AV 20th May 2023

A R E W E R E A D Y F O R C L I M A T E C H A N G E ?

Shefali Saxena

"Pretty soon we'll be living on the tops of trees! Either t h a t o r t h i s l a n d w i l l b e s t r e w n w i t h o u r b o d i e s , ” a woman living in flood-struck

B a n g l a d e s h t o l d N P R . B u t b e f o r e t h e f l o o d w a t e r s overwhelmed her home, she k n e w p r e c i s e l y w h e n t o evacuate – and how to save her own life Authorities in B a n g l a d e s h a n d M y a n m a r a r e p r e p a r i n g t o e v a c u a t e h u n d r e d s o f t h o u s a n d s o f people, warning them to stay away from coastal areas as a severe cyclone churned in the Bay of Bengal

Continued on page 14

The contribution of the South Asian diaspora in the UK remains crucial in the rehabilitation of those struck by climate change issues However, is the UK prepared to tackle the crisis head-on? We find out

with

Keith Vaz K A L PA NA D OSH I

Kalpana Dosh i is a certif ied Laughter Yo ga practitioner based in London, working in v isitor exp erience at the iconic Victoria & Albert Museum Her p assion is running Laugh ter sessions as well and sh e has m ore th an 12 years ’ experience d oing that She runs sessions fo r corp orate clients, schools, festivals, co mmunity centres, old p eople’s hom es, charities, health & wellbeing retreats and exclusive social ev ents

Examples of some events include Camp Festival (2021), Diwali in Trafalgar Square (2022 on the main stage), Zee London Mela (2019), Corona Energy (2019), Haberdasher Aske’s Girls School (2020), Karuna Manor Care Home (2019) and Mantra Therapy’s wellbeing retreat in Tuscany (2018), Diversity Festival (2022), Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (2023) Kalpana’s personal journey is documented in a book entitled Voices From Gujarat (2021), which recognises inspiring stories of 21 British Gujarati women, who take charge of their happiness

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

London mainly because of family and friends but I also love Kenya (my birthplace) and India (my motherland) India is also home because I grew up speaking my mother tongue and I love the food, music, culture Kenya is home because of familiar sights and sound of childhood memories which come flooding back when I visit

2) What are your proudest achievements?

My proudest achievements are of having raised my lovely daughter all by myself, learning a new unusual skill and becoming a really good Laughter yoga leader to spread happiness and joy to others I am also ver y proud that the stor y of my life has been publ i s h e d i n a b o o ke d t i t l e d “ Vo i c e s f r o m Gujarat”

3) What inspires you?

My past inspires me, through reflection reminding me how far I have come It makes me want to achieve more and become the best version of myself Setting goals gives me the desire and drive to achieve them Having fun, being adventurous and leading l a u g h t e r s e s s i o n s m a k i n g o t h e r s ’ h a p p y inspires me the most

4) What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

One of the main obstacles has been that some people do not take “Laughter yoga ” seriously I can’t stress enough how benef icial it is I do not feel supported with this idea and have not been able to f ind the right mentor or investor to turn it into a flourishing successful business

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

No one person has influenced me I have been obser ving many other successful people around me, looking for gaps in the market and grabbing opportunities where I can I know that Laughter is much needed and will keep working at it to make a difference

6) What is the best aspect about your current

role?

I am a people’s person, and it is a privilege to connect with people After an interaction, we are all left in a good state, and it is a wonderful feeling The role comes to me naturally (whether it is talking to visitors in the museum or leading the laughter exercises)

7) And the worst?

Honestly, there is nothing bad or negative about both my jobs – most of the time I am in the world’s leading art and design museum surrounded by beautiful and precious objects, sharing my knowledge and when I’m leading laughter sessions, I am in my element making people happy I am blessed

8) What are your long-term goals?

My hopes, wishes and dreams are to turn the Laughter into a successful business, it would be amazing to lead laughter sessions in corporates (team building and well-being week), schools, hospitals, hospices, cruise ships, retreats, etc and travel to spread laughter in different parts of the world

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

To be honest, I don’t understand politics and policies much, but it would be good to see the cost of living to go down, less taxes for people on minimum wage, more police presence on the streets, less crime, more housing, shorter waiting lists on the NHS

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

Helen Keller who showed potential of the human spirit She was able to break the isolation of being deaf/ blind by becoming t h e f i r s t d e a f / bl i n d p e r s o n t o re c e i v e a Bachelor of Arts degree Also, Italian physicist, physician, philosopher and educator Maria Montessori, best known for her phil o s o p h y o f e d u c a t i o n T h e Mo n t e s s o r i schools and the Montessori education system

Children hiding mental health struggles from parents

Res earch has pointed out that one in four children who feel s ad and anxious hi d e t he i r m en t al h e al th

Missing Suma Begum’s

body found in Thames

T h e M et p o li c e, o n Wednesday, conf irmed that they h ave found a bo dy in

T h a m es m ea d fo llo w i n g a call from a passer-by, shortly after 1 0 A M While formal id entif icatio n is yet to be do ne, Sum a Begum’s family h as been inform ed of th e dev elopment

S o u r c e M e t r o p o t a n P o i c e

A post-mortem examination will take place in due time Begum vanished from her home in Canning Town on 30th April, Sunday

A m i n a n R e h m a n , Begum’s husband, has been c h a r g e d w i t h h e r m u r d e r a n d h a s b e e n a c c u s e d o f putting her body in a suitcase and dumping it in the River Lea Rehman appeared for a preliminar y hearing at the Old Bailey on Tuesday Judge Nigel Lickley KC has remanded the accused into custody and set a plea hearing on 25th July

NCA targets money laundering and people smuggling network

Following a n in vestig at ion int o an or gan ise d c r i me g r o up in w e st Lon don, sixt een people h a v e be e n a r r e s t e d T h e n e t w or k w a s i n v o lv e d in m o n e y laund erin g an d people smuggling an d smugg li n g £ 4 2 mi ll io n in cash out of t he UK an d ma de hundre ds of t rips t o Du ba i, U A E be t w e e n 2 0 1 7 a n d 2019

Around £1 5 million was seized by the NCA from the couriers leavi n g t h e U K Additionally, the analysis of flights, cash declarations in Dubai and other seized material shows that the group was able to transport far more before being fo u n d o u t G a n g l e a d e r C h a r a n Si n g h ( 4 4 ) , f r o m Hounslow, was among those arrested in a series of raids in

November 2019 The investigators were able to prove that Singh paid for Dubai flights for other members of the group smuggling cash He m a i n t a i n e d a l e d g e r recording the outgoing cash T h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n a l s o

b r o u g h t t o l i g h t t h e p l o t t o s m u g g l e 1 7 m i g r a n t s , i n c l u d i n g f i v e c h i l d r e n a n d a pregnant woman, into the UK in 2019 I n Ja n u a r y 2 0 2 3 , the people charged in the case were prosecuted in two trials at Croydon Crown Court The f irst trial in the case found Singh and s i x o t h e r s g u i l t y o f m o n e y l a u n d e r i n g o f fe n c e s Tw o d e fe ndants were convicted fo r f a c i l i t a t i n g i l le g a l immigration Si x d e fe n d a n t s changed their plea to guilty in connection to the money laundering offences midway through the trial T h i s l e d t h e r e p o r t i n g restrictions on the case to be lifted on Friday 5 May The 16 convicts are due to be sentenced in September 2023

Tributes pour in for a young woman who died in Tamworth

Tributes h ave been p ouring in for Aishw arya Nag ar, who died in a car crash in th e north-east of Birmingham Aishwar ya was described as a “beautiful angel” by her u n c l e S a n d i p Na g a r, Birmingham Live reported He f u r t h e r a d d e d t h a t a “ y o u n g , b e a u t i f u l , i n t e l l ig e n t i n d i v i d u a l h a s b e e n taken so soon ” The family is being handled by specially- trained off icers as they process the grief of losing their young daughter

state from their parents In a poll of 2 ,502 youngsters, aged 11 to 18, one i n three s a i d th a t th ey w er e n ot comfortable accepti ng help regarding feelings and emotions

O n e i n fo u r h a s n’t talked to a trusted person, regarding mental health, in t h e l a s t s i x m o nt h s T h e poll also included 2,500 parents, of which half highlighted the lack of support for children suffering from mental illness One in six said that they were unconf ident in recognising signs of poor mental health in their child

The poll also revealed that the cost-of-living crisis was making people stressed and depressed

S o u r c e S t a f o d s h r e P o i c e

The passenger of Corsa and the BMW, a woman in her 30s and a 17-year-old boy, were both taken to the

hospital and are in stable condition The driver of the BMW was also injured and is in critical condition T h e i n c i d e n t o c c u r re d on May 5, when the 20-yearold, driving a black Vauxhall Corsa, collided with a white B M W o n C o l e s h i l l R o a d S h e d i e d o n t h e s p o t I n v e s t i g a t o r s a r e u r g i n g p e o p l e w i t h d a s h c a m o r CCT V footage related to the accident to come for ward and help with the investigation

First-ever Sikh leader for the Slough L abour Group

Fo l lo wi ng t h ei r a nn u a l meeting on Tu esday(9), th e S lou gh Labou r Gro up elected Cou nc illor Pavitar K au r Mann to be th eir new leade r, w h i le Co u n c i ll o r Christine Hu lme was ch osen to be the dep uty Councillor Kaur is the f i r s t Si k h l e a d e r o f t h e g r o u p a n d a l s o t h e f i r s t w o m a n l e a d e r i n o v e r 3 5 y e a r s S h e w i l l t a ke o v e r f r o m Ja m e s Sw i n d l e h u r s t after he lost his council seat Add in her deputy, and this w i l l b e t h e f i r s t - e v e r a l lfemale leadership team of a major political party in the

histor y of the borough

T h e w i n , h o w e v e r, c o m e s w i t h d i f f i c u l t c i rc u m s t a n c e s fo l l o w i n g t h e Labours losing their grip on the council given the crushing results of the election

This has led the council to have no overall control

The councillor is humbled by her election but also s a d d e n e d t h a t h e r c o l -

Source: Twitter

le a g u e s w e re n o t e le c t e d She is determined to hold t h e n e w a d m i n i s t r a t i o n accountable “I am, however, proud to form – along with Councillor Hulme –t h e b o r o u g h’s f i r s t - e v e r female leadership team for a m a j o r p a r t y l o c a l l y ” , Councillor Mann was quoted as saying by the Slough Obser ver

Suma Begum

Aishwarya Nagar

Custody pictures of the convicts

UK parties need to start planning for the next year’s general election

When Suella Braverman said that it was ‘not racist’ to shut borders to curb immigration, there was a determination in her intention The very fact that she believes depending on immigration will make British people lazy, or that fixating on multiculturalism is a folly - extremely ironic coming from the daughter of immigrants- Uma and Christie Fernandes Of course, Rt Hon Braverman is not known just by her ethnicity or even for it, her work precedes her Yet the party policies cannot be so extreme at this point and tone deaf to its own Home Secretary’s culture, roots or changing dynamics of its own demography

Polls suggest the Tory party may not win general elections next year Sir Keir Starmer has promised the EU citizens settled in Britain, a right to vote in the general election, if they are elected A wonderful thought- just 10 years late from saving Britain from a disastrous EU Referendum If there is a failure for the Tory party to win the general election, it will not be caused by migration numbers but by the repeated lies and infighting between politicians, who cannot see beyond their nose

PM Rishi Sunak has been blamed for his party’s failure in local council elections The buck ultimately stops with the leader, but let’s be honest, in the last 6 months, the government and party (at Westminster) have never been more stable (since 2021) The man, who celebrated his 43rd birthday last week, has held the helm with absolute calm, despite facing repeated personal attacks, on himself, his wife’s wealth, family ties, their clothes –and what not

The Irish Times wrote recently, British Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Kemi Badenoch, clashed with fellow Tory MPs in the House of Commons on Thursday after she stalled plans for a bonfire of EU laws That led to the first instance of unrest in the last 6 months affecting Mr Sunak’s stability as a PM

The failure at local elections furthered the bickering

In every country, no party should ever become this complacent Not fearing an Opposition, may how weak they sound- is a recipe for disaster The Karnataka election results are a living proof of what could go wrong for a mighty powerful but “ overconfident” party in a democracy

Tobias Elwood MP in an interview on television was baffled how right-wing Tories are still demanding a return of Boris Johnson as the leader of the party for next elections Interestingly Jacob Rees Mogg, despite his continuous attacks on PM Sunak, has of late been maintaining a certain neutral composure

Any party including the Tories need to have a strong leadership candidate before the next elections take place While Mr Sunak’s leadership so far has undoubtedly been one of the steadiest, is the country ready to “elect” him as the Prime Minister? If not, then who would become the face of the Tory party? When will that be decided?

Second, is Sir Starmer fit to lead his party to success and make policies that are not anti-India? If not, he would easily lose the vote of 1 7mn people in the UK and the support of billions of pounds

Third, what are the policies to cut the cost of living crisis?

How does the Labour party plan to deal with Brexit laws and policies? Or even the FTA with India?

With its relationship not that “ warm ” with India, how does the party plan to cope with already existing pro-policies? What happens to the Ukraine-UK friendship that Boris Johnson very lovingly nurtured?

There is a lot to think about, a lot to plan for, a lot to decide In the light of what’s ahead, the UK s obsession with migration numbers is not even worth that worry

Lessons for parties to learn from Karnataka

The Congress and the BJP have lessons to be drawn from the Karnataka verdict If the BJP truly wants to be a party trusted by all religious and linguistic communities, it must learn to respect them In a remarkable shift from the past, the Congress acknowledged that it must address questions of caste justice too Karnataka voters have imparted important lessons to India’s political class Let us start with BJP The party is unable to win states beyond its core political catchment areas, with Assam and Northeast as exceptions One problem is the mismatched relationship between a centralised BJP and weak state units, or a powerful PM and relatively lowprofile CMs Karnataka is a good example of how this can drag d o w n B J P ’ s s t a t e p r o s p e c t s A f t e r a l l , p o s t - Y e d i y u r a p p a , Karnataka witnessed an unprecedented centralisation of electoral strategy and campaign machinery One can argue that anti-incumbency meant BJP’s prospects were doomed from the start, or that Bommai could not be saved despite a valiant rescue effort by the Modi-Shah/Nadda triumvirate

What’s a fact is that weak BJP CMs needing the PM’s thorough intervention has constituted a norm, not an exception, as we saw in multiple elections over the last two years This can mean a leadership change a year or two before state elections (Gujarat, Tripura, Uttarakhand), or a prolonged campaign by the PM to save an unpopular incumbent These tactics do not always work, and Karnataka follows on the heels of Himachal Pradesh as a reminder There is another model to choose In UP and Assam, BJP CMs operate with a large degree of autonomy and enjoy a fair degree of popularity Contrast this to Bommai, who faced constant attacks from the proHindutva faction of the state When a CM is routinely

attacked by his own party colleagues, and seen as beholden to other leaders, people are more likely to believe opposition claims that the leader possesses no real disciplinary authority to control political corruption

The first lesson for Congress is the importance of state leadership and organisation After all, the lion’s share of the electoral credit goes to the Karnataka state organisation, and its surefooted leadership who fronted the campaign It started campaigning a year back In the past Congress has repeatedly failed to politicise corruption perceptions and effect an electoral shift, which requires a sustained narrative provided by an active opposition The pre-1967 national Congress is often described as an umbrella formation containing distinct state units Karnataka demonstrates how a healthy high command should function, not throttling state units but ensuring effective coordination Mallikarjun Kharge deftly managed his first big challenge as Congress president The Gandhis also did well to lead from behind, acting as bullhorns for state-crafted narratives, while largely avoiding national issues

It is unlikely that the Bharat Jodo Yatra made any direct electoral impact, as Congress fought on state-level issues Yet, the post-yatra restoration of Gandhi family authority has certainly strengthened the bargaining hand of the high command, from which Kharge also draws his authority The streamlining of Congress leadership between ‘managerial’ Kharge and the ‘vision embodying’ Gandhis has worked well in Karnataka The loss is also a blessing in disguise for the BJP The BJP should work for the welfare of all sections of the people irrespective of caste and creed and nothing can be taken for granted

Welcome winds for Afghanistan

For two decades, the United States and its allies invested nearly two trillion dollars and thousands of lives in Afghanistan to prev e n t t h e T a l i b a n f r o m r e t a k i n g c o n t r o l T h e s t a t u s o f Afghanistan was considered uncertain due to the American military's exit and the overthrow of the Afghan government However, the reality is a little different

At least some of the Taliban's efforts to govern Afghanistan are as effective as those of their previous predecessors When the country’s currency, the Afghani, crashed to record lows in December 2021, the clerics resorted to a central bank staffed with Western-trained officials for guidance As America had frozen $9 5 billion of Afghanistan's foreign currency reserves, it lacked the resources to fix the currency through mass purchases As a result, the Taliban tightened capital restrictions, cracked down on smuggling and overhauled the hawala system to stop money from leaving the country The Afghani stabilised and is now just 7% lower against the dollar than it was the day before Kabul fell

Overall, the Taliban have strengthened the enforcement of economic law Tighter controls at the border led to a big increase in recorded exports and customs revenues Total revenues for the year ending March 2023 were $2 3bn, up by 10% on the year ending March 2021 According to a recent World Bank survey, the proportion of businesses that bribe customs officials is down from 62% to 8%

A similar understanding of the economic, social and cultural periphery underlies the special and dynamic relationship between Afghanistan and India The establishment of cordial ties between India and the Afghan ruler Zahir Shah's government was made possible by the signing of a "Friendship Treaty" in 1950 Based on its knowledge that social and economic devel-

opments are essential for maintaining regional peace, India has actively participated in Afghanistan's development India’s programmes cover four broad areas in Afghanistan: infrastructure projects, humanitarian assistance, small and community-based development projects, education and capacity development

India's diplomatic posture was somewhat ambiguous when the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan Since then, India has taken a few small steps to develop a cooperative relationship with the Taliban government in Afghanistan India's stance may have changed as a result of Pakistan's internal unrest and the reduced influence of the United States and Russia in the area On June 2, 2022, Indian diplomats met Taliban commanders in Kabul A few weeks later, on June 23, India reopened its embassy in Kabul to coordinate humanitarian relief Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman, stated in March of last year that the Taliban's administration in Kabul was prepared to offer a "secure environment" for the Indian embassy

A t t h e 1 4 t h S o u t h A s i a n A s s o c i a t i o n f o r R e g i o n a l Cooperation (SAARC) summit, held in Delhi in April 2007, Afghanistan became an official member of the association It created the potential for Afghanistan to develop into a hub for trade, transportation, and energy that would link the nations of the region from Central Asia to South Asia However, since the Taliban took control, SAARC has been attempting to expel them from the association because their leadership is made up of people who have been designated as international terrorists and because everything they stand for is opposed to the fundamental principles reflected in the SAARC Charter India should support Afghanistan as the people need India's humanitarian and financial help to stand on their feet

Political Sketchbook

Alpesh Patel

Daily Mail Claim India Stoked Leicester Riots – I call ‘BS’

The Daily Mail decided to run with this head line “Violent ethnic clashes in Leicester last year 'were stoked by Indian Prim e Minister Narend ra M odi's Hindu nationalist party', sources claim; so urces clai m that tho se in Bh aratiya Janata P arty (BJP) tried to incite violence”

While the article presents a compelling narrative of alleged interference by Indian political activists in UK community tensions, it s important to critically evaluate the sources and evidence provided The article relies heavily on unnamed "UK security sources" and "elements close to Indian prime minister Mr Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)" The lack of specific attribution makes it difficult to assess the credibility of these sources

The only security sources of importance would be the security services themselves, and they would not be in the business of speaking to the Daily Mail During the clashes I w a s i n t e r v i e w e d o n G B N e w s – t h e p i e c e w e n t s o m e w h a t v i r a l Y o u ’ d e x p e c t s o m e o n e w o u l d h a v e whispered in my ear what to say I spoke to people on the ground in Leicester I spoke to politicians, Government officials Yet no one lobbied the narrative the paper alleges Rather the consistent message was that UK police must counter Islamist radicals and the Government policy of ‘Prevent’ in arresting radicalisation is useless and Leicester evidence of it

Moreover, the article mentions evidence of BJP-linked activists using closed WhatsApp groups to incite protests, but it doesn't provide any concrete examples or direct q u o t e s f r o m t h e s e a l l e g e d m e s s a g e s T h i s l a c k o f transparency raises questions about the veracity of these claims There is a big difference between WhatsApp groups chatter speaking of anger and boots on the ground from little old ladies in saris outside mandirs being barraged with abuse from masked men in black as police look on (And all WhatsApp groups are closed – so making i t s o u n d o m i n o u s f o r a s t o r y , i s n ’ t r e s p o n s i b l e journalism)

T h e a r t i c l e a l s o c i t e s s t u d i e s c o n d u c t e d b y t h e I n s t i t u t e f o r S t r a t e g i c D i a l o g u e a n d t h e N e t w o r k Contagion Research Institute, but it doesn't provide direct links to these studies or detailed information about their methodologies This makes it difficult for readers to independently verify the findings

F i n a l l y , t h e a r t i c l e s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e a l l e g e d interference is part of Mr Modi's desire to pose as the leader of Hindus across the world This is a significant claim that requires substantial evidence to support The article, however, doesn't provide any direct quotes or a c t i o n s f r o m M r M o d i o r h i s p a r t y t h a t w o u l d substantiate this claim

In conclusion, while the article raises important questions about potential foreign interference in UK community tensions, it's crucial to approach these claims with a healthy degree of skepticism given the lack of named sources, concrete evidence, and transparency in the reporting And when one considers the proximity of r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n t h e U K a n d I n d i a , i t w o u l d b e tantamount to saying the French would like to stoke UK community tensions

Moreover, why? For what purpose? What history is there for this? Any precedent, anywhere in the world? Or are there adversaries and enemies of India jealous of her proximity with the UK? This past week alone the UK and Indian Armies conducted joint exercises; the same week a r e p o r t s t a t e d t h e R u s s i a n s a r e p l a n t i n g f a k e K o r a n burning stories in Sweden to encourage Turkey to block Sweden’s entry to Nato

So, when it comes to UK-India, who’s the Russia in this? Whichever 3rd country it is, seems the journalists in their naivety have fallen for the trap

Young British women encounter workplace harassment

T w o -t h ir d s o f y o un g w omen have gone thro ugh w or kp l ac e h ar as sm ent , a s u rv ey relea sed o n F ri d ay ( 1 2 ) rev ea led Th e h aras sm ent i nc l ud ed s exu a l h a ra ss m e nt, v e rb al a bu s e and bullying

The majority of victims decided not to report these incidents due to the fear of negative career impact and not being believed

T h e f i n d i n g s w e r e r e l e a s e d a s a p a r t o f t h e T r a d e U n i o n C o n g r e s s ’ (TUC) campaign to urge the government to act upon its proposed laws that intend t o e l i m i n a t e w o r k p l a c e assault and harassment The poll was conducted among 1000 women and three out

of five women reported such i n c i d e n t s T h e p r o p o r t i o n climbed to two out of three among the age group of 25 to 34 years

While maximum cases w e r e r e p o r t e d t o h a v e o c c u r r e d i n w o r k p l a c e s , cases of harassment via calls, text messages, virtual meetings, social media and email were also reported The surv e y f o u n d t h a t t h e i n c idents, rather than being isolated, were often repeated

It also established that one in every three women chose not to report harassment to their employer

UK monitoring civil unrest in Pakistan

C o m m e n t i n g o n t h e o n g oin g ci v il unr est in Pak ist an o n W e d n e s d a y (10), Br itish Prime M i n i st e r R is h i S u n a k sa id t h a t w h il e t h e U K i s car efully monitor in g the situat ion, t he ar re st of t he form e r P a k i s t a n i P M i s a n int ern al mat ter of t he countr y P a k i s t a n - b o r n C o n s e r v a t i v e M P R e h m a n C h i s h t i r a i s e d a q u e s t i o n a b o u t t h e c u r r e n t t u m u ltuous situation of the count r y d u r i n g t h e P r i m e Minister’s Questions in the H o u s e o f C o m m o n s R e p l y i n g t o t h e q u e s t i o n ,

S u n a k s a i d t h a t t h e b i l a t e r a l r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e t w o c o u n t r i e s h a s b e e n l o n g - s t a n d i n g a n d close and that the UK s u p p o r t e d p e a c e f u l democratic processes T h e p a r l i a m e n t a r y intervention in the UK was brought about a day after the arrest of former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran K h a n , t r i g g e r i n g c o u n t r yw i d e p r o t e s t s P r o t e s t o r s a l s o g a t h e r e d a r o u n d t h e central London residence of former Pakistani supremo Nawaz Sharif and chanted slogans in favour of Khan a n d P a k i s t a n T e h r e e k - e -

Insaf (PTI)

Zakir Hussain enthrals audience at Kyoto Prize 2023

Tabla m aestro Zakir Hu s s ai n w as i n att end anc e at t h e 20 23 K y o to P ri z e h o st ed at t h e Ho l yw e ll M u s ic Roo m, University o f Oxfo rd A cap tiv atin g p erf o rm a nc e and an in s ig h tfu l l ec tu r e b y th e maestro were a part of the h yb ri d le c tu re, att rac ti n g global adm irers of the art of music, scho lars and enthusiasts H u s s a i n ’ s l e c t u r e g a v e the audience an insight into his knowledge and love for m u s i c a n d t h e p e r s o n a l anecdotes proved to be the cherry on the cake He said that Tabla is a language he

s p e a k s , r e p o r t s i G l o b a l H e t a l k e d a b o u t t h e r o o t s o f the classical instrument and its import a n c e i n I n d i a n

Classical Music The

T a b l a M a r v e l a l s o called attention to the need for musicians to own their music and make it personal He additionally added valuable technical lessons about the ‘rhythm cycle’ and other important aspects of the art

He was joined by promin e n t E s r a j p l a y e r K i r p a l

Singh Panisar to conclude the night with a stupefying performance Hussain also i n t e r a c t e d w i t h t h e a u d ience after

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Asian adults in UK living with their parents

Acc ording to reports from the Of fice f or Nat ional Statis tic s (ONS), part s of London with a l arge Asian population have shown m or e adults l iving with their parents in 2021 as compared to a dec ade ago

The survey reported more than one in four London families having at least one child in the home It is the largest proportion for any English region The highest proportion was in Brent, where one in three families had adult children living at home Other common areas with adult children-parent co-living situations were L e i c e s t e r , K n o w s l e y a n d

Birmingham The situation is mostly seen in areas where housing is less affordable The children were more likely to be unemployed or provide unpaid care

In local areas, the lowest proportions were recorded in Rutland, followed by Cotswold and Rushcliffe On the other hand, cities in England and Wales with the lowest proportion included Cambridge and Winchester

The data also revealed that one in ten adults aged 30 to 34 were living with their parents, while the proportion was one in four for 25- to 29year-olds

Man jailed in UK for praising French teacher’s murder

A U K co urt h as sentenced A jm al Shahpal, 41, to fiv e and a half years in jail for praising the killer of a French sec ond ary s ch oo l teach er, Sam uel Paty, and posting the image of his severed h ead o n T witter He was conv icted fo r po sting tweets encouraging “to comm it, prepare or instig ate acts of terrorism”

Paty was murdered and beheaded by an extremist in October 2020 Shahpal described the killer as “ as brave as a lion”, and posted the image of the severed head of Paty lying on the street, saying that “the insolent has been sent to hell” He w a s a r r e s t e d f r o m h i s h o m e i n Nottingham in March 2021 This w a s a f t e r h e t w e e t e d b a c k i n g a

Pakistan- based political party advocating the killing of the alleged blasphemers

Some tweets were also posted to his Twitter in September 2020 following the second attack on Charlie H e b d o , a F r e n c h m a g a z i n e Shahpal, in a court trial, claimed that he was retweeting other people’s views to gain more followers

Healthcare staff should listen to ethnic patients for better care

Ac cording to a study publi shed on Wedn esday ( 10), a m ore posi tive he al t hc a r e ex p er i e n c e c an s te m fr om b e tt e r c o mm u ni c a t i on bet wee n hea lthc ar e profe ss i ona ls and ethnic minority patients

An analysis of the social and cultural influences of ethnic minori t y p s y c h o l o g i c a l a n d c a n c e r patients in 29 studies showed that t h e p a t i e n t s w a n t e d , m o r e t h a n anything, to have themselves and their circumstances understood by t h e i r d o c t o r s U n d e r s t a n d i n g patients and reacting to them with positivity and empathy, just like a

family member, can improve care standards, stated the survey The research titled ‘A meta-ethnography investigating relational influences on mental health and cancerrelated health care interventions for racially minoritised people in the UK’ was funded by the National I n s t i t u t e o f H e a l t h a n d C a r e Research (NIHCR) The research included scientists f r o m O x f o r d U n i v e r s i t y , Q u e e n Mary University of London and the U n i v e r s i t y o f P o r t s m o u t h ; a n d researchers from the University of Westminster

Indian- origin men running fake pharma firm in the UK

T h e cy be r- cr i m e u ni t o f th e Metro politan Po lice led an investi-

ducing and selling Benzodiazepines, a class C controlled drug According

in brief MUSLIM AND JEWISH WORSHIPERS WANT FREE PARKING AT ABERDEEN

Muslim and Jewish worshipers have demanded free parking on holidays in Aberdeen, Scotland This comes after the port city waived parking charges before 1 PM on Sundays, allowing Christians to travel to church for Sunday service, without the worry of paying for parking This decision has led the minority faith groups of the city to believe that they are being treated in a partial manner Dr Ibrahim Alwawi, the Imam of Aberdeen Mosque and Islamic Centre told The Times that it was all about equality and “a consideration of the religious need to encourage those who want to practise their faith ” The Aberdeen Synagogue and Jewish Community Centre represented their demands and took over the issue privately There are about 10,000 Muslims in Aberdeen and a much smaller community of Jews Of the city s 23,000 population, nearly half of it identified as having no religious affiliation according to the 2011 census

SUNAK SLAMS

EUROVISION FOR BANNING ZELENSKIY’S SPEECH

Eurovision has come under the UK Prime Minister’s radar after the event banned President Zelenskiy from speaking ahead of the final event According to the organizers, a speech from the President of Ukraine had the potential of politicising the environment, reported Birmingham

gation into UK men after receiving in tel li g e nc e f ro m th e Dr u g

Enforcement Ad ministratio n (DEA)

The Indian-origin men, inclu ding a fath er-son duo, were convicted of running a large-scale fake pharmace u ti ca l d r u g fa ct o ry i n w e st London, as d escribed by Scotland Yard The m en were selling these dru gs on the black market

Allen Valentine, his son Roshan V a l e n t i n e a n d R o s h a n ’ s f r i e n d

Krunal Patel were found to be pro-

to the police, the trio made at least £3 5 million in illicit profits from the black market Several accounts on the different dark web markets were used to advertise the sale of Xanax, D i a z e p a m a n d V a l i u m , r e p o r t e d

NDTV

While Krunal and Roshan pleaded guilty at the Isleworth Crown Court earlier this year, Allen pleaded n o t g u i l t y a n d w a s t h e n p r o v e n guilty following a trial on Monday

Live Addressing the incident, the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said: “The prime minister believes it would be fitting for President Zelenskiy to address the event and we’re disappointed by the decision from the European Broadcasting Union The values and freedoms that President Zelenskiy and the people of Ukraine are fighting for are not political, they re fundamental, and Eurovision themselves recognised that last year when they rightly suspended Russia s participation from the competition Ukraine won the competition last year but couldn’t host the event due to the Russian invasion The 2023 edition of the Eurovision song contest was held in Liverpool instead

Rishi Sunak

Zakir Hussain

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meets Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Allen Valentine Krunal Patel Roshan Valentine

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Inaugural India Week concludes with over 900 attendees from six countries

M ore th an 100 business and p olicy lead ers travelled from acro ss India to attend EPG’s i na ug ur al I nd ia Wee k la st w eek, and another 80 0 participants from across the UK, Eu rope and the US

Global advisory firm EPG organised India Week to crea t e a g l o b a l c o n v e r s a t i o n a r o u n d I n d i a ’ s i n c r e a s e d important in the world economy Now the most populous country in the world, India’s economic growth rate is the highest amongst major

e c o n o m i e s t o d a y I n d i a ’ s inflation rate is lower than that of the UK, US and other m a j o r e c o n o m i e s A s t h e Western world diversifies its supply chains and geopolitical dependencies away from China, India stands to benefit

India Week started on 7 M a y w i t h a C E O s G o l f Weekend in Leicestershire, f o l l o w e d b y a n e d u c a t i o n c o n f e r e n c e a n d A w a r d s i n O x f o r d , w i t h a K e y n o t e A d d r e s s f r o m R a k k a m

Sangma, Education Minister of Meghalaya The London leg was on 11-12 May, including the Ideas for India conference, an invite-only dinn e r i n t h e H o u s e o f Commons, and a black-tie dinner with KT Rama Rao, M i n i s t e r f o r M u n i c i p a l A d m i n i s t r a t i o n & U r b a n D e v e l o p m e n t , I n d u s t r i e s , Commerce & IT, Telangana

