6 KIDS DIE AFTER BUSFALLS INTO GORGE IN HPShimla: Six children and thedriver of their school bus werekilled on Saturday when thevehicle fell into a gorge in Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaurdistrict, police said.

CAN’T RETURN DUE TOSAFETY CONCERNS: NIRAV Mumbai: Fugitive diamondmerchant Nirav Modi, a prime accused in the PNB fraud case,told a court here on Saturdaythat he cannot return to Indiadue to safety concerns and alsobecause his case has beenpoliticised. Modi’s lawyer filedhis reply to the ED plea seekingto declare the diamond merchanta fugitive under the FugitiveEconomic Offenders Act (FEOA)before the special court for casesfiled under the PMLA. P5

MICHEL SENT TOJUDICIAL CUSTODYNew Delhi: A Delhi court onSaturday sent British nationalChristian James Michel, themiddleman in the `3,600-croreAgustaWestland VVIP chopperdeal case, to judicial custody. P5

LET EVERY INDIAN ASKPM QUESTIONS: RAHUL New Delhi: Congress presidentRahul Gandhi on Saturday urgedall Indians to ask Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and his Ministersthe questions he posed inParliament on the fighter jetagreement with France. P5

CAPSULE

USUALSUSPECTSSWAPAN DASGUPTA

O

n Friday evening in a vain bid to find out if anything

significant — other than the Lok Sabha debate on the

contrived Rafale controversy — had happened in the

country, I switched on the TV. On at least three ‘news’

channels, I was greeted by a lot of indignation over a

promotional advertisement by actor Naseeruddin Shah for

Amnesty. Later, I found this anger expressed in social media

messages by those who are broadly part of my political

ecosystem.

It is understandable that people get rather worked up

when cocooned celebrities suddenly start bleating on about

intolerance and the shrinking space for dissent in India. Ever

since the hour on May 16, 2014, when it became clear that

Indian voters had chosen Narendra Modi to lead the country

for the next five years, the anti-Modi brigade has declared

democracy to be comatose in India. This perception, of

course, has not stopped them from either doing their own

thing or broadcasting how terrible life in India has become.

With another general election due in barely four months, it is

only natural that the old message will be re-broadcast with a

measure of added shrillness. In 2014, the chief cheerleaders

of the anyone-but-Modi cry were the non-resident

intellectuals; in 2019 there are likely to be a larger number of

resident intellectuals cheering on Rahul Gandhi.

I don’t know why some of my friends have got upset over

Naseeruddin Shah’s message that, in effect, calls upon

Indians to liberate themselves from Modi rule. As I

discovered, Shah is an old sinner and had penned his name

to a similar anti-Modi initiative in 2013. He is, contrary to

whatever impression he may now choose to give, a person

who had welcomed Modi with lots of hope and ended up

disappointed. He has had an old allergy to Modi. Whether

this allergy stems from inheritance or is acquired is a matter

of detail that doesn’t concern me. In any case, it doesn’t

stop me from regarding

him as a talented actor. As

a matter of rule, I don’t

think we should judge the

professional competence

of individuals by their

voting preferences. Utpal

Dutt was one of my

favourite actors and he

was a doctrinaire Marxist.

But so what? He was a

bloody good actor.

One of the grave

distortions in Indian public

life is that we expect

everyone, apart from

professional politicians, to

keep their political

preferences under wraps.

This doesn’t happen in

other countries. It is fairly

routine for American

celebrities to come out

quite openly in favour or

against their presidential candidates every four years. The

Democrats get a lion’s share of endorsements — as does

Labour in the United Kingdom — but the other side isn’t

totally unrepresented, except if he is an outlander like

Donald Trump. In India, unfortunately, political preferences

tend to be masked by pious sounding messages that are

aimed at concealing their real purpose. Naseeruddin Shah’s

was a straight forward appeal to people to vote against

Modi. In time to come, I hope, for the sake of honesty, he is

equally explicit in letting us know who we should vote for. We

have had enough of surrogate advertising and it is time to

get real.

The second issue is one of political strategy. Over the

past few months, as campaigns get more and more

professionalised and taken out of the hands of well-meaning

political activists, there has been a tendency to target

segments of voters. The Congress — thanks no doubt to

sound professional advice — has become quite adept in this

game. It has learnt from its 2014 mistakes and is

approaching the 2019 election with two clear objectives.

First, it wants to consolidate the anti-BJP vote and prevent

the BJP from benefitting from the first-past-the-post system.

Second, it is carefully targeting those sections that vote

almost en bloc for Modi in 2014. In particular, it believes that

if it can wean away a significant chunk of the middle classes

and the upper castes from the BJP, its chances of success

will be multiplied. Incidentally, it was the successful

application of this approach that saw the Congress prevail in

Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The BJP lost because it

conceded many of its core urban seats to the Congress.

It is also part of its strategy to secure surrogate

endorsements from groups that feel short-changed by the

Modi Government. In recent weeks, we have witnessed

organised letter-writing initiatives by former bureaucrats. I

have no doubts in my mind that this was entirely a Congress

initiative. I am also certain that the next lot to get energised

will be the NGOs, especially those that have been affected

by the rigorous scrutiny of foreign contributions. The

Amnesty International initiative is just the first salvo.

A final part of this strategy is to secure endorsements by

the media. In 2014, The Economist raised eyebrows by

calling for a vote for the Congress. It was doing what is

standard practice in the US and the UK — suggesting to

people who to vote for. In India, however, media preference

tends to be somewhat concealed. I fear this may not be so

in the coming general election. We are likely to see explicit

messages from media groups calling for Modi to be ousted.

The online news portals that have received funding from

anti-Modi businessmen through their dedicated trusts are

likely to set the ball rolling.

It is quite clear that the 2019 general election will witness

a bitter fight. Unlike 2014, when the Congress conceded a

walkover in the belief that there would be fractured verdict

and that its energies could be conserved for the next round,

this time the old Establishment is leaving nothing to chance.

Their desperation is understandable. What I am not sure of

is the extent of the BJP’s counter-preparedness. Maybe the

BJP National Council session this week will set the tone for

Modi’s re-election bid.

It is quite clear that the2019 election will witness abitter fight. Unlike 2014,when the Cong conceded awalkover in the belief thatthere would be fracturedverdict and that its energiescould be conserved for thenext round, this time theold Establishment is leaving nothing to chance.What I am not sure of isthe extent of the BJP’scounter-preparedness

Anti-Modi brigade toset the ball rolling DEEPAK K UPRETI n NEW DELHI

The BJP’s nightmare of fac-ing strong regional alliances

in different States in theupcoming Lok Sabha polls isseemingly turning true withsome clarity reaching in atleast two major States — UttarPradesh (80) and Maharashtra(48) — accounting for 128Lok Sabha seats.

Formidable regional tie-ups against the ruling BJP havetaken some shape in the lasttwo days with the SamajwadiParty (SP) and Bahujan SamajParty (BSP) almost set to seala pact in Uttar Pradesh even asthe Nationalist Congress Party(NCP) has gone ahead forginga 20-20 seat sharing deal so farwith the Congress inMaharashtra.

The BJP will also be upagainst a massive challenge inthe national Capital if the rul-ing Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)enters into a tie-up with theCongress, an announcementfor which could be made in thecoming weeks. Delhi has sevenLok Sabha seats.

The BJP, which alone won22 seats in Maharashtra andtogether with Shiv Sena (whichpocketed 18 seats) had swept40 of the 48 LS seats in theState in the 2014 Lok Sabha

poll, would be up against a fatalNCP-Congress combine. Thiseven as a taciturn Shiv Senacontinues to remain belliger-ent, demanding a clear upperhand in the assembly polls alsodue this year.

The Congress and the NCPhave left eight seats for othersthat would be finalised later.Like in UP, it would again be amassive political challenge tothe BJP which had posted itsbest performance in the 2014Lok Sabha polls.

The political scene in UPwould get shriller for the BJP-led-National DemocraticAlliance (NDA) if the finalityof SP-BSP alliance isannounced this month amid

growing voices of dissent fromits own stable from the likes ofAnupriya Patel’s Apna Dal andOmprakash Rajbhar’s SuheldevBharatiya Samaj Party.

Though the SP has sound-ed on the seat sharing alliance,there is no word yet from BSPchief Mayawati who has beenunpredictable in the past.

The BJP, which had won arecord 71 Lok Sabha seats ( 73with NDA allies) in UP in 2104riding on the Modi wave, hasin recent times faced majorreverses losing in Gorakhpur,Phulpur and Kairana LokSabha by-elections where BSPhad backed SP candidates.

In the eventuality of SP-BSP announcing an official

seat-sharing pact, the BJPwould need to search for anon-Yadav and non-Jatav win-ning combination by way ofwooing non-Jatav Dalits andOther Backward Classes (otherthan Yadavs) to sail through inthe electorally most importantstate which also happens tohave the home constituency ofPrime Minister NarendraModi in Varanasi.

For the Congress though,it does not seem to be part ofthe SP-BSP alliance with theregional powerhouses report-edly keeping 37-37 LS seats forthemselves and leaving bare-ly six seats for the rest, includ-ing the Congress and theRashtriya Lok Dal. In such ascenario, if the Congress goesalone in the State, it may pro-vide a marginal relief to theBJP, albeit indirectly.

Congress Rajya Sabhamember PL Punia said his partyis preparing to contest alone inUP. “A coalition is not impor-tant... Our workers are ready...We have not spoken to anyoneabout an alliance,” he said.However, senior SamajwadiParty leader and uncle of SPhead Akhilesh, Ram GopalYadav tried to downplay thereports saying talks of sideliningthe Congress are “imaginary”.

Turn to Page 6

TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI

Absconding liquor baronVijay Mallya on Saturday

became the first person to becharged under the FugitiveEconomic Offenders Act(FEOA), 2018, as a specialPrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA) courtdeclared him as a “fugitiveeconomic offender” under thenew anti-fraud law.

In a significant develop-ment that came on the heels ofthe Westminster MagistratesCourt in London orderingMallya’s extradition to India, thespecial PMLA court declaredhim a “fugitive economicoffender” under the FugitiveEconomic Offenders Act, 2018,a law that provides for confis-cation of all his properties.

Though the two proceed-ings are independent of eachother, the authorities expectthat the declaration of Mallyaas a “fugitive economic offend-er” will come in handy to pressfor his early extradition fromthe UK, where the abscondingbusinessman is appealingagainst the extradition orderpassed by WestminsterMagistrates’ Court ChiefMagistrate Emma Arbuthnoton December 10, 2018.

In its plea filed before the

Special PMLA court on June 22last year, the EnforcementDirectorate (ED) had urged thecourt to declare Mallya as“fugitive economic offender”and allow it to confiscate all hisproperties, estimated to bearound `12,500-crore, mak-ing it the first such case of itskind registered under the newFEOA law.

The ED had earlier filedtwo complaints for investigationinto alleged money launderingagainst Mallya, KingfisherAirlines Limited, and UnitedBreweries Holdings Limitedand others for the loan defaultand money laundering scams.The PMLA court had sum-moned Mallya to appear beforeit on August 27 last year.However, Mallaya failed toappear before the court.

Turn to Page 6

PNS n NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW

The CBI is likely to examineformer UP Chief Minister

and Samajwadi Party chiefAkhilesh Yadav in the multi-crore illegal sand mining scam.Besides Akhilesh, the CBI isalso likely to question anotherSP leader and former MinisterGayatri Prajapati, who is in jailin a rape case.

The agency’s contempla-tion followed its raids onSaturday at 12 locations inDelhi and Uttar Pradesh,including the residence of 2008batch IAS officer B.Chandrakala, SP MLC RameshMishra, BSP leader SatyadevDikshit and premises of redstone contractors in connectionwith illegal sand mining duringthe tenure of Akhilesh as ChiefMinister.

According to the CBI,Akhilesh’s role is likely to beexamined by the agency as hewas the Mining Ministerbetween 2012 and 2013.Prajapati, who was arrested in

2017 following a complaint ofrape by a woman residing inChitrakoot, was also MiningMinister during the SP regime.

From the residence of AdilKhan, the agency collectedthe documents related to min-ing. “We found that the min-ing licence to him was pro-vided on the recommendationsof the then Mining MinisterPrajapati,” a CBI spokespersonsaid. The agency has beenprobing illegal mining in UP’sShamli, Hamirpur, Saharanpur,Deoria, Fatehpur, SiddharthNagar and Kaushambi dis-

tricts as part of its sevenPreliminary Enquiries (PEs)registered in 2017 on the orderof Allahabad High Court outof which three FIRs have beenregistered now.

The CBI’s FIR, registeredon January 2, stated, “The roleof then Mining Ministers con-cerned during the relevantperiod may be looked intoduring the course of the inves-tigation of the case”. Sourcessaid Akhilesh and Prajapatiheld the portfolios between2012 and 2016.

Turn to Page 6

PTI n KANNUR/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Violence involving BJP-RSSand ruling CPI(M) work-

ers rocked politically volatileKannur district in north Keralaon Saturday with a number ofhouses and shops of rival lead-ers and workers being attackedover the Sabarimala issue.

Bombs were hurled at sev-eral places, including at thehouses of CPI(M) MLA ANShamseer in Madapeedikayil,BJP leader and Rajya Sabhamember V Muraleedharan atVadiyil Peedikia and formerKannur district secretary ofCPI(M) P Sasi at Thalasserypast midnight, police said.

No one was injured in theattacks. The BJP MP’s ancestralhome was attacked hours afterbombs were thrown at thehomes of Shamseer and Sasiwhen leaders of the Marxistparty and BJP-RSS were attend-ing a peace meeting here.

The attacks, which dis-rupted normal life, markedreturn of political violence onlarge-scale after a gap of overa year in the sensitive district.

Kerala has been rocked by

violent protests by BJP-RSSand right wing outfits after twowomen of menstruating ageoffered prayers at the LordAyyappa temple on January 2.

Besides Kannur, Perambrain neighbouring Kozhikode,Malappuram and Adoor inPathanamthitta, where theAyyappa shrine is located, alsowitnessed a series of similarattacks and vandalism Fridaynight and in the early hours ofSaturday.

Turn to Page 6

RAJESH KUMAR/KHURSHEED WANIn NEW DELHI/SRINAGAR

Jammu & Kashmir is receiv-ing its heaviest snowfall and

rain in recent years due towestern disturbances comingfrom Iran and Afghanistan. Ithas thrown life out of gear dis-rupting power supply, road,rail and air connectivity.

The India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) said mod-erate precipitation conditionswill be created over north Indiadue to the western distur-bances along with upper aircyclonic circulation movingtowards Rajasthan and MadhyaPradesh from south Pakistan.

Another western distur-bance is coming up aroundJanuary 8 which will cause rain and snow over the hillyregions until January 9.

Turn to Page 6

STAFF REPORTER n NEW DELHI

With fresh snowfall in hillStates on Saturday, entire

north India is in the grip of coldwave. According to IndianMeteorological Department(IMD), heavy rain or snow andhailstorm are likely to occur atisolated places over HimachalPradesh and Uttarakhand dur-ing next 24 hours with this iso-lated to scattered rainfall is alsolikely over parts of northwestIndia during next 48 hours.Chances are that it is to inten-sify cold wave in north India.

Due to cloudy weather andprevailing surface winds, coldday is also likely at isolatedplaces over Punjab, Haryana,Chandigarh and Delhi andnorthwest Uttar Pradesh dur-ing next 24 hours.

With minimum tempera-ture hovering between fivedegrees Celsius and eightdegrees Celsius, the humiditylevel in Delhi was 100 per cent.

According to RegionalWeather Forecast Wing(Delhi), Delhi-NCR may wit-ness light shower or cloudyweather on January 7 andJanuary 8.

Turn to Page 6

SP, BSP pact inUP taking finalshape; NCP allset to embraceCong in Maha

Fugitive economicoffender Vijay Mallya’sproperties face seizure

Violence rocks Kerala,houses of rival leadersattacked on Sabarimala

Rain to intensify cold

wave in north India

CBI official conduct a raid at residences of senior officers in connection with illegalsand mining case in Lucknow on Saturday PTI

A man clears snow of his boat after heavy snowfall in Srinagar on Saturday PTI

A child and mother wrapped in warmclothes on a cold day on Saturday PTI

BJP faces grand

alliance trouble

Agency raids

12 locations

in Delhi, UP

Snowfall, rain batter J&K

CBI may go after Akhileshin UP sand mining scam

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Lucknow (PNS): Communist Party of India (Marxists) leaderBrijlal Bharti on Saturday said that farmers and labourers wouldgo on strike under the banner of UP unit of the party on the callgiven by various trader unions on January 8 and 9 to protest thefaulty policies of the Central government.

Bharti said the farmers and labourers would stage demon-strations at all district headquarters of the party on both the days.

The CPI-M leader said they were demanding all-arounddevelopment of farmers, guarantee of 250 days of work underthe MNREGA, hike in daily wages to `400 per day and pensionof `5,000 to all elderly farmer and labourers worker.

“We are also demanding free electricity and water supply andhealth facilities at hospitals in rural parts of UP. We also aredemanding a compensation of `25 lakh to family of each farmerand labourer killed in road mishaps,” he said.

Bharti said the Central government’s much touted slogan ofSabka Saath Sabka Vikas (inclusive development) had proved tobe hollow. Besides, he said, the crime graph was rising with eachpassing day and there was a jungle raj in UP.

The CPI-M leader said despite the Bharatiya Janata Party’spromise to bring ‘achhe din’, workers, farmers, and unemployedpeople were passing through hardship while Dalits, minority sec-tions and tribals were being attacked by goons.

PNS n LUCKNOW

The three personal secre-taries of three state minis-

ters against whom cases wereregistered for demandingmoney for different govern-ment works following a stingoperation, were arrested andsent to jail on Saturday.

They were arrested by aSpecial Investigation Teamworking under ADG, LucknowZone, Rajeev Krishna.

Those sent to jail wereidentified as Om PrakashKashyap, personal secretary toBackward Class Welfare andDivyangjan EmpowermentMinister Om Prakash Rajbhar,Ram Naresh Tripathi, personal

secretary to Minister of State forMining Archana Pandey andSantosh Awasthi, personal sec-retary to Minister of State forBasic Education Sandeep Singh.

The Special InvestigationTeam comprising ADG(Lucknow Zone) RajeevKrishna, IG (STF) AmitabhYash and Special Secretary (IT)Rakesh Verma was asked tosubmit its report in 10 days.

After the sting, Rajbharhad written to his departmen-tal head to take stern actionagainst his personal secretary.Kashyap was seen demandingRs 40 lakh from a person for histransfer while sitting in theminister’s office. Kashyap wasalso seen dealing with anoth-

er person and assuring to gethim a contract for supply ofschool bags and school uni-form through the husband ofMinister of State for State forBasic Education (IndependentCharge) Anupma Jaiswal.

In the second sting, RamNaresh Tripathi was recordedassuring a person to providehim a mining lease in lieu ofcash. Tripathi was also seensuggesting to the person that hecarry out his operations inSaharanpur which, he said,was ‘very lucrative’.

Similarly, Santosh Awasthiwas seen dealing with a personto give him a contract for sup-plying books and demandinghis cut in the deal.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Chief Minister YogiAdityanath on Saturdayhoisted the Dharma

Dhwaja (religious flag) at theKumbh Mela area ahead of themega religious event to be heldin Prayagraj later this month.

Before hoisting theDharma Dhwaja, Yogi tookpart in the Dhwaja pujan cer-emony at Digambar AniAkhara. He was accompaniedby Ramanandacharya Hans-devacharya and Narendra Giri,chairman of Akhara Parishad.

Amid chanting of Vedicmantras, Yogi Adityanath per-formed the puja with the res-olution to make Kumbh a bigsuccess.

UP’s Urban DevelopmentMinister Suresh Khanna,Health Minister SidharthNath Singh, Stamp andAviation Minister Nand GopalGupta Nandi, MayorAbhilasha Gupta were alsopresent.

After spending some timeat Digambar Ani Akhara, theChief Minister went toPanchayati Akhara BadaUdasin, Atal Akhara andMahanirvani Akhara and heldtalks with the saints.

Later, the Chief Ministerreached Sector 3 of the MelaArea and inaugurated the res-idential accommodation there.

He also flagged off cleanlinesscampaign, bike rally, shuttlebuses and e-rickshaw.

Yogi also inspected thepolice office at Sector 1 andreviewed its functioning. Healso distributed life supportjackets to the boatmen at theMela Area and held a meetingwith the officials concerned.

The Chief Minster soughtdetails about the preparationsfor the Kumbh and directedthe officials to ensure that nodevotee faced any inconve-nience in locating the placesleading to Kumbh Mela Area.He also asked them to chalkout a strategy to conduct themega event smoothly. He also

reviewed the security arrange-ment for the 49-day-long megareligious fair.

After reviewing the prepa-rations at Triveni Sankul, theChief Minster took a cruisefrom Qila Ghat in the eveningto view the facade lightingarrangements at the newYamuna bridge.

Budaun (PTI): Followingthe displeasure shown by theSupreme Court over the chain-ing of mentally-ill persons in afaith-based mental asylumhere, the district administrationfreed 22 persons on Saturdayand handed them over to theirfamily members.

Senior Superintendent ofPolice Ashok Kumar said, “Inpursuance of the recentSupreme Court observations,the district administration andpolice reached the faith-basedmental asylum on Friday nightand freed 22 mentally-illpatients who were kept inchains. They were then handedover to their family members.”

Sub-Divisional Magistrate(Sadar) Paras Nath Mauryasaid, “In accordance with localbelief, a number of mentally-ill

patients reach here. Thepatients (in the name of divinetreatment) are kept in chains,so that they cannot run away.”

On January 3, the SupremeCourt said chaining of men-tally-ill people could not beallowed and termed it as “atro-cious” and “inhuman”.

A bench comprisingJustices AK Sikri and S AbdulNazeer said chaining peoplewith mental illness was viola-tive of their rights under Article21 of the Constitution, whichdealt with life and personal lib-erty, adding that their dignitycould not be compromised.

The apex court made theobservation while hearing apublic interest litigation (PIL)filed by advocate GauravKumar Bansal, who allegedthat persons with mental illness

were kept chained in a faith-based mental asylum inBudaun district of UttarPradesh, in violation of the pro-visions of the MentalHealthcare Act, 2017.

The apex court perused thephotographs of the patientswho had been chained and saidit was a matter of great concern.

“These are mentally chal-lenged persons. You (petition-er) have placed the pho-tographs and they all arechained. It is atrocious,” thebench observed, adding that“something has to be doneimmediately for these poorpeople”.

The apex court asked thepetitioner to call a law officerof the Centre so that appropri-ate interim orders could bepassed.

Yogi hoists Dharma Dhwaja

at Kumbh Mela Area

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath offering prayers in Kumbh Mela Area in Prayagraj on Saturday Pioneer

CM congratulatesArunima on scalingMount Vinson

Lucknow (PNS): ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath onSaturday congratulatedArunima Sinha, the moun-taineer from Uttar Pradesh, onbecoming the first womanamputee to scale Mount Vinson,the highest peak in Antarctica.In 2013, Arunima had brokenthe world record by becomingthe first woman amputee toclimb Mount Everest.

Yogi Adityanath, in a state-ment released here on Saturday,said Arunima, a native ofAmbedkarnagar district in UP,had brought several laurels to thestate and the country and despitebeing an amputee, she had cre-ated records due to her deter-mination and hard work.

After successfully accom-plishing the recent feat, Arunimabroke the news to the world onsocial media platform. OnFriday, she was congratulated byPrime Minister Narendra Modi,who called her “the pride ofIndia” for distinguishing herselfthrough her “hard work andperseverance”.

Arunima, who is a nation-al-level volleyball player, had oneof her legs amputated when shewas pushed out of a runningtrain for resisting dacoits nearBareilly. She later became amountaineer. The Padma Shriawardee aims to scale sevenpeaks across seven continents.She has already scaled five peaks— Mt Everest, Mt Kilimanjaro,Mt Ebrus, Mt Kosciuszko andMt Aconcagua.

Guv, CM greet Kalyan Singh

PNS n LUCKNOW

Uttar Pradesh GovernorRam Naik and Chief

Minister Yogi Adityanath onSaturday called on RajasthanGovernor Kalyan Singh on his87th birthday.

Yogi Adityanath went tothe official residence ofMinister of State of SecondaryEducation, Sandeep Singh, the

grandson of Kalyan Singh, towish the latter on his birthday.

Kalyan Singh had arrivedin the state capital on Fridayand is staying in the official res-idence of his grandson.

Yogi also visited the resi-dence of Sandeep Singh early inthe morning to wish KalyanSingh and thereafter he rushedto Prayagraj. Rajveer Singh, theMP from Etah and son of

Kalyan Singh, was also presenton the occasion.

Several senior leaders of theBharatiya Janata Party and stateministers reached the residenceof Sandeep Singh to wishKalyan Singh on his birthday.

Meanwhile, reports fromAligarh, Etah and other placesin the state said the partyworkers celebrated the birthdayof Kalyan Singh.

Governor Ram Naik greeting Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh on the latter’s birthday on Saturday Pioneer

3 ‘stung’ officials arrested

UP Higher Judicial Services preliminaryexam preponed

Lucknow (PNS): In view ofKumbh Mela at Prayagraj thismonth, the Uttar Pradesh govern-ment has preponed the preliminarywritten examination for directrecruitment in UP Higher JudicialServices-2018.

Earlier scheduled to be held onFebruary 3, the examination willnow be held on January 13 due toKumbh Mela being held at Prayagraj.

An official statement issued inLucknow on Friday said that thedecision to prepone the examinationwas taken on the direction ofAllahabad High Court, which passedan order to this effect on November15 last year.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Uttar Pradesh Congresswomen’s cell on Saturday

submitted a memorandum toGovernor Ram Naik, seekinghis immediate intervention tocheck the rising crime againstwomen in Uttar Pradesh.

The delegation, led by All-India Mahila Congress presi-dent Sushmita Dev and partyMLA Aradhna Mishra, claimedthat the crime against membersof fairer sex was rising withevery passing day in theBharatiya Janata Party rule inUP. They alleged that eightwomen were raped, 33 abduct-ed and at least 100 criminaloffences were committedagainst members of fairer sexevery day in UP and this indi-cated that the UP governmenthad failed to check crime.

Accusing Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath of having noconcern for the rising crimeagainst women, the Congressdelegation demanded action inthe matter so that security andsafety of women in the statecould be ensured.

“In every case of atrocitiesagainst women in UP, thepolice appear to be siding witheve-teasers and rapists. They donot register FIRs in such casesand, when they do, they informthe accused about it,” SushmitaDev told reporters.

Referring to the recentcases of crimes against girls inAgra, Lakhimpur Kheri andSitapur, Dev alleged that YogiAdityanath had given a freehand to the police to give con-cessions to rapists. “The much-talked-about anti-Romeosquad is harassing the innocent

instead of arresting the cul-prits,” she said.

Asked how many womencandidates would be fielded byher party in the Lok Sabha elec-tions, Dev said had theWomen’s Reservation Bill beenpassed, the question wouldnot have arisen.

She blamed Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, whose partycame to power with a thump-ing majority, for not makingthis happen.

Dev, however, underlinedthat the Congress had been giv-ing tickets to a fair number ofwomen candidates.

The Congress leader saidher party had started a signa-ture campaign against the pre-vailing law-and-order situa-tion in the state and, in mereeight days, almost 40,000 sig-natures had been received.

Basti admin starts cattle

conservation helpline

Lucknow (PTI): The Basti district administration hasstarted a helpline for the public to report stray cattle.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had recently given alldistrict magistrates about a week’s time to ensure all straycattle across the state were shifted to cow shelters.

“Many people narrate to me stories of stray cattle,which have been left in the open by their owners, how they(the cattle) escaped an accident or how they were hit bya speeding vehicle. In these circumstances, the public doesnot know where to call for assistance,” said Basti DistrictMagistrate Raj Shekhar.

In Basti, there is almost 90 kilometres of national high-way and a lot of stray cattle try to cross these stretches,Shekhar said, explaining the need for the helpline.

The helpline comes days after the Uttar Pradesh gov-ernment decided to levy an additional 0.5 per cent cowwelfare cess on eight profit-making public sector infra-structure companies to fund the construction and main-tenance of cow shelters.

Mahila Cong urges Guv tocheck crime against women

QUICK TAKESSUSPECTED COW SLAUGHTERERSHELD AFTER EXCHANGE OF FIRE

Muzaffarnagar: Two persons, sus-pected to be involved in an incident of cowslaughter, were injured in an exchange offire with police in a village here, officialssaid on Saturday. The incident occurred inShikarpur village on Friday evening. Uponreceiving information about the allegedincident of cow slaughter, a police teamreached the spot and surrounded the sus-pected cow slaughterers, who opened fireon the personnel, according toSuperintendent of Police Alok Sharma.The police team retaliated. Two suspect-ed cow slaughterers and a constable wereinjured in the exchange of fire, while twomen managed to escape, he said. “Theinjured cow slaughterers were arrested andhospitalised,” the SP said. Police have seized100 kg cow meat from the spot, heclaimed.

PROBE ORDERED INTO DANCEPROGRAMME AT SCHOOL,

Ballia: The Ballia district administra-tion has ordered a probe into a blanket dis-tribution programme held in a school,where classes were suspended and a dance

programme was held. Basic education offi-cer of the district, Santosh Rai, on Saturdaysaid, “On Friday, a blanket distributionprogramme was held at a primary schoolin Aasmaan Thothaa village under theSahatwar police station area. According toa complaint received, a dance programmewas also held at the venue with dancersdancing to the tunes of film songs.” Headded that the dance programme createddisturbance and the classes were also ham-pered. “Orders have been issued to probethe incident. The block education officerwill submit his report and action will beinitiated accordingly,” Rai said.

2 KILLED IN COLLISION BETWEEN CARS

Jaunpur: Two persons were killedand five others were injured in a collisionbetween two cars in Fatehgarh town onSaturday, police said. The accident tookplace at the Rae Bareli-Jaunpur highwayin Fatehganj at around 6 am, they said.“The deceased have been identified asSandeep Srivastava (38) and his wifeMeenakshi (34), who were returning toAzamgarh from Lucknow along withtheir six-year-old son,” additional super-

intendent of police (city) Anil KumarPandey said. The minor boy sustainedinjuries in the collision. Four occupantsof the other car were also injured,Pandey said. All the injured were admit-ted to the district hospital and the bodies of the deceased were sent for apost-mortem.

SERVANT KILLED IN DRUNKENBRAWL, CO-WORKER HELD

Muzaffarnagar: A 26-year-old servanthas been arrested for allegedly killing hisco-worker during drunken brawl anddumping his body in Thanabhawan areaof neighbouring Shamli district last month,police said on Saturday. Pushpraj wasarrested on Friday and the body of 28-year-old Vinod Kumar was recovered fromMudhbhar village under Thanabhawanpolice station area. According to districtpolice chief Ajay Pandey, the deceasedKumar was beaten to death by the accusedover a tiff during drinking session with himon December 13. Later, Pushpraj dumpedhis body in the village. Both the accusedand the deceased were native of MadhyaPradesh and were working as servants ata farmer’s house here.

BJP MLA fears party may face

heavy losses in LS polls due

to corruption by officials

Sambhal (PTI): ABharatiya Janata Party legisla-tor has written to ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath, lev-elling allegations of corruptionagainst officers of Sambhaldistrict.

