AV 19th October 2019

FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE

R

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

19 - 25 OCT 2019 - VOL 48 ISSUE 25

inside:

CALL TO CORBYN

From trade to terror, PM Modi and Xi resolve to work closely together SEE PAGE 16

#MeToo : Your job should not include abuse

CB Patel

SEE PAGE 17

Priyanka Mehta On Monday 14th October over 100 Indian professional and community organisations from across the UK joined forces to condemn Labour Party's stance on Kashmir in the wake of abrogation of Article 370 that granted special rights to the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Continued on page 8

Indian-origin Abhijit Banerjee, wife share Nobel prize for economics SEE PAGE 26

2 UK

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

19 - 25 Oct 2019

onetoone WITH KEITH VAZ, MP

Zara Mohammed Zara has served on the executive team of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) and was elected the first female President of the organisation for the term 2016-17.

Zara has contributed to a number of public consultations including muslim women and employment, islamophobia and has spoken at a number of event across the UK and Ireland. She is passionate about empowering young people and supporting women in her community. She is a member of the Executive board of the Muslim Council of Britain and has now joined the team at the Muslim Council of Scotland.

1

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

Glasgow, Scotland, being born and raised here I love the green space and friendliness of the Scots

better humanity and in doing so worship God. Then being surrounded by so many inspiring people, some who have given their life to community service, pushed boundaried and made a lasting change

2

Being elected the first female President of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) in 2016. It was a huge honour to repesent the interests of over 120,000 muslim students across the UK & Eire

4

What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

Probably my own self doubt, negative voice inside telling me I wasn't good the right person for the job. Once you start to dim that sound and focus on seizing opportunities to good there is no turning back!

3

5

What are your proudest achievements?

What inspires you?

Firstly my faith, working for a purpose to

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

Definitely my parents, both have given me

Rashid A Khan Solicitor (Principal)

Benefit from very competitive rates, tailored advice & service to suit your specific needs, 24 hour response to all online enquries and our many years of experience.

www.rashidandrashid.co.uk

• Asylum & Immigration • New Point Based System • Settlement Application (ILR) • European Law • Nationality & Travel Documents • Human Rights Applications • High Court of Appeals • Family Matters and Divorce

• Switching Visas • Over Stayers • Legacy Cases • Work Permits • Visa Extensions • Judicial Reviews • Tribunal Appeals • Student Appeals

Immigration - Family - Stateless Child Visa

020 8540 1666 / 020 8672 0666

FREE LEGAL ADVISE 07878 335 000 / 07774 222 062

Head Office:

Southall Office:

190 Merton High Street, Wimbledon, London SW19 1AX 1 minute walk from South Wimbledon Tube Station

211, The Broadway, Southall, Middlesex, UB1 1NB

RASHID & RASHID SOLICITORS 1 minute walk from McDonald's

the support and trust to follow a different path from those around me as well as to travel all over the UK and abroad and be gone for days!

6

What is the best aspect about your current role?

I love that I can continue supporting community needs and intersts both at a grassroots and policy level. Knowing you can help pave the way to some really important change even if its just the start is rewarding enough.

7

And the worst?

This type of work can be really tiring and draining so burn out is not a stranger.

There are often so many different issues to deal with (planned and unplanned) you can find your weeks flying by!

8

What are your long term goals?

To ensure society is inclsuive of all with more BME representating across all sectors especially at the top. I hope we can provide pathways and confidence for people to make those joruneys.

9

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

Social mobility, people should have a good living wage and be ableto acces opportunies for a better life, no one should be living out of food banks whilst working full time.

Young people should be able to reach their potential.

10

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

No one in particular.

'Disabled' woman claimed £260,000 of benefits caught dancing at wedding A woman who said she was disabled and a single parent in order to scam £260,000 of benefits was later caught in bed with her partner and seen dancing at a wedding.

Nasreen Akhtar, 50, fraudulently claimed £260,000 through a 'complex raft of benefits' between 2002 and 2013 based on being a single parent with poor mobility who was too ill to work, the Crown Prosecution Service said. But following a tip-off, Department of Work and Pensions investigators began covert surveillance of the Oldham mother in 2012.

The CPS said that during a police raid on her home the following year, the partner Akhtar claimed she did not have was found in her bed. Despite claiming she was 'too ill to work' and had 'poor mobility' and 'significant care needs', she was seen out and about with her family and dancing at a wedding, it added.

Akhtar admitted seven counts of fraud against the local authority and the DWP, and at Manchester Crown Court on Friday was jailed for two years.

Simon Tunnicliffe, of

Nasreen Akhtar said she was 'too ill to work' and had 'poor mobility' but was seen dancing at a wedding

Mersey Cheshire CPS's fraud unit, said it had taken three years for it and the DWP to bring Akhtar to justice. The CPS said that Akhtar had claimed housing benefit and council tax relief as a single parent for a house she rented, when she had actually owned it jointly with her partner.

She also claimed income support as a single parent reliant on benefit cash, when she owned other properties and had significant savings, it added.

Prosecutors said that Akhtar had claimed disability living allowance as a person with 'extremely poor mobility and significant care

needs' and employment and support allowance as single parent who was 'too ill to work'.

But she was seen out and about with her family and dancing at a wedding.

A DWP spokesman added: 'Benefit fraud is a crime that diverts money from those who really need it. In addition to any sentence imposed by the court, people must pay back all the money they falsely obtained.

'We have zero tolerance of anyone fraudulently claiming benefits and will take swift action to investigate, supporting our partners and prosecutors to bring them to justice.'

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

UK

COMMENTS

3

19 - 25 Oct 2019

Conundrum of India-China relations There have never been easy answers to the apparent puzzles and mysteries of the India-China relationship.

The facile slogans of Hindi-China bhai bhai [Indians and Chinese are brothers] were an inebriating anticolonial intoxicant for most Indians during the early post-Independence years. A national narrative, based largely on fiction and delusion, served populist needs and internal stability. Received wisdom would have us believe the warts of colonialism were exclusively Western, that the peoples of the East were bounded by a mythical past of shared cultural and political values.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. The ancient civilisations of India and China developed in separate orbits, with only peripheral knowledge of each other’s ways and customs. Chinese Buddhist pilgrims, it is true, visited India in search of Buddhist lore and wisdom. But Buddhism was not the faith of the Chinese establishment; Confucianism was the dominant culture and belief system.

India’s traditional links were with next door Himalayan neighbour Tibet, whose relationship with China possessed a strong imperial strain, the inheritance is today grist to the mills of China’s foreign policy, especially its India policy. The Dalai Lama’s flight to India in April 1959 and his subsequent refuge in the country has rankled China’s rulers since the days of Chairman Mao Dzedong.

China’s self-perception as a traditional and contemporary Great Power is deeply embedded in the Chinese psyche as is its old tributary system and the obligatory kowtow to the Son of Heaven. Modern China’s attitude towards India is one of disdain for a pretentious upstart. So much for the historical optics of the India-China relations as they have stood for the seven decades, during which time the two countries engaged in a brief military conflict in the High Himalayas. A sedated India was worsted, and its scars still remain.

At the weekend Prime Minister Narendra Modi

hosted President Xi Jinping for an informal summit in Mamallapuram, a temple town in Tamil Nadu, not far from Chennai. India and China are unlikely to be friends, the mistrust too deep on either side. ChinesePakistan axis targets India, and will do for years to come. That said, there are where Indian and Chinese interests converge: trade and investment in which the numbers are huge. There was ample room for discussion on ways and means through which economic ties can be better aligned for mutual profit. The balance of trade and payments are weighted heavily in China’s favour; this can be ameliorated by greater access to the Chinese market for Indian products, notably pharmaceuticals in which India enjoys a global reputation.

War is ruled out. There would be no winners, only losers. China has great military strength on land, air and sea. India’s deterrent capability is from negligible.

In this day and age, war will have unforeseen political consequences as well. Stable relations with India can help China turn its attention to trouble-spots such as Hong Kong and Taiwan, where Beijing’s immediate intentions and long-term ambitions are viewed darkly.

Pakistan, a failing state, hobbled by a stagnant economy, is of little use in the corridors of international diplomacy global power. India well understands the permanence of the Sino-Pakistan axis and its India-centric dynamics. It is an enclosed echo chamber, and will remain so until the mould is broken by factors as yet unknown. Summing up, the IndiaChina relationship will require carefully calibrated management. Hard heads guarantee security and peace without illusions of a true meeting of hearts and minds.

Hopefully the personal chemistry between the Indian and Chinese leaders will be a safeguard against misunderstanding and worse. China has emphasised the sanctity of its ‘core interests’. India, too, has its core interests. The challenge is navigating a mutually acceptable path of recognition.

Welcome for UK court’s decision on Nizam The Indian government has welcomed the decision of the High Court of England and Wales on the long pending case since 1948 on the disposal of the assets worth Rs 300 crore of the last Nizam of Hyderabad, Mukarram Asif Jah. The Government of Pakistan was a claimant, and its claims were rejected by the court.

Some of the descendants of the Nizam live in Turkey, others in the UK. They joined forces with the Government of India in the disposal of the assets of the last potentate of Hyderabad whose rule ended in 1948 with the emergence of the new Union of India.

According to court’s judgement, ‘Nizam VII was beneficially entitled to the Fund and those claiming in right of Nizam VII – the Princes and India - are entitled to have the the sum paid to their order. I will leave it to the parties to frame an appropriate frame of order for my approval,’ ruled Justice Marcus Smith. ‘The question before the court is ...the shortly stated one of whether it is Pakistan or the late Nizam VII who was in 1948 was entitled to the fund.’

India’s Ministry of External Affairs welcomed the court’s judgment and criticised Pakistan’s claim that the Nizam had transferred the fund as a gift to Pakistan in payment for a shipment of arms.

The Indian statement reads: ‘The Court [in London] has issued a wide-ranging judgement after analysing documentation going back more than 70 years and embracing the law of constructive and resulting trusts, unjust enrichment... illegality and and limitation of actions,’ adding that the court had rejected arguments advanced by Pakistan that the dispute was non-justiciable, either by whole or in part; that the doctrine of illegality somehow barred recovery or that the claims of other parties were time-barred.’

In British currency the late Nizam’s fund is now worth 35 million pounds sterling was deposited in his account in London’s Westminster Bank. The saga, with its twists and turns, has mercifully been brought to a close.

India top source for migrants India is the world’s top source for skilled migrants, which stands currently 17.5 million. Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the US, UK and Singapore are their principal destinations, with Germany foremost among Continental countries. The Middle East – largely Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states – are home to large numbers of Indians whose remittances have enriched those parts of India where their families once lived.

The English language is a primary factor in the process, but others less talked about also play a significant role.

What has smoothened the passage from India is the adaptability of Indians as a whole to their new life and its cultural underpinnings. For a start, democracy and the rule of law are a common heritage. The countries to which most Indians move – greatly to their credit – guarantee a level playing for business, the professions and education.

Successful Indian entrepreneurs are not required to place privileged individuals from the host community on a company board with considerable unearned incomes as insurance against the capricious ways of local rulers and politicians, as, alas, was the custom in the dark days in much of East Africa.

The International Migrant Stock 2019, released by the UN Population Division, said the number of international migrants in the world had reached an estimated 272

million in 2018 – 51 million more than in 2010. After India, Mexico, with 12 million migrants ranks second, China third with 11 million, Russia next with 10 million and Syria’s 8 million, the last named suffering from prolonged war and internal displacement and exodus mainly to Europe.

Returning to India, skills play are a dynamic thrust into developed industrialised countries whose markets are on the lookout for IT engineers, engineers in other fields, doctors, pharmaceutical experts and teachers in all levels of education.

Finally, there is the issue of multiculturalism to consider. India is a multi-faith nation with all the world’s religions existing within its shores. As such, Indians as a rule not suffer strain or undue anxiety in blending the governing norms, particularly in America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, where the host communities are relaxed on issues of scripture and worship.

In the areas mentioned above, Hindu and Sikh festivals are celebrated and attract a good deal of attention from members of the host community. Celebrations over the normal chores are resumed and life moves on. There is not enough recognition of the successes of multiculturalism, rather more on the failures emanating from jihadi terrorism – an unpleasant reality that brooks no denial.

He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.

- Friedrich Nietzsche

Alpesh Patel

United We Stand

But No Time for Complacency Never have I seen such unification of the British Indian community in the UK. Over 100 British Indian organisations signed up to the letter condemning the UK Labour Party’s motion on Kashmir – calling it ‘ill informed and partisan’. In fact the signatures are still coming in as I write. These organisations speak to, if not for, the whole of the British Indian community.

Of course the Labour Party’s virulent reaction on Kashmir is as a channel for other malevolent forces in Britain. The Telegraph and Channel 4 reported as far back as 2010 following a six month undercover investigation that 'Islamic radicals ‘infiltrate’ the Labour Party’.

So do not be complacent. The terrorist-sympathising forces who attacked the Indian High Commission in London on August 15th were supported by knife-wielding pro-‘Khalistan’ forces too. Not since my days working in the US Congress against the forces of ‘Khalistan’ have I seen such artificial ‘riling’ up of the few to claim to violently speak for the many with nonsense such a fake ‘referendums’.

Let me tell you as British Indians, what I think it is about. It’s about values. Our British Indian values of multi-culturalism, of a multi-ethnic society, multi-religious, secular with all living in harmony together. Not a homogenous theocracy.

Let’s remember what we stand for. Yes, I know for some this was about religion and dharma – dutifully fighting for right. For others it was party political. For others still it was about the deceitful, hypocritical, malicious slander of their ancestral country, India, and so about patriotism.

But it was about values. The values I’ve listed.

British, Indian, liberal, democratic values of equality, of gender, of religion, of ethnicity – without special status for any.

Of course, it is not easy to achieve unity alongside diversity. There will always be the 1% who will not hold the line, who will undermine a collective action by preemption, who will take any slur for a selfie, who will deny support to a cause for they are not the figure heads.

These I call the Jinnah contingent – always seeking their own independence, even when offered to lead and take control of the bigger cause.

This is not about ego or names in papers. The people behind it have enough fame and fortune to last a dozen lifetimes. And that is why it succeeded – egos did not come into it. As the saying goes, ‘only the person not rowing, has time to rock the boat’.

This is a game-changer. You can expect more unified events, campaigns, protests, boycotts and sanctions against all those and the organisations standing against British Indian values and there supporters, who would rather have a theocratic homogenous undemocratic dictatorship and see terrorism as a legitimate way to express political will. Yes, we expect full-throated support for our values, not the two-faced equivocating, belated, political support elected representatives have been used to getting away with until now. And where were we until now? This is an emergency. A rebellion of the silent majority. We are here now. Thank you all who held the fort before us, and stand with us now. We will not always agree on all things going forward, but the team is bigger and more powerful than ever.

As the Labour Party anthem sung after the emergency motion states “Traitors sneer, and cowards flinch”.

Yes indeed, they shall think themselves cursed they were not here, and hold themselves cheap when anyone asks where their support was.

We stand for British values. As the new Twitter page put it ‘Respect British Indians’ - @britishindians.

Editor: CB Patel Asian Voice is published by Asian Business Publications Ltd Karma Yoga House, 12 Hoxton Market, (Off Coronet Street) London N1 6HW. Tel: 020 7749 4080 • Fax: 020 7749 4081 Email: aveditorial@abplgroup.com Website: www.abplgroup.com © Asian Business Publications

4 UK

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

19 - 25 Oct 2019

in brief

Toxic chemicals allegedly sprayed in bakery ovens while customers coughed

HARROW UBER DRIVER CONVICTED AFTER SEXUALLY ASSAULTING PASSENGER

Lidl in Wembley Park is under investigation after contractors allegedly let toxic cleaning chemicals waft around its bakery section in mid-afternoon in front of coughing customers.

Shopper Nitin Parshotam took himself to A&E with a headache, nausea and sore throat hours after witnessing unprotected operatives spraying the ovens in the Wembley Park store on October 1.

The dad-of-one was in the store at about 3.45pm when he approached the bakery section and along with other customers began coughing.

He said: "They were cleaning the ovens at 4pm, at a time when children dive into the bakery. I and all the customers were coughing. It was horrifying. Iasked a manager to close the aisle but he stared at me blankly, like I was a martian or some-

Pic courtesy: David Nathan

Wembley Park Lidl under investigation

Nitin Parshotam outside Wembley Park Lidl supermarket

thing. Eventually they did close the oven doors."

He took photos of the chemical containers which were placed in trolleys. The Zenith Liquid Degreaser used suggests on its label to wear protective gloves and eye googles when using it but operatives were wearing neither, said Mr Parshotam.

When he reached home he called Lidl's customer services who allegedly told him the operatives were due

to come at 10pm but had arrived six hours early and been allowed to start work.

"Over the phone they confirmed it all to me and Lidl say all calls are recorded," he added.

"I had to go to A&E for treatment afterwards as the headache, nausea and sore throat just got worse. They kept me under observation for a few hours. I've raised the issue as a public health concern."

Hate Crime Awareness Week This week (Saturday 12 to Saturday 19 October), the Metropolitan Police Service is supporting national Hate Crime Awareness Week.

Superintendent Waheed Khan, The Met’s Lead Responsible Officer (LRO) for hate crime said: “Hate Crime Awareness Week is a national week of action, which takes place every October to raise awareness of hate crime.

“It aims to bring people together to stand in solidarity with those affected by hate crime, support them and raise awareness, as well as prevent hate crime with our communities across London and challenge hate crime in all its forms.

“London is such a diverse and tolerant city, but too many still feel marginalised, or worse intimidated to go about their daily lives due to their race, faith, sexual orientation, gender or disability.

“Hate crime incidents may involve a physical attack, damage to property, bullying, harassment, verbal abuse, insults or online abuse using social media and it is a scourge on our communities.”

This month, The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) announced new funding to tackle the growing threat of hate crime in the capital, including new support for communities that have specifically experienced hate crime following the 2016 referendum.

Supt Khan continues: “Hate crime affects people from all walks of life, and impacts on communities across London. The Met does not tolerate any form of discrimination, and is committed to working with partners, such as MOPAC, TruVision, Tell Mama, Galop and Inclusion London, to robustly tackle

hate crime by holding offenders to account, bringing prosecutions where appropriate, and in particular, supporting victims.

“The Met has seen an increase in the reporting of all types of hate crime, and this rise is in part due to the growing willingness of victims to report crime and improved awareness by police. We have also seen a sharp increase in hate crimes perpetrated online, and the Met works with online platforms to identify offensive content and the people who post it, and progress investigations.

“We would urge hate crime victims who have not spoken to police to come forward and tell us about incidents so they can be fully investigated.”

Anyone who believes that they have been the victim of a hate crime is asked to call police on 101 or by tweeting @MetCC.

'Bad weather' causes drop in Leicester’s Diwali lights switch-on

Leicester's Diwali switchon event attracted around 20,000 people, according to council figures.

While tens of thousands of people enjoyed the festivities in the city's Golden Mile, the figure is around half compared to

previous years. Around 35,000 were thought to have attended the event in 2018, while 2016 attracted its largest crowd of 40,000.

Leicester city council put the turnout of Sunday's event down to wet and windy weather throughout

the weekend.

Earlier rainfall added to muddy conditions on Cossington Street Recreation Ground, which hosted a Diwali Village featuring entertainment, fairground rides and food stalls.

Brent Council is now investigating. Cllr Tom Miller, lead member for community safety and engagement, said: "We take all reports of safety breaches very seriously. Our Health and Safety Inspector visited the site the following day to speak with the store's management, establish which cleaning products were being used and gather their safety data records.

"We have also asked for a copy of the complainant's medical report, as this may provide important independent evidence of the symptoms suffered and help inform what action we are able to take as a result."

A council spokesperson added: "The nature and severity of the claimant's injury is important for us to assess in order to determine the future course of our investigation."

Lidl did not respond to requests for comment.

Asian Woman Festival receives £10,000 National Lottery Funding A Birmingham founded community group named The Asian Woman Festival has received a grant of £10,000 by the National Lottery. Last Saturday the community group was presented with its cheque for the National Lottery funding by The Lord Mayor of Leeds, Cllr Eileen Taylor at a sumptuous afternoon tea event at the Malmaison in Leeds.

The annual festival takes place in the Midlands, but soon realised they had a UK wide following. They hosted their first regional event in Leeds this weekend. Over 40 women were i n attendance and the Lord Mayor spoke about the challenges she has faced as a woman of colour.

Through culture, conversation and art the UK’s firstever Asian Woman Festival took place earlier this year in Birmingham on the 30th March. The event was attended by over 1000 people is the UK's first of its kind event smashing stereotypes and stigma to empower and celebrate Asian Women.

Festival Director and Founder, Shani Dhanda said, “Being of Asian origin and living in the UK means not only are we a more socially conservative community due to our traditional and cultural beliefs, but we are constantly bridging two cultures. This can mean there are often times in our lives we feel conflicted and even guilty in our efforts to juggle our dual identities.

Until the Asian Woman Festival, there hasn’t been an opportunity to talk about how living in contradiction becomes second nature.”

An Uber driver who sexually assaulted an unwell female passenger has been convicted.

Temur Shah, 45, was found guilty on Monday (October 14) for sexual assault while the victim was in an extremely vulnerable condition, following a one-week trial. During his Uber shift in the early hours of January 15, 2018, Shah picked up a 27-year-old woman from an address in the West End. While driving, Shah stopped the vehicle and insisted that the passenger, who was feeling unwell, to sit in the front. As the journey continued, the passenger alerted Shah she was going to be sick. Shah stopped the car and leaned over her to open the front passenger door, which he used as an opportunity to sexually touch her and he continued to sexually assault her as she leant out of the vehicle being sick. Since her phone battery was empty to call for assistance and she did not have money with her, the passenger stayed in the car but told Shah not to touch her again. The incident was reported to the police shortly after the victim was dropped off near her home in north London.

The Taxi and Private Hire Policing Team then carried out a thorough investigation to talk to Uber and the person who booked the vehicle on behalf of the victim. By analysing CCTV and GPS data collected from Uber, the team were able to collect evidence against Shah. Shah was arrested for sexual assault on February 2, 2018 and released under investigation. He was charged with sexual assault on January 19, 2019.

MAN WHO RAN OVER PC GARETH PHILLIPS WITH PATROL CAR JAILED A car thief who ran over a police officer with a patrol car after being Tasered has been jailed for 12 years. Mubashar Hussain hijacked a police BMW and drove over PC Gareth Phillips, before speeding away at up to 97mph. The officer sustained potentially lifechanging injuries when he was targeted by "habitual dangerous driver" Hussain in Birmingham in August. Hussain, 29, previously admitted causing grievous bodily harm, and was sentenced at the city's crown court. PC Phillip attended reports of a stolen car in Moseley on 10 August where Hussain was found in the driver's seat and his co-defendant Ahsan Ghafoor in the passenger seat. The court heard Hussain removed barbs left in his skin by a Taser deployed by officers who surrounded a stolen Range Rover Evoque. Mr Smith said Hussain "remained resistant even when a Taser device was used against him. In fact he tried to remove the barbs of the fired Taser from his skin," Mr Smith said.

FACE OF CRIMINAL WHO RAN OVER CYCLIST ESCAPING FROM PUB HE WAS TRYING TO BURGLE Leicestershire Police have just released this picture of Ashish Devshi after he was jailed for four years and three months.

The 30-year-old was burgling a pub in Leicester, when he saw a police car arrive and fled in a stolen car. During the escape Devshi clipped a parked car and crashed into a 42-year-old father of two, who was cycling to morning prayers. The victim suffered an open fracture to his leg, multiple fractures to his back and a dislocated hip. He said the injuries have ruined his life and left him feeling "like a dead man", Leicester Crown Court was told. Devshi continued driving away in the stolen Vauxhall Corsa for a short distance and tried to run off but was stopped. His breath smelled of alcohol but the results of blood and drug tests were not known and he was not charged in relation to drink or drugs, the court was told.

Devshi admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving, having no insurance, failing to stop after an accident, driving when disqualified and attempted burglary. The collision happened just five months after Devshi received a 15 month suspended jail sentence and was banned from the road for three years, for dangerous driving during a police pursuit, in July last year.

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

19 - 25 Oct 2019

SHINE A LIGHT ON SOMEONE LESS FORTUNATE THAN YOU THIS DIWALI Here are two women whose lives we changed through our empowerment programme in Varanasi. These widows went from a very bleak outlook to a positive future!

BEFORE: “My husband disappeared in 2012 when I was 27 years old and my daughter just 2. He left me no money and my in-laws made my life hell.

They didn't let me leave the house and they eventually threw me out!”

AFTER: “The training by the Loomba Foundation helped me learn a lot.

The free sewing machine was useful in helping me earn money to support me and my daughter.”

RATNA SAHU

BEFORE: “I had very little support after my husband passed away in 2016.

I had no money!”

AFTER: “After getting a sewing machine and training from the Loomba Foundation my life has improved as I can earn between Rs 4-5,000 per month. I am now self-reliant.”

MEENA GUPTA

HELPING WIDOWS TO BE SELF SUFFICIENT IN INDIA The Loomba foundation has signed an MOU with the Rotary India Literacy Mission to empower 30,000 widows in India, with the aim of creating employment or business opportunities for them. At the moment we are running skills training projects for widows in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Delhi.

