90 to 102 in the assembly.

BJP WANTS TO PART WAYS WITH SAD IN PUNJAB Buoyed by its recent electoral gains during Lok Sabha poll in Punjab, the Bharatiya Janata Party unit in the state now wants to contest the next state Assembly elections alone. At a meeting attended by district office bearers of Punjab BJP, the state leadership expressed the desire to contest the elections separately from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and asked all district officers to start preparing for all 117 Assembly seats. As per the current seat-sharing formula, the BJP fields its candidates on three of the 13 parliamentary and 23 of 117 Assembly seats.

SAD candidates contest the remaining seats.

In the Lok Sabha 2019 election, the BJP won two of the three seats it contested in the state. It bagged Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur Lok Sabha seats while losing from Amritsar.

The state leaders cited Haryana's example, where the BJP contested and won all the 10 seats in the LS poll.

DIDI ROPES IN POLITICAL STRATEGIST PRASHANT KISHOR Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has signed on political strategist Prashant Kishor to scan Trinamool Congress’s 2019 Lok Sabha poll performance and work out a recovery strategy for the party, keeping in view the assembly elections in 2021. Mamata hopes Kishor will be able to pull off a decisive victory for her in the assembly elections as he did for Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy in the Andhra Pradesh state polls. Mamata had a meeting with Kishor at the state secretariat earlier.

According to sources, Kishor will carve out ways to make the Trinamool government’s schemes popular among voters, and showcase popular initiatives online and offline to increase the party’s outreach to voters. Prior to this, I-PAC will undertake a constituencywise analysis of the Lok Sabha poll results in an attempt to identify factors that went against Trinamool.

Howrah (rural) president Anupam Mullick.

A day earlier, an RSS veteran, Swadesh Manna, too was found hanging from a tree in Atchata village. Manna had also been taking out local ‘Jai Sri Ram’ rallies for the past few days. “In both cases, Trinamool supporters have killed our party workers,” Mullick alleged.

In another incident in Sodepur, two disgruntled security men Rakesh Das (38) and Sujit Biswas (40) were beaten up by suspected members of Trinamool’s trade union wing Inttuc. Das and Biswas had tried to float a BJP-affiliated union. The seriously injured duo was rushed to hospital. A complaint has been lodged against six Inttuc ‘members’ at Khardah police station.

Governor apprises PM, HM of situation West Bengal governor governor KN Tripathi met PM Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah to apprise them of the situation in the state. “I can’t disclose the details of what transpired,” he said.

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Diary of a new Canadian Immigrant

Sins of East India Company Exposed • Grave injustice to the character and private lives of the Indian rulers • Company squeezed as large fortune as possible quickly out of country iraj ud-Daulah was one of the most famous and the last self-governing Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Odisha. Under his reign, which lasted from 9 April 1756 to 23 June 1757, Siraj ud-Daulah stood his ground against the British ‘East India Company,’ which had begun capturing parts of Bengal. Siraj ud-Daulah was one of those few Indian rulers who knew the intention of the British right from the beginning, which prompted him to act against British colonization in Bengal. Siraj ud-Daulah’s strong resistance against the British led to the famous ‘Battle of Plassey,’ during which the Nawab of Bengal was deceived by a group of his own men, headed by Mir Jafar. The Nawab met the English on the battle of Plassey on 23 June 1757 but was so easily defeated in the battlefield.

S

The English gained the victory due to the conspiracy and the treason within Siraj-ud-Daulah’s camp. Any army, of which the commander-in-chief had been won over and took no part in the battlefield, can hardly offer spirited contest. On his way to Patna the Nawab was caught by a follower of Mir Jaffar and killed by an Iranian guard at the instance of Miran (son of Mir Jafar) on the night preceding 3 July 1757. The company appointed Mir Jaffar as the new Nawab of Bengal. The defeat of the Nawab marked the beginning of the English era in Bengal and gradually the entire subcontinent surrendered its destiny to the East India Company.

Pandit Sunderlal, the celebrated historian and a confident of Mahatma Gandhi writes: “Siraj-udDaula has been described in English history books as a licentious profligate and drunkard of the worst type.

Siraj-ud-Daula, in deference to the death-bed advice of his maternal grandfather, Alivardi Khan, never touched liquor since the day of his ascending the throne up to the last day of his life.

(Scrafton’s Reflections, as quoted in Banglar Itihas, Nawabi Amal by Kali Prasanna Bandopadhyaya.)

His private life was unblemished except possibly for such weakness as were common to the lives

Siraj-ud-Daula who was branded as drunkard never touched liquor

of 99% of Indian or British rulers of that day. Similarly, grave injustice has been done to the character and private lives of Mir Kassim, Haider Ali, Tipu Sulatan, Nand Coomar, and other Indian heroes and heroines.”

At least 90% of the books on the history of India prescribed in the

Next Column: The Emergency Indira never wanted to impose curriculums of Indian schools and colleges, particularly till the end of the first half of the 20th century had no greater factual value than ordinary fiction, records Sunderlal in “How India Lost Her Freedom”. He adds, “Such works of history are extremely harmful and have exerted and are exerting an extremely poisonous influence on the developing

mind of Indian youth.”

The history books prepared during that period did mention that India had always been an object of invasion by foreign people through its north-western frontiers. The Muslim invaders of India are described as a barbarous and fanatical people who had for a thousand years before the advent of the British, subjected India to their tyrannical rule, had destroyed the ancient Hindu religion and culture and forcibly converted to Islam crores of Indians. The Muslim rulers were branded by nature only licentious and fanatical pillagers. Even the greatest and best of the Moghul Emperors are painted as hypocritical and hostile to Hindus.

Hinduism and to Hindustan. The Indians are told that the Muslims did no good to India and that the period of their rule had absolutely nothing to its credit!

Panditji quotes the European historians and writers extensively to expose the sinister designs of the East India Company whose only goal ‘was to squeeze as large as possible a fortune out of the country as quickly as might be’.

Dr. Hari Desai (The writer is a Socio-political Historian.

E-mail: haridesai@gmail.com)

Lathisha Ansari, the girl who defeated fate Lathisha Ansari has once again shown the world that she is the captain of her fate.

She took the first steps to materialise her long cherished dream of becoming a Civil Service Officer by attempting the prelims examination at Thiruvananthapuram last week.

Unlike other aspirants, Lathisha entered the hall with an oxygen cylinder along with her writing equipment.

Lathisha, the wheelchair bound candidate is suffering from ‘Osteogenesis Imperfecta,’ a rare condition that turns the bones brittle.

She also suffers from pulmonary hypertension that affects breathing. Till now she is said to have suffered 400 fractures.

Lathisha Ansari

Ansari, Lathisha's father, who accompanied her to the examination hall, connected the oxygen cylinder for her inside the hall for without it she would not be able to breathe properly.

‘The paper was easy and I hope and pray that I clear it,’ says a hopeful Lathisha who is competing in the general category. ‘I am determined to crack these

examination because that would inspire many others like me to do it too.’ The 25year- old has climbed the steps of her life so far with the strength of unparalleled self-confidence. She has completed her M.Com degree. Not confining herself to bed, Lathisha has been moving around in a wheelchair and has conquered new heights by acquiring various skills like learning to play the keyboard. She completed her school and college examinations without depending on a scribe, which is usually granted to physically disabled students.

Hearing of Lathisha’s condition, a Malayali doctor in Canada donated an automatic wheelchair to her.

Mitul Paniker Dear Readers, I write to you from beautiful Canada. The weather is bright and the people are welcoming. After exercising our democratic right to vote on April 23 in Gujarat, my husband and I moved to Markham, a comparatively small city in the Greater Toronto Area. While we have left our family and friends behind in a bid to make better lives for ourselves, I intend to keep my link with the readers intact. I walked into the doors of ABPL's Ahmedabad office roughly four years back and the exhilaration print media has gifted me remains unmatched. So when I was presented with an opportunity to share my thoughts with you, I leaped at it.

Every month, thousands of Indians migrate to the west seeking a more refined life that only commercial and financial success could bring. Our flight to Toronto was filled with Gujaratis, Punjabis, and African passengers. Looking at the sheer amount of people setting out on a journey to make their own fate; I was overwhelmed. For us, it has been easy so far. My husband and I were lucky to have my childhood friend/brother waiting for us back here. He arranged for the best of accommodation for us, and eased the entire process of settling down in a new country.

A Malayalee, I grew up in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Ironically, Markham has a lot in common with my hometown. One of Canada's largest cities, it is a posh region with a beautiful amalgamation of various cultures. Canada has afterall, a unique culture of tolerance. There are people of multiple faiths and backgrounds in this city.

