Indian Abroad - July 1-15, 2022

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

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Guterres calls for respecting all religions in aftermath of Udaipur killing

Maha crisis: Edgy Sena rebels fear a ‘Moosewala type’ fate - Page 4

Mr. Gutteres

As Agnipath fire singes India, some questions for our politicians Page 5

Bitcoin heading to zero, China warns investors - Page 16

Six Tranquil Escapes - Page 21

Designer Rina Dhaka slams leather in latest PETA India video Page 22

United Nations, June 29 (IANS) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterreshas called for “full respect for all religions” in the aftermath of the killing of a Hindu man in Rajasthan’s Udaipur.

“We call for the full respect for all religions and for ensuring throughout the world that different communities can live in harmony and peace,” his spokesperson StephaneDujarric said in reply to a question about “the resurgence of religious tensions” in India and recent killing ofKanhayiaLal, reportedly over a social media comment.

Asked about the arrest of journalist

Mohammed Zubair, who is charged with hurting religious sentiments, Dujarric had said: “In any place around the world, it is very important that people be allowed to express themselves freely, journalists be allowed to express themselves freely and without the threat of any harassment.”

He was asked to clarify if that applied to journalists’ comments about all religions and if it squared with the call for respecting all religions.

“We believe in the fundamental right of expression, of journalists to express themselves, and we also believe in the fundamental need for people to respect other communities and other religions,” he said.

“We believe those two statements are very much compatible,” he added.

Answering another question on the freedom of the media, he said: “Freedom of the press is freedom of the press, and it applies, for us, universally around the world, in 193 Member States. And those principles remain unchanged and unbowed.”

That question was regarding a video statement at the Security

Council by Ukraine President VolodymyrZelensky that journalists who “justified the actions of the Russian Army” would be punished.

KanhaiyaLal was killed reportedly because of a social media post supporting Nupur Sharma, the suspended BJP spokesperson who had allegedly made comments considered by Muslims as derogatory to their prophet.

Two persons, who allegedly posted a video claiming responsibility for the killing, have been arrested.

Nupur Sharma also faces the same charges as Zubair of hurting religious sentiments, although concerning different faiths.

India has repeatedly criticised what it said were double standards in reacting to “religiophobia”.

In the most recent statement on the subject, India’s Permanent Representative T.S. Tirumurti told the General Assemblyrecently, “It’s time that UN member states condemned hatred against non-Abrahamic religions as well and stop from being selective in combating religiophobias.”

Australia Census 2021: India ahead of China and NZ immigration

By Indian Abroad NewsDesk Australia is now home to more members of the Indian community than before with India becoming the third-largest source of migrants in Australia, says the 2021 Census report. The Australian Bureau of Statistics released the Census report recently that highlighted that India has surpassed New Zealand and China to reach the third spot. Regarding the number of people who speak a language other than English at home, Punjabi has seen the largest increase, in third place behind Mandarin and Arabic. Moreover, the Census data shows that Hinduism is growing significantly with 2.7 per cent of the population being Hindu.

To put Australia’s multiculturalism in perspective, the Census data unequivocally shows that about half of Australians have a parent born overseas, which comes to about

48.2 per cent. About 27.6 per cent have had an overseas birthplace themselves, giving another boost to Australia’s multiculturalism. In fact, what the data show is that more than a million people have arrived to Australia as migrants since 2017.

On 10 August 2021, as many as 673,352 people residing in Australia had said India is their country of birth. This amounts to an increase of 220,000, or 47.9% per cent, since the previous census in 2016. The most common country of birth was reported to be Australia, which was followed by England.

Religious affiliation With regard to religion data show that Christianity is the main religion in Australia, with 43.9% saying they are Christians. But its numbers have dropped from 52.1 per cent in 2016. Interestingly, more people have reported that they belong to “no religion”. This number is almost close to 40 per cent (38.9 per cent) of Australia’s population, according to the 2021 Census. This is an increase from 30 per cent (30.1 per cent) in 2016.

Hinduism has increased by 55.3 per cent to 684,002 people, which amounts to 2.7 per cent of the population. Islam has increased more to 813,392 people, which is 3.2 per cent of the Australian population. The growing numbers of people from religions other than Christianity shows both religious tolerance and strong democratic credentials in the country. Religious diversity is adding to the multicultural fervor of Australia.

Language spoken at home When it comes to the number of people who speak a language other than English at home, Punjabi speakers haveincreased the largest, in third place behind Mandarin and Arabic. The Census data found that as many as 239,033 people speak Punjabi, which is an increase of 80.4 per centin comparison with the number of Punjabi speakers at home 2016. Significantly, the number of people who speak a language other than English at home has increased by about 800,000 (792,062) from 2016 to over 5.5 million people (5,663,709).

Need a structured system to gain from Indian agricultural talent, says Modi including India, and organisations.

Perfume etiquette - Page 23

PM Narendra Modi

By Indian Abroad News Desk Mexican Style Tokri Chaat Homemade salads to beat the summer heat - Page 27

Shilpa Shetty on fame: It’s a double-edged sword - Page 30

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Indian Prime Minister NarendraModi highlighted how the geopolitical tensions are spreading beyond the European borders and affecting all. Indian Prime Minister was in Germany for the G7 Summit.

Speaking to the gathering at the Summit Modi said, “The rising prices of energy and food grains are affecting all the countries. The energy and security of developing countries is particularly at risk.” The Indian Prime Minister was speaking at a working session on addressing food security and advancing gender equality between G7 leaders and international partner countries,

Modihighlighted the worsening conditions in countries like Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, informing the gathering ofthe humanitarian aid India has sent to these countries to address the global humanitarian crisis. “In this challenging time, India has supplied food grains to many countries in need. We have dispatched about 35,000 tonnes of wheat as humanitarian aid to Afghanistan in the last few months.

And even after the heavy earthquake there, India was the first country to deliver relief materials. We are also helping our neighbour Sri Lanka to ensure food security,”Modi said.

The Indian Prime Minister also gave a list of focus areas that can help in ensuring food security such as the need to focus on the availability of fertilisers and keep the value chains of fertilizers smooth at a global scale. “We are trying to increase the production of fertilizers in India and seek cooperation from G7-countries in this regard,” said Modi.

The Indian Prime Minister also reminded the international community of having a structured system to gain maximum benefit out of the Indian agricultural talent.In this

regard he said, “India has immense agricultural manpower compared to the countries of the G7. Indian agricultural skills have helped give new life to traditional agricultural products like cheese and olive in some of the countries of the G7.

Can the G7 create a structured system for the widespread use of Indian agricultural talent in its member countries? With the help of traditional talent of India’s farmers, food security will be ensured to G7 countries.”

Modi also emphasised that India’s approach to development had transitioned from ‘women’s development’ to ‘women-led development’.

On the sidelines of the Summit, Modi met leaders of other nations which included US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, President of Indonesia JokoWidodo and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Modi was invited by German Chancellor Scholz to attend the G7 summit held in the Alpine castle of SchlossElmau in southern Germany.

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Australia considers India to be at the heart of its Indo-Pacific strategy

By Indian Abroad NewsDesk The Albanese government has shown that it regards India to be at the heart of Australia’s approach to the Indo-Pacific region. This is evident from Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles’ recent visit to India during which he said that one of the priorities of his government is that Australia must “deepen its understanding of, and engagement with, one of the world’s oldest continuous civilisations, the soon to be most populous nation in the world, and a deeply consequential power”.

Malres was addressing a gathering at the National Defence College in New Delhi after a meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh earlier in the day. Talking about bilateral relations, the Minister said that it is not merely the threat of China’s ambitious military build-up that is behind deepening of Australia-India relations, but it is also a factor that is a common concern for both the countries.

Highlighting this point in his speech he said, “India’s own experience illustrates this maxim more than most. The assault on Indian forces

Rajnath Singh & Richard Marles along the Line of Actual Control in 2020 was a warning we should all heed. Australia stood up for India’s sovereignty then and continues to do so now. It is vital that China commits to resolving this dispute through a process of dialogue consistent with international law.

The global rules based order matters everywhere, including in the highest place on earth.”

According to the Minister India and Australia must be guided by both wisdom and strength if they are to successfully navigate the complex strategic circumstances faced in the Indo-Pacific.

The Minister appreciated India’s Continue on Page no. 13

Australia-India ties on a new high with focus on joint production of weapons

By Indian Abroad NewsDesk In a bid to bolster the IndiaAustralia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles and Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a meeting recently that focused on certain key areas.

Giving impetus to Indian Prime Minister’s vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat both sides agreed to look for means to grow connections and opportunities between Australian and Indian military industrial complex.

Both the countries decided to strengthen the India-Australia Joint Working Group (JWG) on Defence Research and Material Cooperation, which is scheduled to meet in Australia later this year.

Since India’s Defence Procurement Policy is for joint development, design and production with foreign original equipment managers and seeks to identify a few Indian private companies as strategic partners to link with shortlisted foreign original equipment

Richard Marles

managers to manufacture major military platforms, Australia has an opportunity to partner with India in this area which will benefit both the countries.

Marles reached Goa before arriving in Delhi and had an opportunity to visit INS Hansaand the Goa Shipyard Limited and watched the display of India’s growing prowess in indigenous drone development and autonomous vehicle technology.

While addressing the National Defence College, Marles said, “There are also mutual economic opportunities, especially as we both look to diversify and build resilience in our supply chains, as seen with Prime Continue on Page no. 13

India and UK to set up a joint Commonwealth Diplomatic Academy

Richard Marles

Richard Marles

By Indian Abroad NewsDesk India and the United Kingdom announcedrecently the establishment of a joint India-UK Commonwealth Diplomatic Academy programme hosted in New Delhi which will pave the way for young diplomats from all Commonwealth Member States to acquire expertise and receive training on global challenges.

This announcement was made after the meeting between Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, in Rwanda’s Kigali on the sidelines of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

Jaishankar tweeted after the meeting between the two ministers, “Great to catch up with my British counterpart Foreign Secretary @ trussliz. Always useful to exchange notes on the state of the world.”

It is significant to note that Commonwealth as an entity may be seen as facing a threat to its existence. This is apparent when Prince Charles told Commonwealth leaders gathered at Rwanda that each member state had the right to decide if they wanted to become a republic following a growing movement in Caribbean nations that expressed their wish to break away from the British monarchy, However, India despite being a Republic has not sought to snap its ties with Commonwealth group of countries. In that spirit both the Indian and the UK ministers underscored the value they placed on a strong and revitalised Commonwealth familythat will be fit for the 21st century and provide clear value and tangible benefits for all members.

Commenting on the importance

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Continue on Page no. 13

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Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

LEAD STORIES

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

WAR IN UKRAINE Lavrov compares EU, NATO to Hitler

Publisher Panda Entertainment Networks

to engage in a war with Moscow and compared them to “Hitler during World War II”.

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Baku, June 25 (IANS) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that the European Union (EU) and NATO were building a coalition

Kiev, June 24 (IANS) Ukraine has submitted a new lawsuit against

‘Hear us before taking any decision’, Centre to SC on pleas against Agnipath scheme

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New Delhi, June 21 (IANS) The Central government has filed a caveat in the Supreme Court regarding the petitions in connection with the ‘Agnipath’ scheme, to induct youth into all three-armed forces divisions, saying the court should hear it before taking any decision.

Three petitions have been filed so far in the apex court in connection with the Agnipath scheme.

However, the caveat did not cite any particular plea.

A plea filed by advocate M.L. Sharma sought a direction from the top court to quash the notification issued on June 14 by the Ministry of Defence announcing the scheme.

The plea said a large section of youth have started protesting against the scheme in various parts of the country.

The plea said: “According to the impugned press note...dated 14.06.2022 after 4 years out of 100 per cent selected candidates for Permanent Commission in Indian Army 25 per cent will be continued in Indian Army force and the rest 75 per cent will be retired /denied jobs in the Indian Army. During 4 years they will be paid salary and perks, but after 4 years denied candidates will get no pension, etc.”

Sharma’s plea said the Central government, contrary to the constitutional provisions and without having approval from Parliament and without any gazette notification, quashed the century-old army selection process and imposed the scheme on the country.

Another plea was filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari, last week, seeking a direction to set up a committee to examine the scheme and its impact on national security and the Army.

On Tuesday, a plea was mentioned before the Supreme Court seeking a probe by a special investigation team (SIT) into the violent protests against the scheme.

A bench of Justices C.T. Ravikumar and Sudhanshu Dhulia directed that the matter be placed before Chief Justice N.V. Ramana to examine the request for early listing.

After the Central government announced the scheme, protests broke out in several parts of the country. According to the scheme, candidates between 17.5 - 21 years will be recruited in the armed forces for a four-year period. However, after the protests broke out, the Central government increased the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment in 2022.

Agnipath row: Cong delegation meets President Kovind

New Delhi, June 21 (IANS) A seven-member Congress delegation led by Leader of Opposition (LoP) and including two Chief Ministers on Monday met President Ramnath Kovind to submit a memoranda with two demands in connection with army recruitment scheme ‘Agnipath’ and police action during Congress’ protest. “(We) urge the government to withdraw Agnipath scheme, hold wide consultations and address issues of quality, efficiency and economy, without compromising on

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“Today, the EU and NATO are acting

Regarding the EU candidate status for Ukraine, the Minister said that Russia does not see any risks to its interests.

“The EU is not a political bloc like the NATO. The development of its relations with any willing countries does not create threats or risks for us.”

Lavrov further said that his country

is “under no illusion that the EU will change its attitude to Russia, or abandon Russophobic policies”.

“The EU keeps making it clear that it does not intend toimplement the existing economic, humanitarian and internal security agreements between Russia and EU nations. It doesn’t want to carry out the tasks that were outlined based on the lofty goals of creating a common space from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. All this has been left behind, becoming a thing of the past.”

Ukraine submits new lawsuit against Russia

AGNIPATH ROW

Indian Abroad Riverwalk Avenue, Robina,Qld-4226

“When World War II broke out, Hitler united a significant number, if not most, of the European countries under his banner for a war against the Soviet Union,” TASS News Agency quoted Lavrov as saying at a press conference following talks with Azerbaijani top diplomat Jeyhun Bayramov in Baku on Friday.

in a similar way, building a modern coalition of the same kind for a fight and pretty much a war against Russia,” he added.

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welfare of Armed Forces,” was the first demand.

“To register strongest possible protest against the vicious and unprovoked attack unleashed on Congress MPs by Delhi Police, which comes under the direct purview of Union Home Ministry, and ensure a time-bound enquiry by the Privileges Committee on the breach of privilege,” was the second demand as mentioned by senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh in his tweets.

The delegation marched from Vijay

Chowk to the Rashtrapati Bhavan and handed over a two-page memoranda, signed by multiple Congressmen, to the latter.

Apart from LoP in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and other Congress leaders Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, K.C. Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh and P. Chidambaram were part of the delegation.

The Agnipath scheme, termed as a historic and transformative measure by the Union government, has met unprecedented levels of agitations and protests in several states across India.

Earlier, during the day, senior Congress leaders and parlimentarians had registered their protest over the Agnipath scheme and also their leader Rahul Gandhi’s questioning

by Enforcement Directorate (ED) through a ‘Satyagraha’ at Jantar Mantar.

Russia to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over Moscow’s ongoing illegal invasion of Kiev, says Justice Minister Denys Malyuska.

Court requiring the status quo to be restored and full withdrawal of Russian forces, an award of monetary compensation for these violations, the statement said.

and sustained violations of the Convention ever placed before the Court, and to award just satisfaction on an equally unprecedented scale,” the Ministry statement said.

In a statement, the Justice Ministry said the lawsuit addresses “Russia’s egregious human rights violations during the initial phase of the war, from the onset of Russia’s invasion in the early hours of February 24, until the effective withdrawal of its ground forces from around Kiev and other cities in northern Ukraine on April 7”, reports Ukrayinska Pravda.

The Ministry claimed that it the first stage of the Russian military invasion (February 24-April), the damage amounted to at least $80billion.

Despite Russia’s exclusion from the Council of Europe, the ECHR decided to continue considering lawsuits against Moscow.

“Ukraine’s application seeks an end to the mass and gross human rights violations that is the result of the military aggression launched by Russia.

On February 28, Ukraine applied to the ECHR for preliminary measures.

By these proceedings, Ukraine seeks, in addition to orders of the

“In due course, the Court will be invited to find that Russia has been guilty of the most flagrant, serious,

On March 1, the Court ruled that Russia should stop attacks and bombing of civilian objects in Ukraine.

Three service chiefs brief PM Modi on Agnipath scheme New Delhi, June 21: The three defence service chiefs on Tuesday briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Agnipath recruitment scheme.

Army chief, General Manoj Pande, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari, and Navy chief, Admiral R Hari Kumar met the PM at his residence separately. As per reports, all the three apprised him about the successful rollout of the recently-launched scheme and the induction process.

Earlier in the day, a tri-service press briefing was also held on the Agnipath recruitment scheme. This was the second press briefing after the announcement of the scheme

last week by the three service chiefs in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The new requirement scheme has sparked widespread protests and agitation in several parts of the country.

“Aginpath scheme balances three things, first youthful profile of the armed forces, technical savvy and adaptable people joining the Army, third makes the individual future-ready. We need the best for the country’s security”, said Lt Gen Anil Puri, Additional Secretary, Department of Military Affairs, in the briefing on Tuesday.

“The regimental process will be unchanged. We will take an undertaking and aspirants have to submit

pledge that they were not involved in any arson or vandalism”, he said.

Regarding police verification, he said it has always been a part of recruitment process.

Muslim intellectuals to support Centre’s Agnipath scheme Lucknow, June 24: A group of Muslim intellectuals in Lucknow are coming together to dispel misinformation about the Agnipath scheme that has triggered protests across various states in the country.

The group has appealed to clerics to appeal to youths coming for Friday prayers to utilise the opportunity and serve the country by joining the armed forces.

The group, under the banner of Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP), said that the initiative will

start from Friday, ahead of the prayers.

The AMP added, “We support the Central government’s Agnipath scheme also like other ones. Our message will be passed on to eligible Muslim youths by noted clerics and Imams of the mosques in various cities. A special appeal will be made for this by them in the Friday prayers.”

AMP patron Shahid Kamran said, “We are also taking the help of social media and trying to guide

the Muslim youth looking for job opportunities in the Army.”

IAF begins registration process under Agnipath recruitment scheme New Delhi, June 24 (IANS) Indian Air Force on Friday started the registration process for recruitment under the Agnipath scheme.

In a notification, the IAF gave important dates for interested candidates to apply under the scheme.

The registration process which began on Friday (June 24) will continue till July 5.

The online examination will be held on July 24.

The candidates will be selected on the basis of online test, physical fitness test (PFT), adaptability test-I, adaptability test-II and medical examination.

The age group must be between 17.5 years to 21 years. “Candidates born between 29 December 1999 and 29 June 2005 (both days inclusive) are eligible to apply. In case, a candidate clears all the stages of the Selection Procedure, then the upper age limit as on date of enrolment is 23 years,” said the IAF notification.

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“Agniveervayu will be enrolled in the Indian Air Force under Air Force Act 1950 for a period of four years.

Agniveervayu would form a distinct rank in the Indian Air Force, different from any other existing ranks.

Indian Air Force is not obliged to retain Agniveervayu beyond the engagement period of four years,” said the IAF notification.

The notification added further that the Agniveervayu will not have any right to be selected for further enrolment into the Indian Air Force.

Selection of the Agniveervayu for further enrolment, if any, shall be

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at the discretion of the Indian Air Force, it added.

The first batch of Agniveervayu would be enrolled by December and training would commence by December 30.

“Registration process for the first batch of Agniveers will start from June 24. The Phase 1 online examination process would start on July 24. The first batch would be enrolled by December and training would commence by December 30,” Air Marshal S.K. Jha had said in the tri-services press briefing held on June 1

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LEAD STORIES

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

MAHARASHTRA POLITICAL CRISIS

It’s important to set a precedent in As Agnipath fire singes India, acting against religious offenders some questions for our politicians

PIL in Bombay HC seeks ‘return to work’ by rebel Ministers, MLAs

Initiative as the UAE and Saudi Arabia are the second and third prime donors for Chinese projects.

(ongoing) political drama, because “they cannot do anything to change the situation of what happens between two elections”.

It highlighted the duty of all elected/ appointed representatives to the legislative Assembly or Parliament not to disturb or create nuisance in ‘Constitutional Governance’ for their personal gain or ego’ and not upset the basic expectations related to governance due to ‘power politics’.

Mumbai, June 27 (IANS) A group of activists and civil society members have moved the Bombay High Court seeking directions to the Shiv Sena rebel group of Ministers and MLAs to “return to the state (Maharashtra) and assume their duties”, here on Monday.

The petition has been filed by crusader-lawyer Asim Sarode on behalf of the activists group, comprising prominent personalities from different fields.

Among other things, he has urged the court to direct the rebel group leader Eknath Shinde “who is on unofficial leave” along with other ministers to return to the state and take charge of their duties The PIL also has demanded “appropriate action” against Shinde, the other Ministers “for omission of duties and moral wrongs committed” leading to disrespect towards public rights and good governance.

The PIL was mentioned before a bench headed by Chief Justice

Dipankar Datta and is likely to come up for hearing soon, Sarode told IANS. The petitioners have also asked for directions to the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and other officials to “submit a detailed plan of assurance” mentioning the process of governance in the absence of so many Ministers.

The group of petitioners are: Utpal B. Chandawar, Abhijit V. Ghule-Patil, Neelima Medha K. Kulkarni, S. Vartak, Hemant M. Karnik, Manali M. Gupte and Madhavi Kulkarni.

The respondents are: Shinde, the group of rebels comprising Ministers and MLAs, the State of Maharashtra, and the state Presidents of Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance.

The petition points out how the people in the state are feeling neglected and voiceless, who at many times meek viewers of the

The rebels’ group has shot off a letter to Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders like Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil, Director-General of Police Rajnish Seth and all police commissioners in the state.

Mumbai, June 25 (IANS) Exasperated Shiv Sena rebel MLAs have alleged that the security cover of around 16 legislators - currently camping in Guwahati - has been abruptly withdrawn, terming it as an illegal move arising out of vendetta.

The affected rebels have also expressed fear that a situation akin to Punjab where the security of several high profile persons was withdrawn by their state government, resulting in their being targeted by the mafia in that state, without naming, referring to the May 29 killing of rap singer Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu alias ‘Moosewala’.

Responding to it, Walse-Patil dismissed the rebels’ accusation asserting how “nobody’s security cover has been withdrawn” and said instructions have been issued to provide security to the family members as needed.

In the letter, the rebels have claimed that “this sinister move is another attempt to break our resolve and arm twist us to give into the demands of the MVA government comprising of NCP and INC goons”.

They contended that the reason to give security is (due) to a threat and not which side of politics they are on, and pointed out that it was because of these unspecified

Slamming the rebels’ leader Eknath Shinde, he recalled how he did a lot for him, yet Shinde was hurling a series of baseless allegations against the Sena and Thackeray.

Mumbai, June 24 (IANS) Launching a scorching counter-attack on the rebels, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday dared them to win the elections “without using the name of Shiv Sena or the Thackerays”, even as allies Nationalist Congress Party-Congress reiterated their commitment to save the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

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“I did everything possible for Shinde... I allotted him the Urban Development portfolio which I handled. His son (Dr Shrikant Shinde) is a two-time MP and now they are commenting on my son (Minister Aditya Thackeray), and levelling many allegations even against me,” said Thackeray.

He challenged the rebels to show courage and go among the people without taking the names of Shiv Sena or the party founder, the late

As Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal were made to relinquish their BJP posts due to their comments that amount to offending socio-religious sentiments, and the salvo of diplomatic reprimands that followed, we have before us very clearly indicated twin aspects of statehood and nationhood - of state and society; and of one country in a world of many. The comments directed at the Prophet took off into a turbulence and crash-landed very badly on India’s image, necessitating understanding the domestic and international impact of such a stunt.

“Forming the government is one positive action while creating situations to topple the government by hook or by crook is a definite public nuisance issue for the common citizens. Why should the citizens be compelled to tolerate the nonsense under the name of politics,” the petition said.

It also questioned the manner in which the rebel group travelled from Mumbai to Surat (Gujarat) and then to Guwahati (Assam), travelling by chartered flights, living in lavish five-star hotels and asked how the elected representatives are spending such huge amounts and whether they are using ‘public funds’.

We may call this a ‘stunt’ not to glorify a daring act of courage and bravery, but to acknowledge the foolhardiness of engaging in a dangerous pursuit - even if one gets away with it every time, the one time the stunt or stunt-like conduct fails, it’s a major failure. And this is what the world’s largest democracy has presented before us - all of us, irrespective of the frontiers and oceans and even faiths that mark us apart.

Amid all this, the PIL says how the acts of these Ministers is affecting their duties and responsibilities towards the people like roads, education, health, infrastructure, etc., and “such conduct interferes with the rights of the public and affects an entire community”.

threats they were forced to leave Maharashtra, and the MVA’s alleged actions have further compounded the situation.

The rebels have also charged the MVA leaders are allegedly instigating the cadres of their respective parties to indulge in violence against the breakaway MLAs, and accused Sena MP Sanjay Raut of statements that incited the activists.

Demanding immediate reinstatement of their security detail, the rebel MLAs warned that in case of any harm befell their families, then MVA leaders like CM Thackeray, Minister Aaditya Thackeray, Chief Spokesperson Raut and NCP President Sharad Pawar “will be responsible for the same”.

Meanwhile, there are reports of attacks on the homes or offices of some rebel Sena MLAs allegedly by Sainiks and police security has been beefed up.

Uddhav dares rebels to ‘win elections sans Sena, Thackeray name’ Addressing a meeting of Sena’s district heads and others, Thackeray said that he has left the official residence ‘Varsha’, but not lost his “will to fight” for the party.

By Kavya Dubey

The ‘power struggle’ in the state has reached its heights, events are unfolding fast and it’s difficult to predict how it will end.

Maha crisis: Edgy Sena rebels fear a ‘Moosewala type’ fate

Balasaheb Thackeray.

The CM reiterated how he had become the CM against his wishes and had no desire to wield power.

“Now, those people who used to claim that they would give their lives rather than quit the Shiv Sena have fled from here. The rebels want to destroy the party... I never imagined in my dreams I would become the CM and have even offered to quit... I have vacated the ‘Varsha’ bungalow but not left the determination to fight out,” Thaekeray asserted.

The Sena chief also threw the field open saying anybody in the party is free to leave and they can take away the MPs or others, but not the roots of the party which remains intact.

OPINION

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

Desperate Shiv Sena and rebels prepare for a long-haul Mumbai, June 25 (IANS) As pressures grew on the Shiv Sena and the rebel faction, both sides appeared set for a long-haul with legislative procedures and a possible legal battle likely to enter the play on day five of the Maharashtra political crisis here on Saturday.

Amid the mounting crunch, the rebel group leader Minister Eknath Shinde has reportedly told his supporters in Guwahati that a new government will be installed in 96 hours and urged patience.

In Mumbai, Sena Chief Spokesperson and MP Sanjay Raut on Saturday renewed his appeal to the mutineers saying “its still not too late, come back for talks”.

Raut said the Sena workers are getting restless and asking “what do we do” and expressed apprehensions that the situation may go out of control if the activists flare up, urging the rebels to return for negotiations.

Gripped by uncertainties plaguing the fate of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of Sena-Nationalist Congress PartyCongress, stray incidents of violence from different parts of the state were reported on the homes and offices of some revolters by alleged Sainiks.

The Shinde group late on Friday night accused the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray of yanking off the security provided to the homes and families and offices of some of the MLAs on their side.

In a letter to the Chief Minister, Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil,

Ethos of a secular India may seem to have taken a back seat on the stage that represents this country and its people. One may argue that India is more than its political representation and that secular values are still very much alive - only not as loud and aggressive - but to the world, the voice of India as a state is that of its political representatives. And it is for this reason, half the world has lost its calm.

A tip of the iceberg of an impact was the embarrassment when the Indian Vice President was visiting Qatar, and the Indian Ambassador was summoned and a public apology from India was expected.

It is very relevant what Qatar said: “Allowing such Islamophobic remarks to continue without punishment, constitutes a grave danger to the protection of human rights and may lead to further prejudice and marginalisation, which will create a cycle of violence and hate.”

Director-General of Police Rajnish Seth and all police commissioners in the state, released on Saturday morning, Shinde complained of “malicious withdrawal of security of family members of at least 16 MLAs on his side.

In response, Walse-Patil stoutly denied Shinde’s allegations as false and misleading and asserted that nobody’s security was withdrawn.

Both the Sena and the rebels await the stance of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which has officially shrugged, claiming it is not interested in toppling the (MVA) government but cannot help if it crashes owing to internal

contradictions.

Nevertheless, the Sena-NCPCongress have pointed accusing fingers at the BJP for fomenting the crisis and making all efforts to dislodge the MVA since the past 30 months.

Presently, the Shinde camp has claimed the support of around 40 rebel MLAs plus a dozen independents, smaller parties and at least two Sena MPs. The Sena side is left with around 17 MLAs and top party leaders claim “more than half the rebels in Guwahati are in touch” with them.

In the larger spectrum of interest, it needs to be remembered that India is a part of the world and cannot exist in isolation. It is thus important to maintain cordial relations with countries of partnership, especially given that Islamic countries are a major source of fundamental drivers of the economy-fuel being the primary one.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) includes Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi

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By Paul Hickin

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From the strategic perspective, the mutual desire for political stability, peace, and security in the region binds India and GCC together, creating opportunities for greater cooperation. This pursuit on the whole widens the scope of commerce and investments and will facilitate development of human resources. Millions of Indians reside and work in the Middle East and send in sizable remittances.

The perils of unbridled cultural intolerance A free trade agreement with the UAE is a step in this direction. The ties between the two nations deepened to a cultural level when Modi attended the ceremony of the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi in 2018. Yet, in the turn of events, the UAE standing in opposition to India, along with other Gulf countries, due to the controversial statement of the top leader is a firmly conveyed message.

This can also lead to undoing some recent diplomatic successes with UAE and the GCC nations.

When local-level groups turn verbally violent against a community, irrespective of religion, as it often happens with mobilised unemployed and indoctrinated youth for propaganda, nations of the world are unaffected. But when a national-level office bearer of a government that has with it a massive mandate of the electorate falls for such misconduct, it goes out as the voice of India and not that of just a person.

One may be free to say things in restricted spaces, irrespective of religious affinity, but a public forum, especially one with international reach, calls for more mindful conduct. Since offensive comments along lines of religion are not uncommon, it is important to set a precedent in taking to task the offenders at the prominent levels so that taking action against offenders at local levels is less difficult.

Former diplomat Anil Trigunayat, who has served in the Arab region, is right in indicating that India has put itself in a difficult situation and “only sincere efforts at the leadership level could prevent negative fallout”. The diplomatic cost of the fallout is bound to hurt India’s interest in the region.

India is watched for increased religious polarisation since the BJP rose to power under Narendra Modi. The past few weeks have been particularly spotlighted for creating occasions for religious disharmony by way of threatening vandalism to mosques for the sake of temples that were previously vandalised and demolished in their locations.

Also, in the wake of public outrage to boycott India, which is happening in greater intensity in GCC regions, commercial withdrawal, to some extent, will hurt both economies as India’s exports to GCC stood at $28.06 billion in 2020-21. The bilateral trade at this time worth $87.36 billion was a 27 per cent decline from the previous year. Commercial relations are thus important on both sides.

Relegating the national spokesperson of the ruling party to a “fringe element” is no escape from the quagmire the Indian government has driven itself into. As a secular state, religion must be kept at a distance so as to not overshadow the functioning of the state. Besides, the government ought to give its people greater choice of pursuits than merely religion and cultural jingoism.

However, a case in point is a country like China, which in 2020, replaced the European Union as the GCC’s largest trading partner with bilateral trade worth $161.4 billion. The GCC block also happens to be a central pillar of China’s Belt and Road

If only this occasion is taken as lesson to mend the ways of “toxic politics”, as dubbed by experts, can we look forward to some “achche din!”

barrels will be the oil market’s ultimate test. While it has an impressive record of adapting to unthinkable shifts in trade patterns, from self-imposed embargoes on US exports to sanctions on Iranian and Venezuelan crude, the stakes, and costs, have never been higher. The market is already doing what it does best in bringing new buyers and sellers together and boosting existing relationships, but at a magnitude rarely seen before.

The West’s boycott of Russian

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Reaching out to Islamic nations is in fact an extension of Gandian values of fraternity and humanity given his role in the Khilafat Movement for the cause of the Ottomans.

This is probably where Nupur Sharma missed the point. While religious bigotry is not exclusive to any one side, the stage at which offensive thoughts are vocalised matters a great deal and goes beyond the purview of right and wrong. However, it is difficult to overlook that Nupur Sharma (and not the BJP government) is at the receiving end of all the flack as she is a woman, hence a soft target.

Agnipath -- whenever one comes across this word, one is reminded of the 1990 Amitabh Bachchan film, ‘Agneepath’, which was also the title of a famous motivational poem by his father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan.

The Hindi word literally means ‘the path of fire’, but it now seems as if the country is literally walking on one.

The last fortnight has seen tumultuous events rocking the country -- a situation that should be an eye-opener on how playing politics on sensitive issues can land a nation in trouble and pit its own people against each other.

If a TV debate exposed the vicious nexus of politicians and religious leaders, violence during protests against the new defence recruitment plan without understanding it fully has once again exposed deep-rooted insecurities in our society. It is the vulnerability of the masses that comes in handy for the opportunists, who can be inside as well as outside the country.

The fallout of the controversial remarks on the Prophet by a BJP leader showed how international powers can play dirty. Likewise, the violent protests against the Agnipath scheme prove that vested interests can manipulate young minds.

Who were the instigators?

The horrifying images of burning trains in Bihar and Telangana and vandalised railway stations in several other states have rattled the nation. The young people resorting to such violence even before understanding the scheme point to the extent manipulation of insecurities can play a part.

Bihar was the first to witness the violence soon after the scheme was announced on June 14. Why did this happen? Perhaps the answer can be found in what the Patna District Magistrate Chandrasekhar Singh is reported to have said on Saturday.

He said that CCTV and other video footage as well as WhatsApp messages of some coaching centres were found on the mobile phones of the arrested students. The role of coaching centres in inciting the violence will be probed, he said.

Even in Secunderabad, the police have identified a few people, including the owner of a private coaching centre, who allegedly instigated the job aspirants to resort to violence at the railway station on June 17. It is being reported that messages asking the aspirants to assemble were circulated in a group called ‘Hakimpet Army Soldiers’, allegedly created by the coaching centre owner.

The coaching centres fear a loss of business once the scheme is rolled out, hence they instigated the young men.

In the row fanned by Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar, the issue was blown up about a week after the comments were made. Sharma’s statement was used by Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, after which an outrage was unleashed.

Sharma unconditionally withdrew her statement and the BJP suspended her and expelled Naveen Kumar, but the rage turned into a fireball.

Several Muslim religious leaders issued death threats to Sharma and led violent protests in many parts

of the country. AIMIM and other political parties played to the gallery.

Several Muslim nations condemned the statement. The US, too, redflagged the comments.

What explains the international condemnation without a verification of the facts? The reason is not very far to locate. It is the Russia-Ukraine war and the politics of oil. Though India has condemned the Russian invasion, it has rejected the US-led sanctions against its old partner.

India has been buying oil from Russia and the US is not happy about it.

Hence, when the Prophet controversy broke out, the Islamic countries reacted and the US too jumped in.

Sources say that the US instigated the countries to up the pitch to corner India.

Do our politicians keep failing us?

Whether it was the Prophet row or the raging protests over the Agnipath scheme, the politicians have found opportunities to manoeuvre opinions.

The Agnipath protests have caused losses of thousands of crores. In Bihar, the BJP has pinned the blame on the Rashtriya Janata Dal. The Union Minister from Bihar, Giriraj Singh, said the RJD’s violent protests have led to the burning down of government property and led Biharis to their death. He said Bihar will have to give a befitting reply to the RJD. In Hyderabad, some protesters said that those who were vandalising public property had been sent by some politicians. The fact that only railway property was targeted in the Agnipath violence is baffling.

At the forefront of the violent agitation is the Left students’ organisation, AISA. In Bihar, the RJD has actively supported the agitation and the BJP’s ally, Janata Dal (United), has adopted a sympathetic attitude towards the protesters, who have also targeted the BJP leaders and their offices.

The houses of Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Renu Devi and the BJP state president and West Champaran MP Sanjay Jaiswal have come under attack. The BJP alleged that in the garb of youth protests, the attacks

were motivated.

The Congress has extended its satyagraha against the Enforcement Directorate action on Rahul Gandhi to the Agnipath protests, although certain leaders, such as Manish Tewari, have praised the scheme.

The BJP’s failure to make a convincing case on the now-repealed farm laws seems to be playing out in the Agnipath case too. The instigators were quick to create doubts, but the ruling party has been unable to put the positives across.

Even in the Prophet controversy, BJP was rattled at first by the growing negativity within the country and in the Muslim nations. When the country seemed to be getting overwhelmed by the emotions as a result of the controversy, no political leader came out to douse the flames.

Most of the opposition parties feared losing vote banks, so either kept silent or spoke against Nupur Sharma and the BJP. What and how the case was portrayed to the world and how TV networks jumped on it should be a cause of worry for the country’s intelligence, security and political establishment. It took a Pakistani Maulana whose video has now gone viral to put the Prophet row in perspective. What he said should have been the line of Muslim leaders and scholars closer home. Instead, they instigated people with their statement and created a negative image of the country on global platforms.

Who will douse the fire?

The past fortnight’s mayhem has created a deep sense of insecurity all around the country. Whether it is communal hatred or motivated violence in the name of a recruitment policy, the country is on an Agnipath.

The frequency with which riots, arson and looting are occurring means that there is a well-oiled internal system that enables this to happen in several places at the same time.

And helping the internal network are the external forces which have their own axes to grind.

(Deepika Bhan can be reached at deepika.b@ians.in)

‘Market must count all costs in Russian oil flow upheaval’

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Simultaneously, the NCP-Congress have reaffirmed their resolve to fight out the political crisis unitedly and stand behind Thackeray till the end.