In a letter dated January 3,Gunnaur constituency MLAAjeet Kumar Yadav said,“Owing to the corrupt practicesof the officials in the district,the mood of the people hasturned against the state gov-

ernment. If corruption is notcontrolled, then the BJP mayhave to face heavy losses in theLok Sabha elections.”

The MLA told reportersthat most of the officials in thedistrict were corrupt. He alsoalleged that dustbins, whichcost ̀ 200-300, were purchasedat around `12,000.

“Apart from this, in vil-lages, despite no electricityconnection, electricity bills aresent to the people,” he added.

Farmers, labourers to go on two-day strike

22 mentally-ill inmates of Budaunasylum handed over to kinNOTICE

It is notified for the informa-tion that my original high schoolcertificate roll no.-T/7279/097year-2009 and Intermediatecertificate roll no-B/8611/080year 2011 pass out ICSCboard has been actually lost.Rupali Joshi D/o suresh chan-dra Joshi 192/kha/3 ShaktiNagar, Lucknow.

city 03LUCKNOW | SUNDAY | JANUARY 6, 2019

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

The city boasted of achieversin the Common Admission

Test (CAT-2018), results ofwhich were declared onSaturday. The test was con-ducted by Indian Institute ofManagement, Calcutta.

Pulkit Sachan, who scored99.9 percentile, told ThePioneer that he was aiming toget IIM Ahmedabad, Bangaloreor Kolkata. He said it was hissecond attempt at CAT. Pulkit,who has completed BTech fromRajiv Gandhi Institute ofPetroleum Technology (RaeBareli), said he appeared inCAT because he felt he coulddo better in management.

“I felt I was not cut out foranything technical and man-agement would work better forme,” he said. Asked about hisbig dream, he said he liked toset small goals for himself. “Iwill first complete MBA froma reputed institute and then getsome work experience,” headded. Son of a police officer,Pulkit said taking mock testshelped him a lot.

Rahul Kumar, who got apercentile of 99.74, said it washis third attempt and he washappy with the result. “I tookthe test again because I was get-ting new IIMs and I wanted toget into some old IIM,” he said.

A resident of Faizullahganj,Rahul has done BTech fromNIT (Uttarakhand). On hisfuture plans, he said that sincechildhood, he wanted to

become the RBI governor. “Ithas been my biggest dreambecause I want to see my ownsignature on currency notes,”he said.

On his success mantra,Rahul said he always had thebasics clear. “There should beno shortcuts and one mustpractise a lot. I took at least 70mock tests,” he added.

Anant Singh, who secured97.63 percentile, said it was hisf irst attempt at CAT.Interestingly, Anant, who is aNuclear Engineering graduatefrom North Carolina StateUniversity (USA), said hereturned to India for better jobprospects. Son of an engi-neer, Anant said he hadchalked out a detailed strate-gy to crack CAT.

“In Maths or Quantitativesection, one should solve max-imum questions in the begin-ning, which gives a right per-spective of the difficulty levels.

Thereafter, one should max-imise the score by attemptingdifficult questions,” he added.

Former IIM-L passout anddirector of a coaching institute,Abhishek Singhania once again

appeared in CAT and secured99.8 percentile. He said it wasnecessary for a reality check.“Overall, the result has been onthe expected lines and theaspirants got pretty much the

percentiles which they expect-ed. The scaling method usedwas transparent. Those withengineering background scoredmore as has always been thecase, but there were majorexceptions.

Radhika Iyer, who scored98.6 percentile, said she tookCAT in hope of a better paypackage. Radhika, who has atwo-year work experience, hasdone Bachelors in Commerce.“Although I had appeared inCAT twice, it was my first seri-ous attempt,” she added.

Ashutosh Dubey, who hassecured 97.2 percentile, also hasa two-year work experience. Hesaid he appeared in CATbecause he wanted to go intosports management. “I wasinto sports and by getting anMBA degree, I would be able tomake a value addition. Besides,I want to help my father in hisbusiness,” he added.

Sulaiman Qizilbash, whohas scored 97.8 percentile, isthe son of a Shia PG Collegefaculty member. He graduatedin Mathematics from StXavier's (Mumbai) in 2017.Sulaiman said he wanted to joina consultancy firm and MBAwas a pre-requisite for that.About his success mantra, hesaid he had got a lot of helpfrom a coaching institute. “Mymentor asked me to be aggres-sive while solving the papers tobe able to attempt maximumnumber of questions,” he said,adding that he was expecting acall either from IIM-Kozhikodeor IIM-Indore.

Aspiring managers cross CAT hurdle

(Clockwise from top) Pulkit Sachan,Rahul Kumar, Radhika Iyer, SulaimanQizilbash, and Ashutosh Dubey

Anant Singh, who secured 97.63

percentile, said it was his first

attempt at CAT. Interestingly, Anant,

who is a Nuclear Engineering

graduate from North Carolina State

University (USA), said he returned

to India for better job prospects

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Lucknow Development Authority onSaturday held its board meeting

which was attended by DivisionalCommissioner Anil Garg, DistrictMagistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma, LDAVice-Chairman PN Singh, MunicipalCommissioner Indramani Tripathi,LDA secretary, chief town planner andother senior officials. Decisions weretaken agenda-wise on all major pointswhich were lined up for discussion.

On conversion of land usage forcommercial purposes for constructionof a bus terminal on Sitapur road (sec-tor E), the board said a letter should besent to the managing director ofTransport department on whether ornot it was ready for construction. On

connecting the academic block toRam Manohar Lohia Institute ofMedical Sciences with an undergroundsubway, the board advocated a feasi-bility test.

The officials decided to invite sug-gestions from people regarding the exe-cution plan for buildings constructedunder the Sitapur road (sector C)scheme and amend the plan accord-ingly. The board approved the resched-uled layout plan of Gomti NagarExtension (sector 5). The officials alsoapproved the map for the constructionof a retail shop on railway station byRail Land Development Authorityunder the restrictions mentioned. Theboard also gave its nod to the amend-ed map of a building. The map was pre-sented by HCL IT Private Limited.

LDA board gives approval

to several projects

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Having failed to get justicefrom Barabanki police, a

man, along with his wife andtheir two-year-old son,attempted immolation at gatenumber 3 of Vidhan Bhawanin Hazratganj on Saturdayafternoon. Police claimed thatonly the man attemptedimmolation attempt while hiswife was standing a few dis-tance away from him.

As per reports, the couple,along with the son, breachedthe security cordon aroundLok Bhawan around noon onSaturday and reached gatenumber 3. The man took outa bottle filled with kerosenewhile his wife, who had theirson in her lap, stood close tohim. They were seen weepingand a little later the man start-ed sprinkling kerosene onhim. His wife also got her sareedrenched in kerosene in theprocess. The commuters, whowere passing near the scene,raised an alarm and the copsrushed to the scene. In thenick of time, the cops over-powered the man and stoppedhim from setting himself afire.

Giving details, investiga-tion officer (IO) and sub-inspector KK Singh said thewife of the man was standingat a safe distance while rub-bishing reports that thewoman also got her sareedrenched in kerosene.

While sharing his plight tonewsmen after his detention,the man said that his cousinVinay and Sunil had an evildesign on his wife and theyused to harass her. “Theyused to beat me for opposingtheir act and used to talk lewdto my wife. On a number ofoccasions, I petitioned mycase to police but no helpcame. I also did several roundsof the off ice of the SP,Barabanki, for help but invain,” he said. He alleged thatthe accused had a good rap-port with lower-rung copsposted in the area and theaccused used to influencepolice whenever heapproached senior police offi-cials. “The cops term me andmy family as liar and our alle-gations as baseless eventhough the accused continueto harass me with each pass-ing day. It is practically diffi-cult for me to live in the vil-lage under these conditions.But I have no proper job andso I cannot move out as I haveto feed my family,” he added.

The IO said the manclaimed that he took the stepas he failed to get any helpfrom Barabanki police. “Wereferred the matter to thesenior police officials and alsoinformed the Barabankipolice. The man was admittedto Civil Hospital and was dis-charged by evening,” he dis-closed.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Aman was accused ofattempting to sexually

assault a minor who was allalone at her house inGudamba on Saturday after-noon. Reports said the minorwas all alone when her neigh-bour reached her house pre-tending to ask about the well

being of her and her family.On the revelation that the girlwas all alone, he entered thehouse and pinned down theunsuspecting girl.

“He gagged me and start-ed touching me indecently. Iwas scared but I gatheredcourage and wriggled myselffree. While fleeing, I raised analarm hearing which neigh-

bours rushed to my houseand the accused fled the scene.When he was leaving, hethreatened me with dire con-sequences,” she told police.

Police said a case was reg-istered and the police wereconducting a probe into theallegations. “A team has beenset to nab the miscreant,” thepolice said.

Man’s bid to sexually assault minor

Police apathy forcesman to set self afire

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

The recovery of more than adozen carcasses of cattle,

including cows, from Gomtiriver in Bakshi-Ka-Talab policestation area on Saturday creat-ed a flutter with hundreds ofresidents from neighbouringvillages flocking to the scene tosee the same. For police, con-trolling the mob came as a dif-ficult task as villagers becamerestive soon after they saw thecarcasses.

As per reports, some devo-tees attending a religious fair atChandrika Devi temple in BKTspotted the carcasses stuckunder a bridge in Kathwara vil-

lage, 500 metres away from thetemple premises. The newsflew thick and fast and hun-dreds of devotees and villagersassembled at the scene. A heavypolice force was sent to thescene to control the situationand senior officials were alsosent to the place to oversee theinvestigation.

Under the supervision ofthe district administration andpolice officials, the team fishedout carcasses from the riverusing JCBs. Police spokesmanAK Dwivedi confirmed theincident and said medical offi-cers were conducting autopsyof the bodies to ascertain thecause of death. “The carcasses

included that of cows, calvesand buffaloes. The investiga-tions are underway,” he said.

While the police remainedtight-lipped about the reasonbehind the death of cattle, thesources said a number of live-stock died in the winter duringthe past few days. “Due to thefear of gaurakshaks (vigilantegroup) and police, those deal-ing in hidings/skins are notdoing the business. The vil-lagers used to destroy the car-casses by stealthily throwinginto river,” they said. “Policeteams are camping in the areaand a team of doctors was con-ducting the autopsy,” the policespokesman said.

Cattle carcasses recovered in

BKT; heavy force deployed

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

The son of a sweet shop-owner was found in an

unconscious state at the houseof his friend under mysteriouscircumstances and later diedduring treatment at RamManohar Lohia Hospital onFriday night. Police are yet tostart the probe in the case eventhough the autopsy report didnot ascertain death as natural.Rajat Kumar Singh of VibhavKhand (in Gomti Nagar) left hishouse on January 3 eveningafter his friends Utkarsh Saxenaof Vikrant Khand (also inGomti Nagar) and Sunil SinghSengar of Chinhat reached hishouse to meet him. His fatherRaj Kumar Singh said they

waited for the whole night forRajat to return and on January4 morning, they contactedUtkarsh to inquire about Rajat.

“Utkarsh denied that Rajathad visited his house. But I grewsuspicion and reached Utkarshhouse on January 4 but foundit locked. I called Utkarsh’sfather who reached the houseand told me to see on my ownif Rajat was at his house,” vic-tim’s brother Shubham Singhsaid. He said he entered thehouse and found Rajat lockedin a bathroom there. “He was

shivering with cold and com-plained about stomach pain. Icalled my parents and werushed Rajat to RML Hospitalwhere he died on Friday night,”he told. The family suspected afoul play and said Rajat wasdrugged and that was why hedied. They demanded a thread-bare probe into the case. Thepolice said the autopsy reportfailed to ascertain the cause ofdeath. “The viscera had beenpreserved and the police willsent the same to ForensicScience Lab,” the police added.

Youth found unconscious

at friend’s house, dies

SSP KalanidhiNaithani takesstock of trafficsituation inHazratganj onSaturday. (Left)A man carriesthree personson amotorcycle inthe area as acop looks on

Pioneer

city 04LUCKNOW | SUNDAY | JANUARY 6, 2019

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

The Lucknow centre ofIndira Gandhi National

Open University has decided toeducate acid attack survivorsworking at Sheroes café tohelp in skill development. Theopen university has grantedadmission to 10 such survivorsfree of cost. The regional cen-tre organised an awarenessprogramme at the café andmade the survivors aware aboutthe importance of educationand skill development.Functionaries of the café par-ticipated in this workshop.

IGNOU’s assistant region-al director Kirti Vikram Singhsaid the acid attack survivorshad been given admission fora six-month certificate pro-gramme in Food and Nutrition.“The course primarily laysemphasis on nutrition withrelevance to present-day sce-

nario in terms of food adulter-ation, consumer rights, safety& education, cost effective-ness, and environment-friend-ly approaches,” he said. Headded that the course wouldnot only be beneficial for thesurvivors in their presentemployment but would alsoprovide them opportunitiesfor self-employment in foodsector. Regional directorManorama Singh said theirobjective was to provide edu-cation, especially to those whodeprived, so that they could bebrought into the mainstream.

“The counselling classesrelated to this programme willbe organised in the café itself sothat the survivors will get achance to learn while they areemployed,” she said. The coun-selling sessions will also beorganised through Gyanvani(FM channel of IGNOU) fromtime to time.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

A43-year-old man facingtrial in a dowry death case

ended his life at his house inThakurganj on Friday night.Police sent the body for autop-sy and started the investigationinto the case.

Abhishek Mishra aka SanjuMishra of Garhi Peer Khanlocality was spotted hangingfrom the ceiling with a dhotitied around his neck by hisfamily on Friday night. Hisfather Ganesh Datt Mishra,who is retired medical officer,said Sanju was resting in aroom since afternoon. “Whenhe did not come out by latenight, we went to inquire abouthim and found the doorsclosed from inside. When wepeeped inside, we found himhanging and informed thepolice,” he told police.

It surfaced that Sanju wasan accused in a dowry deathcase after his wife Pinki ofSaadatganj died under myste-

rious circumstances a few yearsback and her parents lodged acase in which they namedSanju. Police said Sanju took toalcohol in the due course oftime. “He was to be sentencedin the dowry death case andwas under depression. Itseemed that he ended his lifedue to this,” the residents toldpolice. The police spokesmansaid no suicide note was recov-ered from the room. “The manended his life due to depressionbut the police were yet to findout the reason which pushedhim to depression,” he said.

BOOKEDHazratganj police booked

three persons for running ille-gal parking lot and an extortionracket outside a mall underHazratganj police station onSaturday. The incidentoccurred around 11 am whenpolice, during patrolling, sus-pected illegal parking lot out-side a mall and found peoplewere given fake parking tokens

having Nagar Nigam seal. Hazratganj SHO Radha

Raman said that two illegalparking lots were running out-side the mall and three persons,Rakesh Gupta, Shyam Pandeyand Manish Tiwari, werebooked in that connection.

LOOTEDTwo miscreants imperson-

ating themselves as policemenlooted jewellery from LaxmiJaiswal in Gudamba on Fridaynight. The woman, who is aresident of Phoolbagh colony,had gone for shopping whenbike-borne miscreants accost-ed her. They singled her outand told her that they had tointerrogate her and later askedwhy she was wearing the jew-ellery and where from she gotthe same. They also askedabout the income of her hus-band. Later, the miscreantsasked her to take off the jew-ellery and put them in herpurse which they later forciblytook before speeding off.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Anine-day training onhorticultural crop pro-

duction in subtropics for 15students from Institute ofAgricultural Sciences(Banaras Hindu University)concluded at Central Institutefor Subtropical Horticulture(CISH) on Saturday. CISHdirector Shailendra Rajan saidthat among different disci-plines in agriculture, horti-culture was attracting most ofthe students because ofincreasing opportunities forentrepreneurship in the fieldof horticultural crops pro-duction. “Undergraduate stu-dents in different state agri-cultural universities are pre-ferring horticulture for spe-cialisation. CISH is receivingseveral requests from univer-

sities for organising trainingprogrammes for BSc(Agriculture) students fortheir knowledge upgradationin subtropical horticulture.Last year, universities fromRajasthan, Madhya Pradeshand Uttar Pradesh nominatedstudents for specialised train-ing on subtropical horticul-ture,” he said.

Among different aspectsof horticulture, students havepreference for various aspectsand surprisingly, nursery as abusiness is attracting most ofthe students for entrepre-neurship development.

There is increasing pref-erence for organic productionof horticultural crops too.The students were sensitisedabout various aspects ofHorticulture such as organicproduction of horticultural

crops, nursery management,intercropping, entrepreneur-ial opportunities in horticul-ture, planning and layout offruit crop orchards, integrat-ed insect pest and diseasemanagement, cost-effectiveprotected cultivation, cropregulation, fruit orchard reju-venation, improved bananaproduction, micro irrigation,micro propagation techniquesin fruit crops, and off-seasonvegetable production.

Students are now moreinterested in acquiring prac-tical knowledge about varioustechniques. Field visit of stu-dents was organised to famil-iarize them with advancednursery management, organ-ic input production, micro-irrigation, protected cultiva-tion, high density plantingand bio-control lab.

WORKSHOPThe Associated Chambers

of Commerce and Industryorganised an interactive work-shop, ‘ASSOCHAMUPVISION-2019’ in Lucknow onSaturday to prepare focus areasfor growth and expansion ofthe industries. The workshopwas attended by industrialistand professionals of variedareas. After detailed delibera-tion, the focus areas emerged

were food processing, IT sec-tor, solar energy, logistic ware-housing insurance, tourismand film industry. The profes-sional support for start-upsand ODOP also emerged dur-ing the discussion.

FEE HIKEMembers of Unaided

Private Schools’ Associationhave decided to increase feefor the year 2019-2020 by

9.23 per cent. Association’spresident Anil Agarwal saidmany schools would increasetheir fees less than the max-imum permissible hike as perUP Fee Regulation Act. “If anyparticular school wants toincrease fee more than thispercentage, it will have toseek permission from district-level committee,” he said,pointing out that the increasewas less than that last year.

CMS STUDENTS GETS 1ST PRIZE IN DANCE CONTESTTanya Srivastava, a class II student of

City Montessori School, Mahanagar,bagged the first prize in an inter-schooldance competition, organised under theaegis of Institute of Professional Studies.Tanya showcased her knowledge of musicand presented wonderful dancing skills,leaving the audience and judges impressed.Organisers presented a certificate andother prizes to her.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n VARANASI

Minister of State (inde-pendent charge) for

Sainik Kalyan, FoodProcessing, Home Guards,Pranthiya Rakshak Dal andCivil Defence Anil Rajbhar onSaturday took a dig at Cabinetminister Om Prakash Rajbharsaying that the latter did pol-itics for self-interest and wasnot concerned about theRajbhar community. AnilRajbhar was in Varanasi tohear the grievances of people.In an interaction with media-persons, he said he had a lot ofrespect for Om PrakashRajbhar. However, he askedthe latter to rise above narrowmentality and said by notattending the function inGhazipur in which the PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hadreleased a postal stamp in the

name of Maharaja Suheldev,the Cabinet minister showedthat he did politics for self-interest and not for the inter-est of his own community.

On the announcementmade by Om Prakash Rajbharthat his party would contestparliamentary election on allseats in UP, Anil Rajbhar saidit would make zero differencefor the BJP, but the saffronparty wanted to take all itsalliance partners along. Hesuggested the Cabinet ministerto do positive politics.

Commenting on the rallyby Shiv Sena chief UddhavThackeray in Varanasi sched-uled for February, Anil Rajbharsaid people of UP and Biharare well aware with Thackerayand his party’s stand for peo-ple of the two states and hisarrival at the holy city wouldhave no impact on the BJP.

Man facing trial in dowry

death case ends life

SCHOOLSCAN

CITYBRIEFS

Lucknow (PNS): The Metdepartment has forecast rains inmany areas of the state onSunday. There is a warning forhailstorm at isolated places andcold day conditions at isolated

places over eastern UP. Theforecast for Lucknow is rain andthundershowers in some areas.The maximum and minimumtemperature is likely to bearound 22 degree Celsius and

7 degree Celsius, respectively.As for state, rain and thun-

dershowers are expected atmany places over eastern UP.Shallow to moderate fog islikely at isolated places overwest UP.

On Saturday, Lucknowrecorded the maximum tem-perature at 22.4 degree Celsius,which was just a notch abovenormal, while the minimumtemperature settled at 7.7degrees. In UP, Muzaffarnagarremained the coldest at 4.4degree Celsius.

Met dept predicts rains in many areas IGNOU to help acid attack survivors in skill development

A motorcycle rally was flagged off by Transport Minister Swatantra Dev Singh, at1090 crossing in Lucknow on Saturday. Ashutosh Soti, founder of Shubham SotiFoundation, said they had been working for the social cause of road safety for last8 years and executing different campaigns, workshops and projects in associationwith government departments Pioneer

Training programme at CISH concludes

BLANKETS DISTRIBUTEDPunjab National Bank dis-

tributed blankets to 50 girls ofRajkiya Bal Grih in GomtiNagar. The exercise was con-ducted by PNB Prerna presi-dent Banita Jha, under corpo-rate social responsibility. Circlehead Shikha Sharma and oth-ers were also present.

Lucknow (PNS): KumarKeshav, managing director ofLucknow Metro RailCorporation, on Saturdayreviewed the finishing work ofKD Singh ‘Babu’ Stadium andBadshahnagar stations. Keshavinspected the portals and can-tilever pier caps installed onthe route of LMRC’s balancesection and said that the jour-ney for commuters should beblissful. The civil constructionwork of these stations is in thefinal stage. There are severalportals and cantilever piercaps from KD Singh station toMunshipulia to maintain bal-ance on many winding turnsin the route of the rollingstock. Passing through theseportals and cantilever piercaps, the rolling stock willmove on the lower level of thedefined speed which can beseen while passing through theIT intersection, which has thebalance section here in themost curved twist.

Police stopping the protest march by Timber Association members in Lucknow on Saturday Pioneer

‘Om Prakash notconcerned aboutRajbhar community’

LMRC MD reviews

progress of work

landmark 05LUCKNOW | SUNDAY | JANUARY 6, 2019

PNS n NEW DELHI

Union Home MinisterRajnath Singh on Saturday

sought a report from the KeralaGovernment over the prevail-ing situation in the State asprotests took a violent turn inKerala over the entry of twowomen in their forties into theSabarimala temple. For its part,the BJP alleged that the vio-lence around the Sabarimalatemple in Kerala was unleashedin the State by the LDFGovernment, which, instead ofdealing with it in a sensible way,wreaked havoc resulting indevotees being hurt and evenkilled.

The BJP also maintainedthat the Sabarimala issue wasabout Hindus and not aboutthe ruling party.

BJP spokesperson GVLNarasimha Rao in a Press con-ference claimed that Kannur,from where Kerala Chief

Minister Pinarayi Vijayan hails,had become the “epicentre” ofthe violence and this revealedthe State Government’s com-plicity in it.

Violence involving BJP-RSS and ruling CPM workersrocked politically volatileKannur district in north Keralaon Saturday with a number ofhouses and shops of rival lead-ers and workers being attacked.

“All this has been done bythe CPI(M) goons with the fullauthority and support of thestate government. The CPI(M)has a history of unleashing vio-lence against the RSS-BJP

cadre, but today, they are noteven sparing the devotees,”Rao alleged.

“The State Government isusing the cadres of the DYFI,the SDPI and this is state-spon-sored violence being unleashed.A devotee was killed two daysago and a bomb was hurled atthe ancestral home of one ofour MPs,” he said.

The BJP leader said the agi-tations at the Sabarimala tem-ple were not political in nature,but peaceful protests to upholdthe traditions of the shrine.

“This is an issue of devo-tees, not an issue of the BJP.This is an issue concerning theHindu society,” Rao added.

He alleged that the KeralaChief Minister himself wasresponsible for the violence inthe State, where so far, over1,700 people have been arrested.

“Pinarayi Vijayan’s con-spiracy in this matter is clear-

ly visible. We condemn the factthat he has politicised the issueand is using it for politicalgains,” he alleged.

Rao asked media to not seethis issue from only a genderperspective. He said genderequality was an issue close tothe BJP, however, this was amatter of tradition, culture,emotions and beliefs.

“Any Government trying tothrust any actions on the devo-tees will only have negativereactions. The Supreme Courtis likely to hear review petitionsand I appeal to the media to seeit in its complete perspectiveand not to get swayed by theLeftist narrative. Their narra-tive is for their vote bank pol-itics,” he said.

He also said the Sabarimalaissue, the triple talaq case andthe Ram Mandir issue werethree separate issues andshould not be seen from a sim-ilar perspective.

IANS n NEW DELHI

ADelhi court on Saturdaysent British national

Christian James Michel, themiddleman in the `3,600-croreAgustaWestland VVIP chopperdeal case, to judicial custody.

Michel, who was with theEnforcement Directorate (ED)since December 22, was pro-duced before Special JudgeArvind Kumar around 2 p.m.who sent him to judicial cus-tody.

The ED sought his judicialcustody in connection with itsprobe into a money launderingcase. In the court, ED counselD.P. Singh said the audit reportssubmitted during the trial ofthe Italian court appeared to be“factually incorrect” and henceit was required to to be seenwhether the Italian court hadbased its decision on the sameaudit report.

Singh also informed thecourt that the investigationinto Michel's role had beenfruitful.

“We have investigated howhawala cash circulated throughmultiple bank accounts,” he

said, adding that the agencyhad identified Michel's prop-erties purchased out of theproceeds of crime.

“During questioning,Michel has given contradicto-ry answers to various questionsand he was not able to explainthe contradictions,” Singh said.

The ED counsel also saidthat Michel had received euro24.25 million and pound16,096,245 from theAgustaWestland deal.

“During his interrogation,it was observed that he receivedmoney for other defence deals,”Singh said.

Michel was extradited toIndia on December 4 from theUnited Arab Emirates and theCentral Bureau of Investigation(CBI) got his custody tillDecember 19.

Michel was arrested by theEnforcement Directorate onDecember 22 and sent to aseven-day ED custody overmoney laundering charges bya court here. The court onDecember 29 again sent him toanother seven-day ED cus-tody.

Michel was earlier lodged

in the Tihar Jail here in arelated CBI case after the expiryof his custody with the CBI. Hewas questioned by the CBI tillDecember 19.

Michel is one of the threemiddlemen being investigatedby the CBI and the ED in theVVIP chopper deal.

In January last year, the EDlodged a request with the UAEauthorities seeking extraditionof Michel. Both the ED and theCBI had filed charge-sheets inbribery cases in Indian courtsand non-bailable warrants wereissued against the accused.

In its chargesheet, the CBInamed former Indian Air Forcechief SP Tyagi, his cousinSanjeev Tyagi alias Julie, thenIAF Vice Chief JS Gujral andadvocate Gautam Khaitan asthe four Indians involved in thescam.

Others named in thechargesheet included GiuseppeOrsi, the former chief of Italiandefence and aerospace majorFinmeccanica, and BrunoSpagnolini, former CEO ofAgustaWestland, apart frommiddlemen Michel, Haschkeand Gerosa.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Continuing his attack onthe Modi Government

over the Rafale deal issue,Congress president RahulGandhi on Saturday urged allIndians to ask Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and hisMinisters the questions heposed in Parliament on thefighter jet agreement withFrance.

“RM (Raksha Manti) spokefor 2 hrs in Parliament, but shecouldn’t answer the 2 simplequestions I asked her,” Rahultweeted. He also posted a videoof the two questions he posedto the defence minister inParliament. Posting the videoon his Twitter account, Rahulsaid: “Watch & share this video.Let every Indian ask the PM &his Ministers these questions.”With his tweet, Rahul used thehashtag “2SawalDoJawab”.

Rahul also hit out at Modiover clashes in a Gujarat villagebetween the police and farm-

ers, saying farmers were “dis-tressed” under the BJP's rule.“Modiji is beating his chest overthe Congress’s loan waiver. Hehas said for the Congress,farmers are a vote bank. Nowsee the condition of the farm-ers in Gujarat. Under the BJP’srule, farmers are in distress,” theCongress chief said in aFacebook post in Hindi.

His remarks came after

clashes broke out onWednesday between the policeand farmers protesting againstlimestone mining by a privatefirm near a village in Gujarat'sBhavnagar district, leaving sev-eral policemen and agitatorsinjured.

The Congress also accusedthe Modi Government of“squandering” the assets ofpublic sector undertakingssuch as HAL and ONGC to“favour a select few”. SeniorCongress leader Ahmed Pateltweeted: “HAL is borrowing`1,000 crore because it can’teven pay salaries?”

His tweet came after amedia report claimed thatdefence PSU HindustanAeronautics Limited, grapplingwith low finances, for the firsttime in years, has been forcedto borrow money to paysalaries to its employees.

“Not just HAL; be itONGC, LIC, HPCL,GSPC orany other PSU, thisGovernment has squandered

their assets to favour a selectfew,” Patel alleged.

Citing the media report,Congress’ chief spokespersonRandeep Surjewala said,“Under Modiji, India’s largestpublic sector defence unit,HAL does not even haveenough cash to pay salaries toits employees. For the firsttime in 70 years, they wereforced to borrow ̀ 1,000 crore.”“Despite that, no Rafale con-tract for them Apathetic!” hetweeted.

The Congress has allegedirregularities in the deal for 36aircraft and claimed that theNarendra Modi Government isbuying them at a price muchhigher than the one that wasbeing negotiated by the previ-ous Government. The party hasalso been accusing theGovernment favouring of AnilAmbani’s firm over HAL in theRafale jets deal. TheGovernment as well as Ambanihave rejected all such allega-tions.

PTI n NEW DELHI

The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) has filed

a chargesheet in a Delhi courtagainst Shabbir Ahmad Lone,a suspected member of thebanned terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, for his allegedinvolvement in a money laun-dering case.

The ED attached foreigncurrency, under the Preventionof Money Laundering Act(PMLA), that was recoveredfrom Lone which, it said, “wasmeant for the purpose of ter-rorist activities in India”.

Lone was arrested by theSpecial Cell of Delhi Police in2007 from the Chandni Chowkarea.

“It may be recalled thatpolice recovered one pistol of9 mm calibre and seven liverounds of 9 mm calibre, foreignand Indian currencies alongwith other incriminatingbelongings from the possessionof Lone and had arrested him.

“On the instance of Lone,two loaded magazines of AKrifle with 60 live rounds, fourhand grenades, one AK rifle, Rsone lakh cash was also recov-

ered from a guest house inAzadpur area,” the ED said inits submission made by specialpublic prosecutor NK Matta.

Police investigation hadrevealed, it said, “involvementof the accused in hatchingcriminal conspiracy with otherLeT militants in order to wagewar against the nation andalso to carry out terrorist anddisruptive activities in India.”

It said the Special Cell ofDelhi Police filed charge sheetagainst Lone in the case underSection 121 (waging waragainst government of India),122 (collecting arms withintention of waging war againstthe government of India), 123(concealing with intent to facil-itate design to wage war), ofIPC and under various sectionsof stringent Unlawful Activities(Prevention) Act, Arms Actand Explosive Substances Act.

He was convicted by a trialcourt here and sent to six yearsof imprisonment.

New Delhi: BJP president AmitShah on Saturday lashed out atthe Congress-JD(S) dispensa-tion in Karnataka for hiking taxon petrol and diesel, sayingwhy should the people pay sucha heavy price for “corruptionand inefficiency of the StateGovernment”.

