AV 21st December 2019

FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE

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Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

21 - 27 DECEMBER 2019 - VOL 48 ISSUE 33

BRITONS ELECT 9 NEW ASIAN MPS A total of 65 BAME MPs have been elected, including 36 of Asian origin â– Rupanjana Dutta â– Priyanka Mehta

The largest number of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) MPs has been elected this general election, making it the most diverse Parliament to date. There is a surge in the BAME MPs winning the vote rising from 8 per cent to 10 per cent since the last election, with a total of 65 BAME MPs as opposed to last time's 52, including 36 of Asian origin with 9 new MPs. Thinktank British Future believes that the 2019 general election has produced the most diverse parliament ever, with one in every 10 MPs now from an ethnic minority background. It believes that a decade ago there was only 1 BAME MP out of the 40. They comprise 22 BAME MPs from Conservatives, 41 from Labour, and 2 from Liberal Democrats. More than 20% of Labour MPs are now from ethnic minorities, compared with 6% of Conservatives in the new House of Commons. Yet, it must be noted that there are, no non-white representatives in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

Continued on page 16

Apsana Begum

Imran Ahmad-Khan

Gagan Mohindra

Claire Coutinho

inside: UK court dismisses $680 million Chinese banks' claim against Anil Ambani SEE PAGE 18

Activists warn against increasing Sharia courts

Zarah Sultana

Navendu Mishra

The existence of Sharia courts and compliance with the Sharia law running parallel to the British legal system has once again been thrust into the spotlight.

Munira Wilson

Saqib Bhatti

Tahir Ali

Continued on page 6

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21 - 27 December 2019

with Keith Vaz focussed on way that we plan cities the fact that we are no longer very good at this!

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David Rudlin

David Rudlin considers himself a rare breed of town planner who is old enough to have been taught the profession when it was done on a drawing board rather than the labyrinthine bureaucracy that it has become today. He spent five years as a local planner in Manchester working mainly on the redevelopment of the huge Hulme council estate where he also lived and where he also worked with a housing cooperative in his spare time to create a large development of 75 flats and workspace called Homes for Change. David joined his present company URBED thirty years ago. URBED is a cooperative and their work involves preparing strategies for existing urban area and designing new ones working for both local authorities and private companies. He has also written three books about planning and cities and most recently have been the chair of the Academy of Urbanism, a national organisation that promotes good places.

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

This would have to be Manchester. I arrived as a student in 1979 and immediately felt at home, despite it being in a state of collapse. I have enjoyed every moment since and am proud of the way it has come back from the brink, and most of all of its brash endearing arrogance!

Wolfson Economics Prize in 2014. The essay that I wrote for this looking at how Garden cities might help solve the housing crisis won out of 271 entrants and achieved a huge amount of national coverage at the time.

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I am inspired by cities and the way that they intensify the human experience. I love great cities like New York, Paris, Shanghai or Mumbai. Much of my work has been

What are your proudest achievements?

This would have to be winning the

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What inspires you?

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And the worst?

What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

I come from a working-class background and was one of the generation who benefitted from going to grammar school and being the first person in my family to go to university. The only real obstacle however has been lack of ambition! I was lucky enough 30 years ago to get a job doing what I love and have never felt any great need to move on.

To keep on doing what I’m doing for as long as I can.

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

I could name lots of friends and colleagues but actually I’m going to go with the writer and urbanist Jane Jacobs. Reading her book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities which was written in the 1960s completely changed by view of planning and the direction of my career.

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What is the best aspect about your current role?

Working in a small office where I don’t need to worry too much about management but can concentrate on writing and

It’s still a struggle after all of these years, generating the money required to keep the office going spending hours dealing with emails when I could be doing something more interesting!

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What are your long-term goals?

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

I would reform our planning system which, like many others, I believe is broken. Apart from the sheer inefficiency of the way the system works, the biggest problem is that it just doesn’t produce good places.

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

I have just completed Robert Harris’s three volume biography of Cicero the Roman senator and orator who I really warmed to, I think he would be good company!

Shop owner describes terrifying moment robbers threatened him with knife A terrified Bestwood shopkeeper was faced with an eight-inch knife as he was robbed in broad daylight.

Jeevan Rasiaa, 41, said he was alone in the shop when two masked men walked in and threatened him with the huge blade. They made off with around £500 from the till, a bottle of whisky and cigarettes.

He said: "One was wearing a grey jumper and the other a green one. They both had a knife and they told me not to move.

Eventually they both came behind the counter where I was standing and took money out of the till as well as cigarettes and a bottle of whisky. It was all over in around three minutes but I was so shocked. We are such a small business, serving a really local area and you never expect anything like this to happen."

Dad-of-three Mr Rasiaa has run the shop on Capenwray Gardens with his wife, Sarwas Jeevan, 36, since March 2018. He and

CCTV shows masked men threatening the shop's owner with a knife.

his wife live upstairs with their three children aged five, six and 11.

He added: "It was so scary because we have all the children upstairs and they've all seen the CCTV footage now and they were terrified. It makes me angry as well that people think they can get away with doing this, but at the moment I'm just still in total shock. I think I recognised the men as well, I think I've seen them both come into the shop and I think they were looking around to see

how many people worked here and what they'd be able to take."

People living near the shop also expressed their shock at the incident.

Detective Sergeant Andrew Pym, of Nottinghamshire Police said: “Our officers are committed to ensuring that people are able to live and work safely in our county. This incident happened in the afternoon and I am hopeful that someone may have seen something that could help us catch those responsible.”

Schoolgirl, 11, is 'brainier than Einstein' says Mensa A super smart Sutton Coldfield schoolgirl has proved she is brainier than Albert Einstein after being encouraged by her school to explore ways of extending her learning.

Lara Jeetly (pictured) from Little Aston has received a top IQ score after taking a Mensa test in a room full of adults who she said were all saying how tough it was!

Lara’s mum was told by Highclare School that her

daughter may benefit from joining the high IQ society, after excelling with the learning material they had to offer.

Lara took the test one week before her 11 birthday and scored 162 on the Cattell III B scale, two ahead of both Albert Einstein, famed for his theory of relativity and theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking!

Lara is ‘not a typical studious child’ according to her mum and rather than being

a geek she loves the outdoors. She also has a love for looking after the planet and animals and takes part in a lot of local projects to protect hedgehogs and birds and to reduce the use of plastics.

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COMMENTS

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21 - 27 December 2019

UK poll 2019: Landslide Conservative victory The people of Britain have spoken: they have voted decisively for the Conservative Party led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson over Labour led by Jeremy Corbyn. The victory was massive: 364 seats in the House of Commons to Labour’s 203 seats. The SNP did exceptionally well in Scotland winning 48 seats, keeping alive their hopes of a second referendum on Scottish independence. The Lib Dems with 12 seats are no longer a significant force..

What was most remarkable was the scale of scale of Labour’s defeat in its working class heartland; seats that had been solidly Labour for a century and more voted Conservative. It was the worst Labour performance since 1935 when, under Clement Attlee’s interim leadership the party won a mere 153 parliamentary seats. In 1945, in the aftermath of the Second World War, Labour decimated the Conservatives led by Winston Churchill in the first post war general election and presided over the closure of the country’ Indian Empire , heralding a new chapter in the Indo-British relationship.

Fast forward, despite Labour losing heavily in 1983 under Michael Foot, and subsequently under Neil Kinnock, the party retained the traditional allegiance of the country’s working class. Tony Blair won three general elections for Labour on the trot thereafter, before the Labour tide began to ebb.

Under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, Labour hit the rocks, had clearly lost touch with the broad mass of the British people. Its Brexit policy was incoherent, when public opinion was decisively in favour of leaving the European Union. Shock and dismay were writ large on the faces of Labour leaders and supporters. Something had gone wrong, badly wrong. They well understood that the work of regeneration had to start with the least possible delay, if the future was to be regained at some point.

The Corbyn era has ended. Jeremy Corbyn announced that he was stepping down as leader and the process of electing his successor would begin shortly.

The Boris Johnson era has opened. Seen in many quarters, including in his own party as a somewhat

quirky, zany figure, has clearly belied this image. He was clearly more serious, having been elected mayor of London twice. His statements, thus far, indicate that he will move to the political centre. Democratic politics is about the centre, pronounced R.A. Butler, wisest of Tory politicians of his generation.

Mr Johnson shows every indication of being a ‘One Nation’ Tory. He is committed to preserving and strengthening the country’s Crown Jewel, namely, the widely treasured Health Service. He has, likewise, promised to address issues of poor housing in Britain’s inner cities, make immigration policy fit for 21st century purpose by encouraging skilled individuals to enter the UK and make real contributions in a variety of fields, from heath, education, science and technology.

Mr Johnson will sure give priority to the maintenance of a close trading, political, cultural and strategic relationship with Europe. He will, he said, reenergise Britain’s partnership with the long neglected Commonwealth. Australia and New Zealand are prosperous democracies, India, glitches and all, is the world’s fastest growing large economy; Singapore is now an international banking and investment centre; India is a market of 1.3 billion people, among them consumer hungry and thrusting entrepreneurs.

Above all, India and Britain have unique historic ties of culture, education, language, law, science and two world wars, where they fought under a common flag and the bond of a thriving Indian diaspora in Britain.

Jadunath Sarkar, greatest of Indian historians, wrote that Britain had played a primary role in the making of modern India.

Prime Minister Modi tweeted his congratulations to Prime Minister Johnson, saying that he very much looked forward to their next meeting in New Delhi with intent to define a new architecture of closer relations in every field of common endeavour. Fifteen MPs of Indian descent have been elected to Parliament, the majority Conservative. This unique moment is one of deep pride and satisfaction for India and Britain alike. The best surely, is yet to come.

India-Japan 2+2 dialogue takes off Talks between the Indian and Japanese Defence and Foreign Ministers took off in New Delhi between India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono. The Japanese delegation on their arrival in the IKndian capital were welcomed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who, along with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, initiated this inter-ministerial dialogue as a valuable adjunct to their own annual bilateral summits, with an eye to deepening the policy engagement between their respective nations.

The elephant - or should it be dragon - in the room was China. China’s rise is creating waves of anxiety in the Indo-Pacific regional arc. Beijing’s display of its heft in the South China Sea against littoral states, it would appear, is to make them cower preparatory to submission to diktat. Beijing’s claims to uninhabited Japanese islands situated in Japanese waters could arguably be a manifestation of broader, more ambitious strategic goals in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and their maritime extensions. Whatever the reasons, Beijing’s muscular presence and exclusivist maritime claims have signalled Great Power intent to assert its sphere of influence, that it will brook no interference there.

Coupled with this, are Beijing’s territorial claims to India’s Arunachal Pradesh, arising from its irredentist presence in Tibet, and the legal pretence that Taiwan is a Chinese province. Is Singapore, with its Han Chinese population, next? The permutations are endless, but no less alarming for China’s neighbourhood, when arbitrary Chinese ‘core interests’ are claimed to be at stake. It is the seeming epiphany of a Confucian Middle Kingdom and its tributary states; eternal and universal.

The laws of motion dictate that every action is likely to result in a reaction of proportionate weight. In face of China’s challenge to regional peace and stability, India and Japan have come together in common purpose to thwart China’s expansionism by defining a regional security architecture which includes Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, and at a further remove, possibly Australia as well.

Talks between Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and his Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Mogo takes this bilateral conversation to a broader level of engagement.

The future well-being of the region is at stake. Firmness not weakness is the assured route to development, collective security and self-preservation.

There has been no major defence project take-off in the last six years. An Indian Army request for high calibre killer assault rifles has taken 15 years to fructify.

Scandalous! What credibility will there be for Indian assurances for its partners in South East or elsewhere, when the country’s defence management is found wanting in elementary efficiency in dealing with the country’s military requirements in a perilously uncertain world. .

The Indian Army is working with stop-gap US and Israeli advanced standard killer assault rifles, before the bulk arrival of the world’s most lethal Kalashnikovs from Russia. Years of futility were spent in the indigenous assault rifles – much like inventing the wheel – when straight purchase would have saved time and money. It requires sound, expert judgment to know when to promote an indigenous product and when to buy one already in use.

In India’s bureaucratic workplace a decision is like squeezing blood out of a stone. The problem, maybe, is a trifle more complex. It is for scientists and engineers to design weapons systems. This they usually do very well.

Thereafter, mass production is reliant on effective platforms of plant, infrastructure and coordinated planning, where the deficits are glaringly self-evident However, that is not the full story. India’s defence industry started from near scratch in August 1947. What has been achieved in the seven decades since has been creditable, bringing together scientists, engineers, designers, repair staff.

During these decades of seedtime, whole generations of scientists, engineers, designers, have created a fully fledged defence industry based largely on the platforms established the country’s fledgling heavy industry established in the early years of Independence.

Tanks, heavy long-range guns, artillery, varying ranges of Agni missiles, fighter aircraft, battleships, submarines, cutting edge electronic warfare systems have given India formidable military capability. Much has been done but more needs to be done in face of emergent multiple challenges. Forward planning, prompt solutions to problems and quicker decision-making are the need of the hour.

Indian defence management in disarray

If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything - Mark Twain (1835-1910)

Alpesh Patel

Never make a trap for yourself Citizenship Amendment Act. Gotta talk about that. When legislation leads to rioting, and makes the front page of foreign papers, you of course, even if you are a chest beating nationalist, ask yourself, was the implementation correct?

You will have no greater defence of Islam anywhere in the world than from India. Want proof?

Watch the news, watch the riots, look at history – a country that ripped itself into three. A secular nation with a free press is the only credible defender. It isn’t Imran Khan from a theocracy – how could it be? No credibility. As he shrilled at the UN embarrassingly about using nuclear weapons in the protection of his faith, he played to the world image of a terrorist sponsoring State.

It’s not gone unnoticed in Governments.

Who are the protectors? It’s the people on the streets, the papers, the media, the students.

So who defends the minorities being oppressed in neighbouring theocracies? Of course a law could be established to say protection well above UN mandated asylum protections will be provided. But surely, given the sometimes irrational dislike for PM Modi, it could be seen there will be a wilful blatant misunderstanding of the law to cause violence and riots?

So what should have been done? Nothing?

Wait? Maybe wait. But certainly not nothing.

Actually, what should have been done is to include oppressed Muslims from those three countries.

It is no defence to say, ‘how can there be oppressed Muslims, in an Islamic Republic’? But the problem the Government faces (ignore the irrational hatred of all Muslims some may have) is numbers. The Indian economy is 10 times the size of Pakistan. Of course there would be migrants under the guise of oppression seeking economic migration – don’t believe me? What’s Europe complaining about so often when called ‘racist’ and it tries to explain otherwise.

So is the answer then to do nothing, to let other minorities suffer? Of course not. The old cliché, ‘two wrongs don’t make a right applies’.

Why not open it up to Chinese oppressed Muslims? Again, numbers.

My point is ‘it looks wrong’. You may have had good intentions (and some in Government will not even have had those) but there is a ‘sniff test’ at least where something doesn’t smell right you should think how better to implement it.

I am well aware of the hardline right wing and what they want. I suspect the middle ground prefer a moderate measured approach in such matters which does not result in riots and curfews and threats to life and property. Whilst the violent protesting minority do not get to call the shots, the silent middle are probably less convinced of the legislation that they otherwise may have been.

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Court sentences 20 years of prison to jealous brother for 'honour killing' On Wednesday, 11th December, a man who had fled to the US after committing a honour killing has been sentenced to life in prison.

Mohammed Tabraz was sentenced to life in prison at St Albans Crown Court with a minimum term of 20 years.

The 39-year-old pleaded guilty to killing Soheil Mumtaz by hitting over the head with a hammer outside his home in Luton. Following the attack, Tabraz who was 20 years old then had run away to the US on April 4, 2001 but was eventually extradited back to Britain in August.

Sentencing Tabraz, Judge

Michael Kay QC said: "The case against you is overwhelming.

"You were aggressive and forcefully struck Mr Mumtaz's head, yet there was no aggression from Mr Mumtaz.

"Rather than face justice, you fled the country and lived a criminal and disreputable life.

"No doubt you would continue to evade justice, and this senseless murder initiated by you is risible and offensive to the family (of the victim)."

Detective Inspector Justine Jenkins, who led the investigation, said: "There can be no honour in murder, and we can only hope the sentence handed down by the judge today may finally provide some small

Mohammed Tabraz

comfort for Mr Mumtaz's family, who have suffered every day since April 4 2001.

"Nothing will make up for their loss, but at least they now know that the person responsi-

Soheil Mumtaz

ble is incarcerated."

Tabraz attacked Soheil after hearing he had been making advances towards his sister at the biscuit factory where they both worked.

Two pairs of brothers guilty of violent attacks Two pairs of brothers have been convicted at Birmingham Crown Court today (11 December) for their involvement in serious violent attacks on Birmingham men in April and May 2019.

On 30 April 2019, the victim Ishaaq Ayaz was attacked and beaten by brothers Jacob and Nathan Emanuel with a shotgun at a flat in Strensham Court, Edgbaston. After he fled from the scene, the males returned to attack another visitor, Mustafa Afsar who was shot in the face by Nathan causing life-changing injuries.

In a linked attack, a few days later on 2 May, a second group of brothers kidnapped Hasan Khan from the street in Balsall Heath.

Khan was driven to Caroline Road by Mohammed Luqman

and others where he was dragged out of the car as more of the attackers arrived. The jury found that Luqman’s brother Mohammed Osman stabbed Khan three times before being taken to Heartlands Hospital, causing life-threatening injuries to his neck area.

The prosecution case was that these attacks were motivated by escalating tensions between rival gangs in South East Birmingham. The violent incidents on 30 April and 2 May had followed a series of other violent events in the area in the preceding week or so.

Jacob Emanuel pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent following the attacks on Ishaaq Ayaz, as well as to the possession of a firearm

Teens jailed for robbery via the use of Grindr Three teenagers have been jailed for numerous robberies and assault of men who had been enticed via one of the largest social media dating apps, Grindr.

Muhammad Umar, Mohammed Sohail Khan and Qaasim Ahmad, all 18 years old, created fake Grindr profiles, to lure four men on false dates over a period of three months. On these fraudulent meetings, they would rob, assault and inflict verbal homophobic hatred upon these victims.

Today (11 December 2019) they were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court.

Mohammed Sohail Khan received a total sentence of 17 years. Qaasim Ahmad received a total sentence of 17 years. While, Mummahed Umar received a total sentence of 15 years.

Michael Disney from the CPS West Midlands, said: “The defendants targeted the victims in this case because they believed they would be too ashamed of their sexual orientation to provide evidence to the police and court. The defendants did not take into account that there is no shame in being gay and they did not anticipate the courage and bravery of the victims, who showed remarkable

strength in reliving the horrific brutality of the defendants actions against them.

“These convictions and sentences demonstrate that homophobia will not be tolerated by our society and the Criminal Justice system. The CPS will fully support victims of such crime and bring perpetrators of such offences to trial.”

All four victims had suffered very similar horrendous ordeals which led the police and prosecution teams to believe they were dealing with the same gang. One of the victims was spat upon and DNA evidence showed that it matched that of Muhammad Umar.

Detailed evidence was found on the mobile phones belonging to the defendants and searches at their homes uncovered further items connecting them to the crimes.

Additional evidence gathered by the investigation and prosecution included CCTV from stores and ATM’s where the defendants fraudulently used bank cards stolen from their victims. As well as the Snapchat (social media app) videos and phone records were unearthed to further incriminate the defendants.

with intent to endanger life and the attempted murder of Mustafa Afsar. His brother Nathan Emanuel was convicted of the same offences following the trial.

The other set of brothers Mohammed Luqman and Mohammed Osman denied the kidnap and attempted murder of Hasan Khan. Following a trial, Luqman was convicted of kidnap and causing grievous bodily harm, and Osman was convicted of kidnap and attempted murder. Sentencing was due on 19 December.

Hannah Sidaway of the CPS said: “The Crown Prosecution Service worked closely with the police from the outset of the investigation.

"This complex case required

the linking of several incidents as part of the overall pattern of violence, to prove the motive and association between the offenders.

"The prosecution had to work together to manage the reluctance of witnesses who did not want to give evidence, as well as collate and present a significant amount of telecoms and CCTV evidence to disprove the defendant's claims of being elsewhere at the time of the offences.

"Our thoughts are with all those directly affected by these crimes, and we hope that today's verdicts send out a strong message that those who possess guns, and are prepared to perpetrate such serious violence, will be brought to justice".

Jurors 'Googled difference between manslaughter and murder' before convicting 18-year-old Two jurors have appeared in court charged with googling the difference between murder and manslaughter during a trial.

Dharamjeet Digpal, 34, of Ilford, east London, and Richard Wellings, 42, of Romford, were part of the jury that convicted an 18-year-old man with the manslaughter of Osman Shidane at the Old Bailey last year.

The pair are accused of researching the trial on the internet during the trial period, which breaches the Juries Act 1974.

Westminster Magistrates Court was told Digpal googled the difference between murder and manslaughter, while Wellings searched for the term manslaughter.

Komal Varsani prosecuting said: 'These matters relate to the defendants sitting on a trial at the Central Criminal Court which was a murder trial.

A member of court staff heard the defendants discussing research they had carried out in deliberation.'

A letter was sent to Judge Michael Grieve QC who referred the matter to the Attorney General.

Dharamjeet Digpal, 34, of Ilford, east London, pictured outside Westminster Magistrates court

The allegation against Digpal states that 'being a member of a jury that tried an issue in a case before a court, namely R v- Lewis Simpson at the Central Criminal Court, researched the case during the trial period, in that you used the internet to find out the difference between murder and manslaughter'.

Digpal, of Ilford, and Wellings of Romford, are charged with carrying out research during a trial under the Juries Act 1974.

They were bailed ahead of a plea and trial preparation hearing at Inner London Crown Court on 8 January.

in brief BANBURY TAXI DRIVER 'FAILED TO DISCLOSE DRIVING DEATH'

A taxi driver has been convicted of fraud after he failed to declare a conviction of causing death by careless driving on his licence application.

Oxford Magistrates' Court heard Ifraan Mahmood, 30, "ticked no" to previous convictions on a Cherwell District Council licence application form.

Mahmood had been sentenced in 2010 when he hit a man with his car and killed him.

Magistrate Nicola Moeran said Mahmood answered the form "dishonestly".

Despite Mahmood's previous convictions being revealed on a disclosing and barring service (DBS) certificate, the father of two was granted a council licence "straight away".

Christine Pegler, a licence enforcement officer, could not answer why the licence was granted, but said had the council known his offences, it would have been refused.

The court heard the council investigated Mahmood's application after a police officer made a complaint in January.

Ms Pegler said she questioned a staff member who dealt with Mahmood's DBS check but the employee "had no recollection".

MAN STABBED WORKMATE TO DEATH IN ROW IN LEICESTER

Sukhwinder Singh had Sulkahan Singh moved to Leicester claimed he did not kill from India his colleague

A man has been jailed for stabbing a workmate to death in an argument as they carried out a home refurbishment.

Sukhwinder Singh died in hospital after being attacked by Sulkahan Singh at a house in Belgrave, Leicester, in July.

Singh, 39, fled the scene in Penrith Avenue but was arrested at a nearby property after other workers told police what had happened.

At Leicester Crown Court, he was found guilty of murder and jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years.

Singh, of Constance Road in Leicester, was also convicted of possessing a bladed article in a public place.

CONFERENCE PROMOTES PAKISTAN BILATERAL TRADE OPPORTUNITIES

Businesses and delegates from across Birmingham and Pakistan met to discuss bilateral trade opportunities at the third Pakistan-UK business and investment conference. The annual conference took place at the Hyatt on Broad Street, with 100 delegates in attendance. The event was organised and hosted by the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC). A number of representatives from the Chambers spoke about the opportunities for trade and strengthening ties between the two Commonwealth nations.

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Brit-Indian review chair appointed

by Tories to tackle Islamophobia The Conservative Party has announced the appointment of Professor Swaran Singh to lead the independent review into improving party handling of complaints of all forms of discrimination and prejudice, including Islamophobia.

Allegations of Islamophobia in the UK Conservative Party have been made in the 21st century. Allegations have been made against senior politicians, including Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Zac Goldsmith.

Baroness Sayeeda Warsi former co-chair of the Conservative Party said in 2018 that anti-Muslim prejudice had "poisoned" the party. Warsi called on the then party leader Theresa May to condemn it, arguing that she had spent over two years trying but failing to get successive party leaders to address the problem of Islamophobia. Some Muslim party members welcomed Warsi's comments, saying that they felt the issue had been marginalised within

human rights groups working with children traumatised in ethnic violence in New Delhi. He trained as a psychiatrist at the Post-graduate Institute of M e d i c a l Education and Research (PGI), Chandigarh, and moved to the UK in 1991. He was a Professor Swaran Singh Lecturer and Consultant in the party. In 2018, the Nottingham and in 2001 Muslim Council of Britain was appointed Senior issued numerous calls for an Lecturer at St George's independent inquiry into University of London. There Islamophobia in the party. he developed ETHOS- early This independent intervention service, which review will look at how the gained an international repparty can improve their proutation for its success in cesses - to make sure that improving outcomes for any instances are isolated, young people with psychosis and that there are robust and for its cost-effective use processes in place to stamp of resources. He was then them out as and when they appointed Professor of occur.

Social and Community Professor Singh trained Psychiatry at the University as a surgeon and became of Warwick in March 2006. interested in mental health Until 2019, Professor Singh following involvement with was also a Commissioner of

the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Commenting, Professor Swaran Singh said, “I am privileged to have been appointed to chair the independent review into improving handling of complaints of prejudice and discrimination in the Conservative Party.”

Commenting, James Cleverly, Chairman of the Conservative Party, said, “I am pleased to announce Professor Swaran Singh as the Chair of the independent review into prejudice and discrimination in the Conservative Party.

“The Conservative Party has always worked to act swiftly when allegations have been put to us and there are a wide range of sanctions to challenge and change behaviour.

“The Conservative Party will never stand by when it comes to prejudice and discrimination of any kind and it is right to hold an independent review, so we can stamp out unacceptable abuse that is not fit for public life.”

International Migrants Day, 2000 academics appeal for Asiya's visa Wednesday 18th December marked the International Migrants Day as observed by the Un Member States.

Whilst, #LondonIsOpen has been the message propagated by the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, the UK under the Tory Government has been embroiled in a series of controversies with regards to its hostile environment policy formed when Theresa May was the country's Home Secretary. Amidst such controversies was the refusal of right to indefinite stay to academic Asiya Islam.

Islam completed her PhD titled ‘Gender, Class, and Labour in the New Economy of Urban India’ from the University of Cambridge and won a junior research fellowship at Newnham College. Islam, who won the Zakir Hussain Medal for Academic Excellence at the Aligarh Muslim University, was denied the status of indefinite stay on the ground that she spent a period in New Delhi as part of her PhD research, which went beyond the permissible number of days. Now, 2000

Asiya lslam

academics including eminent professors, on Monday petitioned home secretary Priti Patel to reconsider the Home Office decision to reject permission to Asiya Islam. The petition signed by the academics points out that under guidelines published on October 1, 2019, the time abroad can be waived for Tier 2 visa holders in PhD level occupations when they are absent from the UK for research purposes.

Islam’s case has highlighted how the Home Office has been refusing international academics permission to stay, among those of others, reinforcing the perception that despite claims that Britain welcomes talent from across the globe, the reality is different.

Activists warn agains increasing Sharia courts Continued from page 1

Recently, some activists have said that there is a growing problem of men “marrying” women in religious ceremonies but refusing to legally register their unions. As a result, women are meant to go through religious courts, wherein some rulings force them to stay with their partners even if they are unhappy. Up until 2018, there were about 30-85 Sharia Courts that were estimated to be operating across the UK. However, there is no clear report or government data which provides an exact account of such “community or religious” organisations functioning.

“The first Sharia Court was established sometime in the late 1980s East London and then there is another one in Regent's Park Mosque. Each of them have a number of people or scholars from different backgrounds including Ahle Hadith and Jamaat-e-Islami.

These are mostly South Asian Muslims as well as some clerics or scholars from the European and Middle-Eastern fundamentalist organisations,” said Gita Sahgal, Council of ExMuslims of Britain.

Nasreen Akhter v/s Mohammed Khan case The warnings come after the government intervened via the attorney general in the

Gita Sahgal

landmark Nasreen Akhter v/s Mohammed Khan case.

The government attempted to overturn a family court judge’s decision that a woman was entitled to apply for maintenance payments despite the fact they were not legally married. Akhter, a 47-year-old solicitor, said she was keen to have a civil marriage and presumed they would do so, but her husband refused. She alleges that their relationship dissolved after he said he wanted to take another wife.