Arabia, Bahrain, Oman and the UAE, and India’s trade with this stood at $ 87.36 billion in 2020-21. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been steadily developing a deeper rapport with these countries since he took over.

Yet, when China is accused of committing crimes against humanity and possibly genocide in its north-western Xinjiang region - which has the Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic groups - the mighty world does not see it as a problem worth vocalising. Arguably because China is economically in a place to have its own way with the world; also because the nation’s domestic affairs are carried out in a strictly domestic manner and without proactively bringing it on the global stage.

By Deepika Bhan

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Russian oil supply makes up some 13 per cent of total oil exports. The EU alone was importing about 2.3 million b/d of Russian crude before the war in Ukraine, which started on

February 24. Europe is now weaning itself off Russian Urals and buying more crude from across the Atlantic and via the Middle East.

Russia is now looking to Asia, with India emerging out of nowhere as a new top buyer of its heavily discounted crude, and lockdown-hit China is returning as a pivotal customer. The two Asian oil importers have now grown their share of Russian shipped crude to almost 30 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, a combined growth of more than 1 million b/d from pre-war levels.

But the accounting ledger points to the extra ton-mile shipping

costs and time involved bringing in barrels from further afield as even Brazil grades start to move up in popularity in Europe. These costs may be easily swallowed amid bumper refining margins, but European buyers are still at a competitive disadvantage to Asian refiners taking Urals, which could be at around a $40/b discount to Dated Brent, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights assessments.

The US’ ability to throttle Iranian crude production by excluding it from the international financial system wiped out around 1.5 million b/d in output, but even then Iran has managed to find ways to sell its

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crude. It’s much easier to weaponise oil when prices are low than when Dated Brent remains well into triple digits and shows little sign of falling.

The more supply is cut from the market, the more consumers get twitchy and pump prices become politicised, so should Russian supply eventually plummet, buyers may start to scramble.

OPEC+ spare capacity is already down at dangerously low levels at a time when Libya output is volatile and US hurricane season is just around the corner. Russian seaborne exports are at three-year highs, but the difficulty comes in finding fungible grades should the

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market tighten further.

Analysts point to the door opening to an Iran oil deal, hanging in the balance for more than a year, should the pressure get too much. The oil market may already be paying the extra costs of epochal changes in oil flows, but the eventual price could be much higher.

(Paul Hickin is Associate Editorial Director, S&P Global Commodity Insights.)

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INDIA

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

Amarnath Yatra: Hindu pilgrimage facilitated by Muslims

Srinagar, June 25 (IANS) The 43-day-long Amarnath Yatra to the 3,880-metre-high holy cave shrine of Amarnath nestled in Himalayas is set to commence on June 30 from two routes - the traditional 48-km Nunwan route in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam and the 14-km shorter Baltal route in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal.

The Jammu and Kashmir government is expecting nearly eight lakh pilgrims to arrive this year as the pilgrimage remained suspended for two years due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.

The annual pilgrimage has been a part of pluralistic ethos of Kashmir for the past hundreds of years.

According to folklore, the cave was discovered by a shepherd named Buta Malik, who was a Muslim, in 1850. He had been grazing his cattle in the mountain when a Sufi saint gave him a bag of coal, which turned out to be gold later. He went back to thank the saint but found the cave and the Shiva Linga. Another story states that it was Bhrigu Muni who discovered the Amarnath Shrine.

The length of the Amarnath cave (inward depth) is 19 meters and the width is 16 meters. This cave is spread over an area of approximately 150 feet and is about 11 meters high. The significance of this cave was not only by the creation of natural Shivalinga but also here Lord Shiva told the story of immortality to Goddess Parvathi. Therefore, it is believed that Lord Shiva remains in the Amarnath cave. The holy cave shrine houses a natural lingam made up of snow. The lingam waxes and wanes with the lunar cycle and its considered as a miracle of nature and the power of Lord Shiva. The cave also has two more ice lingams, each one representing Goddess Parvati and Lord Ganesha. The Shivalinga made of ice in the cave is about 10-12 feet high and is the symbol of people’s faith and trust.

‘Muslims Part And Parcel’ Kashmiri Muslims have been a part and parcel of Amarnath Yatra for the past hundreds of years. They have been facilitating the holy pilgrimage by ferrying pilgrims to the cave shrine on ponies, providing them with tents and other logistic support.

After the Pakistan sponsored insurgency broke out in the Himalayan region in early 1990s terrorists

made many attempts to disrupt the yatra by targeting the pilgrims but they were always given a befitting reply by the devotees, who despite facing threats and intimidations arrived in Kashmir in large numbers to pay obeisance at the holy cave.

From 1990 to 2017, Amarnath pilgrims were attacked by the Pakistan sponsored terrorists on 36 occasions. In these terror attacks as many as 53 pilgrims were killed.

Terrorists have not succeeded in keeping locals away from the pilgrimage. Kashmir Muslims have never shied away from providing their services to pilgrims to make yatrasuccessful.

Amarnath Yatra is an auspicious pilgrimage for Hindus but it’s managed by Muslims in Kashmir. It’s the Muslims who make it possible for Hindus from across the country to reach the holy cave shrine situated in the lap of Himalayas. When the track to holy cave shrine had not been developed locals used to ferry pilgrims to the holy cave shrine in palanquins. Even today the senior citizens and others who cannot travel on ponies are carried by the locals in palanquins.

Kashmiri Muslims are strongly connected with Amarnath Yatra. The pilgrimage is an age old example of Kashmiri’s strong composite and inclusive culture. The strong bond of local people with the annual pilgrimage describes the Kashmiri way of life, their ethos and culture. Positive feelings like love and affection.

Amarnath Yatra is probably the only pilgrimage in the world which binds Hindus and Muslims so strongly.

Devotees are Hindus and organisers are Muslims. The pilgrimage reflects the core human values of the gentle and peace-loving people of Kashmir and their resolve to accept every religion and culture.

Kashmir’s culture is based on love, compassion, common identity, and submission to God regardless of caste and financial position.

Locals associated with yatra every year wait for the pilgrimage to commence as it provides them with a chance to earn their livelihood.

‘Mega Event’ This year’s Amarnath Yatra is significant in many ways. It’s expected to be a mega event.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has chaired three high level meetings in the recent past to ensure that no security breach takes place and the pilgrims don’t face any problems.

The government has decided to insure every pilgrim for Rs.5 lakh and give all of them unique Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. Earlier RFIDs were given to vehicles only. The RIFD tagging of vehicles will be done at Lakhanpur while individual tagging will be

done at Jammu.

Incase of heavy rush or stoppage of Yatra due to any reason more than 32 lodgement centres having capacity of 15000 people have been set up. Nearly 20 to 22 langar facilities including 12 at Bhagwati Nagar and other at different locations of Jammu district have been put in place. Similarly, Kathua has 31 lodgementcentres having capacity of more than thousand people, Samba has 22 lodgement centres with 8000 people capacity, Udhampur has 36 lodgement centres with 9000 persons capacity and Ramban has 13 lodgementcentres having capacity of 8000 people for accommodation.

The Centre has deployed additional 15000 paramilitary men along the pilgrimage route from Lakhanpur to holy cave shrine. The entire route will be monitored by drones.

Elaborate arrangements have been put in place. Tented cities have been created and Wi-Fi hotspots have been set up along the yatra route.

Eight base hospitals have been set up on the Baltal route while 20 have been put in place on the Pahalgam route. Shri Amarnath Shrine Board has also installed free-of-cost battery car service for pilgrims on the 2.75 km-long Baltal-Domel stretch. The government has also made arrangements for online, live telecasts of the morning and evening Aartiat the holy Amarnath Cave, besides organisingreligious and cultural programs at the base camp.

For the first time in pilgrims can directly fly to from Srinagar to Panchtarni, which is the last drop off point, about 6 km from the shrine.

As of now, helicopter services were available for the pilgrims from Baltal and Pahalgam to Panchtarni .

Pilgrims either walk or ride a pony to the Amarnath shrine from this point. Both Baltal and Pahalgam are about 90 km from Srinagar. This year, a new route is being added - from Budgam (near the Srinagar airport) to Panchtarni.

The National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force have undergone specialisedtraining to be a part of the Mountain Rescue Teams of J&K Police. The checkpoint functioning has been enhanced and traffic control has been given special impetus so it does not interfere with general public’s convenience.

With just a few days left for Amarnath Yatra to commence people in Jammu and Kashmir are waiting eagerly for pilgrims to arrive. Their arrival will add to the number of tourists visiting J&K as the pilgrims after performing darshan at the holy cave usually stay back as tourists, which gives boost to the economy.

Draupadi Murmu shares strong spiritual ties with Rajasthan

Jaipur, June 24 (IANS) NDA’s Presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu shares a strong spiritual bond with Rajasthan, as she has been a regular visitor to Mount Abu. Coming from the Santhal tribal community in Odisha, Murmu has been through many struggles in her life. In just six years between 2009

and 2015, Murmu lost her husband, two sons, mother and brother.

According to reports, during that time Murmu became a keen practitioner of meditation techniques of Brahma Kumaris, a movement she took to after her personal losses.

It was around 13 years ago when she first connected with the Brahma Kumari Sansthan in Mount Abu. Over time, her relationship with this institution strengthened and she learnt Raja Yoga to relieve stress.

In fact, she has been part of many programmes of the institute.

In 2009, she came here for the first time and learnt Raja Yoga. Since then she has been in regular touch with the institute.

She had visited the Brahma Kumari Sansthan twice when she was the Governor of Jharkhand.

On February 8, 2020, she had participated in the Value Education Festival here.

The members of the institute are happy about Murmu being named the Presidential candidate of NDA. B.K. Mrityunjay, the executive secretary of the Brahma Kumari Sansthan, had called and congratulated her after her nomination.

Pratibha Patil, who became the first woman President of the country, had also visited the Brahma Kumari Sansthan before becoming the President.

Four held for embezzling 899 sacks of almond worth Rs 2 cr

Gurugram, June 24 (IANS) A team of Gurugram police has nabbed four criminals for embezzling 899 bags of almond worth Rs 2 crore.

According to the police, on June 16, a complaint was filed by a man with the Bilaspur police station allegeing www.indianabroad.news

that a consignment of his company comprising 899 bags of almond was sent from Maharashtra to Delhi on June 12 which was supposed reach the national capital on June 14.

However, the vehicle carrying the bags didn’t reach Delhi while the phone of the driver, Aabid, was also switched off. The GPS of the car was also turned off.

Subsequently, the police arrested Aabid from Alwar in Rajasthan while his associate Devender Sharma was arrested from near the GurugramFaridabad toll plaza on June 21.

During questioning, Aabid disclosed

that he had handed over 450 sacks of almond to Devender and the remaining 429 sacks to his other associates, Kasam Khan and Sabid.

Based on the information provided

by Aabid, the police arrested Kasam and Sabid from Bharatpur in Rajasthan on June 23.

“The police have recovered 879 sacks of almond so far. Aabid is on three-day police remand, while Devender has been sent to judicial custody. Kasam had served jail term in 2015 in a similar case,” Preet Pal Sangwan, ACP (crime), said.

Explained: What’s driving Covid surge in India New Delhi, June 24 (IANS) Newer Omicron strains, waning immunity, and breakthrough infections among vaccinated are the major reasons for the current Covid peak seen in India, including the national capital, said doctors on Friday.

According to the Union Health Ministry data update on Friday, India recorded 17,336 new Covid-19 infections and 13 new deaths in the last 24 hours. The active caseload stands at 88,284.

With 1,934 cases, infection numbers in national capital Delhi doubled in the last 24 hours. In Karnataka, 858 fresh cases and one death occurred on Thursday. Maharashtra accounted for the highest number of Covid-19 cases at 5,218, with daily cases jumping by 60 per cent compared to the previous day.

States like Kerala, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Gujarat are reporting more than 1,000 cases daily.

“The cases are rising because of Omicron and its sub-variants as there are several sub-lineages of the circulating virus. The most circulating subvariant at the moment are of BA.2, and there are a few cases of BA.4 and BA.5. Though they are just the sub-variants, they also have their sub-lineages,” Dr. Akshay Budhraja, Senior Consultant, Respiratory & Sleep Medicine, Aakash Healthcare Dwarka, told IANS. “It is important to know that those who are vaccinated are not 100 per cent protected against the virus as our immunity begins to wane after six months... vaccinated people also have the probability of getting re-infected,” he added.

Budhraja said the mass vaccination is protecting people against developing any severe complications - the reason why most people are only suffering from upper respiratory symptoms, not lower respiratory symptoms like Covid pneumonia, and hospitalisation is also low at the moment.

However, in some states including Delhi, and Maharashtra, there has been a marginal increase in Covidrelated hospitalisation.

According to Dr Ankita Baidya, Consultant - Infectious Diseases, HCMCT Manipal Hospitals, Dwarka, “a smaller number of Covid patients are coming with lung” conditions.

However, Dr Neha Gupta, Consultant, Infectious Disease, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram, said patients are presenting more severe symptoms than during the earlier Omicron wave in January.

“During this wave, we have seen patients having moderate-severe Covid-19 which is a little more in severity as compared to the Omicron variant,” Gupta told IANS. An analysis by the country’s Covid genome sequencing facility Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) reports that Omicron BA.2 sub-variant was detected in over 83 per cent of the samples sequenced in May and June, media reports said.

While the percentage of BA.1, BA.3, BA.4 and BA.5 has been found in less than 10 per cent samples, Omicron and its sub-lineages have been the dominant circulating variant in India from January 2022. In May, the proportion of Omicron sublineages BA.2.12.2, BA.1.1.529, BA.3,

BA.4, BA.5 increased, the report said.

So can we say that a fourth wave of Covid has hit India?

This is not a fourth wave, said Budhraja, “but Covid spikes which may differ in timing in different parts of India. Fourth wave can only occur if there is presence of a new variant altogether, not just a different subvariant”.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry has directed officials to continue to focus on surveillance and whole genome sequencing to scan any possible mutations while stressing on adequate testing and effective monitoring to assess the spread of Covid-19 in a timely manner.

“Sequencing is a highly resource-heavy and time-consuming process. That being said, sequencing is essential to understand the direction in which the virus evolves.

However, sequencing is not essential to diagnose or treat Covid 19.

Hence resource allocation is better made towards vaccination, awareness and prevention and treatment,” Dr Pavithra Venkatagopalan, Director, Covid Task Force, Awareness, Rotary Club of Madras Next Gen, told IANS. She emphasised the need for “aggressive vaccination for everyone”.

Now Patna commuters to get Marine Drive-like experience Patna, June 25 (IANS) The Bihar government has thrown open to the public a four-lane JP Ganga expressway on Friday. The road connects Digha on the west side to Gandhi Maidan on central Patna covering a distance of 7.5 km all along the Ganga river.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has inaugurated his most ambitious road project -- JP Ganga expressway. This road will decongest the heavily congested Ashok Rajpath.

Road Construction Minister Nitin Navin was also present with Bihar Chief Minister during the inauguration.

Besides the JP Ganga e-way, Nitish Kumar also inaugurated phase 2 of Atal path and a railway over-bridge in Mithapur locality.

“JP Ganga e-way is based on Mumbai’s Marine drive. It was a highly ambitious project that was

completed by the Bihar government and it will benefit the residents of Patna. The Mithapur railway overbridge was a demand of residents for the last 19 years and it is also completed now. The idea is to make Patna a smart city and it is possible only when the road communication gets smooth and hassle free,” Navin said.

After the inauguration of JP Ganga e-way, commuters can reach from Digha to Gandhi Maidan in just 5 minutes.

Earlier, the commuters used to take 30 to 45 minutes to reach from Digha to Gandhi Maidan through Ashok Rajpath.

The JP Ganga e-way will also provide easy road connectivity to residents of localities adjoining Rajapur and Bakipur.

The total length of JP Ganga e-way

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law-and-order situation, and not spontaneous or isolated instances or events of failure of state administration to control the situation.

“The breakdown of law and order situation in the state including attributable to the alleged inaction of the (state) duty holders, owing to spontaneous mass violence, cannot be a safe measure to infer as being a part of the criminal conspiracy at the highest level of political dispensation unless there is clear evidence to so conclude regarding meeting of the minds of all concerned,” it held.

The bench said the SIT had not found any conspiracy for linking the separate incidents of mass violence across the state during the investigation of nine separate crimes including the Godhra train incident, dealt with by the SIT under the strict vigil and supervision of this court and ably assisted by the amicus curiae playing the role of devil’s advocate.

It pointed out that overrunning of state administration is not an unknown phenomenon and cited the second wave of pandemic, where countries with even the best of medical facilities crumbled and their management skills were overrun under the pressure.

“Can it be said to be a case of hatching a criminal conspiracy? We need not multiply such instances of overrun. Breakdown of law and order situation if for short duration, cannot partake the colour of breakdown of rule of law or constitutional crisis. To put it differently, misgovernance or failure to maintain law and order during a brief period may not be a case of failure of constitutional machinery in the context of tenets embodied in Article 356 of the Constitution,” said the bench.

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Teesta & her NGO’s agenda was India courts support arbitration, never to uplift Muslims socially or need to balance geography: CJI economically: Zafar Sareshwala New Delhi, June 21 (IANS) Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana on Tuesday said the courts in India assist and support arbitration and “leave substantive part of adjudication to arbitral tribunals”.

Ahmedabad, June 27: Businessman and former Chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Zafar Sareshwala has lambasted Teesta Setalvad and her NGO, Center for Justice and Peace (CJP), for misusing the 2002 riots case and the cause of the Muslims.

Speaking exclusively to IANS, Sareshwala on Monday said that Setalvad and her NGO never worked for the upliftment of the 2002 riot victims of Gujarat, and were only using the plight of the victims for their ulterior agenda.

Without naming Congress’ late leader Ahmed Patel, Sareshwala said, “Congress party’s big leader from Gujarat, who was considered to be the most powerful in the country was backing Teesta and he worked in Gujarat. The said leader never worked for the betterment of Muslims, forget the riot victims.”

Sareshwala also alleged that the Congress never helped Muslims.

The Muslim businessman has alleged, “Teesta wanted to build her Taj Mahal on the graves of riot victim Muslims.”

According to the Muslim leader, “Late Haren Pandya, Gordhan Zadafia, Pravin Togadia, Babu Bajrangi and Jaydeep Patel were behind the 2002 riots. Haren Pandya had led a mob that torched my house, the mob torched a mosque in Vasna, but none of them were in the accused list prepared by Teesta and her organisation.”

He had raised these issues way back in 2002-03, but he was termed as anti-Muslim, said Zafar.

Questioning Teesta and her organisation’s intent, Sareshwala said, “Some 1,600 innocent Muslims were killed, 1000 business premises were set on fire in Ahmedabad. How many

riot victim did Teesta visit? How many riot victims’ were rehabilitated by her or her organisation. On the contrary, other Muslim organisations like Gujarat Sarvajanik Welfare Trust and Afzal Memon, Jamiat-EUlema-E- Hind, Siyasat, and other organisations have rehabilitated the families of the victims.”

Suspecting Teesta’s motive, Zafar also made a point, “The Special Investigation Team was appointed by the Supreme Court, the apex court was monitoring the investigation, in seven major riot cases, the SIT has successfully investigated, and got the guilty convicted. That was accepted by Teesta and her team, but if the same team gives clean chit to the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, they have all the objections. This itself exposes her stand.”

Nupur Sharma again refuses to turn up at police station in Kolkata

by Amherst Street police station under the north and north suburban police station under Kolkata Police, Sharma was supposed to be present at said police station on Saturday afternoon. However, a letter from Sharma reached the Kolkata Police through email on Saturday, where she has sought some more time to appear as she apprehends security threat if she comes to the city.

is 21 km from Digha to Didarganj in Patna at the estimated cost of Rs 3,381 crore.

The first phase from Digha to Gandhi Maidan was inaugurated on Friday, and the construction on the rest of the phase is underway.

The proposal of this project came up in 2011 and the foundation stone foundation was laid in 2013.

Gujarat riots not pre-planned, inaction by officials can’t be criminal conspiracy: SC New Delhi, June 24 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Friday said there is “no tittle of material” to prove that 2002 Gujarat riots were preplanned and the inaction of some state officials can’t be the basis to term it as a state-sponsored crime against the minority community.

A bench, headed by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and C.T. Ravikumar, said: “Suffice it to observe that there is no tittle of material, much less tangible material to support the plea of the appellant that the Godhra incident unfolded on February 27, 2002 and the events which followed, was a pre-planned event owing to the criminal conspiracy hatched at the highest level in the state.”

It noted that inaction or failure of some officials of one section of the state administration cannot be the basis to infer a pre-planned criminal conspiracy by the authorities of the state government or to term it as a state sponsored crime (violence) against the minority community.

“Such inaction or negligence cannot pass the muster of hatching a criminal conspiracy, for which the degree of participation in the planning of commission of an offence of this magnitude must come to the fore in some way. The SIT was not there to enquire into the failures of the state administration, but the remit given to it by this Court was to enquire into the allegations of larger criminal conspiracy (at the highest level),” the top court said.

Upholding the SIT’s clean chit to then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and 63 others in the 2002 riots, the bench said there must be credible evidence regarding state sponsored breakdown of

INDIA

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

Kolkata, June 25 (IANS) Suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma, on Saturday, once again refused to adhere to the summons from a police station in Kolkata.

This is the second time that Sharma has ignored the summons from the city police. Earlier, she was sent a notice from the Narkeldanga Police station under Kolkata Police’s eastern suburban division where she was asked to be present at the said police station on June 20. However, at that time too, she refused to turn up at the last moment citing security reasons.

comments on Prophet Muhammad went viral, there were severe tensions in a number of minority dominated pockets in West Bengal districts like Howrah, Nadia and Murshidabad.

Clashes erupted between the agitators and the police in which Domjur Police station in Howrah district was attacked, police vehicles were torched and several police personnel were injured. Internet services were also suspended for a few days in a number of pockets to arrest the spread of rumours.

Following countrywide tension over the controversial comments, the BJP suspended her from the party. The BJP also took action against Delhi leader Naveen Kumar Jindal who shared her comments on Twitter.

In his address at the annual meet of Indo-German Chamber of Commerce on the theme “Arbitration in a Globalised World - The Indian Experience” at Germany’s Dortmund, he said: “In recent years, there has been some apprehension in the minds of parties about increasing interference of domestic courts in the arbitration process. Let me assure you, Indian courts are known for their pro-arbitration stance. Courts in India assist and support arbitration and leave the substantive part of adjudication to the Arbitral Tribunal itself.”

He added that the geography of international arbitration is mostly concentrated around the business centres of the developed world: Singapore, London, Paris, or Stockholm, despite the fact that most disputes are generated in the developing world, and this needs to be balanced.

The CJI emphasised that it is the responsibility of the host country to ensure that there is peace and

stability in the country, and also an effective legal redressal system so that it attracts investments that generate employment.

“The Indian judiciary is recognised for giving paramount importance to the rule of law. The Indian judiciary eternally guards the constitutional rights in the world’s largest democracy. You can trust the Indian judiciary for its absolute independence and its inherent constitutional strength to treat all parties equally and equitably,” he said.

Chief Justice Ramana said the constitutional courts of India - the high courts and the Supreme Court - have the power to judicially review every act of the government.

“They can strike down any law that is not in tune with the constitutional principles. They can also set aside the arbitrary measures of the executive,” he said.

He said international arbitration has several known advantages and it is in this spirit that the Indian judiciary delivers justice, to one and all, and the Indian courts do not discriminate on the basis of country of origin, and emphasised that all are equal before the courts of law in India.

past two decades, India is following the path of actively encouraging arbitration, mediation, and other modes of alternative dispute resolution. India adopted the UNCITRAL Model Law while enacting the Arbitration and Conciliation Act in 1996, to make the arbitral process more efficient and to harmonise it with the international practice and procedure”.

He added that to keep up with the changing global and economic scenario, the Arbitration and Conciliation Act of 1996 was amended in 2015, 2019, and 2021.

Chief Justice Ramana said: “For the

Rahul writes to PM on plight of Wayanad people in view of SC judgment New Delhi, June 24 (IANS) Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi has dashed off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi drawing his attention to the plight of the local communities of Wayanad in Kerala, whose livelihoods would be adversely affected by the recent Supreme Court order on the maintenance of Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZ) around national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.

“The state and the union governments can help by requesting dilution of a minimum width of an ESZ to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC). The Supreme Court judgment considers recommendations made by the CEC & the MoEF&CC,” Gandhi wrote on his Facebook wall on Friday and posted a copy of the letter too.

“Local communities, still reeling under the impact of the Covid pandemic, have expressed grave concerns regarding the implications of this judgment on their lives and livelihoods. The Guidelines for Declaration of Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZ) around National Park and

Wildlife Sanctuaries dated February 9, 2011 - ESZ Guidelines - as well as the abovementioned judgment prohibit certain activities in ESZ. “These guidelines also regulate several activities, including, the change of agriculture systems, protection of hill slopes, and erection of electrical cables. The judgment states that no permanent structure shall be permitted to come up for whatsoever purpose within ESZ. As one of the most densely populated regions in the Western Ghats, such restrictions

hamper the ability of local communities to improve their standard of living,” Gandhi’s letter said.

“I request the Union government to address these concerns in the larger public interest and reiterate our shared commitment to balancing conservation goals with our people’s legitimate developmental needs,” the Congress leader said, adding he has written to the Kerala Chief Minister too.

Soon after Sharma’s controversial

Centre moves SC against Tripura HC RGV’s tweet on NDA Presidential order in connection with security candidate triggers row cover of Mukesh Ambani & family According to the summons issued

The top court said Zakia Jafri, wife of killed Congress leader Ehsan Jafri, had gone to the extent of suggesting that the two train bogies were put on fire as a part of pre-planned conspiracy hatched by the highest authority. “This is only a figment of imagination, preposterous and in disregard of the hard facts discernible from the material collected by the SIT including in the investigation concerning Godhra incident clearly spelling out the manner in which that incident had occurred. The trial of that case has established the involvement of accused who had been convicted for being responsible for the said incident and appeal therefrom is pending in this court,” it added.

The top court said for being involved in the crime of criminal conspiracy, there ought to be positive material indicative of deliberate act of commission and omission and meeting of minds of the concerned persons, which was completely absent and not forthcoming during the investigation conducted by the SIT. “The allegation in the present case, if at all relevant, was founded on falsehood of the claim of Sanjeev Bhatt and Haren Pandya regarding the utterances of the then Chief Minister in review meeting chaired by him - which stood completely exposed after the investigation by the SIT,” it said.

6

Hyderabad, June 24 (IANS) Controversial filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma triggered another row with his tweet on NDA’s Presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu, angering the BJP which lodged police complaints against him.

BJP leaders Gudur Narayana Reddy and T. Nandeshwar Goud lodged a complaint against Varma at Abids police station in Hyderabad even as the filmmaker clarified his remarks. www.indianabroad.news

The BJP leaders alleged that Verma made derogatory remarks against Murmu, who is the candidate of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the next month’s Presidential polls.

RGV, as the filmmaker is popularly known, had made the controversial tweet on June 22. It reads “If Draupadi is the President who are the Pandavas?

And more importantly who are the Kauravas?”

Police said they would take necessary action on the complaint after seeking legal opinion.

BJP’s Andhra Pradesh unit chief Somu Veerraju also slammed RGV for his remarks and demanded strong action against him. He said the police should suo moto take note of RGV’s tweet and book a case against him.

The BJP leader also said that the filmmaker should be sent to jail and a psychiatrist should examine him.

Meanwhile, RGV on Friday clarified his remarks. “This was said just in an earnest irony and not intended in any other way ..Draupadi in Mahabharata is my favourite character but Since the name is such a rarity I just remembered the associated characters and hence my expression. Not at all intended to hurt sentiments of anyone,” he tweeted.

In another tweet, RGV slammed the politicians for pulling each other down. “When all politicians are so busy in back stabbing and pulling each other down , one wonders when they will have time and energy to look into people’s problems which is their primary job,” he wrote.

New Delhi, June 27 (IANS) The Central government has moved the Supreme Court challenging a Tripura High Court order entertaining a PIL against the security cover given to Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and his family. The high court had asked for a home ministry official to be present before it.

Solicitor General mentioned the plea before a vacation bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and J.B. Pardiwala assailing Tripura High Court’s decision to entertain a PIL challenging the security provided by the Maharashtra government after evaluation of threat perception by the Centre to Mukesh Ambani and his family.

Mehta submitted, “We pointed out to the high court that the Bombay High Court rejected a similar petition....”

He added that security provided to Ambanis has nothing to do with the Tripura government and the high court had no jurisdiction to

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entertain the PIL. Mehta said the high court has also sought the presence of the official from the Union Home Ministry, with documents related to threat perception, in the matter.

The bench queried Mehta whether it

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is a final order or an interim order.

He replied that it was an interim order.

After a brief hearing, the top court agreed to hear the Centre’s plea on Tuesday.

7

AUSTRALIA

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

Australia says India at the heart of its Wary of China’s growing dominance in Indoapproach to Indo-Pacific and beyond Pacific, new Australian government reaches Ateet Sharma

New Delhi, June 23: Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles has said that his ongoing visit to India reflects the conviction and the commitment by the new Anthony Albanese government to place India “at the heart of Australias approach” to the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

Marles is the first high-ranking official from Australia to land in New Delhi after Albanese was sworn in as the 31st Prime Minister of the country, last month.

Hours after assuming office on May 23, Albanese had flown to Japan to attend the Quad Leaders’ Summit where he also held detailed talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on shared priorities in the Indo-Pacific region and further strengthening of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

Currently on a four-day visit to India, the Australian Defence Minister said on Wednesday that one of the priorities of the new government back home is India and Canberra must “deepen its understanding of, and engagement with, one of the world’s oldest continuous civilisations, the soon to be most populous nation in the world, and a deeply consequential power”.

Malres made the observation during his speech at the National Defence College in New Delhi after holding a bilateral meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh earlier in the day.

While he maintained that it would be wrong to assume that China is at the centre of every decision being made to deeper Australian-Indian security cooperation, Marles acknowledged that Beijing’s military build-up is now “the largest and most ambitious” seen by any country since the end of the Second World War. Stating that insecurity is what drives an arms race, the Australian minister said that it is critical that China’s neighbours do not see this build-up as a risk for them.

“India’s own experience illustrates this maxim more than most. The assault on Indian forces along the

Line of Actual Control in 2020 was a warning we should all heed.

Australia stood up for India’s sovereignty then and continues to do so now. It is vital that China commits to resolving this dispute through a process of dialogue consistent with international law. The global rules based order matters everywhere, including in the highest place on earth,” he said during his speech.

He emphasised that the world -- and the region in particular -- faces the “most serious strategic confluence of events” since the end of the Second World War with intensifying strategic and geo-economic contest, the return of war in Europe, growing climate risks, and enduring pandemic impacts, all of which are driving inflation, supply chain shocks, and de-globalisation.

Quoting Australian Professor Rory Medcalf, the Australian minister said that the region is too vast and complex for any country to succeed in protecting its interests alone.

There will be a premium on partnerships”. Navigating both opportunity and risk in this environment, Marles said, won’t be straightforward, and even harder if doing it alone.

Encountering the “toughest strategic environment in over 70 years”, Marles said that Australia will work most closely with countries which share the principles and institutions of representative government -democracy and the rule of law.

“AUKUS (the decision by Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States to develop an Australian nuclear powered submarine) is just one partnership. And when I look out at the world, India stands out.

“This relationship is an old one, forged more than 100 years ago as allies in the crucible of war. But today, the characteristics necessary for deep defence cooperation speak even more loudly: we are of, and share a commitment to an open, prosperous and secure Indo-Pacific region; we are strategically aligned; we share a common commitment to the principles and institutions of democratic government; and most importantly we both understand that the history of human progress and civilisation can be characterised by the extent to which a nation loves cricket,” added the Australian Defence Minister.

The geography of Australia and India, Marles mentioned, makes them stewards of the Indian Ocean region - an ocean which accounts for about half the world’s container traffic and is a crucial conduit for global trade.

While asserting that India’s location makes it the natural leader of this region “which Australia strongly supports”, the minister reflected that Australia’s cooperation in the Indian Ocean is underdone and it can “afford to do more”, not only bilaterally, but also trilaterally with others such as Indonesia.

India and Australia, he said, will need both wisdom and strength if they are to successfully navigate the complex strategic circumstances faced in the Indo-Pacific.

The Australian minister also commended India for providing the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief support to Kiribati and Tonga earlier this year. He told the gathering that as Kiribati, an island country in the central Pacific Ocean, battled the Covid-19 pandemic, Australia and India worked in lockstep, with Australia arranging a flight to deliver India’s donation of pulse oximeters, personal protective equipment and emergency medication. Australian aircraft also helped deliver India’s disaster relief supplies to the Kingdom of Tonga following the undersea volcano eruption and Tsunami that devastated that country in January this year.

“We want to work with friends like India, which brings its own unique history to that region and which places such value on respect for sovereignty and national integrity,” said Marles.

Mentioning PM Modi’s address at the World Economic Forum in 2018 where he listed climate change as one of the biggest threats for mankind, the Deputy Australian PM said that here too, Australia and India have an opportunity to collaborate as the Albanese government has a renewed focus on climate change, which will now factor into Australia’s defence planning and defence diplomacy.

“There is opportunity under our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to make inroads into clean energy technologies. Our cooperation has vast potential to see us manufacture and deploy ultra low-cost solar and clean hydrogen, offering affordable and reliable access to energy for all.

As nations contend with growing energy demand, climate change and unstable supply chains, India and Australia’s collaboration has the potential to engender security solutions for the security challenges we all face,” he said.

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative. com)

Regional migration in Australia at 5-year high

Canberra, June 23 (IANS) Regional migration in Australia is at a five-year high with younger people setting the trend, according to data released on Thursday from one of the nation’s leading banks and a prominent think tank.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and the Regional Australia Institute (RAI)’s Regional Movers Index (RMI) recorded a 16.6 per cent jump in the number of people moving away from state capitals such as Sydney and Melbourne during the first three months of this year, reports Xinhua news agency.

RAI chief executive Liz Ritchie said

the influx of “Millennials” (aged 24 to 40) and “Gen-Xers” (aged 40 to 56) were welcome additions to the countryside as they “often bring with them business skills to grow the local community, as well as families who integrate into the local school system and community sporting activities”.

Ritchie said regional living was proving especially appealing to growing families seeking “bigger living spaces at a cheaper cost”.

CBA Executive General Manager of Regional and Agribusiness Paul Fowler said regional areas were providing strong job opportunities for people aged in those demographics.

“Regional Australia is thriving, fuelled by strong investment across a broad range of industries including agriculture, manufacturing, retail and hospitality,” Fowler said.

“There are labour shortages in many parts of regional Australia and businesses are attracting skilled and unskilled workers to serve growing

demand for products and services,” he said.

Fowler said rural communities, such as Moorabool in the state of Victoria and the Western Downs in the state of Queensland, were among the most popular destinations with growth rates of more than 55 per cent.

He said Millennials made up the biggest proportion of people moving to Moorabool, and it also attracted a relatively high proportion of GenXers at 24 per cent.

Western Downs attracted a relatively large share of “Gen Alpha” (aged 24 and under), comprising 19 per cent along with “Baby Boomers” (aged 56 to 75), who made up 12 per cent of new arrivals.

Other popular destinations for people leaving the capital cities include the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Geelong in Victoria and Wollongong and Newcastle in NSW.

Qantas begins to shrink Covid debt with restart of travel

Canberra, June 24 (IANS) A new market update from Australia’s flag carrier Qantas on Friday revealed that the restart of travel has allowed the airline to begin to climb out from a mountain of debt accrued during the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the latest financial year report, Qantas’ debt peaked during the pandemic at more than A$6.4 billion ($4.42 billion) but was expected to fall to around A$4 billion

by June 30, reports Xinhua news agency.

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The airline attributed the improvement to strong international and travel demand over the first half of 2022 since Australia lifted the majority of Covid-related travel restrictions.

The airline turned its first profit since the onset of the pandemic in the second half of the 2022 financial year, and expects to continue to post a profit in the coming 2023 financial year beginning July 1.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the turnaround in business began in December last year when workers returned to work ahead of the border reopening.

“It’s been a tough few years for everyone in aviation but we promised to share the benefits of the recovery once it arrived. Today’s announcement is part of that,” Joyce said.

To pass the recovery boost on to its workers and acknowledge

“the sacrifices” made by workers furloughed during the pandemic, the airline also announced one-off payments of A$5,000 to 19,000 of its employees.

Alongside its market update, the airline also opened several new flight paths, noting that investing in future growth would be key to continuing to drive down pandemic debt and boosting worker wages.

From November, Qantas is set to run direct flights from Perth to both Johannesburg and Jakarta.

“Western Australia has become an increasingly important part of our international network and we’re really excited to be launching two more routes from Perth,” said Joyce.

“Our direct flights from Perth to London and Rome are selling really strongly, which gives us the confidence to add new routes from our western hub.”

out to Quad partners India and Japan

New Delhi, June 21: Deeply worried

by China’s rapidly increasing imprint, Australia said on Monday that it stands ready to work closer with India in support of an open, inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific.

The affirmation from Anthony Albanese-led new government Down Under came as Richard Marles, Australia’s new Deputy Prime Minister and also the Minister for Defence, kicked off his four-day visit to India.

Charting a fresh trajectory of transformational growth between the two strategic partners, Marles is the first high-ranking official from Australia to land in New Delhi after Albanese was sworn in as the 31st Prime Minister of the country on May 23.

Interestingly, he arrives in the Indian capital after holding talks with Japanese Minister for Defence Kishi Nobuo in Tokyo - another partner in the four-nation Quad grouping - over the weekend.

Canberra has recently raised serious concerns about the Solomon Islands-China security agreement, the lack of transparency and its implications for continuing regional security and stability.

Japan too has conveyed its concerns with regards to the situation concerning the Solomon Islands, saying that it could have a “major impact” on the security environment in the Pacific region.

Only three weeks ago, during the Quad Leaders’ Summit, the Prime Ministers of India, Japan, Australia and the US President had expressed their support for a free and open Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient.

“Our Quad partnership is needed now more than ever to meet the challenges and threats of a less

certain world, to shape that world for the better, and build a stronger, more cooperative Indo-Pacific region that respects sovereignty,” Albanese had said in Tokyo, barely a day after taking over as the Australian Prime Minister.