“Under the present StateGovernment in Karnataka,farmers are dying. Dalits arebeing enslaved. Common manis being oppressed with taxes.Why should the people ofKarnataka pay such a heavyprice for the corruption andinefficiency of the state gov-ernment?” Shah said in a tweet.

The BJP chief ’s commentscame a day after the Congress-JD(S) Government inKarnataka raised tax rates onpetrol and diesel to 32 per centand 21 per cent respectively, cit-ing adverse impact on the staterevenue collection due to con-tinuous fall in prices of crudeoil in international market.

Shah had earlier alsoattacked the government overthe issue of farmers’ suicide anda case of Dalits being alleged-ly enslaved. PNS

Violence unleashed

by Kerala Govt: BJP

SABARIMALA PROTESTS BJP ALSO SAID THE

SABARIMALA ISSUE,

THE TRIPLE TALAQ CASE

AND THE RAM MANDIR

ISSUE WERE THREE

SEPARATE ISSUES AND

SHOULD NOT BE SEEN

FROM A SIMILAR

PERSPECTIVE

Let every Indian askPM questions: Rahul

RAFALE DEAL ISSUE

Christian Michel sentto judicial custody

AGUSTAWESTLAND CASE ED files chargesheet againstsuspected LeT member inmoney laundering case

Shah slams

K’taka Govt

for hiking

tax on fuel

PTI n NEW DELHI

The BJP on Saturdayappointed Union Ministers

JP Nadda and Piyush Goyal asLok Sabha election in-chargefor Uttar Pradesh and TamilNadu respectively, days after itmade similar appointments for17 States.

Party sources also clarifiedthat Gordhan Zadaphia, aGujarat leader who was a crit-ic of Prime Minister NarendraModi before returning to theBJP, would be one of the six co-incharges for the state, addingthat a big state like UP needsseveral co-incharges.

It was earlier reported thatZadaphia would be the UttarPradesh in-charge. So far, theBJP has appointed three co-incharges for the State.

A BJP statement saidNadda, who enjoys the trust ofModi and party president AmitShah, will be overall in-chargefor the state that sends 80members, more than any otherstate, to the Lok Sabha.

Union Minister NirmalaSitharaman will be in-chargefor Delhi, former ministerKalraj Mishra for Haryana.Avinash Rai Khanna has beenroped in for Tripura.

Nadda BJP's

UP in-charge

for LS polls

PTI n MUMBAI

Fugitive diamond merchantNirav Modi, a prime

accused in the PNB fraud case,told a court here on Saturdaythat he cannot return to Indiadue to safety concerns andalso because his case has beenpoliticised.

Modi's lawyer filed hisreply to the EnforcementDirectorate’s (ED) plea seekingto declare the diamond mer-chant a fugitive under theFugitive Economic OffendersAct (FEOA) before the specialcourt for cases filed under thePrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA).

Modi feared for his safetygiven the violent threats madeagainst him “as illustrated bythe burning of his effigies”, the

reply said.Statements made by politi-

cians from all parties showedthat they had “prejudged theissue of his guilt” and his casewas being used for politicalpurposes, it added.

While he left the countrylong before a case was regis-tered against him, the ED triedto “falsely implicate” him for

offences “backed by shallowclaims”, Modi's reply said.

The fugitive diamond mer-chant also claimed to haveduly replied to the ED's sum-mons.

According to the ED, Modifailed to respond to its sum-mons thrice, after which itfiled the plea under the FEOA.

The ED did not mentionthat he had stated in his replythat he could not travel as hispassport had been revoked,Modi said.

According to the CentralBureau of Investigation (CBI),Modi and his uncle MehulChoksi cheated the PunjabNational Bank (PNB) of`14,000 crore by fraudulentlysecuring Letters ofUndertaking (LoUs) to obtaincredit overseas.

PTI n CHENNAI

External Affairs MinisterSushma Swaraj Saturday

lauded the role of Hindi lan-guage in developing India'sculture and integrity and saidit was increasingly becomingpopular in other countries andalso in the social media.

Addressing the 82nd con-vocation of the DakshinaBharat Hindi Prachar Sabhahere, she said the institutionwas promoting not only Hindi,but also other south Indianlanguages.

Noting that language playsa significant role in connectingpeople, Swaraj said Hindi wasbecoming popular in other

countries also.Recalling the services of

political leaders who laid thefoundation for propagatingHindi, she said the late AtalBehari Vajpayee was the firstIndian leader to address theUnited Nations GeneralAssembly in the national lan-guage.

Carrying forward this greattradition, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi had in 2014delivered a speech at theUNGA in Hindi.

Present trends indicatedthat there was an increase injob opportunities for Hindigraduates.

Hindi offers a promisingcareer as many Hindi publica-

tions and news channels haveemerged during the past fewyears, she added.

The Union Minister alsosaid that there was a growinginterest among foreign diplo-mats and dignitaries to learnHindi.

Several countries haverequested the Indian govern-ment to set up centres of learn-ing to promote Hindi, shesaid.

The language was alsogaining popularity on varioussocial media such as Twitterand Facebook.

The sabha was establishedin 1918 by Mahatma Gandhiwith the aim of propagatingHindi in southern States.

The institution, which iscelebrating its centenary year,was formally inaugurated onJune 17, 1918, in the presenceof Annie Besant, at the GokhaleHall in George Town, before itwas moved to its present loca-tion in T-Nagar here.

In recognition of the ser-vices rendered by the Sabha,the Parliament had conferredthe status of “Institution ofNational Importance” by enact-ing a special act.

The act authorises theSabha to award degrees inHindi like other universities.

The Union Minister gave away medalsand degrees to graduates andpost graduates.

Can't return for safety concerns,case politicised, says Nirav Modi

Sushma lauds role of Hindi in promoting India's culture

Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj greets Sr. Hindi prachrak, PKBalasubramaniam, during the 82nd Convocation of Dakshina Bharat Hindi PracharSabha in Chennai on Saturday PTI

PTI n NEW DELHI

The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) moved a

Delhi court on Saturday seek-ing issuance of open-endednon-bailable warrant (NBW)against Manoj Arora, alleged-ly a close aide of Robert Vadra,in a money laundering case.

The ED's special publicprosecutor Nitesh Rana madethe submission before specialjudge Arvind Kumar who putup the matter for hearing onJanuary 8. The agency told thecourt that Arora failed toappear for questioning despiterepeated summonses.

The ED further claimedthat Arora is a key person in thecase. He is aware of overseasundeclared assets of Vadra andwas instrumental in arranging

funds for such properties, theagency said. Vadra is the broth-er-in-law of Congress presidentRahul Gandhi.

An “open-ended NBW”does not carry a time limit forexecution unlike other non-bailable warrants.

The ED, in its applicationmoved by advocate A R Aditya,claimed that proceeds of crimewas used to channelise fundsfrom the UAE to buy a prop-erty at 12, Bryanston Square,London, worth 1.9 millionpound and allegedly owned byVadra. It said the probe wascarried out under the BlackMoney Act.

“Vadra was beneficiallycontrolling the property at 12,Bryanston Square, London,UK, which was valued at 1.9million pound, and not only

executing renovation work ofthis property but also arrang-ing funds for the same,” theagency said in its application.

According to the agency,the property was bought bySanjay Bhandari for GBP 1.9million and sold in 2010 for thesame amount despite incurringadditional expenses of approx-imately GBP 65,900 on its ren-ovation.

“This gives credence tothe fact that Bhandari was notthe actual owner of the prop-erty but it was beneficiallyowned by Vadra who wasincurring expenditure on therenovation of this property,” italleged.

The ED said in its submis-sion that Arora has beenabsconding since the search ofhis premises by the agency.

ED seeks open-ended NBW

against close aide of Vadra

PTI n NEW DELHI

Cyclonic Storm Pabuk overthe Andaman Sea and

neighbourhood moved furtherwest-northwestwards with aspeed of 21kmph in the past sixhours, the India MeteorologicalDepartment said Saturday andwarned fishermen against ven-turing out to sea.

The storm is very likely tomove west-northwestwards forsome more time, it said.

“Thereafter, it is very like-ly to move northwestwardsand cross Andaman Islandsaround evening of 06th Januaryas a cyclonic storm with a windspeed of 70-80kmph gusting to90kmph. Thereafter, it is very

likely to move north-north-westwards and then recurvenortheastwards towardsMyanmar coast and weakengradually during January 7and 8,” the department said.

Rainfall at many placeswith heavy falls at isolatedplaces very likely to commenceover the Andaman Islands andgale wind speed reaching 70-80kmph gusting to 90kmph islikely to prevail.

The IMD warned of dam-age to thatched huts and powerand communication lines whenthe storm passes the region. Iturged people on the AndamanIslands to remain in safe placesand suspend all fishing opera-tions in the Andaman Sea.

PTI n NEW DELHI

The culture of readingshould grow more in peo-

ple as it teaches values like ana-lytical thinking and developsrespect for different opinions,Human Resource DevelopmentMinister Prakash Javadekarsaid on Saturday.

Speaking at the inaugura-tion of the New Delhi WorldBook Fair here, the UnionMinister said the culture ofreading offers “new dimen-sions” and life finds a “meaning”.

“Even if we read only 50pages in a day we are filled

with satisfaction. We find newthoughts, imagination, andpossibilities. Books bring us somany different experiences ofthe world. I am happy that theculture of reading books isincreasing in our country.And our life finds a meaningby reading. “We get newdimensions. I hope the cultureof reading grows with exchangeof thoughts, interest to analyseall opinions should increasetoo, and the respect towards allopinions should increase aswell. And I believe readingbooks teaches us all these val-ues,” he said.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Supreme Court judge JusticeAK Sikri on Saturday raised

concern about the rights of per-sons with mental illness, sayingit was an issue of their humanrights and they had a right tolive with dignity.

Citing an incident of anasylum in Uttar Pradesh wheremany mentally-ill persons werechained, Sikri said, “This ishappening in 2019 where weare talking about the legalrights of the mentally-ill per-sons. It is no more a healthissue alone now.... It is an issueof their human rights also asthey are not getting the suitableenvironment which they need.They have the right to live likeany other person.”

They are also the citizen ofthis country and they haveright to live with dignity. Theirrights to live have been violat-ed by the authorities itself, hesaid at a seminar here.

Sikri's comments come twodays after a bench comprisinghim and Justice S Abdul Nazeersaid chaining people with men-tal illness was violative of theirrights under Article 21 of theConstitution.

Mentally-ill

persons have

right to live with

dignity: Sikri

Cyclone Pabuk: IMD

warns fishermen

against going to sea

Reading develops respect

towards different opinions:

Prakash Javadekar

Under Modiji, HAL doesnot even have enoughcash to pay salaries toits employees. For thefirst time in 70 years,

they were forced toborrow `1K crore: Cong

Lone was arrested bythe Special Cell of DelhiPolice in 2007 from the

Chandni Chowk area

nation 06LUCKNOW | SUNDAY | JANUARY 6, 2018

PNS n SHIMLA

In a tragic incident, six chil-dren and the driver of their

school bus were killed onSaturday when the vehicle fellinto a gorge in HimachalPradesh’s Sirmaur district.

The accident in which 12schoolchildren were alsoinjured occurred in Sangrahtown around 8 am. “A privatebus carrying students of DAVSchool, Renuka, fell into agorge. Seven people — sixschoolchildren and the bus dri-ver — were killed,”Superintendent of Police,Sirmaur, Rohit Malpani said.

Four people — Samir (5),Adarsh (7), Kartik (14) and dri-ver Ram Swaroop (40) — died

on the spot. Abhishek, his sis-ter Sanjana and Naitik Chauhansuccumbed to their injuries atthe Nahan Medical College, theSP said. Twelve people injuredin the accident have been hos-pitalised. The condition of someof them is critical, he said. Tenof the 12 injured schoolchild-ren were identified as Sandhaya,Rakshita, Anjali, Rajiv, Aayush,Vaishanvi, Dhruv, Mannat,Aarushi and Sunder Singh.Deputy Commissioner,Sirmour, Lalit Jain has askedSub Divisional Magistrate,Sangrah, Rajesh Dhiman toconduct a detailed inquiry intothe incident and submit a reportwithin 15 days. Jain also askedDhiman to disburse an imme-diate relief of `20,000 to kin of

those killed and `10,000 theinjured.

The State Government inNovember banned plying ofschool buses older than 15years after a school bus accidentin Nurpur town in Kangra dis-trict that claimed 28 lives,including 24 students in the agegroup of nine to 12 years.

The new rules include thatdrivers above 60 years of agewill be debarred from drivingand a driver must have a five-year experience of drivingheavy vehicles. The driver willalso have to undergo eye check-up every year. The new guide-lines are applicable to all modesof transport, including busesand small vehicles like cabs and vans.

7 killed after school

bus falls into gorge

Mangled remains of a school bus that rolled down a deep gorge at Renuka, in Sirmaur district, on Saturday PTI

RAIN TO INTENSIFY...Importantly, Delhiites will

witness dense foggy morningfrom January 9. Forecastingthe cloudy or rain like weath-er, IMD mentioned that thesudden change of weather is aresult of western disturbancesapproaching the northernStates from Iran and adjoiningparts of Afghanistan.

Amiably, there is goodnews for people missing chillyweather in Delhi winter yearas they can plan weekendouting in nearby hilly regionas fresh rain and snow withheavy falls at isolated places ofHimachal Pradesh andUttarakhand was received onSaturday evening.

Popular tourist destina-tion and the Himalayanshrines of Kedarnath inRudraprayag and Badrinath inChamoli district, besides theskiing slopes of Auli, receivedfresh spells of snow in themorning and afternoon,according to IMD.

Nandadevi and Valley ofFlowers National Park, aWorld Heritage Site, andKedarnath Musk DeerSanctuary also received snow-fall. Dehradun also witnesseda cold day with an overcast skyand recorded a minimumtemperature of 6.6 degreeCelsius. In Mukteshwar, NewTehri and Pantnagar the mer-cury settled at 3.1 degreeCelsius, 5.2 degrees Celsiusand 5.6 degrees Celsiusrespectively.

Although, the weatherdepartment has also warnedof heavy snowfall and rain atisolated places in Uttarkashi,Chamoli, Rudraprayag,Bageshwar and Pithoragarhdistricts over the next 36hours.

Hailstorm is also likely tohit isolated places inDehradun, Tehri, Pauri,Haridwar, Nainital andChampawat districts duringthe period, IMD official said.

Prevailing cold conditionswhich are expected to con-tinue for another four - fivedays, the education depart-ment in Uttar Pradesh hasordered change in school tim-ings in Ghaziabad district.

Citing the IMD forecast,the education department saidthat the Government schoolsclasses from first to eighth willopen at 10 am now, instead of9 am in the wake of loweredtemperatures. The officials ofthe Indian MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) have pre-dicted that the cold conditionswill prevail for another four-five days. Rainfall has alsobeen predicted in westernUttar Pradesh on January 6.Officials of the IMD havealso predicted moderate todense fog in the coming daysand worsening of air qualityfrom January 8.

According to IMD, denseto ver y dense fog wasobserved at isolated placesover West Uttar Pradesh;dense fog was observed at iso-lated places over Punjab,Haryana, Chandigarh andDelhi, west Uttar Pradesh,and Himachal Pradesh onSaturday. Visibility in Bareilly,Shahjhanpur, Ludhiana,Patiala-50, Delhi and Aligarhwas recorded between 25 M to200 M.

In Himachal Pradesh, sev-eral high altitude regions inKullu, Chamba, Kinnaur andLahaul-Spiti districts receivingfresh snowfall and rain, themeteorological departmentsaid. Kothi, Gondola andManali in Kullu districtreceived 2.5 feet, 10.5 cm and5 cm snow respectively andDalhousie in Chamba districtreceived 2 cm snow, theShimla MeT centre directorManmohan Singh said.

The tribal district Lahauland Spiti’s administrative cen-tre Keylong got 20 cm snow,whereas Kinnaur’s Pooh andKalpa received 8 cm and 5 cmsnow respectively Saturday,he said. Despite overcast skyno fresh snowfall occurred inShimla on Saturday, he added.

In the meantime,Dharamshala got 6 mm rain,Bhuntar and Amb received 2mm rain each, whereasKangra, Chamba andSujanpur Tira got 1 mm raineach, he added.

Meanwhile, Keylong con-tinued to be the coldest placein the State at -7 degreeCelsius, the MeT official said.The minimum temperature inKalpa was -2 degree Celsius,while it was -1.1 degree inDalhousie and -0.8 degreesCelsius in Kufri from 5.30 pmFriday to 8.30 am Saturday,IMD said. It may be recalledthat the India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) hadsounded an ‘orange warning’of heavy snowfall, rain andhailstorm in most parts of the

State from January 4 to 6.Acting on the weather

advisory, the State DisasterManagement Authority(SDMA) had already madepreparations to deal with anyeventuality. The State and dis-trict control rooms are in astate of readiness to deal withany eventuality, a State officialhad said, adding that touristsand the general public havebeen advised to avoid thehigher reaches in the comingdays.

Issuing instructions not toventure to high reaches, district administrations ofChamba, Kinnaur and Kangraurged the public to contact atemergency number 1077 incase of emergency.

Kinnaur DeputyCommissioner Gopal Chandadvised the residents not tocome outside their homeswithout any urgent work toavoid any untoward incident

With fresh snowfall, thetemperature in Indo-giganticregion was recorded below normal (-1.6°C to -3.0°C) at a few places overHimachal Pradesh; at isolatedplaces over Punjab and east Rajasthan and near normal over rest parts of thecountry.

BJP FACES...The compulsions alliance

between the SP-BSP datesback to the 2104 Lok Sabhapoll when the BSP was rout-ed scoring zero and the SPwon only five seats.

The SP won only thoseseats where members of theMulayam Yadav clan contest-ed. The Congress, which had22 seats in the 2009 election,managed to hold on to onlythe Nehru-Gandhi familypocket borough of Rae Bareliand Amethi.

According to SP’s nation-al spokesperson RajendraChaudhar y, a formalannouncement on the “gath-bandhan” between the twoUttar Pradesh-based partiesmay take place later thismonth. He said Akhileshand Mayawati had given their“in-principle approval” to thealliance after a series of meet-ings between them.

The two leaders also metFriday, he said. Talks are onwith other parties as well, thespokesperson said.

“A number of meetings between SP chiefAkhilesh and BSP supremoMayawati have already beenheld. Yesterday too, both lead-ers met in Delhi.”

“Talks are going on toaccommodate some smallerparties in the alliance,” hesaid. He admitted that theRashtriya Lok Dal (RLD),which has a presence in west-ern UP, is among these parties.

CBI MAY GO...After converting its third

PE into an FIR now, theagency teams on Saturday morning raided 14 places inUttar Pradesh’s Hamirpur,Jalaun, Lucknow, Noida andDelhi which led to the recov-ery of cash over Rs 12.5 lakh,property documents, 1.8 kggold etc.

The CBI said it raidedChandrakala’s flat number101 at Sapphire Apartment inHussainganj area, SarojiniNaidu Marg near YojanaBhawan in Lucknow and“seized several important doc-uments” in connection withthe case. Chandrakala is onstudy leave and was in herDelhi residence at the time ofCBI raids. She has beencharged with allotting mininglease to SP leaders withoutgoing for auction as per thenorms.

Chandrakala has comeunder scanner for allegedlybypassing rules and regula-tions for granting licenses forsand mining during hertenure as District Magistrateof Hamirpur in 2012 whenAkhilesh was the ChiefMinister of the State.Chandrakala is hugely popu-lar on the social media for heranti- corruption crusade.

Her videos on social net-working sites lashingGovernment officials earnedher a title of ‘Lady Dabang’(daring). She hails fromTelangana . It is alleged thatthe public servants allowedillegal mining during 2012-16and illegally renewed licencesdespite a ban by NationalGreen Tribunal on mining. Itis alleged that the officersallowed theft of minerals,extort money from lease hold-ers, extort money from dri-vers. According to the CBI,the flat is registered in thename of her daughter.Chandrakala has been theDM of several districts includ-ing Meerut, Bulandshahr and

Bijnore. The residences of BSP

leader Satyadev Dikshit,Samajwadi Party MLCRamesh Mishra in Hamirpurand red stone contractors inJalaun and other premises inKanpur, Noida, Jalaun andHamirpur in UP and Delhiwere also searched in con-nection the scam.

Among others named inthe FIR include DineshKumar Mishra (RameshKumar Mishra’s brother), RamAshrey Prajapati (then miningclerk), Ambika Tiwari (who isrelated to Mishras), SanjayDixit’s father Satyadev Dixit,Ram Avtar Singh (retiredmining clerk), Karan Singhand Adil Khan.

Sources said a CBI teamwas also questioning Mishraand former zila pachayatchairman Satyadev Dikshitillegal mining is a long stand-ing issue in the Bundelkhandregion. In 2016, on the direc-tions of the Allahabad HighCourt to probe the case of ille-gal mining of minor minerals,the CBI had filed seven pre-liminary enquiries. Severalpolicemen and Governmentofficials have been killed forraising voice against illegalsand mining.

VIOLENCE ROCKS...As the violence continued

to disrupt normal life inKannur and other places, Statepolice chief Loknath Beherasounded a Statewide alert andgave direction to take sternaction against those responsi-ble for the attacks on thehouses of party leaders.

A total of 260 people havebeen arrested so far in con-nection with the Kannur vio-lence in the last two days, anofficial statement said addingpatrolling and raids had beenintensified across the district.

Police carried out a routemarch on Saturday morningin Thalassery, where 19 peo-ple had been arrested and 33taken into preventive cus-tody.

In another incident,unidentified people set fire toan office of the RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh (RSS) inPariyaram area in the morn-ing, police sources said.

A CPI(M) worker wasattacked at Perumbara in Irittyin the district last night whileRSS leader KChandrasekharan was assault-ed in Thalassery and his houseransacked allegedly by a groupof around 25 Marxist workers.

With the tension contin-uing, the CPI(M) and theBJP-RSS leaderships tradedcharges and blamed eachother for the violent attacks.

CPI(M) State secretaryKodiyeri Balakrishnan toldreporters inThiruvananthapuram that theRSS was trying to trigger riotin the State and sabotagepeace talks.

The RSS-BJP combine wasturning temples and educa-tional institutions managed bythem as “armoury”, he alleged,adding the ruling party wouldtake the initiative to restorepeace in violence-hit areas.

Echoing similar views,CPI(M) Kannur district sec-retary P Jayarajan urged theSangh Parivar forces to endviolence.

The Left party would takesteps to ensure peace, he tolda television channel.

Countering the charges, VMuraleedharan said the inci-dents of violence were the tac-tics of the ruling CPI(M) todivert attention from the con-troversies and protests overthe violation of the tradition-al customs at the Sabarimalatemple. The BJP MP said hisancestral home at VadiyilPeedikia near Thalassery wasattacked, but none had beeninjured. “My sister, brother-in-law and their daughter were inthe house when the attacktook place. Fortunately theywere not harmed,” he saidfrom Andhra Pradesh.

The entry of two womeninto the hi l l shrine onWednesday, the first timesince the Supreme Court inSeptember last year lifted theage-linked ban on the entry ofwomen devotees, has trig-gered massive protests inKerala. So far, over 1,700 peo-ple have been arrested in con-nection with violence in var-ious parts of the State.

Located in north Kerala,Kannur has been the hotbedof political violence especial-ly between the CPI(M) andBJP and witnessed bloodyclashes and killings over theyears.

SNOWFALL, RAIN...Most places in Kashmir,

including plains of the valley,received moderate to heavy

snowfall overnight. Accordingto the IMD, the minimum andmaximum temperature inSrinagar is expected to bearound minus 1 and 4 degreesCelsius respectively. Srinagarrecorded 10 inches of snowfalland the famous ski-resort ofGulmarg in north Kashmirrecorded two feet of freshsnow. While Qazigund record-ed 11 inches, Kokernag threeinches, Pahalgam 16 inchesand Kupwara 17 inches ofsnow.

In the last 12 hours,Jammu received 15 mm rainswhile Manali 7 mm, Banihal10 mm, Qazigund 23 mm,Kupwara 42.5 mm, Pahalgam40 mm, Gulmarg 27 mm,Kalpa 4 mm and Gurdaspurin Punjab 3.9 mm of rain.

Jammu’s temperature was8.6, Katra 6.4, Batote minus1.3, Bannihal 0.3 andBhaderwah minus 0.2 thenight’s lowest temperatures.

Tragedy struck an impov-erished family as five membersof it , including two children, died due to asphyx-iation in a residential house inSrinagar. The family was fromKarnah in north Kashmir’sKupwara district, which has been cut-off from the restof the Valley due to heavysnowfall. Officials said thebodies would be airlifted toKarnah on Sunday for lastrites.

The family had mostprobably put on a gas heater towarm the rented room asheavy snowfall and absence ofpower supply had plummetedtemperature in the city.

There have been severalsuch deaths including those ofnon-local labourers and work-ers due to asphyxiation whileusing LPG gas heaters duringnight.

Meanwhile, a civilian diedafter slipping from a rooftop ofhis house while clearing snowin Bandipora town of northKashmir. Mumtaz Ahmad, aGovernment employee, wasimmediately shifted to districthospital where he died due tograve injuries.

The residents across theValley woke up in the morn-ing to a white layer envelopingeverything outside theirhearths. The snow drapeexhibited a more attractivelook in the afternoon when aglittering sun shined over it fora while before hiding againbehind thick clouds.

The movement of peoplebegan quite late in the morn-ing after snow clearancemachines were pressed intoservice to facilitate passage ofvehicles on roads. The innerlanes, by-lanes and roads inSrinagar city were blockeddue to snow accumulation.The locals complained that thesnow clearance work was quitesluggish.

The 300-kilometerSrinagar Jammu NationalHighway remained closed forvehicular traffic for the secondconsecutive day due to heavysnowfall that occurred on bothsides of Nashri Tunnel. Roadclearance work has been dis-turbed due to continuoussnowfall and slippery roadcondition.

Sources said the runwayon Srinagar Airport was notcleared till late in the after-noon leading to cancellation ofall morning flights.

The air traffic resumedlater in the day after Beaconworkers cleared the runway.

An official said runwayclearance was a daunting taskdue to halt of five aircraft.

The authorities alsostopped train service betweenBudgam and Baramulla innorth Kashmir.

The snowfall broughtcheer to the hoteliers and vis-itors in Gulmarg andPahalgam as they are expect-ing an increase in touristarrivals due to timely andcolossal snowfall. The Valley iscurrently under the grip ofChillai-Kalan, a 40-day longperiod of harsh winter thatcommences each year onDecember 21 and concludeson January 30. During thisperiod, water bodies situatedin the region freeze, due towhich locals light small fireseach day around rivers andwater taps for the depositedsnow to melt. The Jammuregion also saw isolated spellsof heavy rain and snowfall.Besides Rajouri and Poonch,the Vaishno Devi hills receivedsnowfall and helicopter andcable car services at the hilltopshrine in Reasi district werestopped temporarily.

FUGITIVE ECONOMIC...Even in the past, he had

failed to honour the courtsummons and also othernotices, summons and arrestwarrants issued by the ED for

questioning in the loan defaultand money laundering scams.

Mallya had quietly leftthe country for the UnitedKingdom on March 2, 2016,amid reports about his airlinehaving defaulted on repay-ment of nearly Rs 9,000 croreto the banks. He has beenevading summons from vari-ous courts since then.

Mallya is facing the inves-tigations by the ED and CBIfor defaulting on repayment ofloans of Rs 900 crore takenfrom IDBI and also defaultingon payments to the tune ofRs.8,191 crore that he and hiscompanies owe to variousIndian banks.

On its part, the ED -which did not earlier succeedin forcing Mallya to appearbefore different courts in con-nection with the money laun-dering case - has so farattached properties worthover Rs 9,000 crore belongingto the businessman under thePMLA.

On June 14, 2016, thePMLA court had declaredMallya a “proclaimed offend-er” in the IDBI loan fraud-cum-money laundering case.

The Special court issuednon-bailable warrants againstMallya on November 19, 2016and July 5, 2017. The FugitiveEconomic Offenders Act,under which Mallya has beendeclared as a “fugitive eco-nomic offender”, came intoexistence on April 21, 2018.

The court had earlierdeclared Mallya a “proclaimedoffender” under section 82 ofthe Criminal Procedure Code(CrPC), which makes itmandatory on the offender toappear before the ED within30 days of the publication ofproclamation.

However, with Mallyahaving failed to comply withthe proceedings launchedunder section 82 of Cr.PC, theED had invoked section 83 ofCr.PC and moved the PMLAcourt to seek an order from itto attach any property, bothmovable and immovable,belonging to abscondingindustrialist against whomseveral arrest warrants werepending.

The ED had in June 2016attached United BreweriesHolding Ltd (UBHL) andMallya assets worth Rs 1,411crore in cities like Mumbai,Bangalore, Coorg andChennai, in connection withits money laundering case.

Subsequently, the ED sub-sequently attached the assets,properties, and shares ofMallya, total worth amountingto Rs. 6,630 crore. The prop-erties attached included flatsin Kingfisher Tower,Bengaluru, (Rs. 565 crores)and Macdowell Holding Co.held by Mallya/ UBHL and hiscontrolled entities (Rs.3635crore).

On May 18, 2017, the EDtook possession of a Rs 100crore worth seafront farm-house of the fugitive busi-nessman at Alibaug in Raigaddistrict in Maharashtra’scoastal Konkan region.

Late last year, Indian gov-ernment had launched extra-dition proceedings againstMallya which he had contest-ed.

In its verdict given onDecember 10 last year,Westminster Magistrates’Court Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot orderedthat Mallya be extradited toIndia, and referred the case to British Home Secretary SajidJavid for signing the extradi-tion order.

Among other things, theChief Magistrate noted in theorder that it was not a politi-cally motivated trial and therewas no evidence that Mallya’s extradition was beingsought for extraneous con-siderations. The Court said itwas satisfied with the assur-ances and materials providedby the Indian governmentregarding prison and humanrights conditions and ruledthat the video of Arthur Road Jail,Barrack No 12 accurately por-trayed adequately large space,high ceilings, fans, naturallight, etc.

Apart from making a pos-it ive mention about theimpartiality and indepen-dence of Indian Courts, JudgeArbuthnot pronounced thatshe was making a recommen-dation to the UK HomeSecretary to make a decisionon ordering Mallya’s extradi-tion to India.

It may be recalled thatMallya was arrested by the UKMetropolitan Police extradi-tion unit April 18, 2017 near-ly ten and a half months he leftIndia for the United Kingdom.During the course of his trial,Mallya was on bail.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Issues like Ram temple, triple

talaq may harm NDA: Chirag

PTI n SHEIKHPURA (BIHAR)

The Lok Janshakti Party, a BJPally in Bihar, on Saturday

disapproved of contentiousissues like the Ram temple andtriple talaq being raised ahead ofthe Lok Sabha polls andexpressed apprehension thatdeviating from the develop-ment plank could harm theNDA. LJP parliamentary boardchairman Chirag Paswanexpressed the view at a pressconference in the district, whichcomprises a part of his LokSabha seat — Jamui.

“Development should bethe poll plank for the NDA,which, I am confident, will helpthe coalition win more than 35of the 40 seats in Bihar. I amhopeful that the election will befought on the issue of develop-ment and contentious issueslike the Ram temple and tripletalaq will be kept at bay. Thesemay harm the coalition’sprospects,” he said.

