AV 9th March 2019

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9 - 15 MARCH 2019 - VOL 47 ISSUE 43

SUCCESSFULLY HIT TARGETS IN PAKISTAN Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa said IAF fighters successfully “bombed” targets they intended to in the Jaish-e-Muhammed facility at Balakot in Pakistan on February 26, and added that operations were still “ongoing” along the border following the India-Pakistan aerial combat a day after the Indian strike. The IAF chief refused comment on likely casualties at the Jaish camp, saying it was for the government to provide details.

“We hit our targets. We don’t count human casualties, we count what targets we have hit or not. IAF doesn’t calculate casualty numbers, the government does that… It depends on how many people were there,” ACM Dhanoa said.

Consultant neurologist starts vlogging in Hindi to connect with old people SEE PAGE 6

End of period poverty?

SEE PAGE 8

Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa

The IAF chief said Pakistan’s attempted retaliation clearly indicated that targets at Balakot were hit. “If we plan to hit the target, we

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hit the target. Otherwise, why would he (PM Imran Khan) have responded? If we dropped bombs in jungles, why would he respond?” he asked,

adding the preliminary bomb damage assessment showed the Spice-2000 bombs had hit the pre-designated targets.

Continued on page 26

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9 - 15 March 2019

onetoone WITH KEITH VAZ, MP

Frances Gibb Frances Gibb's career has been in newspaper journalism. She recently retired as legal editor of The Times, where she has covered legal affairs since 1982. Frances joined The Times nearly 40 years ago as a general reporter, arriving from The Daily Telegraph where she had been art sales correspondent for two years. Before that she did her journalistic training for four years on The Times Higher Education Supplement. On The Times - during which time she had served under nine editors - She have seen law coverage expand to include a law supplement and a student law supplement, both now inside the main paper as weekly law pages; and our daily legal bulletin, 'The Brief'.

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

I am most at home in Suffolk, which is part of East Anglia in the UK - where I spend much of my time and which I have known for more than 40 years after my parents fell in love with it. I went to university in Norwich, which is also East Anglia.

What is the best aspect about your current role?

The best aspect of being legal editor on The Times was having a ringside seat at some of the biggest legal challenges of our time - from Brexit and whether the triggering of article 50 needed Parliamentary approval to so-called ‘right to die’ or ‘right to medical treatment’ cases.

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What are your proudest achievements?

My three sons - and maintaining my career covering a high-profile specialism on the best newspaper in the world, which involved juggling home and work life while seeking to do justice to both.

The hardest part of any journalistic job is to satisfy the demands of the newsdesk not least when they come in late, contacts are difficult to get hold of and deadlines are looming.

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What are your long term goals?

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What inspires you?

My late parents inspired me in giving me and my two siblings a wonderful familyorientated childhood and in encouraging us to pursue the careers we wanted to follow. Professionally I am inspired by people who manage to keep a sane work-life balance.

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What has been biggest obstacle in your career?

There is always the ongoing difficulty for any working parent of juggling home and work life and trying to do justice to both.

That remains the case today.

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And the worst?

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

No one individual: successive editors who gave me my breaks, whether my first job in journalism, my first job on a national newspaper and my appointment to cover legal affairs - even though I was a nonlawyer.

To enjoy a quieter pace of life now that I am not full-time on Times, writing the occasional article; and to give my sons and families some support in their busy lives, whether through baby-sitting or dog-sitting.

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

I think in recent months it has been clear that the Prime Minister has very little power to change anything. Perhaps legislate to ensure internet providers are legally liable for their content as publishers creating a level playing field between traditional newspaper outlets and social media platforms.

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

William Shakespeare - for intellectual stimulation, humour and philosophical reflection - although I am not sure about his survival skills.

UK warms up to migration says data Migration has always been challenging and scary. As menacing and unappealing migration seems, the only force driving it is hope for a better life. In several countries, especially UK, immigration has proved to be provocative and scaremongering during the elections and particularly during the EU referendum. Latest polls reveal the number of British people with a positive attitude towards immigration has doubled in the past eight years. A poll carried out by Ipsos-Mori for the BBC, questioned 20,000 people across 27 countries, and around 24 per cent said immigration has had a positive impact on their country.

Approximately 1000 individuals participated on a country by country basis via the Ipsos Online Panel, except Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, Hungary, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden and Turkey, where each have a sample approximately 500. Other countries that participated in the poll include United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, India, Peru, Canada, Germany,

Colombia, France, Brazil, and Japan.

Recent statistics reveal net migration to the UK from countries outside the European Union has hit its highest level for 15 years.

The survey said the youth tend to have a more positive outlook on immigration, as 54 per cent of those aged 1834 endorsed it as compared to 37 per cent of 50 to 64 years old. 26 per cent of those with no formal qualifications think it is a positive thing, compared with 59 per cent of people who have a degree.

Meanwhile, a special pattern has emerged since the June 2016 referendum, where immigrants from the

EU has declined while the number of people coming from outside the bloc has risen. With lesser EU workers available than before, businesses and the public sector appear to be looking further afield to fill vacancies. Since the beginning of migration, Indians have been the most-sought after migrants, especially in the skilled work sector. From doctors to IT specialists, it has been the Indian diaspora that has made a mark in other countries. Weighing in the UK's push for better relation with India, the number of Indian migrants in the country has increased despite Theresa May's stress on lesser migration.

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SLOUGH MP TAN DHESI LEADS DEBATE IN PARLIAMENT Slough MP Tan Dhesi led a debate on Wednesday afternoon regarding ‘The Future of International Development’.

Mr Dhesi called on the government to provide “cast iron assurances” that the government will maintain the level of funding to underdeveloped areas of the world.

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9 - 15 March 2019

Tough Indian stance yields dividends India’s standoff with Pakistan in February 2019 and the one earlier with its ‘all-weather friend China’ in July-August 2017 messaged Islamabad and Beijing that there were red lines that it was advisable for both powers to respect.The Rubicon was crossed and there could be no going back..

During the Doklam confrontation on the BhutanChinese-occupied Tibetan border, China’s frothing military threats against India in India itself and those emanating from the Chinese capital were reminiscent of Adolf Hitler’s well practised rages against Czechoslovakia and later with Poland. The difference on this occasion was that India did not blink in the faces of these menaces and her military strength and determination gave China pause. India did not look to foreign powers, as had the Czechs in 1938-39, when they looked to Britain and France and were betrayed by both at Munich.

In 1971, India fought off Pakistan on the battlefield, withstood the malevolence of the diplomatic machinations of the Nixon administration and Maoist China,, with Moscow holding the ring as India’s guarantor.

History is the surest guide to wisdom. To ignore its lessons is to invite peril. President Trump’s claim, following the fiasco of his touted Hanoi Summit with his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un called Chinese President Xi Jinping and asked for his help to keep the ball rolling. Mr Trump had declared earlier that Washington and Beijing were close to an agreement on their trade dispute with a deal of far-reaching consequences to be sealed at a possible summit in the the US capital. Against this backdrop the President cavalierly informed reporters in Vietnam of a USbrokered India-Pakistan peace deal, which did didn’t chime well in New Delhi, but such third party intervention was effusively endorsed by Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

The US, Britain and France will seek UN condemnation of the Pakistan-based jihadi Jaish-e-Mohammad and its infamous leader Massod Azhar, but the resolution has been a long time coming, has it not? Without the Indian air strike at the Jaish base at Balacot and likely escalation, persuaded Pakistan to take pause and reflect on the fraught past.

Pakistan-sponsored jihadi assaults on India’s financial capital Mumbai in March 1993 and again in November 2008. With hundreds of deaths and swathes of property destroyed.

Enough was enough.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has demanded ‘actionable evidence’ of Jaish-e- Mohammad activities. India has submitted a dossier for his perusal.

The Pakistan authorities have flipped flopped defiantly with talk of retaliation, then on the futility of war. Its propaganda machine was hopelessly askew. First, that the intruding Indian aircraft had been driven off without damage to property or lives; this was sequenced by contradictory threats of retaliation. Then came official reports two Indian MiGs shot down and their pilots killed.

However, a real life vintage MiG 21 fighter did crash land on Pakistan territory and its pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman captured after he had pursued and brought down a high-tech American-supplied F-16 (denied initially by Pakistan). The wreckage including missile parts were displayed at a media conference by India’s three service chiefs. Pakistan’s subsequent aerial attacks on Indian military installations were thwarted, but had they succeeded the resulting escalation would have reached a new level.

Premier Khan wisely backed off with a ‘peace gesture’ by releasing Wing Commander Varthaman who arrived at nightfall at the Wagha border post to an enthusiastic welcome.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, led by Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States and Bangladesh, invited External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to address the convention, Her eloquent speech had the desired effect. Islamic Pakistan – snubbed, sulking and shaken - boycotted the event.

She had briefed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, on the reasons for India’s strike. The three ministers issued a firm declaration exorcizing terrorism in all its forms. Russia and China called for a peace process, as did the broad spectrum of world opinion.

Finally, Russian President Vladimir Putin telephoned Prime Minister Narendra Modi, condoled the deaths of the 41 Indian soldiers at Pulwama, Kashmir, assuring Mr Modi of his country’s full cooperation against international terrorism The Indian Premier thanked him for Russia’s timetested support.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, during a visit to India in December 2018, noted that no state cooperates so closely with India in technology transfer of weapons and military equipment like Russia’ - the beating heart of the Eurasian landmass, with India its fulcrum. Their understanding on a rule-based multi-polar world as the best guarantee of peace, security and development is ommendable.

(See Media Watch p12 for former ISI director Asif Durrani’s take on Pakistan)

Getting the India-Pakistan equation right Britain’s Foreign Office Minister Mark Field in a statement to MPs in the House of Commons presses the point of his dispassionate equidistance in the India-Pakistan imbroglio.

He might care to remember that Britain is the foremost investor in India, and India among the top three investors in Britain; that the UK’s Indian Diaspora is a burgeoning, largely prosperous middle class spread across every facet of the ciountry’s political and cultural heritage. The Pakistani Diaspora has been largely responsible for the five terrorist attacks across Britain including the particularly heinous one at a children’s pop concert in Manchester killing and maiming numerous attendees.

Kashmir may be the flashpoint in the India-Pakistan relationship but the true source of the jihadi violence is the conviction of Pakistan’s rulers – military and civilian – that their country has been divinely ordained to establish an Islamic Caliphate in the Subcontinent by force of arms.

British concern for human rights in Kashmir would have greater traction had similar concerns been voiced on the expulsion of its large Hindu Pandit population from the valley by armed jihadi groups bent on ethnic cleansing and a sharia dispensation.

The larger subcontinent canvas should be the proper focus. During the lead-up to the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war – the flashpoint then the massacre and repression of East Pakistani Bengalis – Islamabad’s planned the dismemberment of India. Pakistan’s Zulfikar Ali Bhutto proclaimed his country’s crusade worth recalling. ‘In the remotest of our villages the humblest of our people possess self-confidence, a ready willingness to march forward into India....’

His confidante in President Yahya Khan’s office, penned

the following note to Bhutto, soon to become Prime Minister, advising that ‘once the back of the Indian forces is broken, Pakistan should occupy the whole of Eastern India and make it a permanent part of Pakistan ....This will provide a physical link with China. Kashmir should be taken at any price, and Sikh Punjab turned into Khalistan.’

The American historian and academic Stanley Wolpert discovered this letter in the Bhutto archive, with the writer’s injunction that it should be destroyed (See Stanley Wolpert, Zulfi Bhutto of Pakistan: His Life and Times, p162) Apropos of 1947, V.P. Menon, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s principal aide, was to write: ‘[India] had no territorial ambitions in Kashmir. If the invasion by the raiders [Pakistan-sponsored Pathans] had not taken place, I can say in the face of any contradiction that the Government of India would have left Kashmir alone.’

Menon again: ‘When I recommended to the Government of India the acceptance of the accession of the Maharaja of Kashmir, I had in mind one consideration and one consideration alone, viz, that the invasion of Kashmir by the raiders was a grave threat to the integrity of India.

Ever since the time of Mahmud Ghazni, that is to say, for nearly eight centuries, with but a brief interval during the Moghul epoch, India has been subjected to periodic invasions from the north-west. Mahmud Ghazni had led seventeen of these incursions in person. And within less than ten weeks of the State of Pakistan, its very first act was to let loose a tribal invasion through the northwest....Srinagar today, Delhi tomorrow. A nation that forgets its own history or its geography does so at its peril’.

[V.P. Menon Integration of the Indian States, p 413]

Visas for skilled Indians Skilled Indian professionals and students constituted the bulk of UK visas in 2018, according to statistics released by the Home Office in London. The professionals include doctors, software engineers, who have dominated Britain’s Tier 2 skilled visa category for some time, accounting for 54 per cent of all such visas issued in 2018. The Home Office stated that successful Indians visa applications had increased

by 6 per cent last year to 3,023 more visas over the 2017 figure, with student applications rising by 35 per cent to 19,500.

China headed the tourist visa list with 56,085 visas, with India next with 43,771 visitors. ‘Chinese and Indian nationals together accounted for just under half, 48 per cent of all visitor visas granted,’ said the Home Office.

A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.

- Colin Powell

Alpesh Patel

What Really Just Happened in Kashmir: Factcheck Shallow news headlines and simple journalism may mean you missed the nuance of what has just happened.

It is not what you think. And yes, it was more serious than you may have realised.

A Senior Fellow of the UK Think Tank, The International Institute of Strategic Studies, disclosed that 24 Pakistani jets including the F16 aircraft were headed to India last week (I will explain the significance of these aircrafts in a moment) and India scrambled 8 interceptor MiGs (interceptors are fast, but not good for dog-fighting - and outnumbered 3-1, still only one plane was lost).

Indeed the Indian interceptors' key role was to keep Pakistani planes out of the Indian air space because of the payload they could be carrying; which the Indian Air Force did - at the expense of being shot (basically taking a bullet for their country).

Firstly, F16 can carry a nuclear payload. This is why Pakistan was sending them at such speeds towards India was a serious aggression. They very well knew that India would only target terror camps, as it did over the Uri attack.

Secondly, F16's are not permitted by the American Government to be used against India (an American ally).

So imagine you're manning an Indian radar and thinking to yourself, why would Pakistan send so many warplanes towards India? Those war planes which can carry a nuclear payload, and which would be single use, since the Americans would discover it. And your calculation may well be that they are planning a surprise nuclear assault, that's why.

This is the cryptic 'miscalculation' PM Khan said when he must have known these military plans.

By doing so, Pakistan has shot itself on it’s foot however, as the US Congress will now be the battleground for halting military aid and supplies to Pakistan.

Something I was involved in when working in US Congress and so familiar with the battleground.

Finally, remember what else happened - India was at the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation as key guest of honour. Pakistan was not. It was one of those OIC states that was acting for India told the Pakistani PM to release the Indian pilot.

Pakistan have lost their F16s, and been indeed isolated at the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation no less.

India promised isolation of Pakistan. And they have delivered.

India does not parade these strategies in the press and social media in a crass show. It never has. I've worked with Indian diplomats long enough to know, they are strategic, patient, calm, and never rash.

But, what else has happened is that Saudi Arabia has just made Pakistan its lapdog. India is more important to Saudi Arabia than Pakistan and Pakistan needs the money from Saudi. So a phone call from Saudi and the pilot gets released.

There are a lot of people in Pakistan's High Command spitting blood at PM Khan. His days are numbered. And India knew what buttons to push to get him to do it - money promised by Saudi last week.

Political realities are not meant for naive observers who think Pakistan is doing it as a “peace gesture”.

Pakistan was made Saudi Arabia’s “bitch” to use the language of India’s biggest supporter in the US Congress Presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard.

Just as North Korea doesn't get to keep nukes and benefit from economic partnership, so too the Americans and Indians have told Pakistan, you don't get to keep your terrorists and benefit from the peace dividend and partnerships with India. The world doesn't work like that.

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

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Headteacher banned from management roles after letting terrorist ‘radicalise’ school children An Ilford headteacher who let a London Bridge terrorist attempt to radicalise her primary school pupils has been banned from management roles.

Sophie Rahman of Eton Community School, allowed Khuram Butt, 27, to deliver after-school classes about Jihad, the Qu’ran and non-believers for four months in 2017. He taught the young children alone for two hours, up to three times a week and his final class was the day before he killed eight people and injured 48 in London on Saturday, June 3, 2017, with his accomplices Youssef Zaghba and Rachid Redouan.

Ms Rahman has now been barred from taking up management roles under Section 128 of the Education Act. The direction means she is prevented from assuming leadership positions in independent schools, academies and by extension, governance positions in maintained schools.

The order also has the effect of disqualifying her from being a governor at a maintained school.

Ms Rahman had already been issued with a teacher prohibition order which means she is banned from the classroom for life.

In June last year, a Teaching Regulation Agency professional conduct panel found she had

Khuram Shazad Butt

failed to protect children and the wider public. It also found that she misled, or attempted to mislead, the police and/or the local authority in relation to the number of children that attended Butt’s after-school classes on one or more occasions.

Ms Rahman also misled police about a relationship with a person referred to as ‘Individual S’, who was linked to a jihadist group. He had been the proprietor of the school and belonged to Al-Muhajiroun before it became a banned organisation. He was also the father of Ms Rahman’s children.

A Metropolitan Police witness told the panel that Individual S and Butt attended the same gym at Ummah Fitness Centre, St Luke’s Avenue, Ilford.

Individual S was part of the

management of the gym, Butt worked at the gym and led prayers there, and the three terrorists met at the gym shortly before the attacks. She also hired Butt even though he had a caution for a violent offence and provided no references.

“On the balance of probabilities, Ms Rahman knew or ought to have known or had a reasonable opportunity to become aware that Mr Butt was connected to members or former members of Al- Muhajiround, including Individual S,” the conduct panel report read.

“By her failure to safeguard her pupils’ interests, Ms Rahman left them potentially vulnerable to grooming for radicalisation.”

Details of the managment barring directive were published for the first time Tuesday, March 5.

A Department for Education spokesman said it decided to release the information as “Teachers, leaders and governors have a responsibility to keep children safe and Sophie Rahman failed to do that. As part of our duty to prevent such individuals from working in our schools, we have issued this order today,” he added.

It is the fourth time powers under Section 128 have been exercised since it came into force

in September 2014.

The first ever barring order was issued in 2015 to Tahir Alam, who was at the heart of the alleged Trojan Horse plot by hardline Muslims to take control of governing boards.

It said he engaged in conduct “aimed at undermining fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs”.

In 2017, Waseem Yaqub, former chairman of governors at Al-Hijrah School in Birmingham, was found to have engaged in inappropriate conduct which made him “unsuitable to take part in the management of an independent school”.

The direction said: “In his various roles on Al-Hijrah’s governing body, Mr Yaqub promoted, permitted or failed to challenge inadequate financial monitoring and decision-making on the part of the governing body.”

Last month, convicted terrorist Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, an associate of Anjem Choudary, was barred under Section 128 of the Education Act. He was previously a proprietor of the unregistered Siddeeq Academy in Tower Hamlets, east London, which closed in 2015 after his arrest.

Harrow opticians win national award An opticians has set its sights on further glories after winning a nationwide award. Parker and Hammond opticians was given optical team of the year by the Association of Optometrists Awards 2019, which recognises achievement in UK professional eye care. The opticians has two practices Harrow and Northwood and is led by specialist optometrists Sachin Patel and Dipesh Chhatralia.

Mr Chhatralia said: “Winning the optical team of the year just highlights the fantastic work the Parker and Hammond team achieve on a daily basis to provide outstanding eyecare to all our patients.

Thank you to all our incredible

said: “I am extremely proud we won the award as it celebrates the team’s dedication and passion in wanting to deliver first class care to our patients. The

whole team shares and believes in a common goal of wanting to do best by each patient and making a difference to their lives.”

Carrying baby car seats could injure new mums New mothers are being warned lifting and carrying baby car seats can put their postnatal recovery at risk.

First-stage seats are heavy and awkward for women left vulnerable after giving birth and can cause or worsen pelvic organ prolapse, physiotherapists said.

Nelly Brewer, 32, said she

"thought her life was over" when she suffered a bladder prolapse after carrying her baby in his car seat. Manufacturers said they were limited on design and weight by regulations.

Cornwall physiotherapist Laura Cullen warned seats should ideally not be removed from the car in at least the first

six to eight weeks after birth.

The Professional Network of Pelvic, Obstetric and Gynaecological Physiotherapy (POGP) said the seats were not well designed for carrying.

Amanda Savage, from POGP, said the seats were "not well designed to be a way of moving a baby around".

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Ms Savage added women were "very, very vulnerable in those first few weeks" and they should be lifting as little as possible and strengthening support muscles. POGP advised putting a car seat on a lightweight frame with wheels and to use the car's Isofix fittings if possible to minimise twisting.

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MINICAB DRIVERS THREATEN LEGAL ACTION AGAINST SADIQ KHAN Minicab drivers have threatened legal action against the Mayor of London on the grounds that the Congestion Charge discriminates against people from ethnic minorities.

The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), which represents minicab drivers, sent a letter to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan on Friday, asking him to reverse the decision to levy the £11.50 Congestion Charges on drivers who were previously exempt from the charge.

It has given Mr Khan until March 6 to reverse the decision and the letter said if he does not do that the union will apply to the High Court for a judicial review.

The group, which includes Uber drivers, says the charge, which they will have to pay from April, is discriminatory as 94 per cent of minicab drivers are from black, Asian and other minority ethnic backgrounds.

BIRMINGHAM LAW STUDENT KILLED IN CRASH A law student from Birmingham has been killed in a tragic crash in West Yorkshire after his silver Honda Civic plunged into a ditch off Forge Lane in Dewsbury. Asad Hussain, 22, who was studying at the University of Birmingham was pronounced dead at the scene on Sunday afternoon (March 3).

A 20-year-old woman, who was in the passenger seat, suffered minor injuries in the collision. She was taken to Leeds General Infirmary. West Yorkshire Police arrested a 23-year-old woman in a second vehicle on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. A member of the victim’s family, Kirklees councillor Mussarat Pervaiz, (Dewsbury West), said she had known him since he was a little boy.

DERBY MAN JAILED FOR STABBING MAN IN THE LEG

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A Derby man was stabbed in his home by a jealous drunk because the victim put his arms around the man’s partner. Jamil Clarke told the man “I will kill you” as he pulled out the “combat-style hunting knife” and thrust it into his leg during a heated argument in Sinfin.

The victim managed to make his way out in to the street where passers-by called 999. He told the police he had been attacked by the 24-year-old and officer went to the Shakespeare Street address where they found Clarke slumped on the landing. The victim suffered a two-inch wound while Clarke’s partner, who was punched during the incident, suffered minor facial injuries.

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Indian professionals and students received maximum visas in 2018 Latest statistics by the Home Office reveals that skilled professionals and students from India received a majority of UK visas in 2018.

Professionals including doctors and software engineers have dominated Britain's Tier-2 skilled visa category for some time, accounting for 54 per cent of all such visas granted in 2018. In its latest analysis, the Home office said the Indian nationals marked the largest increase in the grant of Tier 2 visas, up by six per cent at 3023 more visas compared to the previous year.

The analysis also noted a hike in the number of student visas granted to Indians last year, up 35 per cent to hit 19,505, with Chinese students dominating that segment at 99,723 visas but marking only a 13 per cent hike. The tourist visa lead was claimed by China, with 56,095 or 11 per cent more visitor visas granted to Chinese nationals last year compared to an increase of 43,771, or 10 per cent for Indian nationals. The HO said, “Chinese and Indian nationals together accounted for just under half, 48 per cent, of all visitor visas granted.”

Statistics also show that 261,000 more non-EU citi-

zens from countries like India came to the UK, the highest since 2004. Jay Lindop, director of the Centre for International Migration at the UK's Office of National Statistics (ONS), “Different patterns for EU and non-EU migration have emerged since mid-2016 when the EU referendum vote took place. Due to increasing numbers arriving for work and study, non-EU net migration is now at the highest level since 2004.”

She added, “In contrast, EU net migration, while still adding to the population as a whole, has fallen to a level last seen in 2009. We are also now seeing more EU9 citizens, those from Central and

Eastern European countries, for example, Poland leaving the UK than arriving.” The ONS said that overall, net migration, immigration and emigration figures have remained broadly stable since the end of 2016. A total of 627,000 people moved to the UK and 345,000 people left to the UK resulting in an annual net migration figure of 283,000.

Migration as an issue continues to be of high priority for the British government with control over borders to end free movement of people from EU membercountries having played a crucial part in the campaign for leaving the EU in the June 2016 referendum.

Consultant neurologist starts vlogging in Hindi to connect with old people Rupanjana Dutta Dr Bhavini Patel, a consultant neurologist in London has started a blog and vlog explaining neurological diseases in Hindi to educate and manage patients as well as provide preventive measures.

Born in London, Bhavini grew up in Anand, Gujarat, with parents- a father from Anand, a mother from Nairobi and two sisters- one older and one younger. She is also married and a mum of two lovely children (7 and 11 year old).

As a neurologist she regularly experiences patients having difficultly in understanding their conditions when there is a language barrier. These patients are sometimes accompanied by translators for appointments, or family who could translate for them in their language, but there is always a risk of interpreting or understanding little, and mostly insufficiently.

“I have met several patients where I feel I have not been able to help them due to lack of communication, because I cannot speak their language,” Bhavini told Asian Voice.

“However, the extreme relief I see on the faces of patients when they know I can speak Gujarati or Hindi made me think for a long

time. We can use family members and interpreters to help. But we lose that Doctor-Patient relationship!

I know because I have had several consultations where I have spoken 3-4 sentences, and the interpreter has said 3-4 words! I’m pretty sure not everything I explained was translated.”

Neurology covers stroke (and therefore heart disease risk), headaches, muscle disorders, dementia and many such issues. So many Indians still do not understand anything about dementia, and they do not ask for the right support from the NHS to help them.

They regard it as a taboo.

Bhavini’s blog or her vlog through YouTube is called ‘Dimag ki Baat’ (www.dimagkibaat.co.uk)- a name that literally translates as ‘talk about the brain’, explaining neurological problems through Hindi videos, and providing written explanations in English to go with.

She told the newsweekly, “I chose Hindi over Gujarati due to the fact that it would help more people.”