Keeping the fast-changing geopolitical reality in mind, the new Australian government has quickly swung into action, strengthening the strategic partnership with like-minded partners.

Marles on Monday called India as one of Australia’s “closest security partners”, making it clear that the new government back home is focused on “revitalising” Australia’s historically deep engagement with allies across the Indo-Pacific.

“Australia and India are Comprehensive Strategic Partners.

I am committed to strengthening Australia’s defence and security cooperation with India,” said the Australian Defence Minister.

Looking forward to his first bilateral meeting with the Indian Defence Minister to enhance the defence pillar of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Marles said that Rajnath Singh has been instrumental in advancing India-Australia defence ties.

“The rules-based international order that has brought peace and prosperity to the Indo-Pacific for decades is experiencing pressure, as we face shifts in the geostrategic order... Australia stands ready to work closer with India in support of an open, inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific,” he asserted.

During the visit, Marles will also meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and engage national security and defence policymakers and personnel.

Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2022, the annual Australian Defence Force (ADF) activity aiming at strengthening Australia’s engagement and partnerships with regional security forces, also returns to India later this year.

India and Australia are already conducting joint activities in the Indian Ocean Region to build operational maritime domain awareness, practice anti-submarine warfare manoeuvres and bolster military interoperability.

Earlier this month, a Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon aircraft was deployed to India under a combined India-Australia maritime surveillance initiative.

This builds upon the successful deployment of an Indian P-8I aircraft to Darwin in April this year, when India and Australia undertook coordinated maritime patrols in Northern Australia for the first time.

“India is one of our closest security partners and this activity demonstrates the strength of our bilateral defence relationship, the tangible value of our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and our shared commitment to an open, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” said Air Vice Marshal Michael Kitcher, Australia’s Deputy Chief of Joint Operations.

The activities pave the way for deeper and more sophisticated operational cooperation between India and Australia.

Australian medical institute calls to re-adopt Covid strategies Canberra, June 23 (IANS) Researchers from one of Australia’s most prominent medical institutes on Thursday called on the government to re-adopt Covid-19 strategies as the spread of Omicron variant continues to cause major individual and systemic disruption.

As of Thursday, Australia’s overall Covid-19 caseload and death toll stood at 7,919,777 and 9,558.

There were 32,982 new cases recorded in the last 24 hours, and 3,022 people are in hospital with 103 in intensive care, reports Xinhua news agency.

In an editorial published on Thursday, Director and CEO of the Macfarlane Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health (Burnet Institute) Brendan Crabb and epidemiologist Mike Toole argued for a return to stricter measures to reduce virus transmissions.

At the end of last year, the first cases of the highly transmissible Omicron variant were detected in Australia, however policy makers, betting on

the fact that the virus would be less severe and allow those infected to boost their immunity, went ahead with the nation’s re-opening.

Since then, Covid-19 health measures have been progressively stripped away, and last week mask mandates in some Australian airports were scrapped.

Crabb and Toole said the return to normal life was sending the wrong message to the public given the reality of the current state of the pandemic in Australia.

Over 7 million Covid-19 cases have been registered in Australia this year, much higher than in the two previous years, they wrote.

“Tens of thousands have been sick enough to go to hospital and there have been 8,000 Covid deaths.”

On top of this the researchers said that due to the constant evolution of the virus, people’s past immunity was not holding up, leading to repeat, no less mild, infections.

In addition to putting greater effort on vaccinations up to date, Crabb

and Toole proposed reintroducing high-quality N95/P2 masks in highrisk indoor settings and investing in improving indoor air quality.

They added that greater awareness and access should be provided for viral treatments that have been approved in Australia, such as Paxlovid.

On Wednesday, Australia’s federal health minister, Mark Butler, said too many older Australians were dying from Covid-19 and that only 50,000 of the government stockpile of 1.3 million Paxlovid treatments had been accessed.

Aus health system facing significant crisis: Survey Canberra, June 21 (IANS) Australians’ confidence in the country’s healthcare system has fallen, a new survey revealed.

declined in the last six months and 59 per cent who were seeking support said they waited more than three months.

According to the latest Australian Healthcare Index survey published by the Australian Patients Association (APA), the overall rating of the health system has fallen from 7.8 out of 10 in March 2021 to 7.2 this year, reports Xinhua news agency.

Marcus Tan, chief executive of consumer healthcare platform Healthengine, said the findings indicated an “impending and significant” health crisis.

More than 11,000 participants in the survey identified three major concerns with the system: the cost of private health insurance, growing wait times in emergency departments and access to mental health care.

Almost one-quarter of respondents said their mental health has

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“The overall trend is heading in the wrong direction suggesting that the Australian healthcare system is under stress, likely leading to worse experiences and outcomes,” he said in a media release.

It comes as Covid-19 cases continue to surge across Australia.

There were over 25,000 new coronavirus infections and more than 50 deaths reported in Australia on

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WORLD

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

US abortion clinics begin to close after SC overturns Roe v. Wade

Washington, June 25 (IANS) Abortion clinics across the US have begun to shut after the Supreme Court overturned its 50-year-old Roe v. Wade decision which granted women constitutional right to abortion.

In the wake of the 5-4 order on Friday, about half of states are expected to introduce new restrictions or bans, out of which 13 have outlawed abortion effective immediately, reports the BBC. Trigger laws, which allow an instant ban, have already been applied in Kentucky, Louisiana, Arkansas, South Dakota, Missouri, Oklahoma and Alabama.

Meanwhile, bans in Mississippi and North Dakota will come into effect after their Attorney Generals approve it.

While Wyoming’s ban will take effect in five days, Utah’s ban must be certified by a legislative council

Bans in Idaho, Tennessee and Texas will be applied in 30 days.

At an abortion clinic in Little Rock, Arkansas, the doors to the patient area shut as soon as the court’s opinion was posted online on Friday afternoon.

Staff made calls to tell women that their appointments were cancelled.

“No matter how hard we prepare for bad news, when it finally hits, it hits hard. Having to call these patients and tell them Roe v. Wade was overturned is heartbreaking,” a nurse at the clinic told the BBC. In New Orleans, Louisiana, the Women’s Health Care Centre, one of only three abortion providers in the state, was also closed.

Due to the Supreme Court ruling, about 36 million women of reproductive age will lose access to abortion, the BBC quoted research from Planned Parenthood, a healthcare organisation that provides abortions, as saying.

Meanwhile, the decision was met with elation by anti-abortion campaigners outside the court in Washington, but protests against the ruling were due to be held in more than 50 cities across the US. The ruling has led to widespread criticism.

President Joe Biden said the Supreme Court’s move will put

women’s health and lives at risk.

“It’s a realisation of an extreme ideology and a tragic error by the Supreme Court,” he said.

Slamming the verdict, Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, said the “Republican-controlled Supreme Court has achieved the GOP’s dark and extreme goal of ripping away women’s right to make their own reproductive health decisions”.

“American women today have less freedom than their mothers... This cruel ruling is outrageous and heart-wrenching. But make no mistake: the rights of women and all Americans are on the ballot this November.”

The Governors of California, Washington and Oregon have vowed to protect patients travelling from other states for an abortion.

The landmark 1973 Roe v Wade case saw the Supreme Court rule by a vote of seven to two that a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy was protected by the US constitution.

The ruling gave American women an absolute right to an abortion in the first three months (trimester) of pregnancy, but allowed for restrictions in the second trimester and for prohibitions in the third.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020, a total of 7,822,716 cases have been reported in Australia, with 9,387 deaths.

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gun laws, follows an outpouring of national outrage and frustration over recent killings of 10 African Americans in Buffalo, New York and 19 children at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas just 10 days apart.

The bill is now headed for President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature and enactment, which is anticipated as his aides have said he is waiting to sign it.

The bill was negotiated by a bipartisan group of 10 Democratic and 10 Republican members of the senate, led by Chris Murphy and John Cornyn respectively. It cleared the senate in a 65-33 vote with 15 Republicans voting with all 50 democrats in the 100-member chamber. The House passed it mostly along party lines 234 to 193, with 15 Republicans joining all Democrats.

“With this bipartisan package, we take the first steps to fight back on behalf of the American people, who desperately want new measures to keep communities safe in the high numbers in the polling,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on the floor of the House. “To those who lacked the courage to join in this work, I say your political survival is insignificant compared to the survival of our children.”

The last gun laws reform was in 1994 when assault weapons were banned.

The new legislation, which has been described as a modest attempt at reforming America’s famously loose

The legislation makes a modest attempt at restricting access to guns.

It expands background checks for prospective buyers between 18 and 21 -- both the Buffalo and Uvalde shooters were 18; includes abusive dating partners in the list of those who could be prevented from buying guns; and, finally, it seeks to incentivise states to introduce red-flag laws that would allows law

enforcement or relatives to prevent guns from falling in the hands of people who could harm either themselves or others. The bill also seeks to pump in $15 billion into school safety and mental-health care.

“This is the sweet spot a making America safer, especially for kids in school, without making our country one bit less free,” Mitch McConnell, the top Republican senator, had said on the floor of the chamber after the passage of the legislation in the senate. “I thought it was time to act, and if (Democrats) were willing to join with us and pass legislation that actually targeted the problem, which is school safety and mental health, why would we not want to do that?”

Tech firms vouch to support employees

Los Angeles, June 25: The three states of California, Oregon and Washington in the US West Coast announced that they will continue protecting abortion access despite the Supreme Court overturning its 50-year-old landmark Roe v. Wade decision which granted women a constitutional right to abortion.

The Governors of these states issued a Multi-State Commitment on Friday to defend access to reproductive health care, including abortion and contraceptives, and committed to protecting patients and doctors against efforts by other states to export their abortion bans to the West Coast states, reports Xinhua news agency.

“This Multi-State Commitment affirms the governors’ commitment in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s unprecedented decision to strip away a constitutional right that has been in place for half a century, leaving abortion regulation to the states,” Office of the Governor of California said in a statement.

“The sweeping decision means that for patients in more than half the country, home to 33.6 million women, abortion care is illegal or inaccessible.”

The three Governors also released video messages, condemning the latest ruling and sharing the view that the West Coast would remain a place where reproductive

health care will be accessible and protected.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said the ruling was an devastating step toward erasing the rights and liberties that Americans had fought for a long time.

“This is not the America we know - and it’s not the California way,” Newsom said. “California has banded together with Oregon and Washington to stand up for women, and to protect access to reproductive health care.”

“We will not sit on the sidelines and allow patients who seek reproductive care in our states or the doctors that provide that care to be intimidated with criminal prosecution. We refuse to go back and we will fight like hell to protect our rights and our values,” he added.

As an immediate response, he also signed a bill to protect patients and health providers in California from civil lawsuits based on other states’ laws.

The AB1666 bill protects doctors from legal and financial penalties if they travel to other states to perform abortions or treat out-of-state patients.

With Roe toppled, California has become the nearest state with abortion access for approximately 1.3 million out-of-state women of reproductive age.

Meanwhile, Washington Governor Jay Inslee confirmed that the law on abortion in the state remained unchanged, saying: “Washington state remains steadfast in our commitment to protecting the ability and right of every patient who comes to our state in need of abortion care, and we will fight like hell to restore that right to patients all across the country.”

In her message, Oregon Governor

Kate Brown said: “Let me be clear: You cannot ban abortion, you can only ban safe abortions and this disgraceful Supreme Court decision will undoubtedly put many people’s lives at risk, in addition to stripping away a constitutional right that disproportionately affects women and has been settled law for most of our lifetimes.”

She described the cooperative moves of the West Coast states after the Supreme Court’s anti-abortion ruling as building the West Coast offense and pledged the states would “fight like hell to protect your rights and your safety”.

“For all the Americans today feeling scared, angry and disappointed - for everyone who needs an abortion and does not know where they can access safe reproductive health care, please know you are not alone, and the fight is not over.”

On Friday, the Supreme Court overturned the landmark decision that established a constitutional right to abortion in the nation.

“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the majority opinion. “Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences.”

“It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives,” the conservative suggested.

The court’s three liberal justices dissented, saying that “many millions of American women” have lost a fundamental constitutional protection.

The announcement came after the Supreme Court had considered an appeal case involving a Mississippi law banning all abortions over 15 weeks gestational age except in certain circumstances.

Two dead, several injured in Oslo nightclub shooting According to the BBC, there were reports of gunfire at the London Pub, a popular gay bar, as well as near the Herr Nilsen jazz club and a takeaway at about 1 a.m.

The shooting comes as Oslo is due to hold its annual Pride parade later on Saturday.

In response to the shooting, Justice

Minister Emilie Enger Mehl said the incident had shaken the country, adding that: “Norway is a community of trust where everyone should feel safe outside on a Saturday night.”

No other details of the incident was immediately available.

On Korean War anniversary, Seoul vows stern response to Pyongyang’s provocations

According to the latest data from the Department of Health, there were 3,006 cases being treated in hospitals, including 113 in intensive care.

Washington, June 25 (IANS) The US House of Representatives has passed a gun control legislation approved earlier by the Senate, breaking a congressional logjam that prevented reforms for 30 years.

US West Coast states launch joint commitment over US abortion ruling to protect abortion rights

Oslo, June 25 (IANS) Two people were killed and several others severely injured during a shooting at a nightclub in Oslo, police in the Norwegian capital said on Saturday.

The police said suspected shooter has been arrested but did not immediately reveal the motive behind the shooting, reports Xinhua news agency.

Tuesday.

US one step away from historic gun law reforms

Seoul, June 25: South Korea on Saturday vowed a stern response to any North Korean provocation as the nation observed the 72nd anniversary of the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War. In his speech during a ceremony marking the anniversary, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said the North’s recent missile launches and nuclear preparations have escalated tensions beyond the Korean Peninsula and are posing a threat to international peace, reports Yonhap News Agency.

“The government will strengthen

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its defensive posture based on the firm alliance between South Korea and the US, and respond swiftly and sternly using all means necessary,” he said.

“The government will never forget peace can be achieved on the basis of strong defence and security,” Han said.

South Korea will also seek diplomatic efforts to gain cooperation from the international community to achieve peace on the peninsula, and to provide humanitarian assistance to the North, he added.

Han expressed gratitude to the

veterans of the Korean War and pledged to protect the Korean Peninsula in its path toward peace and prosperity just like the veterans fought for the freedom of the country.

The Korean War began on June 25, 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea following clashes along the border and rebellions in the latter nation.

North Korea was supported by China and the erstwhile Soviet Union, while South Korea was backed by the UN, principally the US.

San Francisco, June 25 (IANS) With the US Supreme Court overturning its 50-year-old landmark Roe v.

Wade decision which granted women a constitutional right to abortion, tech companies have told employees that they can apply for “relocation without justification” and the firms will do everything to support employees and their dependents.

Google’s chief people officer Fiona Cicconi sent an email to employees, saying that Googlers can “apply for relocation without justification” and that people in charge of the relocation process “will be aware of the situation” in assessing their requests.

“If you need additional support, please connect 1:1 with a People Consultant. We will be arranging support sessions for Googlers in the US in the coming days. These will be posted to Googler News,” the letter read.

Microsoft told TechCrunch that it will “do everything (it) can under the law” to support its employees and their dependents in accessing healthcare regardless of where they

live across the US.

Microsoft will continue to pay travel expense assistance for “lawful medical services” where access to care is “limited in availability in an employee’s home geographic region”.

Airbnb said that its “US healthcare coverage supports reproductive rights, and we have taken steps to ensure that our employees have the resources they need to make choices about their reproductive care”.

Ride-hailing platform Lyft also expanded its funds to cover drivers in other states.

“We will also continue to stand behind drivers, reimbursing legal expenses if any driver is sued under state law for providing transportation on our platform to a clinic,” the company said.

Twitter has, however declined to comment.

“We believe access to healthcare is essential and transportation should never be a barrier to that access.

This decision will hurt millions of women by taking away access to safe and private reproductive healthcare services,” a Lyft spokesperson was quoted as saying.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision on Friday, abortion rights will now be determined individually by the 50 states.

An Uber spokesperson said that the company “reiterated to employees that Uber’s insurance plans in the US already cover a range of reproductive health benefits, including pregnancy termination and travel expenses to access healthcare”.

About 17 states do not have any explicit laws either upholding abortion rights or prohibiting abortion, according to one study and nearly half of all 50 states are expected to make abortion difficult or impossible.

Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have state laws protecting abortion and will remain unaffected by the Supreme Court order.

Top US delegation to visit SL to help avert crisis Colombo, June 25 (IANS) In an effort to help avert the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka, a top delegation from the US comprising officials from the Departments of State and Treasury will embark on a three-day visit to the island nation on Sunday.

The delegation, which includes Deputy Assistant Secretary of Treasury for Asia Robert Kaproth and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Kelly Keiderling, will meet political representatives, economists and international organisations during their stay.

“In all their meetings, they will explore the most effective ways for the US to support Sri Lankans in need, Sri Lankans working to resolve the current economic crisis, and Sri Lankans planning for a sustainable and inclusive economy for the future,” the US Embassy in Colombo said in a statement.

“This visit underscores our ongoing commitment to the security and prosperity of the Sri Lankan people,” said US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung.

“As Sri Lankans endure some of the greatest economic challenges in their history, our efforts to support economic growth and strengthen democratic institutions have never been more critical,” she added.

Over the past two weeks, the US has announced $120 million in new financing for Sri Lankan small and medium-sized businesses, a $27

/IndianAbroadNews

million contribution to the island nation’s dairy industry and $5.75 million in humanitarian assistance to help those hit hardest by the worst-ever economic crisis.

The US has also committed $6 million in new grants to provide livelihood assistance to vulnerable populations, and technical assistance on financial reform that will help stabilize the economy.

In the coming months, Washington will continue to support Sri Lankans as they revive their economy, combat food insecurity, and promote public health and education, the Embassay reiterated.

The US also strongly supports Sri Lanka’s decision to seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund, which can provide the most durable resolution to the present crisis, it added.

The upcoming trip by the US officials comes on the heels of a one-day trip by an Indian delegation led by Foreign Secretary of India Vinay Kwatra on Thursday.

and the IMF. An IMF team is currently in the island nation to conduct a week-long study to form relevant policies in detail to reach a staff-level agreement.

Visiting Colombo through June 30, the IMF delegation which has already met the President, Prime Minister and officials from the Finance Ministry and Central Bank of Sri Lanka has assured to assist the country.

The delegation met President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and other senior officials and discussed ways how India could provide bilateral assistance in the current crisis.

Faced with severe forex shortage, Sri Lanka suspended payment on $12 billion debt in April and last week the UN warned that country’s “unprecedented economic crisis could develop into a dire humanitarian crisis, with millions already in need of aid”.

In the wake of the ongoing crisis, the worst since Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948, Colombo has sought support from various quarters, including neighbouring countries, as well as the US, Europe

The world body and its partners have appealed for $47 million to address the immediate needs of the 1.7 million of the most vulnerable people and those critically affected by the crisis.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

Yoga Guru conducts final curtain raiser

Australian Sikh Support serves community members A

ustralian Sikh Support, a non-profit organization served community members with fresh cooked vegetarian food during a recent multicultural event

COMMUNITY NEWS

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

in Melbourne This noble initiative was taken in association with The Salvation Army Australia.

‘

Yoga for Physical and Mental Wellbeing’, the final curtain raiser for International Day of Yoga (IDY) 2022 was conducted by renowned Yoga Guru of Sydney Dr. Amit Sharma of Dhamma Yoga.

Indian Cooking with Lata Modi MISSI ROTI

HSWA holds Indradhanush event

H

indi Samaj of Western Australia (HSWA) recently organised the annual Indradhanush event successfully under India@75 showcasing Hindi language and culture.

GREEN KEBABS

MRS. LATA MODI

H

ello friends, lots of times we hear a complaint from parents that “how can I make my child eat more green vegetables?” That reminds me of my childhood where my parents never had this problem. We never asked “what’s for dinner mom?” You just eat whatever is put in front of you. Everything tasted great because it was freshly made and also because we had no other option. My mom will use all kinds of green leaves and put it in dal, or she will use chopped up greens and put it in the dough to make rotis.

And serve it with yoghurt for breakfast or Sunday brunch. It

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was superbly tasty and healthy.

I remember all us sisters were asked to wash the greens and help mum and grand ma chopping these green leaves. It was a fun family activity to sit around on a blanket or a mat in the sun and talk, or sing and also do chopping.

Those were such simple happy days. So today we will do my childhood roti recipe and hopefully everyone will love it.

Today we are making missi roti using lots of vegetables and green leaves. We are going to use a lot of green leaves from cauliflower and some from white reddish (Mooli).

Let’s get started.

INGREDIENTS (for 4-6 people) • Two cups wholemeal flour • One cup besan flour • Three cups finely chopped any greens • One finely chopped onion • Salt to taste • Lots of fresh chopped coriander • Grated ginger to taste • Fresh chopped chillies to taste METHOD • Take a big mixing bowl • Put all the above ingredients

• Take one cup of water and by adding little at a time, make a smooth dough • Cover and leave it aside for 10 minutes • Now take a griddle (tawa) • Heat it on medium heat • Divide your dough into 12-14 portions • Make a ball of each portion • Use dry flour dust to roll it into a pita bread like size and round shape • Put it on hot tawa • Cook one side, flip it over • Put one tea spoon oil on this side and flip it again until it’s cooked both sides • Serve it hot with fresh yoghurt

/IndianAbroadNews

INGREDIENTS (for 4-6 people) • 2 packets frozen spinach OR two bunch of blanched fresh spinach • Two cup frozen peas • Three boiled potatoes • I cup very fine chopped carrots, beans and cauliflower • Chopped fresh chillies to taste • Oil for deep frying or if you wish to shallow fry • Handful of cashews halves • Lots of chopped coriander leaves • One cup grated paneer (ricotta) • Spices • Salt to taste • Two tea spoon coriander powder • Two tea spoon amchoor powder (dry mango powder) • Two tea spoon dry methi leaves (kastoori methi) METHOD • Boil potatoes • Blanch fresh spinach and peas for two minutes; if using frozen spinach, then put it in a microwave

/indianabroadnews

safe pan and cook for 10 minutes • Strain and let it cool • Once it’s cool, put it through a chopper to roughly grind it; make sure it does not become a purée • Now grate boiled potatoes and put them in a bowl • Add all the chopped up vegetables, grated paneer, salt, spices and fresh coriander • Mix spinach and peas mixture; if you think your mixture is a bit watery, you can add two table spoon of corn flour or Bbesan flour • Mix all the vegetables, paneer, potatoes and spices and make a firm dough type mixture • Oil your palms and take a little mixture at a time and make round shape and flatten it a bit • Now decorate half the cashew on each patty and either deep fry or shallow fry them until golden brown and crisp on both ends • Serve with green chutney and sweet tamarind chutney

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COMMUNITY NEWS

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

ICAQ and BMM jointly organise yoga event

T

he International Yoga Day in

Brisbane,collaborationbetween Art of Living Foundation, Indian Council OfAustralia, Qld, and Brisbane Maharashtra Mandal, was organised in Brisbane on June 26.

The day was filled with good spiritual vibes, giving everyone the sense of harmony and peace.

President of Indian Council of Australia, Parminder Singh, in his address to the participants of yoga day, expressed his gratitude to the supporting organisations as well as the participants for giving the newly formed organisation the opportunity to collaborate and celebrate the yoga day.

Brisbane Maharashtra Mandal also supported ICAQ on this event by recruiting volunteers and promoting the event to its members and other connected community organisations.

The International Yoga Day (IYD) 2022theme was “Yoga for Humanity and Peace”, and India

has successfully spread yoga to various countriesaround the world.

This soft power has put India in the daily conversations of local people in many countries that practice yoga and celebrate it on June 21, the solstice day.

This year, Indians living in Australia along with Australians celebrated this day in a big way. Not just one, but many events were organised in Brisbane, Queensland to celebrate the 2022 International Yoga Day. The Indian community thanked the councillors, government officials, High Commissioner of India in Canberra, and the local community organisations for their efforts in supporting as well asorganising these yoga events.

Yoga is the complete cleansing, healing, training and maintaining process for the mind, the soul and the body. The UN has recognised this tradition of yoga and given it the necessary status, recognising its benefits towards developing a stable mind, healthy body, and becoming the spiritually librated soul.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

High Commission of India celebrates International Day of Yoga

T

he High Commission Of India, Canberra recently organised a beautiful celebration of the International Yoga Day 2022 at The Gabba , and started off the AzadiKaAmritMahotsav

- celebration of the 75th Indian Independence Day, in the presence of the High Commissioner of India in Australia, ManpreetVohra, and Honorary Consul of India in Queensland, Archana Singh.

PUMA holds music concert

P

erth United Malayalee Association (PUMA) organised Star singer and Musical Night

at Indian Community Centre on 11th June. The event showcased some amazing talents.

Sydney Sanskrit School holds IDY

C

elebrating International day of Yoga (IDY) recently at Liverpool, Sydney Sanskrit School students had the privilege of listening to NarasimhaMahodaya. Invoking the blessings of Lord Ganesha, a session of Suryanamaskara was

commenced. The audience learnt the various postures and their significance in getting them correctly. NarasimhaMahodaya threw light upon how the eight limbs of yoga help the yogis become one with the Brahman.

Vaccination clinic held Arts Festival organized

I

ndian Society of Western Australia (ISWA) recently organised a pop-up vaccination clinic

M

for the community at the Indian Community Center.

alayalee Association of Western Australia (MAWA) recently organised an Arts Festival at the Armadale District Hall under the auspices of MAWA President Salachan and a dedicated team of MAWA members.

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Australia considers India to be at the Australia-India ties on a new high with India and UK to set up a joint Commonwealth Diplomatic Academy focus on joint production of weapons heart of its Indo-Pacific strategy humanitarian assistance to Kiribati earlier this year when the island country in the central Pacific Ocean was battling the Covid-19 pandemic.

Australia provided flight facilities to deliver India’s donation of pulse oximeters, personal protective equipment and emergency medication to Kirbati. Australia’s flight assistance also helped deliver India’s disaster relief supplies to the Kingdom of Tonga after the undersea volcanic eruption and Tsunami hit that country earlier this year.

The Minister said that because of India’s location it is the natural leader of this region “which Australia strongly supports”.

However the Minister said that in

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terms of cooperation in the Indian Ocean Australia can “afford to do more”, not only bilaterally, but also trilaterally with other countries.

“We want to work with friends like India, which brings its own unique history to that region and which places such value on respect for sovereignty and national integrity,” the Minister said.

Marles also said that Australia and India have an opportunity to collaborate on climate change as his government has a renewed focus on climate change, which will now factor into Australia’s defence planning and defence diplomacy.

Minister Modi’s ‘Make in India’ indigenisation programme for the military. And the Australian Defence Export Office is eager to send representatives from Australia’s defence industry to India’s premier defence exhibition – DefExpo.”

Welcoming the growing diversity and frequency of defence exercises and exchanges between the two countries, Marles and Singh reiterated their commitment to build upon operational engagements through the India-Australia Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement.

The Indian Defence Ministry said that the two ministers reviewed the existing defence cooperation activities between the two countriesand viewed with interest India’s participation in Australia’s

Indo Pacific Endeavour exercise in October 2022.

Viewing the Pacific as a critical area for the peace and prosperity of the entire region, the two ministers reviewed strategic challenges and the regional security situation.

Both the Ministers also discussed the launching of the landmark General Rawat Young Officer Exchange Programme in the latter half of 2022, which was announced during the virtual summit meeting between the Prime Ministers of the two countries on March 21 this year. The programme is likely to boost professional military contacts between Australia and India and help in the exchange of ideas and operational experiences.

/IndianAbroadNews

and relevance of Commonwealth Truss said, “In an increasingly geopolitical world, we must champion the Commonwealth values of democracy and sovereignty. The UK and India are helping to build a modern Commonwealth fit for the 21st century and delivering tangible benefits for its members.”

Both the ministers further reiteratedtheir commitments to provide a truly connected, innovative and transformative future for the Commonwealth family supporting the needs and expectations of all member States.

ADVERTISE WITH US

0488-067-243

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DIASPORA

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

2 Sikhs sworn as ministers in Ontario Biden appoints Indian-American Parm Gill, 48, who was Minister for Citizenship and Multiculturalism in the outgoing ministry, took oath as Minister for Red Tape Reduction.

Gill was re-elected from Milton on the outskirts of Toronto. His family comes from Punjab’s Moga.

Toronto, June 24 (IANS) Two Sikhs were sworn as ministers in the new 30-member Cabinet of Ontario province in Canada on Friday.

Prabhmeet Sarkaria, 31, who became the first turban-wearing Sikh Cabinet minister in Ontario four years ago and was President of the Treasury Board in the outgoing Cabinet, again took oath for the same post.

Sarkaria retained his seat from Brampton South. His family moved

to Canada from Amritsar in the 1980s.

Nina Tangri, who was Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction, didn’t find a place in the new ministry of Premier Doug Ford this time.

Six Punjabis were elected to the Ontario provincial parliament on June 2.

All the winners belonged to the ruling Progressive Conservative Party, which retained its majority by winning 83 seats in the 124-member provincial Assembly.

US files charges in crackdown on Indian gang preying on elders

Arul Louis

brought to Houston to appear in court, the Justice Department said.

Also charged with him is MD Azad, 25, an illegal migrant living in Houston, who had been arrested in August 2020, the Department said.

Azad’s nationality was not disclosed.

They are charged with participating during 2019-2020 in a fraud ring which operated from several cities including Houston and targeted the elderly, according to the department.

New York, June 11 (IANS) The US Department of Justice announced that an Indian has been charged in a continuing crackdown on a gang from India that preyed on the elderly with fraud and physical threats.

On Friday, Southern Texas Federal Prosecutor Jennifer Lowery announced that the Indian citizen Anirudh Kalkote, 24, has been charged in a large nationwide conspiracy involving at least five people to commit fraud against the elderly.

He was in custody in Virginia and

Three Indians living illegally in the Houston area, Sumit Kumar Singh, 24, Himanshu Kumar, 24, and MD Hasib, 26, have already admitted in court to being guilty of participating in the fraud scheme and are awaiting sentencing, the Justice Department said.

“The ring tricked and deceived victims using various ruses and instructed them to send money.”

They allegedly used many techniques and one of them was to trick the victims into believing their computers needed fixing and pretended to be tech support to get

access to their machines and collect personal information and bank and credit card data, according to the Department.

Another was to tell the victims that they had overpaid for their services and claiming to make a refund get access to their bank and credit card accounts and manipulate them to show excess refunds.

The members of the ring would then allegedly ask the victims to make up for the non-existent overpayment by sending money through Western Union or MoneyGram, or through gift cards or by mailing cash to alias names via FedEx or United Parcel Service, according to the Department.

They threatened bodily harm if the victims did not pay up, it added.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @ arulouis)

scientist to cabinet New York, June 23: US President Joe Biden has appointed IndianAmerican scientist, Arati Prabhakar to his cabinet as the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), according to the White House.

Her nomination, which would make her the current second Indian-American cabinet member alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, was sent to the Senate for confirmation on Wednesday, the White House said.

She will also become the President’s chief advisor for science and technology and a co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology The White House credited Prabhakar with a role long before the pandemic in paving the way for Covid vaccines that use mRNA technology.

It said that “the development of a rapid-response mRNA vaccine platform” under Prabhakar’s leadership while she was the director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, (DARPA) from 2012 to 2017 made “possible the fastest safe and effective vaccine development in world history in response to Covid-19”.

Biden called her “a brilliant and highly-respected engineer and applied physicist” and said she would lead the OSTP “to leverage science, technology, and innovation to expand our possibilities, solve our toughest challenges, and make the impossible possible”.

If she is confirmed to the post by the Senate, as required for all senior appointments, Prabhakar will be the

third Indian-American ever to serve in a US cabinet.

The first was Nikki Haley who was appointed by former President Donald Trump in 2017 as the Permanent Representative to the UN with cabinet rank.

Prabhakar’s nomination was welcomed by the Indian and Asian communities.

Neil Makhija, executive director of the Indian American Impact which promotes community members aspiring to public offices, said the group was “thrilled” by her nomination.

“We applaud the president for his historic decision, which uplifts not only the exceptionally qualified Dr Prabhakar, but all South Asians and Asian Americans who aspire to reach new heights and become leaders within public service and the scientific community.”

Member of the House of Representatives Pramila Jayapal tweeted: “I look forward to seeing all the good Arati Prabhakar will do as the White House science adviser, and as the first woman of colour and first immigrant to hold the position!”

Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote) congratulated her in a tweet.

Prabhakar immigrated to the US with her family as a three-year-old and went on to get an electrical engineering degree from Texas Tech University and a PhD in applied physics from the California Institute of Technology.

She started as a Congressional Fellow at the Office of Technology Assessment.

Former President Bill Clinton appointed her in 1993 as the head of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) when she was only 34, becoming the first woman to hold that office.

During former President Barack Obama’s tenure, she headed DARPA where she oversaw breakthroughs in fighting terrorism and human trafficking.

The White House said that teams under her leadership “prototyped a system for detecting nuclear and radiological materials before a terrorist can build a bomb” and “developed tools to find human trafficking networks in the deep and dark web”.

She established a new office at DARPA to spur novel biotechnologies and in another project “enabled complex military systems to work together even when they were not originally designed to do so”, it added.

In between assignments with the federal government, she worked for 15 years in Silicon Valley as an executive and as a venture capitalist.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ ians.in and followed @arulouis)

New York, June 17 (IANS) An Indian-origin businessman has been shot dead inside a store in the US this week while police have solved the year-old case of the killing of another in the crime wave engulfing the nation.

Preyas Patel and an employee were found shot dead inside a store in Newport News city in Virginia on Wednesday, WTKR TV reported.

And in Lindenhurst in New York, police, who persisted in pursuing the killing of Kinshuk Patel with a machete in his store, finally arrested the suspect, WCBS TV reported on Thursday.

“Thanks to detectives, it’s a good

job, one year to close this issue and I request to all the people, please, (to do) justice to all family,” Sanjay Patel, a cousin of Kinshuk Patel, told the station.

In Lindenhurst, an official said they had the alleged killer Yoel Atzmon’s fingerprint and DNA blood evidence and a video of him entering Kinshuk Patel’s store, according to WCBS.

Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew that a customer who visited the 7-Elven store found no one was working and called police, WTKR said.

Kinshuk Patel, 33, is survived by two sons, 18 months old and five years old, and his wife Ruchika Patel.

When police went there they found Patel, 52, and Logan Edward Thomas, 35, dead at the store attached to a petrol station, Drew said.

He said that police suspect it was a botched robbery and were looking for witnesses and scouring videos from surveillance cameras, according to the station.

The US is facing an unprecedented surge in violent crime and in New York State homicides increased by 58 per cent in 2021 compared to 2019.

Both men were working in retail businesses, which have a high concentration of Indian immigrants, and which, according to a US government agency, have a “high risk of assaults and violent acts”.

The incident happened in the South Ozone Park neighbourhood, which is next to Richmond Hill where two Sikh men had been assaulted in April in what police classified as hate crimes.

Both areas have large numbers of people of Indian origin.

New York, June 27 (IANS) An Indian-origin man was shot dead execution-style as he was sitting in a jeep near his home in New York, according to media reports.

After the shooting on Saturday afternoon, Satnam Singh, 31, was taken to a local hospital where doctors declared him dead, the New York Daily News reported quoting www.indianabroad.news

The News said that there was a discrepancy between the police and eyewitness accounts of Satnam Singh’s shooting.

It said that according to police, the shooter came on foot and shot him as he sat in the jeep, but a neighbour said the assailant had fired from a car and that her home security camera had captured the incident.

New Delhi, June 23 (IANS) India’s entertainment and media (E&M) industry is expected to reach Rs 4,30,401 crore by 2026 at 8.8 per cent CAGR, according to a report on Thursday.

The PwC’s Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2022-2026 report has shown substantial growth across India’s E&M industry segments such as OTT video, newspaper, advertisements, online games, cinema, music, among others.

“The Indian Media and Entertainment outlook for the next few years is quite unique. There is an exciting pace of growth of digital media and advertising led by the deeper penetration of Internet and mobile devices in our market,” said Rajib Basu, Partner & Leader Entertainment & Media, PwC India

in a statement.

“At the same time, traditional media will hold their steady growth rate over the next few years. We shall see a very different profile of media and entertainment related businesses and revenue models emerging in the digital space once we have the rollout of 5G,” he added.

The absence of public entertainment and additional time at home due to the Covid pandemic more than doubled the total OTT revenue in 2020 and 2021. While growth rates will slow, the market will still expand at an impressive 14.1 per cent CAGR to reach Rs 21,032 crore in 2026.

India will also see an increase in total newspaper revenue at 2.7 per cent CAGR from Rs 26,378 crore in 2021 to Rs 29,945 crore in 2026.

The country is expected to leapfrog both France and the UK to become the fifth-biggest newspaper market by 2026, and will also be the only nation to grow total newspaper print revenue consistently across the five-year forecast period, the report said.

Further, the out-of-home (OOH) advertising market is also demonstrating one of the strongest comebacks globally and is predicted

When the accused killer Atzmon was produced in court, he became “agitated” and the judge ordered him held without bail and to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, WCBS reported.

Rolls-Royce announces ‘UnnatiScholarship programme for women engineering students’ studying in the 1st/2nd/3rd year of undergraduate engineering degree programmes at any AICTErecognised institution in India and fulfilling the eligibility criteria, can apply for the scholarship.

At the launch of the programme, Rolls Royce President, India and S Asia, Kishore Jayaraman said: “At Rolls-Royce, it has been our endeavour to enable and empower women and girls seeking to pursue careers in STEM related fields. Our Unnati Scholarship programme for women engineering students has met with great success in doing just that and I am thankful to our partners CAF India and Buddy4Study for their partnership and support for this programme. As we begin the third year of these scholarships, I encourage aspirants to come forward to benefit from the programme and wish them all the best for a bright future as engineers and innovators.”

Selected scholars will receive a scholarship amount of Rs 35,000 each towards their education expenses.

Rolls-Royce’s “Unnati” initiative includes programmes at mid-school and high-school levels, including scholarships for engineering and STEM under-graduates, as well as skill development programmes for youth. These programmes are aimed at positively impacting lives of women and girls in India, and over 3,500 girls and women have benefitted from various initiatives in the past year.