However, Khan, a businessman implied he did not owe his wife anything by claiming their nearly two-decadelong relationship constituted a “non-marriage”. A final ruling is expected within a few months in this case.

However, last year Khola Hasan, a scholar at the

Islamic Sharia Council in east London, had also warned that British Muslim women face discrimination as a growing number of “one-man” Sharia councils are now functioning across the country.

“The key observation when studying all these types of Sharia Councils is that they ardently follow regressive Sharia laws in terms of divorce, inheritance and custody law.

These laws are not only different from British law but are also set apart from those followed in South Asian countries such as Bangladesh and Pakistan.

“What this simply means is that the Sharia Courts here in the UK are not upholding what the family courts might have upheld back in South Asian Countries. In a way, these Sharia councils are taking us more backward than the courts in Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is very important to understand that distinction because people tend to believe that all immigrants from these South Asian countries arrived in the UK with these ideas.

However, that is not the case. These people are influenced by the Muslims brotherhood organisations operating here in the UK,” Sahgal

continued.

Applying judgments of All India Muslim Personal Law Board According to Sahgal, some of the judgments issued here in the Sharia courts follow the principles/judgments of organisations such as the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB). The AIMPLB although, is an NGO but it has influences of other fundamentalist Wahabi and Salafi Islamic organisations.

“People like Suhaib Hasan and Abu Saeed in front of others claim that they are only members of the Council. But, they treat themselves as the “judicial authority” issuing legal divorces as part of these Sharia Courts and the British Government has done nothing about that in my view,” emphasised Sahgal.

Home Offices' independent inquiry into Sharia Councils An independent review into Sharia councils last year had raised concerns that the bodies “engage in practices which are discriminatory to women”. This is particularly because Islamic law grants men the right to divorce their wives by simply declaring the marriage to be over, but insists that wives must seek permission from a scholar to divorce her husband. The review, commis-

Pragna Patel

sioned by the Home Office, said that there were up to 85 Sharia councils in the UK. In 2015, the UK government announced that it would hold an independent inquiry into the operation of Sharia Councils in the UK. More than 300 activists, victims, and human rights groups had signed an open letter urging Theresa May to dismantle the panel chosen to oversee the inquiry.

However, in the view of these activists, the Government has hardly done much to secure the rights of these Muslim women.

“It is not that the British Government does not have the formal authority to intervene. The Government exists in this limbo wherein they justify their lack of interference by citing the existence of community and

religious organisations across the board. All these religious institutions have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. The government is not wary of being seen as hostile to one religion rather just wants to secure the interests of all such religious organisations and their laws,” emphasised Sahgal.

Now, some activists such as Pragna Patel of Southall Black Sisters has also indicated the “growing fundamentalist norms” in the Muslim community and other minority groups.

According to her, “religious power” is at the core of the issue, with the wider community to be equally blamed for fostering a climate in which people feel obliged to follow religious, rather than civil law.

“When women go to sharia courts or religious ‘courts’, they often make rulings to the detriment of women and try and force women to stay in marriages.

These institutions are misogynistic, patriarchal and anti-democratic. These institutions are more and more governing women’s rights. If the law goes against us, it will lock women out of the civil justice system.”

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21 - 27 December 2019

Assamese community protests in London against Citizenship Act The Assamese community in London and other Indians joined together to protest against the amended Citizenship Act outside the High Commission of India in London on Saturday, 14 December 2019. University students and professionals participated in the protest that was organised by the Facebook group 'Assamese in UK'.

The protestors carried 'gamosas', the white and red cotton hand-woven towel, with slogans like 'No CAB', 'We oppose CAB', 'Stop CAA' written on them. As we went to press, the South Asia Solidarity group have organised another protest on Wednesday 18 December 2019, outside the High Commission.

Similar protests will be held in New York outside the Indian Consulate (5pm), along with Delhi (Red Fort, 11am), Mumbai (Ambassador Hotel, Marine Drive, 3pm), Kolkata (Ram Leela Maidan, 2pm), Lucknow (Parivartan Chowk, 2pm) and Bangalore (Mysore Bank Circle, 11am).

Karuna Sagar Das, a prominent face in the diaspora in London, told PTI,

that they are demanding revocation of the law, they held a protest gathering against the Act that threatens the linguistic and cultural identity of the Assamese people in Assam.

"We hope to raise awareness against the law at the global platform and also show solidarity with friends and families back home," he said. An Assamese research student of London School of Economics (LSE) reportedly said, "All Assamese are united against the law and we are also in solidarity with them. We cannot accept a law that threatens our language and culture.”

AASU chief advisor

Samujjal Bhattacharya and general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi thanked the Assamese community in London for raising awareness against the law.

"We are grateful to the Assamese community in London for registering their protest against the law and we urge our brothers and sisters in other countries as well to raise their voice," Gogoi added.

The Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) UK chapter organised also its “Bharat Bachao Rally” (Save India) on the same day to coincide with similar protests in New Delhi and around the world, the PTI reported.

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“The rally is against the Modi government’s failures, including the economic crisis, high unemployment, farmer distress and divisive politics,” said an IOC UK spokesperson.

The Congress protesters carried banners and placards reading: “Women against BJP” and “Farmers against

BJP”.

IOC UK president Kamal Dhaliwal reportedly said, “All sections of our community are suffering today due to the wrong policies of the Modi government.

“The youth needs jobs, women need safety and security, farmers need reasonable prices for their crops. The promises Modi ji made during the elections are nowhere.”

In reference to the Citizenship Amendment Bill, the IOC UK spokesperson added, “CAB is unconstitutional, which has set fire in the North Eastern states.”

Kashmiri Hindus to commemorate their 30th year in exile 19th January 1990, has been a date that is etched in the heart of every Kashmiri Hindu as the date when they were forced out of their homes, en-mass.

Kashmiri Pandits Cultural Society, UK will commemorate this on 19th January 2020 near Victoria, London, to mark the 30th Year in Exile of Kashmiri Hindus and to pay special tribute to the Revered Kashmiri Hindu Saint and Poetess, Lalleshwari 'Lal Ded' in commemoration of her 700th Birth Anniversary.

On the day “Awakening of the Global Hindu” a special keynote address will be delivered by the Kashmiri Hindu Activist and our former columnist, Sushil Pandit.

Pandit is a prominent Kashmiri leader and above all, an intellectual well informed in the history of Kashmir. His recent talk in India emphasised the need to confront the issues pre-

Sushil Pandit

vailing in Kashmir and provided keen insights into how India as a nation can put the politics of partition behind to build a stronger and more united country.

The programme will include poignant readings of first person accounts of Kashmiri Hindu Genocide survivors living in the UK. There will also be an exhibition of Journeys of Kashmiri Hindu Exodus along with a Special Exhibition on the Life and Oral Teachings, 'Lal Vaakh' of Saint Lalleshwari.

8 UK 21 - 27 December 2019

AsianVoiceNews

As I See It CB Patel

Election Drama Over. What Next?

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

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BJP storms UK elections

Dear Readers,

After nearly 100 years, the UK General Elections were held for the House of Commons in the midst of a cold, cloudy, rainy winter weather. There were serious concerns and questions on the viability of a proper campaign and voter participation. At 9.59 pm, on 12th December a lot of Britishers found themselves glued to their TV sets and there was a general feeling that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will turn the tables and move to Downing Street.

Sharp at 10.00 pm, the BBC, in the first few seconds, gave the Exit predictions and showed Boris Johnson's Conservative party with a generous 368 seats. Within a matter of hours, the Pound Sterling strengthened for days. It is believed that investors from the UK and abroad are encouraged to invest in British companies, properties, and other enterprises. Even the Financial Times, normally a subtle newspaper had predicted on Saturday that the economic activity and consequently employment and especially property prices will start going up sooner.

In February 2020, Chancellor Sajid Javed will present a new budget. But one must accept a tremendous or Himalayan transformation of politics and economic environmental mood in Britain as well as the Euro Commission in Brussels and abroad. How this came about will be a matter of some serious thought and books in the future.

The personality and character of a leader is of paramount importance in all endeavors. When I say character, I don't mean personal matters but, let's talk about Boris for a minute here. He grew up in Brussels. His father was a senior member of the European Commission. Boris was educated at the 'the nursery of England's gentlemen' - Eton school and Oxford.

There, he had pronounced that one day he will become Prime Minister of the UK. My point here is, he had ambitions, determination, and also the skill to assemble around him a group of like-minded people.

During the election campaign, Bojo was described as an opportunist, disloyal, a man with a woman problem and some other colourful adjectives not suitable to my column. But he was focused. To him, the objective was not Brexit itself, but it was to make a mark in the annals of this country. He did perform well as the mayor of London for two terms. He virtually made London the investment capital of the world. A surge in property investment of the last few years is the consequence of Boris Johnson's efforts.

In love and politics, everything is fair, some would say. The campaign for power or to rule the country by Bojo and team was a ruthless one. It was steered by Dominique Cummings and Isaac Levido with skills, aggression, and sharp slogans.

What looked like an impossible dream became a reality for Bojo and his supporters.

Brexit will happen. Possibly, not as rapidly as promised or hinted by the PM or expected by some. The transition deadline would be extended. There is a very complicated process of entering into trade agreements, not only with existing 27 members of the EU but also with scores of other countries all over the world. The British are a nation of reality. They know how to influence people and turn adversaries into allies.

The whole of the UK is full of optimism, hope, and confidence now. For decades, who were loyal supporters of the Labour party or let me say, detested Conservatives all the time, have given them so much votes. There are now several Tory seats which have been labour for 80 yrs or so. The Labour defeat in this elec-

Gagan Mohindra (left most) standing with Subhash Thakrar Boris Johnson

tion is the worst since 1935. And the clever, crafty or committed, you choose your description, Bojo went all the way to Sedgefield (Tony Blair’s Constituency) in North East England on Saturday to thank traditional Labour supporters who voted Conservatives and assured them that he will repay their trust.

Now dear Readers, let me come back from national political overview to our immediate concerns. The Labour party has been hit hard because of their leadership's anti-Semitic and anti-India attitudes. Also the extreme left wing's economic agenda, “spend spend spend” up to £400 bn made many voters skeptical or push outright distrusting of Labour's economic strategy.

In the Asian communities, the scenario is revealing itself. In the House of Commons, there are about 20 plus Muslim MPs. I am not bringing religion into politics, but the Muslim Council of Britain, the recognised body for British-Muslims of all denominations announced previous Monday on their website that they are expecting 24 Muslim MPs, mostly from Labour but some from other parties as well.

I am told, the 20 odd Muslim MPs come from predominantly Pakistani background, but some from Bangladesh and some from Middle East. But no Muslims from India as far as I know. Please correct me if I am wrong.

There are 15 Indian-origin MPs, 1-2 Sikhs, 3 or 4 Christians, and about 7 or 8 are of Hindu backgrounds. People have been talking about the reduced Indian involvement in the British corridors of power. Some people have been saying the same thing about the number of BritishIndians in the lists of Queen's Honours published twice a year. Maybe this will give some people with community concerns to think and plan properly.

The Jewish community has been very well represented by the Board of British Jewry for over 150 years. Muslims have a strong, well-funded, effective Muslim Council of Britain not only supported by Muslims themselves but also allocated millions of pounds by British governments over the years.

There is no one single body or organisation which speaks for all British Hindus or British Sikhs and its absence is worth thinking about.

Whatever it is, ultimately our race, religion, are personal matters, a lot less important than our commitment to this country, our home, for today or our progeny for ever after. We have to play an active, substantial and influential part in the public life, especially in politics. If we don't, we don't need to be reminded by me what happened to the successful Indian diasporas in Fiji, Guyana, Uganda, and several other countries. The clock of history continues to tick. Don't just watch the clock, do something.

Subhash V Thakrar, Former Chairman- London Chamber of Commerce, Commissioner to Department of International Development Boris Johnson Party (BJP) has won the UK elections by a storm. The results are far better than even the expectations of many Tories!

Clearly many labour voters have rejected Jeremy Corbyn and his Labour Party. It was clearly his poor leadership and no doubt the effect of anti-Semetic and anti-Indian attitude of the party added to the severe blow. Regrettably Corbyn is not willing to do the right thing to take responsibility as the leader and resign with immediate effect. Clearly, he wants to instil his leftist policies to the next leader by controlling the process of selecting the successor. This may just be the harbinger of a permanent downturn of the Labour movement. We shall wait and see the dam-

age unfolding. I just hope moderation will return to the Labour Party as otherwise we shall lose the benefit of the opposition.

Meanwhile, congratulations to Boris Johnson and his Conservative party for an historic victory. The party’s strategy of ‘Getting Brexit done’ was straight and clear and that appealed to even the traditional Labour voters. This has proved a massive swing to Conservatives. With this comes more responsibility to the new Conservative government to deliver for the whole nation. I see that PM Johnson, in his victory speech, has already recognised that many non Tory voters have lent their vote to him. They must win these voters for ever.

I have worked with Boris Johnson during my Chairmanship of the London Chamber of Commerce and when he was the Mayor of London.

He is a hardworking and charismatic leader and wonderful with interna-

tional community. I joined him in his trade mission to India where he performed remarkably well with the people and media. His record as a Mayor was noteworthy and quite successful. I am confident that we shall witness one the best Prime Ministers in action.

The elections have also brought a number of new and young MPs. I was privileged to have supported our local candidate, Gagan Mohindra. From being selected in early November he has done a remarkable job in collecting 30,327 votes and beating David Gauke, a 14 year former MP who could only have 15,919 votes as an independent.

Gagan is the new generation Hindu Tory with strong family values, business acumen and deeper understanding of what has to be done for security, education and NHS. We now look forward to healing of differences and nation-building as well as winning back the British pride.

British Muslims consider leaving UK following Johnson's victory On Sunday, 15th December, a media report claimed that British Muslims have started leaving the UK amidst fears for their ‘personal safety’ following Boris Johnson's re-election as the country's Prime Minister.

Metro spoke to the head of a Muslim charity in Manchester, and a Labour candidate and British Economist among others about the subject. Manzoor Ali has been running the Barakah Food Aid charity in Greater Manchester for a decade now and it provides food parcels for poor people in the area. He said, “My charity has been going on for 10 years, we’ve helped people from all walks of life, including former soldiers and white working class English people. ‘But I’m scared for my personal safety, I worry about my

children’s future.’’

He further continued that Britain was his home and he didn’t know where else to go, but his family are in agreement that they should move to ensure their safety. This comes in light of the rampant islamophobia and racism related accusations made against the prime minister following a number of controversial comments he made in the past. This includes his remarks in a 2005 Spectator article in which he claimed it was only ‘natural’ for the public to be scared of Islam.

Menwhile in his Telegraph column he had compared

Muslim women to ‘letterboxes and bank robbers’.

During the election canvassing period, he had insisted that his comments were taken out of context and he was defending the right of Muslim women to wear what they like. Additionally, he had also apologised for Islamophobia in the Conservative party, after a number of candidates shared posts by Tommy Robinson, referring to Muslims as “scum”.

“Since Boris Johnson won a majority I’ve had 5 different families discuss their UK exit plan with me in case racism gets worse.

Frightening that this is where we are,” tweeted Labour candidate Faiza Shaheen.

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21 - 27 December 2019

OakNorth reveals first loan defaults

Hudson McKenzie heralds new year and legal challenges

Rishi Khosla

On Saturday 14th December, the UK's most highly valued fintech “unicorn”, OakNorth Bank revealed that it has suffered its first two defaults on property-backed loans and is seeking to offload a portion of its larger deals to reduce risk.

The two defaults are understood to represent less than 1% of the bank’s £3bn net lending and have not yet led to credit losses.

The defaults are the first since it began lending in 2015.

Founded by Rishi Khosla, OakNorth has grown at breakneck pace to

reach a valuation of £2.1bn.

The start-up is backed by SoftBank via its $100bn Vision Fund and provides loans to small firms secured against property and other assets. This year in a funding round it had raised about $440m (£338m).

OakNorth, which has not had a single default due to its tight underwriting standards and technology, is also in the process of seeking partners to buy chunks of five or six of its largest loans, in an attempt to cut its exposure. This means that it can look to offload about £20m-£30m in each of the larger loans.

The bank already works

with smaller companies such as property investor Cogress, but the latest push will target larger groups.

OakNorth has developed from lending a few million pounds to loans as high as £60m.

“We’ve always worked with partners on our loan exposures, given we’re scaling up. We are looking to find more institutions who can take larger positions,” Khosla said in a statement to The Times.

The bank posted a pretax profit of £33.9m in 2018, up from £10.6m the previous year, and recorded its first profit just a year after launch.

OCI cardholders in the UK will have no problem while travelling to India Overseas Citizen of India cardholders in the UK are not facing any major problems while travelling to the country. However, there has been major confusion created owing to reports about OCI cardholders facing trouble in America. The individuals in America are confused because adequate awareness has not been created among the diaspora about recent enforcement of a rule on renewal, a prominent IndianAmerican has said in a petition to the Indian Ambassador.

As a result, a large number of Indian-Americans are being forced to cancel their trips to India. In many cases they have been forced to return mid-way from places like Dubai and several airlines are refusing to

board passengers on a flight to India whose passport numbers do not match with the ones on their OCI card, said Prem Bhandari, chairman of Jaipur Foot USA in a statement to The Firstpost.

"Airlines and immigration officials cite a recent advisory issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Civil Aviation and demand that passengers below 20 years of age and above 50 years of age need to have their OCI cards renewed after the renewal of their passports.

This has resulted in many passengers being turned back from the airports," Bhandari said.

OCI, a major facility for members of the Indian diaspora, brings them at par with non-Resident

Indians in financial, economic and educational fields except in the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties.

It gives them free multiple entry, multi-purpose life-long visa to visit India.

OCI cardholders are also exempted from reporting to police authorities for any length of stay in India.

However, under the existing rules, OCI cardholders below the age of 20 years and above the age of 50 years need to have their OCI cards renewed after the renewal of their passports.

Dear Readers, You will receive a copy of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar, issue dated, 28.12.19 next week. However, our publication will be closed for Christmas and New Years and therefore you will not receive an issue for 04.01.2020 .

(L-R) Ian Macmillan, Vaida Lukaite, Katie Billinghurst, Amisha Jethwa and Rahul Batra

On Thursday, 12th December, a leading city law firm hosted their annual Christmas celebrations at the Carlton Club in London.

Hudson McKenzie, a city law firm recognised by The Legal 500, celebrated the end of another year underpinned by political uncertainties marked by Brexit. The party coincided with the recently conducted

general election in the presence of some Tory MPs and members from the political and bureaucratic circles.

Discussions amidst lawyers were abound over reforms and transitions in immigration, and intellectual property laws in light of Brexit among others.

The Managing Partner, Rahul Batra said, “It has been a busy year with an impressive list of

new clients we are working with. This party is our chance to celebrate, honour and thank everyone involved including our employees, clients, associates and all stakeholders in the firm without which we wouldn’t be in business. We have exciting growth plans in the near future and are looking to recruit heavily over the next few months in all areas of law.”

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10 READERS VOICE

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21 - 27 December 2019

Result of the General election The result of this general election was devastating for the Labour Party and uplifting for the Tory Party. No one expected such a big victory for the Tory Party. This election showed that capitalism, misinformation, Brexit mania, lies and fake news had won and it showed Socialism, health(NHS), job security, economy, social care, and education had lost.

Hard Brexit over Soft Brexit won because of the revolt

by Labour supporters of North East and Midlands who voted for The Tory Party because they were fed-up up to their neck for the failure that Brexit getting anywhere.

Political parties, politicians, and the British parliament was gridlocked and were unable to resolve the problem.

They had other grievances of neglect, under-development, majority result of the referendum and their opposition to open door immigration coming from the European Union. All these factors played a role in the crushing defeat of the Labour Party by their strongholds voting against them.

To pin the blame on one person for this defeat is clearly is scapegoating and not right. There were other reasons like the unrelenting onslaught by the media, opposition parties and Jewish organisations in vilification and smearing of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for being anti-Semitic, unfit to be Prime Minister and being security risk, played a major role in the decision of the voters.

Whereas there was hardly any onslaught or attack on Boris Johnson on his racist remarks and Islamophobia.

This showed favouritism towards one party and bias on the other party..

The other factor for the bad result was division within the Labour Party between remainers and leavers. This caused confusion in the minds of the voters whereas the Tory party rallied behind Boris Johnson under the slogan ”Get Brexit done” The Labour Party has now to regroup and reinvent themselves to avoid such a catastrophe to happen again.

Baldev Sharma Rayners Lane, Harrow

Lack of Empathy at Festive Time I vividly remember joyous festive Christmas time in late sixties when we first arrived on these shores. Being brought-up in East Africa, in post-war environment, it was full of love, hope, trust and dedication. We were young, ambitious but also kind and caring, looking forward to peaceful, prosperous life in one of the most liberal countries in the world.

Who can forget the reception Uganda Asians received from local people, as well as the government?

No wonder these hard working, laws abiding East African Asians have integrated well with the indigenous British people and most of us enjoy our retirement in comfort and financial security beyond our wildest dream!

However we have lost our adventurous, kind and caring spirit, mainly due to changing circumstances, especially as our children have been brought-up in relatively safe and secured atmosphere, never short of life’s necessities. It was tradition in most families to invite homeless person, mostly for a meal or distribute sandwiches and hot drinks to rough sleepers, while some even provided shelter, warm bed during festive season.

With passage of time, our priorities have changed. No one dare to provide bed and meals to homeless persons, in our comfortable homes. While we do not mind paying £100 per person for New Year’ Eve party, we put in dust bin requests we receive in post from charities that look after these luckless people, although Hare Krishna and Sikh community go out of their way to distribute hot food, not only at festive time but throughout the year.

I find it difficult to understand why people have to sleep rough, queue outside food-banks to feed their children when we live in one of the most affluent nation in the world. I would like to urge our PM who enjoyed tremendous support from British people to appoint Minister For Underprivileged, specifically to look after these unfortunate people, divert funds from our ever bulging Overseas Aid budget, abolish rough sleeping, food banks for good within their first five year term. Is it too much to ask?

Kumudini Valambia By email

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A Christmas message Diwali has come and gone. Hindus celebrated the victory of good over evil to commemorate the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya after vanquishing the evil king Ravana, and Jains celebrated the attainment of moksha by Lord Mahavira, Jainism’s 24th and last Tiranthakara. Now Christmas is upon us and many goodwill messages will start circulating highlighting Jesus Christ’s message of love and kindness to all. My message is similar but a little different. However, please don’t get me wrong. I am all for peace on earth and goodwill for all, and merry making at the time of the festive season. But does Christmas invariably mean the slaughter of all those turkeys?

I do not know how the tradition of roast turkey on the plate for Christmas dinner has started and what its significance is. I do know that the Jain religion is totally opposed to cruelty to animals of any kind. Be they turkeys, cows or the tiniest, microscopic insects. Killing them to eat is completely out of the question. We have all those roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts and the bread and brandy puddings, not to forget the booze and the plonk. Why couldn’t we do without turkeys? I do not wish to be branded a spoil sport at a time when people are looking forward to Christmas parties and are generally in jovial moods. Nor do I wish to impinge on others’ beliefs. But if I can persuade a few people not to eat turkeys this Christmas, I would have made a small contribution in spreading Lord Mahavira’s message of kindness and “ahimsa” – non violence to the tiniest living beings.

Dinesh Sheth Newbury Park, Ilford

Beware of crooked operators It seems we have now entered Kalyug, as mentioned in our holy literature, the era when humans will lose kindness, honesty, respect and faith, developing loot mentality. It will be free for all, take whatever you can by any means, fair or foul, irrespective of how many people one may hurt, turn their lives upside down without a trace of guilt!

The latest innovatory scam I heard from shop-keeper friend was about rate rebate. An unsolicited caller, usually a young, sweet and professionally trained kleptomaniac girl will call you, knowing so much about you, will offer innocuous service to reduce your business rates, with no win, no fee approach.

Your telephone call is taped with your permission instead of signing paper form, thus making it binding, as per their interpretation. After couple of months, you may receive another call, informing you that no progress yet but to be patient.

Than after a year or so, when you may have forgotten all about this deal, you may receive a letter in post or may be post-dated invoice followed by court summons and a telephone call demanding some two thousand pounds, with a threat of bailiff who could close down your business by removing assets if you fail to pay.

Most customers would pay the amount under duress with the view of recovering the money through court action.

In most cases, crooks would have closed down their business and disappeared. But some clever and daring crooks will furnish you with an edited version of your recorded phone call with no mention of “No Win, No Fee!” Such frauds may also happen in “Rent Review” cases. The best way to avoid such a scenario is never to answer unsolicited phone-calls! Some telephone companies provide filter services whereby all calls go to an operator who will only put through calls you acknowledge. It is better to be safe than sorry!

Bhupendra M. Gandhi By email

UK NEWS

Family's legal fight against hospital over brain injury baby The father of a brain-damaged baby boy has urged a hospital not to "rush" a decision to end his life support.

Doctors claim desperately ill Midrar Ali will never recover from the significant brain injury and it would be kinder to allow him to die.

His parents have launched a legal bid for his treatment to continue at St Mary's Hospital in Manchester.

Their case has come before the Family Division of the High Court in Preston for a preliminary hearing.

Midrar's mother Shokhan Ali, 28, had a normal pregnancy but complications during birth meant Midrar's brain was starved of oxygen.

He will be be threemonths-old on Wednesday.

Neil Davy, representing Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, said the hospital's main priority is that Midrar's "dignity is maintained".

However, his father Karwan Ali, 35, said: "It's important the court knows that Midrar is not in any pain, or suffering or deteriorating.

"In fact, Midrar has grown, he's got some sensitivity, he's opening his eyes a little bit. So I don't understand the rush of the hospital to do the procedure."

Mr Justice MacDonald ruled a hearing on 20 January will decide future treatment.

Kapil’s Khichadi Veni, Vidi, Vici: I came, I saw and I conquered Kapil Dudakia 10.00 pm, 12/12/2019 and the exit polls for GE2019 flashed across the nation.

In that one split second, the antisemitic racist Labour Party was destroyed. In the hours that followed, the magnitude of the destruction became clear. Corbyn and his brand of politics and ideology was uprooted by the British electorate. It was time to stand tall, it was time to cherish, it was when we as a nation said, enough is enough.

The good British people had tolerated the left for far too long. However, this time Labour managed to outdo its own incompetence. Not only did they prove their economic ignorance, they added their inability even to take a stance on Brexit.

If that was not enough, they allowed antisemitism to fester to such a degree that it became institutionalised. Now add to that khichadi, what people described as their anti-India and antiHindu expressions.

So, when the nation stood up and said NO. That was a relief not just for the Jewish community, but also for Hindu and the Jains. It was a relief to the hard-working Brits up and down the country.

We the nation did it, we showed that in the UK we will not allow extreme ideology to get a foothold in our society.

There is a lesson though for Indian Labour Councillors, Indian Labour members and those who still voted for Labour. How many of you stood up for your faith, for your heritage and for your family? You witnessed a Labour Party that stabbed the Indian community in the front, and many Indians still voted for them.

I therefore commend, Cllr Govind, Cllr Bhatia, Cllr Chamund, Cllr Joshi, Cllr Solanki and Cllr Valand from Leicester for their public statement on 10th December in which they condemn Labour and its leadership. It took courage for them to put at

stake their position as councillors in Leicester.

They know the momentum brigade may very well try and deselect them before the next Council elections. However, they still stood up. I want people to ask questions of every Indian Councillor in their area, why did they not do the same? Why is the Indian community voting for people who will not fight for us?

We should also remember Indians like Anjana Patel (Brent) and Bhupendra Dave (Leicester East) who fought a gallant campaign. Anjana was against Barry Gardiner, and I appreciate the work Barry has done for our community. However, he is now part of the problem and as such, our community should have come out in their thousands for Anjana who would have been a terrific MP. Bhupendra came to challenge Keith Vaz’s seat and Labour brought in Corbyn’s friend ignoring all other Indians in Leicester. The massive majority of Keith has now been reduced to just a few thousand. So, salutations to those who voted for Bhupendra.

However, next time Leicester needs to do even better.

The control Labour had on our community has been broken. We are finally free. We just need to recognise that in this changing world, we also need to change our allegiance. It is time to learn from the Jewish community, we need to exercise our power and demand.

Yes that’s right demand that politicians give us the due respect that we have earned.Those Mandirs that still entertained Labour candidates – why? When will you learn the lesson of Dharma?

Veni, Vedi, Veci: Quite apt for our Prime Minister. I came, I saw, I conquered. Time Indians said the same as well, what say you all?

(Expressed opinions are personal.)

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

Please keep contributing as always.

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

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21 - 27 December 2019

Parent school donations 'exacerbating inequality'

Islamic school 'swift to address' extremist books concerns

Pupils in some of the poorest regions of England are losing out because parents cannot afford to fill a funding shortfall with donations, BBC News has found.

