AV 19th March 2022

FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE

Mother's Day Special

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19 - 25 MARCH 2022

07 Heart attack symptoms? It's never too early to call 999

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

13 20th anniversary of the Memorial Gates

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VOL 50 - ISSUE 45

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SBI’s centenary celebration explores benefits of the UK-India FTA

BOGGED DOWN

BY BACKLOG

British-Pakistani filmmaker Aleem Khan and his mom beam at the BAFTA

PM Modi motivates party workers into election mode in Gujarat

BJP retains its hold in 4 states, AAP ousts Cong in Punjab

The effect of the booster shots is waning and the pandemic is not over. 6.1 million people were waiting for hospital treatment at end of December 2021.

Doctors react to the NHS backlog amid the government’s ongoing Spring Inquiry.

Editorial credit: Ilyas Tayfun Salci / Shutterstock.com

Shefali Saxena

The number of people in England waiting for planned hospital care could hit 10.7 million by March 2024, leaked projections prepared for ministers and NHS bosses show. NHS figures for England that cover the period until January 2022 show that there is now a record 6.1m people on the waiting list – a rise of 36,730 on the previous month. Of these, 311,528 have waited over a year for treatment, with 23,788 people waiting for more than two years. Covid hospital admissions are rising across the UK. Reported cases are now also on the rise, with 61,900 reported last Tuesday, the highest daily figure for a month. While the booster dose has been shown to provide the strongest protection against Covid, including the Omicron variant, some waning of immunity is expected after six months which immediately also envelopes others around them into increased chances of infection.

Continued on page 10

Five years of double incumbency; memories of a devastating pandemic that killed and displaced thousands, dented growth, worsened the already-serious challenge of unemployment and triggered inflation; and an awkward retreat after a bruising confrontation with farmers. The odds could not have been loaded more adversely.

Yet, PM Narendra Modi's BJP managed to defy them to lead BJP to a resounding 4:1 victory, in a performance that again attested to his appeal as the saffron talisman and underlined BJP's domination of Indian politics. On a day when Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's AAP steamrollered its opponents to score a landslide win in Punjab, smashing the stubborn historical barrier that has hitherto restricted regional parties to their home ground, it was the BJP-led Modi that dwarfed the field elsewhere, its preeminence stamped starker than ever before.

Continued on page 25

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AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

19 - 25 March 2022

with Keith Vaz

Seven billion items of pandemic PPE marked “do not supply”

MAHESH THAKRAR South Indian Clothing Business Mahesh was born in Gujarat, India. Aged 18, he came to the UK to study and after making the decision to settle down in Leicester, he and wife Kiran started a Retail business “Ladlee” specialising in South Asian clothing on the famous Golden Mile (Belgrave Road).

Ladlee has been around for 30 years and is something they are both very proud of. Mahesh is also very proud of his three children Dhwani, Neel and Yash.

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

I love my hometown Porbandar where I was born but having lived in Leicester since the late 80s I most feel at home here. I love seeing familiar faces and take part in my community whether through charity or voluntary work. Leicester is home.

2) What are your proudest achievements?

I’m proud that I followed my father’s footsteps in being an entrepreneur. I come from a family of small business people and we used to specialise in selling fabrics back in India. In 1992, I made the decision to start a business and that’s what I’m proud of.

3) What inspires you?

My family are my biggest inspiration.

Every individual in my family has their own personality and way of doing things. It allows me to see things differently and bring my best self forward. I’m also inspired by my late parents as without them I wouldn’t be the person I am today.

4) What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

The recent Covid uncertainty has been the biggest challenge. We’ve experienced lack of support in the wedding industry from the government. We’ve been unable to carry out business trips to India and most importantly we wanted to ensure the wellbeing of our staff.

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

My wife has been the biggest influence.

We started the business together and she has motivated me to excel in my career and drive the business forward. Whilst you may see me on a day to day basis at the store, my wife is always advising and supporting me.

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

I get to travel to India to meet suppliers and source the best products. I’ve visited many cities including Jaipur which is my favourite. I love travelling for work whilst exploring new cities in India. More recently my wife and I take a few days break in between trips to relax and unwind.

7) And the worst?

Ladlee is a retail business and we are very busy during the Summer wedding season. I wouldn’t say it’s the ‘worst’ thing, but certainly working on the weekends can get very busy.

8) What are your long term goals?

My long-term goal is to drive Ladlee exposure to other cities in the UK and possibly Europe too. We have a strong online business so it would be great to see that grow. Overall, however, I want to enjoy spending quality time with my family and friends and exploring new parts of the world.

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

The wedding and hospitality industry suffered during covid. We had to keep our doors closed which I understand was necessary. However, I do think more could have been done to support these businesses. I would have changed that so I could better support my staff and business.

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

I would love to spend time with Mahatma Gandhi. He was born in my hometown in India and I’ve grown up visiting the Gandhi museum. I’m intrigued by his approach to nonviolence and applying the Gita to his decision making during a time of unrest.

UK Government refuses to pay Covid contracts worth £8.9m The Department of Health and Social Care is in no mood to pay a lateral flow test manufacturer, York-based Abingdon Health, won Covid-19 contracts worth £85m through a “VIP lane” of firms favoured by ministers. The company said

there were no legal grounds for the Government to withhold £8.9m.

On November 9 last year, the two sides agreed over the non-payment however Abingdon says it is still waiting to be paid.

In December, the value

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of the company decreased after Abingdon said it would sell up to £5.5m worth of shares to make up for a capital shortfall which it expected in the first quarter of 2022. They slashed their workforce from 190 to 130 employees due to the cash crunch.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has marked one in five items of PPE, which were bought by the government during the pandemic, as ‘not fit for purpose’ and cannot be used by the NHS. It has been revealed that of almost 7 billion items of PPE that were brought for frontline services, 19.1 per cent have been marked “do not sup-

ply” by the DHSC to the NHS. Health minister Lord Bethell admitted 1.9 billion items worth £2.8bn were in

Heathrow’s passenger numbers remain 50% down As per the figures released by the west London airport, Heathrow’s passenger numbers remained nearly 50 per cent down on pre-pandemic levels last month. Only 2.9 million passengers used the airport in February.

Before the pandemic had a major impact on the

aviation industry, some 5.4 million passengers travelled through the airport in February 2020.

Though outbound leisure travel is recovering strongly, demand for inbound flights “remains suppressed” by the coronavirus testing and quaran-

tine requirements, said Heathrow. It added that it is facing “headwinds” due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

As the number of passengers is growing, the airport is recruiting 12,000 new staff and plans to reopen Terminal 4 before July.

Ealing bachelor slams arranged marriages After an unlucky experience with traditional matrimony services, and with a hope of finding a wife, Jeevan Bhachu, 31, spent £2,000 on a 20-foot billboard.

Bhachu, who is of Indian and Kenyan origin, said that he received over 100 applications, including some from the United States, Australia, Canada, Greece and Germany.

The part-time DJ said,

“One of the main reasons why I do not agree with traditional arranged marriages is because there is too much judgement. Parents pretend to look at the finer details of a person, like what job they

do and how much they earn, but I don’t think that is important. I have seen others where it has worked out for them, but it’s not a onesize-fits-all solution.”

Bhachu believes that entrepreneur, Muhammad Malik, 29- who released similar adverts across Birmingham and London this year- are creating a marketing trend.

Women can send their applications to findJEEVANawife.com.

Former East London businessman jailed for murder conspiracy The Met’s Counter Terror Command’s thorough investigation helped uncover 2,000 WhatsApp messages that took place Muhammad Gohir Khan and his co-conspirator, where they discussed and agreed to kill Rotterdam-based Pakistani blogger and activist.

It is believed that the victim was targeted for his outspoken political views and his public profile. Upon enquiring, detectives found that Khan who was working at a supermarket at the time believed that he will receive £80,000 for carrying out the murder.

Javid might back scrapping of Covid locator forms The health secretary might back the scrapping of passenger locator forms for all international arrivals in England before Easter. All travellers except those who arrive in internal flights or journeys that began in Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man – have to complete a passenger locator form before beginning their journey to the UK.

the “do not supply” category – 6.2 per cent of the PPE, of which the number is considered as more than three times the figure that was quoted last September.

The DHSC is now planning to recycle 3.3 per cent of pandemic PPE including 800m aprons, said permanent secretary Sir Chris Wormald in a letter to the Public Accounts Committee.

When border controls were much stricter, this

form became a requirement and it allowed officials to ensure that people follow quarantine rules.

Though it was simplified over time, the Ryanair boss, Michael O’Leary, complained that scraping forms should have been done earlier.

He called them “completely irrelevant” because “nobody collects them, nobody checks them or follows upon them”.

On Friday, 28 January, at Kingston Crown Court, Khan, 31, of Sprowston Road, E7, was found guilty of conspiracy to murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment Friday, 11 March, where he will serve at least 13 years.

Commander Richard Smith from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “The dedication and diligence of counter-terrorism officers, Border Force colleagues, and our Dutch law enforcement counterparts led to justice being served in this chilling case of conspiracy to murder.”

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

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www.asian-voice.com

19 - 25 March 2022

Will time heal this broken heart?

Iran has claimed that Britain has agreed to pay it £400m, helping British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe to be released. The debt relates to the non-delivery of a contract for Chieftain tanks in the 1970s, said The Daily Telegraph.

20 years ago, the Chelsea football club was bought

by Roman Abramovich. But the club was founded in 1905. A history that precedes the years of a Russian Oligarch funding it. Today the war on Russia has moved the UK government to take a certain stand, sanction imposed on the businessman, but it is evidentially 20 years too late!

The Guardian reported that Chelsea has requested their FA Cup quarter final at Middlesborough on Saturday to be played behind closed doors after the club failed to get their ban on selling tickets lifted.

It said, "The European champions have been granted a special licence to continue operating after sanctions were imposed on Roman Abramovich last week, but this does not allow them to sell new tickets.

That means they cannot fill the away seats at the Riverside Stadium and Chelsea believe the game should take place in an empty ground to preserve sporting integrity. Middlesbrough said Chelsea’s move was 'bizarre and without any merit' and that they would strongly contest it."

Amidst the power-struggle, while there will be no immediate affect on the squad or coaching staff, reportedly the sanctions have put futures of many players in question, particularly those who were hoping to sign new contracts. Pundits such as Rio Ferdinand and Peter Crouch have predicted an exodus of players this summer from Chelsea and coach Thomas Tuchel is apparently already linked to be moving to Manchester United. Fourfour two, an online portal has done a story on the exact players who may leave. More importantly, while the Club will lose money, businesses will suffer and many more such commercial problems will eventually occur, no one, absolutely no one has ever asked what will happen to the fans?

Fandom in football, is not restricted to England alone. Spread across the globe, it means a lot more than a source of funding – which mind you is a matter

of due diligence for the government and the hundreds of boards one need to satisfy to buy or sell a business in the UK. For fans, football and their chosen club is an expression of their emotion or identity, a sense of belonging and a sanctuary. It is a temple as well as one of the tightest bonds connecting them to communities. No one has asked these fans, earlier or now, what they want or ever wanted. It’s a fact that in this political merry-go-round, the biggest losers are the innocent fans!

At the same time, it is heart-warming to see Asians and others opening their homes to provide shelter to Ukrainian refugees. While we have never witnessed such prompting by UK government to home a Syrian or Afghan refugee, nonetheless it is a matter of pride as a nation, and a hope that we are perhaps evolving.

The Ugandan Asians who were displaced by a different type of war by another dictator had reached the shores of Britain, only to be welcomed by Enoch Powell’s Rivers of Blood. The Conservative party has of course visibly come a long way since 1968, but an Afghan refugee may still face a very different future in Britain.

Britain is mostly good to immigrants- home to so much diversity and opportunities but prejudices against brown skinned refugees or workers is still a fact. A twitter post recently spoke about a hospital somewhere in the country, where allegedly the Matron has asked health workers to use no language other than English, even to communicate among themselves.

We have new race and diaspora heroes, digging into causes and effects, but for majority non-ethnic Britons, non-admittedly the calendar hasn’t moved a day forward since the year 1968.

The weekend’s BAFTA showed how a granddaughter of a Windrush migrant has reached the top as a celebrity with sheer hard work, but let’s look around that room – how many have been Asians?

Britain is mostly wonderful. It is a cultural kaleidoscope. But with the risk of sounding like a broken record, we must acknowledge it has much work to do in actual race equality. Mere tokenism and lip services are not considered as real progress.

'The Kashmir Files' creates a storm amid poll verdict Amid the verdict in the assembly poll, a new film 'The Kashmir Files' has created a storm in India. The film deals with the exodus of Hindus from Kashmir in the 1990s. The first point to note after March 10 election verdicts is the sublime messaging of Indian democracy. Incumbent BJP beat history in UP and Uttarakhand and won. In Manipur and Goa, BJP improved its tallies. And in Punjab, voters showed how dramatic the fallout of popular anger against established parties can be, by giving AAP a massive mandate. The voters have demonstrated how emphatic they can be in their rejection of so-called big names as many stars lost their seats in Punjab, look at the fast-fading Nehru-Gandhi brand across states, look at the virtual irrelevance of Mayawati in UP and the failure of Akhilesh Yadav to extend SP’s social base. Arvind Kejriwal is now an opposition leader with the best potential to take the fight to BJP. Modi’s BJP has created a new model, at least in the politically most significant Hindi heartland – continuous subliminal and/or overt messaging to attract a pan-caste Hindu vote and, by Indian governance standards, very effective delivery of welfare benefits.

If AAP can’t upgrade fast enough and Congress continues to wither away, the opposition has a big problem: Who will effectively fight BJP in north India? Congress is also a lesson for other family-led parties, as is SP. As for the future of India’s economy and its ability to spread mass prosperity, these elections will be pivotal in one of two ways. Either parties will think that welfarism and rank populism will win polls and therefore reforms are unnecessary and probably politically costly. Or, hopefully, at least some of them will conclude that the fiscal limits of welfarism will be reached very soon and that growth and jobs via smart policies is the only sustainable political economic formula in a country where a vast number of low-income citizens are looking for reasonably well-paid jobs. It is vital for the parties to choose the correct alternative.

'The Kashmir Files,' tells the fictional story of a university student who discovers his Kashmiri Hindu parents were killed by Islamist militants - and not in an accident as his grandfather told him. Soon after

releasing the film it generated heated debate in the social media. Supporters said it shows the real picture of what happened to Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s.

But critics say it's careless with facts and Islamophobic. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP-ruled state governments have praised the film and many states have waived the entertainment tax for the film. The movie delves into the history of Kashmir, and the restive region along India's border with Pakistan which has long been a sensitive subject.

Its Muslim-majority valley has seen armed insurgency against Indian rule since the late 1980s. Islamist militants began targeting Kashmiri Hindus who were a minority group in the 1990s. Many were killed and, by some estimates, hundreds of thousands of them fled their homes. Most never returned.

India's federal government deployed the army and gave it sweeping powers to arrest and interrogate the trouble makers and the security forces have been accused of excesses against locals. They deny the allegations but the region has since regularly seen huge and often furious protests against Delhi that have ended with civilian casualties. The tense relationship only grew worse after Modi government revoked Kashmir's constitutionally guaranteed autonomy in 2019. The nationalist party has also used the conflicted region as a poll plank - it has especially focused on the issue of the Hindu exodus, alleging that the Congress party, which was in power before and after the events, had neglected the Pandits' plight. The community, however, has said that no party has done much to rehabilitate them. While Kashmir's tortured past has inspired numerous books and films, few have solely focused on the exodus and what led to it.

'The Kashmir Files' has elicited strong reaction because the Pandits have always felt that their story had been stifled. But the controversy is stemming not so much from the history of the exodus - as no-one is refuting that it happened - but from the manner in which the story has been told. Viewers were divided too - some were touched and hoped this would help heal the wounds, while others were troubled by the stereotyped portrayal of Kashmiri Muslims, and the message the movie sends out.

Thought for the week Unity to be real must stand the severest strain without breaking. – Mahatma Gandhi

Political Sketchbook Alpesh Patel

How Badly Did India Miscalculate It’s UN Abstention?

In 1971 India faced 10million refugees entering its borders. The UN belatedly recognised the genocide by the Pakistani Army in East Pakistan. It became clear to the Western media, UK, US that India would enter East Pakistan. They all rallied to criticise India’s humanitarian military invasion as the East Pakistanis begged for Indian assistance. Indira Gandhi asked on the BBC TV “What would you have me do as women are raped and men butchered”. This Hindu woman probably saved more Muslim lives than any Muslim woman in history in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan or elsewhere.

Memories in India last long that the West stood by, indeed sought to assist Pakistan and threaten India. And the USSR is seen as the only protector India had. That to many Indians is like the memory of World War 2 and UK-US relationship since. Consider 70% of India’s armaments come from Russia – cheaper then Western ones, and better than indigenous ones for now. That is the context to today. But today’s Russia is not the USSR and friends tell friends when they are wrong. Indeed, India did at the UN, but not in its voting.

India abstained from the Ukraine vote at the UN. Have they underestimated how badly this could go for India in the future? Whilst their membership of the security council of the UN is temporary, their alliances with Russia and the West may be too. In trying to sit on the fence, have they shot themselves in the foot - to mix metaphors?

As the world looks on in horror at the conflict in Ukraine, India has an extra reason to feel uncomfortable. Russia vetoed the UN Security Council resolution calling Moscow to withdraw its troops. However, India — alongside China and UAE — abstained from the vote.

India was concerned enough about the situation to begin bringing home any citizens caught up in the conflict. It condemned the invasion but stopped short of voting. Similarly, the UAE abstained, calling the vote a "foregone conclusion".

All of this happened at a time when India was growing closer to the West. However, since the time of the Cold War, India has relied on Moscow for advanced weapons. For years, it's juggled its relationship with the US and Russia. But the decision to abstain has made that standpoint more difficult.

Russia is being hit with debilitating sanctions and widespread denunciation. US President Joe Biden has suggested that any country that fails to stake a stand against Putin will be "stained by association".

After, he cryptically acknowledged India's stance, telling the media, "We haven't resolved that completely".

PM Modi has urged a resolution be reached through "sincere dialogue".

The Russian embassy in India has praised New Delhi's stance. The IndianRussian relationship seems strong.

However, difficult times lie ahead. Effective Russian sanctions will impact the Indian economy. Perhaps more concerning is the possibility of secondary sanctions on corporations and banks in China that continue to trade with Russia. It's clear that Putin's invasion of Ukraine will put many Asian countries in a difficult spot. Additionally, Russia (in its past life as USSR) has a track record of protecting India from UN censure. It vetoed sanctions against India over Kashmir (1957), Goa (1962) and the Bangladesh War (1971).

But will there be consequences for India's loyalty?

India's close relations with Russia has put New Delhi in a difficult position. Major Western powers see India as a critical ally amid tensions with China. This situation has seen India look forward to several promising opportunities that align with Modi's vision to modernise the country.

However, standing on the fence in the EU vote could create a sense of mistrust against India. If tensions escalate, there may come a time when the West asks the questions, "are you with us, or against us?". Geopolitical and economic considerations will ensure that's a difficult question to answer. The pivot of the West to India to protect against China will in any event be refocussed on the EU-US-Nato alliance now. Russia met PM Khan on the day of the Ukraine invasion. Russia will play China and Pakistan against India and India with long memories of 1971 will chase Russia.

I have a vested interest being British Indian in seeing India move closer to countries which share its values focussed on human rights, liberalism, anti-authoritarian, democratic - not countries which no longer exist and from a bygone era. The world has moved on. So should India. India does not have an ally like the UK does with the US or the EU and Nato. But shunning them because it did the right thing in 1971 well before the West thought in humanitarian terms means it should again take the moral lead and those who follow India can follow and those who for their Machiavellian or political reasons do not, so be it. Then there is the kneejerk reaction India should stand for what is right not what is expedient. It’s being left behind by looking backward. Wars which begin in Europe tend to spread and involve India. She is connected through her diaspora, it’s people in political high office and trade and investment to the West let alone values – Indian values shared with the West. China and Russia cannot replace that.

This is also a wake-up call for India and not just the complacent West.

India needs to accelerate its indigenous defence industries.

04 NORTH/MIDLANDS

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AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

19 - 25 March 2022

Terrifying arson attack on car terrifies mum and her children A 37-year-old mother and her two children are not able to return to their homes because of the terrifying arson attack. On March 9, before midnight, she heard a “strange popping noise” that was coming outside her window. When she looked out, she saw flames coming from the fuel cap of her car, which was parked on the driveaway of her home in

Newbold Verdon, in the Hinckley and Bosworth area.

"I woke up my kids and got the dogs and got out the back gate. My neighbours had been trying to wave at us to get out."

Leicestershire Police and the force have confirmed that the incident is being treated as a suspected arson attack.

A46 crash- Sixth accused brought before Crown Court judge 20-year-old Mohammed Patel has been charged with the murder of two men, Saqib Hussain and Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin, both 21, following a fatal crash on the A46. The incident took place near Six Hills in Leicestershire on Friday, February 11 around 1:30 am.

Mohammed Patel, of Braybrooke Road, Northfields, Leicester, is the sixth person to be charged.

Three women including a 22year-old Mahek Bukhari, a TikTok and social media influencer, her 45year-old mother, Ansreen Bukhari, and Natasha Akhtar, aged 21, of Alum Rock Road, Birmingham and two men, Raees Jamal, aged 21, and

28-year-old Rekan Karwan have already been charged with the alleged double murder.

Victims and best friends Hussain and Ijazuddin both from Banbury in Oxfordshire were in the Skoda at the time of the incident.

They both were pronounced dead at the scene.

“We are proud to be representing all of our Irish groups in Leicester and Leicestershire, and to be joined by our friends and family to walk through the streets of Leicester city centre,” said a spokesman for the Emerald Centre.

Hidden treasures uncovered by archaeologists at Hanbury Hall History buffs have only a week to see amazing finds that have been dug up by archaeologists at Hanbury Hall, a historic Worcestershire stately home. After a week, all the findings at Hanbury Hall will be covered up again, however, until then, visitors can see them at the property near Droitwich.

Archaeologists dug up a whole host of hidden treasures at the

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The Bradgate Education Partnership Trust that runs a pool at Roundhill Academy in Thurmaston has decided to shut down the same in April claiming that it is outdated, underused and too expensive to keep open.

Gareth Nelmes, chief executive of the Bradgate Education Partnership Trust wrote a letter to the pool users, which includes half a dozen community groups, saying the pool was leaving it

£5,000 a year out of pocket, even though it charges public groups to use it.

“We have kept the swimming pool open primarily for the benefit of the local community for some years. The swimming pool has become unviable and unsustainable for us to continue to operate.

It’s our duty to ensure that our budget is spent benefiting the 840 children who attend The Roundhill Academy,” Nelmes said.

Leicester's Holi event will go online this year

Leicester celebrates St Patrick's Day parade Leicester was decked up in green to celebrate the city’s first St Patrick’s Day parade in two years.

The events took place on Sunday, March 13, organised by members of the Irish community from Leicester's Emerald Centre and supported by Leicester City Council and the Irish Embassy, kicked off at 12 noon with a parade from Holy Cross Church, in New Walk. The parade then took to the streets of the city, before ending up in Jubilee Square.

The day’s celebrations featured music, Irish dancing and flags aplenty.

Outdated school’s swimming pool will be shut down

National Trust property where the building of a new tearoom was being built. These included a 'secret' servants' tunnel and the remains of an 18th Century 'buried' kitchen.

Now the team have revealed more historic finds from the 18th and 19th Centuries, that included perforated bricks which would have been used in drying malts and making cider.

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The festival Holi that is celebrated in large public gatherings, where people throw or rub powdered paints at or on each other, will not be celebrated this year, has confirmed the Leicester Holi group.

The group has confirmed that the event will not go in public for the third consecutive year. Back in 2020, the event was cancelled due to the risks of spreading Coronavirus and in 2021, the event was celebrated online due to the ongoing lockdown restrictions.

This year too, the organisers are urging families to celebrate Holi online with

their families using organic powdered paints.

The Leicester Holi group, which is made up of around 15 local organisations, shared the news on their social media accounts.

figures. She was unable to pay her bills as well, Shrewsbury Crown Court heard. Hitchin was arrested and admitted to theft and fraud.

Miss Naomi NelsonCofie, prosecuting, said: "The victim says it was during the Covid pandemic, her children would usually assist her but they would not out of fear for passing on the virus. So this defendant was the one nominated to assist his grandmother with shopping.”

Man arrested in Danyaal Jewellers Ladypool Road ram-raid After a group of brazen armed raiders smashed a truck into a Sparkbrook jeweller in a broad daylight ram raid, police arrested a 33-year-old man on the suspicion of a robbery.

The details emerged a week after Danyaal Jewellers on Ladypool Road was targeted in front of shocked shoppers on March 3. He was later released under investigation and enquiries continue.

As per the viral footage of the raid, the astonishing moment a

68-YEAR-OLD WOMAN GETS KILLED ON A SMART MOTORWAY Pulvinder Dhillon, 68, who was a passenger in a Nissan car that stalled in the outside lane of the motorway near Reading, Berkshire, was killed when a white van smashed into it during rush hour on Monday morning. While Dhillon was killed instantly, two others were seriously injured.

Nissan burst into flames in the crash and was virtually destroyed. Post the incident, the motorway was closed in both directions for five hours and emergency service vehicles had to pick their way through four lanes of gridlocked traffic.

Thames Valley Police said a post-mortem examination would be carried out. An inquest will also, be opened by the Berkshire coroner.

UK GOVERNMENT REJECTS PETITION ON CHILDCARE COSTS

Drug addict wiped out his own grandmother's £10k life savings A drug addict Jordan Hitchin wiped out his own grandmother’s £10,000 life savings, who have difficulty in seeing and hearing. She realised the faux pas when her card was declined at the shop. She trusted her grandson to buy her shopping during the lockdown.

27-year-old Hitchin spent around £10,000 between February 17, 2020, and May 23, 2020, for his addiction. This left the victim’s bank balance in minus

in brief

gang of masked raiders reversed at speed into the shop front, shattering glass. When there was chaos, one robber was seen wielding an axe and running down the street.

The West Midlands Police have urged people to contact police via Live Chat on its website, or by calling 101, and quoting 20/172104/22 in case of any information. Alternatively, information can be given anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Women asked the government to act on expensive childcare costs in the UK, by filing a petition that demanded an independent review of childcare funding and affordability. The petition garnered 113,713 signatures and also triggered a debate on childcare in parliament.

However, on International Women’s Day, the government put forth its stand saying that it had no plans to look into the cost and availability of childcare.

Last year in September, a survey revealed that 96 per cent of more than 20,000 working parents believed that ministers were not doing enough to support parents with regards to cost and availability of childcare, while 97 per cent expressed that childcare is too expensive in the UK. Joeli Brearley, the founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, said, “Affordable childcare is a critical component of gender equality.

Without it, hundreds of thousands of mothers are forced out of their jobs, whilst 84% say that the cost of childcare has had a negative impact on their ability to progress their career,” she said.

MAN TORCHED HOUSE WITH FOUR CHILDREN FAST ASLEEP Mickel Munn torched a house with four children in it who were alone at the time of the incident, alerted a neighbour and rescued one of the terrified youngsters himself to appear heroic.

The four children woke up in darkness and began to cry and started coughing surrounded by smoke. Fortunately, all of them escaped the burning property unharmed, a judge concluded.

Though Munn doesn't remember the incident which happened in 2020, at all, he accepted the evidence against him and pleaded guilty to a charge of arson.

38-year-old Munn from Mary Road, Stechford has been sentenced to five years and six months at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday, February 28.

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Real Estate industry still defying the crises The UK property market was showing positivity and resilience in the face of the back-to-back crises of the Covid pandemic and the Ukraine conflict, a business lunch was told on Wednesday (March 9).

Industry entrepreneurs and professionals from the real estate world attended the seventh of the law firm Axiom DWFM’s highly-successful online lunches – held during the pandemic – which was hosted by its Chairman Jonathan Metliss.

Guest speakers and internal specialists were addressing the topic “The Real Estate Industry. Prospects for 2022”.

Setting the economic scene, Alex Brummer, Daily Mail City Editor, said that the Russian invasion of Ukraine had totally changed the prospects for the UK economy in what would have been the “Bounceback Year”.

The picture had looked promising as Britain recovered from Covid with a 4% growth forecast. This figure would now be cut by half. At the Spring Budget, the Chancellor would be wrestling with pressure from huge costof-living increases and demands for higher defence spending.

While the international tension would create uncertainty for the UK property sector, there were two positive factors: mortgage rates would not likely rise and the huge influx of former Hong Kong residents would possibly replace Russian money, particularly in London.

On the political front, Jonathan Horsman of Centaurus Communications said that the Ukraine war was the latest “game-changer” international event to hit the UK. Boris Johnson had benefitted from this – in contrast to Sir Keir Starmer – by the crisis overtaking “Partygate” in the head-

lines and his being seen to act as a leading actor on the international stage.

The UK plays a key role in the West’s response, with its freedom to act swiftly and separately on sanctions, formed part of the PM’s narrative of navigating Britain’s passage in a postBrexit world. Although energy security and its cost would test the Government’s commitment to a Net Zero policy.

Vahideh Hojatoleslami, of Axiom DWFM’s commercial property team, reported that inflation and the unstable geopolitical scene had made real estate an increasingly attractive tangible asset.

Investor clients were turning to commercial rentals, while the industrial and warehousing sector continued to grow with the rise in online businesses.

Two further themes were: maintained interest in office space and landlords adjusting their portfolios to reflect the new work patterns.

On residential property, Khaled Ellatif said that real estate continued to be a resilient sector, with house prices 13% higher than pre-Covid. The firm had seen its busiest ever time, experiencing a 15% rise in instructions following the pandemic.

Estate agents and brokers remained positive as demand for new homes soared and the rental market became increasingly attractive to Far East investors.

Claudine Lawrence, head of Corporate and Finance Dept, said that Axiom DWFM, which acted for both borrowers and lenders, was seeing a recovery in the lending market.

Although banks and other lenders were keen to encourage borrowing, they still required security. The firm had been appointed to the India State Bank lend-

ing panel.

On property litigation, Mira Arezina, reported a huge courts backlog leading to it taking six months for landlords to repossess properties. The Government was encouraging landlords and tenants to negotiate the settlement of debts outstanding from the pandemic ahead of a new compulsory arbitration process due to come into force on March 25.

Elizabeth Johnson, who leads the firm’s Employment team, pointed to three areas it was dealing with: a huge recruitment drive – involving new roles and retention of existing talent, the restructuring of companies and mergers, and advising employers on the Government’s “Living with Covid” policy. Firms were being encouraged to have their own Covid plans to deal with workplace safety issues, crucially mental health well-being.

Concluding, Will Clough, of auctioneers Allsop LLP, reported that its online commercial auctions in 2021 had seen a 35% volume increase in sales, totalling around £600m. One feature of that had been increased comfort with buying of bigger assets. Other notable themes of the business growth were: renewed buyer confidence in the retail sector – particularly when well located, many tenants acquiring their freeholds, and an increase in sales from funds and institutions in addition to asset managers on behalf of private equity.

