AV 26th September 2020

FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE

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Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

26 SEP - 2 OCT 2020 - VOL 49 ISSUE 22

WE ARE NOT READY DESPITE WARNINGS

inside: TOEIC students write letter to Prime Minister urging for an end to their deportation SEE PAGE - 8

Emotional Intelligence helps female leaders better navigate pandemic SEE PAGE - 14

Navendu Mishra

Priyanka Mehta The UK is fast approaching a second Covid-19 wave. On Tuesday 22nd September, parents, businesses and parliamentarians expressed their frustration as Boris Johnson announced fresh set of restrictions warning that these can remain in place “for as long as six months”.

While Prime Minister finally acknowledged that employees should continue to “work from home where possible”, relieving working parents of their concerns around affordable childcare. He is faced with the biggest challenge of testing, tracing and tracking the virus amid shortage of testing kits, lack of testing centres and lack of trust or understanding of the usability of the NHS Test and Trace App. Now Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer has urged Prime Minister to apologise for the lack of preparations.

He said, "If I were the prime minister, I would apologise for the fact we're in this situation with testing. Throughout the summer, we were

saying 'prepare for the autumn'. Instead, we had the exams fiasco. I would make fixing testing the number one priority, and reinstate the daily press conferences so we know what's going on."

A recent data published showed in the week between 3-9 September, 417,296 people have been reached by the service. This includes both those testing positive and their contacts. 86.6% of all contacts where communication details were given have been reached and told to selfisolate.

Interim Executive Chair of the National Institute for Health Protection Baroness Dido Harding said, “We are working tirelessly to boost testing capacity so that everyone who needs a test can get one. Each day, around 200,000 people are successfully booking and taking tests and we are growing our capacity to 500,000 tests across the UK by the end of October, with more and more capacity being added each week.

Continued on page 6

Pandemic cannot dampen the indomitable spirit of UK Bengalis SEE PAGE - 16

Indian American and UkranianAmerican Director wins Emmy Award SEE PAGE - 22

Unruly scenes in RS during passage of farm bills SEE PAGE - 26

2 UK

AsianVoiceNews

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26 Sep - 2 Oct 2020

with Keith Vaz

Temple donates £12,500 to University Hospital BirminghamNHS Foundation Trust

Enes Guzel Enes Guzel was born and grew up in Istanbul, Turkey.

After finishing his high school, he went to Canada to pursue his university education. He lived and studied in Canada for 2 years, at the University of Alberta.

However, due to the long distance between Turkey and Canada, Enes decided to pursue his university career in London.

He studied politics at the University of Greenwich and finished his degree with First Class Honours. The following year, he completed his Master’s degree in European politics at the London School of Economics.

During his university years, he co-founded My Life My Say as its President which is now one of the biggest youth organisations in the UK focusing on youth empowerment through greater political engagement and democratic participation.

He is now a PhD candidate at the University of Istanbul and the founding President of The Circle Foundation, a novel initiative that aims to empower the Turkish-speaking diaspora through deeper integration via political engagement and democratic participation in the UK. Which place, or city or country do you unconditional support for my career is the most feel at home in? main architect of my success today.

Even though I was born and grew up in What is the best aspect about your Istanbul, one of the most beautiful cities in current role? the world, my immediate answer to this The best aspect of my current role as question would be London. London prethe president of Circle Foundation is that sents vast opportunities to anyone who has being able to empower a community that is got dreams to achieve, regardless of their one of the most underrepresented ethnic background, race, nationality, or religion. minority groups in the UK. The Turkish This is thanks to London’s ability to community has one of the fewest political accommodate and being able to transform representatives in British politics and thus the difference and diversity into richness has the lowest voice. My role aims to and harmony. strengthen them through political integraWhat are your proudest achievements? tion and democratic participation so that their voice will be heard louder.

I would say my proudest achievements And the worst? would be the creation of My Life My Say. As a young international student at the age The idea of Circle Foundation is a of 20 who had recently moved to the counnovel initiative that has never been tried try for pursuing his education, I masterbefore. Therefore, when you want to minded an idea that has become a great implement a new idea or an initiative, you movement sweeping all over the UK today. may encounter with some resistance or I am very proud that an organisation which obstacles from the people around you. It is is a product of mine has become a voice of often difficult to make people believe that young people and defending the rights of your initiative will succeed. But I strongly British youth today. believe that circle foundation will achieve What inspires you? its aims just like I believed strongly in My Life My Say. My biggest source of inspiration is What are your long-term goals? being able to help the community. The prophet Muhammad says “the most I would like to help the Turkish speakblessed person of the mankind is the one ing diaspora to become a fully integrated in who is beneficial to his community.”

British society, beneficial to the country Therefore, the more I help the community economically, socially, and politically. And to grow and make it stronger the more I’m I want a community that represents its inspired to the more for them. own rights and interests in political sphere.

What has been biggest obstacle in your If you were Prime Minister, what one career? aspect would you change?

Just like anyone who is away from his Britain is becoming more ethnically, homeland and his family, I also had some racially, and religiously diverse. And this is obstacles, however through family and an advantage for the country. If I were the friends’ support I was able to overcome all Prime Minister, I would promote greater the obstacles. ethnic minority representation and supWho has been the biggest influence on port more projects that will give them your career to date? opportunity to integrate to the decisionMy parents are the biggest source of making process. Because the country has a influence on me. One of the things that lot to benefit from the ethnic minority strike me the most is that, even though I communities. The potential should be am not coming from a very rich family, my used in utmost degree. parents is being an owner middle-sized . If you were marooned on a desert business in Turkey, they did not hesitate island, which historical figure would even a second to send me abroad and you like to spend your time with and why? spend a great amount of money for my I would want to be with a famous education. They always told me that the philosopher Aristotle. I personally love most profitable investment that parents studying political philosophy and would can make for their children is the the want to learn politics from one the greatest investment on their education. Their political philosophers in the world.

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A temple in Birmingham has donated a total sum of £12,500 to University Hospital Birmingham-NHS Foundation Trust in their battle of combatting coronavirus.

Shree Birmingham Pragati Mandal (Shree Krishna Temple) launched an appeal in April this year for helping NHS Superheroes – doctors, nurses, volunteers and patients in Covid-19 ICUs and associated wards - during the difficult times of the pandemic.

Nearly five months later in response to their appeal, they accumulated donations of over £10,000 contributed by all their generous donors.

Now, they have informed the UHB-NHS Foundation Trust officers that the donated sum has been used for the purchase of iPads or tablets and emergency equipment for staff and patients. These gadgetswill help patients for remaining in contact with their families as hospital visits are restricted into Covid-19 ICUs andwards. Speaking about the donations

been clear for months that the quickest and safest way out of this pandemic is an effective test, trace and isolate regime.The government promised us a “world-beating” system but what we have been given by the Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Health Secretary Matt Hancock is a

world-beating fiasco. “Over the last week we have seen the testing system fall into complete chaos. What’s more, at the time of writing there are no testing sites available anywhere in Wigan according to the government website.Next door in Bolton, where they have the highest infection rate

received and their charitable distribution, a spokesperson for SBPM said, “The commitment and dedication of NHS staff has always been exceptional, but it is felt now more than ever.

Many tell us that they are just doing their jobs, but these are uncertain and challenging times for everyone.

“We know that NHS staff also have their own families to protect while serving in Coronavirus wards and unitstreating Covid-19 patients. Many of them have also been living away from their families to prevent the spread of the

virus. On behalf of BPM, Shree Ramanbhai Bulsara (CEO) we would like to express our sincere gratitude for all the NHS Staff and the generous donors.

Management “The Committee of Shree Birmingham Pragati Mandal would like to thank all the individual donors and their families and organisations for their generous donations for this worthwhile cause.

We are also thankful to Kantibhai Chauhan and Kusumben Chauhan who provided voluntary service in fundraising and collecting substantial sums from donors.”

Parents furious at being directed to “empty car parks” for coronavirus tests Hundreds of parents gathered at an abandoned mobile site in Edgbaston after authorities directed them to an “empty car park” for a coronavirus test for their children.Parents urgently seeking tests for their unwell children had initially secured a slot from health authorities on Tuesday - September 15.

But on the following day as they travelled to get a swab test, they only discovered an abandoned car park.NHS signs advising people to “only enter with an appointment” had been left stuck to a fence at the former Tower Ballroom car park.

Samantha Moore expressed her frustration on Twitter, "Finally managed to get a Covid test booked for my 14-year-old at the former Tower Ballroom car park in Edgbaston. No test centre on site and a lot of confused and frustrated people milling about looking for it.

No testing centres in Wigan says, Lisa Nandy On Thursday 17th September, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary flagged up concerns for the lack of testing centres including the absence of a testing centre in Wigan ahead of a potential second Covid-19 wave.

In Wigan Today, Labour MP Lisa Nandy wrote, “It has

Members of Shree Brimingham Pragati Mandal presenting their donations

in the country, worried residents are being told to try again later when they attempt to book a test. “The same picture can be found across Greater Manchester and Lancashire. The North West has 25% of the country’s cases but only 15% of the national testing capacity.

Preet Kaur Gill MP

"There are no directions upon arrival. Some people had walked up and down Osler Street and couldn't find any sort of test centre.

The derelict car park opposite the cafe was gated and

locked, no mobile unit inside. There was a lot of people in that street looking for the test centre and it was nowhere to be seen."

In response, Birmingham City Council said, "Sorry to hear this.

We are not involved in the running of mobile testing sites but we'll make sure to alert relevant partners to the issue."

Preet Kaur Gill, Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, has assured that she would be “escalating” this matter and address to the concerns of these worried parents.

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26 Sep - 2 Oct 2020

Brain drain: Migrants add to the economy Migrants don’t subtract but add to an economy. Economists including Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee in the past have harped on this broken record in his effort to tone down the rhetoric of anti-immigrant right-wing politicians. Yet, populist leaders continue to divide communities on cultural wars even as some “bank” on the expertise of “immigrants” to shore up their economy and set their house in order.

Ahmed Hussen, a Muslim refugee, was Canada’s first and former immigration minister at a time when 400,000 students received their student visas off which 35% were Indian. Both Canada and Australia are often considered to be Utopia for immigrants (some escaping persecution and others migrating for a better socio-economic life). But global anti-immigrant sentiment appears to impede Trudeau’s “open door” policy as well. In 2019, when Mehdi Hassan grilled the former immigration minister about increasing hostility and racism rife towards refugees, Hussen defended, “Canada welcomed the most refugees in the Western world, more than the United States of America, England and France. Opening your doors to people from around the world…it’s a smart economic policy to have.”

In a further testament to his outlook, a recent study undertaken by the University of Warwick has highlighted that a majority of growth in top incomes and taxes in the UK over the last 20 years has come from migrants. Based on analysis of HM Revenue & Customs tax records, Arun Advani, warned that the UK’s “closed door” Brexit policy or militarised visa rules may result in companies offshoring “jobs and people and that represents tax revenue we won’t get”. The same study has also calculated that migrants in the top 1 per cent of all income taxpayers alone contribute 8 per cent of total income tax — about £16bn in 2019-20.

The Chancellor is hyper aware that he cannot afford to lose out on any additional earnings at a time when the UK faces a $2tn

debt and with a wobbly economy in the aftermath of coronavirus.

Boris Johnson like Trudeau is “banking” on his Indian-origin ministers Rishi Sunak and Priti Patel to find the extra pennies, hoping a locked border would save him from the burdens of “benefits” claimed by those not from Britain. Through her recent militarised approach, Priti has made it clear that she will take up any and all means necessary to track, trace and deport those entering the UK illegally. Illegal immigrants are usually defined as the “boat people” escaping war from middle-eastern countries. But there is a sizeable population of Indians, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis exploiting legal loopholes and entering the UK through Ireland, Portugal or other European countries. Some estimates suggest that there are about 20,000 Goan-Indians who are in Swindon and others parts of London currently residing by virtue of their “Portugese passports” making it difficult for Priti to “send them back to their country”. She must also be cautious of the fact that these are the same low-skilled “immigrants” who put their lives at risk as frontline workers helping Britain battle coronavirus. She must understand that most people of her country and in her country are unwilling to be clearers, waiters and drivers. She already had the first taste of the “elite English” after she was forced to call in berry pickers from Eastern European countries.

Ahead of his Autumn Budget, Rishi Sunak appears to be following Priti Patel’s footsteps as well. Besides speculation on an increase in the Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax, Rishi is now reportedly planning on freezing benefits and public sector pay as the inflation tick moves upward and the Treasury continues to stay under “significant strain”. The immigrants relying on jobs for their visa and staying in the UK are already hard-pressed, a freeze on public sector pay will only make things worse. The ministers need to understand that they can’t have their cake and eat it too.

Saying goodbye to world’s next generations In olden days, getting married and having children was a consequential decision. Our Indian culture viewed parenting as an indispensable part of achieving ‘fulfilment’ and an indicator of a ‘successful’ adulthood. Women who did not have children were viewed unfavourably.

But today, many young couples are deciding to remain childless by choice, condemning the prejudice and moral outrage.

Unfortunately, social values for a woman has long been tied to fertility and motherhood, and with all the emancipation, the motives to remain childfree is still questioned.

As Dr Noam Shpancer in Psychology Today wrote that being childless is not a new phenomenon. Historically women have remained childless due to poverty, illness, infertility, poor nutrition and low marriage rates caused by wars.

The current trend involving healthy and educated choice, often by affluent Western societies is definitely a new variant. But coronavirus has given a different dimension to every economic groups across the globe. Historically, births always decline during an economic crisis. Like in 2008, which saw 400,000 less births in the US. Young people have been hit hard as concerns over jobs and income spread around the world. An online survey by the ‘International Labor Organization’ has found that among youngsters aged 18-29 around the world, 17.1% said they have not worked since the pandemic took hold. Even those who are working saw their working hours reduce by 23% and less income.

A recent report said that fertility rates in Japan and the USA will fall next year as the economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic is encouraging more and more young people to decide against getting married and having children.

Hideo Kumano at the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute in a recent article said that Japan for the 14th consecutive year will see births being dropped about 10% in 2021. There were 860,000

births last year, dipping below 900,000 for the first time since tracking of the data began.

For Japan and South Korea, the pandemic has added a new obstacle to policymakers' efforts to encourage growth of families in size. The Health Ministry showed that Japan reportedly had 32,544 marriages in May 2019. The figure dropped two-thirds from the same month a year and was down more than 30% from May 2018. In South Korea, marriages in April dipped 20% in 2019.

Japan's birth-rate has also declined to a 12-year low of 1.36 in 2019.

A senior official at the health ministry warned that the figure will likely fall further this year and next.

However, Brookings Institute, a Washington based think tank believes such declines are not limited to only Asia. Babies born in the US would decline by 300,000-500,000 in 2021 from 2020. This would amount to a roughly 10% drop in country's 3.7 million average annual births.

In developing nations, there are concerns that strain on the health care system is hurting vulnerable populations. The Hoover Institute has found that, 22 Muslim-majority countries and territories were estimated to have undergone fertility declines of 50%, ten of them by 60% or more. For both Iran and the Maldives, the declines in total fertility rates over those 30 years were estimated to exceed 70%. The fastest fertility drops in modern history happened in the Islamic theocracy of Iran.

In 1950, Iranian women had about seven children each. Today they have about 1.68, fewer than Americans.

So, while we worry about climate change and a world overpopulated, a study by the University of Washington has projected that though the world's population will peak at 9.7 billion in the 2060s but then it will fall to about 8.8 billion at the end of the century. With the current rate of the growing pandemic, it may happen even earlier.

Farm bills usher in needed reform The Modi government has passed important agricultural reforms bills despite protest by farmers, especially in Punjab and Haryana, and amid uproar and chaos by Opposition MPs inside the Upper House. The passage of the bills also led to the resignation of the sole minister of one of the BJP’s oldest partners, SAD, from the NDA ministry. Akalis are afraid that if they do not support the farmers, their support base may erode. The three bills that were passed are the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) bill, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill and Essential Commodities (Amendment) bill. The government said that the bills would transform the agriculture sector. It would also raise the income of the farmers. The government had also promised to double farmers' income by 2022 and the Centre said that the bills would make the farmer independent of government controlled markets and fetch them a better price for their produce.

The bills propose to create a system in which the farmers and traders can sell their purchase outside the mandis. Further it also encourages intra-state trade and this proposes to reduce the cost of transportation. The bill formulates a framework on the agreements that enable farmers to engage with agri-business companies, retailers, exporters for service and sale of produce while giving the farmers access to modern technology. It also provides benefits for the small and marginal farmers with less than five

hectares of land. The bill also will remove items such as cereals and pulses from the list of essential commodities and attract FDI. The Centre has clarified that it is not undermining the APMCs or minimum support prices, but merely paving the way for the farmers to get competitive prices for their produce.

The government's intentions as enumerated in the bills are welcome, but the way in which the bills were passed did not augur well. While the opposition parties may be seizing the visible unrest in sections of the farmers to score a political point, the forcible ramming through of the bills, the stubborn refusal to concede any elbow room to the Opposition, be it a discussion, a division of votes or a reference to a select committee, underlines a sobering message. In a democracy, there are, there must be, checks and balances, spaces for the political opponent and respect for the minority. There must be an attempt to moderate differences and forge common ground - and the greater onus for this is on the government. Already, amid the pandemic, parliamentary schedules have been truncated. But if the government uses the abbreviated time only to push through legislation - be it the consequential and crucial farm bills or The Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2020, which could water down the rights and protections of workers in small establishments - giving short shrift to the need to listen to the suggestions of the people’s representatives or answer the Opposition’s questions, it would be reducing the nation’s highest forum -Parliament - to a mere clearing house.

Optimism is the one quality more associated with success and happiness than any other.

— Brian Tracy

Alpesh Patel

Conservative Friends of Kashmir Some Tory MPs have decided it would be a good idea to have a Pro-Pakistani Conservative Friends of Kashmir group whose objective is to not only damage UK India relations (you bet it has), but portray terrorists are poor victims. The MPs backing it are being hailed on social media by ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ tweeters.

So, a Conservative Friends of Baluchistan is surely the next thing. And a swift call to the whips office for the two MPs who set up the Conservative Friends of Kashmir. Smacky botty, naughty naughty, doesn’t get votey votey.

Of course this will be something doubtless the High Commission of India will raise with the UK Foreign Office.

The Pakistan Government is really ramping up efforts against India. It’s getting its hands on all sorts of terrorism apologists, useful idiots, and genocide deniers obsessed with religion.

Of course I could point out Pakistan is reviled as the home of terrorism by the UN, the UK and the US. That the ‘Khalistanis’ don’t dare claim Punjab in Pakistan.

But that’s too obvious. I could point out India is a liberal democracy, and Pakistan a theocracy. But the blind cannot see.

They have lost. The UN, US, UK says they have. The people in power who make the decisions know the ‘true colours’ and the colour is green – the colour of envy. When you’re winning, the best thing is to let the other side spend their time, energy and effort flailing around.

They are not waving, they are drowning.

They want you to engage. A barking dog enjoys company. They will drag you into the mire. I far prefer the British way and I suggest you adopt it. Speak softly, politely, with utter grace, and in perfect Queen’s English, point out they are mis-guided and bid them farewell.

Dignity. Decorum. They can’t match it.

Class, style, they cannot buy it. Remember on Indian Independence Day 2019? The British Indians dressed well, polite, singing, happy, dancing, men, women, children. And the mob opposite, hurling shoes, mostly men, shouting obscenities, arrested, vandals, angry, mad, deviants.

The images of that day when my inlaws were attacked speaks of the miles apart India and Pakistan have become. It is time for Indians to move on. Let MI6, CIA finish the job on Pakistan’s ISI – which incidentally are not a good as they think they are. A more cocky Pakistani front-men (and it is men) new breed are getting sloppy in their determination to produce results for their masters. Whilst training from China is one thing, the Chinese are being blocked too behind every scene.

The game’s up. And we ain’t playing in Britain – well, not overtly old bean.

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Jailed for life after murder of fiancée A 24-year-old man who knifed his fiancée to death in revenge for cancelling their wedding has been jailed for life.

JigukumarSorthihas been convicted by a Leicester Crown Court jury to a serve a minimum term of 28 years for murdering Bhavini Pravin. Sorthicarried out the "honour killing" because he felt his family's reputation had been tarnished after Pravin’s rejection.

Judge Timothy Spencer QC said, "This was a horrific, brutal and merciless killing.You took the life of a beautiful, talented young woman, just 21 years of age. For what, JigukumarSorthi, for what?You heap upon yourself shame vastly greater than anything you've sought to avenge -

and visited upon the family enormous suffering.You've shown no remorse at all, or throughout the whole of this trial."

According to the Judge, the only decent thing that Sorthi did on the day of the killing was to hand himself in to the police two hours later.

SorthiandBhavini were tied in a civil ceremony, in India in 2017, after which he followed her to England on a spousal visa in August 2018.18 months later, the couple grew apart, living in separate addresses. On the day before Bhavini's murder, her parents rang Sorthi's mother in India to call off the religious Hindu wedding. Sorthi was however, affected by the level of his mother's distress - and feared his family's rep-

in "an alien environutation was affected. ment" difficult.

The court heard He added: "The that "planning and defendant worked preparation" played a long hours (in a part and that Sorthi Leicester clothing drank some beer factory) and was beforehand to generally viewed as a "embolden himself," quiet and respectful although he was not young man who did intoxicated at the Jigukumar Sorthi not cause trouble." time.When he gave Image courtesy: In India, he left himself up to the Leicester Police, Twitter school at 11 and led a police he claimed his "simple life" as a fisherman. On life had been "ruined" and the flipside, Bhavini, completed a "messed up" by Bhavini.The judge college education and aspired to also acknowledged that Sorthi, have a nursing career.Sorthi, of who had no previous convictions, East Park Road, North Evington, was suffering from some form of denied murder, claiming he went a mental disorder. This lowered to the Pravin's flat to ask Bhavini's his degree of culpability, due to parents why they had called off his borderline IQ of 79 - and the wedding. found the task of adjusting to life

Councillor Jas Athwal cleared off suspension charges A Redbridge Council leader has beencleared off “extremely serious allegations” and has rejoined the Labour Party on Wednesday, 16th September and has called for a “thorough investigation” into the case.

In October 2019, Jas Athwal was suspended from the Labour Party following complaints made by a Party member against him. It was reported that complaints may have been registered against Athwal for sexual harassment.

Married with four children, Athwal said he and his family “have been through hell as this case has been dragged out” and that “I am in no doubt that this malicious complaint was deliberately manipulated for no other reason than to exclude me from

the [parliamentary] selection”.

Athwal had previously hoped to be selected and nominated as a Labour candidate for Ilford South in the General Elections of 2019. But, had been suspended from the party. Supporters of the councillor had alleged that the timing of the suspension was designed to wreck Athwal’s hopes of becoming an MP claiming that it was a “political stitch up”for his chief rival, Jeremy Corbyn loyalist Sam Tarry. When the furore over Athwal’s suspension broke, the complainant deleted his Twitter account.

At the time of the suspension an unnamed Labour source told Labour List that “anyone claiming this is a stitch-up is dismissing extremely serious allegations

against this individual”. It was reportedly claimed that the timing of the suspension, which came months after the complaint was submitted, was entirely coincidental.

Now, Athwalhas called on the Labour Party to “undertake a thorough investigation into the handling of my case by party officers and members of the National Executive Committee and introduce a complaints system that is independent and free from political manipulation and corruption to give genuine victims the confidence to know that they can come forward. Those responsible, some of whom have left the employment of the Labour Party and some of whom continue to hold positions of

Jas Athwal

influence within the Labour Party, must be held to account.

There must never be a repeat of this kind of corruption. I have every confidence that Keir Starmer’s leadership will restore principles of fairness, decency and justice to the Labour Party.”

Conservative Harrow councillor allegedly said “I do not like Muslims” On Friday, 20th September, it was reported that a Conservative councillor in Harrow had allegedly harassed and discriminated an engineer who helped to develop an electric car for Dyson, telling her, “I do not like Muslims.”

39-year-old Zeinab Alipourbabaie, was a senior electronic engineer at Dyson and has won claims for religious discrimination and constructive unfair dismissal. She had resigned in 2018 from the company’s base in Wiltshire after months of harassment and discrimination by Kamaljit Chana. The tribunal ruled that Chanahad criticised her unfairly to the company vice-president and advised against promoting her, despite her line manager recommending the same on three occasions. The court said her resignation amounted to constructive unfair dismissal.After an

tial grievance interinternal investigation view, saying he could found Chana had not remember.In harassed and bullied February 2017, her, he was given a according to the final written warning Bristol employment but kept his job. The tribunal Chana had judgment read, also said, “Muslims “He asked if she are violent” and was a Muslim and she “Pakistani men are replied that she came grooming our girls.” from a Muslim family Alipourbabaie, ... he said ‘that he did said, “It had a huge not like Muslims...Mr Kamaljit Channa impact on my life. I Chana talked about couldn’t sleep. It was like getting 9/11 and said his family did not hit by a car or having an accident. take flights any more because they Something I had no control over were scared ... He went on to say but hit me hard.”

Pakistani men are grooming our She had just eight weeks to girls.” find another job before she would Chana denied making the have been forced to leave the comments, but the tribunal ruled country as her visa depended on unanimously that Alipourbabaie’s her job with Dyson. Her visa version was “compelling and perissues further complicated matsuasive”. It noted that Chana did ters in introducing a court case not deny the allegations in his ini-

considering her immigrant status and having no support network in the UK. Dyson’s promotion system was found not to be discriminatory but the tribunal said it “lacks transparency” with “no formal system for assessing” employees.

Chana told the hearing: “I had never met someone from Iran before, so I commented that that was interesting and Iran seemed to be in the news a lot.” Last week he added: “My comments were not about whole community groups. This would be entirely unjust.” He said an appeal “is being considered”.

Dyson had reportedly disciplined Chana for bullying, but had felt unable to rule on comments in a one-to-one conversation a year earlier. The Conservative Party said it would investigate if it received a complaint.

Brent Council proposes better Covid-19 engagement with BAME communities On Tuesday 15th September, a senior health official at Brent Council acknowledged that they had failed to “effectively engage” with members of the black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr Melanie Smith, director

of public health at Brent Council, in her address to the community and wellbeing scrutiny committee said that this would be a key area for the council to address going forward and especially in light of an imminent second wave.

She said, “Initial messaging

on how people can keep themselves and their families safe was not culturally competent.

In the early stages of the pandemic, we didn’t engage effectively with all of our communities and we will look to improve the competence of our health messages.”

Dr Madhukar Patel, chairman of Brent Clinical Commissioning Group, said the shielding list, which identifies who is most at risk of complications from Covid-19, has been updated based on ethnicity to “protect as many people as possible”.

in brief in brief HOME OFFICE ANNOUNCES DEPORTATION OF THOUSANDS OF ASYLUM SEEKERS On Saturday 19th September, UK Home Office announced that thousands of asylum seekers currently accommodated in hotels can be removed from the country.

According to The Independent,a letter from the Home Office states that evictions of refused asylum seekers will take place “with immediate effect”. Charities have already reported an increase in people being held at immigration detention centres. Reports suggest that asylum seekers whose cases have been refused and who do not have an outstanding appeal will receive notices to leave the UK within the next 21 days. Some refused asylum seekers are in hotels funded by the Home Office whereas others are temporarily at hotel accommodations paid for by local authorities. It is not known if the latter group will be targeted for removal.

In the letter to charities last Tuesday, the director general of UK Visas and Immigration said asylum seekers with negative decisions would be served eviction notices “with immediate effect” in England. Consultation will take place with officials in the devolved administrations before evictions.

SAJID JAVID RAISES £13K BY RUNNING FOR HOSPICE Former Chancellor for ex-chequer has raised over £13,000 for a Primrose hospice in a charity run. Sajid Javid participated in socially distanced Kew Garden 10k which had put special measures in place to keep runners safe.Primrose provides free care and support for people with life-limiting conditions, their families and bereaved adults and children living in north east Worcestershire.

Javid said, “I am delighted to have raised funds for the Primrose Hospice. Their work to support those with a life-limiting illness is so important and it is an honour to serve as their Patron.My aim was to raise £10,000 for the 10k run and I am so pleased that the total amount has gone well above that target.Thank you to everyone who supported me and the Primrose Hospice."

TAN DHESI WANTS EXTENSION OF FURLOUGH FOR AVIATION STAFF Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, MP for Slough has demanded that the government must protect aviation workers “before we lose those jobs for good”.

In his address to the Parliament, Dhesi urged the government to extend the furlough scheme – which is due to end in October for aviation workers. He said, “Given the importance of the aviation sector and that it’s being particularly hard hit, the likes of myself have been calling for an extension of the furlough scheme and a sector specific deal. However, due to government inaction and procrastination, thousands of individuals within my Slough constituency are now being made redundant, or on the verge of being made redundant.”

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WE ARE NOT READY DESPITE WARNINGS ing site instead. She said, testing kits were available for frontline doc“They blame us for not foltors. Prime Minister has assured that there “I cannot stress enough how important it is lowing lockdown rules is “a lot of work” done to protect the BAME that only those with symptoms book tests. even though we are at colleagues this time around.

