AV 29th April 2023

Disability doesn’t define you

SEE PAGE - 09

14

T H E L I M I T A T I O N O F T A L E N T

The post-study work visa for international students in the UK has catapulted an influx of Indian students to Britain, which allows more diverse talent in the country that contributes to the economy But how successful is the vision and impact of the scheme in the long run? We find out

16

17 &

Bollywood celebrities attend prayer meeting for Pamela Chopra

SEE PAGE - 28

The UK is also home to 4 of the top 10 institutes worldwide, according to the QS World Rankings 2023. The institutions across the UK focus on well-rounded development and provide students with a healthy educational environment while preparing them for success in the increasingly globalised world.International students have since time immemorial been an integral part of the UK cultural and educational communities

Continued on page 06

Women

Empowerment and Achievements: Exchange of Thoughts

India begins evacuation from Sudan; 278 Indians board naval ship to Jeddah

Indian authorities on Tuesday scrambled t o e v a c u a t e c l o s e t o 3 , 0 0 0 I n d i a n n a t i o n a l s f r o m S u d a n a f t e r t h e r e g u l a r a r m y a n d a r e b e l p a r a m i l i t a r y f o r c e agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire, with Saudi Arabia becoming a key staging post for f e r r y i n g o u t s t r a n d e d c i t i z e n s . A s m a l l n u m b e r o f I n d i a n n a t i o n a l s w e r e evacuated from Sudan by Saudi Arabia and France over the past few days, and h u n d r e d s r e m a i n s t r a n d e d i n d i f f e r e n t parts of the country, mainly the capital Khartoum

Continued on page 25

Age 5 to 75, Asians run the London Marathon First ever Shree Jagannatha Convention hosted in London

Shefali Saxena

British Sikh Association and Nicola Richards MP host Vaisakhi in Parliament

with Keith Vaz

B H AV NA H UG H E S

Bhavna Hugh es, Director at Specsavers was born In Nairo bi, Kenya and arrived in th e U K in 1972 She did h er sch ooling in Leicester and went to college in L ond on and became a d isp ensing optician a p rofession sh e enjo ys

This was her f irst professional qualif ication and she still practicing in this f ield She has three children who are her pride and joy

Bhavna enjoys socialising and likes to think she lives her life to the fullest She believes that humility should be one of the most important characteristics of any person

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

My home is where my kids and family are, I can adapt really quickly and have a get on with it attitude Travelling is my passion and one day I would like to visit all the places on my tick list

2) What are your proudest achievements?

My proudest achievements would be f irstly to my kids and running a successful business, juggling life to be the best mum, partner, sister, friend that I can be

3) What inspires you?

I Find inspiration all around me since

C O V I D n a t u r e i s m o r e a p p r e c i a t e d b y myself, the changes in the seasons etc I love to see people who contribute so much to look after the welfare of others selflessly

4) What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

In all honesty I am quite a positive person in my outlook, and I feel if there’s any obstacle, I can get by it with humility and communication

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

My mum who instilled core values and compassion into me from a young age She was widowed at an early age with 5 children and raised us all to be good human beings and always looking after others who may not be as fortunate as ourselves

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

My current role encompasses a lot of different things, the f irst being a parent to my 3 children, a successful business with my team being my wider family and making sure ever yone that I am in contact with is looked after and we grow together

7) And the worst?

I believe in positive vibes only so I can’t really say I have encountered to many bad times, sometimes when you have bad times it makes you stronger and more empathetic towards others

8) What are your long-term goals?

Live and let live keep doing what I am doing enjoying life with my family, friends and my work family Keep travelling to widen my horizons and do good along the way where I can

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

As things stand it’s not a job that I w o u l d re l i s h b u t ke e p i n g t h e e c o n o my growing NHS growth and NHS workers being treated better with pay rises to reflect on the work they do for us as a nation It breaks my heart to see so many homeless people so anything to help getting them off the streets would be great

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

Mother Theresa, always so compassionate about helping others and being selfless

Optician convicted of murdering pregnant wife

A West Yorksh ire op tician h as been convicted of murd ering his p regnant wife by p ushing her off a ro cky cliff a t A r th u r ’ s S e at i n Ed inburgh

3 1 - y e a r- o l d Fa w z i y a h Javed suffered serious head injuries due to her fall from a h e i g h t o f 5 0 f t o n September 1, 2021, but she told a police off icer during her f inal moment that her h u s b a n d K a s h i f A n w a r pushed her to death Anwar, 29, claimed during the trial t h a t h e h a d s l i p p e d a n d bumped into her while taking a self ie which resulted in her fatal fall – an argument

30th anniversary of murdered teenager

T h e fa m i ly o f S tep h e n L aw r enc e w il l g a th e r i n Tra fal g ar S qu a re t o m ar k the 30th anniv ersary of his d e ath T h e m u rd er ed teenag er ’ s lo v ed o nes w i ll gather for the m em orial at S t M a rti n-i n- th e -F ie ld s church

Labour leader Sir Keir

St a r m e r i s e x p e c t e d t o attend alongside the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan It c o m e s a f t e r Me t r o p o l i t a n Po l i c e c o m m i s s i o n e r Si r Mark Rowley admitted that the force “did not dig deep enough” to root out racism since Mr Lawrence’s murder in 1993 He apologised for failings in the aftermath of the k i l l i n g , w h i c h l e d t o t h e

Stephen Lawrence

force’s response to it being

b r a n d e d i n s t i t u t i o n a l l y r a c i s t i n t h e 19 9 9 M a c p h e r s o n R e p o r t T h e Me t c o m m i s s i o n e r s a i d a failure to robustly confront “cultural and systemic” failings, which were exposed by the force’s response to the murder, had undermined its ability to f ight crime, and he

p l e d g e d t o “f i n a l l y ” m a ke the Met determinedly antiracist The Casey Review into t h e Me t r o p o l i t a n Po l i c e published last month found the force to be institutionall y r a c i s t , m i s o g y n i s t a n d homophobic in the wake of a series of scandals, includi n g t h e m u r d e r o f S a r a h Everard by a ser ving off icer and Pc David Carrick being unmasked as a serial rapist T h e b u n g l e d o r i g i n a l Lawrence murder investigat i o n w a s h a m p e r e d b y r a c i s m a n d a l l e g e d p o l i c e corruption, which meant it took nearly 20 years for two o f t h e 1 8 - y e a r- o l d ’ s f i v e killers to be brought to justice, with three never prosecuted

British organisations must follow rules in other countries

British orga nisat ions that are w or k i n g i n ot h e r n a t io n s must foll ow t he laws of those co u nt r i e s, t he U K 's t op diploma t in India has told, days after Indian authoritie s i nv e s t ig a t e d t h e B B C a n d Oxfam India for al lege d viol a t i on o f fo r e ig n fu n d in g rule s

T h e E n fo r c e m e n t Directorate has f iled a case against BBC India under the Fo r e i g n Exc h a n g e M a n a g e m e n t A c t , w h i c h deals with how organisations in India can receive funds from abroad

The authorities are also

investigating Oxfam India, an offshoot of the Britishfounded non-prof it after the g o v e r n m e n t a l l e g e d t h e charity had violated foreign f u n d i n g r e g u l a t i o n s I n v e s t i g a t o r s h a v e a l l e g e d Ox f a m I n d i a r e c e i v e d

£1,47,515 93 approx directly into its foreign contribution utilisation account' instead o f t h e d e s i g n a t e d b a n k account between 2013 and 2 0 1 6 T h e y a l le g e d Ox f a m India has the reach and influence to request multilateral fo r e i g n o r g a n i s a t i o n s t o inter vene on its behalf with the government of India

Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India, said they are aware of these cases but can't go into the particulars of the Oxfam India case "The UK is home to some o f t h e g l o b a l l y r e s p e c t e d i n s t i t u t i o n s B B C i s o n e , which has to respect the laws of the countr y in which they are in That's clear," Mr Ellis told NDT V "I know that the Indian authorities have been talking to Oxfam and BBC That's for them to deal with But the important thing is they respect the laws of the land," he said

Met officer appears in court for assault

A s erv in g Met Police off i cer is to app ear i n co urt c harg ed wi th assau lt an d p er vert in g the course of justice

which failed to convince the jur y at the High Court in E d i n b u r g h He w a s a l s o found guilty of causing the death of her unborn child Ja v e d , a l a w y e r w h o w o r ke d w i t h L y o n s D a v i d s o n S o l i c i t o r s , m e t Anwar when she accompan i e d h e r m o t h e r t o b u y glasses They soon began a r e l a t i o n s h i p w h i c h l e d t o their wedding in December 2020

Ho w e v e r, A n w a r s u bj e c t e d h i s w i fe t o v e r b a l a b u s e a n d p r e v e n t e d h e r from communicating with her family and friends, the c o u r t h e a rd He w a s a l s o accused of tr ying to control her as well as warning her against seeking a divorce or involving law enforcement

P C Bi l a l Na v e e d w a s arrested in connection with an assault that took place on April 1, when he was off duty

He has been suspended from the force, and remanded in custody ahead of an appearance at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Monday T h e D i r e c t o r a t e o f P r o fe s s i o n a l St a n d a r d s a n d t h e I n d e p e n d e nt O f f ic e fo r

Po l i c e C o n d u c t ( I O P C ) a r e aware of the incident PC Naveed is part of the Basic Command Unit (BCU) covering the North East of L o n d o n , w h i c h i n c l u d e s Wa l t h a m Fo r e s t a n d Newham

One of the many struggles of sex abuse victim

O n e o f t h e v i c t i m s o f Rothe rham ch ild sex a buse sai d th at she had no id ea a bout h ow to de scri be her stor y to he r son

S a m m y Wo o d h o u s e , 37, became pregnant at the age of 15 after being raped by abuser Arshid Hussain, who was 25 at the time

“I didn’t know what to tell him How do I tell him? He had no one to talk to We weren’t in contact with

a n y o n e t h a t h a s b e e n through this,” the victim

Sammy Woodhouse told “He and I just felt ver y a l o n e i n t h i n g s A n d I remember him saying to me, “We’re the only family going through this” I said, ‘Well, actually, we ’ re not but we ’ re the ones that are public, you ’ ve got no idea how many people will have a similar stor y to us ’ ” S h e n o w h a s a n e w

BB C d o c u m e nt a r y c a l le d Out of the Shadows: Born from Rape, in which she speaks to other mothers in her position as well as children who were born from rape She was one of 18 girls w h o c a l l e d Hu s s a i n h e r boyfriend In 2016, he was jailed for 35 years for 23 offences against nine girls after Woodhouse took her stor y to the papers

More diversity promised for West Midlands Police

The West Mid la n ds Police has promised to encoura ge more dive rsity in it s r ank s a s the for ce la unched an overha ul of n e i g h bo u r h oo d policin g

h i e f C o n s t a b l e Cr a i g Gu i l d fo rd t ol d t h a t u n d e r the new policing model, the fo r c e h a s p l e d g e d t o g i v e

l o c a l c o m m a n d e r s b e t t e r resources to make off icers

more visible West Midlands Pol ic e s e r v e s c o m mu n i t ie s

a c r o s s B i r m i n g h a m , Coventr y, Dudley, Sandwell, S o l i h u l l , Wa l s a l l a n d Wolverhampton

Un d e r t h e n e w p l a n , each area will be led by a chief superintendent commander, with response and investigation teams based at the same local hubs as neigh-

b o u r h o o d o f f i c e r s “O u r force is one of the best forces with regard to representation across the UK but we ’ ve got more to do One of my strategic priorities is to make sure we are an employer of choice I’ve got good opportunities for local people of talent to come and work for us, regardless of their colour

o r b a c k g ro u n d , ” Gu i l d fo rd

was quoted as saying The police chief pointed out that t h e r e s u l t s o f t h e Me t Police’s Casey review ‘cast a dark shadow over policing’ Guildford, who took over the force in December, exuded conf idence that the culture of sexism and racism uncovered in the Met Police will not be repeated in the West Midlands

Kashif Anwar

Coronation is the true opportunity for ‘Sewa’

A coronation after 70 years So much to rejoice, celebrate and think about King Charles III, who was in the shadow of Queen Elizabeth II, was thought to be a monarch who would walk in her exact shoes But the King has chosen to be his own person, with inclusion, diversity and things he would do differently with the community There are Asian representations in the invited guests and the celebrations will start at early mornings of Saturday 6 May (see P15 for report) The Queen Consort’s decision not to use Kohinoor in the crown is also a welcome move as well as King’s investigation to the monarchy’s link to slavery charges

Asian peers representing the Hindu and Sikh faiths are likely to be joined by Muslim and Jewish House of Lords representatives in carrying key pieces of coronation emblems to add a multi-faith touch to the Christian religious ceremony at Westminster Abbey on 6 May Non-Christian religions will be represented in the main ceremony by members of the House of Lords from the four major faiths

Lord Narendra Babubhai Patel, 84, will represent the Hindu faith and is expected to carry the sovereign’s ring on the day of the coronation Lord Indrajit Singh, 90, will represent the Sikh faith and is expected to carry the coronation glove Lord Syed Kamall, 56, a London-born Muslim peer, is expected to carry the armillas or a pair of bracelets and Baroness Gillian Merron, 64, will represent the Jewish faith and is expected to carry one of the coronation robes (See P4)

The Big Help Out, which has been announced by the Palace as part of the Coronation festivities, is a huge public engagement campaign to promote, champion and showcase volunteering on Monday 8 May Organised by the Together coalition, partners include some of the biggest charities in the UK including NCVO, Royal Voluntary Service, Scouts, Girl

Guiding, NSPCC and many others

Westminster Abbey, and street parties

The Big Help Out is trying to affect a step change in volunteering across the UK In total, 28 million people volunteer every year in some way and at least 19 million do it every month Whilst these are big figures, there are still many who don’t volunteer because they haven’t heard about opportunities to give help There has been some decline in recent years, partly due to the cost-of-living crisis and also the aftermath of Covid

The event at the Passage last week brought together religious and community leaders from the Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Jewish and Buddhist communities This was accompanied by statements of support from over 30 religious leaders from all over the UK

The Hindu community is organising various events such as Sewa Day They are making and distributing soup from Sewa kitchens in various cities There are volunteers who will serve meals to homeless people and collect of surplus food from supermarkets, pack and deliver food parcels to foodbanks They are also creating points for food donations during Coronation celebrations to those who can’t afford meals

The BAPS Charities and NSPCC are working together on the "Listen Up Speak Up" online training that NSPCC are offering as part of the Big Help Out They will also organise Health Screening for the community, offered by BAPS volunteers (More stories next week)

The Coronation of the King and Queen will be a historic occasion We have not had such an event for 70 years Faith communities can be part of leaving an enduring and exciting legacy through encouraging volunteering and sewa

Challenges of climate change

Since the first "World Earth Day" observance, the climate has undergone numerous significant changes According to a report by the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), from the depths of the ocean to the peaks of mountains, climate change is continuing its assault on our planet The State of the Global Climate 2022 report shows that record levels of heat-trapping by greenhouse gases are causing largescale changes to the land, oceans, and atmosphere

Recently, the Indian government conducted its first-ever census of water bodies The census will take a comprehensive inventory of India's water resources, including natural and man-made water bodies like ponds, tanks, lakes, and more The inventory has collected data on the encroachment of water bodies About 2,424,540 water bodies have been identified by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, out of which 97 1 percent are in rural areas and only 2 9 percent are in urban areas The reason behind having fewer water bodies in urban areas are due to their vulnerability to air pollution, weather extremes, including heatwaves, flooding, droughts and storm surge for those in coastal areas, and climate change impacts Increasingly dense, complex, and interdependent urban systems can leave cities exposed to a domino effect – where a single extreme event leads to general infrastructural breakdown with lasting consequences

According to UN research, the last eight years have been the hottest on record Additionally, it stated that due to climate change, one million species are currently in danger of going extinct

Multiple heat waves that broke records and unsettling weather patterns have been noticed in 2023 across Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia The increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather are the latest warnings of global warming A catastrophic heat wave has raced over Asia, breaking the country's all-time record with a torrid 113 7 degrees in Tak, Thailand Laos also recorded its highest reliable temper-

Thought for the week

Life is a long lesson in humility

James M. Barrie

-

Political Sketchbook

Alpesh

Patel

Our British Pakistani Compatriots

Our d ear fri ends in the Bri tis h P akis tan i commun ity a r e , t h r o ug h t h e P a k i s ta n i H i g h C o mm i s s i on i n London , a ski ng pe ople to wri te to thei r MPs ab out Suella Bra verma n ’ s comme nts ab out groomin g ga ngs A respon se b y an MP I have receive d (n ot from an MP) readi ng th us :

“Thank you for taking the time to express your concerns about the recent comments made by Home Secretary Suella Braverman I appreciate hearing from you on important issues like this However, I would l i k e t o c l a r i f y s o m e p o i n t s r e g a r d i n g t h e H o m e Secretary's views and challenge certain assumptions made in your letter

ature in its history earlier this week, with 108 9 degrees at Luang Prabang

Many people believe that the primary impact of climate change is warmer temperatures But the temperature rise is only the beginning of the story Because the Earth is a system, where everything is connected, changes in one area can influence changes in all others It affects our health, ability to grow food, housing, safety and work Some of us are already more vulnerable to climate impacts, such as people living in small island developing states Conditions like sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion have advanced to the point where whole communities have had to relocate

Most western countries' ships are taken to South Asian countries like India, Pakistan or Bangladesh to obtain a better cost than other ship-breaking yards around the world Onethird of all end-of-life vessels dismantled on South Asian beaches are the responsibility of European ship owners Significant amounts of poisonous gas are produced during the dismantling process, which also disturbs the balance of nature

Fossil fuels coal, oil and gas are by far the largest contributors to global climate change, accounting for over 75 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions It contributes to toxic acid rain, adds to coastal and ocean acidification and worsens the melting of glaciers and polar ice Fortunately, our world leaders are coming up with climate solutions like the Paris Agreement and the Glasgow Climate Pact to strengthen the global response of climate change by increasing the ability to adapt

As part of the "Be the Change" initiative, and to raise awareness about Climate Change, Asian Voice is hosting a panel discussion under its Be The Change initiative on 26 May 2023 Alpesh Patel OBE will be the moderator Syed Ahmed, Dr C h a m u n d e e s w a r i K u p p u s w a m y a n d P u s h p a n a t h Krishnamurthy will be the expert speakers at the event

Challenges and advantages of being the most populous

The United Nations has projected India’s population to surpass China’s by mid-July this year; that is if it hasn’t done so already India’s young are a big asset There are over 100 unicorns and more than 80,000 startups Indian startups are innovating in core sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture and financial services India also has the largest pool of science, technology engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates and at 47%, is the global leader in STEM women graduates This youth bulge, if correctly nurtured, will yield critical thinkers, change makers and leaders who will drive India’s growth story in the next few decades With 26% of the population in the age group of 10-24, the welfare of adolescents and young adults across urban and rural India must be a key priority for all development programmes

With improved outcomes in health, nutrition and education the young will be better prepared to enter the workforce and contribute to the economy At that juncture, investment in skill development will play a pivotal role A private sector-led skilling ecosystem will also ensure that skill development is demand driven and addresses the needs of the market That’s the key for young, educated people to get jobs Entrepreneurship is also an important pillar of job creation With more skilled young people joining the formal workforce, consumption will increase, giving a fresh boost to the economy This increase in purchasing power will be fortified by India’s exemplary financial inclusion and digital payments ecosystem To fully reap benefits of the demographic dividend, we must also acknowledge that women are the most significant stakeholders in this endeavour The population explosion is a thing of the past and now what remains is how we

make the most of the current composition of our populace Let’s also remember that to build successful communities led by the young, greater emphasis must be laid on climate action and sustainability as environmental changes are increasingly impacting social and economic dynamics across the world

For India, the tag of the ‘most populous nation in the world’ is complemented by its position as the world’s largest democracy and fifth largest economy India is getting closer to its goal of becoming a global manufacturing hub and can also potentially become the startup capital of the world with one of the largest digital user bases, an enabling policy environment and access to large pools of capital

The challenge is also enormous considering the number not only of youth for whom India would have to generate gainful employment and sustain living standards by creating at least 90 million jobs a year Given the levels of unemployment and underemployment of today in a population of around 1 4 billion people, the frightful difficulties to be experienced can easily be imagined India will continue to face enormous challenges in having to manage education for the young while looking after their health and nutrition, provide healthcare for the ageing segment, invest in skilling to raise the existing low levels of employability in youth, all this while creating meaningful jobs in a changing global economic environment from the march of technology

The inequality in India also stretches to low levels of employment of women in the formal sectors which must be corrected if the country is to reap the demographic dividend that is much spoken of A growing services segment of the economy is keeping the country going as the world’s fastest growing economy

First, it is important to note that the Home Secretary's comments were not directed at the entire British Pakistani community, nor did she imply that all British Pakistani males are involved in the sexual abuse of children The issue she raised pertains to a specific pattern of offending that has been observed in a number of cases While it is true that there are offenders from various ethnic backgrounds, the Home Secretary was highlighting a specific issue that should not be ignored

The Home Office report published in 2020, which you mentioned, does not necessarily contradict the Home Secretary's statements Rather, it highlights the complex and multifaceted nature of child sexual exploitation Acknowledging that one particular group may be overrepresented in certain types of offending does not negate the fact that individuals from other backgrounds can also be involved

We all agree that child sexual exploitation is an abhorrent crime, and it is crucial to address this issue without prejudice or bias However, it is also important to recognize patterns and trends to effectively tackle the problem By identifying specific patterns, we can focus resources and efforts to address these issues in a targeted manner, which ultimately benefits all communities

The Home Secretary's remarks should not be construed as an attempt to stigmatize an entire community Instead, they serve as a call for further examination and understanding of the factors contributing to this particular pattern of offending It is important to recognize that acknowledging and addressing these patterns does not mean blaming an entire community

In conclusion, I believe that the Home Secretary's comments, while perhaps uncomfortable for some, are an important part of an open and honest dialogue about child sexual exploitation We must not shy away from difficult conversations and must work together to address these issues, promote unity, and ensure the safety of all our communities

I appreciate your engagement in this matter, and I will continue to work toward fostering understanding and unity between communities ”

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Non-Christian religions to be represented in Coronation

A s i a n p e e r s r e p r e se n t in g t h e

Hindu an d Sikh fa iths a re lik ely t o b e j o in e d by M u sl im a n d

Je wish House of Lord s re pre se nt at iv es in ca rr ying k ey pie ce s of co ron a tion e mble ms t o a dd a m u lt i- fa it h t o uc h t o t h e

C hristian religious ce remon y a t W estmin st er Abbey in Lond on on 6 May Non-Chr ist ia n re lig ion s will be r epre sent ed in t he m ain cere mony by me mber s of

t he House of Lord s fr om th e four ma jor fa iths

L o r d N a r e n d r a B a b u b h a i P a t e l , 8 4 , w i l l r e p r e s e n t t h e Hindu faith and is expected to carry the sovereign’s ring on the d a y o f t h e c o r o n a t i o n L o r d

Indrajit Singh, 90, will represent the Sikh faith and is expected to carry the coronation glove Lord K a m a l l , 5 6 , a L o n d o n - b o r n Muslim peer, is expected to carry the armills or a pair of bracelets and Baroness Gillian Merron, 64, will represent the Jewish faith and is expected to carry one of the coronation robes

T h e s e r o y a l r e g a l i a a r e

expected to form a key feature of t h e r e l i g i o u s c e r e m o n y a t Westminster Abbey next month and the items are likely to be handed over to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who will be presiding over the ceremony, to be p a s s e d o n t o K i n g C h a r l e s

B e s i d e s , n o n - C h r i s t i a n c l e r i c s are likely to be invited to form part of a faith procession

H o w e v e r , B u c k i n g h a m

P a l a c e i s y e t t o c o n f i r m t h e details of the ceremony for the crowning of 74-year-old Charles as King

Study reveals people with darker skin are insulted by family

New research has revealed th at b la ck an d A si an p eo p l e w it h darker skin in the UK can su ffer p reju dice and insults from fami ly members with lighter ski n It a dd ed th at fa m il y me mb er s wi th darker skin were so metimes stigmatised by their paren ts, si bli ngs an d o ther relatives

way that people of colour face m o r e d i s c r i m i n a t i o n i f t h e y have darker skin and features t h a t a r e f u r t h e r f r o m t h o s e associated with white people

Almost half of the 33 people interviewed said that they had witnessed it or been the target According to Dr Phoenix, some families reproduced prejudices

B a r on e s s Sa y ee d a W a r s i ha s c a ll ed on po li ti c i an s to s top “ spiralling down gutter politics ” which s he said was leading to hate and division i n c ommunities

The former chairperson of the Conservative party said the p r o b l e m w a s w i d e s p r e a d , p o i n t i n g t o h o m e s e c r e t a r y

S u e l l a B r a v e r m a n ’ s r e c e n t i n f l a m m a t o r y r h e t o r i c o n immigration and child sexual abuse, as well as Labour’s attack on prime minister Rishi Sunak through a series of controversial posters “ I c a l l e d o u t t h e L a b o u r Party earlier this week when I s a i d j u s t b e c a u s e w e Conservatives have descended i n t o t h e g u t t e r w i t h S u e l l a Braverman doesn’t mean you ’ ve got to join us Once you start spiralling down, when we use gutter politics, and then they use gutter politics, we reduce the quality of political debate ” Ms Warsi said a series of letters sent by dozens of medical

INCIDENTS OF ANTIHINDU HATE IN SCHOOLS IN BRITAIN

As part of the research Dr Aisha Phoenix, of King’s College L o n d o n , a n d D r N a d i a Craddock, of the University of t h e W e s t o f E n g l a n d , i n t e rv i e w e d p e o p l e a g e d 1 9 - 6 0 , including doctors, social workers, students, civil servants, an accountant and a train driver They wanted to understand the

common in wider society that ‘darker skin was imbued with negativity’

Some of the black respondents said that their family told them about being proud and understanding why colourism a n d r a c i s m e x i s t a n d b e i n g proud of the amazing things that their culture has done

Son, whose father abused him, loses claim over home

A m an wh ose father repeated ly add ressed him with racial slu rs h as lost a legal battle for a share o f his £ 50 0,0 00 estate

Sunny Pyburn told a judge that he suffered “horrific” physical and emotional abuse as a c h i l d , b e h a v i o u r t h a t w a s a l l e g e d l y m o t i v a t e d b y h i s father’s belief that he was not his biological son

He was born as the result of a n a f f a i r c o n d u c t e d b y h i s father, but because of his “ very dark skin” Bill Pyburn suspected that he was another man ’ s child

O n t h e f a t h e r ’ s d e a t h i n 2020, it emerged that Sunny had been left out of the will, with a £500,000 home in Winchester bequeathed to Jackie Py- burn, 75, the wife his father had cheated on and left Sunny brought a “moral claim” against her for a

share of his father’s estate He argued that he was entitled to it due to the abuse he suffered, which he said had affected him to this day

However, a judge sitting at Central London county court dismissed the son ’ s claim in a ruling that said Jackie Pyburn’s need was greater In her ruling, Marie-Clare Bleasdale accepted that Sunny had been subjected to serious abuse, but ruled that Jackie Pyburn was also a victim as a result of her husband’s infidelity Bleasdale concluded that the son was capable of looking after himself

T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n father and son ended in 2006 when Bill Pyburn was accused a n d l a t e r c o n v i c t e d o f s e x offences against a woman, with his son refusing to support him

bodies, businesses and Muslim c o m m u n i t y o r g a n i s a t i o n s t o the prime minister regarding the home secretary’s comments were a clear signal of the worries communities were feeling

In the letters, Mr Sunak is u r g e d t o “ s e p a r a t e h i m s e l f ” from Braverman, whose “irresponsible and divisive rhetoric” w a s “ d e m o n i s i n g a n e n t i r e community and lending credibility to far-right narratives”

Minister assures security of Indian High Commission

“ The g overnment takes the protectiv e sec urity o f the I nd ian H i g h C o m m i s s io n ext rem ely s e ri o u sl y T h e g o v e rnm ent rem ains comm itted to pro tecti n g t h e s e cu ri t y o f m is s i o ns throug hout the UK, includ ing p r ev e nt in g a nd rap i d l y an d robustly responding to incidents s u c h as t h is , ” U K S ec u ri ty M inister Tom T ugend hat to ld

update on what assessment has been made by the UK Home Office of the implications of the “ v a n d a l i s m a n d d i s o r d e r t h a t t o o k p l a c e o u t s i d e t h e H i g h Commission of India in London in March 2023; and what steps she is taking to ensure the safety and security of diplomatic missions”

A new report by a UK-based think-tank the Henry Jackson Society has highlighted incidents of anti-Hindu hate in schools in Britain The report titled Anti-Hindu Hate in Schools includes examples such as Hindu students being bullied to convert to Islam and others having beef thrown at them According to the report, 51 per cent of Hindu parents surveyed reported that their child has experienced anti-Hindu hate at school The study also found that some participants reported that teaching Hinduism was fostering religious discrimination towards Hindu pupils “This report highlights the prevalence of discrimination against Hindus in British schools, with 51 per cent of Hindu parents surveyed reporting that their child has suffered anti-Hindu hate at school,” the report concludes Charlotte Littlewood, the author of the report, said her focus on schools emerged over the course of her analysis of the violence that broke out between Hindu and Muslim communities in Leicester last year in the wake of an IndiaPakistan cricket match in the Asia Cup held in Dubai at the end of August

SERIOUS RACIAL DISPARITIES IN WOMEN'S HEALTHCARE

Ministers have been asked to set a definitive target to eliminate “appalling” disparities in maternal deaths as research has shown that black women are almost four times more likely to die from childbirth than white women The Women and Equalities Committee also said on Tuesday (18) the government and NHS leadership have underestimated” the extent to which racism plays a role in perpetuating inequalities Research by MBRRACE-UK in November 2022 showed that black women were 3 7 times more likely to die than white women and Asian women were 1 8 times more likely to die than white women MPs said there were insufficient existing measures to address the disparity in maternal deaths, as women in the most deprived areas are 2 5 times more likely to die than those in the least deprived areas Factors such as ignorance bias, microaggressions and racism had an impact on the disparity in the frequency of deaths, the committee said in its report The report quoted a survey by the Muslim Women’s Network which said black Muslim women (especially black African women) were most likely to receive poorer standards of care followed by South Asian Muslim women (particularly Bangladeshi women)

“The criminal damage and assaults on staff from the India High Commission at the incident on the weekend of the 18th March were unacceptable The police have powers to deal with such acts However, the use of these powers is an operational matter for the police, and decisions on possible criminal proceedings will be made in conj u n c t i o n w i t h t h e C r o w n Prosecution Service,” he said Mr Tugendhat, who had also m e t w i t h I n d i a n H i g h C o m m i s s i o n e r t o t h e U K Vikram Doraiswami soon after the attack on India House in L o n d o n l a s t m o n t h , w a s responding to a written parliam e n t a r y q u e s t i o n b y B r i t i s h Indian Labour MP and chair of t h e L a b o u r C o n v e n t i o n o f I n d i a n O r g a n i s a t i o n s ( L C I O ) Navendu Mishra

Space science student’s body pulled out on Brighton beach

A wo man w ho d ied after being rescu ed from the w ater off Brig hton beach has been nam ed as a 24-yearold sp ace science stud ent

S a i T e j a s w i K o m m a r e d d y w a s pulled from the water in the East Sussex city on April 11

A c o u s i n o f M s K o m m a r e d d y , who was studying a MSc in astronaut i c s a n d s p a c e e n g i n e e r i n g a t Cranfield University, has launched a fundraising page for the repatriation of her remains to her home country of India

Writing on a GoFundMe page, Pradeep Reddy Lekkala said, “Sai was an incredibly bright and passionate student, and had a deep love for all things related to space and aviation ”

A Sussex Police spokesman said: “ E m e r g e n c y s e r v i c e s c o n d u c t e d a

Sai Tejaswi Kommareddy P h o t o c o u r e s y G o f u n d m e c o m

after 4pm on Tuesday April 11 “Sadly, the body of a woman was found Her next of kin have been informed Her death is not being treated as suspicious and a report will be prepared for HM coroner ”

A 21-year-old man died in the sea nearby the following day during the heavy winds of Storm Noa

Former Conservative Chairperson asks politicians to "stop spiralling down gutter politics"

Lord Patel

Baroness Sayeeda Warsi

Tom Tugendhat MP

Navendu Mishra MP

Arrests after Eid celebrations for public disorder

F i re w o rk s a nd e g g s w er e th ro w n at of fic ers d uri ng Eid celebrations in the city Officers said th at while th e m ajo rity of festiv ities passed w itho ut incident, there was s o m e c ri m i na l beh a v i o u r d uring the weekend

M e m b e r s o f t h e c o mmunity helped them identif y s u s p e c t s w h o a l l e g e d l y lobbed eggs and aimed firew o r k s a t t h e m S e v e r a l a r r e s t s w e r e m a d e a n d a man charged with a public nuisance offence, the force said L o c a l n e i g h b o u r h o o d officers have been patrolling t h e s t r e e t s e n g a g i n g w i t h street traders The force said they were thankful to the Imams and leaders who voluntarily joined in support and solidarity with officers, to witness and observe some

NHS London encourages people to plan for your health ahead of the bank holiday

of the issues raised recently

C h i e f I n s p e c t o r N i c k H i l l , B i r m i n g h a m L o c a l Policing Area, said: Officers have been doing their best to deal with the issues and a t t i m e s t h e y h a v e f a c e d i n t i m i d a t i n g a n d c r i m i n a l b e h a v i o u r T h e r e c a n b e absolutely no excuse given for such behaviour on our s t r e e t s , i t ’ s a p p a l l i n g T o those spoiling the festivities, we will follow up on any o f f e n c e s c o m m i t t e d Despite the small minority causing trouble, it has been overwhelmingly positive ” "Eid highlights some of t h e t r a d i t i o n s a n d v a l u e s common to us all, such as u n i t y , c o m m u n i t y s p i r i t , compassion and charity and I want to thank everyone who has come together to help keep the public safe

Labour suspends Diane Abbott over her comments

T h e L ab o u r w h i p h as been suspended from Diane Abbott

M P p end in g an investig ation into a l et ter s h e w ro te a bo u t rac i sm fo r A bbo tt h as ap o log is ed o v e r c o mm ent s s h e m ad e s u g g e s ti ng I ri s h , Jewish and Traveller people are not subject to racism all their lives"

She said on Twitter: "I a m w r i t i n g r e g a r d i n g m y letter that was recently publ i s h e d i n t h e O b s e r v e r I wish to wholly and unreservedly withdraw my written remarks and disassociate myself from them The e r r o r s a r o s e i n a n i n i t i a l draft being sent But there is n o e x c u s e a n d I w i s h t o apologise for any anguish caused

Response to an article

w h i c h h a d t h e headline "Racism in Britain is not a b l a c k a n d w h i t e issue It's far more complicated," the

6 9 - y e a r - o l d w a s r e s p o n d i n g t o w r i t e r T o m i w a

Owolade's claims that "Irish, Jewish and Traveller people all suff e r f r o m r a c i s m T h e y u n d o u b t e d l y e x p e r i e n c e p r e j u d i c e , " M s A b b o t t wrote " I n p r e - c i v i l r i g h t s A m e r i c a , I r i s h p e o p l e , J e w i s h p e o p l e a n d T r a v e l l e r s w e r e n o t required to sit at the back of the bus In apartheid South Africa, these groups were allowed to vote And at the h e i g h t o f s l a v e r y , t h e r e w e r e n o w h i t e - s e e m i n g p e o p l e m a n a c l e d o n t h e slave ships "

Braverman rejects criticism for ‘dangerous’ singling out of British-Pakistani men

S uella Brav erman has rejected sugg estions th at she was r ac i st f o r s i ng l in g o u t British-Pakistani men d uri n g a G o v er nm e nt c rac kd own on g roo ming gang s

T h e H o m e S e c r e t a r y claimed she was “speaking plain truths” because members of grooming gangs in R o t h e r h a m , T e l f o r d a n d

Rochdale were in an “ overwhelming majority” BritishPakistanis I t c o m e s a f t e r M s

Braverman faced criticism, including from the former c h i e f p r o s e c u t o r i n t h e Rochdale case, for indulging in “dangerous” rhetoric on the issue, particularly after H o m e O f f i c e - c o m m i ss i o n e d r e s e a r c h i n 2 0 2 0 found no clear link between gang members and ethnicity

The report found most group child sex offenders are men under the age of 30

Ahea d of the ban k holiday on 1 May , the ca pit al’ s NHS is urging pe ople t o k eep the ir he a lt h fr o n t o f m in d b y orde ring re peat pr escr iptions e a r l y a n d st o c k i n g u p o n me d ic a t i o n f o r e x is t i n g health cond it ions Ov er t he long wee ken d some G P surgerie s an d phar macies may be closed, or work ing re duce d hours, so it is importa nt for London ers to ta ke this in to con sid era tion whe n pla nn in g for t heir he althcare nee ds Some local pharmacies may have different opening hours over the bank holiday

P h a r m a c i e s o p e n o v e r t h e long weekend can be found on the NHS

F i n d a P h a r m a c y s i t e

Pharmacists are encouraging

t h e A s i a n c o m m u n i t y t o come forward for minor illn e s s e s N H S 1 1 1 o n l i n e remains the best first port of call for people with urgent medical or dental care needs, where a trained adviser will provide the best care pathway

On top of the 1 May bank holiday, the Royal College of N u r s i n g h a v e a n n o u n c e d industrial action by nurses, which is set to take place f r o m S u n d a y 3 0 A p r i l t o Tuesday 2 May, which will inevitably have another huge i m p a c t o n N H S s e r v i c e s especially while taking place over the bank holiday weekend, a time when the NHS already faces increasing pressure

It is therefore vital that people use emergency services appropriately to ensure care is available to patients who need it most

If symptoms suggest it’s s o m e t h i n g m o r e s e r i o u s , pharmacists have the right clinical training to make sure you get the help you need and can signpost patients to a GP or A&E where necessary

N o a p p o i n t m e n t i s needed and local NHS pharmacy teams offer a fast and c o n v e n i e n t s e r v i c e a n d i f needed can speak to you in the privacy of a consultation room