From South Asians, to East Asians, West Asians and Arabs, Chinese, and Latin

Americans, Markham is like a tiny glimpse of what this mighty country is made of.

Hindus, constitute 10 per cent of the population of the city. Gujaratis account for approximately 1.6 per cent of the population.

The first day when we stepped out of the airport, we were greeted by our friend, and his driver Vijayan, a Sri Lankan. Having lived in the city for over 25 years, he knew its history by heart.

During a conversation with my husband, an inherent Gujarati, I was surprised to see Vijayan respond. When asked how he understood the language, he said he lives in a predominantly Gujarati neighbourhood and took it up over the years from conversations with his neighbours. As he drove us from the airport towards our new home, we came across a Vishnu Temple, a Buddhist Temple, a Korean church, and multiple other places of worship. We were in love with what we saw.

People leave their countries to migrate, but take a piece of their culture with them.

Indians have migrated for generations and are now one of the most influential communities in the world. We now also play important roles in the functioning of foreign governments. Imagine people of Indianorigin deciding the workings of another State. Jagmeet Singh, a controversial politician, is Leader of the Opposition, and most likely in the race for the next Prime Minister of Canada. Indians are breaking barriers everywhere and I believe I am fortunate to have entered the arena.

Canada is in many ways like India; In its democracy, its multi-cultural society, and its successful economy. It's home.

Next Column: A Visit to BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Toronto

Three get life in jail for rape, murder of Kathua child Six of the seven men accused in the 2018 rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua were convicted on Monday by a special court in Pathankot.

The court sentenced mastermind Sanji Ram, a retired government official and priest of the temple where the crime took place, special police officer Deepak Khajuria, and Ram's nephew Parvesh Kumar to life imprisonment. It also awarded five years in prison to Special Police Officer Surender Vetma, head constable Tilak Raj, and subinspector Anand Dutta for destroying evidence.

The court has acquitted Vishal Jangotra, Ram's son, on a "benefit of doubt".

District and Sessions Judge Tejwinder Singh, who concluded the hearing on June 3 in a record time of 14 months, read out the verdict and declared the six accused guilty under different Sections of the law.

The court convicted Sanji Ram, Deepak Khajuria and Parvesh Kumar under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder), 376/D (gang rape), 363 (kidnapping), 328

(poisoning), 201 (destroying evidence) and 343 (wrongful confinement). They were also fined Rs 100,000 each.

Surender Verma, Tilak Raj and Anand Dutta were found guilty under Section 201 (destroying evidence) and will face “an imprisonment of five years and a fine of Rs 50,000”.

In Vishal's case, the defence lawyers produced material evidence that he was in Meerut at the time of the crime to appear for his examination. The State Crime Branch had only produced witnesses and "not enough evidence" in his case, the court said.

Pending trial The Crime Branch has filed chargesheet against eight people, including a juvenile. Trial against the minor is yet to begin as his petition on determining his age is yet to be heard by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. The prosecution team, comprising lawyers J.K. Chopra, S.S. Basra, Harminder Singh and Bhupinder Singh, has demanded capital punishment for the main accused and might appeal

against the sole acquittal.

“The court has underlined that life imprisonment meant life in jail in this case. However, we will appeal in the higher court for an enhancement of the punishment against all the seven accused,” Special Prosecutor Santosh Singh said.

Defence lawyers described the sole acquittal as "a positive development", adding that they would also appeal for relaxation of punishment for the others.

The father of the victim welcomed judgement but said the family was expecting that the culprits would be handed the death penalty. He also expressed unhappiness over the acquittal of the seventh accused.

The eight-year-old girl from the nomadic community of Bakerwal was kidnapped from Kathua’s Rasana area on January 10 in 2018 and was found dead on January 17. According to a 15page charge sheet, the young victim was kidnapped, drugged, hit by a stone, raped and strangulated inside the temple premises by the accused.

26 INDIA

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15 - 21 June 2019

Sushil Pandit

What an election!

2019 poll-results defied, arguably, all the known past precedents in the Indian electorate’s behaviour. After all, how else does one explain BJP’s 100% score in a State like Rajasthan where they lost their government barely 5 months back? Or, for that matter, Madhya Pradesh, where they won all but one seat after a similar loss, at the same time, as Rajasthan. Gujarat too delivered a perfect 100%. Here, in the December of 2017, the BJP failed to reach even 100 seats out of a total of 182. This happened for the first time since they started ruling the State about 25 years ago.

Laloo’s RJD couldn’t win a single seat in Bihar. Each one of the former Chief Ministers of Congress lost the Lok Sabha polls from their respective states.

The principal challenger, Rahul Gandhi, lost in his family bastion of Amethi. Several of the other sons and the scions too kept him company by losing from their respective pocket boroughs. Seemingly invincible caste-coalitions collapsed. The rout was such that the grand-old-party couldn’t win a single seat in 17 of all the States and Union Territories.

Second time, in a row, the Congress was restricted to under 20% vote-share and less than 10% of the seats in Lok Sabha, depriving it, yet again, of even the office of the Leader of Opposition.

Election-results in Kashmir were no less spectacular. For the first time, in Jammu, Udhampur and Ladakh, Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) of the Muftis and National Conference (NC) of the Abdullahs decided to leave the field for the Congress to take on the BJP in a direct contest. The idea was to keep the 35-40% Muslim vote, en bloc, in the kitty of Congress. Congress went a step further and fielded prominent Hindu candidates to seriously divide the Hindu vote. From Udhampur, it fielded Vikramaditya Singh, son of the former Regent Karan Singh, and a former Member Legislative Council (MLC). From Jammu, Congress chose Raman Bhalla, a popular former Member Legislative Assembly (MLA). Yet, both of them lost to BJP’s sitting MPs, Dr. Jitendra Singh and Jugal Kishor Sharma, respectively, by over 300,000 votes each. Likewise, in Ladakh, BJP’s Jamyang Namgyal won by almost 11,000 votes. Last election, the BJP scraped through with barely 36 votes.

Unlike the seats in Jammu and Ladakh regions, the 3 seats in the Valley went through a churn. PDP not only lost all the 3 seats, it didn’t even end a runner-up in 2 of those – Anantnag and Baramula. Mehbooba Mufti herself lost miserably to a debutant from NC – Husnain Masoodi – and the Congress candidate – Gulam Ahmed Mir. The big picture is even more stunning. At 46% vote-share, the BJP polled more votes than the Congress, NC and PDP put together. It is a huge jump over their vote-share of 34% in 2014. This is despite huge misgivings Jammu and Ladakh region had about the BJP, for what they did with the unprecedented mandate of 2014. BJP not only reneged on the promise of repealing Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution, by committing to their preservation in their ‘Agenda for Alliance’ with the PDP, betraying the solemn trust to defend the interests of Jammu from the Valley centric hegemons.

But, all that was forgiven for 3 reasons.

Post Balakot air-strikes, there was a palpable national consensus for giving Modi the second term in office, to address all the unfulfilled promises.

Congress discredited itself by openly aligning with the PDP and NC to defeat Modi. It didn’t just stop at that. Congress, as a quid pro quo, formally committed itself to safeguarding Articles 370 and 35A, reviewing AFSPA and diluting the presence of security forces deployed in Kashmir, in their manifesto.

There is a widespread hope among the supporters of the BJP that Modi might, after all, deliver on his promise to undo the 2 controversial articles in the Constitution. With Amit Shah taking over the Home Portfolio, even the sceptics begin to harbour such hopes.

First of all, briefly, the reasons why these provisions must not be a part of our Constitution: Articles 370 and 35A create a special dispensation on the territory of India for a State just because it has a Muslim majority. Such a reason is an anathema to the secular democracy we call ourselves. It legitimises the two-nation theory that was the cause of our painful partition in 1947.

Such a dispensation not only circumcises the jurisdiction of the Parliament but also creates such J&K specific exceptions and modifications in our Constitution which are in violation of its basic features. Both are a travesty and cannot be sustained.

Our Constitution provides a due process for the introduction of new laws and the amendment of existing laws. The procedure followed to bring about Article 35A blatantly violated that process. The sheer stealth with which it was kept away from even the knowledge of the Parliament, leave aside its scrutiny and approval, turns it into a fraud enacted on our Constitution. These provisions, ostensibly to grant autonomy, have, in fact, engendered a false sense of sovereignty leading to separatism and secessionism. Successive governments in the State have misused these provisions to discriminate against several groups of its own residents and the citizens in the rest of India, most often, entirely on communal considerations but also on gender and caste. This has led to grave injustices, violating even the basic human rights.