Through various community outreach programmes, Rolls-Royce has touched the lives of nearly 100,000 students in India, from diverse backgrounds, inspiring and teaching them about Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and careers, as well as providing skill development.

global stability: health and health security, digital connectivity, gender equality and equity, climate and energy security.”

He further clarified that “this isn’t aid or charity; it’s an investment that will deliver returns for everyone”.

“He should be in jail his whole life because he wasted a life,” Ruchika Patel told the station.

“It’ll boost all of our economies, and it’s a chance for us to share our positive vision for the future and let communities around the world see themselves the concrete benefits of partnering with democracies,” Biden added.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “retail work is one of the highest-risk jobs for workplace violence” and “businesses at high risk of assaults and violent acts include convenience stores, gas stations, and businesses that sell alcoholic beverages”.

Berlin, June 27 (IANS) G7 leaders have launched a detailed plan to to mobilise hundreds of billions of dollars and deliver quality, sustainable infrastructure in a move deemed to counter Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

AmNY news site said that as of Sunday morning there has been no arrest and police were unsure of the motive.

The News, quoting police sources, said that Satnam Singh had borrowed the jeep from a friend and detectives were looking into whether he was the shooter’s intended target or had been mistakenly killed by someone who actually wanted to attack the owner of the vehicle.

According to the BBC, the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) relaunches a scheme unveiled at last year’s G7 talks in Cornwall, England.

In April, two Sikhs had their turbans knocked off and robbed in separate incidents in Richmond Hill.

Addressing the summit in Krun on Sunday, US President Joe Biden said that last year in Cornwall, the G7 made a commitment to “step up and provide financing for quality, high-standard, sustainable infrastructure in developing and

Police arrested two men in connection with those attacks and charged them with hate crimes.

/IndianAbroadNews

to grow at 12.57 per cent CAGR to reach Rs 5,562 crore in 2026.

While the TV advertising market is expected to expand at a 6.3 per cent CAGR to reach Rs 43,410 crore by 2026, Internet advertising market is set to increase at a 12.1 per cent CAGR to reach Rs 28,234 crore by 2026.

The country’s total video games and exports revenue was Rs 16,200 crore in 2021, and is forecasted to reach Rs 37,535 crore by 2026, increasing at a 18.3 per cent CAGR. While still a fairly small market for the country’s size and population, India is the third fastest-growing video games market in the world, after Turkey and Pakistan.

India is also the third-biggest market globally in terms of total number of cinema tickets sold, after China and the US in 2021 and is set to grow at the highest growth rate amongst all the segments at a staggering 38.3 per cent CAGR in the forecast period to reach Rs 16,198 crore by 2026.

The music, radio and podcast segment also grew at 18 per cent in 2021 and is set to grow at 9.8 per cent CAGR to reach Rs 11,536 crore by 2026.

G7 leaders launch plan to rival China’s BRI

She went to the store, Dapper Smoke Shop, when her husband had not returned home after closing time and found the mayhem there, the station said.

Indian-origin man shot dead execution-style in New York police.

India’s entertainment & media industry to reach Rs 4,30,401 cr by 2026: Report

New Delhi, June 24: On International Women in Engineering Day, Rolls-Royce, one of the world’s leading industrial technology companies, announced the launch of the third edition of its “Unnati Scholarship Programme for Women Engineering Students”, in collaboration with Buddy4Study and Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) India.

The initiative is aimed at offering financial support to meritorious girl students in pursuing their engineering course. Girl students

US police solve year-old killing of Indian-origin businessman while another shot dead

BUSINESS

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

/indianabroadnews

14

www.indianabroad.news

middle-income countries”.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the aim of the latest project was to present a “positive powerful investment impulse to the world to show our partners in the developing world that they have a choice”, the BBC reported.

“We’re offering better options for countries and for people around the world to invest in critical infrastructure that improves the lives, their lives, all of our lives, and delivers real gains for all of our people, not just the G7, all of our people,” the President was quoted as saying in a readout issued by the White House.

The infrastructure plan was first unveiled at the 2021 G7 summit, which was called the Build Back Better World at the time.

Biden said that the G7 leaders aim to mobilise nearly $600 billion by 2027.

Jinping’s BRI, launched in 2013, provides financing for emerging countries to build infrastructure like ports, roads and bridges.

Of the total, the US will raise $200 billion via grants, federal funds and private investment, while the European Union (EU) has pledged 300 billion euros ($316 billion).

“These strategic investments are areas of critical to sustainable development and to our shared

The US-driven plan however, faltered from a lack of progress, and the project was renamed to PGII before being resuscitated at the ongoing summit.

While it has developed trade links, it has also been criticised as a means of providing “predatory loans”, forcing debt-saddled countries to cede key assets if they fail to meet their debt repayments, said the BBC.

AI adoption to add $500 bn to India’s GDP by 2025: Nasscom New Delhi, June 23 (IANS) The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and data utilisation strategy can add $500 billion to India’s GDP by 2025, a new Nasscom report showed on Thursday.

The AI adoption in four key sectors -- BFSI, consumer packaged goods (CPG) and retail, healthcare, and industrials/automotive -- can contribute 60 per cent of the total $ 500 billion opportunity, according to “AI Adoption Index” Nasscom, EY and Microsoft, EXL and Capgemini.

Though the current rate of AI investments in India is growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30.8 per cent and poised to reach $881 million by 2023, it will still represent just 2.5 per cent of the total global AI investments of $340 billion.

This creates a massive opportunity for Indian enterprises to accelerate investments and adoption of AI to drive equitable growth across sectors.

For India to achieve its $1 trillion GDP goal by FY 2026-2027, it needs

to have a strong correlation to the maturity of AI adoption, the report noted.

“The pandemic has made it absolutely time critical for organisations to move from data & technology silos to building specialised AI capabilities at scale across sectors combined with a structured data utilisation strategy,” said Debjani Ghosh, President, Nasscom.

With rapid scaled digitalisation, Indian enterprises have already embarked on their AI journey.

As per the report, 65 per cent of organisations have AI strategy defined either at a functional or enterprise level.

With a burgeoning number of STEM graduates and digital natives, India is one of the biggest talent hubs for AI. India currently is the second largest global hub in training and hiring AI talent.

“However, rapid growth in AI applications has led to a surge in hiring for AI professionals. While the talent

pipeline has grown over the past two years, a rapid jump in talent demand has caused a supply demand gap,” said the report.

As per the findings, 44 per cent of businesses already have a dedicated or a cross-functional AI team structure, while 25 per cent rely fully on outsourcing as their primary source for AI talent.

India’s healthcare market has grown 3 times from $110 billion in 2016 to $372 billion in 2022, driven by increasing investments in cutting-edge healthcare technologies.

The use of AI in improving healthcare systems can potentially generate $25 billion of economic value add for India by 2025, the report noted.

Zomato acquires 15-minute delivery platform Blinkit for Rs 4,447 cr New Delhi, June 24 (IANS) Online food delivery platform Zomato on Friday announced it had acquired quick-commerce platform Blinkit for Rs 4,447 crore (about $568 million) in an all-stock deal.

Zomato already owned more than 9 per cent stake in Blinkit (earlier Grofers).

While the earlier Blinkit deal value was around $700 million, the drop in Zomato’s share price reduced it to $568 million.

“This foray into the next big category is timely as our existing food business is steadily growing towards profitability,” said Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal.

Zomato has grown at a CAGR of 86 per cent in the last four years to an adjusted revenue of $710 million “while the adjusted EBITDA margin has improved from (153 per cent) in FY19 to (18 per cent) in FY22”, Goyal added.

Zomato’s restaurant supplies subsidiary Hyperpure will acquire the warehousing and ancillary services

business of Hands on Trade Private Ltd (HOTPL) for Rs 60.7 crore.

Akshant Goyal, Chief Financial Officer, Zomato said the company is not acquiring the B2B trading business as “that no longer fits strategically into our plans”.

“Our existing Rs 2,228 million investment in HOTPL is protected through our liquidation preference right,” he said.

Blinkit is a quick commerce marketplace delivering grocery and other essentials to customers within minutes (average delivery time of 15 minutes in the month of May).

Blinkit was rebranded from Grofers after a pivot to quick commerce last year. Their erstwhile business model was next-day grocery delivery.

“Blinkit’s business pivoted to 100 per cent quick commerce in January 2022 and since then, the business has made tremendous progress on all important and relevant metrics for this business,” said Goyal.

In the month of May 2022, Blinkit did gross order value (GOV) of Rs

4,028 million, which is 1/5th of Zomato’s monthly average food delivery GOV in Q4 of FY22.

In August last year, Blinkit (then Grofers) raised $100 million from Zomato.

“As a food company, we are already tapping into the large food delivery opportunity in India. In addition to that, we now also want to focus on quick commerce as a natural extension of our food delivery business,” said Goyal.

“Quick commerce will help us increase the customer wallet share spent on our platform and also drive higher frequency and engagement from our customers,” he added.

The closing of the transaction is expected to happen in early August 2022.

Modi meets Foxconn chief, hails manufacturing plans for India New Delhi, June 23: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met Taiwan-based manufacturing giant Foxconn’s Chairman Young Liu and hailed the company’s electronics manufacturing plans in the country.

“Glad to meet Mr. Young Liu, Chairman, Foxconn. I welcome their plans for expanding electronics manufacturing capacity in India, including in semiconductors,” Modi said in a tweet.

The Taiwan-based company is also planning to set up an EV manufacturing plant in India.

Foxconn’s EV manufacturing arm, Foxtron, is planning to set up manufacturing plants at various locations in southeast Asia, including India.

“Our push for EV manufacturing is in line with our commitment of Net Zero Emission,” the prime minister said in the tweet.

Liu also met Akarsh Hebbar, Vedanta Group’s Global Managing Director of Display and Semiconductor Business, to discuss next steps for their proposed partnership to manufacture semiconductor chips in the country.

Vedanta and Foxconn signed an MoU in February to form a joint venture company in India.

Vedanta will hold 60 per cent of the equity in the JV while Foxconn will own 40 per cent.

“The Vedanta-Foxconn partnership will, in the coming years, arrest the electronic component import bill of around $100 billion. Vedanta and Foxconn are in discussion with

/IndianAbroadNews

some state governments, to finalise the location of semiconductor units soon,” the companies said in a statement.

billion into its technology sector to achieve independence on chips so that it isn’t “held hostage” to global suppliers.

This is the first joint venture in the electronics manufacturing space after the announcement of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for semiconductors and display manufacturing.

The Indian government recently announced an outlay of Rs 76,000 crore (around $10 billion), under its production linked incentive (PLI) scheme, separately for the development of a semiconductor and display manufacturing electronics ecosystem.

Vedanta is planning to invest around $15 billion in a phase-wise manner over the next 5-10 years to build displays and semiconductor chips in India.

The JV will look at setting up a semiconductor manufacturing plant in the next two years, said the companies.

India, which aims to become a global semiconductor hub in coming years, is set to pump $30

/indianabroadnews

In the last few years, India has been actively promoting cooperation with Taiwan in trade, investment, tourism, culture, education, and people-to-people exchanges. Both the countries have also constituted teams for the expansion of fruitful collaboration in education and skill development.

15

BITCOIN UPDATES

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

Bitcoin trading platform Bitpanda lays off 250 employees from nearly 1,000 employees to 730.

The company, valued at $4.1 billion during their last fund raise in August last year, has also rescinded offers they made recently.

“The implications hurt: We need to let part of our team go and scale down to a target organisational size of about 730 people,” the company said in a blog post late on Friday.

New Delhi, June 25 (IANS) Global Bitcoin trading platform Bitpanda has laid off 250 employees amid the crypto winter as digital coins crash.

Billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thielbacked Bitpanda announced that it would be reducing its headcount

“We made this difficult decision to ensure that we are robustly well-capitalised to navigate the storm and get out of it financially healthy, no matter how long it takes for markets to recover,” the company added.

Austria-based Bitpanda offers millions of retail investors the opportunity to invest in Europe’s broadest range of digital assets.

market sentiment has dramatically changed, fuelled by geopolitical tensions, rising inflation and concerns about the imminence of a recession,” said the company.

“There’s lots of uncertainty in the financial markets right now and, while we do know that the industry is cyclical, nobody knows when the market sentiment will change,” it added.

The company said it will support those who were laid off, “by offering packages that go beyond the employment law requirements in your market”.

Bitpanda joins a growing list of crypto platforms like Crypto.com, Bitso, Buenbit, BlockFi, and Coinbase, who have announced layoffs in the wake of the recent economic downturn.

“Over the past few months, the

Electricity used to mine bitcoin decreased sharply as crypto crisis widens the crypto analyst Digiconomist, The Guardian reported.

That still equates to the annual consumption of Argentina, with a single conventional bitcoin transaction using the same amount of electricity that a typical US household would use over 50 days.

London, June 24 (IANS) The amount of electricity consumed by the largest cryptocurrency networks has decreased by up to 50 per cent as the “crypto winter” continues to eat at the incomes of “miners” and financial contagion spreads further throughout the sector, media reports said.

The electricity consumption of the bitcoin network has fallen by a third from its high of June 11, down to an annualised 131 terawatt-hours a year, according to estimates from

The decrease in electricity used for Ethereum, the “programmable money” that underpins much of the recent explosion in crypto projects, has been sharper still, down from a peak of 94TWh a year to 46TWh a year the annualised consumption of Qatar, The Guardian reported.

The underlying reason for the fall is the same for both currencies, however. The electricity consumption of a cryptocurrency network comes from “mining”, which involves people using purpose-built computers to generate digital lottery tickets that

can reward cryptocurrency payouts.

The process underpins the security of the networks, but incentivises the network as a whole to waste extraordinary amounts of energy.

As the price of cryptocurrencies has fallen bitcoin peaked at $69,000 (56,000 pounds) earlier this year, and is now hovering at about $20,000 the value of the rewards to miners has dropped by the same proportion, leaving them in areas with expensive electricity or using older, inefficient mining “rigs” unable to turn a profit.

“This is literally putting them out of business, starting with the ones that operate with suboptimal equipment or under suboptimal circumstances (eg inefficient cooling),” said Alex de Vries, the Dutch economist behind Digiconomist, The Guardian reported.

Hackers steal $100 mn in crypto from Harmony Blockchain bridge

New Delhi, June 25: Hackers have stolen at least $100 million worth digital tokens from Harmony, the crypto startup behind Horizon Blockchain Bridge which allows users to transfer their crypto assets from one Blockchain to another.

Harmony admitted that a malicious attack happened on its proprietary Horizon Ethereum Bridge and multiple transactions occurred that compromised the bridge with 11 transactions that extracted tokens stored in the bridge.

“The estimated value at the time of the attack was approximately $100 million,” the US-based company said

in a statement late on Friday.

Tether, USD Coin and Dai.

The start-up said that it has notified its cyber-security partners and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and requested to assist with an investigation in identifying the culprit and methods to retrieve stolen assets.

The stolen tokens have been swapped for Ethereum using decentralised exchanges, according to Blockchain analysis company Elliptic.

“We are working around the clock to ensure both the investigation and recovery of stolen funds are concluded in the most time efficient manner possible,” the company added.

Harmony said that that focusing on decentralised bridges is an essential step forward for Web3.0.

Using Harmony’s Horizon bridge, users can move assets like tokens, stablecoins, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) between Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain and Harmony blockchains.

The hackers stole various digital tokens like Ethereum, Binance Coin,

Harmony has stopped the Horizon bridge to prevent further transactions and its bridge for Bitcoin was unaffected.

In April this year, hackers stole nearly $180 million in cryptocurrency from Beanstalk Farms, a decentralised finance (De-Fi) project.

The FBI in April blamed North Korean hacker group Lazarus for stealing $625 million in cryptocurrency from the Ronin Network, owned by developer group Sky Mavis.

In January this year, hackers stole crypto tokens worth $120 million from Blockchain-based decentralised finance (DeFi) platform BadgerDAO.

US Senator trolled after posting crypto bill on GitHub

San Francisco, June 24: US Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) who posted a cryptocurrency regulation bill on Microsoft-owned open source repository GitHub was heavily trolled, and one user even proposed replacing the bill with the source code of the popular first-person shooter ‘Doom’ game.

In a tweet, Lummis announced that she has posted the crypto bill on www.indianabroad.news

GitHub.

eggplant emoji.

“As promised, you can now contribute comments on my bill establishing a framework for digital assets with @SenGillibrand via GitHub. Civil comments and criticisms are welcome. Please share widely. We want to get this right. Help us iterate publicly on policy,” she posted.

“This bill would do far more to benefit everyday Americans if its text was replaced with the source code of Doom,” read a comment.

One user asked the senators to “increase the value of proof-of-work cryptocurrencies with a tax on mining”.

Another thread raised concerns about algorithmic backing of stablecoins, reports The Verge.

However, troll armies soon arrived on her post on GitHub. One flagged issue is titled, “You Know You Can Find Someone To Do Findom Using Google, Right”.

Another is titled only with the

Bitcoin heading to zero, China warns investors

POLITICS

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka not listed as Aggressive new BJP buries soft shareholders of Associated Journals Hindutva of the Vajpayee-Advani era

Beijing, June 25 (IANS) As cryptocurrencies reel under the global downturn, Chinese state-run newspaper Economic Daily has warned investors that the price of leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin is “heading to zero”.

The warning came as the cryptocurrency market continued to face meltdown with Bitcoin hovering around $21,000 per digital coin on Saturday -- a substantial drop from its record high of $68,000 in November last year.

“Bitcoin is nothing more than a string of digital codes, and its returns mainly come from buying low and selling high,” the newspaper said.

“In the future, once investors’ confidence collapses or when sovereign countries declare bitcoin illegal, it will return to its original value, which is utterly worthless,” it added, reports South China Morning Post.

The Chinese government banned Bitcoin mining in July last year.

It has plans to launch its central bank digital currency (CBDC) called the digital Chinese yuan (e-CNY).

The country banned all cryptocurrency transactions last September and barred foreign crypto exchanges

from operating within the country in 2018.

The Economic Daily earlier justified China’s ban on cryptocurrency trading by taking examples of the collapse of stablecoins terraUSD and luna whose value reached zero.

The price of Bitcoin tumbled to a new low of $17,958 this month, before recovering to over $20,000 this week.

According to analysts, Bitcoin may hit a grim $14,000 this year.

The likely bottom range at $14,000 would represent a drop of around 80 per cent for Bitcoin from the $68,000 all-time high.

According to Coindesk, Bitcoin has historically experienced periods of asymptotic price run-ups followed by steep crashes, “typically played out over several months to two years”.

Cryptocurrency watchers refer to these periods as “cycles”.

Tips you need to know about account security on KuCoin New Delhi, June 24: In a bid to help its users identify different kinds of scams in the world of crypto, leading crypto exchange KuCoin, also known as ‘People’s exchange’, has shared some tips that will also help users to secure their accounts.

According to Johnny Lyu, CEO KuCoin, “in most emerging industries, scams and frauds are quite common as there will be plenty of newcomers while there are few places to learn. This is what is happening to crypto”.

“As the industry is evolving, so are the scams. Presently cloned websites are one of the most common scams. Also, we’ve seen scams like fake ICOs, fake airdrops, exit scams, phishing emails, fake admins and so forth. To deal with it, keep learning and DYOR is essential, especially in crypto where we have new things almost every day. That’s why I always say learning is earning,” Lyu explained.

For major players like KuCoin, “it’s our responsibility to educate the beginners, trying our best to protect them”.

“So, we are constantly posting educational posts, articles and videos on our owned channels, and we are going to launch more investor education programs globally,” Lyu added.

Here are the tips that users need to know about account security on KuCoin.

Anti-phishing safety phrase (email/ login/withdrawal safety phrase): To prevent situations like phishing emails and phishing sites, KuCoin accounts have an anti-phishing security function. Users can set a security anti-phishing safety phrase

Still in the early stages, the bill was introduced this month by Lummis and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (DNY), the US ‘Responsible Financial Innovation Act’ would create a framework for regulators to determine whether a certain digital asset should be considered a commodity or security.

“The digital asset industry was built by individuals and will continue to be sustained by individuals. That’s why @SenGillibrand and I want input from the grassroots. If you have constructive thoughts on our legislation, make your voice heard on GitHub,” Lummis tweeted.

/IndianAbroadNews

(such as a motto, etc.) on their KuCoin account.

When logging into the website or receiving an email, a safety phrase will be displayed in the email from KuCoin or the login window. If the safety phrase is not displayed or incorrect, it means that users are on a phishing site or have received a phishing email and therefore should not proceed any further.

Login IP restriction: Users will be logged out automatically when their login IP changes. With this feature, attackers will not be able to log in to your account with the hacking actions.

Setting up KuCoin login and password in a proper way: The company said that there are two basic rules to set a proper login password -- never make a password too easy and set a unique password for the KuCoin account. Usually, it is recommended that your password should contain uppercase, lowercase letters, numbers, and even special characters to increase the security level of your password.

Please note that to prevent potential attackers from locking users out of their accounts, there is a 24-hour withdrawal limitation once a password change action happens to the KuCoin account.

Enable two-factor authentication (2FA): Activating two-factor authentication (2FA) is also the priority to protect your KuCoin account and crypto-assets. KuCoin supports two types of 2FA -- SMS and Google Authentication.

Set the list of usual withdrawal addresses: In KuCoin, there is a security feature called Address Book which allows users to limit the

wallet addresses so that it can be secure and convenient after setting your usual withdrawal addresses.

KuCoin Official Media Verification: To prevent any fraud in the name of KuCoin, the company recommends that users can confirm an official KuCoin contact or domain by entering the telephone number, email, WeChat, Telegram, Skype, Twitter, or website address through the exclusive KuCoin Official Media Verification.

KYC verification: KYC can effectively reduce fraud, money laundering, and terrorist financing, among other malicious activities. In KuCoin, the company suggests users complete the KYC verification. For verified accounts, the users can enjoy a higher daily withdrawal limit and participate in the Fiat-Crypto service provided by KuCoin.

Chandigarh, June 26 (IANS) In a setback to AAP, which came to power in Punjab three months ago, the two-time MP and former IPS officer, Simranjit Singh Mann, who has been demanding an independent homeland -- called Khalistan -- on Sunday won the bypoll in the Sangrur parliamentary constituency.

This seat, once a stronghold of AAP, will now be represented by Mann after over two decades.

As per poll results, Shiromani Akali Dal-Amritsar (SAD-A) candidate Mann defeated his closest rival Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Gurmail Singh in a neck-and-neck battle by over 6,000 votes, with the former leading in the majority of the rounds, including Muslim-dominated Malerkotla Assembly seat.

Mann, 77, who unsuccessfully contested the Assembly polls in

16

Indira Nehru Gandhi, Feroz Gandhi, Vijaylakshmi Pandit are listed as shareholders of Associated Journals which is under the scrutiny of the investigating agencies.

Among the other shareholders listed are Congress stalwarts Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, Purushottam Das Tandon, Rajni Patel, Jitendra Prasad, Mallikarjun Kharge, Pawan Kumar Bansal. Others include Prakash Narain Sapru, S. Venkitaramanan, Kesoram Cotton Mills, Abid Hussain.

When contacted, Congress General Secretary, K.C. Venugopal said, “There is no violation of laws and everything done is permissible in law. Venugopal alluded to political vendetta and said Young India is a non-profit company and there is no money laundering. “We will fight it out”, he said.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said, “Young India is a non-profit entity. Sonia ji is a director. No profit can be taken nor has she taken in this case. If there is any profit it is invested in the company.”

Jyotsna Suri and the late Lalit Suri hold 50,000 shares each of Associated Journals which brings out the National Herald of the Congress party.

The Young Indian is the largest shareholder of Associated Journals.

Harbans Lal Malhotra and Sons

Khalistan ideologue Simranjit Mann wins AAP’s stronghold in Punjab

Meanwhile, the company said it aims to protect users’ privacy and assets from infringement. Its security team has constantly been improving related mechanisms and performing periodic reviews to protect usersae privacy and assets.

ADVERTISE WITH US 0488-067-243 /indianabroadnews

New Delhi, June 15 (IANS) It is intriguing to note that the current Congress top leadership and Gandhi family members -- Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka -- are not listed as shareholders of Associated Journals.

However, Young Indian is the largest shareholder of Associated Journals and Sonia and Rahul are directors of that company. The other directors listed are Mallikarjun Kharge, Pawan Bansal, Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda who are all also shareholders in Associated Journals.

Congress leader Jitendra Singh said, “Equity shares were allotted as per procedures... there is no money laundering as payment was through cheque and this is to muzzle the voice of the people which Congress has been raising from the last 8 years.”

Shakti Singh Gohil, Congress spokesperson said, “There is no mala fide intention. The newspaper was started to fight for Independence. It was reeling under financial stress. Congress helped it and the case is subjudice, so if there had been any corruption court should have taken a view on it.”

Randeep Surjewala added, “We have responded to all queries from many days, so don’t want to indulge into it again and again.”

Nehru family names, including

holds 16,000 shares while Rameshwar Thakur is shown to hold 26,510 shares.

Scindia Investment, Mohan Meakin hold 5,000 shares each. Others include a mix of Congress leaders past and present or those who have been close to the Gandhi family.

Some of the shareholders include Dr K.N. Katju, Vijay Darda, Sushmita Dev, Manickam Tagore, Syed Sibtay Razi, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, Oscar Fernandes, Motilal Vora, J.B. Dadachandji, H.Y. Sharada Prasad, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Sucheta Kripalani, Sheila Dikshit among others.

Pawan Kumar Bansal is Chairman and Managing Director of Associated Journals.

The Enforcement Directorate has been questioning Rahul Gandhi at its office in the national capital.

The Enforcement Directorate had summoned Rahul Gandhi and party chief Sonia Gandhi in connection with the National Herald case for allegedly misappropriating funds.

Sonia Gandhi will appear before the financial probe agency on June 23.

The genesis of the controversy started with the acquisition of shares of Associated Journals Limited (AJL) on January 26, 2011. The AJL was incorporated as a public limited company on November 20, 1937 under the Indian Companies Act, 1913, for the purpose of publication of newspapers in different languages.

AJL started publishing newspapers such as National Herald in English, Navjivan in Hindi and Quami Awaz in Urdu. The publication of newspaper was suspended on various occasions due to financial difficulties and certain labour problems. On April 2, 2008, the newspaper was closed.

The properties were allotted for carrying out newspaper business and publication of newspapers in different languages. However, it was also allowed to let out these properties on rent to cater to its publication business post-closure of the newspaper.

The office of AJL was shifted from Lucknow to Delhi on September 1, 2010 at its Delhi property situated at 5A, Herald House, Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, New Delhi. In this chain of events, the All India Congress Committee (AICC), an Apex Body of the Indian National Congress, had advanced loans to AJL from time to time.

In other words, AICC assigned the loan outstanding in the books of AJL at Rs 50,00,000 to Young Indian. Further, almost 99.99 per cent shares of AJL were transferred to Young Indian. On December 13, 2010, in the first Managing Committee meeting of Young Indian, Rahul Gandhi was appointed as director.

In a nutshell, the National Herald case pertains to the assignment of a Rs 90 crore loan advanced by the Congress party to Young Indian for a consideration of Rs 50 lakh. It has been alleged that there was a misappropriation of assets of over Rs 2,000 crore.

www.indianabroad.news

February, won the parliamentary elections from Sangrur in 1999.

Mann, has been demanding the opening of borders with Pakistan for traders, is toeing the ideology of Sikh leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was killed during Operation Blue Star that was carried out by the Indian Army in June 1984 to flush out militants hiding in the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar.

After winning the election, Mann remembered the contribution of Bhindranwale towards the Sikh cause. He gave the credit of his win to those who sacrificed their lives for the cause of the Sikhs.

Mann remembered the contribution of actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu, accused of being the key conspirator of the Red Fort violence on the Republic Day last year, and slain singer Sidhu Moosewala, who met him days ahead of his killing on May 29.

Just 45.3 per cent voters -- 27.1 per cent less than the 2019 elections -- cast their franchise to decide the fate of 16 candidates on June 23.

The bypoll for Sangrur was necessitated following the resignation of Bhagwant Mann, who won the Assembly election in February from the Dhuri constituency, and became the Chief Minister.

The other key contenders were death row convict Balwant Singh Rajoana’s foster sister Kamaldeep

Kaur, 44, who was in the fray on the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) ticket, BJP’s Kewal Dhillon, 72, and Dalvir Singh Goldy, 40, of the Congress.

Both Dhillon and Goldy are former legislators.

Simranjit Mann has declared Rs 8.37 crore assets, including Rs 35.38 moveable and Rs 8.02 immovable.

His wife’s assets stand at Rs 4.88 crore.

The bypoll is the first major electoral battle after the AAP’s resounding victory in the state Assembly polls.

Bhagwant Mann had won his first election as Sangrur MP in 2014 with a record margin of over 2.10 lakh votes defeating SAD candidate Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa.

In 2019 Bhagwant Mann was the lone AAP MP in Parliament and he had defeated the then Congress candidate Kewal Singh Dhillon by more than 1.1 lakh votes.

Responding to Mann’s victory, SAD President Sukhbir Badal tweeted, “We bow before the mandate of the people in true democratic spirit.”

In the 2022 Assembly elections, AAP recorded a thumping win by claiming 92 of the Assembly’s 117 seats. The ruling Congress won 18, down from 77 in 2017.

All nine Vidhan Sabha constituencies coming under the Sangrur parliamentary seat were won by the AAP MLAs with a record mandate.

Lucknow, June 25 (IANS) The BJP of today is not the BJP of yesterday.

The party is now ideologically sharper, more focussed and more aggressive.

The BJP nurtured by the trio of former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi was soft, approachable, amiable and also accepting and forgiving.

Even its hardest critics agree that the ‘old’ BJP was people-friendly and sensitive.

The neo-Hindutva being practiced by the new BJP, particularly in Uttar Pradesh which has been its nursery, is not even a shadow of the Hindutva of Vajpayee era that was mild and malleable.

A veteran BJP leader and multi-term ex-MLA, who spoke to IANS on condition of anonymity, said, “That was the BJP that endeared itself even to those who did not believe in its ideology. I was active at the height of the Ayodhya movement, but we never cracked down on our detractors. There was dialogue in the party and even the smallest worker could go up to Vajpayee or Advani and speak out his mind. Is that possible today?”

The harsh neo-Hindutva that is now being pursued by the BJP has made its cadres, particularly the youth, unruly, aggressive and even violent at times.

Whether it is the Ikhlaq incident where the man was killed because ‘fringe elements’ suspected he had stored beef in his house, or the Bulandshahr incident where a police officer was killed while trying to control a mob that went berserk on rumours of beef being transported -- it was the saffron cadres who happily indulged in violence.

Young leaders in the BJP now use a language that was unheard of two decades ago.

“Hum lad ke lenge, chheen ke lenge” is now the most commonly used phrase when it comes to disputes like the Gyanvapi mosque or the Shahi Idgah row.

That the bulldozer -- a symbol of destruction and demolition -- has become a mascot for the party and the government in Uttar Pradesh, clearly indicates the mood of the party cadres.

The bulldozer scare is now so magnified that no political

leader -- whether from the BJP or the opposition -- is ready to rub the leadership the wrong way.

Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati have now stopped media interactions and restricted themselves to issuing statements on Twitter. Both are unwilling to take questions or give interviews.

Even BJP leaders are wary of giving interviews.

“We have been told to stay off media.

Only authorised persons will issue statements,” said a senior minister, adding that “it is only the stick that rules now. The carrot is invisible”.

The new generation leaders, however, justify the aggressive BJP of the present.

“Times are changing and we need to change as well. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a man on the go and so is the BJP. This transformation has endeared the youth to us and our new members are young people who believe in what we stand for,” said a young, newly-elected MLA. Old timers in the BJP have already been side-lined and the new generation that has taken over has brought its own sets of rules.

A former BJP minister said, “Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a top BJP leader, but he never hated Muslims or even displayed any apathy towards them. During his visits to Lucknow, he would meet Muslims and clerics and even break bread with them. No BJP leader during those days could dare to speak ill of any minority community.

“I recall that a party worker had used intemperate language against a community at a function and when Vajpayee came to know of it, he called the party worker and made sure that he expressed regret for his words.”

In the neo-Hindutva BJP, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath -- despite the party’s mantra ‘Sabka Saath , Sabka Vikas, Sabka Prayas, Sabka Vishwas’ -- openly says that he is a devout Hindu.

Recently, he even asked voters in Azamgarh to vote for the BJP if they wanted the name of the city to be changed to Aryamgarh.

His temple visits are highly publicised and the Chief Minister makes no bones about it.

Adityanath also broke the age-old

tradition of Chief Ministers attending Eid prayers and greeting the community. He has been sending his Deputy CMs to do that for the past six years.

Rajnath Singh, as UP Chief Minister, had established a good rapport with the clerics and hosted Iftar parties during the month of Ramzan.

Kalyan Singh, one of the tallest Hindu leaders of his time, also didn’t speak ill against non-Hindus and welcomed all in the actual spirit of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’.

The new BJP has also ensured that Christians remain as alienated as Muslims in its new scheme of things.

The lone seat reserved for unrepresented minorities that went to a Christian in the state Assembly stands abolished and Christians have no say in the government.

Alwyn Franklin, a retired school teacher, said, “Christians are as vulnerable as Muslims now because the neo-Hindutva champions can barge into any church or religious meeting and claim that we are forcibly converting people. There have been several such incidents in the past five years and we have learnt to be quiet and cautious now.”

Muslims though are more vocal on the issue.

“This is a dangerous trend that can tear apart the social fabric. Muslims are being openly targeted in UP and this is not how it should be. We have lived in harmony for years, but now efforts are being made to segregate us from the social mainstream,” said Samajwadi Party MP Shafiqur Rehman Barq.

Surprisingly, the RSS has not openly supported the new BJP, but neither has the Sangh opposed it.

It was only recently that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat asked people not to “look for Shivling under every building” -- a clear indication that the RSS disapproved of the multiple controversies over Qutub Minar and Taj Mahal.

Hindutva a way of life, neo-Hindutva is Oppn propaganda: Raj BJP veteran Jaipur, June 25: At a time when the words ‘neo-Hindutva seem trending and the Opposition is accusing the BJP of polarising the nation, newly elected Rajya Sabha MP Ghanshyam Tiwari, a 6-time BJP MLA, told IANS in an exclusive interview that ‘Hindutva’ is defined as a way of life while neo-Hindutva is fake propaganda by the Opposition who are scared to see the BJP scripting a success story and hence are bringing out such fake narratives.

Tiwari who witnessed the days of the Emergency and had faced beatings in jail, says ‘Hindutva’ as recorded by the Supreme Court in its judgment is a way of life or a state of mind and it is not to be equated with, or understood as religious Hindu fundamentalism, adding that “The BJP follows the principles of ‘sanskratik rashtravad’ which was the first resolution passed after the formation of the Jan Sangh in Kanpur in 1951.”

“The first resolution passed in the convention by Pt Deendayal Upadhyay after the Jan Sangh’s formation was to follow the principles of ‘sanskratik rashtravad’. In those days, we demanded the scrapping of article 370, section 35(A), and later at the Palampur convention, we passed a resolution for the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

There was no fundamentalism in all these proposals and we were working to build a cultural legacy.

Now we have attained these goals following sanskratik rashtravad which the opposition is seeing as ‘neo-Hindutva’ which is wrong,” he said.

Tiwari added that the “BJP on its foundation day in Delhi at Ferozeshah Kotla ground on April 6, openly announced to follow the Hindutva ideology. On November 30, in its first convention held in Mumbai, it was announced that the theme of Sanskratik Rashtravad will be retained by the BJP and the party following this ideology will take the Hindutva path.”

“The reason was we considered Hindutva as a way of life. Also, we wanted to continue with our cultural legacy and hence wanted the Kashmir issue to be resolved and a Ram temple to be built.

In fact, Mahant Ramchandra Das Paramhans pitched for the

/IndianAbroadNews

construction of a Ram mandir which we followed later.

“There are statements being made of making India a Hindu nation?

What will be the place of Muslims if it is declared a Hindu nation?

In fact, in Beawar a few Muslims have followed Hinduism and in Banswara, a few Christians have adopted Hinduism.”

Answering a query, Tiwari said, “Pt Deendayal Upadhyay had openly said Muslims residing here are also Indians. Hindu is neither a religion nor a caste, But those who live within its natural surroundings and consider India as motherland, that society is called Indians. There may be differences on views and ideologies for example, there are Sanatani followers, Sikhs, Jains, etc; similarly, there are Muslims; they should also consider that our forefathers were one like Sikhs, Jains etc. They can all stay together with us, this is what our constitution says, this is what our scriptures say and this is what our ideology says” he added.

In fact, when a temple is being constructed in Ayodhya, land has also been allotted for a mosque, he added.

Tiwari reiterated the fact that Hindutva is a way of life and all those connected with Hindutva are connected with the nationality of India.

Do you know from where this word Hindu comes, he questioned and then answered, Our literature says, “Himalayam Samarabhya Yavadindu Sarovaram, Tham Devanirmitham Desam Hindusthanam Prachakshathi” which means “The holy land, surrounded by Himalayas in the North and the Indian Ocean in the south, created by the Gods themselves is called Hindustan.”

In general, one nation, one culture which follows a certain way of life is Hindutva, he added.

The Opposition says that a strong Hindutva agenda is dangerous for the world? How do you see it with recent events unfolding (like Nupur Sharma’s statement, Gyanvapi row) “The world can never be in danger due to Hindutva as it gives a straight message of Vasudev Kutumbakam.

We have never attacked anyone and we have never tried to rule any nation on a religious basis. India

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has always promoted the message of non-violence and peace. Even different religions which came out from India promoted non-violence and spread its roots in the world.

Hindutva in fact is a guarantee of establishing peace in the world as we follow the concept of ‘Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinaam,” he said.

Taking it further, he quoted Swami Vivekanand and said that the great seer announced that the 21st century will be India’s century. Let’s look at it, we saw the world doing yoga, now there is no Hindutva in yoga but it is a fact that this is India’s gift, So India has been giving the best in terms of poems, songs, gifts to the world which speak of world peace, he added.