The widows in these projects are learning a range of skills like beauty and wellness, healthcare and care giving, security, telecommunications, tourism and hospitality, handicraft, textiles and apparel, agriculture and food processing. The majority of the widows are guaranteed work at the end of their training.

We need your help so we can run these projects for the full 5 years.

HAPPY DIWALI TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS, DONORS AND PARTNERS.

CHANGE A LIFE TODAY, make a donation:

http://bit.ly/ProjectDignity

For further information, please contact: Safdar Shah, Loomba House, 622 Western Avenue, London W3 0TF. TEL: +44 (0)20 8102 2351 EMAIL: safdar@theloombafoundation.org WEB: theloombafoundation.org UK Registered Charity No. 1064988

5

6 UK

AsianVoiceNews

19 - 25 Oct 2019

BAME students feel unsafe on university campus

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

“Our London”

GLA Member for Brent and Harrow

Navin Shah

In Solidarity for Peace JAMMU & KASHMIR

A racism report surveying 195 students at Goldsmiths, University of London has revealed that almost half of the students are from minority backgrounds and that they have experienced overt or indirect racism from their white peers.

'Insider-Outsider: The role of race in shaping the experiences of black and minority ethnic students', has found that 45% students from ethnic minorities did not trust the University to handle their complaints.

According to this report, 26% of those surveyed said that they have suffered

racism from students and staff, including racist slurs such as the n-word and the p-word in lectures. An additional 43% of them also said that they had experienced everyday racialised microaggressions, with white students and staff questioning their nationality due to being a person of colour.

Whereas the study also highlighted Islamophobia being prevalent on the campus. several female Muslim students reporting being afraid to wear their veil due to fear of reprisals for being wrongly perceived as extremists.

The report also connected the racial battlegrounds in lectures with BME students receiving poorer degree grades than their white peers, noting that almost half (49%) of respondents felt that Goldsmiths’ curriculums did not represent the lives and achievements of BME people.

In the meantime, senior managers have conceded that the university's record of addressing racism is unacceptable. Goldsmiths has previously appointed Dr Nicola Rollock to address the BME attainment gap at the university.

Women In

Conversation

in association with

Empowering Women excel in Business Date

22 October 2019 Time 5.30 to 8pm Venue EY 1 More London Place, London SE1 2AF

Programme for the evening 5.30 to 6 pm: Drinks, canapés and networking with aspiring and inspiring entrepreneurs 6 to 7 pm: Panel and Q&A 7 to 8pm: Networking Audience is limited to no more than 100 so please book your place early.

CONTACT: cecil.soans@abplgroup.com

PANELISTS MAHA SARDAR BARRISTER, SOLICITOR AND SOCIAL CHANGE CHAMPION. AN ADVOCATE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ALEX FREAN HEAD OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS, STARLING BANK, AWARDED THE BEST BRITISH BANK AND BEST CURRENT ACCOUNT 2019. OVER 30 YEAR’S EXPERIENCE IN NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISM AT THE TIMES, THE SUNDAY TIMES. NIKI MULLIN HEAD OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, LID BUSINESS MEDIA WITH EXPERTISE IN BUSINESS BOOK PUBLISHING. LID BUSINESS MEDIA IS THE FIFTH LARGEST PUBLISHING HOUSE IN EUROPE. MODERATOR: SANGEETA WALDRON AWARD WINNING PR, BRANDING, COMMUNICATIONS, MARKETING, MEDIA AND SOCIAL MEDIA CONSULTANT WORKING ACROSS THE UK, EUROPE AND ASIAN THROUGH HER FIRM SERENDIPITY PR & MEDIA. TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION G CHALLENGES WOMEN IN BUSINESS FACE: SOLUTIONS, FINANCING, TRUSTED TIPS THAT WORK G HOW TO GET YOUR BOOK PUBLISHED * THIS EVENT IS BY INVITATION ONLY. ELIGIBILITY TO ATTEND WILL DEPEND ON STRICT CRITERIA SET BY ABPL GROUP. * ABPL GROUP RESERVES THE RIGHT TO INVITE GUESTS AT THEIR DISCRETION. Initiated & Organised by

On my return from Israel early this month I found myself surrounded by the storm created after the motion concerning Kashmir was passed at the Labour Party conference. The net result of this has been, deep offence to the Indian diaspora including people and organisations I have worked closely with and respected throughout my public service spanning four decades as a proud Labour activist. I was not at the conference but since my return I have objectively examined the events which have compelled me to put to you my honest and unequivocal position.

I am appalled that the accepted protocol of not interfering in the internal affairs of a third country was dumped by the Labour Party at the Conference and an illconceived, partisan motion was allowed to go through. This demonstrates my Party’s astounding insensitivity and failure to scrutinise the motion before accepting it for debate. The debate was unbalanced and went unchecked - for example one of the speakers supporting the motion made deplorable comments about Indian army raping women, men and children; comparing Modi with Hitler and allegations of 10,000 women gang-raped. Wonder what efforts were made to check the authenticity of such statements! The ‘unanimous’ support for such a motion is baffling.

Given the partisan and ill-conceived position taken by the Labour Party no wonder Indian communities and community organisations are fuming across the nation. Diplomatic relations with India are in tatters and divisions and conflict has been created within diverse communities.

We in the Labour Party have envious history of supporting India’s cause of Independence and the warm relations and recognition we have of India’s heritage and culture which is second to none. We are also proud that we have a very large number of elected British Indian members on Councils, Parliament and London Assembly who have given years of service

to promote Labour’s principles of unity, social justice and forged strong bonds with our British Indian and other diverse communities and organisations who have enriched the country. However, all our hard work of community cohesion and credibility is being challenged due to the partisan and what is seen as anti-India stance taken by the Labour Party through the disastrous motion on Kashmir. It is true but very sad that we the Labour politicians were banned by some Indian organisations from attending Navratri celebrations which to me is very painful and does a huge deal of damage to the standing of the Party. But I fully understand the hurt and the pain the Indian community feels. It goes without saying that all – absolutely all – allegations of breach of human rights must be examined by international community and restore the climate of harmony, peace and humanity. To stop further damage it is imperative that without losing any more time my Party comes clean and states its position without any ambiguity.

To this end I welcome Jeremy Corbyn’s recent letter offering to meet members across Indian community and hear their views. This will be a good start but it’s imperative that the Party also engages positively with the Indian Diplomatic Service and Indian Government; meets British Indian elected representatives to address the way forward to restore relations with the Indian community and see how best the Party can genuinely engage with the British Indian and other BAME communities to avoid similar disasters in the future.

Finally, we must work together even harder now to ensure that this issue does not divide our communities and further ensure that we continue our journey to building even stronger multi-faith communities respecting each other and fighting all forms of injustices including antisemitism and islamophobia.

Shailesh Vara, next Speaker of the Commons?

Conservative MP Shailesh Vara has hit out at John Bercow, calling him a "playground bully" who has "tarnished the role of Speaking with his biasness."

Shailesh Vara is perhaps, the first Indian-origin Gujarati MP to standing for the position. He is the former Minister of State for Northern Ireland and currently the Conservative MP for North West Cambridgeshire. And Vara is now in the race to replace Bercow as the next speaker for House of Commons.

Participating in a hustings event in Westminster, along with eight other MPs, he said, "Speaker Bercow has not been impartial. And frankly speaking, I think he's tarnished the role of the Speaker with his biasness.

"I think what is required is that we need to re-write the rule book, and make it absolutely clear what the Speaker can and cannot do in difficult circumstances.

"And that is actually to protect the Speaker as much as protecting Parliament.

"Because no matter how well intentioned the Speaker may be, she or he may take a particular decision and those who are aggrieved by that decision are going to feel that it is not fair."

In the meantime he has also accused Bercow of insulting his colleagues and demeaning them. He continued, "We have had a lot of debate about the standards of MPs in the Commons.

And given that Speaker Bercow has at times behaved like a verbal playground bully in the way that he

Shailesh Vara

treats his colleagues - he insults them, demeans them - I think that he loses all authority to lecture to MPs as to how they should behave when his own behaviour is in question."

The other candidates for the speaker’s role are Henry Bellingham, Chris Bryant, Harriet Harman, Meg Hillier, Lindsay Hoyle, Eleanor Laing, Edward Leigh and Rosie Winterton.

The election for the Speaker of the House is due on November 4.

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

UK

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

7

19 - 25 Oct 2019

Boiling water thrown at Finsbury Park Terrorist On Sunday 13th October, JAILED Finsbury Park terrorist Darren Osborne had boiling water thrown in his face in what has been described as revenge attack.

Osborne, who is serving life for murdering one and injuring 12 others by driving a van into worshippers outside Finsbury Park Mosque in 2017, had boiling water thrown over him in the high security HMP Walefield. He was treated for burns and blisters to the face and body.

“The attacker ran into Osborne’s cell and threw the boiling water over his head, face and body. He was in agony,” reported The Sun. A spokesperson from the Ministry of Justice said, “A prisoner suffered minor injuries after having hot water thrown in his face by a prisoner at HMP Wakefield on 18 September. He did not require hospital treatment and the three prisoners involved have been punished."

The water did not con-

Darren Osborne

tain sugar, which is known to make burns severe, the spokesperson added. This attack comes just months after Osborne assaulted a child rapist named Tariq Islam in August. Osborne, a radicalised Islamophobe, battered child rapist Tariq Islam unconscious while shouting "F***ing Allahu akbar."

Islam was jailed for 13 years after his 10-strong gang groomed a Muslim girl aged 12 and gave her alcohol before raping her.

In February 2018, Osborne was jailed for a minimum of 43 years for ploughing into a crowd of people in Finsbury Park.

Former Deputy High Commissioner of the UK, Hardeep Puri on the India story On Wednesday 9th October, the High Commission of India in London alongside FICCI UK and other business organisations welcomed India's civil aviation minister, Hardeep Singh Puri to address the Indian diaspora settled here in the UK. Puri served as India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations (2009-13) and previously was India's Deputy High Commissioner to the UK from 1999 to 2002.

Speaking about the India story, Mr. Puri touched on key issues surrounding the aviation industry in India and the crises in the sector worldwide following the collapse of Jet Airways and Thomas Cook. He also addressed questions around urban housing, climate change and the growing start-up economy in India. Although, the former diplomat veered clear of making bold political statements about the Labour Party's ongoing interference in the subject of Jammu and Kashmir, he condemned the recent attacks on the Indian High Commission in London and said, “One of the beauties of the special Indo-UK relationship is that we have not allowed the hangups of the past to colour our judgments in the present circumstances. The more mature sections in both our countries have seen the benefits of this relationship.

“But the narrative produced in this country around the internal matters of another by some are very far-removed from the reality.”

He also discussed the subject of air-

India’s civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri with Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Her Excellency Mrs. Ruchi Ghanashyam

connectivity following the collapse of Jet Airways and addressed concerns around dependence on Middle-eastern airline companies whilst travelling to India. Speaking about the privatisation process of Indian carrier Air India, the civil aviation minister said that the airline will be a profitable enterprise for any private players due to its assets and the overall boom in the Indian aviation industry. The process of privatising national carrier Air India Ltd is underway and the government will take all decisions within a specified time frame he assured. Last year, the government tried unsuccessfully to sell Air India.

Earlier, Investors were apprehensive about the airline’s large debt and

the government retaining a minority stake in the carrier post privatization.

Now besides Puri, a Group of Ministers in India comprising finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, railways minister Piyush Goyal, and home minister Amit Shah are supervising the sale of the loss-making flag carrier.

He later also held detailed deliberations on collaborations in areas of civil aviation, smart cities & renewable energy with Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon MP & MoS for Commonwealth, UN & South Asia.

Air India on Tuesday 15 became the first airline in the world to use a Taxibot on a A320 aircraft with passengers onboard.

Photography of Lexicon show apartment

RESERVE BY 31ST OCTOBER AND WE’LL PAY 50% OF YOUR MORTGAGE FOR THE FIRST YEAR.‡

LONDON made

Why pay expensive rent when you can own at Lexicon with London Help to Buy?^ • All apartments have a private balcony or terrace • 19 minutes to Baker Street and 25 minutes to King’s Cross† • A 5 minute walk to Harrow-on-the-Hill Station*

1, 2 & 3 bedroom apartments from £330,000 Speak to our sales executives to find out more about our exclusive offer today!

made by us, for you Photography of Lexicon show apartment

Gayton Road, Harrow-on-the-Hill, Harrow HA1 2HH

fairview.co.uk

harrow.sales@fairview.co.uk

Sales and Marketing Suite & Showhomes open daily from 10am – 5pm

020 8023 5247

^Eligible applicants should seek independent financial advice, and get information and guidance on applying for a Help to Buy: Equity Loan at www.helptobuy.gov.uk. YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE. *Journey times approximate. Source: Google Maps. †From Harrow-on-the-Hill Station. Source: TFL. ‡Terms and conditions apply. Offer is only available at point of reservation, and is not available with any other incentive or alongside Help to Buy. Maximum value of £20,000, and may be offered as a discount from the property value. For more information please speak to the sales executive. Price and details correct at time of going to press. Images representative only.

8 UK 19 - 25 Oct 2019

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

As I See It

Labour Party's despicable 'Divide and Rule' approach needs to stop CB Patel

Dear Readers,

At the very onset, I wish to clarify certain mis-conceptions with regards to our campaign around Labour’s resolution of 25th September. This campaign is NOT against the Labour Party, neither for the Conservatives. The entire barrel is not rotten. It is your job and mine to wean out the rotten apples before they spread their sickness.

I want to make two things very clear.

One, that the present campaign is run by the British-Indian organisations comprising of all faiths and traditions, and none. Two, our purpose is simple. Don't bring issues of rifts between nations of the South Asian subcontinent in the UK. It is neither necessary nor desirable. Having established these facts, I would like to elaborate and explain about fringe groups.

Fringe groups with justifiable or perceived grieva nces whether religious, economic, nationalistic or any other type, whether labelled good, bad, or ugly, all end up as a destructive cyclone. In this country, Britain today, we have major problems on how to steer our relationship from the European Union. Equally, in the Conservative Party, some Euro-skeptics have now become a bug bear for the government. The Labour Party too has its own problems, not only confined to the LeftRight ideologies. But somehow inadvertently, the unsolved question left in the Indian subcontinent during partition have now raised several eyebrows.

Let us explore them one by one In the aftermath of the World War II, what started as a Steel and Coal Authority with cooperation of six countries- France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg, rapidly evolved into a economic powerhouse, developing further into an Economic Community and later, into what is now known as the mighty European Union when the United Kingdom and other countries joined. Today, the EU has 28 different countries who have progressed far beyond expectation.

People have now completely forgotten that between 1870, the Crimean War till World War II of 1939/45, millions were killed, many many millions were injured, and the entirety of cities in some countries were destroyed in wars on the European mainland.

Now, along with this EU progress came thoughts, attempts of some bigwigs in the European Commissio n to turn EU into a sort of United States of Europe. Forgetting that among their countries there are historical and other reasons where a USE is a farfetched notion. With this perceived forced unification ideology Euro-skeptics group evolved in the UK- predominantly within the British Conservative Party.

They were not totally wrong, but one can say their approach towards life was completely blindside d. Former prime minister David Cameron agreed for a referendum. He lost, and resigned. Then came Theresa May. She struggled very hard. Maybe too hard.

Exasperated. She gave up and came Boris Johnson.

Strangely, the present British government is clearly a minority government. They have a deficit of 40 votes in the Commons .

Also, Bo Jo was not elected by MPs, but by 80,000 Conservative Party members. But all the same, one has to concede, he is a democratically elected Prime Minister.

Her Majesty the Queen opened a new session of Parliament on Monday. Her speech is actually a draft prepared by the Bo Jo government and the Sovereign, as per tradition has to deliver it. Our longstanding Monarch has served us well .

The Bo Jo government is staking every-

CALL TO CORBYN

thing to fulfill its commitment of leaving EU

by October 31, what some political commentators in British media have claimed “by hook or by crook”.

Now, let's look at Labour Party The Labour Party was born with honourable ideals and it has served by and large well in the last 120 odd years. It's worth recollecting that Sir Winston Churchill under whose able leadership Britain with support of allied countries won the war in 1945, but the Conservative Party was rejected by a huge margin by the Labour Party lead by Clement Attle. It's a fact that many reforms of Great Britain, outstanding in the world today emanates from various initiatives of the Attle government. But, what goes up, comes down.

In the 1980s, the Labour Party became embroiled in Left-Right struggles, some call the 'Loony Left', but Neil Kimock and lately Tony Blair converted it into a party capable of governing and for almost 14 years, the Labour Party ruled the country.

Then the Tories came back, initially with Lib Dem in coalition. Ever since then, on one hand Conservative prime ministers have suffered a lot from Euro-skeptics and on the other, the Labour Party has grown to be much more embroiled within its multiple factions.

Lately, especially in the last few years, the Labour Party which has an influx of several MPs with Indian or Pakistani backgrounds have faced new problems. The ethos of the Indian-origin MPs is multi-culturalism, tolerance, and inclusiveness. Look at Indian-origin MPs of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. They are of various faiths and traditions.

Numerically, there are more Pakistani MPs in the House of Commons from the Labour Party, and all of them belong to one faith tradition.

So the Labour Party has unfortunately, now, a divide within itself based on economic policies, trade unions, UK-EU divisions and now, after the infamous resolution of September 25, Indian-Pakistan dimensions.

The British Parliament and especially Labour Party has somehow got tangled in the India-Pakistan politics and other problems 4500 miles away.

The Indian community has risen as never before against the unfairness of a divisive and dangerous resolution. Several voices reflect different opinions. I sincerely believe that Britain needs a strong Opposition and the Labour Party is the first option considering current circumstances. It cannot be denied, that in the past, the Labour Party has given good governments in the service of the UK. The wheel of life changes continuously.

With more far-sighted and mature leadership the Labour Party could be a prospective governing party in the Opposition. It may not happen overnight, but it is surely possible.

The need of the hour for Labour leadership and all Labour members is to rise to the occasion and think, speak, and act with profound responsibility.

All labour representatives/ leaders who disagree with and denounce the p rovocative Labour Conference resolution and are committed to its revocation at the earliest should be treated with due respect and courtesies.

India today, is at a level where it identifies with multi-culturalism, multi-faith, multi-linguistics. Similarly, the UK has different people of different paths, all co-existing together with peace and harmony. Let us not plant seeds of distrust and disharmony. This is a very delicate situation, and we all carry the responsibility to ensure we all endeavour our best to be accountable citizens.

Jeremy Corbyn with members of Indian Overseas Congress Continued from page 1

Condemning opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn, these organisations signed up to 'Labour's Anti-India' campaign launched in the aftermath of the “controversial” resolution passed by the political party at its Brighton conference on September 25th.

Indian Professionals Forum (IPF), Indian National Students Association (INSA), Hindu Council UK and Kashmiri Pandits Cultural Society (KPCS) among others registered their support in a joint letter to the campaign launched by ABPL. The organisations have collectively expressed their “deep dismay” in the letter and accused Corbyn of bringing an IndiaPakistan bilateral affair into the domestic politics of the UK by adopting a "divisive" emergency motion that calls for international intervention in the region.

The Labour Party on September 25 passed an emergency motion on Kashmir calling for party leader Corbyn to seek international observers to "enter" the region and demand the right of self-determination for its people, drawing criticism from the Indian diaspora representatives who described it as "ill conceived" and "misinformed".

Emergency motion passed by Labour unacceptable "We are writing collectively, as BritishIndian community organisations, to express our deep dismay that Her Majesty's Opposition has abandoned a long-standing cross-party position on Kashmir as a strictly bilateral matter between India and Pakistan, and in doing so, sown the seeds of community disharmony in the United Kingdom.

“We are particularly dismayed by the virulent reaction by the Labour Party to the removal of an outdated, temporary provision that was hindering development of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, development for people of all religions, of all genders, of all ethnicities.

"The emergency motion passed at the recent Labour Party Conference is not acceptable to us as it seeks to interfere in the internal matters of, and between, third countries and is drafted in a one-sided and divisive manner...We are also hugely concerned about the wid er attempts to bring the Kashmir issue into the domestic politics of the United Kingdom, which has serious ramifications for community harmony,” the letter notes.

The letter particularly warns against practicing politics over issues concerning India and Pakistan and diving “disharmony in the diaspora”. As example, it refers to the clashes outside the Indian High Commission in London on August 15 between Indian diaspora groups marking Indian Independence Day and members of Pakistani and separatist outfits such as proKhalistan sympathisers.

“If Corbyn doesn't think he has a problem, then he certainly has a serious problem," Ladwa In the meantime, Manoj Ladwa, CEO of India Inc and former Chair of Labour's Indian Community Engagement Forum, has called for an urgent "course correction" in order to prevent the Labour Party from losing its diaspora support base. He said, "There are over 1.5 million people of Indian origin in the UK, who like me have traditionally voted Labour. If Jeremy Corbyn doesn't think he has a problem, then he certainly has a serious problem."

Congress castigates Corbyn In the meantime, a delegation of Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) led by Kamal Dhaliwal had an audience with Corbyn where the subject of "human rights situation in Kashmir" had been explored and spoken about. In a tweet Corbyn, hailed the meeting as "very productive" and wrote, "A very productive meeting with UK representatives of Indian Congress Party where we discussed the human rights situation in Kashmir. There must be a de-escalation and an end to the cycle of violence and fear which has plagued the region for so long."

The BJP immediately hit out at the Congress for discussing India''s internal matters with foreign leaders and demanded an explanation from them. But IOC UK stressed that its delegation had met with Corbyn only to "condemn" the Kashmir resolution passed by them. Dhaliwal tweeted, "Our meeting with @jeremycorbyn was held to condemn the Kashmir resolution passed by his party and to reiterate that J&K is an internal matter and outside intervention will not be accepted. @BJP4India's malicious statements are another attempt to distract people from their failures."

The Labour's Kashmir resolution was tabled by Pakistani-origin Labour MPs, who called for international intervention in Kashmir and added, "Accept that Kashmir is a disputed territory and the people of Kashmir should be given the right of self-determination in accordance with UN resolutions."

Corbyn has since conceded that the language used had the scope of being misinterpreted, but has stood by the emergency motion.

"The emergency motion on Kashmir came through as part of the democratic process of the Labour Party Conference.

However, there is a recognition that some of the language used within it could be misinterpreted as hostile to India and the Indi an Diaspora," Corbyn said in a reply to the Labour Friends of India group last week as he invited them for a meeting to further discuss the issue.

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

UK

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

9

19 - 25 Oct 2019

NHS doctor to leave UK after mother refused permission to remain?

A child psychiatrist in the UK has appealed to Johnson over Home Office’s ‘almost callous’ decision.

Dr Nishchint Warikoo, plans to quit the NHS and move to Australia after the Home Office has “almost callously” refused to let his mother stay in the UK. The lead psychiatrist for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in Hampshire, said he and his family were being “forced to leave” the UK in order to stay together. On Monday, 14th October in a tweet he asked for help.

“I am a British citizen, NHS consultant, and a researcher. Have cared for thousands of children with mental health problems, saved many young lives and helped thousands of fami-

Dr Nishchint Warikoo

lies in distress. Now my family is forced to leave the country. Help please.”

Warikoo is reportedly angry that several years of representations have failed to persuade the Home Office to allow his 71-yearold Indian-born mother, Phoola, to remain in Britain.

The 46-year-old was also born in India but became a British citizen in 2014 and has lived in the UK and worked in the NHS for 15 years. Warikoo has argued that because he is her only child and she is widowed and has no family in India who could look after her, she should be allowed to stay so he can take care of her.

Now, he has appealed directly to Boris Johnson and the home secretary, Priti Patel, to help resolve the situation. Warikoo has resolved that if the Home Office does not decide on his mother’s case by December, or if they refuse her leave to remain, he, his wife, their British-born 13year-old daughter and his mother will leave before Christmas.

UK-Indo dementia care programme Calcutta Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology (CMIG), in collaboration with other organisations organized a special IndoUK programme named ‘Dementia Care-A unique Approach’ in Kolkata.

Others included Regional Resource and Training

Centre on Ageing under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Govt of India, and University of Stirling, Scotland.

This initiative observed both World Alzheimers Day (21ST September) and World Elders Day (1st October). The aim of this

Indo-UK programme was to converge the expertise of both countries to address the overlapping difficulties faced by dementia patients and their caregivers in both countries.

In the programme, Dr Mc Cabe introduced some common practices in the

Naga Munchetty case: John Sergeant slams BBC A veteran broadcaster has slammed the BBC for its handling of complaints against host Naga Munchetty. John Sergeant, a former political correspondent with the BBC, said the controversy should have been dealt with quietly.

Munchetty was disciplined following a conversation on air in July where she criticised Trump for asking female members of the Democratic Party to go back to their own countries.

The BBC originally ruled that Munchetty had broken the rules saying “her comments went beyond what the guidelines allow for.”