But at the moment, not many patients, have seen the site, mostly perhaps the generation she is aiming at connecting with, is not on social media. So she is trying to raise awareness as well as connect better with the

Dr Bhavini Patel

older generation. People watching the vlog or reading her blogs such as the one on migraine, are free to leave comments under the video or email her for further advices.

Bhavini ultimately aims to provide an online consultation platform for patients who would prefer to be managed remotely. A bigger model, would require financial input and technological and legal aspects to be assessed, but she thinks in the next 5-10 years, more consultations for follow ups will be done online.

“I suspect that only those who have physically disabling problems will be regularly seen face to face, and those with headache disorders, mental health disorders and post stroke discussions for example, could be managed using these type of platforms,” she said.

Sangeet Foundation to promote mental health awareness through music In the 21st century, life takes a toll on some people.

Economic uncertainty, affects of social media, rising expectations of what life should be like, have all been suggested as possible driving factors behind mental health issues.

In England, currently, according to the statistics released by NHS, a sixth of the population aged between 16 and 64 are suffering from mental health problems. Whether it is your family, friends or neighbour, there are chances you know

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someone who is affected. Though the area of mental health in black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups is under-researched, BAME groups are generally considered to be at higher risk of developing mental ill health.

Though proportion of people affected does not appear to have risen in the past few years, study says, women are now more likely to be affected by mental ill health, but more men are found to be taking their lives or having suicidal thoughts.

Inspiring the community to come out in the open to discuss mental health and heal through music, breaking social taboos, Sangeet foundation is hosting a musical evening on 16th March in Slough, where prominent personalities who are dealing with mental health problems are going to talk about the issue.

The evening will involve Dr Arghya Sarkel, who will

Jayanta Ray

speak about overall mental health and how music can help. Dr Raja Bandopadhyay will speak about pre natal post natal mental well being- something that affects women widely. A teenager will talk about his autism and how he is coping in life as well as a mother, who will be talking about her 7 year old’s autism and how music helps in the child’s development. A growing body of research has revealed that that music therapy is more than a nice

perk and can stimulate emotional responses to relax or motivate people and help them heal.

A 24 year old would talk about her battle with anxiety and ADHD and how music helps to soothe her.

On the same evening, Readipop, an innovative music and arts charity with a strong reputation for inspirational, engaging arts projects that make a positive difference in people’s lives will talk about a how they are helping people with mental health issues with music. There will also be a presentation from a specialist school head on mental health.

Sky Sharma Foundation, which is focusing on ending the stigma and taboo surrounding mental health today, educate and improve the emotional, physical and mental wellbeing of children, teenagers and adults.

They will talk about the

work they do at ground level and the sale precedes from the evening will go to this foundation.

All the informative talks will be followed by classical music from a close disciple of Padma Vibhushan late Smt Girija Devi, Barnali Chattopadhyay, who is an internationally renowned classical singer. Popular Radio jockey (RJ) from Kolkata, India and actor, Lajvanti, will the compère for the evening.

Jayanta Ray, founder of Sangeet Foundation told Asian Voice, “Sangeet Foundation wants to provide ‘happiness through music’ by bringing together an array of artists, addressing mental health issues by raising awareness and working together with various charities addressing these issues. This evening is a tribute to mental well-being through music.”

Event details: 16 March, 6pm onwards at Ditton Park Academy, Slough. Tickets £10-20. Contact Jayanta at 07388908908.

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8 UK

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END OF PERIOD POVERTY? Rupanjana Dutta A country's true empowerment lies in it's women's emancipation. Ahead of International Women’s Day, a trend-setter as always, UK has taken up the cause, making tampons, sanitary pads, towels and liners free to patients across NHS England hospitals for the first time, in a bid to ease care and combat period poverty. The UK government has also announced £2m to support organisations around the world to end period poverty by 2030.

Recent studies have shown that one third of the UK population, have experienced poverty in recent years, with women being one of the most vulnerable groups. Lack of access to food and inadequate housing are often what we consider as poverty but research shows that ‘period poverty’ is a reality and an inevitable aspect for many women in the UK. With menstruation still a taboo subject for people in the Asian community, it makes it even more difficult for BAME women to ask for help when it is needed. Girl Guiding UK found that 26% of girls aged 11-21 feel embarrassed talking to people about their period, and 21% had been made to feel ashamed or embarrassed about their period.

Organisations like Bloody Big Brunch, which hosts brunches around the

UK, raising money to pay for period products, collected a survey that showed that 84% of people think distribution of period products in schools is equally important or more important than the distribution of condoms.

Welcoming the decision, the British Medical Association (BMA) is hoping that this initiative by NHS England will encourage other organisations across the UK to take a stand against period poverty.

Commenting, the BMA board of science chair, Prof Dame Parveen Kumar told Asian voice, “The BMA is delighted that NHS England has supported our call for sanitary products to be made freely and readily available for all patients across England from July.

“Since being raised as a concern by doctors in June last year, the BMA has

undertaken extensive research into the poor provision of sanitary products in hospitals, including Freedom of Information requests to all English hospital Trusts. This showed how patchy or non-existent the provision was and the relatively small cost of providing tampons and pads free of charge. We are pleased that our work, since then, with NHS England has culminated in such a successful result for women, bringing an end to indignity on top of ill-health.

“In taking this step, the NHS has shown that it can lead by example. As well as being an important influence in the shift that is necessary towards ending period poverty, this will be a relief for many patients who will no longer face the embarrassment and stress of not being able to freely and easily access sanitary pads and tampons.”

Speaking exclusively to the newsweekly, Indian-origin teen Amika George, campaigning for menstrual products for school girls from low income families, said, “I think the NHS providing free menstrual products is really a welcome move and so important,

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Meghan Markle with Myna Mahila Foundation in India

especially when shaving kits are handed out for free to men.”

Amika became a recipient of the Goalkeepers Global Goals Award in 2017, a campaign demanding free sanitary products for poor girls in schools. Popularly known as the 'Oscars' for social progress, she won a Campaign Award for her initiative which first started as an online petition and culminated into a fullblown protest at Downing Street in December 2017.

Helping other nations Minister for Women and Equalities and Secretary of State for International Development, Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt has announced a new UK government campaign to break the silence and end period poverty globally by 2030. In many developing countries, it is estimated that half of all women and girls are forced to use rags, grass and paper to manage their periods. A lack of access to products, and the stigma and taboo that still surrounds periods, can force them to miss school or work, or even to

live in isolated huts during their periods each month. In India, a quarter of girls miss school because of menstruation, and only 12% of girls and women have access to sanitary pads.

In a speech at Church House on Monday 4th, Ms Mordaunt announced a new campaign to end period poverty globally by 2030 which includes a new advisory task force of government departments, manufacturers, retailers, social enterprises and charities. A pot of £250,000 funding will kickstart this work, which will also lever funding and expertise from the private sector to develop a sustainable solution to period poverty in the UK. AmplifyChange has committed £1.5 million to support 54 projects working across 27 countries to help girls to manage their periods with dignity. This is part of UK aid’s ongoing support to the multi-donor fund AmplifyChange.

Meghan Markle supports eradication of period poverty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their wed-

ding had asked their friends, guests and well-wishers to donate to 7 charities instead of sending them wedding gifts.

Myna Mahila Foundation was one of the charities. Set up by Suhani Jalota an activist working to improve public health in India along with three women, it has a factory that produces sanitary products, and which employs poor women in Mumbai by giving them jobs selling these products. Not only officially the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have chosen the Myna Mahila Foundation to benefit from donations, four activists from the charity were also invited to the Royal wedding in Windsor Castle. Markle had visited Mumbai in 2017 to see the work done by the foundation and wrote about it in the Time magazine.

Suhani first met Meghan in 2016 when the former went to give an acceptance speech at the Glamour College Women of the Year Awards.

Period. End of Sentence is a documentary portraying female voices in a small Indian village just outside of Delhi and explores the stigma around menstruation. In its near 100-year history, the Oscars aren’t well known for awarding female film makers. Only five female directors have ever been nominated for the Best Director award and all the Oscar-winning films have been heavily male dominated. Directed by the 25-yearold Iranian-American director, Rayka Zehtabchi, the documentary won the best documentary in short subject at Oscars 2019.

Hot meals to fight child hunger Akshay Patra Foundation has been working with Burgees Sports Foundation to combat rising child hunger, obesity and hyperactivity as a result of increased consumption of junk food.

As a collective, Burgees Sports runs various kinds of camps during holiday terms for close to 60-80 kids which encourages them to be more physically active. These weekly sessions run for long hours during which children brought plain sandwiches as packed lunches.

“I started noticing that some children would bring nothing whereas some would bring very low quality sandwiches that would hardly be filling leave aside being nutritional in value,” said Ally, the Chief Executive Officer of Burgees Sports Foundation.

“When we came here, we

started the fundraising outpost because child poverty is evident in the UK wherein many children are skipping meals but some also suffer through 'hidden hunger'something that we need to be extremely concerned about today,” said Neha Agarwal, communications manager, Akshay Patra FoundationHidden hunger can usually be explained as the increase in the consumption of junk food that is easily available and relatively cheap in comparison to hot meals and fresh food rich in nutrition. This usually means that most children opt for white bread sandwiches, crisps and fizzy drinks for their lunch.

The situation is most dire when during the 10-12 weeks of holidays children from deprived and low income families don't have access to free school meals. Our food

varies from vegetable curry and Chappatis, to fruits, and vegetable pastas among other wholemeal and nutritious food stuff,” said Neha.

“One of the biggest issues we face is that children come into our sports camps with sugar candies stuffed in their pockets aside from processed food for lunch which causes them to be hyperactive,” said Ismaeel, one of the coaches at Burgess Sports.

According to a report by the Environmental Audit Committee one in five children in the UK live in homes that are severely food insecure.

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9 - 15 March 2019

Kenya Indians: A Unique Brand Dear Readers, (especially those who have links with Kenya) n a few weeks time, Golden Jubilee of Kenya Exodus and Settlement in Great Britain special Magazine will be in your hands. You will find it very informative, interesting and even inspiring. Let us present few glimpses of various profiles we have received and compiled for this magazine.

1) On 23rd February, 1969, a school girl went home and was doing her home work.

She had planned a group study with her fellow classmates next day. About 5.30 P.M, her father entered the family room. The girl shared her plans for the next day with her dad. Her dad instructed her to start packing as they have to move to London the next morning. This little girl who was aware of the situation, understood and left for London with her mother and two younger brothers and arrived on 26th February-1969.

From a comfortable life style in Kenya, they were forced to live in a one bedroom flat in London, where the three siblings had to share a double bed. Life is full of challenges.

Undeterred, in due course she studied for her accountancy qualification. Her brother became a Pharmacist and today he is a very big and successful entrepreneur who is employing hundreds of people. Her second brother is working with an international financial organization on a senior grade. She married a fellow East African Indian in London. While helping his pharmacy, raised 3 daughters. Two are Pharmacists and one is an Accountant.

2) Another lady, whose grandfather was recruited by the colonial power as an engineer to build railways, went to Kenya in 1900 from India. She studied accountancy in London and is happily married with two children and two grand children. This journey between 6 generations is very revealing and so much to be proud of.

3) A widow mother dispatched her two sons and one daughter to London, who in due course developed their business empire internationally with a turnover of millions of pounds per year. In the family there are several doctors, pharmacists, accountants and of course entrepreneurs. First thing, soon after some financial progress, the family build a secondary school in the town where they had studied 30 years ago. Their philanthropy is phenomenal in Kenya, U.K, India and elsewhere.

4) Some remarkable picture is developing. Our preliminary research indicates that Kisumu with proportionately a smaller number of Indians then have produced exceedingly large number of Entrepreneurs and Professionals as well as Spirituals (sadhus and Saints) from Swaminarayan, Iscon, Jain and other faith traditions.

I

These are just few examples and there are many more moving untold stories surrounding us. We are overwhelmed. Whether Professionals, Businessmen, Filmmakers, Sportsmen, Community workers, in Parliament, in Public life, the Kenya Indian community is repaying the debt to Britain with utmost gratitude and rewards for the warmth and support they received here. In this special Magazine, you will have some interesting profiles as well as statistical details. This may be the last of the 7th intimation on the information about Kenya special inviting your involvement. We are grateful that so many outstanding individuals both men and women, young and old, entrepreneurs, professionals or others have responded so promptly, generously and spent hours sharing their life story with our journalists. We would like to involve as many sons, daughters and off springs of Kenya Indians residing in Britain for their substantial achievements and their support to U.K. Any information we receive, will be duly included in the magazine. You can share your story in up to 50 words with a photo which will be published free of charge. We also welcome larger profiles which we will consider publishing after consultation with the editorial board. You can corporate for larger profiles as well. You are invited to narrate your life experiences with any of the following team members of ABPL Group: CB Patel: cb.patel@abplgroup.com Kokilaben Patel: kokila.patel@abplgroup.com or call (07875 229 177) Jyotsna Shah: jyotsna.shah@abplgroup.com or call (07875 229 223) Kishor Parmar: kishor.parmar@abplgroup.com or call (07875 229 088) Surendra Patel: surendra.patel@abplgroup.com or call (07875 229 220) L George: george@abplgroup.com or call (020 7749 4013) Cecil Soans: cecil.soans@abplgroup.com or call (020 7749 4089) Harshad Kothari: harshad@ap-trophies.co.uk or call (020 8554 2999) Dak Patel: dakppatel@gmail.com or call (07831 197 871) Shrijit Rajan: shrijit.rajan@abplgroup.com or call (+91-9879882312)(India Office)

It’s an ideal opportunity to promote your business through advert, advertorial and sponsorships.

We are keen to present a highly informative, a very inspirational and beautiful special Magazine which would be a bridge builder between generations. It will be referred and treasured by your children and grand children. Let them know how the whole migration saga happened. How you, your parents and grandparents faced the odds to create a legacy.

But we must say, Kenya Indians in U.K. have made a great impact. Most important, they have the tiniest numbers as law breakers and their presence in her Majesty’s presence is minuscule. We would also be grateful to receive old photographs of life in Kenya then and here in U.K. at the beginning.

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

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Source: maps.google.co.uk. Price and details correct at time of going to press.

10 READERS VOICE

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Cambodia I have finally graduated from university. I now have a degree in Journalism. Straight after my graduation I arranged to travel and volunteer in Cambodia. I raised just under £1000 to work with underprivileged children in two schools.

I went for 10 weeks, it was an amazing once-in-lifetime experience and I’ll never forget it. With the help of my colleagues, I created a documentary on my time in Cambodia, you can watch it on YouTube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=rHmjmriyWYk This is why I was not able to respond to many of you after the questionnaire I put in the paper. Please do accept my humblest apologies I'm back now and it's time for me to get back to work and in contact with you all. I am now in the process of going through the data from the questionnaire and analysing the results.

From doing this, I will find out what kind of content you want to read.

Thank you so much for all of your responses, it was very refreshing to read your kind word in some of your letters too.

Dipali Limbachia By email

Freebies misconception I refer to Shri Dineshbhai’s letter in last week’s AV, “No Freebies” commenting on my letter titled “Reading AV/GS online”. Yes, on most part we share wavelength and support each other. But to differ occasionally is spice of life and that gives “Readers Voice” such high standing that attracts comments from some lustre, prominent writers.

However Dineshbhai has missed the point, as we share same value when it comes to freebies. Reason may be that he finds it difficult to read letters exceeding 250 words, as he has expressed it so often in his letters.

Quoting from his recent letter “Short, Sharp and Succinct” (09/02/2019) he writes, “Too long letters are unwieldy and put me off from reading. Long winded letters become boring and make me skim through them instead of digesting contents.”

This is how he read my letter without digesting contents, as I wrote, “I also feel that it should be available either free to SUBSCRIBERS or paying a small amount in the region of £5 to £10 extra with our yearly subscription while non-subscribers paying full price, as is the norm with many ethnic publications.” I am more than willing to pay £10 extra with my subscription to read AV/GS online. So where are freebies!

This will substantially increase revenue, not decrease it.

However newspapers generate most revenue from advertising, not from subscription. That is the reason why so many national and local newspapers are distributed free at supermarkets and tube-stations. I hope this clarifies the unintentional innocuous misunderstanding.

Bhupendra M. Gandhi By email

Flaming hell

Challenges of Driverless Cars

Many people probably broke into a Bhangra dance to celebrate the recent hot weather here, but if winter can surprise us with sunbathing weather in February think what might happen from scorching June to August?

I suspect global warming will spark fires all over the place -- fields, parks, even our gardens. What's more, if temperatures soar in Britain, think of the conflagrations that might engulf countries like India.

Rudy Otter By email

It is stunning that the world is on the verge of an automobile innovation in terms of driverless cars. This modification is bound to transform the driving landscape globally. After the US, UK intends to be at the forefront of this revolution. Car manufacturers worldwide, have stepped up their efforts in developing prototypes of these vehicles. Moreover, government in every country is taking deep interest in these selfdriven machines.

Very soon, these cars will be actually running on the roads and also on highways. They will however be well connected to the internet and will be adequately equipped with powerful sensors. In fact, it will be a situation of computer on wheels.Thus this upheaval is bound to bring in 'never before' challenges and concerns.

The driving rules and regulations will have to be rewritten to define the legal wording that will become outdated with these future vehicles. The insurance companies will struggle to determine the answerability in any event of untoward incident. These cars will be subject to greater tracking and whereabouts of every citizen can be detected with certainty. Thus it will disregard the autonomy and confidentiality of people making them powerless. Finally, these vehicles will be fully prone to inevitable technical failures and dreadful hacking.

It is heartening to know that these driverless cars have successfully qualified in several safety tests in a number of States in the US as also in other countries. However, one or two fatal accidents have resulted in severe setback for the advancement of these technical marvels.

Bharat Shah Rayners Lane

Remedy for red itchy eyes About this time last year your reader, Rudy Otter, suggested a way of getting rid of red itchy eyes.I too had been plagued with what I thought at the time as a curse of summer.and had concluded that my eyes were bloodshot and itchy due to pollen in the air or other such particles flowing around.in the atmosphere.

My eyes became red ever since I was away on my holiday to the sunny climes of Ibitha. My doctor had prescribed my tablets together with a couple of bottles of eye drops. But even these drops and tablets were not proving much effective.

So I took heed of Mr Otter’s advice and started splashing cold water into my eyes at every available opportunity. It seemed to work for the time being, but the redness had not gone away completely.

In desparation, I asked my GP to refer me to an eye specialist (Ophthalmologist).. He measured the pressure in my eyes and found it to be too high. He gave me eye drops called Taptiquom to instill in the eyes once a day.

Ever since I started using these drops,my eyes have returned to normal, If others also suffer from red eyes, I suggest that thely have the eye pressure checked by an ophthalmologist.

If the pressure is too high, they should get that reduced to more normal level, untreated high pressure can lead to a loss of vision in the eyes leading to blindness.

Dinesh Sheth Newbury Park, Ilford

No milk during Mahashivratri On the auspicious occasion of Shivratri no cows milk will be used for worship at this temple. Instead only non-dairy milk will be used. We want all other temples to give up using milk as it comes from gross cruelty to cows.

High concentrate feed to get maximum milk from the cow causes the swelling of the cows udders and other problems like arthritis. The cow is artificially impregnated and the calf is separated from the mother causing it great suffering. After 3 pregnancies the cow is worn out and sent for slaughter.

Imagine offering the milk to Lord Shiva that comes from so much suffering. We invite temples to email us their commitment to stop using cows milk in all worship rituals.

Nitin Mehta By email

International pressure International and diplomatic pressure brought in by the good relations our Prime Minister Narendra Modi built in amongst the top leaders of all the countries of the world over the last five years to release IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman by the Pakistani government.

Besides, that India took a firm stand and let the threat of war loom large on Pakistan which was ill prepared and in financial bankruptcy. Besides international pressure (because of growing Indian military and economic might) and smart diplomacy by the Modi Government, the united voice of over 130 crore Indians also compelled our notorious neighbour to surrender and release Abhinandan Varthaman.

Jubel D’Cruz, Mumbai, India

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

Please keep contributing as always.

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

UK

Anger over killer's boxing return Theresa May's 'head in sand' The family of a student who died when a boxer punched him on a night out have slammed his killer for "honing his skills" after learning he is back in the ring.

Jagdip Randhawa died after being hit by Clifton Ty Mitchell in Leeds in 2011.

He suffered a serious brain injury. His family said Mitchell's "fists are weapons" as they found out he is now fighting in white collar bouts.

Mitchell, who declined to comment, was jailed for seven years in 2012 for the manslaughter of the University of Leeds student and later released on licence until December 2021. A report found he had breached bail conditions for a previous violent offence 24 times in the five months before the attack, but no action was taken.

Mr Randhawa's sister Majinder Randhawa said: "We are concerned that he is honing these skills again

Jagdip Randhawa

and he will go and hurt somebody again and this is all preventable," she said.

"Why on earth would we let him walk around on the street with these skills when he doesn't have the control that goes with being a boxer?"

The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC), which regulates professional boxing, said Mitchell had been denied a licence a number of times since he was released from prison.

However, posts on social media showed he was fighting in bouts organised by the European Boxing Federation (EBF), promoted

by Ashton Promotions, with

the last one taking place on Saturday at Derby County Football Club.

BBBofC general secretary Robert Smith said the EBF and Ashton Promotions were not regulated by the board, and it was therefore an unlicensed promoter and unlicensed event.

Ms Randhawa said her family had asked the probation service, which is monitoring Mitchell, from Derby, while he is on licence, about his boxing activities but had not received a response.

She said: "Why would you not mitigate the risk to the public if you can? We don't want this to happen to another family. We are never going to get over this."

The probation service would not confirm when Mitchell was released from jail, but Mr Randhawa's family believe he served about three years.

over Tory Islamaphobia Theresa May has been accused of "burying her head in the sand" over Islamophobia in the Conservative Party.

Former party chair Baroness Warsi said the PM had failed to "acknowledge" or "tackle" the problem and this was "symptomatic" of her wider leadership.

She spoke out after a council candidate who made what she called "vile" comments was reinstated by his local party in Harlow, Essex. Peter Lamb has now quit the Tory Party, following the outcry. A spokesperson for Conservative head office said the party always acted "decisively" when cases came to light.

But Baroness Warsi, who was the UK's first female Muslim cabinet minister, has said her

party had "turned a blind eye" to prejudice and become "institutionally Islamophobic".

She suggested the "rot had set in" several years ago and accused senior party officials of being "in denial" and presiding over an "opaque" complaints process.

In a personal attack on the prime minister, she said Mrs May had "failed to tackle the problem head on".

"She doesn't listen, she fails to acknowledge when there is a problem. It's probably symptomatic of the way in which her leadership has dealt with other matters. Burying your head in the sand is not going to make problems go away," she said.

She said efforts to modernise the party had "gone into reverse" since

Baroness Warsi

Theresa May succeeded David Cameron as leader, but she ruled out quitting the party, as others have done.

"If my party's going though a process of 'reUkipification' of itself, then it's my job to stand within that party and fight to bring it back to the centre ground."

She has written to the party's chief executive Sir Mick Davis urging him to "show leadership" on the issue, because Mrs May and party chairman Brandon Lewis had not.

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EDUCATION

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11

9 - 15 March 2019

Save UK's 'dwindling' Nearly 200 left without £7,500 tuition fees places at Hertfordshire plan faces Brexit delay language skills, say secondary schools MPs and peers

Schools should teach a language to pupils from age five to 18 to reverse a "disastrous" decline in language skills, say MPs and peers. It follows a BBC investigation showing falls of between 30 and 50% since 2013 in the numbers taking language GCSEs in some areas of England.

Head teachers warned the aim might not be realistic because of teacher shortages and funding pressures.

Ministers said the picture in England had improved slightly since 2010. This improvement in the overall proportion taking a language GCSE, thanks largely to Spanish and Mandarin, hides a collapse in numbers studying German and French.

Between 2010 and 2018 in England, the numbers of German GCSEs fell from

57,806 to 39,941 and at Alevel from 5,055 to 2,785, according to the Department for Education.

The all-party parliamentary group on modern languages called for cross-government action in a recovery plan published on Monday. The report pointed towards a declining proportion of online content in English, and said that according to the British Council, 75% of the world's population does not speak English.

The group is calling for a range of new qualifications, amid concerns that it is seen as harder to get a good grade in GCSEs than other subjects.

The plan also suggests tax breaks for smaller businesses as part of promoting life-long learning of languages.

Nearly 200 pupils in Hertfordshire have been left without a secondary school place in September.

Hertfordshire County Council has been unable to offer a place to 189 children and more than 1,000 others have been given a place, but not at any of their four selected options.

The authority said a "bulge year" for births between September 2007 and August 2008 means it had 460 more applications

this year than last year.

It is the first year since statistics have been published that the council has failed to allocate all children with any school at this first stage. The authority said the main issue was the funding allocation from the government for the new Katherine Warington School, being built in Harpenden, which came in too late for the school to be included in the council's coordinated application process.

Redbridge named best council for adult social care Redbridge Council has been declared the best local authority in the country for adult social care. Public service consultancy, iMPOWER, ranked the council the most productive nationwide in a major independent survey, published last week. Redbridge topped the charts for “spending their money most effectively” and “getting the best outcomes for citizens.” iMPOWER ranks 150 local authorities by examining performance using 25 indicators across three categories - Older Adults, All Age Disability, and the Health and Social Care. As

well celebrating top spot for social care, Redbridge was rated the sixth most productive council overall in the annual report compiled by iMPOWER in November 2018. Council Leader Cllr Jas Athwal said: “This council has responded to austerity by upping its game, improving productivity and making sure every pound counts. Through our new budget we will continue to focus on prevention and early intervention to help people live independent lives.

Despite austerity, we will continue to drive the best results for Redbridge.”

The review of university tuition fees in England has been caught in a Brexit gridlock - and might be delayed until May or later, according to sources.

The government-commissioned review of student finance is expected to call for a cut in fees, with the figure of £7,500 now being floated. The review will send a tough message to universities about value for money.

But further education and skills are expected to be given much more support, including easier access to loans.

University leaders are braced for a recommendation to cut fees from the review chaired by Philip Augar, with private expectations that the current £9,250 will be cut to about £7,500, rather than the £6,500 first suggested.

But it seems increasingly likely that the all-consuming politics and economic uncertainty of Brexit have

pushed back the review.