Speaking on the recent controversy over Nupur Sharma’s statement on the Prophet, he said the BJP has taken stringent action against it. “We follow the ideology of Sarva Dharm Sambhav and we conveyed it to the world but the Muslim countries were quick to react. However, our foreign ministry immediately clarified that we hold the Prophet in high regard, we told them that we give equal respect to all religious leaders, and later the Muslim countries also understood the matter and the issue was resolved.”

Tiwari clarified, “Since Jan Sangh to BJP, Atal Behari Vajpayee to Modi, there has been no change in policies. Now other parties are facing continuous defeats and hence are levelling allegations of strong Hindutva, aimed at securing the minorities vote bank. But they forget that they are playing with the sentiments of Indians who are aware of the fact that our constitution and Supreme Court respect all castes and treat all citizens equally.”

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SPORTS

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

SPORTS

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

Ranji Trophy Final: Every trophy gives satisfaction; this one a little special, says Chandrakant Pandit

Bengaluru, June 26 (IANS) Chandrakant Pandit, Bengaluru and Ranji Trophy final. It seemed as if the cricketing Gods had aligned everything for the ex-India wicket keeper-turned-coach to clinch something which had been missed 23 years ago: a Ranji Trophy title with Madhya Pradesh.

In 1998/99 finale, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Pandit, then Madhya Pradesh captain, was left to see Ranji Trophy go away from him as Vijay Bharadwaj’s part-time offspin gave Karnataka six second-innings wickets and most importantly, a victory in the home final.

Cut to 2022, now as a head coach of the very side he captained once, Pandit tasted success as Madhya Pradesh defeated Mumbai by six wickets to win their first-ever Ranji Trophy title.

“Every trophy gives you satisfaction.

But this is a little special because 23

years ago, I had been a captain and could not do it (then). But I am very, very proud about Aditya that he has done it. I always felt that I had left something back to Madhya Pradesh and that was one of the reasons that I was a little more excited and emotional about it to get that trophy back to Madhya Pradesh,” said Pandit in the post-match press conference.

Sitting to his left was captain Aditya Shrivastava, who was quick in saying that the side had the belief in winning the Ranji Trophy in the preparation for the tournament despite the format being tweaked due to Covid-19.

“From the very first day we started playing and from the pre-seasons camp we had been doing, not only from this squad, we had a pool of 40-odd players that were working together from morning to evening continuously every day with

only Sundays being off. We were rigorously going on to it, so if you put that amount of work, the belief automatically starts coming into the play.”

Shrivastava credits Madhya Pradesh’s tournament opener against Gujarat for multiplying the belief of the side along with Pandit being the guiding force. “The day we entered for this Ranji Trophy to play against Gujarat in Rajkot, we as a group had that belief and that was the game, we turned it around (winning by 106 runs after conceding a lead of 57 runs). The belief grew manifold into us and sir was around.”

“Whenever we were crumbling or had a tricky situation in the game, his words of wisdom and the intensity, energy, ideas he brings to the table, the entire group acknowledged it really well and we just kept on doing the processes right.”

Shrivastava remarked that he wanted Pandit to smile a bit more after winning the trophy. “The first thing we will ask him obviously is to laugh out loud because he is a person at work, literally at any given time in day or night, any of the boys is eager for information or has issues with the game, he is always ready to help them.”

“He’s a person who’s all the time at the work, with full intensity. First of all, we will ask him to enjoy with the squad for today.” Pat came Pandit’s reply, “For the day only.”

Wimbledon: Australian bad-boy Kyrgios relishes the role of the villain

All-India snooker: Tamil Nadu’s Dilip Kumar overcomes Vishwajeet Mohan to emerge champion

Mumbai, June 26 (IANS) Tamil Nadu cueist Dilip Kumar was steady with his pots as he got the better of Uttar Pradesh’s Vishwajeet Mohan 4-1 in the phase-I final of the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) organised Rs 6.4 lakh All India Snooker Open ‘Baulkline’ 2022 here

on Sunday.

Dilip Kumar won the final 57-49, 8-69, 96(64)-18, 53-51,70-69 at the NSCI billiards hall here.

The Chennai-based Kumar grabbed his chances and produced one substantial clearance break of 64 to win the third frame. Mohan, who is based in Mumbai and practices at the Bombay Gymkhana, was a bit jaded and the balls also did not roll too well in his favour. He also missed some regulation pots which cost him dear.

Kumar, having snatched a 2-1 lead, stayed calm and came from behind to narrowly win the fourth and fifth frames to wrap up the match and emerge champion.

Earlier in the semifinals, Kumar produced a superb break of 76 in

the fourth frame and went on to defeat Digvijay Kadian of Haryana 3-1 (63-33, 62-14, 3-57, and 76-45).

On the side table, Mohan prevailed over Maharashtra’s Hasan Badami by 3-1 (47-41, 66-55, 36-51, and 62-54) frame scores.

Kumar was presented with the winners’ trophy and a cash award of Rs 15,000, while Mohan received the runners-up trophy and a cash prize of Rs 8,000.

Results: Semifinals: Dilip Kumar (TN) beat Digvijay Kadian (HAR) 63-33, 62-14, 3-57, 76(76)-45; Vishwajeet Mohan (UP) beat Hasan Badami (MAH) 47-41, 66-55, 36-51, 62-54.

Final: Dilip Kumar (TN) beat Vishwajeet Mohan (UP) 57-49, 8-69, 96(64)-18, 53-51,70-69.

Archery World Cup: India women settle for silver in recurve team competition

New Delhi, June 26 (IANS) The Indian women’s recurve team of Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat and Simranjeet Kaur settled for a silver medal at Stage 3 of the Archery World Cup 2022 in Paris, France, on Sunday.

The Indian trio lost 1-5 in the final to Chinese Taipei, comprising Rio 2016 Olympics bronze medallist Lei Chien-Ying, Peng Chia-Mao and Kuo Tzu Ying.

India began the match against Chinese Taipei on even terms with scores tied at 27 each after the first three arrows. However, a 7 in the fourth shot saw India concede the momentum and trail 0-2 after the first set.

India made a comeback in the next set by hitting two 10s and four 9s.

www.indianabroad.news

However, Chinese Taipei, despite an 8 in their second attempt, shot three 10s, including an X, to keep the three-point advantage intact and lead 3-1 at the halfway stage.

With their task cut out, the trio of Deepika, Ankita and Simranjeet could not match the consistency of their rivals and gave away two set points in the third set and lost the match 1-5.

Earlier in the semifinals, the 13th-seeded Indian trio defeated eighth seeds Turkey 5-3 after sweeping Great Britain 6-0 in the last eight. The Indian team beat Ukraine 5-1 in the earlier round. However, Indian recurve archers drew a blank in the individual events in Paris.

This was Tokyo Olympian and former world No. 1 recurve archer

Deepika Kumari’s first international outdoor tournament since finishing fourth at the World Cup Final last September.

Deepika, currently ranked third in the world, had lost the national trials after a disappointing campaign at Tokyo Olympics. Subsequently, she was sidelined for the previous World Cups this year.

This was India’s third medal at the Stage 3 Archery World Cup in Paris.

Earlier on Saturday, Asian Games gold medallist Abhishek Verma combined with Jyothi Surekha Vennam to win a gold medal in the mixed compound event. Jyothi, the world No. 3 compound archer, also won silver in the women’s individual compound archery event, an olympics.com report said.

India are now placed second on the Archery World Cup 2022 medals table with four gold, three silver and three bronze medals. South Korea, with six gold medals, are on top while Great Britain are third with four gold medals, two silver and one bronze.

The fourth stage of the Archery World Cup will be held in Medellin, Colombia from July 18 to 24. The Archery World Cup Final will take place in Tlaxcala, Mexico on October 15-16.

CLOSE-IN: The sun seems to have set on Ranji Trophy

Yajurvindra Singh

The Ranji Trophy used to be the premier Indian tournament that every Indian cricketer aspired for.

It was in the 1934/35 season when it was introduced to replace the religious format of the Pentangular.

The Ranji Trophy had the patronage of the Royal Houses of Holkar, Nawanagar, Baroda, Patiala, Vizianagaram and Gwalior, each one as involved as the present IPL franchise owners. The rivalry between them was what brought in professional cricketers and jobs for players. Major states such as Bombay, Maharashtra, Bengal, Hyderabad, Madras and Mysore were also a part of the tournament, with many of their players having lucrative jobs in these big cities.

The Ranji Trophy grew in status and success for players who were in it as it gave one the platform for selection into the national side.

Unfortunately, the popularity of the limited-overs cricket format has made the national tournaments in all the major cricketing countries into a ritual that has to just be performed and completed.

The English county cricket and Sheffield Shield in Australia were the two important cricket leagues which boasted of top International players from every corner of the cricketing world. Both these and the Ranji Trophy in India are like the setting sun, wherein, gradually the light is fading on their existence.

Once the sheen of its importance dwindles, young cricketers may not find it aspirational to play in them.

The Ranji final being played in Bangalore between Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh is a good example of how the tournament is perceived. The final match is being played without DRS or the fanfare that goes with it to brand it

/IndianAbroadNews

as a big tournament. One feels the step-motherly treatment is very evident to one and all. Officials who thronged the IPL final were not visible during what can be termed as the biggest domestic tournament of the country.

The Covid-19 epidemic did disrupt the BCCI hosting the tournament last year and the BCCI had to make a major alteration in the format this year. However, one was aware of the date of the pending Test match to be played against England in England and therefore, it would have been appropriate if India’s national players could have participated in it at some stage or the other.

A Mumbai Ranji squad with Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav and Shardul Thakur would have been an entirely different cup of tea for most opponents. A domestic cricketer will only improve playing against and with the best and this seems to be a farfetched wish in the present scenario.

In the years gone by, India capped players who would make it a point to play even if they could play just one match for their home association.

They felt obliged to do so as, apart from their state association, helping them to achieve their dream, for them to play cricket alongside their buddies was an important factor too.

One was as proud to play for one’s state side as much was to play for the country. This emotional attachment, one feels, is not present in the cricketers today. Apart from Sarfaraz Khan, whose performance for Mumbai in the last two editions of the Ranji Trophy has been remarkable, none of the other performers will see the light of day to be considered for national duty.

Sarfaraz will most likely be a part of the Indian squad against Bangladesh. However, for him to get into the playing eleven would be very difficult. The reason being that the present Test side will be playing just one match, and to drop any of them is highly unlikely, even if they fail. Apart from this, KL Rahul would be back in the side and one may see a sterling performance from players in the limited-overs game, who will get preference over Yash Dubey, Shubham Sharma and Rajat Patidar.

These are players who have toiled

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and done well in the Ranji Trophy for Madhya Pradesh.

The performances in the IPL have become a major benchmark to get recognised for selection into the Indian team. The Duleep trophy has already lost its importance and so has the Irani Trophy.

The BCCI needs to champion the importance of Ranji Trophy, and the only way to do so is to ensure that the national-level players play in it.

The tournament requires an infusion of a complete out-of-the-box thinking to revive it. The IPL has proven successful with International players being a part of it; maybe an international presence to it could be one way to take it forward.

One is amused to see the graphics which were being put up on performances during the final. Most were unaware that till the 80s, the majority of the teams played only four First-class matches during the season. This was because apart from the top state sides who qualified for the knockouts, the rest were actually put to rest if they did not qualify.

Most of the matches were played on matting wickets and the point system for the three-day game did not give one the luxury of playing a long inning. The side batting first had to declare before lunch on the second day or else they would not be able to get the maximum points to enable them to qualify. The outfields were at most places barren land which was watered and rolled to even the surface.

This is what made the Ranji Trophy exciting with thousands of people watching matches on temporary wooden stands. A good performance was greeted with spectators running in to give small change as appreciation. Those coins were very valuable as it helped one in getting a ticket into the cinema house for a few of ones colleagues and a snack as a treat for them.

Good performances in India’s prestigious Ranji Trophy was the first step to playing higher cricket. That was when the tournament was like a rising sun. One hopes that the glitter comes back to it or else it will be like the setting sun very soon.

(Yajurvindra Singh is a former India cricketer)

18

London, June 26 (IANS) Australia’s Nick Kyrgios starts Wimbledon 2022 in good form, hoping to upset many players and change many things at the year’s third Grand Slam.

The temperamental and mercurial player is capable of producing great tennis but also losing his composure and making a show on the court.

While hoping to do well in the tournament, Kyrgios also wants to change many traditions at Wimbledon.

If Kyrgios had his way with Wimbledon, he would adopt an all-black clothing policy instead of the traditional rule stipulating that competitors dress in white when playing.

But the Australian, who was dressed in black from head to toe when discussing his Wimbledon prospects on Sunday, has arrived at the All England Club in anything but a dark mood after a promising grass-court season.

The 27-year-old, who will play British wild card Paul Jubb in the first round on Tuesday, is in good form on the court and feeling settled

and content away from tennis as well.

Acknowledging Jubb is certain to receive plenty of support when they meet, Kyrgios is readying himself to adopt the role of being a villain against the local hopeful.

“Being in that position (as a wild card), I loved it. I had no pressure.

So I know it is going to be a dangerous match,” he said.

“I know I have just got to ride the waves emotionally out there because the crowd is obviously going to be behind the local.

“I’m used to wearing that kind of black hat, (playing) the villain-type role. I’m going to embrace it. I’m just going to go out there and play the game,” Kyrgios was quoted as saying by the official website.

Playing the game is something the 2014 Wimbledon quarterfinalist has done particularly well this year, especially since his return to the circuit after skipping the clay-court season.

Having rebounded from a ranking of world No.137 in February to 45, he is competing with renewed focus and his appealing form has compatriots including Thanasi Kokkinakis rating him a contender for the crown.

He defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in Halle on the way to the semi-finals, where he was beaten 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4) by Hubert Hurkacz, who reached the last four at Wimbledon a year ago.

A week prior he also reached the semifinals in Stuttgart when beaten

by Andy Murray, with Kyrgios describing the dual-Wimbledon champion’s form as outstanding.

Kyrgios, who combined with Kokkinakis to win the Australian

Open doubles title in January, is serving with precision and power.

His forehand is a weapon to watch.

Prone to flares of temper which have derailed him in the past, he feels he has found a solution that is allowing him to perform more consistently in tournaments.

Less, he said, is more when it comes to his tennis. By choosing his tournaments more carefully and spending less time travelling, Kyrgios feels he has found a recipe for success.

“I think living in Australia - I’ve said it so many times - it’s so hard to find the balance between spending time with your family, friends, having that kind of normal lifestyle,” he said.

“I don’t want to be spending seven, eight months on the road anymore. I just don’t want to be doing that. It is not something I really care about. I don’t play that often.

“When I play now, I’ve got to make sure I’m having some good results, putting my best effort. If I’d figured that out earlier in my career, maybe the narrative may have been different.”

Kyrgios will combine with Kokkinakis again following their wild ride to a maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne in what will be his first men’s doubles campaign at the All England Club, said the report.

The right-hander is promising an entertaining encore but is adamant his primary focus is on succeeding in his singles campaign.

“For me, I just know if I’m serving well and I’m playing well, I can beat anyone. I have pretty much-beaten everyone in the draw before,” he said.

U23 5 Nations Hockey: Indian women go down to the Netherlands in final

Dublin (Ireland), June 26: The Indian junior women’s hockey team went down 1-4 to the mighty Netherlands in the final of the U23 5 Nations Hockey Tournament here on Sunday.

India’s lone goal came from Beauty Dungdung (29th min), while Belen Van Der Broek (26th min), Amber Brouwer (31st min), Emma Santbrink (53rd min), and Sanne Hak (55th min) were on the target for the Netherlands.

The Netherlands side placed India under early pressure by earning their first penalty corner just minutes after the game began but were

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thwarted by the Indian defence India steadily grabbed control of the game as the first quarter progressed, earning them their first PC of the match. However, they missed out on gaining the lead since it did not materialise. Following that, both sides increased their attacking efforts in pursuit of their first goal but were unsuccessful as the first quarter came to a close.

Unlike the previous quarter, India went on the offensive in the second and was rewarded for it, winning their second PC in 10 minutes.

The Netherlands squad earned a PC minutes later but was unable to convert it. They did not have to wait long for their first goal, as Belen Van Der Broek scored on a PC in the 26th minute. After India won a PC, Beauty Dungdung levelled the score in the 29th minute. A minute later, the Dutch gained another PC, which Amber Brouwer converted, putting them ahead at the half-time break, Hockey India informed in a release.

As the third quarter began, India attempted to boost their assault in search of an equaliser, while the Netherlands looked to double their lead. After a few tough minutes, the Dutch won the dominance battle, earning another PC. However, the Indian team held their nerve and stopped them from scoring. Despite their inability to convert the PC, the Dutch finished the third quarter ahead of India.

Despite being in the lead, the Netherlands team started the game’s last quarter on the offensive, and it paid off as they earned their first PC of the fourth quarter in five minutes.

India launched a counterattack in return, and as a result, they were able to win a PC. India, however, was unable to tie the game because the PC did not result in a goal. Emma Santbrink scored the third goal for the Netherlands in the 53rd minute, and Sanne Hak added another two minutes later to take the game away from India.

‘This is truly a historic day’: Sehwag, Jay Shah, Shivraj Singh Chouhan laud MP for maiden Ranji Trophy title

Bengaluru, June 26: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah and former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag congratulated Madhya Pradesh on winning the maiden Ranji Trophy title on Sunday.

Madhya Pradesh on Sunday scripted history and captured their maiden Ranji Trophy title, defeating favourites Mumbai in the finals by six wickets at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Jay Shah lauded the “terrific performances” while Sehwag said Madhya

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Pradesh deserved all the praises for their hard work in the tournament.

“Congratulations Madhya Pradesh on winning the #RanjiTrophy2022!

We’ve witnessed some terrific performances throughout the season.

Great efforts by everyone @BCCI for ensuring another successful Ranji season amidst the pandemic,” Jay Shah tweeted.

“Many congratulations to Madhya Pradesh on winning the Ranji Trophy.Great focus and dertermination to beat 41-time champion Mumbai. MP deserves all the laurels

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and glory, have some bright talent and this is truly a historic day for them,” Sehwag tweeted.

The win for Madhya Pradesh was so sweet that even MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan couldn’t stop himself from lauding the exceptional performance of the side.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan penned a congratulatory note for the Madhya Pradesh team on the Koo app.

“We are the champions,” he captioned the post.

Meanwhile, former Indian spinner Pragyan Ojha also congratulated the side on maiden Ranji Trophy title win.

“Congratulations team #MadhyaPradesh for winning the tournament and very well tried team #mumbai #RanjiTrophy2022,” Ojha said on Koo app.

The victory on Sunday is more precious as it come over Mumbai who had won the title 41 times and were the favourites coming into the summit clash.

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HEALTH

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

Wearable tracker with AI may detect Climate change may cause shortage of essential omega-3 fatty acids: Study Covid before symptoms appear

London, June 24 (IANS) Wearable activity trackers that monitor changes in skin temperature and heart and breathing rates, combined with artificial intelligence (AI), might be used to pick up Covid-19 infection days before symptoms start, claimed preliminary research.

Typical Covid-19 symptoms may take several days after infection before they appear, during which time an infected person can unwittingly spread the virus.

But in the study, published in the open access journal BMJ Open, the researchers found that overall the health tracker, in combination with an computer algorithm, correctly identified 68 per cent of Covid positive people two days before their symptoms appeared.

The international team including from University of Basel (Switzerland) and Imperial College London, pointed out that while a PCR swab test remains the gold standard for confirming Covid-19 infection, “our findings suggest that a wearable-informed machine learning algorithm may serve as a promising tool for presymptomatic or asymptomatic detection of Covid-19”.

The team conducted a trial, on a AVA bracelet, and included 1,163 participants all under the age of 51 who wore the tracker at night. The device saves data every 10 seconds and requires at least 4 hours of relatively uninterrupted sleep. The bracelets were synchronised with a complementary smartphone app on waking.

All participants took regular rapid antibody tests for Covid infection.

Those with indicative symptoms took a PCR swab test as well.

Some 127 people (11 per cent) developed Covid-19 infection during the study period, of which 66 (52 per cent) had worn their bracelet for at least 29 days before the start of symptoms and were confirmed as

positive by PCR swab test, so were included in the final analysis.

The algorithm was ‘trained’ using 70 per cent of the data from day 10 to day 2 before the start of symptoms within a 40 day period of continuous monitoring of the 66 people who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. It was then tested on the remaining 30 per cent of the data.

Some 73 per cent of laboratory confirmed positive cases were picked up in the training set, and 68 per cent in the test set, up to 2 days before the start of symptoms.

The researchers acknowledge that their results may not be more widely applicable.

But “wearable sensor technology is an easy-to-use, low-cost method for enabling individuals to track their health and wellbeing during a pandemic”, they wrote in the paper.

Further, “these devices, partnered with artificial intelligence, can push the boundaries of personalised medicine and detect illnesses prior to (symptom occurrence), potentially reducing virus transmission in communities”.

New York, June 24: While the effects of global climate change are already resulting in the loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise, and longer and more intense heat waves, a first-ever survey of planktonic lipids in the global ocean predicts a temperature-linked decrease in the production of essential omega-3 fatty acids.

This means as global warming proceeds, there will be fewer and fewer omega-3 fatty acids produced by plankton at the base of the food web, which will mean less omega-3 fatty acids available for fish and for people, according to the study published in the journal Science.

Omega-3 fatty acid is an essential fat that the human body cannot produce on its own, and is widely regarded as a “good” fat that links seafood consumption to heart health.

The research “is another example of how human activities are perturbing the oceans in ways that we never expected, and of the uncertainty of

how the ocean is going to respond to warming”, said Benjamin Van Mooy, senior scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), a US-based non-profit organisation.

The team conducted a survey that analysed 930 lipid samples across 146 locations collected during seven oceanographic research cruises from 2013-2018, using a uniform high-resolution accurate mass spectrometry analytical workflow.

“Focusing on ten molecularly diverse glycerolipid classes we identified 1,151 distinct lipid species, finding that fatty acid unsaturation (that is, number of carbon to carbon double bonds) is fundamentally constrained by temperature. We predict significant declines in the essential fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) over the next century, which are likely to have serious deleterious effects on economically critical fisheries,” states the paper.

EPA, one of the most nutritious omega-3 fatty acids, has been linked to numerous health benefits, and

is widely available as a dietary supplement.

“The lipids in the ocean affect your life. We found that the composition of lipids in the ocean is going to change as the ocean warms. That is a cause for concern. We need those lipids that are in the ocean because they influence the quality of the food that the ocean produces for humanity,” Van Mooy said.

Lipids are a class of biomolecules produced and used by organisms from all domains of life for energy storage, membrane structure, and signalling. They make up about 10-20 per cent of the plankton in the surface ocean where lipid production and inventories are greatest.

Why heart attacks in 40% kids aged 0-3 years suffer women are often missed from long Covid: Lancet

Copenhagen, June 23: Children as young as 0-3 years of age also suffer from long Covid that can last at least two months, according to a study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.

The most commonly reported symptoms among children 0-3 years old were mood swings, rashes and stomach aches.

In the study, researchers from Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark analysed data from a survey of 11,000 children aged 0-14 with a positive Covid-19 test result between January 2020 and July 2021, and were then matched by age

and sex to over 33,000 children who never had tested positive for Covid.

Among 4-11 years old the most commonly reported symptoms were mood swings, trouble remembering or concentrating, and rashes, and among 12-14 years old, fatigue, mood swings, and trouble remembering or concentrating.

The results of the study found children diagnosed with Covid-19 in all age groups to be more likely to experience at least one symptom for two months or longer than the control group.

In the 0-3 years age group 40 per cent of children diagnosed with Covid-19 (478 of 1,194 children) experienced symptoms for longer than two months, compared to 27 per cent of controls (1,049 of 3,855 children).

For the 4-11 years age group the ratio was 38 per cent of cases (1,912 of 5,023 children) compared to 34 per cent of controls (6,189 of 18,372 children), and for the 12-14 years age group, 46 per cent of cases (1,313 of 2,857 children) compared to 41

per cent of controls (4,454 of 10,789 children) experienced long-lasting symptoms.

“Our findings align with previous studies of long Covid in adolescents showing that, although the chances of children experiencing long Covid is low, especially compared to control groups, it must be recognised and treated seriously,” said Professor Selina Kikkenborg Berg from the hospital.

Approximately one third of children with positive Covid-19 tests reported experiencing symptoms that were not present before the SARS-CoV-2 infection. In addition, with increasing duration of symptoms, the proportion of children with those symptoms tended to decrease.

“Knowledge of long-term symptom burden in SARS-CoV-2 positive children is essential to guide clinical recognition, parental caregiving, and societal decisions about isolation, lockdown, non-pharmaceutical interventions, and vaccine strategies,” Berg noted.

New York, June 24: A specific gene that may be responsible for differences in symptoms and outcomes of heart attack between men and women has been identified by a team of researchers.

According to Jennifer Dungan, Associate Professor at University of Florida’s College of Nursing, many of the current symptom profiles and lab tests for heart disease do not accurately reflect known differences in women’s heart disease.

This oversight has led to increased gaps in health care equity.

“Because of this disparity, women are more likely than men to report heart disease symptoms that appear out of the norm, experience delayed treatment for heart disease and even have undiagnosed heart attacks,” Dungan said.

“For reasons that remain uncertain, women can experience heart disease differently than men. This can lead to inequities for women that need to be addressed.”

Dungan said cardiac researchers believe that some of these differences

in symptoms and outcomes may be due to genetic variation between men and women. She has identified a specific gene she believes may be responsible, named RAP1GAP2.

“RAP1GAP2 is a strong candidate for sex-linked effects on women’s heart disease outcomes,” Dungan said.

“Certain DNA markers in this gene are thought to manage the activity of platelets, colourless blood cells that help our blood clot. This also presents a heart attack risk. An overactive gene could cause too many platelets to respond to the clot, which could block the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart muscle and lead to a heart attack,” she added.

Since RAP1GAP2 was not linked to poor heart outcomes among men in her team’s study, she believes this gene may work differently in women.

Their findings were recently published in American Heart Journal Plus.

“Our goal is to find the gene markers most accurately linked to heart disease for all women,” Dungan said.

Dungan and her team aims to analyse health data from 17,000 postmenopausal women. They plan to use statistical genetics methods to study if there is a link between certain DNA markers on RAP1GAP2 and heart disease among women.

“At the end of the study, if RAP1GAP2 gene markers accurately reflect women’s heart symptoms and predict their likelihood of a future heart attack, stroke or death, then those gene markers could help us be more confident in their diagnosis and future prognosis,” she said. “Having more accurate biomarkers for women would save lives and improve health equity for all women.”

Covid deaths higher in young Indian Striking Despair: Lightning claimed 1700-plus lives over 10 yrs in Jharkhand women with comorbidities: Study

New Delhi, June 26 (IANS) Young women with comorbidities like chronic kidney disease (CKD), diabetes, hypertension had a higher risk of death due to Covid than males during the first phase of pandemic in India, according to a retrospective study.

A team of researchers of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi conducted the study on 2,586 Covid-19 hospitalised patients who were admitted in the hospital from April 8 to October 4, 2020.

The patients were divided into two categories: aged between 18-59 years; and those above 60 years of age. The team observed the association of diabetes, hypertension or

high blood pressure and CKD on the prognosis and mortality of Covid infected hospitalised patients.

The conditions have been, from the beginning of the pandemic, associated with progression of Covid disease to severity and higher mortality risk.

These have also been linked with prolonging the recovery period.

The findings, published in the journal Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, showed that patients with CKD were the most prone to severity as well as mortality, followed by high blood pressure and diabetes.

Compared to the elderly patients with these comorbidities, the severity of Covid infection as well as mortality was found to be much higher in younger patients.

Many studies have reported males to be at higher risk of infection than females. In this study, although the number of Covid admitted male patients (69.6 per cent) were more than twice the number of females (30.4 per cent), the risk of severity of infection and mortality was found to be higher amongst the females.

This is even after having the same comorbid conditions, except for the

hypertensive patients, the researchers said.

“Our study showed risk of the severity of Covid-19 infection in younger patients with underlying comorbidities were found to be relatively at higher risk of severity of disease as well as to mortality compared to elderly patients with similar underlying condition,” said Dr Vivek Ranjan, co-author and Chairperson at the hospital’s Department of Blood Transfusion.

Out of the 2,586 patients, 779 (30.1 per cent) needed ICU admission, whereas 1,807 (69.9 per cent) did not require it.

About 2,269 (87.7 per cent) recovered, while 317 (12.3 per cent) patients died.A “On comparing the impact of multiple comorbidities with the severity of Covid-19 infection, it was found that presence of comorbidity poses greater risk of ICU admission. As the number of comorbidities increases, the risk of severity of Covid-19 infection also increases significantly,” said Dr D.S. Rana, co-author and Chairperson, Department of Renal Sciences.

Medical facilities after every 2 km for Amarnath pilgrims Srinagar, June 25 (IANS) Health department officials of Jammu and Kashmir government said on Saturday that for this year’s Amarnath Yatra, medical facilities would remain available for pilgrims after every 2 km on both Pahalgam and Baltal routes.

Dr Mushtaq Ahmad, director health services (Kashmir) told reporters that 100 ambulances and 70 healthcare facilities have been kept available for Amarnath Yatra 2022 which begins on June 30. www.indianabroad.news

“In addition to this, there will be 20 oxygen booths to cater to needs of the Yatris”, the director said.

He added that two dedicated 70-bed hospitals, one each at Baltal and Chandanwati, will be functional for the pilgrims.

“ICU beds are available on both the south Kashmir Pahalgam route and the north Kashmir Baltal route, 1500 staff members will be deployed to work in 3 shifts.

“Isolation facilities for the Yatris,

if needed, would also be made available”, he said.

Ranchi, June 26 (IANS) Whenever lightning strikes, the people of Bajarmara village, located in Namkum block of Ranchi, tremble with the fear that something untoward may have happened.

Lightning has caused so much destruction in this village as the name Bajarmara suggests, that probably this is the only village in the country where lightning strikes more than 500 times a year.

There is hardly any family in this village, which has not suffered loss of life or property due to lightning.

Similarly, an ancient fort located in Pithoria village of Ranchi is also hit by lightning several times every year. This fort, which has collapsed and turned into ruins, belonged to Jagatpal Singh, who was the king of this area about 200 years ago.

Jharkhand is also one of the six states of the country that have been identified as the most sensitive by the India Meteorological Department with regard to the dangers of thunder and lightning.

According to the data of the Meteorological Department, there has been 4,39,828 incidents of lightning in Jharkhand in 2021, it was about 4.5 lakh in 2020.

According to the data, Madhya Pradesh reports the highest number of lightning strikes in the entire country. Last year, there were more than 6.5 lakh lightning strikes in Madhya Pradesh, while Chhattisgarh had about 5.7 lakh, Maharashtra 5.4 lakh, Odisha 5.3 lakh and West Bengal more than 5.1 lakh.

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Report suggests that the maximum number of lightning occurs during the pre-monsoon period of MayJune. This year, so far 28 people have died in Jharkhand due to lightning in the last 20 days. In the last 10 years, there have been more than 1700 deaths due to lightning here. The number of deaths due to lightning in any year since 2011 has not been less than 150. In 2017, the death toll due to lightning was recorded at 300. Similarly, there were 270 deaths in 2016 and 277 in 2018.

Ranchi’s environmentalist and geologist Nitish Priyadarshi points out that small hills, tall trees, swampy areas, high rise buildings in hills and forest make the area more vulnerable for lightning. “Due to being at a higher altitude, in forest and hill areas, especially where there is a sudden change in the height of the land, the vapour particles collide with each other to create a lot of energy, which is attracted towards the mineral land and takes the form of thunder and lightning,” he said.

The team of Jyotirmoy Ghosh (principal scientific advisor), Dr Rajan Choudhary (agricultural meteorologist) and Dr Nirmal Kumar from Indian Institute of Natural Resins and Gums (IINRG), Namkum, Ranchi, has developed a mobile app called ‘Damini’ for lightning alert.

Ghosh says that if people are alerted about the incidents of lightning in advance, the loss of life and property can be reduced.

The Jharkhand government has declared lightning as a natural

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An Indonesian reawakening with Amandari Six Tranquil Escapes Aman’s five destinations across the island country, each tells its own unique story, the natural beauty of Amandari at Ubud is breathtaking

It’s been two long years since Indian travelers have been able to get out there and explore the world. As international borders re-open and summer holidays call on us, it’s time to experience a new destination, a destination that satiates all your travel cravings, a destination called Bali.

The Indonesian island has been rated as one of the best travel destinations in the world, for good reason too, it offers something for everyone no matter your age or interest. A magical blend of culture and culinary delights, the island has plenty of activities and nightlife, along with sights to behold and beautiful accommodation.

When it comes to accommodation nothing can beat the hospitality offered by the Aman. The spiritual atmosphere, dramatic landscapes, and renowned community ethos of the Indonesian archipelago serve as inspiration for Aman’s five destinations across the island country, each of which tells its own unique story. With the country’s borders now open for international travel, tropical discovery awaits, from the captivating coastline of Amankila to the Eden-like retreat of Aman Villas at Nusa Dua, or the breathtaking and natural beauty of Amandari at Ubud.

For a holiday with a difference our pick on the island is luxury resort Amandari at Ubud, Bali’s artful and spiritual heartbeat. Amandari is set amid jungle ravines and rolling emerald foothills and paddy fields, it imbibes Bali’s artisanal traditions and spiritual life. Amandari, a traditional Balinese village on the edge of the Ayung River Gorge, is presided over by a sacred stone tiger. Winding pathways lead to free-standing suites, and the curving swimming pool mimics the rice paddies below. The resort’s location, close to Ubud’s artistic centre, invites both reflection and exploration of Bali’s cultural heart. The design is influenced by the landscape that surrounds it, with delicate coconut and teak wood accents, that bring the outdoors in. Walking into the

calamity. In order to reduce the damage caused by this, the Disaster Management Department of the State Government has taken several steps. For example, in 2019, the department had made arrangements to alert people through SMS, but this has now failed. Due to the lack of proper network and people not activating location on their smartphones, there is a problem in delivery of SMS. The department has also installed devices called lightning arresters at places considered vulnerable. Four years ago, lightning conductors were installed at about two dozen places in the Namkum block area of Ranchi.

Scientist Santosh Kumar explains that it is not at all safe to take shelter under a tree during lightning. If there is lightning and you are not able to go to a safe place, then dry things like wood, plastic and sack should be kept under your feet. At the same time, both the feet should be adjacent to each other. Keeping both hands on the knees, tilt your head towards the ground as much as possible, but do not touch the head with the ground or lie on the ground. By doing this you can protect yourself.

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TRAVEL

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

stone gateway front of Amandari’s thatched-roof Suites, each of which open on three sides via sliding glass doors to lush garden courtyards and feature coconut and teak wood accents, offers consummate privacy for travelers. For those seeking a little more space, the Amandari Villa surrounded by cascading rice terraces and beautiful views of the Ayung River Valley below, gives an authentic Balinese experience.

Amandari’s free-standing Village Suites are accessed via winding pebble pathways, much like a traditional Balinese village. Beautifully envisaged over 220 square metres (2,368 square foot), each surrounded by tropical foliage, with a private garden courtyard and outdoor living area to enjoy. Each suite also has its own sunken marble bathtub, king-sized bed and bathroom with

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Booking.com is sharing Getaway Deals for travellers to use when booking their next trip on properties identified by the “Getaway 2022”

twin vanities ensuring ample space to retreat, whether exploring the cultural heartland of Ubud or simple seeking solace or some quality time with your loved one. divine seekers and soulful healers – individuals devoted to a mindful, conscious way of life, who in turn further enrich our island paradise.

To cleanse and purify your spirit and relax your mind, the resort offers the traditional Balinese blessing is a lovely ceremony which involves offerings, prayers, holy water, incense and bija (consecrated rice) and takes place at the Amandari temple.

The pemangku (village priest) will invoke the gods to witness the ceremony. He will then consecrate offerings of flowers and rice and ask for good health and happiness for you. Guided in prayers, which are offered with flowers held before the forehead, the pemangku will then sprinkle you with holy water and offer bija, which carries the blessings of the gods.

For families the property offers two and three bedroom suites and villas with picturesque views and a private infinity swimming pool, for a peaceful immersion in Ubud’s vibrant culture. The separate living room pavilion can be transformed into a second bedroom, and a further third bedroom can be arranged by connecting the Amandari Suite to an adjacent Valley Suite so that friends or families traveling can be close together.

The resort offers many activities and provides curated experiences to help you discover the magic of Ubud and the sights that surround it. If exploration is your thing, early morning an Aman guide will take you north to Mount Batur for a tour of the extinct volcanoes and craters, with picturesque views over the thermal lake, and visit the surrounding temples of the Kintamani Region.

Or start your morning with a trek to discover Bali’s countryside with the Aman’s expert local guides. Trek along a ridge high above the river, with banyan trees framing views across the gorge, or mountain bike through forests and rice paddies. All on its own with spectacular views, our remote hillside bale is ideal for private picnics.Combine your country walk with a visit to one of the island’s indispensable institutions.

An Amandari driver will take you to Blahkiuh Market, about 20 minutes from the resort, where you are free to soak up the sights, the colours and the fresh morning air.

Farming experience in partnership with Astungkara Way, a non-profit organisation with the goal to bring Balinese youth back to farming their lands. Connecting with local farmers, guests will learn about subak, a Unesco World Heritage community-based system to manage water and farming that reflects the Balinese principle of Tri Hita Karana, meaning harmony among people, nature, and the gods. The experience takes place in the rice paddies and community garden of Subak Uma Lambing, just a 20-minute drive from Amandari, offering an in-depth insight into regenerative farming methods aimed to restore depleted soil to a healthy state and nurture biodiversity.

Back at Amandari with its idyllic setting the resort is perfectly placed to offer an ambrosial culinary experience that showcases Bali’s cornucopia of seasonal produce and unique flavours. The chef handpicks the freshest ingredients from Amandari’s own organic garden and local farms, and just-caught seafood arrives daily from the shores of the Indian Ocean. You get to savour authentic Balinese dishes and international fare in The Restaurant, Bar and private Dining Bale, or enjoy private dining in the comfort of your Suite 24 hours a day. Enjoy a Royal Balinese Feast with a menu inspired by the late King of Karangasem, with a diverse selection of regal dishes rounded off with Balinese sweets and sorbet as you enjoy local performance to the strains of the gamelan.