Chairman Jonathan Metliss added that the next Real Estate Lunch would be held in person in central London.

Pragnesh Modhwadia, Axiom DWFM’s Managing Partner, offered a vote of thanks to all those taking part and to those attending.

BBC spy reports alleges MI5 agent has ‘misogynist beliefs’ The BBC spy report found out that an MI5 agent with “dangerous, extremist and misogynist beliefs” used his status to abuse, control and coerce a former partner, yet, the government is trying to block the report concerning the breach of confidence and a breach of the agent’s rights, including his right to life, under the European convention on human rights (ECHR).

The attorney general for England and Wales, Suella Braverman, is seeking an injunction to prevent the BBC from publishing its report.

The BBC in their defence said that publication is in the public interest as the agent poses threat to other women.

Because of national security concerns, the case is being held partly in private.

ISIS fanatic jailed for spreading extremist propaganda As an ISIS fanatic, Ali Abdillahi, 31, who had pledged his allegiance to the terror group has been sentenced to eight years and 10 months in jail for spreading extremist propaganda. He also faked a university degree to obtain a hospital job.

The Old Bailey was told that Abdillahi put recordings of an Islamist extremist preacher who advocates armed jihad, and two ISIS propaganda videos showing executions and graphic vio-

lence online. He uploaded the material on the instant messaging app Telegram in July 2020 and it received views ranging from 280 to 1,300.

Abdillahi admitted disseminating a terrorist publication, perverting the course of justice and fraud by false representation.

Secure English Language Tests (SELTs) approved for applications to UKVI for visas, visa renewals, British Citizenship and Settlement GESE: Graded Examinations in Spoken English A speaking and listening in English test available at levels A1, A2 and B1 Tests available seven days a week at centres UK wide Provisional result received by 9am the next day and certificates sent within seven days

Just launched: the Trinity GESE Study App an on-the-go study tool that helps you learn and track the progress of your English language learning

Scan the QR code or visit trinitySELT.co.uk to book your Trinity SELT test

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19 - 25 March 2022

Is this the onset of Kaluga?

According to Hindu mythology, clearly explained in various religious books, scriptures and traditions, especially in the holy book of Bhagwat Gita, a dialogue between Arjun and Lord Krishna, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, is considered as the most articulate, informative and full of wisdom among all religious sculptures ever written. Each and every word of Gita is as valid, full of wisdom now as it was then, some two thousand years ago.

Whenever Mother Earth is burdened with traitors, murderers, self-proclaimed evil dictators, like Ravana, Duryodhan and their likes; God descends on earth, in human form to save us, save the world from their tyranny and genocide of the innocent.

Lord Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus Christ and Guru Nanak are the prime examples of how under their guardianship the world was liberated from the evil, freed from slavery, exploitation and led to the establishment of Ramrajya, the most peaceful, progressive and prosperous era in human history.

Perhaps Vladimir Putin is such a self-confessed brutal dictator who thinks he is God’s gift to humanity and it is his duty and obligation to deliver us from the Western evil to Eastern heaven! Then there are always two parties to a conflict. Some of Russia’s demands are valid, security concerns real but there is nothing drastic demands that cannot be resolved by talks and goodwill on both sides.

However, Russia has to stop its military adventure in Ukraine, derecognize two bordering provinces of Ukraine as independent nations, followed by the signing of the peace treaty, guaranteed by NATO and UN. On the part of Ukraine, it should change its constitution, grantee neutrality but allowed to join the EU, as it is an economic association with certain rights and privileges to Russia.

If America is not willing to have a single missile on its doorstep and willing to start WW3 when Russia, the Soviet Union wanted to establish missile bases in Cuba. It was the wisdom on part of Russia and US superiority in missile technology that averted WW3. But now the US has lost that advantage to bully Russia and in Putin, the West has found a deserve adversary!

Bhupendra M. Gandhi

Long Covid worries Your reporter Shefali Saxena deserves a hefty pat on the back for writing a topical and informative article on Long Covid in Asian Voice (issue 5-11 March 2022). She revealed that an eye-popping 1.3 million people in the UK are afflicted with this condition and quoted expert Dr Binita Kane as saying national statistics show that “Asian and Black people are under-represented in referrals to Long Covid services,” adding: “So they’re over-represented in the deaths and disability and under-represented in getting help.”

Saxena has delivered a timely warning for all of us to be more vigilant if we contract any of the symptoms she named such as extreme exhaustion, rashes, headaches, stomach upsets, loss of mobility and more. We should seek medical help immediately.

Rudy Otter

The Kashmir Files The movie 'The Kashmir Files’ has gained a lot of attention right from the day the trailer of the movie was launched.

The movie on seeing it gave me goosebumps on seeing the plight of the indigenous sons and daughters of the soil at the hands of bloodthirsty religious fanatics. The movie also reflects the sheer failure of the state administration and the Union Government in protecting the lives of its legitimate citizens.

Every Indian citizen should watch this movie.

Jubel D'Cruz, Mumbai, India

Time to criminalise war internationally The East or the West, the whole world has been crying and shouting slogans against Russia which has been attacking Ukraine continuously now as part of its war with that country. First off, the term “war” itself should be banned from international geography and must be criminalised in all respects. For this, the UN should do some serious work and bring about strong foolproof rules that will/should unfailingly stop countries like Russia on their way from waging war against poor dependent countries.

Clearly enough, such strong international rules have been totally missing from action now. That is the reason countries like Russia have been able to go on a war spree mindlessly in this 21st century. Come what may, Russia should be held responsible and accountable to all the economic damage and lost human lives inflicted on Ukraine now. Above all, the international community and the world media houses should support this and pitch for a strong campaign worldwide.

Russia should understand that no one has the right or has been authorised to take away human lives in the world, not to mention severe economic damage over there. One should understand the importance of all the living creatures like humans, animals and all. By nature, humans cannot always be sane and something should be there to awaken their minds. Incidentally, I got inspired through one beautiful incident that had taken place on my doorstep the same day I was preparing this letter [creating the mail]. Well, it was an incident of a crow being electrocuted and falling to the ground in the early morning. Literally, on hearing the noise raised by other crows I just woke up and walked up to the spot where the crow was lying unconscious on the ground.

Observing its eyes that were still open and moving slightly, I came back with water and sprinkled over its eyes as part of resuscitating. In fact, it had reacted to it positively and then it was standing over there quietly. For some time, I had been observing its movement with a bit of excitement. All of a sudden, it had just started flying back into the air to my sweet surprise. That day, the inspiration I had got and the moments I had/I had shared with some passers-by were boundless and still have gently been smoothing my mind and heart. Even a small living creature like this has to grapple with life challenges like this.

The same way, just apply this to the poor plight of humans in Ukraine, who have been under political and physical attacks for no fault of theirs.

During my schooling in the early 1990s in areas like Korkai, Tuticorin, Tiruchendur, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, the school students [we] had studied with great pain how the USSR had collapsed and had been dissolved then. The fact is that only economic freedom and development will make the world happy and prosperous.

Russia should understand this simple fact and act accordingly. If otherwise, it has to pay a heavy price for all the damage, economic and human, caused by it.

On top of all, the international media like American media houses, CNN, BBC and the Asian media community should speak out against draconian war tactics and take steps to make human voices heard clearly and loudly.

P. Senthil Saravana Durai Mumbai, India

I'm turning 80!

HOLI EVENTS: WHAT’S ON?

Pushpa Mansukh Shah is turning 80 this year and to commemorate this milestone birthday, she is doing a skydive on 20th March in Melbourne to raise money for Bowel Cancer UK. In 2018, Pushpa Shah was diagnosed with bowel cancer which turned her world upside down.

She is doing a fundraiser which says, “I am now cancer-free and turning 80. 4 years ago, I would not have been able to believe that I would get this far.

To mark my 80th birthday in November, on 20th March 2022, I have decided to skydive for Bowel Cancer UK, a charity that is leading research into bowel cancer in the UK, providing great information and support to patients and their families and stopping people from dying from bowel cancer. Please help me celebrate my birthday by joining me to raise money for Bowel Cancer UK. Thank you to everyone in advance.”

Here’s the link to the fundraiser: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/pushpashah

Bengal Heritage Foundation will be hosting a curated performance by the Pianist - Vocalist musician duo consisting of Sourendro Mullick & Soumyojit Das, Dance performance by reputed danseuse Dona Ganguly and her students, a capsule by BanglaNatakdotcom on music and handicrafts of rural Bengal and a song and dance medley by UK based musicians focussing on music from India and Bangladesh. Fagun Fest celebrates the music and handicraft of India. Now in its fifth year, Fagun Fest brings together collaboration amongst musicians from India, Bangladesh and UK. It also highlights the handicraft forms from rural India.

Fagun Fest is an integral part of the BHF calendar every year. BHF focussed on conserving and promoting art, culture and music from Bengal and India.

Heritage Bengal Global is hosting a centenary celebration of East Bengal at Tower Bridge on 19th March at 1 pm.

•

Kapil Dudakia

Kapil’s KHICHADI

The Kashmir Files ‘THOSE WHO DON’T KNOW THEIR HISTORY, ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT IT’ On 11th March 2022, a day that will be remembered for when for the first time Hindus found their collective spine to tell the true story of the genocide of their people

by Pakistani sponsored terrorists in 1990. The Kashmir Files is more than just a movie. It is more than the visual representation of the atrocities committed by Islamic extremists. It is the true story of Hindus, the lived experience of tens of thousands that has finally found a voice expressing their anguish that has been suspended in time since 1990.

Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri’s film contains the true account of what happened in 1990. He says, "The Kashmir Files movie is based on true stories and about the genocide against Kashmiri Hindus. The movie was made after collecting testimonies from the victims and conducting four years of research."

During World War 2, the Nazis committed the genocide of some 6 million Jews. The Jewish community was decimated, but in the wake of their collective pain, they rose and challenged the world. Since then, more than 50 international movies have been made telling the stories of the atrocities faced by the Jewish community.

Movies like: Anne Frank Parallel Stories, The Accountant of Auschwitz, Auschwitz, Defiance, Denial (2016), The Final Solution, God on Trial, Judgment at Nuremberg, The Resistance Banker, Schindler’s List, Secret Diary of the Holocaust, Who Will Write Our History and The Zookeeper’s Wife.

Compared with what the Jewish community have done, India and Hindus have been an abject failure. 1.3 billion Indians, and now finally we have a film that tells the true story of our genocide. So, stand up and applaud Vivek Agnihotri for taking on this monumental task and crafting the narrative of real events, real people, real pain and real atrocities with such passion and compassion.

Pt Satish Sharmaji of the Global Hindu Federation said, ‘The film is a mirror which will cause great discomfort and hopefully shame those people who have been using Kashmir for virtue signalling and political grandstanding. Politicians like Sir Kier Starmer must watch this movie. If he can bend his knee for one George Floyd, why not bow one’s head for 500,000 Hindus from Kashmir?’. Adding, ‘The British and the UN have a moral and ethical responsibility to declare this mass murder as religiously motivated Genocide’.

My good friend Lord Rami Ranger CBE said, ‘The movie is a sad indictment of the then Indian Government which did not protect its citizens from religious terrorism. It is a must for everyone to see how the region is used to spread death, destruction, smash and grab.’

Conservative MP Bob Blackman summed up the sentiments perfectly when he stated, ‘The solution has always been very simple, it’s for Pakistanis to cease to occupy the valley. The LoC should be dismantled, and all terrorist camps should be dismantled’, adding, ‘the Kashmiri Pandits were forced to leave at the point of a gun and to the cries of leave, die or convert. We must call out to the world that this was ethnic cleansing and a genocide’.

In my view the film needs to be shortlisted and shown at the Canne’s Film Festival, and every international film festival in the world. I want the film to be screened at the House of Commons so our MPs and Peers can watch the truth that so many hitherto have either ignored or have wilfully tried to misrepresent.

So, if you have not seen the movie, please do so. You will begin to understand the barbaric atrocities committed on our people by the Pakistani sponsored terrorists.

You will also understand why so many Indians, Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains in this country are rejecting the Labour Party. The Labour Party harbours MPs and members who have explicitly expressed their anti-India stance on Kashmir time and again. My challenge to Keir Starmer, bring together your shadow front bench and we will bring the movie to you. I await your call.

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

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19 - 25 March 2022

Symptoms of a heart attack can include:

999

• Chest pain – a feeling of pressure, heaviness, tightness or squeezing across your chest • Pain in other parts of the body – it can feel as if the pain is spreading from your chest to your arms (usually the left arm, but it can affect both arms), jaw, neck, back and tummy • Feeling lightheaded or dizzy • Sweating • Shortness of breath • Feeling sick (nausea) or being sick (vomiting) • An overwhelming feeling of anxiety or unease (like a panic attack) • Coughing or wheezing Call 999 immediately if you think someone might be having a heart attack. The faster you act, the better their chances.

PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE NHS

HEART ATTACK SYMPTOMS? IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY TO CALL 999

category. “The risk of heart attack can be reduced by decreasing the modifiable risk factors as mentioned above.

“A healthy, balanced (low fat) diet, exercise and not smoking are the cornerstones to prevent heart attacks.”

“I was healthy and fit, but I suffered from a heart attack”

Asif Haque, a teacher in his mid 40s, was having a normal first day of the school term. He came

The early signs of a heart attack may not always seem severe and can vary from a feeling of overwhelming uneasiness to a feeling of pressure, heaviness, tightness or squeezing across the chest. It is easy to dismiss the symptoms but it’s never too early to call 999 and describe them.

Every year there are over 80,000 hospital admissions in England for heart attacks. At least 7 out of 10 people survive. But this can be increased to over 9 out of 10 (94%) for those who come forward for early hospital treatment.

Rupanjana Dutta

While the most common symptom in both men and women is chest pain, women are more likely to have other symptoms such as shortness of breath, feeling or being sick and back or jaw pain.

Dr Arjun K Ghosh

Though chest pain is often severe, some people may only experience minor pain, like indigestion.

The risk of having a heart attack is increased by smoking, a high fat diet, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and being overweight or obese.

Dr Arjun K Ghosh, Director, Foundation Programme, St Bartholomew’s Hospital and Consultant Cardiologist Barts Heart Centre and UCLH, told Asian Voice, “Chest pain is the most common sign of a heart attack. The pain can be felt as a heaviness or weight on the chest or as a squeezing sensation.

Sometimes the patient may complain of shortness of breath as well as feeling nauseous or sweaty.

“Heart attack symptoms are not always severe. Any symptom e.g. shortness of breath or vomiting for no obvious reason should be investigated. Heart attacks are usually associated with chest pain as mentioned above but not in every case.

“Asians are statistically more prone to heart attacks (1.5 times more than Caucasians according to some estimates). The reason for this is multifactorial – genetic, dietary and exercise factors all play important roles in this. Older male adults who are obese, sedentary smokers are the most at risk.”

Concerns have been raised about women delaying accessing care. Whilst men are more likely to recognise the symptoms of a heart attack, women may dismiss

symptoms. Women’s risk of a heart attack increases after menopause, so it’s important to take these symptoms seriously. Despite heart attacks more frequently affecting men, 35,000 women are admitted to hospital following a heart attack each year in the UK - an average of 98 women per day, or 4 per hour.

Peak incidence of heart attacks is in the morning, there is a 40% higher risk between 6am and noon.

Dr Ghosh said, “Whilst the most common heart attack symptom seen in both men and women is chest pain. In some cases, women are more likely to have other symptoms such as shortness of breath, feeling or being sick and back or jaw pain.

“If a heart attack is diagnosed quickly and medical treatment given promptly (opening up of the blocked blood vessel), there is less likelihood of permanent complications. Delays in optimal treatment can lead to damage to the heart muscle which can make the heart’s pumping efficiency poorer. This can ultimately lead to heart failure.

“999 should be called in any medical emergency and a suspected heart attack falls in that

Asif Haque

home, took a shower, but suddenly felt an excruciating pain in his abdomen that spread to his arm.

He told the newsweekly, “I did not imagine a heart attack, that being the last thing on my mind. Having collapsed onto my bed, I blacked out for a little while, there being around half an hour I have no recollection of. When I woke up, I found myself in a pool of sweat.”

“My instinct was to assume a serious case of food poisoning.

I’m a fussy eater and suffer from various food intolerances. That day I had eaten something unusual for lunch and assumed that must be it.

“I could not keep food down and there was a continuous dull pain. I went in to work for another four days but ended up leaving early on each of these. Visiting family on day five, my father, a doctor, among other things, got the blood pressure machine out, made me talk through my symptoms in detail and said I

A new survey of 2000 adults in England have been conducted which highlights current awareness levels around recognising the lesser-known symptoms of a heart attack: Whilst 70% of those surveyed understood that pain in the chest is a symptom of a heart attack, just 41% knew sweating was a symptom and only 27% understood feeling weak, lightheaded or a feeling of general uneasy were also symptoms.

62% would dial 999 if they or a loved one was experiencing commonly known heart attack symptoms, including squeezing across the chest and a feeling of unease, however this drops to 45% for lesser-known heart attack symptoms including experiencing shortness of breath, sweating and light headedness. needed to go to hospital. “ I am relatively fit and healthy, and my job keeps me active. I neither drink nor smoke. There is no family history of heart issues.

“Once the blood test results were returned, a registrar came out and advised I had experienced a massive heart attack. In-patient admission was immediate and within 48 hours, an angioplasty introduced a stent into my heart, by when I had been transferred to the expert care of St Bartholomew’s Hospital’s cardiology department. It would be no exaggeration to say I owe my life to the team there.

“Post procedure, I was released quickly, and I recovered a lot faster than what might have been imagined. I was back to near fulltime work nearly full time within six weeks.”

Describing his healthy walking and climbing schedule, Asif added, “I attend cardiac rehabilitation and remain grateful for the team’s support. I am especially grateful for the treasure trove of practical lifestyle suggestions, regular follow-ups, and encouragement.

Through his guidance, I joined the expertly run weekly ‘We Cycle’ group run on behalf of ‘Bart’s Health’, where the coordinators further encouragement got me commuting to work by bike, after a hiatus of some years.

“I will say, please call 999 if you suspect the signs of a heart attack. Don’t go by what you see in dramas or films- the symptoms are often not that severe and are not always obvious. Eat healthy, reduce how much sugar, fried and oily foods you consume. Exercise as much as you can, whenever you can.”

It’s never too early to call 999 and describe your symptoms. For more information visit: nhs.uk/ heartattack.

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19 - 25 March 2022

Anand Dhamecha of the Dhamecha Group to tie the knot with Sajni Thakrar

What makes you weird?

Anand Dhamecha, Grandson of Khodidasbhai and Lalitaben and son of Veenaben and Pradipbhai Dhamecha of Dhamecha Group, got engaged to Sajni, daughter of Nutanben and Sanjaybhai Thakrar on Saturday 5 March.

As part of traditional Lohana rituals, Sajni was adorned with many

Rohit Vadhwana

L-R: Pradipbhai Dhamecha, Veenaben Dhamecha, Lalitaben Dhamecha, Anand Dhamecha, Vaishnavacharya Pujya Goswami 108 Shree Vrajrajkumar Mahodayshri, Sajni Thakrar, Nutanben Thakrar and Sanjaybhai Thakrar

CB Patel, Editor-in-Chief, Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar with Vaishnavacharya Pujya Goswami 108 Shree Vrajrajkumar Mahodayshri

precious gifts as well as with a traditional Chundadi by the Dhamecha family to ratify that the bride is welcomed by the groom’s family.

82-year-old Niruben Bhatt from Hendon recited Sanskrit verses and explained the meaning of the tradi-

tional ritual of "Sava Panch Aana and Chundadi" in English and Gujarati, followed by the entire Dhamecha family and the Thakrar family members wishing and congratulating each other. The joyful music band, playing in the background, made the moment even more memorable.

Pradipbhai Dhamecha rememhis respected father bered Khodidasbhai and thanked Shantikaka one of the much-adored

family members, for gracing the occasion despite poor health.

J. J. Shri Vrajrajkumarji Mahodayshri, who specially flew in from Vadodara at the request of Anand and Pradipbhai Dhamecha, praised Khodidasbhai, Laduma, Lalitaba and the Dhamecha dynasty.

His life lessons and advice for a successful married life as well as the union of the two great families were met with applauds and a standing ovation from the audience.

UK to enrol 100,000 Ukrainian refugee children Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi is working on a plan to enrol 100,000 Ukrainian refugees in British schools where they will be given online lessons along with translation.

Auto translation software will be rolled out on the online learning hub Oak National Academy that will help pupils who speak Russian or Ukrainian.

Pupils will get to access

quizzes, video lessons with translated subtitles and worksheets.

Mr Zahawi said, “We will continue to support Ukrainians in any way we

can. I know schools are doing what they can to support their students and make sense of what they are seeing. And we are working with schools to ensure that the tens of thousands of Ukrainian children we will welcome to our shores will have a place in our education system." He was speaking at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) conference.

100,000 Russian refugees require visas, say polls While ministers are facing fierce criticism over the UK’s response to the Ukrainian refugees’ crisis, the majority of people believe that the government should grant visas to at least 100,000 Ukrainian refugees.

Redfield & Wilton Strategies who surveyed 1,500 eligible votes on 9

March, 14 per cent of people believed between 50,000 and 100,000 should be allowed to come to the UK, while 13 per cent of respondents believed that at least 200,000 should be granted visas.

The UK government is yet to announce the details of the new scheme that will allow companies, charities

and individuals the opportunity to sponsor Ukrainians to come to the UK even if they do not have a direct family link.

Recently, the government confirmed the households will offer homes to Ukrainians who are fleeing their war-torn country with the help of the sponsorship visa route.

Sunak warns Ukraine war to bring economic uncertainty Owing to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Chancellor Rishi Sunak warns of “significant economic uncertainty”, despite an economic bounce-back in January.

As the impact of Omicron was reversed with the Gross domestic product (GDP) increasing by 0.8 per cent, the growth of the UK economy sped up in January.

“Russia’s invasion of

Ukraine has increased the risk of a recession in the UK by exacerbating the already acute inflationary squeeze on consumers and businesses and derailing the supply of critical commodities to many sectors of the economy,” he said.

He further added, “We know that Russia’s invasion

of Ukraine is creating significant economic uncertainty and we will continue to monitor its impact on the UK, but it is vital that we stand with the people of Ukraine to uphold our shared values of freedom and democracy and ensure Putin fails.”

Priti Patel streamlines Ukrainian Refugee Visa Process The UK government has made changes to the immigration process for Ukrainian refugees after receiving a backlash. Those with Ukrainian passports will now be able to apply for a visa online and will not be required to visit in-person processing centres in other European countries.

Following the chaos at UK processing centres

It is actually very common to have something unique in every individual. Many of those characteristics might be acceptable, but a few might be specific to the person, and a bit weird. And that weird one is what makes us different, sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a funny manner.

Someone twitches his nose, or blinks frequently, or makes strange sounds, or something like that. That eerie habit makes us different, identifiable and even subject of talk in our absence. Even the greatest of the people do have something that is very canny, that others would never expect from them. Great personalities behaving so unusual and strange would surprise everyone. One great football player is said to have a habit of keeping everything in pairs - including cans of coke in the refrigerator. If the number is odd, he would remove one to make it even! Some friends sleep with the lights on at night, or drink a coke after a cup of strong coffee!

Someone had a habit of adjusting his ties every five minutes. Another person would enter the pen in his nose during a meeting. They were certainly noticed by others, but unaware themselves of the typical behaviour they were exhibiting. Such weird habits of ours can sometimes create an interesting situation.

Especially if others notice it, but we don't. In many cases, the person having such habits does not know about them. Unmindful of their pattern of behaviour, they keep repeating it over and over again. With time, they become famous for that particular conduct and behavioural style. It might not always be awkward, but at least it is something different and noticeable.

It is important to keep an eye on our own behaviour, lest some habits may put us in an embarrassing situation. A CEO of a company somehow developed the habit of tightening shoe laces every now and then even during important meetings. His juniors would feel really ticklish, some of them would even tease him behind his back. Are you also subjected to any such humiliating habits or situations ever? Or do you know anyone in your circle who is being laughed at for such simple but silly things? Why don't you analyse it and take a review?

(Expressed opinions are personal)

UK sanctions 400 Russian oligarchs across Europe where tens and thousands of refugees had to face delays and hurdles, the home secretary Priti Patel updated MPs about the changes and said a decision has been made to alter the scheme following new advice from security services.

"Instead, once their application has been considered and appropriate checks completed they will receive the direct notification they are eligible for the scheme and can come to the UK,” she said.

Patel said this move will allow visa application centres across Europe to focus on people who do not have passports.

The UK has sanctioned another 386 Russian politicians who are openly supporting Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The foreign office said those affected will not get entry into the UK. Approximately, 500 people have been sanctioned now as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The government will exercise new powers with the help of which Russian aircraft will be detained in the UK and will also ban the export of aviation items.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: ‘We’re targeting those complicit in Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and those who support this barbaric war. We will not let

up the pressure and will continue to tighten the screw on the Russian economy through sanctions.

Together with our allies, we stand firmly beside our Ukrainian friends. We will continue to support Ukraine with humanitarian aid, defensive weapons and diplomatic work to isolate Russia internationally.’

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09 19 - 25 March 2022

‘Cyberflashing’ to become a criminal offence ‘Cyberflashing’ will become a new criminal offence with perpetrators facing up to two years behind bars under new laws to be introduced by the Government.

The practise typically involves offenders sending an unsolicited sexual image to people via social media or dating apps, but can also be over data sharing services such as

Nadine Dorries

Dominic Raab

Bluetooth and Airdrop. In some instances, a preview of the photo can appear on a person’s device – meaning that even if the transfer is rejected victims are forced into seeing the image.

Research by Professor Jessica Ringrose from 2020 found that 76 per cent of girls aged 12-18 had been sent unsolicited nude images of boys or men.

Ministers have confirmed that laws banning this behaviour will be included in the Government’s landmark Online Safety Bill alongside wide-ranging reforms to keep people safe on the internet.

The new offence will ensure cyber flashing is captured clearly by the criminal law – giving the police and Crown Prosecution Service greater ability to bring more perpetrators to justice. It follows similar recent action to criminalise upskirting and breastfeeding voyeurism with the Government determined to protect people, particularly women and girls, from these emerging crimes.

Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Dominic Raab said: “Protecting women and girls is my top priority which is why we’re keeping sexual and violent offenders behind bars for longer, giving domestic abuse victims more time to report assaults and boosting funding for support services to £185m per year.

“Making cyberflashing a specific crime is the latest step - sending a clear message to perpetrators that they will face jail time.”

The change means that anyone who sends a photo or film of a person’s genitals, for the purpose of their own sexual gratification or to cause the victim humiliation, alarm or distress may face up to two years in prison.

It follows a Law Commission review ‘Modernising Communications Offences’ which recommended that a new offence should be created.

Digital Secretary Nadine Dorries said: “Tech has the power to bring people together and make our lives better, but it can also enable heinous behaviour from those who wish to abuse, harm and harass.

“The forthcoming Online Safety Bill will force tech companies to stop their platforms being used to commit vile acts of cyberflashing. We are bringing the full weight on individuals who perpetrate this awful behaviour.”

Secretary of State launches Commonwealth project to increase organ donation This Commonwealth Day (14th March) NHS Blood and Transplant launched a new international project called Tribute to Life – bringing together Commonwealth nations to share expertise in organ donation and transplantation, ultimately saving more lives.

The Commonwealth Tribute to Life Project is the culmination of three years’ work and represents a huge step towards obtaining health equality, both within the UK and the Commonwealth.

This project provides a framework for the sharing of knowledge and expertise to increase ethical organ donation and transplantation. It seeks to further health equality for the benefit of all Commonwealth citizens.

Countries are pledging to sign a Memorandum of Understanding that will take effect at the start of the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, with 42 of the 54 countries making the pledge so far.

Participants from around the Commonwealth held a virtual launch event with the official launch by Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Sajid Javid MP. An official legacy project of Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and part of the Games ‘United By Birmingham 2022’ community programme, Tribute to Life presents a unique opportunity to increase levels of organ and tissue donation and transplantation globally.

In the United Kingdom, 6,230 people are waiting for an organ transplant, of this number 1,934 are from a Black, Asian, Mixed or Other ethnic minority background, which represents around 32% of the transplant list.

The Secretary of State for Health and

Social Care, Sajid Javid MP, formally launched the project. He said: “The Commonwealth Tribute to Life is the culmination of three years of dedicated work by NHS Blood and Transplant, Dr Dale Gardiner and Dr Satya Sharma MBE DL and I’m delighted to launch this initiative.

“Through sharing knowledge and awareness around organ and tissue donation and transplantation, Commonwealth nations can work together to save and transform the lives of thousands of patients.

“As part of this, we want people from all communities, but especially those from ethnic minority backgrounds, to discuss organ donation and make the life-saving choice to become a donor.

Dr Satya Sharma MBE, Deputy Lord Lieutenant of the West Midlands has Chaired the project and praised its success at its launch. He said: “The 2022 Commonwealth Games are committed to bringing people together and celebrating the diversity of both the West Midlands and the Commonwealth.”

The Memorandum of Understanding will come into force just before the start of the Commonwealth Games in July 2022.

Shriti Vadera under pressure Shriti Vadera, Baroness Vadera, PC, the Ugandan-born British investment banker who has been Chair of Prudential since January 2021, is under severe pressure amid a weak share price (Pro have lost 30% in the past year).

According to media reports, she is facing claims of a messy process to replace the chief executive and has denied allegations about her conduct towards her staff.

“Sources said it was known for a year or more that CEO Mike Wells would quit when the process was largely completed this year.

However, no successor has been found and the group will have an acting chief executive in Mark FitzPatrick, the finance director when Wells retires this month. FitzPatrick is also planning to leave the company. Wells’s widely anticipated retirement was announced in February but there was no update on his successor with the financial results last week,” Times reported.

Last year, Vadera was accused of bullying conduct, which was investigated by QC Aileen McColgan. However, she was cleared of any misconduct.

Victims of crime mistaken for offenders due to huge gaps in language support Huge gaps in language support across the criminal justice system are leading to victims of crime, who speak English as a second or additional language (ESL), being wrongfully arrested when trying to get help from the police, according to the charity Victim Support.

A new report, Language barriers in the criminal justice system, carried out by Victim Support, the Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research (ICPR), the Centre for Justice Innovation and funded by The Bell Foundation, found victims who speak ESL often struggled to communicate important information to law enforcement and were not given the language support they needed during crucial encounters with the criminal justice system.

In one example, an alleged perpetrator who spoke English as a first language was able to interrupt conversations between the victim and police, causing confusion, and resulting in the victim being mistakenly arrested for the crime she was trying to report. Victim Support say this is a particu-

larly concerning experience, amongst the ESL victims it supports.

The right to free language support when reporting a crime or being interviewed by the police is stipulated in the Victim’s Code of Practice – which sets out how victims should be treated during interactions with the criminal justice system.

However, the research found this right is not always being upheld.