The young MP, who is theson of Union Minister and theLJP’s founding president RamVilas Paswan, had expressedsimilar concerns last monthafter the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) lost power in three of itsstrongholds — Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh andChhattisgarh. Paswan’s state-ment came at a time when the

issue of triple talaq has thrownParliament into a turmoil andanother BJP ally in the State,Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’sJD(U), has refused to vote infavour of the bill in the RajyaSabha after having abstained inthe Lok Sabha.

Moreover, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s contention thatan ordinance on the Ram tem-ple will not be brought ahead ofthe Supreme Court verdict onthe issue and the delay in a deci-sion on the title suit in the apexcourt are being resented by thehardliners within the BJP and the

Sangh Parivar. Replying toanother query, Paswan said theLJP’s claim over the Munger LokSabha seat stood as of now.“Neither of our allies (BJP andJD(U) has approached us,expressing the desire to contestthe seat. But if we are asked togive up our claim on the seat andoffered some other constituen-cy, it will be duly considered,” headded. Notably, Munger is rep-resented in the Lok Sabha byVeena Devi, wife of mafia don-turned-politician Suraj BhanSingh who is a national vice-president of the LJP.

world 07LUCKNOW | SUNDAY | JANUARY 6, 2018

Trump threatens to declare national emergency

PTI nWASHINGTON

President Donald Trumpwarned on Friday that he

could keep the US governmentpartly closed for “months oreven years” and declare anational emergency if theCongress refused to provideUSD 5.6 billion funding for awall along the Mexico border.After his meeting with topDemocrats failed to end thetwo-week impasse, Trump saidthat he may call a nationalemergency to build the wallwithout congressionalapproval.“I did say that.Absolutely, I said that,” Trumptold reporters in the RoseGarden of the White Houseafter Democratic leaders toldmedia about the president’s“threat”, during their meetingwith him, to continue with thepartial government shutdownfor years.

The Republican presidentinitially gave a positive accountof the 90-minute meeting withDemocrats at the White House,describing it as “very produc-tive”. But when asked whetherhe had considered using emer-gency presidential powers tobypass congressional approvalof funding, Trump said he had.“I may do it. We can call anational emergency and build itvery quickly. That’s anotherway of doing it,” he said. SenateMinority Leader ChuckSchumer, after his meeting withTrump on ending the partial

government shutdown said,“We told the president we needthe government open. He resist-ed. In fact, he said he’d keep thegovernment closed for a verylong period, months or evenyears.”

“The discussion then - wediscussed a bunch of issues -that were somewhat con-tentious, and we’ll continue dis-cussing, of course, but it’s veryhard to see how progress will bemade unless they open up thegovernment,” Schumer said.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,

who attended the meeting alongwith other Congressional lead-ers stressed on the need toopen the government. “Werecognise on the Democraticside that we really cannotresolve this until we open up thegovernment and we made thatvery clear to the president.Services are being withheldfrom the American people.

“Paychecks are being held— withheld from people whoserve the needs of the Americanpeople and our border securitywill suffer if we do not resolve

this issue,” Pelosi said.Responding to reporters’ ques-tions thereafter, Trump said hecould continue with the gov-ernment shutdown but it isunlikely to happen“I don’t thinkit will, but I am prepared and Ithink I could speak forRepublicans in the House andRepublicans in the Senate. Theyfeel very strongly about havinga safe country, having a borderthat makes sense. Without bor-ders, I’ve said it many times, wedon’t have a country. I hope itdoesn’t go on even beyond a few

more days. It really could openvery quickly,” he said.Trumpsaid he has the option of build-ing the border wall with his con-stitutional provisions undernational emergency. “We couldcall a national emergencybecause of the security of ourcountry. Absolutely. No, wecould do it. I haven’t done it. Imay do it. I may do it. But wecould call a national emergencyand build it very quickly and it’sanother way of doing it. But ifwe can do it through a negoti-ated process, we’re giving that ashot,” Trump told reporters inresponse to a question.

The president, however,denied he threatened theDemocrats. “I’d never threat-ened anybody, but I am allowedto do that, yes,” he said. Trumpduring the meeting with theCongressional leaders, madeanother strong case for a borderwall. “I explained to them theproblem though as we couldhave a wonderful port of entrybut you have 2000 miles of bor-der between the United Statesand Mexico and if you take alook and you see like we dothrough certain technologyincluding cameras in airplanes,not just drones, you will see vastnumbers of vehicles drivingthrough the desert and enteringwhere you don’t have a verypowerful fence or a wall,” hesaid. Trump said he only wantsto stop the flow of illegal immi-grants, human trafficking andsmuggling of drugs, by having

a solid steel structure or con-crete structure. “Now the steelis actually more expensive thanthe concrete but I think we areprobably talking about steelbecause I really feel the otherside feels better about it and Ican understand what they aresaying. It is more expensive,” hesaid.

“We mentioned the pricethat we want USD 5.6 billion…This is national security we’retalking about. We’re not talkingabout games. We’re talkingabout national security. Thisshould have been done by all ofthe presidents who preceded meand they all know it. Some ofthem have told me that weshould have done it,” Trumpsaid. “We’re not playing games.We have to do it. And justremember human traffickers,remember drugs, the drugs arepouring into this country. Theydon’t go through the ports ofentry.

When they do, they some-times get caught,” saidTrump.He said even Democratswant to check the inflow ofdrugs and illegal immigrants inthe country. “When we finish,and the Democrats do want this,they want ports of entrystrengthened and I want to dothat too. In fact, we have it done.It’s about USD 400 million andwe can have the best equipmentin the world,” he said. VicePresident Mike Pence said thenation is in the midst of a cri-sis on the southern border.

President Donald Trump joined by Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, left, listens to Vice President Mike Pencespeaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington after a meeting with Congressional leaders on border security asthe government shutdown continues on Friday in Washington. AP

Foreign students from top US colleges should stay on to help firms growPTI n WASHINGTON

Ruing that talented foreign studentsare leaving the United States after

studying in the country’s best educa-tional institutions, President DonaldTrump has said he wants people withmerit to stay in America and help thegrowth of companies here.Addressing a press conferences onFriday, Trump said the US is “losing outon great minds” as the country has a“ridiculous” immigration policy.

He reiterated his wish to end loop-holes in the legal immigration system

so as to attract more people. Trump saidhis administration wants people tocome into the country legally and onmerit. “We have all these companiescoming in. We need great people. Butwe want them to come in on a meritbasis, and they have to come in on amerit basis. They can’t come in the waythey’ve been coming in for years,”Trump told reporters during a newsconference here. “I get calls from thegreat tech companies, and they’re say-ing we don’t allow people at the top oftheir class, at the best schools in thecountry, we don’t allow them to stay in

our country,” he said. “So, they end up going back to

China and Japan and so many othercountries all over the world, and wedon’t keep them. They get educated atour finest schools, and then we don’tallow them, through a various set of cir-cumstances, to have any guarantees ofstaying. So we lose out on great minds.We can’t do that,” he said. Trump wasreferring to difficulties being faced byforeign students to stay and work in theUS after they complete their educationin the country.

Trump said that this issue was dis-

cussed with Democratic Congressionalleadership during a meeting at theWhite House on Friday. “We discussedthat with the Democrats, and I thinkthey agree. We’re working on that. Butwe don’t want to lose our great compa-nies because we have a ridiculous pol-icy that we won’t accept smart people.So, call it politically correct or not, butwe have to let these great, brilliant com-panies have the smartest people in theworld,” Trump said. He said if somebodywants to seek asylum, there’s a way todo that. “There are legal ways to cometo this country, and legal immigration

has made this country great.” Referringto the killing of California’s Indian-ori-gin police officer Ronil “Ron” Singh byan illegal immigrant, Trump said the USneeds a “secure border” to keep“Americans safe” and check illegalimmigration. “America lets in over amillion people every year. And yet, wehave laws that need to be followed tokeep Americans safe where, right now,there are millions of people who arewaiting in line to come to America toseek the American dream, like OfficerSingh did when he sought his chanceat the American dream,” he said.

Saudis still lackcredible account ofKhashoggi murder

AFP n WASHINGTON

Saudi Arabia’s investigationand handling of the murder

of journalist Jamal Khashoggistill lacks full credibility andaccountability, a senior USofficial said Friday. Secretary ofState Mike Pompeo will con-tinue to press the Saudis onKhashoggi’s murder when hevisits Riyadh next week as partof an eight-country tour of theMiddle East, the official said.“He will raise the case of jour-nalist Jamal Khashoggi andcontinue to push for account-ability and credibility from theSaudi leadership as they movethrough the legal process thatbegan earlier this week,” theofficial told journalists on con-dition of anonymity.

“I don’t think, from ourpoint of view, that the narrativeemerging from the Saudisthroughout the legal processhas yet hit that threshold ofcredibility and accountability,”the official said.

In a case that shocked theworld and created a sharp riftwith Washington, Khashoggiwas murdered and his corpsedismembered inside the king-dom’s Istanbul consulate onOctober 2.

After evidence emergedthat the killing was done by ateam of Saudis sent fromRiyadh and closely linked to

Crown Prince Mohammed binSalman, Washington demand-ed a transparent investigation.On November 15, Riyadh pros-ecutors announced indictmentsagainst 11 people, and onTuesday prosecutors said theywere seeking the death penal-ty against five of them. But atthe same time PrinceMohammed, whose right-handaides were allegedly involved inthe murder, was exonerateddespite US intelligence report-edly having evidence that hewas behind it. Despite theindictments so far, it was notclear if anyone in PrinceMohammed’s close orbit wouldbe charged. The case has madeit difficult for the Trumpadministration to return thecrucial bilateral relationshipback to normal. ”

A bipartisan resolutionapproved by the US Senate lastmonth also held the crownprince responsible for thekilling.

“The Saudis should have acredible narrative for whathappened in the consulate andsubsequent events,” the USofficial said Friday. “It’s in theirinterest to pursue this asaggressively as they can to getthis albatross off their backsand to get out from under theshadow of this incident, whichhas caused such an outcry.

PTI n BEIJING

Chinese President XiJinping ordered the army

to enhance its combat readi-ness to make sure it is alwaysready for a battle, saying risksand challenges are on the riseas the world is facing a peri-od of major changes neverseen in a century, state mediareported Saturday. ThePeople’s Liberation Army(PLA), the world’s largest withtwo million troops, last yeardoubled the training periodfor new recruits from three tosix months in a bid to improvetheir combat capabilities.

President Xi, who alsoheads the PLA besides the rul-ing Communist Party, told ameeting of the CentralMilitary Commission (CMC),the overall high command ofthe Chinese military, that “theworld is facing a period ofmajor changes never seen ina century, and China is still inan important period of strate-gic opportunity for develop-ment”.Xi is the Chairman ofthe CMC. He is the only civil-ian in the high-power militarybody comprising top defenceofficials. Preparedness is vitalin the era of drastic changes,unpredictable risks, Xi saidFriday, official media report-ed.

He ordered the armedforces to continue strength-ening their combat prepared-ness and to make sure they arealways ready for battle, state-run China Daily reported.

The entire armed forcesshould have a correct under-standing of China’s securityand development trends,enhance their awareness ofdanger, crisis and war, andmake solid efforts on combatpreparations in order toaccomplish the tasks assignedby the CPC and the people, Xisaid. Regarding combat capa-bility as the only and funda-mental criterion, Xi ordered allwork, forces and resources tofocus on military preparednessand ensure a marked progressin this regard, state-runXinhua news agency reported.

Xi stressed the armedforces’ ability to respondquickly and effectively to con-tingencies, asking them toupgrade commanding capa-bility of joint operations, fos-ter new combat forces, andimprove military trainingunder combat conditions.Party and government depart-ments and agencies at thecentral and local levels arerequired to support thedefence and military develop-ment, he said.

Xi signed Friday an orderto open the annual trainingsession of the armed forces.The order demands thattroops hone their combatcapability and that military

units organise events on aregular basis to verify sol-diers’ ability. The armed forcesmust also strive to strengthentheir readiness to respond toemergencies.

Commanders must takethe lead in studying the art ofwar and also must be the firstto carry out training and exer-cises, according to the order.Exercises must be conductedbased on real combat scenar-ios and should involve thesimulation of complicated sit-uations and the deployment ofmultiple weapons and equip-ment from different services,it stipulates. His call for battlepreparedness came as actingUS defence secretary PatrickShanahan told the US forcesthat he sees China as a key pri-ority.

“While we are focused onongoing operations, ActingSecretary Shanahan told theteam to remember China,China, China,” reports fromWashington quoted a USdefence official as saying.Besides launching the ongoingtrade war to force Beijing tocut the USD 375 billion tradedeficit, US President DonaldTrump has been increasingpressure on China on a host offronts including North Koreanleader Kim Jong-un to relent

and give up nuclear weaponsprogramme. China is engagedin hotly contested territorialdisputes in the South ChinaSea, and with Japan in the EastChina Sea. Both the areas arestated to be rich in minerals,oil and other natural resources.They are also vital to globaltrade. China claims almostall of the South China Sea.Vietnam, the Philippines,Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwanhave counter claims over thearea. The US has been con-ducting regular patrols in theSouth China Sea to assertfreedom of navigation in thearea where Beijing has built upand militarised many of theislands and reefs it controls inthe region. The US hasaccused China of military andeconomic espionage andtermed Xi’s pet project Beltand Road Initiative to fundinfrastructure projects as anattempt to coerce smallercountries with debt trap.

Chinese officials as well astrade bodies were deeply con-cerned over the continuedtrade war with the US asWashington has alreadyimposed additional tariffs onover USD 250 dollars ofChinese exports. China tooretaliated in equal measure.

Both sides agreed on atruce till March 1 as officialshold talks to narrow down thedifferences. Since he took overpower in 2012, Xi, who is nowregarded as the President forlife, has been pushing the PLAto enhance its combat capa-bility with real time militarydrills. With over USD 175 bil-lion defence budget, the PLAis also focussed on massivemodernisation, specially theexpansion of the navy withtwo aircraft carriers to increaseits reach far from the shores ofChina.

3 dead, 4injured inCaliforniashootingWashington (AFP): Police inCalifornia on Saturday saidthree people were killed andfour were injured in a shoot-ing at a bowling alley near LosAngeles. Sergeant RonaldHarris of the Torrance PoliceDepartment confirmed to AFPthat officers responded at11:54 pm on Friday to reportsof gunfire at Gable HouseBowl.

He added all seven victimswere male. Three were pro-nounced dead at the scene,with two others taken to hos-pital.

Witnesses told The LosAngeles Times there had beena fight at the gaming complex.In a tweet posted shortly aftermidnight, the Torrance PoliceDepartment had warned peo-ple to “please stay away fromthe area.”

Torrance, a coastal city, islocated around 20 miles (32kilometers) southeast ofdowntown Los Angeles in theSouth Bay region.

According to healthauthorities, nearly 40,000 peo-ple died in the United Statesas a result of firearms in 2017— a figure that includes sui-cides.

US, China dealing trade negotiationsat highest levels, says US PresidentPTI nWASHINGTON

The US and China are deal-ing the trade negotiations at

the highest levels, PresidentDonald Trump said, claimingthat America’s steel industry hascome “roaring back” followingthe last year’s tariff hikes. TheTrump administration imposedheavy tariffs on imported steeland aluminium items in Marchlast year, a move that sparkedfears of a global trade war.

In the past, China, theworld’s second largest economyafter the US, imposed tit-for-tattariffs on billions of dollarsworth of American imports. Anagreement reached betweenthe two countries on the mar-gins of the G20 summit inArgentina in November

deferred the imposition of fur-ther tariffs till March.

China has pledged to takemeasures to step-up Americanimports and investments tomeet the US’ demand of bring-ing down the USD 375 billionbilateral trade deficit. March 1,2019 is the deadline for imple-menting the measures.

Currently, top officials from theUnited States and China areinvolved in trade negotiations.

Trump told reporters dur-ing a Rose Garden news con-ference: “We have a massivetrade negotiation going on withChina.

President Xi (Jinping) isvery much involved; so am I.

We’re dealing at the highest lev-els and we’re doing very well.

“In the meantime, we’vetaken in billions and billions ofdollars in tariffs from China,and from others.

Our steel industry hascome roaring back, and thatmakes me very happy”. InNovember, Trump and Xi metin Buenos Aires.

“China is paying ustremendous tariffs. We’re get-ting billions and billions ofdollars of money pouring intothe Treasury of the UnitedStates, which, in history, we’venever gotten from China.

As you know, it’s been veryunfair,” he said. Trump said hehad a fantastic meeting withPresident Xi and they bothlike and respect each other.

Indian man falls from cliff while taking selfie in IrelandLondon (PTI): An Indian stu-dent died after falling fromcliffs in Ireland while clickinga ‘selfie’, media reports said. Theman, whose identity was notimmediately known, is said tobe an Indian national studyingin Dublin, The Irish Sunreported.

He was visiting the popu-lar tourist attraction on Fridayafternoon when the incidenthappened south of the mainviewing areas near the visitor

centre. There were hundreds ofpeople when the man fell from

the Cliffs.Search and rescue officials

were mobilised as soon as analarm was raised. His body wasrecovered with the help of ahelicopter. He was pronounceddead at around 5.35 PM (localtime), the report said.

Officials interviewed anumber of eye-witnesses andconfirmed that at this stage,they are treating the incident asa tragic accident. “There isnothing to suggest at this stage

that this was anything otherthan a tragic accident. Initialindications are, having takenstatements from a number ofpeople, that the victim was tak-ing a selfie and lost his footing,”an official said.

The officials were trying tocontact the victim’s family inIndia.

In 2007, a Hungarian mandied after he fell to his death atthe Cliffs of Moher while tak-ing photos.

Markle’s father makes another

emotional plea for contact

PTI n LONDON

The father of Meghan Markle,the Duchess of Sussex after

her wedding to Prince Harry, onSaturday made another emo-tional plea for the actress-turned-royal to make contact with him.Thomas Markle, a formerHollywood lighting director, hasnot heard from his daughter orson-in-law since their wedding inMay last year and in a new inter-view from his home in Rosarito,Mexico, he told ‘The Sun’ that hewill keep reaching out and prob-ably get “louder”.

“It’s like a dream that hasturned into a nightmare. The roy-als and Meghan can help end thisnightmare by simply giving mea call. To this day, I cannot thinkof anything I’ve done to deservehow I’m being treated now,” the74-year-old said. “I’ve been agood father I’ve done nothingwrong. Axe murderers kill 19people and their daughters stillcome and visit them in prison. It’sjust incomprehensible forMeghan to treat me this way,” hesaid.

In reference to Harry, he saidhe is looking forward to their firstmeeting and urged his son-in-lawto break the silence. He said,“Man up and get over it. If I’m thefirst person who’s insulted you orhurt your feelings, you’ve got along way to go. He’s human just

like the rest of us. I feel that hefeels he is above everyone else andthat he has a right to talk downto people. And I cannot acceptthat. It feels like arrogance”.

Thomas Markle was set towalk his daughter down the aislefor her grand wedding to Harryat Windsor Castle on May 19,2018, but had to cancel due tomedical reasons. A controversysurrounding his collusion withpaparazzi photographers in thelead up to the wedding hadcaused a major furore. In recenttelevision interviews, ThomasMarkle has accused the couple of“ghosting” him despite hisnumerous apologies.

“I’ll keep talking and I’llprobably get louder. Meghanand Harry’s silence empowers allthe crazy tweets and insultsagainst me and my family,” hewarned. While praising his

daughter on settling into her newroyal role by being herself andchoosing to hug people on royalvisits, Thomas Markle also urgedher to end any rift there might bewith her sister-in-law, PrinceWilliam’s wife Kate Middleton.“If there is any animosity betweenMeghan and Kate they shouldput their differences aside. I’mvery upset by the criticismMeghan is getting. I don’t thinkshe deserves it and I don’t thinkshe is doing one third of thethings she is being accused ofdoing,” he said, attacking mediareports of the alleged royal rift.

Harry and Meghan areexpecting their first child in a fewmonths and Thomas Marklesaid he hoped he would be ableto play a part in his grandchild’slife. “The bottom line is that I’vedone nothing to deserve this kindof treatment.

Xi orders Chinese military to be combat-ready...says risks,challengeson the rise

LUCKNOW | SUNDAY | JANUARY 6, 2019 films & tv 08

Karaoke NightWHERE: The Irish House Connaught Place, H Block, OuterCircle, New DelhiWHEN: Every Sunday (entire January)TIME: 7 pm onwardsHAPPY HOURS: 5 pm to 8 pm

It’s time to set yourselffree, down a few drinksand sing your hearts out

or just sit back and enjoy therange of chilled beersserved. KJ Shadab knowsjust how to spice up aSunday evening with highenergy music and a great

vibe. So head to The Irish House with your friends to findthe hidden talent amongst your friends, or just have ablast singing out loud!

New Delhi World Book Fair Where: Pragati Maidan, New DelhiTill: January 13, 2018

The 27th edition of the New Delhi World Book Fair isback with the theme — Readers with Special Needs.Organised by National Book Trust, under Ministry of

Human Resource Development, the book fair has theUAE’s third largest emirateSharjah as its 2019 guest ofhonour. The emirate'svarious literary and culturalentities have curated a richprogramme of seminars,poetry evenings and a host of other engagements, whichwill reflect its 40 years of steady efforts in the culturalfield.Visitors to the book fair are expected to take part in aseries of literary and artistic activities organised bySharjah and will witness traditional Emirati performancesby the Sharjah National Band. The emirate has alsotranslated 57 Arabic language works into Hindi that will beavailable for Indian readers.

Ballygunge — Play Language: HinglishDate: January 6, SundayTime: 7 pmDuration: 85 minutes Venue: KamaniAuditorium, Copernicusmarg, New Delhi

Written and Directed by: Atul Satya KoushikTickets: `300 to `2000 Cast: Anup Soni and Nishtha Paliwal Tomar

Ballygunge revolves around Kartik and Vasuki whohad been in a very passionate relationship for morethan 10 years before Kartik left Vasuki and set out to

chase his dreams in Mumbai.

PlanYour

SundayURI TEAM AT KANPUR WALE KHURANAS

Sunil Grover’s show Kanpur WaaleKhuranas on Star Plus will be graced byVicky Kaushal along with his Uri co-star

Yami Gautham.According to sources: “Vicky Kaushal and

Yami Gautham will be the next guest on theshow. The duo will be seen indulging in somemasti and show their funny side. It is going tobe a memorable episode as Vicky Kaushal willbe joined by his father, stuntman ShyamKaushal and his younger brother Sunny. Thefamily share funny childhood stories and evengroove to Punjabi tunes. Vicky Kaushal had agreat run in 2018 with back to back hits andmakes for the for the perfect guest on the showas the show rounds up the highlights of 2018.It is going to be a fun-filled episodes with theKaushal family joining Sunil Grover in fun andfrolic.”

Watch the show every Saturday andSunday at 9:30 pm on Star Plus.

SHOW DOGS PREMIERE

Who said that dog cops can’t be cool? Inthe dog world, they are heros — they performstunts in shows posing as under-cover copsand even bust animal smuggling rings. &flixbrings to you Show Dogs, the next Flix firstpremieres this Sunday, January 6 at 9 pm. This2018 American comedy film directed by Raja

Gosnell stars Will Arnett, Chris LudacrisBridges who has lent his voice for the dog’scharacter (Max), Natasha Lyonne, JordinSparks, Gabriel Iglesias, Shaquille O'Neal, OmarChaparro, and Stanley Tucci among others.

WHEN KHANS MEET KAPIL SHARMAIt will be a real treat for the viewers of The

Kapil Sharma Show, when Salman Khan andhis brothers, Sohail and Arbaaz Khan andfather, Salim Khan came in to wish KapilSharma for the show. The Khan family sharedsome exciting personal, funny moments andexperiences which will give a peek into what acool family they are.

Talking about his sons, Salim Khanrevealed a secret about actor turned directorArbaaz Khan. He said that while growing up,Arbaaz loved playing cricket and so like adoting dad he got him enrolled in KharGymkhana for cricket coaching. But around thesame time Arbaaz also wished to be a singer,

and hence he had a teacher come to teach himsinging at home.

While we all know about Salman singing inhis movies, this surely was a surprise foreveryone including host Kapil Sharma. It wasthen that Salim Khan decided to open up onwhat happened ahead. So like any excitedfather Salim Khan decided to ask Arbaaz abouthis singing talent and sing a song. But as hesang, Salim realised that Arbaaz was a not thatgood a singer and advised that he shouldconcentrate on cricket than singing. So maybeArbaaz was a better sportsman than a singer?And this was Arbaaz’s query too. He asked hisdad if he had seen his game? To which SalimKhan replied, “No but I have heard you sing sothat cricket will be any day a better option.”

Many such trivia, fun facts and unheardtales from the Khan family’s life will unravel onThe Kapil Sharma Show on Sony EntertainmentTelevision.

TELLYTALESHOW TIME

Bumblebee, quitean emoticon

BUMBLEBEE

*ing: Hailee Steinfeld, Dylan

O’Brien as Bumbleee, John

Cena, Jorge Lendeborg Jr,

John Ortiz, Jason Drucker,

Pamela Adlon

Rated: 8/10

Machines ko dard nahihota but whensomeone like Steven

Spielberg is handling thesegargantuan machines, thattoo an alien race, there arebound to be some tantalisinghumanism and Bumblebee isall about that. In fact, theAutobots, the advancedrobotics community fromspace is all about goodnessand emotion and Bumblebeeis the face of that humanisedwarrior machine.

This one takes a stepback into time and narratesthe story of how this lovablerobot came to earth in thefirst place. Well, it was to savethe Autobots from extinctionat the hands of theDecepticons, the bad robots,who are about to win the war

on another planet. So,Optimus Prime smugglesBumblebee out of the battleto send him secretly to Earthto revive and regroup for theultimate battle.

That’s how it all beginsand Bumblebee, despite allthe clank quotient of nut,bolts and spare-parts, is morehuman than human can be,this time companioning ateenaged girl with daddyissues. Together, the twoscript an endearing story tobalance emotion withpurpose, flesh and bloodwith sheer iron clutter, ayellow beetle with a groovydriver and a side chase whichis all set to gobble thehumans and their planet.

The action is high ondope here and beautifullycrafted, as is the emotionalasides that envelop this headytale of man and machinewithout any “too muchness”to either drama or action.

Even the non-roboticcinema buffs are going tolove this one as it plays out.

MARY POPPINS RETURNS

*ing: Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda,

Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Julie

Walters, Dick Van Dyke, Angela

Lansbury, Colin Firth, Meryl Streep

Rated: 7/10

The mythical and legendary nanny isback on screen after very many

decades but you seamlessly pick up fromthe last time you left her. She is zanny,funny, magical and beautiful all at thesame time in the same old smoky Londonand the family she served in her earlieravtaar.

There’s Colin Firth too but not as thegood guy. However, Firth fans need notbreak their heart over his image makeoveras he is just a two-bit entry in theproceedings otherwise living up to the tagof Disney magical musicals. There’s MerylStreep too in her short but imposingpresence that lends weight of stardom to afilm otherwise helmed to near perfectionby the highly gifted Emily Blunt.

Blunt lives in the skin of Mary Poppinsfrom the moment she glides down a kiteaccident and takes charge of the widowerand his three children without giving himan option.

Disney movies, needless to say, arebeautifully landscaped and this one is noexception, looks as it is straight from apicture gallery where the brush splashesnot only colour but also mood, emotion,love, music and all else that is related tothe good old family drama. All must goand pay their respects.

Just pop in &

enjoy this one

‘KIDS ENTERTAINMENT SPACE WILL GROW’We have always sensed that regionallanguage content not only has thepotential but also serves as an impactfulway to build a strong relationship withchildren. The digital media is a keyinfluencer today and it has led us to curatespecial content for YouTube. Emergingtrends clearly reflect that flagship showsand localising content, pay dividendssince 70 per centof airtime and 80per cent of GRPof leadingchannels in Indiacomes from one,flagship show.Alternatively,telefilms and longduration contentis another greatformat observedthis year that isaidingengagement with our little audience.Overall, children’s entertainment genre is aspace that’s waiting to explode and isevolving quickly. Ascurators/programmers, we are all set toride this wave of transformation.

— Leena Lele Dutta, business head, Sony YAY!

TAKE YOUR PICK & PAYThe new MRP pricing being rolled out inJanuary 2019 will bring about a paradigmshift for consumers and empower themfrom having to switch from choosing a

bundled offer to hand-picking channels oftheir choice. It will allow for moretransparency in the regime and enablebroadcasters to not only be a medium totelecast content but be an experienceprovider to their viewers. We at ZEELbelieve that we are the 'family ka superhitnetwork' and have something for everyoneand everything for everybody. The TRAIregulation will also rule out the issues thatsubscribers often face while finding outthe price of the channels, bouquets andother terms and conditions forsubscription.

— Atul Das, president, affiliate revenues anddistribution, Zee TV

FAMILYDRAMA

An unconventional story, Rajaa Betaa willoutline a story of an orphan child raised by hisgrandfather, growing up to become one of themost successful gynaecologists in Allahabad. Theshow marks the debut of Rahul Sudhir andSambhabana Mohanty as the lead protagonistson the show which will go on air on January 7,2019 on Zee TV.

TALE OF LOVE

An edgy love story between an IPS officer Dhanak from Gujrat whomarries a gangster Raghu from Dombivli, Gathbandhan will featurethe many predicaments and dilemmas surrounding marriage. Actor

Abrar Qazi would be making his TV debut as gangster Raghu on theother hand, India’s Next Superstar finalist Shruti Sharma has been roped into play the female lead. The show is slated to go on air in the third week ofJanuary on ZEE TV.

COURTROOMDRAMA

There will be courtroomdrama — Insaaf that willbring some real life courtcases that went on foryears and broughtlandmark judgement.This crime-based episodicseries has roped in actorRushad Rana for its firstepisode. Produced byOptimystic Productions,this fictionalised serieswill also showcase thejourney of a victim fromthe crime to the verdict. The launch date ofthe show is yet to be announced.

SPINOFFCOMEDY

One of the most loved showsBhabhiji Ghar Par Hain,which has given iconiccharacters like VibhutiNarayan (played byAashif Sheikh),Angoori (played byShubhangi Atre),Tiwari (played byRohitash Gaud) andAnita (played bySaumya Tandon), willhave a spin-off. And it isgoing to be about HappuSingh (played by YogeshTripathi) and how his liferevolves around his wife andnine children. Titled as Happy KeChappu, the show is scheduledto go on air around 19January, 2019 on &TV.

DAREDEVILRY

After the success of yet another season of Bigg Boss 12, whichhas been won by Simar aka Dipika Kakar Ibrahim of SasuralSimar Ka, viewers will witness an action-packed weekendwith Khatron Ke Khiladi starting this weekend at 9pm onColors. Themed as Jigar Pe Trigger, the show will be biggerand better with 12 contestants try to come out of theircomfort zones and strengthen them to perform stunts in thescenic locales of Argentina. Rohit Shetty will continue to entertain as a host along with 12contestants — S Sreesanth, Avika Gor, actor and model Jasmin Bhasin , Zain Imam, TVproducer Vikas Gupta, actor Aly Goni, Shamita Shetty, Punit Pathak, Bharti Singh and herhusband Harsh Limbachiyaa, Aditya Narayan and Ridhima Pandit.