K T R , a s h e i s k n o w n , highlighted the remarkable progress made by Telangana in the last nine years KTR was optimistic that by doing t h i n g s r i g h t , w h a t C h i n a could achieve in 30 years, India could do in less than 20 years “As India, we have to focus on the fundamentals a n d b a s i c s t h e w a y Telangana did We need to f o c u s o n t h e f a r m e r , t h e y o u t h , w h i l e c r e a t i n g a future that is based in innovation and making India a l e a d e r i n t h e f o u r t h I n d u s t r i a l R e v o l u t i o n , ” h e said

His speech was to more than 300 attendees, including leading members of the T e l a n g a n a d i a s p o r a , a n d drew several standing ovations D u r i n g t h e T e l a n g a n a government’s visit to the UK, K T R s i g n e d a n M e m o r a n d u m o f U n d e r s t a n d i n g w i t h t h e L o n d o n S t o c k E x c h a n g e

G r o u p C I O ’ s A n t h o n y McCarthy for the establishm e n t o f a T e c h n o l o g y C e n t r e o f E x c e l l e n c e i n Hyderabad, generating up to 1,000 new jobs Former Governor of the R e s e r v e B a n k o f I n d i a , Ragh u ram Raj an, delivered the Keynote Address during the Ideas for India conference, organised in conjunction with think tank Bridge India In it, he said India's growth path lies in leveragi n g i t s i n t r i n s i c s t r e n g t h s a n d b e c o m i n g c r u c i a l t o g l o b a l s u p p l y c h a i n s b y building on its historic culture of tolerance and respect f o r a l l " O u r i n d e p e n d e n t judiciary, our liberal democracy, these are critical advantages if we are to go down this manufacturing serviceled growth path because this will enable us to earn the world's trust; it's intrinsically necessary," said Rajan Ni ge l H u d dl es t o n M P , M i n i s t e r o f S t a t e f o r International Trade, said he was “Delighted to speak to our friends from India during India Week and highlight how a free trade agreem e n t c a n b e n e f i t b o t h nations A UK-India trade deal is a huge opportunity f o r b o t h s i d e s , a n d c o u l d b o o s t o u r £ 3 6 b n t r a d i n g relationship and pull down barriers to trade ” Ru t h Ca db u r y M P , S h a d o w M i n i s t e r f o r I n t e r n a t i o n a l T r a d e , s a i d ,

“The conference showed the close links between our two c o u n t r i e s a n d i m p o r t a n t w o r k w e c a n d o a r o u n d energy security and trade ” S u p r iy a S h r i na te , C h a i r p e r s o n , S o c i a l M e d i a a n d D i g i t a l P l a t f o r m s , f o r t h e I n d i a n N a t i o n a l Congress, said, “As a proud Indian - I asserted India has made huge strides to emerge as a global super power and

aren’t just some lofty ideas or pillars of our constitution, t h e s e a r e t h e v i r t u e s o n w h i c h o u r e c o n o m i c h e f t a n d o u r r o l e a s a g l o b a l power are built upon ”

P ra ti k D a tt an i , Managing Director of EP G, said, “India is the world’s l a r g e s t d e m o c r a c y , m o s t populous country and has the fastest economic growth r a t e a m o n g s t m a j o r e c o n o m i e s D u r i n g I n d i a Week, we saw interest from g o v e r n m e n t s f r o m a c r o s s

UK-Rwanda relationship continues to go from strength to strength

Lord Dolar Popat

Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Uganda, Rwanda and DRC

Last w eek , I w as for tunate e nough to retur n to Rw anda in my ca pacity as th e UK Prime Minister's Trad e Env oy I had visited the cou ntry i n 2019 and a gain d uring the Commonw ealth Hea ds of Gove rnment M e et i ng (CH OG M), a nd I w as ex c it e d t o se e t he prog ress made by Rw anda de spi te the cha llenges posed by the pandemic and Russia 's w ar i n Ukra ine Rw anda's r e s i l i e n ce a nd d e t e r mi na t i o n t o su c ce e d i s t r u ly a dmirable

reach where we have Also i n s i s t e d t h a t d e s p i t e moments of weakness that plague our democracy it is the resilience and the inbuilt course correction by people that keeps hope and democr a c y a l i v e B e c a u s e t h e y

I n d i a i n e n g a g i n g f o r e i g n investors to bring new ideas, innovation and investment into their cities Telangana’s MOU with the LSEG is one example of how the bilateral p a r t n e r s h i p c a n w o r k f o r mutual benefit ”

Minister promotes Telangana as an ideal investment destination

As a country committed to promoting sustainable development globally, the UK is proud to support Rwanda's efforts towards achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals Our partnership with Rwanda is based on mutual respect, accountability, and shared expertise aimed at tackling global challenges such as climate change, poverty reduction, financial reform, and gender equality

During my visit, I had the honour of meeting His Excellency President Kagame and various ministers including the Minister of Finance and Minister of Foreign Affairs We had a fruitful discussion on areas where the UK and Rwanda could work together to foster trade, investment, and prosperity I also met with t h e C E O o f R w a n d a D e v e l o p m e n t B o a r d , C l a r e Akamanzi who is doing a great job of supporting business that are investing in Rwanda I am optimistic that the opportunities ahead are vast, and the UK is ready to partner with Rwanda in this journey

Mi n i s te r fo r Mu n i c i p al Ad mi n i st ra ti o n & U rb an D ev el o p m en t, In du st ri e s , Co mmerc e & IT , K T Rama Rao , p itched Telangana as an ideal investment destina ti o n a t an i nv es t me nt ro undtable at India House ho sted by HE V ikram K D o ra i s wam i , th e I nd i an High Commi ssioner in the UK

T h e r o u n d t a b l e w a s a t t e n d e d b y p o t e n t i a l i n v e s t o r s f r o m v a r i o u s industries

The Minister’s present a t i o n s h o w c a s e d t h e r e m a r k a b l e g r o w t h o f Telangana in the last nine y e a r s , h i g h l i g h t i n g i t s p r o g r e s s i n a d d r e s s i n g basic issues and prioritising innovation, and infrastructure creation He emphas i s e d t h a t T e l a n g a n a ' s economy is growing at a b r i s k p a c e w i t h t r e m e ndous growth in both agriculture and IT At the same t i m e , r a p i d i n d u s t r i a l i s ation and improvement in green cover was witnessed, he added

During his address, HE

ration opportunities availa b l e i n s e c t o r s s u c h a s heavy machinery, aviation a n d d e f e n c e , e n t e r t a i nment, and education He praised Hyderabad for its world-class infrastructure and its multicultural environment, making it a perf e c t d e s t i n a t i o n f o r investors

M r D o r a i s w a m i emphasised the importance of nurturing partnerships a n d c e l e b r a t i n g i n v e s tments

Lord Karan Bilimoria, present at the event, comm e n d e d t h e r e m a r k a b l e achievements of Telangana d u r i n g t h e i n v e s t m e n t roundtable

Minister Rao also met t h e m e m b e r s o f I n d i a n Journalists’ Association at India Week on Friday 12

M a y a n d t a l k e d a b o u t Telangana’s developments and Karnataka election He was welcomed by members of diaspora at the London H e a t h r o w A i r p o r t o n arrival He also attended the India Week black tie d i n n e r a n d v i s i t e d

A m b e d k a r H o u s e i n London before departing

One of the key pillars of the UK's International D e v e l o p m e n t S t r a t e g y i s B r i t i s h I n v e s t m e n t Partnerships These partnerships facilitate high-quality investment in developing countries, and Rwanda is a prime beneficiary Development finance institutions such as British International Investment (BII, formerly known as CDC) and InfraCo Africa are working closely with Rwanda Finance Limited to attract more investment to Rwanda

UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK's export credit agency, is also ready to provide up to £2bn investment to Rwanda, supporting projects that contain only 20% UK content This financing option covers most economic sectors, including capital goods, services, and intangibles, and can benefit both the public and private sectors UKEF's long-term financing solutions such as direct loans or unconditional guarantees to banks allow buyers to spread the costs of capital goods and services, providing a much-needed boost to Rwanda's economy

Looking forward, the next major event on the agenda is the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London on 23-24 April 2024 The 2020 Summit marked an important milestone in our partnerships with African countries and announced over £6 5 billion of deals, plus a further £8 9 billion of investment commitments The next Summit will build on this success by supporting job creation, economic growth, and promoting British and African talent in sectors such as finance and technology

As the UK Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Rwanda, I am proud of what we have achieved so far, but there is still much to be done Rwanda has established itself as a great destination for UK investment, and I will continue to advocate for the opportunities available to investors I look forward to my next visit to Rwanda and hope to see significant progress in delivering clean green infrast r u c t u r e a n d i n v e s t m e n t s t h a t w i l l b e n e f i t a l l Rwandans Together, we can build a brighter future for Rwanda and strengthen the ties between our two countries

Lord Popat with His Excellency President Kagame

Former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India Raghuram Rajan

Nigel Huddleston MP, Minister of State for International Trade, UK

KT Rama Rao, Minister for Municipal Administration & Urban Development, Industries, Commerce & IT, Telangana

Aditi Khanna, Rupanjana Dutta, IJA President Danish Khan, Telangana Minister KT Rama Rao, Nabanita Sircar and Ruhi Khan

Sangat says a 'big thank you' to donors and volunteers of Warm Bank

S angat Advice Centre

H a rro w o rga ni se d a s p ec i al e ve nt o n 8

M a y t o t h an k th e d o n o rs an d v o lu nteers who h elp ed selflessly in th e planning, o peration and execution o f S angat Warm Bank Th e event also extended congratu lations to His Majesty

K ing Charles III and Queen Camilla on the o ccasion of T heir Majesties’ coronation

P ravinch andra Ranp ura

C h a i r o f S a n g a t A d v i c e Centre said, “Without active involvement of the donors a n d v o l u n t e e r s i t w a s impossible to run the Warm Bank project successfully It i s h e a r t e n i n g t h a t S a n g a t

W a r m B a n k ’ s e f f o r t s a r e supporting the community during these difficult times

When the Editor-in-Chief of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar, CB Patel, learned

about the project, he immediately contacted the team and the very next day, the team received a cheque for £2500 ” Kanti Nagda MBE, CEO o f S a n g a t A d v i c e C e n t r e said, “To serve the community is not an easy task The Warm Bank not only provides a warm and safe space for people to escape the cold but also offers a range of activities to promote social i n t e r a c t i o n a n d m e n t a l well-being It is a testament to the power of collective action and the impact that

small acts of kindness can have on people’s lives In f o u r m o n t h s , t h e W a r m B a n k p r o j e c t w a s a b l e t o serve 9648 cups of coffee, 642 packets of biscuits and 3109 lunches ” C B P a te l , E d i t o r - i nChief of Asian Voice and G u j a r a t S a m a c h a r s a i d , “Long live the King and very long-long live organisations like Sangat I recall that in 1982, the Commission for Racial Equality had reported that there were 600 Gujarati organisations in social, relig i o u s , c u l t u r a l , p o l i t i c a l

fields Most of them grew like mushrooms in the monsoon Very few have consistently p r o v i d e d t h r e e t h i n g s - s e r v i c e according to the cons t i t u t i o n , p r o p e r accounting and transparency In the present scenario, accordi n g t o m y i n f o r m ation, there are three outstanding organisations In t h e r e l i g i o u s s e c t o r , i t i s BAPS, when it comes to the community organisation it is SKLPC and in the multiple services it is Sangat ” E n d o r s i n g C B ’ s w o r k , s e n i o r j o u r n a l i s t V i p u l K a l y a n i a d d e d , “ T o r u n newspapers uninterruptedly for 50 years, specifically in E u r o p e i s a b i g a c h i e v ement ” M e l o d i o u s s o n g s w e r e presented by Raj Gambhir and Kalpana Sangani

Hikers put their best foot forward to raise money for 3Food4U

Team SoleMates, part of the w id er G ri ms dy ke W al ki ng G r oup i n N or t h L on d on , t ook p ar t i n t he Ul t ra Challenge 106km (66 miles) walk i n the Is le of Wi ght, over the Bank holiday weekend 29 -30 April 2023

£10,000 and above, of which £7,000 has been received

The team were joined by o t h e r w a l k e r s f r o m t h e G r i m s d y k e g r o u p d o i n g between 25-50km with the youngest, Veer Thakrar being 13-year-old and his 15-yearold sister Diya Thakrar, both

What value are you creating during your lifetime?

Rohit Vadhwana

People create wealth during th eir lifetim e They build houses, buy cars, construct facto ries and what not It g ives us a sense of achiev em ent w hen we create someth ing Th ese physical and m aterial wealth creation is the m ost visible aspect of our success It proves h ow rich we are But hav e we ev er focused on creating v alue?

Yes, creating value is an important, or rather more important, aspect of being successful If we compare the time of just five hudred years ago, we have created abundance of infrastructure and comfort for human life It has added to comfort of our daily lives We are not struggling, at least majority of the humanity is not strugling, to fulfill our daily requirements We have rather excess of everything But what about creating value system that gives us equal comfort and support in life? Here perhaps we are l a c k i n g a n d t h e r e f o r e w h i l e p h y s i c a l f a c i l i t i e s h a v e increased, our mental health issues have multipled as well

We are facing challenge of wealth without value People have all required convenience but not the mental strength to deal with any issue that may come up in their lives You may have built a strong and massive house to give you protection against rain and storm, but have you strengthened your inner values to protect you from the storm of negativity? Are you prepared to fight a job loss or break-up? Your car might be fast to drive you at 100 miles an hour but is your body strong enough to run 1 mile? Is your value system supportive to your overall welbeing?

"The challenge was gruelling with demanding energy ’ ; said Kalpana Pardivalla, one of the team organisers; with some walking through the night

A j a y C h a u h a n a n d R a s h m i P a t e l w e l l - p a c e d walkers completed it in 24 hours, whilst others completed it over 2 days

The route had all types o f t e r r a i n b e i n g w a l k e d through, including hills, flat land, coastal paths as well as f o o t p a t h s e t c T h e y w e r e blessed with great weather and a good crowd, greeting t h e m a n y t h o u s a n d s o f o t h e r w a l k e r s , r u n n e r s & h i k e r s a l o n g t h e w a y SoulMates were fortunate to be able to take part in these

challenges as Rashmi Patel the current route coordinat o r o f t h e G r y m s d y k e W a l k i n g G r o u p a n d S o l e M a t e s t e a m m e m b e r , said, “We as a team regularly train to ensure our fitness l e v e l s a r e m a i n t a i n e d , i n c l u d i n g l o n g walks’ Sanjay Rughani added, “By meeting r e g u l a r l y , i t h e l p s support team spirit, b u i l d i n g a n a t m os p h e r e o f l a s t i n g relationships, camaraderie, and human experience both for f i t n e s s l e v e l s a n d social banter ”

T h i s y e a r t h e t e a m decided to support a charity 3Food4U which are heavily supported by the Lions Club o f L o n d o n S e v e n K i n g s , where Sanjay Rughani is a member, and the club was instrumental in helping to set it up The Charity offers free groceries, clothes and essentials without assessment or r e f e r r a l t o a n y o n e t h a t needs it, as well as other services Sanjay said, ‘They need l o n g l i f e f o o d d o n a t i o n s , especially in these difficult times, faced by many families, thus we as a team felt it was important to help’ The t a r g e t t h e y h a v e s e t i s

finishing the 25kms having taken part for the first time!

S o l e M a t e s a n d G r i m s d y k e W a l k i n g G r o u p have taken part in previous challenges including several 50km challenges, as well as c l i m b i n g t h e N a t i o n a l 3 Peaks and continue to do so

You may have money to buy the best whiskey in the world, but is your value strong to resist drinking whiskey a day in a week? You can surely construct a bridge for your vehicles but can you construct a bridge to hold on to the breaking family? This kind of value system is becoming weak in our time While our focus remains on earning more money, gaining more power and becoming more popular, the need to be mentally strong, genuine and authentic is ignored A robust value system is essential to protect us against the shocks that may come out of material world We need to focus on creating value during our lifetime that suits us Without having our values, the inner core of existence with remain fragile

(Expressed opinions are personal)

Anoopam Mission celebrates the coronation of King Charles III

A street party is not someth ing you would expect at a Hindu temp le, bu t t h i s i s n o o r di n ar y t em p l e!

Celebrating th e Co ronatio n o f His Majesty, King Charles III, Anoop am Mission provided a wo nderfu l setting to br in g th e c o mmu n i ty to ge th er Disp laying the affecti on, loyalty and best wish es of the Asian community on su ch a historic occasion, Anoop am Mission volunteers, with the i nsp irat io n o f t h ei r Gu ru , P ar am P u j y a S ah ebji , and under th e di rection of t h e T em p l e h e a d, P u j ya H i ma t S wamiji, went all ou t

From cupcakes and sandwiches to vada pau and bhel-puri, free hot and cold food was served throughout the afternoon on Sunday 7 May 2023, and volunteers all pulled in to cook, bring in snacks, and wonderful treats for the children and the entire community The community piled in and the festive atmosphere c r e a t e d t h e m o s t w o n d e r f u l afternoon, as people mingled and conversed and then participated in all the activities that were lined up Young volunteers had set up cookie decorating stand for children, as well as a henna stand and a f a c e - p a i n t i n g s t a n d G a m e s were played throughout the afternoon, as volunteers set up musical chairs for children and c o r o n a t i o n B i n g o f o r a d u l t s amongst many others

Respecting the norms of the mandir, an eggless cake Bake-off was one of the highlights of the afternoon A panel of judges was chosen

from the community and amongst the numerous entries, the bake-off was won by a young and talented 12 year

prizes donated by the community and t h e c e l e b r a t i o n s c o n c l u d e d w i t h garba, and finally the British national anthem

The spiritual head of Anoopam M i s s i o n , P a r a m P u j y a S a h e b j i , h a s always commended the vision and work of His Majesty, King Charles over the years in his capacity as the Prince of Wales, and now the community’s abundant wishes are with him, as he embarks on his work as the Monarch of this nation

The celebration captured the spirit of all that is good; the celebration of community, of diversity, and most definitely that of service As Prince William remarked in his speech, My f a t h e r ' s f i r s t w o r d s o n e n t e r i n g Westminster Abbey yesterday were a pledge of service It was a pledge to c o n t i n u e t o s e r v e , " h e s a i d , going on to add: "My father has always understood that people of all faiths, all backgrounds, and all communities, deserve to be celebrated and supported "

The event that took place at Anoopam Mission, was a result of a lot of volunteers giving their time and energy to make something happen for t h e c o m m u n i t y a n d t o g i v e everyone that walked through in, the experience of a wonderf u l t i m e F r o m s e t t i n g u p , c o o k i n g , c l e a n i n g , p a r k i n g duties to organising games and managing the event, the volunteers most certainly exemplified the message of service through their actions

Kanti Nagda addressing the gathering

CB Patel addressing the guests with Vipul and Kunju Kalyani

Eid reception at Downing Street

Ri shi S unak h osted an Eid reception at D o w n in g S tre et a ck no w l ed g in g th e g ene ro u s co n tri b utions of the Mu slim c o m m u n i ty d u ri ng t h e m o n th o f Ramzan

T h e i r c o n t r i b ut i o n b e n e f i t t e d t h e needy in both the UK and o u t s i d e t h e c o u n t r y H e a d m i r e d t h e c o m m u n i t y ’ s active participation in the

Community reacts to Daily Mail’s revelation

In a majo r revelation, Dail y M ail rep orted that elements related to I ndian P rime Minister N arendra Modi and his p arty Bh arat iya Ja nata P art y ( BJP) al le gedly f u el l e d t en s i o ns in B r it ai n a nd a re res po ns ible f or inciting British Hindu s to confro nt Mus lim yo uths

According to the report citing a UK security source, it said: "There was evidence of BJP-linked activists using closed WhatsApp groups to encourage Hindu protesters to take to the streets "

c o u n t r y ’ s b u s i n e s s , a r m e d forced and NHS Their support for the victims of earthquake in Turkey and Syria were also mentioned The celebration w a s a t t e n d e d b y c o m m u n i t y l e a d e r s and representatives and was one of the s e v e r a l e v e n t s a r r a n g e d f o r t h e Muslim community in the last three months of Sunak’s term

UK immigration officer refused to believe Sudha

Murthy’s address

A cc l ai m ed p h il ant h ro p i s t, a u th o r a nd P ad m a B h u s h an a w ar d ee , S u d h a M u rth y h ad a v e ry interesting tale to tell o n th e recent ep isode o f “ The Kap il Sh arma S how”, about her recent v isit to Londo n Murthy shared the story of how an immigration offic e r i n t h e U K r e f u s e d t o believe that her residential a d d r e s s w a s “ 1 0 D o w n i n g Street”, the official residence of the Prime Minister W h e n t h e o f f i c i a l s a w the address on her immigration form, he asked her if she was joking To the question

she replied, no I’m telling t h e t r u t h T h e i n c i d e n t occurred when Murthy was v i s i t i n g h e r d a u g h t e r A k s h a t a M u r t h y , w h o i s m a r r i e d t o t h e U K P r i m e Minister Rishi Sunak The author also shared the story of how she was judged by fellow business class passeng e r s f o r w e a r i n g s a l w a rkameez and was asked to go back to the economy class

Sunak’s grandfather braved the brutal colonial rule in India

Rishi Sunak made h istory by b ec o m i ng B ri tai n ’ s f ir st P r i m e M i n is te r o f I nd i an o r ig in and m a d e I nd i a ns a cr o ss t h e w o rl d p ro u d W h at m a ny p eo p l e d o n ’ t know is about th e extraordinary h is to ry of Ram Dass S unak, Sunak’s grandfather

Born in 1917, Ram Dass w a s t w o y e a r s o l d w h e n p o l i c e , s o l d i e r s a n d p i l o t s carried out a two-day mass a c r e a g a i n s t u n a r m e d I n d i a n c i v i l i a n s i n

Gujranwala, his home town B o m b s w e r e d r o p p e d o n unarmed civilians, including y o u n g c h i l d r e n , a t t h e Khalsa High School boarding house, Gujranwala town centre and nearby villages

In 1935, an 18-year-old R a m D a s s S u n a k l e f t Gujranwala and moved to Kenya, to start a new life as an accountant and was followed by his wife two days l a t e r T h e c o u p l e h a d s i x children together, including

Sunak’s father, Yashvir Ram D a s s ’ s s o n s m o v e d t o England and him and his wife followed them, moving to Southampton in 1971 He b o u g h t a f o u r - b e d r o o m house for £2,000 He also established the Vedic Society Hindu Temple Sunak’s parents are still a very active part of the temple and the prime minister still visits the establishment to this day

Ram Dass passed away in 1980, the year Sunak was born and his grandmother passed away when he was 2 7 - y e a r s - o l d I t i s u n d e rs t o o d t h a t t h e f a m i l y , including the prime minister, had no idea about their grandfather’s roots

However, the source also warned that "this was only the most egregious example of Indian Hindu nationalists using private social media posts to interfere in the UK " "So far, it's mainly local politics Modi and his BJP doing what they would do in Gujarat [Modi's home state] to get this or that local councillor elected," said the source

"But it has to be stopped before it spreads to attempts to influence our national politics

T h e S p o k e s p e r s o n o f I n s i g h t U K said, “Indicative of poor journalistic standards, an article full of fiction and zero facts gets the nod of the editorial board of the mail online The badly written piece ignores multiple incident reports by different independent think tanks about attacks on Hindus, their places of worship & property by Islamists during the Leicester violence With vague references to unnamed sources, the article n o t o n l y s p i n s a w i l d t a l e b u t a l s o gaslights the Hindu victims of Leicester violence ”

“We have written an open letter to the Daily Mail UK regarding the false and m a l i c i o u s a r t i c l e w h i c h w i t h o u t a n y credible evidence unfairly blames the BJP party and Hindus for the violence in Leicester We ask for a rectification of the inaccuracies presented in the article or its complete retraction ”

W h i l e t h e S t o p H i n d u H a t e A d v o c a c y N e t w o r k r e a c t e d o n s o c i a l

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for far less Free varifocal lenses with glasses from £69

m e d i a , “

T h e r e a r e n o " B r i t i s h L a w Enforcement investigations or reports on Leicester riots This claim is false and m i s l e a d i n g T h e a r t i c l e b y P a k i s t a n i -

British Abdul Taher quotes a "UK security source" Asian Voice reached out to members of the community in Leicester to unders t a n d t h e i r t a k e o n t h i s r e v e l a t i o n

Yogesh Desai from Leicester told Asian Voice, “I read the article, and until now I heard from different people about violent clashes because of cricket, so many people came outside of Leicester to fight against Indian people I also heard that they got money to do the fight ” Dipti Mistry told us, “In Leicester, many faiths and communities are living in h a r m o n y a n d p e a c e f o r m a n y y e a r s Sudden attacks on our Hindu community were a shock and certainly guided by outside forces Mainly people were attacking our Hindu religious places and Hindu people were from outside Leicester ”

Time to grow our own food

With ever rising population and climate change, the result of human greed and indifference to nature, it is no wonder that food shortage is a curse for many poor nations throughout the world, especially in Africa and part of Latin America The question is what is the solution?

The answer is simple and staring in our face but the question is; are we, the rich and powerful nations of the West ready to change our ways, sacrifice their comfort zone and help to produce more common food like maize, wheat and rice that most of the under-developed world need, consume

There is already shortage of vegetables, fresh foods, now extended to eggs and poultry In meat eating America, even stake is served at breakfast Cattles and poultry are raised on maze and other cereals, wasting millions of tons of these cereals that could feed the hungry nations of the world

Looking at our supermarkets with empty shelves, one may wonder where this would end! Of course, we are immune to hunger and starvation but not many poorer countries like Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Afghanistan and many more while we use our own fertile agricultural land to grow unnecessary food items that we could do without, like grapes for wine making, baby corn pick early when it is hardly out of its wrappings It is a Chine delicacy the West has taken to their hearts, used mainly in salads

At one time we used to grow some 80% of our fresh vegetables and soft fruits, some under glass houses, now it has shrunk to mere 40%, rest imported, mainly from our neighbour Netherland who has the same climate as us, but their genuinely amazing tactics and use of the latest technology makes them the world beater on export front

Importing what we could grow at home is nothing short of criminal, as we import food from South America, Australia, even New Zealand; thousands of miles from our shores, flown by air, polluting atmosphere, increasing carbon level in the air, the main reason for warming and melting Arctic and Antarctic ice Unless the West wise-up and grow our own food, Supermarkets with Hobson’s choice, encouraged buying locally grown food, we are heading for trouble that could not be rectified later!

Bhupendra M Gandhi

Council election in Leicester

In the recent council elections in Leicester, many Hindu Councillors were replaced by non-Hindu Asian candidates by the Labour Party

Why was this decision taken by the party? To me it is clearly a racist and divisive action and needs clarification

R J Patel

India’s rape laws very weak

Kapil D udakia

The Rise of Anti-Hindu Hatred

I ha ve wr it te n about an ti-Hin du hatr ed (Hinduphobia as some might call it) in the past I have e ven placed be for e our commun ity a d efinition of ant i-Hind u hat red in t he hope that our or gan isa tions, our gove rnme nt , an d our society ma y come t o t erms with it A nd whilst I wa it, I observ e the incessa nt rise of hat re d a gain st Hindus (ofte n disguise d a s an tiIn dia sent imen ts) g o un cha lleng ed by our g over nme nt an d many politicians Le t me sha re just a few e xa mple s of how this ha tr ed builds up a nd impa ct s us

We are still waiting for Keir Starmer to respond to the misbehaviour by his minister, Gareth Thomas, towards the Gujarati community Their silence on this very serious matter is telling Ask yourself the question, would Gareth still be in his position had he violated the trust of Muslims or the Jewish community? The answer is simple, he would be on his backside with the Labour whip removed Yet when it comes to Indians, and in particular Hindus, Labour don’t care a damn

We have also witnessed the publication of the Bloom Review which laid blame on Hindus, for Islamists attacking Hindus! Imagine the madness of such a grotesque assertion By any independent means of verifiable evidence, it has been clear that it was the Islamists who were totally responsible for attacking Hindus and our Mandir Even a government sponsored review is too afraid to call out the extremists, appeasement shows no sign of subsiding

The Federation of Muslim Organisations (FMO) and UK Indian Muslim Council (UKIMC), on the social media channel of UKIMC, made an astounding claim that the event organised by INSIGHT titled, Hindu Awareness Campaign - Grooming and Religious Conversion in the UK", was in some way not conducive to community cohesion Now think about it, here we have two Islamic organisations wanting to stop INSIGHT in exposing the truth about grooming gangs Why would they do that when some have claimed that these Pakistani grooming gangs had nothing to do with Islam? Are they now claiming that these grooming gangs are related to Islam after all? Today when all of us would wish to protect vulnerable women and girls from becoming the Shamima Begum’s of tomorrow, is it not astonishing that such Muslim organisations are intent on silencing the voice of the victims? Protecting girls, be they Hindu, white, Sikh and Muslim, surely should be a uniting positive force for community cohesion

A petition to ‘Investigate Anti-Hindu propaganda & hatred attacks on Hindu Community’ was set up Krishan

Rape has become a serious problem in India today because our laws don’t act as a deterrent which often leaves the culprits go unpunished Some rapists escape with light punishment or no reprimand at all, as they enjoy political clout

Young girls and elderly women are scared to travel alone in public transport and night travel is risky The Indian government must recruit better qualified and trained personnel to keep a strict vigilance in sensitive and isolated areas, as well as in local trains to induce caution and fear in the minds of criminals This preventative mode could result in a reduction in the number of crimes taking place and might even make people respect the laws of the country

The strictest possible punishment with no provision for exemption should be meted out without any consideration for juveniles, as they are the ones committing most of the crimes, including rapes and robberies None of the criminals should be released on bail This will teach other criminals not to commit such gruesome acts of crimes in future

The existing rape laws in India are very weak, which is why we have not been able to curb the numerous cases of sexual assaults on women that are happening daily Perhaps, the most uncomfortable procedure in the investigation of such cases is the identification parade

Barbaric laws like those of Saudi Arabia and other Arabian Gulf countries should be introduced in India where the rapists are either castrated, beheaded or stoned to death The law should be such that it upholds the dignity of a woman while giving the rapists the maximum amount of punishment This will reduce the number of rapes taking place in the country

Jub el D'Cruz

Jaglan which has already attracted over 16000 signatories (you can sign it here: https://petition parliament uk/petitions/629845) The Government had to respond formally, but in my view, it was mostly rhetoric I don’t care two hoots that the government thinks anti-Hindu hatred is wrong and unacceptable What I want from my government is for them to instigate an independent investigation into:

A Leicester riots and the involvement of Islamists, the police, and the local mayor

B I s l a m i s t s a n d K h a l i s t a n i s a t t a c k i n g I n d i a n s a n d Hindus, be it on our streets, at our Mandirs or when we gather at the Indian High Commission to celebrate events

C How some politicians are working hand in glove with extremists and Islamists to undermine our nation And how such activities are being funded and supported

D The practical support it can provide to Hindus, and H i n d u o r g a n i s a t i o n s / M a n d i r s i n t e r m s o f f u n d i n g , resources, and security measures Do we need a Hindu to be killed before the authorities wake up?

I can continue the list, but suffice to say, surely any person with a bit of common sense would conclude that the above are serious and worthy of being acted on urgently I am ready to help if they find the starting point a bit too challenging No doubt the government could learn a lot if they followed the research carried out by The Henry Jackson Society that showed that Hindus are victims of extremists’ aggression

We had the Daily Mail this week publish an incredibly incendiary false article attempting to lay the blame for Leicester on Hindus, and even the Modi government! Their claim to the story was that ‘UK security sources ’ had told them, ‘Activists from Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) used closed WhatsApp groups to incite British Hindus of the involvement of the Indian government’ I find this narrative alarming and frankly fake There seems to be a planned attack on India, Indians, and in particular Hindus, by excusing away the extremism of the Islamists It’s for the government to investigate and sort out this mess Is there such a thing as a ‘UK security source’? If so, what pathetic level of inaccurate intelligence is it gathering? And if not, then they should expose the lies of the Daily Mail At this rate, these numptees will be telling us that Pakistan is a bastion of democracy, law and order, and of good governance!