The organisations are calling for the Government to strengthen victims’ rights to language support in the upcoming Victims’ Bill, expected later this year.

The report, released on Tuesday 15 March, examines how language barriers impact victims, witnesses, defendants and detainees, as well as people in prison or on probation. It found that language services were patchy and not always offered, with staff lacking the training and resources to properly support ESL speakers. Amongst victims, this led to inaccurate statements being taken, deteriorating trust in the police and, in extreme cases, mistaken arrests.

While police officers were broadly aware of victims’ vibrant personality with increasing clarity and rights to language assertiveness. support, time presSalman writes, “But her part in this world is not sures and limited done. If you met her you knew. She changed every life resources meant they she touched. We are creating this fund as a small testa- were not always met, ment to her memory in a way that can benefit so many with some officers more lives. Whilst we are strategising a longer-term also worrying that legacy, possibly through a separate charity or endow- offering support ment, we endeavour to put the funds raised here to would offend the vicwork with existing organisations and directly support tim. families that are going through similar trials. We hope, Failings in lanin Yusra's name, to be able to bring some 'ease' to those guage services was a who need it.” particular concern for

In memory of Yusra Salman Waqar is organising a fundraiser following the death of his four-year-old daughter Yusra Jinaan Waqar, who passed away on 8th March due to an unexpected cardiac arrest.

She was diagnosed with Joubert’s Syndrome before she was even born - an extremely rare genetic condition in children that affects their development - and given uncertain odds of surviving birth.

Yusra was born on 26th September 2017 and despite frequent medical involvement, she was thriving. She attended an additional needs playgroup, making good progress with all her therapies, demonstrating her strength and tenacity, and expressing her

violent crimes affecting women, who may be experiencing domestic abuse, potentially even having their immigration status tied to a violent partner.

Analysis by Victim Support of 750 cases where the charity supported victims who spoke ESL found that: the majority involved women who had been victims of violent crime. Female victims made up 71%, compared to 29% who were male.

Violence (with or without injury) was the most frequently experienced crime by victims who speak ESL, accounting for 60%.

The report also found interpreters used by the police and prosecution were not necessarily specialised in the language of the criminal justice system, which is complex, laden with jargon and, at times impenetrable, even for members of the public who speak English as a first language.

The interpreters provided sometimes lacked the specialist language needed to facilitate full and nuanced communication between police and victims, which was a particular concern in domestic abuse, sexual violence and rape cases.

There was also a gap in cultural understanding, where some words, particularly those referring to domestic abuse and sexual violence, do not exist or are considered taboo in certain cultures and languages.

The organisations say it is crucial for police officers and those working on the frontline with victims, witnesses and offenders to be provided with interpreters who are trained in the workings and vocabulary of the criminal justice system.

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19 - 25 March 2022

BOGGED DOWN BY BACKLOG Continued from page 1 Youngsters waited with life-threatening disorders Latest figures are likely to fuel calls for the fourth booster shot – due to be rolled out in April – to be brought forward. The NHS performance data also showed that 73.3% of people who attended A&E in January were treated within four hours – the joint lowest ever figure – even though the target is 95%. More than a third of young people needing treatment for potentially life-threatening eating disorders are waiting more than 12 weeks.

Furthermore, waiting times for cancer care in England are the longest on record, and tens of thousands of patients are waiting every month to see a specialist or start treatment.

With continued staff shortages, thousands have been urged to sign up as ‘NHS reservists’ to help clear the Covid backlog.

Anyone can enlist to work 30 days for paid roles including vaccinating and caring for patients discharged from hospital, regardless of experience, and will get training, as ministers try to alleviate pressures of 100,000 staff shortages.

The figures by NHS England also showed that the number of people waiting for operations such as hip and knee replacements and cataract removals has risen again to just over 6.1 million – yet another new record high. Almost 24,000 have been waiting for more than two years.

Although 96% of people with confirmed cancer should start treatment within 31 days of doctors deciding to treat them, just 89.6% did so. That means that 2,644 of the 25,524 patients had to wait longer than a month to start receiving chemotherapy, have radiotherapy or undergo surgery. While the target is 85%, hospitals only managed to treat 61.8% of them in that time, which meant that 5,161 people had their care delayed.

Over the last 12 months a total of 424,382 people with suspected cancer have not seen a specialist within two weeks, 19,861 of those diagnosed with the disease did not start treatment within 31 days and 50,049 had to wait longer than the supposed maximum 62 days.

The mistake Amitava Banerjee, Professor of Clinical Data Science, University College London, and Consultant Cardiologist at University College London Hospitals and Barts Health NHS Trusts told Asian Voice, “I think the main issue is that in retrospect, during the pandemic we have focused on hospital Prof Amitava Banerjee admissions and deaths, in particular. The main metric that we judge whether things are severe or mild, that's a mistake because we know that there have been indirect effects of Covid which is causing the backlog now.

“There was some backlog before the pandemic, but because of our changes in behaviour, as well as the huge strain on the system, whether it's operations, cancer treatment, routine health checks in primary care, there is a strain on the system.

We have not been monitoring that for the last two years and we haven't been tackling that in the same way. We just thought that if we can reduce the death, then the job is done. That's not the case.” Banerjee is also worried that Long Covid may cause potential organ impairment that is beyond the short term and may affect other organs. It could lead to an increased risk of diabetes and could lead to cardiovascular disease, which really leads to more strain.

Ironically, Britain spends £4m a week to store unused Covid gowns, face masks and gloves, and yet the infrastructure isn’t equipped to hire skilled workers to provide genuine medicare beyond Covid and with Covid as well as Long Covid. Britons will start paying 1.25 per cent more national insurance from April as part of a £12-billion-a-year NHS Covid recovery plan.

Last week, Health Secretary Sajid Javid unveiled a set of measures aiming to reduce the backlog, which rose by more than 30 per cent, from 4.4 million, due to lockdowns and Covid restrictions.

However, critics argue that this won’t be solved by reforms.

4 in 10 adults surveyed reported delaying of emergency medical care Speaking about the ongoing NHS Backlog and its consequences, Prof Parag Singhal, Consultant EndocrinologistUHBW, National Secretary BAPIO and Co-Chair PHDCC Health Committee told the newsweekly, “People with underlying co-morbidities Prof Parag Singhal appeared to be more susceptible to higher severity of disease and risk of death. These patients, therefore, were shielded during the pandemic with a reduction in emergency department visits and inpatient clinic visits of chronic diseases. During the pandemic, 4 in 10 adults surveyed reported delaying or avoiding routine or emergency medical care. Cancer screenings, for example, dropped during the pandemic resulting in the diagnoses of fewer cases.

“In addition, we found that the pandemic adversely affected clinical decisionmaking by limiting laboratory testing and physical examination in both primary and secondary care. Now with the backlog and increased demand due to emergency and elective cases, both primary and secondary care are under tremendous pressure to continue providing prevention, identification, and management of chronic disease, “This disruption of care has a longlasting impact on chronic health outcomes that are likely to surpass the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has created a new group of patients with

The key targets of the government include ensuring that by July no one has been waiting more than two years, 18month waits are eradicated by March next year and one-year waits – 306,996 patients have recently faced a delay of that magnitude – banished by March 2025, and that the waiting list starts shrinking by March 2024, two months before the next election.

However, it is not known how many of the estimated 10 million did not use the services of the NHS during the pandemic.

chronic diseases with worsening health outcomes and further health inequalities.

Lack of care for chronic infections In hindsight, Prof Singhal thinks that the lack of care for chronic conditions was compounded by the decision taken by most hospitals to cancel elective care as part of the pandemic preparedness plan.

However, to most front-line clinicians, it was a knee jerk response and plans to tackle the impending challenges should have been made and implemented in a staged approach. This would have ensured that the care for chronic conditions would have continued.

According to him, another important issue is Vitamin D deficiency which is very common in the Asian population. Initial observational reports had suggested that people with low levels of Vitamin D were observed to have the severe disease but with adequate levels, the impact of Covid19 was rather mild. “Now with more evidence around the protection offered by Vitamin D, a more robust and high dose Vitamin D replacement programme could have been implemented and possibly avoided hospital admissions,” the National Secretary BAPIO told Asian Voice.

Reduce the cost of healthcare As the UK government continues to investigate the handling of Covid-19 in its Spring Inquiry, Prof Singhal added, “What the future healthcare requires is meaningful integration of primary and secondary care, not only at strategic but also at the level of delivery. One such innovation would entail integrated urgent care clinics in primary care, supported by secondary care clinicians. This will not only reduce hospital attendance but also reduce the cost of healthcare. BAPIO has already established training programmes in India to ensure that clinicians can work seamlessly in both settings. This will go in a long way to address the workforce crisis in the NHS, one of the main barriers in delivering optimal care.”

Moreover, to fulfil its international obligations the UK has now agreed to accept refugees from Ukraine. “Whilst it is welcome news but does add to the challenges given that a vast majority of them are likely to be unvaccinated. Having a programme to vaccinate the refugees is very important not only for their own health but also to prevent the spread of infection. The UK is fully capable of overcoming this challenge,” Prof Singhal told us.

A dilemma In a joint statement for Asian Voice, Transplant Lead Nurse, Charlotte Crotty and Transplant Consultant Surgeon, Leicester, Dr Atul Bagul shared their perspective on the ongoing backlog, the dilemma and the government’s Spring Inquiry.

Crotty and Bagul told us, “Patients with chronic/long term health conditions have significantly been impacted as they rely on regular NHS care and interventions due to their lifelong health needs.

Patients with chronic renal disease, kidney transplants are amongst the most clinically vulnerable in our society but are the cohort of the population that has seen significant impacts due to Covid-19.”

Like other healthcare experts, the two also agree that patients with multiple health conditions, which patients with renal disease have, will have seen delays in outpatient referrals, appointments, and subsequently procedure admissions and in case of transplants a further impact on the availability of suitable deceased organ donors and live donors.

According to them, NHS has

addressed the pandemic backlogs by making service delivery adaptations, such as virtual clinics and use of the private sector for NHS activity, although this is not applicable across all specialities within the NHS, as renal and transplant patients require face to face hospital interventions and lack of specialised treatment like dialysis. They also suggested that English is not the first language for some patients, therefore it can also alienate patients who do not have access to such technologies.

They expressed concern about virtual consultations, which could delay patients accessing NHS care in a timely manner, and subsequent referrals onto secondary care. Psychological implications for these patients needing complex care management are also impacted.

According to the duo, NHS staff have largely been the unheard voice of the Covid-19, global health pandemic. Crotty and Bagul hope that the PM’s spring 2022 inquiry on the handling of pandemics will recognise areas where improvements can be made for patients, so that preparedness can be advanced if there is another global health pandemic, as patients are at the forefront of NHS delivery.

According to a survey by GP Online, some 92% of 322 GPs responding to their survey said the growing NHS waiting list was leading to more work for practice teams, with many describing workload levels as 'unsustainable'. 81% said that their practice was experiencing an inappropriate transfer of work from hospitals.

A total of 73% of GPs said that this was 'somewhat' or 'significantly' higher than at the same point in the previous year.

BAPIO GP Forum Chair Dr Kamal Sidhu told Asian Voice, “We already have seen evidence that many patients did not or could not attend their long-term condition reviews and many did not want to burden Dr Kamal Sidhu the system in the pandemic pressures e.g. the number of cancer referrals went significantly down.

“We have also been prioritising atrisk groups such as people whose diabetes, asthma or COPD was not well controlled during the last two years to review their conditions.

He admitted that there is still a significant backlog of such patients which will probably take a couple of years at least to catch up with. General practice is working to more than its capacity to clear the backlog and to meet the demand. The staff including nurses are exhausted and tired of two years of relentless pressure and a demoralising narrative that surgeries have not been open.

“This combined with a number of GPs leaving the profession and staff shortages as well as ongoing Covid absences means that any catch up is going to be an uphill task.

We are all worried about less-thanoptimal control of the health conditions and the profession needs urgent and critical support from the government to recognise this and give us the space and resources to be able to catch up.

“We are all supporting cancer awareness campaigns etc to encourage those with any alarm symptoms to come forward and contact their practice. The intent so far appears to be to set up a national centre for vaccination as per the health secretary and if general practice is involved, we would fully support the programme as well as all displaced from their homes in Ukraine by this tragic war.”

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The importance of diversity in government Lord Dolar Popat

M

any were quick to judge Home Secretary Priti Patel’s response to the subject of Ukrainian refugees. Whilst it is always easy to point the finger of blame, at least it brought about robust discussion. It’s a good thing: one only needs to look at the different types of interchange that happened when Putin presented his war-that-is-not-a-war plans to the Russian equivalent of the cabinet.

Part of the reason that we are able to have robust discussions in the British government is because of immigration. In the present administration, five significant members – Rishi Sunak, Sajid Javid, Alok Sharma, Suella Braverman and the Home Secretary herself – are beneficiaries by the heritage of a welcoming attitude to immigrants historically in Britain. In the case of Sunak’s, Patel’s and Braverman’s parents (and my own more modest personal case), the source region was East Africa. In Javid’s parents’ case, it was Pakistan. Alok’s from India.

The point, though, is not about where we or our parents are from (always the first question of the racist!), or particular political alignments, still less the difficult minutiae of immigration policy at any given time. The message, in a period of surging global nationalism of the most singulative and exclusionary type, is that we do actually have genuine diversity of ethnicity in the British government, thanks to the vision of our Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Contrasted with the small, servile group with which Putin surrounds himself, all drawn from the self-same class of siloviki, this diversity is one of the things that makes our democracy stronger. It also fosters plural nationalism more generally: pride in a Britain that’s comfortable with its own multiracial make-up.

The same is true of other countries that have admitted different ethnicities to the highest ranks of politics. Look at Jagmeet Singh, the Canadian politician who has served as the leader of the New Democratic Party since 2017 -- the first visible minority person to helm a major party in Canada. Look at Leo Varadkar, the former Irish Taoiseach and current minister, whose father of Indian origin was born in Mumbai. And so many others, immigrants themselves, or people of part or whole immigrant parentage -- people who have led the charge for democracy not just nationally but also globally. Barack Obama is the most notable example in recent memory, however much of his part-Kenyan heritage was weaponised against him domestically.

In Britain, where we don’t do the hyphen of partial exceptionalism (African-American, Arab-American etc), the admittance of the minority-ethnicity politician goes back a very long way. One thinks naturally of Benjamin Disraeli, the only British prime minister, so far, of Jewish origin.

Like many present-day politicians, Disraeli (in office 1874-80) often found himself in a scrape and suffered much personal criticism. Also, outright antiSemitism, such as Ukrainian President Zelensky has suffered in the most perverse manner. But the politics or ethnicity of the exemplum is not the issue.

Transcending the individual case, the simple axiom is that diverse government makes for better government.

This is a message that is, I think, percolating from the mother of parliaments to other legislatures, to younger democracies, ones often with higher stakes in terms of the potential for social fracture than now pertains in Britain.

I’m talking about places such as Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In these countries, where tribalism regrettably remains a factor, the need for a government that is ethnically well balanced is of crucial importance. In Africa, the continent of my birth and a continent I know well, Nigeria is another country that has always been acutely aware of these issues.

We too in Britain need to hang on, as two competing versions of nationalism go head to head in Ukraine, to our own ideal of diverse government. Part of that involves listening to other stories, as President Zelensky so obviously was, channelling mainstream British myths (Shakespeare and Churchill) back to us when he spoke to parliament last week. He, like Disraeli before him, is a storyteller, one acutely alert to what the great Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Adichie has referred to, in a famous TED talk, as ‘the danger of the single story’.

Lord Dolar Popat is a member of the House of Lords and the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Barking and Dagenham needs to boost below average Healthy Life Expectancy Healthy Life Expectancy (HLE) at birth for both men and women in Barking and Dagenham remained stubbornly below the UK average between 2018 and 2020, according to the new data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

Unmesh Desai AM

In the borough, HLE at birth for men was 58.1 years and for women, 60.1 years. The UK average for men was 62.8 years and for women, 63.6 years. Responding to these figures, local London Assembly Member, Unmesh Desai AM, called for Barking and Dagenham not to be “left out in the cold” in future rounds of the Government’s Levelling Up Fund.

The Government’s Levelling Up White Paper has set out a target of narrowing the gap between local areas where Healthy Life Expectancy is highest and lowest over the next decade. By 2035, the Government has pledged that HLE will rise by five years across the country.

However, recent analysis from The Guardian has revealed that Barking and Dagenham is only being allocated £3.93 per head of its population from the first round of the Government’s Levelling Up Fund. This contrasts with the wealthier Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, which is receiving £148.33 per head- 38 times more.

In Worcestershire, Healthy Life Expectancy at birth for a man between 2018 and 2020 was 65.3 and for a woman, 66.2.

Local London Assembly Member, Unmesh Desai AM, said: “When it comes to health inequalities, Barking and Dagenham residents have been stuck at the sharp end.

“These figures are not only very concerning but add further weight and urgency to calls for our community not to be left out in the cold in future rounds of the Levelling Up Fund.

“The Government’s antiLondon agenda is farcical and begs the question of why wealthier areas of the country with higher Healthy Life Expectancies are getting more funding.

“From City Hall, the Mayor is doing everything he can to address the deep health inequalities in our capital, accentuated by the pandemic and long years of Government austerity.

“If they are going to fulfil the pledges made in the Levelling Up White Paper, Ministers now really need to step up and properly invest in public health budgets”.

Prof Kamlesh Khunti CBE, receives Lifetime Achievement Award The career of a leading international researcher who still practices as a GP in Leicester has been recognised at an awards ceremony staged to celebrate innovation across the county.

Professor Kamlesh Khunti CBE, who has risen to become a top researcher in type 2 diabetes globally, was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Leicestershire Live Innovation Awards 2022.

The ceremony took place on Thursday, February 24, at Leicester City Football Club during Leicester Innovation Week.

Professor Khunti co-founded the Leicester Diabetes Centre (LDC), which is recognised across the world for its leading research, education and innovation, alongside Professor Melanie Davies CBE. He is also the Director of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) East Midlands and Professor of Primary Care Diabetes and Vascular Medicine and Director of the Real World Evidence Unit at the University of Leicester.

As the Director of the Leicester-based Centre for Ethnic Health Research, Professor Khunti has contributed significantly to improving the health of the ethnic minority community, being one of the very first to spot the disproportional impact of Covid-19 on people from ethnic minorities.

Professor Khunti said: “This means a lot to me because Leicester is my home and, while a lot of our work has had a regional, national and international focus, we have also been dedicated to improving the lives of

people living in both Leicester and Leicestershire.

“I would like to dedicate this award to my team at the Leicester Diabetes Centre, the University of Leicester, my staff at the Hockley Farm Medical Practice and most of all to my family.”

Professor Khunti started out as a General Practitioner in 1990, recruited his first research assistant in 1998 and took up an appointment with the University of Leicester as Professor of Primary Care Diabetes and Vascular Medicine in 2007.

Professor Khunti has been elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

He is currently an advisor to the Department of Health, a Clinical Advisor for NICE, and is a member of SAGE and Chair of Ethnicity Subpanel.

He was awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the New Year’s Honours List. Professor Khunti was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Primary Care Diabetes Society and was given the Diabetes Philippines ADL Endowed Lecture Award last year and was also given the South Asian Health Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.

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SCRUTATOR’S Delhi-born leading project to install 4G on moon Delhi-born Nishant Batra, a top executive at Finnish firm Nokia, is leading a project to establish the first 4G cellular network on the moon. He will lead the efforts to provide mobile connectivity to US Space agency NASA's ambitious Artemis moon-landing programme. The 4G connectivity on the moon may become a reality in just a few months, Batra said. He also leads technology architecture at Nokia's research arm, Bell Labs. Notably, nine Nobel Prizes and five Turing Awards have been awarded for work completed at Bell Labs. Born in a middle-class business family in Delhi in 1978, Batra studied Computer Applications at a Madhya Pradesh university before going abroad for higher studies. Nokia was selected by NASA in 2020 to develop the first-ever cellular network on the lunar surface for Artemis - its 2024 mission to send humans to the moon. Understandably, communication will be a crucial part of this mission. (Agency) A tribute to Yogita Satav who saved a life Kotak General Insurance has

immortalised the act of Pune resident Yogita Satav for saving the life of a driver in an ad film. Yogita drove a bus for the first time in her life to save a life. She was part of a group of 20 women who had gone on a picnic to the outskirts of Pune on January 7. On the way to the picnic spot, however, the driver of their mini bus complained of uneasiness and fainted. As other passengers panicked and tried to call for help, Yogita took matters into her own hands and got into the driver's seat. With great difficulty, she drove the vehicle to a hospital in Shikrapur town, which is located about 35 km away from Pune in Maharashtra. The ad film recreates the events of January 7. "We present to you a story of a courageous woman who took the wheel in the face of adversity. A story that will empower and inspire you to #DriveLikeALady," Kotak General Insurance wrote while sharing the ad on YouTube. The ad is part of the company's #DriveLikeALady campaign which aims to dispel negative stereotypes associated with women drivers. (Agency) Arjun Nair, the omelette man of India Arjun Nair from Kerala is known as the 'Omelette Man of India,' the one who has been making authentic Indian omelettes at the cheapest rate in the world. He is the one, who instead of only building a flourishing career for himself, made every possible effort to provide value to his customers and thus was able to create a unique career for himself. He has emerged as a man behind simplifying Omelette making with his brand named Queens Insta. He has turned heads and attracted more attention of people towards his Omelette making skills which is available to all at the world's cheapest rate. With his authentic Indian Omelettes, he has enthralled all with his Omelette's delectable taste and food experience. Arjun excels at kids' omelette, white omelette, with no need for eggs, onions, chillies, and other ingredients, and creates an instant solution for making omelettes in one minute. Also, there are no synthetic colours or preservatives used in his omelette recipes. They are priced at only Rs 5. Arjun became the man behind the world's cheapest omelette which has

garnered him massive headlines in recent times. (Agency) UGC seeks removal of Gujarat Vidyapith VC The University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked Ela Bhatt, the chancellor of the Gujarat Vidyapith, an educational institution established by Mahatma Gandhi, to remove Dr Rajendra Khimani, its vice-chancellor (VC), with immediate effect. Several VCs of universities in Gujarat are under the scanner for not meeting UGC-stipulated eligibility criteria.

The fact-finding committee of the UGC observed that there were procedural lapses in the appointment of Dr Khimani as vicechancellor. The committee has also found that Dr Khimani was also responsible for certain lapses in the administrative and financial functioning of the Vidyapith as registrar during the period 1- 4- 2004 to 30- 4- 2019. The UGC, in light of these facts, directed the chancellor to remove the VC ‘with immediate effect’. The commission also mentioned that Vidyapith could attract penal action ‘including the withholding of grants’. Dr Khimani, who had a stint as registrar of Vidyapith for over a decade, was earlier appointed the VC in December 2020, but the appointment was considered null and void

by UGC as there was no UGC-appointed member on the selection committee. (The Times of India) Biker’s close shave with lioness in Mangrol town A biker in the coastal town of Mangrol town in Junagadh won’t forget his bike ride for a long time. While commuting on a busy route in the port town, his bike came at a kissing distance of a lioness that was crossing the road in a hurry. The bike slipped and the man fell down. But before he could realize what just hit him, he saw the lioness jumping over a boundary wall of a nearby farm and disappeared within seconds. Video of the incident that was recorded by a passer-by has gone viral on social media. Residents of Mangrol said that lions are being seen frequently in the area and even the farmers are scared to work in the fields, mostly at night. The farmers have also threatened to stage protests if the forest department doesn’t bring about a solution. In January this year, a pair of lions had entered Aajak village in Mangrol taluka and tried to attack a man who was working in the fields. Locals said that the lions had camped in their locality for a few days.

Recently, a lion had sauntered around several huts near Rajula town of Amreli.

The fully grown lion veered from the main road and crossed several huts. Luckily, there was no attack on anyone. (Agency)

Medical students made to parade with tonsured heads

Several first-year MBBS students, all tonsured, were made to walk in circles around the Haldwani Medical College campus in Uttarakhand with bags on their backs allegedly by their seniors. Videos of the ragging went viral on social media, triggering shock and anger. Disturbed by the visuals, netizens called out the administration of the medical college, demanding action against the accused students responsible for the humiliation of their juniors. In the video, 27 boys can be seen with their hands tied behind their back, looking down on the ground while walking in silence. Wearing lab coats and masks along with their shaved heads, they avoid all eye contact with passersby on the road. Principal of the medical college, Arun Joshi, downplayed the incident. “No complaint has been received in the case.

Often, students shave their heads themselves. It is not always linked to ragging,” he said. “Many students join college with military haircuts. This incident was not unusual.” When contacted, no one was willing to talk about the incident. In 2019, seven senior MBBS students were suspended after a group of junior doctors complained about harassment by them. (Agency) Despite arthritis, 63-year-old set to trek Himalayas

Despite being diagnosed with severe osteoarthritis four years ago, 63-year-old Gangotri Soneji is undeterred and all set to leave for the Himalayas. The gritty lady will traverse nearly 5,000 km in the Himalayan range for the next five months under the guidance of Padma Bhushan Bachendri Pal, the first Indian woman to reach Mt Everest summit. “This is my last chance to trek in the Himalayas. I am never going to let anybody play a spoilsport and stop me from pursuing my passion. Bachendri and I have trekked together in the past, so we know each other well,” Soneji said. She had even

trekked to the Mount Everest base camp in 2018 and that gave her the confidence to attempt the Himalayas. “My two children encouraged me,” she added. Soneji was a national-level swimmer in younger days. “I had to quit swimming due to a severe ear infection. So, I tried rock climbing at 18 in Mount Abu and instantly took to the adventurous sport. Later, I did about 15 expeditions in the Himalayas,” she recalled. But she had to take a long break from mountaineering after her marriage and shift to the US. (Agency) Gujaratis paid Rs 2,377 a minute in mask fines The Gujarat government had collected Rs 2,377 every minute as fines from people for not wearing masks. So far the government has collected £24.98 million from people who violated mask rules over the past two years. The government said that a total of 36,27,000 people were fined by the police between February 1, 2020 and January 31, 2022 for not wearing masks.

About 52,907 people refused to pay the fine on the spot. The government initially collected Rs 200 as fine which was raised to Rs 500. From August 2020, the fine for not wearing a mask was increased to Rs 1,000.

During this period, a total of 679,000 people in Ahmedabad city were fined for not wearing mask. The fine collected from Amdavadis in past two years was £5.43 million. In 2020, the fine collected from 365,000 offenders was £2.78 million. About £2.74 million was collected from 313,000 offenders in 2021. (The Times of India) People celebrate return of missing stray dog Hundreds of people came together to celebrate the return of a stray dog that had gone missing for a week from his neighbourhood in Mumbai. Whiskey, the beloved stray dog, was welcomed back with an aarti, sweets and flowers, heartwarming footage that has gone viral online shows.

Whiskey lived in the Naigaon neighbourhood of Dadar in Mumbai, where residents used to take care of him.

Recently, the dog went missing and a hunt was launched to track him down.

Concerned residents also started a social media campaign to find Whiskey which lasted a week - until the pooch was found near Wilson College in South Mumbai. The footage shows the dog being ferried back to his neighbourhood in a taxi after being found roughly 7 km away. People in the neighbourhood waited for Whiskey. The video shows Whiskey's return being celebrated with loud cheers. A woman was filmed welcoming the dog with a small aarti while another person carried flowers for Whiskey. The video has been viewed and shared tens of thousands of times on social media. (Agency)

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20th anniversary of the Memorial Gates The annual memorial ceremony to commemorate 5 million men and women from World War I and II, which also included millions of Indian soldiers was observed on Monday in London.

The Memorial Gates are a war memorial located at the Hyde Park Corner end of Constitution Hill in London. Also known as the Commonwealth Memorial Gates, they commemorate the armed forces of the British Empire from five regions of the Indian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka), as well as Africa and the Caribbean, who served for Britain in the First and Second World Wars.

Indian soldiers fought in World War II under Operation U Go offensive, or Operation C in Manipur (British India) which was when the Japanese offensive launched in March 1944 against forces of the British Empire in the northeast Indian regions of Manipur and the Naga Hills (then administered as part of Assam).

Aimed at the Brahmaputra Valley,

through the two towns of Imphal and Kohima, the offensive along with the overlapping Ha Go offensive was one of the last major Japanese offensives during the Second World War. The offensive culminated in the Battles of Imphal and Kohima, where the Japanese and their allies were first held and then pushed back.

Council block to be named after Noor Inayat Khan British espionage agent, Noor Inayat Khan will be remembered on the new homes.

Khan’s name including two more veterans was reportedly chosen by residents on the Maitland Park estate from a shortlist of famous Camden people who, the Town Hall says, represent the borough’s diverse communities. The ribbon is due to be cut on the development next year. Historians played a key role in shortlisting these names.

Camden’s equalities chief, Labour councillor Abdul Hai, said he had “great pride” at the final three, which he described as “remarkable, inspirational individuals who showed immense courage in their lives and left lasting legacies for us all”.

“We hope residents enjoy living in these brand new blocks and being part of the modern-day Camden community.”

According to Camden New Journal, there had previously been suggestions that Cecil Rhodes House in Somers Town might be renamed in Ms Khan’s honour following racial injustice protests. Residents opted not to name their block after anybody on that occasion – and it is now called Park View House. Instead, Ms Khan’s name will go above the

door at Maitland Park.

Inayat Khan was captured after being betrayed, and executed at Dachau concentration camp. She was posthumously awarded the George Cross for her service in the SOE, the highest civilian decoration in the United Kingdom. Her last word was reported as “Liberté” — freedom.

She was 30. Noor-un-Nisa Inayat-Khan (meaning 'light of womanhood') was awarded the posthumous George Cross and MBE. She was the first female radio operator be sent into Nazioccupied France and is also remembered as Britain's first Muslim war heroine. Noor Inayat Khan is the first woman of Indian origin to be remembered with a Blue Plaque.

Mother’s carelessness kills baby daughter 11-months-old Nafahat died of a chest infection after weeks of neglect by her 25year-old mother Fartun Jamal at her flat in Kingfisher Way, Brent Park, which is near to the IKEA Wembley branch.

Jamal has been jailed for keeping her baby daughter in a “chaotic and dirty” home.

While living with the

baby in 2019, the mother made a series of web searches, including “I can’t cope with my child anymore” and “I want to give up my child”.

Despite knowing that Nafahat was unwell with a “very high temperature” and poor appetite, she did not take her daughter to the doctor, jurors were told during a trial at Harrow Crown Court.

On the 6th of November 2002, Her Majesty The Queen officially inaugurated the Memorial Gates on Constitution Hill, in London.

These gates have been erected as a lasting memorial to honour the five million men and women from the Indian subcontinent, Africa and the Caribbean who served with the Armed Forces during the First and Second World Wars.

They also celebrate the contribution that these men and women and their descendants, members of the Commonwealth family, continue to make to the rich diversity of British society.