SUPERNATURALTWIST

Main Bhi Ardhangini on &TV: Set against thepicturesque backdrop of Rajasthan, the showbrings together a love story with a supernaturaltwist that will further delve into the life ofMadhav (Avinash Sachdev) and his best friendturned second wife Vaidehi (Aditi Rawat).Depicting an invaluable bond between ahusband and his better half, Main BhiArdhangini will give a true glimpse of theselfless effort and unconditional love thatVaidehi showers as a true ‘Ardhangini’. On theother hand, showcasing the eternal love of thespirit of Madhav’s first wife, Chitra (AnjaliPriya), the story will portray the endeavours thatshe takes to keep them together and shield themagainst any source of evil even after death.

WOMANWARRIORRevisiting the past, Colors will have another historicalshow titled Jhansi on Rani Lakshmibai who foughtagainst the British with all her might.

ADVENTUREREALITY

The auditions forRoadies Real Heroes ison and the gang leadersNeha Dhupia, NikhilChinappa, PrinceNarula, Raftaar areback along with ringmaster Rannvijay Singhto make it yet another

successful season. The season 16 will alsohave legendary sportsman Sandeep Singhas a gang leader for the first time. AND THE AWARD GOES TO...

The 76th Golden Globe Awards will bringto you starstudded night with amazingperformances and will be nail-biting, withsuperstars like Nicole Kidman, CharlizeTheron, Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper,Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, Julia Roberts,Jason Bateman, Michael Douglas, PenelopeCruz, Kirsten Bell, Debra Messing andmany more contending for the awards in25 different categories. It will have anexclusively simulcast on Vh1, ComedyCentral and Colors Infinity on January 7 at7:30am IST, with a repeat telecast at 9pmIST.

SPOOKYCOMEDY

SABTV is all set tobring a new comedyshow with a twist ofhorror titled BandBaja BandhDarwaza. Thoughnot much has beenrevealed yet, PrachiTehlan has beenroped in for the showand will be playing aHaryanvi girl for oneof their weekly series.The show will seepopular film actorMukesh Tiwarimaking his debut onTV. Produced byMaqbool Khan andAmitosh Nagpalunder Tuk TukPicture Company,the show isscheduled to go onair from January 26,every Saturday andSunday.

2019 >>>WAY TO GOFrom launching unconventional love stories, spinoff sitcoms, supernatural thrillers and courtroom drama, to horror comedy and new seasons of

reality shows, 2019 comes with a heady dose of multifarious entertainment. SUNDAY PIONEER gives you a peek

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

The unconventional stories of a little girlKesari Nandan who aspires to fulfill thedream of her father Hanumant Singh, aformer wrestling champion and coach toyoung male wrestlers. Set in the backgropof Rajasthan, the show is produced byContiloe Pictures and also stars ManavKohli as Hanumant Singh, AasthaChowdhary as Kesar’s mother andNivedita Saraf, Reshma Shinde and AnkitArora in supporting roles. The show hasalready premiered on Colors and air everyMonday to Friday at 8:30 pm.

MUSICALDELIGHT

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs on Zee TV: Theviewers are in for a joyride with anotherseason of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs. Theshow will be judged by Shaan, Richa Sharmaand Amaal Mallik.

QUOTEUNQUOTE

special 09LUCKNOW | SUNDAY | JANUARY 6, 2019

From interesting biopics on adult films actress Shakeela Khan, Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray and badminton player Saina Nehwal, to sequels of hit films Housefull andStudent Of The Year, to regional film adaptations like Bharat & Zoya Factor and realistic films like Mission Mangal & Batla House, 2019 promises to be a year of multi-faceted

entertainment. SUNDAY PIONEER takes you through the big screen highlights

F E S T I V E O F F E R S

WARRIOR QUEEN KANGANA RANAUT AS RANILAKSHMIBAI:The most antici-pated film basedon the life of RaniLakshmibai andher fight with theBritish East IndiaCompany willhave KanganaRanaut playingthis warriorqueen. This historical biography is co-directed by Krish and Kangana Ranautand is scheduled to release on January25, 2019.

MALALA TO THE FOREREEM SHAIKH AS MALALAYOUSAFZAI A biopic titledGul Makai isbased on thelife of Pakistaniactivist andyoungest NobelPrize winner,Malala Yous-afzai. ActorReem Shaikhwill essay thepivotal charac-ter on celluloid. The film also stars DivyaDutta and Atul Kulkarni.

PARDE KE PEECHHEYRICHA CHADHA AS SHAKEELA

Richa Chadha will beseen in a biopic basedon the life of the southadult film actressShakeela Khan. Thefilm helmed by direc-tor Indrajit Lankesh isset to delve into thetrue life beyond thescreen image of theactress who defied thenorms in the late 90s in the south filmindustry. The film is scheduled to release onMarch 19, 2019.

Alaia F: Pooja Bedi’s daughterAlaia F will be seen playingthe lead in JawaaniJaaneman, produced by SaifAli Khan’s Black Knight Filmsand Jay Shewakramani ofNorthern Lights Films

Sharmin Segal & Meezaan Jafri: Sanjay Leela Bhansali’sniece and daughter to his sister Bela Segal, Sharmin Segalwill make her Bollywood debut opposite Jaaved Jafferi’sson Meezaan Jafri in an untitled film directed by MangeshHadawale and produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, BhushanKumar and Mahaveer Jain

Abhimanyu Dassanistars in RSVP film—Mard Ko Dard NahiHota directed byVasan Bala.

Anmol Thakeria and Jhataleka Malhotra:Poonam Dhillon’s son Anmol Thakeriaand Jhataleka Malhotra stars in Tuesdaysand Fridays directed by debutanteTaranveer Singh and co-produced byBhansali and Bhushan Kumarproductions.

SHOWTIME 2019

W O M E N O F S U B S T A N C E

SHARP SHOOTER WOMANIYATAAPSEE PANNU IN WOMANIYA:

Inspired by the lives of India’s oldest femalesharpshooters— Revolver Dadis who havewon several national championships andhave inspired several women to take up thesport, Anurag Kashyap’s Womaniya will seeTaapsee Pannu essaying a shooter who hailsfrom Johri district, Uttar Pradesh, andentered the world of shooting post the ageof 50. The release date is not yet locked.

SUNSHINE SPORTSHRADDHA KAPOOR AS SAINA NEHWAL

Badminton champion Saina Nehwal’s life will be encapsulated onthe big screen by Shraddha Kapoor. Directed by Amole Gupte,the actress is training hard for this biopic. A former World No1, Saina is the winner of over 23 international titles in badmintonhaving earned India a reputable name in international sports.

ACID TESTDEEPIKA PADUKONE ASCHHAPAAK

Deepika Padukone will be portray-ing the life of Laxmi Agarwal, who’s aacid attack survivor and an activist aswell. Directed by Meghna Gulzar, thefilm Chhapaak will also have VikrantMassey in a lead role.

PEDAL THE CHANGEJACQUELINE FERNANDEZ ASDEBORAH HEROLD

Ja c q u e l i n ewill play 23-year-old aceIndian cyclistD e b o r a hHerold’s lifewho hailsfrom Nicobar Islands and was the firstIndian cyclist to compete in the UCI,Union Cycliste Internationale.

TOUCHING THE SKYJANHVI KAPOOR AS GUNJAN SAXENA

Janhvi Kapoor will lead the way for bringing forth the storyof Gunjan Saxena, the first Indian woman combat aviatorwho evacuated injured soldiers in the 1999 Kargil War.

Karan Deol: Son ofaction star Sunny Deol,Karan is all set for hisbig Bollywood debutwith Pal Pal Dil KePass directed by his father

Ahan Shetty: Suniel Shetty’sson Ahan will be making hisBollywood debut in SajidNadiadwala’s Hindi remake ofthe Telugu film— RX100,directed by Milan Luthria

Vardhan Puri: The grandson oflate legendary actor Amrish Puri,Vardhan Puri will reportedly beseen in a romantic thriller to beproduced by Jayantilal Gada.

Taanaji — The Unsung Warrior:Ajay Devgn’s magnum opus Taanajiis based on the life of MaharashtrianKoli military leader Tanaji Malusare.This film marks the comeback ofKajol and Ajay’s real jodi on thescreen after eight long years. She willbe seen as Lakshmibai in this peri-od-drama. The 150-crore film also stars Saif Ali Khan and is sched-uled to release on December 6.

KABIR SINGH: Anofficial remake of the2017 Telugu block-buster Arjun Reddywhich tells the story ofa hot-headed surgeonwhose life goes down-hill after he's unable tomarry the girl he loves.Starring Shahid

Kapoor and Kiara Advani, the film is scheduled to release onJune 21.

BADLA: Co-produced by ShahRukh Khan's Red ChilliesEntertainment, Badla is the officialHindi remake of the 2016 Spanishfilm Contratiempo, also known asThe Invisible Guest. Directed bySujoy Ghosh, the film is about alawyer investigates further into the suspicious circumstances sur-rounding the death of a young man. Starring Amitabh Bachchan,Tapsee Pannu, the film is scheduled to release on March 8.

ZOYA FACTOR: Based on AnujaChauhan’s bestselling novel —Zoya Factor, the film by the sametitle will have Sonam Kapoor play-ing Zoya Singh Solanki, an adver-tising agency executive andMalayalam actor Dulquer Salmaanas Nikhil Khoda, the captain of the

Indian Cricket Team. The movie is set to be released on April5, 2019.

TRULY MOTIVATIONAL ZAIRA WASIM AS AISHA CHAUDHARY

The Sky Is Pink revolvesaround Aisha Chaudhary, whowas diagnosed with pul-monary fibrosis at the age of 13and the doctors had givenjust one-year to live unless sheunderwent a bone marrowtransplant. She challenged her ailment and endedup becoming a motivational speaker. Directed byShonali Bose, Zaira Wasim will be essaying the roleof Aisha whereas Priyanka Chopra and FarhanAkhtar will play her parents in the movie.

MANIKARNIKA: THE QUEEN OF JHANSI V/S THACKERAY V/S CHEAT INDIAReleasing on: January 25This Republic Day, get ready for the clash betweenKangana starrer Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansiand Thackeray. To avoid a triple clash Cheat Indiaproducers pre-pone the film to January 18. SaidBhushan Kumar: “As a mark of respect toBalasaheb, and to maximise the commerce, wearrived at this win-win decision.”

HRITHIK ROSHAN-TIGER SHROFF'S UNTITLED YRFFILM V/S MARJAAVAANReleasing on: October 2It is going to be victory over evil on big screens aheadof a long Dussehra weekend with the release of YRF’suntitled film starring Hrithik Roshan, Vaani Kapoor &Tiger Shroff and Marjaavaan starring SiddharthMalhotra & Riteish Deshmukh. Where Hrithik will beseen playing Tiger's guru and will be an action thriller,Marjaavaan is going to be a feisty love story

B I G T I C K E T C L A S H

CHRISTMASYBRAHMASTRA

BRAHMASTRA

Watch out for Ranbir Kapoor andAlia Bhatt in the first instalment ofa three-part sci-fi trilogy —

Brahmastra which took director AyanMukherji six years to develop. Touted as‘contemporary film with ancient elements’,the film is backed by Dharma Productionsand also features Amitabh Bachchan,Nagarjuna, Mouni Roy and Dimple Kapadia.It is slated to release on December 20, 2019.

HOUSEFULL THIS DIWALI

HOUSEFULL 4

It is going to be a laughter-riot this Diwaliwith the release of Housefull 4 starringAkshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Bobby

Deol, and Rana Daggubati, Pooja Hegde, KritiSanon, Kriti Kharbanda and Chunky Pandey.Scheduled to release on October 25, 2019 thefilm already got into controversy with thesexual assault accusations by actress SaloniChopra, Rachel White and journalist KmaUpadhyay. With this, Khan decided to stepdown from directing this film and is replacedby Farhad Samji.

KIZIE AUR MANNY: Based onthe wildly popular book by JohnGreen, Krizie Aur Manny is theofficial Bollywood adaptation ofThe Fault in Our Stars. It stars theyoung Sushant Singh Rajput anddebutant Sanjana Sanghi as thelead pair.

R E M A K E

S A N J U M A D H U R I

C A S H I N

Ananya Panday & Tara Sutaria: Daughterof Chunky Panday, Ananya is all set tomake her debut with Karan Johar andPunit Malhotra directed Student of theYear 2 alongside action star Tiger Shroffand newbie Tara Sutaria in lead roles.

Kalank: This film has definitelykept fans on their toes as SanjayDutt and Madhuri Dixit will beseen on-screen after 22 years.The film also stars VarunDhawan, Alia Bhatt, SonakshiSinha, Kunal Khemu and AdityaRoy Kapoor. The period drama isfamily-centric and revolves around two families and their values. It isscheduled to be released on April 19.

GULLY BOY SPREADSBAGFUL OF LOVE

GULLY BOY

The unique pairing of Alia Bhatt andRanveer Singh are going to steam up theday of love with their film Gully Boy

which is scheduled to be released on February14, 2019. Loosely inspired by the lives ofMumbai’s street rappers Naved Shaikh akaNaezy and Vivian Fernandez aka Divine, themovie has been directed by Zoya Akhtar andalso stars Kalki Koechlin, Ali Asgar, ParmeetSethi and Pooja Gaur in supporting roles.

2019 >>>

MISSION MANGAL V/S BATLA HOUSERELEASING ON: AUGUST 15Adding entertainment to the patrioticfervour, Mission Mangal, starring AkshayKumar Tapsee Pannu, Vidya Balan,Sonakshi Sinha and others, is based on a truestory that talks about the female engineers whoworked behind India’s Mangalyaan Mission in

2014. Whereas Batla Housestarring John Abraham isabout the Batla Houseencounter case that tookplace in September 2008

and had resulted in killing of suspected IndianMujahideen (IM) terrorists and encounter specialistMohan Chand Sharma.

KESARI VS MENTAL HAI KYARELEASING ON: MARCH 29, 2019Akshay Kumar’s Kesari, a period war drama, will clashwith Rajkummar Rao and Kangana Ranaut's comedythriller Mental Hai Kya. Also starring ParineetiChopra, Kesari revolves around the story of HavildarIshar Singh who participated in the Battle of Saragrahiand yearns for the respect of his estranged daughter.N

AT

ION

AL

HO

LID

AY

FA

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BHARATTo make your Eid special, SalmanKhan brings to you Bharat — a warfilm adapted from 2014 South Koreanfilm Ode To My Father.Also starring Katrina Kaif, Tabu, SunilGrover and Disha Patani, Bharat isone of the most awaited film directedby Ali Abbas Zafar. The story isrevolves around a young boy whogets separated from his family duringthe India-Pakistan partition. Over theyears he struggles to reunite withthem but the only problem is that it’sbeen decades since he has seenthem, he’s old now and is slowlylosing hope of ever seeing themagain.

F U C H C H A A M E L A

Isabelle Kaif: KatrinaKaif’s sister Isabelle Kaifwill star in It’s Time ToDance opposite SoorajPancholi.

Pranutan Bahl & Zaheer Iqbal: SuperstarSalman Khan will be launching actressNutan’s granddaughterand actor MonishBahl’s daughterPranutan Bahl. Thebudding actress will be

debuting in Zaheroopposite ZaheerIqbal, who

happens to be theson of Salman’s childhoodfriend.

Surilie Gautam:

Actor Yami

Gautam’s younger

sister Surilie is all

set for her Bollywood

debut with period

drama film Battle of

Saragarhi alongside

Randeep Hooda

A D A P T A T I O N S

T H E Y ’ R E H E R E T O O

REALTAKE

Rocketry - The Nambi Effect: Dealing with thereal life tale of scientist and aerospace engineer SNambi Narayanan, this biopic promises a highdecibel drama. The film chronicles the journey ofNambi who was falsely charged with espionage.

The Accidental Prime Minister: Based on Sanjaya Baru's eponymous2014 memoir, it depicts the tumultuous reign of Manmohan Singh, whoserved as India's Prime Minister from 2004 to 2014. Starring AnupamKher as Singh and Askhaye Khanna as Baru, it is slated to release onJanuary 11.

Uri: The Surgical Strike: Based on the true events of 2016, when IndianArmy avenged a deadly terrorist attack by carrying out a surgical strike.Starring Vicky Kaushal, Kirti Kulhari & Paresh Rawal, the film is slatedto release on January 11.

‘83: This film will tell us the incredible story of India's 1983 CricketWorld Cup victory. Ranveer Singh will play the role of star cricketerKapil Dev and we believe this one will rule the theatres in August 2019.

Super 30: Based on the life of famous mathematics teacher and IIT-JEEcoach Anand Kumar and his educational programme Super 30, themovie has Hrithik Roshan and Mrunal Thakur in pivotal role. The biopicwill showcase the process through which 30 students undergo a pivotalchange in their careers.

STANDOUTS

Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga: The filmwill have real life father daughter duo AnilKapoor and Sonam Kapoor. Directed byShelly Chopra Dhar and produced by ViduVinod Chopra, the film is about an unhappilymarried woman who discovers her father’sinfidelity with her co-worker through a seriesof quirky encounters. Also starringRajkummar Rao and Juhi Chawla inimportant roles, it will release on February 1.

Dream Girl: A comedy drama starring Ayushmann Khurrana andNushrat Bharucha. The film is directed by Raaj Shaandilyaa and is co-produced by Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor.

Good News: Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor will be seen togetherafter nine years along with Diljit Dosanjh and Kiara Advani in this KaranJohar's production.

SEQUELS

Student Of The Year Part 2: A sequel to the 2012 Bollywood dramaStudent Of The Year, is the debut film of Ananya Pandey, daughter ofactor Chunky Pandey. The film will have Tiger Shroff and Tara Sutaria inother lead roles. Fun fact, Hollywood actor Will Smith will be groovingto one of the dance numbers in the film!

Total Dhamaal: The third franchise of Dhamaal series will be anensemble star cast of Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Ajay Devgn, JavedJaffrey, Arshad Warsi among others.

sport 10LUCKNOW | SUNDAY | JANUARY 6, 2019

PTI ■ SYDNEY

India closed in on their maiden Testseries triumph in Australia beforebad light and rain combined to

delay the inevitable, adding morehours to a wait of 71 years.

Bad light stopped play in the finalsession of day three of the fourth Testas the hosts, responding to India'smammoth first-innings total of 622 forseven declared, were reduced to 236 forsix in 83.3 overs on Saturday.

With two full days play left in thegame and Australia still 386 runsadrift of India's score, the visitors willfancy their chances of winning thefour-match rubber 3-1.

India first went Down Under backin 1947-48 under Lala Amarnath's cap-taincy, and is yet to achieve series tri-umph there despite eleven attempts.

At the Sydney Cricket Ground, theplayers went off with an hour's playpending in the day as bad light ham-pered proceedings, before rain inter-vened and brought out early stumps.

This was after Kuldeep Yadav (3-71) and Ravindra Jadeja (2-62) sharedfive wickets to put India in a com-manding position. At stumps then,Australia were trailing by 386 runs,with Peter Handscomb (28 not out)and Pat Cummins (25 not out) at thecrease.

Post tea, Yadav struck on the sixthball as Tim Paine (5) was completelyfoxed by the turn he was getting. Thespinner pitched the ball up and thebatsman, going for a drive, failed tocounter it and was bowled.

Cummins and Handscomb thenput on 38 runs for the seventh wick-

et. India requested for the second newball after 81 overs but were deniedowing to bad light.

They kept the batsmen in the mid-

dle for only a couple more oversbefore the umpires stopped play alto-gether owing to a thunderstorm in thevicinity.

Earlier, India struck four times inthe middle session as Australia wasreduced to 198 for five at tea.

Post lunch, Australia made the

worst start possi-ble with MarcusHarris (79) gettingout before he couldsettle in again. In

the third over after the restart, heplayed on off Jadeja.

In the 49th over, the left-armspinner made it a double blow six overslater as Shaun Marsh (8) was caught atslip.

Australia barely managed to cross150 in the 52nd over as India piled onthe pressure. But India again strucktwice to peg them back.

Ajinkya Rahane held a brilliantcatch at short midwicket to send backMarnus Labuschagnge (38) offMohammed Shami (1-54) soon after.

Travis Head (20) added 40 runs forthe fifth wicket with Handscomb forthe fifth wicket and brought somerespite to the desperate Australian mid-dle order.

But once again, as things lookedsettled down, they manufactured awicket with Head hitting a full tossstraight back at Yadav and was outcaught.

Earlier Harris' half-century hadhelped Australia reach 122 for one atlunch.

Starting from overnight 24 for noloss, Australia quickly got off theblocks in the morning session. Therewasn't much help from the pitch for thetwo pacers Shami and Jasprit Bumrah(0-43) who started proceedings.

India's lone success came fromYadav as Usman Khawaja (27) playeda loose stroke against the spin and hitstraight to Cheteshwar Pujara at mid-wicket.

BIANA TO FACE GOERGES IN AUCKLAND FINALAuckland: Canadian teen Bianca Andreescu continuedher fairy-tale run through the WTA Classic on Saturday,stunning third seed Hsieh Su-Wei to set up a final againstdefending champion Julia Gorges. The 18-year-oldqualifier's 6-3, 6-3 semi-final triumph followed victoriesover two former world number ones, the now numberthree Caroline Wozniacki and seven-time Grand Slamchampion Venus Williams. In contrast, second-seedGoerges who beat Slovakian Viktoria Kuzmova 6-1, 7-6(8/6) in her semi-final has not faced one seeded player allweek. For the unflappable Andreescu, ranked 152nd inthe world, it is the first final of her fledgling career afterarriving in Auckland with the simple aim of gettingthrough the qualifying tournament.

‘BALE INJURY NOT EXPECTED TO BE SERIOUS’MAdrid: Real Madrid coach Santiago Solari believes thecalf injury that Gareth Bale sustained against Villarreal onWednesday is not serious. Bale will undergo tests onSaturday to diagnose the extent of the problem afterbeing forced off at half-time at the Estadio de laCeramica, where Real Madrid drew 2-2. "We think theinjury is not too serious," Solari said at a pressconference on Saturday. "He will go through tests todayand we all hope he is back with us quickly." Expectationswere high for Bale this season following the departure ofCristiano Ronaldo last summer but his rhythm has beendisrupted by fitness issues. He has made 22appearances for Real this term but played 90 minutesonly five times.

CHURCHILL BROTHERS BEAT MINERVA Vasco: Churchill Brothers made it two wins in a rowafter Anthony Wolfe struck twice in the second-halfagainst Minerva Punjab to climb to third place in the I-League football tournament. Wolfe was adjudged Hero ofthe Match for his efforts from the bench. With this win,Churchill have posted 19 points on the board, and areone ahead of Real Kashmir.

ETHIOPIAN PRESENCE IN MUMBAI MARATHONMumbai: Ethiopian Abera Kuma, among men, and hiscompatriot and women's defending champion, AmaneGobena, lead the list of elite runners in this year's TataMumbai Marathon on January 20. The men's listcontains four runners who have run under 2:08:00 and11 under 2:09:00, race organisers Procam Internationalannounced on Saturday. One man who has experience ofMumbai and India, having raced in the country severaltimes before, is Bahrains Shumi Dechasa, who finishedfourth in last years race. He will be looking to make thepodium after the disappointment of 2018 race. Agencies

SINGLES

PTI ■ SYDNEY

Former Australia skipperRicky Ponting praised young

wicketkeeper-batsman RishabhPant, so much so that he calledhim "another" Adam Gilchristafter the Indian's blistering 159in the fourth Test.

"He is a real talent and anincredibly good ball striker. Hehas got a really good game senseas well. I have been luckyenough to coach him at Delhi(Capitals)," said Ponting, whohad worked with the Indianduring his stint with Delhifranchise at the Indian PremierLeague.

"He has got to do a bit ofwork on his keeping and he willalso become a better batsman.

"We talk about him in thecommentary box and he is sortof like another Adam Gilchrist,"Ponting told cricket.Com.Au.

Ponting believes Pant willscore more Test centuries than hispredecessor Dhoni.

"We talk about M S Dhoni allthe time and his impact on Indian

cricket. He played a lot of Tests forIndia but made only six Test hun-dreds. This kid (Rishabh Pant) willmake a lot more Test hundreds than

that," Ponting said."He has already scored his sec-

ond Test ton and a couple of 90s togo with it. Look he is someone whocould play a lot of Test cricket forIndia across formats. Pant is only21 and is already into his ninthTest."

Gilchrist also believes Pant hasthe talent to become a successfulTest cricketer.

"He's a cricketer that is at thestart of his journey so he'll learnthese particular parts of the gameand he'll learn that there's alwaysmore time than what you think, buthe's got a great foundation to be asuccessful Test cricketer," he said.

Though he shone with the bat,Pant's keeping wasn't always up tothe mark.

However, Gilchrist said Pantwill become a reliable keeper as helearns from his mistakes.

"Although he's missed a fewopportunities with the gloves, he'scertainly held onto more than he's

spilt. If he's prepared to work on hisgame, I'm sure he'll develop andbecome a really reliable keeper,"Gilchrist said.

PTI ■ SYDNEY

Soon after making an instantimpact in his maiden Test on

Australian soil, India spinnerKuldeep Yadav said he needs"more time" to improve as a Testbowler, stressing that playingred-ball cricket is vital for hisgrowth.

The 24-year-old left-armwrist spinner scalped threewickets to leave Australia strug-gling for 236-6 on the third dayof the fourth Test.

Playing in his first overseasTest since Lord's, Kuldeep saidhe was a bit nervous.

"To be very honest I haven'tchanged anything (for bowlingin Australia). I am playing myfirst Test in this series and so wasnervous," he said on Saturday.

"I have played enough crick-et to have decent enough knowl-edge but in Test cricket I willneed a little more time perhapsto improve. The more you playwith red ball the more you canimprove."

Kuldeep said there is nosubstitute to "match experi-ence" when it comes to improv-ing as a bowler.

"Test cricket is similar - themore you play the better you can

read batsmen. There is timeenough to plan for batsmen, youcan bowl more overs and changefields," he added.

"There is more pressure(when you play red ball cricketafter white ball cricket) ... Youneed atleast 10 days as a legspinner to change your mind setand control things.

"If you are bowling in thenets you can improve a bit butif you are playing more match-es, you improve more. You needmatch practice, because four-day and Test cricket is very dif-ferent from ODIs."

Dropped midway throughthe England series, Kuldeepsaid he is motivated to fight forhis spot with the presence of RAshwin and Ravindra Jadejaalready in the side.

"When you know you haveAshwin and Jadeja, best spinnersin the world, and you are thethird one, so then there is a lotto motivate yourself and learnfrom them. They keep pushingme in the nets that you have tobowl this way and in goodareas. "So I am very motivated(to play) and it is important tolearn from them because theyhave played enough cricket. I amstill learning."

PTI ■ SYDNEY

Australia opener Marcus Harris on Saturdayrued missing out on a hundred and said

batsmen unable to convert starts have left histeam with a mountain to climb in the fourthTest against India.

Harris (79) scored his second Test half-cen-tury in the morning session, but was out with-in three overs on resumption, playing on to hisstumps off Ravindra Jadeja.

"I got out playing a pretty half-arsed (sic)shot. I am more disappointed in myself thananything. I think it is always a goal against thespinners is to be aggressive early and once you'reable to get those sweepers out, it is to be ableto hit them hard and just not milk them asmuch as you can," said Harris after the hostswere reduced to 236-6 when bad light and raininterrupted proceedings.

With the pitch starting to take turn, Jadejaand Kuldeep Yadav shared five wickets asAustralia lost 5-70 in the last two sessions.Harris though expressed confidence that thelower order can prolong the first innings, butadded that the Australian batsmen have to startconverting their starts.

"We haven't had a meeting yet but I got astart, a few of us got a start but none of us wenton for a big score. So it's pretty simple to workout what went wrong. We're still fighting andthere is still a bit to play in the first innings yet.We're a young group and we're trying to workit out, think on our feet.

"We're playing against the number one sidein the world so it's not like it's an easy thing todo. But it's just a few little things we have toadjust to help us make those big scores like yousee India make. It's probably just an executionthing."

AFP ■ MOUNT MAUNGANUI

Arollicking maiden century bySri Lanka's Thisara Perera was

ultimately in vain as New Zealandwrapped up the one-day serieswith a 21-run victory in the secondODI at Mount Maunganui.

With Sri Lanka chasing New

Zealand's 319 for seven, they wereon the ropes at 128 for seven whenPerera opened up.

He faced 74 deliveries andcracked 13 sixes and eight foursbefore he was the last wicket to falland Sri Lanka were out for 298 with22 balls remaining.

Sri Lanka reached 112 for two

when Ish Sodhi captured the wick-et of Kusal Mendis for 20 to triggera collapse which saw five wickets fallin six overs.

But Perera refused to give up ashe bludgeoned the New Zealandattack with brute force.

He made 58 in a 75-run standwith Lasith Malinga for the eighthwicket, and scored 45 of the 51 runsfor the ninth wicket with LakshanSandakan.

But when a seemingly impos-sible victory seemed on the cardsMatt Henry had Perera caught byTrent Boult at long-on.

Opener Danushka Gunathilakaplayed his part at the top of theorder with 71 but elsewhere the SriLankan batsmen failed to fire.

It continued a dismal tour forSri Lanka who also lost the Testseries 1-0 and lost the first ODI by45 runs.

When New Zealand won thetoss and elected to bat, Sri Lankahad their tails up when theyremoved first-match centurionMartin Guptill and KaneWilliamson cheaply to have NewZealand at 39 for two.

But Ross Taylor (90)and ColinMunro (87) swung momentumNew Zealand's way with a 112-runstand for the third wicket, while all-rounder James Neesham lit up thetail with a whirlwind 64.

Lasith Malinga was the pick ofSri Lankan bowlers with two for 45while bowling for New ZealandSodhi took three for 55.

AFP ■ CAPE TOWN

Half-centuries by ShanMasood, Asad Shafiq and

Babar Azam enabled Pakistan toavoid an innings defeat andtake the second Test againstSouth Africa at Newlands intoa fourth day.

Pakistan was bowled out inthe last over of the third day for294 on Saturday, leaving SouthAfrica 41 runs to win.

Masood hit a composed 61and Shafiq and Azam bothplayed aggressively to score 88and 72 respectively.

Dale Steyn and KagisoRabada both took four wicketsto get South Africa to the brinkof victory.

Steyn drew level withRichard Hadlee in tenth place on431 wickets on the all-time Testwicket-takers list.

Masood and Shafiq sharedthe most enterprising partner-ship of the match when they puton 132 in 132 minutes off 168balls for the third wicket.

Steyn broke the stand whenMasood was caught behind bywicketkeeper Quinton de Kockand Philander followed up hav-ing Shafiq caught behind after asparkling innings in which he hit12 fours and a six.

Shafiq had looked set tomake his second century insuccessive appearances atNewlands after he made 111 inthe 2012/13 fixture.

A mini-collapse followedbut Azam batted well with thetail in scoring 72 off 87 balls.

Azam was ninth out, caughtat first slip off Rabada whenPakistan were only 16 runsahead 15 minutes before thescheduled close.

A second successive win forSouth Africa inside three daysseemed likely when MohammadAbbas was caught off Philanderseven minutes and eight runslater when the extra half hourwould have been enough to fin-ish the match.

But after checking a replay,Philander was no-balled andAbbas and last man ShaheenAfridi took the game into afourth day.