The service is there for those experiencing a Changing rules home. They make false high temperature, new continuous cough or allegations that we celeIn the meantime, the new rules are likeloss or change in sense of taste or smell. If brated Ramadan which is ly to serve as a setback for the already strugyou don’t have symptoms but think or have why there was a spike in gling hospitality industry. From Thursday, been told by NHS Test and Trace that you the coronavirus cases. But all pubs, bars and restaurants must offer have been in contact with someone with the what about when Gavin table service only and close at 10 pm with virus, please stay at home but do not book a Williamson says that our staff expected to wear face masks. This test. We need everyone to help make sure children should not be includes everyone working in retail, taxis that tests are there for people with symptested even if their friends and using hospitality services. Those not toms who need them.” contracted Covid-19. My wearing a mask will be fined with £200 in But South Asian Labour MPs especially son has been coughing their first offence. Covid-19 secure guidein the North of England have hit out at since the last four days and lines will become a legal obligation for Johnson and Dido Harding for the chaos I have finally managed to retail, leisure and tourism firms, with those around these testing centres. These include secure a home test kit. But who do not comply running the risk of fines Navendu Mishra, Lisa Nandy and Preet Kaur now I am more worried of £10,000 or closure. Only 15 people can Gill who have raised concerns of their “older about sending my child now attend weddings, but 30 can still go to constituents” required to travel hundreds of back to school.” a funeral. The "rule of six" has been extendmiles to the dedicated testing centre amid It is the same mistake all ed to indoor sports teams, such as five-ashortage of testing kits. The Department of over again side football games. And the phased reopenHealth assured the minister that a testing ing of stadiums for sporting events from 1 Gavin Williamson’s centre would be operational at University of October has been scrapped. announcement that it is Greenwich. But he is concerned that most of In the meantime, the Mayor of London not necessary for children his “older local constituents” will not drive to be tested even if one is expected to meet the Prime Minister to 240 miles simply to get themselves tested. child in the classroom condiscuss “the measure we need in London to Infection rate in Stockport, Greater tracts Covid-19 has protect our city” and would update resiManchester is double that of national averalarmed not just parents dents “on the next steps as soon as I age. Earlier in the week, Lisa Nandy MP for but even teachers. Many can”. Sadiq Khan has reportedly suggested Wigan had raised similar concerns that teachers have also reported 15 measures to curb the outbreak in there was no testing centre available in her been the most exhausting experience and London. about schools being forced to close because area. after sleepless nights and endless hours Speaking about renewed curfews and of insufficient testing kits warning of school Leader of the Liberal Democrats Sir Ed online we could book a home test kit the “lockdown by default” if children are a no restrictions, he said, “I know that many Davey said, "The Coronavirus crisis is taking fourth day. show. Dr. Meenal Viz, has been chalLondoners, like me, will be deeply frusan enormous toll on people. People “Ironically by the time we will lenging the government for the trated at the likelihood of imminent are rightly concerned about their get the results we would be at shortage of PPE that was evinew restrictions. Londoners have loved ones. Thousands of famithe end of the isolation period! dent during the first wave of shown incredible resolve by lies are facing financial hardWhile we understand the coronavirus. steadfastly following the rules ship. We all want life to get schools need to follow the Commenting about the and doing the right thing - at back to normal as soon as guidelines for the safety of Government’s reckless great cost. However, taking possible. their pupils and staff, it is message that “our kids can firm action now to prevent a "The collapse of the Test baffling why the system record a mild illness but we deeper and longer lockdown and Trace system is utterly failed to ensure a test for stushould not worry about it”, in the future is without a inexcusable, and the first dents with symptoms? It she said, “The Government doubt the best thing to both objective of the Government should have been made a priorisave lives, and protect jobs and was aware about a potential secmust be to fix it. Ministers should Lisa Nandy Sadiq Khan ty. Being unable to return to classour economic recovery.” ond Covid-19 wave. These are have done more to ensure rooms due to a testing Lack of transparent evidence and the same kind of misresilience in the system given the inevitable shortage is unacceptable and we economic support takes as were during the first increase in demand when people returned can’t help but wonder why the wave. We know that the Reacting to increased Covid-19 restricto schools, workplaces, universities and schools were opened without Government did not use the tions, Richard Burge, London Chamber of social settings. any forethought. Our chilsupply of Personal and Commerce and Industry Chief Executive "As the situation changes there must be dren have already lost out on Protective Equipment (PPE) criticised the lack of transparent evidence crystal clear guidance so that people know a lot this year and with winthat was already available in behind government decision-making and the best ways to protect themselves and ter round the corner, I hope the UK during the first wave. called for the Government to make it clear their loved ones. Ministers must also ensure effective measures are taken We had received countless what the next phase of economic support that our hospitals, care homes and schools so no further pressure is put emails from managers informnow is, and fix the Test and Trace “mess”. have all the equipment and resources they on pupils and their families.” ing us that they had sufficient He said, “Because we have been presented need to reduce the risk of transmission Another parent from Artrayee banerjee PPE for all health workers. But at with no specific evidence regarding going forward. "Lastly, Boris Johnson must Edgsbaston in Birmingham was the same time Health Secretary this risk, as many London businesses take all steps to avoid a second national enraged after being directed to an “empty” was ordering low-quality PPE from Burma remain unclear as to why their Covid-19 lockdown which will be incredibly damaging car park where they were earlier assured was and Turkey. Now, this message that it is okay Secure workplace is now considered to be to jobs and livelihoods across our communia government designated testing centre. if our children record a mild illness but they less safe. Or why allowing flexible commutties."

Nafisa Khan* (name changed upon request) will recover soon is extremely disappointing ing on a network that currently has space is Parents rendered helpless with children was worried about her son’s cough and to say the least.” an increased risk. returning from schools with coughing He told Asian Voice, "Many businesses episode will feel their economic recovery continues A new dedicated helpline has been set up to require a certain safe percentage of their for nurseries, schools and colleges to seek staff in the office on any given day. Equally advice if they have a confirmed positive many hospitality businesses will remain coronavirus case in their setting. The unclear what difference a 10pm closure helpline is meant to inform educational setmakes, other than being detrimental to tings of what action is needed in response to their business. a confirmed case from the latest public “Of course, public health must come health advice and work through a risk first, but we need to be driven by published assessment. Where necessary, complex cases and explained evidence, not fear or untarwill be escalated to health protection teams geted measures. And we also need to keep to provide further support. Usually, full cloin mind the balance of trying to manage one sure is not be necessary, but some individuhealth crisis but causing another via ecoals may need to self-isolate if they have had nomic ruin. close contact with the confirmed case.

“So, if the government is saying these But, parents like Atrayee economic restrictions could last six months, Bandyopadhyay, who lives in Kent, are “bafthen they need to be prepared to support fled” and rendered helpless in how to get businesses suffering the consequences durtheir children tested when they return from ing that time period. We need to see details school with coughing episodes. She said, “A Dr. Meenal Viz of what the next economic support package considerable number of children have flu now is. “And business also rightly expects symptoms after their first week back in decided to book an appointment with the the Government to rectify the Test and Earlier, last week concerns were also school. My child being no exception to this Test and trace centre. But when she drove Trace mess. We don’t need a world beating raised by South Asian medics if appropriate was sent home after coughing episodes and up to the centre, she found an empty parksystem, we simply need one that works.” risk assessments were done and adequate asked to get a test. Trying to book a test has Continued from page - 1

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Hindus feel they are “unfairly treated” at Durham University On Monday 21st September some Hindus echoed their concerns at what they referred to as “unfair treatment” at the Durham University (DU).

Members of the Hindu diaspora have highlighted concern their concerns that there was no Hindu chaplain and no dedicated Hindu prayer room at the “multi-cultural, multi-faith” public research university. Meanwhile, the university has said that it “has a substantial number of Hindu students and staff”. On the contrary; the University has about six Anglican, four other Christian (Roman Catholic, Baptist, Friends International, Orthodox), and one each of Jewish, Muslim, Humanist chaplains.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, President of Universal Society of Hinduism, notes, “The University also houses two “dedicated Islamic Prayer Rooms”, a “dedicated kosher kitchen”, a “magnificent” Cathedral and eight chapels (including two in one of its colleges) with “regular Sunday services”. It is “able to offer” Halal food and its colleges often hold special celebrations such as carol services.

“A public and taxpayer funded “one of the world’s leading Universities” like Durham, which claimed to be “committed to providing opportunities for its students to explore and follow their religious beliefs”, should not be in the business of discriminating among various religions and belit-

tling entire communities.”

Hinduism was oldest and third largest religion of the world with about 1.1 billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought.

Now, Rajan has urged DU Chancellor Sir Thomas Allen, Vice-Chancellor Stuart Corbridge and University Council Chair Joe Docherty to put an end to this disparity by having a Hindu chaplain, strengthening Hinduism studies and establishing a permanent and designated Hindu prayer-meditation hall (with attached kitchen) for rituals, quiet reflection, festivals and spiritual exercise; which would help in the personal growth of its Hindu students and staff.

Rajan Zed suggested that the Hindu Prayer Room preferably should have an

altar containing murtis (statues) of popular Hindu deities like Shiva, Vishnu, Rama, Krishna, Durga, Venkateshwara, Ganesha, Murugan, Saraswati, Hanuman, Lakshmi, Kali, etc.; besides being equipped with ghanta (big metallic bell hanging from the ceiling), dholak (two-headed hand-drum), Shiva-linga, etc.

Zed indicated that Hindu Prayer Room and Chaplain would be a step in the positive direction as it was important to meet the spiritual needs of Hindu students and staff.

Founded in 1832 DU ranks sixth in the United Kingdom and claims that its “research spans the world and beyond”. It has 26 schools and 18,707 students and offers many research degrees.

Controversy erupts over Dalrymple’s comments about Museum for Colonialism An eminent historian in his address at the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) has insisted that the UK should set up a “museum of colonialism” where children can learn about “the really terrible things that happened in our past”.

But William Darlrymple’s statements have created quite a frenzy on social media especially when the Museum for Colonialism responded to his statement, re-instating their presence.The website of Museum for Colonialism does not state where it is located but it does mention that it was established in January 2018, by a group of women in Kenya and the UK. It states, “Our mission is to restore and make visible suppressed, destroyed or

under-represented histories relating to British Colonialism. Two years on, we have evolved into a mixed-race, mixed-nationality and (very!) mixed-profession working to realise our mission in the UK, Kenya and beyond.”

William Dalrymple was participating in a debate about the justification of the presence of statues across commonplaces in the UK of former imperial “heroes”. These colonisers would now often be seen as “war criminals” and historians have now been in argument about whether these statues should be in museums. Addressing the debate, Dalrymple said, “I certainly wouldn’t want to see most of the nation’s statues

torn down. When we go to Germany, we do not expect to see Hitler or any of the Nazi war criminals or SS officers standing on plinths, and in the same way we have to weed out war criminals from our country.

“It’s not a matter of being woke or a matter of being fashionable or trendy but it’s being realistic about some of the really terrible things that happened in our past and teaching them to our children. If we put them in a museum of colonialism, this is an opportunity to teach, because we can set up a museum, which will do what at the moment what the curriculum fails to do.”

The debate around statues and teachings of colonial history

Lord Loomba supports amendment to Immigration Bill On Tuesday 22nd September, a Labour peer called the UK’s lack of action over a devastating fire at a migrant camp in Greece an “absolute disgrace”. Two weeks agoa fire occurred at the Moria Registration and Identification Centre (RIC), incinerating tents that had been home to 13,000 people, including at least 4,000 children. Now, leaders in the UK including Yvette Cooper have urged the UK to take in some of these refugees.

Only recently, Lord Loomba supported a specific amendment to the Immigration Bill that would also assist displaced people and go some way to fulfilling humanitarian obligations to refugees. He said, “The Amendment will help those fleeing conflict and persecution in their own country to build their lives in the UK. I support the amendment because it has the foresight to do something positive for displaced people at a time in their lives when they often have no one to turn to, and no means of supporting themselves and their family. The amendment would help this country through the skilled workers who wish to make it their home.”

Lord Loomba also queried what preparations have been made regarding the country’s ability to provide enough power from the national grid to support wider usage of electric cars, to ensure that there are no outages of supply. He reminded the House of the problems that ensued when there was an outage of supply in August 2019 that resulted in chaos on the road and rail networks as well as affecting supplies to many homes and businesses.

Lord Loomba also participated during questions on both the levelling-up agenda and entitlement to benefits for people selfisolating due to coronavirus. Focusing his remarks on the campaign to get better resources to the red wall seats in the North,

Lord Loomba

Lord Loomba asked how does the Government propose to ensure levelling up across the whole of the country, especially with regard to non-reserved matters, such as education and health?

He was also concerned that the new entitlement to benefits when mandated to selfisolate would not cover all situations that people found themselves in. Noting that it appeared to be aimed at geographical areas where Covid-19 was prevalent he wanted to know what people would do if they were mandated to self-isolate after travelling from a specific country or working in a specific workplace? In these circumstances; he asked, how will such people be covered by any benefits so that the choice is not between feeding themselves or health protection for anyone affected?

On the quality of aid-spending in the UK which is monitored by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) he said, “I am concerned that with the forthcoming review of its remit, and in the light of reports that the aid budget will be reduced, how will the commission ensure its independence and maintain its primary purpose?

has been re-ignited in light of the Black Lives Matter protests and the toppling of the statue of the slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol in June. Dalrymple also stressed that the history curriculum for British school children does not provide any depth or insight into Britain’s colonial past.

On the contrary it only enlists teachings “from Henry VIII to Wilberforce and the impression they get is that the British Empire was always about liberating slaves and always about anti-racism”.

“The things the British did in India and elsewhere are simply not taught in the syllabus and this is a problem. When the British go out into the world, they don’t know what Indians

know about the Raj or what the Irish know about the potato famine, they don’t know what the Australians know about the mass extinction of the Indigenous Tasmanians, so we need to teach this in our schools and the opportunity of setting up a museum of colonialism with some of these war criminals and other statues seems to me an opportunity we must take.”

Meanwhile, historian Edward Chancellor, showed hisdisagreement. He said, “The current statue-bashing is part of the woke movement with its cancel culture, denunciations, forced confessions, censorship, intolerance and profound anti-intellectualism.”

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TOEIC students write letter to Prime Minister urging for an end to their deportation Priyanka Mehta On Thursday 24th September, over 200 international students who were wrongly accused of cheating on an English test havesigned and delivered a letter to the Prime Minister urging him “to put an end to our detention, deportation and humiliation”.

In 2014, about 34,000 students were wrongly accused of cheating in the Test of English International for Communication (TOEIC). Ever since they have been fighting to prove their innocence, and are now calling on Boris Johnson to take urgent action to end this injustice.Migrant Voice have been campaigning alongside the students for justice since 2017.

Calling on Boris Johnson’s intervention, Director Nazek Ramadan said,“These students have been living a nightmare for six years. Stripped of their rights and their futures destroyed, many are destitute and suffering severe mental health problems.

There is a mountain of evidence that proves they are victims of a mammoth injustice – and the Government can ignore this no longer.

“We urge the Prime Minister: Listen to the students, look at the evidence and take the action needed to put this right.”

Stephen Timms to join students for protests outside Parliament Square These students are stripped off their basic rights including the right to work in the UK, have virtually no financial assistance.

They have been, particularly vulnerable during the coronavirus pandemic as they remain primarily unlisted in the NHS.

making a direct appeal to the Prime Minister.

The letter to Johnson reads, “The Home Office has stolen our futures, branding us frauds and forcing us to bear a lifeBoris Johnson long mark of shame.

Many of us are destitute, barely able to survive or care for our families, having spent everything we own trying to clear our names. Many of us are suffering from severe stress and depression.

Some of us have even Nazek Ramadan International students protesting in 2018 attempted to take our Committee in its report last Additionally, their fight to clear own lives because we see no week. Reports by the National their name off the cheating scanother way out.

Audit Office, Public Accounts dal has accosted them with “The coronavirus pandemic Committee and APPG on financial loans of thousands of has made our situation even TOEIC last year exposed funpounds to front their appeals in worse. Our support networks damental flaws in the evidence court. The students’ letter will be have collapsed, the charities we used by the Home Office delivered by post, but – subject rely on have been closed, our against the students and to Covid-19 restrictions – a small friends and families are unable proved that the decision to number of the affected students to help as they are struggling revoke or refuse tens of thouwill be demonstrating in themselves. We are terrified of sands of visas was wholly Parliament Square and will be catching the virus and being hosunjustified. joined by Stephen Timms MP, a pitalised, or dying with a black Terrified of catching virus and longstanding advocate for justice mark still against our names. suffering depression students for these students.

This is not the future we wanted request for independent review These protests emerge after or worked for. of cases Home Office secretary Mathew “Allow us to prove our innoFormer Home Secretary Rycroft “agreed”last week that cence by establishing a free and Sajid Javid recognised the scale there were “some parallels” transparent scheme - indepenof this injustice and on his first between the Windrush scandal dent of the Home Office day in office, Prime Minister and the TOEIC test scandal. through which we can get our Boris Johnson promised to While he acknowledged that cases to be reviewed and clear address this issue. But students the Home Office lacked our names.We came to the UK have seen no progress. On the “vigour” in allowing these stufor a world-class education and contrary, Home Secretary Priti dents to clear their reputation, to pursue our dreams, but that Patel has scrapped a scheme prothe Home Office also refused a has been cruelly taken from us. posed by Javid that could have review of their cases.

We’re asking you, as the Prime provided a route for students to This injustice was the result Minister, to show leadership and clear their name, and failing to of the same tendency to act allow us the chance to start propose any other solution. based on “anecdote, assumprebuilding our lives as we come tion and prejudice” as identiFrustrated by the delays and out of this pandemic. Let this be fied by the Public Accounts silence, the students are now a fresh start for us all.”

Priti Patel joins police forces in raids on county lines drug operators On Wednesday 16th September, Home Secretary, joined police forces in “dramatic daw raids” from London to West Sussex as she warned criminals who organise and run county lines drugs operations that "We're coming after you".

More than 2,600 drug cartel operators werereportedly arrested since the government made an additional £25m available to tackle drug operations running across small cities and towns

across the country.

Speaking to Sky News, Priti Patel said, "I said a year ago, this would be a priority for us. I've put money into this, deliberately targeted cash and resources for policing, to go after the head of the snake when it comes to these county lines operations.

"Arrests like this are now happening every single day.

We're going after the kingpins, their money, the phones, the weaponry and obviously that

Priti Patel

should culminate in a reduction of serious high harm crime."

The additional government money has allowed three major forces includingMerseyside, West Midlands and the Metropolitan Police to work with county forces, whose areas are being targeted by drug supply lines from urban areas.A man arrested in this latest policing operation has now been taken to Sussex for questioning over allegations he was involved in running a drug line from South London to West Sussex.

No plans to allow gender identification for trans people Downing Street has dismissed all plans of allowing people to officially change their gender without a medical diagnosis.

The government is now instead reducing the cost of applying for a gender recognition certificate as part of a move to revamp the process. The government will slash the £140 cost of applying for a gender recognition certificate to aw “nominal amount” in England and Wales, as well as placing the whole procedure online as

part of changes to make the process “kinder and more straightforward”.

In a written ministerial statement women and equalities minister, Liz Truss, said the act struck the correct balance, “in that there are proper checks and balances in the system and also support for people who want to change their legal sex”.

In an attempt to combat lengthy NHS waiting lists for transgender people, Truss also stated that the government was

opening three new gender clinics this year. Truss said she was “deeply concerned at the distress” the long waiting lists could cause and the move should result in them being cut by about 1,600 patients by 2022.

She said, “We have also come to understand that gender recognition reform, though supported in the consultation undertaken by the last government, is not the top priority for transgender people. Perhaps

their most important concern is the state of trans healthcare.

Trans people tell us that waiting lists at NHS gender clinics are too long. I agree, and I am deeply concerned at the distress it can cause.”

Proposals were developed under Theresa May’s government to allow people to “selfidentify” as their chosen gender – by signing a statutory declaration without having to provide evidence of a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria.

in brief in brief MAN CHARGED FOR ASSAULTING CHILDREN AND CIRCUMCISIONS A 54-year-old man in Birmingham has been charged with assaulting children while performing circumcisions.Mohammad Siddiqui faces 34 charges, including illtreatment, neglect, causing unnecessary suffering or injury, and actual bodily harm.Siddiqui had been arrested as part of a “large investigation” based on alleged offences related to conducting circumcisions at private residences between 2015 and 2018.

His operations reportedly involved boys in Birmingham, Walsall, Coventry, West Bromwich, Worcester, Reading, Banbury, Oxford, Southampton, Portsmouth, London, East Grinstead, Christchurch, and Swindon.

In 2018, the Hampshire Constabulary had launched a probe into allegations against Siddiqui and according to the force, Siddiqui had been arrested in July the same year on “suspicion of grievous bodily harm” or GBH. He had worked as a clinical fellow (paediatric surgery) at the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust between June 2012 and November 2013.He reportedly operated a mobile children’s circumcision service outside the NHS at that time and carried out circumcisions at private residences.

Subsequent investigations led to his arrest and legal proceedings. Siddiqui, who was released on bail, will appear at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court on November 6.

PETITION URGING SCOTLAND STATE SCHOOL TO BE RENAMED AFTER MALALA AFTER FINDING LINKS TO SLAVE TRADER Hundreds of people have signed a petition urginga state schoolin Scotland to be renamed after Malala Yousafzai.James Gillespie’s High School, in Edinburgh, has been urged to stop using the name of its founding benefactor, a tobacco merchant whom it condemns as a “direct contributor” to the slave trade.

The petition calls for the name to be changed in order to reflect “the diversity that exists within our school”, stating, “This is not an attempt to cover up our history, rather a way of saying that we don’t believe that this man is someone who should be celebrated anymore.” Itcites the 23-year-old Nobel Prize laureate Malala, whose name adorns the school’s main building, as an example of a role model who “better represents” its principles.

The school’s website says, “We acknowledge the connections to the North Virginia slaveowning tobacco plantations … We are updating our curriculum to take more account of this history and of the Black Lives Matter movement.”

TEEN CHARGED FOR VANDALISM OF CHURCHILL STATUE An 18-year-old teenager has been charged with criminal damage after the Winston Churchill statue in Parliament Square was marred with “racist” graffiti.

Benjamin Clark from Hertford is expected to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday 9 October.He was arrested after the plinth of the monument was defaced with yellow graffiti including the words "is a racist".

Clark was one of at least 680 people arrested in connection with 10 days of Extinction Rebellion protests in London.Others have been held on suspicion of obstructing the highway and breaching conditions of protest set under the Public Order Act since the actions began on 1 September.

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in brief in brief SIKH DRIVER IN READING ABUSED AND CALLED TALIBAN On September 22nd it was reported that an India-born Sikh taxi driver was subjected to verbal and physical abuse by passengers in Reading.

According to 41-year-old Vaneet Singha group of four men slapped and shoved him, and asked if he was Taliban after he received them from the Grosvenor Casino in Reading, Berkshire. One of the four also tried to remove his turban. One of the four passengers, all described as white, pulled at his turban as he was driving and slapped him on the head, while others kicked and punched the back of the driver’s seat. He says he tried to explain the religious significance of the turban to them and asked them not to touch it.

Speaking to the BBC, he said, “It was horrible, really frightening, I will never work the nightshift again. I’m still very scared. It’s a very bad experience. It’s my religion so I respect my turban,” Thames Valley Police are appealing for witnesses as they investigate the report of an assault. Singh, who worked as a music teacher at a school in Slough, Berkshire, turned to taxi driving after his teaching job was stalled during the coronavirus pandemic.The musicianlives in Tilehurst with his wife and three children.

He recalled the passengers being well behaved at the start of the journey but “totally changed” as it went on. Singh, who is suffering from aches and pains since the incident, is convinced the attack was of a racist nature and believes he was a victim of hate crime. Thames Valley Police are yet to confirm their line of inquiry in the assault case.

UK JOINS GLOBAL COVAX INITIATIVE TO COMBAT COVID-19 In its fight against coronavirus, the UK has now joined the global COVAX initiative. The Friends of the COVAX Facility (FOF) have supported vaccine multilateralism and the goal of ensuring affordable, fair and equitable access to safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines for all.

Commenting on the initiative, Business Secretary Alok Sharma said,“The global effort to find a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine is not a competition, but is among the most urgent shared endeavours of our lifetime – it benefits us all to be better equipped to fight this virus.

“That is why I am delighted to confirm that the United Kingdom will join the global COVAX initiative to expedite the discovery, manufacture and fair distribution of a vaccine to one billion people.

“Today’s landmark agreement complements the various vaccine deals the UK has already made and ensures we have the best chance of accessing a safe and effective vaccine for people in the UK as soon as one becomes available, as well as supporting access in poorer countries.”

The COVAX Facility is about to set a precedent of multilateral cooperation and solidarity and the FOF believes in the importance and impact of this global initiative. They said, “We support the Facility’s goal to deliver two billion doses of safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines by 2021, and welcome that it currently manages the world’s largest and most diverse Covid-19 vaccine portfolio. The FOF is pleased to have participated collaboratively in the Facility’s co-creation. Members of the FOF have expressed their intent to participate in the Facility and some have already submitted legally-binding Commitment Agreements. We will continue supporting Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to operationalise the Facility.

Ethnic minorities still lack protection from Covid-19 On Sunday 20th September, a chief medical officer warned that black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Britons continue to lack protection from Covid-19 despite the reassurances made by the government in the first wave.

A third of coronavirus patients in intensive care are from BAME backgrounds and Chaand Nagpaul, head of British Medical Association has warned that government inaction will be responsible for further disproportionate deaths. Public Health England (PHE) review of BAME Covid-19 deaths in early June, confirmed people of certain ethnicities were at greater risk and Chaand Nagpaul has said no remedial action had been taken by the government.

Speaking to the Guardian, Nagpaul said, “We are continuing to see BAME people suffering disproportionately in terms of intensive care admissions so not acting means

that we’re not protecting our vulnerable communities. Action was needed back in July and it’s certainly needed now more than ever. As the infection rate rises, there’s no reason to believe that the BAME population will not suffer again because no action has been taken to protect them. They are still at higher risk of serious ill health and dying.”

Independent Sage have also published their own recommendations. Dr Zubaida Haque, a member of Independent Sage and a former deputy director of the Runnymede Trust, in a statement to The Guardian said, “A good point to start is to ask the government: ‘What exactly have you done?’ Because we haven’t seen anything that they’ve done.

It does feel like the ball’s been kicked into the long grass with the recommendations because we’ve never seen nor heard anything and we’re on the verge of the second wave.

Have they set up necessary … accommoda-

Dr. Chaand Nagpaul

tion support [for people self-isolating] and have they ensured that the public health messages around social distancing and help for self-isolation is reaching black and ethnic minority people on the ground, including those who may not be fluent [in English]?”

Survey illustrates “shocking” lack of diversity in media newsrooms A recent survey has highlighted a shocking lack of diversity in UK media. According to an analysis of national media output, BBC Newsnight went an entire week without featuring a single live interview with a guest from a minority ethnic background.

A survey by Women in Journalism group has highlighted that all 17 individuals interviewed live on the flagship current affairs programme during one week in mid-July were “white”. This appears in light of the Black Lives Matter protests following the death of George Floyd.The report found that when non-white expert guests were asked to appear on radio and TV news, it

was often to support stories related to race.

More than half of the BAME guest appearances on TV were either directly related to race with topics including colonialism, or during coverage of non-white communities and countries.

The organisation’s researchers watched prominent television news programmes, listened to certain primetime current affairs radio shows and surveyed every print newspaper front page between 13 and 19 July.

They concluded that there was a “shocking” lack of racial diversity and representation of women in journalism.

Female reporters appearing on TV fea-

tured less than half compared to their male counterparts, where out of the 709 reporters that featured in the shows throughout the week only 43 per cent were women.

The group’s other findings included that just one in four front-page newspaper stories were written by women, that 16% of people quoted in front-page news stories were women, and that out of 111 people quoted on national newspaper front pages, only one was a black woman. This was Jen Reid, who appeared on the Guardian’s front page after a statue of her was erected in place of one of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol.

Rise in Grammar Schools A recent investigation has indicated a 25% rise in Grammar school applications in five years highlighting that white British children arein a minority at some of the best schools.

According to The Times, some families apply from more than 100 miles away amid fierce competition for places at the bestschools. An investigation by the paper has found that one school took just four white British pupils from an intake of 104 last year, down from 13 five yearsearlier, while its Indian heritage intake rose from 37 to 55. Heads said that immigrant families, who hadalready moved to Britain, were happier to relocate if their children passed the 11

plus at a school hundreds of miles away.

The Times sent Freedom of Information requests to 50 schools, asking questions about ad mission figuresfor 2014 and 2019.

Applications increased from 19,655 to 24,006 between 2014 and 2019, at the 21schools that provided data for both years.

The Judd School in Ton bridge, Kent, had a 50 per cent increase in applications between 2014 and 2019and two others, The Skinners’ School in Tun bridge Wells and Wat ford Gram mar School for Girls, inHertfordshire, which is part selective, saw their ap plications rise by more than 40 per cent.

Sir Peter Lampl, founder and chairman

of the Sutton Trust, in a statement to The Times said, “For young people taking the 11 plus this autumn, there is a greater dan ger than ever that they will not bedoing so on a level playing field. Some applicants will have at tended prep schools with significant accessto online learning, while others have received very little. Many pupils from well-off back grounds willhave also had private tutoring.

“We want to see disadvantaged pupils meeting the high pass mark set by grammars admitted automatically and greater outreach by gram mar schools to less well-off primary schools in their local area.”

Diary of MP’s wife embarrasses former Prime Minister David Cameron Former Prime Minister David Cameron revealed that he was embarrassed by the diaries of a Tory MP’s wife which provide a vivid account of his personal feuds, drinking and sex jokes, admitting, “It’s kind of embarrassing.”

Cameron insisted that he could not recall an incident described by Sasha Swire, wife of former MP Sir Hugo Swire, in which he allegedly joked that her perfume made him wantto push her “into the bushes and give you one”.

In an interview with Times Radio, he held his head in his hands as he said thatthe betrayal by long standing friends was not what you wanted “splashed all over the place”.Lady Swire’s memoir,has shocked the Cameron clique, describing “Dave”, his wife, Samantha, and colleagues including George Osborne, Michael Gove and Boris John son in private moments.

The Secret Diary of an MP’s Wife recounts several holidays and dinners, as well as the night after Cameron resigned as

prime minister following the EU referendum in June 2016.

He said, “It is kind of embarrassing when you have things you say in private and do in private, sort of splashed all over the place, andof course David Cameron you’d rather that didn’t happen.I suppose the truth is that if you want respect for your privacy and people not questioning your character and private life and all the rest of it, then politics probably isn’t the career for you. So I think you’vegot to take the rough with the smooth.”

10 READERS' VOICE

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26 Sep - 2 Oct 2020

KHICHADI Kapil’s

Noble Peace Prize for President Trump!

Legacy of colonialism Amidst the overflow of news surrounding the ongoing corona pandemic, there are some other happenings in the world that go unnoticed. One such development is Barbados, a Caribbean country, after 54 years of independence from the British Rule, has decided to get rid of Queen Elizabeth II as Head of the State and become a Republic next year.

Queen Elizabeth II has been on throne for 68 years now and commands tremendous admiration and honour from the people of the UK. She continues to be the Head of State of not only the UK but several other countries including Canada, Australia, New Zealand etc. Though in the past also, a few countries have taken this step of removal, such as Guyana in 1970 and Trinidad & Tobago in 1976. The last country to have done this was Mauritius in 1992 but thereafter this has not happened.

'Black Lives Matter' movement has globally ignited the fire surrounding issues of racial discrimination.

Likewise, this astonishing step by Barbados can inspire several Caribbean and other countries to follow in their footsteps so as to come out of the legacy of colonialism.

Bharat Shah By email

Why penalise wrong people?