This year there was a special focus on The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the 20th anniversary of the Memorial Gates, The Commonwealth Games and the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War. The Rt Rev. and the Rt Hon. Lord Chartres GCVO led the prayers this year, as he did 20 years ago at the inauguration of the Memorial Gates in his role as the Bishop of London.

Baroness Flather - Lifetime

President of the Memorial Gates Council said, “It is 20 years since we opened these memorial Gates, and I gratified that, over that time, the awareness and appreciation of the huge contributions to our war efforts made by some 5 million Commonwealth soldiers is so much more widely shared - and it is across all communities.

“The war raging again on the Continent of Europe makes it all the more poignant to recall such sacrifices in the past. We owe this to the memory of all Africans, West Indians, and Indians who fought for us in the two great wars.

“They knew which was the right side.

I hope all Commonwealth countries, all democracies, remember that – and come out on the right side today – and not hide below the parapets.”

Lord Bilimoria CBE DL Chairman of the Memorial Gates Council said, ‘As Field Marshal Auchinleck said, “the British couldn’t have come through both wars if they hadn’t had the Indian Army”.

“I am proud to be Chairman of

Photo credit: Lord Rami Ranger CBE - Twitter

the Council of the Memorial Gates which is celebrating its 20th Anniversary this year “The Memorial Gates Ceremony on Commonwealth Day commemorates the service and sacrifice of the 5 million volunteers from South Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. This year is particularly important for a number of reasons including the Commonwealth Games which is being held in Birmingham, the 40th Anniversary of the Falklands War and Her Majesty the Queens Platinum Jubilee.’”

Lord Rami Ranger CBE tweeted, “At the Memorial, Gate rememberIng the Commonwealth Soldiers who came to defend the King & Empire and the World Freedom in both the Great Wars.”

Whitechapel Station & Brick Lane Arch get new Bengali signage The Whitechapel Station & Brick Lane Arch in London Tube will now have new Bengali signage to mark the importance and contribution of the Bengali community in East London, and as part of celebrations to mark 50 years of Bangladesh’s independence. Contrary to media reports, this is not the first time that the name of a Tube station in London has been displayed in Bengali. It was always there.

This is a renewed installation.

In an appeal to the Mayor of London, John Biggs, Mayor of Tower Hamlets wrote, "Whitechapel is at the heart of the Bangladeshi community. Bilingual signs have been installed at Southall and replicating this at Whitechapel would be welcomed to mark the has accepted Bengali as a language of signage at Whitechapel Station, signifying the increasing global importance & strength of the 1000-year old language Bengali. It underlines that the diaspora should work together in common cultural directions. It is a victory of our culture and heritage.”

According to Bangla Mirror, “In addition, following repairs, the Council has reinstalled Brick Lane Arch as Banglatown Gate. The original Brick Lane Arch was designed by Meena Thakor in association with Anne Thorne Architects in 1997 and put up by fundings from the Bethnal Green City Challenge.” culture of British Bangladeshis and reflect the rich heritage and diversity."

John Biggs tweeted, “Delighted to see bilingual signs now installed at Whitechapel station - in both English and Bangla funded by Tower Hamlets Now. Thanks to everyone who has worked on this campaign with us, and to @SadiqKhan for helping us to make it happen.”

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted, “Proud to note that the London Tube Rail

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London told Asian Voice, “London’s diversity is its greatest strength. The revamped signs at Whitechapel station recognise and celebrate the vital contribution Bangladeshi Londoners have made in shaping the community in Tower Hamlets and throughout our city. I’m delighted that they have been installed ahead of Bangladesh Independence Day on Saturday 26th March.

“Whitechapel is an iconic part of the city which will soon see the arrival of a new London icon - the Elizabeth line.

Once open, passengers will be able to travel from Whitechapel station to Paddington in just 15 minutes. The new line is one of the world’s most advanced railways and will play a crucial role in the city’s recovery from the pandemic, transforming travel across London and the South East.”

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Parag is an architectural entrepreneur and the founder of Studio Nagara: a mindful macro-planning business with a bespoke focus on domiciliary extensions. “I predominantly work with private home-owners who are looking to spatially reinvent their property,” he told us. “I especially enjoy purpose-driven conversions that contribute to one’s well-being.

This centres on allocation of space and what can holistically be done with it e.g., if you have a cluttered house, building more rooms isn’t necessarily going to solve that. If you want to convert a large penthouse into individual flats, it’s got to be within considered reason in terms of the number. Space is expensive too so it must be used wisely! My work isn’t just about constructing grand designs but further collaborating with clients to create a truly habitable and inspiring environment.”

Thus, strong composition sensitively utilises the area rather than showcasing sheer size. “There’s this misconception that bigger is better,” the architect continued, “but it’s not true. It’s better to be emotionally invested in the conversion and connect to the wider aim of why you’re planning the change.” In short, it's more fulfilling to let personal health lead the way. There’s no point in quirky houses if they cannot ultimately be a real home! “You should enjoy the place in which you are. It is meant to help to serve you.” One must deeply consider how they will feel and what exactly it is that they want to achieve. Happiness must fundamentally shape material choices, reinforcing the philosophy: such modular sustainability is to exude contemporary class. Just check out Parag's comprehensive diagrams! (pictured).

His essential transformations extend to improving access to natural light which the founder does encourage much of! “My own home, for example, is very well lit and makes the most of the panaromic view outside. It’s best to capitalise on what’s literally on your doorstep and not to cram in too much extra.” Here, another speciality of Studio Nagara is assessing the surrounding context to mould trendy homes that will aesthetically sync rather than jar with the local vernacular. From the developed shell of the exterior house to the partitions and fittings within, including cupboards and various utilities, Parag meticulously plans bespoke models for each client, also securing approval for it to be built. “I leave the cosmetic details such as tile choices to the client. My focus is on the overarching model and how open it can be. Architecture is a social trade.

You’ve got to get along with many different people and adapt ideas to best benefit them. You witness many colourful ways of being. I’ve learnt so much across variety of cultures – just from talking layouts e.g., a Jewish bedroom must accommodate for one's bed to face north-to-south. It is also important to sleep in such a way that one's feet are facing the door of the room.” Finally, not only does Parag fashion beautiful homes but also helps philanthropically elevate lifestyle. The ethos of Studio Nagara

is to meld morality with form. “I take on projects to add genuine value. It’s rewarding to so significantly enhance someone’s life.”

PARAG DHANANI

W

hat qualities do you think one must have to be a strong architect?

Patience is mandatory and you’ve got to be curious. Architecture is a very broad subject. It ranges from formulating skyscrapers and penthouses to commissioning blocks of flats and creating smaller extensions. It’s a long game of understanding what to specialise in but there’s also a lot to discover. Planning and spatial layouts are definitely my speciality. There’s also post-planning as an available avenue. You must be able to perfect a niche. Be prepared to negotiate your mistakes and stay calm through it.

I’ve been on quite a journey prior to

management as well as collaboration and get to dip your feet in creativity

and practicality. I enjoy the whole process with home-owners: meeting, understanding them, proposals and the realisation of the plans.

Y

“I especially enjoy purposedriven conversions that contribute to one’s well-being.

This centres on allocation of space and what can holistically be done with it e.g., if you have a cluttered house, building more rooms isn’t necessarily going to solve that.

If you want to convert a large penthouse into individual flats, it’s got to be within considered reason in terms of the number.

Space is expensive too so it must be arranged wisely" Studio Nagara. I have a degree which took 7 years and worked in several globally recognised practices on large development projects. You’re still learning on the job and it’s a big challenge.

W

hat grabs you personally about architecture?

My skills naturally speak to it. I have always been drawn to maths, art and design. It also helps with life lessons such as the importance of commitment and endurance and concretely rewards you for them! The subject also integrates many different disciplines and experiences. You learn

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

The feminine power: The divine to the demonic

Parag Dhanani: Studio Nagara Sunetra Senior

AsianVoiceNews

ou love to travel too: what designs have appealed to you both internationally and closer to home?

I’m drawn to old buildings which have been regenerated for modern times e.g., the Serpentine Gallery in London. Their Pavilion also showcases different artistic structures as part of an annual series (Pictured: Counterspace).

Abroad: I’m drawn to interesting houses e.g., on the outskirts of Paris, there’s a famous home; Villa Savoye,

by Le Corbusier. It’s an iconic modern house that challenges traditional architectural conventions. I was in

Later this year, the British Museum will open its first major exhibition that will explore female spirituals including a contemporary icon of the Hindu goddess Kali by Bengali artist Kaushik Ghosh.

The ‘Feminine Power: The Divine To The Demonic’ opens on May 19 at the British Museum.

The exhibits also include painted scrolls from Tibet, Roman sculpture, intricate personal amulets from Egypt and Japanese prints. Along with this, there will commentaries from figures including classicist and broadcaster Professor Mary Beard, The Guilty Feminist podcaster Deborah Frances-White, writer Elizabeth Day and former army officer and lawyer Rabia Siddique.

The icon of Kali shows the goddess wearing a string of bloodied heads which represents her power to

destroy the individual ego.

Curator Belinda Crerar said: “This exhibition is a tour through history and around the world to see the different ways female power and authority have been perceived in spiritual belief.

The diversity of these goddesses, spirits, enlightened beings and saints, and their profound influence in people’s lives today and in the past, gives us pause to reflect on how femininity – and indeed masculinity – are defined and valued now and in the future.”

NHS trust discontinues filming mental health patients Camden and Islington NHS foundation trust (C&I) has stopped using the Oxevision system after receiving complaints from female patients that they feel unsafe. The Oxvision system continuously records videos of mental health patients in their bedrooms.

Campaigners have asked other 22 NHS trusts to stop using Oxevision in some psychiatric wards or review its purpose in monitoring patients’ vital signs.

C&I used the system in the Rosewood unit, based at St Pancras hospital, where most vulnerable female psychiatric patients are treated,

who include survivors of sexual assault and childhood abuse.

The C&I’s group, which includes staff and patients, said: “Women in inpatient mental health services are disproportionately affected by adverse childhood events including sexual abuse and adult experiences of sexual assault and domestic abuse.

The concerns about Oxevision relating to privacy and dignity and restrictive practice link to these experiences.”

The End Violence Against Women Coalition and Rape Crisis both called on the NHS to review the use of Oxevision.

UK judges backs ban on same-sex marriage in Bermuda the Czech Republic for six months and there is also a lot of incredible architecture there e.g., Villa Tugendhat. I’m also a fan of the famous Guggenheim in New York.

Y

ou’re also a Photographer. Can you tell us about that?

Yes. Again, what I photograph must have a resonant meaning. I go out actively with my camera to do documentary-style street photography. The shots have to have value and can’t be mindless. I think I am coming into my own style.

W: https://www.studionagara.co.uk/ paragdhanani.co.uk

In a setback for gay rights in the British overseas territory, British judges have ruled that Bermuda’s ban on same-sex marriage is permitted under its constitution.

A decision by Bermuda’s highest court that the ban is unconstitutional, the UK’s judicial committee of the privy council (JCPC) – the ultimate court of appeal for Bermuda and dozens of other British overseas territories, dependencies and Commonwealth states – overturned a decision.

It also ruled out sepa-

rately that under the constitution of the Cayman Islands, there was no right to same-sex marriage.

In the written judgment by Lord Hodge and Lady Arden, they said: “No restriction is placed on the worship, teaching, practice and observance of the respondents which manifests their belief in the validity of a same-sex marriage. The protection of a ‘practice’ does not extend to a requirement that the state gives legal recognition to a marriage celebrated in accordance with that practice.”

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15 19 - 25 March 2022

Nearly one million free meals given to hungry children through City Hall scheme London’s poorest schoolchildren have been provided with almost one million free meals in five years through a City Hall scheme. Kitchen Social, run by the Mayor’s Fund for London, has given just under 70,000 children and young people a safe place to go during the school holidays to socialise and get a free, healthy meal. Labour’s London Assembly Economy Spokesperson, Marina Ahmad AM, praised their hard work and called on the Government to roll out free school meals to all families on Universal Credit as the cost of living crisis takes hold.

In a written response to a question from Ms Ahmad, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, revealed the Kitchen Social scheme has supported 68,347 at-risk youngsters and supplied 958,427 meals between 2017-2021.

The programme has helped young people across 25 London boroughs with more than 15,000 children in Lambeth, nearly 11,000 in Southwark and over 9,000 in Tower Hamlets given the most support. The total number of children helped has jumped from around 1,700 a year in 2017 to almost 20,000 a year in 2021. While the number of meals provided by the Kitchen Social team has risen from just under 11,000 a year to more than 470,000 a year in the same period.

What does a posh cup of hot chocolate look like?

There was a time when a posh cup of hot chocolate was judged by the amount of marshmallows and whipped cream it had. However, in the new normal, the dynamics of a posh hot cocoa have changed. It now depends on the percentage of cocoa as retailers who sell luxury single-origin drinks are setting out to champion high streets.

For instance, Knoop ( a brand that sells 20 different types of hot chocolate) ranks its quality by strength from sweet and creamy 28% white to intense 100% extra dark.

“The feedback we get from customers is they are bored with coffee and want something new,” says the company’s founder Jens Knoop. “They want something interesting and ‘next level’, which is single-origin chocolate from around the world.”

Knoop (originally from Germany) opened his first store in Rye, East Sussex, in 2013. He has spent 10,000 hours perfecting its drinks by combining different percentage cocoas with different milks, including plant milks, as well as fruits, roots and spices.

The Guardian reported, that this growing awareness – coupled with more time at home during lockdown – has led to bumper sales of the kit needed to make hot chocolate at home, with everything from £160 Smeg machines to £25 shakers and stirring spoons flying off the shelves. John Lewis’s hot chocolate sales more than doubled in the past six months of 2021 compared with the prior year.

UK children raise funds for Ukraine Right from sponsoring haircuts to selling homemade hot chocolate to passersby, many children have been doing everything they can.

Since the start of the war, Save the Children said it saw “unprecedented amounts” raised by children, at an average of £1,400 per young fundraiser – more than triple the typical average total of £400.

13-year-old Evie and 11-year-old Rowan Lewis from Ilminster in Somerset, raised £2,568 for Save the Children’s Ukraine fundraising drive by shaving their heads.

Likewise, nine-year-old Ella and five-year-old Leo Ketley raised £1,859 by pledging to walk 43 miles for the children of Ukraine. They also inspired friends to undertake their own fundraising walks. In mere 24 hours, eight-year-old Zachary Clare raised £500 for the Red Cross DEC appeal for Ukraine, walking 10 miles from Amersham to Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire.

Meanwhile, seven-year-old Veda Plotkin and her threeyear-old brother sold hot chocolate and homemade cookies to passersby from their doorstep in Haringey, north London and raised £256.

Lisa Aubrey, the head of regional fundraising and engagement at Save the Children, said, “We are so grateful for these amazing young fundraisers and are in awe of their creativity, courage and drive to help other children around the world.”

SBI’s centenary celebration explores benefits of the UK-India FTA

by Rupanjana Dutta

T

he State Bank of India (SBI) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce (FICCI) organised an economic conclave on Thursday 10 March 2022 with a reference to the roadmap 2030, agreed between the UK and India to double bilateral trades in the coming years. Representatives from different sectors such as defence, life sciences, technology, manufacturing, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, green finance attended the whole day event, and explored the benefits as well as the industry expectations from the FTA negotiations.

The conclave also commemorated the centenary of India’s largest bankState Bank of India in the UK, followed by a gala dinner in the evening, cohosted with Rt Hon Vincent Keaveny, the Lord Mayor of City of London at the prestigious Mansion House.

SBI Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara who was visiting from India opened the historic London Stock Market on Thursday as part of the cen-

emphasising on the purpose of ease of doing businesses said, “I believe there is a lot of commonalities in terms of what the UK business is asking of the UK side and Indian business is asking of the Indian side. It is all about ease of doing business, all about standardisation and harmonisation, mutual recognition of standards.”

Baroness Usha Prashar, Chair of the FICCI UK Council in her speech, that was read out by Param Shah, Director- UK, FICCI (in her absence), said, “The education sector is another key area where there is enormous potential to develop bilateral collaboration in multisectoral research and knowledge-sharing between industry and academia and to develop new capabilities within universities. The

organised especially for Indian Journalists’ Association (UK) Mr Khara said, “These (UK and India) are two mature democracies coming together, with many common themes being pursued, including fintech and green financing. We see huge complementarity in the new FTA regime, which will be beneficial to both India and UK. And SBI UK is here to help achieve those aspirations.

“While we will continue to serve the NRIs (non-resident Indians), we do not want to be restricted to that as we expand our services to the wider population and assist the trade related relationship of citizens of any country…” The bank has helped (L-R): The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor Alderman Vincent Indians moving to the UK to open Keaveny with Sharad Chandak, Regional Head SBI UK, an account more easily, with the Sanjay Naik, DMD SBI, Dinesh Kumar Khara, Chairman launch YONO UK. SBI and Ashwini Kumar Tewari, MD SBI He added, “The way we have Education Policy announced last year scaled up in the UK is a matter of pride by the government of India should for us. When we started out, we were make it easier.” seen as the foreign operations of an Indian bank. Today, we are seen as a Centenary gala dinner foreign bank The dinner that was co-hosted by from India… the The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor our model in Alderman Vincent Keaveny saw the UK is London’s beautiful Mansion House doing very decked up to receive the who’s who of well. It is our the business community. The guests best performenjoyed a rhythmic ensemble by The ing overseas Bhavan’s artists followed by speeches. subsidiary.”

The Lord Mayor said, “I congratuMr Khara SBI Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara opened the historic London Stock Market late the State Bank of India on their also explained on Thursday as part of the centenary celebration of State Bank of India in the one hundredth anniversary and am how there UK and silver jubilee of the bank’s listing on London Stock Exchange delighted that they have chosen were Mansion House as the venue to host widespread concerns that Covid-19 tenary celebration of State Bank of the celebration. The UK and India was going to impact the banks and India in the UK and silver jubilee of share a long history and have close their balance sheets, but on the conthe bank’s listing on London Stock links, but this isn’t just about looking trary their performances improved, Exchange. back but also forward, especially with showing higher profits- possibly the ongoing UK-India trade negotiaSBI-FICCI Conclave because of growing responsible tions which we hope will include a behaviours due to the introduction of The conclave held at the financial services chapter. factors like Insolvency and Bankruptcy Intercontinental Hotel in London’s “The City of London Corporation Code (IBC).

Park Lane was divided into various sesis committed to deepening financial sions that covered topics and relevant Moving away from ‘bad history of sector engagement with India, includissues that affect the UK-India trade colonialism’ ing through its active membership in partnership. The goal was to find ways the India-UK Financial Partnership, so Alex Ellis, the British High to enhance employment opportunities that this can be the beginning of Commissioner to India in his speech and growth for both countries. another 100 years of positive relareferred to the FTA as a means of movSpeakers on different panels included tions.” ing away from the Patrick Horgan OBE, Director Global “bad history of Government Relations, Rolls-Royce colonialism” to a Plc, Sagar Ahuja, CEO, QX Accounting new “forward Services, Philip Bouverat, Director, looking footing for JCB, Nandita Sahgal-Tully, MDthe next 75 years” Infrastructure Asset Management, on India’s 75th Thomas Llyod Group, Ashish Kumar year of indepenGupta, Head of EMEA & Corporate VP dence.

(IT Outsourcing), HCL Technologies, He added, Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, Senior Fellow SBI Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara speaking at the SBI-FICCI conclave “The UK having for South Asia, The International got itself out of the Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Sharad Chandak, Regional Head of European Union (EU) has an opportuLord Karan Bilimoria, Pankaj Munjal, SBI UK, said, “This celebration is a tesnity to negotiate a free trade agreeChairman and Managing Director of tament to how far our operations in ment with India in a way that it probaHMC, A Hero Motors Company, the UK have evolved in the last 100 bly could not whilst it was a member Richard Heald OBE, Chair, UK India years. We started with London Branch of the EU. We must utilise that opporBusiness Council, Jason Wouhra OBE, to offer wholesale banking and tunity. We have already achieved some Chair, west Midlands Partnership, Tim enlarged the operations in the retail significant trade liberalisation in both Newns, Chief Executive Officer, space. After formation of SBI UK Ltd countries, even in roughly a year that MIDAS to name a few. Moderators in 2018, we have introduced our we have been doing the preparations. included Dr Mohan Kaul, President, YONO SBI UK mobile banking app, So, the process actually matters… It’s Indian Partnership Forum, Sunil Mitra launched new products, and grown the quite hard, given two very differently Kumar, Senior Lecturer, King’s College shaped economies and deals mean customer base in the UK. We look forLondon and Ashwini Kumar Tewari, dealing with disappointments. ward to expanding our offering to our Managing Director, SBI. “But the question is whether the corporate, small businesses and retail The morning inauguration saw a macro framework which surrounds the clients throughout the next century of welcome address by SBI Chairman negotiators is conducive to a deal – I operations.” where he spoke about the bank’s vision would say it is, and there is also a high The evening concluded with a to expand beyond just NRIs and diasambition in terms of the timetable set donation by SBI UK to their charity pora as well as a balance of paper and for the end of this year.” partner Pratham UK, who is providing digital banking, to ensure a balanced Richard Heald, Chair of the UK educational resources to children in future.

India Business Council (UKIBC) India.

Speaking at a press conference

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Paying tribute to cultural heritage with pride and joy A

new selection of titles from Hardie Grant’s brand new imprint for children called Bright Light, their first list of books for children in the UK, which launched in Autumn is out. Bright Light brings together engaging stories and beautiful design for an exuberant collection of illustrated books, united by a vision to change the world – one conversation at a time. The new Spring list builds on the themes that formed the foundations of the imprint - Gender, Environment, First Nations, Bodies, Character and Diversity – celebrating individuality, positivity, and resilience.

One of the highlights of the collection is Amma’s Sari by Sandhya Parappukkaran, which has the most enchanting illustrations by Michelle Pereira, and is a warm and uplifting story about being caught

between two identities and encourages young readers to celebrate their individuality and show pride in that which makes you different that encourages young read-

ers to celebrate their individuality.

Amma's Sari is a powerful reflection on connection with family, the acceptance of difference, and the celebration of cultural heritage. As a secondgeneration migrant, 6-year-old Shreya’s life tilts between her life at home and the outside world. While her love for family lifts her up, her spirits plummet at the stares and whispers that her mother's sari attracts. Searching for balance, Shreya asks questions about her culture. Despite the beautiful stories her mother shares, Shreya’s internal and external struggle continues. But when Shreya

finds herself lost in a crowd, it's the shimmer of Amma’s sari that leads her to find pride in her difference.

Speaking to Asian Voice, Sandhya said,

“Sometimes names can feel arduous, unfurling rapidly like a rolling ball of yarn when you’re introducing yourself or reciting the spelling for someone.”

In The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name, which is also written by Sandhya Parappukkaran and illustrated by Michelle Pereira, Zimdalamashkermishkada attempts to shrink his name as he starts a new school, but it returns to its full glory after every attempt.

Zimdalamashkermishkada’s mother tries to help him by reminding him of his name’s meaning and gently suggests giving people a chance to say it right. It is hard, though, when your name is from another culture and unwieldy to the English language palates. It is not until he befriends Elly that he finally finds the confidence to step into his long name. Elly’s friendship gives Zimdalamashkermishkada the courage to teach her how to say his name, and a name repeated correctly helps Elly to learn to say it. It is that simple.”

This compelling story, inspired by the author’s trepidations with her own name, pays tribute to the meaning entwined in names and empowers those with first-language pronunciations to uphold their cultural heritage with pride and joy.

The Boy who Tried to Shrink His Name, written by Sandhya Parappukkaran and illustrated by Michelle Pereira, is published by Hardie Grant Books (£11.99).

Mother’s Day gift ideas Write that book or letter

A day off Whether your mom is a housewife or an employed professional who juggles personal life, household chores, parenting and work, she deserves a break. The last 24 months have been like one odd long day. Women are exhausted - both mentally and physically. So give your mom a break this year, and this Mother’s Day (if you haven’t already), set up a timetable to divide work among all house members to let your mother breathe! Don’t just help her take a day off to relax, but make sure that the timetable is followed.

Take her to therapy Yes, more than anyone, our mothers in South Asian households can benefit from therapy. There may be enough space and room in the house for her and you, but you need to give her the mental

If you haven’t been able to be with your mom due to reasons like the pandemic or even emotional distance, it’s time you write to her or write about her while she’s around to read what you have to say. Reconcile if you can, or at least tell her that you love her, while you can.

Never take mothers for granted. Start writing that book - replenish old photos before you lose the albums.

The pandemic has been harsh to each family. This Mother’s Day, make sure you remember your friends and relatives and perhaps check upon them if they’ve lost their mom, maybe spend a few hours with them. Cushion them, and tell them you’re there for them.

brothers or father, and their children.

Your mother needs a scientific approach to let her guard down and embrace the good and bad that has happened to her.

Let her grieve, lament and enjoy her life experiences. Let her heal. Sign her up for therapy and hold her hand through it.

Listen Mothers spend more than half their life listening to the family and especially children. This Mother’s Day, maybe it’s time for you to set up a day in the week when you become a good listener and help your mother express her thoughts without interjection and judgement. For once, listen and listen not to talk back to her.

Spa Nothing beats a traditional spa day for your mom. Let her enjoy a deep tissue massage with aromatic candles, flowers and rejuvenate her senses. space to address her emotional baggage and mental block. Women often become the punching bag in Asian households - both for their husbands,

Check on your friend/relative who has lost a mother

Tupperware You’re not a South Asian if your mom doesn’t love her “Tupperware”. The more the merrier! Get her a new batch, you wouldn’t regret it.

History of Mother’s Day

D

uring the Middle Ages, the custom developed of allowing people who had moved away from where they grew up to come back to visit their home or 'mother' churches, and their mothers, on the fourth Sunday of the Christian festival of Lent.

At the time, it wasn't uncommon for children to leave home to work when

they were as young as 10 years old, so this was an opportunity for families to meet up again. This became Mothering Sunday in Britain. As the dates of Lent vary each year, so does the date of Mothering Sunday.

Although it's often called Mother's Day in the UK, it has no connection with American Mother's Day.

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Mother's Day Recipe Ahead of Mother’s Day, Chef Jomon Kuriakose, also known as Chef Jomon, is the Chef de cuisine at LaLiT London shares his mother’s recipe of grilled yam which she used to make with chutney.

A love letter to Ammu Asma Khan takes us into her mother’s kitchen through her new book, Ammu.

Shefali Saxena

Chef Jomon Kuriakose

Grilled yam Ingredients Yam 250gms (3 roundels) Coconut oil 1 tbsps Shallots 6 nos Chilli powder 1 tsp Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp Tamarind pulp 2 tsp Ginger 30gms Curry leaves 1 string (finely chopped) Salt to taste Butter 50 gms For topping Avocado 1 half Shallots 4 nos Green chillies 2 nos Tomatoes (deseeded and chopped) 1 nos Maldon salt to taste Lemon juice a dash Procedures 👉 peel and wash the yam nicely and make 1/2” thick roundels 👉 par boil the yam with some salt in boiling water 👉 drain them and wait until 👉 It reaches room temperature. 👉 keep all the marinades in a mixer blender jar and make a fine paste 👉 apply the paste or marinate the yam with the marinade paste. 👉 grill them on a moderately heated griddle pan on both the sides. 👉 add a spoon full of butter to the pan which will enhance the flavour and taste.

For the toppings 👉 cut avocado, shallots, chilli and tomato into small dices treat them with salt and lemon juice

Got a message for your mother? Write to us!

This Mother’s Day, if you wish to send a sweet and heartwarming message to your mother, or you wish to remember/pay tribute to your mother who may only be present in spirit around you, Asian Voice will be happy to publish your message it in our Mother’s Day issue dated 26th March.

Please send 50 words and your mother’s photo to us at aveditorial@abplgroup.com by 21st March 5 pm BST.

“I heard Ammu’s heartbeat even before I saw her face.

I knew her voice and recognised her laughter even before she held me in her arms. Our deep bond began unseen by others, in the womb, and is the anchor of my life. This book celebrates the relationship between mother and daughter. It is a homage to my mother, who I call Ammu, writes Asma Khan in a moving dedication to her mother in her book titled ‘Ammu’.

In Ammu, Asma shares the dishes that have nourished her life and family, with over 100 recipes to bring warmth and joy to your kitchen, whatever the occasion. In Ammu,

Asma shares the dishes that have nourished her life and family, with over 100 recipes to bring warmth and joy to your kitchen, whatever the occasion.

In an interview with Asian Voice, Asma Khan, Founder Darjeeling Express shared the stories behind the making of ‘Ammu.

How did you conceive the idea of Ammu?

I think that this deserves a relationship that you almost take for granted that you expect that your mother will be there throughout.

And unfortunately, I watched the sorrow and the suffering of very close friends, many of them who lost, sadly, their parents over this Covid in India and in this country to so suddenly it hit home very hard that, you know, this is not a relationship that you take for granted that you need to celebrate it, you need to leave a legacy of this incredible bond that so many of us have with our mothers.

I think I always wanted to write about this relationship. And also the fact that she taught me how to cook, also the unspoken story, her story of what it was to be a middle daughter, and one of five daughters.

And my grandmother lamented not having a son her whole life. And I think a lot of the pressure for my mother to make sure that she didn't end up with five daughters, which is what exactly everyone said to her when I was born, oh, you're going to be just like your mother, we're going to have five girls in this family. And how hurtful that must have been for her and all that, that she's been through. I wanted to write the book in her lifetime.

But when all of this happened, and was all the suffering of my friends and seen what Covid was doing, and also I did couldn't go home for two years, I saw my mother last in 2019. And then, I had to wait till now to be able to go and see her. So that fear of separation, combined with a complete closure of my business, the lockdown, the debilitating restrictions, the huge debt, I had this time to be alone, where I didn't have to work. There was silence around me. It also gave me that moment to think of what is the most important part of me.

What is it that made me and it is not London? It is not, you know, any superstar coming to my restaurant, it is not Netflix. That's why I wrote the book.

The earliest memories of Asian girls of cooking are mostly sitting on the kitchen counters, watching the women of the house cook.

What is yours?

It looks exactly the same with so many Asian girls. But the operative word is girls. It was always girls in the kitchen, never boys. And this is something I have raised many times that all the men who are cooking who are on my television who are chefs in the East and in the West, learn to cook in culinary school.

They learned they got their training in five-star hotels, everyone's CV is almost identical. Just the name of the institute. And the five-star hotel is different. But they learned through that.

I think there's something beautiful in learning with your entire senses, including sneezing with the chalk, because that is part of how it is in our DNA. It is so close to us. And so you know, I didn't know when I, when I came to this country. I didn't know how to cook.

But actually, I did, because when I went back, and a more tried to teach me how to cook I knew I somehow could do everything because somewhere inside me, this is part of memory. It is part of oral history.

So actually this thing that we sat in the kitchen, we are the real custodians of our culture, the girls and the women, we are unfortunately on the fringes when it comes to actually present our food. I think that home food, home cooking home cooks are really truly the real connoisseurs, we are the experts. This book I hope will kind of take away some of the mystery of Indian cookin. I am taking them into that through this window of my book. I'm making them sit in my mother's kitchen.