It's time for Indians and Hindus to wake up Take a lead from Leicester and Slough, it’s time to use our vote purposefully so that those who wish us harm, never take us for granted

Pakistan in Troubled Waters

Ruchi Ghanashyam

Mrs Ruchi Ghanashyam is the former High Commissioner of India to the UK With a career in Indian Foreign Service for over 38 years, she has been posted in many countries including South Africa, Ghana, before arriving in the UK She was o n l y t h e s e c o n d w o m a n H i g h Commissioner to the UK since India’s independence and during her tenure, she w i t n e s s e d a n u m b e r o f s i g n i f i c a n t developments in the UK-India relations

@RuchiGhanashyam

A s Pakistan’s economy trundles precariously toward s a d ark abyss, d ev astated by sev ere flood s last year, soaring inflatio n, an uncertain IMF bailout p ackag e; as people strug gle to feed themselv es and their ch ild ren; and as terro r attacks continue unabated ; P akistan w as w racked by yet anoth er crisis last week

On 9th M ay 20 23, Imran K han, Pakistan's form er prime m inister, was arrested on corruption ch arges

Founder and chairman of the political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan became Pakistan’s 22nd Prime Minister from August 2018 - April 2022

He was arrested from inside the High C o u r t i n I s l a m a b a d b y t h e N a t i o n a l Accountability Bureau (NAB) in connection with the Al-Qadir Trust, which he owns alongside his wife, Bushra Bibi Following his arrest, his party called for demonstrations Responding to these calls, Imran Khan’s followers took over the streets in several cities of

P a k i s t a n T h e A r m y e s t a b l i s h m e n t s i n

Rawalpindi and Lahore were amongst those that faced the wrath of Khan’s supporters Situation eased a little after the Supreme Court of Pakistan deemed the arrest unlawful and mandated Khan's immediate release On 12 May, Islamabad High Court granted two weeks bail to Khan But, shortly after his release, Khan accused the army chief Asim

M u n i r o f p l a y i n g a r o l e i n h i s a r r e s t

M e a n w h i l e , K h a n s w i f e B u s h r a B i b i w a s granted bail till May 23 by a Pakistani court

Imran Khan returned to his home in Lahore after having locked himself in the Islamabad high court premises for hours for fear of rearrest despite bail having been granted earlier

In another twist, Imran Khan claimed in a video statement that following his arrest, government buildings and the Lahore Corps Commander's House were ransacked under an "organised conspiracy" He also claimed that the country's powerful military establishment has planned to keep him in jail for the next 10 years under sedition charges Khan said in a series of tweets after a meeting of his party leaders at his Lahore residence: "So now the complete London plan is out Using pretext of violence while I was inside the jail, they have assumed the role of judge, jury and executioner The plan now is to humiliate me by putting Bushra Begum in jail, and using some sedition law to keep me inside for next ten years "

Imran Khan was considered to be the preferred candidate of the Pakistan Army, but tensions didn’t take long to build up His tense relations with the army are not new Last year, he was charged under anti-terror laws after accusing the police and judiciary of detaining and torturing an aide Later, he survived what is described as an assassination attempt during a political rally in Wazirabad, Punjab

Imran Khan became the first Pakistani Prime Minister to be removed from office through a no-confidence motion in April

2022 In the dramatic events surrounding his removal, Khan had claimed that the US was behind his removal because he conducted an independent foreign policy and had friendly relations with China and Russia His removal had also led to protests from his supporters across Pakistan Khan faces several other charges (about 100 cases) One of these, the Toshakhana case (August 2022) relates to failu r e t o d i s c l o s e t h e s p e c i f i c s o f t h e T o s h a k h a n a p r e s e n t s i n h i s y e a r l y a s s e t r e p o r t t o t h e E l e c t i o n C o m m i s s i o n o f

Pakistan

P a k i s t a n ’ s a r m y s e e m s t o b e l o s i n g patience and said “restraint will no longer be e x e r c i s e d ” o n g r o u p s a t t a c k i n g m i l i t a r y installations It vowed to take legal action against those who damaged property after Khan’s dramatic arrest “The Armed Forces are well aware of the planners, instigators, abettors and perpetrators of these attacks and attempts to create distortions in this regard are absolutely futile,” the military said in a statement without naming anyone “Those involved in these heinous crimes against the m i l i t a r y i n s t a l l a t i o n s a n d p e r s o n a l / e q u i pment will be brought to justice through trials under relevant laws of Pakistan including Pakistan Army Act and Official Secret Act ”

The army has ruled Pakistan, directly or i n d i r e c t l y a l m o s t f r o m t h e b e g i n n i n g Pakistan has faced three military coups, the first being very early in its life in 1958, soon after Pakistan was created in 1947 Four military dictators have exercised direct power over decades Even when in power, civilian governments in Pakistan need to constantly l o o k o v e r t h e i r s h o u l d e r s f o r t h e a r m y ’ s approval The attacks on army establishments in Lahore and Rawalpindi, therefore, caught the eye of the world How Imran Khan’s tussle with the army plays out, will be evident over the coming days and weeks Meanwhile, the long-suffering Pakistani people can not hope for succour as political instability is added to the mix of the many challenges Pakistan faces

Staff threatened and punched in a Leicestershire care home

A watchd og has rep orted that staff were th reatened and hu rt at the Clarendo n Beechlands care home on mu ltiple occasions and no actions were taken by th e provid er The staff at th is care hom e w er e t h rea ten ed w i th s tr ang u lat io n , pu nched i n th e h ead , inap prop riately tou ch ed and h ad nails d ug into their skin

Around 11 incidents were identified by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on inspecting the Clarendon Park service The service cares for 18 residents with mental health conditions, learning disabilities and autism The situation at home puts them at risk of aggression The home was rated as inadequate in terms of safety, leadership and inadequate overall Chief Operating Officer for Prime L i f e S i m o n V a n H e r r e w e g e t o l d Leicestershire Live: “We were extremely disappointed by the outcome of this inspection, but must recognise some of the current failings identified within the home ” Support teams are working with the service to make improvements

Birth anniversary of HH Yogiji Maharaj celebrated at the Neasden Temple

T he birth anniv ersary of HH Yogiji M ah ar aj w as c el eb rat ed at t h e Neasden Tem ple in th e p resence of HH Mahant S wami M aharaj o n T uesd ay 1 6 May Th e theme o f th e c el eb rat i o n w as : ‘ A m ara J o g i :

Beyond the Sm ile’ Th e ev ent went th ro ug h a th eatrical pro d uc tio n i ncorpo rating u nique eyewi tness accounts Y o g i j i M a h a r a j , t h e f o u r t h s p i r i t u a l s u c c e s s o r o f B h a g w a n Swaminarayan, was known for his patient and playful nature He was the guru of His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj He carried the philosophy of Akshar Purushottam out of India to Africa and London He was a visionary, inspirer, and i n i t i a t o r o f t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n ’ s w e e k l y c h i l d r e n a n d y o u t h activities His positive attitude and engaging smile captured the hearts of thousands of people

T he Family Din: Satsang at Hom e

A special evening programme focussed on innovative ways for families to spend time together and progress spiritually was held in the presence of Mahant Swami Maharaj on Saturday 13 May 2023 a t B A P S S h r i S w a m i n a r a y a n Mandir, London

T h e F a m i l y D i n e v e n i n g p r o g r a m m e , t i t l e d ‘ S a t s a n g a t

Home: A New Way Swami’s Way’ e x p l o r e d e f f e c t i v e w a y s t o participate in satsang activities at home with family members The u n d e r l y i n g m e s s a g e s w e r e d e l i v e r e d t h r o u g h e n g a g i n g discourses, presentations, videos, a n d a n i n t e r a c t i v e s k i t w i t h S w a m i s h r i , w i t h c o n t r i b u t i o n s from swamis as well as children, youths and seniors

Swamis began the assembly by addressing various challenges that f a m i l i e s a r e f a c i n g t o d a y , p a r t i c u l a r l y r e g a r d i n g t h e p o t e n t i a l l y h a r m f u l i m p a c t o f v a r i o u s d e v i c e s o n f a m i l y i n t e r a c t i o n s a n d p e r s o n a l development, and their judicious

u s e f o r p o s i t i v e f a m i l y t i m e together

Mahant Swami Maharaj was joyously welcomed to the assembly a s t h e f o c a l p o i n t o f t h e

p r o g r a m m e t r a n s i t i o n e d i n t o a d r a m a , w h i c h b e g a n w i t h Swamishri ‘arriving at the home of a family’ for a padhramani (home visit) with Sadguru Tyagvallabhdas

Swami and other swamis

After the vibrant welcome, the interactive skit introduced Daily S a t s a n g T i m e – a n e w , w e e k l y s t r u c t u r e d p l a n f o r f a m i l i e s t o practise satsang at home through thematic daily activities, including the reading of various satsang texts and publications, the learning of s c r i p t u r a l p a s s a g e s , e n g a g i n g i n smruti (recalling and enjoying the divine incidents of God and the Guru), and conducting ghar sabha ( f a m i l y s a t s a n g a s s e m b l i e s a t home)

T h e s e d a i l y i n i t i a t i v e s w e r e i n d i v i d u a l l y u n v e i l e d b y S w a m i s h r i , w h o a l s o p r o v i d e d practical guidance on how families can avail the maximum benefits of e a c h a c t i v i t y , a s t h e f a m i l y members posed questions as a part of the skit

The Mahila Din event: Dev ine bond with God and Guru

T h e d i v i n e b o n d b e t w e e n female devotees and God and the

G u r u w a s e x p l o r e d t h r o u g h a n enlightening programme of monoa c t s , d r a m a s , k i r t a n s , p r e s e n t a t i o n s a n d d a n c e s o n

Saturday 13 May 2023 at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London

The Mahila Din programme began with a prayer offered on behalf of mahilas during Mahant Swami Maharaj’ s morning puja, charting the spiritual connection t h a t m a h i l a s h a v e w i t h t h e S a t p u r u s h a n d h o w i t e v o l v e s throughout the journey of their life

A series of devotional offerings were also presented to Swamishri, including an official invitation to Shri Akshar-Purushottam Maharaj to preside over the day’s festivities

Later in the morning, women a n d c h i l d r e n o f f e r e d a g r a n d welcome to Akshar-Purushottam M a h a r a j i n t h e M a h i l a D i n assembly, which centred around navdha bhakti W o m e n s h a r e d c h e r i s h e d m e m o r i e s o f Y o g i j i M a h a r a j ,

P r a m u k h S w a m i M a h a r a j a n d Mahant Swami Maharaj through video presentations and a panel discussion, further reinforcing the s p i r i t u a l b o n d t h e y h a v e maintained with their gurus

A v i d e o o f M a h a n t S w a m i M a h a r a j t o u c h i n g a l a m p t h a t simultaneously illuminated a lamp inside the assembly hall provided a memorable finale to the event –delivering a symbolic message to the devotees that his connection w i t h t h e m i s n o t c o n f i n e d b y boundaries or physical distance

Fri 19 May: Celebrating British Hindu C ontribution

On Friday 19 May, there will be a n i n s p i r i n g e v e n i n g i n t h e presence of His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj bringing together diverse Hindu communities from around the UK to celebrate the w i d e a r r a y o f c o n t r i b u t i o n s o f British Hindus to the country The time is 5 30 pm to 8 00 pm

Two Indian nurses made Global Nursing Award cut

T w o nu r se s f r o m I n d i a we r e s ho rt li s ted f o r a p re st igi o u s U S D

2 5 0 ,0 0 0 G l o b al N u r s i ng A w ar d h o no u r i ng th e c o nt ri bu t i o ns o f nu r s es w o rl d w i d e T he ev ent i s organi sed by Dubai- head quartered pri vate heal th care servi ce provid er As ter DM H ealthcare S h a n t i T e r e s a L a k r a w o r k s a m o n g P a r t i c u l a r l y V u l n e r a b l e T r i b a l G r o u p s ( P V T G s ) i n t h e Andaman and Nicobar

Sister Nivedita's statue

installed in Wimbledon to be formally inaugurated

Sister Nivedita Celebrations

U K al o ng w it h M e rto n

C o u nc i l h a v e i ns ta ll ed a bro n ze st atu e o f S i s ter

Niv ed ita in Wimbledon The g re at d is c ip le o f S w a m i

Vivekananda used to run a sc h o o l i n Wi m bl ed o n i n

1890s when she m et Sw am iji and went to Ind ia to dedicate h er l if e f o r th e w o m en ’ s ed ucation and also freedom

mov em ent

O n 1 2 M a y , i n

Wimbledon, it was a historic m o m e n t w h e n S i s t e r

Nivedita's statue came all the way from Sargachi RKM The s t a t u e a n d p l i n t h w e r e donated by Dr Chanchal Dey

o f B i d h a n N a g a r R a m a k r i s h n a Vivekananda Kendra, Kolkata and D r S a t y a j i t C h a k r a b a r t y o f

U n i v e r s i t y o f E n g i n e e r i n g a n d

Management It was organised by Sister Nivedita Celebrations UK

w i t h t h e h e l p o f w o r l d w i d e followers of Sister Nivedita

T h e s t a t u e w i l l b e f o r m a l l y

i n a u g u r a t e d b y R e v S w a m i

S a r v a s t h a n a n d a j i o f V e d a n t a Centre on 1 July

The statue at a prime location of London is a rarity and involves a l o t o f h a r d w o r k T h e c o s t o f installation was organised by Sister Nivedita celebrations UK through crowd funding from their friends a n d d e v o t e e s o f R a m a k r i s h n a Mission Vedanta Centre, UK

Suella Braverman adamant to cut down immigration

r e d t A s e r G u a r d a n s

Ho m e Se c r e t ar y Su e l la Braverman has c alled on the Conservative Party to pay c los e atten tion to its com mitm en t t o b rin gin g do w n i m m i g ra t i o n B r av e r m a n , o n M on d a y , i s s u e d a s t a rk w a rn i n g a ga i n s t " un s us t a i n a b l e " m a s s a n d r a pi d immi gration and called for a c ti on t o c u t d o w n on growi ng mi gra nt numbe rs B r a v e r m a n a l s o s a i d that she backed the Brexit d e c i s i o n s o t h a t t h e country could have better c o n t r o l o v e r i t s i m m i g r a t i o n p o l i c y According to her, rapid migration i s u n s u s t a i n a b l e i n t e r m s o f housing supply, public services and community relations, where t h e f u t u r e p e r s p e c t i v e o f t h e country is concerned The leader has also proposed cutting down on the two-year period any visa holder is given to find a job and s e t t l e i n t h e c o u n t r y , t o s i x months While Braverman, in her N a t i o n a l C o n s e r v a t i s m conference speech, talked about a number of issues like trans rights, g r o o m i n g g a n g s a n d e t h n i c i t y , her comments about immigration did not go well with the majority A f g h a n r e f u g e e f a m i l i e s i n Y o r k s h i r e , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , have been issued with an eviction l e t t e r i n t h e n a m e o f S u e l l a Braverman These families have a l r e a d y b e e n u p r o o t e d f r o m London earlier this year to be placed in Yorkshire For some of t h e f a m i l i e s , t h i s w i l l b e t h e f o u r t h t i m e t h e y h a v e t o b e uprooted since being airlifted out of Kabul to the UK in 2021 A s p e c i a l f o r c e s s o l d i e r a n d a p o l i t i c a l a d v i s e r a l s o r e c e i v e d

notice to quit with the eviction notices going out

There is no good reason why we can't train up enough HGV drivers, butchers or fruit pickers," according to an excerpt of the speech released by the BBC "It's not xenophobic to say that mass a n d r a p i d m i g r a t i o n i s unsustainable in terms of housing supply, service and community relations," she was expected to say in her speech

B r a v e r m a n b e l o n g s t o t h e Goan and Tamil heritage and says t h a t w h i l e s h e c o m e s f r o m a family of immigrants, her parents came to the UK through legal and c o n t r o l l e d m i g r a t i o n " W h i l e illegal migration is rightly our p r i o r i t y g i v e n t h e a c u t e challenges we face in the [English] Channel, we must not lose sight of the importance of controlling l e g a l m i g r a t i o n t o o , s h e w a s quoted as saying by NDTV

"It's not xenophobic to say that mass and rapid migration is unsustainable in terms of housing s u p p l y , p u b l i c s e r v i c e s a n d community relations," Braverman said

Swamishri adorning the decorative garland

Children reciting verses from the Satsang Diksha emphasising satsang at home

Devotees engrossed in Swamishri s darshan

Jincy Jerry Shanti Teresa Lakra

“The Koh-i-Noor is just a symbol”

Anusha Singh

The 105-cara t d ia mond tha t on ce a dorn ed t he Pea cock Thr one, was h a nd e d o ve r to t he Ea st Ind ia C ompan y I n d i a i s o n t h e v e r g e o f launching a diplomatic campaign to reclaim the Koh-i-Noor diamond and other Indian artefacts from Britain If a report from The D a i l y T e l e g r a p h i s t o b e believed, officials back in New Delhi are preparing t h e l a r g e s t r e p a t r i a t i o n claim faced by the UK, a “reckoning” with the colonial past

T h e m i n i s t e r i a l a n d diplomatic leaders of India are involved in the efforts t o s e c u r e t h e r e t u r n o f t h o u s a n d s o f a r t i f a c t s taken from the country, the main goal of the operation being the r e t u r n o f K o h - i - N o o r T h i s demand for reclamation comes from the top of Indian politics and is a high priority for Narendra

Modi’s government

Asian Voice reached out to Shrabani Basu, an Indian journalist, author and a historian She told the newsweekly, “The Indian government has never formally asked for the return of the Koh-iNoor or other artefacts The point is, where do you draw the line? It is not just the Kohinoor, there are o t h e r j e w e l s i n t h e R o y a l

Collection that were taken as war booty There is the large diamond n e c k l a c e w i t h t h e L a h o r e d i amond at its centrepiece, which was also taken from the Punjab

t r e a s u r y a f t e r t h e defeat of the Sikhs ” “The museums, t o o , a r e f u l l o f I n d i a n a r t e f a c t s : from Tipu’s Tiger at t h e V & A t o t h e A m a r a v a t i M a r b l e s a t t h e B r i t i s h M u s e u m , a n d s o m u c h m o r e I t i s

P h o t o c r e d t T w t t e r P h o t o c r e d t T w t t e r

best to leave them there, with capt i o n s c l e a r l y s t a t i n g t h a t t h e y w e r e l o o t e d o r s e i z e d a s w a r booty,” she added S p e a k i n g t o A s i a n V o i c e , author Lady Kishwar Desai said, “The Koh-i-Noor is ‘only’ a symbol Because it is well known, it q u i c k l y b e c o m e s a d i s c u s s i o n p o i n t e v e n a m o n g t h o s e w h o k n o w l i t t l e o f I n d i a ’ s h i s t o r y Undeniably, it would be an amazing gesture if the British government were to actually return it , b u t i t i s i m p o s s i b l e t o f o l l o w through People have forgotten that it belonged to undivided India when the government of the time was in Lahore So will it be returned to India or to Pakistan?”

She further added that, not just sculptors and art, other his-

torical objects and docu m e n t s n e e d e d t o b e repatriated as well “Let u s b e g i n s o m e w h e r e s u b s t a n t i a l i n s t e a d o f d i s c u s s i n g t h e K o h - iNoor endlessly It is a diversion”, she said

“It is of huge import a n c e t o t h e g o v e r nment The thrust of this e f f o r t t o r e p a t r i a t e India’s artefacts comes from the personal commitment of prime mini s t e r N a r e n d r a M o d i , who has made it a major p r i o r i t y , ” G o v i n d M o h a n , s e c r e t a r y f o r the Indian ministry of culture, was quoted as s a y i n g b y T h e D a i l y Telegraph

In a process that is due to begin this year, New Delhi officials will co-ordinate with British officials to push for the return of artefacts that were removed in the p e r i o d o f c o l o n i a l c o e r c i o n D i p l o m a t s i n L o n d o n , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , w i l l m a k e f o r m a l requests to institutions holding artefacts seized as spoils of war and those collected by enthusiasts during the East India Company’s time in India

For the return to be made, royal permission will be needed and legislative changes will have to be made This has proved to be a daunting situation for PM Rishi Sunak who was hailed as a “living bridge” to Indians in the UK by the Indian Prime Minister, following his Tory leadership

UK considering curb on visas for foreign students’ families

Th e U K gov ernm ent is looking for a w ay to prev ent the families of foreign masters stud ents fro m joining them in the co untry, reported the Financial Tim es

According to official figures, the number of visas granted to dependents of foreign students jumped from 16,047 in 2019 to a whopping 1,35,788 in 2022 Indian and Nigerian students have the maximum chances of having family members tag along Despite the conservative party’s promise of bringing down migration levels, the numbers show a record level in 2022 Net migration to the United Kingdom hit record levels between June and July 2022 An estimated 5,04,000 more people arrived in the country for a longer term compared to those leaving the country, according to an observation by the Office of National Statistics

The country issued 5,00,000 visas in 2022, 81 per cent higher than 2019

The UKIBC supports the movement of students between the UK and India, and we are working with our members and both governments to support that In response to the speculation In an official statement, the UKIBC said, “It has been reported that the UK Government is considering restrictions on family members from joining 1-year masters students entering the UK, as a means of controlling net migration The UK India Business Council is clear that we fully support and value international students’ contribution to the UK, not least those coming from

India

“Talent and human capital are essential to any economy and the movement of people between our countries is of benefit to both nations, enabling us to share skills, knowledge, and innovation

Moreover, the living bridge of people is exactly what makes this bilateral relationship so special These students contribute positively to the academic and research strength of the UK’s HE sector and to life on campus They also benefit the UK more widely, bringing specialist skills to the workforce; setting up new trade links, building soft power for years to come, and spending in local economies up and down the country

“UK universities are committed to working with Government to understand the issues surrounding the arrangement for dependents accompanying international students and to find constructive solutions At the same time, it is important that international students have clarity on the rules and that the UK government restates its commitment to the immensely positive graduate visa route, which has proven beneficial to the UK economy, popular with Indians, and which has created positivity in the critically important India-UK relationship

The UKIBC will continue to work with our members in both countries and with both Governments in support of the movement of students between our countries ”

Lady Kishwar Desai Shrabani Basu

Are we ready for climate change?

Continued from page 1

T h e e v a c u a t i o n o f n e a r l y 500,000 people is expected to start Saturday with 576 c y c l o n e s h e l t e r s r e a d y t o provide refuge to those who are moved from their homes a l o n g t h e c o a s t , s a i d B a n g l a d e s h g o v e r n m e n t administrator Muhammad Shaheen Imran

The South Asian diaspora in the UK has played a pivotal role time and again in helping the world combat the climate change crisis T h i s y e a r , t h e U K c o nt r i b u t e d a n a d d i t i o n a l £ 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 ( B D T 6 0 6 m i llion) in humanitarian support to respond to last year ’ s f l o o d i n g i n B a n g l a d e s h ’ s Sylhet region, in which 7 2m p e o p l e w e r e a f f e c t e d D e l i v e r e d b y B R A C , t h i s funding will provide water, shelter, livelihood opportunities, and improved nutrition for people affected in S u n a m g a n j , S y l h e t B R A C E x e c u t i v e D i r e c t o r , A s i f Saleh, said, “This partners h i p b e t w e e n t h e B r i t i s h H i g h C o m m i s s i o n a n d B R A C w i l l b e c r u c i a l i n standing beside the people in Sunamganj and being a partner in their journey to build back better ”

An Edgbaston Stadium e m p l o y e e w h o s p e n t f i v e weeks in Pakistan helping flood disaster victims has spoken of the devastation he witnessed and how he hopes to have played a small part on their road to recove r y A b r a h a m K h a n –E d g b a s t o n ’ s H e a d o f Finance – visited some of the villages worst hit by last year's catastrophic flooding which cost 1,700 lives and left more than two million people homeless He raised thousands of pounds for the relief effort through a combination of an online appeal and his own savings which he used to buy food, clothing and life-saving equipment In a recent interview with Asian Voice, Abraham said, “Global warming aside each country should be concerned with natural disasters in other countries and p r o v i d e w h a t a s s i s t a n c e they can This does not necessarily need to be financial and could be expertise to prevent or manage disaster relief efforts ”

The Mayor of London has committed to bringing forward London’s net zero targets from 2050 to 2030

At the time of publication of t h e 1 5 ° C P l a n , t h e U K ’ s ambition was to achieve an 80% reduction in emissions by 2050 Since then, both national and local climate ambition has increased At a national level, the UK has committed to reach a 68% reduction in emissions by 2030 (relative to 1990 levels) and to reach net zero emissions by 2050

T otal co mmitment to th e

net zero agenda

In an interview with the Observer, Alok Sharma said

a total commitment to the net zero agenda from whoever is to lead the country would be essential to avoid “ i n c r e d i b l e d a m a g e ” t o Britain’s global standing, as well as irreversible harm to the UK and international economies

“ T h i s i s a b s o l u t e l y a l e a d e r s h i p i s s u e , ” S h a r m a said, accusing some of the candidates of being “lukewarm ” on net zero in the contest so far

“Anyone aspiring to lead o u r c o u n t r y n e e d s t o demonstrate that they take this issue incredibly seriously, that they’re willing to continue to lead and take up t h e m a n t l e t h a t B o r i s Johnson started off I want t o s e e c a n d i d a t e s v e r y p r o a c t i v e l y s e t o u t t h e i r s u p p o r t f o r o u r n e t z e r o agenda for green growth ” E veryo ne thinks somebody else will do it

Asi an Voice columnist, Al p e s h P at el OB E wh o invests in renewable energy spoke about the challenges of climate change and said, “The biggest highlight of climate change that the world needs to worry about is it's already too late Now we re j u s t m a n a g i n g a g r a d u a l decline Unless the nuclear fuel, the hydrogen technolo g y , w h i c h r e c e n t l y h a s been in the news, accelerates things and we invent a new technology to extract carbon even more efficiently and effectively out of the air So I said on the BBC, and recently that I think things have accelerated a lot f u r t h e r t h a n w e t h o u g h t and that's what often happens with chaotic systems such as weather And we're also in obviously a state of denial And there's the free r i d e r p r o b l e m w h i c h i s , everyone thinks somebody else will do it That's just human nature Those are t h e t h i n g s t h a t c o m e t o mind as most worry about ”

C o m m e n t i n g o n w h a t the community can do to make sure we create a sustainable future for our offspring and their future generations to survive the clim a t e c r i s i s , A l p e s h e x p l a i n e d , “ C a n a d a h a s a committee to do to make sure we are a sustainable future for our offspring and their future generations to survive the climate crisis I go back to Mahatma Gandhi - Consume less Consume locally We need to get out of this notion of fast fashion Consume to do to make sure we are a sustainable future for our offspring and our future generations and my wife because of our son

I have a bicycle People say why didn't he go buy out and buy a Bentley SUV or a Lamborghini SUV? And no,

I t h i n k a 1 0 0 - p o u n d b i c y c l e i s j u s t i d e a l while I can and it s suitable for me I think it's those little points that w e c a n d o a n d s e t a standard for others and I say it on my Tipton You know people say oh you're in finance what c a r d o y o u d r i v e ? Because they're expecting mass consumption and I say actually I have a h u n d r e d - p o u n d b i c y c l e b e c a u s e i t ' s s u s t a i n a b l e Why do I need to go and buy a new Louis Vuitton if I can g e t a s e c o n d h a n d o n e i n g o o d c o n d i t i o n ? T h e n somebody does I don't have to keep manufacturing this stuff That's sustainability And it also taps into the Godrathina sodomy as well S o y o u k n o w w h a t ? A n d Warren Buffett says it as w e l l f r o m a n i n v e s t m e n t p e r s p e c t i v e C o n s u m i n g that leads to a simpler, happier life ” Research p oints to people in highly vu lnerable areas being up to 1 5x more likely to di e in floods

S yed Ah med OBE has over 20 years of experience working in the sustainable energy i ndustry with a focus o n de c en tr al i s ed e ne rg y is s u es S p e a k i n g t o A s i a n Voice, Ahmed said, “We are now regularly observing the t y p e o f e x t r e m e w e a t h e r e v e n t s w h i c h h a v e b e e n long been predicted by climate scientists - but I think we are only beginning to u n d e r s t a n d t h e h u g e i m p a c t s t h a t t h e s e c a n bring We are experiencing w i d e s p r e a d i m p a c t s , f r o m l o s s e s a n d d a m a g e s t o n a t u r e a s a r e s u l t o f droughts to flooding, and wildfires, which are leading to the displacement of communities and in turn driving conflict The March 2023 report from the IPCC states t h a t t h e r e i s ‘ h i g h c o n f idence’ in their analysis that every increment of global warming will intensify the impacts of global warming and that climate adaptation options that are feasible and effective today will become constrained and less effective with increasing global w a r m i n g W e h a v e l o n g known that those countries that contributed the least to climate change are often the m o s t v u l n e r a b l e t o i t s impacts This latest research points to people in highly vulnerable areas being up to 15x more likely to die in f l o o d s , d r o u g h t s , a n d s t o r m s a s c o m p a r e d t o t h o s e i n m o s t r e s i l i e n t areas ”

Th is will affect our bui ldings and o ur

p ro perty market

D r C h am u n de es wa ri K u p p u sw am y w h o l ea ds in t er di s c ip li n ar y re s ea rc h into the Global E conomy at th e O f fi c e o f t h e V i c eCh ancello r at th e University of Hertfordshire explained that extreme weather and droughts that are not just

Much awaited certification for ‘The Kerala Story’ in UK

droughts anymore are the main worries of the climate crisis These are extended and severe periods of heat, sometimes years, and this is f o l l o w e d b y p e r i o d s o f floods So, there is no norm a l i t y i n t h e s e r e g i o n s These are a direct result of the destabilisation of what i s k n o w n a s p l a n e t a r y b o u n d a r i e s C l i m a t e Change is just one of the nine planetary boundaries t h a t h a v e b e e n b r e a c h e d and extreme weather is a m a n i f e s t a t i o n o f t h i s breach Extreme weather is not just a phenomenon in isolated regions Here in the U K , o u r r i s k a s s e s s m e n t reports point to increasingly high winds all across the country, and this will affect our buildings and our property market It will affect how we enjoy the summers in our garden Imagine trying to relax in the garden with howling winds

Try th inking of th is as a creative exercis e o r an adventure

Giving some advice to save the globe for our future g e n e r a t i o n s , D r C h a m u n d e e s w a r i K u p p u sw a m y s a i d , “ R e d u c e c o ns u m p t i o n o f r e s o u r c e s Where you feel like buying t h r e e t h i n g s , b u y t w o Develop that self-control If you do that, you don't have to worry about offsetting the bad effects of overconsumption, you don't have to worry about the excessive waste that you cause, and it saves a lot of problems Try thinking of this as a creative exercise or an adventure, if you are so minded If not, t h e n t h i n k t h a t y o u w i l l gather good karma and save y o u r f u t u r e g e n e r a t i o n s from a very very uncomfortable life Think specifically of the big spends - could you try hard to buy a four-bedroom house that fits you just, rather than going in for t h e f i v e - b e d r o o m h o u s e t h a t y o u h a v e r o o m t o spare? Then think about all t h a t p a i n t , f u r n i t u r e , a n d heating that you will be saving on, thus helping save the planet This thinking will p u t y o u a h e a d o f o t h e r s when new legislation comes into force in the future on what is known as resource use norms This is something the EU has already i n d i c a t e d i n i t s 8 t h E n v i r o n m e n t a l A c t i o n Plan ” Read

The Keral a St ory gets its much-awaite d certification by t he British B oa rd of Fi l m C l a ss if ic a t io n (B B FC ) f ol l ow in g a n in explicabl e dela y The dela y had ca used publ ic outr age, with the dia spor a persist entl y que st io n in g w hy a m ov i e rel aying tra gic exper ience s of ma ny inn ocent girls was n ot being ce rtifie d in the UK

The release of the Indian film in the UK was thrown into disarray after it failed to r e c e i v e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n f r o m t h e B r i t i s h B o a r d o f F i l m Classification (BBFC) in time for its scheduled debut on May 12 The movie was set to b e s c r e e n e d i n H i n d i a n d Tamil across 31 cinemas in the UK and Ireland, but all screenings were cancelled on F r i d a y a n d t i c k e t s w e r e refunded after cinema websites stopped allowing sales

In a letter to the British Board of Film Classification, t h e H i n d u C o m m u n i t y Organisation Group wrote e x p r e s s i n g d e e p c o n c e r n regarding the denial of certification and subsequent cancellation of the release of the movie 'Kerala Files' The lett e r u r g e d t h e B B F C t o request a detailed investigation into the reasons behind the denial of certification for

'Kerala Files' and to provide a comprehensive explanation regarding the specific concerns or objections raised by the BBFC in relation to the movie 'Kerala Files'

The letter further suggested that it was crucial to assess whether the denial of certification for 'Kerala Files' was a result of any external pressures or influences that might compromise the indep e n d e n c e a n d i n t e g r i t y o f the BBFC The public must have confidence in the fact that decisions regarding film certification are made solely on the basis of the film's content and adherence to the e s t a b l i s h e d c l a s s i f i c a t i o n guidelines, rather than any political, religious, or other external factors

The letter also urged an open and transparent discussion about film certification decisions that will help fost e r a h e a l t h i e r a n d m o r e i n c l u s i v e c u l t u r a l e n v i r o nment in society

Islamic State fanatic teen reported by mother

M atth ew K ing , a 1 9- yearold , p lotted a L ond on terror attack and was arrested after h e w as re p o rte d b y h i s mother He appeared at the Old Bailey to be sentenced on Friday (12) T his w as after he plead g uilty to the p reparation of a terrorist attack

The teenager was sixt e e n w h e n h e f o u n d h i s f a i t h i n I s l a m a n d , w h i l e practising the religion, had an initial positive effect on h i m , h e l a t e r b e c a m e a n extremist He told his mother that he wanted to go to Syria with a girl he was talking to on the Internet After K i n g s h o w e d h i s m o t h e r some videos that raised her c o n c e r n s , h e a s s u r e d h e r that he did not believe in t e r r o r i s m H o w e v e r , t h e unconvinced mother con-

tacted Prevent

M e t o p o l t a n P o c e

King had stalked out a B r i t i s h A r m y b a r r a c k s i n Stratford in a desire to “torture, mutilate and kill army personnel”, Prosecutor Paul Jarvis was reported to have said by the Harrow Times H e w a n t e d t o t a r g e t S t r a t f o r d p o l i c e s t a t i o n , magistrate’s court and train station for a potential knife attack

Investigations into the life of the teenager uncovered violent text messages and a search history related to ISIS He is expected to be s e n t e n c e d i n t w o w e e k s ’ time

UK men pose as dads in a visa scam

UK men are being offered up to £10 ,00 0 to add their names to the birth certificates o f m ig rant wo m en ’ s babies This h elps the ch ild get U K citizenship and the m o th e r g e ts a re si d e nc y

Scammers are claiming t o h a v e f o u n d b u s i n e s s t h r o u g h F a c e b o o k a n d h e l p i n g t h o u s a n d s o f women this way Facebook claims that such content is b a n n e d a c c o r d i n g t o i t s guidelines

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan

Abraham Khan – Edgbaston’s Head of Finance – visited some of the villages worst hit by last year s catastrophic flooding which cost 1,700 lives and left more than two million people homeless

ROLE OUR YOUR FIND Y

The climate emergency is a silent alarm that has not stopped ringing around the world. With each passing day, our actions or the lack of it are silently affecting us and our future generations.