There are also claims of significant differences in what 10 Downing Street, the Treasury and the Department for Education want from the shake-up of fees.

According to sources, a headline cut in fees is seen as important for the prime minister's office - described as being the "retail offer" needed to respond to Labour in a general election.

Universities are anxious about whether any cut in fees will be fully replaced by direct funding - and this, according to sources, is part of the Brexit-related delay.

The Treasury does not want to commit to extra direct funding while there is such uncertainty about future public finances.

But at the same time, the Department for Education is reluctant to go ahead with a cut in students' fees until it is clear how that income could be replaced.

12 MEDIA WATCH

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9 - 15 March 2019

SCRUTATOR’S India’s future historians may look on February 25, 2019 as a milestone in the country’s journey from soft to hard state, The first baby step was taken back in October 1947 when the Pakistan sponsored Pathan tribal invasion of the Kashmir valley was successfully repelled by the Indian Army.

Vijay Gokhale, issued a statement saying that the Indian attack was targeted exclusively at the Jaish-eMohammad base, and had avoided Pakistan military installations and population centres (Hindu, Times of India, Statesman, Business Line, TV Channels February 26).

PM, Mamata Banerjee, Rahul Gandhi takes Prime Minister Modi: ‘The country is in safe hands. I will never allow my motherland to be wiped out or bow down to anyone.’ Bengal Chief Minister and TMC head Mamata Banerjee: ‘I salute the IAF for carrying out the air strikes...IAF also means India’s amazing fighters.’

Congress President Rahul Gandhi: ‘I salute the pilots of the Indian Air Force for carrying out the air strikes on a terrorist camp in Pakistan and for keeping Indians safe.’

Tata, India Inc laud strike

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman welcomed at the Wagar border post

The captains of Indian industry took to Twitter, applauding the Balacot air strike in the wake of the suicide bombing at Pulwama.

Ratan Tata

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj addressing the Organization Islamic Cooperation

V.P Menon, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s principal aide, famously wrote: ‘Srinagar today, Delhi tomorrow.’ The cycle of invasion, loot and destruction associated with Mahmud Ghaznavi and his like centuries earlier, model for the first Islamic state in the modern era in the Subcontinent, Pakistan – ‘Land of the Pure,’ had run its course. The fledgling Indian state in the aftermath of Partition withstood its first external challenge with notable success.

India- baiting takes toll of jihadi group The facts are simple: on February 16, a suicide bomber of the Pakistan-based jihadi group Jaishe-Mohammad blew up a truck in a convoy carrying paramilitary soldiers of the Central Reserve Police Force at Pulwama in Kashmir. Forty-one of these men were killed – a major intelligence failure - leading to deepening rage across India. This was not an isolated incident; it was a continuing graph of Pakistansponsored jihadi activity in different areas of India – asymmetrical war designed to bleed India to paralytic exhaustion.

Modi reaction Faced with a deepening dilemma, Prime Minister Narendra Modi,

between his teeth, authorized India’s military to respond appropriately to the latest outrage – which the three services duly did, with the Indian Air Force in the lead - calibrated response.

Twelve IAF Mirage jets, with four air superiority Sukhoi 30MKI aircraft as protective cover along the Line-of Control, struck the Jaish-e-Mohammad training camp at Balacot in Pakistan, levelling it to the ground with estimated 200300 deaths among jihadi operatives stationed there. The entire exercise was carried out with consummate skill and precision from the 1000 mile distant base in Gwalior, with bases in close proximity played decoys to deceive the enemy (Hindu, Times of India, Business Line February 27).

IAF eye in the sky The Indian Air Force has commissioned an aerial surveillance system to monitor suspicious movements in dense foliage along the Line-of-Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.

This hyper spectral imagery programme, a first for the country, seeks to locate and identify objects and their movements (Hindu February 23).

Targeted response The Indian Foreign Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs,

Mr Tata said: ‘We congratulate the PM and the IAF for the successful air strikes on the terrorist training camps which Pakistan has claimed never existed! India is proud of the firm action taken in retaliation to the suicide attack on our soldiers a few days ago, tweeted the Chairman of Tata Sons.

small token of gratitude from everyone,’ tweeted Aditya Ghosh, CEO India and South Asia Hotels Homes.

Naveen Jindal Jindal Steel and Power Chairman Naveen Jindal tweeted his salutations to the Indian Air Force and the team that carried out the strikes at Balacot (Hindu February 28).

India, Russia in billion Dollar small arms deal India and Russia are closing in on a multibillion Inter Governmental deal for the production of AK 1033 assault rifles by an Indian Ordnance factories, according to Victor Kladov, Director International Cooperation and Regional Policy, Rostek State at the Aero India show at Bangaluru.

India had signed multibillion arms deals with Russia in recent years and more were in thepipeline, said Mr ladov Hindu February 23).

Aero India 2019 Sukhoi-30MKI is the cutting edge and mainstay of the Indian air power, playing a significant role in the recent air strike on Balakot. It is a Russian multi-role aircraft with critical Indian software and avionics o board. Following the bilateral Summit in New Delhi in October last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin issued a statement indicating that the ‘Military and Military-Technical Cooperation between their countries was an ‘important pillar of their strategic relationship.’ The Sukhoi-30MKI has encompassed collaboration at the highest level between Indian and Russian engineers including the fitting of the joint venture product force multiplier supersonic BrahMos cruise missile into the aircraft’s weapons system, which it a competitive edge over India’s regional competitors (Hindu February 20).

Gautam Adani Industrialist Gautam Adani tweeted: ‘The message from our armed forces is strong and resonates with the pulse of the world’s most populous democracy.

The nation continues to to stand firmly behind our armed forces,’ said the Adani Group Chairman.

Anand Mahindra Mahindra Group Chairman, Anand Mahindra tweeted: ‘And they returned safely...which is a feat in itself. Let us pray for the continued safety of of those who protect us.’

Harsh Goenka RPG Chairman Harsh Goenka’s tweet reads: ‘Indian Air Force show moves from Bangalore to Balacot.

Swachi B harat campaign moves to Swaci Pakistan .’Josh’ converts to start of end of Jaish.’

Aditya Ghosh ‘We salute and stand firm with the valour of our security forces for their sustained commitment to protect our freedom. For the families of the pulwama martyrs a

Former ISI chief warns Imran Khan The Pakistan Army and Prime Minister Imran Khan face a crisis of confidence following the Indian Air Force strike on Balacot, stronghold of the jihadi Jaish-eMohammad, said General Asad Durrani, former spymaster and head of the country’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) directorate, who fell out of favour and lost his pension and other privileges for authoring a book with A.S. Daulat, the former director of RAW, India’s external intelligence service.

Durrani pointed to Pakistan’s gloomy record as a global sponsor of jihadi terrorism, and its acceptance by the broad spectrum of the international community.

This truth had taken hold in Pakistan itself, he averred.

Asif Durrani

to embarrass Prime Minister Modi prior to India’s forthcoming general election, it has achieved the precise opposite, said General Durrani.

Failures Pakistan’s Kashmir policy since 1947 has failed, so has its US policy, which was predicated on the endless supply of modern weaponry and financial bailouts.

The heavy military hand lost Bangladesh, while its nuclear blackmail was losing its potency as India developed more sophisticated military options. Imran Khan, he remarked dismissively, is simply the Army’s civilian voice. He speaks in an echo chamber (Times of India February 28) See page 3 for comment.

Missile test The Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) successfully test-fired two of its swift reaction Surface-to-Air missile from its testing range at Chandipur-on Sea off the Odisha coast last week. The flights demonstrated robust control, Aerodynamics Propulsion Structural performance and high manoeuvring capabilities, thus proving the design configuration.

Radars, electric-optical systems etc helped track their entire flights (Statesman February 27).

Adani wins airports 50 year contract The Adani group has been given charge of six government-owned Indian airports that were put up for privatisation. It becomes, through this 50 year contract, the third largest private operator in passenger volumes after the GMR and CVK groups. (Statesman, February 28, Business Line February 26).

Foodgrain output India is heading for record 115.60 million tonnes of rice, according to advanced estimates of the Agriculture Ministry. This will be 2.38 per cent higher for 201819.Estimatwes for wheat will be 97.70 million tonnes, with other foodgrians such as pulses, sugar cane et al adding up to an overall total of 284.83 million tonnes, despite deficit rainfall in many key areas of the country Business Line March 1).

Higher air fares

New Pakistan claim a hoax General Durrani pooh-poohed Imran Khan’s talk of a ‘naya’ (New) Pakistan. This was fiction. The Army headquarters at Rawalpindi called the shots, more so Pakistan’s India policy. If the the aim of the aim of the Pulwana bomb blast was

With a 10 per cent rise in fuel, air fares are set to rise. Jet Airways, IndiGO, SpiceJet and Indian Airlines incurred heavy financial losses between April-September 2018, despite the booming domestic air travel sector (Times of India March 1).

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9 - 15 March 2019

BoJo says NaMo can become UK's PM

Boris Johnson

At a recent conclave in India, former British Foreign Secretary has called the current Prime Minster of India, a “political phenomenon” and a 'firecracker”.

Recalling Narendra Modi's performance at the Wembley theatre in 2015, Boris Johnson went on to state that the Hindu leader had as much probability of becoming the Prime Minister of the UK as he did.

"I would say Narendra Modi has as much chance as I have of being prime minister of country judging by his performance in Wembley," he laughed. But according to the Tory MP a second Brexit referendum doesn't appear likely even as uncertainty plagues the country's divorce from the EU. The UK is due to leave the European Union (EU) on 29th March, but the government is still seeking changes to Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal in order to win backing from parliament.

Bhattacharyya was a remarkable and inspirational man who played a significant role in the UK manufacturing and engineering over the past 50 years.”

Tributes poured in for manufacturing industry titan Bhattacharyya, whose personal friendship with Ratan Tata persuaded Tata to buy the British car company in 2008 for just £1.5bn.

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) also expressed its coundolescense at the sad demise of Padma Bhushan Professor.

‘A force of nature’ “Prof Lord Bhattacharyya was deeply committed to fostering India’s manufacturing excellence. Working on policy development, manufacturing competitiveness and research, he

believed in deepening India’s global manufacturing footprint to make the country a leader” said CII in a statement.

In 2016, Prime Minister Theresa May had visited WMG with Chancellor Philip Hammond as part of her government's development of a UK Industrial Strategy. Bhattacharyya’s work as a professor at Warwick University led to foundation on the National Automotive Centre, which has made the city a hub for research in the car industry.

Sir David Normington, Chair of Council and ProChancellor of University of Warwick said“He was a force of nature who pushed at boundaries, changed lives, created jobs, and set the standard for how universities should work with industry. Most of all, for so

13

The next evolutionary step for family-owned businesses

Prof. Lord Bhattacharyya dies at 78 The man who helped save Jaguar Land Rover in the fallout of the 2008 financial crisis, has died due to complications from a short illness.

Lord Sushanta Kumar Bhattacharyya, arguably the most influential Bengali peer in the UK and Chair of the Warwick University’s manufacturing research centre, has died at 78.

Born in Dhaka, in 1940 and then shifted to Bangalore when India was still a British Colony, the 21-year-old mechanical engineering graduate from IIT Kharagpur first moved to Birmingham, UK in 1961.

Over the years, he assumed various titles of a visionary academic, and was even called a “true pioneer” by former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Jaguar Land Rover said in a statement- “Lord

UK

many of us, he was also a kind and generous friend.

We shall miss him terribly but here at Warwick he will remain our inspiration for many years to come.

Leader of Coventry City Council, councillor George Duggins, said- “Without him, Coventry would not be the great centre of innovation and manufacturing that it is today.

“His vision and determination have put us right at the heart of the automotive industry of the future.”

While a professor at Warwick from 1980 onwards, Lord Bhattacharyya advised a roll call of Prime Ministers, including Theresa May and secretaries of state on manufacturing.

Kumar is survived by his Irish wife, Bridie, and, his three daughters, Anita, Tina and Malini.

There is a 30-million strong Indian diaspora outside of India.

It is a flourishing global community. In the UK it accounts for 2% of the population and according to a Grant Thornton report (2017), Indian entrepreneurs and businesses account for 6% of the United Kingdoms Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Across Africa, from Kenya to the East, to the Ivory Coast in the West, Indians are the entrepreneurs Sachin Nandha that drive the manufacturing Chief Executive PillboxCapital 3 sector employing thousands of people. Similar stories are now being documented in the United States, Australia, South Africa, and all over Europe.

What makes the Indian diaspora so successful economically, academically and culturally? According to many leading thinkers and I happen to agree, the fundamental reason for the success of the Indian diaspora is the basic unit of society – the family. Indian wealth is created by and passed through the family. What makes the family the secret to their economic success? The family is fertile soil for entrepreneurship and early growth businesses.

Strong family ties allow Indians to pool knowledge, skills, networks and capital together. There are a countless number of Indian family businesses that have revenues south of £15 million; quite literally thousands upon thousands of small-medium size enterprises which started from zero.

But the family, like all institutions, has its limitations.

Ask yourself what stops a family business which has recurring revenues of £15 million from becoming the next conglomerate? Indian businesses have proven that they have breadth of business acumen; but do they have the depth; the depth to take £15 million revenue streams to £100 million; and northwards beyond £500 million? I think we will find that the percentages of Indian family businesses significantly drop once we go northwards of £15 million worth of revenues. Why do we not have many more Hinduja or Tata-like stories to tell? Two reasons come to mind.

The first is what can be broadly called an issue of ‘mindset’. The second is ‘structural’. The issue of mindset is about expanding one’s own perspective. Every family at some point reaches a limit in knowledge, skills, networks and capital. The business at this point stagnates. It can no longer grow. It becomes comfortable. Couple this with nepotism and a business is sure to struggle by its second or third generation. Indian family businesses always want to keep it in the “family”, even at the cost of growth. The business becomes sentimental, filled with emotions and memories. This, I would argue is bad business. The issue of structure is simply that at some point a family business needs to stop being run as a small enterprise and needs to professionalise. Too many Indian family businesses fail to invest in infrastructure and professional management teams to scale quickly.

This is where Private Equity can help. I suspect sooner, rather than later, two things will simultaneously occur: first, we will begin to see an eco-system of “Indian” private equity or firms that truly understand the nuances of Indian culture; and second, family businesses will begin to realise that to scale they should sell some equity in return for greater capital, expertise, networks and knowledge. The first has started to begin with PillboxCapital. We have a pool of Indian investors and family offices who are beginning to see the value of investing in private equity funds; and second institutional investors who see the benefit of having private equity firms which are culturally attuned to the global Indian diaspora unlocking investment opportunities that otherwise would remain dormant. When this process matures, the Indian community globally will begin to churn out many more conglomerates.

The global Indian growth story is just starting!

To find out more about PillboxCapital visit: www.pillboxcapital3.com or call 0116 274 0707

14 UK 9 - 15 March 2019

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TLIGHT

Raisa Kavalakkat The Cardiac Research Charity, Northwick Park Hospital Sunetra Senior here is a poetic justice in hearing the secret to good cardiovascular care: “having heart, and showing love and patience is pivotal to yielding favourable results,” Raisa, Cardiac Research Charity’s much valued cardiac research nurse specialist, told us.

Playing a lead role in handling the ground-breaking research that will improve the future of treatments in Cardiology, Raisa emphasised the importance of communication in securing quality data.

T

“The Cardiac Research Charity, at Northwick Park, with whom I have been working for the past five years, participates in different novel studies which investigates new treatment strategies for management of cardiovascular diseases These clinical research studies can be centred on new medications or more on the devices and technique such as stents.” These are devices which help restore blood to flow through the heart blood vessels, which have become narrowed. This charity has helped research many of the common cardiovascular medications and treatment strategies which are now available to public.. It is mandatory to follow strong ethical guidelines. In addition to this, I personally feel that patient relationships and safety are paramount. You must really understand the individuals who are undergoing clinical trials to make them comfortable and ultimately maximise accuracy: A trial may consist of 200-300 patients, but if you lose a certain number of people over time in follow up, that study loses credibility.

Recruiting eligible patients and conducting clinical follow up is a big part of my job, but the interpersonal warmth makes it successful.” Making sure people feel informed and held throughout the process, “makes them want to care more for themselves, responding to treatment through the bond, and even volunteering for further medical research.” Indeed, Raisa has helped her landmark charity gain recognition overseas by the prestigious NYU’s School of Medicine for providing quality data on a very important study which looks at a new way to treat patients with coronary artery disease. “The best part of the job is seeing a verified theory go from conceptualisation to actualisation. We change the public’s lives with vital breakthroughs. It is incredible to be so intimately involved.” In trials involving drug treatments, in order to keep the trial impartial, half of the participants are administered placebos as per trial guidelines. However, “whether or not the new treatment takes effect, there is always improvement in the patient’s overall condition through responsive habitual changes such as altering eating habits or being more receptive to quitting smoking.” As evidenced by a look at the body’s most core muscle

Raisa Kavalakkat then, the consciousness is just as significant to functioning daily. *** However, Raisa’s warmer approach is not so much about lauding the mental over the physical as creating a holistic imagination of healthcare altogether.

This includes considering the effects on lifestyle alongside physiological transformations: “I’ll always remember a lady whose chief loss in suffering heart disease was not being able to go out to the cinema anymore. It meant so much to her – after treatment, she could be social and truly alive again.

Another woman thanked me profusely for saving her husband’s life through the regular follow up that research

attention should go to facilitating the sincerest, softest care for anyone who is vulnerable.” From GPs who might be delivering news that means one might need to take some brief time off work to surgeons prepping patients before life-changing operations, Raisa’s wisdom rings widely true. “I hope to continue my research within the cardiovascular field,” she aptly finished, “and to advise on cost-effective strategies to manage various cardiovascular diseases according to their burden at that particular point in time. Again, it’s about heeding the content, or the way in which money is being distributed to manage the numbers in the long run!” And so, Raisa’s contribution to her crucial profession, does not just invigorate medicine, but at once rests on a socially progressive pulse.

What do you feel your approachability brings?

Positive change to people’s lives through new ways of conducting the traditional methods. It’s a privilege to do this. We are making an attempt to help tackle coronary heart disease effectively by enrolling eligible patients to research studies and enabling better patient care.

So, does another’s love help foster self-love?

Yes, absolutely.it makes such a difference just to have someone listen to you. That person feels hopeful again.

How did you come to be so involved in research?

I was a nurse working in cardiovascular units, caring for patients at their bedsides. After completing my MSc, I also developed an interest in research.

I assume being a research nurse means providing a lot of practical support?

Yes, because sometimes patients will go through many changes in health and they must be able to discuss the details of their journeys with you.

What is your favourite part of the research?

Patient care because it’s lovely to meet new people!

provided, and the imitable human dimension in our work was clear – mental wellbeing and physical issues are very often interlinked. One of our patients actually reversed longstanding diabetes through a lifestyle change via counselling in our clinics.”

The young nurse’s peaceable view extends to the NHS. When asked whether she believed extra funding should go to its mental health sector, she stated: “of course, but I’m not an expert in this area. I simply think

What advice would you give others wanting to train as a nurse?

Listen to what your emotions are telling you. It’s a profession that requires warmth, empathy and enthusiasm from within. It is extremely rewarding as a professional job. But you need to be someone who likes to listen, and has tremendous patience. On the practical side, you need to be ready for piles of paperwork and good computer skills are valued too!

T: @RaisaRNresearch @supportcardiac

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in brief EXPLOSIVE DEVICES FOUND AT THREE AIRPORTS An investigation has been launched by the Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism command after three explosive devices were received at transport hubs in London. No one was reported injured.

The three sites included the post room at Waterloo station, City Aviation House at City airport and the Compass Centre in Hounslow on the grounds of Heathrow airport.

According to the Met Office, the suspicious packages – all A4-sized white postal bags containing yellow Jiffy bags – were small improvised explosive devices which were capable of igniting a small fire when opened.

The package was opened by staff at the building, causing the device to initiate. This resulted in part of the package burning. No one was injured.

The Met police counter-terrorism command is treating the incidents as a linked series and is keeping an open mind regarding motives. As a precaution, DLR services to London City airport were earlier suspended but are now fully operational.

LABOUR MP RUPA HUQ WAS TARGETED BY RACIST ABUSE. An investigation has been launched into Labour MP received an email where she was called a “miserable, stinking, filthy EU wh**e and asked her to “return to Bangladesh” for her stance over Brexit.”

Ms Huq, sister of former-Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq, was told to “not obstruct a no-deal exit”, before threatening her of being “potentially be killed in a civil war in which many would die”.

Hitting back at the email’s author, who identified himself as “John”, Ms Huq said she would continue to fight for a People’s Vote, saying democracy did not end the day Britain voted to leave. Scotland Yard said officers received an allegation of malicious communication and the contents of the e-mail are being assessed.

MINISTERS CALL FOR DIPLOMATIC SOLUTIONS TO KASHMIR Prime Minister Theresa May stressed on the importance of Pakistan taking action against all terrorist groups in a call with Prime Minister Imran Khan. The leaders reportedly discussed the need to address the causes of this conflict where Mrs. May emphasised asked Pakistan to act against all terrorist groups, in support of global efforts to combat terrorism.

Meanwhile, Foreign and Commonwealth Officer minister for Asia and the Pacific, Mark Field has asked for a diplomatic solution to the on-going tensions between India and Pakistan on his visit to New Delhi where he met with the Indian foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale.

In his meeting, the minister repeated that the UK stood shoulder-to-shoulder with India in condemnation of the appalling terror attack.

HUSBAND WANTS TO TAKE BEGUM TO NETHERLANDS The Dutch husband of Shamima Begum, the teenager from Bethnal Green who fled the UK to join Isis, has said he wants to return to the Netherlands with his wife and newborn son.

Yago Riedijk, 27, said he had rejected the Islamic State, who reportedly tortured him on suspicion of being a Dutch spy.

He admitted to fighting for ISIS and may face a six-year jail sentence if he returns to his country. Meanwhile, Begum is reported to have gone elsewhere from the al-Hawl refugee camp in Syria. Whereas, Riedijk is being held in a Kurdish-run detention centre in northern Syria. Begum and Riedijk are said to have fled Baghuz, ISIS’s last foothold in Eastern Syria as it lost territory in recent months.

'NO SINGLE SOLUTION' TO KNIFE CRIME SAYS SAJID JAVID Two 17-year-olds were killed in a spate of increasing knife crimes in separate incidents in London and Greater Manchester at the weekend.

Tributes have been paid to Jodie Chesney, who was killed in an East London Park as she played music with friends, and to Yousef Ghaleb Makkie, who was stabbed to death in the village of Hale Barns, near Altrincham. There has been a 93% increase in the number of teenagers of who have been victims of knife crime between 2011-17.

While Sajid Javid came out and said that there was no single solution to knife crime, Prime Minister Theresa May said she recognised people's concern, but insisted there was no direct correlation between the rise in knife crime and a fall in the number of police forces

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9 - 15 March 2019

WHY WOMEN NOW? Rupanjana Dutta On 8 March 2019, along with the rest of the world, Britain will be celebrating International Women’s Day. This year’s theme is ‘Balance for better’ which calls for driving gender balance across the world.

The origin of IWD is traced back to the time when thousands of women workers from garment industries marched through the city of New York, protesting against dismal working conditions in 1908, organised by the Socialist Party of America, followed by the observance of National Women’s Day in 1909. This then expanded to thousands of women coming together in Europe and Soviet Russia seeking voting rights and better working conditions and protesting against the ongoing World War I. The United Nations declared 1975 as the International Women’s Year and began celebrating International Women’s Day on 8 March from 1975 onwards.

On Tuesday morning, as we went to press, City Hive, a Network for Change that champions a more balanced asset and investment management industry, with a positive and inclusive culture, opened the trading at the London Stock Exchange, kick-starting a

Asma Khan

full week of activities focussing on equality and concluding on Friday with International Women’s Day. One of the key missions of the network is to promote gender diversity and connect women across industry in a purposeful way.

In a statement, Bhavini ‘Bev’ Shah, the CEO and co-founder of City Hive told Asian Voice, “For us, the IWD celebrations on March 8th will be particularly apt as this year’s theme – #Balanceforbetter – sits well with our vision of a more balanced asset and investment management industry, with a positive, inclusive culture that enables everyone to be rewarded on merit.”

Women have been strong since birth but it is only recently that the society started understanding the true strength of gender.

Society's views are finally changing, little by

Vogue magazine has listed some Asian-origin women in the UK, who are inspiring people with their empowering stories.

Diipa Khosla, Social Media Influencer and Entrepreneur: Based between the UK and Amsterdam, her mission is to inspire fashion and beauty enthusiasts all over the globe.

She was born and raised in India.

Sonali De Rycker, Partner, Accel: She focuses on consumer, software and financial services businesses.

Rosh Mahtani, Founder, Alighieri: Born in London and raised in Zambia, after a one-day waxcarving course and a longing to bring Dante's work to life through objects, she founded Alighieri Jewelry in 2014.

Amika George, Student/Founder, #Freeperiods: She fights for rights to free sanitary products for disadvantaged teenage girls with her #FreePeriods campaign.

Supriya Lele, Fashion Designer: From West Midlands, her work explores the nuances of British Asian culture and Anglo-Indian dress codes. Lele’s design is inspired from sari and photographs she has taken of people on the street in India, dressed in a mishmash of dhoti linens and nylon sportswear.

Bev Shah

little. The journey and growth of women power in the last 100 years has been considerable. Yet so many of us feel disempowered in most situations. For example, women are more likely to take time out to care for children than men: by the time their first child is aged 20, women have, on average, been in paid work for four years less than men.

The relevance of women now, in a world of turbulence, is significant. While today’s world needs more care and nurturing- a beam of hope in the otherwise imperfect world, it needs women who can stand up for the weak and also say ‘no’, impervious to combustible situations.

Asma Khan, of Darjeeling Express, is a British Indian chef who became the first to be featured on Netflix Chef’s Table. It calls for a celebration for many reasons. First, the first ever British chef on this famous show is a woman. Second she is of Asian origin.

Third she promotes an all women kitchen.

But more than anything she stands for what women empowerment and balance stand for in an unbalanced world. During the screening of the show at a private event, a teary-eyed Asma addressed a room full of audience, celebrating womanhood, eternal friendships and giving women a sense of belonging, a burning desire to prove their worth.