The decision was overturned by director general Tony Hall after an outcry. In a statement to the Radio UK like use of special hearing aids, glasses and false teeth for the person with dementia; frequent general medical check ups to ensure the person with dementia is not in pain; going outdoors with the person suffering from dementia and enjoying nature; always staying socially connected. In the meantime, Dr. Indrani

Times magazine, Sergeant said, "This was badly handled

by BBC management and I'm not surprised that there have been angry comments from staff at closed meetings. The corporation has been accused of institutional racism. There have rightly been criticisms of the way Dan Walker wasn't even involved in the original ruling, even though he was clearly egging on Naga to give her personal views.

"It looked to me like the return of our old friend: incompetence."

Last week, television regulator OfCom ruled that Munchetty's comments suggesting the US president was being "racist" did not breach official TV rules. It Chakravarty, Chief Functionary of CMIG talked of the importance of dementia friendly communities and encouraged youngsters to become ‘dementia friends’, volunteering to befriend the demented elderly. She said, “India has a growing elderly population and terminal illnesses in the elderly deserve special attention

also said the BBC Breakfast programme on which Munchetty made the remarks "did not raise issues warranting an investigation by it".

In July she expressed concern over Trump's comments that four congresswoman should “go back” to the “places from which they came.”

Speaking about her own experiences, Munchetty said Trump's comments made her "furious."

"Every time I have been told, as a woman of colour, to go back to where I came from, that was embedded in racism," she said, adding: “Now I’m not accusing anyone of anything here, but you know what certain phrases mean.” and distinct approaches.

There is need to generate nation wide awareness on diseases like dementia and produce more skilled caregivers to provide domiciliary services to the demented elderly. This programme can help us explore dementia from a holistic angle and identify the areas where there is scope of improvement in dementia care.”

10 READERS VOICE

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

19 - 25 Oct 2019

The debacle of the Labour Party I have been following the reactions from the British Indian community to the recent resolution passed by the Labour Party on the Kashmir matter. I am most astonished that such a resolution has got passed in an emergency and without notice of any of our British Indian labour MPs , labour peers and Councillors!

The issue of Kashmir is best dealt between India and Pakistan when they are both ready. These countries both have a right to make changes internally and there is no need for any outside country to interfere. Most countries have taken such a position but it is astonishing that the UK Labour Party has chosen to resolve to interfere by passing such a resolution. How would we feel if India starts commenting on Scottish devolution?

I am even more astonished to read that none of the British Indian MPs or other Labour politicians seem to have been aware that this resolution was going to be proposed, let alone being passed! How can this be? What were out Labour MPs doing?

We have read that some of the MPs were otherwise busy and that this resolution was passed in an emergency motion. Such an explanation is even more worrying. How can an emergency motion get passed without the knowledge of even one of the Indian Labour MPS. I read that even the party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, nor its executive committee were not aware. What kind of organisation is this?

Any organisation worth its maturity would normally pass resolutions in an organised manner. Usually this would involve serving a notice to the members with proposed resolution and it's time table of when it will be put to debate and vote. There would be adequate time given for the motion to be debated upon and thereafter the members would be called to vote on the same. Was this process followed? It would appear not, given that the party executive, its leader nor any of the British Indian MPs have all said that the resolution was passed in their absence. How can this happen?

I am very concerned that even after this resolution has been passed, there is really no serious objection or uproar from any of our British Indian MPs. What are they afraid of? Why have they not responded in public in the manner how the Jewish lobby did during the anti semitism debate?

I hear that the resolution has been removed from the Labour party's web site. I question why has it not been retracted formally? And why are our MPs not addressing this issue with full commitment and vigour as they should be.

This development further highlights the lack of coordination of the UK Indian and Hindu organisations where they needed to provide a strong and concerted reactions. I do hope the efforts made by Asian Voice in this area bears some fruit and in future such developments are given the right level of treatment.

Subhash V Thakrar B com FCA FRSA By email

Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group

Housing shortages

I thought I'd write to you about a charity I've been patron of for several years now - the Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group. The core work of the group is to visit and give support to asylum seekers and other migrants held in two detention centres (effectively prisons) at Gatwick - Brook House and Tinsley House. The charity is not politically affiliated and seeks to support people no matter what their politics, race, creed or country of origin. I attach a onepage flyer which gives a brief outline of what GDWG is all about.

It's a great cause. It's a small charity, well run by a dedicated Board of Trustees and an excellent MD, with a staff of just 5 people, and about 70 volunteer visitors who visit detainees weekly. Do take a look at the attached flyer if you have a moment which briefly describes the issue of immigration detention in the UK - where some 26,000 people last year were sent to detention centres with no judicial process and without knowing how long they would be held the UK is the only country in Europe with no time limit on detention.

These people are often terribly distressed, with little or no support. That's where Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group's work comes in.

As GDWG approaches its 25th year of extraordinary work, I wonder whether you would be interested in making a donation to the charity? Either a one-off gift, or perhaps a 3 year programme if you were considering a substantial amount? Or perhaps become a 'friend" with a monthly donation?

Lord Navnit Dholakia By email

The issue of housing shortages keep bouncing back every year but nothing is done to tackle the looming crisis. The main victim of this shortage are people relying on social and affordable housing. This has been ignored for a very long time by property developers because of low profit margins accruing from these projects. People are facing overcrowding, inability to afford their rent or mortgages, homelessness and thousands are homeless.

An estimated 8.4 million people in England are living in unaffordable, insecure or unsuitable houses according to the National Housing Federation which is impacting all ages across every part of the country. The report also estimated that around 3.6 million people could only afford to live decently if they were in social housing - almost double the number on the government's official social housing waiting list. Social housing rents are on average 50% cheaper than from private landlords, contracts are more secure and many properties are designed specifically for older people with mobility issues, the federation said.

Government is not interested to build more social housing by imposing a shock interest rate rise on cheap Treasury loans which the Councils say is frustrating because one percent increase on public works loan board (PWLB) finance would delay or scupper housebuilding and regeneration schemes. If this situation is allowed to carry on, then the future of young and vulnerable people’s housing needs will be very bleak. Immediate action by the government and local councils to provide adequate housing to all is required.

Baldev Sharma Rayners Lane, Harrow

Munching on the Go! Some politicians and so called experts on obesity would like government to introduce a blanket ban on eating on public transport and that include buses, tube and rails, although not intercity rails where they sell food and some even have dinning cart. Then there is fish and chip, the most widely eaten food on the go, especially after pubs are closed late on weekends.

As we say, to put it mildly, one person’s food is another person’s poison, especially when it comes to vegetarianism, as some of them could not stand the sight of meat! So why inflict such un-comfort and pain on these people!

Then again people in cities like London live a life in fast lane; many do not have time to take a proper lunch break, munching a sandwich while on the go. So why punish these hard-working people! Most believe it is fine to eat on public transport, as long as they eat sensible food, like sandwiches, avoiding smelly, crunchy food that may disturb fellow passengers.

Moreover it would be difficult to police such a policy, especially on buses and trains, as all buses are drivers only and guards on trains is an ancient history! Such a policy will create conflicts between passengers when Transport Police have more important crimes to tackle. What we need is to educate public what to eat and drink and what to avoid, that may cause offence to other passengers.

Kumudini Valambia By email

UK NEWS

Coroner warns smart motorways put 'lives at risk' after death of boy, eight A coroner has warned that smart motorways are 'putting lives at risk' after an eight-year-old boy was killed when a lorry hit his grandfather's stranded car.

Dev Naran, from Leicestershire, died instantly when the Toyota Yaris he was in - which was stopped on a hard shoulder opened to traffic - was hit at 56mph on the M6 in May last year.

Road chiefs claim the revamped routes – which do not have a hard shoulder – are safe because they have regularly-spaced refuges.

But Emma Brown, the West Midlands area coroner, is to use her legal powers to warn over their safety after a number of drivers have lost their lives after breaking down on carriageways.

Emma Brown, the West Midlands area coroner, said she wanted information from Highways England on how it can improve detec-

The number of motorway deaths is increasing, figures revealed last month, with 107 killed on motorways last year – up 8 per cent on 2017 Dev Naran, from Leicestershire, died on a smart motorway on the M6 in May last year

tion of stranded motorists after the inquest last week, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

At a Birmingham inquest, Mrs Brown demanded answers from Highways England on how it can improve detection of stranded motorists after the inquest last week.

The coroner expressed concerns about a 'risk to life from the loss of the hard shoulder' in conjunction with a lack of technology to

spot lone stationary vehicles, the paper reported.

A Highways England executive told the inquest the company was testing a radar system to detect stationary vehicles and said currently they rely on a call from the public, police or an employee watching live CCTV. The family's lawyer, Keith Barrett, said she was issuing the 'strongest warning' to 'raise the alarm' over smart motorways.

Dev's parents, Meera and Dilesh Naran, are also calling for increased safety measures on smart motor-

ways, after numerous needless deaths have been recorded over the past few years.

Mrs Naran, who is a senior lecturer in post-grad pharmacy, told The Sunday Telegraph: 'Why have people not been taught about these smart motorways?'.

Four people were killed on the M1 in just ten months after being hit by traffic in the live lane that used to be the hard shoulder.

In each case, the victim died after failing to reach a refuge area on the same 16mile stretch of the motorway.

Trump shows his true colour!

US President Donald Trump has proved to be the most controversial President in the history of USA. Many were willing to give him benefit of the doubt, the fact that he is businessman and not a politician. Unfortunately he is too stubborn to listen to any one and if someone gives him right advice that does not match, confirm his own opinion, he is fired without hesitation, no matter how loyal he or she may be. His determination to reduce huge and ever expanding annual trade gap amounting to some $750 billion with rest of the world was commendable, as it would be difficult to maintain such a scenario indefinitely. If it was a private business, it would have gone into liquidation long time ago.

First shooting down of American unarmed drone, as well as attack on oil tankers in international waters in the Strait of Hurmuz and the attack on Saudi Arabian oil refinery, allegedly by Iran, a regional super-power, went unpunished, thus giving Iran a green light to act as it desires feeling secured in the belief that Trump is indeed a toothless tiger they could ignore with contempt!

Now the worse act of lamentable betrayal in modern time, abandoning Kurds to their fate, once US ally in fight against ISIS. PM Boris Johnson should learn a lesson that US is only a fair-weather friend who would not hesitate to abandon a Brexit sinking ship!

Bhupendra M. Gandhi By email

British ISIS executioner's sister harassed journalist The sister of the ISIS executioner known as 'Jihadi Sid' developed a crush on a documentary filmmaker who made a story about her family before harassing him and his ex-girlfriend, a court heard last Thursday.

Konika Dhar, 32, pictured, is the sister of Siddartha Dhar, who fled the UK with his wife and four children to join ISIS in 2014 before he was killed in 2018.

Ms Dhar and her family featured in a Channel 4 documentary called 'My Son the Jihadi', which aired in 2015, produced by Sunday Times security journalist Richard Kerbaj.

But Camberwell Green Magistrates Court heard today that, after the film was completed, Mr Kerbaj received unsolicited heart emoji's and flattering messages from Ms Dhar.

Ms Dhar pleaded guilty to harassing Mr Kerbaj and his ex-girlfriend, reporter Katie Gibbons, in 2016.

District Judge Stuart Miller bailed Dhar for sentencing on October 30 on condition she does not contact the complainants or their friends and relatives.

Ms Dhar previously appeared before the Commons Home Affairs Committee to answer questions about her brother's appearance in an ISIS execution video. Her brother was a former bouncy castle salesman who converted from Hinduism to Islam and changed his name to Abu Rumaysah.

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

19 - 25 Oct 2019

11

12 MEDIA WATCH

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

19 - 25 Oct 2019

SCRUTATOR’S The clampdown on a number of cooperative banks for serious malpractice involving bogus accounts, followed by arrests of senior official were a welcome move by the government to cleanse the banking sector. Economic reforms operate best the system is corruption free.

However, there is much still to be done to free the Indian economy from bureaucratic sloth and rust. India has slipped 10 places to 68 on the annual global competitive index.

To some extent the figure represents improvement by other states, but India’s sluggish performance requires urgent attention from the powers that be.

The wide ranging economic and tax reforms presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will inevitable take time to produce the desired effect going forward, but there must be justifiable anxiety until this happens.

WEF Index, BRICS list The World Economic Forum (WEF) Index has placed Singapore at the top of its competitive list, displacing the United States, now in second place, with India 68.

India’s place among the BRIICS Nations, Brazil (71), Russia (43), India (68), China (26), South Africa (60) is discouraging, as she lags behind Russia, China and South Africa on the WEF Index (Business Line, Times of India, Hindu October 10).

the continuing support and appreciation of our credit by the global investor community.’

(Business Line October 10).

Adani Ports unveil Dhamra port plan Adani Ports plans to invest Rs 48,933 crore to scale up its port at Dhamra in Odisha to handle 314 million tonnes of cargo. India’s largest private port operator looks to make the eastern sea port as big as irts flagship Mundra port in Gujarat. The planned expansion of Dhamra, with a depth of 18 metres, allows super-capsize ships to dock. This will be done in two phases by tweaking the master plan. The revised master plan envisages construction of berths and maritime structures that can handle multipurpose and liquid/gas/cryogenic cargo with larger backup facilities (Business Line October 10).

Rajnath Singh at Rafale facility

Huawei cleared for 5G demonstration Chinese telecom giant Huawei whose 5G technology the company seeks to market across the world has been given permission by the Indian government to demonstrate its 5G system in the country , with an eye to allow the product’s entry.

The US has placed a ban on the Huawei, accusing the company of having covert links with the Chinese military and jeopardising US security. Huawei’s founder has denied these allegations vigously.

America’s allies have generally followed suit. 5G is a breakthrough in telecom communications. If no breach of security is involved, its presence in India could be hugely beneficial (Times of India October 10).

Bharti Airtel raises $750 million India’s telecom major Bharti Airtel has achieved a new milestone with its inaugural hybrid securities offering raising $750 million in the international markets through its 100 per cent owned Mauritiusbased subsidiary Network 121 Limited. This is the first subordinated perpetual securities issue by an investment grade corporate beyond India. Ashish Sardana, Head, Treasury, Bharti Airtel, said: ‘We continue to be focused on strengthening our balance sheet and this subordinated perpetual issue with 100 per cent accounting equity treatment helps us in deleveraging further. We are delighted by the outcome of this transaction and

some of the youth and bright engineers of Indian origin...Their technical knowledge and hard work is impressive and inspiring.’

Minister Singh assured Safran of India’s investor-friendly support. ‘Make in India’ was his government’s operating principle in word and deed (Business Line October 10).

Indo-French ties deepen Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said his talks with his French counterpart Florence Paly held in Paris in the annual Defence Dialogue between the two countries, after which the formal handover of the first Rafale aircraft to Mr Singh took place.

‘We assessed and reviewed the full spectrum of our bilateral defence ties,’ said the Indian Defence Minister. Both sides recognised that the their partnership was a crucial element in maritime security in the Indian Ocean region in the waters dividing India and East Africa (Statesman October 10).

the first of its kind. That focused research on the needs of industry and society. Having acquired the Institute of Eminence tag, IITsBombay, Delhi, Madras hope to significantly increase the earnings from sponsored research (Times of India October 10).

Tata in running for Air India?

Tata Sons is in the running to takeover Air India, India’s cashstrapped national airline which the company owned prior to its ill-judged nationalisation in the 1950s. A government committee headed by Home Minister Amit Shah is reported to be finalising details of its possible sale. There has been a lot of back-and-forth movements on the subject, but with the return to power of the Modi regime with an enhanced majority in Parliament, the time has come to bite the bullet. Air

Top IITs leap in sponsored research Government and private sector industrial funding for specified projects (known as sponsored research) has enabled the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and IIT-Delhi to record 394 per cent and 300 per cent growth in earnings respectively in the last five years. IIT-Madras earned Rs 536.54 crore worth of projects in the financial year 201819 – the first IIT to cross the Rs

Bombay House Tata headquarters

India has enormous assets, not least its national and global reach, but its debts are horrendously large and so is the interest on it.

The coming weeks should reveal all (Business Line October 11).

Monsoon withdraws

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited the manufacturing facility, near Paris, of the French Rafale fighter aircraft acquired by the Indian Air Force, where he met with engineers of Indian origin.

The CEO of Safran, Olivier Andries, the manufacturer of the engines for Rafale, told the Indian minister that he hoped the Indian government would not ‘terrorise’ the company over tax, customs rules and the like. He said: ‘India is set to become the third-largest commercial market for aviation and we are keen to create a strong maintenance and repair base in India to serve customers.’

500 milestone. IITs-Delhi, Guwahati and Bombay recorded Rs 300 through research for industry. Figures from 2015 reveal a steady average of 10-15 per cent earnings growth.

Research Parks One manifestation of such activity is the IIT-Madras research park,

The Monsoon has been phenomenal this year in the copious rain it has brought to all parts of India, but also for its late withdrawal by a month or more.

There have thus been floods in different places, from Kerala and Karnataka in the South and in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in the North, with the expected loss of lives and damage to property (Business Line October 11).

Congress house divided The Opposition Congress Party appears to be faction-ridden, lacking political direction. Rahul Gandhi, once the party’s heir apparent, reliable reports say, commands a loyal following among the party’s younger generation; his mother Sonia

Invited to India In a tweet, Rajnath Singh said: ‘Visited the Engine Manufacturing Facility of Safran...Safran is known for its engine making capabilities.

They have also developed the engine for Rafale. Happy to meet

IIT-Madras campus

Jyotiraditya Scindia

Gandhi, now party President again, is supported by the old guard, a cabal of courtiers wedded to patronage and intrigue. Some members like Shashi Tharoor have suggested elections to bring in new, credible faces that would rejuvenate Congress.

Party divisions have reached the public stage with calls for retrospection after its drubbing at the last general election, which returned the ruling BJP to power.

Issues, such as Kashmir, have resulted in open disagreement, with the youthful Jyotiraditya Scindia crossing swords with senior no-changer Salman Khurshed (Times of India October 10) Kashmir move It would appear that Kashmir is moving towards normalcy in calibrated stages. Three middle and lower ranking local politicians, Yawar Mir, Noor Mohammed and Shoaib Lone were released last week after they signed bonds undertaking to abstain from activity likely to cause unrest in the State and provoke violence. Also, the government withdrew the ban on high-end winter tourists visiting the Kashmir valley. Block Development polls are to be held around October 24. The Congress Party has refused to participate, leaving the field to the BJP (Statesman, Hindu October 10, 11).

Ladakh MP condemns misuse of state funds Ladakh MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal said several people wished to visit the region to explore business opportunities and tapping its resources for personal profit and nothing more.

He preferred visitors who were genuinely interested in promoting human welfare too. Ladakh and been delinked administratively from the valley Kashmir and governed by the centre as a Union Territory, which had long been the demand of the Ladakhi people. The abrogation of Article 370 had opened new vistas of development in the State (Hindu October 10).

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

AsianVoiceNews

19 - 25 Oct 2019

H E AV LP A TO IL A BU B LE Y

www.asian-voice.com

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY AT LYON SQUARE IN HARROW

• Only 5% deposit required with Help to Buy1

21

020 3553 9255 lyonsquare@redrow.co.uk

• Communal courtyard and private play area • On-site amenities including a concierge service, residents gym3 and underground parking4

Discover the distinctive collection of high specification 1 & 2 bedroom homes located in the sought-after area of Harrow on the Hill.

15

Book your viewing today

• Excellent transport links - less than 25 mins to Central London

21

1 and 2 bedroom apartments available

• Stamp Duty paid for first time buyers5, and personalised furniture packs available

Prices from £355,000

• Ready to move into now.

mins

mins

mins

mins

mins

mins

mins

35

2:16

Marylebone Station

Regent’s Park

Bond Street

Oxford Circus

Paddington Station

King’s Cross / St Pancras International Station

Canary Wharf via Crossrail

Paris via Eurostar

1 Help to Buy - terms & conditions apply. See redrow.co.uk for details.

2 Subject to eligibility criteria. 3 Residents gym expected to open winter 18/19.

4 Available at an additional cost. 5 Terms & conditions apply, see redrow.co.uk for details.

Travel times taken from TfL. Details correct at time of going to press.

Interior photography is of Lyon Square show home.

Images & CGIs are indicative only and not representative of the final product.

23

24

WWW.LYONSQUARE.CO.UK

24

hours

13

14 COMMUNITY

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

19 - 25 Oct 2019

Baba Holidays honoured at Leicester Asian Glitz Awards One of the pioneering Asian tour operators in the UK have been honoured for their services in the travel and tourism industry at the Leicester Asian Glitz Awards (LAGA) in De Montfort Hall, Leicester.

Baba Holidays has been particularly focussed to serving the Asian community for over 35 years now with special provisions of Indian vegetarian, non-vegetarian and jain meals. From catering for the Asian groups, families and community centres to Europe and worldwide destinations, Baba Holidays has been at the forefront of the tourism industry in the UK. At the same time, the company is conscious and mindful of their customers' dietary requirements and ensure that their religious beliefs are in accordance with their

Rashmi Joshi, (0left) former Lord Mayor of Leicester and Depti Pandya of Baba Holidays

travel plans.

Now as competition

grows fierce with other tour operators entering the mar-

ket, Baba Holidays have now started exploring the market for destinations weddings, Individual tour packages and special travel junkets for mothers and daughters. Over the years, the company has established its presence in countries such as UK, Europe and other tourist attractions.

“Our first trip to Germany in 1990’s was a great success and we have never looked back since. We are now determined for the company to continue to research various holiday destinations which are of an interest to the community.

We specialise in package and tailor-made holidays and are constantly developing new products to cater for our clients across the world,” said Pradeep Pandya, Founder & CEO, Baba Holidays.

Celebrating World Vegetarian Day at Neasden Temple On 12th October, Saturday Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Her Excellency Mrs Ruchi Ghanashyam, joined worshippers for a special assembly at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden, London.

At the event, she was welcomed by volunteers and trustees of the Mandir where she was introduced to the various social, community and outreach activities that are organised by the Mandir.

The evening celebrated the concept ofvegetarianism, organised as part of the Mandir’s contribution to World Vegetarian Day – an annual day of celebration established by the North American Vegetarian Society in 1977. This is endorsed by the International Vegetarian Union established in 1978.

The programme also paid tribute to the 150th anniver-

PATEL “MARR-ED” AT BBC SHOW Home secretary Priti Patel has been accused of laughing about the impact of a no-deal Brexit in the latest interview on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.

The BBC host was listing the fears of British industry groups in the event of a no-deal Brexit when the home secretary who was being interviewed over a video link, “appeared to be smiling”.

Halfway through reading out a list of groups who have raised concerns in a letter to the government about a no-deal Brexit, Mr Marr said to Ms Patel, “I can’t see why you are laughing.”

The Conservative minister did not respond to the accusation and instead replied by saying the government has been making preparation to mitigate any potential negative impact of no-deal. Emphasising that she had every confidence in British businesses and the economy to perform well regardless of Brexit, she said “Well, I don’t accept that, and you know, I don’t know which data you’re quoting.”

Nigel Evans a Conservative MP for Ribble Valley defended the Home Secretary. He told the Press Association, “Priti Patel and the government are fed up with ‘project fear’ stories and being hammered by journalists who are critical because a government is working tirelessly to deliver what people voted for in the 2016 referendum.”

In the meantime, Labour MP David Lammy responded to Patel by saying it was “unforgivable” that she did not know her own government’s analysis.

DOSHI WINS GLOBAL HEALTH AWARD FOR PHARMACY On 5th October 2019, Viral Doshi of Hayes was awarded the Global Health Award for Pharmacy. Often called ‘The Oscars’ of healthcare professionals for celebrating those working at the ‘Coal Face’, the ceremony was attended by healthcare professionals from all over the UK. Son of Dr Vinod and Hasmita Doshi, Viral is considered one of the best pharmacists in Great Britain. He has won several awards in his career Viral Doshi including- The Pharmacy Business Award, The Clinical Pharmacy Congress Award, The Chemist and Druggist Award and The Royal Pharmaceutical Society Awards. Viral is a passionate advocate for the role that pharmacies can play in supporting the health agenda and has led many varied and innovative projects. He was earlier also designated as a ‘fellow’ of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society for his distinction in pharmacy.

JAVID ASKS ROYAL MINT TO ISSUE COMMEMORATIVE COIN TO MARK GANDHI'S 150TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY sary of Mahatma Gandhi, who was a passionate advocate of embracing a vegetarian diet and lifestyle.

Children, youngsters and swamis delivered powerful discourses which explained the spiritual and health benefits of a pure vegetarian diet. They also

drew upon Hindu scriptures which explain that vegetarianism is vested in the lofty principle of ahimsa – not causing any pain to any living being through one’s actions, words or even thoughts.

Mrs Ghanashyam addressed the congregation,

expressed her gratitude and said, “Thank you to BAPS for helping bring his message of vegetarianism to life. Your presence here in the UK is inspiring for people in India.

Your Mandir here is a living monument of your success in this country.”

The government has decided to issue a commemorative coin to mark the 150th birthday anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid has asked the UK's Royal Mint to work on the coin so that the world would never forget the ideals of Gandhi.

"I've asked the Royal Mint of the UK to propose a new commemorative coin in Gandhi's honour. Gandhi taught us that power doesn't just come from wealth or high office. We must always remember the values he lived his life by and that our parents brought with them when they arrived here all those years ago," said Javid, whilst speaking at an awards ceremony on 10th October.