This curfew on restaurants, pubs and hospitality venues is a bad idea. The first thing about it is that virus does not come out at night. I have been to many restaurants across London and most are playing by the rules. They are following the guidance, have spent thousands to set up alternative systems to enable safe dining. Roads have been blocked by councils to convert to outdoor eating spaces, people serving are wearing masks. Of course, there are fools who break the rules every time. But with shutting restaurants at 10pm, these parties will just move indoors.

The hospitality industry has become a scapegoat for every failure of this Government. How difficult is to prepare ahead? They were aware all along that a second wave would come eventually, and they kept telling us that. But as the popular saying goes, they never practice what they preach!

The utter panic now, penalising of those who aren’t responsible needs to stop here. We are a shaky economy and now on the verge of collapse. And then there are scams where NHS test and Trace is passed on to private companies to handle, when our national health service needs money, job and people. I am really disappointed at the way this government is handling everything, including by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is holidaying in Italy with Russian tycoons when his country needs him the most.

Kedar Nag London

New leadership It is good to see Keir Starmer changing the Labour party ideology. After a long time, Mr Starmer beats Boris Johnson as best for prime minster at a recent YouGov poll.

The Tories still have 40% of support from those polled.

But with the misery the government’s wrong decisions are putting people through, it is only a matter of time that British Indians will perhaps start seeing the importance of having a functional Opposition.

In an online broadcast, Starmer set out his vision for the UK and urged voters to "take another look at Labour", adding: "We are under new leadership."

And he assured voters who deserted the party: "We love this country as you do." Labour party under Jeremy Cornbyn had turned anti-Hindu and anti-India. Starmer, who your newspaper said is eager to go to India and meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will hopefully woo back the lost voters from the diaspora.

Anita Sahoo Herts

Many people, especially self-appointed puritan Pundits are surprised, even furious at the nomination of President Donald Trump, by a Right-wing Norwegian politician for the prestigious award of Noble Peace Prize (NPP) for his Foreign Policy triumph!

President Obama was awarded this honour as soon as he was elected President, even before he settled down in “White House.” No wonder he was the first to comment that it was too soon to be honoured in such a grand manner. Perhaps he may deserve such an honour at the end of his second term, if he is re-elected second time round, was his comment!

Although President Trump lacks diplomacy, political experience and shoots first; asks questions later, he had some stunning success on Foreign Policy. He single-handed turned Western educated North Korean President Kim, from foe to friend, reducing tension between North and South Korea and no joint naval exercise in South China Sea. Although President Trump failed to sign peace treaty and turn Korean peninsula into “Nuclear Free Zone” mainly due to West’s insistence that North Korea give up nuclear weapons and stop testing ICBM before West could lift trade embargo, a one-sided sacrifice no self-respecting politician could agree to.

President Trump somehow managed to bring together Israel, UAE and Bahrain, recognizing and establishing embassies in each other’s nation, even Saudi Arabia giving permission for Israeli civil flights to fly over their air space, thus connecting these nations by air. No one should be surprised if more Arab nations follow suit, thus reducing tension in the Middle East. However, this is the year for front-line Health Workers, doctors, nurses, auxiliary staffs, ambulance crew and care assistants who put their lives at risk, day in, day out, to serve us, look after us in our hour of need. It would be a fitting end, a justified reward, appreciation to say “Thank You” to these dedicated professionals with Noble Peace Prize!

Bhupendra M. Gandhi By email

Use your time wisely It is shocking but not surprising to read the comments made by the writer Chetan Bhagat “India’s youth is flying ‘high’ as GDP hits an all-time low” in AV dated 19-25 Sept 2020. The youth of India is not taking the crises seriously and not trying convert them into opportunities.

Chetan Bhagat has rightly pointed out, not with pleasure but with pain, that the youth is wasting time in watching silly videos and fighting with people on social media all day. I think time is one of the resources which can never be regained. Once it has gone, it is lost forever. Lost money can be earned by hard work but not time.

The youth can use their time wisely during lockdown to augment their skills in different area, can try some DIYs (Do It Yourself), learn new skills, expand knowledge base, learn some crafts, develop new hobbies, improve general knowledge, prepare for competitive examinations, learn some traditional business skills like carpentry and sewing, actively take parts in social activities (of course, this should be done by following government guidance around Covid-19 pandemic) or teach somebody useful skills which they have acquired over time.

The government can provide incentives to foreign companies to establish their manufacturing base in India, but the youth should be ready to accept the challenge and prove to the world that India has got required manpower with multiple skills and abilities. There are plenty of online free courses the government of India and other private sector companies have started. Religious and political leaders along with other influential people can make a difference by promoting and convincing the youth to use time wisely to sharpen their existing skills and learn new skills. They should be prepared to bounce back as soon as we come out of this Covid-19 crisis.

Hitesh Hingu London

People’s confidence Belated happy 70th birthday to the great PM Shri Narendra Modi of India. May God bless him with long life and keep him healthy and fit to serve the nation for years to come.Modi Sarkar has stunned Indians and the world at large in taking bold steps such as demonetisation, digitalisation, GST, CAA and abrogation of articles 370 and 35A and so during his term of office. No doubt, intime to come the country will reap enormous benefits in terms of economic growth, stability, security, social justice and transparency.

However, in the interim the economy has suffered badly to the disappointment of some. Understandably, these are owing to factors such as tightening of corruption, heavy investments in infrastructure, amenities, defence, public disruptions through long protests, broader disputes and of course coronavirus pandemic.

Modiji’s leadership is a ray of hope for the dreams and aspirations of billions of Indians for fairer and stronger India in the foreseeable future. Surely, downturn in economy will not shake people's confidence in him.

Niranjan Vasant By email

Follow me on Twitter: @kk_OEG

Anti-Sikh Khalistanis Kapil Dudakia The madness of Khalistan took traction when in June 1984 the Indian Government put into action Operation Blue Star. The aim was to capture the terrorist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. These extremists had taken hold of Harmandir Sahib ji (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar and had stored enough weapons to carry out a mini war. This clash gave the Khalistani terrorists the perfect excuse to launch their counter narrative, one of self-determination and securing an independent state called Khalistan. Since 1984 these terrorist organisations, and its satellites around the world, have focussed on two objectives. The first is based on violence and intimidation, and the second on politics and taking control of Gurdwaras.

So what is the truth about Khalistan? Answer, there is no such thing as Khalistan. The very notion of Sikhs being separate from India would be rejected by the Gurus. For any ‘Sikh’ who acts against India, the very nation that thousands of Sikhs laid their lives for, is to directly dishonour the Gurus and the Guru Granth Sahib. In my view a Khalistani can never be a true Sikh.

As far as the Sikh community is concerned, the vast majority have no interest in Khalistan. This is also true for the majority of the Sikh diaspora dotted around the globe. The Sikh community in India is one of the most progressive and prosperous communities.

It has proudly represented the highest offices of the country that include the presidency and prime minister, army generals, top bureaucrats, technocrats, and state heads.

In recent times a Gurpatwant Singh Pannu has appeared on the scene from America. He wants to become the self-appointed leader for the Khalistanis.

Our own Lord Rami Ranger put it nicely when he said, ‘Mr Pannu’s vision is to go against that of the Sikh Gurus by contradicting their philosophy. Where the Sikh Gurus believed in the oneness of the human race, Mr Pannu believes that the Sikhs are a different race and also have a different DNA to that of the rest of Indians. Sikh Gurus dedicated their lives and paid supreme sacrifices to unite us with the rest of humankind, and here Mr Pannu is trying to divide us by peddling hatred against non-Sikhs of Punjab. Sikh Gurus gave us a faith which is based on interfaith teachings to demonstrate that we are all equal’.

When it comes to terrorism and anti-India forces, you can be assured that somewhere in the mix Pakistan will pop up.

Pakistani ISI sponsors Khalistani leader like Gopal Singh Chawla and leaders of the banned group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) based in Pakistan and the US. Chawla is a well-known Khalistani who often spews venom against India and supports terrorism in Punjab. It is increasingly becoming clear that the Khalistani extremists are working with Islamic extremists and Indian intelligence services believe that they are funded by them as well.

Their aim to garner support of western powers has backfired with all the leading nations rejecting Khalistan. In the UK some ‘Sikhs’ of Khalistani persuasion attempted to get the Government to accept Sikh as a distinct race in the forthcoming census. This was rejected rightly by the Government, however worryingly the Labour Party seems to be supportive of these Khalistani elements.

The Sikh community is in desperate need for a leader who can bring everyone together and honour the teachings of the Gurus. Allowing a small group of extremists any traction today will endanger the whole community in the future. It’s time to expose the extremists and reclaim the faith.

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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12 MEDIA WATCH

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SCRUTATOR’S INS Viraat off to its final journey to Alang India's longest serving warship - INS Viraat – began its last journey from Mumbai to Alang in Bhavnagar, where it will be dismantled. The Indian Navy ship was decommissioned after 30 years of service in 2017. This is the only warship to have served both the UK and Indian Navy. Alangbased Shree Ram Group had won the bid for breaking down the historic ship for £3.85 million. The ship is currently anchored at the Naval dockyard in Mumbai from where it will be towed to Alang. Mukesh Patel, chairman of Shree Ram Group, said, “The warship’s steel is of high-grade quality. It also has bulletproof material and nonferrous steel. This is he first time a warship that has served two nations is coming to Alang.” The customs department, Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) and Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) will complete their procedures and thereafter it will be handed over for dismantling. INS Viraat was originally a British ship and was commissioned in Royal Navy in 1959. India purchased it in 1986. Patel said that several motorcycle manufacturers are in talks with the company for purchasing steel of INS Viraat. In the past also several bike companies had launched limited-edition vehicles with the metal of INS Vikrant and warships of World War II. (The Times of India) Pulwama-type attack averted in J&K Another plot to re-enact a Pulwama-type bombing was averted in south Kashmir's Awantipora when security forces sniffed out two underground explosives dumps containing a large quantity of gelatin sticks and detonators.

Concealed in two 250-litre plastic water tanks, the cache of explosives was found by a team in pursuit of Jaish-eMohammad terrorists suspected to be hiding near the forests of Gadikhal Awantipora in Pulwama district, police said.

One of the tanks contained 416 high-intensity gelatin sticks while the other one hid 50 detonators. A bomb disposal squad defused the explosives at the site after officials decided it would be too risky to transport them elsewhere. Sources said the joint police, CRPF and Rashtriya Rifles team had requisitioned the bomb squad after spotting an area that seemed to have been freshly dug up and then filled. (Agency) Contempt plea against trivial issues Many a times people file contempt petitions against famous people just to gain publicity. The Attorney General KK Venugopal knows about it and is not encouraging such attempts. Recently he has declined to grant permission to initiate contempt proceedings against veteran journalist Rajdeep Sardesai over tweets that were allegedly critical of the Supreme Court in the Prashant Bhushan case. The permission of the AG is necessary to initiate contempt of court proceedings.

Venugopal, in his letter to the petitioner, said statements made

by Sardesai are not of so serious a nature as to undermine the prestige of the Supreme Court or lower its stature in the minds of the public. "Trifling remarks and mere passing criticism though perhaps distasteful are unlikely to tarnish the image of the institution," said the AG. As per a report in 'The Hindu', the plea filed by one Astha Khurana through her lawyer, claimed that statements made by Sardesai are a "deliberate attempt to erode public faith and confidence in the judiciary." (Agency)

40 stuck in Pak due to lockdown back in Gujarat Forty Gujaratis, who had been stranded in Pakistan because of

the Covid-19 lockdown, have returned. A total of 400 Indians stranded in Pakistan arrived back home from the Wagah border, of which 40 are from Gujarat. The Gujaratis, who were stranded in Pakistan because of the pandemic, were visiting for social functions like marriages. With the lockdown coming into force because of the pandemic outbreak, they were not able to return. The Bharatiya Sindhu Samaj, which received requests from those stranded in Pakistan, asking for assistance in ensuring their return, coordinated with various government agencies to ensure they could return to India. The Sindhu Samaj sought the intervention of the state government to ensure that none of those who returned to Gujarat needed to go through institutional quarantine. “Those who were returning were very excited to be back. Thankfully, the government permitted them to go home after conducting Covid-19 tests,” said Anil Khatri, Ahmedabad president of Bharatiya Sindhu Samaj. (The Times of India) Now, a 'pani puri' machine Indians love street food. But the times have changed for the worse. The ensuing pandemic and

the ever-growing number of persons affected by the deadly infection of Covid-19 has pushed Indians (and the world) indoors.

The need of the hour for those who venture out for work or otherwise is to stay covered and maintain distance from one another. This unique situation called for drastic measures to be taken especially by the eateries.

Contactless food deliveries, for one. Recently an IAS officer posted a video sharing the newest jugaad in town - an automatic pani puri (gol gappe) machine that dispenses three varieties of water as per your liking. Named "Touch Me Not Pani Puri", the stall is located in Raipur, Chattisgarh, the officer wrote in his tweet. Needless to say, street food lovers on the Internet were impressed. Back in July, a video did the rounds on social media showed that a man in Banaskantha district of Gujarat had developed an automatic pani puri machine which worked just like an ATM. The viral video also demonstrated how the machine worked. One has to insert money into the machine, just like you did for a vending machine. Once you did, a plate of pani puri would come out on the conveyor belt.

(Agency) Generating oxygen from atmosphere Following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, there is a heightened demand for medical oxygen. And many a times it is in short supply. But an Ahmedabad hospital has shown how to generate oxygen for the patients.

Epic Hospital has installed an oxygen concentrator plant, which generates oxygen from the air. The plant also purifies the oxygen and supplies it to the hospital for use in ICUs. The plant has a capacity to generate the equivalent of 90 oxygen cylinders in 24 hours. This is the only hospital in Ahmedabad to have this type of oxygen separator plant. Dr Anil Jain, a leading cardio-thoracic surgeon and founding partner of the hospital said that the unit has proved to be a blessing for them during this pandemic when hospitals are struggling with medical oxygen supply. (The Times of India)

Dragon fruit to get a new name The red-purple dragon fruit, which has helped Kutch farmers make a killing, may soon get a new name - kamalam (lotus)! The Gujarat forest department has sent a proposal to the Indian Council

of Agriculture Research (ICAR) for change in nomenclature of the dragon fruit to kamalam. Officials and farmers say the shape and appearance of the fruit has a striking resemblance to lotus, which is also the BJP’s party symbol. “Lotus is also held in high esteem among various religions due to its purity in muddy conditions. This name (kamalam) would have the advantage of instant connect with the common farmers and thus it is expected to gain wide acceptance,” states a letter written by Ram Kumar, additional principal chief conservator of forests, social forestry division of the Gujarat government. In his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ on July 26, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made a special mention about the success of dragon fruit cultivation in Kutch.

Apart from Gujarat, this fruit is cultivated in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Orissa, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.

Kutch farmers have already started branding the fruit as ‘kamalam’ in the local markets. (Agency) Gujarat to have top-class ayurveda school Gujarat will soon have a topclass ayurveda school. The Rajya Sabha recently passed the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Bill, 2020, which paves the way for the establishment of a state-of-theart ayurvedic institution, Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda in Jamnagar, and the conferment of the Institution of National Importance status to it. The Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on

March 19. The Jamnagar institute is sought to be established by amalgamating the existing ayurveda institutes on Gujarat Ayurved University campus in Jamnagar, the statement said. This is a cluster of highly reputable institutions. They are Institute for Postgraduate Teaching and Research in Ayurveda, Shree GulabKunverba Ayurveda Mahavidyalaya, and Institute of Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Sciences, Maharshi Patanjali Institute for Yoga Naturopathy Education & Research. These institutions came up over many decades and together made a unique family of ayurveda institutions in proximity.

(Agency) Burglars steal entire ATM In daring incident near Surat, burglars steal an entire ATM, took it to a farm, dismantled it and took away nearly Rs 800,000 in cash. Three persons targeted the ATM of Surat District Cooperative Bank in Takarma village in the limits of Kim Police Station. They lifted the entire machine, which

weighs minimum 500 kg and took it to an isolated spot in a farm about 150 feet away. They used cutters to break open the cash tray and took away Rs 744,000. They escaped leaving the damaged machine behind.

Police are examining the CCTV footage but the burglars had their faces covered. “We have shared the images with other police stations to get clues about the burglars. But we have not received any specific information till now,” said a police officer. (Agency)

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Experts say property market buoyant Experts expressed confidence in the UK property market post-Covid lockdown at Axiom Stone Solicitors’ recent Virtual Real Estate Lunch event.

Hosted by Axiom Stone’s Chairman Jonathan Metliss, the topic of the event was “The UK Real Estate industry and COVID19: Green Shoots of Recovery. Yes or No?” Alex Brummer, Daily Mail City Editor, saw an allround improving economic picture since mid-summer.

Unemployment figures were better than expected and Britain was on course for the strongest recovery in Europe in 2021 – up by 7.6%.

Defying the pessimistic forecasts, there was evidence of a buoyant housebuilding market and more sales along with the start of a return of workers to urban office space.

Vahideh Hojatoleslami, from Axiom Stone’s Commercial and Residential Real Estate team, stated that the firm’s residential department received a higher number of new instructions

over the past few months than pre-lockdown.

Contributory factors were the popularity of suburban properties, more overseas buyers, stamp duty changes and planning reforms encouraging homeowners and developers.

Mira Arezina reported that the firm’s Property Litigation team was advising on the implications of the emergency measures in terms of rent arrears and leases. More good news for landlords and tenants was that the Business Interruption Insurance court ruling was likely to bring pay-outs.

Rima Sengupta, Senior Associate, stated that the second quarter had seen improved lending activity aided by the stamp duty holiday and Help to Buy scheme. The firm’s recently launched India Desk had seen growing interest from clients in the sub-continent.

The firm was also joining more and more bank lender panels and pitching for new business.

With the furlough

Human relationships are based on mutual respect Rohit Vadhwana

Jonathan Metliss, Chairman, Axiom Stone Solicitors

scheme winding down the firm was busy advising employers and employees about their position with a range of legal issues likely to arise, including redundancies.

Axiom Stone is also advising firms on workplace COVID compliance, such as, risk assessment, proper communications, social distancing and track and trace.

The firm’s China Desk reported big demand from Hong Kong clients planning to move to Britain following the political tensions there and the UK government’s resettlement offer. The China Desk was advising them on buying property, business start-ups, buy-tolet investments and immigration visas.

Pragnesh Modhwadia, Managing Partner, Axiom Stone Solicitors

Other optimistic developments which were pointed were the upcoming Business Rates Review and the fact that, with a steady flow of overseas investors, Brexit and any delayed EU trade deal was not likely to affect the real estate market.

Will Clough, of Allsop auctioneers said that they had conducted £245m worth of business between January and September – only 15% down on the same period last year.

Pragnesh Modhwadia, the company’s Managing Partner delivered a vote of thanks.

The next Axiom Stone Virtual Real Estate Lunch is scheduled for Wednesday, 11 November, 2020 (unless public gatherings are then permitted).

Councillor raises over £3000 for Sutton Mayor’s 1001 Summer challenge Councillor Nalini Patel of Sutton Council has raised over £3000 for Sutton Mayor’s 1001 Summer challenge where she drove 1001 minute on her mobility scooter.

Trish Fivey presented the trophy for her achievement. The fund will be used for “Sutton Mental Health Foundation and

Home Start. She is proud of her first physical challenge and she thanked all her supporters. Milan Group Wallington and Kanubhai R Patel (BEM) has donated £500 each in total £1000 to Epsom and St. Helier Hospital for the Covid-19 PPE kit in May 2020.

Plans to introduce booking for A&E appointments a disaster Following the announcement that the government plans to ask people to book A&E appointments by phone through NHS 111 Professor Gurch Randhawa, Professor of Diversity in Public Health and Director of the Institute for Health Research at the University of Bedfordshire, says the policy once again demonstrates that the government is not taking disadvantaged groups into account when devising its Covid-19 response. He said, “The UK government has a poor record when it comes to tailoring Covid-19 measures to the needs of BAME and other disadvantaged communities. Triaging access to urgent

care through the NHS 111 free-to-call phone line is no doubt intended to stop Covid-19 spreading in hospital waiting rooms but it is a huge risk to the communities, especially older people, lower socio-economic groups, and BAME communities, that our research has consistently shown have difficulty accessing healthcare by phone and online.

“At this stage the government are adding insult to injury. Covid-19 has hit the BAME population hard, both in the community and among healthcare staff. We are already at risk of longerterm health inequalities for BAME communities because of the (under-

standable) transition to online and phone consultations as the main way to access primary healthcare during the lockdown. Throughout the pandemic the government has consistently failed to undertake a proper equality impact assessment of its response to Covid-19.

“Given this it is quite frankly flabbergasting that NHS 111 will be the gateway to the emergency care system.

This will disadvantage the communities at greatest risk during the pandemic. The government is failing to learn vital lessons from its previous errors. If we continue like this, a rise in health inequality will be one of the principal outcomes of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Gujaratis In UK My fellow Gujaratis, We have received several messages, interpreting intentions of some individuals who happened to be the top leaders of NCGO up until recently. NCGO has served British Gujaratis well for many decades.

We recently learnt of the online celebration of Narendra Modi's birthday on 17th September organised by the past presidents of NCGO - Lalubhai Parekh, Pravin Amin & Sharad Parikh with two past Secretary General - Mahendrasinh Jadeja & Anita Ruparelia. Pravin Amin & Anita Ruparelia are still the Current members of Executive Committee.

NCGO UK is an umbrella Organisation and campaigns for the needs of Gujaratis in UK. Our recent event to highlight the needs of Gujaratis in UK took place of Friday 11th September with the presence of Shri Parshottam Rupala - Hon Minister of State for Agriculture & Animal Welfare with other well known dignitaries If the above mentioned members had discussed this in Executive Committee or informed any committee members, we would have supported this event fully under the name of NCGO. Sadly, we only learnt of this event through Social Media on 16th September promoting about Gujaratis in the UK without any organisation name. NCGO would have promoted to avoid any division in the community.

We would have to say with heavy heart that this has created a division within Gujarati Community and this will not be accepted as our community is well known to be a united front and believes working in harmony.

The Management of NCGO is requesting all Gujarati organisations to watch out for our forthcoming event regarding Gujaratis In UK on 4th October via Zoom . NCGO is working for the benefit of Gujarati Communities . Further info available by email: info@ncgouk.org Vimalji Odedra President

Pravin G Patel Secretary

Have you ever been in a situation when you meet someone who starts conversation and addresses you by your name, but you cannot recall the person's name? You remember seeing him/her and even perhaps talking at some occasion. The conversation starts in such familiar way that it seems awkward to you to admit that you don't recall his/her name, and so you have to linger on with generic pronouns like sir or madam, or may be dude or buddy or gal. For people whom you have brushed by in some event or meeting, knows a bit about you, but you cannot be sure of who they are. Such situation gets worst when the same person meets you second time, or third time and still you have had no opportunity to get the correct name. In the current situation when people are with masks, it becomes even difficult to recognise them.

Sometimes people may take offence in such situation when juniors do not recognise their seniors officers. May it be corporate or government, certain human traits remain same for everyone. Expectations of human relationship is genuine and cannot be neglected.

That's why we always try to put face to a name or contact. Telephonic conversations are not sufficient.

Thanks to video calling facilities that we are now able to see each other on realtime basis while talking or conducting meetings. But the question of not recalling name of an individual still persists. How to come out of such situation? How to avoid repeating it again and again? Here are some possible solutions: 1. Ask for mobile number and save it in your phone: When you realise that you are likely to encounter the person again, ask for the phone number. When the one gives number, directly save it in your mobile and ask him/her to type name so that you don't have to say you forgot the name. This may be also because you want to spell out correct spelling. This is one opportunity you should not miss out on. If you fail to do so in first or second meeting, it won't be an appropriate solution later on.

2. Ask for visiting card: If asking for phone number is not appropriate for the occasion, you may also ask for visiting card, saying you haven't got it earlier or you missed it. After getting one, talk about the person and his work briefly to enforce it in your mind.

This is a genuine attempt to know more about the person who has bothered to remember your name and start a conversation with you. 'May I get your card please?' Could be an acceptable way when you move ahead in the discussion.

3. Ask some of your closely known person for detail: If you happen to meet someone whose name you don't remember, ask your accompanying person or friend. Once the person has departed after conversation, you may ask about him/her. It is likely that your friend or colleague knows him/her. Such trigger will be useful to remember when you meet next.

'Who is the person? I remember meeting her but don't happen to recall name?' You could ask your friend, after the person has left. But it would be a lost opportunity to get number or card if your friend also turns out to be unfamiliar.

These are not tricks or tactics to con someone, but very appropriate way to not offend people in day to day life. Human relationship is based on mutual respect and what is more disrespectful than not even knowing name of a person who genuinely expects you to remember his/her. It is proven fact that the person who remembers names and has ability to even remember personal detail, makes better relations.

Completely detached and professional-only discussions do not lead to warm relationship. So, making an effort, or reciprocating someone's effort to remember name and strike a conversation is important skill.

(Expressed opinions are personal)

14 WOMEN’S VOICE

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Dr. Meenal Viz protesting outside Downing Street

navigating a pandemic.

“Our interactions with some leaders in the UKwho are guiding the country through the pandemic have shown that they speak the language of greed and selfishness.

Female leaders have the capacity of changing this narrative.

Demonstrating humanity should be a basic necessity for all leaders. As doctors and healthcare workers, we know how compassion and empathy can help families deal with loss and suffering at such strange times. And these characteristics have been imbibed in us from the very beginning,” said Dr. Meenal Viz. Challenging institutional racism and exploitation of work-forvisa Back in May, Meenal was pregnant, scared for her own child and mourning as she watched her colleague’s coffin being lowered to the grave. She cried the hardest for her deceased friend Nurse Mary Agyapong’s barely one-month old child, now left without a mother.

She began wondering what would happen to her own daughter if she were to contract coronavirus while working at a Covid-19 ward. But Meenal, was determined that she would not suffer in silence.

She would fight the system unlike her friend and ensure her baby was protected against all odds even if nobody was willing to hear her.From protesting in front of No. 10 Downing Street to pushing for a judicial review of the guidance around Personal and Protective Equipment (PPE), Meenal has been one of the first medics to expose the government’s failings in its handling of the pandemic. As part of her judicial review, she is also challenging the government for its lack of clarity on why higher number of

Emotional Intelligence helps female leaders better navigate pandemic Priyanka Mehta Female leaders around the globe including Jacinda Ardern, Angela Merkel and Tsai Ing-wen have been praised for their compassion, zeal and communication skills.

The excruciating mental, physical and emotional toll of coronavirus has called for a sense of solidarity making many question and debate if women made better leaders.

Of course, there is no unilateral “yes and no” answer to the question. But female health workers at the frontlines of Covid-19 wards explain that humanity and empathy can go a long way in mitigating risks and

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s unfortunate demise re-started debate on gender inequality persisting within the legal corridors of the world.

It perhaps, served a brutal reminder to the UK which has appointed only three women- Lady Arden, Lady Hale and Lady Black as Female Justices ever since the creation of a new Supreme Court in 2009.

None yet, from an ethnic minority. Asian Voice speaks to Amandeep Khasriya, Senior Associate at Moore Barlow and a committee member of The Law Society’s Women Lawyers Division about women in law, the prejudices and disadvantages they have to “rule out”.

1. How has Justice Ginsburg’s demise revived the debate on gender parity across Judicial institutions including in the UK? We lost a titan defender of women’s rights, a trailblazer for women in the legal profession and those at the Bar. Justice Ginsburg was an influential role model who created a level playing field for women in law. The hostility and likely misogyny which those women who were the ‘firsts’ faced is astonishing. Her legacy will live on.

The news of her demise comes as the Ministry of Justice in the UK launches a new action plan to boost judicial diversity to support under-represented group in becomingJudges.

The Women Lawyers Division hosted an evening with Lady Hale, the Supreme Court’s first female President, who gave the keynote to mark the centenary of the 1919 Act. Lady Hale’s key message was that there should be more egalitarian distribution of roles in households. The “baby questions” shouldn’t be faced by women alone and men shouldalso take up parttime and flexible work.

2. What are the hindrances that women

medics from black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds were compromised at the Covid-19 frontlines.

Discussing how racism goes beyond telling “black and white” apart she says, “Nurse Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong in Luton was a Ghanaian from an ethnic minority community. She raised her concerns, she wasn’t heard. She escalated the matters to her seniors who despite knowing she was then pregnant asked her to work in Covid-19 wards. I was working with her, then pregnant myself and concerned about my baby. South Asian or black women have a higher risk of contracting the virus. It is the responsibility of NHS and PHE to carry out due risk assessments and re-deploy us if needed.

“You cannot identify racism on a black and white basis. It is subtle and evil and it requires you to read between the lines. As a female doctor from an ethnic minority, there were instances when my voice wasn’t heard and that my concerns were not taken seriously. A lot of these people come to this country because of their visas and they know that they need this job. Our seniors and managers know that we are desperate to stay in our jobs due to visas and family.

That has been taken advantage of. “When you look at hundreds of other similar cases you will realisethe death of Nurse Marywas not a simple co-incidence. Now, I leave it for you to decide was this racism, or just neglect?”

Preventing micro-aggressions and hostility within ranks Her concerns are heightened as the UK approaches a potential second Covid-19 wave. A few months ago, Scientific Advisors had warned that if proper preparations are not in place then the UK can record upto 120,000 deaths due to complications with the on-going flu season. And as the UK races ahead to curb the increasing spike in infections, NHS directors and medics worry if due diligence and proper risk assessment has been conducted especially as over 600 South Asian doctors had lost their lives to the virus during the first wave. Asha Day, is a former director of an arm’s length body at the Department of Health and currently in

Q&A Jury still out on Gender Parity Amandeep Khasriya

particularly from black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds face in their career progression in law?

As an Asian woman in the UK today, diversity and equality are important influences - and challenges –in my life.

Statistics speak for themselves.Diversity at partnership level is low, leave aside barriers to entry and career progression for all minority groups. The Solicitor’s Regulation Authority has found that white males have a 73.5% likelihood of becoming a partner at a law firm, as opposed to 13% for a BAME female.

At this rate of progress, it will take until 2043 to achieve gender balance in leadership. As a woman and a lawyer from an ethnic minority background, I am doubly disadvantaged.I am a first-generation stateschool educated lawyer. Because of my

background, I often didn’t feel I “fit in” with more traditional lawyers.The socioeconomic background of an individual also plays a key role. The Law Society have tried to tackle the obstacles of social mobility by launching their Diversity Access Scheme which supports people from low socio-economic backgrounds who want to become solicitors. But more work needs to be done.