Rupa Ganatra Popat and Rupal Sachdev Kantaria have organised the first BAME International Women’s Day Showcase in the

Parliament on this IWD. The showcase is a unique chance for all to reflect on the achievements and ongoing challenges facing BAME women. Our special 4 pages in Asian Voice this week also talks about women in different walks of life- a homage to those setting examples, a footstep for generations to follow.

I hope that in today’s world there is more light than there has been, but for too many women – in the UK and overseas still find themselves without. We must help move them, whether they find themselves in the dead of night, or the twilight, into the radiance they need, to be all they can be.

As Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt, the Minister for Women and Equality said on Monday, “I hope that in today’s world there is more light than there has been, but for too many women – in the UK and overseas still find themselves without. We must help move them, whether they find themselves in the dead of night, or the twilight, into the radiance they need, to be all they can be.”

Pull up the next woman behind you as a leader Preeti Bali If you’re wondering what the formula to success is take the advice of 52-year-old entrepreneur and founder of Moosa-Duke Solicitors, Mehmooda Duke, who says "there is no other secret to success but hard work”. The medical negligence specialist has also been awarded this year an MBE for her services to the legal profession and female entrepreneurship.

The first female Asian president in the Leicester Law Society, Mehmooda is originally from Blackburn, Mehmooda’s legal career began in 1992. The first 10 years of her career in the medical negligence field saw her defending the NHS and GPs. In 2002 Mehmooda made the decision to set up her own law firm, which coincided with her moving to Leicester. Before her legal career, Mehmooda was a teacher for a year but decided to re-train as lawyer, she says “in my family there were a lot of teachers, and not any lawyers. I knew I wanted to do something different and more challenging, although teaching is challenging – I needed a different kind of challenge”.

With a vision and desire to succeed, building her empire was not an easy task but nevertheless one which she was set out to achieve. The entrepreneur who classes herself as a perfectionist told Asian Voice, “Once I give myself a target and goal, I’m going to carry on until I get there. My motivation came from the fact that I set out to make a success of this and I’m not going to stop until I’ve done that."

And so, in a small flat in the city of Leicester at the age of 36

Mehmooda began laying the foundations of her law firm Moosa-Duke solicitors – leading specialists in medical negligence claims. “I did everything by myself, from cleaning the toilets and to answering the calls," she said. "I’d greet the clients and then switch over when they’d ask for me."

Inevitably Mehmooda faced many challenges. “I didn’t know a single soul, when I moved to Leicester and that was very difficult, getting clients was obviously the hardest thing and I was completely by myself." In a world where women are constantly told what to do and follow the standards of society, Mehmooda’s decision to embark on this journey single handily does not only break barriers but also serves as an inspiration and motivation to others who are thinking to start a business on their own.

As new as she was to Leicester, so was she to the world of business. “I wasn’t a business woman, I had to learn about business and negotiating a lot of things”, says Mehmooda on the early challenges she faced. She added, “The biggest challenge was getting to know people, and so what I did is put a great big advert in the yellow pages, so that’s how I slowly built it up and I began networking”.

Throughout this all Mehmooda’s mantra was that all she was going to do was a damn good job.

Mehmooda who says her team and staff is what keeps her now motivated says the advice she would give to others is to “work damn hard, you think having your own business is going to give you freedom, yes somewhere down the line it does, but in the beginning there’s no free-

dom."

As the first female Asian president in 155 years of the Leicester Law Society, Mehmooda is undeniably an inspiration to many women. But for her, first inspiration has always been Khadijah, the wife of Prophet Muhammad. “She was in a world of men a phenomenal business woman, she’s a historical figure and has always been my inspiration for that.

My mum is one of my inspirations too, she always just worked so hard and was so professional about everything."

Her role as the first female Asian president has allowed her to pave the way for other Asian women and as a prominent figure in the legal world.

Mehmooda has helped many people whether it be through offering internships at her law firm or getting people involved. “If you’re a woman in a leadership space, my mantra is pull up the next woman behind you,” she said.

Last year, Mehmooda alongside her brother and daughter climbed the Mount Kilimanjaro - the highest mountain in Africa, to raise money for a charity ‘Healing little hearts’.

Mehmooda concluded by saying, "Being a woman means, being a daughter, a sister, a mum, a wife, an employee, a business owner, a leader, anything you choose to be – and knowing that you have a voice and that you are enough."

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hanging ultures

Monika ChauhanStok is a provider of global leadership in the context of culture and global working. She tells Asian Voice about her journey in learning and development, and how she has used her experience to train more women to share their expertise with the world One of the few Asian women in global leadership, Monika ChauhanStok is the owner and CEO of boutique leadership and management consultancy, Crossroads Global. Born and raised in India, Monika has lived and worked in a number of countries including Switzerland, Netherlands, Japan and Luxembourg.

After growing a cutting-edge technology firm from a startup in Amsterdam, Monika decided to invest her time and energy in starting a business to provide consultancy and blended solutions on turnkey global projects with the unique inclusion of cultural expertise.

Having lived cross-culturally and working in leading corporate roles, Monika was now in a unique positon to deliver her experience and support other leaders to develop their allimportant cross-cultural intelligence. For Monika, this field was wide open and her experience and background was a perfect fit.

She took to reaching out to medium to large corporates to offer cross-cultural and leadership solutions and quickly gained momentum by gathering clients from different industries, including pharma, finance engineering and manufacturing.

Her main message to the organisations was that ‘business today cannot just be delivered by technical expertise. It needs to be layered with cultural intelligence. How well we get to know our colleagues, partners, suppliers in the global context, will contribute to our business collaboration, and ultimately our business success.’

As one of very few Asian women in this field, Monika had to prove herself and her business on many multi-faceted levels.

“My challenges of moving from country to country, settling, and developing a career have allowed me to grow in many ways,” she says. “I consider myself fortunate to have had these experiences, but starting my firm was different – I had entered a male-dominated arena. Though some might typically stereotype the HR world as female, in business, it’s not like that at all.”

Monika recalls a time when she was developing a project for a pharma company where the regional lead was what she describes as a ‘strong alpha male’. “You know how many calls, and how many iterations of a program design I had to go through?” she laughs. “I pondered whether it would be different if a man is my place, and said to myself, ‘why am I giving in to this?’” She says she had to balance her strong Delhite nature within the male-led environment in order to drive closer to her goals. “It’s been challenging but it has worked. In the end, if you want something, then being prepared to take the knocks, including emotional ones, is part of life.”

Having had and grown through these experiences, Monika has developed a strong desire to support and empower other women with their own work and business options, with better work-life integration. With her colleagues, Monika launched Crossroads Coaching Academy with a specific focus on women. “I was meeting many accomplished women, some who were now shadowed by their successful husbands. Others, who had taken a break from corporate life to be mothers, and some who were looking for more independent careers. I thought with my cross-cultural background and expertise, if I could train and help create an empowering environment for these women, they too could begin to share their expertise on the global platform with great confidence.”

Crossroads Coaching Academy has recently taken its first cohort through the training program. The women are trained and equipped with both coaching insight and cross-cultural skills. Being ready and available to connect with people from anywhere in the world, they are now ready to launch their own coaching practice.

“I have a strong passion for this and as the word about the academy grows, I know our work in this area will keep us busy.

I believe this opportunity for women to take their expertise and use it to connect with others, develop others, train others, will be very rewarding. It will enable them to have an exciting working environment and pattern that allows them to focus around home, children and other social commitments and have a better work-life effectiveness”

Karishma Paun is a second-year university student, studying Law at Wadham College, University of Oxford. A former non-fiction editor of The Isis Magazine and current People of Colour representative, she tells Nima Suchak how the plight of women inspired her to take up law.

Kiranjit Ahluwalia, a young Punjabi woman with two children, found herself facing life imprisonment. Her crime?

Setting her husband’s sleeping body alight, leading to his death. Her reason? She had suffered years of horrific domestic abuse, including food depravation and marital rape. In her depressed state, she even attempted overdosing. One night, reeling from yet another attack and fearing the safety of herself and her child, she attempted to exert some control over her life for

once. Her defence? She raised none in court.

Speaking broken English with little understanding of the judicial proceedings, Kiranjit accepted her fate, and was convicted of murder.

Eventually, Southall Black Sisters campaigned for a mistrial, and it came to light that Kiranjit was suffering from Battered Women’s Syndrome. Her crime was reclassified as manslaughter and the case redefined what it meant to be provoked by an abuser. Similarly, imprisoned women were freed, and crucially it raised awareness of domestic and ‘honourbased’ violence in the UK’s South Asian community.

As a young student, this case resonated with me.

Ultimately, it is no one’s religion or culture to inflict violence or abuse another person. Yet such behaviour occurs in our communities and goes largely overlooked.

When people are brave enough to speak out, often familiar competing factors of family ‘honour’ and ‘reputation’ seem to stifle any action.

At these moments, what is needed most is condemna-

tion, but what often ensues is complicity with such crimes.

In the face of all this, there is one institution to ensure that justice prevails – the law.

The law can cut through hostile/backwards views and lay down that fundamentally noone should be subjected to this kind of treatment. The law guarantees our human rights and for women’s rights, the judiciary is a powerful tool in securing equality.

While law operates as the bedrock of society and permeates all imaginable parts of our existence, it is often an imperfect and blunt instrument, as was shown in the original outcome of the Ahluwalia case. But as an institution, law is mouldable and can be changed to represent the needs of those who require its protection. That is why it is essential to engage in the legal and political systems, and campaign for legal reform where outcomes are undesirable. These institutions have massive control over us, so we ought to ensure that they represent the values which we think are important in society.

Such stories evoke a sense of shared womanhood and female identity. I have some incredible women in my life, but I have also seen the subtle and not-so-subtle ways in

which cultural expectations can hinder female development and empowerment.

While I have the autonomy to pursue my goals, control what I wear, and who I associate with, other women don’t.

Such injustice, while is it is not my own, is inseparable from my own through the very fact that I too am a woman. One of my favourite quotes is from Audre Lorde, that ‘I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different to my own’. It is these very shackles which the law can be a great opposing force against.

Now in my second year, with graduation in sight, some of the idealism which initially drew me to studying law has been tested. I can see how law can only do so much, and real change must come from families, communities and ultimately people themselves.

While not all the myths surrounding Oxford are true, there are parts of the traditional establishment in need of change. This year I ran for a position on the student union as the People of Colour representative and now organise talks, socials and Wadham’s Annual Race Symposium. More so than that, it has been really rewarding creating a support system for people of colour.

It’s a great way to leave your mark on the institution and give back.

So, this International Women’s Day, I will be thinking about Kiranjit and the other inspirational women in my life who have – in steady and quiet defiance – laid the seeds for great change which ultimately allow women to pursue their ambitions today.

My girl – winning at the ge Why would a dance-loving girl who likes creature comforts want to be out in the cold, in the dirt playing a tough contact sport?

What are the benefits of Asian girls playing rugby?

There’s mud, cold, frostbite, and more mud. This is what our Sunday mornings are made of. I’m a rugby mum. Both of my children play rugby, so it’s double the dirt and twice the amount of pitch-side cheering.

Sounds mad, but being a rugby family is one of the best decisions we’ve made.

We’re not a sporty family, nor have we ever paid any attention to rugby (apart from cheering a bit when England won the World Cup in 2003). But with steady belief in rugby being a ‘gentlemen’s game’, I encouraged my son to play rugby for local club, Syston RFC when he was just five. My daughter repeatedly said she would like to get involved but I di dn’t think she was serious.

After all, she was only nine, very petite, and was more likely to be seen dancing or acting on stage than tackling kids twice her size.

But she proved me wrong. As part of an outreach

program, Leicester Tigers started an after-school club at my daughter’s school, Krishna Avanti, which is predominantly Asian. We received a letter saying that as part of Project Rugby, Tigers community team were actively encouraging more Asians to enjoy and play the game and were setting up a rugby team called Leicester Tigers Swifts. This was it. There was absolutely no stopping my 9-year-old daughter.

While surprised, I was pleased.

Having been involved in rugby, I had seen the value that the game and its culture had provided for my son, who by now had been playing for Syston for six years. We enjoyed watching Tigers games at their Welford Road stadium and was impressed by the facilities and opportunities for families and children.

The atmosphere is fun, friendly and value-driven.

Evidently, there is a distinct lack of Asians involved in and who play rugby, particularly at professional level. In the years my son has been playing rugby, I have seen very few Asians at the club or at an away

game. Project R Premiership Ru increase particip tionally under One of its aims the game and

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AsianVoiceNewsweekly

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How does Ayurveda support women through the stages of life?

While we all know what to do in times of happiness and celebration, unfortunately when it comes to grief, we really don’t. We are easily told to ‘be strong’ and try and train ourselves to ‘look’ as if we are coping. But grief and loss can consume you over years. “We have developed a culture where people are encouraged to deal with grief silently, and alone,” says Dipti. “It’s seen as a sign of weakness to show that you are going through the grieving process”.

From menstruation or menopause, Ayurveda practitioner and therapist Niti Sheth offers advice on diet and lifestyle.

Women transition through many phases – from puberty and menarche, to menstruation and pregnancy, culminating in menopause.

While it’s natural to experience some level of hormonal fluctuation, if it causes discomfort, it indicates some imbalance.

Ayurveda addresses imbalances from the root cause, seeking to find out why your hormones are imbalanced, then working on the cause while simultaneously helping to relieve the symptoms. “Ayurveda takes into account more than just the chemical imbalances that are occurring inside a woman’s body” says Niti. “It is a complete holistic science, incorporating the physical, mental and emotional aspects into a person’s wellbeing.

Hormone imbalances can cause many issues, from digestive discomforts (irritable Niti Sheth bowel, bloating, diarrhoea, constipation), lethargy, chronic fatigue, fluctuations in weight to instability in thermoregulation of the body. Niti says: “Everyone is unique, and the same problem can have different effects on different people. It’s important to understand the root cause of your hormonal imbalances and work to address that.”

Niti explains that hormones are governed

by Pitta – the energy responsible for transformation, metabolism, digestion, and energy production. “Pitta is a combination of fire and water, and when that heat element increases, hormonal imbalance occurs,” she says. “The heat just doesn’t come from literally hot

things…it could be from spicy or highly fermented foods, a stressful situation that causes heat (anger) inside your body, from a toxic relationship, or it could be from an externally hot environment. When the heat inside a person rises, it sets off a snowball effect inside the body. Often, our hormones are the last thing to be affected.”

But there is a natural way to get your hormones in balance using a combination of diet, herbal remedies and lifestyle measures.

“Ayurveda is the ‘science of life’ and offers practical tips for all areas of your life and health – from your cooking, eating, relationships or even in your career. We are a product of nature, so we should be using nature’s gifts to heal us,” says Niti. “When we address the root cause of our imbalanced hormones (which you can do with the assistance of an Ayurvedic doctor or physician) then it’s easier to correct the imbalance in a way that it won’t occur again.

While it may take more time than conventional medication and therapies, it will be more long lasting than just providing relief to your symptoms of hormonal imbalance.”

Niti advises that women need to look after themselves first. ‘Traditionally and even now, women are the caregivers of the family.

As society has progressed, they now add careers to the mix, and this can become exhausting and overwhelming.

“I always tell all women that before they became a wife or a mother, they were and are a woman. Self-care has become a buzz word this year, and Niti’s top tips for natural hormonal health ❶ Heat is a big culprit when it comes to hormonal imbalances, rightly so. I’d urge all women to try and stay away from foods such as chillies, tomatoes, red look after themselves. Don’t try meat, fried and fermented foods as they will cause more heat. and do it all now, allow yourself the time and space to nur❷ Don’t underestimate rest/sleep, especially when you are ture yourself and your body. In menstruating. This is a time of excess heat in our body, and your capacity to serve others, nature’s way of telling us to rest and rejuvenate. Don’t try to also serve yourself. Ayurveda is push yourself during this time – get good quality and quantity about listening to your body of sleep to support your body. (among many other things) so ❸ Express yourself. Emotions are key in our journey as this is something you can start women. It’s important to allow yourself the space and time to applying straight away. If express your emotions rather than just suppress or push them you’re tired, slow down; if away. Being able to express yourself emotionally is a key com- you’re hungry, eat. In our purponent of good health. Whether it’s through talking with suit of serving others and lisanother friend, or journaling, or exercising, or dancing, or even tening to them, it’s also equally singing – let your body know that you don’t have to hold onto important that we serve ourselves by listening to our bodevery single emotion you experience, you can let it go. ies.”

entlemen’s game

Rugby, which is a joint initiative between ugby and England Rugby, is working to pation in the game by people from tradirepresented groups including Asians. s is to challenge existing perceptions of position rugby as a sport for anyone, regardless of background, ability or gender.

I have seen first-hand the massive benefits of rugby for all children, including girls. There are no barriers to playing the sport. It really doesn’t matter of your shape, size or background. Anyone can contribute to the game, as long as they get stuck in. My daughter is first and foremost a dancer, but has gained a wide variety of skills and values while playing rugby, particularly the solidarity that comes from working in a team. Being coached by the Leicester

Tigers community team, The Swifts has helped her to gain masses of confidence, enabling her to play competitive rugby at school, against other clubs, and sometimes even at the Leicester Tigers Welford Road Stadium.

Playing rugby has built up her resilience. Girls can play alongside boys up to a certain age and I can see how it has helped her to develop and tap into her own strengths. She’s small – one of the shortest girls in the class, yet she can play and contribute positively alongside the tallest boys of the year. She was once selected to play a girl’s match against another school. Only when she got there did she realise she was one of the smallest and youngest players on the pitch, playing against girls who were a year older than her. While they didn’t win that match, she views the experience with a sense of pride and recognition of her own strength.

For me as a parent, rugby offers uncomplicated, but clever, and rather messy play that helps my children to develop not only physical but mental strength. As a sport, rugby demands that players imbibe the value of teamwork, solidarity and cooperation. It is a game with great emphasis on respect and absolutely no tolerance for bad attitude. For my daughter, and others who play rugby, it doesn’t matter if she wins or loses, it’s about battling it out on the pitch, and having good, clean fu n.

Qualified homeopath and Grief Coach Dipti Solanki speaks about how unresolved loss and grief can have debilitating effects on your emotional and physical health AV: Grief isn’t simply when someone Emotionally it can also present as a tendies…there are many kinds of grief, right? dency to overreact to the smallest things, Dipti: Grief is about loss. We not only expe- explosive anger and sometimes complete rience grief when someone dies, but in isolation and withdrawal. It can also show divorce, separation, financial loss, physical, as a feeling of never being able to experiemotional or sexual abuse, estrangement ence true happiness, regardless of how from friends and family, loss of health, and favourably life is treating you…a feeling of so on. There are up to 30-40 different types deep sadness but you can’t directly of losses that can leave us in a state of grief. attribute it to anything.

Grief has a cumulative and comAV: How do you recognise you pounding effect and because we might be stuck in grief? don’t have the correct informaDipti: You might develop lots of tion on how to deal with loss or addictive behaviours as a ‘coping’ grief, it all mounts up. Often the mechanism. It can be drugs, alcolatest loss is not the only thing hol, food, cleaning excessively, which leaves you devastated, it’s shopping, excessive exercise, everything else that sits underwatching television for hours… neath it. This is often years of anything that can emotionally disunresolved grief and pain which tract you from what you are feelDipti Solanki has its roots in so many different ing. There may be anger, depreslosses. sion, anxiety, a feeling of deep bitterness AV: What happens to the body and mind and uneasiness. You might have also learned to give Oscar-winning perforduring grief?

Dipti: The mind and body are so inextrica- mances to the outside world about how you bly linked, that when the body holds unre- are coping. But on your own, behind closed solved emotion it will always express it doors when you no longer have to wear the through physical symptoms. We live in an mask, you suffer. age of medicalised mind-sets, and people AV: How can grief coaching help? try to take a pill for every symptom. But “It’s not counselling and it’s not an alternasymptoms are our body’s way of speaking tive treatment, instead grief coaching gives to us, of saying there is something causing you tools and teaches you methods that you imbalance. It’s important not to suppress can use to deal with grief throughout your these and push them back down with life. You also have the opportunity to drugs and instead recognise and deal with address all the different types of loss and them. grief which have led to your heart being Unresolved grief and loss can lead to broken. Further it teaches you the correct depression, anxiety, panic attacks, a feeling way to hold space and what to say and not of overwhelming tiredness and heaviness, say to someone else when they are grieving. fibromyalgia, repeated chest infections, Other people’s reactions are a huge part of bowel disorders and skin ailments. why people stay stuck in grief.

Dipti’s self-help tips when dealing with grief

• Acknowledge that there is nothing wrong

with you. You are grieving, this is a natural reaction.

Don’t isolate yourself, we are not meant to grieve alone.

It’s okay to feel down and broken. Try not to busy yourself, this will not be how you will feel forever. It’s just not normal to feel happy all the time, give yourself permission to feel

• •

whatever it is you feel.

• Don’t medicate your grief. Homeopathic

remedies like Ignatia and Natrum Mur can really help Learn about grief recovery tools which provide you with the correct information about how to recognise and deal with grief and loss and also how to live an emotionally honest way.

•

We the women

18 UK

‘ FINDING A VOICE ’

9 - 15 March 2019

Four decades later still with Amrit Wilson

In 1978, Amrit Wilson had woven struggles of South Asian women who had migrated to the UK with a poignant sensitivity that has tears brimming down the eyes of some readers even today. Nearly half a century later much has changed for the imperial kingdom that in recent times is brought to it's knees by the political establishment where it begs for a nasty divorce from it's European wife. Yet, the state of South Asian women in the imperialist country is still quite the same, if not worse. Wilson brings her seminal work back into spotlight, this time with an extended chapter- 'Reflecting on Finding A Voice in 2018' “I think that today, as before, gender, race, and class shape women's lives. Of course, racism has been reconfigured to include Islamophobia, although old-fashioned racism is still going strong, side by side with Islamophobia,” states the author.

While the reader absorbs the degree of oppression that South Asian women were subject to, in those days, one also comes to a bone-chilling realisation that the book in parts is an unfortunate reflection of the society as it stands today. From cataloging strikes outside the Grunwick factory where Jayaben Desai- Britain’s most famous Asian trade unionist- outraged against racist supervisors for ‘even asking to go to toilet’ to finally achieving that unity among the working class members, the book charts out the history of these women.

“However that was 40 years ago. But collective memories can fade. Today many women workers have not even heard of the Grunwick strike and there are a very large number of worke rs, many of them women of colour, who are superexploited,” explains Wilson.

In the book’s latest edition, a new chapter- titled 'In Conversation with Finding a Voice 40 years on’- examines similarities and differences with the situation at Grunwick today with one of the writers, being Sujata Aurora who had recently organised the Grunwick 40 commemorations.

Women garment workers in a sweatshop, London, August 1978. (Photo Michael Ann Mullen)

“I would like to say also that many of the low- paid workers of today, cleaners, for example, are organising and sometimes winning their struggles,” believes the author.

In a post-Brexit era that is rampant with racist attacks headlining almost every day news stories and a subject that has caused fractures in the colonial power’s major political party- this book provides a context into institutional and structural racism that has always been in the UK’s character.

The government, on the other hand, appears intent to present a white-washed image of Britain which is not “white” but all inclusive, diverse and politically correct in its policies. But does celebrating an ‘International Curry Day’ imply that veiled attacks of the kind where ‘Brown people stink of curry’ has gone away?

“I think racism has not gone away, in fact it has escalated and the dor mant prejudices have come back in a big way. But while sometimes the old forms of racism have come back, we also find new forms.

Diversity policies can never deal with racism. However they are important to ensure that people of colour have jobs, are represented etc. But diversity alone cannot bring much change because it is often sanctioned by the state. It is policies which matter more than anything - t ake the hostile environment policy, for example, this is racist both in its conception and its application and the same is true of immigration laws,” the author But while much focus has been channelised into discussing the plight of ethnic women in the country, I ask her if she would looking to explore the challenges of marginalisation of ethnic men in the UK? The mainstream media remains culprit to mostly discussing the surface-level problems of crime, drug-racketing among others that involve the British Pakistani male population.

“The question of toxic masculinity, what creates it and the way it affects South Asian men, how it is affected by racism, these are crucial subjects which need to be looked at, not from the outside, but by those most affected,” says the gender activist and Martin Luthe r King award recipient.

Today I ask Wilson that in hindsight if there was something that she wished she had done differently, what would that be? She intuitively responds“I think I would have tried harder to get women to talk about how they self-indentified. For example, in what ways they had, or had not, struggled against a society which was even more powerfully heteronormative than it is today.”

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In conversation with

It’s not about the Burqa Salma Haidrani

Priyanka Mehta She is half Lebanese and half Pakistani of origin. She is a Muslim by religion who does not embrace the burqa but talks about its political symbolism today. A freelance journalist exploring the hinterlands of London, she discovers voices from the marginalised communities that don’t make headlines in mainstream media- and if in rare cases they do, it is usually for wrong reasons- and she writes about everything that is engraved on the other side of the coin. But beyond all, she is a woman who humanises stories of other fellow Muslim women.

As #balanceforbetter marks the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day special, Salma Haidrani loops together sex, social media, identity and religion putting them at the forefront of today’s conversation around the struggles of being a female Muslim journalist in the UK. “Quite a few leading figures were initially sceptical of working with me because social media- especially with regards to the right-wing rhetoric- is centred around Islamophobia and

specifically gendered Islamophobia.

“But over time, as I built my portfolio and interacted more with the community members, I started gaining their confidence,” discloses the graduate from Sheffield University.

Since half a decade now, Salma has been dispelling perceptions around Muslim women often peddled by pockets of mainstream media where they are stereotyped as being submissive, and docile. The idea that Muslim women don’t or can’t have a pleasurable sex life was a disturbing notion that had her tracking the owner of an online sex shop. She recalls of the article that she had penned in 2016 titled ‘Halal Vibrations: Exploring an XRated Muslim Sex Shop’ where she highlights how a Halal Adult Store provides a discreet, and almost an invisible safe space for these women who wanted to experiment in shopping for sex toys.

“I was very proud of my piece because it dismissed the alien concept among the white western establishment that Muslim women only have sex because their husbands want it.