'Path to Success' raise £59k to support female Paralympic hopefuls A Westminster-based charity has raised more than £59,000 at a fundraising gala dinner to support female paralympic in their journeys to Tokyo in 2020 and beyond.

'Path to Success' hosted a fundraising gala at the Historic Church House in Westminster supporting twelve athletes across four major disability sports: para badminton, wheelchair tennis, para powerlifting and wheelchair basketball.

Athletes included powerlifters Olivia Broome and Louise Sugden, wheelchair

tennis stars Jordanne Whiley, Lucy Shuker, Lauren Jones, Ruby Bishop, Abbie Breakwell and Louise Hunt, para bad-

minton’s Mary Wilson, Rebecca Bedford and Rachel Choong and wheelchair basketball player Sophie Patterson.

All of these athletes are underfunded due to falling outside of central funding programmes wherein they have to fund themselves through any means necessary.

Many rely on friends and family for donations, and if they cannot attract sponsorship, they are forced to dip into their disability allowances.

Para badminton star Mary Wilson was even using her pension pot and war pension to fund her participation in international tournaments before

receiving support from Path to Success.

Path to Success was founded by philanthropist Anita Choudhrie in 2005.

She said, “It is our mission at Path to Success to support and empower women in disability sport. The money raised at this year’s gala dinner will be crucial for our Path to Tokyo 2020 campaign, which supports talented and inspiring disabled female athletes who remain badly underfunded.

“Our goal is to help these women achieve their dreams in Tokyo and beyond, and to inspire a

new generation of female Paralympic stars to embrace their talent and chase their own dreams.”

The money raised by Path to Success will help these athletes afford coaching, tournament entry fees, travel costs, physiotherapy and court hire fees. More than 200 guests attended the gala dinner, with entertainment provided by DJ Navi from Tramp London and Incognito Artists, a group of stars from London’s best-known West End shows who captivated the audience with an assortment of iconic songs.

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

SP

Tanika Gupta A Doll’s House Tanika Gupta

Sunetra Senior anika is a prolific and awardwinning playwright, whose latest adaptation for the stage was the cosmopolitan revival of the Norwegian 1870s classic: A Doll’s House. First created by the European dramatist, Henrik Ibsen, this modern rendition is set in Kolkata during the time of the British Raj in 1879 at the height of western imperialism. “The business of who holds the pen is very important,” Tanika stated.

T

Princess,’ Helmer assures her. The system of moral economic superiority exercised by the white bourgeois male then clearly extends from the domestic to the international space, making the tyranny of that traditional identity twice as heavy. This is further emphasised by the contrasting physiques of Niru, played by the talented Anjana Vasan, and Tom Helmer, played by Elliot Cowan.

The petite frame of the former is uncomfortably dwarfed by Crown’s taller one, appearing both disturbing and ludicrous, viscerally reflecting the hypocritical ideology to which they subscribe. However, our post-modern playwright also remains loyal to the existential complexity of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. “Anjana really committed to the character of Nora, who was always a full-blooded heroine,” Tanika commented. “You can’t mess with the original text too much: I just put my take on it.” Where Nora exploits her husband’s infantilisation of her to preserve her financial security, Anjana’s Niru: “explicitly panders to Helmer’s exoticisation of her too, evoking the additional power dynamic.” This makes Niru definitively complicit in the elab-

“There aren’t enough playwrights of a South Asian background: less so than even black authors. I don’t particularly subscribe to identity politics, but do feel that it’s important to represent colonial history through the eyes of the cultures colonised. Minority perspectives must be told.” Indeed, Tanika’s A Doll’s House maintains Ibsen’s Realist focus on the challenging emotional conflict experienced by a woman whose marriage is moneyed yet ultimately empty while deftly reshaping it. As opposed to the ‘white’ metropolitan housewife Nora, her protagonist is the Bengali middle-class Niru whose romantic struggle is her trans- courtesy of the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre actional mixed-race marriage orate domestic charade. By wholly with an English bank manager, Tom deconstructing the patriarchal world at Helmer, who has great social status in the heart of the Helmer family tension imperial India. then, Tanika’s imagining not only mes“Queen Victoria had just been merizingly re-writes the original, but made Empress of India.” Instead of also cleverly enhances it. As Niru prayers, we hear of mantras, there is seductively convinces the household talk of silk saris in lieu of lace pettiphysician, the pro-Indian Dr Rank, coats, and a musical backdrop of live who pines after her, to tie bells around tablas serenades us as opposed to a her ankles, the underlying dissatisfacdrum kit. “Having creative Bengali partion with husband, Helmer, virtually ents, there was a lot of arts in conversathrobs in plain view. Ultimately, this is tion such as the legendary literary a story about a woman who tries Tagore!” However, importantly, her best to be happy despite as well as paying homage to the binding social con“Ibsen’s an underrepresented narstraints. rative, Tanika’s richly play is one of “Feminism runs developed context also as if a river underthe most frequently highlights racial neath Ibsen’s play”, inequality as an staged, and yet not Tanika elaborated. often-hushed extenonce before has a “It’s the reason I sion of institutional love it. The playSouth Asian actress patriarchy.

This wright never openworks well with the played the lead in the ly identified with intersectional narrathe movement, but UK. This is a dream tive of class and genhe was one of the der inherent in the come true: I'm first European writers original play. “People to have a woman as the proud” tend to feel especially main character. He claimed uncomfortable about the issue simply to want to describe of race, perhaps because it isn’t as humanity.” This unaffected explowidely discussed, but the oppression ration of a women’s reality is likely why operates on the same concept as that of the ending of A Doll’s House became so women and the labouring class. They famous, emerging hard-hitting and go hand in hand”. honest. Nora, who has effectively Indeed, the patronising phrases played the unrewarding superficial role issued by Ibsen’s entitled husband figof porcelain doll, finally walks out on ure to his colourful yet passive wife, her husband and children, smashing such as ‘sky lark’ and ‘my little squirrel’, the entire cushy illusion. In valuing her ring twice as loudly, given the doubly individual freedom above all, this act is marginalised context of South-Asian the very foundation of Feminism. “As femininity. Not only must Tanika’s you watch, you’re thinking, why keep Niru perform the role of the perfect going like that? Just be yourself!” disciplined woman, but also that of the Equally committed to “telling an cultured colonial national in order to authentic story first,” Tanika’s adaptabe socially accepted. ‘My Little Indian tion naturally preserves Ibsen’s time-

lessly transcendent message, also inviting a modern reading for our time. This is that of the ‘Manic Pixie Dream Girl.’

Again, elevated by the spirited Anjana, who exuberantly dances across the stage, and excitedly boasts her palatial home to the new help at the beginning of the play, Niru’s character evokes the phenomenon of a persistent psychological femininity. Although women today enjoy much improved legal and social protection, a forceful male gaze continues to undercut it: concrete in its intensity. Women are still measured by an erotic double standard whereby they are expected to excite and entertain yet remain caring towards men at the expense of honouring a full inner life. If a woman falls short of either binary, she might be considered flighty or a drag, or worse still, selfish.

However, it is this one-dimensional expectation that is wrong and not a woman wishing to stay true to her want.

In A Doll’s House, Nora’s agency is recast in an empowering way after she learns that her husband would put his reputation before her safety in the emotional climax. She no longer regressively stifles herself through automatically mirroring a gender role, realising she deserves better. She decides that she should not settle for man who demands the most of her when he shamelessly walks around being a lesser version. The striking vibrancy of Indian culture on the set of Tanika’s adaptation at once poignantly amplifies the subservient flipside of having to give a palatable performance.

To confront the ugly underbelly of the norm, the play tells us, is better than living a lie. And so, itself unbound expression, free of sanitisation and imposed caveats, Tanika’s A Doll’s House makes its own powerful statement about the grandest paradox that is life: subjectivity must be celebrated to really live in objective truth. “Ibsen’s play is one of the most frequently staged,” Tanika asserted, “and yet not once has a South Asian actress played the lead in the UK. It’s a dream to see Ibsen’s protagonist brought so dynamically to life: a moment of true national pride!” We are each then, it seems, our own idiosyncratic nuance.

What characters did you enjoy developing?

Originally, Das’ character is written as a simple blackmailer. I look at the hierarchal trapping of the Indian caste system through him too. He represents the beginning of Indian nationalism in his revolutionary beliefs.

Similarly, I developed the friendship between the maid and Niru. She leaves her own children to earn money by being the nanny to a ‘white’ household. In that sense, she’s tragic and maternal.

What advice might you give to young or aspiring playwrights?

See as many plays as you can and if you can’t try and read them: study your craft. Theatre is not like a novel, which focuses on editorial skill such as writing beautiful sentences. You’ve got to be attentive to action. S*** has to happen! Also, a good joke or two won’t hurt! Even Helmer has his laughable moments.

T: @Tanika_Gupta

UK

TLIGHT

15

19 - 25 Oct 2019

Royal visit to Pakistan, in the footsteps of Diana

Prince William and Duchess Kate of Cambridge arrived in Pakistan late Monday, 14th October for a five-day official visit described as their "most complex" ever due to major logistical and security issues in a diplomatically touchy region. This is the couple's first visit to Pakistan, made at the request of the British government. Among others, they will meet with Prime Minister Imran Kahn, the former cricket superstar-turned-politician who was a friend of Will's late mother, Princess Diana. They also will spend time exploring the complex security picture in Pakistan, meeting with British and Pakistan military personnel who are sharing expertise to improve security.

Meeting on Wednesday of Indian Organisation This is an invitation only meeting for the signatory organisations to the letter and restricted to one attendee per organisation.

We are highly restricted on numbers. We would be grateful if you could respect this position and not create any embarrassing position by showing up if you are not representing a signatory organisation. This will be checked at the door. Also, if you have inadvertently circulated this email to others then please make them aware of this position.

FINANCIAL A SERVICES MORTGAGES Residential Buy to Let Remortgages

PROTECTION Life Insurance Critical Illness Income Protection

Please conta act:

Dinesh Shonchhatra S Mortgage Ad dviser

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

16 MODI - XI JINPING SPECIAL

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

19 - 25 Oct 2019

From trade to terror, PM Modi and Xi resolve to work closely together Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mamallapuram near Chennai on October 11. While this is the second informal summit between Modi and Xi, they have met 17 times in bilateral and multilateral settings in the past five years. Xi’s visit comes soon after the recent episode of turbulence in bilateral ties over India's decision to withdraw Jammu and Kashmir's special status and reorganise the state into two union territories.

Modi and Xi had covered a wide range of topics from trade to terror in their oneon-one discussions but there was no mention of Kashmir. “The issue was not raised and not discussed. Our position is anyways very clear that this is an internal matter of India,” foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said briefing journalists after the summit. He added that the relationship between the two countries was “not predicated on a single issue. It ranged from historical problems to cooperation at the international and regional spheres.”

In his conversation, Xi gave Modi an unvarnished version of the Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s visit, relaying Imran’s complaint that India had refused to talk to him. Modi chose not to respond, sources said. However, Xi’s decision to brief Modi about Imran’s visit could be part of a confidence-building exercise with India.

was a “visible progress”, he said. Gokhale added that Xi was keen on strengthening the collaboration between the two countries in defence. An invitation had been extended to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to visit China.

PM Modi goes plogging

Ahead of his talks with Xi, Modi went plogging on a beach in Mamallapuram, in a 30-minute cleanliness Prime Minister Narendra Modi exchanging the gifts with Chinese drive. In a video tweeted by President Xi Jinping, in Mamallapuram Modi, he is seen picking up litter at a beach near Taj Fisherman's Cove Resort and Spa where he is staying.

"Plogging at a beach in Mamallapuram this morning. It lasted for over 30 minutes. Also handed Investment, trade feature in talks over my 'collection' to Jeyaraj, who is a part of the The “cordial” conversations between hotel staff," he tweeted.

Modi and Xi lasted for over five hours "Let us ensure our public focused mainly on exchanging notes on places are clean and tidy! Let “national visions and governance us also ensure we remain fit priorities”. Modi told Xi that his renewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping and healthy," Modi further mandate was for economic development at Krishna’s Butter Ball, in Mamallapuram wrote. In another tweet, and the Chinese leader responded by (traditional percussion and wind Modi shared a few pictures where he is saying that he was ready to work closely met at the Tanjo Hall in Taj Fisherman's instruments respectively) music. Scores of seen walking and exercising along the coast. with the Indian leader. The leaders had a Cove for the second round of their informal children greeted him by waving Indian and "Refreshing walk and exercises in short conversation on the challenge of talks. After around an hour-long talks, the Chinese flags on his arrival. Attired radicalisation and terrorism, which they two leaders took a stroll along the beach in a striking Tamil traditional 'karai dubbed as a “common” challenge. and were seen engaged in discussion. veshti' (dhoti with a border in green), Modi also turned tour guide for Xi, Sources said the talks between the two angavastram (a shawl), and a half explaining the significance of the historical leaders went off well. The tete-e-tete was sleeve white shirt, Modi walked monuments for the Chinese leader. Modi followed by delegation level discussions. towards his guest Xi to shake hands India and China agreed to set and exchange pleasantries. A one-onup a high-level economic and one dinner between Modi and Xi in trade dialogue mechanism to go the magnificent Shore Temple of into trade, investment and Mamallapuram under a sea-facing services. The mechanism would tent overshot deadlines, going on for include Finance Minister over two-and-a-half hours of "open Nirmala Sitharaman and China’s and cordial" discussion on issues Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua. The from trade to terrorism and two leaders also agreed that the respective “national visions”. A possibility of forming a variety of Indian culinary delights, “manufacturing partnership” from Thakkali Rasam and should be explored through the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at Arjuna’s Penance, in Mamallapuram Arachavitta Sambar to Kadalai proposed mechanism. Modi Kuruma and Kavanarasi Halwa, the course of Mamallapuram, along the scenic coast," he suggested that both sides identify meal served to the leaders reflected the wrote. specific industries or sectors diversity of south Indian culinary traditions.

Earlier, a red carpet welcome was where investment could come in accorded to Xi who was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi carried out plogging at a beach in Mamallapuram and manufacturing would help Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal create employment, jobs and Purohit, Chief Minister K explained to Xi that the Ganesh Ratha enhance the market for both sides. The Palaniswami, Deputy Chief remained an active place of worship even “informal summit” between Modi and Xi Minsiter O Panneerselvam and today, over 1300 years after it was built. concluded in Kovalam, about 30 km from Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P There was also a reference to the ancient Chennai.

Dhanapal. The Chinese President Pallava prince Bodhidharma who travelled to The development assumed importance was treated by Tamil cultural China and Japan to spread Zen Buddhism in the light of India expressing concerns performances with about 500 folk and the art of Kung Fu. The two leaders also repeatedly over its trade deficit of about $50 dancers and Bharatanatyam artistes enjoyed a thrilling cultural performance at billion with China in the bilateral trade. rendered performances, including Shore Temple's complex in the evening, Foreign Secretary Gokhale said that there "tappattam," and "poi kal kuthirai" showcasing the Indian classical dance forms had been “greater recognition” by China of while a group of colourfully dressed of Kathakali and Bharatnatyam to fast-paced economic and trade level matters [that women presented a Bharatanatyam Carnatic music. concerned India]. The Chinese President, programme to the accompaniment Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was carrying an Signalling an intent to refashion ties for during the deliberations, had agreed to have of 'thavil' and 'nadaswaram' acupressure roller while plogging on the Mamallapuram beach greater bilateral cooperation, Modi and Xi the issue of trade deficit addressed, which

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

UK

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

17

19 - 25 Oct 2019

Your job should not include abuse

Priyanka Mehta

In October 2017, revelations of sexual abuse within Hollywood led to a global #MeToo movement on social media as women shared their stories of sexual abuse and discrimination, across all quarters of society sparking a wider debate over pay, representation and sexism. Marking a two year legacy of the #MeToo movement in the West and its one year head start in the East especially in Bollywood, we examine the consequences and the achievements of the campaign.

“The #MeToo movement sparked a new wave of activism that has led to millions of people internationally repeating the slogan, either in solidarity or as person of courage speaking from experience. It has enabled us to have a conversation against the hidden issue of sexual harassment that have gone unheard for decades.

“It gave me the courage

marriages and honour based violence.

She is also the same woman who stepped forward in confronting a Liberal Democrat House of Lords peer embroiled in a sexual harassment controversy. Lord Anthony Lester was later suspended from his Party after it emerged that he had tried to pressure Sanghera into having sex with him by promising to

Lord Lester

to come forward as the movement created a culture of being able to talk about the issues and the effects on the lives of women. I believe it has achieved tremendous outcomes that have and continue to impact on policy, practice and society as a whole. As someone who came forward I know of the many fears victims will be experiencing, of all of them the biggest is not being believed,” said Jasvinder Sanghera, Founder of the charity Karma Nirvana and a campaigner against forced

make her a baroness, and threatening repercussions if she refused. He had reportedly said,

“If you sleep with me, I will make you a baroness within a year.”

Lord Lester of Herne Hill resigned from the House of Lords last December following the allegations, which the prominent QC said were “completely untrue”. Whilst he remains suspended from Parliament, the 83-year-old, who had reported himself to the Bar Standards Board

Jasvinder Sanghera

(BSB), said he was “delighted” to be cleared to continue practising as a QC. Perhaps, this clearance by the barristers' regulator highlights the real struggle that challenging authority and institutions brings for women. The struggle for women of colour perhaps can be more arduous. Jasvinder says, “You may look at me and see an empowered woman, but it took me 12 years to come forward and I did not feel at all empowered. I don't feel the messages of speaking out against sexual harassment are reaching out to Asian women because these conversations are not happening within our communities. Asian women will have various struggles when speaking out and these may also relate to how they will be perceived and judged by others within their family and communities. I also felt this but not in relation to my family and/or community as I am someone who is disowned, I no longer feared this shame and stigma.”

One in four women reluctant to report workplace sexual harassment A recently conducted research shows that one in four women in England and Wales would be reluctant to report workplace sexual harassment due to fears they

might be fired as a result. and people find it difficult to talk openly about the disease and seek help from the community.

Young Women's Trust, the institution commission the survey, has now called on the government to take action by placing a legal duty on employers to proactively prevent sexual harassment in the workplace and making them liable if they fail to act on reports of such incidents. Gender pay gap, representations and equal promotion opportunities lie at the core of this movement.

These issues form and inform part of the broader discussions needed in the fight for gender equality.

Complaints up and convictions down But despite some high-profile firings of abusers, many women fear their workplaces are not willing to tackle sexual misconduct, according to the survey of nearly 2,000 women aged between 18 and 30 in England and Wales. In contrast, the British justice system has seen a sharp rise in the number of complaints made to police of rape and sexual assault over the past two years.

The number of rapes, reported to police in England and Wales, which

was already on an upwards trajectory, surged by almost 13,000 to 54,045 in 2017-18, compared with 41,186 the previous year. They leaped by a further 9% to 58,657 the following year. By contrast, the number of convictions for rape plunged over the same period – from 2,635 in 2017-18 to 1,925 in 2018-19.

Kate Ellis, is a solicitor at the Centre for Women’s Justice in London. She is convinced that #MeToo has had a direct effect and in a statement to The Guardian she said, “It’s encouraged people to feel able to come forward, but whether procedures are ready in this country [to handle complaints] is another question.

The rise in reporting to the police is very significant and that’s probably an indication of victims feeling they will be believed and

it has my full support, as mother who has a son and two grandsons, I want them to access support in the same-way as women because this is what gender equality is all about.

“We want to hear how they intend to tackle these issues within their manifestos and policies. The change also has to come from children and young people who I believe should be educated in schools about gender equality and healthy relationships.”

Watered down in Bollywood In October 2018, almost a year to the day after the #MeToo movement erupted in the U.S. around film producer Harvey Weinstein, allegations of sexual harassment and assault flooded India.

Women began recounting

Anu Malik

supported. I have clients say to me they were victims of sexual offences but didn’t report it. Then around the time of #MeToo they decided they had to go to the police.”

Now, a #MeToo movement for men has also been initiated. The Women's Equality Party is gathering immense momentum, but feminists advocate that the time is now for all political parties to take on these issues. Jasvinder says, “I would say a #MeToo for men is long overdue and

tales from years or even decades earlier, often at great risk to their reputations and safety. From journalist turned politicians such as M J Akbar to Anu Malik prominent names were mired in controversies around sexual harassment, exploitation and general attitudes towards women.

Yet, Anu Malik's return as a judge at Indian Idol, India's prominent singing competition is a sign that perhaps the #MeToo movement in India is watered down.

18 FINANCE - UK

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

19 - 25 October 2019

Consultant Editor Financial Voice Alpesh Patel Dear Financial Voice Reader, You may have seen my ‘performance’ on the BBC. I was asked where if, like the recent lottery winner who won £173m, I would put my money. I said, that the best way to give financial advice is to pretend you are giving it to your mother in law – that way you will always be accurate.

So what was my advice? Well, this week the main Woodford fund is wound up. Remember I beat Neil Woodford in a 12 month Financial Times competition to forecast the markets over a decade ago and kept telling people you’re using name recognition (winner:him) to choose not performance (winner:me).

My advice, to keep things simple and short was to say, look if there is a crash, you need cash heavy companies.

And my fellow Indians are heading up some of the most cash rich companies. Thankfully, this past week Indra Nooyi took on a Board position at Amazon too!

So I mentioned Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Mastercard. I could have added Adobe, Cognizant – which has revenues of $16billion. Of course it doesn’t have to be tech, there is Pepsi and Diageo too. And even more regular – Reckett Benckiser, whose CEO Rakesh Kapoor will be on around $100m salary when he retires this year – they’re HQ’d in Slough!

I don’t know if it’s because they’re Indian they pile up cash, or it’s his Indianness that led the share information site Motley Fool to say this about Rakesh, “We’re all used to chief executives bigging up underwhelming results by focusing on the positives and refusing to mention the negatives, so CEO Rakesh Kapoor’s candour is refreshing. “Our like-for-like performance in H1 was +1%, somewhat below our expectations. Hygiene Home delivered another quarter of consistent top line growth but progress in Health in Q2 was disappointing.” “ Maybe these IIT’ians learn lost about making every $ count, getting high return on capital expenditure, hiring carefully, paying not too well, but well enough? Maybe some of the things which in an austere India as they grew up, they learnt some very important business lessons.

One thing is for sure, the corporate world is in love with Indians. There is a gag about this. Head of Microsoft, Mastercard, Pepsi, Google – Indian. Head of JeM, Lashkare-Omar, Jaish ul-Adl, Lashkar-Taiba: Pakistani.

That’s a bit harsh. And one shouldn’t be jingoistic and nationalist. But given the Kashmir situation, I see why people make such gags. Given what India and Indians have achieved, the tragedy, as my Pakistani friends tell me, is the huge wasted potential in Pakistan.

Tapping into the Biotech Industry: o2h Ventures celebrates its first birthday The o2h therapeutics and AI EIS fund recently celebrated its first birthday on 19th September 2019.

The organisation offers private investors the opportunity to back promising medical innovations via an Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Investment Scheme (SEIS). An investment firm, it predominantly specialises in backing biotech companies, and focuses on AI-related opportunities. o2h Ventures has recently won the Business Angel of the Year and Sunil Shah, CEO o2h Ventures even entered the finals of the EISA Impact Award. So far six Investments have been made from the Fund since January 2019.

Portfolio companies include DeepMatter, Exonate, Metrion, Oxford Drug Design, Small Pharma and Somaserve. Three other investments are in the process of completion. It includes AI VIVO, Machine Learning to optimise new drug discoveries (SEIS), Pencil Biosciences, Next-generation genome editing tool (SEIS), and Turbine, Using AI to predict cancer behaviour (EIS).

To support the fund, o2h Technology, a subsidiary of o2h Group, has developed an on-boarding and portfolio management application to make the investment processes efficient and transparent for investors. The app is available for free on iOS and Android app stores. Co-founded by Anglo Indian brothers Sunil and Prashant Shah, o2h Ventures Limited launched the o2h Therapeutics and AI fund, the first S/EIS fund of its kind in the UK. It is solely focused on early-stage biotech therapeutics and related AI opportunities.

The biotech sector is one of the leading sectors in the UK economy. The large pharma companies now rely on the small innovative biotechs for new ideas in disease areas such as cancer, genomics, anti-ageing, and neurosciences amongst others which has led to higher potential exit valuations. The Fund will widen the community of investors that will help expand early-stage research in the UK. For more information about o2h, please visit- http://www.o2h.com/ventures

Sajid Javid plans first postBrexit budget on Nov 6 Finance minister Sajid Javid announced to deliver Britain’s first post-Brexit budget statement on Nov. 6, less than a week after the country’s deadline for leaving the European Union, if it exits with a deal.

It will be Javid's first budget since he became chancellor in July.

"This is the right and responsible thing to do - we must get on with governing," Javid said. “I will be setting out our plan to shape the economy for the future and triggering the start of our infrastructure revolution,” he added in a statement. However, in the event of a no-deal Brexit which would cause a major shock to the world’s fifthbiggest economy - the government would act quickly to outline its approach and “take early action to support the economy, businesses and households,” followed by a budget in the weeks after,

the government said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he will take Britain out of the EU on Oct. 31, if necessary without a transition deal to soften the economic turmoil.

But lawmakers have passed legislation aimed at forcing him to seek a delay if there is no transition.