Unfortunately, many don't even acknowledge the threats posed by climate change, very often due to lack of awareness and information. This is so even within the British Asian communities. Asian Voice in association with the Royal Air Force will host the Be The Change event to raise awareness of the threats posed

Subramaniam i s an Ai r and Sp ace Opera tions Ma na ger, w hose se rvice in the last 15 ye ars has pre dominantly be en in the Space Ba sed Infra red System (SBI RS), Missi le W arning (MW ), Spa ce Domai n A wa rene ss (SDA) a nd Ba llistic Missi le De fence (BMD) f ield Prior to j oining th e Royal Ai r Force i n 1998, Subramaniam serve d i n the Roya l Eng ineers w ith 10 6 Fi eld Squa dron/ 12 Force (Ai r) Support Group , 36 Enginee ring Regime nt

On completion of Trade Training

Subramaniam was posted to RAF Neatishead and subsequently to Buchan to perform Air Defence duties. In 2004 he was posted to the Maritime Component Command Northwood as the Recognised Maritime Intelligence Operator, working in N2/3 in a surface/sub-surface Intelligence Production Cell in support of Maritime Operations around the world.

In 2007 Subramaniam spent the next three years at Air Command Bunker dealing with pan-government resilience operations, he also gained Missile Warning Operator and Data Links Network Manager qualifications. In 2010, he was selected for an assignment to Buckley Air Force Base to the SBIRS programme; he qualified as a Systems Crew Chief. His duties involved supervising satellite operations and ground systems configurations in support of worldwide operations exploiting Overhead Persistent Infrared Constellation. He was then selected to lead Ops Group Training, Standard & Evaluation as a Flight Chief.

In 2014, Subramaniam was posted to RAF Fylingdales where he continued to use his SBIRS background and further develop MW and SDA knowledge and skills. On completion of the Ballistic Missile Early Warning Systems Course, he served as a Crew Chief before taking up the post of Deputy Plans and Mission Support Flight. Subramaniam moved to Air Command and spent a year in Air and Space Operations profession, where he was principally involved in all issues related to training and workforce requirements. In 2019, he was promoted and appointed as WO BMD and Link 16 in Air Capability delivering UK Ballistic Missile Defence and L16 upgrade program. During the Integrated Review, he was selected to assist the Chief of Staff Capability as Deputy Staff Officer.

In Sep 21, Subramaniam was appointed

by climate change on 26 May 2023 at the House of Lords. The RAF are on a mission to reduce carbon emissions and achieve Net Zero by 2040, and will address the audience at this event about their goals and mission to mitigate climate change.

A panel of experts consisting of Dr Chamundeeswari Kuppuswamy, Pushpnath Krishnamurthy and Syed Ahmed and the moderator Alpesh Patel OBE will throw light on the imminent crises facing us and bring into sharp focus the dangers posed by climate emergencies.

We're managing a decline globally

What we've realised is the task is massive and the things that we are doing are, too little too late in most cases. On the positive side, at least we're doing them. The UK now has more energy from wind than it does from fossil fuels which is phenomenal. But at least we did it, and at least we're doing a little bit, we're managing a decline globally.

Is the UK equipped to handle the current climate emergency?

Alpesh Patel, a leading auth ority on investin

as the inaugural Command Warrant Officer to the United Kingdom Space Command. During his tenure, he also supported the Space Command Capability branch on SDA and Command and Control Systems delivery. In Mar 22, he was selected as the first RAF WO to attend the Command Senior Enlisted Staff Course at Baltic Defence College in Estonia. Subramaniam graduated with the Commandant’s Award for outstanding academics and leadership.

In Apr 23, he was appointed to his current role as Warrant Officer of the Royal Air Force.

Subramaniam was educated in Malaysia until the age of 19, he earned a Bachelor of Law and a Diploma in Higher Education in Finance and Legal Studies. He is currently studying for his Master in Business Administration Risk and Resilience at Buckinghamshire New University.

Subramaniam is married to a Civil Servant who is currently employed at Air Command as an SO2 in HQ Reserves. They have a teenage daughter and a lively cocker spaniel. He is an active member of a Charity Foundation and a compulsive reader who enjoys rugby, hockey and cricket.

A

sources global tech com panies that prov ide clim ate ch ange solutions, includ ing carbon capture

What has your experience of working with renewable energy and fighting for climate change policies helped you understand differently than a layman?

The speed at which the decline is accelerating, it was famously once said how did your demise occur? Somebody was asked and they said slowly at first and then very rapidly. And that's the issue with this and I think from the investment, my firm is made into biomass and wind turbines.

I think what I saw from the UK were two things which made me an optimist. One is obviously COP and, UK's leadership and pushing on that strongly. Secondly, in particular, credit goes to Alok Sharma there. I first met him when he was trying to be an MP about 13 years ago.

So thank goodness he got the seat. And the second thing that the UK has is it's actually shown, thankfully not relying on Russian fuel and therefore energy security and also just how much offshore wind can feed into the grid. We're already doing it. It's incredible. So really pleased with, and I think a lot of that goes both to the Blair government and Brown and David Cameron's government as well, which has been then carried on. So I don't want to make a partisan point. I think both governments, both major parties and the smaller ones are all on the same page.

RAF Voyager

Ikarus C42

The RAF are on a mission to reduce carbon emissions and achieve Net Zero by 2040.

Warrant Officer

Murugesvaran Subramaniam

The R AF Voyag er is an Airbus A330 plat for m va rian t conve rte d to a llow the RAF t o tra nsport passeng ers, fre ight a nd car ry out a ir to a ir refuellin g It is powere d en tire ly by 1 00% sustainable av ia tion fue l ( SAF), pa ving the way for a ra nge of possibilitie s for the future of fly in g militar y an d civ ilian aircra ft

Sustainable aviation fuel – which is made from waste-based sustainable feedstocks, such as used cooking oil – reduces lifecycle carbon emissions on average by up to 80% compared to the conventional jet fuel it replaces, this lessens the RAF’s reliance on global supply chains, and improves operational resilience.

In a world -first , an Ikarus C42 micro light aircr aft flo wn by Gro up Captain P et er Hac ket t comp let ed a sho rt flight p owered by synthetic gasoline at Cot swold Air port

Zero Petroleum’s synthetic UL91 fuel is manufactured by extracting hydrogen from water and carbon from atmospheric carbon dioxide. Using energy generated from renewable sources like wind or solar, these are combined to create the synthetic fuel.

This innovation is part of the RAF’s Project MARTIN and has the potential to save 80-90% of carbon per flight, supporting the RAF’s vision that synthetic fuels will have a major role in powering the fast jets of the future.

Alpesh Patel OBE

DrChamundeesw ari

Kup puswamy lead s interdisciplinary research into th e Global Economy at the Office o f the V iceChancellor at the University of Hertford shire Sh e is a Conveno r of th e Env ironmental Law and Biolaw Interest Group s at the Euro pean S ociety of Internatio nal Law

An international public lawyer and author of the book The International Legal Governance of the Human Genome, she has published several articles and policy reports in international law She has previously worked for the United Nations, and UNESCO, and currently works with the Hertfordshire Climate Change and Sustainability Partnership on the county s climate actions

A trained and qualified ranger from the Peak District National Park, England, Chamu is the recipient of various awards, including the

University of Sheffield

Centenary Achievement Award, the UK National Parks Volunteers award, and was listed in The Independent's Happy 100, for being one of the top hundred people in the UK for enhancing the lives of others (through diversity in the outdoors) She is a trustee of Mosaic Outdoors

What has your experience of working with academic research helped you understand differently than a layman?

Once an academic it is difficult to put myself in the shoes of a layperson! But I shall try There is a lot of material out there on climate change The first thing I learn as an academic, about climate change, is that a lot of lives have been lost to the impacts of climate change, but there is still a possibility for this not to continue happening in the future In other words, there is still reason for hope There still are credible policy pathways using technology, traditional knowledge and informal know-how to reverse global warming However, there are mistakes still being made and political manoeuvring happening which put hope in jeopardy Climate change is a global problem and for large countries to reduce their emissions they need new technologies to be transferred to them, not sold to them Climate change cannot be addressed by taking an aggressive market-based

approach Knowledge of communities is still not harnessed for climate solutions, and the non-inclusivity of knowledge is a huge problem The Paris Agreement refers to 'best possible knowledge', in an effort to be inclusive of knowledge systems but this is not being implemented

Do you think the UK is equipped to handle the current climate emergency?

The UK has a first-mover advantage - we were the first ones to create a legal framework through the climate change Act We saw a lot of action in COP26 under UK leadership We are equipped with technology and solutions, but we still have policy gaps to fill The UK Climate change committee has warned that for the period of 2033-2037, the UK might exceed the stipulated quota of CO2 equivalent emissions allowed from the UK This is not good news for our net zero target plans for 2050, and consequently not good for reducing our contribution to global warming We may be direct contributors to the predicted increase of up to 4-5 degrees Celsius, a very dangerous temperature for human life to thrive in You mention climate emergencymany local councils have declared climate emergencies but are without powers to directly address them, without central government legislation to go with it The UK will be fully equipped if this gap is filled

No one is safe from climate change

- from Oxford, UK to Copenhagen, Denmark, to raise awareness of the issues of climate change and poverty in advance of the UN conference on climate change in Copenhagen, COP15

In the more than a decade since his first walk to Copenhagen, he has taken almost 36 million steps and reached nearly 600,000 people directly

of possibility and promise for climate justice Many of them adapt to the situation within the limits of their ability Promises of help from rich nations and the historical polluters are yet to be redeemed

Syed Ahmed has over 20 years of experienc e working in the sus tai nable energy indus try with a foc us on dec entralised energy issues, and the role of cities and climate c hange He was worked for a diverse range of organ isations from the envi ronmental NGO sector

Pushp anat h

K rishna murth y is a re nowne d cl ima te change a ct ivist, who ha s sp ent th ree d eca des at the le ading e dg e o f d ev elo pment work a cross thr ee continents, wit h NG Os su ch a s Oxfa m a nd S av e t he Childr en, a nd a s a Senior Associate a t th e Ind ia n non-prof it org anisa tion, Centr e for Social Marke ts a nd Fa ir tra de work in Ind ia

He acquired legendary status for his pioneering work on campaigns, which allowed ordinary people to tell policymakers about their direct experiences of climate change

In December 2009, Pushpanath embarked on his first long walk - his ‘Walk for Climate Justice’

In late 2021 Push undertook a mammoth walk from London to Glasgow for COP26 This follows from his most recent walk over 13 days in Zambia prior to COP27

What is the biggest highlight of climate change that the world needs to worry about?

No place, no one, and no country is safe from climate change's fierce and unrelenting impact from floods, drought, fire, and cloud bursts to landslides The poorest people, especially women get hit first, worst and hardest

What has your experience of working as an activist helped you understand differently than a layman?

The unpredictability and fatal impact have affected those who have caused the least amount of damage Despite the negative impact even the most hurt reimagine a life

Excellent progress has also been made over the last decade

to i ndustry trade ass oc iations, and from the M ayor of London to the Departm en t of Energy and Climate

Change In 2 012 Syed established Energy for London, an independent research and campaigning organis ation to support London’ s journey to becoming a Net Z ero city

Syed is a Director of the All Party Parliamentary Renewable and Sustainable Energy Group (PRASEG), a Trustee for the national fuel poverty organisation National Energy Action (NEA), and a Board member of Solar Energy UK In 2017

he helped establish Community Energy London, where he is currently the Chair, and was also appointed by the Mayor of London as a Commissioner of the London Sustainable Development Commission Syed was awarded an OBE for his work in 2022

What has your experience of working with the sustainable energy industry helped you understand differently than a layman?

I think the public now has much greater awareness of the huge shift we are undergoing to the use of renewables to generate electricity to help combat climate change, but they may not fully recognise that we are only at the start of this transition

As we move to a more modern, efficient and cleaner energy system we will be employing many more technologies, especially in our towns and cities, from rooftop solar, to energy storage, to the use of heat pumps to support the development of a smarter and more flexible electricity system

In addition, this urgency to develop more ‘homegrown ’ renewable energy has

come under additional focus in the past 18 months as a result of the situation in Ukraine and the impact this has had on energy prices We need to understand that a greener energy system will also help deliver a more secure and cheaper energy system

Is the UK equipped to handle the current climate emergency?

The UK has set in place many of the key ‘building blocks’ to help the country respond to the challenge of the climate emergency, from introducing net zero legislation to creating a dedicated department on energy and climate policy Excellent progress has also been made over the last decade in terms of decarbonising our electricity supplies However, the pace of delivery in many other key areas remains unambitious, especially the

drive to make our homes and workplaces more energy efficient which, at the current pace of delivery, will take several hundred years to complete Also, much more needs to be done on decarbonising our heating supplies, adapting our environment to the impacts of climate change and supporting local authority action on reducing emissions

What can we as a community do to make sure we create a sustainable future for our offspring and their future generations to survive the climate crisis?

Many communities are already taking action to help reduce their climate impact

We are seeing hundreds of groups across the country install solar panels on their schools, community centres and places of worship, as

There is a window of opportunities for changing it Emission-driven growth is unsustainable and gas-plundered thus hurting the poorer nations, communities and women mist

Is the UK equipped to handle the current climate emergency?

Undoubtedly, we have the technology, and the resources, but no political will still support the fossil fuel lobby

What can we as a community do to make sure we create a sustainable future for our offspring and their future generations to survive the climate crisis?

On my walk from Croydon to Glasgow I met more than 6,000 people From upper crust to unemployed hosted me I found unlike in 2009 when I walked across Europe there is now greater awareness, realisation and actions Some councils even the poorer ones like Luton have declared a climate emergency

well as introducing programmes ranging from the provision of energy efficiency advice to households to delivering new green spaces or promoting alternatives to the use of cars

In London, the Mayor and an increasing number of boroughs are responding to the passion and drive that many communities have in wanting to see their neighbourhoods become greener and are providing support and funding to local initiatives We need to see much more of this collaboration between communities and policymakers to help unlock the full potential of local action As individuals, we can champion local projects to our councils, volunteer with local groups or promote them to family and friends And also invest in these projects when crowdfunding opportunities arise

Knowledge of communities is still not harnessed for climate solutions

Dr Chamundeeswari Kuppuswamy Pushpanath Krishnamurthy

Syed Ahmed OBE

Dear Financia

Voice Reader Alpesh Patel OBE

A journalis t f rom New Y ork contacte d me this pas t week

She wanted to write a whole ar tic le about what I am doing in s toc k s elec tion us ing AI The article was brilliant

AI Stocks Are Outperforming the Market in 2023 – My Pension Getting a Boost from These Stocks and AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most transformative technologies of our time, and it is having a major impact on the stock market In 2023, AI stocks are outperforming the market, with many of them posting double-digit gains

There are a number of reasons why AI stocks are doing so well First, AI is becoming increasingly pervasive in our lives AI is being used in a wide range of industries, from healthcare to finance to manufacturing As AI becomes more widespread, it is creating new opportunities for businesses and driving demand for AI-related products and services

Second, AI is becoming more powerful AI algorithms are getting better at learning and making decisions, which is leading to improved performance in a variety of tasks This is making AI more valuable to businesses, which is driving demand for AI-powered solutions

Third, AI is becoming more affordable The cost of developing and deploying AI solutions is declining, which is making AI more accessible to businesses of all sizes This is opening up new markets for AI and driving demand for AIrelated products and services

As AI continues to evolve and become more pervasive, it is likely that AI stocks will continue to outperform the market If you are looking for an investment that has the potential to generate strong returns, AI stocks could be a good option for you

Here are s ome of the top AI stocks t o watc h in 2 023:

Apple (AAPL): Apple is a leader in AI research and development, and it is using AI to power a wide range of products and services, including Siri, Face ID, and the Apple Watch

Amazon (AMZN): Amazon is another major player in the AI space The company is using AI to improve its e-commerce platform, its cloud computing services, and its logistics operations

Alphabet (GOOGL): Alphabet is the parent company of Google, which is one of the leading AI research labs in the world Google is using AI to power a wide range of products and services, including search, translation, and self-driving cars

Microsoft (MSFT): Microsoft is also investing heavily in AI The company is using AI to improve its productivity software, its cloud computing services, and its cybersecurity products

NVIDIA (NVDA): NVIDIA is a leading manufacturer of graphics processing units (GPUs), which are used to power AI applications The company is also developing its own AI software platform, called NVIDIA AI Enterprise

These are just a few of the many AI stocks that are available to investors If you are interested in investing in AI, it is important to do your research and select stocks that you believe have the potential to succeed

I asked AI the best stocks for my portfolio You can follow my experiment on Telegram and my Youtube for free: www alpeshpatel com/links

UK-India relationship thriving as number of Indian-owned companies in the UK hits new high

With the nin th round of n egot iation s on a Fr ee Trad e Agr ee ment be twe en In dia a nd the UK comple ted in A pril an d a posi tiv e a n no unce me nt of a n agr eeme nt a nticipat ed by ma ny before the en d of t he ye ar, ne w r esea rch from the 20 23 Gr an t Thor nton Ind ia me et s Brit ain Tr acker * finds tha t the number of Indian -owned compan ies ope rat ing in t he UK ha s re ached a record high of 954 – a sign ificant incre ase compa re d to 900 the prev ious y ear an d the highest numbe r ev er r ecorde d by t he re sear ch

This is the tenth annual edition of the Grant Thornton India meets Britain

T r a c k e r , d e v e l o p e d i n c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h t h e C o n f e d e r a t i o n o f I n d i a n Industry, which analyses the data of U K - i n c o r p o r a t e d l i m i t e d c o m p a n i e s that are either owned or controlled by Indian interests and has tracked the evolving ties between India and the UK for a decade

T h e r e s e a r c h f i n d s t h a t I n d i a nowned companies’ presence and contrib u t i o n t o t h e U K e c o n o m y h a v e i n c r e a s e d s i g n i f i c a n t l y s i n c e t h e research began in 2014: The number of companies qualifying for inclusion in the research has increased by almost one-third: from 700 in 2014 to 954 in 2023; The number of Indian-owned companies in the UK increased significantly compared to last year alone: 900 in 2022 research to 954 in 2023; The combined turnover of Indian-owned companies in the UK has more than doubled: from £19billion in 2014 to £50 5billion in 2023; The top Indianowned companies in the UK are significant employers in the market, consistently employing c 100,000 people over the last ten years

Commenting on the results, Anuj Chande, Head of South Asia Business Group, Grant Thornton UK LLP, said: “The number of Indian-owned companies operating in the UK remained at its highest level over the past 12 months, d e s p i t e b u s i n e s s e s a n d e c o n o m i e s worldwide still feeling the impact of the pandemic The increase in the number of companies compared to last year alone is remarkable, amidst ongoing operational challenges and rising costs

“This increasing presence in the UK is reflective of the growing relationship between the two countries, with the past decade witnessing ever-deepening ties between India and the UK Bilateral

Help2Let: Harrow Council is offering security and certainty to landlords

H undreds of landlo rds across London and beyo nd are already w o rk i ng wi t h H e lp 2 Le t, th e lettings agency ru n by Harro w Co unc il Help 2Let o ffers th e same service you ’ d exp ec t fro m any agenc y, but they do th ings a li tt le di f fe re nt ly – t h a t

i ncludes not c harging any fees

Talking about a new campaign, recently launched in Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar, the council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for Housing, Cllr Mina Parmar, explains, “Because Help2Let is run by a council, we ’ re not looking to make a profit from the landlords we work with - we just want to be able to house the people that come to us for help We don’t have enough council homes to meet this demand, so we work with private landlords to fill the gap ”

Cllr Parmar hopes to make more landlords aware of what’s on offer, “We know there are many challenges out there for landlords at the moment – increased costs and falling incomes, more and more regulations and changes to the law on evictions coming soon We can help We offer security and certainty That includes giving our landlords three months’ rent upfront and we

The North is the most popular region outside of London, with 20% of all Tracker companies located there This year, for the first time, the Tracker also includes a company headq u a r t e r e d i n N o r t h e r n Ireland

trade, for example, has more than doubled from £ 16 4 billion in 2013 to £ 35 9 billion in 2022 The UK continues to have an attractive offering for Indian investors with a common business language, access to high-quality education and strong brands all contributing to the pull of the UK to Indian business leaders The significant Indian diaspora here is also believed to have encouraged more Indian companies to look at the UK as their natural home ”

Fa st est gr owin g Indian -owned compan ies in the U K r eve aled

T h e r e s e a r c h a l s o i d e n t i f i e s t h e fastest growing Indian companies in the UK each year, measured by those with a turnover of more than £ 5 million, year-on-year revenue growth of at least 10% and a minimum two-year track record in the UK

Of the 954 companies included in the research, 79 met the qualifying criteria for appearing in the Tracker –more than double that of 2022 (37) This is the most companies that have met t h e q u a l i f y i n g g r o w t h c r i t e r i a s i n c e 2018, demonstrating the clear post-pandemic recovery that is now underway

The average annual revenue growth rate among the Tracker companies also almost doubled compared to last year (38%) to hit a record high of 71%

The three fastest growing companies in this year ’ s research by year-onyear revenue growth were: LT Foods

I n t e r n a t i o n a l L t d ( 8 0 7 % ) , S t J a m e s

Court Hotel Ltd (491%) and Reliance

Big Entertainment (UK) Private Ltd (364%) Over the past decade, 22 fastg r o w i n g I n d i a n - o w n e d c o m p a n i e s have featured in the Tracker at least five times, demonstrating the remarkable sustainable growth of Indian companies in the UK - Accord Healthcare Ltd and Secure Meters (UK) Ltd have both featured eight times Indian-owned comp anies start to lo ok beyo nd Londo n fo r growth

Tech no lo gy, media and telecommunicatio ns remain sector of ch oice

Technology, media and telecommunications companies continue to dominate the Tracker, recording an average growth rate of 51% and making up 24% of the fastest-growing Indianowned companies in the UK This is followed by engineering and manufacturing (23%) and pharmaceuticals and chemicals companies (15%)

Anuj Chande added: “This year ’ s Tracker has the highest number of c o m p a n i e s q u a l i f y i n g f o r i n c l u s i o n since 2018 The significant increase from just 37 companies in our 2022 research to 79 this year, demonstrates the impact the pandemic had on many businesses and the recovery that is now taking place as businesses return to achieving strong revenue growth “ T h e a n t i c i p a t e d U K - I n d i a F r e e Trade Agreement, expected to be concluded this year, will likely be a platform for further growth in the Indian footprint in the UK And with the Indian economy forecast to become the third largest in the world by 2030, we expect to see a further boost to t w o - w a y t r a d e a n d i n v e s t m e n t between India and the UK moving forward ”

Also commenting on the research, Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), said: “Indian companies are key participants in the UK economy, both in terms of investment and in terms of trade The 10th Grant Thornton-CII report shows that the UK remains a t o p m a r k e t f o r I n d i a n b u s i n e s s e s , against the backdrop of recent global economic developments, and attests to t h e c l o s e e c o n o m i c p a r t n e r s h i p between the two countries

actually underwrite the rent

p a y m e n t s , w h i c h m e a n s a guaranteed income even when between tenants ”

“At a time when the lettings market has never been more uncertain, we think that all adds up to a pretty attractive package ” She added

Full proper ty m ana geme nt se rvice to La ndlords

Cllr Mina Parmar says, “Landlords working with Help2Let get a full property management service, including regular inspections In our T e n a n t F i n d i n g S c h e m e , L a n d l o r d s g e t f i n a l approval on prospective tenants and for added peace of mind, we also cover them for any damage caused by tenants or their visitors, excluding wear and tear ”

“We also help landlords whose property needs work to get it market-ready – that can include things like a boiler replacement Work with Help2Let to bring your property up to standard and you could access a grant of up to £15,000 ”

Says Cllr Parmar

(Speak to Help2Let’s property experts to find out more – call 020 8424 1605 or visit help2let co uk )

While London remains the preferred location in the UK - with 35 of the 79 companies in this year ’ s Tracker headquartered in the capital - as in last year ’ s research, many Indian-owned companies are starting to look beyond London for growth opportunities and those located outside of the capital now account for more than 50% of the total

“The rise in participation of Indian companies is a big step forward and we believe that the UK will continue to be a p r e f e r r e d d e s t i n a t i o n f o r I n d i a n companies seeking opportunities in Europe This report is an important initiative that reinforces the contribution of Indian companies to the UK economy, in terms of investment and i n p r o v i d i n g e m p l o y m e n t T h e C I I looks forward to the early conclusion o f t h e U K - I n d i a F r e e T r a d e A g r e e m e n t , w h i c h w o u l d t a k e t h i s relationship to the next level and bring significant benefits to both sides ”

Bank of England is concerned about home buyers with 100% mortgages

B ank o f E ng land Go v ernor A nd rew

Bailey is concerned abou t quite a few p roblem s that c an ari se from 1 00 % m ortgages being offered at no d eposit d em and The w arning co mes in as the bank raised interest rates again S k i p t o n ’ s 1 0 0 % m o r t g a g e p o l i c y requires borrowers to show that they have had 12 months of on- time rental payments and a good credit history Unlike many other no deposit deals, this deal doesn’t require any guarantor According to Skipton, the deal will help cover the “ gap in the market”, given the fact that the cost- of- living crisis has made it very difficult for first time buyers to save up The zero- deposit policy, however,

was one of the contributing factors behind the 2008 financial crisis where borrowers weren’t able to afford their repayments The rate for Skipton’s latest 100% mortgage deal is 5 49% which is more expensive as compared to the current average five- year fixed deal of 5% The increased interest rates have increased the mortgage rates which also has many borrowers struggling T h e i n c r e a s e d i n t e r e s t r a t e w i l l have some mortgage holders see an i m m e d i a t e i n c r e a s e i n t h e i r r e p a yments as well The governor, on the other hand, is optimistic about the economic growth the country will likely see this year and has predicted that UK will avoid recession

Anuj Chande Chandrajit Banerjee

Go First gets bankruptcy protection

Go First was g iven bankruptcy protection by t h e Nat io n al C o m p a ny L aw T ri b un al 's ( NC LT) New Delhi court, g iving the nation's third-largest carrier a chance at surviv al In o rder to take ov er th e administration and board of Go First, it has recru ited A bhilash L a l o f A lv a rez & M ars al as th e i nt eri m reso lution p rofessio nal

It also directed the company ’ s suspended board to cooperate with Lal to ensure there are no employee layoffs Go First, founded by textile tycoon Nusli Wadia, has 7,000 staff

It also mandated a halt to all leases and assets of the carrier Go First has found the biggest relief from NCLT's prohibition on "recovery of any property by an owner or lessor, where such property is occupied by or in the possession of the corporate debtor "

A big lessor, SBMC Aviation Capital, is learned to have already challenged this order in NCLAT and others could do the same Go First has 55 aircraft in its fleet The airline h a d b l a m e d U S e n g i n e m a k e r P r a t t &

Whitney for its financial crisis, which led it to file for bankruptcy protection

After the resolution professional takes charge of Go First’s affairs, he will have to call for claims from creditors for the purpose o f c o n s t i t u t i o n o f t h e c o m m i t t e e o f creditors, said Dhir and Dhir Associates’ a s s o c i a t e p a r t n e r A s h i s h P y a s i “Simultaneously, he will have to ensure that the company remains a going concern and business operations continue so that there is a maximisation of value of assets '' Pyasi said the resolution professional will also have to expedite the other process related steps so that resolution plans can be called at the earliest

Adani groups seek to raise $2.5bn via shares issue

T w o A d ani G ro u p c om p ani es w i ll is s ue sh ares in an effort to raise up to $2 5bn, they said in stock exch ange filing s, in a sig n that the comp any is seeking to return to business as u su al after the accusations by New Yorkbased Hindenburg Research in January

The market turmoil it triggered forced the group to call off a $2 4bn stock offering by flag ship company Adani Enterprises as its share price plunged At the worst point in the market rout, Adani’s combined stock lost about $150bn in value Its share price has since rallied, although it remains well below its pre-sell off level

The board of Adani Enterprises, which includes Adani’s coal trading and airport businesses passed a plan to raise $1 5bn by selling shares The Adani Transmission also a p p r o v e d a n R s 8 5 b n r a i s e S i n c e

Hindenburg published its report, Adani has tried to reassure investors by cutting down debt, including paying back $2 65bn of sharebacked loans, and holding off on non core investment This week Adani Group said that capital expenditure “in new areas of investment, outside the core, is being reevaluated in the short term”

A $1 9bn secondary share sale to USbased investment firm GQG Partners in early March helped boost its stock price In q u a r t e r l y e a r n i n g s t h i s m o n t h , A d a n i Enterprises reported profits after tax had more than doubled to $95mn on the same period last year But last week global index provider MSCI dropped Adani Transmission a n d A d a n i T o t a l G a s , A d a n i ’ s c i t y g a s business with France’s Total Energies, from its India equities bench mark

Fitch maintains BBB rating for India, sees 6% growth in FY24

India's s overei gn rating was mai ntained at B B B ( ne g at i v e) by i n t er n a ti on a l ra t i ng agency Fitch, with a s table outlook I t stated that while India has managed to navigate the s igni ficant external shocks over the last y ear wi th the help of s trengths from a robus t growth outlook compared to peers and resi li ent external finances, inadequate publi c finances c ontinue to be a challenge

“We forecast India to be one of the f a s t e s t - g r o w i n g F i t c h - r a t e d s o v e r e i g n s globally at 6% in the fiscal year ending March 2024 (FY24), supported by resilient investment prospects Still, headwinds from elevated inflation, high interest rates and subdued global demand, along with fading pandemic induced pent-up demand, will slow growth from our FY23 estimate of 7%

before rebounding to 6 7% by FY25,” Fitch Ratings said The lowest investment grade rating for I n d i a i s l i k e w i s e h e l d b y o t h e r r a t i n g agencies including S&P and Moody s, with a stable outlook The rating agencies' decision will increase positive sentiment and lower the cost of borrowing for businesses Fitch s a i d a s t r o n g g r o w t h p o t e n t i a l i s a k e y s u p p o r t i n g f a c t o r f o r t h e s o v e r e i g n r a t i n g “ G r o w t h p r o s p e c t s h a v e b r i g h t e n e d a s t h e p r i v a t e s e c t o r a p p e a r s p o i s e d f o r s t r o n g e r investment growth following the improvement of corporate and bank balance sheets in the past f e w y e a r s , s u p p o r t e d b y t h e g o v e r n m e n t ’ s infrastructure drive Still, risks remain given low labour force participation rates and an uneven reform implementation record,” said the agency

Hyundai to invest £2 bn more in TN over 10 years

Hyundai, a m ajo r car m anufacturer in South Korea, said th at it w ould invest £2 billion in T am il Nad u o ver a ten-year p erio d T h e auto m aker, w h ich h as a M em o rand um o f U nd erstand ing (M oU) w ith the state g overnment, stated th at th e investm ent w ill beg in w ith the construction of an electric vehicle (EV) battery pack manu facturing facility with a 178,0 00 u nit annual capacity, which w ill start operations in a year and add 50 0 jobs

“The investment shows our commitment to the India market and the state of Tamil Nadu We will create employment and support the EV industry in India as well as the hydrogen ecosystem when it comes in the future,” said Hyundai India MD & CEO Unsoo Kim

The investment will include model spend for both electric as well internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, increase in production volume for both electric and ICE cars, and investment in charging infrastructure (apart from the battery pack assembly unit) It will help make Hyundai’s Irungattukottai plant on the outskirts of Chennai “ a hub for e-mobility and EV manufacturing” as well as a “supply centre for regional exports”, said Puneet Anand, associate VP (corporate affairs), Hyundai India