3. What advice would you dispense to women navigating gender pay discrimination and racismwithin the Bar? In May 1970, the Equal Pay Act gained Royal Assent following a women’s strike in a Dagenham factory. This was a landmark moment in the history of women’s rights, enshrining in law that men and women in the same job are to be treated equally, in terms of pay and the conditions of their work. Equal pay—as set out in the Equality

a clinical leadership role at Leicester. She was also in charge of the BAME staff support network, helping healthcare workers navigate any microaggressions or hostilities that Asha Day were directed to them from higher up ranks. Speaking about how women better handle these procedures, Day said, “A BAME staff member’s risk assessment had been transferred to me. I saw that their parents were aged over 70-years old and they were all staying together. The staff also stated that they have underlying health conditions. My white colleague had initially passed up their risk assessment with the argument that the parents were already shielding but I insisted that this person needs to be re-deployed. So, it again depends upon who is evaluating these forms based on their individual judgment.

“The Covid-19 risk assessment for BAME communities within our organization highlighted the difference in emotional intelligence between females and males especially in management or leadership roles.

“My male colleagues simply wanted to e-mail these forms to the Department. But I insisted that simply sending out a form will only heighten anxieties especially if they do not understand the intricacies of these questions. Some also needed the assurance that nothing would be decided upon until mutually agreed which would only be reached following a thorough discussion. It is not just about ticking the form.”

Regardless of continuous debates around female leadership, during coronavirus these women have demonstrated that empathy cannot be ticked off in the “weakness” column of leadership characteristics.

Act 2010—means that men and women should be paid the same for work rated as equivalent or work of equal value. But this is impossible without employees having a full understanding of the pay and reward systems in their organisations.

4. It has been over a century since the implementation of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act of 1919 which allowed women to sit on Juries. What are some issues that we have yet to address for achieving gender parity?

It is extraordinary to think that if I had been born just a generation or two earlier, I would not have been legally allowed to qualify as a solicitor for no other reason than by virtue of being a woman.

Focusing on maternity coaching and ‘returners programmes’ will increase retention of women and boost their confidence after a career break. After my own maternity leave, I set up a Twitter community @WomenBacktoLaw. To combat gender equality problems, the women lawyer’s division of the Law Society also created the Women in Law Pledge. The pledge was launched in partnership with the Bar Council and Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) in June 2019 to champion gender equality.

Despite representing more than 60% of new admissions since 1990, women are still not reaching senior leadership positions in equal proportions to men.

Presently, at 33% female partners in law firms is the highest it’s ever been.Obstacles to women’s career progression include unconscious bias, and a difficult work-life balance. To overcome these, we need to normalise flexible working, supporting women returning from maternity leave and encouraging more fathers to take shared parental leave.

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26 Sep - 2 Oct 2020

in brief in brief NEW BURSARY FOR BAME SCREENWRITERS Neal Street Productions has announced a brand-new screenwriters bursary scheme aimed at supporting and training emerging Black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) screenwriters. Five successful writers will each receive £20,000 to write an original screenplay, which can either be a TV pilot or a feature film script.

Run by Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris, Caro Newling, and Nicolas Brown, Neal Street Productions has been successfully producing award-winning film, TV and theatre for almost 20 years. Their recent productions include the Oscar and Bafta winning 1917, and for TV, RTS winning and BAFTA nominated Informer and Call the Midwife, currently in production on its 10th series, which remains one of the highest rated returning dramas in the UK. Like others in the UK industry, Neal Street are keen to widen the pool of screenwriting talent, and in particular to nurture new, diverse voices from a Black, Asian or ethnic minority background, who are currently under-represented in the UK. For further details, eligibility criteria, terms and conditions please visit www.nealstreetproductions.com

RESONANCE SEEKS BAME ARTISTS Following the successful ‘Lockdown Edition’ of its workshops for music-makers and composers from BAME backgrounds, ‘Opera North’ is seeking applications for next spring’s Resonance programme, and planning for a return to collaborations in person, with live scratch performances in front of audiences.

Launched in 2017 and supported by PRS Foundation, Resonance offers professional musicians and composers based in the north of England and working in any genre the opportunity to develop new ideas, to collaborate with performers from other disciplines, and to take their work in new directions.

Subject to the Covid-19 situation, successful applicants for the new round of residencies will receive up to a week of free rehearsal space in central Leeds in March and April 2021, a grant of up to £3,500 to cover fees for those involved and other costs, and support and advice from technicians, producers and other specialists.

There are also options for a short film to document the project, and a work in progress performance or live stream.

To apply artists should fill in the short form via the Opera North website and submit it by 10am on Monday 19 October 2020. To qualify for consideration, the lead artist must be a professional composer, musician or music maker from a BAME background, aged 18 years old or over and living in the north of England.

For more information and an application formvisit operanorth.co.uk.

FAITH LEADERS URGE COMMUNITIES TO REMAIN VIGILANT Faith leaders have joined with health chiefs in urging the region’s communities to remain vigilant in the fight against coronavirus and stay safe by following new rules and guidelines introduced this week.

Laws preventing social gatherings of more than six people are now in place across England. But with Covid-19 cases rising quickly in some parts of the West Midlands additional local restrictions came into effect in Birmingham, Sandwell and Solihull on Tuesday which prevent different households from meeting up in their homes and gardens.

Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street, who chairs the briefings said, “Over the past few months these Faith Briefings have provided a forum to share important advice with local communities and continue to do so.

UK based company bids for Videocon takeover Rupanjana Dutta Shares of Videocon jumped 5% on 11 September after a UKbased business made an offer of Rs 2,200 crores (£2.33mn) to Videocon’s lenders for a takeover of the company, an Indian newspaper has reported.

It is believed the bid may be revised this week, before the new cut-off date.

A State Bank of India-led consortium of banks are currently evaluating the bids made by 11 companies including Kotak Investment Advisors Ltd, Anil Agrawal’s Twin Star Technologies promoted by the Vedanta group and London based entity V Shape Capital.

V Shape Capital with global presence in countries like Brazil and UAE, has two Indian-origin directors, Suresh Chandra

Suresh with wife Vandna, daughters Dimple, Anjali, Anita and son Amar

Pandya, who is the Key Promoter and Ajit Kumar, the CEO. Videocon Industries reportedly has a debt of Rs 33,000 crores (£2.75mn) to various Indian banks including SBI, IDBI and Central Bank of India.

Videocon was in RBI’s top 12

corporate defaulters and filed for bankruptcy in 2017. In August 2019, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) consolidated the resolution process for all 13 companies. The 6 months deadline was meant to end on 4 February, but the period was extended by 3 months.

1957 born Suresh Chandra Pandya is a Hounslow-based Gujarati businessman with roots in Uganda. He is a strong supporter of Morari bapu and a disciple of Pujya Rameshbhaishree.

He has three daughters and a son. His daughter Dimple is also an entrepreneur and has three beauty salons in Londonin Tooting, Hounslow and Pimlico. His son Amar and wife Vandna are part of Suresh’s property business. His other daughters- Anjali and Anita are married to Indian business tycoon Jayanti Chandra’s family- owner of Atul Auto Ltd, a leading three-wheeler, tuk-tuk, e-rickshaw manufacturer in Rajkot, Gujarat. Jayanti is a close friend of Conservative Peer, Lord Dolar Popat.

Mr Pandya was unavailable for any comment.

Call for British Asians over-50s to take part in Covid treatment trial Use local pharmacies to recruit BAME volunteers for ground-breaking Covid trial, says professor University of Bradford Visiting Honorary Professor Mahendra Patel is working with University of Oxford Primary Care Trials Unit to trial new treatments for Covid-19 in older people. Two antibiotics are being tested: Azithromycin and Doxycycline, to see whether early treatment can help over-50s recover quickly from Covid, without the need for hospital admission.

Prof Patel will work on the ‘Principle’ trial as its National black, Asian and minority ethnic Community and Pharmacy Research Lead. Thousands of volunteers are still needed, especially amongst British Asian communities, who are often under-represented in this type of research but can be at higher risk of developing a more serious Covid-19 illness. He suggested chemists could be used to recruit BAME volunteers.

Prof Patel said, "There has to be a more concerted and tailored effort to reach out to black, Asian and minority ethnic communities more effectively in health research, particularly in the case of Covid-19, where we are seeing members of these communities unfortunately experiencing a

Professor Mahendra Patel

greater risk of contracting the virus with higher adverse effects and even deaths.

“South Asian communities have a different outlook to engaging with health research and studies, and this may the case be with black and other minority ethnic groups. How you reach out to the different communities is vital to ensure proper understanding and confidence. The more people volunteering [for] these studies, the greater the likelihood for an effective and safe means of tackling the virus.

“Pharmacists play a valuable role in the community and in

primary care and there is an opportunity here to use those channels more effectively in recruiting people from all backgrounds into this trial.

“All participants are closely monitored at every stage and would be free to withdraw at any point should they choose to do so.”

The trial is open to people aged over 50 with an underlying health condition or anyone over 65.

Those with Covid-19 symptoms can be joined online, without needing face-to-face visits.

Delivery of the trial and recruitment of participants is supported by the National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Networks across more than 800 general practices.

‘Principle’ is one of the UK Government’s national priority platform trials on treatments for Covid-19, with over 850 participants already signed up. So far, recruiting people from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities has been a particular challenge.

Lead Investigator Professor

Chris Butler from University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences said, “Like other trials evaluating potential coronavirus treatments, recruiting participants into PRINCIPLE who are at most risk of developing serious illness is the best way to understand whether these treatments are going to be effective.

Conventional patient recruitment strategies which rely on utilising established national and regional clinical networks often fail to reach those who are typically under-represented in health research.”

Previously, Prof Patel has called for greater awareness of the risks of Covid, delivering, using the slogan, “We are our own vaccine. Social distance, wash hands, wear facemasks.”

India and UK to negotiate an FTA shortly: Piyush Goyal India and the UK will begin the process of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) shortly, said Piyush Goyal, Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry & Railways while addressing the Valedictory Session of the CII@125 Annual Conference in the UK - "A New India-UK Economic Partnership in a New World: Lives, Livelihood & Growth" over a virtual platform last Wednesday.

The 3-day conference saw many key personalities address issues concerning UK-India relations.

According to the Minister, while full-fledged FTA negotiations take a long time, it has been agreed that India and the UK would look at an early harvest

agreement to begin with. The early harvest agreement could take the form of a Preferential Trade Agreement with about 4050 items of trade interest between the two countries.

He felt that by having such an agreement in place would give the much-needed boost to bilateral trade. He stated that there were several sectors that India

and UK could work together on e.g. gems and jewellery, textiles, healthcare among others.

In terms of supply chains, the Minister stated that the world was now looking at more resilient supply chains and was of the view that the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative provide a good opportunity for India and the UK to work together.

On the economic front, the Minister stated that India was witnessing a rapid recovery. To give a few indicators, he stated that railway freight in the first 13 days of September rose by

12% as compared to the same period last year. Merchandise exports during the second week of September had risen by 10.73% as compared to the same period last year. He stated that the overall mood of Industry in India was very positive and displayed the “can-do” attitude of Indian Industry. The Minister highlighted that the Indian government was now working on ramping up internet services and Wi-fi to all villages in the country over the next 1000 days. He stated that India was focusing on becoming selfreliant and Covid-19 had led to the creation of the protective equipment industry in India virtually overnight.

16 UK

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Pandemic cannot dampen the indomitable spirit of UK Bengalis Rupanjana Dutta This year Kolkata, the heart of Durga puja will witness a unique way of celebration because of the pandemic. 2020 is a unique year. Not just because of coronavirus that has killed thousands and changed the way of normalcy, but also because this year, there is a 35 days gap between Mahalaya (17 September) and Durga puja. Usually is the gap between the two days on almanac is no more than 7 days.

Mahalaya marks the end of Shraadh or Pitr-Pakshya and beginning of Devi Pakshya.

The day of transition is known as the Mahalaya. This peculiarity has happened because of an occurrence of a phenomena called ‘mal mash’ – a lunar month that has two new moons (Amavasya).

Keeping Covid rules alive, many traditional families who do Durga puja will not allow visitors in Kolkata this year.

In the UK, there are usually around 60 Durga pujas. While some of them organise their pujas and rituals according to the almanac, others organise them around the weekend, so that more people can attend and celebrate with their families.

Sourcing idols from Kumortuli (an area in Kolkata famous for making idols) to food to cultural activities to ‘kumari puja’, Durga pujas across the UK and Europe are in no way less than the festivities in Kolkata now. It transcends all barriers, creating a home away from home, for the 'nostalgic' Bengalis.

But this year, even UK durga puja organisers do not how they would go forward organising the event, some taking recourse to virtual pushpanjali.

Puja of many firsts Sourav Niyogi told Asian Voice, “London Sharad Utsav is working closely with the authorities to see how we can organise the Durga Puja. The most important element in our heads is safety for all our members and anyone who visits our puja.

“We are also closely looking at all the government guidelines and we will finalise the plan based on the latest advice from the government. In parallel we are planning the celebrations to be organised digitally, just in case

Durga puja by London Sharad Utsav

it is not possible to organise a physical event.

“This year we are also celebrating the birth centenary of Satyajit Ray - widely considered India’s best ever filmmaker, writer and also an illustrator.

“Our Pujo is themed as ‘A Ray of Hope’ both as a tribute to Satyajit Ray and also an anticipation looking to an end to the pandemic. In the lead up to Pujo we will discuss the posters of the Ray films and during the Pujo we will watch some of his most celebrated films together.

“The members are all rehearsing their cultural performances - instrumental, vocals, elocutions and dances - at home and will digitally record them to be packaged together in 3 evening shows. The next generation kids of LSU are paying their respect to the frontline key workers through their performances - one of the most anticipated performances.

“The technology team is exploring the option of Virtual Reality if a physical puja is

Dance performance by youngsters at UKBC 2020

not possible on safety grounds. This will definitely be a first for London Sharad Utsav.”

Arpita Ray from Essex Indians told the newspaper, “We are hoping to celebrate Durga puja virtually maintaining government guidelines and streaming it online for members and community.”

Adda Slough in a facebook post said, “Amid the Covid-19 situation, most of us

won't be able to celebrate Durga Puja in its full spirit. But don’t we all deserve a good Puja and a Bijoya (Dussehra)? Adda organises Grand Bijoya Virtual Concert 2020 by Chandrabindoo for you to rejoice and listen to your favourite number(s) from numero uno Bengali band. Along with your favourite numbers, you can't miss the witty conversation with Chandrabindoo members. It will be a live

UKBC 2020

interactive programme without any recording! It will be broadcast live world-wide at 2:30 pm GMT, 3:30 pm CET and 8:00 pm IST on Sunday 1 November.”

UKBC 2020 53 Bengali community organisations celebrated their beloved culture at the United Kingdom Bengali Convention (UKBC) 2020 as a virtual curtain raiser to kickstart the Durga puja festivities.

Established performers across the UK, Ireland and Iceland joined and decided together to host UKBC virtually on 19 and 20 September. The whole planning and processing happened virtually using social media.

The mega event showcased variety of cultural programmes involving celebrities and talents. It also gave a voice to people across generations and experts from different walks of life – all celebrating ‘being Bengali’.

It included panel discussions on achievements of the community in fields of Science, Engineering, Tourism, Politics, Religion, Art and Culture, Food, Business, Cinema and many more. There were also discussions on Bengalis’ love for adda and debate. Arjuna Award recipient and retired badminton player Dipu Ghosh joined the discussion to inspire younger generations to take up sports.

Places of worship urged to prepare for NHS Covid-19 app Places of worship across England and Wales are being urged to ensure they have NHS QR code posters visible on entry so customers and visitors who have downloaded the new NHS Covid-19 app can use their smartphones to easily check-in.

The move comes ahead of a national launch of the NHS Covid-19 app across England and Wales on Thursday 24 September.

The government will be supporting places of worship to display the QR codes, which can be downloaded via a website to display as posters in premises.

Following the launch of the new Covid-19 app, visitors in England will be able to check-in on entry with their phone instead of filling out a check-in book or tool specific to a business. This will allow NHS Test and Trace to contact customers with public health advice should there be a Covid-19 outbreak. In Wales app and non-app users will still need to give their contact details to the venue.

In England, using QR codes will help businesses meet the new legal requirement to record the contact details of customers, visitors and staff on their premises.

With coronavirus cases rising in the UK in the last few weeks it is essential businesses

capitalise on the benefits QR codes can bring to protect themselves and their customers.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said, “We need to use every tool at our disposal to control the spread of the virus including cutting-edge technology. The launch of the app later this month across England and Wales is a defining moment and will aid our ability to contain the virus at a critical time. “QR codes provide an easy and simple way to collect contact details to support the NHS Test and Trace system.

“Venues can now download posters for their premises ahead of the launch of the NHS Covid19 app. This will allow the public to seamlessly check-in to venues using the app when it launches.

“It is vital we are using the NHS Test and Trace system to

reach as many people as possible to prevent outbreaks and stop this virus in its tracks. This function will make it simple and easy so we can keep this virus under control.”

Businesses and venues who are already using their own QR system are being encouraged to switch to the NHS Test and Trace QR code. An alternative check-in method must be maintained to collect the contact details of those who don’t have the app, for example a handwritten register.When someone enters a venue and scans an official QR poster, the venue information will be logged on the user’s phone. This information will stay on a user’s phone for 21 days and if during that time a coronavirus outbreak is identified at a location, the venue ID in question will be sent to all devices. The device will check if

users have been at that location and if the app finds a match, users may get an alert with advice on what to do based on the level of risk.

Managing Director of the NHS Covid-19 App, Simon Thompson said, “My team have worked tirelessly to develop the new NHS Covid-19 app and we are incredibly grateful to all residents of the Isle of Wight, London Borough of Newham, NHS Volunteer Responders and the team that went before us; the learnings and insight have made the app what it is today.

“We are now giving businesses the time to prepare their venues ahead of the app becoming available across England and Wales. We are working closely to engage, educate and inform them about how the App works and how they can play their part.

“The QR system is a free, easy and privacy preserving way to check-in customers to venues, and we encourage all businesses to get involved and download and display the official NHS QR code posters.”

Ongoing trials in Newham, on the Isle of Wight and with NHS Volunteer Responders show the app is highly effective when used alongside traditional contact tracing to identify contacts of those who have tested positive for coronavirus.

in brief in brief ARJUN TAKES UP A CAUSE CLOSE TO HIS HEART As part of its 25th anniversary year, Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) has announced the official joining of international singer and songwriter, Arjun, as their Ambassador, helping to raise awareness of key messages and fundraising initiatives across his huge fan base and millions of social media followers.

Arjun has a very personal and poignant reason for becoming involved with CRY. In September 2018, his wife Natasha died suddenly from a previously undiagnosed heart condition. Natasha was a young GP, and her sudden death came just 7 months after her marriage to Arjun. As a result of this tragedy, Arjun has already demonstrated huge commitment and dedication to raising awareness of CRY’s work and ongoing mission to help prevent young sudden cardiac death. Every week in the UK, around 12 young people (that is, aged 35 and under) die suddenly from a previously undiagnosed heart condition. 80% of these deaths will occur with no prior symptoms.

Earlier this year, he organised a huge fundraising concert at Hammersmith Apollo #ForNatasha - in aid of CRY and more recently took part in the UK-wide ‘2.6 challenge’. The #ForNatasha charity concert which took place in February, which featured incredible live performances from international music stars such as Guru Randhawa, Mickey Singh,Vidya Vox and a heartfelt tribute on stage by Arjun, with proceeds raising over £32,000 for CRY. Arjun said, “Natasha and I had been together for ten years, and she had been closely involved in every aspect of my life, both personal and musical. I was so thankful to my fellow artists for taking time out of their madly hectic lives to perform at our #ForNatasha concert in February, as we celebrated her life on what would have been our second wedding anniversary. Through events such as this, and my association with CRY, I know Natasha’s life and legacy will continue to be an inspiration to others.”

Arjun added, “I am immensely proud to be taking on this role of Ambassador and working with CRY towards raising even more awareness and doing what I can to help prevent these devastating and so often preventable, tragedies.”

CELEBRATING THE 939 POTENTIAL LIFESAVERS IN EALING SOUTHALL THIS BLOOD CANCER AWARENESS MONTH To mark Blood Cancer Awareness Month this September, Virendra Sharma MP took part in a digital ‘Day of Action’ to celebrate the number of potential stem cell donors in Ealing Southall on the Anthony Nolan register and raise awareness of the urgent need for more donors in light of the challenges to donor recruitment presented by the pandemic.

This day was marked by Anthony Nolan on Wednesday 9 September, as part of its Communities vs Blood Cancer campaign, which shines a spotlight on vital work being done locally to ensure that every patient in need of a stem cell transplant can find a lifesaving donor.

In Ealing Southall, 939 potential stem cell donors are registered with Anthony Nolan 23% of these donors are men aged 16-30, and the average age is 36. In total, more than 800,000 people in the UK are on the Anthony Nolan register, any of whom could be a match for someone with blood cancer and asked to donate their stem cells to give a patient a second chance of life.

Now, Virendra Sharma MP is encouraging more people from Ealing Southall, particularly men aged 16-30 and people from BAME backgrounds, to register as stem cell donors and make sure that a match is available for everyone in need of a transplant.

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in brief in brief CAREER SATISFACTION AMONG GRADUATES VARIES

BY ETHNICITY The University and College Union has said that UK Universities must do more to tackle racism.

Responding to the ‘Higher education outcomes: How career satisfaction among graduates varies by ethnicity’ report by HESA, UCU said it showed the effects of structural racism on black graduates’ careers. The union said universities must address their own employment practices if they are serious about becoming inclusive workplaces and pointed to research that shows only 140 professional academic staff in the UK identify as black and a 26% of race pay gap at Russell Group universities.

Fewer than 1% of the professors employed at UK universities are black and few British universities employ more than one or two black professors, figures show. The Guardian reported that only 140 academic staff at professorial level identified as black, equating to 0.7% out of a total of more than 21,000 professors. Nearly 18,000 or 85% identified as white, 1,360 as Asian, and more than 2,000 as unidentified or from other ethnic backgrounds.

UCU said its own research had shown that nine in ten (90%) of BAME staff in colleges and universities reported facing barriers to promotion, while more than seven in ten (72%) of university staff said they had experienced bullying and harassment. The union called on universities to work with trade unions to tackle barriers faced by BAME staff.

ANTI RACISTS TAKE TO THE STREETS ACROSS BRITAIN IN SOLIDARITY

Hundreds across Britain took to the streets in towns and cities across Britain supporting the call from Stand Up To Racism & Care4Calais to join a day of action across England, Wales and Scotland to say that refugees are welcome here. Anti-racists joining the day of action stood in solidarity with refugees and migrants who anti racists argue are being viciously demonised and dehumanised by politicians and the establishment.

The day of action was supported by Diane Abbott MP, Lord Dubs - who was a child refugee on the Kindertransport - the PCS union, Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP, and a host of councillors, campaigns and faith organisations.

In central London a van with a 20-foot banner saying 'Refugees Welcome - Black Lives Matter' started its journey across the capital at Downing Street at 10am for a press call, where speakers and campaigners highlighted the plight of refugees and condemn the scapegoating by mainstream politicians.

Stand Up To Racism wanted to ensure that in the centre of London, the widespread solidarity with refugees, and condemnation of the government's shameful inaction, can find expression despite the difficulties of safety during the Covid-19 crisis.

Senior Indian industry leaders hear how the UK’s West Midlands region plans to strengthen UK-India relations The UK’s West Midlands region showcased its leading role in forging a new era of UKIndia trade and investment relations to some of India’s most influential business leaders at an exclusive virtual event on 16 September 2020.

Hosted by the West Midlands India Partnership (WMIP), the event brought together 15 CEOs from some of India’s biggest businesses to exhibit the region’s ambitious plans for closer collaboration across industry and culture.

The session took place as part of the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) annual CEO mission to the UK, focused on strengthening bilateral links between the two nations.

This is the first time that the West Midlands has been involved in the mission, which is this year being held by videoconference in line with current guidelines around Covid-19.

CII President Uday Kotak is leading the delegation, with senior representatives from Tata Chemicals Ltd., Piramal Enterprises and Mahindra Group among those taking part.

During the regional session, delegates heard from senior local spokespeople about what the West Midlands has to offer Indian markets, including WMIP Chair and former coowner and director of East End Foods Dr Jason Wouhra OBE; Cllr Bob Sleigh, Deputy Mayor of the West Midlands Combined Authority; and Margot James, Executive Chair of WMG at the University of Warwick.

WMIP executive board members were also in

attendance to discuss key topics around the UK-India economic landscape with the delegation.

Shared history spanning culture and industry Dr Jason Wouhra OBE, Chair of the West Midlands India Partnership, said, “The West Midlands and India are bound by a long and shared history spanning culture and industry. This puts our region in prime position to lead the next generation of the UKIndia relationship.

“The West Midlands India Partnership gives us a clear pathway to build on the strength of these ties and create mutual cultural and economic prosperity. Directly engaging in conversation with the CII and its members has given us the unique opportunity to demonstrate our region’s thirst for collaboration. This is such a critical time for international co-operation, and our participation in the CEO mission demonstrates the highvalue opportunities the Partnership seeks to create more of.”

Launched in June 2020, WMIP is a five-year programme developed in partnership by the West Midlands Growth Company, CII, the Consulate General of India in Birmingham, and others. Its aim is to boost tourism, trade and investment between the region and India.

The Partnership builds on India’s strong track record of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the West Midlands, with the country ranking as one of the region’s leading sources of international investment in the last decade.

Uday Kotak, President of the Confederation of Indian Industry and Managing Director & CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited, said, “The West Midlands’ potential lies not only its established industry expertise, but also in its culture of innovation, community and openness. This is evident in the vast number of Indian businesses currently thriving in the region.

“The Confederation of Indian Industry will continue to

support the region in its to deepen its mission connections with India. We are confident that the Partnership can deliver real, tangible benefits for Indian entrepreneurs already located in the West Midlands, and for those that are yet to discover the region.”

A range of well-known Indian companies have chosen to set up in the West Midlands to date. This includes Tata Motors, Microland and the State Bank of India, which has retail branches in each of the region’s three cities – Coventry, Wolverhampton and Birmingham – making it the firm’s largest regional presence in the UK outside London.

Kalpesh Avasia, Executive Director, State Bank of India UK, said, “As the UK’s largest Indian bank, and with a 100year history of serving communities across the country, the West Midlands was an obvious location for our business.

“Our decision to open a hat trick of branches in the region recognises its status both as a thriving global destination for the financial services industry, and as a cultural home away from home for the many Indian diaspora that have laid foundations there.”

In addition to trade and investment, the Partnership is also focused on enhancing engagement with the region’s 200,000-strong diaspora.

Opportunities surrounding cultural events unique to the West Midlands are currently being explored, such as the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Domestic abuse charities to benefit from Government funding boost Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing, Kelly Tolhurst MP has announced that a further 25 charities will receive a share of £1 million boost as part of the Government’s £10 million emergency fund to support domestic abuse victims and their families during the pandemic.

This emergency funding will support those providers facing the most difficulties during the pandemic and help to provide over 1,500 new beds and re-open 344 bed-spaces.

This is part of a wider £76 million package of Government support for the most vulnerable in society The flagship Domestic Abuse Bill, currently before Parliament, places a new duty on councils to provide safe accommodation for victims and their children in England.

Projects receiving funding include- The London Black Women’s Project, that works to

protect, promote and develop the rights and resources of BAME women and children affected by domestic abuse from across London, Salford Women’s Aid, which provides temporary accommodation to women and children fleeing domestic violence across the Greater Manchester area and Roshini Birmingham, that is working to protect BAME communities affected by domestic abuse including Forced Marriage and Honour Based Abuse, including through a 24 hour, multilingual help line. Set up in 1979, Roshni Birmingham is a leading provider supporting communities through their journey to safety, confidence and independence to live free from violence, abuse and fear.

Rakhee Thakrar, Patron of the charity on their website said, “Roshni is a wellestablished and experienced charity which has always been

Rakhee Thakrar, Patron, Roshni

at the forefront of tackling issues affecting Black and Minority Ethnic Communities.

It has given me a deeper understanding of the barriers that are faced reporting domestic abuse. Roshni has helped countless victims/survivors in their darkest hour and I am proud to be a Patron of this remarkable charity.”

Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing Kelly

Tolhurst MP yold Asian Voice, “Our £10 million Covid-19 Emergency Support Fund is providing the support needed so that services can meet additional pressures during the pandemic.

“We will continue to engage with the sector to ensure victims and their children can access support including ensuring that councils provide safe accommodation for those that need it.”

Beverly Williams, Chair of Amadudu said, “MHCLG funding has been vital during the pandemic. The funding has enabled women from Black and minority ethnic communities to receive a quality service and support during this difficult time.

“Our staff team has been able to continue to meet essential needs of women and children. We are very grateful for the funding we received.”

18 FINANCE - UK

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26 Sep - 2 Oct 2020

Dear Financial Voice Reader, Alpesh Patel It has been another busy week of questions from social media. With concerns about another lockdown, I’ve spoken to several people concerned about their stock investments and retirement plans. I’ve put together some top tips from my years of expertise: Worry About the Downside You want stocks which will fall less, and recover faster when markets fall. We do not know what will cause stock falls, but we know they will happen. So we want protection. Take what is probably the safest company in the world – Microsoft – it still fell in March during Covid, but recovered faster. All companies rise when the whole market is, but we need more companies with a high average return, and narrow range of negative returns.

Do Not Have a Portfolio of 40+ companies I have quite a few people I know who’ve built up owning every stock in small sums. This is not only inefficient, unmanageable and leading to paralysis in investing, but also it does not give diversification because that happens at around 15 stocks (Gates has 23 stocks, and most of his money is in 10 stocks – the same is true of most billionaires).

Take 12 months and Review Any stock you own should be held for 12 months then reviewed. If you hold too long or too short you are not going to benefit from its performance. If it drops 30% in that time from its peak, then sell. Research from Goldman Sachs Asset Management emphasis the 12 month period. When a stock doubles, take out your original capital and review the company in 12 months.

Do Not Add to Losers Never add to a losing position, unless you are ‘pound or dollar cost averaging’ ie you planned all along to buy in instalments to get a better average price, or its Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, Facebook.

Pick Stocks from Around the World I always meet people saying ‘India, Japan’ – no. You want global stocks because they perform. The country does not matter, as long as they perform. And measuring performance means knowing the free tools which will tell you the cash flow a company produces, it’s ability to outperform the market (Alpha) and it’s consistency of returns (Sortino).

Sadly most people do not know these simple truths used by the biggest wealthiest individuals and funds.