Australia vs India

Live from 4:45am IST

SONY TEN 3 & SIX NETWORK

Australia struggle at 236/6, still trailing by 386 runs before rain interrupts fourth Test

INDIA INCH CLOSER TO MAIDEN SERIES WIN

Rishabh Pant celebrates after scoring hundred AP

New Zealand players celebrate after dismissing Sri Lankan batsman in second ODI ICC

‘Need more time to

improve as Test bowler’

Pant is another Gilchrist, says PontingNot being able to convert

starts has hurt us: Harris

Proteas need 41 runs to win

MOST SIXES IN AN INNINGS FOR SL IN ODIsSixes (Score) Batsman Opponent Venue Date13 140 Thisara Perera NZ Mt Manganui 05-01-201911 134 Sanath Jayasuriya Pakistan Singapore 02-04-199610 139* Angelo Mathews India Ranchi 16 -11-20149 95 Seekkuge Prasanna Ireland Dublin 18 -06-20167 109 Sanath Jayasuriya B’desh Port of Spain 21-03-20077 119 Upul Tharanga S Africa Cape Town 07-02-2017

Faisel Features

Kuldeep Yadav celebrates with Rishabh Pant and Ajinkya Rahane after wicket ICC

Thisara's 140 in vain as NZ seal series

Kuldeep Yadav, second left, celebrates with teammates after dimissing Australian skipper Tim Paine on third day of Sydney Test AP

Excellia School chairman DS Pathak, vice chairperson ManjuPathak and director Ashish Pathak inaugurating the 2nd AD PathakMemorial Open Prizemoney Chess Championship at ExcelliaSchool on Saturday.

sport 11LUCKNOW | SUNDAY | JANUARY 6, 2019

PTI ■ ABU DHABI

Underdogs India will look attheir impressive results inrecent months for inspiration

when they open their AFC AsianCup football campaign againstThailand here on Sunday.

With the continental showpieceevent being expanded to 24 teams

for the first time from the earlier 16,the Indian side has a real chance tomake it to the knock-out rounds,which will be a first after their run-ners-up finish in 1964.

Both in 1984 and 2011, Indiawere knocked out of the tournamentat the group stage.

The two top sides from each ofthe six groups made up of four

countries as well as four third-placeteams will advance to the Round of16. India, playing in their fourthAsian Cup, is entering the tourna-ment on the back of a goal-lessstalemates against World Cup-win-ning Italian coach Marcello Lippi'sChina and Oman in the lead-up tothe tournament. They lost narrow-ly (1-2) to Jordan in their third big

match ahead of the Asian Cup.These results were preceded by

a 13-match unbeaten run in inter-national friendly matches and theIntercontinental Cup at home lastsummer.

Constantine's players will alsobe keen to improve upon the disas-trous performance of the country in2011 edition, when it badly lost all

its group matches. Sunday's GroupA match against Thailand at the AlNahyan Stadium will be crucial forIndia as a positive result will boostthe Stephen Constantine-coachedteam's chances of making it to theRound of 16.

If India beat Thailand onSunday, then a draw in the remain-ing two matches — against hosts

UAE (January 10) and Bahrain(January 14) — could be enough forthem to qualify for the knock-outround. Defensive discipline will beone of the key factors for Indiaagainst a Thailand team that scoreda lot of goals at the ASEAN FootballFederation Championship.

India is placed 97th in the FIFAcharts compared to Thailand's 118,

but rankings will hardly matter inthe continental showpiece. In fact,India is the second highest-rankedteam in the group after the UAE.

Historically, India and Thailandhave played against each other 24times with the South East Asiannation winning on 12 occasions.India has won five times while theremaining seven were drawn.

PTI ■ MUMBAI

Raider PawanS e h r a w a t

starred forBengaluru Bulls asthey defeatedG u j a r a tFortunegiants 38-33 in a pulsatingfinal to lift theirmaiden ProKabaddi Leaguetit le here onSaturday.

Sehrawat accu-mulated 22 pointsin his 25 raids andturned the matchon its head as hesingle-handedlytook the southernoutfit to a memo-rable win. Theirsecond-best playerwas Sumit Singh (3points).

It was heart-break for Gujaratyet again like thelast season, whenthey ended up asrunners-up.

Pawan was thedifference betweenthe two teams as hepulled back his sideinto the game aftertrailing 9-16 afterthe first half at theNSCI Dome atWorli.

A resurgentBengaluru, cour-tesy Pawan's show,inflicted all-out notonce but twice onthe Gujarat teamto move ahead andthen held theirnerve to come outtriumphant.

E a r l i e r ,Bengaluru openedtheir account bysending offGujarat's star raiderSachin Tanwar inthe openingminute. Gujarat'sraider K Prapanjanmade it 1-1 after asuccessful raid.

After Gujaratwent ahead 2-1,they brought backSachin Tanwar. ButPawan KumarSehrawat attempt-ed two successfulraids to take them3-2 ahead.

In a f inalwhere every pointmattered, the twoteams were goingneck-to-neck with4-4, after the initialseven minutes ofthe match.

The two teamsshowed amazingskills, that includedsuper tackles andraids, and werelocked at 7-7 witheight minutes to gofor the completionof first half.

But thenGujarat seemed tohave found themomentum as theysurged ahead 11-7with a couple ofsuccessful raidsand tackles. Andthen Gujaratinflicted an 'all-out'on their opponentsto increase theirlead to 15-9.

At the half-waymark, Gujarat led16-9.

After thechange of ends,Bengaluru, withsome fine defenceand tackles, madeit 17-21.

However, theturning point camewhen Sehrawatgrabbed six pointsfor his side aftertwo successfulraids which led toGujarat's all-out asBengaluru edgedahead 23-22, withabout nine minutesbefore the finalwhistle.

INDIA FACE THAILAND IN ASIAN CUP CAMPAIGN OPENER

Bulls bagmaidenPKLtrophy

backpack 12LUCKNOW | SUNDAY | JANUARY 6, 2019

Here’s looking at some ofthe trends for 2019.Artificial Intelligence

(AI), virtual reality (VR), speechrecognition — these are theinnovations that’ll slowly takeover and simplify the way weholiday.

VIRTUAL REALITY: With theincrease adoption of technolo-gy across travel industry, 2019will see interest and rise for vir-tual travel and expect maximumengagement in travel andadventure from VR technology.Travel brands will digitallytransport customers to a virtu-al recreation of the place, des-tination. Hotels can incorporatethe same to showcase theirrooms, recreational areas allow-ing encouragement in bookings

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:Travel industry will see a surgein the use of AI for customerservice purposes. It will allow

them to understand consumersearch trends, respond to con-sumer queries on real time viachatbots. It will also learn fromcontinuous interactions.

CURATED EXPERIENCES:Travel with experiences at itscentre has been a major trendin 2018 and we will see this con-tinue in 2019 even further.Consumer today value experi-ences more and seek authentic

experiences from what to see,where to eat, sleep, shop.

ECO TOURISM: Ecotourism/sustainable travel is responsibletravel to natural areas that con-serves the environment, sustainsthe well-being of the local peo-ple. It involves visiting fragile,pristine, and relativelyuntouched natural areas, withthe intention to support con-servation efforts. One observes

the flora and fauna intheir natural environmentand cause as little impactas possible. It is often doneon a small scale and is a greatalternative to the mainstreamcommercial tourism.

TASTE BUD ADVENTURES:Food travel is a trend that’s onlypicking up fast and travellers arenow going the distance to findauthentic food experiences.Southeast Asia and WesternEurope have always been pop-ular foodie destinations, trav-ellers are looking further afieldto find something unique.

SHORT/LONG VACATIONS:Spontaneous short and extend-ed vacations are likely to pickup further in 2019. With GenZ and millennials fuelling thetravel segment, they will look atmore short, extended weekendvacations to nearby unexploreddestinations with their friendsor even solo.This is further corroborated bya generational study 2018where 55% Gen Z and 48% mil-lennials prefer to take short orextended vacation of three-fivedays.

The writer ManmeetAhluwalia is Marketing head,

Expedia India

AWAREABLESMore than 60 per cent of virtualassistant users think devices thatunderstand our moods will bemainstream in three years.

SMART QUARRELSOver 65 per cent of virtual assistantusers think smart speakers will arguelike family members in three years.

SPYING APPSOver 45 per cent of consumersthink apps collect data about them even when they don’tuse the app.

ENFORCED AGREEMENT Always having to accept data collection cookies annoys 51per cent of consumers.

INTERNET OF SKILLS More than 50 per cent of AR or VR users want apps,

glasses and gloves that give virtual guidance forpractical, everyday tasks such as cooking or car-rying out repairs.

ZERO-TOUCH CONSUMPTION Around half of virtual assistant users want auto-mated bills and subscriptions, as well as self-restocking household supplies.

MENTAL OBESITY 31 per cent of consumers soon expect to go to

‘mind gyms’ to practice thinking, as everyday deci-sion-making becomes increasingly automated.

ECO ME39 per cent of consumers want an eco-watch that measures their carbon foot-print.

MY DIGITAL TWIN 48 per cent of AR or VR users want online

avatars that mimic them exactly, so they canbe in two places at once.

5G AUTOMATES SOCIETY Around 20 per cent of smartphone users believe 5G will bet-ter connect IoT devices like household appliances and utili-ty metres.

The writer is Head of Research Agenda, Ericsson Consumer And Industry Lab

2019 >>>

2019 is a happening year of change. From thinking exercises on the superhighway, to plants in your wearables, from virtual

vacation recces to low-alco cocktails, this year promises to stand out. SUNDAY PIONEER takes a deep dive into trends

While we love our dal-chawal, we do try out new and exotic foods from roundthe world. But with healthy eating being the mantra for a few years now, some of

the foods that will find their way into our kitchen this year will be pre and probiotics, fermented foods and low alcohol cocktails

Of mind gyms

& online spats

Technology is here to drive livesand its only going to get biggerthis year, says Michael Bjorn

OVERSIZED HATSThe spring/summer collection ofhats is more than just sun protectionand head coverage. Last summer,Jacquemus had people on Instagramgo ga-ga over the oversized hat. Somuch so that brands are going for asimilar look.

SENSIBLE SHORTSCycling shorts may havebeen in style in 2018, butin 2019, it is all aboutyear, boy shortsgiving micro,knee-length skirtsmay a break forthis summer.

TIGHT PLEATSPleats are back butthis time they’remore intricate — theyare tighter. However, themicro pleat leave animpact as they generatemore movement but alsoa more fluctuating silhou-ette. Spotted at: Givenchy (left),Preen by Thornton Bregazzi(centre), Balmain (right),Pringle and Roland Mouret

TIE-DYEThe print of the 60s is back but a lotchicer. One can opt for a bold match-ing two-piece, or wear a beach maxi.

FANCY FLATSWhile some may still want to wearstilettos, 2019 is more about beingdown to earth — wearing flats. Manywomen are looking forward to wear-ing comfy yet fancy flats this year tobe in fashion.

ON THE FRINGEThis western-inspired trend is all setto be part of our wardrobes this year.From jackets to skirts to handbagsfringing is all there next season.

SUMMER WATERPROOFSIf there is one that that monsoon inIndia has taught us is that it isunpredictable. Unless you want tocarry sunglasses and weatherproof

boots with you all thetime, one may want towear weather waterproofswhich are a head turner.

NEONITEVibrant hues are back

with a bang this year afterthe world got tired ofwearign pastels. Go for aneon pink green or even ayellow to be on top ofthings.

PUFFED SHOULDERSBold shoulders are no newthing, but if the next sea-son is all set to becomepuffier, we will sit up andnotice. Gathered at theshoulder with pleats ofelastic, they work wellwith square necklines

on dresses.

SIP THE CHEESEDon’t be surprised if you seecheese teas on the menus of afancy restaurant. An importfrom Taiwan, Cheese tea isalready a hit in the West andsoon enter Indian market too.It is basically green or black teawith a a cap of cream cheese ontop blended with cream orcondensed milk. The quirkything about this is it can beeither sweet or slightly salty orboth. Sommeliers have pre-dicted that a growth in unusu-al teas — such as cheese tea andmushroom tea — at eateries issomething to watch out for.

TANGY & FERMENTEDFermented foods had never gone outof our diet what with kimchi, sauer-kraut and tempeh. But 2019 will seemore such foods find their way intoour kitchens and plates giventhe several health benefitsthat come with eating these.Take temphe for example, thesoya like cake is high in protein,fibre, Vitamin B and essentialfatty acids. It may also help toreduce cholesterol and increasebone health. What more do wewant but to be healthy.

LOW ALCOHOL COCKTAILSThe spirit-free cocktails are going tobe in demand at the bar counter aspeople would explore more of lighterwines, natural wines and drinkswith less or no alcohol. Toexperiment with the drinks andmake it healthy, high-alcoholliquors like gin will be replacedwith lower-alcohol wines like pros-ecco in mixed drinks, and makemore use of shrubs, craft vermouths,botanicals and distilled nonalcoholicspirits like Seedlip. This will also giverise to a new name like no-jito or theno-groni.

OCEAN DIVE BY PLATTERSWith the properties of superfoods, mushroom andseaweeds are going to be widely used in the healthy

platter, especially to fusion Indianfoods. Consumption of seaweed

is growing seven per centannually in the West. Most

popular being seaweedbutter. Whole Foods willalso be adding a salty sea

fennel and olive blend totheir olive bars. Other prod-

ucts coming into market include puffedsnacks made from water lily seeds, plant-based tunaalternatives with algae ingredients, crispy snackablesalmon skins with omega-3s and kelp jerkies.

CELTUCE, THE NEWLETTUCE

The romaine E. coliscare had meant that con-sumers were looking for a

new green. A predictionreport by the SRG Culinary

Council, “Top Chef ” win-ner Hosea Rosenberg -- it isceltuce — a lettuce cultivar

— the new kale. And it isnot jsut salads where you

will find this. There is juicetoo to be used in hydration

beverages.

PRE AND PROBIOTICS2019 will finally be the year that guthealth will hit the mainstream in abig way.Anything to dowith your gutflora. You canexpect more waysto ingest probioticsand prebiotics andfoods designed toimprove the bacterial health

of your intestinal tract, according to several gro-cery store chains and wellness market analysts.As the obsession with digestive health dovetailswith the fascination for fermenting, kimchi,

sauerkraut and pickled thingswill work their way into

new territory.Smoothies with kefirwill be popular, andkombucha will showup in unexpected

places like salad dressings.

From the revivalof the 60s print

to a fringe onclothing, to neon

colours, tobleaching

eyebrows — thisyear is going to

be bold andbeautiful. Here

are a few fashionand lifestyle

statements tolook forward to

G R E E N , N O T J U S T W I T H E N V Y

One major trend that is likely to take 2019by storm are bleached eyebrows. Yes, youread that right. That’s right — eyebrowbleaching is back.

Plant-based skincare products likemoisturisers, face cleansers and facialscrubs made from fruit and green plantsare set to find their way into our make-upkits. This is because chemicals found inskincare products are ruining our skins.

Plastic surgery is expensive and not foreveryone. That is why non-surgicalcosmetic methods will grow in popularity

in 2019. The use of injectables, stemcell experimentation as well ascooling and heating proceduresare all set to make their mark inthe beauty world.

2019 is all about sustainableliving so why not incorporate itwhile we are travelling as well.Travel companies say that there aregreener ways to enjoy yourholidays now like staying in a eco-friendly accommodation or take abike ride.

Declutter with purpose is the newmantra. It is more than just cleaningthe house once every few months. It’sa new lifestyle that involvesdecluttering your relationships, yourhobbies and interests and even yourwork. It helps us focus our minds onwhat is important and what isn’t.

RAISING THE EYEBROW

SMART & TRENDY

THE PEGAN DIETThe keto diet might be losing its edge but “pegan” diet — across between a paleo and a vegan diet — will become thenext big thing. The nutritionist and dieticians will be seencoming up with customised pegan diet plans along withrestaurants offering this healthy blend of food.

Say cheese sans hic hic

comingholidaysVirtual

From eco-tourism

to VirtualReality and

ArtificialIntelligence,

innovation itwill be in

travel normsthis year

WHERE INDIA GOES

● CZECH REPUBLIC● HUNGARY● ROMANIA AND MOLDOVA● LATVIA● MOROCCO● MATERA, ITALY● TURKISH RIVIERA● GEORGIA● BELARUS

The 10 hot consumer trends

for 2019 and beyond are:

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The stars of so many big starsaligned and translated intothem getting married in theyear gone by that itdeservedly got the title of

the year of celebrity weddings.Refashioned tattoos, extravagant cere-monies, pre-marital pregnancy, sneak-ers, blatant racism, and age gap —each of the celebrity weddings had itsown unique reason to be discussedexcessively. A whole new range oftrends has been set by these weddings.While some have been called adorablyresponsible, there have been othersthat have been so extravagant thatemulating them would be practicallyimpossible for common people.

In the past two decades, therehasn’t been a single year with thesemany big weddings. Moreover, if onethinks about substantial discussionsover celebrity weddings that resultedin a flood of images on the internet,one has to go back to Aishwarya Raiand Abhishek Bachchan’s wedding in2007. Even though many other wed-dings have been organised since then,a mix of controversy, secrecy,immense fan following, and yet somesemblance of privacy and sheer beau-ty made the Rai-Bachchan weddingstand out. Before 2007, one wouldhave to go back to Shah Rukh Khanand Gauri Khan’s wedding in 1991 orRishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh’s wed-ding in 1980 for beautiful picturesand Rajesh Khanna and DimpleKapadia’s wedding in 1973 for contro-versy. But thanks to the social mediapresence of celebrities and also, tosome degree, coincidence, the year2018 managed the feat of setting newstandards for celebrity weddings.

��������������� ����� ������Her tattoo, her depression, his fash-ion sense, their consistent self-improvement as actors — DeepikaPadukone and Ranveer Singh hadtheir share of highs and lows togetheras well as apart. In the six years thatthey spent dating each other, theytook their audiences through almostall the emotions defined in the dictio-nary as much through their movies asthrough their social media posts andpublic appearances. Their wedding atLake Como in Italy in November last

year was too dreamy, too well kept asecret — and as obsessed fans com-plained, too beautifully long — forsocial media to not break over it. But the year of celebrity weddingsdeserved just such a celebration. And to top that, Bollywood’s “trulyinternational” star Priyanka Chopragot married around the same timeand with a competing degree ofextravagant shenanigans.

The flamboyance of the DeepVeerwedding has been discussed half ofNovember and all of December, andpredictably, there’s not one clear win-ner between dreamy and redundant asan appropriate adjective for the way itwas planned. What’s clear, however, isthat in the past two decades, there hasnot been a single year even half as cel-ebratory as the one that just ended.From the couple’s footwear and theirrings to their guest list and theirdemeanour — every little detail aboutthis wedding was one of a kind andwarranted excited discussions thatwould go on for weeks, much liketheir post-wedding celebrations.

Since her controversial break-upwith Ranbir Kapoor, Padukone’s ‘RK’tattoo — which she got for her for-mer beau on the nape of her neck —had been quite a topic of discussion.She had been asked when she wouldget it off several times. And when shefinally did, she set a trend for manybrides-to-be. Her customised chooda,traditional saree from Bangalore’s silkhouse, and her Sabyasachi weddingdupatta that had shlokas all over ithave resulted in a boom in the sale oflocal city shopkeepers, who make aliving out of creating affordable‘inspired’ designs for those who wanta slice of the dream that DeepVeerlived in Italy. Deepika’s weddingdupatta with a border filled withshlokas and her refashioned tattoohave been two of the big trends thatthis Lake Como wedding set.

Rahul Shah, a tattoo artiste whoworks in Rajouri Garden, says, “SinceNovember, we have had quite a fewwomen come to us to get their tattoosrefashioned. They would earlier ask uswhat they can do to hide it. But now,they prefer to get it restyled. Recently,a girl got her tattoo, which earlier saidMM, changed into ‘Mum’s my world’.”

� ���������� �����������The 11-year age difference betweenthe Bollywood beauty queen-turned-Quantico lead Priyanka Chopra andmusician Nick Jonas was all thatanyone and everyone could talkabout till almost the end of 2018.But then, the couple went ahead andgot married, and gave both fans andhaters a lot more to talk about. Thecouple had two weddings and threereceptions. They had one ceremonyin traditional Hindu style andanother one in Christian style. Forthe latter, Chopra wore a custom-made 75-foot-long Ralph Laurenveil. What was extra special herewas that this was one of the very fewoccasions where the designer brandmade a wedding veil for someoneoutside of the family. The ceremonywas held at Umaid Bhawan Palace inJodhpur, India. The same locationwas also used by the Ambanis forsome ceremonies for their daughterIsha Ambani’s wedding.

The biggest newsmaker aroundthe time of this wedding, however,was an arguably racist article aboutthe couple posted by the Cut. Eventhough the article was deleted veryquickly after it was published, follow-ers were quick to notice and criticiseits contents as it supposedly calledPriyanka Chopra a “global con artist”who had duped the much youngerNick Jonas into a fraudulent marriage.

As for the trends set by this wed-ding, there have been quite a few peo-ple who said it was one of the threebig weddings this year that were tooflamboyant for society’s good. It’s truethat most people cannot afford tohost two wedding ceremonies andthree receptions. But if one goes bythe discussions that followed thewedding ceremonies of Nickyanka,DeepVeer, and Isha Ambani, it’s notjust a case of sour grapes that ismaking the followers of thesecelebrities call their style of celebra-tion somewhat irresponsible. Thereare some who genuinely feel thatmaking such a big show of an affairas sacred and private as a wedding isnot the way to go about things.

�������� �����������A summer wedding at her aunt’s

house in Bandra, Sonam Kapoorhad the first big, fat star wedding ofthe year. Customised wedding jew-ellery, Bollywood biggies asbaraatis, and Anil Kapoor as theemotional father, Sonam’s weddingwas a hit for all reasons filmi. Butthe one trend it inspired was that ofthe groom wearing sneakers withhis sherwani and the bride’s sister,Rhea Kapoor, wearing sneakersunder her lehenga. Arguablyinspired from Sonam Kapoor’smovie Dolly Ki Doli, the trend ofsneakers with lehenga made inroadsinto wedding shenanigans of bridesas well as baraatis this year.

Rashi Singh, a Delhi-based 30-year-old woman who got married inDecember last year, says, “My feetare definitely thankful to SonamKapoor. I wore pencil heels to mywedding reception and within anhour, my feet were sore. There wasno way I could have danced wear-ing them. So, I put on my sneakersand danced the night away.”

Another trend that this weddingkicked off was that of a heavydupatta instead of a phoolchaadar— the more modern version thathas flowers knitted together in awooden frame — being carried bythe bride’s brothers over her headon the day of the wedding. SonaKalra, a 26-year-old Delhi-basedwoman who recently got married,says, “I used the dupatta of myengagement lehenga for thephoolchaadar ceremony on the wed-ding day. It felt right because it didnot hurt the environment.”

����������������������� �An age gap of about 26 years waswhat defined the relationshipbetween model and actor MilindSoman and air hostess AnkitaKonwar, as their followers onInstagram came up with mixedreactions to their relationshipdeclaratory posts. But when the twogot married in April last year, thefocus started to shift from their agegap to the unique way in whichthey organised their wedding. Itwas on April 22 that the couple gotmarried in Assam, dressed in tradi-tional Maharashtrian outfits madewith eco-friendly bamboo textiledesigned by Madhu Jain.

Later, they also had a barefootwedding in Santiago deCompostela, Spain, with a water-fall in the backdrop. The coupleplanted a sapling for each weddingguest. “Nurture the gifts you havereceived... planting a tree with@earthy_5 (Ankita Konwar’sInstagram handle) for every guest,11 done!” they wrote onInstagram, as they posted a pictureof the model and his bride planti-ng saplings with henna-dyedhands. They had a small, vegetari-an, alcohol-free wedding, and sup-posedly kicked off the trend ofsaplings being planted or gifted towedding attendees — like AnushkaSharma and Virat Kohli did — tomake Indian weddings a way toimprove the environment.

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GOODBYE TO THE

YEAR OFWEDDINGS

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Rajit Singhal, a 33-year-oldengineer who got married inNovember last year, says, “At

my elder brother’s wedding threeyears ago, we had about 1,000guests and a lot of food and winewas served. I have always been a fanof Milind Soman because he is so fit.His style of getting married mademe decide that I, too, will at leasthave a less lavish affair. We had onlyabout 150 wedding guests.”

����������������������Skin-hugging clothes to flaunt thebaby bump is a trend attributed toKim Kardashian. Soon after that,Bollywood caught up with the trendwhen Kareena Kapoor Khan waspregnant with Taimur Ali Khan. But

it’s Neha Dhupia and Angad Bediwho recently put Bollywood faces tothe age-old love story where a cou-ple gets married in a hurry becausethey have miscalculated and gottenpregnant. They broke the suddennews of their wedding — a privateAnand Karaj ceremony held inDelhi — on Instagram. Threemonths later, what followed wasanother Instagram post by the cou-ple that got far more attention thaneven their wedding picture. It was apicture of the ecstatic couple withBedi holding a pregnant Dhupia.Followers of the actor couple werequick to notice that for just threemonths, the baby bump looked toobig. Soon, the dots were connectedand the couple, too, happily accept-

ed the fact that the reason for a ‘sud-den wedding’ was pregnancy. Theyhave been blessed with a baby girl.And the ‘trend’ that fans are thank-ful to them for setting is the kind ofunapologetic and uninhibited open-ness with which they handled thepregnancy and the wedding. Lateron in an interview, Dhupia also said,“I don’t believe it (the wedding) washush-hush or secret as much as itwas private. Both of us are privatepeople. We just wish to control theamount of information we want tolet out about our private lives.”

�������������������� ����This wedding was in the news morebecause of the enormous amount ofmoney spent by the bride’s father and

the people who attended and per-formed at the ceremonies than forany other reason. Beyonce, SalmanKhan, Amitabh Bachchan, and JohnLegend were some of the celebritiesto perform at the wedding/engage-ment functions. As for the attendees,even the newly married PriyankaChopra and Nick Jonas had made itto the wedding. Aamir Khan was cap-tured serving food at the wedding.There were followers who were smit-ten with the way the wedding washeld and then there were those whocouldn’t help but question if this levelof flamboyance was healthy for thesociety that we live in. Now imagineliving through a year where theextravagant trends set by thesecelebrity weddings are emulated!

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Recently, a very interesting fundraiser was heldin Delhi in the aid of the girl child. Held at theresidence of the Brazilian Ambassador in NewDelhi, heads of mission and their spouses fromseveral countries walked the ramp wearing

ensembles contributed by leading Indian designersincluding, Rohit Bal, Gaurav Gupta, Abraham & Thakore,Raghavendra Rathore, AM:PM, Ashish Soni, Pero, AnuPD, and Anupamaa Dayal. The event, tiled Ray of Hope,was organised by an NGO — Earth Foundation — ded-icated to pushing the cause and raising awareness andfunds in their support. We caught up with Geeti Bhagat,President and CEO of Earth Foundation and BhagatGroup, who shared that this was not the first time thatso many diplomats had come forth to support this cause.Excerpts from an interaction with Bhagat:

Your thoughts on working for the betterment of the conditions for the girl child in India…While we are all aware of the plight of the girl child in India,this awareness does not translate into action often enough.This is the case particularly in economically underprivi-leged families, where anything spent on the Girl Child’s edu-cation and health is seen as a waste of resources that canbe better utilised for her male sibling who will then be ableto repay this investment when he starts earning unlike hissister who will impose a further drain on the family’s alreadyslim resources as she will be requiring a dowry when sheis married.

What inspired you to engage in social services?The one thing that I’ve always taken for granted is the imper-ative to give back. I believe that my strong affinity to actsof giving is founded by my cultural ancestry. Both pre andpost Partition, my grandparents developed an attitude ofretaining only what they needed to live comfortably andprovide for their seven daughters. Fortunate as they were,they donated multiple large properties to the cause of edu-cating the underprivileged to form institutions that are stillin operation today.

As a little girl, I dedicated many an afternoon to beinga Girl Guide which made me acutely aware of the value ofmaking a difference by empowering girls and young womento do amazing things. As I grew older and attended RotaryClub meetings with my father, who in fact was the FoundingPresident of a Rotary Club, I found that empowerment hadan immense power to uplift entire societies. Keen to enterinto the social sphere in a more autonomous fashion, theBhagat family founded the Earth Foundation NGO in the90s. The rest is history!

When was Earth Foundation NGO founded and whatwas the thought behind it?The Earth Foundation NGO was formed in the mid 1990swith the idea of improving the quality of life on earth.

How many lives does the foundation touch?The Foundation’s ideal is quality over quantity. OurNGO has always identified institutions that are alreadyworking with the needy and doing a fantastic job butlack only one thing — the funds to sustain and prolif-erate. This is how,almost every campaign or endeav-our run by our foundation impacts several hundred toover a thousand people each time they are run. In thelast five years alone, we have helped over 2,500 under-privileged children at both scholastic and graduate lev-els. Since our inception, my estimate is double that.

What are the various social service campaigns undertaken by Earth Foundation?We like to capitalise on the current reach and abilities ofourselves and our volunteers which changes over time. Thisis why, we have been able to cover a relatively wide rangeof campaigns in an extremely meticulous manner. Someof these are eye camps for the elderly, beat the heat, andhealth and hygiene,

Could you please tell us briefly about the Rays of Hopeproject and the recent event that was held in Delhi?Rays of Hope is a multi pronged campaign to raise aware-ness about the actions required to help the underprivileged,particularly, girls. It is our unique flagship fundraising eventwherein we use New Delhi as the base and widen interna-tional exposure through the participation of over 120 headsof mission since its inception. The Earth Foundation NGOholds the copyright for this Ambassadors Fashion Show

where Heads of Mission and their spouses gather togeth-er for the cause supported by India’s leading fashion design-ers, corporates and generous citizens. Our latest edition wassupported by the Ambassador of Brazil and was held at hisresidence. Thirty seven Heads of Mission and their spous-es walked the ramp in the ensembles of 30 of FDCI design-ers. One of the event’s many highlights was the auction-ing of a football and jersey signed by the legendary foot-baller Pelé which attracted almost �9,00,000 in funds.

What kind of help have you been able to gather for thegirl child? Where are the funds used?We get donations both in cash and kind, and at thisrecent event, a leading e-commerce retailer has donat-ed �10,00,000 worth of winter garments for children indesperate need. Our funds are used for scholarships,health and nutrition for girls in need and supporting acollege in Himachal where we have built a four-storey

college block called the Earth Foundation Uday Block.

Lessons for others from the experience(s) that you havegathered from your activities and engagement with theunderprivileged…Helping the needy doesn’t mean that one needs an abun-dance of time. We should find avenues to make a differ-ence, whether small or big. Try to take actions that areimportant and game changing for others. If you can’t effectchange on your own, cooperate with NGOs and others.Always work for a cause that moves you because charityisn’t only for others, but your own soul too!

Any particular experience that you would like to sharefrom your projects?All linking back to our ethos of creating lasting and qual-ity differences in the lives of those who need it, I am instant-ly reminded of the story of Prachi. Prachi is the daughterof a struggling class teacher at a school that the EarthFoundation very frequently works with. Being the daugh-ter of an educator, Prachi was intrinsically aware of thepower of knowledge and made it a part of her lifestyle. Hercircumstances, however, weren’t conducive to her devel-opment to say the very least. Her father was unemployedand abusive and consistently tried to hinder her studiesby attempting to cut off her mother’s livelihood and inter-fering with her attendance at school. Struggling to makeends meet, I met Prachi’s mother at a campaign and theschool and happened to strike a conversation withPrachi. I was mesmerised at her dedication, desire and over-all aptitude. With a focus on making her dream to becomean IAS officer come true, we funded her education andare proud to say that she is now pursuing a degree inMechanical Engineering.