“We are building an integrated end-to-end EV battery pack assembly base in Tamil Nadu and we are expanding and developing our vendor base by adding new vendors for EV to localise the line,” he added

Avoiding the land mines

Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

M any deals, especially development ones, are held in a company There are many tax b enefi ts for holding a property in this manner

We are looking at a deal where the clients have held a property for about 38 years, they happen to own their business as well as the property in the same limited c o m p a n y N o t i d e a l I d e a l l y , t h i n g s should have been kept cleaner by keeping the business in a separate company But it is what it is

By selling the company the owners would benefit from business asset disposal relief, formerly known as entrepreneur’s relief This means the owners, if they qualify, would only need to pay 10% on their gain

It is no wonder then the property is not being sold, it is the company which owns the asset which is being sold, a share sale

In purchasing, there is a benefit in stamp duty, which only comes to half a percent However, the company will be pregnant with a capital gains liability, if t h e p r o p e r t y w a s e v e r s o l d b y t h e company, the capital gains liability would be massive

T h e r e f o r e , y o u a r e f i n a n c i a l l y restricted to selling only the company on again, when the time for disposal comes

There are various creative ways of n e u t r a l i s i n g a c a p i t a l g a i n w i t h i n t h e company, but this is not straight forward The other point of consideration is when you purchase a company you inherit all the potential liabilities Therefore, a lot of work needs to be done by the lawyers to ensure this is cordoned off properly

I f t h i s t r a n s a c t i o n g o e s a h e a d w e w o u l d l o o k t o b e u s i n g a f i r m w h o specialises in share purchases to ensure we do not inherit any time bombs Currently, we are in negotiation regarding the price Unfortunately, as it happens, previously an offer was made, accepted and then they didn’t perform This has meant, rightly or w r o n g l y , t h i s f i g u r e h a s s t u c k i n t h e vendors’ heads Either in time they will come down, or the purchaser will come up to their level We will keep tracking the deal, and keep nudging the agent Time will tell

On another topic, we have a smaller deal which was being purchased by our client In the last moment, the vendor managed to get repossessed, not by a ghost but by the lender The property then disappeared from our client clutches, but has now reappeared in the auctions This s c e n a r i o i s a d é j à v u o f a s i m i l a r transaction which we had exchanged on many moons ago The property consisted of a block of five flats which we purchased from auction for £1 1M and then promptly sold on for £1 3M; without ever having to complete the deal The salient point here is the property was sold with unknown tenancies However, we had managed to obtain information that these were all A S T s , h e n c e , w e a c t e d a n d t o o k t h e decision to purchase

This flat has a similar concern, the p r o p e r t y i s b e i n g s o l d w i t h t e n a n c i e s unknown by the receivers, often the case with repossessions Therefore, I expect this flat will go for a fraction of what it is worth We would be looking for at least a 30% discount; rare to obtain at this level

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20 AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly www.asian-voice.com 20 - 26 May 2023

Imran gets 2-week reprieve from arrest in graft cases

I SL AM A B AD : Former Pakis ta n pr i m e m i n i s t er I m r a n K h a n was released on bail an d gi ve n protection from arrest i n a c orruption c ase b y a high c ourt i n Islama bad The ruling came as the government and legions of Kh a n ’ s s up po r te r s w e r e o n edge a fter days of vi olent conf ro n t a ti o n s s p a r k ed b y t h e a rr e s t o f t he f or m e r p ri m e mini ster earlier this week

The government has vowed it will find a way to take Khan back into custody, a move that would likely cause a resurgence

of riots and mob attacks

T h e r u l i n g b y t h e Islamabad HC gave Khan protection from arrest on one of s e v e r a l c o r r u p t i o n c a s e s against him for a period of two weeks, a form of interim bail that usually is renewed in the Pakistan judicial system Khan, h o w e v e r , r e m a i n e d i n t h e court after the decision as his lawyers petitioned the judges f o r s i m i l a r p r o t e c t i o n i n a number of other graft charges, t r y i n g t o c l o s e o f f a l e g a l avenue for the government to

arrest him again

K h a n ’ s l a w y e r , B a b a r

Awan, said the PTI chief's “ l i f e i s e n d a n g e r e d a n d that there are people who fear that if Khan is released, their jobs will be at risk A short while later, the court said Khan could not be arrested for the time being in other pending corruption cases against him

“They had no justification to arrest me I was abducted It seems as if there was a law of the jungle,” Khan said According to the authori-

First Bollywood film draws large crowds to Bangladeshi theatres

DHA K A : Thou sands o f people flocked to cinem as in Bangladesh to watch Shah Rukh K han’s 'P athaan' – th e first Hind i film to be released in the country in mo re th an 50 years F o l l o w i n g a t t a i n i n g i n d e p e n d e n c e i n 1971, Dhaka enacted a ban on foreign films to safeguard the domestic entertainment sector The Sheikh Hasina administration chose to permit the commercial showing of up to 10 foreign films this year, nevertheless

The 48 venues that hosted the release of the star-studded, action-packed spy thriller will host nearly 200 shows daily Despite being available on OTT platforms, all the shows for the first two days were sold out in a d v a n c e o f t h e r e l e a s e , l o c a l d i s t r i b u t o r

Action-Cut Entertainment said

The film directed by Siddharth Anand also stars other top Bollywood actors such as Deepika Padukone, Salman Khan and John Abraham

Ahead of the film’s release, Yash Raj Films’s Nelson D’Souza, said: “Cinema has a l w a y s b e e n a u n i f y i n g f o r c e b e t w e e n

nations, races, and cultures It transcends borders, galvanises people and plays a significant hand in bringing people together We are incredibly thrilled that Pathaan, which has done historic business worldwide, will now get a chance to entertain audiences in Bangladesh ”

Sazzad Hossain, 18, said he was “excited” to watch a Hindi film in Bangladesh cinema for the first time “We are all Shah Rukh Khan fans For the first time, I’ll watch Shah Rukh Khan on a giant screen ”

Cinemagoers were seen dancing in front of the big screen to the catchy tunes of the film's popular songs

Nepal police detain 10 Indians for illegally acquiring citizenship cards

K A T H M A N D U : T en I n d i an n a ti on a l s , i ncluding three women, have b een arrested for allegedly acquiring Nepali ci ti zenshi p c a rd s i ll eg all y b y pr oduc i n g fa ke d oc uments, police said

The Indian nationals, who are all from Bihar, were captured in various locations throughout Kathmandu by a squad from the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation O f f i c e , a c c o r d i n g t o D e p u t y

Superintendent of Police Ravindra Regmi

Of those arrested, seven were males, while three were females The Kathmandu Valley Police Office revealed their identities at a press conference According to Regmi, it was discovered that Indian nationals used

forged documents to get Nepali citizenship certificates from the district administration offices in the Rupandehi, Bara, and Parsa districts on various dates

Police said those arrested have lived in Nepal for a long time, some since as far back as 2006, The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported After a three-month investigation, the police made the arrests

According to a newspaper report, those detained ran sweet stores in Nepal and were involved in the production of sweets Nepali citizenship certificates, voter identity cards, Indian passports and Aadhar cards were also seized from those arrested, police said

p r o m o t e s m o b v i o l e n c e F o l l o w i n g h i s i m p

r i s o n m e n t , his supporters stormed military facilities, set fire to cars, ambulances, and general stores across t h e n a t i o n A s a r e s u l t , t h e authorities launched a crackdown and detained nearly 3,000 people

India extends $1bn credit line for Lanka by one year

C O LO MB O : A Sri Lankan o fficial s tated that I ndia has extended a $1bn credit l ine fo r Sri Lanka by one year, giving th e crisis-h it isl and nation a backu p inf usion of dol lars fo r es sential imp orts

The credit line is a part of about $4bn in emergency assistance extended by India during the peak of Sri Lanka’s financial crisis early last year It was scheduled to end in March

After the negotiations, the credit line was e x t e n d e d u n t i l M a r c h 2 0 2 4 , S r i L a n k a ’ s D e p u t y T r e a s u r y S e c r e t a r y P r i y a n t h a

Rathnayake said

“There is about $350m left of the credit line that can be utilised as and when needed,” h e s a i d H e a d d e d , “ H o w e v e r , g i v e n t h e increase of foreign exchange availability in the market, the need is not as keen as it was last year ” The announcement came as Sri Lanka’s creditor nations are preparing for their first meeting later to coordinate the restructuring of the nation’s debt The focus is turning to whether China will attend

The online meeting will be held within a new framework launched in Washington, DC in April that creditors hope will serve as a model to resolve the debt difficulties of middle-income economies

Japan, which initiated the launch together with India and France, has invited all bilateral creditors, including the largest, China, though J a p a n e s e o f f i c i a l s s a i d i t w a s u n c e r t a i n whether it would join the talks

L a s t m o n t h , F r a n c e , I n d i a a n d J a p a n unveiled a common platform for talks among bilateral creditors to coordinate the restructuring of Sri Lanka’s debt

Pak rupee hits record low of 300 per US dollar

K A R A C H I : T h e U S d o ll a r cros sed th e 300 rup ee th resho ld fo r the first time in P akistan's h i st o r y a s t h e c as h - s t ra p p e d n a ti o n ex p e ri e nc e d p o l i ti c al u nrest fo llowing the detention o f former P M Imran K han The K arachi Stock Exchange and the cu rrency market both s howed clear signs of the unstable po liti cal situatio n in th e co untry

in brief

INDIAN ORIGIN CONFIRMED AS AMBASSADOR AT LARGE

Indian American Geeta Rao Gupta has been confirmed by the US Senate as the Ambassador at Large for Global Women s Issues in the State Department In a tweet the department expressed interest in her work to advance women s and girls rights through US foreign policy By a vote of 51 to 47 the US Senate confirmed Geeta According to Geeta there are many inequities and indignities that women suffer around the world which hold them back from participating fully in the economy "In situations of conflict and emergencies and humanitarian crises they are particularly vulnerable, both in terms of their safety but also in terms of their being able to look after their families and feed their families," she said during her confirmation hearing

NEPAL LAWMAKER STRIPS IN THE HOUSE

An agitated Nepalese lawmaker took off his shirt in the House of Representatives for not being allowed to speak amid a heated discussion over the fake refugee scam that apparently involves top former home ministry officials Nepal police are investigating the scam related to the trafficking of Nepalese nationals as Bhutanese refugees abroad

Amaresh Singh an independent lawmaker took off his shirt as Speaker Devraj Ghimire did not allot a slot for him to speak at the beginning of the meeting Ghimire warned him of action if he did not behave properly in the House Following the warning, Singh put his shirt back on

SHERPA CLIMBS EVEREST 26TH TIME

A Nepali sherpa guide climbed Mount Everest for the 26th time, hiking officials said, becoming the world s second person to achieve the feat Pasang Dawa Sherpa, 46, stood atop the 8,849-m (29 032-ft) peak, sharing the record number of summits with Kami Rita Sherpa, said Bigyan Koirala, a government tourism official If he reaches the summit, Kami Rita, who is currently climbing Everest, could break yet another record Pasang Dawa reached the top with a Hungarian client, said an official of his employer “They are descending from the top now and are in good shape,” the official said

6 MILITANTS, 7 SOLDIERS KILLED IN PAK RAID

a c c u s e d t h e b a n k s o f a g a i n using the deepening political crisis to make money “unlawfully”

A raid on militants in Pakistan s southwest in response to an earlier attack on soldiers left seven troops, six militants and a civilian dead, the army said The operation continued for two days after a group of militants attacked a camp of soldiers in the Qila Saifullah district of northern Balochistan province The militants also held hostage three families including women and children at the residential area of the army camp the army said No group immediately claimed responsibility for that attack A statement by the military’s media wing said seven soldiers six militants and a civilian were killed in the ensuing raid A woman was also wounded during the operation

YOUTUBER FACES 20 YEARS’ JAIL FOR STAGED PLANE CRASH

our history and just shows how much impact the ongoing violent protests are having on the economy, ” Zafar Bostan of the

a k i s t

g

risen by eight rupees or 1 8% and was available at 292 rupee and when the markets opened next day the downslide continued with the rupee rapidly losing more value to the dollar P a r a c h a c u r r e n c y e x c h a n g e

in brief California state senate passes bill to ban caste-based discrimination

14-YEAR-OLD SHOT IN US WHILE PLAYING

A 14-year-old girl was shot and wounded over the weekend while playing hide and-seek in Louisiana police said - the latest in a tragic series of similar US shootings The incident occurred in the town of Starks in Texas, the sheriff’s office said Officers called to the scene found a teenage girl “suffering from a gunshot wound to the back of her head , though she was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries” After investigating police learned that several young people were “playing hide and seek in the area and were hiding on the neighbour’s property”

EGYPT, QATAR HELPED BROKER CEASEFIRE IN GAZA STRIP

Egypt and Qatar played a major role in achieving the latest ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip Palestinian sources said The sources said the unofficial ceasefire has reached thanks to mediation efforts by Egyptian and Qatari officials after the Palestinian factions launched dozens of rockets at Israel in response to the death of senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad official Khader Adnan in Israeli custody after an 86day hunger strike The Egyptians and Qataris exerted heavy pressure on Hamas and Islamic Jihad to avoid all-out war, the sources said

CHINESE APPEALS IN FIGHT FOR RIGHT TO FREEZE HER EGGS

An unmarried Chinese woman began her final appeal of a hospital s denial of access to freeze her eggs five years ago in a landmark case of female reproductive rights in the country Teresa Xu s case has drawn broad coverage in China, including by some state media outlets since she first brought her case to court in 2019 She lost her legal challenge last year at another Beijing court In China the law does not explicitly ban unmarried people from services like fertility treatments and simply states that a “husband and wife” can have up to three children But hospitals and other institutions implement the regulations that requires people to present a marriage license

VIETNAM TO DEMAND SOCIAL MEDIA USERS VERIFY IDENTITIES

Vietnam plans to ask all social media users on platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and TikTok to verify their identities citing the need to combat online scams The nation has one of the highest online fraud rates in Asia with financial identity and romantic scams particularly common But social media restrictions are also used by the communist state to curb freedom of expression and government critics with online followings are regularly targeted No details were shared about the potential punishments for breaking this law

CAL IF OR NI A: In a momentou s vo te that could make California th e f i rs t s t at e t o c ri m in a li s e c as te - b as e d p r ej u d i ce , t h e

California Senate passed a bill th at wo uld clearly fo rbid caste disc riminatio n by a wide margin Last month, the legislatio n wa s i n tr o du ce d b y S en at o r Ai sha Wah ab, the first Muslim and Afgh an-American elected to th e state legislatu re

Passed by 34-1 vote, the bill –SB 403 - would make California the first US state to add caste as a protected category in its antidiscrimination laws Promoters of the bill, being led by non-

profit Equality Lab, said that a similar bill is being introduced i n t h e s t a t e ’ s H o u s e o f Representatives, before it can be s e n t t o t h e g o v e r n o r t o b e signed into a law The Unruh Civil Rights Act,

Jury finds Trump liable for sexual abuse, awards accuser $5 mn

NEW YORK: A jury awarded $5 millio n to advice writer E Jean Carro ll after finding Donald Trump gui lty of sexu ally abusing her in 1996 T his verdict might fo llo w th e former pres ident as h e runs for re-electio n

The jury reached a divided decision, rejecting Carroll's allegation of being raped and holding Trump accountable for less s e v e r e s e x u a l m i s c o n d u c t T h e v e r d i c t increases Trump's legal problems and provides Carroll with reassurance after years of Trump mocking and denying her claims

S h e n o d d e d a s t h e v e r d i c t w a s announced in a New York City federal courtroom only three hours after deliberations had begun, then hugged supporters and smiled through tears As the courtroom cleared, Carroll could be heard laughing and crying

Additionally, the jury determined that Trump was accountable for Carroll's claims of defamation When the verdict was read at the civil trial, Trump was not there Trump immediately lashed out on his social media site, claiming that he does not know Carroll and referring to the verdict as “ a disgrace” and “ a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time ” He promised to appeal

Trump’s lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, shook hands with Carroll and hugged her lawyer, R o b e r t a K a p l a n , a f t e r t h e v e r d i c t w a s announced Outside the courthouse, he told reporters the jury’s rejection of the rape claim while finding Trump responsible for sexual abuse was “perplexing” and “strange ”

“Part of me was obviously very happy that Donald Trump was not branded a r a p i s t , ” h e s a i d H e d e f e n d e d T r u m p ’ s a b s e n c e , c i t i n g t h e t r i a l ’ s “ c i r c u s a t m os p h e r e ” H e s a i d h a v i n g T r u m p t h e r e “ w o u l d b e m o r e o f a c i r c u s ” T a c o p i n a added: “What more can you say other than ‘I didn’t do it’?”

In a written statement, Kaplan said the verdict proved nobody is above the law, “not even the president of the United States ”

Lawmaker tables bill to end country quota for Green Card in US

W A S H I N G T O N : T h e c o u ntr y- qu o ta f o r g reen cards has been elim inated, and th e h ighly d esired H-1B visa system has been m odified, accord ing to th e Citizenship Act, w h ic h w as s u bm i t ted b y th e ru li n g Democratic party W i t h t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f t h e U S Citizenship Act 2023 by Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, all 11 million undocumented immigrants would have an earned path to citizenship, while Dreamers, TPS recipients, and select farmworkers will have an automatic route to citizenship It also stands to provide the undocumented immigrants who pass background checks and pay taxes with a five-year path to citizenship without fear of

deportation It proposes to make changes to the employment based immigration system by eliminating per-country caps

The Act aims to improve access to green cards for employees in lower-wage industries, give dependents of H-1B holders work authorization, and stop children of H-1B holders from ageing out of the system It also aims to make it simpler for STEM advanced degree holders from US colleges to remain It eliminates discrimination facing LGBTQ+ families, provides protection for orphans, and allows immigrants with approved family-sponsorship petitions to join family in the US on a temporary basis while they wait for green cards

w h i c h s t a t e s t h a t everyone in California is entitled to full and e q u a l a c c o m m o d ations, benefits, facilities, privileges, or serv i c e s i n a l l b u s i n e s s enterprises, is amended by the bill to include c a s t e a s a p r o t e c t e d class The bill provides e x p l i c i t p r o t e c t i o n s t o t h o s e w h o h a v e b e e n s y s t e m i c a l l y harmed due to caste bias and prejudice It also provides firm l e g a l c o n s e q u e n c e s f o r t h o s e seeking to avoid responsibility or ramifications for permitting

o r p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n c a s t e d i sc r i m i n a t i o n a n d c a s t e - b a s e d violence

D e e l i p M h a s k e o f F o u n d a t i o n F o r H u m a n Horizon said: “This is a win for the Indian Constitution framed by Dr B R Ambedkar’s equality p r i n c i p l e ” I n d i a n - A m e r i c a n M u s l i m C o u n c i l e x e c u t i v e director Rasheed Ahmed said:

“ W e u r g e t h e C a l i f o r n i a Assembly to pass this bill witho u t d e l a y , a n d f o r G o v e r n o r Gavin Newsom to sign it into law We also call on other states and the US Congress to follow its lead

Gujarati student found dead in Toronto

T O R O N T O : T w o d a y s af ter he w ent mis si ng, the b od y of Ayus h Dan khara , 23, a n ative of Bhavn agar w h o w a s s t u d y i n g i n Toron to, h as found A yush had gone mis sin g on May 5 a n d hi s b od y w a s fo un d t w o d a y s l a t e r b e l ow a b ridge in Toronto Ayush was the second s t u d e n t f r o m G u j a r a t studying at York University in Toronto to pass away in q u e s t i o n a b l e c i r c u ms t a n c e s i n l e s s t h a n a month On April 16, the body of Ahmedabad-based s t u d e n t H a r s h P a t e l w a s discovered N a r a n D a n k h a r a , A y u s h ’ s u n c l e , s a d t h a t

Ayush had completed his studies till Class XII from Gandhinagar and headed to York University for a B a c h e l o r o f E n g i n e e r i n g d e g r e e i n C o m p u t e r Science “He was living in a s h a r e d a p a r t m e n t o n Lawrence Avenue (West) in T o r o n t o H i s r o o m m a t e informed my brother on May 6 that Ayush had not come home for one day He c o u l d n o t b e c o n t a c t e d d e s p i t e s e v e r a l a t t e m p t s a n d a s e a r c h f o r h i m began,” he said The body was discove r e d o n M a y 7 u n d e r a bridge owing to a formal m i s s i n g p e r s o n ' s r e p o r t filed with the 55th Division

of Toronto Police A photograph confirmed that the d e c e a s e d w a s A y u s h T o f i n i s h t h e p r o c e s s a n d b r i n g b a c k h i s m o r t a l remains for his final rites, his father took a flight to Canada “ T h e p l a c e w h e r e t h e body was found is a bit of a d e s o l a t e s p o t H i s p h o n e w a s m i s s i n g , w h i c h w a s active for a few days even t h o u g h n o b o d y w o u l d answer it We sent a few messages which were seen by someone It is too early to say what might have happened Our focus is now on the last rites We trust the police investigation,” said Naran Dankhara

Biden to host Modi on June 22 on PM’s 1st official state visit

On June 22, Prime Min ister Na rendr a Modi wil l ma ke his f ir s t off ic ia l s t a t e vi si t t o Wa shingt on D C aft er nine y e a r s a t t h e he l m du r i n g which time he has routinely made a nnual tr ips to t he US B o t h W h i t e H o u s e a n d I n d i a ’ s m i n i s t r y o f e x t e r n a l a f f a i r s i s s u e d d i f f e r e n t l y worded statements formally a n n o u n c i n g t h e s t a t e v i s i t , w h i c h i s c o n s i d e r e d t h e highest expression of friendly b i l a t e r a l r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n t w o s o v e r e i g n n a t i o n s , t y p i c a l l y c l o s e a l l i e s o r partners It generally includes pomp, ceremony, reception, and a swish state dinner

I n a s t a t e m e n t , t h e Indian government said that M o d i w i l l v i s i t t h e U S following an invitation from President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden This will be Modi’s sixth visit to the US since taking over as PM in 2014 The two leaders are also expected to meet at the G 7 a n d Q u a d s u m m i t meetings later this month in H i r o s h i m a a n d S y d n e y ,

respectively

The Indian side said that the two leaders would reflect on their shared vision for a free, open and inclusive Indo P a c i f i c a n d d i s c u s s opportunities to expand and c o n s o l i d a t e t h e Q u a d engagement President Biden, who is k e e n t o u p g r a d e a l r e a d y strong ties with India, has h o s t e d t w o s t a t e d i n n e r s during his term - for French P r e s i d e n t E m m a n u e l Macron in December 2022 a n d f o r S o u t h K o r e a n President Yoon Suk Yeol last

month The last Indian PM to attend a state dinner at t h e W h i t e H o u s e w a s D r Manmohan Singh in 2009 d u r i n g t h e O b a m a presidency “The upcoming visit will affirm the deep and c l o s e p a r t n e r s h i p b e t w e e n the United States and India a n d t h e w a r m b o n d s o f family and friendship that link Americans and Indians together,” the White House s a i d i n a s t a t e m e n t a n n o u n c i n g t h e v i s i t , invoking a personal peoplet o - p e o p l e e l e m e n t t o t h e trip

BJD to contest 2024 LS polls on its own: Patnaik

N av e en P at nai k , Od is h a ch ief minister and p resident o f the Biju Janata Dal ( BJD), said h is p arty would co ntest t h e 2 0 2 4 L o k S a bh a e le ct io n s o n i ts o w n a s a lw a ys He m a d e th e c o m m ent s t w o d ays af ter m eet in g Ni ti s h Ku m ar, J D(U) presid ent and Bihar ch ief minister, wh o was in Bhubaneswar as part of his e ffo rt to c reate a u ni fi ed o p p o s i ti o n f ro n t fo r th e 20 24 elections

A s k e d i f B J D w o u l d c o n t e s t t h e L S e l e c t i o n s alone, Patnaik said, “That has always been the case ”

He added that he had no plan of meeting any other l e a d e r d u r i n g h i s t r i p t o Delhi On his meeting with Nitish, Patnaik said,“It was a courtesy call, he paid a visit I t w e n t o f f w e l l ” A s k e d about the possibility of a ‘ t h i r d f r o n t ’ e m e r g i n g , h e said, “ No, not as far as I'm concerned, not now ”

Patnaik and Nitish had s a i d t h a t n o d i s c u s s i o n s were held on any political alliance between JD(U) and BJD for the 2024 elections

W h i l e t h e B J D h a s consistently kept a distance from any alliance led by the

Congress, it has also avoided t h e B J P - l e d N D A s i n c e i t exited the coalition in 2009, just before the Lok Sabha elections, ending an 11-year relationship with the saffron party Patnaik has been at the helm in Odisha since 2000 and his BJD is among those regional parties, which have maintained a neutral stand on issues on which BJP and the opposition parties have clashed However, BJD has on many occasions bailed out the Modi government in P a r l i a m e n t b y s u p p o r t i n g bills and issues

Gujaratis cite ‘political persecution’ for seeking asylum in US

A growing number of Gujaratis are seeking a s y l um i n th e U S, c i t i n g po li t i c a l an d c o m mu n i ty - b a s ed p er s e c ut i on a s th ei r primary grounds This surprise revelati on h a s c o me to l i gh t du ri n g a n o n go i ng i nvestigation by the CI D ( Crime) , G ujarat’s premier police agency, whi ch is c urrently i nvestigating cases of human smuggling

Additional DGP, CID (Crime), Gujarat, R B Brahmbhatt said, “We have come across h u n d r e d s o f c a s e s w h e r e p e o p l e f r o m G u j a r a t h a v e t a k e n a s y l u m i n t h e U S , m o s t l y f a l s e l y c l a i m i n g t h a t t h e y f a c e persecution in the state The individuals are seeking asylum based on political factors and instances of mistreatment by other c o m m u n i t i e s ” A u t h o r i t i e s i n s i s t e d t h a t such claims of political persecution are l a r g e l y f a l s e a n d c o o k e d u p t o t a k e advantage of laws granting asylum in US A case in point is a recent video showing a US security officer talking to nine Indians who were caught trying to smuggle themselves into the US through the Mexico border T h e p o l i c e o f f i c e r q u e s t i o n e d t h e individuals about their place of origin in India, and they responded by stating they hailed from Gujarat When asked about t h e i r o c c u p a t i o n , t h e y c l a i m e d t o b e

Ahmedabad

court refuses

to

stay Delhi LG’s assault case trial

A m et ro p o li ta n c o u rt i n

A hmedabad has refused to stay an ong oing trial ag ainst

D elh i l ieu tena nt g o v erno r

( L G ) V K S axe na i n connection with an alleged assault on Narmada Bach ao

A n d o la n ac ti v i s t M ed h a Patkar in 20 02

A d d i t i o n a l c h i e f metropolitan magistrate PN

Goswami rejected Saxena’s a p p l i c a t i o n t h a t c l a i m e d p r i v i l e g e o f o f f i c e a n d requested the court to keep the trial in abeyance till he r e m a i n e d l i e u t e n a n tg o v e r n o r , s a i d P a t k a r ’ s advocate Govind Parmar

In March, Saxena sought a s t a y o n t h e c r i m i n a l prosecution pending since 2002 when he along with three others, including then BJP MLA Amit Shah, and

V K Saxena

Congress functionary Rohit

P a t e l a l l e g e d l y t h r a s h e d Patkar at Gandhi Ashram in March that year during a p e a c e m e e t o r g a n i s e d t o d e n o u n c e p o s t - G o d h r a violence

S a x e n a c l a i m e d i n h i s a p p l i c a t i o n t h a t h e w a s deserving of the immunity provided to persons holding constitutional posts As LG of the national capital, he r e a l l y a s s e r t e d a s t a n d i n g

above the governors of other states

The prosecution did

n o t o p p o s e S a x e n a ’ s application and skipped a reply, but Patkar did so S h e t o o k e x c e p t i o n t o Saxena’s claims of higher status and that he is a “ d e p u t y o f t h e P r e s i d e n t ” T h e s o c i a l a c t i v i s t a r g u e d t h a t Saxena is a mere “agent” of the President appointed to a d m i n i s t e r D e l h i a n d , hence, the idea of immunity f r o m p r o s e c u t i o n i s misconceived

It was claimed that there i s e l e c t r o n i c e v i d e n c e against Saxena in the alleged assault on Patkar and the t r i a l c a n n o t b e k e p t i n abeyance merely because he claims privilege as LG

Delhi govt has power over all services except three, rules SC

The Supreme C ourt r ul ed t hat t he elected g ove r n m en t of t he N at i on a l C a pi t al T er r i t or y of De l h i ( NC T D) h ad b ot h executive and legislative jurisdict ion over " s e r vi c es , " a l l ow i n g i t t o d et e r m in e b ur ea uc r a t s ' p os t i ng s an d h ol d t h em accountable to minist er s This decision gave the AAP gover nment a resounding vict or y over t he Union gover nment in t heir near ly 10 -year bat tl e to cont rol "services " R e a f f i r m i n g t h a t t h e C e n t r e h a d exclusive legislative and executive control over ‘services’ relating to public order, land and police as envisaged under Article 239AA of the Constitution that created a legislative assembly for Delhi, a bench of C h i e f J u s t i c e D Y C h a n d r a c h u d a n d Justices M R Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima

K o h l i a n d P S N a r a s i m h a s a i d , “ T h e legislative and executive power of NCTD over Entry 41 (state public services) shall not extend over to services related to ‘public order, police and land ”

H o w e v e r , l e g i s l a t i v e a n d e x e c u t i v e p o w e r o v e r s e r v i c e s s u c h a s I n d i a n Administrative Services, or joint cadre

s e r v i c e s , w h i c h a r e r e l e v a n t f o r t h e implementation of policies and vision of N C T D i n t e r m s o f d a y - t o - d a y administration of the region, shall lie with NCTD,” the five-judge bench said in a u n a n i m o u s 1 0 5 - p a g e j u d g m e n t authored by CJI Chandrachud, marking the end of the latest round of a longsimmering confrontation between the BJP-led Centre and the Arvind Kejriwal government

The SC made a point of stating that the lieutenant governor would be bound b y t h e e l e c t e d g o v e r n m e n t ' s d e c i s i o n regarding how to handle the bureaucracy at the NCTD

The bench resorted to the procedure a n d a r r a n g e m e n t u s e d i n j o i n t c a d r e s e r v i c e s , u n d e r w h i c h c e n t r a l s e r v i c e s officials are employed in states, as Delhi, unlike fully fledged states, lacks a distinct p u b l i c s e r v i c e c o m m i s s i o n f o r t h e recruitment of officers for its services It said the joint cadre rules would also apply to NCTD, which is similar to states, being governed by a representative form of government

HC allows scientific study of ‘shivling’ at Gyanvapi

workers affiliated with the Congress party

The Gujarat police are investigating the a u t h e n t i c i t y o f t h e v i d e o f o o t a g e a n d v e r i f y i n g i t s t i m e s t a m p t o g a t h e r m o r e information Brahmbhatt said, “The illegal immigrants cross the border and court their arrest by approaching the security officers They tell the US authorities it is a matter of l i f e a n d d e a t h a n d s e e k a s y l u m o n humanitarian grounds In most cases, the US authorities grant it to them ”

He added, “The human smugglers hire attorneys who appear for their ‘persecuted’ clients The illegal immigrants do not utter more than what the human smugglers and attorneys have tutored them to reveal ” Asked if such acts defame India in a foreign l a n d , B r a h m b h a t t s a i d , “ E v e r y o n e , especially the US authorities, knows that no such persecution takes place in India How can a Gujarati be persecuted in Gujarat?”