Many vegetarian women in the past and even now have been known to cook meat for their families with a lot of precision and usage of sill-batta. What is your take?

I love this about our culture.

This shows how big our heart is. In India, today people use food to divide people. But when you go into

families, you see that you know personal choices might be something I may disapprove of something that you want to eat, but I will make it what is the greater love and respect of someone else, that I will cook for you something that I will not eat myself, but I will watch you eat it, I will make it this generosity of spirit, this large-hearted hospitality.

Whichever home you went to, you never left, you know without eating or drinking something, they were never going to leave you with a cup of tea, or just like that, they will definitely give you something even if it's just a biscuit, but they will not let you just go like that. This is the core of our culture. And we should be proud of this. And for those people who use food to divide people to increase hatred, to show that people are different, really are doing such a disservice because they are taking away the stories the taking away the joy of food for so many purely for politics. Right?

How did your Ammu react to the book and what is her emotion about your stupendous success as an entrepreneur?

She is very emotional, I was able to get a book to her when I went to see her in India recently. She was also very stunned because all her children's childhood pictures came out. I got an uncle to develop these old black and white negatives that are lying in my Nana's cupboard. We used them digitally to kind of recreate those pictures. And she's so proud. I think after the initial shock, she really treated me equally to my brother to my sister, my brother was born three and a half years later, I think that she by teaching me how to cook has given me the best of herself. I am in some ways, everything because of her. So you know what greater honour, I could do a book for her and I could tell her how much he meant to me because I understand words are important. You know, she silently fed me but didn't tell me she loved me. I have written to her in it's like a love letter, this whole book that she mattered to me so much in the language of written but also through recipes. I wouldn't have been able to write this book. If she wasn't there. I think I wouldn't have been able to just put anything down.

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Dear Financial Voice Reader, Are There Any Serious People Who Believe in NFTs? The readers of Financial Voice are innovative, entrepreneurial. So many of you will have come across NFTs. I’m sure some will have created a Ganesh or Lakshmi NFT – if not then this article will motivate them!

The frothy, high-octane NFT market has generated a ton of headlines over the last year or so. But do any serious people think it's anything more than a speculative fad at best or a scam at worst? Or is it like modern art - the Emperor's New Clothes with beauty in the eye of the beholder?

NFTs were one of the biggest success stories of 2021. By some estimates, the industry is worth around $41 billion.

A big part of NFT's ubiquity and success is that they are easy to "mint" or create. The barrier to entry is low, and anyone can create one quickly with minimal effort.

And then there are the celebrity promoters. Paris Hilton, Ellen, Snoop Dogg, and Jack Dorsey are just some of the names who have purchased digital art via NFTs. Stories of massive sales and profits are lapped up and amplified by a media obsessed with content that captures modern readers' imaginations, like get rich quick schemes.

However, like thousands of cryptocurrency projects before them, NFT's lack of fundamentals makes them a precarious investment choice. Peak behind the bluster and buzzwords and their value and utility is a textbook example of the Greater Fool Theory.

The NFT gold rush has attracted many participants.

Some of them are relatively surprising, like Melania Trump monetising her husband Donald's most "iconic" moments as president. Others are more predictable, such as the Brit Awards NFT collection for category winners.

NFT use cases are a mixed bag. Just like the blockchain hype of a few years ago, they seem like a solution in search of a problem. But similarly, the occasional exciting use case emerges, such as using NFTs to preserve the ephemeral and creative world of street art.

It's easy to look at all of this cynically. NFTs are speculative assets with zero fundamentals that thrive on hype and FOMO (fear of missing out). However, there are plenty of sincere advocates in Silicon Valley, and some of them seem to be "in it for the art" as much as the possible eye-watering potential returns.

Additionally, it's worth remembering that the size of the scene is actually relatively small. While the NFT market is valued at around $20 to $40 billion, depending on who you ask, the number of active traders on OpenSea (an NFT marketplace) is about 500,000.

Indeed, NFTs only make up about 1% of the cryptocurrency market. It can feel like a lot more because of how many headlines they generate and the never-ending list of global celebrities who promote NFTs. Much of the media coverage around NFTs reads like a hastily copied press release. Cryptocurrencies and their offshoots are somewhat complex technologies. Only a tiny portion of the journalists who cover them seem equipped to analyse or critique these tools on a technological or economic level.

The result is that we hear plenty about what NFTs can do, as told to us from their breathless yet financially incentivised founders. Many publications are more in thrall to the vast sums of monies they generate rather than a healthy scepticism about what they are. So while NFT advocates tell us about how the tech will democratise the art world, the reality is quite different. Many artists have complained that their art has been stolen and sold on the NFT marketplaces.

The mechanisms to halt these practices seem to fall upon the artists themselves. People are making vast sums on marketplaces like OpenSea, but often it's not the people who created the art or who own the copyright.

Three of the main problems with NFTs as an investment vehicle are: a) most projects don't sell much and fail quickly b) with any fundamentals, insider knowledge is the most reliable way to predict success c) the unregulated space is full of scams and "rug pulls" Added with the fact most blockchain-based investments have a pyramid-style structure. Early adopters tend to make money, while those late to the game struggle to make gains or lose money. Again, the Greater Fool Theory comes to mind.

Conclusion Some commentators trace the rise of NFTs back to the financial market collapse of 2008. While Bitcoin did emerge from that as a reaction to the bank industries recklessness and excess, this is not the only comparison. In short, as private citizens' homes were lost to foreclosure, banks were bailed out. The fallout is that citizens believed they were on their own.

For some, these conditions have created libertarian style greed among the public that sees the world of investment as a zero-sum game. The video essay, Line Goes Up, suggests a thesis that NFTs are about finding suckers to exploit.

Rampant hype, thin utility, speculation, insider knowledge, and endless scams indicate there is some truth in this take.

However, among the wreckage, there are some decent projects. Picking them, however, isn't always easy, especially for the ordinary investor. Proceed with caution.

Sunak asks British firms to stop investing in Russia Amid the war between Russia and Ukraine, UK's Finance Minister Rishi Sunak has urged British corporations to stop investing in Russia in a video address posted on Twitter on March 13. In the tweet, Sunak has also applauded the decisions of some companies, like BP, Shell as well as Aviva, M&G and Vanguard, to withdraw from Russian holdings.

These sanctions have resulted in significant writedowns of Russian

world's largest asset management firm with more than $10 trillion in assets under management, has lost $17 billion on Russian bonds. On behalf of clients, it Rishi Sunak administers more assets, with BP's decision than $18 billion in Russian to sell 20% of its stake in assets, which were frozen Russia's state-owned oil on February 28. company Rosneft costing it Given market condiup to $25 billion. tions and the capacity to Further, BlackRock, the sell assets due to world-

UK startup gets £15mn to build payment infrastructure Startup Thirdfort has built tools first to address the needs of companies in the legal and property markets.

The product today comes in two parts. First, there is the “risk engine” built for its business clients, which can be used both for KYC (know your customer) checks as well as to help companies comply with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. There are around 700

businesses already using the platform, including law firms DAC Beachcroft, Penningtons Manches Cooper and Mishcon de Reya; and property businesses Knight Frank, Strutt & Parker and Winkworth.

Second, there is an app built for customers of those businesses. This has been built on open banking infrastructure to connect up

UK Crypto ATMs told to shut down Crypto asset firms are required to be registered with the FCA and comply with the UK Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs) if they want to operate crypto ATMs in the UK. However, according to the regulator, the crypto asset firms are operating illegally without registering to be approved to offer crypto ATM services.

Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has now warned these operators of crypto ATMs in the UK to shut down their machines or face enforcement actions. Last month, the Upper Tribunal ruled against Gidiplus, a firm offering crypto ATM services that wanted to continue trading, after it appealed the FCA's decision to refuse its application to

be registered as a crypto asset exchange provider under the MLRs. Judge Timothy Herrington concluded there was a 'lackof evidence' as to how Gidiplus would undertake its business in a 'broadly compliant fashion.'

The FCA also alleged Gidiplus co-owner Olumide Osunkoya could not demonstrate that he had 'adequate knowledge, skills and experience in respect of Gidiplus's obligations under the MLRs'.

those businesses with the customer’s bank, by way of the banks’ own banking apps, for payments and related transactions to be made in a secure way. This has now been downloaded some 500,000 times.

Thirdfort, which has built a platform to help professional services firms run more thorough due diligence, and to flag when something is suspicious, is announcing a funding round of £15 million (about $20 million), money that it will be using to continue expanding its services, specifically to build payment infrastructure directly into its platform.

wide sanctions imposed on the Russian economy, the UK government acknowledged that certain corporations may find winding down their positions to be a long-term process. In addition, earlier UK imposed penalties on 386 members of Russia's lower house of Parliament who voted to recognise the independence of Ukraine's regions of separatist Luhansk and Donetsk in the run-up to the full-scale invasion.

The raise, a Series A, was led by Breega, with B2B fintech-focused Element Ventures also investing, along with the founders of ComplyAdvantage, Tessian, Fenergo, R3, Funding Circle and Fidel.

While Thirdfort today focuses primarily on fraud detection - it’s managed to halt around one dozen dodgy transactions for its customers - it’s also built for AML diligence and compliance regulations and will likely come into its own when these are run more widely, especially around any large transactions involving international money.

Online shoppers will now have to confirm identity more often A spokeswoman for the banking and finance industry trade association UK Finance said 'as an important tool in the fight against fraud, SCA adds an additional layer of protection when people pay online using a card.'

People would be now asked to verify a purchase via text message more often, receiving a passcode which they are prompted to enter on screen. Other confirmations could include answering an automated phone call to a landline or mobile.

The proportion of transactions for which SCA applies has been steadily increasing since the start of this year. Some transactions may be exempt, including repeated purchases such as

subscriptions.

Dennis Reed, of senior citizens' group Silver Voices, said: 'Of course we want to combat online fraud. But to do things like have fingerprints or face recognition technology is going to put a lot of older people off.'

Tom Ironside, at the British Retail Consortium, said: 'Retailers have been working hard to prepare for the SCA requirements, ensuring... any additional friction is kept to a minimum.'

Embedded finance network Mmob raises £5mn Founded in 2020 by Irfan Khan, the startup Mmob is on a mission to deliver the onward journey of embedded finance, for both financial and non-financial brands. It is empowering consumer-facing fintechs to supercharge their growth through the rapid integration and delivery of relevant products and services that meet their customers’ financial needs.

The startup has now raised £5 million funding.

The seed round was raised from a group of angel investors, including high net worth individuals and senior banking executives. The fintech company will use the

investment to advance the development of its technology platform, enter new markets, including Malaysia, and improve its positioning within embedded finance.

The embedded financial services company is currently working with PensionBee, iwoca, Cuckoo, Superscript, So-Sure, Anorak, and Uinsure.

Mmob founder and CEO Irfan said: “Due to advances in technology and the wealth of data available, brands can responsibly respond to consumer demand and offer personalised options and attractive pricing for financial services. However, ease of integration between providers is key to fuelling the sector’s growth. This funding will enable us to further expand our operations in the UK and Malaysia.”

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India's GDP growth expected at 7.8%, says Crisil India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth is expected to come in at 7.8 per cent in fiscal 2023, said ratings agency Crisil.

According to the agency, any potential upside due to the early end of a mild third wave of Covid-19 infections will be offset by the ongoing geopolitical strife stemming from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Currently, the geopolitical crisis is creating a dampening effect on global growth and pushing up oil and commodity prices. The agency said that risks to growth are tilted to the

downside.

"Spiking commodity prices, especially of crude oil, will have a bearing on India's macros, including the current account deficit and inflation. These would create headwinds to growth. The good part is, the health of the financial sector is on the mend, with better capitalisation, profitability and asset quality," said Amish Mehta, MD & CEO, Crisil at 'India Outlook, Fiscal 2023' event.

"That, and enhanced public spending on infrastructure, private investments driven by the Production-Linked

Incentive scheme, and a chunk of green capex should deliver some g o o d - q u a l i t y tailwinds."

Besides, the ratings agency said that average Consumer Price Index (CPI)based inflation, will stay firm at 5.4 per cent next fiscal - if the price of crude oil averages $85-90 per barrel - and takes into account the excise duty cuts announced last year.

However, it cited that upside risks will build if the geopolitical strife prolongs, keeping oil and commodity prices higher for longer.

"We believe the fiscal policy will need to be deployed more aggressively than envisaged in the Union Budget for next fiscal. This can be done by increasing allocation for employment-generating schemes and food subsidy, and cutting duty on petroleum products," said Dharmakirti Joshi, Chief Economist, Crisil.

At $632bn, India’s forex Govt waiting for market to kitty 5th highest globally stabilise before deciding on LIC IPO

India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $394 million to $631.9 billion in the week ended March 4, according to data released by the RBI. India currently has the fifth largest holdings of international reserves in the world, RBI deputy governor Michael Patra said.

The increase in the reserves position comes at a time when the rupee is facing volatility on account of the war in Europe. In the previous week ended February 25, the reserves had declined by $1.4 billion to $631.5 billion. It touched a lifetime high of $642.4 billion in the week ended September 3, 2021.

Only China, Japan, Switzerland and Russia have a higher level of reserves compared to India. Data on Russian reserves have not been updated since the ongoing conflict. India had last year overtaken Russia to rank fourth.

“India’s international assets cover three-fourths of the country’s external liabilities, including debt, equity and all other forms of contractual obligations. In addition, there are second lines of defence in the form of forward assets and swap lines,” said Patra. He was speaking at an event organised by the Indian Merchants’ Chamber.

According to Patra, the greatest strength of India’s external sector is the buffer provided by the holdings of forex reserves. “The level has risen from 16% of GDP at end-March 2013 to the current 20.5%. The import cover provided by the reserves on a prospective basis has doubled,” said Patra.

SC reserves order in contempt case against Mallya The Supreme Court reserved verdict on quantum of sentence against fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya, accused in bank loan default case of over £900 million involving his defunct Kingfisher Airlines, in a Vijay Mallya contempt case where Mallya for hearing and had he has been found guilty. A given him the last bench comprising Justices opportunity to appear U U Lalit, S Ravindra Bhat before it either personally and P S Narasimha or through his lawyer. reserved the judgment Mallya was held guilty after hearing senior of contempt in 2017, and advocate and amicus curiae the matter was thereafter Jaideep Gupta on various to be listed to hear him on aspects related to the the proposed punishment contempt law. to be awarded to him. The It even permitted the top court had in 2020 counsel, who was earlier dismissed Mallya's plea representing Mallya, to file seeking a review of its 2017 written submissions, if any, verdict which held him in the case. Observing that guilty of contempt for it had waited sufficiently transferring USD 40 long, the bench, on million to his children in February 10, had fixed the violation of court orders. contempt case against

The central government is waiting for the stock market, which has become volatile in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, to stabilise before going ahead IPO of insurance behemoth LIC, official sources said.

This has triggered prospects of the issue being deferred for now.

Since Russia’s invasion, uncertainty has gripped the country’s biggest IPO and plans to list it before the end of the financial year on March 31 seem to be in jeopardy. Sources said the government has time until May 12 to unveil the IPO on the basis of the documents filed with the stock market regulator Sebi.

The government had filed the

draft red herring prospectus with Sebi on February 13 and sources said all eyes are now on the state of the stock market and any listing would depend on when the volatility reduces. sources said The authorities are watching the volatility index, which had spiked sharply after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and is currently ruling at around 25.3 and the view within the government is that it should settle at around 15 levels to take a call on the timing of the LIC IPO. The markets have been choppy and the apprehension is that it may have a major impact on the LIC listing and hurt the Centre’s plan to raise close to £7 billion from the IPO.

Tata Sons chief named as Air India chairman

The Tail Wagging The Dog

Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

Since last week's article petrol prices have increased to 161.2p (at the time of writing), and are set to increase further. How much of this increase is due to actual reduction in supply and how much is from propaganda is debatable. Furthermore, last month lenders have pulled 500 rates following the base rate rise, fixed rates have now increased; expect more rounds of this to follow, iteratively as the base rate steadily rises. There is even more reason to fix your rates at the moment if you’re on a floating rate, or even if it is about to expire in 3-4 months. Even though rates have just risen, they are historically still very low. With the expectation of further rate rises, this would be a prudent move. We still have some exceptional deals both on a BTL and residential basis.

Currently, we are revisiting a transaction we dealt with over a year ago to relook at the stamp duty which has been paid. We have had an initial consultation with a firm who thinks there could be an over payment in this regard.

Ordinarily, the lawyer who acts for the conveyancing decides on how much should be paid. I have seen from experience that often they don’t check for applicable reliefs and are ill equipped to advise on stamp duty, yet they still do so.

Clients normally trust their lawyers implicitly to get this correct. Yet this trust is unjustified when it comes to Stamp Duty Land Tax. There are over 40 reliefs which can be used. There is also the interpretation of this relief, which can also change with time, as new case law redefines the exact meaning. To be fair this is a niche and specialised area, and it is difficult to be a master of all.

The transaction we are now revisiting paid a stamp duty as per a mixed-use building, being part commercial and part residential. I have since been told it could qualify from further relief. However, talk is cheap, and so let’s wait to see if an actual rebate of cash is actually due.

I have spoken to an accountant cum property developer on this subject at length, and there are many areas of relief, which are unintuitive and very surprising; even, for example, for a pure residential property for personal use.

It is always worth approaching a specialist firm to check on this point, especially when the transaction value is high.

Currently, there is a client who is looking for a property for £6M to purchase, for his parents. At this level the structure is almost as important as the purchase. If you get this wrong it could end up being a very expensive mistake.

It needs to be thought of in a 360 degree manner; and, after all being said and done it is also important to ensure the tail does not wag the dog!

India-born appointed as global president of Ford

N Chandrasekaran

N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, has been appointed as the chairman of Air India by the airline's board, aviation industry sources. The group had on October 8 last year won the bid to acquire debt-laden state-run Air India by offering £1.8 billion for it.

Tata Sons is yet to appoint the chief executive officer and managing director (CEO&MD) of Air India.

Sources said Chandrasekaran's appointment as the chairman of the airline was cleared by its board last week.

The conglomerate had on February 14 announced that former Turkish Airlines

chairman Ilker Ayci will be the CEO&MD of Air India.

On March 1, Ayci declined the Tata Sons' offer stating that “some sections of the Indian media” have attempted to “colour” his appointment in an undesirable manner.

Ayci is considered to be close to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an ally of Pakistan, which led to a controversy once his appointment was announced. While the airline has lucrative landing slots, debt-laden Air India faces an uphill task to upgrade its aging fleet and turn around its financials and service levels.

India and Canada agreed to relaunch talks for a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), while exploring the possibility of an interim deal or an Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA).

“Ministers agreed that Kumar Galhotra EPTA shall include highlevel commitments in goods, services, rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, and dispute settlement, and may also cover any other areas mutually agreed upon. Furthermore, Canada and India agreed to promote and protect bilateral investment, including through the intensification of negotiations toward a Bilateral Investment Agreement, while considering options to achieve this goal alongside CEPA,” the government said in a statement following discussions between commerce & industry minister Piyush Goyal and his Candian counterpart Mary Ng. India is seeking to push trade agreements with several countries and recently clinched a deal with the UAE and one with Australia expected to be worked out in the coming weeks. Besides, discussions have started for a free trade agreement with the UK. Like several of these deals, talks for a trade pact with Canada had started nearly a decade ago but had been stalled for several years.

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in brief

Pak oppn submits no-trust motion against Imran Khan ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s opposition lawmakers submitted a no-confidence motion against PM Imran Khan in the National Assembly, claiming they have more than the required strength of numbers to replace the leader of the House.

Although the opposition hasn’t officially disclosed its next move, sources said the chiefs of the parties involved had agreed to elect PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif as the next PM. They are also understood to have arrived at a con-

sensus to hold national polls as scheduled in 2023.

For Imran to be dethroned, the opposition parties require the support of 172 legislators in the 342-member National Assembly. Several opposition leaders claim to have the support of 202 members, including 28 disgruntled lawmakers of Imran’s PTI. Imran described the motion against him as the opposition’s last move. “After this, nothing will happen against our government till 2028. I have completed my preparation, but a cap-

tain does not reveal his strategy all at once,” he said, vowing that his party would sweep the next polls as well.

Imran said the opposition was playing “a mind game”, not realising that “I am a master of mind games”. Imran also claimed “multiple foreign hands” behind the opposition’s move.

“Those who do not want independent foreign policy support the opposition.”

Pakistan Democratic Alliance (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, PPP Asif Ali

5 KILLED, 28 HURT IN BALOCHISTAN BLAST

Imran Khan

Zardari and Sharif explained the reasons behind tabling the motion at a press conference.

The PML-N president lashed out at Imran for suggesting a “foreign” push to the no-confidence motion. “I believe no accusation can be more foolish than this one,” he said.

At least five security personnel were killed and 28 others injured in a blast in Sibi district of Pakistan's troubled southwestern Balochistan province during President Arif Alvi's visit to the area to attend an annual cultural festival, police said. The blast took place near an open area where the festival was being held. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is home to a long-running violent insurgency. Baloch insurgent groups have previously carried out several attacks targeting the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects and security personnel in the region. According to local media reports, the blast took place after President Alvi, who had attended the annual festival, left the area.

Pak women held protest despite attempts to shut them down

PAK SC RAPS IMRAN’S GOVT FOR ‘EXCESSIVE’ ORDINANCES

LAHORE: About 2,000 women held protest rallies in Pakistani city of Lahore despite efforts by authorities to bar the protest and withdraw security for an event frequently the target of violence. In a society where women have been shot, stabbed, stoned, set alight and strangled for damaging family “honour”, critics accuse rights activists of promoting liberal Western values and disrespecting religious and cultural mores.

Dozens of events marking International Women’s Day –

In a landmark ruling, Pakistan’s Supreme Court has rapped the government of PM Imran Khan for promulgating an excessive number of ordinances, observing that an ordinance could only be issued in “emergent matters”. The president or the governors cannot promulgate an ordinance without satisfying constitutional requirements, the apex court said. The landmark 30-page verdict by a SC bench that also elaborated the course of action for promulgating ordinances comes after Islamabad high court was told in July 2021 that the Pakistani government led

by Khan had issued at least 54 presidential ordinances during the three years of power since July 2018. The provincial court was told that some ordinances were issued to even run the routine business of the federal government. According to Pakistan National Assembly’s website, over 16 ordinances have already been promulgated in the third parliamentary year of the current government.

known as the Aurat March in Pakistan – were held across the country. Non-violent counterprotests, dubbed “hijab marches”, were also staged by women from conservative religious groups in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad where participants called for the preservation of Islamic values.

In the eastern city of Lahore, city authorities urged organisers to cancel the rally over safety concerns, threatening security would not be provided.

However, following a legal chal-

IC-814 hijacker who killed flyer shot in Pak NEW DELHI: Zahoor Mistry Ibrahim, considered the most brutal among the five Indian Airlines flight IC-814 hijackers, was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen in Pakistan’s Karachi on March 1. Ibrahim, a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist, was living with an assumed identity of Zahid Akhund, under the ISI’s protection.

Sources said Ibrahim was the terrorist codenamed ‘doctor’ who was wielding an improvised knife with which he had stabbed a passenger named Rupin Katyal inside the hijacked flight, leaving him to bleed to death. Mistry had been

lying low for several years, running a shop named Crescent Furniture in Karachi’s Akhtar Colony. The two masked gunmen were caught on CCTV cameras. The footage shows two men on a bike in the lane heading towards the shop. As per local media reports, Ibrahim was shot twice in the head from point blank range by the gunmen who had also carried a reccee of the area before committing the murder, catching the ISI’s officials by surprise.

The murder was strangely kept under wraps and largely ignored by the local media in Pakistan.

lenge, the Lahore High Court ruled the event could go ahead and authorities agreed to provide protection.

The women marched through the streets in a jovial atmosphere, chanting slogans such as “Give respect to women” and “End the patriarchy”.

They were guarded by riot police – and greeted by a small band of men chanting “end this obscenity.” Student Sairah Khan, 23, cited recent high-pro-

Special cards for buying essentials in Bangladesh DHAKA: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the government will provide special cards to 10 million people so they can purchase some essential commodities at lower prices. “We have targeted 10 million people. We will provide them with Sheikh Hasina special cards so that they can buy some Sheikh Hasina, also the essential items at fair prices,” Awami League president, said she said while chairing a meether government is taking meaing of the Awami League-led sures to keep the prices of daily 14-party alliance at essentials under control during Ganabhaban. the upcoming Ramadan. She said some 5 million people have already been given the cards to buy rice at Tk10 per kg.

“We will extend support to an additional 10 million people by providing special cards so that’s expected to decline amid that they can purchase essenthe conflict. tial items at fair prices,” she Authorities have recently said. The prime minister said taken measures such as letting the 3.8 million people who got the rupee weaken and allowing financial support from the borrowing costs to rise, moves government during the Covidin-line with broad conditions 19 pandemic will be included to be expected from the IMF. in the 10 million people.

Sri Lanka has about $2 billion Noting that the governof foreign-currency reserves ment has enough food in against total debt repayment of stocks, she said it still has 1.8 as much as $7 billion for 2022. million tons of food grains in This includes a $1 billion dollar stock and there is no problem bond maturing in July. here. She also urged the people IMF officials in Sri Lanka of the country to increase crop and ready to discuss financial production. “Not a small piece support options if requested, of land should be left uncultiMission Chief Masahiro vated in order to meet our food Nozaki had previously said in an emailed statement. demand,” she said.

Lanka reverses course, seeks financial support from IMF COLOMBO: Sri Lanka is seeking financial support from the International Monetary Fund, reversing the government’s earlier resistance as efforts to bolster its foreign exchange reserves and manage looming debt payments have been complicated by the war in Ukraine.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government initiated deliberations with visiting IMF staff, according to people with knowledge of the situation. Officials from Sri Lanka plan to present policy proposals to the lender in early April, said the people, who asked not to be identified.

Lands Minister S M Chandrasena said in a television interview that the cabinet endorsed an IMF support plan proposed by the finance minister and president’s brother, Basil Rajapaksa.

Sri Lanka, suffering Asia’s worst inflation and struggling to source essential goods and fuel, recently softened its resistance to an IMF bailout.

Allies including China and India had delayed bilateral credit lines as global policy makers focused on the RussiaUkraine situation. As well, the former Soviet states are also the island nation’s top source of tourists, a key revenue driver

file cases of brutal violence against women “without consequences” for her attendance. In Karachi – Pakistan’s largest city – about 1,000 women gathered in a festive atmosphere, with organisers conducting security checks as police stood by idly.

OBAMA TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19 “I just tested positive for Covid,” former US president Barack Obama, 60, said in a tweet.

“I’ve had a scratchy throat for a couple days, but am feeling fine otherwise. Michelle and I are grateful to be vaccinated and boosted, and she has tested negative. It’s a reminder to get vaccinated if you haven’t already, even as cases go down.” Falling case rates in the US have triggered the relaxation of most public health measures imposed by cities, states and the federal government.

There were roughly 35,000 infections on average over the past week, down sharply from mid-January when the average was closer to 800,000. According to Johns Hopkins University, the US death toll from the two-year coronavirus pandemic stood on Sunday at a little over 967,000, from nearly 79.5mn cases.

BODIES OF COVID PATIENTS PILE UP IN HK HOSPITAL A shocking photo has emerged showing bodies lying abandoned on stretchers next to living patients in a Hong Kong hospital as Covid deaths spiral in the city fueled by a low vaccine uptake. A medic working at the hospital said that the photo was taken inside the accident & emergency ward of Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong. The photo showed six body bags lying on stretchers as bed-bound patients struggled to prop themselves up. Health authorities reported 29,381 new infections and 196 deaths last week. A hospital authority said that sometimes bodies cannot be transferred to the mortuary in time, adding that the situation has since been dealt with.

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in brief US BANS ENTRY OF FORMER NAIROBI GOVERNOR, FAMILY Former Nairobi governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko has been banned from traveling to the US along with his immediate family members over corruption allegations while he was in office. According to the announcement by Counselor for Public Affairs Eric Watnik at the US Embassy in Nairobi, Sonko’s ban from the US is based on "involvement in significant corruption” during his short tenure at City Hall. His wife Primrose Mbuvi, his daughters Saumu and Salma and his underage son have been deemed ineligible for entry into the US and have also been banned to engage in any form of business with the US. The flashy politician is currently facing over 30 charges of money laundering, receiving bribes and conflict of interest in Kenya, accusations he pleads not guilty.

CHINESE PREMIER TO STEP DOWN IN 2022 Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who is at the helm of managing the country’s economy for a decade, said that he will be stepping down this year, setting in motion the oncein-a decade sweeping leadership change in the Communist country. Barring President Xi Jinping, who has emerged as the most powerful Chinese leader after the ruling CPC founder Mao Zedong, the rest of the leadership of the party and the government is expected to undergo a change. “This is my last year as a premier,” Li, 66, said in a matter of fact voice. Li, who was groomed into various leadership positions by the previous President Hu Jintao, settled for the second rank in the party as 68-year-old Xi emerged victorious in the race for the leadership in the CPC Party Congress in 2012.

NEW IS CHIEF IS BAGHDADI’S BROTHER The new leader of Islamic State, whose appointment the group announced last week, is the brother of slain former caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, according to two Iraqi security officials. Islamic State named its new leader Abu al-Hassan al- Hashemi al-Quraishi in a recorded audio message distributed online. The announcement came weeks after the death last month of Abu Ibrahim al-Quraishi, the man who in turn succeeded Baghdadi in 2019 and became the group’s second so-called caliph. Both Baghdadi and Quraishi died by blowing themselves and family members up during US raids on their hideouts in northern Syria.

The new leader’s real name is Juma Awad al-Badri, he is Iraqi and Baghdadi’s elder brother, two Iraqi security officials said.

S KOREA ELECTS CONSERVATIVE OUTSIDER AS PREZ Conservative South Korean opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol rode to victory in a tight presidential election on a wave of discontent over economic policy, scandals and gender wars, reshaping the political future of Asia’s fourth-largest economy. His victory in the bitterly fought election marks a stunning turnaround for the main conservative bloc, now known as the People Power Party, which has regrouped since the 2017 snap election after the impeachment and ouster of then President Park Geunhye. Yoon is a former prosecutor-general involved with Park’s case who fell out with outgoing President Moon Jae-in after being appointed by him, gaining notoriety for his investigations of top presidential aides.

Indian American named as US envoy to Netherlands WASHINGTON: The Indian American community’s political coming of age crossed another milestone when President Joe Biden nominated Shefali Razdan Duggal, a Democratic party activist and fund-raiser, as the US envoy to the Netherlands.

Duggal, an immigrant to the US from Kashmir, India, “is an experienced political activist, women’s rights advocate, and human rights campaigner”, the White House said in an announcement, citing several civic awards she has received and her service as the National

Co-Chair of Women for Biden, and as a Deputy National Finance Chair at the Democratic National Committee.