“And I remember immediately after sharing the article online, I was bulldozed by a dozen odd trolls- one of them asking ‘Why would Muslim women need sex shops?’ I was so shocked to realise that this whole idea of us enjoying sex as any other woman from any other religion was just so foreign to them!” Salma reminisces.

Social media, especially for journalists, is a double-edged sword that helps in networking but the flip side of which poses serious security concerns. In a post 9/11 world and a postBrexit UK rampant with Islamophobia, a very strong vocal

social media presence scares Salma.

She documents her degree of fear from twitter and Facebook, in ‘Eight Notifications’ in the book ‘It’s not about the Burqa’ where she reveals how she was scared, of her phone at one point of time.

“I would change the times when I would come back from work because I was scared, of anyone following me if they figured out my routine so I would change it every now and then.

“I am conscious of what I tweet about and write, and this is not something that I think male journalists have to be so acutely wary of. I may be wrong, but I feel that comparatively we [women] have to throw more caution to the wind,” she trails off uncert ainty colouring her voice.

Greater is the controversy around the subject, Salma feels greater is the security concern. From attending a UKIP conference back in 2016 where she had taken on Lisa Duffy’s crusade that Muslim women needed to be protected as if they were all in suffering to recently interviewing the documentary maker of ‘Satanic Verses’ Salma watches her every step that can lead to hostility b oth from within the Islamic community and outside of it.

“It is really unfortunate but a lot of these politicians scapegoat Muslim Women to gain their relevance and to build a vote bank for themselves.

Boris Johnson’s letterboxes comment was absolutely ridiculous because what we wear has nothing to do with politicians,” she fervently argues.

“There was a time when I had asked myself- ‘Is this something tha t I really want to do? Keep writing these articles and always defend myself?

Today I can say that I am very proud to have continued,” she concludes.

'It is hard to fundraise as a woman' Priyanka Raswant, Founder, Highbrow Priyanka Raswant, 31, is a graduate from Columbia Law School and a mother of a four year old Aahaan who launched Highbrow, a platform that curates regulated educational videos for children between 1-11 years, two years ago.

“It was supposed to be a side project initially but then became a full-time job for me after it took off”, said the ShePreneur who quit her job at City Law firm for Highbrow.

The law graduate was thinking of starting a family so, when she started making a list of videos that she wanted her kids to watch. At the end of the summer she had a total of 25,000 videos on that list.

“It was then that I realised that a platform which curates educational content for children was missing and something that other parents would want,” she said.

Highbrow is a video-ondemand platform similar to Netflix but instead of entertainment it offers curated educational videos over a range of categories- from cooking to history to languages. A subscription based portal, it charges £5.99 per month in comparison to existing platforms such as YouTube Kids, and

Disney-which charges £4.99 per month among others.

“Parents like me go to Youtube Kids where we find educational videos but it is cluttered with advertising and often has content that is not appropriate for their viewing.

“Also, Disney is entertainment based whereas, we do educational

videos. It is as good as comparing pizzas with broccoli, the first is healthy while the other is not,” she said.

In a new study published in journal JAMA Pediatrics researchers have discovered the amount of time that children under the age of two spend on

digital devices has more than doubled over a 17-year period. Kids today consume more content today than any other generation and parents are caught in the constant debate of finding that balance between allowing hours for good screen time versus entertainment screen time.

Educational videos on Highbrow come in from curators across the world and are vetted by their internal team. At present, the company has scaled to a level where they are now working with nurseries and schools where their videos in many cases are replacing YouTube in classrooms. But getting to that stage and receiving that financial investment was a challenge in itself.

“It was terribly difficult to find that funding.

The UK funding structure isn't very mature and it is evident in the fact that we don't have unicorns in the system.

“But more importantly it is hard to fundraise as a woman. I don't remember the number of times at pitch meetings where investors have openly told me of how I should not be pursuing this,' she laughs off.

REAL ESTATE VOICE

UNWRAPPING HELP TO BUY

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Suresh Vagjiani

Sow & Reap London Property Investment

The properties which this scheme can be used for are all exclusively new builds. I have met developers who have designed mostly office conversions with this type of buyer in mind. This is being done with absolute confidence that the scheme will be sold out, purely as there are buyers looking for a home.

Buying is not done speculatively, but as a need for shelter.

The scheme is funded by the taxpayer who has contributed £10Bn into the scheme. It allows the newbie buyer to borrow up to 40% of their deposit from the government to purchase a property for up to £600K within London.

The loan is tax free for five years, and then attracts a nominal rate of interest thereafter.

Consequently, these properties attract a premium, typically about 16%. Therefore, from day one you’re buying a property which is in negative equity. Furthermore, these properties are designed with high ground rents. This is typically not focused upon by the buyer. For the developer this gives them an additional investment to then sell on, often to a collector of freeholds or a pension fund.

Sounds good on the surface.

However, when you look deeper into the details, the picture is not as rosy as it may first seem. Often what’s cited to confirm the success of a scheme is the number of people it’s been used by. According to this way of measuring it seems to be a success.

The above points show up on the bottom line of developers’ profit margins. Persimmon is a developer whose profit margin is over 30%, and profits are £1Bn. Guess what their business model is? Over half their sales are Help To Buy.

But a deeper analysis reveals some holes.

Rising housing prices and affordability are very serious issues.

Currently, the average house price in London in comparison to wages is 14 times. In Kensington this number rises to over 30 times. A mortgage lender will lend up to 5

Firstly, the loan is not actually a loan, it’s an equity share in the property. If you borrow £150K for a £400K property, and the property is then sold on for £600K, you will be paying back £225K; which reflects

THE FOLLY OF EGO It is not that one must think less of one’s self.

this is beneficial in all circumstances.

It is that one must think less about one’s self.

However, our egos are so concerned about our own survival that they cause us to concentrate on our own needs.

We do not put others first.

Paradoxically, this selfabsorption makes us unhappy.

When our attention places someone else at the centre, then our anxieties melt away, our suffering reduces and we are more effective.

The reality is that behaviour like

London, SE2 Purchase Price: £235,000

AGONY AGENT IS HERE TO HELP! times one’s salary. This means most of London has now become unaffordable to the average person.

Has the Help To Buy scheme actually helped first time buyers and those willing to upgrade?

Given the above, it seems debatable.

The numbers are self-evident. It seems the immediate benefit is to the house builders, who were astute enough to latch onto this scheme.

The tax payer will be covering any losses resulting from any forced sales and negative equity.

So, is there a solution to this problem? Should it be a government led one or will it come from the private sector? A government solution often displaces wealth, with Help To Buy it has from the first time buyer to the developer; with the tax payer insulating all the risk involved in the process. A private scheme would remove the tax payer bandage and perhaps offer a more balanced solution.

We will be going into this further in coming articles.

It is the folly of our ego.

You can trace most problems down to this misconception.

BUY TO LET OPPORTUNITY

9 - 15 March 2019

the 50% uplift in price.

I read a thought-provoking article regarding affordable housing, and the government’s attempt to tackle this very important issue. It dug quite deeply into the Help To Buy Scheme, which is due to come to an end in 2023. The scheme, since its inception, has ‘helped’ 200,000 new buyers come on to the housing ladder. 81% of these are first time buyers.

19

When we think of ourselves first, others sense this selfishness, and respond in kind.

Our relationships plateau, wilt or end.

we serve one another rather than seek how to exploit one another then our relationships, for example marriages, friendships and customer relationships, become more stable and positive.

Long term success is a result of overcoming this folly.

Whatever it is that you seek, you need people, and thus you need good relationships. When

Abraham Goldberg

Q: What kind of agreement do I need in place if I was to short let my BTL? A: There are some agents and landlords out there that run the risk of either no or the wrong agreement. In some cases, I have had landlords approach me and say that they have actually given their tenants two months on an Assured Shorthold tenancy. As many of you may be aware, in order for an AST to be an AST it must conform to a minimum term of six months.

Now, if you provided your short lets with an AST you may find it very difficult to have them removed from the property if they choose not to leave at the end of their stay. You would have to wait four months minimum before you are able to give notice to leave at the end of month six. This is down to the Deregulation Act that came into force on 1st October 2016.

The best thing for you to do would be to either rent through a reputable agent or a tour operator. However, if you are adamant you want to do yourself, I suggest that you draft a Holiday Let agreement.

If you would like further information on this, please don't hesitate to contact us: lettings@sowandreap.co.uk

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20 FINANCE - UK

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Consultant Editor Financial Voice Alpesh Patel Dear Financial Voice Reader, The financing of terrorism is a major problem and has been for a long time. Before you donate to any charity claiming to raise money for regions of conflict please be warned.

Before the naive start praising Pakistan for release of the Indian pilot consider that secret leaked US State Department documents show funding for JeM ( the Pakistani terror organisation that bombed Indian soldiers in Kashmir to begin with) came from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan’s spy agency ISI to JeM. And who visited Pakistan just a day after the terror attack? Crown Prince of Saudi. Pakistan thinking that timing gave them cover presumably.

What Saudi and Pakistan did not expect was Indian retaliation into Pakistan occupied airspace - after all in nearly 50 years no Indian Government had done this resulting in Pakistan holding an Indian pilot.

India being economically more important to Saudi, but also able to show the leaked document to Saudi, would have had a moral and economic case as well a political to put to Saudi why they should put a gun to Khan’s head and get him within 48 hours to wash and clean up the Indian pilot and release him.

Key passages of the leaked US State Dept documents on terror funding: “Locals believed that charitable activities being carried out by … Jaish-e-Mohammed were further strengthening reliance on extremist groups and minimizing the importance of traditionally moderate Sufi religious leaders in these communities. Government and nongovernmental sources claimed that financial support estimated at nearly 100 million USD annually was making its way to Deobandi and Ahl-e-Hadith clerics in the region from ‘missionary’ and ‘Islamic charitable’ organizations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates ostensibly with the direct support of those governments.”

And can you see this leaked secret US State Dept document?

Of course.

Wikileaks: https:// wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/08LAHORE302_a.html and https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/09STATE131801_a.html The Indian message that ‘Pakistan must do more to shut terrorists operating out of its territory’ is wrong. It would make the State separate from the terrorist. Britain should do more to stop terrorist funding to Pakistan I could argue. Does that mean Pakistan and UK are the same? No. Pakistan is a State sponsor of terror. That is the message the Indian Government needs to get across. It ferments and uses terrorists. It was the message when I worked in the US Congress we got out in resolutions working for Congressman Eliot Engel (full disclosure: not helped by the Government of India). It is a State sponsor because intelligence from the CIA and US State department disclose the same. If India is too scared to get this across, too polite, then it’s not serious. When America wants something, it knows how to go out and get it.

In the social media age -the message has to be simple, direct, short, repeated and backed by facts (see Wikileaks for those). The Indian messaging is wrong.

Moreover, this funding is no small matter. Nuclear war was averted according to this Yale University article by US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott who shows how PM Shariff used the same tactic as every time Pakistan uses Kashmir including 1965 and Kargil: https://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/day-nuclear-conflictwas-averted . It’s their Bay of Pigs strategy.

1.be aggressor directly or via terrorists 2. claim it's nothing to do with them (and no one in the world believes them except the Chinese) 3. blame India for defending itself 4. prepare its nuclear arsenal with civilian ignorance 5. Speak to 3rd parties to get India to discuss surrender of territory 6. Pakistan has to stand down without concessions from India (1965 and Kargil the US made them do it, in 2019, the Saudis did) 7. Longer term the conflict is seen as a strategic and political defeat for Pakistan as it neither succeeds in fomenting insurrection in Kashmir nor gain meaningful support at an international level.

Shariff was told by Clinton in the White House in the middle of the Kargil conflict – your ground nuclear weapons are being prepared, you don’t know this, and you will back down or you will stay in the US as a PM in exile.

Pakistan may have fooled many Indians even in the short term. And they may have fooled them for the reasons General of the Pakistani Army, Ayub Khan, stated in 1965 "Hindu morale would not stand more than a couple of hard blows at the right time and place" (quoted by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace). That Khan, and the present day Khan are both wrong about India. www.trading-champions.com

UK firms' growth at six-year-low amid Brexit and global trade fears British businesses have grown at their slowest rate in almost six years last month as fears of a no-deal Brexit and rising global trader barriers increase. A survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) reveals private sector growth dropped to -3 in February from zero in January.

This was its lowest reading since April 2013, fueling concerns that Britain's private sector has been shrinking in the runup to the scheduled Brexit leave date of March 29.

Firms warned that the outlook for the next three months was bleaker with the US-China battle over import tariffs harmed global

trade.

Manufacturing was among the worst affected parts of the economy, although it was a sharp slowdown in the usually robust services sector that accelerated the drag on growth in the three months to February. The CBI said its growth indicator showed that private sector

businesses were under pressure from squeezed household earnings and the prospect of a no-deal Brexit, which deterred business investment. CBI chief economist Rain NewtonSmith said, “More and more companies are hitting the brakes on investment and day-to-day business decisions are becoming

increasingly problematic.”

A survey last week showed manufacturers increased their stockpile of raw materials and finished goods by the most since records began in 1992 as they prepared for the possibility of border delays after Brexit. Newton-Smith said, “Until politicians can agree a deal that commands a majority in Parliament and protects our economy, growth will continue to suffer and long-term damage will be done.”

Economists have become increasingly concerned that households maintained their spending last year by dipping into their savings and through extra borrowing.

Employers face action for using gagging clauses to silence whistleblowers The British government has decided to prevent employers from binding their staff in tight clauses in a bid to prevent them from reporting criminal behavior, harassment or discrimination to police.

High-profile cases including that of Sir Philip Green, chair of Arcadia Group, is alleged to have used nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) to prevent several former employees from speaking out about alleged experiences of bullying and sexual assault.

Several organisations use NDAs to protect confidential commercial information.

The Department for Business, Energy and industrial Strategy said there was growing evidence of the unethical use of NDAs by a small minority of employers to intimidate whistleblowers and conceal harassment and discrimination, including

sexual assault, physical threats and racism.

Business Minister Kelly Tolhurst said, “What is completely unacceptable is the misuse of these agreements to silence victims, and there is increasing evidence that this is becoming more widespread.

Our new proposals will help to tackle this problem by making it clear in law that victims cannot be prevented from speaking to the police or reporting a crime and clarifying their rights.”

There will be clarification in law that NDAs cannot be

used to prevent workers from whistleblowing or to stop them discussing an issue with police, a doctor or therapist.

Prime Minister Theresa May said, “Over the past couple of years we have seen brave individuals breaking silence on such behaviour, but too many are still facing the unethical misuse of non-disclosure agreements by their employers. We are sending a clear message that a change in the law is needed to ensure workers are able to come forward, be aware of their rights and receive the advice they need

before signing up to them.”

Former assistant to Harvey Weinstein, Zelda Perkins, who had to sign an NDA when she left Miramax Films in the UK, welcomed the measures. However, he asked for more. “I hope these steps will turn into larger strides of legislative change which will put an end to the powerful using the law as a tool of abuse,” she said.

Rebecca Hilsenrath, the chief executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission said, “The landscape of women's employment has been littered with the misuse of NDAs in order to hide harassment, protect perpetrators and silence victims.” She said regulating NDAs alone would not prevent workplace sexual harassment, and she called for a mandatory duty on all employers to prevent such harassment happening in the first place.

British auditors to go for deeper checks into company accounts Following the collapse of Carillion and BHS, Britain's audit watchdog has proposed that the auditors go for deeper checks into the accounts of companies to know whether a company is able stay in business. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) proposed revising its current rules so that auditors more robustly challenge a company’s own assessment of being a “going concern.”

“The collapse of large companies such as HBOS, BHS, and Carillion has brought into question why such companies had clean

auditor’s opinions, which included no warnings that the companies were at risk of collapse,” the FRC said.

Auditors would have to complete a “stand back requirement” to consider all of the evidence obtained from a client’s management, whether corroborative or contradictory, when they draw conclusions on going concern.

“Recent corporate failures and the FRC’s own enforcement work has shown the existing Going Concern Standard needs to be strengthened,” said Mike Suffield, the FRC’s acting

executive director of audit.

“Our proposals will significantly expand the work required of auditors – however, we believe this to be an important investment in the quality of the work that underpins what is a cornerstone of audit.”

The scandals at Carillion and BHS angered lawmakers and shone a harsh light on the audit sector. The government is deciding how to implement recommendations from the Competition and Markets Authority to improve quality in audit. An independent review wants to scrap the

FRC and install a new, more powerful regulator.

The FRC said the revisions proposed to the going concern standard would mean significantly stronger requirements on UK auditors than those required by international standards.

An auditor would have to publicly say whether they agreed with a company management’s assessment that it could stay in business for the foreseeable future, usually taken to mean a year from the reporting date, and to set out the work done to reach this conclusion.

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21

N

O OM PE IN N ATI

Airtel, Voda-Idea may join hands to take on Jio

N O O NS W !

9 - 15 March 2019

Marred by steep competition unleashed by Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vodafone-Idea are set to team up in the optical fibre space, which will increasingly become the backbone of future network expansion. Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal said that he has “invited” Vodafone-Idea to be a partner in his fibre company Telesonic, and the two can pool together assets.

“We have made an invitation. We did that in towers, and if you remember, Indus Towers was created. On the same lines, we have asked Vodafone-Idea to come and join the fibre company.”

When asked about the reaction from VodafoneIdea, he said, “warm response.”

The partnership with Vodafone-Idea will help Airtel save costs by cutting down on duplication in

expansion of the fibre network. Mittal said there will be synergies through the joint venture if both the companies decide to come together. “They'll have a lot of fibre, we have a lot of fibre. Though we have lot of overlaps, both of us will gain about 25 per cent capacity and new routes which we don't have... So, you stop wasting money.”

The statement came a day after Vodafone group CEO Nick Reads said that telecom companies “need to collaborate and share network” the world over to offer better coverage and manage costs efficiently.

When asked whether he would also invite Jio to the proposed mega fibre formation, Mittal said, “From my point of view, more the merrier.” He, however, added, “First let's get the Vodafone-Idea thing

going, then we will see that.”

An Airtel-Vodafone-Idea combine will be the first major rival block to Jio's high-pitched challenge in the telecom space. It will come months after completion of the merger between Vodafone India's business and Idea Cellular.

Mittal also said that to broadbase offerings to customers, Airtel is open to partnerships with players such as Flipkart and Amazon. However, he has ruled out participation in 5G auctions, saying reserve prices are too high and it “makes no sense” to buy now. The Airtel chairman is against the general view in market that older telecom operators are going down due to Jio's onslaught or may default on statutory and bank payments. Mittal said he will not only survive, but thrive.

2019

it y r a h c e t i r u o v a f r u yo e 2019 t h a c n r i a M m No 2nd o ine 2

deadl n o i t a in

h duals w i v i d n i s/ charitie f our time, d Nom e s a b K so of any U g social issue ly w o n k n bal Do you solving pressi and glo n i a t i e r r B a both in

Nominate them for the Asian Voice Charity Awards 2019 by visiting our

website w ww.asianvoicecharityawards.com

ED attaches Nirav Modi’s assets worth £14.77 mn The Enforcement Directorate has attached properties worth £14.77 million of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi and his companies.

The attached movable and immovable properties are located in Mumbai and Surat in Gujarat, and have a market value of £14.77 million. The properties comprise eight cars, plant and machinery, consignments of jewellery, paintings and some buildings, they said. The properties are owned by Modi, who is an accused in the £1.3 billion PNB scam, and his group of companies namely Firestar Diamond

International Private Limited, Firestar International Private Limited, Radheshir Jewelry Company Private Limited and Rhythm House Private Limited.

The properties were attached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

Investigation revealed that substantial proceeds of crime obtained fraudulently by the Nirav Modi-owned group of firms, Solar Exports, Stellar Diamonds and Diamond R US, from Punjab National Bank were diverted to him, his relatives

Naresh Goyal agrees to step down as Jet chairman Naresh Goyal has agreed to step down as chairman of Jet Airways even as the airline was forced to ground six more aircraft Naresh Goyal due to nonpayment of lease rentals. The airline's share price fell nearly 6 per cent on opening but recovered to close at Rs 222.8, 1 per cent below its previous close. Lenders believe, Goyal's exit had turned inevitable as he did not fit into any of the resolution plans for the distressed airline that desperately needs a cash infusion from investors. They said that Goyal's resignation would make it easier for Jet's foreign partner, the Etihad group, to move in.

They however, could not confirm that a resolution was in sight as several of the impediments to Etihad's fund infusion still remain. The conditions put forward by Abu Dhabi's flag carrier include a demand that Goyal pledges his shares with the banks to raise money – a demand Goyal has been opposing. They also want Goyal to use his holdings in Jet Privilege as security to raise funds for the airline.

and entities controlled by him.

On the basis of an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of investigation, the ED had earlier registered a money laundering case against Modi and others on February 15, 2018, under the provisions of the PMLA, another official said. It was alleged that Modi and others committed the offence of cheating PNB in connivance with certain bank officials by fraudulently getting letters of undertaking issued without following the prescribed procedure and caused a wrongful loss to the bank.

Trump targets India in trade crackdown

The Awards ceremony will be held on 17th May 2019 at the Hilton, Park Lane, London

Award Categories

For Charities and Not-for Profit Institutions I Charity of the Year

This award recognises a UK-registered charity for their outstanding work and contribution to society, as well as demonstrated excellence service and achievement in its work over the last five years.

I Start-Up of the Year

This award is similar to Charity of the Year, but specifically for charities that have been operational for three years or less.

I Outstanding PR Team

This award recognises excellence in charity PR, either in-house at a charity, or an agency undertaking a PR campaign on behalf of a charity

I Most Enterprising

This award recognises a social enterprise or the trading arm of a charity that has made a significant difference to beneficiaries through its ability to generate income to meet its social goals over the last two years.

Donald Trump

President Donald Trump plans to end preferential trade status for India over failure to provide access to Indian markets.

It is the latest US attempt to counter what it sees as unfair trade practices. Mr Trump has pledged to reduce US trade deficits, and has repeatedly criticised India for high tariffs. As a result, he directed the US Trade Representative's (USTR) office to remove India from a programme that grants it preferential trade treatment.

Preferential trade treatment for India currently allows $5.6bn (£4.3bn) worth of exports to enter the United States duty free.

India said the US move would have a "minimal economic impact".

I Social Impact Award

This award recognises an organisation for the social impact they have created and their contribution to society.

For Individuals: I Inspiring Individual

This award recognises an individual who has demonstrated dedication, professionalism and integrity over a sustained period of time, and who has produced an identifiably profound effect on the social sector in the UK or otherwise through their work, which could be voluntary or otherwise.

I Inspiring Young Person

This award recognises a young individual who has demonstrated dedication and integrity through their work with the social sector in the UK or otherwise over the past year.

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT : 0207 749 4085

Email: george@abplgroup.com

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Pakistan bans Hafiz Saeed's JuD ISLAMABAD: Following mounting pressure, Pakistan finally banned 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed's Jamaat-ud-Dawa and its charity wing Falah-eInsaniat Foundation and imposed sanctions listed out by the UNSC. Indian officials, however, said the country is yet to come clean on its intention about going tough on terror.

The decision under United Nations Security Council (Freezing and Seizure) Order (SRO), 2019 overrides all the previous local listings of any organisation. It also ensures that the assets of terror groups are frozen and taken over by the Pakistani government. The diplomatic community has stepped up pressure on Pakistan after Jaish-e-Mohammad killed 40 CRPF personnel in a suicide bombing in Pulwama last month.

Despite a global outcry, including the US, UK, France and Germany, Pakistan is yet to act against JeM and its founder Masood Azhar, though it has acknowledged his presence in the country. In fact, the UN sanctions against JuD and FiF came after many flip-flops, clearly establishing it is

Hafiz Saeed

increasingly finding it difficult to brush terror under the carpet.

Earlier in the day, a list from Pakistan's interior ministry's NACTA (National Counterterrorism Authority) JuD and FiF under the organisation "under watch" despite declaring publically on February 21 that both were banned. The ban had been imposed following a meeting of the national security committee that was chaired by Pak prime minister Imran Khan.

The announcement of banning JuD and FiF came during a meeting of the Financial Action Task Force or FATF in Paris. After its week-

long meeting, FATF said it would continue to put Pakistan in its 'grey list' as Islamabad had not demonstrated a "proper understanding" of the Terror Financing risks posed by terror outfits thriving on its soil.

Indian officials termed the action an eyewash. "JUD, LeT, FiF have been banned by UN since 2009. So is Pakistan saying they are following that decision now? If so what were they doing all these years," asked a top government source. Both the outfits have already been listed by the United Nations Security Council for indulging in terror activities. In November 2008, nearly 170 people were killed in Mumbai by 10 Pakistani terrorists. The UNSC sanctions list also includes al-Qaeda, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and LeT. Assets likely to be seized The decision under the UNSC (Freezing and Seizure) Order (SRO), 2019 overrides all the previous local listings of any organisation that has been given a terror tag by the powerful UN body. The action ensures that the assets of the designated terror groups are frozen and taken over by the Pakistani

government. It took 10 years for Pakistan to impose sanctions on 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s JuD after he was listed a global terrorist by the United Nations Security Council (in 2009).

Action against Masood Azhar A media report said that Pakistan may take "decisive action" against Jaish-eMuhammed (JeM), and even withdraw its opposition to the move to list terror outfit's chief Masood Azhar in the UN Security Council terror list. The US, the UK and France had moved a fresh proposal in the UN Security Council to designate Azhar as a global terrorist, a listing that will subject him to global travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo.

It is not yet clear what specific action would be taken against Azhar but the official hinted that Pakistan may withdraw its opposition to the listing of JeM chief as global terrorist by the UN Security Council. "The state has to decide whether individual is important or the larger national interest of the country," the official said when asked if Pakistan would no more oppose the UNSC action against Azhar.

US seeks report on misuse of F-16 aircraft by Pak WASHINGTON: A day after India raked up contract details between the United States and Pakistan on the AMRAAM missile fired from an F-16 aircraft and shared the information with American interlocutors to bolster its case about the misuse of the fighter aircraft against India, the US sought more information on the matter. “We are aware of these reports and are seeking more information on the potential misuse of American-made F-16 fighter jets by Pakistan against India in violation of the enduser agreement,” US State Department was quoted as saying. “Due to non-disclosure agreements in Foreign Military Sales contracts, we cannot discuss the specifics of end useragreements contained within,” Lt Col Kone Faulkner, a Defense Department spokesperson said.