The opposition Labour Party said the budget announcement would Sajid Javid probably be aimed at UK fiscal watchdog which wooing voters before an produces economic early election that Johnson forecasts for a budget, in a is demanding. “We expect difficult position. Robert more of the same. An Chote, OBR chair, has said electioneering stunt rather the watchdog would do its than a budget to rebuild our best to publish a finalised stalling economy and reset forecast without the normal the direction of our time, but would not be able country,” John McDonnell, to take different Brexit Labour’s top finance official, scenarios into account.Javid said. has already announced the The lack of the normal biggest increase in day-to10 weeks’ notice of a budget day public spending in 15 date puts the Office for years, putting borrowing on Budget Responsibility, the

course to overshoot a cap set by his predecessor, Philip Hammond. Javid has suggested he is prepared to borrow more in the future to take advantage of record-low borrowing costs. Britain has steadily cut its budget deficit from almost 10% of gross domestic product in 2010 to just under 2% now.

But analysts have warned that Javid could end up weakening Britain’s budget credibility by making big spending pledges at a time when the economy has slowed and the outcome of Brexit remains so unclear. Public debt has more than doubled since before the financial crisis to more than 80% of gross domestic product. Like the government, the Bank of England also faces limits on how much help it can give the economy.

Blackburn tycoons could be ranked among Britain's wealthiest Indian origin brothers from Blackburn whose parents came to Britain "with nothing" stand to gain a £5 billion fortune by floating their petrol station empire. A potential stock market float is one of a number of options being explored, those close to the company said. It could see it valued at £10 bn - and between them the brothers own half the business, putting them in line to control a £5 bn stake. It would lead the duo bolting towards the peak of Britain's rich list, ahead of the likes of Sir Richard Branson and the blue blooded Schroder family of financiers.

Armed with TDR’s support it has been on a period of ultra-rapid expansion, tripling site numbers last year and adding an extra 1,000 locations so

Mohsin and Zuber Issa

far in 2019. EG is reportedly in early discussions with banks, though none have been formally appointed.

Mohsin and Zuber Issa, 48 and 47, were born in a terraced house in Lancashire after their father, a Gujarati immigrant, moved to Britain to work in the textile industry. They opened their

first forecourt in Bury in 2001 and have since transformed their company EG Group into a global behemoth with 4,700 sites in the US and Europe. The Issas - who already boast a combined net worth of £1.2 bn - own EG alongside private equity giant TDR Capital. EG Group is the

largest independent petrol station operator and employs around 25,000 people and earns annual revenues of more than $20 bn (£15.8bn).

A rise in the brothers’ net worth would help others, too. The brothers donate 2.5 pc of their wealth to charity.

An increase of £3.8 bn means an additional £95m would be donated to good causes. The Issa Foundation supports local hospitals and provides free breakfasts for school children in and around Blackburn. Earlier this year, Zuber said: “Education is the only way to get people out of poverty. “Our parents came to the UK in the 1960s with nothing. This is our way of saying ‘thank you’ because the UK has provided us with a fantastic opportunity to build our business.”

Natco Foods donates all profits to charities Natco Foods is a leading supplier of South Asian cooking ingredients since the 1960s. It sources, processes and distributes foodstuffs to consumers in the UK. The award-winning brand for all South Asian food products, has till date donated over £5m as opposed to issuing dividends to its shareholders. The business house is now committed to donating 100% of its profits to charity.

The privately owned family business, unpins its goals through the Human

Capability Foundation which Luke, Danny and Natasha Pagarani run as volunteers. The foundation makes these donations directly to small community-based organisations in India working on issues such as gender equality, girls’ education, health and livelihoods.

It particularly focuses on the rights of marginalised groups, with special emphasis on addressing growing poverty, mental health and disability.

Managing Director, Luke Pagarani said, “We travel regularly to remote areas of India, both for sourcing many of our ingredients from as well as supporting communities in their struggle for solidarity and achieving equality under difficult circumstances.

“For example, on our last trip we visited our project with Jeevika in rural West Bengal, which involves teaching landless women to grow organic vegetables on tiny scraps of waste land to combat malnutrition, while

at the same time helping them to organise mutual support groups to combat domestic violence and alcoholism.”

Very few Natco consumers are aware of the company’s charitable achievements as they do not publicise their charitable activities. Natco directors are seeking to hear the views from their customers about the company’s humanitarian mission as they aim to expand their philanthropic footprint in Nepal, Bangladesh and India.

REAL ESTATE VOICE

AUCTION UNDERCURRENTS

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

The art world has a reputation of being under handed. There is no regulation in this market, the price of a picture is not even quoted. The artists and dealers protect themselves by saying this allows the viewing to be totally about the art and not the price. In theory, and sometimes in practice, dealers will quote a different price depending on who they are speaking to. Why would they do this? Because, where the piece ends up will affect the future of the artist. In certain galleries the artist will gather repute, and in the home of a private collector who perhaps does not even know what he’s buying, the sale will have little impact.

Suresh Vagjiani

Sow & Reap London Property Investment

19

19 - 25 Oct 2019

bids coming in until they hit the reserve price. Not exactly transparent.

Given this is only one thread of how the art market works, it is refreshing when there is an auction, as anyone who qualifies for a paddle can come in and bid. The auction room offers transparency. OR does it?

In the property market, unlike the art market, there is transparency in terms of pricing. One can see within minutes what all the other properties in the block or street have sold for, and when the sale occurred. You can also see the ownership details, and whether they have a mortgage and with whom. This is arguably perhaps a little too much information. This is the issue of the property market, there is too much information and therefore the margin is very tight; meaning everyone knows the construction cost, and the resale values.

buyer, whilst complying with the letter of the law but not the spirit.

Auctioneers often have a habit of, what they call in the art market, chandelier bidding. The term for the property market is bidding against the wall, as you don’t always have a chandelier in the humble rooms used. Here, the auctioneer starts the bidding below the reserve price, and if there are no bids in the room they pretend there are

The property auction market may look transparent and on the whole is; however, those who know the rules also know how to bend them. With the influx of retail investors, many auctions instead of being the realm for dealers, have now become a dumping ground for traders.

With the idea being to dupe the unsuspecting

We have seen several cases of buyers ending up with lemons from the auctions. However, auctions can also be a great place to pick up opportunities, and you do have the security of actually getting the deal done. One just needs to exercise a healthy dose of caution when tackling them.

AGONY AGENT IS HERE TO HELP! Q: My tenant would like to end her tenancy early. What should I do? The tenant has only just recently signed into a Fixed Term Tenancy; however, she is struggling financially.

A: Ending a tenancy agreement early depends on having a break clause or an understanding landlord. This is unfortunately a fairly common issue for landlords, and we have been asked many times as to what the responsibilities are of both.

What is a Fixed Term Tenancy?

A Fixed Term Tenancy is a tenancy agreed for a term – in most cases as an Assured Shorthold Tenancy – this is between 6 months to 3 years. We are seeing a definite increase in the demand for longer term tenancies. The tenancy

will have an agreed start date and end date, and unless there is a significant breach of the agreement, or the agreement contains a break clause, this agreed term is contractually binding on both parties, and may be enforced by either party.

A Fixed Term Tenancy may include a break clause allowing both to terminate the agreement early. If you give a Fixed Term Tenancy with no break, you will only be able to seek possession if one of the grounds for possession in the Housing Act 1988 apply, and if the terms of the tenancy allow for it to be ended on any of these grounds.

Ending a tenancy agreement early with a break clause A break clause is a term in a Fixed Term

BUY TO LET OPPORTUNITY Marylebone, London Purchase Price: £450,000

Tenancy agreement, which allows either person the right to end the agreement before the end of the agreement. Having a break clause can give both parties flexibility to end the agreement early. At times tenants and landlords like the flexibility provided by a break. It seems sensible when including a break clause, that both parties can give the same notice period, for example two months.

Mutual agreement between landlord and tenant In the situation above you are not under any obligation to agree to end the tenancy agreement early with the tenant.

Regardless of the tenant’s personal circumstances they are contracted to pay the rent to you for the remainder of the fixed term.

We would imagine though, that most people would prefer not to have a tenant living in their property who is struggling financially, and always having to worry whether the rent will be paid on time every month. It is always best if one can have a positive relationship with one’s tenants, so we would suggest that you choose to work with your tenant to arrive at an agreeable solution.

As part of our full management package, we have worked with many landlords and tenants to reach a solution to end a tenancy agreement early. This usually requires the outgoing tenant to continue to pay rent until a new tenant is found and they would also agree to pay for the cost of finding a tenant. Once a new tenant is found and referenced, the landlord would agree to an early termination date.

l Large three bedroom flat with long lease and low service charges l Ready to rent

l Close to Marylebone and Edgware Road stations and the green open spaces of Regents Park

l Excellent yield of 5.5% per annum

l £160K cash required to close this deal, subject to mortgage criteria l Excellent long term buy and hold opportunity Call us now for more information!

Specialists in Central London Property Sourcing

0207 993 0103

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

Sowandreapuk

Turning land into cash Get in touch about our land opportunities

20 FINANCE - INDIA

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

19 - 25 October 2019

India seeks checks on 50% of Chinese imports in trade pact India’s tough stand on providing a safety valve to cover at least 50% of Chinese imports under Regional Comprehensive Partnership (RCEP), has held up conclusion of talks for the mega trade agreement that has been in the works for over six years now.

Trade ministers of the 16-nation RCEP grouping will meet once again on 1 November after failing to reconcile their positions.

During the ministerial meeting, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal also demanded that India’s concerns on e-commerce, investment, taxation, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and policies framed by local bodies should also need to be reworked before it could sign the

Piyush Goyal

deal, triggering complaints by negotiators from other countries, who have been pushing for early conclusion of talks.

While Asean and others are ready to sign the deal, India is accused of holding it up. Just when things looked settled, Goyal and his team raised concerns resulting in a situation

Singh brothers arrested

Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh

The economic offences wing of the Delhi Police arrested former Religare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh, his brother Malvinder Mohan Singh and the company’s ex-CMD Sunil Godhwani for alleged default in repayment of dues and causing wrongful loss of £239.7 million to Religare Finvest Ltd (RFL). The brothers have been ousted from Religare and Fortis after they pledged their shares to raise money, but could not repay the loans, setting the stage for a rapid slide for the scions of the top business family. The brothers and top executives, including Godhwani, are also being probed by other agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate and the Serious Frauds Investigation Office (SFIO).

Two former top executives of the company, Kavi Arora and Anil Saxena, were also arrested for their alleged involvement in the case. Additional CP (EOW) O P Mishra said a case of cheating and fraud was registered last March on the basis of a complaint registered by RFL legal manager Manpreet Singh Suri.

where the talks ended without a joint statement by the ministers.

Negotiators from other countries, especially Singapore and Thailand, blamed New Delhi for holding up the deal. A report in Japan alleged that Indian negotiators “almost banged the table” at the “very tough and serious” meeting in Bangkok.

Although the commerce department refused to comment on the issue, sources said negotiators have been given time till October 22 to try and address India’s concerns, leaving just a small window of a fortnight before leaders from the 16 countries meet to take stock of the talks that were to be end by the year.

“Positions are narrowing and

all countries have been given time to close negotiations by 22 October including bilaterals," an Indian trade official said.

Sources said, there is a distinct possibility that only a limited deal would be possible to be thrashed out over the next month, unless adequate protection is built into the agreement.

There is strong opposition by domestic constituencies, including farmer organizations, dairy cooperatives such as Amul, civil society organizations, and industrial sectors against RCEP as they fear it would lead to flooding of the Indian market by cheap Chinese goods and farm items from Australia and New Zealand.

More items may face import curbs The government of India has identified hundreds of products, including electronics, toys, blankets and several daily-use items for possible “import substitution” by discouraging their shipments into the country.

While the commerce department, which is spearheading the move, has prepared a detailed list of products and a final decision will be taken only after consultation with other government agencies. The strategy to check imports could be multi-fold, including an increase in import duty to prod global players to set up shop in India and provide protection to domestic industry that may be currently manufacturing it. Besides, a list of products are also being discussed for possible safeguard action by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies, including products such as iron and steel among 100-150 items that are under scrutiny.

While the commerce department has been seeking

standards for a host of items to check imports from China, its suggestions have found few takers even within the government with some of the ministers themselves opposing it.

Import substitution has been a key theme of commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal ever since he moved into Udyog Bhawan in June.

He along with some of his colleagues in the government such as MSME minister Nitin Gadkari sees it as part of the ‘Make in India’ strategy, which will also help exports in the long run. India has a poor export performance to show during the last five years, although the government has blamed global demand for it.

Critics are, however, arguing that the entire plan, where repeated rounds of

discussions have also taken place, could come a cropper if the government goes ahead with the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the proposed free trade agreement between the ASEAN countries, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand as India will allow duty free import of 80-90% goods at low or zero duty.

At the same time, a knee jerk response by raising import duty or other restrictions on products is also fraught with other risks.

For instance, the department is now realising that it may have erred in putting curbs on agarbatti and related product imports as it may be detrimental to the interests of domestic players.

Similarly, higher import duties on some of the electronic products have resulted in discouraging imports from several countries but higher shipments from Vietnam, which is part of Asean and has a free trade agreement with India.

in brief AI SELLOFF PROCESS TO START NEXT MONTH The fresh attempt to privatise Air India is likely to kickstart next month. Before issuing the expression of interest, the government will this time meet potential buyers - including names like Tata Group and InterGlobe Aviation that run airlines and other big Indian corporates already in aviation space - to assess their interest. The idea is to avoid roadblocks that led to the first attempt seeing not even a single bid coming for Maharaja last year and be successfully able to complete AI divestment within this fiscal itself. “The department of investment and public asset management (DIPAM) expects to launch EOI for AI divestment by early November. The government will also decide on transfer of more debt from the airline’s books to SPV Air India Assets Holding Ltd (AIAHL). There is enough interest in the Maharaja and the process of stake sale is on track,” said sources in the know.

INFOSYS BUYS IRISH CONTACT CENTRE OPERATOR Infosys BPM, the business process management arm of Infosys, has acquired Waterford (Ireland)- based customer contact centre operator Eishtec. Eishtec, it said, employs 1,400 people. The report said the “merger would provide an opportunity for growth, with Eishtec and Infosys BPM already sharing some key clients.” Eishtec was cofounded by Heather Reynolds in 2011.

Reynolds has over 25 years industry experience in the services sector across many companies including AOL, Dell UK, and TalkTalk Group, where she held many senior management roles. Eishtec delivers customer solutions for clients across a broad spectrum of industries including technology, telcos, utilities, government and retail sectors.

PLAN TO SELL SHIPPING CORPORATION OPPOSED The shipping ministry had opposed the government’s plan to exit Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), citing the public sector carrier’s strategic role, but agreed to the proposal after a discussion in a top-level panel.

The meeting of the committee of secretaries (CoS), which recommended strategic sales of SCI and oil retailer BPCL, the ministry had flagged its concern, arguing that the company’s fleet of vessels came handy in transporting oil, cargo and even passengers during a war or crisis. But other members of the panel argued that several countries did not have a national shipping line and yet managed to perform the tasks in case of an emergency.

Besides, SCI can hardly do much in case of a war, members of the high-level panel are learnt to have said, countering the argument.

Thomas Cook, the first casualty of Brexit or the start of a trend?

Tony Piggott

The past few weeks have been dominated with articles about the fall from grace of Thomas Cook and its meaning for the Uk economy post-Brexit. The Remain campaigners have clearly pointed to this being the first casualty of Brexit, although others also argued it was simply a

failure of the executive board to move with the times towards the digital online space, coupled with recent, poorly judged investments expanding the group's retail presence on the high street. This week's British Retail Consortium, (BRC) release for September at -1.3% and -1.7% year on year is the weakest reading since the mid-1990s adding to the view that the demise of Thomas cook is predominately down to poor strategy by the executive board.

The political backdrop is also compounding the negative feeling with the supreme court ruling

against the government and the upcoming European Council meeting on the 17th/18th where a decision needs to be agreed before the approaching Brexit withdrawal date on the 31st.

Just this week, HMRC have warned of £15bn worth of administrative costs for firms trading with the EU. The sterling interest rate markets have taken a turn lower in this environment after initially rallying from the September lows, when an extension to Brexit looked achievable, as an example, the 5year sterling swap rate reached a high of 0.79%, now currently trading at

0.50%. To put this into context over the period 3rd of September till 7th October the 5 year swap rate has traded in a range of 32bp, (see graph below).

This level of volatility is a reflection of uncertainty, both political and economic, as forecasts for Uk and global activity become harder to predict.

A hedge fund manager

was recently quoted as saying “sterling is untradeable at present as it moves on the back of political announcements with economic fundamentals taking a back seat in the very s h o r t term”.

There are credible economic arguments for both interest rates to rise and fall over coming months, depending on how the Bank of England chooses to respond to Brexit.

As the UK’s largest FCA authorised provider

of hedging advice, we are continually helping our clients succeed by delivering individually tailored solutions and advice to achieve their desired hedging profile, consistent with the appropriate level of risk for their business. You can monitor key market rates by subscribing to our FREE market rate sheet, updated daily, or alternatively download by visiting our website.

Tel: 020 7183 2277 www.vedantahedging.com

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

PAKISTAN

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

21

19 - 25 October 2019

in brief US FIRM TO COMPENSATE INDIAN, SYRIAN-ORIGIN STAFFERS Leading American multinational corporation Halliburton has agreed to pay $275,000 to two of its Muslim employees of Indian and Syrianorigins who were subjected to religious discrimination and accused of having links with terrorists by the company’s employees.

The firm, one of the world’s largest providers of products and services to the energy industry, has agreed to pay the amount and furnish significant relief to settle a national origin and religious discrimination suit brought by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The lawsuit alleged that oilfield workers Mir Ali, a Muslim co-worker of Indianorigin and Hassan Snoubar of Syrian-origin were subjected to a hostile environment. Both of them were frequently called derogatory names and was accused of being associated with terrorism and the IS by supervisors and coworkers.

ANOTHER HINDU GIRL ABDUCTED IN PAKISTAN Another Hindu girl has been kidnapped from Pakistan's Sindh province allegedly by Muslim men and her family has alleged that she was forcefully converted to Islam. Meanwhile, The death of a Pakistani Hindu medical student who was found dead under mysterious circumstances in her hostel room last month, occurred due to asphyxiation or lack of oxygen, a report has revealed. The report compiled by the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences was handed over to Larkana police where it indicated that Nimrita Kumari died due to asphyxiation. The report claimed that the medical student did not die by unnatural causes or being poisoned since that would have showed changes in her body parts. However, there were no unusual symptoms in her heart, kidneys, lungs or liver, it added. The police said the report did not mention the cause of Kumari's death and maintained that the evidence indicated she committed suicide.

China asks Pakistan to take bilateral route on Kashmir BEIJING: In what is being seen as a snub to visiting Pakistan PM Imran Khan, China modified its position on the Kashmir dispute by omitting its recent references to the UN charter and Security Council resolutions to the vexed issue and stressing that New Delhi and Islamabad should take the bilateral route to resolve all disputes.

“We call on India and Pakistan to engage in dialogue and consultation on all issues, including the Kashmir issue, and consolidate mutual trust.

This is in line with interest of both countries and common aspiration of the world,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said.

The statement is a departure from the position that Beijing took when Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had visited China postnullification of Articles 370 and 35A. The statement came during Imran’s visit to China and just ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s India tour. Qureshi’s Chinese counterpart Wang Yi had then said: “It (Kashmir issue) should be properly and peacefully resolved based on the UN Charter, relevant

Imran Khan and Xi Jinping

UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreement.” In fact, China had maintained that position at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Kashmir, which ended without any outcome. China had supported Pakistan also in the United Nations.

However, later, China indicated that it was ready to go back to its pre-August 5 position when it had held that the J&K issue should be resolved bilaterally between India and Pakistan. The omission of references to the UN Charter and Security Council resolutions particularly assume significance at a time when Imran, along with Pakistan army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, were in Beijing to meet Xi and other Chinese

leaders. By changing its position, China seems to be in agreement with the Indian stand that there should be no third-party mediation on the Kashmir issue. The foreign ministry spokesman denied there has been any shift. “China’s position on Kashmir issue is clear and consistent,” Geng emphasized.

However, observers termed his comments as marking a significant change and said that it might have been prompted by the desire to create a conducive atmosphere for Xi’s proposed visit to India.

Also, by changing its position, China is trying to nudge Pakistan to lower tensions with India by softening rhetoric on the Kashmir issue.

Top leaders of JuD, LeT arrested LAHORE: Pakistan's law enforcement agencies arrested the "top leaders" of the banned LeT/JuD on charges of terrorism financing, a move that authorities say would put the "entire core leadership" of these outfits on trial. The top four leaders of Lashkar-eTaiba (LeT)/Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) arrested have been identified as Professor Zafar Iqbal, Yahya Aziz, Muhammad Ashraf and Abdul Salam.

The development comes ahead of the Financial Action Task Force's crucial plenary meeting in Paris. Pakistan was placed on the grey list by the Paris-based watchdog in June last year and was given a plan of action to complete it by October 2019, or face the risk of being placed on the black list with Iran and North Korea.

A spokesman for the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) said that there had been an "important progress" in the National Action Plan (NAP) as the main leaders of JuD/LeT have been arrested by the CTD Punjab in offences of terrorism financing. "JuD/LeT chief Hafiz Saeed is already in prison facing trial for commission of offences of terrorism financing. Now the entire core leadership of the JuD/LeT will be on trial," the CTD said.

It further said the CTD Punjab has been investigating offences of terrorism financing wherein these accused had built assets using the funds raised through terrorism financing.

"The suspects further used these assets to raise more funds for terrorism financing. Donors of several assets/properties are also under investigation for providing some of these assets to the suspects and their proscribed organisations namely JuD/LeT," it said.

"The suspects had formed trusts, like AlAnfaal Trust, which acted as front entities of these organisations. The assets/properties have already been frozen by the government," it said. The CTD had arrested Saeed on July 17.

He is detained at the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore.

22 WORLD

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

19 - 25 October 2019

US blacklists Gupta family WASHINGTON: The US announced sanctions against South Africa's Indian-origin Gupta brothers for running a "significant corruption network" that leveraged its political connections to engage in bribery, capture government contracts and misappropriate state assets. Among those specifically named in the US Treasury Department's designation include Ajay Gupta, Atul Gupta, Rajesh Gupta, and their associate Salim Essa for their involvement in corruption in South Africa.

The Gupta family has relocated to Dubai amid corruption charges against them in South Africa. Ajay is the family patriarch who formulated the family's corrupt business strategies and controlled its finances, Atul is widely known to have overseen the Gupta family's outreach to corrupt government official, and Rajesh cultivated

important relationships with the sons of powerful South African politicians and led efforts to pursue business and relationships in a South African province where corruption was rampant, the Treasury said.

Salim Essa, a business associate of the Gupta family, has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, technological support in the corruption network, the Treasury alleged. The sanctions Ajay, Atul and Rajesh Gupta announcement demonstrates investigative journalists, and the US government's whistleblowers, who have unwavering commitment to exposed the breadth and depth supporting the rule of law and of the Gupta family's accountability in South Africa, corruption," it said. the Treasury said.

The Treasury said its Office "We support the antiof Foreign Assets Control corruption efforts of South (OFAC) sanctioned members of Africa's independent judiciary, a significant corruption law enforcement agencies, and network in South Africa that the ongoing judicial leveraged over payments on commissions of inquiry. government contracts, bribery, Moreover, we commend the and other corrupt acts to fund extraordinary work by South political contributions and Africa's civil society activists, influence government actions.

"Specifically, OFAC designated Ajay Gupta, Atul Gupta, Rajesh Gupta, and Salim Essa for their involvement in corruption in South Africa pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act," it said. "The Gupta family leveraged its political connections to engage in widespread corruption and bribery, capture government contracts, and misappropriate state assets.

Treasury's designation targets the Guptas'' pay-to-play political patronage, which was orchestrated at the expense of the South African people," said Sigal Mandelker, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

Former SA President Zuma to face corruption trial JOHANNESBURG: Former South African President Jacob Zuma will stand trial on corruption charges relating to a $2 billion arms deal after a high court denied him a permanent stay of prosecution. The ruling by Judge Jerome Mnguni in Pietermaritzburg paves the way for Zuma's long-awaited trial to start on Oct. 15.

The case is a rare example of an African leader being Jacob Zuma held to account for his actions.

Zuma denies buy European military hardware wrongdoing. Zuma, who was in for South Africa's armed forces office from 2009-2018, had in the 1990s. applied for a permanent stay of In May, Zuma's lawyers prosecution on 18 charges of argued that the 77-year-old had fraud, racketeering and money been treated unfairly by laundering relating to a deal to prosecutors and was a victim of

a politically motivated witch-hunt.

Judge Mnguni dismissed an application by Zuma and his co-accused, French arms dealer Thales, to have the charges set aside permanently with costs.

This means they will pay legal costs related to the application and hiring lawyers.

Thales said it was reviewing the judgment with its lawyers and would assess its legal options. Zuma's spokesman and a lawyer representing him were not immediately available for comment. Zuma and Thales have 15 days to appeal. The National Prosecuting Authority

(NPA) respected the findings of the court, a spokeswoman said.