Do Not Chase Yield Alone Many people look at dividend yields and think that allows them to draw down an income. Actually, in this low interest environment many companies have dropped dividends and their share prices have dropped, so you have a loss. You may get say 5% dividend, but a capital drop of 50%! Better to get a stock going up 50% and taking out 5% of your capital as profit isn’t it?

A small change makes a big difference Even a one percentage gain per annum in your portfolio can make a huge difference. Focus on the narrow group of companies that will be the best, rather than buying everything you read about to try hedge your bets.

Bonds – Equities – Funds As you approach retirement, you want more certainty. A bank account does that, but no gains. Bonds are meant to give you certainty and a slightly more return.

‘Bond-like’ returns can come from a portfolio of stocks, where they are narrow in their range of moves. Now in stocks, that could mean down still 15-20%, but the upside skew gives you the compensation.

Funds for the Confused?

Whilst some prefer funds, remember most funds get their returns from their top 10 holdings by size, and those you could have bought yourself. Do not just buy a fund because it says ‘global’ or ‘growth’ or ‘Emerging Market’. Their poor labelling is matched by their poor performance due to their high fees.

Read my book (free) Investing Unplugged. It’s an international bestseller, published by Palgrave Macmillan. I teach you more about what you need to do. It’s free at www.investing-champions.com

Data shows over a quarter of UK's best paid are migrants Recent data reveals almost a quarter of the best paid people in the UK are migrants.

Analysis of anonymised tax returns collected by HM Revenue and Customs revealed 24 per cent of the 5,25,000 people in the top 1 per cent each earning more than £1,28,000 moved to the UK as adults. The research was conducted by academics at the University of Warwick.

Lead author of the paper titled 'Importing inequality: Immigration and the Top 1%', Arun Advani said the research suggested that people who were concerned that migration was a drain on the economy were not considering the impact of high earners moving to the UK. Assistant professor at

the Warwick's economics department and director of Cage, Advani said, “A lot of the worries about the bottom end of the distribution.

But, actually migrants are hugely prevalent at the top of the income distribution, and therefore paying more tax.” In the top 0.001 per cent of UK-based earners almost four in 10 are immigrants; almost three times as many that would be expected if incomes were distributed evenly. In among lowincome groups, only about one in six people are migrants.

Advani said he suspected prior to the research that migrants would be over-represented among high earners as many non-UK born people work in finance, technology and medicine.

However, he was shocked at

the scale of the imbalance.

He said, “I was genuinely surprised, and we spent a long time convincing ourselves that we weren't screwing it up. But we checked and triple-checked it and it was correct.”

He added, “People may not think of 'migrants' as being rich. But if you stop and think who the wealthy people hanging out in Mayfair are, a lot of them are not UK-born. Or if you go to Canary Wharf you will hear a lot of voices in European languages because people come here for well-paying jobs.” The research goes on to show that the number of well-paid migrants has been growing fast. “There are 52 per cent more migrants in the top 1 per cent in 2019 than in 1997, and more than twice as many in the top

0.01 per cent. Almost all of the growth in the UK top 1 per cent income share over the past 20 years can be attributed to migration.”

The data also shows that four in 10 of the best-paid bankers are migrants, and they earn an average of £3,83,300 before tax. Just under 40 per cent of the highest-paid people working at UK hospitals are migrants, earning an average of £1,60,400. In web portal work 51 per cent of the best-paid people are migrants and they earn £2,59,700 on average.

Advani said the research could prove important as politicians debate the introduction of a “wealth tax” on the highest-earning people to help pay for the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

UK rail franchising system comes to an end The UK's rail franchising system has ended, as the government announced an extended rescue deal for train operators. Emergency “recovery contracts” will keep the railways running during the pandemic while the industry moves towards a long-term overhaul. The Department for Transport (DfT) said the new contracts, which would last six to 18 months and help operators through the Covid-19 crisis were a better deal for taxpayers. Unions and Labour, however, criticised the move as “papering over the cracks” and handing more money to private firms.

The government has so far spent up to £3.5bn covering train companies' losses since the pandemic started.

It in effect nationalised them in March when rail franchise agreements were suspended.

Under the old system, companies bid to run services on routes on multiyear contracts. Rail travel decreased to just 5 per cent of pre-pandemic levels during the lockdown in late March and April. Numbers are still only at 30 to 40 per cent of those in 2019. The DfT, under new emergency arrangements, will continue to cover rail companies' losses and pay them a fixed fee of up to 1.5 per cent of the operating costs before the pandemic.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said, “The model of privatisation adopted 25 years ago has seen significant rises in passenger numbers, but this pandemic has proven that it is no longer

working. Our new deal for rail demands more for passengers. It will simplify people's journeys, ending the uncertainty and confusion about whether you are using the right ticket or the right train company.”

The new agreements “represent the end of the complicated franchising system, demand more from the expertise and skills of the private sector, and ensure passengers return to a more punctual and coordinated railway.” Chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, Paul Plummer said, “These transitional contracts should be a stepping stone to a better railway.” Shadow rail

Seek trade deal with the EU, trade body urges UK govt Britain’s manufacturers remain under acute pressure, according to the industry’s leading trade body, which has urged the government to urgently seek a trade deal with the EU to avert widespread job losses in the sector.

Make UK said a survey of its members conducted with accountants BDO found manufacturers were still struggling despite a recent mild uptick in business. Output and order levels remain well below historical averages and Make UK said hopes of a quick bounce back for the industry were misplaced.

“Manufacturing has begun to climb away from the abyss that it stared into earlier in the year,” said Stephen Phipson, chief executive of Make UK. “But, make no mistake it is going to be a long haul back towards normal trading conditions, with talk of a V shaped recovery nothing more than fanciful.”

Phipson said a possible no-deal Brexit at the end of the year would be “a final nail in the coffin for many companies” and warned it would lead to an “avalanche of job losses.” He said a “comprehensive trade agreement with the EU” was “essential.”

Boris Johnson

Make UK’s third quarter survey found members were already slashing investment and laying off staff to try and preserve cash. The group said it now expects UK manufacturing output to contract by almost 11% this year.

Make UK also downgraded its expectations for a bounce back next year, saying it now expects output to rise by just 5.1% in 2021 compared to an earlier forecast of 6.2%. “With a no-deal exit from the EU - and associated logistics, customs and cost implications - looking increasingly likely, British manufacturers will need to step up a gear in order to compete internationally, and this will require significant investment in productivity and digitalisation improvements,” said Tom Lawton, head of manufacturing at BDO.

minister Tan Dhesi said the announcement was a welcome admission that privatisation had not worked, but added, “Taxpayers are set to continue paying hundreds of millions of pounds in profit to private rail companies to run the network. This is completely unacceptable.

These agreements paper over the cracks of a broken rail system.”

J Crew set to permanently close all six of its UK stores US fashion chain J Crew is all set to permanently close all six of its UK stores.

The brand has appointed FRP advisory as liquidators to its UK businesses, which has a head office in London and employs nearly 80 staff. A spokesperson for the store said, “After a thorough review, we have determined we are best able to serve our UK customers through our global e-commerce platform and are closing our six stores in the country. We thank our UK associates for their dedication during this unprecedented time and are working to support their transition.”

J Crew opened a flagship store on London's Regent Street in late 2013 shortly after testing out a small menswear shop on Lamb's Conduit Street in Bloomsbury. It's exit from the UK comes after its parent group this month emerged from Chapter 11, the US form of bankruptcy, after winning approval for a plan to cut its debts. The brand was forced to restructure in May after falling out of favour with US shoppers who have turned to cheaper European rivals such as Zara and H&M.

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26 Sep - 2 Oct 2020

Major Indian banks figure in suspicious transaction list Between 2010 and 2017, several transactions went through Indian banks that were flagged as top-secret ‘Suspicious Activity Reports’ or SARs by the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) for suspected money laundering, terror financing, drug dealing, and financial fraud.

Such transactions were part of $2 trillion suspicious transfers flagged by the top US authority in the FinCEN list. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) obtained the data that traces these global transactions, which happened between 1999 and 2017. Part of this data was released by the consortium on its website.

Almost all major banks in India - public, private, and foreign - witnessed these transactions. Banks say they themselves red-flagged the transactions as suspicious to

the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and relevant authorities. And that's how their names reached the FinCEN list. It must be noted that these transactions are not outright evidence of fraud or proof of nefarious activities. The FinCEN Files most likely accumulated the transaction information provided by global banking regulators as part of their coordinated effort to fight suspicious transactions, say bankers. So far, the ICIJ has meticulously tracked down 18,153 transactions, totaling $35 billion, in which links between both sending and beneficiary banks have been established.

In India’s case, the FinCEN Files, so far, have established sender-receiver connections for 406 transactions involving all major banks, including the country's largest, State Bank of India. According to the FinCEN Files, Indian banks received $482,181,226 from

outside the country and transferred $406,278,962 from the country. These transactions were flagged to the US authorities.

ICJI has named these Indian banks in the dubious transactions: State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, YES Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Canara Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Karur Vysya Bank, Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, Standard Chartered Bank (India operations), Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Allahabad Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Indian Bank, Deutsche Bank (India operations), UCO Bank, Karnataka Bank, RBS, Andhra Bank, and Vijaya Bank. Standard Chartered Bank, in a single transaction, transferred Merrill Lynch Bank Suisse $8,173,378 on July 9, 2011. Bank of India received $119,548,135 in 19 transactions from DBS Bank

between November 4, 2015, and April 14, 2016.

Bank sent HDFC Standard Chartered Bank $327,999,890 through 11 transactions between September 24, 2012, and February 15, 2013. IndusInd Bank transferred HSBC $8,260,868 between June 13, 2008, and November 7, 2012, in 55 transactions. SBI transferred $5,791,055 to DNB ASA in nine transactions between January 25, 2012, and October 9, 2012. SBI received $ 23,325,000 from Rak Bank through six transactions between March 2, 2014, and March 23, 2014. State-owned Canara Bank received $2,761,523 from National Bank of Ras Al-Khaimah between July 24, 2013, and November 7, 2013, through 20 transactions. Bank of India received $11,214,476 from Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation in 16 transactions between January 13, 2010, and December 23, 2010.

Indian economy to recover gradually, says RBI Governor The Indian economy, reeling under the impact of coronavirus disease (Covid19) pandemic, will recover gradually, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said.

“Economic recovery is not fully entrenched; it will be gradual,” Das said in a virtual meeting of FICCI National Executive Committee.

The central bank chief also said that the RBI stands battle-ready to take whatever steps that are needed to be taken for the economy. Referring to the GDP contraction of 23.9 per cent in the first quarter (Q1), Das said that it is the “reflection of the ravages of

the Covid-19”.

He further noted that high-frequency indicators like agricultural activity, Purchasing Managers Index for manufacturing, certain private estimates for unemployment, point to some stabilisation of economic activity in the second quarter of the current year. “Contractions in many other sectors are simultaneously easing,” Das said.

The government and RBI have been taking measures for mitigating the impact of pandemic on the economy by introducing stimulus packages, reforms, and interest rate cuts.

However, the revival is

Trai seeks transparency in mobile tariffs The telecom regulator Trai has stepped in to drive transparency and accountability in mobile tariffs, making it contingent on companies to declare and display various parameters in pre and post-paid plans to remove ambiguity on issues such as data usage, network speed, rentals and combo vouchers. Trai said there have been demands to bring in clarity in mobile tariff plans as customers often complain of not getting the services that they have been promised.

Tightening the rules, Trai issued directions on tariff publication and tariff advertisements. “...it has been observed that existing measures adopted by telecom service providers are not transparent as they should be and that some of the telecom service providers are not prominently highlighting additional terms and conditions and are also collating the terms and conditions applicable to various tariffs on a single web-page and that the relevant information either gets lost in the maze of detail or becomes ambiguous and incomprehensible to consumers.”

expected to take time as there is still high uncertainty regarding Covid-19 cases across the country.

While the governor’s statement is seen as pessimistic, it is also being taken as a positive note for bond markets as this reduces the likelihood of the central bank raising interest rates even though inflation has been much above the RBI’s target range. Das said that while bond yields in August had risen 35 basis points (100bps = 1 percentage point) on the back of fears of inflation and oversupply of government bonds, the RBI managed to tame yields through open market operations.

Shaktikanta Das

Calling for policy focus on export strategy, Das said that a view had emerged after the global financial crisis (GFC) that India had missed the bus by not prioritising exports. This was because in the years that followed, there has been rising protectionism and weak global demand

Companies rushing to raise funds from markets After the easing of lockdown restrictions, companies are rushing in to go public with the stock market witnessing low volatility, which is conducive for fund-raising.

This surge is triggered by strong demand from IPO starved retail investors and quality offers from good companies at attractive prices.

Between April and June, no IPOs hit the market due to lockdowns and the reopening that gave limited leeway for businesses to operate. Then there was just one IPO in July: Rossari Biotech, which raised £49.6 million. Again, August drew a blank in terms of fundraising through the primary market route. September has seen two successful IPOs: Happiest Minds Technologies, which listed last week and Route Mobile, slotted to list on Monday. Three more IPOs are set to be launched this month. On Monday, the £224.2 million offer by CAMS,

which services a majority of mutual fund houses as their register & transfer agent (RTA), and the £3.1 million offer by Chemcon Speciality Chemicals will be launched. Then, one of India's leading stock brokers Angel Broking is set to open its £60 million offer, merchant bankers said.

Two more companies are also on the verge of launching their IPOs soon: UTI Mutual Fund, the oldest fund house in India, and Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders, the governmentowned company that specialises in building warships and submarines.

The debut by Rossari Biotech and Mindspace REIT in July instilled faith in the investors, according to Hemang Jani, head (equity strategy, broking & distribution), Motilal Oswal Financial Services. Subsequently in September, these listings were followed by listings of Happiest Minds and Route Mobile, he said.

The Power of Structure

Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

We have an interesting deal currently on the table. The way it has been structured is the interesting aspect. It is a first floor flat in a prime area of West London, and it has planning to convert it into a duplex; in other words, to build another floor in the roof space.

So, everything is ready to go in terms of planning. The end value is expected to be around £550K when completed.

The price we have agreed the deal for is £375K, the build cost we estimate to be around £75K give or take, so leaving about £100K in the deal.

Ordinarily, if one was doing this deal one would need to put in around £100K as a deposit just for the purchase, and a further £75K for the works; so, £175K in total.

However, the way this deal has been arranged means there will be roughly only around £50K in the deal.

The way this deal has been structured is that the contract price will be £550K. Assuming the investor qualifies for a 75% loan, they will obtain £412K from the lender, leaving a surplus of £37K to spend on the build.

This means only £38K is required to complete the build cost, and this is all that will be required on the deal. Of course, you have the ancillary costs such as stamp, legals, valuation etc on top.

We have left these out in the interest of simplicity.

There will be a three month delay, or perhaps a touch longer could be negotiated, between exchange and completion, allowing plenty of time for the works to be completed. The lender’s valuer will then attend to inspect the finished development. Based on the valuation of £550K you should be able to draw the relevant amount from the lender.

This deal will need to be looked at carefully, depending on the profile of the investor. A deal is only as good as the weakest link, therefore, it might need to be negotiated to compensate for any weakness.

There are a few things which could go wrong,for example, what if the valuation comes in lower? What will be done then?

One would need to make sure they have a back up source of finance.

This is not a plain vanilla deal and therefore the investor needs to be comfortable with the moving parts of the deal.

On the flip side, this is a rare opportunity to acquire a half a million pound property for about £50K, leaving very little money in the deal.

To find a similar deal you would need to go back in time to the pre credit crunch era. Then you could do deals such as these and even better, as the mortgages with a little structuring could be bought based on the valuation and not the purchase price.

SHUTDOWN AMONG 4 OPTIONS FOR AI SALE The advisor for Air India’s divestment has suggested four options to the government regarding the struggling airline’s future that range from shutting it down to further reducing the debt of over £2.3 billion that bidders need to take on and letting them choose a level they find viable. It is reliably learnt that the four options suggested by the advisor, Ernst & Young India, to the interministerial group are: 1) Keeping the debt level at £2.33 billion or reducing it further while changing the timelines; 2) Assigning no pre-fixed debt level and letting bidders quote a combined debt and equity value; 3) Government continuing to run AI for 2-3 years without privatising it; 4) Winding up AI.

SPICEJET SEES £59.3 MN LOSS IN APRIL-JUNE SpiceJet has reported a loss of £59.3 million in the April-June 2020 quarter, compared to a profit of £26.2 million in the same period of previous fiscal. While IndiGo reported its highest ever quarterly loss of £284.4 million this Q1 - a washout for airlines due to the lockdown and suspension of all scheduled services for two months in this period - SpiceJet reported its highest ever loss in January-March 2020 at £80.7 million. Its auditor, S R Batliboi & Associates LLP, said, “….indicate the existence of a material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt about the group’s ability to continue as a going concern…”

5% DUTY ON TV PANELS FROM OCT The government has mandated a 5% import duty on prices of TV open cell panels from October in order to push local value addition, but companies say the move will result in marginal price hikes ahead of the festive period. The duty is being re-imposed following the end of one-year exemption that had been granted last year to help make domestic manufacturing competitive, and effectively tackle competition from other low cost countries such as Vietnam and China.

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PAKISTAN & BANGLADESH

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Sharif launches scathing attack on Army, Imran govt ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s deposed premier Nawaz Sharif on Sunday staged a political comeback by criticising the powerful Army and said the Opposition was not against Prime Minister Imran Khan but against those who brought an 'inefficient' man to power.

Addressing the All-Parties Conference (APC) hosted by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) via a video link aimed at launching a protest movement against the Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) government, the three-time premier launched a scathing attack on the ruling party for its “failure to address the basic problems of the people”.

Sharif, 70, the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supremo, has been living in London since November last year after the Lahore High Court granted him permission to go abroad for four weeks for treatment.Earlier, PPP chairman Zardari talked to him over phone and invited him to virtually attend the Opposition-led All Parties Conference (APC).

Addressing the conference, Sharif criticised the country’s powerful establishment for allegedly supporting Khan. 'Our struggle is not against Imran

Nawaz Sharif

Khan. Today, our struggle is against those who installed Imran Khan and who manipulated elections (of 2018) to bring an inefficient man like him into power and thus destroyed the country,” he said.

Sharif said that the foremost priority should be to remove “this selected government and this system”, adding that 'if the change is not brought, it will bring irreversible loss to this country.” He asked the Army to stay away from politics and follow the Constitution and vision of the country’s father ‘Quaid-eAzam’ Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

“It is very important that our armed forces stay away from our governmental system according to our Constitution and the Quaid's speech, and not interfere with the people's choice. We have made this country a joke in our own eyes and internationally as well,” he said. Sharif point-

ed out that former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani once said that there was 'a state within a state' in Pakistan.

“It is saddening that the situation has escalated to a state above the state. This parallel government illness is the root-cause of our problems,” he said. He asked the leaders attending the conference to make important decisions to change the system of the country, alleging that the current government has enforced “martial law” in the country.

“This conference should bring forth a concrete plan of action for saving democracy, a concrete policy should be made for solving the problem of a parallel state… I again urge this allparty conference to go beyond its traditional ways and form a plan of action,” he said. Sharif reiterated that the vote of people should be honoured which was the only way to save democracy and the country.

'Pakistan has been constantly deprived from a democratic system. When the vote is dishonored, the entire democratic system becomes meaningless.

When it is decided before the election process as to who will

win and who will lose, then it can be guessed how the public is betrayed and how the public's mandate is stolen,” he said.

He said that military dictators ruled for multiple years but none of the elected prime ministers had been allowed to complete the allotted five years.

Without naming former military dictator Pervez Musharraf, he said that the court did not act against him for suspending the Constitution.

“Courts gave dictators the right to play with the Constitution and acquitted someone (Musharraf) who suspended the Constitution twice.

Whereas the ones who follow the Constitution are still in jail,” he said.

Before Sharif, former president Asif Ali Zardari also addressed the conference through a video-link and criticised the government which he said was using the tactics to suppress the Opposition. “It is important that all parties join hands to get rid of this government,” he said.

PPP chairman Bilawal is hosting and presiding over the conference with several opposition parties attending it to chalk out a course of action to launch protests against the government.

Pak continues to treat dreaded terrorists as VIPs ISLAMABAD: Despite the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) sword hanging over its head, Pakistan continues to harbour terrorists and is giving VIP treatment to many of them, including underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and Pakistanbased Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) terrorist Ranjeet Singh Neeta. Sources said that the international community is concerned about the hypocrisy of Pakistan which is pretending to take action against terrorists but is funding them.

According to the sources, the Pakistan government is giving VIP security to 21 dreaded terrorists including those sanctioned last month. According to the list accessed by a news agency, the terrorists given VIP treatment include underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, Wadhwa Singh, Chief of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), Indian Mujahideen (IM) chief, Riyaz Bhatkal, terrorist Mirza Shadab Baig and Afif Hassan Siddibapa.

Many of these terrorists are those who are wanted in India.

Pakistan is giving them asylum.

Experts believe that the Pakistan is creating an illusion that it is acting against terrorist groups to prevent the wrath of Paris based watchdog FATF. Last month, Pakistan had imposed more restrictions on 88 leaders and members of terrorist groups, in compliance with the new list, issued by the United Nations Security Council. Hafiz Saeed Ahmad of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Mohammad Masood Azhar of JeM and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi

Dawood Ibrahim

and Ibrahim are on the list.

According to the details, the government has also seized the bank accounts and properties of the terrorists in the country.

They have also been banned from travelling aboard. Though Pakistan has claimed that it is taking actions against the terrorist groups, however, there are no details of how many actions

have been implemented.

Islamabad is racing against time to escape the FATF's blacklist and clearing its name from the grey list. Pakistan is in the grey list since June 2018 and the government was given a final warning in February to complete the remaining action points by June 2020. The FATF extended the June deadline to September due to the spread of coronavirus that disrupted the FATF plenary meetings.

The country is facing the difficult task of clearing its name from the FATF grey list. Pakistan is making attempts to avoid a demotion from the FATF grey list to the blacklist during the upcoming October plenary meeting. While Pakistan tries to showcase its 'efforts' in combat-

ing terrorism, there have been reports from Afghanistan giving ample evidence of the presence of Pakistani terrorists on its land.

In recent weeks, Pakistan has been trying to paint a picture that it has started the reforms including the passing of bills in order to prevent blacklisting by the FATF. In late July, Pakistan Financial Monitoring Unit Director-General Lubna Farooq told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance that the country is yet to comply with 13 conditions out of the 27point Action Plan of the FATF, including curbing terror financing, enforcement of the laws against the proscribed organisations and improving the legal systems.

Pak to elevate Gilgit-Baltistan to full-fledged province ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has decided to elevate GilgitBaltistan’s status to that of a full-fledged province, a Pakistani media report quoted a senior minister as saying.

India has clearly conveyed to Pakistan that the UTs of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including Gilgit and Baltistan, are an integral part of the country by virtue of its fully legal and irrevocable accession.

According to a report in the Express Tribune, Minister for Kashmir and GilgitBaltistan Affairs, Ali Amin Gandapur, said that PM Imran Khan would soon visit the region and make the formal announcement to elevate

Gilgit-Baltistan to the status of a full-fledged province with all constitutional rights.

Gandapur said GilgitBaltistan would be given adequate representation on all constitutional bodies, including the National Assembly and the Senate. “After consultation with all stakeholders, the federal government has decided in principle to give constitutional rights to Gilgit-Baltistan,” the minister said.

India has said the Government of Pakistan or its judiciary has no locus standi on territories illegally and forcibly occupied by it. India rejects such actions and attempts to bring material changes in Pakistan occupied areas of the

Indian territory of J&K. India rejects Pak obsession Meanwhile, the Indian government told Parliament that it has rejected Pakistan's "obsession" with "territorial aggrandisement" supported by cross-border terrorism. The government's response was in a reference to Pakistan unveiling a new political map laying claim to Indian territory.

Replying to a written question on the issue in the Rajya Sabha, minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan said the government continues to respond “appropriately” to Pakistan's malicious actions and propaganda, including on the issue of Jammu & Kashmir, at various international fora.

in brief INDIA GIFTS 2,000 VIALS OF REMDESIVIR TO NEPAL India has gifted 2,000 vials of Remdesivir to Nepal to meet the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. Indian envoy Vinay M Kwatra handed over the medicine to Nepal foreign affairs minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali last week. The medicines are a part of the Indian government's ongoing assistance to its neighbouring nation against the battle against Covid-19. Remdesivir is regarded as a broad-spectrum anti-viral medication for treating moderate to severely ill patients on oxygen therapy. According to medical research, the drug is proven to significantly reduce the duration of hospital stay and also diminish the recovery time of patients. India also gifted disaster relief material, including tents and plastic sheets for distribution to flood and landslide affected families in five districts of the Himalayan nation.

INDIAN ORIGIN AUTHOR ON BOOKER SHORTLIST Dubai-based Indian-origin author Avni Doshi is among the six authors shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize for her debut novel ‘Burnt Sugar.’

The shortlist was unveiled virtually in London last week. “This utterly compelling read examines a complex and unusual motherdaughter relationship with honest, unflinching realism - sometimes emotionally wrenching but also cathartic, written with poignancy and memorability,” the judges said of Doshi’s entry.

Doshi was born in the US and lives in Dubai

PAK HOUSE PASSES 3 FATF BILLS AMID OPPN PROTESTS Hours after being rejected by the Senate, Pakistan’s parliament in a joint sitting last week bulldozed three FATF-related laws in an attempt to avoid being added to the task force’s blacklist. In the joint session, marred by opposition protests, the bills were passed with a thin majority of 10 votes. The bills passed with amendments were the Islamabad Capital Territory Waqf Properties Bill, 2020; Anti-Money Laundering (Second Amendment) Bill; and the Anti-Terrorism Act (Amendment) Bill, 2020. The Senate had rejected the FATF-related legislation, objecting to some of its provisions.

32 PAK INSTITUTES SEALED FOR BREAKING COVID GUIDELINES Within 48 hours after Pakistan allowed educational institutions to reopen due to decline in Covid-19 cases, 32 facilities were forced to shut again for failing to comply with government-issued guidelines. “During the last 48 hours, 22 educational institutions across Pakistan have been closed due to non-compliance of health SOPs/protocols and disease prevalence,” the National Command and Operations Center announced in a statement. The government had allowed higher educational institutions to reopen after a gap of six months.

LANKAN MINISTER CLIMBS TREE TO ADDRESS PEOPLE To convey the message to the people on the shortage of coconuts, Sri Lankan state minister of coconut Arundika Fernando climbed a coconut tree and said that the country is facing a dearth of 700 million coconuts due to high demand for local industries and domestic consumption. News First quoted Fernando as saying, "We hope to utilise every available plot of land for the cultivation of coconuts and boost the industry to one which would generate foreign exchange to the country." Giving a solution to the problem of prices of coconuts, he said that the government aims to reduce the prices amid the shortage of coconuts in the country.

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in brief LETTER POSTED IN OCT 1920 FINALLY GETS DELIVERED The postcard, faded and weathered, has a postmark dated October 29, 1920, and a stamp of George Washington, priced 1 cent.

Its address is to a Mrs. Roy McQueen in Belding, Michigan and it took almost a century to be delivered. The postcard’s arrival this week had baffled Brittany Keech, the resident who found it in her mailbox.

“When I first saw it, I thought, ‘This is old,’” Keech, 30, said. “I would love to be able to get it to a relative who is alive.” The postcard has a Halloween theme, featuring a witch, a goose, an owl, a bat and cat with a broom. It also has a pun: “‘Witch’ would you rather be … a goose or a pumpkin head?”

COPS SUSPENDED IN GERMANY OVER HITLER PICTURES Twenty-nine German police officers have been suspended from duty on suspicion of sharing images of Adolf Hitler and violent neo-Nazi propaganda in at least five online chat groups, German authorities said. It is the latest of a series of cases of far-right infiltration in Germany’s police and military.

Herbert Reul, interior minister of the state of North-Rhine Westphalia, where the chats were discovered, called the discovery a “disgrace”. He described the images as “far right extremist propaganda” of the “ugliest, most despicable, neo-Nazi, anti-immigrant” kind. Police raided the homes of 14 of the 29 cops, most of whom stand accused of sharing content that included, among other things, a fictional image of a refugee in a gas chamber.

PRINCETON UNDER PROBE OVER RACIAL BIAS The Trump administration has opened an investigation into racial bias at Princeton University, saying that the school’s recent acknowledgment of racism on campus amounts to a “shocking” and “serious” admission of discrimination. In a letter to the university, the US education department said the school’s acknowledgment of racism conflicts with previous assurances that Princeton complies with federal antidiscrimination laws. Princeton said it’s cooperating with the investigation and looks forward to showing that its actions have been consistent with federal law and “also with the highest ideals and aspirations of this country”.

LEGAL VICTORY FOR HK GAY COUPLES Hong Kong’s high court ruled that same-sex couples should receive equal treatment under inheritance law, in a step forward for LGBT rights in the finance hub. But the victory came on the same day as a separate legal bid for full recognition of foreign same -sex marriages was struck down, underscoring what campaigners say is a lack of progress on equality issues. HK law does not allow same-sex marriage.

CHINA VACCINE MAY BE READY BY NOV A senior Chinese health official said a coronavirus vaccine could be available to the public in China as early as November. Dr Wu Guizhen, the chief expert for biosafety at the Chinese CDC, told state broadcaster CCTV that “ordinary people” in China could be given the vaccine in November or December.

“Current progress has been very smooth” for vaccine candidates in the final stage of clinical trials, she said. China now has five vaccine candidates in late-stage clinical trials. China has already approved at least two experimental under emergency use. Dr. Wu, who said she was still doing well after receiving one of the experimental vaccines in April, said she expected them to remain effective for one to 3 years.

Lankan govt tables 20A draft bill in Parliament COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan government's proposed 20th Constitution Amendment Bill that aims to bolster the powers of the President was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, ending speculation that its presentation would be delayed amidst internal resistance from within the ruling party led by the powerful Rajapaksa family. The government on September 2 gazetted 20A, the new proposed legislation that would replace the 19th Amendment introduced in 2015 that curtailed the powers of the President and strengthened the role of Parliament.

The 19A was seen as the most progressive pro-democracy reformist move since Sri Lanka came to be governed under the all-powerful executive presidency in 1978. It depoliticised the government administration by ensuring the independence of key pillars such as the judiciary, public service and elections. The 20th Amendment proposes to

Opposition to approach the court if they want to go against it, the government said. GL Peiris, the Education Minister, on Monday had said: 'After it is in presented Parliament for what is Gotabaya Rajapaksa known as the first reading tomorrow, restore full legal immunity to any interested party can the President, removing the proapproach the Supreme Court visions made in the 19A to take against it. Then the court will legal action against the have further 3 weeks to inform President. its legality to the President and Amidst an uproar by the Parliament'.