K e t a n A g r a v a t , P h a r m a c i s t a t P e a r l Chemist, Wandsworth said,

“We encourage the commun i t y t o c o m e f o r w a r d f o r pharmacist support for any health issues that are of concern especially over the bank h o l i d a y w e e k e n d w h e r e some GP services may be c l o s e d a n d e m e r g e n c y departments are expected to be busy due to industrial a c t i o n W e a r e t r a i n e d h e a l t h c a r e p r o f e s s i o n a l s and able to recommend the right treatment for a range of common conditions, such a s t u m m y t r o u b l e s , a c h e s and pains, skin rashes, period pains and migraines “If you ’ re feeling unwell, don’t wait for your sympt o m s t o g e t w o r s e F o r expert advice, talk to your local pharmacist ”

and the majority are white, while adding there is not e n o u g h e v i d e n c e t o s a y w h e t h e r m e m b e r s o f grooming gangs are more likely to be black or Asian

Rishi Sunak has privately apologised for the “hurt caused” by Ms Braverman’s c o m m e n t s , a c c o r d i n g t o

Shahbaz Arif, the chief whip for the Conservative group o n L a b o u r - r u n B u r y

Council

Ms Braverman went on to claim that she was part of a group “advancing unfashionable facts” who are “beaten over the head with fashionable fictions” The Home Secretary added: “I suppose the ethnicity of grooming gang perpetrators in a string of cases is the sort of fact t h a t h a s s i m p l y b e c o m e u n f a s h i o n a b l e i n s o m e quarters Like the fact that 100 per cent of women do not have a penis ”

Diane Abott

T h e i r t a l e n t h a s n u r t u r e d m a n y v o l u n t e e r g r o u p s , start-ups and some of the b i g g e s t c o m p a n i e s a c r o s s sectors While the UK benefits from this exchange of knowledge and skills, due to the restrictions imposed by t h e p o s t - s t u d y w o r k v i s a , retaining these students has always been a challenge due to sponsorship issues

According to research by U n i v e r s i t i e s U K International (UUKi), 83% of i n t e r n a t i o n a l g r a d u a t e s attribute their ability to find e m p l o y m e n t t o t h e i r U K d e g r e e T h e h i g h l e v e l o f instruction and demanding academic standards at universities in the UK provide students with an edge in the job market

The UK post-study work visa policy has proved to be a p r o v e r b i a l ‘ c h e r r y o n t h e cake’ as it has made the UK more attractive for Indian students According to the new rules, students who have completed a degree in the UK are now allowed to stay in the country for two years after graduation, to work or find a job (three years for PhD students)

According to data publ i s h e d b y t h e I r i s h D e p a r t m e n t o f E n t e r p r i s e , T r a d e a n d E m p l o y m e n t , b e t w e e n J a n u a r y 1 a n d March 31 of this year, a total of 7,264 work permits were issued to third-country citizens, 2,894 of which to were given to Indian nationals In January alone, 2,525 permits were issued, out of which Indians accounted for 1,059 permits Work v isa a d ecade ag o was anti-im mig ration rhetoric

NISAU U K Ch airperson S anam A ro ra spoke to the newsweekly at length about the vision, status and future of the post-study work visa for international students in the UK

Arora said there’s a lot to unpack there According to her, the removal of a poststudy work visa a decade ago w a s a n t i - i m m i g r a t i o n r h e t o r i c “ F u n d a m e n t a l l y , from our perspective, what Indian students were telling

The limitation of talent

us was, that they just wanted a p o s t - s t u d y w o r k v i s a , ” S a n a m t o l d u s S h e m e ntioned that there is research to back this up which was commissioned five-six years a g o t o t h e m b y t h e t h e n M a y o r o f L o n d o n , B o r i s Johnson, to understand the concerns and expectations of Indian students in the UK

Sanam added, “We did some more research during the Covid pandemic, looking at the future of Indian students and their requirements so many years apart You can say one is at the end of the decade and another is at the other end of the decade

“The one thing that is consistent and about 70 to 75 per cent of Indian students tell us is that the number one reason they choose the UK as a s t u d y d e s t i n a t i o n i s because of the availability of a p o s t - s t u d y w o r k v i s a , w h i c h i s r e f l e c t e d i n t h e n u m b e r o f s t u d e n t s n o w choosing to come to the UK

So it's been three years since the post-study work visa was introduced ”

In 2019, the UK brought b a c k w h a t w a s p r e v i o u s l y known as the post-study visa, now “Graduate visa”, which allows international students to stay in the UK for at least two years after completing their degree

T h e B r i t i s h H i g h C o m m i s s i o n g r a n t e d

1 2 7 , 0 0 0 s t u d e n t v i s a s t o

Indians between September 2021-2022, an increase of 273 per cent over the same period in 2018-2019, it revealed in November 2022 Indian student numbers in the UK skyrocketed in lieu of poststudy graduate work visas

T h i s n u m b e r d r a s t i c a l l y increased because of the high demand for the UK Graduate visa as well as a backlog of applications due to the pandemic Experts and educat i o n i s t s e s t i m a t e t h a t s t udent visa applications from I n d i a c o u l d b e f i v e t o s i x times the number of visas that were issued, i e between 6,300,00 and 7,600,00 applications

Today, Indian students form one of the largest student groups in the UK With a 96% approval rate for stu-

d e n t v i s a s , a b o u t 1 6 0 , 9 7 0

Indians have received student visas for the UK in the year ending September 2022 alone, which is a considerable increase of 78% compared to the previous year when the total visas issued was 90,669 and 330% higher compared to the same period in 2019

As a part of NISAU UK’s c a m p a i g n ‘ F a i r V i s a F a i r C h a n c e ’ , S a n a m a n d h e r team had proposed a set of recommendations to the UK g o v e r n m e n t , a l l o f w h i c h were accepted Sanam called it a very solution-oriented a p p r o a c h t h a t l o o k e d a t e v e r y b o d y ' s r e q u i r e m e n t s She further added, “The reco m m e n d a t i o n s w e m a d e a d d r e s s e d t h e c o n c e r n s o f the UK government, about the concern of abuse of poststudy-work visas in the past, which should not be seen as a b a c k d o o r t o l o n g - t e r m immigration

NISAU UK was able to distil and present to the government that students didn’t necessarily want to settle and most of them wanted global work experience after their education so that they could set themselves apart in the l a b o u r m a r k e t “ W h e t h e r that labour market was in the Western world or back home in India, they wanted to be able to set themselves a p a r t T h e y w a n t e d l o c a l w o r k e x p e r i e n c e s o t h e y could learn fundamentally,” she said

On the one hand, students want this post-study work visa to be able to secure the global work experience that they desire “I remember too many of them said they w a n t e d t o r e t u r n b e c a u s e you know, home is home,” Sanam told the newsweekly T h e g o v e r n m e n t d i d n o t want any abuse of student visas or any bogus colleges to operate in the name of bringing students over, so one key recommendation NISAU UK put forward was that the visa s h o u l d h a v e a t i m e c o nstraint - two years

The billion-d ollar question

B u t i s t h e p o s t - s t u d y work visa working out for s t u d e n t s ? S a n a m a n d h e r team are going to commis-

Raab resigns after two complaints of bullying against him

Domi nic R aab has resi gned as j us tice s ecretary af ter an investi gati on into claim s he had bullied staff upheld two complaints against hi m

The deputy prime minister said he was keeping his word to step down if the report, which was sent to the PM yesterday, upheld any allegations of bullying –but criticised employment barrister Adam Tolley KC's findings as "flawed"

He said the inquiry has “set a dangerous precedent” by “setting the threshold for bullying so low”

"It will encourage spuri-

ous complaints against ministers, and have a chilling e f f e c t o n t h o s e d r i v i n g

sion research now because they feel we are at the point w h e r e t h e r e s h o u l d b e e n o u g h d a t a f l o a t i n g a n d a b o v e a n e c d o t a l e v i d e n c e that should be enough for quantitative analysis of the success of this scheme

One of the positives of this visa scheme so far is that it allows students to not only take up a job but also don't have the pressure to take an u n s p o n s o r e d r o u t e , w h i c h means that they don't need to have a job in order to be able to stay in the country They can stay in the country and look for a job because t h e y g e t t h i s v i s a S a n a m thinks it also helps promote the idea of entrepreneurship

a m o n g s t u d e n t s w h o c a n start their own businesses, and their own startups while they're on this visa because we need more job makers and job givers than job takers as well

The challenges

S a n a m t o l d t h e newsweekly that a lot of stud e n t s a r e t e l l i n g h e r t h a t employers still don't know that this visa exists, or they h a v e n ' t b e e n t o l d e n o u g h T h i s m i g h t a l s o i n c l u d e SMEs, unlike larger employers

This visa scheme accordi n g t o S a n a m , a l s o h e l p s CEOs in increasing diversity and inclusion in their busin e s s e s a n d n e u r o d i v e r s i t y T h e l a r g e r q u e s t i o n i s w h e t h e r e m p l o y e r s h a v e actually been encouraged to hire more such students or not

“ S o w e ' v e o p e n e d t h e gates for people, but now we need to find them meaningful work, not just any job we need to find them meaningful work If education is not translating into employability and by employability it doesn t just mean having a job It means developing the skills to be able to land jobs and starting your own busin e s s e s , ” S a n a m t o l d A s i a n Voice

T h e m o r e k n o w n y e t i m p e r a t i v e p o i n t r e m a i n s that a lot of students take some very expensive loans when they come to the UK, s o w o r k i n g f o r t w o y e a r s

even at the base minimum wage rate in the UK, should be able to help start to repay some of those loans

“Where I think we need to make things simpler for students is to be able to educate employers and encourage them to take on more i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t u d e n t s through the post-study work visa We need to make it simpler for them to then switch t o a n o t h e r v i s a t y p e Similarly, we need to be able to look at employers’ conc e r n s a b o u t w h e t h e r t h e y want to train someone and invest all the training for two years when they re going to go back eventually What if we were to give a smooth transition to employers to say if you want to retain talent after the expiration of the visa, we as the UK are going to be going to make it easy for you to do so? And that's absolutely something we should do,” Sanam said

“We're sitting in one of the most knowledge-intensive economies in the world

T h e U K G o v e r n m e n t h a s ambitious targets to become a k n o w l e d g e , o n e o f t h e s u p e r p o w e r s i n t e r m s o f k n o w l e d g e e c o n o m i e s , b u t w e ' v e g o t t o c r e a t e t h e ecosystem, you know, that works 360 degrees to support very talented people coming over from India or elsewhere The post-study work visa is one of what I see as core building blocks to be for that ecosystem More needs to be done, but this is actually the base minimum and we need to simplify things and educ a t e e m p l o y e r s a b o u t t h e benefits of hiring international students,” she signed off

P ost-study work visa is far m ore reliable

P ara s F a tna ni , C h i ef S tr ate g y O ff i ce r o f S E E D Gl o ba l E d u c ati o n, a U Kbased higher education marketing & strategy consulting firm that empowers universities and b-schools to build their presence & outreach in emerging markets like India, N i g e r i a , G h a n a , K e n y a a m o n g s t o t h e r s s p o k e t o Asian Voice about the poststudy work visa

Talking about the future

e n t a i l f o r c a n d i d a t e s w h o f i n i s h t w o y e a r s o f w o r k e x p e r i e n c e , P a r a s s a i d , “ S i n c e S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 9 , i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t u d e n t s a r e allowed to stay in the UK for 2 y e a r s p o s t t h e i r d e g r e e completion to explore job opportunities After the 2y e a r p o s t - s t u d y w o r k v i s a period expires, graduates are expected to apply for a Tier 2 visa aimed at skilled workers 54% of the work visas granted in 2022 were under Tier 2 for ‘Skilled Worker’ and ‘Skilled Worker – Health and Care’ of all work visas granted Indians ranked the highest among both these categories This shows how lucrative and beneficial the post-study work visa is for international students who are keen on getting an education in world-class universities but also working in a global setting ” W h a t d o t h e n u m b e r s suggest in terms of UK-India student exchange? “In 2022, India overtook China as the top student resource with 139,539 visas issued predominantly due to the change in this policy resulting in aiding Indian students’ return on i n v e s t m e n t p r i o r i t i e s Programs like the UK-India E d u c a t i o n a n d R e s e a r c h Initiative, and individual coll a b o r a t i o n s b e t w e e n t h e Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Brunel University L o n d o n , a n d A T L A S S k i l l T e c h U n i v e r s i t y w i t h the University of Bath and U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i s t o l h a v e e n c o u r a g e d t h e U K - I n d i a relations academically,” he said Addressing the benefits of the Young Professional Scheme (recently introduced by the UK government for Indians), Paras said, “While t h e Y o u n g P r o f e s s i o n a l S c h e m e h a s f e w e r r e s t r i ctions(mainly that you do not need to have a degree from a UK institution), the scheme works on a ballot system for a set number of visas every m o n t h w h i c h m a k e s i t u n p r e d i c t a b l e S o m e o n e w h o m a y n o t h a v e a U K degree can try their luck at t h i s s c h e m e , t h e t w o - y e a r post-study work visa is far m o r e r e l i a b l e i n t h e l o n g run ”

NHS expands the Covid vaccination programme with targeted spring booster offer for London’s most vulnerable people

change on behalf of your government - and ultimately the British people,” Raab s a i d S u n a k a p p o i n t e d T o l l e y i n D e c e m b e r t o investigate two formal complaints against the justice s e c r e t a r y , w h i c h a l l e g e d that he had bullied staff The number of official complaints eventually rose to eight Officials who spoke to C S W c l a i m e d R a a b h a d "created a culture of fear" at the Ministry of Justice and made a habit of “intimidating and belittling” civil servants

The largest v accination programm e in history is continuing to expand with the offer of a targeted spring booster fo r those at hig hest risk of C o v i d i nf ec ti o n, i nc lu d i ng over 75s, those w ith a weakene d i m m u ne s ys tem and old er ad ult care home residents F o l l o w i n g l a t e s t g u i da n c e f r o m t h e J o i n t Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), an additional dose of the Covid vaccination is recommended for a select group of people, t o m a x i m i s e p r o t e c t i o n

a g a i n s t t h e C o v i d v i r u s throughout spring and summer The NHS in London will be contacting those eligible over the coming weeks to book their top up dose of the vaccine

It will be the first time t h a t m i l l i o n s o f p e o p l e across England will be sent t h e i r i n i t i a l i n v i t a t i o n s t h r o u g h t h e N H S A p p , where they can also book their vaccination

Text messages and letters will also be sent to those w i t h o u t t h e a p p o r n o t

actively using it

There will be over 300 sites offering the jab across t h e c a p i t a l , w i t h m o s t a p p o i n t m e n t s b e i n g d e l i ve r e d i n c o m m u n i t i e s b y pharmacies and GPs

The health service, now in its 75th year, has vaccinated over 20 million people in London and the Covid vaccination programme has saved countless lives

E l i g i b l e L o n d o n e r s c a n now book their spring booster jab until 30 June 2023 via t h e N a t i o n a l B o o k i n g

or by calling

Dominic Raab

PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH HM GOVERNMENT

REGULAR BLOOD PRESSURE CHECKS CAN HELP YOU STAY HEALTHY

Cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer in England, accounting for nearly a quarter of deaths in 2019. High blood pressure contributes to nearly half of all reported heart attacks and strokes, but it rarely has noticeable symptoms. Yet it’s largely preventable. Over a quarter of adults have high blood pressure. If you’re over 40 you should get it checked at least every five years. It’s quick, it’s easy and it could save your life.

When your blood pressure is too high it makes your body work harder. It puts extra strain on your blood vessels, heart and other organs - everything from the brain to the kidneys to the eyes. Persistently high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, increases your risk of a number of serious and potential life-threatening health conditions, such as heart attack and stroke.

If you have high blood pressure, reducing it even a small amount can lower your risk of those health conditions. That’s why checking your blood pressure is vital - it’s the only way to know.

WHAT

HAPPENS DURING A TEST?

You can get your blood pressure checked at your GP surgery, and if you are aged over 40 the service is available at many pharmacies too. Work places often have tests, and you can buy a blood pressure monitor for use at home.

All adults over 40 are advised to have their blood pressure checked at least once every 5 years.

A cuff is usually wrapped around your upper arm or wrist to measure your blood pressure and inflated until two numbers appear on the monitor. The top number is called systolic pressure, and the bottom one is called diastolic pressure.

Though everyone’s blood pressure is slightly different, high blood pressure is considered to be from 140/90mmHg (or an average of 135/85mmHg if measured at home) or 150/90mmHg (or an average of 145/85mmHg at home) if

How can the NHS App help?

The next time you need a repeat prescription, why not use the NHS App instead of calling the surgery.

You can easily download the NHS App from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

The NHS App is a simple and secure way to access a whole range of NHS services as well as find reliable information on hundreds of different conditions.

You can view your health information and order repeat prescriptions and have them sent to your pharmacy.

you’re over the age of 80.

An ideal blood pressure is usually considered to be between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg, while the target for over-80s is below 150/90mmHg (or 145/85mmHg if measured at home).

Blood pressure readings between 120/80mmHg and 140/90mmHg could mean you’re at risk of developing high blood pressure if you do not take steps to keep it under control.

Your GP surgery or pharmacist can help you maintain your blood pressure through medication and lifestyle changes.

RISK OF HYPERTENSION

While anyone can have high blood pressure, you’re more likely to develop it if you’re overweight, eat too much salt and not enough fruit and vegetables, or you don’t get enough exercise.

Smokers, drinkers and those over 65 are also at increased risk. If you sleep badly or have a relative with high blood pressure, that also increases your chances.

WHAT IS CVD?

Cardiovascular disease is a general term for conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels. It’s usually associated with a build-up of fatty deposits inside the arteries and an increased risk of blood clots. Obesity, dietary factors, smoking and high cholesterol can increase your risk of developing CVD, but the most serious risk factor is high blood pressure. High blood pressure contributes to almost half of deaths from CVD and around 40 percent of associated illness.

Get your blood pressure tested. Find out more at nhs.uk.

Over a quarter of adults have high blood pressure although many will not realise due to a lack of noticeable symptoms. If left untreated it increases your risk of serious problems such as heart attacks and strokes. The only way to find out if your blood pressure is high is to have your blood pressure checked.”

- Dr Shahed Ahmad, National Clinical Director for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at NHS England.

53-year-old Anirban is a Chartered Accountant and runs one of the UK’s biggest community organisations to raise awareness about Bengali culture and heritage in the UK.

During an appointment with his GP in 2010, Anirban was diagnosed with high blood pressure. Initially, he was given a low dose of medication to control high blood pressure. But this dose had to be increased over the years, as his blood pressure kept gradually increasing with time. But recently, with the help of a balance of a healthy diet, lifestyle changes and medication, Anirban’s blood pressure has been under control without further increase, and he thinks it has been a positive change.

Speaking to Asian Voice, Anirban said, “I am conscious of my food habits. I am active, I walk regularly, have played football in the past, and even run a football tournament every summer. I ensure I have less salt and eat as healthily as possible. Our food typically has a lot of vegetables and fruits on the menu. Though I haven’t had any health scares, I am very conscious of the threats that high blood pressure poses to one’s health, such as heart

attacks and strokes.

“Ever since my health complications due to being hospitalised with Covid-19 back in 2020, I see a doctor every six weeks. That has helped me to keep my blood pressure under control too. Though living with high blood pressure does worry me, I try to remain positive. The doctor once advised me to ‘focus on today rather than tomorrow,’ which has helped me remain optimistic.”

He added, “Stress acts as a catalyst for those who suffer from hypertension. So, I was told not to put myself under unnecessary stress, though I can’t control everything in life. A well-balanced diet and exercise can help you remain fit, but it is also important to get yourself checked regularly as that’s the only way to know if you have high blood pressure.”

Rupanjana Dutta

“It’s important to get checked regularly”

Anirban

Dr Shahed Ahmad

Stunning and running in a Saree

Shefali

Saxena

A n Ind ian w oman from Odisha based in M anchester has made head lines for sev eral reasons after competing in a m arathon on S und ay Madhusm ita Jena-Das was seen part ic i p at in g i n a 4 2 5 -k m m a rat h o n w h i l e w earing a stunning Sambalpuri hand lo om saree

Madhusmita completed the marathon in an impressive four hours and fifty minutes

Madhusmita Jena is a 43 years old mother of two boys – both now in secondary school S h e ’ s a l s o a S p e c i a l E d u c a t i o n N e e d s

Teacher in Manchester Jena has run 38 official full marathons and 5 ultra-marathons, that includes two 100km runs in Cairo across the pyramids and a 2 5 6 k m r u n t h r o u g h t h e T h a d e s e r t i n I n d i a s p r e a d a c r o s desert terrain, salt flats, inhabited localities and sandy hills Running long distances has always been very therapeutic for her

Here’s her exclusive chat with Asian Voice

Wh at made you ch oose a saree to ru n the m arathon?

Normally I am always chal lenging myself to achieve a Boston

Qualifying time or a Good for Age

Hence, I am constantly monitor ing my time to achieve my goal

This time around I wanted to take up a new challenge I have always loved wearing sarees so running in one has crossed my mind It was also a good way to encourage people from all backgrounds to run and to emphasise that there are no boundaries – whether that be a headscarf, a saree or even a full burqa The Manchester Marathon attracts large participation and I believed that it would provide the right platform to promote diversity and encouragement to people from all walks of life I also did hope to showcase the beauty and elegance of a saree to the people of Manchester

Do you think the garm ent one w ears can chang e the perform ance of an ath lete in a race?

To a certain extent, yes A 100m sprinter or an elite marathon runner would benefit from wearing something light and streamlined However, the majority of marathon runners, run an individual race and we all run the race our own way I don’t know if I could have run Manchester faster if I was trained better and wasn’t wearing a saree I guess I’ll have to train better and try running in a saree again to see if I can improve on my time!

Will yo u please share som e d etails abou t the saree you w ore?

The saree I wore was my mother’s, from her 20s I loved it and ‘borrowed’ if from her years ago It is from the state of Odisha and i s c a l l e d a K h a n d u a P a t t a s a r e e o r Maniabandhi Khandua translates in Odia to the cloth worn on the lower half of the body The saree is often adorned with religious texts, so it is considered auspicious They are world famous for their unique weaving style and motifs and usually come in bright red and orange colours These sarees are weaved or produced in the village of Manibandha of Cuttack District

Wh y d o you t hi nk i t's i m po rtan t to sh owcase Indian heritage on a global scale?

I n d i a a n d i t s h e r i t a g e i s r e l a t i v e l y unknown to the rest of the world Whatever people know is a representation of people far away from intrinsic Indian culture In fact, we as Indians also to an extent have a superficial knowledge of our heritage for various reasons

India is a very diverse and culturally rich country and has never done justice in portraying itself to the rest of the world History has been ignored and/or misrepresented for far too long

Each state has its own traditions and culture The ruling dispensation of India over the last few centuries has never represented the masses and its major cultural heritage It’s now time to explore India more

Local elections round the corner

Th is year ’ s local elections are being held acro ss mo re than 230 councils in Eng land next month

It is the first big test at the ball o t b o x f o r R i s h i S u n a k s i n c e b e c o m i n g P r i m e M i n i s t e r a n d

Conservative leader in October It w i l l a l s o i n d i c a t e h o w S i r K e i r

Starmer’s Labour Party could fare at the next general election and whether he has built on plummeting polls for the Tories

T h e 2 0 2 3 l o c a l e l e c t i o n s i n E n g l a n d w i l l t a k e p l a c e o n

Thursday, May 4 The majority of results are expected to be announced the following day, although some will take a little longer This year ’ s local elections cover district councils, metropolitan boroughs and unitary authorities

Wh at s h o u ld w o m en ath letes practice in erms of diet and fitness eg i m e s i n S o u th A s ia n h o us e h o ld s to p e rf o rm better?

Ensure calories aren’t estricted and enough proein is consumed: 1 8-2 2g of protein per kg of body weight to maintain and/or grow muscle This can be in the form of chicken, paneer, tofu or a protein shake I also take magnesium, vitamin B12 and calcium supplements, in addition to my regular diet of rice, daal, chole and paneer

Strength training is a must, especially for women over the age of 40 At around age 30 we start losing as much as 3 – 5 % of lean muscle mass per decade Just 30 minutes twice a week, can improve functional performance, as well as bone density and strength

It will be in Southern England where Labour will hope to gain ground on the T o r i e s C o m p l e t e c o u n c i l t a k e o v e r s a r e unlikely given the margins Labour face, but there might be some key swings for the party

Media reports suggest that the police forces have been alerted to the risk of a spike in disputes and confrontations at the forthcoming local elections, amid concern that new voter ID rules will provoke rows in polling booths across England

It is understood that government officials and councils have warned police forces about possible problems created by rule changes implemented for May’s local elections All eligible adults will need to show p h o t o i d e n t i f i c a t i o n a t p o l l i n g s t a t i o n s Those without photo ID can apply for a special voter certificate until Tuesday, but fears remain that thousands of people who wish to vote may be turned away

“But critics warn that while about 50,000 people have applied for the certificate, the number of voters without the necessary ID is thought to be about 2 million Demands for the implementation of the change to be delayed have been rejected by ministers Former Tory cabinet minister David Davis is among those calling for a delay There are also concerns that the true number of people turned away as a result of the new rules will be underestimated The government has committed to review the system to see how many are refused under the new rules Many councils plan to check that people have the right documents as they are queueing to vote Anyone turned away before they reach the front desk may not be counted as having been turned away, ” The Guardian reported M e a n w h i l e , P M R i s h i S u n a k ' s w i f e Akshata Murty joined the Conservative camp a i g n t r a i l i n H a r t l e p o o l T h e P r i m e Minister’s wife was in Hartlepool to boost the Conservative Party’s election campaign Akshata Murthy visited the town and spent time with local party members, including MP Jill Mortimer, and residents She also dropped into The Place in the Park cafe in Ward Jackson Park

Age 5 to 75, Asians run the London Marathon

The streets of Lo nd on saw record-breaking runners, their fam ilies, and curious onlookers swarm ed the area for the TCS London Marath on Many A sian nam es became a part of th e m arathon this year Som e includ ed th e Skipping Sikh, his d au ghter M inreet Kaur, her m oth er Pritpal Kaur, journalist P ra su n S o n w al kar a nd B i sw a j it Bhattacharya among others

On April 23, the London Marathon partnered with Guinness World Records to celebrate all the incredible feats accomplished by runners After last year ’ s event was held i n O c t o b e r , t h e 4 3 r d e d i t i o n o f t h e marathon returned to its traditional spring date

This year ’ s marathon was a sight to b e h o l d , a s r u n n e r s a t t e m p t e d t o b r e a k records in unique ways, reported Guinness World Records

TCS London Marathon Event Director

Hugh Brasher reflected on today's event, as participants crossed the Finish Line to celebrate with medals and high-fives

F i v e - y e a r - o l d t w i n s S i m a r a n d S e h e j Grewal, who are from Uxbridge, were back for a second year

Sehej said: “The best part was everyone high-fiving us along the way I was very happy and enjoyed it We’re going to come back and collect more medals ”

A record-breaking number of children crossed the famous Finish Line and picked up their medals at the TCS Mini London Marathon on April 22

M o r e t h a n 8 , 0 0 0 p a r t i c i p a n t s w e r e cheered on by crowds of families and friends as they took on one-mile or 2 6K courses in the mass participation and championship events, designed for schoolchildren of all abilities and the best young athletes

A standalone event for the second year, the TCS Mini London Marathon kicks off a bumper weekend of inspiring activity, with t h e 2 6 2 - m i l e a d u l t e v e n t t a k i n g p l a c e

B i s w a j i t B h a t t a c h a r y a t o l d Asian Voice, “My recommendation for all runners is to do the London M a r a t h o n s a t l e a s t o n c e T h e incredible crowd with loud cheer and music will take you through the full 26 2 miles

“ W h i l e p r o f e s s i o n a l s l i k e K i p c h o g e make running a marathon look easy, for an average mortal it takes 3-5 hours to cross the finish line That’s a long run! I had trained for it However, things do not go as planned On D-day, London got up with the rain We all reached the starting line at Greenwich Park with dresses completely drenched But all of us were high in spirit and excitement

“The continuing rain and on-and-off water puddles made running a bit complex I had developed cramps after the 24 KM m a r k a n d h a d t o s l o w d o w n t h e p a c e

Crossing the Tower Bridge is one of the high points of this marathon The decibel level among the crowd also goes up as we move closer Finally, I crossed the finish line The medal is now well-earned!

“It’s truly an international marathon with participants from all corners of the globe Running community makes friends easily and this Sunday was no exception There are hundreds of men and women from the Indian Sub-continent running Prior to the run, we all were wishing PB (personal best) to each other Met a group of Thai runners at the start line I am carrying back an amazing experience hoping to come back again sometime soon ” M i n r e e t K a u r s p o k e t o t h e newsweekly and said, “I ran the London marathon with my parents for the first time They are in their 70 ’ s and I’m nearly half their age The experience was a mix of emotions The day started with rain and ended in rain It was raining throughout except between 4-6 pm, but by then my mum and I were wet and cold We made the most of the atmosphere and hearing the crowds cheering everyone on was amazing

“My mum had to stop at mile 17 due to cramps and severe muscle pain in her legs I was determined to finish as I wanted to get the medal for my mum!

“I met my dad near the finishing line and we ran through it together as we did this as a family and even though my mum wasn’t there to run over the finishing line, to me they are inspirational! It was an experience to remember and we will definitely do it again hopefully with better weather!”

Marriage equality and more inclusive corporates

Paramita Purkayastha

Born in M umbai, Zainab P atel is a transg ender person w ho is currently the C hief - Inclusion and Div ersity at Pernod Ricard Ind ia Before this, she w a s th e Di r ec to r - Di v e rs i ty an d Inclusion at KP MG Zainab holds an M BA in HR and was th e National M anag er - Health and Hum an Righ ts at th e U NDP country office in India and was the regional po licy analyst on human righ ts in A sia

Disability doesn’t define you

their own strengths and weaknesses like anyone else, not be judged based on their disability We talk about reasonable adjustments in the workplace to facilitate disabled people in the roles, but it goes beyond practical measures to inclusive language, a welcoming and open environment where people can be themselves This will foster a more i n c l u s i v e w o r k p l a c e f o r e v e r y m i n o r i t y group

What is the change you’d like to see in day-to-day life, where inclusion for disabled people can be further promoted?

Dr Amit Patel is a best-selling author, TV p resenter, DEI consultant, motivational speaker, disab ility rights campaigner and c harity Trustee. Amit was a doc tor, specialising in emerg ency medicine but in 2013, he completely lost his sight overnight Since then, Amit has been on a j ourney to learn to live with his sight loss Today, Amit remains an active c ampaig ner for accessibility , diversity & inclusion, speaking out against the issues that disab led people face daily Committed to achieving greater representation of disabled people across all areas of lif e, Amit continues to c hallenge himself and c hallenge other p eople’s perceptions of disab ility He’s one of our panellists at B e The Change - make a difference event on Diversity & I nclusion Here’s his exclusive Q&A w ith Asian Voice:

What do diversity and inclusion truly mean to you?

Diversity and inclusion to me mean not being segregated due to race, age or disabilit y I t a l s o m e a n s n o t b e i n g j u d g e d b y ingrained perceptions It’s not about being ‘woke’ or following a trend, it’s about all of us being able to walk the same path together, without fear of judgement or being left behind, and with the support needed to allow you to get to your destination or goal without barriers

Since losing my sight, I’ve had to learn how to do everyday tasks differently from how I did them as a sighted person It takes time, but with help and support, nothing is impossible

I know and trust in my abilities, but not everyone around me does Sometimes it’s a society that holds us back, so my advice is to never underestimate yourself Disability doesn’t define you; it makes you stronger in ways others don’t understand ”

What is your advice to people such that they can truly work towards promoting diversity and inclusion for the disabled?

It starts with language Othering people by using terms like “the disabled” already begins to separate disabled people from abled people This separation or segregation is exactly what we want to remove Disabled people should be seen as whole people with

In our minds, it’s easy to separate things like disability and racism, but actually, the two are inherently linked Our communities in particular struggle with the concept of disability and what that means There are various historic and cultural reasons for this which are too complex to go into here, but what I would love to see is a breakdown in barriers within our Indian/Asian community when it comes to discussing and dealing with a disability Disabled people are not a “burden” and can live full and happy, fulfilling and independent lives Provided we have the right level of support And that will differ from person to person, but we should never be written off, shut away at home, or treated as an embarrassment or a curse on the family

When I lost my sight, the pity bestowed on my family was an enormous source of frustration for everyone I couldn’t see, but I was still me Still ambitious, still young and full of life I wasn’t going to sit at home and h i d e a w a y f r o m s o c i e t y b e c a u s e p e o p l e thought that is what I should do

Instead, I flipped my focus – why do we think like this and have zero expectations of s o m e o n e w i t h a d i s a b i l i t y ? M y p r i o r i t y became to achieve a greater representation of disabled people and to raise the profile of British Asians with disabilities so that the next generation sees a diverse range of powerful Asian role models

What should be the end goal of successfully practising diversity and inclusion in day-to-day life?

I see the end goal as not needing to practise DEI but for it to be normalised in your everyday business, activities and behaviours

That means addressing your unconscious biases and listening to the needs of different people so that you can best support them I want to see a more diverse and inclusive society overall, this isn’t about lifting only disabled people, or people of colour, gender, or any other grouping It’s about society b e i n g m o r e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e a s a w h o l e

Everyone has a part to play here I’m working primarily in the corporate, media and charity sectors, noting the lack of diverse voices within the latter The only way I could effect change was to seek change from within Sitting on the Board of Trustees for two national charities, my goal is to shape new policies to ensure that they reach all of their target audience and deliver effective change in the community

I’d love for everyone reading this to think about what positive change they would like to see in our society and how they can help to achieve this

Her areas of interest are health and social development issues, and she has over 20 years of national and international work experience

Zainab currently serves as the Western India representative in the National Council f o r T r a n s g e n d e r P e r s o n s S h e i s a Kamalnayan Bajaj Fellow, a part of the Aspen Global Leadership Network Zainab is also o n e o f t h e p e t i t i o n e r s i n t h e h i s t o r i c National Legal Services Authority v Union of India 2014 case on transgender rights, and in the marriage equality case currently being heard by the Supreme Court of India She spoke to Asian Voice to shed more light on the case from the perspective of a transgender person, and to inform the readers about how trans-inclusion works within Indian corporates and queer rights movements To begin with, could you talk a bit about your petition currently being heard by the Supreme Court?

Like everyone else, transgender persons aspire to form loving and committed relationships that are recognized and nurtured by society and by law They hope to find a partner who can be a companion through the ups and downs of life’s journey and accept them for who they are For transgender persons, this journey of becoming is marked by grief and struggle but is also a story of grit, determination and ultimately, t r i u m p h T r a n s g e n d e r p e r s o n s m u s t n o t only come to terms with their bodies and find a way of presenting themselves to the world that corresponds to their innate feelings of gender but must then find a partner who accepts them in the gender of their choice This can mean being a companion on a long and arduous journey to transition from one gender to another which presents e m o t i o n a l , p h y s i c a l , s o c i a l a n d f i n a n c i a l upheavals and strains I have triumphed over these and other s t r u g g l e s t o f o r g e a c o m m i t t e d , l o v i n g , s e c u r e r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h m y p a r t n e r , o f which we both sought recognition from the state and society My petition hence requests the Hon Supreme Court of India to “Issue a writ, order or declaration in the nature of a d e c l a r a t i o n u n d e r A r t i c l e 2 2 6 o f t h e Constitution of India that the right to marry a person of one ’ s choice under Article 21 of the Constitution of India applies with full force to transgender and other LGBT persons ”

The Transgender Persons Act 2019 does away with a lot of the progress made by the NALSA judgement, such as reservations, and punishment for discrimination against trans people How do corporates in India currently fare in this context?

The progress made by the corporates in India has been largely variable Some organizations have gone out of their way in creating and maintaini n g t r a n s i n c l u s i o n i n t h e workplace Some corporates in l i n e w i t h t h e r u l e s o f t h e P r o t e c t i o n o f T r a n s g e n d e r

Persons Act have framed and implemented an equal opportunity policy for transgender persons Some have set up a grievance redressal system and

made sure that trans people feel included and have given them relevant career opportunities

Some organizations have also made their policies and their procedure genderneutral to enable a wide array of genders to be covered under existing access to justice mechanisms at the workplace However, if you look at the whole of India in corporate, it largely lags behind on trans people's inclusion especially when it comes to affirmative action and access to justice mechanisms within corporate workspaces There are yet many organizations that haven't implemented the protection of transgender persons as it is mandated by law within their own organizations and hence this is leading to a large discrepancy in terms of access to jobs and meaningful inclusion for trans people at the workplace

What are your observations on the hiring and promotion processes of queer people? Do openly queer people even have the means to deal with biases overt and covert during the hiring process in a world where we hype merit so much?

Many small- or medium-sized organisations depend on external organisations or agencies for background verification checks Sensitising your third-party vendor personnel is important One has to keep professionalism at an all-time high For example, when you do a house check, make sure that you check with the person- is this the right time to visit? Or, is it okay to visit?

Then on day one, when the new employee is being taken around, ensure that the person is not overwhelmed by the culture as workspaces can be intimidating

And I think, during the assessment phase if you ’ re specifically looking at diversity candidates, let’s not look at meritocracy as an argument If we were to use that argument, we would never have had reservations for women If we leave people who are left behind to crawl back to the top of the wall, where we think we have a worldview of equality, that’s never going to work

Incommon parlance, queer marriage is referred to as same-sex marriage. Would you say that there has been a trans-erasure in this, in the queer movement itself?

Yes, I think that we are using redundant and non-inclusive language by referring to it only as same-sex marriage There are multiple trans petitions in the court about marriage equality at the moment And marriage equality is a fair term as it includes persons of diverse sex, gender identity, and expressions as well

The RFP for tendering of outsourcing of CPV-OCI services for HCI London, CGI Birmingham, CGI Edinburgh has been uploaded on High Commission of India Website and CPP Portal. All interested parties/bidders may kindly see detailed RFP on:

Dr Amit Patel

An interview with Zainab Patel

Is Putin a proud and patriotic politician?