Children can indulge in a Balinese Dance & Gamelan Class or try their hand at face painting and Balinese Makeup. Little ones dress up in traditional Balinese clothing and make-up and pose for a professional photographs to take home.

The resort offers a temple tour or get a taste of life in Bali with a threehour visit to Lungsiakan Village, followed by the temple of Gunung Kawi, Sebatu. Ubud is full of interesting and world-famous temples.

From Pura Taman Saraswati, in the centre of Ubud, to Pura Tirta Empul, to the lesser known local temples that dot the map, a trip to Amandari means a step into the spiritual Balinese culture.

You can also enjoy a Regenerative

No visit to Amandari is complete without complete indulgence in a rest and relaxation treatment at the Spa. End your day with a traditional Balinese massage, scrub or facial at the Aman Spa which offers an array of treatments, from Aman Signature Journeys to traditional treatments before you turn in the for the night.

From the vast deserts of Chile to the Indian Ocean in Mauritius, travellers take pains in choosing their ideal location for a peaceful escape that will allow them to rest and relax.

Booking.com’s latest research revealing that over 84 percent of Indian travellers want to mentally unwind on vacation to boost their mood, it’s clear that self-care travel is still very much on the agenda.

Here’s a list of six of the best resorts, curated by the travel plaform to help travellers find peace of mind.

Byron Bay, Australia

This beach town is ideal for those seeking sun, sea, sand, and peace.

The environmentally conscious Crystalbrook Byron (formerly Byron at Byron) is a must-see. With free daily outdoor yoga classes and endless trails through the surrounding rainforest, this luscious resort is ideal for those looking to relax their body and mind while immersing themselves in nature.

Travelers can take a relaxing Brunswick River Sunset Eco Cruise to discover Byron’s wildlife and marine creatures before returning to the onsite Forest restaurant for a succulent dinner where 80 percent of the ingredients are sourced locally, including delicious sustainably-sourced seafood.

Northern California, United States

According to Booking.com research, 44 percent of Indian travellers want to try the best places for food and drink on their next vacation, wine region Napa Valley should definitely be at the top of the bucket list. There are numerous luxury resorts to ensure that visitors have a relaxing vacation, including the elegant Auberge du Soleil, An Auberge Resort. The resort, nestled among a 33-acre olive grove, has 50 rooms and suites, tailored wine tasting classes, and Napa Valley’s first fine-dining restaurant. Guests can relax at the outdoor pool in one of the cabanas, take in the scenery on a hike through the hills, or find inner peace at La Pagode, the hotel’s Japanese-inspired wellness centre tucked away within the grounds.

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Dibba is the ideal destination for those looking to unwind in nature, with its mountain peaks, stunning landscapes, and crystal clear waters.

The Six Senses face the Arabian Sea. When it comes to relaxing views, Zighy Bay has the best of both worlds, with mountains on one side and a stunning private beach on the other. This village-style Travel Sustainable resort features luxury villas with private pools as well as a comprehensive spa and wellness centre with Moroccan hammams.

Krabi, Thailand

A Ritz-Carlton Reserve, set within tropical gardens on Phulay Bay, is the ideal place for visitors to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. The resort, which is located on the shores of the Andaman Sea, offers chic, traditional accommodations as well as a luxury spa and pool. Travellers looking to try something new can choose from a variety of unique cultural experiences, such as Thai cooking classes and batik painting lessons. The resort has also been awarded the Booking.com Travel Sustainable badge for its stringent sustainability measures. Visitors can visit Wareerak Hot Springs, which is known for its soothing and therapeutic mineral-rich springs – the ideal place to unwind and soak in the healing properties of the water while surrounded by jungle.

Cap Malheureux, Mauritius

Bressanone, Italy

Bressanone, also known as ‘Brixen,’ is one of the oldest towns in South Tyrol, a province in northeastern Italy, and the ideal destination for travellers seeking a mix of culture and relaxation. Guests staying at the boutique wellness resort Forestis Dolomites will be in prime position to enjoy the panoramic views of the Dolomites mountains, which are a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Bali’s traditions are deeply rooted in holistic healing. This intrinsic spirituality has long appealed to

This family-run hotel, located on the southern slope of the Plose mountain in the South Tyrolean Alps, has a large spa where guests can indulge in mountain pine body scrubs or forest salt baths, as well as an onsite restaurant serving locally sourced ingredients. The hotel also has a swimming pool and offers magnificent views of the surrounding forests through floor-to-ceiling windows.

Dibba, Oman

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Mauritius is an iconic destination for both a tranquil and a luxury escape, thanks to its blue waters and white sands. Cap Malheureux, on the northern coast, is home to the idyllic Paradise Cove Boutique Hotel. This adults-only resort is situated directly on a private beach and offers a lush tropical garden with an infinity pool, four restaurants and bars, a spa, and a variety of activities such as snorkelling and a glass-bottom boat tour.

This resort’s core values are serenity and sustainability, and it has earned a Travel Sustainable badge for its efforts to protect the environment while also supporting the economy and local community.

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FASHION

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

I’m wearing this!

5 brands with a fashionable twist

By N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe When it comes to fashion, it’s all about being bold and daring and this reflected in the millennial generation’s choices. Clothes are nor just a means to dress your body, but are an essence of your personality, mood and beliefs. Get your hands on these unusual yet stylish options and accessories from these five brands!

Bummer

Label Ankita Jain

Indian Weavers Alliance takes Assam’s ancient tradition forward

At Saree Sneakers, the brand handcrafted sneakers with an Indian twist. Beautiful handwork, zardozi, chikankari and all the drama on their Sneakers make them very popular with weddings and brides as well. They have an exquisite selection including stunning pieces for every occasion and size. Their highly experienced team goes far and beyond to create breathtaking, creative collections, and Saree Sneakers make sure that your expectations are not just met, but exceeded.

Orissa by Tania

By N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe June 17, 2022 (IANSlife) The art of hand spinning yarn with a spindle, a straight stick about eight to twelve inches long on which the yarn is wound after twisting, is known as hand spun yarn. The ancient tradition Eri is not just an intrinsic part of Assam’s Tradition but also a critical part of the livelihood of many engaged in this art.

Hand spinning, however, is a vanishing tradition, a fading cultural practice, especially among the younger generation, as a result of the onslaught of modern textiles.

It has now become a rare practice, affecting the price of Eri, which has

been steadily rising.

To bring back a historic tradition to keep spinning alive the Indian Weavers Alliance launches Polash.

A game-changing initiative for the Hand Spun Yarn segment, encompassing an end-to-end integrated approach to renew and reinforce the age-old tradition.

Polash’s team has established a farmer producer firm called “IWA Silk Farmer Producer Company Limited,” which has registered persons who spin by hand and produced a strategic road map for the sector’s upliftment.

Saumar Sharma, acting CEO,

IWASFPCL said, “IWA Silk Farmer Producer Company Limited – the farmer producer company has been privileged to have been able to start the process of creating a common facility center at Borihat, Polashbari, Kamrup. Assam. The facility is about 8000 sq. ft. Which is planned to stock over 300 to 500 kgs. of Grade one cocoons. The best part is that the myriad spinning artisans have been made dividend holders who are going to be directly connected to the profits”.

N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe can be contacted at lothungbeni.h@ians.in

Designer Rina Dhaka slams leather in latest PETA India video Dhaka and 32 other prominent Indian designers pledged to go leather-free

COCO LENI

Bummer, a leading comfort wear brand is on a mission to change the way you feel about your underwear.

The way they fit, feel and most importantly your mood when you put them on. At the core of their brand ethos, is the ability to not take underwear too seriously. It’s underwear after all. The brand wanted to get in your pants and so they did it in the most fashionable manner. Bold colours & fun prints are at the centre of everything they do. For an industry that has been plagued by whites & greys, Bummer wanted to make sure you felt good on the inside as much as you did on the outside.

Established in 1946, AnnabergBuchholz, Germany, as an optical store and an eyewear workshop, COCO LENI produces handmade acetate and metal frames. East German goods weren’t flamboyant in design, but their skilled workmanship ensured that the frames lasted forever, and the materials used made them sustainable and eco-friendly.

Orissa by Tania (OBT) is a passion project born out of my love for handloom. Founded by Tania Khosla Taneja who moved to Odisha in 2014 and wanted to promote the beautiful textiles and crafts of Odisha. Odisha is rich in textile art with techniques dating back centuries. OBT ethically sources their fabric directly from the weavers - many of whom are in remote tribal areas unconnected to civilization as is familiar to us.

OBT primarily uses Ikat and Kotpad fabric at this time but is also working with more clusters engaging in crafts such as Sabai grass and dhokra metal art in order to have the maximum socio-economic impact and create beautiful objects together.

N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe can be contacted at lothungbeni.h@ians.in

Perfume etiquette Is summer worsening your Melasma?

How to choose summer perfume?

Preserving the culture of hand-spun yarn

Saree Sneakers

The brand started out for women who are open to exploring their bodies and find the confidence to wear what they truly want despite having self-confidence and body-image issues. Label Ankita Jain proudly creates clothes for women to feel their most sexy and liberated selves.

The team of craftsmen are true masters of their craft. With everything being made-to-order and handcrafted, our team puts in immense effort to ensure consumers have the best time wearing our clothes.

BEAUTY

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

By N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe June 03, 2022 (IANSlife) Just in time for World Environment Day celebrated annually on June 5, Celebrity designer Rina Dhaka says that leather is out in the new public service announcement (PSA) by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India.

The PSA exposes how the leather industry harms the planet and sentences animals – including cows, pigs, goats, sheep, ostriches, snakes, crocodiles, and dogs, among others – to excruciating deaths after a lifetime of pain and misery. The video was shot by Deepak Arya.

“I love fashion. I also love animals and the planet. And that’s why I don’t use leather in my designs,” says designer Rina Dhaka in the PSA. “If you buy leather, remember:

there’s no easy way to tell whose skin you’re really in …. Vegan leather and other leather-free options can be found just about anywhere you shop. So please, be beautiful in your own skin. And let animals keep theirs.”

As Dhaka notes, leather is the most polluting material in fashion.

Raising animals for their skin requires massive amounts of land and other resources. More than 90 percent of the Amazon rainforest that’s been destroyed since 1970 is used for rearing cattle for meat and leather production. In India, animals used for leather are often crammed into vehicles in such large numbers that their bones break. If they survive the journey to the slaughterhouse, their throats are typically slit in full view of other animals while

they’re still conscious.

“Behind every leather bag, shoe, and coat is a sensitive animal who suffered a painful death,” says Senior Media and Celebrity Projects Coordinator Monica Chopra. “PETA India is delighted to work with Rina Dhaka to encourage everyone to embrace innovative vegan fabrics.”

Dhaka and 32 other prominent Indian designers pledged to go leather-free after PETA India and Lakmé Fashion Week appealed to them to ditch the material for animals and the planet.

N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe can be contacted at lothungbeni.h@ians.in

or do you crave beaches and water?

And based on what you may pick, think of opting that for a scent, such as floral, fruity martini and lychee, or can even choose aqua or marine notes etc.

Choose a different scent for the day and night: While you’ve gone light and bright during the day, in the night add more depth which could be through stronger notes or maybe you want to add sensuality. Try experimenting with sultry, musky, or spicy.

Follow a fragrance trail: Avoid mixing up scents, not suggesting only perfumes but follow the same note right from your body wash to your lotion, to your perfume. Doing so, will make you smell same rather than bringing out confused scents.

The sun can influence the fragrance a lot. In fact, you could avoid spraying perfume directly on your skin, regardless of its concentration, whether it is an Eau de parfum, an Eau de toilette, a fresh Eau, a cologne, or a summer water. Always spray it in the air.

Avoid picking up complex scents as they can also become overpowering during summer and our body odours. Keep it light by picking fragrances with fewer notes.

Make sure that the packaging specifies “Can be used in the sun” before you apply the perfume outdoors.

Also, you can try buying miniatures or travel packs first before finalising what you need.

(Smriti Saxena, Lifestyle blogger)

Following a minimal yet effective skincare routine while travelling is the key to overcoming travel skincare issues

Crocs and Chumbak come together for their first ever partnership!

A limited edition collection designed to transform heritage patterns into modern icons of casual footwear that resonate with the new Indian just got launched. The Chumbak X Crocs collection is a global collaboration which combines Chumbak’s signature designs, which are inspired by Indian art forms, with Crocs’ iconic Classic Clog.

The collection modern take on the heritage art form, inspired by the intricate patterns of Ikat & Paisleys,

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one of the oldest art forms that originated in India. Ikat, which was once used as currency on the Silk Road, has been practised in India for thousands of years. Traditional Ikat prints appear prominently on the footwear for this collection, as do Jibbitz charms inspired by Indian motifs such as the owl, sparrow, elephant, and sparrow.

The designs embrace Crocs’ proclamation to Come As You Are, inviting everyone to express themselves.

Kicking off the campaign is the slogan “It’s a Vibe” - whatever you feel, whatever you do, wherever you go...

Commenting on the partnership, Sumit Dhingra, Vice President and General Manager, India & SEA said “Classic clogs are our brand icon that are a perfect canvas for self-expression allowing you to show your individuality in the most authentic way. In the past, we have partnered with leading brands and

PAISLEY

personalities like Balenciaga, Drew House by Justin Bieber, Post Malone etc. These collaborations have been phenomenally successful achieving a sell-out within minutes across the globe. This is the first ever time India is launching a partnership and it showcases our commitment to ignite the Indian market with highly localized products & marketing. Crocs is all about colours, joy, self-expression and Chumbak is a perfect brand to partner as it celebrates Indian art forms in itsown unique way.

/IndianAbroadNews

Webring a truly unique partnership with Chumbak that appeals to urban Indian women.”

Talking about the collaboration, Vasant Nangia, CEO, Chumbak said, “We are delighted to be the first Indian brand to join Crocs in their list of iconic international collaborations. We are joining coveted brands like Balenciaga, Beams(Japan), Barneys New York, Liberty London and many more that have launched their limited-edition Crocs clogs and

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helped catapult Crocs to one of the most desirable footwear brands in the world. Crocs and Chumbak share joy and comfort as a part of their brand DNA. With this partnership, Chumbak is bringing its unique India inspired designs to the Crocs Classic collection.”

The collection is priced from INR 3995 to INR 4995 and is set to launch today at select Crocs and Chumbak offline and online stores, as well as Myntra and Superkicks.

22

By N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe Melasma is a common skin condition characterised by discoloured patches of brown, tan, or blue-grey skin. Melasma is a type of facial pigmentation that appears in three areas of the face: the centre, the jawline, and the cheekbones. Melasma typically darkens or lightens over time, and it also gets a little worse during the summer.

It has also been observed that treatment for Melasma is not always required; for some people, it fades away naturally over time. Melasma, a skin condition seen in pregnant women or women taking birth control pills, fades after delivery or when the person discontinues taking the medication.

There are numerous ways to reduce melasma, but Madhumeeta Dhar, Chief Research Officer at Plantas, has shared a few simple tips to avoid/reduce it. * Washing your face at least twice a day is recommended. Orange, Apple and Licorice extracts offer UV Protection, brighten the skin, work as natural toner & moisturizer, and treat dark spots. Hence, using a face wash with these ingredients may have a positive effect on your skin condition. * A toner helps in cleansing the skin & prevents the skin from

blemishing. Rose and Saffron’s extracts are known to help remove dirt and extra oil that remains on your skin after cleansing. It is important to use toners on your skin as it is a necessary step for skincare, especially during summers. * Exposure to UV rays is a major reason that triggers melasma. Hence as a precautionary measure, it is suggested to use sunscreen with high SPF every time you are going out of the house. * When moving out in sun, you can also take the help of scarves and broad-brimmed hats to protect your skin from direct sun exposure. * The following home remedies will also help in avoiding/reducing melasma – Aloe Vera Face Pack, Turmeric Face PackLiquorice extract Face Pack, Red Lentils Face Pack, Tomato Paste.

For some people, melasma can last for years and even for the rest of their lives. A person can seek proper treatment if melasma is not fading with time. No matter of what type of melasma cure routine you choose, the best strategy to avoid the onset or worsening of skin pigmentation is to minimize your exposure to the sun.

N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe can be contacted at lothungbeni.h@ians.in

By Dr. Sonali Chaudhary We all want our nails to be long and healthy. However, in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives and busy routines, it is difficult to achieve healthy nails. Many factors prevent our nails from growing, causing them to become weak, dull, and unhealthy. Without enough strength, nails are prone to cracking and breaking.

You can nourish your nails by incorporating the following nail care tips into your routine.

Use A Cuticle Oil Cuticle oil is one of the simplest and most well-known ways to strengthen your nails. It is made from natural ingredients that nourish your nails while also providing essential hydration to the nail beds.

Using cuticle oil on your nails will also make them shine. Once or twice a day, massage it into your nails.

Consume Omega-3 Fatty Acids Another way to strengthen your nails is to eat a healthy diet.

Omega-3 acts as a natural nail strengthener by nourishing the cells in your nail bed. Omega-3 also aids in the absorption of other nutrients, resulting in stronger nails.

Increase your Biotin Consumption In addition to including omega-3 fatty acids in your daily diet, you should increase your biotin intake for healthy nails. Biotin is an essential B vitamin that helps with nail hardness and thickness.

Furthermore, we recommend that you increase your protein intake to keep your nails from breaking every now and then.

Use Good Quality Nail Care Products Many women ignore it, but did you know that using low-quality products can harm the health of

your nails? These items cause more harm than good. Always use high-quality nail care products.

Choose an acetone-free nail paint remover and give your nails a break from nail paints.

Say No to Frequent Nail Treatments Your nails require some breathing room. If you treat them frequently, they will not receive nourishment and may become weaker than before. Some treatments, such as gel nails, acrylic nails, or extensions, weaken your nails as well. They eventually deteriorate and become brittle.

Another treatment that affects the health of your nails severely is UV lamps. Many nail spas use UV lamps during the treatments like nail extensions. Too much exposure to UV lamps involves a risk for cancer.

Besides this, it also makes your hands and feet darker.

Other Tips to Follow to Maintain Healthy Nails Do not use hand sanitizers too much as most of them contain alcohol that may damage your nails.

Trim your nails regularly. Keep them short, filed, and buffered. But do not buffer your nails too much as it may strip the protective layer on the top.

Scrub your nails with soap and water each time you wash your hands.

Do not share your nail clipper, filers, or other nail care accessories with others. Sanitize all the grooming tools before and after using them on your nails.

Avoid chewing or biting your nails as it may spread infection. If you have a hangnail, do not rip or bite it.

Use a clipper to clip it.

(Dr Sonali Chaudhary, Integrative and cosmetic dermatologist)

Travel skincare woes solved with Neal’s Yard Remedies launches a moisture enriched regime exclusively on Boddess

Inspired by the heritage of patterns like Ikat and Paisleys

IKAT

Do not share your nail clipper, filers, or other nail care accessories with others

Exposure to UV rays triggers melasma

By Smriti Saxena Did you know that, like dining and other lifestyle etiquettes, there are some rules to wearing perfume?

When choosing perfumes, we frequently consider our personality, tastes, and age. However, some people continue to use the same fragrance all year, which may not be the best practise. So, here are some pointers to help you choose your summer scent!

Why do you need a seasonal change of perfume With the changing of the seasons, each season has its own distinct notes and scents. Whether warm and seductive or fresh and fruity, each fragrance reveals a different side that not only reflects changes in external circumstances but may also reflect changes in your mood depending on the season.

How to choose a summer perfume: An Indian summer season lasts from April to June, and like light and summer cool clothing our perfumes should be light too. It is suggested to make a switch towards fresh and refreshing floral fragrances. However, if you want to stay in the same family of fragrance then switch from Eau de parfum (which is for winters) to Eau de toilette or Eau fraiche (which is suited for summer season) If you’re new to this concept of choosing perfumes as per season, and want to pick something that makes you happy then here’s an interesting way – what do you love about summer is it the flowers or the gardens, do you love that fruity taste and are you a cocktail person

5 Tried and Tested Tips for Nail Nourishment

By Rajat Mathur Nothing beats packing your bags, planning your itinerary, and giving in to your wanderlust. Traveling to a new place full of endless adventures and possibilities is an unrivalled feeling that should be felt whenever the opportunity arises. While travelling has many advantages, there is one disadvantage that can put a damper on travel plans: the effect it has on the skin. If you frequently return from trips with irritated and flared-up skin, we’ve got you covered with the best travel skincare routine to follow.

It is critical to first understand a problem before attempting to solve it. There are a variety of environmental factors that can cause skin problems when travelling.

Changes in humidity, air quality, temperature, and even sun exposure can all have a negative impact on the skin. It can cause it to feel dry, irritated, itchy, red, flaky, or even break outs. Furthermore, factors such as travel stress and aeroplane dehydration can play a significant www.indianabroad.news

role in this. Changes in our external environment throw the skin off its usual routine and game, causing it to deviate from its normal health.

While the causes, concerns, and treatments for these skin issues vary from case to case, there is a general skincare regimen and hacks that you can use to prevent damage and stay one step ahead.

To begin, it is critical to maintain some consistency and familiarity in the midst of a lot of change. Pack one or two of your daily skincare products that your skin is familiar with and responds well to. Obtaining travel-sized versions of them or using mini travel containers and transferring some product into them is an easy way to accomplish this.

One important skincare tip for travellers is to keep things simple but effective. Traveling may not be the best time to bring your 12-step skincare routine with you. What you require is a gentle cleanser capable of removing all dirt and excess makeup from your trip adventures.

Following that, you’ll need a light

yet deeply hydrating moisturiser to restore the suppleness of your skin.

The skin frequently becomes dehydrated while travelling for a variety of reasons. As a result, a variety of other skin issues arise. Keeping a highly effective moisturiser in your suitcase is the best travel companion you can bring along to maintain your vacation look every day while keeping your skin healthy.

It is critical to scale back the regime and eliminate products that serve only a single purpose. The key word here is efficiency. You need products that contain all of the necessary ingredients and can assist you in addressing a variety of skincare concerns with the help of a single formula. This will save you space while also allowing you to maintain a minimalistic skincare routine that works wonders without breaking the bank.

To name a few, essential ingredients to look for include hyaluronic acid (to smooth and plump the skin), vitamin C (to reduce lines and boost radiance), activated C (to help increase skin clarity), salicylic acid (to visibly reduce discoloration and renew the skin’s texture), and peony extract (to prevent oxidative damage). When combined with activated C, the last few ingredients work wonders. This ingredient list is also beneficial for a variety of skincare issues, including dark spots, sallowness, post-acne marks, uneven skin tone, and loss of radiance.

Travel is meant to be a blessing that allows you to explore the world and all that it has to offer, and something so wonderful should not come at the expense of your skin’s health.

Following a minimal yet effective skincare routine while travelling is the key to overcoming these travel skincare issues.

(Rajat Mathur, is the Manager of Education, Kiehl’s India)

Inner health and outer beauty should be in perfect balance words?

Anabel and Barnabas: Our philosophy is rooted in the belief that inner health and outer beauty should be in perfect balance. We support our customers’ inner health through our wide range of natural remedies including herbs, tinctures, flower remedies and aromatherapy, and many of our stores in the UK offer a variety of holistic therapies and treatments. This complements our wide range of skincare and body products, which are formulated in the UK using ethically sourced herbs, botanicals and essential oils.

We also believe in using the highest possible percentage of organic ingredients as they are kinder to the

By N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe earth – and kinder to our customers.

All our products are free from April 18, 2022 (IANSlife) In 1981, harmful chemicals, and we make Romy Fraser, a natural health every possible effort to ensure we advocate, created Neal’s Yard are treading lightly on the earth in Remedies in Covent Garden. This all that we do.

Aromatherapy led Wellness brand has since grown to become the mar- What makes Neal’s Yard Remedies ket leader in ethical, organic beauty different from the other beauty products, with 300+ outlets in 26 brands? countries worldwide. As the brand Anabel and Barnabas: We believe launches exclusively on House Of in independent certification as a Beauty’s Omnichannel platform, way of assuring our customers Boddess IANSlife speaks to Anabel of our ethical credentials. We and Barnabas Kindersley, Brand certify our products through the Soil Owners, Neal’s Yard Remedies on Association, which is internationally the expansion of the brand’s retail recognized for its incredibly high footprint. standards for organic food and Read Excerpts: beauty. This guarantees that our products contain the highest levels Tell us about Neal’s Yard Remedies’ of certified organic ingredients. journey as a brand?

We are also very proud of the Anabel and Barnabas: Neal’s Yard work we do to support the causes Remedies first opened its doors close to our hearts. We have an in 1981 in a quiet corner of Covent ongoing commitment to protecting Garden in the heart of London, UK. the world’s bee population and The brand was founded by holistic have helped to protect over 50 wellbeing advocate, Romy Fraser, million bees through our Bee Lovely who planted the seeds of what was campaign. We are currently leading to become Neal’s Yard Remedies a campaign to encourage the UK today – a world leader in natural government to implement a total and organic health and beauty. With ban on bee-harming pesticides in over 300 outlets in 26 countries the UK, and have the support of across the globe, the brand has 55 businesses, organisations and been working with nature to make charities such as Greenpeace to award-winning ethical health and help us achieve this. Thanks to the beauty collections for over 40 years. support of our customers, we have And now we are very excited to be continuing our journey by launching also helped protect 3,000,000 m² of the endangered forest through in India. our carbon balancing programme in How would you describe the partnership with World Land Trust. brand’s philosophy in simple

/IndianAbroadNews

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And lastly, our iconic blue glass bottles make our products instantly recognizable. But they’re more than just pretty packaging. The blue pigment reduces the light reaching the product, helping to protect the delicate aromas and herbal properties of the product inside without the use of preservatives.

They’re also great for upcycling – candlestick holders, vases and household decorations are just some of the ways we’ve seen customers give their Neal’s Yard Remedies packaging a second life.

How excited are you about your launch in India?

Anabel and Barnabas: We are thrilled to be partnering with House of Beauty to bring Neal’s Yard Remedies to India. We’re so excited to be able to bring 40 years of experience developing natural and organic products to India at a time when there is a growing demand for products that are effective, ethical and sustainable. We very much look forward to building a strong partnership with House of Beauty over the coming years and bringing our pioneering brand to the people of India.

How would you describe the brand’s mission?

Anabel and Barnabas: We do good so that our customers can feel good and look good, naturally.

The skincare industry has seen an influx of online D2C brands. How do you retain your edge in this competitive market?

Anabel and Barnabas: We believe in our products! We are proud to create award-winning products that are both effective and ethically made across such a broad range of categories, from skincare to bath & body to aromatherapy. India’s Neal’s Yard Remedies range will include the brand’s cult favourite Wild Rose Beauty Balm, the ‘one-pot wonder’ loved for its radiance-boosting properties and made with sustainably sourced rosehip seed oil from rural Serbia. A product naturally rich in vitamins A and E as well as essential fatty acids, it’s a ‘must-have’ among beauty experts and customers. We can’t wait for you to try it.

23

ART & CULTURE

Vol 2, Issue 9, June 16-30, 2022

Rare Works by Eminent Indian Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Modernists to go under the hammer Awards 2022 to return on-ground and showcase META 2020 winners

At AstaGuru’s upcoming Modern Indian Art ‘Collectors Choice’ Auction

T

he latest edition of AstaGuru’s Modern Indian Art ‘Collectors Choice’ online auction, will take place on June 23-24, 2022, providing collectors with an exceptional opportunity to acquire masterpieces and rare compositions. While works by members of the Progressive Artists’ Group remain highly valued, the auction has a diversified art collection with significant works by other celebrated names in Modern Indian Art. The collection presents work from different periods of Modern Indian Art and includes exceptional creations by revered names such as Nicholas Roerich, Rabindranath Tagore, Amrita Sher- Gil, M V Dhurandhar, Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, M F Husain, S H Raza, F N Souza, Tyeb Mehta, Akbar Padamsee, Krishen Khanna, Arpita Singh, Sakti Burman, K K Hebbar, Bikash Bhattacharjee, Ganesh Pyne, and Rameshwar Broota amongst other eminent artists.

Lot 41, a work by artist Tyeb Mehta

Lot 41, a work by artist Tyeb Mehta, leads the stellar lineup. The work was completed around 1962, during a period when he was inspired by the works of British figurative painter Francis Bacon. Tyeb Mehta, who was living in London at the time, was also influenced by philosophical reflections on human frailty. The canvas depicts a lonely, isolated figure painted with a heavy impasto

technique and a limited colour palette. It will be priced between INR 3,00,00,000 and 4,00,00,000.

Sunny Chandiramani, Vice President- Client Relations, AstaGuru Auction House, said, “Our ‘Collectors Choice’ edition has emerged to be one of the most anticipated auctions by the collectors. It has consistently garnered tremendous response due to the vastness and diversity of the collection offered. The ‘No Reserve’ format makes it more accessible for a larger collector base to participate in the auction since bidding starts at INR 20,000. These works have been part of noteworthy collections and also stand as significant milestones in the artists’ careers. Several of these rare gems are appearing in an auction for the first time. The auction also features sculptures by respected artists including Prodosh Das Gupta, Sankho Chaudhuri, Himmat Shah, Krishen Khanna, Ram Kumar, K Laxma Goud, P V Janakiram, and S Nandagopal.”

Lot 164 is a work by artist Arpita Singh titled ‘Counting Flowers: My Benares Saree.’ It was completed in 1997 and is an archetypal example of the artist’s visual idiom, colour composition, and recurring motifs seen in her works. It will be priced between INR 80,00,000 and INR 1,000,000.

Lot no. 5 is a magnificent work by one of India’s ‘Navratna’ artists, Nicholas Roerich, which is being auctioned for the first time. Roerich, known as the ‘Master of Mountains,’ was a symbolic painter whose sapphire hues and hidden clouds of white will forever be etched as magnificent representations of the Himalayan range. This work, completed around 1940, will be offered for INR 30,00,000 – 40,00,000.

The entire auction catalogue is available on www.astaguru.com, and the auction will be held on the website on June 23rd and 24th, 2022.

F

T

he 17th edition of Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META), will be a physical showcase of four award-winning plays from META 2020.

Scheduled to be held from July 7-10 at Delhi’s Kamani Auditorium, the festival will be held in its physical format after two years.

The plays that will be staged include ‘For the Record’, ‘BHASKARA PATTELARUM THOMMIYUDE JEEVITHAVUM’, ‘The Old Man’ and ‘Ghoom Nei’.

Jay Shah, Vice President, Head - Cultural Outreach, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said: “Although the judging process was completed in time for META 2020, we had to award the winners only by means of a virtual ceremony. We are pleased to finally have an on-ground META this year through the presentation of four META 2020 award-winning plays. We are hopeful to be able to have a full-fledged META in 2023 and are looking forward to new pieces of theatre being commissioned and performed during the year.”

Sanjoy Roy, Managing Director of Teamwork Arts, said: “META pivoted online in 2020 and 2021 and built a new community even as we streamed a number of award-winning productions followed by talks and conversations around the many disciplines of theatre and the arts.

In 2022, we are back on the ground with the award-winning productions from the 2020 META festival.

You can see the best of the festival, live in Delhi!”

Every show is new and one cannot take anything for granted

By Sukant Deepak ven as actor, singer and artist Suchitra Krishnamoorthi staged her solo play ‘Drama Queen refreshed’ in Delhi and Gurgaon on June 4 and 5 respectively, a new version of her earlier play based on the novel she wrote by the same time, the actor says about the new production directed

by Randhir Roy that is shorter, has animation songs and other elements -- “We grow every day. With every experience, every interaction, every performance. Every show is new and one cannot take anything for granted.”

The play woven into her experience

E

www.indianabroad.news

on the years post her divorce from director Shekhar Kapur, brings out questions on the changing ways of Indian culture and beliefs.

Wicked, over the top, funny, yet also vulnerable and dark, she does not really feel any pain remembering the past while writing it. “Writing it was a kind of catharsis. To be able to look back at difficult events in your life with humour surely means the heart has healed. My family initially had reservations but later understood my artistic point of view. My mother laughed the loudest when she saw it on stage - she loved it,” she tells IANS. A trained Indian classical musician,

painter, actor and also a writer, Krishnamoorthi stresses that all these avatars are important to her.

“While I enjoy them all equally - but I guess my core competence is music. Everybody who knows me from my childhood knows me as the girl always singing on the stage.”

Stressing that theatre is all about being in the present moment and that she enjoys the discipline and mental agility that this art form forces one to maintain, the artist, who made her acting debut debuted with the series Chunauti in the year 1987 and was recently seen in ‘Guilty Minds’ on Amazon Prime feels that the OTT has revolutionalised actors’ lives.

“It is fantastic. Actors especially have never had it so good. The employment rate is high. Nowadays, the challenge is to grab attention and be noticed for your performance. Be it ‘My Wife’s Murder’ or ‘Guilty Minds’, I like doing stuff that is different and challenging.

Ask her if there were any mental blocks or apprehensions while ‘coming back’ considering she has taken a long break from the spotlight, and she asserts, “Of course. I am always apprehensive and never take anything for granted. But at the same time, I am at that stage in my life where there is no such thing as a mistake.”

Sukant Deepak can be contacted at sukant.d@ians.in

Bijoylaxmi Hota

F BHASKARA PATTELARUM THOMMIYUDE JEEVITHAVUM

Quota-The Reservation​​​​​​​ has been released in 7 languages and has already won numerous nominations to take out time and discuss the film or the character over a coffee. I hope through this film we will be able to create awareness and be able to remove the slab of discrimination which isn’t just based on religion or any community but is faced in every aspect. Today even as an actor though I am fortunately blessed to be exploring multiple platforms, a TV actor is not considered equal to Films, this needs to evolve. Let’s not segregate actors based on their platforms.

Reason to take up the role?

Actor Anirudh Dave with Director Sanjiv Jaiswal.

Anirudh: As an actor one is hungry

By N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe viewers. for challenging characters and t’s hard to think that bigotry stories that come with a strong How did you prepare for this sensipersists in its entirety at a time message and there is nothing better tive role? when the globe is progressing than a story that is narrated by me Anirudh: As an actor getting emoand working for a peaceful and and talks about a true incident. tionally involved is what takes a lot coexisting environment for all Sanjiv sir the writer and director of of time. Keeping the topic in mind human diversity. the film narrated the script to me and what the character has gone and I was sold.

The film ‘Quota-The Reservation,’ through, a whole lot of emotional written and directed by Sanjiv What is the biggest learning you turmoil is what one goes through, Jaiswal with Anirudh Dave as the gained? in this case it was the fight against protagonist, tells the story of a discrimination. While shooting it, Anirudh: The experience of first-year Dalit student who faces as well with other artists, we kept preparing and shooting for ‘Quota’ discrimination at the hands of an having discussions on the set to has been sensitive, and a learning upper-caste student. understand the journey and the for life. Through the film, I got to situation at that time. The film has Dave, the lead actor, speaks know something closely about what been released in 7 languages and has the Dalit community goes through exclusively to IANSlife about his already won numerous nominations which maybe we are unaware of experience : till we experience it. Being discrimWhat are the challenges faced when and wins to its credit including bagging the Best Foreign Film at the inated against and being bullied one makes a film like ‘Quota’ which London Independent Film Awards and not given equal opportunity is is based on a sensitive topic? and Best Feature Film at the Europe heartbreaking. A lesson for me is I Anirudh: The concept comes with Film Festival, official selections to feel to stand for justice and equality. a huge responsibility since it’s the renowned Berlin International How has the film created a topic of based on a true incident which Art Film Festival, Cannes World Film discussion? itself is sensitive. An actor has to Festival, and others. play and perform the meaty role, Anirudh: The topic itself comes with What did you feel about the reirrespective of any religion or caste, the idea of creating awareness and sponse from the audience? performance-oriented roles and discussion. The film’s concept and Anirudh: Taking up a film that is characters such as these are my subject is of utmost importance. It a biopic is most challenging since preference. As an actor to be able isn’t just the cast-based discriminayou cannot create something of to do justice is challenging. The tion but ‘discrimination’ as a whole your own, one needs to follow challenge is to completely switch which one faces everywhere or and replicate what the character to the real character by getting into anywhere. has been through. It has created the skin of the emotions that the N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe can be conversations and that’s what an individual went through and being contacted at lothungbeni.h@ians.in able to communicate the message to actor wants, he wants his audience

I

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“Breaking the Fourth Wall” in the wider realm of literature.

It is not a very recent phenomenon -- Shakespeare’s characters often addressed the audience. So did the protagonists of Ancient Greek theatre -- right from when the concept took hold, or possibly, even before.

In our times, even comics such as “The Beano” and “Dandy” are good examples, and even, the FrancoBelgian comic tradition was replete with it, say, “Achille Talon” (“Walter Melon” in English) or “Philemon”, but especially, “Tintin”. boundaries of his frame of existence to weigh in on the reality-fiction relationship.

But what happens when characters transgress their fictional status to address their audience of readers.

Then, we have a “Breaking the Fourth Wall” situation. The term actually originates from visual manifestations of culture, especially drama, where an imaginary -- and transparent -- “wall” separates the audience and actors, who go about as if they are not being seen.

This phenomenon has gone to other forms too, such as films and TV shows, but especially, some forms of literature too. In this, the characters seem unaware that they are fictional characters, and that the readers are observing and closely following them, to reach out to them, or for that matter, their creator. The purpose is usually comic, but can be serious too, if there is some mental condition or some sort of existential crisis that crops up.

Let us see some examples of

We have the intrepid boy reporter winking at his readers near the end of “King Ottokar’s Sceptre” (193839), informing them at the end of “The Secret of the Unicorn” (1942) -- much to the surprise of Captain Haddock -- that the next part of the adventure will be told in “Red Rackham’s Treasure” (1943), and the cover of “The Castafiore Emerald” (1962) has Tintin in the foreground, looking directly at the reader, with a smile and a finger to his lips.

A lot of what Snowy says in the series is breaking the fourth wall -- or for the reader’s benefit because the other characters can’t hear him. At one point, he looks at the reader and says “I could have told them that. But nobody would have listened to me!”

In “proper” literature, the phenomenon predates Shakespeare.