Given her interest in serving her country, we arrangedfor her to meet with key people in the various departmentsof the Brazilian embassy, after which she had a long dis-cussion with the Ambassador himself! Prachi is now seri-ously considering joining the IFS and aims to representher country, not only to strengthen India’s relations withthe rest of the world, but to do it to show that women fromall backgrounds are capable (of being extraordinary).

The New Year has just begun. And ithas brought the gift of a fresh startwith it. Trying to make the most of

this opportunity, individuals often resolveto lead a healthier lifestyle, to adopt finan-cial discipline, and invest wisely to stayfinancially healthy. But, while we makemultiple resolutions every year, most ofus are unable to see them through.

What we need to appreciate is thatplanning our personal finance is for ourown well-being and betterment. We cansimply start by making solid financial res-olutions that can help get us closer to ourmoney goals, whether it is increasingretirement savings or setting enoughmoney aside for a down payment on ahouse, or keeping the future financiallysecured. Here are some New Year reso-lutions proposed by Anjali Malhotra,Chief Customer, Marketing and DigitalOfficer; Aviva Life Insurance.

()��)*���+,+-)� �.)��+)/)(�0+,��10,��Take stock of your assets and liabilities;review your finances. Understand howmoney works. For instance, controlledcredit card spending means lesser debt;less spending on unnecessary purchases(like impulsive buying) means more sav-ings. Think about what you would like tosave for (children’s education, new home,car, a dream holiday) and consider howlong you would need to save up toachieve that particular goal.

�#,(#�2!.1)#�+1Now that 2019 has finally shown its pret-ty face to us, it’s the perfect time to pre-pare a budget for the year. However, asoften happens, while you manage to suc-cessfully plan a budget, you fail to stickto it. Staying within the budget will notonly ensure that your expenses areplanned but also ensure that you achieveyour financial goals. Temptations lead todebts and problems in the cash flow. Keepyour bank passbook updated. Find outyour credit score to determine yourfinancial status. Try improving upon it.Update your budget regularly.

�+�0��)��,&��3��+�30!(��+,+-�,��.)-���0+�Teach your children about saving moneyand cutting down on unnecessary expen-diture. Educating them about these basicfinancial concepts will provide clarity onthe family’s financial goals. Plan house-hold budgets collectively so that every-one gets the opportunity to participatein saving and spending, and the respon-sibility is equally divided.

�#,(#��,��+1��0(�30!(�4),�#4To ensure good health, you need to startplanning early. Investing on a compre-hensive health insurance plan is a greatway to do that. With the spiralling costof medical treatment, a good healthinsurance comes in really handy duringa medical emergency. Safeguarding thefamily against such financial crisis isgood planning.

�#,(#�/�,++�+1��0(�30!(�-4��.���!#!()As per a nation-wide survey conduct-ed by Aviva, planning for children’s edu-cation is the topmost priority for mostIndian parents. However, proper plan-ning is still far away for most parentsand thus they end up in debt whilearranging money for the children’shigher education. By taking the bene-fit of services designed for this purpose,parents will not only be able to recog-nise their child’s inherent talent but alsobe able to achieve their child’s dreamwith the education cost calculator thathelps one calculate the expected cost ofhigher education and provides ways ofinvestment to ensure availability offunds at the time of need.

�)-!()�#4)��!#!()�0��30!(��0�).�0+)�Life insurance is fundamental to financialplanning. Ensure that you are optimallyinsured and that the financial future ofyour family is secured. Assess the amountthat your family would require to retainthe same standard of living in the absenceof the earning member and plan accord-ingly. A term insurance plan is extreme-ly affordable, yet provides comprehensivesecurity to the insured and his family*.

-�),(�30!(�.)2#�The biggest roadblock of your financialplans is debt. Pay your bills on time andclear all your outstanding debts. Creditcard dues attract a high rate of interest andhence, it is better cleared on time. Try pay-ing off your creditors in cash and savemoney on interest.

�#,(#��,��+1�2)�0()��+�)�#�+1Before making investment plans, get intothe habit of saving. Cut down on unnec-essary expenditure. You can also open aseparate savings account for this purposeand use it as your piggy bank, or investin an insurance plan that returns doublethe premium on maturity because moneysaved is money earned*.

�#,(#��,��+1��0(�30!(�()#�()&)+#You should start planning for your retire-ment by your late 20s. But if you haven’tdone that as yet, you can start now. Savingfor your retirement will help you ensurefinancial stability when you are beyond thereasonable age of working. Invest in retire-ment plans like Public Provident Fund,annuity plans, National Pension Scheme orinsurance policies that guarantee return onthe maturity of the policy.

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Ismat Chughtai (1911-1991)was a fearless and trailblazingstalwart of Urdu fiction,

unequivocally one of the fourpillars of modern Urdu shortstory, the others being Manto,Krishan Chander and RajinderSingh Bedi. She was a little aboveeighty at the time of her death,having led a largely uninhibitedlife, could be safely termed arebel since her birth, madeunconventional choices whetherin terms of life or career andmade it her explicit agenda toexpose the hypocrisies pepper-ing the lives of the contemporarymiddle class Indian society,Muslim households in particularbecause she lived in one and sawthe chinks ever so closely fromthat vantage point.

Rakhshanda Jalil’s An UncivilWoman: Writings on IsmatChughtai is a valuable addition tothe corpus of critical and whole-some appraisals of Chughtai’s lifeand times, her works and theirtremendous impact on posterity.Noted Chughtai critic TahiraNaqvi’s blurb is worth quoting:“Ismat Chughtai, (is) the GrandDoyenne of Urdu fiction, thewoman who married a filmdirector, who wrote screenplaysand made films, who cooked upa storm for friends and familywith the same gusto as she wrotebold, uninhibited and memo-rable fiction…” Jalil acknowl-edges the apt title of the instantvolume being used from an earli-er essay of Geeta Patel titled“Ismat Chughtai: An UncivilWoman” published in theAnnual of Urdu Studies,Chicago-Wisconsin Volume 16,2001. Apart from a brief andgeneral introduction to Chughtaiby Jalil, the volume comprises offourteen selections wherein fouressays are written in English,eight translated pieces are fromUrdu to English and two inter-views with Chughtai have beenreproduced.

In the introduction, Jalil laysbare the extent of Chughtai’s“formidable” oeuvre: Five col-lections of short stories, sevennovels, three novellas, severalsketches, plays, reportage andradio plays, stories-dialogues-scenarios for the many filmsproduced by her husbandShahid Latif and others. It mustbe noted that in her lifetime,Ismat gave several fearless inter-views, wrote several pieces ofnon-fiction, faced obscenitycharges alongside fellow writerSaadat Hasan Manto, and in theface of all odds, remained anintensely socially-engaged,politically aware writerthroughout who ostensiblyseemed to be writing aboutwomen but in fact delved withclinical precision into womenand their engagement witheverything else around them inseveral reciprocal ways. Jalil

underlines the fact thatChughtai’s rather tempestuousand explosive persona overshad-owed her literary merit to aremarkable extent. Anyonefamiliar with the scope of herentire literary oeuvre will notewith dismay how Chughtai’sentire career continues to beidentified with the frivolous con-troversy surrounding “Lihaaf”,the obscenity charges and thecourt proceedings thereafter:The wide anthologisation of only“Lihaaf” and its veritable canoni-sation by inclusion in universitysyllabi being a strong example.

The four English criticalessays are by Geeta Patel, TahiraNaqvi, Fatima Rizvi and Syeda SHameed. “DisorderlyDiscernments” by Geeta Patel,also the longest piece in this vol-ume, runs into a whopping fiftypages where she ostensibly seeksto unpack the several vital layers

in Chughtai’s lesser known shortstory Ek Shohar Ki Khatir andtheorises on various vertices ofChughtai’s critical engagementsincluding gender, genre, ideolo-gy, Zenana fiction and biofiction,excavating Chughtai’s followingof mentor and precursor RashidJahan, most significantly“unpacking the (convoluted ide-ological) apparatus” that hasgone into Chughtai’s construc-tion of the story.

The next essay by TahiraNaqvi discusses another crucialaspect of critical analysis as oneapproaches Chughtai’s works —that of translation. In an essaytitled “Looking for Chughtai:Journeys in Reading andTranslation”, Naqvi reminds usthat Chughtai was an ‘unselfcon-scious’ feminist, who neverthe-less took an “audacious and stri-dent approach to life and to writ-ing”. Naqvi has translated most ofChughtai’s works into Englishand therefore shares crucialinsights into the hallmarks ofChughtai’s writing which at thesame time proved immenselydifficult to translate, the unique‘begumatizaban’ for instance,used by middle class women andbegums of the Urdu-speakinghouseholds. In ten crisp pages ofher fascinating essay Naqvibrings alive the enormous diffi-culties she faced while conveyingIsmat in intent and form fromUrdu to English.

Fatima Rizvi’s incisive essaytitled “Gender, Modernity, andNationalist Sensibility in TedhiLakeer” investigates Chughtai’squasi-autobiographical novelTedhi Lakeer (1945) or TheCrooked line through theextremely pertinent concerns ofGender and modernity. Rizviposits the importance of thenovel in “projecting the intel-lectual history of progressiveideals” taking root in the Indiansubcontinent in particular, withrespect to major spheres of

human occupation such as edu-cation, politics, nation andnationhood, religion, psycholo-gy and so on.

This volume also reproducesvoices of Chughtai’s contempo-raries. Like Qurratulain Hyderin “Lady Changez Khan”, FaizAhmad Faiz’s “The ‘Sex Appeal’of Ismat Chughtai’s Language”,Krishan Chander’s exposition ofthe ‘elusiveness of the ordinary’,Upendranath Ashk’s “TheDozakhi Ismat Chughtai” toname of few, all translated fromUrdu to English. The two highlyentertaining, perceptive and no-holds-barred interviews ofChughtai included in this vol-ume are by Carlo Coppola andAsif Aslam Farrukhi. Chughtai’spersona and unconventionalviews emerge vividly and in alltheir glory: For instance whilespeaking to Farrukhi, she does-n’t bat an eyelid while placingKhwaja Ahmad Abbas in theleague of herself, Manto,Chander and Bedi, saying, “Idon’t measure people by thelength and breadth of their writ-ing. If somebody has writtenone good story, I believe inhim…whatever (Abbas) haswritten is of a high standard.”

Talking about “Lihaaf” sheproclaims unequivocally,“…(Never) have I written any-thing pornographic….The realdirt is in their minds.” Jalil’s AnUncivil Woman presents a care-fully curated set of pieces ostensi-bly to rectify the relatively smallspace she accorded to Chughtaiin her earlier work on theProgressive Writers Association.The essays herein seek to revealboth the staunch ideologue andthe thoroughly rebellious per-sona of Chughtai which defiedall labels through a rare combi-nation of utter simplicity, and asearing, nuanced exploration ofthe other half of humanity.

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Cricket today is a lot about sta-tistics and analysis, aboutprobabilities and predictionsand about fitness and flexibili-ty — it is almost as if the

modern version of the gentleman’s gamehas become more cerebral than physicaland what happens between your ears is asimportant as what happens between the22 yards. But even today, once in a while,there comes somebody who is bareknuckling all the odds and the story mat-ters more than the statistics. The story ofVVS Laxman, arguably the least celebrat-ed of India’s Fabulous Five that comprisedthe revered troika of Sachin Tendulkar,Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid inaddition to the effervescent VirenderSehwag, is one such story that makeseveryone stand up and take notice.

281 and Beyond begins whereLaxman became a part of every Indiancricket fan’s dictionary. The last inningsby an Indian batsman in Test cricket thatcricket lovers from this generation sworeby was arguably the 136 by SachinTendulkar against Pakistan where Indiaeventually fell short by 12 runs. But 2001was different — Australia was the clearly

dominant team in all formats of thegame. The all-conquering Australia jug-gernaut had reached India on the cusp ofcreating history and if the first match wasanything to go by, there was nothing tostop them. But Laxman did — followingon in the second innings, he scored 281and became ‘Very Very Special’ Laxman.

Why did Adam Gilchrist put on hisbatting glove with a squash ball inside itin World Cup 2007? Why did SachinTendulkar not play a single shot on theoff-side in his 241* against Australia?Why did MS Dhoni go to bat ahead ofYuvraj Singh in World Cup 2011? In allthese cases, we know how the inningswent but the questions interest us becausewe want to know the before and after.Similarly, when you read the first chapterof the book, you get to know howLaxman could have missed the Test

where he created history. True to hisimage of being a honest and sincere indi-vidual who went about his business with-out bothering anyone, the anecdotes inthe story sound real and human. Beforehis epic innings, a slipped disc had almostruled out Laxman from the contest. Heremembers: “I said: ‘Tell me you can fixthis Andrew.’ There was a salty taste inmy mouth. I didn’t even realise I hadstarted to cry. Perhaps it was the sight of agrown man weeping that did the trick.”

Laxman has co-authored the bookwith senior journalist, R Kaushik, whohas followed his journey since he was 15years old. Kaushik’s voice never becomesoverbearing and yet carries a distinctflavour. The narrative encapsulates thevarious highs and lows of the cricketer’slife even as it retains its tone of someonewho is humble with a head clearly sewed

to his shoulders with feet firmly on theground. The book captures his journeyas a child in a family surrounded bydoctors who still got support to pursuehis dream. He drives home the pointabout being disciplined when he says,“The results take care of themselves ifyou do the processes right.” All in all,Laxman’s story is the tale of a personwho doesn’t let the odds get the better ofhim and who proves that good peopledo not always finish last.

What I personally really liked aboutthe book is the ease with which Laxmanis able to oscillate between talking aboutthe other four in the Fabulous Five ofIndian batting as well as share a warmand heartfelt pen-portrait of the new-comers who became big names in frontof him. He doesn’t only describe hisexperience of playing along Tendulkar,

Dravid, Sehwag and Ganguly or the oldwar horse Anil Kumble but alsodescribes his time seeing the likes ofZaheer Khan and MS Dhoni becomehousehold names in world cricket.

Outside his 281, most peopleremember VVS Laxman as a stylishbatsman who gave his best especiallyagainst Australia. However, through 281and Beyond, you get to see differentfacets of him. The injuries that followedhim through his career, when the cool-headed Laxman ‘yelled’ at Rahul Dravid.The time when he was unsure abouthaving a young and vibrant ZaheerKhan as his roommate to the time wherethey cemented a friendship based onmutual respect and trust. To the timewhere he worked in a petrol station —arranging food and cleaning the floor —during his time with Brandford League

in England to alter the image of ‘laidback Hyderabadis’.

Call it my romantic self or the placewhere fact meets fan theory but betweenthe lines, not obvious to many, under thelayer of a person who seems happy withmaking most of the opportunities that hegot, I also felt a sense of anguish. After all,the performances of the stylish wristyHyderabadi batsman often do beg thequestion — what could have been if hedid get to play the World Cup.

In more than six years since whenLaxman has quit international cricket lis-tening to his inner voice, this questionhas come to my mind many times. Hecould have crossed personal milestonesand broken more records. After all, hehad been named in the series againstNew Zealand in India which included atest in his own city. But he quit on hisown terms when people were still asking‘Why’ than ‘Why Not’.

As a cricket lover, I have read allcricket autobiographies and biographiesthat cricketers from my generation havedished out in the last few years. Therewere books where I felt that the authorwanted to correct or whitewash the nar-rative to suit him, there were other bookswhere I felt cheated because I knew everyincident that was mentioned but therewere few books that really made me seeinside the person up, close and personal.

I will stick my neck out to say thatafter my favourite cricket autobiographyfrom 2005, Steve Waugh’s Out of MyComfort Zone, this is by far the most hon-est account from a cricketer about hisjourney and you must not miss this.

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We have now one more Muslim whofeels insecure in this country.

Thinking about his children’s safety inIndia makes Naseeruddin Shah shudder.This comes on the heels of the recent autobiographical account penned in TheSarkari Mussalman by his brother Zameer Uddin Shah, who was a Lt Generaland also Deputy Chief of staff of the Indian Army.

Zameer Shah was also the ViceChancellor of the Aligarh MuslimUniversity. He has wrote in the book therole of the State Government, both in sur-reptitiously inciting and later handlingriots which spread after burning of thetrain coach with karsevaks.

Zameer Shah was tasked to lead theArmy troops in riot-torn Ahmedabad.What is more dismaying now in his state-ments is that by remaining silent then inthe line of duty and several years since, isit not his implicit admission of having givenprecedence to personal convenience overhis duty oath, reasons best known to him?

Sometime back, Aamir Khan too hadexpressed same fears: feeling unsafe inIndia. The words of expression of these twoartists are identical, and similarities go fur-ther. Both have Hindu wives — now eitherbecause of my lack of more knowledgeabout their personal lives, or to avoid intru-sion in their private lives, I should notmake any comment on whether their chil-dren go to temple or mosque or do not careabout these and just remain humanbeings, a topic so impressively filmed inthe PK that it became pure social messagewrapped in entertainment.

Both Shah and Khan came from non-film backgrounds but didn’t have to

acquire Hindu or secular names to flour-ish in the show business. EvenNaseeruddin’s wife Ratna Pathak Shah hasretained the niche in the industry whichshe had when Shah was not part of her sur-name. They belong to an industry which has dominant presence of Muslims;on screen and behind the screen they

are known for their jubilees and not theirreligion.

Both these actors have given a seriesof films which were box office hits doingenormous business — which was not pos-sible if the Hindu audiences had any dis-dain. They were considered true artistesand people have seen them as such and not

as Hindus or Muslims. Both are honouredwith Padma Bhushans, besides numerousother recognitions, including an honorarydoctorate for Aamir.

The similarities go further, both residein ivory towers of the tinsel town and aregenerally cut off from society because ofsecurity concerns and they cannot be

assumed to face any kind of risks firsthand.I am more pained when such state-

ments come from no vigilantes but celebri-ties or those who held high position inpublic life. As long as the Hindus weregyrating to the tunes of Nadeem (NadeemShrawan duo) there was nothing wrong,the dangers faced by Muslims in Indiadawned upon him only when he neededto evade extradition from the UK in acriminal case here.

Giving such reactions, specially afterdemitting a public position or past one’sprime in their fields, are not genuine con-cern of safety but something sinister. Theyhave already made castles of their dreamsthrough the same public cheers and nowmake comments which when played insocial media and TV debates acquire dev-astating momentum. It is this momentumwhich is to be dreaded and not stray inci-dents of which, unfortunately but realis-tically, no society is free from.

Before searching of utopia for them-selves and their children, they should getsome idea of places on this earth. Beforeopening mouth, they have not cared tolook around. They have not heard ofAfrican nations where to perpetuate cor-rupt regimes rulers muzzle people’s voiceand order massacre of rival ethnic andtribal groups without fearing to answeranybody. Millions of people have perishedfor no reasons of theirs.

When the elite of our country speaksof its dangers, they can afford to do sobecause we are luckier to have this free-dom to speak than millions of thedeprived. They overlook the millions dis-placed internally and externally with gen-erations ending up in refugee camps or in

boats sinking under their weight.These refugees are also cause of

growing ultra-rightist parties in Europe,and already, they are threats to interna-tional economy. They forget that the onlymass displaced persons in this country areKashmiri pundits, forced out from no placeother than the State enjoying a special sta-tus. If Europe or America is in their eyes,even if allowed migration there, safety isnot guaranteed there as well. Before it isbon voyage, they consult reports of ram-pant violence in society, be it colour basedor simply mindless shootings on schoolcampuses while the discrimination facedby the Black Americans against the Whitepolice is well documented.

Albeit, let us not shy away from strayviolence taking place in our midst too butthey were more a law and order issue thana planned killing. These incidents havebeen invariable condemned by society andif culprits have escaped, it is more due torule of law than any design. The IndianArmy is ideally insulated from politicalambitions and a patronage of insurgentscan never be even dreamed of. We mustadhere to peace and non-violence andensure that “Sare Jahan Se AchhaHindustan” remains our moto.

Shah and Khan speak so despite thiscountry remaining the oasis of peace andharmony in the surrounding is sheer per-version. The democratic process, begunonce we got Independence from theBritish rule, has fully sustained, violentregime changes unknown.n

(The writer is Associate Professor ofPolitical Science, Maharaja Agrasen College,University of Delhi)

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Bangladesh is no more thebattleground for “Two

Begums” — Sheikh Hasina andKhaleda Zia. It is crystal clearwith the results of the generalelection concluded onDecember 30, 2018. SheikhHasina, the leader of the AwamiLeague (AL)-led coalition, hasdecimated all Opposition forcesin the country for the forth five-year term. The AL won 257seats, and an alliance partner 22seats with the total 288 in thecoalition bag in the 300-mem-ber Jatiya Sangsad (NationalParliament).

Political analysts say thatthis election definitely demon-strates Hasina’s growing powerand popularity. She hasimproved her electoral tally by25 seats. Also, it is imperative tomention that the last electionwas completely boycotted by theBangladesh Nationalist Party(BNP) and even then Hasina’selectoral march had to stop at263. But this time, despite coun-trywide protests, record violencethat killed more than 15 people,and unity among Oppositionparties could not stop Hasinaromp home in the election. AndZia’s BNP-led Jatiya Oikya Front(JOF) or National Unity Front(NUF) just won seven seats. TheJOF has managed to get about15 per cent of the total voteshare.

How Hasina has climbedthis long ladder of “politicalprowess” is worth taking anote. She enjoys a rich legacyof political royalty of her father,Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, thefounding father of Bangladeshand its first President. AfterRahman’s assassination in 1975,Bangladesh politics took aqueer turn and turned into abattleground. Ironically, bothHasina and Zia fought togeth-

er to oust General Ershad, amilitary dictator, to bringdemocracy back to the coun-try. But later, the two turnedtheir arsenal to each other forthe sake of political survival.

Hasina served as theLeader of Opposition during1986-90 and again during1991-95. But then her party ALcaptured power in 1996 andshe became the Prime Ministerof the country from 1996-2001. In 2001, Hasina lostpower to Zia, but staged acomeback with a landslide vic-tory in 2009 and since then shehas been there at the centre ofBangladesh politics despite fac-ing all odds, particularlyencountering a sharp rise injehadi terrorism.

However, what has beendoing the rounds is thatBangladesh is soon turninginto an autocracy. Hasina is inpower since 2009. Throughoutall these years she has beenaccused of crushing theOpposition, particularly herarch rival Khaleda Zia, butmost of the media agencieshave been accused of turninga blind eye to the blatant vio-lation of human rights acrossthe country. However, what isboding well for 71-year oldHasina is that she presidesover strong economic growth.

Can we count Zia as apotent political force anymore?Many analysts say “yes”. Despiteher ill-advised political prior-ities, she remains a hope for alarge support base inBangladesh. She was the PrimeMinister of Bangladesh fortwo terms and happens to bethe first such person to occu-py that post in the entireMuslim world. This time justbefore the election, she was injail and her party worked hard

to free her from the prison. Shewas awaiting bail in two out ofthe 36 cases lodged against her.What has been noticed inBangladesh politics so far isthat personality cult, deep emo-tion and charisma of leadersgenerally trump facts and clearway for massive electoral gain.But unfortunately, that did notcome true for Zia. Oncedubbed the “Lady in charge”,Zia is now facing almost a bit-ter test for her relevance inBangladeshi politics, thoughshe still remains a very power-ful figure.

What signals danger for

her party, BNP, and the JOF isthat they can completely be outof Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament)this time despite getting elect-ed from seven constituencies.All their seven elected MPshave not taken oath so far.Interestingly, under the exist-ing law in Bangladesh, MPs-elect should take oath withinthree days after publication ofthe Gazette. If anyone fails totake oath within 90 days of thefirst session of the Parliament,their seats will fall vacant. Thiswill offer a golden opportuni-ty for the AL to capture theentire Parliament.

Another serious implica-tion for Zia can be her last jailterm which extends up to fiveyears. This will automaticallydisqualify her from contestingparliamentary election foranother two years under theexisting Bangladeshi law.

Again, Zia and her partyhave committed a grave mis-take by anointing her son,Tarique Rahman, as the chair-person of the BNP. This showsthe tendency of promotingfamily rule and indicates thedenial of chances to the seniorleaders of the BNP to takecharge. The BNP sinks and

swims only with Zia. Beyondher, there is no hope, no futurefor an entire flock of leaders. Itwas very much evident whenthe BNP announced its “Vision2030”. It categorically failed topromote a picture for a futureBangladesh. The vision docu-ment clearly showed an absenceof specific policies either for theoutgoing parliamentary elec-tion or for a vibrantBangladesh. This all is hap-pening because of her charis-matic influence and dominanceof her persona over the party.Last but not the least, her deci-sion to make an alliance with

the Jamaat-e-Islami confusedpeople what really she and herparty stands for.

The recent rise in Islamistviolence in Bangladesh is lead-ing to a polarising politicaldebate over the country’s sec-ular credentials. From 2015onwards, the country has beenwitnessing a sudden upsurge ofjehadi elements, leading to ter-ror attacks in public places, tar-geting individuals and partic-ularly, media personalities.Tough Hasina has taken nec-essary steps in this regard,much more needs to be doneto herald an atmosphere oftranquility.

What comes as a surprisefrom Hasina is that while tak-ing oath as the Prime Minister,she urged her party colleaguesto be humble. She said, “We arein power now, but rememberthat it is not permanent… If westand by the people, nobodywill be able to remove us. Wehave won three consecutivelandslide victories. But do notconsider yourselves more pow-erful now. Rather behavehumbly with the countryman.”

And also she has asked herMPs not to be biased as theyare elected by all and they haveto work for everyone’s devel-opment. This signals little hopeamid fear and violence createdconsistently by the supportersand sympathisers of her AL.

From the recent instancesof charges and counter chargesfiled against Zia, it seems shehas been left on the sidelines tosimply live her life. Her polit-ical future is bleak. Ageingand ailing Zia might slide intopolitical oblivion soon. Thiswill bring an end to the two-party system, widely evidentand grown over almost morethan three decades in

Bangladesh. When the courtdeclared her last sentence in2018, an upset but confidentZia told her relatives and partysupporters, “I will be back,there is no need to cry.” Somepolitical observers hope shewill come back as it will offerthe Bangladeshi people a cred-ible Opposition to keep watch-ful eyes on the AL-led allianceGovernment.

Nevertheless, with her pro-nouncements and cautions toher party workers, Hasina haslargely grown up as a democ-ratic dictator. Having the pop-ular mandate of the Banglapeople, Hasina’s objectiveshould be to continue buildingfaith in all pillars of democra-cy so that people from differ-ent political shades feel safe andsecure in the country. Being thelongest serving Prime Ministerof Bangladesh, she can take thecountry to the next stage ofdevelopment, growth anddemocracy.

In 2018, Hasina wasranked the 26th on the Forbes’list of “The World’s 100 MostPowerful Women”. But today,ordinary people in Bangladeshare increasingly seemed to betired of the constant personalanimosity between the twoBegums as it fuels not only thepolitical dynamics but also thepublic discourse in this pover-ty-stricken nation. While lis-tening and implementing thedictums of Machiavelli, Hasinashould not put a deaf ear towhat Sun Tzu and Rousseausaid. Above all, “popular sov-ereignty” matters the most. Itis “vox populi, vox dei” after all.Hence, in her fourth term, it isgood that she treads carefully.

(The writer is an expert oninternational affairs)

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Elizabeth Warren has firedthe starting gun for the2020 race for the White

House, becoming the mosthigh-profile Democrat to takethe first step towards a presi-dential campaign.

Warren, 69, a progressiveDemocrat who has exchangedstinging insults with PresidentDonald Trump, said on NewYear’s Eve that she has formedan exploratory committee torun for president in 2020.

In a video, released on herwebsite, she set out her visionfor the country. “Most of uswant the same thing, to be ableto work hard, play by the sameset of rules and take care of thepeople we love,” she said.

The Massachusetts senator,born in Oklahoma and knownas a liberal firebrand in herparty, emphasised opportunityfor all Americans, not just thewealthy.

In the video she discussedher working class family’s strug-gle in Oklahoma to ensure hersuccess, after her father had aheart attack and couldn’t work,and her mother took a mini-mum wage job at Sears.

“I’ve spent my career gettingto the bottom of why America’spromise works for some fami-lies, but others who work just ashard slip through the cracksand into disaster.”

She said the middle classwas “under attack”, highlightingthe “broken system” of billion-aires, big corporations, and WallStreet finance.

“Today, corruption is poi-soning our democracy,” shesaid, attacking the health insur-

ance firms, big banks and oilcompanies. She didn’t mentionTrump by name — although sheincluded a clip of his chanting“Build that wall”, as she criti-cised politicians who seek todivide America.

On a Twitter post, sheadded: “That’s what I’m fightingfor, & that’s why I’m launchingan exploratory committee forpresident. I need you with me.”

She added: “I’m going to build a grass roots campaign.Together, we’re going to makechange.

“Right now, Washingtonworks great for the wealthy andwell connected. It’s just notworking for anyone else.

“I’m in this fight because Iunderstand what’s happening toworking families. I grew up in apaycheque-to-paycheque family.I run for office because I’mgrateful down to my toes for theopportunities given to me.

“When we fight for some-thing positive, something big,when we show what Democratswill make happen — that’s howwe win.”

Her candidacy had beenlong expected. Warren said inSeptember she would take a“hard look” at running for theDemocratic nomination to chal-lenge Trump in 2020.

She and Trump clashed fre-quently through the 2016 presi-dential campaign and Trumphas cast aspersions on her claim

to Native American ancestry.He has even used derogatoryterms for her. TheMassachusetts senator had beendismissively dubbed as‘Pocahontas’ by Trump. The lat-ter was widely criticised forusing a racial slur during anevent honouring NativeAmerican veterans.

The US president was wel-coming three Navajo code talk-ers from the Second World Warto the Oval Office on an after-

noon when he referred to theDemocratic senator using thecontroversial term for her.

During remarks praisingtheir service, he said: “You werehere long before any of us werehere. Although we have a repre-sentative in Congress who theysay was here a long time ago.They call her Pocahontas. Butyou know what, I like you.”

Two Second World WarNavajo “code talkers” stood atthe podium, with a third seated

in a wheelchair as Trump hadmade the remarks, which weregreeted with awkward silence.

They were among 29 youngvolunteers from the Navajotribe who joined the Marines in1942 and created a secret codefor the military using theNavajo language as a code.

The president has repeated-ly mocked the Massachusettssenator for claims she madeabout being part NativeAmerican.

In response, Warren said onMSNBC: “It is deeply unfortu-nate that the president of theUnited States cannot even makeit through a ceremony honour-ing these heroes without havingto throw out a racial slur.”

Soon after that, defendingTrump’s remarks, the WhiteHouse press secretary SarahSanders said: “I think whatmost people find offensive isSenator Warren lying about herheritage. The president finds anextreme amount of value andrespect in these individuals.”

Trump had first used thephrase during the 2016 presi-dential election. This was at thetime when Warren was runningas a candidate for theDemocratic nomination.

Warren, an architect of theConsumer Financial ProtectionBureau set up after the 2008financial crisis, has been astrong voice in the US Senateon financial issues.