In 2017-18, the average school in London raised £43,000 from donations. In Yorkshire, it was just £13,300. The Fair Education Alliance said this gap "exacerbates unfairness between rich and poor".

The main political parties have all pledged to improve school funding.

The BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme's analysis of Department for Education data shows the average school in England generated £59 per pupil from donations in 2017-18 1.07% of its overall budget.

The money is often raised through events, such as fun runs and school fairs.

But there is a clear divide across the UK.

While schools in London, the east of England (£24,585 per year) and the North West (£20,844) are the most likely to profit; those in Yorkshire (£13,288), the North East (£13,394) and East Midlands (£17,044) struggle. Individual schools also fare very differently.

One school in Sunderland gained just £679 from donations, the equivalent of 43p per pupil, in 2017-18.

Sam Butters, head of the Fair Education Alliance - a coalition of 150 organisations aimed at tackling perceived inequalities in the school system - said: "The fact that parents in wealthier areas can afford to fill some of this funding gap exacerbates unfairness between rich and poor.

"We know that schools in all areas are cashstrapped as funding has decreased in real terms during the period of austerity,

so it is not surprising that they are making efforts to seek funds from alternative sources.

"Teachers and school leaders are increasingly reporting a lack of funding for necessities - including, for example, teaching assistants to support in classrooms.

"If insufficient school funding requires donations from parents to meet shortfalls, schools in deprived areas are going to lose out."

Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) in June found since 2009, spending had fallen by 8% per pupil once rising costs such as pay and pension contributions were taken into account.

One head teacher in in south London told BBC News in March she had had to scrub the toilets, clean the school and work in the canteen because of funding shortages.

As the temperatures hover around freezing and we head towards the shortest day of the year, the temptation might be to keep children indoors to avoid the cold and dark.

But one take on nursery education tackles that notion head-on by getting kindergarten-aged children involved in outdoor play for the whole day whatever the weather or time of year.

The charity Thrive Outdoors works with nurseries to help staff become confident and capable of taking children outside to

engage in outdoor play.

The philosophy of getting pre-school children out and about and playing in the mud and rain is fairly common in Scandinavia and Germany - and it is catching on in Scotland.

But Rachel Cowper says that in the towns and cities of the Central Belt a combination of factors means a lot of pre-schoolers hardly ever get to play outside beyond the fenced-in confines of nurseries.

Rachel says many people were not confident with children playing outdoors

because it was not something they had done in their own childhoods.

Rachel Cowper says controlled risk is the key.

She says enabling children to experience little challenges and triumphs when they are three or four is great for their confidence.

"Enable them to climb that tree a bit further and feel that level of success," she says.

Rachel says it starts to build a sense of resilience which is a key factor in tackling childhood and adolescent mental health issues.

The children learning to love being outdoors

Leaders at an Islamic private school where extremist books were found have been "swift to address" concerns the discovery raised, inspectors say.

Ofsted rated Jamia Islamia Birmingham boys' school "inadequate" in July after finding books in the library promoting "support for an Islamic State".

A follow-up inspection found the books had been removed but the school still did not meet all required standards. The school said it made a "tremendous amount of progress" in a few months.

Inspectors said one book contained the words: "Don't make the Jews and the Christians your friends."

The Sparkbrook school,

which told inspectors it had been "unaware of the existence of these texts", has since introduced a library policy setting out what materials should and should not be included.

Ofsted inspectors raised other major concerns in the summer, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. The curriculum was narrow, premises "filthy" and "damp" and the playground dirty, they reported.

But the follow-up inspection on 13 November found clear policies supporting pupils' "understanding of British values", and speakers from different faiths, including Hindu and Christian, had begun visiting the school.

Ofsted said pupils previ-

ously did not have access to an outside space, but now played football and socialised outside.

However, the school still did not meet all independent school standards checked.

For example, only 5% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in GCSE maths and English while six formers had a "narrow choice of activities".

The school said it had met a "large majority" of concerns raised.

"Ofsted also confirmed that they have no major concerns regarding our school and we are now aiming for getting at least a good judgement in our next Ofsted standard inspection," its statement added.

'Conditional unconditional' offers on the rise A record one in four university applicants received a "conditional unconditional" offer this year, figures from admissions service Ucas show.

But despite the rise in these offers, future degree students are now less likely to accept them, Ucas says.

Conditional unconditional offers give students a place - regardless of their Alevel grades - on condition they make the university their firm first choice.

Critics say they encourage students not to work hard to get the best A-levels.

The latest Ucas figures show a quarter (25.1%) of 18year-old university applicants from England, Northern Ireland and Wales - 64,825 students - received a

conditional unconditional offer in 2019.

This is up 4.2 percentage points on 2018, from 20.9% (53,355 students).

Overall, among applicants holding five offers of places from universities, including one conditional unconditional offer, just over one in five (20.6%) chose to accept the conditional unconditional place.

This was down from 25.6% in 2014, Ucas said.

A breakdown by subject shows communications and media has the highest proportion of "conditional unconditional" offers (15.5%), followed by humanities and liberal arts (13.6%).

But Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has previously condemned the use of conditional unconditional offers, saying there is no place for them, and they can limit disadvantaged teenagers from going to the "very best academic institutions" possible.

The Association of School and College Leaders said these types of offers had "more to do with the frenetic scramble to put 'bums on seats' than the best interests of students."

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12 MEDIA WATCH

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21 - 27 December 2019

SCRUTATOR’S The horrendous gang rapes that disfigured Indian society became politicised by the loquacious Rahul Gandhi’s egregious comment that India was now the rape capital of the world. This was matched by Subramanian Swamy, whose own take was that it wasn’t India but the West. Neither of these eminences had figures to support their respective

of cancer can be made available at greatly reduced price in as capred to the S if the technology is manufactured internally (Times of India December 12).

ahead (Times of IKndia December 9).

Delhi blaze claims 43 fatalities

US retail giant Walmart has launched the first of its planned 25 institutes across India for training

Walmart for 25 institutes in next 5 years

departure of the previous Left Front regime. This is substantially true.

More proof of progress But why run down the performance of the Indian economy? The captains of Indian Industry have sufficient firsthand knowledge of the larger panIndian situation to make up their own minds; they need no tutoring from the Chief Minister, a politician with an eye trained on the vote banks. Proof of the pudding is in the eating. Business and public await evidence that infrastructure projects are unfolding on the ground, and are not castles in the air (Statesman December 12).

Chinese city turns ghost town

A fire engine stands by the site of a fire in an alleyway, tangled in electrical wire and too narrow road for vehicles to access, in New Delhi

BJP’s Subramanin Swamy, Rahul Gandhi

claims. Lacking even a tinge of moral responsibility, they shot off their loud mouths in search of headlines and column inches. ‘The more I see of men the more I love my dog’, said the eighteenth century Europe’s warrior-statesman and cynic, Frederick the Great of Prussia BJP sweeps Karnataka The ruling BJP at the centre swept the southern State of Karnataka, winning 12 Legislative Assembly seats of the 15 by-elections held recently. Congress won just 2, emphasising once more, the party’s continuing political irrelevance as a contender for power. Intrigues and manoeuvrings constitute the party’s stage performance, its solitary claim to be taken seriously – but not by a bemused public exhausted by tom-foolery day in day out. (Times of India, Hindu, Statesman December 10).

Citizenship bill passed The Lok Sabha passed the government’s contentious Citizenship bill by a significant majority of 311 -80. The Rajya Sabha (the smaller Second Chamber) passed it 125-99. The bill offers citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis, from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh on grounds of religious persecution with December 31, 2014 as the cutoff date. Opposition demands to delete references to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and to make legislation neutral on religion, were defeated. Home Minister Amit Shah denied charges of anti- Muslim bias, claiming the measure was aimed solely at stopping infiltration.

Opposition parties Shiv Sena and Odisha Chief Minister Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD) voted with the government (Times of India December 10).

Bangladesh protest The Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.K Abdul Momen took issue with the Indian Government for implicitly questioning his

country’s inclusive attitude towards its minority communities.

(Hindu December 12) Mr Momen made serious point. To bracket Bangladesh with Pakistan, where Hindu girls and women in Sindh province are routinely kidnapped into forced marriages with Muslim men after forcible conversion to Islam, or to mob violence against Christians in Punjab province who are subjected to the country’s notorious blasphemy laws, face mob violence, arbitrary arrest and then subjected to death sentences, to escape which they have sought asylum abroad. The Taliban in Afghanistan have made tolerance of minorities a life-threatening exercise. Bangladesh is neither Pakistan nor Afghanistan. It was an egregious error to have bracketed Bangladesh with Pakistan, from whose murderous embrace the country emerged as a sovereign polity in 1971. New Delhi would do itself no harm by tendering an apology, the sooner the better.

Price of diabetes drug halved For India’s 72 million diabetes patients the good news is that the price of diabetes blockbuster drug Vildagliptin is being launched by 15-20 pharmaceutical companies, the result is halving its price.

Affordable medicines are a boon for every section of society, especially for those with low incomes (Times of India December 10).

IIT scientists in cancer tech cure Scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay, have developed a technology to leverage a patient’s immune system. Such immune therapy using CAR T-cells for treatment

A fire that ripped through a four storied building in a congested north Delhi locality housing illegal manufacturing units, claimed 43 lives, many suffocation from the noxious fumes as they sought desperately to escape. Aam Aadmi leader and Delhi Chief Minister, the loquacious Arvind Kejriwal, blamed the BJP for the tragedy.

What were he and his minions doing? Making money from such enterprises, perhaps? (Times of India, Hindu December 9).

50,000 entrepreneurs from micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. At present India is the company’s fifth- hub in a global chain after China, US, Mexico and Canada. ‘In the first five years, our commitment is to train 50,000 MS M E entrepreneurs at 25 institutes at strategically located clusters near manufacturing centres across India, said Walmart India CEO Judith Mckenzie ( Statesman December 10).

Slowdown cyclical

Nanavati panel absolves Modi, colleagues

The Indian government’s Economic Adviser K. Subramanian has said that the country’s economic slowdown was cyclical and hence temporary. Growth momentum had not been lost, he said, there being every sign of a bounce back.

Reforms And if anything, we are now doing a lot of reforms, and reforms enhance the productivity of the economy...for economy like India, it is actually private investment that is the key driver of economic growth’ , he averred. A well thought agenda was work in progress (Economic Times December 10).

Sensex rise Market benchmark BSE Sensex rose 43 points a few days ago.

Some companies gained, others lost value on the stock market.

The rupee value rose 16 per cent against the US dollar (Economic Times December 10).

Maruti raises production Auto maker Maruti Suzuki increased its production in November by 4.3 per cent, that is 1,4100 cars. Following a decline in output brought about by the slowdown of the Indian economy.

Passenger cars reache 1,3900.

Production of mini and compact vehicles Alto, Vitara, Celerio, Balero stood at 1.0200 units, however production of the utility segment rose by 18 per cent, possibly a period of seedtime and remedy and hope of better times

Justice (retired) G.T. Nanavati headed a panel, which having probed the origin of the Gujarat riots of 2002, absolved the Chief Minister Narendra Modi (now prime minister) and his colleagues of responsibility for the anti-Muslim triggered by the burning alive of 59 Hindu pilgrims in the carriage of a static railway train at the town of Godhra. India’s radical chic fraternity at the time and since, have given vent to their righteous indignation at the targeting of innocent Muslims by Hindu mobs – and quite right, too – but their stern, glacial silence at the Godhra tragedy has an appalling dimension of selective justice – with judge and jury limited, it would appear, to the jet-setting enclaves of New Delhi’s partially sighted great and good, seemingly also deaf and dumb.

CM pitches for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, addressing a conclave of businessmen and women in the seaside retreat of Digha, with its new spanking Conference Centre, made a strong pitch for her State as a desirable market for profitable investments. She told her audience that, while ‘the entire economic situation in the country was gloomy, Bengal presents an exceptional case....Unemployment had decreased by 40 per cent because of the ease of doing business in West Bengal had improved exponentially since the

Huizhou, once thriving Chinese city on the Pearl river has become something of a ghost at town as South Korea’s Samsung company, one of the country’s largest, has shifted its Smartphone production facilities to Vietnam and India to avoid the fallout from the USChina’s tariff war (Statesman December 12).

Branson in India British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic, arrived in India to a warm welcome from Anand Mahindra, Chairman of the Mahindra Group. Sir Richard said his company would make India its third-largest base after the US and UK. He is set to meet Uddhav Thackeray, the new Chief Minister Sir Richard Branson with Ananda Mahindra

of Maharashtra, to discuss the setting up of Mumbai-Pune hyperloop, as the previous regime under Devendra Fadnavis was a keen advocate. (Hindu December 12).

New space launch India’s RISAT-2 BRI was launched into space by the country’s low orbit workhorse PSLV. It is the fiftieth such PSLV launch. The satellite carries India’s advanced radar imaging and nine other customer satellites including those from Japan, Israel, Italy and the US. Historic day ‘Today’s launch [December 11] was a historic mission,’ said K. Sivan, Chairman, Indian Satellite & Research Organisation (ISRO) from the Mission Control centre at the launch site. The flight proved again India’s capability to carry on board the mini satellites, this time 9 mini satellites of Japan, Israel, Italy and the US. In the midst of domestic political turbulence, Indian science and engineering lit up an assuring light into a saner future.

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21 - 27 December 2019

Post Office IT fiasco: 'Decade of hell' for accused

Gravely ill toddler saved by kidney transplant

Sub-postmasters say being accused of theft, fraud and false accounting has destroyed their health and reputations. More than 550 ex-Post Office workers are to get a share of £58m in an out-of-court settlement that ends a 20-year fight for justice.

With time running out for their sick daughter Anaya, parents Joety and Amrik Kandola launched a desperate last-ditch appeal for a kidney donor to save her life.

Faults with accounting system Horizon led to shortfalls in branch accounts, leading to workers being convicted of theft and many jailed. Three postmasters affected by the fiasco share their stories.

Balvinder Singh Gill moved to Oxford from his home town of Coventry after he was married in 2003 to "start a new life" as subpostmaster at the town's Cowley Road branch.

But "a decade of hell" later, he had suffered a mental breakdown which led to him being sectioned.

He says his life was destroyed after he was accused of stealing £108,000 from the Post Office. "I had problems from day one," he said. His weekly balance would show a "massive shortfall" and he just could not balance the books. One morning, six months in, he was suddenly locked out of the office by auditors.

"They turned up a little bit like a pseudo police force. They interviewed me in a back room. They interrogated me," he said.

Eventually he was told he had to repay the full amount in monthly instalments and was chased relentlessly by debt collectors.

"Financially it really wiped me away. I had to declare bankruptcy. They

Kashmir Gill was given a suspended sentence for false accounting after taking over a post office in Oxford with husband Gurnan

community was totally destroyed. My family broke up over this... I broke up with my wife some years later," said Mr Gill.

Now, the news of the settlement is still sinking in.

Balvinder Singh Gill says he suffered a "decade of hell" after being accused of stealing £108,000 from the Post Office

"More than the money, it's just the justice. Mainly that we can get on with our lives and put right a lot of people who thought we were bad," he said.

Rubbina Shaheen was accused of taking £43,000 from her branch - and ended up serving three months in jail. The settlement gives her hope that her conviction for falsifying accounts at the Greenfields post office in Shrewsbury will be quashed. She was jailed in 2010 after accepting a plea bargain to drop a

Rubbina Shaheen and husband Mohamed Hami ran Greenfields post office and convenience store in Shrewsbury

said if I didn't pay it back they'd take me to prison.

They said I was the only case," he said.

In a double blow for the family, in 2009 his mother Kashmir, now postmistress, was found guilty of stealing £57,000 from the same branch, a conviction she is now hoping will be overturned by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC).

The family went from being reputable business owners to working in local kitchens or petrol stations on minimum wage.

"Our reputation in our

theft charge.

"When they said I was going to prison I was just totally devastated. I didn't know what to say, what to do," said Mrs Shaheen, 54, who is on dialysis for renal failure.

Husband Mohamed Hami, 65, added: "We were both on suicidal watch. The only good part is that we were both holding each other's hands."

Mrs Shaheen worked as postmistress whilst her husband ran the connecting convenience store. She initially had money deducted from her salary after an £8,000 discrepancy was identified in 2007, but two years later, her contract was immediately terminated after £43,000 went missing.

Despite Mrs Shaheen identifying "at least 11 errors" on the Horizon system, she was not believed, said Mr Hami. After her release from prison, the couple ended up living in a van, evicted from the shop's living quarters by the bank after falling into arrears.

Eventually they cashed in their pensions to buy a derelict house in Brockton, Shropshire and Mr Hami took a job at a Shropshire school, selling tuck.

Mrs Shaheen is not part of the group action but is now feeling "hopeful but at the same time sceptical", that she will be vindicated by the CCRC. Her husband feels the Post Office should be "hanged dry" for making them feel "absolutely dirt."

"Nothing can replace our health. Let's hope fingers crossed that we can up ourselves a bit. Hold our head high," he added.

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And just as all hope seemed lost, Surinder Sapal answered the couple’s Facebook plea offering to donate one of her organs to the two-year-old.

Tests showed the mum of two was a tissue match for Anaya and nine months later the kidney transplant took place, pulling the toddler back from the brink and a life on dialysis. She is now thriving.

Amrik, 33, said: “They say super-heroes are unreal but I think we have a reallife super-hero here.

Surinder is a dream come true to us.”

NHS worker Surinder had spotted the couple’s Hope4Anaya Facebook appeal last year to help the tot, who was born prematurely with a chronic disease that led to enlarged kidneys. They had to be removed when she was weeks old.

Surinder, 36, who has daughters, Gurleen 10 and Hargun, six, said: “I saw this mum pleading for a kidney for her baby. I felt, ‘What if it

Anaya Kandola with kidney donor, Surinder Sapal

was my child and I was unable to help?’ Anaya’s family described me as a super-hero, but I just see it as one mother helping another.”

Amrik and Joety, of Newcastle, had begged people to be donors and Surinder was one of 34 who offered to help. She had tests in January and was found to be a one in 100,000 match. The couple had been ruled out as a match for their daughter because her tissue type had changed after having frequent transfusions.

Surinder, a radiographer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, had her operation at the Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital while Anaya underwent hers at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in the city. Amrik and Joety were

not told the her name until later.

Surinder urged more people to become live donors. She said: “It feels amazing to give someone the gift of life.”

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust consultant renal transplant physician Dr Sunil Daga added: “Surinder’s act of selflessness has not only given a gift of life to Anaya but also to her family and will have a far-reaching positive effect.”Anyone can come forward as a live donor and a local centre will medically determine if you can proceed to donation.

There are a number of tests involved.

For more details, go to NHS Blood and Transplant website; organdonation.nhs.uk

14 COMMUNITY

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Sterling Professional Finance celebrates the end of the decade Recently, Sterling Professional Finance hosted a pre-season dinner and drinks evening at Bombay Central Restaurant in Harrow with over 180 businessmen, professionals and industrialists including the Deputy Mayor of London for Business, Rajesh Agrawal.

Established in 2002, the company is led by Sanjay Rughani who highlighted the importance of supporting one another at the ‘end of the year and end of a decade’.

Celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Rughani said, “we want you to connect with one person in the room and help them.” He concluded the evening with a note of gratitude to his wife and colleagues for their support and guidance.

Rohit Vadhwana

Tehmina Mirza, Sanjay Rughani, Rajesh Agrawal, Jay Rughani, Vijay Thakrar, Sheila Savani, Jaysal Patel and Manish Babla

Vedanta Hedging ends year on a Christmas high Vedanta Hedging Ltd recently celebrated their most successful year to date, advising on more hedging transactions than ever before, including some of the UK’s largest hotel firms.

Established in 2011, the company recently celebrated its eight-year anniversary, cementing its position as the largest hedging consultancy for UK SMEs. Approximately 120 professional partners from across the country attended the annual celebratory Christmas drinks event,

including some of the UK’s leading solicitors, barristers, accountants, finance brokers and journalists.

Leading names included HaysMacintyre, Mantra Capital, Lockton Insurance, Collyer Bristow LLP, HW Fisher, Sterling Finance and Fountain Court Chambers among others.

During 2019, Vedanta Hedging further increased it's capabilities in FX hedging, analytical research and also more coverage in the North of England with new three new hires.

Abhishek Sachdev, CEO of Vedanta Hedging

(L-R) Rima Sengupta, Law Step Solicitors, Rupa Sachdev, Vedanta Hedging, L. George, Asian Voice and Abhishek Sachdev, Vedanta Hedging

thanked his professional partners for their longstanding commitment to

Vedanta Hedging and praised his team’s hard work and dedication.

Aschfords law celebrates grand opening of new premises On Thursday 5th December 2019 marked the official grand opening of Aschfords Law new premises at 45-47 Station Road, North Harrow, HA2 7SU. The evening was commenced by the ribbon cutting ceremony carried out by His Worshipful Councillor Mayor Nitin Parekh and his wife the Mayoress Hita Parekh.

The grand opening was

ATITHI@Indian Customs : Hassle-free arrival to India

hosted by Aschfords Law team who celebrated the event with other professionals, clients and friends.

The evening proved a big success with all of their guests making new connections, enjoying variety of canapes and drinks.

Aschfords Law provides legal advice and assistance in respect of matters concerning Family Law, UK Immigration Law, Wills & Probate, Litigation, Landlord & Tenant matters.

Shantanu and his wife Sharmila landed Mumbai airport early in the morning with their two children. The excitement of visiting the hometown after a gap of three years was clear. After collection of luggage, they were in the immigration queue, which was luckily not very long.

Sharmila realised they had not filled up the customs declaration form for their belongings. She asked Shantanu to rush and collect and fill-up the form quickly by the time their turn for immigration comes. As Shantanu rushed to the counter to get a form, he realised people had wasted many forms, and it was difficult to find a clean one. He was not happy with people's habit of filling half form and throwing away because of small mistakes in writing. He didn't know where else could he find a customs declaration form.

Has this happened with you? Has it ever slipped out of your mind to fill up the form? Well, in that case, now there is an easy solution: 'ATITHI@Indian Customs'. It is a mobile application available both on iOS and Android platforms.

ATITHI is developed by the Directorate General of Systems, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIT), Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India to drive digital governance in India.

This application provides a platform for all visitors travelling to India globally to file their baggage, Item & Currency declarations and other citizen-centric services.

It will reduce the time taken for the Customs Declaration and will ease the arrival process at Indian Airports.

With ATITHI, CBIC has introduced an easy to use mobile app for international travellers to file the Customs declaration in advance. Passengers can use this app to file a declaration of dutiable items and currency with Indian Customs even before boarding the flight to India. The ATITHI app will facilitate hassle-free and faster clearance

by Customs at the airports and enhance the experience of international tourists and other visitors at airports.

ATITHI is a simple application where a traveller needs to create an account and fill up basic details like name, passport number, flight number, items carried, foreign currency and any other relevant information. It also gives updated information regarding rules and regulations of customs in India and helps avoid any unwanted incident because of ignorance of rules. How much foreign currency can one carry to India? How much gold/silver or any other product can you take to India without paying any customs duty? Many such questions are answered in this app.

This application is launched recently, in November 2019. When Shantanu and Sharmila travelled, they didn’t have such facilities. But now, as India takes a stride in improving its 'Ease of Doing Business Index', other consequential aspects, like travelling to India, are also made easier and smoother.

Please download the 'ATITHI@Indian Customs’ App on your mobile, fill up the detail in advance, even before boarding the flight, and travel hassle-free.

(Expressed opinion is personal)

Ribbon cutting ceremony carried out by His Worshipful Councillor Mayor Nitin Parekh and his wife the Mayoress Hita Parekh with Shalini Bhargava of Aschfords Law

Do you have a story or suggestion for this column?

Email at: livingbridgeasianvoice@gmail.com

Wolverhampton Gurdwara celebrates Guru Nanak’s 550th anniversary Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Wolverhampton has donated a generous £5,550 to Barnardo’s to mark the 550th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikhism.

The celebration was attended by over 4,000 people, which included members of the Sikh community, local MPs such as Pat McFadden and other friends and supporters.

The donation was received

by Carrie Bater, Barnardo’s regional fundraising manager, and will go towards vital ser-

vices that help vulnerable children in the UK. Arjinder Bhogal from the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara said, “We share Barnardo’s values of believing in children, no matter who they are or what they have been through and so we are delighted to celebrate this beautiful occasion by supporting those who need us most.”

Barnardo’s Chief Executive Javed Khan said, “Barnardo’s is extremely grateful to the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara for their donation which will help us to continue our vital work...”

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TLIGHT

Bishi

Transcending Culture Through the Electric Sitar with influential icons such as RuPaul.

Bowery founded the seminal Eighties club called Taboo, which was canonised in Boy George’s musical of the same name. The artistic influence of the gay and queer-friendly community taught me how to create my own world and encouraged ownership through my body.”

This fiery, dexterous spirit extends to the more meditative theme of identity politics which drives Bishi’s work.

Coming from a historically artsy Bengali background, she stated: “South Asian women constitute just 3% of the entire music industry – from producers and publishers to the performers and the artists we look up to. As a result, I’ve felt the need to campaign on our behalf” Indeed, “written before the current ‘woke’ age,” as Bishi phrased it, her second album, ‘Albion Voice,’ specifi-

itself has also broadened in influence to complement that – I’ve definitely travelled into different territory now that I’ve got more into producing music.”

And so, ever elusive yet immediate and moving, Bishi’s art is not only a scion for originality, but also a sign of a Bishi

by Etienne Gilfillan contending progressive force in modern times. Indeed, transcending physiSunetra Senior cal barriers altogether, she is part of a movement that is opening up the using the genres of electronica socio-political landscape to celebrate and Indian classical to make an emerging personal dynamism and alternative folk-pop, musician expression of the innermost self.

Bishi emerges somewhat of a contemDespite the surrounding political porary rock star. As well as strumveneer, marginalised perspectives that ming into existence a idiosyncratic were once considered alien or “uncomsignature, she is known for her stunfortable and threatening” as Bishi articning intergalactic outfits and pioulated are now equally seen as an allurneering presence in the British music ing portal to deeper and enlightened industry. thought.

“We’ve come a long way,” the eloHer first major instrument being quent artist concluded. “For her voice, she would train in the tradime, focussing on being contional Indian sitar as a teenager. Bishi structive, creative and taking began brazenly on the underground practical steps to support peoqueer & indie circuits. “This was before ple is always the priority. the more recent acceptance of minority Otherwise, the enormity of voices that’s becoming more maincurrent politics is overwhelmstream, I found support in the countering.” Aptly endorsing a futurisculture. I faced a lot of judgement at tic image, Bishi clearly signals school and in the Indian community human values moving forward it was hard, so music was my escape.” with the reconfiguring of an However, the uniquely open artist ideological identity. transformed this personal challenge You have drawn from your into a super strength: by forging an entirely unique genre.

by Zuzanna Blur Indian heritage to include lyrics from the great Bengali Effectively wielding the impressive writer, Rabindranath Tagore. Tell us cally addresses the outsider status fusion of multiple instruments in many more about this? My parents were experienced by individualistic Britishof her music videos, Bishi is the invenimmigrants who came to country in Asian women like herself. “As a British tor of the electric sitar, born through a the Seventies. My mum was actually a woman, I’m viewed as somehow lower necessity to perform her music live. classically trained singer and expert in or ‘a cheap imitation, while the Indian “Creatives naturally experiment and the music and works of Tagore, and community might see me as ‘too evolve – amongst training in music and white.” Bishi further gives talks, sits on helped curate classical Indian perforresearching tech tutorials on YouTube, various panels and provides mentormances at Southbank. I think I was very I taught myself how to midi - map the ships around the goal of increasing the lucky to have been born into the cresitar through Ableton, and there it number of brown women being welative world that way. was": a manual mix of her dual hercomed into her fusion field of music itage. A few albums later, and Bishi is and tech. “I champion inclusion, it’s How have gender politics now the Artistic Director of WITCiH: important to show how multifaceted changed over time?

The Women in Technology Creative South Asian women can be. I’ve added The mainstreaming of dialogues Industries Hub, a platform she coto the debate by creating a whole around feminism & gender have got founded to elevate the voices women & unconventional career.” society talking on all sides, and made non-binary at the intersection of creBishi’s dynamic music then speaks space for exciting and progressive voicative tech & STEM. “Nothing compares directly to a significant social change. es. The rules of sex and sexuality have to the feeling of being able to write, “The advancement in tech has been definitely changed to be more nuanced, teach compose, produce and incredible,” she elaborated. and that’s great, but a lot more work perform music,” Bishi “Prior generations have not needs to be done to continue to educommented. “There’s had access to the technocate people on how to connect emonothing on earth like "The artistic logical democratisationally, now that we have tech at our it.