While there have been a few Indian-American ambassadors from the US foreign service, notably Atul Keshap, till recently the ambassador to Sri Lanka, Geeta Pasi, the ambassador to Ethiopia, and Krishna Urs, who served as the ambassador to Peru, this is the first time a grassroots party activist has been nominated as ambassador to a major country. Richard Verma, who was the ambassador to India from 2014 to 2017

served in the state department before going to New Delhi.

Duggal, 50, a Kashmiri who was born in Haridwar and moved to the US with her family when she was two, has been a fundraiser for the party. After schooling in Ohio, and degrees from New York University, she began her political career volunteering for Senators Ted Kennedy and Dianne Feinstein.

She worked for the Obama campaign in 2008 and 2012, and for the Biden campaign. She will now have to be confirmed

Shefali Razdan Duggal

by the US Senate. Incidentally, India’s ambassador to the Netherlands, Reenat Sandhu, who took up her post this past week, is the wife of India’s ambassador to US Taranjit Sandhu.

First pig heart transplant Five Indian students killed patient dies after two months in a road accident in Canada WASHINGTON: The first person to receive a heart transplant from a genetically modified pig has died two months after the medical milestone, the hospital that carried out the surgery said. The procedure raised hopes that advances in crossspecies organ donation could one day solve the chronic shortage of human organs available for donation, and the team behind the operation say they still remain optimistic about its future success.

David Bennett, 57, had received his transplant on January 7 and passed away on March 8, the University of Maryland Medical System said in a statement.

"His condition began deteriorating several days ago. After it became clear that he would not recover, he was given compassionate palliative care. He was able to communicate with his

family during his final hours," the statement said.

Following surgery, the transplanted heart had performed very well for several weeks without any signs of rejection, the hospital added. In the time after his surgery, Bennett spent time with family, participated in physical therapy, watched the Super Bowl and spoke often about wanting to go home to see his dog Lucky.

"He proved to be a brave and noble patient who fought all the way to the end. We extend our sincerest condolences to his family," said Bartley Griffith, the surgeon who led the procedure.

Saudi Arabia executes 81 convicts in a single day DUBAI: Saudi Arabia executed 81 people last week convicted of crimes ranging from killings to belonging to militant groups, the largest known mass execution carried out in the kingdom in its modern history. The executions carried out surpassed even the toll of a January 1980 mass execution for the 63 militants convicted of seizing the Grand Mosque in Mecca in 1979, the worst-ever militant attack to target the kingdom.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency announced executions, saying they included those “convicted of various crimes, including the murdering of innocent men, women and children”. The kingdom also said some of those executed were members of alQaida, the Islamic State group and also backers of Yemen’s Houthi rebels. A Saudi-led coalition has been battling the Iran-backed Houthis since 2015 in Yemen in an effort to restore the internationally recognised government to

power. Of the 81 people, 73 were Saudi citizens, seven were Yemeni and one was a Syrian national.

“The accused were provided with the right to an attorney and were guaranteed their full rights under Saudi law during the judicial process, which found them guilty of committing multiple heinous crimes that left a large number of civilians and law enforcement officers dead,” the SPA said.

“The kingdom will continue to take a strict stance against terrorism and extremist ideologies,” the report added. It did not say how the prisoners were executed, though death-row inmates typically are beheaded in Saudi Arabia. An announcement by Saudi state TV described those executed as having “followed the footsteps of Satan”. The kingdom’s last mass execution came in January 2016, when the kingdom executed 47 people.

TORONTO: Five Indian students were killed in a road accident in Canada’s Ontario province on Saturday, the second major tragedy involving Indians in the country since January. According to media reports, the students, travelling in the passenger van collided with a tractor trailer at around 3. 45am (local time) on Highway 401 in the Quinte West city in southern Ontario.

Harpreet Singh, 24, Jaspinder Singh, 21, Karanpal Singh, 21, Mohit Chouhan, 23 and Pawan Kumar, 23 were pronounced dead at the scene, the provincial police said, adding, that they were all students in the Greater Toronto and Montreal areas.

High commissioner of India to Canada, Ajay Bisaria, termed the incident a “heartbreaking tragedy” and said the Indian mission is in touch with friends of the victims for assistance. Mourning the deaths, external affairs minis-

ter S Jaishankar tweeted, “Condolences to their families. Pray for the recovery of those injured. @IndiainToronto will provide all necessary support and assistance.” Two other passengers were taken to a hospital with serious injuries, police said, adding that an investigation into the accident was underway. The driver of the tractor-trailer was not hurt, CTV News reported.

The number of Indian students attending Canadian universities rose from 76,075 in 2016 to 1,72,625 in 2018, an increase of 127%, according to a report published last year quoting the Canadian Bureau for International Education.

The road accident is the second tragic incident involving Indian nationals in Canada in three months. In January, four Indians, including an infant, were found dead near the Canada-US border in Manitoba.

South Africa grounds airline linked to British Airways PRETORIA: South Africa's aviation regulator has indefinitely grounded a fleet owned by Comair, a British Airways franchise, following a series of safety incidents.

This comes a day after the airline was suspended after it failed to convince the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) that it had adequately addressed the safety issues.

Comair operates regional and local flights in South Africa for British Airways and budget airline Kulula. The latest safety incident involving its plane was a flight from East London, in Eastern Cape province, to Johannesburg last month with 111 passengers on board.

The plane made an emergency landing just a few minutes after taking off, with dramatic videos on social media showing scared passengers crying and praying loudly

onboard. In a statement, SACAA said Comair operations had in the past month "experienced occurrences ranging from engine failures, engine malfunction and landing gear malfunctions". Comair has not responded to the grounding of its fleet, but said its indefinite suspension was "a huge blow to our customers, employees and the flying public".

While it’s unclear when Comair will resume flying, the regulator says it is “fully committed to ensuring that the operator is back in the air and has dedicated a full team to assess and review the evidence as it gets submitted".

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PM Modi motivates party workers into election mode in Gujarat Riding high on the wins of BJP in UP, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa, a jubilant Prime Minister Narendra Modi attributed the spectacular electoral victories of BJP to the power of democracy wherein people were voting for development.

“Due to the power of democracy, the BJP retained power in states where governments were hardly elected twice in a row. This was possible as people are voting for development,” Modi said addressing more than 100,000 representatives from Panchayati Raj institutions in the state at the Panchayat Mahasammelan organized at GMDC grounds in Ahmedabad.

Modi's two-day visit to poll-bound Gujarat propelled the state BJP into election mode and charged the party cadres in the state where BJP has been enjoying uninterrupted power for the past 24 years. “It is now firmly entrenched in the minds of people that the task of people who are voted to power is to ensure development and growth takes place. We will continue with this mantra and ensure that every section of society reaps the benefits of development," said Modi who switched his address between Hindi and Gujarati.

Earlier, Modi was accorded a rapturous welcome as celebrations of victory in four states spilled over onto the streets.

Thousands of party workers jubilantly greeted the PM on the 10-km route from the airport to the state BJP headquarters. The road show was marked by the PM donning a new BJP saffron cap and waving victory signs with both hands. He was flanked by state CM Bhupendra Patel and BJP president C R Paatil.

The PM also made a massive rural development push while addressing sarpanchs and other panchayat office-bearers.

Invoking Mahatma Gandhi, the PM said, “Rural development was Bapu’s foremost and most important dream. He believed a

136 Gujaratis on way US go 'missing' in Turkey The number of Gujaratis who have gone missing while on their illegal journey to US has gone up to 136, cops investigating human smuggling rackets revealed. Investigators probing the disappearance of six illegal immigrants - two couples and two children from a village in Kalol taluka - who went to Turkey in January discovered that 18 more Gujaratis, who had chosen to enter the US illegally through the Mexico-Turkey route, had been allegedly kidnapped after landing in Istanbul.

Further investigation revealed that this number is suspected to be as high as 37 families, comprising 112 people hailing from Gandhinagar, Mehsana, and Ahmedabad districts, senior police officials said. “Probe into disappearance of six illegal immigrants revealed that it was just the tip of the iceberg.

Investigation revealed 18 others from Gandhinagar and Mehsana were also allegedly abducted in Turkey. Now, it is suspected that as many as 112 more such illegal migrants are either suspected to have gone missing or abducted by the Turkish mafia,” said a police officer. The officer said the 37 families were sent to Istanbul between January 10 and 20.

“The agents in Gujarat are connected to offi-

cials and criminal elements in other countries who facilitate the smuggling process. Turkey is a mid-way stop for those who want to enter the US without legal permission. Once the immigrants reach Turkey, they are sent to Mexico by flight or sea using forged passports. Then agents in Mexico smuggle the migrants into the US. However, in this case, the mafia trapped the illegal immigrants.

Some of their relatives received calls seeking ransom ranging from Rs 200,000 to 500,000. These family members are not ready to file a police complaint fearing that it would bring harm to those in captivity,” the officer said. Most of these missing persons hail from north Gujarat where there is craze among rural masses to immigrate to the US by any means. “When the illegal immigrants reach Turkey, human smugglers in Istanbul keep them in rented flats for 3-6 months until they get clearance from their counterparts in Mexico. Even if they leave Turkey safely, the illegal immigrants are likely to be tortured by the Mexicans if their agent in Gujarat or those sponsoring the illegal trip – mainly angadias – fail to provide money for their expenditure.”

strong democracy was possible only if our villages were strong.

It is the duty of those who believe in democracy to strengthen rural institutions and systems,” Modi said.

Modi said villages need to be self-reliant and gave goals to village representatives for over- all development of rural centres including planting 75 trees in every village, farmers taking up natural farming, celebrating school and village birthdays, switching to LED bulbs and conserving water for local use.

Reviews Somnath temple projects In the evening, PM Modi presided over a meeting of Shree Somnath Trust in his capacity as the chairman of the body that manages Somnath temple and reviewed the progress of its development projects. Union home minister Amit Shah was also present in the two-hour meeting held at Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar. Veteran BJP leader L K Advani joined the discussion via video conference.

Trustee secretary P K Laheri said Several projects for the temple are in the pipeline and a review of the same was held

during the meeting.

Presides over RRU convocation On Saturday PM Modi cautioned those graduating from Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) against the perils of the uniform. He said that while the ‘prabhav’ (impact) of the uniform should be maintained, it’s value increases with ‘manavta’ (humanity). He was speaking at the first convocation of the university and the ceremony to dedicate it to the nation. “Many of you may be thinking that once you get a uniform, the entire world is yours. I urge you friends not to get into this trap,” said PM Modi to the graduating students at RRU. “It’s not an act of increasing the value of the uniform… The uniform’s value increases when there is humanity within, when there is compassion, there’s a sense of justice towards mothers sisters, Dalits, the downtrodden and those without means.”

CBI quizzes Mumbai police chief in Deshmukh case The CBI last week questioned Mumbai police commissioner Sanjay Pandey on allegations that in his conversation with IPS officer Param Bir Singh in April 2021, he had tried to advise Singh to withdraw his letter to the CM levelling allegations of corruption against former state home minister Anil Deshmukh.

The CBI had said the conversation showed that Pandey, who was acting DGP at the time, was trying to weaken case against Deshmukh.

On March 20 last year, Singh, who was unhappy with his transfer from the post of city police commissioner, wrote a letter to CM Uddhav Thackeray alleging that Deshmukh, then home minister, had asked (now-dismissed) police officer Sachin Waze to illegally collect £10 million from orchestra bar owners in the city for him. Afterwards, four petitions were filed in Bombay high court demanding an independent inquiry on the basis of Singh’s letter. The court asked CBI to conduct an inquiry, which led to a corruption FIR against Deshmukh.

Last April, Singh had called Pandey to discuss inquiries initiated against him by the state government. Singh had recorded their WhatsApp conversation without Pandey’s

knowledge. In conversation, Pandey was heard making a suggestion to Singh about withdrawing his complaint against Deshmukh and offering to mediate between him and the state for an amicable solution.

Subsequently, Pandey excused himself from the inquiry he was to conduct against Singh.

Pandey declined to comment.

Earlier, the state government had approached the high court for quashing of the CBI summons to Pandey and former state chief secretary Sitaram Kunte, but in vain. After Pandey took charge as city police commissioner on February 28, the CBI had asked him to appear in its office in Delhi on March 3. Pandey said that because of the state assembly session beginning March 3, he requested the officials to record his statement in the city.

Singh had attached the transcript of the conversation with a petition he filed before the high court to quash ongoing inquiries ordered against him by the state government.

Singh had also urged the court to direct the CBI to inquire about an attempt to thwart the ongoing CBI investigation against Deshmukh.

This charity supports patients with home medical equipment Nischal Sanghavi In 1991, Jayesh Upadhyay who lives in Rajkot, Gujarat, came across a problem. His neighbour, an old lady suffered a leg injury. Later, she was prescribed to take help of a 'walker' for the next 4-6 weeks till she recovered. The old lady who was not from a privileged family found it difficult to buy the walker, which would become useless after a few weeks.

It suddenly struck Jayesh that there would be thousands of other such people facing similar problems of spending for medical assistance equipment which would become useless after a few weeks or months.

He decided to set up a charity that will support the temporary needs of patients and help the family save their hard earned money to buy medical equipment. The money thus saved can be spent on other necessities of life. He thus set up a charity named Bolbala Trust in his hometown Rajkot.

After 31 years. Bolbala Trust is the foremost non-governmental organization in the region. The trust currently helps people with 58 types medical assistance equipment

like oxygen concentrator machine, oxygen cylinder, hospital bed, wheelchair, suction machine, backrest, walker, toilet chair, walking stick, nebulizer, bed pan, urine pod, IV stand, water beds, ventilator etc. The trust has invested into various equipment.

Some of these equipment have cost them up to Rs 100,000 per unit. Currently, the trust has invested Rs 50 million in medical equipment that it lends to home patients.

The trust does not charge a single penny for lending the equipment.

According to Jayesh, currently the trust has been helping on an average 200 people everyday with one or the other equipment.

They have been able to help over 200,000 people so far.. The trust has opened branches in other cities also to support local patients. Currently, the trust offers its services in different locations including the cities of Gondal, Junagadh, Jamnagar, Wankaner apart from few locations in Rajkot city.

There is no reference required for lending the equipment, however, now the trust takes a small amount as a deposit which is fully refunded once the equipment is returned, to bring consciousness among people to return the equipment as soon as their requirement is over.

Senior citizen Ila Mehta has been bed ridden for a long time now. She lives with her husband Pramod, who needs to lift her from the bed everyday for meals. However, due to poor health Pramod was not unable to lift her, with no solution in sight. Because of financial condition, it was not possible for them to buy an expensive hospital bed at

home that has a hydraulic system to lift the side of the bed whenever the patient wants to rise. When somebody told them about Bolbala Trust, they could not believe that there was indeed someone who could lend them a sophisticated hospital bed without charging a penny. Today each time when Ila and Pramod have their meals together talking with each other, they never forget to remember Bolbala Trust for giving them those small happy moments in between the struggles of life. In fact, the trust also waved off the deposit for them keeping in mind their financial condition.

Jayesh is also thankful to his donors which also includes the Indian diaspora in US and UK to support them with generous donations to purchase equipment and carry on their activities. Bolbabla Trust is currently the most respected charity operating with sophisticated corporate style working methods successfully taking up charity activities in different fields.

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Pak seeks joint probe after India misfires missile The Pakistan ministry of foreign affairs has sought “a joint probe to accurately establish the facts surrounding India accidentally sending an unarmed missile deep inside Pakistan on March 9.” Describing the incident as of “grave nature” Pakistan raised many questions about India’s security protocols and technical safeguards against accidental or unauthorised missiles in the “nuclearised” region.

“The Indian decision to hold an internal court of inquiry is not sufficient since the missile ended in Pakistani territory. Pakistan demands a joint probe to accurately establish the facts surrounding the incident,” the ministry said in a statement. The statement raised seven questions including if the missile was equipped with a selfdestruct mechanism, and if so, why that had failed, and if India kept its

missiles primed for launch even during maintenance.

The Pakistani demand for “a joint probe” came a day after India acknowledged that a “technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile”. The Ministry of Defence, in a statement said: “On 9

March 2022, in the course of a routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile. The Government of India has taken a serious view and ordered a high-level inquiry. It is learnt that the missile landed in an area of Pakistan. While the inci-

India rescues students from Pak, Bangladesh and Nepal too India not only rescued Indian students but also students from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal who were stuck in a very difficult situation in Ukraine. Asma Shafique from Pakistan thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for supporting them. Asma’s remarks came on the same day that Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina thanked PM Modi for evacuating students of her country along with those from India under “Operation Ganga”.

Hasina thanks PM Modi for rescuing its 13 nationals from Ukraine. Nepalese and Tunisian students were also rescued under this operation,” government sources said.

The 13 Bangladeshi nationals, who had been stuck in northeastern city Sumy, were evac-

uated along with 694 Indians brought to Poltava city in Ukraine. Two Tunisians and a Nepalese were also among those evacuated by the Indian authorities.

Sources said they will be brought back to India along with the other Indian nationals from Poland. The Indian authorities started evacuating its stranded students from Sumy to Poltava after Russia announced a temporary ceasefire providing humanitarian corridors in Kyiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Mariupol.

The human corridor in Sumy was announced after Prime Minister Modi spoke to the Presidents of Ukraine and Russia to provide a safe passage to evacuate the remaining Indian students who were stuck in Sumy.

dent is deeply regrettable, it is also a matter of relief that there has been no loss of life due to the accident.”

Pakistan’s 24-hour wait to announce the incident may have given both sides time to contain the damage from an incident that could have quickly spun out of control. When Inter-Services Public Relations chief Major General Babar Iftikhar held a press conference on March 10 to announce that an Indian missile had breached the international border and landed in Mian Channu in Khanewal of Pakistan Punjab - a full day after the incident - he made clear that the Pakistani side was not ruling out an accident, but it was for India to do the explaining. He reiterated more than once that it was “certainly unarmed”.

One assessment is that the

Pakistani military, which said it tracked the missile from the start of its journey at Sirsa in Haryana, quickly came to the conclusion that it was a misfire, and did not see advantage in escalation.

The missile incident has come at a time when Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is battling to remain in office and needs to win an Opposition motion of no-confidence that is not looking easy for him given the cracks in his coalition. With relations between him and the Pakistan Army no longer of the “same page” kind, Khan may have to fight this battle on his own.

Restrained handling by both sides may have prevented an escalation of the incident, but experts warn that India’s hard earned international credibility as a responsible nuclear weapons state could take a hit.

RIL announces opening of Jio World Centre in Mumbai Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) announced the opening of 'Jio World Centre' in Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). "Envisioned by Nita Ambani, Director Reliance Industries and Founder-Chairperson of Reliance Foundation, the centre covers an expanse of 18.5 acres in BKC, and is set to become an iconic business, commerce and culture destination, giving India and its citizens a worldclass landmark," RIL said.

Launching initially with a dedication of the Dhirubhai Ambani Square, the Jio World Centre will have a phase-wise opening over the course of the current and the next year, it added. Commenting on the announcement, Nita Ambani said, "Jio World Centre is a tribute to our glorious nation and a reflection of the aspirations of New India. From the largest

conventions to cultural experiences to path breaking retail and dining facilities, Jio World Centre is envisioned as Mumbai's new landmark, a point where we come together to script the next chapter of India's growth story."

The centre is dedicated to RIL founder Dhirubhai Ambani and the city of Mumbai. It promises to become a must-see destination for local citizens and tourists from around the world. The Square is centered around the Fountain of Joy, a series of spectacular fountain shows of water, lights and music. RIL said that over 250 teachers from BMC schools and other schools across Mumbai were invited to attend the opening show as a mark of respect for their efforts in adapting to the new methods of teaching in last two years.

Centre, states push for 'The Kashmir Files' India temporarily shifts Vivek Agnihotri’s 'The Kashmir Files' opened to a massive opening in the box office when it was released last week.

Helmed by Anupam Kher, the film highlights the atrocities against Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s when they were killed, persecuted and forced to leave their homes overnight.

The film which outlines the brutalities endured by the Kashmiri Pandits has received a massive push from the Centre and states, with many making it tax free. It also got the prime minister’s nod when the makers met him last week.

PM Modi meets makers Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier met the makers of the movie in Delhi and appreciated the film which is based on the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s. Film director Vivek Agnihotri, his wife Pallavi Joshi and producer Abhishek met the PM. The movie was released on March 11 and has been receiving an unprecedented response from the audience.

Tax breaks The Haryana government has directed cinema halls and multiplexes to not charge state GST from patrons booking tickets of 'The Kashmir Files'.

Theatres and multiplexes have also been directed not to increase the ticket prices as well as not make any changes to the seating capacity. The order will be in effect for six months from its date of issue.

Gujarat has also made the film taxfree in the state. The decision was made by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. Goa's caretaker Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced that film will be made tax free in the state and

will continue to be screened across the state with maximum possible shows.

Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje urged the state to give tax exemption to the film. “The Kashmir Files, based on the past situations and true events of Jammu and Kashmir, has been made tax-free in many states, including Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat. My request to the state government is to make this film tax-free in Rajasthan too," she tweeted.

The film has been exempted from paying tax in Uttar Pradesh by an order issued by the Chief Minister's Office.

Madhya Pradesh has also announced tax cuts. Bihar BJP MLA Sanjay Saraogi demanded the movie be made tax-free in the state. He raised the demand inside the House, while it was in session.

Maharashtra BJP MLA Mangal Prabhat Lodha urged the state government to exempt the movie from the

entertainment tax. At the state Assembly, Lodha said that many states have made the film tax-free and the move is being appreciated by the audience.

Tripura has also announced tax cuts to encourage more people to watch the film. Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb appealed to the people to watch the movie. In the Lok Sabha, the BJP demanded that the movie be exempted from the entertainment tax.

Participating in the debate on the Jammu and Kashmir Budget in Lok Sabha, BJP member Jamyang Tsering Namgyal said the film is exposing the bitter truth and hence it should be exempted from entertainment tax.

Janata Dal (United) member Sunil Kumar Pintu, too, demanded that the movie be made tax-free, saying the movie reveals the plight of Kashmiri Pandits. Karnataka also exempted the film from entertainment tax.

PM Modi meets makers Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier met the makers of the movie in Delhi and appreciated the movie which is based on the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s. Film director Vivek Agnihotri, his wife Pallavi Joshi and producer Abhishek met the PM. The movie was released on March 11 and has been receiving an unprecedented response from the audience.

its Ukraine embassy to Poland for now With the security situation fast deteriorating in Kyiv, the government said the Indian embassy in Ukraine will shift temporarily to Poland.

The announcement followed a meeting of the cabinet committee on security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on India’s security preparedness and the prevailing global situation in the context of the Ukraine conflict.

Most Indian embassy officials had already shifted to Lviv near Ukraine’s border with Poland. The conflict, however, has engulfed western Ukraine too with Russia reported to have launched missile attacks on military bases near Lviv.

“In view of the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Ukraine, including attacks in the western parts of the country, it has been decided that the Indian embassy in Ukraine will be temporarily relocated in Poland. The situation will be reassessed in the light of further developments,” the ministry of external affairs said in a statement. Going by the inputs it has received from several European capitals, the government believes the conflict will see a further escalation in the next few days.

In the CCS meeting, Modi was briefed on the latest developments and different aspects of India’s security preparedness in the border areas as well as in the maritime and air domain, according to a press release. “The PM was also briefed on . . . Operation Ganga to evacuate Indian nationals, along with some citizens of India’s neighbouring countries, from Ukraine,” it said. According to the statement, Modi said all possible efforts should be made to bring back the mortal remains of Naveen Shekharappa, the Indian student who died in Kharkiv. It is learnt that the “accidental” firing of a missile by India that landed in Pakistan was also discussed in the meeting.

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SOUTH INDIA

in brief

SC grants bail to lifer Perarivalan in Rajiv killing case NEW DELHI: Taking note of the fact that he has already spent 32 years in jail and there has been inordinate delay in deciding his remission plea which is still pending, the Supreme Court granted bail to A G Perarivalan who is undergoing life imprisonment in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

While granting relief to Perarivalan, a bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and B R Gavai also raised question on how can the governor refer his remission petition to the President despite the state cabinet recommendation to allow his plea.

Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj, appearing for the Centre, opposed the bail plea

A G Perarivalan

and said it is for the appropriate authority to take a decision on remission petition and in this case it is the President. He also contended that Perarivalan had already availed of the benefit of remission when his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. But the bench reminded him that it was done by the apex court and not by the state government.

The Centre told the court

that the governor forwarded the application to it on the ground that it is to be decided by the President.

In an affidavit filed by the home ministry, the governement said, “The governor of Tamil Nadu considered all the facts on record and after perusal of relevant documents, recorded that the President is the appropriate competent authority to deal with the said request for remittance matter.

The proposal received by the central government will be processed in accordance with law.”

Perarivalan was awarded the death penalty in 1991 for his

involvement in the conspiracy to assassinate the former Prime Minister. He was charged for providing a 9-volt battery to coconspirator Sivarasan for the explosive device used to kill Gandhi. After he spent 20 years on death row, the Supreme Court commuted Perarivalan's death penalty to life imprisonment in February, 2014. Perarivalan had applied to the governor for pardon in December, 2015 and the Supreme Court in September 2018 asked the governor to decide the pardon plea “as he deemed fit”.

The state government in the same month had recommended to the governor to remit the sentence of all the seven convicts and release him forthwith.

PUNJAB

Cong pays a heavy price in Channi-Sidhu feud CHANDIGARH: Even as the jury is out on who takes the bigger blame for the Congress debacle outgoing chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu or an Charanjit Singh Channi & Navjot Singh Sidhu indecisive high command the party could be headed for a massive shake-up after being reduced to mere 18 seats from its tally of 77 in 2017.

Party insiders fear that knives may be out soon after the dust settles on the election results. Amid the blame game, Sidhu could well be at the receiving end and his own loss in Amritsar (East) could put him on a weak wicket. At the same time, Channi - the Dalit face of the party brought in as a replacement for Amarinder Singh - failed to lead a successful campaign as he suffered defeat on both seats contested by him: Chamkaur Sahib and Bhadaur.

Now, with most of its bigwigs having lost, the party would have a tough time in even choosing its Leader of Opposition (LoP). The cancellation of the Congress Legislature Party meeting called by Sidhu is indicative of the disillusionment in the party. Leaders in the party have already begun to question the ticket allotment criterion. Under the shadow of a possible poaching by BJP’s alliance with Amarinder’s party, the Congress had also decided to re-nominate a majority of its sitting MLAs, including those who were dropped from the Cabinet when Channi took over.

Mann stakes claim to form govt in Punjab

Bhagwant Mann & Banwarilal Purohit

CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister-designate Bhagwant Mann staked claim to form the next government in the state, while the Punjab police withdrew nearly 400 personnel providing security to 122 former MLAs, including former state cabinet ministers. However, security cover provided on court directions or on the basis of protectees’ threat perceptions will continue.

“I met the governor, handed over a letter of support from our MLAs and staked claim… He accepted it and asked me wherever (sic) we wanted to hold the swearing in ceremony. It will be held at the native village of Bhagat Singh, Khatkar Kalan, on March 16,” he told reporters. Mann invited the people of the state to the function. Asked about his cabinet, Mann said that the council of ministers would take historic decisions that had not been taken so far. “But you will have to wait a bit for that,” he said.

The most - 21 police commandos - were withdrawn from former transport minister Amrinder Singh Raja Warring’s security, followed by 19 from former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, 17 from former education minister Pargat Singh, and 16 from former food and supplies minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu. Fifteen security personnel have been called back from covering former agriculture minister Randeep Singh Nabha and former forests minister SangatSingh Gilzian.

Navjot Kaur Sidhu, wife of Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, who had a security detail of seven personnel, will also have to do without them from now. Prominent among BJP and SAD leaders whose security cover will be taken away are Daljit Singh Cheema, Tota Singh, Sikandar Singh Maluka, Chunni Lal Bhaga, Manoranjan Kalia, Anil Joshi, Dinesh Babbu, Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, and former MLAs Sharanjit Dhillon and Pawan Kumar Tinu.

TMC to field Shatrughan Sinha and Babul Supriyo in bypolls After inducting national leaders like Yashwant Sinha, Sushmita Dev and Luizinho Faleiro, actor-turnedpolitician Sinha is the TMC’s latest catch as part of its national expansion plan. By bringing in prominent and senior leaders with a national-level presence, the TMC is trying to project itself as a truly national party having a sound arsenal to go after the BJP. The party intends to gain from their experience to put up a strong opposition in both houses of the Parliament.

Sinha is also a former BJP leader who quit the saffron camp to join the Congress. He unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Patna Sahib in Bihar on a Congress ticket. Supriyo too is a former Union minister and two-time BJP MP from Asansol. By making them party candidates, Mamata is drawing strength from the BJP and Congress and building her own party. She is also

The Returning Officer (RO) attached to T Kallupatti panchayat in Madurai district admitted he had changed the civic poll result for Ward 10 there in favour of the DMK candidate due to the pressure exerted by the local ruling party functionaries. The RO made the admission when an independent candidate challenged the declaration of the RO made on February 22 came up for hearing before the bench Madras high court. According to the petitioner, she and her opponent R Subbulakshmi of the DMK had secured an equal number of votes in the elections on February 19. Hence, a lot was conducted to decide the issue, which was videographed.

Though the lot went in her favour, the election officer declared Subbulakshmi as elected. When the matter came up for hearing, the bench called for the video clippings of the conduct of the lot.

Accordingly, the video clippings were produced and the bench found that the election officer had tampered with the result.

BADALS MAKE AN EXIT FROM ASSEMBLY The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) tasted its worst-ever defeat as it managed just three seats. Such was the force of AAP’s onslaught that none in the clan of five-time CM Parkash Singh Badal found a place in the assembly - for the first time in three decades. Not only did SAD president and Ferozepur MP Sukhbir Singh Badal lose his traditional Jalalabad assembly constituency, but also his father and party patron, Parkash Singh Badal, had to taste defeat from Lambi. The 100-year-old regional party was contesting on 97 assembly segments. The three SAD leaders who kept the party flag flying were: Manpreet Singh Ayali in Dakha, Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi in Banga and Ganieve Kaur Majithia in Majitha.

SAD’s alliance partner - Bahujan Samaj Party - could only win Nawanshahr constituency from where Nachhatar Pal defeated his nearest rival, Lalit Mohan Ballu of AAP. The most painful defeat for SAD, though, was that of 94-year-old Badal senior, who had the enviable record of never losing a poll in 10 consecutive assembly elections.

MLAS SUSPENDED FOR DISRUPTING GOVERNOR'S SPEECH

WEST BENGAL

KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee announced that Shatrughan Sinha would be her party’s candidate for the Asansol Lok Sabha bypoll and former union minister Babul Supriyo as the nominee for the Ballygunge Assembly byelection. While Supriyo quit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and joined the TMC in September last year, Sinha is yet to join Mamata's TMC. By-elections to both the seats will be held on April 12. The Asansol seat fell vacant after Supriyo resigned as the BJP Member of Parliament from the seat from where he had won the election in 2014 and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. He has been made the TMC candidate from the Ballygunge Assembly constituency in Kolkata, which fell vacant after the demise of former state minister and veteran party leader Subrata Mukherjee in November last year.