In 2012, Warren claimed shehad Native American heritage,citing “family stories” passeddown through generations asevidence.

“I am very proud of my her-itage,” she had been quoted assaying back in 2012. “These aremy family stories. This is whatmy brothers and I were told bymy mom and my dad...This isour lives. And I’m very proud ofit,” she had added.

She is considered to havemade a name for herself bash-ing big banks and deliveringimpassioned speeches in theSenate.

She also declared recently,releasing a DNA test backing upher claim to have NativeAmerican heritage between sixto 10 generations ago. But theloose link was jumped on byRepublicans.

Some Democrat strategistsbelieve the 69-year-old can takea middle path of leaning Left toappeal to the Democrat basewhile having enough experienceto convince voters she has aplan for the Government.

A former Harvard LawSchool professor, she had cam-paigned with Democratic presi-dential candidate HillaryClinton in 2016. Around thattime, she had attacked Trump asan “insecure money grubber”driven by greed and hate.

As for her personal life,Warren had two children withJim Warren, Amelia andAlexander, before divorcing himin 1978. Since 1980 she hasbeen married to Bruce Mann, aprofessor of law at Harvard.

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After combining todefeat Vijayanagarain 1565, the Deccansultanates of Bijapur,Ahmadnagar,

Golconda and Bidar had fallenapart. Though Akbar, who wouldlive until 1605, had significantlyexpanded the Mughal empire, hewas headquartered too far to thenorth, in Delhi or Agra, to thinkof running the southernpeninsula.

While different native chiefs— sultans or nayakas —controlled pieces of the southernhinterland, admirals and priestsof a small European country,Portugal, had long establishedthemselves in pockets on bothcoasts. Leading a four-ship fleetarmed with cannon, Vasco daGama had landed on theMalayali shore 102 years beforethe 17th century arrived. Hisvoyage taking more than ninemonths, he arrived in Kozhikodeon May 20, 1498.

Until then no one had sailedall the way from Europe to India.A century and 10 years later, in1608, the Dutch arrived at Pulicaton the east coast. In 1620, aDanish fleet landed inTranquebar (Tharangambadi),also on the east coast, a good dealsouth of Pulicat. The British andthe French were not far behind.

If horses — the sound of theirhooves and the dust they kickedup — announced the outsideworld to northern India, slowlyexpanding sails on the horizonwere thus alerting coastal SouthIndians to a visit by strangers.

Sponsored by monarchs,these ships from Europe broughttraders who established ‘factories’in several coastal places withapparent ease. Incoming andoutgoing merchandise was storedin these ‘factories’ where a fort,too, was usually built, insidewhich European and Indianretainers protected theirEuropean masters and theirgoods. In the initial decades,South Indian merchants enteringthe fort dealt on equal terms withtheir European counterparts.

When Vasco da Gama landedon Kerala’s coast, Kozhikode(Calicut) had a strong ruler, theZamorin, with whom thePortuguese trader-explorer had tonegotiate. A fair distance inland,northeast of Kozhikode, lay Hampi,capital of a Vijayanagara Empirethen at its zenith. Its umbrella

covered large portions of what wethink of today as Karnataka,Telangana, Andhra Pradesh andTamil Nadu. As the historianBurton Stein would put it:

Whether the Vijayanagararulers are to be regarded asessentially Kannadigas or Telugusor whether they are to beregarded as both from the verybeginning, the territorial scope oftheir power included the entiresouthern peninsula.

Ascending the throne 11years after da Gama’s landing,Krishnadevaraya, Vijayanagara’sgreatest emperor, reigning from1509 to 1529 and a poet inTelugu, was in fact of Tulu origin.

After Vijayanagara’s defeat, theDutch, Danish, British and Frenchtraders wishing to set up a ‘factory’or fort in South India had toobtain permission from a nayaka

or a surviving Deccan sultan.Places in the Tamil country

like Trichy (Tiruchirappalli),Thanjavur (Tanjore) and Madurai(Madura) were under separatenayaka dynasties, mostly ofTelugu origin, whose entry intothese Tamil territories in the 14thand 15th centuries had beenaccompanied by a significantsouthward migration of Telugu-speaking agrarian castes.

Whether characterised asviceroyalties or kingdoms, thenayaka territories in South Indiathat followed the Vijayanagaradecline saw the construction ofstone walls, thick forts, markettowns and temples. As thefortification implies, theperiod also saw numerousdestructive battles. In fact,fighting in the nayaka periodwas ‘more or less incessant’.

Some wars were on a trulylarge scale. The Jesuit ManuelBarradas, who travelled in partsof the South at the beginning ofthe 17th century and noticed,close to the city of Thanjavur,shade-giving trees as well asstrong walls and a moat, wrote ofa war occurring in the Trichyregion in 1616 or 1617 whichaccording to him was fought by‘as many as a million soldiers’.Barradas may have exaggerated,but war among even a 10th ofthat number would haveconsumed a great quantity ofblood and grain.

The nayakas of Thanjavur,Madurai and Gingee wereevidently among those involvedin this immense land war, as alsothe Portuguese, who seem tohave assisted one side, and theDutch (possibly joined by

recruits from Jaffna in SriLanka), who helped the other.

The picture one gets of post-Vijayanagara South India is ofpower vacuums and struggles forsupremacy involving natives butalso outsiders. We have scantinformation on conflicts in thefirst quarter of the17th century.The soldiers’ castes or ethnicitiesare not known. Europeanmercenaries, ‘Turks’ (probablyMuslims from the Deccansultanates) and even Abyssiniansfeature in some accounts, butmost soldiers would have comefrom within the region.

From the 16th century,cannons (first brought into Indiaby the Turks) were beginning tobe cast in South Indian foundries,at times with the aid of aEuropean mercenary, but thesenative products were of uncertain

quality. Maintaining warelephants (including someimported from Burma andThailand) and buying warhorsesfrom Arabia was a huge expense,as was putting together a largeinfantry and cavalry.

The nayaka period also saw asteady cultural output in poetry,painting and sculpture, oftenexplicitly erotic, at times witty, atother times merely crass. In someinstances, making love andmaking war were seen as twoessential parts of a ruler’s dharma,even though the ruler himself didnot enter the battlefield.

Feeding Brahmins en massewas viewed as the ruler’s duty, butBrahmins were not central to theinstallation of the nayaka rulers orviceroys, who in most cases weredescendants of Telugu-speakingwarriors from peasant castesproud of their Sudra origin. Yetpeasants and artisans did not seemto be their ruler’s first concern.The courtesan’s smile interestedhim more than the contentment ofthe peasant’s wife or the pride ofthe artisan’s mother.

Rivalries between SouthIndian chiefs and betweenEuropean companies led tobattles where one Indo–Europeanalliance clashed against anotherbrown-white alliance. Thesealliances shifted from year to year,or even week to week. Afterelimination and sifting, twoEuropean powers, the French andthe British, would eventuallyremain to fight it out, inassociation with native chiefs.

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Female pop stars have seen theirpopularity rocket in comparisonwith their male counterparts,

according to analysis of time spent inthe UK Top 40 chart this year. Dataanalysis by the Press Association foundthat five of the top 10 most popular actsof 2018 were all female; they racked upa total of 310 weeks on the chart versusthe 328 weeks achieved by men.

According to Press Association, in2017 the figure was just 226 weeks forfemale artists, with 386 weeks for men.The 2018 list is topped by theCanadian rapper Drake; he had a totalof 102 weeks on the chart for 13 hits.The female rapper Cardi B came sec-ond, and British-Kosovan pop singerDua Lipa third, while Jess Glynne,Ariana Grande and Anne-Marie allfeatured in the top 10.

The data is slightly complicated bythe fact that some of the music trackson which the women performed wereproduced by men: Dua Lipa’s hit “OneKiss” was made in collaboration withCalvin Harris, so both would be credit-ed in terms of chart weeks; “Electricity”was produced by the duo Silk City; 22of Jess Glynne’s weeks on the chart

were from her track with Rudimentaland Macklemore, “These Days”; andAnne-Marie’s “Friends” was a hit withthe EDM producer Marshmello.

Cardi B also had three chartingtracks as a guest star to male acts: “TakiTaki” with DJ Snake alongside SelenaGomez and Ozuna, “Girls Like You”with Maroon 5, and “Finesse” withBruno Mars. But the New York rapperhad another three hits under her ownname, plus a guest spot for Rita Ora onthe controversial track “Girls”.

Whenever I hear it, it alwaysmakes me feel better,” saidthe prince from Jean-Marie

Leclair’s Scylla et Glaucus, an 18th-century opera about malignantrage and the summoning of demonsto destroy a rival. “It is so incrediblyrhythmic, it is incredibly joyful andexciting … do you know those bitsof music that put a spring in yourstep again when you’re feeling a little bit down.”

The rarely performed opera, aswell as the songs of Leonard Cohenand Russian Orthodox liturgical music,have been revealed as the private musi-cal choices of Prince Charles on a spe-cial edition of Radio 3’s long-runningshow Private Passions.

Marking Charles’s 70th year, thehour-long special features the princetalking about his musical passions andthe importance of arts and music edu-cation. When asked how he felt aboutthe decline of music education —which the presenter, Michael Berkeley,said was at significant risk of disap-pearing in state schools — the princesaid: “I’m one of those people who

believes in the importance of arts edu-cation and music education in schools.

“Apart from anything else, I thinkpeople forget — or may not realise —what an enormous contribution thecreative arts make to the whole econo-my. It’s immense. So we slightly shootourselves in the feet if we ignore it alto-gether. When you go to schools whichstill have it [music education], it iswonderful to see the enthusiasm on thepart of the children in their orchestras.”

Bono has joined The Edge at theannual Christmas Eve charitybusking session outside the

Gaiety theatre in Dublin, performingalong with a host of other famousIrish musicians in aid of the city’shomeless. The event took place insupport of the Simon Community, ahomelessness charity that helps peoplewho are homeless or at risk of becom-ing so. It was Bono’s first appearanceat the charity gig in three years, andhis seventh overall.

The U2 members serenadedonlookers with a song from their latest

album, as well as two Christmas carols— O Holy Night and O Night Divine —before they were joined by an ensembleto sing Christmas (Baby Please ComeHome), a rock song originally sung byDarlene Love in 1963. Bono told thecrowd: “As the buckets go around, fillthem with silver, fill them with hope —[it’s] the season of hope.”

Crowds had gathered around amakeshift stage on Grafton Street.Other performers included organiserGlen Hansard, Damien Rice, DannyO’Reilly, Imelda May, Luke Clerkin,Mundy and Róisín O.

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It was a crime of passion of suchdisfiguring violence thatVictorian London was left scan-dalised. In November 1865, FelixDeacon, a young lithographer

who had fallen for a married woman,Sarah Ann Peacock, was attacked inthe street. His assailant was not herhusband but another man, a dentist bythe name of Wainwright, who wasequally smitten with Peacock andtherefore saw Deacon as a rival. Themethod he employed to warn him offwas as familiar and feared in thosetimes as it is today in modern Britain.Wainwright threw vitriol, a form ofsulphuric acid, into Deacon’s face,blinding him. He was jailed for 20years for his crime.

No longer able to work because hecould not see, Deacon, ended up desti-tute in the St Pancras workhouse, buthelp was at hand. A volunteer from theHome Teaching Society for the Blindtaught him Braille, and a public appealraised the £50 needed to buy him anadapted knitting machine so he couldonce again earn his own living.

The headlines in recent years thathave accompanied spiralling numbersof acid attacks — up from 261 casesreported to the Metropolitan Police inLondon in 2015 to 454 in 2017 — tendto treat them as a new kind of threat topublic safety. Yet, as the case of FelixDeacon reveals, they have around for along time. Their characteristics,though, have changed.

Last year, in one much-reportedcase, Arthur Collins, the formerboyfriend of reality TV star FearneMcCann, was sentenced to 20 years —the same jail term as Wainwright thedentist — after throwing acid across anEast End dance floor in what the judgecalled a “despicable act”, burning 16people and blinding three.

Thankfully, unlike Felix Deacon,those three people have been able toregain their sight; in the 150 years thatseparate these two appalling crimes,medicine has advanced beyond allrecognition. The campaigner KatiePiper, who featured in the currentseries of Strictly Come Dancing and, in2008, was attacked with acid by herex-boyfriend, underwent pioneeringsurgery, including the use of a skinsubstitute, to restore her face andvision. And as treatment methodshave improved, so too has support forthose who suffer acid attacks, notablyfrom Changing Faces, one of the threecharities in the 2018 TelegraphChristmas appeal.

“We know from research andexperience,” says its founder and chiefexecutive, Dr James Partridge, “thatthe emotional and social impact of thedisfigurements caused by burns canoften really kick in after dischargefrom the acute phase.

“When people are back at home,alone or trying to return to work, that’swhen the problems can be felt most:they can feel low and very self-con-

scious about their scars. Everywherethey go, they feel other people staringor are asked intrusive questions.”

Dr Katherine Watson, a lecturer inthe history of medicine at OxfordBrookes University, has studied thesimilarities and differences betweenwhat the Victorians called “vitriol-throwing” and today’s acid attacks. Herresearch of 400 such cases in 19th-cen-tury London shows, she says, that theywere “a regular, if not common occur-rence” back then.

When they ended up in court,though, sentencing was less predictableand often less severe. “Jurors couldoften be remarkably sympathetic toperpetrators. In many cases, juries con-victed but made a recommendation tomercy. Judges usually accepted theseand gave light sentences of a fewmonths or years in prison, sometimeswith hard labour.”

Not, she stresses, in all cases.Wainwright the dentist got 20 years,but in 1834, Hugh Kennedy — a mandescribed as of previously “irreproach-able character” who had fallen out witha fellow servant and decided to take hisrevenge by pouring acid on his facewhile he slept — was sent to the gal-lows by a Glasgow court. He is the onlyperson known to have received thedeath penalty in Britain for an acid

attack. His victim, the judge was told,“awoke in agony, one of his eyes

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Asix-year-old girlbrought to a

Vietnam hospital withswelling in her noseturned out to have aleech living inside her face.A video filmed at Bat XatGeneral Hospital in Lao Caiprovince shows a doctor usingtweezers to pull a still-squirmingleech out of the girl’s nasal cavi-ty. The doctor said the leech waslikely smaller when it found itsway into the girl’s nose andgrew over the course of morethan a month. The girl is notexpected to suffer any long-termmedical issues from the incident.

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Aprofessional kite surfer col-lided with a shark off the

Dominican Republiccoast and themoment was caughton camera. A GoPro

camera captured a video of theAustralian surfer Alex Soto’s

unexpected sharkencounter while

he was inCabaretetraining forthe 2019 Pan

American Games.Soto said his

board was headedtoward the water and he

saw the shark momentsbefore the crash, but itwas too late for him toavoid the predator.

The video shows Soto losing his board, but

holding onto his kite as hefalls into the water. “I went

back to the school where Iwork, and I told the guys but

they didn’t believe me, but I had my GoPro and I showed

them the video,” Soto said.He said he does not blame the

shark, which survived theencounter. “We are invad-

ing their habitat, do notbe surprised if you see

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Apair of Wisconsin womensaid this holiday season marked

the 50th year of them exchanging thesame Christmas cards. Jackie Gemplerand Evelyn Weier said they sent eachother Christmas cards 50 years ago,when they were in their 20s, and theyhave been resending the same cardsevery year since. “I just wonder howmany more years we can keep it up,”Gempler said. “They’re getting kind ofbeat up. They look like they’re 50 yearsold.” The women said the cards are atestament to their lifelong friendshipand the closeness they enjoyed asyoung women. “We were doingeverything together,” Weier said.

A different pair of Wisconsinwomen, Bonnie Jean Klamar andBonnie Marie Magistrelli, revealed in2011 that they had been exchangingthe same birthday card for 50 years.

Magistrelli said she originally sentthe card to Klamar for her 18th birth-day. The card included a poem encour-

aging the recipient toerase their name and

return it to the senderfor their next birthday,

but the friends didn’t needto erase the same. “We didn’t

erase the sender’s name. We justkept adding to it,” Klamar said.

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Police in Australia said a kangarooand a goat made back-to-back visits

to the same block of stores in a Victoriacity. Victoria Police said a security cam-era outside the block of stores inFootscray captured a wayward kangaroowindow-shopping on Christmas morn-ing. “Santa wasn’t the only visitor toFootscray early this morning — itappears this sneaky marsupial decidedto a do a bit of last-minute Christmasshopping,” police wrote. The kangaroo’sappearance was followed up by a BoxingDay visit from a wandering goat. Policesaid a goat was captured in the samearea of the city and investigators are try-ing to find the animal’s owner.

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Asnowman drew a crowd of sur-prised onlookers after it was

assembled in an unusual location: Infront of a Sacramento Calif coffee shop.The temperature in Sacramento waswell above freezing Christmas Eve andChristmas Day, making the snowman’spresence outside Old Soul Coffee morebaffling in a city that doesn’t receivesnowfall. A coffee shop employee whoidentified herself as Carissa said shehad someone bring the snow downfrom South Lake Tahoe to giveSacramento a seasonal treat. “Justwanted to giveSacramentosomethingthey’ve never seen— some snow. Give you guys somesnow, a snowman and have a little mir-acle on Christmas,” Carissa said.

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Nearly 600 people dressed in Santasuits and other festive apparel took

to the waves in Florida for an annual

Christmas surfing event, organisers said.The Surfing Santas in Cocoa Beachevent, which took place on ChristmasEve, featured nearly 600 people in SantaClaus suits and other Christmas-relatedcostumes riding the Atlantic Ocean

waves on long boards, shortboards, boogie boards and pad-dle boards. George Trosset, whofounded the Surfing Santasevent a decade ago, estimated

there were about 10,000spectators enjoying thespectacle and Christmasmusic. The event raisedmoney for the FloridaSurf Museum and

Grind for

Life, a cancer supportorganisation. Cocoa

Beach Mayor BenMalik was amongthose in atten-dance.“It’s an awe-some way to startthe Christmas holi-

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Iam only repeating what Lord Krishnatold Arjuna in the Gita, when He stat-ed, “Having My consciousness, you will

cross all impediments by My grace.” Godcan give such an assurance because He isomnipotent. Such is the cosmic design.God is very compassionate; He has notcreated us as helpless beings. It won’t belogical if it was so, Him being our father.Anyone can always approach Him forguidance and help and God will oblige.

However, there is a process to do so.This is not like a wishlist that we have forGod to grant us; this is different. Let meuse an example will clarify. A person is ina serious mess and he doesn’t know whatto do. He is obsessed with it and is suffer-ing. Arjuna exemplifies such a person.Arjuna was depressed; he was affected bycompassion; his eyes were full of tears;and he was suffering. Why? Because hedid not wish to kill his relatives though hisduty demanded that he did. We can findmany instances in our lives when we feelthat we have been boxed into a corner andhave nowhere to go. God is never helpless;there is nothing in this world which cantax His unlimited resources.

The following information is extreme-ly valuable to all of us. This is what weneed to do to gain God’s help. We mustwholeheartedly agree to follow God’sinstructions like Arjuna did. Arjuna toldthe Lord, “O Krishna, I will follow Your

instructions.” This includes performing allduties as indicated by God. We cannot bewhimsical about doing some part andleaving another. And God’s help can onlybe prayed for after one has gotten into adifficult situation. This is not like buyinginsurance for a future problem. One canseek God’s help then and not now.

Why? Because God does not interferein the working of the material nature asoverseen by divine authorities. If He didthat, He will make them toothless. Theseauthorities are fully empowered to rewardand punish us according to our deeds.But after a punishment has been given,God can help us to navigate out of it.Suppose someone has done a heinouscrime and is now fully repentant. Godcan help him to deal with the punishmentgiven. There is only one exception — Godcan but will not make anyone alivebecause death is a finality not an ongoingpunishment. There are very few instances

of God bringing a dead person to life.God restricts His help to an ongoing pun-ishment like when someone is very sick.

However, doing what God expects usto do must come prior to expecting Hishelp. This requires some serious prepara-

tion. It is not easy to accept God’s instruc-tions. Arjuna had great difficulty. LordKrishna convinced him on all issues butArjuna’s ego came in the way in the end.The Lord had to warn him of dire conse-quences unless Arjuna came around. The

same problem exists in being dutiful. Ifwe all were dutiful, the world will be awonderful place, but we aren’t. We goabout in our whimsical ways. Then, wemust be God conscious in order to tuneinto God’s guidance. And we must con-tinue to be linked with God because weneed His help throughout our lives.

Having done all that, one must be verypatient. One cannot rush God. Neither canwe impose any conditions on God. God isfully aware of everything. He acts whennecessary and His help is always timely.Personally, I am repeatedly amazed at thesolutions provided by Him. What I findthe most striking about God’s help is thatHis solutions are mostly limited to what Ican do as opposed to what others have to.God is waiting for all of us to properlyapproach Him. He is like a loving parent toall beings. Why don’t we approach Him?

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Movies are usually not taken seriously no mat-ter how significant and timely a theme theychoose to address. And the reason is not far

to seek. Movies are considered to be a means of massentertainment, the sole purpose being to earn moneythrough storytelling, no matter how sincere the film-maker is about the message that is intended to be con-veyed. Rajinikanth’s Robot 2.O is also of the samegenre as far as moviegoers are concerned. But the factis that it makes a lot of sense for human life given thetheme the film wishes to talk about. However, it wouldbe at best discussed as either one of the costliestamong the non-English films by production cost orthe box office collections that it makes. But as weapproach this new year and embrace fresh perspec-tives, the film seems to drive a very pertinent andtimely point home. Though not an avid movie watch-er, I got the opportunity to see the film, courtesy theowner of the cinema hall exhibiting the movie.Despite my reluctance, he insisted that I watch it. Iacceded out of courtesy rather than desire and expect-ed to watch a typical masala movie with lots of actionand drama. But, it turned out to be a rather sensibleand serious movie with lot of substance and style. Themessage that the film tries to convey is that because ofthe rate at which smartphones are penetrating India,disaster is not very far. The film tries to convey thismessage and in a very powerful way through anornithologist and activist played effectively by AkshayKumar. The timely warning is that because of thegreed of the mobile service providers to get more andmore customers, regulations and caution are oftenthrown to wind and that that could very well result inthe undoing of humanity. The issue is raised very sci-entifically by stating that the increasing numbers ofmobile towers and the resultant rise in the concentra-tion of radiation is a cause of the fast depletion of sev-eral bird species. The assertion is irrefutable for any-one who has been observing the vanishing of some ofthe common household birds like sparrows which arehardly visible these days. Moreover, the disappearanceof birds also has cyclical repercussions that are capableof bringing misery. These birds do a very crucial scav-enging job by eating the insects that harm plants andcrops, leading to more and more use of chemicals thateventually harm human beings. The counter view thatis being shown is also very effectively presented as tohow human intelligence is not ready to accept the pos-sibility of this threat due to its own indulgence. Inlight of the statistics that are available, the warning isperfectly timed. With half-a-billion internet users, 100million internet consumers and over 300 millionvideo-on-phone watchers, Indians will likely be thelargest mobile consumers in the world as the perksthat come with cheap smartphones are quite alluring.That mobile is becoming an addiction across age andgender needs no validation. We are abusing ratherthan using mobile phones. The answer the film sug-gests may be extreme as doing away with mobilephones is not possible, but there is need to createawareness that life is possible without mobile phones.The rate at which we are accelerating mobile use, theday is not far when there will be no life.

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Each of us has the power to create ahealthier way of life. The choiceswe make today impact ourphysical, mental, and spiritualhealth tomorrow, even months or

years from now. Our choices also impactour family. What we choose todayregarding the care of our body, mind, andspirit will determine what our future healthwill be like. If we would realise thateverything we do is building a foundationfor our own life as well as for the lives ofour children and other family members, wemight think and act differently.

The physical body and mind comprisethe house for our soul. If we want to build ahealthier body, mind, and spirit forourselves and our family, we can makechoices that contribute to a healthierlifestyle. Recent medical research points totwo ways in which we can be proactive forincreasing our wellness. One is meditationand the other is vegetarian diet. Here aresome simple steps that can help:

�#)/�67�2)��#����We know that our parents had all thesolutions for us when we were children.When we were rambunctious, they had fivewords for us: “Sit down and be still”. Thesewords are a precursor to a healthy lifestyle.Being still is another word for meditation.

When we meditate, we slow our heart rateand breathing to a point where we are calm.When we are agitated and upset, the bodyproduces fight or flight hormones such ascortisol and adrenaline which may be usefulwhen in danger to help us defend ourselves orrun, but not useful when the simple problemsof life upset us. We do not need cortisol andadrenaline to kick in when our spouse orchildren leave the toothpaste cap off orsomeone cuts us off on the highway. We havebeen so conditioned to become upset aboutthings that are not life-threatening that weproduce stress hormones that react on ourbody in a way that can break down our organsand hamper bodily systems.

Meditation helps us sit in a calm, relaxedstate so that we can ward off the effects ofdaily life challenges. When we remain calm,our body is not producing hormones thatcan lead to stress-related ailments such asheart attack, stroke, hypertension,headaches, digestive and skin problems.When we meditate we also keep our mindcalm. We not only suffer physical illnessfrom stress, but we also create emotionaland mental difficulties when we are notcalm. This can lead to emotional andrelationship problems or other stress-relatedmental disorders. Through meditation, wecan keep a calm and peaceful mind to helpus lead happier lives.

Meditation also helps us developconcentration, which we need for school orour jobs. When we are stressed out our

performance level is not as highas we need it to be. When weconcentrate we can get bettergrades, which reduces our stressas students. Our stress asemployees or professionals isreduced because we canperform better at work.

How can we prove thespiritual benefits of being stilland meditating? This is one areawhere meditation fits thescientific model. It is based onexperimentation leading toproof. Those who have tried thisexperiment have discovered thatmeditation leads to wellness notonly of the body and mind, butalso of the soul.

�#)/�87��)1)#,(�,+�.�)#Doctors have proof that plant-based diet reduces the risk ofmany diseases such as stroke,heart attack, diabetes,digestive disorders, and evensome cancers, among otherillnesses. By cutting out meat,and even fish, fowl, and eggs,we can reduce the risk ofmany ailments.

Vegetarianism also hasbenefits to our state of mind andour spiritual well being. Think ofthe state of the animals whenslaughtered. Hormones of fearand stress run through them atthe time of their captivity andslaughter. It has been said thatwe are what we eat. All that wasa part of the animal becomespart of us when we eat it. Thismeans we are ingesting their fearand panic hormones, which cancontribute to our own state of

fear and anxiety when itbecomes a part of our body.

We also are taking into ourbody anything the animal ate.For example, antibiotics fed tothe animal become part of us. Ifanimals are fed hormones tomake them grow faster, they toobecome a part of us which canlead to problems because nowthose hormones are in our body.

There are moral benefits to avegetarian diet. Most culturesbelieve in the law that “thoushalt not kill”. There is arecognition in many culturesthat even animals have a soul inthem. Thus, when we take thelife of a creature, we are takingthe life of a being who has a soulin it. All beings are created byone creative power, and as suchwe are all one family. When werecognise this, we begin to loveall and treat all as one family.Just as we would not want toharm our family members,similarly, we would not want totake the life of any creature.

Moreover, it is now easierthan ever to be vegetarian andthe benefits of being one areenormous. One can try theexperiment of incorporatingmeditation and a vegetariandiet into one’s life. Then, youcan see for yourself the benefitsyou will experience. If you cantrack the changes these twochoices make and find that youare healthier —physically,mentally, and spiritually, youwill have first-hand proof thatmeditation and a vegetariandiet are in fact beneficial.

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Wish that the year 2019 provesrewarding and fulfilling to thevalued readers of this journal.

It, however, needs to be appreciated thatjust wishful thinking may not bearfruits, as human beings are empoweredto guide their actions by choice and dis-crimination. Accordingly, you need todispassionately weigh options in hand,make the most appropriate choice,which only a purified mind could do.And then, passionately put in qualitativeefforts towards that end. Success is yetnot fully assured.

Bear in mind; we are an inseparablepart of a complex world, full of diversity,where everyone is born unique, eachmanifesting varying mind-traits.Therefore, no initiative on your part cango about without being faced with chal-lenges posed by the world around. Also,you need to be alive to your societalobligations while attending to your indi-vidualistic aspirational urges, but forwhich, even your individual well-beingwould not be secure. In this respect, theyear 2019 being an election year, is goingto be most demanding. It also needs tobe remembered that the dynamics ofevery emerging moment keeps changing,and accordingly its callings. Whether we

mindfully respond to the callings ofevery emerging moment or just flow bythe current will define what we becomedue for. The choice is yours. In this light,it becomes incumbent upon you to sensi-bly exercise your franchise, if at all youwish secure nation’s future.

Let us now see how the year ahead islikely to unfold for the country in 2019.We will examine it on four counts. First,astrological alignment at the momentwhen the New Year takes off. Remember,there is continuum in time and space andtherefore, life needs to be seen in continu-ation. How things played out last year hasculminated at the start of the year, overwhich the New Year takes off. Second,astrological chart at time of Solar Ingress(the moment when the Sun entersCapricorn sign). For, Capricorn happensto be the natural signifying sign of Indiaas a country. Third, Lunar Eclipse charton Delhi coordinates happening onJanuary 21, as that reflects upon majorchange in energy dynamics of nature.Finally, India’s Independence chart.

In the New Year chart, the Sun iden-tified with ruling dispensation is in raptconjunction with Saturn, its dire enemy,and in the fourth house identified bycommon masses. This read together

with Venus ill-disposed off to the Sunimplies that people’s economic expecta-tion having been belied. So, they seem tobe put off with the ruling clique. Tenthlord Mercury identified with incumbentGovernment, occupies the third house,which being sixth from 10th implies thatthe power block is in debility. Even 10thsub-lord Jupiter being in the third houseand that too ill-disposed off to mischie-vous Neptune doesn’t sound good forthe Government.

The Solar Ingress chart is no better.The Sun is locked in unholy alliance withMoon (masses) and Uranus. Tenth lordSaturn is in the eighth house of difficul-ties, placed adverse to its dire enemyMars. This, in the first place, implies thatoverall security situation may be chal-lenging. Also, overall societal environ-ment is expected to be turbulent.Neptune, ill-disposed off to Jupiter andVenus implies that communal passionmay flare up. Country’s finance may bein bad shape. Female security maybecome a matter of concern.

Equally damning is the Lunar Eclipsechart. Mars occupying the lagna is placedadverse to Saturn posited in the 10thhouse. The 10th lord Jupiter is in theninth house (12th from 10th) and lockedin exchange with Mars, implying change.

Venus also involved in the exchangeprocess, which being adverse to Neptunemeans that economic concerns mayhaunt people’s mind. Tenth sub-lordMercury is conjunct headless Ketu andwhich is ill-disposed off to Uranus,implying unpredictable turn of events.

In the nation’s Independence chart,how Rahu’s stay in the Cancer signloaded with a cluster of planets — Sun,Saturn, Venus, Mercury, and Moon —played out during the last one year andhalf doesn’t need any elaboration. In thesecond week of March, Ketu will joinSaturn, the 10th lord in the ninth house,when people’s state of hopelessness isexpected to multiply.

Having said that, let me make it clearthat the analysis above is just indicative.Lot of unaccountable variables play outin the change process. That includes howthe leadership presents itself, and the waypeople of different regions react andrespond. Let us now see how the wind ofchange blows during the year.

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