One may wonder why West, especially Britain and America are hell bent on continuing Cold War atmosphere when Soviet Union is dead and buried long time ago While military alliance like Warsaw Pact, SEATO and CENTO, also known as Bagdad Pact, were dismantled in view of the demise of Soviet Union, NATO, in sharp contrast has redoubled its efforts to expand and surround Russia, an act of intimidation proud Russia will never tolerate

When Soviet Union tried to install missiles in Cuba, only a stone throw away from US main-land, President Kennedy was willing to go to war that may lead to nuclear holocaust, prevented by the diplomacy of President Nikita Khrushchev who took over the reign after the death of Joseph Stalin, in 1953 I wonder what would have happened if Stalin was in charge! After demise of Soviet Union, NATO has taken in East European countries like Poland, Hungary, Romania and three tiny Baltic States, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, last two bordering Russia with considerable Russian population

If Ukraine joins NATO with long common border with Russia and eastern Ukraine mainly populated by Russian speaking Ukrainians, loyal to Russia, this will lead to war between these two nations, eastern Ukraine will leave and form an independent nation, although this will be David versus Goliath struggle, unless NATO intervenes to protect Ukraine, which seems unlikely without being NATO member

Russia has warned Sweden and Finland, with extensive land border with Russia not to join NATO, asking questions whether US will ever tolerate if Russian missiles are stationed on borders between US and Canada, US and Mexico! India has proved that it is possible to have good relations, both with US and Russia

President Putin also boasts that Russia now possesses hypersonic ICBM, flying at the speed of one mile per second, immune to anti-missile missiles that fly through space or even hugging the land mass and comes down vertically on their targets Russia is such a huge country with tiny population and landmass stretching six thousand miles from East to West, it has little interest to adding more land, unlike China who is constantly on the look-out to grab whatever land it can devour, Tibet being and Mongolia being prime examples

It is time for Western politicians to wise-up and sort who is the real enemy, Russia or China! Pushing Russia into Chinese orbit could be the worse outcome for the West!

Bh upendra M Gandhi

What does May 1 really stand for?

Every year on May 1, people across the world, including India, celebrate Labour Day as a public holiday in India A few arrange get-togethers to enjoy the much-needed holiday while others spend it either watching TV, playing games or sleeping all day The idea is to gain as much from this day as one can – for oneself But what no one does is think about what this day truly stands for Has any of us done something of value for the labour class or tried to resolve their problems?

There are countless problems which are being faced by our labourers such as poverty, illiteracy, food and water crises and so many others A vast majority of labourers and daily-wage workers remain outside the field of labour laws, which means that workers have no paid holidays, no job security, no medical coverage, no pension, no provident fund, no limit on working hours and are paid no overtime In India with all this, there is also an issue of child labour Child labour in India is growing at a disturbing rate Hundreds and thousands of children struggle to achieve their necessities of life Children are the future of any country, and we should all work to help them become better people Child labour is a very complex problem with its root in the socio-economic environment of the country The children suffer from lack of education and health facilities and better employment It is important to note that India became a member of the International Labour Organisation right after its independence in 1947 However, there is not much change when I look at the present situation as there seem to be no labour law implementation There should be an international monitoring in the country and people should be held accountable who use child labour and bonded labour

Jubel D'Cruz

Tendulkar turns 50

Tendulkar turned 50 on 24 April and we know his story is no doubt an inspiration

But just think if his parents had different plans for him and had not allowed him to pursue his passion?

One of the issues we face today is that of many parents trying to live their own unrealised dreams vicariously through their kids, without checking the natural flair and inclination the child has for a particular profession, push them into hundreds of classes and expect return on investment like stock market

Thankfully Tendulkar’s parents & family members, his brother in particular, his coach spotted & nurtured his unique talent at the right time His father who was a poet once told him “Do whatever you want to do in life I don’t expect you to be a poet, your passion is cricket, make sure you give your best in cricket ”

And thank God! his parents supported him to pursue his passion not forcing to excel in academics, else we would have lost a legend

TS Ka rt hik

K A P I L’ S K H I C H A D I

Gareth’s Contempt for Gujaratis

Li ke so many Gujara ti and Ind ia n o rgani sa tions, I wrote to Gare th as we ll (on nu me rous occasi ons) I h ave be en wa iti ng si nce 17th March for Ga reth to re spo nd to thi s Guja rati who aske d him some ve ry ba si c questions To da te, he ha s re ma ined h id den in his den of shame Wh en he fi na lly wrote ba ck, it wa s a te mp late response re gurgitati ng his co nd esce nd ing fake narr ati ve Th ere was not ev en a n ounce o f eff ort to respond to t he qu estions bei ng posed Of cour se , he wa s i n no posi ti on to re sp ond giv en he ha d ma de thi ng s up o n the pre tence of crea ting the AP PG for Gu jar ati s It must h ave be en a blow to hi m the n to f ind out tha t more tha n 95% of Gujarat is had rejected it out of hand Wha t thi s pa tronising poli tici an ha s done i s su rround hi mse lf wi th pupp ets f rom the Guja rati community I hea r he ha s r ecruite d Gujar ati chamchas who will a ttend the la unch of hi s APP G No doubt the pi ed pi pe r wil l e ng ineer hi s PR ca mpai gn to pai nt it as a majo r success But th en, if Gare th was i nte rested i n t ruth, h e would not ha ve be come the ha rbinger of f alsity and force th rough his unwanted APP G and go ag ainst the wishes of th e ve ry communi ty he purpo rts to rep resent

There are more serious issues at hand also Did you know Gareth Thomas is the Labour party’s Shadow Minister for International Trade? He sits on Keir Starmer’s cabinet which means, in theory at least, that what Gareth does is approved by Keir and the Labour Party The breaking India tool kit used by Gareth seems to be Labour party policy and it is being applied systematically to various issues to undermine India and Indians This is grave news for international matters because should Labour ever get into power, its de facto policy on India is to break it up It all makes sense when we consider the anti-Modi rhetoric, the anti-India narrative, the support for the terrorist state of Pakistan with reference to Kashmir, the support for Khalistani hooligans, undermining India on Article 370, the farmers protest, the Hinduphobic bigotry and much more besides This Labour party appears to be working in cahoots with the Indian National Congress (INC) and both appear to be using the same tool kit to undermine India at every turn No wonder Rahul Gandhi found friends in the Labour Party on his recent visit

Let me remind Keir and Gareth what leaders of thousands of Gujaratis (Indians) have to say about this divisive APPG:

The President of the Hindu Forum of Britain, Mrs Truptiben Patel said, ‘It is incredible that we have a British politician who is ignoring the vast majority of the Gujarati and Indian community in the UK and still going ahead with the APPG Gujarati It is disappointing to see that some of our politicians can so openly roughshod over the wishes of the community We do hope common sense will prevail though’

V i n o d b h a i P o p a t o f t h e H i n d u C o m m u n i t y Organisations Group (HCOG) based in Leicester and representing some 40000 members made an interesting observation stating, ‘Gareth Thomas has shown his dishonesty with his dishonourable behaviour How can any Indian in Harrow West ever trust a politician like him when he so wilfully ignores the voice of the community?’

Complimenting him Mukesh Naker of British Hindu Voice added, ‘The manner in which Gareth has set up this unwanted APPG suggests that he is motivated by his own personal ambitions, rather than the welfare of the Gujarati community His patronising attitude shows all Indians that politicians like him care not for the community, but only for their own political objectives’

Kamlesh Mistry, President of the Shree Prajapati

Association (UK) said, ‘As an organisation with Gujarati members we have not received any form of communication regarding the formation of this group, its purpose and understand that it has not gone through proper consultation with us and other Hindu and Gujarati organisations in the UK’

Prof Sunil Poshakwale (MBA, PhD, Professor of Intl Finance, Cranfield School of Management) tweeted, ‘Agree @GarethThomasMP is not doing any favours by supporting this APPG British Hindu community stands united and does not need a separate @APPGBGujaratis’

Pravin Patel Ex Sec Gen of the NCGO also tweeted, ‘Gujaratis be warned, do not trust Labour Party or it’s MPs, they will ruin you and the country Labour is p a c k e d w i t h a n t i - I n d i a n a n d a n t i - H i n d u m i n d s e t s Their aim is to divide us Boycott, do not trust their honey layered words and promises’

This week I also received a letter from the National Council of Hindu Temples (NCHT) in which their President, Arun Thakur makes it very clear that the APPG is not wanted He states, ‘The NCHT expresses its grave concern about the idea of creating a Gujarati Allparty Parliament Group (APPG) in the UK Parliament Regarding the whole issue, you have been already approached by many Indian organisations, you should have immediately stopped and withdrawn yourself This venture is not in the favour of India, the UK, the community, and the Labour party as well as yourself’

Hot on their heels was Nainesh Patel (General Secretary of Chha Gam Nagrik Mandal UK) who wrote, ‘Currently we see no value in formation of such a group, as all the needs of the Gujaratis are resolved using existing APPGs for INDIANS, Hindus, and other religious groups We believe that we are a united force with the current set up ’

However, we also have those in our community who have compromised themselves and their organisations with their silence One is left to wonder as to what hold Gareth has over them that they are willing to betray their very own? To be treacherous and to become a traitor to your community, your culture and your faith must be the lowest form of existence I have also received information that a few trustees of some of our well-known organisations, with a close relationship with Gareth and Labour, might have also compromised their position and that of their Gurus and their community I am sure at some point they will also be exposed

I am also getting news that some of the MPs who had signed up to be part of the APPG are now having serious doubts Not Gareth though He wrote a long article giving a variety of excuses for having such an APPG However, a simple cursory look at his statement showed that everything he said was already being addressed by other groups and organisations In effect, the community were right when they told him that his APPG was not needed, nor was it wanted

Interestingly, this very same Gareth is still learning how to spell Gujarati He writes it as ‘Guajarati’ To be honest, you can’t make this up A white British politician, who can’t spell, is telling us Gujaratis what is good for us by ignoring us The British Raj is dead, but it seems it still lives in some people even today

The Indian community at the next General Election will remind him of his treachery And I say to those individuals who have gone into bed with Gareth You are traitors to your community as well It is that simple

In the words of Benjamin Franklin, ‘Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools, that don't have brains enough to be honest’

Mental Health Week

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health problems in the UK In fact, a survey* commissioned by Mental Health Foundation in late 2022 found that a quarter of adults in the UK (25%) feel so anxious that it stops them doing the things they need, or want to do, most or all of the time Six in ten adults feel this way at least occasionally

That’s why, this Mental Health Awareness Week (15-21 May 2023) we will be focusing on anxiety We will be encouraging people to share their experiences, and what has helped, with the hashtag #ToHelpMyAnxiety

By having a national conversation about anxiety during Mental Health Awareness Week, we hope people will better understand how anxiety is affecting them, what they can do to calm feelings of anxiety, and feel more comfortable in seeking support

We invite people to find out more about anxiety and how to get involved in Mental Health Awareness Week by going to our website

England

ion

We are grateful to all letter writers for more and more versatile letters well within word limit Please keep contributing as always.

If you are new, then write to Shefali at shefali saxena@abplgroup com

First ever Shree Jagannatha Convention hosted in London

“ L o r d Ja g an na th a i s t h e a ll -p e rv a d i ng S u p r em e B ei n g , th e sou rce of all, and He is p resent in this form in t h e P u ru s h o tta m a

K s h e tra , th e c o as ta l to wn o f P uri i n th e Eastern Indian state of Od i sha, as des cribed in the Skanda-Purana, the m ost vo lum inou s o f the eigh teen major P u r ana s T h e m o s t s i g ni fi c ant as pe ct o f t h e tra d i ti o n o f L o rd Jagannatha is its all-encomp assing universality He is invo ked and wo rshipp ed by v irtually all the d iverse relig ious sam pradayas; each in t h ei r o w n w a y L o rd J a g an nat h a i s al s o w o rsh ipped by Buddh ists, Jains and Sikhs This univ ersal allinclu siv e dimensio n of the tradition of L ord Jagannatha reiterates the Rigvedic declaration – Ekam sat viprah bahudh a v ad anti (Truth is o ne, the wise sp eak o f it in v arious nam es) “ L o r d J a g a n n a t h a reminds us that we are all children of the One Divine Father (vasudhaiva kutumbakam) and co-travellers on the path to Divinity The tradition of Lord Jagannatha c l e a r l y r e p r e s e n t s ‘ ’ g r e a t harmony’; these eternal and fundamental truths have to b e w e l l u n d e r s t o o d a n d imbibed by mankind today, if peace, harmony and prosperity is to reign on this b e a u t i f u l p l a n e t o f o u r s ” T h i s w a s r e v e a l e d i n h i s K e y n o t e A d d r e s s b y H i s H i g h n es s, Ga j ap at i M ah araja Dibyasing ha Deb, the Maharaja of Pu ri and the Aadya Sevak (first and forem o s t S e r v i t o r ) o f L o r d J a g a n n a t h a a n d t h e C h a i r m a n o f t h e S h r i J a g a n n a t h a T e m p l e Managing Committee at Sri M a n d i r i n P u r u s h o t t a m a Kshetra, Puri who was visiting London, UK along with M a h a r a n i L e e l a b a t i Pattamahadei A d d r e s s i n g t h e F i r s t S h r e e J a g a n n a t h a Convention London organised by the Shree Jagannatha Society UK (SJS UK) at the Navnat Centre on Sunday, 2 3 r d A p r i l 2 0 2 3 , G a j a p a t i M a h a r a j s p o k e o n t h e ‘ T r a d i t i o n s o f L o r d J a g a n n a t h a a n d t h e S i g n i f i c a n c e o f

Purushottama Kshetra’ He d e c l a r e d h i s j o y t h a t t h e worship of Lord Jagannatha has gradually spread to different parts of India and, to several countries around the world Over 600 devotees h a d r e g i s t e r e d f o r t h i s unique convention on Lord Jagannatha which was the first-of-its-kind to be held a n y w h e r e i n E u r o p e a n d attracted Jagannatha devotees from across the UK and Ireland On the auspicious d a y o f A k s h a y a T r i t h i y a , Gajapati Maharaj, the spirit u a l g u i d e o f S J S U K , e x p r e s s e d h i s f i r m b e l i e f

Inaugural India Week across the UK brings together business and political leaders in May 2023

Mo re th an 100 bus iness leaders from acro ss India, as well a s p o l it ic a l l e ad er s f ro m s e v en p a rt ie s a c r o s s e igh t s tates , have c onfirmed their a t te n da nc e a t t h e l a rg e s t

I ndia - rel at ed co nf er enc e in Eu rop e this year

G l o b a l a d v i s o r y f i r m

EPG’s India Week is its annual fathering of change-makers, policy and business leaders for high-level discussions on pertinent topics, including t h e U K - I n d i a F r e e T r a d e

Agreement

E n e r g y , E n v i r o n m e n t a n d

Water)

The Chief Minister of a leading state in India is also expected to attend They will be coming especially for the flagship “Ideas for India” conference, organised alongside

t h e n o n - p r o f i t t h i n k t a n k

Bridge India

T h e F i n a n c i a l T i m e s recently said this would be

“

evening to celebrate closer UK-India ties

At the last Ideas for India

that with the blessings of Lord Jagannatha, the comm i t m e n t o f S h r e e Jagannatha Society UK to b u i l d a g r a n d S h r e e J a g a n n a t h a T e m p l e i n London will soon become a r e a l i t y H e a l s o a n s w e r e d several questions from the a u d i e n c e o n S a n a t a n a Dharma, Jagannatha culture and spirituality particularly pertinent to devotees, resident abroad

Earlier, welcoming the c o n g r e g a t i o n , D r S ah a d ev S wain, Chairperson SJSUK, e x p r e s s e d h i s c o n f i d e n c e that under the guidance of Gajapati Maharaj, the Shree Jagannatha Mandir London will become the epicentre of J a g a n n a t h a C u l t u r e i n E u r o p e a n d a p r o m i n e n t place of pilgrimage, attracting thousands of devotees and tourists annually from across the world Dr Swain also introduced and felicit a t e d S h r i Bi s w an ath P a tna i k, g l o b a l I n d i a n i n v e s t o r a n d C h a i r m a n F I N N E S T G r o u p o f Companies and Sh ri Arun Kar, Managing Director of FINNEST UK, who are the P r i n c i p a l D o n o r s o f t h e S h r e e J a g a n n a t h a M a n d i r London

Speaking on this occas i o n , S h r i K a r a n n o u n c e d that S hri Bisw anath P atnaik has pledged a sum of £25 m i l l i o n t o w a r d s t h e c o nstruction of a magnificent temple for Lord Jagannatha in London, which will be f a c i l i t a t e d b y F I N N E S T G r o u p o f C o m p a n i e s , o f which he is the Managing Director FINNEST Group of Companies is an earlystage Private Equity investment firm that invests in R e n e w a b l e s , E V s a n d H y d r o g e n L o c o m o t i v e s , I n n o v a t i v e T e c h n o l o g y , C o n s u m e r M a r k e t P l a c e s , Fintech, Smart Cities and P u b l i c S e c t o r , w i t h l a r g e i n v e s t m e n t s a c r o s s t h e world A suitable land has been identified and is currently in the final stages of purchase, and a pre-planning application has been submitted to the local government Council to secure permission for Mandir construction In his message to the congregation, Shri Patnaik vowed his financial support for the construction of the Mandir and exhorted devotees to join hands and work together with faith in Lord J

at the earliest A number of dignitaries g r a c e d t h e o c c a s i o n a n d were felicitated by Trustees o f S J S U K , i n c l u d i n g S h ri S ujit Gh osh, Deputy High Commissioner, Indian High Commission London; Sh ri A m is h T ri p at h i, n o t e d a u t h o r a n d M i n i s t e r (Culture & Education), High C o m m i s s i o n o f I n d i a & D i r e c t o r , T h e N e h r u Centre; Sm t Tru p ti P atel, Chairperson Hindu Forum B r i t a i n ; S w am in i S u ry a P rabha D id i and S wam ini B h ak ti P ri ya D id i o f B r a h m r i s h i M i s s i o n U K Representatives from Hindu Temples across the UK and I r e l a n d , i n c l u d i n g S h r i J a g a n n a t h a T e m p l e B a t h , UK and the Jagannatha init i a t i v e o f t h e I r i s h O d i a A s s o c i a t i o n i n D u b l i n , Ireland also participated and their services to the Lord w e r e r e c o g n i s e d O n t h i s occasion a short documentary detailing the journey of SJSUK about the journey of S h r e e J a g a n n a t h a S o c i e t y edited by Sidd hesw ar Pand a of Nalini TV was released Trustees of SJSUK – S hri B h ak ta P and a, Dr A d i ty a S i ng h , D r S a nto s h P a ttn aya k, D r C h eta n S h a tap a th y , S h ri S u k an ta S a h u , S m t A m it a M i sh r a, S m t Ni d h i K ar, and S h ri A njan M ishra – expressed their heartfelt gratitude to F I N N E S T , S h r i B i s w a n a t h Patnaik and Shri Arun Kar for their generous donation a n d s u p p o r t f o r t h e c o ns t r u c t i o n o f t h e S h r e e

Jagannatha Mandir London

T h e c o n v e n t i o n w a s opened with kirtans from d e v o t e e s f r o m t h e Brahmrishi Mission UK and Braj Gopika Seva Mission U K A c a p t i v a t i n g O d i s s i d a n c e w a s p r e s e n t e d b y Su sh mita Pati and her students from KALA, The Arts, B a s i n g s t o k e A s a t s a n g o f mellifluous bhajans, includi n g t h e e n c h a n t i n g

Jagnnatha Ashtakam comp o s e d b y A d i S h a n k a r a c h a r y a , w a s p e rformed by British children aged 5 to 15 years from the Gitanjali Academy of Fine Arts Limited (GAOFAL) led by their Guru, Smt Jayeeta Ghosh The audience were also enthralled by the perf o r m a n c e o f S h ri A s i t T ri pathy, noted actor and renowned Bollywood playback singer, who sang both Odia and Hindi bhajans in praise of Lord Jagannatha

S p e a k e r s c o n f i r m e d include Dr Raghuram Rajan ( F o r m e r G o v e r n o r , R e s e r v e

B a n k o f I n d i a ) , R a h u l

N a r w e k a r ( S p e a k e r o f t h e

M a h a r a s h t r a L e g i s l a t i v e

A s s e m b l y ) , R o h i t P a w a r

(

M e m b e r o f L e g i s l a t i v e

A s s e m b l y , M a h a r a s h t r a ) ,

P r i y a n k a C h a t u r v e d i

( M e m b e r o f P a r l i a m e n t ,

M a h a r a s h t r a ) , K a r t i k e y a

S h a r m a ( M e m b e r o f

Parliament, Haryana), Riniki

B h u y a n S a r m a ( M D , P r i d e

East Entertainment), Pradyot

M a n i k y a ( C h a i r m a n , T i p r a

M o t h a , T r i p u r a ) , J a y e s h

R a n j a n , I A S ( P r i n c i p a l

Secretary of the Industries a n d C o m m e r c e , a n d I T D e p a r t m e n t s , T e l a n g a n a ) , Mohammed Ali Ashraf Fatmi

( N a t i o n a l S p o k e s p e r s o n , J D U , B i h a r ) , A b h i n a n d a n S e k h r i ( C o - F o u n d e r , N e w s l a u n d r y ) , A r u n a b h a G h o s h ( C E O , C o u n c i l o n

I n d i a ’ s c o m i n g d e c a d e o f o u t p e r f o r m a n c e ” a n d T h e

E c o n o m i s t s a i d , “ T h i s i s

India’s moment ” India Week

s e e k s t o c e l e b r a t e t h e s e trends, across several special events on 7-12 May 2023 in

L e i c e s t e r s h i r e , O x f o r d a n d London

It starts with an exclusive CEOs’ Golf Weekend on 7-8 May at Rutland Hall & Spa in L e i c e s t e r s h i r e , w h e r e m o r e than 20 CEOs from India are expected to fly in especially

T h e r e a f t e r , t h e r e i s t h e

E d u c a t i o n I n n o v a t i o n

C o n f e r e n c e i n O x f o r d , organised in partnership with W B R , a n d i n c l u d i n g P r o f

Jonathan Michie OBE, ProV i c e - C h a n c e l l o r o f t h e

U n i v e r s i t y o f O x f o r d a n d leadership from over 40 higher education institutions in India

Finally, the flagship Ideas f o r I n d i a c o n f e r e n c e i n London on 11-12 May, will include an invite-only dinner at the House of Commons and a formal dinner the next

c o n f e r e n c e , L o r d T a r i q Ahmad, Minister of State at t h e F C D O , s a i d t h e e v e n t “provides an excellent opportunity to celebrate the deep friendship between our two countries, and also look to the future It is this trusted partnership that extends to trade as well ” Angela Rayner, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, said it was an honour to speak at the conference, further saying “The people of the Indian diaspora strengthen our economy, culture and society – but are also at the heart of our communities ” Pratik Dattani, Managing D i r e c t o r o f E P G , s a i d : “ I n d i a ’ s d i v e r s i t y i s i t s s t r e n g t h , a n d b y b r i n g i n g together such as wide range of businesses and political leaders on one platform in London, we hope to showcase the best of India Our a t t e n d e e s i n c l u d e s o m e o f t h e l a r g e s t c o m p a n i e s i n Europe, including some of t h e l e a d i n g i n v e s t o r s i n t o

India ”

Discussions during Ideas f o r I n d i a w i l l i n c l u d e o n bilateral relations with the U K , I n d i a ’ s g r o w t h a s a g e o p o l i t i c a l p o w e r , i n v e s tment opportunities in India, the importance of federalism, and a special focus on the North East

Hassan Ali supports Warwickshire’s Ramadan League with surprise visit

W a r w i ck s h i re ’ s P a k i s t a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l H a s s a n A l i s ur pri se d p lay er s a t th e C lub ’ s Mi dnig ht Ramadan League a s he j oin ed the m for an ifta r b efore of ferin g s ome bowli ng tips

A l i – w h o ’ s t a k e n e i g h t wickets in two games, including t h e d e c i s i v e f i n a l w i c k e t i n Sunday’s win over Kent – has been an instant hit both on and o f f t h e f i e l d s i n c e a r r i v i n g a t Edgbaston earlier this month

A n d w h e n t h e 2 8 - y e a r - o l d l e a r n e d a b o u t t h e p o p u l a r R a m a d a n L e a g u e – h e l d t h r o u g h o u t t h e M u s l i m h o l y m o n t h a t E d g b a s t o n ’ s i n d o o r centre – he was keen meet the players and find out more about the project

The league offers 16- to 24y e a r - o l d s t h e c h a n c e t o p l a y competitive indoor cricket from 9pm to midnight after breaking their fast

Ali joined players for an iftar –the breaking of the fast sundown ceremony – before taking in some of the action and coaching

He said: “It’s a brilliant idea Playing cricket in daylight hours during Ramadan, when many of these boys and young men are fasting, would be very difficult as

they can’t rehydrate or take on food

“And then after dark there wouldn’t be many places available for them to play cricket

Warwickshire open up their cricket centre late at night so these guys can play the sport they love during Ramadan and receive some great coaching ”

T h e R a m a d a n L e a g u e h a s gone from strength to strength since launching in 2021 and this year eight teams of six players entered to compete in a round robin format league twice a week

E a t o n G o r d o n f r o m t h e Warwickshire Cricket Board runs the project He said: “We want to m a k e c r i c k e t a n d E d g b a s t o n

Eid in the Square celebrations return to Trafalgar Square

The Ma yor of Lond on, S adiq Khan , ha s a n n o u n ce d t ha t Ei d in t he Squa re re tur ns to the capit al on Satur day 29 Apr il

The free annual celebration, f o l l o w i n g t h e e n d o f R a m a d a n , returns for its 18th year and will be hosted by comedian Ali Official and British model and filmmaker Mariah Idrissi

The theme this year celebrates family, education and innovation and Londoners and visitors can immerse themselves in the best of Islamic-inspired art, history and c u l t u r e w i t h c o n t e m p o r a r y a n d

accessible to everyone and that m e a n s h a v i n g t o t h i n k m o r e creatively about the programmes we run

“

T h e R a m a d a n M i d n i g h t League is an example of this We’re staying open late at night to accommodate players who are o b s e r v i n g R a m a d a n , w e ’ v e invested in coaches to deliver the sessions and provide travel to and from players’ homes ”

The sessions will run until E i d a l - F i t r , w h i c h w i l l b e c e l e b r a t e d a t E d g b a s t o n w i t h prayers for 2,000 worshippers on t h e C o l t s ( t r a i n i n g ) G r o u n d t h r o u g h a c o m m u n i t y p a r t n e r s h i p w i t h G r e e n L a n e Masjid

Group of four burglars who often struck Asians, jailed

A “ prolific” group o f four burg lars w h o o ften stru ck A si ans acro ss L ond on, targeting them for their h igh-v alue g old, has been jailed T h e y s t o l e j e w e l l e r y w o r t h £ 3 9 , 6 9 5 a n d £ 1 3 , 3 4 0 i n c a s h b y t a r g e t i n g t h e e l d e r l y a n d vulnerable during their burglary spree which lasted a little more than two months last year John Casey, 43, and Michael Casey, 47 –both of Kingfisher Lane in West Sussex – Martin Moloney, 42, of W e s t D r a y t o n a n d S e a n McGoldrick, 50, of Iver posed as legitimate workmen to enter the homes of their victims

Some of the items they stole –such as engagement rings – had s e n t i m e n t a l v a l u e a n d w e r e irreplaceable, the Met Police said

All four offenders pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary at

Harrow Crown Court

T h e g r o u p w o u l d a p p r o a c h houses of elderly occupants and introduce themselves as workmen

T h e y w o u l d t h e n e n g a g e i n conversation with the occupants before entering the houses to look for plumbing issues They would a s k t h e h o u s e h o l d e r t o r e m o v e

i t e m s f r o m u n d e r t h e s i n k t o d i s t r a c t t h e m M i c h a e l C a s e y , Maloney and McGoldrick would then enter the premises and search for cash, jewellery, watches and gold, while John Casey would wait outside in their mission vehicle

ready to make their escape

They followed a similar modus o p e r a n d i i n t h e b u r g l a r i e s t h e y c o m m i t t e d a t T o w e r H a m l e t s , C o l i n d a l e , E a l i n g , B a r n e t , G r e e n w i c h , H i l l i n g d o n , B r e n t , Enfield, Hounslow, Islington and B a r n e t b e t w e e n J a n u a r y 1 7 a n d March 29, 2022 They fled with gold and jewelled rings, bangles and earrings worth £23,720 from a single offence T h e o f f e n d e r s w e r e i n t e r c e p t e d i n a p u b i n Cricklewood in Barnet after they f o r e n s i c a l l y c l e a n s e d a n d a b a n d o n e d t h e i r l a s t ‘ m i s s i o n ’ v e h i c l e S c o t l a n d Y a r d ’ s o f f i c e r s a r r e s t e d J o h n C a s e y , M i c h a e l Casey and Maloney after they were observed visiting the house of an e l d e r l y p e r s o n M c G o l d r i c k w a s arrested a few days later

File on details of gems and jewels acquired from India found

T he recent disco very o f a f il e f rom t h e arc h ives of th e I ndia O ff ic e, w hich was res pons ible for Britis h ru le over India, has p rovided new in fo r ma tio n a bo u t th e gem s an d jew els th at were acqu ir ed by the ro yal f amil y during the c olo nial era

This discovery was part of the o n g o i n g i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n t o t h e wealth and finances of the British r o y a l f a m i l y l e a d i n g u p t o t h e coronation of King Charles III next month A 46-page file was found that contained information about an investigation commissioned by Queen Mary, the grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II, into the origin of her jewels

T h e f i l e i s c o n s i d e r e d r e m a r k a b l e f o r t h e i n s i g h t s i t provides into the imperial origins of t h e r o y a l j e w e l s A m o n g i t s references is an emerald-encrusted gold girdle used to decorate the horses in the stables of Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab, which now forms part of King Charles’ royal

collection

The report, from 1912, explains h o w p r i c e l e s s p i e c e s , i n c l u d i n g C h a r l e s ’ s e m e r a l d b e l t , w e r e extracted from India as trophies of conquest and later given to Queen Victoria The items described are n o w o w n e d b y t h e m o n a r c h a s property of the British crown

Among the discoveries included a journal recording a tour in 1837 of Punjab by the British society diarist Fanny Eden and her brother George, then Britain’s governor general of India, who visited Ranjit Singh – the powerful king who had signed a socalled “treaty of friendship” with the British at the time

traditional performances on the main stage alongside a feast of food stalls from across the world

The family-friendly event will r u n f r o m n o o n t o 6 p m a n d f e a t u r e s a n a f t e r n o o n o f l i v e p e r f o r m a n c e s , i n c l u d i n g a w a r d -

winning Afrofusion artist MoYah, K h a n B r o t h e r s Q a w w a l i G r o u p , T h e S i l k R o a d C o l l e c t i v e a n d Somalian RnB legend FaceSoul

T h e r e w i l l b e a s p e c t a c u l a r g r a n d f i n a l e w i t h s t u n n i n g costumes as the Colours of Eid parade meanders through the main square led by Dhol drummers

This year will see for the first time, the Inspiring Muslim Awards, w h e r e u n s u n g h e r o e s f r o m London’s community, nominated by locals, are celebrated

T h e r e w i l l b e a r a n g e o f a c t i v i t i e s f o r a l l t h e f a m i l y , including calligraphy, storytelling, drama and poetry workshops with W A W C r e a t i v e A r t s , f e n c i n g sessions with Muslim Girls Fence, m o o n s i g h t i n g w o r k s h o p s w i t h New Crescent Society plus mehndi and face painting There will also be an opportunity to take a family s e l f i e w i t h c h a r a c t e r s O m a r & Hana H a l a l T o u r i s m B r i t a i n w i l l uncover Muslim tales of Trafalgar Square, while there will be a chance t o l i s t e n t o L o n d o n p o e t s , comedians and singers in Rumi

Cave’s Open Mic tent Everyday Muslim are hosting a photographic e x h i b i t i o n a n d f a m i l y h i s t o r y workshop, and visitors can bring d o w n t h e i r o w n p h o t o s t o b e scanned into the Muslim archive There’s also an array of stalls i n c l u d i n g D e s i D o l l C o m p a n y , Yunus Emre Institute and London Muslim Health Network plus food s t a l l s f r o m a c r o s s t h e w o r l d including Hooya East, Mr Bombay, Pabellon and The Spice Shack Eid in the Square is developed i n p a r t n e r s h i p w i t h t h e E i d Community Advisory Group and L o n d o n - b a s e d a r t s , c u l t u r e a n d grassroots Muslim organisations

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I am delighted to once again celebrate Eid in the Square with Londoners and visitors from all faiths and backgrounds There will be fantastic entertainment for all the family, showcasing the very b e s t o f L o n d o n ’ s M u s l i m communities and celebrating their i m m e n s e c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e capital Our city’s greatest strength is our diversity and celebrating the e n d o f R a m a d a n t o g e t h e r i s another example of how we are building a better and fairer London for everyone ” I s l a m i c R e l i e f U K D i r e c t o r ,

Tufail Hussain, said: “Islamic Relief i s d e l i g h t e d t o b e o n c e a g a i n partnering with Eid in the Square this year to celebrate Eid and the end of the holy month of Ramadan This is a brilliant event, and we l o o k f o r w a r d t o s e e i n g a l l communities in London coming t o g e t h e r t o e n j o y t h i s f e s t i v e occasion

“Eid is a wonderful opportunity to thank British Muslims for their incredible generosity and support for charitable causes and we thank t h e M a y o r o f L o n d o n f o r organising what will be a special a n d m e m o r a b l e d a y f o r a l l t o enjoy ”

Lack of shelter for women facing domestic crisis

M o re th a n 1 0 , 0 0 0 w o m en esc ap i ng d o m es ti c a bu se ac ro ss Eng land w ere refused safe housing last year, amid warnings that many could be left homeless or driv en back to dangerous partners as a result of a “woefu l” lack of safe accomm odatio n O f f i c i a l f i g u r e s f o u n d t h a t almost 8,000 households referred to a safe accommodation service did not receive support because there was no capacity A further 3,000 were denied places because the shelter “could not meet the n e e d s o f t h e h o u s e h o l d ” , w i t h

Passport scams conning Brits big-time

Brits h av e been warned to watch o u t f o r f rau d s te rs w h o a re flogg ing bogu s travel deals amid p assport d elays H o l i d a y m a k e r s a r e f a c i n g h u g e d e l a y s t o t h e i r p a s s p o r t applications amid five weeks of strike action by members of the Public and Commercial Services u n i o n M o r e t h a n 4 , 0 0 0 P C S workers in England, Scotland, and Wales will take part in the action between April 3 and May 5 And, fraudsters have been attempting to exploit the delays

According to the Chartered T r a d i n g S t a n d a r d s I n s t i t u t e (CTSI), scammers have sent text m e s s a g e s a n d e m a i l s t o h o l i d a y m a k e r s o f f e r i n g s p e e d y passport renewals that don't exist Passport renewal scams have been costing holidaymakers hundreds

As reported by UK Passport Renewal, individuals who claim to o f f e r s u c h s e r v i c e s w i l l c h a r g e consumers anything from £30 to £ 2 5 0 T h e o r g a n i s a t i o n h a s w a r n e d h o l i d a y m a k e r s t o b e vigilant of fake travel deals

T h e C T S I h a s u r g e d h o l i d a y m a k e r s t o c h e c k t h e security of any website used to book a holiday As well as doublec h e c k i n g w e b s i t e l i n k s , t h e y ' v e e n c o u r a g e d B r i t s t o r e a d independent reviews and contact the owners of holiday cottages directly

When making a payment, the o r g a n i s a t i o n a l s o e n c o u r a g e d c o n s u m e r s t o b o o k u s i n g a protected method such as a credit card, debit card, or PayPal's buyer protection service

figures suggesting this was often due to mental health issues, drug and alcohol use or disability

The concerning figures emerge in the first report by a group set up t o m o n i t o r p r o g r e s s u n d e r landmark laws designed to protect v i c t i m s o f d o m e s t i c a b u s e a n d i m p r o v e t h e i r a c c e s s t o h e l p

Nicole Jacobs, the domestic abuse c o m m i s s i o n e r f o r E n g l a n d a n d Wales, said it was now “vital that service capacity is strengthened” Jess Phillips, Labour’s shadow m i n i s t e r f o r d o m e s t i c v i o l e n c e , s a i d t h e f i g u r e s w e r e “ a c l e a r indicator that more needs to be d o n e ” , a n d t h a t l e g a l d u t i e s t o provide help for those escaping v i o l e n c e w e r e n o t y e t b e i n g fulfilled “The government must p r o d u c e a c l e a r p l a n o n t h e i r response to the amount of victims turned away and clarity on the s t a n d a r d s e x p e c t e d o f s a f e accommodation,” she said

Avnish Goyal receives CBE at Buckingham Palace

C h ai r o f C ar e En g l and an d H al lm a rk C ar e H o m e s, A v ni s h Goyal was award ed a C BE in her late M aj esty ’ s birth day ho nou r ’ s list and v isited Bu ckingham Palace to receive the h onou r at a formal ceremony on 20th Ap ril 2023

Avnish, founder of family-run c a r e p r o v i d e r H a l l m a r k C a r e Homes, received the national honour for his services to social care and philanthropy and was presented the title by The Princess Royal

He was also recognised for his work during the pandemic with the largest representative body for social care, Care England, The Care Workers Charity and volunteer-led i n i t i a t i v e ; C h a m p i o n i n g S o c i a l Care

A v n i s h s t a r t e d h i s c a r e e r i n care in 1997 and became Chair of Care England in 2015 Since his appointment he has supported the sector in various initiatives such as campaigning for better funding for social care and the appointment of a commissioner for older people

H e h e l p e d f o u n d T h e C a r e Workers Charity 13 years ago, of which he is now a patron, to provide financial care and professional support to care workers In 2021, t h e H a l l m a r k C a r e H o m e s Foundation which he chairs gave a three-year grant of £78,000 to support The Care Worker’s Charity’s m e n t a l h e a l t h s u p p o r t s e r v i c e w h i c h e n a b l e s c a r e w o r k e r s t o access free counselling He helped set up and is chair of Championing Social Care, which seeks to shine a light on the great work of the social care workforce through a series of annual events