An officer close to the investigation said, “The police have come across at least 500 families that sought asylum in the US I f m a n y p e o p l e f r o m a p a r t i c u l a r c o m m u n i t y w h o a r e o t h e r w i s e l o y a l supporters of the ruling party, but cite persecution as grounds to claim asylum, it is nothing but a lie ”

T he A llahabad hi gh c ou rt h a s a ll o w ed a s ci e nti f ic s tu d y to d et erm i n e t h e antiqu ity of the purported s h i v li n g fo u nd i n t h e ab lu t io n p o nd o f t h e Gyanv ap i m osqu e comp lex in Varanasi during a courtmandated su rv ey on M ay 16 l as t y ear J u s ti ce A rv in d Kum ar Mishra’s order cam e o n a re v i si o n p eti ti o n b y f o u r H i nd u p la i nti f fs , c h al len g i ng t h e V ara na si d istrict cou rt’ s October 14 ruling ag ainst th eir p lea for carbon dating and scientific d e ter m i nat i on o f t h e structu re by ASI

The Hindu side believes the structure retrieved from inside the ablution pond of the Gyanvapi mosque is a s h i v l i n g T h e A n j u m a n I s l a m i a M a s a j i d , w h i c h manages the mosque, claims i t i s a f o u n t a i n T h e

a n t e c e d e n t s o f t h e c a s e , which has spawned multiple

litigations, lie in five Hindu women filing a suit in a local court for unhindered daily a c c e s s t o t h e G y a n v a p i c o m p l e x t o w o r s h i p S h r i n g a r G a u r i a n d o t h e r deities along its periphery

The high court’s order to carry out a scientific study w a s b a s e d o n t h e A S I ’ s response to its November 4, 2 0 2 2 d i r e c t i v e f o r e x p e r t o p i n i o n o n w h e t h e r a n y exercise involving carbondating, ground penetrating radar (GPR), excavation and other methods to determine t h e s t r u c t u r e ’ s a g e w a s

f e a s i b l e T h e b e n c h specifically wanted to know if any or a combination of these methods was likely to c a u s e a n y d a m a g e t o t h e structure

After several reminders, the ASI submitted a 52-page report on April 17 this year, specifying that the antiquity of the structure could be s c i e n t i f i c a l l y d e t e r m i n e d without any damage The report cited studies by IIT K a n p u r , I I T R o o r k e e , L u c k n o w ’ s B i r b a l S a h n i

I n s t i t u t e a n d a n o t h e r institutes

Joe Biden & Narendra Modi

SC slams former Maharashtra governor's role, but spares Shinde govt

The Supreme Court while declining to overthrow the E knath Shinde-led government in Maharashtra ruled t ha t th e U dd ha v Thackeray- led MVA admi ni stration would have had an opportunity to be reinstated had the then CM not resigned a day before the "illegal" floor test on June 30 last year

T h e c o u r t r u l e d t h a t among the mistakes made by the then-governor B S Koshyari during those turb u l e n t t i m e s i n M u m b a i , the choice to call Shinde to form the government was the only one that was made correctly This includes the instruction to ask Uddhav to undergo the floor test, according to the court

In what could fit the classic “operation successful, patient dead” scenario, a 5-judge bench of CJI D Y

Chandrachud and Justices

M R Shah, Krishna Murari, H i m a K o h l i a n d P S Narasimha rejected the plea o f p e t i t i o n e r s f r o m t h e Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena for restoration of status quo ante despite castigating the then governor for asking Thackeray to face the floor test when he had no “objective material” to conclude the MVA government had prima facie lost majority support

CJI Chandrachud said, “ T h i s a r g u m e n t ( f r o m Thackeray faction for his restoration as CM) does not account for the fact that Thackeray did not face the f l o o r t e s t a n d i n s t e a d resigned This court cannot quash a resignation ” “ H a d T h a c k e r a y r e f r a i n e d f r o m r e s i g n i n g from the post of the CM, this court could have considered the grant of remedy of reinstating the govern-

NCB and navy seize drugs worth £1.5 bn off Kochi

T h e N ar c o ti c s C o nt ro l Bu r ea u an d th e I nd ia n N avy s ei ze d ar o u nd 2, 5 00 k g o f meth amp hetamine from Indian waters off K och i T he seized drugs are worth arou nd £1 5 billion in th e market value and acco rdi ng to NCB officials amo unt to the largest seizu re by any Indian enforcement agency in t er ms o f m o n et ar y va lu e A P a k i st an i national was arrested

“We have been carrying out Operation Samudragupt to make Indian waters drugfree as per directions from home minister Amit Shah We got inputs regarding a mother ship carrying methamphetamine passing through Indian waters We intercepted it with the support of the Indian Navy The exact quantity of the seizure may go up, ” said NCB deputy DG (operations) Sanjay

Kumar Singh

“The mother vessel couldn’t be seized as it sank We have arrested a Pakistani national in connection with the case, ” Singh said “The vessels, originating from the Chabahar coast, were laden with methamphetamine made in Pakistan The consignment was intended for sale in India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives Normally, these drugs come from the ‘Death Crescent’ (or Golden Crescent)I r a n , P a k i s t a n a n d A f g h a n i s t a n , ” S i n g h added Since Operation Samudragupt began in F e b r u a r y 2 0 2 2 , 3 , 2 0 0 k g o f m e t h a mphetamine, 500 kg of heroin, and 529 kg of hashish have been found NCB officials said i n p u t s r e g a r d i n g t h e s e i z u r e h a v e b e e n shared with Sri Lanka and the Maldives

Karnataka DGP is next CBI chief

T he go ve r n me n t h as appointed Karnataka di rector general of police (D GP)

Praveen Sood as the next c hief of the Central Bureau o f I n v e s ti g at i on ( C B I )

Foll owin g the res ign ati on o f out goi n g C B I d ir ec t or Subodh Kumar Jaiswal on M ay 25, Sood was appointed to the position for a twoyear term beginning on the date of his taking over

A high-powered panel comprising Prime Minister N a r e n d r a M o d i , C h i e f

Praveen Sood

J u s t i c e o f I n d i a D Y

Chandrachud and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok S a b h a A d h i r R a n j a n

Chowdhury met to decide on Jaiswal’s successor S o o d , a n I n d i a n I n s t i t u t e o f T e c h n o l o g y graduate, joined the Indian Police Service in 1986 and held the position of assist a n t s u p e r i n t e n d e n t o f police in Mysore from 1989 to 1990 Before taking the position of deputy commissioner of police, law and order, in Bengaluru city, he also served as superintendent of police in Bellary and Raichur

Army generals to don common uniform, shed regimental insignia

T he A rmy has d ecid ed to ad opt a co mmon u niform for the one-star Brigadiers, tw o-star M aj o r G en era ls , t h ree -s t ar L ie u ten an t Generals and the fo ur-star General or Chief, i r res p ec ti v e o f th e ir p are nt c ad r e an d ap po intments f ro m Au g ust 1 o n waard s, accord ing to official sources

The decision on this “uniformity in uniforms” was taken in the recent Army comm a n d e r s ’ c o n f e r e n c e t o “ p r o m o t e a n d strengthen a common identity and approach in service matters among the senior leadership beyond the boundaries of regimentation” in the 12,00,000 strong force

For instance, the senior officers will wear b l a c k b e l t s w i t h I n d i a n A r m y ’ s i n s i g n i a instead of their regimental ones Similarly,

they will wear anodised golden-coloured stars, Ashoka lion and crossed swords as their shoulder rank badges

The Assam regiment currently wears silver ranks, while the Gorkha and Garhwali "rifle regiments" wear black ones Brigadier and above ranks will also not wear lanyards different colours of which now are worn by different regiments They all will also wear dark green berets instead of the five existing colours ranging from maroon ones for ParaSpecial Forces to black ones

However, junior officers will continue to wear their various uniforms and accessories that are specifically associated with their distinct arms, regiments, and services, in the ranks of Lieutenant through Colonel

ment headed by him The order of this court on June 29, 2022 held that the outcome of the trust vote to be conducted on June 30, 2022, ‘shall be subject to the final outcome’ of this batch of p e t i t i o n s S i n c e t h e t r u s t vote was not held, the question of it being subject to the final outcome of these p e t i t i o n s d o e s n o t a r i s e , ” the CJI said N o t w i t h s t a n d i n g t h e severe criticism of the then governor for depending on e x t r a n e o u s m a t e r i a l a n d acting beyond his powers to unconstitutionally ask the then CM to face an illegal floor test, the bench was u n a n i m o u s t h a t a f t e r T h a c k e r a y r e s i g n e d , t h e governor had no option but to call Shinde to form gove r n m e n t a s h e h a d p r od u c e d l e t t e r s o f s u p p o r t from majority of MLAs

Difficult to set timeline, says Maharashtra speaker

Follo wing the Suprem e Co urt ruling , S p ea ke r o f th e M ah ar as h tra Legislative A ssem bly Rah ul Narwekar stated that he would make ev ery effort to settle the state's issues "as so on as possible," but that it was difficu lt to provid e a sp ecific timeline righ t now With reference to h is statement welcom ing the Su prem e Cou rt v erdi ct th is week which asked the speaker to com plete the p rocess in “reasonable time”, he said it was difficult to set a firm tim eframe at this stage

Rahul Narwekar

“It is difficult to set a time frame as there are multiple petitions and, above all, it is to be determined which political party is to be issued a whip,” Narwekar said in London “But the endeavour is to complete the process at the earliest,” he said

Following a speech on policy making, parliamentary democracy, and legislative functioning to the Indian student community at the University of Cambridge, the Speaker's UK visit comes to a conclusion this weekend

During his visit, the Speaker said he held meetings with UK-based industrialists and corporates to explore investment possibilities for Maharashtra “Maharashtra is one of the most industrious states in India and attracts 30 per cent of UK investments into India So we have an attractive offering for investors,” he said

Earlier this week speaking to reporters from London, Narwerkar said he will give a hearing to all sides

SC stays promotion of 68 Gujarat judicial officers as district judges

Th e Su preme Co urt stayed the pro motion of 68 judicial officers in Gu jarat as district jud ges for violation of the “ m erit-cum-senio rity ” principle and d irected that they be sent to the earlier po st till the case is finally ad judicated One of them is Su rat

C h i e f Ju d ic i al M a g i st rat e H ari s h H as m u kh b h ai Varm a, who recently found

C ong ressman Rahul Gandhi gu ilty o f criminal d efam ation

A bench of Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar said the process adopted by the Gujarat High Court was violative of the apex court ruling The court remarked

that while those with lower grades (less deserving applicants) were promoted, those w i t h h i g h e r m a r k s ( c i v i l judges in the senior division) were refused advancement Giving an example of the two petitioners who are senior civil judges, the court said that they had secured 135 50 and 148 50 (out of 200 marks), while another candidate with 101 marks

got the promotion

“Thus, we are more than satisfied that the i m p u g n e d l i s t d a t e d March 10 issued by the high court and the subs e q u e n t n o t i f i c a t i o n dated April 18 issued by the state government granting promotion to the cadre of district judge are illegal and contrary to the relevant Rules and Regulations and even to the decision of this court in the case of All India Judges’ Association and Ors T h e r e f o r e , w e a r e m o r e than prima facie satisfied that the same as such are not sustainable,” the court said

Greatest Sikh Guru Arjan Dev remembered

Guru Arjan Dev is one of the greatest Sikh gurus who to o k o v er th e l ead e rs h ip from his father Guru Ram Das He w as bo rn o n 1 5 Ap ril 1563 He was born in Goind val, Punjab, India He w as th e you ng est so n o f B h ai Je th a , w h o l at er became Guru Ram Das, and Mata Bhani, the d aug hter of Gu ru A mar Das He was the fifth of the tenth S ikh Gurus in total and th e first of the two Gurus who were martyred for their faith He built Sri Harmandir S a h i b G u r u d w a r a , a t Amritsar so that all Sikhs can practice their religion f r e e l y H e e x p a n d e d t h e h o l y p l a c e s c o m m e r c i a l l y

and became the first Guru to serve as both temporal and spiritual head of Sikhs Guru Arjan reorganised the Masands system started by Guru Ram Das, by propag a t i n g t h a t t h e S i k h s should donate, if possible, one-tenth of their income,

Guru Arjan Dev

goods or service to the Sikh organisation

T h e c a n o n i c a l A d i G r a n t h o r G u r u G r a n t h Sahib ("The Granth as the Guru"), the sacred scripture of the Sikhs, is based on the K a r t a r p u r P o t h i , a w o r k that Guru Arjan wrote after u p d a t i n g t h e S i k h s c r i ptures He was also a prolific poet who created hymns of great lyrical quality

T h e S i k h c o m m u n i t y prospered under the leade r s h i p o f G u r u A r j a n

People who were envio u s o f G u r u A r j a n ’ s p r o m i n e n c e s t a r t e d s p r e a d i n g r u m o u r s about the Guru He was taken prisoner and held captive at Lahore Fort under the rule of the M u g h a l E m p e r o r J a h a n g i r i n o r d e r t o oppress the Sikhs He was fined Rs 200,000 and ordered to remove all Adi Granth passages t h a t o f f e n d e d e i t h e r Hinduism or Islam He was asked to turn to Islam, but Guru Arjan refused and was tortured to death His mart y r d o m i s c o n s i d e r e d a turning point in the history of Sikhism

As part of the golden jubilee celebrations, Asian V o i c e a n d G u j a r a t Samachar will be hosting a special zoom event to honour the memory of Guru Arjan Dev

For more information about the event,see page 10

After Karnataka loss, BJP preparing strategy for 3 other states Opposition demands prohibition as

N E W D E L H I : Sm a rti ng u nd e r th e h u m ili ati ng o u tco m e i n K arn ataka, but read y to tu rn the loss i nto an opp ortunity, the BJP has started to analyse w hat went wrong in the only southern state w here it was in power BJP sources blam e the Karnataka rout on the 'image' of the go vernment and the charg e o f co rru pti on th at they believe stuck Despi te an ag gressive c am p a ig n s p ear h ead ed b y P ri m e Minister Narend ra Mo di and Home Minister Am it S hah , the corruption charg e was hard to shake off

The linking of "Bajrang Bali" with Bajrang Dal proved to be an imprudent s t e p I n h i n d s i g h t , i t a p p e a r s t h a t raising this issue only consolidated the minority community votes in favour of the Congress, BJP sources said

A l t h o u g h t h e B J P r e m a i n e d c o n s i s t e n t w i t h i t s v o t e s h a r e , t h e depletion of the regional party Janata Dal (Secular) vote share came as a b o o s t f o r t h e C o n g r e s s i n t h e o l d Mysuru region Karnataka's clear vote against incumbency also contributed to the BJP's defeat, but what has hurt the party the most is the "Lingayat defection"

M a n y l o y a l i s t s o f f o r m e r C h i e f Minister BS Yediyurappa, who fought either independently or on a Congress ticket, have defeated BJP candidates

The BJP has already started preparing for the crucial big states - Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarhwhere assembly elections will be held this year A m i t M a l v i y a , t h e B J P ' s s o c i a l media team chief, organised strategy meetings in Jaipur and Raipur and will l e a v e f o r M a d h y a P r a d e s h s c a p i t a l Bhopal this week Rejuvenation of the team and communication plans for the next six months have been chalked out, sources said

W i t h 2 0 l o n g y e a r s o f a n t iincumbency, Madhya Pradesh will be a challenge for the BJP In Rajasthan, however, the public infighting in the C o n g r e s s h a s l i k e l y p r e p a r e d t h e ground for the BJP's return to power, sources said In all the three states where elections are due this year, the BJP and Congress are in direct contest

AAP nominee wins Jalandhar Lok Sabha by-election

JA L A ND HA R: The Aam Aad mi Party (A AP) won the Jalandhar parliamentary by-po ll last week, slicing throug h C ong ress ’ s 24 -year g rip to get its lone m em ber in the Lok S abha Victor Sushil Kum ar Rinku, a form er Co ng ress MLA wh o was inducted into AA P only last month, got the “ Ikk Mauka (one ch ance)” h e had sou ght, albeit for a truncated term o f around 1 1 months till next year ’ s general electio n

Rinku won by 58,691 votes over Karamjit Kaur, the Congress nominee and widow of previous MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary whose death in January this year during Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra necessitated the by-poll The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-BSP combine came third BJP was pushed to f o u r t h s p o t a n d i t s n o m i n e e l o s t t h e s e c u r i t y deposit

For AAP, the win could not be sweeter It had been routed in the Sangrur Lok Sabha by-poll three months after sweeping the 2022 assembly elections B h a g w a n t M a n n w a s A A P ’ s S a n g r u r M P b u t resigned to take over as CM after the landslide

“This is the people’s victory They have come to know that only the AAP can understand their pain a n d b r i n g P u n j a b b a c k o n t r a c k , ” R i n k u t o l d reporters after the results were announced “I thank t h e p a r t y l e a d e r s h i p , i n c l u d i n g p a r t y s u p r e m o A r v i n d K e j r i w a l a n d ( P u n j a b c h i e f m i n i s t e r ) Bhagwant Mann for reposing faith in me ”

14 die in TN hooch tragedy

C H E N N A I : A p a ll o f g l o o m h a s d es ce nd e d u p o n Villup uram and Ch engalp attu d istricts of Tamil Nadu as 14 people died after co nsum ing spurious liqu or o ver the weekend Many among the d ead were fishermen Fifty one people are being treated in h ospitals across both districts C hief M inister MK Stalin, who v isited those under medical care, blamed it on the use of the dead ly industrial methanol by bo otleg gers

T h e s t a t e g o v e r n m e n t h a s s u s p e n d e d 1 0 p o l i c e officers, including Villupuram SP and two DSPs in charge of prohibition enforcement The chief of Chengalpattu police has been transferred The investigation has been transferred to the Crime Branch CID

Tamil Nadu state BJP chief Annamalai and leader of the opposition Edappadi Palaniswami have slammed the ruling DMK, calling it incompetent Palaniswami has demanded that the Chief Minister resign

PMK chief Dr Anbumani Ramadoss said: "Around 500,000 people die every year due to liquor in Tamil Nadu No one talks about this We are only talking about these 14 cases We want total prohibition"

In a crackdown after the tragedy, more than 400 suspected bootleggers have been arrested Though the ruling party has promised phased prohibition, the DMK g o v e r n m e n t w a s r e c e n t l y c r i t i c i s e d f o r l a u n c h i n g a u t o m a t i c l i q u o r v e n d i n g m a c h i n e s i n s h o p s a n d permitting alcohol at international events, which has been put on hold by a court

Last year, the state government earned £4 4, billion from the sale of liquor For years, successive state g o v e r n m e n t s h a v e a r g u e d p r o h i b i t i o n w o u l d o p e n floodgates of illicit liquor

5 of terror module held after 3rd blast near Golden Temple

A MR I TS AR : Five people suspected to be m e m be r s o f a t e r r o r m o d ul e w e r e arr este d last week for plott ing a se ries of low-int ensity blasts in the vicinit y of the Golden Temple he re in a span of six day s Po l ic e h a v e a l so r e co v e r e d 1 k g o f exp losives from the m

The arrests came right after a third explosion in Galiara, the pathway and park around the Golden Temple and b e h i n d t h e G u r u R a m d a s J i N i w a s building, police said The explosion had caused panic in the area

The first two explosions occurred on May 6 and May 8 near Saragarhi parking in Heritage Street; the second blast had caused minor injuries to a passerby who h a d a c c i d e n t a l l y t r i g g e r e d t h e c r u d e explosive device

S h i r o m a n i G u r d w a r a P a r b a n d h a k Committee president Harjinder Singh Dhami said their task force had identified and traced the person responsible for the explosion from the CCTV footage and handed him over to the police Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said the five accused, identified as Amrik Singh, a resident of Gurdaspur, Ajad Veer Singh,Sahib Singh, Dharmender and Harjit, all residents of Amritsar, had admitted carrying out the

blasts and had been arrested The police h a v e a l s o r e c o v e r e d c h e m i c a l s a n d i n f l a m m a t o r y l i t e r a t u r e f r o m t h e i r possession A case under various sections of the Explosives Act has been registered against them

A c c o r d i n g t o Y a d a v , t h e a r r e s t e d accused had formed a group and had procured explosive material, chemicals and inflammatory substances to create the crude explosive devices After several trials, the group placed these explosives in plastic bags with threads hanging from them They had purchased potassium chloride and sulphur to put together the c r u d e d e v i c e s F o l l o w i n g t h e s e c o n d e x p l o s i o n , t h e p o l i c e h a d s o u g h t t h e a s s i s t a n c e o f N a t i o n a l I n v e s t i g a t i o n Agency and National Security Guard

S o u r c e s f a m i l i a r w i t h t h e investigation revealed that Amrik Singh and his wife had been staying in room 225 of Guru Ramdas Sarai, which is located n e a r t h e a r e a w h e r e t h e e x p l o s i o n s occurred

T h e S G P C p r e s i d e n t e x p r e s s e d d i s a p p o i n t m e n t o v e r t h e P u n j a b government’s handling of the situation Dhami called for stricter measures to prevent such incidents in future

Calcutta HC orders cancellation of 36,000 teachers' jobs citing ‘corruption’

KO LK A T A : The Calcutta High C o u rt h as qu as h ed t h e appo intment of around 36,0 00 cand idates wh o were u ntrained at the time of their recruitm ent a s p ri m ar y te ac h ers i n W es t B eng al g ov ernm ent- s po ns o red and -aid ed sch ools

The decision comes as a part of the the ongoing investigation in the teacher recruitment job scam that has jailed prominent T r i n a m o o l C o n g r e s s ( T M C ) leaders Partho Chattopadhyay, Anubrata Mondal P a s s i n g t h e o r d e r , J u s t i c e

Abhijit Gangopadhay observed t h a t " c o r r u p t i o n o f t h i s magnitude" was never known in t h e S t a t e o f W e s t B e n g a l , bringing a sense of relief for the petitioners "The appointment o f a l l 3 6 , 0 0 0 ( m o r e o r l e s s ) candidates who were untrained at the time of recruitment in 2 0 1 6 r e c r u i t m e n t p r o c e s s conducted by the Board in the p o s t o f p r i m a r y t e a c h e r s a r e c a n c e l l e d , " J u s t i c e

Gangopadhyay directed

The West Bengal Board of P r i m a r y E d u c a t i o n b o a r d h a s

been accused of indulging in illegal means to offer jobs to at l e a s t 3 6 , 0 0 0 c a n d i d a t e s i n exchange for money During the investigation, it was found that e v e n T M C M L A A n u b r a t a M o n d a l ' s d a u g h t e r w a s a recipient of the job, illegally I n t h e 1 7 p a g e o r d e r , t h e Calcutta HC noted it is clear that the board and its officials including its former president Manik Bhattacharya, who is now in custody after arrest by the Enforcement Directorate for the a l l e g e d t r a n s a c t i o n o f h u g e

m o n e y i n t h e r e c r u i t m e n t p r o c e d u r e , c o n d u c t e d t h e “whole affair like that of a local club " The court directed that the West Bengal Board of Primary E d u c a t i o n w i l l i m m e d i a t e l y a r r a n g e f o r a r e c r u i t m e n t e x e r c i s e w i t h i n t h r e e m o n t h s o n l y f o r t h e c a n d i d a t e s w h o p a r t i c i p a t e d i n t h e 2 0 1 6 a p p o i n t m e n t p r o c e s s Candidates who have obtained t r a i n i n g q u a l i f i c a t i o n s i n t h e meantime will also be included in the exercise

in brief

PATIENT STABS KERALA DOCTOR TO DEATH

A 23-year-old Dr Vandana Das was stabbed to death by a man whose leg wound she was dressing at a hospital in Kerala’s Kollam district where he was brought after an alleged fight with his family members Dismayed over the killing of the young doctor, the Kerala High Court said the incident was an outcome of the police and government failure and sought a report regarding the incident from the state police chief According to ADGP (Law and Order) Ajith Kumar the incident occurred when the accused identified as Sandeep a schoolteacher was being taken to the hospital for treatment of the wounds he had suffered allegedly due to a quarrel While the wound was being dressed by Dr Vandana Das, he suddenly got provoked and attacked everyone standing there using a pair of scissors and scalpel Das who suffered grievous injuries in the attack, died a few hours later The accused was apprehended

TN MINISTER LOSES FINANCE PORTFOLIO

Tamil Nadu minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajanwas was moved out of the finance ministry and given the information technology and digital services portfolio - less than a month after BJP released the “PTR tapes” in which the party alleged that the voice heard in the tape was that of CM M K Stalin s son and son-in-law taking about amassing of wealth by Thiaga Rajan Former industries minister Thangam Thennarasu replaced PTR in the finance department while Stalin gave the industries portfolio to DMK MP and former Union minister TR Baalu’s son T R B Raaja, who became the newest member in the ministry Besides, S M Nasar has been dropped as the dairy development minister Stalin said that his ministry was reorganised for administrative reasons He exuded confidence that 46-year-old Raaja would make all efforts to attract more investments

AAP GOVT IN PUNJAB HIKES POWER TARIFF

Two days after the ruling AAP secured a landslide victory in the Jalandhar Lok Sabha by-poll, the government increased electricity tariff for all categories of consumers The Opposition Congress and the SAD slammed the move, saying it was the AAP government s first gift to people after it won the by-poll

The Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) announced an increase of 8 64 per cent in tariff for this year Fixed charges as well as per unit tariff have been increased taking the average cost of power to Rs 7 04 per unit up from Rs 6 48 per unit last year The tariff has been increased after three years Domestic consumers who will continue to get 300 units of free power each month, will have to pay Rs 15 per kilowatt as additional fixed charges and an average of 65 paisa per unit hike The commercial consumers will have to pay additional Rs 25-30 as fixed charges and bear a hike of 47 paisa average per unit rate

SC QUESTIONS BENGAL GOVT OVER BAN ON 'KERALA STORY’ MOVIE

The Supreme Court asked the West Bengal government why it had banned the movie The Kerala Story’ when it was running in theatres in other parts of the country and directed the Tamil Nadu government to specify the measures taken to ensure safe screening of the film in theatres in the state When senior advocate A M Singhvi defended the ban on the film citing a huge number of intelligence reports about grave danger to peace , a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha said, The film has been released in the rest of the country, the bench said The bench said, "West Bengal is no different from any other part of the country If the film can be screened in all other parts of the country, why should the state of Bengal ban the film? If the public feels it is not worth watching the film, they will not watch it ”

Narendra Modi

Kharge likely to announce next Karnataka CM on Wednesday

C on g r es s pr e s id e n t M a l l i k a rj un

K harge is expected to announce t he na me of the next K arnataka chief m in is t er o n We dn e s d a y in B e n ga l ur u , a c c or d in g t o r ep or t s

The report cam e aft er Kharge met f or m e r K a r na t a k a C M

Sidda ramaiah a nd s tate unit chief

D K Shivak um ar s e pa rat el y at his r esidenc e in New Del hi and disc us se d t he moda lit ies of governm e nt fo rm a tion i n the so ut he rn s tate K harge will tak e the f inal decis ion af ter consulting UPA chairpers on Sonia Gandhi and f orm er party pres ident Rahul Gandhi

" N o f i n a l d e c i s i o n h a s b e e n made on the Karnataka CM post yet Congress president has met all t h e s t a k e h o l d e r s C o n g r e s s

Mallikarjun Kharge

President has met all the stakeholders Now the final decision will be taken by him in consultation with Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi

The announcement is expected to b e m a d e i n B e n g a l u r u i t s e l f , " sources said T h e s u s p e n s e o v e r t h e c h i e f

minister continues as both front-runners for t h e p o s t , S i d d a r a m a i a h a n d Shivakumar, are said to have dug their heels

i n f o r t h e t o p p o s t Shivakumar told ANI t h a t h e w o u l d n o t r e s o r t t o " b a c k s t a bb i n g o r b l a c k m a i l " r e g a r d l e s s o f t h e party's decision

"If the party wants they can give m e t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y O u r s i s a united house, our number is 135 I don't want to divide anyone here Whether they like me or not, I am a responsible man I will not backstab and I will not blackmail," he said

Tata Group starts iPhone manufacturing in Bengaluru, say sources

In a bolde st a nd ambiti ous ma nu f a ct ur i ng mo v e i n Ind i a , t h e T ata Gr oup ha s starte d making t h e A p p l e i P h o n e w i t h i n t h e country as it seeks t o acqui re th e N a r a sa p ur a f a c t o r y , o u t si d e B e ng a l u ru o f T a i wa ne se g i a nt W istron, sources said T h e m o v e c o m e s w i t h i n weeks of Apple CEO Tim Cook’s detailed meeting with Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran in Mumbai during his India visit in April It is understood that the t w o e x e c u t i v e s d i s c u s s e d t h e mega electronics manufacturing plans of the Tata group, and also what Apple expects to come out of the partnership in the short as well as the long-term W h i l e t h e r e i s s t i l l s o m e u n c e r t a i n t y o v e r w h e t h e r

Wistron will make a complete

exit from the Bengaluru operations, top sources have emphasized that the Taiwanese cont r a c t m a n u f a c t u r i n g g i a n t h a s

“firmly decided to fully exit the A p p l e o p e r a t i o n s t o f o c u s o n other businesses ” They added that Wistron will continue to look at “other opportunities in India for non-Apple products”

O n t h e e n t r y o f t h e T a t a group, a top source said, “Select officials of the Tata Group are a l r e a d y o p e r a t i n g o u t o f t h e W i s t r o n f a c t o r y i n B a n g a l o r e , a n d t h e a m b i t i o u s p r o j e c t i s being carefully run under the

watchful eyes of group chairman

C h a n d r a s e k a r a n a n d t o p

Wistron and Apple executives incharge of manufacturing ”

Sources said that “the Tatas are already manufacturing the

iPhone at Wistron facility Their representatives and officials have started getting involved in the operations, HR, and administration They are getting trained on the operations and processes ” It is learnt that the Centre played a k e y r o l e i n “ e n c o u r a g i n g a n d pushing” Apple to not only grow its manufacturing eco-system in India – as it looks to develop a l a r g e p r o d u c t i o n h u b o u t s i d e China -but also involve “credible Indian corporates” into the key functions such as manufacturing “The government feels that involvement of Indian companies in the critical manufacturing operations will result in getting a lot of ancillaries and other suppliers also mushrooming from w i t h i n t h e c o u n t r y , ” s a i d a source

Indian Navy test-fires BrahMos supersonic cruise missile

A Brah Mos supersonic cruise missile w as successfully test-fired from the Ind ian Navy's frontline g uided m issile d estroyer INS M orm ugao, o ffi cials said T h e m iss ile fi ring d em onstrated the I ndi an Navy's firepo wer at sea, they said I N S M o r m u g a o , t h e l a t e s t guided-missile destroyer, successf u l l y h i t ' b u l l s e y e ' d u r i n g h e r maiden BrahMos supersonic cruise missile firing," a Navy official said "The ship and her potent weapon, b o t h i n d i g e n o u s , m a r k a n o t h e r s h i n i n g s y m b o l o f ' A a t m a N i r b h a r t a ' a n d I n d i a n Navy's firepower at sea," the offi-

cial added

The location of the test-firing of the missile is not immediately known BrahMos Aerospace Pvt

L t d , a n I n d i a - R u s s i a n joint venture, produces t h e s u p e r s o n i c c r u i s e m i s s i l e s t h a t c a n b e l a u n c h e d f r o m s u bmarines, ships, aircraft, or land platforms B r a h M o s m i s s i l e flies at a speed of 2 8 Mach or almost three t i m e s t h e s p e e d o f s o u n d I n d i a i s a l s o exporting the BrahMos missiles In January last year, India sealed a $375 million deal with the P h i l i p p i n e s f o r s u p p l y i n g t h r e e batteries of the missile

CBI books ex-NCB officer Wankhede, three others for extorting money from SRK

I n Oc tober 20 21 , C o rdel ia d ru g c as e in v o l v i ng s u p er st ar S h ah Rukh Kh an's son Aryan Khan, th e I n d i an R ev enu e S er v i ce o ff i ci a l S am eer Wankhede and three other p eop le were ch arged w ith corruption by the CBI fo r allegedly receiving Rs 50 ,00 ,00 0 from the actor T h e a c t o r a l l e g e d l y p a i d

Wankhede and the others a total of £2 5 million to clear the actor's kid o f n a r c o t i c s p o s s e s s i o n a c c u s ations The CBI has searched 29 places, including Wankhede's resid e n c e i n G o r e g a o n W e s t , i n Mumbai, Delhi, Ranchi, Lucknow, and Chennai Wankhede referred

to it as retaliatory action since he had reported a senior NCB official for harassment

He said, “I am a disciplined official of the government of India I will fight the legal battle and have complete faith in the judiciary ”

W a n k h e d e w a s w e s t e r n r e g i o n h e a d o f t h e N a r c o t i c s C o n t r o l

B u r e a u ( N C B ) a n d h e a d e d t h e probe into the case against Aryan

Khan The other accused in the c a s e i n c l u d e i n t e l l i g e n c e o f f i c e r Ashish Ranjan, dismissed superintendent Vishwa Vijay Singh, and two individuals, Kiran Gosavi and S a n v i l e D ’ S o u z a a l s o k n o w n a s

"The party is my god We have built this party, I am a part of it and I am not alone in this," he said

b e f o r e h i s d e p a r t u r e f r o m

Bengaluru Cong s weeps K arnataka

B u i l d i n g o n a s t r o n g a n t iincumbency mood created in part by voter concerns on prices and graft, Congress comfortably swept past the majority mark of 113 in the Karnataka assembly elections, winning 136 seats Its victory left in its wake a chastened BJP - which had turned itself into a one-trick pony, r e l y i n g a l m o s t e n t i r e l y o n P M

N a r e n d r a M o d i ’ s p o p u l a r i t y a n d charisma to win - with a modest score of 65 Congress’s strong showing has

left the third player in the state’s politics, the Deve Gowda family’s JD(S), staring at political irrelevance, and can potentially turn the state into a bipolar polity in 2024 when Lok Sabha elections are scheduled Highes t turnout ever Karnataka delivered its highest v o t e r t u r n o u t o f 7 3 % i n s e v e n d e c a d e s e c l i p s i n g t h e p r e v i o u s record of 71 1% in 2018 Bengaluru Urban was the laggard in the voting stakes with 54 5%, even lower than t h e 5 6 % p o l l e d f i v e y e a r s a g o Barring skirmishes at some places that officials said were swiftly controlled, there was no major blip in polling across 224 constituencies in a three-cornered contest between BJP, Congress and JD(S)