I’ve really influence of the gay tion we’re witnessing fingertips. The mainstreaming of proenjoyed articulatnow. It’s making so gressive ideas has both enlightened, ing ownership and queer-friendly much more possiand polarised. We have to be aware of over that too. I community taught me ble.” This is only discussions and the ways in which we hope I can help boosted by the can come together. other women to how to create my own explosion of social do the same with world and encouraged media which has You also embrace multi-media their achieveencouraged passionperformance. How do you use the ownership through ments. It’s been ate and personal diaimages to complement your music? great to manage the my body.” logue. Indeed, it is this I have worked collaboratively with sound art aspect of the zeitgeist that has taken visual makers, throughout my career. I music alongside the techBishi’s newest album, Let My like to create a multi-dimensional nical mastery, all the while Country Awake, which will be released experience in my performance work. In curating & commissioning new female in 2020 on Gryphon Records, to an the past five years, I’ve been working and LGBTQ voices.” expansive individual space. with Output Arts, who have been eduTranscending even race, “the new work cating me in their process of live coding *** was partly inspired by the essay collecvisuals.

Bishi’s commanding stage presence is tion, ‘The Good Immigrant,’ edited by also a significant part of her artistry.

Nikesh Shukla, who’s voice features Finally, who are some musical Radiating a raw, feminine energy that along with writers Darren Chetty & influences? is as elusive as it is strong, the profound Salena Godden. It’s about how being a Grace Jones, David Bowie, Wendy source of her inherent creativity is child of immigrants, my own experiCarlos, Meredith Monk and Laurie reflected. “Musical craft is as important ence as a brown and British, sits within Anderson to name some. as presentation. At the age of 14 I was the wider context of the diaspora adopted by radical performance art movement, merging with the accounts W: http://bishi.co.uk/ band, Minty, who was founded by of other marginalised voices. My music T: @Bishi_music Leigh Bowery who, in turn, was friends

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21 - 27 December 2019

Tetley Tea announces launch of its 'ethnic' range

Tetley Tea has announced the launch of an 'Ethnic' range of speciality of Indian flavoured tea, aimed specifically at the South Asian Diaspora living in the UK and Europe. The range promises to have three-strong flavours ‘Masala’, ‘Elaichi’ (Cardamom) and Ginger.

Tetley Tea, UK’s iconic tea brand, and world’s 2nd largest tea company, with a heritage of more than 180 years, is owned by TATA Global Beverages Ltd. The brand has gone from strength to strength over the years and with a presence in over 40 countries, with millions of cups of tea enjoyed every day.

Adil Ahmad, President International Business, Tata Global Beverages Ltd, “This is the first time a mainstream tea brand is disrupting the tea category by offering an authentic ‘Desi (local) Chai’ experience in a tea bag format.”

Rahul Kale, Export Consultant to TATA Global Beverages Ltd said, “Unlike other Indian spiced teas and Chai mixes which are targeted mainly towards the mainstream tea consumers, Tetley ethnic range has specifically been blended and packed in India keeping the South Asian diaspora in mind. It really is a game-changer for all ethnic independent stores and mainstream retailers with a world food offering who want to offer an authentic ‘Indian Tea’ range to their south Asian consumers.”

Neasden Temple collects clothes and food for the homeless

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London – popularly known as the ‘Neasden Temple’ – helped BAPS Charities collect winter clothing and food for the homeless in December 2019 as part of its on-going commitment to serve the needy in the local community.

A variety of warm pieces of clothing – including jumpers, jackets and trousers – as well as a large collection of tinned food was deposited at The Swaminarayan School opposite the Mandir.

More than 3,500 individual garments were collected and distributed to Crisis, the “national charity for homeless people”. In addition, 800 cans of food were delivered to Brent Foodbank and Wembley Foodbank.

Bimal Chudasama, a devotee at the Mandir, shared, “I am so pleased to be able to help the homeless in London. I can’t imagine what it must be like to spend these freezing nights out on the streets, cold and hungry. Anything we can do to help is a blessing.”

Oliver Macarenhas expressed his gratitude to BAPS Charites on behalf of Crisis. He said, “Your fantastic support will help a lot of our guests with much needed fresh clothes for the New Year and we very much appreciate your support.”

Michelle Laurence at Brent Foodbank added, “We are very grateful to receive the food cans from BAPS. This will ensure that people will not go hungry this Christmas!”

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21 - 27 December 2019

BRITONS ELECT NINE NEW ASIAN MPS Continued from page 1

Four new Indian origin MPs

Now, Britain has gained four new Indian-origin MPs viz.

Labour’s Navendu Mishra (Stockport), Conservative’s Gagan Mohindra (South west Hertfordshire) and Goan-origin Claire Coutinho (East Surrey) and Lib Dem’s Munira Wilson (Twickenham). This means that there are now a total of 15 MPs of Indian-origin in this country. They will now accompany the existing 11 Indian-origin MPs . Names include: Priti Patel (Witham), Alok Sharma (Reading West), Shailesh Vara (North West Cambridgeshire), Valerie Vaz (Walsall), Virendra Sharma (Ealing Southall), Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston), Rishi Sunak (Richmond), Lisa Nandy (Wigan), Suella Braverman (Fareham), Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) and Preet Kaur Gill (Birmingham who have Edgbaston), retained their seats this general election.

Labour limps to Leicester East despite Vaz Leicester East’s Keith Vaz, UK’s longest serving Indian MP did not stand in this election, after 32 years as an MP. He was replaced by Claudia Webbe. Webbe managed to secure the seat with 25,090 votes as opposed Conservatives' Bhupen Dave who chased her with 19,071 votes. Although, Labour has secured a majority of just over 6,000 votes, since 2017 it has seen a massive decrease of 16.2% vote share with Conservatives gaining over 14% of this vote.

Blackman surges in Harrow East with an increased majority Bob Blackman, the incumbent for the Conservative Party has won his fourth election in a row for the Harrow East seat. Despite being in one of the few Tory marginal seats in London after his margin narrowed to around 1,757 votes in 2017, Blackman managed to increase his lead to 8,170 votes. Labour's Kashmir resolution seems to have divided the community more than anticipated as Blackman who has actively campaigned for the rights of the Kashmiri Pandits has surged ahead.

Barry continues to carry-on in Brent North However, Labour's Barry Gardiner retains his seat in Brent North defeating Conservatives' Anjana Patel with a majority of 8,000 votes.

Labour's Sharma retains Ealing Southall

1.

Twickenham

by a majority of 78, receiving 365 votes as oppose 203 votes

by Labour, and Johnson will be staying as the Prime Minister in 10 Downing Street.

Virendra Sharma holds on to his constituency in Ealing Southall. He has been reelected as the MP for Ealing Southall, with a decreased majority. The Labour candidate beat Conservative Tom Bennett by 16,084 votes, 6,006 votes less than the majority at the 2017 election.

Malhotra holds ground in Feltham and Heston with a reduced majority Seema Malhotra has been re-elected as the MP for Feltham & Heston, with a decreased majority. The Labour candidate beat Conservative Jane Keep by 7,859 votes, 7,744 votes less than the majority at the 2017 election. Voter turnout was down by 5.8 percentage points since the last general election.

Labour holds Bedford only by 145 votes Mohammad Yasin has been re-elected as the town's Labour MP but with a decreased majority. Yasin received 20,491 votes while the Conservative candidate Ryan Henson had 20,346 votes cast for him.

Other South Asian MPs from Labour and Conservative Party Some of the new South Asian MPs from Labour Party include- Zarah Sultana (Coventry South), Tahir Ali (Birmingham Hall Green) and Apsana Begum (Poplar & Limehouse). Others include Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green & Bow), Shabana Mahmood (Birmingham Ladywood), Khalid Mahmood (Birmingham Perry Barr), Yasmin Qureshi (Bolton South East), Imran Hussain (Bradford East), Naz Shah (Bradford West), Rupa Huq (Ealing Central & Acton), Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead and Kilburn), Afzal Khan (Manchester Gorton) and Rosena Allin-Khan (Tooting).

Some of the new South Asian MPs from Conservative Party include: Saqib Bhatti (Meriden) and Imran Ahmad-Khan (Wakefield). The other South Asian MPs who have retained their seats- Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove), Suella Braverman (Fareham), Rehman Chishti (Gillingham & Rainham), Ranil Jayawardena (North East Hampshire), Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon) and Nus Ghani (Wealden).

Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party has won

Asian MP from the Liberal Democrats S. No. Constituency

17

Cabinet Ministers Boris Johnson has told his "people's Cabinet" they must work "24 hours a day" to deliver on the promises made

by Conservatives during the election campaign. Johnson’s former Ministers Priti Patel and Sajid Javid are expected to secure important roles in the Cabinet yet again, possibly carry on with their previous roles, as Home Secretary and Chancellor respectively.

Simon Hart MP, who was a junior Minister has been appointed as the Secreatry of

Asian MPs from the Labour Party S. No. Constituency 1.

2.

Bedford

Bethnal Green and Bow

Name of the Candidate Mohammad Yasin

Rushanara Ali

3.

Birmingham Edgsbaston

Preet Kaur Gill

4.

Birmingham, Hall Green

Tahir Ali

5.

Birmingham, Ladywood

Shabana Mahmood

6.

7.

8.

9.

Birmingham, Perry Barr

Bolt South East

Bradford East

Bradford West

Khalid Mahmood

Yasmin Qureshi

Imran Hussain

Naz Shah

State for Wales and Nicky Morgan MP has come back with a new role as the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is believed Rishi Sunak, currently a junior minister is looking at a promotion, along with Alok Sharma MP. This general election, known as Brexit election, has witnessed many traditional Labour seats converting into Tory seats, including Workington, Darlington, Bishop Auckland, Redcar, Blyth Valley and Burnley.

There has been a swing of 15% votes from Labour to Conservative. The Scottish National Party (SNP) have taken seats from other parties in Scotland. There is a possibility they would push for a second referendum for Scotland’s independence, as Nicola Sturgeon insisted that Scotland would like to stay in EU. However, Johnson has recently denied the possibility of holding one.

This has been the worst result for Labour in the last 3 decades- since 1935. It is believed, many of the Labour seats in Northern England, who have been staunchly supported by hardcore Brexiteers have now shifted to vote for Conservatives, especially during election campaign, as Labour party made the mistake of portraying itself as predominantly a Remain (in EU) party. Britain is expected to leave the EU as scheduled, possibly by 31st January. Pound surged, the highest in 3 years against Euro, right after this election.

Conservative victories in a string of seats in Labour’s former heartlands meant that the party has 365 seats in the Commons, alongside a largest majority at a general election since Margaret Thatcher’s in 1987.

Jeremy Corbyn said that he would stand down after leading the party through “a period of reflection”.

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE - UPS & DOWNS OVER DIFFERENT PMS 10. Ealing Central and Acton

Dr Rupa Huq

11. Ealing, Southall

Virendra Sharma

12. Feltham and Heston

Seema Malhotra

13. Hampstead and Kilburn

Tulip Siddiq

Election Date

Prime Minister

15 October 1964

Harold Wilson

14. Manchester Gorton

Share UP

Harold Wilson

13.5%

18 June 1970

Edward Heath

21.9%

28 February 1974

Harold Wilson Harold Wilson/James Callaghan

Share Down -4%

31 March 1966

10 October 1974

-48.8% 256.5%

Afzal Khan

15. Poplar and Limehouse

Apsana Begum

16. Slough

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

17. Stockport

Navendu Mishra

18. Tooting

Dr. Rosena Allin-Khan

19. Coventry South

Zarah Sultana

3 May 1979

Magaret Thacher

57.8%

9 June 1983

Magaret Thacher

152.8%

11 June 1987

20.

Walsall South

Valerie Vaz

21.

Wigan

Lisa Nandy

Magaret Thacher/John Major

2.3%

9 April 1992

John Major

83.5%

1 May 1997

Tony Blair

33.7%

7 June 2001

Tony Blair

5 May 2005 6 May 2010

Name of the Candidate Munira Wilson

Cabinet mini-reshuffle

He added that he was humbled by the people who switched their vote to the Tories, “and I and we will never take your support for granted”.

The Liberal Democrats leader, Jo Swinson, resigned after losing her seat in Scotland, to an SNP candidate. The Lib Dems, as proEuropean as the SNP, 13 MPs to returned Westminster. The election results would “bring dread and dismay and people are looking for hope”, Swinson said.

Peter Bishop, Chief Executive of London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, “Individual political viewpoints aside, businesses will be grateful that the election has delivered a clear result.

“The uncertainty caused by previous parliamentary deadlock had significant economic and business confidence impacts.

“The majority of London businesses now want the avoidance of a no-deal Brexit. And they want the government to agree a realistic transition period in order to negotiate a future trading arrangement with Europe that is as straightforward as possible, and provides access to balanced immigration of all skill levels.”

Theresa May's former special adviser Raoul Ruparel, in a report for the Institute for Government released on Saturday 14th December on exiting the EU. has said that the UK government is currently not ready for the next stage of Brexit talks.

Tony Blair/Gordon brown David Cameron

7 May 2015

David Cameron/Theresa May

8 June 2017

Theresa May/ Boris Johnson

-15.6% 11.3% 41.9% 10.4% 0.8%

Indians in the UK praise Boris Johnson UK's Indian community on Friday has praised Boris Johnson's historic win in the historic general election.

Lord Rami Ranger, cochair of the Conservative Friends of India (CFIN) said, "Boris Johnson will deliver Brexit and take the country to the next level.”

Manoj Ladwa, CEO of UK-based media house India Inc. which had released a preelection opinion poll of British Indian voter intentions said, “The result gives Indian business the certainty they have been calling for; if not the details of what the full-fledged UK-EU trade deal will eventually look like, the fact that they will need to start adjusting to the postBrexit challenges as well as opportunities that the UK''s new course will provide.

"A defining feature of the election has to be the unprecedented activism of the Indian Indian community in standing up to the antiIndia propaganda that Jeremy Corbyn presided over within his party, regrettably much akin to the antisemitism that has plagued Labour all through his leadership.”

Boris Johnson had made a decisive play for this vote with a visit to the famous Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden, north-west London, as well as the Bhaktivedanta Manor near Watford, just days before the election. He also made a pledge to partner with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his mission to build a new India and also announced plans for a major visit to India in the New Year.

The Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) - proactively rallied community votes against what it said was the Labour party's betrayal of British Indians.

Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, Senior Fellow for South Asia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) think tank in London said, "The return of a Boris-led Conservative government focused on bilateral trade, Indian community and security relationships could possibly ensure a true strategic partnership.

"Boris Johnson's decisive electoral victory provides a unique opportunity for a real strategic partnership with India, and not just in rhetoric terms.

However, in reference to the unclear contours of the UK's future relationship with the EU ahead of the January 31, 2020 Brexit deadline, Anand Menon, Director of the UK in a Changing Europe think tank told PTI, "We simply do not know what kind of Brexit Boris Johnson wants.

"The stakes, in other words, could hardly be higher.

It is conceivable that the government will be able to persuade people that Brexit was 'done'' in January. But there will be no hiding from the economic repercussions.”

Asian MPs from the Conservative Party S. No. Constituency

Name of the Candidate

1.

Bromsgrove

Sajid Javid

2.

Meriden

Saqib Bhatti

3.

North East Hampshire

Ranil Jayawardena

4.

North West Cambridgeshire Shailesh Vara

5.

Reading West

Alok Sharma

6.

Richmond (Yorks)

Rishi Sunak

7.

Fareham

Suella Braverman

8.

Gillingham and Rainham

Rehman Chishti

9.

South West Hertfordshire

Gagan Mohindra

10. Stratford-on-Avon

11. Wakefield

Nadhim Zahawi

Imran Nasir Ahmad-Khan

12. Wealden

Nus Ghani

13. Witham

Priti Patel

14. East Surrey

Claire Coutinho

Did Hindus help Conservative party to win the UK election?

Before the elections it was popularly believed that the Hindu backlash against the Labour party’s resolution on Kashmir would cost the party dear and it would help the Conservative Party to gain the 1.3mn Indian votes.

However data from the 2011 UK census showed that there were 30 constituencies in which Asians constituted over 25% of the population.

The Indian daily Times of India after the elections looked at detailed results for these constituencies from the last three general elections to see whether there was evidence of the suggested Hindu backlash and found there was little evidence of it. They wrote, “The largest chunk of the 30 constituencies (14 of them) is in the London area.

The West Midlands forms the next biggest lot with six constituencies, four of them in the Birmingham area.

Constituencies in and around Manchester, Leicester, Bradford, Luton and Slough make up the rest.

“Labour won 29 of these 30 constituencies, exactly the same as in the last general elections in 2017. The lone seat won by the Tories was Harrow East, just as it was

two years earlier. This in itself doesn’t prove the absence of a backlash. In fact, vote share data does shows a sharp drop in the Labour vote from 67.6% in 2017 to 61.2% this time.

However, this drop of 6.4 percentage points is lower than the decline of 7.8 percentage points that Labour registered nationally. If anything, Asianconcentration seats seem to have been less harsh on Labour than the rest.

“Labour’s vote share in these 30 seats now is nearly 5 percentage points higher than the 56.5% it garnered in these same seats in 2015. The vote shares of the Conservative Party too do not indicate any significant gain in these seats.

It got 26.2% of the votes this time against 25.4% in 2017, an uptick of a mere 0.8 percentage points. That is lower than its national gain of 1.3 percentage points.

“Of course, Asian need not necessarily mean Indian and Indian need not mean Hindu, but it is a well-established fact that Indians comfortably outnumber other South Asians. Could it be that there was a backlash but it was counterbalanced by some other factor? It is indeed possible, but it would need to be a factor peculiar to these constituencies or at least one that has more impact in them than in the rest of the UK.”

Lisa Nandy could be Labour's firstever Brit-Indian woman leader MP Lisa Nandy, with her Indian roots, has emerged as a frontrunner for Labour leader, as the party looks to recover after its devastating losses to the Conservatives last week.

The 40-year-old who was born and bred in Manchester in 1979 to Dipak Nandy and Louise Byers, could be the next Labour leader, as the MP reportedly announced that she was “seriously considering” running for Jeremy Corbyn's role. She joins a growing list of prospective candidates, and it looks increasingly likely a woman will lead the Labour party in 2020.

Lisa's father Dipak Nandy was Chairman of the Leicester Campaign for Racial Equality from 1964 to 1967. Dipak was born in Kolkata, India, in a Bengali family on 21 May 1936, and arrived in Britain in March 1956 and was offered a place in the English Literature Department at the University of Leeds. He was Director of the Campaign Against Racial Discrimination Summer Projects in 1966 and 1967; a member of the Information Panel of the National Committee for Commonwealth Immigrants; and Secretary of Equal Rights. He left academia in 1968 to set up and run the Runnymede Trust of which he was the founderDirector 1968-1973. He was a member of the BBC's Immigrants Advisory Committee and the Council of the Institute of Race Relations.

In 1972 he married his second wife Louise Byers (daughter of the late Lord Byers, Leader of the Liberals in the House of Lords for 19 years). Their youngest daughter, Lisa Nandy was born in 1979.

Her first gig in the Labour party was as a councillor in Hammersmith and Fulham, before she was selection for Wigan in the 2010 General Election.

Over this weekend said that she wanted to help rebuild the Labour party that let down constituents in northern leave-backing seats such as Wigan.

In an article in Daily Mirror, hinting at Labour party's failure this election, Nandy said, “The growing disconnect between the Labour party and our heartlands was brought into devastating focus (last) week.

People in communities like mine have been trying to tell us that things aren't working and they've been

Lisa Nandy

trying to tell us for a very long time. On Thursday night, those voters delivered the message across the country.”

Nandy was one of the few Labour MPs in the north of England to retain her seat in last week's disastrous election for Labour with a majority of 6,700 votes.

She suffered a 15.5 per cent swing as the Brexit Party scooped up an extra 13 per cent of the vote, and the Tories also ate into her vote.

Though the MP voted to remain in the EU, but has been sympathetic to her Brexit backing constituents- perhaps a reason for her victory.

After Corbyn announced he would step down following the drubbing, the race has begun to find a successor. Many MPs are pressing for a Northern MP who can understand the party's heartlands to take over. Nandy placed herself as a leader who would take the concentration of power in the Labour party away from Central London and back to regional areas.

She reportedly told the BBC she would make it her mission to "bring Labour back to (the people)."

In her victory speech as she won her constituency, she said, "I have listened and I have heard you and I will make it my mission from this day forward, to bring the Labour party home to you.

"There is no reason why decision making is concentrated in Central London... our regional offices need to be more empowered to make more decisions.”

Nandy, is said to already have gained support from Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and one-time deputy leadership contender Jon Cruddas who have both joined her campaign team. She has also reportedly been in touch with Unite, GMB, CWU and other unions too.

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21 - 27 December 2019

21 - 27 December 2019

BRITONS ELECT NINE NEW ASIAN MPS Continued from page 1

Four new Indian origin MPs

Now, Britain has gained four new Indian-origin MPs viz.

Labour’s Navendu Mishra (Stockport), Conservative’s Gagan Mohindra (South west Hertfordshire) and Goan-origin Claire Coutinho (East Surrey) and Lib Dem’s Munira Wilson (Twickenham). This means that there are now a total of 15 MPs of Indian-origin in this country. They will now accompany the existing 11 Indian-origin MPs . Names include: Priti Patel (Witham), Alok Sharma (Reading West), Shailesh Vara (North West Cambridgeshire), Valerie Vaz (Walsall), Virendra Sharma (Ealing Southall), Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston), Rishi Sunak (Richmond), Lisa Nandy (Wigan), Suella Braverman (Fareham), Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) and Preet Kaur Gill (Birmingham who have Edgbaston), retained their seats this general election.

Labour limps to Leicester East despite Vaz Leicester East’s Keith Vaz, UK’s longest serving Indian MP did not stand in this election, after 32 years as an MP. He was replaced by Claudia Webbe. Webbe managed to secure the seat with 25,090 votes as opposed Conservatives' Bhupen Dave who chased her with 19,071 votes. Although, Labour has secured a majority of just over 6,000 votes, since 2017 it has seen a massive decrease of 16.2% vote share with Conservatives gaining over 14% of this vote.

Blackman surges in Harrow East with an increased majority Bob Blackman, the incumbent for the Conservative Party has won his fourth election in a row for the Harrow East seat. Despite being in one of the few Tory marginal seats in London after his margin narrowed to around 1,757 votes in 2017, Blackman managed to increase his lead to 8,170 votes. Labour's Kashmir resolution seems to have divided the community more than anticipated as Blackman who has actively campaigned for the rights of the Kashmiri Pandits has surged ahead.

Barry continues to carry-on in Brent North However, Labour's Barry Gardiner retains his seat in Brent North defeating Conservatives' Anjana Patel with a majority of 8,000 votes.

Labour's Sharma retains Ealing Southall

1.

Twickenham

by a majority of 78, receiving 365 votes as oppose 203 votes

by Labour, and Johnson will be staying as the Prime Minister in 10 Downing Street.

Virendra Sharma holds on to his constituency in Ealing Southall. He has been reelected as the MP for Ealing Southall, with a decreased majority. The Labour candidate beat Conservative Tom Bennett by 16,084 votes, 6,006 votes less than the majority at the 2017 election.

Malhotra holds ground in Feltham and Heston with a reduced majority Seema Malhotra has been re-elected as the MP for Feltham & Heston, with a decreased majority. The Labour candidate beat Conservative Jane Keep by 7,859 votes, 7,744 votes less than the majority at the 2017 election. Voter turnout was down by 5.8 percentage points since the last general election.

Labour holds Bedford only by 145 votes Mohammad Yasin has been re-elected as the town's Labour MP but with a decreased majority. Yasin received 20,491 votes while the Conservative candidate Ryan Henson had 20,346 votes cast for him.

Other South Asian MPs from Labour and Conservative Party Some of the new South Asian MPs from Labour Party include- Zarah Sultana (Coventry South), Tahir Ali (Birmingham Hall Green) and Apsana Begum (Poplar & Limehouse). Others include Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green & Bow), Shabana Mahmood (Birmingham Ladywood), Khalid Mahmood (Birmingham Perry Barr), Yasmin Qureshi (Bolton South East), Imran Hussain (Bradford East), Naz Shah (Bradford West), Rupa Huq (Ealing Central & Acton), Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead and Kilburn), Afzal Khan (Manchester Gorton) and Rosena Allin-Khan (Tooting).

Some of the new South Asian MPs from Conservative Party include: Saqib Bhatti (Meriden) and Imran Ahmad-Khan (Wakefield). The other South Asian MPs who have retained their seats- Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove), Suella Braverman (Fareham), Rehman Chishti (Gillingham & Rainham), Ranil Jayawardena (North East Hampshire), Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon) and Nus Ghani (Wealden).

Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party has won

Asian MP from the Liberal Democrats S. No. Constituency

17

Cabinet Ministers Boris Johnson has told his "people's Cabinet" they must work "24 hours a day" to deliver on the promises made

by Conservatives during the election campaign. Johnson’s former Ministers Priti Patel and Sajid Javid are expected to secure important roles in the Cabinet yet again, possibly carry on with their previous roles, as Home Secretary and Chancellor respectively.

Simon Hart MP, who was a junior Minister has been appointed as the Secreatry of

Asian MPs from the Labour Party S. No. Constituency 1.

2.

Bedford

Bethnal Green and Bow

Name of the Candidate Mohammad Yasin

Rushanara Ali

3.

Birmingham Edgsbaston

Preet Kaur Gill

4.

Birmingham, Hall Green

Tahir Ali

5.

Birmingham, Ladywood

Shabana Mahmood

6.

7.

8.

9.

Birmingham, Perry Barr

Bolt South East

Bradford East

Bradford West

Khalid Mahmood

Yasmin Qureshi

Imran Hussain

Naz Shah

State for Wales and Nicky Morgan MP has come back with a new role as the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is believed Rishi Sunak, currently a junior minister is looking at a promotion, along with Alok Sharma MP. This general election, known as Brexit election, has witnessed many traditional Labour seats converting into Tory seats, including Workington, Darlington, Bishop Auckland, Redcar, Blyth Valley and Burnley.

There has been a swing of 15% votes from Labour to Conservative. The Scottish National Party (SNP) have taken seats from other parties in Scotland. There is a possibility they would push for a second referendum for Scotland’s independence, as Nicola Sturgeon insisted that Scotland would like to stay in EU. However, Johnson has recently denied the possibility of holding one.

This has been the worst result for Labour in the last 3 decades- since 1935. It is believed, many of the Labour seats in Northern England, who have been staunchly supported by hardcore Brexiteers have now shifted to vote for Conservatives, especially during election campaign, as Labour party made the mistake of portraying itself as predominantly a Remain (in EU) party. Britain is expected to leave the EU as scheduled, possibly by 31st January. Pound surged, the highest in 3 years against Euro, right after this election.

Conservative victories in a string of seats in Labour’s former heartlands meant that the party has 365 seats in the Commons, alongside a largest majority at a general election since Margaret Thatcher’s in 1987.

Jeremy Corbyn said that he would stand down after leading the party through “a period of reflection”.

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE - UPS & DOWNS OVER DIFFERENT PMS 10. Ealing Central and Acton

Dr Rupa Huq

11. Ealing, Southall

Virendra Sharma

12. Feltham and Heston

Seema Malhotra

13. Hampstead and Kilburn

Tulip Siddiq

Election Date

Prime Minister

15 October 1964

Harold Wilson

14. Manchester Gorton

Share UP

Harold Wilson

13.5%

18 June 1970

Edward Heath

21.9%

28 February 1974

Harold Wilson Harold Wilson/James Callaghan

Share Down -4%

31 March 1966

10 October 1974

-48.8% 256.5%

Afzal Khan

15. Poplar and Limehouse

Apsana Begum

16. Slough

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

17. Stockport

Navendu Mishra

18. Tooting

Dr. Rosena Allin-Khan

19. Coventry South

Zarah Sultana

3 May 1979

Magaret Thacher

57.8%

9 June 1983

Magaret Thacher

152.8%

11 June 1987

20.

Walsall South

Valerie Vaz

21.

Wigan

Lisa Nandy

Magaret Thacher/John Major

2.3%

9 April 1992

John Major

83.5%

1 May 1997

Tony Blair

33.7%

7 June 2001

Tony Blair

5 May 2005 6 May 2010

Name of the Candidate Munira Wilson

Cabinet mini-reshuffle

He added that he was humbled by the people who switched their vote to the Tories, “and I and we will never take your support for granted”.

The Liberal Democrats leader, Jo Swinson, resigned after losing her seat in Scotland, to an SNP candidate. The Lib Dems, as proEuropean as the SNP, 13 MPs to returned Westminster. The election results would “bring dread and dismay and people are looking for hope”, Swinson said.