Indian Air Force (IAF) presented parts of a fired AMRAAM missile - which can only be fired from an F-16 aircraft- as evidence to “conclusively” prove that Pakistan deployed USmanufactured F-16 fighter jets during an aerial raid targeting Indian military installations in Kashmir after India’s anti-terror operation in Balakot. “There is enough evidence to show that F16s were used in this mission and Pakistan is trying to hide this fact. Also, parts of AMRAAM air-to-air missile,

which is carried only on the F-16s in PAF, were recovered east of Rajouri within Indian territory,” Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor had said at a joint briefing by the armed forces where parts showing the cover and serial number markings were displayed.

Sources said the contract details and the part of the missile show the use of F-16s in the air strike since the US, which sold the fighter jets to Pakistan, does not allow these platforms to be used in an offensive role.

Pakistan said that no F-16 fighter jets were used and denied that one of its planes had been downed by the Indian Air Force. It claimed that no F-16 was part of the operation - any such admission would violate US sale conditions of not letting

Pakistan use F-16s in an offensive role.

In 2016, India had strongly opposed the US decision to sell eight F-16s to Pakistan, which also could not pass the muster in US Congress for Foreign Military Funding. This meant that the order was never placed.

F-16 jets were meant to be used to “enhance Pakistan’s ability to conduct counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations,” Pentagon’s Defense Security and Cooperation Agency (DSCA) was quoted as saying. AMRAAM missiles allow a fighter pilot to target an enemy aircraft that is beyond visual range, in day or night, and in allweather conditions.

The AMRAAM has an autonomous guidance capability, which allows the pilot to manoeuvre immediately after the missile’s launch.

Iran threatens to take action against Pak-based terror groups TEHRAN: The Iranian government has threatened to take action against Pakistan government and the terror groups operating from the country.

General Qassem Soleimani, the all powerful commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, issued stern warnings to the Pakistani government and its military establishment.

“I have this question for the Pakistani government: where are you heading to? You have caused unrest along borders with all your neighbours and do you have any other neighbour left that you want to stir insecurity for,” Gen Soleimani

was recently quoted as saying.

“Are you, who have atomic bombs, unable to destroy a terrorist group with several hundred members in the region?” he asked, adding that Pakistan should not test Iran’s resolve.

India and Iran have enhanced their counterterrorism cooperation in recent years. This will top discussions between the two countries when the next round of foreign office consultations are scheduled.

Foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale was scheduled to travel to Iran over the weekend but the trip was postponed due to the IndiaPakistan crisis.

Iran has said that at least

three Pakistani citizens were among the assailants responsible for killing 27 members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps on February 13.

Militant group Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice), which Tehran says operates mostly out of bases in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Chairman of the Iranian parliament’s foreign policy commission Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh was also quoted as saying that Iran wanted to build a wall on its border with Pakistan, and promised Tehran would take action inside Pakistan if it was incapable of doing so to stop crossborder

attacks into Iran.

Even the top aide of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, went on record to castigate Pakistan.

This is significant because it is a sign that Iran’s supreme leader wants the message to go out to Pakistan. Ali Jafari, commander of the IRGC, also warned Pakistan against supporting terror.

“Pakistan should know that it should pay the cost for the Pakistani intelligence organisation’s support for Jeish al-Zolm (as Jaish al-Adl is called in Iran) from now on and this price will no doubt be very heavy for them," he said.

in brief I AM NOT WORTHY OF NOBEL PEACE PRIZE, TWEETS IMRAN Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said he wasn't worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize, after a resolution was submitted in Pakistan's top lawmaking body seeking the coveted honour for him. "The person worthy of this [Nobel Peace Prize] would be the one who solves the Kashmir dispute according to the wishes of the Kashmiri people and paves the way for peace and human development in the subcontinent," the Pak prime minister tweeted. A motion was earlier submitted in the National Assembly Secretariat seeking the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Imran Khan for his role in de-escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. The motion said that the two nuclear-armed countries were on the brink of war after India avenged the killing of 40 CRPF jawans in Pulwama by Pak-based terrorist organisation. The motion said that Imran eased the tense situation by releasing the captured IAF pilot AbhinandanVarthaman after this jet was downed in a air duel in the border.

SIKH LEADER WINS FEDERAL BY-POLLS IN CANADA A Sikh leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) won a by-election to enter the Canadian parliament. Jagmeet Singh, 40, won the Burnaby South constituency seat in British Columbia province after defeating Liberal party candidate Tory Shin, a corporate lawyer, and Lee, a former Burnaby member of the provincial legislature representing the BC Liberals.

The by-election win also sealed Singh’s position as an undisputed leader of the NDP, the third largest party in the House of Commons. The Scarborough-born Sikh leader had a shaky position as the head of the NDP as he was not a Member of Parliament. Following his win, Singh is now considered as a viable challenge to the main Opposition Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer.

NEPAL MINISTER, 6 OTHERS KILLED IN HELICOPTER CRASH Nepal’s Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Rabindra Adhikari and six others were killed when their helicopter crashed in eastern Nepal’s mountainous Taplejung district. Others killed included the pilot of the helicopter, prominent aviation and hospitality entrepreneur Tsering Sherpa, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's personal aide Yubaraj Dahal and Deputy Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal Birendra Prasad Shrestha. According to reports, the minister along with other officials had planned to visit Pathibhara Temple and then fly to Panchthar to observe the under construction airport at Chuhan Danda.

PEOPLE STAGE PROTEST AGAINST PAK AT UN Hundreds of people from different nationalities staged a protest against Pakistan and terrorism outside the United Nations in New York. The protest was held by the Indian American community against Pakistan's cross border terrorism in India and Afghanistan and sponsorship of global terrorism. The protesters also condemned the dastardly Pulwama attack. People from different nationalities including India, Caribbean countries, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Israel, Balochistan expressed their solidarity to the protest. The protesters were seen holding placards with slogans like 'Pakistan stop making suicide bombers', 'Pakistan stop terrorism.'

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India VS Pakistan: The neighbours and their military strength February has been a stressful months for India-Pakistan relations after a suicide bombing in Kashmir killed 40 Indian security personnel, an attack claimed

by Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad.

In response, the Indian Air Force launched 10 100 kg bombs on terrorist camps and launch pads in Balakot, and three other areas in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the military a free hand while his counterpart Imran Khan said they would retaliate if attacked.

With the possibility of a war between both the countries, and the UN and other nations urging both of them to exercise “massive restrain”, let's take a look at the military strength of both neighbours.

MILITARY BUDGET Data from the International Institute for

Strategic Studies (IISS) reveals India allocated $58 billion, 2.1 per cent of its GDP to support its 1.4 million active troops, last year. Pakistan spent $11 billion, about 3.6 per cent of its GDP, on its 653,800 troops.

It also received $100 million in foreign military assistance in 2018. Over 20 per cent of Pakistan's annual government expenditure between 1993 and 2006 was spent on the military. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said the military accounted for 16.7 per cent of government spending in 2017. Comparatively, India's military spending as a percentage of its government expenditure remained under 12 per cent during the same period.

MISSILES AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS India has nine types of

operational missiles, including the Agni-3 with a range of 1864 miles to 3106 miles. While Pakistan's missile programme, built with Chinese assistance, includes mobile short and medium-range weapons that can reach any part of India, according to the Center for Strategic and

International Studies (CSIS).

The Shaheen 2 has the longest range of up to 1242 miles. Pakistan has 140 to 150 nuclear warheads, compared with India's 130140 warheads.

ARMY India has a 1.2 millionstrong army, supported by more than 3565 battle tanks,

3100 infantry fighting vehicles, 336 armored personnel carriers and 9719 pieces of artillery.

Pakistan's army is comparatively smaller with 560,000 troops backed by 2496 tanks, 1605 armored personnel carriers, and 4472 artillery guns, including 375 self-propelled howitzers. In a report an IISS said despite its larger army, the capability of India's “conventional forces is limited by inadequate logistics, maintenance and shortage of ammunition and spare parts.”

AIR FORCE The Indian air force is substantially larger with 127,200 personnel and 814 combat aircraft, but there are concerns about its fighter jet fleet. India's defence plans require 42 squadrons of jets, about 750 aircraft, to defend against a two-pronged attack from

China and Pakistan.

Officials say India could have 22 squadrons by 2032 with its older Russian jets like the MiG-21 retiring soon. Pakistan has 425 combat aircraft including the Chinese-origin F-7PG and American F-16 Fighting Falcon jets. It also has seven airborne early warning and control aircraft, three more than India.

NAVY India's navy consists of one aircraft carrier, 16 submarines, 14 destroyers, 13 frigates, 106 patrol and coastal combatant vessels, and 75 combat capable aircraft.

It has 67,700 personnel, including marines and naval aviation staff. With a significantly smaller coastline, Pakistan has 9 frigates, 8 submarines, 17 patrol and coastal vessels, and 8 combat capable aircraft.

Earth now greener thanks UK condemns Pulwama attack, to China, India: NASA Minister Mark Field visits India Recent findings by NASA published in the journal Nature Sustainability reveals the world is now greener than it was 20 years ago. They compared satellite data from the mid-1990s to today using high-resolution imagery. Initially they were unsure what caused the significant uptick in greening around the planet.

It was unclear whether a warming planet, increased carbon dioxide (CO2) or a wetter climate could have caused more plants to grow.

Further investigation of the satellite imagery shows the greening was disproportionately located in China and India. Also, higher latitude regions should become green faster than lower latitudes as permafrost melts and areas like northern Russia become more habitable. Both of the most populous countries in

the world have implemented ambitious tree planting programs and scaled up their implementation and technology around agriculture. The two are responsible for the largest greening of the planet in the past two decades. A map, NASA reveals shows the relative greening and

browning around the globe.

China and India have significant increase in vegetation. They used Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) to get a detailed picture of Earth's global vegetation through time.

The technique provided up to 500 meter resolution for the past two decades.

FCO Minister for Asia and the Pacific, Mark Field, visited India from 1 to 3 March in a bid to strengthen UK-India relations. He met Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale in New Delhi.

After the meeting, he said, “I am delighted to be here in India to build on strong ties with a key partner. I was pleased to meet Indian Foreign Secretary Gokhale at a difficult time in regional relations between India and Pakistan. I repeated that the UK stood shoulder-toshoulder with India in condemnation of the appalling terror attack in Pulwama. I expressed the UK's concern about the current tensions, discussed the importance of creating greater regional stability, including the urgent need to tackle terrorism, and encouraged both sides to

Minister for Asia Mark Field visits New Delhi and Mumbai

come together to look for a peaceful diplomatic solution.” In the Capital, he also spoke at the Indian Foreign Service Institute highlighting the strength of the UK-India relationship, the UK's place in the world post-Brexit and the strengthening of the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Later, he visited Mumbai where he met young entrepreneurs at the

'Fintegrate Zone' conference to further the UK's position as a world leader in FinTech and position the UK as India's partner of choice in raising finance. Field also attended a multi-million pound UK-India life sciences deal signing; promoted UK-India sports links in the run up to the 2019 Cricket World Cup, and interacted with Indian youth leaders and Chevening alumni.

7 of world's most polluted cities are in India Seven of the world's top 10 most polluted cities in the world are in India, according to a new study.

Gurugram, located near India's capital New Delhi, led all cities in pollution levels in 2018, even as its score improved from the previous year, according to data released by IQAir AirVisual and Greenpeace.

Three other Indian cities joined Faisalabad, Pakistan, in the top five.

The index measures the presence of fine particulate matter known as PM2.5, a

pollutant that can fester deep in the lungs and bloodstream of human beings. "This has enormous impacts, on our health and on our wallets," Yeb Sano, executive director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said in a statement. "In addition to human lives lost, there's an estimated cost of $225 billion in lost labour, and trillions in medical costs."

India, the world's fastest-growing major economy, makes up 22 of the top 30 most polluted

cities, with five in China, two in Pakistan and one in Bangladesh. India racks up health-care costs and productivity losses from pollution of as much as 8.5 per cent of gross domestic product, according to the World Bank.

China made marked progress in its usually dismal pollution levels, with average concentrations falling by 12 per cent in 2018 from the previous year, according to the data.

Twenty-two of the world’s 30 worst cities for air

pollution are in India, according to a new report, with Delhi again ranked the world’s most polluted capital. The Greenpeace and AirVisual analysis of air pollution readings from 3,000 cities around the world found that 64% exceed the World Health Organization’s annual exposure guideline for PM2.5 fine particulate matter – tiny airborne particles, about a 40th of the width of a human hair, that are linked to a wide range of health problems.

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SOUTH INDIA

in brief

Dhinakaran, Sasikala's plea for AIADMK name, symbol rejected NEW DELHI: Delhi High Court has dismissed the pleas of TTV Dhinakaran and VK Sasikala challenging the Election Commission's order granting the AIADMK name and two leaves symbol to the faction led

by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister EK Palaniswami. A bench of justices GS Sistani and Sangita Dhingra Sehgal upheld the EC's decision of November 23, 2017, saying none of the grounds of challenge taken by Dhinakaran and Sasikala were sufficient to set aside the poll panel's order.

The court said there was no infirmity in the poll panel's decision to allot the AIADMK name and two leaves symbol to the faction headed by E Palaniswami and his deputy O Paneerselvam. After the order, senior advocate Abhishek M Singhvi who appeared for

TTV Dhinakaran

Dhinakaran and Sasikala, urged the bench to direct the EC not to allot the pressure cooker symbol to anyone during the next 15 days so that they have time to move the Supreme Court and seek an appropriate relief from there. Thereafter, the EC agreed not to allot the “pressure cooker” symbol to anyone for next 15 days in Tamil Nadu and

Puducherry. The court had on February 8 reserved its decision in the matter after hearing arguments on behalf of the EC and the two factions vying for the AIADMK name and the party symbol.

The bench had said it would deliver the judgment within four weeks in view of the February 7 SC order that the EC can decide Dhinakaran's plea for an interim poll symbol, if the high court's decision does not come within four weeks. Dhinakaran had floated Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) after he and Sasikala were expelled from the E Palaniswami-led AIADMK. The top court had on February 7 also vacated its order of abeyance on the high court's interim decision of March 9, 2018 directing the EC to allot a common symbol,

preferably that of a “pressure cooker”, and a name to the the then AIADMK (Amma) faction led by Dhinakaran.

The SC said that since the matter was pending before the high court for final adjudication, there was just no reason as to why the interim arrangement of allotting “pressure cooker” symbol by the poll panel ought not to continue. The order had come on an application filed by Dhinakaran for a direction to the EC for allocating his group a common symbol, preferably “pressure cooker”, as a byelection to fill the vacant assembly seat of Thiruvarur in Tamil Nadu had been announced for January 28. Later, the by-election to Thiruvarur seat was rescinded by a notification issued by the EC on January 6.

PUNJAB

Cong, Akalis trade charges over Jallianwala Bagh centenary event CHANDIGARH: The Congress and Akalis have indulged in noholds-barred attacks on each other's families as Punjab gears up to commemorate the centenary of Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, Jails Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Congress MLA Kuljit Nagra and Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia exchanged charges outside the House after speaker Rana KP Singh did not allow Majithia to ask a supplementary to his call attention motion against Sidhu

on the Amritsar train tragedy.

Stating that no permission was sought for the function, Majithia said the victim families are yet to get jobs.

Sidhu and Majithia later took potshots at each other in back-to-back press conferences.

Sidhu produced accounts of historians claiming that Majithia's great grandfather, Sundar Singh Majithia, was feted General Dyer after the massacre and the British later bestowed the title of 'Sardar Bahadur' on him and gave him the Gorakhpur 'riyasat'. Sidhu

said, “In his book, historian BN Dutta wrote that Sundar Singh praised General Dyer after the tragedy and called it a mischievous attempt to malign his (Dyer's) image. Writer Khushwant Singh too said in his book that when he went to Sundar Singh to get an autograph, he refused after seeing picture of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh in it and flung the book in the air.

Khushwant wrote that he was not able to forgive him for the boorish behaviour and did not respond to friendship gestures

of his sons and grandsons.”

Nagra said since Punjab is observing 100 years of the tragedy and the House has passed a resolution seeking an apology from the UK government, it is only befitting that Majithia too tender an apology on behalf of his great grandfather.

Randhawa said Simranjit Singh Mann of SAD (Amritsar) has tendered on apology on behalf of his grandfather, who too was a British loyalist and gave testimony against Bhagat Singh.

WEST BENGAL

SC asks CBI to give proof against former-Kolkata police chief NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has asked the CBI Director to file an affidavit giving details about the agency's claim that former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar had tampered with evidence in the Saradha chit fund scam. A division bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanja Khanna directed the premier investigation agency to file the affidavit within two weeks on its claim that Kumar had tampered with the call data records of the chit fund scam accused before handing the case over to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The SC said it was not satisfied with the oral submissions made by Attorney General K K Venugopal and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on the allegation and sought the affidavit. The bench pointed out that according to the Centre, the evidence tampering took place

in June 2018 and asked the Centre why it approached the court only in February 2019 after the incident of February 3 when a CBI arrived at Kumar's residence to question him in connection with the Saradha case.

The counsel for the Centre told the bench that CBI sought the documents from the service providers and these documents were received only in November 2018.

Chief Justice Gogoi asked, “If what you are saying is correct, don't you think it is serious enough for you to take the court only after the incident of that evening.” In a recent affidavit, the CBI said there is a “larger conspiracy between highly placed state authorities and the companies under investigation” in the scam.

The affidavit also said communication between the

CBI and state authorities show that there had been a “concerted effort to evade, avoid, and to escape” the process of law and a conscious effort on part of the authorities to scuttle the investigation.

The affidavit said return of crucial evidence to the main accused by the SIT headed by Kumar, despite the regular monitoring by the Calcutta Rajeev Kumar High Court, clearly show original CDRs from the service “connivance of the SIT to a providers.” They added that a larger conspiracy” wherein “local comparison of the authorities have obstructed doctored/tampered CDRs given investigation and made

by Kumar and the CDRs attempts to destroy the obtained by the CBI from the evidence” prior to the transfer of service providers leave no the case to the CBI by the apex manner of doubt that it was court. handed over by Kumar tampered The agency had said, “The and doctored.

CDRs of the accused, when The CBI had filed the analysed by the CBI, were found contempt plea in the apex court to be tampered, doctored and against the three officers for the material evidence had been alleged wilful and deliberate destroyed. The CBI obtained the violation of top court orders.

MODI LASHES OUT AT OPPOSITION Prime Minister Narendra Modi lashed out at opposition parties for their statements which help Pakistan and harm India. “Modi will come and go. India will remain. Do not weaken our nation to strengthen your politics. They are matters of defence and national security. We are Indians first. Your politics can wait. Safety of our nation is at stake,” Modi said at a rally in Kanyakumari.

On IAF’s aerial strikes against terror camp in Balakot in Pakistan, he said, “Over the last few days we have proved the strength of our armed forces yet again. The way the nation supported our forces is extraordinary. Sadly, a few political parties guided by ‘Modi hatred’ have started hating India.” He said the statements by some parties are “happily quoted in the Pakistan. “Do you support our armed forces or suspect them? Do you believe our armed forces or believe those who support terrorism on our soil?” the PM asked.

19-YEAR-OLD SET ON FIRE FOR REJECTING LOVE PROPOSAL A 19 year old girl has been left battling for her life after a man set her on fire for allegedly rejecting his love proposal in Warangal. The woman, a third-year student of Vagdevi Degree College at Warangal, received 80 per cent burns and is undergoing treatment. According to the police, K Avnesh, the accused and the woman's classmate, accosted her while she was on her way to college and after his love proposal got rejected by the woman, he poured petrol on her and set her on fire.

An official said, “Even before anybody could react she was engulfed in fire and received 80 per cent burns. Avnesh escaped from the spot and police is looking for him.”

AKALI DAL, BJP TO FIGHT LS POLL IN PUNJAB TOGETHER BJP chief Amit Shah has announced that the party will stick to the old formula of seat adjustment with NDA ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab. The BJP will contest three Lok Sabha seats, while the SAD will field nominees on rest of the 10 Parliamentary constituencies. Shah tweeted. “The BJP-SAD will contest the Lok Sabha elections together. The seat adjustment formula will remain same as it had been in 2014,” Shah tweeted. However, neither parties have disclosed if there would be shuffling of the constituencies.

SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, along with party colleagues, called on Shah last week at his residence. The BJP vice president and party in-charge for the state, Prabhat Jha, was also present in the meeting.

SEVERAL INJURED AS BJP CLASHES WITH POLICE IN WB Several people were injured as clashes broke out in different parts of West Bengal when police sought to stop BJP activists from holding the 'Vijay Sankalp' bike rallies.

Launched by Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah, the rallies were part of the party's nationwide outreach campaign ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. However, they were denied permission because of board examinations and traffic issues, a senior police officer said. Police intercepted the rally participants on Central Avenue, Jorabagan, Kakurgachi and other important points, while disruptions were reported from North 24 Parganas, Howrah, West Burdwan, South Dinajpur, Cooch Behar and West Medinipur districts.

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Humour and Wit in the Indian Parliament • PM Modi worried about humour gradually fading away from the House • “I welcome PM Rajiv on one of his rare visits to New Delhi”, said Upendra rime Minister Narendra Modi conceded in August 2014 “the growing absence of wit and humour in Parliamentary proceedings. The sixteenth Lok Sabha (2014-2019) preferred to quote poetry rather than opting for humorous or witty comments lest the media plays them otherwise. In 1950s and 1960s, when the Indian Parliament was young and had stalwarts like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, Piloo Mody and others, they were able to handle bitter criticism and sharp verbal ammos with ease. PM Modi was the first time MP who became the PM in 2014 wanted more humour in the Parliament. He was speaking at a function in August 2014 at which Arun Jaitley, Dr. Karan Singh and Sharad Yadav were presented the outstanding Parliamentarian awards by the then President Pranab Mukherjee. PM Modi said: “Humour and wit are gradually fading away from Parliamentary proceedings as members are apprehensive as to what colour the 24x7 media would give to even one proverb they utter.” He did refer a barb by Sushma Swaraj on Sharad Pawar dubbing him as Lalita Pawar (veteran actress known for her negative roles) some two decades back which was enjoyed by the NCP Supremo Sharad Pawar and media hardly mentioned it.

P

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto with Indira Gandhi in Shimla. Benazir Bhutto accompanied her father.

PM Nehru and his friend-turned political rival Dr.Ram Manohar Lohia

Satpathy was prompt to say: “Sir, I am very short. I would like to be actually six feet and two inches, but I am very short!” The whole House burst into laughter.

In January 2018, when the Congress leader Mallikarjun her.

Sharp, if not The Indian Parliament, the Kharge told Speaker Sumitra particularly amusing, was Lok Sabha and the Rajya Mahajan in chaste Hindi her answer to an American Sabha plus the President of that his motion for journalist in 1971 about why India, has got incidents of adjournment has been she had refused to meet humour and wit on the turned down, Mahajan with Pakistan’s General official websites and there responded quickly saying Yahya Khan: “You cannot are special publications on the motion had been shake bands with a clenched the humour and wit in both rejected. “That’s what I said fist.” Both these remarks the Houses edited by the in Hindi.I know a little bit of have the merit of provoking Secretary General also. Of Hindi,” Kharge said. thought beyond the course, though the 16th Lok Mahajan answered, “Your immediate reaction to their Sabha would be considered Hindi is better than cleverness. Tharoor brands most poetic in Indian mine.May be there is a Raj Narayan who defeated Parliament’s history, the problem with my hearing, PM Indira Gandhi as one debates were full of humour and it’s all because of you (as among the “political and wit. Even in good old you are always protesting days, Mahatma loudly).” Kharge Gandhi and Sardar shot back loudly, Patel tried to pull “I will each other’s leg and recommend you preferred to remain to a good doctor.” lighter. Both had On hearing this, puckish sense of there was humour even while laughter all they were in Yerwada around.

There jail, Pune. was another Unfortunately, their incident when political heirs did not during the Zero inherited it much.

Hour, the Speaker Once the Outgoing Speaker Meira Kumar welcomes incoming Speaker called out the Mahatma was asked Sumitra Mahajan name of the MP what he thought of from Manipur, buffoons” but prefers to western civilization. He Dr. Thokchom Meinya. He quote Piloo Mody who replied, “It would be a good was present in the House, promptly pinned an “I am idea.” Upbraided for going but as there was CIA Agent” button on his to Buckingham Palace in his pandemonium in the pet poodle. P. Upendra, TDP loincloth for an audience House, he could not hear MP, was briefly a leader of with the King-Emperor, and later responded that he the Opposition in the Lok Gandhiji retorted, “His was present there and be Sabha. On one occasion Majesty had on enough allowed to speak. Mahajan when Rajiv Gandhi appeared cloths for the two of us.” In said she had already called in the Lok Sabha on his the book “The Elephant, the his name twice, but he did Tiger & the Cellphone: not hear. Meinya responded, Next Column: Reflections on India in the “Madam, it is bit difficult for 21st Century”, Shashi Claimants for Andaman and me to follow you in Hindi. I Tharoor,MP has devoted am sorry.” Mahajan replied, Nicobar Islands one full chapter on the “I only called your name. I return from yet another archives for Indian political did not say anything else. foreign trip, Upendra wit : “Whie researching my What is it about Hindi and ceremoniously began a doctoral dissertation on her English? Is your name speech by saying, “I would (Indira Gandhi’s) foreign different in English?” like to welcome the Prime policy, I read practically Pranabda may have Minister on one of his rare everything she ever said many incidents proving visits to New Delhi.” between 1966 and 1977. I can himself Birbal in the On 4 May 2012, when honestly say that I come Parliament. One such is Tathagat Satpathy was across only one line that was recorded regarding “instant participating in the remotely witty. In India she coffee”. On 14 July 2009, discussion on Indian remarked once, “our private during the ‘Zero Hour’, an Economic Council enterprise is usually more agitated Member, Arjun Management Bill, 2012, the private than enterprising.”

Charan Sethi raised a matter Chairman interrupted him But from what one knows of regarding damages caused by saying, “You speak, but the lady, the comment had by floods in the State of you have to be short” and probably been scripted for Odisha in 2007-2008, and

he wanted immediate response from the Hon’ble Finance Minister, Mukherjee who was present inside the House. The Speaker Meira Kumar said that She could not compel the Minister to respond.