Often different legal hurdles are cited as the reason why Articles 370 and 35A can’t be repealed. These are nothing but untenable exaggerations that survive due to ignorance and a lack of scrutiny, if not vested interests too, on the part of those who make such arguments.

1) It is now a settled fact that both, 370 and 35A were NOT the condition prerequisites for the accession of J&K to India. A mere look at the chronology of the events is sufficient to nail that one. Accession took place on October 26, 1947. The Article 370 was drafted sometime in November 1949 and came into effect when the Constitution was promulgated on January 26, 1950. As regards the Article 35A, it came into effect through an obscure Presidential promulgation as late as on June 14, 1954. Its validity has been challenged and is, currently, under the scrutiny of the Supreme Court.

2) Article 370 was meant to be a “temporary and transient” provision in our Constitution. A plain reading of its text will bear that out. Jurists aver that the Constituent Assembly of J&K, before the conclusion of its term, should have, formally, recommended its removal to the President. This omission then has created such an anomaly that it survives even today.

Ordinarily, a mere Presidential proclamation notifying its removal is sufficient to get rid of it. Among the several tough issues ducked by the first Modi Sarkar, this one is among the top, if not the top-most. A massive mandate for the second Modi Sarkar is the measure of hope that such issues will be dealt with, resolutely, here and now.

Sushil Pandit is a 56 years old Media man, a Kashmiri Hindu in exile who lives in New Delhi. He teaches Strategic Media Planning at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication as an adjunct faculty and is the Co-Founder of Roots-in-Kashmir (RIK). He is a passionate campaigner of the rights of minorities, particularly fights for justice to the victims and survivors of the Hindu Genocide in Kashmir. He is often sought out by the news channels on the issues related to Kashmir, South Asian Geopolitics and South Asia Security issues.

PM Modi reiterates India's support to Sri Lanka, Maldives

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has wrapped up his surprise neighborhood visit to Sri Lanka and Maldives after taking up the office for a second term. On Sunday, he made a powerful case for cooperation against terrorism and reaffirmed commitment to all neighbouring nations. He also endorsed Sri Lankan tourism and said the country is safe again.

Modi's visit comes as a strong gesture of solidarity with the island country, as he is the first foreign leader to set foot after the horrific April 21 Easter Sunday terror attacks. After talks with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, he tweeted, “Met President Maithripala Sirisena, our second meeting in 10 days.

President Sirisena and I agreed that terrorism is a joint threat that needs collective and focused action. Reiterated India’s commitment to partner with Sri Lanka for a shared, secure and prosperous future".

Modi's first stop in Sri Lanka was at St Anthony's church, a target of a devastating attack. Paying tributes to victims, he said, "I am confident Sri Lanka will rise again. Cowardly acts of terror cannot defeat the spirit of Sri Lanka. India stands in solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka."

On arrival in Colombo, Modi was received by his counterpart Ranil Wickremasinghe, who also personally saw him off at the end of the engagementpacked visit. During his visit, the Indian leader held discussions with Sirisena, paying equal attention to both offices.

He met the entire Lankan cabinet during a working lunch organised by Sirisena, along with the Chief Ministers of all nine

provinces.

Modi was later called upon by Opposition leader and former president Mahinda Rajapakse at India House, as well as a delegation of the Tamil National Alliance, led by R Sampanthan. Staying true to character, he also met a group of Indians at the high commissioner's residence in Colombo.

In his visit, Modi made sure to stay clear of the evident tension between Sirisena and Wickremasinghe. During his meeting with the former, he assured full support to further strengthen bilateral development partnership, including through people oriented projects in the nation. Indian officials said that a spontaneous gesture

by Sirisena during the ceremonial reception, of holding an umbrella over Modi's head, deeply warmed the Indian PM. Sirisena also gifted Modi a replica of the famous Samadhi Buddha statue.

Before returning home, Modi said, "Sri Lanka has a special place in our hearts. I assure my sisters and brothers of Sri Lanka that India will always be there with you and support your nation's progress. Thank you for the memorable welcome and hospitality."

PM reaches out to Male In a clear dig at China, Prime Minister Modi told the Maldivian Parliament that India’s developmental partnership is intended to empower and not weaken and was not meant to increase dependence of others on it or bury future generations under burden of debt. Without naming Pakistan, Modi also said that state sponsorship of terrorism was one of the biggest dangers to the world - a message that was

expected to resonate with his audience given that Maldives has been grappling with the problem of radicalisation. He said India is committed to a “Neighbourhood First” approach and sees the region as an area of growth and security.

Modi’s reference to the perils of heedless borrowing is significant given that the Maldives is seen as one of the victims of China’s ‘debt-trap’ diplomacy. “We don’t want to either increase people’s dependence on us or to leave their future generations with an impossible burden of debt,’’ Modi said in his speech at the People’s Majlis in Male. One of the main reasons for Modi not visiting the Maldives during his first term was the attempt by the previous Abdulla Yameen government to play China against India.

The Maldives is still trying to figure out how much it owes to China but several reports from Male have stated that Yameen’s policies resulted in the country owing almost 70% of its external debt to China.

PM Modi also called for a global conference on terrorism describing the menace as one of the biggest challenges facing the world.

“Terrorists neither have banks nor weapon factories but they are still able to access these. How is that possible? Who provides them with these?’’ he said.

“Terrorism is not a threat to any country or region but to the entire humanity. It is really unfortunate that we still distinguish between good terrorists and bad terrorists. We have lost a lot of time because of petty differences. Paani sir se upar ja chuka hai (it has become intolerable),’’ said Modi, adding that all forces needed to unite against terrorism and radicalisation.

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HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

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15 - 21 June 2019

Simple sleep tweaks boost wellbeing Tweaking sleeping habits can shift people's body clocks and improve their wellbeing, say scientists in the UK and Australia. They focused on "night owls", whose bodies' drive them to stay up late into the night.

Techniques used included consistent bedtimes, avoiding caffeine and getting plenty of morning sunshine. The researchers say their approach may seem obvious, but could make an important difference to people's lives.

Everyone has a body clock whose rhythms follow the rising and the setting of the sun. It is why we sleep at night. But some people's clocks run later than others.

Morning-led "larks" tend to wake early, but struggle to stay up in the evening; night owls are the opposite, preferring a lie-in and remaining active late into the night.

The problem for many night owls is fitting into a nine-to-five world, with the

morning alarm waking you up hours before your body is ready. Being a night owl has been linked to worse health.

Scientists studied 21 "extreme night owls" who were going to bed, on average, at 02:30 and not waking until after 10:00. Their instructions were to: - Wake up 2-3 hours earlier than usual and get plenty of outdoor light in the morning - Eat breakfast as soon as possible - Exercise only in the morning - Have lunch at the same time every day and eat noth-

ing after 19:00 - Banish caffeine after 15:00 - Have no naps after 16:00 - Go to bed 2-3 hours earlier than usual and limit light in the evenings - Maintain the same sleep and wake times every day After three weeks, people had successfully shifted their body clocks two hours earlier in the day, the analysis by the University of Birmingham, University of Surrey and Monash University showed.

The results, in the journal Sleep Medicine, showed people still got the same hours of shut-eye. But they

reported lower levels of sleepiness, stress and depression, while tests showed their reaction times also improved.

One of the main cues the body uses for syncing with the passage of the sun is light - hence advice to expose the body to more during the day and less at night. Having inconsistent sleeping and waking times can also disrupt the body's internal clock (known as a circadian rhythm).

The techniques deployed may seem like obvious sleep hygiene advice, but each is used to help train the body clock.

What the researchers did not know was whether those hard-wired to sleep late would respond to the change of habits.

"What isn't obvious is, when you have these extreme night owls, can you do anything about that?" Dr Andrew Bagshaw, from the University of Birmingham, told the BBC.

Breakthrough for diabetes treatment as immune system drug can delay onset A breakthrough drug delays the onset of type one diabetes by allowing the body to continue producing insulin, a major study has shown.

For the first time scientists have shown it is possible to slow the emergence of the condition - an incurable autoimmune disease that usually strikes in childhood.

Researchers led by Yale University conducted their trial on 76 people, mostly aged between eight and 18, all of whom were considered at high risk because they had

family members already diagnosed with the condition.

They found treatment with teplizumab - an immunotherapy which dampens down a specific part of the immune system led to a delay in onset of type one diabetes by an average of two years.