Peter Bishop, Chief Executive of London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, “Individual political viewpoints aside, businesses will be grateful that the election has delivered a clear result.

“The uncertainty caused by previous parliamentary deadlock had significant economic and business confidence impacts.

“The majority of London businesses now want the avoidance of a no-deal Brexit. And they want the government to agree a realistic transition period in order to negotiate a future trading arrangement with Europe that is as straightforward as possible, and provides access to balanced immigration of all skill levels.”

Theresa May's former special adviser Raoul Ruparel, in a report for the Institute for Government released on Saturday 14th December on exiting the EU. has said that the UK government is currently not ready for the next stage of Brexit talks.

Tony Blair/Gordon brown David Cameron

7 May 2015

David Cameron/Theresa May

8 June 2017

Theresa May/ Boris Johnson

-15.6% 11.3% 41.9% 10.4% 0.8%

Indians in the UK praise Boris Johnson UK's Indian community on Friday has praised Boris Johnson's historic win in the historic general election.

Lord Rami Ranger, cochair of the Conservative Friends of India (CFIN) said, "Boris Johnson will deliver Brexit and take the country to the next level.”

Manoj Ladwa, CEO of UK-based media house India Inc. which had released a preelection opinion poll of British Indian voter intentions said, “The result gives Indian business the certainty they have been calling for; if not the details of what the full-fledged UK-EU trade deal will eventually look like, the fact that they will need to start adjusting to the postBrexit challenges as well as opportunities that the UK''s new course will provide.

"A defining feature of the election has to be the unprecedented activism of the Indian Indian community in standing up to the antiIndia propaganda that Jeremy Corbyn presided over within his party, regrettably much akin to the antisemitism that has plagued Labour all through his leadership.”

Boris Johnson had made a decisive play for this vote with a visit to the famous Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden, north-west London, as well as the Bhaktivedanta Manor near Watford, just days before the election. He also made a pledge to partner with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his mission to build a new India and also announced plans for a major visit to India in the New Year.

The Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) - proactively rallied community votes against what it said was the Labour party's betrayal of British Indians.

Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, Senior Fellow for South Asia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) think tank in London said, "The return of a Boris-led Conservative government focused on bilateral trade, Indian community and security relationships could possibly ensure a true strategic partnership.

"Boris Johnson's decisive electoral victory provides a unique opportunity for a real strategic partnership with India, and not just in rhetoric terms.

However, in reference to the unclear contours of the UK's future relationship with the EU ahead of the January 31, 2020 Brexit deadline, Anand Menon, Director of the UK in a Changing Europe think tank told PTI, "We simply do not know what kind of Brexit Boris Johnson wants.

"The stakes, in other words, could hardly be higher.

It is conceivable that the government will be able to persuade people that Brexit was 'done'' in January. But there will be no hiding from the economic repercussions.”

Asian MPs from the Conservative Party S. No. Constituency

Name of the Candidate

1.

Bromsgrove

Sajid Javid

2.

Meriden

Saqib Bhatti

3.

North East Hampshire

Ranil Jayawardena

4.

North West Cambridgeshire Shailesh Vara

5.

Reading West

Alok Sharma

6.

Richmond (Yorks)

Rishi Sunak

7.

Fareham

Suella Braverman

8.

Gillingham and Rainham

Rehman Chishti

9.

South West Hertfordshire

Gagan Mohindra

10. Stratford-on-Avon

11. Wakefield

Nadhim Zahawi

Imran Nasir Ahmad-Khan

12. Wealden

Nus Ghani

13. Witham

Priti Patel

14. East Surrey

Claire Coutinho

Did Hindus help Conservative party to win the UK election?

Before the elections it was popularly believed that the Hindu backlash against the Labour party’s resolution on Kashmir would cost the party dear and it would help the Conservative Party to gain the 1.3mn Indian votes.

However data from the 2011 UK census showed that there were 30 constituencies in which Asians constituted over 25% of the population.

The Indian daily Times of India after the elections looked at detailed results for these constituencies from the last three general elections to see whether there was evidence of the suggested Hindu backlash and found there was little evidence of it. They wrote, “The largest chunk of the 30 constituencies (14 of them) is in the London area.

The West Midlands forms the next biggest lot with six constituencies, four of them in the Birmingham area.

Constituencies in and around Manchester, Leicester, Bradford, Luton and Slough make up the rest.

“Labour won 29 of these 30 constituencies, exactly the same as in the last general elections in 2017. The lone seat won by the Tories was Harrow East, just as it was

two years earlier. This in itself doesn’t prove the absence of a backlash. In fact, vote share data does shows a sharp drop in the Labour vote from 67.6% in 2017 to 61.2% this time.

However, this drop of 6.4 percentage points is lower than the decline of 7.8 percentage points that Labour registered nationally. If anything, Asianconcentration seats seem to have been less harsh on Labour than the rest.

“Labour’s vote share in these 30 seats now is nearly 5 percentage points higher than the 56.5% it garnered in these same seats in 2015. The vote shares of the Conservative Party too do not indicate any significant gain in these seats.

It got 26.2% of the votes this time against 25.4% in 2017, an uptick of a mere 0.8 percentage points. That is lower than its national gain of 1.3 percentage points.

“Of course, Asian need not necessarily mean Indian and Indian need not mean Hindu, but it is a well-established fact that Indians comfortably outnumber other South Asians. Could it be that there was a backlash but it was counterbalanced by some other factor? It is indeed possible, but it would need to be a factor peculiar to these constituencies or at least one that has more impact in them than in the rest of the UK.”

Lisa Nandy could be Labour's firstever Brit-Indian woman leader MP Lisa Nandy, with her Indian roots, has emerged as a frontrunner for Labour leader, as the party looks to recover after its devastating losses to the Conservatives last week.

The 40-year-old who was born and bred in Manchester in 1979 to Dipak Nandy and Louise Byers, could be the next Labour leader, as the MP reportedly announced that she was “seriously considering” running for Jeremy Corbyn's role. She joins a growing list of prospective candidates, and it looks increasingly likely a woman will lead the Labour party in 2020.

Lisa's father Dipak Nandy was Chairman of the Leicester Campaign for Racial Equality from 1964 to 1967. Dipak was born in Kolkata, India, in a Bengali family on 21 May 1936, and arrived in Britain in March 1956 and was offered a place in the English Literature Department at the University of Leeds. He was Director of the Campaign Against Racial Discrimination Summer Projects in 1966 and 1967; a member of the Information Panel of the National Committee for Commonwealth Immigrants; and Secretary of Equal Rights. He left academia in 1968 to set up and run the Runnymede Trust of which he was the founderDirector 1968-1973. He was a member of the BBC's Immigrants Advisory Committee and the Council of the Institute of Race Relations.

In 1972 he married his second wife Louise Byers (daughter of the late Lord Byers, Leader of the Liberals in the House of Lords for 19 years). Their youngest daughter, Lisa Nandy was born in 1979.

Her first gig in the Labour party was as a councillor in Hammersmith and Fulham, before she was selection for Wigan in the 2010 General Election.

Over this weekend said that she wanted to help rebuild the Labour party that let down constituents in northern leave-backing seats such as Wigan.

In an article in Daily Mirror, hinting at Labour party's failure this election, Nandy said, “The growing disconnect between the Labour party and our heartlands was brought into devastating focus (last) week.

People in communities like mine have been trying to tell us that things aren't working and they've been

Lisa Nandy

trying to tell us for a very long time. On Thursday night, those voters delivered the message across the country.”

Nandy was one of the few Labour MPs in the north of England to retain her seat in last week's disastrous election for Labour with a majority of 6,700 votes.

She suffered a 15.5 per cent swing as the Brexit Party scooped up an extra 13 per cent of the vote, and the Tories also ate into her vote.

Though the MP voted to remain in the EU, but has been sympathetic to her Brexit backing constituents- perhaps a reason for her victory.

After Corbyn announced he would step down following the drubbing, the race has begun to find a successor. Many MPs are pressing for a Northern MP who can understand the party's heartlands to take over. Nandy placed herself as a leader who would take the concentration of power in the Labour party away from Central London and back to regional areas.

She reportedly told the BBC she would make it her mission to "bring Labour back to (the people)."

In her victory speech as she won her constituency, she said, "I have listened and I have heard you and I will make it my mission from this day forward, to bring the Labour party home to you.

"There is no reason why decision making is concentrated in Central London... our regional offices need to be more empowered to make more decisions.”

Nandy, is said to already have gained support from Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and one-time deputy leadership contender Jon Cruddas who have both joined her campaign team. She has also reportedly been in touch with Unite, GMB, CWU and other unions too.

18 FINANCE - UK

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

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21 - 27 December 2019

Dear Financial Voice Reader, Alpesh Patel Dear Financial Voice Reader, What’s the outlook now we have some more clarity: Trump will be impeached but the Senate will not convict, and Brexit will happen by end of January and there will be no deal extension past end of 2020 – by law.

So, given the market knows all this, where does it leave us?

Let’s start with the UK first, then US. The 350 largest UK stocks first. At the time of writing, over the past 5 trading days, Tullow oil is up 52%, Sports Direct is up 34%, Stagecoach up 22%. Thanks to the election result, others with big relief rallies include Virgin Money and Balfour Beatty, Savills, Barratt, Taylor Wimpey.

But which are attractive on our award-winning algorithms for their 12 month growth and outlook, allowing for their valuation and the safety of the income they generate?

Based on our weighted measurements and, dare I say, outstanding track record, these are (drum roll and trumpets please): Balfour Beatty, Kainos, International Consolidated Airlines, Telecom plus, Royal Bank of Scotland, Taylor Wimpey, Royal Mail, Bellway, Bovis, Persimmon. Let me turn to the US. Again, at the time of writing, the trade deal is not done with the Chinese, but there are certainties at least we know regarding impeachment at least.

Again, the big movers over the past 5 days include Western Digital, up 17% and Micron, up 14% - of course surrounding the China issue. But which on our algorithms are performing especially well? Which are the highest rated for a 12 month outlook?

Here I see Halliburton, PPL, Qorvo, Schlumberger, Adobe. Why? They have sales growth, income and fair valuations.

So what kinds of gains would I be looking for over a 12 month period? 20% unleveraged would not be out of the ordinary, and 100% with modest leverage. The FTSE 100 measuring the value of the 100 largest UK companies has in 2019 kept above 7100 for the most part and now reaching 7600 is likely in 2020 to make gains in my view. The shadow hanging over it will be whether there will be a hard Brexit. But I expect more positive news than negative on this during the year and so an unleashed UK stock market in 2020.

What about the US? 2020 – election year? At an all time high with a million reasons it should not be, from tech over valuations to impeachment threats to trade wars. The index is resilient and the President, unlike any other is focused on keeping it that way.

What will the world feel in 2020 – I don’t think it’s pessimism. And so, I think the US benefits. The Chinese and EU are hell bent on delivering money to the market to try to fuel growth.

UK jobs growth resumes The number of people in work in Britain unexpectedly rose in the three months before the missed October 31 deadline for Brexit, according to data which suggests the labour market was retaining some of its strength. The number of people in employment in the UK rose by 24,000 to 32.8 million in the Augustto-October period.

The employment rate hit an all-time high of 76.2% while the unemployment rate fell back to its lowest level since the three months to January 1975 at 3.8%. "The larger-than-expected rise in employment in October suggests the labour market is not getting any worse and may have even started to turn around," said Andrew Wishart at Capital Economics. The rise in jobs was driven by a rise in the number of self-employed workers and full-time staff, while the number of parttime employees fell. The UK labour market has stayed strong even as the economy slowed following the 2016

referendum vote to leave the European Union.

That is due in part to employers, who are uncertain about what Brexit will bring, hiring staff who can be laid off easily rather than making longer-term commitments to invest in equipment. But there had been signs recently that the jobs boom was weakening.

These prompted two interest-rate setters at the Bank of England to vote for a cut to borrowing costs last month, and they are expected to do so again this week.

The Office for National Statistics also said average earnings rose by an annual 3.2%, the weakest increase in more than a year and slowing sharply from growth of 3.7% in the three months to September. The ONS attributed much of the slowdown, however, to high bonus payments in October 2018 which distorted the comparison.

Excluding bonuses, pay growth slowed less sharply to 3.5% from 3.6% in the three months to September.

UK court dismisses $680 million Chinese banks' claim against Anil Ambani

In a rule favouring Reliance Communications (RCom) Chairman Anil Ambani, the UK High Court dismissed summary judgement applications filed by clutch of Chinese banks claiming $680 million. The Chinese banks – China Development Bank, Mumbai branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Exim Bank of China – had demanded the amount in lieu of corporate loans provided to Reliance Communications (Rcom).

The order was issued on Monday, while the hearing had happened on November 7.

"For all the reasons given above, I consider that Ambani's evidence is inexplicably incomplete, implausi-

ble and highly unlikely... I think it is highly probable that at trial his defence will be shown to be opportunistic and false," read a UK High Court order dated November 7, 2019. “Anil Ambani is pleased with the dismissal of the summary judgment application filed by the Chinese banks before the UK High Court,” a spokesperson for Ambani said. “Ambani's position that the claim made by Chinese banks in relation to his alleged guarantee for corporate loans availed by RCom could not be granted by way of a summary judgement has been duly upheld by the UK High Court,” he said. The banks had provided total loans of $925.2 million to

RCom in 2012 on a condition that Ambani provide personal guarantees. While RCom repaid certain amount, the telecom operator began defaulting on payments from February 2017.

The Chinese banks Anil Ambani in a joint statement at trial.” RCom Chairman, said: “We welcome the who had contested the progrant of a conditional order ceedings stating there were against Anil Ambani as we no “personal guarantees”, have always said his defence will continue to contest the is not credible. This is a proceedings, he added. In straightforward debt claim 2018, RJio entered into an to recover outstanding agreement with RCom to loans made to RCom in buy its assets that included good faith and secured by a 43,000 telecom towers and binding personal guarantee 1.78-lakh route km fibre and given by Mr. Ambani. We use spectrum, a deal that now look forward to the failed to go through. swift resolution of the case

Over 10,000 London drivers register on Ola ahead of launch Bengaluru-based ride-hailing firm Ola said that in just three weeks, over 10,000 PHV (private hire vehicle) drivers in London have registered to drive on the platform. In addition, the SoftBank-backed firm said that it has extended a first of its kind offer that enables drivers to enjoy 0 per cent commission for the first two months after the launch, allowing them to retain 100 per cent of their earnings from the platform.

“We are very pleased with the overwhelming response from drivers across London.

Every interaction with drivers in the city has presented us with an opportunity to create a platform that best serves their needs, as well as those of consumers,” said Simon Smith, Head of International, Ola. “We are also very excited that a large number of these registrations have occurred through referrals and word of mouth amongst drivers, reiterating their trust in the Ola platform and the attractive-

ness of our offer. We look forward to working closely with drivers in building a high quality and reliable mobility service for Londoners.”

Going forward, Ola said it will continue to offer the best revenue share for drivers, allowing them to keep more of their earnings, in line with the company’s unique drivercentric approach. Over the past three weeks, more than 10,000 London drivers have signed up both online and offline to drive with Ola, completing the required checks to drive on the platform. Driver documents have

been verified and mandatory training modules, created by Ola, will help ensure that drivers are ready to use the platform when it launches in the coming weeks. Ola has expanded rapidly across the UK since its launch last year, operating across 27 local authorities. Cities including Birmingham, Coventry and Warwick have seen more than double-digit growth in rides in the last quarter. To date, Ola said it has provided around 3 million rides with over 11,000 drivers operating on the platform outside London.

Ola received an operating

licence from Transport for London (TfL), the UK Capital’s transport regulator earlier this year. Last month Ola’s US-based rival Uber lost its licence to operate in London. TfL had said that Uber will not be given a new licence in London after repeated safety failures. A key issue identified was that a change to Uber's systems allowed unauthorised drivers to upload their photos to other Uber driver accounts.

This allowed them to pick up passengers as though they were the booked driver, which occurred in at least 14,000 trips - putting passenger safety and security at risk.

Ola said all drivers on its platform are PHV license holders, authorised to drive and extend their services to consumers by TfL. This includes mandatory verification of documents, an 'enhanced' criminal records check, disclosure and barring service (DBS) training and medical examination amongst other TfL requirements.

Vedanta to inject £640 bn in India over 3 yrs Vedanta Resources Chairman Anil Agarwal said the company is planning to invest around Rs 60,000 crore in coming 2-3 years.

The company is also eyeing a top line of USD 30-40 billion and a bottom line of USD 10 million in 4-5 years, Agarwal said at the India Economic Conclave 2019. "I am committed to India. I have already invested USD 35 billion in India in the past 10 years. I have bought 13 companies so far including Hindustan Zinc, Balco, Sesa Goa and Cairn and all of them are doing well. I hope to invest £640 bn in the next 2-3 years," he said.

However, he did not

Anil Agarwal

give further details on how the company plans to utilise the funds, but hinted at being keen on acquiring a few public sector companies. "We currently have the best in class assets and we are looking at many more nationalised companies. I want to tell the government that it should not depend

on foreigners but depend on us. They (foreign investors) want to make money but we want to make the country. If government depends on us we will also bring in foreign investment," Agarwal added. He also said the company is keenly looking at the glass and optical fibre and cable industries.

"Sterlite Tech is doing a good work in optical fibre. I am now keen on developing the glass industry which will be used in electronics.

We are developing the glass used in mobiles, TV sets and computers in countries like Korea, Taiwan and Japan. If the atmosphere in India is conducive we will get to do

that here as well. This will give a boost to the electronics industry," he added.

When asked about the growth the company foresees by 2024-25 he said, "we are hoping to have a USD 30-40 billion of revenues and a profit of USD 10 million."

He further said as a part of his commitment to the country the intent was to take care of 10 crore children and 5 crore women and give back 75 per cent of wealth to the society. "I am committed to India and the company has already paid Rs 2 lakh crore in tax in the last 6 years. This contribution is however very small," Agarwal added.

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21 - 27 December 2019

LETTING THE TAIL WAG THE DOG Admittedly this is not the way to do a deal. We should not use a symptomatic reason to override the main objective. In property terms we should not use the tax situation or stamp duty to govern a property deal. The deal must stand on its own legs.

Suresh Vagjiani Sow & Reap London Property Investment

Despite usually saying “don’t let the tail wag the dog”, we are in the midst of a couple of deals which are very much influenced by the funding rates we are obtaining. Specifically, the five-year rates which are extremely favourable. For a commercial deal we are in the process of closing a 5 year fixed rate at 3.43% at 50% Loan to Value.

This makes the return on investment 9.34% year on year. This is very strong, especially given its location and tenant. In addition, there is even the possibility of adding a couple of floors on the building.

The second deal we are closing is a modest house where again the funding sweetens the deal.

What is attractive about this deal is the investor will be able to extract his funds by way of refinance in six months after works have been completed to convert into an HMO. The cost for the funds for 5 years will only be 1.67% fixed. On the investment of £400K, this only comes to £6,680 per annum.

This will be against a strong rental income of £45,000 p.a. the property is expected to produce.

This investment will ultimately have an infinite rate of return for the investor, as there will be no funds stuck in the property. This is ideally how property investment should be done, especially if you have a finite lump of funds. It needs to be recycled. It’s easy to invest, but you should also look at how to extract the funds out of the deal ideally; thereby allowing you to ‘stay in the game’.

The HMO angle is proving to be a popular one, it’s easy to see why. You have the ability to recycle your investment post conversion along with a strong passive income to follow.

On one occasion I butted heads with an investor who was after the same lot in an auction, with the same idea - to build on the plot next door and convert both buildings into HMOs. Neither of us got the deal; the price went way above our limits. The purchaser looked like an Eastern European builder, which would explain the high purchase price. He could probably make the increase in purchase price up by the reduction in build cost. And he probably wanted a project to keep his builders busy in between build jobs.

We are currently in a rare environment. One where there are low property prices as well as low interest rates. In the past low property prices always had high interest rates. This environment provides a unique opportunity to invest, and in return get an exceptionally strong income stream.

AGONY AGENT IS HERE TO HELP! Q: Due to a huge leak in my flat the tenants cannot live there until it is fixed.

What should I do?

A: Apart from the obvious problem of the leak, your major problem is your tenants and where to put them! Act quickly. Find a hotel locally and book a room for them.

Now, we are not talking a hostel, and neither are we talking about a luxury hotel.

Something in the middle. Unless of course your flat is high end, in which case a decent hotel will be necessary.

Now comes the painful question: do you have landlord insurance? If you don’t then this is going to be very very expensive for you. If you do have this in place then you need to give them a call. Most landlord insurances will cover the issue you have

with the leak in terms of repair works, loss of income (as you will not be able to charge the tenants rent for an unhabitual property) and fingers crossed the alternative accommodation for your tenants.

All insurance companies work differently.

Some will want you to rent a self catering apartment and they will pay for it, and some might ask you to pay for it and then claim it back from them.

Keep on top of the insurance company and give your tenants daily updates on the situation.

If you need any other property management guidance, please do get in touch.

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Retail inflation shoots up to 3-year high at 5.54% in November Rising food prices pushed the retail inflation in November to over three-year high of 5.54 per cent, while the industrial sector output shrank for third month in a row by 3.8 per cent in October, indicating deepening slowdown in the economy, government data showed. The retail inflation in November breached the Reserve Bank's medium-term target of 4 per cent, justifying the central bank's decision to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged in its monetary policy earlier this month.

According to the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), costlier vegetables, pulses and protein rich items pushed the consumer price index (CPI) based retail inflation to a 40-month high in November. The previous high was in July 2016, when retail inflation was at 6.07 per cent. The print stood at 4.62 per cent in October and 2.33 per cent in

November 2018. ICRA Principal Economist Aditi Nayar said that moderation in vegetable prices should douse food inflation to a large extent in early 2020, and healthy groundwater and reservoir levels bode well for rabi output and yields of various cereals.

However, the year-on-year decline in the area sown under rabi pulses and oilseeds poses a concern, given the high inflation being recorded by some of these items.

"ICRA expects the CPI inflation to spike further to 5.8-6 per cent in December 2019, close to the upper threshold of the MPC's medium-term target, driven by the recent revision in telecom tariffs. As a result, we expect the MPC (monetary policy committee of RBI) to remain on hold in its February 2020 policy review," she said. Inflation in vegetables shot up to 35.99 per cent in November, as against 26.10 per cent in October. Likewise, the prices of cereals and eggs grew at a faster

Reliance Jio tower assets sold for £270 bn Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings (RIIHL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL), has entered into binding agreements with Canada’s Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP and its institutional partners for an investment of £270 bn in the telecom tower assets of the RIL. At the closing of the transaction, the Trust will own 100 per cent of the issued and paid up equity share capital of Reliance Jio lnfratel.

Brookfield will buy 100 per cent units issued by the Trust, which, in turn, owns 100 per cent equity of Reliance Jio Infratel, the operating company for Jio’s tower assets. Reliance Jio lnfratel has a portfolio of about 130,000 telecom towers that form the backbone of Reliance Jio Infocomm’s network. There are plans to build additional towers and the total number of towers is expected to reach approximately 175,000 towers. Jio is an anchor tenant of the tower portfolio under a 30-year Master Services Agreement.

Meanwhile, telecom analysts expect that the tariff hike introduced in December will not reap concrete benefits for telecom companies, especially Jio, till the first quarter of FY20-21.

pace of 3.71 per cent. Prices of meat and fish rose by 9.38 per cent annually and of eggs by 6.2 per cent in November. Prices of pulses and related products jumped 13.94 per cent during the month.

In the fuel and light category, prices dropped 1.93 per cent.

On the other hand, the falling output of manufacturing, mining and electricity sectors pulled down the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) in October, as per the official data. According to the National Statistical Office (NSO) data, the factory output declined by 4.3 per cent in September and 1.4 per cent in August this year, while it grew at 4.9 per cent in July. Factory output, measured in terms of Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had expanded by 8.4 per cent in October 2018. During April to October, the IIP growth remained almost flat at 0.5 per cent compared to 5.7 per cent in same period previous fiscal, showed the NSO data.

The manufacturing growth rate declined by 2.1 per cent in October as compared to 8.2 per cent a year ago. Power generation growth slipped sharply by 12.2 per cent in October, compared to 10.8 per cent in the year-ago period.

Mining output too fell 8 per cent in the month under review as against 7.3 per cent in the corresponding period last fiscal.

Capital goods production, which is a barometer of investment, declined by 21.9 per cent in October compared to 16.9 per cent rise in the year-ago month.

In terms of industries, 18 out of 23 industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown negative growth during October 2019 as compared to the same month last year. The industry group 'manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products’ has shown the highest negative growth of (-) 31.3 per cent followed by (-) 27.9 per cent in 'Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers'.

100% stake sale in Air India approved: Hardeep Singh Puri Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism (AISAM) has approved 100 per cent sale of government stake in Air India for the re-initiated strategic disinvestment of the national carrier. "After the formation of new government, Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism (AISAM) has been reconstituted and the re-initiation of the strategic disinvestment of Air India has been approved.

AISAM has approved the 100 per cent sale of government of India stake in Air India for the reinitiated Strategic Disinvestment of Air India," Mr Puri informed Lok Sabha.

Puri further stated that to improve the aviation sector, the central government

in brief

ONLY 4 STRATEGIC SALE OUT OF 24 PSUS

The national auditor has slammed the government for its inability to wrap up strategic sale in nearly two dozen companies and has also pointed flaws in SUUTI stake sale using the ETF (exchange traded fund) route. The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), which was tabled in Parliament, said audit revealed that out of the 24 staterun public sector undertakings approved by the Cabinet for strategic stake sale, only one HPCL-ONGC deal was finalised in 201718. “The reply of DIPAM (Department of Investment and Public Asset management) indicated that out of the 24 CPSUs approved for strategic sale, only four CPSEs had been divested up to 2018-19. The target of 24 CPSEs was not even closely achieved.

QATAR WEALTH FUND TO BUY 25% IN ADANI’S MUMBAI POWER UTILITY BIZ Qatar Investment Authority, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, has proposed to buy a 25.1 per cent stake in Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd for around $450 million. A part of Adani Transmission Ltd, AEML distributes power to three million consumers in Mumbai. “Adani Transmission Ltd (ATL), Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd (AEML) and a subsidiary of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) have signed definitive agreements for the sale of a 25.1 per cent stake in AEML to QIA and for a shareholder subordinated debt investment by QIA in AEML,” said an exchange filing. “The total QIA investment in AEML will be approximately Rs 3,200 crore,” the filing added. This is the second biggest investment in an Adani group company after France’s Total SA decided to buy a stake in gas distribution company Adani Gas in October. ATL acquired the power generation, transmission and distribution business in Mumbai run by Anil Ambani-led Reliance Energy Ltd after securing regulatory approvals in 2018.

GDP GROWTH MAY SEE FURTHER FALL, NOMURA has taken following measures - in-principle approval for leasing of six airports of Airports Authority of India (AAI) under Public Private Partnership (PPP) accorded, out of which Letter of Award for leasing the airports of Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Mangaluru has been issued

by AAI; Rationalized taxes on jet fuel by many states, exempted customs duty on tools and toolkits, reduced GST on various spare parts, accessories and consumables. He mentioned that the

government has enabled the swift transition of aircraft of Jet Airways to other airlines.

Also, the contract for egovernance in DGCA (eGCA) has been awarded and five-year restriction on new airlines for flying on international routes has been removed. "AAI has embarked upon a capital investment of over £2.5 bn in next five years for development/ upgradation/ modernization of various airports and air navigation infrastructure," the Union Minister stated.

The GDP growth was recorded at over six year low at 4.5 per cent in Q2FY20. The fall is on account of both global and domestic concerns including decline in consumption demand. Even as the growth recovery is expected to set in soon, Nomura said that the economy may see further downside. In Q4FY20, the GDP is likely to grow at 4.3 per cent amid concerns related to crisis in the overstressed NBFC sector, the global brokerage said in a report. The first quarter of 2020 will see a muted uptick in GDP growth at 4.7 per cent, it added. “Domestic credit conditions remain tight as market concerns in the shadow banking (NBFC banking) have persisted too long,” Sonal Varma, Chief Economist, India and Asia. India may record a GDP growth of 4.9 per cent in 2019, down from 5.3 per cent estimated earlier, Nomura said. Similarly, as against the earlier estimate of 6.3 per cent, GDP may grow at 5.5 per cent in 2020. In 2021, it sees India’s economic growth at 6.5 per cent.

Does the UK election result signal the end of Sterling uncertainly really?

Tony Piggott

With the UK election behind us, sterling has rallied on the foreign exchange markets gaining over 2% from the previous day, trading as high as 1.3530 against the dollar overnight. This morning in the cold light of day reflecting on the hurdles that the UK faces ahead,

perhaps the celebrations may be slightly premature.