When the Member persisted, Pranabda stood up and said, “I cannot react or respond instantly like instant coffee during the ‘Zero Hour’ without ascertaining the facts, and

treasury benches but even the Opposition is also missing leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee who kept everybody in good humour by his poetic and witty language. Of course, one has to accept the reality that was expressed by PM Modi in just four months of his joining the Lok Sabha.

Dr. Hari Desai (The writer is a Socio-political Historian.

E-mail: haridesai@gmail.com)

the whole House enjoyed the witty remark. On another occasion, on 24 July 2009, while initiating the debate on Finance Bill,2009, Jashwant Singh who was also former Finance Minister told the FM Mukherjee, “I speak from personal experience, I lost my hair when I had experienced this”, the FM was quick to respond: “I have already lost”, the House burst into laughter.

These days not only the

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26 INDIA

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

9 - 15 March 2019

Modi slams oppn for doubting air strike the air force strikes when I made this statement must use their common sense. I had said if we had acquired Rafale jets in time, none of our fighter jets would have gone down and not a single of theirs would have been saved.”

He lashed out at his political critics, saying they have made such statements which make headlines in Pakistani newspapers and are lauded in Pakistan Parliament. “Is this the way you are serving the national interest? You may question me on my policies. You may not trust me but at least trust the armed forces.

Don't raise questions over their valour,” Modi said.

During his visit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagging off the Ahmedabad Metro at Vastral Gam Metro Station, in Ahmedabad

As India and Pakistan remain in a headlock over terrorist attacks and air strikes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed opponents for labeling the second surgical strike as an electoral gimmick. Speaking at the Civil Hospital campus in Ahmedabad, where he opened 'Medicity', a 1,200bed extension to the Asia's largest public hospital, Modi said, “They are saying the air strike was for electoral gains. Were there elections

when we carried out surgical strikes?”

The PM was in his home state Gujarat on a two-day visit where he lambasted the UPA government for not avenging 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and the 2008 serial blasts. “Do you remember the day when demons struck Civil Hospital? Had the then government be stronger, they could have taken revenge. Why did they not avenge 26/11 Mumbai

attacks? You tell me, should we not fight terrorism, should we not uproot it completely.” Modi spoke in Jamnagar earlier, urging opposition parties to use common sense. He criticised them for questioning his statement that the presence of Rafale fighter jets would have given greater firepower to the IAF during the February 27 aerial engagement with Pakistan.

He said, “Those who accused me of questioning

Jamnagar, he inaugurated a brand new 700-bed Guru Gobind Singh Hospital, laid the foundation stone for new desalination plant, phase-3 of SAUNI scheme and flagged off the new Jamnagar-Bandra Humsafar Express.

‘Don’t worry, I’m there after 2019 too’ PM Modi exuded confidence as he stated, "I'm there after 2019 too, so don't worry." Addressing Patidars at Vishva Umiya Dham venue, he said, "If you have any work with the Union government, consider the Delhi home as yours.” At inaugural function of `Medicity', Modi said it was his nature to inaugurate projects of which he had laid

the foundation. "Let me tell you I have laid foundation of National Maritime Heritage Complex (at Lothal, who will inaugurate it?" quizzed Modi getting a rousing applause from public who chanted `Modi' as answer.

Modi visits Dholeswar Mahadev temple Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Dholeswar Mahadev temple in Gandhinagar on the occasion of Mahashivratri.

Modi was an occasional visitor to this temple when he was the chief minister of Gujarat. Modi also visited his mother Hiraba and spent around 15 minutes with her at younger brother Pankaj Modi's residence at Raysan area of Gandhinagar.

SUCCESSFULLY HIT TARGETS IN PAKISTAN Continued from page 1

The reference to ongoing operations seems in context of a state of high alert after the Indian bombing of the Jaish camp and Pakistan’s retaliatory raid along the Line of Control near Nowshera in which a MiG-21 shot down a Pakistani F-16 and was itself brought down.

The MiG pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s parachute landed in PoK and he was returned after a spell in captivity.

MiG-21 equipped with better weapons Intelligence reports had indicated presence of over 300 terrorists at the JeM facility on that day.

Pakistan has claimed IAF bombs fell in open forested areas but ACM Dhanoa said targets were struck. Foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale had last week said “a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis were eliminated” in the February 26 operation.

Asked why ageing MiG-21s were deployed against Pakistani F-16s, which along with JF-17s and Mirage-5 attack jets had sought to target Indian military installations on February 27, ACM Dhanoa said, “See, one is a planned operation in which you plan and carry out, like the first strike we did. But when an adversary does a strike on you, every available aircraft goes in, irrespective of which aircraft it is. All aircraft are capable of fighting the enemy."

Dogfight between fighter jets A day after Indian air strikes at JeM training camp in Balakot inside Pakistan, a dogfight ensued between the fighter jets from both countries and an Indian pilot was captured by Pakistani forces after he bailed out when his plane was shot down along the Line of Control, while rival armies continued to exchange heavy cross-border fire. The aerial skirmish began when three Pakistani fighters, out of a “fairly large formation” of over 10 F-16s, JF-17s and Mirage-5 attack jets, crossed the LoC in the Kalal area in Nowshera region of Rajouri.

“The fighters came 6-7 km into our airspace,” a source said. A media report said four military installations were being targeted by the Pakistani planes - the Brigade headquarters in Krishna Ghati (Poonch), a battalion HQ in the vicinity in Nangi Tehri and the supply dump and ammunition point in Niyari.

The government said that IAF had “successfully foiled” an attempt by Pakistan to “target military installations” across the LoC by shooting down one of its jets probably an F-16 - but also admitted it had lost a MiG-21 ‘Bison’ fighter and that one of the Indian pilots had gone “missing while in action.” Pakistan said the pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, was in its custody. Pakistan claimed its fighters

Abhinandan Varthaman

“locked on” to six Indian military targets, ranging from the brigade headquarters at Bhimber Gali to an ammunition dump at Narian, to demonstrate its “capability and resolve” but chose to drop bombs in open spaces to avoid any casualties.

India disputed Pakistan’s account that the latter’s jets could have hit Indian military assets but chose to spare them, and described PAF’s action as an unprovoked aggression that was thwarted by the scrambling of MiG-21s to intercept the Pakistani fighters. In the ensuing dogfight, one of the MiG-21s fired an R-73 missile to down a Pakistani fighter, while a MiG-21was hit either by a missile fired by a Pakistani fighter or a surface-to-air missile. The heightened tensions led Pakistan to shut down its entire airspace, with India too temporarily suspending its civilian air traffic in its northern region. India summoned the acting high commissioner of Pakistan to issue a strong demarche against the “unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan”, including violation of the Indian air space by PAF and targeting of Indian posts.

Wing Commander Abhinandan returns home There was happiness across India after Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman was released by Pakistan on Friday last. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders welcomed the brave pilot, who has become a hero for the entire nation after he showed immense grit and grace while in the enemy's captivity. Pakistan has changed the timing of his handover twice. New Delhi wanted to bring him back from Pakistan by a special flight, but was denied permission. Pakistan said Wing Commander Abhinandan was being released as a "gesture of peace." India had rejected Imran Khan's call for for a dialogue, saying there would be "no deal" on Abhinandan's release.

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HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

27

9 - 15 March 2019

Cardamom For Hypertension Cardamom, or elaichi, is used in a lot of festive preparations, which is why the health benefits of this extremely flavourful and aromatic spice are not very well known. While cardamom may not be appreciated when one accidentally encounters it in a spoonful of delicious biryani, it is enjoyed in a whole range of desi dishes, including sensational desserts and savouries.

Cardamom is used in both whole and powdered form and is also included in a number of spice mixes. It has a minty, spicy herb-like flavour and smell, and a warm taste, which is why it is also consumed as a mouth-freshener. It also serves as a good addition to your masala chai concoction, adding a calming aroma to the drink that is the quintessential Indian refresher.

But cardamom has a number of health benefits as well, among which regulation of blood pressure is perhaps the most important one.

Cardamom For High Blood Pressure

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a condition wherein the blood pressure in a person's arteries is persistently in an elevated condition.

Usually, hypertension or high blood pressure is defined by a blood pressure exceeding 140/90. It is considered severe when it shoots above 180/120. What makes hypertension so dangerous is that it can often have no discernible symptoms, but if it is left untreated for a long period of time, it can cause a number of potentially fatal health complications, including heart diseases and even stroke. We have a number of spices and

herbs that may help alleviate or regulate hypertension, when consumed as a part of a healthy diet, along with some amount of physical activity.

Cardamom, or elaichi, is one such spice, which is probably under-appreciated for its role in keeping blood pressure levels under check. There has been some research into the effects of cardamom consumption on the blood pressure levels of hypertension patients. One particular study, published in the Indian Journal Of Biochemistry and Biophysics, found that daily consumption of elaichi in a dose of 1.5 gms twice in a day, lead to a decrease in the systolic, diastolic and mean blood pressure in Stage-1 hypertensive patients, who were observed for a period of three months.

The study also said that although there was no sudden decrease in blood pressure levels in patients, a gradual decrease was observed and at the end of three months, the patients were able to reach achieve

blood pressure levels that were normal or were below 140/90. The study concluded that long-term consumption of cardamom can have merits for patients of hypertension or people suffering from elevated blood pressure levels. The study pointed towards therapeutic and antioxidant capabilities of cardamom as being responsible for lowering blood pressure levels in hypertension patients.

How To Use Cardamom To Keep Blood Pressure Under Control

Cardamom, or elaichi, may be added to your breakfast bowl or oats or any other healthy breakfast cereal. Just a pinch of cardamom can add both flavour and boost health factor of your breakfast cereal bowl. You may also add it to a number of hot beverages, including black tea, green tea or just add a pinch of it to warm water and sip on it, to reap its benefits. You may sprinkle some fresh cardamom powder on warm salads or in dals and curries.

Laser eye surgery

Multiple sclerosis

When Sohaib Ashraf underwent laser eye surgery to correct his short-sightedness, he was in and out of the clinic in 30 minutes — the procedure itself took just ten — but he had high hopes for the results.

‘I was looking forward to being able to see the numbers on the alarm clock in the morning and not having to fumble around for glasses any more,’ says Sohaib.

He had worn glasses since the age of five, and adds: ‘Like lots of people, I was fed up with them. I also wanted to improve my image, I was young and single at the time.’

The laser eye surgery was, indeed, life-changing — just not in the way he had expected. Since having the

Drinking a mug of cocoa once a day could help people with MS battle fatigue, research suggests.

Patients who drank cocoa drink rich in flavonoids every day for six weeks reported less fatigue and pain, scientists at Oxford Brookes University found.

The researchers believe this is because the flavonoids in cocoa have anti-inflammatory properties.

Multiple sclerosis is the most common disabling neurological condition affecting 100,000 people in Britain.

The condition, which affects twice as many women as men, causes fatigue among nine in ten

procedure six years ago, Sohaib, 32, who lives with his wife Fahtima, 26, has developed blurred vision in his right eye, and ‘halos’ and glare in both. Even worse, he suffers from permanent, stabbing pain in his eyes.

Sohaib had been treated with LASEK, where the cornea (the clear front part of the eye) is reshaped to correct vision faults. Sohaib says he asked about the risks, but the surgeon ‘downplayed them as just dry eye, which he reassured me would go after six months’.

Tooth decay Tooth decay may make colon cancer more aggressive, according to a new study.

The findings add to the growing swell of research that show oral health may be linked to much, much more than just the look and smell of our teeth.

In the last few years, research has shown dental plaque is linked to heart health, neurological disorders, and tumor growth.

And now Dr Yiping Han, a pioneer in this emerging field, has found another

connection: people with bowel cancer may be harder to treat if they have poor oral health.

Ultimately, it suggests we may be blinkering our vision by focusing on the tumor's mutations alone, rather than other factors.

To Our Readers

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

patients, along with pain and eventually loss of mobility and sight problems.

The condition is caused when the body's immune system malfunctions, and instead of warding off diseases turns instead to attack the body's own nerves.

The researchers said: 'Our study establishes that the use of dietary interventions is feasible and may offer possible long-term benefits to support fatigue management, by improving fatigue and walking endurance.'

'Broken heart' syndrome Your heart can be damaged after a sad event and it may be your brain's doing, experts believe.

Swiss researchers have been studying people with a rare and unusual condition called broken heart syndrome.

This weakening and failing of the heart happens suddenly, often after a stressful or emotional event such as bereavement.

It is little understood but the work in the European Heart Journal suggests the mind's response to stress plays a part.

Also known as takotsubo syndrome - referring to the shape of the heart in people with this condition,

which resembles a Japanese pot with the same name broken heart syndrome can be brought on by shock.

It's different to a heart attack caused by blocked blood vessels, but has similar symptoms, including breathlessness and chest pain.

Often, an unhappy event is the trigger, but exciting big events, such as a wedding or new job, have been linked with it too.

in brief PUBLIC HEALTH 'IMPROVING UNDER COUNCILS DESPITE CUTS Councils in England say there has been a marked improvement in public health since they took over responsibility for delivering services nearly six years ago, despite budget cuts.

The Local Government Association points to a fall in the number of smokers, fewer teenage pregnancies and a decrease in the suicide rate. But it warns progress could stop if there are further funding cuts. The government has said councils will get £1.3bn extra next financial year.

The LGA, which represents 370 councils in England and Wales, is calling on the government to reverse budget cuts to councils, which it says would alleviate cost pressures on the NHS. Councils nationally have had their funding cut by 49% in real terms, between 2010-11 and 2017-18, according to the government spending watchdog.

But the LGA said despite the cuts, councils were enjoying success when it came to public health outcomes.

Since taking over responsibility for public health in England in 2013, testing for sexually transmitted infections was up, while new diagnoses were down.

The rate of teenage conception dropped by almost a quarter from 2013-14, and the number of adults smoking cigarettes in England between 2011 and 2017 fell by about 1.6 million, to 6.1 million. Overall, councils have maintained or improved 80% of the public health outcomes.

VACCINATION DENIERS GAINING TRACTION, NHS BOSS WARNS The head of NHS England has warned that "vaccination deniers" are gaining traction on social media as part of a "fake news" movement. Simon Stevens said parents were seeing "fake messages" online about vaccines, which was making it harder to "win the public argument" on vaccination.

NHS England is considering what action can be taken to stop such messages spreading, Mr Stevens said. He said the health service needed to support parents on the issue.

Speaking at a health summit held by the Nuffield Trust think tank, Mr Stevens said that there had been a "steady decline" in the uptake of the measles vaccine over the last five years.

He went on to describe the uptake of the MMR vaccine among five-year-olds in England (87.5% compared with the World Health Organization target of 95%) as a "real problem".

Mr Stevens said parents at his daughter's primary school have expressed concern about vaccines. In January, the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) warned that social media is helping to spread "misleading and dangerous information" about vaccines.

Experts called for more to be done to challenge untruths about possible side effects of vaccines and said that social media giants should clamp down on "fake news".

The study said social media is a "breeding ground for misleading information and negative messaging around vaccination".

AMAZON WITHDRAWS PAINTED CHILDREN'S DRINKING TUMBLERS Amazon has withdrawn from sale a set of painted Disney character children's drinking glasses amid safety fears.

The paint used contains the toxic metal cadmium which is associated with a risk of damage to kidneys and bones and may lead to cancer, according to the NHS. However, provided safety standards are met, the use of paint containing cadmium is permitted on glassware.

In the withdrawn Amazon glasses cadmium was found close to the rim where the risk of ingesting it was highest.

Dr Andrew Turner of the University of Plymouth analysed the decorated children's tumblers and said he would personally not wish to use them on a long term basis.

Amazon said in a statement that "all sellers must follow our selling guidelines and those who don't will be subject to action including potential removal of their account".

The Amazon glasses were produced under license from Disney by a company called Half Moon Bay which said it was "investigating this product and its manufacture in light of the reported findings of Plymouth University".

Other glasses sold by Tesco and Plymouth-based The Range were found to have paint containing lead and cadmium, but the paint was further away from the rim, where the risk was deemed to be lower. Tesco said all of its drinking glasses complied with EU and UK safety standards and those examined by Dr Turner had also been independently tested "to show compliance" with a voluntary standard on lead and cadmium.

28 BOLLYWOOD

AsianVoiceNews

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

www.asian-voice.com

9 - 15 March 2019

Priyanka features in the Jonas Brothers' brand new single

Indra Nooyi is my female inspiration Priyanka Mehta adla, featuring Taapsee Pannu and B Amitabh Bachchan, directed by Sujoy Ghosh, which is an official remake of the Spanish drama 'The Invisible Guest' is slated to hit the theatres this weekend on International Women's Day. After 'Pink', the 2016 ✤ How is Minal's character different from that of Naina Sethi?

Naina is an extremely sharp and smart woman.

She is proud of her achievements because she is a self-made businesswoman, in a foreign country, Scotland, all by herself. She has worked hard to be in a position where she is today. Naina doesn't want the murder, which she is accused of, to hamper her personal and professional life. She does accept the fact that she is guilty of adultery but not of murder.

Whereas, Minal in Pink was in trouble and didn't know what to do about the precarious situation she was in until this man [Amitabh Bachan] surfaced and helped her out. Both Minal and Naina have this similarity of possessing this 'never giving up' attitude. ✤ Balance for better marks as this year's International Women's Day theme, do you think we would ever be able to root out the issue of

social drama which was invited for a special screening at the UN, the ace actors are back again and this time with a murder mystery. Prior to the movie's run at the box-office, Taapsee Pannu speaks to Asian Voice about women empowerment, feminism, and gender pay gap, issues that concern women even today.

gender-pay-gap in Bollywood?

Today, I still don't feel that I am in the position where I can attract the same footfall in the theatres as some of the male leading stars do, even if the film is shouldered on me. So, it is not fair on my part to demand the same salary as my male counterparts do.

The day, people are going to flock to the theatres in a movie where I am the front-runner and because they want to see me is when I should be in the position to demand that equal salary. ✤ What are the biggest challenges that women in India face today?

There are many challenges that we [women] face today, the biggestwhenever we achieve something great, often the first narrative is that we must've taken some sort of a shortcut to be in that position. It is scrutiny of sorts that we have always been subjected to which unfortunately continues

even today even if it has decreased over the time period.

But more importantly, the ideas of women empowerment and feminism have gone in the wrong direction, and part of our struggle also lies in ensuring that people have the right understanding of these concepts which focus around equality- nothing more and nothing less. ✤ Who is your female inspiration?

In the film industry, there are many women whose work I admire but outside of it, Indra Nooyi is the one woman who I look up to.

Indra Nooyi, the former PepsiCo CEO has recently joined Amazon's board of directors.

Whereas, Pepsico's corn puff snack's brand Kurkure has signed Taapsee Pannu as its new brand ambassador. It is all about breaking the glass ceiling and these women seem determined in their stride in doing so. Badla releases on 8th March 2019.

After major speculations of a reunion, exteen band The Jonas Brothers are back and have dropped there first single called 'Sucker'. Priyanka Chopra, who is married to Nick Jonas, released the cover of the new music video on her Instagram, with a caption that read, “And yes they're back and may I say hotter than ever. So proud of the family #Sucker #JonasBrothers #MidnightET”. The With the song dropped online, it has a huge surprise for all fans of the newly-married couple. The brand new music video features the three brothers and there respective partners creating much hype around it. The music video features Priyanka Chopra, Sophie Turner and Danielle Jonas opposite Nick, Joe and Kevin. And the ladies are truly killing it with their moves and spunky outfits in the colourful video.

After the video released, Priyanka posted a teaser of the music video and even said how super proud she is of her husband.

Priyanka wrote, “#SuckerVideo OUT NOW. This is the first time we’ve worked together but not for a moment did it feel like work. Such a fun family

affair#JonasBrothers and the #JSisters cheering each other on! Proud of you husband.”

Kevin, Joe, and Nick had formed the boy band in 2005, however, in 2013, all brothers went their separate ways and disbanded it. They had released their last song 10 years ago.

Meanwhile, there are rumours that friendship between Priyanka Chopra and Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle is on the rocks and that is the reason the Bollywood actress was amiss from the latter's babyshower. Chopra is said to be upset with her friend and Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle for skipping her wedding to singer Nick Jonas.

Chopra was a guest at Markle's wedding to Prince Harry in May last year. But the Duchess declined to attend Priyanka's wedding to Jonas in December. A source said, “Priyanka was crushed.”

Zoya Akhtar's 'Made in Heaven' not a satire on weddings

Amitabh Bachchan to rap in Sujoy Ghosh's 'Badla' Ranveer Singh has kickstarted a craze for rap in Bollywood and the next to follow his footsteps is none other than the Shahenshah of the Hindi film industry, Amitabh Bachchan. In his upcoming film 'Badla', the veteran actor will rap in a song titled 'Aukaat'.

A source close to the development said, “The aim is to set the tone for the thriller with some

hard hitting lyrics. The track also reflects the current mood and angst of society.”

Director Sujoy Ghosh said Bachchan's baritone blends perfectly with the rap. He said, “Bachchan sir has elevated the vibe of the video. It presents him in an uber-cool avatar.

He rapped effortlessly.” Music for the track is composed by Clinton Cerejo and is choreographed by BoscoCaesar. The film is a revenge thriller that marks the reunion of Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu after their hit 2016 courtroom drama 'Pink'.

The movie also stars Manav Kaul and Amrita Singh in pivotal roles. The film is produced by Shah Rukh Khan under his banner Red Chillies Entertainment, and he is expected to make a cameo in the film. 'Badla' is set to hit the screens on March 8.

Zoya Akhtar seems to have moved on from her critical success 'Gully Boy' and is now focused on her project 'Made in Heaven' which had its world premiere at MAMI last week. The filmmaker co-created the Amazon Prime Video's latest India original with longtime collaborator Reema kagti. A Q&A session followed the premiere, during which, Akhtar called it a satire on the “hoopla” around weddings in India.

“It's not as much a satire on marriages as it is on weddings because in India, people give prominence to you wedding day, there's a lot of projection involved. It can be a beautiful and a sacred union if you are with the person you want to spend your life,” Akhtar said. She added, “But I don't understand the hoopla around it. It's

behind the scenes for the event that we borrow momney for, go into debt... It's more that than actual marriage.”

The drama reflects the lives of upscale modern India, narrated through the eyes of two wedding planners, set against the backdrop of quintessential Indian weddings in Delhi.

The series stars Arjun Mathur, Sobjita, Dhulipala, Jim Sarbh, Kalki Koechlin, Shashank Arora and Shivani Raghuvanshi.

'Made in Heaven' will be directed by Zoya, Nitya Mehra, Alankrita Shrivastava and Prashant Nair. Shrivastava said working on a series is far “more collaborative” than a film, though at the end of the day it is all about “telling a story to the best of your ability.”

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AsianVoiceNews

KOLLYWOOD

AsianVoiceNewsweekly

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9 - 15 March 2019

Tamannaah forgoes no-kissing rule for Hrithik Roshan It is no secret that southern actress Tamannaah Bhatia has a no-kissing clause as part of her contract and while she has never forgone the rule for anyone, the actress revealed in recent interview that she would totally make an exception for Hrithik Roshan. In an episode of Famously Filmfare (Tamil), the actress made the confession and said “I don't kiss on screen, basically.

So, that's actually a part of my contract.

I keep joking with my friends. But Hrithik Roshan... yay! I would, I would.”

She also shared her experience of a chance meeting with him some time in the past. She said she totally had a fangirl moment and behaved quite awkwardly in front of Hrithik. “I met him recently.

I bumped into him and I was like 'So stupid!' I was like 'Hi, I am a big fan and so nice to meet you! And he was like 'Okay!' I didn't know what else to say. Then he walked a little and he looked back and he was like ' Do you want a picture?' and I was like, 'Yes! I want a picture!'”

Bhatia is best known for her starring role as Avanthika in the 'Baahubali' series of films. The 29 years old actress has featured in movies like 'Happy Days', 'Ayan', 'Oopiri', 'Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtam and Endukante... Premanta'.

TV LISTING

* Schedule is subject to change

SUNDAY MARCH 10, 2019 00:13 FILM : TUMSA NAHIN DEKHA 02:30 FILM : JOSH 06:00 FILM : PRITHIPAL SINGH... A STORY 08:00 FILM : YEH HAI MUMBAI MERI JAAN 10:43 FILM : KHEL 14:16 FILM : LAKSHYA 18:00 FILM : DON 2 21:01 FILM : DESI BOYZ 23:32 FILM : JAYANTABHAI KI LUV STORY MONDAY MARCH 11, 2019 02:00 FILM : NAZAR 06:00 FILM : BAAT BANN GAYI 08:10 FILM : TAQDEER KA TAMASHA 11:47 FILM : KUSTHI 14:30 FILM : MERE DOST PICTURE ABHI BAKI HAI 17:10 FILM : 36 CHINA TOWN 20:03 FILM : SHAAPIT 22:55 FILM : JAHAN TUM LE CHALO TUESDAY MARCH 12, 2019 01:40 FILM : COVER STORY 06:00 FILM : KAUN KARE KURBANIE 08:34 FILM : AULAD 11:47 FILM : HOTE HOTE PYAR HO GAYA 14:40 FILM : EK AUR YUDH 17:10 FILM : DESI BOYZ 19:38 FILM : STAR STOP 20:17 FILM : ANKUR ARORA MURDER CASE 22:53 FILM : ANJAANE - THE UNKNOWN

* Schedule is subject to change

Mahesh Babu to produce film on 26/11 hero Major Unnikrishnan Sony Pictures International Productions is joining hands with Mahesh Babu for Telugu film, 'Major' based on the life of 2008 Mumbai terror attack martyr Sandeep Unnikrishnan. The bilingual film, which is the studio's foray into Telugu industry, will be made under the South star's production house G Mahesh Babu Entertainment (GMB). 'Major' is inspired by the life of Major Sandeep, the brave NSG commando, who saved several hostages during the 26/11 attack at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai and sacrificed his life for the nation.