TN OFFICIAL ADMITS TO TAMPERING WITH POLL RESULT

Shatrughan Sinha & Babul Supriyo

sending a message to fence-sitters that if they follow suit then they will be met with similar rewards.

The Asansol Lok Sabha constituency consists of a mixed population of coal mine workers, factory workers, scrap dealers and minority population. About 50 per cent of the electorate are Hindi-speaking and therefore a candidate like Sinha, who is a popular face, is a well-chosen persona to connect with them.

Similarly, the Ballygunge Assembly constituency too has a sizeable non-Bengali population. Babul Supriyo with his image of a playback singer is likely to draw their support.

BJP lawmakers Sudip Mukhopadhyay and Mihir Goswami were suspended from attending the West Bengal assembly for the rest of the budget session for creating disturbances in the House during Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar's inaugural speech. The motion was brought by the state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee seeking the suspension of the BJP MLAs for the rest of the current session of the House and was put to vote

by Speaker Biman Banerjee. Moving the motion in the Assembly, Chatterjee said that Goswami, who represents Natabari and Mukhopadhyay, who is the Purulia MLA, had indulged in slogan shouting, waving placards and creating disturbance during the governor's address on March 7. The motion was passed by voice vote. The governor had on that day tabled his address after reading the first and last lines of his speech in the midst of the din created by the opposition BJP.

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Gandhi family offers to step back, Cong rejects offer In a new development that appeared to be a response to a restiveness in Congress sparked by its debacle in the state polls, party president Sonia Gandhi told the Congress Working Committee “we three” (she, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra) were ready to “step back” if it is felt their leadership lacks steadiness, shocking the gathering of elite party members and eliciting a unanimous chorus rejecting the offer.

Sources said the entire gathering, including the leading lights of the ‘rebel G-23’ Ghulam Nabi Azad, said “no” and asked her to continue. Azad even told Sonia “we” have never questioned your leadership, but only flagged the flaws in the party management.

Before Sunday’s meeting, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and some others like Karnataka Congress chief D K Shivakumar as well as a throng of party workers outside the AICC

office demanded Rahul Gandhi should take up the top post again.

Demand for rejig in the party brass has been a recurring theme in Congress and CWC meetings, but remains to be met as organisational elections, which will conclude with the election of a new chief, are scheduled for September.

Sonia, according to sources, said, "For me the INC is important. We are ready to make any sacrifices. If it is felt that the Gandhi family is

not able to do it, then we three are ready to step back. " A statement released after the meeting said, “The CWC reaffirmed faith in the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and requested her to lead from the front, address the organisational weaknesses, effect necessary and comprehensive organisational changes in order to take on the political challenges.” It also expressed concern over the poll debacle.

The discussions witnessed critical remarks from members. Azad brought up the issue of organizational management that has been a key concern with the dissenting bloc. He spoke pointedly that

Hijab ban challenged in SC after Karnataka HC upholds it The hijab is not an essential religious practice, the Karnataka High Court said as it backed a ban on hijabs in classrooms, weeks after violent protests in many parts of the state against the restriction. The order has been challenged in the Supreme Court by Niba Naaz, a student who was not among the five who had originally petitioned against the hijab ban.

"We are of the considered opinion that wearing of hijab by Muslim women does not form a part of essential religious practice in Islamic faith," said the Karnataka High Court, refusing to strike down the state government's ban and dismissing the students' petitions.

In an order on February 5, the Karnataka govern-

ment had banned clothes "which disturb equality, integrity and public order" in schools and colleges.

Upholding that order, the High Court said a school uniform is a reasonable restriction that students cannot object to.

Schools had reasonable grounds to impose dress codes that forbade the hijab in the interests of preventing divisions on religion and other grounds, the judgment said. "The aim of the regulation is to create a 'safe space'... and the ideals of egalitarianism should be readily apparent to all students," it said.

"The constitution allows us the right to profess our religion. We are shaken, we expected so much. We will not go to college without the hijab,"

the girls told reporters, vowing to fight the verdict.

The students had told the court that wearing the hijab is a fundamental right guaranteed under India's constitution and an essential practice.

Anticipating tension, the government had banned large gatherings in cities like Bengaluru, Mangaluru and Shivamogga for a week.

Schools and colleges are closed in Udupi, where the protests began in December.

The Karnataka High Court had earlier temporarily banned religious clothes, including Hijab and saffron scarves, last month as the controversy snowballed into protests and a face-off between different sections of students.

“decision making should be collective”- an unambiguous reference to the G-23 charge that party was being managed in an opaque manner by a small group of inexperienced leaders while veterans were not being consulted. Another G-23 leader Anand Sharma lamented that “we” are falsely defamed as rebels. He said there should be more communication in the party and CWC meetings.

While Congress leaders including Rahul stressed the need to strengthen the party and approach the elections with a strategy and agenda, the interesting aspect came during the discussions on Punjab where Congress was swept away from power by AAP, and in Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, where it fell way short of posting a challenge to the ruling BJP. Azad punched holes in the party’s approach in Punjab, criticising that AICC general secretary

Harish Rawat continued with his Punjab charge right till the elections even when he knew that he had to play a role in Uttarakhand.

He said the state’s manager should have been changed a good one and half years earlier. He also questioned the decision to remove Amarinder Singh as chief minister midstream.

As demanded by many in the CWC, Congress is likely to hold a ‘chintan shivir (brainstorming session)’ after the parliament session to send out a message of unity and intent to workers and leaders nationally. During the marathon discussions, in which state incharges Harish Chaudhary, Devender Yadav, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Dinesh Gundu Rao gave their reports on failure in elections, many suggestions were offered which included creating a separate ‘election management’ department.

A rude jolt for Capt in Patiala It was an rude jolt for Capt Amarinder Singh after a walkout from Congress six months ago. The two-time former chief minister was defeated in his pocket-borough Patiala after three consecutive terms from there since 2002.

Not only did he lose Patiala to AAP’s Ajit Pal Singh Kohli by a margin of 19,873 votes, his newly minted party - Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) – failed to bag a single seat despite the alliance with BJP. Amarinder led Congress to a 77-seat victory in the 2017 assembly elections and had celebrated his elevation as CM on his 75th birthday on March 11. At 79, barely months before the assembly elections, the scion of the erstwhile Patiala princely estate began his new political innings by breaking away from Congress, claiming that many senior leaders were waiting to follow suit and join him. Not a single Congress MLA crossed over, and his own loyalists Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi and Fateh Jung Bajwa preferred to join BJP over PLC. With the electoral drubbing, Amarinder’s grudge match with Congress remains, and his larger plan of emerging as a viable regional voice has come a cropper. His new friendships are not without complications either. Amarinder, who will turn 80 soon, is known to withdraw from the political scene when out of office and it remains to be seen if he continues to play an active political role in the state now. There is also uncertainty over the political future of his wife, Patiala MP Preneet Kaur, who has been served a show-cause notice by Congress for supporting Amarinder’s outfit in Patiala.

BJP retains its hold in 4 states, AAP ousts Cong in Punjab Continued from page 1 cessful salvage operation by Pushkar Singh The results mark an emphatic confirmation Dhami who, ironically, himself lost by a sigof BJP's status as the frontrunner and nificant margin. Interestingly, five seats in undercut the narrative that had gained Uttarakhand were decided by margins of ground, in the aftermath of the Bengal less than 1,000 votes. In both Goa and debacle, about Modi's diminished ability to Manipur, BJP survived anti-incumbency and swing elections other than for the Centre. defied predictions to improve its numbers.

While BJP may have lost some seats in The outright win in Manipur is a reaffirmaUP compared with its overwhelming majortion of BJP's emergence, in keeping with its ity in 2019, it's worth remembering that this growing footprint, as the main political is the first time in 70 years that a CM has force of the northeast. In Goa, which the returned to office. It bulldozed its way past party has won for the third time, it was haltthe SP-RLD combine, which enjoyed the ed at the midway mark but improved its backing of the ‘farmer leaders’. Neither the vote share. CM Pramod Sawant, in his new dissent of local MP Varun Gandhi nor the term, will be only marginally vulnerable to widely reported anger over the deaths of pressure from an ally. That the party confarmers in Lakhimpur Kheri could prevent vincingly defeated Congress's determined it from sweeping the region. challenge in Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur Even BJP's slightly slimmer returns add should make the victories even sweeter. up to a rock solid two-thirds majority. This Arguably the most grievous blow to was achieved despite BSP's disappearance, Congress was inflicted by AAP in Punjab. which turned the elections into a bipolar Congress-governed territory has shrunk fight against SP, virtually guaranteeing even further, in a manner reminiscent of Akhilesh Yadav the support of Muslims and failing empires besieged by rivals nibbling Yadavs, who make up 30% of the electorate. at their spheres of influence. Its demolition In the face of an attempt to revive the in Punjab puts a big question mark on the ‘upper caste versus OBC’ narrative, BJP sucparty's claim to be the natural leader of a ceeded in defying social divisions to raise its non-BJP alliance and leaves the Rahulvote share.

Priyanka duo vulnerable to challenge from Uttarakhand marked the first time since within. the creation of the state 22 years ago that the incumbent has retained office. The tally of 48 seats out of 70 is modest I HARIKRISHNASWAMI only when contrasted with the massive 57 the party bagged GURUATMAPRAKASHSWAMI five years ago. It has surpassed RESIDENT OF HARROW, UNITED the expectations of even hardcore BJP optimists and is tribKINGDOM DECLARES THAT I HAVE ute to the popularity of Modi, CHANGED MY NAME FROM who is synonymous with HARIKRISHNASWAMI ambitious development projects in the state and the sucGURUATMAPRAKASHSWAMI TO cessful vaccination campaign.

SWAMI HARIKRISHNA. It is also testimony to the suc-

Name Change

Late Dr. Natubhai Shah

The funeral of Jainratna Dr. Natubhai Shah, President and CEO of the Jain Network was held on 11 March at the Golders Green Crematorium.

Son Samirbhai and son-in-law Prof. Dr. Ajay Shah remembered Natubhai with fondness. Jayeshbhai Shah of the Oshwal Association performed the last rites while Dr. Shashiben Mehta recited the final prayer. Many political and community leaders were also present to pay their tributes to Natubhai.

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It would be great if the UK had a station like All India Radio Ragam - Baluji Shrivastav OBE

keep music alive remotely. We discovered that using Jamulus software which is FREE musicians can rehearse in real-time together! So I kept playing with members of my orchestra and music friends all over the world. I also had time to reflect and practice and develop some new compositions which I

by: Shefali Saxena Inner Vision Orchestra to Bradford-on-Avon for an indelible performance of spectacular artistry and passion. He spoke to Asian Voice about it. lease tell us a bit about your new projects.

How and when can our readers be a part of them?

I have a great tour coming up from March till October supported by the Arts Council and the City of London Corporation. First up is a concert at Keele University Concert Program Series with eight members of Inner Vision Orchestra featuring folk music from around the world.

Then at Ropetackle Arts Shoreham by Sea I am performing with maestro Sanju Sahai and the fabulous Jazz Orient including local jazz performers. Really it is an amazing variety of music and musicians I am working with including a new collaboration with the Hamdel Ensemble with Seyed Ali Jaberi from Iran.

Details are on the www.balujimusicfoundation.org website ow did the pandemic affect your work and more people like you when the arts community needed help and support?

The pandemic made me rethink how to

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Renowned instrumentalist and leader of the Inner Vision Orchestra - the world's only professional ensemble of blind musicians Baluji Shrivastav OBE was blinded at only 8 months.

Baluji battled adversity and stereotypes to become one of the world's most respected multi-instrumentalists. After working alongside artists including Boy George, Doves, Stevie Wonder, Shakira, Madness, and more, Baluji established the Baluji Music Foundation in 2008 – an organisation to support visually impaired musicians which in turn founded The Inner Vision Orchestra.

The orchestra is the world’s only professional ensemble of blind and partially sighted musicians, established to challenge the barriers Baluji faced as a child and reached the international stage when they performed at the Closing Ceremony of the Paralympics at the London 2012 games.

Baluji has two exciting shows on the horizon, with April 2nd seeing him perform alongside world-renowned opera singer Patricia Rozario OBE for a night of Goanese music while later on May 7th Baluji takes his

H

am still developing. I also presented some online music workshops and live-streamed concerts from the roof of my house and a TEDx filmed presentation. I also explored Western harmony and orchestration further. hat can we learn from the pandemic as a community in terms of reviving arts and sustaining work for specially-abled artists like you? Are there enough arrangements and facilities to support your craft?

In the pandemic, we all suffer from isolation, though some more than others. I am very grateful to the Arts Council for its emergency support which enabled me to survive and for the encouragement of my friends and family. At such times we all have to support each other. hat is your opinion of present-day music across the globe, especially in India?

It would be great if the UK had a station like All India Radio Ragam or Sandesh Radio which celebrates the vast musical treasures of Indian Classical Music. Indian music has the potential to interact with so many different kinds of music due to its melodic and rhythmic versatility. At its heart are improvisation and spontaneity. I am thrilled at the opportunities to interact with artists like Malu in Madrid, and artists like Massive Attack and Stevie Wonder. The whole earth is my family-Vasudhaiv kutumbhakam (Sanskrit)! I want to play with everyone, anywhere! Make music, not war!

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Groundbreaking new drama is about family, identity and a journey beyond barriers A musical celebration of South Asian queer love and community, Queer Parivaar premieres at BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival 2022 on 17th March.

Selected for the now sold-out Family Affairs shorts programme, Queer Parivaar aims to help drive important conversations around trans, non-binary, and gender nonconforming identities through its visual representations of queer joy and love.

Introducing a sensitive storyline with a young nonbinary lead and an elderly queer character, through a commercial and culturally significant setting - a wedding, complete with a musical experience, allows the film to be accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds.

Shiva Raichandani, Director, Producer, and Screenwriter, said, “Showcasing positive and joyful imageries of queer south Asians in love and being loved for who they are is incredibly powerful and rare. I created Queer Parivaar to let people be part of a film that brings those identities and their wider intersections to the forefront - both on and off-screen. It’s a celebration of the many ways in which we find love from others, like chosen families, and from ourselves. To have Queer Parivaar debut at the prestigious BFI Flare is

nothing short of a dream come true.”

Queer Parivaar narrates the story of a queer couple forced to face past secrets when an estranged family member crashes their wedding. It brings together members of the British Asian LGBTQ+ community and challenges stereotypical and heteronormative love as seen in mainstream cinema. The film explores non-binary gender identities, South Asian LGBTQ+ weddings, interfaith romances, chosen families, and intergenerational differences.

The Queer Parivaar cast includes London icons such as Britain's first out Muslim drag queen Asifa Lahore, beloved musician and DJ Ritu Khurana, as well as intersex activist Anick Soni. The original soundtrack includes an array of acclaimed talent including Rushil, Abi Sampa (The Voice), Leo Kalyan, Grammynominated MNEK and Oscar-nominated Bombay Jayashri.

Queer Parivaar was financed through several crowdfunding campaigns with over 150 donors worldwide, and executive producer Huma Qazi. The film created jobs for over 120 artists from the global majority, 90% of whom identify under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella, with age ranges from 6 to 70. The

core cast comprises people who identify as trans, non-binary, bisexual, lesbian, gay, intersex, and/or queer.

Huma Qazi, Executive Producer, said, “South Asians, our lives are inextricably intertwined with our families. Intergenerational relationships, traditions and high expectations. Live drama, every day, that we learn to navigate. Add a layer of being queer, everything is heightened and subdued at the same time. We find comfort and belonging outside our own family units, those who become our chosen family. Queer Parivaar is important storytelling for all generations and all cultures. It gives audiences a glimpse into parts of our community, relationships, identity and simply being loved for who you are.”

Queer Parivaar premieres at the BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival 2022 on 17th, and 18th March.

The 15th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival celebrates literature, art and music at its new home ‘The greatest literary show on Earth’ began with a bright sunny morning at its new home, Hotel Clarks, Amer in Jaipur. Early risers flocked to grab seats to savour the calming strains of the Morning Music at the Front Lawn. Morning Music led the way to the inaugural session with a scintillating performance of Raag Miya Ki Todi by Ujwal Nagar, maestro of Hindustani classical music and lead classical singer of the Indian fusion band Advaita. Nagar began the performance by expressing that it was his pleasure to be performing at the Jaipur Literature Festival 2022. It was an astounding start to the 15th edition of the celebration of ideas.

After an exhilarating rendition by Nagar,

the event proceeded with inaugural addresses by Keynote Speakers – writer and academic Harish Trivedi and UN Resident Coordinator for India since 2021, Shombi Sharp - along with Festival Directors and the Festival Producer.

In his welcome speech, Festival Producer and Managing Director of Teamwork Arts, Sanjoy K. Roy said, “We welcome you all to the ongoing Jaipur Literature Festival. Last year, we were able to pivot online and through our digital series JLF Brave New World, JLF WORDS ARE BRIDGES, and the 2021 Jaipur Literature Festival, which was entirely digital – reached over 27.5 million people across the world. It's the first year that we have taken the Festival hybrid; we started on the 5th of March and will be on till the 14th of March. So, it's a ten-day programme of incredible riches! This year, it's not just new additions to the Festival but a new home too. We are extremely delighted to be celebrating the 15th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival at Hotel Clarks, Amer.”

Addressing the audience, Festival Codirector, Namita Gokhale said, “Though I am deeply honoured to be receiving the Sahitya Akademi Award, yet I am here for the Festival in Jaipur and not in Delhi to receive it because my award is you and this prestigious Festival.” She also added, “Coming back again to the Festival makes me emotional as I remember previous editions of the literary extravaganza featuring various writers and their stories.”

Author, historian & Festival Co-director William Dalrymple said, “I think the pandemic has been hard for everyone but the performing arts, in particular, have found it an existential threat… with music, dance & theatre - have had their lives very very severely threatened by the economics of the lockdown. But now we are back and in this wonderful new venue and as Namita said, with four Nobel Prize winners!”

First Hindi-language novel nominated for International Booker Prize Geetanjali Shree’s Tomb of Sand has become the first Hindi-language novel to be nominated for the International Booker Prize when it made the longlist last week.

Originally published as Ret Samadhi in 2018, the novel was translated into English by Daisy Rockwell. It

tells the story of an Indian woman who, at the age of 80, slips into depression after her husband’s death and travels to Pakistan to confront, as the book’s blurb describes, “the unresolved trauma of her teenage experiences of Partition, and re-evaluating what it means to be a mother, a daughter, a woman, a feminist".

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Reading out loud can create Music mixed with auditory beat positive outcomes for children stimulation can reduce anxiety New research from the University of South Australia shows that reading aloud can build a child’s resilience at school, especially for at-risk children.

The research was published in the journal Child Abuse & Neglect. This is the first study that has shown the benefits of reading to mitigate some of the detrimental trajectories of child maltreatment.

The study explored factors that could modify the negative effects of adverse life circumstances, finding that one of the biggest predictors of resilience in both boys and girls in struggling families was being read to at home. In Australia in 2021, nearly 300,000 children aged zero to 17 years had one or more child protection notifications with 105,000 the subject of an investigation and nearly 50,000 the subject of substantiated abuse or neglect.

Lead researcher Professor Leonie Segal said there is an acute need to support these children and their families before the

children start school. She said, “A good start to school is predictive of later outcomes, so it’s vital that we not only identify those at risk early on but also find ways to support children’s emotional, social and physical development before they start school.”

She added, “Reading out loud can create many positive outcomes for children.

As a shared experience between parent and child, it encourages connection, while also directly contributing to child development through exposure to words and stories. Children in families that are struggling to create a nurturing environment will especially benefit from reading with a parent or carer, improving their resilience and keeping

Screening tool detects autism in toddlers aged 12-24 months Researchers at Australia’s La Trobe University in Melbourne tested an early screening tool they had developed for autism in a five-year study of more than 13,500 children.

They found that 83 per cent of children aged between 12 and 24 months, who were “flagged by the

tool” were later diagnosed with autism.

Lead researcher Josephine Barbaro was quoted as saying, “Children diagnosed early demonstrated better verbal and overall cognition at school age, were more likely to attend mainstream school and required less ongoing

them developmentally more on track, despite their adversity exposure.”

The study analysed data covering 65,083 children who had completed the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) at five to six years old, when starting primary school, identifying 3,414 high-risk children who had experienced maltreatment.

“Our study found that boys had a much higher risk of being developmentally behind than girls, as did children living in remote or rural areas, and those with a physical, sensory, or learning disability. All these groups need far greater supports,” Prof Segal said.

“Paying particular attention to boys, especially those who are victims of child maltreatment is critical.

Encouraging parents to read to their boys while valuable, is not enough, the onus is on the education sector to identify other mechanisms to support boys,” she added. support than children diagnosed later.”

Diagnosis tool translated into eight languages.

The new tool, known as Social Attention and Communication Surveillance (SACS) has two elements: SACSRevised and SACSPreschool. Barbaro wrote that a meta-analysis of 13 studies found that current tests like M-CHAT (Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers) had a “pooled positive predictive value (or accuracy) of six per cent” when used in socalled ‘low risk’ community

A recent study suggests treatments integrating music and auditory beat stimulation are effective in reducing anxiety in some patients. The study by Adiel Mallik and Frank Russo of the Ryerson University, Canada, was published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE. Anxiety has been steadily increasing, especially in the adolescent and young adult populations.

Studies have previously shown that listening to music can reduce anxiety, however, quantitative data on the effects of personalised music on anxiety has been lacking. In the new study, the researchers randomised 163 patients' antianxiety medications to participate in an at-home treatment session involving music, auditory beat stimulation, both, or pink noise, background sounds similar to white noise.

Auditory beat stimulation involves combinations of tones, played in one or both ears, designed to trigger changes to brain activisettings, lower than SACSR’s 83 per cent accuracy.

The SACS tool has been translated into eight languages and used in 11 countries - Bangladesh, China, Italy, Japan, Nepal, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Barbaro said, “Putting this extremely effective tool in the hands of a trained primary health professional, so that during their routine health checks they are also screening for autism, makes a huge difference to early diagnosis.”

Shift work linked to poorer working memory: Study Research suggests that shift work is linked to poorer working memory and slower mental. Researchers also associated it with lower levels of alertness and visual focus, and the ability to control impulses and situational response, potentially heightening the risk of workplace injuries and errors.

Shift work has been linked to serious health issues as a result of the internal body clock being out of step with the normal lightdark cycle. Issues include sleep disorders, cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, mood disorders, and substance abuse. In total, 18 studies published between 2005 and 2020, involving 18,802 participants and covering six different outcomes measured by formal tests, were included.

The outcomes were: processing speed; working memory; alertness (psychomotor vigilance); impulse control and situational response (cognitive control); ability to filter out unimportant visual cues (visual attention); and ability to unconsciously shift between tasks (task switching). Results of the studies were pooled and featured significantly worse performance in shift workers than other types of workers for five of the six outcomes assessed. There was a large effect for impulse control and situational response, while the effect for processing speed, working memory, alertness and ability to filter out unimportant visual clues was significant but small.

The researchers said, “Reduced neurobehavioral performance in shift workers

might play an important role regarding work-related injuries and errors.

Protective countermeasures (eg: naps, recovery plans, regular monitoring) for a reduction in neurobehavioural performance of shift workers should be promoted to minimise the risk of adverse

health and work-related outcomes.”

They added, “When a more consistent body of high-quality literature is available, we highly recommend replication of analysis to develop practical interventions to overcome neurobehavioural impairment.”

ty. In all groups, patients were asked to download a customised application on their smartphone for the treatment, close their eyes, and listen to a 24-minute session. The music was selected for each patient using LUCID’s artificial intelligence which curates music based on the patient’s emotional state and music preferences.

Among people with moderate anxiety before the treatment session, greater reductions in somatic anxiety- the physical symptoms of anxietywere seen in people who listened to both music and ABS (p=0.04, effect size=0.83), or those who listened to music alone

(p=0.05, effect size=0.52), compared to those who listened to pink noise. Among people with high trait anxiety before the session, the music-alone group had significantly higher reductions in anxiety compared to the ABS-alone group (p=0.04, effect size=0.72).

The authors said, “With the pandemic and remote work, there has been a remarkable uptick in the use of digital health tools to support mental health. The results of this clinical trial indicate great promise for the use of digital health tools, such as LUCID’s digital music therapy, in the management of anxiety and other mental health conditions.”

Taking painkillers regularly can cause hearing loss Experts say that if you are in the habit of regularly consuming over the counter painkillers, you may be at risk of hearing loss. “Excessive drug abuse, use of painkillers, patients on dialysis, or anti-cancer drugs, persistent noise pollution are high-risk factors of losing the hearing ability if not addressed timely,” said Sumit Mrig, Principal Consultant and Head ENT at Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital.

A recent study found that people who frequently used over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or acetaminophen had an almost 20% increased risk of developing tinnitus. Dr Atul Kumar Mittal, Director, Ear Nose and Throat, Fortis Memorial Research Institute said drug related hearing loss is known as ototoxicity. “It causes sensorineural hearing loss where the hair cells of the hearing nerve get affected. It can cause a sudden hearing loss or gradual progressive hearing loss,” Mittal said.

“However ototoxicity is caused only if painkillers are taken in higher doses for a prolonged period of time,” he added. Few drugs, especially some antibiotics and chemotherapy agents, are also very well known to cause ototoxicity. But it is usually found to be reversible after stopping medication, Mittal said.

But does this mean one should think twice before popping a pill for headache or back pain?

Using the medications judiciously and limiting their use as much as possible, is the key, the experts noted.

You may not need 10,000 steps a day to stay healthy The 10,000-steps-a-day health mantra may not be accurate, and people may need fewer steps to live healthier for longer, according to a new study published in ‘The Lancet’.

For adults over 60 years of age and older, the risk of premature death levelled off at about 6,000-8,000 steps per day, meaning that more steps than that provided no additional benefit for longevity. Adults younger than 60 saw the risk of premature death stabilise at about 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day, said the study

conducted by University of Massachusetts. It analysed 15 studies covering 47,471 adults from Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America to look at the correlation between optimum number of steps per day and reduced risk of death. “Adults in the highest steps per day quartile had a 40% to 53% lower risk of mortality.

Taking more steps per day was associated with a progressively lower risk of all cause mortality,” it said.

Dr Aashish Contractor from HN Reliance Hospital, Girgaum, said the

10,000 step-a-day theory was a part of a marketing campaign of a Japanese manufacturer of pedometers. “There was no scientific study done about the 10,00,000 steps, but newer research has shown that 7,000 could be the magic figure,” he said.

Earlier studies by the University of Massachusetts team showed that men and women who took at least 7,000 steps per day had a 50% to 70% lower risk for mortality than those who took fewer than 7,000 steps per day.

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eeing a promising actor comfortable enough to be vulnerable on screen as a character is a virtue that Bollywood is still working on, but Vidya Balan seems to have mastered it in her last few films.

In an exclusive interview with Asian Voice, Vidya commented on vulnerability saying, “I just think that all of us have a selfimage. And especially as someone in the public sphere as an actor, whose life is public, I think I want people to know me through my work and not so much through what I do outside the screen. But even there, you' re cautious. You want people to see you a certain way, which marries in with your self-image or which is an extension of your self-image. But I think something in me changed post the pandemic. And I realised that you can't really box people.

“There's no black and white. Most of it is gray. I think it is when I was open to embracing the gray me in Jalsa. I said I'm doing this because I was okay for people to see me even as an actor in a different light.

Because I was willing to see myself differently.”

The trailer of 'Jalsa', her upcoming film on Amazon Prime Video shows some glimpses of issues, weaved within a thriller that may lead the audience to believe that the movie tackles prime gender-based issues, but Vidya says that’s not all.

“I think more importantly, here, when you watch the film, you'll realise that it happens to be an 18-year-old girl who meets with an accident, but it could have been an 18-year-old boy or a 45-year-old woman or a 60-year-old man, that is irrelevant. It's the fact that there's one person who meets with an accident. But there are many who come under that bus. If you know what I mean. It is a sort of a cause and effect. It is how one thing sets into motion.

“So many things that we don't even realise, and it's the domino effect. And what

Vidya Balan I was open to embracing the gray me in Jalsa

by: Shefali Saxena are the choices that people make in such situations because it's very easy for anyone to sit in judgment and say that this person should have behaved a certain way or shouldn't have behaved a certain way? But who is to say what is right and wrong? Until you yourself are in that situation?” she told Asian Voice.

She further added, “I think that's probably the larger point it makes, if at all.

Most importantly, it's a human story and there will be many takeaways, hopefully, different people will like you just related to London. And but it's not just about this happening to a girl. That was my point.”

Vidya shares screen space with Shefali Shah in Jalsa. Talking about that, she said, “I'm

glad that we got to work together. She's an actor I've long admired, and I'm glad I got to share screen space with her. It was wonderful.”

Vidya’s choice of films has been on point despite the OTT versus theatrical debate. With three OTT releases during the pandemic, Vidya seems to have cracked the code. She said, “The birth of the OTT has actually exposed audiences to all kinds of content, stories, and characters. So all kinds of treatments and genres. I think we're there. Now we know that we don't have to stick to telling one kind of story with one kind of hero, male or female, we can just tell any story. The OTT platforms require you to be more personal and the

stories to be more personal and intimate.

It's more like an experience and it's not a collective experience, unlike in the theatre, I think that allows for the exploration of different kinds of content.

“I don't know about that, honestly. I'm so grateful that we could release Shakuntala on Prime Video. And at that time, we didn't have a sense of how films would be received on OTT. Shakuntala received so much love from all over the world. And in a staggered way, it's not just about that weekend, or it's not just about that first week, or what happens in the theatrical releases, the reactions are concentrated, I still get messages about Shakuntala. So Prime Video has been amazing for me.”

Vidya further added, “I think the parameters of success have definitely changed because OTT is a different ballgame altogether. And you don't even have numbers to I'm sure the platforms have numbers, or the basis of the number of views, completed views, they can gauge but we don't get that information. But irrespective, I think the parameters have definitely changed and liberate you as an artist. Honestly I'm enjoying this, but I know that when I have a theatrical I'll enjoy that also. I want it all. I want to have fans on OTT and theatrical releases too.”

'Jalsa’s' gripping trailer introduces us to the two lead characters – Maya (Vidya Balan) and Rukshana (Shefali Shah), a world with the chaos around them, secrets and lies, truths and deceit and a lifealtering incident that ruffles the world around them. What follows is a duel of redemption and retribution. Backed with a riveting narrative, Jalsa thrives on stupendous performances and engaging storytelling that promise to leave you awed and spellbound. The drama thriller will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on March 18.

Farhan is in a 'very happy space' post-wedding

Priyanka all praises for Indian documentary ‘Writing With Fire’

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riyanka Chopra took to her Instagram Stories recently to give a much-deserved shout-out to Oscarnominated Indian documentary ‘Writing With Fire’.

Filmmakers Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh’s documentary has been nominated for the 94th Academy Awards in the Best Documentary Feature category.