Yes, the Uk will most probably leave the EU on the 31st of January entering into a transition period until the 31st of December 2020 but therein lies the potential problem. Boris Johnson’s pre-election promise to get Brexit done, and then secure a new trade arrangement by the end of of 2020 could be problematic, as previous trade agreements negotiated with the EU have taken years. That said Boris will be conscious of not delivering to those voters who switched alliance from labour promising not only “to get Brexit Done” but

also “not to seek an extension” to the 2020 deadline.

Obviously, also in the background is the thorny issue of negotiating a new trade agreement with the US and a potential Scottish independence vote which now seems more likely with the SNP’s strong performance in the election and their desire to stay in the EU. In summary, all of the above clearly demonstrates how 2020 could easily turn out to be as volatile and uncertain as 2019.

With this backdrop clients invariably are looking to “structured products and options”, in particular, to achieve enhanced rates, but potentially exposing

themselves to unforeseen problems going forward.

The nature and characteristics of these products such as TARF’s (Target Amount Redemption Forwards) are hard for professional practitioners to evaluate and the potential risks are generally not suitable for SME’s who have little, if any, understanding of their complexities and the risk.

As mentioned in a recent FT article, 4th December 2019 by my colleague Abhishek Sachdev “it was hard to get a handle on how much damage such contracts were causing. He noted that clients often felt embarrassed by losing

money, so they either stayed silent or settled out of court”.

So what are the pitfalls with many of these option products? Primarily, leverage, where one can potentially end up buying or selling more or less USD than required and the exchange rate you achieve at maturity is potentially worse than the prevailing spot market rate and the underlying risk in the business is not hedged effectively.

In summary, entering into these products without sufficient advice or a level of understanding of the inherent risks puts the customer at a distinct dis-

advantage, versus the Bank or Foreign exchange broker providing them.

As the UK’s largest FCA authorised provider of hedging advice, we are continually helping our clients succeed by delivering individually tailored solutions and advice to achieve their desired hedging profile, consistent with the appropriate level of risk for their business.

Tel: 020 7183 2277 www.vedantahedging.com

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21 - 27 December 2019

in brief INDIAN-ORIGIN SIKH TAXI DRIVER ASSAULTED IN US

An Indian-origin Sikh taxi driver has been assaulted and racially abused in the US state of Washington in a suspected hate crime here, according to media reports. Grifin Levi Sayers, 22, verbally and physically abused his Sikh Uber driver on December 5 in Bellingham city, Bellingham Herald newspaper quoted police as saying. While strangling the Sikh man, Sayers made “racially biased comments about the victim’s dark skin, the fact he was from India and the turban he was wearing”, police officer Claudia Murphy said. After a struggle, the driver, who was not identified, managed to escape from his car, left the rider inside and called 911 for help. Sayers was later arrested from his house. Police charged him with second-degree assault and with failure-toappear, Bellingham Herald reported. Sayers was released on December 6 on $13,000 bail.

AFGHAN WAR CAN END IF PAK WANTS: US SENATOR

The war in Afghanistan would end in a few weeks if Pakistan denied the Taliban safe heaven, a top US senator has said, urging the Trump administration that it should start negotiations with Islamabad rather than the Afghan insurgents to stop the deadly conflict. The comments by Republican Senator Lindsay Graham came amid reports that the US has resumed talks with the Taliban in Qatar, three months after President Trump abruptly halted diplomatic efforts that could end America’s longest war.

Pakistan is said to be assisting the US in reopening the talks with the Taliban. “I think we got this wrong. I think what we should do is start negotiating with Pakistan. If Pakistan denied the Taliban safe haven in Pakistan, the war in Afghanistan would end in a matter of weeks,” Graham said. He also said he wants to change the “behaviour” of Pakistan.

NEW JERSEY GUN BATTLE LEAVES SIX DEAD

Police waged hours-long gunfight with two men armed with high-powered rifles in and around a New Jersey cemetery and kosher market, leaving six people dead, including one officer and both suspects, authorities said. The violence began after noon in the heart of Jersey City, the state's secondlargest municipality, prompting a lockdown of all Jersey City schools as law enforcement swarmed the area. Police arriving on the scene immediately came under "highpowered rifle fire," Jersey City Police Chief Michael Kelly told reporters. While the gunmen's motives were not known, there was no immediate evidence the bloodshed was either a hate crime or terror-related, Kelly said, adding, "but that's certainly on the table." Investigators believe the two suspects, who were not yet identified, acted alone, officials said.

BANANA-EATING PERFORMANCE ARTIST WAS ‘HUNGRY’

Performance artist David Datuna waited two hours until “I was hungry” before eating a banana artwork in Miami, he said after returning to New York. “It’s the first time one artist eats art of another artist,” he said. The Tbilisi-born Datuna, who has lived in New York for 22 years, shook up the Art Basel art show on Saturday when he ate the real banana that had been plastered to the wall as part of a work by artist Maurizio Cattelan.

The work had been sold for $120,000. In spite of the price, “it tasted like a regular banana”, Datuna said. He said a clip of his “performance” had got 40,000 to 50,000 messages on Instagram, many of them congratulatory.

Religious freedom of minorities in Pakistan under threat: UN NEW YORK: Asserting that religious freedom in Pakistan continues to ‘deteriorate’ under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) has said that discriminatory legislation by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government has empowered people with “extremist mindsets” to carry out attacks on religious minorities.

In its 47-page report titled, ‘Pakistan-Religious freedom under attack’, released in December, the CSW, a commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, has expressed concerned over the increasing “weaponisation and politicisation” of the blasphemy laws and the antiAhmadiyya legislation which are

Imran Khan

being used by Islamist groups not only to persecute religious minorities but also to gain political ground. The commission said that Christian and Hindu communities in the Islamic nation are “particularly vulnerable”, especially women and girls.

“Each year hundreds are abducted and forced to convert

and marry Muslim men. Victims have little or no hope of being returned to their families. This is compounded by the lack of police will to take action, weaknesses in the judicial process and discrimination from both police and judiciary towards religious minority victims,” the report read. Many victims are

girls under the age of 18 years.

Hindu girls and women who are systematically targeted because theycome from lower economic backgrounds in rural areas, and are generally under-educated.

The commission has cited several prominent examples to substantiate that minorities in the country are portrayed as second class citizens. In May 2019, Ramesh Kumar Malhi, a Hindu veterinary surgeon from Mirpurkhas in Sindh, was accused of blasphemy. The commission contended that blasphemy laws in Pakistan, are often misused to lodge false cases against the religious minorities . It also said that human rights defenders in Pakistan face constant threats and intimidation from multiple sources, including the state and nonstate actors.

Hafiz Saeed indicted in terror financing case LAHORE: A Pakistani court indicted a radical cleric wanted

by Washington for his role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks and four of his associates on terror financing charges. Hafiz Saeed and the four other suspects pleaded not guilty when a judge read charges against them in a courtroom in the eastern city of Lahore amid tight security.

Saeed is the founder chief of outlawed Lashkar-e-Taiba group, which was blamed by New Delhi for the Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people in neighboring India. His charity organizations, Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniat, are alleged fronts for Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Washington, which has announced a $10 million bounty for Saeed's arrest, had praised Islamabad when Prime Minister

Imran Khan arrested the cleric in July on charges of terror financing.

New Delhi also hailed Saeed's arrest at the time. Since then, Pakistan has stepped up its crackdown against outlawed groups, seizing their bank accounts and taking control of clinics, hospitals and schools that are run by various militant groups. None of the cleric's spokesmen were immediately available for comment on his indictment. His followers had denounced his arrest, claiming the measure was aimed at appeasing Washington and New Delhi. Until his latest arrest, Saeed had lived freely in Pakistan though he was detained previously several times, along with some of his close aides. He was never charged or put on trial until

Hafiz Saeed

now.

In January last year, Saeed was taken into custody and kept under house arrest for 11 months, until a court order ended his detention in November. Pakistan is currently

on the Financial Action Task Force's grey list, denoting its status as a haven for money laundering. Khan's government says it will do whatever is possible to eliminate terror financing in the country.

US pulled up Pakistan for F-16 misuse after Balakot WASHINGTON: The United States reprimanded Pakistan Air Force chief in August for misusing F-16 fighter jets by undermining their shared security platforms and infrastructures, a media report in Washington has said, months after the Indian Air Force shot down an F-16 jet of the Pakistan Air Force during an aerial combat over Jammu and Kashmir.

Andrea Thompson, the thenundersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs, wrote a letter to Pakistani Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan in August over the matter.

While the letter written did not directly mention the incidents in the immediate aftermath of India's February 26 Balakot airstrikes, US News quoted a source as saying that the communication served as a direct response to America's concerns about Pakistan's misuse of F-16 jets over Jammu and Kashmir in February. "While we understand from you that these aircraft movements were done in sup-

A Pakistani F-16 fighter jet

port of national defense objectives, the US government considers the relocation of aircraft to non-US government authorised bases concerning and inconsistent with the F-16 Letter of Offer and Acceptance," Ms Thompson said in her letter.

A suicide bomber of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed or JeM carried out an attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14 in which over 40 soldiers died. India launched a counter-terror operation against

a JeM training camp in Pakistan's Balakot on February 26. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated using F-16 jets that US had given Islamabad. By doing so, Pakistan violated the terms and conditions under which these jets were given by the US. During the aerial engagement on February 27, one of the MiG-21 Bisons of the Indian Air Force had shot down an F-16. Later that day India highlighted to the US how Pakistan was misusing F-16 aircraft and violating the agreement with the United States.

The next day, on February 28, the Indian Air Force displayed pieces of the AMRAAM missile, fired by a Pakistani F-16, as evidence to "conclusively" prove that Pakistan deployed US-manufactured F-16 fighter jets during an aerial raid targeting Indian military installations in Jammu and Kashmir. "Such actions could subject sensitive US-technologies to diversion to or access by third parties and could undermine our shared security platforms and infrastructures," Thompson warned Pakistan in August.

The US State Department and the Embassy of Pakistan have refused to comment on the letter. Thompson has raised concerns about American access to the bases and the US-made equipment there. Thompson said it had been four years since Office of Defense Representative of Pakistan - the office that carries out defence cooperation with partner countries - had been allowed to perform an assessment of the security vulnerabilities on the Pakistani bases, the news report said.

22 WORLD

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Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo wear Indian attire to Nobel ceremony STOCKHOLM: Nobel laureates Dr Abhijit Banerjee, Dr Esther Duflo and Dr Michael Kremer received the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics in Sweden. But what caught the attention of Indians online was the fact that the Indian-Amercian economist and his wife wore traditional Indian attire to receive the award.

In a nod to his Bengali roots, 58-year-old Banerjee donned a beige panjabi that he paired with a white gold-bordered dhoti and closed neck black vest. On the other hand, Duflo wore a bluegreen silk saree with a red blouse and had Indians rooting for her choice of outfit. The three economists were awarded the medals at the ceremony and the

prize money of nine million Swedish krona will be shared among them.

Banerjee is the second Indian after Amartya Sen to win the Nobel prize in Economics. Like Sen, Banerjee, too, is an alumnus of Presidency College, now Presidency University. The trio’s research has, over the last two decades, helped obtain reliable answers about the best ways to fight global poverty. Their work has revolved around identifying “low-hanging fruits”, which are often the most effective interventions in improving outcomes in health and education for the poor. Their work — breaking down the problem of global poverty into a number of smaller and more

Belani faces a maximum sentence of 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of USD 1,000,000 for the drug importation conspiracy charge.

However, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses

and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant, the US Department of Justice said in a statement. In his guilty plea, Belani admitted that he operated a drug-distribution entity based in India called LeeHPL Ventures and an associated websit-www.leehpl.com.

Between 2015 and 2019, Belani admitted that he and his co-conspirators, through LeeHPL Ventures, imported into the United States various drugs available only by prescription, including tapentadol, a Schedule II controlled substance, as well as tramadol, carisoprodol, and modafinil, all Schedule IV controlled substances.

In

Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo receiving the Nobel Prize in Economics 2019

precise questions at individual and group level — has redefined

research in development economics over the last 20 years.

addition, Belani admitted that between 2015 and mid-2017, he worked with two coconspirators in the United StatesWilliam Kulakevich and Julia Feesto unlawfully smuggle a drug known as etizolam into America so that Kulakevich and Fees could resell it through a website they operated -www.etizy.com.

Etizolam is part of a class of drugs similar to benzodiazepines, which are often used to treat insomnia and anxiety and carry a potential for abuse and overdose. To evade detection by the US Customs and Border Protection officials, Belani and his co-conspirators used false customs declarations that

mischaracterised and undervalued the contents of packages sent to the United States by LeeHPL Ventures. In addition, Belani caused drug shipments to be broken into smaller quantities and shipped to multiple addresses to help ensure delivery and avoid interception by US customs authorities.

Likewise, Belani admitted that he caused co-conspirators to initiate payments totalling tens of thousands of dollars from accounts in the US to accounts he controlled in India or in other locations outside America, all as a means to promote his continued efforts to smuggle drugs into the United States.

Nirmala Sitharaman among world’s 100 most powerful women: Forbes NEW YORK: India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, HCL Corporation CEO and Executive Director Roshni Nadar Malhotra and Biocon Founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw have been named among the world's 100 most powerful women by Forbes. Sitharaman, a newcomer on the Forbes most powerful women list, is ranked 34th. The Forbes 2019 list of ‘The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women’ has been topped by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, followed by President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde in the second spot and Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, ranked third. Also on the list is Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (29).

In 2019, women around the globe took action, claiming leadership positions in government, business, philanthropy and media. These trailblazers are not to be messed with, Forbes said. Sitharaman has also served as the country’s

Nirmala Sitharaman

defence minister. Sitharaman is the first female to hold the portfolio full time. Before this, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi briefly took the additional charge of the ministry. Nadar Malhotra is ranked 54th on the list. As CEO of HCL Corporation, she is responsible for all strategic decisions for the $8.9 billion

US PRESIDENT TRUMP TWEETS ‘VERY CLOSE’ TO CHINA TRADE DEAL

Trump tweeted about the latest development about the China deal as the two largest economies in the world are locked in a wide-ranging trade war.

President Donald Trump tweeted that the United States is “VERY close” to a trade deal with China, days before new tariffs are due to take effect. The two largest economies in the world are locked in a wide-ranging trade war but negotiators have been working to reach at least a partial resolution before Washington increases tariffs on Sunday.

INDIAN COUPLE SENTENCED FOR SPYING ON GERMANY’S SIKHS

Indian businessman pleads guilty to importing banned drugs into US WASHINGTON: A 37-year-old Indian businessman in the US has pleaded guilty to the charges of importing banned drugs and money laundering conspiracy, a US attorney has said. Jeetendra Harish Belani, who hails from Nagpur, was extradited to the US after his arrest in the Czech Republic on June 3 to face the charges contained in an eightcount Indictment returned by a federal grand jury on June 26.

in brief

technology company.

Malhotra is also the chairperson of the company’s CSR Committee and is a trustee of the Shiv Nadar Foundation, which is focused on education and has established some of India’s top colleges and schools, Forbes said. Mazumdar-Shaw, ranked 65 on the list, is India’s richest self-made woman and

founder of the country’s largest biopharmaceutical firm Biocon in 1978. Biocon has successfully forayed into the lucrative US biosimilars market, catching the attention of investors and it also became the first company to gain approval from the USFDA for two different biosimilars of drugs used in certain cancer treatments.

Mazumdar-Shaw has invested in research infrastructure and scientific talent with the aim of building a deep R&D-based biotech firm, not a copycat generics maker, Forbes said. The Forbes list also includes Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Melinda Gates (6), IBM CEO Ginni Rometty (9), Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg (18), New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (38), First Daughter and Advisor to President Donald Trump Ivanka Trump (42), singers Rihanna (61), Beyonce (66) and Taylor Swift (71), tennis star Serena Williams (81) and teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg (100).

A married Indian couple living in Moenchengladbach were sentenced by a German court after admitting to spying on Sikh and Kashmiri communities for the Indian secret service. The couple admitted to having passed on information to intelligence services in a trial which began last month. Manmohan S. was handed a suspended prison sentence of 18 months for acting as a foreign intelligence agent, while his wife Kanwal Jit K. was fined 180 days’ wages for aiding him.

According to a court statement, S. was recruited by the Indian foreign intelligence agency Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) at the beginning of 2015, and asked to spy on the Kashmiri opposition movement. The 51year-old was paid 200 euros ($223) a month for the information he provided, and attended regular meetings with an Indian intelligence officer from July 2017. His 50-year-old wife, to whom the court ascribed financial motives, accompanied him to the meetings.

TONI-ANN SINGH OF JAMAICA CROWNED MISS WORLD

Jamaica's Toni-Ann Singh has bagged the Miss World 2019 at an annual beauty pageant held here, with India's Suman Rao becoming second runners-up. Born to her Indo-Caribbean father Bradshaw Singh and African-Caribbean mother Jahrine Bailey, Singh is a student of women's studies and psychology at Florida State University and she aspires to be a medical doctor. The Jamaican was crowned by last year's winner, Vanessa Ponce de Leon of Mexico. Singh celebrated her win on Instagram, expressing gratitude to her fellow Jamaican's for "believing in me". Singh also urged girls all around the world to believe in themselves and their dreams. "Please know that you are worthy and capable of achieving your dreams. This crown is not mine but yours.

It's for you to truly understand that no matter where you're from and the cards you're dealt in life - your dreams are valid.

You have a PURPOSE," she added.

NEARLY 10,000 INDIANS DETAINED IN US IN 2018: REPORT

Nearly 10,000 Indians were detained in the US in 2018 by law enforcement agencies as part of their operations to identify and remove aliens who present a danger to national security or are a risk to public safety, according to a government report. Of these, 831 were removed from the US, the report said. According to the report titled Immigration Enforcement: Arrests, Detentions, and Removals, and Issues Related to Selected Populations by Government Accountability Office, the number of Indians detained by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the ICE has more than doubled between 2015 and 2018. In 2015, the ICE had detained 3,532 Indians, which increased to 3,913 in 2016; 5322 in 2017 and 9,811 in 2018.

According to the report, the ICE removed 831 Indians in 2018. The figure was 296 in 2015; 387 in 2016 and 474 in 2017.

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Pervez Musharraf gets death penalty for imposing emergency in Pakistan ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf was given a death sentence in the high treason case by a special court. A three-member bench of the special court, headed by Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth, handed Musharraf, 76, death sentence in the long-drawn high treason case against Pervez Musharraf.

Musharraf, who is currently in Dubai, is facing treason charges for suspending the Constitution and imposing emergency rule in 2007, a punishable offence for which he was indicted in

2014. The 76-year-old former Pakistan Army chief had left for Dubai for medical treatment and has not returned since, citing security and health reasons. Last week, a special court had ordered 76-year-old Pervez Musharraf to record statement by December 5 in the treason case after the Islamabad High Court (IHC), after hearing the petitions filed by Musharraf and the Pakistan government, stopped the special court from issuing the verdict on November 28.

Musharraf had recorded a video message from his hospital bed in which he said he was ready to record his

Pervez Musharraf

statement in the case. "A judicial commission can come here and hear me out.

It must see my health condition and make a decision.

The commission, with my lawyer, must then be heard in the court," Musharraf added. Musharraf has main-

tained that owing to his deteriorating health, multiple life-threatening ailments and of his aged mother, he is unable to return to Pakistan.

More for "An ex-army chief, Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee and President of Pakistan, who

has served the country for over 40 years, fought wars for the defense of the country can surely never be a traitor," army spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said in a brief statement. "The due legal process seems to have been ignored including constitution of special court, denial of fundamental right of self defence, undertaking individual specific proceedings and concluding the case in haste," he said. "Armed Forces of Pakistan expect that justice will be dispensed in line with Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan," Ghafoor said.

The high treason trial of the former military dictator

for clamping the state of emergency on November 3, 2007, filed during the previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government, had been pending since 2013.

Musharraf was booked in the treason case in December 2013. Musharraf was indicted on March 31, 2014, and the prosecution had tabled the entire evidence before the special court in September the same year. But due to litigation at appellate forums, the trial of the former military dictator lingered on and he left Pakistan in March 2016 with the nod of superior courts as well as the interior ministry for medical treatment.

Nobel winner’s army defense blasted in Myanmar genocide case THE HAGUE: The United Nation’s top court is conducting emergency legal proceedings to determine if military personnel committed genocide against Myanmar’s Rohingya minority in 2017. The African nation of Gambia, acting on behalf of a large group of Muslim countries, requested the International Court of Justice hearings and alleges that human rights violations against the Rohingya continue.

Lawyers seeking to halt what they allege is ongoing genocide in Myanmar have slammed leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s defense of her country’s armed forces, say-

ing that the Nobel Peace Prize winner and former pro-democracy icon chose to ignore “unspeakable” crimes targeting Muslim civilians. With maps, satellite imagery and graphic photos, Myanmar’s accusers have detailed what they insist is a deliberate campaign of ethnic cleansing and genocide — including the killing of civilians, raping of women and torching of houses — that forced more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh.

Gambia wants the U.N. court to take “all measures within its power to prevent all acts that amount to or contribute to the crime of genocide.” The U.N. court

proceedings in The Hague produced the astonishing spectacle of Suu Kyi, who was awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for championing democracy and rights under Myanmar’s then-ruling junta, defending the army that kept her under house arrest for some 15 years.

Suu Kyi testified that the exodus of Rohyinga was a tragic consequence of hostilities initiated by insurgents. The allegations of genocide and other crimes by the army stemmed from “an internal armed conflict started by coordinated and comprehensive armed attacks ... to which Myanmar’s defense services responded,” she

said. Suu Kyi also insisted that Gambia’s legal representatives had painted “an incomplete and misleading factual picture” of what happened in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state in August 2017. Lawyer Paul Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi arrives at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Reicher argued othsites, Reicher said. get and no one was spared. erwise, saying: “There is no “Nevertheless, The Mothers, infants, pregnant reasonable conclusion to Associated Press located at women, the old and infirm. draw other than the inferleast five mass graves of They all fell victim to this ence of genocidal intent Rohingyas.” The court will ruthless campaign.” He from the state’s pattern of likely issue a decision on also refuted Myanmar’s conduct.”

Gambia’s request for proviclaims that no mass graves Referring to a U.N. sional measures relatively were found. “To be sure, fact-finding mission’s quickly, but the main case Myanmar has not made it report on military “clearwill probably take years to easier to find them” by ance operations,” Reicher resolve. denying access to suspect said: “Everyone was a tar-

If proven, Bangladesh to take back US Congressman backs India to illegal migrants living in India include in NATO plus five countries

DHAKA: Bangladesh will take back any of its citizen if it is proven he/she was staying in India illegally, an advisor to Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said. “We will take back any Bangladeshi citizen staying in India illegally. But India has to prove that,” Gauhar Rizvi, Advisor to Hasina on international affairs said.

He further said the issue of the amended Citizenship Act is an internal matter of India.

Denying any unfair treatment towards minorities living in Bangladesh, Rizvi said Muslims, Hindus, Christians and Buddhists co-exist peacefully in the country. Rizvi’s statement comes days after two senior Bangladesh ministers can-

celled their visits to India after the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 was passed by the I n d i a n Parliament on December 12.

The Indian diplomats in Dhaka had said that the Hasina government was not happy with the underlying assumption behind CAB despite Home Minister Amit Shah saying that the situation of minorities had improved under the current government in Bangladesh.

A day after Citizenship bill was passed, Bangladesh Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen had rejected allegations that the minorities

are facing religious persecution in his country.

“India is historically a tolerant country which believes in secularism (but) their… position will be weakened if they deviate from that,” he had said. He said Bangladesh and India enjoy close friendly relations, “termed as the golden chapter” of bilateral ties, and “so, naturally our people (Bangladeshis) expect that India won’t do anything that could create anxiety among them”.

WASHINGTON: A top US lawmaker has pushed for strong defence ties with New Delhi by supporting an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to include India in the NATO plus five countries.

The move comes months after the US Senate passed a legislative provision that brings India at par with America's NATO allies and countries like Israel and South Korea for increasing defence cooperation. “Our defence ties with India is growing.

We conduct more joint exercises with India than any other country. We are of course selling more defense items to India,”

said Congressman Brad Sherman, the outgoing Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Sub committee on Asia Pacific, the Pacific, and NonProliferation.

In his address to an event at the US Capitol to celebrate Hanukah, Congressman Sherman told the select audience of influential IndianAmericans and members of the Jews community that early this year he joined his Congressional colleague Joe Wilson in introducing a bill to expedite arm sales to India by putting India in the same category as America's closest allies: NATO, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and Israel. Such a move, being pushed by a

group of Indian-Americans led by US India Security Council, would bring India at par with NATO countries in terms of defence trade and technological transfers.

A legislative change in this regard in NDAA would have a permanent and lasting impact on India-US defence ties.

“And soon India should be in that category,” Sherman, who is a wellknown friend of India for decades, said. However, a large section of the Indian-American community has been quite upset with him after he presided over a October 22 Congressional hearing on Kashmir which ended up becoming a platform to criticize India.

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SOUTH INDIA

Andhra clears 'Disha' law to punish rape convicts within 21 days HYDERABAD : A proposed law for tougher punishment, including the death sentence, within 21 days for those guilty of crimes against women was cleared by the Andhra Pradesh assembly, a little over two weeks after a young woman's gangrape and killing in neighbouring Telangana. The law has been dubbed the "AP Disha Act" after the name given to the woman in social media campaigns and protests after the horrific crime.

Speaking in the state assembly, Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy once again said "hats off to KCR and to Telangana Police" and also commented on the National Human Rights Commission and the probe ordered by the Supreme Court through a threemember commission. The Chief

PUNJAB

Jaganmohan Reddy

Minister said there was "nothing wrong in the four accused being shot dead because there was conclusive evidence". The Andhra Pradesh Criminal Law (Amendment) Act enables quick trial and judgement in cases of rape and acid attacks in which there is clinching evidence against the accused. The trial

has to be completed within 14 days and the verdict has to be pronounced within 21 days. The appeal period has been cut to 45 days from six months.

The highlights of the new law in Andhra Pradesh include exclusive death penalty for rape crimes where "adequate conclusive evidence" is available.

At present, the provision for punishing rape offenders is sentence for fixed jail term leading to life imprisonment or death sentence. The proposed law to swiftly punish those guilty of crimes against women comes weeks after a young veterinarian was raped and set on fire by four men on a highway near Hyderabad. The four accused were shot dead by the Telangana Police, who said they tried to escape when they were taken to the crime scene for a reconstruction as part of the probe.

The state cabinet has also approved the Andhra Pradesh Special Court for Specified Offences against Women and Children Act, 2019, which allows exclusive special courts in each district to address crimes against women and children.

Both ruling, opposition party leaders are facing heat from within JALANDHAR: Brewing discontent in a party is usually an opportunity for the opposition.

But in Punjab, both head of the ruling party and head of a major opposition party are facing heat from within and the situation has the potential to take troublesome proportions for both of them.

Another commonality they share is the roots of their problems converging at the same point — Bargari sacrilege issue.

The Congress cadres would earlier speak against the performance of Captain Amarinder Singh-led government in hushed tones, but they gave it a loud and clear voice in the first meeting of deed-back process.

Similarly, Shiromani Akali Dal

(SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal received brickbats from senior party leader and Rajya Sabha member Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa the very day he got bouquets for getting “re-elected” as president of the party third time in a row. In fact, Dhindsa has managed to get all Badal (especially Sukhbir) bashers, who were disintegrated earlier, on one platform.

Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has been facing heat from within his party for the last over four months, when the monsoon session of Punjab assembly took place and his minsters and MLAs did plain speaking during the Congress legislature party meetings over the perceived failure of his

government on the issue of Bargari sacrilege case and other issues of governance.

Later, the state C o n g r e s s president Sunil Jakhar held the first meeting in Captain Amarinder Singh, Sukhbir Singh Badal Jalandhar with cash in on the trouble brewing in party workers and local leaders to Congress, at least in a perception get their feedback on December battle, its president Sukhbir Singh 9. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa Badal is staring at the battle has already given words to this within his own party. Dhindsa, sentiment prevailing in the party who has been a close comrade of when he addressed Sikh activists former chief minister and party who held a dharna outside his supremo Parkash Singh Badal, is residence on December 8. now not keeping his dissent When it could have been an subtle. opportunity for SAD (Badal) to

WEST BENGAL

‘Over my dead body’: Mamata's tough stance against Citizenship Act KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee led a massive rally in Kolkata against the citizenship act, as she dared the BJP-led Centre to implement the new legislation in her state.

Hundreds of workers and supporters of Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress marched along with her during the march, which started from a statue of BR Ambedkar on Red Road and ended at Jorasanko Thakurbari.

“As long as I am alive, we will not implement the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens.