Sandeep was decorated with the India's highest military honour in peacetime, the Ashoka Chakra. Actor Adivi Sesh will also play the lead and has also penned the film. Vivek Krishnani, MD, Sony Pictures Entertainment in India, said the team is looking forward to the project. “We are excited to partner with Mahesh and Namrata who are such creative forces and are equally thrilled to welcome them in the Hindi film industry. Sesh and Shashi make their debut in Hindi cinema and we absolutely love the passion with which they have envisioned 'Major',” he said.

Sony had previously joined hands with Malayalam star Prithviraj Sukumaran for 'Nine', which released February 7. The Malayalam film is a sci-fi horror thriller, with which the actor is making his production debut through his banner Prithviraj Production. The movie was co-produced by Sony Pictures India and marks the studio's maiden venture into the South industry.

SATURDAY 9TH MARCH TIME TV PROGRAM NAMES 17:00 KAUN BANEGA CROREPATI 18:30 THE KAPIL SHARMA SHOW 20:00 SUPER DANCER CHAPTER 3 21:30 THE KAPIL SHARMA SHOW 23:00 THE KAPIL SHARMA SHOW

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 11TH - FRI 15TH MAR 2019 15:30: SIRF 30 MINUTES 16:00: THE GREAT INDIAN GLOBAL KITCHEN 2 16:30: RASOI SHOW 17:30: CHHUTA CHHEDA 18:00: RADHA PREM KI DEE WANI 18:30: UTTARAN 19:00: JAHAANARA 19:30: INTERNETWALA LOVE 20:00: ISHQ MEIN MARJAWAN 20:30: MOHE RANNG DO LAAL 21:00: BALIKA VADHU - LAMHE PYAAR KE

* Schedule is subject to change

MON 11TH - FRI 15TH MAR 2019 18:00: KITCHEN CHAMPION 19:00: KHOOB LADI MARDANI JHANSI KI RANI 19:30: UDAAN 20:00: SHAKTI ASTITVA KE EHSAAS KI 20:30: KESARRI NANDAN 21:00: GATHBANDHAN

WEDNESDAY MARCH 13, 2019 01:10 FILM : BIWI. COM 06:00 FILM : PRITHIPAL SINGH... A STORY 08:00 FILM : SAI TERI MAYA 10:24 FILM : 16 DECEMBER 13:32 FILM : CHOR BAZAARI-EK ATRANGI PREM KAHANI 16:00 FILM : JASHNN 18:35 FILM : BLUE ORANGES 21:02 FILM : HEY BRO 23:30 FILM : ANKUR ARORA MURDER CASE THURSDAY MARCH 14, 2019 01:55 FILM : SHOWBIZ 06:00 FILM : HIRAASAT 08:46 FILM : MERA FARZ 11:24 FILM : DHOKHA 14:00 FILM : DARAAR 17:37 FILM : RAJA HINDUSTANI 21:16 FILM : DIL CHAHTA HAI FRIDAY MARCH 15, 2019 01:00 FILM : HONEYMOON TRAVELS PVT LTD 03:05 FILM : CHAAR DIN KI CHANDNI 06:00 FILM : BAAT BANN GAYI 08:10 FILM : KAHANI KISMAT KI 11:00 FILM : JAANAM 13:48 FILM : PAPPU CAN'T DANCE SAALA 16:25 FILM : SOCHA NA THA 19:26 FILM : STAR STOP 20:05 FILM : KHAKEE 22:33 FILM : SHAAPIT SATURDAY MARCH 16, 2019 01:23 FILM : JEET - BORN TO WIN 06:00 FILM : HAI APNA DIL TOH AWARA 08:31 FILM : TERI KASAM 11:47 FILM : RAJA HINDUSTANI 15:24 FILM : HONEYMOON TRAVELS PVT LTD 17:58 FILM : DIL CHAHTA HAI 21:50 FILM : AITRAAZ

SUNDAY 10TH MARCH TIME TV PROGRAM NAMES 17:00 KAUN BANEGA CROREPATI 18:30 THE KAPIL SHARMA SHOW 20:00 SUPER DANCER CHAPTER 3 21:30 THE KAPIL SHARMA SHOW 23:00 THE KAPIL SHARMA SHOW MON 11TH MAR - FRI 15TH MAR TIME TV PROGRAM NAMES 18:30 VIGHNAHARTA GANESH 19:00 MERE SAI 19:30 YEH UN DINON KI BAAT HAI 20:00 CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA 20:30 MAIN MAAYKE CHALI JAAUNGI 21:00 PATIALA BABES 21:30 LADIES SPECIAL 22:00 CRIME PATROL

22:00: RED ALERT 23:00: TANTRA SAT 16TH MAR 2019 17:30: CHHUTA CHHEDA 18:00: RADHA PREM KI DEE WANI 18:30: UTTARAN 19:00: HUM SAAF SAAF HAIN 19:30: FAMOUSLY FILMFARE 20:00: NAVRANGI RE 20:30: RED ALERT 21:30: ZINDAGI KI HAQEEQAT SE AAMNA SAAMNA 22:30: CHHUTA CHHEDA SUN 17TH MAR 2019 18:00: RADHA PREM KI DEE WANI 18:30: UTTARAN 19:00: HUM SAAF SAAF HAIN 19:30: FAMOUSLY FILMFARE 20:00: NAVRANGI RE 20:30: RED ALERT 21:30: ZINDAGI KI HAQEEQAT SE AAMNA SAAMNA 22:30: CHHUTA CHHEDA

21:30: 22:00: 20:00: 22:30:

ROOP SILSILA ISHQ MEIN MARJAWAN KHOOB LADI MARDANI JHANSI KI RANI 23:00: SITARA SAT 16TH MAR 2019 19:30: DESI BEAT RESET 20:00: NAAGIN - SEASON 3 21:00: KHATRON KE KHILADI JIGGER PE TRIGGER 22:00: COURT ROOM 23:30: SITAARA SUN 17TH MAR 2019 19:30: FAMOUSLY FILMFARE 20:00: NAAGIN - SEASON 3 21:00: KHATRON KE KHILADI JIGGER PE TRIGGER 22:00: COURT ROOM 23:30: SILSILA

30 UK

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9 - 15 March 2019

Law or Satsang, they are the same: Mahant Swami

Maha Shivaratri Celebrations

Urban -Nissim Ezekiel The hills are always far away.

He knows the broken roads, and moves In circles tracked within his head.

Before he wakes and has his say, The river which he claims he loves Is dry, and all the winds lie dead.

At dawn he never sees the skies Which, silently, are born again.

Nor feels the shadows of the night Recline their fingers on his eyes.

He welcomes neither sun nor rain.

His landscape has no depth or height.

Mahashivratri annakut laid out in front of the shiv Parvati murtis

Bochasanwasi Shree Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha head Pujya Mahant Swami is currently in Silvassa for his vicharan. He had reached Silvassa from Sankri , when he was received by numerous saints and devotees. On 28 February, Parivartan Din was celebrated in the presence of Mahant Swami. When Pujya Pramukh Swami was head of the BAPS, many tribal communities were approached and many people from the communities, inspired by him, left the area and became satsangis. During the programme, these stories were enacted on stage. On March 1, Dasatva Din was celebrated. Speaking at the programme, Mahant Swami said, “Call it law or satsang, both are the same.” Children's Day was celebrated on Sunday. Children presented various acts. They also sang religious songs. During Pujya Mahant Swami's stay in Silvassa, people in large numbers flock in to witness his morning puja. Many from the crowds came walking from Valsad for a glimpse of Mahant Swami. On Tuesday, Pujya Mahant Swami left for Tithal to continue his vicharan.

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shivaling with panchamrut (a holy mixture of milk, yoghurt, honey, sugar and ghee).

In keeping with the traditions of this festival, bilvapatra (bael leaves) were also offered.

An ice shivaling was presented in the Haveli entrance throughout the day providing a reminder of the sacred pilgrimage town of Amarnath in India where a natural ice shivaling exists.

As part of celebrations at the Mandir, an annakut (offering of food for thanksgiving) was also decoratively assembled before the deities in the shrines.

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Ajit for Times of India

The UK’s leading Vedic writer and TV personality

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20 This is the time to listen to your

intuition, to take a break from the hectic pace of your life, and to reflect on what you have learned in the past year. A good time to retreat a little and make time for yourself now. Your physical energy levels are low, and this is your body telling you to take a break. Good time to take up yoga and meditation.

With Mars transit in your sign, TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21 you have great energy and you are more enterprising. Take charge of your life, but don't step on other people’s toes. This is an excellent transit for assertiveness and physical vitality. Love affairs may also be stepped up during this period. Be careful as through recklessness accidents can occur.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22 With Mars moving through your

solar twelfth house, this is the time to research and reflect upon your goals. Some may experience insomnia during this phase, especially if they are not relaxing. This is in fact a good time to identify the true source of problems. Many of you will be making changes in your careers reflecting the principles closest to your heart.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22

The festival of Maha Shivaratri was celebrated on Monday 4 March 2019 at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London. Maha Shivaratri is special day in the Hindu calendar for offering reverence to Lord Shiva.

Swamis began the festivities in the morning by performing the ritual bathing of the shivaling, an iconic representation of the popular Hindu deity symbolising his energy and potentiality.

Devotees and well-wishers arrived at the Mandir throughout the day to offer their respects and availed of the opportunity to bathe the

The city like a passion burns.

He dreams of morning walks, alone, And floating on a wave of sand.

But still his mind its traffic turns Away from beach and tree and stone To kindred clamour close at hand.

Mars is energizing your solar eleventh house now. Group activities and cooperative efforts are the best way to achieve your goals. Avoid allowing the ego to attempt to dominate others. The best way to achieve your goals during this period is to work as a team, or to at least to do some networking.

The Sun continues to highlight your solar eighth house. Your attention turns inward, as well as to close personal relationships on a deeper level. This is also a good time for sorting out joint resources. Mars in your solar tenth house stimulates your ambition and you are likely to have an increased desire for others to notice you.

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23

You'll be dealing with relationship matters, and especially commitments, for some time to come. Mars entering your house of travel could stimulate a desire to explore and widen your horizons. A sense of accomplishment comes your way regarding work and health, as you feel more structured and organised.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23

The Sun and mercury highlight your solar sixth house. This is a period that finds you tending to your daily routines, and health matters. You seek to perfect your skills and as a result, you can be more critical than usual, but this process is necessary for you to sort out what works for you and what doesn't. Romance is in the air as some of you will be getting engaged or married.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

It's a good time for recreation, romance, connecting with children, and enjoying creative arts.

Mars energizes and animates your solar seventh house.

Partnerships may suffer from ego conflicts, or opposition from others may be challenging. Use the extra energy that Mars brings to work cooperatively on relationship problems.

An inner sense of security and the desire for peace motivates you

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22

020 8518 5500

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21

now. Your affections are strong, preferring quiet moments with loved ones. Mars energizes your solar sixth house.

It's a great time to take up healthy regimes. As you have much energy, it would be wise to find little projects and things to do so that you can channel this energy positively.

Pursuit of pleasure increases and you are more inclined to take the initiative in affairs of the heart. Brilliant energy is with you, take advantage of this phase and make changes in your life where required. This is especially a passionate time for you - be careful not to burn the candle at both ends.

Cash flow is still restrictive.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20

The Sun and Mercury continue to transit your solar second house.

This is the most "financial" period for you. You might have a more materialistic view of life for the time being, or increased interest in your own possessions, during this cycle. This is a time to keep within your "comfort zones" - you value the tried and tested. At home be diplomatic as rows can erupt.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19

The Sun and Mercury continue to move through your solar first house. You experience a renewal of energy and vitality now, and the emphasis is on self-expression. Physically, you are feeling strong. This is an excellent cycle for any self-improvement endeavours. Personal projects that you begin now are likely to blossom as time goes on.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20

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9 - 15 March 2019

in brief NEW JERSEY FOR INDIA'S ODI TEAM India captain Virat Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and other Indian cricket team members from men’s and women’s team unveiled India’s new One-Day International (ODI) jersey. The new kit will be donned by the men’s team during the ongoing fivematch ODI series against Australia and upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, which starts in May. The jersey was launched by Indian cricket’s kit sponsor and sporting apparel giants Nike. Apart from Kohli and Dhoni, Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw, Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues were also present during an event held for unveiling the new jersey.

SAURABH, MANU WIN GOLD IN 10M AIR PISTOL MIXED EVENT The teenaged duo of Saurabh Chaudhary and Manu Bhaker comfortably claimed the gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event of the ISSF World Cup in Delhi. The Indian pair shot a total of 483.5 to finish on top of the podium to finish the tournament with a flourish after a few results that did not go their way. The Chinese duo of Ranxin Jiang and Bowen Zhang won silver, while the bronze went to the Korean pair of Minjung Kim and Daehun Park. Such was the Indian duo’s dominance through the final that the difference between the gold and silver medallist at the end was a hopping 5.8. Having entered the final after equalling the qualification world record, Saurabh and Manu continued in the same vein and once they moved to the top spot, there was no looking back as they consistently shot high and mid 10. The other Indian team in the fray, Heena Sidhu and Abhishek Verma, could not clear the qualification hurdle. India jointly topped the standings with Hungary with three gold medals, but managed to secure only one Olympic quota. The tournament offered 14 quota places for the 2020 Tokyo Games.

DHONI JOINS ELITE GROUP Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the fourth Indian batsman to complete 13,000 runs in List A cricket.

Dhoni has amassed 13,054 runs in 412 List A matches at an average of 50.79. He has joined an elite club, comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. Dhoni achieved the milestone during the first ODI against Australia when he scored a half-century to power India to a six-wicket victory. Former England star Graham Gooch is at the top of the list with 22,211 runs in List A cricket. Apart from this, Dhoni's unbeaten 141-run partnership with Kedar Jadhav is the second highest fifthwicket stand by India against Australia at home. The highest stand was put up by Shaun Marsh and Shane Watson of Australia when they produced a 145-run opening partnership in 2009.

ENGLAND HIT RECORD 24 SIXES IN 4TH ODI AGAINST WINDIES England blasted a world record 24 sixes in the fourth One-Day International against the West Indies at Grenada’s National Stadium. Jos Buttler had the honour of smashing the record 24th six in the last over, bringing up his 150 in the process.

West Indies had set the previous record of 23 sixes in an innings just seven days ago in the first match between the two sides in Bridgetown. Meanwhile, a thumping century

by Eoin Morgan was surpassed by an innings of breathtaking brutality from Jos Buttler to lead England to a mammoth total of 418 for 6. Morgan punched his way to 103 off 86 deliveries. Morgan and Buttler’s 204run stand came off just 122 deliveries.

Openers Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales set England up well, both scoring fifties and put on a 100-run partnership.

ICC wants say in IPL, BCCI not happy with the request The International Cricket Council (ICC) is keen to have a say in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The cricket's global governing body is learnt to be making “serious efforts” to put in place a ‘watchdog’ to monitor all existing and upcoming private T20 leagues around the world - a move that could further widen the gap between India and the rest of the world.

Under the pretext of trying to bring about a uniform policy for all T20 leagues, the ICC has pushed to put in place an ‘events sanctioning group’ that will work towards the following: A) Bring about more control on the many private T20 leagues sprouting around the world; B) Help draw up a uniform policy on how these leagues function; C) Have a say in the format and player policies; D) As a governing body, be seen as a policymaker for the many international cricket boards, who have T20 leagues or will have one soon.

It all means that the ICC wants to have a say in the running of the IPL too, an idea which has been categorically rejected by the BCCI. The BCCI’s stand on the matter is clear: “The IPL is an Indian

domestic tournament and just the way how the ICC has no locus standi in a tournament like the Ranji Trophy, it will have no say in the IPL as well.” If the ICC try and tinker with IPL, a source said: “All hell will break lose.” The Indian cricket board represented by CEO Rahul Johri at the recent ICC’s Chief Executives meeting in Dubai has said a “no” to the setting up of an events sanctioning group and managed to explain the same to ICC chairman Shashank

Manohar. The latter is learnt to be in agreement with the BCCI’s stand.

The question facing the BCCI, however, is how long can India keep the ICC from dictating terms, knowing that in the recent past they have been unequivocally voted out in matters of finances and governance? “It’s clear that there are forces that believe this Indian cricket administration is most vulnerable right now. The members are left without

powers and it’s the right time to make inroads into a strong Indian market,” say sources.

Even as BCCI has rejected the idea for now, there’s been no word from countries like Australia and West Indies that own established T20 leagues.

The ICC understands well that IPL, as a property, is cricket’s most valuable brand. The reason behind the sudden interest in the IPL is the revenue the tournament produces and the world body wants a share of it.

Indian women suffer fifth straight T20 loss Indian women suffered a crushing 41-run loss to England in the first T20 of the threematch series in Guwahati with Smriti Mandhana making a forgettable captaincy debut.

India struggled at 119 for six after Tammy Beaumont (62 off 57) and skipper Heather Knight (40 off 20) steered England to 160 for four in 20 overs. The loss, India’s fifth in a row in the shortest format, showed the W V Raman-coached side has a lot of work to do before the T20 World Cup in Australia early next year.

India lost all their T20s in New Zealand after winning the ODI series and things are heading in a similar direction against England with two more games to go. Ahead of the second T20 on Thursday, the momentum is with the visitors who also won the third and final ODI. Mandhana, who became India’s youngest T20 captain at 22, said bowling should have been tighter in the death overs.

“We gave away 10-15 extra runs at the end. Didn’t have a

Victorious England women

great start with the bat as well.

Really happy with the way Arundhati Reddy, Shikha Pandey and Deepti Sharma batted at the end. “That’s a positive for us. Don’t think anyone has gone back and seen the statistics. Every day we come out looking to win the match not thinking about what’s happened in the past,” said Mandhana at the post-match presentation. For England, openers Beaumont and Danielle

Wyatt (35 off 34 ) provided an ideal launch pad with an 89-run stand. Skipper Knight was in full flow towards the end, smashing seven fours in her 20-ball cameo. India suffered a disastrous start, losing their top three, including the in-form Mandhana, for 23. The middleorder was under severe pressure and they wilted. Senior player Mithali Raj (7 off 11) too could not do much in the circumstances and

SL legend Jayasuriya gets 2-year ban Legendary Sri Lankan batsman Sanath Jayasuriya was banned for two years after admitting to obstruct an anti-corruption probe by “destroying” the phones which were sought as evidence by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Jayasuriya admitted breaching the anti-corruption unit (ACU) code of the global body on two separate counts.

“As a result of the

admissions, he has accepted a sanction of a two-year period of ineligibility,” the ICC stated.

However, he wasn’t given the m a x i m u m punishment of five years for his breach after the world body took his “previous good Sanath Jayasuriya

conduct” into account.

Jayasuriya’s sanction will be a backdated one starting from October 16, 2018. The lefthanded batsman and orthodox spinner is a former Sri Lankan captain who was a key member of the 1996 World Cup-winning team before going on to serve two

contributions from Veda Krishnamurthy (15), who made a comeback, Deepti Sharma (22 not out), Arundhati Reddy (18) and Shikha Pandey (23 not out) did not prove to be enough in the end.

England beat India in final onedayer England beat India in the third and final ODI by two wickets at the Wankhede Stadium. There were a number of a high-quality performances from the Indians after losing Jemimah Rodrigues to the second ball of the day. Smriti Mandhana excelled with her controlled aggression and forged a 128-run partnership for the second wicket with Punam Raut.

Thereafter, Jhulan Goswami made the new ball count with a three-wicket haul in her opening spell and Shikha Pandey removed Sarah Taylor and delivered another crucial breakthrough dismissing the inform Danielle Wyatt.

Wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia also came up with another stellar display. terms as the chairman of selectors. The 49-year-old was adjudged ‘Player of the Tournament’ during Sri Lanka’s victorious 1996 World Cup campaign.

“It is unfortunate that even though I provided the ICC ACU with all the information as demanded by the officials, the ICC ACU thought it fit to charge me under the Code although there were no allegations of corruption, betting or misuse of inside information,” Jayasuriya said in a statement.

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9 - 15 March 2019

AsianVoiceNews AsianVoiceNewsweekly

India take 2-0 lead in ODI series against Australia

England cricket may gain if India boycott World Cup

England ODI Team

Indian Team celebrating victory

India take a 2-0 lead in the five-match ODI series against Australia after registering an eight run win in the second ODI at Nagpur. Winning the toss and putting India in to bat, Australia got off to the perfect start when Pat Cummins dismissed Rohit Sharma in the very first over. Captain Virat Kohli walked in at number three, commencing an innings that would go on to define the next 47 overs that India faced from the Australian bowlers.

Along with Dhawan, Kohli broke the shackles and started dominating Coulter-Nile and Cummins in his free flowing manner.

Just as things were beginning to look good, Maxwell got the crucial wicket of Dhawan for 21 off 29 balls, taking a successful review. The next batsman, Ambati Rayudu came to the crease and held up one end while Kohli set about dictating the tempo of the innings, but he too was dismissed with India at 75/3 after 17 overs. But Vijay Shankar came in and turned the tables, becoming the aggressor while Virat Kohli held up the other end. All in all, Vijay’s knock of 46 had five fours and one six, till he was run-out by Adam Zampa to leave India at 156/4.

Kedar Jadhav and Kohli could only add 15 runs more as Australia struck again, dismissing the latter for 11 off 12 balls and Dhoni for a golden duck on the very next ball. India were in all sorts of trouble at 171/6. But the ensuing partnership

between Ravindra Jadeja and Kohli was what saved the innings for India and ensured the hosts got to a respectable score in the face of some disciplined bowling

by Australia. Kohli soon got to his century – his 18th as a captain and 40th overall in ODIs, before being dismissed in the 48th over.

Yadav and Bumrah followed him to the pavilion relatively soon and India were all-out for a score of 250 in the 49th over.

Australia would have felt they took the right decision in deciding to bowl first after restricting India to the total they did, and that feeling only increased as the openers Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja set about stitching together their opening partnership. The duo combined well, taking the singles when needed and scoring at least one boundary an over to maintain the pressure on the Indian bowlers. Shami, Bumrah, Jadeja and Shankar toiled till the 14th over of the innings without much luck.

Then, with captain Aaron Finch batting on 37 off 53 balls, the wily Kuldeep Yadav made the crucial breakthrough for India, dismissing him with the score on 83 runs to bring India back into the game.

Just one over later and the Australian score unmoved, Jadhav got the better of Usman Khawaja to make the score 83/2.

Australia’s main problem though the innings would prove to be the inability to stitch together long partnerships. They

continued to make hard work of the chase and just when Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb looked to have steadied the ship for the visitors, Marsh fell to Ravindra Jadeja with the score at 122.

India chase down 237 India chased down 237 runs and won the first ODI against Australia by 6 wickets at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Despite the slow nature of the wicket, the Indians achieved the target with 10 deliveries to spare. The 1-0 lead was set up by incisive bowling by Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah initially and effectively controlled bowling by Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja in the middle overs.

MS Dhoni (59) and Kedar Jadhav (81) then clinically executed the chase with their 141-run unbroken partnership for the fifth wicket as India finished at 240 for four. Shikhar Dhawan did not last longer and Rohit Sharma miscued a shot when set for a bigger score (37). The 76-run stand between Sharma and Kohli set the platform for India’s chase, but with the skipper succumbing at 44, the Aussies would have fancied their chances, especially after Ambati Rayudu too fell cheaply.

They had not reckoned with Dhoni, though. With Dhoni playing the guiding role, Jadhav adapted well to the surface and together they whittled down the equation to 48 runs from 48 balls before Jadhav switched gears.

India have been considering boycotting its match with Pakistan in the World Cup in Manchester in June after the suicide attack on CRPF jawans by terrorists based in Pakistan. If the boycott materialises, India one of the tournament favourites, will forfeit points and could face elimination in the group stages of the competition.

This could boost England to progress to the final and lift the ODI trophy for the first

time. The tensions between the two countries reached the boiling point over Kashmir. India carried out air strikes against a jihadi training camp in Pakistan after it was purportedly used to launch a suicide bombing across the border killing 40 Indian paramilitary jawans.

Pakistan responded a day later by shooting down an Indian jet fighter and capturing a pilot who was later released. The standoff between the nations now

split over into cricketing world. Indian officials have asked the game's governing body, the International Cricket Council, to “sever ties with countries from which terrorism emanates,” a thinly veiled reference to its neighbour.

There are fears that rivalry between the fans could end in violence if the tie at Old Trafford goes ahead. More than 500,000 people have applied for 25,000 tickets.

India’s schedule at the 2019 ICC World Cup The 2019 ICC World Cup will begin at The Oval with the opening fixture between hosts England and South Africa on 30 May. With only 10 teams participating in this edition of the tournament, the league stage has been revamped a bit to ensure all teams play each other in the group stage and four progress onto the semifinals.

Led by Virat Kohli, the Indian team will start their campaign on 5 June against South Africa at Southampton. Following is the complete list of India’s group stage fixtures: • 5 June (3pm IST) - India vs South Africa at Southampton • 9 June (3pm IST) - India vs Australia at London • 13 June (3pm IST) - India vs

New Zealand at Nottingham • 16 June (3pm IST) - India vs Pakistan at Manchester • 22 June (3pm IST) - India vs Afghanistan at Southampton • 27 June (3pm IST) - India vs West Indies at Manchester • 30 June (3pm IST) - India vs England at Birmingham • 2 July (3pm IST) - India vs Bangladesh at Birmingham • 6 July (3pm IST) - India vs Sri Lanka at Leeds

India retain 2nd spot in latest T20I rankings India managed to retain their second spot with 122 points in the latest T20I rankings announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) despite losing the two-match series against Australia. The clean sweep against India allowed Australia to topple South Africa and rise to the third spot, with 120 points.

Pakistan continue to dominate the charts with 135 points. K L Rahul is the lone Indian batsman in the top

10. Apart from him, skipper Virat Kohli is on the 17th spot, while MS Dhoni rose to 56th in the list. Among the bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Krunal Pandya rose to 15th and 43rd spots, respectively.

Among the other batsmen, Australia's Glenn Maxwell rose to the third spot following twin splendid innings in the recently concluded T20Is against India.

Afghanistan's Hazratullah Zazai is on the seventh spot after scoring

204 runs in the three-match T20I series against Ireland in India, thus being the lone Afghan batsman in the top 10.Maxwell continued his brilliance, not just with the bat, but also with his bowling as he is the most dominant all-rounder in the T20Is, currently.

Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi is ranked third among the all-rounders, with 330 rating points courtesy of his performances against Ireland.