Ajay Devgn learns new trends, fads from his kids Nysa and Yug

ctor Farhan Akhtar tied the knot with his girlfriend actor Shibani Dandekar last month. The two got married in an intimate ceremony at Javed Akhtar’s farmhouse in Khandala. Speaking in an interview recently, when asked if he feels any difference in his relationship with his now-wife, Farhan said, “I don’t know if it feels any different. Shibani and I have been together for many years now. So, on some level, this puts some kind of an official tag to it. But apart from that, our relationship is amazing. It has been since we started dating and we’ve taken this to another level together. This just feels great as always.”

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Priyanka took to her Instagram and wrote, “Loved this movie! Way to go team @writingwithfire.film.

Congratulations on a much-deserved Oscar nomination! @kl_meera @suneetaprajapati7 @rintuthomas @mentalsyrup.”

The movie follows Khabar Lahariya, a rural newspaper run by Dalit women. It explores the newspaper’s transition from print to digital in recent years and follows Meera and her fellow journalists as they get acquainted with new technology whilst questioning patriarchy, the police force, and reporting stories about caste and gender-related violence.

‘Writing With Fire’ faces competition from ‘Ascension’, ‘Attica’, ‘Flee, and ‘Summer of the Soul’. The documentary had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2021, where it won the Audience Award and a Special Jury Award. The 2022 Oscars are scheduled to take place on March 28.

ctor Ajay Devgn has always been one to maintain a low profile, and keep away from new trends on social media. In a recent media interaction, the actor admitted that whenever he does need to keep himself updated on what’s going on in the world, he turns to his children Nysa and Yug. He admitted that they often call him out for using “old fashion”.

Married to actress Kajol, the celebrity duo are parents to 18-year-old Nysa, and 11-year-old Yug. In an interview, Devgn said, “I think we all learn from the younger generation. If we have to keep up with the world, we need to understand from them. Apart from my kids, my nephews, and everybody who is younger around me, we actually ask them what’s cool because the language is also changing every three months. I mean there are terms which are used and then you learn that term and use it and after three months, they turn around and say, ‘Pops, this is old fashion!”

He added that one must always keep up with the times. “So you need to keep up and to do that, you need to have lots of conversations and need to learn from them. This is what I believe.”

On the work front, Ajay was last seen in the web series ‘Rudra’, which is the Indian adaptation of ‘Luther’.

It is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar. The actor also had an extended cameo in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Alia Bhatt-starrer 'Gangubai Kathiawadi.'

Their wedding on February 19, this year, saw close friends and family in attendance, including Farhan’s father Javed and his wife Shabana, Farhan’s mother Honey Irani, sister Zoya, Shibani’s sister Arusha Dandekar, friend Rhea Chakraborty, actor Hrithik Roshan, filmmaker Farah Khan, and others.

The two dated for four years before tying the knot.

Shibani had earlier said that the Covid-19 lockdown ensured they get to know each other “much quicker” than they would have otherwise. She said, “We already do so much together, in terms of, we work out together, we watch content together, we would play with our dogs together, we watch content together, we would play with our dogs together, and then he would go off and work and I would go off and work.”

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Jacqueline emphasises on the importance of therapy B

ollywood’s happy-go-lucky girl Jacqueline Fernandez has all of our hearts. The always cheerful and happy actress recently spoke about a phase when she felt really lonely during the first lockdown. She said she sought help from a therapist, which really helped her.

Speaking with Shilpa Shetty on her show ‘Shape Of You’, Jackie said, “In 2020, right after the pandemic, I realised I was possibly going through loneliness. There are so many people who actually live alone in the city and they don’t have their families with them. So, you don’t have people to talk to. And there’s a lot of times, it is in my personality as well, I don’t want to keep bogging people down

Akshay believes in the phrase 'Budget hit toh film hit'

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ne of the most successful actors in Bollywood, Akshay Kumar is known for delivering multiple hits each year, and from what we know, he currently has almost half a dozen movie projects in pipeline. Gearing up for the release of his first film this year, ‘Bachchhan Paandey’, Akshay says he does films that are made on a controlled budget and are wrapped up within a time limit.

Speaking in an interview, Akshay said, “I am a strong believer of the phrase ‘Budget hit toh film hit’. I have never wasted money and respected everyone’s time. I make it a point to respect my coactors and crew’s time, so that the time can respect me back.”

He added, “One can’t give more than 45 to 50 days to a film and if you shoot a film in this time span, your budget will always be under control. I can’t work in a film that requires more than 100 days of shoot.”

Akshay admits he is not a method actor. “I am not the one to lock myself in a room, Mere liye, acting karo, aur ghar chale jao (For me, one should act and go home).”

Last seen in an extended cameo in ‘Atrangi Re’, Akshay has ‘Prithviraj’, ‘Rakish Bandhan’, ‘Ram Setu’, and ‘OMG 2 - Oh My God!’ in the pipeline.

with my problem or my issues. So, I don’t want to bring up things that might seem sad or depressing around friends or even family, because I don’t like them knowing that I am struggling or sad or lonely.”

She added, “So, I did seek help. I had this amazing therapist. I was doing therapy for some time. And it is amazing.” Jackie added that it is amazing for people to have somebody solid to talk to. “People think therapy is useless because what are they going to tell you. But actually, it is for your own self-reflection, which sometimes you don’t take the time to do. It helped me so much.”

On the work front, Jacqueline has the release of Akshay Kumar’s ‘Bachchhan Paandey’ and John Abraham’s ‘Attack’ in the works.

Shah Rukh’s ‘Pathan’ designed as the biggest action spectacle, says director

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ilmmaker Siddharth Anand confesses he is under a lot of pressure and responsibility with his upcoming movie ‘Pathaan’ as it will serve as Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s comeback after a gap of more than three years. With the movie, Anand brings back the superheat pairing of actors Shah Rukh and Deepika Padukone. The duo has earlier worked together in ‘Om Shanti Om’, ‘Chennai Express’, and ‘Happy New Year’. ‘Pathaan’ also stars John Abraham in a pivotal role.

Talking about the movie, Siddharth said, “Pathaan has been designed to deliver the biggest action spectacle that audiences cannot even expect to see from the Hindi film industry.

We are carefully and strategically building the entire campaign to engineer some of the biggest moments for fan hysteria around Pathaan.

So, the date announcement video plays to the gallery big time. We knew that the fans were really

Ranbir plays protective partner, Alia all smiles

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tar couple Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt were recently photographed stepping out of a restaurant in Mumbai.

Dressed in all-white, Alia looked pretty as a picture and was seen smiling for the paparazzi even as boyfriend Ranbir dressed in a pair of white pants and a patterned shirt was seen holding her by the waist and wading through a crowd of adoring fans. While Ranbir made sure she safely passed through the groups, Alia was all smile.

The duo is all set to share screen space for the first time in Ayan Mukerji’s ‘Brahmastra’ which also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna, and Mouni Roy in significant parts. Alia is currently riding high from her latest release ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’. The Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial, which also stars Shantung Maheshwari, Ajay Devgn, Vijay Raaz, Seema Pahwa, and Jim Sarbh, sees her playing a real-life figure for the first time in her decade-long film career.

On the work front, Alia has SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus ‘RRR’ to look forward to. She will also mark her international debut with Gal Gadot’s ‘Heart of Stone’ for Netflix.

thirsty for us to announce the film, given we had kept a lid on it for way too long.”

Talking about the cast, , Siddharth said, “We have the most loved superstar of our generation, Shah Rukh with us. It is an honour and a responsibility for all of us. So, we really can’t misstep at any point and we ensured that this video was bang for the buck for everyone who was eagerly waiting for SRK to announce Pathaan! Add to that, we have the biggest female superstar of our country, Deepika in the film. This makes Pathan even more exciting as SRK and DP have delivered historic blockbusters.”

Shah Rukh announced the release date of ‘Pathaan’ in a video earlier this month.

He captioned it, “I know it’s late… But remember the date… Pathaan time starts now… See you in cinemas on 25th January, 2023. Releasing in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Celebrate #Pathaan with #YRF50 only at a big screen near you.”

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Don’t need to work in Bollywood to prove ourselves: Suriya

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ctor Suriya attended a press meet in Kochi recently, as part of the promotions of his upcoming movie ‘Etharkkum Thunindhavan’.

Speaking at the event, he said that south Indian actors like him don’t necessarily need to work in Bollywood to prove themselves.

“We will make them (Bollywood) talk about us by the work we are doing here. Of course, it’s a bigger industry and a bigger platform. If I get a chance, I’ll work in Bollywood. But I don’t think we need to go there to prove ourselves,” Suriya said. When asked if he’ll work in a Malayalam movie, the actor said, “I still can’t break the language barrier but I would like to do at least one movie in Malayalam.”

Talking about his movie ‘Ethurkkum Thunindhavan’, Suriya said it is a story that can happen in any family. “The movie talks about an issue which can happen in any family. However, instead of being silent about it, the movie shows how to handle such situations and how to communicate within the family when such issues happen.” directorial Pandiraj's ‘Etharkkum Thunindhavan’ hit the screens on March 10.

Prabhas reveals Kangana once shared an astrologer’s prediction

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ctor Prabhas’ new movie ‘Radhe Shyam’ features him in the role of a palmist with the ability to correctly predict the future. During the movie’s promotions recently, the actor recalled one incident where he heard a story about an astrologer’s prediction coming true. Prabhas said his co-star from the 2009 Telugu film ‘Ek Niranjan’, Kangana Ranaut recounted an incident involving an astrologer.

Talking with filmmaker SS Rajamouli as part of promotions for ‘Radhe Shyam’, Prabhas said, “Kangana told me this interesting thing back when we were shooting for ‘Ek Niranjan’. She grew up in a small

town related to the cinema at all.

She met an astrologer.

She went there and they told her she was going to be a heroine.”

Prabhas said Kangana did not believe it at the time. “She brushed it off thinking ‘I’m just a small-town girl and these people are fooling me with heroine talk’. We heard many incidents like this, which might have happened but I find them hard to believe.”

Prabhas’ period romantic drama hit the screens on March 11 to lukewarm critical reception. The film is directed by Radha Krishna Kumar and also stars Pooja Hegde.

Shruti drops video with 'permanently annoyed' boyfriend Santanu Hazarika

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ctress and singer Shruti Haasan shared a fun video over the weekend featuring her boyfriend Santanu Hazarika. The video, featuring audio of Patrick Wilson’s ‘Je the laisserai des mots’, features Haasan hugging her partner.

Sharing the video, Shruti wrote, “The song makes your last video look <3 unless your boy is permanently annoyed with you shooting him.” Later, she shared the video on Instagram with a message for Santanu. “@santanu_hazarika_art you have my lots of love from chipkoo,” the caption read. The pair have been dating for a long

time now.

Shruti is quite vocal about her relationship. Speaking on Mandira Bedi’s talk show ‘The Love Laugh Live Show’, she had revealed that the two started chatting online and had a lot of common interests. “Everything basically that I love”, she had said.

On the work front, Shruti was last seen in Amazon Prime Video’s ‘Bestseller’, alongside Mithun Chakraborty and Gauahar Khan and others. She is currently looking forward to the release of 'Salaar', which stars her with Prabhas. She will also be seen sharing the screen space in Chiranjeevi’s next.

Samantha pens a powerful note on judging women on the way they dress A

ctress Samantha Ruth Prabhu penned a note, talking about how women are easily judged for their outfits, race, and even skin tone.

In the post, she asked people to focus on “bettering” themselves instead of passing remarks about women based on their hemlines and necklines.

Sam wrote, “As a woman, I bear first hand knowledge of what it means to be judged. We judge women based on what they wear, their race, education, social standing, appearance, skin tone, and the list goes on and on. Making snap judgments about a person simply based on the clothes they wear is quite literally the easiest thing one can do.”

She adds, “Now that we’re in the year 2022, can we finally stop judging a woman based on the hemlines and declines she adorns and focus instead on bettering ourselves? Turning that judgment inward and training it on one's own self is evolution. Projecting our ideals on someone else never did anyone any good. Let’s gently rewrite the way we measure and understand a person.”

The post came a couple of days after she made a stunning appearance at an award show in Mumbai.

TV Listing

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 21 MAR - FRI 25 MAR 2022 6.00 Palav Bhini Preet 9.00 SHUBH PRABHAT 9.30 SUR PRABHAT 15.00 RASOI SHOW 17.30 SHRIMAD BHAGWAT MAHAPURAN 18.00 DESHI BEATS 18.30 SURI 19.00 BHAKT GORA KUMBHAR 19.30 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU 20.00 RASHI RIKSHAWALI 20.30 MOTI BAA NI NANI VAHU 21.00 SORATHNI MRS SINGHAM 21.30 GEETA SATURDAY 19 MAR 2022 6.00 Sol Somvar 9.00 SHUBH PRABHAT 9.30 SUR PRABHAT

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 21 MAR - FRI 25 MAR 2022 16.30 RASOI SHOW DESI FLAVOURS 17.30 CHHUTA CHHEDA 18.00 SASURAL SIMAR KA 18.30 TU AASHIQUI 19.00 BHAGYA KA LIKHA 20.00 SWARAN GHAR 20.30 DIL SE DIL TAK 21.00 THAPKI PYAR KI 2 21.30 SASURAL SIMAR KA 2

10.00 MOTU PATLU 11.00 GATTU BATTU 15.00 RASOI SHOW 17.30 SHRIMAD BHAGWAT MAHAPURAN 18.00 DESHI BEATS 18.30 SURI 19.00 BHAKT GORA KUMBHAR 19.30 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU 20.00 RASHI RIKSHAWALI 20.30 MOTI BAA NI NANI VAHU 21.00 SORATHNI MRS SINGHAM 21.30 GEETA SUNDAY 20 MAR 2022 9.00 SHUBH PRABHAT 9.30 SUR PRABHAT 10.00 MOTU PATLU 11.00 GATTU BATTU 12.00 Ghar Ek Pakhkhino Malo 15.00 Dhaakad 18.00 DESHI BEATS 18.30 MARU MAN MOHI GAYU 19.00 SHU CHALE CHE 19.30 GEETA 20.30 SORATHNI MRS SINGHAM 22.00 SHU CHALE CHE

SATURDAY 19 MAR 2022 15.00 SHU CHALE CHE 16.30 RASOI SHOW - DESI FLAVOURS 17.30 DESI BEAT 3 18.00 SASURAL SIMAR KA 18.30 TU AASHIQUI 19.00 BHAGYA KA LIKHA 20.00 COMEDY NIGHTS WITH KAPIL 21.00 THAPKI PYAR KI 2 21.30 SASURAL SIMAR KA 2 SUNDAY 20 MAR 2022 16.30 RASOI SHOW - DESI FLAVOURS 17.30 DESI BEAT 3 18.00 BFFs with Vogue - Season 1 19.00 THE ANUPAM KHER SHOW-SEASON 1 20.00 COMEDY NIGHTS WITH KAPIL 21.00 COMEDY NIGHTS WITH KAPIL

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British-Pakistani filmmaker Aleem Khan and his mom beam at the BAFTA

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n winning the BAFTA for Leading ActressJoanna Scanlan thanked the British-Pakistani writer-director and filmmaker Aleem Khan who directed After Love was present in the audience along with his mother Fauziya Khan. He studied Film at The University of Westminster and has directed several short films, among them Three Brothers (2014) which toured the international festival circuit before receiving a BAFTA nomination for Best British Short Film. Khan was nominated for Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer and Best Director this year.

BAFTA Breakthrough India participants for 2022

Shah Rukh launches his OTT project SRK+ L

ast year, Shah Rukh Khan had teased his OTT debut with Hotstar by sharing a couple of promotional videos but the announcements were put on hold as his son Aryan Khan got involved in a legal battle. Now, the actor has finally announced the project and his fans can’t keep calm. Taking to his social media handles, the megastar shared a poster of him with his thumbs up and ‘SRK+ Coming Soon’ written on it. He captioned the post as, “Kuch kuch hone wala hai, OTT ki duniya mein." Take a look: However, it seems like SRK+ is an OTT app the actor is going to launch as his industry colleagues Salman Khan and

I am fascinated by Indian culture: Hilary Duff

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Meanwhile, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has unveiled ten emerging talents from across the Indian film, games and television industries that will participate in the ‘BAFTA Breakthrough India’ initiative supported by Netflix. The ten names were selected by an eminent jury consisting of industry experts including AR Rahman, Apurva Asrani, Anupam Kher, Ratna Pathak Shah and Shonali Bose.

Actor Himesh Patel; Photo Credit: @BAFTA via Twitter

Aleem Khan

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ormer Disney star Hilary Duff who most recently appeared on Hulu’s ‘How I Met Your Father’ is fascinated with Indian culture.

The 34-year old says working with Indian actor Suraj Sharma on the sitcom gave her an opportunity to learn everything about the rich Indian culture and its vibrancy.

Speaking in an interview, she says, “Being friends with Suraj has opened our eyes a lot. I have never had the privilege of going to India but (after interacting with Sharma) I’m very intrigued to visit the country now.” Praising her co-star, she said Sharma brought a different level of energy to the sets of the show.

She said, “I see that in just Suraj showing up to work every day.

He is the one dancing in the trailer, pumping us all up when it’s like 6.30 in the morning. He is already the glass half full when I’m not always that way. It is really a breath of fresh air. And if that’s a representation of Indian culture and Indian people, then sign me up.”

Duff said, “I’m very fascinated by the culture. It just seems like people do have wide-open hearts, and that there is a lot of acceptance. People love to have a good time. It is colourful, there’s food and partying and celebrations. It seems like Indian culture really celebrates life.”

‘How I Met Your Father’ is a spin-off of the iconic sitcom ‘How I Met Your Mother’, and has created quite a buzz for featuring a diverse cast. It features Christopher Lowell, Francia Raise, Tom Ainsley, and Tien Tran, besides Duff and Sharma.

Aleem's mother Fauziya Khan

The talented list of BAFTA Breakthrough India participants for 2022 is below: Ajitpal Singh, Director/Writer (Tabbar) Alokananda Dasgupta, Music Composer/Director (Sacred Games Music Composer) Arati Kadav, Director/Writer (Cargo) Leena Manimekalai, Director/Writer (Maadathy, an Unfairy Tale) Mathivanan Rajendran, Producer (Nirvana Inn) Nakul Verma, Game Director (In My Shadow) Prateek Vats, Director/Writer (Eeb Allay Ooo!) Saumyananda Sahi, Cinematographer (Eeb Allay Ooo!) Shubham, Writer (Eeb Allay Ooo!) Sumukhi Suresh, Performer (Pushpavalli)

Anurag Kashyap congratulated him for his OTT platform. Salman wrote, “Aaj ki party teri taraf se @iamsrk. Congrats on your new OTT app, SRK+" while Anurag tweeted, “Dream come true!

Collaborating with @iamsrk on his new OTT app, SRK+ " As soon as he shared this, his fans took to Twitter to share their excitement. “Started with a #thumsup ad then #Pathaan teaser and now this banger. Guess what, @iamsrk is in complete mood to dedicate his coming times to the fans with full of surprises," wrote one fan.

Last year, SRK hinted at his OTT debut with a new witty promo video. In

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‘Turning Red’ features the first animated Sikh character on screen

the video, Shah Rukh Khan can be seen greeting his fans from Mannat, whereas actor Rajesh Jais looks a bit worried. He then says that he is not sure whether his fan base will remain the same in the future.

As SRK enquires what he means, he explains that all other stars have their shows on Disney+ Hotstar. Shah Rukh then says, “Accha? Kaun baaki sab (Really? Who all)? to which Rajesh named a few actors including Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, and Sanjay Dutt. A visibly worried Srk asked again whether everyone is on Hotstar? Rajesh then replied, “Matlab sab toh nahi hai (Not everyone is there)."

Gujarati film ‘Gandhi & Co.’ wins second best Indian cinema award

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anish Sainidirectorial Gujarat film ‘Gandhi & Co.’ has won the second-best Indian Cinema award film at the 13th Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFES). The movie was chosen among 200 films from 55 countries.

Supported by the Government of Karnataka, the festival is accredited by the prestigious International Federation of Film Producers Association (FIAPF).

‘Gandhi & Co.’ was part of the Film Bazaar Recommends 2021 List among many Asian films that were conducted by the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India. ‘Gandhi & Co.’ is a light-hearted coming-of-

akers of the Disney Pixar movie ‘Turning Red’ is finally streaming on Disney+.

The movie, which Walt Disney called a “love letter to Toronto and Canada’ caters to a multitude of ethnicities and communities.

Directed by the Oscarwinning director Domee Shi of ‘Bao’ fame, the film features the firstever animated turbanwearing Sikh character.

Known for its intricate details, the film features a Sikh man as a school guard. He features a navy blue turban and a ‘kada’ on his wrist. A kada is one of the five important elements of the Sikh religion and for Shi, who is of Canadian ethnicity, to do proper research and do justice to her characters has brought her

age family drama and is set in Gandhian values of honesty and harmony. It is Saini’s second film as a writer and director.

Receiving the award, Saini said, “We are busy in giving meaningful content to society and we are happy that our efforts are being recognised at the festival.

We hope that more and more people will watch the film and appreciate it.”

much praise.

Among many to take to Twitter to shower praise on the character, was the Metropolitan Police Sikh Association. They tweeted, “The first Turbaned Sikh animated character to be featured in #pixar #TurningRedMovie #turban #sikh”.

The movie not only marks the debut of a Punjabi character, it also features Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Priya, an Indo-Canadian girl who is also one of the best friends of the main character Mei Lee, a 13-year-old girl who turns into a red monster every time she feels strong emotions. The character of her overprotective mother is voiced by Canadian Hollywood star Sandra Oh.

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India sweep series; thrash Lanka by 238 runs India defeated Sri Lanka by 238 runs in the second Test match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru to clinch the series 20. Sri Lanka skipper Dimuth Karunaratne, however, fought a lone battle for the visitors as he hit a century after tea. Axar Patel struck twice after tea to dismiss Niroshan Dickwella and Charith Asalanka, respectively and then Bumrah and Ashwin took the remaining wickets to complete the victory for India.

In the first session, Ravichandran Ashwin got the better of Kusal Mendis and Dhanajaya de Silva, respectively, while Ravindra Jadeja knocked over Angelo Mathews for 1.

Earlier, India took a sizable lead after bowling Sri Lanka out for 109 in their first innings. The hosts had scored 252 in their first innings riding on the back of Shreyas Iyer's 92-run knock.

Earlier Bumrah claimed his maiden fifer in the first innings as India bundled out Sri Lanka for just 109. Half-centuries from Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant combined with inspired bowling on Sunday helped India eye a big win in the pink ball Test against Lanka. The tourists were 28 for one at stumps while chasing a daunting 447 for victory in Bangalore. Kusal Mendis on 16 and skipper Dimuth Karunaratne on 10 were batting at close of play.

India declared their second innings on 303-9 in the final session after Iyer made 67 and Pant smashed a 28-ball 50 - a Test record for an Indian batsman. Bumrah backed the gameplan of the left-handed Pant who is often criticised for throwing away his wicket after a start.

“Every individual has a

PUJARA SIGNS CONTRACT WITH SUSSEX

different gameplan, so he has backed his strengths,” Bumrah, the team’s vice-captain, said of the swashbuckling batsman.

“Not every player in the team will play with the same tempo, we understand that. He is still getting more and more experience and learning about this game.”

Iyer, who hit 92 in India’s first innings total of 252, raised

his third Test 50 in his fourth match with a cracking boundary. He put on key partnerships including a 45-run stand with Pant and 63 with Ravindra Jadeja, who made 22, before falling lbw to Lasith Embuldeniya.

Mohammed Shami hit an unbeaten 16 before skipper Rohit Sharma called him back to the pavilion after the fall of Axar Patel.

'Mankad’ run-out an Jadeja becomes No1 Test acceptable dismissal: MCC all-rounder on ICC rankings As part of the reforms, the MCC is changing the laws of the cricket to clear the so-called Mankad dismissals, where a bowler runs out the non-striker if he leaves the crease before the ball is delivered, as legitimate.

Earlier it was termed as “unfair play”.

The law changes also permanently prohibit the use of saliva on the ball, which had been tempor- arily banned during the pandemic, give bowlers more leeway on wides when a batsmen is mov- ing around the crease and stop the non-striker crossing to claim the strike when a batsman is out caught.

Mankading, named after the Indian all-rounder Vinoo Mankad, who used the method against Australia in 1947, has always been officially allowed but has often been a source of controversy, with many

believing it is against the spirit of the game. But from October 1, when the new laws come in, it will be moved from “unfair play” to the dismissals section on “run-outs”.

Fraser Stewart, the head of the laws department at MCC, said: “It is a run-out but it has always been in the unfair play law and we questioned, why is it unfair? “It is legitimate, it is a run-out and therefore it should live in the run-out section of the laws. Before this change, this was the only way you could be out that wasn’t in the dismissals section.”

India's Ravindra Jadeja has jumped to the top spot of the ICC's Test rankings for allrounders after his stellar show in the Mohali Test against Sri Lanka. Jadeja scored an unbeaten 175 and then took nine wickets to lead India to victory.

This effort has helped him leapfrog West Indies' Jason Holder, who has held the top spot since February 2021.

Jadeja had previously occupied the top spot in the allrounders' rankings for a week in August 2017.

Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin, who also put up an allround masterclass in the Mohali Test, remains on third behind Holder. Ashwin and Jadeja put up a partnership of 130 runs, which turned out to be India's best partnership of the innings.

Pakistan's Imam-ul-Haq moved to a career-best with 477 points after scoring twin

Ravindra Jadeja

centuries in the first Test against Australia in Rawalpindi.

His teammate Azhar Ali struck 185 and moved up ten places to 12 whilst Abdullah Shafique added a secondinnings century to gain 27 places to 67. Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne missed out on a century, being dismissed for 90, but that was enough to gain a point up to 936 and 12th position on his own in the list of highestever batting ratings. Usman Khawaja also fell in the 90s but continued his renaissance, moving up six places to 24 with the bat, his highest position for three years.

Smriti, Harmanpreet power India to win over West Indies Riding on centuries by Smriti Mandhana (119) and Harmanpreet Kaur (109) India crushed West Indies by 155 runs in their Women’s ODI World Cup match, at the Seddon Park in Hamilton on Saturday.

The strong bond between Mandhana and Harmanpreet, who made batting look effortless during their record 184-run stand in 182 balls for the fourth wicket - the highest partnership for India in a Women’s World Cup game - came to the fore when the champion left-hander, who was announced as the Player of the Match, in a beautiful, laudable gesture, told the commentators that she wanted to share her award with Harmanpreet. “Harman deserved the award equally. The ICC, I believe, has enough budget to give both of us separate trophies,” Mandhana said with a giggle. Hurting after the 62-run defeat against New Zealand

earlier, India responded with a resounding victory - their second in the competition - which saw them gallop to the top of the table, before they face England at Wellington on March 16. The West Indies, on the other hand tasted their first defeat in the tournament, after having beaten New Zealand and England. The match also saw two of India’s biggest women’s cricket legends achieve new landmarks in their epic careers - while skipper Mithali Raj, currently in a midst of a rare slump, led India to a 24th win in the World Cup, the maximum by an a captain, veteran seamer Jhulan Goswami become the highest wicket-taker in the history of the tournament when she captured her 40th scalp in her fifth World Cup, dismissing Anisa Mohammed.

Like in the case of Pakistan, India have the wood over the Caribbean women in World Cups - having beaten them all

in brief Senior India batter Cheteshwar Pujara has penned a contract with Sussex that will allow him to play at the English county throughout the duration of the county championship and the Royal London one-day tournament. Pujara previously had county stints with Yorkshire.

He had signed up to play 6 matches for Gloucestershire in 2020 but his contract was cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic. The decision to play in England comes after Cheteshwar Pujara failed to find buyers at the Indian Premier League 2022 mega auction.

Pujara did not travel to England for a county stint last year despite India's tour of England as he was bought by Chennai Super Kings at the IPL 2021 auction. Pujara was also dropped from the Test side for the ongoing 2-match series against Sri Lanka at home after an ordinary performance during India's tour of South Africa earlier this year. However, India's national selection committee chairman Chetan Sharma said the door will be open for Pujara as well as Ajinkya Rahane, who also faced the axe.

Pujara replaces Australia's Travis Head as the overseas batter for Sussex in the upcoming county and one-day tournament. Following a request by Travis to be released from his contract due to increased international commitments along with the news that he and his partner are expecting their first child, the club has agreed to this and replaced him with Pujara for the majority of the 2022 season.

Pujara will arrive in time for the first Championship match of the season and remain until at least the end of the RL50 competition.

JHULAN IS HIGHEST WICKETTAKER IN WWC HISTORY Jhulan Goswami broke the record for most wickets at the Women's World Cups, going past Australia's Lynn Fullston for the incredible feat. Goswami picked her 40th wicket of the tournament against the West Indies when she dismissed Anisa Mohammed on 2. The Indian pacer, who already holds the record for most wickets in women's ODIs, reached the feat in her 31st World Cup appearance. Among current players, Australia's Megan Schutt is the closest to Goswami with 27 wickets at the World Cups to her name. Jhulan, widely considered as one of the best pacers in women's cricket history, achieved the feat in the 36th over of the Windies innings when substitute fielder Taniya Bhatia picked an easy catch to dismiss Anisa Mohammed for West Indies' 9th wicket.

GUJARAT TITANS LAUNCH OFFICIAL TEAM JERSEY

Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur

seven times in the competition.

Before this game, India women’s team coach Ramesh Powar had exhorted his team’s seniors to take more responsibility. He also wanted his top order to show more intent after India had played as many as 156 dot balls against New Zealand. His words seemed to have worked like magic, as, Yastika Bhatia (31) gave India, who chose to bat first, a flying start. However, once she was out caught and bowled by

Selman, India slipped to 78 for three. However, Mandhana and Harmanpreet, stitched together a magnificent stand to help their team finish at an imposing 317. It was the first time that India crossed 300 in the tournament’s history. ” Brief scores: India 317-8 in 50 overs (S. Mandhana 123, H. Kaur 109; A. Mohammed 2-59) vs West Indies 162 all out in 40.3 overs (D. Dottin 62, H. Matthews 43; S Rana 3-22).

Gujarat Titans launched their official jersey at a function at the Narendra Modi Stadium last week. The jersey was launched by BCCI secretary Jay Shah. Titans head coach Ashish Nehra, director of cricket Vikram Solanki and captain Hardik Pandya were present on the occasion. Also in attendance were members of the Titans squad such as Wriddhiman Saha, Varun Aaron, Vijay Shankar, Yash Dayal, Darshan Nalkande, Abhinav Manohar and B Sai Sudharshan.

Later, Pandya claimed his bowling would be a "surprise" element in the upcoming IPL. The pace bowling all-rounder, who struggled to manage his bowling workload post his back surgery, will return to action in the IPL since his last appearance for India in the T20 World Cup at Dubai on November 8.

The Titans squad also includes Shubman Gill, Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan, Australia's Matthew Wade, pacer Mohammad Shami and New Zealand quick Lockie Ferguson.