In 2018, he established the Care Sector Fundraising Ball, which is the only dedicated fundraising event for the sector The sell-out event to date has raised £750,000 for care

c h a r i t i e s a n d t h e b l a c k - t i e

f u n d r a i s e r r e t u r n s t h i s

S e p t e m b e r 3 0 t h a t t h e

G r o s v e n o r H o u s e H o t e l i n Park Lane, London In 2020, A v n i s h G o y a l a n d h i s w i f e

A n i t a , w e r e a p p o i n t e d a s

A l z h e i m e r ’ s S o c i e t y Ambassadors, supporting the charity’s life changing work to s u p p o r t p e o p l e a f f e c t e d b y dementia A v nis h Go yal s a i d , “ I ’ m deeply humbled to be recogn i s e d b y h e r M a j e s t y , t h e

Q u e e n i n h e r s p e c i a l

Platinum jubilee year for my work in social care and philanthropy as we celebrate our own silver jubilee for Hallmark Care Homes I’m delighted that my work has been recognised at the highest level I know that this honour will act as a further catalyst to take my work in social care and philanthropy to the next level ”

Martin Green, Chief Executive of Care England, said, “In his role a s C h a i r o f C a r e E n g l a n d , a n d through the high-quality services p r o v i d e d b y H a l l m a r k C a r e

Homes, Avnish Goyal has made an outstanding contribution to the care sector and he has always been a powerful advocate for high-quali t y c a r e a n d i n n o v a t i o n s t h a t improve people’s lives Avnish ‘ s contribution to society goes far b e y o n d h i s w o r k i n c a r e , a n d

through his philanthropy, in the UK and internationally, through his work with the Hemraj Goyal F o u n d a t i o n h e h a s t r a n s f o r m e d the lives of thousands of people ” K ar o li na Ger li c h , C h i e f E x e c u t i v e O f f i c e r o f T h e C a r e Workers Charity said, “I’d like to s a y a h u g e c o n g r a t u l a t i o n s t o A v n i s h f o r h i s w e l l - d e s e r v e d award We thoroughly appreciate a l l t h e s u p p o r t A v n i s h a n d H a l l m a r k C a r e H o m e s ’ Foundation have provided in raising awareness and grant giving to the Care Workers Charity ” S te p h en Bu r ke, C h i e f E x e c u t i v e O f f i c e r o f H a l l m a r k C a r e H o m e s F o u n d a t i o n a n d H e m r a j G o y a l F o u n d a t i o n s a i d , “Avnish’s honour is richly deserved

f o r h i s t i r e l e s s s u p p o r t f o r c h a r i t i e s : A v n i s h f i r m l y believes in giving back and h a s a n o u t s t a n d i n g t r a c k record of running not just great care homes but also giving millions of pounds and thousands of hours to charities Avnish has created two charitable foundations supporting people of all ages and has set up several pioneering partnerships to promote care a n d s u p p o r t c a r e w o r k e r s Together with his wife Anita, Avnish has raised awareness of dementia as an ambassador for the Alzheimer ’ s Society and raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for both the Alzheimer’s Society and the C a r e W o r k e r s C h a r i t y t h r o u g h t h e a n n u a l C a r e Sector Fundraising Ball ” A dear friend of the family, Nishm a Gosrani OBE, speaking a t t h e D o r c h e s t e r h o t e l o n Thursday, to celebrate the investiture ceremony of Mr Goyal, said, “To be awarded a CBE is no small f e a t , a n d i t i s a t e s t a m e n t t o A v n i s h ' s r e m a r k a b l e d e d i c a t i o n , hard work, talent and commitment to excellence His exceptional leadership and vision have earned him this well-deserved honour, and we are proud to celebrate this moment with him

“Avnish has been a leader in the business world for many years, and his accomplishments are numerous He has consistently demons t r a t e d a n u n w a v e r i n g c o m m i tment to quality and has been at the forefront of innovation As a proud

Brit, he repeatedly tells me that he wants to see the UK leading in healthcare – and I have no doubt that he will continue to influence our government to secure Britain’s place as a leader in this space benefiting the UK economy with a vital footprint

“As the founder and CEO of Hallmark Care Homes, Avnish has made a tremendous impact on the lives of countless individuals and families His focus on providing exceptional care to residents has earned him a reputation as a leader in the field of healthcare, and his p e r s o n a l u n r e s t t o d i s r u p t t h e industry has helped to raise standards and this has not gone unnoticed

“In addition to his professional a c c o m p l i s h m e n t s , A v n i s h i s a respected member of the community and together with his wife A n i t a h a s d e d i c a t e d h i m s e l f t o charitable causes He has consistently demonstrated a deep commitment to improving the lives of o t h e r s , a n d h i s p h i l a n t h r o p i c efforts have made a real difference in the lives of many people both in the United Kingdom and further afield Avnish's achievements have been recognised at the highest levels, and his CBE is a testament to the respect and admiration that he has earned from his peers, colleagues and friends alike

“We are honoured to celebrate this moment with you May you continue to achieve great success in all of your endeavours, and may you inspire a new generation to emulate the standards you have set and the bar you continue to raise ”

Avnish Goyal CBE being honoured by the Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace

Vaisakhi celebrations at No.10

British Sikh Association and Nicola Richards MP host Vaisakhi in Parliament

Lo rd Rami Rang er CBE, Chairm an of the British Sikh Association (BSA) and Nico la Richards, Member of Parliament for West Brom wich, hosted the Vaisakhi Reception in Parliament It was attend ed by the Chief Guest, the Hig h C omm issioner of India HE

V i kr am D or ai s w am i , th e D ep u t y H ig h

C o m m is s i o n, S u j it G h o sh an d M i ni s ter

C oord ination Deep ak Ch oudh ary, Rt Hon

Th eresa Villiers MP , Virendra Sh arma MP, Members of Parliam ent, and Peers, the BSA c o m m i tt ee, m em b ers o f H i s M aj es ty ’ s

A rmed Fo rces and lead ing members of the

Thousands join Vaisakhi parade

f l o a t s , t h e p r o c e s s i o n ,

and joyous"

com munity wh o had come from across the country to g race th e recep tion w ith th eir presence The MC for the reception was Nayaz Qazi

T h e w e l c o m e a d d r e s s w a s g i v e n b y

Nicola Richards, MP who spoke of the significant contribution of the Sikh community to Britain and globally and the importance of Vaisakhi, both religiously and culturally

D r S u k h b i r S K a p o o r O B E , G e n e r a l

Secretary of the British Sikh Association and Chancellor of the World Sikh University spoke about the importance of Vaisakhi and how through the revered wisdom, leadership, and guidance of Guru Gobind Singh, in 1699 the Khalsa was initiated

ings of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of the Sikh faith and how through the revered wisdom of Guru Gobind Singh, the Khalsa was initiated The High Commissioner further spoke of the immense contribution of the Khalsa and the Sikh community in making the world a better place and the debt of gratitude owed to the Sikh community in India and across the world

CB Patel founder and Editor-in-Chief of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar said how delighted and honoured he was to speak at the Vaisakhi celebration reception, and he paid tribute to the Sikh Gurus and to the Sikh community and thanked the hosts Lord Rami Ranger and Nicola Richards MP for organising this

Virendra Sharma MP thanked the British Sikh Association, Lord Rami Ranger, Nicola Richards MP for hosting the Vaisakhi reception and the importance of such an event in the Parliament Mr Sharma spoke of the contribution by the Sikh community in Britain and across thew world and how it should be recognised and celebrated

founding of the Sikh comm u n i t y , m a r k e d w i t h c o l o u r f u l p r o c e s s i o n s around the world Volunteer R a n b i r S i n g h s a i d Coventry's celebration started with donations of £501 to five local charities L e d b y f i v e c o l o u r f u l

k n o w n a s N a g a r K i r t a n , s t a r t e d a t t h e G u r d w a r a G u r u N a n a k P a r k a s h a t 10:00 BST It then moved t h r o u g h t h e c i t y , a l o n g H o w a r d S t r e e t , S t o n e y Stanton Road, Cross Road and Foleshill Road before returning to the Gurdwara at about 14:30

One of the organisers, H a r d e e p B a i n s , s a i d t h e e v e n t w a s " v e r y c o l o u r f u l

"There's also people who provide free food and drinks during the event, not just to the people taking part in the procession but to anybody w h o w o u l d l i k e t o h a v e something "

The charities chosen to r e c e i v e d o n a t i o n s i n c l u d e Acorn Children's Hospice, Coventry Resource Centre f o r t h e B l i n d a n d t h e Ambulance Staff Charity

Dr Kapoor spoke of the global recognition of the Sikh community through the Khalsa tradition and how it is renowned for standing against the oppression of the vulnerable and for its duty of service to humanity Dr Kapoor also spoke of how Vaisakhi is also a key part of the culture and fabric of India and is widely celebrated across India and the globe and introduced the readers to recite holy verses

T h e C h i e f G u e s t , H E V i k r a m Doraiswami, spoke how proud he was to a t t e n d t h e V a i s a k h i r e c e p t i o n i n t h e Parliament He spoke about the contribution to humanity by the Holy Gurus and how, through the revered wisdom and teach-

Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP, spoke of her gratitude for being asked to speak at the esteemed Reception and thanked the Sikh community for enriching Britain and for their unstinting contribution to Britain and globally

Colonel Jefferson spoke of the valour and bravery of the Sikh community to the Armed forces of Britain historically and today and the most important role the Sikh community plays in protecting King and country

The vote of thanks was given by co-host, Lord Rami Ranger, Chairman of the British Sikh Association Lord Ranger said how delighted he was to co-host the Vaisakhi R e c e p t i o n a t P a r l i a m e n t w i t h N i c o l a Richards MP He also thanked all the speakers, guests, and the British Sikh Association committee

Photo courtesy: Raj D Bakrania,

Diaspora usher in Bengali new year with pomp and gaiety

Prmediapix

Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP speaking at the reception

Nayaz Qazi, Lord Navnit Dholakia OBE, CB Patel and a guest

Chief Guest HE Vikram Doraiswami addressing the guests

Lord Rami Ranger CBE giving the vote of thanks

Heritage Beng al Global, a non-profit org anisation, promoting Beng al’s cu lture, celebrated Po ila Boish ak (Bengali New Year) on S aturd ay 22 Ap ril at Salvatorian Co lleg e, Harro w Mayor of Harrow, Cllr Janet M ote inaug urated the event Products from Biswa Bangla, the flagship brand of Bengal, run by the Government of West Bengal, were for the first time on display in a stall at this celebration, as part of a unique partnership

All hail the King

C harles III will be officially crow ned king o n M ay 6, in a solem n relig io u s s erv ic e e ig h t m onths after the death o f hi s m oth er Que en

E l i zab et h I I C h ar les w ill be the 40th reig ning monarch to be crowned a t t h e c en tra l L o n d o n ch urch since King William I in 10 66

Outside the UK, he is a l s o k i n g o f 1 4 o t h e r C o m m o n w e a l t h c o u n t r i e s , including Australia, Canada and New Zealand Camilla, h i s s e c o n d w i f e , w i l l b e crowned queen For the royals, the occasion -- described by the government as a "new chapter in our magnificent national story" -- is a cause for celebration

P r i n c e H a r r y w i l l b e seated 10 rows behind the royal family at his father's coronation According to a royal associate, the prince will also make a quick exit at the May 6 coronation amid the ongoing feud between the royals

P u b l i c a c c e s s t o s i t e s a l o n g T h e M a l l a n d Whitehall will be on a firstc o m e , f i r s t - s e r v e d b a s i s , with people directed to official screening sites in Hyde P a r k , G r e e n P a r k a n d S t James's Park once they are f u l l S t a n d s f o r i n v i t e d g u e s t s , i n c l u d i n g a r m e d f o r c e s ' v e t e r a n s a n d N H S and social care staff, have b e e n e r e c t e d o u t s i d e

Buckingham Palace

Just under 200 members of the armed forces - most from the Sovereign's Escort of the Household Cavalrywho will be taking part in t h e p r o c e s s i o n t o W e s t m i n s t e r A b b e y w i l l start to gather on Saturday morning

A n o t h e r 1 , 0 0 0 s e r v i c e

p e r s o n n e l w i l l l i n e t h e route, but the overall procession will be much smaller than its equivalent in 1953 when other royal families and Commonwealth prime ministers were among those who took part Buckingham Palace has confirmed that K i n g C h a r l e s a n d Q u e e n Camilla will continue the tradition - although which m e m b e r s o f t h e R o y a l Family will be involved has not yet been confirmed

Those there will witness the end of the day's public c e l e b r a t i o n s , w i t h a s i xm i n u t e f l y - p a s t i n v o l v i n g members of the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force and culminating in a display by the Red Arrows Welby u rges peo ple to vo lunteer on coronation w eekend as h e h el ps ou t at charity T h e A r c h b i s h o p o f C a n t e r b u r y v i s i t e d T h e Passage homelessness charity in central London The Archbishop of Canterbury has urged Britons to volunt e e r o v e r t h e c o r o n a t i o n weekend and believes many w h o d o s o w i l l b e c o m e “addicted” to service

Justin Welby made the remarks on a visit to The Passage homelessness charit y i n c e n t r a l L o n d o n o n W e d n e s d a y t o e n c o u r a g e people to join in the Big Help Out volunteering project

He was joined by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and l e a d i n g f i g u r e s f r o m t h e Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist communities

The Big Help Out w i l l t a k e p l a c e o n Monday, May 8, a bank h o l i d a y , a n d a i m s t o i n s p i r e a n d r e c r u i t a new generation of volu n t e e r s b y s h o w i n g how easy it is to get involved

Opportunities include a chance to volunteer with the Scouts, Royal Voluntary Service, Guide Dogs and the smallest local volunteering groups

The faith leaders joked with volunteers and staff as they sorted clothes before serving up mushroom soup, a roast chicken lunch and vegetable pie for people in need

Mr Welby teased volunteers about whether he fitted into a medium pair of shorts or needed a large one and later quipped that people “survive” his cooking as he chopped vegetables

The King also received praise for his commitment to charity work The Prince of Wales is a patron of The P a s s a g e a n d o f t e n m a d e surprise visits there during the pandemic It was founded in 1980 and serves a hot b r e a k f a s t a n d l u n c h t o between 90 and 100 people every weekday

A w r i t t e n s t a t e m e n t published on Wednesday by t h e C h a n c e l l o r o f t h e Duchy of Lancaster, Oliver D o w d e n h a s a n n o u n c e d t h a t l e g i s l a t i v e a u t h o r i t y will not be required to make p l a n n e d c h a n g e s t o K i n g C h a r l e s I I I ’ s C o r o n a t i o n Oath, which will be read in Westminster Abbey as part of the Coronation ceremony on 6 May 2023 This follows the precedent set by S i r W i n s t o n C h u r c h i l l i n 1953 (Turn to P4 for more)

Amratlalbhai Radia – A Life of Service to the Gujarati Community

By Lord Dolar Popat and C B Patel (ABPL Group)

The passing of Amratlalbh ai Radia has left the Gujarati comm unity, particularly th e Loh ana co mm unity, d eep ly sadd ened A d ear friend to m and s om eone many m em be had the priv ilege of w orking closely with on commu nity matters

Amratlalbhai was always at the forefront of events and always a giver While there were times, he would be controversial, his conviction never wavered His contr bution, especially to the Loh community, was too numerous to count He will be missed, but we can continue to honour his memory by maintaining our commitment to working together, staying focused on our shared goals, and valuing our colleagues and community

Everything he did was with enthusiasm, passion, and energy He was a real people person and had the ability to convince people to contribute their time and money for a good cause, particularly with the Lohana and wider British Indian community and a great philanthropist

His involvement spanned across many formidable cultural and charitable organi-

UK and India hold financial markets dialogue in London

T h e UK - I n di a F i n an c ia l

M ar ke ts D i al o gu e ( F M D)

sations For many years he was well known for heading a catering department for large e v e n t s e s p e c i a l l y , M o r a r i B a p u ’ s a which more than 10,000 ople would attend on a daily basis

Throughout his life, he was a big believer in making a difference both professionally and personally, and was active with many o r g a n i z a t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g Sai Baba He rightly received lot of recognition for his ess efforts along the way which animated his beliefs in public service and the principle of duty L a t e l y , t h e l i g h t t h a t h a d b u r n t s o b r i g h t l y h a d b e g u n t o d i m a f t e r

A m r a t l a l b h a i l o s t h i s w i f e a n d l i f e l o n g c o m p a n i o n , S u s h i l a b e n w h e r e n e a r l y a t h o u s a n d p e o p l e c a m e t o D h a m e c h a

Centre to pay their respects He was a towering and respected figure and we know the community many will come to the centre to show their support for him and everything he stood for

Our principal thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time May his good soul rest in peace

t o o k p l ac e i n Lo n do n to a dv an c e c o l la bo r at i o n a c ro s s fi n a nc i al s er vi c es

T he FMD was led by senior o ffici als from H is Majesty’ s

T re as u r y a n d I n di a ’ s

M i ni s tr y o f F i na nc e a nd involved indep endent regulatory agencies from bo th c o u n tr i es T h e y r ev i ew ed co operatio n across six core themes: banking; payments and cryp to assets; ins urance a nd r ei n su ra nc e ; ca p i ta l m ar ke ts ; a ss e t ma na gem en t; a nd s u s ta i na bl e finance

Strengthening financial cooperation is one of the key objectives of the UK-

I n d i a 2 0 3 0 R o a d m a p

British and Indian investments support nearly half-

a - m i l l i o n j o b s i n e a c h o t h e r ’ s e c o n o m i e s , w i t h I n d i a a c c o u n t i n g f o r t h e UK's second largest source of investment in terms of number of projects

At today’s FMD, particip a n t s r e v i e w e d d e v e l o pments in respective banking

a n d i n s u r a n c e s e c t o r s , i n c l u d i n g i d e n t i f y i n g emerging areas for collaboration – such as a knowledge exchange on regulatory frameworks for pension f u n d s T h e m e e t i n g explored the scope to deepen cross-border trade and i n v e s t m e n t t h r o u g h t h e a s s e t m a n a g e m e n t s e c t o r D i s c u s s i o n s a l s o c o v e r e d t h e G 2 0 , s u s t a i n a b l e finance, and capital market cooperation Both countries a g r e e d t o h o l d t h e n e x t Financial Markets Dialogue in India in 2024, following an Economic and Financial Dialogue between the two Finance Ministers later this year Alex Ellis, British High C o m m i s s i o n e r t o I n d i a , s a i d : “ C l o s e r , d e e p e r a n d broader financial cooperation between the UK and India offers huge potential to deliver jobs and prosperity for people in both countries The breadth of themes d i s c u s s e d i n t o d a y ’ s Financial Markets Dialogue demonstrates that

“The UK Prime Minister and Chancellor have set out a c l e a r p l a n t o d r i v e U K growth India is one of the w o r l d ’ s f a s t e s t g r o w i n g economies and today’s dialogue shows how growth in both economies can benefit each other We share deep bilateral ties and business i n t e r e s t s ; B r i t i s h b a n k s were the first international b a n k s t o s e t u p i n G I F T City We also remain committed to agreeing an ambitious and mutually benefic i a l f r e e t r a d e a g r e e m e n t and both sides are working hard to deliver this ”

The FMD also included presentations from business l e a d e r s , i n c l u d i n g t h e launch of a new paper on ‘Harnessing the Power of FinTech and Data’ from the I n d i a U K F i n a n c i a l P a r t n e r s h i p ( I U K F P ) T h e c o - c h a i r s o f I U K F P , B i l l Winters and Uday Kotak, committed to continue to f a c i l i t a t e g r e a t e r l i n k s between the countries’ fintech, capital markets and pensions ecosystems

Amratlalbhai Radia

Women Empowerment and Achievements: Exchange of Thoughts

A unique zoom discussion on the achievements and challenges faced by British Asian women

Subhasini Naicker

As a part of the Golden jubilee celebration of Gujarat Samachar, A B P L g r o u p h a d o r g a n i s e d a special zoom event on 16th April 2 0 2 3 t o c o m m e m o r a t e t h e p h e n o m e n a l c o n t r i b u t i o n , a c h i e v e m e n t s a n d s u c c e s s o f British Asian women along with the challenges faced by them and s o l u t i o n s t o i t T h e e v e n t highlighted topics such as mental h e a l t h , l o n e l i n e s s & i s o l a t i o n , gender inequality and domestic violence faced by women in dayto-day life

T h e t w o - h o u r p r o g r a m m e w a s m o d e r a t e d b y K r i s h n a P u j a r a , a w e l l - k n o w n w o m e n leader and CEO of Enfield Saheli C o u n c i l l o r R e k h a S h a h , D r . M e n a c a P o t h a l i n g a m , M a m t a T o l i a , G e e t a S h a h , P a y a l P a t e l , Rashmi Mishra, Kanti Nagda MBE and Kokila Patel were the expert’s s p e a k e r s f o r t h e e v e n t T h e e v e n i n g w a s m a d e b y B h a r t i Patel's melodic songs

D u r i n g t h e e v e n t , C h a i r m a n and Editor-in-Chief, C.B Patel said, “We have a responsibility, and we want to make sure that we don’t mainly live in a male dominated world Women must have equal say The majority of prominent editors at Asian Voice and Gujarat S a m a c h a r d u r i n g t h e p a s t 5 0 y e a r s h a v e b e e n w o m e n I n Gujarat Samachar, Jyotsanaben Shah and Kokilaben Patel, as well as Rupanjana Dutta from Asian Voice, are at the helm of the show We have put to practice what we preach

Social work, life experiences and mental health

Harrow Councillor, Rekha Shah said, “I have been a Councillor for o v e r 2 0 y e a r s , w o r k i n g i n t h e community and of course Harrow council My work started 25 years ago, when Navin (her husband) was already a Councillor at that time I have extensive knowledge in the f i e l d o f m e n t a l h e a l t h b e c a u s e I worked in it for 22 years It also aided me in my duties as a Council Member As a Councillor, you will interact with a variety of people, and any issue, including one involving h o u s i n g , e d u c a t i o n , p l a n n i n g , environment, etc , may arise And I've done everything I can to assist them ”

T a l k i n g a b o u t c h a l l e n g e s s h e faced while working, Rekha Shah said that “Since domestic violence instances are prevalent in Harrow and Brent, I have dealt with those challenges You make an effort to assist those who seek your assistance and members of the community Families themselves have difficulties because they refuse to acknowledge w h a t ' s h a p p e n i n g i n t h e i r o w n home They only state that you are l y i n g a n d t h a t y o u m u s t g a t h e r proof To determine whether the

case has been fully handled, we even visit their locations after it has been concluded ”

Speaking about life experiences, l e a d e r s h i p c o n s u l t a n t f o r H e a l t h c a r e P r o f e s s i o n a l s , D r

Menaca Pothalingam said, “I think every experience you have had in your life, if you want to learn from it, r e f l e c t o n i t , a n d t a k e t h e opportunity, because you're always on a fork road I always say the opportunities I like a bit, it means saving, it's at half glass full or half empty I disagree I think the empty glass has a lot of air in it And opportunities are a bit like that Only thing is we need a microscope to look for them We are often so busy looking at the closed doors behind us and usually miss the door, which is right in front of us ”

Talking about her own struggles with mental health, she said, “At one p o i n t , I w a s d i a g n o s e d w i t h depression, I was seen as a very successful woman at that time A nice car, nice holidays that what people see, but behind the scene, nobody knows the fact So I think it's important to choose to be kind, regardless of who it is that they have, because you don't know the story behind anybody When I was signed off for depression, I took time off from work And that raised me the question: - Is this enough? What is the purpose of my life and what I want to do? Hence I started my p e r s o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t j o u r n e y I became a hypnotherapist and NLP t r a i n e r a n d d i d l e a d e r s h i p coaching ”

S h e a d d e d “ D u r i n g C o v i d , I d e c i d e d t o h e l p p e o p l e l i k e everybody else And I was thinking about what I can do I started my t a l k s h o w c a l l e d “ M e e t M e n a c a ” where I spoke from mental health to h e a r t t o r e s p i r a t o r y t o k i d n e y , because we don't typically shy away from talking about things, I believe that all the issues that have been

Loneliness and isolation among women

Founder of W2W, Geetaben Shah said, “I developed the W2W platform to combat loneliness I know what loneliness feels I went through a divorce No one wanted to get to know me since I had young children. And joining anything was incredibly challenging So I started a group of ladies as soon as I figured out how to use social media And everything has been working out well And from this year, we've started registrations, they were 1,000 plus members

There were 35+ WhatsApp groups. And they deal with everything, whether it's health or work We have organised Bhajans and it has helped a lot in the pandemic This way, people did not feel so despondent because we were in a totally new world which also helped with their mental health ”

d i s c u s s e d - i n c l u d i n g d o m e s t i c v i o l e n c e , s e x u a l a b u s e , t h e c a s t e system in Asia and single parentingshould be addressed openly So I a l w a y s s a y I h a v e c r o s s e d t h e treaties, that unfortunately, being a war victim, but also the divorcee or diagnosed with depression I don't shy away from it, hoping it will help somebody else to think okay, even if t h e y c a n a c h i e v e w h a t e v e r t h e y want ”

Addressing the mental health issues and how to tackle it, Mamta Tolia, a Senior Customer Service R e p r e s e n t a t i v e a t V i r g i n A t l a n t i c Airways said, “I also have a lot of interest in arts and crafts I was introduced to it by my mother and my sister which has helped a lot to d e a l w i t h d a y t o d a y s t r e s s a n d anxieties Emotional, psychological, a n d s o c i a l w e l l b e i n g a r e a l l components of mental health And if these things aren't under check, they can cause financial issues like debt, job loss, marital troubles, divorce, and family disagreements ”

She added, “It also affects the way we think, how we feel and act and relates to how we deal with stress, behave with other people and h o w w e m a k e h e a l t h y c h o i c e s Because when we are going through mental health issues, we don't make healthy choices We are so down and depressed, that we often do things that we shouldn't really be doing ” Talking about mental illness at w o r k , s h e s a i d , “ W e a r e o f t e n u n a w a r e t h a t m a n y o f o u r c oworkers are dealing with it You might notice someone losing weight and becoming silent because it's not evident Frequently missing work or

cause, or acting very strangely So, even when you're struggling, reach out to your co-workers to find a solution Reach out to a dependable, reliable co-worker who you know you can trust and who will be a good confidante Even your company and boss have options you can use if you n e e d a s s i s t a n c e N u m e r o u s organisations are available to aid as well The people we live with and our neighbours are also the most crucial aspect of everything; kindly get in touch with them as well ” I n t e r a c t i v e s e s s i o n w i t h

participants

One of the participant Deshveen Kaur Mangat, questioned about how young women should take up sports or any kind of physical activity to d e a l w i t h m e n t a l h e a l t h i s s u e s , Mamta Tolia said, “Because when you exercise many hormones are r e l e a s e d m a i n l y t h e h a p p y hormones, which helps you to feel better, even if it's for a short period of time, it's something that I would definitely say is a fantastic way of d e a l i n g w i t h d e p r e s s i o n A n d exercise doesn't mean you have to go and join a gym or anything like that ”

D r M e n a c a P o t h a l i n g a m answering to the same question said, “I think sometimes sports are not encouraged as much as they should But I do also totally agree that, any form of sports, dance, yoga, even walking, you don't have to go to the g y m ; t h e r e ' s e n o u g h r e s e a r c h t o show that just walking is enough M a y b e , w e c o u l d j u s t m a k e o u r family friends or our neighbours group to get together and go for a walk at least once a week ”

W h e n a s k e d b y a p a r t i c i p a n t

about how to express ourselves or w h e n i s t h e t i m e t o k n o w t h a t s o m e b o d y n e e d s h e l p , D r

Pothalingam answered, “We are told not to share things, everything has to be kept indefinitely within the four walls So I totally resonate with it And I think it is part of the bigger problem We are not encouraged to t a l k a n d e v e n w h e n w e a r e e n c o u r a g e d , e v e n y o u ' r e t a l k i n g about mental health, but domestic v i o l e n c e , b e c a u s e I d o a l o t o f c o m m u n i t y a c t i v i t y a n d I a m involved in charities, I know it is exactly the same problem Everyone wants to appear as though their life is prospering, especially in this day of social media and digital media A n d e v e r y b o d y i s i n a p e r f e c t r e l a t i o n s h i p R e t u r n i n g t o emotional health, it puts additional p r e s s u r e o n o t h e r p e o p l e I t i s crucial to start talking about this issue You see, until we start talking about this issue widely and raising awareness of the issue, whether it is t h r o u g h t a l k s h o w s , c h a r i t i e s o r o r g a n i s a t i o n s , n o m a t t e r w h a t , nothing will change It s not going anywhere, ever ”

Councillor Rekha Shah added, “I've always encouraged sports to my c h i l d r e n , b e c a u s e I h a v e w o r k e d with every provision and I always a d v i s e y o u s h o u l d s u p p o r t y o u r children to go and learn on the way h e r e W e h a v e s o m a n y e v e n i n g c l a s s e s a f t e r s c h o o l a n d t h e y d o

Bharati Patel

CB Patel

Dr Menaca Pothalingam

Kokila Patel

Krishna Pujara Mamta Tolia

Councillor Rekha Shah

granddaughter goes twice a week So you just have to encourage your children, send them out and join everyone And walking of course, the other thing I do always say when you go for a walk, even if you go with friends or you're on your own, your mind is at rest, and it helps quite a lot ”

Should I be a homemaker or working woman?

Software Quality Analyst, Payal P a t e l s a i d , “ I ' m t a l k i n g a b o u t a q u e s t i o n w h i c h a c t u a l l y b o t h e r s every movement at a certain stage, w h i c h i s l i k e s h o u l d I b e a homemaker or pursue a career? Now there is no right or wrong question Both are equally important Nothing is more important than anything else Furthermore, it relies on our o w n c i r c u m s t a n c e s o r p e r s o n a l preference However, if you were to ask me, I would respond, "Why can't you be both?" We are more than

may be volunteer work or social work

”

Talking about getting back to the work, Mrs Patel said, “The very f i r s t t h i n g w h i c h w e d i d i s w e created an environment in a house where everybody understood why is it important for me to go out and work as a family? What are we going to do? How are we going to share our responsibilities? How are we going to plan the work, the kids drop off, the child minding, work hours, what field I want to go, even the kids were brought into the picture, they h a d t o u n d e r s t a n d b e c a u s e m y decision was not just going to affect me, it was going to affect the whole family, the elders in the family, my husband, my kids, everything was going to be affected So that's the very first thing we did The second lesson was learning about the field in which I must work That is not simple If I took a nine-year hiatus, I m u s t h a v e l o s t t o u c h w i t h t h e

not We ladies are reluctant to speak up because, as one woman put it, we are unsure of where to go and talk Only when we are honest and vocal about our problems will they be resolved We women always run into trouble when there are examples of promotion

There is bias towards women If t h e r e a r e t w o p e o p l e r e a d y f o r promotion, a man and a woman, there are many companies in which there is still an option for men to go ahead and be promoted and not a woman Again, people think they have two responsibilities, they need more work life balance, and they have their own responsibilities So they are not given that fair chance of promotion And the government h a s a d m i t t e d t h a t g e n d e r discrimination exists everywhere, not just in the United Kingdom As a result, they addressed the issue in the equalities act of 2010 They have described the numerous forms

r e g i s t e r e d c o m p a n y o n s t o c k m a r k e t e v e n t s , t h e y h a v e t h e i r gender pay gap added to what the company is doing towards it, and companies are now legally bound to work towards it ” I s s u e s t h a t c o m e a c r o s s media and its solution

Kokila Patel, Managing Editor of Gujarat Samachar, said, “In 38 years of my experience in print media, we have come across various issues such as domestic violence, adultery, abuse, loneliness etc We have always helped t o s o l v e t h e s e p r o b l e m s M a n y e l d e r l i e s w h o f a c e p h y s i c a l a n d m e n t a l a b u s e c o n t a c t u s a n d w e create awareness about this issues by publishing articles in our newspapers We should spend some time with us l o n e l y , d i s a b l e a n d n e e d y o l d a g e p e o p l e n e a r b y u s T h e r e f o r e , w e advise you to take the time to get in touch with them One of the speakers also shared with us what we can do during menopause or after retiring to fight mental stress Many women are now joining golf now a days, which is a great sport to play and isn't just limited for men After 40 or 50 years, many women are now playing golf W e e v e n h a v e a g r o u p o f f e m a l e golfers who play with the intention of connecting with others So, you get mind therapy, you also enter your mind or your heart and also your mind will be helped become healthy ”

events that we had to deal with Simply because the woman acted in s e l f d e f e n c e , y o u k n o w , s h e w a s imprisoned And the circumstances w e r e t r u l y a w f u l S h e c r i e d v e h e m e n t l y a l l n i g h t l o n g Additionally, we have a group of ladies who encourage one another because we keep them in a private, closed-door setting And it's simply p r i v a t e b e c a u s e w e d o n ' t w a n t anyone to know that we're a part of that group and because some of the women want to remain anonymous because they don't want the abuse t h e y ' v e e x p e r i e n c e d t o b e m a d e public As a result, nearly 76 women p r e s e n t i n t h e g r o u p j u s t g i v e support to one another as they go through the same experience The major goal of the group is to help e a c h o t h e r w h e n s o m e o n e v e n t s about something that happened to t h e m S i n c e m o s t o f t h e g r o u p m e m b e r s h a v e b e e n i n a s i m i l a r position, they may offer advice based o n t h e i r o w n e x p e r i e n c e s A d d i t i o n a l l y , w e h a v e s o l i c i t o r s , some of them are from the refugee centres; however, as we lack training, they all work together to help one another ”

outside industry I therefore started off by engaging in some volunteer work I volunteered to work as a teaching assistant in school Then I looked around a bit I then said, "I decided which field I want to go i n t o I g a i n e d s o m e i n d u s t r y i n f o r m a t i o n a n d s e l f - p r e p a r e d s o that when I enter the field, I'll be prepared for the challenges there The most crucial aspect is that we must be conscious of ourselves ”

She added, “There is a big wild

of discrimination against women, how it occurs, and the places in which it occurs They have also stated that they are working to end it, as are all businesses If you go to the government websites, now any

Anonymous group 76 ladies h e l p i n g d o m e s t i c v i o l e n c e victims

R a s h m i M i s h r a , D i r e c t o r o f Inspiring Indian Women said, “It's a m a j o r p r o b l e m i n t h e U K , particularly with regards to recent

She added, “What are the laws available? How to support oneself? What are the job opportunities with child or without a child and what else one can do and what are the options available for Indian citizens in such a situation? What are the options, so people don't know much and how to deal in such a situation? Therefore, more information should be shared We all need to be aware of essential numbers, who to contact and how to proceed with things like that ”

Domestic violence and immigration issues

capable of handling both situations expertly ”

She added, “It is not a piece of cake to handle both the things, but it is possible But it is not as difficult as we think, or we make it in our heads It is achievable And I'll give you my p e r s o n a l e x a m p l e A f t e r m y f i r s t child, I took a nine years break from work After that I decided it is high time my kids are big enough, they c a n m a n a g e t h e m s e l v e s S o I planned to get back into work And now I have been working in the IT industry successfully for five years And this all has not been possible without my family support We are prepared to give up our careers after having children in order to spend time with them However, we do w a n t t o g o o u t b e c a u s e , a s y o u i n d i c a t e d , l o n e l i n e s s a n d m e n t a l health have an impact on everything Therefore, even if we go somewhere and you work, it doesn't necessarily indicate that I'm making money; it

world and there are many challenges after we go into the work and right now, even if you have read some government articles, you see that there is a gender pay gap and that is a reality It is a difference between the average earnings between a man and a woman and in the UK it is right now And if we say the number of days, women are working two extra months for free as compared to men and how can there be gender p a y g a p ? E v e n w h e n p e o p l e a r e working in the same position, they move at a different speed than if two persons in the same position were paid equally But compared to males, the government is expected to work h a r d e r T h e r e a r e n u m e r o u s methods for things to occur

Speaking about harassment and responsibilities in the workplace, she said “In the workplace, there have b e e n c a s e s o f b u l l y i n g a n d h a r a s s m e n t S o m e o f t h e m a r e properly recorded, while others are

Kanti Nagda MBE, CEO of Sangat Centre said, “I will say domestic violence is not only physical violence, but mental torture, emotional and economic abuse as well as cohesive control Domestic violence is common among us like in any other communities. The Asian women still think of what the others would say about them, if their story became public And we deal with cases of domestic violence as well as immigration There are a high percentage of cases and I would break down domestic violence into two categories First one, women already settled in the UK, and do not have to worry about their immigration status or welfare benefits for that matter Today's women should pick up the courage and stand against the violence, as they have the earning power A woman should not allow their husbands to control them, and would ask their husbands to pick up the bags and leave the house They prepare themselves for the consequences Then there are other women who have restrictions on their stay in the UK and they suffer violence as well Husbands of such women take advantage of the situation and these women have no recourse to public funds; they cannot get accommodation,

benefit, or job They cannot rent a room or a house It's illegal And they don't have a right to public recourse We have dealt with many such cases that come to us if they have evidence of violence Or we ask them to apply to the home office for indefinite leave to remain in the UK on the basis of domestic violence We have had 80% success in this type of case If I give you more figures than 1 5 million women in the UK suffer domestic violence each year ”

He added, “Two women were killed by their partner or former partners in the UK, it was very frightening Because of these facts, the government passed the Domestic Abuse Act of 2021, which for the first time defines domestic abuse in law In order to seek indefinite permission to remain in the UK, the ladies must first have all the evidence So, if a friend or a family member of yours is a victim of domestic abuse, I advise you to encourage them to save all relevant documentation, such as police reports, GPS tracking devices, or medical records

Evidence from someone who has witnessed the abuse without evidence the home office will not accept your word for it ”

During the conclusion of the event, Group editor, Mahesh

Liloriya said, “As we learn more, women continue to make significant progress and excel in every sector But despite all the progress, women still confront challenges Women leaders and business owners frequently balance obligations related to their careers with those related to their families, and women still find it difficult to make as much money as males Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world So this event is just a starting, we are going to organise a series of events, virtual events, in person talk shows and many more With the support from all of you, all of the Nari Shakti and all of our mentors, we definitely will continue these types of things in our golden jubilee celebrations under the guidance of CB sir ”

Bharti Patel entertained the participants with bhajans and gujarati folk songs in her melodious voice during the zoom event Krishna Pujara ended the programme by thanking all the key speakers and participants for making the evening successful A series of such similar zoom events on a variant subjects related to the British Asian community will be organised throughout the year

Deshveen Kaur Mangat

Geeta Shah

Kanti Nagda

Mahesh Liloriya

Payal Patel

Priyanka Ramchandani

Dear Financia

Voice Reader Alpesh Patel OBE

Your pension crisis is what I want to talk about You’v e seen the headlines:

Fortune says, “Public pension funds have taken a hit from the banking sector’s turmoil, but are better prepared than during the 2008 crisis ”

The pension stocks investing crisis is a growing concern for retirees and investors alike The crisis is a result of several factors, including aging populations, previous low interest rates, and volatile stock markets

Here are some facts you should know about this crisis:

1 Aging populations: As populations age, the number o f p e o p l e r e t i r i n g a n d d r a w i n g o n t h e i r p e n s i o n s increases This creates a strain on pension funds, as they h a v e t o p a y o u t m o r e m o n e y t h a n t h e y r e c e i v e i n contributions

2 Low interest rates: Low interest rates have made it difficult for pension funds to earn enough returns to meet their obligations This is because pension funds typically invest in fixed-income securities, such as bonds, which offer lower returns when interest rates are low And this has continued until recently for the past decade

3 Fund Managers investing in stock markets getting it wrong: Pension funds also invest in stocks, but the data shows fund managers often underperform the broader stock market

4 Potential solutions: There are several potential solutions to the pension stocks investing crisis, including i n c r e a s i n g c o n t r i b u t i o n s , u s i n g a n I S A , S I P P w h e r e possible, investing yourself, learning about the questions to ask, and picking more of the stocks you like eg Microsoft, Apple, Amazon etc However, these solutions can be difficult to implement and may not be enough to fully address the crisis

As an investor, it is important to understand the complexities of the pension stocks investing crisis and the potential solutions available

How can pensioners protect their investm ents during a crisis?