The charges against Zuma were originally filed a decade ago but then set aside by the NPA shortly before he successfully ran for president in 2009. After his election, his opponents fought a lengthy legal battle to have the charges reinstated, finally succeeding in 2016. Zuma countered with his own legal challenges.

The official opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), which has been at the forefront of the legal fight, welcomed the decision, saying: "We are encouraged by the ruling of the court to believe that Zuma will eventually have to face his day in court.

in brief NAB GRANTED 14-DAY REMAND OF SHARIF The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) obtained 14-day physical remand of former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif in connection with the Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM) case. The court ordered the accountability bureau to present Nawaz on October 25. Sharif had been arrested earlier in the day by NAB from Kot Lakhpat jail and presented before an accountability court in Lahore. Members of the Sharif family are accused of being involved in money laundering under the garb of sale/purchase of Chaudhry Sugar Mills Ltd shares. NAB has accused Nawaz of being a direct beneficiary of CSM and his daughter, Maryam who was arrested in connection with the case in August along with her cousin Yousuf Abbas - of holding over 12 million shares in the sugar mills.

TREASON CASE AGAINST MUSH TO BE HEARD FROM OCT 24 A special court in Pakistan said the high treason trial of former military dictator Pervez Musharraf will start on a daily basis from October 24 as his counsel is down with dengue fever. The bench had decided last month to conduct Musharraf ’s trial on a daily basis from October 8 to conclude the case pending since December 2013. However, an application was submitted on behalf of his counsel for deferment of the hearing for two weeks. The court accepted the plea. The previous government had filed the case against Musharraf in 2013 over the imposition of extra-constitutional emergency in Nov 2007, which led to the confinement of several superior court judges in their houses and sacking of over 100 judges.

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM DOWNGRADES PAK'S RANKS A report by the World Economic Forum says Pakistan has slipped three places and now ranks 110th on the international organization's annual Global Competitiveness Index. The index evaluates factors behind productivity and longterm economic growth. The report says Pakistan's ranking deteriorated due to poor performance in key areas of press freedoms, governance, innovation, corruption, life expectancy, productivity and human development. Pakistan made improvement in some areas such as budgetary transparency and reduction in organized crimes. The World Economic Forum's index maps out the competitive landscape of 141 economies, based on more than 100 indicators in a dozen categories.

Gift your loved ones an Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar subscription for Birthday, Wedding & Anniversary Save lots of money by subscribing for both papers

G Exclusive news, Outstanding columnists G Excelent value for your subscription G For 50 weekly issues and several special magazines plus Annual Calendar

Your Voice for 47 years, 200,000 readers Please detach this form and send it with your payment or credit card instructions to address below

NAME ADDRESS

ear One y on for t p i d r i subsc amachar an ly n S o t is Gujara oice in UK V n a i As Please tick as appropriate:

Gujarat Samachar & Asian Voice Gujarat Samachar

RATES VALID FROM 1-2-2018

1 Year 2 Years

UK G.S. A.V. Both G.S. £30.50 £30.50 £36.50 £79 £55 £55 £66.50 £147

EUROPE A.V. Both £79 £131 £147 £252

Please Note: Subscriptions are non-refundable after 30 days

G.S. £95 £174

WORLD A.V. Both £95 £154.50 £174 £288

POST CODE

TEL:

Email: I’d like to be kept up to date by email with offers and news from ABPL I enclose a cheque/ postal order of £................... made payable to Gujarat Samachar Please charge my Visa Mastercard Credit Debit card for £ Card Expiry date Card No: Signature

Date

CALL NOW 020 7749 4080

or Email: support@abplgroup.com www.asian-voice.com www.gujarat-samachar.com

GUJARAT SAMACHAR & ASIAN VOICE Karma Yoga House, Unit 1 12 Hoxton Market, (Off Coronet Street) London N1 6HW

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

WORLD

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

23

19 - 25 October 2019

in brief PAK COPS REMOVE AFGHAN FLAG, ENVOY WARNS OF RETALIATION Days after Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan, Shukrullah Atif Mashal, warned that his country would close its consulate in Peshawar over a property dispute, he issued a statement threatening to shut down the facility over the Pakistan police’s removal of the Afghan flag from a market that the Afghan authorities claim is owned by their government. According to the statement, Pakistani police had entered Firdous market in Peshawar city and closed the market, which, Mashal claimed, was the sole property of the Afghan government.

SINGAPORE TO BAN ADS FOR SUGARY DRINKS

For the first time in the world, Singapore will ban ads for sugary drinks in its latest move to combat rising diabetes rates. Products deemed “less healthy” must now display labels grading their nutritional and sugar content, with those considered to be most unhealthy banned from appearing in ads across all media platforms, including broadcast, print and online channels.

“This aims to reduce the influence of such advertisements on consumer preferences,” the ministry said, calling the ban a world first. It added that the measures were only a start and it will continue to explore the possibility of a sugar tax or ban. “We urge SSB (sugarsweetened beverages) manufacturers to consider reformulating their drinks to contain less sugar even as we further study these measures,” it said. The ministry said it will obtain industry feedback in the coming months on how to implement the measures and announce more details next year.

LANKA’S BALLOT PAPER TO BE EXTRA LONG: EC Sri Lankan Election Commission said that plastic ballot boxes would be imported for next month’s presidential polls as the ballot paper has an extraordinary length due to a record number of candidates. A total of 35 candidates would be contesting the presidential poll on November 16 - the highest ever in Sri Lanka’s history. “The specimen ballot paper is 26 inches in length,” EC chief Mahinda Deshapriya said. He said existing ballot boxes might have to be modified and larger polling booths would have to be constructed. He said the government will have to incur a cost of more than Rs 4 billion to conduct the poll. “There will be 70 polling agents per candidate at each polling station.”

ETHIOPIA PM WINS NOBEL PEACE PRIZE Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (43) won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his peacemaking efforts to end two decades of border conflict with Eritrea that had claimed tens of thousands of lives. Africa’s youngest leader had been the bookmakers’ second favourite to win the prize - the 100th Nobel Peace award since 1901- behind teenage Swedish climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg. Since he came to office in April 2018, he also begun political and economic reforms that promise a better life for many in impoverished Ethiopia. However, he faces increasing pressure to uphold the sweeping freedoms he introduced, with critics warning that his ability to deal with rising domestic unrest may be slipping.

To end dependency on India, Nepal inks rail deal with China KATHMANDU: Nepal seeks to end Indian dominance over its trade routes with separate deals for a rail link to Tibet and a tunnel during Chinese President Xi Jinping two-day visit to the Himalayan nation. The 70-km rail link will connect Gyiron in Tibet with Nepal’s capital city of Kathmandu, making it one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in the country.

A Chinese team has already conducted a preliminary study for the project, which will be part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Xi’s signature diplomatic and trade push that is attempting to recreate the old Silk Road joining China with Asia and Europe. Alongside, a

Chinese President Xi Jinping with Nepal Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli

proposed 28-km road tunnel will more than halve the distance from Kathmandu to the Chinese border, saving on time and cost.

“China will now conduct a feasibility study of the rail

project and help construct the tunnel way,” Rajeshor Gyawali, a spokesman for Nepal’s ministry of physical infrastructure and transport, said. Nepal has sought to increase connectivity with

China since a blockade along its border with India resulted in months of acute shortage of fuel and medicine in 2015 and 2016.

“These facilities will give us alternative trade routes when we face border blockades,” Gyawali said. India accounts for nearly two thirds of Nepal’s trade and is the sole supplier of fuel.

Officials from both sides also signed 20 deals covering trade, water supply and traditional medicines at the end of Xi’s visit, the first by a Chinese president in 22 years. “We will help Nepal realise its dream of becoming a land-linked country from a land-locked one,” Xi said at a dinner after he arrived from India where he had meetings with India’s PM Narendra Modi.

Bangladesh court orders arrest of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus DHAKA: A Dhaka court issued an arrest warrant against Nobel laureate and Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus after he failed to appear in person before it in a case of alleged labour law violation. On July 10, the Dhaka 3rd Labour Court which was hearing a case of sacking of three employees of Grameen Communications, the IT wing of Grameen Bank ordered Yunus and two others to appear before it on October 8.

Yunus is the chairman of the Grameen Communications.

"Though the two senior officials of the Grameen

Communications appeared before the court, Yunus failed to turn up, following which the chairman of the court, Rohibul Islam, issued the arrest warrant against him," a court official said.

The court granted bail to the two company officials who appeared before it, he said.

Three former employees of the Grameen Communications have filed criminal cases against the company management after they were sacked in June for their role in the formation of trade union at their workplace.

The trio filed three separate cases for transferring them as

part of harassment, issuing threats and subsequently sacking for forming the trade union.

Yunus courted controversy in 2015 also when Bangladesh's revenue authorities summoned him over non-payment of over USD 1.51 taxes.

The 79-year-old economist has been at odds with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina since 2007 when he made a brief foray into the country's violent and polarised politics dominated by her family and her arch-rival Khaleda Zia. Yunus was removed in 2011 as head of the microlender Grameen Bank that he

Muhammad Yunus

founded, a move widely seen as orchestrated by Hasina. Yunus set up the Grameen Bank in 1983 to make collateral-free microloans to rural and mostly women entrepreneurs. Its record in helping to reduce poverty earned him global fame and a Nobel Peace Prize.

66 killed as worst typhoon hits Japan KORIYAMA (JAPAN): The death toll in who was cleaning up at his family home in Koriyama. the worst typhoon to hit Japan for decades He said there are a lot of elderly in climbed to 66 as rescuers slogged through his area and many of them were taken in mud and debris in an increasingly grim by relatives. "We have never seen damage search for the missing, and as thousands like this before, and maybe global of homes remained without power or warming and environmental change has water. Fifteen people remain missing something to do with it." nearly three days after Typhoon Hagibis Hard to escape smashed into central and eastern Japan, Survivors described how water rose national broadcaster NHK said. More rapidly to chest height in about an hour than 200 people were injured in the and mainly at night, making it hard to storm. escape to higher ground. Many of the The highest toll was in Fukushima behind or was in need of help. dead in Fukushima were elderly, NHK said. prefecture north of Tokyo, where "The river has never flooded like this embankments burst in at least 14 places before, and some houses have along the Abukuma River, which meanders been completely swept away. I through a number of cities in the largely think it might be time to agricultural prefecture. At least 25 people redraw hazard maps or died in Fukushima, including a mother and MORTGAGES PROTECTION reconsider evacuation plans," child who were caught in flood waters, NHK G Residential G Life & Critical said Masaharu Ishizawa, a 26said. Another child of the woman remains year-old high school teacher G G Private Medical missing.

Buy to Let Residents G Remortgages G Income Protection in Koriyama, G Ltd Co Mortgages G Professional Indemnity/ one of Public Liability Fukushima's Receptionist & Chambermaid required in a No Fees Charged From Customers larger cities, Free No Obligation Home Visits said they were hotel near Gatwick Airport.

Can Speak Gujarati/Hindi/English taken by Suitable for single and couples. surprise by the Sanjiv Nanavati, CeMAP, M.B.A flooding. Police Accommodation can be provided if necessary.

Mortgage & Protection Adviser were searching For further information and interview please house-to07970 265 748 Harrow Business Centre,429-433 Pinner Road, Harrow HA1 4HN house to make Contact SRFS Mortgages Ltd is Authorised & Regulated by the Financial sure nobody Conduct Authority (No. 839035) had been left Raj: (M) 07786 936 928 / (T) 01293 783 982

HOTEL Staff Required

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up your payments on any mortgage secured on it.

24 INDIA

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

19 - 25 October 2019

SOUTH INDIA

Tamil Nadu Cong opposes release of Rajiv assassins NEW DELHI: The clamour for release of Rajiv Gandhi's killers has once again gained momentum after PMK founder S Ramadoss along with his son and former Union minister Anbumani Ramadoss, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week and pressed for their early release.

In a memorandum to Modi, Ramadoss had argued that the Supreme Court last year had allowed the Tamil Nadu government to decide on the release of seven convicts Murugan, Santhan, Perarivalan, Robert Payas, Ravichandran, Jayakumar and Nalini. The Tamil Nadu government, later on September 9, 2018, had passed a Cabinet resolution recommending to Governor Banwarilal Purohit for the

Rajiv Gandhi

release of convicts, but the latter's office has been delaying the matter, he said.

Reacting strongly to such attempts by political parties to repeatedly intervene in the legal system, the Tamil Nadu unit of

the Congress said it would strongly oppose any move to release any of the seven convicts.

"There are so many prisoners including convicts in prisons of Tamil Nadu. Why is there a motivated demand for releasing Rajiv's killers only?" said Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president KS Alagiri. He said any decision to release the convicts would set a "bad precedent" and "highly disturb the social order and peace in Tamil Nadu".

Questioning the bids of "intervention in the justice system", Alagiri said the law of the land should be allowed to take its own course. It is for the court to decide on the matter, he added. The late prime minister was assassinated on May 21, 1991 during an election meeting at Sriperumbudur near Chennai by

a suicide bomber of the banned LTTE. "Tamils all over the world expected that the governor would take a decision shortly.

But even after one year and one month of receiving the letter, the office of Tamil Nadu governor has not taken any decision and is procrastinating this matter.

This has disappointed and distressed millions of Tamils all over the world," Ramadoss said. "It is rather unfair," he said, adding the seven convicts were in prison for the last 28 years and keeping them in jail any further without any strong reason would be a serious violation of the human rights. Rajiv's son Rahul have "said they have no objections to the release of seven Tamils," the PMK had said.

PUNJAB

Guru Nanak anniversary: SGPC to go ahead with own event CHANDIGARH: The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) said it will set up its own stage at Sultanpur Lodhi on November 12 to celebrate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, escalating the stalemate between the apex gurdwara body and the Punjab government over holding a joint function. SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal said the function being organised is purely religious and it will be celebrated as per the tradition continuing for several decades.

“How can we discontinue the tradition? All other bodies, including Sikh organisations and the Punjab government, should attend this function regardless of their political affiliation or stand,” he added.

Longowal had appealed to Punjab chief minister Captain

Amarinder Singh to join the celebrations organised by the gurdwara body which manages the affairs of most historic Sikh shrines in Punjab and neighbouring states. Reacting to this, state jails and cooperation minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and his cabinet colleague Charanjit Singh Channi accused Longowal of sabotaging the efforts to hold a joint function at the cost of ‘Guru ki Golak’ (donations made by devotees) just to please the Badals.

The SGPC and the state government held three rounds of talks to reach consensus on holding a single function to mark the 550th birth anniversary, but all of them remained inconclusive with both the parties sticking to their guns.

While the state government has already set up a

‘pandal’ (stage) for the function, the SGPC is learnt to have given the contract worth millions to a private firm for setting up the same.

On reports of the SGPC giving the contract to set up a separate stage, minister Randhawa said, “They had decided to set up their own stage before September 27. They just befooled us by calling a meeting of the coordination committee on October 4. I came to know about this through an invitation letter they sent to me on September 27 for the function they are organising.”

He also sent a photo of the letter wherein it is mentioned that the main function will be held at the Guru Nanak Dev Stadium, Sultanpur Lodhi, which will be attended by President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Now they are telling a lie. This was the reason why I did not attend the October 4 meeting.

They did not keep their word and did a U-turn,” he added.

Former SGPC chief Jagir Kaur, who is part of the fivemember coordination committee constituted on directions of the Akal Takht, said, “You can’t call our stage separate.

The gurdwara body is supposed to hold its function on every religious occasion. If someone else sets up their own stage, it’s they who should answer this question.”

Sonia asks Cong to hold joint campaign with Left Front in Bengal

Sonia Gandhi

in the state. She asked us to conduct joint movements with Left Front against Trinamool Congress and BJP in the state," Mannan said. "During the meeting she told me that had the Left and Congress alliance been intact after the 2016 assembly polls, the political situation in Bengal could have been different and BJP would have never gained ground in the

state," Mannan, who is also the leader of opposition in West Bengal assembly, said.

Earlier in August, Sonia Gandhi had agreed to the proposed Congress-Left Front alliance in West Bengal for the upcoming assembly by-polls in the state in view of the party's dismal performance in the Lok Sabha polls, during a meeting with West Bengal PCC president Somen Mitra. The leaderships of West Bengal Congress and the CPI(M) had recently sealed a seat adjustment for the upcoming by-polls in three assembly seats in the state to stop the march of the BJP and the ruling Trinamool Congress.

It was decided that Congress will contest the Kaliaganj seat in North Dinajpur district and Kharagpur in West Midnapore

KARNATAKA EX-DY CM’S PA FOUND DEAD Former Karnataka deputy CM G Parameshwara’s personal assistant allegedly committed suicide in Bengaluru after income tax sleuths conducted searches on several properties, including educational institutions, of the senior Congressman leader. Ramesh M S, 40, was found hanging from a tree on Bangalore University’s Jnanabharathi campus three hours after he had left home, telling his family he was going to Parameshwara’s residence. A medical admission scam has been uncovered in Karnataka after the I-T department concluded raids on educational institutions and other properties owned by Parameshwara and another Congress leader R L Jalappa with the amount of undisclosed income soaring to £30 million. Officials recovered cash and assets worth nearly £1 million in the operation. Around 300 officials raided 32 locations in different parts of Karnataka and Rajasthan. His nephew Anand and his wife are also under the I-T scanner.

KERALA, TAMIL NADU RETAIN TOP SPOTS IN SCHOOL EDUCATION NITI Aayog released the School Education Quality Index (SEQI) to evaluate the performance of states and union territories in the school education sector with the aim to bring an education policy focused on outcomes by providing States and UTs with a platform to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Kerala and Tamil Nadu have retained their places as the best states in terms of quality of school education as per NITI Aayog’s School Education Quality Index. While Kerala was given a total evaluation point of 82.2%, Tamil Nadu got 73.4%. The report was compiled in collaboration with Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD), the World Bank and sector experts and assesses states on the quality of education based on 30 critical indicators.

Guru Nanak

WEST BENGAL KOLKATA: Congress president Sonia Gandhi has asked party's leaders in West Bengal unit to conduct joint actions with the Left Front against the ruling TMC and BJP, senior Congress leader Abdul Mannan said.

Mannan met Sonia Gandhi at her residence in New Delhi twice and briefed the political state of affairs in the state.

Sonia's nod to the CongressLF alliance is politically significant given the fact that the party is losing ground and Bengal is fast turning into a BJP stronghold, according to Congress sources. "We discussed the political situation with Sonia Gandhiji and she has asked us to conduct joint movements with the Left Front in order to build a public opinion about the proposed LF-Congress alliance

in brief

district, while the CPI(M)-led Left Front will contest the Karimpur seat in Nadia district.

The Kaliaganj seat fell vacant after the death of sitting Congress MLA Parmathanath Roy, while the election to Kharagpur seat is being held as its MLA Dilip Ghosh, the state BJP chief, is now an MP after winning the Medinipur Lok Sabha seat. Karimpur MLA Mahua Moitra of TMC had won the Krishnnanagar Lok Sabha seat.

The Congress and the CPI(M) had come together for the 2016 Assembly polls but had failed to impact TMC's performance. Their attempts to seal a pre-poll alliance for the Lok Sabha elections this time failed after they could not agree to a seat-sharing formula.

PUNJAB COPS ASSAULTED OVER DRUG RAID The opposition parties in Punjab blamed the Congress government over the brutal assault on policemen by villagers in Haryana. "The incident shows the complete failure on the part of the Punjab police in effectively dealing with criminals like drug suppliers under the Congress regime," BJP national secretary Tarun Chugh said. A man was killed and seven policemen were injured as villagers in Haryana's Sirsa district clashed with a Punjab Police team that had gone there to nab a drug supplier, an incident that saw an exchange of fire and the locals brutally assaulting the cops and torching their vehicle. Purported video clips of the incident surfaced on social media showing the policemen being brutally attacked with iron rods, sticks, bricks and sharp-edged weapons. They were kicked, slapped and dragged on the street.

VHP TO LAUNCH 'NRC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN' IN WEST BENGAL The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) said that it would launch a National Register of Citizens (NRC) `awareness campaign' in West Bengal in December. VHP national general secretary Milind Parande said that the programme would cover all districts in the eastern state. The NRC containing names and certain relevant information for identification of Indian citizens in Assam is maintained by the Central government.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had recently said the NRC would be extended to West Bengal, triggering a sharp reaction from state chief minister Mamata Banerjee. "The NRC was implemented in Assam under the supervision of the supreme court. However, the Centre would be implementing the exercise in West Bengal," said Parande. He said Hindus need not fear about the process "as not a single Hindu would have to leave the country after NRC".

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

HERITAGE & HISTORY

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

25

19 - 25 October 2019

Thomas Macaulay: A Hero or A Villain • On 25 October 2006 Dalit activist Chandra Bhan celebrated Macaulay’s Birthday!

• English medium and Criminal Code are the major contributions to India by TBM Empowered by Goddess English, Dalits can take their place in the new globalised world.

Imagine, if we had followed only indigenous study, we would be like Afghanistan or Nepal today,” were the words of Chandra Bhan Prasad, a Dalit activist on 25 October 2006 while celebrating 206th birthday in Delhi of Thomas Babington Macaulay (TBM), known more as Lord Macaulay (25 October 1800 - 28 December 1859). The birthday party was to unveil a portrait of the newly invented ‘Goddess of English’. He even took the lead to build a unique temple of English Devi in a village in Uttar Pradesh to popularise English.

“

India’s Modernization’ reveals: “..in the living room of a leading Dalit intellectual (in Delhi), Macaulay’s portrait hangs proudly beside that of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the brilliant academic who led the ‘Untouchable’ political and social revival during the first half of the twentieth century.

There is a strong facial resemblance between the two men, but the similarities do not end there.

Ambedkar, like Macaulay whom he greatly admired, was a classical liberal who believed that India’s future lay, not with nationalist revivals of the past, but with the wholehearted adoption of Western education and institution.”

Zareer Masani reclaims Macaulay as a pioneer of globalisation based on the English language and Western values. A strong advocate of liberal interventionism across the globe, he was the ideological precursor of today's Western military interventions in the world’s trouble-spots.

Chandra Bhan Prasad, also a columnist with Pioneer Daily, has a provokingly different take on Macaulay, says historian William Dalrymple. Prasad feels it is the ‘casteHindu’ racism that has painted Macaulay black. He asserts with Zaheer Masani’s Macaulay examples how his sayings have been Prasad has taken the lead for his distorted and quoted out of contexts to innovative project when Lord Macaulay is subvert the facts. He holds that Macaulay being condemned by using the term was one of the foremost rationalists of his ‘Macaulay’s Children’ especially by selftime. proclaimed nationalists and the leaders of Was Macaulay attempting to create the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and Sangh 'Intellectual slaves' for the British Empire?

Parivar.

Yes, if we just read the following: "We must Macaulay introduced a new education at present do our best to form a class of system and ensured that English, not persons, Indian in blood and colour, but Persian or Sanskrit, became the lingua English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and franca. "We have received requests from in intellect". We, in a most mischievous our sister organisations in manner, present the above Next Column: Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, quote, twisted, taken out of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and The Rise and fall of East context, and thus, present India Company Maharashtra for setting up this Lord Macaulay as a villain. novel 'English Devi' temple," No, if we read the full paragraph as said Chandra Bhan Prasad, a researcher at originally available in his February 1835 Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) "Minutes" on Indian education. "It is who is the brain behind the move. impossible for us, with our limited means, Though Dr. Narendra Jadhav, a to attempt to educate the body of the nominated Member of Parliament in Rajya people. We must at present do our best to Sabha by the Modi Government and one of form a class who may be interpreters the authorities on Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, may between us and the millions whom we not be on the same page with Prasad, but he govern; a class of persons, Indian in blood was quite impressed by the celebration of and colour, but English in taste, in the birthday of Lord Macaulay and the opinions, in morals, and in intellect. To concept of the Goddess of English. He was that class we may leave it to refine the rather first to bring it to the notice of this vernacular dialects of the country, to enrich writer way back in 2011 when he was a those dialects with terms of science Member of the Planning Commission borrowed from the Western nomenclature, headed by his Guru and PM Dr. Manmohan and to render them by degrees fit vehicles Singh and also a Member of the National for conveying knowledge to the Advisory Council headed by the UPA great mass of the population."

Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi. An Oxford Dr. Hari Desai educated Indian historian Dr. Zaheer (The writer is a SocioMinoo Masani in his well researched and an political Historian. out of the box book ‘Macaulay: Pioneer of E-mail: haridesai@gmail.com)

Operation underway in Kashmir to eliminate foreign terrorists On September 28, the Northern Army Command put out a tweet that read, “#OpTrunkhal(Ganderbal).

One terrorist killed.

Weapon & warlike stores recovered. Joint operation in progress.” According to sources, soldiers of the Indian Army had spotted some armed militants in Ganderbal's Trumkhal forests a day earlier. After being challenged, the sources say the militants returned fire at the soldiers and one militant was killed on the spot.

On September 29, a team of doctors from the Sub-District Trauma Hospital, Kangan, were called by the authorities to carry out a post-mortem of the slain militant. The teams had to trek several hours to conduct the autopsy.