Study leader Professor Kevan Herold, who presented the results yesterday at the American Diabetes Association meeting in San Francisco, said: 'As anyone with type one diabetes will

tell you, and particularly for children who are most commonly affected, every day you can delay this disease is important.'

Type one diabetes stops the body producing its own insulin, meaning there is no way to regulate sugar in the blood. It affects 400,000 people in Britain, usually first appearing in childhood or adolescence, and everyone with the condition has to inject insulin several times a day to stay alive.

Unlike the type two form of diabetes, type one

has nothing to do with lifestyle, and is irreversible.

Doctors think of type one as an unavoidable, inevitable condition that is fundamentally tied to genetics.

So the very idea that its onset can be delayed - even by just a year or two - is a major leap in the way scientists understand the disease.

The teplizumab treatment - given by a drip every day for two weeks - works by staving off the destruction of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.

NHS watchdog tells bosses to help staff get fit with spin classes during lunch hour Employers should help fight obesity by telling staff to do lunchtime spin classes and take the stairs, health officials have said.

Workplaces should also hold stand-up meetings, give employees bikes for business travel and offer subsidised gym memberships, according to NHS watchdog NICE. Offices were also told to put signs outside lifts warning people not to use them and distribute leaflets telling people to take the stairs.

However, critics said the new recommendations were 'ridiculous' and would be 'ignored by the vast majority of workplaces'.

The official guidance is part of a plan to combat Britain's spiralling obesity crisis â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with latest figures showing that two-thirds of adults are too fat, while one in five 11-year-olds are obese.

NICE said workplaces should all have 'physical

activity programmes' and encourage their staff to walk or cycle to work.

They said offices should 'highlight a lunchtime yoga or spin class at a local gym' and 'ensure that staircases are clearly signposted and attractive to use'.

The watchdog also encouraged parents to grant their children greater independence from a younger age so they walk, cycle or scooter to school.

Experts said that increasing physical activity would help employers boost their staff's mental and physical health, as well as reducing sick days.

Professor Gillian Leng, deputy chief executive at NICE, said: 'If the United Kingdom's 5.7million small and medium sized businesses encouraged their workforce to be more active, they are more likely to reap the benefits of having engaged employees who are more productive and are less likely

to take time off sick.

'Simple things like providing secure bicycle storage, showers and changing facilities can go a long way to enabling people to cycle to work or to meetings.

'As a society we are facing an obesity crisis caused in part by people not exercising enough. We need people to change their lifestyle and to take more exercise.

The health watchdog also encouraged schools to help children get active by organising bike and walk to work days and mapping safe routes to school.

The NHS says children aged five to 18 should do at least one hour of physical activity every day, but less than one in five meet this target.

One in five children are obese in Year Six, at 11, as well as almost one in 10 four year-olds when they start school.

More than a fifth of adult men and women are physically inactive, with 15million adults in the UK now obese.

Experts have warned that soaring obesity levels are putting the NHS under severe strain.

in brief PROSTATE CANCER SCREENING SCAN HOPE Hundreds of UK men are trying out a new screening test for prostate cancer to see if it should eventually be offered routinely on the NHS. The test is a non-invasive MRI scan that takes images of the inside of the body to check for any abnormal growths.

Scientists running the trial say it will take a few years to know if MRI will be better than available blood tests and biopsies at spotting cancers. NHS England said it would review this "potentially exciting" development.

The UK currently doesn't offer routine screening because there is no reliable test. A blood test, called PSA, can check for high levels of a protein that can sometimes indicate that the person might have prostate cancer, but it is not always accurate.

About three in four men with a raised PSA level will not have cancer and the test can also miss more than one in 10 cancers. Men with a raised PSA may need more checks, such as a biopsy. This involves taking small samples of tissue from the prostate gland, using a needle, so that they can be examined under the microscope.

In some cases, this can miss a cancer that is there, fail to spot whether it is aggressive, and cause side-effects, including bleeding, serious infections and erectile dysfunction.

MRI is non-invasive. It might be a way to make prostate cancer testing more reliable and maybe even do away with the need for biopsies altogether, researchers hope.

A recent UK trial in men with high PSA levels showed more than a quarter could be spared invasive biopsies.

The experts from University College London who are running the screening trial hope MRI will detect serious cancers earlier while reassuring the majority of men that they don't have cancer.

DRINKING A 200ML BOTTLE OF TOMATO JUICE EVERY DAY MAY LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE AND CHOLESTEROL Drinking unsalted tomato juice can reduce the risk of heart disease, new research claims. Scientists found drinking one 200ml bottle every day lowered blood pressure and cholesterol in people at risk of the condition. But critics today urged caution over the study, warning it didn't take into account other food and lifestyle choices.

Researchers say lycopene - a chemical that gives tomatoes their famous red colour - prevented plaque from building up in participant's arteries, causing a drop in blood pressure.

They claim lycopene works by inhibiting LDL - a harmful type of cholesterol that leads to hardening of the arteries.

The study also claims compounds found in tomatoes decrease the absorption of dietary cholesterol in the small intestine and cholesterol synthesis in the liver. When there is too much cholesterol in blood, it builds up in the walls of arteries, causing a process called atherosclerosis, a form of heart disease.

COUGH ANALYSER APP 'IS BETTER THAN DOCTORS AT DIAGNOSING CHILDREN WITH RESPIRATORY DISORDERS Thousands of parents could be spared countless trips to the doctors thanks to a smartphone app that can diagnose children with asthma. The app works by listening to youngsters coughing into the device's microphone and analysing the sounds associated with five conditions.

A trial found it could distinguish between asthma, bronchiolitis, pneumonia, croup and lower respiratory tract disease with up to 97 per cent accuracy. Researchers found it outperformed senior doctors at diagnosing all five of the conditions. Scientists hope, by removing the need for a physical examination, the app will allow treatments to begin sooner.

Researchers at Curtin University and The University of Queensland, Australia, programmed the app to recognise the soundwaves in coughs, similar to speech recognition technology.

Recordings were done in realistic hospital environments with background noises including talking, crying and medical devices. The accuracy of the app was determined by comparing its results with the diagnosis of a panel of doctors.

The doctors were allowed to examine the patients and review results of imaging, laboratory findings and hospital charts.

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 BOLLYWOOD

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When the guy is older no one cares, people actually like it: Peecee Actor Priyanka Jonas has finally addressed the noise circling the visible age difference between her and husband Nick Jonas.

Speaking in an interview, she said people were brutal about it. “People gave us a lot of sh*t about that and still do. I find it really amazing when you flip it and the guy is older, no one cares and actually people like it,” she said.

There is no limit to the amount of flak received by Priyanka for being 10 years elder to her singer husband.

Just weeks after the couple

tied the knot, a reputed media outlet had published an article titled “Is Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas' Love for Real?” in which the author called her a “global scam artist.” Several of her family members, including her brother-in-law Joe Jonas and is wife Sophie Turner were quick to slam the piece and support Priyanka. She recalled, “Nick, Joe, Sophie, my mom, his parents, everyone was there furiously typing on their phones.

They were so mad.” The 'Baywatch' actress herself decided to not pay any heed to the article or its author.

“Commenting on some stupidity means it eventually becomes important because I gave it importance. A lot of

people don't understand that way of thinking. It's not a myopic thought... It's a longterm plan,” she said. She also spoke about her future plans. “I want to change the world a little bit. My big endgame is creating a formidable career and legacy for myself, but at the same time I want to have moved something.

I want my existence to have meant something. I want my kids to turn around and be like 'Yeah, that was my mom'.”

Priyanka is currently working on a new reality show with Nick called, 'A Week to Sangeet', as well as a new romantic comedy with Mindy Kaling. She is also set to make her Bollywood comeback with 'The Sky Is Pink'.

Taapsee Pannu to retire if she is half as successful as Akshay Actor Taapsee Pannu has several films in her kitty, and one with her 'Baby' co-star Akshay Kumar. “I have these kind of conversations with Akshay, that even I have four releases this year. But if I reach even half the place where he has, I think I will retire after that. He has done

so many things that it's commendable.” While the actress has already delivered her first hit of the year with 'Badla' alongside Amitabh Bachchan, she has 'Mission Mangal' pending with Kumar, and will also be seen in a psychological thriller titled 'Game Over' and 'Saand ki Aankh' with Bhumi Pednekar.

Akshay, on the other hand, has two films lined up for release in

2019, after his 'Kesari' emerged as a hit earlier this year. He will be seen in multi-starrer comedy 'Housefull 4' and 'Good News' with Kareena Kapoor, Diljit Dosanjh and Kiara Advani. He is currently working on a Rohit Shetty film titled 'Sooryavanshi' which will release next year. He also has 'Laxmmi Bomb', a Hindi remake of 2011 Tamil film 'Muni 2: Kanchana' scheduled for release in 2020.