Opposition in Parliament, Peiris headed a 9-member Justice Minister Ali Sabri tabled ministerial committee to review the bill which was the original the 20A's original provisions gazette issued by the governafter it faced internal resistance ment on September 3. After the from within a faction of the rulbill is presented in Parliament, ing Sri Lanka People's Party anyone wanting to drag the (SLPP) parliamentary group matter to the court can itself. approach the apex judicial body Yet Peiris' committee report against it. was not considered for any The 20A has been tabled in changes based on the objecParliament and it is up to the tions. 'Any changes which the

parties want could be discussed at the committee stage of the debate', Peiris said adding that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had received two clear mandates both in November last year and at the parliamentary election held in August to abolish the 19A. The 19A Amendment adopted in 2015 by the then reformist government was subject to much criticism by the powerful Rajapaksa clan as it prevented dual citizens from contesting elections. At the time, two of the Rajapaksa family members, including the current president, were dual citizens of the US and Sri Lanka. Gotabaya Rajapaksa had to renounce his US citizenship to contest the presidential election in November last.

His younger brother and SLPP founder and its National Organiser, Basil Rajapaksa, is a dual citizen of the US and Sri Lanka. There are five from the Rajapaksa family already in the government.

Uganda eases restrictions despite virus surge KAMPALA: Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has announced a further easing of coronavirus restrictions in the country as the infection rate continue to rise. The health ministry blames the rise in infections on the public’s complacency to social distancing and wearing of masks.

Museveni said the country cannot remain under restrictions indefinitely, citing the economy's weakened health in the wake of the pandemic. The president said international borders will be reopened for tourists, while returning Ugandan citizens who have test-

ed negative for Covid-19 will be allowed to self-isolate at home.

He said tourists should have taken a Covid-19 test at least 72 hours before arrival and they will be taken straight to their holiday destinations. Places of worship have been allowed to reopen but the number of congregants will be limited to 70.

Final-year students in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions will resume learning in mid-October, but a decision on the other categories of learners will be made by January next year.

A ban on private and public transport has been lifted in districts bordering neighbouring

countries. Outdoor sports activities have been allowed to resume but with no spectators. Participating teams will be quarantined for the season, with players tested 72 hours before games and after every 14 days.

A ban on public Yoweri Museveni gathering and a The country’s central bank night-time curfew still remain in governor warned in June that force. The country began easing further restrictions would disrestrictions in May but rate of rupt the economy. The tourism infection continues to rise. sector that earned the country Some 6,000 coronavirus cases about $1.4bn (£1.08bn) in 2017 is have so far been confirmed with among the worst-hit.

63 deaths.

Uhuru to leave Sh9 trillion debt, says report NAIROBI: The national debt is projected to increase by Sh750 billion in the next 10 months. That is Sh2.6 billion a day. At this rate, parliament budget experts estimate that, by 2022 when President Uhuru Kenyatta leaves office, the debt could hit Sh9.2 trillion - more than three times the total annual budget.

They anticipate little borrowing space beyond three years because of a statutory ceiling of Sh9 trillion, which implies this could be the first crisis for President Kenyatta’s successor in 2022. It is estimated the national debt will pile up to Sh7.5 trillion

by June next year, up from Sh6.6 trillion this June, according to the latest Parliamentary Budget Office report.

“As at June 2020, the national debt stock had reached Sh6.6 trillion (Sh873 billion or 15% increase) and is projected to reach Sh7.5 trillion by June 2021,” states the report released this month.

Domestic revenue PBO attributes the increment to the impact of low generation of domestic revenue largely because of disruption to businesses by Covid-19 and pressure from expenditure on ongoing programmes. “The impact of Covid-19 on the economy is expected to adversely affect revenue generation,” PBO notes in its report titled “The

Uhuru Kenyatta

clouds are gathering as the winds blow away the pandemic.”

In previous financial years, the primary balance grew on account of significant expenditure on infrastructural projects, energy production and social expenditures.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic, which struck the country in March, forced emergency spending while restrictions shut down the economy, occasioned job losses, and altogether depressed government revenues.

The report cautions that the current financial year will present difficult economic conditions for fiscal consolidation measures required to maintain debt at sustainable levels. The PBO warns that a planned government bailout is insufficient to revive the economy.

Kenya Airways resumes flights to Tanzania DODOMA: Kenya Airways on Monday resumed flights to Tanzania after Dar es Salaam lifted suspension of all Kenyan airline operators. Allan Kilavuka, CEO of Kenya Airways, said the move follows a circular issued by the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority announcing the resumption and restoration of all flights by Kenyan operators with immediate effect.

“We are pleased to resume our services to Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar following this announcement by the Tanzanian government. Tanzania is critical to both Kenya and East Africa’s economic growth and we look forward to our continued collaboration,” Kilavuka said in a statement.Kilavuka noted that the first Kenya Airways flight to Dar es Salaam departed on Monday and the second will leave on Wednesday and thereafter the Kenyan carrier will operate two daily flights to the largest city in Tanzania.Kilavuka said that the first flight to Zanzibar will depart on Sept. 26 and will thereafter operate three times a week while flights to Kilimanjaro International Airport will resume in October to target connectivity with the Nairobi- New York route.The national flag carrier resumed domestic commercial flights on July 15 and international flights on Aug. 1.

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Nepal halts distribution of text book with revised map incorporating Indian areas KATHMANDU: Nepal has stopped the distribution of a new text book that includes the country's revised political map showing three strategicallyimportant Indian areas as part of its territory, saying there were a number of factual errors in it, according to a media report.

India has already termed as untenable the 'artificial enlargement' of the territorial claims by Nepal after its unanimously Parliament approved the new political map of the country featuring Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura areas which India maintains belongs to it.

A Cabinet meeting instructed the Ministry of Education not to distribute and print any more copies of the text book meant for class IXth to XIIth as there were some reservations from the Ministry of Land Management and

Cooperatives and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Kathmandu Post reported.

“The Ministry of Education does not have the authority to change Nepal’s geographical area and there are faults in the book,” said spokesperson for the Ministry of Land Reform and Cooperatives Janak Raj Joshi.

There are errors in the book prepared by the Ministry of Education on a subject it has no

expertise, he said, adding that the higher authorities have been asked to take corrective measures.

The concerned body of the Nepal government is yet to officially declare the revised geographical area of the country.

“The Department of Survey, which is the official agency that declares the total area of the country, however, hasn’t made any decision on the area,” Joshi

said. Education Minister Giriraj Mani Pokharel on September 15 released the 110-page book titled, Self Study Material on Nepal’s Territory and Border which dwells around historical facts about the country’s territory and its border dispute mainly with India.

The book states Nepal’s new area to be 147,641.28 square km including the 460.28 sq km area of the Kalapani area which was included in Nepal’s political map on May 20 by the Cabinet.

Pokharel has written a six-page preface for the book in which he has mentioned about Nepal’s border disputes and other related issues. He said that he had launched a campaign to protect the Nepalese territory, including the areas of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura.

However, Pokharel told The Kathmandu Post that the distribution of the book has been halted for now.

66 % Indian-Americans back Biden, says survey Washington: Two out of three Indian-Americans currently favour Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, although there has been a significant uptick in their support for incumbent Donald Trump, according to a survey released by Indiaspora, a nonpartisan community organisation, and AAPI Data, which records demographics and policy developments relating to Asian American and Pacific Islanders.

The organisations said in a joint report that 66% of IndianAmericans currently favour Biden and 28% favour Trump (up from 16% in 2016), with both Democratic and Republican parties reaching out to this increasingly influential voting bloc in the 2020 US election.

The report also said Indian-

Americans are positioned to make a difference in several swing states such as Florida (with 87,000 Indian-American voters), Pennsylvania (61,000), Georgia (57,000), Michigan (45,000), and North Carolina (36,000), and perhaps even Texas, which has 1,60,000 Indian-American voters. “Given Senator Kamala Harris’s historic vice-presidential nomination, as well as highly publicised rallies that President Trump and PM Modi held together, high turnout could make a huge difference,” said AAPI Data founder Karthick Ramakrishnan.

The survey showed increasing political awareness and activism on part of IndianAmericans, who now number nearly 4.5 million in the US, and who, with 1.8 million eligible

Abduction of girls from minority communities continues in Pak ISLAMABAD: There is a long history of abduction of women from religious minority communities in Pakistan and minor girls continue to be victims of religious violence and persecution, according to a report.

The latest example is the daughter of Gurdwara Panja Sahib's head granthi in Hassan Abdal city. Protests from the Sikh community in the national capital broke out on Monday outside the Pakistan High Commission in wake of the abduction of the Sikh girl. The daughter of the head granthi went missing more than two weeks ago and she is reportedly being converted to Islam against her wish.

In a recent report, US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) noted that in Hindu, Christian, and Sikh communities, young women, often underage, continue to be kidnapped for forced conversion to Islam and that 1,000 women are forcibly converted to Islam each year.The report further stated that local police are often accused of complicity in these cases by failing to investigate them properly.

voters, constitute one of the fastest growing politically engaged minority groups, with significant numbers in “battleground” states.

Scores of IndianAmericans are running for office across the country down to the county and school Joe Biden board level, with Congressional candidates such as Shri Preston Kulkarni and Hiral Tipirneni in Arizona trying to make it to the “Samosa Caucus” as the five IndianAmerican lawmakers in Washington DC are called. A quarter of those surveyed had donated to a candidate, party or campaign this year. By Juneend, Indian-Americans had donated at least $3 million.

Compared to 2016, when

46%of Indian American voters identified as Democrat, 35% were Independent or other, and 19% identified as Republican, the latest survey showed 54% of them identified as Democrats, 16% as Republicans, and 24% as Independents. Issues at the top of the list that Indian American voters thought were important included: education (94%), jobs and economy (92%), health (92%) and environment (88%).

Indian American and Ukranian-American Director wins Emmy Award CALIFORNIA: Indian American and Ukranian-American director Adrij Parekh won an Emmy Award for directing the 'Hunting' episode of the HBO series “Succession” at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, aired virtually Sept. 20 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show, about a family power struggle over a media empire, also won Best Television Drama Series for its second season.

According to ANI, “Succession” is a satirical drama by Jesse Armstrong which revolves around a family of dysfunctional owners of a global media and hospitality empire. The show centers on their tussle for control over the company.

According to Wikipedia, Parekh was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, of Gujarati and Ukrainian descent. He went to high school in Minnesota and attended Carleton College, where he graduated in 1994 with a degree in sociology/anthropology and a minor in media studies. He went on to study cinematography at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, earning an MFA in 2001, and the FAMU film school in Prague.

in brief TWITTER SUSPENDS ACCOUNT OF CHINA VIROLOGIST Twitter has suspended the account of a Chinese virologist who had claimed that the Sars-Cov2 virus may have been developed in a lab in Wuhan. Li-Meng Yan’s unverified handle @LiMengYAN119 was suspended last week. A search for her account leads to a page that reads, “Account suspended.

Twitter suspends accounts which violate the Twitter Rules.” The microblogging firm did not respond to questions about why Li’s account was suspended. Twitter had recently revised its rules to curb spread of misinformation around Covid-19. Li, who worked as a virology expert in Hong Kong, had made these claims in a paper that has not yet been peer reviewed. She claimed she was assigned to probe a “new pneumonia” in Wuhan, where she discovered a cover-up operation regarding Covid-19 . She also claims that the theory that the virus originated in a market was a “smokescreen”.

Li, who fled Hong Kong, is believed to be in the US currently.

MOSCOW IS SLOW TO INOCULATE RUSSIANS DESPITE APPROVAL More than a month after becoming the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine, Russia has yet to administer it to a large population outside a clinical trial, health officials and outside experts say. The approval, which came with much fanfare, occurred before Russia had tested the vaccine in late-stage trials for possible side effects and for its disease-fighting ability. It was seen as a political gesture by President Vladimir Putin to assert victory in the global race for a vaccine. It is not clear whether the slow start to the vaccination campaign is a result of limited production capacity or second thoughts about inoculating the population with an unproven product. The Russian vaccine is one of nine candidates around the world now in the late-stage clinical trials.

ASTRAZENECA TRIAL BLUEPRINTS RELEASED AstraZeneca revealed details of its large coronavirus vaccine trial, the third in a wave of rare disclosures by drug companies under pressure to be more transparent about how they are testing products. “The release of these protocols seems to reflect some public pressure to do so,” said Natalie Dean, a biostatistician and expert in clinical trial design for vaccines at the University of Florida.

Pfizer and Moderna revealed details of their vaccine trials earlier. Experts have been particularly concerned about AstraZeneca’s trials because of the company’s refusal to provide details about serious neurological illnesses in two participants

VIRUS FOUND ON IMPORTED SQUID PACKAGE IN CHINA Adrij Parekh

While studying at NYU, he was nominated for the 1998 Eastman Excellence in Cinematography award, and in 2001, he won an honorable mention from the American Society of Cinematographers in the "Heritage Award" category.

Parekh currently lives and works in New York City, shooting features and music videos, according to Wikipedia. In 2004 he was named one of Filmmaker Magazine's "25 New Faces of Indie Film" and was included as one of Variety's "Ten Cinematographers to Watch.” Recently, he was invited to join the American Society of Cinematographers.

Authorities in China’s Jilin province have found the coronavirus on the packaging of imported squid, health authorities in the city of Fuyu said. One of the packages had arrived in the city via the provincial capital Changchun, Fuyu city’s health office said. It asked people who had bought and eaten imported squid at the local Sanjia Deda frozen seafood wholesale shop on August 24-31 to report to officials and seek a test.

The Covid-19 prevention office said the squid had been imported from Russia by a firm in Hunchun city and brought to the provincial capital. Customs officials said they would suspend imports from firms for a week if frozen food products tested positive for the virus.

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in brief

India asks China to ensure complete troop disengagement

CHINESE WOMAN HELD FOR SPYING Delhi Police have arrested a Chinese woman and a Nepalese man, besides freelance journalist Rajeev Sharma, and claimed to have busted an espionage ring. All three have been booked under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) for allegedly passing sensitive information to Chinese intelligence. Police claimed that information on army movements, defence acquisitions, foreign policy and Dalai Lama was conveyed to the Chinese intelligence in lieu of money that was routed to Sharma through shell firms and hawala channels. “The arrested Chinese woman, Qing Shi, and her associate, Sher Singh alias Raj Bohra, were working for two Chinese persons, whom they have identified as Jhang Chang and his wife, Changli-lia,� said DCP (special cell) Sanjeev Yadav.

UNIQUE IDENTITY NUMBER FOR CAPTIVE ELEPHANTS To reduce atrocities against captive elephanats in India in the aftermath of the tragic death of elephants in Kerala in June this year, blood and faecal samples of all the captive elephants across the country estimated to be around 2,700 - are being collected under the aegis of Project Elephant.

This exercise, Noyal Thomas, director of Project Elephant said, will give a unique identity number to the elephants “just like an Aadhaar card which will be generated based on their DNA�. Genetic mapping will ensure that captive elephants are only kept by authorised persons after getting a nod from the state chief wildlife warden. Thus, it will ensure that all the captive elephants are under the scanner of the state forest department and incidents of poaching do not take place, said Thomas. Currently, most captive elephants are in Assam (around 1,000).

India asked China to ensure complete troop disengagement from the ‘friction points’ at Pangong Tso, Chushul and GograHotsprings as well as finalisation of the road map for de-escalation along the entire frontier in eastern Ladakh. The Indian Army, having gained bargaining leverage after occupying multiple tactical heights on the south bank of Pangong Tso-Chushul area on August 29-30, reiterated the demand for restoration of status quo ante during the sixth round of military talks.

But there was no official word on the outcome of the meeting between the delegations headed by 14 Corps commander Lt-General Harinder Singh and South Xinjiang Military District chief Major General Liu Lin on the Chinese side of the Moldo-Chushul border personnel meeting point.

Sources said the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was told that it “should make the first move� since it had created the rival troop face-offs and build-ups by military intruding into Indian territory at multiple locations in early May. “Indian troops will reciprocate. Otherwise,

it was emphasised India is prepared for the long haul,� a source said.

India has seen “some disconnect� between the five-point diplomatic consensus reached during the September 10 talks between foreign minister S Jaishankar and his counterpart Wang Yi and the “actual ground reality� along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The Indian military delegation had diplomatic representation for the first time, with MEA joint secretary (East Asia) Naveen Srivastava taking part in the negotiations. The Indian side also included LtGeneral P G K Menon, who is slated to replace Lt-Gen Singh as 14 Corps commander next month.

The high-powered China Study Group had discussed the different contingencies as well as prepara-

tions for a prolonged crisis.

The Indian armed forces have already gone in for a massive ‘advance winter stocking’ operation all along the frontier in eastern Ladakh.

The military talks between the rival corps commanders, who last met on August 2, comes after the Indian Army’s preemptive military manoeuvre to seize the previously-unoccupied tactical heights on the ridgeline stretching from Thakung on the south bank of Pangong Tso to Gurung Hill, Spanggur Gap, Magar Hill, Mukhpari, Rezang La and Reqin La (Rechin mountain pass) on August 29-30.

Simultaneously, Indian soldiers also occupied heights overlooking the PLA deployments on the ridgeline over ‘Finger-4’ on the north bank of Pangong Tso.

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No power on earth can stop the Indian Army from patrolling, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in parliament on the dispute with China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh. Responding to opposition questions in the Rajya Sabha on the Chinese stopping Indian soldiers from patrolling traditional posts, he said: "That is the reason for our ladai (fight) with China."

In an unscripted part of his speech, Rajnath Singh used the word "yuddh (war)", the first senior minister to do so in any context related to the standoff with China in eastern Ladakh. "Starting a war is in our hands but where that ends is not in our hands," he said. But the Defence Minister added that he was "astonished at times" that peace was being compromised. ''We are very different from before, still we are committed towards a peaceful resolution...I want to tell our countrymen that we will not let the country down. Neither will we bow before anyone, nor is it our intention to make anyone bow before us," he said.

As the Congress' AK Antony, a former Defence Minister, questioned whether Indian soldiers were being blocked from patrolling by the Chinese, Singh said: "The patrolling pattern is traditional and welldefined. No power on earth can stop Indian soldiers from patrolling."

In early May, Chinese soldiers crossed the Line of Actual Control and did not return to their original positions even though Beijing is aware of the difference in interpretation of the LAC across the Ladakh frontier. asked Antony.

No force can stop Army from patrolling on Ladakh, Rajnath Singh tells MPs

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in brief

Tamil Nadu firm on bilingual policy, says Palaniswami CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government was firm on following two-language policy of Tamil and English- in the state and will not go back on it, Chief Minister E K Palaniswami said last week.

Responding to opposition DMK in the state Assembly on the New Education Policy (NEP), he said the government would take a stand on it based on the recommendations of the two expert committees constituted by the government to advise on the policy response on all thrust areas of the policy, subject to Tamil Nadu continuing with its twolanguage policy.

"Already two expert committees have been formed

E K Palaniswami

and they are on the task. We will take a stand based on their recommendations. At that juncture we will consider your suggestions also," Palaniswami said replying to leader of the opposition in the Assembly M K Stalin who moved a special call attention motion on NEP. The three-language formula in NEP 2020 unveiled by the Centre recently has found

opposition in Tamil Nadu over alleged "Hindi imposition," even as the ruling AIADMK has made it clear it will only follow the two language system in vogue in the state for decades.

Contending that the NEP accords to importance Sanskrit and encourages the hereditary occupation system, Stalin demanded a special sitting of the assembly to discuss the NEP and pass a resolution against it. He also pointed out that a book on herbs distributed to the members contained Hindi, apart from Tamil and English.

Responding, health minister

C Vijaya Baskar said the chief minister has made it clear that a bilingual policy will be implemented in Tamil Nadu.

On the Hindi text figuring in the book on herbs distributed to the MLAs by the health department, the minister explained that the book was brought out by the Union Ayush ministry. School education minister K A Sengottaiyan pointed out that a letter has already been written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that Tamil Nadu will follow the two-language policy.

Later, the DMK members staged a walkout from the House after the Speaker declined to concede their demand for a special sitting on NEP.

PUNJAB

Farmers burn effigies in Punjab, block roads in Haryana CHANDIGARH/GURGAON: Farmers in Punjab and Haryana took to the roads on Sunday to protest against the Modi government’s agri-marketing bills, which were cleared by both Houses of Parliament and are now awaiting the presidential nod to become laws.

While angry farmers in Punjab villages burnt numerous effigies of the Modi government and copies of the three agri-marketing bills, protests in Haryana remained relatively peaceful even as three MLAs of BJP’s coalition partner Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) went against the official line spelled out by the party’s senior member and deputy CM Dushyant Chautala and expressed solidarity with the protesters, reflecting a rift among their ranks.

As the three bills cleared the

Rajya Sabha hurdle with a voice vote, a “deeply saddened” Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal urged President Ram Nath Kovind not to approve them and instead return them to Parliament for reconsideration. Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh once again said that his government will take BJP and its allies, including the Akalis, to court over the new “unconstitutional, undemocratic and anti-farmer” laws passed by the central government. “They clearly don’t care for what these laws will do to the farmers,” he said, slamming the Modi government for “selling” the interests of the farmers to big corporates.

The farmers in Punjab have already announced they will enforce a Punjab Bandh on September 25 and rail roko from September 24 to 26. The protests were mostly peaceful in Punjab.

However, the one led by Youth Congress in Mohali district turned ugly when farmers unsuccessfully tried to break a police cordon to enter Haryana. Police resorted to mild lathicharge and used tear gas and water cannons to control the mob.

Protesters across Haryana resorted to a ‘chakka jam’ and disrupted traffic on national and state highways for over three hours.

Farmers demand rolling back of farm bills On a call given by the AllIndia Farmers’ Struggle Coordination Committee, at least 30 farmer organisations met at Moga and demanded an immediate rollback of the farm bills, which they said were against the farming community in Punjab as well as in other states.

They also termed the

resignation of SAD minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal from the Union Cabinet a political stunt as the Akalis were still part of the NDA government. Joginder Singh Ugrahan, state president, BKU (Ekta Ugrahan), said all farmer organisations had decided to hold a complete bandh in Punjab on September 25 in protest against the bills. “It will be a complete shutdown of public transport system and business establishments. Trains will be halted at identified locations in the state,” he said.

WEST BENGAL

HC steps in to resolve dispute at Visva-Bharati University KOLKATA: A month after clashes erupted on the VisvaBharati University campus at Santiniketan in Birbhum district of West Bengal, the Calcutta High Court last week set up a committee to mediate between aggrieved parties and resolve the dispute. While hearing a petition filed by an advocate, the division bench headed by chief justice B Radhakrishnan and Justice Shampa Sarkar observed that the petition would be considered as a ‘Suo Moto Public Interest Litigation’.

Taking suo moto cognizance of the matter, the high court formed a committee with Justice Sanjib Banerjee as the chairperson and Justice Arijit Banerjee, Advocate General and Additional Solicitor General as members. The court’s order read, “The Committee, hereby

appointed as aforesaid, will be provided adequate secretarial support by the appropriate persons from the Visva-Bharati as the Chairperson of the Committee will indicate to the Upacharya (Vice-Chancellor).

The Upacharya and other officers of Visva- Bharati will also do the needful in providing appropriate assistance as may be required by the committee.”

The order added, “We hope to get interim reports as proceedings may be carried

forward by the committee, as and when the chairperson of that committee may desire us to see any such interim report. It will be open to the committee to bring within the fold of its mediation and conciliation, any litigation between Visva- Bharati and any aggrieved party which is pending in any civil court as if this process can also be considered as falling under Section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure.”

Besides appointing the committee, the court observed that there shall be no construction, demolition or removal of any structures in any part of the land belonging to Visva-Bharati or over which it has claimed, except with the permission of the committee.

However, the order mentioned that the Visva-Bharati campus is encircled by barbed wire

fencing. “...barbed wire fencing shall be put up by Visva-Bharati under the control and advice of the committee to properly secure the land of Visva-Bharati. It will be within the authority of the committee to issue such directions and advisories to the officials of Visva-Bharati as may be found necessary, including as regards whether any passage or passages are to be provided for any place in the area concerned,” the order mentioned.

The court asked the police to maintain the status quo and suspend all police action against complaints arising out of the incident which occurred on August 17, 2020. However, the police authorities were directed to keep a close vigil over the University campus and in the area, in general, to ensure that law and order is maintained.

MP FROM TIRUPATI DIES OF COVID-19 Lok Sabha member from Tirupati, Balli Durga Prasad, died due to Covid-19. The YSRCP leader, who was 64-year-old, was undergoing treatment for coronvairus at a private hospital in Chennai. According to his family, he passed away battling with the novel coronavirus. Born in Nellore district, Durga Prasad entered into politics at the age of 26 with the encouragement of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder NT Rama Rao. He was elected as an MLA from Gudur constituency of Nellore district for four times in 1985, 1994, 1999, 2009 assembly elections and elected as an MP from YSRCP in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He also served as a minister in the former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu's government between 1996-98.

TWO KANNADA ACTORS SUMMONED IN DRUG CASE The Central Crime Branch (CCB) investigating the drugs case has summoned two Kannada film actors Akul Balaji, Santhosh Kumar and Yuvaraj RV, a former MLA's son to appear for questioning.

"During the investigation certain information was gathered, and it was felt necessary to inquire Akul Balaji, Santhosh Kumar and Yuvaraj RV," a CCB official said. Akul Balaji, who has acted in tele-serials and a few movies, said he has received the notice. The police have so far arrested nine people, including film actresses Ragini Dwivedi and Sanjjanaa Galrani, RTO clerk BK Ravishankar, Rahul Thonse and a Nigerian Simon. They are charged with consuming and supplying drugs during rave parties through drug peddlers. At least seven others involved in the case are at large, including former minister late Jeevaraj Alva's son Aditya Alva, police said.

THREE ARRESTED FOR MURDER OF SURESH RAINA’S RELATIVES The other accused, however, are yet to be arrested, DGP Dinkar Gupta said. Raina’s uncle Ashok Kumar, a contractor, had died on the spot, while his son Kaushal Kumar succumbed to injuries on August 31 during a robbery bid at their Pathankot home.

Raina's aunt, Asha Rani is in hospital and in critical condition while the two others injured in the attack had been discharged.

The chief minister had ordered the constitution of a Special Investigation Team to investigate the case thoroughly and expeditiously.

TWO MORE CONVICTED IN BURDWAN BLAST CASE A special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Kolkata convicted two more accused in the Burdwan blast case of 2014 and sentenced them to seven years of imprisonment. Mustafizzur Rehman who was arrested on December 26 in 2018 and Kadar Kazi who was arrested on January 28, 2019, were also fined Rs 5,000. Both the accused were found guilty under different sections of IPC and UA (P) Act. The case pertains to a powerful bomb (IED) blast that took place on the first floor of a house in the busy Khagragarh locality of Burdwan district of West Bengal on October 2, 2014.

The IED had gone off accidentally at the time of its fabrication by the members of the banned terrorist organization - Jamatul-Mujahideen of Bangladesh (JMB). The members of JMB had taken that house on rent for the nefarious activity of bombmaking. Two accused persons succumbed to their injuries caused in the bomb-blast and one accused survived with grievous injuries.

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The writer is a Socio-political Historian - E-mail: haridesai@gmail.com Dr. Hari Desai

Privy Purses to the Rulers in Pakistan • Federal Government increased the maintenance allowance to the ex-Rulers in the year 2017 Bhutto abolished the Purses but agreed to give the rulers pensions for the rest of their lives

•

he Civil Marshal Law Administrator of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was inspired by the populist move of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to abolish the Privy Purses to the former Rulers of the Princely States. Out of 571 Indian Princely States (the figure varies up to 601!) only nine joined Pakistan but so-called progressive ruler Bhutto brought in the Rulers of Acceding States (Abolition of Privy and Privileges) Order 1972 and amending subsequently to give pension for the rest of their life. Even today the system of payment of Privy Purses in the form of the maintenance allowance not only exists in Pakistan, the Federal Government takes decision to increase the maintenance allowance and a separate ministry to deal with the former Princely States, Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (Safron), handles the affairs! At present, more than Pak Rs. 3.64 million is being disbursed each year from the federal budget for the annual maintenance allowance to ex-rulers and their dependents as per the official estimates of Safron.

T

In 2017 Pakistan’s Federal Cabinet took the decisions to increase the maintenance allowance. The minimum maintenance allowance for former Rulers of States that acceded to Pakistan was to be raised in 2017 from less than Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 500,000 annually. It was to cost additional amount of Pak Rs. 7.7 million. Finally in December 2017 the “The Rulers of Acceding States (Abolition of Privy Purpose and Privileges) (Amendment) Bill 2017” was passed by the M.A.Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan with Nawab Sadiq National Assembly. But it benefited only Mohammad Khan Abbasi, the Nawab of Bahawalpur one living ex-Ruler, Ali Murad Khan Talpur, the Mir of Khairpur, as the law maternal grandfather Nawab Saeed Khan of would only apply to living Rulers. The Amb. Subsequently both of them were increased allowance and privileges have not personally received from their lodgings in even been extended to “Junagadh and Rawalpindi by Bhutto and thus arrived late.

Manavadar”. The reasoning they gave was The tone of discussion was quite heated, that the bill did not include the word with Bhutto saying he had done what he did “successor” and only used the phrase “Exto appease the people of Pakistan who Rulers and their dependants.” needed signs of progress following the Some members the Senate Standing secession of East Pakistan.”

Committee on Finance noted that an “In response to his socialist rhetoric the allowance of Rs.25,000 a year was Khan of Kalat replied, ‘Sahib, Pakistan hum insufficient to even clothe anyone, and ne banaya hai, sab se bari qurbani humne di berated former governments for not hai.’ (Sir, it is we who made Pakistan and responding to the families of former gave the biggest sacrifice for it). Then he Nawabs in a positive manner. The gestured to the Nawab of Bahawalpur beneficiaries of the list presented to the saying, ‘Mulk chalaney ke liye paisa bhi isne committee by the ministry in 2017 include diya tha!’ (He gave the money to run this three dependents of Nawab of Dir, nine of country!) In conclusion, Bhutto agreed to former ruler of Makran, eight of Nawab of give the Rulers pensions for the rest of their Kalat and two dependents of the Nawab of lives and approved an amendment to the Junagadh State. Other beneficiaries include ordinance. Most of the rulers would pass the former rulers of Chitral, Khairpur, away within a decade or two. And thus Bahawalpur, share holders of the Bantva ended the official patronage of the ruling state, the talukdar of Sultanabad, Sheikh houses. The only Ruler from the pre-1972 Sahib of Mangrol and the Khan of era – and in fact from before the 1947 Manawadar. The Ministry of Safron told Partition – who lives to this day is Mir Ali the committee that former rulers of Murad Khan Talpur, the Mir of Khairpur.”