As we all know, a crisis can have a significant impact on the financial wellbeing of pensioners During such times, it is crucial for pensioners to take the necessary steps to safeguard their investments Here are some tips that can help:

1 Educate yours elf about your inves tments : This can help you manage your choices See the Government website on pensions: https://www moneyhelper org uk/en/pensionsand-retirement/pension-wise

2 F ocus on quality: During a crisis, it is important to focus on the quality of the investments in your portfolio Look for companies with strong financials, low debt levels, and a track record of weathering economic downturns

3 S tay invested : While it may be tempting to sell your i n v e s t m e n t s d u r i n g a c r i s i s , i t i s i m p o r t a n t t o s t a y invested Trying to time the market is a risky strategy that can lead to missed opportunities and losses

4 Revi ew you r po rtfoli o reg u larly: Regular portfolio reviews can help you to identify any potential risks and make adjustments as needed I review mine every week for a couple of minutes to make sure nothing has hit a loss and major changes annually You can see my free weekly updates here: www alpeshpatel com/links

5 Hav e a plan: Finally, it is important to have a plan in place for how you will handle a crisis This can include having a cash reserve to cover expenses, setting up automatic withdrawals to help manage cash flow, and knowing when to make changes to your portfolio

CBI to stop operations until June after exodus of top UK businesses

Af ter the dis cl os ures on alle ged sex ual m is conduct by ma le e mployees a t the lobbying group led to an exodus of c om panies l ike John Lewis and NatWes t, the Confederation of British Indus try (CBI) decl ared it was t o ha lt operations until June

The CBI’s board said it was suspending all membership and policy activity until an extraordinary meeting in June, when members will vote on its future and purpose The Guardian has published a series of accounts of more than a dozen women who claimed they were the victims of sexual misconduct by men at the CBI, including two women who said they were raped by colleagues

Following the most recent allegations, in which a woman claimed she was assaulted by two male coworkers at a CBI abroad office, more than 50 of the largest companies in Britain either left the organisation or cut ties with it

Among the other prominent companies to cut ties with the CBI are Accenture, Arup, Aviva, BMW, Fidelity International, Jaguar Land Rover, Kingfisher, Phoenix Group, Sage, Tesco and Virgin Media O2 Another lady working at the CBI's London office in the same year claimed a male coworker was stalking her both in person and online Sources assert that despite the CBI's finding of harassment, the woman was aggressively dissuaded from filing a police report, and the alleged offender continued his employment

JLR to spend £15bn on EVs over 5 years

The l uxury division of Tata Motors , Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), wil l s pend 15 billion pounds over the course of five years on elec tric c ars

Im p r ov e m e nt s t o it s manufac turing footprint, car pr og r a m m e s , au t on om o us driving, digita l tec hnology, and workf orc e s kil ls wil l be m a de t h a nk s t o t he in v es t m e n t J LR h a d pr e v iou s l y s t a te d t h a t it wou l d s p e n d 2 5 b il l io n pou n ds on e l e c t r if i c a t io n every year

The opulent unit added t h a t i t s H a l e w o o d p r o d u c t i o n s i t e i n M e r s e y s i d e , U K w o u l d s w i t c h e n t i r e l y t o

electricity It aims to be net cash positive by fiscal 2025 while increasing investment i n e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e s T h e company will introduce its first new electric Jaguar in 2025, according to JLR CEO Adrian Mardell, and Range

Satvinder Singh will lead the data and analytics division for LSEG

London S tock Exchang e Group (L SEG) said that M as te rc ard I nc 's Satvinder Sing h w ill jo in the British company as h ead o f i t s d ata an d analytics unit in July With more than 28 y e a r s o f e x p e r i e n c e managing multinational o r g a n i s a t i o n s i n d a t a a n d a n a l y t i c s , c a p i t a l m a r k e t s , p o s t - t r a d e s e r v i c e s , p a y m e n t s , a n d technology, Singh is the coh e a d f o r a d v i s e r s a t

Mastercard's data & services division

" S a t v i n d e r ( S i n g h ) b r i n g s s t r o n g l e a d e r s h i p e x p e r i e n c e i n f i n a n c i a l services, in many parts of the trade lifecycle, " LSEG C h i e f E x e c u t i v e O f f i c e r David Schwimmer said

LSEG's largest divisionthe data and analytics uniti n c l u d e s i t s f l a g s h i p Workspace product, which provides financial and real-

Satvinder Singh

t i m e d a t a a n d n e w s , including exclusive access to Reuters News

A f t e r o n e y e a r i n t h e position, the head of data, A n d r e a R e m y n S t o n e , resigned in June of last year, c i t i n g p e r s o n a l r e a s o n s , w h i l e t h e c l o s e l y - w a t c h e d R e f i n i t i v i n t e g r a t i o n w a s s t i l l i n p r o g r e s s L S E G b o u g h t R e f i n i t i v f o r $ 2 7 billion in early 2021, turning the exchange into a major m a r k e t d a t a c o m p a n y o v e r n i g h t t o c h a l l e n g e leader Bloomberg

UK interest rates set to hit 5% as double digit inflation persists

Ho meo wners faced a fresh blo w af ter h i g h er th a n exp e ct ed i n fl ati o n r ai s ed fea rs th at in te res t ra te s co uld hit 5 per cent Interest rates, w hich d etermine how much it will pay to borrow money, are at 4 25 per cent

They were predicted to reach a peak at 4 5% and then decline the following year to more typical levels However, after the Office f o r N a t i o n a l S t a t i s t i c s r e p o r t e d t h a t i n f l a t i o n i n M a r c h s t a y e d a b o v e 1 0 % , c o n f o u n d i n g e c o n o m i s t s ' predictions that it would fall to 9 8%, traders increased their wagers that interest rates would increase T h e s h o c k f i g u r e a l s o raised questions about Rishi S u n a k ’ s p r o m i s e t o h a l v e inflation by the end of the y e a r T h e p r i m e m i n i s t e r has made it one of his five k e

Rover will be available for pre-order in 100% electric form later this year

“ T w o y e a r s a g o , w e l a u n c h e d o u r ‘ R e i m a g i n e ’ strategy Today I am proud t o a n n o u n c e w e a r e a c c e l e r a t i n g o u r

electrification path, making one of our UK plants and o u r n e x t - g e n e r a t i o n m e d i u m - s i z e l u x u r y S U V architecture fully electric,” Mardell said

He also revealed that JLR w o u l d b e t h e a n c h o r customer of the Tata Group's p r o p o s e d G i g a f a c t o r y , a n a n n o u n c e m e n t r e l a t e d t o w h i c h w a s “ h o p e f u l l y imminent” “JLR will not be building a Gigafactory; that is not within our plans Tata w i l l b e b u i l d i n g a Gigafactory We are clear it is going to be in Europe A final destination hasn t yet been c h o s e n , " M a r d e l l t o l d reporters

More firms enter insolvency during March in England, Wales

Accordi ng to offi ci al data that show ed a 16% s pike from a yea r e arlier, more compani es in Engla nd and Wales declared b ank ruptcy in March than at an y poin t s i n c e m o n t h ly r e co r d s bega n thre e ye ars ago

With the start of the Covid epidemic, the rate of businesses going bankrupt d r a m a t i c a l l y d e c r e a s e d , thanks to government support initiatives and lockd o w n s t h a t s l o w e d t h e courts' processing of insolvency cases

However, insolvencies are once again on the rise as businesses struggle with m o u n t i n g p r i c e s a n d a weak economy According to the Insolvency Service, insolvency among corporations in March was primarily caused by voluntary liquidations by creditors

"Businesses are struggling to secure financing and pay off their loans due to high interest rates and

the wider impact inflation and consumer sentiment is having on sales and cash f l o w s , " s a i d D a v i d K e l l y , h e a d o f i n s o l v e n c y a t accountants PwC

"Company insolvencies will likely continue to rise in the short term, making for a challenging spring," he added Individual insolvencies also rose sharply in March, although were still d o w n s l i g h t l y o n a y e a r ago Breathing space applications - which holds off creditor action for 60 days so people in debt can reorganise their finances - rose to a new high in March, following their introduction in May 2021 "People are still very worried about money and the economy, and are reluctant to spend on anything other than the basics," said Nicky Fisher, vice president at insolvency a n d r e s t r u c t u r i n g t r a d e body R3

UK sandwich chain Pret A Manger launched in India

bring inflation under control to “ ease the cost of living and give people financial security”

The Office for National S t a t i s t i c s c l a i m e d t h a t decreased petrol prices were to blame for the drop to 10 1%, but this was countered by persistently high food prices, with bread and c e r e a l r e a c h i n g r e c o r d highs Grant Fitzner, ONS chief economist, said: “The main drivers of the decline were motor fuel prices and heating oil costs, both of which fell after sharp rises at the same time last year

“Clothing, furniture and h o u s e h o l d g o o d s p r i c e s increased, but more slowly than a year ago However, these were partially offset by the cost of food, which is still climbing steeply, with bread and cereal price inflation at a record high ”

Th e n e w e s t w e l l - k n ow n

Wes tern bran d to enter the Indian mark et is the UKbased c offee and s andwic h chain Pret A Man ge r The company laun ched its firs t store in M um bai It happe ns the s ame week as US

te c h n o lo g y j u g g er n a u t

Apple opens its fi rst two shops in I ndia

Pret said last year that it was partnering with a unit

o f R e l i a n c e I n d u s t r i e s , which is owned by Mukesh Ambani Its chief executive

P a n o C h r i s t o u s a i d i t s offering in the country will reflect the company's brand " w h i l e a l s o a d a p t i n g t o local preferences and food habits"

It marks the first vent u r e b y R e l i a n c e B r a n d s , w h i c h a l s o o w n s I n d i a ' s

b i g g e s t r e t a i l c h a i n , i n t o the country's growing food

and drinks industry The shops will be aimed at "the n e w I n d i a n c o n s u m e r " , Darshan Mehta, the managing director of Reliance Brands said The store will mainly o f f e r P r e t ' s t r a d i t i o n a l m e n u , w i t h s o m e l o c a l flavours Most menu items will also not contain meat, to cater to India's large vegetarian population Pret s M u m b a i l o c a t i o n o p e n e d with a majority of its staple U K m e n u , b u t i t a l s o offered a few regional specialties, such the Bombay Toastie and a spicy paneer and lima bean soup

"It's been a bit chaotic here since we came, maybe because of it being the first day But it's quite similar to the London stores I have b e e n t o , " H e m l a t a a P , a fashion consultant, said

Apple CEO Cook meets PM Modi, offers to invest in India

Apple C EO Tim C ook met P ri m e Mi n i s t er N ar en d r a Mo d i a nd h i s m i n i s te ri al co l l e agu e s i n th e na ti o n al ca p i t al an d s a i d th a t h i s co m p a ny i s c o m mi tt ed to growing and i nvesting across I nd i a H e vi si te d De lh i to i na ug u ra te th e a s e c o nd Apple store H e e m p h a s i s e d t h e c o m p a n y ' s i n i t i a t i v e s f o r e x p a n d i n g o p e r a t i o n s , increasing its manufacturing s e t u p , a n d c r e a t i n g j o b s , p r o m i s i n g t o d o u b l e t h e w o r k f o r c e t o 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 employees over the following few years, some directly and primarily through contract

manufacturers

T h a n k y o u P r i m e Minister @narendramodi for the warm welcome We share your vision of the positive impact technology can make o n I n d i a ’ s f u t u r e - f r o m education and developers to

139 new pharma projects get nod in Gujarat

W it h n e w i n v e s t m e n t s flooding in, Gujar at , Ind ia s p harma ce utical industr y, is a ble t o ma in t a i n it s l e a d e r sh i p A c c or d i n g t o G uj a r a t 's Fo o d a n d m e d ic a t i o n C o n t r o l A d mi n i s t r a t i o n , 1 3 9 n e w a llo p a t h i c m e d i ca t io n m a n uf a c t u r in g p r o j e ct s r e ce iv e d a p p r o v a l in t h e fisca l y ear 2022–20 23 a s pa rt of a significa nt £700 million in vest ment push Industry insiders credit t h e g r o w t h t o b o t h t h e uniform taxation following the GST launch and growing d e s i r e f r o m n o n - p h a r m a businesses to participate in t h i s a r e a A c c o r d i n g t o FDCA authorities, Gujarat reported the most new plant r e g i s t r a t i o n s n a t i o n w i d e during the fiscal year H G K o s h i a , c o m m i s s i o n e r , FDCA – Gujarat, said, “As the effect of Covid-19 on the e c o n o m y i s w a n i n g , t h e pharma sector is witnessing a buoyant growth in fresh investments ”

Viranchi Shah, national p r e s i d e n t , I n d i a n D r u g M a n u f a c t u r e r s A s s o c i a t i o n ( I D M A ) , s a i d , “ A f t e r t h e C o v i d p a n d e m i c , t h e r e i s g r o w i n g i n t e r e s t i n t h e pharma sector and several players have forayed into the industry New projects will a t t r a c t i n v e s t m e n t a n d g e n e r a t e e m p l o y m e n t f o r some 14,000 people ” Shah also attributed the growth in fresh investments to the GST rollout “Before t h e G S T r o l l o u t , s e v e r a l states were tax havens and t o o k a w a y i n v e s t m e n t o p p o r t u n i t i e s f r o m Gujarat’s pharma industry U n i f o r m t a x a t i o n h a s helped the growth of the sector here Manufacturing units here are equipped to e x p o r t d r u g s t o h i g h l y regulated markets such as the US and Europe Gujarat has the complete ecosystem for the pharma sector, and w e b e l i e v e t h e s t a t e w i l l c o n t i n u e t o a t t r a c t f r e s h investment ”

RIL profit rises 18% to £2.13 bn in March quarter

Reliance Industries (RIL) saw its profit rise by 18% to £2 13 b i l l i o n i n t h e M a r c h q u a r t e r o n t h e b a c k o f s t r o n g performance by its oil-to-chemicals (O2C), digital services (Jio), retail and oil & gas businesses

Profit would have been higher had it not been for the export tax on refined fuels

According to RIL, the export tax on transport fuels, which took effect on July 1, 2022, reduced its profit by £71 1 million

D u e t o i n c r e a s e d m o m e n t u m i n t h e c o m p a n y ' s consumer sectors (retail and telecom), revenue increased 2% to around £22 billion, an indicator of fundamental business performance, operating profit rose 21% to £4 03 billion

Though RIL diversified its business to retail and telecom and more recently to green energy, its O2C segment still accounts for 67% of its annual revenue (£89 billion) and 41% of its operating profit (£15 billion) “The O2C segment posted its highestever operating profit despite global uncertainties and disruptions in commodity trade flows,” RIL chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani said

Operating profit of the O2C segment increased 14% to £ 1 6 2 b i l l i o n i n Q 4 F Y 2 3 d u e t o l o w e r f e e d s t o c k c o s t s

Whereas operating profit of digital (Jio) climbed 19% to £1 34 billion due to higher revenue and increase in margins

Jio’s average revenue per user (ARPU) - a key metric that influences income - was at Rs 179 in Q4FY23, up 7% ARPU is the total revenue of the telecom operator divided by the number of users on its network

The devil in the detail

m a n u f a c t u r i n g a n d t h e e n v i r o n m e n t , w e ’ r e committed to growing and investing across the country," C o o k t w e e t e d a f t e r h i s meeting with PM Modi

R e s p o n d i n g t o C o o k ' s tweet, PM Modi said it was

an absolute delight to meet t h e C E O o f A p p l e a n d exchange views on diverse topics and highlight the techp o w e r e d t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s taking place in India India and its GDP are set f o r a n ' e x t r a o r d i n a r y r u n ' , Tim Cook told the media in a n i n t e r v i e w , w i t h t h e country having the potential to emerge as 'one of Apple’s largest markets' "A country’s s u c c e s s c o m e s d o w n t o people and culture more than anything else And the people and culture of India have an India's people & culture set for an extraordinary journey ahead ”

CCI approval sought for merger of Vistara into Air India

In a joint app lication to the Com petitio n C omm ission of India ( CCI) , Tata So ns, A i r I n d i a, V is ta ra, a nd S in g ap o r e A i rli n es ( S I A ) claim that the merg er o f Vistara and Air Ind ia "will not lead to any ch ange in the competitive landscap e or cau se any ap preciable ad verse effect o n competition in India " Last Nov em ber, Tatas and SIA had announced their plan to have one full-service carrier by M arch 2024 and the process of seeking regu latory nod s h as beg un Tatas owns 51% of Vistara, and SIA owns 49% In the proposed combination of Vistara and Air India, SIA will own 25 1% of the merged entity, with Tatas owning the remaining 75% As soon as this integration is finished, SIA will invest $250 million, valuing the upcoming Air India at roughly $1 billion The Southeast Asian airline says it intends to fully fund this investment with its internal cash resources, which stood at $17 5 billion as of September 30, 2022 “ to aid CCI’s assessment of the proposed transaction, t h e f o l l o w i n g r e l e v a n t m a r k e t s h a v e b e e n i d e n t i f i e d : H o r i z o n t a l o v e r l a p s ( t h a t i n c l u d e s ) d o m e s t i c a n d international passenger air transport, air cargo transport services in India, and chartered flight services in India Vertical relationships (include) ground handling services at the Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram a i r p o r t s i n - f l i g h t c a t e r i n g s e r v i c e s i n I n d i a , ” t h e application says

US emerges as India's biggest trading partner in 2022-23

The co mmerce ministry's preliminary d ata sh ows th at the value o f bilateral com merce between India and the U nited States increased by 7 65% to $128 55 billion in 20 22– 23 fro m $1 19 5 billion in 2021– 22 In 2020 –21, it was $80 51 billion

The data indicated that while imports increased by almost 16% to $50 24 billion, exports to the United States increased by 2 81% to $78 31 billion in 2022–23 from $76 18 billion in 2021–22

On the other hand, during 2022-23, India's two-way commerce with China declined by about 1 5% to $113 83 billion as against $115 42 billion in 2021-22

Exports to China dipped by about 28% to $15 32 billion in 2022-23, while imports rose by 4 16% to $98 51 billion in the last fiscal Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President A Sakthivel said that increasing exports of goods such as pharmaceutical, engineering and gems and jewellery is helping India to push its shipments to America

He added, "The trend of increasing trade with the US will continue in the coming months also " Rakesh Mohan Joshi, Director of the Indian Institute of Plantation Management (IIPM), Bangalore, said, "Major export items from India to t h e U S i n c l u d e p e t r o l e u m , p o l i s h e d d i a m o n d s , pharmaceutical products, jewellery, light oils and petroleum, frozen shrimp, made ups etc whereas major imports from the US include petroleum, rough diamonds, liquified natural gas, gold, coal, waste and scrap, almonds etc

As we are going thro ugh th e conveyancing for a d eal we have sourced for a client, something has come out o f the woo dwork

The reality of buying property is that you do not really know what you are purchasing until the legals have been done In one sense they act to diagnose the deal

Of course externally you ’ re purchasing a building, but you do not know what issues will crop up with the building until the legals and survey have been done

On this transaction, it appears the seller was aware of a potential CPO; what this stands for is Compulsory Purchase Order This means the council has the right to forcefully purchase the property

The council has this ability so it is able to regenerate areas without having a stubborn landlord who does not want to sell to deal with

There is a vast difference between an intention of the council to issue a CPO and actually doing it There is a possibility it may never occur, or that it may occur decades later when it ceases to be an issue In the examples I have come across the price offered was supposed to be over 10% on the market price, yet the reality was it was more Also, the properties were far from being in a fit condition for rental, and probably required around £50,000 of work in order to get to that stage

We had a client for whom we sourced a property The purchase price was £350,000 in 2009, it was purchased by the council by way of a CPO for £600,000 in 2022 On top o f t h i s h e r e c e i v e d a n o t h e r £ 4 5 , 0 0 0 a s h o m e l o s s payment So, this client done okay; the CPO enhanced his investment substantially

Furthermore, there are some advantages to be had from a CPO being in place For one, he didn’t pay capital gains on his gains, which is a massive saving The other, is if he purchases another property of similar or lesser value within 12 months, the council would pay for the legal cost and stamp duty

T h i s t h e n t a k e s t h e r e t u r n s u p s u b s t a n t i a l l y

Therefore, having a CPO in place may be a blessing in disguise, particularly if you are into trading property, in fact it would be worth purchasing in these locations for these tax breaks It’s not often one gets to pay zero tax –legally, and then gets to do the next deal with immunity from paying stamp duty – including the 3% premium

What may look on the surface to be a potential issue with the property, and a deal breaker, can turn out to yield a completely different result poles apart The devil is in the detail, although in this situation it’s more likely an angel – perhaps Laxmi herself

This is not something an agent would inform you of, you would need to do the digging yourself My experience is most are ill informed of what they are selling; they work on the principle if they shovel enough some of it may stick

Currently we are negotiating on a deal where the agent does not know whether the deal is standard or nonstandard construction The construction of the property impacts the ability to get finance on the deal, which in turn governs whether one invests the full purchase price in cash or simply a fraction of it

Birla returns to Voda Idea board after nearly 2 years

From April 2 0, Kumar Mangalam

Bi rla has be en appoi nt ed a s an e xt r a di r e c t or on t h e b o a rd o f directors of the mobi le network operator after resigni ng as a none x ec ut i v e d i r e c t o r a n d n onexecuti ve chairm an of Vodaf on e I d ea o ve r t w o y e a rs p r i or Ac cor di ng to d ata on Voda fon e I d ea ’ s w e b s i t e , h e al s o s e r ve s a s t h e c h ai rm a n o f conglom erate Aditya Birla G roup, whi ch held an 18 07% stake i n Vodaf on e Idea as of Decemb er 31

A former senior executive at Aditya Birla Group-owned Ultratech Cement, Krishna Kishore Maheshwari, resigned as a non-executive director earlier in the day, according to the telecom company, citing personal reasons Vodafone Idea’s net debt stood at £22 3billion before the government in February converted the nearly $2 billion of dues that it was o w e d i n t o e q u i t y , b e c o m i n g t h e c o m p a n y ’ s b i g g e s t shareholder Government rescue measures for debt-ridden telecom businesses were adopted in 2021, enabling them to convert interest on postponed adjusted gross revenue owed to the government into equity

Suresh Vagjiani, Sow & Reap Properties Ltd

Tim Cook & Narendra Modi

Kumar Mangalam Birla

Imran Khan's party to launch election campaign in Punjab province

IS L A M A BA D : I m r a n Kh a n 's Pak ist an Te hree k-e-Insa f pa rty on Sun da y a nn ounce d tha t it will for mally la unch its e le ct ion ca m p a i g n i n P u n j a b t h o u g h ther e is n o cla rity on the dat e of the polls in the polit ically crucial provin ce “ T e h r e e k - e - I n s a f w i l l o f f icially launch its election camp a i g n T h e y ( P a k i s t a n D e m o c r a t i c M o v e m e n t ) m a y not be ready but we are ready,”

P T I S e c r e t a r y G e n e r a l A s a d Umar tweeted

T h e P a k i s t a n D e m o c r a t i c Movement (PDM) is a coalition of political parties headed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz ( P M L - N ) c u r r e n t l y r u l i n g t h e country I n t e r e s t i n g l y , P T I ' s announcement of launching the e l e c t i o n c a m p a i g n c o m e s despite uncertainty surrounding the elections in Punjab, the most

in brief

INDIAN STUDENT SHOT DEAD IN US

Imran Khan

populous province which also sends nearly 150 lawmakers to the National Assembly

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is waiting for funds from the federal government to conduct the elections

T h e D e f e n c e M i n i s t r y h a s i n f o r m e d t h e E C P t h a t t h e Pakistan Army will not be available for providing security

Parliament and the judiciary have also locked horns over the holding of elections in Punjab a n d K h y b e r P a k h t u n k h w a provinces as the cash-strapped g o v e r n m e n t h a s r e f u s e d t o authorise the funds to meet the

Pak cable operators warned against airing Indian channels

I S L A M A B A D: P akis tan s electro nic m ed ia w atchdog ordered local cable TV operators across the nation over to qu it broadcasting Ind ian stations, cautio ning th at sev ere mov es would be m ad e assu ming they w ere found abusing its requests

According to the Pakistan E l e c t r o n i c M e d i a R e g u l a t o r y Authority (Pemra) mentioned in a statement several operators in the past were found violating the rules set in place by it and the Supreme Court

Pemra ordered its regional offices to conduct enforcement drives on reports of violations by cable operators who were airing Indian channels “No channel

o t h e r t h a n P e m r a l i c e n s e e would be allowed for distribution on cable TV networks and any operator found defying the o r d e r s h e n c e f o r t h w o u l d b e dealt with strictly in accordance w i t h t h e P E M R A l a w , ” t h e authority said

The Karachi regional office conducted surprise inspections in various areas and raided cable operators

The statement stated that similar raids were conducted in Sindh’s Hyderabad and Punjab’s Multan region by the PEMRA e n f o r c e m e n t t e a m s a n d t h e y c o n f i s c a t e d i l l e g a l e q u i p m e n t and show cause notices were issued to the violators

12 killed in blasts at Pakistan counter-terrorism office

IS L A M A BA D: Two e x plosion s h ave rocke d a coun ter te rror ism fa cility in nor thwe st Pa kista n, k illing a t le ast 12 pe ople an d in juring more tha n 50 ot hers, p olice said

Sharifullah Khan, a police official in Kabal, said that at least 12 people died in the blasts on Monday at the counter-terr o r i s m d e p a r t m e n t ( C T D ) i n

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province’s Swat Valley while more than 50 were reported injured

He added that he doesn’t believe the blasts were caused by “ t e r r o r i s m ” T h e “ e x p l o s i o n s occurred after explosive material in the CTD building’s basement caught fire”, he said The building complex also houses the Kabal district police station and headquarters of a reserve police force, but the main damage was done at the counter-terrorism department building

P r o v i n c i a l p o l i c e c h i e f Akhtar Hayat said there was an o l d a m m u n i t i o n s t o r e i n t h e office, and police were probing whether that caused the explosions or if it was an attack Two a t t a c k s o n l a r g e p o l i c e b a s e s h a v e b e e n l i n k e d t o t h e

e x p e n d i t u r e s a m i d s t t h e e c onomic crisis facing the country

T h e S u p r e m e C o u r t h a s directed the federal government to release Rs 21 billion in funds for the ECP by April 10 and provide security for the elections However, the government has refused to release funds for the polls as the Parliament rejected the proposal

The defence ministry had a l s o f i l e d a p e t i t i o n i n t h e Supreme Court calling it to take back its order of holding polls on May 14 The case is being heard in the Supreme Court and during the proceedings Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar

Ata Bandial remarked that the three-member bench will not take back its order for holding polls on May 14

Former prime minister Khan has been pushing for snap elect i o n s i n P u n j a b a n d K h y b e r

P a k h t u n k h w a , t h e p r o v i n c e s where his PTI ruled till recently The PTI dissolved the Punjab a n d K h y b e r P a k h t u n k h w a assemblies on January 14 and 18, respectively, in a bid to force the r u l i n g P D M c o a l i t i o n i n Islamabad to hold early general elections in the country The PTI finalised a list of 2 9 7 c a n d i d a t e s r e c e n t l y a f t e r

PTI Chairman Khan interviewed all party candidates in person to uphold merit in awarding party tickets, media reports said But the allotment of tickets has not gone well within the party as many high-profile leaders were snubbed, the reports s a i d M e a n w h i l e , G e o N e w s r e p o r t e d , c i t i n g s o u r c e s , t h a t Khan was planning to include the party's Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Umar in the review committee to address objections

Nepal president flown to Delhi for medical treatment

KAT H MAN D U: Ne pa lese pr esiden t Ra m Cha ndra Pa ude l was tr ansport ed to New De lhi to receive a dvanced care for che st and abdominal issues, officia ls said Vice Preside nt R am Sahaya Ya dav will stand in for Pa udel whil e he is away , presidential spoke sper son Saga r Acha rya said P a u d e l , 7 8 , s p e n t f i v e d a y s t h i s m o n t h i n t h e T r i b h u v a n University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) in Kathmandu after complaining of a chest problem He was taken to the hospital again with the same problem

According to Baikuntha Thapaliya, a spokesperson for the Nepali hospital, this time his family and local physicians determined that he should be taken to the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi for "better and advanced treatment"

Paudel, a senior leader of the Nepali Congress party, was elected as the Himalayan nation’s third president in March amid a bitter crisis in the then-ruling coalition The coalition split after Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, a former Maoist rebel leader, supported Paudel – an opposition candidate – for the post His election led to the formation of a new coalition between Dahal’s Maoist Centre party and the centrist Nepali Congress party Paudel had been treated for chest and abdomen problems in recent years

Pak-Canadian columnist Tarek Fatah dies

P a k i s t a n i T a l i b a n , k n o w n a s T e h r e e k - e - T a l i b a n P a k i s t a n (TTP) since the start of the year Most of those killed were p o l i c e c o u n t e r - t e r r o r i s m o f f icers, Hayat said, adding that a woman and her child who were passing by the building were a l s o k i l l e d B i l a l F a i z i , s p o k e s m a n f o r K h y b e r Pakhtunkhwa’s provincial rescue service, said the search for more wounded was still in its initial stages The regional hosp i t a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s a i d i t received several wounded people, some of them in critical condition

OT TAW A: Pakistani-Canadian col umn ist Tarek Fata h passe d a wa y on Monday a fte r a prolonged ba ttle with cance r, his daughter Na tasha Fat ah, who he rself is a journa list , a nnounce d in a tweet He was 73 “Lion of Punjab Son of Hindustan Lover of Canada Speaker of truth Fighter for justice Voice of the downtrodden, underdogs, and the oppressed Tarek Fatah has passed the baton on his revolution will continue with all who knew and loved him Will you join us?

1949-2023, ” Natasha said in a post on Twitter

Born in Karachi, Pakistan before emigrating to Canada in 1987, Fatah was an award-winning reporter, columnist, and radio and television commentator, both in Canada and abroad, with a huge social media following, according to Toronto Sun

Fatah was a political activist, a fierce defender of human rights and a staunch opponent of religious fanaticism in any form As a secular Muslim who authored books titled “The Jew is Not My Enemy: Unveiling the Myths that Fuel Muslim Anti-Semitism” and “Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State”, Tarek was never deterred by controversy On the contrary, he would dive right in

Shahabuddin Chuppu takes oath as Bangladesh’s 22nd president

DHA KA : Sha habuddin Chuppu, a retired ju dge, h as been swo rn

i n a s th e n ew p r es i de nt o f Bangladesh for a five-year term, r ep la c in g Ab du l H a mi d

P a rli ament ary S p eake r S h i rin

S h ar mi n C h o u d h u ry o n

Monday adminis tered the oath

o f office to Shah abuddin, the

2 2n d p re si dent o f th e S o u th

A s i an re p u b l ic , at th e

B a ng ab h a ba n p r es i de nt i al

p alace in Dhaka

The event was aired live by s t a t e - r u n B a n g l a d e s h

T e l e v i s i o n a n d o t h e r p r i v a t e

b r o a d c a s t e r s C h u p p u , t h e nominee of the ruling Awami League (AL) party, was elected unopposed on February 13 as no o t h e r c a n d i d a t e s u b m i t t e d papers to contest the race With 302 members, the AL party has the majority in the 3 5 0 - s e a t n a t i o n a l p a r l i a m e n t , a n d n o o t h e r p a r t y h a d t h e

In a suspected robbery case at Ohio State University in the United States a student from Andhra Pradesh was fatally shot by an unidentified assailant Veera Saiesh 25 a native of Eluru in Andhra Pradesh was killed at a petrol station in Franklinton Columbus on West Broad Street According to information received by his family, the assailant shot Saiesh at the Shell fuel station, where he was working as a clerk Saiesh, who was pursuing his master s course and also doing a part-time job at a fuel station, was rushed to a hospital and was pronounced dead

INDIANS IN OZ WANT SUBURB NAMED ‘LITTLE INDIA’

Before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's anticipated visit to Australia next month, members of the Indian community in a western Sydney neighbourhood have resumed proposals to rename their neighbourhood "Little India " Indian businesses in Harris Park refer to the cluster of Indian restaurants and retail shops as Little India’ believing that making the sobriquet official would boost the area’s appeal to tourists

INDIAN GETS KEY POST IN BIDEN ADMIN

The US Senate has confirmed Radha Iyengar Plumb, a national security expert, as the deputy under secretary of defence for acquisition and sustainment Plumb, who is now the chief of staff of the deputy secretary of defence, had been nominated by President Joe Biden to fill this prominent job in June 2022

LANKANS DEMAND JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS

Thousands of Sri Lankans protested in this location while dressed in white and black, calling for justice for those who perished in the tragic Easter bombings of 2019 that claimed the lives of about 270 people, including 11 Indians Nine suicide bombers belonging to National Thawheed Jamaat linked to ISIS carried out a series of blasts that tore through three Catholic churches and as many luxury hotels on April 21 2019 killing more than 270 people

PAK ASSEMBLY NOTIFIES LAW TO CURTAIL POWERS OF CJP

According to media sources, the Pakistan National Assembly has notified the Supreme Court (Practise and Procedure) Bill 2023, a law that would limit the chief justice of Pakistan's (CJP) authority According to Geo News, the Supreme Court s eight-member bench, presided over by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, blocked the bill s execution However, due to Clause (2) of Article 75 of the Pakistani Constitution, it was believed to have received the President s assent (with effect from April 21) and was notified as a law

LANDSLIDE KILLS THREE, BURIES VEHICLES IN PAK

numbers to nominate a presidential candidate After taking the oath, the new president was congratulated by the outgoing president, Hamid – the only person in Bangladesh to hold t h e p r e s i d e n t i a l p o s t f o r 1 0 years in two consecutive terms According to the country’s c o n s t i t u t i o n , t h e p r e s i d e n t i a l election must be held 60 to 90 days before the expiry of each five-year term

In Pakistan's northwest Khyber tribal district, close to the Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan, a massive landslide was followed by rain and lightning storms that buried three people, including two Afghan nationals, alive Several other people were also injured Nearly two dozen vehicles were buried under the debris, police said Authorities feared that dozens of people were trapped beneath the rubble as rescue efforts were underway to clear the main road connecting the two countries This is a big landslide and the evacuation process will take some more time Around 20 to 25 vehicles were buried in the wreckage ” said Abdul Nasir Khan deputy commissioner of the Khyber district

in brief 17 Sikhs held in US for many shootings

CHINA STEPS UP THREATS AGAINST TAIWAN

Taiwan has come under increased Chinese threats with the foreign ministry of China warning that those who resist Beijing s demands to take control of the island are playing with fire Qin Gang s remarks came at the end of a speech espousing China s contribution to the global economy and the interests of developing nations, in which he repeatedly praised Communist Party Secretary General Xi Jinping s Global Security Initiative Toward the end of his speech in Shanghai, Qin turned to what China calls the “Taiwan problem ” While China has taken a consistently hardline position on Taiwan, it delegated threatening statements to spokespeople or lower-lever diplomats

32 DIE IN TWO FIRE INCIDENTS IN CHINA

At least 32 people were killed in two separate fire incidents involving a hospital and a factory in China A hospital s admissions building in Beijing’s Fengtai district caught fire last week leaving 21 dead, stater un China Daily reported A total of 71 patients were evacuated and transferred The cause is currently under investigation, the report said In a separate incident, 11 people died in a factory fire in Wuyi county Jinhua city in China’s eastern Zhejiang province

85 DEAD, HUNDREDS INJURED IN YEMEN CRUSH

At least 85 people died and hundreds were hurt in a crush at a Ramadan cash distribution in Yemen, as the impoverished nation experienced one of its biggest disasters Three people were detained over the stampede in Sanaa the rebel held capital after big crowds gathered at a school to receive gifts of 5 000 rial (about $9) - enough for a large family meal – at the end of Ramzan A footage screened by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels’ media showed a tightly packed crowd screaming and shoving unable to move while others attempted to haul stricken people out of the crush