'Mission Mangal' includes Sonakshi Sinha, Vidya Balan, Kirti Kulhari, Sharman Joshi, and Nithya Menon, alongside Taapsee and Akki. The film revolves around the scientists who were pivotal in India's first Mars Orbiter Mission.

While the film was earlier scheduled to release on Independence Day, August 15, it may now be preponed to August 9.

Ananya Panday loves competition Bollywood has seen a surge of industry kids and newcomers debuts lately. From Janhvi Kapoor to the recently launched Tara Sutaria, fresh faces are entering the Indian film industry and are already exposed to endless comparison and competition.

However, Ananya Panday, of 'Student of the Year 2' fame is not bothered about the competition. She, in fact, loves it. She feels the competition would be cut throat and that's even better. “I feel the more, the merrier. What's the point of working if there is no competition? You work hard only when there is competition or else you tend to take things lightly,” she said.

This year, after Pranutan Bahl's debut in 'Notebook', Karann Deol, Vardhan Puri, and Aalia Furniturewala are expected to appear on the silver screen. There are also reports of Shah Rukh Khan's Suhana Khan making her film debut soon. Also, Sanjay Kapoor's daughter Shanaya

Kapoor has already begun working as assistant director on cousin Janhvi's next film. “I think it's always exciting to have new people. Everyone has a different approach towards how they work and that makes all the difference. Also, there's work for everyone. There is nothing to think about such things. I need to concentrate on my work,” Ananya said.

The actress is currently working on her second film, titled 'Pati Patni Aur Woh', alongside Kartik Aaryan and Bhumi Pednekar. In her latest, she plays an opinionated college-going brat. She said she completely enjoyed playing the part. “I am very similar to Shreya, my character, in real life. I think every young girl would be able to relate to Shreya because she is fiesty, spunky. She is loud and expressive. She is someone who is not afraid to make mistakes. I always wanted to play such a role.” Ananya added, “I love Poo (Kareena Kapoor's popular character in 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham', 2001), Shanaya (Alia Bhatt's debut role in 'Student of the Year', 2012) and Anjali (Kajol's character in 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai', 1998).

Shahid Kapoor has had 'self destructive moments' Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor, who is set to be seen in 'Kabir Singh', said he has gone through his share of “intense self destruction” after a heartbreak and one way of overcoming negative emotions for him was to channelise them into his performances. In his upcoming, Shahid plays a surgeon who descends into self destruction after a heartbreak.

Shahid said, “I've had my very intense, self destructive, heartbreak, angsty moments, where I've not been in control.”

Calling his character a phase in everyone's life, Shahid said some people are “very explosive about how they're feeling” while others keep it within. “But that feeling of falling apart, of self destruction for not being able to deal with loss... Only from great love can come great anger. This is a phase in everyone's life and that's how I connected with the character.” He said as an actor, he is required to channelise negative emotions, including heartbreaks.

“You have to channelise all kinds of negative emotions and turn them into positive, otherwise they can take you down, heartbreak being one of them. You've to learn to channelise these energies, if you can't, you become Kabir Singh!” Kapoor said. He added that everybody breaks at some

points but it's one's call to choose that to “define that moment as your permanent reality.”

“The worst thing to do is to delve in self pity because it keeps you in a place way longer than you need to be. The first thing I do is to try and run away from it. I don't like to indulge in self pity, it's very dangerous,” Shahid said.

When asked how he approaches a character like Kabir Singh, Shahid said, “by not judging him”. “He's not trying to fake anything. We do that ourselves also, telling ourselves we are bad in our low phase. That doesn't help because you're giving yourself a wrong message. You need to tell yourself that you're a nice person and will come out of this bad phase and find yourself.” Remake of Telugu hit 'Arjun Reddy', 'Kabir Singh' is directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga. Co-starring Kiara Advani, the film is set to release on June 21.

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15 - 21 June 2019

David Letterman joins SRK and son AbRam for Eid, meet with fans

American talk show host David Letterman was in for a surprise when he accompanied Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan to greet fans outside his residence on Eid. Shah had shot an episode of Letterman's 'My Next Guest Needs No Introduction' in New York last month, and gave the legendary host a small taste of his stardom in India, last week. As per tradition, Shah Rukh came out to his terrace to wave to his fans to reciprocate his love on Eid. He was joined by his youngest son AbRam, and a visibly overwhelmed Letterman to wave to the crowd.

From posing in his signature 'arms wide open' pose to kissing AbRam, exhanging smiles with

Salman’s 'Bharat' breaks six records at the BO

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan celebrated Eid with the mega release of his latest 'Bharat'. The movie collected £4.23 million on day one of its release in India, and with a collection of £7.33 million in two days, it has already created several box office records. Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, 'Bharat' stars Katrina Kaif opposite Khan, along with Disha Patani, Nora Fatehi, Sunil Grover, and Jackie Shroff in pivotal roles. The movie has already broken a handful of records. 'Bharat' has already toppled Salman's 2015 Diwali release, 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo' which had earned £3.93 million on its release day, making it the biggest opener for his career.

Bhaijaan took to Twitter to thank his fans, and wrote, “Big thk u sabko fr giving sabse bada opening mere career ka par what made me the happiest & proudest is ki during a scene in my film jab national anthem is recited ev1 stood

up as a mark of respect. There could be no bigger respect for our country than this... Jai Hind #Bharat.” The movie is also the highest Bollywood opener for 2019, toppling Akshay Kumar's 'Kesari' that earned £2.1 million on the first day of the release.

Salman made it to the five openers in India ever with 'Bharat's opening collection.

While 'Baahubali 2: The Conclusion' tops the list with £12.1 million, 'Avengers: Endgame' stands second on the slot with £5.3 million, 'Thugs of Hindostan' is on third place with £5.22 million, and now 'Bharat' stands fourth on the list. It is closely followed by 'Happy New Year', 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo', and 'Khan's 'Sultan'.

'Bharat' registered record advance booking of £2.4 million, taking sixth spot on a list of best advance booking records in India. 'Avengers: Endgame' recorded the highest advance booking of £ 4.96 million.

Letter and giving flying kisses to the gathering of fans, there are several photographs and videos from SRK's Eid celebrations doing the rounds on the internet. In a viral video, he is seen teaching Letterman how to do a 'salaam'. While Shah Rukh looked dapper in a white kurta pyjama, Letterman wore a beige coat.

Shah Rukh later, shared a video on Twitter and wrote, “Thank you all for spending your Eid with me...

May God bless you all with health and happiness.” Letterman is reportedly here to shoot some remaining portions of the SRK episode, as was evident with a cameraman who was seen capturing the fan frenzy from Shah Rukh's terrace.

Bachchan opens up about his sudden wedding after 46 years For the uninitiated, Bollywood megastar and Jaya Bachchan had an unplanned wedding years ago, surprising the industry and his fans. The two tied the knot on June 3 and recently celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary and on the occasion, the veteran actor shared an interesting story of how the wedding happened. Big B first thanked his fans and loved ones for their best wishes and narrated their wedding story on his blog.

He wrote, “I lived on the 7th Road

of this society... on a rented house... marriage had been decided among us... nothing to be exaggerated or celebrated with any aplomb... just the two families and... done... off to London, my first trip ever and hers too...

'Zanjeer' a success and a promise that if it did well we would all- a gang of our friends- would go on a holiday to London!

Seeking or rather

informing parents that we were a group of friends going to England .. who all are going came the query from Babuji .. names disclosed .. Jaya is also going with you .. you both are alone .. yes .. if you have to go marry and go .. ok .. pandit and family informed .. next day all set .. flight at night .. marriage to finish before the flight .. I dress up in formal marriage Indian .. get into my car and want to drive to Malabar Hill where her friends lived and where the ceremony was to be done .. my driver Nagesh, pushes me out and insist he would drive me to the wedding .. the substitute for the tradition horse ..

Waiting all set at Mangal, the name of the house on rent on the 7th road JVPD Scheme .. and it begins to drizzle .. neighbours rush out to me .. leave for the wedding now .. the rain is a good omen .. off I went .. wedding over in a few hours .. done .. Mr and Mrs proclaimed .. over !!”

Bachchan wrote at the end of his post, “Thank you all in my advance response of the wishes for the 3rd June. I am grateful for your love and affection and remembrance.”