Instances can be seen in Dante’s “The Divine Comedy” (1320), where the poet, as a narrator, addresses the reader at least 18 times, all

through his journey across Hell, Purgatory and Heaven, Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales” (c.1400) and then more recognisably in the second part (1615) of Cervantes’s “Don Quixote”.

The sequel features the Man of La Mancha, the author, fans of the book and a fake sequel written by another man, leading to our hero having to track down the Don Quixote from the fake sequel to get him to sign away his rights to the name/concept, in order that the real author can write a real sequel.

It addresses the issue of a character understanding that he is written about, and it is assumed that Spanish readers -- and the characters -- are familiar with the first part, as well as the actually published, fraudulent sequel.

Jane Austen’s “Northanger Abbey” (1818) is a pre-modern example, with the narrator declaiming upon the significance of reading novels.

“I will not adopt that ungenerous and impolitic custom so common with novel-writers, of degrading by their contemptuous censure the very performances, to the number of which they are themselves adding -joining with their greatest enemies in bestowing the harshest epithets on such works, and scarcely ever permitting them to be read by their own heroine, who, if she accidentally takes up a novel, is sure to turn over its insipid pages with disgust.

Alas! If the heroine of one novel be not patronised by the heroine of another, from whom can she expect protection and regard?”

The 20th century was when the phenomenon came into its own,

and for some reason, classic crime fiction saw a lot of it.

A prominent example is the superlative “locked room mystery”, John Dickson Carr’s “The Hollow Man” (1935) where one chapter consists of Dr Gideon Fell giving a lecture on examples of such crimes in fiction.

Asked by his interlocutor what relevance this has to the situation at hand, he says: “Because we’re in a detective story, and we don’t fool the reader by pretending we’re not.”

Edmund Crispin’s quirky Oxford English Language and Literature Professor -- and part-time amateur sleuth -- Gervase Fen, in his nine appearances in comic detective novels and two short story anthologies, is well aware that he’s in a novel, and doesn’t hesitate to say so regularly throughout the series.

In “The Moving Toyshop” (1946), considered to be the series’ high point, a character asks our hero why he is on the left side, and he retorts that after all (Victor) Gollancz is publishing them, in a shout-out to the publisher’s political proclivities.

Then, the narrator in C.S. Lewis’s seven-volume “The Chronicles of Narnia” (1950-56), a remarkable fantasy story for children, and a religious allegory for more mature readers, uses personal pronouns to refer to the readers and himself.

Stephen King, in his “The Dark Tower” series (1982-2004), freely uses this device -- he himself acts as a character and is able to assist other characters.

Also, before the epilogue of the eighth and last book, “The Dark Tower” (2004), he speaks to the reader in “Coda”, saying that the

story ended perfectly without an epilogue, where Roland finally enters the tower, and that they should put the book down without reading it.

And then, Jasper Fforde’s ‘Thursday Next’ comic fantasy series, which is chock full of meta-levels to the extent that sometimes the mind reels, features a scene in “Something Rotten” (2004), where the feisty, irrepressible heroine, Thursday, is about to get intimate with her newly uneradicated husband Landen Park-Laine, but suddenly stops and says she can’t go ahead as so many people are watching. After he reminds her she’s not a character in a book, she apologises and says she’s spent too much time in the BookWorld (you will have to read the series to find what this is).

Then, there is the galactic tyrant Emperor Zhark, a creation of a friend of Thursday’s husband, and intended to serve as an example of the worst science fiction writing, but a (mostly) dependable ally of our heroine.

Not only does he manage to cross over and have a few words with his creator, who is planning to bump him off spectacularly, but he also manages to renegotiate his fictional contract to, among other perks, provide for more detailed descriptions of his first appearance.

There are more examples but at this point, readers should think if they identify so much with a work of fiction, can at some level, somewhere, the characters feel the same on the other side?

(Vikas Datta can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)

Practice all the four yogas to ‘India has to prepare for single continuous war along two fronts’ derive their full benefits

Let’s not segregate actors based on their platforms: Anirudh Dave

Writing ‘Drama Queen’ was a kind of catharsis: Suchitra Krishnamoorthi

Blurring Boundaries: Fiction that directly reaches out to readers

Vikas Datta

iction, by its very definition, is a make-believe world, populated by characters who spring from the imagination of the author, and draw their sustenance from the interest of the readers. We, the readers, merely spend some of our time gazing into a microcosm of a world that is sometimes like ours, or sometimes not.

Our view is something like, “...If we could fly out of that window hand in hand, hover over this great city, gently remove the roofs, and peep in at the queer things which are going on, the strange coincidences, the plannings, the cross-purposes, the wonderful chains of events, working through generations, and leading to the most outre results, it would make all fiction with its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and unprofitable.”

That was Sherlock Holmes talking to his companion, Dr John Watson, in “A Case of Identity” (from “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”).

What makes it paradoxical is that Holmes is seemingly breaking the

By Sukant Deepak

LITERATURE

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

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or yoga therapy to be fully effective, the initial treatment should be done away from home in a yogashram. At home, it may not be possible to relax deeply, and tension slows down the healing.

Also, at home, the conditions that created the health problems in the first place, are still there and may counter yogas effects. The peaceful atmosphere of an ashram automatically relaxes the inmates.

Healing will be enhanced if the yogashram is in the mountains, surrounded by greenery. At such a place, not only will the relaxation and oxygenation of the body tissues be better, the concentration of prana will be the maximum. It has been seen that 300 cubic feet of the mountain air contains 5,000 units of prana against 50 units of this energy in a city office. Sea shore and riverbanks are the next best alternative.

Furthermore, at home, one cannot spare much time for yogic practices.

Mostly, people spend about an hour on yoga, and that too doing only Hatha Yoga, i.e. asanas, pranayamas and occasional satkarma. But Hatha Yoga does not comprise the entire practice of yoga; it is just a part of this system. Hatha Yoga is meant to rectify faults only in the gross physical body. But we are much more than just a body.

According to yoga and psychology, other than the physical body, we have a conscious, subconscious and unconscious mind. A health problem can start from any of these three. However, it manifests on the physical body as that is the only aspect that can be seen. Therefore, unless the root cause is corrected, the resultant ailment cannot be cured.

Freeing the mind of a deep-rooted

fault may not be achieved through one yoga. The ancient yogis realized that and developed other yogas, mainly Bhakti Yoga (the yoga of devotion), Raja Yoga (the yoga of concentration and meditation), Karma Yoga (yoga of action, where one does physical labour without expecting any material gains) and Gyana Yoga (the yoga of enquiry) to do that. Therefore, it is necessary to practise them all, at least in the beginning. People without any ailments also benefit from them as it clears their psyche of all unwanted past impressions that could lead to a disease later.

According to Swami Satyananda Saraswati, it is necessary to practise all the four yogas. He says that if one does not practise “Karma Yoga, you will experience frustration and disappointments and the consequent reactions in life; if you do not practice Bhakti Yoga, passions will rise high; if you do not practice Raja Yoga, your mind will be jumping like a drunken monkey; if you do not practice Gyana Yoga you won’t know why you are practicing all these things; and if you do not practice Hatha Yoga, you may not be able to practice any of them”.

In the yogashram, the entire day is filled with various other yogas besides the four main ones. They are: Nada Yoga, Mantra Yoga and Tantra Yoga, etc. Each yoga caters to one aspect of the human character and together they take care of the complete personality making the practitioner feel uniquely calm, elated, healed and invigorated. It is as if one gets a fresh body and mind.

Everybody should experience the ashram life to realize how wonderful the effect of real yoga. The feeling cannot be described in words. One has to experience it to believe it.

The ancient wise of India knew the value of the combined yoga and made rules such that people practised them from childhood. At the tender age of seven or eight, every child was sent to a gurukul, i.e. the abode of a guru. There, while learning their future professional skills, the children were made to do yoga. For Gyana Yoga, they studied scriptures; for Raja Yoga, they meditated and practised asanas and pranayamas; for Bhakti Yoga, they

performed religious rituals such as yagnyas and for Karma Yoga, it was hard physical labour.

Whether one was a prince or a pauper, he was made to do various chores such as gardening, chopping wood, drawing water from wells, tending to cattle, etc. All these yogas, along with the strict disciplined life, went a long way in building their health and character.

According to the vedas, the vedic man’s lifespan was at least a hundred years, and they spent the second half of their life alone in the forest, catering to their own various needs. Such a lifestyle indicates the physical and mental strength of people of ancient times. It is a far cry from the contemporary times, when after a certain age, we cannot do without drugs, hospitals, doctors, nurses and attendants.

Ideally, all yogas should be done every day, although in shorter versions. But if that is not be possible, one should go to the yogashram periodically. Those who do that find it helpful in remaining in the best of their health and face the challenges of life with equanimity. According to my Guruji, it is like recharging one’s inner battery to withstand the vagaries of living in complex society.

Rules of Yoga * Yoga should be practised on an empty stomach. Food can be taken 10 minutes after the completion of the routine. * Use a folded blanket or rug for yoga practice. No soft spongy mattress or mat should be used as they do not provide the needed support to your back. * Face the east. Even when you lie down, your head should be towards that direction. * Wear loose cotton clothes. Tight or synthetic ones restrict proper oxygenation of the system. * Avoid plastic neti pot and non-stick pan to heat the water. * No microwave for any heating. The vitamins may remain intact, but the prana will be gone.

(Excerpted from ‘Yoga For Super Immunity’ by Bijoylaxmi Hota with the permission of Rupa Publications)

It’s a ‘double shift’ for Indian women who choose to opt for career

New Delhi, June 23 (IANS) Savitribai Phule, Mahasweta Devi, Amrita Pritam, Medha Patkar, Kamla Bhasin, and countless others have, since the 19th century, fought for and won equal rights for the Indian women in a variety of areas -universal suffrage, inheritance and property rights, equal remuneration, prevention of sexual harassment at

www.indianabroad.news

the workplace, and others.

Pioneering feminists believed that due to these hard-won rights, their daughters and granddaughters would have the opportunity to have rewarding careers, participate in the social and political growth of the country, gain economic independence, and become equal partners in their marriages.

On paper, it would appear that the lot of Indian women in the twenty-first century has vastly improved but, in reality, the demands of capitalism and the persistence of patriarchal attitudes have meant that they continue to lead lives that are hard and unequal, especially when compared to their male counterparts.

The Indian women are among the most overworked in the world

-- they spend on average 299 minutes on housework and 134 minutes on care-giving per day, shouldering 82 per cent of domestic duties. They are burdened with work from such a young age that many are forced to drop out of schools, leave the labour force, and give up dreams of financial independence.

For those who have the privilege of choosing to have a career, the only way they can make this viable is by doing a “double shift”: women are expected to do most of the housework, childcare, and care-giving, whether they have jobs or not.

While these problems apply to all women across the country, those in India’s middle class face an altogether unique challenge because middle-class families have mastered the art of simulating an environment of

A

“serious and growing asymmetrical relationship” with China, which has indulged in four instances of “salami slicing” along the un-demarcated border since 2012, and an increasingly bellicose and belligerent Pakistan means that India has to be prepared for a “single continuous war” along two fronts and not a two-front war -- sans any assistance from the US or Russia, says a scholarly work by veteran diplomat Rajiv Dogra.

Dogra examines hotspots around the world through the prism of the principal stakeholders and concludes that “whichever path the world chooses in the difficult decade ahead, it should keep reminding itself that history is the consequence of its choices”.

“Since India no longer faces just unidirectional threats, it has to take a 360-degree view and prepare accordingly. Making the challenge dire is the fact that it is not a mere two-front war that India faces, but more likely a ‘single continuous war’ along two fronts. This war, when it happens, might stretch from one extremity of the Indo-Pak boundary to the other end of the Indo-China border,” Dogra writes in ‘War Time The World In Danger’ (Rupa).

“In that case, India will have to contend with a ‘collaborative war’ that involves interoperability between China and Pakistan across the entire military spectrum. Such a war will be fought both in the deep seas and on the high Himalayas,” adds Dogra, who was India’s Ambassador to Italy, prior to which he served as Ambassador in Romania and as India’s last Consul General in Karachi.

Any willingness on India’s part to respond forcefully to China might be “welcomed” in the US, where successive administrations have sought to integrate India into America’s Indo-Pacific strategy but “this does not mean that the US will promptly jump into the fray”, Dogra writes, adding: “Therefore, when this war breaks out, India could well be reminded that the US has 47 treaty allies and it is not one of them.”

Noting that the nascent QUAD partnership “has yet to create its charter” and “languishes uncertainly” Dogra writes that President Joe Biden’s promise to transfer advanced technology, including submarine nuclear-propulsion to Australia under the AUKUS alliance “throws into stark relief India’s failure to acquire any significant high technology” from the US. “All that India has to show for its ‘strategic partnership’ is the nearly $22 billion worth of military hardware purchased from US companies,” he writes.

Dogra is also harsh on the US for its “mercantile” manner of dealing with India.

“It becomes difficult to nurture such

a relationship. But even if the US wishes to pursue a transactional relationship with India, it has to recognise the basic rule of transaction - that there are two parties to it. A relationship where only one side is expected to place high-value purchase order cannot, by definition, be termed transactional. As a result, doubts crop up and questions are raised by the Indian analysts: why did the US act so generously by transferring high technology and making huge investments in China?

Why did the US lavish money and arms on Pakistan? In stark contrast, why is it so mercantile and demanding when it comes to dealing with India,” the author asks.

“So, can India ever be an equal friend with the US? It seems unlikely as long as the US remains vastly superior to it and as long as America’s approach to relationships is transactional,” Dogra maintains.

As for Russia, the wariness in its relationship with China was “papered over” by a mutual need in the last decade.

“After Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the US, EU and Australia imposed sanctions on it. An unintended consequence of this decision was to turn Russia reflexively towards China. Over the next year, Russia struck a $400 billion deal for Gazprom to supply 38 billion cubic metres of gas annually to China.

This energy supply arrangement is not the only result of the western sanctions. The trade between the two countries has increased from $64 billion in 2015 to $147 billion in 2021, making China the largest trading partner of Russia,” Dogra points out.

Russia, he writes, “has continued to feel threatened by the West as it had been during the Cold War and in the centuries before that. As a consequence, it has chosen to walk into the willing arms of China”.

Even today, there continue to be many in Russia who consider the Indian relationship to be precious, “yet, the last few years, India has let it slide”, the author notes.

“One indication that Russians are miffed about it is (President Vladimir) Putin’s steadily briefer visits during Indo-Russian summits.

These are among other signals that all is not well with India’s relationship with Russia. Indo-Russian strategic linkages demand that these concerns should be quickly addressed, but India has been busy wooing the US,” Dogra writes.

In such a situation, with “no longer the assurance of a 1971-type of treaty with the Soviet Union to turn to in the time of need”, and with Russia and China “locked in an anti-America embrace, it leaves India in an uneasy position”, the author maintains.

Russia may be China’s “current brother but it has been India’s friend

empowerment in their homes.

“Lies Our Mothers Told Us” (Aleph) dares to ask and evaluate if, in our patriarchal society, the assertion that “women can have it all” comes at too high a price. Taking a unique look into the state of women in India’s middle class in the 21st century, the book uses the available data and in-depth interviews to reveal the real lives of Indian women across the country.

Authored by a brilliant award-winning journalist with over 20 years of experience in the field, Nilanjana Bhowmick’s book is an epiphanic read for every aspiring Indian woman.

Bhowmick has won three international awards for her reports on gender and development. She began her career as a producer for the BBC Asian Network in Birmingham and The World Today, the flagship

/IndianAbroadNews

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Vishnu Makhijani

over decades. In war, it might steer clear of taking sides. Therefore, it may pass on a few critical items to India and intelligence information to China. Whatever the ultimate alliances and partnerships, the consequences of an Indo-China war will be bad enough, but with Pakistan joining in, it will be the stuff of nightmares for India,” Dogra writes.

What then, are India’s options?

Dogra suggests a nine-point plan of action: * India needs to upgrade military technology with the latest in AI, drones and electronic warfare. * It needs to move away from its traditionally defensive approach because it is physically impossible for it to guard every inch of the over 6,800 km stretch of borders it shares with China and Pakistan. * It must invest in gray zone operations in the enemy areas. * It must adopt a whole of government approach in countering threats to its security. * Increasingly, India will have to find responses to the ‘cognitive war’ tactics of its enemies in addition to the possibility of ‘no contact’ warfare and the use of unmanned platforms in war. * There is no reason to expect that, in any future war with China and/or Pakistan, India will understand their nuclear Rubicon or that the Indian armed forces will not inadvertently cross one or more. * India must lessen its economic dependence on China in critical sectors. * The US has become an increasingly critical partner for India. But this dependence raises serious questions as to whether it actually enhances India’s strategic imperatives or if it opens up new vulnerabilities. * India’s effort should be to create issue-based coalitions. It will have to work with other countries who feel threatened by the overwhelming preponderance of the two great powers and who fear their marginalisation in a world of contention and strife.

Happily, much of this is work in progress.

(Vishnu Makhijani can be reached at vishnu.makhijani@ians.in)

current affairs programme of the BBC World Service Radio based in London.

She was the correspondent for TIME magazine’s South Asia bureau in New Delhi. She has written for the Washington Post, Al Jazeera, and National Geographic Magazine. Her non-fiction work, poetry, and short stories have appeared in several international anthologies.

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SCI-TECH

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

NASA now ready with Artemis 1 moon mission test launch

Washington, June 25: The US space agency has determined that its Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket is ready for the Artemis 1 flight test.

The agency will now roll SLS and Orion back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy next week to prepare the rocket and spacecraft for launch, NASA said in a statement late on Friday.

Artemis 1 will be the first integrated test of NASA’s deep space exploration systems -- the Orion spacecraft,

SLS rocket and supporting ground systems.

As the first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis 1 will pave the way for long-term exploration at the Moon in preparation for human missions to Mars.

“We have completed the rehearsal phase, and everything we’ve learned will help improve our ability to lift off during the target launch window,” said Tom Whitmeyer, deputy associate administrator for common exploration systems at NASA Headquarters.

“The team is now ready to take the next step and prepare for launch,” he added.

By reaching deep into the final phase of the countdown, known as the terminal count when many critical activities occur in rapid succession, teams exercised all the assets and capabilities of the entire system: the SLS rocket, the Orion

spacecraft, and Exploration Ground Systems including at Launch Complex 39B and other supporting locations.

“Our Artemis launch team has worked quickly to adapt to the dynamics of propellant loading operations. With each milestone and each test, we are another step closer to launch,” said Charlie BlackwellThompson, Artemis launch director at Kennedy.

Artemis 1 was earlier scheduled to launch in late May 2022. However, due to multiple delays in its wet dress rehearsal, the mega moon rocket has been pushed further.

The success of the final test could set the stage for its first launch in August, NASA had indicated earlier.

With the Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of colour on the Moon and establish long-term exploration in preparation for missions to Mars.

Explained: How BharatAgri leverages big data and analytics to improve farmer lives minimised. This helps our farmers conserve a lot of these chemicals as well as they experience better soil longevity due to less amount of chemicals in the soil.

New Delhi, June 24: As the Indian farmers embrace technologies like big data and analytics in improving crop yield, BharatAgri app is offering personalised crop advisory to the farmers by generating a personalised crop calendar using big data and analytics taking more than 30 parameters into account.

These parameters are collected from soil, water, satellite imaging, weather and other crop parameters, according to Siddharth Dialani, Co-founder at BharatAgri.

In general, the company was able to increase the income of farmers by 30-50 per cent by enhancing their productivity by 20-30 per cent and reducing costs by 10-20 per cent.

Here are the excerpts from an interview: Q: How are you leveraging big data and analytics to help farmers make better decisions?

A: Through our BharatAgri app, we offer personalised crop advisory to the farmers by generating a personalised crop calendar using big data and analytics taking more than 30 parameters into account. These parameters are collected from soil, water, satellite imaging, weather and other crop parameters.

BharatAgri farmers also get advice on the exact amount of fertilisers and pesticides along with their spray date enabling the farmer to save on the costs associated with these crop inputs. Through our satellite monitoring feature, we can gauge the farm performance and advise farmers before any probable pest attacks or nutritional deficiency in certain areas hence the production of the farm is maximised earning more income for the farmers.

In general, we have observed, we are able to increase the income of farmers by 30-50 per cent by increasing their productivity by 20-30 per cent and reducing costs by 10-20 per cent. BharatAgri farmer sees an increase in income by Rs 20,000 per acre in a year. And their costs go down by Rs 5,000 per acre in a year.

Q: Looking ahead 4-5 years, what are some of the technologies that excite you the most which can lead to more innovation/disruption in Indian agriculture?

A: In 4-5 years, we believe satellite imagery combined with the advanced machine learning models could replace the manual or physical testing of soil/water completely, helping the farmers monitor their farm health with better precision.

It will also help Agri-Tech firms like us to provide better real-time recommendations to the farmers about irrigation practices and optimise the usage of different nutritional and protectional components such as chemical fertilisers, pesticides and insecticides. Further improvements in predictive analytics on cohort-based user behaviour would lead to enhanced user experience www.indianabroad.news

of non-tech savvy users from tier 3 cities and rural areas.

We are also excited to see improved transparency across the Agri value chain as weather and satellite imagery based predictive analysis are integrated for market prices of crops. Another exciting technology emerging in the agriculture domain is image processing. With advanced algorithms, the crop health and produce quality can be analysed using images taken by the user. This would not only improve the real-time advice but also bring parity in crop prices based on quality of the produce.

Q: What are the challenges you face when it comes to farmers embracing new technologies? Tell us about your growth over the last few years and how many farmers currently use your app?

A: There are multiple reasons as to why farmers aren’t very comfortable using a digital app. One of the prominent reasons is the rural infrastructure around mobile networks and internet connectivity. Since a lot of farmers use low-end smartphones they are always struggling with storage issues, slow internet and even low mobile network range.

Another factor that adds to the issue is the apprehensiveness of farmers for using the digital payment services like UPI, net banking for making any sort of payments.

However, this has changed significantly in the last few years. The smartphone penetration has increased significantly in rural areas.

Farmers can now afford good quality phones with better storage capacity.

Moreover, the internet speed/quality is much better now in villages than a few years back.

Our app on the Google play store has been downloaded by more than 3.5 million users. We have impacted the lives of more than 30 lakh farmers so far from our app and currently we have more than 1.2 lakh active-paid farmers associated with us through our subscription service.

BharatAgri has successfully monetised the advisory services and users have now become comfortable in purchasing digital subscriptions.

Bundling that with value added services like crop-input ecommerce, talk-to-expert, etc have further increased uptake and retention.

Q: In terms of sustainability (conserving water, reducing carbon footprint etc.), how has the farmer and the agriculture landscape benefited due to your services?

A: Indian farms do not need as much chemical fertilizers as much are being added by the farmers.

Moreover, since farmers do not follow scientific techniques of pest prevention, they further end up using more chemical pesticides.

We advise farmers to use only the required amount of fertilisers and pesticides on their crops so that leaching and washing out is

In terms of environmental impact, BharatAgri has helped the farmers reduce their carbon footprint by 30 thousand tonnes of CO2 in the past 1 year and has saved 4.8 thousand tonnes of chemical fertilisers and 175 thousand litres of pesticides from going into the soil and then ultimately leaching into the groundwater.This would increase the soil longevity and would increase production from the farm. This reduction in the use of the chemical fertilisers and pesticides also helps maintain the pH and softness of the soil.

Q: What has cloud technology allowed you to do that you couldn’t do before?

A: Mainly, AWS allowed us to scale our operations as we onboard a large number of farmers on our platform.

We are planning to leverage Amazon forecast predictive learning models to help us create better personalised advisory recommendations for the farmers and help us improve the weather prediction of the next few weeks in advance. Our users are more comfortable with video and audio-based communications.

Hence, the digital cloud infrastructure becomes even more important for an app like BharatAgri.

Also, AWS IVS (Interactive Streaming Platform) will smoothen the video streaming on our app. One major impact of this would be that our farmers will now be able to play the video content even in the low mobile network areas having slow internet speed.

AWS also enabled us high computing performance through their high compute VMs. AWS also reduced the time for generating the personalised crop calendar for our farmers using our advisory generation model for a large set of farms in a more efficient or optimised way. These personalised crop calendars have helped us provide real time data analysis and decision support systems to farmers.

AWS has surely helped us improve our business performance as we are scaling our operations at a rapid rate. Overall, our estimates tell us that by using AWS services we have been able to reduce our technical costs by around 30 per cent and our time to market has increased by around 25 per cent.One of the major benefits of using AWS services is that we are experiencing a 50 per cent decrease in the latency, enabling our users to stream video content even at a very slow internet speed. We also experience very low down-time leading to improved availability of our app across all times.

In terms of business metrics, most importantly even though our users have scaled, the cost of serving the customer has come down significantly. We are currently spending 25 per cent less per paid subscriber.

And this can be attributed to AWS.

5 planets line up in rare planetary conjunction New York, June 25 (IANS) Five major planets -- Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn -- in our solar system are lined up in a row for rare planetary conjunction visible to the naked eye.

In a clear sky, the planets can be seen shining before dawn. It is a special opportunity to see Mercury, which is usually obscured from view by the Sun’s bright light, the BBC reported on Friday.

The conjunction was brightest on Friday morning but will remain visible until Monday from most

parts of the world.

The last time this conjunction happened was 2004 and it won’t be seen again until 2040, the report said.

The planets appear “like a string of pearls spread out from close to the horizon”, explains space scientist and chief stargazer at the Society for Popular Astronomy Prof Lucie Green.

It is also a special event because the planets appear in the order they are positioned from the sun.

That is not always the case for

FOOD & CUISINE

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

Mexican Style Tokri Chaat

Chai and Chaat!

planetary conjunctions because of our perspective from Earth looking into the solar system, Prof Green says.

On Friday, a crescent Moon also joined the line-up, appearing between Venus and Mars.

iOS users can now securely save their passwords in Chrome San Francisco, June 24: Tech giant Google has added a feature on Chrome browser on iOS that will help users quickly and securely create, store and fill in their passwords into any website or app on their device.

The company also announced few other features for the iPhone and iPad users.

“When it comes to getting things done on your iPhone and iPad, there’s no place like Chrome.

With the Chrome iOS app, you can securely save your passwords so there’s no need to keep guessing,” said Nasim Sedaghat, Product

Manager, Chrome in a blog post.

Among the new tools, a feature extends protections from phishing, malware and other web-based threats to iOS. If the users turn on ‘Enhanced Safe Browsing’ on their iPhone or iPad, Chrome predicts and warns users proactively if web pages are dangerous by sending information about them to ‘Google Safe Browsing’ to be checked.

The ‘Revamped’ home screen feature makes it easier for users to discover new content or start a fresh search in Chrome for iOS when they have been away for a while, users

will still be able to find all their recent tabs.

The company said it would soon roll out Chrome Actions on iOS to help users get more things done quickly from the Chrome address bar.

HP India brings new gaming portfolio to avid Indian gamers

New Delhi, June 23: HP India on Thursday updated its gaming lineup to offer best-in-class technology, enhanced performance and improved design to the avid Indian users.

With a starting price of Rs 67,999, the latest generation of HP’s gaming portfolio comprises new OMEN 16, OMEN 17, Victus 15, and Victus 16 laptops that are powered by Intel Core 12th Gen and AMD Ryzen 6000 series processors.

Vickram Bedi, Senior Director (Personal Systems), HP India Market, told IANS that the company is seeking to mainstream its offerings by catering to the needs of both casual and professional gamers.

“Today’s gamers need the right experience and technology to get the most out of gaming. They need innovative thermal technology and winning horsepower, stunning visuals, and larger screens supported with great accessories to elevate their gameplay,” he said.

Equipped with a 16.1-inch display

and 16:9 aspect ratio, OMEN 16 provides gamers with an immersive visual experience.

The micro-edge bezel display on the OMEN 17’s 17.3-inch screen gives edge-to-edge immersion for a more screen-to-chassis ratio.

Meanwhile, the Victus 15 offers a conventional backlit keyboard and a performance blue and Mica silver colour scheme.

The Victus 16 brings players to an approachable, yet elevated gaming experience that is infused with OMEN’s DNA. “We consistently strive to introduce innovative technology, basis consumer insights. Our focus is to enable the best gaming experience to our users and the market share is just the outcome of our customer’s trust in our brand,” Bedi said.

India’s gaming PC market has seen phenomenal growth in the last few years and industry data indicate that 8 lakh gaming notebooks were sold in the country in 2021, a massive

2,000 per cent growth in five years.

“We have seen record sales of gaming PCs which clearly point to a shift in trends. In some segments, the growth has been more than 50 per cent year-over-year (YoY), which is the highest across all PC categories,” Bedi told IANS. OMEN 16, OMEN 45L, 40L and 25L desktops, Victus 16 and Victus 15L desktops are now available on online and offline platforms.

Meanwhile, OMEN 17 and Victus 15 will be available soon.

June 22, 2022 (IANSlife) Chef Ranveer Brar shares a unique Mexican Style Tokri Chaat recipe to try this monsoon.

INGREDIENTS For Salsa 4-5 fresh Green chillies, chopped 2 cloves Garlic, chopped 1 inch Ginger, chopped 1 medium Onion, chopped 1 medium Tomato, chopped Salt to taste 1 tsp Sugar 2 tbsp Coriander leaves, chopped ¼ cup Tomato ketchup ¼ cup Sweet Corn kernels, boiled ¼ cup Rajma, boiled For Tokri 2 Tortillas Oil for frying For Mexican Masala 4 tbsp Cumin seeds 2 tbsp Coriander seeds 4-5 Dry red chilli 1 tbsp dry Oregano 15-20 Black pepper cons ½ tsp Salt

For Frying 2 medium Potatoes, boiled & cubed 1 tsp Preparation Mexican Masala 1 Tortilla, cut in strips 1 tsp Preparation Mexican Masala Other Ingredients Curd Lemon wedges Fresh Coriander leaves METHOD For Salsa In a bowl, add green chilli, garlic, ginger, onion, tomato, salt to taste.

Add sugar, coriander leaves, tomato ketchup, sweet corn kernels, rajma and mix everything well.

Keep aside for future use.

For Tokri Take a tortilla sheet and cut them thrice on equal distance and place in between two round spoons to give it a shape of a bowl then deep fry in hot oil on medium flame.

Until golden brown from all sides.

Onces it’s done keep aside for future use.

For Mexican Masala In a pan, add cumin seeds, coriander

seeds, dry red chilli, dry oregano, black peppercorns, salt and dry roast until fragrant.

Remove and let it cool down and grind it corsale.

Keep aside for future use.

For Frying Heat oil in a kadai, add the cube potato and fry on medium flame until nice crispy and golden brown from all the sides.

Remove in an absorbent paper .

Transfer it into a bowl, add prepared mexican masala mix it well.

Cut the tortilla into strips. Fry the strips on medium flame until nice crisp and golden in color.

Once it’s done transfer it into a bowl sprinkle prepared masala mix it well and keep it aside for future use.

For Assembling In a serving plate, firstly add prepared salsa, fried tokri on top of it.

Add curd, fried potato mixture, prepared salsa, curd, sprinkle some mexican masala.

Garnish it with lemon wedge and coriander leaves.

Homemade salads to beat the summer heat Salads are high in nutritional value and provide a healthy boost to your diet

By N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe June 22, 2022 (IANSlife) The monsoons might be here, but the heat isn’t going anywhere, necessitating easy and light eating options. Salads are a cool and healthy way to stay cool in the summer. They are high in nutritional value and provide a healthy boost to your diet.

“Salads protect you from a variety of diseases and provide you with the benefits of cold-pressed edible oils, raw vegetables, and fruit.

They contain enough fibre, protein, minerals, and vitamins when consumed on a regular basis”, says Shubhrata Anil, Co-owner & CEO of Trikuta Oils Jammu.

Anils shares homemade salad recipes to beat summer heat: Cranberry Apple Chicken Salad This salad is loaded with all the goodness of fruits. Cranberry contains vitamins C, A and K in it and is rich in antioxidants. This fruit has all kinds of health-boosting benefits. Apple is rich in vitamin C and antioxidants and even it is good for the immune system. Chicken is rich in iron, low in calories and it’s packed with vitamin A. Recipe: Take 1 cup of cranberry, 1 cup of diced apple, diced and dry chicken and some chopped spring onion. Mix all of them and for dressing, you need 2 tbsps of walnut oil, a cup of cashew, some garlic and some water add salt as per your taste in it then grind them in a mix. After that, mix this cream into your salad and enjoy it.

Broccoli Cranberry Salad It is the easiest and healthier salad which you can make in a few minutes. Broccoli is loaded with vitamins, minerals, fibre and antioxidants. Even it has vitamin A, C, K and B9, and selenium in it.

Cranberry is high in antioxidants and contains a good amount of vitamin K. Recipe: Take some chopped broccoli, onion, bell pepper and dry cranberry, pumpkin and sesame seed and some chopped almonds.

Mix them all in a bowl and add some salt to it. For the dressing, make cashew cream that takes a handful of cashews, 2 to 3 garlic, 2 tbsp sweet almond oil and some water, grind them perfectly and use it on your salad.

Green Bean Salad with Egg Topping This bean salad is incredibly tasty.

Dress it up with hard-boiled egg, parsley, and crispy breadcrumbs to make it a meal. It’s the ideal salad to make ahead of time since the flavours deepen as it sits in the fridge.

Ingredients of Green Bean Salad with Egg Topping: Gram Green beans-topped Olive oil Butter White breadcrumbs Parsley, chopped 1 Egg - (hard-boiled and shelled) Salt How to Make Green Bean Salad with Egg Topping: Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil.

Add the beans and cook for 6 minutes.

Drain well and toss the beans in olive oil and allow it to cool.

Heat the butter in a large frying pan and add the breadcrumbs and fry until they turn golden.

Why yoga and walnuts are Sacred Food of India now in NFT your go-to health essentials Michelin Star chef Vikas Khanna joins hands with Akshaya.io to create a NFT of his magnum opus “Sacred Foods of India”

Indulge in a handful of walnuts to fix your mid-meal hunger pangs

Indian auto ancillaries moving towards EVs, green manufacturing

Venkatachari Jagannathan

Chennai, June 23 (IANS) Sensing a global opportunity in the electric vehicles (EV) segment, Indian automotive ancillaries are shifting gears in sync with the trend, said a top industry sector official.

Many of the players in the $46 billion (FY21) industry are also supplying to non-auto sectors like defence, railways and aerospace, Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) President Sunjay J. Kapur said.

“About 60 per cent of our Executive Committee members (about 50) are ready to supply components for EVs and the remaining 40 per cent will be ready next year. EV is an opportunity for Indian auto component makers. Electrification is happening by government regulation and consumer demand,” Kapur told IANS. He said the vehicle makers have an EV platform for most of the new models.

Also auto ancillaries are also moving towards sustainable/green manufacturing, Kapur added.

Given this, auto ancillaries are also investing towards future and EV technologies in the areas of telematics, display units and others like sustainable manufacturing technologies.

Kapur said 75 companies have been approved under the Productivity Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.

Each one of them has to invest about Rs 250 crore over a period of five years to benefit under the PLI scheme and the quantum of investment is a whopping Rs 18,750 crore.

According to Kapur, the majority of the new investments will be for catering to the emerging EV segment with future technologies.

/IndianAbroadNews

“Electrification of the automobile industry will not wipe out the component sector that primarily catered to the internal combustion engine vehicle segment,” ACMA Director General Vinnie Mehta told IANS. About the market, Kapur said the domestic demand for vehicles is strong and would continue to be so as the macro-economic factors are also strong.

The $10 billion replacement/ retail market is also good for the component industry as many people postponed new vehicle purchases during the past two years owing to Covid pandemic, he added.

“The chip shortage will grow the second hand car segment which in turn would increase the after market sales of auto components,” Kapur said.

Like the common parts for various vehicle models, vehicle makers are also looking at commonality/ standardisation of semiconductor chips that can be used for different applications.

According to Kapur, the nature of the after market will also undergo a change like the Original Equipment Manufacturing sector as the products will be more advanced.

Queried about the industry looking at diversifying its customer base by looking at sectors like aerospace, he said: “We are looking at the industry as a mobility industry. It is a matter of understanding what it takes to supply the aerospace sector.”

Rocket maker Agnikul Cosmos co-founder Srinath Ravichandran had told IANS that they “source off-the-shelf products of auto

/indianabroadnews

component vendors. Electronic boards, parts, sensors and others that are used in automobiles can also be used in the rockets with tweaking”.

Auto component makers used to look at other sectors like defence, railways for sales when the vehicle sales hit a downslide and revert back when automobile sales pick up.

On green manufacturing, Brakes India Private Ltd will make green iron castings out of its foundry at Naidupeta in Andhra Pradesh for Sweden’s Volvo Group.

According to Volvo, the green castings, which will be produced by Brakes India, utilise scrap, alloys, and raw materials which are 100 per cent radioactive elements free.

The production involves recycling of 100 per cent metallic scrap generated by other industries to manufacture a usable product.

The plant will operate on 100 per cent green power from solar and wind energy.

Meanwhile Kapur and Mehta said the Indian auto ancillaries sector is expected to log 10 per cent growth in FY23, similar to what is expected for FY22.

The FY22 industry numbers are being collated, Mehta said.

(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at v.jagannathan@ians.in)

26

Remove the pan from the heat and add the chopped parsley and then grate in the egg.

Place the beans in a shallow box and spoon on the breadcrumb topping.

The salad can be prepared in advance and then chilled until needed Quinoa and Chickpeas Salad This quinoa and chickpea salad is highly rich in protein. In the past couple of decades, quinoa has been quite popular as it is gluten-free and nutritious and higher in fibre and helps us to live longer. Chickpea is rich in fibre and vitamin B6, copper and zinc. Chickpea helps to control blood sugar and promotes weight control.

Recipe- Take cooked quinoa and boiled chickpea and chopped kale.

Add them to a bowl; put some salt, and squeeze a few drops of lemon, pumpkin seed and olive oil. Get it a nice mix and enjoy your salad.

By N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe June 21, 2022 (IANSlife) Amid hectic work schedules, tentative vacay plans, and the never-ending to-do list that’s lingering on us, you’d agree that we are all doing the best we can to live the fullest and stay fit in our small but unique way. And days like, June 21, which is celebrated every year as International Yoga Day, act as a gentle reminder to embrace health and wellness.