TOP POLL OFFICIAL IN MYANMAR KILLED

A top election official in Myanmar was fatally shot in his car in Yangon the country s commercial capital in the latest attack attributed to militants opposed to military rule According to claims in the media, Sai Kyaw Thu, deputy director-general of the Union Election Commission, which the military appointed was shot numerous times The information office said the attack was carried out by the People’s Defense Force, the loosely organised armed wing of the pro-democracy National Unity Government

CLEOPATRA DOCU-DRAMA SPARKS OFF COLOUR WAR

The upcoming Netflix docu-drama Queen Cleopatra in which mixed-race actress Adele James portrays the first-century Egyptian pharaoh as a queen with African ancestry, is causing controversy in Egypt Egyptian academics are claiming that Cleopatra, who was born in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in 69 BCE and belonged to a Greek-speaking dynasty, was of European descent and not black An Egyptian lawyer has reportedly filed a complaint demanding that legal measures are taken to block Netflix outright in Egypt, to prevent the show from airing, the report added The lawyer claimed that the docu-drama, which drops on May 10, violates the country s media laws

60-YEAR-OLD CLIMBS PARIS SKYSCRAPER IN PROTEST

The "French Spiderman " a free climber scaled a 150-meter, 38-story skyscraper in Paris to show his support for demonstrators upset over a pension law that will raise the retirement age in France Using only his bare hands and a pair of climbing shoes, 60-year-old Alain Robert climbs without a harness He told the journalists I m here to demonstrate my support for people who reject the pension change ”

W A S H I N G T O N : S ev e nte en ind ivid uals h av e been detained and hig h-tech weapons u sed in gang figh ts h av e been seized as a result of a month-long federal inv estigation into Sikh-on-Sikh violence in California between tw o com peting factions, accordi ng to U S la w e nf o rc em e nt authorities

California attorney general

Rob Bonta and Yuba City police chief Brian Baker said the 17 felony arrests were a result of a m u l t i - a g e n c y i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f "rival criminal syndicates" opera t i n g t h r o u g h o u t N o r t h e r n C a l i f o r n i a T h e g r o u p s a r e a l l e g e d t o b e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r

n u m e r o u s v i o l e n t c r i m e s a n d s h o o t i n g s , i n c l u d i n g f i v e attempted murders Officials said they were also reportedly involved in shooti n g s a t g u r d w a r a s i n Sacramento on March 23, 2023, and a Stockton gurdwara on August 27, 2022 Officials added

t h a t d u r i n g t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n , l a w e n f o r c e m e n t w a s able to prevent two a d d i t i o n a l s h o o ti n g s f r o m o c c u r -

ring

O f f i c i a l s s a i d the violence began in 2018 at the annua l S i k h P a r a d e i n Yuba City, which has one of the highest concentrations of Sikhs in the US, and which has in the past elected a Sikh mayor and other Sikh officials to the local a d m i n i s t r a t i o n T h e v i o l e n c e s o o n e s c a l a t e d t o f r e q u e n t shootings, including one at a

wedding party in 2021

The warfare attracted attention of the local narcotic and gang enforcement task force, which launched an investigation with assistance from the F B I , t h e D r u g E n f o r c e m e n t A d m i n i s t r a t i o n a n d v a r i o u s other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, officials said, eventually leading to the crackdown The joint law enforcement effort, which culminated over the weekend in a l a r g e - s c a l e o p e r a t i o n w i t h agents executing search warr a n t s a t 2 0 l o c a t i o n s , a l s o resulted in the seizure of 41 firearms, officials said

2 Indian students drown in US state of Indiana Indian students face curbs in 5 Australian universities

NE W Y ORK : Two Indian stud ents who went missing last week while swim ming at a lake in the US state of Indiana are dead , local authorities have confirmed Sidd hant Shah, 19, and A ryan Vaidya, 20, went sw imming at Mo nroe Lake, rough ly 102 km south west of dow ntown Indianapolis, with a g rou p of friends o n April 15 but did not resurface, the USA Today newspaper reported

After two days of searching, divers found their bodies 18 feet below the surface, investigators said on April 18 Both students attended Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business Shah and Vaidya were boating on a pontoon on April 15 when their group anchored to swim Both men did not resurface and friends attempted to help them but were unsuccessful, the Indiana department of natural resources was quoted as saying by the newspaper One of the men was struggling in the water when others jumped in to help, officials said Divers searched using sonar and scuba divers on April 16 under windy conditions Sycamore Schools confirmed that Vaidya is a 2021 graduate of Sycamore High School

Key legal win for Gupta brothers in SA money laundering case

BLO E M F O N TE I N (SA): In a s ignif icant legal victory fo r th e Gup ta brothers , Atul and Rajesh, the Bl oemfo ntein h igh cou rt in So uth Afric a has acquitted all five ac cus ed perso ns in a c as e of all eged “state cap ture” and mo ney lau ndering, terming the evidence inadequate and the tes timony fals e “Th e au daciou s manner in w hich this matter was inves tigated is trul y to be lamented,” said acting Ju dge Nom pum el elo Gu sh a “T o say th at th e manner in w hich th e case was c ondu cted is c omedy, wou ld be the u nderstatement o f the mil lennium,” th e judge added

The accused were on trial in connection with a 24 9-million rands feasibility study conducted by Nulane Investments They included Islandsite Investment CEO Ronica Ragavan, directors of Nulene Investment Company, Iqbal Sharma and Dinesh Patel, and two government officials

The South African government had also issued a red corner notice for Atul and Rajesh Gupta, who are now based in Dubai, in connection with the case However, in February this year, the Dubai court dismissed the South African government’s extradition request as the prosecution had presented fake and forged documents before the court The prosecution is still unsuccessful in proving any connection between the transaction in Atul and Rajesh’s bank accounts During the course of the trial, state witness Shadrack Cezula’s testimony was found to be evasive and dishonest University of Pretoria senior law lecturer Llewelyn Curlewis said it was disturbing that the matter was also being used to extradite the Gupta brothers, Rajesh and Atul Speaking through their lawyers, the Gupta family said they welcomed the acquittal “Justice was done,” they stated “Of importance to note is that the court severely criticised the investigation done by state bodies Had the investigation been done properly, no charges would have been brought in the first place It is lamentable that people’s lives can be so disrupted by such a poor investigation and such poor decisions ”

Indian-origin named to racial justice advisory board in the US

N EW Y O R K: Udai Tambar, an Indi an-o ri gi n C EO invol ved i n youth develo pment s ervices in the US, i s among 15 experts appoi nted as members of the newly-f ormed raci al justice advis ory board in New Yo rk Ci ty

Tambar, the CEO and president of New York Junior Tennis and Learning (NYJTL) was named as a member of the advisory board on implementation of the Racial Justice Charter Amendments, launched last week by mayor Eric Adams and mayor ’ s office of equity commissioner Sideya Sherman

The board will help ensure that New York City continues to lead the nation in innovative, racial equity work and carries out the city’s newly enshrined charter changes, according to the mayor ’ s office Tambar m o s t r e c e n t l y s e r v e d a s v i c e -

M E L B O U R N E : A t le as t fi v e

A us t ral ia n u ni v e rs i ti es h av e p laced bans o r restrictions on s tu d e nt s fr o m s o m e In d i an states, am idst a surge in fraud ul ent ap p li c ati o ns fr om S o ut h A sia seeking to w ork not study in th is co untry, accord ing to a m ed ia repo rt Australia is on track for its biggest-ever annual intake of Indian students, topping 2019s high watermark of 75,000 But the current surge has prompted concerns from lawmakers and the education sector about the integrity of Australia's immigration system and the long-term impact on the nations lucrative international education market, T h e S y d n e y M o r n i n g H e r a l d newspaper reported T h e v o l u m e o f s t u d e n t s arriving has come back a lot s t r o n g e r t h a n a n y o n e w a s expecting, said Jon Chew from global education firm Navitas “We knew there would be a lot of pent-up demand, but there has also been a surge in nongenuine students,” Chew was quoted as saying

An investigation by The Age a n d T h e S y d n e y M o r n i n g Herald newspapers has obtained e m a i l s f r o m w i t h i n V i c t o r i a U n i v e r s i t y , E d i t h C o w a n U n i v e r s i t y , t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f W o l l o n g o n g , T o r r e n s University, and agents working for Southern Cross University that show the crackdown on

applications from Indian students

Those universities that have restricted access to some Indian s t a t e s a r e c o n c e r n e d H o m e Affairs will reduce their ability t o f a s t - t r a c k s t u d e n t v i s a s because of the number of applicants who are actually seeking to work not study in Australia

P e r t h s E d i t h C o w a n University in February placed an outright ban on applicants from the Indian states of Punjab and H a r y a n a , t h e n i n M a r c h , V i c t o r i a U n i v e r s i t y i n c r e a s e d restrictions on student applications from eight Indian states, i n c l u d i n g U t t a r P r a d e s h , Rajasthan and Gujarat

These restrictions came just d a y s a f t e r P r i m e M i n i s t e r Anthony Albanese visited India, in part to celebrate Australias education links and announce a new agreement with Australia's u n i v e r s i t i e s a n d c o l l e g e s t h a t would, he said, herald the most comprehensive and ambitious arrangement agreed to by India with any country

T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f W o l l o n g o n g i n M a r c h a l s o ratcheted up conditions on its genuine temporary entrant test on students from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Lebanon, M o n g o l i a , N i g e r i a a n d o t h e r countries deemed a risk (of students not being a genuine temp o r a r y e n t r a n t ) b y t h e Department of Home Affairs

Biden says he will run for re-election

WA SH INGT ON : T he U S p resident Jo e Bid en has confirmed his intention to run ag ain, on the ev e of the day he is exp ected to fo rm ally announce he will seek re-election He's been asked so many times if he'll run fo r p resident again; wh ether h e'll seek that second term "It's my intention " is h is stock answ er

But on Monday, on the eve of the day he is expected to formally announce, Biden confirmed that intention He seems to have cleared the self-imposed hurdle: his family's approval I'll admit I was sceptical I had wondered if First Lady Jill Biden would tell him "enough" He would, after all, be 82 at the time of re-election and 86 at the end of the next term

Before all that, he'll need to ride out the extraordinary intensity of the election cycle It s broken candidates half his age For Republicans, his age is a central attack point For Democrats, it s a genuine concern but it's an advantage too His supporters point to his experience He has more experience than any other serving politician in the country by virtue, simply, of his age

Then there is his record He beat Donald Trump in 2020 It's possible, even probable, that Trump is his competition given the Republican Party's addiction to him The gamble is that Trump can't have gained support over the past couple of years given his indictment and everything in between So his team hope a re-run would secure Biden's second term But the latest polling tells another story According to a new NBC poll, just one in four Americans approve of his decision to seek a second term

All 67 accused in Naroda Gam massacre case acquitted

A s p ec i al S I T c o u rt i n

A h m ed abad cleared all 67 d efend ants of all ch arges in the Naroda Gam massacre, w hich o ccurred on February 28 , 20 02, du ring th e postGod hra rio ts, and resulted in t h e d ea th s o f 1 1 p eo p l e F o r m er m in is t er M a ya

K odnani, Bajrang Dal lead er Babu Bajrangi, former VHP g ene ral s ec re ta ry J ayd eep P atel, and form er m unicipal c o u nc i ll o r o f th e ar ea V allabh Patel w ere among those who were cleared of 1 2 d ifferent charges, includ ing m u rd er , c ri m i n al c o ns p i ra cy , r io t in g , a nd arso n The 65 defendants in the case applauded and chanted " J a i S h r i R a m " i n t h e courtroom as the verdict of acquittal was announced, 21 years after the occurrence and 14 years after the trial had begun Special judge S

K B a x i a n n o u n c e d h e r decision on the dais, saying, " A l l t h e a c c u s e d a r e acquitted of all the charges " M a n y o f t h e d e f e n d a n t s , including Kodnani, started c r y i n g S i n c e 1 1 a m , t h e accused and their solicitors h a v e b e e n a w a i t i n g t h e decision S t e p p i n g o u t o f t h e c o u r t r o o m , K o d n a n i t o l d media persons, “I want to thank God Thanks to the A l m i g h t y T r u t h h a s

prevailed " In a separate riots case from 2002 involving Naroda Patia, when 97 people were killed, Kodnani and Bajrangi had previously been found guilty In 2012, a SIT court sentenced them to life in jail T h e G u j a r a t H i g h C o u r t cleared her later in 2018 but a f f i r m e d B a j r a n g i ' s conviction According to the v i c t i m ' s k i n ' s a t t o r n e y , S h a m s h a d P a t h a n , t h e y disagree with the decision

Assam, Arunachal sign pact to end decades-old border row

a n d w i l l a p p e a l i t t o t h e supreme court Naroda Gam is one of the nine 2002 Gujarat riot c a s e s t h a t t h e S u p r e m e Court tasked SIT to probe further It arrested 37 more a c c u s e d a n d t h e t r i a l c o m m e n c e d i n 2 0 0 9 a f t e r the apex court ordered the e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f s p e c i a l c o u r t s f o r s p e e d y prosecution SIT to chal len ge acq uit tals

M e a n w h i l e , t h e S I T i s p r e p a r i n g t o c h a l l e n g e before the Gujarat high court the a cquittals recorded by the special court in the 2002 Naroda Gam massacre case last week, according to top sources Sources in the SIT said that the probe agency firmly believes that it had p l a c e d o n r e c o r d s t r o n g , r e l i a b l e a n d i r r e f u t a b l e evidence against the accused persons in this case

Atiq killing: SHO among four UP cops suspended

Fiv e UP cops, includ in g an S HO , w e r e su sp e n de d f or t he a lle g e d la p se s t h a t a llo w e d t hr e e a ss a ss i n s m asquer adin g as jour nalist s t o sh o t d e a d h a n d c uf fe d g a n g st e r p o li t i ci a n A t i q A h m e d a n d h i s br o t h e r A s h r a f in fr o n t of T V ca mera s out sid e a Pra ya gra j hospita l

According to sources in t h e L u c k n o w p o l i c e h e a d q u a r t e r s , t w o s u bi n s p e c t o r s a n d a s m a n y constables were suspended b a s e d o n t h e p r e l i m i n a r y

results of the investigation, in addition to SHO Ashwini Singh of the Shahganj police station, whose jurisdiction i n c l u d e s t h e c r i m e s i t e outside Colvin Hospital

The special investigation team (SIT) tried to recreate the crime scene as part of its inquiries and to trying to determine how many of the l a r g e n u m b e r o f p o l i c e p e r s o n n e l ' g u a r d i n g ' A t i q A h m a d a n d A s h r a f t h a t night - as the two were being walked to the hospital for a medical check-up - tried to

s t o p t h e a t t a c k a n d h o w much time it took to restore order after the killings

A mysterious letter in a s e a l e d e n v e l o p e a l l e g e d l y addressed by Atiq Ahmad to Y o g i , c h i e f j u s t i c e D Y Chandrachud and the top justice of the Allahabad High Court is still unresolved An appeal for an independent i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n t o t h e killings has been accepted by the Supreme Court

Police plan to ta ke n arco t ests on At iq's k ille rs P o l i c e a r e p l a n n i n g t o

m o v e c o u r t t o s e e k l i e detector and narco tests on t h e t h r e e k i l l e r s - M o h i t S i n g h a l i a s S h a n i , L a v l e s h T i w a r i a n d A r u n M a u r y a T h e S I T q u e s t i o n e d t h e three to collect all possible e v i d e n c e r e l a t e d t o t h e killing Senior police officials privy to the probe said that the test was important in order to find out the motive of the crime as they have been repeatedly saying that t h e y s h o t t h e b r o t h e r s a s t h e y w a n t e d t o b e c o m e “famous”

Bilawal to attend SCO meet in Goa, India plays it down

P ak is ta n 's f or ei gn m in is t e r B il awal Bhutto Zardari will a ttend SCO foreign minis ters m eet which India is hos ting in Goa on May 5 The Indian a d m i ni s t r a t io n di dn 't e xpl ic itl y rul e out a m eeting b e t we e n S J ai s h an k a r a n d B il awal, b ut it didn t s eem o pt i m is t ic t ha t t he vi s it w oul d re s ul t i n a n y m e an i ng f u l c oo pe r a t io n b etween the t wo nations

In fact, the government tried to play down Pakistan’s announcement of Bilawal’s visit, saying it would not be appropriate to focus on the participation of one country

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari

alone in a multilateral event Given its links to China a n d r e c e n t p l e d g e s o f f r i e n d s h i p t o R u s s i a , Pakistan's membership in the Eurasian bloc is a top foreign policy aim Both the Russian a n d C h i n e s e f o r e i g n ministers, Sergey Lavrov and

Q i n G a n g , w i l l b e present in Goa I n d i a a w a i t s confirmation from Pak d e f e n c e m i n i s t e r f o r another SCO meet The l a s t t i m e t h e r e w a s a ministerial visit by either side was in 2015 when t h e n f o r e i g n m i n i s t e r Sushma Swaraj travelled to I s l a m a b a d f o r t h e m u l t i l a t e r a l c o n f e r e n c e Pakistan PM’s foreign policy adviser and de facto minister Sartaj Aziz also visited India in 2016, again for the same c o n f e r e n c e I n d i a h e l d i n Amritsar

S w a r a j ’ s v i s i t s a w a n a b o r t i v e a t t e m p t b y b o t h sides to resume the dialogue process under the new name o f c o m p r e h e n s i v e b i l a t e r a l dialogue The terrorist attack o n t h e P a t h a n k o t a i r b a s e w e e k s a f t e r t h e announcement put paid to that initiative

Although important, the visit by Bilawal does not raise expectations for a thawing of relations as it occurs at a time w h e n h i g h c o m m i s s i o n e r s a r e n o t p r e s e n t a n d b o t h embassies are operating with o n l y h a l f t h e a u t h o r i s e d number of employees

Ensure tax used for nation, not any party: PM Modi tells bureaucrats

P r i me Mi n is t e r N a r e n d r a M od i e ncoura ged b ure aucra ts to mak e t he n a t i o n a l in t e r e s t t he o n l y f a ct o r conside red whil e making de cisions H e r efe rred to civil official s as "ka rmayogi saa thi" a nd sa id t he y nee ded to conduct a naly sis b efore det ermining if t axpaye r m o n e y wa s b e i n g us e d t o h e l p t h e coun try or a ce rtain part y

Speaking at the 16th Civil Services Day, Modi stated that both federal and s t a t e c i v i l w o r k e r s m u s t d e t e r m i n e whether a ruling party is changing laws only to open up new channels for black money

Pointing out that every party has its

own ideology, the PM said bureaucrats should make decisions based on certain questions: “Is the ruling political party u s i n g t a x p a y e r s ' m o n e y f o r i t s o w n benefit or for the benefit of the country?

Is it looting the government exchequer for self-expansion and creating its own vote bank or utilising the money for m a k i n g e v e r y o n e ’ s l i f e e a s i e r ? I s i t advertising itself with the government money? Is it appointing its own party w o r k e r s i n v a r i o u s o r g a n i s a t i o n s o r c r e a t i n g a t r a n s p a r e n t p r o c e s s f o r recruitment?”

I n v o k i n g S a r d a r P a t e l ' s a s s e r t i o n that bureaucracy serves as India's steel

framework, he said it is time to meet c i t i z e n s ' e x p e c t a t i o n s , s t o p p u b l i c money from being wasted, and stop y o u n g p e o p l e ' s h o p e s f r o m b e i n g dashed

In addition, Modi criticised previous administrations while emphasising the fact that even the best initiatives are ineffective without last-mile delivery

According to him, the minority affairs ministry gave scholarships to roughly 30,00,000 fictitious young people, and t h o u s a n d s o f p h o n e y a c c o u n t s w e r e made under the rural job guarantee plan (MGNREGA) to transfer payments from unemployed employees

Assam and A runach al Pradesh reach ed an agreement to resolve their d ecades-o ld bord er d ispute relating to 1 23 villag es distributed over the 7 00-km-long interstate bord er, marking a significant step towards achiev ing "lo ng -lasting peace" in the north east

In the presence of home minister Amit Shah, the border agreement was signed by the chief ministers of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh at the North Block Kiren Rijiju, the law minister, also attended the event Shah applauded how all parties, including residents of the affected villages, were taken into account before signing the agreement, which marks another milestone in realising PM Narendra Modi's dream of a "peaceful, developed, and conflict-free" northeast Shah welcomed the "historic feat" of resolving a boundary dispute that had simmered for several decades

Himanta Biswa Sarma said Assam and Meghalaya will try to resolve the remaining 40% dispute in the next two to three months and talks to resolve the dispute with Mizoram are on “The dispute with Nagaland cannot be resolved politically It is pending in the Supreme Court and it will have to be resolved in the court,” he said

T h e h i s t o r i c a l c o n t e x t , d e m o g r a p h i c m a k e u p , administrative convenience, close proximity to the border, and aspirations of the local populace have all been taken into consideration when drafting the agreement It is based o n t h e L o c a l C o m m i s s i o n ' s r e p o r t , w h i c h 1 2 r e g i o n a l committees revised further after consulting local citizens

A detailed survey will soon be undertaken by the Survey of India in the presence of representatives of both the state governments to determine the boundaries of both the states

CBI files FIR against Oxfam, searches office

T h e C BI s e ar c h ed O xf a m

I nd i a s o ff ic e i n Delhi and f i l e d a n F I R a ga i ns t t h e o rgan i sa ti o n an d i ts o f fi c e hol ders f or alleged ly breaki ng t h e F o re i gn C o nt r i bu t i o n

(Regu lati on) Act

F o l l o w i n g a c o m p l a i n t f r o m t h e U n i o n h o m e m i n i s t r y , w h i c h h a d p r e v i o u s l y b a n n e d O x f a m

I n d i a ' s F C R A l i c e n c e , t h e

C B I o p e n e d t h e c a s e

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e l a w s u i t , b e t w e e n 2 0 1 3 a n d 2 0 1 6 ,

O x f a m I n d i a r e c e i v e d a t l e a s t £ 1 5 0 , 0 0 0 i n t o t h e i r

foreign donation utilisation

a c c o u n t r a t h e r t h a n t h e

a u t h o r i s e d b a n k a c c o u n t T h e c o m p l a i n t f u r t h e r c l a i m s t h a t O x f a m I n d i a

routed Rs 12,70,000 to the

Centre for Policy Research

(CPR) in the financial year

2019-20 in violation of FCRA

r u l e s a n d t h a t t h e n o ng o v e r n m e n t o r g a n i s a t i o n intended to bypass the FCRA

b y t r a n s f e r r i n g f u n d s t o o t h e r a s s o c i a t i o n s o r f o r -

profit consultancy firms

During a survey last year, the CBI obtained multiple emails related to this from O x f a m I n d i a ' s o f f i c e A c c o r d i n g t o t h e M H A ' s c o m p l a i n t , e m a i l s discovered during the survey p u r p o r t e d l y r e v e a l e d t h a t Oxfam India planned to use i n t e r n a t i o n a l g o v e r n m e n t s and institutions to pressure t h e I n d i a n g o v e r n m e n t towards renewing the FCRA T h e 3 7 - p a g e d F I R a l s o mentions a property worth £ 4 0 0 , 0 0 0 s o l d b y B r i t i s h c i t i z e n , B a n w a r i L a l , t o Oxfam India but the value in g i f t d e e d i s s t a t e d a s £ 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 , t r i g g e r i n g suspicions of undervaluation and evading of stamp duty Oxfam India has denied a n y w r o n g d o i n g a n d s a i d that it was cooperating with the authorities

India overtakes China as most populous nation with 1.428 bn people

India has surpassed C hina as the world 's m ost populated nation Ind ia h as 1 4 28 billion peop le compared to C hina's 1 4 25 billion, acco rd ing to U N figu res Th is is the first time that Ind ia has topp ed the U N list o f m ost pop ulou s countries since it started collecting popu lation data in 1 950

As its workforce ages and fertility rates decrease, China is in danger of experiencing a demographic decline Although official attempts have so far failed to reverse the d e c r e a s e , c e r t a i n r e g i o n s h a v e a l s o announced measures to increase birth rates

India has not conducted a census since 2011, hence there are no current official figures on the country's population Due to the coronavirus pandemic, India's once in every 10 years census was postponed till 2021

N e a r l y 1 / 4 t h o f I n d i a ' s p o p u l a t i o n i s under the age of 14, according to the UN data Sixty eight per cent of the population is in the 15 to 64 age group, while 7 per cent is

Chinese defence minister to attend Delhi SCO meet amid border row

T he Ch inese defence minister General Li Sh angfu wi ll be in D e lh i f o r t h e S h an gh a i C o o p er at io n O rga n iz a ti o n ( SCO) meeting next week, ami d th e c ontinu ing th ree-year-o ld military confrontation in eastern Ladakh

Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defence minister, will also be present at the SCO summit on April 27 and 28 India is becoming more concerned about the i n c r e a s i n g s t r a t e g i c t i e s between Moscow and Beijing as well as the effects of the current c o n f l i c t i n U k r a i n e K h a w a j a

Asif, the Pakistani defence minister, would nevertheless take part remotely in the meeting

Sources said defence minister Rajnath Singh is “likely” to h o l d b i l a t e r a l m e e t i n g s w i t h both General Li and Shoigu on April 27, while the main day for the SCO meet will be on April 28

S i n c e t h e P e o p l e ' s

Liberation Army launched seve r a l i n c u r s i o n s i n t o e a s t e r n Ladakh in April and May 2020, which caused bilateral relations to deteriorate, this will be the first visit by a Chinese defence minister to India China has so far refused to u n d e r t a k e t r o o p d i s e n g a g ement at the crucial faceoffs at t h e s t r a t e g i c a l l y - l o c a t e d Depsang Plains as well as the C h a r d i n g N i n g l u n g N a l l a h ( C N N ) t r a c k j u n c t i o n a t Demchok in eastern Ladakh

Beijing has also upped the ante a l o n g t h e S i k k i m - A r u n a c h a l Pradesh frontier, which resulted in the clash between the rival troops at Yangtse in the crucial Tawang sector on December 9

Earlier this month, it also “standardised” the names of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, which w a s s u m m a r i l y r e j e c t e d b y India

Hunt on for terrorists who killed five jawans in J&K

The Army is conducting a s ign ific ant operation with s pe cial f orc es , reg ular s old ie rs , he lic opters, and drones to find the f i v e t o s ev e n t er ro ri s ts w ho a s s a ul t ed a n A r m y t r uc k i n P oon c h di s tri c t of J & K in a w ell -pl ann ed amb us h, ki lli ng f ive R ashtriya R ifles men and c ritically woundi ng a si xth

T h e A r m y v e h i c l e w a s b e i n g t r a n s p o r t e d f r o m

Bhimber Gali to Sangiot when the terrorists forced it to halt by laying wood logs on the road This was done just a few kilometres from the Line of C o n t r o l T h e m i l i t a n t s t h e n attacked the Army truck using a s s a u l t r i f l e s a n d g r e n a d e s made in China

T h e r e w e r e p r i o r i n t e l l ig e n c e r e p o r t s t h a t P a k i s t a n backed terrorists would conduct attacks with grenades or I E D s ( i m p r o v i s e d e x p l o s i v e devices) in the run-up to a G20 event in Srinagar next month

“But the intelligence inputs were general in nature It’s too e a r l y t o c o n c l u s i v e l y s a y w h e t h e r t h e t e r r o r i s t s w e r e f r o m J a i s h - e - M u h a m m e d o r

L a s h k a r - e - T a i b a , ” a n o f f i c e r said The terror attack, incidentally, took place on the day Pakistan announced that foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would attend the SCO foreign ministers’ meeting in Goa on May 4-5

The Army, in conjunction w i t h t h e s p e c i a l o p e r a t i o n s group of J&K police and the C R P F , w a s c o n d u c t i n g t h e m a j o r m a n h u n t “ M u l t i p l e t e a m s , b a c k e d b y d r o n e s , s u r v e i l l a n c e h e l i c o p t e r s a n d s n i f f e r d o g s , a r e c o n d u c t i n g c o m b i n g o p e r a t i o n s i n t h e t h i c k l y f o r e s t e d r e g i o n , ” a n officer said

“The terrorists must have conducted prior recce operations before undertaking the ambush The truck was fired upon from three sides, with the terrorists taking advantage of t h e l o w v i s i b i l i t y a n d b a d weather in the area, ” he added

Since the repeal of Article 370 and division of the state into two Union territories in August 2019, J&K has seen 32 Army and paramilitary fatalities in terrorist strikes

above the age of 65 Estimates by different agencies have suggested that India's population is e x p e c t e d t o k e e p r i s i n g f o r nearly three decades before it peaks at 1 65 billion and then would start declining

The new UN report also estimated that the global population will have hit 8 045 billion by mid-2023 According to additional UN data released in July that predicted how the world's p o p u l a t i o n w i l l d e v e l o p between now and 2100, other countries, primarily in Europe and Asia, should expect a d e m o g r a p h i c d e c l i n e o v e r t h e c o m i n g decades

In 3 years, 1,109 Indian kids found stranded at US borders

The traged y of hu man traffi cking is the toll it exacts on th e kid s of aspirati onal Indi ans wi lling to do wh atever it takes to immigrate to the US Accord ing to data acqui red from US C ustoms and Border Poli ce (USC B), 1,109 unacco mpani ed mi nors may have been dis covered strand ed cl ose to US borders between O ctober 2 019 and Marc h 20 23

According to the US Office of Refugee Resettlement, unaccompanied children (UAC) are undocumented immigrant children who come into the country without a parent or a legal guardian

The USCB figures suggest a nearly eight-fold rise in UACs found on the US borders In February 2023, as many as 14 kids, who did not have any documents, were found on the US border While 13 were found wandering on the US-Mexico border, one was found near the US-Canada border The US fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 On March 1, 2022, media outlets announced that human traffickers had developed a new method of operation The thieves used unrelated youngsters and adult migrants to pass as a family and cross the border According to Gujarat police, if the attempt was successful, the kids' presence would guarantee that the US administration would give them asylum

Closing the investigation on human smuggling rackets in

Gujarat, police said,“The adults and children undertake the perilous journey to the US-Mexico border Before crossing it, the immigration agents pair one man, one woman, and two children –all unrelated to each other – to form a fraudulent family If caught at the border, they present themselves as a family unit and seek asylum in the US The American government sends them to a detention centre where the immigrants are given refugee cards Ultimately, they get citizenship with legal aid from attorneys there

Governors must assent or send back bills ‘as soon as possible’: SC

The Supreme Court remi nded the state c o ns t it ut io na l h ea ds t o re m em b e r th at

A rti cle 200 of the Constitution requires them to either give as sent or return bills "as s oon as possi ble at a tim e when states run b y opposi ti on pa rti es are prote sting govern ors ' in action on bi lls pas sed b y the assemb ly

Although the apex court did not, as demanded by Telangana, set a timeline for governors to either clear or return the bills, the bench’s “ as soon as possible” reminder was recorded as an order by a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice

PS Narasimha

T h e T e l a n g a n a a d m i n i s t r a t i o n h a d petitioned the court, complaining that governor Tamilisai Soundarajan had taken too long to act on 10 measures that had been approved by the assembly Tushar Mehta, the solicitor general, however, told the court that the governor had no open bills

The bench referred to the first proviso of Article 200 - which states “provided that the governor may, as soon as possible after the presentation to him of the bill for assent, return the bill if it is not a money bill together with a message requesting that the House or Houses will reconsider the bill or any specified provisions thereof as soon as possible” - and said the expression had a significance which should be borne in mind by the constitutional authorities, indicating that the governors were either unaware of it or were deliberately not heeding it

This was recorded by the bench despite the SG protesting that it was unwarranted as the governor ’ s office had informed the SC that no bills were pending with the governor It said two - Telangana Municipal L a w s ( A m e n d m e n t ) B i l l , 2 0 2 2 , a n d Telangana Public Employment (Regulation of Age of Superannuation) (Amendment), Bill 2022 - had been returned with the governor ’ s messages

Nitish talks oppn parties’ unity with Mamata, Akhilesh

Bihar chi ef minis ter N itis h Kumar and hi s d eputy Tejash wi Yad av travelled to K o l ka ta an d L u c k no w o n t h ei r renewed mis si on to fo rm a u ni ted opp osi ti on to the BJP T hey fi rs t met with Bengal chi ef mi ni ster Mamata Banerjee to urge the fo rmatio n of a conclave of non-NDA parties in Bi har, and then with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav to emphasi se that the cause, no t the leadership role, was what mattered Nitish’s insistence on Congress being part of the initiative to send out t h e m e s s a g e t h a t “ w e a r e i n t h i s t o g e t h e r ” a p p a r e n t l y r e c e i v e d Mamata’s nod during their 30-minute

d i s c u s s i o n a t t h e s t a t e s e c r e t a r i a t “You do not have to worry about this Everyone is together The people of India will fight against BJP, and all parties will work together,” she later told reporters wanting to know her stand on working with Congress

Describing the outcome of the meeting as “positive and constructive”, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said, “We do not know what they (BJP) will do – change history, change everything We have to remain alert; hence these discussions Depending on the n e e d , w e a l l w i l l b r i n g a l l p a r t i e s together and discuss and decide the

road ahead ”

Nitish reiterated to reporters in L u c k n o w w h a t h e a l l e g e d l y t o l d A k h i l e s h : t h a t h i s u n i t y i n i t i a t i v e against the BJP should not be interpreted as an attempt to lead the pack “ H u m k o n a h i b a n n a h a i y e h baat achchi tarah se jaan lijiye Hum sabko khali ek jut karne mein lage hain (I am not there to become the l e a d e r o f t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s ) , please be clear about this Am only working to bring everyone together),” the JD(U) founder said “Once everyone gets on the same platform, they will decide who should lead ”

Rajnath asks army to be prepared for any contingency

D efe nce minister Rajnat h Sing h said a rmy should be r eady for an y ev entual it y a long t he northe rn b or ders, while ne got ia tion s with China ar e ongoing to find a diplomatic sett lement t o the ar me d confl ict in easter n La dakh

The defence minister added that despite the advance deployment of soldiers from both nations for the previous three years, the troop standoff in eastern Ladakh continues to be tense and volatile

While asking the armed forces to maintain a strong vigil to ensure the security of the Line of Actual Control, the minister said the ongoing diplomatic and military talks “for a peaceful resolution will continue” with China “Disengagement and de-escalation is the best way forward,” he said “It is our ‘whole of government’ approach to ensure the availability of the best weapons, equipment and clothing to our troops braving extreme weather and hostile forces to defend our territorial integrity,” the defence minister said Although there have been numerous diplomatic and

military discussions between the two sides, China has so far refused to withdraw its troops from the critical Depsang Plains and the Charding Ninglung Nallah track junction in Demchok, eastern Ladakh, where there have been important clashes

PM Modi walks ahead

of convoy

in Kerala roadshow days after threat letter

NEW D ELHI : Prime Mini ste r Narendra Mod i, who w as on a two-day visit to Kerala, held a m e g a r oa d s ho w i n K oc hi , m a r k e d ly d i f fe re n t f ro m hi s othe r roadshows PM Modi got out of his car an d be gan the ro a d sh ow o n fo ot , j us t d a y s a f te r a l e t te r t hre a te n i n g a suicide b om b attack on him had the Kerala police a nd ce ntral age ncies on ale rt

Dressed in traditional Kerala attire, the Prime Minister was seen waving to the people on both sides of the road and atop buildings along the route The nearly twokm route was under a tight security with t h o u s a n d s o f p o l i c e p e r s o n n e l b e i n g deployed to ensure PM Modi's safety

T h e l e t t e r i n M a l a y a l a m , a l l e g e d l y written by a Kochi resident, was received at t h e o f f i c e o f B J P s t a t e p r e s i d e n t K Surendran who in turn had handed it over to the police earlier this month The news of the letter came out after an intelligence r e p o r t w a s t e l e c a s t b y s o m e m e d i a organisations Soon after, Surendran said he had handed over the letter a week ago to the state police chief

Surendran alleged that the "leak of the intelligence report from the police was a grave mistake and it should be probed The 49-page report gave details of the names of t h e o f f i c i a l s o n d u t y , t h e i r r o l e s , t h e detailed programme chart of the Prime Minister among other things

Khalistan

Union Minister of State V Muraleedharan

a l s o s l a m m e d t h e alleged leak and said it was a serious matter

"

T h e C h i e f M i n i s t e r should explain how a report on the security d e t a i l o f t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r w a s l e a k e d and going viral on WhatsApp This means the state home department is in shambles," he alleged

PM Modi's roadshow is also being seen as show of strength in the southern state where there is nil presence of the BJP The party is keenly looking at Kerala to make inroads ahead of the 2024 general elections

The Prime Minister has a very busy schedule in Kerala where he inaugurated projects worth more than £320 million

He also flagged off Kerala's first Vande B h a r a t E x p r e s s b e t w e e n Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargod The Prime Minister also inaugurate the Kochi Water Metro, a one of its kind project that would connect 10 islands around Kochi through battery-operated electric hybrid boats for seamless connectivity with the c i t y T h e l e a d e r s o f e i g h t c h u r c h denominations also had a half-an hour meeting with PM Modi about increasing a t t a c k s o n p l a c e s o f C h r i s t i a n w o r s h i p across the country and sought steps to end these atrocities

Rahul, Shah campaign for Cong, BJP candidates in Karnataka

GOLD, SILVER, LIQUOR WORTH £25 4 MN SEIZED

VI

JA Y A P U RA : Congress leader Rah ul Gand hi and hom e minister A mit S hah h eld massive roadshow s in poll-bound Karnataka Rahul held t h e s h o w in V i j aya p u ra w av i n g at a la rg e, enthusiastic crow d that had lined up on both sid es of the route Standing on top of a specially d esig ned v eh icle, Rah ul co nstantly waved at the p eop le gathered in the streets and o n nearby buildings, m any of w hom were seen chanting 'Rahu l, Rahul' slog ans and sh outing loud cheers

He began the road show after garlanding the s t a t u e o f C h h a t r a p a t i S h i v a j i M a h a r a j