BJP wins all mayoral seats in UP urban civic polls

BJP w on all 17 of the state's mayoral seats in u rban civic ele ct i o ns , s u rp as s in g th ei r record of 1 4 of th e 16 positions in 201 7 UP CM Yogi Adityanath, who addressed 50 rallies in 12 days ahead of the polls said, “This is BJP’s historic victory b e c a u s e o f i t s c o m m i t t e d workers and party functionaries ”

A split in Muslim votes among SP, BSP and AIMIM played a pivotal role in BJP’s victory in several segments, especially in western UP

T h e B J P a l s o s i g n i f i c a n t l y increased its vote totals in 544 nagar panchayat (NP) seats and 199 nagar palika parishad (NPP) seats

The latest reports indicated that the BJP was on track to defeat the NPP by more than 95 seats, while SP and BSP were leading in 30 and

2

2 s e a t s , r e s p e c t i v e l y T h e B J P won/led in 203 seats in the elections for nagar panchayat chairmanships, SP took 83 seats, while BSP registered a win/lead in 40 BJP’s vote share saw a sharp rise in all the 17 seats Its candidates bagged more than 45% votes on 13 seats, while four of them got the support of more than 50% voters

In 2017, BSP had won Aligarh and Meerut mayoral seats

Shah rules out autonomy for Kukis, claims Manipur CM

Manipur CM N Biren Singh ruled out acc eding to the dem and by 10 tribal MLAs of the BJP-led c oal ition for a separate adm inis tration f or the Kukidom inated dis tricts within the am bit of t he Const itution, saying Union home minister Amit Shah ha d categoricall y c onveyed to him that the stat e ’ s “t errit orial integrit y wil l be protect ed”

Soon after this, the Kuki-Chin-Zomi MLAs - seven of them from BJP, including two ministers - formally wrote to Shah for “administrative separation” of the tribal Kukis and the majority Meiteis, saying their state was already “partitioned” “Huge population transfers between the valley and the hills inhabited by the Kuki-Chin-Mizo-Zomi-Hmar have occurred There are no tribals left in the Imphal valley There are no Meiteis left in the hills The state government and its police machinery were communalised and used in the pogrom against the Kuki tribals,” it said

The aggrieved legislators alleged that while slogans during the May 3 tribal solidarity march against the Manipur high court’s order for inclusion of the Meitei in the ST list were directed at the state government, “Meitei mobs were shouting communal and ethnic slogans against the Kuki tribes”

According to the legislators, there was no option left other than to seek a separate administration for their people “Our people have lost faith in the Manipur government and can no longer imagine resettling in the valley where their lives are no longer safe ”

Sam D'Souza, who were being used as witnesses or informers Singh and Ranjan were part of the probe team Singh was dismissed for misconduct in another case in which he was under suspension Ranjan was additionally susp e n d e d f o r a l l e g e d l y f a i l i n g t o m a k e a c o m p e l l i n g a r g u m e n t before a judge hearing an accused's request for bail in a different narcotics case In the drug case, Gosavi served as a panch witness Gosavi h a d a p h o n e c o n v e r s a t i o n w i t h Sam D'Souza about making a claim for £2 5 million, according to his security Prabhakar Sail

Biren, who had rushed to New Delhi with five cabinet colleagues, an MP and the state BJP chief to seek Shah’s counsel, returned to Imphal with the message that the Union home minister was categorical about prioritising a quick return to normalcy from the atmosphere of distrust fuelled by ethnic violence He said quoting Shah that the Centre wouldn’t do anything that would detract from its goal of fostering amity among the majority Meitei and tribal communities that call Manipur home

The CM said the home minister had asked him to submit details on what could be done for those affected by the recent violence and assured to arrange their resettlement soon He appealed to the public not to hold rallies or raise slogans as such activities could hamper the initiatives taken to restore peace

Over 70 people have been killed, 230-odd wounded and 1,700 houses, including religious places, set ablaze during the ethnic violence that has rocked the state since May 3 Sources in Delhi said Shah ordered strict action against perpetrators of the violence and assured complete support and assistance of the central government to ensure lasting peace Also, the Centre is probing the weapons still in possession of Kuki and other tribal groups who are in a suspension of operation agreement and action will accordingly be taken

Splendid celebration of ‘Gujarat Foundation Day’ by Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar

Badal Lakhlani

There is hardly any country in the world where Gujarati people do not reside Gujarati diaspora across the globe has beautifully preserved and celebrated the essence of

o n D a y, Lo r d N a vn i t D h ol a ki a s a i d ,

“First of all, I am a proud Indian and a G ujarati But I ’ m a ls o a proud B rit is h G uj ar a ti a nd I nd i a n W h en e v e r I ta l k a b ou t Gujarat, I rem em ber two t hi n g s ; t he l an d of M a ha t ma G a n dh i a n d Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

These two magnificent individuals emerged from G u j a r a t ' s s o i l w i t h t h e i r regal appearance When I went to Porbandar to see his home, I was moved by M a h a t m a G a n d h i ' s simplicity in the way he lived there Then look at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, he reunited all states of G u j a r a t I w a s l i v i n g i n Bhavnagar at that time and I’m delighted to say that king of Bhavnagar was the f i r s t o n e t o o f f e r t h e unification of Gujarat with India That is a very proud moment for me

“You know there is no place in the world where you won’t find a Gujarati My son-in-law was on a trip to the North Pole He was invited by the Mayor of the town to come and visit him Eventually, he found out that the town Mayor was Mr Patel and I ’ m v e r y m u c h p r o u d i n d e e d t h a t e v e n i n t h e snowcast world we have Gujarati central over there They are settled in South Africa, Burma, Sri Lanka a n d m a n y p a r t s o f t h e w o r l d I m p o r t a n t

He s a i d “ G u j a r a t i p e o p l e d o n o t participate significantly in p o l i t i c s G u j a r a t i p e o p l e residing outside India also e x c e l i n b u s i n e s s a n d c o m m e r c e T h e o n l y exception is South Africa, where Gandhiji took over the people and Gujarati's d o m i n a n c e r e m a i n e d t h e r e T o d a y , t h e r e i s a s t r o n g c r a z e a m o n g G u j a r a t i p e o p l e t o g o abroad It is common for s t u d e n t s i n s c h o o l s a n d universities to aspire to go abroad

Once they go abroad, their love for the country does not diminish There is a s t r o n g d e s i r e a m o n g them to contribute to the

Gujarat in their respective communities

On the occasion of Gujarat Day, which is celebrated on May 1st every year, the Gujarati community across the globe celebrated the state's 64th Foundation Day vibrantly. On this

day the Zoom event, hosted by Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar, brought together prominent individuals from various fields who addressed the audience, highlighting the glorious journey of the state s development and

emphasizing areas that require further attention for progress

CB Patel, the Publisher and Editor-inchief of ABPL Group has been residing in Britain for almost 6 decades, yet Gujarat resides in his heart, pulsating with its

culture and heritage

Even today, he can proudly say that Gujarat, its culture, and its legacy resonate within him On the occasion of Gujarat Day, during the online event organized to commemorate the foundation day, CB Patel

played a pivotal role and united the prominent personalities associated with Gujarat or Gujaratis’

Renowned singer Mayaben Deepak, with her melodious voice, inaugurated the program with a Gujarati poem.

countries like Africa and M a u r i t i u s a r e l i t e r a l l y c o n t r o l l e d b y I n d i a n c o m m u n i t i e s l i v i n g o v e r there In the latest form of migration, people are now s e t t l e d i n p l a c e s l i k e A m e r i c a , C a n a d a e t c I usually say that no matter w h e r e y o u t r a v e l i n t h e world, you will never get lost because Gujaratis will be there to lead you in the right direction,” he said S p e a k i n g a b o u t

G u j a r a t i c o m m u n i t i e s i n UK, he said, “In past, there were 1400 different Indian o r g a n i s a t i o n s i n t h i s country mainly Gujaratis But suffice to say that a n a t i o n a l o r G u j a r a t organisation set up in this c o u n t r y s u c h a s t h e G u j a r a t i f o r u m , I n d o forum, Hindu council and a n u m b e r o f o t h e r p r o m i n e n t b o d i e s t o undertake the work on the b e h a l f o f G u j a r a t i community and I’m really grateful about this ”

H e a d d e d “ I w a s privileged to be part of a delegation which was led by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons to v i s i t G u j a r a t s o m e t w o y e a r s a g o a n d I w a s

delighted to meet a lot of p e o p l e t h e r e I h a d t h e opportunity to look at the p r o j e c t s a n d e n t e r p r i s e s conducted by Ahmedabad women who were striving for market growth I can see that women are now w e l l - r e p r e s e n t e d i n Gujarati legislation As we n o w l a c k f e m a l e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n i n o u r p a r l i a m e n t s , I s i n c e r e l y hope that women in this c o u n t r y w i l l m a k e t h e n e c e s s a r y e f f o r t s t o f i l l t h a t g a p G u j a r a t h a s a s t r o n g e m p h a s i s o n w o m e n , n o t o n l y i n politics but even in terms o f p r o m o t i n g G u j a r a t i w o m e n ' s e q u a l i t y I n principle, I firmly believe t h a t G u j a r a t ' s c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e a d v a n c e m e n t o f o u r nation may be attributed to the Gujarat Samachar, w h i c h h a s a s s u m e d r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r r e p o r t i n g o n a l l e v e n t s that have been organised t o u n i t e t h e G u j a r a t i people

I'll sum up by saying that Gujarati communities are featured in all of these initiatives that were done in our nation But I would like to see more Gujaratis in parliament

I w o u l d l i k e t o s e e more presence of Gujarati women in parliament but more importantly, I would like to see Gujarat to be t h e f o c a l p o i n t o f o u r d e v e l o p m e n t i n t h i s country, our culture, our values etc ”

PK Laheri, who served as t h e C h i e f S e c r e t a r y o f G u j a r a t f o r t h e l o n g e s t tenure in history, said that “ t o d a y , o n M a y 1 s t , t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f G u j a r a t c o m p l e t e s 6 3 y e a r s , a n d Gujarat is entering its 64th year The founder and pioneer o f G u j a r a t S a m a c h a r U K , C B Patel, has appropriately organised this event, but it t a k e s g r e a t c o u r a g e t o successfully run a Gujarati newspaper in London and establish a Gujarati imprint t h r o u g h o u t t h e U K a n d other countries I had the opportunity to stay in the UK for a year 40 years ago, a n d d u r i n g t h a t t i m e , I witnessed the struggles of h i s f a m i l y T o d a y , a s a remarkable Gujarati, he has achieved a reputation and has played a significant role in the politics there, and not o n l y t h a t , h e h a s a l s o e l e v a t e d G u j a r a t i intellectuals in the field of politics Today, I extend my c o n g r a t u l a t i o n s o n t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t d a y o f Gujarat Speaking ahead he said, “ G u j a r a t , w h e n i t s e c e d e d from Maharashtra, there was a d e m a n d f o r a u n i t e d Maharashtra and when the bilingual Mumbai state was b i f u r c a t e d , M u m b a i w a s g e o g r a p h i c a l l y i n M a h a r a s h t r a D u r i n g t h a t t i m e , G u j a r a t s u f f e r e d e x c e p t f o r t h e t e x t i l e industry There was a lack of e d u c a t i o n , e d u c a t i o n a l institutions, and industries T o d a y , b o t h G u j a r a t a n d M a h a r a s h t r a a r e s e e n a s

engines of development on the foundation day of both states Last year, the total GST collection was Rs 18 l a k h c r o r e , o u t o f w h i c h M a h a r a s h t r a a n d G u j a r a t c o n t r i b u t e d R s 3 5 0 l a k h c r o r e G u j a r a t c o n t r i b u t e d R s 1 2 1 l a k h c r o r e , w h i l e Maharashtra contributed Rs 2 15 lakh crore, which means G u j a r a t a n d M a h a r a s h t r a together contributed more t h a n 2 0 % o f t h e t o t a l amount, which is a matter of pride ” “ I n t h e l a s t 1 5 y e a r s , Gujarat has achieved many s u c c e s s e s t h e S t a t u e o f Unity, which is almost twice the height of the Statue of L i b e r t y , h a s b e e n e s t a b l i s h e d T o d a y , t h e K e v a d i a r e g i o n , w h i c h exhibits the highest footfall i n t h e w o r l d , h a s b e e n developed, and Sardar Patel has been given such a tribute t o h i s s t a t u r e E a r l i e r , G u j a r a t e x c e l l e d i n w i n d power, which is now also excelling in solar power, and within a short time, it will a l s o e x c e l i n g r e e n h y d r o g e n T h e N a r m a d a p r o j e c t , w h i c h C B P a t e l talked about, allows us to consume water in 18 lakh hectares, but along with that

in 20 lakh hectares, we use w a t e r t h r o u g h d e e p i r r i g a t i o n a n d s p r i n k l e r s T h e d i a m o n d i n d u s t r y , t e x t i l e i n d u s t r y , p h a r m a c e u t i c a l i n d u s t r y , p e t r o c h e m i c a l i n d u s t r y , r e f i n e r y , a n d c a r manufacturing, all excel in t h e i n d u s t r i a l s e c t o r o f Gujarat It has 230 industrial e s t a t e s , m o r e t h a n 1 0 0 u n i v e r s i t i e s , m o r e t h a n 2 0 , 0 0 0 f o r e i g n s t u d e n t s , and 30,000 students from o t h e r s t a t e s c o m i n g h e r e Surat and Ahmedabad are r a p i d l y d e v e l o p i n g c i t i e s that make a mark globally Global unemployment is a big issue in India as well, but for the past 15 years, we have b e e n i n t h e n u m b e r o n e p o s i t i o n , w h i c h m e a n s unemployment is not a big issue for those who want to work in Gujarat Surat and Bharuch, Mundra, Kandala, P i p a v a v a s , D a h e j , H a j i r a m a k e a s i g n i f i c a n t difference in the country's exports, almost 84 country’s business is associated with these ports in India ” L a s t l y , h e a d d e d , “ W e need to pay attention to the needs of the deprived and t h e p o o r , w e n e e d t o c o m p e t e w i t h K e r a l a i n education and prioritize the u p l i f t m e n t o f w o m e n i n t e r m s o f s a f e t y P o s t t h e C O V I D - 1 9 p a n d e m i c , t h e n u m b e r o f a c c i d e n t s a n d road mishaps has increased T o d a y , o n t h e G u j a r a t Foundation Day, we pray to d e d i c a t e o u r s e l v e s t o a d d r e s s i n g t h e c u r r e n t issues with dedication and sincerity "

c o u n t r y a n d p r o v i d e financial assistance ”

H e a d d e d “ W h e n I went to Gujarat in 1981, Madhavsinh Solanki as the Vice Chancellor asked me to come, when I asked the reason for it, he told me to r u n a n o r g a n i s a t i o n , t o

which I agreed I was once a lecturer so I am willing to

come to Vadodara I went there in 1981 and stayed for three years, during which C B Patel also came there W e w e r e s i t t i n g a t t h e airport, and at that time, I told C B Patel that I would have to bring money from a b r o a d t o r u n t h e university At that time, he told me that he would give me one lakh rupees, and he t o l d m e t o s t a r t t w o scholarships from Gujarat Samachar in my university, to which I agreed I told t h e p r o f e s s o r o f t h e m a n a g e m e n t f a c u l t y t o s t a r t t w o s c h o l a r s h i p s I a p p r e c i a t e t h e contribution he made and I respect it

“Today, there are many

universities in England like O x f o r d , C a m b r i d g e , a n d Imperial College, where I can comfortably send my children although I send t h e m t o o a n d t h e y c a n

t h r i v e F o r t u n a t e l y , m y three sons were intelligent enough, and three of them got admission to Oxford We cannot say anything bad about any university Is there any university in India where I can send my t a l e n t e d c h i l d r e n a n d confidently say that they a r e o n p a r w i t h t h e international level? Maybe one or two not more than that Undoubtedly you are i n c r e a s i n g a n u m b e r o f universities with the same q u a l i t y , w h i c h i s i t s

limitation It needs to be taken care of Education is the most important thing, i t i s t h e d r i v i n g f o r c e

b e h i n d a m o d e r n

e c o n o m y I f y o u d o n ' t work on something new, if there is no research and development, you cannot b e s e l f - r e l i a n t i n y o u r

i n d u s t r y , a n d y o u r

progress will be hindered w h i l e o t h e r c o u n t r i e s m o v e f o r w a r d C o n s i d e r i n g t h i s , I f e e l t h a t a n y g o v e r n m e n t i n G u j a r a t , t h e i r p r i m a r y a g e n d a s h o u l d b e t o i m p r o v e t h e e d u c a t i o n s y s t e m , n o t o n l y a t t h e university level but also at the primary and secondary education levels ”

“ L a s t l y , I w a n t t o mention that there is a lot o f p o v e r t y i n G u j a r a t , especially in tribal areas A lot of work needs to be done in that area too and d e s e r v e s s i g n i f i c a n t a t t e n t i o n b y t h e government I hope that in t h i s c o n t e x t , a v o i c e emerges from here to the government's ears through Mr C B Patel Your two p r i o r i t i e s s h o u l d b e e d u c a t i o n a n d p o v e r t y Unless we address these two issues, we won't make s i g n i f i c a n t p r o g r e s s B e c a u s e w i t h o u t p r o p e r e d u c a t i o n a n d e c o n o m i c advancement, no country's p r o g r e s s c a n m o v e forward ”

Lord Navnit Dholakia

PK. Laheri, Former Chief Secretary of Gujarat

Lord Prof Bhikhu Parekh

Kapil Dudakia – Renowned Columnist

Ka p il D u d a k i a sa id , “ T h e r e a r e s o m a n y fa ct ion s in t he e arly d ay s a nd t he y ha d t o br i n g t h e G uj a r a t i c om m u n i t y t og e t h e r T h e y w e r e a ll c o m in g f r o m d if fe r e n t p lace s I t hink t hat was the t ime when the g enius id ea of t he N a t i on a l C o un ci l o f G uj a r a t i s or g a n i sa t io n ( N C G O ) ca m e t h r ou g h in 1 985

And I think by bringing e v e r y o n e t o g e t h e r p e o p l e who stood and started to learn that we actually have a common aim and agenda, which actually unites us It's not just our language that u n i t e s u s ; i t ’ s a b o u t o u r c u l t u r e , o u r a n c e s t r y , o u r history Even, I was affected by the day-to-day racism and I came across many others

Dh i ru b h a i Ga dv i ex p r es s e d h i s h ea r tf e lt greetings on the f oundatio n day of Gujarat and thanked to M r C B Patel fo r organizing t h i s p r o gr a m G u ja r at S am a ch a r a nd As ia n Vo i c e h ave b e en s er vi ng w ith o u t any bias f or the welf are and rights o f our co mmunity at l arge I a m h e r e a s a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f t h e G C S (Gujarat Culture Society) in B r i t a i n a n d a l s o a c t i v e i n

facing the same situation I think a huge contribution has been made by NCGO and the founders and all the o t h e r s w h o a c t u a l l y h a v e come through all the years because they've actually kept that torch burning so nicely Somewhere around 35 to 37 G u j a r a t i o r g a n i s a t i o n s a r e actually part of NCGO “

“I think we Gujarati are net contributors in the UK, especially in the last 10 years

We had jobs at mills and o t h e r p l a c e s T h e n w e started running stores, and after that, we developed into a m e d i u m - s i z e d c o m p a n y A n d n o w , i n a d d i t i o n t o operating on a vast scale and h a n d l i n g b u s i n e s s e s , w e h a v e a l s o e n t e r e d p o l i t i c s though on a little scale, but at least we succeeded,” he added S p e a k i n g a b o u t t h e community, he said, “As I m e n t i o n e d p r e v i o u s l y , I ' m n o t s u r e h o w t o d e s c r i b e myself, but I'm a Gujarati w i t h I n d i a n a n c e s t r y w h o has lived outside of India for four or five generations I'm a l s o B r i t i s h A l l o f t h o s e i d e n t i t i e s a r e v e r y important They make me who I am and I am proud of it ”

He expressed his gratitud e to ev eryone for g iving him an opp ortunity to share his though ts on this platform

“I can see th e enthusiasm of CB Patel h as increased nowadays as com pared to those d ays when I prep ared your book ‘ Lov e Gujarat’

Currently, eminent Gujarati people from various parts of the world are present on this platform They know how much influence Gujarati people spread around the world Achievements of Gujarati people in each and every sector brings immense pride and inspiration ”

put my best efforts to make sure that its branches grow more and our all Gujarati people get its fruits, and that responsibility that you have entrusted on me, I will do as much as possible to help raise Gujarat's profile in the world, with C K Patel and the entire team ”

NCGO Our Vice Presidents

Jitubhai and Kantibhai Nagda are also present here When I talk about CB Sir's service, for

t h e p a s t t w o y e a r s d u r i n g C O V I D , w e c o n s i s t e n t l y organized various remarkable programs, which I have been c o n t i n u o u s l y d o c u m e n t i n g O n G u j a r a t E s t a b l i s h m e n t Day, I and you should not only remember Gujarat but a l s o w o r k t o w a r d s g l o b a l recognition for Gujarat and a p p r e c i a t e t h e p o e t s a n d s t a t e s m e n w h o h a v e preserved our culture, values, and heritage through their hard work

“This was a time when the prime focus was on uniting Gujarati people worldwide, and they accomplished this by establishing many social organisations Krushnakantji is no more now I have had significant experience with him He held the top position of the VGS leadership for 30 years Even at that age, he was enthusiastic about promoting and advancing the organisation and its people We must continue to move forward with steady progress and strive

for the unity and progress of the Gujarati community globally Today Gujarati organisations have increased in many countries with the passage of time We are working to consolidate the data of these organisations, which requires a lot of effort and patience to update It is very important for all organisations to come on the same page as a token of solidarity, as and when Gujarati people do something everyone in the world can know it We keep engaging in social activities, such as the efforts made during the pandemic to bring back stranded youth in foreign countries, and continue such routine activities ”

“To briefly speak now, the way you all have created and nurtured VGS from a small seed to a giant banyan tree, I will

“The last point is that 24 people were martyred in the Mahagujarat movement, we should pay our respects to them on this day It is not because Gujarat was created due to regionalism, but because after 1920, Mahatma Gandhi suggested the formation of state committees and there was still a need to create Gujarat as a state based on language Let us also remember holy people such as Indulal Yagnik and Ravishankar Maharaj who led Gujarat in this movement In addition, let us pay homage to everyone who has contributed to the political, cultural, and religious fields in Gujarat and who has helped in the development of Gujarat Jai Jai Garvi Gujarat to all Gujarati people who have contributed to Gujarat's progress ”

Jyot

snaben S hah said “It is natural for m e, you, and us t o f ee l p ro u d o f be i ng Gujarati M y heart is filled w ith joy on the fou nd ation d ay o f Gu j ar at Gu j ar at S am achar and A sian Voice are not just newspapers that sp read the new s abroad, but it is the m ost belo ved weekly for Gujarati peo ple, which rep resent th e difference in p rid e, lang uag e, literature, h o n o u r, c u ltu r e, a nd religio n of Gujarati peo ple

Shri CB Patel, leads the creation of the mirror image o f h i s v a s t v i s i o n a n d d y n a m i s m i n m a k i n g Gujarat Samachar and Asian

Voice a daily necessity for r e a d e r s G u j a r a t i p e o p l e living in India and abroad express their solidarity in l a r g e n u m b e r s I a m honoured to have witnessed it for nearly 40 years as a

Ma h es h L il o ri ya s ai d , “ G u j ara t h a s be en a s y m bo l o f g r o w th , p r o sp e ri ty , a nd d ev e lo p m e nt f o r ye ars S ince the establishment o f t h e s ta te, G u j ara t h as achieved new dimensions o f d ev elopm ent, and Gujarati p eop le hav e achieved great s u cc ess o u tsi d e t he sta te C o ng r atu l ati o ns to everyone on Gujarat Day

T o d a y , w i t h t h e invaluable contribution of Gujarat and Gujarati people, I n d i a i s m o v i n g f o r w a r d w i t h u n p r e c e d e n t e d a n d h i s t o r i c p r o g r e s s M r C B

Patel has taken the initiative to guide society in the right

companion in its 50 years of j o u r n e y I w o u l d l i k e t o c o n g r a t u l a t e t h e a m a z i n g efforts of ABPL's team to c o n d u c t s u c h e v e n t s online ”

“Although I have been living in Britain for about 40 years, this is the first time I have spent such a long time in Gujarat As a result, I have come to see Gujarat from a different perspective and I can see that the youth in G u j a r a t i s f u l l o f s e l f -

c o n f i d e n c e T h e s e p e o p l e t a k e p l e a s u r e i n w o r k i n g hard and earning money in l i f e M e a n w h i l e , I h a v e noticed a transformation in Gujarat's roads and markets, which indicates its progress P M M o d i h a s t r u l y a w a k e n e d a s e n s e o f p a t r i o t i s m a m o n g t h e citizens of our country We a r e g r i n d i n g i n t h e pandemic and inflation, we are anxious about inflation, while I have seen in Gujarat t h a t n o t e v e r y o n e i s bothered by it Everyone is living life happily in their own way Fear is not visible to anyone The meaning of the saying is that Gujarati people have learned to live happily in any condition for a long In some areas, we are lagging behind, it is a false pride on this issue Ignoring progress is not possible ”

DrVal llabhbh ai Ka thiriya f orme r MP f rom Ra jkot, co nv eyed th at “ o n the occasion of Gujara t's f ounda tion da y, I congra tula te ev er yone fo r th is e ve nt I congra tula te you f or pre se nting the tr ue e ssence of Gujara t's pr id e In re al te rms, Gujar at ha s be come a labora tor y of d eve lop ment t oda y and is be ing pr esente d as a n examp le in t he country Ma ny e nvy our e co nom ic p rogr ess, bu t beca use o f t he ha rd work of th e Guja ra ti pe opl e a nd the ir vision, the Gu ja rat i pe opl e a re mov ing ah ead Y ou a re our a mba ssa dor s he lping Gujar at and Ind ia in e ver y possible wa y ”

Patel, the m anaging ed itor of Gu jarat Sam achar, anno unced on the occasion of Gujarat Fo und ation Day that after th e uph eaval of the Indulal Yagnik mov ement, Gujarat separated from M aharashtra and cam e into existence

While Gujarat gave us patriots like Sardar Patel and Gandhi, it also gave us devotees like Narasaiya So on this Gujarat Foundation Day, congratulations to everyone

d i r e c t i o n , a n d w e t o o should join hands and take pride in this social service, w h i c h i s c o n t r i b u t i n g towards the welfare of all communities and the Hindu c o m m u n i t y , a n d a l s o i n p r o m o t i n g G u j a r a t S a m a c h a r , w h i c h s e r v e s Gujarati people

“You are showcasing our culture, our pride, traditions, and heritage in a unique way across the world As the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has come and brought glory to the country worldwide Today, the entire world is looking at India in a different way PM Modi is making efforts to make India a great India, and a distinct India. We have just celebrated the 75th anniversary of independence In the 100 years of independence, the time of Amrutkal will become the best time for the country Under the G-20, the idea of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam is being watched by the world “

The pro gramm e end ed with a vo te of th anks fro m Sang at Centre's C EO and Special Ad visor of A BPL Group , Mr K anti Nag da MBE who exp ressed his g ratitude to all the d ignitaries, sup porters and w ell-w ishers who attend ed this ev ent and shared th eir thoug hts, opinions and su ggestions on Gujarat and its pride in the occasion

Dhirubhai Gadhvi, Gujarat Culture Society-Brighton

Sudhir Raval, Veteran Journalist and General Secretary Vishwa Gujarati Samaj

Kokilaben

Kokilaben Patel, Managing Editor of Gujarat Samachar

Jyotsnaben Shah, Consulting Editor - Gujarat Samachar

Dr. Vallabhbhai Kathiriya, Former MP

Mahesh Liloriya, Global Group Editor, ABPL Group

Kanti Nagda MBE, CEO-Sangat Centre

CB Patel

Singer Maya Deepak

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Oxygen therapy enhances cardiac functions in Covid patients

Research p resented at E ACV I 2023 , a s c i ent if i c c o ng res s o f th e E uro p ean S o ci ety o f C ard i o log y ( E S C ) , f o u nd th a t h yp e rb ari c o x yg en th er ap y en h an ce s th e heart’ s ability to co ntract correctly S tu d y a ut h o r P r of es s o r M a ri na

Leitm an of th e Sackler Sch ool of M edicine, Tel Av iv University and S h a m i r M ed ic a l C e ntr e, B e ’ er Ya’ akov , Israel, said , “T he stu dy su g ges ts that h yp erb ari c o xygen th e ra p y c an b e b en efi c i al in patients with long C ovid ” T h e y a d d e d , “ W e u s e d a s e n s i t i v e m e a s u r e o f c a r d i a c function which is not routinely p e r f o r m e d i n a l l c e n t r e s M o r e studies are needed to determine w h i c h p a t i e n t s w i l l b e n e f i t t h e most, but it may be that all long C o v i d p a t i e n t s s h o u l d h a v e a n assessment of global longitudinal strain and be offered hyperbaric oxygen therapy if heart function is reduced ”

While most Covid-19 sufferers fully recover, 10-20 per cent of patients develop long Covid, also

c a l l e d p o s t - C o v i d c o n d i t i o n s o r s y n d r o m e S y m p t o m s i n c l u d e shortness of breath, fatigue, cough,

c h e s t p a i n , r a p i d o r i r r e g u l a r heartbeats, body aches, rashes, loss of taste or smell, nausea, vomiting,

d i a r r h e a , h e a d a c h e , d i z z i n e s s ,

i n s o m n i a , b r a i n f o g , d e p r e s s i o n and anxiety

P a t i e n t s w i t h p o s t - C o v i d

s y n d r o m e m a y a l s o

d e v e l o p c a r d i a c

d y s f u n c t i o n a n d a r e a t

i n c r e a s e d r i s k o f cardiovascular disorders

T h e r a n d o m i s e d c o n t r o l l e d d o u b l e - b l i n d trial evaluated the effect

o f h y p e r b a r i c o x y g e n therapy (HBOT) on the cardiac function of long

C o v i d p a t i e n t s H B O T involves inhalation of 100 p e r c e n t p u r e o x y g e n a t h i g h pressure to increase delivery to the body’s tissues, which is particularly b e n e f i c i a l f o r t i s s u e s t h a t a r e starved of oxygen due to injury or i n f l a m m a t i o n H B O T i s a n e s t a b l i s h e d t r e a t m e n t f o r n o nh e a l i n g w o u n d s , d e c o m p r e s s i o n s i c k n e s s i n d i v e r s , c a r b o n m o n o x i d e p o i s o n i n g , r a d i a t i o n i n j u r y a n d c e r t a i n t y p e s o f

infections

The study enrolled 60 post-

Nutritious diet is related to higher physical fitness in middle-aged people

A stud y published in the European Journal o f Prev entiv e C ardiology f o u nd th at a nu tri t io u s d i e t i s related to h igher ph ysical fitness in m id dle-aged peo ple Stu dy au thor D r M ic h a el M i o f B et h I sr ael D ea co n es s M e d i ca l C en ter , Bosto n, US, said , “This study prov ides some of th e strong est and m ost rig orous data thus far to supp ort the c onnectio n that better d iets may lead to h igher fitness T he i mp ro v ement in fi tness we observed in p articipants with better d iets w as sim ilar to the effect of taking 400 0 mo re step s each day ”

Cardiorespiratory fitness measures the body s ability to deliver and utilise oxygen during exercise

It considers the health of several organ systems, including the heart, lungs, blood vessels, and muscles

It is one of the most powerful indic a t o r s o f h e a l t h a n d l i f e s p a n

While exercise improves cardiorespiratory fitness, there are disparities in fitness among persons who exercise the same amount, indicating that other factors have a role A healthy diet has been linked to various health advantages, but it is unknown if it is also linked to fit-

ness This study aimed to see if a nutritious diet is related to physical fitness in community-dwelling

i n d i v i d u a l s T h e F r a m i n g h a m

Heart Study includes 2,380 participants The average age was 54, and 5 4 % o f t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s w e r e female To determine peak VO2, participants performed a maximal e f f o r t c a r d i o p u l m o n a r y e x e r c i s e test on a cycle ergometer

Dr Mi said, "In middle-aged a d u l t s , h e a l t h y d i e t a r y p a t t e r n s were strongly and favourably associated with fitness even after taki n g h a b i t u a l a c t i v i t y l e v e l s i n t o account The relationship was similar in women and men, and more

p r o n o u n c e d i n t h o s e u n d e r 5 4 years of age compared to older

Obesity can increase risk of cancers

According to recent r esearch, both metabolica lly he althy and unhea lthy 'forms' of ob esity are associated with an eleva ted r isk of va rious obesity related cancers Dr Mi ng Sun, of Lund Univer sity in Malmo, Sweden, a nd colleagues conducted the study, later published in the Journa l of the National Ca ncer Institute