Three days later, the Army established contact with militants for the second time. The Northern Army command issued another tweet on October 1 that read, “#OpTrunkhal(Ganderbal).

Second terrorist killed; Weapon and warlike stores recovered.

Total Two terrorists…”

Sources said that three automatic rifles were recovered from the two slain militants. Army claims both the slain militants to be Pakistanis. More than two weeks have passed since - 18 days to be exact. The Army's operation in Ganderbal's forests in north Kashmir have only intensified over time.

This makes the ongoing operation in Kashmir one of the most longest and most

exhaustive in the last one year.

In fact, since September 27, the Army has not only increased its own footfall in the forests, it has also air dropped several units of its elite para commandos in the forests.

This is because security agencies suspect the presence of at least two dozen highly trained and heavily armed militants in the area.

"As per the information available to us, about 12 (FTs) foreign terrorists have crossed over to Kashmir through the Gurez area.

From Gurez, they reached Bandipora and now they were probably making their way down south Kashmir," a source said. The source added this operation - to flush out the remaining militants through an extensive combing operation - was being led entirely by the Army.

"It is a very tough terrain in which the operation is going on. It is situated at an altitude of 4000m. There is one lake - the Gangabal lake - around which are located high peaks and deep nallahs.

Our focus area is spread across 25 sq km. Bad

weather is also hampering surveillance through helicopters. So it is challenging to entirely scan through," another source said.

Under such circumstances, the source added, the Army is working on a two-pronged strategy.

Monitoring all the possible exit/entry points out of the Gangabal valley and waiting till the supplies of the militants run out, while simultaneously raiding all the possible locations where militants could possibly be hiding.

"Since the second terrorist was killed in a hut, such as is used by Bakkarwals, we are looking for and raiding all the huts in the area to see whether the remaining militants have tried to find refuge in them. At the same time, we are monitoring all the exit and entry points in the valley," the source added.

If the terrorists have managed to slip past the security cordon, they might pose a severe threat to peace in the Valley that is crawling back to normalcy 70 days after it was stripped off its special status.

India slams Pak for ‘weaponizing’ women’s rights issues at UN India has lashed out at Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN for “weaponizing women’s rights issues through empty rhetoric” for self-serving political gain in the flashpoint region of Jammu and Kashmir.

First secretary in India’s permanent mission to the UN Paulomi Tripathi during the UN General Assembly Third Committee session on ‘Advancement of Women’ asserted that from the first woman president of the General Assembly Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit to women Paulomi Tripathi, secretary with India's permanent mission to the UN scientists at the ISRO, Indian with fake concerns”. “It is ironical that a women have long served as inspiration for country, where violations of women’s right many. She was responding to references to life in the name of so called ‘honour’ go made to J&K by Islamabad’s outgoing envoy unpunished, is making baseless statements to the UN Maleeha Lodhi. Lodhi had alluded about women’s rights in my country,” she to a picture of a Kashmiri mother that said. appeared on the front page of The New York Tripathi said the international Times along with an article about how the community still remembered that the mother lost her son, as she could not get “armed forces of this country” perpetrated medical help on time. dreadful sexual violence against women with Without naming Pakistan, Tripathi said impunity, in India’s immediate that the country covets the territory of neighbourhood in 1971. others and camouflages its “vile intentions

26 INDIA

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

19 - 25 October 2019

Indian-origin Abhijit Banerjee, wife share Nobel prize for economics Indian-American Abhijit Banerjee, his wife Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer jointly won the 2019 Nobel Economics Prize "for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty."

"The research conducted by this year's laureates has considerably improved our ability to fight global poverty. In just two decades, their new experiment-based approach has transformed development economics, which is now a flourishing field of research," said the Nobel committee in a statement.

Abhijit, 58, was educated at the University of Calcutta, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Harvard University, where he received his PhD in 1988.

Duflo, 46, is the second woman to win the economics prize after Elinor Ostrom got it in 2009, and is also the youngest ever to receive the economics award. She is married to Abhijit. Abhijit is currently the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the

Abhijit Banerjee with his French-American wife Esther Duflo

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, according to his profile on the MIT website.

Abhijit founded the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) in 2003, along with Duflo and Sendhil Mullainathan. J-PAL is a global research centre based in Massachusetts.

Abhijit is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts

and Sciences and the Econometric Society and winner of the Infosys prize.

His articles on economics often appear in major news publications across the world. Abhijit is the author of four books that includes Poor Economics, for which he won the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award in 2011. The book has

In Loving Memory

Rajesh Hasubhai Dhruva

October 20, 1955 - September 26, 2019

It is with great sorrow that we share the sad news that Rajesh left for his heavenly abode on September 26th, 2019. He was an extremely positive and courageous person who was equally light-hearted and jovial in nature. He is remembered fondly by family and friends alike for his kind, helpful and cheerful personality. He was a loving husband and father, and a pillar of strength for everyone in our family.

Rajesh was a chartered accountant by profession and spent the last 30 years advising Indians abroad on all matters related to double-tax treaties, planning for returning Indians, and providing general investment and income tax guidance.

Because of his deep study and knowledge of tax laws, he was able to help numerous non-residents not just in the UK, but across various countries in Africa, the Middle East and North America. He was passionate & ever willing to solve problems for anyone, whether he knew them or not. And he went above and beyond to help everyone not only professionally but also personally.

While Rajesh is no longer with us, his virtues and cheerfulness will always be a part of our lives. We hope you will remember him fondly and with great love and affection. ૐ Shanti: Shanti: Shanti:

Nita Rajesh Dhruva – Neil Rajesh Dhruva

Address: Keynote Consultancy, 4 Nutan Nagar, Kalawad Main Road, Rajkot - 360001. India.

Tel: 91 98240 49944

Michael Kremer

been translated into more than 17 languages.

Both Abhijit and Esther work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology while Kremer is at Harvard University. Duflo is also the

Editor of the American Economic Review, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy. Kremer, 54, is a development

economist, who is currently the Gates Professor of Developing Societies at H a r v a r d University.

Wishes started pouring in with the news of Abhijit winning the prize.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said that due to the studies of Abhijit, Duflo and Kremer more than five million Indian children have benefited from effective programmes of remedial tutoring in schools. The Nobel prize in economics prize includes 9 millionkronor (USD 918,000) cash, a gold medal and a diploma.

The winners will equally share the prize money.

Students now prefer Canada to US or Australia The US may still host the largest population of Indian students, but those making a fresh choice are clearly opting for Canada over America since 2017-18. This year too, a significant number of students are choosing Canada.

Visa numbers shows 83,540 students flew out to Canada in 2017, compared to 44,741 to the US. The number grew further in 2018, and till Q3 in 2019, over 50,000 students have signed up for the country.

At several education fairs, parents and students have been choosing Canada over US, said Karan Gupta, education consultant. “It is a cheaper option and the quality is on par with the best universities of the world,” he added.

Interestingly, with UK again granting the two-year, post-study work visa, it may see fresh interest, said other consultants. “For long, Canada used to be a back-up. But now, it is option one.

The easy passage in terms of no SAT requirement, easy visa processes, post-study work visa and permanent residency are all alluring for Indians. But Canada has large

class sizes but most Indian are fine with that,” said counsellor Pratibha Jain.

In 2016, Canada issued 52,845 study permits to Indians and by 2017-end, the count had risen to 83,540. In comparison, there was a 28% drop in the number of F1 visas granted to Indian students in 2017-18. According to data from the US department of state, student visas issued decreased from 74,831in 2015 to 42,694 in 2018.

According to Unesco data, in 2000, 59% of all Indian students overseas were enrolled in US universities followed by 7% in Australia, 6% in the UK and less than 1% in Canada. By 2017, the share of Indian students in the US dropped to 45% and the UK remained stagnant at 6%. In contrast, Australia gained to touch 15% and Canada 7%.

India’s first visually challenged woman IAS officer India's first visually impaired woman IAS officer on Monday took change as Sub-collector of Kerala’s Thiruvanthapuram district.

Pranjal Patil, who hails from Ulhas Nagar in Maharashtra, lost her vision at the age of six. She won 733rd rank in her first civil Pranjal Patil service attempt in 2016 which we want." "I am while she managed to secure feeling extremely glad and 124th rank in 2017. proud to take charge. Once I While assuming charge start working, I will have Pranjal said, "We should more idea about the sub never be defeated and we divisions of the district and should never give up. With can have more plans to what our efforts, all of us will get to do for the subdivision," that one breakthrough she added.

She added that she expects support and co-operation from people of Thiruvanthapuram and her staff as she begins her work here.

Pranjal completed her graduation in political science from St. Xavier's college and Master's in International relations from JNU. She had studied at the Kamala Mehta Dadar School for the blind. Patil was appointed Ernakulam Assistant Collector during her training period.

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

27

19 - 25 Oct 2019

Study reveals why breast milk is better for an infant than cow's milk and baby formula A new study has further shed light on why human breast milk is better for the babies than cow's milk or baby formula.

All health and nutrition experts as well as doctors recommend only breast milk for infants as it is considered the complete meal for the baby.

Breast milk is said to have antibodies that are important for the baby's immune system to fight off bacteria and viruses. This is why it is said to be imperative that mothers feed their babies in the initial few months after birth.

A new study has further shed light on why human breast milk is better for the babies than cow's milk or baby formula.

The study has found that the presence of a small molecule called glycerol monolaurate (GML) is the reason why breast milk has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties.

The study revealed that

the molecule is present in much larger concentrations in breast milk as compared to bovine milk.

The study report titled, "Glycerol Monolaurate Contributes to the Antimicrobial and Anti-inflammatory Activity of Human Milk" was published in the journal Scientific Reports.

The study demonstrated the GML concentration in breast milk was 3000 micrograms per millitre, as compared to just 150 micrograms per millitre in cow's milk.

Infant formula milk had no GML presence whatsoever, said the study.

The researchers also tested the action of GML against bacteria namely Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli.

It was found that

human breast milk was the most anti-microbial against the bacteria tested.

Furthermore, the researchers also found that when GML was removed from the milk, there was a loss of antibacterial activity against pathogenic elements.

The study report described GML as a "fatty acid monoester with broad

antimicrobial and antiinflammatory properties".

The report further said, "The antimicrobial properties of GML and free fatty acids extend to nearly all Grampositive bacterial species except certain lactobacilli, bifidobacteria, and enterococci."

Additionally, the molecule was also found to be effecitve against proinflammatory processes.

The study concluded by saying, "Collectively, our data suggest that human milk is both inhibitory to pathogen growth and exhibits antiinflammatory activity with both activities in part dependent on GML. In contrast, bovine milk and commercial formula lacked or had greatly reduced GML and exhibited neither antimicrobial nor anti-inflammatory properties."

New battery-powered device designed to help patients tackle snoring A plaster-sized gadget worn on the forehead that vibrates when the wearer rolls onto their back is the latest bid to tackle snoring. The batterypowered device is designed to help people with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), where the soft tissue in the throat relaxes and collapses repeatedly during sleep, partially

blocking the airway and causing loud snoring and pauses in breathing, known as apnoeas. Untreated, OSA is linked to a higher risk of conditions such as heart disease and stroke. It’s estimated that in 60 per cent of cases, the symptoms are increased by sufferers sleeping on their backs — the new device only

stops sending out vibrations when the wearer, alerted by the effect, shifts from their back to their side. Research found that the forehead gadget reduced snoring symptoms by a third within days of using it.

Commenting on the device, Jaydip Ray, an ear, nose and throat consultant,

and professor of otology and neurotology at Sheffield University, said: ‘Simple snoring is a common social and medical problem that adversely affects many people. Easy to use, unobtrusive wearable devices using miniaturised accelerometers are a welcome solution for many of them.’

Unicef warns takeaways are turning deprived areas of UK into 'food swamps' Takeaways are turning deprived areas of the UK into 'Food Swamps' and making it harder for children to eat healthily, according to a report.

Unicef is concerned that Britain's poorest streets are littered with high-calorie, low-nutrient outlets selling fried chicken, burgers and pizzas.

It warned that children from the least affluent areas - the same places polluted with junk food shops - are twice as likely to be obese.

Unicef's report, released today and titled The State of the World's Children 2019, delved into nutrition for children globally.

It revealed the US has the highest number of children who are either overweight or obese (41.86 per cent), out of 41 of the world's biggest nations.

In comparison, Japan ranked the best (14.42 per cent). The UK fared towards the lower end of the league table (31.12 per cent).

Detailing the scourge of takeaways, Unicef said:

'England's poorest areas are fast-food hotspots, with five times more outlets than in the most affluent areas.

Children from poorer areas are disproportionately exposed to takeaways selling fried chicken, burgers and pizzas. And poorer areas also have more visible advertising for unhealthy foods than wealthier areas.'

The report added: 'The UK food retail environment encourages unhealthy foods consumption. Even though much remains to be done to tackle childhood obesity, the UK is paving the way to ensure that all children grow up in a healthy food environment.'

Nearly two million children in England live in food poverty and less than one fifth of five to 15-year-olds eat five portions of fruits and vegetables a day.

Unicef pointed to advances in the UK, including the introduction of the sugar tax and ongoing consultation on new legislation to ban unhealthy foods at areas like checkouts as well

in brief MOTHERS-TO-BE WHO ARE STRESSED ARE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE A DAUGHTER, FINDS STUDY If you're trying to get pregnant and want to have a boy, a study has suggested you may need to practice relaxation.

For scientists have found mothers-to-be who are stressed are more likely to have a daughter. Little more than half of babies born worldwide are boys - but the research showed only a third of women who showed signs of stress, such as high blood pressure or a tendency to comfort eat, had a boy.

The Columbia University findings do not suggest the pressures of everyday life can change a baby’s sex in the womb. But experts believe anxious women are less likely to have a successful pregnancy with a boy because male foetuses are less robust. They say it is possible boys are more vulnerable to stress hormones in the womb, meaning women can miscarry without ever knowing they were pregnant. Study author Dr Catherine Monk said: 'The womb is an influential first home, as important as the one a child is raised in, if not more so. Other researchers have seen this pattern after social upheavals, such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City, after which the relative number of male births decreased. This stress in women is likely of longstanding nature. Studies have shown males are more vulnerable to adverse prenatal environments, suggesting that highly stressed women may be less likely to give birth to a male due to the loss of prior male pregnancies, often without even knowing they were pregnant.'

EXPERTS CALL FOR NHS TO HIRE HUNDREDS OF CO-ORDINATORS FOCUSING ON IMMUNISATION Hundreds of immunisation specialists should be hired by the NHS to reverse falling vaccination rates, experts say. The number of local NHS officials directly responsible for immunisation programmes has dropped ten-fold in six years.

And experts have called for the post of district immunisation co-ordinator to be reinstated amid the decline in vaccinations. Before Andrew Lansley’s NHS reforms in 2013, there were more than 200 co-ordinators in England. But when primary care trusts were abolished six years ago the co-ordinators were replaced by ‘screening and immunisation leads’. But there are only 23 of these, with each merely responsible for ‘commissioning’ vaccination services rather than running them. And each covers a far larger area. In London for example, 31 district immunisation co-ordinators were replaced by a single screening and immunisation lead.

Boris Johnson vowed to examine the issue in his new vaccination strategy, due to be published in the coming weeks. Dr Doug Brown, of the British Society for Immunology, said co-ordinators play a ‘crucial role’ in ensuring that vaccination rates are kept high. And Dr Mary Ramsay, Public Health England’s head of immunisation, said: ‘Strengthening the role of immunisation co-ordinators would mean that local people, who know their communities, are there to support GPs and nurses to ensure children receive vaccinations.’ A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: ‘We are already working to strengthen the role of local immunisation co-ordinators.’

HEAVIER BABIES ARE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE FOOD ALLERGIES AND ECZEMA, STUDY CLAIMS The heaviest babies are more likely to suffer childhood food allergies or eczema, a study suggests. For every extra 2.2lbs (1kg) of weight, a baby's risk of allergies and eczema increases by 44 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively. A newborn weighing between 5.5lb (2.5kg) and 9lb (4kg) is deemed normal, with the average tipping the scales at 7lbs 5oz (3.4kg). But following the study, mothers are being urged to 'seek advice' if their baby is on the heavier side. The team collected information from 42 past studies involving millions of people, most of whom were European. More than two million people were affected by eczema, nearly 70,000 people affected by food allergies and more than 100,000 people with hay fever. The majority of people assessed were young children, according to Dr Gatford. Both food allergies and eczema are considered immune-mediated diseases caused by a combination of genes and external factors. The team said it is possible babies with a lower birth weight have a lower immune system, which normalises as they age and therefore does not affect them growing up. They may also have a more favourable balance of immune cells that protect them against pathogens.

Photo courtesy: ONS

as price promotions.

The report also highlights the setting up of the Healthy Start Scheme to

provide fruit and vegetable vouchers to low-income families with young children.

To Our Readers

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

28 BOLLYWOOD

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

19 - 25 October 2019

Kajol to make her digital debut with film 'Tribhanga' Kajol is set to make her digital debut with a new Netflix original called 'Tribhanga.' She will be starring alongside Tanvi Azmi and Mithila Palkar in this Mumbai-set drama revolving around the lives of three women “that goes back and forth through three generations of the same family, from the late 1980s to modern-day. The heart-warming storyline looks at the importance of family in everyday lives.”

Named for the Odissi dance pose of the same name, 'Tribhanga' has been written and directed by actress Renuka Shahane, 'Hum Aapke Hain Koun' fame. “I am looking forward to directing Tribhanga. This is an incredible opportunity and it feels amazing to collaborate with Netflix for the film and know that it will be available across the

world on literally the same day! We have a great cast and a beautiful storyline. I cannot wait to begin shooting,” Renuka said.

Ajay Devgn Films is the producer along with Bannijay Asia and Alchemy Productions. “We are excited to collaborate with Netflix for Tribhanga, a story of three incredible women. The film marks the digital debut for Ajay Devgn Films and I am looking forward to seeing how the audience reacts to this story,” Ajay said.

Aashish Singh, Director, Original Film, Netflix India added: “We are thrilled to work on our first production with Ajay Devgn Films, Bannijay Asia and Alchemy Productions and bring ‘Tribhanga’ to life. The film is being led by a wonderful cast and crew and we hope its story will resonate with our members in India and around the world.”

'Manly problem' for Ayushmann in 'Bala' It seems Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana has taken the baton to address all the manly problems through his movies.

After delivering hits like 'Badhaai Ho' and 'Dream Girl', Ayushmann has shared the trailer for his next film, 'Bala.' In the trailer, Ayushmann is playing the role of a guy from Lucknow, Gaurav Rawat or Bala, suffering from premature balding. The film also takes on the topic of people's obsession with fair skin. Bhumi Pednekar and Yami Gautam are also in the film.

Bhumi playing a dusky smalltown girl at odds with a society that is obsessed with fair skin while Yami plays a Tik-Tok star that Ayushmann loses his heart to. To impress his love interest, Bala decides to put on a wig.

However, he keeps his balding

head a secret from her. To do that, he tries every trick in the book - sprays, powders, wigs and also cow dung.

Ayushmann and Bhumi have shared the screen earlier in blockbusters like 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha' and 'Shubh Mangal Saavdhan.' The upcoming film marks their third collaboration together.

Meanwhile, he made his film debut opposite Yami Gautam in 'Vicky Donor' in 2012. The comedy-drama is directed by Amar Kaushik and produced by Dinesh Vijan, who has produced films such as 'Luka Chuppi', 'Stree' and 'Hindi Medium.'

'Bala' will open in theatres on November 22 this year.

Speaking about his role in the film, Ayushmann had said earlier that he gets "excited" every time he gets a challenging role.

"The more challenging or complex the character

is, I get more excited. And going with the same trajectory, I'm excited with Bala," said Ayushmann. Ayushmann’s latest film, 'Dream Girl' was a box office success. The film managed to rake in £14 million.

Sanjay Dutt all set to work in the next 'Munnabhai' franchise

With his home production 'Prassthanam' biting the dust, Sanjay Dutt has made up his mind to return to what he does best. Play 'Munnabhai.' The super-popular franchise has been awaiting a third instalment for 8 years now.

Rajkumar Hirani and his writer Abhijat Joshi had in fact planned a third film 'Munnabhai Chale Amrika'

in which Munnabhai (Dutt) was to travel to the US to meet President Obama. But then Obama was President no more. A hunt for another script started. Now Sanjay Dutt has let it be known to Hirani that he is keen to start Munnabhai 3 the soonest.

Says a source in the know, “All of Baba’s films since his return from prison have failed, while the biopic on his life 'Sanju' has been a big success.

This proves Baba is very popular among the masses. He needs to do something he is best at.

And that’s Munnabhai.”

Shah Rukh in a Twitter tattle with fans Shah Rukh Khan was at his humourous best and came up with witty replies to questions asked by his fans as he came up with an 'AskSRK' interaction session on Twitter.

When one twitter user tried to pull the actor’s legs by asking him why doesn't he burn the CD of his film "Ra.One" on the occasion of Dussehra, Shah Rukh's quip was characteristically witty. He replied saying that he should not rub salt on his wounds. He wrote, ‘Arre kitna jale pe namak chidhoge!!’ Not only this, when another user asked him when he planned to do films with his younger son AbRam, SRK left netizens in splits with his reply: "As soon as I get his (AbRam) dates."

One fan even made King Khan nostalgic and emotional by sharing pictures of the actor's late parents. "Gift for you bhai, dekhlo

please bahut mehnat ki hai... I know perfect nahi hai but you will like it.. love you," the user wrote.

Responding to the tweet, Shah Rukh thanked him and said that he has saved the pictures and "will print them out and keep in my room".

Meanwhile, on the work front, after "Zero", Shah Rukh took a break from signing any new film for a while. It's been almost a year since he was last seen on big screen. Many fans asked him about his upcoming projects and why he is staying away from the movies.

After answering several questions, SRK shared that it "was good to hear from" everyone. "Ok all. Need to go now. Gauri's birthday, so will pass on all your wishes to her. Lots of love to you all and was good to hear from you on #AskSRK. Be well.

Be happy. And don't forget to pray," he concluded.

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

BOLLYWOOD

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

29

19 - 25 October 2019

Priyanka would wake up in the night to check on Nick Priyanka Chopra has been making some candid revelations about her husband Nick Jonas and their relationship. After speaking about how he watched 'Mary Kom' when he missed her while she was travelling, the actress spilled some more beans. While promoting 'The Sky is Pink,' Priyanka said, "Initially, when we got married, I couldn't wrap my brain around the fact that he knew when his sugar dropped, even when he was sleeping. He has this crazy discipline.

He feels it." Priyanka would wake up in the middle of the night. "I used to wake

'Sooryavanshi'- desi Avengers of the cop universe

Akshay Kumar shared a picture from his upcoming film 'Sooryavanshi' which is set to hit the screens on March 27, 2020.

The picture shows him as Veer Sooryavanshi with Ranveer Singh as Simmba and Ajay Devgn as Singham.

Sharing the post, Akshay wrote: “The desi Avengers of the Cop universe! When ‘Singham’ meets ‘Simmba’ meets #Sooryavanshi, expect not just fireworks but a full-blown blast on 27th March, 2020.” The Rohit Shetty film, which will extend the director’s cop universe with the introduction of Veer Sooryavanshi, shows Akshay facing the camera. He has a hand each on the shoulders of Ranveer and Ajay (who have their backs to the camera). Behind Akshay, a group of officers, in full gear, stand in position.

Earlier, Katrina took to Instagram to introduce Akshay’s character in the film.

She shared a photograph of a name tag with Veer Sooryavanshi written on it on a police uniform. She captioned the image:

“Now Shooting #sooryavanshi #onset @itsrohitshetty @akshaykumar @karanjohar.”

Katrina and Akshay will be seen together in a film after nine years. The two have previously worked in films such as 'Namastey London', 'Singh Is Kinng', 'Humko Deewana Kar Gaye', 'Welcome' and 'Tees Maar Khan.'

Speaking about Akshay, Katrina said: “Akshay is one of the most hardworking actors I know. In fact I learnt so much from him - the dedication, the punctuality. It also helps that he has a great sense of humour.”

Akshay’s character Veer Sooryavanshi, had a cameo as an anti-terrorist squad officer in the 2018 Simmba, starring Ranveer Singh. The 'Padmaavat' actor, who had been stationed in London for the past few months for the shoot of his upcoming film, '83', left for Hyderabad to commence shooting for 'Sooryavanshi' in which he will be seen playing a cameo.

up in the middle of the night to just check if everything's okay for a really long time," revealed PeeCee. Nick was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 13. "He has been taking care of his diabetes since he was so young that he just has a crazy discipline about it. He knows exactly what to do, when to do it," the actress said on a show. She further added, "He lives the biggest life possible. He's not restricted himself from anything. He plays sports, he's touring. He lives an incredible life. It's so inspiring to see.

When he [started] Beyond Type 1, his foundation, that's what he wanted to show people. Even if you have Type 1 diabetes doesn't mean that your life has to be different. You can live it to its fullest. It's so inspiring to me."

Earlier, Nick too had opened up about his disease. Speaking about it, he said, "I kept asking my parents - am I going to be okay?" he said. "I was just so concerned that it was going to limit my ability to do all the things I wanted to do. I was very scared. It's a big life change."