Karnataka Congress campaign committee chief M B Patil and several other party leaders and workers accompanied Rahul on the road show Rahul began his two-day visit to Karnataka from Kudala Sangama, where he offered obeisance to 1 2 t h - c e n t u r y p o e t a n d s o c i a l r e f o r m e r B a s a v e s h w a r a o n h i s b i r t h a n n i v e r s a r y , celebrated as Basava Jayanti

Amit Shah attends sev eral rallies

Home Minister Amit Shah took part in several elections rallies and roadshows in the s t a t e o n M o n d a y S h a h o f f e r e d p r a y e r s t o Chamundeshwari at Chamundi Hills in Mysuru before his roadshow in Chamarajanagar The u n i o n H o m e m i n i s t e r c a m p a i g n e d f o r

Gundlupet party candidate CS Niranjan Kumar

T h e U n i o n H o m e M i n i s t e r a l s o h e l d a roadshow and campaigned in Sakleshpura for P r e e t h a m J G o w d a , p a r t y c a n d i d a t e f r o m H a s s a n S h a h s a i d P r e e t h a m G o w d a w a s fighting family politics in Hassan

sympathiser Amritpal held, sent to Assam jail

CH AN DI GA R H: The hunt for f ug it iv e Kh a list a n sy m pa t hi se r a n d W a r i s P u n j a b D e h e a d

A mritpa l Singh en ded on Sunda y m o r n i n g w it h P u n j a b p ol ic e a r r e s t i n g t h e 3 0 - y e a r - o ld pr ea che r outside a gur dwar a in s la in m il it a n t Ja r n a i l Si n g h

Bhindr an wale ’ s na tive v illage of

R ode in Pun jab’ s Moga district

He was taken into custody under the National Security Act ( N S A ) a n d l a t e r f l o w n f r o m

Bathinda airport to Dibrugarh central jail in Assam, where nine of his associates are being kept All of them are facing charges under the stringent NSA

“He was located in the village of Rode based on operational i n p u t s b y P u n j a b p o l i c e T h e village was surrounded by police

He knew he couldn’t escape He was arrested at 6 45am, ” Punjab p o l i c e I G ( h e a d q u a r t e r s ) S u k h c h a i n S i n g h G i l l s a i d Amritpal was inside Gurdwara Sahib, but police didn’t enter the shrine to maintain its sanctity,

he said But Bhindranwale’s nephew and former Akal Takht jathedar Jasbir Singh Rode claimed that Amritpal wasn’t arrested, but he s u r r e n d e r e d I n o n e o f t h r e e video clips that surfaced after his a r r e s t , A m r i t p a l w a s h e a r d t e l l i n g a c o n g r e g a t i o n i n Gurdwara Sant Khalsa of Rode v i l l a g e : “ I h a v e d e c i d e d t o surrender and this arrest is not an end, it is the beginning ” A m r i t p a l ’ s p a r e n t s b e l i e v e t h e i r s o n s u r r e n d e r e d a f t e r c a r r y i n g o u t n i t n e m ( d a i l y prayer) in the gurdwara Both his father and mother said they are p r e p a r e d t o v i s i t h i m i n Dibrugarh and fight the legal battle for his freedom

But the AAP government and p o l i c e s a i d t h a t A m r i t p a l w a s a r r e s t e d a n d h e d i d n o t surrender CM Bhagwant Mann said in a video message that he was informed about the police o p e r a t i o n D u r i n g h i s a r r e s t , A m r i t p a l w a s s e e n w e a r i n g a turban and robe similar to what Bhindranwale used to wear The first video shows him addressing a congregation in the memory of Bhindranwale In another clip, he can be seen moving in the village, going to the basement, bowing to a picture of Bhindranwale and reciting ‘chaupai,’ a part of daily Sikh religious recitations It is the s a m e v i l l a g e w h e r e A m r i t p a l ’ s ‘ d a s t a r b a n d i ’ ( t u r b a n t y i n g c e r e m o n y t o b e s t o w r e s p o n s i b i l i t y ) w a s h e l d o n September 29 last year The third video was apparently shot a few hours before his arrest, possibly past midnight at a different place b e f o r e m o v i n g t o t h e R o d e gurdwara

According to IGP Gill, police

have been mounting relentless pressure on Amritpal for the past

3 6 d a y s a n d a l l t h e w i n g s o f police worked in tandem for this s p e c i a l o p e r a t i o n T h e N S A w a r r a n t s w e r e i s s u e d a g a i n s t

A m r i t p a l a n d e x e c u t e d o n Sunday morning The IGP asked people not to spread rumours, warning that strict action will be taken against rumour mongers Amrit pal’ s wife st opped fr om fly in g to UK

A m r i t p a l ’ s w i f e , a U K n a t i o n a l , w a s p r e v e n t e d f r o m boarding a flight to the UK from Amritsar’s Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport She was questioned for “two hours,” told categorically that she could not l e a v e J a l l u p u r K h e r a v i l l a g e without informing the police

A m r i t p a l ’ s w i f e , K i r a n d e e p , arrived at the airport to board Air India Flight 117, which was to depart for Birmingham at 2 30 pm

As soon as the media got wind of this, they made a beeline to the airport and found her

TMC sends notice to BJP leader Suvendu over his comments

KO LK A T A : A mid the raging phone call row between the ruling TM C and the opposition BJP, the L eader of the Opposition (L oP), S uvend u Ad hikari, said he has received a letter from the TMC warning h im o f legal action if he does no t withd raw his claim s t h at C h ie f M in i st er a nd T M C su p r em o

M am ata Banerjee had called Union Hom e M inister A mit Shah to seek help after her p arty was stripp ed of its national party statu s by the Electio n Co mmission (EC) Suvendu said he will give his response to t h e T M C ’ s n o t i c e , a d d i n g t h a t h e w a s p l a n n i n g t o a p p r o a c h t h e c o u r t a g a i n s t

Mamata for her comments against Shah

Addressing a virtual press conference at the state secretariat, the CM denied Suvendu’s statement that she dialled Shah after the

T M C h a d l o s t i t s n a t i o n a l

party status recently Mamata s a i d s h e w i l l r e s i g n i f i t i s proved that she had phoned Shah

Her statement came after Suvendu had claimed that she had made phone calls to the Union Home Minister to urge him to help the TMC retain its national party status The TMC was stripped of its national party status by the EC in the wake of a review of its eligibility by the poll body

A t a p r e s s c o n f e r e n c e i n K o l k a t a , Suvendu said, “I have received a letter, initial legal notice from her (Mamata’s) team I will reply to it I want to say that I challenge her to go to court According to rules, I cannot

RTI or get details of phone calls of a chief minister However, if she goes to court, I will make BSNL and TRAI a party and will seek call details of the CM from March 4 to April 12 The matter will be cleared in court I accept her challenge and she should accept mine ” Suvendu also charged, “

In two press conferences recently, the chief minister used unparliamentary words not only against me but also against the Union Home Minister She said the Union Home Minister, in his recent visit to Kolkata, held a closed door meeting and planned riots A day after Ram Navami riots (in Howrah), while speaking w i t h a t e l e v i s i o n c h a n n e l s h e i n s t i g a t e d violence ”

Enforcement agencies made seizures totalling over £25 4 million in poll-bound Karnataka since the model code of conduct (MCC) came into force on March 29, the Election Commission said The total seizures include cash (£8 2 million) liquor (£5 7 million), gold and silver (£7 8 million), freebies (£2 million) and drugs/narcotics (£1 7 million), the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka, said As many as 1,930 cases have been registered with regard to the seizures It may be noted that the seizures before the announcement of the May 10 Assembly polls totalled about £5 8 million (March 9 to March 27 period) The elections to the 224-member assembly will be held on May 10 and results will be declared on May 13

WHY INVOKE NSA AGAINST YOUTUBER, SC ASKS TN GOVT

The Supreme Court told Tamil Nadu government not to move YouTuber Manish Kashyap from Madurai jail as multiple FIRs had been filed against him and asked the state to justify invocation of the National Security Act (NSA) against Kashyap who was arrested for allegedly circulating fake videos of migrant labourers being attacked in the state “Mr Sibal, what is this NSA? Why this vengeance against this man?” CJI D Y Chandrachud asked senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the state government Senior advocate Siddhartha Dave, representing Kashyap, submitted before a bench that NSA had been invoked against his client and added that there were six FIRs in Tamil Nadu and three in Bihar filed against him The Chief Justice wondered why the state had invoked NSA against Kashyap in the matter

SAD PATRIARCH PARKASH SINGH BADAL IS NO MORE

Parkash Singh Badal the former chief minister of Punjab and Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch passed away at a private hospital in Mohali on Tuesday He was 95 Badal a five-time chief minister was admitted to the intensive care unit of private hospital following complaints of breathing difficulties on Sunday Mortal remains of Badal will be brought to Akali Dal office in Chandigarh on Wednesday According to reports, Centre will declare two days of national mourning following the demise of the SAD patriarch A host of leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu condoled the demise of Badal In June last year Badal was hospitalised following a complaint of gastritis and bronchial asthma In February last year, he was taken to a private hospital in Mohali for a post-Covid health check-up during which he had undergone cardiac and pulmonary check-ups too

VISVA-BHARATI ASKS AMARTYA SEN TO VACATE LAND

Visva-Bharati University in an eviction order has asked Nobel laureate Amartya Sen to vacate the 13 decimals of land which he has been allegedly occupying in an unauthorised manner by May 6 or within 15 days of the publication of the last order on April 19 Contending as per government of India advisories and CAG reports the century-old Central institution was in urgent need of getting control of encroachments and also submit report to the ministry, the notice said "Amartya Kumar Sen and all concerned persons are liable to be evicted from the said premises, if need be, by use of such force as may be necessary " “It is decided that 13 decimals of land having the dimension of 50 ft x 111 ft in the north-west corner of the scheduled premises is to be recovered from him " the notice said

Amritpal Singh

Suvendu Adhikari

India 4th-largest military

China, Russia: SIPRI

spender after after US,

A s g loba l de fe nce sp e nd in g r is es fo r th e e ighth consecutive y ear t o r each an a ll-t ime hig h in 2022, China con tinue s t o spend ne arly four t im es a s much as In dia's de fe nce budg et, followed by the US with more tha n 10 t ime s tha t amou nt R ussia ha s ove r ta ke n

In dia ove r the pa st yea r as the t hird-larg est m ilita ry spen der in the wor ld

According to the most recent informat i o n p r o v i d e d b y t h i n k t a n k S t o c k h o l m I n t e r n a t i o n a l P e a c e R e s e a r c h I n s t i t u t e (SIPRI), global military spending increased by 3 7% in real terms to $2,240 billion in 2022, with Europe experiencing its steepest yearover-year increase in at least 30 years as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine

The 10 largest military spenders are the US ($877 billion), China ($292 billion), Russia ($86 4 billion), India ($81 4 billion), Saudi

A r a b i a ( $ 7 5 b i l l i o n ) , U K ( $ 6 8 5 b i l l i o n ) , Germany ($55 8 billion), France ($53 6 billion), South Korea ($46 4 billion) and Japan ($46 billion) While the figures for China and Russia are estimates due to lack of transparency, Ukraine is placed at 11th rank with $44 billion and Pakistan at 24th spot with $10 3 billion

“The continuous rise in global military expenditure in recent years is a sign that we are living in an increasingly insecure world States are bolstering military strength in

Rahul moves Gujarat HC on his conviction in defamation case

response to a deteriorating security environment, which they do not foresee improving in the near future,” SIPRI said

W h i l e P a k i s t a n c o n t i n u e s t o s u p p o r t cross-border terrorism, an aggressive and expansionist China poses a clear and present danger to India But as previously reported by the media, India's defence budget for 2023–2024 is only 1 97% of the estimated GDP, despite the fact that at least 2 5% is needed

C on gres s l ead er R ahul Gan d hi on Tues day approached the Gujarat hi gh court to request a stay on hi s con viction i n a crimin al defamation case for commen ts made four years ago on the M odi surn ame “ We have filed an appli cation in the Gujarat hig h court challen gin g the Surat court’s recent v erdi ct I can not share an y more i nformation in this matter for now, ” sai d lawyer Pankaj Champaneri who is appeari ng f or the 52-year-old Con gress leader in the matter

A Surat sessions court on April 20 rejected Rahul Gandhi’s plea to stay his conviction

On March 23, Gandhi was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison for a remark he made ahead of the 2019 national polls about the Modi surname

The conviction and two-year jail term led to Gandhi’s disqualification from continuing as a member of Parliament It also renders

h i m u n f i t t o e n t e r e i t h e r H o u s e o f Parliament for a period of eight years

Any elected representative who is sentenced for any offence for a period of two years or more faces immediate disqualification under the Representation of People Act, 1951 (RP Act) One provision of the Act that granted three months’ protection from disqualification was struck down in 2013 as “ultra vires” by the Supreme Court

In 2019 at a rally in Karnataka, Gandhi asked the crowd, “How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?” referring to fugitives Lalit Modi and Nirav Modi, a n d t a r g e t i n g P r i m e M i n i s t e r N a r e n d r a M o d i F o r m e r G u j a r a t m i n i s t e r P u r n e s h Modi filed a case against Gandhi in Surat, s a y i n g t h e o p p o s i t i o n l e a d e r i n s u l t e d a l l members of the Modi community

SC questions Gujarat govt over remission to 11 Bilkis convicts

T h e C en tr e a nd th e st ate g o v ern m en t claimed priv ilege o ver the info rmatio n while th e S u p rem e C o u rt qu es tio ne d w h eth er th ere w as applicatio n of mind and stated th at the gravity of th e offence sh ould h av e been taken into account wh en releasing th e convicts inv olved in the gang rape of Bilkis Bano and the mu rder of sev en of h er family members during the Gujarat riots in 200 2

S V R a j u , t h e A d d i t i o n a l S o l i c i t o r

General who was representing both governments, informed the bench that the files had been submitted in accordance with the ruling, but he added that he had been given the go-ahead to state that the government is considering asking for a review of the ruling from last month

Raju told the bench, “We are claiming

privilege over the information I am asking for time to file a review ” He sought time The bench said the government is free to seek review, but the court had to see the reasons given to remit the sentences and procedure adopted by the authorities “What is the problem in showing the files? You might have perhaps acted as per the law, so why are you hesitant,” asked the bench

India begins evacuation from Sudan; 278 Indians board naval ship to Jeddah

Continued from page 1

A b o u t 6 0 0 I n d i a n s g a t h e r e d a t P o r t Sudan, the country’s main port located more than 800 km from Khartoum, and 278 of them were evacuated to Jeddah on the warship INS Sumedha on Tuesday afternoon

“First batch of stranded Indians leave S u d a n u n d e r # O p e r a t i o n K a v e r i I N S

Sumedha with 278 people onboard departs

Port Sudan for Jeddah,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted

Soon after, a second Indian warship, INS Teg, with a capacity to carry about 350 people also reached Port Sudan and is expected to take the second batch of Indians to Jeddah Forces loyal to the Sudan Army chief, Gen

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his deputyturned-rival, Gen Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who heads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), agreed on a 72-hour nationwide ceasefire from midnight on April 24

For now, the Indian side is looking at the possibility of operating flights from military airbases located near Khartoum “There is a military airbase located about an hour’s drive away from Khartoum and this is one of the options being considered,” the person said

In dia launches ‘O pera tion Ka ver i’

The government of India on Monday launched ‘Operation Kaveri’ to evacuate close to 3,000 Indian citizens stranded in Sudan, t h e A f r i c a n c o u n t r y P r i m e M i n i s t e r

Narendra Modi announced the operation at a public event in Kerala, saying he has asked j u n i o r e x t e r n a l a f f a i r s m i n i s t e r V

Muraleedharan to travel to the region to supervise the evacuation

India had on Sunday stationed two Super Hercules C-130J aircraft in Jeddah, across the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia, to evacuate its citizens According to diplomatic sources, five Indian nationals were among the 388 people who were evacuated by France in a military aircraft earlier on Monday

“Operation Kaveri gets underway to bring back our citizens stranded in Sudan About 500 Indians have reached Port Sudan More are on their way Our ships and aircraft are

set to bring them back home Committed to assist all our bretheren in Sudan,” tweeted Jaishankar

According to UN agencies, more than 420 people have been killed and more than 3,700 injured in the fighting so far Tens of thous a n d s , i n c l u d i n g S u d a n e s e a n d f o r e i g n nationals, have fled the country in the past few days, with many of them heading for Egypt, Chad and South Sudan

There is an acute shortage of food, water, medicines and fuel in Sudan, leading to a spike in the prices of these commodities Many areas in Khartoum are without electricity and have limited communications, including internet connectivity

Banks refuse to accept coins from Shirdi temple

At the Shirdi Saibaba temple, donations total millions of rupees, mostly in coins. Now that even banks are finding it difficult to accept these coins placed by the trust, the Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust (SSST). The trust has accounts in 13 branches of different state-owned banks Currently, all these banks collectively hold about £1.1 million of SSST money in the form of coins. Rahul Jadhav, the CEO of the trust, said “Officials of these four banks said they have no space to keep the coins they get every day. This is a big problem for the trust,” Jadhav said The trust will now write directly to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) seeking its intervention (Agency)

Lovelorn IITian quits Dubai job, takes to crime to please GF

An IIT-Madras chemical engineering graduate reportedly left his lucrative MNC job in Dubai to return to Muzaffarpur in B i h a r w i t h h i s c l u b d a n c e r l o v e r a n d embrace a life of crime He is now detained Hemant Kumar Raghu, whose roots are in T i r u v a l l u r d i s t r i c t o f T a m i l N a d u , w a s arrested along with three accomplices for a l l e g e d l y s t e a l i n g R s 2 2 0 , 0 0 0 f r o m a woman According to the police, they took two stolen bikes, some cash, weapons, and ammo from the accused The 40-something m a n t o l d p o l i c e t h a t h e c o n v i n c e d h i s fiancée to quit her work as a nightclub bouncer in exchange for his promise to travel with her to her birthplace in Bihar (Agency)

Man on 21,000 km walk to promote blood donation

In 2021, Kiran Verma began his walk on World Blood Donor Day He has since been successful in motivating more than 27,000 people to donate blood "Blood donation is our problem, and only we are the solution," d e c l a r e s K i r a n V e r m a , w h o i s w a l k i n g 21,000 km to raise awareness of blood donation The 38-year-old activist from Delhi quit his job to champion this noble cause following an incident that transpired in 2016 He received a distress call from a stranger seeking blood for a low-income f a m i l y i n C h h a t t i s g a r h V e r m a , w h o voluntarily donated blood, later learnt that it was sold to the family for a few thousand bucks He will complete 500 days of his w a l k o n M a y 1 2 , 2 0 2 3 B e f o r e t h a t , h e intends to visit more countries and raise awareness (Agency)

Woman throws baby from 9th floor

A 25-year-old lady who lived on the n i n t h f l o o r o f a n a p a r t m e n t i n C h a n d k h e d a , A h m e d a b a d , k i l l e d h e r newborn kid by hurling it out the bathroom window According to the police, Skywalk A p a r t m e n t h o m e o w n e r S h i v a n i J a i s w a l gave birth to a child in the morning in her bathroom To avoid the stigma associated

w i t h b e i n g a n u n m a r r i e d m o t h e r , t h e w o m a n , w h o w o r k s f o r a l o c a l t o u r o p e r a t o r , k i l l e d t h e c h i l d , a c c o r d i n g t o authorities She had just returned from an o f f i c i a l t r i p t o T a s h k e n t , U z b e k i s t a n , a c c o r d i n g t o I n s p e c t o r V S V a n z a r a o f Chandkheda He added, “Jaiswal said she began bleeding severely She wrote off the heavy bleeding as an effect of not having had her periods for several months Around 8 am, she went to the toilet, where she delivered the baby She removed one of the glass slats from the window in the toilet and t h r e w o u t t h e n e w b o r n , ” s a i d V a n z a r a

Some residents of the flat found the baby’s body and contacted the police (The Times of India)

HP may

customer returns The ring has eight parts which include four layers of petals, the shank, two diamond discs and the butterfly Each and every diamond was handset by a t e a m o f c r a f t s m e n T h e r i n g h a s b e e n named Eutierria, which means becoming one with nature –with the idea to show the connection of humans with nature, stated a company official (Agency)

Stray dogs maul to

The video left social media users enraged

A user commented, "How rude is this? If u can't respect an artist, don't call him/ her at any event Absolutely pathetic " (Agency)

Woman chained at home for years rescued

legalise cannabis to give economy a boost

The Himachal g o v e r n m e n t , unable to control cannabis growing, i s c o n s i d e r i n g l e g a l i s i n g i t t o i n c r e a s e r e v e n u e a n d t h e s t a t e ' s

economy As hemp has both medical and industrial purposes, CM Sukhvinder Singh S u k h u s t a t e d t h a t a c o m m i s s i o n w i l l e x a m i n e t h i s p r o s p e c t b a s e d o n t h e l e g i s l a t i v e f r a m e w o r k T h e s t a t e g o v e r n m e n t w i l l b u i l d a r e g u l a t o r y mechanism and study cases from other states before taking a final call He said: “ O u r l a w w i l l b e b a s e d o n c o m p l e t e information on the use of cannabis leaves and seeds The Centre has also legalised the cultivation of cannabis in some districts of Rajasthan, MP, and UP ” (Agency)

Rare ‘diamond in diamond’ found

The gem that stops hearts is this beating heart This stone is distinctive, like its name, and a smaller diamond caught inside its cavity has revealed that it is the most unusual of its kind It was discovered by a manufacturer from the Diamond City, who “suggested it be named the 'Beating Heart' based on the first feelings upon witnessing t h e s t o n e ” T h e 0 3 2 9 c a r a t D - c o l o u r e d d i a m o n d w a s f o u n d b y V D G l o b a l s o m e t i m e i n O c t o b e r 2 0 2 2 " W h i l e examining roughs at our Surat facility, we found this rare piece of diamond that had another smaller piece trapped inside, but moving freely, which we had never come a c r o s s e a r l i e r , " s a i d V a l l a b h V a g h a s i y a , chairman of V D Global, a De Beers Group Sightholder (The Times of India)

50,907 diamonds studded in single ring

A Guinness World Record has been established by Hari Krishna Exports and its affiliated company, HK Designs, for setting the most diamonds in a single ring The S u r a t - b a s e d p r o d u c e r o f d i a m o n d a n d studded jewellery set 50,907 diamonds in the ring The title was recently given to the company in Mumbai The ring, according t

death

doctor on AMU campus

A group of stray dogs attacked and killed a 70-year-old former doctor who had w o r k e d f o r U n i c e f w h e n h e w a s o n a morning walk on the campus of Aligarh Muslim University in the city's Civil Lines neighbourhood Safdar Alii, a Civil Lines inhabitant who lives on Medical Road, was the victim His family claims that he had r e t i r e d y e a r s a g o a f t e r w o r k i n g i n t h e

Kasganj district The incident was captured on CCTV cameras, and a video clip of the incident has gone viral on social media

A c c o r d i n g t o S P ( C i t y ) K u l d e e p S i n g h

Gunawat, police were informed about a body lying in the park Police soon screened the CCTV footage, which revealed that Safdar Alii was attacked by a pack of stray dogs He succumbed to his injuries on the spot Though no police complaint has been filed by the family, the body was sent for autopsy by cops (Agency)

Singer breaks down on stage after getting insulted by anchor

Thanks to an NGO from the Dahod district's Bhavka hamlet, a woman who h a d b e e n b o u n d b y h e r p a r e n t s t o a wooden post for years was finally able to l i b e r a t e h e r s e l f A c c o r d i n g t o a s o c i a l worker from Dahod who learned about the w o m a n a n d a l e r t e d t h e J a y A m b e Mandbuddhi Mahila Samaj Seva Trust in Bayad in the Aravalli area, the family of the 2 5 - y e a r - o l d w o m a n w i t h l e a r n i n g d i s a b i l i t i e s k e p t h e r i n t h e t e r r i b l e condition for seven long years Volunteers f r o m t h e t r u s t a r r i v e d i n D a h o d a n d r e s c u e d t h e f r a g i l e a n d f r a i l w o m a n President of the trust, Ashok Jain said that they were informed by a social worker about the plight of the chained woman “After living in that condition for about seven years, we have now brought her to our facility in Bayad, where she will get medical treatment,” said Jain (The Times of India)

Dog survives 30-mile ride in car's engine compartment

Bhojpuri singer Priyanka Singh, broke down after she was interrupted mid-way during a live performance by the anchor Rupam Trivikram at the 'Thawe Mahotsav 2023' in Bihar The host also tried to snatch the mic from the singer's hand before she s t a r t e d c r y i n g o n s t a g e D u r i n g t h e performance, the anchor interrupted and s a i d t h e y a r e r u n n i n g s h o r t o n t i m e However, the singer protested about the rude treatment and asked the anchor to give her two minutes to talk But her plea was ignored and the anchor went on to call one of the dignitaries on stage This is not true, not done right to me," the singer said while in tears The musician said in Hindi, "I am not dying to sing You called me here to perform so you cannot disrespect me like this The district administration is wrong I had a very bad experience at the Thawe Festival " The video soon caught t h e a t t e n t i o n o f t h e n e t i z e n s I n f a c t ,

actress Akshara Singh also lent support to t h e s i n g e r o n T w i t t e r " T h e s e p e o p l e (organisers) have forgotten that every stage h a s a d e c o r u m t o m a i n t a i n T h e y a r e making a spectacle of their influence and power to insult an artist, that to a woman "

A dog miraculously survived a 30-mile j o u r n e y s t u c k i n t h e c a r ' s e n g i n e compartment in the US The dog climbed into the engine compartment but couldn't find its way out and the driver travelled from Kansas to Missouri unaware of the flurry stowaway According to New York P o s t , t h e d o g w a s s p o t t e d b y C a r r i e Gillaspie, a digital reporter, who heard whimpering coming from a vehicle a few rows away in the parking lot at Kauffman Stadium The owner of the car, Ashley Newman, was called to the parking lot after the shocking discovery "I'm rushing to unlock the car, pop the hood We look for a few seconds and, sure enough, there are two little eyeballs just looking up at us," Ms Newman said The little dog was safely extracted after a rescue operation carried out by Royals Lead Mechanical Technician Dennis Miller "We were able to take the under trim off and get her free It was huge r e l i e f , " s a i d M i l l e r " T h e d o g , n a m e d BonBon, was taken to the Kansas City Pet Project Ms Newman, meanwhile, started s e a r c h i n g o n F a c e b o o k t o f i n d o u t i f anyone in the area was missing a dog She found a post about a missing dog that m a t c h e d B o n B o n ' s d e s c r i p t i o n a n d reunited the family with the pet (Agency)

Cardiovascular disease during childbirth associated to pre-natal depression

N ew res ea rc h f ro m t h e

A merican Heart A ssociation h a s r ev e al ed th a t w o m e n d iagnos ed w ith d ep ressio n d u ri ng p re g na nc y h a d a h igher risk of being detected w ith th e card iovascular disease with in tw o years of givi n g b i rth c o m p ar ed to w omen w ho did not h av e d ep ressio n

Published in the Journal o f t h e A m e r i c a n H e a r t A s s o c i a t i o n , t h e r e s e a r c h s u g g e s t s t h a t d e p r e s s i o n harms cardiovascular health in the general population

Both men and women who e x p e r i e n c e d e p r e s s i o n a r e more likely to develop heart disease in later life Previous s t u d i e s h a v e s h o w n t h a t about 20 per cent of pregnant women also experience depression

L e a d s t u d y a u t h o r C h r i s t i n a M A c k e r m a nBanks, M D , and assistant professor of obstetrics and g y n e c o l o g y - m a t e r n a l f e t a l medicine at Baylor College o f M e d i c i n e a n d T e x a s

C h i l d r e n ’ s H o s p i t a l i n Houston, said, “We need to use pregnancy as a window t o f u t u r e h e a l t h Complications during pregn a n c y , i n c l u d i n g p r e n a t a l d e p r e s s i o n , i m p a c t l o n gterm cardiovascular health The postpartum period prov i d e s a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o counsel and screen people for cardiovascular disease in order to prevent these outcomes ” The association between prenatal depression and the detection of postpartum card i o v a s c u l a r d i s e a s e d u r i n g

the first two years following delivery is the focus of this i n v e s t i g a t i o n T h e s t u d y aimed to calculate the overall risks of receiving a new cardiovascular disease diagnosis within two years following birth After adjusting f o r p o t e n t i a l c o n f o u n d i n g factors such as smoking, age at the time of delivery and pre-pregnancy diabetes, prepregnancy depression, prepregnancy hypertension and p r e e c l a m p s i a , t h e r e s e a r c h e r s e s t i m a t e d t h e risk of developing six major cardiovascular conditions It

Have you conveyed what you wanted to?

i n c l u d e d h e a r t f a i l u r e , i s c h e m i c h e a r t d i s e a s e , a r r h y t h m i a / c a r d i a c a r r e s t , cardiomyopathy, stroke and high blood pressure

A c k e r m a n - B a n k s s a i d , "Even after excluding those with hypertensive disorders o f p r e g n a n c y , t h o s e w i t h depression during pregnancy still had a significantly higher risk of ischemic heart disease, arrhythmia, stroke, c a r d i o m y o p a t h y a n d n e w chronic hypertension postpartum ” "I recommend that anyone diagnosed with prenatal depression be aware of t h e i m p l i c a t i o n s o n t h e i r l o n g - t e r m c a r d i o v a s c u l a r health, take steps to screen for other risk factors and consult with their primary c a r e d o c t o r i n o r d e r t o i m p l e m e n t p r e v e n t i o n strategies for cardiovascular d i s e a s e , " t h e y s a i d " T h e y should also be screened for T y p e 2 d i a b e t e s a n d h i g h cholesterol, and implement an exercise regimen, healthy diet and quit smoking ”

Poor diet may increase the risk of aggressive prostate cancer: Study

Acco rding to a recent stu dy, a h ea lt h y d i et d o es n o t i n f lu e n ce p r o s ta te c a nc e r risk, whi le a bad diet may r ai s e th e ri s k o f g et ti n g aggressive prostate cancer T h e stu dy’ s f indings were r ep o rt ed i n B J U

Internatio nal

The study evaluated the diets of 15,296 males recruited in Spain between 1992 and 1996 609 prostate cancer cases were discovered among these males over a m e d i a n f o l l o w - u p o f 1 7 y e a r s D i e t s w e r e d i v i d e d into three types: Western, P r u d e n t , a n d M e d i t e r r a n e a n A h i g h

i n t a k e o f h i g h - f a t d a i r y products, processed meat, r e f i n e d g r a i n s , s w e e t s , caloric drinks, convenience meals, and sauces was assoc i a t e d w i t h t h e W e s t e r n dietary pattern, while a low intake of low-fat dairy products and whole grains was associated with the Eastern

dietary pattern

A h i g h i n t a k e o f l o w - f a t d a i r y p r o d u c t s , v e g e t ables, fruits, whole g r a i n s , a n d j u i c e s d i s t i n g u i s h e d t h e P r u d e n t d i e t a r y p a t t e r n T h e Mediterranean diet includes a lot of seafood, vegetables, legumes, boiled potatoes, fruits, olives, and v e g e t a b l e o i l S t i l l , t h e Prudent and Mediterranean d i e t a r y p a t t e r n s d i d n o t i n f l u e n c e p r o s t a t e c a n c e r risk, whereas the Western dietary pattern had a negative effect This effect was

o n l y s e e n i n a g g r e s s i v e tumours L e a d a u t h o r A d e l a C a s t e l l o - P a s t o r , P h D , o f the Carlos III Institute of H e a l t h a n d C I B E R E S P i n S p a i n , s a i d , “ O u r r e s u l t s i n d i c a t e t h a t a v o i d i n g u n h e a l t h y d i e t a r y h a b i t s could be the best nutritional strategy to prevent aggressive prostate cancer ” “Substituting the intake of Western-type diet products by products characteristic of the Mediterranean diet could also decrease the risk of other chronic dise a s e s , ” C o - s e n i o r a u t h o r Marina Pollan, Ph D , said

Air pollution, heat, high levels of carbon dioxide linked to lower sleep quality

Air poll ution, heat, high level s of car bon di ox id e a nd a m b i en t n oi s e m a y a l l adver sely aff ect our abil it y to get a good night’s sl eep Pub lished in t he journal Sl eep Heal th, the researc h is one of t he first to me asure multiple environm ental va riabl es in the bedroom and anal yse their ass oc iat ions with s leep eff ic ienc y T h e r e s e a r c h e r s f o u n d t h a t i n a group of 63 participants tracked for two weeks with activity monitors and sleep l o g s , h i g h e r b e d r o o m l e v e l s o f a i r pollution, carbon dioxide, noise, and t e m p e r a t u r e w e r e a l l l i n k e d independently to lower sleep efficiency

Study lead author Mathias Basner, a U n i v e r s i t y o f P e n n s y l v a n i a , U S p r o f e s s o r , s a i d , “ T h e s e f i n d i n g s h i g h l i g h t t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e bedroom environment for high-quality sleep ” The researchers said in addition to

w o r k a n d f a m i l y o b l i g a t i o n s t h a t compete with sleep for a time, a quickly changing environment due to growing urbanisation and climate change seems to have made it harder to get a good n i g h t ’ s s l e e p S l e e p o f i n a d e q u a t e duration or efficiency due to frequent disruption affects work productivity and quality of life It also has been linked to a higher risk of chronic diseases, including h e a r t d i s e a s e , t y p e 2 d i a b e t e s , depression, and dementia

T h e t e a m , i n c l u d i n g r e s e a r c h e r s

from the University of Louisville, US, recruited participants from the National

Our reaction comes in stages First w e feel som ething , then we make a decision ab ou t i t, afterw ard s w e co nv ey i t i n w ords, and finally react upon it But o ften it happens th at althou gh we hav e felt som ething and thou ght abo ut it, but hav e never conveyed to the other person What happens when yo u have d eliberated up on a decision in your mind but never spoken about it to the p erson wh o is m eant to know it? In a few days, you d ev elop a feeling that the o ther person knows abo ut it Because its in you r m ind, yo u sense its in their knowled ge But h ow can it be? Did you ev er convey it to her/him? If not, h ow is s/h e expected to know o f it?

In personal relations as well as in professional life, we occasionally come across such situations You evaluate that one employee in your company is lacking in efficiency, and you would like him to change the method of working You have mentally deliberated upon it a few times and have made a decision to speak to the person In one meeting, you even mention that you would like to make some changes in the working of the company, but never specifically told the particular employee in question that its him who should make the changes, and even more specifically what changes A few days pass by, you don't see a result You get upset that your suggestions are not taken seriously But how can it happen if you have never conveyed your suggestions to the the person?

In personal life, you have liking for a person, you like to chat with him often You also look for opportunities to spend time together, whenever possible But never express your liking in clear words A few months pass by, you don't see any inclination from that person about you two Slowly you start having a feeling that he doesn't like you But how can you know whether the person likes you or not, whether he will respond to your proposal positively or not, unless you make the proposal to him Therefore, if you don't convey it, you never get it You have to say specifically, 'I will request you to please don't do this ' 'Please can you do this?' or 'I would like to be your frined ' or 'Will you marry me?' Without saying, no one understands Even if they understand, they would wait for you to say So, make sure that you have conveyed what you wanted to (Expressed opinions are personal)

Try these simple morning habits for a healthier gut

Dig estive issues can put a wed ge in your day Feeling energized and fresh w hen yo u w ake u p bloated and uncom fortable can be difficult Th ey can als o affect you r m ood and w eig ht loss

In th is article, we add ress some easy m orning routines and habits that can prov ide relief from commo n d igestiv e issues

Eat soaked almonds

I n s t i t u t e s o f H e a l t h G r e e n H e a r t Project, which investigates the effects of p l a n t i n g 8 , 0 0 0 m a t u r e t r e e s o n t h e c a r d i o v a s c u l a r h e a l t h o f L o u i s v i l l e r e s i d e n t s F o r e a c h e n v i r o n m e n t a l v a r i a b l e m e a s u r e d , t h e r e s e a r c h e r s c o m p a r e d s l e e p e f f i c i e n c y d u r i n g exposures to the highest 20 per cent of levels versus the lowest 20 per cent of levels They found that high noise was associated with a 4 7 per cent decline in s l e e p e f f i c i e n c y , h i g h c a r b o n d i o x i d e w i t h a 4 p e r c e n t r e d u c t i o n , h i g h temperature with a 3 4 per cent decline, a n d h i g h P M 2 5 w i t h a 3 2 p e r c e n t r e d u c t i o n “ W e s e e m t o h a b i t u a t e s u b j e c t i v e l y t o o u r b e d r o o m environment and feel there is no need to improve it, when in fact our sleep may be disturbed night after night as evidenced by the objective measures of sleep we used in our study,” Basner added

Almonds are filled with v i t a m i n E , m a g n e s i u m , manganese, copper, protein, e s s e n t i a l c h e m i c a l s , f l a v o n o i d s , a n d m i n e r a l s

Almonds are widely used for managing cholesterol levels,

b a l a n c i n g b l o o d p r e s s u r e ,

a c n e - f r e e g l o w i n g s k i n , healthy skin, and boosting m e m o r y C o n s u m i n g a handful of soaked almonds every day can provide these h e a l t h b e n e f i t s A d d i n g almonds to your diet can increase fibre consumption without triggering uncomfortable gut symptoms

Drink warm lemo n water

Kickstart your day with a g l a s s o f w a r m l e m o n

water It can help kickstart your digestive system and reduce heartburn and bloating by loosening any toxins t r a p p e d i n y o u r d i g e s t i v e t r a c t T h e a c i d i t y o f t h e lemon juice may stimulate the production of digestive juices and help break down food Stretch

G e n t l y s t r e t c h i n t h e morning to stimulate digest i o n b y m a s s a g i n g y o u r o r g a n s J u s t s t r e t c h y o u r arms and legs to get your blood flowing, and take a few deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth before you start your day

Rohit Vadhwana

Natasa Stankovic says husband Hardik Pandya hugged her when they first met

Former ‘Bigg Boss’ contestant and dancer

Natasha Stankovic married Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya on May 31, 2020

They recently renewed their wedding vows following the Hindu and Christian rituals In their newly released wedding trailer, Natasa spoke about her first meeting with Pandya

She shared that after spending so many years in India, this was the first time she came across a man like him

Priyanka shares about a time she behaved like her movie character in real life

Actress Priyanka Chopra recently spoke in an interview about her 2004 film ‘Aitraaz’. When asked what she finds more difficult, getting into a character or snapping out of it, she said there was only one time she struggled to get out of character

Pri said she had started behaving like her ‘Aitraaz’ character, Sonia Kapoor She said her mother, Madhu Chopra, had scolded her after she noticed a change in her behaviour

T h e 4 0 - y e a r - o l d w a s p r a i s e d f o r h e r glamorous role as the antagonist in the romantic-thriller, featuring Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor

She said, “To get into it I’m not very methodical like that It only happened to me once, when my mother was like, ‘Snap out of it if you ’ re going to come into my house’ ” Asked what character this was, Priyanka said, “Aitraaz Sonia (her character) didn’t behave badly But I would walk in slowly, I would talk deliberately I would pick up my coffee like this, and look at you slowly ”

The actress said her mother had even shot a video of her to prove how she had started behaving She said, “My mother was like, ‘Hello, koi camera nahi hai yahan pe (There's no camera here) Come back home’ That was the only time it happened to me, it was so funny I was like, ‘What am I doing?’ But I was so young, and I was so nervous about that character I used to bring it home, I really wanted to figure it out and not get it wrong And I was working with Kareena and Akshay at the time, they were big movie stars It was a big step for me But my mother quickly brought me down to earth She filmed me once She took a video of me quietly, and showed it to me, and I was so embarrassed ”

Priyanka will soon be seen in ‘Citadel ’

Natasa revealed she met Hardik through a common friend, and unlike the usual h a n d s h a k e , t h e c r i c k e t e r h u g g e d h e r w i t h o u t e v e n k n o w i n g h e r n a m e S h e narrated, “I went out with few of my friends and there was also a friend of mine who apparently was also HP’s friend Then he walks in a hat, some kind of a shawl and blingy-blingy everywhere In so many years in India, I had not seen such a person, such a persona I was like, ‘What is this?’ ‘Who is this?’”