Abhishek Bachchan shared a photo of his parents on Instagram on the occasion and wrote, “Happy Anniversary to the parentals! Love you both eternally. #46andcounting.”

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15 - 21 June 2019

Rashmika to star opposite Mahesh Babu in 'Sarileru Neekevvaru' Actor Rashmika Mandanna has been signed in as the female lead in superstar Mahesh Babu's 26th film 'Sarileru Neekevvaru'. The official launch ceremony of the movie was held in Hyderabad last week, with Mahesh Babu skipping the event as he holidays with his family in London. He is expected to join the sets for shooting from July first week onwards. Directed by Anil Ravipudi, the film is tipped to be an out-and-out commercial entertainer with Mahesh to be seen in a different avatar.

Makers of the film unveiled the title poster at the launch, which was held to coincide with the 75th birthday of the actor's father. The poster featured the title in bold, along with a rifle and an army hat. Grapevine now suggests that Mahesh could be playing an army officer. Produced by Dil Raju and Anil Sunkara, the movie also stars Rajendra Prasad and Jagapathi Babu, among others. Devi Sri Prasad has been roped in for music, and the rest of the cast and crew will be announced soon. The team hopes to go on the floors from the third or last week of June.

They will complete the first scheduled before Mahesh joins the sets.

Mohanlal’s 'Lucifer' becomes biggest grosser in Malayalam Malayalam superstar Mohanlal's latest offering 'Lucifer' has struck gold at the boxoffice. Directed by actor Prithviraj Sukumaran, the movie has emerged as the biggest grosser in the language as it stormed past £20 million. A media report said the film collected £17.5 million from theatres and fetched £1.3 million from its digital streaming rights. Its satellite rights were sold for £600,000 and it made another £1 million from TV rights in other languages.

A political thriller, the film stars Mohanlal as Stephen Nedumpally.

Produced by Antony Perumbavoor, it also stars Vivek Oberoi, Tovino Thomas,

Indrajith and Manju Warrier in pivotal roles. Last year, Prithviraj had shared a heartfelt post on the experience of directing Lal. He had written, “Today, Lalettan bids adieu to 'Lucifer' and Stephenn Nedumpally. It has been a journey like no other for me. When I took up the challenge of directing a huge film like 'Lucifer', most of my well wishers told me it wasn't the wisest decision I've made and that as an actor, it's a foolish investment of time.” He also thanked Mohanlal for believing in him.

Veteran playwright, actor Girish Karnad is no more

Noted playwright, actor and filmmaker Girish Karnad passed away on Monday morning in Bengaluru. He was 81. He is said to have suffered multiple organ failure and breathed his last in the morning. Karnad was born in Matheran,

Maharashtra in 1938. A Rhodes scholar in Oxford, Karnad has written several plays in Kannada and is considered one of the most prominent playwrights in Kannada literature. While at Oxford, Karnad wrote his first play, the critically acclaimed 'Yayati' in 1961. His other acclaimed works include 'Tughlaq' (1964), 'Hayavadana' (1972) and 'Nagamandala' (1988).

The Jnanapith Award recipient made his acting and screenwriting debut in the Kannada movie 'Samskara' in 1970, based on a novel by U.R. Ananthamurthy and won the first President's Golden Lotus Award for Kannada cinema. He made his directorial debut with 'Vamsha Vriksha'

(1971), based on a Kannada novel by S.L. Bhyrappa. Other popular films in Kannada include 'Tabbaliyu Neenade Magane' (1977) and 'Ondanondu Kaaladalli' (1978).

Karnad was conferred the Padma Shri in 1974 and the Padma Bhushan in 1992 for his contributions to the arts. For his contributions in literature and theatre, Karnad received the Jnanpith Award, India’s highest literary prize, in 1999. He was last seen in the 2018 Kannada film 'Neenillada Male.'

Karnad is survived by wife Dr Saraswathi Ganapathy, son and journalist Raghu Karnad and daughter Radha, a doctor.

Dhanush plans to remake Ayushmann starrer 'Andhadhun' in Tamil Actor Ayushmann Khuranna's award-winning film 'Andhadhun' is all set to be remade in Tamil. Multi-talented actor Dhanush is currently in the process of obtaining rights to the movie.

A media report read, “It is a brilliant film and we have already started the process of acquiring the rights. It's one of those thrillers which I wouldn't mind remaking in Tamil.”

Dhanush, who was recently in Mumbai to launch the trailer of his Hollywood debut, 'The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir' by Ken Scott, spoke about working on the project. He said, “The experience was fantastic. I should thank Ken and my co-stars. My English isn't that great but they

were really patient with me and helped me.”

The Sriram Raghavan’s 2018 super hit also starred Tabu in a pivotal role, while Radhika Apte appeared in a supporting role.

He also said that he plans a film with Aanad L Rai of 'Raanjhanaa' fame. “I will be teaming up with Aanand L Rai some time. I will be doing a Hindi film, it'll be announced soon.” He also addressed rumours about following his father-in-law Rajinikanth's footsteps and joining politics. He also rubbished reports suggesting he would produce Rajini's next, to be directed by Karthik Subbaraj.

The film 'The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir' is set to hit big screens in India on June 21.

TV Listing

* Schedule is subject to change

SATURDAY JUNE 15, 2019 00:00 FILM: UTT PATAANG 05:00 FILM: GOOD BUDDY GADBADI 07:27 FILM: PYAAR KE KABIL 10:42 FILM: NAZAR KE SAMNE 13:20 FILM: JASHNN 16:00 FILM: FOX 18:25 LIFESTYLE : STAR STOP 19:01 FILM: NO ENTRY 22:30 FILM: DEEWANE HUYE PAGAL SUNDAY JUNE 16, 2019 01:25 FILM: AATMA - FEEL IT AROUND YOU 05:00 FILM: MUNNA MAANGE MEMSAAB 07:30 FILM: AAKHREE RAASTA 10:49 FILM: UTT PATAANG 12:50 FILM: PHOOL AUR KAANTE 16:00 FILM: ZANJEER 18:43 LIFESTYLE : STAR STOP 19:17 FILM: THE SHAUKEENS 21:52 FILM: GUNAAH MONDAY JUNE 17, 2019 00:17 FILM: DEEWANE HUYE PAGAL 05:00 FILM: THE PERFECT GIRL 07:00 FILM: ISHQ CLICK 09:43 FILM: EK AUR KRODHI 12:18 FILM: DHADKAN 15:45 FILM: NO ENTRY 19:15 FILM: GHATAK 22:27 FILM: AKAASH VANI

* Schedule is subject to change

SATURDAY 15TH JUNE TIME TV PROGRAM NAMES 16:30 KAUN BANEGA CROREPATI 18:30 THE KAPIL SHARMA SHOW 20:00 SUPER DANCER CHAPTER 3 21:30 THE KAPIL SHARMA SHOW 23:00 THE KAPIL SHARMA SHOW SUNDAY 16TH JUNE TIME TV PROGRAM NAMES 17:00 KAUN BANEGA CROREPATI 18:30 THE KAPIL SHARMA SHOW 20:00 SUPER DANCER CHAPTER 3

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 10TH - FRI 14TH JUNE 2019 15:30: STYLE CHEF (O) 16:00: THE GREAT INDIAN GLOBAL KITCHEN 2 16:30: RASOI SHOW 17:30: CHHUTA CHHEDA 18:00: RADHA PREM KI DEEWANI 18:30: UTTARAN 19:00: JAHAANARA 19:30: BEPANNAH

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 10TH - FRI 14TH JUNE 2019 15:30: KHATRA KHATRA KHATRA 18:30: KITCHEN CHAMPION 19:30: UDAAN 20:00: SHAKTI ASTITVA KE EHSAAS KI 20:30: KESARRI NANDAN 21:00: GATHBANDHAN 21:30: BEPANAH PYAARR