Princely States had been apportioned Many ex-rulers took the route that was maintenance allowance in accordance with perhaps best suited to their legacy and the average annual income generated by entered into electoral politics. Others the state at the time of accession. It be joined the government service and yet noted that though Junagadh, Bantva, others wasted their days away as depression Sultanabad, Mangrol and Manawadar are and living in the past took hold of their integral part of India, the ex-Rulers and lives. A key factor that remained part of the their family members who migrated to princely heritage was the ancient Pakistan continue to take benefit of the connection to the land and its people. Most maintenance allowance. This facilitates of the rulers also happened to be the heads Pakistan government in her mischievous of prominent tribes/castes and this has designs in claiming these areas in the enabled them to remain relevant. In Ayub illegal map of Pakistan as well as the Khan’s era the personal properties of the pending complaints rulers had already been Next Column before the UN Security gazetted and declared, so Council since decades. The Royal Conspiracy to despite later usurpations of Fateh-ul-Mulk Ali merge Tripura with Pak private property at the hands Nasir, the ceremonial of the government – of which Mehtar (Ruler) of Chitral State, writes on Fateh-ul-Mulk Ali Nasir, too, was a victim the impact and chronology of Bhutto’s – the princes at least avoided poverty.

Abolition of Privy and Privileges Order: Unlike India where many of the former “Within years, however, all of these clauses Maharajas, Maharanis and Nawabs were broken by a combination of political became leading businessmen, this trend manipulation, forced agreements and never really caught on among their presidential ordinances. In the winter of counterparts in Pakistan. Due to their 1972 Bhutto called all of the now destrong regional status and continued recognized Rulers to a meeting in Islamabad respect for the Instruments of Accession, to discuss the ordinance. My father Saif-ulthe princes in Pakistan have continued to Mulk Nasir, the Mehtar of Chitral, was the receive assistance and a degree of youngest ruler in attendance, then only recognition from the various provincial twenty one, and he was a silent observer to governments, including being issued the proceedings. The Wali of Swat, Miangul police and levies for personal security and Jahanzeb, refused to attend as did my being included in official guest lists.

India's Covid tally cross 55,00,000 India's Covid-19 tally reached 55,62,663 with 86,961 people being infected in the past 24 hours, while 43,96,399 people have recuperated so far pushing the national recovery rate to 80.12 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

The total coronavirus cases mounted to 55,62,663 on Tuesday, while the death toll climbed to 88,935 with the infection claiming 1,130 lives in a span of 24 hours in the country, the data updated at 8 am showed. The Covid -19 case fatality rate due to coronavirus has further declined to 1.6 per cent.

There are 10,03,299 active cases in the country as of now, which comprises 18.28 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.

India's Covid-19 tally had crossed the 20,00,000 mark on August 7, 30,00,000 on August 23, 40,00,000 on September 5 and it went past 50,00,000 on September 16.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a cumulative total of 6,43,92,594 samples have been tested up to September 20, with 7,31,534 samples being tested on Sunday. Of the 1,130 fresh deaths, 455 were reported from Maharashtra, 101 from Karnataka, 94 from Uttar Pradesh, 61 from West Bengal, 60 from Tamil Nadu, 57 from Andhra Pradesh, 56 from

Punjab, 27 from Madhya Pradesh, 37 from Delhi and 29 from Haryana.

Seventeen deaths took place in Gujarat, 16 in Kerala, 14 each in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and Rajasthan, 13 each in Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh, 10 in Odisha.

Nine fatalities have been reported each in Telangana and Goa, six in Tripura, four each in Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh, three each in Bihar and Sikkim and two each in Manipur and Jharkhand.

Of the total deaths, Maharashtra has reported the maximum at 32,671, followed by 8,811 in Tamil Nadu, 8,023 in Karnataka, 5,359 in Andhra Pradesh, 4,982 in Delhi, 5,047 in Uttar Pradesh, 4,359 in West Bengal, 3,319 in Gujarat and 2,813 in Punjab.

Goa worst hit in cases/m, Puducherry in deaths/m Maharashtra and the southern states have been under the Covid-19 spotlight for the high

number of cases and deaths being reported daily from these places. However, proportionate to their relatively tiny populations, Goa and Puducherry are actually worse affected with one having the highest cases per million population and the other the highest deaths per million from the pandemic.

Goa has so far reported 17,392 cases per million, and Puducherry is at second place with 14,097, followed

by Delhi (11,770) and Andhra Pradesh (11,496).

Maharashtra, which is far ahead of any other state in total coronavirus cases, having recorded more than 1.1 million infections so far, comes in sixth in cases per million at 9,352.

Puducherry has recorded 284 deaths per million, higher than Maharashtra, which is placed second with 256 fatalities per million, followed by Delhi (245), Goa (212) and Andaman & Nicobar Islands (212).

Bill Gates sees big role for India in Covid vaccine production A vaccine for Covid-19 is expected early next year and of the six leading ones which are undergoing trials probably three of them will work, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has said asserting that India has a huge role to play in scaling up manufacturing for these.

“If they succeed in their phase three, which is still underway, we want to be able to ramp up that manufacturing capacity,” Gates, who is the cofounder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said. Gates said India will play a major role in manufacturing these vaccines in high numbers as several vaccine companies in the country have the capacity to ramp up production.

“And, of course, India has a huge role to play in that. Because the highest volume vaccine manufacturers in the world, who have done a fantastic job, and partnered with us on many of these life-saving vaccines - including Serum, BioE, Bharat (Biotech) - they

Bill Gates

have capacity. We have been in lots of conversations with the companies, with the vaccines that look like they will be low-cost and very scalable, including AstraZeneca, Novavax, Sanofi and Johnson and Johnson,” said Gates.

He said the progress on reducing poverty across the world would be set back by a few years due to the pandemic and if all countries cooperate and the world is lucky to have some good vaccines health systems could recover fast.

“If we do a brilliant job, we end the pandemic in 2022 -

if we are lucky to have a lot of good vaccines that are made in volume, I am sure the health system should be able to get back fairly quickly.

“We’ll have to do catch up vaccination. But the economic damage particularly in countries that couldn’t borrow huge additional sums, unlike some of the rich countries will have big setbacks....

Some of the extreme poverty type things could take us five to 10 years to get back to where we were at the start of 2020,” said Gates.

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Unruly scenes in RS during passage of farm bills Amid unruly and aggressive protests by opposition members, the Rajya Sabha on Sunday passed by voice vote two contentious farm bills that were earlier approved by the Lower House. The two bills Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 - will now be sent to the President for his assent, setting the stage for a prolonged political confrontation which looks set to spill over to the streets in the northern states.

Besides the known opponents, the bill was opposed by BJP's estranged ally, the Shiromani Akali Dal, TRS and BJD which, in a rare instance, decided to vote "no". The bill, however, was backed by AIADMK and YRSCP, as well as smaller parties from the north-east and could have passed the numbers test if there had been one.

The government's task would have been helped by the depleted numbers on the opposition benches with many members staying away because of Covid-19, and the tactical ambiguity of parties like BSP, NCP and Shiv Sena.

Opposition wanted bills to be sent to select committee BSP, NCP and Shiv Sena expressed reservations about certain provisions of the bills but without displaying the vehemence

which marked the response of Congress, TMC, DMK, AAP, SAD and the Left. In fact, opposition floor managers were reconciled to the prospect of the three staying away from a vote. The Opposition was demanding that the bills be sent to the select committee of the Rajya Sabha for a detailed scrutiny and the headcount be deferred.

With the House plunging into utter bedlam as members of Congress, Trinamool and AAP stormed the well of the House and moved towards the podium to force deputy chairman Harivansh to go ahead with voting, the House had to be adjourned.

The two bills were declared passed by voice vote as the opponents persisted with protests after the resumption. While the bills - aimed at liberalising farm trade by ending the monopoly of mandis and loosening the grip of “arhatiyas” or middlemen over trade in agricultural commodities -

are set to become law, the government will find itself dealing with protests outside Parliament.

While Congress is set to step up its protest in Punjab, Haryana and in the immediate vicinity of the national capital, several farm organisations have called for a protest beginning with a dharna on September 25.

The government was not flinching from a fight either. It has already launched a fullscale counter-offensive, dubbing Congress and other parties opposing the bills as proxies of middlemen while denying the opposition’s charge that the soonto-be-enacted laws will spell the end of the minimum support price scheme.

8 Oppn MPs suspended Eight opposition members of the Rajya Sabha were suspended for a week on Monday for “unruly behaviour” during the passage of

NCB likely to summon film personalities in drugs probe Sources close to developments in the major drug expose in B Town are close to calling key producers, directors, actors, actresses and other film personalities for questioning.

The Sushant Singh Rajput suicide, now mired in various layers of controversy, is seeing major activity on the drug front.

The sustained interrogation of siblings Rhea and Showik Chakraborty has revealed that around 20 such people were involved in the consumption and use of these drugs. The propensity to use curated marijuana buds, cocaine, MDMA and other synthetic tablets was commonplace in this drug circuit in B Town.

While several names have already been bandied about, the questioning of these 20 people is likely to begin soon, enlarging the scope of the investigation which is now essentially a high-profile drug case under the auspices of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

Once people from outside Sushant Singh Rajput's inner circle are brought in for questioning, more grime and dirt is expected to emerge.

This major happening comes after the arrest and custodial interrogation of many in Sushant Singh Rajput's inner circle. Showik and House Manager Samuel Miranda have confessed that they were arranging drugs for the late Bollywood star and facilitating their delivery as well. Moreover,

Showik and Rhea Chakraborty

Rajput's personal staffer Dipesh Sawant, who is also arrested, procured drugs for him. Miranda and Showik have been booked for illegal possession, transportation and consumption of contraband.

So far, the NCB has arrested 18 people in the case and several of them are on remand.

Unfortunately for the prime investigating agency NCB, its key functionary leading the probe has tested positive for Covid which has delayed the ongoing investigation. The questioning of Sushant's former manager Shruti Modi was also dropped due to the same reason. NCB sources revealed that the probing officer is improving and the investigation will resume in full swing once he recovers completely.

The investigation has also revealed the existence of major cartels in Goa and Mumbai which are supplying these high-end drugs to B Towners. The mules and their overseas linkages are also unravelling. Those arrested have had their mobile CDRs,

Whatsapp chats and emails under scrutiny and every day new dirt is turning up. Sufficient evidence is now available to rope in 20 more B Towners for questioning. Thereafter building cases against them will not take too much time.

In the NCB's remand application, the apex anti-drug agency has alleged that Rhea and her brother Showik were active members of a drug syndicate. The NCB said that Rhea's brother Showik was procuring drugs from Abdel Basit Parihar and Kaizen Ibrahim on behalf of Rhea.

According to sources, during subsequent investigations, the NCB discovered that Parihar and Ibrahim were linked to a top drug cartel active in Mumbai. The cartel, through Parihar and Ibrahim, was supplying drugs to other Bollywood-linked persons living in Mumbai's Bandra, Juhu and Andheri neighbourhoods.

Earlier, the NCB had arrested another drug trafficker Fayaz Ahmed in Goa on September 2, who was also supplying drugs to Bollywood personalities. During Fayaz's questioning, the agency unravelled the entire network and the Bollywood-drug mafia nexus.

Ahmed revealed that drugs were being transported by means of parcels through the Foreign Post Office in New Delhi.

the bills on Sunday, with chairman M Venkaiah Naidu rejecting a notice for a no-confidence resolution against deputy chairman Harivansh Singh. The eight MPs, including Trinamool leader Derek O’Brien and Sanjay Singh of the Aam Aadmi Party, however, continued with their protests and refused to leave the House despite repeated instructions from the chair. It led to multiple adjournments, with the proceedings being washed out without any business being transacted on Monday. The other MPs are Rajeev Satav, Syed Nasir Hussain and Ripun Bora of Congress, Dola Sen of TMC, and K K Ragesh and Elamaram Kareem of CPM. Expressing deep anguish, Naidu said, “It pained me a lot because what happened (during passage of the farm bills on Sunday) was unfortunate, unacceptable and condemnable. It was a very bad day for the Rajya Sabha.”

Akali minister Harsimrat quits BJP's oldest ally, Shiromani Akali

Harsimrat Kaur Badal

Dal, on Thursday withdrew from the Modi government in protest against the bills, with its sole representative in the government, minister for food processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal, submitting her resignation.

Harsimrat, whose resignation was announced in Lok Sabha by fellow Akali MP and her spouse Sukhbir Singh Badal, said the Akali Dal’s protest to the legislations was not heeded and they could never be a party to any decision that went against the interests of farmers.

In her letter to the PM, Harsimrat attributed her resignation to “the decision of the government of India to go ahead with the controversial bills without addressing and removing the apprehensions of farmers and the decision of the Shiromani Akali Dal not to be a part of something that is anti-farmer.” Requesting the PM to accept her resignation with "immediate effect”, the minister said “before, during and after the promulgation of the three ordinances”, she had tried her best to persuade the cabinet to take the actual stakeholders of this decision, the farmers, on board and remove their apprehensions and concerns.

“All this while, I was given the impression that since an ordinance is only a temporary arrangement, my concerns and pleas would be addressed while legislating on the issue in Parliament,” Harsimrat said.

She added that she was deeply hurt that despite her and her party’s persistent pleas and efforts in this regard, the government “had not taken farmers on board”.

Parliament session being curtailed due to Covid As some union ministers and MPs tested positive for Covid-19 since the commencement of the monsoon session of Parliament, opposition parties and the government have decided to curtail the scheduled session after passage of important bills.

The session may end by the middle of next week, according to official sources. A final decision will be taken by the Cabinet committee on parliamentary affairs. At a meeting of the business advisory committee of the Lok Sabha, which has floor leaders of all parties besides government representatives and is chaired by Speaker Om Birla, most parties favoured curtailment of the session which had started on September 14 and was scheduled to conclude on October 1.

Two Union ministers - Nitin Gadkari and Prahlad Patel - who attended the current Parliamentary session have tested positive. Some MPs like BJP’s Vinay Sahashrabuddhe also reported their Covid positive status. So far, 30 MPs have tested positive, including 20 after the session started. The Lok Sabha has so far passed three bills to replace agriculture sector-related ordinances. Also, both the Houses have cleared a bill to replace an ordinance for cutting by 30 per cent the salaries of MPs to ramp up funds in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

India to Pakistan: Give Jadhav Queen’s counsel Salve as lawyer India has asked Pakistan to appoint a Queen’s Counsel (QC) as lawyer for Kulbhushan Jadhav in the International Court of Justice-mandated review of his death sentence in Islamabad high court.

Senior advocate and former solicitor general Harish Salve is the natural choice for India as he’s the only Indian lawyer to be appointed Queen’s Counsel in recent times. As per its legal definition, Queen’s Counsel is a barrister, or advocate, appointed counsel to the Crown on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor and is entitled to sit within the bar of the court and wear a silk gown. Salve, who represented Jadhav at the ICJ too, was appointed QC for the courts of England and Wales in January. While he still practises in India, he’s based out of London mostly now.

While Islamabad has rejected the demand for an Indian lawyer, saying only a lawyer with licence to practise in Pakistan can represent Jadhav, India believes a Queen’s Counsel may be a way out of this impasse if Pakistan is serious about the Jadhav review.

Salve’s defence of Jadhav saw the ICJ asking Pakistan for an effective review and reconsideration of the death sentence awarded to him by a military court and also upholding India’s demand for consular access to Jadhav.

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Exponential death toll on the horizon in the UK if action delayed British senior medics have warned of an exponentially growing death rate from Covid-19 within weeks if urgent action is delayed to curb a rapidly spreading second wave of the pandemic. The United Kingdom, which currently has the biggest Covid-19 death toll in Europe, fifth largest in the world, sees cases rising by at least 6,000 per day.

Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty, and Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance cautioned that if left unrestricted the epidemic would reach 50,000 new cases per day by midOctober in the United Kingdom. Whitty said, “If this continued along the path...the number of deaths directly from Covid ... will continue to rise, potentially on an exponential curve, that means doubling and doubling and doubling again

Sadiq Khan endorses tighter restrictions London Mayor Sadiq Khan rendered support to local council leaders and public health experts on new Covid-19 restrictions to be put to central government as another outbreak threatens to sweep through the Capital. In a statement, he said he will urge the government to implement the new plan at the earliest, and discuss it with Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The measures include reduced opening hours for pubs and bars and extending the wearing of face masks on public transport and in shops to other public areas.

“Without adequate testing or contact tracing in London we have no choice but to look at other measures to slow the spread of the virus. I firmly believe that acting early, rather than having to impose more stringent measures later, is the right thing to do both for public health and the economy,” Khan said. and you can quickly move from really quite small numbers to really very large numbers.”

He added, “If we don't do enough the virus will take off and at the moment that is the path that we are clearly on and if we do not change course then we're going to

find ourselves in a very difficult problem.”

Vallance said the virus is spreading across all areas of the country and less than 8 per cent of the population have antibodies to the virus, though in London around 17 per cent of the population may have antibodies.

Whitty and Vallance said speed and action are urgently needed, adding that as winter was approaching the Covid problem would haunt Britain for another six months at the least.

Chief Medical Officers for England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland had earlier recommended all four nations move up to Covid -19 alert 'Level 4'. Prime Minister Boris Johnson assured the leaders that his government was committed to working with their administrations to tackle the virus. Northern Ireland said it would extend existing restrictions in some localities on households mixing indoors across the whole of the province, while Wales issued curbs on four more areas, leaving just under a third of the population under restriction.

Green signal for India-developed Covid test A Covid-19 test named Feluda, developed by scientists from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s IGIB (Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology) in Delhi, along with the Tata Group, has been approved for commercial launch by the Drugs Controller General of India. The result of the test will be available in two hours.

“The Tata CRISPR test is the world’s first diagnostic test to deploy a specially adapted Cas9 protein to successfully detect the virus causing Covid-19,” said a state-

ment.

When the pandemic began, the IGIB team of Debojyoti Chakraborty and Souvik Maiti was working on developing a genome-based diagnostic tool for sickle cell. They took less than 100 days to “harness’’ their work to develop Feluda, said IGIB director Dr Anurag Agrawal. A press release issued by the ministry of science and technology said the test has 96% sensitivity and 98% specificity for detecting the novel coronavirus. A CSIR officials said that it is similar to a pregnancy test, containing a strip of paper

that changes colour on detection of the virus in the sample.

“This marks a significant achievement for the Indian scientific community, moving from R&D to a high-accuracy, scalable and reliable test in less than 100 days,’’ said the statement. The test can at a later date be reconfigured to detect other pathogens as well. Official sources said, “The test is a great innovation as it would take a short while for the results, and has been approved after thor-

ough validation and testing.”

The cost of the test is estimated to be under Rs 600, sources said, but this could not be verified.

Globally, the US drug regulator in May had granted emergency-use approval for a new Coronavirus test to take advantage of gene-editing technology CRISPR.

Four Indian Covid vaccine candidates in pre-clinical trial Indian health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said over four Covid-19 vaccine candidates are in advanced stages of preclinical trials in the country. Speaking in the Parliament, he said the government is giving all necessary support for the development of a vaccine against the disease in the country and that three vaccine candidates are in different phases of clinical trials.

Vardhan said, “One hundred and forty-five vaccine candidates across the world are under preclinical evaluation, around 35 under clinical trials. In India, we gave all support to 30 vaccine candidates – three of these are in advanced trials of phases 1, 2, and 3.

Over four in advanced stages of the pre-clinical trial.” The Centre is closely tracking the progress of candidates being tested by the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International Limited and Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila. Bharat Biotech's Covaxin is one of the leading players in the race for a vaccine in India.

Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) has struck a production and clinical trials deal with AstraZeneca for the UK's Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which has till now been tested in the most number of people.

Vardhan also said, “On January 30, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned the world about

such disease. But we started work on January 8. By January 17, we had issued a detailed health advisory and started point of entry surveillance and community surveillance. On January 30, when the first case in India was reported, authorities did 162 contact tracing.” He said so far 63.7 million tests have been conducted in the country which is “probably the highest in the world.”

“Even today, 40,00,000 people were kept under community surveillance. Contract tracing of more than 10 million people was done.

Fifteen lakh people were screened at airports.

When the first case in Nepal was reported, 16,00.000 people were

screened on the border.

From March 16 to March 23, more than half of the states have imposed partial or complete lockdown,” he added.

Vardhan said that the ministry of health and family welfare has received £89.39 million from PM-CARES Fund for 50,000 made in India ventilators. The National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) under the National Disaster Relief Fund made the provision of £1.1 billion to all state governments wherein the State Disaster Management Funds could be used. There are 17,000 Covid -19 facilities in the country which have nearly 1.8 million beds, 13,000 quarantine centres have 600,000 beds.

'OBESITY A MAJOR RISK FACTOR IN COVID-19' Rupanjana Dutta Dr Rahul Mukherjee

Dr Rahul Mukherjee, who grew up in Kolkata, India, and arrived in the UK in 1994, works as a Consultant with Birmingham Heartlands Hospital in their Department of Respiratory Medicine & Physiology. He is a Consultant Physician and an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. He is also an examiner for MBChB at the same University and an examiner for the MRCP at the Royal College of Physicians of London and Edinburgh.

Here’s our interview with Dr Mukherjee, as the second wave of coronavirus becomes imminent.

• What inspired you to become a doctor?

My mother's inspiration, kindness towards the poor sick people that I saw during childhood and generally my love of sciences. She encouraged me to study medicine like many Indian mothers, but wasn't directly involved with any public or social work, though she inspired me to do so. I provided charitable services in free clinics in slum areas and food relief camps for five years after qualifying as a doctor in Kolkata, before I came to England.

• Why did you decide to specialise in Respiratory Medicine?

The speciality of Respiratory Medicine gives a variety and has sufficient amount of challenge in it. The overlap with critical care and the ability to help very sick people has always interested me.

• Do you think institutional racism exist in Britain, especially in NHS/your field and have you been a victim?

The racism is very subtle and mainly structural. I have been lucky not to face direct racism or abuse like in many parts of the world including pockets in the UK but there are subtle problems in career progression where a BAME person has to put in much more effort to achieve the same amount. In fact, the system now recognises it and the NHS has introduced the Workforce Race Equality Standards (WRES) which each NHS Trust has to meet. That is the best way forward to address structural racism.

• As a BAME doctor, you have suffered from Covid-19 and gone back to the job to cure others. Do you think relapses could be fatal to those who have had it before?

We don't know specifically about the fatality of relapses but have become a lot more cautious. We are now getting good supplies of PPE and hospitals have become a lot more careful. We have restricted the amount of footfall on the hospital sites by various means, like converting the bulk of follow up outpatient appointments to virtual consultations, having much stricter infection control measures for face to face appointments and increasing the ventilation in rooms with aerosol generating procedures.

• It has been found that people who recovered from Covid-19 show respiratory complications/distress later. There is also the effect of long-term ventilation on patients. What is the prognosis?

How do patients avoid these effects or recover from these longterm effects?

It is too early to talk about prognosis of post-Covid lung disease. We are following up everyone hospitalised with Covid. If people feel breathless post-Covid at home, they are being advised to immediately contact their GP. We are checking oxygen saturations and chest radiographs (x-rays) on everyone coming to post-Covid clinics. If people complain of any breathlessness post-Covid, we assess them by walking them with continuous pulse oximetry and look for desaturation. Also, we do breathing tests to look for any damage to the breathing function.

• There are many people who have no idea they have existing comorbidities like heart or lung disease, because they have no physical manifestations. Now they live in fear that a second wave could be lethal for them. What is your advice for them?

Obesity is major risk factor in Covid deaths. People may not know about diabetes and high blood pressure unless checked but they do know if they are obese. The general advice would be to maintain good levels of exercise, aim for a healthy body weight and take 7 helpings (80g portions) of fresh fruit and vegetables per day.

• Do you think a 100% prevention through a vaccine is possible?

Very unlikely to have 100% protection from a virus like SARS CoV2 (the virus that causes Covid-19).

• Do you believe Obesity and Vitamin D deficiency are major reasons for Asians to be affected disproportionately?

Yes. Lack of fresh fruits and vegetables in daily diet can also be a contributing factor and there may be other factors (genetic factors like gene polymorphisms) which we don't yet know about.

• In India the recovery rates are higher, with same multigenerational households and genetic and health compositions, then why has the recovery not been the same for South Asians/Indians in this country?

There is no reliable data to give a scientific opinion on this.

We have to remember that the same virus can behave differently under different environmental conditions (example: average temperature, humidity etc).

• The European commission has licensed a new, potentially lifesaving drug to treat Cystic Fibrosis (CF), meaning it will be available on the NHS to many who have the condition. Do you think this otherwise non curable condition is now curable?

The new targeted therapies in CF are revolutionary in terms of changing the patient's lives. The cost is another matter. "Cure" is a word mainly used outside of healthcare but yes, the disease can be controlled to such an extent in childhood that the progression of damage is effectively stopped and in general people born with CF can lead a relatively disease-free life with minimal or no treatment.

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World leaders wish PM Modi on 70th Birthday German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin are among the prominent world leaders who wished Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 70th birthday which was celebrated on September 17.

Addressing PM Modi as "Narendra", the German Chancellor said she had "fond memories" of their meeting at the Indo-German intergovernmental consultations last year. "I wish you all the very best in the future - particularly, in these unusual times, health, happiness and fulfilment," she wrote in her message that was shared by PMO on its twitter handle.

"Together over the past few years we have succeeded in consolidating even further the traditionally good relations between Indian and Germany," the German Chancellor said. Merkel also wished PM Modi "success" in his political work.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his birthday wishes, said that he "values the friendly relations" developed with PM Modi and credited the prime minister for moving India along the path of socio-economic, scientific and technical development.

"I value the kind, friendly relations that have developed between us. I look forward to continuing constructive dialogue with you and work closely together on topical issues of the bilateral and international agenda. From the bottom of my heart, I wish you good health, happiness, well-being and every success," read Russian President Putin's message for PM Modi.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed PM Modi as his "friend" and expressed hope to meet him soon. In her birthday wishes to the Prime Minister, Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin said there is much potential to deepen even further the relations between the two countries.

"We have the opportunity now to turn the good spirits and broad array of deliverables from it into action. To this end, Finland supports concrete cooperation between India and the European Union in many sectors, such as sustainable development, including the circular economy, free trade and human rights," Sanna Marin said in a letter to PM Modi.

Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has also extended greetings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 70th birthday and said that the two leaders will continue to

work closely together to further strengthen relations between India and Nepal. "Warm greetings to Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji on the auspicious occasion of your birthday. I wish you good health and happiness. We will continue working closely together to further strengthen relations between our two countries," Oli tweeted.

Rahul Gandhi greets Modi Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wished PM Modi on his birthday. "Wishing PM Narendra Modi ji a happy birthday," tweeted the Congress MP. PM Modi thanked the former Congress chief with a tweet that said, "Thanks for the wishes Rahul Gandhi Ji." Rahul Gandhi had wished PM Modi last year too. "My best wishes to Narendra Modi Ji on his 69th birthday. May he be blessed with good health and happiness always," Gandhi had tweeted, along with a rainbow emoji. In recent months, the Congress leader's almost daily tweets have mostly targeted PM Modi over the coronavirus crisis, the state of the economy and the dispute with China.

The ruling BJP has organised a Seva Saptah from September 14 to 20 to mark the Prime Minister's birthday week. Various social activities like cleanliness drives and distribution of sanitary pads, wheel-chairs and hearing aids are being conducted by the BJP across the nation.

A 70-kg laddu has been prepared to celebrate the occasion. "We are celebrating Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s 70th birthday with Seva Saptah (service week) as he himself believes in serving people. We also got 70 kg of laddu to make this cake," a BJP worker was quoted as saying. In Vadodara in PM Modi's home state Gujarat, the party has offered life insurance to over 20,000 people under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY).

Film stars, other celebrities greet Modi Virat Kohli, Aamir Khan, Karan Johar, Salman Khan, Shilpa Shetty, Kangana Ranaut and Anupam Kher were some of the celebrities who greeted Modi.

Kangana Ranaut and Anupam Kher posted videos with birthday messages for PM Modi on Twitter. Shilpa Shetty, Anil Kapoor, Salman Khan and Chetan Bhagat put pictures with the Prime Minister and wished him. Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli wrote on Twitter: "Wishing a very Happy Birthday to our honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji."

Leading Bollywood actors Aamir Khan and Salman Khan wished the Prime Minister on social media. "Wishing you many happy returns of the day...," Aamir Khan wrote while Salman Khan said, "...a very happy birthday and many more to come."

Anil Kapoor in his birthday greetings for PM Modi said, "...In everything he does, he thinks of the best interests of the nation and it's people". Filmmaker Karan Johar said, "It has been my good fortune to discuss love for movies and the impact of our cinema on the global footprint with you...Wishing you health and happiness." "...Wishing you more strength, happiness, positivity and great health above all. More power to you Sir...' actor and yoga enthusiast Shilpa Shetty wrote on the microblogging site.

Kangana Ranaut, in her message said, many on social media make derogatory remarks against the Prime Minister but "crores of common people who are not on social media love and respect you and are praying for your long life on your birthday."

"Dear Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi Ji best wishes on you birthday. May god give you a long and healthy life so that you the lead the country the way you are doing now".

Kher praised PM Modi for reaching out to all sections of the society in India and abroad.

He too mentioned about people who criticise the Prime Minister and said, "it is a great learning to see how you handle them with such patience and love...". Kher ended his message for the PM with "God give you all the happiness in the world."

"Happy Birthday to the Honourable Prime Minister! Sir, your dedication to fitness inspires me everyday...," actor Rakulpreet posted on social media. Writer Chetan Bhagat posted a picture with PM Modi and wished the PM "Happy Birthday."

Majority of living organ donors in India are women A study revealed that in India, women accounted for 78% of living organ donors, whereas their share among the organ recipients was only 19%. The research was carried out by Dr Vivek Kute, a professor at Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Center - Institute of Transplantation Sciences (IKDRC-ITS) and secretary of Indian Society of Organ Transplantation (ISOT) between years 2013 and 2019.

Dr Kute presented the findings at the 28th International Congress of Transplant Society that was held from September 13 to 16. “The data from National Organ & Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) for 2019 reveal that there were 12,625 total organ transplants out of which 72.4% recipients were men. Among the living organ recipients last year, 70.6% were men,” he said.