I want to raise bar of action films in India: Hrithik

Overwhelmed by the thunderous response received by 'War', Hrithik Roshan said that he always wanted to raise the bar of action films in India. The high-octane film that sees Hrithik and Tiger Shroff pitted in a massive showdown across 7 countries as they go after each other relentlessly were successful in surpassing the £20 million mark in just seven days of its release.

Delighted by the response, Hrithik said, "We wanted to make a film that raises the bar of action films in India and could truly compete with the best of action spectacles being made in the West."

"War is a genre-defining action film and I'm extremely happy for the entire cast and crew of War because we all have given our all and more to make this film a cut above," he added.

On the other hand, Tiger feels that the success of the film is like a blessing for him and is more close to his heart as he got to play a role with his "inspiration" and "idol" Hrithik. "It's an absolute blessing that our film has been accepted widely and it's definitely going to be a special one forever because I got to do this with my hero

and idol Hrithik Roshan who I aspire to be and who I am inspired by," the 'Heropanti' actor said. Apart from receiving unanimous love and appreciation from the audience, the actor was touched by the fact that this is his first film in the industry to smash all box office records and score well. "I am blessed that my first 200 is with such an amazing team," he added. Tiger's past action hits include ‘Heropanti’, ‘Baaghi’, ‘A Flying Jatt’ and ‘Baaghi 2’.

He will next be seen in ‘Baaghi 3’ and the Bollywood remake of the cult Hollywood hit, ‘Rambo’.

'War' has created seven new records including that for a Gandhi Jayanti release, a film released in Navratri a n d t h e highestgrossing first 3-day for Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff and Siddharth Anand, who is the director. The film now becomes the third highest-grossing movie of 2019, surpassing the business of Salman Khan starrer 'Bharat.' The film which had the leverage of an extended weekend smashed all records and is continuing its winning spree.

Shahid Kapoor to star in Hindi remake of 'Jersey' After setting high-standards and breaking box office records with 'Kabir Singh', Shahid Kapoor is all set to take over the screens in yet another Telugu remake.

Shahid will be seen playing the lead in the Hindi version of Telugu film 'Jersey,' which originally starred Nani. The film will be helmed by Gowtam Tinnanuri, who directed the original film too.

It is a story about a father named Arjun, a talented but failed cricketer, who decides to return to cricket in his late thirties driven by the desire to represent the Indian cricket team and fulfill his son’s wish for an Indian jersey as a gift. The film

was received well by the audience as well as the critics who claimed it to be the turning point in Nani’s career.

A source said, “The director has started giving fine tuning to the Hindi version script one and half month back and the regular shoot will be commenced from December first week. As of now, the makers are considering Mrunal Thakur of 'Super 30' fame

for the female lead role opposite Shahid.”

30 KOLLYWOOD

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

19 - 25 October 2019

Ram Charan's wife gifts 'bottle opener' diamond ring to Tamannaah The ambitious period drama 'Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy' starring megastar Chiranjeevi as the warrior king has done incredibly well at the Box Office and has been well received by the viewers.

Impressed by the performance of the celluloid, Upasana Konidela, who is the wife of producer Ram Charan, took the celebration a bit up the notch, and gifted the film's actress Tamanaah Bhatia with a huge diamond ring. She shared a picture of the actress flaunting it and wrote, "A gift for the super @tamannaahspeaks from Mrs Producer Missing u already. Catch up soon. SyeraaNarashimaReddy."

Tamannaah too replied on the post stating, "This bottle opener shall have many memories attached to it Felt awesome to catch up after so long, waiting to see you soon , miss u more."

Apparently the humongous ring on Tamaanaah's finger happens to be the fifth largest black diamond

yet. Reports suggest that the cost of this rare piece comes around £200,000.

Tamannaah has played Lakshmi, the love interest of Chiranjeevi in the film, which was released in theatres on October 2. Her performance was widely appreciated among viewers. Apart from Tamannaah and Chiranjeevi, the film also featured Amitabh Bachchan, Kiccha Sudeep, Jagapathi Babu, Ravi Kishen, Niharika, Nayanthara, Anushka Shetty and Vijay Sethupathi in pivotal roles. As of now Ram Charan is off to work on another project with his father Chiranjeevi yet again for the latter's 125th film.

Chiru had spoken a lot about her acting during its promotions. Viewers got to experience her emotional performance when watched the movie, which has been bankrolled by Ram Charan under his banner Konidela productions.

Amala Paul in the Telugu remake of 'Lust Stories' The latest update is that Amala Paul has been roped in as the leading lady for Netflix's 'Lust Stories' in one of its segments.

The young actress is soon to make her foray into the digital platfrom after she made her mark as a solo heroine with director Rathnakumar's thriller 'Aadai,' which opened up to critical acclaim and a favourable audience response.

The anthology film, which released in 2018, sparked a lot of debate among film buffs, is all set to get its Telugu remake, which will be produced by Ronnie Screwvala. Nandini Reddy, who rose to fame with 'Oh Baby' recently, handpicked the 'Aadai' girl to play the lead role in her segment. The shooting of the film commenced recently.

In a recent release, Amala expressed that this effort will further her exploration into uncharted territories “Over the past few years, I have been very much focused on taking up exceptional and challenging roles. Moreover, I was really happy about the way how

audiences have reacted to my attempts with their positive receptions, especially for the film ‘Aadai’. Significantly, I feel this project to be yet another leap for me to unleash my potentials and give a try into an arena that I haven’t stepped before."

She also added "Being the key players in OTT across the global platform, their entry into South region will surely bring about a major change in conception and presentation of the strong and realistic contents. I am so much happy for being a part of one among their early ventures down the South.” The remaining three segments of the film will be directed by Sankalp Reddy, Tharun Bhaskar and Sandeep Reddy Vanga.

Recently, Southern film industry had witnessed an upsurge in directors and actors jumping the digital bandwagon. Recently, it was announced that directors Vignesh Shivan, Vetri Maaran, Sudha Kongara and Gautham Menon will be teaming up for a Netflix original.

TV Listing

MON 21ST OCTOBER - FRI 25TH OCTOBER 18:30 VIGHNAHARTA GANESHA 19:00 MERE SAI

19:30 TARA FROM SATARA

20:00 ISHAARON ISHAARON MEIN * Schedule is subject to change

SATURDAY 19TH OCTOBER TIME TV PROGRAM NAMES 17:30 ZINDAGI KE CROSSROADS 18:30 THE KAPIL SHARMA SHOW 20:00 INDIAN IDOL 21:30 THE KAPIL SHARMA SHOW SUNDAY 20TH OCTOBER TIME TV PROGRAM NAMES 17:30 ZINDAGI KE CROSSROADS 18:30 THE KAPIL SHARMA SHOW 20:00 INDIAN IDOL 21:30 THE KAPIL SHARMA SHOW

* Schedule is subject to change

Yuvan Shankar croons a special song for a Labrador Yuvan Shankar Raja is now hitting the headlines for a surprising news! The team of ‘Anbulla Ghilli’ has got the musician on board to sing a song for a dog in the upcoming movie which has music by Arrol Corelli.

'Anbulla Ghilli' which is directed by Srinath owns a unique trait of being quite different from routine dogbased films. Significantly, the story will be narrated through the eyes of a Labrador dog, who will appear in the name of ‘Ghilli’. The film also features Mythreya, Dushara, VJ Aashiq, Chandini, Mime Gopi, Nanjil Vijayan, Mouna Ragam fame Krithika and others, who will be appearing in important characters.

Srinath said, “This is purely magical. Of course, Yuvan sir’s music and voice have remained synonymous with ‘magic’. Soon after composing, I and Arrol felt that his voice would bring a good impact on the number. We just sent him the tune and to our surprise, he instantly gave us the nod inviting us to his studio to record it.”

Yuvan will sing for the Labrador apparently. “It’s a romantic song pictured with fun elements on a male

and female dog with the former getting the voice of YSR. I would like to thank Love Guru for delivering simple, beautiful and catchy lyrics, which I believe will be immediately grasped by listeners as soon as they hear the song,” the director said.

Yuvan Shankar is known for soothing many weary souls with his amazing songs. The popular music director had recently composed for Thala Ajith’s 'Nerkonda Paarvai' which was directed by H Vinoth and produced

by Boney Kapoor. The music proved to be one of the backbone elements. He is also busy composing for Vijay Sethupathi’s 'Maamanithan' which is directed by Seenu Ramasamy.

MON 21ST - FRI 25TH OCT 2019 13:00: SWARAGINI 13:30: BHARADWAJ BAHUEIN 15:30: SIRF 30 MINUTES 16:00: THE GREAT INDIAN GLOBAL KITCHEN 2 16:30: RASOI SHOW 17:30: CHHUTA CHHEDA 18:00: TUM KAUN PIYA 18:30: DIL KA RISHTA

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 21ST - FRI 25TH OCT 2019 18:00: MERE HUMRAHI 18:30: VIDYA 19:00: RAM SIYA KE LUV KUSH 19:30: CHOTI SARDAARNI 20:00: SHAKTI ASTITVA KE EHSAAS KI 20:30: KITCHEN CHAMPION 21:30: BIGG BOSS - SEASON 13 22:30: BAHU BEGUM 23:00: BEPANAH PYAARR

20:30 PATIALA BABES

21:00 KAUN BANEGA CROREPATI 22:30 TARA FROM SATARA

23:00 CRIME PATROL SONY MAX 2 PRIME TIME 19:00 MONDAY

19:00 TUESDAY

AMAR PREM JURMANA

19:00 WEDNESDAY BADAL 19:00 THURSDAY 19:00 FRIDAY

BUNDAL BAAZ ARADHANA

19:00: 19:30: 20:00: 20:30: 21:00:

JAHAANARA BEPANNAH TERE NAAL ISHQ MOHE RANNG DO LAAL BALIKA VADHU - LAMHE PYAAR KE 22:00: RED ALERT SAT 26TH OCT 2019 11:00: MAHAKALI 17:30: DIVINE DESTINATION 18:00: DESI BEAT - SEASON 3 18:30: RISING STAR (SEASON 3) 20:30: RED ALERT 21:30: JAGTE RAHO SUN 27TH OCT 2019 11:00: SHRIMAD BHAGWAT 17:30: DIVINE DESTINATION 18:00: DESI BEAT - SEASON 3 18:30: FEMINA MISS INDIA 2019 20:30: RED ALERT 21:30: JAGTE RAHO

23:30: CHOTI SARDAARNI 0:00: GATHBANDHAN SAT 26TH OCT 2019 19:30: DESI BEAT RESET 20:00: CHOTI SARDAARNI 20:30: KHATRA KHATRA KHATRA 21:30: BIGG BOSS (SEASON 13) WEEKEND KA VAAR 23:00: KAWACH MAHASHIVRATRI SUN 27TH OCT 2019 19:00: CHOTI SARDAARNI 20:30: KHATRA KHATRA KHATRA 21:30: BIGG BOSS (SEASON 13) WEEKEND KA VAAR 23:00: KAWACH MAHASHIVRATRI 19:30: IIFA MAIN EVENT 23:30: GOLDEN MOMENTS

www.asian-voice.com

AsianVoiceNews

Mahant Swami in Gondal

On 9th, Mahant Swami visited Shastri Maharaj's Hari Mandir in Nenpur and performed aarti. On 11th, he arrived at Gondal and the 235th Pragatyotsav of Swami Gunatitananda was celebrated on 13th. On Sharadapunam, Gunateet Janmotsav was celebrated.

Vachanamrut was the main theme of the program which was divided into five sections. A dialogue and aarti was held in each section followed by a speech by a senior saint. Samuh Aarti was conducted towards the end of the program. It created a spectacular star-studded sight, as the people held lamps in their hands. Mahant Swami inaugurated the translation of Vachanamrut in Kannada language and also unveiled chapter-18 of Sant Vykhyaanmala. Mahant Swami also blessed 1200 devotees who travelled by foot for 40 km from Rajkot to Gondal. Mahant Swami, in his blessings, said, 'One who has a pure heart, can bring the change, we also can do so, but our impiety restrains it.' Children recited the Sahajanand Namavali on Bal Din, celebrated on 14th.

EVENTS

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

31

19 - 25 Oct 2019

Direct Amritsar-London flights from November Union civil aviation minister of India Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday, 26th September announced to start direct flights between London and Amritsar. He later tweeted that the decision was dedicated to mark the 550th anniversary of Guru Nanak.

“As a mark of respect to Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Maharaj and the dignity of the momentous occasion, the Union Cabinet led by PM Shri @narendramodi ji took the key decision to celebrate the 550th Parkash

Parv of the founder of Sikh faith,” Puri tweeted.

In addition, he also announced the direct thrice-weekly flight between Delhi and Toronto from World Tourism Day on September 27.

MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, who has been lobbying for direct flights for the last couple of years expressed his delight at the news and gratitude to Amritsar Vikas Manch, Seva Trust UK and other organisations.

Palanquin Bearers - Poem by Sarojini Naidu Lightly, O lightly we bear her along, She sways like a flower in the wind of our song; She skims like a bird on the foam of a stream, She floats like a laugh from the lips of a dream.

Gaily, O gaily we glide and we sing, We bear her along like a pearl on a string.

Softly, O softly we bear her along, She hangs like a star in the dew of our song; She springs like a beam on the brow of the tide, She falls like a tear from the eyes of a bride.

Lightly, O lightly we glide and we sing, We bear her along like a pearl on a string.

Coming Events

l Ashlynwood organises free Inheritance Tax Planning Seminar in Central London, Date: 17 October, Thursday Time: From 5:30 pm to 7:30pm, Contact. ashish@ashlynwood.com l The 'Grand Diwali Milan' organized by Om Shakti Center Date: 26 October, Sunday, Date: from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm Venue: Harrow Leisure Center, Byron Hall, Harrow HA3 5BD. Various stalls and raffle draws will also be held.

Contact: Ranjanbane Manek (MBE) 07930 335 978 l Pankaj Sodha presents Diwali Shopping Festival 2019 Date: 19-20 October, Time: From 10:00 am to 8:00 pm Venue: Harrow Leisure Center, Christ Church Avenue, Harrow HA3 5BD. Contact: Videorama 020 8907 0116

Disclaimer

Asian Business Publications Ltd (ABPL) is not in any way responsible for the goods and services rendered by its advertisers. The ABPL management accepts all advertisements in good faith and it is entirely up to readers to verify advertisers’ products and services, should they feel the need to do so.

l Diwali Festival at Blackheath Halls Date: 16th-20th October Price: Varies depending on activity Venue: Blackheath Halls, 23 Lee Road, London, SE3 9RQ

Bolton Hindu Forum Sharad Purnima Date: Saturday 19th October Time: 7pm till 11.30pm Venue: Market Place, 1st Floor, Knowsley Street, Bolton, BL1 2AL Tickets: £5 Email: pm@boltonhinduforum.org.uk

l

Diwali in Wembley Date: Sunday 20th October Time: 12pm till 7pm Price: Free Venue: Ealing Road, Wembley, HA0

l

Helpline to support troubled Muslim youth An 11-year-old has launched a helpline to provide Muslim youth with mental health support. Shakira Rahman, Muslim Islamic charity Penny Appeal’s mini CEO, started the MY (Muslim Youth) helpline to provide faith and culturally sensitive support to young Muslims between the ages of 11 to 24.

“I have my mum to talk to about problems such as social media pressure, classroom bullying or body image worries.

“But many of my Muslim friends at school are too scared to talk to their fami-

lies as they feel that they will not be understood. So I think that this line will be really helpful for my friends, and many girls and boys throughout the UK.” said Rahman Headed by Hinna Zafar, a qualified counsellor in psychology, MY helpline will help with challenges such as sexuality, family abuse, bullying and cultural or religious pressures that affect many in modern British society. The MY service will also provide access to counsellors with Islamic knowledge. MY helpline number is 0808 802 7777.

What’s on

l Diwali in Slough Date: Saturday 26th October Time: 7pm till 11.30pm Price: £11.37-£27.54 Venue: Copthorne Hotel Slough-Windsor, Cippenham Lane, Slough, SL1 2YE

l Diwali Dinner and Dance Date: Saturday 26th October Time: 7pm till 11.30pm Price: £15-£30 Venue: Haveli Conference and Banquet, 277 High Street, Slough, SL1 1BN

l Westminster Diwali Celebrations Date: Thursday 24th October Time: 3pm till 5pm Price: Free Venue: Cafe Victoria, Westminster City Hall, 19th Floor, 64 Victoria Street, SW1E 6QP

AJIT NINAN FOR TOI

Editor: CB Patel Chief Executive Officer: Liji George Managing Editor: Rupanjana Dutta Deputy Editor: Urja Patel Journalist: Priyanka Mehta Advertising Managers: Kishor Parmar Head - New Projects & Business Development: Cecil Soans Graphic Designers: Harish Dahya & Ajay Kumar Customer Service: Ragini Nayak Tel: 020 7749 4080 Email: support@abplgroup.com Leicester Distributors: Shabde Magazine, Shobhan Mehta Mob: 07846 480 220

Asian Voice Head Office Karma Yoga House 12 Hoxton Market (Off Coronet Street) London N1 6HW. Tel: 020 7749 4080 Fax: 020 7749 4081 www.abplgroup.com

© Asian Business Publications

Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar Switch board: 020 7749 4080 Advertising Sales: 020 7749 4085

l Diwali Workshop Date: Saturday 26th October Time: 11am Venue: National Maritime Museum, Romney Road, Greenwich, London, SE10 9NF Price: Free l Diwali in Luton Date: Saturday 26th October Time: 12pm till 7.30pm Price: Free Venue: St George’s Square, Luton, LU1 2QP Parade: 6pm from Market Hall and will finish at St George’s Square at around 7pm

l BAPS Diwali Date: Sunday 27th October Time: 9am till 8pm Price: Free Venue: 105-119 Brentfield Road, Neasden, London, NW10 8LD

32

Sport

www.asian-voice.com

19 - 25 October 2019

AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly

Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge sets under 2-hour marathon record Kenya's long-distance runner Eliud Kipchoge became the first person to run a marathon in less than two hours, blowing through the barrier by nearly 20 seconds in a special event in Vienna on Saturday.

Kipchoge completed the 26.2-mile challenge in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 40 seconds. As he crossed the finish line, the 34-year-old pounded his palms on his chest and smiled brightly.

He threw his arms around his wife, who was waiting for him at the end, then let a throng of supporters hoist him into the air.

“I’m the happiest man,” said Kipchoge, a Kenyan flag draped over his shoulders.

“No human is limited. You can do it.” Despite being the fastest marathon ever recorded, Kipchoge’s time won’t count as an official world record because the run didn’t take place in an open event. The challenge, backed by the British chemical company Ineos, was held on a closed 6-mile course in a park in the Austrian capital, and Kipchoge was aided in the run by more than three-

Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge celebrates after busting the mythical two-hour barrier for the marathon in Vienna

dozen pacemakers who rotated in and out several at a time throughout the race.

But the milestone in athletic achievement, long considered impossible, reverberated around the world. In Eldoret, Kenya, where Kipchoge lives with his wife and three children, a massive crowd danced and cheered in the street in celebration of their hometown hero’s accomplishment. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta congratulated Kipchoge.

“You’ve done it, you’ve made history and made Kenya proud while at it,”

Kenyatta said. “Your win today, will inspire tens of future generations to dream big and to aspire for greatness.”

In Vienna, four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome said: “It’s phenomenal, it’s fantastic, it’s just incredible to watch him - it looks like he’s not even breathing. He’s just gliding over the road. It’s fantastic to be here, and be part of this atmosphere.”

Kipchoge set an official marathon world record in Berlin in 2018, completing the race in 2 hours, 1 minute and 39 seconds. That record

Ganguly to take charge as BCCI chief on Oct 23 Two decades after he led the Indian cricket team, Sourav Ganguly has climbed the next big step. On Monday, Ganguly with BCCI's secretary- elect Jay Shah and other nominated office-bearers, arrived at the BCCI office to file his nomination for the post of president, unopposed. The team assumes office on October 23. However, Ganguly’s march to world cricket’s most coveted seat was anything but a cakewalk.

His nomination came after a dramatic 24 hours of intriguing negotiations, phone calls from Delhi and an informal meeting at a Mumbai five-star hotel on Sunday night where Indian cricket’s most powerful faces came together to firm up strategy for the board elections on October 23.

With former BCCI president N Srinivasan throwing his weight behind another former player, Karnataka association’s Brijesh Patel, the house was divided initially over who would head the board. In contrast, it was smooth sailing for Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah for the secretary’s post, and former Board president and MoS Finance Anurag Thakur’s brother Arun Dhumal for that of treasurer.

On Sunday, the power meeting that was to start at 4 pm was delayed as the Thakur brothers and Jay Shah visited the Siddhivinayak temple. By 7.30 pm, the state association representatives started to assemble. Till then, it was believed that Patel was favourite to be president. In the hotel lobby, Srinivasan’s men waited for the arrival of Assam Finance Minister Himanta

Biswa Sarma, who had been part of the state association earlier and now heads the Badminton Association of India.

The meeting was further pushed back as Sarma and Thakur attended an engagement ceremony in the hotel. Other top BJP politicians w e r e , meanwhile, Saurav Ganguly seen in the lobby.

Around 10.30 pm, when Ganguly spoke briefly with reporters, he seemed to have conceded defeat. But then, things changed dramatically post-dinner, when Srinivasan was asked to join Jay Shah along with Anurag and Sarma in a closed-door huddle, with a few powerful voices joining by phone.

After about 30 minutes, sources said, Srinivasan was asked to announce Ganguly’s nomination. Even as he was being summoned to this meeting, Ganguly told reporters before taking the elevator that Brijesh would be president. Later, he revealed, he got to know only close to midnight that he had become the consensus candidate.

still stands. This is his second attempt to break the two-hour mark. His first came in 2017 in a closed run in Monza, Italy, but he fell short by 26 seconds.

In crossing the twohour threshold, Kipchoge joins the ranks of British runner Roger Bannister, who made history in 1954 when he became the first person to run a mile in less than 4 minutes - an achievement which, like Kipchoge’s, was once viewed as unattainable.

It has taken 65 years for a human to make history in sport after Roger Bannister made history in 1954,” Kipchoge said at the finish line. “I’m expecting more of the athletes in all of the world to run under two hours after today. We can make this world a beautiful world and a peaceful world,” Kipchoge said.

Kenya's Brigid Kosgei breaks women's record Kenyan runner Brigid Kosgei smashed the women's world record at the Chicago marathon on Sunday. The 25-year-old athlete completed the race in two hours, 14 minutes

and four seconds, according to the Chicago Marathon's Twitter account. Kosgei shattered the longstanding women's world record of two hours, fifteen minutes and 25 seconds set by legendary runner Paula Radcliffe in 2003 at the London Marathon. "It was 17 years ago exactly today that I set the first world record here in Chicago," Radcliffe said. "That was a special day for me today and it's a very special day for Brigid today." Kosgei, whose

time would have been a men's world record in 1964, was beaten by only 22 runners in the men's race.

"I'm feeling good and I am happy because I was not expected to run like this," Kosgei said. Kosgei won the Chicago marathon last year as well.

She also dominated the London Marathon this year, with a time of two hours, 18 minutes and 20 seconds and broke another record, becoming the youngest winner of the race.

Brigid Kosgei blew away the field in winning the Chicago Marathon on Sunday and setting a women’s world record: 2 hours 14 minutes 4 seconds

India win series against South Africa India dismissed South Africa for 189 inside 70 overs to win the second Test and the series by an innings and 137 runs with a day to spare in Pune. The hosts have now taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. The third Test starts in Ranchi on Saturday. Virat Kohli’s men have also boosted their points tally in the World Test championship after this result.

Except off-spinner R Ashwin and pacer Mohd Shami in patches, no Indian bowler looked that threatening on a pitch that was losing its zip and freshness with every passing over.

However, soft dismissals after being put under pressure and smart fielding were the patterns for the day. Wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha led from behind the wicket with two of the three dismissals inside the first 24 overs.

Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma joined him in the fielding act.

Shami bowled some darts creating a beautiful angle. He showed lefthanded Senuran Muthusamy his place with a short probing missile. The

Jubilant Indian Team

prod landed in Rohit Sharma’s palms in the second slip. The batsman also took a good catch in the slips to dismiss Kagiso Rabada.

Standing close to the stumps and sometimes leaning on his knees at short gully, Rohit also took blows on his body. So did Saha, who again justified his selection ahead of Rishabh Pant. But South Africa’s mainstay, Dean Elgar, took a chance like Pant and the visitors paid heavily for that.

Du Plessis had got out 10 balls before and Bavuma was yet to open his account at 71-3 in the 24th over. Still, Elgar went for the expansive lofted drive off R Ashwin but mistimed it.

Jadeja got rid of Quinton De Kock when the wicketkeeper tried a hoick, but missed it and was castled.

Though Jadeja (3) got more wickets than Ashwin (2) in this innings, the latter gave ample demonstration of his greatness with subtle variations and the ability to play on the batsman’s mind.

Not that the South African batsmen didn’t have their moments. Bavuma appeared to have settled down when he square drove Jadeja and lofted him over widish long-on for fours and Elgar was mixing things up nicely before the brain fade.

Philander, who scored an unbeaten 44 in the firstinnings, started with entertaining boundaries.