TUESDAY JUNE 18, 2019 01:10 FILM: JAHAN TUM LE CHALO 05:00 FILM: SWEEKAR KIYA MAINE 07:45 FILM: KRISHNA ARJUN 10:25 FILM: MAIN TERE PYAAR MEIN PAGAL 13:00 FILM: YES BOSS 16:25 FILM: THE SHAUKEENS 19:00 FILM: RAMA RAMA KYA HAI DRAMA 21:47 FILM: SHAURYA WEDNESDAY JUNE 19, 2019 00:35 FILM: JEET - BORN TO WIN 05:00 FILM: DAM999 07:15 FILM: YEH KAISA AATANK 09:43 FILM: KRANTIVEER 12:46 FILM: ZINDA DILI 15:43 FILM: AKAASH VANI 18:35 LIFESTYLE : STAR STOP 19:13 FILM: EK SE BURE DO 22:00 FILM: HAI APNA DIL TOH AWARA THURSDAY JUNE 20, 2019 00:35 FILM: FOUR PILLARS OF BASEMENT 05:00 FILM: THE SILENT HEROES 07:19 FILM: THE REAL PRINCE 10:14 FILM: MRITYUDAND 13:28 FILM: ZEHER 16:09 FILM: SHAURYA 19:00 FILM: MAN ON MISSION FAULADI 21:46 FILM: JAYANTABHAI KI LUV STORY FRIDAY JUNE 21, 2019 00:17 FILM: YEH HAI JUDGEMENT HANGED TILL DEATH 05:00 FILM: BAS EK TAMANNA 07:12 FILM: GURUDEV 10:25 FILM: NAZAR 12:48 FILM: MAN ON MISSION FAULADI 15:30 FILM: CHAALBAAZ 18:42 LIFESTYLE : STAR STOP 19:15 FILM: DON- THE CHASE BEGINS AGAIN 22:50 FILM: SANTA BANTA PVT LTD 21:30 THE KAPIL SHARMA SHOW 23:00 THE KAPIL SHARMA SHOW MON 17TH JUNE - FRI 21ST JUNE TIME TV PROGRAM NAMES 17:30 MAIN MAAYKE CHALI JAAUNGI 18:00 VIGHNAHARTA GANESH 18:45 MERE SAI 19:30 YEH UN DINON KI BAAT HAI 20:00 CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA 20:30 BEYHADH 21:00 PATIALA BABES 21:30 LADIES SPECIAL 22:00 CRIME PATROL SONY MAX 2 PRIME TIME 19:00 MONDAY MILI 19:00 TUESDAY AASHA 19:00 WEDNESDAY KHOON BHARI MAANG 19:00 THURSDAY JAMAI RAJA 19:00 FRIDAY EK LADKA EK LADKI

20:00: ISHQ MEIN MARJAWAN 20:30: MOHE RANNG DO LAAL 21:00: BALIKA VADHU - LAMHE PYAAR KE 22:00: COLORS KE SANG ANTAKSHARI KE RANG SAT 15TH JUNE 2019 17:30: CHHUTA CHHEDA 18:00: RADHA PREM KI DEEWANI 18:30: UTTARAN 19:00: COURT ROOM 20:00: KHATRON KE KHILADI JIGGER PE TRIGGER 21:30: ZINDAGI KI HAQEEQAT SE AAMNA SAAMNA SUN 16TH JUNE 2019 18:00: RADHA PREM KI DEEWANI 18:30: UTTARAN 19:00: COURT ROOM 20:00: KHATRON KE KHILADI JIGGER PE TRIGGER 21:30: ZINDAGI KI HAQEEQAT SE AAMNA SAAMNA

22:00: SILSILA 22:30: KHOOB LADI MARDANI JHANSI KI RANI 23:00: VISH SAT 15TH JUNE 2019 19:00: COLORS SE SANG ANTAKSHARI KE RANG 20:30: DESI BEAT RESET 21:00: DANCE DEEWANE SEASON 2 22:30: KAWACH SUN 16TH JUNE 2019 19:00: COLORS SE SANG ANTAKSHARI KE RANG 20:30: DESI BEAT - SEASON 3 21:00: DANCE DEEWANE SEASON 2 22:30: KAWACH

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15 - 21 June 2019

Mahant Swami leaves for Morbi

Pupils praised by MP and mayor for action on air pollution

BAPS chief Pujya Mahant Swami has left for Morbi. When he was in Sarangpur, another batch of the competition for young people were organised. The competition was in skit, drama, dancing, painting, mono acting and writing. Some 2,000 young people participated in the competition. The participants were from villages, hostels, and BAPS schools. Prizes were distributed to the winners of the competition. A training centre was opened for the 20th batch of the participants.

Coming Events

l National Association of Patidar Samaj 26B Tooting High Street, London SW17 0RJ International yoga day On Friday 21 June 2019- 6.30 pm to 9.30 pm Simple Vegetarian dinner will be served Contact – Executive Committee Pravin/Janak Amin 07967013871, Bhartiben P Patel 07507687017 Bhartiben S Patel 07471909571, Umeshbhai Amin 8704 0582, Minaxi Patel 02087673007, Nishaben Amin 8767 8240, Neelam Patel 07985156986, Falguni Patel 07985026262, Mayur Patel 07762551738, Bindu Parekh 8769 8708, Vikuntalaben Patel 8769 2009, Pramilaben Patel 07958760435, Gargi Patel 07976 575971, Piyush Patel 8977 8223, B A Patel 8655 0194, Karnika Patel 07854299145, Snehlata Patel 07958672477, Yoga teacher - Bhanuben Parekh 07574 272140 l Shrjeedham Haveli, Leicester 504, Melton Road Mangalmay Rasraj festival Date- June 21, 22, 23, Time – 4 to 6.30 pm

Sneh Joshi

Students, teachers and comunity leaders gathered on Thursday (June 6) to celebrate three years of hard work tackling air pollution in the areas near their schools.

Sixteen schools across the borough have been working to reduce the spread of harmful gases as part of a project called Redbridge Air Action - funded by the Greater London Assembly and supported by Transport for London.

Children involved in the project investigated local air pollution levels around their schools and presented their findings to the borough's school community and politicians.

Helen Young, a former lead presenter at BBC Weather who now works for Redbridge Air Action, led the presentation at Glade Primary School, Clayhall.

Pupils from Parkhill

Junior, Glade, Caterham High, Clore Tikva Primary and King Solomon High showcased their work with lively presentations and films.

Glade Primary School Choir even performed an original song entitled Breathe.

To tackle high levels of air pollution, all the pupils recommended ditching the car to walk, cycle or scoot to school.

Children heard a message from Mayor of London Sadiq Khan's air quality manager Elliot Treharne, who thanked them for their hard work on the project.

His statement said: "It's really great to hear how interested you are in air pollution. I hope you tell your parents and friends about the ways in which everyone can stop pollution and help avoid breathing in too much pollution."

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Asian Business Publications Ltd (ABPL) is not in any way responsible for the goods and services rendered by its advertisers. The ABPL management accepts all advertisements in good faith and it is entirely up to readers to verify advertisers’ products and services, should they feel the need to do so.

The Gardener Xxix: Speak To Me My Love - by Rabindranath Tagore Speak to me, my love! Tell me in words what you sang.

The night is dark. The stars are lost in clouds. The wind is sighing through the leaves.

I will let loose my hair. My blue cloak will cling round me like night. I will clasp your head to my bosom; and there in the sweet loneliness murmur on your heart. I will shut my eyes and listen. I will not look in your face.

When your words are ended, we will sit still and silent. Only the trees will whisper in the dark.

The night will pale. The day will dawn. We shall look at each other's eyes and go on our different paths.

Speak to me, my love! Tell me in words what you sang.

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The UK’s leading Vedic writer and TV personality

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20 Your horizons have most cer-

tainly expanding. Jupiter in the area of your chart ruling long-distance travel and philosophical thoughts will make your mind run wild. With Venus transiting your networking sector for some time, there will be many romantic opportunities. Your financial affairs are looking up.

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21 The Sun and Venus highlight

your second house of finance, and your focus is on material affairs and comfort issues. This is a good time to plan your future investments carefully to maximise your profits. It’s time to use that creative imagination of yours to create grandeur in your life. Anything or anyone that drains your time and energy should be re-evaluated.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22 Relationships look great as

Venus and Jupiter help to enhance your personal magnetism and put you in a gregarious mood. There are subtle transformations taking shape in you life and a feeling of helpful influences in the background.

There is much to suggest that you are in tune with your inner self.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22 With both Venus and Mars resonating powerfully in your Solar chart, amorous affairs are likely to become extremely intense. Sometimes it is better to get a more objective view of the pattern of your life. You may find that you can enrich your lifestyle by simplifying certain areas and re-organising your priorities.

With Venus and Sun in your solar 11th house, this is a good time for your social as well as your love life. If you’re single you are likely to meet the person of your dreams. You could also benefit at work through a promotion. Organise your time so that it is not taken up entirely by the demands of other people.

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23

Sun and Venus in your solar 10th with Mercury and Mars in your solar 11th house stimulates work and friends. This period makes you focus on your long-term goals, friendships, and group affiliations. This could test a friendship, or a friend may experience a little crisis and ask for your help. You could suddenly find yourself amongst people through no choice of your own.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

Your horizons are most certainly expanding. Your philosophical thoughts will make your mind run wild. With Sun and your ruling planet Venus transiting your Solar 9th House, there will be many opportunities. Your financial affairs are looking up. Do not miss out on ways to better yourself in the coming weeks.