Researchers looked at the association between metabolic health status and body mass index (BMI, normal weight/overw e i g h t / o b e s i t y ) r e g a r d i n g o b e s i t y - r e l a t e d c a n c e r r i s k

(n=23,630) in 797,193 Europeans

According to the scientists, among men, the data indicate that obesity and metabolic issues together enhance the risk of these obesity-related cancers significantly They say, "This has important public health implications, suggesting that a significant number of cancer cases could potentially be prevented by targeting the co-existence of metabolic problems and obesity, in particular for obesity-related cancers among men "

“This study highlights the type of metabolic obesity phenotype is important when assessing obesity-related cancer r i s k I n g e n e r a l , b e i n g m e t a b o l i c a l l y u n h e a l t h y f u r t h e r increased the obesity-related cancer risk,” they added

C o v i d s y n d r o m e p a t i e n t s w i t h

o n g o i n g s y m p t o m s f o r a t l e a s t

three months after having mild to moderate symptomatic Covid-19

confirmed by a PCR test Both hospitalised and non-hospitalised p a t i e n t s w e r e i n c l u d e d S e v e r e

C o v i d c a s e s w e r e e x c l u d e d P a t i e n t s w e r e r a n d o m i s e d t o

HBOT or a sham procedure in a 1:1

r a t i o E a c h p a t i e n t h a d f i v e sessions per week over eight weeks, f o r a t o t a l o f 4 0 s e s s i o n s T h e

H B O T g r o u p r e c e i v e d 1 0 0 % o x y g e n t h r o u g h a m a s k a t a pressure of 2 atmospheres for 90 minutes, with 5-minute air breaks every 20 minutes The sham group breathed 21% oxygen by mask at 1 atmosphere for 90 minutes All

p a r t i c i p a n t s u n d e r w e n t e c h o c a r d i o g r a p h y a t b a s e l i n e (before the first session) and 1 to 3 weeks after the last session

Echocardiography was used to a s s e s s l e f t v e n t r i c u l a r g l o b a l

l o n g i t u d i n a l s t r a i n ( G L S ) , measuring the heart's ability to contract and relax lengthwise It i n d i c a t e s h o w w e l l t h e h e a r t functions and can help detect early signs of heart disease A healthy heart will have a GLS value of around -20%, meaning the heart muscle can properly contract and relax in the longitudinal direction Reduced GLS is an early marker that the heart cannot contract and relax effectively Professor Leitman said, “It was notable that almost half of long C o v i d p a t i e n t s h a d i m p a i r e d c a r d i a c f u n c t i o n a t b a s e l i n e a c c o r d i n g t o G L S d e s p i t e a l l p a r t i c i p a n t s h a v i n g a n o r m a l e j e c t i o n f r a c t i o n , w h i c h i s t h e standard method for measuring the heart s ability to contract This means that ejection fraction is not sensitive enough to identify long Covid patients with reduced heart function ”

adults ” The researchers performed further analyses to discover the p o t e n t i a l m e c h a n i s m l i n k i n g diet and fitness They examined the relationship between d i e t q u a l i t y , f i t n e s s a n d m e t a b o l i t e s , s u b s t a n c e s p r o -

d u c e d d u r i n g d i g e s t i o n a n d released into the blood during exercise 201 metabolites (e g amino acids) were measured in blood samples collected from a subset of 1,154 study participants Some 24 metabolites were associated with either poor diet and fitness or favourable diet and fitness after adjusting for the same factors considered in the previous analyses Dr Mi said, "Our metabolite data suggest that eating healthily is associated with better metabolic health, which could be one possible way that it leads to improved fitness and ability to exercise ” H e n o t e d l i m i t a t i o n s , " T h i s was an observational study and we cannot conclude that eating well causes better fitness, or exclude the possibility of a reverse relationship, i e that fit individuals choose to eat healthily ”

Traffic-related air pollution could weaken brain function, says study

R e s e a r ch f r om t h e U n i ve r si t y of C a l i for ni a , Irvine foun d me mory loss, cognitive de cl ine , an d the a ctivat ion of n eural pat hway s linked to the start of A l z he i me r ’ s d i se a s e w e r e s ho wn t o b e c a us e d b y e x posur e t o ai r pol l ut ion c a us e d b y t r a ff ic Th e study's r esul ts are publ ished in t he journal Toxicol og ical Scie nce s Masashi Kitazawa, Ph D , associate professor of environmental and occupational health in the UCI Programme in Public Health, is the corresponding and senior author of the study "The link between air pollution and Alzheimer's disease is concerning, as the prevalence of toxicants in ambient air is not just on the rise globally, but also hitting close to home here in Irvine," he said The effects of particulate matter on brain function are not limited to what our studies show Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia among the elderly and is a growing public health crisis in the US and several

65% of doctor-moms struggle to balance personal, professional lives

A s t u dy c o nd u c te d b y India-based Pristyn Care and Lybrate Data found 65 per cent of su rveyed do c t o r- m o th er s i n ke y metropo litan and Tier- 2 cities experience burno ut wh ile striving to balance th eir personal and p rofes sional lives

The study said 41 per cent of the 500 doctorm o m s s u r v e y e d h a v e e x p e r i e n c e d w o r k p l a c e discrimination for “being a doctor and a mother ” The study was conducted i n D e l h i , M u m b a i ,

,

K a n p u r , C h a n d i g a r h , P a t n a , K o c h i a n d Vijayawada An average of 63 per cent of the doct o r s w o r k e i g h t t o 1 2 h o u r s d a i l y , i m p a c t i n g t h e i r a b i l i t y t o a c h i e v e s a t i s f a c t o r y w o r k - l i f e h a r m o n y O v e r 5 0 p e r cent of these professionals struggle to find time for self-care, it said To address these issues, 61 per cent of the respondents prefer flexible work hours while around 20 per cent emphasise the i m p o r t a n c e o f m e n t a l health support

Dr Garima Sawhney, co-founder and gynaecologist at Pristyn Care, said, " T h e s t u d y a i m s t o understand how doctormoms navigate their pers o n a l a n d p r o f e s s i o n a l lives We considered their work hours, preferences for scheduling, self-care p r a c t i c e s a n d p e r s p e ctives on HR policies "An overwhelming 80 per cent of the particip a n t s s a y w o r k p l a c e s should provide targeted s u p p o r t a n d r e s o u r c e s s p e c i f i c a l l y t a i l o r e d f o r doctor-moms ”

other countries Despite extensive r e s e a r c h o n a l l a s p e c t s o f Alzheimer's disease, its exact orig i n s r e m a i n e l u s i v e A l t h o u g h genetic predispositions are known to play a prominent role in disease progression, growing bodies of evidence suggest that environmental toxicants, specifically air pollution, may cause the onset of Alzheimer's disease

Researchers conducted testing related to memory tasks and cognitive function and found that both b e n c h m a r k s w e r e i m p a i r e d b y e x p o s u r e t o p a r t i c u l a t e m a t t e r Notably, they also discovered that their older models (12 months at the time of analysis) showed brain plaque build-up and glial cell activation, which are both known to increase inflammation associated with the onset of Alzheimer's disease

“Air pollution is one of the very few prominent, modifiable envir o n m e n t a l r i s k f a c t o r s i n Alzheimer's disease," said co-author Michael Kleinman, PhD, adjunct p r o f e s s o r o f e n v i r o n m e n t a l a n d o c c u p a t i o n a l h e a l t h i n U C I ' s Program in Public Health "Public a n d e n v i r o n m e n t a l r e g u l a t o r y agencies need to accelerate efforts to reduce particulate matter levels i n o r d e r t o r e d u c e t h e r i s k o f Alzheimer's disease and other serious health conditions ”

Kitazawa added, “This evidence is alarming, and it's imperative that we take action to adopt effective a n d e v i d e n c e - b a s e d r e g u l a t i o n s , s p r e a d a w a r e n e s s o n l i f e s t y l e c h a n g e s a n d w o r k t o g e t h e r t o

”

Parineeti Chopra, Raghav Chadha officially engaged

Actress Parineeti Chopra and politician

Raghav Chadha are now officially engaged in a beautiful, intimate ceremony Photos and a video fro ceremony have surfac online and give a glim inside the dreamy dec a massive cake, and show the newlyengaged couple singing and dancing together

I n a v i d e o Parineeti and Ragha were seen twinning white, grooved to a so while holding each o close They also cut a layer white cake deco real white flowers The two also share a kiss before they feed each other cake

Parineeti and Raghav got engaged at Delhi's Kapurthala House on Saturday evening with family and close friends The couple shared the news with fans via

identical posts "Everything I prayed for I said yes Waaheguru ji meher karan (May G o d b e k i n d ) , " w r o t e P a r i n e e t i o n While Raghav tweeted, ng I prayed for She y e s W a a h e g u r u j i h e r k a r a n " S o o n er, wishes poured in or the newly-engaged c o u p l e f r o m c e l e b s s u c h a s P a r i n e e t i ’ s c o u s i n a n d a c t o r P r i y a n k a C h o p r a , Anushka Sharma and R a n v e e r S i n g h t o o l i t i c i a n s s u c h a s l h i C h i e f M i n i s t e r nd Kejriwal ineeti and Raghav’s m o u r s b e g a n s o m e time back after they were pictured at a Mumbai restaurant earlier this year

S i n c e t h e n , t h e y a l s o m a d e j o i n t appearances at the Delhi and Mumbai a i r p o r t s T h e y w e r e r e c e n t l y s p o t t e d together at an IPL match

Varun Dhawan to star in Atlee and Murad Khetani’s upcoming film

Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan is set to collaborate with director Atlee Kumar and producer Murad Khetani for an upcoming action entertainer. The film is slated to hit the theatres in the summer of 2024 This will be the first time that the trio will be working together

Irrfan Khan, Priyanka broke stereotypes in the West, says Huma Qureshi

Ithas been almost two years since Huma Qureshi’s Hollywood stint, ‘Army of the Dead ’ While the web film garnered a positive response, there haven’t been any announcements of her second international project since Qureshi admits she is very picky and is in no rush to sign projects

Acute video of actors Deepika

Padukone and Ranveer Singh doing the round on social media. In the video, Singh is seen crashing Deepika’s Time magazine interview when she was about to answer a question about their marriage Ranveer starts to leave when she stops him and tells him that his arrival coincides with the question about marriage A surprised Ranveer answers, “What a cosmic thing to have happened ” Deepika told the interviewer to continue, and she was asked how long they’d been married She said they’d been married for nearly five years, and R a n v e e r a d d e d t h a t t h e y h a d b e e n together for over a decade They held hands, and Deepika blushed, “What are we doing?” She giggled, and Ranveer replied, “I just came to say hi ” He also gave her a couple of kisses Deepika

and Ranveer tied the knot in 2018

R e a c t i n g t o t h e v i d e o , o n e f a n commented, “I am very happy to see them happy,” another fan wrote, “Her

l a u g h ” D e e p i k a s a i d i n t h e s a m e interview she is her “most vulnerable self” with him and that the ingredient

f o r a s u c c e s s f u l r e l a t i o n s h i p i s “patience”

Fans are gaga about Deepika and Ranveer sharing a tender moment on camera, as there have been rumours t h a t t h e c o u p l e h a s b e e n g o i n g t h r o u g h i s s u e s i n t h e i r m a r r i a g e

However, both the actors have chosen not to heed the rumours Recently, at an event in Mumbai, Deepika rejected Ranveer’s gesture to hold his hand, and he instead held the pallu of her saree w h i l e w a l k i n g t h e r e d c a r p e t

However, the couple happily posed at t h e

A source said, “Varun has been in talks with Atlee and Murad for a feature film for a while now and the actor is all set to commence shooting for the same by early August ” The report further added, “It’s a proper commercial entertainer and at present in the preproduction stage The team is coming together to create a big-scale action experience for the audience ” In addition, the team is currently focused on getting the entire technical crew on board, in addition to the cast ensemble

While stating that the female lead and antagonist will be locked by June, the source continued, “While the story is high on emotion and drama, action is at the forefront and the team is looking to create stylish and larger than life sequences for Varun The film will be shot over a period of four to five months as the makers are targeting it to be the big Summer 2024 release in cinema halls across the globe ”

W h i l e o t h e r d e t a i l s o f t h e u p c o m i n g a c t i o n entertainer are yet to be disclosed, the report stated that the film will be produced by Atlee and Murad Khetani

Huma said in an interview, “Army of the Dead was released in 2021, and in the same year, the first season of Maharani was also streamed Last year I had a p a c k e d y e a r w i t h M i t h y a , M a h a r a n i s e a s o n 2 , V a l i m a i , D o u b l e X L a n d M o n i c a , O M y D a r l i n g H o n e s t l y , I haven’t had the mind space to think about chasing after a project because I haven’t had a breather ”

She said as an actor, she is hungry for g o o d p r o j e c t s a n d r o l e s S h e a d d s , “Whether it’s in India or in the film industry in the US, I want to be part of cinema I have always been choosy about the work that I do and it’s no different when it comes to saying yes to the work that comes my way from the west When it comes to the work announcement from the West, you will have to wait and watch ”

Huma asserts there is no denying that Indian representation is getting better internationally, especially Indian projects making a mark at the Oscars as well “ I n d i a n c i n e m a h a s c a p t u r e d t h e imagination of the west for a long time now But what’s applause worthy and should be celebrated is the fact that a Telugu film (RRR) which celebrates the true spirit of commercial Indian cinema has won the Oscar for Best Original Song and other important recognitions in the US this year That’s not all, The Elephant Whisperers hit it out of the park by winning the Best Documentary Short F i l m O s c a r A s a n I n d i a n a n d a s a member of the Indian film fraternity, I f e l t p r o u d b e c a u s e w e h a d b e e n recognised in two completely different genres, ” she mentions, adding, “Indian actors have always played an important role in the cinema of the West ”

She also thanked the late Irrfan Khan and Priyanka Chopra for paving the way She said, “Top actors from the Hindi film i n d u s t r y i n c l u d i n g I r r f a n K h a n a n d

Priyanka Chopra have featured in films backed by top studios and directed by some of the most celebrated names in the west Their journeys are inspiring and they have clearly been able to break the s t e r e o t y p e s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h I n d i a n actors ”

Deepika-Ranveer indulge in rare PDA, fans can’t stop fawning

Sobhita Dhulipala breaks silence on dating rumours with Naga

Chaitanya

Actress Sobhita Dhulipala addressed rumours about her relationship with actor Naga Chaitanya in a recent media interaction The actor, who has been busy promoting her latest film ‘Ponniyin Selvan: II,’ said she is now focusing on her career She also added that she doesn’t need to answer to people “who speak without knowledge ”

Meera Jasmine returns to the Tamil film ‘Test’ after 9 years

Soundarya

Rajinikanth lodges police complaint about missing SUV key

Soundarya Rajinikanth has filed a police complaint about missing a key to her sport utility vehicle (SUV). According to a media report, she complained that she had lost the key to her Range Rover car when she used another car to travel to a function at a private college In March this year, her older sister Aishwarya filed a police complaint over the theft of jewellery worth 60 sovereigns

Naga Chaitanya was previously married to actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu Since their relationship ended in 2021, his name has been linked to Sobhita A picture of the two at a restaurant surfaced online a couple of months ago, further fuelling their relationship rumours Neither of them has confirmed or denied their alleged relationship

Now reacting to the rumours, Sobhita said, “I m very fortunate for having a chance to work in beautiful films I'm a classical dancer and I like dancing To have performed three AR Rahman's songs in Mani Ratnam's film is a very big thing for me I am focused on it right now For people who speak without knowledge, I don't think I need to answer them I don't feel the urge to clarify things when I'm not doing any wrong and it is not my business ”

Sobhita added that instead of clarifying things, 'people write with half-knowledge', and therefore, she prefers to be 'calm' and f o c u s o n h e r l i f e S h e s a i d , I n s t e a d o f answering or clarifying about things people write with half-knowledge, one must focus on your life, improve it, be calm, and try to be a good person ”

Actress

Meera Jasmine, who has been missing from the Tamil screen for the past nine years, is now joining Madhavan for the film ‘Test ’ The movie marks the directorial debut of producer Sashikanth

Meera returned to Malayalam cinema last year with the film ‘Makal,’ which featured Jayaram as the male lead The movie failed to make an impact at the box office

Meera shared the news about her Tamil venture on Instagram She wrote, “There is something so fulfilling about returning to f a m i l i a r s p a c e s a n d p e o p l e t h a t r e m a i n

unchanged amidst all the transformations S o h o n o r e d t o b e j o i n i n g h a n d s w i t h @ a c t o r m a d d y @ w o r l d o f s i d d h a r t h

#Nayanthara for @sash041075 @studiosynot for TEST ”

Besides Meera and Madhavan, the film also stars Nayanthara and Siddharth The movie marks the debut of singer Shakthisree Gopalan as a music composer Though it is evident from the motion poster and title that Test is about the game of cricket, the plot and other details of the film are still unknown The shooting of the movie is already in progress

Suriya flaunts biceps as he works on his physique for ‘Kanguva’

As per the FIR copy, Aishwarya had kept the jewellery in a locker and revealed some o f h e r h o u s e h e l p w a s a w a r e o f i t Teynampet Police had registered a case under Section 381 of the IPC and have starte d a n i n v e s t i g a t i o n I n h e r c o m p l a i n t ,

Aishwarya revealed that she wore the jewellery for her sister Soundarya’s wedding in 2019 Since then, it has been kept in a locker in her possession

Suriya has joined forces with director Siva of ‘Viswasam’ fame for their upcoming movie ‘Kanguva.’ The news has amplified the enthusiasm of the actor’s supporters.

Now, in an exciting update, the co-producer of the movie, Studio Green, unveiled a captivating photo of the actor mid-workout, flaunting his well-defining biceps The brief 10-second clip features just a single image accompanied by a captivating background score of ‘Kanguva ’ Studio Green captioned the clip, “It’s #Kanguva mode ”

Bankrolled by Gnanvel Raja for Studio Green, the movie will mark the Tamil d e b u t o f D i s h a P a t a n i , w h i l e D e v i S r i

P r a s a d w i l l c o m p o s e t h e f i l m ’ s s o n g s While Gnanvel has already announced that it will be the costliest movie in Suriya’s career and that Siva was building a whole new world for the period thriller, the direct o r r e c e n t l y e x p l a i n e d w h a t i t m e a n t

Explaining the meaning of the name, Siva said Kangu meant ‘fire’ in Tamil and that

Kanguva was about a person who could wield fire

However, he also cautioned not to take the word's literal meaning and think Suriya would be playing a man with a superpower “The mythology-like setting might lead s o m e o n e t o b e l i e v e t h i s i s a f a n t a s y

However, ‘Kanguva’ is not a fantasy film and Suriya sir’s character does not have any superpowers, ” he told the publication

Meanwhile, it was reported that the historical fictional film’s digital rights were sold at an unprecedented price According to producer Gnanavel, the film’s South Indian digital rights alone were sold to Amazon Prime Video for £8 million ‘Kanguva’ will release in 3D in 10 languages in 2024 It will be co-produced by UV Creations While Adi Narayana wrote the screenplay for the film, Madan Karky p e n n e d t h e d i a l o g u e S u r i y a r e c e n t l y wrapped up a schedule for the movie in Kodaikanal

However, over the last three years, the locker had been moved around, including her ex-husband Dhanush’s apartment in 2021 and later to her apartment in the same year Last year, it was finally shifted to her father Rajinikanth’s residence, while the keys to the locker remained in her flat

The report added that Aishwarya said d i a m o n d s e t s , a n t i q u e g o l d p i e c e s , Navaratnam sets, bangles, and nearly 60 sovereigns worth 360,000 had been stolen

She named her two maids and driver as suspects in her complaint The police arrested driver and domestic help in connection with the case

Soundarya is the younger daughter of Rajinikanth and his wife, Latha Rajinikanth

S h e m a d e h e r d i r e c t o r i a l d e b u t w i t h

‘Kochadaiiyaan,’ a motion capture film, in 2014 It starred her father in a lead role with D e e p i k a P a d u k o n e S h e a l s o d i r e c t e d ‘Velaiilla Pattadhari 2 ’ with Dhanush and Kajol in lead roles S h e g o t m a r r i e d t o b u s i n e s s m a n Vishagan Vanangamudi in February 2019

They welcomed their first child, a son Veer, in 2022

Gucci announces

Alia Bhatt as its global ambassador

Actor Alia Bhatt has become the first Indian to represent the Italian luxury fashion brand Gucci worldwide The brand shared pictures of Alia on its Instagram profile with the caption, “Alia Bhatt is the House’s newest Global Brand Ambassador To mark the occasion, the actress, producer, and entrepreneur was captured with the Gucci Bamboo 1947 bag ”

Meera Syal wins BAFTA Fellowship, calls for diversity in the TV industry

the premier ors to regularly TV, thanked the emy of Film and Arts (BAFTA) for ” as she accepted me achievement he actor, best or starring in ss Gracious Me, cepted into the ship of the try’s highest ade S h e d e d i c a t e d win to the ones o s e s t o r i e s h a d ne unheard due to r r a c e , s e x o r while urging that n d u s t r y n e e d e d ersity “not just in camera but in the m s , i n m a k e u p und tables where e ” , reported The e also said that it eard stories that ential to change

Alia also took to the social media platform to r e s h a r e t h e p i c t u r e s w i t h t h e c a p t i o n , “ I ’ m honoured to represent the house of Gucci not only in India but at a global stage Gucci’s legacy has always inspired and intrigued me and I’m looking forward to the many sartorial milestones we create together ”

Gucci’s Cruise 2024 show took place at Seoul’s Gyeongbokgung Palace on May 16, showcasing the b r a n d ’ s 2 5 - y e a r p r e s e n c e i n S o u t h K o r e a

Originally scheduled for May 15, the show was moved to commemorate Gucci’s inaugural store opening in Seoul in 1998 The event was staged in f r o n t o f G e u n j e o n g j e o n , t h e p r i n c i p a l h a l l o f Gyeongbokgung Palace, renowned for hosting r o y a l c e r e m o n i e s a n d w e l c o m i n g f o r e i g n dignitaries during the Joseon Dynasty (1392 to 1910)

The cruise collection was crafted by Gucci’s inhouse team, as newly appointed creative director Sabato De Sarno’s inaugural designs for the brand w i l l b e u n v e i l e d i n S e p t e m b e r , f o l l o w i n g t h e departure of Alessandro Michele in November

S y a l w a s d e s c r i b e d a s a “ n a t i o n a l treasure” by BAFTA chair Krish Majumdar Her role in Goodness Gracious Me – shown on BBC Two from 1998 to 2001- changed the game and paved the way for many others

In another impactful instance from the e v e n t , K a t e W i n s l e t , i n h e r t e a r f u l acceptance speech for best actress, called for action against hate speech on social media S h e u r g e d p e o p l e w i t h w e r t o c r i m i n a l i s e harmful content She s y m p a t h i s e d w i t h t h e f a m i l i e s w h o felt like they were h e l d h o s t a g e b y s o c i a l m e d i a a n d “ f o r p a r e n t s w h o wish they could still m m u n i c a t e w i t h their teenagers, but who no longer can ” “And for young people who have become addicted to social media and its darker sides: this does not need to be your life”, she said

I Am Ruth chronicles the relationship between a mother and daughter, dealing with the mental health pressures of the online world Winslet starred in this film, alongside her daughter Mia Threapleton

Bharose' bags Best Film award at UK Asian Film Festival India's

'Bhagwan

‘Bhagwan Bharose’ has won the award for Best Film at the UK Asian Film Festival Directed by debutant Shiladitya Bora, the film features Vinay Pathak, Satendra Soni, Sparsh Suman, Manu Rishi Chadha, Masumeh Makhija and Shrikant Verma, among many others Shiladitya shared a short video as he received the award In his acceptance speech, he said, “Thank you UK Asian Film Festival for this This is my first film as a director, and this is my first award so this is definitely special ” He thanked his writers, producers, cast, crews, and lead actors He also thanked the Indian Ocean separately for creating music for his film Shiladitya captioned the video, "My first feature film as Director My first a w a r d T h i s o n e i s d e f i n i t e l y s p e c i a l

‘Bhagwan Bharose’ wins the BEST FILM a t t h e 2 5 t h U K A s i a n F i l m F e s t i v a l , L o n d o n H u m b l e d a n d H o p e f u l

#BhagwanBharoseTheFilm ”

Nick was seven when he watched me win Miss World: Priyanka

Actress Priyanka Chopra has revealed that her husband Nick Jonas saw her for the first time 23 years ago when she was crowned Miss World aged 18. In a recent appearance on ‘The Jennifer Hudson Show,’ Peewee recounted a conversation with her mother-in-law, who had remembered watching her win the prestigious beauty pageant in London in 2000

Denise Miller-Jonas recalled the event, sharing that the young beauty queen captivated Kevin Sr, Priyanka’s f a t h e r - i n - l a w , w h o l o v e d w a t c h i n g pageants In an incredible twist of fate, a seven-year-old Nick sat beside his father and watched Priyanka claim the Miss W o r l d c r o w n W h i l e s h e w a s i n i t i a l l y skeptical, as the Jonas family was living in

Texas then, Denise insisted that Nick had watched the pageant and seen her win Priyanka recalled, “When my motherin-law told me that story, I was like 'I don't know ' When I had just turned 18, I won

the Miss World pageant This was in London This was November and I turned 18 in July A complete child and I had no idea what I was doing or what this world entailed, didn't have a l o t o f p r a c t i c e A p p a r e n t l y , m y mother-in-law was like ‘I remember watching you when you won!’ I was in London, this is 2000 They were in Texas I was like, There s no way!’”

The couple has been married for four years and share a daughter Marie Malti Chopra Jonas Priyanka opened up about motherhood, revealing that having a daughter with Nick has been “the most incredible experience ” She explained that being a mother has taught her “patience and gratitude” and she is excited to watch her daughter grow up The couple recently starred together in the film ‘Love Again ’

‘Bhagwan Bharose’ was the closing film for the 25th UK Asian Film Festival, a n d t h e s c r e e n i n g m a r k e d t h e f i l m ' s world premiere The story follows two impressionable kids (Satendra Soni and S p a r s h S u m a n ) s t r u g g l i n g w i t h t h e i r understanding of God and religion in the

90s Jharkhand

It was written by Sudhakar Nilmani and Mohit Chauhan Shiladitya Bora shot his debut feature in Deogarh, Jharkhand The film is co-produced by Sri Lankan f i l m m a k e r P r a s a n n a V i t h a n a g e a n d Shiladitya's Platoon One Films

Ahead of the premiere, Shiladitya had said in a press statement, “I feel blessed that a long cherished dream was made possible by a passionate and hardworking group of people, the best cast and crew one can have This film is a labour of love, a n d I c a n n o t w a i t f o r a u d i e n c e s t o experience the story and the incredible p e r f o r m a n c e s f r o m o u r t a l e n t e d c a s t

We're thrilled to start our journey with the prestigious UK Asian Film Festival in its silver jubilee edition, and hope to bring it back home to India soon ”

Talking about the film, Vinay had earlier said, "Bhagwan Bharose is a sweet and special story, and I've been fortunate enough to be a part of Shiladitya's first directorial venture May this be the start of his long illustrious cinema journey I can’t wait for the film to get completed and hit the screens ”

Titans first to qualify; sun sets on Sunrisers

Hitting 13 boundaries and a six in his 10 1 off 58 b al ls , S h u bm a n G il l g ui d e d th e d ef en d i ng c h a m p i o ns G u j ara t T i tan s to 1 8 8 / 9 T h e d ominance pro vided by Gill w as sustained by new-ball bow lers M ohammed S hami (4 /21) and Yash Dayal w hen the T itans bow led To gether they took fou r wickets in th e Pow erplay to redu ce Sunrisers Hyderabad to 4 5/4 before M ohit Sharm a (4 /28 ) got into th e act and to ok three wickets in his first sp ell Only a 68-run p artnersh ip betw een Heinri ch Klaas en and Bhuv neshwar staved off an even big ger d efeat S RH were restricted to 154/9, losing by 4 3 runs T he defeat end ed their ch ance o f qualifying for the playoffs wh ile Titans became the first team to qualify this season Chennai suffer shock loss

After suffering three early setbacks in a chase of 145 courtesy Deepak Chahar, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Nitish Rana allied with Rinku Singh to calmly guide the visitors to a six-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings Deepak Chahar was the only bright spot among the CSK bowlers, as he yet again found a way to make the crucial inroads in the powerplay He d i s l o d g e d K K R ’ s t o p 3 w i t h a w i d i s h l i n e o u t s i d e o f f s t u m p , a s w h a t s e e m e d l i k e innocuous deliveries turned into wicket-taking ones Earlier, Narine and Chakravarthy won the middle overs battle with four collective w i c k e t s , a n d S h a r d u l T h a k u r a n d V a i b h a v Arora bowled skillfully at the death as KKR restricted CSK to 144 Bangalore skittle ou t Rajasthan

It was Royals from Bangalore who came out all guns blazing to register a thumping 112 runs victory over Sanju Samson’s outfit in a sink-orswim clash at the SMS Stadium The Royal

C h a l l e n g e r s

B a n g a l o r e

(RCB) bowlers breathed fire and Rajasthan

Royals surrendered meekly in a chase of 172

The hosts were bundled out for 59 in just 10 3 overs, the third lowest IPL score

Only Shimron Hetmyer showed some fight and counter attacked with a 19-ball 35, which included 4 sixes and a boundary Lucknow make it to top four

T h e S u n r i s e r s H y d e r a b a d c o a c h w o u l d

r a t h e r l i k e t o s e e t h e m t e a r i n g d o w n t h e opposition and powering the team to a good total The joy of a thrilling win in Jaipur was short lived as Nicholas Pooran’s blinder (44*) took Lucknow to fourth on the table with 13 points from 12 games Like in Jaipur, Abdul Samad was in the thick of the action at the Rajiv

G a n d h i I n t e r n a t i o n a l S t a d i u m t o o a s h i s unbeaten 37 and 58 stand for the sixth wicket w i t h H e i n r i c h K l a a s e n t o o k t h e S u n r i s e r s , opting to bat first for the first time at home this season, to 182/6 The Lucknow skipper got rid of h i s o p p o s i t e n u m b e r a n d G l e n P h i l l i p s o f f successive deliveries to extend his stranglehold over Markram, whose IPL record against Pandya reads 8 balls, four runs and three dismissals

BCCI to get lion’s share in new financial model

The Indian cricket board (BCCI) is in l ine to rec eive nearl y 40 per cent of the Internat ional Cricket Council’s (ICC) annual earnings For the following c ycle, which runs f rom 2024 t o 2 027, the ICC financial and c om mer cial aff air s (F&CA) has s uggest ed a new revenue model Ac cording to the proposal , BCCI wil l rec eive alm os t $2 30 mill ion a yea r, or about 39 % of ICC's es tim ated total ear nings of $600 m il lion

In 2014, the revenue-sharing was based on the Big Three model, giving the BCCI, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), and Cricket Australia (CA) priority, with the BCCI still receiving more than ECB and CA With BCCI receiving $405 million across the cycle from 2015 to 2023, the concept was somewhat diluted in the previous cycle

ECB stands to be the next big beneficiary with $41 33 million followed by Australia getting $37 5 million and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) drawing $34 million

The F&CA is chaired by BCCI secretary Jay Shah The F&CA has reportedly revamped the model on the basis of four components: Cricket history, performance in both men ’ s and women ’ s ICC events over the last 16 years, contribution to ICC’s commercial revenue and equal weightage for the status of being full member However, the share for the associate members may take a hit with only 11 per cent of the revenue reserved for them

No ‘soft signal’ in WTC final

The on -fie ld ‘soft signa l’ from umpir es will be a t hing of the pa st a s it has bee n r emov ed from the play in g cond itions for the World Test C hampionship (WTC) fina l be twee n In dia a nd Aust ra lia in Lon don n ext mon th The Int ern at ion al Cricke t C ouncil (ICC ) on M onda y also an nounced some othe r cha nge s in pla yin g cond it ions e ffe ct iv e fr om Jun e 1

The ‘soft signal’ while referring catches to the third umpire had become a contentious issue over the years with players across the globe criticizing the practice Earlier, the on-field umpires would refer a catch that needed to be checked to the third umpire, but would also give a signal suggesting their own decision The third umpire needed to have ‘conclusive evidence’ to overturn the on-field call

The playing conditions were reworked by the ICC cricket committee led by former India captain Sourav Ganguly The ‘soft signal’ was also abolished from the IPL two years ago when Ganguly was the president of the Indian cricket board

The ICC has also allowed the use of flood lights during the WTC final Like the last WTC final between India and New Zealand in Southampton in 2021, the ICC has also retained the sixth day which is a reserved day if the match is affected by bad weather Bat ter s ma y ge t runs ev en a ft er ge tt in g bowled !

In another significant change, the ICC has decided to award runs to the batters off Free Hits even if the ball hits the stumps It could be the first time a batter could get runs for not hitting the ball with the bat “Any runs scored off a Free Hit when the ball hits the stumps will count as runs scored, to be consistent with all other runs scored from a free hit,” the ICC statement read