His analysis of past 20 years data revealed that the majority of the donors (7580%) were women, whereas the majority of the recipients were men. In comparison, 60% of the living organ donors were women in the same period.

He also analysed the local data for IKDRC in Ahmedabad that revealed that out of the living donors for kidney among couples, 90% donors were females – the ratio

was 78% for grandparent donors and 75% for parents. “It’s a socioeconomic issue that has continued for the past several decades. If a man requires a kidney, the first choice for family is wife or mother,” said Dr Kute, adding that stringent steps are needed to improve the sex ratio.

Donor of same gender preferred Dr Vasanthi Ramesh, director of NOTTO, said male organs should be preferred as female organs are comparatively smaller, thereby increasing the chances of mismatch. “We do not want to discourage women donors but male donors are better suited for a male patient. Barring Australia and New Zealand where the ratio is nearly 50:50, the ratio is skewed in favour of men,” she said.

Dr Mahesh Desai, managing trustee of Nadiad-based Muljibhai Patel Urological

in brief in brief 12 KILLED, 20 HURT IN BUILDING COLLAPSE A portion of a 36-year-old three-storey building in Bhiwandi near Mumbai collapsed on Monday morning, killing 12 persons and injuring 20. Of the dead, seven were minors.

Half of the structure, called Jilani building, came crashing down soon after 3 am and while some residents managed to rush out in time, the others got trapped. The building had 48 flats in all and a power loom on the ground floor; the part with 24 flats collapsed.

Several occupants were still believed trapped under the debris while rescue operations continued.

CHIMANBHAI PATEL INSTITUTE STUDENTS BAG TOP RANKS Institute of Journalism and Communication (IJC) students from Chimanbhai Patel Institute, Ahmedabad, bagged the first 10 ranks in the results of BJMC semester II declared by the Gujarat University. The management headed by Siddharth C Patel congratulated the students and the faculty for the excellent result. Even in the semester I of BJMC exams, all the first 10 rankers were from IJC. All the students from IJC passed the semester II exams. The names of the students and their respective SGPA in semester II are: Acharya Akshay Dharmendra (8.62), Bhinde Vaidehi Chandrakant (8.30), Kripalani Khushi Nanak (8.28), Gala Ashish Jayesh (8.21), Pancholi Rudri Premalbhai (8.18), Dahanukar Siddhi Sanjay (8.12), Shaikh Kaif Kaiser Haseeb Ahshan (8.06), Patel Drashti Mukeshbhai (8.05), Patel Aahana Unmesh (8.02), Lalani Ronak Sadruddin (7.90).

NIA ARRESTS 9 OF QAIDA MODULE National Investigation Agency (NIA) busted a “Pakistan-sponsored, al-Qaida module” operating out of West Bengal and Kerala, arresting nine persons for planning to carry out terrorist strikes in India “in the near future” with sophisticated weapons “arranged” by an al-Qaida handler, Hamza, based in Peshawar, Pakistan. The module, led

by Murshid Hasan alias Sofiq hailing from West Bengal but based in Kerala, was at an advanced stage of procuring arms, including automatic rifles and pistols, ammunition and explosives to attack vital installations and execute targeted killings in multiple places, including Delhi-NCR, said an NIA source. Nine terrorists – Murshid Hasan, Iyakub Biswas & Mosaraf Hossen, all residents of Ernakulam, Kerala; and Najmus Sakib, Abu Sufiyan, Mainul Mondal, Leu Yean Ahmed, Al Mamun Kamal & Atitur Rehman, all residents from Murshidabad, West Bengal — were arrested early on Saturday from Ernakulam and Murshidabad in simultaneous raids conducted by the NIA. All are “highly radicalised” and were getting instructions from foreign handlers, including Pakistanbased al-Qaida operatives on cyberspace.

They were actively raising funds and also contributing money for buying arms and ammunition for jihadi activities.

NO DECISION TO HALT ₹2000 NOTE PRINTING

Hospital, said that promotion of cadaver donations can be one of the ways to improve the gender imbalance. “Factors such as education and financial independence also play a major role,” he said.

The Indian government has not taken any decision to discontinue the printing of Rs 2,000 denomination currency notes, the Lok Sabha was informed. “Printing of bank notes of particular denomination is decided by the government in consultation with the RBI to maintain desired denomination mix for facilitating transactional demand of the public,” junior finance minister Anurag Singh Thakur said in a written reply. “During the year 2019-20 and 2020-21, no indent has been placed with the presses for printing of Rs 2,000 denomination notes. However, there is no decision to discontinue the printing of Rs 2,000 denomination bank notes by the government,” Singh said in his reply.

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Anushka flaunts baby bump in new photo On the occasion of World Gratitude Day, actor Anushka Sharma shared a gorgeous picture of herself in the swimming pool. Stressing the importance of being thankful for the good things in life and spreading kindness, Anushka was seen showing off her baby bump in a black strapless monokini with a cute ruffle detail.

She wrote in her caption, “Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance' – Eckhart Tolle. Gratitude to all those who showed me kindness and made me believe in goodness in this world, opening my heart enough to practice the same with the hope to pay it forward. Because... 'After all, we are all just walking each other home' – Ram Dass #worldgratitudeday.”

The actor is expecting her first child with husband Virat Kohli.

Earlier this month, she shared a picture of herself and said that motherhood was “humbling”. She wrote on Instagram, “Nothing is more real & humbling than experiencing creation of life in you. When this is not in your control then really what is?”

On the work front, Anushka has not signed any films as an actor since then. She has instead kept herself busy with her production ventures, including Amazon Prime Video series 'Paatal Lok', and Netflix's 'Bulbbul'.

Akshay Kumar breaks his 18 year rule Actor Akshay Kumar, who is currently in Scotland for the shoot of his upcoming 'Bell Bottom', has broken his 18 year rule and is working a double shift. Producer Jackky Bhagnani praised the actor saying, “Akshay sir is truly a producer’s actor and it has been a privilege to work with

him. He is constantly thinking about everyone and everything. From safety measures for the entire unit to shooting schedules to the challenges faced by producersthe man is pure gold.”

He added, “Akshay sir is doing a double shift for the first time in 18 years. So when he suggested two units we were absolutely stunned and excited at the same time. And seeing his work discipline and respect for time, everyone on the sets is super energized and also pitching in their best.

It's like well-oiled machinery working round the clock to make this happen.”

There were two factors that prompted Akshay's decision. First, the makers had taken a huge unit via a chartered flight. Second, the rules of that country needed a mandatory 14 days of quarantine on landing there – meaning financial burden on the producers apart from time lost.

Produced by Vashu Bhagnani, Jackky Bhagnani, Deepshikha Deshmukh, Monisha Advani, Madhu Bhojwani, and Nikkhil Advani, 'Bell Bottom' stars Akshay Kumar and Vaani Kapoor in the lead, along with Lara Dutta and Huma Qureshi in pivotal roles.

Anurag Kashyap accused of sexual misconduct Actor Payal Ghosh has accused filmmaker Anurag Kashyap of forcing himself upon her. In a tweet tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she wrote, “Anurag Kashyap has forced himself on me and extremely badly. Narendra Modi ji, kindly take action and let the country see the demon behind this creative guy. I am aware that it can harm me and my security is at risk.

Pls help!”

Anurag denied the allegations through his lawyer who released a statement. He said, “My client, Anurag Kashyap, has been deeply pained by the false allegations of sexual misconduct that have recently surfaced against him. These allegations are completely false, malicious and dishonest. It is sad that a social movement as important as the #metoo movement has been co-opted by vested interests and reduced to a mere tool for character assassination.” While several in the industry have come out in Anurag's support, it was his ex-wife Kalki Koechlin's support that was the most profound.

In a statement released on social media, Kalki hailed Anurag as a champion of women – both onscreen and off. She wrote, “Trolls toh troll karenge”.

The statement read, “Dear Anurag, don't let this social media circus get to you, you have fought for the freedom of women in your scripts, you've defended their integrity in your professional space as well as in your personal life. I have been witness to it, in the personal and professional space you have always seen me as your equal, you have stood up for my integrity even after our divorce, and you have supported me when I felt unsafe in a work environment even before we got together.”

Anurag's first wife, film editor Aarti Bajaj also issued a statement in his defence.

Abhishek Bachchan says no debate on OTT vs theatre release With theatres closed due to the ongoing pandemic, there is an ongoing debate over whether an OTT release is the future. However, actor Abhishek Bachchan, who received good reviews for his web debut 'Breathe Into The Shadows', believes there is no debate in the first place.

He says, “The media has made it into a debate. There are opinions. I don't know if this discussion would be happening if we weren't in the middle of a pandemic. But circumstances are such that we have to do whatever best we can.” He adds, “I want my work and film out to as many people to come and watch it. If that's in a movie theatre, I'd like as many people to come and watch it. If it's a streaming platform, as many go to come there to see it. I want them to see my films without compromising their safety. If during these unprecedented times, I have an avenue through which I can do that, I am more than happy.”

Abhishek also spoke about his father, Amitabh Bachchan's direct-to-OTT release with 'Gulabo Sitabo' earlier this year. “I think as actors, we like to believe, and if I may speak for him, we're just happy to have a job and get to share our creativity with the audience.”

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Deepika opens up about school life Deepika Padukone featured in Nat Geo's Mega Icons, where she spoke about being the daughter of badminton legend Prakash Padukone, and following him in the field of sports. Sharing school memories, the actor talked about the special treatment she got from her teachers.

Deepika remembers giving all her time to badminton during her growing up years. Sharing her daily routine from dawn to dusk as a teenager, she said, “The routine was to

wake up every morning like 4-5 am, go for physical conditioning, go back home, go to school. As soon as I would finish school, there was no time to chitchat with friends so I would get home, change, have a snack, go to the badminton court, have dinner, be exhausted by that point and go to sleep and then the same thing again.”

She added, “That was my life: No late nights, no TV, no movies. Sport teaches you sacrifice, discipline, dedication and determination.” Deepika said everything changed when she travelled to Copenhagen all by herself at 16. “When I came back, that was it.”

She later went on to pursue modelling, and arrived in Mumbai at 17.

Genre: Drama Duration: 120 minutes

When two women are trying to steer through the difficulties of life Dolly is a housewife who lives in the outskirts of New Delhi where her cousin also moves to. The two women hold each other’s dark secrets and this is what keeps them close. The film shows how they navigate through their daily lives.

Kareena turns 40, wishes flood in from Bollywood Actor Kareena Kapoor Khan turned a year older this week, inviting a barrage of wishes from Bollywood stars including Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra, Alia Bhatt, Katrina Kaif, and Arjun Kapoor. Kareena celebrated her 40th birthday with her family members in an intimate house party. Bebo's elder sister Karisma Kapoor shared a few pictures from the birthday bash and wrote on Instagram, “Birthday girl, we love you. #happybirthday #fabulousatanyage.”

Karisma also shared a childhood photo of them and wrote, “Will continue to protect you always. Happy 40th birthday to my lifeline! Love you the most #birthdaygirl #happybirthday #fabulousat40 #sistersquad #bestsisterever @kareenakapoorkhan.”

Kareena's 'Veere Di Wedding' co-star Sonam Kapoor wrote on Instagram, “My darling Bebo, wishing you the most happiest birthdays of all. Keep shining you superstar. Can't wait to meet you soon and shower you with my love!”

Akshay Kumar, meanwhile, shared a goofy photo with her on Instagram sto-

ries. He wrote, “Happy birthday Bebo. Stay the way you are, crazy as always. Love and prayers. @kareenakapoorkhan.”

Priyanka Chopra shared a boomerang video with Kareena and wrote, “Happiest birthday to the most wonderful @kareenakapoorkhan... There's no one like you, may you get back all the kindness and love and positivity you shower on others.”

Kareena, on Sunday, shared some pre-birthday musings. She wrote on Instagram, “As I enter my 40th year... I want to sit back, reflect, love, laugh, forgive, forget and most importantly pray and thank the strongest force up there for giving me the strength and thank my experiences and decisions for making me the woman I am... Some right, some wrong, some great, some not so... but still, hey BIG 40 make it BIG.”

The film starts with Dolly and Kaajal at a fun fair with Dolly’s family. Dolly’s husband Amit tries to make an advance towards Kaajal who dismisses this but tries to tell Dolly, but Dolly does not believe her.

Kaajal is working at a shoe factory where she quits and Dolly in an office where she feels unappreciated.

Kaajal soon lands herself a job at a cyber love company and finds a bed in a woman’s hostel so she can move out of Dolly’s flat.

Dolly is feeling lost in her own marriage, her younger son prefers playing with dolls and dressing like a girl and this is causing tension at his school. She does not feel intimate with her husband and strikes up a friendship with the local delivery boy. Dolly is also trying to keep up with society and move into a new luxury apartment.

As time goes on Kaajal now known as Kitty falls in love with one of her clients but when they are caught and thrown into jail, he does not bail her out. This is when she finds out he is already married and was deceiving her.

In this time Dolly has started an affair with the delivery boy Osmaan and it all comes to a head when they all end up at a function together. A riot breaks out and Osmaan is killed. Dolly finally plucks up the courage to

Sonu Sood revisits 'Manikarnika' controversy Actor Sonu Sood spoke out about the 'Manikarnika' controversy in a brand new interview. Revealing what made him leave the film after actor Kanagana Ranaut took over as its director, he said he didn't want to hurt her sentiments. Describing why he left 'Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi' after shooting for it, he said, “Kangana is a friend of mine from many years, and I don't want to hurt her sentiments. But to talk about it, I will say that when he had shot for major portions of 'Manikarnika', I asked my director that we need to start shooting again and he said that he received an email saying that he is not going to be a part of the project anymore.”

He added that he spoke to the actor about how the situation stands.

“She said that she wants to direct the film and wants me to support her. I said okay but we need to get him back on the set because he has worked really hard for the film but she denied saying that she wanted to continue directing.

Then I asked her to send across rushes from the film but she denied saying that she wanted to continue directing.

Then I asked her to send across rushes from the film and I saw that 80% of my scenes were chopped off and the

scenes that I was narrated were not there. I spoke to Kangana again and she confessed as a friend that she wanted this to be shot in a certain way.

So I told her that she is a great friend of mine but I’m not comfortable in shooting what she is asking me to do, I said okay to the previous script and director but I would like to walk out of this project and I won’t even speak about it. I had given the film four months and had left a few projects. I felt a lot of grief, but didn’t say anything.”

Sonu had earlier refuted

Kangana's accusation of him not being ready to work under a female director. He had said, “That was not my statement. I never said that I don't want to work with a female director because I have already done a movie with a female director. I only said I can't be working with two directors on one set. So I will always maintain that stand and in a span of all these years, whatever films I have done, 8090 movies, I have worked with one director at a time. So that is my stand and I will always stick to it.”

leave her husband and Kitty finds that her role at the cyber love center is more important than ever.

Dolly Kitty aur who Chamakte Sitare is a fun easy to watch film. It may seem like there are a lot of complexities but actually it is one of those films you can watch without having to task your brain too much. There is a harsh reality of how life is for some woman in India which is bought to the forefront in this film and how men are treated differently to men but both Konkana Sen Sharma and Bhumi Pednekar play their roles really well with the right amount of emotion needed to keep you watching.

You can get in touch with Vallisa: djvallisa@gmail.com

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Nithya Menen set to play a singer in multilingual film 'Gamanam' Actor Nithya Menen is all set to play a singer in upcoming multilingual film 'Gamanam'. Makers of the project released a poster, which introduces her character as singer Shailaputri Devi. She's seen performing at what appears to be a concert.

The pan-Indian project which will be released in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada,

and Malayalam, will be headlined by Shriya.

Directed by Sujana Rao and produced by cinematographer VS Gnana Sekhar, the filming of Gamanam has been completed and the project is currently in the post production phase. Sai Madhav Burra has written the dialogues for the film, while the

music is by Ilaiyaraaja. The rest of the cast and crew is yet to be officially announced.

Menen was last seen on screen in Tamil thriller 'Psycho'. On the work front, she will also be seen playing former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa in an upcoming biopic, 'Iron Lady'

Tamannaah to play key Mohanlal shares pictures from roles in Telugu remake Malayalam crime drama 'Drishyam 2' of 'Andhadhun' Actresses Tamannaah Bhatia and Nabha Natesh have reportedly roped in to play key roles in the yet-untitled Telugu remake of 'Andhadhun'. It was confirmed that the project will go on the sets this November. The makers revealed that Tamannaah will reprise Tabu's role from the original, while Nabha will play the character of Radhika Apte.

Meanwhile, Nithiin will reprise Ayushmann Khurrana's role as the blind musician who finds himself stuck in a murder mystery. The statement reveals Tamannaah is thrilled to take up a role with negative shades. The rest of the cast will be finalised and announced soon. The remake will have music by Mahati Sagar while Hari K Vedanth will crank the camera.

On the work front, Nithiin was last seen in Telugu romantic comedy 'Bheeshma', also starring Rashmika Mandanna. Produced by Suryadevara Naga Vamsi and presented by PDV Prasad, 'Bheeshma' also starred Naresh VK, Kalyani Natarajan, Raghu Babu

Veteran actor Mohanlal's upcoming Malayalam crime drama 'Drishyam 2' went on the floors last week. He took to social media to share pictures from the ceremony. Lal wrote, “Glad to share that we have started the shooting of #Drishyam2 today.

Here are some of the Pooja Pics. #drishyam #drishyam2 #shooting #covidprotocolsinplace”.

The movie marks the reunion of Mohanlal and filmmaker Jeetu Joseph. 'Drishyam' is the story of a father covering up a murder to

and Sampath in supporting roles.

Mahati Swara Sagar has been roped in as the music composer for this film.

save his family, was the first Malayalam film to gross over £5 million. The sequel will also star Meena, who played Mohanlal's wife in the first part. In a recent Jeethu interview, revealed he has made two changes after revisiting the script recently. He had opened up about the project while addressing students at a college.

“After completing the script, I gave it to s o m e people to read. As per their suggestions, I made a few corrections, and then put the script aside to go and do other stuff. Later, I came back to it and took a second look at the script, and when one does that, one starts noticing some

TV Listing

Vidya Balan likely to play key role in Mahesh Babu's 'Sarkaru Vaari Paata' A month-long schedule is planned in Washington DC and the makers have already begun the visa formalities. The team will travel post Dussehra, provided the current situation doesn't get worse. Keerthy Suresh has been roped in as the leading lady. She will be sharing the screen space with Mahesh for the first time.

Vidya was recently seen as mathematics wizard Shakuntala Devi in the eponymous biopic.

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 28 SEP FRI 2 OCT 2020 6:30 INTERNET WALA LOVE 14:30 KASAM 16:00 THE GREAT INDIAN GLOBAL KITCHEN 19:00 ISHQ MEIN MARJAWAN 2 19:30 CHOTI SARDAARNI 20:00 SHAKTI 20:30 SHUBHARAMBH 21:00 NAATI PINKY KI LAMBI LOVE STORY

* Schedule is subject to change

If media reports are to be believed, actor Vidya Balan is likely to play a key role in Mahesh Babu's upcoming Telugu film 'Sarkaru Vaari Paata'. It is reported that Vidya has been approached with the role of Mahesh's sister in the movie. Makers of the movie that

is due to go on the floors in the US post Dussehra, are currently busy finalising the rest of the cast and crew. So far, it has been confirmed that Keerthy Suresh will play the leading lady. It was also rumoured that Anil Kapoor has been approached with the offer to play the antagonist.

problems,” Jeethu said, adding, “I noticed that I had written a scene which required a crowd, and considering the current situation, it’s impossible to shoot that.”

Lal was last seen in Malayalam blockbuster 'Lucifer', which has a sequel in the pipeline. It was the first Malayalam film to gross over £20 million worldwide.

MON 28 SEP FRI 2 OCT 2020 8:30 BHARADWAJ BAHUEIN 15:30 JAI SHRI KRISHNA 16:00 DHARAM THI GUJARATI 16:30 RASOI SHOW 17:30 CHHUTA CHHEDA 18:00 TUM KAUN PIYA 18:30 DIL KA RISHTA 19:00 MERE HUMRAHI 19:30 OM NAMAH SHIVAY

21:30 PAVITRA BHAGYAA 22:00 PINJARA KHUBSOORTI KA SATURDAY 26 SEP 18:30 NAMASTE BREAKFAST 19:00 ISHQ MEIN MARJAWAN 2 19:30 CHOTI SARDAARNI 20:00 NAAGIN (SEASON 5) 21:00 DESI BEAT RESET 21:30 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) SUNDAY 27 SEP 14:30 NAMAK HALAAL 16:30 DESI BEAT RESET 17:00 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) 19:00 ISHQ MEIN MARJAWAN 2 19:30 CHOTI SARDAARNI 20:00 NAAGIN (SEASON 5) 21:00 DESI BEAT RESET 21:30 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14)

20:30 BARRISTER BABU 21:00 BALIKA VADHU - LAMHE PYAAR KE SATURDAY 26 SEP 11:00 DESI BEAT SEASON 2 17:00 DHARAM THI GUJARATI 18:00 FEET UP WITH THE STARS (SEASON 1) 18:30 KHATRA KHATRA KHATRA 19:30 OM NAMAH SHIVAY 20:30 DESI BEAT SEASON 2 21:00 BALIKA VADHU SUNDAY 27 SEP 11:00 DESI BEAT SEASON 2 17:00 DHARAM THI GUJARATI 18:00 KHATRA KHATRA KHATRA 19:00 BIGG BOSS (SEASON 14) 21:00 BALIKA VADHU

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Chahal spins RCB to victory It was a tale of the debutants and a wily leggie at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. With plenty of runs under his belt in the lead-up to the Indian Premier League, Devdutt Padikkal was primed for success. The 20-year-old left handed opener on Monday helped Royal Challengers Bangalore post 163 for five, as he hit a half-century on debut in first class, List A and IPL. Padikkal’s 56 (42b, 8x4) was the perfect launch pad RCB sought after being put in by Sunrisers Hyderabad, and with Aaron Finch playing the ideal foil, the duo realized 90 runs in 11overs before two wickets in two deliveries salvaged the situation for SRH. Chahal (3/18), though, ensured RCB made a 10-run winning start.

Super Over win for Capitals Kings XI Punjab opener Mayank Agarwal (89 off 60b; 7x4, 4x6) had the match in his bag with just 1 run needed off 3 balls, but he hit a full toss straight to the sweeper cover off Marcus Stoinis’ bowling. Mayank’s wicket led to a tie between Kings XI and Delhi Capitals and the match moved to a Super Over. The Super Over saw Delhi emerge victorious at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

In the regulation 20 overs, Ravichandran Ashwin put in a masterclass in the space of five deliveries before leaving the field due to a suspected shoulder dislocation. Ashwin’s double-wicket over nearly derailed Kings XI’s chase of 158 runs.

Brought in during the final Powerplay over of KXIP’s innings, Ashwin first got Karun Nair, who managed to top edge a sweep straight to Prithvi Shaw at short fine leg. Then he clean bowled Nicholas Pooran with a brilliantly disguised, floaty arm ball that crashed into the stumps. But, a needless dive to stop a single off the last delivery of his over saw Ashwin land awkwardly on his left arm with the shoulder taking the jerk.

If it was Ashwin with the ball, Stoinis turned the game around with the bat for the Capitals.

Delhi would’ve ended with a much smaller total had it not been for Stoinis’ (53 off 21b; 7x4, 3x6) big-hitting in the slog overs. The Australian took 13 runs

off the 18th over, 14 off the 19th, and then smashed 30 runs of the 20th over that was bowled by Jordan to propel DC to a fighting total.

Earlier, Mohammad Shami (3-15) put in a masterclass with the ball for Kings XI. It is natural to expect players to be rusty when they’re coming back from a break especially in the case of a fast bowler. Not with Mohammad Shami though. The India pacer was on song for Kings XI. CSK win IPL opening match All lovers of the Indian Premier League were happy to see MS Dhoni back on a cricket field after 437 days as he skippered Chennai Super Kings in the first game of the T20 league against defending champions Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi, on Saturday. There was also a fair degree of astonishment at the bulk that Dhoni has put on. Extra work in the gym during lockdown has obviously given him strength in his limbs, but he has always been known for the strength of his mind.

Using sound tactics and wonderful rotation of bowlers and right field placements on a big ground, the CSK skipper helped his team fight back as Mumbai Indians, after racing away to 45 for no loss in four overs after being put into bat, limped their way to 162 for 9. In reply, CSK relied on two players who are not spectacular, but are mighty effective and understand the grammar of pacing an innings in tough situations. Ambati Rayudu 71 (48 balls, 6x4, 3x6) and Faf du Plessis may not have the big shots. They

do not have bulging muscles. But ask them to hit a gap, they will do it. The pair did the job that Suresh Raina normally does for CSK and helped them recover from the twin blows of losing openers Shane Watson and Murali Vijay to MI’s new signings Trent Boult and James Pattinson to add 115 for the third wicket.

Dhoni then promoted the young Sam Curran ahead of himself and the move worked like a charm as Curran smashed a quickfire 18 off six balls to help them win with four balls and five wickets remaining. MI last won the first match of the IPL in 2012. Ironically, it was CSK who they beat them at the Chepauk.

Spin, so often Dhoni and CSK’s trusted friend on the slow and low pitches at Chepauk, helped them in the Emirates too as the impressive Piyush Chawla struck by getting rid of MI skipper Rohit Sharma caught by Curran at mid-off and then applied the choke. It was the 10th time in three editions that Rohit had fallen to leg-spin. Dhoni then changed the end of Curran, who made a smooth graduation from being a Kings player to a Super Kings one and dismissed the dangerous Quinton de Kock. Once the openers were gone, Dhoni was in control as most MI players were guilty of thinking that they were playing on a smallish field at Wankhede and kept getting caught at the boundary attempting big hits. Du Plessis, at long on and long off, pouched some wonderful catches, two off them in one over off Ravindra Jadeja to dismiss Saurabh Tiwary and Hardik Pandya.

Kings XI lodge appeal over ‘short run’ call Kings XI Punjab have registered an appeal with match referee Javagal Srinath against on-field umpire Nitin Menon’s contentious ‘short run’ call in the 19th over of KXIP’s chase against Delhi Capitals on Sunday. The match ended in a tie after the regulation 20 overs and Delhi Capitals emerged victorious in the Super Over.

Kings XI could have won the game in the regulation overs had umpire Menon, stationed at square leg, not deemed Chris Jordan to be a run short.

The incident happened on the third ball of the 19th over when Mayank Agarwal tapped the ball towards mid-on to complete two runs. Menon, however, decided otherwise and only a single was added to the scoreboard. TV replays showed Jordan turned for a second run only after dragging his bat inside the crease for the first run.

Kings XI CEO Satish Menon felt that the decision could “cost them a place in the Playoff ”.

“We have appealed to the match referee,” Menon said. “While a human

match choice. The umpire who gave this short run should have been the man of the match. It wasn’t a short run, and that was the difference,” Virender Sehwag tweeted.

“Terrible one short decision in the game between Kings XI and Delhi Capitals,” New Zealand allrounder error can happen and we understand that, there is no room for human errors like these in a world-class tournament like the IPL. This one could cost us a Playoff berth. I hope the rules are reviewed so that there is no margin for human error. There is technology for everything these days.”

The erroneous call has led to several former and current cricketers calling for technological intervention.

“I don’t agree with the man of the

Scott Styris wrote.

“Technology must take over in these cases. What if Kings XI don’t make it to the final four by two points?” former India opener Akash Chopra wondered.

“This shouldn’t happen with the technology available. This was a line call like a no ball, run out or stumping. We can’t afford to have these errors influencing the outcome of matches in such a competitive tournament,” Tom Moody tweeted.

Sachin flayed for promoting Paytm The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) criticised Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar for choosing to become the brand ambassador of Chinese-funded Paytm’s gaming app Sachin Tendulkar ‘Paytm First Games’.

In a letter to the former cricketer, the CAIT urged Tendulkar to reconsider his decision and reject the offer, keeping national sentiments in mind as India is “undergoing a face off with China”. “It is most astonishing and disgusting that a son of the soil who is loved by the country too much and who is considered to be much patriotic, has accepted to be Brand Ambassador of the company, which is highly infiltrated with Chinese investment,” the letter said. “We are sure that money cannot be a consideration for you to accept such an offer. Then, what prompted you to go against the mood and sentiment of the people of India, we failed to understand (sic),” read the letter written by Praveen Khandelwal, national secretary general of the CAIT. The letter further said: “We refer to various media reports which says that Paytm’s gaming app Paytm First (Games) has made you its Brand Ambassador which is a shocking news for the people of India because at a time when our country is undergoing a faceoff with China, who has brutally killed our 20 soldiers and repeatedly trying for aggression at our borders, you have chosen to be a Brand Ambassador of a company which has substantial investment of Alibaba of China.

DHONI'S POPULARITY HAS SURPASSED TENDULKAR AND KOHLI'S, FEELS GAVASKAR The legendary Sunil Gavaskar said two-time World Cup-winning captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's popularity in India has exceeded the level of fandom even the great Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli enjoy in the cricket-crazy nation. Gavaskar, also a former India captain, is in the UAE to commentate in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League. Dhoni, who last month retired from international cricket, is back to play in the IPL for his first competitive outing since the 2019 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand. Speaking about Dhoni before the IPL opener, Gavaskar said, 'Since MSD comes from Ranchi, which doesn't have a cricket culture as such, the whole India loves him.

Tendulkar has Mumbai and Kolkata, Kohli has Delhi and Bengaluru but when you talk of Dhoni it's the whole India.' Staying in self isolation for the first six days after spending five months with family was the hardest phase, according to Dhoni, who spoke for the first time in months.

AUSTRALIA WIN ODI SERIES DECIDER AGAINST ENGLAND Australia stunned England in the third ODI to pocket the three-match series by a 2-1 margin. The series decider saw England post 302/7 in 50 overs. Jonny Bairstow (112), Sam Billings (57) and Chris Woakes (53*) helped England pile up a competitive total. In reply, Glenn Maxwell and Alex Carey struck respective centuries to guide Australia home. England were rocked early on as Mitchell Starc sent back Jason Roy and Joe Root off the first two deliveries. Bairstow and Eoin Morgan added 67 runs. England were reduced to 96/4, before Bairstow and Billings added 114 runs.

Woakes' blitz helped them surpass 300. nn Maxwell and Alex Carey added a record stand to win the game.

Roy registered his ninth ODI duck, whereas, Root got dismissed for nought for the fifth time in his career.

Woakes amassed his fifth career ODI fifty and raced to 97 fours. Woakes (1,315) surpassed Matt Prior in terms of runs (1,282). Meanwhile, Billings scored his fourth ODI fifty. This was his second fifty-plus score in the series.