They can dismiss our government if they want. We will not surrender,” Banerjee said while addressing the rally. “They will have to implement CAB and NRC in Bengal over my dead body. When we raised our voice against NRC, we were alone.

Now, other chief ministers are

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee leads a rally in Kolkata to protest the Citizenship Act

speaking out,” the chief minister said. “Today Delhi’s CM said that he won’t allow this. Bihar’s CM has said that he won’t allow NRC, I tell him don’t allow Citizenship mendment Act too.

Chief ministers of MP, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Kerala have said that. Everyone has to say it,” she said.

The Bengal chief minister

took a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party’s slogan ‘Sabha Sath, Sabka Vikas, reminding the party that it was for people. “Only the BJP will remain here and everyone else will be made to leave. It’s their politics. It’ll never happen. India belongs to everyone. Agar sabka sath nahi rahega toh sabka vikas kaise hoga? Who is the citizenship act

for? We’re all citizens,” she said.

Mamata Banerjee declared that her party will continue its protest until the Citizenship Amendment Act and NRC are withdrawn. Before Banerjee’s rally started, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar tweeted to call it ‘unconstitutional’.

“I am extremely anguished that CM (chief minister) and Ministers are to spearhead rally against CAA, the law of the land. This is unconstitutional. I call upon CM to desist from this unconstitutional and inflammatory act at this juncture and devote to retrieve the grim situation,” the governor tweeted.

On Sunday, Dhankhar had accused Mamata Banerjee of wasting public money on an antiCitizenship Amendment Act campaign on television instead of ensuring police effectively curbed the state-wide arson.

in brief SC ASKS WOMEN TO BE PATIENT ON SABARIMALA

Using its “discretionary power”, the Supreme Court declined to pass any order on allowing women’s entry in Kerala's Sabarimala temple. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde emphasised that since the issue has now been referred to a larger bench of seven judges, the 2018 judgment letting women of all ages enter is not the final word on it. “The practice in Sabarimala is thousands of years old. Some issues in this country become explosive and this is one of those issues. Let us take a call when a larger bench sits. Police in a temple isn’t our idea,” it said. Senior advocate Indira Jaising also appeared in the matter for women rights activist Bindu, who was one of the first women who entered the sanctum sanctorum in January this year. The CJI retorted that the law might be in her favour but the reality is that the subject is very emotive. "Please be patient. .

17TH CENTURY INSCRIPTION, SNAKE SCULPTURE FOUND IN TAMIL NADU

A team of historians found an ancient inscription tablet along with a snake sculpture belonging to the 17th or 18th century on paleographic grounds close to the remote village of Pappappatti near Musiri. Several boulders of various sizes surrounded by thick vegetation can be seen in the outskirts of the village on the banks of a seasonal stream, locally called Panchamuga river. R Jeyaraj, secretary of the local council, visited the place for a survey and came across an inscribed rock.

A team of historians, including Dr R Akila, assistant professor, Department of History along with Dr M Nalini, Head, Department of History, Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College visited the village and explored the entire area.

The team found three engravings - two on slabs and one on a larger rock.

HINDU PILGRIMS VISIT KATAS RAJ TEMPLE IN PAKISTAN

A Hindu jatha (group of pilgrims) crossed over to Pakistan through Wagah border for paying obeisance at the Katas Raj temple. The Pakistan high commission issued visas to the 88 Indian pilgrims to visit Katas Raj temple, also known as Qila Katas or complex of Katas temples, in Chakwal district of Punjab from December 13 to 19.The jatha, led by the Kendriya Sanatan Dharam Sabha, will return to India on December 19. Under the Pakistan-India protocol on visits to religious shrines of 1974, a large number of Sikh and Hindu pilgrims from India visit Pakistan to observe religious festivals every year. Sabha president Shiv Pratap Bajaj said that the ancient temple was believed to be on the same site where the Pandavas in exile had engaged Yakshas in a riddle contest.

Bajaj said, “Religious programmes will be organised at the temple from December 15 to 16. We will take a holy dip at Amar Kund in the ancient temple premises on December 17.”

JAPANESE PM SHINZO ABE DEFERS INDIA VISIT

Against the backdrop of violent protests in Guwahati over the new citizenship law, India and Japan decided to defer Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit for an annual summit with his counterpart Narendra Modi that was to be held in Assam’s main city Guwahati over last weekend. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, “With reference to the proposed visit of Japanese PM Abe to India, both sides have decided to defer the visit to a mutually convenient date in the near future.” Kumar did not give details. No fresh dates were announced for the summit, which is hosted in rotation by the two sides. A Japanese team that went to Guwahati to make a final assessment had been confined to its hotel as the protests continued and flights were affected. Some of the banners and hoardings put up to welcome Abe were vandalised and burnt by protestors.

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PSLV strikes gold, touches 50th mission milestone: Isro India launched its latest spy satellite, RISAT-2BR1, and nine foreign satellites through the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), which is on its 50th mission.

RISAT-2BR1 is a radar imaging earth observation satellite developed by India's space agency Isro; apart from being used for military purposes, it has applications in fields such as agriculture and disaster management support.

The other satellites include six from the United States, and one each from Japan, Italy and Israel; their applications range from

remote sensing to earth imaging. Some significant launches by PSLV include Chandrayaan-1, the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) and a record launch of 104 satellites in one go. The launch vehicle, PSLV-C48, took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. Other than PSLV's 50th mission: it is also the 75th launch vehicle mission from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, and the sixth launch of 2019.

RISAT-2BR1 was placed in orbit around 16 minutes after liftoff, and the nine customer satellites were

released into orbit around five minutes later. "I am extremely happy to declare that the 50th PSLV vehicle successfully injected RISAT2BR1 precisely into the 576 km orbit," said Isro chief K

Sivan. In 2020, there will be a series of launches using PSLV along with GSLV and small satellite launch vehicle. “We will take up the challenges and will ensure that every mission is a

success,” said Sivan.

Over the last two and half decades, the PSLV has proven its capability repeatedly with international clients queuing up to put their smaller satellites into orbit using the launch vehicle.

This is not surprising, given that a PSLV trip is far more affordable than those on launch vehicles of other countries.

Isro's revenue upped by 40%: Minister The revenue earned by the commercial arm of India's space agency rose by around 40 per cent in 2018-19, helped by satellite launches

for foreign customers. In five years revenue generated by launching satellites for other countries stood at over £1.2 bn. The Indian Space Research Organisation has launched satellites from 26 countries during the last five years, Jitendra Singh, minister in charge of atomic energy and space, told Rajya Sabha. He added, contracts with 10 countries namely; USA, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Singapore, The Netherlands, Japan, Malaysia, Algeria and France were signed in the last five years under commercial arrangements.

16 to 19. As part of the exercise, important lectures, and demonstrations and drills related to counterterrorism operations are being conducted. Both countries will also share their experiences in countering terror situations and refine drills and procedures for joint operations.

Yaroslav Mudry, the tanker Yelnya and seagoing tug Viktor Konetsky.

The Russian task force, part of the Russian Navy’s Baltic Fleet, headed from the Baltic to the Indian Ocean to participate in Indra-2019 in the fall. According to the Russian Pacific Fleet, over 700 servicemen are participating in the exercise.

The press office of Russia’s Eastern Military District said that over 40 aircraft will be dispatched to India for the duration of the drills including 15 fighter aircraft.

India, Russia begins joint military exercise India and Russia kicked off the 11th iteration of their bilateral military exercise, designated Indra-2019, at a military training ground in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on December 11, according to the Indian Ministry of Defense (MoD).

The exercise will be simultaneously conducted in Uttar Pradesh, Goa, a state on the southwestern coast of India, and in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.

Lieutenant General DS Ahuja, Chief of Staff Southern Command, along with Russian Major General Tsekov Oleg, Commander in Chief, 5th Army of Eastern Military District, reviewed the parade. The exercise will include air, ground, and sea elements from both countries.

“Company sized

mechanized contingents, fighter and transport aircraft and ships of respective services of both the countries are taking part in the exercise,” the MoD said a statement. “The aim of [the] exercise is joint training of troops in counter terrorism operations under the United Nations mandate.”

The land component of the exercise will reportedly involve eight

tactical episodes with the Indian Army providing around 20 combat vehicles, including tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, to the Russian forces.

The exercise will culminate with a 72 hour validation phase which will test the skills of soldiers, sailors and airmen in conducting joint operations in a counter terrorism

Supreme Court dismiss pleas seeking review of Ayodhya verdict The Supreme Court threw out multiple pleas for a review of its ruling handing over the entire disputed land in Ayodhya to the deity, Ram Lalla. The legal process may still not be over, as the parties could file curative petitions against the ruling.

“We do not find ground whatsoever to entertain the same (demand),” a bench led

by Chief Justice SA Bobde said. The other judges on the bench were Justices DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan, S Abdul Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna.

At least 19 review pleas had been filed in the case.

These included petitions by the Nirmohi Akhara, one of the litigants in the case that sought a clarification on its role and representation on a trust that the court had said should be set up to

construct a temple at the site. While a group of intellectuals had called upon the court to reflect on and “correct” its ruling, several petitions by Muslims had challenged the decision to hand over the land on which the Babri Masjid once stood to the Hindus.

Sky-high Ram temple in Ayodhya in four months: Shah Union home minister and BJP national president Amit Shah said a sky-high temple would be built in Ayodhya within the next four months. Addressing a rally

in Pakur in the last phase of Assembly polls in Jharkhand, Shah said, “The Supreme Court’s decision has come. Within four months, a sky-high Ram temple will be built in Ayodhya.”

For 100 years, Indians across the world have been demanding a grand temple in Ram’s birth place Ayodhya, Shah said. He claimed that Congress leaders and their lawyer Kapil Sibal used to plead in the Supreme Court, “Abhi math chalaiye case, baad mein chalaiye. Kyon bhai, aapke pet mein kya dard ho raha hai (do not pursue the case now… Why, what’s troubling you),” he said, adding the Congress can neither bring development, nor provide national security or respect peoples’ wishes.

scenario.

Opening ceremonies were also held in the port of Marmagao and at an air force base in Pune to mark the beginning of the air and naval components of Indra-2019. The joint naval drills will be held in two phases in Marmagao and off the coast of Goa. The harbor phase will last until December 15 followed by the sea phase conducted in the Arabian Sea from December

Indian military assets participating in the naval drills include INS Aditya, a replenishment and repair ship, the Teg-class frigate INS Tarkash, the current mainstay of Indian naval aviation, Russian-made MiG-29K Fulcrum fighter jets, and Boeing P-8I Neptune advanced maritime patrol/anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. The Russian Navy has dispatched the Neustrashimy-class frigate

Indra was initially designed as a bilateral naval exercise and transformed into a triservice drill in 2018.

The land component of the exercise that year also took place in Uttar Pradesh, while the navies conducted their joint drills in the Bay of Bengal.

Mumbai BAPS temple celebrates 36th Patotsav

Mahant Swami is seated at Dadar in Mumbai. 36th Patotsav was celebrated according to vedic rituals in the presence of his holiness Mahant Swami at Mumbai BAPS Temple on 12th. After performing Aarti, Mahant Swami blessed everyone and said, "May satsang be instilled in everyone's hearts." On 13th, Mahant Swami installed moorti at the Harimandir of Manekpur in Sakri. On 14th after morning prayers, Mahant Swami said,“The almighty is a home of happiness.”

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CAA, NRC: Amid fear and protests, what could be the way forward?

NEW DELHI: As soon as the Citizenship Amendment Bill was passed in both houses of Parliament and given Presidential assent making it a law, loud murmurs started about another move- a National Register of Citizens or NRC. Countrywide protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) spread to nearly two dozen university campuses, some sections of the civil society and opposition political parties holding demonstrations at several places urging the Centre to revoke the Act. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act makes it easier for the non-Muslim immigrants from India's neighbours - Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan - to become citizens of India. Though the Bill doesn't spell it out clearly, but the fact that it entitles Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians facing religious persecution in the three nations, to seek Indian citizenship, highlights the exclusion of Muslims. The Act says the refugees of the six communities will be given Indian citizenship after residing in India for five years, instead of 11 years earlier.

Protests across India Thousands of protesters, including students took to the streets across the country against the Citizenship Amendment Act with demonstrations at campuses of Jamia Millia Islamia, Aligarh Muslim University, Delhi University and others amid heavy police deployment. Braving the freezing cold, hundreds of students, including a group of shirtless young men, poured into the streets outside the Jamia Millia University to protest the police action against their colleagues a day earlier.

Protests snowballed into a major flashpoint in West

Bengal also with highways and railway lines blocked and incidents of arson and loot reported from many places, as chief minister Mamata Banerjee declared CAA and NRC can be enforced in the state only on her "dead body". Ruling CPI(M)-led LDF and opposition Congress headed UDF in Kerala held a joint protest against the amended Citizenship act with chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan slamming the move as an attempt to "curb freedom".

Who will benefit from the law?

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act grants citizenship to Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhist, Jains and Parsis - from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who had arrived in India before December 31, 2014. The legislation applies to those who were “forced or compelled to seek shelter in India due to persecution on the ground of religion”. It aims to protect such people from proceedings of illegal migration from the neighbouring countries. The requirement to stay in India for those belonging to any of these 6 religion for at least 11 years before applying for Indian citizenship has been reduced to five years. Indian citizenship, under present law, is given either to those born in India or if they have resided in the country for a minimum of 11 years.

Reason of protests There are two distinct rallying points of protests against the Act. In the northeast, the protest is against the Act's implementation in their areas. Most of them fear that if implemented, the Act will cause a rush of immigrants that may alter their demographic and linguistic and cultural uniqueness. In the rest of India, like in Kerala, West Bengal and in Delhi, people are protesting against the exclusion of Muslims, alleging it to be against the ethos of the Constitution.

Indian passport to have 'lotus' as a security feature NEW DELHI: A day after Opposition members in Lok Sabha raised the issue of lotus being printed on new passports, the Ministry of External Affairs said it was part of the enhanced security features to identify fake passports and involves using other national symbols as well on rotation.

Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, "This symbol is our national flower and is part of the enhanced security features to identify fake passports."

These security features have been introduced as part of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) guidelines, he said.

"Apart from the Lotus, other national symbols will be used on rotation.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act does not apply to tribal areas of Tripura, Mizoram, Assam and Meghalaya because of being included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. Also areas that fall under the Inner Limit notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873, will also be outside the Act's purview.

This keeps almost entire Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland out of the ambit of the Act. The NRC, which identified illegal immigrants from Assam, had been a longstanding demand in Assam. But ever since its implementation, there has been a growing demand for its nationwide implementation. After the updated final NRC in Assam was released on August 31 this year, it excluded the names of over 19 lakh applicants, including Hindus. Now, the CAA will ensure they are not harmed.

NRC, which may be extended to the rest of the country, is not based on religion, unlike CAB. The Opposition has claimed that the Act was against the basic principles of the Constitution as it "discriminates" on the basis of religion and would alienate Muslims, the largest minority community in the country. The opposition

also objected to keeping countries like Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar out of the list. The bill was violative of the provisions of Articles 14, 15, 21, 25 and 26 of the Constitution, it was alleged.

Government's stand on CAA The Centre has rejected the suggestions that the bill is anti-Muslim. Home minister Amit Shah has said the measure has the endorsement of 130 crore citizens of the country as it was the part of the BJP manifesto in 2014 as well as 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The Act does not discriminate against anyone and does not snatch anyone's rights, Shah said.

The home minister said under the Act, citizenship will be granted to refugees coming from the three countries after facing religious persecution there even without documents, including ration cards. This bill is not even .001 per cent against Muslims. It is against infiltrators, the home minister has reiterated. Bill passes Lok Sabha test On December 9, the Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill after a seven-hour-long debate with 334-106 votes.

Bill Passed in Rajya Sabha On December 11, the Rajya Sabha approved the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, thus completing the legislative procedure for giving Indian citizenship to

non-Muslims migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Bill was passed with 125-105 votes.

SC to hear pleas The Supreme Court (SC) agreed to hear pleas which have alleged police atrocities on students holding protests at the Aligarh Muslim

Minister Narendra Modi appealed to people to “maintain peace, unity and brotherhood”. “It is my appeal to everyone to stay away from any sort of rumour mongering and falsehoods," he said. The PM said he wants to "unequivocally assure my fellow Indians that CAA does not affect any citizen of India of any religion. No Indian has anything to worry regarding this Act." Amit Shah tweeted that CAA “is not to take away citizenship of any Indian.” “Some parties are spreading rumours and inciting violence for their political interest. I request students to go through the CAA once and not fall in their trap," Shah said.

Priyanka takes to the streets In the national capital, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra led her party’s top leadership to sit on a protest at the India

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at a sit-in protest in a show of solidarity with the students from Jamia Millia Islamia

University and the Jamia Millia Islamia University. A Bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde on Monday also took serious note of the rioting and destruction of public property during protests against the Act and said this must stop immediately. The SC said it will hear on December 18 a batch of pleas, including those by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh and royal scion of Tripura Pradyot Kishore Deb Barman, challenging the constitutional validity of the CAA. PM appeals for peace In a series of tweets, Prime

Gate, appealing to all citizens to oppose the “anticonstitutional” CAA. Internet services continued to remain suspended in six districts of the state — Malda, Uttar Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Howrah, North 24 Parganas and parts of South 24 Parganas districts — where violent protests over the amended Act have thrown normal life into disarray.

Incidents of violence, loot and arson were also reported from Nadia and Birbhum districts. Students of Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and others also took to the streets to protest.

Narendra Modi gets clean chit in 2002 Gujarat riots GANDHINAGAR: The final report of Nanavati-Mehta Commission, which was tabled in the Gujarat Assembly, gave a clean chit to the then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi-led government in the 2002 riots. The report deals with post-Godhra train burning violence in which more than 1,000 people were killed in widespread communal riots across the state in 2002. The report mentioned that the riots were "not organised".

The Commission’s report was tabled in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly by Minister of State for

Narendra Modi

Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja, five years after it was submitted to the then state government. “There is no evidence to show that these attacks were either inspired or instigated or abated by any

minister of the state,” the commission said in its report, which runs into over 1,500 pages and is compiled in nine volumes. It said the police at some places were ineffective in controlling the mob because of their inadequate numbers or because they were not properly armed. On some communal riot incidents in Ahmedabad city, the Commission said, “The police had not shown their competence and eagerness which was necessary.” It has recommended inquiry or action against the erring police officers.

Former Supreme Court Justice GT Nanavati (retd) and ex-Gujarat

High Court Justice Akshay Mehta (retd) had in 2014 submitted their final report on the 2002 riots to the then state chief minister Anandiben Patel. The Commission was appointed in 2002 by the then state chief minister Narendra Modi to probe the riots, that took place after the burning of two coaches of the Sabarmati Express train near Godhra railway station, in which 59 ‘karsevaks’ were killed.

The first part of the report was submitted in 2008 by the Nanavati-Mehta commission. The first part also gave clean chit to the then Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi.

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HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

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21 - 27 December 2019

Many at risk of flu this Christmas Hundreds of thousands of people could have their Christmas ruined by flu, say England's top doctors, who are predicting a rise in cases.

They say the flu season has started early this year, with lots of the virus circulating. GP consultations for flu-like illness were up by a quarter to nearly 7,500 visits in the week ending 8 December. Experts are urging anyone who has not yet had their flu vaccine to get immunised.

Grandparents visiting their grandchildren could be particularly at risk, they say.

Children are "superspreaders" of flu and the over-65s are one of the "atrisk" groups that can develop health complications, such as pneumonia, if they catch it.

Free NHS flu vaccines are available for people who are: ● aged 65 or over ● pregnant ● living with certain medical conditions ● in care homes ● caring for an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if they fall ill While more over-65s have had a free flu jab than this time last year, coverage among two- to three-yearolds is lagging behind previous seasons, following delays in delivery of the

Dr. Smita Naram

nasal flu vaccine.

The delays have now been resolved but some school programmes will not take place now until January. Public Health England and the NHS are urging parents of at-risk children to contact their GP instead to get the vaccine this side of Christmas to help stop the virus spreading. NHS national medical director Prof Stephen Powis said: "Our message is simple: the flu season is here, get your jab now. It might be the difference between a Christmas to remember and one to forget."

Public Health England's Prof Yvonne Doyle said: "No-one wants to see their children suffering with flu far from a common cold, flu can have serious consequences for young children and those with underlying medical conditions.

"There's still a week before Christmas, parents of two- to three-year-olds or

those with underlying medical conditions should not delay, get your children vaccinated as soon as possible."

Cold or flu? ● The symptoms are similar but flu is usually more severe ● Flu symptoms come on quicker, within a few hours ● Flu affects more than just your nose and throat ● Flu is exhausting and makes you too unwell to carry on as normal For most people, flu lasts for just a few days and gets better after some rest at home.

To reduce the risk of spreading flu: ● use tissues to trap germs when you cough or sneeze ● wash your hands often with warm water and soap ● bin used tissues as quickly as possible Current evidence shows vaccinations available this year are well matched to the main strain of flu circulating.

Poorest countries facing both obesity and malnutrition A third of the poorest countries in the world are dealing with high levels of obesity as well as undernourishment, which leaves people too thin, according to a report in The Lancet. It says the problem is caused by global access to ultraprocessed foods, and people exercising less.

The authors are calling for changes to the "modern food system" which they believe to be driving it.

Countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia are most affected.

The report estimates that nearly 2.3 billion children and adults on the planet are overweight, and more than 150 million children have stunted growth.

And many low and mid-

dle-income countries are facing these two issues at once - known as the 'double burden of malnutrition'.

This means that 20% of people are overweight, 30% of children under four are not growing properly, and 20% of women are classified as thin.

Communities and families can be affected by both forms of malnutrition, as well as individual people at different points in their lives, the report says.

According to the report, 45 out of 123 countries were affected by the burden in the 1990s, and 48 out of 126 countries in the 2010s. By the 2010s, 14 countries with some of the lowest incomes in the world had developed this 'double problem' since

the 1990s. The report authors say action should be taken by governments, the United Nations and academics to address the problem, and it points the finger at changing diets.

The way people eat, drink and move is changing.

Increasing numbers of supermarkets, easy availability of less nutritious food, as well as a decrease in physical activity, are leading to more people becoming overweight. And these changes are affecting low and middle-income countries, as well as high-income ones.

Although stunted growth of children in many countries is becoming less frequent, eating ultra-processed foods early in life is linked to poor growth.

Every major A&E misses wait target for first time

Every major A&E unit in England has failed to hit its four-hour waiting time target for the first time, NHS figures show.

All 118 units fell below the 95% threshold in November as the NHS posted its worst performance since targets were introduced more than a decade ago.

Alongside the growing waits in A&E, the data showed there were record delays finding beds for the sickest patients.

The numbers on waiting lists for routine care also hit an all-time high.

Overall just 81.4% of A&E patients were seen within four hours last month - that is the worst

performance since the target was introduced in 2004.

The figures include those seen in major A&E units, as well as minorinjury units and walk-in centres.

Of the 118 major units, not one managed to treat or admit 95% of patients in four hours - the target threshold.

How to deal with Raynaud’s phenomenon?

During winter many people get cold hands and feet and in extreme scenarios they turn blue, white, or red with numbness and pain. This is considered Raynaud’s phenomenon where blood vessels get constricted and blood supply to the finger is decreased substantially. This is especially because of the Aama toxins deposited in small blood vessel creating narrowing or excess of Vatta (Air). It leads to spasms which finally cause the narrowing of blood vessel. It is a genetic condition that can be inherited. The main reasons for this condition is stress, incorrect food habit and cold temperature with immune system attacking the arteries.

Other symptons of the condition include numbness, pins and needles and difficulty moving the affected area. Some people also find their ears, nose, lips or nipples are affected. ● Exercising regularly – this helps improve circulation ● Try breathing exercises or yoga to help you relax ● Do not drink too much tea, coffee or cola – caffeine and other stimulants can stop you relaxing ● Stop smoking Ayushakti Approach is to improve

blood circulation and through the diet and specific herbs help improve the flexibility of the arteries especially in the extreme areas. When you remove Aama the blockages are reduced and reducing vatta can relax the arteries and make them flexible.

Diet: Avoid Wheat, gluten, deep fried and red meat.

Lifestyle: Stop smoking. Make sure that hands and feet are constantly covered with the woollen socks. Walking and exercising every day will keep circulation moving, apply paste of ginger, ajwain and onion juice rub it every day for 15-20 minutes and then dip feet or hands in salted warm water. Drink the below warm mixture twice a day: ● 2 tsp. onion juice ● ½ tsp garlic juice ● ½ tsp ginger juice ● ¼ ajwain ● 1 tsp coriander powder ● With half glass warm water You can start this drink as soon as autumn begins as it will help with the blood circulation.

NHS 'should not pay' US surrogacy costs after cancer misdiagnosis A woman left infertile after doctors missed her cervical cancer for years should not get an NHS-funded surrogacy in the US, a court heard.

Whittington Hospital NHS Trust in London admitted negligent failure but said the commercial surrogacy she wanted was "contrary to public policy".

The trust is appealing against a previous court's decision to award the woman up to £1.14m in damages to cover the US costs.

The Supreme Court is hearing the case.

The hospital in Islington, north London, failed to detect signs of cancer in the woman, known as XX, for four years, and she was left infertile at the age of 29 after eventually undergoing chemo-radiotherapy.

She was initially awarded a total of £580,000 in damages, to cover the costs of fertility treatment, cryopreserving her eggs and having children by surrogacy in the UK. However, the High Court refused to award fur-

ther damages to cover the costs of four commercial surrogacies in California as the practice is illegal in the UK. But last December, the Court of Appeal said XX, now 36, was entitled to an additional £560,000 to cover the cost of having children with commercial surrogates in the US. Opening the trust's appeal, Lord Faulks QC said it was a "very sad case" but awarding damages to cover commercial surrogacy "would be contrary to public policy".

Drug that prevents half of breast cancers carries on working A drug that halves a woman's risk of breast cancer continues to work long after they stop taking it, say researchers.

Anastrozole blocks the production of the hormone oestrogen, which fuels the growth of many breast cancers.

It is already available on the NHS, but researchers at Queen Mary University of

London said only a tenth of eligible women were receiving it.

Cancer Research UK said the findings were reassuring.

Anastrozole can be given only after the menopause because it cannot suppress oestrogen in younger women. It is already used as a treatment once breast cancer has been discovered, but

now trials are focusing on preventing cancers emerging in the first place.

Previous research, has shown anastrozole halves the risk of breast cancer during the five years women took the drug.

But now, trials on 3,864 women show those taking it had 49% fewer breast cancers, even seven years after stopping treatment.

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

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21 - 27 December 2019

Shah Rukh Khan signs his next with filmmaker Aashiq Abu Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's fans have been waiting with bated breath for an announcement about his next film. In the last couple of months, there have been a lot of speculations about SRK's next movie and looks like the suspense around his next film has finally come to a full stop.

SRK recently met Malayalam filmmaker Aashiq Abu and ignited speculations. Director Aashiq Abu visited Shah Rukh Khan at his home Mannat and they had a long two-hour conversation. Also present during the meeting were producer Shaneem Zayed and writer Syam Pushkaran of

Kumbalangi Nights fame. The yet-tobe-titled film is expected to go on floors by the end of 2020.

Going by the director and producer's social media posts, it looks like Shah Rukh Khan has finally locked his next movie. Aashiq Abu also shared photos of himself and King Khan at Mannat on Instagram. “Thank you, @iamsrk. We love you,” he wrote along with the photo. Shaneem shared a few photos on Instagram. He wrote, “A good two long hour conversation with #SRK with one of most favorite directors and writers @aashiqabu and @syampushkaran that became easily

one of the most memorable days of my life I am sure yours too @mrkrrish #shahrukhkhan #kingkhan #aashiqabu #syampushkaran #krrish” Aashiq Abu is known for helming hits like Virus, Mayaanadhi and 22 Female Kottayam. He has also bankrolled films like Maheshinte Prathikaaram and Ee.Ma.Yau. Shah Rukh was last seen in Anand L Rai’s Zero. It starred Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif.

Priyanka and Nick take up untitled Sangeet project with Amazon On the heels of Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ and Nick Jonas’ first wedding anniversary, Amazon Studios has given a green light to a new unscripted series executive produced by the famous couple, inspired by the Indian pre-wedding tradition of the sangeet, for Prime Video. The Sangeet ceremony takes place the night before the wedding that brings family and friends together for a fun-filled evening of dance and music. The tradition played

an important role in the couple's own wedding last December.

The desi girl of Bollywood took to Instagram to reveal the news of their unscripted project, the casting of which is is underway. Explaining what led the couple to take up such a project, Priyanka wrote, "...at our wedding, both of our families came together to perform a sangeet.

A performance (dance-off competition style) that

celebrated our love story, one of the most unforgettable moments from a very special time in our lives."