According to the Ministry of AYUSH, yoga is key to improving flexibility, strength, balance, and attaining harmony. And its popularity across the globe is proof enough.

What is important to remember here, however, is the fact that this ancient practice alone can’t help you achieve your health and fitness goals. Yoga and a nutritious, balanced diet go hand in hand, and eating the right foods ensure your body gets the essential nutrients it requires for optimal health - not just body but also minds.

“Adding a handful of walnuts to your daily diet can set you off to a great start and fuel your brain and body”, shares Naaznin Husein, Nutritionist, Yoga Consultant, and founder of Freedom Wellness Management, “By a handful, approx. 28g of walnuts that contain 4g protein, 2g fiber, and 2.5g plant-based omega-3 ALA. All these beneficial nutrients are known

www.indianabroad.news

to support the health of our heart, brain, and gut.”

Did you know that California walnuts are produced under stringent quality controls that exceed California inspection standards, reputed to be the world’s toughest?

It’s a long road from planting a walnut orchard to delivering fresh, delicious walnuts to our local markets. Not only this, these wonderful crunchy and mildly sweet wonder nuts, when added to our daily diet, can help in overall wellness, shows research: Say hello to a healthy heart: Loaded with good fats (plant-based omega-3 ALA), walnuts, as part of a nutritious and balanced diet, may decrease the risk of heart disease and stroke.1They help maintain healthy cholesterol levels and decrease blood pressure, two of the major risk factors for heart disease.2,3 Focus on immunity: Walnuts are a good source of plant-based vitamin B, zinc, and selenium - the trio that boasts of the potential to ensure normal functioning of our immune system as per FSSAI’s Eat Right During Covid 19 guidelines.4 Weight maintenance: Most of us exercise to lose weight and get into the perfect shape. While walnuts may not make you shed those extra calories, they sure help along the way. Research shows walnuts’

potential role in influencing appetite hormones that make you feel full for longer. Which, in turn, avoids unnecessary cravings.5 Reduce the risk of diabetes: One of India’s most common and concerning diseases is diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes. It has been discovered that walnuts, as part of a healthy diet, may help manage diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

A study representing more than 34,000 American adults suggests those who consume walnuts may have about half the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, compared to adults who do not eat nuts.6 Here are some quick hacks Nutrition and Yoga expert, NaazninHusein recommends adding walnuts into the daily diet regime : Blend it into your pre-workout/ post-workout smoothie to keep yourself energized.

Toss it into your salad or trail mix to transform them into an omega-3rich meal/snack.

Add them to your curries and tikkas, and you can say goodbye to the cream for good.

Coat your meat and seafood with chopped walnuts for that extra crunch and nutrition quotient.

Indulge in a handful of walnuts to fix your mid-meal hunger pangs.

June 24, 2022 (IANSlife) Vikas Khanna, a Michelin-starred chef, has collaborated with Akshaya.io, the world’s first ‘Phygital’ platform, to create NFT of his magnum opus work, “Sacred Food of India,” a limited-edition book that includes recipes for prasad and foods served at various holy sites across the country. The physical and NFT versions of the book were unveiled at a Gala event on June 23rd in Dubai.

Akshaya.io will create Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) of the book, allowing Vikas Khanna fans and those interested in rare collectibles to own original NFTs in addition to the physical book. This purchase guarantees the uniqueness of this limited-edition work, and ownership of the asset cannot be duplicated in any way. This is Chef Vikas Khanna’s first collaboration with a Web 3.0 enterprise, and he plans to create

/IndianAbroadNews

more augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) assets of his works and creations in the future.

Commenting on this collaboration, Ganesh Raju, CEO, Akshaya.io said, “We are happy to be associated with Chef Vikas Khanna, to create NFTs of his magnum opus work, Sacred Foods of India. Web 3.0 is all set to transform utility of internet to unimaginable levels, and this is the right period to create Phygital (physical + digital) assets that will gain prominence with time.

Considering Chef Vikas Khanna’s popularity and the uniqueness of this book, we expect the NFTs of this work will acquire great eminence as time passes...”

“In these fast-changing times when the world of internet is metamorphosing into the future rapidly, it is important we take the big leap forward. ‘Sacred Foods of India’ is very

dear to my heart, and I wish this will be a prized possession for those who are interested in buying or investing into works of passion. I am happy to be associated with Akshaya.io, World’s first ‘Phygital’ platform, which will enhance user experience by generations. The clarity in vision of those behind Akshaya.io makes me believe, together we are going to create a great asset via this launch.

I welcome one and all to be a part of my journey, as I take a giant vault into the new age of internet,” added Chef Vikas Khanna.

While the technology world has been discussing augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), machine learning (ML), and artificial intelligence (AI), the emergence of Metaverse, which can be defined as a simulated digital environment using all of the previously mentioned tools as well as blockchain, is poised to mimic the real world. The new digital spectrum has created new assets and trading channels for them. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are digital assets that can be used to trade across products, including those that are only available online.

A non-transferable token (NFT) is a non-transferable unit of data stored on a blockchain that can be sold or traded. Metaverse, NFT, and other advanced tools are part of the Web 3.0 transformation that the world is currently experiencing.

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27

SPIRITUALITY

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

Different Interpretations of Vedanta in Kabir’s Songs

Kumbh 2025 to be grander than previous one, says UP govt

NEW RELEASES

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

HIT: THE FIRST CASE

SHAMSHERA

T

By Paddy Krishnan s I have observed before, there are many different interpretations of the Upanishads including Advaita (monism or which identifies the Atman with the Ultimate called Brahman), Vishishtadvaita (qualified monism or Atman is part of Brahman but not identical) and Dvaita (dualism where Atman and Brahman are disjoint). Both Vishishtadvaita and Dvaita emphasise the role of Bhakti (devotion) to get Moksha (salvation) while in Advaita, Bhakti is only a stepping stone as one needs Jnana or wisdom to realise that unity of Atman and Brahman. In this article I will present three of Kabir’s songs that can be used to illustrate how Kabir addresses ideas from Vendanta. He does not explicitly support any specific interpretation and allows the listener to have different interpretations.

The first song is “Nar tum joothe” and can be found at YouTube (please search with song title). Here the word “joothe” should be translated as Mithya and not false. As noted earlier Mithya is something that is not eternal and not something that is an illusion or unreal. The song states that any individual who focuses on the transient world will be wasting their life. They will be caught up in Samsara till they change their focus away from anything that is Mithya.

The house that one has and the food that one eats is all Mithya. People who get married should realise their partners are also Mithya. Hence all marriages are not eternal. The married couple’s children and the food fed to the children are also Mithya. As only Brahman is eternal, confusing Mithya with Brahman will only result in suffering. So it is important to distinguish what is eternal and what is not eternal.

The song is clearly espousing Advaita. All desires including wealth (e.g., houses, rich food), spouse, children are part of this material world. None of them will be everlasting. So being overly attached to these things will not bring about eternal peace (or Moksha). This is not to say that one cannot find happiness in wealth and family. One must remember that such happiness cannot be eternal (and hence “joothe” or Mithya). Hence one has to be prepared for such happiness to end. Everything other than God (Brahman) is not eternal.

The second song is “Maati Kahe Kumhar Se”. A simple tune for this song can be found at YouTube

he Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is gearing up to make the Kumbh Mela in 2025 more majestic and grand than the one held in 2019.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed officials to complete the arrangements well before time, especially in view of the fact that general elections will keep the state administration busy in 2024.

The state government expects a high footfall of pilgrims in Kumbh in 2025.

In 2019, over 24 crore devotees from across the world had attended Ardh Kumbh and the number is likely to double in 2025.

“Besides, we are expecting a strong tourist flow from Prayagraj to Kashi this time since the Kashi Vishwanath Dham corridor is a major attraction for pilgrims. We will provide world class facilities

A

(please search with song title). The essence of the song is that one should not be obsessed with the body and the material world. The song is about the clay talking to the potter and can be summarised as follows. It states that the potter should not think she/he is superior to the clay. The clay observes that the potter may be moulding it today, but one day the clay will mould the potter’s dead body. Everyone, be they king, saint or pauper has to die. What matters in the long run is only where they were good or bad.

The good will attain Moksha (i.e., be carried on a throne) while the others will be in Samsara (similar to be being bound in chains, or grains caught in a grinding stone). The two wheels of the grinding stone represent happiness and sorrow. Getting caught between them only leads to long term suffering.

All sentient beings are one and hence one must treat everyone the same. Cheating others will bring sorrow. Hence it is necessary to be honest. Kabir emphasises the importance of recognising everyone’s role in society. One should not say that one’s job is superior to another’s job. Kabir observes that even those who are weak may have hidden powers (e.g., the ability to curse the powerful). The lifeless bellows might only blow air but, used properly, it can be used to generate heat. This increased heat can be used to melt iron. Hence one cannot conclude that the iron is superior to the bellows. Kabir emphasises that those who remember God only when they are in trouble, will always face difficulty. Those who have faith in God all the time will face no difficulty. This refers to the mental attitude necessary for proper Bhakti where one has surrendered to God. Kabir also notes the ephemeral nature of life. He compares life and death like a leaf on a branch. The leaf will eventually separate from the branch and be blown away by the wind.

Similarly, all of us will eventually be separated and will never meet in the current physical form.

This song can be interpreted in various ways. From an Advaitic perspective, it talks about the unity of

everything. But other interpretations also also valid because it does not explicitly state that one’s true self is identical to Brahman. The main idea is that one’s true self is not one’s body. Just like in the first song, this song also gives concrete examples to make the idea accessible to everyone. For instance, being caught between the grinding stones provides the imagery for pain. Similarly, the eternal separation of the body after it passes is captured by the relationship between the leaf and the branch. Kabir clearly focuses on Bhakti in this song. But Kabir does not explicitly recommend one path (Jnana or Bhakti) as being better than the other.

The third song is “Moko Kahan Dhundhere Bande” is about God asking where are you searching for me. A simple rendition can be found at YouTube (please search with song title). The song makes it clear that one need not go on pilgrimages, go to places of worship, be focussed on religious icons to find God. One need to become a renunciate or a monk either. God cannot be found in actions such as praying, meditation or fasting. God is beyond the vital forces of the body (e.g., the breath).

God is also beyond the various elements of this world such as fire, earth, water, air and space. One can discover God in oneself, if one has complete faith that everyone is inherently divine. This type of faith can be different from the Dvaita interpretation of Bhakti where God is separate from oneself. Faith in universal divinity will enable one to earnestly look for God and discover that God is within all of us.

This song is also about discovering the divinity in oneself and does not take a position on any specific school of Vendanta. For instance, the idea that God is in everyone can be used to link it to both Vishishtadvaita or Advaita. That is, a follower of Vishishtadvaita will interpret this as we are all part of God. Hence God exists within us.

Advaita equates God with one’s true self. Because all of us have an Atman, which is nothing but Brahman (or God), the song is about discovering God who is in all of us.

to devotees and pilgrims,” said an official spokesperson.

Yogi Adityanath will be attending a high-level meeting regarding Kumbh 2025 preparations in Prayagraj next month.

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Maurya, who is also reviewing preparations, said, “We anticipate footfall to double. Devotees will

throng Prayagraj to take holy dip and to get a glimpse of the rich Indian culture, tradition, and spirituality on the banks of the Ganga.

“The state government has started its planning and preparations for the forthcoming Kumbh and aims to complete all the development projects before the Kumbh.”

‘Sahaj Yoga is the only solution for world peace’

O

n the occasion of International Day of Yoga, IANS spoke to Pradeep Chauhan, Vice Chairman, The Life Eternal Trust, Delhi, who spoke about another aspect of yoga which is through Kundalini awakening.

He said that Sahaj Yoga is biggest gift to humanity and lakhs of people benefited from it. Here are excerpts from the interview: Q. You are practising Sahaj Yoga for many years. How do you view the transformation?

A. Sahaj Yoga is nothing but awakening of Kundalini which is the storehouse of power and a primordial mother. As a primordial mother, she gives you self-realisation, she nourishes you and you get the state of thoughtless awareness.

Sahaj Yoga is the biggest gift of Her Holiness Mataji Shri Nirmala Devi to mankind. Personally, I have seen complete transformation in myself and on a daily basis we are observing how people from all walks of life are benefited by Sahaj Yoga.

Q. You said this is the gift of Her Holiness Mataji Shri Nirmala Devi.

She was an Indian and follower of Hindu religion. Can a Muslim, Jew or Christian follow it without any hesitation?

A. As I said, this is a universal religion. We have our own Kundalini and this Kundalini passes through our seven chakras. These chakras are evolved during different stages of human evolution and represent different deities. Universally, human being is one with one Kundalini and seven chakras. Bifurcation of religion happened in different stages of human lives and we never consolidated our religious knowledge to understand that every region is same. But time has come when we should take this forward and use it for our benefit and the benefit of the whole world.

Q. How the world can get the benefit of Sahaj Yoga?

A. Sahaj Yoga gives you peace, forces

you to love another person automatically. When you are peaceful and want to love another human being, where is the fight? Today, we are fighting for our territorial rights, airspace, waterways and disruption in others’ lives is the main purpose.

World over, security agencies are funding different people to create disruptions but in gain you are not getting anything. Sahaj Yoga is the only solution for world peace, inner peace and emancipation of human being.

Q. Does Sahaj Yoga cure mental and physical diseases also?

A. Once Kundalini is awakened, we become one with divine and divine takes over. The immediate impact is that the mind becomes peaceful and the human being comes into balance. Your nervous system reacts positively to this awakening. With this peace you can sleep better, think better and behave positively.

All three are important components of human life and affects home, society, country and the world. Inner peace is important prerequisite for peace in the world.

Q. You said this is a universal religion. This is practised only in India or globally people are doing this?

A. Sahaj Yoga is practised all over the world. More than 100 countries are following Sahaj Yoga. In India alone, we have 1,200 Sahaj Yoga centres and almost five lakh people are following this. They are spreading this message of love and peace to the whole world.

This year is the 100th birthday celebration year of Her Holiness Mataji Nirmala Devi and celebrations have already been launched for a year, named as Shri Adi Shakti Mahotsav Varsh. During this we will tell people about the Kundalini awakening and all over the world we will go to the public to tell them about this hidden power in us.

On March 19, 2023, we will hold a big public programme in Delhi with lakhs of people and we are hopeful that millions will get their self-realisation. Today is an important day when India is celebrating Yoga Day. We have also informed people about this beautiful gift of Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi to mankind.

Q. This is free or we have to pay something? And it involves some kind of pain or any other thing which is uncomfortable?

A. This is an immediate process and happens instantly provided you have pure desire. Sahaj Yoga practice and Kundalini awakening is absolutely free and easy. Sahaj Yoga tells you the importance of collectivity and one day you realise that you have a much bigger world where there is no Indo-Pak, Indo-China or US-Russia tension.

Sahaj Yogis from all countries are meeting with love and staying together for many days. They meditate to achieve one common goal.

To know more about it, you can visit our website - www.nirmaldham.org - or visit our centres both in India and other parts of the world.

RELEASE DATE: 15 July 2022 LANGUAGE: Hindi (With English Subtitles) PRODUCER: Wall Poster Cinema DIRECTOR: Sailesh Kolanu CAST: Rajkummar Rao, Sanya Malhotra

SYNOPSIS: Vikram Jaisingh, a 32 years old police officer working for the homicide Intervention Team (HIT) of Rajasthan is battling with his own traumatic past. He gets advised by his well-wishers and his girlfriend, to take sabbatical and heal. But, when an 18 year old girl called Preethi goes mysteriously

missing on the ring road of Jaipur, Vikram realizes that the case has a personal connection and he has no other option but to step in and find the girl, despite the investigation inducing panic attacks and anxiety at every stage.

RELEASE DATE: 22 July 2022 LANGUAGE: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu (With English Subtitles) PRODUCER: Yash Raj Films DIRECTOR: Karan Malhotra CAST: Ranbir Kapoor, Vaani Kapoor,

CHALLA MUD KE NI AYA

LAAL SINGH CHADDHA

RELEASE DATE: 29 July 2022

RELEASE DATE: 11 August 2022 LANGUAGE: Hindi (With English Subtitles) PRODUCER: Aamir Khan

Sanjay Dutt SYNOPSIS: Shamshera is a period drama film set in the pre-Independence era of the 1800s. It chronicles the story of a dacoit tribe fighting against the British for their rights

and independence. The film is believed to be the Indian adaptation of Howard Pyle’s “Merry Adventures of Robin Hood” with a few creative liberties in line

SHABAASH MITHU

Some easy ways to get rid of negative energies from our home Home is our sacred place where we recharge ourselves to deal with everyday activities. We relax and get positive energy from here. But when the energy of our home gets disturbed, we cannot achieve peace of mind. So, what are the best ways and techniques to balance the energy of our home?

Let air and Sunlight in: The sun is the source of lots of positive energy. Think of those frozen days and nights and your happiness knew no boundaries if you saw a glimpse of the sun. That’s the power and impact of the sun on your mind. It’s an excellent way to kill negativity from your mind as well as your surroundings. Life is air, if it stops for a minute we will not be able to survive so air brings a lot of life to our home. So every morning no matter how sleepy you are do open your windows and curtains and allow these energies to flow in.

Use Rock Salt to cleanse your home: It’s an age-old technique and very effective. Salt has a great potential to absorb negativity. One can clean the house with salt water simply www.indianabroad.news

sprinkle some salt at the entrance gate and let it rest there for a couple of hours and clean it. The same thing can be done inside the house if negativity is felt Then simple sprinkle rick salt on all the corners of your house and keep it overnight then clean it the next day. Salt can also be kept in a glass bottle in washrooms and should be changed every week.

Smoke cleansing: This is an ancient technique and we all have seen in our house as a ritual

while praying incense sticks are burnt.This is called smoke cleansing.

There are various herbs which can be used for this purpose like Palo Santo, Sage,Camphor or essential oils.You can rotate these clockwise and think that all the negativity is getting wiped off.

Placement of certain crystals: Crystals as we all know are natural stones and they are very powerful in their own way for various purposes.

Crystals can be the best way to remove the negative energies from

your house and even they can act as a shield to let negativity enter your house. Black tourmaline, Obsidian, Tigers eye or SulemaniHaqiq are a few crystals that can be used as per the need. It’s always a good idea to place them at the entrance, living room and by the bedside.

Sound cleansing: Sound has amazing power to convert negative energy into positive energy. There are various techniques that can be used like playing anychants or mantras, and

/IndianAbroadNews

playingsoft music.Use of sound bowls and altar bells can be used.

It instantly lifts up the positive energies which can be felt easily.

Be careful while placing things: The decorative you place should not be broken or they should not reflect any negativity.If you like flowers make sure that you are using fresh flowers and changing them from time to time before they completely dry up.There should not be any sharp things placed around the area where you sit. The haphazard arrangement should be avoided.

De-cluttering: Energies get blocked in things which are kept unused for a long time. So it’s very important to identify things which are of no good now and get rid of them,be it anything clothes,gadgets or equipment.

It is also very important that your gadgets are in a functioning state. If not either get them repaired or buy a new one.

These are just a few techniques.

There are many more which can be followed. We shall talk about them in our upcoming series.

/indianabroadnews

Ridhi Mehta Ridhi Mehta is a practicing numerologist,healer,tarot card reader, crystal expert and hypnotherapist.

She entered the field of occult around 5years back.She has her Youtubechannel by the name Insights by Ridhii. Ridhi comes from a corporate background having an experience of more than 10 years.

However, she has always inclined towards the world of divination.

So, she followed her heart and after taking professional qualifications she started practicing the science.

She also taught over two hundred students in the above fields.

She has many success stories and believes that if we understand to work with energies then there are many things that we can alter in our lives.

She can be contacted on ridhi22_mehta@yahoo.co.in / +918054317326 for any queries/ consultations/ classes.

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www.indianabroad.news

LANGUAGE: Punjabi (With English Subtitles)

Productions, Viacom18 Studios and Paramount Pictures DIRECTOR: Advait Chandan CAST: Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor

/IndianAbroadNews

RELEASE DATE: 15 July 2022 LANGUAGE: Hindi (With English Subtitles)

/indianabroadnews

DIRECTOR: Srijit Mukherji CAST: Taapsee Pannu

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ENTERTAINMENT

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

Hindi cinema’s Baghdad-born musical prince - and his fatal gift

O

ne morning, this Bollywood music composer was called up by none other than “Malika-e-Ghazal” Begum Akhtar, who was so taken by one of his compositions that she insisted on singing it fully to him -- over a long distance trunk-call. That was the superlative talent -- and the undoing -- of Madan Mohan.

The talent was well proved when he was nominated for two top posthumous awards -- nearly three decades after his untimely demise -- and won one of them (IIFA, not Filmfare) for the Shah Rukh KhanPreity Zinta cross-border romance “Veer-Zaara” (2004).

This featured some of his unused tunes, found and revised by his son Sanjeev Kohli at Yash Chopra’s insistence. In fact, Lata Mangeshkar, who had closely worked with Madan Mohan and rendered some of his most sublime creations, had tears in her eyes at the recording.

But why did Madan Mohan, who gave up the gun for the baton, never get the same popularity and opportunities that his contemporaries did and spiralled into a vortex of despair, disillusionment, and drink that caused his death at just 51?

That is despite an oeuvre spanning “Teri aankhon ke siva duniya mein” to “Zaroorat hai, zaroorat hai”, “Dil dhoondta hai, fursat ke raat din” to “Koi patthar se na maare mere diwaane ko”, “Naina barse rimjhim rimjhim” to “Jhumka gira re”, and “Ruke ruke se kadam”.

Let’s look at his life first. Born on June 25, 1924, in Baghdad, where his father Rai Bahadur Chunilal Kohli was working with the Iraqi Police, Madan Mohan spent his early years in the Middle East. His family returned to India in 1932 and he completed his elementary education in Lahore, where he also picked up some rudimentary music knowledge, but was never formally trained.

The family shifted to Bombay subsequently and there he began participating in children’s programmes on AIR right from the age of 11. He went on to complete his education and joined the army in 1943.

Music, however, proved to be his first -- and enduring -- love and he demobilised after the Second World War ended in 1945, and began his tryst with Bollywood.

In the meantime, he took up a job with AIR, first in Lucknow, and then in Delhi, where he came in contact with classical music luminaries such as Ustad Faiyaz Khan, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, and Begum Akhtar -- and they influenced his music.

He started off in the film industry in 1948, serving as an assistant to S.D. Burman. He got his first break in 1950 with “Aankhen”, where he also struck up his long relationship with Mohammad Rafi.

Over the next two and a half decades, he went on to score the music of 90 films, most of them being obscure or less known. In all, Madan Mohan used in his penchant for classical music to fashion unique melodies and the magic of a host of talented singers and skilled lyricists accomplished the rest.

Right from the beginning of his www.indianabroad.news

career, though, it was evident that Madan Mohan literally “moved to his own tune”. Attacked by music purists for “superficial” use of ragas and by populists for not churning out those peppy, foot-tapping numbers that swayed the masses, he steadfastly struck to his own way.

And as his compositions show -- take “Jana tha humse door”, “Yun hasraton ke daag” and “Unko yeh shikayat hai” from one film, the romantic tragedy “Adalat” (1958) -- he was the gold standard.

Madan Mohan was himself aware that he would earn more acclaim from connoisseurs and his peers than from the public -- even Lata Mangeshkar once confessed that she found his compositions hard to master -- but he doggedly stuck to his path.

And then, he sometimes tried too hard and forgot to see if his score was film-appropriate -- a romantic comedy such as “Dekh Kabira Roya” (1958), which had no top stars, had classical-tinged pieces like “Humse aaya na gaya”, “Kaun aaya mere man” and “Lagan tose lagi balma”.

All this cumulatively took a toll, and added to the predilection of production houses for their favoured composers, it meant he never got enough work as he deserved. But what he did still retains its lustre, freshness, and appeal.

Let’s now look as some of his representative work.

“Ai dil mujhe bataa de” -- “Bhai Bhai” (1956) was possibly the first film in which Ashok Kumar and Kishore Kumar shared screen space with “Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi” (1958) still some way off. One of the best compositions from this film was this love song rendered by Geeta Dutt with the shy but seductive allure she had come to perfect. The lyricist was Rajinder Krishan.

It was “Qadar jaane na more balam”

by Lata, however, that piqued the fancy of Begum Akhtar, who crooned it out to Madan Mohan over the phone.

“Aapki nazron ne samjha” -- Picturised on Mala Sinha, this song from “Anpadh” (1962), a film with a social message, and one of Dharmendra’s earliest in the ‘chocolate boy’ phase, exhibits all the freshness and promise of summertime. The enchanting music is ably backed by Lata’s superlative voice and the mesmerising lyrics of Raja Mehdi Ali Khan.

The film also has “Hai isi mein pyaar kii abru”, which reportedly impressed Naushad so much that he expressed his readiness to exchange his whole corpus for this.

“Lag jaa gale ki phir ye haseen raat ho na ho” -- This wistful melody from suspense thriller “Woh Kaun Thi” (1964), remarkably redolent of the fleeting transience of time, life, and love, is also arguably among Madan Mohan’s finest, for the range of emotions it evokes. Picturised on Manoj Kumar and Sadhna, it had Lata to voice it, and the incomparable Raja Mehdi Ali Khan to provide the lyrics.

“Kar chale ham fida jaan-o-tan sathiyo” -- The searing “Haqeeqat” (1964), based on the India-China

war, is arguably the best war film from Hindi cinema. All its songs, say, the soldiers’ hearfelt but slightly mocking exposition of their loneliness in “Ho ke majbur mujhe usne bhulaya hoga”, rendered by Rafi, Talat Mehmood, Bhupinder, and Manna De, or the restrained lament of their families back at home in “Zara si aahat hoti hai”, stand out, but this stirring song of the supreme sacrifice sends goosebumps. Rafi does full justice to the vivid imagery invoked by Kaifi Azmi.

“Phir wohi shaam, wahi gham, wahi tanhai hai” -- It is not difficult to understand why Madan Mohan was conferred the title of “Ghazal ka Shehzadaa” by Lata. This angst-filled ghazal from “Jahan Ara” (1964), rendered in the slightly hesitant, slightly quavering voice of Talat Mehmood, compares well with his own “Sham-e-gham ki qasam” from over a decade earlier and can hold its own in any list of top film ghazals. The lyricist was Rajinder Krishan.

“Aapke pahlu mein aakar ro diye” -It is very difficult to pick from Sunil Dutt-Sadhna thriller “Mera Saaya” (1966), when other gems such as “Nainon mein badra chhaye” or “Nainon wali ne” are also there. But this one takes an edge with Rafi interjecting the right amount of pathos and pain in this male-only song. The capable and dependable Raja Mehdi Ali Khan again contributed the lyrics.

“Kabhi ae haqeeqat-e-muntazar” -- Hindi cinema has had some of the top Urdu poets of the time writing for it, or has, otherwise, felt free to pick up their work for its use. This ghazal, by Sir Mohammad Iqbal, is scarcely easy to understand, render, and set to music with its profound Urdu and deep references, but Madan Mohan pulled it off for Lata with his usual panache. The film was “Dulhan Ek Raat Ki” (1966) and it is picturised on Nutan.

“Ye duniya ye mehfil, mere kaam ki nahi” -- Depicting another pair of star-crossed lovers, “Heer Ranjha” (1970) was unique in having all its dialogues in verse. Making its songs stand out was thus no easy task but the evocation of the physical and mental desolation that Raj Kumar traverses in this unmitigated expression of deep hopelessness owes it to Madan Mohan’s music, the voice of Rafi and Kaifi Azmi’s lyrics.

“Ye maana meri jaan” -- A common complaint against Madan Mohan was that he never did anything that could get the film-going masses charged up. But this intricately arranged, qawwali-tinged song from “Hanste Zakhm” (1973) belies the charge. Rafi and Balbir’s voices and Kaifi Azmi’s always electrifying words are perfect accompaniments.

“Bainya na dharo balma” -- This restrained sensuous song from “bold” film “Dastak” (1970), which earned Madan Mohan his sole National Film Award, cannot be left out at all. Lata’s voice and Majrooh Sultanpuri’s simple, and semi-rustic lyrics, are set off by the classically tinged score that was Madan Mohan’s trademark.

(Vikas Datta can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)

Shilpa Shetty on fame: It’s a double-edged sword Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty Kundra, who made her big screen comeback with the latest release ‘Nikamma’, said fame is a double-edged sword.

Talking to IANS about the cons of stardom, Shilpa said: “Fame is a double-edged sword but you have to appreciate it and the cons are something that you need to take in your stride... It would be the end of your career or stint in the industry if people allow you to eat ‘pani puri’ without bothering you, I would say that would be something that would be worrisome.”

Shilpa said she is “grateful for all the love and appreciation”.

She added: “It does get a little daunting where people don’t know when to draw the line because we are not monkey’s in a zoo, we are here to entertain and I have a heartfelt gratitude for all the love that comes my way.

“But sometimes when you have worked very hard and you try to a take a break with your family and sometimes when you are at the airport and you are holding your two-year-old’s hand and somebody just comes in and wants a selfie.. It is scary sometimes but otherwise it is all the part and parcel of the fame game.”

Shilpa will next be seen in Rohit Shetty’s ‘Indian Police Force’, a cop action drama web series streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

ENTERTAINMENT

Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

Urvashi Rautela talks about her pan-India debut film ‘The Legend’ Mumbai, June 24 (IANS) Actress Urvashi Rautela is making her pan-India debut with the film ‘The Legend’.

The actress is over-the-moon and said that the film is about romance, humour, action, and plot twists.

Expressing excitement for her film, Urvashi stated, “At last! My goal of becoming a pan-Indian actress was realised with the launch of the trailer for my pan-India release film, which is all about romance, humour, action, and plot twists abound throughout the movie.”

She added: “With its stunning surroundings, vibrant music, comedic tunes, and necessary social message, it is a big-budget mainstream entertainment.”

Urvashi will be seen playing a “microbiologist and IITian in the movie”.

“The movie will also convey a message about the educational system. I appreciate everyone’s kindness and genuine affection they have showed me for my movie.”

Hrithik’s girlfriend Saba Azad’s desi look leaves Sussanne in awe Mumbai, June 25 (IANS) Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan’s former wife Sussanne Khan loved his current girlfriend Saba Azad’s “desi” girl look on social media.

Ammu Abirami-starrer ‘Kudhukalam’ based on true incidents

Saba took to Instagram, where she posted an advertisement, in which she is sporting an Indian attire.

Sussanne couldn’t stop herself from commenting on the post and wrote: “So pretty Saboo.”

Chennai, June 25 (IANS) Actress Ammu Abirami, who played a pivotal role in director Vetrimaran’s critically acclaimed blockbuster film ‘Asuran’, plays the female lead in Ulaganathan Chandrasekaran’s ‘Kudhukalam’, a film based on real life incidents.

Sources close to the unit of the film say that ‘Kudhukalam’, which is under production, is based on incidents that happened in Tiruppur, known the world over for garment production. “Most of the film has been shot in Tiruppur,” says a source in the know.

Produced by M Suhinbabu for Rat & Cat Pictures, the film will be about the struggles of a youngster looking to fulfill promises he’s made to his dad.

Ulaganathan Chandrasekaran, who has worked as an assistant director to Durai Senthilkumar in films like ‘Kaaki Sattai’ and ‘Ethir Neechal’, has also worked as co-director in films like ‘Kodi’ and ‘Pattas’.

Actor Balamurugan plays the lead. Apart from him, Kavitha Bharathi, ‘Vijay TV fame Sanjeevi, and ‘Nakkalites’ fame Aneesh, Manmohith, ‘Metti’ Premi and producer M. Suhinbabu will all feature in the film.

Replying to her, Saba said: “@suzkr thanks my sooz!! Lovvvving your holiday stories - keep em coming.”

Hrithik and Saba have been tightlipped about their relationship.

However, the two have been spotted several times at parties and dinners.

On the work front, Hrithik will next be seen in Siddharth Anand’s ‘Fighter’ where he will be sharing the screen space with Deepika Padukone for the first time.

Apart from this, he also has ‘Vikram Vedha’ with Saif Ali Khan.

Samantha at top spot as south dominates India’s most popular female stars list As per a recent research report conducted in India by Ormax beginning April, Samantha Prabhu has topped this list which includes other big names of the film world as well from across India.

The result of this research indicates the shift in the preferences of the audience post the pandemic.

The methodology involves asking film audiences in multiple languages to name their favorite stars in each language separately. Every month, more than 10,000 people are polled in the exercise. The target group is chosen from metros, mini metros and small towns, in proportion of their contribution to theatrical footfalls over the last two years.

Pankaj Tripathi: If there was no OTT, I wouldn’t have got any reach Mumbai, June 26 (IANS) From playing Kaleen Bhaiya in ‘Mirzapur’ to the power hungry Godman Guruji in ‘Sacred Games’ and the cheeky lawyer Madhav Mishra in ‘Criminal Justice’, acclaimed actor Pankaj Tripathi credits his growth and popularity to the digital space.

What if there was no OTT? In a conversation with IANS, Pankaj said: “If there was no OTT, then there would have been a fight still going on with me. I wouldn’t have got any reach. OTT only gave me space because there is importance of content and stories and not actors that much.”

He credits his popularity to the web space.

“Whatever I am, it is because of my stories and the characters that I have played. I am a very small person but my characters and stories are very big... The growth that I have had is all because of OTT,” he added.

Pankaj’s latest release is ‘Sherdil: The Pilibhit Saga’, which hit the big screen on June 24. He will next be seen in ‘Fukrey 3’.

/IndianAbroadNews

/indianabroadnews

Samantha Ruth Prabhu is one of India’s biggest actresses today who has captured the entire audience with her charm, uniqueness and talent. Two of her recent performances, the antagonist Raji in The Family Man 2 and the sensuous number from Pushpa, Oo Antava have been the talk of the town.

Mumbai, June 24 (IANS) South stars continue to dominate in the popularity stakes if the results of the Ormax Stars India Loves study are any indication.

The top 10 female stars list has 5 Telugu, 3 Hindi and 2 Tamil stars sharing the honours. Samantha tops the list followed by Alia Bhat.

Incidentally, Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif are the three Bollywood names on the list.

While Alia ranks second, Deepika

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www.indianabroad.news

figures at the fifth spot and Katrina coming in at seventh spot.

The other stars from South industry include Nayantara at third place, Kajal Aggarwal at fifth, Keerthy Suresh at sixth, Rashmika, Pooja Hegde, and Anushka Shetty at eight, nine, and ten positions respectively.

Thanks to her diverse roles and acting chops, Samantha Prabhu’s talent as an actor is well known. And now, she has also emerged as the most popular female star of India.

Besides being a popular actress, Samantha is a philanthropist, entrepreneur and avid social media influencer. Her mesmerising looks and acting skills has built her a dedicated loyal fan base nationwide over the years. From Jessie in Ye Maaya Chesave, to Raji and Oo Antava, one can witness her massive range, proving her versatility with every new venture.

Rashmika has been dominating the scene after the pathbreaking success of ‘Pushpa’.

Rashmika Mandanna turns vegan entrepreneur Bengaluru, June 23 (IANS) Rashmika Mandanna, who became a national sensation after starring in ‘Pushpa: The Rise’, has begun her entrepreneurial journey the vegan way.

Vegan beauty and personal care brand Plum on Thursday said that actor Rashmika Mandanna has come on board as an investor and brand ambassador. This comes at a time when the brand aims to double its annual recurring revenue (ARR) over the next 12 months, with Rashmika’s pan-India presence and fan base.

In just a short span of 6 years, Rashmika has not only emerged as one of the most bankable actresses in the Indian film industry, but also an influential name in the brand world, endorsing the top ones.

With this, the actress has turned entrepreneur.

Apart from being a lucky mascot at the box office and one of the leading female stars of her generation, Rashmika is fast emerging as a savvy businesswoman too.

On the work front, Rashmika currently boasts of one of the strongest line-ups. She will be next seen in ‘Pushpa 2’ alongside Allu Arjun, ‘Goodbye’ opposite Amitabh Bachchan, ‘Animal’ opposite Ranbir Kapoor, ‘Varisu’ alongside Vijay Thalapatty and ‘Mission Majnu’ with Sidharth Malhotra.

Adnan Sami’s jaw-dropping transformation takes over the internet Mumbai, June 26 (IANS) Singer Adnan Sami’s latest pictures from his Maldivian holiday have taken over social media as it seems he has undergone a huge weight loss transformation.

Sami took to Instagram to share a glimpse of his holiday with family, which took the fans and social media users by surprise.

He shared a picture with his daughter while chilling in the pool.

He captioned the picture: “There’s absolutely no time to waste & so ‘Let The FUN Begin PARTY-POOPERDISCLAIMER- It’s NON-ALCOHOLIC Sparkling Grape Juice’.”

He also shared a selfie, where he is seen flaunting a big smile at the camera with a picturesque view of the ocean and the sky in the background.

According to reports, when Sami stepped into the industry, he weighed a whopping over 200 kilos.

He is popular for his songs such as ‘Bhardo jholi’,’ ‘Lift Karadey’ and ‘Sun Zara’, among many others.

Instagram suspends singer Chinmayi Sripada’s account Hyderabad, June 24 (IANS) A day after singer Chinmayi Sripada shared pictures of her newborn twin babies with husband Rahul Ravindran, her Instagram account has been suspended.

Chinmayi Sripada, who, however, saw this coming after her DM’s were blocked, had a backup account created through which she has started posting her content for quite a while now.

These social media businesses apparently, operate differently and take surprising actions in the name of policies. If we are to believe vocalist Chinmayi Sripada, who is best known for providing a voice for noted actresses, especially Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Instagram has taken extreme measures in her current situation.

“Instagram has basically removed my account for reporting men who send me (pics of) their penises on DMs. Its been going on for a while where I report, but my access was barred. Anyway, that’s that. Here is my backup account”, the singer wrote.

She revealed that her account was removed after she complained on Instagram about males sending her pictures of their penises.

Additionally, Chinmayi disclosed the username of her backup Instagram account - chinmayi.sripada.

Chinmayi has been subjected to a lot of abuse on social media since she

/IndianAbroadNews

spoke out for the #MeToo movement and named some prominent figures in the Tamil film industry

/indianabroadnews

who exploit women and attempted to engage in sexual misconduct with girls.

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Vol 2, Issue 10, July 1-15, 2022

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