The Sun and Venus energize your sector of change, transformation and regeneration. On a more practical level, you may be dealing with joint finances and shared resources now more than usual. You should also make sure that your tax affairs are in order along with your investments. You are more willing than usual to explore and delve deeper into life's secrets and arrive at meaningful conclusions.

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22

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SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21

All close ties of love and affection will benefit from the gentle influence of Venus. If you are married or have a wellfounded relationship, it seems that the pattern of events will somehow draw you closer together emotionally. Those who are not yet totally decided, this is a fine time to do some serious thinking.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20

The Sun is in your 6th house with Venus, placing emphasizes on your daily work and health routines. This transit will help you organize and communicate your thoughts clearly at work. Relationships need to be taken care of as disputes can occur if not handled correctly. The fiery planet Mars and Mercury in your opposite sign can be both intense and passionate at the same time.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19

Venus continues to favour your love life. If you are still seeking the ideal partner, things are definitely looking up. An increase in your social life is likely to bring you in touch with someone attractive. At work you need greater flexibility as well as a degree of patience. Do not step on any one's toes.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20

Domestic and family interests are likely to require lots of attention as the Sun remains in your solar fourth house. With Venus and Sun in this sector could produce auspicious results for those buying or selling property. There may be some sort of financial snag that impedes the free flow of funds - take expert advice.

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Sport

www.asian-voice.com

15 - 21 June 2019

CRICKET // WORLD CUP

AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly

All eyes on India-Pak match on Sunday India’s next challenge at the World Cup will be against New Zealand, but all eyes are already on next Sunday, when Virat Kohli’s men will take on Pakistan. Sentiments during a high-stakes India-Pakistan match always run high, but this time round, the stakes will be much higher because of the tensions between the two neighbours. To build the hype, broadcaster Star Sports skipped promoting the India’s match with the Kiwis and jumped straight to the Pakistan clash. To build more hype surrounding it, it has brought back the ‘Mauka Mauka’ ad that had gone viral during the 2015 World Cup. As expected, the ad mocks Pakistan's dismal record against India in ICC events, with Pakistan failing to win a single match against the Men in Blue in World Cups so far. The video shows actor Vikas Malhotra, who plays the Pakistani son remembering his father's words on how one should keep trying and never give up. The Indian fan in the ad uses the opportunity to take the 'baap' dig on the Pakistani fan.

The viral Mauka Mauka ads had gained immense popularity last time around, but fans across the border had naturally not found it funny. But this time around, some India fans too were unimpressed and found it to be in bad taste.

India easily beat Australia at the Oval India convincingly ended Australia's 10match winning streak with a 36-run victory at the Oval. India won the toss, chose to bat, and paced its innings superbly, starting slowly and finishing in a rush to make 352-5.

Shikhar Dhawan hit his third World Cup century, 117, and combined in an opening stand of 127 with Rohit Sharma. Captain

Virat Kohli added 82. Australia's chase was slow and never got out of third gear. Halfcenturies by Steve Smith (69), David Warner (56) and Alex Carey (55 not out) couldn't disguise an underwhelming game plan. They were all out for 316 on the last ball.

England thrash Bangladesh In another clinical display, England thrashed Bangladesh by 106 runs at Cardiff on Saturday. The hosts blasted 14 sixes on way to 386 for six - their highest-ever score in a World Cup game. They have now become the first team to score 300-plus in seven consecutive ODIs, beating Australia’s record of six. It was also the biggest total ever made on this ground. The English bowlers later bowled out Bangladesh for 280 in 48.5 overs, with pacers Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes taking three wickets each. The 106-run win, was a sweet revenge after they suffered back-

to-back losses against Bangladesh in 2011 and 2015 World Cup matches. The man who plundered the most was opener Jason Roy, who cracked 153.

Australia beat Windies by 15 runs Australia survived a top-order failure to bounce back and beat West Indies by 15 runs at Trent Bridge to record their second victory in the World Cup. Australia recovered from 79 for 5 to set West Indies a target of 289 after Steve Smith hit 73 while Nathan Coulter-Nile, at No.8, smashed 60ball 92. The Australian fightback really started with a 68-run association between Smith and Alex Carey who got out for 45.

West Indies would have fancied their chances to chase down 289 given their batting line-up. But Evin Lewis fell to Pat Cummins in the second over of the innings while Chris Gayle used the DRS successfully

twice before running out of luck. Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran then added 68 for the 3rd wicket before Pooran was done in by Adam Zampa for 40. Shimron Hetmyer looked good in his composed 21 but his run out pushed West Indies further back.

India open with win India opened its World Cup campaign with a victory over South Africa. Now South Africa's world cup campaign is teetering on the edge in its third straight defeat. Rohit Sharma made the most of an early reprieve to post an unbeaten 122 and guide India to a six-wicket win over an injury-depleted South Africa, when tight bowling dominated a lowscoring group game at the Rose Bowl. He recovered steadily and carried his bat, reaching 100 from 128 balls, before India surpassed the victory target of 228 with 15 balls to spare, consigning South Africa to a third straight defeat. It's likely South Africa will have to win its remaining six league games to maintain a chance of reaching the semifinals.

HOW THEY STAND Teams M W L Tied NR Pts NRR NZ 3 3 0 0 0 6 +2.163 Eng 3 2 1 0 0 4 +1.307 India 2 2 0 0 0 4 +0.539 Aus 3 2 1 0 0 4 +0.483 SL 4 1 1 0 2 4 -1.517 Pak 3 1 1 0 1 3 -2.412 WI 3 1 1 0 1 3 +2.054 Bang 4 1 2 0 1 3 -0.714 SAfrica 4 0 3 0 1 1 -0.952 Afg 3 0 3 0 0 0 -1.493 NR - No result • NRR - Net run rate

Injured Shikhar Dhawan ruled out for 3 weeks

Yuvraj Singh retires from international cricket

India's opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the 2019 Cricket World Cup for 3 weeks with a fractured thumb. He had been hit on his left thumb during India’s match against defending champions Australia at The Oval on Sunday. Despite suffering injury, he went on to score a match-winning 117 against Australia. He had gone for a scan on Monday and the report reveals he has a fracture.

Dhawan will therefore, not be able to play India’s upcoming matches against Shikhar Dhawan New Zealand, Pakistan, sterling innings and his injury is a huge blow Afghanistan, West Indies and England - all to India who are hot favourites to win the these matches are scheduled to be played in World Cup this year.

June. He is a key player for India in ICC In this scenario, KL Rahul is most likely tournaments where he has 6 hundreds. In to open with Rohit Sharma with Dinesh the 2015 World Cup, Dhawan had scored 2 Karthik or Vijay Shankar likely to slot in the hundreds. After a poor start against South middle order. According to sources, Africa, Dhawan smashed 117 to set up a 36Dhawan’s possible replacement in England run win for India against Australia. Dhawan could either be Shreyas Iyer or Rishabh Pant. was named man-of-the-match for his

Yuvraj Singh, who played a key role in India's 2011 World Cup win, announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Monday, after serving Indian cricket for 19 years. The 37-year-old, however, will be available for overseas franchise-based leagues. The all-rounder featured in 40 Tests, 304 ODIs and 58 T20Is for India.

He donned the India colours for the last time in 2017 as an indifferent form and injury issues forced him out of national reckoning.

Even though he continued playing in the domestic circuit for Punjab and also featured in the Indian Premier League in the last two years, he was a shadow of his former self. "I can't put it in words, I will try.

After 25 years, and in 22 yards and 17 years of international cricket. I have decided to move on," he said. " Cricket has given me everything and it was a love Yuvraj Singh hate relationship in retrospect. I can't express in words how that

feeling is. I have failed more times than I succeeded, but I gave my blood and sweat when it came to playing for country. My life has been a roller coaster ride. Next focus is to help cancer patients at youwecan," he added.

Son of former India cricketer, Yograj Singh, Yuvraj was part of India's U-19 team which won the World Cup in 2000. In the same year, he broke into the senior national team and made his debut for India in the ICC Knock-out Trophy in Kenya in 2000. He played a knock of 84 against Australia which had Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie in its ranks. That gritty innings defined Yuvraj's class. In his long and illustrious career, Yuvraj also enjoyed the feat of hitting England's Stuart Broad for six sixes during a World T20 fixture in South Africa in 2007.