Tagging the singing sensation, Nick Jonas, she further continued "Nick and I are excited to announce a new, currently untitled project (we're still working on it!!) that celebrates the love and magic that comes from friends and family that join together through music and dance the night before a wedding. It's our #SangeetProject .Happy one-year anniversary baby.

It's our first together." The show will be filmed in 2020 with participants driving the creative vision for their respective ceremonies.

Madhuri Dixit to mark her digital debut Karan Johar is going through mid-life crisis Filmmaker Karan Johar says he is going through a mid-life crisis, and that is why he has added colour and bling to his personal wardrobe.

“Manish Malhotra has a very specific sense of his own.

He’s very flashy and flamboyant as a designer but very sober when it comes to his personal sense. I think I’m going through a mid-life crisis

so I’m wearing a lot of colour and bling. So, in our own ways we’re combating the age and stage we are at,” Karan said.

Karan opened up about his personal style when he appeared on chat show “Not Just Supper Stars” along with fashion designer Manish Malhotra. The filmmaker then looked at Manish, and joked, “My mid-life crisis is in my head, yours is possibly in the bed.” Quizzed if he enjoys stalking on social media, Karan said, “All the time. I have no problem being on it. I love stalking and it’s my midnight activity. When I’m lying in bed and right before I sleep, I’m at my stalking optimum best.”

Madhiri Dixit is all set to make her digital debut with Netflix's upcoming series, which will be bankrolled by Karan Johar. The actress has earlier collaborated with Netflix for Marathi drama 15th August, which is her debut project as a producer. Now, Madhuri Dixit will star in a suspense family drama by Netflix original.

Expressing her excitement about foraying into the digital space, Madhuri said, "I am extremely excited to be making my OTT acting debut. As an artiste, I am always looking out to do work that is creatively fulfilling and that reaches out to maximum number of people." The series is written by New Yorkbased writer-director Sri Rao. Talking about the story, the actress further added, "It reflects a bit on the lives that people in the entertainment industry lead.

The story is entertaining, gripping, nailbiting, and yet heartwarming and I can’t wait to start

shooting for it."

Madhuri finds it enthusing how the OTT medium marries "two of the most important things in the world today — entertainment and internet, thereby giving opportunities to all actors and filmmakers to create content that can reach out to millions of people across the world". She added, "With changing times, our audience is also seeking more engaging content, which also means sharing stories of real and strong women." Madhuri who is also a mother of two, is glad that platforms are doing their bit to "pique the interest of a global audience who clearly wants to hear and see stories about women they can relate to".

Talking about the changing world of showbiz, Madhuri said, "With the help of OTT platforms, performers and creators have been given another avenue to express their creativity and take on more challenges.

It gives us the freedom and flexibility to narrate and showcase stories that need to be told, heard and seen. It is not about big faces anymore, but about big talent."

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21 - 27 December 2019

Disha Patani perform stunts by herself for Malang Disha Patni is surely riding high on the multiple projects. While she has Mohit Suri's Malang, she also has Salman Khan's Radhe which can mark one of the biggest films of her career. Her latest film, Bharat crossed Rs 100 crore at the box office and did amazingly well.

Reportedly, the actress is taking extensive training in watersports and is acing water-based stunts like a pro.

The actress has taken training in scuba diving, kite surfing for almost a week before she kick-started the shooting. And, apart from water-based training, the 27year-old was also trained in sky-diving and jumping off a cliff. Disha obviously had the option to use a body double to perform some of the ariel stunts but she refused the idea because she wanted to overcome her fear of heights.

Malang is reportedly a revenge drama, which is said to have a blend of romance, action, and thrill. The film is helmed by Aashiqui 2 director Mohit Suri and produced by Bhushan Kumar, Luv Ranjan, Ankur Garg, and Jay Shewakramani. This film marks the reunion of Mohit, Aditya, and Bhushan after the success of Aashiqui 2 in 2013. Besides Anil Kapoor, Malang also stars Aditya Roy Kapur, Disha Patani and Kunal Kemmu, in the lead. This is the first time the four stars will be seen sharing screen space.

The actress recently completed shooting for the film and posted two pictures and captioned it as, 'wrap for Malang'. Tiger Shroff, her rumoured boyfriend, commented on her post, congratulating her. He also added some cute 'heart in eye' emojis with his comments.

Rangoli Chandel accuses Alia Bhatt of award fixing Rangoli Chandel, sister and manager to actress Kangana Ranaut, is known for her unfiltered and unapologetic opinion about the film industry. Time and again Rangoli has picked up fights with artists, including names like Anurag Kashyap, Karan Johar, Taapsee Pannu and Mahesh Bhatt among others. This time, Rangoli’s latest tweet was targetted at Mahesh Bhatt’s actress daughter Alia Bhatt.

Alia, recently, bagged a Star Screen Award in the best actor (female) category, for her performance in Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy. A video is doing rounds on twitter,

in which Alia can be seen exiting the venue with the trophy in her hand. Rangoli shared the video on Twitter, taking a jibe at Alia for being "honest enough to do this in secret, and not in the public eye." According to her, Alia

had left the event with the award, even before the function began. As the paparazzi start clicking her pictures, a female voice can be heard negotiating about the time when the snaps would be released.

by Vallisa Chauhan

Genre : Epic War Film Duration : 2 hours, 51 minutes

Addressing the rape culture in India: Rani Mukerji triumphs in Mardaani 2 Rape is a sensitive subject. And Mardaani 2 is released against the backdrop of the “rape culture” that concerns women in India today.

Rani Mukherjee is back on the screen as Inspector Shivani Shivaji Roy attempting to take down yet another villain, Sunny, who is raping and murdering women. Like the previous film, this has a dark premise as well. But Shivani is a fearless independent woman, striving and hunting down the accused until justice is served. In contrast to Mardaani, where she was all about family life, this time Shivani is focused on her work and tries to delve into the mindset of a young man who is raping and murdering girls.

Vishal Jethwa plays the character of Sunny, the rapist. Smart and strategic, Sunny's face is revealed in the media, and yet, is able to get around without being seen and captured. He manages to confuse the police and create a hostile environment as he outsmarts some of the best cops around.

Although Mukherjee’s acting is somewhat powerful the plot has many flaws. There are times where she is seen slowly strutting which makes it look like the director is pushing for her to seem more powerful and in some scenes, she manages to solve situations quicker then it appears realistically possible therefore casting doubt over the film. Especially in the climax

sequence when she concludes where Sunny is actually hiding quicker than it is plausible.

We do get to see some star-spangled action sequences carried out by Mukherjee including an underwater fight, which Mukherjee has been heard saying was the hardest of her life as she did not know how to swim and had to learn just to pull this off.

The villain is played impeccably by Jethwa who has so much power that the music sets the tone of what is to

come before we even see the villain himself. He also talks directly to the audience which is very different and this could be to scare the audiences a lot more. Portrayed immoral to the core of his bone, Sunny is seen biting chunks out of his victim’s flesh and beating them to a pulp.

I feel the Mardaani 2 team have dealt with this issue in a very gentle, cautious and yet hard-hitting way by making sure that the consequences of the actions of this young man are paid for.

Vidya Balan riddles up the release date of ‘Shakuntala Devi’

Dabangg 3 Dabangg 3 is the third instalment from Salman Khan's hit franchise Dabangg.

The movie is directed by Prabhu Deva and produced under the banner of Salman Khan Films and Arbaaz Khan Productions. Dabangg 3 is set in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. The movie also stars Sonakshi Sinha, Arbaaz Khan and Mahie Gill in the lead roles. Kannada superstar Sudeep will be seen plays the Antagonist.

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker is a sci - fi movie, directed by J. J. Abrams. The cast of Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker includes Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill.

Vidya seems to be in that stage of her career where absolutely nothing can go wrong and anything that she touches turns to gold. After having achieved success on the trot with movies like Tumhari Sullu and Mission Mangal, Vidya Balan is all set to nail it once again in Shakuntala Devi. She even shared pictures and videos on her social media handles and the entire team had a blast. Now, she has unveiled the release date of the film but in the most amazing way.

Vidya will be seen playing a human-computer in the film, she has exactly used the same way in the announcement video too.

The ‘Mission Mangal’ actress

can be seen confusing the audiences by giving mathematical clues to guess the release date. She shared the video on her Twitter account and wrote, “Get ready to be enamoured by her wit, charm & of course, genius! Watch the video to know when ShakuntalaDevi

is coming to theatres near you!”

Apart from Vidya, the film also stars Sanya Malhotra who will be playing her daughter’s role, Amit Sadh will be seen as Vidya’s son-in-law and Jisshu Sengupta will essay Vidya’s on-screen husband.

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21 - 27 December 2019

Rajini celebrates 69th birthday Superstar Rajinikanth celebrated his 69th birthday which is a festival of sorts for his fans. Social media was flooded with admirers cheering for their favourite actor while several celebrities were also pouring in heartfelt wishes for Rajinkanth. From his 'Darbar' director AR Murugadoss to Raghava Lawrence and Atlee, Twitter flooded with birthday wishes for the South Superstar.

While Thalaivar 16 went on floors on the occasion of the superstar's birthday on December 12, the team celebrated Thalaivar's birthday with a cake cutting ceremony. Produced by Sun Pictures, the film

has Keerthy Suresh, yesteryear actress Meena and Khushbu playing important roles. While Prakash Raj is set to play the antagonist, actor Soori and Sathish will be providing the comic relief in the film which will have music by D Imman.

The makers have released a video of celebrating the ceremony with the man himself. Director Siva, Imman and Soori also have wished the Superstar and the bytes are attached in the video. He will also be seen in a cop avatar in 'Darbar', which is scheduled for release during Pongal. Rajinikanth had wrapped the shoot of his portions for the AR Murugadoss directorial.

TV Listing TUESDAY DEC 17, 2019

* Schedule is subject to change

SATURDAY DEC 14, 2019

Keerthy Suresh opts out of 'Ponniyin Selvan'

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Keerthy Suresh is said to have walked out of the Mani movie over a date clash with Rajinikanth's movie Thalaivar 168. She didn't want to miss out on a chance to work with the Tamil superstar and thus chose him over the top director.

The Mahanati actress is on cloud nine after ending the year 2018 on a high. Her performance in the role of yesteryear actress Savitri came in for a lot of praise and the actress has been flooded with offers from top directors since. So maverick director Maniratnam offered her a role in his most ambitious upcoming project Ponniyin Selvan. The Tamil flick has an ensemble cast with the likes of Aishwarya Rai, Karti, Trisha among others.

Kalki Krishnamurthy has written the script for his historical drama. The film is produced by Lyca Productions in association with Madras Talkies.

The music of the film is composed by AR Rahman and cinematography is handled by Ravi Varman.

On the other hand, Keerthy Suresh, who has lost weight is currently working on Karthik Subburaj's 'Penguin'. She will also mark her Bollywood debut with Ajay Devgn starrer 'Maidaan'.

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BIGG BOSS (SEASON 13) MOHE RANNG DO LAAL BALIKA VADHU - LAMHE PYAAR KE

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CHEETAH THE LEOPARD WAKE UP INDIA SHIVA SHAKTI SHAURYA CHINA GATE NIL BATTEY SANNATA MULK BANJO

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Comedian Dheena to join Vijay’s Thalapathy64 Lokesh Kanagaraj’s upcoming directorial, 'Thalapathy64' starring Vijay will now see the addition of a new comedian. It has been reported that Dheena, who rose to fame with his performance in the Kalakka Povathu Yaaru television show will be starring in the movie.

Dheena, an actor, television personality and scriptwriter had garnered good reviews for his acting in Thumbaa, his debut film. He was also part of Karthi-starrer Kaithi, which released for Deepavali.

Interestingly, Lokesh was its director too. It’s said that Dheena will have many combination scenes with Vijay in the film.

Meanwhile, Thalapathy64’s shooting is progressing at a brisk pace and the team recently completed their Chennai schedule at a school in Poonamalle with Vijay, Nasser and Azhagam Perumal. The team has now moved to Shimoga in Karnataka where some of the main sequences involving Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi, the main antagonist will be shot. The film has an ensemble star cast that includes, Malavika Mohanan, Andrea Jeremiah, Shantanu Bhagyaraj, Arjun Das, Premkumar, Chetan, Sanjeev, Srinath and Sriman.

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SWARAGINI BHARADWAJ BAHUEIN TERE NAAL ISHQ BEPANNAH DAILY BONUS RASOI SHOW CHHUTA CHHEDA TUM KAUN PIYA DIL KA RISHTA MERE HUMRAHI

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MAHAKALI SHENI VIJAYANAND DHARAM THI GUJARATI DIVINE DESTINATION BIGG BOSS (SEASON 13) WEEKEND KA VAAR DESI BEAT RESET (SEASON 3) DANCE DEEWANE (SEASON 2) JAAGTE RAHO (SEASON 2)

SUN 22TH DEC 2019 11:00: 17:00: 17:30: 18:00: 19:30: 20:00: 21:30

SHRIMAD BHAGWAT DHARAM THI GUJARATI DIVINE DESTINATION BIGG BOSS - SEASON 13 WEEKEND KA VAAR DESI BEAT (SEASON 3) DANCE DEEWANE (SEASON 2) JAAGTE RAHO (SEASON 2)

22:30:

BEPANAH PYAARR

SAT 21ST DEC 2019

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 23RD FRI 27TH DEC 2019

18:30: 19:00: 19:30: 20:00: 20:30: 21:00: 21:30:

VIDYA RAM SIYA KE LUV KUSH CHOTI SARDAARNI SHAKTI ASTITVA KE EHSAAS KI SHUBHARAMBH BAHU BEGUM BIGG BOSS - SEASON 13

18:30: VIDYA 19:00: CHOTI SARDAARNI 20:00: NAAGIN (SEASON 4) 21:00: FEET UP WITH THE STARS 21:30: BIGG BOSS (SEASON 13) WEEKEND KA VAAR

SUN 22TH DEC 2019 11:00: 11:30: 14:30: 19:30: 20:00: 21:00: 21:30:

GATTU BATTU RUDRA BADRINATH KI DULHANIA FOOD HIGHWAY NAAGIN (SEASON 4) DESI BEAT RESET BIGG BOSS (SEASON 13) WEEKEND KA VAAR

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12 Apostles Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road Dramatic, rugged and windsweptthe coastline of Melbourne offers majestic views of the Apostles, splendid sunsets and a perfect summer getaway. Rising out of the Southern Ocean, alongside Australia's famous Great Ocean Road, are the striated pinnacles of limestone rocks, 12 Apostles. Formed about 20 million years ago by constant erosion of the limestone cliffs of the mainland, blasting waves and winds have now battered the softer limestone, forming caves in the cliffs which gave way to arches, and eventually broke them down into 45-metre (150-foot) tall columns.

With only seven of them now remaining, they were once connected to the mainland cliffs. A road trip to Melbourne is a classic way to explore the coastline while on a tour to Australia. The fourhour and about 200 miles of journey offers panoramic seascapes and sneak peaks into the Australian wildlife. Winding bends hug the coast as the Great Ocean Road crosses its protected national park, bushlands and diversified flora and fauna.

View the 12 Apostles at sunrise and sunset as they change colour from dark and foreboding in shadow to brilliant sandy yellow under a full sun. And as the sun sinks below the horizon tourists gather to watch Penguins returning from the waters after a day’s fishing to burrows beneath the main visitor lookout.

Now, a series of viewing platforms connected by wooden boardwalks wind their way around the cliff tops for the closest possible experience of these Apostles.

Light up your Christmas with Amazon Echo.

Available at just about £30 it can play your favourite songs, shop gifts for you and can instantly turn on and off the string of lights at specific times hanging on your porch and driveway. However, a smart plug will be required for automated lights to lights.

Alexa can also track your packages and the Echo's ring light will also light up yellow when there's a notification of a package that has arrived or is on the way.

Alexa can't send physical holiday greeting cards, but the voice assistant can send digital greetings to other Alexa devices.

You'll need to go to the Alexa Skill Blueprints page and select Hallmark Holiday Greeting. Then you can pick a greeting that best suits you and customize it with a personal message or recording.

Follow the on-screen instructions to complete your holiday greeting.

Editor: CB Patel Chief Executive Officer: Liji George Managing Editor: Rupanjana Dutta Deputy Editor: Urja Patel Journalist: Priyanka Mehta Advertising Managers: Kishor Parmar Head - New Projects & Business Development: Cecil Soans

A helicopter flight over the 12 Apostles and a view of the London Bridge Flights depart throughout the day from the heliport behind the 12 Apostles Visitor Centre. Loch Ard Gorge, London Bridge, the Grotto, Bay of Islands, and the entire Shipwreck Coast all the way to Cape Otway, site of the oldest lighthouse in Australia are some of the things to watch out for.

Explore natural attractions and ecology The self-guided walks at Loch Ard Gorge provide an informative insight into the shipwreck history, geology, and coastal ecology. Visit the Grotto where you can often see rainbows made from wave spray and sunshine, the Arch with its spectacular views of the 12 Apostles in the late afternoon, London Bridge originally a natural archway, which collapsed in 1990, and the Bay of Islands.

Climb down the 86 stairs of Gibson Steps to the beach, which is backed by 70-metre (230-foot) limestone cliffs. Make your way towards the enormous offshore rock stacks of Gog and Magog.

Walk the end of the Great Ocean Walk and look out for Kangaroos From Princetown it is a 7-kilometre (4.3-mile) moderate trudge on boardwalk, crushed gravel, steps and rubber tiles. Savour stunning coastal views and look for kangaroos and birdlife. If you're keen to enjoy a longer walk you can take on the entire 104-kilometre (167-mile) Great Ocean Walk.

Check out the shipwrecks See the historic shipwreck display at the 12 Apostles Visitor Information Centre in Port Campbell including a 1/60th scale model of the Loch Ard as well as its kedging anchor. Explore the entire Shipwreck Coast, which has more than 200 shipwrecks between Port Fairy and Cape Otway. The Historic Shipwreck Trail has 25 signposted sites leading to information plaques that overlook the cliffs where the wrecks occurred.

Kennett River and Koala Walk Kennett River is home to some of the friendliest koalas around. The small hamlet is located just off Grey River Road, swarming with both colourful birds and snoozing koalas.

You can also join in on the bird feeding provided, with colourful parrots, and cackling cockatoos!

Get out on the water Take a scenic tour with Port Campbell Boat Charters to see the 12 Apostles up close. It's an invigorating, end-of-the-earth feeling to see this coastline when it's being whipped by howling winds and huge seas. fishing as well as snorkelling and diving adventure.

ALEXA COMES HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

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FEATURES Try out these Alexa holiday commands: ● "Alexa, how many days until Christmas?" ● "Alexa, play Christmas sounds." ● "Alexa, Christmas tree." ● "Alexa, read The Night Before Christmas." ● "Alexa, add apple pie to my shopping list."

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21 - 27 December 2019

Coming Events ● Bhajan by ISKCON devotees, Date: 21 December, Saturday Time: 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm, Mata Ki Chauki, Date: 22 December, Sunday Time: 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm, Venue: VHP Ilford Hindu Center 43, Cleveland Road Essex IG1 1EE Contact: 020 8553 5471 ● Hanuman Chalisa, Date: 22 December, Sunday Time: 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, Venue: Social Club Hall, Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow HA1 3UJ. Contact: 020 8459 5758/07973 550 310 ● Bhagvat Gita Class every Thursday from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm, Yoga Class, every Wednesday, 10:00 am to 11:00 am and Friday, 10:00 am to 11:30 am, at Shri Sanatan Dharma, Durga Temple, 3 - 9, Norman Road, Ilford IG1 2NH, Contact: 020 8514 4781

What’s on South Asian Wellbeing - social event (North London).

Reroute is a peer support group for young South Asian people aged 18-35 created to provide us with a safe, non-judgemental space to talk all things Mental Health.

Come share your struggles, celebrate those small victories and be a part of the change needed in our community. Run by two women with their own lived experiences so don’t worry, we get you!

Date: Thursday 19th December Time: 7pm Venue: Blue Ginger Bar & Restaurant, 383 Kenton Road, HA3 0XS Harrow ●

● Christmas Dinner & Dance Date: Saturday 21st December Time: 7pm till midnight Venue: Charisma Restaurant Bar & Banqueting Hounslow ● Ajay Srivastav: Ajay Srivastav is a singer/songwriter and guitar player whose music flows from the banks of Delta Blues to the sacred rivers of Indian folk. Lyrically he mixes the personal with the spiritual, forever bouncing between doubt and faith. Ajay's music is raw, passionate and uplifting. As a musician Ajay has worked with a diverse variety of acts such as Jamiroquai, Gregory Isaacs, Zakir Hussain, Sister India and Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan. His song-writing skills have been touted by British music legend Jah Wobble who has produced two of his forthcoming tracks.

Date: Friday 17th January 2020 Time: 7pm Venue: The Farnham Pottery, Pottery Lane, Farnham, Surrey GU10 4SL Tickets: https://www.ajaysrivastav.com/gigs ● The Bhavan’s Founder’s Day – Day 1 Every January, The Bhavan hosts founders day celebrations where all students, teachers and art form is celebrated. It is an extravagant weekend event where each department showcases their respective art styles. Join us as we applaud and appreciate the efforts and the talents of The Bhavan London in this visual and artistic treat.

Date: Saturday 25th January ; Sunday 26th January Time: 3pm till 6pm Venue: 4a Castletown Road, West Kensington, London W14 9HE

Disclaimer Asian Business Publications Ltd (ABPL) is not in any way responsible for the goods and services rendered by its advertisers. The ABPL management accepts all advertisements in good faith and it is entirely up to readers to verify advertisers’ products and services, should they feel the need to do so.

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21- 27 December 2019

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Virat Kohli retains top spot in Monty’s Spin ICC rankings India skipper Virat Kohli retained top spot in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings for batsmen while Australia sensation Marnus Labuschagne and Pakistan captain Babar Azam moved up quiet a few places. The two batsmen have been in good form recently in their respective series and have been rewarded in the latest ranking list.

Kohli tops the chart with 928 rating points while his Aussie rival Steve Smith continues to hog the second spot with 911 rating points.

Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson comes a distant third (864) followed by

Cheteshwar Pujara at number four (791). The latest entrant in the top five is Labuschagne who slammed a majestic century in the recently-concluded Day-Night Test against New Zealand. The 25-year-old has been in sensational form recently as in his last three Tests, he has scores of 185 (vs Pakistan in Brisbane), 162 (vs Pakistan in Adelaide) and 143 (vs New Zealand in Perth).

Cheteshwar Pujara (791) and Ajinkya Rahane (759) held on to their fourth and sixth spots respectively.

Australia batsman Marnus Labuschagne continued his surge, entering the top five in the list of batsmen after

Monty Panesar scores of 143 and 50 in the Perth Test. Babar Azam reached the top 10 for the first time, moving from 13th to ninth position after his unbeaten knock of 102 against Sri Lanka in the drawn first Test. He is currently No.1 in the T20I rankings and second in the ODIs. Opener Abid Ali's unbeaten 109, which made him the first male cricketer and only the second after

former England woman opener Enid Bakewell to score centuries on both Test and ODI debuts, has entered the rankings at an impressive 78th position.

Among the bowlers, Bumrah, who has been out since the start of the home series against South Africa due to a stress fracture, slipped to the sixth spot in the list headed by Australia's Pat Cummins.

Sarpreet Singh first Indian-origin player to play for Bayern Munich Sarpreet Singh replaced Philippe Coutinho during Bayern Munich’s 6-1 demolition of Werder Bremen in their Bundesliga match, becoming the first player of Indian descent to play in the top tier of German football. The 20year-old attacking midfielder, who joined Bayern in the summer from Wellington Phoenix in Australia's A-League, made his debut for the German champion when he was introduced for hat-trick scorer Philippe Coutinho.

Singh was named on the bench due to a personnel crisis which left the German

Bayern Munich's Sarpreet Singh comes on as a substitute to replace Philippe Coutinho.

champion without the likes of injured duo Kingsley Coman and Corentin Tolisso, and the suspended

Javi Martinez. Although he was given little chance to impress with the match already wrapped up, the New

Zealander has been tipped for big things.

Having been on Munich's radar since the age of 11, Singh's performances for Wellington in the 2018-19 ALeague season convinced the Bayern hierarchy to sign him.

Singh is the second New Zealander to play in the Bundesliga after striker Wynton Rufer -- who carved out an eight-year career in the Bundesliga for Werder Bremen and Kaiserslautern between 1989 and 1997. Born in New Zealand to Indian parents, Sarpreet Singh played for Onehunga Sports in his youth before signing for Wellington Phoenix in 2015.

Stoke City fan punished for racially abusing footballer A Stoke City football fan has been fined £310 and received a football banning order for three years after he racially abused a footballer during a Stoke City versus Nottingham Forest game in September. Carl Mason, 58, of Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, admitted his guilt at Newcastle Under Lyme MC for racially aggravated public offence following the incident at Stoke City stadium on 27 September 2019.

Mason was in the stadium with his adult son watching the match, when spectators heard him shout out racial abuse towards a Nottingham Forest goal keeper. The comments made by Mason upset the

supporters around him and he was confronted about the matter. After the match, the witnesses reported the matter to Stoke City and were then advised to call the police. One witness, who was at the match with his fouryear-old son, said: “I felt angry and extremely upset that the man had shouted racial abuse at the player.

There is no place in modern society for racial abuse of any kind, and certainly don't want my own son to be witness to it. Football has got a bad name for racial abuse, and it needs eradicating.”

A second witness said: “Hearing him shout the racial abuse made me angry and it is not something that should be tolerated. I am not black but cannot even come close

to knowing what effect that must have on anyone who is black.

The football organisation as a whole is trying to eradicate racial abuse towards players and at games and I believe it is up to any person hearing the abuse to confront it and report it. It makes me feel sick that this still goes on.”

On 7 November 2019, Mason attended Hanley Police station for a voluntary interview and fully admitted the offence. He agreed what he had said was wrong and hurtful, and said he was ashamed of the racist comment he made. In his first hearing at Newcastle Under Lyme MC, Mason pleaded guilty to using racially aggravated threatening or abusive words

or behaviour with intent to cause alarm or distress. He was fined £310 and was ordered to pay court costs of £135 and a victim surcharge of £32. He was also given a football banning order for three years.

Timothy Bishop, from the CPS, said: “I would like to thank the two witnesses for coming forward and reporting this incident.

Racism in football is unacceptable and causes serious distress. Carl Mason chose to use words that are racist to express himself and this has cost him dearly with a criminal conviction. Hate crime will not be tolerated in this day and age, and we will always seek to prosecute those who commit these crimes.”

West Indies outclass India The first one-dayer was a brilliant performance by the West Indies. It was a performance that we all missed in the last World Cup. A stand of 218 runs between Shimron Hetmyer and Shai Hope left India with no answers. The question on everyone's mind is if the wrist spin combination really working for India or should they go back to playing two finger spinners. The combination of Ashwin and Jadeja has always been lethal.

The other issue for India is the form of KL Rahul and RG Sharma. They do look scratchy.

Rohit looks good when he is batting well but doesn't seem to fight his way out of tight situations, and that is when he looks ugly at the crease. KL Rahul who dominates T20 cricket is struggling with form too. They should take a leaf out of Virat Kohli's book who uses anger to his advantage. Virat is very much an emotional cricketer and uses emotion to perform better.

Rohit Sharma seemed out of form to me. He should show some fight and aggression when he is not in great form.

I remember when Kevin Pietersen was in bad form he would go to the nets and ask bowlers to bowl at him from a shorter length and bowl fast.

He would ask coaches to bowl side arm bouncers from a shorter length. That would quicken his reflexes and get his beans going.

When he performed on match day he was amazing. He believed in the great Mohammed Ali's mantra that the fight is won in the gym.

That was KP's way to get back to form. I think this is something Rohit and KL Rahul should do to get their form to where it needs to be, especially with the T20 World Cup in Australia.

The Indian team can't just rely on Virat Kohli all the time.

We had the first Test match in Pakistan after ten years. It was a day that the Pakistani fans have wished for for a long time. Batting all day and with the score at 252/2 the Pakistan fans were treated to a much-awaited sight. Abid Ali making his Test hundred on debut left sweet memories for Pakistani fans. Even though most of the Test match was rained off it was a victory for Test cricket and an emotional five days for cricket fans in Pakistan.

Currently it is the three big teams England, India and Australia who are dominating world cricket but you must love the spirit of New Zealand. They recently won the Test series against England. Any team playing in Australia will be tested and they beat Pakistan and New Zealand in the day-night Test matches. What the Kiwis are showing is an exemplary fight to compete with the top three teams. Other Test playing teams would do well to make a note. We don't want a situation where fans are left with mere India, Australia and England dominating world cricket.

You can follow Monty Panesar @MontyChannel