She continued, “You know when you ’ re meeting someone for the first time, I was going for the hand and he came for a hug Don’t know the name, nothing, he was just very friendly, that’s how we met for the first time ”

Hardik also shared that he forgot he had come to a party with two other girls after seeing Natasa “Once I sat on the table, I was o n l y t r y i n g t o t a l k t o N a t a s a S h e w a s obviously very good looking, pehle udhar hi bhai fisal gaya tha (that is where I fell in love with her),” the cricketer said in his wedding trailer shared by The Wedding Story

Natasa and Hardik had a grand wedding in Udaipur in February The couple first renewed their wedding vows at a Christian wedding, and then had a wedding following the Hindu rituals Back in 2020, they had an intimate wedding and were blessed with a baby boy Agastya in July 2020

Speaking fondly of Hardik, Natasa added in the video, “From day one, he was very honest With him, there is no grey, it is either black or white ” The wedding teaser h a d t h e f a m i l i e s o f N a t a s a a n d H a r d i k celebrating their relationship There were snippets of the two stars playing cricket and d a n c i n g t o g e t h e r d u r i n g t h e i r w e d d i n g festivities

H a r d i k c o n c l u d e d b y s a y i n g t h a t N a t a s a ’ s p r e s e n c e i n h i s l i f e m a d e h i m achieve more professionally “The way she gave me warmth, I started getting more solutions because she taught me how to find solutions That learning in my love life taught me to achieve more and more in life I also got more patient because it takes a lot of patience to live with Natasa,” he said Natasa made her Bollywood debut with t h e 2 0 1 3 f i l m ‘ S a t y a g r a h a , ’ d i r e c t e d b y

Prakash Jha and starred Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Arjun Rampal and Kareena Kapoor Khan in the lead roles She also participated in the eighth season of 'Bigg Boss’ and ‘Nach Baliye’ Season 9

Kangana posts clarification on protests outside her Mumbai office Kangana

Ranaut took to her Instagram handle and shared that people protested outside her Mumbai office She said it happened after she posted about religious leader Dalai Lama and US President Joe Biden. She clarified her intentions, calling her post a “harmless joke.”

Kangana wrote, “A group of Buddhist people doing dharna outside my office in Pali Hill, I didn't mean to hurt anyone, it was a harmless joke about Biden being friends with Dalai Lama please don t misunderstand my intentions (folded hands emoji) ”

She added, “I do believe in Buddha's teachings and his holiness 14th Dalai Lamba has spent his whole life in public service I had nothing against anyone don't stand in the harsh heat please go home ”

Earlier this month, Kangana tweeted a meme which read, “The Dalai Lama receives a warm welcome at the White House ” The photo showed Dalai Lama sticking his tongue out with Joe Biden photoshopped in front of him Sharing the post, the actor wrote, “Hmmm dono ko same bimari hai,

definitely dono ki dosti ho saki hai (The two have the same illness, they can be friends for sure) ”

The meme referred to an incident at a February public gathering at the Tsuglagkhang temple in Dharamsala In an interaction, when a boy asked the leader if he could hug him, the Dalai Lama invited him up to the platform where he was seated and gestured him to his cheek, after which the child kissed him before hugging him

He reportedly then asked the boy to kiss him on the lips and stuck out his tongue “And suck my tongue,” the Dalai Lama reportedly said The boy stuck his tongue out and leaned in After some criticised the video, the Tibetan spiritual leader apologised

She has been busy promoting the web series, first in Mumbai and London and now in R o m e A f t e r i t s L o n d o n a n d M u m b a i premiere, the spy series backed by Russo Brothers will start streaming on Prime Video on April 28

Bollywood celebrities attend prayer meeting for Pamela Chopra

Bollywoodcelebrities were seen in attendance at the prayer meet of Pamela Chopra at the Yash Raj Films Studios in Mumb over the weeken The wife of late filmmaker Yash Chopra and mother to director Aditya Chopra and actor Uday Chopra, passed away last week

at 70 Members of the Hindi film industry like Karan Johar, Dimple Kapadia, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Vicky Kaushal, Preity Zinta, Zoya Akhtar, Abhishek Bachchan, Aditya Roy Kapur and many others were all seen arriving at the meet to offer their condolences

i l m m a k e r R a k e s h R o s h a n , w r i t e rdirector Luv Ranjan, actor Shabana Azmi a n d h e r h u s b a n d , writer-lyricist Javed A k h t a r , T i n a Ambani, singer Nitin M u k e s h a n d a c t o r Riteish Deshmukh P a m e l a h a d b e e n g for the past few weeks and had been admitted to a Mumbai hospital She was cremated in Mumbai and the Chopra family requested privacy as they grieved A playback singer, she married Yash in 1970 and helped her husband as the creative force of YRF in everything from writing to costume design to music She sang songs in his movies l i k e ‘ K a b h i K a b h i e , ’ ‘ C h a n d n i , ’

‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge ’ Pam was last seen in the Netflix docuseries ‘The Romantics’ earlier this year

Kriti Sanon travels economy class and plays with a baby on flight

Ajay Devgn, Rohit Shetty’s ‘Singham Again’ preponed

shared videos of Kriti Sanon from the economy Indigo 6E flight as she made her way to Indore She was seen wearing a white dress and a pink shawl over her shoulders, wearing a black mask, and styling her hair in waves

Apaparazzo

She carried a coffee flask and cell phone while walking down the aisle behind several others.

Another video showed her sitting in her window seat while interacting with a small child The child extended their hand from the seat in front of Kriti's, and the actor held it and blew kisses She even caught a glimpse of the camera filming her

Fans fawned over the gesture “She is so pyaari (sweet) my babez,” wrote one “She becomes baby when she is with a baby,” wrote another “She’s the sweetest person ever, ” also read a comment A few, however, questioned why she was being filmed on the

f l i

Is

Stop this kind

bragging Trying to show celebs a s s o m e k i n d o f M a h a n , ” r e a d a n o t h e r comment

On the work front, Kriti will be seen next with Shahid Kapoor in an untitled romantic movie The makers announced that the film had recently concluded production Backed by Jio Studios and Dinesh Vijan's Maddock Films, Amit Joshi and Aradhana Sah wrote and directed the romance drama Maddock Films shared the news of production wrap on the project and also revealed the movie will be released in theatres in October this year

Ajay Devgn and Deepika Padukone starrer ‘Singham Again’ release date has been moved up a few months. Originally slated to hit the theatres on Diwali 2024, the movie will now go to floors in August 2023. Trade Analyst Taran Adarsh took to Twitter over the weekend to announce the news

Actor

and entrepreneur Sunil Shetty have opened up about the negative impacts of social media, adding that sometimes he is “scared to talk” because of it He also said that it hurts him when his daughter Athiya

Shetty is abused online Speaking on ‘The Ranveer Show,’ Shetty said, “Today’s time of social media there is no privacy, it destroys your life One sentence edited in 15 different ways, put out in 15 different ways and it’s destroyed our lives You know it’s made it impossible I’m scared to talk ”

He further said, “We’ve been forced to be diplomatic because you ’ re hammering me otherwise for something that I have not

done and who’s hammering me? Somebody I don’t even know on Twitter or on Facebook Abusing me, my family, calling my daughter a b**ch, calling my mother, for what? That hurts because I come from the old school ”

Shetty said he wouldn’t sit quietly and said, “You know I’m a Shetty boy I would never keep quiet Today they’d say ‘You know he’s using his strength to do this’ and not realising how much the other individual has probably damaged me and hurt me ”

On the work front, Suniel was recently seen in the web show ‘Hunter ’ The actor also shoots for the film ‘Hera Pheri 3 ’ with Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and Sanjay Dutt

His tweet read, “#Xclusiv AJAY DEVGN – ROHIT SHETTY: ‘SINGHAM AGAIN’ ON INDEPENDENCE DAY 2024 #SinghamAgain – the third part in #RohitShetty’s super-successful #Singham franchise – to release on 15 August 2024 #IndependenceDay #AjayDevgn returns as #BajiraoSingham Starts August 2023 ”

‘Singham Again’ will see Deepika in a cop avatar It is the third instalment of Shetty’s super hit cop franchise Ajay and Rohit recently began preparations for their upcoming action film ‘Singham’ was released in 2011 and starred Kajal Aggarwal and Prakash Raj in the lead roles, followed by ‘Singham Returns’ in 2014 Both movies were declared box office hits

ActorKajol shared a rare angry message on her Instagram Stories She shared a photo of knitting equipment to the photo-blogging website and wrote, “#truthoftheday Both genders have their own sets of cowards and a*##***les The trick is not to be blinded by their genders to see their worth or their worthlessness." She also added the hashtag--this hit home.

In another post, she wrote, "Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes For those who love with their hearts and souls, there is no such thing as separation Rumi ”

The actress regularly shares posts on Instagram She recently shared a selfie on Instagram and captioned it, “Happy Sunday you awesome 14 million people Be well Be happy and eat lots!” In the picture, the actor wore a casual black outfit with glasses on her head Kajol and husband and actor Ajay Devgn’s daughter Nysa Devgn clocked her 20th b i r t h d a y , a n d t h e a c t r e s s s h a r e d a p h o t o w i t h h e r o n Instagram

The mother-daughter duo twinned in white outfits as they smiled, looking at each other She captioned the post, “This is us and our story always Love your sense of humour and your mind and your oh-so-very sweet heart love you to bits baby girl and may you always smile laugh and snark with me forever!”

On the work front, Kajol will be seen in an upcoming web s e r i e s , ‘ T h e G o o d W i f e , ’ a n I n d i a n a d a p t a t i o n o f t h e American courtroom drama of the same name The original drama starred Julianna Margulies in the lead role The show has seven seasons and concluded in 2016 She will be seen as a housewife who returns to working as a lawyer after her husband’s scandal lands him in jail It will stream on Disney+ Hotstar

Kajol shares an angry message about 'cowards' and 'worthless' people

Suniel Shetty 'scared to talk' because of social media

Aishwarya Rajesh starrer 'Farhana' teaser is bold and stunning!

While

Aishwarya Rajesh's latest film 'Soppana Sundari' is making decent fare at the box office, the actress is back with her new film 'Farhana' Rashmika Mandanna launched the official teaser of the upcoming movie. Aishwarya's script selection is versatile and bold.

'Farhana' is an emotional thriller directed by N e l s o n V e n k a t e s a n o f ' O r u N a a l K o o t h u ' a n d 'Monster' fame The teaser shows Aishwarya playing the titular role of an Islam woman working at a call centre The film seems to be dealing with a greyshaded story of the BPO using working women for obscene activities and its consequences on the lead character

Pictures also stars Jithan Ramesh, Selvaraghavan, Anumol, Aishwarya Dutta and others Farhana is coming to cinemas on May 12 in Tamil, Telugu and H i n d i T h e m o v i e h a s m u s i

y J u s t i n Prabhakaran, cinematography by Gokul Benoy and VJ Sabu Joseph as the editor

Kajal Agarwal reveals her son Neil’s face on his first birthday

Actor Kajal Aggarwal celebrated her son

Neil’s first birthday last week She took to Instagram to share an adorable picture which she captioned, “And just like that our sunshine boy is (the big) 1!!!! @neil kitchlu ”

In the picture, Neil could be seen sitting inside a basket in a yellow outfit A numerical foil balloon can be seen tied to the basket Soon after she dropped the post, her friends and fans swamped the comment section with red heart emoticons and happy birthday wishes to her son

Actor Rakul Preet Singh commented, “Omg what a cutieeeeeee ” Another user wrote, “Happy Birthday Champ ” “Happy 1st birthday little Neil ! Hope you enjoy your baby hand & feet castings we made for you, ” a user commented

Kajal Aggarwal and Gautam Kitchlu welc o m e d t h e i r b a b y o n A p r i l 1 9 , 2 0 2 2

Announcing the birth of their baby, Gautam shared a post on his Instagram handle and captioned it as, “Our hearts are full and we

Mani Ratnam says AR Rahman 'nice' to him now as they are done with music sessions early

are full of gratitude Thank you everyone for your love and blessings”

Kajal got married to Gautam Kitchlu in 2020 The couple announced the news of Kajal’s pregnancy in January 2022

Vijay didn’t want ‘Leo’ to be a pan-Indian film

Vijay and Lokesh Kanagaraj’s second collaboration ‘Leo’ is currently the most-awaited Tamil film Billed as a pan-India movie, Vijay initially hesitated to make it ‘Leo’ producer Lalit Kumar made the revelation at the CII Dakshin South India Media and Entertainment Summit 2023 in Chennai He said at the event, “We didn’t plan Leo as a pan-Indian film But after the success of Lokesh’s Vikram, I told Vijay, ‘Let’s make a pan-Indian film ’ He said, ‘Adhellam venda pa Namma makkalukku padam panna podhum (Let’s not do all those things I want to make films for our people) ’ But Lokesh and I convinced him and made changes to the script and decided to make it for the whole country ”

Lalit Kumar also spilled details about the movie’s audio launch and said, “Leo audio launch will not happen in Chennai It will happen either in Coimbatore or Trichy or Madurai When we were discussing the audio launch, we initially suggested to Vijay that we will do it in Chennai’s Nehru stadium Vijay told us, ‘It’s boring to keep doing it there Please take me outside the city It’s been a while since I met people out there ’ So, we are planning to do it somewhere other than Chennai ”

When asked if ‘Leo’ is part of Lokesh Cinematic Universe, Lalit said, “You will know while watching the film There will be a special announcement if that’s the case Wait and see ” ‘Leo,’ tentatively titled ‘Thalapathy 67,’ will be released in theatres on October 19, 2023, in multiple languages Sanjay Dutt, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Arjun Sarja, Mysskin and Priya Anand, among others, are also part of the film

Mani Ratnam says his music sessions with Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman finish early today and do not go on till early morning as they used to Both industry stalwarts go back to 1992 when they worked on Ratnam’s super hit movie ‘Roja.’

Filmmaker

Ratnam detailed what it is like to be in the studio with Rahman as he quietly works his way When asked in a recent interview if he adjusted easily from having music sessions during the day to having them at night, the filmmaker replied, “Yeah actually It is only now that he is nice to me and sends me early, around 10 30-11 PM ”

“Earlier we would do the sessions till 5 30 in the morning What comes out at that time, sometimes it is so blissful It is quiet, it’s three in the morning and he works with his headphones on, so when you are there, you can’t listen to a thing Finally, he gets up, gives you the headphones and walks out!” said the director Rahman replied, “But even that (working on headphones) has stopped now I have become bolder ” The composer said his insistence of working privately finds roots in his early days because of advertising

“Sometimes I don’t want people to react immediately This happened (the habit of working with headphones) because of advertising All those young copywriters would come, and you would play just three notes and they’d go, ‘Oh that sounds like Jana Gana Mana!’ I realised working with my headphones on is the only way So, I got used to that intimacy, like a mother ’ s womb So I create something and then give to people,” Rahman stated Rahman and Ratnam have reunited again for 'Ponniyin Selvan: II ’ The epic historical action-adventure is an adaptation of Kalki Krishnamurthy’s 1955 novel Ponniyin Selvan The film is scheduled to release on April 28

Samantha and Varun

Dhawan join ‘Citadel’ team in London

Actors Varun Dhawan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu joined the team of Amazon

Prime Video’s upcoming show ‘Citadel’ at its premiere in London The actors are set to play the lead roles in the Indian version of the Russo Brothers’ series Also present at the starry premiere were Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK - creators of the Indian ‘Citadel ’

Both Varun and Sam jointly shared a picture with the Indian makers Actor Arjun Kapoor commented on the photo, saying, “Need a bigger table for the big budget bonanza !!!” A few fans of the actors also showered them with praises and expressed their excitement for Citadel One of the comments read, “Both of you are looking gorgeous ” Another wrote, “Love this team ”

The Indian version of ‘Citadel’ is currently under production

Netflix renews ‘Rana Naidu’ for season 2

Season two of Rana Daggubatti and Venkatesh-starrer ‘Rana Naidu’ has officially been announced. The first season went on to become a fan favourite, with both the actors playing new characters An adaptation of the popular American drama ‘Roy Donovan,’ the series is helmed by Karan Anshuman and Suparn Verma

Indian 'Music School' acquires rights for 3 songs of 'The Sound of Music'

asked me ‘who’s playing your dad’ When I told him that we are still working on it, he said I would like to do it I was like, here we go, ” he said

Talking about his uncle Venkatesh and seeing him shed his image, Daggubati said, “Apart

Joe Russo praises Priyanka’s enthusiasm for action scenes

The entire team of ‘Citadel’ kicked off its global premiere in London last week The cast, Priyanka Chopra, Richard Madden, Stanley Tucci and Lesley Manville, were joined by executive producers of the show Joe Russo and Anthony Russo The spy thriller is touted to be action-packed and features several high-speed sequences

Joe recently was all praises for P r i , s h a r i n g h o w h a r d s h e w a s p u s h e d o n h r e g a r d i n g scenes He reve that she had do m o r e a c t i o n o n the Prime Video web series than M a r v e l s t a r s

Robert Downey J r a n d C h r i s E v a n s i n t h e films he and hi b r o t h e r h a directed He fel h a d n e v e r w w i t h a n a e n t h u s i a s t i c a s h e r a n d e v e n compared her to Tom Cruise

“The physical work she did on the show, for the amount of time she had to do it, it was the toughest we have put any actor through,” said Joe He added that Pri carried “ a lot of physicality of season one ”

He continued, It’s the hardest job we have asked of any actor that

e worked with Even when we

w e r e d o i n g

t h o s e M a r v e l movies, when R o b e r t

D o w n e y J r p u t s o n t h a t elmet, he is out

d C G I t a k e s

C h r i s E v a n s puts on the cap, takes over, but there was no rest for her ” P r i y a n k a h a s r e v e a l e d l a t e l y

that 80 per cent of the stunts on the show are all done by her and not a stunt double The spy series premieres on April 28 with the first t w o e p i s o d e s T h e s h o w h a s already been renewed for a second series, expected to be filmed in California

While the season two announcement did not reveal many details, it promised to return “ soon ” Using footage from the previous season, the video has been edited to intrigue fans The video thanks people for their love and says “Rana will be back ” The post's caption read, “Don’t worry, the Naidus are coming back to sort all your kiri kiri #RanaNaidu season 2 coming soon!”

Daggubati shared that he had been waiting for the last few years to venture into long-form content but wasn’t getting the “right story ” He also shared that the call for 'Rana Naidu' came to him first, and Venkatesh offered to be a part of the show

“I didn’t have to convince him He was actually curious about what I was up to during Covid When everyone had no work, I was on zoom calls, connecting with this team about the show And then as soon as he saw the show (Ray Donovan), he

from being his nephew, I am also his huge fan I have watched his films closely over the years As a fan, as a viewer, I also wanted him to do something new There’s an image that he’s built that’s so strong We know that this is the kind of film he’ll do, this kind of audience will come, it will do certain numbers And thus it was bliss to watch him in 'Rana Naidu' It will show a different version of him that’s wild It’s also hard because people have seen him in a certain way for so many years This is a new leap and thus very exciting, hope everyone likes it ”

‘Rana Naidu’ also stars Surveen Chawla, Sushant Singh, Abhishek Banerjee, Gaurav Chopra, Ashish Vidyarthi and Rajesh Jais, among others

Therights of three songs from iconic 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical 'The Sound of Music' have been acquired by Indian film 'Music School' The cast includes Shriya Saran, Sharman Joshi and Prakash Raj in leading roles, in addition to debutant Ozu Barua and Gracy Goswamy in key roles Benjamin Gilani, Suhasini Mulay, Mona Ambeognkar, Leela Samson, Bugs Bhargava, Vinay Varma, Sreekanth Iyengar, Vaquar Sheikh and Phani are also part of the cast.

V e t e r a n I n d i a n c o m p o s e r Ilaiyaraaja has recreated the songs a l o n g w i t h t h e L o n d o n Philharmonic Orchestra to suit t h e s e n s i b i l i t i e s o f a n I n d i a n audience

'Music School' is directed by Indian civil service officer-turned filmmaker Paparao Biyyala, who has obtained the rights for three songs from 'The Sound of Music'Do Re Mi , So Long Farewell and Sixteen Going on Seventeen

'Music School' deals with the academic pressure faced by young students from society, parents and teachers The film has 11songs in a l l S o m e o f t h e s o n g s a r e choreographed by the UK's Adam Murray ('Rocketman') while the o t h e r s a r e b y I n d i a n v e t e r a n s Chinni Prakash ('Hum') and Raju S u n d a r a m ( ' G e n t l e m a n ' ) C i n e m a t o g r a p h y i s b y K i r a n Deohans ('Jodhaa Akbar')

Produced by Yamini Films, the f i l m i s s h o t i n t h e H i n d i a n d T e l u g u l a n g u a g e s a n d h a s a dubbed Tamil-language version P V R P i c t u r e s w i l l r e l e a s e t h e Hindi version and Dil Raju's Sri V e n k a t e s w a r a C r e a t i o n s t h e T e l u g u a n d T a m i l v e r s i o n s o n May 12

Sima Taparia getting 5,000 calls daily after Netflix’s 'Indian Matchmaking’

Celebrity matchmaker Sima Taparia rose to fame after the reality series ‘Indian Matchmaking’ aired on Netflix The show features her business and clients, and she recently returned for a third season Sima joined Cyrus Broacha’s podcast last week, spoke about how her journey on the show began, and addressed speculation that it is scripted Sima said she didn’t know what th show would become when it debuted during the 2020 Covid lockdown She said, “On July 17 the show released, and I thought, ‘Chalo hogaya hai, it’s done,’ but next day, for July 18, I was getting 5,000 phone calls daily ” The matchmaker’s joinery wasn’t always smooth sailing In fact, there was a time when she almost quit She said, “I started this in 2005 And after that, log aane lage mere paas, kyunki bole jo Sima ji batati hain woh sahi hota hai Beech mein, ek do baar I was a little bit depressed, I said mujhe band karna hai yeh kaam (People started coming to me, they felt I was an

honest person There was a phase where I ecided to quit, I was depressed) ” When asked why she continued, “I thought kahin success nahi ho raha hai, but nothing is in my hand Jahan likha hota hai wahin it happens, I cannot tell ki sabka match kara dungi (I thought I wasn’t doing a good enough job, but it’s all destiny), it cannot happen But Anup s a i d , ‘ N a h i , n a h i , y o u h a v e a l l t h e s e alities, you have to continue’ Inke kehne se I again started it ”

Viewers have pointed out Sima’s low success rate Sima clarifies she is merely a mediator, and what is written in one ’ s destiny will happen

Addressing speculation about the show being rigged, she said, “Nothing, nothing, nothing Not a single dialogue I have Just the camera is following, I’m talking to the clients, I’m conversing We don’t even see if the camera is following Not a single dialogue is there Whatever is coming, the typical Indian values, as an Indian lady, that’s all Netflix has not given me a single dialogue It’s all total reality ”

Delhi beat Sunrisers in a last-over thriller

De lh i C a p i tal s p ro d u c ed an exc el le nt bow ling performance as they recorded th eir second win a row in th e ong oing IP L 20 23 DC opted to bat first and were reduced to 62/5 thanks to Washington S und ar taking three wickets in an over including the scalp s of Dav id Warner, Sarfaraz Kh an and Aman Kh a n H o w ev er, A xar P atel and M ani sh Pandey rep aired the damage w ith a so lid partnership for th e sixth w icket E ach scored 3 4 runs Ev entuall y, DC fi nish ed w ith a res p ec ta bl e 1 4 4 / 9 I n th e ir re p ly , S R H struggled for a goo d start and lost Harry Brook cheaply M ayank Ag arwal started well with a bound ary to his nam e in each of the Powerp lay ov ers He then fell on 49 while tryi ng t o u p th e s co ri ng rate DC th en tigh tened their grip with qu ick strikes in the midd le ov ers before Henrich Klaasen and Sundar rev ived the chase Klaasen th en fell on 31 before DC held o n to keep SRH to 137/6 Bangalore score over Rajasthan I r r e s p e c t i v e o f t h e b o w l i n g a t t a c k , defending a score at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium is mostly tricky Given the depth in R a j a s t h a n R o y a l s ’ b a t t i n g l i n e - u p , R o y a l C h a l l e n g e r s B a n g a l o r e ’ s 1 8 9 / 5 s e e m e d achievable on Sunday At one point, Royals looked comfortable with Yashasvi Jaiswal (47) and Devdutt Padikkal (52) keeping them on course After 10 overs, they were 92/1 But pacer Harshal Patel (3/32), the Impact Player, and Wanindu Hasaranga bowled some tight m i d d l e o v e r s c o u p l e d w i t h t h e v i s i t o r s ’ m e l t d o w n , w h i c h b r o u g h t t h e e q u a t i o n down to a tough 61 off four overs Royals fell short as big hitters Sanju Samson (22) and Shimron Hetmyer (3) were left high and dry in the chase Though RCB bowlers came good in crunch situations, the foundation was laid by Du Plessis and Maxwell

Chennai thrash Kolkata

It was Chennai Super Kings all the way in Kolkata With the Eden Gardens wearing the colour yellow, it was a ‘home away from home’ for the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side which thrashed Kolkata Knight Riders by 49 runs The visitors more or less sealed

the tie in the first innings itself by setting up 235 for four, the highest score in this IPL, after being asked to bat first While KKR suffered their fourth straight defeat this season, the win took CSK to the top of the table with 10 points at the midway stage of the league It was the usual picture for KKR this season Their bowlers once again went for runs in the Powerplay and they lost both their openers - their fifth pair this seasoninside the first six overs In contrast, openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway once again built a solid foundation for Ajinkya R a h a n e a n d S h i v a m D u b e t o l a u n c h a n onslaught for CSK later in the innings

A rshd eep swings it Kings way

It’s not often easy to silence a 35,000s t r o n g p a r t i s a n c r o w d , r o o t i n g f o r t h e Mumbai Indians, but a sensational final over by Arshdeep Singh, in which he broke the stumps twice in two balls with lethal yorkers, managed to do that in a sudden manner to

t h e I n d i a l e f t - a r m s e a m e r s h a t t e r e d t h e middle sticks of Tilak Varma (3) and ‘impact player’ Nehal Wadhera (0) off his third and fourth balls to seal the fate of the match, with the wounded hosts left to get 15 off 2 balls and a stunned crowd already making its way out of the stadium Conceding just 2 r u n s i n h i s m a t c h - w i n n i n g l a s t o v e r , Arshdeep, who had earlier taken the key wickets of Ishan Kishan (1) and a rampaging S u r y a k u m a r Y a d a v ( 5 7 ) f i n i s h e d w i t h fabulous figures of 4-29 in 4 overs to emerge as the standout bowler by far on a wicket where every other bowler went for plenty Gujarat T itans beat L ucknow KL Rahul managed to snatch defeat from j a w s o f v i c t o r y w i t h a b a f f l i n g b a t t i n g approach as defending champions Gujarat Titans beat Lucknow Super Giants by seven runs in a low-scoring IPL thriller Chasing target of 136 on a sluggish pitch, LSG were cruising along at 105 for 1 after 14 overs with 31 needed off 36 deliveries but ended at 128 for 7 at the end of 20 overs Mohit Sharma (2/17 in 3 overs) required to defend only 12 off the final over and he removed rival captain Rahul (68 off 61 balls) and kept hitting the blockhole length to conceded only five runs in the end with another three wickets lost in the process Rahul got 50 off 33 balls and then consumed another 28 deliveries for his 18 There were two 50 plus stands with Kyle Mayers (24 off 19 balls) and Krunal Pandya (23 off 23 balls) but in the end even the biggest Titans fans would agree that 136 was difficult to defend

CS K beat Sunrisers

Chennai Super Kings defeated Sunrisers H y d e r a b a d b y s e v e n w i c k e t s a t t h e M A

Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai Chasing a target of 135 runs, CSK reached 138/3 in 18 4 overs, with Devon Conway smacking an unbeaten knock of 77 runs off 57 balls For S R H ' s b o w l i n g d e p a r t m e n t , M a y a n k

Wrestlers file plea in SC, seek FIR against suspended WFI president

India's b est wrestl ers, who are curre ntl y hol ding a sit-in protest at the Janta r Manta r, mov ed their conflict forwar d by fil ing a writ petition ask in g for a directive to r egist er an FI R a g a i ns t s usp e n d e d W r e st l i n g Feder ation of In dia (WFI) pr esident Brij Bhushan Shara n Singh

S e n i o r a d v o c a t e N a r e n d e r H o o d a , representing the wrestlers, put the plea before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud The wrestlers asked the supreme court to give instructions to the police after citing an unreasonable delay in the filing of an FIR by Delhi Police against the suspended WFI president “Clearly, the Delhi Police is under political pressure If this was a regular case, the accused would h a v e b e e n a r r e s t e d b y n o w T h e complainants include a minor, so a case under POCSO (Protection of Children from S e x u a l O f f e n c e s A c t ) s h o u l d a l s o b e registered,” advocate Hooda said

fashion a thrilling 13-run win for the Punjab Kings With Tim David (25 not out) MI were the favourites, needing 16 off the final over when Arshdeep came on to bowl However,

India seek inclusion of wrestling, archery & kabaddi in CWG

A t th e two-d ay C omm onwealth Games Federation (C GF) A sia a nd O c ean i a re g i o nal m ee t, A ustralia, th e Indian Olympic A ssociation (IOA) made a v ery s tr o ng ar g u m en t fo r t h e inclu sio n of archery, wrestling, a nd kab ad d i as r eg u la r com petitions in th e upcoming C omm onwealth Gam es

The Indian delegation met with the CGF president Dame Louise Martin and her team to d i s c u s s t o p i c s f o r t h e development of Indian sports with regard to the Strategic Plan being proposed by CGF The d e l e g a t i o n w a s l e d b y I O A president PT Usha and included its acting CEO & Chaubey and executive council member, Lt Gen Harpal Singh (Retd )

Usha said, “I welcome the steps taken for the return of shooting at the 2026 Victoria Commonwealth Games At the same time, we have sought the i n t e r v e n t i o n o f t h e C G F l e a d e r s h i p t o m a k e a r c h e r y , wrestling and kabaddi as part of the Games competition roster in future ”

CGF and the CWG Australia

h a d e a r l i e r u n v e i l e d t h e f u l l

sport programme for Victoria 2026 CWG, featuring 20 sports a n d 2 6 d i s c i p l i n e s , i n c l u d i n g n i n e f u l l y i n t e g r a t e d p a r a sports Chaubey, while expressing satisfaction on the discussion I n d i a n d e l e g a t i o n h a d w i t h

CGF, said “Shooting has been India’s strongest sport and its r e t u r n i n 2 0 2 6 C W G i s a w e l c o m e d e v e l o p m e n t f o r I n d i a I ’ m s u r e t h a t t h e inclusion of para-shooting will also add to India’s medal tally

T h e l o c a l o r g a n i s i n g committee removed shooting, archery, and wrestling from the CWG Games schedule for the 2026 edition in April of last year since the host nation is free to select disciplines from among 22 core sports

In addition to workshops a n d e x t e n s i v e d i s c u s s i o n a r o u n d t h e f o r t h c o m i n g Strategic Plan, which will be launched later in the year, there were updates on development, a review of regional plans and

sharing of best practice between delegates

Markande took two wickets Initially, SRH posted 134/7 in 20 overs, with Abhishek S h a r m a s l a m m i n g 3 4 r u n s o f f 2 6 b a l l s Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja was in hot form and took three wickets for CSK

Sachin lists his best 50s as he turns 50

Sach in Tend ulkar’s gluttonous app etite and romance for th ree-figure milestones began when h e w as still only 12, as he turned 50, here are his fiv e favou rite 50s in ODIs to m ark the occasion

He began by mentioning the 52 off 40 balls against Pakistan in the 1991 Tri-series match at Sharjah India's innings against Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Aaqib Javed, and Imran Khan helped them reach 238 and win by 60 runs

I t w a s S o u t h A f r i c a ’ s f i r s t m a t c h s i n c e r e a d m i s s i o n t o international cricket and Tendulkar’s first big confrontation against a bowler he was to have great battles with Alan Donald Chasing 179 in 47 overs, Donald, known as White Lightning for his searing pace, blew away the top order and at 60 for 4 But Tendulkar illuminated the Eden with a fine counterattack and with debutant Pravin Amre (55) saw India through Donald’s 5-29 and Tendulkar’s knock saw them share the man of the match award

Many felt, Tendulkar was getting wasted lower in the batting order in ODIs However, Navjot Sidhu's neck injury during the first g a m e a t E d e n P a r k , A u c k l a n d , i n 1 9 9 4 l e d t h e I n d i a n t e a m management to grant Tendulkar a starting position Tendulkar’s 49ball 82 with 15 fours and two sixes didn’t just make a mockery of the victory target of 143

On March 1, 2003, they defeated Pakistan in a game by scoring 273 for 7, all owing to Saeed Anwar's outstanding hundred Although Shoaib Akhtar's overhead shot for a six over backward point has received a lot of attention, his backfoot stroke play against Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Abdul Razzaq was bizarre

Tendulkar’s first match in a World Cup vs West Indies in Wellington in 1992 was not a very happy outing for the champion batter as Curtly Ambrose consumed him with a beauty But four years later, at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium, in Gwalior, his 70 off 91 balls allowed India to canter home by five wickets and 10 2 overs to spare Curtly Ambrose had reduced India to 15 for 2 and Courtney Walsh and Ian Bishop had bowled probing spells, but Tendulkar slammed a hundred in the previous match vs Kenya in Cuttack

T h e s p o r t s m i n i s t r y p o s t p o n e d a n d proclaimed the intended WFI elections for M a y 7 a s " n u l l a n d v o i d " i n a n o t h e r development that day that benefited the protesting wrestlers In order to manage the day-to-day operations of WFI, the ministry asked the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) t o e s t a b l i s h a t e m p o r a r y o r a d h o c c o m m i t t e e I t r e q u e s t e d t h e I O A “ t o c o n d u c t t h e e l e c t i o n o f t h e e x e c u t i v e committee of the WFI within 45 days of its formation” Hectic parleys went on between the two parties for over an hour, but the w r e s t l e r s , l e d b y V i n e s h P h o g a t , S a k s h i Malik and Bajrang Punia, refused to relent The wrestlers once again conducted a press conference and this time even pleaded with P r i m e M i n i s t e r N a r e n d r a M o d i t o intervene “I ask the PM why you are silent? When players get medals, you stand with them But when they are on the road, then you are silent,'' said Bajrang “When we win m e d a l s , w e a r e n ’ t f r o m H a r y a n a o r a particular community But when we protest for our rights, we are from Haryana Why this double standard?”

Prannoy, Sindhu to lead India’s challenge at Sudirman Cup

Tw o-tim e Olymp ic m ed alist PV Sindh u an d W o rld N o 9 H S P ran no y w i ll spearhead Ind ia s ch allenge in the 20 23 Sud irman C up, which will take place in S u zh ou , C h i na , f ro m M ay 1 4 – 2 1 A "balanced" team was chosen by the senior natio nal selection comm ittee with the g oal of winning the natio n's first-ev er medal in th e mixed team cham pionships

India has been placed in Group C with Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, and Australia

Their first challenge will be to advance from this potentially difficult group to the knockout stage The return of Satwiksairaj

Rankireddy, who missed the Asian mixed team event due to injury, will bolster the m e n ' s d o u b l e s s q u a d w h i l e A s h w i n i Ponnappa and new partner Tanisha Castro will provide back-up to the All England s e m i - f i n a l i s t s G a y a t r i G o p i c h a n d a n d T r e e s a J o l l y K i d a m b i S r i k a n t h a n d reigning senior national women's singles champion Anupama Upadhyaya will be the other singles players in the squad

SQUAD: Men's singles: HS Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth (Reserve: Lakshya Sen)

W o m e n ' s s i n g l e s : P V S i n d h u , A n u p a m a

Upadhyaya (Reserve: Aakarshi Kashyap)

M e n ' s d o u b l e s : S a t w i k s a i r a j

R a n k i r e d d y / C h i r a g S h e t t y , M R

A r j u n / D h r u v K a p i l a W o m e n ' s

doubles:Gayatri Gopichand/Treesa Jolly, Ashwini Ponnappa/Tanisha Crasto Mixed

doubles: Tanisha Crasto/Sai Pratheek

IPL Points Table

Sachin Tendulkar